Boo Hoo - Retiring!

Can you even believe April is almost over .... and we spent most of it in our lounge attire at home!!  I'll have to fess up that this "stay-at-home" order has not bothered me too much.  I've stayed busy crafting and doing things around the house that have needed done for a long time.  I get out of the house about once a week to go to Mooresville to the grocery store and get lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants (eating in my car or taking it home.)  The NC governor just extended our "stay at home" order through May 8.  He plans to lift restrictions in three phases.  Right now, the decision to stay at home is based on public health data and White House guidance.  NC needs more time to slow the spread of this virus before beginning to lift restrictions.  This makes me happy.  I have been concerned that they would lift restrictions too early.   There have been protests all over the state against staying at home.  I know that this pandemic has made life difficult for many people but they just need to hang in there.

Have you had a chance to look at the retired list yet?  Well, did you use a magnifying glass to be able to read it?  Between the font being microscopic and my printer not working properly, I had a frustrating time.  I finally found an easier to read list on someone else's blog. 

ANNUAL CATALOG RETIRING LIST

 MINI CATALOG RETIRING LIST

I had guessed at how many of my stamps were going to retire and was pretty accurate.  I lost 19 sets and have 23 current sets that will be in the upcoming catalog!  Oh well, it happens every year.  Since I still use my retired sets, I don't stress over it.  I got a sneak peek of the new catalog and there are some good ones in there!  Over the next few days, I'll be sharing some of the retired stamp sets that I have used to make pretty cards.

I'm happy that this set below - Meant to Be - isn't going to retire!  It is one of my favorite stamp sets plus it has matching dies - Stitched Be Mine.  

Love those bright colors!!  I used Gorgeous Grape, Bermuda Bay, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red

inside

Valentines with Meant to Be

I think I've found my mojo!  I haven't been too busy this week (except bridge on Monday) so I have gotten a lot of stamping done!  I made 4 cards yesterday which is good for me.  I used to do that all the time but lately if I get one card made without getting distracted by a good book, a game, etc I am doing good.  Tuesday I concentrated on making Valentine cards which I will put in my customers orders.  I had the Meant to Be bundle on my desk that I bought last year and used it on all these cards.

I found the dark pink colored heart in my scraps so pulled it out for this card.  It is a light metallic paper that wrinkles real easy so it was good to just use a bit of it peeking out behind the Powder Pink heart.  I used Berry Burst ribbon and card base which is retired but you could easily substitute Petal Pink and Rich Razzleberry.  I'm just not a fan of the Petal Pink.

I paired the Powder Pink with Soft Suede this time.  The pink ribbon is retired but the Crumb Cake ribbon is part of the Magnolia Lane Suite.

This time I paired Powder Pink with Basic Black.  I found a piece of retired DSP and retired ruffled ribbon to use on the card.

Now, this card about did me in!!  I die cut the long string of hearts from black cardstock.  But then I decided it would be much easier if I die cut them using the adhesive sheets first instead of using glue.  Well, I goofed and didn't put the black cardstock on the die!  I ended up having the sticky paper all over my die, my fingers, my desk, my tools ......!   It took me forever - and a lot of Goo Gone - to clean up the die.  I still think I need to soak it a bit more with Goo Gone or really hot water and a toothbrush!  I used all the little hearts that came out with the long (sticky) die to glue into the holes.  I used some retired DSP and ribbon on the card.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!   Hope you are having a wonderful day!  I plan on it.  I will be playing Hand and Foot with some friends this afternoon at my house and think I have everything ready to go.  Tonight Sonny and I are joining a group of the Catawbans at Galway Hooker for dinner and a comedy show.

I made this card again using the Meant to Be stamp set and framelits.  Are you getting tired of seeing them yet???   I have definitely gotten my money's worth from this bundle.  I suggest you do the same with whatever bundle speaks to you.  When you purchase your bundle, see how many different ways you can use it before moving on to another set.

Have a fun day whatever you do!

Found this quote and I love it - "Be someone who makes someone else look forward to tomorrow"

Meant to Be not a Valentine!

I am really loving this heart set.  I don't usually purchase Valentine stamp sets but I made an exception for this one because I just love the Be Mine Stitched Framelits.  I wanted to show you that this set is not just for Valentine cards.  This card can be for an anniversary, birthday, thinking of you, etc.

The card is Coastal Cabana with mat card stock in Lemon Lime Twist and Granny Apple Green.  I love this color combo!  I went through my stash of Designer paper - believe me, that took a while since I have too much!!  But, I found this piece that I think was a Sale-a-Bration DSP last year and used it across the card.  The cute scallop strips at the top and bottom are from a die in the Be Mine Stitched framelits. I stamped the heart and sentiment in Melon Mambo.  I die cut a heart from Vellum to soften the Coastal Cabana dotted heart.

What do you do with all your Designer Paper scraps?  Toss them, store them, use them???  I decided last year that I had too much and I was always searching for a certain color and taking forever to find it.  So, I cut almost all of my DSP into 6x6 squares and threw away the tiny pieces that I had been holding onto.  I put them in some sturdy plastic bags (14"x14" that I think I got from Amazon) and separated them into color groups (blue, pink/purple, green, yellow/orange, etc.)  The hard part is deciding which side you want to use - for instance in my green bag, one side of the paper is green and the other is blue.  I just picked the side I thought I would use the most.  Now at least when I am looking for a piece of DSP to match what I am making, I can limit my search!