Farewell to Summer.....

When I sat down on Monday to finish designing projects for my camps and classes this week, it hit me that summer is almost over! Wow, it sure has flown by and has been filled with some truly wonderful moments. I've spent time with friends both near and far, had an exhilarating and wonderfully surprising experience at our Stampin' Up! convention, spent a wonderful week with my family at the beach and enjoyed lots of fun stamping time too!

So many of you have had your kids head back to school already; Emma goes the day after Labor Day, and your vacations are a wonderful memory now. But you can still be in Summer mode with this card I designed:

I started the Summer Mini Catalog season off with two full packs of this gorgeous Island Oasis Designer Paper and when I pulled it out to make this card, I discovered that I'd used almost all of it! How this beautiful flower design escaped cutting until now is a mystery to me! But, I was glad, because I LOVE how this card turned out and so have all the stampers who have been here this week!

The entire card is created with the Big Shot with the exception of the greeting which is punched out with the Modern Label Punch. I made the card base by cutting a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock at 4 3/4" x 9 1/5". It's folded in half and then laid on the Scalloped Circle die with it covering all but 4 scallops. This allows the Big Shot to cut a folded, shaped card. I did use my White Gel Pen to mark the scallops for perfect placement.
Once I had cut the card, I randomly stamped the large flower image from the Tropical Party stamp set in Pumpkin Pie ink. The edges were sponged as well.

(Can I just tell you that this stamp set was NOT on my original list of must haves from the Summer Mini? Nope, it wasn't. But I got it as a freebie and folks, I ended up using it more than any other set from the Mini except for Elements of Style! I am not usually a 'cute' stamper, but what I loved about the Tropical Party set was that it can be used in vintage or masculine or elegant styles with ease. I guess you can't always judge a stamp set at first glance, eh? It is leaving us for good next Tuesday, so you still have time to order it if you haven't already. I know you'll be glad you did!)

Anyway, back to the card.....
To make the flower, I used the Big Shot Island Floral Bigz Die from the Summer Mini and cut all three pieces at one time by layering them on the die. I put down the Island Oasis paper first, then the Pumpkin Pie flower center, then the leaves. I love that you can do this with the Big Shot - it saves so much time!
Once the pieces were cut, I used my Bone Folder to curl the edges and then sponged ink on each piece - tone on tone for the Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red on the floral dsp. The best thing about using this die is that it punches the center hole for you! So all I had to do was stack my flower and add one of the 5/8" Brads to the center. So easy! The whole flower was attached to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals and my greeting was added with a dimensional as well. I used Teeny Tiny Wishes for that and it worked wonderfully for my classes as everyone used the greeting they needed for their card.
The card was finished by tying a piece of Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain around the top and knotting it off. It fits perfectly in a Stampin' Up! Medium envelope so you can mail it with ease - how great is that? :)

So, take a last glance or two through your Summer Mini catalogs or check out the offerings on my Stampin' Up! website. There are some real treasures in there that are retiring next Tuesday, 8/31 and I don't want you to miss them.
Want to know my favorites besides what I used today?
Well, Favorite Thoughts - the set of 'women's' quotes is awesome and you only need one clear block (H) for the whole set so it's a bargain at just $11.95 for the clear mount!
Blissful Bride is such a sweet bridal stamp set, I used it for two swaps and several cards and just love the simplicity of the images. It would work well for all occasion cards too with the cute cake and flower images. That one too is a steal at just $16.95 for the clear mount.
Sweet Scoops was a fabulous set for making fun birthday and kids cards. I can't tell you the number of swaps I received with this set and the samples I've seen with it. It was one of the most popular sets from the book and with good reason. And again, a great price at just $14.95 for the clear mount. Everyone needs a set like this in their stamping tool box!
Lastly, there are two Satin Ribbons that are NOT carrying over into the new Idea Book and Catalog - Chocolate Chip and Basic Gray! In fact, neither of these colors are in ANY of the new ribbons, so if you want Chocolate Chip ribbon, at least this year, this is your shot so don't miss out on stocking up on a couple of rolls. Both of these are just $8.95 for 15 yards on a roll - that's a deal!

As always, you can shop 24/7 from my Stampin' Up! Website, or just contact me to place your order. I'm happy to help you out, just remember that Tuesday at midnight ends the Summer Mini party! :)

Have a wonderful stampin' day!
~~Robin