Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Hand-Penned Petals Hello Card

I didn’t even order this Suite when Demonstrators got to preorder select new products in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. The loosely drawn floral images really didn’t appeal to me. But I started seeing cards other Demonstrators were making and then I liked everything about this Suite! This Hand-Penned Petals Hello Card is my first attempt using the stamps and paper! I love it!

This is a very easy card to make! Just stamping and paper….well, and a few rhinestones! The card base is Blushing Bride, one of the coordinating colors of the Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper. All the sheets of this paper are beautiful to use for floral cards. It reminds me of old-fashioned wallpaper! But modern! Very pretty!

I just chose one of the papers to use as a layer on the front of the card. I didn’t want to cover it up very much, so I made just a small piece of Basic White on which to stamp the bouquet in the Hand-Penned Petals Stamp Set. I stamped it in Memento Ink, fully expecting to color in the bouquet with Stampin’ Blends. But then I saw there were stamps for two-step stamping to fill in the color! They aren’t a perfect fit because that’s not the look you want, but they are fairly close. I used Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight, and Mint Macaron Ink to stamp the flowers.

The greeting is from the Inspired Thoughts Stamp Set because I needed something small to fit just below the flowers. It is stamped in Mint Macaron Ink also. The Inspired Thoughts Stamp Set “goes with” the Inspired Thoughts Bundle which has the stamp set and Inspiring Canopy Dies. I really like this greeting stamp set but I did not purchase the dies. However, now I have seen some cute cards using those tree dies so who knows if I can hold out on not buying!

In finishing off this card, I layered the stamped bouquet piece on Blushing Bride and popped it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals®. I forgot that in the Hand-Penned Suite Collection, there are the Genial Gems. These are faceted glitter gems in Pale Papaya and Mint Macaron. Instead, I used three Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels for the flower centers.

You can find these beautiful products in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE!

Expressions In Ink Gatefold Thank You Card

Leave a reply

The photo of this Expressions In Ink Gatefold Thank You Card doesn’t do this Specialty Designer Series Paper justice! Once you open the package, you cannot stop “oohing and aahing” over the beauty of it! The gold foil accents and the watercolor/alcohol ink images are just stunning.

This paper is the Expressions In Ink Specialty Designer Series Paper and I think it is some of the most striking papers we have ever had! Nothing can compare to having the paper in your hands to see how beautiful it is. No photos can come close. My post yesterday has photos of some of the sheets of paper and a card but even then, the paper is even better in person.

This card was fun to make and easy. It’s called a gatefold card because instead of the 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ paper that we usually start our cards with, folded in half, this card is folded in from each side which makes the “gatefold”. Start with your card base of 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ and score 2 1/8″ from each end (or 2 1/8″ and 6 3/8″). This gives you a standard card width of of 4 1/4″ in the center, with the two ends folding over like doors (gates) over that area.

Decorate each “gate” with a piece of designer paper cut at 5 3/8″ x 2″. This leaves just a very narrow margin of cardstock showing so you can cut it smaller at 5 1/4″ x 1 7/8″ if you like. The cardstock I used on this card is Pale Papaya, one of the new In Colors.

For a gatefold card, make a center piece with the greeting or some other image to be adhered only on the left side flap so the card can be opened. Or you can make a bellyband that goes around the card to hold it closed. On this card, I die-cut a piece of Pale Papaya with one of the Scalloped Contours Dies (the second from the smallest die). After you cut out this piece, you will notice something different about it. There are actually slits around the edges that you can use for other creative opportunities, like inserting cardstock strips or ribbons through those. But otherwise, you can just use this die-cut piece as a layer or a focal point. For the greeting, I simply cut a piece of Basic White that would fit inside the Pale Papaya piece and stamped the “thanks” on it in Pale Papaya Ink. This was adhered to the left side of the card by figuring out where the middle of that piece was (count the scallops at the bottom!) and making sure I only put glue on the left side. The greeting is from the Artistically Inked Stamp Set. You can purchase the stamp set and dies that go with the stamp set, the Artistic Dies, together in a Bundle and save 10%.

To embellish, I tied a little Pale Papaya 3/8″ Open Weave Ribbon into a bow and adhered it to the greeting. Then I also added a few of the adhesive-backed iridescent sequins that come in the Expressions in Ink Ephemera Pack.

On the inside of the card, I added a layer of Basic White, stamped with a flower and leaves from the Artistically Inked Stamp Set in Pale Papaya and Just Jade Ink. You can also see in the photo below how the greeting looks from the inside of the card.

