Category Archives: Cards

So Hoppy Together Frog Card For Anyone

So Hoppy Together Frog Card For Anyone

This So Hoppy Together Frog Card For Anyone came about because it is a drizzly, dreary day here in Houston Texas so I thought I would try out one of the bright patterns in the Happiness Blooms Designer Series Paper that I just purchased the other day! However, when I looked through the paper, this more muted pattern was the one that inspired me!  Go figure!

I thought of the frogs in the So Hoppy Together Stamp Set immediately, I guess because of the green!  You can get this stamp set FREE during Sale-A-Bration with a $50 purchase through March 31.  You KNOW you can easily spend $50 on Stampin’ Up! products once you start looking at the catalog!!

This card has a card base of Call Me Clover with a thin layer of Whisper White to help the designer paper stand out a little.  I punched the tag with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, a favorite of mine!  Then I used just the stamps in the So Hoppy Together Stamp Set for the images and the greeting.  I used my Stampin’ Blends to color the frog and the little flies.  I just love coloring with those Blends alcohol markers. There’s something about how smoothly they color on the paper or something!  And a little piece of Daffodil Delight 1/4″ Cross-Stitched Ribbon to tie on to the tag for some brightness!

That’s all there is to it!  This is a very easy card and you can adapt just the design to almost anything!  At least this stamp set and designer paper are not backordered…..yet!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Embossed Grapefruit Grove Foil Heart Valentine Card

Embossed Grapefruit Grove Foil Heart Valentine Card

How about this Embossed Grapefruit Grove Foil Heart Valentine Card?  Isn’t that foil heart just magnificent?  I’m not bragging, I just love that Grapefruit Grove Foil Paper and embossing it with the Lace Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder really puts it over the top!

The good news is that the package of Grapefruit Grove & Lovely Lipstick Foil Papers is just gorgeous!  Every time open the package I just gasp at how pretty the colors are!  The bad news is that Stampin’ Up! says it is possible they will run out before the end of Sale-A-Bration, so if you want these foil papers you should order them as soon as possible.  The fact that they are FREE during Sale-A-Bration with a $50 purchase is amazing.

The base of this card is the same color as the first layer.  I wanted to use pink.  I think I used Powder Pink.  The top layer is embossed with the Polka Dot Basics Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

The foil heart is quite large so it fits nicely on this card.  I put it off to the side so I could use the Whisper White 5/8″ Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon to wrap across the front and tie in a bow.  I love this ribbon!

The greeting is from the Forever Lovely Photopolymer Stamp Set.  I played around with the greeting to see where the best place would be to place it.  When you are designing a card don’t be afraid to move things around, try different things, whatever it takes and you will be able to tell when it all comes together!

Valentine’s Day is in two weeks so you have time to order supplies and make some Valentines!  What could be more fun?!  Remember, the price of postage went up to $.55 although if you have the “Forever” stamps they are fine. Just check the USPS site for all the postage prices.

Shop Stampin’ Up! For Valentine Supplies!

 

Easy Floral Romance Card

Easy Floral Romance CardIf you want to make a beautiful card easily, just grab the Floral Romance Specialty Designer Series Paper and start creating! Some of the pages are vellum, like this one on this card. It is really beautiful paper that you will love!  The papers of Floral Romance are perfect for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, or simply to say “Hello” and that you are thinking about that person. Everyone would love to get a personal handmade card in the mail instead of more junk mail!

I started with a card base of Fresh Fig Cardstock because it is one of the coordinating colors and then a layer of Whisper White to be placed under the printed vellum.  I just applied the Multipurpose Liquid Glue to the darkest colors on the backside of the vellum and I don’t think it is showing through.  This printed vellum is great for that!

For the greeting, I stamped with Petal Pink, another coordinating color of the designer paper, on a piece of Whisper White with a stamp from the Forever Lovely Stamp Set. That was punched with the 1 1/4″ Circle Punch and layered on a die cut from the Stitched Labels Framelits Dies.  I used Petal Pink for the circle die cut.

