Category Archives: Cards

For All Things Fall Card

I made this For All Things Fall Card because we are finally having at least a few days that feel a bit like fall in Houston. Maybe it doesn’t exactly feel like fall here, but the morning temperature was cooler yesterday and today. We’ll take anything that we can get along those lines! For All Things is a stamp set that came out last year in the Holiday Catalog, and I just loved it. Obviously lots of people loved it because it is still here!

This is a simple card to make with just stamps, ink and paper. The card base is Cajun Craze with a layer of Garden Green card stock. The stamp set comes with a background image which I stamped in Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, and Garden Green. In order to make the colors lighter, I stamped “off” once, which means after inking up I stamped on scrap paper to remove some, but not all, of the ink. That makes it lighter so that I could stamp over that background image with the same color leaf and it would show up. The images are stamped on Very Vanilla as I thought Whisper White might be too stark for fall colors. I thought the greeting that came in the stamp set was perfect for what I wanted to express this morning!

There are ways this card could have been made in a “fancier” way, but sometimes just simple is best with stamps, ink and paper and nothing else. If you don’t already own the For All Things Stamp Set, you might want to get it as soon as possible for fall and for Thanksgiving.

Don’t forget to check out the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals ending tonight.

Just a Few Hours Left Until the 12 Weeks of Christmas Begins!

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Today I will be starting the 12 Weeks of Christmas campaign as a free gift for my mailing list subscribers. Each week, subscribers will receive an e-mail containing a project idea for a holiday card, gift, tag or wrapping, along with the steps necessary to assemble it! This is ONLY for my mailing list subscribers, and you have just a few hours left before the first e-mail goes out (today at 1:00 p.m. Central time). If you are not on my mailing list, you will not receive this holiday idea, this first email. Just fill in the box in the upper right corner of my blog with your name and email. Then be sure to check your email to look for the confirmation email giving your permission to actually send you email. You will also get a free gift always offered to new subscribers! But be sure to click the link to confirm in the confirmation email.

Sign up now for my Stamping With Karen newsletter and watch for the 12 Weeks of Christmas emails over the next 12 weeks! Christmas is coming!

Airplane Punch Art Birthday Card

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Now that my brother’s birthday has come and gone, I can post the Airplane Punch Art Birthday Card I made for him. The background layer of the card is made with the Cloudy Day Embossing Folder (retired), but an alternative thing you can do is just sponge some White Craft Ink onto a blue background to make some wispy clouds in the sky. I even have one “cloud” in the sky made with one of the Scallop Circle Punches, depending on which size you want to use.

The airplane is made with the Word Window Punch for the wings and the tail. The front of the plane is made with one of the circle punches. I forget which size! But you can experiment and see which size works for your airplane! For the windshield, use a smaller circle punch and cut it in quarters. Use two of the quarters for the window. Then, of course, the plane nose and jet engines are made with two small circle punches, I probably used the 1/2″ circle or so. For the body of the plane, I used some retired Silver cardstock but you could use Silver Foil for a shiny plane or one of the gray colors. I “tied” on a banner like an airplane pulls for advertising for the birthday greeting and just cut the banner by freehand.

A fun and easy birthday card to make. You could use a design like this for a birthday party theme. Try the Airplane Punch Art Birthday Card and customize it!

If you want to make a card like this and need some papercrafting supplies, just shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store.

The Twelve Weeks of Christmas Is Coming! Get on My Mailing List! Hurry!

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I’ll be starting the 12 Weeks of Christmas campaign as a free gift for my mailing list subscribers. Each week, subscribers will receive an e-mail containing a project idea for a holiday card, gift, tag or wrapping, along with the steps necessary to assemble it! This is ONLY for mailing list subscribers and these projects won’t appear on my blog or anywhere else. You have 48 hours before the first e-mail goes out on Wednesday, so be sure you are on my list!!

You’ll see the sign up box in the upper right corner of my blog!

After you submit your name and email address, BE SURE to click the link in the Confirmation email you will receive shortly. This tells us yes, you really want to receive the emails from me. At that point you will receive my free gift for signing up plus be ready to receive the 12 Weeks of Christmas emails.

If you are already on my mailing list there is no need to do anything! You will be receiving the 12 Weeks of Christmas emails from me!

