Category Archives: Cards

Realize the Importance of What We Do In Our Personal Communications

At the Stampin’ Up! Leadership Conference this year, the keynote speaker was Jason F. Wright., an author and speaker. He spoke to the demonstrators about our Stampin’ Up! Statement of the Heart and how we make a difference with our handmade cards, handwritten letters and personal communication. This is something I feel very strongly about, that I worry our society is losing, because when I find a box of old letters, written in ink on paper, hand-addressed envelopes, I recognize and feel the person who wrote it. This is true with traditional scrapbooking, too. When I hear someone say they don’t like to do the journaling because their handwriting is terrible, I think they are selfishly keeping something of themselves from the people ultimately looking at that scrapbook. Nothing typed or emailed can compare to the handwritten note or letter! I’m just as guilty, being in too much a rush to sit down and write a real letter. Think about how you used to feel when you went to the mailbox and found a letter from a friend. My mother wrote me letters almost everyday when I was away at college (everyone did think I got the most mail!).

Anyway, please take some time to sit down and watch and listen to this video of Jason Wright’s talk at Leadership. I guarantee you he is very funny and also very emotional describing some letters in his life. Have a box of tissue handy! You’ll enjoy his stamping experiences also! And it will make you realize how important that paper and ink you are working with just might be to someone who receives your card or letter.

Hope you enjoy! Then go write a letter or send a card to someone! If you have a story about a special letter or card, please leave a comment. Here is the link to view the video if you need it: https://youtu.be/iURdgEYuoso

“To love what we do and share what we love, as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments…in this we make a difference!”

Stampin’ Up! Statement of the Heart

The Good and the Bad from Stampin’ Up!

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Let’s start with the good! Here is a new photopolymer stamp set, Just Kidding, released this month by Stampin’ Up! The designer of this stamp set said she created it to honor her long-time friends and their journey through life together with lots of laughter. I’m sure we can all appreciate that and know that probably the older we all get, the more we appreciate our dear friends. Now you can enjoy making funny and endearing cards to send to those special people with this new stamp set!

Just Kidding Photopolymer Stamp Set #140667 $15.95

To view ALL the photopolymer stamp sets available from Stampin’ Up! – some in the catalogs and some just shown online – please click HERE.

Blendabilities Update

Not such good news! Stampin’ Up! has discontinued the Blendabilities markers due to quality manufacturing issues. When the tip is welded to the barrel, the welding process can leave microscopic (invisible) holes in the marker tip. This leads to accelerated evaporation of the alcohol in the ink. As Stampin’ Up! noticed more and more issues and complaints with these markers, they stepped up their quality testing and discovered that there was a serious problem with the entire line. While not all the markers were bad, the failure rate from the manufacturer was unacceptable to Stampin’ Up! After much consideration, they said, they decided to discontinue the product. You will need to contact your demonstrator if you are having issues with your Blendabilities or if yours were backordered. No backorders will be filled as all markers have been sent back to the manufacturer.

The good news, I suppose, is that the popularity of the Blendabilities with customers and demonstrators showed that we like alcohol-based markers! So Stampin’ Up! is looking into this. It will probably be awhile until this is all sorted out and Stampin’ Up! has all issues addressed and hopefully a new product to offer us.

With Blendabilities no longer available as a Sale-A-Bration option, it is anticipated that the demand on other Sale-A-Bration items will be higher than forecast. For that reason, all Sale-A-Bration items (with the exception of stamps) will now be “while supplies last.”

If you have Blendabilities that work, just enjoy them! Not all of them will have problems, and keep in mind, none of them were meant to last forever. There was even talk of possible refills for them down the line. But certainly they shouldn’t have arrived dry or dried out after just a few uses. Be sure to store them flat, not on either end, so the ink will be distributed evenly.

The Memento Black Ink and Refill ARE still available to order! The Memento Black Ink is great to use and isn’t just for Blendabilities.

