Stampin' Addicts Retiring Set Blog Hop

Hi Stampers! Welcome to the Stampin' Addicts Retiring Set Blog Hop! I am so excited to be part of this hop, and if you've been following along on the hop you have just arrived from Paula's Blog: Paula Stamps where Paula shared some projects using the Just Believe Stamp Set, one of my favorites and a keeper on my shelf for sure! Didn't Paula create some amazing things with that set?

Another keeper on my shelf is Kindness Matters. This week I used it to make a few gifts to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. And rather than keeping you reading much further, here is a Thank You card that got some great comments from a friend I showed it to last night:



As an Early Childhood Educator I go through Thank You cards like there's no tomorrow, and this stamp set has served me well over the past years, so I made one to share with you! One of my ever favorite color combinations is Pink Pirouette and Early Espresso. I paired them up for you here, along with Mambo Melon and some First Edition Specialty paper, also retiring this spring. I stocked up on this stuff already, and I recommend that you do too! I was really sad to see this listed on our retirement list. The little banners are made from some scraps of card stock I had in my stash, and the pink one was even sprayed with the soon to be retired Silver Foil Smooch Spritz. The flower was made using four layers of First Edition punched with my Scallop Circle Punch, and held together with a silver brad.

My next project is a little notebook I created using a 3 x 5 notepad found at a discount store:



These notepads are so easy to cover, and the custom cover only takes 1/2 a sheet of cardstock. How cool is that? For this notebook cover I used a base of Crumb Cake. Once it was scored in all the right places (and I'll post the measurements later next week!) I rounded the edges and ran it through the Big Shot using my Oval Shaped Designer Frame Folder. I stamped the butterflies onto Very Vanilla using Pink Pirouette, and Kindness Matters in Soft Suede. I was able to line it up just right with the help of my Stamp-a-Majig. I punched the image out with the Extra Large Oval Punch - it's the perfect fit - and put it in the center of the frame using some Stampin' Dimensionals. I finished off the front of my card with a bit of Chocolate Chip Scallop Dots Ribbon, and added the notepad to the inside with a bit of Mono Adhesive to hold it in place.

The last project I'm sharing with you today is a Stationary Box. I love making these little things, as they are done with just one sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 cards stock, scored and snipped in all the right places!



The original credit goes to a stamper named Val, and later this week I'll try to find the link to her blog where she shared it years ago! I created this box using Lucky Limeade, and let me tell you this has been one of my very favorite colors these past two years and I'm sorry to see it go!



I stamped the main image with a stamp from my French Foliage stamp set as a background in Sahara Sand onto Whisper White, and the centered the butterfly image over that in Lucky Limeade. I finished it off using a few blossoms from the 5/8" Flower Trim. I don't think I saw this stuff in the new catalog, so if you love it as much as I do don't wait to stock up. You still have a few weeks left!



I filled the inside of my box with a few notecards, inspired by Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Becky Roberts. They are topped off with a little strip of DSP from my Sunshine and Sprinkles pack, also in the Spring Catalog, and a few teeny white flowers I punched using my Itty Bitty Bits Punch Pack. I stamped the butterfly image in Lucky Limeade onto the bottom center of each note card only after I pre-stamped it onto a bit of scrap paper so the image could be light enough to be written over, if necessary. This little gift box is going to look adorable on the desk top of a teacher I know.

Well that's it for my projects this weekend. I hope you enjoyed looking at them as much as I enjoyed putting them together for you. Your next stop on our blog hop is Carmen's Stamping Addiction. Where she's featuring Little Friends. If you happen to get lost somewhere along the way, you can come back here to start over! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!