Birthday beers and new ink pads

Today's card includes, ribbon and DSP that is retiring at the end of the month, plus the lovely Happiest Birthday Wishes sentiment stamp set.

 



Just a couple of weeks left to get your hands on the retiring products, whilst stocks last.  Check out the latest up to date list here.

 

The card based in More Mustard from the Regals collection, with Early Espresso grosgrain ribbon around the centre, and a Curly Label punch border punched from some scraps of Well Worn DSP.  I've created a little collection of beer mugs using the 'coffee mug' stamp from the Every Little Bit stamp set, by masking each image to make them look like they are behind the front image.  and then finally the sentiment, inked in Chocolate Chip ink.

 

You may have already seen that the ink pads are all retiring.  This is due to being reconfigured - what does that mean exactly?

 

Well, With the introduction of the 2012-2013 annual catalogue, Stampin' Up! have made a very big change to their Stampin’ Pads by ...

 

introducing firm foam pads!

• Create wonderfully solid images. The Firm Foam releases more ink onto your rubber stamp than the felt pads. When using the Firm Foam pad, your stamp will get an even, solid covering of ink that you may not have been able to achieve with the felt pads. Please note: if you are using the ink pad frequently you may need to re-ink your Firm Foam pad more often. We recommend that you purchase a refill at the time of your ink pad purchase.
•  Have a crisply printed, glossy label on the top of the pad that is easier to read and that will not fade or chip off!
•  Come with colour name labels in all four languages (English, Spanish, French, and German)—just choose your language, peel it off the back, and add it to the side of the pad for easy identification!
•  Use the same patented flip-top case design that stores the inking surface upside down, so the pad surface stays moist!
•  Are available in all colours, including our exclusive In Colors!

Please note: Five ink colours have undergone formula changes to improve functionality and colour stability with the new firm foam pads. These colours are

• Basic Black
• Basic Gray
• Marina Mist
• Perfect Plum
• Tempting Turquoise

 All five colours of the reformulated inks have been fully tested and approved. While using the new ink formula in the old Stampin’ Pads is fine, we do not recommend using the old ink formula in these five colours in the new firm foam pads.

 

 

Varying layouts

There are so many different layouts possible when making a card, I thought today I would show you just how easy it is to create a few different cards using the same materials.

I've used the cute tortoise stamp from the Natures Nest stamp set from the main catalogue for these birthday cards and coloured it with Stampin' Write markers.

The first card is a Old Olive base onto which I have created a Soft Suede panel and punched the edge with the Scalloped Trim border punch, before mounting the Whisper White image panel.



On the card base I have added 2 lengths of Early Espresso grosgrain ribbon and then a sentiment from the Perfect Pairs stamp set, inked with Early Espresso onto Whisper White and then punched out with the 1 3/8' circle punch before mounting onto a Scalloped circle punch and raising up with dimensionals.

For the second card I've used a Whisper White card base to create a 13.5cm square and then added a strip of Soft Suede card stock in the centre and then a piece of DSP from the Beau Chateau paper pack. 

Onto this I added the 2 circular shapes from the Perfect Pennants die, cut from Soft Suede and More Mustard and then in the centre I have added 1 1/4' circle punched from Whisper White which has been run through the Square Lattice embossing folder, before finally adding the tortoise.

And finally, another Old Olive base and paper from the Well Worn paper pack, with a central panel cut from Soft Suede and the image stamped onto Whisper White.

I could go on creating layouts like this, so why not have a go yourself and see what you can come up with.

Well Worn ideas

I have another couple of ideas using Designer Series Papers for you today...

The papers used are from the Well Worn pack on page 99 of the main catalogue. 

The first card was a commission for a friend of mine, who wanted a card featuring one of the characters from Doctor Who.  I don't watch it so can't really tell you anymore than that but I believe it went down well with the recipient.

The image is printed off the web and then I have layered up part of the picture to make it stand out.  I have then mounted the panel onto Early Espresso card stock.  The sentiment is from the Happiest Birthday Wishes stamp set (available in exchange for hostess pounds only), stamped in Chocolate Chip ink and punched out with the Curly Label punch.  I have then punched 2 shapes from the Early Espressor card to co-ordinate and make the sentiment stand out.  A piece of grosgrain ribbon across the centre of the card finishes this off but still maintains a masculine feel.

And for the other card, something nice and quick.....

I've taped the DSP to a Whisper White card base and then punched out a window using the 1 3/8" circle punch.

Inside I've stuck an owl created with the Owl Punch, and then finished it off with a sentiment from the Teeny Tiny wishes stamp set punched out with the Word Window punch.