Category Archives: Cards

The 12 Weeks of Christmas Is Coming!

In one week we’re going to start our “12 Weeks of Christmas” email campaign! For those of you who don’t know what this is, once a week for the twelve weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday, I’m going to be sending you for FREE a fantastic holiday project idea that you can make. There will be cards, gifts, tags, bags, and wrap ideas over the course of the twelve weeks, complete with a supply list and instructions each week.

This is absolutely FREE and I’m excited to share these project ideas with you! This is my annual gift to my mailing list subscribers, and I love sending out these weekly emails!

The 12 Weeks of Christmas is ONLY for members of my mailing list, however. Therefore, you need to be on my mailing list by next Wednesday, October 3rd at 1:00 PM Central Time in order to receive all of these fun holiday emails and information. (If you are already on my mailing list, you don’t need to do anything!)

Just sign up in the box below or in the box in the upper-right corner of my blog. You will get a free gift just for signing up! We’d love to have you!

Animal Expedition Kangaroo Little Hello Card

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This Animal Expedition Kangaroo Little Hello Card came about quite by accident! While my mind is mostly on holiday projects, this Animal Expedition Designer Series Paper kind of jumped out at me. When I pulled out some Crumb Cake Cardstock to use with it, there were already two 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ card bases in with the cardstock so that’s what I used!

I don’t have a fancy cardstock storage system. I leave the paper in the plastic that it comes in (until it rips and falls apart!) and I stick cardstock scraps into the bag also. Then I just stack the packages by color family on a few plastic paper sorter things. It works for me. So if I made a card base and then didn’t use it, I just put it back in that package of cardstock to be discovered sometime when I do want to use it!

This card began with the Animal Expedition Paper and since I wanted to use the big kangaroo on one of the sheets of paper, I chose a sheet with a lot of greenery for the background layer. To cut out the kangaroo, I chose the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. I chose a scalloped oval because it seemed to fit around the kangaroo better without cutting into some other animals on the paper. It did cut into two little birds although that hardly would have been noticeable, but I just cut out two birds by hand from the paper and adhered them over the partially showing birds. It gives it a little bit of a 3D look and makes it a little more fun.

Since I already had the two 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ card bases ready to go in my package of cardstock, I chose to go ahead and use one of those. Sometimes it is fun to use a different card size. For this size, just start with a piece of cardstock 8 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ and fold in half. The layer of designer paper is then 4″ x 4″.

For some embellishment on the card, I used the 1/8″ Shaded Spruce Ribbon in the Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack. I just adhered a piece around the center of the card and then tied two little pieces of ribbon onto each side.

The layered kangaroo piece is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. The greeting is stamped from the Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set. I could have used lots of different greetings. I think this would make a cute baby card, for example. Or it could have been birthday or “thinking of you” or others. The greeting is punched out with the Classic Label Punch. Then I even used this punch to make the flagged ends of the greeting. It is popped up with the new Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Pretty easy card to make and the Animal Expedition Paper is oh so cute! This Animal Expedition Kangaroo Little Hello Card would be fun to send to a friend in the mail!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Don’t forget to use your Bonus Coupon Codes from August this week before October 1st.

Check out the Clearance Rack! Need items were added, some items are sold out, but check it anyway!

First Day of Fall Pumpkin Thinking of You Card

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Today is the Autumnal Equinox so here is a First Day of Fall Pumpkin Thinking of You Card to celebrate! Equinox means equal light so most places will see equal amounts of daylight and night. I was hoping the Autumn Equinox would mean Houston, Texas would cool off to comfortable temperatures with low humidity, but I don’t think that’s what it means! In fact, it means the opposite! It’s not going to feel like fall here for a long time yet!

My card is one that came out of nowhere. I couldn’t really think of what to make but I knew I wanted to use the pumpkins on the paper in Toil & Trouble. Eventually, I chose another paper in the package for the background on the card that would go with a few of the cut-out pumpkins. I just cut out a few pumpkins with my Paper Snips. I chose the Crumb Cake 3/8″ Classic Weave Ribbon to tie around the front of the card. I chose the greeting from the Rooted in Nature Stamp Set because I didn’t want it to be a Halloween card.

Just to make sure I stamped the greeting just right on the designer paper, I used my Stamparatus! I used a piece of vellum over the paper on which I was going to stamp so that I could “test” the stamp to make sure I had it positioned correctly. When it looked okay, I removed the vellum and stamped right on the designer paper. I wasn’t sure the ink was dark enough, so I just reinked the stamp and stamped again! You can’t do that without a Stamparatus! If you don’t have a Stamparatus yet, you might want to get one for yourself!

