BIG NEWS: Photopolymer - The (Totally) Clear Choice

This could be the BIGGEST NEWS I've heard all year:  WOOHOO!

Designer Typeset Photopolymer Stamp Set 132956

I can hardly wait to try them!  How about you? Those people at Stampin' Up Headquarters are so tricky!  We had no idea!  Let me know if you're interested in trying them out.

I do have a card for you as well:

It's another card I made at my Papercrafter's retreat last weekend.  I had so much fun with this!  But the best part was making that little flower! 

•  I used the 1 1/4" Scallop Circle punch to cut out 3 scalloped circles in Cherry Cobbler and 3 in Chocolate Chip. 
•  I worked them with the bone folder to soften the fibres in the paper until I could separate the two layers which give a suede-like effect.  
• I crumpled and sponged the layers with Chocolate Chip, alternated the colours and pierced the center of all the layers with the Paper Piercing tool. 
•  I sponged a flower from the 5/8" Flower Trim (from the Spring Catalogue) and joined them all together with a Neutrals Brad.  

• The background is Very Vanilla stamped with the En Francais background stamp in Early Espresso, sponged with Chocolate Chip ink and adhered to the Chocolate Chip card base.  
• The leaves are from another stamped piece of Very Vanilla run through the Big Shot with the Little Leaves Sizzlet. 
•  I used the vintage postage stamp images from the Postage Due stamp set, punched them out with the Postage Stamp punch and sponged them with Chocolate Chip again and adhered them to a 2 7/16" square piece of Chocolate Chip card stock.

I hope you have a happy and healthy weekend, and you'd better fasten your seatbelt and wait with me to see what Stampin' Up is going to do next!  This is sooo much fun!

Stamps:  En Francais (w109521); Postage Due (w126395; c126397)

Paper:  Chocolate Chip (102128), Cherry Cobbler(119685) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Early Espresso (126974), Cherry Cobbler (126966) and Chocolate Chip (126979)

Accessories:  5/8" Flower Trim (126869); Neutrals Collection Brad (119736)

Tools:  1 1/4" Scallop Circle punch (127811); Little Leaves Sizzlet (114511); Postage Stamp Punch (122344); Stamping Sponges (101610)

1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch

En Francais Background Stamp

Postage Due Stamp Set

Postage Stamp Punch

You're Such an Amazing Friend

You are.  Really!  You keep reading my posts day after day, making nice comments, coming to my classes!  I really value your friendship!  So this card is for YOU!

Thank you for everything!  I really enjoyed designing this card.  I was using the criteria for the Dynamic Duos challenge #37 this week:  Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.

I love the monochromatic look, especially in the neutral shades.  It looks so old fashioned like a sepia photograph.  I took a photo of our backyard this week, covered in a new blanket of snow.  I added a sepia filter and it does make it look aged.

Have you ever been really excited about a card design you've created, and then gone and checked your files and found a swap card you'd been given that was so similar that you couldn't take credit for the design without acknowledging at least the subconscious impression left by the other card's designer.  That's what happened with this card.  After I finished it, I was looking at my swap cards and came across a similar one created by Sandra Ross of Truro, Nova Scotia! Thanks, Sandra, for the inspiration!

The card, of course, uses a palette of Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla as a neutral, and uses the Amazing Family stamp set from the Spring Mini Catalogue.  It uses some of the lovely embellishments from the Spring Mini as well, like the 5/8" Flower trim and the Paper Doilies.  The little butterflies are stamped with the Papillon Potpourri Stamp set and punched out with the Bitty Butterfly coordinating punch.

And we now interrupt this post with an important announcement:

WE HAVE PRODUCT SHARES READY FOR YOU TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF!!!

If you have been wanting more of the amazing ribbons, papers and embellishments in the Spring Mini Catalogue, but your budget won't let you buy them all, then why not share your purchases with other customers so you can all have the variety in smaller quantities for less money.  Check out the shares available by going to the top menu bar and clicking on Product Shares or check it out here.  All the information will be there for you.  And readers who do not live close by, as long as you are in Canada, I can ship your product shares to you!  I'm really excited to offer my out-of-town readers the first of many opportunities to be part of my stampin' community!  

Stamps:  Amazing Family (w129189; c129192), En Francais (w109521), Papillon Potpourri (w123757; c123759)

Papers:  Soft Suede (115318), Crumb Cake (120953) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Crumb Cake (126975) and Soft Suede (126978)

Embellishments:  Paper Doilies (129399); 5/8" Flower Trim (126869); Pearl Basic Jewels (119247); 5/8" Crochet Trim (118481); 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Soft Suede (122967)

Tools:  Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976); Bitty Butterfly punch (129406); Ovals Collection Framelits (129381); Big Shot (113439)

Amazing Family

En Francais Stamp

Papillon Potpourri

Flower Trim