Thursday 20 April 2017

The Wacky Watercooler April 2017 Blog Hop - Retirement Means Goodbye


This is a difficult time of the year for me.  Since I buy products which I love, having them retire is upsetting and brings my spirits down.  This blog hop is our "last hurrah" for those products which we are losing and which we have loved most.  Choosing what I was going to use took more time than creating my projects.  But finally I narrowed down the list of what I planned  to use.  I wonder if my choices of the retired products which I'll miss most is in line with your own.

As you will remember, if you've wandered through our blog hops before, our blog hop is presented in a circular fashion.  What does that mean?  Wherever you begin in our blog hop, whether you go forwards or backwards through the participants, eventually you will wind up precisely where you began.  I hope you'll take time to visit all the participating blogs and, perhaps, leave a short message letting us know  what you've thought of our posts.

If you've been moving forward in this blog hop, you'll have arrived here from Penny Hanuszak's blog, which is a very hard act to follow.


* * * * * * * * * * 

For my first project I turned to the Wetlands, Gorgeous Grunge and Picture Perfect stamp sets.  After almost going through shock, realizing that they were being retired, I calmed down by reminding myself that I can, after all, keep them.   I can see many more personal projects being made using them in the future.

I grew up at the coast and the image of the Sandpipers in the Wetlands set is one of my favourites.  Coupled with the Starfish image from the Picture Perfect set, the resulting card could easily be used for a man or for any occasion.  I decided to make this card a real "Ode to retirement" by sticking to the retiring 2015-17 In-Colors.  My base is, therefore, Mint Macaron and then I've topped it with a layer of the Tip Top Taupe onto which I've stamped the splatter image from the Gorgeous Grunge set using Tip Top Taupe and Whisper White inks.  




As you can see, I've also used the retiring In-Colors for the background scene with the Sandpipers and for my Starfish.  The inks used were Tip Top Taupe for the sand and then Watermelon Wonder and Delightful Dijon for the sunset colours.  There is a little strip of Mint Macaron as well to show the water.  For the Starfish I first stamped it using Tip Top Taupe followed by the Watermelon Wonder ink.  To give it more dimension, I also sponged along the legs using the Tip Top Taupe.



I'll miss these colours and the stamp sets.  They were so versatile.  But then, as I mentioned, I can always keep them in my personal stash.


* * * * * * * * * * 

For my second project I simply had to use the two stamp sets which coordinate with the Baby's First framelits:  Something for Baby and Made With Love.   Since I don't know anyone who is expecting a baby at the moment, I chose to create a little boy's card.  I have a lot of boys in my extended family so it felt just right.

I also decided to make this a special fold.  Those "Z" folds have been such fun and the design also lets me show off a lot of the images from both sets.  I began with a Heavy Whisper White base and then added Soft Sky and a layer of the beautiful Falling In Love Designer Series Paper.  I took the colours from the Designer Series Paper when I stamped and coloured the various images.


Partway through I found myself wondering why there were no framelits to cut out the little critters in the Made With Love set.  But I persevered with fussy-cutting them all.  

At first I thought I would add balloons but then I decided that the swirly flower image from the Sunshine Wishes thinlets would be even better.  I'm not sure if you can see the shimmer of the Wink of Stella but it sure dazzles nicely in real life.




I just love the way this turned out.  There is lots of room on the back to write a message, of course.



* * * * * * * * * * 

For my final project, I turned to one of my favourite set of framelits, the Curvy Keepsake Box.  I've had such fun creating "critters", elves and boxes using this set of framelits.  It's surprising how much candy that little box can hold.


I thought it would be fun to create something a bit more feminine this time around, incorporating the also-retiring Special Reason bundle and Papillon Potpourri with its coordinating punches.   I had an idea in my head and then it totally changed.


So, the idea was to use the Sale-a-bration Inside the Lines Designer Paper and, after cutting out the pieces for the Curvy Keepsake Box, hand colour them using primarily the retiring 2015-17 In-Colors.  Well, that went down the tube when I suddenly had the inspiration to combine the little box with a matching card and envelope.  You see, the Crumb Cake Note Cards & Envelopes are retiring.  Oh, yes, we're keeping the Whisper White, don't worry.  But I thought that I'd call attention to the Crumb Cake ones since I happen to have some on hand.  And so I decided to colour the background of the Inside the Lines paper using my Crumb Cake Stampin' Marker.  


When I finished, I realized that I didn't want to add a lot of colours.  I loved the elegance of the Whisper White with its Basic Black images and the Crumb Cake background.  And so I left it at that, only adding a touch of the retiring Gold Wink of Stella to the centres of the flowers.  I finished it up by adding a bow using the retiring Whisper White Organza Ribbon and two tiny butterflies from the retiring Papillon Potpourri (one in Crumb Cake ink stamped on Whisper White and the other in White embossing powder on Crumb Cake cardstock) cut with the retiring Bitty Butterfly punch.




