Apr 26, 2021
Hooray! Celebrating Teachers & Grads with NEW Products – a Sneak Peek!
Hey, crafty friends! It’s Taylor here today! It’s hard to believe the school year is already coming to a close, but I’m happy to be moving ahead – hopefully past the strangest school year ever – remote, hybrid, in-person, quarantine… all the things! Teachers and grads definitely deserve to be celebrated this year and I’m excited to share lots of new products to help you show how much you care. And while we’ve designed these products for grads and teachers, they also work great to celebrate lots of special accomplishments with friends, kids, and grandkids!
The Creative Team and I have been back at it again creating new projects with the goodies from this release which includes over 20 new products; stamps, dies, stencils, new Bits & Pieces embellishments, and our new Simple Storage for Building Blocks case!
Here’s what you’ll find on the blog this week:
- Our blog posts (Monday – Thursday) will feature a video showcasing the new release products.
- New products will be available for purchase starting tomorrow (Tuesday, April 27th) at 9am Central Time at the TE webstore!
- Get a chance to win it before you can buy it by commenting with your answer to my Question of the Day today only (located at the bottom of this blog post)
- Last, but certainly not least – take advantage of our special bundle offer for this release (details below).
Get the Hooray Bundle for 15% off the retail price! The bundle includes:
- On the Block – Hooray stamp
- On the Block – Hooray Shadow die
- Congrats die
- Building Blocks – Well Done stamp
- Simple Storage for Building Blocks case
The special introductory price of the Hooray Bundle is available Tuesday, April 27th, through Sunday, May 2nd, or while supplies last!
My video for today showcases several of the products included in the Hooray Bundle. I’ll share tips and tricks for mass-producing several ‘hooray’ cards using On the Block – Hooray and sentiments from the Building Blocks – Well Done stamp. Plus, don’t miss the “oldie but goodie” kissing technique to create the tone on tone stars on the Hooray stamp.
I started by choosing three different coordinating color combinations for the Hooray. When doing the kissing technique I like to choose a light and dark tone in the same color family. For these three cards I chose Strawberry Milkshake (light) & Lollipop (dark), Granny Smith (light) & Cilantro (dark), and Cookie Monster (light) & Blue Raspberry (dark).
I used the same star background in Oreo ink behind the Hooray sentiment and then showed lots of different options for combining the Building Blocks sentiments to create phrases appropriate for any celebration!
Now that I’ve shared my project, it’s time to settle in and take a peek at all of the new Teacher and Graduation release products along with inspiration from the TE Creative Team!
We are starting off with the products featured in our release promotion bundle that I shared about above:
We’re adding to the On the Block collection with the new On the Block – Hooray stamp and coordinating On the Block – Hooray Shadow die. The sans-serif block letters slightly overlap and are not perfectly aligned, adding a whimsical charm to the word.
A perfect companion to the On the Block – Hooray stamp is the new Building Blocks – Well Done stamp. This new Building Blocks stamp includes 22 words and phrases that work perfectly together to create sentiments for graduation cards or other projects to celebrate a job well done. Cut out all 22 words and phrases with one pass through your die cut machine using our innovative alignment guides and the coordinating Building Blocks die.
The Congrats die makes it easy to look like you’re a pro at hand-lettering! Perfect to send congratulations for graduations, weddings, and other milestones and achievements, this die is one you’ll use throughout the year and can be combined with the same words and phrases in the Building Blocks – Well Done stamp.
Annette Allen created a whole background with the new Building Blocks – Well Done stamp (+ coordinating Building Blocks die)! She used Fruit Punch, Lime Zest, Cookie Monster, and Plum Punch cardstock and stamped the words and phrases with Oreo ink. The Create in Color Background is embossed in white on Toffee cardstock and Annette cut it out with the new coordinating die (you’ll hear more about that in a bit) and layered it over the background. The On the Block – Hooray is also embossed in white, but this time on Oreo cardstock so it stands out on the card front.
Latisha Yoast paired the ‘let’s celebrate’ sentiment from the Building Blocks – Well Done stamp with the new Congrats die to create this graduation card. She added the sentiments to a background that she stenciled with a new layered stencil set I’ll tell you about a little later in this post. I love that you could easily switch up the colors of this card design to customize for any graduate’s school colors!
