Retired List!

 

With the new catalog just around the corner (June 1st!), it's time to bid farewell to some of our favorite stamp sets in order to make room for all of the new ones coming soon.  It's a particularly long retiring list this year, so take a look and make sure that some of those sets you've been meaning to get aren't on that list.  After May 31st they will no longer be available! 

Retired List: view the pdf

To view all of the Retiring Stamp Sets in the online store click HERE.

Contact me today if you'd like to purchase any of the Last Chance items. Or, you can shop in my online store. Click HERE and then on "shop now" in the top right corner.

And just a reminder to play along with us at Stampin' Celebration!  You have until April 25th to create a card, 3D item, digital item, scrapbook layout, etc. using the inspiration piece above. Link your creation to the Stampin' Celebration blog so we can see your project. We will choose the "Pick of the Party" at the end of the month. We can't wait to see what Stampin' Celebration inspires you to create!

If you missed the original Blog Hop of the Design Team, you can see it here: 

Allison Ohran -Sweet Impressions (you are here)
Candace Lawlor - cj lawlor designs
Cori Kozak - Creative Chat
Erica Cerwin - Pink Buckaroo Designs
Erin Gonzales -Hand Stamped Style
Krystal De Leeuw - Krystal's Cards
Marlene Peters - Hands On
Rochelle Gould - I stamp, I create, I have fun!

Stampin Celebration Inspiration Challenge

Have a great day! 

Rockin' Tween Birthday

Back today with another one of the cards I've designed for my 'sending cards to family' goal!  (For more back story, see this post.)  For me, the second hardest category of cards is the teen/tween age.  I don't have any kids that age, so I have a hard time knowing what's 'cool' and what's not.  :-) 

Anyway, this was my try at a female tween card.  I inked up the Grunge Rock stamp set using Blushing Bride and went to work.  Note: The Fleur de Lis image is actually from the (coordinating) Extreme Elements stamp set.  I used the same layout as this card.  I used the Wonderfully Worn background stamp to add the 'splotchy' look, and inked the edges of the Whisper White layer.  Both the Whisper Whiter layer and the larger Blushing Bride layer are distressed with the Cutter Kit. 

A little bit of Blushing Bride Stitched Poly-Ribbon and a silver Glimmer Brad finish it off.  I hand cut the banner, and although you can't see it from the photo, I put double-stacked half dimensionals under the middle of the banner (about where the 'B' is) to give the banner a little bit of a waving-in-the-wind look. 

Have a great weekend! 

Stamps:  Grunge Rock, Extreme Elements, Wonderfully Worn
Ink:  Blushing Bride, Basic Gray
Paper:  Blushing Bride, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Accessories:  Blushing Bride Stitched Poly-Ribbon, Basics Glimmer Brads, Cutter Kit, dimensionals

Captain America Birthday

This year I made a goal to send birthday cards to all of our family members.  Grandparents, parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews.  I'm happy to say that so far I'm still on track!  A few of the cards have been a little late :-) but I don't think I've missed anyone yet.  During a year this adds up to just over 40 people, or about 3 or 4 cards per month.  Not really too much to ask a 'card maker' to do when it comes down to it! 

I'm not necessarily sending a unique card to each person, but I am trying to get a good variety and at the very least not send the same card to two people in the same immediate family.  :-)  The hardest cards to design are the ones that are for the brothers and brother-in-laws.  Fortunately this year my husband came up with a great idea!  I showed him THIS card and asked what he thought.  "Sure, but can you change the colors to make it look more like Captain America?"  (He and his brothers are all huge comic book fans--even before the recent Hollywood revival.)  So I asked him to show me a picture of what the Captain America shield looks like and created then the card as closely to that as possible.  Hopefully the guys will notice and appreciate!  :-)

The Pacific Point (blue) layer and the Whisper White circle are up on dimensionals.  The larger Real Red circle is actually the card base showing through the 'window' on the Pacific Point layer.  The sentiment was stamped with Versamark and then heat embossed with White embossing powder.  I distressed the edges of the Pacific Point layer using my Cutter Kit. 

Have a great day!

Stamps:  All Holidays (discontinued)
Ink:  Versamark
Paper:  Pacific Point, Real Red, Whisper White
Accessories:  1" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Star Punch (random from my kids' collection), Big Shot, Circles #2 Die (for the white circle--2nd largest circle on the die), embossing buddy, heat tool, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Cutter Kit, dimensionals

Stampin' Celebration Returns!

Yay!  I'm so excited that the Stampin' Celebration blog is up and running again.  Although it was a well-timed break for me, I am ready to get going again.  There are a few changes though. . . instead of weekly challenges they will only be monthly.  But that gives you plenty of time to join with us and make a project inspired by the inspiration piece.  :-) 

Also, instead of posting all of the Design Team's projects on the Stampin' Celebration blog, we will be going blog hop style.  This makes it easy for you to click through and see not only a picture of everyone's project but some creative details too. 

Which means if you are following in order you may have just come from Rochelle's blog--I stamp, I create, I have fun!  What a cute project she had!   

Without further ado, here is my submission for this month's challenge: 

I pulled the green, pink, and blue colors from the inspiration piece as well as the butterflies from the bottom right photo. 

To create the various size butterflies, I used my new Hearts Collection Framelits Dies.  I've had this idea to create butterflies out of the heart framelits for awhile and finally tried it out on a card!  For the butterflies on these projects I used the 3 smallest sized hearts. 

