I’m continuing my quest to use retiring products as least once more before they’re gone forever. Today’s project uses two sentiments from the Thankful Thoughts Stamp Set. Other retiring products used were the Swirly Bird Stamp Set and coordinating Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies, and the Happiness Blooms Memories & More Cards & Envelopes Pack. Phew!

SIMPLE CARD BACKGROUND

I decided to start my project with the sentiment, using crisp white embossing.

Getting good results with embossing powders is all about the preparation and so I began by wiping the card base with my Embossing Buddy to remove any oils and static. Next I used VersaMark ink to stamp the sentiment from the Thankful Thoughts Stamp Set. Then I sprinkled the sticky ink with White Stampin’ Emboss Powder and tapped off the excess.

Before going any further I carefully checked the card for any stray specks of embossing powder. This is really important as the tiniest speck might not look much, but once embossed you can guarantee it will really show. There were a few specks, so I picked them up by gently touching each speck with the piercing end of my Take Your Pick Tool.

Once I was happy that no more stray specks remained, I melted the rest of the powder using my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

Rather than leave the whole card front plain, I decided to add a little Whisper White Craft Stampin’ ink to the top section. This was quickly and easily done using some scrunched up Saran Wrap to tap the ink onto the surface. Craft Stampin’ ink takes a few minutes to dry, so I set it aside while I got on with other parts of the project.

I started by using the same Saran Wrap technique to stamp Balmy Blue ink over the flap of the envelope. Then I used the technique to create a border around a layer of Whisper White Card.

Next I used Balmy Blue ink to stamp a second sentiment from the Thankful Thoughts Stamp set on the Whisper White layer. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the layer inside the card base.

COLOURFUL SAILBOAT

Now all that was left to create was the colourful sailboat and waves.

I started this with some Whisper White Card and used Real Red ink to stamp the bottom of the boat. Then I cut it out using Paper Snips.

Next I used Mango Melody ink to stamp the smaller sail on the Whisper White Card. Then I inked up the larger sail with Mango Melody ink, but this time stamped it off onto some scrap paper. Now when I stamped this sail close to the first one it would be lighter in colour. Finally I stamped over the large sail with Mango Melody ink using the striped image.

Using my Paper Snips I then cut out the two sails, keeping them together and leaving a little Whisper White Card extending above and below the sails as a mast. Then with that done I attached the mast to the back of the boat using liquid glue.

That just left the water, and for that I would need my retiring Big Shot and the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits. I used the large wave die three times, first to cut out some Whisper White Card, then Balmy Blue and finally some Sparkle Glimmer Paper.

To assemble my waves I first attached some sellotape across the back of the Whisper White waves covering the die-cut holes. Then I filled in these gaps using pieces from the Glimmer Paper waves. With that done I then used liquid glue to attach the Balmy Blue layer onto the Whisper White layer so they were slightly offset.

Next I used liquid glue to fix the boat to the back of the waves before attaching everything to the front of the card. Finally using my Paper Snips I trimmed off the excess waves using the edges of the card base as a guide. My ‘sending thanks’ card was complete.

THANKFUL THOUGHTS

I’m going to miss Thankful Thoughts, it’s a great stamp set full of thank you sentiments. As a reminder here are links to some of my previous blog posts using this set.

• A Little Less Subtle
• Timeless Textures Thank You
• Thankful Thoughts – Thanks or Thank You?

PRODUCT LIST

Retiring stamp sets like Thankful Thoughts and Swirly Bird are guaranteed to be available until May 24th. All other retiring items like the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies, Happiness Blooms Cards & Envelopes, the Big Shot and Stampin’ Trimmer, are only available while stocks last.

To see which retiring items are still available to buy, visit the ‘Last Chance’ section of my online store (click on the link on the right). Don’t forget that items will sell out without warning, so if you see something you want please place your online order straight away to avoid missing out.