Layered Letters Alphabet Thanks Halloween Card

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This is a thank you card I made for some of my customers who placed orders recently, made with the fun Layered Letters Alphabet Stamp Set with a little witch’s hat from the Howl-O-Ween Treat Stamp Set. I love the colors and wanted to add a little Halloween touch for fun! I love the Black Glimmer Paper and added a small strip to the witch’s hat for some sparkle. I trimmed out the hat with Paper Snips rather than the matching framelits just because I had to make it fit on my card and needed to do a little more snipping! Then I colored in the stars on the hat with a Stampin’ Write Marker. For a little more sparkle I punched out a star from Gold Glimmer Paper with the star punch in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack.

I love the Layered Letters Alphabet Stamp Set! It is so versatile and modern. Use the rectangles for a background for each letter or by themselves, or use the letters by themselves! Spell out a word you want or a name on a card or tag. So many possibilities.

Be sure to try the Whisper White THICK Cardstock on your next order. If you want to do very simple and no layers, the Whisper White Thick Cardstock can stand up itself in a card better than the regular Whisper White, which is a little thinner.

Don’t forget to double-check the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals which end tonight! If there is anything you want, add them to your order. We all love bargains!

As you make your thank you and other cards, maybe you might want to add a little Halloween touch to your cards with color or stamp images! Might as well have a little fun in the fall! Use the Layered Letters Alphabet to make a Thank You Card with a Halloween touch!

Shop Stampin’ Up! HERE any time!

Sheltering Tree First Day of Fall Card

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Here is a card made with the Sheltering Tree Stamp Set for the first day of fall. Can you believe today is the first day of autumn? It’s still plenty hot where I live with no signs of fall at all unless you look at the calendar. I would love it if I thought we were getting colored leaves soon and jacket weather! But I doubt that is in the cards until about November here in Houston!

I thought I would pull out a stamp set NOT in the Holiday Catalog for a change. This stamp set can be changed for any season of the year by just coloring the leaves different colors. To color the leaves stamp, I just took several Stampin’ Write Markers and colored randomly on the stamp. I think I chose Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Crushed Curry, and Old Olive. If you start with the lightest color and get darker, you won’t get a dark color on your light markers. The grass is made up of two different stamps. One makes the hilly area and the smaller grass blade stamp can be stamped over for more detail.

I decided to change things up a bit and make a 4 1/4″ square card for a change! It’s okay to make different sizes of cards away from the standard size!

Don’t forget to look back at the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog because there are still great new things in there!

I hope this Sheltering Tree First Day of Fall Card will get you in the mood for fall, if autumn is coming soon to your part of the country!

A Punch Art Fire Truck

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I made this punch art fire truck card awhile back for a fireman I knew who got a promotion. Of course I never would come up with an idea like this myself, but I found samples on Pinterest and on the internet. I’m not sure who the original creator of this example is, but you’ll find lots of ideas. It seems like fire trucks are quite popular themes for birthday parties – for invitations, favors or decorations.

There were no directions for this fire truck so I had to make it up as I went along. I no longer have the card and the measurements or anything but I can give you the basics and you will make what works with your creative idea.

For the body of the fire truck, I just cut a rectangle that would fit on my card with the upper piece for the cab of the truck. Cut the “windshield” at a slight angle. The bottom edge of the truck I cut from the retired Brushed Silver Cardstock, but you could use Silver Foil Sheets or Basic Gray card stock and the I rounded the ends. Use a punch you have or scissors. The tires, of course, are circle punches as are the headlight and tail light. The ladder is just strips cut and glued before adhering to the truck. There is an orange light at the top. Depending on your window size you might be able to use an old square punch or just cut squares the right size. I sponged a tiny bit of Smoky Slate ink on the “windows” and sponged a few clouds in the sky with White Craft Ink. The greeting comes from the And Many More Stamp Set.

Just experiment and play and you will come up with your own version of a punch art fire truck!

For any stamping and papercrafting supplies, please visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE.

Embellished Ornaments Christmas Card with Gold Glitter

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Yesterday I made a super simple, easy Christmas card for my stamping newsletter with this same stamp set, and today I made this more elegant Embellished Ornaments Christmas card with gold glitter. I was actually copying a sample card in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog on page 15. I used the Embellished Ornaments Stamp Set for the whole card. It also has a nice sentiment to stamp inside the card.

