Help Me Grow!

Hello!  Today I am sharing a few projects I worked on this week using one of the products included in the Stampin’ Up!® March Online Exclusives new product release, the Help Me Grow dies (item 167166).  These dies will be perfect for making projects for your favourite gardeners!  The Help Me Grow dies are also available together with the co-ordinating Help Me Grow photopolymer stamp set (item 167164) in the Help Me Grow Bundle (item 167167).

To complete my projects this week I combined die cuts made using the Help Me Grow dies with the following additional Stampin’ Up!® products:

• Sweet Bugs dies (item 167001) - flowers, flower centers, leafy stems, and mushrooms (of course!);

• the dragonfly/wings and curving small leafy sprig dies from the Scalloped Wishes dies (item 167452) - another of the new Online Exclusives products introduced this month;

• recently retired Online Exclusives Grow With Love stamp set (item 164797) for the sentiments "grown with love" and "The Garden" (trimmed from the full "From The Garden Of" sentiment);

• to die cut the "grown with love" sentiment circle I used the circle die from the retiring - and currently available as one of the discounted Last Chance Products - On Display dies (item 167020); and

• for the background panel on the first project I used one of the patterned papers from the Nature Walk 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (item 166912).

I used Small Blending Brushes (item 160518 - package of three) to apply Classic Stampin' inks to shade/colour the cardstock die cuts.  To add a little additional visual texture to some of the shaded cardstock die cuts (i.e. foliage, the Sweet Bugs flowers and mushroom caps, and the blades and tines of the garden implements) I lightly misted the shaded die cuts with water using one of the Stampin' Spritzers (item 126185 - package of two), either allowing to air dry or blotting dry with paper towel.

For foliage die cuts I used Lemon Lime Twist cardstock (item 144245), Granny Apple Green cardstock (item 146990), Old Olive cardstock (item 100702), and Mossy Meadow cardstock (item 133676), all shaded with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111).

For the tines of the garden fork, and the blades of the garden shears and  trowels I used Smoky Slate cardstock (item 131202), shaded with Basic Gray ink (item 149165) and Crumb Cake ink (item 147116).  For the handles of the garden fork and trowels I used Crumb Cake cardstock (item 120953), shaded with Crumb Cake ink and Early Espresso ink (item 147114).  For the handles of the garden shears I used Pecan Pie cardstock (item 161717), shaded with Pecan Pie ink (item 161665) and Early Espresso ink.

For the flower pots and saucers I used Pecan Pie cardstock, shaded with Pecan Pie and Early Espresso inks.

For the soil die cuts I used Early Espresso cardstock (item 119686), no shading.

On one of the flower pots, and on the handles of the garden shears I added some highlights by applying a little Craft Stampin' White Ink (item 147277) using one of the finger Sponge Daubers (item 133773 - package of five). 

Just a brief summary of the additional basic tools and supplies I used to complete my projects this week, in addition to the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine (item 149653) that was used for all die cutting:

• Paper Trimmer (item 152392) - for trimming cardstock and DSP, and for scoring card fold lines.  To ensure crisp card folds I also burnished the folded score lines with my Bone Folder (item 102300);
• Take Your Pick Tool (item 144107) - the spatula and tacky putty tips are definitely a great help for manipulating and placing small die cuts and embellishments; and
• for the main adhesive, Multipurpose Liquid Glue (item 110755). On the first project I had to glue DSP to a trimmed cardboard panel, and I first applied the glue to the cardboard panel, using an old paint brush to spread the glue over the panel surface.  After placing the DSP over the panel I used a brayer (Stampin' Brayer - item 162936) to roll over the DSP to ensure even coverage of the liquid glue and good even adhesion of the DSP to the cardboard panel.  After the glue was thoroughly dry I used my craft knife to carefully trim away any excess DSP from around the edges of the cardboard panel.  

On with the projects!

