Whisper White Retirement Surprise

A couple of days ago Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators were surprised by the sudden announcement that Whisper White Card and associated products were retiring. Sadly the paper mill that made Whisper White has become a victim of the COVID pandemic and has permanently closed. Since being notified, Stampin’ Up! has been working to source alternative products and these will start to appear in the near future. There are some slight differences between the retiring Whisper White and the new Basic White but I am confident that the overall quality remains as high as ever.

With that in mind, today’s project uses an abundance of Whisper White Card, with a little Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie thrown in.

Whisper White snowman centrepiece created from stacked rosette card disks. #papercraftwithme

STACKED ROSETTES

This snowman centrepiece is simply a stack of rosette decorations. I’ve made them before and they’re not that difficult. What was challenging though was working out the individual cutting and scoring measurements to create the shape.

Essentially to make each rosette you’ll need several strips of card. Then with the long side at the top you score using the measurements I’ve called S1. Next, flip the strip over so the bottom edge is now at the top and score using the measurements called S2. With that done, fold the scored strip backwards and forwards to create a series of mountain and valley folds.

To assemble each rosette I fixed two (or more) strips together by overlapping the final sections, making sure to keep to the mountain and valley sequence. Once the strips were joined to form a cylinder, I pressed the top edge down and in towards the centre. This created a basic rosette shape that popped up as soon as I let go. Therefore to keep everything in place I had my hot glue gun ready. After squeezing some glue onto a punched card circle I pressed the rosette down and held it for a minute while it cooled. By making rosettes of different heights and widths I could then create this 3D snowman complete with a top hat.

MEASUREMENTS

Here’s the cutting and scoring measurements for the various rosettes (each strip is 12″ long). To keep track of the various sizes I used a pencil to write the rosette number on the card circle.

ROSETTE 1 – 2 strips 3/4″ wide – score at 1/2″ then every 1″ (e.g. 1-1/2″, 2-1/2″ etc). Then flip and score at 1″ and then every 1″ to the end.
ROSETTE 2 – 2 strips 1″ wide – score at 1/2″ then every 1″ (e.g. 1-1/2″, 2-1/2″ etc). Then flip and score at 1″ and then every 1″ to the end.
ROSETTE 3 – 2 strips 1-1/4″ wide – score at 1/2″ then every 1″ (e.g. 1-1/2″, 2-1/2″ etc). Then flip and score at 1″ and then every 1″ to the end.
ROSETTE 4 – 2 strips 1-1/2″” wide – score at 1/2″ then every 1″ (e.g. 1-1/2″, 2-1/2″ etc). Then flip and score at 1″ and then every 1″ to the end.
ROSETTE 5 – 4 strips 1-1/4″ wide – score at 1″ then every 2″ (e.g. 3″, 5″ etc). Then flip and score at 2″ and then every 2″ to the end.
ROSETTE 6 – 4 strips 2″ wide – score at 1″ then every 2″ (e.g. 3″, 5″ etc). Then flip and score at 2″ and then every 2″ to the end.
ROSETTE 7 – 4 strips 1″ wide – score at 1-1/2″ then every 3″ (e.g. 4-1/2″, 7-1/2″ etc). Then flip and score at 3″ and then every 3″ to the end.

SNOWMAN ASSEMBLY

Once I’d worked out the different rosette sizes I’d need for my snowman I set to work.

From Whisper White Card I made the following rosettes: one Rosette 1, one Rosette 2, two Rosette 3, two Rosette 4, one Rosette 5 and one Rosette 6.

Then from Basic Black Card I made one Rosette 3 and one Rosette 7.

Using more hot glue I then began to stack the various Whisper White rosettes starting at the bottom with Rosette 3. I followed this with a Rosette 4, then Rosette 6, another Rosette 4, then Rosette 3 and finally Rosette 1. That made the snowman’s body and neck. On top of that I fixed the Rosette 5 and then the last Whisper White Rosette 1.

That just left the two Basic Black rosettes and I glued them together to create the top hat, then added it to the snowman. To keep everything neat I topped off the hat with a piece of Basic Black Card punched with the 2″ Circle Punch.

ADDING THE DETAILS

Now my basic snowman was done, but just like building a real snowman I needed to add some details.

First I took a scrap of Pumpkin Pie Card, rolled it into a tight cone and secured the edge with Tear & Tape Adhesive. Then to add some carrot-like creases I pressed my fingernail into the cone a few times. With that done I glued the carrot into the snowman’s face with hot glue.

For his eyes and buttons I simply tore some Basic Black Card into rough circle shapes. Then I used hot glue to fix them in place.

Next, around his neck I wrapped some retiring Mint Macaron 1/2″ Basketweave Ribbon. I overlapped the ribbon to one side and secured it together with a little Tear & Tape Adhesive.

On the top hat I added a hat band of Real Red 3/8″ Sheer Ribbon. First I wrapped it around the base of the hat and secured it to itself with Tear & Tape Adhesive. Then I tied a separate bow and used it to cover the join in the ribbon.

Finally I popped into the garden to find some twigs. Then after fixing then into the snowman’s body with hot glue my project was complete.

At just about 7-1/2″ tall and 4″ across, my snowman is quite substantial and I pleased with how he turned out. Now to find somewhere suitable to display him.

WHISPER WHITE RETIREES

When I first heard that Whisper White was retiring I immediately thought of 8-1/2″ x 11″ card (standard and Thick), but the actual list is longer:

8-1/2″ x 11″ Whisper White Card (A4 in some markets)
8-1/2″ x 11″ Thick Whisper White Card (A4 in some markets)
12″ x 12″ Whisper White Card
Whisper White Medium Envelopes (C6 in some markets)
Whisper White 3″ x 3″ Envelopes
Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes
Whisper White Assorted Memories & More Cards & Envelopes

In their announcement Stampin’ Up! said:

Our new Basic White products will become available to purchase as soon as we have them in stock. This means that some Whisper White and Basic White products may be available at the same time. Additionally, due to the nature of sourcing, some Basic White products may not be available before the Whisper White products sell out. Please know that we are working on getting these products available to you as fast as possible.

Until I actually have the new Basic White products in my hand I can’t personally comment on the differences between Whisper White and the new Basic White. However Stampin’ Up! did create this short video comparing the two.