I stamped the holly leaves on the Whisper White card front layer overlapping in the center , which I knew would be underneath the ornament and not show. I inked up the leaves in Old Olive and then used a Blender Pen to remove the green ink from the berries and colored the berries with Real Red marker. Then I went back with the Blender Pen and colored the holly leaves in lightly with Old Olive ink.

The ornament is stamped with Real Red ink and cut out with the Delicate Ornament Thinlits Dies and the Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine. The little ornament hanger/topper piece is also die cut after being stamped with Smoky Slate ink. You could also stamp this piece with Versamark ink and emboss with Silver Embossing powder. The sample in the catalog used the very thin, fine Gold Metallic Thread behind the ornament. I own it, but have lost it! So instead, I used the Gold Cording Trim. I’d prefer the Gold Metallic Thread for a lighter look. The cording is just gathered haphazardly behind the ornament and stuck down with Stampin’ Dimensionals which then adhere the ornament to the card.

For a finishing touch, I used the splatter technique with the Multipurpose Liquid Glue diluted with water from my Aqua Painter as I did in THIS POST. Since I didn’t look very closely to see my splatters, I kept splattering and got a little carried away!! If I had it to do over, I wouldn’t do quite so much splattering; but oh well, a lot of glitter on a festive Christmas card never hurt anybody! Once you have splattered with the watered down glue, shake on Gold Glitter to cover, then dump off the excess. Voila! You have a glittered splattered card!

Use your Holiday Catalog to shop but also to get ideas! Copy the projects exactly or just take part of the idea for inspiration and make up your own creative idea! That’s why lots of samples are provided in the Holiday Catalog as well as the Annual Stampin’ Up! Catalog. Enjoy!

Here is a close-up so you can see the glitter better.

If you need any supplies to make my Embellished Ornaments Christmas card, please click this link to shop online at Stampin’ Up!

Writing Notes Thank You Card

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To make this Writing Notes Thank You card, I used the stamp that looks like a piece of notebook paper! It might be one you have completely overlooked in the new Annual Stampin’ Up! Catalog, Writing Notes. It is one I ordered yet barely used. I recommend purchasing the wood-mount since this stamp is a background stamp, and I think they are easier to use with a wood block. I didn’t think of that when I ordered it so I have the clear-mount.

After stamping with Writing Notes on Whisper White with Soft Sky ink, I trimmed it down and adhered it to a Soft Sky card base. I also stamped with flowers and leaves from the Crazy about You Stamp Set. This stamp set mostly has words, but there are a few flowers to use, too! And you can even get this stamp set in a Bundle with the Hello You Thinlits Dies.

The sentiment on the card is from the stamp set One Big Meaning, a useful stamp set when you are looking for the perfect “Thank You” wording.

With all the excitement over the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog, take a look through the Annual Stampin’ Up! Catalog and see if you have overlooked something in there!

Writing Notes Wood-Mount Background Stamp
$20.00

One Big Meaning Clear-Mount Stamp Set
$19.00

Crazy About You Clear-Mount Stamp Set
$39.00

Crazy About You Clear-Mount Bundle
$54.25

Hello You Thinlits Dies
$25.00

Soft Sky 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock
$7.00

Soft Sky Classic Stampin’ Pad
$6.50

Generated by SUDSOL, Free Trial at www.sudsol.org

Be sure to check out the current Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals HERE before you finalize your order. There just might be something you want to pick up!

Click on the links above or go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store to shop!

A Way to Use Photopolymer Stamps

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Here’s a way to use photopolymer stamps, certainly not my original idea, but one that I have heard yet never think about using! Put more than one photopolymer stamp on a block! Make your design with the stamp and then place the acrylic clear block on top. Your stamps will be placed exactly where you want them. Depending on your design, you might be able to stamp over and over with the combination of stamps on one block.

In the card above, I have stamped the colored blocks with the rectangle piece in the Layered Letters Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set. Next I laid out the letters I wanted to use exactly where I wanted them placed on the colored rectangles, stamping side down. (The stamps are stained, they don’t have ink on them yet!)

After you have your photopolymer stamps laid out how you want them, place the correct size acrylic block right over them to attach to the block for stamping.

Now with the card I was making with the colored areas I was stamping on, since those area would be differently placed on each card I handstamped, I couldn’t use this same “thanks” stamp set up over and over again. But if I wanted to stamp just the word “Thanks” over and over, I could place all the letters on the block and stamp over and over for the same look.

