Category Archives: Cards

Seasonally Scattered Thanks Fall Thanksgiving Card

Leave a reply

rsz_seasonally_scattered_thanks_cardFinally I played with my Seasonally Scattered Stamp Set! Funny how some sets can get a little lost in the shuffle sometimes, but then it’s a thrill to “find” that new set one day and play! I stamped the “Thanks” in Versamark Ink and embossed with the Crystal Clear Embossing Powder and the Heat Tool. After the image was embossed, I sponged on various fall colors of ink and rubbed it right over the embossing (which is really fun in itself!). Then to clean it up a bit and make sure the embossed images shows through, I rubbed a tissue over the image to get off any excess ink. That’s it!

I die cut the stamped image and the back layer with the Labels Collection Framelits.
The card base is Always Artichoke and embossed with the Big Shot and the Chevron Textured Embossing Folder. If you are embossing a full card base, you probably need to tuck the back flap under the folder or it won’t fit through the Big Shot.

You might think the Fall Fest Stamp Set is only for Halloween, but the leaves and pumpkins can be used any time. I stamped the leaves and then used the Fun Fall Framelits to cut them out. You can buy the stamp set and the framelits in a Bundle and save 15%!

Make a pretty Thanksgiving card (or several!) and send them out this week to your friends and family!

New Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals! Great Accessories To Own!

Leave a reply
Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Nov 18 2014

Click to Shop!

Here are the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals for November 18 -14, 2014. These deals are available until midnight Monday Nov. 24 so be sure to put them on your order this week!

And don’t forget about this beautiful new stamp set, Banner Blessings Photopolymer Stamp Set, just released last week!

Banner Blessings Photopolymer Stamp Set

Click to Shop!

Banner Blessings Thanks Card

Shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store any time it is handy for you!  Or I can always put your order in for you!

If you are reading my blog, are you on my Mailing List??  If  not, sign up in the top right of my blog and receive my next “12 Weeks of Christmas” email tomorrow with another holiday idea you can make!

Christmas Mailbox

Snowflake Shaker Christmas Card

Leave a reply

Snowflake Shaker Card

Stampin’ Up! sells these little sticky circles in lots of sizes called Shaker Frames, and here is a Christmas card I finally made using snowflakes and a Shaker Frame! Shaker Frames use punches and window sheets to make a dimensional shaker. (If you don’t have window sheets, you can use a scrap of plastic packaging you might have or a transparency.) They’re really fun to play with after you get the hang of it. And it’s also fun to fill them with something to shake around! In this case, I had a stack of tiny little Glimmer Paper stars from the Confetti Stars Punch that I wanted to use in a Shaker Frame.  I also added some snowflakes and sequins from the Frosted Sequins package. I probably could have added a bit more “stuff” in my Shaker Frame, but you can also add too much so I wanted to avoid that. The snowflake stamped in the background is from the Many Merry Stars Photopolymer Stamp Set. The scalloped Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper frame around the Shaker Frame is die cut with the framelit in the Circle Card Thinlits Die. The Soft Sky card layer is embossed with the Northern Flurry Embossing Folder and a hole was punched in the card stock to accomodate the shaker. Since I was going to pop up the Soft Sky layer, I decided to push the shaker frame into that layer. I tied some Silver 1/8″ Ribbon around the Soft Sky layer and added some of the Frosted Sequins and Rhinestones to the front of the card for some pizzazz.

Shaker Frame and Window Sheet

Shaker Frame

Shaker Frame Snowflake

Shaker Frame Closeup

This Shaker Frame started out to be a snowman! That’s what I was going to make when I began making this card.  So you don’t always know what you will end up with when you start your stamping project! And it’s good to let your creativity flow wherever it takes you!  Just have fun!

Reminders!

Last Day Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals

Don’t forget the 2014 Holiday Supplement!  (while supplies last)

Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog

Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack (add on to your order!)

Hello December Project Life® Card Collection by Stampin’ Up!

