Category Archives: Cards

It’s Time to Sale-A-Brate! Occasions Catalog and Sale-A-Bration Begin Today!

Today is the BIG DAY! Double-big day, actually! The Occasions Catalog 2018 by Stampin’ Up! is live and Sale-A-Bration has begun! New products to play with and create beautiful stamping and papercrafting projects plus Stampin’ Up!’s biggest promotion of the year, Sale-A-Bration!

SHOP!!

With every $50 you spend on Stampin’ Up! products (before tax and shipping), you earn a FREE product in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure! Just look for the $50 Purchase icon on the product!

JOIN!

Join Stampin’ Up! by purchasing the Starter Kit with $125 worth of products of your choosing for just $99. THEN choose TWO additional FREE stamp sets from the Annual or Occasions Catalog! Start your own business and have fun being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator!

HOST!

Host a stamping event or put in your own order (or order with friends!) and earn $25 MORE in Stampin’ Rewards with sales of $250 or more! This is in addition to regular Stampin’ Rewards.

Enjoy these videos about some of the new products in the Occasions Catalog!

Today you can begin ordering from the Occasions Catalog (and of course, always, the Annual Catalog!). Remember, if you want to earn free products from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure, order in increments of $50. No limits, for every $50 you spend, you choose one Sale-A-Bration product!

SHOP TODAY FROM STAMPIN’ UP! ON THE FIRST DAY OF SALE-A-BRATION HERE!

Quick and Easy Thank You Note Card

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Okay, the holidays and New Year are over, so now is the time to write those thank you notes for your gifts, parties, and hospitality like this Quick and Easy Thank You Note Card. Email thank yous are better than nothing but really a handwritten note is the proper way to go. Yes, I am old-fashioned! Stand out in the crowd! Write a thank you note(s) to the people who deserve one. They will be surprised and amazed! After all, we all need more personal mail in our mailboxes!

The easiest way in the world to write a thank you note is to use the Stampin’ Up! Whisper White Note Cards and Envelopes. These note cards are the perfect size for a quick and easy thank you note and they come with envelopes. Find almost ANY “Thank You” stamp you have and stamp on the front of the notecard! That’s it! Write your note on the inside. Now if you want to step it up a bit, tie a ribbon around the front of the card or stamp a little something or add a few sequins or small embellishments. Whatever you like. If you don’t have a thank you stamp in your collection, a “Just For You” would do, “Thinking of You”, or a nice flower stamp or something generic can be used!

Make the cards simple and get them done! The recipient will appreciate it!

Today is the LAST DAY for the Holiday Catalog! Check the retiring products and be sure your order today if you want any of these products. Also check the items that are discounted on the Year-End Sale.

Tomorrow the new Occasions Catalog and Sale-A-Bration promotion begins!! Get Ready!!

Go stamp some Thank You notes and get them in the mail! Make it simple like my quick and easy note card above. Here’s another example of a quick thank you card! Or make a fancy one, but just make one!

Picture Perfect Party for New Year’s 2018

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Happy New Year!! When I wanted to make a card for the New Year, I didn’t have to look any further than the Picture Perfect Party 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper, coming SOON in the Occasions Catalog! In fact, I had so many paper choices that I had to add a few to my card photograph!

My card base is Basic Black because that is elegant for New Year’s Eve, when I was making the card! The paper appears to have confetti all over it, so how perfect! But look at just a few of the other sheets I also could have used that would be “partyish” for this card! This is a really fun pack of paper!

During the free shipping Stampin’ Up! offered awhile back, I purchased the Large Letters Framelits Dies but I already owned the Large Numbers Framelits Dies, which certainly are perfect for New Year’s! Very easy way to cut out the numbers for the new year! Also great for birthdays and anniversaries! I cut the numbers out of Gold Glimmer Paper and adhered them to a piece of Basic Black layered on a piece of Gold Glimmer Paper. It was that easy!

I hope you had a fun and safe New Year’s Eve and now are celebrating the beginning of a New Year! The time sure seems to fly by!

The Occasions Catalog goes live Wednesday, January 3, and you’ll be able to get your hands on this fun Picture Perfect Party Paper as well as the coordinating Picture Perfect Birthday Stamp Set and all the embellishments! It’s all very cute! Great for birthdays, anniversaries, all kinds of party themes!

