Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Paper Pumpkin: Creativity Starts Here Promotion 25% Off!

Does any of this sound familiar?

I want a creative escape but I don’t have a lot of time.
I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to papercrafting, but I want to try it.
I love to create but I don’t always feel creative.
I need some fresh project ideas.
How can I craft when I don’t have all the “crafting stuff” I need?

Stampin’ Up! has a creative journey for NEW customers to try!

Paper Pumpkin is the all-inclusive craft kit that comes to you every month in your mailbox! Each kit contains an exclusive photopolymer stamp set and all of the supplies you need to complete the project inside the box. It might be cards, but it might be something else. Each month is a surprise (almost always!).

Beginning today, May 11, 2017 through June 10, 2017, new Paper Pumpkin subscribers can join for 25% off the June, July and August Paper Pumpkin kits!

USE THE PROMO CODE: STARTHERE

Just go to PaperPumpkin.com to get signed up!

Choose me, Karen Fontinelle, as your Demonstrator!

The Fine Print:

For first-time subscribers only.
Subscribers must join by Saturday, June 10, 2017; 11:50 PM (MT).
Available for month-to-month subscriptions, not prepaid subscriptions.
Discount applied to one kit per month for the first three months of a new subscription. After that, the price for each month’s kit will return to the regular price of $19.95 US/$26.95 CA.
Enter the promo code, STARTHERE, at PaperPumpkin.com to subscribe.

Easy Birthday Card With Die Cut Greeting

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This is an easy birthday card to make with a big die cut greeting on the front. One of the new products in the upcoming Stampin’ Up! Catalog is the Happy Birthday Thinlit that die cuts “Happy Birthday” all in one piece. The designer paper is the reverse side of the paper I put on the card I made yesterday in this post. That’s all there is to this card! So easy!

The card base is made with Pool Party cardstock, one of the coordinating colors with the Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper. I used this beautiful floral print for a layer on the card. The greeting is die cut from Calypso Coral cardstock, but I felt like it needed some kind of layer behind it. I started with a piece of Whisper White cardstock, but that didn’t seem to be enough. Then I cut a larger layer of Calypso Coral to go behind it. Usually I don’t like the off-kelter style of layering, but somehow the layers turned out this way on this card and I liked it! Or at least I thought it was fine for this card! That helped the die cut stand out from the busy print background without taking away from the beautiful paper. Like I said yesterday, just keep playing with your card or project if you aren’t satisfied with it, and when you get it, you will know it!

This card could probably be further embellished in many ways, but I decided to keep it super simple and easy because we often need a birthday card in a hurry. This one would be perfect to make under those circumstances, although it would be better to have already made up in your stash! This Happy Birthday Thinlit Die was one I had seen online and thought was very cute in the samples, so I was happy it was on the preorder list for Demonstrators and was one of the first new products I wanted to use!

When the new catalog ordering begins June 1st, check out this Happy Birthday Thinlit Die (143700) so you, too, can make some quick and easy birthday cards!

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Easy Thank You Card With Delightful Daisy

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It was like Christmas here last night when UPS finally delivered my Stampin’ Up! preorder – new products coming in the Stampin’ Up! catalog for you in June! Not that I ordered everything (we just had limited choices for our preorder and I couldn’t even order all of that!) but what I got was exciting!

I quickly made this card with the Delightful Daisy Suite. The card base is Calypso Coral, one of the coordinating colors of the Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper. I actually had the flower print pattern on the other side of this paper picked out to make the card. I love the flower prints in this package of paper! But for some reason, maybe because I was in a hurry and had to leave for an appointment, I just could not get it to come together. This is the lesson: just keep playing, you will get it!! I tried all sorts of placements, colors, etc. and it just didn’t please me. I happened to look on the other side of the paper and there was THIS pattern! I laid that down, put down the greeting, grabbed the punched daisies, and there it was! Love it!

The new Daisy Punch punches a large daisy! I think I will like punching two daisies and then layering them together. I put a Stampin’ Dimensional in between the two daisies and stamped the center with a stamp in the set, Daisy Delight. I also stamped two leaves from the set, you get the inside color and the outline of the leaf with two stamps. Then I just cut them out by hand with my Paper Snips. The greeting also comes in the stamp set along with another nice little phrase.

While you are waiting for your new catalog, don’t forget the Retiring Products and the Clearance Rack! If you are interested in the Eastern Palace Suite of products, be sure to order during May so you get the free gift! And I think you might want to put this Delightful Daisy Suite on your Wish List for the new catalog!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!