Expressions In Ink Gatefold Thank You Card Inside

Be sure to check out the Expressions in Ink Suite or at the very least the designer paper, the Expressions In Ink Specialty Designer Series Paper! You will easily make beautiful cards and projects using this paper at a minimum, like this Expressions In Ink Gatefold Thank You Card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Expressions in Ink Birthday Card With Gold Foil

2 Replies

THIS PAPER!!! Expressions in Ink Specialty Designer Series Paper (155464) Order it!

Okay, that’s really all that needs to be said for this blog post! But since you probably want to know more about the card and the paper, I’ll continue.

When I first saw a Stampin’ Up! video giving us Demonstrators a sneak peek at some of the new Annual Catalog products, I fell in love with this Expressions in Ink Suite! And when I saw it online in the catalog I wanted to order it right away. But it was not on our Demonstrator pre-order so I had to wait just like everyone else. My order just came and I have to say, when I opened this package of paper and looked at the sheets, I just gasped! It is beautiful and striking with the gold foil accents on one side of the sheets. You must have it!

Here are closeups of some of the sheets of paper, but even these do not do it justice!

For the card, I started out copying the catalog sample on page 96 in the upper right of the samples. It turned out not exactly the same. I dared to cut into one of the papers, trying to match the pattern I could see on the catalog page. Then I stamped the large and small flowers from the Artistically Inked Stamp Set plus the small individual leaves. The large flower is stamped in Polished Pink Ink and the small flower in Pale Papaya. The leaves are stamped in Just Jade Ink since the card base will be Just Jade. You can choose from lots of coordinating colors!

Now when I stamped these flowers and leaves, I didn’t give a lot of thought ahead of time to that gold foil piece placed over the top on the sample. In the Ephemera Pack, I was thinking that there would be individual foil cutout flowers, leaves, etc. to place over my stamped images, but there were not! The pack will still be fun to play with, it just didn’t have what I was expecting. Then I realized, I just needed to die-cut a gold foil piece from the Artistic Dies. While my flowers and leaves lined up pretty well with the die-cut, and while it doesn’t and shouldn’t be perfect because this is a watercolor look, I did add another stamped leaf and then got my foil to line up pretty well.

I highly recommend using Adhesive Sheets on the back of the Gold Foil Sheets before die-cutting this intricate design, which I always forget, but I did manage to use teeny tiny dots of the Multipurpose Liquid Glue on the back. The greeting comes in the stamp set and I stamped that in Polished Pink Ink and placed it in a lower position than on the catalog sample. For a little extra, I used a strip of the Just Jade & Gold 3/8″ Braided Ribbon, a little frayed on the ends, and adhered just below the greeting a tiny bit. And for a little more bling, I wanted to try out the little adhesive-backed iridescent sequins in the Ephemera Pack. You can see about five of those placed around the card.

This is a relatively easy card to make, using both stamping and designer paper, or rather stamping ON the designer paper, plus the die-cut Gold Foil accent and other embellishments. I suggest you order this paper, or the whole Suite of products sooner rather than later because once word gets out about how beautiful this Suite is, it could be backordered by the time you decide to get it. Hopefully, Stampin’ Up! anticipated how popular this Suite would be and ordered plenty!

You might also consider the June Paper Pumpkin Kit which will coordinate with this Suite! Even if you subscribed before and dropped, you may want to come back just for this kit at least if you like the style of the Expressions In Ink Suite of products!

Here’s another view of my card without so much glare from the foil! I hope you are as attracted to this Suite as I am!

Expressions In Ink Birthday Card With Gold Foil Closeup

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE THIS WEEKEND!

Color & Contour Pattern Party Card

3 Replies

Once again, as I looked through the Pattern Party package of designer papers, this Flirty Flamingo stripe jumped out at me and screamed to be made into a card which resulted in this Color & Contour Pattern Party Card. I had almost forgotten this set of dies has this scalloped edge die in it which just helps to make this card! I love how this card turned out!

The card base is Flirty Flamingo Cardstock. The striped paper is from the Host Product in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. This means that with an order of $150 or more, instead of choosing some other free merchandise in the catalog, you can go to the back of the catalog where there is this designer paper option (48 sheets!) and some other stamp sets, all that you can choose as your Stampin’ Rewards at a discounted price. I think this package of paper is going to be a hit because it’s something different (just stamp sets have been offered as Host Rewards) and you will love the paper patterns! Look for the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper on page 171.

