W Is For Whale!

Aloha, all!

You may remember that one of the first papers that I used from the newest Stampin’ Up! catalog was from the Whale of a Time Designer Series Paper (DSP) set. It was when I made this card that I realized that there weren’t just prints on the papers in the set. There were actually underwater scenes that I could use all by themselves. Then last week a fellow Stampin’ Up! demonstrator shared a card during an online chat I thought would be a perfect vehicle for some of those scenes.

My New Favorite Fun Fold – a W Fold!

The fold that my friend shared is one that I’d seen before, but I couldn’t recall ever having used. But off I went to try to recreate the card using Whale of a Time DSP. After I was finished and working on a tutorial for my card, I wondered what the name of the fold was. As I looked at the card, I saw that the inside layer formed what looked like a W. So I went looking online for something called a W Fold Card. And there it was! I’m no dummy!!!

What particularly caught my eye about this layout was that the panels attached to the W shaped layer inside the card alternated being flush with the bottom and flush with the top of the card. And guess what? I’ve written a tutorial for this card’s layout – measurements and all – that you can use with whatever you have on hand in your own Craft Room. I’ll include it in my next newsletter, coming up this weekend. If you’re not on my e-mail list, you can sign up over at the right.

No Whales in This Card!

As I’ve mentioned a few times this month, I’m not going crazy and buying every wonderful thing in the new Stampin’ Up! 2020-2021 Annual Catalog. For one thing, I don’t have the space for everything. For another, I found that I never touched some of the great stamp sets I bought from last year’s annual catalog after the 2019 Holiday Catalog was released. Those catalogs, now called Mini Catalogs, have such great products in them and are even more current than an annual catalog. I’m sure that the 2020 August – December Mini Catalog will be no different. So I’ll be watching for fall and winter goodies, including those for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So back to my story. I did NOT buy the Whale Done Stamp Set that coordinates with this DSP set. When I saw these papers, I saw as many seahorses, coral and other sea creatures as I saw whales. And I already owned the Seaside Notions Stamp Set, with that darling seahorse and the lovely bit of coral that I cut out and added to two of the scenes in this card. The message is: if you fall in love with some papers, look to see what you might already have that goes with them. Then buy the papers!

The Front of the Card is Pretty, Too!

For the front of this card, I chose yet another seabed scene. This scene already has coral in it. But I couldn’t resist including another piece of coral to the design. The Birthday sentiment is from the same Seaside Notions stamp set as the coral and the sea horse. The background is a textured piece of Calypso Coral cardstock that I texturized using the Seabed Embossing Folder. I tried to find a color in the DSP that I could use as a mat for the center scenic piece of DSP. But I ended up using Whisper White cardstock that really picked up the white in the coral in the DSP.

What About That Baker’s Twine?

You might wonder about that Calypso Coral and Whisper White Baker’s Twine – where did it come from? It actually is in the new Annual Catalog. But it’s part of a kit – the Simply Citrus Kit in the front of the catalog. Yes, I have that kit AND I’ve made all the cards in it, too! There was plenty of twine left for me to use on this and one more card. Maybe even enough for a touch of twine in yet another.

Don’t Forget the Tutorial

As I mentioned above, I’ll include a tutorial for this layout in my next newsletter, coming up this weekend. It’s already written and ready to go! Be sure to be on my mailing list to get it.

Whatever you do this week in your Craft Room, have fun with it!