Leave a reply

Be sure to check out the Stampin’ Up! 2014 Holiday Supplement! I’d especially recommend the new Project Life by Stampin’ Up! products! You can use these cards and accessories to make scrapbook pages using the Project Life pocket pages system OR use them on traditional scrapbook pages. The products are not limited to scrapbooking and memory-keeping!  Use them on cards or other projects for the holidays.  You will be so inspired just to hold the cards in your hands and play!  Watch the video below for some real inspiration! It shows the Hello December Project Life Card Collection and the Hello December Project Life Accessory Pack  I know it will make you want to get out some photos and make some pages and projects!

Find the Holiday Supplement Products here in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store.

Wedding Anniversary Card with Heart Framelits

Leave a reply

Wedding Anniversary Card with Heart Framelits

This is the wedding anniversary card I made for my daughter and son-in-law using the Heart Framelits and a technique I saw online by Deb Valder. To make the card special for them, I used the same color card stock (Concord Crush), and embossing folder (Vintage Wallpaper) I used to make their wedding invitations four years ago. (The Concord Crush color is retired now as is the beautiful Vintage Wallpaper folder.) I also used Brushed Silver Card Stock as I did on their wedding invitations, plus, of course, Whisper White.

Here is the inside of the card.

Wedding Anniversary Card withHeart Framelits Inside

The idea is that the front of the card is cut out in the shape of the framelit so that the die cut on the inside of the card decorates the front of the card!  And it is not that hard to make!

Take your usual half sheet of card stock, but to make the flaps, score 2 1/8″ from each end and fold.  Make sure the center meets. Layer a piece of card stock or designer paper inside the card, 4″ x 5 1/4″. On the two outer “flaps”, decorate however you like, perhaps with designer series paper, remembering that you are going to cut through those layers with a framelit so you don’t want it too thick. I made this card over a month ago so I don’t remember exactly, but I made have had to do some extra trimming to cut through entirely that the framelit couldn’t do. But you need to have the front done before you cut with the framelit. Lay the framelit cutting edge UP inside the card, centered and exactly where you want it, knowing that it is going to cut the front flaps of the card. Close the flaps over the framelit and cut out with the Big Shot. Now you want to cut the same framelit shape to go on the inside of the card, keeping in mind it needs to fit exactly in the shape you just cut out on the front of the card.  This didn’t matter with the heart, but if you did another shape you need to make sure it is going in the same direction and perhaps cut with the framelit cutting edge “up” again. When you have your shape, pop it up on Stampin’ Dimensionals and adhere inside the card so that it fits perfectly with the front cut-out. Hopefully you can kind of tuck the front flaps underneath that die-cut a bit to hold them closed.

This is a neat idea to experiment with and make an elegant card.  You just have to think about what you are doing and which way things are going to make it all work! But we paper engineers are pretty good at doing that!

If you don’t already own a Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, I heartily recommend one.  I use mine almost everyday.

Easy Snowman Christmas Tags to Make

Leave a reply

Snowman Christmas Tags

It feels like winter today, even in Houston,Texas!  I even wore my real winter jacket this morning to go out since the temperature was about 43 degrees.  That is pretty cold for Houston!  I know there may be blizzards in other parts of the country, but cold weather here just means “put on a jacket of some sort”. So in honor of the polar vortex or whatever cold blast most of the country is seeing right now, I thought some snowman project was in order! Here are some super simple snowmen that could be placed on a card or scrapbook page or in this case, I have made them into tags.

