As the days go by more and more items on the Retiring List are selling out. Sometimes customers like to wait and see if products are going to be reduced and that can happen. However I usually tell my customers to weigh up how badly they want a particular product and whether it’s worth missing out completely just because they hoped to save a few dollars? Something that rarely gets reduced is retiring stamp sets, as Stampin’ Up! make these and adjusts production to closely meet demand. This is also why you’re unlikely to see them in the Clearance Rack in the future. So with that in mind I wanted to bring you one final project using the retiring sentiment only Strong & Beautiful Stamp Set.

SIMPLE SCENE

I actually created this project last October as part of my personal World Cardmaking Day challenge. My challenge was to design and make 24 cards in 24 hours, so they had to be relatively quick and easy. This project was number 15 of the 24 I succeed in making that day.

I began with two 4″ x 5-1/4″ pieces of Very Vanilla Card and a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Then I chose the mother and child image from the Beautiful Moments Stamp Set.

Using Basic Gray ink I stamped the image in the bottom right corner of one of the layers. Then without reinking the stamp I stamped it again on the other Very Vanilla piece. I reinked the stamp and stamped it onto a Full-Adhesive Post-It® Note, and without reinking stamped it onto the front of the envelope.

Next, taking my Paper Snips I cut out the image from the Post-It Note to create a mask. Then I placed it over the image that I’d stamped first. Now I could create a background for my scene without affecting the stamped image. I wanted to keep it really simple so using some retiring Stampin’ Sponge I sponged Pool Party ink over the whole piece. Then using a clean piece of Stampin’ Sponge I added Old Olive ink for the ‘ground’. With that done I removed the mask to reveal the stamped image.

STRONG & BEAUTIFUL

Before going any further I turned to the Strong & Beautiful Stamp Set and chose one of my favourite sentiments from the set. Using Basic Gray ink once again, I stamped the sentiment in the space above the child.

Now I just needed to colour in the stamped image using Stampin’ Blends Alcohol markers. On the little girl I used So Saffron for her hair and Flirty Flamingo for her dress. For the mother’s clothes I chose Pool Party and Misty Moonlight. Then I coloured her hair with Crumb Cake, before using Ivory for the skin on both figures.

Now my layers were ready I used my Paper Trimmer to cut and score a piece of Old Olive Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create my card base.

Finally, using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the main layer to the front of the card. Then after gluing the other Very Vanilla layer on the inside my project was complete.

I’ll definitely be sad to see the Strong & Beautiful Stamp Set go, but am pleased that Beautiful Moments will be around for at least one more year.

PRODUCT LIST

RETIRING PRODUCTS – The Strong & Beautiful Stamp Set and Stampin’ Sponges are both on the Retiring List and now only available while stocks last. At the time of writing both items are still available, however for the most up-to-date information please see the Last Chance section of my online store.