April 2020 - Page 4 of 5 - The Maine Stamper

2018-2020 Retiring In-Color, Lovely Lipstick

April 14, 2020

Retirement Time for Lovely Lipstick

Stampin’ Up! offers trendy In Color collections that are only available for two years. After two short years of use, the In Colors, like Lovely Lipstick, are retired to make way for new colors. This gives us a fresh palette of popular hues to work with.

In April, the retired list comes out. This list includes all the products that will not be available in the new Annual Catalog, which is released in June. “Get them before they’re gone” and “while supplies last” is often heard during April and May.

And every year, we have to say goodbye to five In Colors. Whether we are ready to, or not. Some of the colors are so fabulous, we hope to see them in Stampin’ Up!’s color line-up in the future, if we are so lucky, during an infrequent color refresh.

This year, we are bidding a fond farewell to the following 2018-2020 In Colors: Lovely Lipstick, Grapefruit Grove, Pineapple Punch, Call Me Clover and Blueberry Bushel.

A Lipstick So Lovely

Melon Mambo (left) Lovely Lipstick (center) Real Red (right)

When this particular shade of lipstick hit the ground, there was great debate over whether it was red or pink. The answer lies somewhere in between. And like a good lipstick, it can be slapped on and it will make any ensemble complete.

Lovely Lipstick is a bright and cheerful color. It does not have the sassy attitude that Melon Mambo has, nor is it sharp like Real Red. Lovely is more refined and regal, deeply intense and mature. And like a good lady, Lovely changes her mind from day to day, dithering between pink and red, per her mood.

Band Together

In the card above, I stamped the flower image twice, using Lovely Lipstick ink and cardstock. Then, I cut out the images with the coordinating dies, Detailed Bands.

I used an older version of the 2018-2020 In Color 6×6″ Designer Series Paper, which has two-toned stripes. The sentiment is stamped in Lovely Lipstick ink and die cut. Afterward, I placed it on a banner-punched piece of coordinating card stock.

The supporting colors for this card are Blushing Bride, seen in the floral accent pieces, and Granny Apple Green, used for the leaves. Lovely Lipstick works beautifully with these pinks and greens.

Under My Umbrella

I stamped the umbrella image using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink three times: once each on Lovely Lipstick, So Saffron and Calypso Coral cardstock. Next, I punched each umbrella out using the coordinating Umbrella Builder Punch.

Using my Paper Snips, I fussy cut a third of the umbrella out of the two supporting colors. Afterward, I glued together my multi-color umbrella, keeping the Lovely Lipstick umbrella as a base.

Again, a retired version of the 2018-2020 In Color Designer Series Paper was used, this time in polka-dots. The rain boots in So Saffron and the flowers in Calypso Coral reiterate support of the featured color, making this rainy day card anything but dreary.

Nothing Sweeter

Lest we think Lovely is only used in pink variations, here it is in Christmas red formatting. I die cut a stitched square in Lovely Lipstick cardstock as a layering piece in this seasonal changeable magnet to my home decor frame.

Greens in Garden and Granny Apple were used on the Christmas tree, from the retired stamp set Nothing Sweeter. The garland was stamped in Lovely Lipstick. I used the retired Sweetly Stitched Framelits Dies to cut out the tree.

The ribbon has Real Red and Garden Green in it, and the star is red glimmer paper. Lovely Lipstick looks holiday festive when combined with traditional Christmas colors.

Lovely Long Gone

I am sad to see this lovely color leaving the Stampin’ Up! family. This mix of not-a-girly-pink to faded-antique-red has been a hit in my craft room. Here’s hoping it returns some day in a color refresh down the road.

Stampin' Up! products in Lovely Lipstick

It is not too late to get some of the wonderful products still available in Lovely Lipstick, but time is running out fast. If you pick up an ink pad, please purchase the ink refill too. You will stamp far into the future without the ink pad going dry.

