Stampin’ Up! Botanical Playful Pals

Good Morning – it’s Friday again! Wow – time is just flying by, isn’t it? Only 5 more days until we leave for OnStage. End of the month is fast approaching as well, which will bring a trip to Savannah and the arrival of tomato and pepper plants – all ready for transplanting!  Hopefully not all at the same time! 🙂

Do y’all know about a company called Territorial Seeds?  If you like to garden and grow veggies in the summer (or fall or whenever!) this is a great source of seed and – what I love! – plants!  You can select when you want them to arrive, based on the best time for your neck of the woods.  Then they come all cozy in their packaging – some of the best I’ve ever seen – and they’re ready to harden off and plant.  This will be my third year using them (I get nothing from this – I just really like them!) and have had superb results every year.  Just throwin’ that out there! 🙂

So, the last time we had a meeting with Amy Koenders, she gave us all a little gift – like she always does!  This time around, I picked the Playful Pals stamp set, bundled with the Pyramid Pals Thinlits.  I finally decided to get it out and play with it.  I added some Botanical Gardens DSP and a flower from the Botanical Builder, and this is what I came up with.  Take a look-see:

LOL, I love how the frog has a sort of goofy expression on his face – he’s obviously tickled for having snagged him a little snackerel – and maybe he even wants to present it to the birthday girl or boy as a special gift!

The layout for the card was inspired by the Retro Sketches #209:

The process sounds more involved than it really was – so hang with me, okay? 🙂

I began by building the amphibious art work.  I stamped his outlines – from Playful Pals – in Always Artichoke on Whisper White card stock.  Then, using the filler-inner stamp images in the set, I colored him Old Olive.  I fussy cut his body and used the matching dies from the Pyramid Pals Thinlits to cut the rest of the little pieces.  I stuck his little parts (except his eyes) together with some Multi-Purpose Liquid Glue.  I thought he needed some red lips for his smile, so I gave him one in Real Red.  Yes, that’s a stamp image! – there are no fewer than FIFTY stamps in that set – what kinds of strange and wonderful animals could you make with those!?


Using some Stampin’ Dimensionals – I stuck his eyeballs on his head.  I made a little bow-tie by stamping that image on a piece of Botanical Gardens DSP and cutting it with its matching framelit.  I popped that on with Dimensionals as well.  I gave him a little heart nose – it could happen! – by punching a piece of Botanical Gardens DSP with the Hearts Border Punch.  

Finally, I stamped a “tongue” in Cajun Craze and cut it out – then set it aside for later.  I popped Mr. Froggy onto a circle of Shine On DSP (the one with the silver raindrops) that I’d cut with my 2 1/2″ Circle Punch, and then used Liquid Glue to stick the whole thing onto a Silver Metallic Foil Doily.  Kind of a fancy lily-pad! 😉


I built a card front with a panel of Botanical Gardens DSP matted on Cajun Craze card stock.  Then I SNAILd two more strips of the DSP to it to make the vertical elements of the sketch.  Finally, I used some Liquid Glue to stick on a length of 1 1/4″ Burlap Ribbon.  Then I stuck my round art work over the whole thing with yet more Multi-Purpose Liquid Glue.


I decided that I’d make the “bow” in the sketch be a little more frog-friendly.  So I pulled out the oh-so-cute bee image from Garden in Bloom and stamped it in Basic Black Archival ink – once on a piece of Whisper White card stock and once on Vellum card stock.  I fussy cut all of the Vellum bee, and just the body, head and stinger (yes, I lost his antennae!) from the white bee.  Then I adhered the white bee over the vellum bee – so that he’d have vellum (read: see thru!) wings!  I colored his body with my Hello Honey Stampin’ Write Marker.

I cut two flowers in Very Vanilla, using the Botanical Builder Framelits, folded their petals to give them some depth and lightly sponged the edges with Cajun Craze.  Then I glued them together and popped them on the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I used a craft knife and cut a teensy slit in the froggie mouth, stuck the end of the “tongue” in and then – using TWO layers of Stampin’ Dimensional – stuck the end of his tongue to the flower.  I glued on the bee, and added a Metal Rimmed Pearl to finish that part off.


The sentiment is from the Build a Birthday stamp set (Annual Catalog) and is stamped in Cajun Craze on Very Vanilla.  I used my Hexagon Punch to create the banner end and sponged the edges with Cajun Craze.  The bottom banner was created in the same way, with another strip of the Botanical Gardens DSP.  I adhered both banners under the flower – and the front was done.

