Today is Pi Day and I thought this frog looked much like a professor, or at least math nerd, teaching about Pi.

This is what you need to know about Pi, on this Pi Day:

It’s about circles! The distance around the circle is the circumference.

The distance across the circle through the center is the diameter.

The ratio of the circumference to the diameter for all circles is pi.

Pi is an infinite decimal. It never stops and never repeats.

I’m sure I knew about Pi once upon a time ago, like in high school math class, but that’s as far as it goes…except that when my youngest son was in high school taking calculus, he memorized pi out to 500 digits in his Calculus class! He had a great teacher and this was something the teacher did every year. My son held the record for at least several years, but then he heard someone else broke it! He got a Pi t-shirt, too! He had some system for memorizing that many numbers. I still can’t imagine how he did it! I think the teacher’s young little daughter was there that day and was quite impressed. Maybe she asked for his autograph or something, I don’t remember. He was probably more amused by that than that he knew 500 numbers of pi!

In case you want to get started for next year so you can show off to your friends, here is a website, Pi Trainer, that will help you!

Anyway, I thought this frog from So Hoppy Together looked like a professor or really smart guy who could teach about Pi! The card base is Old Olive with a layer of Basic Black. I stamped the frog and colored him with Stampin’ Blends markers, one of my favorite things to do!

To stamp pi, I happened to think of the Make a Difference Stamp Set which has individual letters, numbers, and a few phrases in it. I managed to get the numbers lined up pretty straight on a block and stamped. I had to go back and put in the extra “1”. I thought it worked out pretty well.

Then I noticed that one of the sentiments in the So Hoppy Together Stamp Set was “You Can Do Anything” and I thought how appropriate for this card! I stamped the words, die cut with an oval framelit die and layered it on a scalloped oval die. Couldn’t resist adding some “bling” with the two Glitter Enamel Dots.

My son is coming home this weekend so I will give him this card so he knows we were still remembering and celebrating one of his favorite moments of high school.

You can celebrate Pi Day by stamping some circles or smart-looking frogs or maybe even baking a real PIE! Or make a Pi card like this one and send it to one of your math friends!

Be sure to shop Stampin’ Up! this weekend coming up. More and more products are selling out, both from Sale-A-Bration and also the Occasions Catalog. The longer you wait, the higher the chance you can’t get something you wanted. The Cupcake Framelits and the Bunny Builder Punch are two of the most recent casualties, not to mention a problem with the die manufacturer possibly creating a quick retirement of certain dies. The good thing is Stampin’ Up! knows how to choose products that are popular with everyone, but sometimes it makes for supply problems. If you have any specific questions about what’s available and what’s not, just ask.

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Spring is really coming, in just one week, so here is my Fable Friends Happy Spring Card With a Bunny looking forward to that! I just got the Fable Friends Stamp Set and couldn’t wait to play with it! It is perfect for Easter cards and projects and with the “Happy Spring” sentiment, we can use it to celebrate spring! There is also a baby greeting and one for a friend. Such a cute set!

The card is made with Calypso Coral Cardstock and a piece of paper from the Happiness Blooms Designer Paper. Even though this paper has a lot of bold patterns, there are more generic, simpler ones like this one with dots. The strip of designer paper is ultimately layered on the side of the Whisper White layer which has first been stamped with the “Happy Spring” greeting randomly on the paper in Calyso Coral ink.

The bunny is stamped with Memento Ink on Whisper White and then colored with Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. I love coloring with these markers! Have I ever said that before?? Then I cut out the bunny with the new Rectangle Framelits Dies plus the Calypso Coral layer underneath. And before adhering all this to the card base, I attached some Whisper White 1/8″ Sheer Ribbon around the layer.

If you purchase this stamp set and a few other products to reach $50, then you can earn a free Sale-A-Bration item! You will be able to use this stamp set now for spring and/or Easter, for a baby card, to send to a friend or lots of other occasions. Then there are the cute projects you could also make besides cards. Go check out this stamp set in the Online Store so you can make something like my Fable Friends Happy Spring Card With a Bunny.

If you want a quick card to make, this Quick and Easy Petal Promenade Floral Birthday Card might be one you would like to make to give someone! It’s just designer paper, card stock, ribbon and a stamped greeting.

This beautiful Petal Promenade Designer Series Paper is one of the free items available during Sale-A-Bration with a $50 purchase. Remember, Sale-A-Bration comes to a screeching halt on March 31. Be sure to use the specific Sale-A-Bration product number for any of the Annual Catalog choices that were recently added to Sale-A-Bration.

