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It's supposed to be a dark and stormy day here in Houston, thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches are already out, but I think these bright and happy swap cards that I got at Leadership last week using Sale-A-Bration stamp sets and the beautiful Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper really can lift your spirits! With a $50 order of Stampin' Up! products, you could choose any of these stamp sets or paper....or other Sale-A-Bration items!
This is a swap card from Karen Hambright. I LOVE this Everyday Enchantment Paper in the Sale-A-Bration Catalog.
This is a swap card from Charlene Monroe using the Fresh Vintage stamp set, some of the Everyday Enchantment Paper, and a cute little bow from ribbon in the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack. You've GOT to get that assortment with the adorable brads!
Here's another pretty swap card using the Fresh Vintage stamp set but she used markers to color on the stamp. She was also busy with the Big Shot and the new Labels Framelits Dies#125598 as well as the Framed Tulips Embossing Folder. This card was made by Jackie Walker.
This swap card was made by Sheila van Uitert and is stamped with the Sprinkled Expressions stamp set and then embossed with the Big Shot and the Lattice Embossing Folder. This gives it such an interesting texture!
This card uses two Sale-a-Bration stamp sets.....Sprinkled Expressions and the very cute Outlined Occasions stamp set. This swap card was given to me by Anne Matasei.
If you're ready to shop and choose your free Sale-A-Bration products, just go to my Online Store HERE and place your order....be sure to order your Sale-A-Bration items at the end! If you prefer, email me with your order and I'll take care of it.
It worked last week so I am hoping it will work again this week! The Houston Texans have their second playoff game today against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, so maybe this card will bring them good luck again! This is the first time the Houston Texans have advanced to the playoffs so this is a big deal, to say the least, in Houston!
This card was made digitally in My Digital Studio, the digital papercrafting software from Stampin' Up! Easy to learn and fun to work in.....everyone should have it! And more downloads come out every Tuesday!
This has been a big sports weekend for Houston with the Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday, choosing three men and three women from a field of hundreds to go to the Olympics in London this summer. Today is the "regular" Chevron Houston Marathon....if any marathon can be "regular"......always an important and fun event in Houston whether you are running or watching from the sidelines or TV.....and then the big Texans game at noon!
I heard the commentator mention yesterday one of the women runners kept a scrapbook for her baby daughter so someday when she is older she will know what her mother accomplished! Would you think marathons and scrapbooking would go together?!
Not that this card has anything to do with running, but it is made for the runners who will be participating in the Olympic Trials Marathon today in downtown Houston. This is a big weekend for Houston, Texas! On Sunday is the annual Chevron Houston Marathon, always a big event for the city.....but Houston is also hosting the Olympic Trials Marathon on Saturday, Jan. 14th which will have top runners competing for spots on the Olympic team this summer. This race will determine the three men and three women who will represent the United States in the marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
This card was made in My Digital Studio, the Stampin' Up! software that provides all types of digital papercrafting fun! To order My Digital Studio, just click HERE.
There is excitement in Houston today as the Houston Texans football team play their first playoff game this afternoon at Reliant Stadium! They are playing the Cincinnati Bengals. The Texans are a relatively new team, ten years old, and haven't made it to the playoffs....until now! So everyone is very excited and optimistic!
In honor of the Houston Texans, I made this spirit card in My Digital Studio, the Stampin' Up! software program for digital papercrafting. I made my own "designer paper" background by typing "Houston Texans" in a text box, changing the color to white, lowering the opacity, and copying and pasting the text box all over the page! Since I didn't have a football digital stamp, I was able to go to Stampin' Up! and order it online and have the download in seconds! Really cool!!
The big red circle is from a free download Stampin' Up! is offering on their Facebook page! If you scroll down through the posts and find it and take a short easy survey, you too can get this free download....it's more than the circle!! Go to the Stampin' Up! Facebook page HERE.
The football is actually a little tricky....it comes as just the black outline as you can see in the "motion" footballs being thrown! In order to add color digitally, you have to add punches that match the shape of the football, add color to them and then send them "behind" the football. Not hard, you just have to know to do that!
I can teach you all about My Digital Studio and direct you to even more resources as well as any other Stampin' Up! products....stamps, inks, papers, accessories, gifts and home decor items. Stamping offers so much variety and so much inspiration for creativity! Sign up for my mailing list in the upper left and keep up with the latest stamping news. Or contact me at Karen@Karenstamps.com for more information about having fun stamping!
It MUST be fall now because there was a tinge of coolness in the air this morning....and it's usually hot and humid forever here in Houston. But it is actually only about 74 this morning and perhaps will stay below 90. Now that's FALL! It's great that it feels a little like fall on the first day of fall!