Celebrate Baby Ombre-Look Card for the New Parents

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New parents may get lots of baby cards, but yours will be extra-special if you give them a handmade baby card with a good baby stamp set like this Stampin’ Up! Celebrate Baby Stamp Set. It comes with many stamps with which to compose a greeting and then the cute little mobile stamp! I colored mine with Stampin’ Write Markers and turned it into a tag with the Tag Topper Scalloped Punch. You can round the bottom corners of the tag like I did with the Project Life Corner Punch . The Pool Party 1/4″ Cotton Ribbon is just tied into a bow and adhered to the tag with a couple Glue Dots rather than tying it through the tag. The card base is Pool Party card stock with a Whisper White layer.

The dotted ombre layer starts with the Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper which you can earn FREE with a $50 purchase of any Stampin’ Up! merchandise right now during Sale-A-Bration. For the “ombre” look, which means graduated colors or tones of colors, I used three different ink colors starting with the darkest at the bottom. I don’t remember what I used so you can make your own choices! I may have started with Bermuda Bay, maybe Coastal Cabana and Pool Party. I just sponged on each color, blending them together where they met. The fun effect is using the Irresistibly Yours Paper which is embossed, so when you apply ink over it, the embossed design stands out! Then you take a tissue and rub over all the inked area just to clean off the embossed design to make it show up even better and get rid of any excess ink.

Since I stamped the greeting using two stamps in the set right on the card layer, it hit the embossed polka dots so has a look that you either like or you don’t. I think it makes the word “Welcome” look a little broken up, but I like the way the polka dots show up on the wider word “Baby”. You get two sheets each of six designs in the Irresistibly Yours pack of paper so you have a lot of creative potential there!

With a $50 Stampin’ Up! purchase during the month of March, you can choose a free product from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure HERE or choose from the newest products Stampin’ Up! just released for Sale-A-Bration HERE.

Have fun shopping with Stampin’ Up! If you are new to Stampin’ Up! and need a catalog, please email me a Karen@KarenStamps.com.

Best Day Ever Dot Card

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With a $50 purchase during Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration, you could choose this stamp set, Best.Day.Ever. as your free product! I stamped the dots at the bottom of the card front and after stamping the greeting on the tag, added a couple little hearts and the lined heart. Then I remembered the Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy Stickers I hadn’t used yet! I stuck one on the lined heart and was surprised that it had a completely different feel to it than I expected! It’s a fun embellishment! The tag was punched with the Tag Topper Scalloped Punch and a bow added tied from Whisper White 5/8″ Satin Ribbon. And for a little more pizzazz, I added a few silver sequins from the Frosted Sequins, which are now on the Clearance Rack! Get some while you can!

Easy and fun card to make! Get your stamping supplies at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Add on some of the Weekly Deals, too!

Lovely Amazing You Letters Sending Wishes Card

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Not in the Stampin’ Up! Catalog but under “New Arrivals” in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store, you will find this new photopolymer stamp set Lovely Amazing You. It’s a simple stamp set with just two images, an envelope and a feather, plus a tiny little heart and some great greetings!

On this card my idea was to stamp a bunch of the envelopes. I ended up just stamping them in different colors, in Soft Subtles, going across the card. I stamped “off” each time before stamping on the Whisper White card front and masking the envelope before the one I was stamping with an envelope I had stamped on computer paper and cut out. You can watch the Stampin’ Up! video below to see how to do “masking”. It is very easy except perhaps for cutting out the image! Then for a little emphasis I stamped one envelope full-strength in Blushing Bride and cut it out. It is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. The greeting is stamped in Memento Black Ink (still available even though the Blendabilities are not). And for a little fun pop I added a strip of Stacked With Love Designer Washi Tape. Washi Tape is so fun!

Enjoy this video!

Hi There Hey There Card

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Who would have thought the Hi There Stamp Set could be so interesting?! I love this card and also the one I made in THIS post, both just using one word stamp. I even got lucky and was able to “eyeball” the stamping and got the words lined up pretty well. After stamping the “hey!” on this card I could have left it plain but decided to add some pops of color – but no stamp I had was quite going to do the job the way I envisioned. So I thought of a pencil eraser!! Make sure it is in fairly new flat shape and dip it on to your ink pad, just like a stamp. Then stamp on the card. It worked great! I got single dots just where I wanted them on this card. Then I added a little bit of the Melon Mambo 1/4″ Cotton Ribbon.

