Tag Archives: Eastern Blooms

Just some birds and bees

Posted on by
Reply

It’s been another busy day.  As much as I love to travel, and as much as I love to come home, the first week back always seems so frantic.  It feels like a combination of herding cats and trying to stick Jello to the wall.

The new Stampin’ Up! catalog is just a few hours away from its public debut, and that’s part of the reason my week has been so intense.  There’s a lot of tension between the things I NEED to do and the things I WANT to do!  I already have my Sneak Peak order in house – matter of fact, I had my Sneak Peak copy of the new Idea Book and Catalog shipped to the log cabin we stayed at in South Dakota.  I’ve been through it cover to cover, left, right and forward, but I’m still struggling with what to order when the whole catalog is available.  I’m sure I’ll make good choices when the time comes 🙂

In the meantime, I have a few cards to share with you.  These are all retiring sets, so I’m not going to give you the itemized supply list.  If you desperately need to know something, leave a comment and I promise I’ll respond.

Last Chance for Always

This is the Always stamp set in Pear Pizazz and Marina Mist.

Last Chance for Just Buzzin By

Oh, the sweet bees from Just Buzzin’ By!  I am going to miss these sassy little buzz-bombs.

Last Chance for Cheep Talk

And my silly Cheep Talk birdies are retiring too! I’ve done so many things with this stamp set.  I know it’s time to move on, and there just isn’t room in my studio for heaps of retired stamp sets, but I’ll be sorry to see Cheep Talk go.

Last Chance for Eastern Blooms and All Holidays

Eastern Blooms is yet another set I’ll miss, but there are so many gorgeous new floral sets that I’ll surely find a new favorite.  All Holidays may be another story.  Stampin’ Up! hasn’t created a sentiment anything like “My Dear Kind & Wonderful Friend” at least not one that I’ve seen.  Correct me if I’m wrong!  I may hang onto All Holidays for a while.

It’s a bittersweet time of year, but the longer I’m a demonstrator the more I come to look forward to the change.  I do keep a few retired sets, but I find after a year or so I’m ready to let go of most of them.  Some people enjoy going back to old favorites, but I guess I just have a short attention span.  I love seeing new, fresh ideas!  Check back early in the morning for a link to the new catalog, and sweet dreams.

Sweet Cherry Blossom Birthday

Posted on by
1

I’ve gone through my shelves and pulled all the sets that are on the Last Chance list.  There’s a decent-sized stack, and they’re sitting rather forlornly together in a basket on the floor of my stamp studio (the Room Formerly Known As Sara’s Bedroom).  I’ve got plans for those stamps this month, and since I’ll be away for a bit in June I thought I’d better get cracking:

Cherry Blossom Birthday

  • Eastern Blooms and Sincere Salutations stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Early Espresso and Pink Pirouette card stock
  • Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette and Regal Rose Stampin’ Write markers
  • Early Espresso Classic ink pad
  • Pretty in Pink 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon
  • Pearl Jewels
  • Crop-a-dile
  • Frost White Shimmer paint and the Aquapainter

I cased this card from Alli Ohran, making a very few minor changes.   I don’t use a lot of Crystal Effects because in Hawaii it seems to take an eternity to dry, and I’m not a patient person so I stick my finger in it and smudge it and get all cranky about it.  Well.  There’s a self-disclosure for you!!  Anyway, I used Frost White instead and although you don’t see it well in the photograph I assure you it is there.

Cherry Blossoms are such romantic flowers, appearing in almost misty pink clouds that linger briefly on the trees and then begin drifting away.  I think pink is a very romantic color, too, so this card really gets my “awww gee whiz” feeling going.   To me, it fits to keep such a romantic image simple, although it would be easy to imagine this dressed up with lots of layers, background stamping, vintage lace and bling.  Another time.  Maybe.

 

Baby, Baby, Baby

Posted on by
1

A friend had a baby girl recently.  We worked together to come up with a birth announcement, and it was one of the most enjoyable collaborations I’ve done.  It was clear from the outset that this wasn’t going to be a pinky-frou-frou announcement, and so we experimented with a lot of color combinations.  In the end, my friend came up with Rich Razzleberry and Pear Pizazz with just a touch of Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight.  I would never in a million years have made those choices, but I was delighted with the way the colors worked together.