Here is a card made with the stamp set Autumn Splendor. I love the design of these fall leaves in this stamp set I stamped with Black Stazon and colored in withBlender Pens and Classic Ink. Nothing properly artistic about it, just filling in with color to make them look like fall leaves and acorns....it was so relaxing! The card base is River Rock (which you can barely see due to the background) with Spice Cake Designer Series Paper. The ribbon is Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon ruffled with some Sticky Strip and an Antique Brad (gotta order more of those beautiful things!).
When I finished this card, I absolutely LOVED it! (if I do say so myself!) The leaves in this stamp set are so beautiful...I bought it after our fall trip to New England two years ago. You can't go wrong with the Spice Cake paper or fabric. As I added the embellishments, it all just seemed to come together. Stampin' Up! products always "come together" eventually, but this one was one of the extra-easy ones!
If you would like to learn about these techniques and others in stamping or scrapbooking, contact me at Karen@Karenstamps.com to set up a workshop with your friends!
Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15, 2011, so now is the perfect time to take a look at the Hispanic product line that Stampin' Up! has developed. Celebrando Creatividadis the supplemental Stampin' Up! catalog with Spanish language stamp sets, hostess sets and accessories.
Click HERE to look at this beautiful stamp set you could use for a Quinceañera!
There are so many occasions to have fun making your own cards, invitations, decoration or gift items. If you would like to learn about rubber stamping and would like to purchase Spanish language stamp sets, please email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com. I can answer any questions you have.
Check back tomorrow when I tell you how you can find out about a business opportunity with Stampin' Up!.
Just click on the photo above to view the Celebrando Creatividad catalog!
What do the Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, the Kiss Cam, George and Barbara Bush all have in common?? If you live in Houston, Texas you probably know!
My husband got baseball tickets from work for last night's game at Minute Maid Park which was between the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals. We love to go to the ballgame when we can, especially when the Cards are here since we both grew up in St. Louis and will always be Cardinal fans in our hearts (although after 28 years here I guess we are legitimate Astros fans as well!) Attendance at the game was pretty low and we didn't have many people around us, except for the other couple who got the other pair of tickets from work. So I KNEW this was going to happen! I just knew it. When they did the "Kiss Cam" between innings, toward the end, if not the end of it, I was stunned to see my husband up on the big new screen, then me and a glimpse of the lady next to us in orange and the big heart! I think they were trying to get all four of us in the shot, I'm not sure, but we kissed just in case!
To add to the fun of the night, President and Mrs. Bush (George and Barbara) were in attendance in their seats behind homeplate. Barbara had her scorecard and kept score during the game while chatting with her husband! They have lived in Houston since they left the White House and frequently attend Astros games! Another time when we were at a game, they put the Kiss Cam camera on them! It was very cute!
Here's an easy card to make in My Digital Studio with a bit of a baseball game feel!
Oh, and the game got very exciting, the Astros even loaded the bases after the Cardinals had taken the lead and we got some runs but no grand slam homer....if an Astro had hit a grand slam that inning a lucky family would have won $25,000 from Sonic!! I bet they were on the edge of their seats! The game was tied in the ninth, but finally the Astros prevailed with a win! Just goes to show, always still until the end of a baseball game!!
Confederate Star Jasmine! We have this area in our front yard next to the driveway and they are in full bloom right now! Funny thing is, you don't really smell their fragrance when you are standing right by them! But walk down the driveway to the back of the house and wow, what a beautiful smell! It must get caught in a pocket or something in between our house, our neighbor's and our garage! I wish you could scratch and sniff these photos!!
I hope you are having as beautiful a spring day as we are here in Houston! It doesn't get much nicer than this!
The first day of spring was yesterday, and I took pictures of our beautiful azaleas that have really burst into bloom this past week. The weather was a perfect spring day as well....and you won't normally hear people raving about how good the weather is here in Houston...except for this time of year when other cities are still experiencing snow and we are looking at beautiful spring flowers and digging short pants out of the closet.
Here is a Stampin' Up! card to commemorate the first day of spring.
I just grabbed a Note Card #107311 (did you know you can buy a pack of 20 note cards 5"x 3 1/2" including envelopes?!) to make a simple card with the stamp set Bold Blossom in the Occasions Mini (page 31). I assumed I would put a little greeting on the card or embellish the flowers with some kind of center layer, but in the end I decided to just go with simple! When I looked in the drawer to possibly use my glitter, I spied the Basic Rhinestones #119246 and decided just a little bling was what the flowers needed....and that was enough!
Here are some photos of our azaleas! You should be able to click on each photo to enlarge it.
If you need any stamping supplies to make some beautiful spring cards, please contact me or shop online at my store HERE.
