Category Archives: Birthday

Splash of Sparkles Z-Fold Birthday Card

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Splash of Sparkles Z-Fold Birthday Card

This Splash of Sparkles Z-Fold Birthday Card is made with some of the happiest paper we have ever had! Wait until you see it in person! That’s how I felt the first time I made a card with this paper – it made me feel happy! The colors, the foil accents, the splashes of colors in all different designs – it’s just wonderful paper to have fun with! You will want to put the Splash of Sparkles Designer Series Paper on your next order!

I made a Z-Fold card because it shows off more of the beautiful paper in the Splash of Sparkles pack. A Z-Fold card is easy to make. It just requires one extra fold. Make the usual card base of 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ for the front. Then fold the front of the card in half, back toward the fold which is at 2 1/8″. Score first to make it easier to fold. This card base is made with Timid Tiger cardstock, one of the newest In Colors.

To decorate the card I cut a strip of the orange, pink, and gold striped pattern at 1 7/8″ x 5 1/4″. For the inside of the card I used the pattern with the big watercolor circles, choosing the portion that had the orangish and pinkish colored circles so it would coordinate with the paper on the front.

For the front of the card, I diecut a piece of Timid Tiger with one of the Branching Out Dies and the next smaller one in Bubble Bath pink. For the inside of the card, I diecut another piece of Bubble Bath in the same smaller size so that it would fit behind that layered panel on the front of the card.

The flower, leaves, and sentiment are stamped with the Lovely Arrangements Stamp Set. The flower is stamped in Memento ink and colored in with the Timid Tiger Combo of Stampin’ Blends. The leaves are stamped with Granny Apple Green ink on Basic White. I cut both out by hand. The greeting is stamped in Memento Ink, also on Basic White. For space reasons, I cut the words apart and carefully cut around each one.

To assemble the card, layer the Bubble Bath cardstock diecut panel on the Timid Tiger panel. When you have the card folded into the Z-shape, adhere the designer paper on the narrow front panel and the other pattern inside the card. See where the center of that panel is so that it can be lined up right on the Z-fold. Only put glue or adhesive on the one side so that the other side will not be stuck to the inside of the card! I had a scrap of the striped paper, so I adhered that as a background for the words to the front panel. The flower is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals and the leaves are glued flat to the card.

If you want to stamp a greeting or images on the inside panel, do so before you adhere it inside the card, just in case. I stamped Happy Birthday and a couple of the other flower in the stamp set. Line it up inside the card with the front panel, put adhesive on the back of it, and then fold the back side of the card over to adhere the greeting panel to the inside of the card so that it lines up with the front panel and will not be sticking out when the card is closed. You will understand when you do it!

Splash of Sparkles Z-Fold Birthday Card Open

Here are the two sides of the Splash of Sparkles Designer Series Papers:

Spash of Sparkles Designer Series Paper

Aren’t those such bright and fun colors? And even better in person!

Splash of Sparkles Paper Foil Accents

And one side has gold and iridescent foil for some real pizzazz! Think about birthday cards, any happy occasion, maybe even party invitations!

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Remember, it is Bonus Days through Feb. 2nd! Earn a $5 coupon to spend in February with every $50 amount you spend on products!

Cyber Monday Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Sale Today!

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Paper Pumpkin Prepaid Cyber Monday Sale 2025

Starting today, December 1, at 8 a.m. (MT), Stampin’ Up! is offering big savings on prepaid Paper Pumpkin subscriptions! There’s never been a better time to subscribe to get a new all-inclusive crafting kit delivered to your door each month. I consider it a gift I give myself! Once a month you get some actual HAPPY MAIL right in your mailbox!

You can read about Paper Pumpkin HERE!

Whether you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas present that sparks creativity or resolving to make time to craft in the new year, a Paper Pumpkin subscription is the gift that keeps on giving. Read on for more information about this special offer and some key details you should know.

Take advantage of this Cyber Monday offer for fantastic deals on 3-, 6-, and 12-month prepaid subscriptions.  