The striped paper is die cut with a die in the Scalloped Contours Dies. You can purchase the Color & Contour Stamp Set and the dies in a Bundle and save 10%. I love the stitched look along the scalloped edge. Whether you purchase the stamp set or not, I would buy the Scalloped Contours Dies by themselves. They are that good!

I do have the Color & Contour Stamp Set and I do like the flowers in the set! You can do two-step stamping to color in rather abstractly the flowers, or you can color in the open design yourself with whatever coloring technique you like. Then you can cut them out with the dies. You can set on the set that the individual leaf has a very open design, but I just stamped it in Memento Ink, colored in with two colors of green Stampin’ Blends, and cut out the leaf itself, not the extra squiggle! The lower flower is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals and the other two and the leaves adhered right to the card. The flower center is stamped with Daffodil Delight Ink.

It IS a little tricky to line up the two-step stamp with the first stamped impression and then to line up the die with the flower. You could spend some time lining them up and then put a black mark on the stamp and on the die to remind you of how to line them up. But since the design is rather abstract anyway, it kind of doesn’t have to be perfect. For some of us, though, who like things “perfectly lined up”, well, we can fiddle with it and we can get it lined up!

The greeting is in the stamp set but I did use another set of dies to cut out the greeting. I used the Stitched So Sweetly Dies to get a smaller rectangle to fit at the bottom of my card. This is another set of dies that I have used a lot and recommend you have in your supplies!

Not one to leave well enough alone, I saw the “speckle” stamp in the set and thought maybe it would look interesting in the bottom portion of the card. Usually it is not a good idea to stamp something more on a card that is nearly finished and could potentially be ruined if you mess up, but I took a chance and it worked out! I inked the stamp with Flirty Flamingo Ink but stamped off before stamping on the bottom of the card.

On the inside of the card, I put a piece of Basic White for a layer and stamped one of the flowers, just the outline, in Flirty Flamingo Ink down in the right-hand corner. Later I can stamp a message on the inside of the card or write a personal note.

If you have a large order of $150 or more, remember that you can choose Stampin’ Rewards of 10% or more and remember that there are special Host choices in the back of the catalog, one being this year the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper. This is 48 sheets, 4 sheets each of 12 different designs. This card, the Color & Contour Pattern Party Card, shows off one of the pretty patterns in this package of paper! You will enjoy it I’m sure!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online Today!

Exciting Paper Pumpkin Kit For June!

Leave a reply

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 can’t wait for it to arrive in my order this week!! 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!

Beauty of the Earth Thinking of You Card

Leave a reply

There are many different designs in this designer paper, but this Beauty of the Earth Thinking of You Card with the bluish leaves and branches in it really caught my eye. You might think it has colors for fall, but I think it can be for any time. I just really love these colors all together!

I have trees on my mind because yesterday on our walk, we saw a tree at someone’s house that had broken off from the trunk and fell toward the street. Luckily it didn’t fall on their house or hurt someone walking by! Apparently it is a kind of tree that was past its age limit and should have been cut down way earlier. Since we had the big freeze in February, a lot of plants and trees have come back, surprisingly, but the advice was to wait awhile and see what would come back in the spring rather than just cut down everything that looked dead from the spring. But this big tree needed to go sooner!

This designer paper, Beauty of the Earth, has very different patterns in it and many colors! Many will be beautiful when we think of fall trees, but many you can use any time. You can use the dies to cut out the patterned paper to be the leaves on the trees. So many possibilities!

The card base is Misty Moonlight, with a layer of Old Olive Cardstock. I thought about adding one of the tree images one way or another on the front of the card, but I loved the paper so much I didn’t want to cover it up in any way.

The greeting is stamped in Old Olive and is in the Beauty of Friendship Stamp Set on Basic White Cardstock, then die-cut with a rectangle in the Beautiful Trees Dies. There are some nice sentiments in this stamp set which is always good! The greeting is layered on a piece of Old Olive and underneath I added a strip of the 3/8″ Fine Art Ribbon and frayed the ends just a little bit! This is a beautiful ribbon and I think it added a little something to the front of this card.

Save money and purchase the Beauty of Friendship Bundle with the stamp set and dies together for a 10% discount! And if you want to get “everything” – the Bundle, the Designer Series Paper, and the Bark 3D Embossing Folder, just order the whole Beauty of the Earth Suite (155843). The Bundle price is included in that.

