Retiring MOJO and Perfectly Preserved

As I read this title over I thought, "Yes, it would be nice to retire and remain Perfectly Preserved!"  Instead, I keep noticing little hints of deterioration here and there!  But I guess getting old is better than the alternative!

I had two goals today.  One was to make a MOJO Monday Challenge #295 entry and one was to create a card highlighting some of the retiring products.  I believe I managed to do both here:

I created a round card using the Scallop Circle Bigz die and the Big Shot.  

• I cut out one complete circle from Crumb Cake card stock.
• Then I took more Crumb Cake and folded it in half and cut out another circle except I had the top of the die lined up above the fold so it wouldn't be cut through and it becomes the hinge.  
• I stamped the complete scallop circle with the Distressed Dots background stamp (which is retiring) in VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  

I used a partial scallop circle in Lucky Limeade (retiring) for the bottom panel with a partial 3 1/2" Circle Originals die cut with some DSP from another retiring set: Sunshine and Sprinkles.  You can see the layout for the challenge from the diagrams below:

  

For the main panel, I got out my Perfectly Preserved Stamp Set from last fall's Holiday Mini.  It is also a retiring stamp set, but it was one I got a lot of use out of in the fall.  Sad to see it go because the mason jar is SO versatile.  I've seen it used in dozens of applications.  

• I stamped mine on a Window Sheet and used the coordinating framelits to cut it out.  
• I stamped a pear on the Very Vanilla square in the middle and adhered the window sheet jar right over top of it.  
• I stamped the lid cover in More Mustard (a retiring colour) and die cut it with the framelits and added it to the top.  
• The sentiment and the naturals button finished off the look.

What is your favourite retiring product?  Leave me a comment and tell me how you're going to cope without it!

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved (w126690; c126692)*; Distressed Dots (w122815)*

Paper: Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP (126922)*; Window Sheets (114323); Crumb Cake (120953), Lucky Limeade(122926)*, More Mustard (100946)** and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock

Ink:  VersaMark (102283); StazOn Jet Black (101406); Classic Stampin' Pads in Early Espresso (126974), Lucky Limeade (126984) and More Mustard (126964)

Accessories:  Stampin' Emboss Powder Clear (109130); Naturals Designer Buttons (127554); Linen Thread (104199)

Tools:  Cannery Set Framelits (127822); Scallop Circle Bigz Die (113468); 3 1/2" Circle Originals Die (121811); Bitty Banners Framelits (129267); Heat Tool (129053)

*Retiring Item

**Retiring and sold out

Cannery Set Framelits

Linen Thread

Perfectly Preserved Stamp Set

Distressed Dots Background Stamp

Naturals Designer Buttons

Scallop Circle Bigz Die

Paris? Oui, Oui!

I went to Paris once!  I was in my twenties and travelling in Europe with a good friend of mine.  She loved Europe and went almost every summer.  I, on the other hand, was a total newbie to travel, especially across the Atlantic.  I thought I was in good hands.  She was a super organized and efficient person, so I figured everything would be planned to a T with nothing left to chance.  

I was what I like to call Dead Wrong!  As soon as we got off the plane in London, my super type A friend changed her whole personality!  She became as mellow and laid back as a person can be.  Where were we going to stay for the night??  No worries.  We'll find something.  Shouldn't we leave to catch that train now?  No rush.  There's always another train.  Talk about anxiety!  I couldn't handle the uncertainty!  But by the end of the 6 week vacation, I believe I mellowed out myself a little.  

                                                            

At one point we went to Paris, and had only one day and one night there before we set out for Italy and Greece.  How do you see Paris in one day?  Especially when you have no transportation and it's blazing hot?  You walk!  I don't know if I've ever walked so far and so fast in my life, but I did see some amazing sights.  We ended the tour at the Louvre.  I was so tired, all I wanted to do was to see the Mona Lisa and then get back to the hotel and put my aching feet up and never move again!  We found the Mona Lisa all right - what a disappointment!  It was so teeny!  I was shocked, because I'd always imagined it much larger!  Turns out I recovered by morning and was able to continue the trip of a lifetime!

I was looking for a design for my Birthday Stamper's Dozen that could be considered a gender neutral young adult design (requested by some of my stampers).  I thought that the travel based images and the yellow and grey colour scheme might fit the bill!

The background panel has been stamped in Basic Grey on Sahara Sand with the large image from Postage Due.  The Eiffel Tower is from Artistic Etchings and also stamped in Basic Grey!  The sentiment is from Create a Cupcake and is stamped in StazOn Jet Black.  And those little yellow Daffodil Delight flowers?
They're from the Perfectly Preserved stamp set - and it took me a long time to find some blossoms just the right size.  Of course, the main image has been stamped and then die cut with Labels Collection Framelits, as was the Basic Grey matte for it.  The yellow background panel has been embossed with the Chevron embossing folder.  The ribbon flag is made from 1 1/4" Two-Toned Black/Grey Ribbon.

