One of the stamp sets I hate to see retire is this one called Big News. I love the very interesting words, fonts, and designs. You can make a card like this for lots of occasions! This stamp set, both clear-mount and wood-mount, has a discounted price during retirement!

I decided to try a different technique with this stamp to make it more colorful and interesting.  I stamped the word in Hello Honey Ink (retired), the whole stamp, and then stamped one end in Tangelo Twist Ink and the other end in Lost Lagoon Ink (retired). So the stamp is inked in all three colors at one time.  As long as you start with the lightest color, you can stamp into a darker ink pad.  Just don’t start with a dark color and then stamp into a light color ink pad!! I stamped the word onto Shimmery White Cardstock.

The stamped design is then layered onto Gold Glimmer Paper and then Lost Lagoon Cardstock. This is all layered on a piece of Hello Honey Cardstock embossed with the Lucky Stars Embossing Folder.

You could achieve this same look by coloring the stamp with various Stampin’ Write Markers. And certainly you can use lots of different combinations of ink colors. Just remember to use the lightest color first.

Remember, retiring products are only available while supplies last, although any stamps that run out will still be manufactured through May 22.

Stampin’ Up! Retiring List

Shop Retiring Products and More in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

If you are running behind, here is a quick and easy Mother’s Day card that is simple for anyone to make at the last minute! You can copy this exact idea or just use it for a starting point and give it your own twist.

After playing around with a couple of other ideas that honestly weren’t working out very well, I decided to just stamp three stems, stamp three flowers and use a die cut word I found in my stash of unused pieces I’d already made at one time or another.  You could just as easily stamp a greeting at the bottom instead of using a die cut.

The flowers are from the stamp set Flower Patch. Lots of flower designs to choose from in that stamp set. But if you don’t have that stamp set, just use another one. The die cut “enjoy” is from the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies.  The card base is Blushing Bride with a layer of Whisper White.  The card is square at 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ but it fits in a regular size Whisper White Medium Envelope so no need for a square envelope. And for a little embellishment, I added Pearls to the center of each flower!  You could do rhinestones or candy dots or whatever you like.

This card is actually perfect for many other occasions, not just Mother’s Day, but if you are looking for a quick and easy Mother’s Day card today, something like this one will be much appreciated!

Yesterday I made my own adult coloring page and today I have made it into this Adult Coloring Flower Shop Card! If you are into the adult coloring craze, don’t forget, you can make your own coloring pages!  Just stamp randomly with Stazon Ink or Archival Black Ink and then color in with Stampin’ Write Markers, watercolor with ink, color with colored pencils, whatever you would like to do!  It’s fun, easy and therapeutic! Just take a little while to stamp and relax, and color like when you were a child! I recommend using lighter colored markers or else pick up the ink with an Aqua Painter so it doesn’t get too dark for your images. I used the Flower Shop stamp set to stamp these outline flowers.

After “adult coloring” this page yesterday, I decided to make it into a card today!  It is layered on a piece of Basic Black cardstock with a very thin margin and then layered on a card base of So Saffron. The greeting is from the Tin of Cards Stamp Set (one of my favorites!). I stamped it and then punched out with the popular Decorative Label Punch. I couldn’t resist adding a couple of Rhinestone Jewels.  The ribbon is the Basic Black 3/8″ Stitched Satin Ribbon (retired).

If you want a layer behind your Decorative Label Punch, punch out two pieces of the contrasting color.  Then cut each piece in half, one horizontally and one vertically and layer behind the top label.

If you want to see my adult coloring Flower Shop page before I made it into a card, visit my Facebook page HERE.

Take a few minutes and stamp some Whisper White card stock with an outline image of your choice.  Just holding a block and stamp in your hand will feel wonderful! Stamp and then color in with whatever art supplies you have. Stamping and coloring is good for the soul!

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Mother’s Day is coming next Sunday so here is a Flower Shop Mother’s Day card! Sometimes I totally surprise myself with what I end up making compared to what I thought I was going to make when I get out my supplies and start stamping. This card was inspired by one I saw in the Stampin’ Up! Catalog on page 126, made with the Flower Shop Stamp Set.  I don’t even know how they made it so I just came up with something similar.

The card base is made with the Whisper White Thick Cardstock with a layer of Whisper White (regular) Cardstock. The flowers are stamped with Crumb Cake ink, but stamped off first before stamping again on the Whisper White layer. A couple of the flowers are stamped and punched out with the Pansy Punch.

