Category Archives: Big Shot

More Amore Laser-cut Hearts Valentine Card

Making valentines just takes me back to my school days! The More Amore Specialty Designer Series Paper makes it so easy to get started! It comes with two laser-cut sheets with hearts, one in Real Red and one in Primrose Petals…and turn them over and you have white! You have to cut the hearts apart to use them individually, but you can create different designs depending on how you cut. Notice on my Primrose Petals heart the extra little arch above the big heart. I used the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder (carried over from the Holiday Catalog) for the Whisper White layer on top of the Real Red card base to give it an elegant look.

Other stamps and accessories I used on my valentine were the Hearts a Flutter stamp set, Hearts a Flutter Framelits Dies, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Full Heart Punch, and Real Red 1/4″ Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon.

If you get out some stamps, ink, paper and glue you will find yourself playing like a little school child making valentines! Be sure to stamp a heart on the envelope and mail the cards to your friends!

Remember, Stampin’ Up! is always open for ordering! Shop Online here!

Don’t forget…spend $50 and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration product!

Valentine Fancy Favor Box

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The Fancy Favor Bigz XL Die for the Big Shot is one of those very useful dies to own! I think it was at the Stampin’ Up! Leadership Conference last year that I learned to make a box like this using two die-cut Fancy Favor boxes, one inserted into the other. What a cute idea it was! That idea popped into my head while thinking about a Valentine project. You do need 12″x12″ sheets of card stock to use with the Fancy Favor die. I used Primrose Petals and Pool Party card stock for the boxes. I turned the Primrose Petals Fancy Favor Box upside down and punched a heart with the Full Heart Punch. You could also use one of the Hearts Collections Framelits if you preferred. Then when the Pool Party box is inserted, you can see through. In the end I couldn’t resist adhering a paper heart onto the Pool Party box to show through the punched heart!

The More Amore Specialty Designer Series Paper was perfect for this project. Two of the sheets you get in this package are of laser-cut hearts, one Real Red and one Primrose Petals. All you have to do is trim around the edge of whatever shape you want. Since they are white on the back, I turned the heart over so the white would show and punched the same shape heart out of it to line up with the punched heart in my Fancy Favor box. After that I just added various sizes of hearts from punches and framelits until I was happy with the design.

This was one of those projects where I had to slap my own hand and say “Stop!” Knowing when to stop is sometimes the hardest part of a project you like! Just to cover the top of the box (which would normally be the bottom of the box), I added a piece of More Amore paper to cover the tabs. And then I added a bow made from the new Pink Pirouette/Rose Red 1 1/4″ Two-Tone Ribbon.

Here is what the two boxes look like separated.

Think about what a cute gift you could put inside this box! It really wouldn’t even have to be strictly for Valentine’s Day, hearts are good for most occasions!

Be sure to check out the Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog for the paper and ribbon I used in this Valentine project. The Fancy Favor die, punches and framelits can be found in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. Remember, with every $50 you purchase, you can choose a free product from the Sale-a-Bration brochure through March 22. Now is the time to purchase those items you have been wishing for! Just click HERE to go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Stampin’ Up! On Trend with Window Frames Framelits

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When I saw this photo of mirrors from a 2013 home decor market for store buyers, I immediately thought of the Window Frames Framelits that Stampin’ Up! had in the Holiday Catalog and which are carried over in the new Spring Catalog (page 36). You can see that Stampin’ Up! is on trend with the latest and greatest in design so our cards and projects will look up-to-date and in style!

And what new stamp do we have in the Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog? The Just Thinking single stamp that fits the Window Frames Framelits perfectly!

If you want a Spring Catalog to browse and ooh and aah over, please email me. I’ll also enclose the upcoming Sale-A-Bration brochure. And when you are ready to shop, you can do it at your convenience at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store here.

Make an Easy Pinwheel Card

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It’s fun to make these little pinwheels with the new Stampin’ Up! Pinwheel Sizzlits S Die! You can either use a paper piercer tool to poke through the holes to form the pinwheel or use a Mini Glue Dot to hold them down. Then poke a brad through the center to hold all the corners of the pinwheel. Cut a little stick by hand or with your Paper Trimmer from a scrap and adhere all to your card with a Stampin’ Dimensional or some Glue Dots.

