I’m still working my way through the Retiring List and giving them all one last hurrah. Today’s project features four retiring products… the Sweet Strawberry Stamp Set and the coordinating Strawberry Builder Punch, plus the Ornate Frames and Tasteful Labels Dies. These two sets of dies have been a staple in my craft studio and therefore I’ll probably miss them the most. The Strawberry Builder Punch also coordinates with the Sentimental Swirls Stamp Set in the January to June 2022 Mini Catalogue, so get it while you still can.

STRAWBERRY BUILDING

I started this thank you card with the retiring Sweet Strawberry Stamp Set. This is a two-step set and my preference is to stamp the outlines first. For the leaves and stalks I chose Old Olive ink, and for the strawberries, Real Red.

After stamping the leaves, stalks and strawberries onto separate strips of Thick Very Vanilla Card I was ready to punch them out. By stamping the images on different strips I was able to easily line up each one by looking at the underside of the retiring Strawberry Builder Punch. Once I had all the pieces I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach the stalks to the strawberries and set everything aside.

Now I needed something on which to build my strawberry patch and for that I chose the largest shape from the retiring Tasteful Labels Dies. After cutting it out I picked up the Blending Brush that I’ve reserved for using with blue inks. It was actually on my desk with a number of other used brushes to remind me to wash them. The blue brush was last used with Bermuda Bay ink and I figured that there was probably enough already on it for what I had in mind. So I simply brushed the remaining in over the die-cut label to add a light layer of colour.

After that I used liquid glue to attach the three leaves and one of the strawberries over the bottom left corner. Then I added the final strawberry using Stampin’ Dimensionals and set the assembled piece aside.

SIMPLE LAYERING

Meanwhile for my card base I’d decided to use Thick Very Vanilla Card. After cutting and scoring the card I folded it along the scored line and then sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Finally I could fix the label piece to the centre of the card front using liquid glue.

For my sentiment I went back to the Sweet Strawberry Stamp Set. I love the font used in this stamp set as it’s crisp and clear but still decorative. After choosing the “Thank you” sentiment I stamped it onto some Thick Very Vanilla Card with Old Olive ink. Then to cut it out I chose the last of today’s retiring products, the Ornate Frames Dies. I love this long oval shape and the corner details work well with the die-cut background piece. Once cut I added the sentiment to the strawberry piece with Stampin’ Dimensionals, and tucked the left end under a stalk.

Now I only had the envelope and inside of the card to do. So I decided to concentrate on just the leaf image (outline and solid stamps).

First I used some scrap paper to cover all but a 3/4″ strip along the bottom of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Very Vanilla Card. Then I stamped the leaf outline over the visible strip, turning the leaf as I went. As before I filled in the leaves using Old Olive ink and the solid stamp. Then I glued the layer to the inside of the card base.

Finally I turned to the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope I covered all but a 1″ strip along the bottom. Then I repeated the leaf stamping to decorate that so it coordinated it with the inside of the card. At last my strawberry project was complete.

PRODUCT LIST

RETIRING PRODUCTS – only available while stocks last

Although you will see a discounted ‘bundle’ in the current Annual Catalogue and Last Chance section of my online store I’ve not included a link for it. This is because the Strawberry Builder Punch is now discounted by 50%. Therefore you will save more if you buy the stamp set and punch separately.

CONTINUING PRODUCTS