2018-2020 In Colors - The Maine Stamper

2018-2020 Retiring In Color, Blueberry Bushel

April 18, 2020

Retirement Time For Blueberry Bushel

Stampin’ Up! offers trendy In Color collections that are only available for two years. After two short years of use, the In Colors, like Blueberry Bushel, 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.

Bushels Of Blueberries

Pacific Point (left), Blueberry Bushel (center), Night Of Navy (right)

Blueberry Bushel is another one of those bright, happy colors. Blueberry is a great blue, Americana in nature, or dark blue jeans that have faded just right. I think this color fills the void between too light and too dark. And due to its retirement status, soon Blueberry Bushel will be too missed.

Blue is a popular color for any gender, so it blends beautifully on any card or project. Blueberry Bushel compliments pastels, mimics fellow bright tones, and seamlessly coordinates with neutral colors. Perhaps all of these great features should make Blueberry Bushel #1 in its class!

Fanciful Fragrance

Blueberry Bushel abounds in this card, with Very Vanilla as the only other color along with it. Blueberry is perfect for the Delft China look. And the antique or Victorian selection of the stamps in the Fanciful Fragrance Stamp Set were an obvious choice for this card.

I put my Big Shot to use with two different embossing folders, Scripty 3D and Parisian Flourish 3D, both on Blueberry Bushel Cardstock. After stamping my images in Blueberry Bushel Ink onto Very Vanilla Cardstock, I die cut the perfume bottles and sentiment with the Stitched Nested Labels Dies.

You may notice that two of the die cuts on this card are custom made. The perfume bottles needed a wider stitched cut, but not necessarily longer. I lined up the bottom “point” exactly where I wanted it and ran it thru my machine. Next, I did the same, this time working from the top “point” down. Custom size! The sentiment was also worked in a backwards manner, and trimmed to perfection with my Paper Snips.

Pop Of Petals

And pop of color! This cheery card has happiness all over it, from the exuberant flowers to the polka-dot designer series paper. Blueberry Bushel is really great friends with this color selection.

I stamped the flower images with coordinating ink and cardstock in Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green and Melon Mambo. Punching each image out with the Four-Petal Flower Punch can be a little tricky though. It helps to stamp the flower on longer, narrower paper to discover the best orientation to line it up with the punch. Once you know which “way” is up, it becomes a breeze.

This card is all about layers, too. Each one plays a part in the overall appearance of the card. I chose not to add a sentiment to the front, but there is room for a very small one toward the bottom if needed. And because this card is not embellished with bumpy, lumpy things, it is easy to pop in the mail to brighten someone’s day!

Sea Of Textures

Blueberry Bushel is the perfect blue for nautical themed cards too. For this card, I chose the neutral colors of Early Espresso, Sahara Sand and Old Olive to create an organic look.

The High Seas 3D Embossing Folder was a natural choice for my ocean adventure card, and using it with Blueberry Bushel Cardstock followed suit. The jaunty DSP in blue and white stripes is from a retired 2018-2020 In Color paper collection.

I took advantage of the many stamps in this particular set. Besides the octopus and sentiment, I chose 3 different ‘background’ stamps to create unique patterns and designs on my cardstock. My embellishments include the free one, tearing corners and sponging, as well as Burlap Ribbon and Designer Elements.

Bye-Bye Blueberry Bushel

Blueberry Bushel is most certainly going to be missed, and of all the retiring In Colors in this class, it is the one I have the highest-of-hopes will return some day in a color refresh. It would be a perfect add in to the Brights Collection!

Stampin' Up! products in Blueberry Bushel

It is not too late to get some of the wonderful products still available in Blueberry Bushel, 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 Noble Peacock Specialty Designer Series Paper, as well as cardstock and the 2018-2020 In Color Stampin’ Write Markers. Don’t get the “blues” and be disappointed by missing out on this fabulous color for your craft room cards and projects. Instead, stock up today!

2018-2020 Retiring In Color, Call Me Clover

April 17, 2020

Retirement Time For Call Me Clover

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

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.

Give Me A Call, Clover!

Garden Green (left), Call Me Clover (center), Shaded Spruce (right)

Green is my very favorite color. It really doesn’t matter the tone: light, dark, medium… I love green (see my blog post Ever Elegant Green Cards for more on green). So, of course I am sad to see any green color retiring!

Call Me Clover is the perfect green for clovers at St. Patrick’s Day, Easter grass in a basket, Christmas trees and more. It is a green green. Not yellow, not brown. Clover reminds me of summer, with the grass growing lush and thick and a cooling canopy of tree leaves overhead.

Garden Shed

With thoughts of summer fresh in mind, and Call Me Clover right at hand, this card came together quickly. I chose neutral accent colors, Gray Granite, Basic Black and Whisper White, to keep the focus on Clover.

I stamped the Garden Shed image using Gray Granite Ink on Whisper White Cardstock. Next, I used the Garden Green Watercolor Pencil to add some color. Afterward, I splashed on some water from my Aquapainter to blend the pencil lines. Lastly, I used the Artisan Textures stamps and Gray Granite ink to ‘faux’ color the garden shed.

