As a Demonstrator I’ve had longer than customers to review and digest the impact of the list of products being retired by Stampin’ Up! I make a point of checking it often as there’s always things I overlook the first or second time round. Even so, sometimes it’s easy to miss something simply because I make an assumption which turns out to be wrong. So today’s cute bookmark project comes with a cautionary tale that even Stampin’ Blends aren’t immune from the cut!

HELLO HELLO

My project began with one of the cute snail images from the Snailed It Stamp Set. Using Tuxedo Black ink I stamped the image onto some Thick Whisper White Card. Then I stamped the “hello” sentiment twice leaving space between them.

Next I pulled out the Snail Dies and found the speech bubble and the die that coordinates with my stamped snail. Then using the Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine I cut out the stamped pieces and set them aside.

It was only at this point that I realised that the two “hello” speech bubbles would be coming from the same direction. I wasn’t sure this was what I wanted to I turned one of them over and stamped “hello” on the back as well.

Next I went looking for a background for the bookmark and I chose a black and white diamond design from the True Love 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. I cut a 2″ x 5-1/2″ strip of the paper and then cut a 2″ x 5-1/2″ strip of Thick Whisper White Card to match.

Finally, using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I glued the two strips before shaping one end with the Fancy Tag Topper Punch.

With the bookmark base done it was time to break out my Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers.

COLOURFUL BLENDS

First, on the bookmark background I coloured in everything but the smallest squares using the light Highland Heather marker. Then after waiting a minute I coloured the small squares using the dark Highland Heather. This delay meant I could keep the distinction between the two colours instead of them blending.

While I had the Highland Heather markers to hand I decided to use them to create some custom-coloured twine. I cut two 6″ pieces of Whisper White baker’s twine from the Snail Mail Twine Combo Pack. Then using the brush tip of the markers I coloured one piece with the light marker and one with the dark one. The alcohol ink can take a little time to dry on twine and ribbon so I set it aside and continued colouring.

Now I turned to the stamped snail image and coloured the body using Mango Melody. First I used the dark marker along the bottom and spotty section, and just under the shell. Then I coloured the whole body with the light marker.

For the shell I decided on a combination of blues. First I coloured each narrow stripe with the light Pool Party. Then I coloured the larger sections with dark Pool Party. To create the impression of a curve I then went around the edge of the spiral, colouring with the dark Bermuda Bay marker. This was followed by the light Bermuda Bay marker coming in a little more from the spiral edge, but leaving a small patch of the dark Pool Party showing.

On each gift I imagined a line from the top left to the bottom right corners. Then after colouring the bottom ‘triangles’ with the dark Mango Melody I went over the whole of each gift with the light one.

FINISHING TOUCHES

I was almost done but I still had a white edge around the image which I didn’t like. So I went back to the light Highland Heather Stampin’ Blends and coloured in the edge.

To complete the bookmark I used liquid glue to attach the snail to the background. Then I added the two “hello” sentiments.

Finally I folded the baker’s twine in half and pushed the looped through the slot at the top of the bookmark. Then after threading the ends of the twine through the loops, I pulled tight to secure them. With that all I needed was to squeeze some Shimmery Crystal Effects onto each of the snail’s eyes and leave it for 24 hours to dry. With that my colourful bookmark project was done.

I’m really happy with how this project turned out as it’s destined for my granddaughter Alyssa. She loved a snail bookmark I made as a Paper Pumpkin kit alternate project but requested a purple version. I know she’ll love this one as much as I do.

You’ll find my other snail bookmark project in my earlier blog post A Paper Pumpkin Thing – Sending Hearts.

PRODUCT LIST

RETIRING STAMPIN’ BLENDS! – I originally missed the fact that Stampin’ Up! are retiring a couple of Stampin’ Blends colours. These are Rich Razzleberry and my favourite yellow/orange, Mango Melody. These two Stampin’ Blends combos are now only available while stocks last. Check out these and all the other retiring products that are still available via the Last Chance section of my online store.

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Snailed It Stamp Set in a bundle with the coordinating Snail Dies. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included links for both options below in case you want to explore them further.