If you need a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and would like the new Occasions Catalog plus Sale-A-Bration Brochure, just email me at Karen@Karenstamps.com and let me know. I’d be happy to mail you the catalogs plus the Annual Stampin’ Up! Catalog if you don’t have one already! It’s going to be so fun to switch over to non-holiday colors and products after the Christmas holidays! In the meantime, be sure to check if you want anything that is retiring from the Holiday Catalog before the last day, January 2, 2018.

HAPPY STAMPING NEW YEAR!!

Coffee Cafe Cards For a Gift

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Here are some fun Coffee Cafe Bundle cards I made someone for a Christmas gift! You can purchase the stamp set Coffee Cafe and the Coffee Cups Framelits Dies separately or in a Bundle and save 10%! Since I’m not really a coffee person, even though I could see these were popular products, I didn’t purchase them until right before Christmas when I realized making these cards for someone would be a perfect gift. They were so fun to make, too!

You will also want the Coffee Break Designer Series Paper to match and for fun, the Corrugated Elements, little corrugated kraft paper designs.

Notice the kind of fun new way to do ribbon on the last card – just kind of squiggle it back and forth underneath a greeting or design element instead of just tying it around the card!

LAST CHANCE TODAY!!

While I was doing my Christmas cards, I sure wished I would have had the new Stamparatus coming out in the next Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog! I could have placed my stamp, inserted each card and stamped exactly in the same proper place where I wanted my greeting!

If you want to get your hands on this Stamparatus Stamp Positioning Tool, the window closes TODAY, Dec. 30th! Go to my Online Store HERE, sign in to your account, then scroll down just a little until you see the Stamparatus on the right. You will see the button to click to reserve yours. Click and then fill out your information and make sure you see at the bottom that you DID reserve a Stamparatus. You will also receive an email within a few minutes confirming your reservation. When Stampin’ Up! gets yours in stock, they will place it in your Shopping Cart and email you that it is available (probably mid-March or later). At that time, if you complete your order like usual, adding any other products you may want (maybe it will be early enough to take advantage of Sale-A-Bration!) and at that point your credit card will be charged for the Stamparatus and anything else you ordered. Your credit card will not be charged just for the reservation. It’s like you are reserving the opportunity to pre-order one before the Annual Catalog comes out!

AND…….

Stampin’ Up! Year-End Sales Event thru January 2, 2018

Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack

Lovely As a Tree Christmas Card with Merry Little Christmas

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Lovely As a Tree has to be the best, most universal stamp set ever created, and it makes a great Christmas card such as this Lovely As a Tree Christmas Card with Merry Little Christmas. I have probably used the Lovely As a Tree Stamp Set every Christmas since I bought it, which has been at least 15 years. I have also used it many other times throughout the year because it is not just for Christmas. It is not “just” for anything! It is so versatile!

One of the early cards I learned to make was to stamp this tree over and over again across the paper, sometimes without reinking, to give the look of a forest of trees. The I squiggled glue over the trees and added Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. It always makes a beautiful card and is so easy.

For this card, I updated the Lovely As a Tree look a little bit by using the Merry Little Christmas paper. The card base is Old Olive Cardstock, layered narrowly with Basic Black and then a layer of the green and black plaid paper. I wasn’t sure at first how I was going to place the tree on this card because a regular layer would cover up all the plaid that I wanted to show. So I cut just a narrow strip and stamped that. In the end, I cut the strip to basically fit the stamp, about 2″ x 4″ so there would be room for a greeting from Hearts Come Home. I decided to layer the tree on Gold Foil and then I added some strips on the sides of Gold Glimmer Paper. All that took were some scraps! Then I added the greeting with some Stampin’ Dimensionals on the back to lift it over the tree piece (since I didn’t place it high enough on the card!).

Easy card to make if you need a last minute idea! And who doesn’t need last minute ideas at this point?! I need a last minute elf, actually, to help!!

If you don’t already own Lovely As a Tree, it should be on your list for the New Year! It is a classic and I hope Stampin’ Up! will keep it around forever.

The upcoming Occasions and Sale-A-Bration catalogs have been mailed from Stampin’ Up! You probably should have received yours by now if you are a regular customer of mine, or it should be coming soon, so watch for them in your mail. They come separately. If you are new and would like copies, just email me and I’ll send them to you.

