Almost Goodbye

It’s that time of year again and some of my favourite Stampin’ Up! products are retiring as we get ready for the new annual catalogue coming on the 2nd of June.

Below are some projects featuring a few of the retiring products. Whilst it’s sad to see them go, they’re still available to buy until the new catalogue arrives (or unless sold out beforehand) – and several have a great discounted price so get in quick!

Four Frames Stamp Set

The card on the left is probably the second make and take I ever did, at my friend Katie’s house. That was around four years ago! I ordered the stamp set and coordinating Decorative Label Punch that day and have loved using them ever since. I’m glad the punch is staying but it’s time to say goodbye to the stamp set (and I reckon a four year run is a pretty good innings!). Katie’s instructions for this card are here.

Not only is Four Frames fantastic for cardmaking – I’ve also used this set to label plastic containers in my pantry, gift labelling, labels for exercise books, and the list goes on!

For the Birds Stamp Set

I bought this stamp set for our wedding six months ago, so it also holds a special place in my craft stash. I love the happy looking outlined birds and with 8 stamps in this set, there are so many occasions to use them, including Christmas.

We used them on our invitations and added a punched flower with a rhinestone jewel centre. The stacked birds featured on our thank-you cards – the thank-you sentiment was from an old hostess stamp set called Sweetly Framed. The watercolour-like background was achieved by colouring-in a clear block using different coloured markers, spritzing lightly with water and then “stamping” the card with the watercoloured block (do this before stamping the image).

And finally, we also used one of the stamps for our wedding cupcakes – it’s the two birds splashing in the fountain and says “when I’m with you I can be me”. If you click on the picture a larger one will pop up that’s a bit clearer to see. After rolling out the icing to the desired thickness (and with a clean stamp!) the stamp was simply pressed into the icing to emboss it. I then used a scone cutter to get the right shape to fit on the yummy cupcakes Crafty Pete made.

Embosslits – Beautiful Wings and Fashionable Hearts

These cute little embosslits for use in the Big Shot both emboss and cut the cardstock at the same time. I used Fashionable Hearts on an anniversary card I made for Crafty Pete, for our six year anniversary (before we got married). The embosslit cut out five hearts of different sizes and patterns, and I added a shiny sequin for a sixth heart. I’ve got a more detailed blog post on this card to come, so stay tuned for that.

Similarly, the Beautiful Wings cuts out five butterflies of different sizes and patterns. Crafty Pete used this embosslit when he made his mum a Mother’s Day card last year. Another card I’ve seen using Beautiful Wings can be seen here – I’ve always wanted to have a go at making this type of card (but haven’t quite gotten around to it yet!).

Confetti Celebration DSP and the Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack

As always we will be saying goodbye to all the designer series paper in the annual catalogue. Confetti Celebration was definitely my favourite – I love the combination of all the vibrant colours. Again, I’ve got a detailed blog coming up for the Envelope Punch Board card (see right) which we made in one of my classes, so check back for that soon.

And my last featured product is one I never quite used enough – the Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack. I used it here with the Butterfly Basics set. It just adds some lovely texture and detail to the card. My Hello You card also used these templates.