Since the inside of the card, Misty Moonlight Cardstock, is dark, I added a Basic White layer and just stamped a tree off to the side to decorate the inside a bit and still leave room to write a message! I don’t always think to do that when I am making a card and then when I go to use the card, I have to pull out the paper and everything to add it later! Just do it when you make the card if you want a decorated inside or if the cardstock is too dark to write or stamp on.

If you like this Beauty of the Earth Thinking of You Card, be sure to check out the Beauty of the Earth Suite in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Black and White Pattern Party Thank You Card

Leave a reply

This Black and White Pattern Party Thank You Card is NOT the card I was planning to make AT ALL! It just happened! So when you start to stamp, you don’t really know what you are going to end up making! Even when you think you know!

I was planning to make a card with the Art Gallery Stamp Set, stamped on our new Linen Paper, and was looking for designer paper to go with the card, possibly. When I caught a glimpse of these two black and white patterns together in the package, that was it! I’ll do the Art Gallery card another time!

The card base is Basic White Cardstock with a layer of Basic Black. Then I just layered the two patterns of the Pattern Play black and white paper, one a narrow strip. I added a strip of the Black 3/8″ Glittered Organdy Ribbon and tied a knot with a smaller piece. I think it dresses up the card and makes it fun! I tried a bow but that seemed like too much with the glittery ribbon. It’s not a “fancy” card, just a fun one with the ribbon!

The “Thank You” greeting is stamped from the Peaceful Moments Stamp Set, one carried over into the new catalog. I die-cut it with the same die as the black layer underneath from the Scalloped Contours Dies. I could have measured the empty space in the middle of the black piece and then cut the white greeting piece down, but I cut the white die-cut and then used the little lines from the die-cut to cut the white piece.

I want you to know about the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper. It is a Host item which means you can only purchase it when you have a order of $150 or more. We often don’t pay that much attention to the Host items, there are also a few stamp sets, and these products are available to Hosts (or for your individual order) as Rewards at a reduced price from their value. This Pattern Party DSP is a package of 48 sheets of paper, 4 each of 12 double-sided designs. Lots of different coordinating colors and will be lots of fun to use! Just remember this package when you are placing a “Hostess” order of $150 or more. This term comes from when we had more home parties and the person holding the stamping party with her friends was the Hostess and got free merchandise based on the total for the party. Now with people ordering individually online, it also works for your own orders of $150 to choose Stampin’ Rewards. You will find this paper in the back of the catalog on page 171. You will love it!

This Black and White Pattern Party Thank You Card is easy to make but so striking with just the black and white design. You could use a plainer black or white ribbon on the side too. It would also be fun to color in the white flowers on another card! It reminds me of the True Love Designer Paper in the Spring Mini Catalog that is all black and white as on this card. Be sure to check out the Pattern Play DSP to see all the colors and patterns next time you have a large order or combine orders with friends!

Today is the LAST DAY to get the May Paper Pumpkin Kit in your mailbox with enough supplies to make 9 cards for ONLY $5.00, including shipping!! It’s a real “steal” with the baseball-themed cards so don’t “strike out” by missing it! If you have subscribed before but would like to try Paper Pumpkin again, the same email address may not work again but you could use another one. Use Promo Code HOMERUN0521.

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY HERE WITH MY LINK!

Pansy Patch Card For a Special Day

Leave a reply

This card is an easy way to make pansies if you don’t want to bother with the smaller die-cut pieces, and this Pansy Patch Card For a Special Day is perfect for Mother’s Day! Add whatever greeting you like or need for the card and it will be perfect for almost any occasion.

To make the pansy, just use the Pansy Dies to cut out the one large and two smaller pansy petals in Basic White. You could also use light colors of cardstock and still do what I did also. I used the Blending Brush along the edges of the pansy petals to color just/mostly the edges and then assembled them. I happened to use Mango Melody, but it is very light so it almost matches the paper in the background that is another color. The leaves and flower stem for the bud are Granny Apple Green. Even the two pieces of the flower bud are Basic White with just a bit of ink blended on them. If you don’t have the new Blending Brushes (so soft!) use a piece of a Stamping Sponge that you probably already have or a Sponge Dauber.

Actually, I was undecided on how I wanted to use one of the pretty Pansy Petals Designer Paper on the card. The design I have just kind of accidentally happened! I used the Bumblebee pattern for the main layer on the card and was going to die-cut a rectangle piece out of some colored cardstock. But I also wondered about the opposite side of the paper which had all these small pansies. I laid a scrap of it down on the card just to place the die-cut pansy on top and see how it would look with it but not necessarily behind it and I liked the look as it was! The pansy still stood out well enough against the print, especially when I popped it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The greeting is stamped with part of the stamp in the Hand-Drawn Blooms Stamp Set and then die-cut with just the middle portion of the Banner Bloom s Die where the greeting would go. Then I just trimmed the stamped banner piece away from the rest of the bouquet die-cut and flagged the plain end.