Sometimes you just feel like the card needs something else, so finally, even though I had stamped “hey there!” from the Just Sayin’ Stamp Set inside the card, I decided to also add it to the front of the card. It is cut out with the Word Bubbles Framelits, which I think adds a lot to use the look of a word bubble.

Here’s how I stamped with the pencil eraser!

If you want to add this fun stamp set to your Stampin’ Up! order, just go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store. If you reach $50 on your order, you will earn a free Sale-A-Bration product to add to your order! Don’t forget to check the Weekly Deals, the New Arrivals, and the Clearance Rack before you finalize your order!

Best Day Ever Polka Dot Bow Punch Card

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This is the last month for Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration 2015! Can you believe it?? One of the free stamp sets you can earn with a $50 purchase is this one on this card, Best Day Ever, on page 3 of the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. I stamped the polka dots in three colors on the card front and made a little banner for the greeting.

The fun thing on this card is the little bow! I recently got my Bow Builder Punch and you will love it! You punch it twice to make all the pieces for the bow, just throw away the one extra center wrap piece. Stick it together with Glue Dots and you’ve got yourself a darn cute little bow! The actual bow is only about 1 3/4″ long and just under an inch wide and then the little tails add about another half inch on each side. You could also have them hang down rather than to the side. I’m sure the bow will get flattened if you mail it but the recipient can just foof it back up to restore it’s rounded shape.

I would recommend you put this Bow Punch on your next order. I think you will have fun playing with it and it is simple to assemble!

Shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store! Once you have $50 on your order in merchandise, you can add a free Sale-A-Bration product! (I think it will prompt you if you forget!) Remember, there are four new products to choose from this month for Sale-A-Bration! Check them out!

The Bokeh Technique in Card-Making

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Bokeh is a photography term meaning the way the camera lens renders out of focus points of light, but we can produce a similar look of bokeh on the background of a card using our Stampin’ Up! inks and accessories. You might think about bokeh if you see a Christmas photo with a clear close-up of one ornament on the tree and the tree and lights in the background have a blur to them.

Here is an example of bokeh in photography:

The bokeh technique is really popular right now in cardmaking! And so fun to do! There’s almost no right or wrong (as in most stamping techniques) and there are several ways to do it. You can use watercolor paper and the Aqua Painter to spread around drops of ink. Or you can sponge ink in various colors on Whisper White card stock. Then you take circle stencils and sponge White Craft Ink inside the circles, overlapping, wherever you would like them. That softens the colors in the background and gives you the spots of light look. You can make it as soft or as bold as you like.

To see my little Flipogram video of the Bokeh technique, go to my Facebook Business Page right HERE and watch! It was fun to make! There’s even music! You may have to scroll down depending on when you are reading this!

Or Follow me on Instagram: @Stampingwithkaren

Important Stampin’ Up! Update:

We are experiencing a quality issue with our Blendabilities product line. Except for the Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (item #132708) and the Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad Refill (item #133456), all item numbers have been turned off; this includes Blendabilities Sale-A-Bration item numbers.

At this time, backorders for Blendabilities will not be fulfilled.

We thank you for your patience and will update you as soon as we have more information.

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I love my Blendabilities and use them quite often, although I had to call the other day about a dry one in one set. Maybe I won’t get a replacement now. I do know Stampin’ Up! has excellent customer service so I feel sure they are working on this problem and will update us further as soon as they know something else to tell us. In the meantime, please look at the other fun items you can choose for your free Sale-A-Bration item with a $50 order!

And speaking of Sale-A-Bration, remember tomorrow, March 1st, there will be four new free items to earn with a $50 purchase. Click the photo below for a close-up!

Click to view flyer!

Remember, March will be the last month for Sale-A-Bration, the biggest promotion from Stampin’ Up! Choose from the FREE products you can earn in this Sale-A-Bration Brochure. Look for the products marked “FREE” as there are other products available for purchase to coordinate with the free products.

Shop here at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

And go visit my Stamping With Karen Facebook Page! Click the LIKE button while you are there!

