A busy day today with lots more swimming and family fun in the garden, making the most of the sunshine. Time for a little bit of crafting this evening, but today I'm going to share a card I made a little while ago when I was last playing with my Dress Up framelits that features two retiring products - the Elements of Style stamp set and the lovely Tea for Two DSP. This is a case of a card by Julie Kettlewell, who like me also seems to have had something of a love affair with the Dress Up framelits and has made some fabulous cards with this set: you can check out her card here and look at lots of other great examples of how to get the most from this versatile set. So here is my card:

As my regular blog followers will know, I don't really do 'fussy' and this card is about as vintage as I get! I really like the flower stamping over the newsprint though, and I think the Crumb Cake ribbon really finishes off this card. I used a Calypso Coral marker pen to colour the flowers to echo the colour of the flowers on the designer paper and used a blender pen to get some depth to the colour. The tri-fold design is also just a little different and yet the card still folds flat for postage.

That's all for today - tomorrow is the start of a very busy Stampin' Up! week: a new annual catalogue, a new monthly stamp set and lots of other great news and new products to share in the coming weeks, so lots of planning, making and fun to be had!

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Elements of Style

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Tea for Two DSP, First Edition Specialty DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Early Espresso, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade

Tools: Dress Up Framelits, Blender Pen

Finishing Touches: Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon

A change from the masculine theme today, to something much more feminine: a birthday card using my much-loved Dress Up framelits and a couple of soon to be retired products. So here is my card:

The design of the card was inspired by a card kit that has recently been on sale to Stampin' Up's American customers, but not available here in the UK. So have you worked out the retiring products yet? The mannequin is made from the First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper, which has been partially overstamped with the floral stamp from the Elements of Style set. This has then been coloured with Stampin' Right Markers in Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant. This has been layered with a paper doily beneath the dark background oval to add to the vintage feel - well, this is about as vintage as I get! The card has been finished with a birthday sentiment banner that has been attached with a lovely vintage brad, to add to the overall effect.

I liked the finished result and made another card using the same design but in a blue colourway using Marina Mist and Night of Navy, which you can see below:

If you would like to own Elements of Style or get your hands on some First Edition paper, then act now as they will only be available until the end of the month (or until stocks last).

Back tomorrow with another project using more retiring goodies; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Elements of Style, Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Marina Mist, Night of Navy, First Edition Specialty DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi

Tools: Dress Up Framelits, Oval Framelits, Blender Pen

Finishing Touches: Paper Doily, Antique Brads