Stamping with Karen

Country Living Cards a la Carte Stationery Kit

COUNTRY LIVING CARDS À LA CARTE This is a special French-Country-style stationery kit from  Stampin' Up! and Country Living Magazine. This kit contains: The exclusive Dinner Party stamp set, which you can see in the foreground A Ballet Blue Stampin' Spot Twenty-four sheets of 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" printed paper for your creative use Twelve Very Vanilla Medium envelopes Click HERE on my website!

Star Card for a Star!

Last week my son called to say the results were posted and he had indeed passed his first level CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) exam that he took last December in Houston!  This is a self-study, graduate level program for investment professionals with three levels of exams, and if you do take and pass all three exams and meet the other professional and ethical requirements you will have earned for yourself quite a credential in the investment field.  There is an enormous amount of study required, on your own, for each exam, so it is quite a commitment and we were hoping all the time he had put in had paid off for him.  The results say that 34% of the 44,000+ candidates worldwide who took the test successfully passed it.  Of course, I thought, at a minimum, he deserved a special card of congratulations!

 

 

 

 

Now in Houston if you have an important event coming up, you have to hope that we don't have heavy rains which make the streets flood and become impassable at times....unless it is hurricane season....but flooded streets are much more likely.  As luck would have it, though, we had SNOW!  

 

 

The day before the exam it snowed like crazy, beautiful and fun!  It was great to have him home to share the excitement with (during his study breaks!).  But who would have thought the day of the exam we would have to worry about ice on the roads in Houston, TX?!!  We offered to drive him downtown so he wouldn't get lost or have to worry about parking, etc. since this test was SUCH A BIG DEAL!  We were lucky because we had no trouble, although we saw some accidents from icy spots going the opposite way.  Who would have thought!

 

 

 

 
 

 

Stampin' Up! Haitian Disaster Relief

 

From Stampin' Up!

On January 12, 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, leaving in its wake devastation so overwhelming that the Haitian people and their leaders can only look for help from the outside to cope. 

From now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set sold will be donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. 

Product Name	Item #	Price
I {Heart} Hearts – clear-mount  (block D recommended)	118571	$18.95
I {Heart} Hearts – wood-mount	117010	$26.95

 

In the past, Stampin' Up! has also made charitable donations when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers, when a tsunami struck Indonesia, when a hurricane destroyed New Orleans, and when wildfires ravaged Australia.

Not only has Stampin' Up! made a commitment with this $2 donation from the sale of these stamp sets, but in addition, Stampin' Up! bought supplies for 5000 hygiene kits.  You can read about these and how the Stampin' Up! employees all pitched in to assemble these kits in one day on Shelli's blog HERE.

 

 

Jackpot Designer Series Paper

I've owned this Jackpot Designer Series Paper (#113995) for awhile but used it very little. However, as I making come cards for a friend's birthday gift the other day I came across this paper and thought it was perfect for her and this was what I should use!  While I started off looking online for ideas, once I got stamping I started to come up with my own ideas.  And you will, too!

Here are a couple of the cards I made.

 

 

This Jackpot Designer Series would be good for a lot of your masculine cards....you know, the ones we usually have a little bit of trouble coming up with ideas for!

You can order this paper and other products any time, either directly through me or on your own at your own computer through my online store.  Click HERE for online shopping!  Remember, with a purchase of $50 in product, you get to choose a Sale-A-Bration product FREE.

 
 

Easy All-Occasion Card

This isn't a new stamp set or new paper or anything, but just an easy card to make with beautiful colors.  Hope you like it!

  

Stamps:  Friends 24-7 (IB&C p. 100 #113218)

Paper:  Melon Mambo Card Stock, Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper (#115675), Whisper White Card Stock

Ink:  Melon Mambo

Accessories:  Melon Mambo 1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon
 

Tote-ally Tess Card

And here is Tote-ally Tess made up into a card WITH the little card SHE made!  There's a lot to be done with this stamp set, especially for any stampers, scrapbookers or crafty people because the stamps are lots of cute accessories all of us use!  Be sure to check it out on page 41 of the Occasions Mini (#117076) (wood) or (#118595) (clear-mount).

 

 

Clear-Mount Stamps Tutorial

It's time for an old dog to learn new tricks!  I'm not familiar with these other type of stamps except for regular wood-mount like Stampin' Up! has always offered so I thought I would carefully go through the steps of how to get started stamping with the new clear-mount option offered in the new Occasions Mini!

Here is a new set called Tote-ally Tess in the new skinny DVD-like case.

 

Here is what you get inside!  Directions, stamps, and label sheet.
 

Here is the new label sheet, which appears to be all covered up!  How do you get the label??

Punch out the die-cut stamp.  This is what the backing looks like.

Peel the backing off to reveal the "cling" side of the stamp.

On the label sheet you will notice little slits on the paper.  Start peeling there (easier than starting at the edge of the label), leaving the label on the sheet.  It will be sticky-side-up and sometimes a little tricky to get the label to stay put there!

