Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Pansy Petals Floral Hello Card

I think this Pansy Petals Floral Hello Card would count as a bright and happy card to send to someone! As I looked through the designer paper, trying to come up with an idea for a card, I couldn’t pass up this design with all the little pansies on it.

For the card base, I ultimately chose Calypso Coral Cardstock, after considering Bumblebee. For a layer, I added the “backside” of one of the pansy designs for the dotted design and then the tiny pansy floral cut even smaller than usual to show off the dotted designer paper. After a little consideration, I added a thin layer of Bumblebee under the pansies. This designer paper is called “Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper” and is in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog on page 132.

The greeting is in the Pansy Patch Stamp Set. I love a generic greeting like this one to put on a card to use for almost any reason or just to send a note. I cut it out with a die in the Ornate Layers set. I almost missed it because it’s a stitched rectangle, plain, but in the midst of all the fancy, “ornate” dies. Then it is layered across a Calypso Coral die in the ever-useful Tasteful Labels Dies. I popped that up on Stampin’ Dimensionals and then added some die-cut pansies from one of the designer papers that has a matching die. You could easily cut these pansies out by hand because they are small. I put a Dimensional under one side of them so they would be even with the greeting and a bit of adhesive on the other side that would be adhering to the greeting.

For a finishing touch, besides the cutout pansies, I added a Silver Epoxy Essential Embellishment to each end of the greeting. There are also clear ones in the same package so they are very useful for just a little touch of something when you need it!

So here is an easy card, just some layers of cardstock and designer paper, plus a greeting and some embellishments. The Pansy Petals Suite Collection has been a popular one if you want ALL the things with one ordering number or you can purchase items individually like normal. Here is a similar card I made with the same small pansies paper and also gingham for a background. You will make lots of pretty cards and projects with this collection!

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Kangaroo & Company Baby Card

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Who doesn’t love the image of a kangaroo and a baby in her pouch as on this Kangaroo & Company Baby Card? Although I’ve had this stamp set and dies for a while and thought it was such a cute set, I hadn’t been using it. If I had waited even longer, I could have gotten the dies on a steal right now on the Last Chance list for the January-June 2021 Mini Catalog! But you can still take advantage of this Bundle. Actually, it is a better deal to NOT buy the Bundle and to buy the stamp set and dies separately because the dies are 50% off, while supplies last!

This card uses the Kangaroo & Company Stamp Set (sold out now) and Kangaroo Dies. The stamp set comes with so many cute little stamps from hearts to packages to flowers, even a party hat. And many greetings to use for all kinds of occasions! So the kangaroo doesn’t have to be just for kids or babies! You can get by with just the stamp set and just do stamping or even cut things out by hand, but at the 50% off price for the dies, I think they are well worth it!

To make this card, I used a Soft Suede Cardstock card base and a layer of Daffodil Delight patterned paper in the Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper. I used one of the Scalloped Contour Dies (one of the best dies sets we’ve ever had!) to cut out a Basic White scalloped panel and then stamped the kangaroo on it for the card front. I decided to add a layer of Soft Suede underneath to help it stand out from the designer paper.

A fun thing you can do with this kangaroo, is cut a slit in its pouch in which you can insert on of the stamps in the set, whether the baby kangaroo, flowers, heart, or whatever you want. You could maybe even write a message on the back so the recipient can pull it out of the pouch and read the message or insert it but adhere it with a Glue Dot or even a Stampin’ Dimensional to have it pop up a bit.

I colored the kangaroos with Stampin’ Blend, mostly in Light and Dark Crumb Cake and maybe a little Soft Suede. The group of hearts was stamped and colored in with Real Red and also Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Blends. You can use whatever colors you like! So many choices!

The “Hello Baby” greeting is stamped and die cut with the die in the Tasteful Labels Dies. I also cut one in Daffodil Delight, then trimmed down the greeting die-cut to fit layered over the yellow die-cut. For some bling, I added some Resin Hearts Embellishments, 50% off now in the Last Chance Sale! For half-price, you can have a package of stick-on hearts to use for many occasions just as a little embellishment. The hearts come in white and red.