Retiring Products (available until May 31 or while supplies last!)

Clearance Rack

Eastern Palace Suite

Make a Sunflower Card Using the Eastern Medallions Dies

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If you purchase the Eastern Palace Premier Bundle and start playing with all the pieces, you will find that this Bundle has incredible creative potential. Who would think with something called “Eastern Palace” that you could make a beautiful sunflower with the Eastern Medallion Dies?

To make this sunflower card I decided to make a woodgrain background on the Crumb Cake card base. I stamped the whole card front with the Hardwood Wood-Mount Stamp. This is a large background stamp, and I recommend getting the wood-mount with background stamps because it is just easier to have that large stamp already mounted on the wood block when you want to use it.

Instead of stamping the “regular” way with a background stamp, I recommend, placing the stamp face up on your table, inking with the ink pad, and then placing the card on the stamp. Rub with your fingers to transfer the ink to the card. Cover with a piece of scrap paper if you want to keep ink off your fingers. I love these big background stamps!

To make the sunflower, use the die cut and Big Shot. The interesting thing about a lot of these dies is that they do not cut all the way through, which is a good design element for certain things, and if you want it separate, just snip the points where the die cut is still attached.

I just needed to snip the tiny bit in between the points (petals) with my Paper Snips, a great pair of scissors for this job!

For the flower center, I used Chocolate Chip Cardstock for the top design and Early Espresso for the contrast underneath. You can really just make this center with whatever dies you like, maybe just one layer if that is all you want. The Layering Circle Framelits Dies are really handy to have if you purchase this Premier Bundle or even if in June you purchase just the Eastern Medallion Thinlits Dies. For the dies that do not cut all the way through, you can use a circle die to cut out the piece to use separately.

During the month of May, you can purchase one of two Bundles in this Eastern Palace Suite. I recommend the Eastern Palace Premier Bundle because you get EVERYTHING in it, even a FREE GIFT of the new Very Vanilla THICK Cardstock and a package of Very Vanilla Envelopes. If you prefer or if you are a newer stamper, you might like the smaller Bundle, the Eastern Palace Starter Bundle, just as well, to get your started. It also comes with a FREE GIFT, a package of the new Very Vanilla Notecards and Envelopes. Check out both Bundles and see which one is for you! Remember, these products WILL be available in the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog, but they will not all be bundled together except for the stamp set and dies. And no free gift! Get your Bundle by May 31.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! TODAY FOR THE EASTERN PALACE BUNDLE OF YOUR CHOICE!

Make a Margarita Card For Cinco de Mayo!

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Cinco de Mayo 2017 was yesterday, May 5th, but I think it can be celebrated all weekend here in Houston! One way to celebrate would be to make a Margarita Card for Cinco de Mayo! For those of us who love Mexican food, I guess you could say we celebrate it almost everyday. Actually, my brother and I celebrated a day early at my favorite Mexican restaurant (well, one of them!) and boy, did we enjoy our dinner! More about that later.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo (yesterday) I found this delicious margarita card I made a few years ago! To make a Margarita, use our Stampin’ Up! Vellum Cardstock. Vellum cardstock is a little sturdier than “just” vellum so it is better to work with to make the margarita glass. Just cut a circle for the glass, a thin stem from the scrap and punch a small oval. You can use punches or dies, whatever you have that works. Cut off a portion of the top of the circle to make the shape of glass you want. There’s no good way to hide your adhesive under vellum so do the best you can. I used Sticky Strip on this card, but now we have Tear & Tape Adhesive. You could also try sponging on small bits of the Multipurpose Liquid Glue which might not show very much,

To make the margarita glass, sponge on some green ink on the underside of the vellum. Make it as light or dark as you like. I left a border to look like the glass. For the “salt” on the margarita, spread a line of adhesive or use the Tear & Tape again and sprinkle on some glitter if you have some, particularly if you have some of the retired Chunky Glitter. Or you can have your margarita without salt!

Now if you are not into margaritas, you can use the same technique to make a regular shaped glass of lemonade or punch or anything you want. Just color the backside of the glass with whatever color drink you want to portray – or even layers of different colors for a fancy drink!