I tried several ribbons to tie around the side of the card but nothing looked quite right so I went with a piece of the Whisper White 5/8″ Flax Ribbon, although it is currently on backorder until mid-February. It is just adhered underneath the circle die cut and greeting.  If you don’t already have the Flax Ribbon, just substitute some other wide ribbon.  If you have narrow ribbon, try winding it back and forth underneath for another look! And of course, a few Petal Pink Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins.

Here is a birthday card I made using a different pattern of the Floral Romance vellum.

Remember to put the new postage on your envelope and all your mail beginning today! This easy Floral Romance card could be sent for a Valentine, birthday, so many occasions! Just let someone know you are thinking of them!

 

Two Easy Small Square Valentines

Two Easy Small Square Valentines

Here are Two Easy Small Square Valentines to show you how you can use both sides of the beautiful designer paper and make some smaller, simpler Valentines that are still lovely! Often when we start cutting up our designer paper, which we hate to do in the first place (heaven forbid that we USE those beautiful 12″ x 12″ sheets of paper!), we hate that we are not using the opposite side!  We pick the side we want to show on our card or project, but then we hate that the other side is hidden because we like that side, too! So here I have made a Valentine with the side of one pattern of designer paper and another Valentine showing the other side of the same paper

Both cards are 8″ x 4″, folded in half so that the card base is 4″ x 4″.  Lots of times I make these cards 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ so choose whatever you like.  I used Whisper White Cardstock for the card base and the All My Love Designer Series Paper.

The card on the left with the flowery pattern of designer paper has the Whisper White card base, then a layer of Flirty Flamingo Cardstock since that is a coordinating color of the designer paper, and then the designer paper.  Before adhering, I added a piece of Whisper White 1/8″ Sheer Ribbon and tied a separate cheater bow which I then adhered over the ribbon. Use Mini Glue Dots or a tiny drop of Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

For the heart, I stamped a greeting from the Meant To Be Stamp Set on a piece of Flirty Flamingo and then die cut with a heart in the Be Mine Stitched Framelit Dies.  With this die, the heart comes out plain but there is also a heart frame die cut with the stitching.  Just remember to poke it out of the die!  If you die cut another heart in a different color, like I did with Whisper White, you can use the other color for a frame around your heart!

On to the next Valentine with the other side of the flowery All My Love Designer Paper.  The complement of this paper is Lovely Lipstick Cardstock which I used for the layer on the Whisper White Cardstock.  This time I stamped the greeting on a piece of Whisper White, die cut the heart, then die cut the fancy heart in Lovely Lipstick. The fancy heart is then layered over the white heart. I stamped a small greeting since it is a small space in the center of that fancy heart.  For a finishing touch I added a bow in the Lovely Lipstick 1/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon at the top of the heart.

There you have two very easy Valentines to make and you got to enjoy using both sides of one sheet of designer paper! If you have a lot of valentines to make, you might like using a smaller size to save on paper and using a simple layout design.

The All My Love Designer Series Paper is not just for Valentine’s Day so be sure to order it to use all year.  The same is true with the Be Mine Stitched Framelit Dies.  Hearts are for lots of things!  I always miss then when Stampin’ Up! somehow takes them out of the catalog! But these are here now so don’t miss them!  Save 10% on the Bundle containing the Meant to Be Stamp Set and the Be Mine Stitched Framelit Dies.  Then have some fun making some Easy Small Square Valentines.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! HERE!

Hello Cupcake Birthday Card

Hello Cupcake Birthday Card

The stamp set to make this Hello Cupcake Birthday Card can be yours FREE during  Sale-A-Bration!  This is Stampin’ Up!’s biggest promotion of the year since the early days of Stampin’ Up!  Usually, a special promotion doesn’t have a history behind it!

Until March 31, just spend $50 on any Stampin’ Up! products and then choose a FREE product in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure! This Hello Cupcake Stamp Set is one of the popular choices! Just think of all the cute cards you could make with this cupcake!  I really like the greetings and the font, too.

To make my card I used Blushing Bride Cardstock for the card base. Next is a layer of Whisper White on which I stamped the cupcake.  The whole cupcake is actually three pieces….the cupcake wrapper, a bottom piece of the frosting, and the top of the cupcake.  I stamped the cupcake wrapper in So Saffron and the frosting in Blushing Bride.  I stamped some sprinkles in Melon Mambo and colored them in with a Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write Marker. And to fill up space around the cupcake, I stamped the teeny little flowers in the set.

