There are many places to get inspiration for our stamping, and for Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators, one of them is our Stampin’ Up! publication called Stampin’ Success. This card I made is pretty much like one in my magazine. I changed the center of the flower because I didn’t have the same stamp set they used, and I used a different color of Baker’s Twine to wrap around the card layer.

The base of the card is made with one of our new In Colors, Coastal Cabana, and the front layer is Whisper White. The sizes are different than our usual cards. The card base starts at 6 1/2″ x 6 1/4″ and folded in half to become 6 1/4″ long by 3 1/4″ wide. (If you want to make it a little easier for yourself without remembering all those numbers, cut a 6″ x 6″ square of card stock for the card base and fold in half!) Before adhering the Whisper White layer, I adhered three separate strings of Baker’s Twine (I used retired Pool Party) to the card stock on the back to save those extra inches I would have used wrapping around.  You can do it either way.  Then I just tied the bow to the center string.

The flowers are stamped with the Mixed Bunch stamp set and Coastal Cabana ink and punched out with the Blossom Punch.  I punched out two flowers so I could layer them and slightly curled the top flower with my Bone Folder to give it some dimension. For the flower center, I stamped the “For You” image from A Round Array twice–once in Coastal Cabana and once in Crisp Cantaloupe.  I used the 1/2″ Circle Punch to punch out the words in Crisp Cantaloupe and used the new 7/8″ Scallop Circle Punch to punch out the whole image in Coastal Cabana. Then I just layered the words on top of the scallop with a tiny Stampin’ Dimensional (part of one). You can layer whichever parts you want with dimensionals or just adhere them together in a flat fashion. The scallop is layered on top of a 1″ Delightful Daffodil circle. I made two little strips of Crisp Cantaloupe card stock and cut the ends like flags and stuck them underneath the flower for a little contrast.  The greeting is from Bring On the Cake but of course, you could use any number of greetings.  For the center of the flower you could place a button or other embellishment instead of the words.

This is a good basic card that you can modify for any number of occasions!

Here are some other ideas you could do:

• Use ribbon instead of the Baker’s Twine.
• Turn the card sideways, putting the flower on one side and stamp a greeting on the other side.
• Stamp a flower or other image and wrap the Baker’s Twine or ribbon around the base of the layer.

If you need any stamping supplies to make cards like this one, please shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store here.

When I needed to make birthday cards for my twin nieces I found this idea of making purse cards for them. My cards just fold completely flat, but you could make yours more 3-D. I used a piece of designer series paper for the purse shape so that there would be a nice design on the inside when it was opened.  You could just as easily use card stock.  The Top Note Die folded in half is used for the top closure of the purse.  What would we do without the Top Note Die?! I’m glad it is not retiring next week!

• Cut out the Top Note Die with the Big Shot. Score and fold in half lengthwise.
• Cut a piece of designer series paper (DSP) 6″ x 6″. Score at 3″ and fold in half. Be mindful of which way the pattern is going and which side you want on the outside.
• Now you will need to trim the sides of the purse from the bottom to the top edge on a diagonal. To do this, measure in on the top open edges about 5/8″ from each side. Use your paper trimmer to cut from that point on each side to the bottom edge of the folded side. You know, make it look like a purse shape!
• Adhere the Top Note Die to the back of the “purse”. Make some sort of decoration for the front closure.  Adhere to front of Top Note Die on the front of the purse. Use a small piece of velcro in order to hold the purse closed.
• Depending on your DSP design, you’ll probably need to stamp the greeting on a plain piece of card stock and adhere to inside of purse card.
• If you want, you could make some ribbon handles for the top of the purse.

Here is the inside of the card.

To order any card-making supplies, just visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store here. Remember, some stamps and accessories are only available for about one more week!