I realize this card doesn't exactly look like a real azalea, but its inspiration came from going on the River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trail yesterday! My husband and I enjoy going on the Azalea Trail every year, even if the azaleas aren't in full bloom yet. We really like seeing the inside of the homes that you can walk through, and the floral arrangements and gardens are always beautiful. The flower colors are so gorgeous, so I made my pink azalea with Melon Mambo card stock. Our own azalea bushes are just starting to bloom. You can see one of the flowers I picked beside my card!
The flower on this card is made with the Fun Flowers Bigz Die #121812 in the Occasions Mini. Even though I didn't think I "needed" this die, once I saw all the beautiful flowers other people were making, I knew I had been mistaken! The leaves are stamped with the Build a Blossom stamp set, page 12 Occasions Mini, and punched with the Blossom Petals Punch #121808 on the same page. I added some Subtles Brads #119738 to look like the azalea stamens and put a greeting from the Hostess Level 2 set in the Occasions Mini, Something to Celebrate. The background paper is Springtime Vintage #121782. I also used my bone folder to curl the edges of the azalea petals a bit.
Now that spring is coming, you will want to start stamping flowers, so if you need some new supplies, check out my Online Store at my website HERE or email with any questions or help with your order.
You have one day left to hit the Azalea Trail if you are in Houston this weekend!
A Mother Nature post again today! This is what we woke up to this morning......this giant moth outside our family room window! And he's still there at least two hours later! It's wing span is at least six inches across! I've never seen a moth this big!!!
If you would like to stamp a prettier moth, you should check out page 31 in the Summer Mini, the single "All a Flutter" stamp #118284. Don't forget the Summer Mini in all the excitement of the new Stampin' Up! 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog. The Summer Mini is good through August! Click HERE to shop 24/7!
Have you ever heard of a Corpse Flower? It is the big news here in Houston right now while we wait to see if the Corpse Flower blooms at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The museum has had a live web feed on the plant 24/7 and the museum has been open late and sometimes all night to give visitors a chance to see this unusual plant. The plant even has a name....Lois! Only 28 other bloomings have been observed in the US of this kind of plant....that's partly why it is so unusual. The other attraction is that when the plant blooms it will have a powerful stench of rotting flesh. Apparently the smell is for the plant to attract certain kinds of flies and beetles. You can see a picture and read more about it here.
So I thought I would make a prettier flower, only similar to what the Corpse Flower might look like in colors. I chose Rich Razzleberry and Pear Pizzazz. Right now the real Corpse Flower looks like a stalk of some sort.
If you would like to keep an eye on the Corpse Flower at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, you can watch the live web feed HERE.
And if you want to stamp your own pretty flowers with the Petal Pizzazz stamp set #113417, you can go shop right now at my Online Stampin' Up! Store! Don't forget the 1 3/4 Inch Scallop Circle Punch #119854 which will make it easy to punch out one of the flowers.
A little bit of nature for my post today! It reminds me of an old Stampin' Up! set with a turtle stamp in it and a phenomenal card another demo friend make years ago. I'm sure I saved it, and if I can put my hands on it I will post it later. The other night my husband called me outside to say there was a big turtle in the driveway! I guess he came from the yard next door, mozied across our driveway and now was in the grass. As we approached, he of course stuck his head in his shell, but after awhile he poked it out a few times! I know you can't tell the size, but he was probably at least six inches across!
Just playing around with My Digital Studio and my azalea pictures from the other day! This is the azalea bush in our front yard which has burst into bloom this week! For the background I selected a photo of the azaleas but changed the opacity down to 40. Then I added photo boxes and chose the photos to go in them, added a mat and a drop shadow to each. For the mat color, I decided to use the "Color Picker" with which you can select a color from your photo to use as your mat. I did that for the first photo but then wondered how I would get the exact same color for the other mats. I was able to do that by putting that color in my Favorites and then choose that color for the other photos! The words came from the Designer Kit "Sunny Day". And then I added some digital Garden Green Grosgrain Ribbon and Knots. To make this a hybrid scrapbook page I could leave off the ribbon and knots, print out the page and then attach my own real ribbon!
You can do so much with this My Digital Studio software!Every time I use it is a new adventure to see what I will find! SHOP NOW and see whether you would like the My Digital Studio software or just the downloads if you already have a digital program. Just think how easy it would be to scrapbook your Easter pictures if you had My Digital Studio!
The other night we were able to see the International Space Station flying over Houston in the night sky. It's not the first time we have seen it, but it is exciting every time! I grew up with the space program so I've always been interested in it even though I'm not a scientist or engineer! While this rocket from the stamp set "Pun Fun" (#115054) does not look like the International Space Station, I was inspired to make this card just for fun after seeing the Space Station go over.