This paper was designed by purchasing REAL flowers, bringing them into the Stampin’ Up! home office, photographing the flowers and then doing some photoshopping (like to omit little spiders on the flowers!) to design the actual sheets of paper. I always love finding out behind-the-scenes stories! And I have to say the paper is beautiful for making cards and other projects.

My card starts with a card base of Whisper White Card Stock with a layer of the same. The designer paper is cut 3 1/12″ x 4″ with a layer underneath of Petal Pink Card Stock. You could even make the designer paper piece a bit smaller. Before adhering, I tied the Whisper White 1/8″ Sheer Ribbon around the designer paper. The greeting is stamped from the Beautiful Bouquet Stamp Set, a beautiful set for the images AND the sayings that come with it. There’s almost no way to make an easier card than this!

And while we are on the subject of flowers, I took these photos of our azaleas at our house in full bloom! They are amazing in person! I thought I better get some photos before a storm or heavy rain comes through! The deep pink azalea bush on the corner of the house by the crepe myrtle tree is just HUGE! The blossoms are gorgeous!

Spring is right around the corner and so is the end of Sale-A-Bration! The frog framelits and the cupcake framelits have sold out so get in the store and make sure you get what you want before the end of Sale-A-Bration!

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The Petal Promenade Designer Series Paper can be used to make lots of beautiful cards, like this Easy Petal Promenade Card For Someone You Love. Of course, all you have to do is change the greeting for another type of card to send someone.  You might think of the Petal Promenade Paper as only gorgeous flowers, but here is one sheet that has something a little different in it.  And the opposite sides of the paper look like marble, which I used as a layer on the Whisper White card base.

The best part of this beautiful paper right now is that is it FREE during Sale-A-Bration with a $50 purchase!  And we know how easily we can spend $50 at Stampin’ Up!  This Petal Promenade Paper was quite popular when it came out in the new Annual Catalog so if you already have or had a package, you might like to restock or get an extra for free!

Watch this video to see how this paper came about!  I love behind the scenes stories!

Get your Petal Promenade Paper FREE after you spend $50 at Stampin’ Up!  Lots of choices to make that easy!  Then sit down and I guarantee you won’t be able to stop making cards with this beautiful paper!   Here is another card I made for a friend in THIS POST.

To keep this card simple I just stamped the greeting from the Forever Lovely Stamp Set and die cut with the oval in the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies.  I also used the 3/16-Inch Braided Linen Trim across the bottom portion of the card.  I love this linen trim anyway, but I really loved it on this card. It seems “earthy” to go with the plants so well! I just like it!  It’s a good staple to have in your stash along with the original Linen Thread that I always keep.

This Share What You Love Floral Card is made with the beautiful specialty designer paper called Share What You Love.  This is a “specialty” paper because four of the sheets have a  translucent pearlized finish.  That makes it a little difficult to photograph with a bit of glare.  Perhaps you can tell in the photo that the silvery look of the flowers and leaves is really the shimmer in the light from the paper.

I think sometimes we get so caught up in the current catalogs, whether the Holiday or the Occasions Catalog, and we almost forget about the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog!  It was like going home and finding some old friends to go back and work with this Share What You Love Designer Paper!

This card was made because the ribbon you see on the side is now available FREE as a Sale-A-Bration item during March.  Stampin’ Up! added several Annual Catalog products to the choices of things you can pick with every $50 purchase.  This Rich Razzleberry 1/4″ Velvet Ribbon is one of them!  It’s a very nice, quality ribbon and will add a richness to your cards or projects. It coordinates with the beautiful Share What You Love Paper.  Be sure to click on or use the number on the Sale-A-Bration page in the Online Store for it to come up as free. Don’t use the regular catalog number.

To make this card I used a base of Pear Pizzazz Cardstock with a layer of Rich Razzleberry Cardstock underneath the designer paper.  The greeting is stamped on Whisper White Cardstock in Rich Razzleberry Ink.  This was then die cut with the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies and layered on a Rich Razzleberry oval die cut with the oval in the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies.  The velvet ribbon is adhered on the side of the card with just a separate piece of ribbon tied in a knot at the top. If you were going to mail this card a bow would probably be too thick.

Here is an easy thank you card I made using the Velvet Ribbon you might like to see.

If you haven’t looked recently, be sure to look at all the current Sale-A-Bration choices.  If you don’t see it in the Online Store, then it is not available at this time.  If you have any questions about what is backordered or not available at any point in time, just ask me.

