Do you have a lot of strips of cardstock that you cannot bear to throw away?  I do, especially in Basic Black and Whisper White.  My scraps were getting out of control so I decided it was time to make some striped backgrounds.  

The strips of black and white cardstock are 3/4" x 4" and I glued them on to a piece of cardstock 4" x 5-1/4".  I love black and white stripes.  I knew my card needed a pop of color so I pulled out some Pineapple Punch cardstock (retiring In Color) and stamped the large daisy from the Daisy Delight stamp set (retiring set)  in Pineapple Punch ink.  I like a full daisy so I layered together 2 punches for each flower.  The leaves were punched using the Leaf punch (retiring punch)in Granny Apple Green.

The sentiment is also from the Daisy Delight stamp set and it is stamped on a label cut using a Stitched Rectangle die.  I added a few black sequins from the Peaceful Poppies Sequins (retiring from the 2020 January-June catalog).  The Peaceful Poppies sequins have Black, clear, gold, Poppy Parade and a light Poppy Parade sequins in round and flower shape.  They are so cute!

Product List

Daisy Delight Photopolymer Stamp Set [143669]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Pineapple Punch Classic Stampin' Pad [147141]	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [121045]
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730]	Pineapple Punch 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146971]	Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146990]	Daisy Punch [143713]
Leaf Punch [144667]	Stitched Rectangle Dies [148551]	Peaceful Poppies Sequins [151325]

You can see the entire Retiring Products list for the 2019 Annual Catalog here. Please be aware that some items have sold out and products are available while supplies last.  You can see the retiring products list for the 2020 January-June catalog here.

I am always a little sad when the Stampin' Up!® Retiring Products list comes out.  Why? It means that some of my favorite packs of Designer Series Paper will soon no longer be available.  I have seen the new catalog (wow!) and it helps knowing that the new catalog has lots of beautiful papers.  

Bird Ballad is one of my favorite packs of paper from the 2019 Annual catalog and is on the Retiring List and available (for now) at a discounted price!  I think this is a pack many of us will miss.

This layout is one of my favorites because it shows off the beauty of the paper and fair warning you will be seeing it a lot!  

In addition to the Bird Ballad DSP, the Kindness and Compassion stamp set is on the retiring list.  I love the fonts used in this set.  I am keeping this set for my permanent collection.  No one likes to make sympathy cards but since we have to, the sentiments in this set are beautiful and perfect.

The edging was cut using the Delicate Lace Dies.  These dies are beautiful and also on the retiring list.  I just checked and they are still available and are discounted BIG, 60% so be sure to order them soon! 

Product List

Kindness & Compassion Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146729]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Petal Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146985]	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [121045]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730]
Bird Ballad Designer Series Paper [149592]	Delicate Lace Dies [147053]	Stitched Rectangle Dies [148551]	Petal Pink 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Organdy Striped Ribbon [149441]

Click on any of the products above and you will be taken to my online store.  Remember retiring products are available while supplies last so avoid disappointment and order soon!

It is Thursday and time for the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge!  This week it is a color challenge.

The first thing that came to mind were daisies, so I pulled out the Medium Daisy punch and started to play.

I punched out  3 Daffodil Delight daisies using the 6" x 6" Brights DSP (which is no longer available/sold out).  The centers of the daisies were cut from the Sparkle Glimmer paper  (on the retiring list!).The Coastal Cabana gingham check is also from the 6" x 6" Brights DSP.   I added in some leaves in Coastal Cabana punched using the Leaf punch which is also on the retiring products list.  One more product I used, the 1/4" Mini Striped Ribbon in Bermuda is also on the list!  It is hard to believe how many products I used are on the Retiring Products List.

Here's the  link to the Retiring Products List for the Annual Catalog  and the link to the Retiring Products from the 2020 January-June Mini Catalog.  The products on the Retiring Lists are available while supplies last with the exception of stamps.  There are some fantastic deals so be sure to check out the lists!

Time for a new Festive Friday Challenge!  

What a perfect inspiration for the challenge!  I chose red, blue, appreciation sentiment, hearts, balloons, and green from the Inspo list to use on my card.

I used the heart balloons from the Special Someone stamp set in rainbow colors for my thank you card.  The sentiment is from the Tropical Chic stamp set.  Isn't it a perfect sentiment?  I used the Special Day dies that coordinate with this stamp set.  The dies were  available during the Coordination Product Release February 4-March 31.  

Want to make this card?  Here is a link to a tutorial for this project.

