Cherry Blossom Regrets

Today is going to be fun as I’ve just got my hands on a physical copy of the Stampin’ Up! 2022/2023 Annual Catalogue. First I have a few tasks to do as my pre-order of new products is due to arrive tomorrow. So now I need to make room by putting away anything that’s retiring. That includes the Cherry Blossom Dies and Paper Lattice used on today’s project. While playing with this pretty set I found myself wishing I’d paid more attention to the embossing dies. Better late than never…

Create this all-occasion gift tag using the Tailor Made Tags and retiring Cherry Blossom Dies from Stampin' Up! #papercraftwithme

I began with the Tailor Made Tags Dies and the largest of the rounded tag die in the set. Using the die and my Mini Cut & Emboss Machine I cut out some Thick Very Vanilla Card.

Then I pulled out the retiring Paper Lattice pack and found a 7/8″ x 3-1/4″ scrap left over from a previous project. I could have added glue to the back and stuck it onto the tag, but decided that there was an easier way…

CHERRY BLOSSOM FLOWERS

So from the Cherry Blossom Dies I chose the solid flowers and leaf dies with raised areas. Then I collected together scraps of Petal Pink and Soft Sea Foam Card to cut them out. To add contrast I cut the separate flower centres from Calypso Coral Card.

I really wanted this tag to have a soft feel, but thought that the die-cut pieces needed a little more definition. So I found my Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers in colours that coordinated with the three card colours. All I needed was the dark marker from each pair.

On the leaves and flowers I use the bullet tip of the corresponding marker to simply draw along the lines embossed into the card by the Cherry Blossom Dies. Then on the flower centre pieces I coloured in just the round section on the end of each stamen. It’s surprising how something so simple makes such a big difference.

Now for the fun part. Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached the die-cut flower centres to each of the four flowers. Then I used a Stampin’ Dimensional to fix one flower in the top right and one in the bottom left of the tag base.

The remaining two flowers were fixed to the tag base using liquid glue just under the centre part of the die-cut pieces. With that done I was able to insert the three sizes of die-cut leaves under the flowers using liquid glue to hold them in place. Each time I glued a piece on it also helped to secure the lattice to the card base.

Finally I cut a 6″ piece of Petal Pink ribbon from the 1/8″ Cotton Ribbon Combo Pack. After threading it through the hole at the top of the tag I tied it in a simple knot. With that my all-occasion cherry blossom gift tag was complete.

FREE SHIPPING ANYONE?

One of the things that distracted me this morning (apart from the new catalogue) was the announcement of a free shipping offer.

On Thursday April 21st every Stampin’ Up! order over $100 CAD will pay no shipping. This will save you the usual 11% shipping charge… Or if you’d planned to spend that money anyway why not order more for the same amount. Everything in the catalogues including Pre-Paid Paper Pumpkin subscriptions, plus the online Clearance Rack and Last Chance sections, and Kits Collection can be added to your order.

There’s just a couple of things I want to point out…

The promotion is based on Mountain Time and your order needs to be started and finished during April 21st in that time zone.
In line with current Stampin’ Up! policy no ‘back-orders’ will be created. So you will only be able to order products that are actually in stock. For this reason you should aim to get your order in as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

I’ll definitely give you a reminder in my blog post on April 21st and provide a visual reminder in the column on the right. Meanwhile it’s time to get out that wish list again!