From December 1–9, prepaid Paper Pumpkin subscriptions will be discounted as follows:

3-month prepaid: $61.00 (regular price $81.00)
6-month prepaid: $122.00 (regular price $162.00)
12-month prepaid: $244.00 (regular price $324.00)

This offer ends on December 9 at 11:59 p.m. (MT) 

And now, here’s the fine print:

  • Subscriptions purchased during this promotion start immediately with the December Watercolor in Bloom Kit. This kit cannot be skipped.
  • Do not purchase multiple subscriptions for the same recipient. The subscriptions will all start with the Watercolor in Bloom Kit, so the recipient will end up receiving duplicates of the same kit each month.
  • Shipping cost is built into the price of the kit and is not reduced. The promotional discount applies only to the product value of the kit itself.
  • Subscriptions purchased during the promotion will earn reduced rewards compared to full-priced subscriptions due to the discounted price, but they will still qualify for rewards once the threshold is met.
  • Don’t miss your chance to enjoy months of exciting kits at an incredible value!

Don’t miss your chance to enjoy months of exciting kits at an incredible value!

SHOP for your PREPAID PAPER PUMPKIN SUBSCRIPTION HERE!

Click the link above and then scroll down a little bit to the Prepaid Plans.

ALSO: This is the LAST DAY for the Black Friday Sale. Stampin’ Blends markers are still available if you need to get some or you need to replace some of your older ones! And you might be able to get Stampin’ Dimensionals, too!

Brushed With Beauty Birthday Card

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Brushed With Beauty Birthday Card

Last week Stampin’ Up! released some new products for stamping and scrapbooking and my order came the other day! We often say the Stampin’ Up! paper is prettier in person than you see in photos or online. I’d say that is true about this new Brushed With Beauty Designer Series Paper that I used on this Brushed With Beauty Birthday Card. Floral papers can be used for almost any occasion so it is good to have several on hand for your cardmaking needs.

This Brushed With Beauty Designer Series Paper is part of the Brushed With Beauty Suite in the new Online Exclusives for November 2025. If you want it ALL, just order the Suite with one product number (167100). If you want to pick and choose, then order by item. Also, there will be a virtual Stampin’ Up! class in a private Facebook group using this Suite! You can purchase the class HERE by November 17th to craft along and/or watch the class on November 20th. You can still purchase it later to watch the replay.

For this card I used Mossy Meadow cardstock for the card base. When I went to choose a designer paper pattern, I knew I was going to use a different pattern along the side. But when I saw the pattern on the back side of this floral bouquet patterned paper, I decided to just fold over the edge to reveal “the other side” of the paper. The floral bouquet paper was cut at 4″ x 5 1/4″ and then the right side was folded back 1/2″ to make that interesting side edge. I adhered the designer paper then to a 4″ x 5 1/4″ piece of Petal Pink card stock which. matches the paper, allowing the Petal Pink to only show on the left side of the card.

The greeting is stamped from the Simply Said Stamp Set in Mossy Meadow ink on Very Vanilla card stock. It was diecut with a small oval die in the Traditional Labels Dies. Then I chose a larger oval die of Petal Pink cardstock for a layer behind the greeting. I chose the Petal Pink 5/16″ Braided Trim to place underneath the greeting. It is just kind of folded in half with a little loop at the top peeking over the top of the greeting and then trimmed the ends. The whole greeting is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For a finishing touch, I added three Pearls of Beauty in Crumb Cake. There are also White and Calypso Coral pearls in the package. They are pretty and fairly flat, which is good for mailing.

Be sure to check out the new Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives!!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Day 2! Stampin’ Up! Kits Collection Sale!

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Kit Collection Sale Oct 2025 Info Frame

Day 2! Stampin’ Up! Kits Collection Sale!

Choose from all kinds of Kits in the Stampin’ Up! Kits Collection for a savings of 10-30% off! This sale even includes the newest Kits, just released October 1st! These kits come with all the supplies you need and are easy enough for anyone to make! Directions are included and you can even watch a video if you like (and I always watch the video regardless!). These Kits make birthday cards, home decor, all-occasion cards, small scrapbook-type albums, plus Kits for the fall and Christmas holidays!

Here is the Christmas Ornaments Kit in the Kits Collection that came out last year! I bought this kit and made these ornaments. I used them for an extra decoration on gift bags and packages which the recipient could then save and use on their Christmas tree or as a little decoration in the home or on future packages. A glue gun was helpful with this kit. It was fun to make and very nice! On some of the ornaments, I added some extra touches or just changed up the design a bit. You can do that with any of the kits if you like!

Christmas Ornaments Kit Stampin' Up! Kits Collection

Here is my blog post talking about making this Christmas Ornaments Kit! Put this Kit on your order if it is still available! Gold Hoops and little pinecones all included!