For the first project I began with a thrift store wood frame, glass removed, edges distressed with a medium-grit sandpaper, with inside back dimensions of 4 3/4" x 11 7/8"; and, from my stash, a 4" x 10" pre-cut white photo mat with three 2 1/8" square window openings.  I covered a medium weight cardboard panel that had been trimmed to fit the inside back dimensions of the frame with the Nature Walk DSP, and secured the DSP covered panel to the inside of the frame.  I added all of the die cuts to the photo mat before I glued the photo mat to the DSP covered panel.  I used the following additional supplies to complete the project:

• Timid Tiger cardstock (item 165626), shaded with Pumpkin Pie ink (item 147086) and a little Real Red ink (item 147084), for the three Sweet Bugs flowers - the flower centers were die cut from Early Espresso cardstock (item 119686);
• Azure Afternoon cardstock (item 161719), shaded with Misty Moonlight ink (item 153118); Pumpkin Pie cardstock (item 105117), shaded with Pumpkin Pie and Real Red inks; and Berry Burst cardstock (item 144243), shaded with Berry Burst ink (item 147143), for the Help Me Grow flowers;
• Crumb Cake cardstock (item 120953), shaded with Crumb Cake ink (item 147116), for the mushroom bases; Very Vanilla cardstock (item 166784), also shaded with Crumb Cake ink, for the mushroom gills; for the large and one of the small mushroom caps Highland Heather cardstock (item 146986), shaded with Blackberry Bliss ink (item 147092); and for the second small mushroom cap Very Vanilla cardstock also shaded with Blackberry Bliss ink;
• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink (item 132708) to stamp the two sentiments on Crumb Cake cardstock - I shaded the circle die cut sentiment heavily with Crumb Cake ink;
• Very Vanilla cardstock, lightly shaded with Crumb Cake ink, for the smaller plant stake die cut - before adding the trimmed sentiment strip I added splatters using my (retired) Pecan Pie Stampin' Write Marker (Stampin' Write Markers Assortment-Neutrals - item 161697) by flicking the brush tip against the marker lid;
• Crumb Cake cardstock, shaded with Crumb Cake ink, for the larger (matting) plant stake;
• Early Espresso cardstock for the dragonfly body die cuts - I stacked and glued together four of the die cuts; and Very Vanilla cardstock for the dragonfly wings.  I painted the body and wings with my Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (item 141897) as every dragonfly needs a little glimmer and sparkle😺;
• two small and one large of the Pecan Pie dots and three small and two large of the Early Espresso dots from the Online Exclusives Earthy Matte Dots (item 167213); and

• Stampin' Dimensionals (item 104430) - trimmed as necessary - used to attach and slightly pop up the flower pot, plant stake, handles of the garden implements, and the head of the tallest of the three Sweet Bugs flowers.

Additional supplies used to complete this 5" x 3" top-fold card:

• Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) for the card base. Before adding any additional items to the card front I added splatters using my (retired) Pecan Pie Stampin' Write Marker (Stampin' Write Markers Assortment-Neutrals - item 161697) by flicking the brush tip against the marker lid;
• Basic Beige cardstock (item 164511), shaded with Crumb Cake ink (item 147116) and a little Early Espresso ink (item 147114), for the plant stake;
• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink (item 132708) to stamp the sentiment on Crumb Cake cardstock (item 120953) - I sponged around the edges of the trimmed sentiment strip with Early Espresso ink;
• Timid Tiger cardstock (item 165626), shaded with Pumpkin Pie ink (item 147086) and a little Real Red ink (item 147084), for the Sweet Bugs flower - the flower center was die cut from Early Espresso cardstock (item 119686);
• Crumb Cake cardstock, shaded with Crumb Cake ink, for the mushroom bases - I used an Early Espresso watercolour pencil (Watercolour Pencils Assortment 1 - item 161700) to sketch vertical lines on the mushroom stems; Very Vanilla cardstock (item 166784), shaded with Crumb Cake ink, for the mushroom gills; and Highland Heather cardstock (item 146986), shaded with Blackberry Bliss ink (item 147092), for the mushroom caps; and

• Stampin' Dimensionals (item 104430) - trimmed as necessary - used to attach and slightly pop up the flower pot (including mushrooms and plant stake), and head of the Sweet Bugs flower.