While you are in my online store, https://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net, make sure you consider the Stampin’ Blends in Lovely Lipstick, as well as cardstock and embellishments. You will find it so easy to put this amazing color to use on your next project!

Welcome Easter Stamp Set

April 9, 2020

In springtime, and especially at Easter-tide, we all look to herald the season with sweet pastel colors. The Welcome Easter Stamp Set definitely provides the “sweet”, and I chose great pastel colors to create these adorable, welcoming cards.

You will find that the Welcome Easter Stamp Set does more than welcome Easter. There is also a sentiment to welcome a new baby, or greet a sweet friend. I picture myself pulling out these stamps all year to make birthday cards for the young, and the young at heart.

Welcome Easter Stamp Set item 151559 — Welcome Easter Stamp Set, item 151559

Basic Card Recipe

All of the cards pictured above were made with the same card recipe. I made each card unique by changing the cardstock choices, designer series paper, embossing folder and stamped image.

Each card contains:

Cardstock base, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, scored and folded in half
Layer 1: 4 1/8 x 5 3/8″
Embossed Whisper White: 2 1/2 x 4″
Designer Series Paper (DSP): 2 1/2 x 4″
Cardstock Circle: 2 1/2″
Whisper White Circle: 2 1/4″
Sentiment, Whisper White: 3/4 x 2 3/4″
Inside Layer (if desired) Whisper White 4 x 5 1/4″

Creating Circles

First, I stamped the critter images from the Welcome Easter Stamp Set onto Whisper White Cardstock, using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. After stamping, I punched these images out using my 2 1/4″ Circle Punch. I then used my 2 1/2″ Circle Punch with colorful cardstock, to layer behind my stamped image.

If you don’t have these particular circle punches, another option in your craft arsenal may be the Layering Circles Dies. It is easy to choose the correct size needed by “dry-fitting” the die to the stamped image. Then, choose a larger die to create the colorful layer.

Circle Punches and Layering Circles Dies

Designer Series Paper

Along with the Welcome Easter Stamp Set, the Designer Series Paper used in the making of these cards also came from Stampin’ Up!’s January-June 2020 Mini Catalog.

At first glance, the Best Dressed 6 x 6″ DSP looks like flowers and make-up. But, fortunately, all Designer Series Paper is two sided! I chose pastel colors from this paper stack for all but the Blue Bunny Card.

Best Dressed DSP item 151319 — Best Dressed 6 x 6″ DSP, item #151319

The Blue Bunny Card uses DSP from another 6 x 6″ paper stack, titled Birthday Bonanza. Again, at first glance, this paper appears to be animals and birthday themed. However, there are two sides to this paper also!

Pink Bunny Card

The cardstock base for the Pink Bunny Welcome Easter Card is in Flirty Flamingo, along with the 2 1/2″ circle. Layer 1 is in Blushing Bride.

I specifically chose the embossing folder, Basket Weave 3D, because it reminded me of an Easter basket when paired with the adorable bunny. The DSP is from the Best Dressed paper stack.

I used Stampin’ Blends to color my pink bunny. Dark Flirty Flamingo was used to accent the ears, nose and feet. (Retired) Light Pink Pirouette was used to shade in the rest of the bunny. I left the teeth and chest ruff uncolored.

Blue Bunny Card

If your Welcome Easter Bunny Card is too pink, turn it blue! Blue happens to be my granddaughter’s favorite color, so I made her Easter card to order, as any awesome grandmother would do!

The cardstock base is Balmy Blue, as is the 2 1/2″ circle. Layer 1 is Mint Macaron. Again, I used the Basket Weave 3D Embossing Folder. And this is the only card in the group that uses DSP from the Birthday Bonanza paper stack.

When coloring the blue bunny, I turned to my Stampin’ Blends again. This time, Dark Balmy Blue and Light Balmy Blue did the job. I used the Color Lifter Blend to lighten the blue color on the bunny’s face and body. The teeth and chest ruff were left uncolored.

