Tomorrow’s the day when we discover which products from the 2020/2021 Annual Catalogue are being retired. I know that some customers like to wait to see the Retiring List to try to bag a bargain but be aware that products can sell out very quickly. For that reason, I prepare a list of things in the Annual Catalogue that I’d hate to miss out on. Then once the Retiring List is published I can immediately check if something I really want is on there. If so, I’ll be ready to place my order online right away. It’s a strategy I encourage my customers to use as well. Today’s project however features the A Cut Above Stamp Set which definitely won’t be on that list tomorrow.

A CUT ABOVE

I couldn’t resist the A Cut Above Stamp Set when I saw it in the January to June 2021 Mini Catalogue. The set contains cute line art images that are perfect for colouring (or not) plus some great masculine sentiments.

I began by choosing the image of the man mowing the lawn and Basic Gray ink. On a 3-3/4″ x 5″ piece of Whisper White Card I stamped the image on the left-hand side near the bottom edge. Then in the space in front of his hands I stamped “You’re a cut above the rest”.

Next I took a Whisper White Medium Envelope and a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Whisper White Card. After placing the card on the left of the envelope and lining up the bottom edges I stamped my image once again using Basic Gray ink. Now it looked like the man was leaving off the right side of the card and was just coming into view on the left side of the envelope.

With the stamping all done I was ready to begin colouring the images using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers.

I began by using Pumpkin Pie and Smoky Slate on the lawnmower. Then I used Granny Apple Green for the grass.

To create the denim jeans I began with dark Balmy Blue and then coloured over it using light Smoky Slate. Next came his hat in Cherry Cobbler, with Crumb Cake for his shoes. Finally I coloured his ankles, face and arms with the Ivory Stampin’ Blends marker.

QUICK COORDINATING LAYERS

All I needed now was to cut and prepare the layers for the card.

I chose Basic Gray for the card base, cutting and scoring it using my Paper Trimmer. Then after folding along the scored line I sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.

Next, using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the Whisper White Layer with the part image inside the card base,

Next I cut a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Cherry Cobbler Card. Then I mounted the other Whisper White layer onto it with more liquid glue. Finally I added the assembled layers to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals and my project was complete.

This was a really quick project to make and colour. I’m so glad I’ll have more opportunities to us this stamp set in the weeks and months to come.

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