You could make this same card and just change the greeting and send it for occasions other than a new baby! The Kangaroo & Company Stamp Set is very versatile, cute and fun to use, so take a look at it in the Spring Mini Catalog before it retires and while they are still available, I would consider the half-price dies as well!

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CLEARANCE RACK!

Prized Peony Poppin’ Pastels Friend Card

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This Prized Peony Poppin Pastels Friend Card came from another opportunity of playing with the new Soft Pastels in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. I remembered an old technique that was quite popular around the time I joined Stampin’ Up! called Poppin’ Pastels! You can do a lot of different things with chalk pastels and this is just one technique.

To do the Poppin’ Pastels technique, you need Versamark Ink (the clear, watermark ink) and chalks plus a Sponge Dauber or cotton ball. You will find these new Soft Pastels Assortment in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog on page 126 at the bottom of the page. We have had chalk pastels before but in little squares, in a metal tin in all the Stampin’ Up! colors so these “sticks” are a little different. They are almost like crayons. So while you can “color” with the chalk piece, you can also scrape some chalk off the side of the stick or scribble on a scrap piece of paper to get chalk dust that you can pick up to use. You can use Paper Snips that are open, just scraping the blade of the scissors along the side of the chalk onto a piece of paper or an acrylic block or whatever you have.

I stamped the Prized Peony Stamp with Versamark Ink on Basic White Cardstock. Give the ink a few minutes to dry, otherwise, you may smear the ink a bit. See the photo below on the left side of the flower!

Pick up some of the chalk dust with the Sponge Dauber or a cotton ball and dab on the stamped image. I think it is better to dab it on rather than rub it on. Maybe that’s why my flower above got a little smeared because I was rubbing on the chalk. The fun thing about Poppin’ Pastels is that the stamped image is invisible, but as soon as you start dabbing on the chalk, it magically appears! It is really fun! You can’t be exact in your coloring with the Sponge Daubers but that’s what makes it interesting and gives a soft “halo” around the edge of the image. Sometimes colors overlap a bit which makes it colorful and interesting as well.

The chalk in the assortment that I used is Poppy Parade, so I stamped the greeting with Poppy Parade Ink. You can see the ink is a little darker than the pastels. The greeting is also in the Prized Peony Stamp Set. Before adhering the layers together, I adhered some of the Whisper White 1/4″ Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon and tied a bow. The card base is Poppy Parade and the layer is Granny Apple Green to match the leaves.

Easy card to make and fun to do the Poppin’ Pastels Technique! You can use less chalk for a lighter look or more for a darker color. Just experiment and see what you come up with using the new Soft Pastels Assortment! On this card, I “colored in” the stamped image a little more precisely, so you can see the difference.

While you are looking for the Soft Pastels Assortment, also check out the Last Chance products from the January-June Mini Catalog that are retiring. Some have significant discounts, some less but discounted a little bit! Before you buy a Bundle, check if the individual products are on sale, which might make the price together less than the Bundle, ie. the Kangaroo & Company Bundle is $36.75, but if you buy the stamp set and the half-price dies, your cost would be only $28.50! What a deal for such a cute set, if you don’t already own it!

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Spring Mini Catalog: Last Chance & Sales!

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The January–June 2021 Mini Catalog will be retiring soon! It’s always bittersweet to see a classic Stampin’ Up! catalog take a trip to retirement. But, we always look forward to all the new products on their way! (The Holiday Catalog is up next!)

With every retiring catalog comes a spectacular sale: the Last Chance Products promotion! With this sale, you can stock up on your favorite products before they’re gone for good. Save up to 50% on essential craft supplies starting today, June 1st!

NOTE THE STARTING TIME BELOW!!

SALES PERIOD

Starts: 1 June 2021 at 1:00 PM (MT)
Ends: 30 June 2021 at 11:59 PM (MT)

Check over the discounted items! I bet they might go first! Some good things at a good discount so check carefully!

READY!

SET!!

GO SHOP!!

Memorial Day 2021

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Ombre Gift Bag For a Friend

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When you need a gift for a friend at the last minute, it’s nice to have something on hand to use, like this Ombre Gift Bag For a Friend. No running to the store and looking for the right kind of packaging and theme. You can make your own!

