Friendly Flamingo and a Blog Hop

 It's the 15th of April, which means it is time for another Stamping Symphony Blog Hop! This month we are highlighting some of our favourite retiring products as we prepare for a new Annual Catalogue in early May. Since I am all about the tropics this week during my "Mapril" Staycation, I thought I would grab some of my most beloved retiring items and give them the tropical treatment. Check out this fun birthday card:

Can you spot all of the retiring products I used? Hint: there are SEVEN (one is really tricky!) Here's a closer look, if it helps...

Did you spot them all? Here's what I did...

I used some Forever Greenery Designer Paper for my background...I think this pattern looks like grass paper, perfect for my tropical vibe. I embossed the DSP with the Subtle 3D embossing folder (I am SO going to miss that one), which adds to the grass-paper-look. I also layered on a piece of Flowers for Every Season DSP as well. 

I die-cut a Basic White label using the Stitched Nested Labels dies...another go-to of mine that is going away! I stamped my flamingo using the new Polished Pink and Pale Papaya inks, along with some Basic Grey for the beak. The greenery is stamped in Just Jade...I also added a hint of shading using the same ink and a blending brush. I stamped the flowers in Polished Pink ink on card stock of the same shade and die-cut them out using the Flamingo dies. My sentiment is stamped on a label die-cut with the Messages die...I love having a bunch of ready-cut labels on my desk when I'm designing! I added some Just Jade leaves, die-cut using the In the Tropics dies and some Forever Gold Laser Cut leaves as well. The pop of gold looks amazing with the lush pink and green. I embellished my design with some Forever Greenery gold cord and some gold Glitter Enamel Dots. The final touch was a quick spatter of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint. 

On the inside of my Just Jade card base, I added a Basic White panel on which I stamped some more greenery from the Friendly Flamingo set, as well as a sentiment and more flowers. 

It was really a lot of fun to pull out my retiring items and give them one last hurrah before the sail off into the sunset. Be sure to grab anything that is still on your wishlist before May 3rd when they disappear forever. *sniff*

Thanks so much for stopping by today...be sure to hop on over the the next blog to see what creative genius awaits!

Leena - You are here

Sandy - Lolly & Sand

Barb - Just B Stamping

Jen - Stamping Jen

Product List

Friendly Flamingo Bundle [156212] $51.25	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $13.25	Just Jade 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [153079] $12.00	Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper [152492] $15.75
Flowers For Every Season 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [152486] $15.75	Forever Gold Laser-Cut Specialty Paper [152493] $20.00	Just Jade Classic Stampin' Pad [153115] $10.25	Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad [149165] $10.25
Blending Brushes [153611] $16.25	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $163.00	Subtle 3D Embossing Folder [151775] $13.50	In The Tropics Dies [151495] $48.00
Stitched Nested Labels Dies [149638] $48.00	Messages Die [154422] $46.00	Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack [152475] $12.25	Gold Glitter Enamel Dots [152155] $11.00
Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint [147044] $11.00

On the Fringe with the Twist

It's the first Saturday of a brand-new month which means it's time for a new challenge at The Technique Twist.  This time we're all on the fringe...scissors, that is!  I've had my pair of fringees for a while and have used them a fair bit, but not nearly as much as on this card...check it out!

Birthday card featuring the Happy Hour stamp set and my trusty fringe scissors!

This was such fun to make!  I had seen awning cards before but had never made one, so I played around for a bit until I got my measurements right and then started fringing!  To get the wavy edges I free-hand trimmed the fringes with my paper snips.

I know someone out there is going to ask me for measurements, but I really don't know.  I just kept scoring and folding and trimming till I got something that worked.  I do know that each of the little fringe strips is 3/4" wide, but as for the larger parts of the card I have no clue!  This was truly a process of trial and error.  I did sponge each little strip with Baked Brown Sugar ink (I used Baked Brown Sugar card stock) to give them some texture and dimension.

Along the top of my little tiki hut I added some wee flowers punched with the Itty Bitty punch pack (retired) and added a leaf from the Bird Builder punch to each one, as well as some bitty pearls that I coloured with my Blendabilities.  Colours I used were Coast Cabana, Calypso Coral, Strawberry Slush, So Saffron and Garden Green for the leaves.  The drinks are stamped in Pool Party and then paperpieced using So Saffron (margarita), Crisp Cantaloupe (peach daiquiri) and Strawberry Slush (strawberry daiquiri)...can you tell I like my frosty beverages?  ;)

The sentiment is stamped in Coastal Cabana and die cut using the Project Life Cards & Labels framelits.  I added a few more flowers to add island flair.

The inside is sort of anti-climatic...sorry!  I simply stamped a sentiment from the Happy Hour set, along with a little paper umbrella.  After all that effort on the front I had nothing left for the inside..haha!

I hope you'll give this challenge a try.  Even if you don't have fringe scissors you can fake it (psst...I know at least two members of the Twisted Design Team who don't own fringees!).  It adds such fun texture and dimension to projects...you should give it a go and then post it over at The Twist so we can all admire your fringy goodness!