You can make them whatever size you like.  Either use the Circle Framelits as I did for three different sizes or use your circle punches. You just need any pleasing sizes of small, medium, and large circles.  Then cut a square for the hat (mine is 1 1/4″ square) and a piece from the Word Window Punch (who knew how handy THAT punch was going to be when it came out!). I sponged a little White Craft Ink on his hat and brim. The snowman pieces are also sponged with a little bit of Soft Sky Ink. We used to make the snowman arms with the old Snowflake Punch (don’t know if that was the name or not) but since that is not current, I just punched out the branches/leaves from the Bird Punch and those will be the snowman’s arms. Stick on a little piece of ribbon for his scarf, maybe a little flower on his hat from either the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack or the Boho Blossoms Punch. I just used a black marker to draw in his eyes and coal mouth, handcut the little snip of orange (any orange will do) for his carrot nose and popped all three pieces up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.  You could do him flat as well. The hole for the tag is punched with the 1/8″ Handheld Punch and tied with Silver 1/8″ Ribbon. Before adding the Rhinestone to the flower on his hat, I colored it with the Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities Marker, but you could leave it plain. Another project that you can do as fancy or plain as you like.

Here are some of the main supplies I used for this project.  Just click on any picture to see it in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Festival of Trees Christmas Card and Tag

Leave a reply

Festival of Trees Tag and Christmas Card

Today I thought I would make a Christmas tag, and after I made the Christmas tag, I decided to make a coordinating Christmas card.  I obviously got carried away with the “bling” on the card, but I still like it!  Just do whatever makes it fun!

I used the Tag Topper Scalloped Punch to make the basic tag.  Then I cut a strip of the Nordic Noel Designer Series Paper for the little piece at the bottom of the tag.  I love the red and white pepperminty stripes! The greeting is included in the Festival of Trees Photopolymer Stamp Set so that makes it easy! I cut it out with the Big Shot and the Bitty Banners Framelit Dies. The tree is stamped with the Festival of Trees stamp in Old Olive and punched out with the Tree Punch.  You can purchase the Festival of Trees stamp set and punch in a bundle and save 15%! I decorated the tree on the tag with the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details.

When I started on the Christmas card, I already had the remainder of the Nordic Noel DSP strip leftover so I used it all, top and bottom! Then I stamped three trees (the middle one is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals as is the tree on the tag) and decorated various ways with Rhinestones, Stampin’ Write Marker and Crystal Effects. Crystal Effects is just applied over the colored “ornament” on the center tree which, when dry, will provide a shiny little 3D effect.

The tiny stars are made with the Confetti Stars Punch. I only used the largest stars! It just seemed like it would be fun to add a few!  I saved the excess stars for another possible project. The stars on top of the tree are made with the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, with the star punch. The greeting, since I needed a large one, is from the Bright & Beautiful stamp set.

There you have it!  Now go make an easy Christmas tag (using the Festival of Trees and Tree Punch) makes it really simple. And then make a matching card!

Festival of Trees Red Christmas Tag

Festival of Trees Red Christmas Card

If you need any supplies, please visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE. Or if you prefer, I’m always happy to put an order in for you.

Don’t forget the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals, good until 11:50 pm MT tonight!

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Nov 4 2014

Click to Shop!

Also, today is the day to sign up for Paper Pumpkin, the cute red box that comes in your mailbox once a month with a fun papercrafting project inside! You can sign up any time, but if you sign up on the tenth or before of the month, you will receive that month’s kit as soon as it ships mid-month.

Paper Pumpkin Escape

Calling All Heroes Birthday Card

Leave a reply

Calling All Heroes Birthday Card

This was a pretty easy birthday card to make for my son with the Circle Card Thinlits Die and the Calling All Heroes Photopolymer Stamp Set. I love that stamp set. You might think I didn’t get the buildings stamped very well on the front of the card and you might possibly be right – except for the fact that I read where another demo didn’t get her stamp on the block right and stamped something similar to what I did here.  But instead of calling it a mistake, she thought it made the buildings look rather hazy so she just called it a new technique! My “new technique” goes even farther, as you can see almost all of the buildings look as if they are in a haze or mist, which often happens around here in Houston. It almost gives a romantic look to the city skyscrapers! So I just have another look to my city skyline stamping!  Ha!