This is an Ombre Gift Bag in the new In Color Pale Papaya. The pack of 20 gift bags comes in an assortment of all the new In Colors. Just decorate however you like, a lot or a little. You can add a little gift or maybe a special treat. Fold over the top or leave it as is. The bags are 4 3/4″ x 7″ and are food safe! Just picture a big, yummy cookie in that bag!

For this Ombre Bag, I die cut Soft Succulent Cardstock with the largest Ornate Layers Die. The flowers are stamped from the Hand-Penned Petals Stamp Set. I colored in all the flowers with Stampin’ Blends Markers in Pale Papaya, Daffodil Delight, Polished Pink, Fresh Freesia and the leaves with Soft Succulent plus a tiny bit of yellow. You can add flower centers in whatever colors you like. The flowers are die-cut with the Penned Flowers Dies. Only use the outline die, not the center part, to cut out this bouquet. You can buy both the stamp set and dies together in the Hand-Penned Petals Bundle and save 10%.

I found the word “Friend” in the Daisy Lane Stamp Set and stamped it in Pale Papaya Ink. Then I die-cut it with a die in the Ornate Frames Dies. Originally, I was going to layer it on another die-cut but that made it too big and I didn’t want to detract from the flowers. I added two Genial Gems to the greeting and the Ombre Gift Bag For a Friend was finished!

Be Up-To-Date on Stampin’ Up! News!

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Join Our Stamping With Karen Mailing List

It’s time to be a part of the Stamping With Karen Mailing List because new things are always coming up! Not only do we have a new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog out since May 4th, but next week the January-June 2021 Mini Catalog (Spring Mini, I call it) will be retiring. That means there will be a Last-Chance List for the Mini Catalog products with some discounted that you might want to get. And the early bird gets the worm! Keep up with all of it by being on my Stamping With Karen Mailing List!

Also, keep up with news about the new Paper Pumpkin Kit every month and any new updates with Stampin’ Up! each week!

If you are on my blog, you will see a red sign-up box in the top right corner where you can simply put your name (or first name) and best email. If you are on your phone, you probably need to scroll way down to get to the sidebar things. OR you can go to my sign up page HERE.

You will receive an email with a link to your free gift from me, as a thank you for signing up with me!

I send out a weekly email every Tuesday afternoon with the latest Stampin’ Up! news and offers plus stamping ideas with a supply list and directions. Even if you never make the project, maybe just seeing ideas will do your crafty heart good! I know it does mine! I’m all about the ideas!!

In the fall, as a thank you to my mailing list subscribers, I always send out a special email called “The 12 Weeks of Christmas” with an exclusive holiday idea for each week leading up to Christmas. You can only get these ideas if you are on my mailing list. I value my subscribers and have fun sending out these holiday ideas.

Let’s stay connected and in touch with each other over our favorite thing to talk about…..stamping with Stampin’ Up!

You are also welcome to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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Encircled In Friendship Monochromatic Card

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This Encircled In Friendship Monochromatic Card was my first attempt using this stamp set and dies, available as a Bundle in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. I wasn’t coming up with good ideas of what colors I wanted to use for this card, so making a monochromatic card was the answer! Plus I saw this designer paper and loved it!

This card has the fold at the top and opens at the bottom for something different. You still come out with the same size card, you just cut the full sheet of cardstock in half lengthwise instead of horizontally. The cardstock is Blushing Bride Cardstock. The layer is a piece of designer paper from the Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper.

Next I die-cut different designs of the Encircled In Beauty Dies in both Basic White and Blushing Bride pink. I wasn’t sure what order I would like them or how they fit together but I was pretty sure I wanted to overlay one with another. I cut an assortment in both colors to be able to see in real life how they would look. The flowers in the center are stamped in Blushing Bride ink (saves from needing to color in!) and comes out of the center of one of the dies. Stamp them with the Encircled in Friendship Stamp Set. You can buy both the stamp set and dies in the Encircled in Friendship Bundle and save 10%.

The greeting is actually just a few words from a longer greeting in one of the stamp sets! I used my Blushing Bride Stampin’ Write Marker to carefully color just those words on the stamp and stamped it on a scrap piece of Basic White. Then after fiddling with a couple different dies and messing something up each time, I finally got it die cut with a small die in the Ornate Frames Dies. If you try stamping something like this with just coloring certain words with a marker and it doesn’t come out perfectly, try using the narrow tip end of the marker to very lightly and carefully go over the word or image….or use your Stamparatus in the first place!

