Handsomely Suited For Dad

 Happy Tuesday! I hope you are having a good week so far. Here we are well into our third lockdown of the pandemic and I have to admit, it is getting OLD. I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever be able to gather to stamp again.

As I plan for the launch of the new catalogue, I am once again looking at virtual ways to connect and create together. If you are in Canada, I would invite you to check out my Virtual Catalogue Launch and Bingo event...it will be TONS of fun. You can read all about the details on my Upcoming Events tab in the right sidebar.

I am also launching a new Cross-border Crafters online class featuring, coincidentally enough, the Handsomely Suited Bundle...

Again, you can read all about the details on my Events page.

Now for today's project. I needed a Father's Day card for my son to give his dad that included a gift card holder (he's getting an Amazon gift card because he's addicted!), so I designed this...

My hubby is a golf shirt kinda guy...definitely NOT a suit-and-tie one, so I had to get a bit creative with the Suit and Tie dies. I have to say, I am pleased with the result! I used some of the Well Suited Designer Paper (he actually has a golf shirt in almost this exact print!) and then cut a small V at the top using the dies. Then I added a collar, buttons, placket and pocket in Smokey Slate. The sentiment is stamped in Basic Grey ink, punched withe the 1-1/2" circle punch and then layered on a Smokey Slate Tailored Tag label. 

The best part is that there is a pocket in behind to hold a gift card...it slides in and out easily. The second-best part is that this is an easel card, so the open card stands on a desk, giving easy access to the gift card like this...

On the inside I added a Stitched Nested Label (SO going to miss those dies when they retire!) and stamped another sentiment from the Handsomely Suited stamp set. The label is popped up with dimensionals to catch the easel and keep it standing. 

I'll be demonstrating this card and two others using this bundle in today's Live @ Five video at 5 pm ET over on my Facebook business page. I hope you'll join me live, but if you miss me you can always catch the replay on my YouTube channel shortly afterwards. As always, I will include all of the measurements for all three projects in the video description.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a safe and healthy week!

Product List

Handsomely Suited Bundle (English) [156240] $65.50	Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad [149165] $10.25	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $13.25	Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131202] $12.00
Well Suited 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [154562] $15.75	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $163.00	Stitched Nested Labels Dies [149638] $48.00	1-1/2" (3.8 Cm) Circle Punch [138299] $22.00
Tailored Tag Punch [145667] $24.00

Game On!

 Happy Tuesday! Can you believe it is nearly the end of March?? I have to say I am ready for the new month, as it means a new catalogue pre-order for us demonstrators. With the approaching new catalogue, we say good-bye to many retiring products, so over the next few weeks I am going to focus on showing some love to products that are going away when the catalogue ends. 

This week, my focus is on the Game On stamp set...

I am embarrassed to say that this set has been languishing, uninked, on my shelf since last summer. I bought it with good intentions and then never got to using it. I was so sad to see it on the retiring products list because it is a GREAT set for man cards! Check out this project I made...

For my background, I began with a piece of True Love Designer Paper. The pattern that I chose was one that, to be honest, hurt my eyes to look at for very long. I remedied that with a little colour therapy and my Stampin' Blends! I used both dark and light Pretty Peacock and light Basic Black to create a fun geometric pattern. Suddnely it doesn't hurt my eyes anymore!

I played up the diamond pattern with some brass foil embossed with the (soon to be retired) Dainty Diamonds embossing folder. I love the way it not only echoes the DSP, but also the square shape of the stamped dice.

My focal image began as a die-cut stitched square in Basic Black. Now I need to pause for a moment of silence to mourn the retirement of my GO-TO dies...the Stitched Shapes. I seriously don't know how I'm going to go on without them! *sniff sniff*

I stamped the dice image fro the Game On stamp set in Versamark ink several times on the black square and then heat embossed in white. I sponged on a little Whisper White Craft ink around the edges for a chalkboard effect. Then I stamped the dice again, in black ink, on Basic White card stock and fussy cut them out. I also used a portion of one of the sentiments from the Game On set and punched it with the also soon-to-be-retired Classic Label punch. I added some Forever Greenery gold cord and layered the dice and sentiment to the black diamond. Here's a closer look...