On the side panel of Blushing Bride, I stamped the greeting three times with Blushing Bride ink using the Stamparatus!  When you use the Stamparatus, you can move the stamping plate down one hinge at a time and get perfect placement of the greeting all lined up.   After stamping three greetings, there wasn’t enough space for another one so I just stamped three flowers at the bottom.  Then there is a small strip of Soft Seafoam Cardstock to match some of the Soft Seafoam stamped flowers!

Just for a finishing touch, I added one of the Frosted Flower Embellishments right over the center stamped flower. And one little Share the Love Artisan Pearl in the center looks perfect.

Hello Cupcake Birthday Card Embellishment

The Stamparatus would actually be a good thing to purchase during Sale-A-Bration, plus one other item (because the Stamparatus is $49) to easily earn a Free SAB item.

What’s more fun than shopping for things you want to buy and then getting to choose FREE things?!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE DURING SALE-A-BRATION!

Easy Valentine Card With Hearts

Easy Valentine Card With Hearts

Make an Easy Valentine Card With Hearts with the beautiful All My Love Designer Series Paper!  Although this designer paper looks like it is for Valentine’s Day, it really is just flowers so you can use it long after Valentine’s Day.  It’s only the hearts I added from the Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies that turn it into a Valentine. And really, even the hearts don’t force it to be a Valentine, it could be a wedding or anniversary card or just a card to say “I love you!”. We just think of it being a Valentine since it is almost Valentine’s Day.

One of the coordinating colors for this package of paper is Flirty Flamingo.  I don’t think I often use that paper, but it looks perfect with this print.  I stamped one heart with Flirty Flamingo Ink with the heart in the Meant to Be Stamp Set and die cut it with the heart shape.  Then I cut a larger heart and a smaller heart to help make the white heart stand out on the printed paper. That stitching adds just a little bit of something that adds to this card.  I added the ribbon on the side before adhering the DSP layer to the card base.  I simply tied three pieces of ribbon in knots rather than fool with a bow, but you could do a bow.

For just a little something extra, I added some Heart Epoxy Droplets. These are neat little things because they can be used as is or they can be colored with Stampin’ Blends or a Sharpie.

This is an easy little card to make.  If you don’t have heart dies, just cut out some hearts with a scissors like when we were kids!  You can add some embellishments, maybe sequins rhinestones, other jewels, or every teeny hearts scattered around.  Just play and see what you come up with.  I had no idea what card I was going to make when I got out the paper!

Read this blog post HERE to see another card made with die cut hearts.

If you need any supplies to make this Easy Valentine Card With Hearts, you can order them in the Occasions Catalog section of the Stampin’ Up! Online Store.  Remember to take advantage of Sale-A-Bration with a $50 purchase or more.

Easy Just For You Card

Easy Just For You Card

Use the “Valentine” paper for other cards and occasions as well, like this Easy Just For You Card that could be for a birthday, thinking of you, or any kind of friendly card!  This All My Love Designer Series Paper in the Occasions Catalog has hearts on the opposite side of the flowered pattern, but on this side, the card can be for anything.  The bottom strip of neutral paper has flowers on the other side.  It’s great when we have “holiday” paper that can also be used for other occasions in case we don’t use it all up for the holiday!

The greeting comes from the Meant to Be Stamp Set which also has Valentine’s and “love” sentiments, but “Just For You” can be for non-holiday use!  Who wouldn’t like to receive a card that was meant for them?!  Remember, when you use these new sticky Cling Stamps to be careful taking them off the block.  Make sure you are under the cling label before you peel it off the block or you might rip the foam.  It is not difficult, you will get into the habit of doing it just like everything else.

For a simple embellishment behind the layered greeting, I used a piece of the  Whisper White 5/8″ Flax Ribbon.  It is just tacked down with a little adhesive and the greeting is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.  Very simple.

Remember, sometimes the easy designs are the best!  You could embellish this card a little bit more if you wanted to, but it is just fine as it is.  I like using the two pieces of designer paper on the card. Sometimes just in mixing and matching the patterns, you can come up with other card ideas.  You could also have just one piece of designer paper and let the cardstock show. Add a greeting and maybe some ribbon or a little bling. That’s all.

