Have I mentioned how much I love this limited-release set?  I have?  Oh.

Well, let me tell you again...I am enjoying this set so much!  It was scheduled to be taken off the market on Wednesday, August 31,  but SU! has decided to keep it available until all sets are sold.  If you want one you should be able to get one in early September, but don't wait too long or you may be disappointed.  Also, any rumor that it might make an appearance in a future catalog was squelched today.

Today's card I CASE'd from Heidi Baks.  I love the Clean-And-Simple (CAS) design and the shadow technique with the trees.

To get that shadow effect I masked off the bottom of the Whisper White panel with a torn Post-It note, then inked up the 3 tree stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and stamped it.  I cleaned off the stamp and inked it up with VersaMark, and stamped it slightly to the left and up from the Memento image.  Then I sprinkled it with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it.  Heidi says she stamped the VersaMark first, which would mean she didn't have to clean the stamp between inks, but I just couldn't see to line up the stamp when I did that.

After stamping and heat embossing, I punched a ¾" circle from the sticky edge of a Post-It Note and placed it over the top of the right tree to mask my moon.  Heidi used just Dapper Denim ink for her sponging...I started with Marina Mist all over, then added Dapper Denim at the very bottom and from the top to about ⅔ of the way down.  Then I layered Night of Navy at the very top, a tiny bit right along the torn edge of the Post-It Note, and finally picked up the panel and flicked the sponge across the edges.

I removed both masks (making sure my hands were really clean!) and added the Whisper White Baker's Twine to the bottom of the panel, then popped it up on a Night of Navy mat with Dimensionals.  I used Night of Navy for the sentiment and triangular mat, and the Whisper White triangle was embossed with the Softly Falling Embossing Folder.  The tree panel was added with Dimensionals (ugh - I can see in the morning light that my late night alignment eye was off!).

I think this design would work for several occasions, including a Christmas/holiday greeting.

Believe it or not, there are still stamps in this set I've not inked up yet...let's see what else I can come up with!​

I've set a goal for myself of having a new holiday-themed project to share with you every Monday until just before New Year's, for a total of 20 projects.  I'm on a roll now!

Here's a little gift bag with a cute gingerbread man adorning the tag.  He's from the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set, and is stamped in Soft Suede ink on Crumb Cake card stock, then cut out with the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch.  Then I used a White Stampin' Chalk Marker to fill in his features.  

I used the Banners Framelits to cut the pennants he's layered on, one out of Gold Glimmer Paper and one from the Candy Cane Lane Designer Series Paper.  The sentiment is from Peaceful Pines, which was carried over in this year's Annual Catalog.  I cut it out using one of the Labels & Tags Framelits, and tied a bow out of the white & red metallic thread baker's twine in the Candy Cane Lane 2-pack. The top is clipped shut with a Gold Binder Clip from the Annual Catalog.

The bag itself was made out of the new 12"x12" Real Red card stock in the Holiday Catalog using the Gift Bag Punch Board.  I cut a sheet to 6" x 12" and used the "L" score lines on the board.  I decided not to punch the holes at the top for a ribbon or string since I planned to use the clip.  The dimensions of the finished bag are approximately 4.75" H x 3.75" W x 2" D.  

When I make some more I will experiment with adding texture to the bag with an embossing folder, and also stamping a pattern onto the bag, both before adhering it together.

For this month's regular card class I decided to feature different ways the limited-time release Thoughtful Branches and coordinating Beautiful Branches Thinlits could be used.  

Thoughtful Branches is such a large, versatile set!  The examples below are just a few of the many ways it can be used.  I've pinned more on my Pinterest board, and doing a Pinterest or splitcoaststampers.com search will give you many, many more.  Don't miss your chance to add this to your collection before it's gone next Wednesday, August 31!

I tweaked this design from a card by Sharon Burkert.  The large blossom/leafy canopy stamp was inked up with Blushing Bride and stamped on a piece of card stock the same color.  The coordinating Thinlit was used to cut it out, and then it was layered on top of an oval of Flirty Flamingo cut with a Layering Ovals die.  It was mounted on Whisper White along with the stem and leaves cut with the die out of Wild Wasabi.  The sentiment is from an old Paper Pumpkin set. Card base is Blushing Bride. Embellishments are a bow out of Blushing Bride Stitched Satin Ribbon, Clear Wink of Stella on the blossom, and a scattering of the smallest Basic Jewels Pearls. 

This card I CASE'd from Connie Collins, though I changed the size from 3x3" to 4.25 x 4.25". Colors are Wild Wasabi, Wisteria Wonder and Elegant Eggplant.  To make the notches for the Linen Thread to nestle in we measured up 1" on each side and made a tick mark, then used the ¾" punch to cut out the notches.  Very simple, but adds a little more interest.  This size card works nicely with our medium envelopes, and thus doesn't require extra postage for a square card.