A Foxy Birthday Card

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There’s a lot behind this foxy birthday card using the stamp set Life in the Forest. I got the idea from a couple of samples I found online and I was pleased when it all came together. I made it for my sister-in-law who had a little problem with several sightings of a fox on the playground last summer at the preschool where she works. She set a trap for it but never caught anything, and the fox must have wandered off into the woods from whence he came and was never seen again, at least not at preschool! So of course we’ve had to tease her a little bit about the fox!

I stamped the fox with Memento Black Ink and colored with Blendabilities Markers and cut out with my Paper Snips. The “grass” is made from torn Old Olive card stock with some grass cut with the Fringe Scissors. I stamped the trees on designer paper and cut them out so I could adhere them around on the card. Some cutting but no coloring involved! The quote from the fox is from the stamp set Just Sayin’. The saying at the top of the card I wrote on the computer and printed out. Too bad there wasn’t a stamp! The background of the card layer is Soft Sky with some clouds sponged in with White Craft Ink. Just punch out a scallop circle and use that to sponge the edges to get the puffy cloud look. And the fox has a little Rhinestone Jewel for his nose.

Here is the inside of the card:

Since the Blendabilities Markers would bleed through the Whisper White card stock I made a layer for inside the card and stamped and colored on that. And sponged a little Soft Sky ink in the background for a sky.

It was a fun card to make! I love how we can make almost anything one way or another with Stampin’ Up! products!

To shop during Sale-A-Bration and earn a free product with EVERY $50 purchase, please visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store.

Blended Bloom Hello Card

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Sometimes you get an idea for a card in a second from something you saw online and you have to jump right up and make that card! That’s how this Blended Bloom Hello card came to be! It’s actually very simple. I used the “Hello” stamp from the set Hi There and just stamped the word diagonally across the front of the Whisper White card. I could have used the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to position it perfectly, but I got lucky and did pretty well just eye-balling it! You probably want to place the stamp so the words aren’t in the exact same line, one right underneath each other.

After I stamped the word Hello on the front of the card, I wanted to add some flowers or something to the front. I stamped and punched out some other flowers but they didn’t seem to work. Then I stamped the Blended Bloom stamp with Memento Ink and colored in with Melon Mambo Blendabilities and Daffodil Delight Blendabilities (on backorder right now) for the flower center. I cut out the flower with my Paper Snips (excellent to have for a cutting job like this!) and adhered it to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

This was a fun card to make and I kind of like the look of the words filling up the front.Try it yourself with this stamp set or another one. You could make a smaller card with smaller word stamps if that is what you have.

This is why I love stamping! You can make art without being an artist!

To choose your “art” supplies from Stampin’ Up!, just go to my Online Store! It’s open 24/7!

New Sale-A-Bration Free Products Coming!

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Stampin’ Up! is spicing things up with some new FREE products you can earn during Sale-A-Bration beginning in March! Starting March 1st you will also have these products to choose as your free item with every $50 purchase! You can choose from two stamp sets, printed vellum paper, and a combination of beautiful colorful twine and buttons!! You’re going to want to have some Blendabilities for the coloring opportunities with these new products! Click each photo below for an up-close look at the products and samples. Then go make your Stampin’ Up! list to be ready to order March 1st! Remember, this is one month only, the final month of Sale-A-Bration!

Reminder: Today is the last day for these Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals!

Shop any time at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Stampin’ Up! Berry Basket Cuteness!

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I recently ordered the Stampin’ Up! Berry Basket Bigz L Die, and I think it holds lots of potential for cuteness in our papercrafting! Maybe even true usefulness as it can be used to hold some of our stamping supplies! Think about cute little Easter baskets or spring baskets coming up (if it ever stops snowing in some parts of the country!). Just add a handle and some “grass” and you’ve got it. You can even use up your paper scraps along with your Fringe Scissors or Paper Trimmer to cut narrow strips of paper than can be wadded up and crinkled to look like that grass or paper shred you can buy in the store.

