Monthly Archives: March 2013

Quick and Easy Punch Tip for the Lazy Person!

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Easy Punch Tip

Here’s an easy tip I accidentally discovered the other day when I was too lazy to get up and find a scrap piece of Daffodil Delight card stock! I had a piece of Whisper White card stock handy, so I grabbed a Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Write Marker and scribbled a solid blob of color on the Whisper White. Then I punched the shape out of it with my Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack #118309. I was using it for the flower on the hat of my punch art leprechaun in THIS post.

Just think about it….if you didn’t have a certain color of card stock but you had the marker, you can color on a piece of Whisper White or Very Vanilla card stock and use that to punch or maybe even to stamp on.  Then you can punch or cut and you have the color you want! It might not work in all cases, but if you just don’t want to get up from the table, this might be a handy tip!  Especially if you have Shimmery White card stock or the Watercolor paper where you can play with color a little bit, you might color with a couple different colors in an area, maybe even spritz them…just experiment, and see what you come up with! Now I think I want to go play more with this idea!

Stamping is for fun!

Don’t forget, Sale-A-Bration ends Friday, March 22……that is THIS coming Friday! Be sure to get your order in! Contact me, or put it in online yourself at my Online Store! Be sure you see my name in the upper right corner of my store, then you know you are in the right place!  Also, check the categories in the left sidebar of the store, such as “New Arrivals” or “Clearance Rack” so you can take advantage of every offer you want!  With every $50 purchase, you get to choose one FREE Sale-A-Bration product!

St. Patrick’s Day Punch Art Leprechaun Candy Treat Bag

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St. Patrick's Day Punch Art Leprechaun Candy Treat Bag

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Would you like to receive a little treat bag of candy with a leprechaun made from Stampin’ Up! punches? Yesterday on the Stampin’ Up! home page I saw a leprechaun like this one but made digitally in My Digital Studio.  I decided to make it the traditional way using my punches.  I can tell you it is easier to do in My Digital Studio because you can make everything the perfect size you want…make a punch shape larger or smaller, change things to any color, whatever you want!

I just experimented with my punches until I got some things a reasonable size to fit. The Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set  comes in handy for almost any occasion for the greeting. And don’t you love the Champagne Glimmer Paper?!

This is a little of what History.com says about St. Patrick’s Day:

St. Patrick’s Day takes place each year on March 17, the traditional religious feast day of Saint Patrick.

In 2013, St. Patrick’s day falls on a Sunday.

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

  • Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish. In 2009, roughly 26.1 billion pounds of beef and 2.3 billion pounds of cabbage were produced in theUnited States.
  • Irish soda bread gets its name and distinctive character from the use of baking soda rather than yeast as a leavening agent.
  • Lime green chrysanthemums are often requested for St. Patrick’s Day parades and celebrations.

Have a fun and happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’m wearing my little shamrock necklace my husband brought me from Ireland last year!

A Spring Surprise from Stampin’ Up! A New Stamp Set! A Round Array!

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Spring Surprise Mar 2013

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Hot off the press! Stampin’ Up! is releasing a new stamp set that will appear in the next new catalog!  The stamp set is called A Round Array, and you can bundle this with the 7/8″ Scallop Circle Punch (that is already in the Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog and Annual Catalog) and save 15%….or you can purchase just the new stamp set alone.

Check it out here and then add it to your order and get more free Sale-A-Bration products! Just go to my Online Store to order!

SAB 2013 Flyer1
SAB 2013 Flyer2

 

Don’t Forget Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration!

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Sale-A-Bration Comic

Don’t let this be you next week!  Sale-A-Bration is Stampin’ Up!’s biggest promotion of the year, and although it has been going on for awhile, it WILL end Friday, March 22! That is a week from today!  You have one week left to place your Stampin’ Up! order and earn FREE Sale-A-Bration products!  Just spend $50 in Stampin’ Up! merchandise or My Digital Studio downloads and earn one free product from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. Spend $100 and earn two free Sale-a-Bration products.  And it gets even better after that!

You can click on the link above for the official brochure, but below is an easier to read description of all the Sale-A-Bration rewards! Click on each image to enlarge.

SAB 2013 Flyer1

SAB 2013 Flyer2

Just browse through my Stampin’ Up! Online Store and put in your order. (Be sure to catch all the categories list in the left sidebar of the online store…”Special Offers”, “New Arrivals”)  When you have your products entered, choose one Sale-A-Bration freebie for every $50 you have spent (not including shipping and tax, of course). Email with any questions or if you would like me to put your order in for you. It’s really fun to get  Stampin’ Up! products FREE during Sale-A-Bration!

Tell your friends!!