This is actually a pretty easy card to make for Mother’s Day or to send on any day!

Don’t forget about the Paper Pumpkin special going on today and tomorrow only! Get the May Kit with a baseball theme for only $5 for new subscribers (shipping included!). A great gift to give a mother who is a baseball fan!! Be sure to use the promo code HOMERUN0521 to get the $5 price!

Go to my personalized link HERE and use Promo Code HOMERUN0521.

It’s A Steal! The May Paper Pumpkin Kit For $5!

Leave a reply

New Subscribers! Get This Kit for Only $5 plus tax!

How it Works

Paper Pumpkin has a LIMITED SUPPLY of Batter Up! kits to offer at this special SUBSCRIBE-A-THON rate.

The SUBSCRIBE-A-THON will start on 7 May 2021 at 12:01 AM (MT).
The SUBSCRIBE-A-THON promotion price for new subscribers is only $5.00 USD! (shipping included).
The sale will continue until all allocated kits are sold out, or until the May subscription period ends on 10 May—whichever comes first. If the allocated kits are sold out prior to the subscription period, the sale will end and the subscription price will return to normal.
Enter the code HOMERUN0521 before the sale ends to receive this special introductory price!
This promotion price will only apply to new month-to-month subscriptions; prepaid subscriptions are not eligible for the discount.

Let me know if you have any questions! Be sure to enter the code: HOMERUN0521

Here is my link to make it easy for you! Click HERE!

***********************************************

“Step up to the plate, take a swing, and knock it out of the park! With the Batter Up! Paper Pumpkin Kit, it’s your turn to go to bat for all the people who’ve gone to bat for you. This month’s timeless kit with a “throwback” theme contains enough grand slam supplies to create nine cards—and coordinating envelopes—featuring classic colors, pinwheel and pinstripe patterns, and vintage-washed paper pieces. There’s no “batter” way to root, root, root for your home team and honor the all-stars in your life!

A beloved baseball-themed kit would be incomplete without the sport’s signature, sticky snack—the official bubble gum of the MLB! A favorite in the field, the Batter Up! Paper Pumpkin Kit contains a couple sticks of the chewy staple; chew while you craft, slide a piece into a card, or save it for later.

Send a seventh-inning stretch in a classic card with all-star stripes, a nostalgic nod, and a stamp set fit for an MVP! But, before you give it all you’ve got, give this month’s promotional video a watch.”

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN FOR ONLY $5 FOR THE MAY 2021 Kit! No risk! No obligation!

JOIN HERE!!!

Pansy Petals Happiness Card

Leave a reply

Sometimes you just want to make an easy card or just let the designer paper be the main focus as in this Pansy Petals Happiness Card. Just a card base, a layer of designer paper, a greeting and some embellishment and you’re done…yet you still made a pretty card!

The Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper has beautiful patterned paper, including some ginghams and other designs on the “back” of the florals. This particular pattern with the smaller floral images really caught my eye! The card base is Soft Succulent, one of the new In Colors. Here’s another card using a different pattern of pansies paper.

I used the Polished Pink 3/8″ Open Weave Ribbon to wrap around the front of the designer paper. The bow is tied separately and adhered with Mini Glue Dots. This ribbon is just gorgeous, I think, and comes in all the In Colors. I love it!

The greeting is stamped in Polished Pink. It is one of the greetings in the Pansy Patch Stamp Set but I omitted part of the greeting. This is when sticky notes come in handy! I carefully placed the notes over the part of the stamp I did not want to use and then stamped in the ink pad. Be sure to remove the sticky note before stamping on your cardstock! Luckily I did remember! This way I could stamp just the part of the stamp I wanted.

The greeting is die-cut with just one of the Layering Circle Dies and layered on one of the scalloped circle dies. It is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals over the ribbon. Of course, I had to add some Polished Pink In Color Jewels to the greeting. These are already so popular they are back-ordered! But you must get them as soon as they are back in stock!

Remember, you don’t always have to make a super-fancy card. Sometimes quick and easy cards like this Pansy Petals Happiness Card are just fine!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

When Does the New Stampin’ Up! Catalog Begin? Today!!

