Summer Silhouettes card set

Last week Stampin' Up!^® announced some changes coming to their color collections with the next annual catalog. I think my biggest disappointment is that Baja Breeze will be retiring. Baja Breeze is one of my favorite blues, and even though I'm excited to see Pool Party stay and Soft Sky come back, I will miss it. I wanted to make a set of cards using Baja Breeze, and I decided to combine it with another retiring color, Certainly Celery, and Blushing Bride, which is coming back to join the Subtles collection.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Sweet Essentials
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery
Ink: Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Blushing Bride, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Pearls, Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon, Masterpiece Ribbon Originals (Certainly Celery ribbon), 1/8" hole punch, 1-1/4" circle punch

The complete set includes eight cards, two of each sentiment, and I really like the softness of these designs. The stamping part of the cards is pretty straightforward, but I'll explain two other aspects of the cards. First, I used the 1-1/4" circle punch to round the upper right corner of the cards. Holding the circle punch upside-down, insert the corner of the paper into the circular hole in the bottom and slide the point between the layers of metal. Then close the punch, and just the corner is cut off. When I was done with the punch I used a scissors to smooth out the places where the rounded corners meet the straight edges.

The other trick I used was a no-tie "knot." To make the knot, first punch two holes near each other with a hole punch. (The size of the hole you will need depends on the thickness of the ribbon, but I would use at least 1/8".) Take a piece of ribbon and push one end down through each hole from the front of the card stock. Pull the ends snug, but not too tight. Turn the card stock over, cross the ribbon ends, and push each end through the opposite hole to the front of the card. Adjust the tightness of the knot if needed, and then trim the ends. I haven't made this kind of knot in ages, but it's very easy to do, and because it's flatter than a real knot, the card is easier to mail.

I didn't take a picture of the inside of the cards, but I added a layer of Very Vanilla card stock stamped with a single flower in the coordinating color. Thanks for stopping by!