 

How to Make Stampin’ Up! Creped Filter Paper Flowers

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Stampin' Up! Creped Paper Flower Card

If you have wondered how to make some of the beautiful paper flowers you see around, here’s how to use the Stampin’ Up! Creped Filter Paper to make lovely paper flowers. Our azaleas are blooming beautifully outside this week so my mind is on flowers!

You can use punches or the Big Shot to cut out your flower shapes. On this flower, I used the Floral Frames Framelits. I cut out four layers of filter paper at one time!

You may leave the filter paper plain white and still make a beautiful poofy flower, but if you like a colored one, there are several ways to do it.  The first one I made in this post here, I brayered each piece of filter paper. I suppose you could also sponge the ink on the paper.

Today, though, I’ve seen other people online spritzing their filter paper! If you have the empty Stampin’ Spritzer #126185 (you get two in a package for only $2.95), just add some 70% rubbing alcohol and some drops of reinker in the color you want.  You could combine colors if you wanted.  I filled the spritzer tube about halfway with alcohol and put in about six drops of reinker. It came out pretty light although you can respray or add more drops.  Better to want to add some than to wish you had made it lighter!  I made two colors, one Daffodil Delight and one Calypso Coral. Shake them up and spray!  The alcohol will dry pretty quickly.

Spritzing Filter Paper Flowers

When dry, layer the flowers one on top of the other, even offsetting them so they look more like a real flower.  Insert any brad in the center to hold them together (it will barely show, if at all, so no need to use a good one).

Creped Filter Paper Flower Layers

Next, pull up each layer, starting in the center and scrunch it up in the center. Don’t worry, it’s not supposed to look good while you do it!  After you do all the layers, pull them all back down slightly to make your flower look how you want.  I also sponged some ink around the edges of the whole flower that really added a nice accent.

Try it!  It’s easy and probably like paper flowers you made as a child!

Don’t forget, Sale-A-Bration is ending March 22 so be sure to order and earn your free Sale-A-Bration product from Stampin’ Up! with every $50 purchase!  Just go to my Online Store here or email me.

If you like this post and want to share it, please click on one of the buttons at the very, very bottom of this post!

My Digital Studio….Learn and Work with the Modern Lingo!

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MDS Downloads_Mar 12 2013

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If you've ever wondered what some of these terms mean, like FTW or BRB, that teenagers and young adults (and maybe older adults, too!) use all the time, here's a great new digital download for My Digital Studio that you can use in your digital paperscrafting….or use to "learn" the terms! It's the FTW Stamp Brush Set #133500 for only $5.95.  Use it on modern scrapbook pages or cards for those people who are so "with it" using these new terms!

If you would like a kit for teenagers, the Seriously Teen Kit looks like a winner for documenting teen life….whether you're the young person or whether you're the one making something for them.  Of course, with all templates in My Digital Studio, you can change anything you like, so I think this kit looks great to use whether for teenagers or not!

And the Made to Be Awesome download is great for anyone who needs a reminder about how awesome they are…or for ourselves! That never hurts!

Click the image above to see these great downloads available today!

Then go to my Stampin' Up! Online Store here and click "Newest Downloads" to find all the latest downloads for My Digital Studio and choose your favorites!  You can add these downloads to any regular order of other merchandise and you can earn Sale-a-Bration rewards on digital purchases, too!  For every $50 you spend, you get one free Sale-A-Bration product (only until March 22!).

Patio Party All-Occasion Card

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Patio Party All-Occasion Card

An all-occasion card is one that we can all make and would be handy to have in our stash.  Sometimes I don’t put a greeting on the front of the card so that I can add whatever I want later for whatever occasion I need.

If you remember in this post the other day, it was like I rediscovered the Patio Party Designer Series Paper and loved it!  I knew I loved it when I first saw it at Stampin’ Up! Convention or Leadership awhile back, but then I never used it much.  Right now it really appeals to me. One of the sheets in the pack has the multi-pattern design as you see on the bottom of the card….so no work!  Just cut off a piece and adhere it to your card and it will look like you spent time adding various patterns in strips!

I loved making a flower with the Flower Folds Die and the Big Shot out of several different patterns of the paper.  Maybe a real flower wouldn’t have the lines of a banner going across it, but I liked the colorful look.

Play with what you have and I bet you will be inspired too!

Don’t forget, Sale-A-Bration is going on but not for too much longer!  With every $50 purchase you get a free Sale-a-Bration product!  Shop Online HERE!

Sign up for Paper Pumpkin, the Stampin’ Up! Monthly Stamping Kit, Today!