The background is made with the Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. They didn’t ask me, but I think they could have made up a better name for this embossing folder! To me, it seems like such a happy, pleasant design, but “Cloudy Day” sounds dreary! Maybe if I make some cards with the Rain or Shine stamp set or the Sunshine & Sprinkles Designer Series Paper about rainy weather, maybe I will change my mind!

Then I needed a greeting of some sort on the card, so I used the Ciao, Baby! stamp set which was just the right size plus a little different. The greeting is punched out with the Petite Curly Label Punch, coming in the Sale-A-Bration promotion, which begins Jan. 22!

The card measures 3 1/2″ square.

If you need any supplies to make this card or any of the other beautiful products in the new Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog, just remember, my Online Store is always open!

Pinwheel Sizzlit Cloudy Day Embossing Folder Card

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I tried out my new Pinwheel Sizzlit Die yesterday and used the Cloudy Day Embossing Folder for the background on my card. Both of these products can be found in the new Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog. If you don’t have a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and would like a copy of the Spring Catalog, please email me. I’ll be happy to mail one to you. Be sure to scroll down to see my little tutorial on using the Pinwheel die.

The Pinwheel Sizzlit Die was really fun to play with! Just put a little piece of paper over the die, run it through your Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, and you have a pre-cut pinwheel to work with!

I found that if I curled the paper a bit with my Bone Folder, it made it easier to fold the corners over to the center. Just a tiny bit, to loosen up the paper.

Then, using your Stampin’ Pierce Mat and the Paper-Piercing Tool, fold the corners with the little holes in them over to line up with the center hole in the die-cut. You can use the Paper-Piercing Tool to keep them lined up. While holding the corners in place as best you can, remove the piercing tool and insert a brad through the center hole. Unfold the brad on the back and press down securely to flatten.

It’s fun making pinwheels, and won’t they really give your cards and scrapbook pages a feeling of spring….when spring arrives!

The little greeting on my card is a stamp set in the Spring Catalog called Ciao, Baby! It is punched out with a new punch coming during Sale-A-Bration (Jan. 22 – Mar. 22), Petite Curly Label Punch. It seemed to still need something, so I punched a scrap piece of paper with the Word Window Punch, cut out a section for the middle to give me two shorter pieces and used those for the ends.

If you want any of these Stampin’ Up! products, just visit my Online Store here.

Hearts a Flutter Just for You Card

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I’m trying to do some stamping today with my “new stuff” from the new Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog that just came out yesterday, so I copied a card that was in our demonstrator magazine, Stampin’ Success. I love the cute little banner made with the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and Hearts a Flutter Framelits Dies. The center panel of the card is embossed with the Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. These products come in a bundle, the Hearts a Flutter Bundle, which saves you 15%! You might as well get both….I’m sure they will be a big hit! Remember, hearts aren’t just for Valentine’s Day. This card could be a valentine, a birthday card, an all-occasion card, even home decor! Be sure to check out the really cute little chalkboard in a frame on page 11 of the Spring Catalog showing a little banner using these stamps and framelits. If you need a Spring Catalog, please email me if you don’t have your own demonstrator. I’d be happy to mail one to you…and the Sale-A-Bration brochure, too!

My stamping supplies are still scattered around in different locations due to Christmas decorating so stamping today is more like a scavenger hunt! What should I get organized first??!

Use this banner idea on a scrapbook page as well! Just think of a card as a small scrapbook page!

Make A Christmas Collage in a Frame for a Gift!

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Here is a great gift you will enjoy making and your friend will enjoy receiving! This is a "partial" copy of a Christmas collage I saw online made by Connie Tumm. I had some 5" x 7" frames so my collage is a smaller version of hers! The beauty of this gift is not only can you use your papercrafting skills for making something special, but you can customize it to the size of frame you have, colors you want to use, theme, occasion, simplicity or detailed work. Since I had a small frame, I chose to put my greeting from Sweet Essentials in the center on a banner. Also, you can make your squares whatever size works for you, according to the look you want or according to the size of your frame. Mine at 2" square.

I started with a background of Whisper White card stock and embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder #117335. The squares are made with the Snow Festival Designer Series Paper #126908 and the coordinating card stock. For each square I used the Scentsational Season stamp set and coordinating Holiday Collection Framelits Dies, plus the cute Mitten Builder Punch #127824 and the Snow Flurry Bigz Die #127813. And for some bling, some Silver Glimmer Paper #124005, Champagne Glimmer Paper #127885, Baker's Twine #123125, a Rhinestone Jewel #119246 and some Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon #126877.