I hope you will have a lovely first day of fall! I wish I was going to be seeing colored leaves and wearing a warm flannel shirt and jacket tomorrow! But I will be starting to think about pumpkins and fall and Halloween decorations that will be coming soon! I hope this First Day of Fall Pumpkin Thinking of You Card gets you in the mood for a lovely fall season!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

(Be sure to use your Bonus Coupon Codes from August if you earned some!)

All Is Bright Happy Holidays Card

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This All Is Bright Happy Holidays Card is fun and easy to make with just a bit of designer paper and the greeting die cut with the Big Shot. This card could be made a little plainer if you wanted even quicker and easier or you could jazz it up even a little bit more. Most cards are like this, that they can be made very simple and easy or they can have lots of embellishments and bling.

I started with just a card base of Real Red (which I have a hard time remembering that it is not in the “Brights” color family anymore!) and a strip of the Christmas stockings cut from a piece of paper in the All Is Bright Designer Series Paper. I layered the strip of designer paper on a piece of Garden Green cardstock. The greeting is die cut from Gold Foil Paper with the word dies in the Merry Christmas Thinlits Dies. Had I been able to find my Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets I would have used these on the back of the Gold Foil Paper before die-cutting. That way no glue is required on the very narrow letters. But since I didn’t have the Adhesive Sheets at hand, I did just use very tiny dots of the Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

I finally decided that the Real Red card base was a little plain, so I embossed it with the Tufted Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. I thought this folder gave an elegant look to the card and kind of went with the stockings since sometimes Christmas stockings have that quilted, tufted look. This is one of the “dynamic” folders that is thicker and heavier so it is best to just spritz the cardstock with a bit of water before embossing. That softens the paper fibers so you get the best embossing.

After embossing the card front and adhering all the pieces, I thought why not add a little bit of Garden Green & White Baker’s Twine to the stocking on the designer paper for a little embellishment. And that’s all there is to the card! Like I said in the beginning, the card could have been made with just the plain card front, the greeting and the designer paper and layer adhered to the card front and it would be done and look fine. Certainly if you were making a lot of the same card it would be easier to keep the card simple.

Remember that if you earned any Bonus Coupon Codes in August, you can use them on any purchase in August. And be sure to check out the Clearance Rack since more items were added the other day. Some are already gone, but get what you can while supplies last! There are plenty of products on there that you could be using right now for the holidays, maybe with adding new designer paper or new cardstock colors to freshen things up!

Check out this other Christmas card I made using the All Is Bright Designer Series Paper. This paper has those photographic images as the design which makes it so pretty. I plan to make more of this card! I like to make lots of different designs since we have so many great stamp sets and papers to use for Christmas cards, so I make a few cards of each design. And yes, then it is hard to decide who to send which card to at mailing time!

Be sure to order your supplies early so you won’t have backorders to deal with if you want to make a card like this All Is Bright Happy Holidays Card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Hello Card With Frosted Floral and Varied Vases

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This Hello Card With Floral Frost and Varied Vases came about from thinking I would get away from the holidays and look in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog for something with a stamp set that maybe I hadn’t used since the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog came out.

I stopped on page 45 of the Annual Catalog and got some ideas from the samples for the Varied Vases Stamp Set and the Vases Builder Punch. When I looked at my designer paper in case I wanted to use some, it was the Frosted Floral Specialty Designer Series Paper that caught my eye! So I didn’t avoid the Holiday Catalog after all, but it does show you that you can use this beautiful paper for projects other than holiday ideas!

Somehow or other, this card turned out! It starts with a card base of Mint Macaron cut at 4 1/4″ x 8 1/2″ folded in half so that you end up with a 4 1/4″ square card. Kind of fun to make a different size card once in a while! The little floral pattern of this shimmery paper is cut at 4″ x 4″. The Shimmery White Paper is punched with a 2″ Circle Punch and layered on a scalloped circle in the Layering Circle Framelits Dies.

The little vase is stamped in Berry Burst ink and punched out with the Vases Builder Punch. Once you place it where you want it on the circle you can see where to stamp the flower stems with Pear Pizzazz Ink right on the circle (remove the stamped and punched vase firs!). I also stamped the narrow leaves on scrap paper and punched those. The flowers are stamped on scrap Whisper White and punched out. I even colored them a little with the Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush. Everything except the leaves and stems is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals, the regular size, and the Mini Dimensionals. The tricky part was stamping the word “Hello” because if I messed that up……..well, there are no mistakes in stamping so I just would have had to stamp it on paper and adhere it over the messed up stamped word. I got lucky, though, and had no problem stamping the greeting! I thought just a little strip of the Berry Burst 3/8″ Metallic Edge Ribbon was just enough under the circle (also popped up on Dimensionals).