And with the Calling All Heroes Stamp Set, you can customize your characters!  You can stamp different heads and disguises to make them heroes or villains! I think it is a fun stamp set to play with! Great for girls or boys, children or adults!

Here is the inside of the card, stamped with a greeting from the Hey You Stamp Set. The stars are punched with the star punch in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack.

Calling All Heroes Birthday Card Inside

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

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Oct 28 2014

Click to Shop!

Motley Monsters Photo Halloween Card

Leave a reply

Motley Monsters Photo Halloween Card

This is an easy Halloween Card to make with the Motley Monsters Designer Series Paper and the On Film Framelits Die, which makes it look like the Motley Monsters are posing in a photo! I cut them out of the designer paper! The job is pretty easy with a pair of Paper Snips. The woodgrain paper behind the monsters is just the opposite side of the monster paper! I had an extra speech bubble cut out with the Word Bubbles Framelits Die so I just used that for the greeting coming from the monster characters!  The words are from the Good Greetings Stamp Set.. The bow is tied with the White-Tangerine Tango Two-Tone Trim.  A fun Halloween card, I think!

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween Night!  

Don’t let the Motley Monsters get you!!

Freaky Friends Halloween Card

Leave a reply

Freaky Friends Circles CardWow!  Is this really the week of Halloween?!! To start off a Freaky Halloween Week, here is a Freaky Friends Halloween card! This is a 6″ x 6″ card base in Basic Black folded in half so that the card itself is 3″ x 6″. I thought that size would work the best for the idea I had. I punched out three different size circles – 1 3/4″, 1 3/8″, 1″. Then I took a pencil and lightly marked on the Whisper White underneath so I knew where the circles were going to be and found a Freaky Friend who would fit in that space nicely. This is when the clear blocks with the clear-mount stamps came in handy to see what I was doing! After stamping the monsters, I sponged a little Daffodil Delight ink around them for a little color. The Whisper White layer on top with the punched out circles, looked a little blah, so I stamped some Gorgeous Grunge dots on the card. I mean, what goes better with Halloween than “Gorgeous Grunge”! I still couldn’t leave it alone so I added some eyeballs from Freaky Friends. I popped up the top layer with Stampin’ Dimensionals and tied on a piece of Tangelo Twist ribbon.  The greeting on the inside and outside are both from the stamp set Good Greetings.

Freaky Friends Card Inside

Here are the parts of the card:

Freaky Friends Card Parts

Don’t forget, the Good Greetings Stamp Set could be yours for FREE! This offer is only good through October 31st.  Gather a few orders from your friends and your own, or JUST your own big order totaling $300 and get this stamp set free. 

Good Greetings Free Stamp Set

Time is getting short!  Get your Halloween stamps out and make some cards and treats for your friends and family!

Visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store any time for all your holiday stamping needs! And we know they ARE “NEEDS”!

Floral Frames Framelits Wreath Christmas Card

Leave a reply

Floral Framelits Wreath Christmas Card

You will find these Floral Frames Framelits on sale in the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals that I used on my Floral Framelits Wreath Christmas Card.  You can use these Floral Framelits by themselves with any paper you want, but they also coordinate with the Daydream Medallions Stamp Set. You can make all kinds of beautiful designs with this stamp set and certainly adding the ability to cut out the designs with the Floral Framelits makes things even easier and more fun.

For this card, I stamped the Daydream Medallions images in Always Artichoke ink and added the background layer with Always Artichoke card stock. Just because the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder was laying nearby, I decided that might add a nice touch to the green background! The card base is Cherry Cobbler and the bow is made with Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon. For some pizzazz, I colored some Rhinestone Jewels with the Medium Cherry Cobbler Blendability Marker and adhered them to the wreath.  The two Whisper White layers of the wreath are popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. For the greeting, I was able to find a very small one that would fit in the corner in the Project Life Holiday Cheer Photopolymer Stamp Set. As you can see, Project Life products aren’t just for scrapbooking and memory-keeping!

