The Kraft Gift Boxes offered by Stampin' Up! are so much fun to decorate! On this one I used the Patio Party Designer Series Paper, which I admit I haven't used very much, but wow, I really loved how this turned out with this paper! I just measured the sides and top of the box, cut pieces of the Patio Party DSP and adhered them. With our double-sided designer paper it's so much fun to choose which side to use….well, even difficult at times since they both often look good! I tied a Primrose Petals Stitched Satin Ribbon around the box and put a paper flower on top. The paper flower is made with pieces cut from the Flower Folds Die. I punched a 1 1/4" circle for the flower center and put a Subtles Designer Button in the middle to top it off.
All very easy to do with a Stampin' Up! Kraft Gift Box and some designer paper…and my friend loved it!
If I were you, I would stock up on a couple packages of these Kraft Gift Boxes #124106 to use for those small gifts we often have. You get 4 boxes in a package for only $2.95. The boxes are 3.5" x 3.5" x 2.5"
You can order anything you want from Stampin' Up! online here!
Recently I had a customer order the Flower Folds Die and it made me realize I hadn't used mine in a while. Maybe it has something to do with spring coming, but I've been having a ball making flower cards with this die. I'm not even making fancy flowers, just die-cutting the flowers out of designer series paper and layering them one on top of the other. I randomly picked the Tea for Two Designer Series Paper and am enjoying the pretty colors that coordinate (although I did use Pool Party which isn't one of the listed colors!).
You can just glue down each flower…but I put glue only in the center of each flower so that I could fold the petals up. Of course when you are mailing, unless you use a special padded envelope, you can't get too dimensional, but the recipient can "poof up" the petals after they receive it! I used a few Mini Glue Dots to adhere the button, tied with a White Baker's Twine bow, to the center of the flower. The greeting is from the stamp set Perfectly Penned (a very useful set!). Remember, most any of our stamps you can purchase in wood-mount or clear-mount. The rubber is the same in either case, it's just a matter of personal preference.
Don't forget….you could also cut out fabric flowers with this die! It's not just for paper! And you can cut several layers at once!
Why not get out something you haven't played with in awhile like I did today with the Flower Folds Die? You might find a new streak of inspiration!
Some of us can’t seem to get enough of the chalkboard technique! Here is a birthday card using a banner and the chalkboard technique!
In case you are new to this chalkboard craze, the black card stock is stamped with Versamark ink and embossed with white embossing powder. You could also stamp with white craft ink. Then for me, the fun part is taking a small cloth or sponge or even your finger and smearing a little of that white craft ink onto the card to make it look like an old dusty chalkboard! The look is not restricted to black card stock…lots of chalk boards were a dark green. Do whatever you want! It’s your piece of art!
On this card, I used the More Amore Specialty Designer Series Paper in the Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog, stamped with the Hearts A Flutter stamp set and cut out the banner pieces with the Hearts a Flutter Framelits Dies. Be sure to check out the Bundle if you are interested before you purchase!
Try out this technique! It’s really fun and I love the look! Once you are aware of it, you will see it in lots of advertising and lots of places! Be trendy! Try the chalkboard technique!
Valentines are sometimes all "mushy" but here is a cute idea for valentines for boys! Not that they can't be for girls, too, of course…but in the craft world, it's often more difficult to find "boy" things. Anybody who loves robots will like these valentines…and not just for Valentine's Day either! They would be just as cute for birthday cards or some kind of birthday party favors. The only bad thing is that the chocolate candy making up the body is pretty tempting and then the robot is kind of destroyed! But that's okay…we have to remember, it is only paper!
Of course I copied the idea from a couple I saw online a long time ago and then made them up my own way. On two, I embossed aluminum foil (the heavy duty kitchen kind) in an embossing folder in the Big Shot.
Here are close-ups of the robot valentines. The glare of the foil makes it a little difficult to take photos!
Here you can see the two chocolate nuggets forming the body (stuck together with one mini glue dot near the bottom of the candy and some Sticky Strip on the back.
Use your imagination and make some fun valentines like these! Once you get started, it is hard to stop!
I’ve loved chalkboards (I called them blackboards) since I was a girl, so I can’t get enough of making these chalkboard cards! This chalkboard birthday card I made for my friend (and now that I know she received it, I can show it to you!). I got the idea of using the beautiful Framed Tulips Embossing Folder #121809 as a frame for the “chalkboard” online but the card I personalized for my friend. Just stamp with Versamark Ink #102283, emboss with White Stampin’ Emboss Powder #109132 using the new Heat Tool #129053, and my favorite part, rub a little White Craft Ink #101731 on the background with a soft cloth or a sponge (lightly) to give it the look of a real chalkboard with dust!! If you want, you can draw some border lines around the edges with a white Watercolor Crayon or one of the Stampin’ Up! Watercolor Pencils or any white pencil.
I used several stamp sets on this card!
The cute Pool Party button is from a Ribbon & Button Pack (Sycamore Street) #130812 in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure, which you can get FREE with a $50 purchase! The tiny little paper banner is also available FREE from Sale-A-Bration in the Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper pack #127540. You can even get both the designer paper and the Ribbon & Button Pack, plus the coordinating Madison Avenue Stamp Set FREE in a BUNDLE if you host a $400 party! Just get some friends to order with you and you might be able to take advantage of that bundle and lots more for being a hostess!