If you want to have some stamping fun, find a frame in your house you can use and make one of these collages. They are fun and easy to make!

For any Stampin' Up! supplies, you can shop online at my store here! Do you know Stampin' Up! has expedited shipping (for an extra shipping charge) if you want it in a hurry?

A Turkey Tag — It’s All in the Presentation (Almost!)!

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They say "It's all in the presentation" or "Presentation is everything!" but I do have to say "almost" because the pie inside this presentation is beautiful! Notice all the individual leaves on the crust around the edge (and the crust is my favorite part of any pie!).

This year we are doing Thanksgiving a little differently. My friend Dixie and her friend Sherrie have a cooking/catering company so I ordered a Cajun fried turkey from them as well as some chicken and sausage gumbo, a pecan pie and some chocolate Whoopie Pies! No cooking a turkey for me!!! Oh my gosh, when I saw how they had decorated the pecan pie package and whoopie pies with this cute turkey tag and ribbon I just went crazy! See how such a simple thing can make such a great impression?!! Paper, ink, and stamps! Aren't we part of such an impressive craft?!

And a peek inside the foil covering the cajun fried turkey! I don't know how I restrained myself from taking just a little taste from this turkey!

Are you hungry now? If you live in the southwest Houston/Richmond area, email me and I'll give you Dixie's contact information.

If you're taking a pie or some plate of food to someone's house for Thanksgiving, consider taking a few minutes to make some kind of cute little tag or card just for a little something special! I know it will be appreciated! And make the food look even more inviting!

Stampin' Up! Online Extravaganza going on now until November 28th! Select products discounted 20% – 50%! More Doorbusters the last day! Check the list right now!

Heart of Christmas Gift Box

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Image copyright Stampin' Up! 2012

I have loved this single stamp, Heart of Christmas, in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog since I first saw it! I love the sentiment! This is a project from Stampin' Up! They made a box with Crumb Cake card stock, decorated with some Snow Festival Designer Series Paper and 1/8" Old Olive Taffeta Ribbon. To display the Heart of Christmas sentiment, they made it very decoratived with the Apothecary Accents Framelits Dies. Notice the cute little heart punched out of the bottom of the label and backed with Glimmer Paper! What a great project! You could also use the Kraft Gift Boxes as well for something similar. Wouldn't this be a cute gift box under the Christmas tree?!

To shop for any stamping supplies for so many projects, just shop online at my Stampin' Up! Store here.

Here is the supply list Stampin' Up! provided:

Stamps
• Heart of Christmas*

Paper
• Crumb Cake Cardstock
• Very Vanilla Cardstock
• Snow Festival Designer Series Paper
• Champagne Glimmer Paper*

Ink
• Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Write® Marker
• Old Olive Stampin’ Write Marker

Stampin’ Up! Accessories
• Old Olive 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon
• Stampin’ Dimensionals®
• Owl Punch
• 1/16" Circle Punch
• Big Shot™
• Fancy Favor Bigz™ XL Die
• Apothecary Accents Framelits™ Dies

Owl Punch Three Monsters Male Birthday Card

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In trying to think of a birthday card to make for my son-in-law, I was a little stumped this year. Last year I got an idea for a Star Wars card that I probably mostly copied from an idea I saw online. I thought it turned out great and he liked it! Right up his alley! But this year, the other things I knew he liked were a little harder to come up with in a card. When I saw an idea of using the Owl Punch somewhat like this, I decided to go with a "generic" monster/sci fi/comic character/whatever card for him. This is what materialized and I like it!

The Owl Punch is one of the greatest tools you can own! Not that I think of these things, but other stampers come up with a multitude of ways to use our Stampin' Up! punches and make them worth their weight in gold for crafting! To make my little monsters (or whatever they are!) I punched the owl, drew on his mouth and teeth with a Stampin' Write Black Marker and colored in the teeth with the Signo Gel Pen. For the arms I stuck a little strip of paper in to punch just the feet of the owl and then cut the strips to make arms. I punched out the white eye circles with the Owl Punch although I colored them in with black around my Googly Eyes.

The sentiment is from the stamp set You're Amazing and die-cut with the Big Shot and the Apothecary Accents Framelits Dies. The brads are the 3/8" Designer Printed Brads.

If you are looking for a male birthday card, for child or adult, this is a good one and fun to make! If you prefer just stamping your monsters, there is the Make a Monster stamp set!