Check out the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals that are good only through Monday, October 20.

Check back tomorrow, too, for the link to the Stampin’ Up! 2014 Holiday Supplement that will go live Monday, October 20th!  You can add those items to your Weekly Deals choices!

Color Me Autumn Grateful Card

Leave a reply

Color Me Autumn Grateful Card

The Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper is so beautiful and works wonderfully for any of your fall cards and projects. On this card, I chose a paper that had compatible patterns on both sides – well, they all coordinate but when I tell you what I did you’ll see. After making the card base with Cajun Craze card stock, I took a piece of the Color Me Autumn DSP and folded the bottom edge up about 3/4″. Very easy to get that contrasting strip without having to cut another piece of paper. Just think about the two sides of the paper if you try this.  Check which direction the pattern would be going on both sides if you fold one edge up. Adhere the folded edge down with some SNAIL Adhesive or or use some kind of brad both to hold it and to embellish the card, such as the Antique Brads, the Silver Brads or (if I would have thought of it!) the Candy Dots Brad Bases. Buttons would also be great, such as the Gold Basic Metal Buttons. I just added some Candy Dots.

I also used the Labels Collection Framelits Dies to cut Very Vanilla and Mossy Meadow card stock and stamped the greeting from For All Things.  It still needed a little something, so I stamped the other leafy image from For All Things. Since I was stamping it with Mossy Meadow ink, I had to stamp it off about four times before finally stamping on the label for it to be light enough!

Easy Thanksgiving card to make to make with the Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper! Try the technique of just turning up an edge of the paper for the contrasting strip.

Today is the last day for the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals!  Be sure to look them over!

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals Oct 7 2014

Geometrical Halloween Pumpkin Card

Leave a reply

Geometrical Halloween Pumpkin Card

Look at the cute Halloween pumpkin card I made on World Cardmaking Day using the Oval Framelits and surprisingly, the Geometrical Stamp Set. I didn’t even know what card I was going to make until I went to my shelf of stamp sets, and for some reason, the Geometrical Stamp Set jumped out at me and I got the idea to use the images to make a pumpkin face!  Now you might have other stamps with pumpkin face features in the set, but I don’t have a current one.  This whole moment reminded me of a teacher I worked with years ago who told me her mother always said, “If it speaks to you, you must buy it!” Of course that became my mantra for shopping, but in today’s case the Geometrical Stamp Set “spoke” to me and I used it!  I cut out three ovals with the Oval Framelits and sponged the edges.  I think that makes a big difference. I didn’t get my triangles exactly centered, but then no pumpkin needs to be perfect!

I used my Fringe Scissors to cut some narrow strips of Old Olive card stock for the vines, curled them up, and just hand cut a little stem.

I thought the card required a moon, so I used the 2″ Circle Punch (could have even used a larger one!) to punch a piece of Crushed Curry, sponged the edges, and stamped a little bat from Freaky Friends.  The greeting is from the stamp set Good Greetings.  Right now you can get that stamp set free with a $300 order of your own or hosting a $300 workshop with friends through the end of October.

As I mentioned, today is World Cardmaking Day! So take a few minutes today and make a card! Or make two of the same cards, keep one and ACTUALLY MAIL the other card to someone!  Think how special you will make their day to get a surprise handmade card in the mailbox!  Or make three cards, keep one and send two cards to two people as a surprise!  You know you have someone who needs a card! I often say that when you make one card, go ahead and make a couple more of the same card while you have the idea and the supplies out!

Don’t forget the Stampin’ Up! Stamp, Stock & Save Sale going on in honor of World Cardmaking Day 2014!  It ends on Monday so take inventory this weekend and see what you need!  It’s a great sale! When have you seen Stampin’ Up! ink pads on sale for 15% off??  And the Medium White Envelopes are the BEST!

Shop any time at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!  Or contact me and I’ll be happy to put your order in for you!

