Spring is Coming - A Spring Sampler

After the success of my last two samplers, the Summer Seaside Sampler, and the Winter Holiday Sampler, I was asked to create two more to round out the seasons of the year, so I worked this last week, on finishing the design for a Spring Sampler for my Tea & 3D class next week.

I used the same layout, which was half the work, as figuring out the size and positioning of the squares and rectangles took the longest time, the first time I did it.

I wanted to have a pastel colour palette, but wanted to leave out pink, since I had used it in the Summer Sampler, so I chose Pool Party, So Saffron, a bit of Wisteria Wonder and Whisper White as my combination. I really like the way it looks.

There were a number of stamp sets and dies involved in this design, and we're lucky we have so many versatile ones. In this section you'll see Tranquil Tulips stamp set, Picture Perfect Birthday stamp set, So Many Shells stamp set, Amazing You stamp set and the Butterflies Thinlits.

From this view, I would add on the Move Me thinlits, Detailed Dragonfly thinlits, and the Hexagon Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

In this shot of the sampler, there are a lot of sets used. Stamp sets are Watercolour Wings (used with the Stamparatus), and Hold on to Hope. Dies used are Seasonal Layers thinlits, Move Me thinlits, Butterflies Thinlits and Birds & Blooms thinlits. One of the Petal Pair Embossing Folders was also used.

Finally in the last tall rectangle You're Inspiring stamp set and Beautiful You stamp set was used.

If you would like to register for this class, click this link, although we may end up changing the day next week to a more convenient one for more people. Leave a message below about what evenings next week would work for you.

There are only 2 weeks left of Sale-A-Bration! And to sweeten the pot, Stampin' Up! has released a third set of Sale-A-Bration rewards for you! Take a close look:

These items are from the regular catalogues, but during the last 2 weeks of Sale-A-Bration, you can earn them free with an order of $60 or $120. Awesome! Let me know what you want! Also remember that orders over $60 are earning DOUBLE PAPERCRAFT CAT REWARD POINTS from me!! The deals can't get much better!

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today.


Product List

Tranquil Tulips Photopolymer Stamp Set [143767] $13.00	Picture Perfect Birthday Photopolymer Stamp Set [145519] $21.00	So Many Shells Photopolymer Stamp Set [143695] $32.00	Amazing You Wood-Mount Stamp Set [147212] $0.00	Amazing You Clear-Mount Stamp Set [147215] $0.00
Watercolor Wings Photopolymer Stamp Set [139424] $32.00	Hold On To Hope Wood-Mount Stamp Set [145776] $38.00	Hold On To Hope Clear-Mount Stamp Set [145780] $28.00	You’Re Inspiring Wood-Mount Stamp Set [145805] $36.00	You’Re Inspiring Clear-Mount Stamp Set [145808] $25.00
Beautiful You Wood-Mount Stamp Set [143004] $48.00	Beautiful You Clear-Mount Stamp Set [143637] $34.00	Springtime Foils Specialty Designer Series Paper [147193] $0.00	Subtles Best 12" X 12" Cardstock Pack [145408] $18.00	Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack [138437] $29.00
Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122924] $10.00	So Saffron 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [105118] $10.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $11.25	Wisteria Wonder 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122922] $10.00	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $10.00
Soft Suede 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115318] $10.00	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad [126957] $8.50	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [126982] $8.50	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad [131180] $8.50	Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [126985] $8.50
Big Shot [143263] $136.00	Butterflies Thinlits Dies [137360] $35.00	Move Me Thinlits Dies [143732] $39.00	Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies [142749] $41.00	Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [143231] $11.75
Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies [143751] $44.00	Move Me Thinlits Dies [143732] $39.00	Birds & Blooms Thinlits Dies [141477] $35.00	Petal Pair Textured Impressions Embossing Folders [145656] $11.75	Stamparatus [146276] $65.00
Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755] $5.25	Fast Fuse Adhesive Refill [140979] $0.00	Glue Dots [103683] $7.00	Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [144108] $5.25	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $5.25

The Birds...

For most of my life, I've had this thing about birds!  I saw the psycho movie, "The Birds", when I was in my late teens, and it scarred me, I'm sure, but it really only confirmed what I already knew:  Birds are something diabolical when you take them out of their usual context.

Don't get me wrong, I love watching birds, hearing birds sing, watching them play in the water of my DH's pond, even identifying and noting them.  But take them out of their natural habitat and they inspire fear in me that rocks me to my core.

When I was a child, my neighbours would ask me to look after their house and feed their pets when they went away on vacation.  They had budgies, in a cage.  They looked harmless enough.  Then, one day, when I was feeding them or changing their water, they escaped!  Oh, the fluttering and swooping and bashing into windows!  How was I going to catch them again??  I think I finally, on the advice of my dad, threw a tea towel over them and picked them up and put them back in the cage, but I was terrified that they would do themselves serious harm and it would be all my fault.  I could just see myself confronting my neighbours when they returned with:  "So tell me, did your budgie seem depressed to you?"

We have a species of bird that nests around our area in the spring and summer.  We think they are called Brewer's Blackbirds, but they must be related to starlings or crows.  They are aggressive and unpleasant.  They have several guttural, unmelodious calls and one that sounds like someone is slurping soup.  They take over and drive all the nice birds away, and then, if you get too close to their nests, they dive bomb you!  Fuel to the fire!

All this background was important so you would understand my consternation when my cat, Beetle, brought a live bird into the house on Monday!  Of course, Ken was away and couldn't deal with it, so it was up to me.  With my heart beating a million miles an hour, I managed to corner it in Ken's office, where I shut the door and scooped up Beetle, who was zeroing in for the kill, and dumped her outside, with a glare that she knew meant business.  At this point, the terrified bird was thrashing around and continually dashing itself against the window in the office.  Gathering my courage, I went in the office and opened the window, and removed the screen.  All the while the little sparrow continued to thrash and dash!  Naturally, it wouldn't go near the opening to the outside that I had provided, so I used the screen to try and gently move it in that direction.  I guess the bird hadn't heard that insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results!  Finally, I had no choice but to pick up the fluttering ball of terror and toss it out the window.  Much to my surprise, I was able to do that which I most feared and I survived!!  So did the bird!!

But when my husband mentioned that he was going to install the cat door he had purchased a couple of years ago this summer, my response was, let's just say, a little more than he bargained for.

And speaking of birds...

Here is an anniversary card I designed for my middle daughter and her husband:

Birds on cards are nice!  I used Marina Mist cardstock for the base and the blue heart, cut with Framelits Hearts collection.  The Whisper White heart was cut with the next smallest size.  The back panel is a scrap of older, discontinued DSP I found in my stash, but there are many that would work well.  The stamp is from a set called Nature Walk.  I inked the flower stamp using Stampin' Write markers and stamped off once before applying to the two hearts, and the sentiment oval.

I used the Boho Blossoms punch to make the flowers and the Little Leaves sizzlit to make the - you guessed it - leaves from Certainly Celery cardstock.

There you have it, and I'll leave you with this thought:  May we work toward a world where chickens are free to cross the road without everyone questioning their motives!