Use the Berry Basket Die to cut two sheets of card stock and fold on the score lines. The basket itself goes together easily, and then you can choose the straight edge trim or the scalloped edge trim. Stamp or embellish as you like! So many possibilities! The top of the basket is wider than the inside so as you can see from my top photo, the 3″ x 3″ cards fit perfectly inside, larger cards fit turned on a slight diagonal. But there are lots of possibilities for what will fit inside!

To keep this first Berry Basket simple, I just made the basket with Crumb Cake card stock and embellished it with the Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim and the Venetian Crochet Trim. Everyone seems to like using the Stampin’ Up! Handheld Stapler on the basket to attach the trim edge. It just goes well with baskets!

I know I’m going to have fun trying out various kinds of baskets! To get your Berry Basket Die, just place your online order on my Stampin’ Up! site! Or you can always contact me to put the order in for you! Remember, with a $50 purchase you will also earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product!

Better Than E-Mail Stamps

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This is the new stamp set from Stampin’ Up! called Better Than E-Mail Photopolymer Stamp Set. It is designed to help all of us comply with the Stampin’ Up! Angel Policy. Since Stampin’ Up! images are copyrighted, you must stamp anything created for sale using their images with one of the Stampin’ Up! copyright stamps, which have always been available in the catalog. This is a new set that serves the purpose and I think has the most versatile and fun images. You can read about the Stampin’ Up! Angel Policy HERE.

I think even if you are not selling your cards, it is fun to put a stamp of one kind or another on the back of the card. Don’t we all automatically turn any card over and see who made it, even one of the big card companies?! If you made the card, why not have a way for you to take credit and apply your personalization to the back of the card?! Stamp one of these stamps on the back of your handmade cards and people will see you used Stampin’ Up! stamps and materials, plus you can express your own personal message with the little saying. Often I add my name or initials and maybe the year in my own handwriting somewhere around the angel stamp on the back of the card.

Give your cards that professional finished look by adding an angel stamp to the back from the set Better Than E-Mail and consider personalizing it further by signing your name and putting the date by the stamp.

Order your stamp set today at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE.

Colorful Butterflies Thinlits Dies

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You never know what you will come out with when you start making a card, or any creative project! I decided to combine some “swaths” of color from the Work of Art Stamp Set with the Butterflies Thinlits Die. I tried using some Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper, the ombre turquoise pattern, and both sides of the butterfly I thought turned out beautiful! It was too hard to fit on three butterflies, so I ended up with just two and used the same pattern of the designer paper on both butterflies since I already had a colorful background. I thought the butterflies needed something to stand out a bit, so I drew in the antennae with a retired (I think) journaling pen and colored some Basic Pearls with my Blendabilities Markers and stuck those on along the body. Do you love it because it is so colorful and the butterflies so pretty or do you hate it because it is too busy??

The butterflies, made with the Butterflies Thinlits Dies are incredible embellishments to put on a project or card! Of course you need the Big Shot for the die-cutting. I use mine almost every day for something. If you would like a Big Shot, think about purchasing it during Sale-A-Bration. Get the Big Shot, some accessories (dies, framelits, thinlits or embossing folders), maybe some card stock and if you reach $150 you will get all that plus 3 free Sale-A-Bration items, plus $25 in free Hostess dollars to spend! Best way to get more bang for your buck!

Visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store now and choose your $50 bundles to earn a free Sale-A-Bration product!

Best Day Ever Happy Card

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Use the Best Day Ever Stamp Set, available as a free product you can earn during Sale-A-Bration, and the Hello You Thinlits Dies in the Occasions Catalog, you can make a simple card in bright, happy colors to cheer someone for whatever reason.

To make this card I just grabbed the stamp set and the little flower-looking stamp, and stamped it in Melon Mambo to match the card base, Daffodil Delight, and Tangerine Tango randomly on the Whisper White card front. Then I die cut the “Happy” from Gold Foil. To make it show up better, I decided to adhere it to Whisper White layered on Melon Mambo. That layer is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. And I stamped a few hearts from the Best Day Ever Stamp Set. The Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon adds a nice, bright embellishment to the card.

Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration is at the halfway mark, ending March 31. To see all the items available with every $50 purchase, browse through the Sale-A-Bration brochure at this link! Look for the items marked “FREE”!