The
Whale of a Time Suite Collection of stamps, papers and embellishments in the new Stampin' Up Annual catalog seemed nice enough to get the whole thing, but I got really excited when I actually started to play with the papers and stamps at home. The watercolor designs were so wonderful that I was having a really hard time deciding what to offer for the July Class, so I decided to use them all! Don't worry, we'll still have the gorgeous Peony dies in the kit next month, but for now I'm offering a "fintastic" Oceans 8 Cards + 3 Tags Kit that includes almost every one of the 12 patterns in the 6"x6" Designer Pack instead!
To aid your understanding the assembly of the cards, notice that there are four different card design layouts, each made up in two different paper patterns. The complexity of the cards is more like my standard card classes rather than a Stamp-A-Stack (SAS) so not the easiest but definitely worth the little more time that they take to make up. I also used just about all of the stamps in the Whale Done set plus a few from Celebration of Tags, so I definitely recommend getting those stamps but you can still make up some great cards without them. The three tags are just something a little extra because sometimes you only need a simple tag on a casual gift and these are super easy to make and use.
The top picture shows the two different styles of flip cards which make the best use of the "sea-nic" designs. The first pair of cards on the left are Z-fold cards, where the whale seems to swim to the left through the kelp and along the bottom of the sea as you open the card. The second pair of cards on the right shows deep blue ocean waves but is almost a surprise as you open it to see the entire underwater scene revealed. I love how it uses almost the entire 6" square of paper and coordinates with the circle accent which is still visible on the front. Plus there's still room to write a short note to go along with the coordinating images.
The cards to the left also have different layouts that work very well with the paper patterns. The pair of gatefold cards on the left side show full underwater scenes, with die cut sparkly glimmer paper "kelp" leaves or a unique and delicate jellyfish. The stamps are from
Celebration of Tags, so fitting with
this design. The inside is blank so that you can add you can add your own words as desired. The right pair of cards are top-opening flaps with lots of texture thanks to the new Seabed embossing folder and some swirling die cuts. The words inside match those stamped on the front, but of course you can choose different ones of your own.
Because I was using some stamps from
Celebration of Tags, it seemed only right to include a few tags with this clever stamp and triple-tags die cut set. However, since I wanted to retain the undersea theme, I substituted some images for sea creatures that coordinated with a few of the sheets left from the paper pack. You can punch an extra hole into the base and use the bakers twine to tie the tag onto the gift, or just tie a bow instead. Either way, it's quick and easy with the
Trio of Tags die (p. 183) and your Stampaliner that stamp and cut 3 tags in just like that!
Full printed instructions and color pictures are included in each kit. A swirl of sea-themed sequins adds a bit of flash to most of the cards which you may use as you wish or omit if you'd like them more subdued. I'm also making a list of more "whale done" ocean-themed puns that you can write on your cards, stay tuned!😄
The SU dies to cut out all of these different shapes for the cards come from many corners of my craft room, so be sure to order your Card Kit before the deadline date because once they return to their original places, I may not be able to find them again! I'll order more Whale of a Time Paper packs as needed, but if you can request your Kit sooner rather than later, I can do that more efficiently and get your kits out to you faster. Thanks so much!
COST per Kit = $24*, or half-off ($12*) with any minimum $45 SU order or your previous Class credit). I have Venmo or Google Pay for your convenience.
* Cost is for one Kit only if you pick it up. Shipping = + $4.00 per kit to mail. (I'll weigh to get actual cost for multiple kits.)
NOTE: Stampin' Up will be offering Bonus Days July 1-30, when you can earn $5 coupons for each $50, to be redeemed in August. Such great timing!
Use the current Host Code SPTRZC62 to order directly from SU online and earn your Credit. (But if your order is $150 or more, don't use the Code and keep the Rewards for yourself, I'll still give you Credit!)
DEADLINE TO ORDER = Sunday, July 19
Contact me with any questions. Hope you enjoy making "a big splash" with these cards just as I did in creating them! Best fishes!!
And speaking of the Paper, if anyone would like to split a package of the Whale of a Time Designer Paper, let me know since I have someone else who is interested in doing this. Just for your information and planning, if you are making up the whole set of 8 cards and tags as shown, it takes up about 1/4 of the paper pack. Making up 4 sets of cards and tags will leave only a few sheets left unused if you follow my same layout (I can show you what I did, just email me.) 
