In 1969 on this date, a television show called "Sesame Street" made its broadcast debut.  It was created by Joan Ganz Cooney to provide an educational and entertaining show for preschoolers, particularly to help underprivileged 3- to 5-year olds prepare for kindergarten. A puppeteer named Jim Henson was hired to create the characters for Sesame Street who, of course, became institutions.  

The Sesame Street characters are so fun to make with "punch art". Get out your punches and your card stock scraps and go to town!  This is a great way to make party invitations, favors, cards, etc. for little children!

Stamping and papercrafting, I think, is the perfect hobby for moms of young children.  So many birthday parties, school parties, school events, sports…you name it….and with stamping you can make all the things you need with little cost and little time….or ON little time, as you discover it's time for the birthday party and you haven't bought a card yet.  You can make one in minutes, right before you go out the door!

If you are interested in learning this easy, easy craft, just contact me at Karen@Karenstamps.com!

Birthday card, anniversary card, sympathy card, thinking of you card…..I think you could use this little card for any occasion just by changing the sentiment.  The Baja Breeze card base is 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" and layered with Cherry Cobbler and Tangerine Tango.  I was a little concerned how those colors would look together, but I like them with this paper!  The paper, of course, is the new sneak peek Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper available now during the Spring Is Blossoming Promotion.  The Four Frames stamp set and the Paisley Petals DSP will be available in the new Stampin' Up! catalog in July, but you can purchase it now, only during April….or you'll have to wait until July!  This paper is too pretty to wait THAT long!

The Baja Breeze card is actually photographed on top of another sheet of the Paisley Petals paper so you can see more.

Shop my Online Store today to take advantage of this offer!  And be sure to check out the Clearance Rack for some great deals!

Robots make a great birthday card….at least these robots do in the stamp set Lots of Bots #115293!  There they are, ready with their gifts, balloons and party hats!  Although I no longer had little boys in the house when this stamp set came out, my big boy was working on a robotics project at college so I had to purchase this set!  I'm glad I did because it has always been fun to make a card with it!  I also added some "metal" pieces, punched with the Cog Punch #118873 out of Brushed Silver and Basic Black card stock.  I'm sure some of those pieces were used to make the robots!!  The metal Hodgepodge Hardware adds a nice metallic touch to the card as well.  And the fun Spiral Border Punch #119872 adds some interest.  Perhaps it was laziness or lack of time, but after I stamped the robots, I decided to leave them blank with the thought that whatever child received this might like to color them in himself!

I got the idea for this card from another demonstrator named Taunya on our Stampin' Up! website called "Stampin' Connection".  It's a place for demonstrators to share samples and have discussions in forums and exchange ideas.  So if you would like to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, don't think you have to have natural-born creativity! Stampin' Up! provides plenty of ideas and resources for projects and running your business!  If you are interested in finding out about the business opportunity with Stampin' Up!, please click HERE to get some information.  And then email me if you want additional information or have questions.  You can sign up online in minutes to start your business and all the fun you will have as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

Since I had so much fun making a 4 1/4" square card last week with strips of designer series paper in THIS post, I thought I would make something similar today. This is the Sale-a-Bration designer paper, Ice Cream Parlor #122242 on page 7.  You can get this paper free with a $50 purchase from Stampin' Up! until March 31st….and with another $50 purchase, you can also get the Ribbon & Button Pack #123529 for added embellishment!

The cupcake is of course punched with the Build a Cupcake Punch #121807 in the Occasions 2011 Mini Catalog.  Really a fun card to make!

Let me know if you need any supplies!  Sale-a-Bration only lasts one more month!!!  Go to my website to place an order anytime!

Our new son-in-law's birthday came upon us pretty quickly, along with the realization that he is now a member of the family and should get a card and gift!  Since he is a big movie-lover, I came up with this card, even though I had to dig around in some retired sets to find "Treat Yourself".  

For the "filmstrip technique" I just took a strip of black card stock and punched along the edges with the Spiral Border Punch #119872.  Then you stamp on some squares that fit on the strip to make it look like a movie!  I have always loved that idea!

Sometimes it is harder to come up with a "male birthday card" but with a little thought it's really not that difficult.  Stampin' Up! provides so many kinds of stamp sets that you can find something appropriate for everyone!

Sometimes it is hard to think of what to stamp for boys, but Lots of Bots stamp set (#115293) is a great set to use.  Certainly it can be used for girls too, but it seems there are always more choices for girls in crafting.

I started with Bordering Blue card stock for the base and embossed the little screws and such from Lots of Bots  with Silver Embossing Powder (109131) and my Heat Tool (#100005).  That makes a great background and it is always fun to emboss!  After stamping on Whisper White with Black Stazon ink, I layered that on Brushed Silver and Brilliant Blue and then Real Red.  I made the Real Red layer longer and used the Scallop Edge Punch (#112091) for the design at the bottom.  

For a last touch I used my Paper-Piercing Tool (#116631) and foam mat in the Mat Pack (#105826) to poke holes in the scallops and inserted Silver Brads (#104336).  Just leave the card stock on the mat after poking the hole and poke your brads into the holes…then pick up your paper and unfold the little brad legs on the back.  Very easy!

 Shop my Online Store for these supplies and many more!

I've owned this Jackpot Designer Series Paper (#113995) for awhile but used it very little. However, as I making come cards for a friend's birthday gift the other day I came across this paper and thought it was perfect for her and this was what I should use!  While I started off looking online for ideas, once I got stamping I started to come up with my own ideas.  And you will, too!

Here are a couple of the cards I made.

This Jackpot Designer Series would be good for a lot of your masculine cards….you know, the ones we usually have a little bit of trouble coming up with ideas for!

You can order this paper and other products any time, either directly through me or on your own at your own computer through my online store.  Click HERE for online shopping!  Remember, with a purchase of $50 in product, you get to choose a Sale-A-Bration product FREE.

It's been awhile since I have used this template…usually I think people put a tea bag or a chocolate candy in the little pocket.  But since I needed a quick birthday gift for a young teenage boy, I thought it would be fine to hold cash!  I thought of my Lots of Bots stamp set, a good one for boys, and stamped that image for the front.  After I had it all colored in and mounted on Brushed Silver card stock, I thought it needed a little more silver…..and since I am apparently into silver glitter these days, why not a little silver glitter, Chunky Essentials, for the robot!  I just applied a thin line of Tombow Multi Glue around the edge and sprinkled on the glitter.  I think it looks kind of jazzy now!  The Designer Paper I used is the retired Jersey Shore, a good set of colors for a boy.  You could also use any color of card stock and perhaps embellish it with some designer paper.  Lots of opportunity for creativity in this easy project!  Email me if you want more information or ideas!

I felt like I needed to get back to some simple, versatile stamping today and decided to pull out my Fun & Fast Notes stamp set.  This set covers about every occasion and is easy and fun to use.  Here is a birthday card I made, adding some brads on the side and a little Dazzling Diamonds on the cake (flames and middle layer of frosting!).  After that I decided to add a little something to the background so I used the Retro Remix wheel and Versamark ink.  I used our Stampin' Up! Watercolor Paper for the cake and colored in with In Color Markers and my Aquapainter.  If you don't own this set, you can go to my Online Store and order it!