Sale Details:

  • All kits in the Kits Collection are 10–30% off.
  • Sale runs October 6th – 8th only.
  • Available while supplies last.
  • Sale excludes Paper Pumpkin, Scrapbooking Workshop Kits, and Starter Kits.

Choose your favorite Kits and maybe get some as gifts!
Shop early for the best selection!

Shop the Kits Sale Today!

Celebratory Sips Birthday Drinks Card

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Celebratory Sips Birthday Drinks

Maybe you have seen this paper and Suite Collection around on the internet from the May Online Exclusives at Stampin’ Up! I didn’t order it right away, but later on I couldn’t resist. However, this is the first time I have really gotten it out to make a card and I’m happy with the way this Celebratory Sips Birthday Drinks Card turned out! It was fun to make. As I am writing this, the Celebratory Sips Suite Collection is not available because the two embossing folders in the suite are not available. But you can order everything else, just separately.

You might think that all the papers have to do with fancy drinks, but that’s not the case! The Celebratory Sips Designer Series Paper also has flowers, citrus images, watercolor designs, plus summer-inspired drinks. As hot as the weather is across the country you might like to cool off by designing some cards or scrapbook pages with these summer drinks! I’m really happy with the variety of designs on these papers, plus some whimsical designs on “the other side” of the papers.

Here are the Celebratory Sips papers up close:

Celebratory Sips DSP Other Side

Celebratory Sips DSP Other Side

The card starts with Berry Burst cardstock for the card base. There are so many colors you can choose from that coordinate with these papers! I hardly ever use Berry Burst but I liked it with the background paper I used. As you can see, that paper is one of the generic designs on “the other side”. I fussy-cut three drinks from one of the designer paper sheets. If you get the Cheers & Sips Bundle you can stamp and diecut some drink images and maybe some from the designer paper, but I only have the paper. To make the drinks stand out a little better against the rather dark background, I die cut a Basic White circle from the Spotlight On Nature Dies. How often do I use these particular dies? A whole bunch! They are a good set to have in your collection!

Then it was just a matter of placing the drinks. I popped up the pink drink with the cherry and umbrella on the left, but the lemonade drink, shall we say, is adhered flat to the card. The green drink in the center ( I don’t think it is a Margarita!) is popped up right in between on Stampin’ Dimensionals just on the right side because the left side is flat on the pink drink.

The greeting is in the Charming Day Stamp Set. It just happened to be nearby and I thought the “Happy Birthday” font was perfect to use on this card. I stamped it with Berry Burst ink and then cut around the shape instead of taking up too much space on the card. I saw a tip about drawing around the stamp itself lightly with pencil, stamping within that line, and then you can cut out the greeting following the line. If it is too difficult to get your stamp placed right, just eyeball it. There is no right or wrong way to cut around the words. The greeting is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Since I wanted it to be a fun birthday card, I aded several Shiny Sequins that I had in my stash. You can use whatever gems or sequins you have to add a little sparkle!

Remember, you will find the Celebratory Sips Suite products in the Online Exclusives category or just search for the name.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Floral Impressions Yellow Daisies Birthday Card

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Floral Impressions Yellow Daisies Birthday Card

This Floral Impressions Yellow Daisies Birthday Card is an easy one to make when your kitchen is torn up waiting for new flooring, your stamping supplies are scattered around different places in the house, and you can’t find your Paper Trimmer anywhere! (Oh! It’s under a pile on the fireplace! Who would have thought?!)

The card base is Garden Green cardstock with a layer of the generic design on the back of the daisy paper. This is the Floral Impressions Designer Series Paper in the Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives. This is a great package of paper with pretty florals and foliage plus the pretty colors on the “other side” of the papers. This paper is part of the Floral Impressions Suite Collection if you want it all with one number on your order! Don’t forget it is FREE SHIPPING at Stampin’ Up! with a $75 order today and tomorrow!

The daisy paper is 3″ x 4″ and the only reason it is that size is because it was a piece already cut to that size and fit this card perfectly! I layered it on another piece of Garden Green cardstock 3 1/4″ x 4 1/4″. The greeting is in the Saying Something Ephemera Pack in the Annual Catalog. I layered it on a strip of Garden Green. Just add a little bow out of twine, like this Garden Green color, or Linen Thread would be perfect as well. The greeting is popped up on Dimensionals.

