Stampin' Addicts Summer Mini Blog Hop Tropical Party

Welcome to the Stampin Addicts Summer Mini Blog Tour! Join us on Stampin' Addicts for Stampin' Up! samples, discussions, information and of course FUN!  You may have arrived from Heather's blog featuring her cute projects with the First Day stamp set. If not, the tour is circular. You'll get there eventually if you click at the end of each blog hop post. If you somehow get lost along the way, just click HERE and there is a list of the blog hop sites, in order.

The new Summer Mini from Stampin' Up! is available for ordering from  May 1 through August 31, and as usual Stampin' Up! demonstrators were allowed to order ahead so that we can showcase these fun sets.  One of the great sets I chose to preorder was Tropical Party. I added the Island Floral Bigz Big Shot Die and the Island Oasis Designer Series Paper as well, so today I have a few little projects to share.

First up are these Drink Umbrellas that were so easy to make using the Scalloped Circle Big Shot Die and the fresh and fun Island Oasis Designer Series Paper.  I'll have a tutorial (with  step by step pictures) for you back here on my blog on Monday, so check back if you're interested!

You'll notice you can make them more masculine by cutting of the scallops and keeping the top of the skewer free of a flower (Pumpkin Pie floral), keep them simple with just a scalloped Designer Series Paper umbrella and trio flower punch on top (Rose Red floral) or layer a cut layer over a scalloped layer. I embellished the So Saffron umbrella with the small flower from the Island Floral Bigz Die and a rhinestone brad.

I created a super casual outdoor Luau set with the Bigz Die and Designer Series Paper as well.  A Fancy Favor Big Shot Die box created a holder for the plastic silverware with the large flower layered on the bold and flowery Island Oasis DSP.  Coordinating patterns for the umbrella, straw flower embellishment and placemat would make each guest feel so special, and the napkin ring completes the display. 

Oh, you don't typically make placemats for your outdoor entertaining? I admit I don't either, so I converted the placemat into a Scrapbook Layout for our trip to Hawaii....that was almost four years ago!

Now I feel like a genius rather than a four-year-slacker because this new paper is perfect for tropical pictures! :) Strangely, most of my pictures are landscape, and I didn't want to lose the scenery/cut them very much.  I balanced the horizontal with vertical lines and am happy with the result. Tons of pictures on one layout....yes, I do that sometimes.

Enjoy more of the islands on this Tea-Stained card. I even used a color that will be returning for next year...My Favorite-Baja Breeze! The white gel pen is easy to use to make the coconut really stand out against the background.

Continue your Summer Tour with a stop at Holly's Blog for her creative Christmas interpretations of the Island Floral Bigz Die. Thanks for touring with Stampin' Addicts!