Love at First Sight

Hello and happy Monday!

Do you ever see a stamp set and just instantly know that you've got to have it?  It happens to me more than I'd like to admit!  When I was at the OnStage event in Salt Lake City last November and the new Occasions catalog was unveiled, the minute I saw the Petal Palette stamp set, I knew I just had to have it. 

Here are the reasons why this is my favorite stamp set and coordinating product suite (Petal Passion Suite) in the Occasions catalog:

1.  I love the images and the way they look softly sketched.  There are no hard, crisp lines anywhere... just soft-looking leaves and flowers.

2.  There's a bird!  And what a sweet little bird he is!  I'm not sure what kind of bird this is supposed to be, but I think it's fun to color him any colors you like.  He's an imaginary bird, so color him blue or purple or yellow or maybe a little of each.

3.  There are some great sayings in this set...for example "I just love you." and "Life is so much better with you in it."

4.  Did I mention the amazing font?  I love the way the font mixes a curvy upper- and lower-case script with very simple upper-case printing.  Take a look on page 23 of your Occasions catalog and you'll see what I mean.  

5.  The coordinating Designer Paper is done in black and white...so very sophisticated and so fun to color!  

6.  There's a coordinating set of Thinlets to make cutting out the images as simple as pie.  (Don't know where that expression came from... in my book there's nothing simple about making a pie, but I digress).

7.  The Petal Pair embossing folders are amazing!  You get two skinny embossing folders, perfect for adding texture to your Petal Palette cards.

OK... after all that I guess it's time to show you a card I made with this great set...

I used a piece of Whisper White card stock for the base.  Next I cut a panel of Pool Party card stock and a smaller panel of the Petal Passion DSP. After adhering them together,  I wrapped the two panels with two pieces of Baker's Twine... one of Basic Black and two of Pool Party before adhering the two panels to the card base.  I cut a circle of Whisper White card stock using the Stitched Shapes Framelits and adhered it over the Baker's Twine with a couple of Dimensionals.  Then I stamped the flowers in Tuxedo Black Memento ink, cut them out with the matching framelit, and colored them with my Stampin' Blends Alcohol Markers.  I used both the light and dark shades of Pool Party and the light shade of Old Olive.  To finish, I stamped the sentiment in Tuxedo Black Memento ink.  Start to finish, you can make this card in under 10 minutes.  Note that there are no lumps or bumps of any kind on this card, making it perfect to slide into an envelope and mail with assurance that it will arrive intact, something you cannot be sure of if you are adding embellishments such as pearls, rhinestones, or even a ribbon bow.  It is best to use a bubble mailer if your card has elaborate embellishments.

You and your friends could make this pretty card at your Stampin' Party-in-a-Box.  I'll send you everything you need, except for the blocks and stamp pads.  Just let me know you'd like to host and we can put our heads together and decide what kinds of cards you'd like to make.  Please email me at sjrstamps@gmail.com.  I'd be happy to help you order the supplies to make today's card and I'm just an email away!

May the week ahead be a happy one and remember, stamping is cheaper than therapy, and a whole LOT more fun!  So, in case of emergency, get out some stamps, ink, and paper and stamp the winter "blahs" away.

Before I go, the February Host Code is H4E4W9HY   Use this code when placing an online order of less than $150.  You will then be entered to win a host stamp set of your choice at the end of the month. Don't forget that Sale-a-bration is in full swing and that NEW products are coming! 

Blessings to all,

Susan