I have two pieces of advice for making this card: 1:) If you don’t know what you want to make, look through the Annual Catalog for ideas and 2:) Buy the Frosted Floral Designer Paper! It’s SO pretty! You must have it!

Wouldn’t this Hello Card With Frosted Floral and Varied Vases make a friend’s day to find this card in her mailbox?!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE TODAY!

Trick or Tweet Scary Halloween Animals Card

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Halloween is so much fun and this Trick or Tweet Scary Halloween Animals Card is great to send to someone and spread the Halloween spirit! I love these little costumed animals, ready to stamp and color in how you like! It’s the Trick or Tweet Stamp Set! Cute name, too!

Just stamp each animal on some Whisper White Cardstock and color in with Stampin’ Blends markers or your choice of coloring. I love the alcohol markers! You can use whatever coloring method you like. Then you can punch out or die cut the animals in circles and layer on a scalloped circle. I used Berry Burst Cardstock for the layers.

The background layer on the card is embossed with the Oh My Stars Embossing Folder. I used Lemon Lime Twist Cardstock. This piece is layered on Berry Burst Cardstock and layered on the Basic Black card base.

There wasn’t a good space for a greeting, so I stamped the greeting and cut apart the words! It’s a technique I see now and then but rarely think to use it myself! The greeting comes in the Trick or Tweet Stamp Set. The greeting is stamped in Berry Burst Ink and layered on Basic Black. I just used my Paper Snips scissors to cut these apart by hand. Just glue onto the black and then trim that out. Doesn’t have to be perfect because, after all, it is a spooky Halloween card!

That’s all! A fun Halloween card! Be sure to mail it to arrive before Halloween! Or use these individual little characters as a topper on a Halloween treat bag or box. Lots of possibilities! Here is a treat box I made with the little Halloween bird as the decoration!

Wouldn’t someone you know be pleasantly surprised not just to find a card, but a Halloween card, in their mailbox from you?! Have some fun making cards and treats for Halloween like this Trick or Tweet Scary Halloween Animals Card!

First Frost Flower Bouquet Card

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This First Frost Flower Bouquet Card will be a good one to send to someone for almost any occasion, just change the greeting. You can stamp the flowers in any color, make the whole color scheme of the card in any appropriate colors. First Frost is just a pretty stamp set with nice greetings you can use.

As you can probably see, I stamped the flowers randomly and then die cut with the Frosted Bouquet Framelits Dies. You could also stamp the flowers on the card and then stamp an extra one or two to die cut and add to the bouquet. I did stamp the stems and leaves and some of the little wispy flowers or berries, whatever they are. (And they can be either!) Notice the stamps themselves give that kind of “not full-on ink” impression, a softer look, like watercolor. It’s a very soft, not bold, stamp set. So pretty I think!

To save 10%, just purchase the First Frost Bundle that contains the stamp set and the coordinating dies.

To finish off the card front, I adhered a little strip of the Frosted Floral 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper. If you don’t buy anything else in the Suite, I would buy this Frosted Floral Paper because it is shimmery and GORGEOUS!

On the inside of the card, you can add another die cut flower down in the corner!

You’ll find this whole grouping of products in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog! Be sure to check out this gorgeous new catalog online! And if you would like a copy of your own, please send me your contact information. I would be happy to help you and send you a complimentary copy of the catalog.

You can actually use this Frosted Floral Suite to make holiday cards! Or you can make birthday cards or sympathy cards or “thinking of you” cards or wedding cards! How many stamp sets can you say something like that about?!

I hope you can be inspired by this First Frost Flower Bouquet Card and copy it or make something a little bit different for your special occasion to send or give to someone!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Toil & Trouble Witch’s Broomstick Halloween Card

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How fun is it to use this designer paper with the witches’ brooms all over it and then put a Halloween witch holding a broomstick on the front of the card as in this Toil & Trouble Witch’s Broomstick Halloween Card!

This Halloween designer paper from Stampin’ Up! in the new Holiday Catalog is called Toil & Trouble Designer Series Paper. It has lots of cute images for all kinds of Halloween cards, bags, tags, and other projects! You will have fun making all kinds of cards and things out of it! I just started with a card base of Pumpkin Pie and a layer of Basic Black. Next comes the designer paper pattern with the broomsticks.

For the focal point of the card, I cut out the witch by hand from the Toil & Trouble DSP and mounted her on two ovals, one using Crushed Curry. You know you can find out the coordinating colors of any designer paper by looking on the back of the paper.