My brother surprised me the other day! We don’t get to see each other often enough at all as he lives in Wichita, KS, but on rare occasions his company has him fly a small plane down here for one reason or another or to test one for a customer. Thank goodness for cellphones and perhaps a bit of obsessiveness because when I finished with an appointment Thursday afternoon I checked my cellphone before driving home. There was a text from my brother asking if I was home and then told me he was in Houston! I didn’t know if that meant for five more minutes at the airport or if I could go see him for a little while or if he could come to my house for a visit. Thankfully it meant the plane was not ready and he and the other pilot had to stay overnight. I picked him up at the hotel and brought him to my house where we looked through some old scrapbooks of my mother’s, our grandparents confirmation and marriage certificates, and bunches of old family photos from great-parents to our own children!

Finally we decided to go for dinner at Pappasito’s and had delicious fajitas and shrimp and chips & salsa! It looked like quite the feast! No margaritas, though, only paper ones, since I still had lots of driving to do!

You can get papercrafting and stamping supplies for your projects, whether Cinco de Mayo or other occasions, at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE!

Eastern Palace Medallion Card Blue & Gold

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The Eastern Palace Suite offers so many creative opportunities for you in your cardmaking and other papercrafting projects. I got the idea for this Eastern Palace Medallion Blue and Gold Card from another Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator that I saw online and just changed the paper and the greeting a little bit. This card uses a lot of elements that are in the Eastern Palace Premier Bundle. This Bundle may seem expensive, but you get all the pieces in the Suite PLUS a free gift of the new THICK Very Vanilla cardstock and envelopes. You will get three of the new ink and cardstock In Colors as well – Fresh Fig, Lemon Lime Twist, and Tranquil Tide. Besides the coordinating stamp set, Eastern Beauty, you get the cute Eastern Gold Vinyl Stickers and Mini Tassels Assortment. The stickers are not your ordinary stickers – they are heavy duty and die cut pretty closely to the design so you have less of the excess border. Really nice, and so pretty to add to your card.

The card is actually made with Very Vanilla cardstock as the base, with the fold at the top and then a layer cut 5 1/2″ x 4″. The designer paper is a piece with gold foil in the Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper. When you see the word “Specialty” within the title of designer paper, that means there are probably two sheets in the package with gold foil or some special coating or design. Those two sheets are usually not double-sided like the other sheets. Beside the strip of blue & gold designer paper I added a strip of the gold vinyl stickers. The ribbon is the Gold 1/4″ Natural Trim which goes perfectly with this Suite and the tassel is tied on with a piece of the Gold 1/8″ Ribbon. This ribbon has been around for years and is so useful! It also comes in Silver.

The medallion on the front of the card is die cut with the beautiful Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies after being stamped with a matching image in the Eastern Beauty Photopolymer Stamp Set. For the medallion center, I placed a gold sticker on a piece of Very Vanilla scrap and punched with a 1/2″ Circle Punch and then adhered to the medallion center. The greeting and other little decorations around the medallion are also in the stamp set. I love that greeting to add to many cards!

Shop the Stampin’ Up! Eastern Palace Suite and see which Bundle works for you!

Eastern Palace Medallion Card With Gold Accents

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This Eastern Palace Medallion Card With Gold Accents is made with products in the newly released Eastern Palace Premier Bundle. This Bundle contains products that will be in the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog coming out in June. This is your chance to get your hands on brand new Stampin’ Up! products right now while you wait for the new catalog! In face, these two Bundles that are being offered, will not have all these products bundled together in the new catalog, only the stamp set and thinlits dies.

These Bundles have so many exciting products, you will barely know where to start creating!

Let’s talk about the card I made. It starts with the card base made from the new In Color, Tranquil Tide. I originally chose two patterns of the Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper to layer on the front of the card, one on top and one on the bottom, but then I changed my mind and only used the one piece! I took the Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies to the Big Shot with a piece of the Tranquil Tide Cardstock just to experiment with the dies. No matter what dies you use, I’m convinced the medallions will turn out just beautiful! Since I had a scrap of Shimmery White Cardstock on the table, I used that, and that ended up being the piece I used as the focal point on the card. It is adhered to the card using Stampin’ Dimensionals snipped a little smaller to make them fit on the back of the medallion. This pops up the medallion a little bit for a nice look. Then I put another die cut piece layered on the center of that medallion. This piece the petals can be pulled up for a 3D effect if you like. The little “hello” greeting is in the Eastern Beauty Photopolymer Stamp Set, and I punched it out with the 3/4″ Circle Punch.

The Eastern Gold Vinyl Stickers are a new item in the Bundle and are going to be fun to use! They have a clear border that is cut very close to the design so they aren’t going to scream “stickers!”. You get a lot of stickers in the package. You can see the strip of gold accents I added to the bottom the designer paper. For two more accents on the card, I folded over a small piece of the Gold 1/4″ Natural Trim. Thankfully this ribbon is not being retired because I think it will go quite well with the Eastern Palace products! And for a little bit more bling, I used the Metallic Enamel Shapes which come with both gold and silver in the one package. These are sticking around as well!