That’s all there is to this card. Add a Basic White layer inside so you can stamp or write a personal message because of the dark cardstock. Add a few gems if you like some sparkle, too!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Painterly Pears Unbounded Love Birthday Card

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Painterly Pears Unbounded Love Birthday Card

I needed to make a simple card because we are in the midst of getting a new kitchen floor so everything is out of place, including my stamping stuff since I do that at our kitchen table! This Painterly Pears Unbounded Love Birthday Card came together very easily even though I didn’t really have a plan. Very often just looking at a pack of designer series paper stimulates some creativity!

For this card, I simply looked at the Painterly Pears Designer Series Paper and this pattern with the Petal Pink background happened to be in the front of the package. It looked beautiful to me! And I found a Petal Pink card base, already cut, scored and folded! I can’t find where I put my Paper Trimmer but I always have my old guillotine one from years ago handy so I cut use that to trim down the designer paper for the card front.

The greeting is made with the Unbounded Love Bundle. I used two of the dies in the Unbounded Love Dies, one to diecut the Basic White larger oval scalloped shape and a smaller one for the Petal Pink thin oval. I found that the small Petal Pink diecut fit right over the pierced inside border of the scalloped diecut. Before adhering the Petal pink piece, I stamped a greeting from the Unbounded Love Stamp Set in Mossy Meadow ink. It just barely fit! I also added a little trim to the bottom of the greeting. It is the Petal Pink 5/16″ Braided Trim. I just cut two small pieces because the braided trim is thick so I didn’t want to fold over one bigger piece in half and make too large a fold under the greeting. Then I popped up the whole greeting with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For a little embellishment, I used the new Low Profile Sparkle Dots to put a little sparkle on this card. These Dots are in the beautiful Painterly Pears Suite Collection but you can purchase them separately, of course.

You’ll find the Painterly Pears Suite and individual products in the latest Online Exclusives in the Online Store! It really is a beautiful set that I’m sure you will enjoy!

Charming Day Damask Birthday Card

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Charming Day Damask Birthday Card

This Charming Day Damask Birthday Card was a fun card to make! I used a Petal Pink Two-Tone cardstock for the background to show one of the techniques you can use with this two-tone cardstock. This paper has a light shade on one side and a darker shade of the same color on the other side, plus a white core. I took advantage of the white core of the paper with the embossed background.

In order to create the interesting background for this card, I embossed the Petal Pink Two-Tone cardstock with the Damask Designs Embossing Folder. This is a pretty embossing folder to use just as it comes out, but if you have two-tone cardstock, you can do something extra with the embossed paper. After embossing the pretty design, use a sanding block, or whatever you have, to lightly rub across the top of the embossed images. Go lightly at first. You can always do more as long as you don’t tear the paper. When you do the sanding, it will expose the white core of the paper! It’s very subtle on this card with the light-colored paper, but you can see it.

The card base is Basic White cardstock and the embossed Damask Designs layer is adhered to it. If you wanted a more dramatic background, use a darker color of the two-tone cardstsock.

For the flowers, I stamped this little cluster of flowers in the Charming Day Stamp Set with Memento Ink on Basic White cardstock. The flowers are colored in with Petal Pink Stampin’ Blends and the leaves with Lemon Lime Twist Stampin’ Blends. Then it was diecut with the Charming Day Dies. If you want the stamp set and dies, you can get the Charming Day Bundle and save 10%. The greeting is also in the stamp set and is stamped in Memento ink. It is diecut with my go-to…. the banner in the Stylish Shapes Dies. The flowers are popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals, but the greeting is adhered flat to the card.

For a little embellishment, I used three of the Strawberry Slush & Pretty In Pink Gems on the embossed layer. They are small and just add a little sparkle. I didn’t want to add too much to this particular card because I wanted to show off the sanded embossing on the card using the two-tone cardstock.

If you are interested in any of the colors in the Two-Tone cardstock, there is a sale going on today and tomorrow, July 10 – 11. You can check out all the colors on page 77 in the Annual Catalog. The paper is 20% off on these last two days of the three-day sale! This cardstock is great for cardmaking and other projects as well as scrapbooking!

Before you decide on individual colors, check out the various assortment packs. There are seven assortments with two sheets of each of six colors which would give you several colors to try. They are mixed in on the Two Tone Sale page so just scroll through. Choose the grouping of colors you like the best or get all of them!

Read more about the Two-Tone cardstock HERE.

SHOP THE TWO TONE SALE!