There, that wasn’t so bad, was it? 😉

For the inside, I used a panel of Very Vanilla and stamped the Garden in Bloom bee around a couple of times in Basic Black Archival Ink and added some “bee trails” with a Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker.  I colored the bees with more Hello Honey.  Over that I added a double strip of Botanical Gardens DSP – DSP matted on DSP.


I SNAILd it onto a Cajun Craze mat and into a Mossy Meadow card base (these two colors are just made for each other, aren’t they??).  I also SNAILd the card front on – electing to save a little thickness, since there’s plenty on it already!  And the card was done!

For the Very Vanilla Medium Envelope, I made a little froggie peeking in the from the front corner.  I made him in just the same way as the card frog – I even adhered cut out eyes with some Liquid Glue.  I also added a couple of bees and some bee trails…


…and I added a Botanical Gardens DSP liner, cut with my Envelope Liner Framelits.


Et Voila!  I love the juxtaposition of the goofy frog with the touch of elegance from the Silver Foil – and the pretty font of the sentiment.  The frog makes you think it’s just a card for kids – but…I think it could go to anyone with any sort of a sense of humor, don’t you? 🙂

Hope that you like it!

If you haven’t left me a comment on my Wednesday blog and gotten yourself entered for the Wildflower Blog Candy….head over there now.  You’ve got until 8pm eastern Sunday night to get entered for….


Here’s a link right to that post – that’s the only spot to enter! 🙂

Have a great Friday (gateway to the weekend!) – and I’ll see you tomorrow!

TTFN!
Mary

HOST CODE FOR 1 APR – 15 APR 16: FJJRBUGX

Use this host code when you order and receive a free gift from me! But, if your order is over $150, please don’t use this code (you’ll miss out on your own Stampin’ Rewards if you use it) but you’ll still get the free gift. The free gift is your choice of any item valued up to $8.00 in the 2015-16 Annual Catalog or the 2015 Occasions Catalog.

2016-2017 ANNUAL CATALOG COMING SOON!

The time is growing near when we’ll say good-bye to the 2016 Occasions catalog and the 2015-2016 Annual Catalog!  The announcement of the Official Retiring Product list will be made on 18 Apr.  That’s when those In Color products we’ve loved for the last two years will start to leap off the shelves – so be sure to stock up now!

About two weeks later – in the first week of May – I’ll be sending new 2016-2017 Annual Catalogs to those folks who’ve ordered $50 or more from me in the past 12 months.  

If you haven’t ordered from me – there’s still time!  Just click on my Online Store icon over there to the right side of your screen and get shopping!  Just be sure to check “Yes” at the screen that asks you if your Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator (that would be me!) can contact you!  I promise I won’t bug you – but if you don’t select that, I can’t see anything about you – so…I can’t send you your ordering gift, sign you up for my Rewards Program or send you a catalog!  Nuthin’!

Remember – after 18 April, Stampin’ Up! will periodically issue Special Offers – with more products and more levels of savings!  This week and next will be the last of the traditional Weekly Deals.

WEEKLY DEALS FOR 5 Apr – 11 Apr 16!! Click here to see the Weekly Deals from Stampin’ Up! in my online store. The Weekly Deals are only while supplies last and only available at these great prices through 11 Apr!

STAMPIN’ UP! PRODUCTS USED IN TODAY’S CARD 

CARD CUTS USED IN TODAY’S PROJECT

Mossy Meadow Card Stock: 4 1/4″ x 11″ (card base, scored and folded at 5 1/2″)

Very Vanilla Card Stock: 4″ x 5 1/4″ (inner liner); 5/8″ x 3 3/8″ (sentiment banner); Botanical Builder flowers

Botanical Gardens DSP: 4″ x 5 1/4″ (card front); 3/4″ x 4 1/8″ and 7/8″ x 4 3/4″ (strips on card front); 5/8″ x 3 3/8″ (banner under sentiment); 5/8″ x 4″ (inner liner strip); 3/4″ x 4″ (inner liner strip mat); envelope liner

Shine On DSP: 2 1/2″ Circle (behind the frog)

Whisper White Card Stock: for all frog parts and the bee

Vellum Card Stock:  bee

TICK TOCK TICK TOCK

ALMOST TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE 2014-2016 IN COLORS!

Don’t forget to stock up on these 2014-2016 In Color Supplies – once they’re announced as retiring (coming up in the not-too-distant future!) these are the things that fly off the shelves like Krispy Kreme Donuts when the “HOT” Sign is lit up!

If you need any stamping supplies, I’d be very happy to be your Demonstrator. Just click on the Order Stampin’ Up! Online Now button on the right side of the screen to go directly to my online store or drop me an email if you have any questions. Happy Stamping!