To finish off the card I tied on a piece of Crumb Cake twine from the Nature’s Twine package of 4 colors. After that, I realized I didn’t really have a good place to put a greeting, so I left it off. I can stamp something on the inside or just a personal note. It’s not a rule that every single card has to have a greeting on the front!

I hope you will check out this Toil & Trouble Designer Series Paper and see if it gets your Halloween spirit moving! Here’s another card I made with this designer paper by cutting out the witch and a cauldron! Don’t forget to join Paper Pumpkin, too and get a spooky cute box this month!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

Are You On My Stamping With Karen Mailing List??

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Are you on my Stamping With Karen Mailing List? I do love to invite anyone who is interested in stamping, papercrafting, memory-keeping, and Stampin’ Up! to join my Mailing List and keep up with any Stampin’ Up! news and get exclusive detailed tutorials. I love to have new subscribers at any time!

But I’m going to give you a hint that you REALLY want to sign up soon so that you will receive my annual free gift to my subscribers, The 12 Weeks of Christmas weekly newsletters! Believe it or not, we will be starting that pretty soon! Each week you will receive a special email with one holiday project. We will do cards, gift ideas, and gift bag & tag ideas. You won’t find these ideas on my blog or Facebook, they will only be for my subscribers! If you are not on my list, you will miss out!

Feel free to invite your friends to sign up, too! The more the merrier! I always have a great response to these holiday emails and I enjoy sending them out!

It’s not time yet, but it won’t be long! And in the meantime, you will want to keep up with any news about the new Holiday Catalog or any other offers and news from Stampin’ Up!

Current subscribers do not need to sign up again to get the 12 Weeks of Christmas! You are already on my list! And my Holiday List!

Just put your name and email in the red box on the right side of this blog page or click HERE.

Thanks for joining us! Be sure you get your FREE Gift for signing up!

Making Christmas Bright Christmas Card

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This Making Christmas Bright Christmas Card is one copied from a sample in the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog. Look at the sample on page 6. Those cards on that page and this Making Christmas Bright Stamp Set were some that really caught my eye the first time I looked through the catalog! One of the things that says “Christmas” the most are pretty Christmas lights!

Don’t let all those little bulbs scare you off! It just took me a minute with my Stampin’ Blends markers to color those in. They practically only take a dot of marker! I’m not sure what it is that is SO relaxing about coloring with those Stampin’ Blends but I love it! You can also use the regular Stampin’ Write Markers, like Real Red and Crushed Curry. The Stampin’ Up! sample colors in the white bulbs with the Wink of Stella Brush. I colored with the Call Me Clover green.

I used Call Me Clover Cardstock for the card base and used Real Red plus Whisper White and a piece of Sparkle Glimmer Paper. The circle around the greeting is Crushed Curry.

There are lots of possibilities with this stamp set. You can purchase the Bundle, which adds the Christmas Bulb Builder Punch. Bundles save you 10% over the full price!

When you are stamping the strings of lights, if one is too long and going to run into an area where you don’t want it, just put down a piece of scrap paper where you do not want it to stamp. If you don’t want to do the coloring of the bulbs, you could make a monochromatic card by just stamping everything in red or green. I might try that!

This is a good time to get started on holiday cards while we are so enthused with the new products and stamping will be so much fun, instead of rushing at the last minute! But I say that every year! Maybe this year I will really get an earlier start!

Remember to use your Bonus Coupon Codes if you have one or more! Directions are in this post of how to add your Coupon Codes.

If you are a kid at heart with Christmas lights, I think you will enjoy this stamp set or Bundle when you make a card like my Making Christmas Bright Card!

Today Is the Day! The Holiday Catalog Is Here!

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Today marks the official start of the holiday season (for crafters!) with the release of the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog 2018!

You can view the Holiday Catalog Online HERE!

Enjoy a few Stampin’ Up! videos that will really get you “in the mood” if you aren’t already!

SHOP THE HOLIDAY CATALOG ONLINE TODAY! USE YOUR BONUS COUPON CODES!

How to Redeem Your Stampin’ Up! Bonus Codes

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If you had fun ordering from Stampin’ Up! in August, it is now September so you can redeem any Bonus Codes you earned with every $50 purchase! Be sure to redeem them during the month of September. You can use all of them at once or space them out. Hopefully, you still have your email from Stampin’ Up! with your codes!

It’s easy! Just put in your order in the Online Store as usual, then click the “Manage Coupon Codes” button and add your codes! You will see your discount applied on the Order Review Screen. Be sure to check!

Here is a little tutorial from Stampin’ Up! (Click to view better!) Or click HERE to view the PDF!

You might want to wait until the Holiday Catalog goes live in just two more days, September 5th!!