Star of Light Christmas Card

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One of my downline sent me this Star of Light Christmas Card, and I want to tell you it is an absolutely beautiful card! Just stunning in real life! The photograph doesn’t really do it justice because of the glare from the gold foil. The Star of Light Stamp Set is a perfect one for the Christmas season, not only with beautiful artwork but lots of sentiments to use.

The card starts on just a Whisper White base, layered with a piece of Gold Foil. The top layer is Night of Navy embossed with the Sparkle Embossing Folder. Underneath this Night of Navy layer are strips of Silver Glimmer Paper on each side, very narrow margins. It just looks beautiful along with the Gold Foil and Night of Navy cardstock! The Star of Wonder is made with the Starlight Thinlits Dies using the Gold Foil and the Silver Glimmer Paper in all the layers.

The greeting is embossed in gold and layered on Gold Foil with a bit of the Gold 1/8″ Ribbon folded behind. There is also a small Rhinestone Jewel on the front.

For texture, shine, and eye-catching beauty, this card really can’t be beat! All the elements are there from the embossing folder, the Gold Foil and Silver Glimmer Paper and the beautiful die-cutting and layering of the star with the Starlight Thinlits Dies. Really pretty!

You will find this Star of Light Photopolymer Stamp Set and Starlight Thinlits Dies in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog on page 122, so it can be ordered any time. Perhaps you will want to get a head start on NEXT Christmas by making this card in January! This Star of Light Christmas card is one that will turn out beautifully!

Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack Updated Today! Get Some Bargains!

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SURPRISE! The Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack has been updated! New items have been added to the Clearance Rack in the online store! Supplies are limited, and with discounts up to 70%, products will go quickly. Shop now and stock up.

You will find cardstock, dies, ribbons, embellishments, designer paper, punches, and more! Of course it’s all “while supplies last”! Check it out right now! The Early Bird gets the worm!

Don’t forget the Year-End Sales Event going on, too!

This sale has surplus inventory at reduced prices and retiring products from the Holiday Catalog!

Don’t forget! Last day to order from the Holiday Catalog is January 2, 2018.

Last day to order from the Year-End Sales Event is January 2, 2018.

AND: You can “reserve” your Stamparatus, the new stamp positioning tool until December 30, 2017. This is an earlier way to receive your tool before it appears in the next annual Stampin’ Up! catalog!

Stamparatus Ad

Just go to my Online Store, sign in to your account, scroll down until you see the Stamparatus.
You will see a link to click to go through the reservation process. Just put in your name and credit card number.
Your credit card will NOT be charged until the Stamparatus has been received by Stampin’ Up! and put in your Shopping Cart.
At that point, you can go ahead and add to your order, if you choose, or just complete your order as always.
You will want to be the first kid on the block to own the Stamparatus! First reservations in, first Stamparatus out! Reserve yours today before time slips away. You can always cancel if you change your mind.

Go check out all these Stampin’ Up! bargains and deals!

Have A Friend Into Star Wars – The Last Jedi? Here’s A Card For Them!

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Made in Stampin’ Up! My Digital Studio

Today the new Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, comes out so maybe you have a friend into Star Wars and want to make them a Star Wars card! My husband, my boys and my son-in-law are all Star Wars fans, and I admit to seeing a few of the movies myself. If you want to give a Star Wars fan a thrill, either now or maybe their birthday, here are some handmade Star Wars cards from the past. They were mostly ones I’d found on the internet, of course, and copied from people who were more creative than I was. I know my son-in-law has his cards on display, which makes me happy that he enjoys them! Mostly it just takes paper and punches to make all of these!

The picture above I made when Stampin’ Up! had My Digital Studio. Our family went to Death Valley a few years ago (Fantastic trip and scenery! If you haven’t been there, you need to put it on your list!) and although we didn’t know it at the time I don’t think, there was at least one hike we were on that my guys commented looked like something out of Star Wars. When we got home and researched it, it turned out that some scenes were filmed in this area! So I had a photo of my son on this hike and with My Digital Studio added a light saber!

But here are some other Star Wars cards I have made that you can keep on file!

This is a punch art R2D2 card, a little bit involved with all the small pieces! You can see it in my blog post HERE.