Check out the Occasions Catalog and earn some Sale-A-Bration rewards!

 

Be Mine Valentine Hearts Card

Be Mine Valentine Hearts Card

Here’s a simple but elegant Be Mine Valentine Hearts Card made with three die-cut fancy hearts and a few little hearts plus a greeting.  The colored hearts are made from the  Grapefruit Grove & Lovely Lipstick Foil Sheets.  I am telling you, when you open this package of foil sheets you will just die over how pretty the colors are!!! The colored hearts on this card are made with the Lovely Lipstick Foil Sheet. It is so beautiful in person. And guess how much they cost?!  They are FREE, with a $50 purchase during Sale-A-Bration!  And we all know it’s plenty easy to spend $50 at Stampin’ Up!

To make the hearts, I used the fancy heart die in the Be Mine Stitched Framelits DiesI probably bought the set because of this fancy heart!  There are lots of hearts and they have the “stitching” on them.  You might miss that in the name of the dies!  They are “Stitched Framelits Dies” and that makes them fancier and prettier!  We can always use hearts in our cards and projects so don’t miss this set!  For a Bundle, go ahead and get the stamp set also,  Meant to Be, so you can save 10% on both!

I used the Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets on the back of the foil so I wouldn’t have to use glue to adhere the hearts to the card. Normally this is a great thing to do with intricate designs that are hard to adhere with glue because there are no large enough areas to apply the glue to. But when I made this card, I had a mess with all the teeny tiny pieces in the die cut edges of the hearts all sticking to my fingers!  I think it was “operator error” somehow. Usually people really like the Adhesive Sheets!  I seldom remember to use them and when I did remember to use them, I couldn’t find them, so there you go!  Maybe I am better off just using glue!

The card itself and the two white hearts are made with the beautiful Shimmery White Cardstock.  This paper is one of my enduring favorites!  It has such a subtle shimmer to it yet it looks much more elegant than just Whisper White.  It is also good for watercoloring if you don’t have the official watercolor paper from Stampin’ Up!.

The little hearts are die cut from the Lovely Lipstick Foil using the die that cuts out a whole grouping of hearts.  I just wanted a few to use somehow on this card.  I placed two inside the white hearts and scattered the others randomly on the card.

I needed a small greeting for this card and I found one in the Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set.  This is a great set to own because we can never have enough words!

Occasions 2019 and Sale-A-Bration 2019 Catalogs

Check out the great Occasions Catalog and see what you can get for FREE during Sale-A-Bration in the special Sale-A-Bration Brochure!  With every $50 purchase, you earn a free SAB item.  With a $100 purchase, you can choose two items for the two $50 purchases or you can choose one of the special $100 items! At $150 you also earn Stampin’ Rewards plus Sale-A-Bration.  At $250, you earn those PLUS an extra $25 in Stampin’ Rewards! All the information is HERE!

If you are interested in Stampin’ Up! products and would like these catalogs, just send me your contact information and I can mail them out to you.  While you can view them online, nothing beats having a Stampin’ Up! catalog in your hands!

If you need any supplies to make this Be Mine Valentine Hearts Card, you can contact me to put in your order or just go to the Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE!

 

Join the Stamping With Karen Mailing List!

Join the Stamping With Karen Mailing List

Join my Stamping With Karen Mailing LIst!

Are you on my mailing list? We all get a lot of email, but if you like stamping, please join my newsletter list.

Every Tuesday I send out an email in the afternoon with at least one stamping project and whatever news you need to know from Stampin’ Up! The first newsletter of the month has several stamping projects with a list of supplies and complete directions.

Please share with your friends if you know someone else who might be interested, too!

If you are like me, you can never have enough stamping ideas! Even when I DO have enough ideas, I still like looking and I still can find one more idea that I think I must use!

Sign up for my weekly email newsletter HERE or on the form below and watch your email for a link to your FREE GIFT for signing up!

Butterfly Gala Gingham Check Thank You Card

Butterfly Gala Gingham Check Thank You Card

When you need inspiration, look no further than the Stampin’ Up! catalogs, in this case, the new Occasions Catalog.  I was looking for something to make with the new Butterfly Gala Stamp Set so I decided to just copy the sample on page 34.