If you wanted to embellish this card a bit, maybe you could tie a small white bow with twine or our narrow Whisper White Crinkled Ribbon and adhere it somewhere on the card, maybe just off to the side at the bottom of the circle with the stamped flowers, off to the side. Just a little something but nothing to take away from the card itself since you want to show off those diecut fancy circles.

It may be a holiday weekend, but you can shop anytime at Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

Encircled In Friendship Monochromatic Card Closeup

Hand-Penned Petals With Soft Pastels

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This Hand-Penned Petals With Soft Pastels was nearly the death of me! The idea was easy enough but the execution was a mess. This wasn’t even going to be a card! I was just trying out the new coloring technique we have, but I thought it turned out okay so I went ahead and made it into a card! That was the easy part.

In the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog we have the Soft Pastels Assortment! You will find these new chalk pastels on page 126 in the catalog at the bottom. You get eight colors in the box: Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Mango Melody, Mossy Meadow, Night of Navy, and Poppy Parade. You can use these pastels in a variety of ways for cards and projects. Years ago Stampin’ Up! had a tin of a bunch of colors, little squares that we would pick up the chalk color with little applicators or a cotton ball. I need to refresh my memory of all the things we used to do with pastels!

To begin, I stamped this bouquet with Stazon Ink. First I tried picking up color from the end of the chalk using a Blender Pen. That worked, but on Basic White Cardstock you have to be careful not to rub too hard with any tool with water. Blender Pens barely have any moisture, but you still have to be careful. I colored in the small Daffodil Delight small flowers. Next, I used other colors and Sponge Daubers on some other flowers. I scraped some chalk dust off the side of the chalk using my open Paper Snips to get a little dab of chalk dust on an acrylic block to pick up with the Sponge Dauber. Of course you can’t color precisely with Sponge Daubers but that’s okay. With the soft look of the pastels, it gives a watercolor look to the flowers. In the end, the Basic White looked a little bare around the flowers, so I grabbed a Blending Brush and applied some Mango Melody chalk very lightly around the edges.

Hand-Penned Petals With Soft Pastels Coloring

Since Poppy Parade is one of the chalk colors, I used Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green for the card base and the layer. But since the chalk doesn’t turn out as strong as the real colors, I think I should have chosen something different for the card base. The greeting is from the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set, stamped in Poppy Parade Ink. I did cut it with a Stitched Rectangle die, but then I trimmed off the stitched edges to make it smaller to fit into the same size die cut in Poppy Parade. Otherwise, the next larger size of die cut seemed too big for this card.

Hand-Penned Petals With Soft Pastels Closeup

Of course for a final embellishment, I adhered some Genial Gems in both colors around on the card. It was fun playing with the pastels, I just had trouble assembling the card. I stuck the layers down crooked and had to redo. Then the torn paper with adhesive on it was really sticky and I couldn’t get it off my fingers easily nor pick up the other pieces off the table! Just a lot of little things were a pain making this simple card, but at least I got to play with the Soft Pastels Assortment.

Check out the Soft Pastels Assortment in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Pattern Party Colored Flowers Card

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Do you recognize this designer paper? It is in the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper, a product available for your Stampin’ Rewards when your order total reaches $150 or more. It’s a huge pack of paper of 48 sheets, 12 different designs with 4 sheets of each design. It’s a really fun and useful package of paper, too, so you could actually combine orders with a friend and share this large package of designer series paper!

However, if you don’t recognize this designer paper, its because it comes in black and white in the Pattern Party package! I spent some time coloring in the flowers with Stampin’ Blends just for fun! Coloring is always a good stress reliever to take your mind off everything except hearing the sound of the marker on the paper and staying in the lines!

Pattern Party Colored Flowers Card and B&W

This card was very easy. I decided to color in the flowers with the new In Color 2021-23 Stampin’ Blends, at least the Pale Papaya, Fresh Freesia, Polished Pink. I also used Daffodil Delight for the yellow flowers. If you are daring, you can also color in the background, as I did. I used Soft Succulent to color the background. It’s best to use the narrow tip of the markers to color around the individual flowers and if you want, then you can use the brush tip for the open areas. It does take a little patience to color in the background so it is up to you. It looks fine leaving it white as well!