This card was CASE'd fromLinda Callahan.  We started by embossing the Crumb Cake layer with the Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  Then we inked up the dotted "blossom" stamp with Crumb Cake ink and, stamping off each time, made a splotch on the Whisper White panel.  We added the sprigs of little leaves in Garden Green, and the sentiment in Elegant Eggplant.  Then we stamped the leaf image in Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze and Elegant Eggplant and cut them out with the coordinating die.  A couple were popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals, the rest glued on flat.  A couple of now-retired Regal Candy Dots (could also use the Enamel Embellishments) were the final touch before mounting the two layers on a Thick Whisper White base.

This card features the design of Michelle Long.  This featured the This Christmas Designer Series Paper from the 2016-17 Annual Catalog, with the pine tree from Thoughtful Branches as the focal point.  It's stamped in Garden Green and Early Espresso on Very Vanilla and cut out with an Ovals Layering Die.  It's backed with a piece of Red Glimmer Paper that was cut out with one of the scalloped Ovals Layering Dies.  Before we adhered the two together, we used the ⅛" Handheld Circle Punch in the center of the glimmer oval to make the "Christmas balls" that we adhered to the tree with Ultra Fine Glue.  Then everything was layered on a Cherry Cobbler card base.

Finally, we CASE'd this striking card from Leena Gersa.   We made a mask from a post-it note for the bottom of the Whisper White panel, as well as a 1⅜" circle mask for the sun.  Then we sponged on in layers, moving down the panel but blending well with previous layers.  These are the colors in order used:  Daffodil Delight, Peekaboo Peach, Flirty Flamingo, and Watermelon Wonder.  Then we removed the circle mask and filled it in with Daffodil Delight, and did a final blending layer of Daffodil Delight over the entire top portion.  A quick swipe of Watermelon Wonder around the edges and it was time to remove the bottom mask.  The ground was stamped in Smoky Slate, and the sentiment in Basic Gray Archival ink.  The Basic Gray tree was cut from the center of the panel that became the mat for the Whisper White layer, and the tree was glued on.  While Leena used Watermelon Wonder for her mat and Basic Gray for her card base, I like the Basic Gray as the mat, and felt that Pumpkin Pie pulled all the sponged colors together in the card base.

September Classes

• One Sheet Wonder - stamp one sheet of card stock and make 7 cards!
• Monthly Card Class - create a variety of cards.

Save the date!  World Cardmaking Day 2016 - Saturday, October 1

• Free event - Make cards to donate to Banner Thunderbird Hospital's Pediatric Department.

Stay tuned for details!

I've set a goal for myself of having a new holiday-themed project to share with you every Monday from now until just before New Year's, for a total of 20 projects.  So far, so good!

This is a super-simple card that looks anything but that!  Thanks to the Greetings from Santa and Detailed Santa Thinlits Dies bundle, it was just a matter of placing and cutting 3 dies, stamping the sentiment and assembling.

Of course, this was just a first run at playing with my new toys...there are already a number of stepped-up cards featuring this bundle around on the Internet.  I'm sure you'll be seeing more examples here soon, too.

Available until August 31, or while supplies last.

Stampin' Up! Demonstrators around the world are showering corporate Demonstrator Support (customer service) staff with love this week.  Here's a card I made for the folks at the Home Office in Riverton, UT:

This card is made entirely with the Thoughtful Branches stamp set and coordinating Beautiful Branches Thinlits dies, both of which are only available until the end of August or while supplies last.  This set is so versatile I know I will be reaching for it again and again.  Don't miss out!

I used the baby wipe technique where I put a small stack of baby wipes in a dish and put random drops of several re-inkers that made a large, multi-colored splotch.  I used this as an ink pad for the image that can be either a large flower blossom or a tree canopy and stamped it a couple of times on Whisper White.  I don't know if it was because the stamp is photopolymer or because I didn't have the wipes saturated enough, but I wasn't very happy with the amount of color I got on the card stock.  So I cut them out with the coordinating die and then dabbed them directly on the baby wipes until I was happy with the amount of color.

Then I stamped 16 leaves and cut them out, and stamped the wavy lines  and sentiment on a panel of Soft Sky.  I offset the blooms and layered up the leaves, hoping that they would all wind up resembling a hydrangea.

The final touches were a lot of the smallest rhinestones on the blossoms, and drops of the Fine Tip Glue on both the blossoms and leaves to resemble dew or rain drops.  Here's a closeup of that:

If you'd like to get in on the love-fest this week, here's the address:
Demonstrator Support, Stampin' Up!, ​12907 S 3600 W, Riverton, UT 84065-6972.