This might have been my first Star Wars card I made with Darth Vader and Yoda! I know I found some kind of “Yoda Language Generator” site where you could type in your message and they would translate it into how Yoda would say it! Here is the blog post about this card.

This card was fun with the BB8 character! You can read about the making of this card HERE.

I like this Yoda card, maybe because of the colors! You can read about this card on this blog post HERE. I made this card for Star Wars Day, May 4th (as in…..May the 4th be with you!)

Are you going to see the new Star Wars movie? I don’t know if I will or not. It will be a Christmas holiday activity for the rest of the family home for the holidays. If you have a friend into Star Wars, you might like to make a special Star Wars card for them to commemorate the new movie, The Last Jedi.

Christmas Card With Foil Frenzy Christmas Trees

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In keeping with my Christmas trees theme of yesterday, I got the idea to die cut Christmas trees with the Foil Frenzy Specialty Designer Series Paper to make a Christmas card. Using this colorful paper with foil colors and patterns makes for a more whimsical card! The foil patterns are printed on heavyweight kraft paper so besides cards, this paper is good for making boxes and other 3D projects for any occasion, not just Christmas! Check out the Foil Frenzy Paper!

One of the coordinating colors of the foil is Berry Burst, one of the In Colors, so I used that color for my card base. The card layer is, again, Shimmery White. After I die cut the three Christmas trees with the tree in the Santa’s Sleigh Thinlits Dies, I decided to slide them all over to the right and add a bow to the side. The card is wrapped with the Berry Burst Ribbon, and I also added a piece of the 1/8″ Gold Ribbon for an added accent. The bow is a “cheater bow” – I adhered the strip of ribbon around the card layer but then tied the bow separately and adhered it to the ribbon with several Glue Dots. Makes it a little easier to just attach the bow rather than to tie it actually on the card!

The greeting is one from Oh What Fun and I simply stamped the whole thing with Berry Burst ink. Another thing you can do with markers is to color right on the stamp, coloring different areas different colors. After the coloring and before stamping, be sure to “huff” or breathe on the stamp to remoisten the ink, then stamp! This will give a slightly lighter inked image than if you inked up with an ink pad directly, but it is a good technique to use sometimes.

Even when you start with an idea of what you are going to stamp, often another idea comes to mind while you are creating. Just go with it and see what happens! If it doesn’t work, just keep working on it and you probably will find just the right combination of what looks good for your project!

Be sure to check out my card from yesterday in THIS POST to see the more typical way to use the Santa’s Sleigh tree die – or is there really a typical way to use any of our products?! It’s all about the creativity!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Santa’s Sleigh Christmas Tree Christmas Card

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Can you tell the difference in these two Santa’s Sleigh Christmas Tree Christmas Cards? I found this sample in a magazine we Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators receive from Stampin’ Up! quarterly, in an issue from last year, when the Santa’s Sleigh Stamp Set was new. The sample was made pretty much like my card on the left. When I looked at it closely and looked at the list of supplies to make it, I was surprised that it wasn’t actually made like my card on the right!

The original sample, the card on the left, is actually made with some brown colors rather that metallics like my card on the right. In the sample, one tree is die cut with the Santa’s Sleigh Dies Thinlits out of Soft Suede Cardstock and the other tree out of Crumb Cake Cardstock. The center tree is stamped with Soft Suede Ink and die cut. The card base and layer are made from the beautiful Shimmery White Cardstock. The center tree is made with this cardstock as well. There are also some Soft Suede stamped stars and some die cut stars.

Since I originally thought the sample was made with metallics, I made another card with the Shimmery White cardstock. The center tree is stamped with Versamark Ink and embossed with Gold Emboss Powder using the Heat Tool. The other two trees are die cut from the Gold Foil Sheets and the Copper Foil Sheet.

The center tree on both cards are popped up with both Stampin’ Dimensionals and the new Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals. In some cases, even the Mini Dimensionals are too large. If this is the case you can cut along the edges of the dimensional sheet as necessary.

To finish off the card, Linen Thread is wrapped around the card layer. On the metallic card, I tried some other ribbons, but mostly they were too large since the trees take up a lot of space. The greeting is stamped, in both cases, with Soft Suede Ink, although it could also be embossed in gold. In the original sample, the linen thread goes entirely over all the trees (not tucked under the center tree) and the greeting as well was adhered up by the trees and tucked under the linen thread. I chose to just put the greeting at the bottom of the card.