Wildflower Birthday Hidden Tag Card

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Wildflower Birthday Pull Out Tag Card

Last Saturday Stampin’ Up!® held a virtual event, Creativity Now, for Demonstrators to “attend”. I made this card, Wildflower Birthday Hidden Tag Card, in the same design as one of the cards but with paper I already had. They used a specific upcoming Suite, Peaceful Garden, to do their projects. This Suite will be one in the new September-December 2025 Mini Catalog (Holiday Mini). We could preorder that Suite or any of the products in the Suite to stamp along during Creativity Now, but I decided to wait and see what would be in the Mini Catalog. I did find I was more drawn to the Suite seeing it being used in making cards and one little box, and it’s not just for Christmas cards at all, but you could use it for holiday cards.

I mostly copied the Creativity Now design of this card that they made, but I used the Wildflower Birthday Specialty Designer Series Paper. I changed up the design a little bit from how Stampin’ Up! made their card but it is basically the same and easy to make.

The card base is Pool Party cardstock but other colors could have been used also. Stampin’ Up! just used the square of designer paper and the greeting block underneath on the card base, but I adhered them to a layer of Pretty In Pink cardstock first before adhering to the card. The Wildflower Birthday Designer Paper is cut at 3″ x 3″ and the Basic White block is 3″ x 1 1/4″. On this block, I stamped a sentiment in the Simply Said Stamp Set in Pretty In Pink ink. I measured the size of both of these blocks of paper together which was 4 1/2″ x 3″ and then cut the Pretty In Pink cardstock at 4 5/8″ x 3 1/8″ so there would be just a little margin around the edge. Before adhering to the card, I added a piece of Pretty In Pink Ribbon and bow around the seam of the DSP and the greeting.

Now I should have popped up that panel described above of the designer paper and greeting with Stampin’ Dimensionals to make it easier to slide the tag in and out from underneath, but I didn’t think of it in the moment! However, I did remember not to put glue on the right side where the tag would slide in and out, so it still works. Just not as easily. For the tag, I used one on the sheet of tags included in the Wildflower Birthday Specialty DSP and trimmed it down to fit better. I stamped the “Happy Birthday” greeting in Pretty In Pink ink from the same Simply Said Stamp Set on the tag. I decided to adhere it to a piece of Basic white cardstock to make it a little sturdier and then just trimmed off the excess white cardstock around the shape of the tag. To make sure the recipient would notice this tag should be pulled out, I added one of the diecut flowers across the gold top that is included in the DSP plus added a bit of Pretty In Pink Ribbon to the end of the tag. You could also write a message on the back of the tag if you wanted to.

To the side of this front panel with the Designer paper and the greeting is a strip of the designer paper. At the Creativity Now event, they used a small embossed piece and a piece of glimmer paper on that side. I decided to just use one strip of the coordinating designer paper instead. It is cut at 3/4″ x 4 5/8″. I think the gold scallops on the paper add a nice accent to that side of the card.

Wildflower Birthday Hidden Tag Card

This is a fun card design and you can make it with whatever paper and greetings you have for many occasions while you wait for the Peaceful Garden Suite Collection to come out in the next Mini Catalog in September! Maybe you will want that Suite or part of it. I always find it just as fun to watch others stamp and make pretty things as making them myself so I enjoyed Creativity Now even though I wasn’t stamping along with the new sneak peek Suite!

Remember, we are entering the LAST DAYS of the SUITE BOGO 50% OFF SALE so make your list and put in your order if you want to take advantage! Click on that link and scroll down to list the list of the many Suites we have that you can choose from. Read my blog post from yesterday to get more information.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Full Of Life Slimline Hip Hip Hooray Card

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Full Of Life Slimline Hip Hip Hooray Card

I knew I wanted to use the Full Of Life paper and this Full Of Life Slimline Hip Hip Hooray Card is what eventually turned out! I think this paper is so colorful and fun. You can use it for so many occasions, and if you want more subtle color, just turn over on the other side. I think this card could be for a birthday or a celebratory occasion such as a graduation. Maybe a good masculine card!

This is a slimline card for something different. The Full Of Life 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper worked well with that. The Basic White card base is cut at 6″ x 6″ and folded in half at 3″ to make the slimline design. I cut the paper with the little squares at five rows which is about 2 1/8″ wide. That was the section with colors of greens, blues, and purples. Just by chance, the “other side” of the scrap I cut off had a dark blue stripe which I liked against the many colors of the squares. I cut that in half so I could adhere about 1/4″ to the top and the bottom of the squares piece.