Remember, if you are trying to reach an amount for a Hostess order, like $150, your total order must be $150 after the coupon codes are applied.

HAVE FUN SHOPPING WITH YOUR COUPON CODES!

A Quick and Easy Halloween Card With Ghosts

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Want to make a quick and easy Halloween card with ghosts? I can show you how! In fact, a card like this one is partially responsible for me becoming a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator! I was visiting my friend who was a Demonstrator and she took me along to a team meeting. There was a card on a display board with a ghost or two. When I found out the ghost was made by cutting a heart in half I was just thrilled with how creative people could be with this thing called stamping! I was so inspired by all the creativity I saw at the meeting plus everything my friend had at her house! I think I signed up while I was visiting her that weekend!

When I made another Halloween card in THIS POST with this new paper coming in the Holiday Catalog September 5th, Toil & Trouble, I remembered the idea of making ghosts out of hearts! Just punch out, die cut, or hand cut out a heart of whatever size you want. Then cut the heart in half! That’s all there is to it! Draw on some eyes with a marker. Adhere it to the side of the card layout! Sometimes it doesn’t take much to thrill me to pieces!

This card starts with a Basic Black card base with a layer of Granny Apple Green Cardstock. I let that have a wider margin than usual and cut a smaller piece of Highland Heather Cardstock for another layer. Then I added the ghost patterned paper in the Toil & Trouble Designer Series Paper for the background layer. The half-hearts/ghosts were adhered to the card on the sides. The greeting is from the Trick or Tweet Stamp Set in the Holiday Catalog.

This Toil & Trouble paper makes Halloween cardmaking so much fun! Especially when you can cut a heart in half and make a ghost poking out from a spooky place! You, too, can make a quick and easy Halloween card with ghosts!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Quick and Easy Frankenstein Halloween Card

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You’ve got to try this Quick and Easy Frankenstein Halloween Card if you like Halloween! It will only take you two seconds to make. You can even vary the design to put on tags or treat bag toppers or a Halloween piece of home decor – whatever you like.

The card base is Old Olive Cardstock. The hair is Basic Black just cut in a jagged way. Just figure out how long you want his hair to hang down and cut off the top portion.

Otherwise, you just need a 3/4″ Circle Punch and a 1 1/4″ Circle Punch to make his eyes and nose. Punch two 1 1/4″ circles of Old Olive and cut in half with Paper Snips. Sponge some Old Olive Ink on three of the pieces for the two eyelids and nose. You could also make a circle nose if you like or an oval. The Whisper White eyes are punched with the 1 1/4″ Circle Punch and Basic Black with the 3/4″ Circle Punch. I used the White Stampin’ Chalk Marker to just draw in those little whites of his eyes. You can put them at crazy angles or whatever you want if you want to have some fun with it!

Draw in a few scars and Frankenstein’s mouth with a Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker or Journaling Pens . Once you get your supplies out, making the card goes very quickly! Halloween is so much fun!

Here is a closeup of Frankenstein’s face. Have fun making your Frankenstein!

Don’t forget!! Today is the last day for Stampin’ Up! Bonus Days and also the Color Your Season Suite of special products! Don’t miss out!

Frosted Floral Hello Card For Someone

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In the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog you will find the prettiest designer paper called Frosted Floral. It has a beautiful shimmery look to it, so even a quick and easy card like this Frosted Floral Hello Card For Someone will look elegant and special to anyone you give it to.

The card base is Mint Macaron, one of the coordinating colors of the designer paper. Then I just layered on this paper with the vine design on top. I actually had another idea of adhering several stamped flowers from the First Frost Stamp Set onto the paper, but when I played with placing the flowers, I just didn’t care for it.

I considered several different greetings for this card but in the end, the “Hello” greeting from the Accented Blooms Stamp Set seemed just right. I stamped it in Mint Macaron and punched with the Tailored Tag Punch. I also applied Mint Macaron twine from the Nature’s Twine multi-pack. I like the way it looks on this card!

The new Holiday Catalog is getting close! It goes live Wednesday, September 5th – that’s a week from today! To help you out with costs you will WANT to incur in September with the Holiday Catalog, don’t forget about Bonus Days in August! Before Friday, order some basics to stock up in $50 increments and maybe some items from the new annual Stampi’ Up! Catalog and get your $5 Bonus coupons to use in September! Bonus Days end Friday, August 31!

Here’s a similar card made with the Frosted Floral Designer Series Paper I made about ten days ago. It’s really about the same style. All you have to do is change the greeting on either card and they can serve for many occasions. Try the Frosted Floral Hello Card For Someone and mail it to someone special!