You can order any and all of these products and more from my Stampin' Up! Online Store. Go there today….and also check the Clearance Rack if you are doing an online order!

It’s Halloween! Trick-or-Treat! Happy Halloween!

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Today is Halloween! There are so many Halloween ideas out there that I didn't get to make that I almost hate to see that the day is here already! But I'm sure that the children who are eager to go trick-or-treating are glad it is October 31st finally!

I love that the Owl Punch can be used to make a ghost! Do you recognize the owl? Cut off his feet and turn him upside down….he's a ghost! I just drew on little ghost faces with a marker. The background is stamped with the new Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Stampin' Pad….the bats and spider webs. I wanted purple on my Halloween card so I used the Lattice Die and the Big Shot to add that element.

I almost don't remember how I made the moon, but maybe I just started with Whisper White card stock and sponged it with some colors, like More Mustard, Cajun Craze..maybe some Pumpkin Pie. You could try any similar inks. The I stamped a witch on the moon as if you would see her shadow on the moon as she flew by. The witch is from Toxic Treats in the Holiday Catalog but I just colored in the witch, not the whole stamp, with a black Stampin' Write Marker and laid the moon down onto the stamp of the witch. I like the kind of shadowy look I got instead of a crisp stamped black image.

And for some bling, I punched a larger circle of Champagne Glimmer Paper to layer behind the moon.

There are so many fun things to do with Halloween, from outdoor decorations to unique food ideas and recipes to cards and candy favors, party favors, costumes, Halloween decor and just not enough time to do them all!

I hope you have taken some time to make something fun for Halloween, whatever it is. I don't necessarily like the scary part of Halloween but I love the whimsical, the fun and cute ideas for Halloween. And I hope I get lots of little trick-or-treaters tonight!

Happy Halloween!

Male Birthday Card…or Any Occasion Card!

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Twenty-four years ago today I was driving my daughter home from Sunday School and had to practically stop the car while I let a contraction pass. When I got home I called my parents in St. Louis to say probably something was happening. We four all ate lunch and in the afternoon I baked cupcakes for the cake walk at the Halloween carnival that would be down the street the next night. Naturally I had some licks of the batter and frosting! Since we would be at the carnival and trick-or-treating the next night, I decided to cook a special Halloween dinner that night. In the midst of batter-licking and frosting-eating and dinner prep, I decided maybe I needed to quit eating and go sit down and time the contractions. By half-time of the televised Sunday night football game (my husband always appreciated the timing!), it was time to calmly call my friend and ask her to come get the kids since we'd be going to the hospital sometime that night. She rushed over and by the time my husband helped get the kids buckled in their seats in her car I was more than ready to be going to the hospital. The nurse taking my information laughed when I told her my last meal was cupcake batter and frosting! In just a couple of hours, Steven was born, just about 45 minutes short of being a Halloween baby! How can that be so long ago??!!

We think making a masculine card is hard since we crafters seem to often be using flowers and colors and other images that don't seem to be appropriate for a man or boy. I actually started off thinking I would copy a card I'd seen online, but once I changed the shape of my stamped greeting from "You're Amazing" by cutting it out with one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits, I came up with this design instead. Great way to use up paper scraps, great way to make a card for a male birthday, great way to make a card for ANY occasion! The background of the card is embossed with the Stripes Embossing Folder. And a couple of Glimmer Brads add some pizzazz without being too much bling for a boy!

The paper strips (Summer Smooches…and you wouldn't think that paper would work for a masculine card but it does!) are just cut to varying lengths and widths, no big deal, just whatever you want. And then cut a little "v" out of the end or use a square punch to punch it out. (I think it is easiest to just snip).

Have fun stamping today!

Ornament Keepsakes Paper Christmas Ornament

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I know you have seen this ornament before…it's on the cover of the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog and a lot of people have been making them! I finally stopped the world and made the hanging ornament myself! It really is beautiful in person and the Dazzling Diamonds Glitter around the edges of each little ornament really makes it look fantastic. This is made with the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set and the Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies. The only difficult part is cutting out your stamped images of the ornaments with the Framelits as it just takes awhile to do twenty of each! But once you have that part done (you can also just cut out designer paper, not stamped images) the rest is fairly easy to assemble and glue. Mine has Linen Thread loops in each of the large ornaments, but I think something more sparkly would be better. The Scalloped Tulle Ribbon was fun to work with and insert and twist between some of the ornaments. The rosette in the center is made with the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper. Then a Vintage Faceted Designer Button is hot-glued into the center of the rosette with a Large Pearl Basic Jewel adhered to the center of the button.