Alternate Ideas for the September 2014 Paper Pumpkin Kit

Leave a reply

Alternate September Paper Pumpkin Kit Halloween Card

If you read my post the other day about the September 2014 Paper Pumpkin Kit and all the materials that came in the kit and all the cute burlap treat bags I made with it, you knew that I still had materials left over.  Here are the extra projects I made with the tags from the kit and a few extra materials from my stash.

For the Halloween card, I used a Tangelo Twist card base and added a Basic Black layer that I embossed with the Decorative Dots Textured Embossing Folder. Then I added a piece of the White & Tangerine Tango Two-Tone Trim. After I tied on the knot (separately) I decided to fray the ends and see how that looked! And I used a tag I had already made from the Paper Pumpkin Kit.

Alternate September Paper Pumpkin Kit Halloween Candy Treat

Here’s a little candy treat holder, made with the Tag Topper Scalloped Punch and a 2″ wide piece of Crumb Cake card stock. You can put a couple of Ghirardelli chocolates inside or some other treat. I tied some ribbon at the top with a piece of the sequin trim from the kit and added the tag I had already made with the kit. And I just had to add another one of the little adhesive bats from the sticker sheet!

Alternate September Paper Pumpkin Kit Halloween Lunch Sack Treat Bag

Here’s an easy project, with or without the Paper Pumpkin Kit!  Just find one of those lunch sacks in your pantry, cut a little off the top and fold the top edge over a couple of times. I used a little SNAIL Adhesive to hold it down. Then I took one of the Tea Lace Paper Doilies and sponged a little Rich Razzleberry ink on it for some spookiness. The tag, of course, is from the Paper Pumpkin Kit. The bag needed something so I just used the 1″ punch to punch out some circles to glue to the bag!

Did you know once you are a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, you can usually purchase extra kits or refill kits depending on availability of past kits?

Join Paper Pumpkin now (for sure before October 10th!) and enjoy getting that fun red box in your mailbox!

The “12 Weeks of Christmas” Is Coming! Sign Up Today!

Leave a reply

Festival of Trees Christmas Card

It’s time for my 12 Weeks of Christmas! What is the 12 Weeks of Christmas?? It’s a free gift for my Mailing List Subscribers! Each Wednesday, starting next week, October 1st, subscribers will receive an email containing a project idea for a holiday card, gift, tag or wrapping, along with all the directions to make it! These emails are ONLY for my Mailing List Subscribers so if you haven’t signed up to be on my list, please do it today! If you are already on my mailing list, no worries!  You are IN! You don’t need to do anything! But if you have a friend who also might enjoy weekly holiday projects, just have them sign up too!






Subscribe to My Mailing List! 

Exclusive Projects

Stampin’ Up! News & Updates

FREE Welcome Gift!

We respect your email privacy

Getting these 12 Weeks of Christmas emails is really fun, so I hope you will join us! I choose projects that I think you will enjoy and can make easily. We’ll start with ideas for Christmas cards, then progress to gift ideas, and finally something to wrap them in, box them up in, or cute tags to make for your gifts.

These projects will NOT be on my blog or my Facebook page, so the only way you can get them is via my email list! I appreciate those who sign up for my mailing list and this is something special only for them. So if you have been visiting my blog, please sign up in the Mailing List Sign-Up Box in the upper right corner of my blog or in this post above! You get a free gift just for signing up!

***Remember, when you sign up you DO have to CONFIRM your subscription (just good email practice) so watch your email for a few minutes and see if that comes through.  Open and click on the link inside to confirm your subscription which gives us permission to send emails to you.  Be sure to complete this step so you will officially be on my list!

Go ahead! Sign up now! Less than a week until the first email goes out!

Please share this news with your friends! Hover over and click on the Facebook icon below or any of the social sharing buttons. Invite them to sign up for my mailing list so they receive every issue of the 12 Weeks of Christmas!