{Sneak Peek}: Retiring Countdown: Final Week

With less than a week remaining before Stampin' Up!'s 2012-2013 Annual Catalog goes live and the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog retires, I thought I'd share some projects I made this weekend using retiring stamps and/or accessories.  Stay tuned this week for detailed posts about each...  Enjoy!  

I'll be sad to see the Scallop Circles #2 Bigz die and the 5-Petal Flower Punch retire this week; I really enjoy using those!

As a gardener, I love the Herb Expressions set.  This project highlights the rosemary stamp...

And this one features the basil...

Baroque Motifs is the stamp set used in the following "Keep It Simple" challenge entry...

I used the Nursery Nest Designer Series Paper, which includes Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz, two retiring 2010-2012 In Colors.

I simply love the Vintage Vogue set.  I paired it with the bird from the Notably Ornate set, both of which retire this week.  The card body, though, is of Summer Starfruit, which is a new 2012-2014 In Color.

This card is one of my favorites from this weekend.  I used the Doily Triple Layer Punch, which is among the retirées.

I'm making my list for when the new catalog goes live (Friday, noon).  If you're interested in anything that is retiring, please check these links here to verify their availability:  {stamps} and {accessories}.

Got the new 2012-2013 Annual Catalog in your hands yet?  Get it for free (click *HERE* for more details) or order it delivered for $5.

What's black and white and red all over?

This month's challenge at Stamps R Us, of course! For this month's challenge, we were charged with creating a card with only three colors: black, white and red. The rest was up to us... Here's one of my favorite cards:

One of the questions I receive a lot is "Where do you get your ideas for your designs?" Well, this card was "'lifted" from the pages of last year's (I think) Idea Book and Catalog. I simply inked the flourish image from Baroque Motifs (a fav of mine) in Basic Black Classic and stamped it Whisper White (pretty self-explanatory). To make the flowers, I inked those images (also from this set) in Real Red and then cut them out and used Stampin' Dimensionals to make them pop up.

**Studio Suggestion: To make the cutting go faster, I used the 3/4-inch Circle Punch first and then cut the petals.**

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Baroque Motifs

Inks: Basic Black and Real Red Classics

Papers: Basic Black, Real Red and Whisper White card stocks

Accessories: Real Red wide grosgrain, Stampin' Dimensionals, 3/4-inch Circle Punch, paper snips

Thank you so much for your visit! I've been busy organizing the Studio this week and having fun working in a tidier space. Now I've gotta get busy and post it all! :) Stay tuned for lots of new posts (and a video or two)! Thanks again!

Sunday Sketch

For this sketch challenge (always a sketch at 365 on Sundays), I opted for two of my favorite sets: Circle Circus and Baroque Motif. While the sketch suggests pompom trim, I don't have any of that (and I like to keep my cards to SUO, or Stampin' Up! Only materials). I chose to string baubles from Circle Circus and use half-circles in the middle instead of triangles.

I also thought I'd fiddle with the In Colors and so I enjoyed playing around with Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango, and Soft Suede.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Baroque Motifs and Circle Circus

Papers: Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango and Soft Suede card stocks

Inks: Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango and Soft Suede Classics and VersaMark

Accessories: Natural Hemp Twine, 1 3/4-inch and 1/2-inch Circle Punches, Linen Thread, Stampin' Dimensionals

I'm zipping off with the fam, so I have to keep this brief. Hope you had a great weekend and that your week starts off well! Stay tuned to the Studio this week; I'm hoping to post my first video and I'm teaching a class this coming weekend for an auction winner on basic card-making and I'll post our projects here...

Thanks for your visit!

Inspired by an Ad!

This card was inspired by the following ad:

This challenge was a lot of fun (to create a card using the above ad as inspiration)!!

I tried a new technique for this card. Using the Sizzix Texturz Backgrounds I Plate (a Stampin' Up! exclusive), I ran it through my Big Shot and then applied Black Craft ink to the back of the textured piece. I let it dry overnight (I could have heat-set it with my heat tool).

I applied two rhinestone brads to the piece of Basic Black card stock (I was thinking of the permanence of diamonds and how they symbolize the longevity we hope to have in our relationships).

Finally, while it doesn't come out clearly in the picture, I used my Certainly Celery Classic ink pad and dyed the flower from the Pretties Kit. I let that dry overnight, too. I layered it over a white flower (I *LOVE* the flowers pictured in the top center panel of the ad).

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamp Set: Baroque Motifs

Inks: Certainly Celery Classic and Basic Black Classic; Basic Black Craft

Accessories: Flowers and rhinestone brads from the Pretties Kit, Sizzix Big Shot, Texturz Plate (Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I), brayer, Stampin' Dimensionals

I really enjoyed this challenge. Thank you for looking!

Baroque Motifs in a Slew of Layers

I designed this card for the card class I donated to my son's preschool. The lucky bidder actually bought the class for her sister as a birthday gift and it was fun to be with them (they made me miss my sister, who lives out-of-state!).

I CASEd the awesome layout of this card from Wendy Weixler. I really loved the layers (especially the one on the top right -- love how it's flush at the top with the body of the card!). I used my own color scheme, stamp set and embellishments. I can't wait to see what else I can do to this terrific layout. I made a few of this card to give to graduates in my life...Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Baroque Motifs and Short and Sweet sets

Papers: Chocolate Chip Patterns Designer Series Paper, Elegant Eggplant, Barely Banana, Very Vanilla, Rose Red

Inks: Elegant Eggplant

Accessories: Big Shot, Backgrounds I Texturz Plate, Very Vanilla Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Very Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, and Designer Label and 1/16-inch handheld punches

**Note** It's hard to see in my picture, but I fed the Chocolate Chip Patterns Designer Series Paper through the Sizzix Big Shot, using the Texturz Plate (Flourish) to give it an embossed look that coordinates with the flourish stamped on the Very Vanilla piece in the middle. I also crumpled my poor Barely Banana card stock until it started to peel apart (one piece will come apart into two "sueded" pieces).

Another challenge: Baroque Motifs in Purple!

This next challenge meant I had to work with scraps because I discovered that I'm out of my favorite purple card stock! The challenge also called for five circles. I hope you like this entry. I love this stamp set (Baroque Motifs) and I loved this challenge. In case they are difficult to see, the circles (requirements of the challenge) are the flowers, which are raised up on Dimensionals.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs

Inks: Lovely Lilac and Going Grey Classics

Papers: Whisper White, Lovely Lilac and Going Grey Card Stock

Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals and Whisper White Satin Ribbon

Thank you so much for looking!