It’s now only 11 days until Stampin’ Up! reveals their 2023/2024 Annual Catalogue. At that time we may not get the actual list of products that will be retiring, but if something is not in the catalogue it’s a pretty safe bet it’s going. One of the stamp sets I’d hate to lose is Elephant Parade. I’ve made lots of projects using this set but I have many more ideas. However it was only this morning I realised all my previous elephants were grey, so today I tried something slightly different.

PEANUTS

Before I got to the elephant I decided to create a fun background using the small peanut image. So on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Very Vanilla Card I stamped it multiple times with Crumb Cake ink. Then I coloured them all in using the light So Saffron Stampin’ Blends alcohol marker.

I could have left the background as it was, but instead I decided to add some texture using the crosshatch design from the Basics 3D Embossing Folders pack.

For my card base I cut and scored some Mint Macaron Card using my Paper Trimmer. Then I folded the card along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. With that done I mounted the peanut piece on the card front with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

For my sentiment I chose “I’ll never forget your kindness” from the Elephant Parade Stamp Set. Using Crumb Cake ink I stamped it onto a 1/2″ x 3″ strip of Very Vanilla Card. Then I glued it to a 5/8″ x 4″ strip of Mint Macaron Card and set the assembled piece aside.

ELEPHANT SCENE

All I needed now was the sitting elephant image and the Crumb Cake ink pad. In the end I stamped him four times. First in the bottom right-hand corner of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope, then in the same place on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Very Vanilla Card. The third elephant went in the bottom right corner of a 2-7/8″ x 3-1/8″ piece of Very Vanilla Card. Finally I stamped him onto some Masking Paper and cut closely around this image with Paper Snips.

Next I needed to add some colour around each of the images in turn and started with the smallest piece of Very Vanilla Card. After covering up the stamped image with the fussy-cut masking paper, I used a Blending Brush to add Soft Sea Foam ink along the bottom to create the ground. Then I took another Blending Brush and coloured the rest of the scene using Balmy Blue ink before removing the mask. From there I repeated the masking and colouring process on the larger Very Vanilla layer and envelope, but limited the brushed colour to just around the elephant.

It was at this point I decided to try something different with the actual elephants and coloured each one using only the light Crumb Cake Stampin’ Blends marker. Then I glued the larger layer inside my card base.

I was almost finished but first I needed a mat for the small scene. For this I cut a 3″ x 3-1/4″ piece of Mint Macaron Card and glued the scene on top. Then I glued the assembled piece onto the peanut background before adding the sentiment over the top with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Finally from some scraps of Mint Macaron Card I cut two grassy shapes using dies from the Elephant Dies set. Once I’d added them to the scene on the card front I was done.

For more projects featuring very cute elephants see these earlier blog posts:

• Elephant parade happy day
• Elephant fever
• Family time
• Elephant parage again
• Elephant is a mammal
• Take one elephant

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Elephant Parade Stamp Set in a bundle with the coordinating Elephant Dies (what an unfortunate name!). Buying them using the single “bundle” item number saved me 10% off the cost of buying the two products separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore that option. It’s entirely possible that this stamp set and dies will be on the retiring list in a couple of weeks. However even if it carries over into the new catalogue it’s unlikely that the discounted bundle will remain.