The card base is Polished Pink Cardstock. The greeting is stamped from the Inspired Thoughts Stamp Set. I used two dies in the Ornate Frames Dies for the greeting and the fancy layer in Polished Pink. Then I added two In Color Jewels in Polished Pink to the ends of the greeting. They have been out of stock but should be back soon, I hope!

You may already have black and white designer paper from the Spring Mini, the True Love DSP, so you may have already tried this technique! Here is another card I made with just the black and white theme. Either way, colored or black and white, you will end up with a nice card! This Pattern Party Colored Flowers Card was fun to make if you want to take a little more time!

United Through Creativity FREE Digital Download

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United Through Creativity Digital Download Banner

A FREE Digital Download from Stampin’ Up! for everyone!

“The first Stampin’ Up! value statement is this: we care about people first. What does that look like? Caring about people first means treating others with kindness, respect, and equal consideration. It means working together towards a common goal, helping each other through life’s challenges, and celebrating one another’s accomplishments. It means including others, even when we disagree, have contrasting life experiences, or simply see things differently. Caring about people first is our greatest strength!

In honor of this value—and in the spirit of World Diversity Day—we’d like to celebrate what makes us unique through what brings us together: creativity! The United Through Creativity Digital Download features inclusive, multicultural, and multilingual sentiments and illustrations that represent the multiple markets Stampin’ Up! engages with. And, it’s free for all!

The elements featured in the United Through Creativity Digital Download were created in the spirit of World Diversity Day—a day for each of us to join together and understand the value of cultural diversity throughout the world. And, to celebrate our unique community of crafters!
We celebrate the diversity of the Stampin’ Up! family every day! In the United Through Creativity Digital Download, you’ll see a variety of illustrations, sentiments, and other elements that represent each of our marvelous markets and more.
Print your favorite pieces and use them to create cards, scrapbook pages, and other paper projects! We hope you’ll enjoy celebrating diversity, connection, community, and creativity with this sweet selection of inclusive, multicultural, and multilingual elements.
Don’t be shy—share what you’ve made! When sharing to social media, use the hashtags #UnitedThroughCreativity and #DiversityDay. We can’t wait to see your creations!

Let’s celebrate what makes us unique through what brings us together: creativity!”

DOWNLOAD THE SENTIMENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS HERE!

After you download this PDF, just page through all and see if something appeals to you. There is no need to print the whole thing unless you want to! You can choose certain pages to print and tell your printer to only print those. I suggest printing on cardstock (probably Basic White Cardstock) and then you can color in the images and use them however you like. And it is all FREE! Be sure to read the first page of the download for tips on using and printing.

There are many greetings, in different languages and different colors. Near the end you will even find a glass of wine and selection of cheeses! Again, this is an offering put out by Stampin’ Up! for everyone, for free. You are welcome to download the PDF and then print anything that appeals to you and use it in your cardmaking and projects.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Pattern Party 2-4-6-8 Birthday Gift Bag

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If you are able to get this Pattern Party Designer Series Paper, I think you will really enjoy using it as I did making this Pattern Party 2-4-6-8 Birthday Gift Bag! I thought this festive diagonal stripe would make a fun gift bag, at least for a small gift or treat, and certainly a 2-4-6-8 gift bag (or box) is easy enough to make!

The Pattern Party Designer Series Paper is an item you can choose as one of your Stampin’ Rewards with an order of $150 or more. That’s a big order but maybe some friends would like to go in on the order with you and you could divide up the paper because it’s a big package! Twelve different designs and four pages of each!

We’ve made this bag a bunch of times before but even I have to go back and review the directions. It is very easy though! Once you know how to do it, you can vary the size by using a larger or smaller piece of paper. Always be sure the pattern of the paper is going in the direction you want it to go in so you don’t end up with upside down flowers or animals or a stripe going sideways when you wanted it to go up and down.

For this gift bag, I started with a piece of paper 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. I just scored it at 2″, 4″, 6″ and 8″ going across the paper. Then I turned it and scored at 1 1/2″ for the bottom tabs of the bag. Trim off the little 1/2″ bottom piece and cut on the 2″, 4″, 6″, and 8″ score lines for the bottom flaps up to the 1 1/2″ score line. Difficult to see in the photo below but you can get the idea.