Don't you agree that the simplicity of colours is absolutely elegant?


For the Crumb Cake Note Card I kept it nice and simple as well.  First I cut a piece of the same In the Lines Designer Paper using a stitched square framelit and coloured the background using my Crumb Cake Stampin' Marker.  Then I cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock using the next size up of square stitched framelits as a matte.  I used a Stylish Stems framelit die to first cut a flower from Whisper White cardstock and then cut another flower from Crumb Cake cardstock.  I used the negative bits from the Crumb Cake flower to fill in the spaces of the white flower except for the centre.  The Whisper White centre of the flower was completely and thickly covered using the gold Wink of Stella.  I also cut two leaves from the Crumb Cake cardstock and then added the flower and leaves to the bottom of the square.  Finally I added a Whisper White banner with the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Special Reason set stamped in Crumb Cake ink.




You can see I also stamped the envelope with images from the Special Reason set.  The flower and leaves are heat embossed using White embossing powder and then the centre of the flower is heavily covered in gold Wink of Stella.  I think the set turned out really well, don't you?




The little box with the matching Note Card & Envelope will be a nice little treat for someone's birthday.



* * * * * * * * * * 

And that's it for my projects.  I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed creating them.  Remember, if any of the retired products appeal to you, there is a limited time period before they become unavailable.  

From here you'll be visiting another wonderfully creative stamper, Marie Green.





13 comments:

  1. GORGEOUS projects Heidi. My fave is the baby card..I love the combination of the two sets and of course..I LOVE the fancy fold of the card. It is sad to see these sets go..but, you're so right...doesn't mean we have to get rid of them. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Sheri. I intend to hang onto these sets. They'll come in handy.

      Delete
  2. Beautiful projects!! My fav are the projects made with the In the Lines dsp. Coloring just the background made all the difference in this paper. And the stylish stems flowers were the perfect touch. Love the butterflies too! Hope you don't mind if I case these.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Gerri. Of course you're welcome to CASE them.

      Delete
  3. Oh Heidi, what a beautiful job of displaying the retiring products with your projects. I really love the Wetlands and how you created the card. I can see those little sandpipers walking in the sunset. You captured that scene perfectly. Your card for the little boy is so cute. Love those onesies!
    Good idea using the colors from the dsp Falling in love. Your final project is beautiful as well. The simplicity of color is perfect. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Heather. Except for the last project from which I'll definitely be keeping the Curvy Keepsake box dies but nothing else, the stamps sets and framelits used in my first two projects will remain part of my collection. Their versatility has won them a permanent spot.

      Delete
  4. Fantastic projects Heidi. I've had to go back and look at the starfish several times on your first card, it really is lifelike. The z-fold card is simply precious! My favorite is the Curvy Keepsake Box and card. Your decision to color the background really made the images pop. TFS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Marie. I love the two-step stamping for the Picture Perfect set and will be keeping it for those images. The Curvy Keepsake Box, too, remains part of my permanent collection.

      Delete
  5. Heidi, I've been looking through your projects and I'm going WOW,WOW,WOW!!! All three show so much thought and attention to detail. It truly would be difficult to pick a favourite one, so I'm going to say I'm in love with all three. Your picks from the retiring items really rang home for me as I love all of the stamp sets, each one unique in its own right and I know I'll have difficulty giving them up....especially Gorgeous Grunge and Wetlands. Thanks for sharing your amazing talents!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Penny. Yes, Gorgeous Grunge and Wetlands don't make sense on the retirement list. Both have been constants in my crafting and will remain that way.

      Delete
  6. Such beautiful projects, Heidi! I LOVE the first card, highlighting Wetlands and Picture Perfect--oh, how I'll miss these (but I won't be giving either of them up, at least for now!). Your baby card is adorable (another set I'm hanging on to, especially with the matching framelits for the Baby's First/Something for Baby set). And your Curvy box and card is stunning--you always out-do yourself!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Priscilla. I didn't lose as many stamp sets and framelits as I have in previous retirement lists but many of those that I "lost" are favourites. I don't intend to get rid of them anytime soon (if ever).

      Delete
  7. Heidi, love your baby card. So cute. TFS all your projects

    ReplyDelete

GDPR (for my EU visitors)

In line with new Data Protection legislation (GDPR) coming to the EU, please note that in commenting you do so with the knowledge that your name & comment are visible to all who visit this blog and thereby consent to the use of that personal information for that specific purpose, only. I do not collect information stored on my blog. If you have left a comment and prefer that it not be seen, please delete it. Followers: If you follow my blog (thank you!) you do so in the knowledge that my followers list is open to anyone who visits my blog. Your photo, name and links will appear and can be seen by anyone. If you don't want this data shared, please remove your name from my followers list.