Hey friends!
You may or may not have noticed that I've been very quiet on my blog and other social media platforms. That wasn't for any drastic reason and I haven't disappeared off the planet. I just took a break that coincided with the holidays. The month of December was filled with all the Christmas stuff that was planned and some other things that weren't planned. It was a time of family, music, festivities, friends, so much baking and Hallmark Christmas movies. It was a much needed break for me to just do some things I really enjoy and take a big break from all the sentences that start with "today I should....." I hope your holiday season held special moments for you as well. Life also takes unexpected turns and twists. The past 2 weeks have been spent helping a friend die well. Her eventual death was determined by her cancer diagnosis but the timing caught me off guard. I've learned a lot about that process after going through it with several close friends and family and the one thing I try to do is to show up. Show up for those emergency phone calls, special favors, icky tasks, whatever. Showing up goes a long way for others and it is never time wasted or misspent.
And now, I'm back to offering some classes and thinking about stamping again. I've been excited about several products in the new Jan-June Mini Catalog, have ordered several and am only just starting to play. I'll be sharing some of my ideas in the coming weeks and days, exploring some new stamps, dies and even techniques as we kick off 2022.
I also have a challenge for you - I'm starting a #onecardaweek campaign with the idea being to send out one card every week this year. I have quite a stash of cards and of course, it's always fun to make more so having a card on hand isn't the problem. Taking the time to jot a quick note and getting it in the mailbox is a problem! I'm here to conquer that one!! Are you with me? I hope so!
Here's a fun take on a new silhouette stamp set that I just love. It's called "Amazing Silhouettes" and has 3 great images that created a reverse stamping effect. The negative area surrounding the image is what takes on the color and the design is left unstamped. A picture is worth a thousand words!
I couldn't decide what color to use so I came up with the creative idea of stamping it four times! It's easy to create a four panel card with a piece of 12" x 5-1/2" card stock. I used some retired embossed kraft cardstock from prior Stampin'Up! catalogs. I then used a 5-1/2" x 2-1/2" piece of Very Vanilla for each each panel. I chose to use four of this year's In Colors including Soft Succulent, Fresh Fresia, Polished Pink and Pale Papaya. While I was trying to figure out the what and where part of a sentiment, the idea came to me to stamp on each panel, one word. The "Biggest Wish" set was perfect as it has large block and cursive fonts with several pertinent words.
Since all these folds didn't stay together, I added some fun on the outside including some In-Color Vellum flowers and leaves and some random retired SU cording. Here's a peak at the card when it's closed:
Of course, some In-Color sparkly bing made it just perfect. This was a fun card to design and an even more fun one to offer at a class I had recently.
I hope I've inspired you! Check out the products I used below and clicking on any of them will take you to the online store. There are all kinds of new things and we are at the beginning of our winter Sale-A-Bration promotion. For every $50 you spend, you can get a free product from the SAB brochure! Details are on the website or you can shoot me a question!
So, let's start this new year off creatively and let's start stamping again and remember, #onecardaweek!
Happy Stampin'!
Sarah