Leave a reply

When Does the New Stampin’ Up! Catalog Begin?

TODAY! May 4th!!

It may be Star Wars Day (May the 4th Be With You!), but I doubt many of us care about that when we have a new Stampin’ Up! Catalog to look at and order from! You can order right now in the Online Store or contact me if you would prefer me to put in your order for you. Ask if you have any questions! Hopefully the website will run smoothly but when more and more people get on, there may be glitches but just keep trying because maybe in a few seconds you will get through.

VIEW THE CATALOG ONLINE!

Be sure to check the specials below, too!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

If you are putting in a large order yourself, remember at $150 you get to choose 10% of your total in Stampin’ Rewards, so $15 in any other merchandise you want to choose for free!

During “Connect, Craft & Collect $25”, May 4 – June 14, if you have an order of $250 or more, you can choose an ADDITIONAL $25 in free merchandise plus the Stampin’ Rewards you are already entitled to! What a deal!! Especially with a new catalog when we want so many things!

JOIN STAMPIN’ UP! AND JOIN THE FUN!

If you would like to have your own stamping business, this is a great time to join Stampin’ Up! as a Demonstrator! All you have to do is purchase the Starter Kit. Choose the products you want in your kit plus Stampin’ Up! will add business supplies, catalogs, and a Paper Pumpkin Kit. Normally you choose $125 in products and pay only $99, but during this special during May, you get to choose $155 ($30 more!) in products for only $99!

Click the link above and read about joining Stampin’ Up! and look over the form to join, but if you have any questions just ask! I’m happy to help! If you want a Demonstrator local to you, then check the Demonstrator Locator to find someone or call Stampin’ Up! and ask them to refer you to someone. Lots of us, though, have team members around the country, not just local, and we can still help you.

******************************

I hope you love this new catalog! Believe it or not, years ago when I joined Stampin’ Up! the first time anyone saw the new catalog was at the Stampin’ Up! Convention in the summer! As soon as we checked in and got our bag of stuff, we would sit down and look through the catalog! Everyone else had to wait to hear from those Demos and wait for their catalog to be mailed later. I think we have a better system now, but whatever the system or situation, a new Stampin’ Up! catalog of any kind is always so fun and exciting! Enjoy the day!

Art Gallery Linen Flower Birthday Card

Leave a reply

Something new in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog 2021-22 is the Linen Paper that I used on this Art Gallery Linen Flower Birthday Card. Does this card have a different look to it than regular stamping? I think we all have lots of experimenting to do with this new product! I didn’t know such a think existed! And wait until you hear one of the features of this special paper!

The Linen Specialty Paper (155681) is on page 136, the first of the photos of products on that page. It’s easy to miss! So far I know you can stamp on it, die cut it, and blend ink on it. We will have to experiment with different colors, maybe using the Stamparatus so you can repeat the stamping to make it darker maybe, see what colors look good on the linen or not and more!

To make this card, I was pretty sure the ink color was going to turn out lighter than on regular paper. It doesn’t stamp quite as heavily as on paper, because this is fabric paper! The texture is going to keep the ink from being really smooth. I used Melon Mambo ink for the flower in the Art Gallery Stamp Set and Old Olive for the stem and leaves thinking these would be dark enough to show up well. I think the Melon Mambo stamped a little shade darker than it would have on paper. Just a different look! Then just die-cut it with the coordinating Floral Gallery Dies. The Linen Paper die-cuts just as nicely as paper, at least this first time!

The background I chose to put the flower on is Basic White die-cut with the Scalloped Contours Dies. These new dies will be very popular. And I didn’t even have to glue down the linen flower! The Linen Specialty Paper comes with adhesive on the back! After die-cutting, just carefully peel off the backing and you can adhere your die-cut linen piece wherever you want it! You probably should lay it out it out first to see exactly where you want to adhere it. If parts of your pieces are very thin, like this flower stem, just handle it carefully and try to place the larger parts where you want them first and then the skinnier areas.

The card base is Melon Mambo to match the flower, although, as I said, the stamped color looks slightly different than the cardstock. But it’s very close. Maybe it looked darker when I first stamped it than later on. The greeting is in the Art Gallery Stamp Set. In the end I decided to just keep the whole card simple, to focus on the linen flower. I tried all kinds and colors of designer paper as a layer under the die-cut scalloped piece and nothing looked right. I thought about added some jewels or embellishments and that didn’t seem right either! So in the end, I just left the card simple! Sometimes you have to know when to stop!