Pattern Party Small 2-4-6-8 Birthday Gift Bag scoring

Assemble the box, putting adhesive on that 1/2″ piece on the side. You can just fold over the other side of the bag with it laying flat on the table. You don’t have to try to maneuver it in your hands! Apply adhesive to the bottom flaps, first doing a “test” to see which way you want the flaps to go in before you glue. Then pay attention to where the seam is and try to have that face the back. Fold in the bottom flaps, trying to make the front of the bag look nice.

To decorate this bag, I stamped “Happy Birthday” in the Pansy Patch Stamp Set in Pale Papaya Ink. Then I die cut it with one of the Layering Circles Dies and layered it on a scalloped circle die in Pale Papaya Cardstock. It’s perfect fit! I needed something big enough to fit the greeting but not too big for the bag! I popped that up with two Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For the top of the bag, you can leave it open, or kind of squeeze in the sides and pinch the top together. Punch or poke some holes in the top for ribbon. I used the Pale Papaya 3/8″ Open Weave Ribbon to tie the top closed in a bow. Have I said how much I love that ribbon?! Then for a little extra, I added some of the Genial Gems on the greeting and on the bag. These come in two colors, Pale Papaya and Mint Macaron but I think you can use them even without matching colors.

Knowing how to make a 2-4-6-8 bag is something you should know how to do as a papercrafter! They are fun to make, not to mention useful when you need some cute packaging for a small gift or treat! Here’s a very similar one made for Valentine’s Day. Being able to make an easy gift bag just might save you a trip to the store!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Don’t Miss This June Paper Pumpkin Kit!

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Paper Pumpkin always looks fun, but this upcoming kit for June really got me excited for it! Paper Pumpkin is the monthly papercrafting kit that comes to you in the mail from Stampin’ Up! and this kit for June is extra special! It will introduce you to the new 2021-23 In Color collection, and you’ll also find a familiar shade from the 2020-22 In Color Collection.

The In Color Collections are new colors introduced that are new, fresh, and trendy, but they only stick around for two years! So every year it is important to get the In Colors to add to your ink, marker, and paper collection!

This Paper Pumpkin Kit will have all the supplies you need to make 9 cards, 3 each of 3 designs plus coordinating envelopes! And by coordinating, they mean “not plain white”. You will receive printed card bases, die-cut paper pieces, embellishments, adhesive, and more! The coordinating colors in June are Bumblebee, Evening Evergreen, Fresh Freesia, and Polished Pink.

As always, this month’s kit features an exclusive stamp set. But, this month’s kit also includes not one, but two Classic Stampin’ Spots! (Little ink pads!) And to top it all off, the kit comes in a cute, colorful, and collectible box.

An extra bonus is that this kit coordinates with products from the Expressions in Ink Suite (item #155459) in the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog. You will find this Suite on pages 96-97. It is also featured on the front of the new catalog! This Suite jumped right off the page at me and I absolutely love it!! The designer paper is stunning! That makes the Paper Pumpkin Kit extra exciting! And if you are not ready for the whole Suite yet, you can get a taste with the Paper Pumpkin Kit!

Get a taste of the new In Colors as well as coordination with the new Expressions In Ink Suite in the new catalog! Join Paper Pumpkin today and be assured your name is on the list for June’s Paper Pumpkin! OR add a Prepaid Kit or several months to your regular Stampin’ Up! order. Maybe it will help you reach Stampin’ Rewards!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN HERE AT MY LINK!

Pattern Party Hello Card

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After working with this Pattern Party Designer Series Paper the other day, I left these two patterns out on my table because I knew they would make a cute card like this Pattern Party Hello Card. It’s one of the easiest card designs you can make and yet it always looks good and can be for almost any occasion. Just change the greeting.

This easy card begins with a card base of Basic White Cardstock. I just cut the two patterned papers from the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper the width I liked them and so they would overlap by about 1/2″. It would be easier if you cut another piece of Basic White Cardstock on which to adhere the two designer papers for that layer on the card front. It would be easier to line them up and tie the ribbon around.