I hope you will take some time to make something special for Christmas, just because! Just to relax and enjoy the creative side of yourself! Sometimes we all have to do that!

If you need any stamping or scrapbooking supplies, please visit my Stampin' Up! Online Store or email with your order. Don't forget to check the Merry Christmas October Promotion by Stampin' Up! which is only good until the end of October….which is sure sneaking up on all of us!

Have fun making your ornament! You'll be glad you did!

Toxic Treats Halloween Card with Champagne Glimmer Paper

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It was fun to play around with the Toxic Treats stamp set and the Champagne Glimmer Paper….and all the other elements on this card! First I used the Spider Web Embossing Folder for the front of the card and then lightly rubbed the new Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Stampin' Pad over the web to give it some shimmer.

I stamped the witch image on Glossy White Card Stock and then sponged the Daffodil Delight moon in the background using a Post-it Note for a stencil. Then I covered the moon with the punched out circle from the Post-it Note to mask it while I sponged some More Mustard ink around the moon…and then around the rest of it I sponged Cajun Craze. I also used the Labels Collection Framelits to cut out the Toxic Treats image, the Cajun Craze layer and the Champagne Glimmer Paper. LOVE the glimmer paper!!! I HAD to put a little spider in the web, although I'm not sure he matches…but oh well, it's Halloween!

Oops, almost forgot to show you the inside of the card, since the card base is black. I just added a layer of Whisper White card stock that I stamped with some images from Toxic Treats stamp set.

I hope you will make some fun Halloween cards or projects for your family and friends or maybe neighbors. It is 90 degrees here today in Houston so anything I can do to make me think it is actually fall here makes me happy!

If you need any Halloween stamping supplies you can find plenty in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog AND the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog! Find everything you need in my Stampin' Up! Online Store!

Petite Pocket Die Pouch with Snow Festival Designer Printed Tag

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You will find the Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog on page 17, and look how you can pair one with the Petite Pocket Die and make a cute little gift! Honestly, I passed these up when I saw them in the Holiday Catalog because I didn't know why I would want to buy tags for packages from Stampin' Up! Well, of course they were cute, but when I wanted so many other things, why would I spend money on these? But since then, I have seen so many cute ideas for using these for more than tags, that I ordered two packages of them!

The Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags come in a little pad so you just tear off the one you want to use. Each of the 25 tags is double-sided with five different holiday designs on each side, so that makes ten different designs to use in your projects!

Here is one cute project…..it was in the magazine that Stampin' Up! Demonstrators receive with craft ideas, business tips and news. Just use the Petite Pocket Die cut out with the Big Shot and adhere the sides to make the pouch. Then take a tag of your choice and adhere just the center on the front of the pouch.

Wrap the sides around to the back and adhere. Stamp a greeting or embellish with some ribbon. I used Baker's Twine and stamped the greeting from Chock-Full of Cheer (best to stamp the greeting before you attach the tag!)

If you want to add on these Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags to your order, just go to my Stampin' Up! Online Store and shop! It's not too early to get started on your Christmas projects!

And if you want to see a creative Christmas idea every week, be sure you are on my newsletter mailing list! My next "12 Weeks of Christmas" newsletter comes out tomorrow!! Don't miss another one! Sign up at the top of my blog today!

Stamping With Karen

Having Fun With Paper, Ink, and Stamps

Category Archives: Big Shot

More Amore Laser-cut Hearts Valentine Card

Valentine Fancy Favor Box

Stampin’ Up! On Trend with Window Frames Framelits

Make an Easy Pinwheel Card

Pinwheel Sizzlit Cloudy Day Embossing Folder Card

Hearts a Flutter Just for You Card

Make A Christmas Collage in a Frame for a Gift!

A Turkey Tag — It’s All in the Presentation (Almost!)!

Heart of Christmas Gift Box

Owl Punch Three Monsters Male Birthday Card

It’s Halloween! Trick-or-Treat! Happy Halloween!

Male Birthday Card…or Any Occasion Card!

Ornament Keepsakes Paper Christmas Ornament

Toxic Treats Halloween Card with Champagne Glimmer Paper

Petite Pocket Die Pouch with Snow Festival Designer Printed Tag