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My Paper Pumpkin Flyer

Today is March 10th and today is the day you want to sign up for Paper Pumpkin IF you want your first kit to be mailed to you around March 15th! To sign up for Paper Pumpkin, go here to the sign-up page. Now, today is NOT the final day to sign up for the Stampin' Up! monthly subscription kit Paper Pumpkin….you can sign up ANY day….it's just that the 10th of the month (any month) is the deadline to start receiving the kit in that month, kits to be shipped around the 15th. So if you sign up tomorrow or the next day, March 11 or 12 or 20th, your first kit will ship around April 15th.  Then April 10th will be the deadline by which to get your kit shipped on April 15th. You only need to sign up once, not every month, and you can skip a month or two, or cancel it altogether.

Now, Paper Pumpkin is for you if you love getting a surprise kit in the mail every month, if you want a quick and easy project you can sit down and do in about 30 minutes, if you are a new stamper or crafter, if you don't have a lot of materials yet (or you don't WANT a lot of materials!). If you love elaborate projects, if you love placing your own Stampin' Up! order with everything you want, if you love coming to a class and having the ideas and techniques shown to you in person, this might not be for you…and that's okay.

With your first kit, you will get a project plus a free clear block to use with your next kits. Everyone will get this same kit regardless of what month you join.  You will need to provide your own adhesives in the projects, so if you don't have something suitable, I can order those for you from Stampin' Up!  But to get started, you can use what you have and see if you need something different.  All other materials and instructions are provided in the kit.

There WILL be a Try-It Kit if you ever just want to get that and see what it's like before you subscribe.  But it is NOT available yet….will be soon!  I'll let you know!

I might also add that Paper Pumpkin has it's own ordering system, you will not access it from the usual ordering at my Online Store. The sign up is easy, please choose ME as your demonstrator when it asks, and you'll be asked for a name and password.  If you have any trouble (honestly there have been glitches with the website) let me know and I'll try to help or sign you up myself.

So go right now to the My Paper Pumpkin page (the trick to remember to find the web page is to always type in "My" in front of Paper Pumpkin…or you'll go to the wrong place!).  The link is https://mypaperpumpkin.com/en/

If you have any problem signing up or want me to sign you up with your information, please contact me today at Karen@KarenStamps.com or call at 713-306-1191. 

A Peek Into One of the Many Perks of Being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator!

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Stampin Success Mag
Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2013

Stampin' Up! is sharing a bit of our demonstrator magazine, Stampin' Success! I've often told you receiving this magazine in the mail is one of the best parts of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!  You can click on the image above or click HERE to see the enlarged page.

If you'd like to see some of these ideas and more, we can plan a party for you and your friends.  If you'd like to get the magazine, join Stampin' Up! and start your own business. Why not earn some money doing something you love doing and sharing?! Please contact me if you would like more information. It's easy to sign up and get started!

When is Daylight Savings Time? Change Your Alarm Clock Tonight!

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Daylight Savings Time 2013-001
Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2013

When is daylight savings time? Change your alarm clock, and all your clocks, tonight when you go to bed….unless you are up around 2 am and want to change your clocks then! Spring forward an hour in the spring…..that's the easy way to remember which way the clock goes for daylight savings time! It's hard to get up an hour earlier, but at least we will have more sun and sunshine and longer days.

Don't forget to check your smoke alarm batteries tonight too!  It's a good way to remember to do it, to tie it in with changing your clocks for daylight savings time.

This card was make easily in My Digital Studio, the digital papercrafting solution from Stampin' Up!  You can choose a template already designed, you can choose a template but change anything you want on it to make your own design, or you can start from scratch and make your own project! It's great and easy to learn….lots of fun, too!

Try My Digital Studio FREE for 30 days and see how you like it!  Make some projects, buy some downloads of your choice, have your projects printed!  No risk, no obligation.  You keep the downloads you purchase even if you do not buy the software. Just go to my Online Store and try it out for 30 days!  I can direct to you lots of videos that will get you started….if you need it.

 

Stampin’ Up! Kraft Gift Box Decorated with Patio Party Paper

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Stampin' Up! Kraft Gift Box Decorated with Patio Party Paper

The Kraft Gift Boxes offered by Stampin' Up! are so much fun to decorate! On this one I used the Patio Party Designer Series Paper, which I admit I haven't used very much, but wow, I really loved how this turned out with this paper! I just measured the sides and top of the box, cut pieces of the Patio Party DSP and adhered them. With our double-sided designer paper it's so much fun to choose which side to use….well, even difficult at times since they both often look good!  I tied a Primrose Petals Stitched Satin Ribbon around the box and put a paper flower on top.  The paper flower is made with pieces cut from the Flower Folds Die. I punched a 1 1/4" circle for the flower center and put a Subtles Designer Button in the middle to top it off.

All very easy to do with a Stampin' Up! Kraft Gift Box and some designer paper…and my friend loved it!

If I were you, I would stock up on a couple packages of these Kraft Gift Boxes #124106 to use for those small gifts we often have. You get 4 boxes in a package for only $2.95. The boxes are 3.5" x 3.5" x 2.5"

You can order anything you want from Stampin' Up! online here!