This Whisper White Faux Linen Ribbon, part of the Flowers For Every Season Ribbon Combo Pack, is rather sheer and I could see the paper seam underneath it. I didn’t like that look, so I use a scrap strip of Basic White Cardstock that was about the same width or narrower than the ribbon and adhered that over the seam of the two papers to the ribbon would look solid white without showing through to the paper. I just put the strip of ribbon across that white cardstock strip on the front and then adhered it to the back sides of the paper. This saves a couple of inches of ribbon if you were to tie ribbon all the way around the card. I tied the bow separately and adhered it with Mini Glue Dots. Now when you do that with a wide ribbon like this white one, you might want to tie a piece of twine around the ribbon right where you are going to adhere the bow. That narrows the ribbon at that point so it looks more real that the ribbon is tied onto that wide ribbon rather than just stuck on! But it’s not absolutely necessary.

You can add almost any greeting you want as long as it fits in the space. I stamped the “hello” from the Artistically Inked Stamp Set in Flirty Flamingo Ink. Then I die-cut it with the pretty scalloped circle die in the Tasteful Labels Dies. I added three 2021-23 In Color Jewels (155571) to the greeting for a little bling. These are out of stock at this moment but they will get more! They were obviously very popular! I know I have already used them a lot on cards!

Here is the other card I made with the striped pattern of the Pattern Party DSP. You can only get this paper with an order of $150 or more on which you would earn Stampin’ Rewards. Check pages 170-71 in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog to read about Stampin’ Rewards.

I really like this bright, happy card made with this Pattern Party Designer Paper! You can make a card like this with whatever two patterns of designer paper you have in your stash at the moment and add a ribbon and a greeting!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Bloom Where You’re Planted Card

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If you like plants, you will like creating cards with lush greenery like this Bloom Where You’re Planted Card! You don’t even have to have a green thumb! Just some dies or scissors! This is a Suite in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog that just came out about two weeks ago. Almost everyone wants to have a few green plants around, but these paper ones are a lot easier to take care of!

Even Demonstrators can’t buy everything they want, so I opted, as I sometimes do, to just purchase the Bloom Where You’re Planted Designer Series Paper so I could have a little bit of fun with the plants without buying everything. I like the way this card turned out and I just used my Paper Snips scissors!

The card base is Cinnamon Cider Cardstock which goes really well with this brick wall design design in the designer paper. I decided to cut out some of the plants on one of the sheets of designer paper. One sheet has lots of images of all kinds of potted plants, some large and some smaller. Now the Perfect Plant Dies will cut out images on one or more of the designer paper sheets but not these plants, so even if you have the dies, you will still have to cut out these plants as I used on my card. You might think it is too much trouble and too tedious to cut out images from designer paper, but it really is easy enough and I would even say relaxing to do. It’s best to have some good scissors for this job like the Stampin’ Up! Paper Snips. These scissors are very sharp but you can get in and around curves and things easily. Remember to mostly hold your scissors steady and turn your paper according to how you want it cut.

The dies are really made to go with the Plentiful Plants Stamp Set. You can buy both in the Plentiful Plants Bundle and save 10%. There are also Paper Lattice Accents that will be fun to play with as you create your cards and projects. So if you want it all, just use the one order number for the Bloom Where You’re Plants Suite Collection (1556990).

After cutting out these three potted plants with my Paper Snips (even dies are not perfect always so don’t worry if your cutting is not perfect), I just adhered them to the bottom of the brick paper. The small middle plant is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals for fun. If you don’t like the handles on the pot, just cut them off! If you don’t want the plant that tall, cut it shorter! You have more freedom with scissors!

The greeting is from the Dragonfly Garden Stamp Set. I thought it was appropriate for this card! I stamped it in Cinnamon Cider Ink and die cut it with a die in the Tasteful Labels Dies. What would we do without this die set?! I felt like the greeting didn’t need any other layers or anything behind it. I did pop it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals as well.. And except for putting a Basic White layer inside the card, stamped with a leaf from another stamp set, that’s all there is to this card!

Even if you can’t afford everything, you can pick and choose products in an entire Suite and buy what you think you can use the most. I think it’s the colors on this Bloom Where You’re Planted Card that really appeal to me and make me really like this card!

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