Month: February 2020

The Purple Posy Collective

The In Color Story

Every year, Stampin’ Up! adds 5 new colors to their core color collection. Known as In Colors, they freshen the palette, mimicking current fashionable trends. After 2 years, In Colors are retired to make way for the next wave of color to come…in.

With the release of the 2019 Annual Catalog, we first met the In Color, Purple Posy. This pale, soft shadow of purple whispers beauty. Unfortunately, the angelic Purple Posy is also problematic.

Purple Posy Cardstock 150881
Purple Posy Cardstock, the lightest purple hue Stampin’ up! has offered.

The Purple Posy That Wasn’t

From April thru November, Stampin’ Up! strived to meet standards when developing the Purple Posy Ink Pad. Manufacturing issues and testing proved grim. Color shifting was not acceptable. After a few failed attempts to get it distributed to anxiously awaiting customers, the ink pad was permanently pulled.

This was a strange anomaly for the 2019-2021 In Color Collection. No Purple Posy ink pad? The catalog went live, the product was showcased. But it was too late for this color to be removed from the line-up or be replaced with another.  

Perfect Purple Posy’s

Although this particular ink pad will remain unavailable, Purple Posy is abundant in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. And it is here to stay until 2021. Consequently, that results in numerous possibilities for use of this fabulous purple.

Woven Threads DSP 149497
Woven Threads Designer Series Paper has Purple Posy “woven” throughout.

You can purchase Purple Posy as cardstock in sizes 8.5 x 11 and 12 x 12. In Designer Series Paper, you will find it well represented in the 6 x 6 In Color stack, with gingham, argyle, script and mosaic designs. As a supporting color, Purple Posy is found in the 12 x 12 Woven Threads pack, featuring variations and irregularities for an authentic feel.  

Choose embellishments like the Purple Posy Scalloped Linen Ribbon, thick and luxurious.  The In Color Faceted Dots provide adhesive enamel fun, or sprinkle some of the Woven Threads Sequin Assortment throughout your creations. Ink in Purple Posy is available in the form of the Stampin’ Write Markers In Color Collection, or Stampin’ Blends in both light and dark.

Woven Threads Sequin Assortment 149498
Faceted sequins add sparkle and allure to any project.

Purple Posy Potential

Along with the vast product selection, there are multiple applications for this exceptional color. My next blog post will show you how easy it is to work Purple Posy into your project without the use of a stamp pad in that color, so be sure to follow up for directions.

This card blends Purple Posy into the color spectrum seamlessly.

Meanwhile,  grab some of these great Purple Posy products from my online store http://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net and be prepared to purple the world.

Paper Heart Bouquet

With just days to go before Valentine’s Day, here is a centerpiece with loads of charm. It is quickly and easily put together, see the “how to assemble” photo sequence below. The only hard part is deciding to keep it, or gift it to someone you love.

Start with a glass jar and a cute patterned paper for the insert. Any clean food jar or canning jar works well, as long as you can roll the paper to fit inside the jar mouth. For this project, I am using From My Heart Specialty Designer Series Paper. The beauty of Stampin’ Up! DSP is that it is double sided, with different coordinating patterns front and back (so no ugly side).

Next, you will need lots of hearts. Make sure you use a variety of paper with interesting and unique patterns and colors. You will need 2 hearts of the same pattern to compose each individual pick. I quickly punched out hearts using the Heart Punch Pack from Stampin’ Up!. One punch is a traditional heart shape and the other heart punch has a scalloped edge.

Making the heart picks will require some thin dowels or wooden sticks. Keep in mind that your wood picks need to be taller than your glass jar. I used Tear and Tape Adhesive (strong holding, double sided tape) and Stampin’ Dimensionals to assemble each heart pick. In the following photo you will see the best placement for each.

Secure the heart with adhesive only to the wood pick first. After that, sandwich the second heart (that contains adhesive and dimensionals) over the wood pick and line up with the first heart. The dimensionals help to secure the two hearts back to back as well as buffer the void that the stick creates between the heart layers.

Pretty ribbons in corresponding colors add soft texture and allure. I chose to use traditional red, pink and white for my heart picks. Some are tied in simple knots and others are bows. If your ribbon tends to slide down your pick, roll up a glue dot and use it to secure your ribbon to the pick.

Your jar may need extra love, and a band of ribbon added around the outer rim is just the answer. Cut your ribbon just a bit longer than the jar circumference and overlap slightly where the ends of the ribbon meet. I used the Tear and Tape again to secure the wide ribbon band.

Add ribbon to your ribbon! I used a smaller white ribbon to tie a bow over the larger red one. Next, I punched out 4 small hearts and attached them back to back to the dangling bow strands, using glue dots to secure. How cute is that?

Time to put it all together. If you want your bouquet to be loose and fluid, like wildflowers, just put the heart picks in the jar in any order. This makes if fun to ruffle and mix at will. And if a guest visits or a co-worker pops into your cubicle, it is easy to remove one and gift it away.