I wasn’t sure what greeting I wanted to put on this card, but I found the “Hip Hip Hooray” in the Saying Something Ephemera. While it doesn’t show up dramatically on the front of this card, I think it shows up well enough and gives the card an interesting look. I also added a few Iridescent Foil Gems to the empty space over on the left side.

Try out the Full Of Life Designer Paper and see what fun cards you can make with it!

Florals In Bloom Birthday Gift Bag

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Florals In Bloom Birthday Gift Bag

And sometimes you forget to hit the “Publish” button after you write a blog post! It was supposed to be on my blog Friday, but I forgot to push the button! Anyway, here is this fun and easy gift bag you can make in no time!

It might be time to make a few gift bags to have on hand this time of year. You probably have graduations coming up or lots of summer birthdays, hostess gifts for parties, maybe even Father’s Day! You can make your own small gift bag in just a few minutes and decorate for the particular occasion.

This particular pattern of gift bag is made with just half a sheet of 12″ x 12″ sheet of paper, whether card stock or designer series paper. This finished gift bag is 4 1/4″ tall, 4″ wide, and 1 3/4″ deep. It is large enough for a small gift or maybe a gift card and a congratulatory card. You could put a cello bag with a few cookies or candies in there. So it is small but not tiny!

While you can cut the paper at 6″ x 12″, I made mine 7″ x 12″ so that I could fold the top edge down 1″ to show the other side of the paper for a little interest on the bag. Either way the rest of the measurements and scoring are the same.

For this bag, I used this floral pattern in the Florals In Bloom Designer Series Paper. You’ll find it in the Annual Catalog. It is part of the Florals In Bloom Suite Collection. Make sure any pattern on any paper is going in the direction you want it to go on your project when you cut your paper and when you score, depending on the project.

Start with a 6″ x 12″ piece of paper (or if you want to fold over the top make your paper 7″ x 12″). Score at 4″, 5 3/4″, 9 3/4″, and 11 1/2″. Turn the paper so the short edge is at the top and score at 1 3/4″. This will make the bottom flaps of the bag. Cut those short bottom tabs up to the 1 3/4″ score line. Cut off the little 1/2″ tab on the bottom.  Fold on all the score lines and crease well with the Bone Folder.  Adhere the tab on the end to the other side to assemble the bag.  Then adhere the flaps on the bottom. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue for the ease of getting things lined up properly before it sticks together or you can use Tear & Tape Adhesive.

Florals In Bloom Gift Bag Scoring

Have fun decorating your bag! I folded over the top 1″ before assembling the bag. You can punch holes front and back to tie ribbon through in order to close the bag or just do it decoratively with a bow as I did. I stamped a Basic White Countryside Corners diecut (dies on the Last Chance list) with a greeting in the Poised Peony Stamp Set (retired). You can use whatever greeting you have. I layered this diecut on the next larger die in Peach Pie cardstock. The greeting is stamped in Strawberry Slush ink and the little peony is stamped in Memento ink and colored in with Peach Pie and Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. I stuck this up underneath the folded over top edge and I think it fits just fine. It looks a little like a banner. I added a few of the new Strawberry Slush & Pretty In Pink Gems to the greeting for a little sparkle.

And that’s how easy making this basic gift bag is!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Florals In Bloom Birthday Wishes Gift Bag

Sweet Jar Happy Birthday Card

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Sweet Jar Happy Birthday Card

Create this card in May when you get the new Sweet Jar Bundle! You will find it in the Online Exclusives coming May 6th! Can you believe it will be May 6th next week already?! This is going to be fun set to be very creative with, I believe!

In the Sweet Jar Bundle, you get the Sweet Jar Stamp Set and the Sweet Jar Builder Punch. The Punch punches out the jar and the lid. You can stamp them first and then punch or just punch plain paper and jazz it up if you want.

For this slimline card, the card base is Peach Pie cardstock with a layer of a pinkish/peachish paper in the Full of Life 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper. One of the “other sides” of this very colorful pack of paper! Start with a 6″ x 6″ piece of cardstock, score at 3″ and you have a slimline card, as we call it. You can vary the measurements if you have a larger envelope that your card will fit in.