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Today is Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, the end of the carnival season, so here is a colorful card to celebrate Mardi Gras along with some of my own Mardi Gras beads! I’ve never been to a real Mardi Gras but I’ve been to a few parties with some good food and beads! Everyone thinks of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but it is celebrated in other cities as well. Galveston, Texas has a big celebration, about an hour from Houston.

I made this card pretty easily just using Mardi Gras colors…..purple, green and gold.  Strangely enough, I used the leafy stamp from the Sheltering Tree Stamp Set to make the background on the Shimmery White Cardstock.  I just wanted a “splattered” look of some kind with the Mardi Gras colors in the background.

To get this splattered look, I just colored the dots randomly with Stampin’ Write Markers in Gorgeous Grape, Daffodil Delight, and Garden Green. I couldn’t even see exactly which ones were colored but it didn’t matter.  After coloring on the dots with the markers, I spritzed the stamp with water from a small spray bottle (I use it by my Big Shot for the cardstock that goes in the Dynamic Embossing Folders (the big thick ones!) because it helps make a better impression in the paper.  I just left the stamp face up on the table and laid the Shimmery White Paper on top of the stamp.  After that, I inked up the stamp again with the markers, spritzed with water, and stamped some of the other areas that didn’t get any color.  Nothing had to be perfect because I just wanted that splattered, soft look.  The Shimmery White paper was good for this because it can stand up to a little water.

The card is layered with the Mardi Gras colors, same as the markers.  The greeting is stamped from the Detailed With Love Stamp Set. It is layered on a piece of Gold Foil. Then to get some real touches of gold on the card, I used the Gold Mini Sequin Trim and just placed it back and forth behind the greeting.  I like the way it turned out. Since I was thinking of Mardi Gras while making this card, I could be more “festive” than maybe you would normally be.  But I could still use this card for any kind of celebratory occasion!

Stampin’ Up! has the supplies to make cards for any occasions and other projects, too!  And if you shop now during March, you can take advantage of the Sale-A-Bration at Stampin’ Up!  It may not be Mardi Gras but with every $50 purchase, you get to choose a free product! And that in itself might be better than Mardi Gras for most of us!  Use this Colorful Card for Mardi Gras as inspiration to make a similar card for the occasion that you need and get your Stampin’ Up! supplies during Sale-A-Bration!

 

I had so much fun making these Botanical Butterfly Note Cards that I almost couldn’t stop in order to do this blog post!  Best of all, this Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper is available FREE during Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration with a $50 purchase. Honestly, I often go to look up this designer paper in the Occasions Catalog because it seems too “nice” to be given away free in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure.

The Stampin’ Up! Note Cards are probably some of the best products and maybe often overlooked products in the Annual Catalog.  You will find them on page 193 and come in both Whisper White and Very Vanilla.  In one package there are 20 note cards and envelopes.  The note cards are made out of thick cardstock and measure 5″ x 3 1/2″. They are very nice quality, so nice in fact that I used them to make the response cards for my daughter’s wedding invitations.  The envelopes are a mailable size, which is great!

I took three note cards out of the package and folded them on the scored line to form the note cards.  They come already scored.  Then I used the Botanical Butterfly Paper to either punch out or cut by hand different butterflies with which to decorate the note cards.

The first card has three butterflies punched out of the designer paper with the Butterfly Duet Punch.  You can punch out certain butterflies on different sheets of the paper but almost always you need to cut into the paper in order to position the punch properly to reach the butterfly.  This punch is currently on backorder.

The second note card has a piece of designer paper (one of the really beautiful sheets, I think!) at the bottom with a bit of Lemon Lime Twist 1/4″ Ombre Ribbon tied around and a bow added separately.  The large and small butterflies are punched out with the Butterfly Duet Punch.

The third card uses a piece of the backside of the butterfly paper, so you can see many of the butterfly designs have a black and white design on the other side of the paper.  The large butterfly on this card is cut out with my Paper Snips (it is larger than the Butterfly punch), and the opposite side of the paper is this black and white check.

The greeting on all the cards is from the Butterfly Gala Stamp Set.  I love the font and the size of the greeting, as well as its usefulness when making cards!

The next time you pick up your Stampin’ Up! Catalog, please check out the Note Cards & Envelopes on page 193 and order some to have on hand.  Sometimes you may want to just make a quick and simple card or write a short note to someone and these are perfect!  And they might help you reach your $50 purchase in order to be able to choose a FREE Sale-A-Bration item, perhaps the Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper with which you could make Botanical Butterfly Note Cards.

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