Honey Bee Tricorn Card

Happy Tuesday! I hope you are keeping safe and well in these days of social isolation and quarantines. It sure is a different world than is was just a couple of months ago! I am doing something I never imagined I would do...teach instrumental music (band class) online! It has been a HUGE adjustment, with tons of time spent recording instructional videos for my kiddos, but so far it has been going fairly well. I am fortunate that I have lots of experience with online tools from my Stampin' Up! business...it is making my learning curve much smoother than some of my colleagues'. As a result of the change in my work status, I am going to be posting here, weekly, on Tuesdays instead of Mondays for as long as I am working from home. My Mondays are all about posting assignments and answering questions from my students at school these days!

Last week, Stampin' Up! announced the list of retiring products from both the Jan - June Mini and 2019/20 Annual Catalogues. There are SO many favourites on there that I will miss terribly, so I am going to focus for the next several weeks on some of the ones I will miss the most. Keep in mind that any products I featured are available while supplies last and that, at the time I write my blog post, are still available for ordering. To check out the full list of retiring products, click the image below:

One of the big surprises on this list is the Honey Bee bundle from the Jan-June Mini Catalogue. This item was HUGELY popular and was on back order for quite some time. However, it is now back in stock and is available to order while supplies last...

Check out this cool fun-fold I made using this bundle...

This fold is called a tricorn (I suppose because it looks like a tricorn hat) and is actually much easier than it looks. The best part is that it folds flat for mailing in a standard envelope!

Now, the details of how to create this fold are too complicated to explain here, but I will be demonstrating it in today's Live @ Five video over on my Facebook business page today at 5:00 ET. If you can't make the live, I will post the video here once I am done. It will be the first of three projects I'm demonstrating, so you'll want to watch right to the end to catch the other two!

I can, however, tell you what colours and products I used. The base of the card is Coastal Cabana card stock. The striped Daffodil Delight Designer Paper is from the Best Dressed pack. I stamped the bee hive in Daffodil Delight ink and die-cut it using the Detailed Bee dies. The sentiment, bee and flowers are stamped in Basic Gray ink and then coloured using Dark Daffodil Delight and Light Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends.

The honey comb is cut from Champagne foil using the Detailed Bee dies. The layered circles are cut from Whisper White and Coastal Cabana card stock, using the Stitched Shapes and Layering Circles dies respectively.

There is even space on the back to write a message! 

I really love this fold and have to admit it is a little bit addictive! I will post more ideas using it on my Instagram feed and Facebook Business page this week. If you aren't already following me on social media, you're missing out! I post project ideas daily, so be sure to like and follow me so you don't miss a single thing.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you are staying safe and staying home...be well!

Product List

Honey Bee Bundle [153792] $55.75	Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131297] $12.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730] $13.25	Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [151319] $15.75
Champagne Foil Sheets [144748] $6.75	Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad [149165] $10.25	Daffodil Delight Dark Stampin' Blends Marker [144585] $6.00	Bermuda Bay Light Stampin' Blends Marker [144580] $6.00
Daffodil Delight 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Ruched Ribbon [151311] $10.25	Paper Trimmer [152392] $34.00

It's a Retirement Party Blog Hop!

As hard as it is to believe, it is already the May 15th, which means it's time for another Stamping Symphony Blog Hop! This month our theme is favourite retiring items, so I chose my very favourite, oldest stamp set: Lovely as a Tree. This set was the very first stamp set I ever bought, so it will live in my collection forever. My set is the last remaining wood mount stamp set I own and it has seen its share of use and abuse over the years.

Today's card is one I demonstrated on my Tuesday Live @ Five video this week...

One of the things that I love most about this stamp set is its versatility. Here, I've used it to make a sympathy card using the spotlighting technique. This simple technique requires very few tools, but creates a real wow on this simple design. I stamped the tree image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then used sticky notes with circles punched in them as masks to create the coloured circles. I used the 1-1/2" and 1" circle punches. My colour scheme was Mango Melody, Pumpkin Pie and Rich Razzleberry...so pretty!

To add extra texture and interest, I scored some lines along the bottom edge of the stamped panel using the scoring blade of my paper trimmer. This quick and easy trick adds so much to a simple design.

Because I wanted to keep this clean and simple, the only embellishment I added was a bit of black baker's twine with a bow underneath the sentiment to highlight it.

On the inside I stamped a simple sympathy sentiment from the Itty Bitty Greetings stamp set  and the little leaf from Lovely as A Tree.

Thanks for stopping by...check out my video tutorial for this card, and two others below.

Time to hop on over to Sandy's blog to see what awesomeness she has for us.

1. Leena (You are here)

2. Sandy

3. Barb

4. Jennifer

5. Steph

Product List

Lovely As A Tree Clear-Mount Stamp Set [127793] $27.00	Rooted In Nature Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146482] $57.00	Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146667] $49.00	Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad [147093] $10.25
Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad [147086] $10.25	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad [147091] $10.25	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $8.25	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25
Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $11.50	Stampin' Trimmer [126889] $41.00	Sponge Daubers [133773] $7.00	1-1/2" Circle Punch [138299] $22.00
1" Circle Punch [119868] $18.00	Basic Black Solid Baker's Twine [141682] $4.00

Farewell Lovely As A Tree

Happy Monday...I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was jam-packed with stamping...but I checked TONS of things off my To-Do List, which means a relatively relaxed week ahead. As we head closer to the launch of the new 2019/20 Annual Catalogue and the end of the school year, time is in short supply!

One of the sad things about a new catalogue is that we have to say goodbye to some of our most beloved products, as they retire to make room for the new. Lovely As a Tree is one of the sets that is going away, which has come as a shock to many of us. It is the longest running stamp set EVER...18 years! With longevity like that it MUST be an awesome set! It was actually the very first stamp set I ever bought when I discovered Stampin' Up! 10+ years ago. It has held a place of honour in my studio thanks to its versatility and the beauty of its images.

This week I am sending Lovely As a Tree off to retirement in style. I am featuring it as my product of the week! Check out this pretty, #simplestamping card I made...

I saw a similar card on Pinterest that used another stamp set and thought it would be perfect to showcase the beautiful images in this set. I masked off the Whisper White card front using sticky notes and then sponged on Blackberry Bliss, Rich Razzleberry, Highland Heather, Mango Melody and Pumpkin Pie. I love the way these colours work together!

After stamping the pine tree and the sentiment from Rooted in Nature in black ink, I added some texture by scoring lines to the left of the sponged area using my paper trimmer. I love the subtle interest it adds to the design.

On the inside I stamped a sentiment and the little pine branch image in black ink. So simple, but so, so pretty! The beautiful images in this set lend themselves so well to simple cards. It was fun to showcase them and allow them to be the star of my design!

Be sure to check out my Tuesday Live @ Five video this week for all of the details on this and two additional cards using this set. I stuck to the same colour scheme for all three to show that one doesn't need to have a whole craft room full of supplies to make pretty cards! Be sure to check it out over on my Facebook page or on the Video Tutorials tab at the top of this page later in the week.

Have a "lovely" week!


Product List

Lovely As A Tree Clear-Mount Stamp Set [127793] $27.00	Rooted In Nature Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146482] $57.00	Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad [147093] $10.25	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad [147086] $10.25
Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad [147103] $10.25	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad [147091] $10.25	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [147092] $10.25	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $8.25
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $11.50	Stampin' Trimmer [126889] $41.00	Sponge Daubers [133773] $7.00