Farewell to Sitting Pretty

Hi Craftin' Friends.

I hope you've had an enjoyable holiday weekend. This weekend I was truly blessed as I had both of my children as well as my grandchildren at my table on Easter Sunday. Sometimes being in the "sandwich generation" isn't so bad! My grandchildren can be heard in the background of my Facebook Live from last Thursday evening. While I was recording, my grand-daughter who is turning four years old on May 4th, and my daughter made this card for me. I think we have another crafter in the family and I couldn't be happier!

Today's card features the Sitting Pretty Bundle. This was one of the first bundles I purchased from last year's Annual Catalogue. The woman who presented this bundle at OnStage featured how many variations could be made using the park bench. She cut away part of the bench to make a chair, snipped away the arms to make a table, etc. I found her creations fascinating, but it was really the bulldog that sold me on the bundle. I can't resist a Stamp Set that includes animals, especially dogs, and the little bulldog is too cute! If you love him as much as I do, be sure to place your order soon, as this bundle is retiring, and is available only while supplies last.

JoAnn with Stampin' In The Valley posted some variations with the bench in a video on Pinterest. 

At Christmas time, I couldn't resist dressing up the park bench for the season using the Peaceful Poinsettia Bundle. The Detailed Poinsettia Thinlets Dies are currently discounted on the Clearance Rack, which was updated today.

Today's card was CASED from Pinterest with credit to www.bijmargriet.com.  The basic card design is from her pin, but I switched the paper to the Animal Expedition Designer Series Paper. The front of this paper pack features the animals from the Animal Outing bundle, but I love the patterns on the back side. The patterns are monochromatic and seem to add texture to a "flat" card. I really liked how the Gray Granite and Lemon Lime Twist looked together. The stitched circle is die cut from Vellum Cardstock. 

The card front sentiment is from the Itty Bitty Greetings. If you don't own this sentiment set, you really should. It's a two case bundle of sentiments that are small, so they fit easily on a variety of cards, and they allow the versatility of substituting sentiments using the same basic card design, precisely because they are small and fit conveniently onto a sentiment strip.

A little tip for stamping with this set. The bulldog involves two step stamping. I stamped the outline in Memento, and added the  body's colour using Gray Granite. This wasn't too difficult to position. The flower pot was a little trickier. I think if I was doing it again, I might consider colouring the leaves of the plant with a Stampin' Blend, even though there is a stamp for "colouring in" the leaves. Beginner stampers might find it difficult to get the multiple steps layered perfectly. Since I'm okay with "imperfect" it's not a problem for me!

 

I've shown the inside of the card here as I stamped it. I chose not to colour the squirrel and bird, although there are stamps to add colour, or you could colour them with Stampin' Blends.

Don't miss out on all of the deals on the Clearance Rack right now. If you're placing and order under $200, please use the Host Code JFBWQGC6. This code allows you to earn customer loyalty credits on your next order within the next three months.

Happy Crafting Friends!

Craftin' Granny