I have been dying to use the Postage Due background stamp for a long time.  So glad I was finally able to find a use for it.   I think the yellow flowers could be left off if it was going to a guy.  What do you think?  Did I make a gender neutral, young adult kind of card?   Let me know in a comment!  

I just wanted to round up for you in one spot the Stampin' Up Promotions that will be winding up at the end of April as a way of reminding you to take advantage of the ones you like before the time is up.

1. The Epic Day This and That Bundle.
2. The Sent With Love Bundle.

Then there are a couple that are in effect until the end of May.

1. The Spring Surprise Bundle
2. Discontinued Colours - while supplies last
3. And of course, The 2012/13 Idea Book and Catalogue as well as the Spring Mini Catalogue

And one more new item just announced today:

The Dolled Up Birthday Kit for $17.95 (preferred price if you choose me as your demonstrator).

Stamps: Postage Due (w126395; c126397); Artistic Etchings (w118517; 120573); Perfectly Preserved (w126690; c126692); Create a Cupcake (w121915; c121982)

Paper:  Basic Gray (121044), Daffodil Delight (119683), Sahara Sand (121043) and Whisper White (100730) card stock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Basic Gray (126981), StazOn Jet Black (101406) and Daffodil Delight (126944)

Accessories:  1 1/4" Two-Toned Ribbon in Basic Black/Basic Gray (129295); 

Tools:  Labels Collection Framelits (125598); Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127749) 

Fort St. James

"Well, here we are in -----------."  Our kids used to tease us about this line, because we used it at the beginning of almost every family video we took.  Anyway, as I was saying,
"Here we are in Fort St. James, home of the Dogsled Race and the Historical Park!"  We are visiting my middle daughter, husband and our little grandson, Kesten, and having a great time despite the 4 hour power outage yesterday!

I am enjoying lots of playtime and snuggles with Kesten, while my hubby and daughter, Kristen, build an extension on her chicken coop for some new residents who have just hatched.















My daughter, Kris, lives a fascinating life in Northern BC, and you can read more about it in her blog, Honey Nutbrown.  I want to share a card she made during our visit.

The stamp set she used is one that caught my eye when the 2012\13 Idea Book and Catalogue first came out, but for one reason or another, never ordered.  I love how she set it in the wall-paper like design from Comfort Cafe DSP and stamped it and matted it with Early Espresso ink and card stock.

She took great delight in colouring in the images with her new Stampin' Write Markers.  The resulting card is just charming, kind of like Kristen herself!  I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into her design work and her northern life.

Stampin' Up is announcing that the revised Classic Basic Black Ink is available now for purchase and should work well with every colour card stock, with the exception of Whisper White.  There remains  some inconsistencies with the quality of Whisper White, as it is not manufactured by Stampin' Up,  and in some cases smearing and long drying times may still be a problem.  It is probably still best to use StazOn with Whisper White, but with all other card stock it will be fine!

And they have released a new Photopolymer stamp set called Bombs Away Birthday (133411), perfect for all you masters of sarcasm out there!

Thanks for dropping by today!  

Stamps:  Cottage Window (w127280; c127282);  Perfectly Preserved (w126690; c126692)

Paper:  Comfort Cafe DSP (126898); Early Espresso (119686) and Whisper White (100730) card stock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Early Espresso (126974), Stampin' Write Markers in Tempting Turquoise, Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Old Olive (in the Brights Collection of 10 markers - 119702)

Accessories:  Baker's Twine in Cherry Cobbler (123125)

10,000 Hits

While I was out at a Christmas Stampers' Dozen with my upline, Tamara,  I reached 10,000 hits on my blog!  Yay!  And you know what that means.... it means I had to draw for the Blog Candy Giveaway winner...

Here is my DH doing the deed, impartially, randomly, and oh-so-handsomely (lol).

AND the WINNAH is ..................... (Drum roll, please)..................................................

Danielle Godin-Calder!

 

 

Danielle, we will connect so I can get your prize winnings to you.  Congratulations!

 

 

Thanks to everyone who left comments and followed my blog.  I promise I will do my best to keep you entertained, inspired and instructed!