Don’t forget, tomorrow, Monday, September 14 is the last day for the current Weekly Deals! Be sure to check them out and see if you want anything!

I hope this way to use photopolymer stamps will stick in your head so if you come upon a stamping situation where it would be handy, you will remember it (better than I do!).

Stampin’ Up! Online Store Open 24/7

Witches’ Night Halloween Card Idea

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I love the look of this stamp in the Witches’ Night Photopolymer Stamp Set and used it with some leftover pieces from the Witching Decor Project Kit to make this Halloween card. The label that this is stamped on and the orange and black striped piece behind it, the “31” sticker, plus the fringe piece at the bottom are from the Witching Decor Kit. I am SO thrilled with the witch’s hat I made with that kit. You can see it HERE.

After stamping the label, I sponged some Soft Suede ink around the edges. I wish I would have also sponged some ink on other parts of the card, but I forgot! The paper is from the Happy Haunting Designer Series Paper. Now you can buy a pack of coordinating card stock for each pack of designer paper from Stampin’ Up! if you do not own all the card stock colors. Be sure to look for that when you are shopping. It’s nice to know and to have that convenience. Check out the Happy Haunting Card Stock Pack.

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Even as we think about fun things today like Halloween and the upcoming holidays, let’s also honor the day, September 11th. It’s difficult to believe that day is so long ago now for those of us who remember exactly what we were doing when we heard about it. Although most of us were actually a physical distance away from the tragedy, I remember the feeling that we wanted to connect with our loved ones who weren’t at home and friends, just to hear that they were all right, even though we knew they were. So maybe we should all take a moment today and write a quick (or long) note to someone we care about and send a card, just to let them know we are thinking about them. We should do this more often, but we are all busy all the time. Think of the joy you will bring someone when they found an actual personal envelope and card in their mailbox.

Here is the special edition stamp Stampin’ Up! created and sold to benefit the September 11th Fund. The entire purchase price was donated by Stampin’ Up! in remembrance of the victims.

Howl-O-Ween Treat Mini Treat Bag Halloween Card

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You know I love the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies, so for Halloween I made this Howl-O-Ween Treat Mini Treat Bag Halloween card. I just used Pumpkin Pie card stock to make the treat bag with the die and the Big Shot and then I stamped the words “Trick or Treat” all over with matching Pumpkin Pie ink. That’s how you make your own designer paper! I wrapped a little strip of Happy Haunting Designer Series Paper around the bottom of the bag just for a little something. The owl from Howl-O-Ween Treat Stamp Set is stamped in Blackberry Bliss and die cut with the Boo to You Framelits Dies. I also die cut the witch’s hat from the Black Glimmer Paper in the Holiday Catalog and just put a little strip of Gold Glimmer Paper on the hat. Then I also punched a few Gold Glimmer Stars with the star punch in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack. Easy to make a deluxe Halloween card!

Here is what the inside card looks like. I added two bits of ribbon, the Basic Black 3/8″ Stitched Satin Ribbon and the Gold 1/8″ Ribbon and stapled on with the Stampin’ Up! Handheld Stapler to help pull the card out.

Notice the strip of Happy Haunting Designer Series Paper! What do you see? Just a black and white design? Or do you see the bats?! Cute, huh?!

Remember, this year you can buy a pack of card stock that coordinates with the designer series papers rather than buying separate colors, such as this Happy Haunting Cardstock Pack.

So the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies aren’t just for bags or birthdays or treats! They can be used to make a Howl-O-Ween Treat Mini Treat Bag Halloween Card!

Need anything?! Shop online at Stampin’ Up! 24/7.

Jingle All the Way Bundle by Stampin’ Up!

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Happy Labor Day! If you are just relaxing at home today and perusing the internet catching up on ideas for the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog, here is a Stampin’ Up! video about using the Jingle All the Way Bundle. I’m sure this will be a popular set as it is unique and fun! Watch the video for cute ways to use this Jingle All the Way Stamp Set and the Sleigh Ride Edgelits Dies. You will be able to make a stack of Christmas cards with just this Bundle (and of course a Big Shot!) The Bundle saves you 15% and also comes in wood-mount, of course. Be inspired for the upcoming holidays! Get an early start!