I made a samples in her color choices with all sorts of stamps.  When it came down to it, she couldn’t choose just one – so I made three different announcements:

Eastern Blooms baby

Baby announcement #1 uses the Eastern Elegance stamp set with the Bitty Punch pack and a 1/8 inch circle punch…

Cheep Talk Baby

Announcement #2 uses the Cheep Talk stamp set…

I {Heart} Hearts Baby

and Announcement #3 uses I {Heart} Hearts.

Hope you enjoy!

An Eastern Easter Basket

Posted on by
Reply

We made these baskets last night at club.  I knew if I asked them to make all the paper blossoms that are needed for THIS basket my club members would mutiny, so I adapted it to use only one.  It’s a simple basket but I find it very sweet and just right for Easter:

Eastern Blooms Easter Basket

  • Eastern Blooms stamp set
  • Whisper White, Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery and Almost Amethyst card stock
  • Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery and Almost Amethyst Classic ink pads
  • Scallop Trim Border punch, Big Shot and Little Leaves Sizzlet
  • 1 3/8, 1 1/4, 1, 3/4 and 1/2 inch Circle Punches
  • Piercing tool and mat, Soft Subtles brads, Tombo adhesive and Sticky Strip

The basket is a 7 3/4 inch by 4 3/4 inch rectangle scored 1 1/2 inches from each side.  I use Sticky Strip to assemble it – nothing else is strong enough.  The handle is attached first with Snail (to keep it from rotating) and then with a brad.  The flower is simple – a series of graduated circles held together with a brad and then crumpled and mashed until they give you the look you want.

I went a little Scallop Trim Border crazy:

Eastern Blooms Easter basket side view

I’m so taken with that open Scallop Trim border.  You have to fuss a little to be sure you don’t end up with funny broken ends but it’s worth it.  And I’ve always loved the look of Blush Blossom with Almost Amethyst and Certainly Celery.  It looks great with Barely Banana thrown into the mix too.

Easter’s almost here – are your Easter baskets ready?

And now for something completely different…

Posted on by
Reply

Enough Shabby Chic, enough Tropical Brights…I’m ready for soothing images and more subdued colors:

Eastern Blooms inspired by Renee

  • Eastern Blooms stamp set
  • Blush Blossom, Sahara Sand and Gloss white card stock
  • Welcome Neighbor SAB Designer Series Paper pack
  • Old Olive and Blush Blossom Classic ink pads; White Craft ink
  • Embossing Buddy, Clear and White embossing powder, and heat tool
  • Old Olive 5/8 inch satin ribbon; white gel pen
  • Build a brad and Pop-up Glue dot

Today’s Sale-a-bration Don’t-Miss-It product is the Welcome Neighbor Designer Series paper pack.  There are great patterns and colors in this 6×6 assortment and it’s yours for free with a $50 order until March 31st.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I was inspired by a card on Renee VanStralen’s blog Stampin’ for Sanity.  I liked the look she got, but I was too lazy to get out my brayer and fill in all the spaces, so I adapted her technique with simple embossing.  There’s more than one way to achieve the look you want!  I did pull out the Embossing Buddy this time and managed to avoid those annoying white freckles.  If you’re going to use either the black or white embossing powder, you really do have to use the EB.

I debated with myself (and you would have enjoyed seeing me do that) with regards to a sentiment, but decided that the card seemed complete without it.  I often make a card without a sentiment and then add one to suit the occasion once I’m ready to send it.  I’ll add the sentiment on the inside of this card.

This card makes me feel serene.

Forgotten favorites

Posted on by
1

How quickly one set of images is forgotten on the shelf!  When Eastern Blooms appeared in the Fall 2008 catalog, it sat on top of my craft table and saw regular use.  It was a bold companion for Embrace Life – one with bold images, one with line images – and it suited our Asian influenced culture here in Hawaii.  Seems like ages since it’s seen a bit of ink, and when a customer asked me to re-design a card using a floral image instead of cupcakes, I reached for these two old friends.

  • Eastern Blooms, Embrace Life, and Dotted (retired) stamp sets
  • Close to Cocoa, Cameo Coral, Bashful Blue, and Very Vanilla cardstock
  • Close to Cocoa, Cameo Coral and Bashful Blue Classic ink pad
  • Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Aquapainter

It’s fitting to reflect on how much we have this week of Thanksgiving, to be grateful for our abundance.  As a good friend said to me recently, “I’m thankful that my needs are met, and a few of my wants as well.”   I wish the same for you.