 

 

And, with that in mind, I wanted to show you two cards I CASEd from a paper crafter whose work I really admire, Justin from JK Cards.  The card in question is here. I really liked the well-balanced designs and the great colour combos that Justin uses.  In every challenge gallery I look at, I pick his cards out every time as favourites.   And here are two cards that I made using that basic design:

 

and this one:

 

 

 

The first I made as a make and take for a team meeting and the second was made for the young son of my Pastor, who had been very ill.  I really wanted to showcase the Orchard Harvest DSP with its beautiful colours, and more of the Perfectly Preserved stamp set with the Cannery Collection Framelits that co-ordinate with it.  These are fairly straight-forward, except that the sentiment on the second card was made using MDS 2 (My Digital Studio 2) and I stamped three corn stamps in Lucky Limeade and three in More Mustard, then cut the ears with the kernels showing out of the More Mustard ones and paper pieced them on the green cobs.

 

Hope you enjoy these, and please, go check out Justin's blog.  You'll be inspired!

 

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved (w126690; c126692); Lovely Letters Alphabet (w115030; c127796); Teeny Tiny Wishes (w115370; c127802)

Paper: Orchard Harvest DSP (126895); Island Indigo (122923) and Whisper White (100730) card stock

Ink: Classic Stampin' Pads in Raspberry Ripple (126859), Lucky Limeade (126984), More Mustard (126964), Stampin' Write marker in Lucky Limeade (123002) and Early Espresso (119680)

Accessories: Designer Printed Brads (122940)

Tools: Cannery Set Framelits (127822) or bundled with Perfectly Preserved (w129943; c129944); Ticket Duo Builder punch (126883), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049)

 

Stamp-a-ma-jig

Perfectly Preserved

 Orchard Harvest DSP

 

Cannery Set Framelits





Catching Fireflies

One thing on my bucket list is to catch fireflies in a mason jar!  I've never even seen a firefly in real life.  I don't even know where to go to catch fireflies!  But one day, I'm going to do it.

Catching fireflies is the inspiration for this next card I am going to show you:



I love the Perfectly Preserved Stamp set in the new Holiday Mini catalogue!  It is so verasatile, just like real mason jars.  They can hold everything from flowers, food to fireflies and look so pleasant while they're doing it!  The other stamp set I used is called From My Heart, from the main Idea Book and Catalogue.  I love the vintage feel of these 8 stamps.  I created this card to enter in The Paper Players colour challenge #108. 

Ann Schach challenged us with these 3 colours:

And where do the fireflies come in?  As I added the little flower clumps to the jar, they totally made me think of fireflies in a mason jar, so I added a few tiny rhinestones to make them light up!  I used the owl punch to make the tiny Cherry Cobbler hearts.

The background is made with Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock.  I embossed it with my favourite embossing folder, Fancy Fan, and sanded it to bring out the lighter core of the cardstock.  It does such a nice job of enhancing an embossed design.  This is a new product in the Holiday Mini.

I popped the mason jar up on dimensionals.  I originally tied a piece of Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine on the lid cover of the jar, but decided it looked better without.

So, before you go, can you leave a comment telling me where I can go to catch fireflies?? 

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved (w126690; c126692); From My Heart (w126555; c126557)

Paper: Crumb Cake (120953); Cherry Cobbler (119685); Not Quite Navy (101722) card stock;  Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock (127846)

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Not Quite Navy (126971) and Cherry Cobbler (126966)

Accessories: Rhinestones Basic Jewels (119246); Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon (122322)

Tools: Owl Builder Punch (118074); Fancy Fan Embossing Folder (127751); Stampin' Sanding System (129367)

Perfectly Preserved

 Fancy Fan Embossing Folder

Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon

Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock

Stampin' Sanding System









Back to School

Now, any students who read this post are due a profound apology.  Most will not like to be reminded, in the lazy middle of their summer holidays, that Back to School time is creeping up on them - relentlessly!  I have to admit that I was, and still am, an anomaly!  I loved the start of school in September.  I gave my mother no end of grief, begging to buy school supplies mid-August, all anxious that I wouldn't have them in time for the first day.  I'm sure the main attraction was the school supplies!  I love the smell of a new box of crayons, the pink unblemished smoothness of a new eraser - Pink Pearl, if I remember correctly.  Blank notebooks just waiting to be filled.  Scissors and glue and...  Well, you can understand my fascination for Stampin' Up, because I can still get my "School Supplies"!  Let's face it, I'm a geek!

This card was created in honour of Back to School time, and I used two challenges to help me create it. 

The first was a theme challenge from the Paper Players - Back to School Rules!

The second challenge was the usual Mojo Monday sketch this week.

My main inspiration was the new Storytime DSP, with its colour scheme using Very Vanilla, Pool Party,  and Riding Hood Red.  It was a very interesting sketch this time and I had fun trying to balance all the elements. 

