If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that my most recent order from Stampin’ Up! has been a little tardy.  It finally arrived yesterday, and while I’m happy to have now completed my collection of all the new ink pad colors, I’m delighted to finally be able to get my hands on the new Blended Seasons Stamp Set and coordinating Seasonal Frames Framelits Dies.

Mr UPS was barely out of the driveway before I’d retreated to my craft studio to play with my goodies.  This red rubber stamp set contains 6 images and 6 sentiments, and the set comes in two stamp cases as the stamps are so large.  As the name of the stamp set suggests, it’s been designed to be used all year round, but it will only be available to purchase from during August, and even then only while stocks last.

I know I’m going to have a lot of fun with this set but for my first project I was probably a little predictable.

I began by wiping a piece of Watercolor Paper with an Embossing Buddy to remove any oils and static and then stamped the large floral image from the Blended Seasons Stamp Set using VersaMark ink.  I sprinkled the sticky ink with Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder and tapped off the excess.  Then I used VersaMark ink to stamp the ‘Wishing you all the best’ sentiment in the top corner of the piece.  Once again I sprinkled the VersaMark ink with Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder and tapped off the excess.  Finally I spent a little while removing stray specks of embossing powder from the image and the sentiment before melting the rest of the powder with my Heat Tool on 2 (high).

With the embossing done I could get to work colouring the floral image using my Aqua Painter and ink from inside the lids of my ink pads.  For the flowers I started with Petal Pink, then added Highland Heather, followed by Gorgeous Grape and finally some Blueberry Bushel.  The centres were finished using Pineapple Punch ink.  For the leaves I began with Lemon Lime Twist, then Granny Apple Green and finally Tranquil Tide.

I could have speeded up the drying process using my Heat Tool set on 1 (low) but I decided to let it dry naturally.  while I got on with the rest of the project.

Having used my Stampin’ Trimmer to cut and score a piece of Thick Very Vanilla Card, I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create a card base.  Then I took a layer of Very Vanilla Card and stamped the leafy image from the Blended Seasons Stamp Set in the bottom right corner using Granny Apple Green ink.  This layer was fixed inside the card base with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

To coordinate with the card I also stamped the leafy image in the bottom right corner on the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope.

As the watercoloured piece was still not dry I set to work on preparing for my Christmas in July class that I’ve holding later this week, and then I went to make dinner.

After dinner the watercoloured piece was nearly ready but quite warped, so I folded a piece of white copy paper, placed the watercoloured piece inside and then put it underneath a heavy box full of my old steel rule dies, and that’s where it stayed until this morning.

When I went back to the watercoloured piece the heavy box had done its job and it was now completely flat.  It was time to use liquid glue to fix it to a layer of Highland Heather Card before attaching the layers to the card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To complete the project I used Mini Glue Dots to add a few scattered gold sequins from the Metallics Sequin Assortment.

I’m so happy with how this card turned out even if it did take a while.  You can be sure you’ll see more of this set over the coming weeks and I promise to show you the amazing new dies that coordinate with it later in the week.

AVAILABLE AUGUST 1 – 31 (while stocks last)

The Blended Seasons Stamp Set and coordinating Seasonal Frames Framelits Dies go on sale on August 1st and will be retired on August 31st, although they may come off sale sooner if stocks run out.  If you think you might want this set be prepared to order it as soon as it goes on sale to customers to avoid disappointment.  If you want the stamp set and dies you’ll be able to order them using a special bundle code and save 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately.  I’ll remind you about this on August 1st.

Also on limited release during August is a new assortment of Watercolor Pencils in 10 new colours.  Once again these will only be available from August 1st to 31st, while stocks last.

FINAL WEEK

Can’t wait?  You could take advantage of the July promotion to join Stampin’ Up! and my team of Crafty Canadians, and fill your starter kit with $165 of products (and can include any of these limited availability items if you wish).  Once you’ve selected you products then go ahead and choose one of 5 sets of 10 full-size ink pads as well.  That’s a starter kit full of things you really want (up to $257 value), and all you’ll pay is $135 CAD with no additional shipping and taxes.  What’s more as a Demonstrator you’ll be able to see the new 2018 Holiday Catalogue next week and order from it during August, a full month ahead of customers.  If you’d like more information about any of the Stampin’ Up! promotions, or any thing else you’ve seen on my website, do contact me and I’ll answer all your questions.  Just remember you only have one more week to take advantage of this amazing deal.

For now though, here’s the list of the Stampin’ Up! products I used on today’s project.  I’ll add links to the Blended Seasons Stamp Set, Seasonal Frames Framelits and the bundles once these become available on August 1st.

Product List