Here are the supplies I used to make this card:
Night of Navy Card Stock #100867
Basic Black Card Stock #102851
Stazon Ink #101406
Circle Scissors Plus #112530
Glass Mat #112531
Star Punch #109045
Paper Snips #103579
Versamarker #100901
Gold Embossing Powder #109129
Heat Tool #100005
Well-Scripted Stamp Set (Wood or Clear Mount)
Ticket Corner Punch #107214
If you need some card-making supplies, please contact me or order online anytime! Don't forget, there are just a few days left of Sale-A-Bration, where you get a free product with every $50 purchase! Last day, March 31!
Happy Spring! (yesterday!) I think most of us will celebrate today since yesterday was not a good weather day for the first day of spring. I know some places had snow, we had rain in Houston and blustery winds by evening. I thought I would get hit in the head last night when we left the restaurant because the wind was blowing so hard....and it was COLD!! I had on my winter jacket, maybe for the last time.
So today since the sun is shining I wanted to make a happy spring card and the Sale-A-Bration set "Happy Moments" was perfect for a quick and easy card. And you can get this stamp set FREE with a $50 purchase before March 31. I just stamped with Black Stazon Ink and watercolored with my Blender Pens (#102845) and ink pads. To make the grass I just cut a strip of Certainly Celery card stock and snipped all along the top to make the blades of grass. Then I just roughed them up to curl them a little to make them look 3D.
We enjoyed the Azalea Trail yesterday in River Oaks! We only went to the four private homes. There are three other sites to see, but we have visited those before. While you can walk through the homes (my favorite part!), you can't take photos inside so these are only from the gardens outside. Unfortunately, we didn't see any azaleas blooming at these homes, but we did see some in another part of the neighborhood. It's a lovely area to drive around in and see the many mansions and beautiful homes.
Here are a few photos. You should be able to click on them to enlarge.
Love this picture!! Reminds me of a retired Stampin' Up! stamp!
I don't know WHAT in the world this is! Looks like a brain!
The Azalea Trail Home and Garden Tour in Houston put on by the River Oaks Garden Club begins today. It used to be two weekends, but now it is just one. It's a fun thing to do if the weather is nice.....beautiful homes and lovely gardens to see. Even inside the homes are beautiful floral arrangements made by the garden club ladies. We always enjoy going! We don't have any azaleas blooming yet at our house so I hope we see some today on the trail. In the meantime, here are some azaleas I stamped on a card!
I stamped the flowers from Fifth Avenue Floral (#113734) with Black Stazon Ink (#101406) and colored in and shaded with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons(color families on IB&C page 154) and Aquapainter (#103954). I LOVE using the Watercolor Crayons but hadn't used them in awhile.....so relaxing to just color and not worry how good it is! I even used some gray to shade outside the flowers. It's likely not artistically perfect, but that is the nice part of watercoloring.....you can be a little sloppy and off! Still looks decent! For the flower stems, I punched out the branch and leaf from the Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch (#117191). On some branches I cut off the leaves and put them where I wanted them on other parts of the branch. That punch is so versatile! You should have one!
If you want to purchase any Stampin' Up! products, just visit my Online Store! If you would like to learn how to make a card like this, please contact me! Or sign up for my stamping newsletter and get on my mailing list! The box is in the upper left corner.
Right now there are several thousand trail riders, who have been out on thirteen trails in Texas during February recreating the Old West, heading back into Houston to signal the start of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The rodeo is a huge event in the Houston area and kicks off tomorrow when the trail riders converge on Memorial Park in the covered wagons and on horseback!
To make this card, I started with Soft Suede for the base. I used the Stampin' Up! stamp set "Wanted" to make my own designer paper for the background, stamping various images in the trendy In Colors Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Bermuda Bay, and Crushed Curryand afterwards sponging some Soft Suede around the edges and around on the paper.
To make the horse panel, I stamped the horse from "Wanted" in Soft Suede, then continued to stamp it without reinking to produce the lighter images. I distressed the edges with the tool in the Cutter Kit (#106958). You could also use the edge of scissors or just your fingernails!
I haven't used my "Wanted" set in awhile but I sure had fun with it today! So if you are looking for a western stamp set, this would be a good one from Stampin' Up! You can shop at my Online Store 24/7! Email me with any questions.
What can be more exciting than hearing the words "Snow" and "Winter Weather Advisory" in a Houston, TX weather forecast??! While some other areas in Texas might actually get several inches of snow today, we will be lucky if we see a few snowflakes here in southwest Houston, but I'll take what I can get! Any day now the cold weather will be completely gone and it will be so smotheringly hot that we won't be able to imagine that we ever felt chilly! So we might as well enjoy even the possibility of snow! If we get something, I think it will be the third time this winter which is amazing. So with the possibility of seeing some microscopic snowflakes that will not even stick to the ground, I decided to play with My Digital Studio and make one more winter card!