I tried to keep it crisp and simple, using the apple stamp from the set Perfectly Preserved, and this was the first time I used the new Brushed Bronze designer buttons, in place of a bow on this card.  This one has a red designer button sitting in it - a perfect fit, just like the new shoes we always got before the start of school!  I used the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set for the border around my sentiment, but not the sentiment itself.  I inked up the border using a Pool Party Stampin' Write marker, then used Real Red on a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes instead.  I die cut the sentiment banner using Bitty Banners Framelits.

The Pool Party square panel has been embossed using the Argyle Embossing folder and the ribbon has been replaced with one of the Pool Party measuring tapes on the DSP, cut out and adhered.

Hope you enjoyed this little tribute to the Public Education system!  Ooops! Was that the bell?  Gotta run!

Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved (w126690; c126692); Itty Bitty Banners (w 126255, c 126257)

Paper: Pool Party (122924), Real Red (102482), Crumb Cake (120953), Early Espresso (119686) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock; Storytime Designer Series Paper (126907); First Edition Specialty Paper (121878)

Ink: Classic Stampin' Pads in Early Espresso (126974), Pool Party (126982) and Real Red (126949)

Accessories:  Brushed Bronze Designer Buttons (127833), Brights Designer Series Buttons (119747)

Tools:  Argyle Embossing Folder (127750), 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch (118874), 1 3/4" Circle Punch (119850), Bitty Banners Framelits (129267)

Argyle Embossing Folder

Storytime Designer Series Paper

Perfectly Preserved Stamp Set

Burnished Bronze Buttons



Preserving the Present

Preserves!  What a homey feeling that word gives me!  Growing up in the Okanagan, summers were all about preserving fresh fruit and vegetables for the rest of the year.  My parents had about 3/4 of an acre and most of it was garden.  They worked so hard on it, but it was wonderful to have the food when money was tight.  Every year, they had their annual argument about when to plant the peas.  The peas and the strawberries were usually the first to be harvested and I spent many a summer morning, crouching alongside a row of strawberries or peas, trying to fill my bucket faster than my sister.  She usually beat me, but in the process missed picking many ripe berries along the way.  I was more thorough, (or so I told myself), but it cost me time! 

My mom was up to her elbows in strawberry jam, freestone peaches, beans, peas, corn, pears and many more all summer.  Those were the days of no air-conditioning either and in the 100 degree weather that was Okanagan summer, canning in the heat of the day was exhausting.  I still look back on that with admiration at all my mom did for us.

Which brings me to the project I wanted to share.  It is a look at the Holiday catalogue, a stamp set called Perfectly Preserved and a set of framelits to match called the Cannery set.  You are able to buy the stamps and framelits separately, but, for the first time, Stampin' Up is offering bundles, with both sets together available at a discount.

This project was designed for a Technique Night class, the theme of which is Anything But a Card, and featured several 3D creations. 

I used some DSP from the Orchard Harvest series, also featured in the Holiday catalogue, and available now, as a background.  I stamped the images on Whisper White card stock and cut them out using the framelits and the Big Shot.  I used Early Espresso for the mason jar, Lucky Limeade for the pears and leaves, Raspberry Ripple for the apple and Summer Starfruit for the cover on the jar.  The linen thread tied around it makes a cute detail. 

As you can see, several elements were popped up with Dimensionals for more depth.  The little inexpensive, unfinished frames were purchased at a local dollar store, but make a perfect frame for the project.  The sentiment is from another stamp set, from the regular Idea Book and Catalogue and is called Forever With You.  I inked up the stamp using several Stampin' Write markers including Raspberry Ripple, Island Indigo, Soft Suede and Summer Starfruit.  When you use markers, make sure to "huff" on the stamp with your breath to re moisten the ink so it will stamp.  I could have cut the sentiment out using the Windows Collection framelits, but they're still on my wish list so I cut it out by hand.  I was just so excited to see how easy it was to create an inexpensive, but attractive piece of folksy home decor. 

Have you ever done any canning or jamming or freezing?  What are your favourites?  Leave me a comment with your answers.  I love making contact with my readers. 

Time to "put a lid on it" if you'll pardon the pun.  See you next post!

Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved (c126692) Forever With You (c 126727)

Paper:  Orchard Harvest DSP (126895); Whisper White DSP (100730)

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Early Espresso (126974); Lucky Limeade (126984); Raspberry Ripple (126859); Summer Starfruit (126991); Stampin' Write markers in Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit (126856; 5 In colour markers) Island Indigo (123002; 5 In Colour Markers) and Soft Suede (119703; Neutrals collection markers;)

Accessories:  Dollar Store picture frames, Linen Thread (104199); Cannery Framelit set (127822) or bundled with the Perfectly Preserved Stamp set (c129944)

Tools:  Big Shot (113439); Windows Collection framelits (129021)