I love the new Gingham Gala 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper and I had wanted to try the technique of drawing extra lines on the checks to make another style of plaid.  I used my Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blend Marker, the narrow tip, and a ruler to draw lines in between the printed pattern.  Just an extra step that gives the paper a new look!

The butterflies are stamped, colored in with Stampin’ Blends markers and then punched with the Butterfly Duet Punch.  The butterfly stamps in this set are connected so that after you stamp them, they are perfectly placed on the paper to be aligned with the punch!  No making a template and all that!  I suggest stamping extra butterflies while you have the ink and stamp out because you likely will want more than the two stamps (notice the two small butterflies on the card).  If you don’t use them all at the time, just save and keep for another project!

The greeting is in the stamp set. After stamping it, I die cut with the brand new Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies on page 28 of the Occasions Catalog. Notice the word “Stitched” in there!  These are quite a collection of rectangles with the lovely stitched edge.  Two can be used to make a frame out of the dies

For a little embellishment, there is a Vellum Cardstock punched piece behind the greeting with the Starburst Punch. Also added is a strip of the Whisper White 5/8″ Flax RibbonAnd I can’t resist sprinkling around a few sequins!  You can choose from the Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins or the Gingham Gala Adhesive-Backed Sequins.  These sequins are so fun and easy to use when you just have to stick them down, not try to apply a teeny dot of glue!

Notice that there are a couple Bundles available with these products I used on this card:

Save 10% when you buy the products in a Bundle!

Use the catalog when you need ideas for making a card.  You can copy exactly, vary the design a little bit as I did, or start with the idea and then see what you come up with that is different.  That is often what happens when I stamp, I end up with something completely different than what I thought I was going to make! Try your hand at this Butterfly Gala Gingham Check Thank You Card or change up the greeting, the colors, the paper, the number of butterflies!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!

 

Be Mine Die Cut Hearts Valentine Card

Be Mine Die Cut Hearts Valentine Card

The other day I just die cut some pieces with the Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies and then I played with them to see if I could make a card with them!  I could!  As it happened, I love the look of the die cut hearts, tone on tone, at the bottom of the card.  After I placed the large and small die cut hearts on the upper part of the card and put on the greeting, I decided to add some of the tiny hearts from that bottom piece inside the heart outlines. I think it all came out like a pretty good Valentine!

I used a piece of the Thick Whisper White Cardstock for the card base with a layer of the Lovely Lipstick Cardstock.  The Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies are very interesting and pretty with the way they make a stitched look on the hearts and with one of the hearts just having a fancy outline to it.

Remember, hearts aren’t just for Valentine’s Day!  I have often wished Stampin’ Up! would quit taking away out heart punches and dies because I like to use them for weddings, graduations, congratulations cards, and other occasions. Hearts can make any kind of pretty card!  Don’t think this Meant To Be Stamp Set and Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies are only for Valentine’s.  In fact, you can buy both in a Bundle and save 10%!  Every little bit helps!

If you purchase the Meant to Be Bundle, you will earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product!  Be sure to think in terms of $50 increments when placing your order to get the full benefit of Sale-A-Bration!  Check out the products you can earn during Sale-A-Bration HERE in the Brochure.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

 

Forever Lovely All-Occasion Card

Forever Lovely All-Occasion Card

This Forever Lovely All-Occasion Card is stamped with the Forever Lovely Stamp Set in the Occasions Catalog and inspired by the All My Love Designer Series Paper.  This designer series paper is beautiful. While it has come out sort of during “Valentine season” and it does have hearts, but a lot of the paper can be used for any season and all occasions.

For this card I started with the Lovely Lipstick Cardstock, one of the 2018-2020 In Colors.  It is one of the coordinating colors of the All My Love DSP. I added a layer of Whisper White and stamped three flowers from the Forever Lovely Stamp Set.  There is one stamp that is a grouping of flowers, but I used the individual flower stamps and then added individual leaves. I also stamped the little stems of open leaves which I decided to look at as little blue flowers, sort of like the tiny blue flowers on the DSP and colored them with the Balmy Blue Stampin’ Blends Markers  (new colors in the Occasions Catalog).  And for fun,  stamped the tiniest hearts in the stamp set in between the flowers!