As you may know, the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog became available for demonstrators to pre-order from on August 2.  My first allotment of goodies arrived last Friday while I was on vacation in SoCal, and it took several days after I got home to break them out and play.

I've set a goal for myself of having a new holiday-themed project to share with you every Monday from now until just before New Year's, for a total of 20 projects.  Let's see if I can keep up with it!  Here's the first project;

The new products used on this card are the Hang Your Stocking stamp set and coordinating Christmas Stockings Thinlits Dies, as well as Real Red and Emerald Envy Glitter Embossing Powders (can you spot them?).  

The patterned paper is from This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper in the Annual Catalog, and the fireplace is made from the window and sill dies in the Hearth & Home Thinlits set.

Can you figure out where the wood in the fireplace is from?  It's tree branches from the Beautiful Branches Thinlits Dies that coordinate with the Thoughtful Branches stamp set, only available in August!  Yet another reason not to miss out on this great bundle!!!

Want to order Holiday Catalog products right away?  
Join my team and choose $125 worth of products from either catalog for just $99.

• If you earned Bonus Days coupons in July, they need to be redeemed by August 31.
• Thoughtful Branches stamp set and coordinating Beautiful Branches Thinlits are only available until August 31, or while supplies last.
• The registration deadline for the Monthly Card Class is this Friday, August 19.

Monday, August 22
7:00 - 9:30 pm
Mimi’s House in Phoenix (I-17 & Greenway)
​RSVP by Friday, August 19.

Wednesday, August 24
9:30 am - noon
Nancy’s Craft Room in Scottsdale
​RSVP by Friday, August 19.
​
Thursday, August 25
7:00 - 9:30 pm
Nancy’s Craft Room in Scottsdale
​RSVP by Friday, August 19.

Earlier this week I made this trio of cards featuring Marquee Messages.  The process is simple enough, it's the mixing-and-matching of colors that adds the "wow factor."  I simply stamped the marquee image and the sentiments onto 2 panels each of Calypso Coral, Mint Macaron and Bermuda Bay.  I then snipped out the arrow and the sentiment block from one set, and mixed them up to adhere on the second set that were mounted on Basic Black.  The 3 card bases had a layer of Whisper White mounted, and then panels of the 3 feature colors were run through the Big Shot with the Seaside Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and mounted at an angle on contrasting bases.  The image panel was added and embellished with Enamel Shapes.

​The inside was finished with a coordinating sentiment and image:

Pop-up Cards Class
We’ll make 3 fun, dimensional cards with intricate, unusual styles that will fold flat and fit into a standard A2 envelope:

• side stair card
• pop-up banner card
• free standing pop-up card

Cost is $20 with all supplies included.

Thursday, August 11
7:00 - 9:30 pm
Nancy’s Craft Room in Scottsdale
​RSVP by Tuesday, August 9.

Friday, August 12
9:30 am - noon
Nancy’s Craft Room in Scottsdale
​RSVP by Tuesday, August 9.

Monday, August 15
7:00 - 9:30 pm
Mimi’s House in Phoenix (I-17 & Greenway)
​RSVP by Tuesday, August 9.


Monthly Card Class
Come make a variety of 5 cards/projects with fabulous current Stampin’ Up! products.  Appropriate for new and experienced paper crafters.

Cost is $20 with all supplies included.

Monday, August 22
7:00 - 9:30 pm
Mimi’s House in Phoenix (I-17 & Greenway)
​RSVP by Friday, August 19.

Wednesday, August 24
9:30 am - noon
Nancy’s Craft Room in Scottsdale
​RSVP by Friday, August 19.
​
Thursday, August 25
7:00 - 9:30 pm
Nancy’s Craft Room in Scottsdale
​RSVP by Friday, August 19.

Today is the birthday of a very dear friend, and I just wanted to share the card I made for her.  She and her husband love to get outdoors to camp and kayak, so I knew she'd get a kick out of the Always an Adventure stamp set and coordinating Outdoor Adventure Framelits.  Since they use a trailer instead of a tent when they camp I also had to add in the one from You're Sublime.  

It's lots of fun to build scenes with these items!  I've got 2 layers of trees cut out of Old Olive, and one of the mountains in Soft Suede.  Once I had them in place it was just a matter of playing with the placement of the other things I wanted in the scene.  The trailer's window, door and tires are paper-pieced with Smoky Slate, and the window and door frames, camper edging and wheels are colored in with the retired Stampin' Dazzle Silver marker.

If you like this set be sure to sign up for my Pop-Up Cards class (see below) because we'll be making a great card with it!