On Wednesday’s blog post, I highlighted a departing In Color Blueberry Bushel, which you can see HERE!  Today’s card says goodbye to another In Color leaving us, Grapefruit Grove. If you love a soft, peachy color now might be a god time to grab some ink, paper and embellishments in this lovely color. Stampin’ Up’s! retirement list came out yesterday and features many wonderful and loved products making a final bow between now and June 2nd, or while supplies last.  Click on the icon below see some of the fabulous items retiring. And for some, there are great discounts! Retiring products is always a fun time.

In addition to the retiring Grapefruit Grove In Color, this card features a gorgeous retiring stamp, Beautiful Day. I have been focusing on cards that can be sent now and send some cheer to friends and families staying at home. So, this stamp set had a perfect sentiment as well as a big, bold stamp that would show off the color perfectly. So, this card showcases a retiring color and a retiring stamp set!

Yesterday, Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators got a sneak peek at the upcoming catalog. And I noticed a lot of simply stamped projects. I love the look and the fact you can create a card quickly. So, I went for a simply stamped look with a monochromatic color story. The bold image shows off the color well and the In Color Designer Series paper is perfect for creating monochromatic in different patterns.

If you want DSP that is on sale, the 2019-2021 In Color Paper is discounted 30%! I have included a link for it in the product list below. I have never seen such great discounts on so many retiring products. This is the year to shop the retiring list!  But don’t wait too long!  Discounted items tend to sell out fast!

You will see some things on the retiring list such as the Stampin’ Blends, that are NOT retiring. They are simply being reconfigured to sell as combos only. The retiring In Color Blends and single pack Stampin’ Blends are retiring. Some of the dies are also being reconfigured and will have a new style number. So, the dies in old packaging are being discontinued. Happy shopping!

What I Used To Make This Card AND The In Color DSP Currently Discounted:  

My card making focus has been on making cards I can send out now. With many of us confined to our homes for the time being, I think its nice to get run out to the mail box and find some “Happy Mail” now and then!

With that in mind, I knew I had to use this sentiment from Perfectly Paired. It is the perfect message for right now. And sending a card is a good way to stay connected. And the Perfectly Paired sentiments work for so many card designs. For this one, I wanted to use some Blueberry Bushel, one of my favorite of the 2018-2020  InColors that is due to leave us at the end of May. The Perfectly Paired set was made to complement the Ornate Frames dies. And so, that was a “must have” for this card as well.  The design is simple. The DSP, Pressed Petals does all the work. The coordinating colors for this paper listed Night of Navy and Mossy Meadow. But I wanted to brighten it up a bit using Blueberry Bushel and Old Olive. I think those colors work great with this paper!

Stampin’ Tip: Sometimes the best way to start a card design is to find the sentiment you want to use and design around that. Many Stampin’ Up! sentiments fir perfectly in a die cut, punch or frame. Combined with some beautiful DSP and a ribbon, you can make a card in no time! 

What I Used For This Card: 

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I was in the mood to make something really pretty and Mosaic Mood DSP is perfect for making a pretty card. The colors are soft and subtle and the design understated, but classic. They are based on mosaic designs found in ancient Italy, but updated for use today.

To create this, I was inspired by a few cards in this week’s Global Design Project #GDP236 Case The Designer, Jannkeke De Jong used the Nested Stitched Label Dies as her focal point and I thought that was a great start. To see more beautiful work casing this design, click on the image below.

Because the Mosaic Mood DSP designs are great for mixing together, I used DSP on DSP.   So Saffron was used to set off the design and because I wanted a sentiment from Perfectly Framed, I used the coordinating Ornate Frames dies for the sentiment. Then it was just a matter of building a tiny collage. I just kept adding until I liked what I saw! Collages are fun to do and its nice to add in bits and pieces for interest.  To make the sentiment pop, I stamped in Soft Suede, a coordinating color to the Mosaic Mood DSP, but no so harsh it ruins the look, rather enhances it.

Stampin Tip: Again, my stampin’ tip is to use your Stampin’ Blend when you need a coordinating ribbon! I colored the 5/8″ Whisper White Flax with a So Saffron Stampin’ Blend because the white was just too much of a clash for this card. Because flax has a rough texture, you want to preserve the tip of your Stampin’ Blend by coloring using the side of the brush tip. This will get the color down, but not ruin the tip with the rough texture on the flax.

What I Used To Make This Card:

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