For the butterfly on the this little purse  I used the very smallest heart.  I cut Twitterpated Designer Series Paper (from the Occasions Mini Catalog) and vellum paper to size, folded it in half and then ran in through the Big Shot with the Framelit die with the point of the heart sticking over the edge of the fold.  Then when you open it up you have a butterfly.  :-) 

If you don't recognize this cute little purse, it's because it is brand new!  It is the new Petite Purse Die that's part of the Summer Smooches promotion going on during April.  Isn't it adorable? 

To create the vellum paper butterflies on the cards, I used the same concept, just the next larger size heart die.  To create the butterfly 'window' on the Whisper White layer (since I didn't want to fold the card stock) I ran it through the Big Shot twice.  I placed the heart on one side of the layer, ran it through the Big Shot, placed the heart on the other side with the point of the heart overlapping the point of the previously cut heart, and then ran it through again.  Sounds much more confusing than it is!   

Here's how you can participate... Simply create a card, 3D item, digital item, scrapbook layout, etc. using the inspiration piece above. Leave a comment on the Stampin' Celebration blog with a link to your blog or online gallery so we can see your project. You have until the 25th of the month to create your project. We will choose the "Pick of the Party" at the end of the month. We can't wait to see what Stampin' Celebration inspires you to create!!

All of the Design Team posts for Challenge #53:

Allison Ohran -Sweet Impressions (you are here)
Candace Lawlor - cj lawlor designs
Cori Kozak - Creative Chat
Erica Cerwin - Pink Buckaroo Designs
Erin Gonzales -Hand Stamped Style
Krystal De Leeuw - Krystal's Cards
Marlene Peters - Hands On
Rochelle Gould - I stamp, I create, I have fun!
Stampin Celebration Inspiration Challenge

Last Minute Sale-A-Bration

Just popping in today with a couple more cards made using Sale-A-Bration products.  And just a last minute reminder that if you've still been meaning to take advantage of Sale-A-Bration, now is the time since it ends tomorrow--Saturday the 31st. With each $50 purchase you can choose an item from the Sale-A-Bration Catalog for FREE! 

The first card today uses the Fresh Vintage stamp set.  Although there were some fantastic options this year in the Sale-A-Bration catalog, I think this was my favorite. 

The idea for this card came from Sharon Field.  If you are a demonstrator, you can see her card HERE on Stampin' Connection.  I changed the color and that was about it!  I picked Calypso Coral since I wanted to use the ribbon from the Everyday Enrichment Pack.  I've used almost two sets of the brads, but sadly have barely touched the ribbon.   A very simple card that I'm sure I'll be making some more of soon! 

Stamps:  Fresh Vintage (only available during SAB), Curly Cute
Ink:  Calypso Coral
Paper:  Whisper White
Accessories:  Calypso Coral organdy ribbon (only available during SAB), Whisper White taffeta ribbon (under the other ribbon), dimensionals

The second card is super simple and uses the Outlined Occasions stamp set.  I did heat emboss the sentiment, and then used my Versamarker to color it in.  It makes the sentiment pop just a little more (especially in real life).  The Designer Series Paper is actually the Twitterpated set from the Occasions Mini Catalog--with a thin strip of Riding Hood Red card stock on top.  

Stamps:  Outlined Occasions
Ink:  Versmark and Versamarker
Paper:  Basic Gray, Riding Hood Red, Twitterpated DSP
Accessories:  Embossing Buddy, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat tool, White Baker's Twine

Two last notes: 

I am hosting a Open House and Rubber Rummage Sale tomorrow!  If you are in Houston (Clear Lake area) and would like more info, send me an email as I'd love to have you come. 

And, some fantastic news. . . The Stampin' Celebration Blog is getting started again!!  Come April 1st we will be back with monthly challenges and a new format.  So check back soon.  :-) 

Sale-A-Bration Ending

I can't believe it has been almost 2 months since I last posted!  Where does the time go?  I guess part of it is having a curious crawling baby who gets into everything and keeps me on my toes.  :-) 

I've also been working on organizing my craft room with any spare time I can find. . . a scary and much needed project!  Although I'm not there yet, I am getting very close. 

Anyway, before Sale-A-Bration ends, I thought I would post a couple of my favorite cards that I've made in the last couple months.  Both of these were ones that we made at club in February and were inspired by other people.  The first one uses the Elementary Elegance stamp set and I got the idea from Shelli Gardner (CEO and co-founder of Stampin Up).  You can see her card HERE.  The only thing I changed was the center of the butterfly. 

Stamps:  Elementary Elegance (only available during SAB)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Luck Limeade, Elegant Eggplant marker
Paper:  Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla, First Edition DSP, Every Day Enchantment DSP (only available during SAB)
Accessories:  Curly Label Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Big Shot, Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon, Everyday Enchantment Brads (only available during SAB), Color Spritzer Tool, stapler

The second card uses the Fresh Vintage stamp set and was inspired by Debra Currier.  You can see her card HERE.  The only thing I changed up was that I used my new Labels Collection Framelits to cut out the main image (instead of a circle).   

Stamps:  Fresh Vintage (only available during SAB), Thank You Kindly

Ink: Soft Suede, and Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and Pool Party markers

Paper:  Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Every Day Enchantment DSP (only available during SAB)

Accessories:  Framelits Labels Collection, Big Shot, Everyday Enchantment Brads (only available during SAB), pearls, cutter kit, sponge

So if you have still been meaning to take advantage of Sale-A-Bration, now is the time since it ends on Saturday the 31st.  With each $50 purchase you can choose an item from the Sale-A-Bration Catalog for FREE! 

Have a great day.  :-)