Masculine Bookmark (By Customer Request)

Yesterday I spent most of the day at the Fundy Geological Museum in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. It was their annual Christmas Craft Fair and the 6th year I’ve attended. It was lovely once again to see so many people supporting a wide range of crafters and buying local. I love talking with those that stop by my table and getting their feedback on my creations. One person was specifically looking for a masculine bookmark and I realised that I didn’t have a lot for her choose from. So for today’s Simple Sunday project I’ve set aside Christmas and gone back to the Annual Catalogue.

INSPIRING IRIS

I began my masculine bookmark by cutting two pieces 2″ x 5-1/2″. One from Very Vanilla Card and once from a piece of the Come Sail Away Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack.

Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I glued the two strips together and set them aside to dry for a minute.

Then I went looking for a suitable sentiment and I found what I wanted in the Inspiring Iris Stamp Set. I stamped “You are somebody who makes everybody feel like somebody” onto Very Vanilla Card with Balmy Blue ink. Then I trimmed the piece down before shaping the corners using my Detailed Trio Punch.

I was ready to start putting everything together and started with the card/DSP strip. First I shaped the top using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, then I rounded the bottom corners with the Detailed Trio Punch.

GRAPHIC MASCULINE BOOKMARK

As I was deciding where to place my sentiment I thought it needed an extra piece underneath. There were a lot of curves on the bookmark and I thought it needed a few more straight lines to balance it out. So using my Paper Snips I cut a V in the end of a 3/4″ strip of Night of Navy Card. Then using liquid glue I added the strip to the bookmark and fixed the sentiment on top.

All that was left was to thread some 3/8″ Denim Ribbon through the slot at the top and tie it in a simple knot.

I’m really pleased with how my masculine bookmark turned out and I must say it was a nice break from all the Christmas projects. It made me realise how much I’ve been ignoring the great products in the Annual Catalogue, especially that gorgeous Denim Ribbon.

DECISION TIME

On Tuesday (December 3rd) Stampin’ Up! will reveal the Retiring List for the 2019 Holiday Catalogue. We already know that all the Delicata ink pads and ink refills are retiring, along with the Moose Builder Punch, and Feels Like Frost and Brightly Gleaming paper packs. All these items are already sold out and no longer available.

Historically all paper packs in the Holiday Catalogue will retire, plus almost all of the embellishments. I would say that the majority of the stamp sets, dies and punches will also retire.

What I can say for certain is that the Ornate Frames (page 53) and Stitched Stars Dies (page 10) are NOT retiring. I know this because I’ve seen them in the new January to June Mini Catalogue that will be going live on January 3rd. These two sets of dies will have new coordinating stamp sets too, but more about that another day.

What is also certain is that ALL bundle offers in the 2019 Holiday Catalogue will end on January 2nd. This is true even if the individual parts of the bundle do not retire. If the individual parts of the bundle are retiring, the bundle offer will end as soon as one of them is sold out.

So here’s what I do. I look at my wishlist for anything I know I won’t want to be without. I order these before the Retiring List is published as I don’t want to run the risk of them selling out. Other things on my list that I would quite like to have will wait until December 3rd. Then when I see the list I make my final decision, if it’s retiring I may buy it. If it’s carrying over I still have time to decide, bearing in mind the deadline for taking advantage of any bundle price.

So often I hear people say “I wish I’d bought ….. while I had the chance”. Or I see people paying over-the-top prices on auction sites for something they realised too late they couldn’t be without. You can avoid this by spending a few minutes going back through the Holiday Catalogue one last time. It certainly works for me.