Birthday Chick

I just want you to know that there are 2 Chick Bundles.  One is the stamp set that was offered in 2017 as a Sale-a-Bration stamp. The other bundle is the Birthday Chick.  The dies are different on each bundle.

I am headed into Physical therapy now & will edit this post later this afternoon.

Afternoon - continued!

OK - yes, I said I was going to PT!  I fell in mid December.  I was cleaning out a closet and had a bunch of stuff on the floor.  Of course, I tripped over the stuff and fell into the closet on my right side.   A few days before that happened, I was having sharp pains in my right shoulder blade.  I can't blame the fall since it was after the shoulder pain but I am sure it elevated the pain.  I have been in a lot of pain since December.  It feels like a screw is in my shoulder blade and someone is twisting it.  Of course, this all happened the week before we were driving to Ashley's for Christmas.  Before we drove to Ashley's, I did a video call with the PA at my doctor's office (twice that week!) and she subscribed hydrocodine and muscle relaxers.  I don't usually like to take that stuff but I went through the full bottle of hydrocodine in a month.  I finally went to my doctor in early January who referred me to an orthopedic doctor who then referred me to physical therapy.  This is my third week of PT, going twice a week.  It's really strange now though.  The pain comes and goes.  I can have several days of nothing but then it comes back with a vengeance (like yesterday and today!)  Hopefully, another week or two of PT and I'll see some results.  I hope so because it is also hampering me making cards.  I make one or two and then I have to find my heating pad.  Heat has been the only thing that seems to help.

OK - here is the pictures of the Chick Bundles.

This is the stamp that was offered to us in 2017.  There are dies in this set that will cut out each of the chicks (and egg).  The code for this bundle is 158627 / $44.00.

This is the newest Chick stamp set - Hey Birthday Chick - with the dies that match this set.  The code for this bundle is 158631 / $43.00.

These items are only available for a limited time.  I don't know how long they will be available, but if you want them, you should order them now!  I believe there are some items in this offer that are already on backorder but that doesn't mean you can't get them.  You'll just have to wait a bit!

End of Sale-a-Bration and In Colors Retiring

It's almost that time again! Retirement for the In Colors.

If you are familiar with the Stampin' Up! In Colors, you know that we have a set of 5 colors that only last for two years.  Then they retire and are replaced with 5 new colors.  So, you may be wondering about the 5 retiring colors.  You can see them above.

NOW is the time to stock up on reinkers for your ink pads, on cardstock, designer paper and on the ribbon or embellishments you enjoy in these colors BEFORE they are sold out.  (They tend to sell out pretty quickly.)  AND if you order this month, you can enjoy FREE Sale-a-Bration gifts on your purchases.  A win-win for you!!

This is the final month for Sale-a-Bration.  You won't be able to order the Sale-a-Bration items after March.  Here are a couple of cards I have made using stamp sets from Sale-a-Bration.

I just love this chick!  I used my Watercolor Pencils to color them.  The DSP is some retired paper I have in my stash that I thought went well with the chicks.

This card uses the elegant Delicate Details.  It makes great backgrounds.  For this card, I embossed the images using white craft ink and white embossing powder.  I adhered a strip of glimmer paper between two of the borders.  (Sorry for the fuzzy picture.)

Hexagon Embossing Folder

This weekend, I played around with the new thick embossing folder - Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Folder (pg 46, Occasions catalog.)  If you are like most, you have a hard time making masculine cards.  Well, this first card does it.  It is a technique that one of NC demos has been doing and I thought I'd give it a try.  I did mine a bit differently than she does though.

I took a piece of Aluminum Foil and rubbed some Staz-On ink all over it.  Next, I adhered the piece of Aluminum Foil to black cardstock and ran it through the embossing folder.  Next step was to rub VersaMark on the Foil and sprinkle on some embossing powder - whatever color you desire!  I decided on copper.  There is such a glare on the piece, it is hard to see it well but I hope you get the idea.  Next I adhered the panel to a piece of Basic Gray cardstock that I had stamped with one of the grunge stamps from Touches of Textures (in Basic Gray ink.)  I adhered the whole piece to black cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment (retired) in Versa-Mark and embossed it with copper also onto black cardstock.  Don't forget to rub the piece first with the Embossing Buddy!  I mounted the sentiment piece onto Basic Gray and used dimensionals to pop it up.

My next card is a bit simpler!  I rubbed Early Espresso ink onto the embossing folder and embossed a piece of Tip Top Taupe.  The Espresso ink goes into the crevices of the embossing folder giving the illusion of chicken wire!  I stamped the chick with Staz-On ink and used the watercolor pencils to color him (on shimmery paper).  Everything is matted onto red cardstock.

Hope you enjoy these cards and will make some of your own!

Hey Chick - Valentine

Happy Saturday!  I wanted to share another card we made last week at Stamp Club.  This is a cute Valentine card but you could also make it into a birthday card as several of my stamping friends did.  I used the darling chick from the Sale-a-Bration catalog - Hey Chick!  I just think he (or she) is adorable!!

I stamped the chick with Black Archival ink since I was planning on watercoloring and didn't want the colors to bleed.  I used the new watercolor pencils to color the chick.  The little hearts are from the Jar of Love set and the heart balloons are from Balloon Builders.  This proved a good lesson on masking.  We used a sticky note to mask the middle balloon after it had been stamped with Sweet Sugarplum ink and stamped the two balloons on either side.  I used a Sharpie Marker to draw in the balloon strings.

We are headed out this evening to watch the Charlotte Checkers hockey game.  This is the first time we've seen them play this year.  It's a fun outing.  We are going to try out the restaurant in the Bojangles Coliseum.  When Sonny and I were dating, one of favorite date nights was to watch the Checkers vs. the Greensboro Generals.  At the time, we both lived in Greensboro (where we met) and so we were pulling for the Generals.  There was always a fight that broke out between the two teams on the ice.  They were natural enemies I think!!  You know, a hockey game is not a good one unless there's a fight or two!

Make sure to check back tomorrow evening for the NC Demos Blog Hop.  We will be featuring products from Sale-a-Bration.  I will show you fun ways to use the Inside the Lines Designer Paper.