On the inside of the card, I layered a Basic White panel on the Basic Black card base, stamping the rest of the sentiment from the front of the card and another pair of dice.

 

As I type this post, I realize just how many of the products I used are soon retiring...so sad to see beloved items going away :( It's a good thing the new catalogue is filled with AMAZING new goodies to ease my pain ;)

I'll be demonstrating this project and two others with the Game On stamp set in today's Live @ Five video at 5 pm ET over on my Facebook business page. If you miss me live you can catch the replay on my YouTube channel shortly afterwards.

Thanks so much for stopping by this week...have a great one and a blessed Easter!

Product List

Game On Cling Stamp Set (English) [152646] $26.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $8.25	Versamark Pad [102283] $13.00	Uninked Stampin’ Craft Pad & Whisper White Refill [147277] $13.00
White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132] $8.25	Heat Tool (Us And Canada) [129053] $41.00	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [121045] $12.00	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $13.25
True Love Designer Series Paper [154281] $15.75	Brass Foil Sheets [153057] $6.75	Pretty Peacock Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154895] $12.00	Basic Black Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154843] $12.00
Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker [100082] $4.00	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $163.00	Dainty Diamonds 3D Embossing Folder [152702] $12.25	Stitched Shapes Dies [152323] $41.00
Classic Label Punch [141491] $24.00	Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack [152475] $12.25

A Jar of (Fall) Flowers

 Happy Tuesday...and happy first day of school! Yep...I am headed back for year #25 as a high school music teacher, and I have to say I've never been so anxious. Covid-19 means a whole new way of doing education, including teaching instrumental music without instruments! Don't ask...

Suffice to say, I spent the better part of the weekend in my studio trying to distract myself from the uncertainty and anxiety surrounding the return to school. I turned to one of my favourite stress-relievers...colouring! I decided a little colour therapy was in order, so I made a last-minute change to my plans for this week and decided to feature the Jar of Flowers bundle. The beautiful florals in this stamp set are just what the doctor ordered. Check out this pretty fall card...

One of the things I love most about this time of year is the abundance of gorgeous sunflowers. I used the sunflower image from the Jar of Flowers set, stamped in Early Espresso ink on some light woodgrain DSP from the In Good Taste DSP pack. I coloured the image using Stampin' Blends: Light Mango Melody, Dark Pumpkin Pie, Dark Old Olive, Dark Cajun Craze and Light Cinnamon Cider. The sentiment is from the Celebrate Sunflowers set and is stamped in Early Espresso. I used the Stitched Nested Labels dies to die-cut my woodgrain DSP. Here is a closer look...

The background DSP is from the Flowers for Every Season pack. I added a vertical element using Cinnamon Cider card stock, embossed with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder. I love the subtle texture of that folder! I embellished a little using a couple of leaves from the In Good Taste Elements and some Bumblebee Gingham ribbon.

On the inside I kept it super simple, adding a panel of Whisper White card stock and a scrap strip of the same DSP I used on the front. (*Reminder...NEVER throw out those scraps...they are the perfect accent for the inside of your cards!)

I'll be demonstrating this card and two others (with LOTS of colouring) in today's Tuesday Live @ Five video at 5 pm ET over on my Facebook page. If you miss me, you can catch the replay shortly afterwards on my YouTube channel. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a super week!

Product List

Jar Of Flowers Bundle [154064] $49.50	Celebrate Sunflowers Cling Stamp Set (English) [152517] $33.00	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [147114] $10.25	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730] $13.25
Bumblebee 8-1/2X11 Cardstock [153077] $12.00	Flowers For Every Season 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [152486] $15.75	In Good Taste Designer Series Paper [152494] $29.00	Mango Melody Combo Pack Stampin' Blends [147945] $12.00
Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144599] $12.00	Cajun Craze Combo Pack Stampin' Blends [147931] $12.00	Cinnamon Cider Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [153105] $12.00	Old Olive Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144597] $12.00
Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $163.00	Stitched Nested Labels Dies [149638] $48.00	Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder [152718] $12.25	1/4" Bumblebee Gingham Trim [153658] $9.50
In Good Taste Elements [152476] $8.75