Speaking of the Building Blocks collection, we are so excited to now offer a storage solution for it! Simple Storage for Building Blocks includes one of the Simple Storage cases fitted with molded plastic tray inserts that nest together to give you compartments to hold sentiments from two Building Blocks stamps – that’s 44 sentiments/words organized in one case!
School theme and teacher appreciation projects wouldn’t be complete without apples so we’ve featured them in our new I Pick You Cling & Clear Combo set. The set includes a red rubber stamp featuring a pattern of apples and 12 clear, photopolymer stamps to add color to the images along with coordinating sentiments. You can cut out any of the apples from the background stamp using the I Pick You die. Use the I Pick You stencil to add a handwriting paper design in between the apples on the background.
The new Fill in the Blank – Teacher set includes three large sentiments that are all missing a letter. Simply fill the open space with an apple created with the I Pick You Cling & Clear Combo set (+ coordinating die) or another image from your collection. Complete the sentiments with the photopolymer stamp set that includes seven coordinating words/phrase and symbols.
I love the pastel color combination that Jill Hawkins used on this card created with the I Pick You Cling & Clear Combo set! She stamped the apples using Granny Smith ink and added color with Granny Smith, Cupcake, and Toffee inks using the clear stamps. She stenciled the coordinating background to add the handwriting lines with Confetti Cake ink and you’ll note how the stenciled lines hug right up next to the apple images! The sentiment is stamped on a Sugar Cube cardstock strip and Jill cut everything out using a Frame in Frame 2 Cutting Plate die that she pieced together on the card front.
Kavya created a fun school themed scene on this teacher thank you card! The sentiment is from the Fill in the Blank – Teacher stamp and Kavya cut out the letters to arrange them on her card. She used a few hearts from the Hearts A Plenty Cling & Clear Combo set to fill in the ‘O’ and added details with markers and a white gel pen. The globe is created with the Whole Wide World die collection and I love the little apple from the I Pick You Cling & Clear Combo set added to the desktop!
The Full Circle – School stamp set features a gathering of school themed doodles in a circular shape along with 6 coordinating sentiments. There are so many ways to use the circle image both as a feature and to add pattern to a shape or background on your teacher appreciation cards!
When you want to celebrate and thank a teacher (or other special mentors in your life), use The Inside Scoop – Teacher stamp set. Part of our The Inside Scoop collection, this set includes a variety of sentiments that are as perfect to use on the inside of your cards as on the outside.
We are excited to now offer a coordinating edger die for our popular Create in Color Background stamp! The die cuts along just the top edge of the image and offers options for layering and dimension.
This pair of cards from Emily Mydlowski shows two great ways to use the circle image from the Full Circle – School stamp set. For the card on the left, Emily used it as a background behind the red apple that is cut out using the Apple Stacklets and Apple Stem & Seeds die collections. For the card on the right, Emily used the circle image to add the pattern to the apple die cut shape. Both cards feature sentiments from the Full Circle – School stamp set.
Melody Rupple created a Mini Slim teacher thank you card featuring the I Pick You Cling & Clear Combo set (+ coordinating die) and Fill in the Blank – Teacher stamp set. She brought the design on the front of the card to the inside of her card by adding a Petite Mini Slim Scallop Stacklets die cut stamped with a sentiment from The Inside Scoop – Teacher set and she added an apple too!
I am always anxious to see how Arjita Sepaha Singh colors the images from our sets! She did the no-line coloring technique (stamping with a light tone ink, like our Sea Salt, and then coloring the images) with the Create in Color Background stamp for this card and used the new, coordinating Create in Color Edger die to cut out the top edge of the image. She added the pencils to her card front and added a sentiment from the Full Circle – School stamp set. I love the red teacher pen additions that Arjita added and it brings me back to getting my homework graded in school!
Here’s another addition to the On the Block collection with the new On the Block – Grad stamp and coordinating On the Block – Grad Shadow die. It’s a two in one release for this collection and you could even combine the ‘hooray!’ and ‘grad’ together on your project!
Stamp 10 sentiments that celebrate graduates and other accomplishments with the new Mini Strips – Grad stamp. Use the sayings individually or combine them together for more possibilities! Cut all of the sentiments with one pass through your die cut machine using our innovative alignment guides with the coordinating Mini Strips or Mini Strips – Asymmetrical dies.
We know you love the Cap it Off Alpha dies to add personalization and custom sentiments to your projects and now we are offering numbers in the same outline style with the new Cap it Off Numbers die collection! Add numbers to customize your cards for graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, and more!
