Last Chance for Last Chance Retirement Lists!

Hi Everyone,
Well, today is the big day when we say goodbye to all the wonderful products on the Last Chance Retirement Lists, because today is the last day to place your order to take advantage before they disappear.
If you haven't had a chance to place your order, please visit my Online Store here on my Stampin' Up website and Click Shop Now.
You can see all the products that will be retiring by clicking on the icons for each of the lists from my sidebar.
Remember, if you place a minimum order of $40 (not including S&H and taxes), you will be entered in the drawing to win the Level 1 Hostess stamp set "Of the Earth". Your order must be placed before 11:50pm tonight (June 30th) to be entered into the drawing.
So don't delay - place your order before time runs out!
Happy Stampin',
Tricia Butts

Monday Stamping Creation - I'm Nuts About You

Happy Monday Everyone,
I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend. Mine was very busy but also very special. Yesterday my wonderful husband and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. Wow, where did the time go?
We had a wonderful day as a family and I count my blessings everyday that I am lucky enough to be married to my best friend who loves me through good times and bad, not to mention he supports me unconditionally.
Now my husband and I, we both have this wacky kind of sense of humor. So when it came time to make his Anniversary card, I knew it needed to be something funny and goofy to bring a smile to his face.
One of my favorite Stampin' Up stamp sets is Animal Crackers and I am so sad to see it retire on June 30th. So I thought, what better way to say goodbye to this set than to use one of the stamp images for my husband's cards. I had recently seen several cards created by other demonstrators using the cute squirrel with the saying "I'm nuts about you" and I just knew that it would be perfect for my husband.

I colored the squirrel and nut image using my classic ink pads and a blender pen using Soft Suede and Dusty Durango Classic ink pads. The acorn border was created using the acorn image from the Autumn Splendor stamp set, stamped in Dusty Durango Classic ink.

Now, I don't know if you noticed, but this isn't an ordinary card. I actually cased this idea from Stampin' Up demonstrator Dawn Griffith, who posted this video tutorial on how to create this cute gift card using a Whisper White Stampin' Up envelope here . I love how simple it is to create but when people see it they just love that it was created from an envelope.

The inside of the card is decorated with the acorn stamped image to create a border and I used the Happy Anniversary sentiment from the stamp set Teeny Tiny Wishes.  It may be hard to see from the photo, but if you look carefully you can see the opening where you can insert a giftcard or whatever you want to give the recipient. My 9 year old daughter made one of these cards by herself for her sister when she "graduated" from 5th grade and she made a matching bookmark to slide in the opening.

Well, I think my mission was accomplished. When I gave the card to my husband yesterday he loved it and it did make him smile. What more could you ask for.

I hope you all enjoyed today's stamping creation and I hope that you will be inspired to try this wonderful card technique. Trust me, once you have made one, you will want to make more.  They can be very addictive!

Have a great day.

Until Next Time.

Happy Stampin',

Tricia Butts

Last Chance Stamp Set
Animal Crackers  113395

Price: $19.95
These little animal images will crack you up! The Animal Crackers stamp set includes cute little critters and quirky animal-related puns. You'll love watercoloring these cute little guys as they add a bit of humor to your day.
Set Quantity: 5

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Last Chance Retirement Products No Longer Available

Hi Everyone,
I just thought I would update you on the items from the Last Chance Retirement List that have sold out and are no longer available to order. Here is the list (last updated 3pm today):

100038: Mellow Moss Stampin' Write marker
100039: Barely Banana Stampin' Write marker
100043: Almost Amethyst Stampin' Write marker
100427: Lovely Lilac card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
101563: Sage Shadow card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
102837: Only Orange card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
107079: Sage Shadow card stock (12" x 12")
107101: Close to Cocoa card stock (12" x 12")

Now this is just after one day, who knows what will have sold out by tomorrow. So, I recommend that you not wait too long to place your order for your favorite colors or your favorite products, particularly if they are on the Last Chance Accessories Retirement List.
Visit my Online Store on my website to place your order (Best choice for Last Chance Accessory Items) or contact me and I will be happy to help you.
Until Next Time.
Happy Stampin',
Tricia Butts

Wednesday Card Share: Lovely Rose Easel Card

Hello Everyone,

Can you believe it is Wednesday already? Time is flying by and I am running to catch up. So much to do, so little time.

Anyway, today I thought I would share with you one of my favorite cards.  This card is called an Easel Card and you can find directions on how to create the basic card here.

I made this card last month to share with you before Mother's Day but then life got in the way and I didn't get the chance.