Now the unusual part of the card is the fiber heart.  Can you guess what that is made from?  I used the White Jute Ribbon!  I’m not sure at all how they made the heart on the sample I was copying, but I made mine with the Jute Ribbon. It wasn’t wide enough, so I just took 3 pieces of the ribbon, laid them side by side to make one heart. I actually folded the center piece in half lengthwise, then put the side pieces on each side of that folded center piece and cut out a heart shape like you would out of folded paper. Then I used Fast Fuse to adhere the three pieces down on the card in the heart shape.

I added a few embellishments: two of the Neutral Designer Buttons (retiring and discounted) and one of the 2015-17 In Color Blossom Accents (retiring and discounted).  The greeting is from the retiring stamp set And Many More. This stamp set, in the wood-mount, is discounted almost $10! Change the greeting to anything you like for a card for another occasion!

If you need inspiration, just look through the Stampin’ Up! Catalog and look at the samples.  I’m sure you will find something that jumps out at you that you want to make.  You can copy exactly or change the paper or the embellishments or the colors or the stamp set! It’s fun and easy! That’s how I came to making this Flower Shop Mother’s Day Card.

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One of the Stampin’ Up! retiring stamp sets is Everything Eleanor , which is a set that has been around a long time, it seems, and is good for all-occasion and any occasion cards! It’s an elegant set of stamps that you can make as simple or formal as you like. I’ve always loved the flourishes and the special shaped images to use as a background.

This card has Lost Lagoon, one of the retiring In Colors, as the card base with a Whisper White layer. I stamped the flourishes in Mossy Meadow  and the cute background shape in Lost Lagoon (stamped off once first). The flowers were all stamped in Stazon Ink on a scrap and colored in and cut out.  I used my Aqua Painter and the ink in the lid of the ink pads ( Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Melon Mambo).  The bird is also stamped and cut out.

The greeting is from the stamp set A Dozen Thoughts. It is also on the retiring list.  I noticed that the wood-mount version is discounted so it is only $1.25 more than the clear-mount! For that little price difference, I would rather have the wood-mount! Once you mount the stamps on the wood blocks, the stamps are ready to go all the time! If you don’t mind the extra storage space that the wider case takes up!

Stampin’ Up! Retiring List

Check it out soon because some items have already sold out!  Don’t miss out on what YOU want!

*Due to high demand for retiring stamps, Stampin’ Up! will keep producing retiring stamps until May 22 (not accessories, which are only while supplies last).

Sometimes when you think you are going to copy a card, it doesn’t turn out exactly like what you expected, like this Gorgeous Grunge Timeless Elegance Thank You Card. I was going to copy a card I saw in our Demonstrator magazine although I didn’t have the same stamp set or the same framelits. I substituted nearly everything and am undecided whether or not I even like this card!  What do you think?

The card base is made with Sahara Sand with a pattern from the Timeless Elegance Designer Series Paper layered on the front.  I found the already die cut shape in my package of Very Vanilla cardstock from (oops, maybe that one is already retired!) (I was thinking it was Deco Labels). I stamped the greeting from One Big Meaning. Then I used my Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set to very lightly stamp to make a textured background.

Behind the die cut I adhered two pieces of the 1/4″ Cotton Ribbon (Melon Mambo and Pool Party) plus a stand of the Silver Sequin Trim. I also pulled off a few sequins from the trim and adhered them to the greeting die cut. It’s easiest to use the Fine Tip Glue Pen for tiny things like sequins.  And then I also used a few small and tiny pearls from the Pearl Basic Jewels.

So sometimes when you go to stamp something, you might surprise yourself with something very different than what you planned.  You just have to go with the flow and see where it takes you!

The Stampin’ Up! Retirement List is due to come out this afternoon at 1:00 pm MT (2:00 pm Central Time).  I will post the link to the list or whatever is available and all information as soon as I can.  That’s as much as I know at the moment!

Sounds like the Stampin’ Up! OnStage 2016 event in Salt Lake City was a big success and that everyone is excited about the new catalog!  The new catalog will go live June 1st. I should be able to give out/mail out catalogs to my customers when I receive them, probably around early to mid-May.  If you do not have a Demonstrator, I would be happy to be yours and mail you a catalog if you are interested in Stampin’ Up! products. Just email me with your contact information at Karen@KarenStamps.com.

If you have ordered from me as  “No Contact” customer, THANK YOU!, but know that I do not have your name or address. If you would like a catalog, just request one from me.

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Watch for the Retirement List later today!