Additional supplies used to complete this 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" top-fold card:

• Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) for the card base; 
• narrow strips trimmed from Foam Adhesive Sheets (item 152815) to attach and slightly pop up the blades and handles of the garden shears;
• two small and one large of the Mossy Meadow dots from the new Online Exclusives Natural Matte Dots (item 167510) added to the card front; and

• at the attachment point of the blades of the garden shears I added one of the large dots from the recently retired Adhesive-Backed Textured Dots (item 163338).

Additional supplies used to complete this 4 3/4" square top-fold card:

• Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) for the card base;
• Poppy Parade cardstock (item 119793), shaded with Real Red ink (item 147084) and Cherry Cobbler ink (item 147083), for the flowers;
• Basic Black cardstock (item 121045) for the handle tie - I cut a small slit in the die cut so that I could feed it through the hole in the trowel handle); and
• Stampin' Dimensionals (item 104430) - trimmed as necessary - used to attach and slightly pop up the flower pot, the blade of the trowel and the end of the trowel handle.

And finally . . . 

For my Archie card this week, included at the bottom of this blog post, I kept with the garden theme.  I used StāzOn Jet Black Ink (item 101406) to stamp the kitty and additional images from the retired Grace's Garden stamp set (item 151513 - featured in the January-June 2020 Mini Catalogue) on watercolour paper, and used Pumpkin Pie ink (item 147086), Pecan Pie ink (item 161665), Old Olive ink refill (item 100531), Mossy Meadow ink refill (item 133651), Azure Afternoon ink refill (item 161668), Early Espresso ink refill (item 119789), and Misty Moonlight ink (item 153118) for colouring the image panel. The 3 1/2" square trimmed watercolour panel was matted with a 3 5/8" square" piece of Basic Black cardstock (item 121045), and attached to the center of the 5" square card front using double-sided tape (Tear & Tape Adhesive - item 154031).  I used Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) for the card base.

Thank you for visiting my blog!  I had a lot of fun this week playing with the Help Me Grow dies - and am certainly looking forward to using them in more projects!

March Product Of The Month

The Notes Of Spring photopolymer stamp set (item 167979) is the March Product Of The Month.  This exclusive Product Of The Month is available, while supplies last, for purchase for $5.00 CDN with any purchase of $100.00 CDN or more (before applicable taxes, shipping, and after the redemption of any Stampin' Rewards or other discounts) of Stampin’ Up!® products made during the month of March.

Unfortunately Stampin' Up! advises that the following products I used this week are not currently available but I have included below the dates by which Stampin' Up! expects the products to again be available for ordering:

• Sponge Daubers (item 133773) - week of March 16, 2026; and
• Scalloped Wishes dies (item 167452) - week of March 23, 2026.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the available Stampin’ Up!® products I have used in my projects, and you live in Canada and do not have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, please do not hesitate to visit my online store found on my website https://archiesatelier.stampinup.net/ at your convenience, or simply click under the "Shop With Me" tab on the right sidebar of my blog, which will take you directly to my website and online store.  I very much appreciate your business, and would be very pleased to be your demonstrator! If you need any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me (lmccoyarchie@gmail.com), and I will try my best to help!  In addition to the digital version of the January-April 2026 Mini Catalogue, the digital version of the May 2025-April 2026 Annual Catalogue is also available for you to access at your convenience on my website.   If visiting the online store don't forget to check out the full range of Online Exclusives Products - including all the new products released this month - as well as the Last Chance Products Listing!

Have fun creating!

Laurel

*It has come to my attention that quite often email correspondence from me is delivered to the recipient's spam or junk mail folder - if you have corresponded with me I have replied so be sure to check your spam or junk mail folder!  Thank you!! 

"A cat's loyalty is shown in its quiet presence, not in grand gestures."

- Unknown -