The Olympics begin with the Opening Ceremony tonight! The city of London is hosting the 2012 Olympic games and they are finally going to get started! It seems like we have been looking forward to the Olympics for a long time and now it is finally here!

Here is the story behind the colored Olympic rings from the Olympic Museum Manual:

 "Pierre de Coubertin first proposed this symbol at the 1914 Olympic congress in Paris.

 The five rings on a white background form the Olympic flag, which was unveiled during the same congress. The flag flew for the first time in an Olympic stadium in 1920 during the Antwerp Games.

If the number of rings represents the continents, the colours (six of them, counting the white background) were chosen to ensure that every country would have at least one of the colours in its national flag included."

"The five rings that make up the Olympic symbol represent the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from all over the world during the Games. They symbolise the universality of the Olympic Movement."

To make this card:

Stamps:  Loving Thoughts Stamp Set

Ink:  Real Red Classic Ink

Paper:  Pacific Point, Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight

Accessories: 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch

Note:  Punch the 1" circle first, the turn your 1 1/4" punch upside down, reinserting the punched piece so you can see the sides.  Once you have it lined up correctly, punch out the ring.  This is easier than punching the larger circle first and then trying to center the 1" circle.

Enjoy the games!

While cleaning up my scraps recently, I found I had a little stack of these Two Tags die cuts already cut out, so today I decided to use one somehow on this thank you card. This is also a sneak peek at the 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch coming in the Holiday Catalog August 1st.  So cute!!

Since I was making my scallop flower out of Daffodil Delight, I looked at my Color Coach for fun to see what colors they put with it.  One was Early Espresso so I used that for my card base. Of course the Daffodil Delight card stock layer needed a little something so I tried out my new Fancy Fan Embossing Folder #127751.  Love it!  I love this die cut from the Two Tags Die, so to jazz it up a bit I stamped with the small flower in Reason to Smile (the stamp set you can get during July for $5 with a $50 purchase). The greeting is from the Perfectly Penned stamp set (page 132), stamped in Early Espresso.

To make the scallop flower, I punched six scallops, then softened them up with my bone folder, crinkled them up, stacked them up, pierced the center, and inserted an Antique Brad #117273.  You could use other brads or a button (if you glued them together first). Then I squished each layer up around the brad to get some dimension and then let them lay back down gently!  The ribbon is our new 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon in Whisper White #126877.

Since the Early Espresso is such a dark color I added a piece of Whisper White to the inside of the card, with a few Daffodil Delight flowers stamped in the corner from Reason to Smile again.

Whew!  For such a simple thank you card I had a lot to say! I love how the new little Scallop Circle Punch flower fits so perfectly in that top of the Two Tags die….of course you also get another die on that same die so it is a great deal!

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Amazing what you can find in your card stock scraps!  I had already stamped some flowering branches from Elements of Style on pieces of Crumb Cake card stock but then didn't use them….they were stuck in my pile of scraps in the card stock package. I guess I stamped them one time and then it didn't work out. But today I thought I'd see what I could do with a piece.

All it took was a little coloring in by touching my Blender Pen to the ink pad to pick up ink. If you want to try to be artistic, you can follow the highlighting (the little lines) on the stamped images and apply a little darker ink in those areas.  Then come back in and either spread that out a little with your Blender Pen or use a lighter color.  This gives you a shaded look that will make people think you are a professional artist! Stamping can make anyone look good!

I thought one of the flowers from Everything Eleanor, a new stamp set I got free at Stampin' Up! Leadership in San Antonio last January, looked like it would match closely enough with the flowers on the branch, so I stamped that separately, twice, cut them both out and glued on the card, slightly offset.  And stamped the little bird from Everything Eleanor.  The greeting is from Elements of Style.  Such a beautiful set!

If you want any stamping sets or accessories, Stampin' Up! has them here!

Place an order of $50 and add on Reason to Smile for only $5!

Don't think your catalog is just for shopping!  Get out your Stampin' Up! Catalog and use it!  If you just flip through the pages, you will certainly find some ideas to inspire you.  Don't be left hanging with no creative juices flowing!  Maybe you will see a card or box you like….maybe you will see an element on a scrapbook page you could put on a card instead. Maybe you will see a card you can picture enlarged into a scrapbook page if you just add some photo mats.  And the samples aren't just on the stamp set pages….look back in the accessories, too!  This catalog features close-ups and allows you, in some cases, to imagine what the rest of the project looks like and develop it yourself.

My inspiration for this post was found on page 74.  My card isn't exactly like that sample but at least it got me started. Above you can see the elements I made to assemble the card.

• The Papaya Collage stamp set is a beautiful one to use! Be sure to check out all the elements included in this one set.
• The Whisper White Elegant Lines (#119277) embossed pieces were just scraps in my bag that maybe didn't turn out perfectly for some reason. But they were useful on this project.
• Paper Snips are essential for easy cutting of intricate pieces! It may be referred to as "fussy cutting" but don't be too fussy about it! Just keep turning your piece while you hold your scissors relatively still.  And don't forget to cut off the excess edges first or as you cut. Don't worry about every single cut and curve…just get somewhat close.  It really doesn't have to be exact, in most cases.

And as you might barely be able to see, when I was finished I spritzed the whole card with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz #118770. I like the way it turned out.  I didn't get big blobs of gold or overspray and ruin the project. What I have heard about the Smooch Spritz is don't be afraid to push down the sprayer!  Put your project in a box or somewhere that you won't make a mess.  Do some practice sprays after shaking the tube back and forth gently to mix it up.  Then don't try to be delicate in spraying….that's when you will get a mess. Push down like you know what you are doing! Of course hold a little distance away.  Try it!

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If you are interested in buying Stampin' Up! products and would like a new catalog, please contact me at Karen@Karenstamps.com.  I just got a new box of them!

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