Yellow Chick Card

The cardstock color, So Saffron, is the perfect option as a base for the Welcome Easter Yellow Chick card. Layer 1 is in Pumpkin Pie, and for this card, the 2 1/2″ circle is as well.

I chose the embossing folder, Beads & Baubles, because the drooping beads are oval, or egg shape, in nature. We will not get into the age old debate, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”. The DSP is from the Best Dressed paper stack.

It was so easy to color in this baby chick. I used Light So Saffron to color the body, followed by Dark Pumpkin Pie for the comb, beak, legs and feet.

Blue Lamb Card

This Welcome Easter Card was also specially crafted, for my grandson’s very first Easter. The cardstock color base and 2 1/2″ circle are in Balmy Blue. Layer 1 is in Highland Heather.

Here, I chose the embossing folder, Eyelet Lace, as it reminded me of curly wool, especially when used with Whisper White Cardstock. The DSP is from the Best Dressed paper stack.

There was minimal coloring for the lamb, he is mostly white. I did use the Dark Balmy Blue Stampin’ Blend for the ears, nose, ribbon and feet. I also added some white swirls to the lamb’s body with the Chalk Marker.

Unlike the blends, do not use the Chalk Marker over top of the black stamped image lines, stay within the boundaries. The Chalk Marker will dull your lines, whereas the Stampin’ Blends do not.

Happy Easter

My Welcome Easter themed cards say it all: “Happy Easter”! I used Memento Tuxedo Black Ink for my sentiment on the 3/4 x 2 3/4″ Whisper White Cardstock. After stamping, I attached all of the card layers to the card base with adhesive.

And Beyond

Like I mentioned above, the Welcome Easter Stamp Set doesn’t need to be limited to Easter cards. Neither does this card recipe! It is simple enough to use these measurements and design when making any card.

If you are looking for additional easy card recipes, please take a look at my Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be Series. And if you enjoyed these cards or this tutorial, please feel free to pin or share!

Most of the products used in making the Welcome Easter cards can be found in my online store, https://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net. Shopping with me has its merits, Mainley Stamping Merits, where earning a free stamp set is just one of the ways I thank each of my customers.

For now, I thank you for spending your time on my blog today. Please visit again soon, I look forward to sharing more stamping projects and insights with you!

Sweetly Swirled In Balmy Blue

April 6, 2020 2 Comments

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

Card made with Sweetly Swirled Stamp Set

Monday’s are hard, but in this cardmaking series, I will show you that stamping shouldn’t be. In fact, it’s quite easy. And with minimal supplies and minimal efforts, you can get fabulous results!

Today’s Monday card features the stamp set, Sweetly Swirled. This stamp set was released new, from the 2019-2020 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. It includes 14 photopolymer stamps, 3 of which feature sweet swirls.

These swirls make great accent images for any of your cards or projects! And two of them coordinate with dies, in the form of Layering Circles or Layering Ovals.

However, since we are using minimal supplies, this Monday Card only uses the stamp set.

That’s right, one stamp set, Sweetly Swirled, two ink pads, Balmy Blue and Memento Tuxedo Black, and two colors of cardstock, Balmy Blue and Whisper White. Please follow along!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Balmy Blue CS: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, score at 4 1/4″ for card base.

Balmy Blue CS: (2 of) 1 x 3 3/4″, (2 of) 1/2 x 1″

Whisper White CS: 4 x 5 1/4″ (for inside, optional)

Whisper White CS: 4 x 4″, 3 3/4 x 3 3/4″, 1 1/4 x 4″, 3/4 x 3 1/2″, 1/2 x 1 1/4″

Stamp and Assemble

This Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be Sweetly Swirled Card starts out with the typical “fold in half” and score with your bonefolder to get a great crisp card base. Let’s not break tradition.

However, my TIP to you is to score once, invert the fold and score again. Your inner crease is now as crisp as the outer one. This makes for a professional looking card base!

Create Your Own Designer Series Paper

With the minimal supplies used in this card, we are not adding designer series paper to it. We are making our own! This great background pattern can be used with any stamp sets you own.

