Freshly Made Sketches: Summer Shadows

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Narelle and here’s what I did with it!

I waited a long time to get the Stampin' Up Summer Shadows - clear up until they were on sale when they retired this year.  I don't know why I waited - I adore them!  They are detailed yet still can be fun and playful (although I have seen truly elegant cards made with them also.)  

The other old thing on this card is the sentiment.  Over the last month, I have done what I said I would never do - I weeded out old Stampin' Up sets.  I am famous for never getting rid of a set! Years ago, I started using them all and posted a countdown of sets on Splitcoaststampers.  I'm not even going to discuss how many there were and that was easily a decade ago with my stash continuing to grow.  But I have been making cards for 30 years, almost as long as Stampin' Up has been in business, so of course I have a lot.   

In the meantime, I've been getting older.  I have a new theory about those of us facing a certain age and that is that some go big and some dramatically downsize.  I have friends and family who are getting bigger houses, pools, RVs, every known kitchen gadget and so much more.  And others want a tiny house on a plot of land. We may not be tiny house hunting, but we are definitely in the downsize camp.  I don't want to have to organize or clean or maintain anything.  I just want good walking/hiking shoes, my Kindle, a suitable cardmaking stash and good coffee and wine.

Stampin' Up was the latest area of my life to be downsized.  I can hardly tell you how dramatic it was.  I had stamps going back to the country style and I don't see that coming back around again.  But at the same time, I found some keepers that I had totally forgotten about when they got lost in the chaos.  This sentiment is from Itty Bitty Banners that I think dates back a decade.  It's not all that exciting, but I knew I'd use it and here it is already.  Done in white on black gives it a more modern look and it paired well with these fun flowers.

Clearly I'm feeling chatty.  I guess I need to add a friend who is a good listener to the list of things I want when I downsize!!

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Itty Bitty Banners (long retired)

Dies: Stampin' Up Summer Shadows (recently retired), Bitty Banners (long retired) and Scalloped Contours (current!)

Paper: Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Parakeet Party and Daffodil Delight, Taylored Expressions Cupcake, My Favorite Things Pineapple and MFT Black and White Stripes