Russ (hubby) and I went to the San Francisco Bay area (Benecia) to attend a reunion of friends from the street I grew up on in Oakland and attendees of Burckhalter Elementary School. We spent the night at the home of my dear friend Gale, from seventh grade (when my family moved to California from Indiana). She had a rubber-banded collection of all of the cards I had sent her since joining the Stampin’ Up! Family in 1996. That’s twenty-one years of cards!
I couldn’t take them from her but I did photograph them. I was stunned at the changes of style. The cards I sent her were usually the coolest samples of what was current for her May birthday. I would love your comments on them. What year is your favorite? Do you remember some of the old retired colors?
This is still one of my favorite stamp sets and yes, I still have it. Wildflowers. No, I haven’t used it recently. The bucket is colored with Mint Melody. Check out how the watering can and the marker I used for my signature coordinate.
I didn’t realize this was a “z-fold” card at the time. It was just cute and happy. Also, the cuts were made with an exact knife or scissors. There was no Big Shot. There were no framelits or thinlits.
Remember when this ‘faux bow’ was just the hottest thing!
Early two-step stampin’. I just loved (and still have!) the Oh Happy Day greeting stamp set, Everyday Expressions.
Another early two step stamping and a fun corner slot punch called Ribbon Slot punch.
I loved this dusty shade of blue, Bordering Blue.
I’m sure this was my first shaker card–and that’s real sand inside.
This set reminds me of Inkertoys, a stampin’ group in Fresno CA and a stamped and ‘fired’ plastic plate using this stamp set, that I received from Heather Prestage at Stampin’ Up!’s annual convention in 2004.
I loved this Harlequin background stamp. I think I finally parted with it last year.
Wow! A waterfall card. Pull that tab at the bottom and see the new images. Stamp set: Unfroggettable.
Extended Waterfall card
This card opens like a matchbook. It was also stamped on a Confetti White card stock.
Take a scalloped punched circle and fold it in thirds to form a flower.
This is one of my all time favorite hand stamped Christmas cards. Don’t you want to just sing along with this choir mouse?
I think the Aqua Painter was a new catalog item this year. Heat emboss and then watercolor. So pretty! Fifth Avenue Floral is the stamp set where this beautiful rose was found. The white layer is a Bigz Die called Top Note.
Upsy Daisy, another very favorite stamp set. It makes such a beautiful card. And oh my gosh, another use of the Top Note Bigz Die for the Big Shot Die Cutting Machine.
Fun Designer Series background paper.
Background paper, a Textured Impressions Embossing Folder/Big Shot, and then a gentle sanding with a sanding block to expose the core of the designer paper.
Once upon a time we had ‘bottle caps’ among our accessories.
I love the ‘shadow’ image behind the gray swirl and butterfly. I think this was the first catalog that had Pearl Jewels which make such an elegant accent.
This is another favorite card, folded like a screen. It’s much easier than it looks. The legs were created with a punch. Look for a reincarnation of this card soon.
This Christmas card was part of a Paper Pumpkin Kit.
Simply, elegantly grateful for an amazing friend.
Again, fun stamp set. This was released in November 2015 because I remember seeing and playing with it for the first time when I attending Stampin’ Up!’s first international Convention/On Stage event in Brussels, Belgium. I was smitten with the stamp set and framelits.
The layer I stamped on is from a Project Life Card Collection.
I really enjoy this funky and flashy stamp set (Painters Palette) and designer series paper and that striking black die cut butterfly. This is another of my favorite cards, albeit a totally different style from my “norm”.
Again I ask, what do you think of this assortment of cards? Do they bring back memories? Do they inspire a re-do of an old card? Do you want to try watercoloring inside a heat embossed image? It makes me want to bring out my Brusho Crystal Colours and play with them inside an embossed image. Please leave your thoughts in the comments section. (the link is just to the right of this blog post title, a little gray rectangle)
As I said at the beginning of this post, I’m so honored to know and see that Gale had saved each and every one of twenty-one years of cards. And to review them was a fun walk through my Stampin’ Up! history. Even more fun was sharing them with a few of the other gals who were at the picnic and then the ‘after party’ at Gale’s house. I see some new stamping playmates in my future, like a several day retreat at our mountain Sanctuary.