Both of these styles of Christmas cards are very pretty! I would say using the embossing and foil steps it up a bit. I’m even going to try some other designer paper. I think you could do many variations with this card! Just get started and then see where your creativity takes you! You can copy these samples of the Santa’s Sleigh Christmas Tree Christmas Card and see what you come up with!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Easy Christmas Cards to Make: Watercolor Christmas Kit

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It’s December already and if you are looking for a quick way to make some nice Christmas cards, check out this Watercolor Christmas Project Kit!

This kit will make 20 cards, 5 each of 4 designs and gold foil-lined envelopes are included! The cards are the usual size we make. In fact, everything is included except ink, adhesives, and the recommended stamp set, Watercolor Christmas. (If you like the wood-mount set, it is on sale!) This is a great holiday stamp set, with or without the project kit really!

Watch the Stampin’ Up! video to get a better idea about the kit and pick up some tips as well!

These are cute cards, the watercolor look is trendy, and you’ll be able to send out handmade Christmas cards! Be sure to order right away because the kit is “while supplies last”!

Shop the Stampin’ Up! Year-End Sale HERE!

Join the Stamping With Karen Mailing List Today!

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Are you on my Stamping WIth Karen Mailing List?!

Every Wednesday I have been sending out a special holiday email with one project to make. Only the people who are subscribers on my mailing list receive these as their special gift.

While you have missed the first 8 weeks, today begins the last four (can you believe Christmas is coming so fast??!) so if you sign up before 1:00 pm Central time you will receive Week 9 and all the rest.

I also send out an email usually every Tuesday with projects and instructions plus the latest Stampin’ Up! news that comes out every Tuesday morning. Don’t miss any special offers and fun by signing up for my mailing list! It’s free! Plus you get a free gift when you do sign up! And perhaps it will be helpful to you right now in this holiday season!

You can unsubscribe any time with a link in every email if you feel my newsletter is not for you. I know we all have to be choosy in which emails we have time for, but if you like stamping and Stampin’ Up!, you will want to join us!

Just put your name and email in the red box on this page! That will sign you up for my regular emails PLUS the last 4 holiday emails!

www.KarenStamps.com

It’s Black Friday! Shop the Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza!

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Little Thanksgiving Turkeys

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I think I have posted these little Thanksgiving turkeys before, but in case you need some fun little Thanksgiving favor or something, these are something I have made for years! These would be great to put at each place at the Thanksgiving table or take along to your hostess where you are going!

You will need chocolate Kisses, candy corn, caramels, and fudge-striped cookies.

Put a few caramels on a plate and just barely heat in your microwave. You want to just soften them, not melt them. Do a few for a test and see how your microwave operates. I did mine about 10 seconds or a tiny bit longer. You can probably do about 4 at a time and still make them all before the caramel hardens again.

Soften the caramel (take off the wrapper first!). Have the Kisses unwrapped also and candy corn and cookies handy. As soon as the caramel squares come out of the microwave, press the caramel on top of a Kiss for the base. Then smoosh the fudge-striped cookie up against the back of the caramel until it sticks. Take the candy corn and smoosh it into the caramel as you see in the photo. This is supposed to look like a turkey!

Someone taught me how to make these a million years ago! There are other versions out there but these are super simple. I used to make them for preschool Thanksgiving lunches and on to elementary school for the kids, as well as our own dinner. It’s always fun to have a Thanksgiving favor for everyone at the table or to take to a party!

Don’t forget the Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza is underway! The stamp sale is over, but plenty of select products are available for 10% – 40% off! And a to-be-announced FLASH SALE of something next Monday!

Online Extravaganza HERE!

Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza Is Here! 24-Hour Stamp Sale Today!

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Today is the day! The Stampin’ Up! Online Extravaganza begins! Check out all these sales! And today, for 24 hours only, these select stamp sets are 20% off! Stamp Sale starts November 20 12:00 AM and ends November 20 11:59 PM.

These are the regular catalog prices show here. Take off 20% for the sale price! Or click any stamp set to see the sale price in the Online Store.