I had a request for a custom card for a milestone birthday featuring sunflowers.  While there are several punches and dies that can be used to represent sunflowers, I was still mulling over the possibilities when I saw how Patty Bennett had made sunflowers out of the Eastern Medallion Thinlits.  

The big change to Patty's recipe for the flowers was that I made the first layer of petals out of Crushed Curry, sponged with Crushed Curry ink, and the inner layer of petals out of Daffodil Delight, sponged with Daffodil Delight ink (Patty did 2 layers of Daffodil Delight).  The centers are cut from Early Espresso and Chocolate Chip card stock, and embellished with Eastern Gold Vinyl Stickers and Gold Metallic Enamel Shapes.

This card was intended to be a showstopper, so I decided to do a fancy fold to maximize the number of flowers.  The double-z fold worked really well:

I made the card base from Thick Whisper White card stock, then lined it with Soft Sky panels embossed with the retired Cloudy Day embossing folder.  The leaves are cut from the Flourish Thinlits in Pear Pizzazz.  

My client also liked butterflies, so I stamped several from retiring Papillon Potpourri in VersaMark on vellum card stock, then embossed with Gold embossing powder to coordinate with the gold embellishments on the sunflowers.  The sentiment is from retiring Cottage Greetings.

My client has seen these pictures and given approval...hopefully the recipient will love it as much as I do!

Want to get the new Eastern Palace Suite of products?  There are two bundles available BEFORE the new catalog launches on June 1.  Check them out and place your order here!

Today's card is one I CASE'd from Amy O'Neill.  It features an image I've not inked up before (GASP!) from the retiring You're Sublime set.  Mine has some subtle differences, like I didn't put the tangle of silver thread on mine.  I also have a die made by a non-SU! entrepreneur that I used to cut out the watercolored wheelbarrow before popping it up on the watercolored circle.

I used the Watercolor Pencils and a Blender Pen to color in wheelbarrow, but then used an Aquapainter and ink on the lids of ink pads (Soft Sky and Pear Pizzazz) to color in the Stitched Circle Die-cut.  I masked the wheelbarrow portion of the stamp and inked up just the sentiment to stamp on the circle as well.  A scallop circle die cut behind the image sets it off.

Instead of using a spatter stamp, I used my Aquapainter to spatter black ink on the Soft Sky card base.  I think I need to practice that!

A scrap of Succulent Garden DSP is layered behind the image along with some ¼" Natural Trim - Silver ribbon, which is also retiring. 

Have you had your eye on You're Sublime or another stamp set that's retiring?  
We're down to just a few weeks left to get them!  
Check out the retired products available here.  
​Even though you may not see me making much with them any more, these stamp sets are still just as fabulous as they always were, and there are tons of examples on Pinterest and splitcoaststampers.com to inspire you.  
Don't miss out on your favorites!

Make 5 cards featuring great Stampin’ Up! products and a variety of techniques.  Suitable for experienced and novice paper crafters alike.
​$20 - all supplies included

RSVP Deadline:  Tuesday, May 16

Thursday, May 18
​9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room

Tuesday, May 23
​6:30 -  9:00 pm at Ellen's House in Peoria

Directions to class sites will be provided upon registration.

Today I want to focus on showing you the fantastic Eastern Medallion Framelits and coordinating stamps in this suite.

One of the best things about this set is how you can mix-and-match to make all kinds of shapes and images.  Here are some of the possibilities: 

The stamps in Eastern Beauty are designed to coordinate with the Framelits and Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper motifs.

See how the outline stamps work with the Framlits?  And check out what happens when one double- and triple-stamps  the flower image!

This card uses some of the medallions to make a more contemporary, clean-and-simple card.  I didn't even break into the new InColors, but used Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Island Indigo inks and card stock layers.

This card shows off how some of the itty-bitty pattern stamps work together with the Framelits to make intricate designs.  This time I used Tranquil Tide for the card base, and Lemon Lime Twist and Fresh Fig for the stamping.  I decided against putting a sentiment on the front, though I might change my mind once I decide what to use it for.

