Paradise Palms

Mike & I love to retreat to the beach. We try to go for at least a week every year just to relax and get some Florida sun. In between visits, I get my sand and sea fix through card making. Stampin’ Up!® has had some really fun products that have a beachy feel. There are sailboats, lighthouses, and, of course, sea creatures, and palm trees.

I finally got a chance to ink up my Paradise Palms Stamp Set today. When I learned that it was carrying over to the 2022-2023 Annual Catalog, I ordered the bundle (stamp set and Palms Dies). When you purchase a bundle, you’ll save 10% over the cost of the individual products. Here’s the card I made.

As usual, I didn’t really start with a plan. I had an idea – stamp and die-cut the trees, ink the card stock, add a bottle – but I didn’t realize how big the bottle was compared to the trees until I was already well into the process.

First, I added Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay, and Coastal Cabana Ink to Basic White Cardstock with Blending Brushes. Then I added a few of the long, skinny images  (you can see a piece behind the trees) in more Crumb Cake. This can be a shadow, darker sand, or even water.

I stamped the palm branches in Garden Green and die-cut them and the Soft Suede trunks with the Palms Dies. After I added them to the card, I realized it would look really weird if I added the giant bottle on the sand.

If I learned anything from my mom (and I have learned a lot!), it’s how to improvise. I cut a “window” from a piece of Bermuda Bay Cardstock using the Layering Diorama Dies and placed it over the “scene.” Then when I added the bottle, it looked more like an embellishment than a giant genie that had washed ashore.

I stamped the bottle from the Bottled Happiness Stamp Set in Soft Suede on Crumb Cake Cardstock, then punched it with the Vintage Bottle Punch. The cork is cut by hand, but it’s small and easy to fussy cut. The sentiment is stamped in Early Espresso.

I felt this needed something more, so I stamped the sun in So Saffron ink, die-cut it, and added it to the corner of the diorama window. Isn’t it always sunny in Florida? Answer: no, it is not. We found that out 11 or 12 years ago when it rained an entire week. We still had fun, and it was interesting to see people canoeing along flooded streets. Fortunately, we planned to stay for two weeks that year, and the second week was gorgeous.

Be sure to check my store for some really big discounts on retiring January-June Mini Catalog products, as well as new kits! Through the month of June, all kits (excluding Paper Pumpkin) will be “Buy one, get one 1/2 off!” If you order through my store, the more expensive kit will be the discounted one. Nice, right?

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy! Have a lovely day full of sunshine and all things good.

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