I wanted to create a card that was classically elegant, so I chose to use the rose from the stamp set Fifth Avenue Floral. It coordinates perfectly with the Manhattan Rose Textured Impressions Embossing Folder that I used on the Very Vanilla cardstock layer.

The rose image was created by stamping with Whisper White Craft ink onto Whisper White cardstock and then applying white embossing powder to the image and heat embossing it with a heat gun. Next I used sponge daubers to apply color to the rose image starting with my lightest ink color, Pretty in Pink Classic ink. Once I had applied the ink to a majority of the rose, I then added So Saffron Classic ink to the rose in certain areas until I was happy with how it looked. Finally, I add my last color, Rose Red Classic lightly in certain areas of the rose to give the appearance of shadows and to create depth to the rose.

When I was satisfied with the color of my rose I cut it out with my Paper Snips and set it aside.

The base of my Easel card I created using Barely Banana cardstock, one of the core colors that is on the Last Chance Retirement List, and I added a layer of Pretty in Pink to provide a matte for the Very Vanilla cardstock that would have the main design of my card. Before applying the Very Vanilla cardstock to the Pretty in Pink, I took a piece of Pretty in Pink 5/8" Satin Ribbon (this ribbon can be found in the Summer Mini Catalog) and applied it to the lower part of the Very Vanilla cardstock.

Next, I used Dimensionals to add the colored rose image to the cardstock so that it slightly overlapped the Pretty in Pink satin ribbon.  The final embellishment for this section of the card is the large butterfly that was created using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit from Barely Banana cardstock. I added some Dazzling Diamonds to my butterfly using my Two Way Glue Pen to adhere it and then using my Paper Piercer, I poked a hole in the center of the butterfly and threaded a Clear Rhinestone Brad through the whole, folding the legs of the brad up behind the wings. I then used a Dimensional to adhere the butterfly to the Very Vanilla cardstock. The last step for this phase is to adhere the Very Vanilla cardstock to the Pretty in Pink cardstock on the base of the card.

For the inside of the card, I used another piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and I stamped the sentiment (from the stamp set Messages for Mom) in Rose Red Classic ink one third of the way down and then adhered it to the Barely Banana cardbase.

Next I took a piece of Pretty in Pink cardstock and I used the Pinking Hearts Border Punch to create a border on one side. I then adhered this to the Very Vanilla cardstock so that the border was facing the top of the card.

The Wonderful Mother sentiment, from the Well Scripted stamp set, was stamped with Rose Red Classic ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and then I punched it out with the Wide Oval Punch. Using Dimensionals I added the oval to the center of the Pretty in Pink cardstock just below the Pinking Hearts border. The final embellishments are two of the smaller butterflies cut with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit (this embosslit cuts and embosses 5 sweet butterflies at once. Isn't that amazing!)

So there you have it. A beautiful and classically elegant card that would be perfect as a birthday card for someone special, an anniversary card or even a wedding card. Just change to colors and the sentiment to suit the occasion.

I hope you have enjoyed today's card share. Don't forget to check out the Last Chance Lists and place your order before it's too late.

Until Next Time.

Stampin' Hugs,

Tricia Butts

June 1st Means Last Chance Retirement Lists!

Hi Everyone,
Well, I have survived another school year and my children are now home and underfoot. The best thing is that I get to sleep in, which was definitely a good thing this morning as I decided to stay up until midnight last night to see this year's Last Chance Retirement Lists.
With the retirement of 30 current core colors, there are a lot of great products available this year, some of them at discounts of 25-50%.

Here are the links to the individual lists:

Last Chance Stamp Set List

Last Chance Definitely Decorative Items List  25% off Retiring Definitely Decorative Items

Last Chance Accessories List

Now, the Last Chance Stamp Set List and the Last Chance Definitely Decorative Items List are available until June 30th. The Last Chance Accessories List is only available while supplies last. With this being the case, I recommend that you place your order for these items as soon as possible to avoid disappointment (especially those accessories that are discounted as they will be very popular).
I will provide updates as they become available on items that have sold out and that are no longer available for purchase. Please place your orders using my Online Store on my Stampin' Up website: http://www.triciabutts.stampinup.net/ by Clicking Shop Now.  It is as simple as logging in and placing your order and is the best way to ensure that you get the items you want before they disappear. You can also contact me to place your order but while I will place any orders received in a timely manner, I can not guarantee that the items will be available.  That is why I am recommending, that for the Last Chance Accessories items, you use my Online Store to place your order to get the best results. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns and I will be happy to help you.
This really is an exciting time and I hope that you will have fun taking advantage of the wonderful specials during this Last Chance month of June.
Until Next Time,
Stampin' Hugs,
Tricia Butts