Tuesday’s the day when Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators get news from the Home Office. Today we were advised that we have to say an early goodbye to some ink pads and refills. Fortunately the tag project I’d planned to show you doesn’t include these inks so we’ll start with that first.

AN EMBOSSING FOLDER EXPERIMENT

This was more of an experiment than anything else as I tried not to waste some damaged foil sheet.

I began by trimming the Blueberry Bushel piece from the Nobel Peacock Foil Sheet Pack to 4-1/4″ x 2″. Then I placed it into the County Floral 3D Embossing Folder and ran it through my embossing machine.

I ended up with a beautifully embossed piece but I wanted to enhance the design a bit more using Stampin’ Blends. Sadly the foil was too dark to really allow the inks to make much of an impact.

Instead I found an emery board and began sanding the surface of the foil. Distressing is an old technique that I haven’t done for a while, and certainly not on foil sheet. Once I had finished sanding I went back with my Stampin’ Blends to colour the white card that had been exposed. What a difference! Now the light Poppy Parade and Shaded Spruce markers could be seen against the embossed background.

Next I shaped the top of the strip with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch. Then I shaped the bottom with the corner rounder option on the Detailed Trio Punch.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

For the sentiment I used Blueberry Bushel ink to stamp “happy birthday” from the Rustic Retreat Stamp Set onto Whisper White Card. Then I created some loops of Silver Metallic Thread and placed them behind the sentiment. Finally I fixed the sentiment to the tag with Stampin’ Dimensionals and secured the loops of thread in the process.

That just left one task to do. I threaded some Whisper White Bakers Twine through the slot in the tag and tied it in a simple knot. In no time at all my tag was done.

I must be honest and say that I’m not totally convinced this tag is finished. I may decide to remove the sentiment and add a contrasting layer to it. Or maybe I need to swap the metallic thread for something else… I will sit it on the shelf in front of my work station and see what inspiration strikes.

This isn’t the first time I’ve used my embossing folders to save card that might otherwise have ended up in the bin. In my blog post Take life by the reins you can see how I’m able to rescue even the most creased cardstock.

BYE BYE PRETTY INKS

At the start of today’s post I mentioned that we are saying an early goodbye to some ink pads and refills.

First, Purple Posy. If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that this pretty colour has had an ongoing issue with colour stability. I had hoped that after reformulation and extensive testing this issue had been resolved. However today Stampin’ Up! announced that despite all their efforts, the new formulation is still not working. Therefore with immediate effect the Purple Posy ink pad and refills are discontinued. The Stampin’ Write Marker and Stampin’ Blends markers are not affected so we can still use these inks for stamping and colouring.

If you have purchased a Purple Posy ink pad through me, please let me know and I will arrange for you to receive a product credit.

The second announcement relates to the Delicata Metallic inks in the Stampin’ Up! 2019 Holiday Catalogue. I know these ink pads and refills have been incredibly popular. Stampin’ Up! has now advised us that they will not be able to get more of this range before the new year. Therefore I’m sad to say that these items will only be available while existing stocks last.

Right now, the Celestial Copper ink refill has already sold out and is discontinued. I suspect the remaining Delicata ink pads and refill inks won’t last long either. So if you want to get your hands on these please order them without delay.

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