If you are looking for some variance in height or a floral centerpiece design, consider adding some styro-foam in the base of your jar (again make sure it fits thru the jar mouth opening). Stab the picks into the foam in different depths. You can also add tissue paper to give the picks something to “dig” into with the same effect.

No matter what pattern paper you use, or what height you keep your centerpiece, this heart bouquet adds sweetness to any space. Not only is it quick and easy to create, but minimal cost is involved. No need to water, weed, or throw away this bouquet…just craft and enjoy.

If you liked this project, share it or save it to Pinterest. I am thinking about making a shamrock bouquet for St Patrick’s Day, then a colorful Easter egg bouquet, followed by a darling spring flower bouquet for Mother’s Day. Leave me a comment and tell me what you are inspired to make!

Special Cards, Special Days

The Coordination Product Release has offered some great dies to go with special stamps in the January-June Mini Catalog and the Sale-A_Bration brochure. Today my focus is special as well…Special Someone Stamp Set and Special Days Dies.

Special Someone

The stamp set, Special Someone, offers two-step stamping capabilities. Two-step stamping is a process for stamping an outline shape in one color, and then stamping a filler shape in another color to create an instant image. In effect, two separate stamps cohesively making one two-toned image.

Two-step stamping is a great way to complete a project quickly. And the photopolymer stamps make lining up the filler image over the outline image a breeze. But don’t worry, you can choose to hand color the image if you prefer.

I adore the cute critters in this stamp set, raccoon, squirrel and mouse. They lend well to kids cards, but are also very life-like and realistic enough to use in cards depicting nature as well. The sentiments direct your cards toward birthday, thank you, and get well – the perfect trifecta.

Special Someone Stamp Set
Special Someone Stamp Set, #151643, 23 photopolymer stamps

Special Days Dies

The coordinating dies, Special Days, give you the ability to take your critters anywhere. Not only do they cut out your leading characters, you have the option to make balloons (oval and heart shaped) and strings to attach. There are also dies for flowers, grass and bows. A word bubble die lets your critters share their thoughts.

Special Days Dies
Special Days Dies, #153587, 17 dies

Special Cards

I had a lot of fun creating with this stamp set and their coordinating dies. Admittedly, the little mouse kinda stole the show. It is easy to experiment with shading colors to create soft or bold looks. I see pink and blue raccoons in my future.

For a Very Special Someone

Special Someone Stamp Set

For this card, I chose colors from the 2019-2021 In Color Collection. Seaside Spray, Purple Posy and Terracotta Tile are muted beautifully with black and white. I took advantage of different size circle punches to create peep holes for my friends.

The Special Day Dies allowed me to cut around the stamped images, so the animals could pop thru the holes with a colorful background behind them. I embossed the Whisper White cardstock using the Pinewood Planks Embossing Folder for a woodsy look. The little accent flowers (yet another die in this set) were capped with rhinestone jewels to add sparkle.

A Special Happy Birthday

Special Someone Stamp Set

The versatility of this special collection is the supporting props. As you can see, this card doesn’t have a single critter in sight. I chose bright colors for the oval balloons, but kept the heart shaped balloon a soft pink for greater contrast between them.

I found die cutting the strings a little tricky. The secret (learned by trial and error) is to line up the tiny hole at the base of the metal string die with the bottom stamped image of the string. Practice always makes perfect, and because these are small images, there is not a lot of waste in attempting to gain perfection.

Rich Merry Merlot acts as a neutral color with Crumb Cake, which is embossed with the Corrugated folder. I scattered a few Basic Adhesive Backed Sequins along the bottom and added Braided Linen Trim as complimentary embellishments.

3 x 3 Mini

Special Someone Stamp Set

This little mouse steals the show on a 3″ x 3″ card. He has designs on the daisy, two-step stamped in black and yellow and die cut. Small pieces of cardstock, Smoky Slate embossed in Mosaic and Daffodil Delight embossed in Scripty, blend with the gray mouse and yellow flower perfectly.

The stamped sentiment, with love, is a partial inking of the stamp “sent with love” from Itty Bitty Greetings. I inked only the portion of the stamp I wanted to use for this card. Lastly, I added 2 Frosted Epoxy Droplets along the white band. Their plain and simple element adds balance.

Make Special Cards

A home made card is always a special card, but the Special Someone Stamp Set and Special Day Dies really help to hone in on that factor. Remember, special qualities aren’t limited to the card itself. It is manifested in the card maker and the card recipient as well.

If you enjoy cards with cute critters, be sure to check out my post Hey Lady for ladybug card ideas. As always, if you need any card making supplies for the featured projects, please visit my online store https:www.juliemakson.stampinup.net. There are always surprises in the clearance rack, maybe you will find something special there as well.