Two of the colors I used, Call Me Clover and Blueberry Bushel are part of the 2018-20 In Colors, which will be retiring when the current catalog retires on June 2.   Be sure you get your ink refill, cardstock and any other In Color accessories before they are gone.

I hope you will play along with the Festive Friday Challenge.  You have until April 27 at 8 pm CST to enter.  Just use 3 of the elements on the Inspo list and enter your project in the Festive Friday gallery.  Looking forward to seeing what you create!

Are the days starting to run together?  They do for me!  Which is why I am thankful for blog hops and design teams.  They keep me from totally losing track of what day it is.  Thursdays mean it is time for the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.

I thought I was being very faithful to the sketch but I just realized that I trimmed the tail of my banner differently than the sketch.  Oh well, the spirit of the sketch is there.

It has been a long time since I pulled out the,  Mosaic Mood Specialty DSP to play with.  I am totally guilty of getting caught up with all the new product and totally neglecting the products in the 2019-20 Annual Catalog.  This pack of paper is special as some of the designs have glossy highlights and there are fabulous images that can be easily fussy cut out and used, like these roses and leaves.  The roses and leaves are layered on a Stitched Rectangle die.

The sentiment is from the Ornate Thanks stamp set.  Love the font and the sentiment.  I accented the sentiment with a rhinestone that I colored using the Dark Mint Macaron Stampin' Blend.  This card can be used for so many different occasions or for no occasion at all.  We all need to hear that someone thinks we are amazing.

Product List

Ornate Thanks Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [149471] $18.00	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad [147089] $7.50	Mint Macaron Dark Stampin' Blends Marker [147021] $4.50	Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [144237] $8.25
Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138337] $8.75	Mosaic Mood Specialty Designer Series Paper [149478] $14.50	Stitched Rectangle Dies [148551] $35.00	Rhinestone Basic Jewels [144220] $5.00

Happy Easter to you! 

It has been a week!  Good news is that I am still posting every day (day 19)!  It has been challenging coming up with something new to share especially since I have not been feeling especially creative.  I continue to try new things to jump start my creativity.  Yesterday I went through my bin and folder  of samples and templates and pulled out some fun folds.  Today's card is a result of that activity.

When you saw the Ornate Garden Specialty DSP, did this design with the daisy remind you of either the Daisy Lane set or the Daisy Delight set?  Here I paired it with the Daisy Lane set.  I punched out 2 daisies using the Medium Daisy punch, stamped the stem image in Old Olive ink on Old Olive cardstock and yes, fussy cut it out.  

Are you wondering what color I used for the center of the daisy?  Doesn't it look like the center of the daisy on the DSP?  I inked up a scrap piece of So Saffron cardstock with So Saffron ink, inked it with VersaMark ink, sprinkled it with a mix of Clear Embossing powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and then heat embossed it.  Kind of fun and I was happy with how close it looked to the DSP.

The ribbon is Terracotta Tile from the Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack.  Love this ribbon, soft and easy to work with.  The Thanks is from the Ornate Thanks stamp set inked in Terracotta Tile.  

This card is one I will be sending as part of my Host Code Thank you gift.  When you use the host code (HVP2CMS2) in April and place a $40 online order, I will send you 2 completed cards and a card kit to make each of those cards.  Since I cannot send out stamped images, the card kit will contain the cardstock, DSP, embellishments, punched elements, and you will need to use your own stamps for the sentiment.  The second card is a surprise.  

Let me know if you have any questions about how to shop online with me.  Thanks for stopping by and see ya tomorrow!

Product List

Ornate Thanks Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [149471] $18.00	Terracotta Tile Classic Stampin’ Pad [150086] $7.50	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad [147109] $7.50	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [147090] $7.50	Versamark Pad [102283] $9.50
Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138337] $8.75	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730] $9.75	Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100702] $8.75	So Saffron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [105118] $8.75	Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper [152488] $15.00
Medium Daisy Punch [149517] $16.00	Stitched Rectangle Dies [148551] $35.00	Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack [152479] $7.00	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder [109130] $6.00	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751] $6.00

How are you? Hope you are doing well.  It is Thursday and time for the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge #CCMC607.  This week it is a color challenge.

Here's what I made.

Did some sponging using Poppy Parade and Crushed Curry ink on Whisper White cardstock.  I love how it blended together.  Around the edges I sponged some Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Do you see the little light splatters?  I dipped my Aqua Painter in water and gently tapped on it to get the random splatters.  I love how it adds a little more interest to the sponged cardstock.