I added a strip of the All My Love DSP to the bottom of the card.  The greeting comes from the same stamp set and is die-cut with the Layering Circles Framelits Dies.  The ribbon is in the same suite.  It is part of the  All My Love Ribbon Combo Pack, including Flirty Flamingo 1/8″ Ribbon and this Lovely Lipstick 1/2″ Ribbon with a white-stitched edge.

Not being able to stop with a little more embellishing, I used the Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush on the flowers plus added a tiny die-cut heart on the greeting and brushed on some Wink of Stella to give it a little glimmer.

As this card turned out, I would call it a “Happy card” and I hope someone who received it would feel that it brightened their day.

I might add that this stamp set has the term “Distinktive” attached to it. You might notice the “textured” look to the stamped image.  This is the intended look of this type of stamp.  It gives added depth and dimension to the stamped image in one step.

Check out the All My Love Suite of products, perhaps for your Valentine cards and projects, but keeping in mind that you will be able to use these products way beyond Valentine’s Day.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Earn Free Butterfly Paper During Sale-A-Bration!

Free Butterfly Paper During Sale-A-Bration

You can earn this beautiful butterfly paper FREE during Sale-A-Bration at Stampin’ Up!, the biggest promotion of the year. And butterflies seem to be a theme this year! In fact, I had to remember that this designer paper was in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure and not the Occasions Catalog where you will find the Butterfly Gala Stamp Set in the Gingham Gala Suite of products.

Look at how simple this card is to make!  The card base is Daffodil Delight Cardstock with a layer of Basic Black.  If you like or want to learn a tip, cut out or punch out the inside of the black cardstock, leaving a wide enough margin for the layer of designer paper but saving a large rectangle of paper from the center of the black. No one will ever know unless they take apart the card! I certainly do not do this all the time but sometimes with a specialty paper like foil or shimmer paper, I will do it. Or if you need a punched or die cut piece the same color as the layer, you can punch that piece and use the rest of the paper as the underneath layer.

My first idea in designing this card was to cut out or punch out some of the printed butterflies on the Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper on page 9 of the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. As it turned out, this particular page had butterflies that fit the Butterfly Duet Punch on page 35 of the Occasions Catalog, part of the Butterfly Gala Bundle with the punch and the Butterfly Gala Stamp Set. Of course, you need to cut out around the butterfly on the paper in order to reach it with the punch, but you don’t have to trim around the details of the butterfly, just punch it.  I like to adhere a post-it note to a corner of a small piece of paper I am punching so that I can still maneuver it into place inside the punch.  If the paper you are punching is small, you have no edge of it to hold onto while you punch, so you need to adhere a scrap of paper or a post-it note to hold on to.

I chose the designer paper with these small butterflies as the background for my punched out butterfly. The sentiment is stamped from the Butterfly Gala Stamp Set.  I really love that font!  I played around with several options to put underneath the butterfly and finally decided on this Whisper White circle I found in my stash already die cut with the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies.  Then I just popped up the butterfly with the Stampin’ Dimensionals.

In summary, this is a very easy card.  It has a card base, an extra layer under the designer paper just for a little extra definition.  You could even skip this piece.  Then there is the punched out butterfly layered on a die-cut circle (could be punched out) with a stamped sentiment.  Just for fun, I brushed Clear Wink of Stella over the butterfly to give it some shimmer.

After I made this card, I had the same feeling I had after I made this Gingham Gala Monochromatic Card.  Although I loved the Holiday Catalog and making Christmas cards and projects, now making cards with the new Occasions products just feels like a breath of fresh air!  I guess it is always that way with a new catalog!

Remember, whether you are buying products from the new Occasions Catalog, the Annual Catalog or even the Clearance Rack, it all counts toward Sale-A-Bration!  So for every $50 you spend, you can choose a FREE product from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure.  If you spend $100, you can either choose TWO free products from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure or one of the special $100 rewards.  If you spend $150, you make your SAB choices PLUS earn Stampin’ Rewards which is 10% of your total in additional free merchandise. Just check page 52 in the Occasions Catalog for the information.  With a large order (or combined with friends) of $250, you also get an EXTRA $25 in free merchandise you can choose.