Natasha Valkovskaya used the On the Block – Grad stamp (+ coordinating die) paired with the Cap it Off Numbers dies to create this pair of cards to congratulate 2021 graduates. I love how Natasha cut out the numbers from glitter cardstock and used the outline on one card and the number insets on the second to get a two for one deal! You’ll also notice the background is from one panel that is cut on a diagonal and Natasha layered one piece on each card – so smart! That grad cap background is created with the new layered stencil set I’ll share more about in a bit!
Annette Allen stacked up sentiment strips from the new Mini Strips – Grad on this graduation card around the Congrats glitter cardstock die cut. The sentiments are embossed in white on Cilantro cardstock and Annette coordinated the grad cap background to match to customize this card with the perfect school colors for the card recipient. This card design would work with so many color combinations! Keep scrolling to learn more about the new Grad Cap Layered Stencil set that Annette used for her card background below…
Make backgrounds to celebrate the grads with our Grad Cap Layered Stencil set. This set of three individual stencils that feature scattered caps, tassels, and stars to create a graduation cap tossing celebration background. The stencils are fun to use with TE Blender Brushes (sold separately) and each stencil includes alignment squares on either side to ensure your design lines up perfectly.
{Boxed in} Basics – Grad is a set of 12 pre-printed panels (measuring 4″ x 5 1/4″). Each panel features a sentiment customized for the class of 2021 (two each of six unique designs). Designs are printing onto our 100 lb. Sugar Cube cardstock. Because they are toner-printed, they can be used with a foiling machine or heat laminator to apply foil – or can be used in black and white while adding colorful accents with blender brushes, markers, pencils, or stamping.
Graduation is anything but normal in 2021 and Big Grumpy definitely has something to say about it! You can share Big Grumpy’s sentiments on graduation cards with the FREE Big Grumpy Grad 2021 Download. Print the download onto cardstock and then stamp either Big Grumpy or Big Grumpy – Cat over the top to add the six different sentiments to the sign. CLICK HERE to watch a video tutorial from our Big Grumpy COVID-19 Sentiments Download released last year.
Heather Nichols used the Grad Cap Layered Stencil set to create backgrounds for this pair of graduation cards. I love the foiling that she added to the tassels and numbers! The numbers are created with the Cap it Off Numbers die collection and layered onto the banner pieces that are cut out and stamped using the Banner Year Stamp & Die Combo set. The sentiment are from the Mini Strips – Grad stamp and cut out with the Mini Strips die.
Emily Mydlowski used one of the {Boxed in} Basics – Grad panels to create this graduation card. She foiled the panel with a blue Deco Foil Transfer Sheet, added the Star Fall Background embossed in silver, added confetti cut out with the Little Bits – Grad Confetti die, and layered it onto a piece of silver foil cardstock. All that shimmer and shine is perfect to celebrate such a noteworthy occasion!
Jill Hawkins brought Big Grumpy to the graduation party and as you can tell, he didn’t keep his thoughts to himself! Jill used the Big Grumpy Grad 2021 Download to add the sentiment to the sign and then added Big Grumpy to a festive background stenciled with the Confetti Toss stencil (Will Big Grumpy like that confetti is falling on him? Probably not.) Jill masked off the areas that she added the stenciling and glitter onto with tape and I am in love with the look!
We have two new additions to the Bits & Pieces embellishments collection: Bits & Pieces – Black Drip Drops (shiny black) and Bits & Pieces – Cosmic Drip Drops (iridescent black). Our Bits & Pieces – Drip Drops look like droplets of water in a variety of sizes. These small, reflective domes have a flat back to easily adhere to cardstock and other materials. I am sure you have spied these embellishments in some of the TE Creative Team projects that I have shared today!
Our new Teacher and Graduation release will be available for purchase starting tomorrow at 9am Central Time, but before I head out for today, you have a chance to win it before you can buy it! Just comment below and let me know:
What’s your favorite product from this release and what’s the first thing you’ll make with it?
I’ll choose three lucky winners to receive one product of their choice (sorry, not a bundle) from this release!
Simply leave your comment by TONIGHT, Monday, April 26th at 10PM Central Time. One comment per person. Winners are chosen at random and will be announced on the TE blog on release day, tomorrow, April 27th!
Thank you for stopping by for our new Teacher and Graduation release sneak peeks! Stop back tomorrow for more inspiration from the TE Creative Team and a video from Heather. See you then!