First, I stamped a fully inked flower onto my 3 3/4″ square of Whisper White CS using Balmy Blue Ink. Next, I immediately stamped the shadow flower beside it, offsetting slightly. This is known as second generation stamping.

Be sure to add some darker flowers to the outer edges. It’s okay to stamp off the edge of your paper to create your individualized pattern. I always have scrap paper behind my work in progress to catch excess ink.

The largest circle swirl stamp fits nicely into the flowered square. I stamped this swirl in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink in the middle of the square. Because there is no up, down or other orientation to this stamp, it is easily placed.

For another random pattern, I used one of the Balmy Blue 1 x 3 3/4″ CS pieces and Balmy Blue Ink, and a different flower stamp from the first choice. This time I did not shadow stamp my image. Mixing things up creates variation interest.

Faux Sponging

A great way to add color to the edge of your cardstock is to sponge some on. Since this card requires minimal supplies, we are making this happen in another manner.

Hold your ink pad in one hand and swipe the edge of the ink pad onto the edge of the cardstock, going around the entire square. This will add needed contrast between the card layers.

You’re Really Missed

Are you a victim of crooked sayings? You can use your grid paper to line up those photopolymer stamp sentiments. Here’s how:

Place the stamp (image side down and flat side up) along the grid line.
Adjust stamp as needed, so that it is nice and even.
Then, simply add your clear block by placing it over the stamp.

Sentiment from Sweetly Swirled Stamp Set — Once your sentiment is lined up nicely, it is up to you to stamp it straight!

I used Memento Tuxedo Black Ink to stamp my sentiment on the 3/4 x 3 3/4″ Whisper White CS. For me, using the smallest piece of cardstock for my sentiment helps keep the saying centered. Less paper=less room for error!

To emphasize the “really” in this sentiment, I added Balmy Blue Ink with the smallest swirl stamp around this word. So that it wasn’t too bold, I stamped off onto my scrap paper first.

Finishing Touches

As cardmakers, we tend to have lots of little scraps of paper lying around at any given time. In this card, I put some of them to great use as accent pieces!

The half-inch wide strips flag easily. I use my Paper Snips to cut from the corner edge toward the middle. Repeat on the other side, until your triangle falls off.

To dress my flags up, I added contrasting colors in tiny circles. If you have don’t have a small circle punch, check your office supplies. I used an ordinary hole punch for this minimal supplies required card. Tiny drops of glue, or small glue dots will hold them fast.

Assembly

This Sweetly Swirled card has quite a few layers, but they go together quickly. Here is a picture showing the “layout of layers”.

I like to put each layer “set” together before I adhere it to the card base. Typically, I start from the top and work toward the bottom.

The Insider Job

Your Sweetly Swirled card is beautiful on the outside, now lets make it pretty inside too! I like to mimic some of the outer stamping into a corner of the inside card. This way the card has continuity and there is still lots of room to add your own sentiment or written thoughts.

Sweetly Swirled Stamps — Here, I used the same technique from the stamping of the front of the card, to add that inside interest.

Now is a good time to add some stamping to your envelope too! You could choose from the swirl stamps, the flower stamps or the sentiment stamp.

Step It Up

Sweetly Swirled Card with Pearls, Stampin' Blends colored

If you have Pearl Basic Jewels, item #144219, you can use your Stampin’ Blends to color them. This will create some bling in the color you need for your project. I used the Dark Balmy Blue Stampin’ Blend, item #148542, to color some of my pearls.

Easy Monday Stamping

I hope you enjoyed making this easy card on a hard Monday with me. My video tutorial can be found on my FaceBook page, as well as my YouTube channel. To see another Easy Monday Card, featuring Beautifully Braided, click here.

If you need any supplies for this card, please feel free to visit my online store, https://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net, at any time. See you next Monday for another installment of:

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be!

The Maine Stamper

Julie Makson Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator

Month: April 2020