We can make very fancy cards or sometimes just a simple card like this Botanical Butterfly card will be perfect. Right now you can earn this FREE butterfly paper during Sale-A-Bration.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!

Love What You Do Frog Card

Love What You Do Frog Card

Do you “love what you do” like this guy on this frog card?  When I went to stamp this frog on the unicycle, he looked happy and like he is loving what he is doing!  Just like you would love what you do if you became a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and became part of the Stampin’ Up! family!  Join now during Sale-A-Bration for some special deals!

If you would like to own this fun froggy stamp set, just spend $50 on Stampin’ Up! products (believe me, it’s easy!) and choose this So Hoppy Together Stamp Set from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure!  Spend another $50 and choose another free SAB product!

To make this card I used a card base of Garden Green Cardstock layered with a piece of Granny Apple Green Cardstock.  The frog is stamped on Whisper White Cardstock with Memento Ink so I could color in with my Stampin’ Blends markers. Just use a couple different greens to color the frog.  The butterfly stamp also comes in the set.  The greeting, however, is from the Love What You Do Stamp Set.  For a little bling, I added some sequins in the Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins.  I’ve been adding sequins a lot lately, but when they already have adhesive on them, they are so easy to use I can hardly help myself!

This is a project I made the other day with another of the frogs in the So Hoppy Together Stamp Set.  You can use the frogs to make treats and lots of things!

I also thought this card was appropriate for the New Year!  Think about the greeting “love what you do” and make sure you are loving what you are doing….at least some of the time! This Hoppy Frog looks like he is happy and living a fun life, so should we! And if you ever wanted to be a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, now is the time, during Sale-A-Bration!

Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration!

Easy Floral Romance Vellum Birthday Card

Easy Floral Romance Vellum Birthday CardThis Easy Floral Romance Vellum Birthday Card is an easy to make design and uses new specialty designer paper in the Occasions Catalog. Add a few embellishments if you like and you have a beautiful card ready to mail!

The Floral Romance Specialty Designer Series Paper in the new Occasions Catalog is something special!  You get four different patterns of paper, three sheets each.  Two of the patterns are regular designer sheets of paper.  The other two patterns are vellum!  That gives you the opportunity to use beautiful printed vellum paper for your cards and projects!

These are the two regular printed paper patterns. I forgot to photograph the opposite sides, but they are papers printed on both sides!

Floral Romance Designer Paper Sheets

These two sheets are the printed vellum:

Floral Romance Designer Paper Vellum

For my card, I used the Whisper White Thick Cardstock.  You can use the regular Whisper White, the Thick is just a little sturdier.  I wrapped the Petal Pink/Whisper White
5/8″ Variegated Ribbon around, making sure the ribbon tucked underneath the vellum layer was completely lined up with the ribbon on top so it wouldn’t show through the vellum. I used Snail Adhesive under the vellum and since the vellum is printed, I think we are going to get a break with adhesive in that it pretty much doesn’t show through.  I think I can barely see where the adhesive is through the vellum but I doubt any recipient who isn’t a perfectionist in cardmaking like we are would notice at all.  I haven’t tried Fast Fuse yet or the Multipurpose Glue.

The greeting is stamped in Petal Pink ink from the Itty Bitty Birthdays Stamp Set. This is layered on a die cut piece of Petal Pink and that on a larger oval of Whisper White. I experimented with circle of paper and vellum but the oval is what I liked best.

To embellish the card, I tied a piece of the ribbon on just in a knot and added some Petal Pink sequins from the Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins.  I think these sequins are good for when you want just a little something, a little bling on your card!  If you need help handling sequins and other embellishments, be sure to order the Take Your Pick Tool.  It comes in handy either with the tacky putty on one end to pick up small things or the other end with interchangeable paper piercer, spatula, small and large stylus.  I’m using mine more and more.  If you have one from years ago from another company, you might want to try this new one that has more “tools” to use!

I definitely recommend this Floral Romance Specialty Designer Series Paper for lots of cardmaking occasions.  Just the paper alone will get you started in making beautiful cards, like this Easy Floral Romance Vellum Birthday Card.

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