Here’s a close up of the focal point of the card so you can see the dimension.

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New Stampin’ Up! Product Available Today! Eastern Palace Suite Bundles!

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If you are too excited to wait until June to get new Stampin’ Up! Catalog products, here is your chance to get a whole SUITE of products during the month of May! Beginning today, May 1, 2017 you can purchase the Eastern Palace Suite in a Bundle! Choose from either the Starter Bundle or the Premier Bundle. These products will be available separately in the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog, but not in the Bundle with the FREE GIFT! So take advantage of the Bundle while you can!

CHOOSE FROM THE STARTER BUNDLE! #147196 CLICK HERE TO SHOP!

OR CHOOSE THE PREMIER BUNDLE! #147207 CLICK HERE TO SHOP!

Notice that with each Bundle, you get a FREE GIFT!

Starter Bundle: Very Vanilla Notecards & Envelopes (NEW!)
Premier Bundle: Very Vanilla Medium Envelopes AND Very Vanilla THICK Cardstock (NEW!)

Get your hands on the these colorful and exotic products from the Eastern Palace Suite one month before they’re released in the 2017-2018 annual catalog! I can tell you that the Eastern Medallion Thinlits available only in the Premier Bundle right now are really amazing! Lots of creativity with these dies!

By purchasing one of the Bundles, you will have lots of new product to make lovely cards and projects while you wait for the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog!!

Eastern Palace Starter Bundle
$60.50

Eastern Palace Premier Bundle
$103.50

Shop today at Stampin’ Up! Choose your Bundle!

Make a Birthday Gift Bag

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You might be doing some shopping this weekend, so here is how to recycle your shopping bag and make a Birthday Gift Bag. We often have these plain kraft bags in our stash at home, so use them to make nice gift bags and save a trip to the store to buy one! Even if the store name is printed on the bag, it can often be covered up with cardstock and the recipient will never know!

To decorate this small shopping bag, I used some Stampin’ Up! retiring products. The Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack is on sale for only $4.00. I started with wanting to use that paper. One side of each sheet is more Christmas-y, but the other side is absolutely non-holiday. There are plaids and stars that you can use for lots of other occasions and would be useful making masculine cards.

Once I chose the star pattern to use, I picked the coordinating color Delightful Dijon Cardstock on which to layer the 6″ x 6″ piece. Since stars are great for lots of occasions like birthdays, graduations, patriotic holidays, congratulations and more, I decided to make some stars with the Stars Framelits Dies (on sale!) If you place one star framelit die inside another you can make the outline stars – and then you still have the center star that you cut out! For the stars, I also used some more of the Warmth & Cheer Paper Stack as well as some Gold Glimmer Paper. Why not have some sparkle on a birthday gift bag??! The greeting is stamped in Garden Green Ink with a stamp in the Big On Birthdays Photopolymer Stamp Set.

Here is a close-up of the decorated front of the gift bag.

Be sure to take a look at the Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack on the Retirement List until May 31 or while supplies last! You can see some baby cards I made with this paper HERE. And if you want something to suit a lot of purposes, you might want to pick up the set of Stars Framelits Dies at a discount! And don’t forget the Clearance Rack!

Recycle those cute shopping bags with all your stamping supplies into birthday gift bags or whatever occasions you need one for!

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Elegant Gold Foil Botanical Blooms Card

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I thought this Elegant Gold Foil Botanical Blooms Card would be difficult to photograph, but I think it turned out better than I thought! With all the gold foil, I knew the glare from my lighting would be a problem. I think it is a surprise that this gold foil patterned paper comes in the Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper! That is why it is called “specialty” but you wouldn’t think it would be included in something called “Pop of Pink”! Somehow I came up with the idea of adding Gold Foil flowers and just making an all white and gold card. This would be perfect for a 50 Year Golden Wedding Anniversary!

The card base is Whisper White cardstock and the paper, as I already mentioned, is the Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper. This designer paper is on the Stampin’ Up! Retiring List so be sure to check it out and order it if you are interested in case it runs out at some point. It’s even on sale! To make the flowers, I used the Botanical Builders Framelits Dies, also on the list AND on sale 50% OFF!! I wouldn’t pass that up if you don’t already have these dies! In fact, I can’t believe these are being retired. There is also the coordinating stamp set, Botanical Blooms, on sale and retiring, too. The paper I used is the Gold Foil.

