Artisan Post #23 - Umbrella Days

Well, this is my 23rd Artisan post for 2024. It is also my final Artisan post. My role as a Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team member ends with the 2024 year. It's bittersweet to be finished with all of my assignments yet it feels great to have accomplished a year of opportunities to create with tons of amazing products, to make lifelong friendships with demonstrators from around the world, and to have been entrusted to lead the Group with the wonderful Mikaela Titheridge.

Now, my last assignment was the new Umbrella Days Bundle which is available as an Online Exclusive. This is one of those bundles that is what I call a "sleeper." What do I mean by that? Well, I would not have bought this set or even given it a close look and here's the stupid part, I don't even know why I wouldn't. This is one of those stamp sets that once you get working with it you see the awesomeness--the power of the images and how they pair with the dies.

Now, for this last assignment I decided to challenge myself and use this printed card base. The colors and pattern is bold and kind of crazy. I just really saw how the small flowers matched with the small flower dies. And here's the crazy thing. I didn't use the little flowers in this card! I did use Stampin' Blends and Wink of Stella to add soft colors to match the open line images.

Okay, so this luggage style tag was inspired by the Simple_Stamper, the lovely Verena Shapiro. She calls this look a fringe-style background. I used the grass die to cut lots of "fringe" from the Unbounded Beauty DSP and then framed it with a Basic White Everyday Details die cut. A couple details to point out include the ombre baker's twine and the handle of the umbrella. To make the ombre twine I used Peach Pie, Pretty in Pink, and Petunia Pop Stampin' Blends to color white twine from the Baker4;s Twine Essentials Pack. For the handle I added a coat of Fine Tip Glue to give the illusion of it being acrylic.

I had some fun with this last card. I used a Paper Piecing technique and some masking. Masking? Yes, it's subtle. I masked the area under the umbrella to make it look as though the umbrella was doing it's job. My favorite addition to this card are the flower rain drops.

Well, that's a wrap for my role in the 2024 ADT. There is lots more paper crafting to come so stay tuned for more stampin' from me in 2025.