Here is a close-up of my card so you can see the Linen Specialty Paper better.

Art Gallery Linen Flower Birthday Card Closeup

How many more days until the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog goes live? One!!! Tomorrow, May 4th is the day! Supposedly there will be no down time so if you want to order in the middle of the night you may be able to. However, on a new launch like this, LOTS of people like to order right away and the website will probably be a little wonky! If it crashes on you or the little thing just spins and spins, just keep trying until you catch it at the right moment….or come back a little later! It will likely be a busy day!

Today is the last day for the Last-Chance Products that are retiring! Check those out today!!

Tomorrow is the big day! Shop the NEW catalog!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE EVERYDAY!

Paper Pumpkin Cards So Cool Kit April 2021

Leave a reply

It’s been a rainy weekend in Houston so it was a perfect day for Paper Pumpkin! I stopped everything else and opened up my new Paper Pumpkin Kit called “So Cool” for April 2021. This is the kit that was designed for children to have a fun papercrafting experience with you! But it was really just as much fun without any little ones around! It is a very cute, colorful kit! And so many alternative ideas if you want to make other designs.

With every Paper Pumpkin Kit you have the option to make the project as designed or use the supplies to make whatever you want to come up with! The kit comes to you in your mailbox each month unless you skip a month. You can cancel with no risk or obligation.

This particular kit seems to have lots of alternative ideas that other stampers have come up with. Often I like to make a few of the cards as designed for the kit and then make something different with the rest. Today I only made these cards as designed and then it was time to clear off the kitchen table for dinner! Ugh!

Each Paper Pumpkin kit costs $22.00 plus tax but includes shipping.

Sign up HERE at my personalized link. If you are looking for another Demonstrator, just go HERE to Paperpumpkin.com.

You must sign up or change your subscription by the 10th of any month.

You can also purchase a prepaid subscription to Paper Pumpkin on your regular Stampin’ Up! order! Perhaps it will help you earn Stampin’ Rewards if your order reaches $150 or more. Once you are a subscriber, you can go back and order any extra past kits or refills if you want more pieces to make with a kit you have!

Each month you get a new kit, usually cards, but it could be any number of other projects! You get a little bit of information about each kit as soon as ordering is available, but not everything about the kit until later!

Here are the cards I made with the cute “So Cool” Paper Pumpkin Kit for April.

Paper Pumpkin Cards So Cool Kit April 2021

Next up for May! The “Batter Up Paper Pumpkin Kit”! (But if you are new, wait a few days!) (Just in case!)

Die-Cut Pansies For May Day

Leave a reply

It’s May 1st and this Die-Cut Pansies For May Day Card is perfect to celebrate the day! If I went outside and walked up and down the street, I would see loads of pansies planted in neighbors’ landscaping. They won’t last in the hot weather, but so far the weather is tolerable for them. Just today I had a memory of being a little girl in Sunday School and planting or just bringing home a pansy planted in a milk carton to my mother for Mother’s Day.

As I discovered the other day, I need to play with the new Pansy Patch Stamp Set and the Pansy Dies in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog coming out on Tuesday, May 4th a little more to learn how to effectively make a pretty pansy. I’m sure it is not difficult, but I was a little unsure. Maybe I need to take photos of some of our neighbor’s pansies so I know exactly how the petals are placed!

For this card, I wanted to just experiment with the Pansy Dies and not worry about making an amazing card. I just wanted to make pansies. I decided to just die-cut a bunch of pieces and then see how they all fit together. I planned with two different shades of similar colors for each pansy, like Petal Pink and Polished Pink, Pale Papaya and Mango Melody and even just Basic White and Highland Heather for the contrasting parts of the flowers. The leaves are Soft Succulent for the solid leaf (really very pretty on it’s own because the die embosses it) and Evening Evergreen for the outline piece.

After cutting out an assortment of pieces for the pansies, I just glued, with tiny dots of Multipurpose Liquid Glue, the outline edge to the corresponding color. Each pansy flower has three pieces (at least mine do!). The top part has kind of the three areas and then the two bottom pieces are each like one petal with an outline piece along the bottom edge. I glued those two pieces together, then added the top piece. I think you want them close enough so the outlines kind of line up. There also is a die that cuts out three flower centers at once, so I used Daffodil Delight cardstock for the centers.

The leaves, of course, are simple. Just glue on the outline color…..or don’t. You could easily leave the leaves plain.