Here is the label fully exposed.

CAREFULLY place your stamp, cling side down, on the sticky label.  It should "fit" right in the space.  If you mess up, yes, you can peel the label off and do it again but it is probably better to get it right the first time!  Also, you do not HAVE to have the label adhered to the stamp....you will be able to stick the stamp to the block without the label, it is a guide and an option.

Now peel your stamp up off the label sheet, turn it over, and you have....Tess!  You can see in the photo my sheet of stamps from which I removed Tess, the paper I peeled off the back of Tess (don't forget this step before attaching the label....don't ask me how I know!), and the two halves of paper I peeled off the label sheet.

 Place Tess on an acrylic block (the closest size possible for best results).  You don't want to just stick it on and stamp.  Take a few moments to press the stamp onto the block or even look on the other side and notice the change as the stamp fully clings to the block.  Be sure to press on all areas of the stamp.  This will ensure that the stamp is well adhered to the block for stamping and cleaning.

This is what the stamp looks like through the acrylic block.  If you do not use the label, you will just see the outline of the rubber stamp, which might be just fine for you.

Now stamp!  You can use Stampin' Mist to clean the stamp and your block as always.  It is recommended that you do not use Stazon Cleaner on your block as it may have an oily residue and cause your stamp not to adhere well.

Tess stamped!  Same as wood blocks.  These acrylic blocks have grooves on all four sizes making them easy to grip.

When finished stamping, just place your stamps back into the DVD case.  Some people recommend saving the "negative" rubber and inserting the stamps back into that to hold them more securely or to know quickly which stamp is missing and keep this in your case.  So many options with these new stamps!  This set is called Fox & Friends.

The other side.

 

Images copyright Stampin' Up! 1990-2010.

You can find these stamps and blocks in the new Occasions Mini.  Be sure to contact me if you have any questions or if you do not have a demonstrator and would like an Occasions Mini mailed to you!  Or click on the link to see it online.

Sweetheart Treat Cups

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Stampin' Up! is offering these Heart Treat Cups to use on your Valentine and other projects along with the Full Heart Punch....and they both coordinate with the Sweetheart Stamp Set.  You can choose the Sweetheart Stamp Set in either wood-mount or clear-mount!

Full Heart Punch

113693 $15.95

IB&C page 186

Heart Treat Cups* (12)

120435 $2.95

Sweet Treat

Padded Envelopes (3)

116911 $2.95

Occasions Mini page 21

 

Contact me with any questions or to place your order!

Lots of fun projects to make with these products!!

 

Christmas Cards Galore!

The last few weeks have been extremely busy and now that the kids are all home plus one girlfriend the days have REALLY been extremely busy!!  It's been go, go, go and keeping things running at home.....no time for leisurely addressing of Christmas cards!  I did manage to finish these cards, with the help of my son's girlfriend, and when I get off the computer I hope to address them and get them in the mail.....at least they would be sent out before Christmas even if they won't arrive until after!  But if I get distracted with fixing breakfast or lunch or one more shopping errand..and did anyone make reservations for dinner tonight?  NO!.... if I don't get the cards in the mail, that's okay.  They'll either be late or I'll be ready early for next year!! 

 I always remember one Christmas party the kids and I were invited to at a neighbor's when they were very little on a Saturday morning and I REALLY had other Christmas things to be doing but I HAD to go to this party.  Another mother arrived and said that if going to this party meant her Christmas cards didn't get sent out, then so be it.  The party was SO lovely and fun and a time to share with the kids we knew and the other mothers, more important than the Christmas rat race we thought we had to keep up with.  Now we probably all raced even harder after the party, but at least we enjoyed the calm for a couple of hours!

So here is an assortment of Christmas cards, mostly copied from other cards I've seen here and there on all my sources.  If you need a last minute idea, I hope you can use one of these!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

 

PS:  If you live in the Houston TX area and want to see some Christmas lights be sure to go out to Pecan Grove in Richmond where nearly every house is decorated, some spectacularly!  Eric's girlfriend and I (the only Christmas-light-lovers in the family!) drove out there last night and really enjoyed it!  Wish I'd had my camera, but take my word for it, it is magical to see a whole streetful of lights!
 

Shimmer Paints Still Available!

Exciting news!!  The Shimmer Paint in the current Holiday Mini Catalog has been so popular that even though the Holiday Mini ends on January 4, 2010 the Shimmer Paint will still be available as a write-in after that!

116806	Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint	$5.95
116854	Frost White Shimmer Paint	$5.95
116807	Platinum Shimmer Paint	$5.95

If you haven't already tried the new Shimmer Paint you will want to in the New Year!  There are lots of ways to use it and a little goes a long way!

Here's an easy card I made stamping the snowflakes in the background with the Shimmer Paint.  They're very light and yet they add some beautiful interest to the card.  I think they show up pretty well in this photo for you to see!

Just use your sponge dauber to apply the Shimmer Paint lightly directly to your stamp!