An explosion of flowers for Mother's Day #FF0007

Hello Everyone!

Today we are going into my secret vault of retired amazingness to make a Mother's Day explosion box really shine!
What's an explosion box, you may ask?
Only one of the coolest, most over-the-top cards that is bound to wow a recipient!
I discovered these cool card/gift hybrids a couple years back while I was  #Pinteresting (I'm not sure if this is actually what it's called, but it should be- let's make it happen). From simple to mind-blowingly detailed, there is an explosion box for every occasion. They vary in size and layers, but the most common is a 4" square box.

Cute, right? Looks like a really nice gift box that could hold some sweet treats, so you remove the lid to see what's inside, and...

Ta-Da! 

I've never failed to get an appreciative gasp when I've presented one of these...they are a crowd pleaser :)

Features: This box really shines with the stunning Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper- I have fallen in love with this gorgeous collection of paper with silver foil accents. Every page is so beautiful, I had a hard time cutting it- but I did. Because you shouldn't keep this much beauty to yourself, you should share it far and wide!  #sharingiscaringyall  #idontwannahoardnomore 

Sweet Soiree DSP may be retiring, but the leaf punch lives on, and I love how easy it is to add texture and dimension to a project with it. 

Gotta have it all : I used the Make A Difference stamp set to custom design my greeting, and it was totally worth it to individually stamp each letter. I love the font and the ability to create any sentiment you wish! I got my stamp set during the early release of the Share What You Love suite...and of course I had to have it all! The bundle included Make a Difference and Love What You Do stamp sets, Share What You Love DSP and coordinating cardstock, matching ribbon and pearls and so much more. It's everything you need to get started making your own beautiful cards right out of the box.

And a little more newness I really love: The Detailed Trio Punch is a great new punch from the upcoming catalog. It has a corner rounder, a oval hole punch, and the lovely pattern you see on the card inserts in the pockets. I used all three here : first I rounded all the corners, then I punched the pattern  on those edges, and then lined up the guide mark on the hole punch side to add the ribbon hole. So quick and easy!  This punch works best when you press down directly in the middle instead of over the area you're using. 

The Secret Vault of retired amazingness: I love all the new and fabulous products Stampin' Up! debuts every year, and it always pains me a little to see some of my favorites retire to make room for them. When I really, really love something I can't bear to see go, I send it to my secret vault of retired amazingness (also known as the big storage tub in the corner). Every once in awhile, I'll pull something from the vault when it helps my project really shine...and this time I used two retired Bigz dies. They made the big bow on the lid and the pretty flowers in the center. The flower die can cut several pages at once so it made it a little faster for me, but if you want to make similar flowers without that die you can check out my post where I made some here.

I'm pretty happy with how this came together, so I'm entering into #FF0007 over at the Festive Friday Challenge. I haven't been able to play along lately, so I'm glad to be able to submit for this fun challenge. 

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Have a magical day!

Nina