To make the card I used a base of Pale Papaya Cardstock and die cut a Basic White scalloped rectangle with the new Scalloped Contours Dies. I am really liking these dies! They go with the Color & Contour Stamp Set and you can buy the stamps and dies together in the Color & Contour Bundle and save 10%.

Then I just placed the pansies and leaves on the rectangle to see how they would fit. Since the pansies (at least mine) turned out a little large, they took up most of the room on the rectangle. There was just enough space at the bottom to stamp a greeting from the Pansy Patch Stamp Set in Pale Papaya Ink. I probably should have used a darker color as this one doesn’t show up that well with the pansies grabbing all the attention!

My advice when you get the Pansy Patch Bundle is just to get out your Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine and cardstock and cut out all the pieces and just play. Don’t worry about making anything, except flowers. Just play! And soon we will all be learning good tips and tricks of the best way to use this stamp set and dies I’m sure!

HAPPY MAY DAY With the DIE-CUT PANSIES!

Trio of Pansy Patch Pansies Hello Card

Leave a reply

It’s a rainy day here in Houston (finally!) but this Trio of Pansy Patch Pansies Hello Card brightens up the day for sure! I will say, this whole Pansy Patch Bundle has a lot to offer and for me, a little bit of a learning curve. As I learn more tips about using the stamps and dies I will be passing them on to you. My first large stamped pansy turned out to not be so much of a pansy! I think I stamped one of the layers upside down….what should have been at the top was at the bottom! My pansy was twice as big as it was supposed to be! But these smaller ones are easier!

The card base is one of the new In Colors, Soft Succulent. It matches the gingham designer paper, which is one of the patterns in the Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper, the opposite side of the floral side. I really like these gingham patterns!

These small pansies are really just two-step stamping. There is a solid color stamp and an outline stamp. You can practice and decide on both the small and large pansy stamps which way is easier for you to stamp….to stamp the solid and then add the outline over it or vice versa. The three colors I used were Melon Mambo, Highland Heather, and Daffodil Delight. But when I stamped the solid image, I stamped off first to make it a little lighter, then stamped the outline image full-strength. The leaves are stamped with Pear Pizzazz and Garden Green. I also stamped some stems but didn’t end up using them.

After stamping the pansies, leaves, and stems I used the Pansy Dies to cut them out. I actually lost my stem die for a couple of minutes until I discovered it had slipped down between the roller and the machine platform, but fortunately I was able to pull it out and it hadn’t gotten bent or damaged! So if you can’t find a die and you think you heard a “jingle” sound as you die cut something else, be sure to check your machine before you go to much further!

This Bundle is great because you can stamp the individual pieces of the flowers and die cut those, then assemble into a flower, or you can do what I did and stamp the whole thing then use the outline die to cut out the whole stamped flower. Lots of options with this stamp set and dies! Not to mention the infinite number of color combinations you can make with your pansies.

To assemble my cards, I glued the yellow pansy directly onto the Basic White layer and popped up the other two flowers with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The leaves are glued right onto the Basic White. Since I had a lot of white space around the flowers, even after stamping the greeting from the Pansy Patch Stamp Set in Soft Succulent, I added some of the In Color Jewels, coming in the new catalog. I can’t stay out of that package making cards! I used the smallest jewels but there is an assortment of sizes in all the In Colors in the package.

I know a lot of people are looking forward to getting the Pansy Petals Suite when the new catalog goes live on May 4th! If you like pansies, or just any flowers, you will find a lot of creative opportunities with the Pansy Patch Stamp Set and Pansy Petals Designer Paper. The dies even cut out some of the designer paper images! I’d highly recommend getting all the In Color Open Weave Ribbons, too. They are beautiful!

Enjoy your New Stampin’ Up! Catalog Shopping List Weekend getting ready for Tuesday!

Stamping With Karen

Having Fun With Paper, Ink, and Stamps

Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Hand-Penned Petals Hello Card

Expressions In Ink Gatefold Thank You Card

Expressions in Ink Birthday Card With Gold Foil

Color & Contour Pattern Party Card

Exciting Paper Pumpkin Kit For June!

Beauty of the Earth Thinking of You Card

Black and White Pattern Party Thank You Card

Pansy Patch Card For a Special Day

It’s A Steal! The May Paper Pumpkin Kit For $5!

Pansy Petals Happiness Card

When Does the New Stampin’ Up! Catalog Begin? Today!!

Art Gallery Linen Flower Birthday Card

Paper Pumpkin Cards So Cool Kit April 2021

Die-Cut Pansies For May Day

Trio of Pansy Patch Pansies Hello Card