Now as I assembled this card and tried to place the flowers (I also cut out extras while I was at it!), it just seemed like the card needed something. I looked at some previous cards I made recently using these flowers, like this black & white card, and thought I would try adding a Gold Glimmer Paper strip to the side. I like that, and decided to just have one large gold foil flower on the card instead of more. For one more little something, I added some pearls (retired) to the flower centers. I didn’t even add a greeting, but I can if I use the card for an occasion that needs a greeting.

If you already own some retiring designer series papers, don’t hoard them! Get them out and use them! Then you will be ready for the “new stuff” in a month when all the new products comes out in the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog. You KNOW you will want the new papers and products! And if you don’t already own some of the popular papers that are retiring May 31, be sure to order what you want while it is still available.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE TODAY!

How to Make a Z Fold Birthday Card With Pop of Pink

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Learn to make a Z-Fold card and everyone will think you are extremely talented, as with this
Z- Fold Pop of Pink Birthday Card. The fact that you can make a card with a fancy fold such as this example will really impress, and YOU know that really all you had to do was fold back the front of the card! Look at the photo below!

How to Make a Z-Fold Card

1. Make the usual card base, 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″, folded in half.

2. Grab the right edge of the front of the card and fold back to the left edge of the card.

3. Embellish!

OR, if you prefer to measure and score, score the front of the card at 2 1/8″ (center of the 4 1/4″ card front) and fold back as in the photo above.

The Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper and coordinating Washi Tape is on the Retiring List of the outgoing Stampin’ Up! Catalog so grab some while you can! I have always loved the white, pink and black mixed in with some gold, which is why it is called “Specialty” paper. There are two sheets with gold foil, as I used for the birthday present on this card. And the designer paper is ON SALE!

The only “trick” to this card is to make a panel for the front of the card and glue it ONLY to the front z-fold panel. Hold it on the card before you apply adhesive and just make sure you know where to put the glue. Make sure none will extend beyond that front of the card fold or it will also stick to the inside of the card! My panel on this card is 3 1/4″ x 4″ but you can make yours whatever size you like.

Since I decided to put some Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper on the inside of the card where the greeting would go or note, I had to make a Whisper White panel to go inside. I made it slightly smaller than the front panel and made sure it lined up BEHIND that front panel. When the card is closed completely flat you do not see the white panel on the inside. Now I have space to write or stamp a note or greeting even though I have decorated the card with the designer paper. There also is the back of the card which is plain where you could write more of a note if you wished.

If you want to see another example of a card like this one, check out my Z-Fold Valentine Card HERE. This one is just a slightly different orientation.

Try this z-fold card today and check out the Pop of Pink paper in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Make an Easy Elegant Birthday Card With the Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies

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Make an easy elegant birthday card with the Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies for someone special! Let the Big Shot and the dies to most of the work! I am SO glad that these dies are not on the Stampin’ Up! Retiring List of products! There are a lot more beautiful cards to be made with the Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies!

To make this easy elegant birthday card, or card for any occasion, I started with a card base of Whisper White Cardstock. If you have it, I would recommend the Whisper White Thick Cardstock which is a little sturdier than the regular cardstock. Use the Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies to cut cardstock in the color of your choice. For this card, I used the In Color Flirty Flamingo. This is the grouping for 2016-2018 that is sticking around for another year! For an embellishment, I tied around the Flirty Flamingo 3/8″ Ruched Ribbon. This ribbon, as I write this, is on sale on the Retiring Products List, not because of the color but because they are retiring the ribbon style! I loved this type of ribbon, though. You can get it on sale right now, while supplies last.

I stamped the greeting on Whisper White and die cut with the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies that give that little stitched look around the die cut. I love those dies!! Then the greeting is layered on the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. Click here to see a similar card I made with these beautiful dies.

When you are using the intricate dies like these Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies, you will get the best results with your Big Shot if you use the Precision Base Plate and use the Big Shot Die Brush to help get out any stubborn little pieces.

You may notice on the Retiring List that the Floral Phrases Bundle is retiring, but that just means that all Bundles in the current catalogs retire and will not be offered as bundles any more. However, in a lot of cases you can still buy the components separately! But if you want to save 10%, get the bundles that are available before May 31 while they are available. If the two items are on sale, you might want to do the math and see which is the better deal, the separate items on sale or the 10% off Bundle!

Check out the Stampin’ Up! Retiring List of Products!