From the Colorful Seasons Stamp Set, I stamped leaves in Call Me Clover on Whisper White and die cut them with the Seasonal Layers Dies. With the same dies, I cut the branch and chair in Gray Granite Cardstock. As a final step, I sponged Gray Granite Ink onto the chair with a heavy hand, and then lightly onto the white cardstock, using my Sponge Roller.

Floral Essence

Call Me Clover makes wonderful leaves and stems for any flower card. And this particular shade of green goes beautifully with purples. For this card, I called on Rich Razzleberry to lend a hand. This can be seen in the cardbase, and the stamped and punched flower, using the Perennial Flower Punch.

This elegant card gets its wow factor from the Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper, which is framed in Call Me Clover. The Purple Posy Vellum layer came from a free Sale-A-Bration offering from 2020. And with such delicate composition, I chose more vellum for my sentiment. In order to keep the ink from smearing, I stamped the words in Black Staz-On, then wrapped the entire piece around my DSP to avoid unsightly glue or tape lines.

Some may consider Call Me Clover to be a secondary player in this card, taking a backseat to Rich Razzleberry. I believe they share the stage here, as Clover is very present on this card, both in layering and in the leafy coverage, thanks in part to the Leaf Punch.

Dino Days

Bring out the dinosaurs, and give them some Clovers! This fun and simple card uses the stamp sets, Dino Days and Praiseworthy Prose, as well as the Dino Dies.

I stamped my friendly dinosaur using Call Me Clover Ink on Whisper White Cardstock, adding his spots in Blueberry Bushel. Then I gave him a die cut. The sentiment and dino tracks from Dino Days were stamped on Whisper White using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, then layered on Pool Party Cardstock. Additionally, I stamped the friendship sentiment in a background pattern on Whisper White using Call Me Clover Ink.

Fun DSP from the Dinoroar Collection gives this card a lighthearted nature. I added some (retired) black cording and Call Me Clover Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots as embellishments. This card is ready to send to a special friend-a-saurus!

Used To Call Me Clover

As you can see from the diverse themes of the above cards, Call Me Clover is a great color to add to any type of project. When choosing color combinations for these cards, there were not many that clashed with Call Me Clover. This lends to its extreme value as a supporting color.

It is not too late to get some of the wonderful products still available in Call Me Clover, 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 Call Me Clover, as well as cardstock and embellishments. You will find it hard to stop adding this amazing green color onto all of your upcoming projects!

2018-2020 Retiring In Color, Pineapple Punch

April 16, 2020

Retirement Time For Pineapple Punch

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

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.

Punchy Pineapple

So Saffron (left), Pineapple Punch (center), Daffodil Delight (right)

Pineapple Punch is a bright, vibrant color. Like, really vibrant. We are talking neon, safety-vest yellow here. And, full disclosure, Pineapple is my least favorite of the retiring In Colors. Or…maybe it was...I may have just changed my mind.

This yellow is so outspoken it can be hard to figure out how or where to use it. After all, how much loud yellow is too much loud yellow? Yet, when I sat down to incorporate the retiring Pineapple Punch into some creations, I found its sweet spot.

Timeless Tropical

Timeless Tropcial card in Pineapple Punch

Pineapple Punch…the name of this color deems it necessary to create pineapples with it! I pulled out the new stamp set, Timeless Tropical, and coordinating dies, In The Tropics, both from the January-June 2020 Mini Catalog, for this card.

I used Pineapple Punch for the cardbase, then layered a piece of Lovely Lipstick and Coastal Weave 3D embossed Crumb Cake as well. Using my Banner Punch, I flagged a piece of designer series paper from the Tropical Oasis collection. Next, I flagged old olive cardstock as well. All of these elements help to tone down this card, while keeping it tropical.

The pineapple was die cut in Pineapple Punch, then adhered to another scrap of the same color. I then fussy cut around the image, keeping the cutout pineapple in front and the solid cardstock in back. I sponged my pineapple with Old Olive and Soft Suede. The greens were made by die-cutting Old Olive, and sponging the tips with Garden Green.

Winds Of Change

If you have been following my blog or FaceBook page, you may know that I love stamping with tulips! When the Winds of Change Stamp Set became available, and it featured tulips, I had to have it. Yellow tulips seem very natural, so here they are using my Pineapple Punch theme.

This time I limited the color selection to Pineapple Punch, Whisper White and Basic Black. Even though the windmill image could have been colored in, I purposefully left it, along with the sky and grass, in black and white. I wanted the focus to be only yellow.

After stamping the images using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, I used my Stampin’ Blends in both Light and Dark Pineapple Punch to color the flowers. Simple, quick and effective. Additionally, I used some retired 2018-2020 In Color DSP for a striped background. The Rhinestone Basic Jewels do not add color, but enhance this card’s elegant simplicity.

