Hello!  Welcome to the Stamp Review Crew Blog Hop featuring the Pop of Paradise stamp set.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

The Stamp Review Crew is an international group of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators who gather for a blog hop the first and third Mondays of the month to review a single stamp set.  The number of participants varies from hop to hop, but the ideas are plentiful as we take a stamp set through its paces.  By the time you've traveled through the hop, you are sure to find a number of innovative ways to use the featured stamp set.  So sit back, relax, and get ready to start pinning ideas to your Pinterest board!

To see the line up of artists for this week's hop, click here.  If you've already joined the hop and are traveling forward, you've arrived from Adriana's blog where you were presented with an amazing project to inspire your creativity.  If you're traveling backwards through the hop, you've seen Nikki's project and are ready to CASE! (Copy And Share Everything)

People who know me know that I am pretty silly about flamingos.  Especially kitschy flamingos.  You'll find them in my dining room, my craft room, in my yard, floating in my pool, and even on my clothes.  I have flamingo drink cups that I take with me everywhere I go.  In fact, I met up with my brother and sister-in-law for dinner last night and they gave me the cutest flamingo umbrella.

So it's no surprise that if there's a stamp set with a flamingo, I'm all over it.  

This card begins with a card base of Wild Wasabi cardstock.  A panel of Soft Sky cardstock was embossed with the Big Shot using the Seaside Textured Impressions Embossing Folder with the wavy lines going vertical.  A strip of Crumb Cake cardstock was randomly stamped with the splotches image from the Touches of Texture stamp set using Crumb Cake ink and adhered along the bottom of the Soft Sky embossed panel with the left, bottom, and right edges of the Crumb Cake cardstock flush with the left, bottom, and right edges of the Soft Sky panel.  [Tip:  When adhering elements to uneven surfaces (like the embossed panel), use Multipurpose Liquid adhesive.]

The flamingo image, from the Pop of Paradise stamp set, was inked with Flirty Flamingo ink.  Then the brush tip of the Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker was applied to the tip of the beak of the flamingo.  The flamingo was stamped on Whisper White cardstock and cut out with Paper Snips.  This process was used to create two more flamingos.  The flamingos were adhered to the embossed Soft Sky panel so that they look like they are walking in a group near the center of the panel (their feet are just above the top edge of the Crumb Cake strip).  Note that I did not place adhesive behind their necks or heads to give them more of a dimensional feel.

The palm frond image was stamped three times on Whisper White cardstock using Wild Wasabi ink and two times on Whisper White cardstock using Lemon Lime Twist ink.  The palm fronds were cut out with Paper Snips and adhered along the top edge of the Crumb Cake cardstock with the palm fronds leaning a bit as if the flamingos are brushing against them as they walk by.  Note that I did not place adhesive near the top third of the palm fronds to give them more of a grassy feel.  

A piece of Flirty Flamingo Striped Grosgrain ribbon was adhered over the bottom edge of the palm fronds with the ends of the ribbon adhered at the back of the Soft Sky panel.  A length of Linen Thread was wrapped four times around the panels and ribbon and tied into a bow near the right side.  The panel was adhered at the center of the card front.

The "Hello" image was stamped on Whisper White cardstock using Lemon Lime Twist ink and punched out with the 1-1/4" circle punch.  The "Hello" was matted with a piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock punched with the 1-1/2" circle punch.  The greeting was adhered near the upper right corner of the embossed Soft Sky panel.

The inside sentiment area of the card was lined with a piece of Whisper White cardstock.  The flamingo, with its black beak tip, was stamped at the lower right corner of the liner.  The elephant ear leaf image was stamped on Whisper White cardstock two times using Lemon Lime Twist ink and one time using Wild Wasabi ink.  The leaves were cut out with Paper Snips and adhered at the feet of the flamingo.

The flamingo, with its black beak tip, was stamped at the lower left front corner of the Medium Whisper White Envelope.  

For those folks who are NOT fans of fussy cutting, you may be off-put a bit by this card.  For me, fussy cutting is relaxing but I realize that this may not be the case for everyone.  One of the most frequent complaints I have from my Stamp Club members is that their wrists and/or hands get cramped when they fussy cut.  If that's the case, then you may want to consider changing the way you fussy cut:

• Use a sharp pair of micro-tip scissors (Paper Snips)
• Hold the paper loosely between your thumb and forefinger
• Move the paper, rather than the scissors

The Pop of Paradise stamp set is retiring as of May 31st.  I'll be sad to see it disappear from the catalog, but you can bet that it will not be disappearing from my stamping stash.  I love the "look" on the face of this flamingo.  It seems as if he's just too cool to do anything but strut on by. 

Retiring Items:  Pop of Paradise stamp set, Wild Wasabi Classic Ink, Wild Wasabi cardstock, Soft Sky cardstock, Flirty Flamingo Striped Grosgrain ribbon

Card Measurements -- 

Wild Wasabi:  4-1/4" x 11" scored at 5-1/2" along the 11" length, 2" x 3"; Crumb Cake:  1-3/4" x 4"; Soft Sky:  4" x 5-1/4"; Whisper White:  4 @ 2" x 3", 5 @ 1-1/2" x 3", 3 @ 1-1/2" x 1-1/2", 4" x 5-1/4"; Linen Thread:  42"; Flirty Flamingo Striped Grosgrain ribbon:  5-1/2"

Be sure to visit all the stops on this week's hop to find more ideas for using the images included in the Pop of Paradise stamp set for your projects.  Just click on the NEXT or PREVIOUS buttons below to continue.

Here's the listing of all the artists on the hop:

1. Adriana Benitez 
2. Mickey Roberts 
3. Nikki Spencer   
4. Dawn Tidd  
5. Tanya Boser   
6. Holly Krautkremer 

Supplies I used to make this card -- 

Stamps:  Pop of Paradise, Touches of Texture; Inks:  Crumb Cake, Lemon Lime Twist, Wild Wasabi; Stampin' Write Markers:  Basic Black; Cardstock:  Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi; Embellishments:  Linen Thread, Flirty Flamingo Striped Grosgrain; Adhesives:  SNAIL, Multipurpose Liquid; Tools:  Stampin' Trimmer, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Bone Folder, Paper Snips, 1-1/4" circle punch, 1-1/2" circle punch, Big Shot w/Multipurpose Platform, Seaside Textured Impressions Embossing Folder; Other:  Medium Whisper White Envelope

Pop Of Paradise Clear-Mount Stamp Set
$19.00

Touches Of Texture Clear-Mount Stamp Set
$33.00

Seaside Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
$8.50

Linen Thread
$4.50

Flirty Flamingo 3/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
$7.00

1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Circle Punch
$16.00

1-1/2" (3.8 Cm) Circle Punch
$16.00

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker
$3.50

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.00

Soft Sky 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.00

Wild Wasabi 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.00

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$9.00

Big Shot
$110.00

Snail Adhesive
$7.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue
$4.00

Whisper White Medium Envelopes
$6.50

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