The flowers are from the Forever Blossoms stamp set, heat embossed with Black embossing powder.  I colored in the flowers and leaves using a Blender Pen and Garden Green, Poppy Parade, and Crushed Curry ink refills.  

I wanted to add some shine to the flower petals and mistakenly squeezed the Wink of Stella too hard.  I had a couple of big drops of Wink of Stella on my placemat and I didn't want it to go to waste so I painted the petals pretty heavily with it.  I wish I could capture it better because the petals are pretty shimmery.  I added a Poppy Parade twine bow from the Country Club Twine Combo pack to the stem of the flowers.  I still feel it was missing something so I colored some Silver Metallic pearls using the Dark Poppy Parade Stampin' Blend and added them to the card front.  

I was looking for just the right sentiment. When I saw the Tasteful Textures set, I knew I had found it.  Honestly when I first purchased this set I wasn't sure when I would ever use the sentiment but it fits perfectly the time we are living in.

Thank you for dropping by and if you have been inspired or are in need of some supplies, I would love to help you.  

Welcome to the debut of a brand new blog hop, Around the World on Wednesday,  #aWOWbloghop!  We have twenty four (24)  participating in this first hop representing 13 different time zones (Midnight in Hawaii through 10PM for New Zealand) in all of Stampin' Up's markets!  Thank you so much for joining us as we hop Around the World on Wednesday!

The theme for this first hop is Crafty Favorites.  I had to think a lot about what this meant to me.  I know for some it might be a favorite tool, stamp set, technique.  After much thought I think what my Crafty Favorite has to  be is color coordination.  I love that I have inks, markers, Stampin' Blends, cardstock, DSP (designer series paper), and accessories in colors that coordinate.  Currently one of my favorite colors is Petal Pink, partly because there are lots of products in Petal Pink which  makes it easy to create with.

Here I colored the magnolia from the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set using Petal Pink Stampin' Blends in both light and dark.  I also used the Petal Pink and White stripe from the Magnolia Lane DSP and the gorgeous Petal Pink Organdy Striped Ribbon.  It is wonderful not having to guess if the pinks will coordinate.

This is a fun fold that twists as you open it to reveal the inside panel.  

The inside panel has a strip of the Petal Pink and white DSP and a fussy cut flower from the Magnolia Lane DSP.I love how everything goes together creating a harmonious look.  I vividly remember when I would go to the craft store and buy ribbon or cardstock thinking it would match the ink I had at home, only to get home and realize they weren't the same shade of red.  It was always so frustrating.  This is why my Crafty Favorite is color/product coordination.

Now it is time for you to check out what talented Teri West's Crafty Favorite is!

Angela Meiritz-Reid  - NZ

Tatiana Tobin - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Cheryll Miller - AU

Satomi Wellard - JA

Melissa Gifford - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Manuela Geiswinkler - AT

Ximena Morales - DE

Aurélie Fabre - FR

Mikaela Titheridge - UK

Tina Zinck - CA

Annette Ball - CA

Angie McKenzie - US

Mary Deatherage - US

Shel Anderson - CA

Chris Smith - US

Anne Marie Hile - US

Brenda Nelson - CA

Tricia Butts - US

Elaine de Montmorency - CA

Sharon Burkert - US

Teri West - US

Cheryl Hamilton - US

Thank you for joining us on our inaugural hop!  Be sure to join us in May on the 2nd Wednesday of the month!

How are you?  Hope you are doing well.  It is Thursday and time for the Create with Connie & Mary Challenge.  This week it is a sketch challenge.

It has been a while since I played with the Good Morning Magnolia set, dies and DSP.  One of the nice things about using things you haven't in a while, it is almost like they are new to me again!

The flowers were die cut from the Magnolia Lane DSP. One of the flowers was just a partial but I was able to cover it with the other flowers, hate to waste any of them.  Love the sentiment, it is a good reminder for all of us. 

Inside I added a strip of the DSP and fussy cut a flower from another sheet of DSP.  I love how it looks.  

Thanks for stopping by and please check out the Create with Connie & Mary blog and see what the other design team members created with the sketch.

Product List

Good Morning Magnolia Bundle [151087] $63.75	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad [147111] $7.50	Mossy Meadow 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133676] $8.75	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730] $9.75	Petal Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146985] $8.75
Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper [149484] $11.50	Layering Circles Dies [141705] $35.00	Stitched So Sweetly Dies [151690] $32.00	Petal Pink 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Organdy Striped Ribbon [149441] $8.00