The easiest way to see the Retiring Products that are still available is to just go to my Online Store HERE.

Make Easy Animal Party Favor Treat Boxes and More!

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Two of the items on the Stampin’ Up! Retiring Products List are the Pyramid Pals Thinlits Dies and the Playful Pals Photopolymer Stamp Set which can help you make easy animal party favor treat boxes and more! It’s an infinite number of cards, party favors, gift boxes, party decorations and more that you can make. Fill these Pyramid Pals with candy or a treat or just make them for fun or for a decoration. Just think of the fun you could have with your children or grandchildren if you make the box and then they help you decorate the pyramid to make an animal. Or just make a pyramid box, decorate with some designer paper or stamping or perhaps a clear window cut out, and use it as a party favor or gift box. Use the stamp set to decorate the boxes or just to make cards and other projects.

Both the Playful Pals Photopolymer Stamp Set and Pyramid Pals Thinlits Dies are still available as I write this post, so if you think this is something that would be fun and useful to own, grab it while you can. All retiring items are available until May 31 or while supplies last.

The Playful Pals Bundle may not still be available but you can order the dies and stamp set separately. It’s a fun and different product to use!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! FOR RETIRING AND OTHER PRODUCTS THIS WEEKEND!

Punch Art New Baby Giraffe Card

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Surely you have heard of the new baby giraffe the whole world has been watching and waiting for! I heard about it, but was not one who was constantly paying attention to the whole saga, but I did make a punch art card for the new baby giraffe! Apparently the baby giraffe was born in New York on Saturday, April 15. The little newborn baby giraffe is probably about 6 feet tall and likely would weigh about 100-150 pounds! Now that’s a baby!

While the New York giraffe made the headlines because the birth was live-streamed and millions of people watched, there was also a baby giraffe born in Houston, Texas several days before at the Houston Zoo! So it’s been a good month for baby giraffes!

To make my punch art new baby giraffe card I just used various circle punches, some retired, oval framelits, whatever I had. There are lots of examples of punch art animals online if you do a google search! I used the Owl Builder Punch for two sizes of the circles. I can’t believe the Owl Punch is retiring, it has been so useful over the years we’ve had it! There was no limit to what we could create with the Owl Punch. So be sure to grab one while they are still available!

The little piece of grass on the bottom of the card and the flower I happened to already have die cut from the Basket Builder Framelits Dies. The dies and Basket Bunch Stamp Set come in a Bundle, which is retiring as all Bundles are, but actually, since both items are on sale separately, it is a better deal to buy the stamp set and then buy the framelits, not in a Bundle!

I wanted some kind of greeting on the card, but I didn’t have much space left, so I came across the word “Celebrate…” in the Beautiful You Stamp Set so I used that. It fit perfectly in the space and was perfect since we are celebrating the births of baby giraffes!

Any time you need to celebrate something, even the birth of a giraffe in New York or in Houston, you can make a card for that! Isn’t stamping wonderful?!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online and Check Out the Retiring List!

Die Cut Flowers Black and White Birthday Card

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Grab a bunch of die cut flowers in bright colors and put them on a card against black and white for a snazzy-looking birthday card. These flowers were all die cut with the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies, which sadly are retiring. If you don’t already own these dies yet, you an get them for 50% off during the Stampin’ Up! Retiring Sale! I love the way the one flower has the petals partially die cut so that you can fold up the petals a little bit if you like. Then there are all kinds of little die cuts that you can add for flower centers or as little smaller flowers. Cut some extra flowers while you are at it with your Big Shot so that you have some on hand for a last minute card!

The card is made with a Whisper White card base and layered with Basic Black Cardstock. You will be surprised to know that the designer paper that the black and white stripe piece belongs to is called Pop of Pink! The Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper was one of my favorites. And now it is on the Retiring List at a good discount! You can also get the matching Pop of Pink Designer Washi Tape for a fun accent on your cards or envelopes. There is also the Melon Mambo Thick Baker’s Twine and the Basic Black Solid Baker’s Twine for more coordinating items for your projects. And for a glittery accent, I adhered a strip of Gold Glimmer Paper between the black cardstock and designer paper in the center of the card.

The greeting on the card is stamped with Melon Mambo ink and is from the Build a Birthday Stamp Set. You could make this card for almost any occasion, or none! It’s pretty enough to stand alone and just write a note inside.

Be sure to check out the Retiring List from Stampin’ Up! Some products are already gone but there is still lots to choose from if you don’t want to miss out after May 31.

Shop Stampin’ Up! Retiring Products and More!