One Sheet Wonder Workshop
Are you hesitant to cut into your Designer Series Paper?
Come cut into some of mine!
$25 - all supplies included, but please bring a paper trimmer if you own one.
RSVP Deadline: Thursday, May 11
​
In this workshop we will
choose:
• a sheet of 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (DSP)
• a One Sheet Wonder layout
• mat and card base colors

cut:
• 12" x 12" DSP according to layout
• mats
• card bases

stamp:
• sentiments 
• any other desired images

assemble and embellish:
• choose ribbon, twine, pearls, rhinestones or other embellishments from my stash.
• start assembly process...may need to finish at home depending on time constraints.
​
Friday, May 12
​9:30 am - 12:30 pm in Nancy's Craft Room, Scottsdale

Saturday, March 13
9:30 am - 12:30 pm in Nancy's Craft Room, Scottsdale
​

Monthly Card Class
Make 5 cards featuring great Stampin’ Up! products and a variety of techniques.  Suitable for experienced and novice paper crafters alike.
​$20 - all supplies included
RSVP Deadline:  Tuesday, May 16

Thursday, May 18
​9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room

Tuesday, May 23
​6:30 -  9:00 pm at Ellen's House in Peoria

Directions to class sites will be provided upon registration.

As you may know, each year Stampin' Up! introduces a group of 5 In Colors to freshen up our color selections.  They are in our rotation for 2 years before retiring, so we have 10 In Colors at any given time.  Here are the new colors for 2017-2019:

All of these colors are going to be fun to play with, but that Lemon Lime Twist is really going to inject a lot of vibrancy into projects!  

In addition to ink, markers, and card stock, these colors are featured in ribbon and Designer Series Paper.  Here is the Fresh Floral DSP.

You may recognize these patterns as some of those used in the retiring Floral Boutique DSP that was all Night Of Navy and Whisper White.  I really enjoyed these patterns, and am happy to see them return in these fresh, new colors.

Want to get your hands on 3 of the new In Colors BEFORE the launch of the new catalog in June?  SU! has issued a Customer Preorder Opportunity to purchase new Eastern Palace Bundles!  It includes Fresh Fig, Lemon Lime Twist and Tranquil Tides.  There are 2 bundles available...click here to go to my online store to learn more.

Hello Stamping Friends,

I know I've been absent during of the month of April...other aspects of my life took over most of my time.  Fortunately, no one was sick or injured, and most of what I was doing was fun and/or interesting.  But I wasn't happy with my lack of crafting time over the last 4 months in general, and during April in particular.  After some reflection I believe I have figured out some steps to get my stamping life back on track, and I'm excited for the "transition month" of May, as we prepare to say goodbye to many favorite products and to usher in a whole new catalog.  I hope you'll stick with me for the ride.  First up - a great way to delve into one's paper stash!

-Nancy

I've written about my love for one sheet wonders before.  I enjoy transforming a beautiful 12" x 12" sheet of paper into a stack of cards with little-to-no waste.  Every year when my Designer Series Paper (DSP) stash is retiring I seem to need to make them.

Not familiar with the concept?  Search online and you'll find a multitude of patterns for cutting up your sheet of paper into pieces to be matted and adhered to card bases.  Sentiments and embellishments finish the cards.  This set was made with a pattern from craftsy.com: 

As you can see, it makes 14 cards, and there is just a sliver of waste from the middle strip.  Here's how I chose make my cards: 

The sheet of paper I used was one of the two copper foil embellished sheets from the Affectionately Yours DSP set.  It's so hard to capture the shine and beautiful, deep copper color of this foil in pictures!

I used Crumb Cake for all of the card bases, and while I tried a variety of colors from the DSP for mats I decided I liked the Night of Navy the most with this paper.  I've listed the stamp sets and other items used below for your reference.

Once I had the cards made I bundled them all up with Crumb Cake envelopes in a box and sent them to a friend as a birthday gift.  I made my own coordinating wrapping paper with the Love & Affection stamp set that coordinates with this DSP, and wrapped some Night of Navy Baker's Twine around it.  I really miss the brown packing paper that SU! used to stuff in our shipments!  This piece came out of a box from another company (non stamping-related, LOL).

I hope you'll give One Sheet Wonders a try!  To help you get started, I've scheduled a

One Sheet Wonder Workshop
​

In this workshop we will
choose:
• a sheet of 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (DSP)
• a One Sheet Wonder layout
• mat and card base colors

cut:
• 12" x 12" DSP according to layout
• mats
• card bases

stamp:
• sentiments 
• any other desired images

assemble and embellish:
• choose ribbon, twine, pearls, rhinestones or other embellishments from my stash.
• start assembly process...may need to finish at home depending on time constraints.
​
$25 - all supplies included, but please bring a paper trimmer if you own one.

RSVP Deadline:  Thursday, May 11

​Friday, May 12
​9:30 am - 12:30 pm in Nancy's Craft Room, Scottsdale

Saturday, March 13
9:30 am - 12:30 pm in Nancy's Craft Room, Scottsdale

Products used in this One Sheet Wonder project: