Despite arriving back from the UK late on Saturday night, it wasn’t until yesterday at I felt like I was home. Mind you I’m under mandatory quarantine for 14 days and so restricted to just three rooms. It’s not all bad though because in addition to my bedroom and bathroom, I have one other room where I can spend my day, my craft studio. With the weather very hot and muggy yesterday I was drawn to the Timeless Tropical Stamp Set. I haven’t used this set in ages, and it appears I haven’t used the palm tree image at all! So easing myself in gently I created this card with a simple tropical scene.

TROPICAL SCENE

This style of card is not new as I’m sure I’ve seen several versions of it since the stamp set was released. However I simply couldn’t resist this as a reintroduction to some of my older, but still available, stamp sets. I considered creating a casual background area but instead decided to use a die-cut mask.

I began by cutting a piece of Very Vanilla Card 4″ x 5-1/4″. Then I chose the largest die from the Tasteful Labels Dies. I really liked the unusual shape and thought it would add extra interest to the design. Next I cut the shape from the centre of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of scrap card to create a mask. Then with a little sellotape I fixed the mask to the top of my Very Vanilla layer.

I’ve created sponged scenes a lot in the past but today would be different. Stampin’ Sponges have retired so this would be my first time creating a tropical scene using Blending Brushes. I also decided to include some of the new 2021-2023 In Colors just to see how they’d work.

With the mask in place I started by brushing Soft Succulent ink over the bottom third of the visible area. Then over the middle section I used Pale Papaya blending it into the Soft Succulent. Finally I brightened up the tropical sky with Pumpkin Pie over the top third, and blended that into the Pale Papaya.

After removing the mask I was ready to move onto the stamping part of my project.

TROPICAL TREES

The project was really all about those lovely palm trees that have been neglected for so long. I wanted a real contrast between the trees and the blended scene, but didn’t want to use black. Instead I chose Early Espresso ink and stamped the trees partly over the blended area.

Below the trees I then stamped “our friendship is timeless” which is also in the Timeless Tropical Stamp Set.

With the layer complete it was time to work on the card base. First, using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored a piece of Early Espresso Card. Next I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Then I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to mount the Very Vanilla piece onto the card front.

Now all I needed was to decorate the inside of the card and create a matching envelope. For this I went back to the palm trees image and the Early Espresso ink pad.

I inked up the stamp and then stamped-off onto some scrap paper to remove a little of the ink. Then I stamped the image coming in from the left side on the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope.

Next I reinked the stamp, stamped off again and stamped it on the left side of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Very Vanilla Card. Then I glued this layer inside the card base.

Unfortunately when I closed the card I noticed an rogue ink spot! Undeterred I pulled out my favourite embellishments, the Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels. Then I added five of them to the card front. This way I could hide the ink spot while making the embellishments part of the design. No such thing as a mistake in my craft room, well most of the time… And with that my project was complete.

FREE SHIPPING ON THURSDAY!

Late yesterday Stampin’ Up! announced that on June 24th (Mountain Time) they will be offering free shipping on any order over $65CAD. So if you have a big wish list and were hesitating because of the shipping costs. Or had a small order and didn’t want to pay the minimum shipping charge, now’s your chance.

If your order is under $200 I’ll also have a special Host Code for you to use just on June 24th. Use that to be entered into an extra draw for free products. I’ll post the special Host Code on the right hand side on June 24th, so do watch out for it.

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m off to plan my order and think about all the extra stuff I can get when I’m not spending the money on shipping. Is there anything you think I should include in my order?

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