If you want a copy of the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog mailed to you, just email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com.

If you love these ideas and want to shop for any of these great Stampin’ Up! products, please visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE. If you prefer, I can place an order for you.

Jingle All The Way Clear-Mount Bundle
$29.75

Jingle All The Way Wood-Mount Bundle
$34.00

Big Shot
$110.00

Witches’ Night Witching Decor Halloween Card

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I hope this Witches’ Night Witching Decor Halloween Card gets you in a Halloween mood! After I made the Witching Decor Project Kit witch’s hat HERE I still had some pieces left in the kit, so I made this card with some of them. I also wanted to get more use out of my Witches’ Night Photopolymer Stamp Set that coordinates with the Witching Decor Kit. I stamped the smaller piece in the kit with the Trick or Treat stamp and sponged some Soft Suede ink around the edges. That layered on top of another piece in the kit and I added the extra little banner pieces from the kit. I also had some black rhinestones left and put three of those on the stamped banner. I changed out the background a couple of times and finally decided on Basic Black with a couple spider webs stamped in the corners with Whisper White Craft Ink. The card base is Tangelo Twist.

For the inside you could add a layer of Very Vanilla and maybe stamp with a few spider webs or add a strip of matching designer paper.

Whether or not you usually make Halloween cards to send to friends, this Witches’ Night Witching Decor Halloween Card could also be framed for a Halloween decoration in your home!

Shop the Holiday Catalog in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Sprinkles of Life Blue Bell Ice Cream Cone Card

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Today is a red-letter day in Houston and some other places in Texas! Blue Bell Ice Cream is coming back, hence my Sprinkles of Life Blue Bell Ice Cream Cone Card to celebrate! Blue Bell had to close up shop after a listeria outbreak, but they haven’t lost the support of their customers, certainly not this one! We tried various other brands of ice cream, even some very expensive ones, but nothing compared.

When we lived in Oklahoma, my favorite ice cream flavor was Braum’s Chocolate Almond, but when we moved to Houston years and years ago and heard about Blue Bell, there’s barely been a time when we haven’t had a couple of cartons of Blue Bell Ice Cream in our freezer. One time my husband opened the freezer and and said, “I can’t believe some alarm is not going off! We are out of Blue Bell!” I’m always stocked up if out-of-town company is coming because they MUST taste my favorite flavors of Blue Bell. Only limited flavors are coming back for now, as everything must be tested first before it goes out to stores, but one of my favorites is in there – Homemade Vanilla! My other favorite is Chocolate Chip, but guess I will have to wait for that.

The Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set by Stampin’ Up! is perfect for today because you can make an ice cream cone with however many scoops you want on it with the images. The ice cream scoops could also be clouds. There are lots of images in the stamp set and even a coordinating punch, the Tree Builder Punch, so there are TONS of creative things you can do with these stamps. And while you are having fun stamping and creating, you are helping out the Ronald McDonald House Charities because for every stamp set sold, Stampin’ Up! donates three dollars to the charity.

The greeting on my card is from the Bravo Stamp Set. I easily could have used one of the greetings in the Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set, but I decided on something more celebratory! And how can you have a celebration without some Gold Glimmer Paper stars punched with the star punch in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack?! The card base is made with Tip Top Taupe, one of the new In Colors, and the layer is another In Color, Delightful Dijon.

Hard to believe today is the last day of August! And you know what that means! Tomorrow, September 1st is the beginning of the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog! So if you live where they start selling Blue Bell Ice Cream, maybe you can eat a bowl of Blue Bell while you decide on your Holiday Catalog order! So many delicious flavors of Blue Bell to come, so many delicious Stampin’ Up! holiday products to choose from in the cataog! Choose from kits if you want it simple or don’t want to do the designing. There’s fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the Christmas holidays! Get an early start on your holiday cards or Thanksgiving table decorations. Tomorrow I will show you my favorite kit in the catalog! And I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it turned out in just an hour or two.

If you don’t have a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator helping you, I’d be happy to send you a Holiday Catalog of your own. Just email me your contact information.

And if you are feeling charitable and would like to make a donation to the Ronald McDonald House Charities while you are having a good time stamping, try the Sprinkles of Life stamp set. Then you, too, can make a Sprinkles of Life Blue Bell Ice Cream Cone Card with your favorite ice cream flavors or many other card designs.