Daisy Lane

When you think of daisies, you usually picture white and yellow flowers, right? Pineapple Punch is yellow, but I wanted something a little different for this card. So then, Balmy Blue and Granny Apple Green were invited to the party.

This card, like my Grapefruit Grove Fox Card, has two layers on it that are embossed. I used Brick and Mortar 3D on Pineapple Punch, and Scripty 3D on Granny Apple Green. I stamped the sentiment using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink directly onto the retired 2018-2020 DSP, then flagged and layered it onto Balmy Blue cardstock.

Daisy Delight and Daisy Lane are two different stamp sets that work with coordinating punches, Daisy and Medium Daisy. I stamped, and also stamped off, every other layer of the flower, using Balmy Blue on Whisper White Cardstock. The daisy center was stamped in Pineapple Punch Ink onto the same color cardstock, then punched out with my 1/2″ circle punch.

I stamped the flower stem and leaves using Granny Apple Green Ink on Whisper White Cardstock before die cutting with the Stictched So Sweetly rectangle. This way, I was able to slip some of the yellow brick cardstock beneath the raised rectangle when assembling. Pineapple Punch enamel dots from Happiness Blooms (aptly named) add embellishment.

Peace Out, Pineapple Punch

As I mentioned above, working with this color intimidated me. Until I sat down and put creative thought and color coordination together, I was not a huge fan of this extreme yellow. Now that we are getting along okay, I am sad to see it go!

It is not too late to get some of the wonderful products still available in Pineapple Punch, 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 Pineapple Punch, as well as cardstock and embellishments. This wild yellow will put a smile on your face as you use it on your next project!

2018-2020 Retiring In Color, Grapefruit Grove

April 15, 2020

Retirement Time For Grapefruit Grove

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

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.

Grove of Grapefruits

Cslypso Coral, Grapefruit Grove, Pumpkin Pie — Calypso Coral (left), Grapefruit Grove(center), Pumpkin Pie (right)

Grapefruit Grove is the softest tone of the 2018-2020 retiring In Color collection. I find nothing sour about this grapefruit, only sweet. And, if I were to use other food type descriptions for this color, I would name it “Completely Cantaloupe” or “Circus Peanut Treat”.

There is a tendency for this color to be used as orange, and yet it does not blend well with orange itself. Grapefruit pairs nicely with peachy tone colors, even pinks and reds. It is wonderful with neutral browns and grays, lending light to those earthy hues.

Beauty Abounds

My card is bursting with Grapefruit Grove. I used this color for the cardstock base, as well as the butterflies, which I die cut from the Butterfly Beauty Dies. Once I trimmed the butterfly ensemble apart, I used 3 of the 5 on my card front, leaving 2 for another project.

I love whimsical stripes and playful polka dots. The Designer Series Paper here is from a retired 2018-2020 In Color collection. All DSP is patterned differently on opposite sides, and in this case, I used the same paper, front and back, in creation.

I stamped the flourish in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink directly onto the DSP. Additionally, I stamped the opaque circles in Grapefruit Grove Ink onto the DSP in the same direct manner. I chose pearls to add a touch of elegance, as well as follow thru with the minimal colors of this endearing card.

Nature’s Beauty

Basic Gray and Cajun Craze are both darker colors, and Grapefruit Grove is the perfect choice to perfectly compliment and soften this card.

I stamped the fox image with Memento Black Ink on Whisper White Cardstock. Next, I colored the fox with Cajun Craze Stampin’ Blends, using the Color Lifter to help provide shading. My foxy fox is matted on a piece of Grapefruit Grove Cardstock.

Texture on cards is nice, so I added it twice! First, I embossed in Hammered Metal on Basic Gray. Secondly, I embossed in Subtle 3D on Grapefruit Grove. The sentiment for this card is from the stamp set, Heartland. Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots in Calypso Coral and Grapefruit Grove Nature’s Twine complete the look.

Beautiful Promenade

For my last card, I wanted to showcase a pleasing palette of colorful combinations that included Grapefruit Grove. Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade and Real Red round out the flowers on display.

I stamped each flower using the same ink color as my cardstock, for a tone on tone look. The Beautiful Promenade Stamp Set has an outline flower stamp as well as an inner striping stamp. I stamped each outline using direct ink to paper. The inner image was stamped off first, for lighter inking.

My choice of Basic Black and Whisper White as a stark background enabled the flowers to really pop. Soft Seafoam lends a gentle green tone to the leaves, helping to center the sentiment, which I die cut from the Stitched So Sweetly Dies.

Going, Gone, Grapefruit

I will admit that Grapefruit Grove was not one of my go-to colors over the past two years. But, now that it is retiring, I have come to the conclusion that I am not ready for it to leave, much like my adoration for another retiring In Color, Lovely Lipstick.

Stampin' Up! products in Grapefruit Grove

It is not too late to get some of the wonderful products still available in Grapefruit Grove, 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 2018-2020 In Color Stampin’ Write Markers, as well as cardstock and embellishments. You will find that Grapefruit Grove is an easy ingredient to mix into your next project.

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.

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!