Just go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store and place your order at your convenience! Or email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com if you need any help or would prefer me to place your order!
This was just too easy, so I had to make another card with the You Are Loved stamp set! I chose Perfect Plum card stock and ink to give it the monochromatic look, stamped on Shimmery White card stock. If you enlarge the photo, you might even be able to see the “shimmer” of the paper. Very subtle, very elegant, very pretty! I just used the greeting that was in the stamp set, or you could any other one, and tied a little Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon around the middle. Beautiful card and couldn’t be simpler to make!
You could make a little package with this stamp set, colored card stock, Whisper White card stock and ribbon to spend $50 and then be eligible to choose a FREE product from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure!
Total: $50.75
Now if you wanted to add on some more items, like adhesive, envelopes, some bling (rhinestones, pearls, glitter, 2-Way Glue Pen), another greeting set, other ink colors, etc. you could spend another $50 and choose a second Sale-A-Bration FREE product!
Shop HERE at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store or contact me if you have any questions!
Here’s another sample of a card using the Sale-A-Bration stamp set Patterned Occasions. I found this polka-dot embossed card base in my “scraps” and I decided it would be perfect to use with the cute little cupcake in the Patterned Occasions stamp set. I could have stamped the cupcake in just one color and it would have been nice. To get the different colors on the one stamp, I used our Stampin’ Write Markers to color in the stamp. Then it is punched out with the 1 3/4″ Circle Punch and layered on the 2 3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch. That is popped up on the 2 1/2″ Circle Punch with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The pretty new ribbon is found in the Spring Catalog on page 30, Melon Mambo 3/8″ Striped Organdy Ribbon.
You can get this fun stamp set FREE with a Sale-A-Bration purchase of $50 or more! Just spend $50 or more during Sale-A-Bration (Jan. 22 thru March 22) and choose one of the products in the Sale-A-Bration brochure. For every $50 you spend, you can choose one product! Spend $150 and get a free pack of Silver Glimmer Paper, in honor of Stampin’ Up! 25th Anniversary year!
Go to my Online Store right now and do some window-shopping! When you are ready, just place your order online and choose your free Sale-A-Bration item(s) for every $50 you spend before tax and shipping! Let me know if I can help!
As part of the 25-year anniversary celebration, Stampin' Up! is bringing back some of their favorite stamp images from the last quarter century and combining them into 12 sets, which they will release-one set per month-during 2013. For January 2013, the stamp set available NOW is Best of Birthdays #132929 Price $14.95 You can order it now in my Online Store.
Even better, along with some great classic images, each "Best of" set will also include a never-before-seen image!
Some things to remember from Stampin' Up!:
While we are releasing just one Best of stamp set per month, all of the Best of sets will be available until March 31, 2014.
***** As a special incentive to collect the Best of stamps, starting in February Stampin' Up is including a collector's card and 25-year proof of purchase sticker with every Best of set. Collect six stickers, and send it in to redeem a FREE set of your choice valued up to $14.95! Free sets must be redeemed no later than April 30, 2014.
Download the Collector's Card here!
Order your Best of Birthdays Stamp Set at my Online Store right here!
Stampin' Up! produced this video for Leadership 2013 giving us a peek at the Distribution Center in Riverton, Utah and how our orders are packed up and shipped out! I'd like to see even more but maybe they don't want to give away their secrets! I always like to know the "behind the scenes" stuff! This year kicks off the 25th anniversary of Stampin' Up! so you will see the achievements and growth of Stampin' Up! during that time in the video also! Enjoy!
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!
Stampin' Up! announced recently that they would be putting little flyers in the order boxes, so this is the one I got in my most recent order. I think it is a great idea, a little bonus for our customers (and us!). Mine was about how to make those paper bows that we often buy in gigantic bags. I've seen directions around the internet on how to make them, but until I got these directions from Stampin' Up! I didn't really stop and make one myself.
Amazing that you can make a pretty bow just out of several strips of paper and glue! My first one is a tiny bit wonky but it's not very noticeable…probably just to me.
I also took one of the Kraft Gift Boxes #124106 and decorated it with the brightly colored International Bazaar Designer Series Paper #126920. I measured the sides of the box and cut my pieces of paper just 1/8" smaller on two sides, allowing for a narrow margin of the Kraft Box to show. Since all the paper coordinates, I could choose anything I wanted to. The box was the perfect size for a bracelet I was giving my friend. It's good to keep some of these Kraft Gift Boxes on hand for all those gift-giving occasions! Be sure to add them to your next Stampin' Up! order!
You can get anything you need at my Online Store here….and maybe you will get a bonus flyer in your package from Stampin' Up!
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!
Just playing with the stamp set Button Buddies….and my Color Coach! I started off thinking I would make this stamp look like fall flowers…and then I looked at my Stampin’ Up! Color Coach which gives you color suggestions of combinations. Usually you feel like you wouldn’t have thought of that combination on your own, but lo and behold, the Color Coach usually is right! Once I chose Summer Starfruit, the Color Coach suggested Real Red and Marina Mist….so that’s what I used for my card. After stamping my flowers, I added the new Naturals Designer Buttons in the Stampin’ Up! Catalog, tied with a bit of Real Red and Marina Mist 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon.
The greeting is stamped with stamps from the Hostess stamp set Wacky Wishes. See a trick I used for stamping the greeting over on my Facebook page.