The two stamp sets, Pineapple and Welcome Words go together perfectly in my opinion, seeing as the pineapple is a symbol of welcome and hospitality. So I had to take the opportunity to pair them up before Welcome Words retires tonight. And since we keep adding people to our team at work, it won’t be long until I need a welcome card. This morning the set is still available for purchase.

This card didn’t turn out exactly as I was planning but then, “sometimes things don’t always go as planned” according to a sign in a hotel which had the family in hysterics and Martin and Mum using “always” and “sometimes” in the same sentence for the rest of the holiday. Firstly, I just wasn’t getting good coverage on my stamp so I went to the basement and found some 220 grit sandpaper and roughed up the surface of the stamp. Then after using the (retiring) in colours mossy meadow and hello honey and a post-it note as a mask, the join between the colours wasn’t perfect. There is actually a VERY small space between the two parts of the pineapple. As I was looking at my very vanilla piece and wondering how to ensure success, I realised that a hello honey bow in last year’s ribbon would cover the gap perfectly. And actually it improved the card – that’s what I call a win-win! I’d initially intended on embossing the Welcome but with the addition of ribbon, the card didn’t need the upgrade. I was a little hesitant over ordering the pineapple – how many pineapple cards do I need? But I’m really glad that I did. I think I need more pineapple cards than I realised and I for one am not retiring Welcome Words from my stash. It’s also going to make a great card to welcome people to my Stampin’ Up! team or to my Paper Pumpkin team.

In case you’re wondering, the envelope liner is using Botanical Gardens DSP – a perfect match for the mossy meadow.

So tomorrow’s the big day –  the new catalog goes live which means that you only have today to order from last year’s and the Occasions catalog. Do make sure you have what you really want, items don’t necessarily make it to the clearance list. If you’re ordering, don’t forget to use my rewards code – AV9HEPXC – if you spend at least $45 you will receive this month’s free gift, half a roll of the dapper denim ruched ribbon, and be over 10% of the way to a free $40 spending spree. Check out the Customer Loyalty Program page for more details.

I’ll be ordering tomorrow morning so email me now if you want to get in on my product share.

See you tomorrow,

Liz