The jars are punched from Basic White cardstock and the candies inside are stamped on there. It’s easy to ink up the stamp to make all the candies the same color. If you want to make them different colors you have to use a Stampin’ Write Marker for each candy. Since my photopolymer stamp was new, it wasn’t working great with the marker on another card I made no matter what I tried. So this method is easier. You can even imagine these candies being something else in the jar. Use your imagination! I also took a Pool Party Stampin’ Blend marker and just lightly let the brush tip run along the edge, ON the edge, of the jar just to put a hint of color to make it look like a glass jar, with a few little highlight streaks. Hold the jar in your hand when you apply the ink to the edge so you’re not really drawing it on. You could probably use a gray marker as well. The lids I punched out of Gold Foil scraps. All three jars luckily fit on this slimline card with a couple of them tilted a little bit. It makes them fit and looks a little more fun! The greeting is in the set and is stamped in Peach Pie ink. I cut the ends to make a little banner out of it and made the strip narrow to fit on the card. Everything is glued down flat to the card. Not one to leave off some embellishment, I had to add three little Strawberry Slush & Pretty In Pink Gems, also coming in the Online Exclusives.

This Sweet Jar Bundle will also allow you to make shaker cards for fun! Start thinking of ideas of what you will want to make!

Storybook Moments Z-Fold Bunnies Card

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Storybook Moments Z-Fold Bunnies Card

I think this Storybook Moments Z-Fold Bunnies Card turned out so sweet, not because I made it, but because the paper and the bunnies are just irresistible. I didn’t even add a greeting because this was not meant to be an Easter card (although it could be!) and I wasn’t sure for what occasion I would send it or to whom I would send it. And I could have no sentiment and just write a personal message inside.

This is a Z-Fold card which I think always looks special and yet is simple to make. It is just the front of the card folded back on a center score line. The only tricky part is adhering the center panel on the front, centered properly, so that if you have a stamped greeting on the inside, it is completely hidden from the front because of how you place it.

This card starts with a base of Boho Blue cardstock. Cut the usual card size, 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. Score at 2 1/8″ and 4 1/4″. Or score the card at 4 1/4″ as usual, then score the card front in half. Half of 4 1/4″ is 2 1/8″. Or just fold the card front in half lining it up with the card fold. Then decorate however you like.

I used the Storybook Moments Specialty Designer Series Paper for this card. I have liked this paper so much I have almost used all of it and that doesn’t usually happen! I just love the patterns with the strawberries and I got to use both on this card! One has a pinkish background and one has blue. My friend said she’d like to have the blue one for wallpaper! That would take a lot of packages of paper!

I adhered a piece of the pink strawberry pattern to the front panel. It is cut at 5 3/8″ x 2″. The main thing to think about is keeping margins the same wherever you place paper on the card. This measurement gave a teeny tiny margin around the edges. If you want the usual margin, then cut the designer paper a little narrower and shorter. But then so that with the inside layer and the strip on the right-hand edge of the card, IF you are doing those. The inside of my card has a Basic White piece cut at 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″. I played and played trying to decide on the paper design for the edge of the card and finally the blue background strawberry pattern looked perfect.

The Basic White paper on the inside of the card (for a stamped or written message or note) looked too stark white against the other papers so I used a Small Blending Brush (or you could use a sponge) to apply just a very light shade of Crumb Cake ink just around the edges and even a bit in the center. Very light! It’s just enough to match the background of the paper with the bunnies instead of looking so white.

The focal point of the card uses the Storybook Moments DSP pattern with the larger images of bunnies in a variety of poses and actions. I used the largest circle die in the Stylish Shapes Dies because that was the size I needed to get every bit of the bunnies in the die. That left me with nothing larger for the layer. After looking through my dies, I chose the Memorable Blooms Dies (which were on the Last Chance List and now must be discontinued). The octagon shape fit the bunny diecut very well and the Old Olive cardstock helped it stand out from the background.

The strip on the side of the card is 1″ x 5 3/8″, again, matching the same length of the other papers and margins on the card. You can vary this size or not even add it. For a finishing touch, I added a small bow under the bunny piece. I haven’t gone through my ribbons in awhile so this one may be retired as well. It was a Granny Apple Green in a Ribbon Duo Combo Pack. Use whatever you have. Linen Thread would look perfect on this card as well. Another important tip is to only put glue or adhesive on the half of the focal point panel so that it only is sticky on the side going on the Z-Fold and not sticking to the inside of the card!

Here is a photo of the card opened up so you can see how the Z-Fold looks.

Storybook Moments Z-Fold Bunnies Card Open

As much as I like to add bling or sparkles, I felt this card was fine without anything else, just the bow!