Four Leaf Clover Smooch Spritzed with Gold

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Four Leaf Clover Smooch Spritzed with Gold

Soon it will be St. Patrick's Day, March 17th! Did you know you can make a four-leaf clover with hearts?  And why not a touch of Gold Smooch Spritz to your four-leaf clover for good luck?!  The hearts are die cut with the Hearts Framelits Dies, the white hearts being stamped with the Hearts a Flutter stamp set in Gumball Green. As I looked at my desk, I spied a Paper Doily and thought maybe that would work as a background for the clover.  It fit perfectly on my 4 1/4" square card. The greeting is stamped with the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and punched out with the Modern Label Punch. I don't know if four-leaf clovers come with a rhinestone in the middle, but mine does!  Love those Rhinestone Jewels!

If you need to make a shamrock or four-leaf clover for a St. Patrick's Day card or treat, don't despair if you don't have an appropriate stamp…..just use hearts!

Shop Stampin' Up! Online here for all your stamping supplies!

Stampin' Up! Smooch Spritz

Don’t Forget to Put the New Photopolymer Stamps on Your Stampin’ Up! Order!

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The new Designer Typeset Photopolymer stamp set is available, so be sure to put it on your next Stampin' Up! order! Photopolymer might be a mouthful, but you will want to try it out!

Clear stamps have been available from other companies, but I've heard that some of them did not stamp a clear image like Stampin' Up!'s rubber. Stampin' Up! says they have searched for the right material and they have found it!

These will only be offered on a trial basis and not for any set period of time, so if you see something you like, you better get it then! If you love clear stamps, buy these so Stampin' Up! will produce more! Right now just this one set is available but they hope to release more in the coming months.

Designer Typeset Photopolymer Stamp Set  #132956       $13.95

Recommend clear blocks A, B, G, F, and I. Purchase separately.

Includes 57 pieces. (Don't faint! This is a good overwhelming feeling.)

I hope you enjoy the video.  You'll see some of the wonderful Stampin' Up! employees, get glimpses of the Stampin' Up! home office in Riverton, UT and and at the end see a bit of the beautiful atrium lobby!

Add these new photopolymer stamps to your next order before March 22 and they might bring you closer to a $50 ( or more!) purchase which entitles you to a free product during Sale-A-Bration!  But only through March 22!

Celebrate Easter with My Digital Studio

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MDS Downloads_Mar 05 2013

Let the Stampin' Up! digital papercrafting download for My Digital Studio help you make your Easter celebration a little easier!

This download, Celebrate Easter Ensemble, includes:

* 5-page décor designer template (8-1/2" x 11")
* Double-sided postcard template (5" x 3-1/2")
* 14-piece SVG stamp brush set 
* 7 Designer Series Papers 
* 8 embellishments

Get these downloads printed and make your own egg holders, napkin rings, mini baskets, cupcake holders, name cards, table tents, invitations and whatever your Easter imagination comes up with! 

Colors: 
Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo, Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Taken with Teal, Whisper White

Click here to purchase this download or to look at each element more closely. AND view the other downloads for this week!

Click on the download to bring up the single download.  Right below you will see "More Images".  Click on those words, which brings up a closer view.  Then click on each image and finally the word "next" to see even more in that download.

If you don't own My Digital Studio already, take the 30-day FREE Trial of My Digital Studio! Buy the Celebrate Easter download, if you like, play around with it, print your projects, and get the full My Digital Studio experience!  No obligation! My Digital Studio is pretty intuitive, even for the beginner, but if you need more resources, I can help!

Go to my store now to check out My Digital Studio and all the downloads!

Best of 25 Years: Best of Flowers March 2013 Stipple Hydrangea

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Stipple Hydrangea Best of Flowers Stamps for March

One of the many beautiful flowers in the Stampin' Up! Collector's Stamp Set for March, Best of Flowers, is one of my favorites, Stipple Hydrangea.  Way back when, it was the only flower in the set and was used in so many beautiful projects! If there was only one reason to buy the Best of Flowers stamp set, it would be to get this retired Stipple Hydrangea stamp! This was one of the premier stamps to use for stamping on tiles back then.

On this card, I stamped the hydrangea in Stazon Black ink on Shimmery White card stock. It is colored in with my favorite tool, the Aqua Painter, using various Watercolor Wonder Crayons. It isn't a huge artistic endeavor….just plop down some color from the watercolor crayons on the petals, not even filling in completely or anything, and move the color around with the Aqua Painter.  You can do it without being a watercolor artist!  But you'll look like you are!

Shop at my Stampin' Up! Online Store any time! Spend $50 and get a Sale-A-Bration product FREE!

Best of 25 Years March Best of Flowers