{Retiring} Circle Circus

Ah, Circle Circus.  I'm sad to see this go.  I remember when it first came out...it actually made it's first appearance in the Australia/New Zealand catalog, and I remember being so excited to spot a new set in another country's catalog.  I had to wait a while to know if it would be in our catalog, and was thrilled when I found out it would!

I will confess that this is not a new card...I made it a loooong time ago.  It was the year that Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Bermuda Bay, and Rich Razzleberry were the In Colors.  Up until that point, I had never purchased an entire set of In Colors...just two individual colors.  That's it.  Ever.  So I was excited to play with all these new colors, which is how this card came about.  Circle Circus may have been new that year as well.  I do seem to have a lot of Circle Circus cards in my stash that feature these colors. 

I love that the largest circle can be layered by stamping multiple times and using different punches.  And I'm sad that this set is retiring...it's one of those sets that is not event-specific, so it can be used for any kind of card.  The scalloped edge on that big circle gives this one a feminine touch, but take that away, and this card becomes more masculine.  Such a great set!  You still have time to get it...just let me know by June 3.

Circle Circus Inspiration

 

Who would think that hotel artwork would inspire a card?  When I was in Orlando for the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference, this artwork was in the hallway in our hotel.  As soon as I saw it, it reminded me of Circle Circus.   I had to make a card as soon as I got home (and then promptly forgot to post it!)

I made this one just relying on memory, which didn't prove to be very good, since I got the colors all wrong.  But that's OK, because inspiration is just that, inspiration.  It's a jumping off point to creativity, not something that needs to be replicated exactly.  But it is kind of bugging me that the colors aren't the same, so I may have to try again. :)

Stamps:  Circle Circus (115778), Best Dad Ever (120399)
Ink:  VersaMark (102283), Early Espresso (126974), More Mustard (126964), Soft Suede (126978)
Paper:  Crumb Cake (120953), Early Espresso (119686), More Mustard (100946), and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock
Accessories:  Early Espresso Embossing Powder (128980), Heat Tool (129053), 1" Circle Punch (119868), Sponge Daubers (102892), Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon (122332)

More Spice Cake

Yeah, did I mention how much I love the Spice Cake DSP and how sad I am to say goodbye to it?  Here are a couple more Spice Cake cards, this time little square ones.  I've been in a rut lately with my cards all seeming to be the same, so I mixed it up and changed the shape and the size.

This card is loaded with retiring products, not just DSP.  The card itself is Soft Suede card stock, cut to 4"x8" and scored down the middle.  The DSP is, of course, Spice Cake.  I simply used a More Mustard marker to color the Thinking of You part of one of the stamps from the Thoughts and Prayers set.  I wanted that white piece of the card to be simple, since there's so much going on around it.  I cut out a square of the same paper I had used on the top part of the card, mounted it on a slightly bigger piece of Soft Suede card stock, and then topped that with a beveled window (the smallest size).  These are retiring, and I'm a little sad, because I never used them as much as I had planned to.  I have this hoarding problem when it comes to pretty things like that.  I save them for the perfect project, and then never seem to use them.  Anyway, I tied it to the card using the More Mustard 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (also retiring).  The little flower at the top was punched with the Boho Blossoms punch using the two smallest flowers, and then put together with an old (already retired) eyelet.  But you could easily just use a brad.  I won't allow myself to buy brads until I've used up my endless stash of eyelets.  I loved eyelets and have them in every. single. color.  And probably will forever.  There are that many of them.

This is a completely different card, but made with the same DSP.  I love how versatile our packs of Designer Series Paper are...there are so many different designs in each package.  This one uses the striped paper, and looks a little more masculine.   This is a very easy card...just some Old Olive grosgrain ribbon wrapped around (in both the retired 5/8" and the retiring 1/4"), both scallop punches to punch some Soft Suede and More Mustard, as well as a circle from Circle Circus stamped in More Mustard and punched with a circle punch.  The little banner at the bottom is from the soon-to-be-available Bitty Banners Framelits, and stamped with a Father's Day sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes. 

There you go...two quick and easy square cards using my beloved Spice Cake DSP!