Don’t forget about the Last Chance List! Some items are discounted but not all and once they are gone from there, they are gone. The Last Chance List of retiring products has now taken the place of the Clearance Rack. If a product in any retiring catalog is carrying over, if you don’t see it in the new catalog it is in the Online Exclusives category in the Online Store!

Also, remember that now you get Stampin’ Rewards in your account to spend on a future order any time you place an order of $20 or more in merchandise! In fact, I noticed that when you view a product in the Online Store, it will tell you what your rewards would be for that product!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP ONLINE HERE!

Wildflower Birthday Cupcake Birthday Card

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Wildflower Birthday Cupcake Birthday Card

Make this Wildflower Birthday Cupcake Birthday Card easily with the Wildflower Birthday Specialty Designer Series Paper in the Stampin’ Up! Spring Mini Catalog. It’s not “just” for birthdays (as you can see with the floral paper in the background) but you will have some fun options for making birthday cards or birthday scrapbook pages.

This card is made with a card base of Blueberry Bushel Cardstock. It coordinates with some of the flowers in the background paper. The pretty floral paper in the background has gold foil accents which makes almost anything look fancier!

The extra special feature of the Wildflower Birthday Designer Paper is that it comes with two sheets of diecut images. These are great to use on cards and scrapbook pages and make designing the project quick and easy, not to mention fun! For this card, I used three cupcake diecuts on these sheets on the front of the card. They are popped up on three layers of paper underneath to help them stand out. The green paper with white dots underneath the cupcakes is cut at 4″ x 1 1/2″ and is in the Wildflower Birthday DSP. The layer underneath that paper is Blueberry Bushel cardstock cut at 4 1/4″ x 1 3/4″. The layer underneath that is Gold Foil to match the gold foil accents and is cut at 4 1/2″ x 2″.

The greeting is stamped on a scrap strip of Basic White cardstock and layered on Gold Foil with the ends flagged like banners. I just cut these by hand. Just for a little extra embellishment on this card, I added some Shiny Sequins (retired) from the Flowering Zinnias Suite on the top of the cupcakes using the different colors. You can use anything sparkly that you have!

Since the card base is a dark color, add a Basic White layer inside the card on which to stamp or write a personal message. Make it extra nice with either a strip of the designer paper along the bottom and/or a diecut or two!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE

With You In Mind Masculine Birthday Card

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With You In Mind Masculine Birthday Card

This With You In Mind Masculine Birthday Card uses some rather new products and a soon-to-be-new product! The plaid paper and the colors make it a great masculine card that we often have difficulty coming up with.

I wanted to use the Timeless Plaid 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper for a card and this is what I came up with. You’ll find it in the Stampin’ Up! Spring Mini Catalog. This plaid has brown and blues in it. I chose Crumb Cake cardstock for the card base and then the plaid designer paper.

The greeting is stamped in Boho Blue ink on Basic White with the With You In Mind Stamp Set. This stamp set is also in the Spring Mini. I really like this stamp set! It has rather large greetings in a fun font and are ones everyone will use, plus some small images like the stars and cupcake you see on this card. This greeting was then diecut using new dies “coming” on March 4th in the Online Exclusives! Demonstrators were able to preorder. These are the Textured Notes Dies. These are all rectangles with different diecut border designs. They will be very useful dies to use for layering or cutting frames to use. For this card I added an extra plain Boho Blue layer under the Basic White greeting, just cut with the Paper Trimmer, and then the whole greeting piece is layered on top of a Textured Note diecut piece of Crumb Cake. For this card I really liked the extra Boho Blue color layered under the white. I popped up the whole greeting with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For some embellishments, I stamped two stars, one in Boho Blue ink and one in Crumb Cake ink, plus a cupcake. To stamp the cupcake, I inked up just the cupcake bottom with Crumb Cake ink, stamped that, then inked up just the frosting in Lost Lagoon ink, and stamped that right above the cupcake bottom. It happened to work out perfectly! You could also use Stampin’ Write markers to color both areas, breathe on the stamp, then stamp. It might turn out a little light but it would probably be fine. Then I just cut out the stars and cupcake with my Paper Snips. I felt like the card still needed a little sparkle or something so I added two gold dots in the Low Profile Dots. I really like these dots which are really “low profile” because they don’t add bumpy lumps to the envelope when mailing!

Although I labeled this card as masculine, it could be for anyone as is because the colors are so pretty together in the plaid, but you could change the plaid paper to other colors and brighten up the whole card a little bit. Be sure to check out these Textured Note Dies when they come out next week.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!