Category Archives: Cards

Stampin’ Up! Monster Hugs Valentine Ideas–But Hurry!

Stampin' Up! Monster Hugs Girl Valentine

Stampin' Up! Monster Hugs Boy Valentine

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and who doesn’t like handmade Valentines?! I think Valentine’s Day is one of the best holidays, especially for children, because everyone is included. Remember the boxes we used to decorate for Valentine’s Day and how we often made our own valentines to hand out with red construction paper and doilies and maybe some glitter?

Here are some easy and cute Valentines you and/or your children can make!  Just order from me through my Stampin’ Up! Online Store by January 27th, if not sooner! Monsters are so popular right now and these are adorable ones. It’s a kit! Get 18 monsters, 18 googly eyes and 18 adhesive hearts. Make them as you see with a small piece of candy tucked under the monster’s hands or a lollipop or even stick the monster on a card front.

Here is another idea I saw someone from Stampin’ Up! make on stage with the Monster Hugs Valentines.  She made a box and attached it to the front of the monster, wrapped his arms around the sides and filled with candy.

Monster Hugs Valentine Candy Favors

If you would like to purchase cute Monster Hugs Valentines, you can find them in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store along with some other Valentine products! They do have to be ordered by January 27 so don’t hesitate! As we get closer to Valentine’s Day and the deadline for ordering, these Monster Hugs could go quickly.  You will also find other Valentine ideas and stamp sets in the new Occasions Catalog.

Go to my Online Store now and order your Monster Hugs Valentines! Or if you prefer, just contact me at Karen@KarenStamps.com and I can help you with your order.

You’re Lovely Stamp Set Sale-A-Bration Card

You're Lovely Stamp Set Sale-A-Bration Card

When Sale-A-Bration begins January 28th, you could chose this stamp set, You’re Lovely, for your FREE Sale-A-Bration product with a $50 purchase! I thought this was a beautiful card on display at Stampin’ Up! Leadership. The delicate little white design I think is embossed. It’s my favorite part of the card.

This will be the best time to shop at Stampin’ Up! because with every $50 you spend, you get to choose a free product from the special Sale-A-Bration brochure.

Check out our Stampin’ Up! products at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE.

Stampin’ Up! Leadership Occasions Catalog Samples

One of my favorite parts of ANY Stampin’ Up! event is looking at the display boards and taking pictures of the samples! Here are some from the Occasions Catalog.  Enjoy, and then go stamp something! Be inspired!

Leadership Samples Occasions Catalog

Retro Fresh Scrapbook Page Occasions Catalog

Leadership Samples Chalkboard Gift Bag

Leadership Samples High Tide Suite

Leadership High Tide Card

Leadership Samples Happy Watercolor

Leadership Samples Fancy Foil Vellum Scrapbook Page

Leadership Samples Watercolor Scrapbook PageLeadership Samples Geometrical Scrapbook Page

Sara’s samples of the new Photopolymer stamp set coming soon!

Leadership Samples Photopolymer Stamps

If you need some of these new stamps, papers, and accessories from the Occasions Catalog, just go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store and place your order!

 

 

Occasions Catalog Displays at Stampin’ Up! Leadership

Retro Fresh Suite

It’s nice viewing all the new products in the Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog, but it’s even nicer seeing them all in person under the bright lights in the displays at Leadership! They really know how to make anything look artistic, even the way they display buttons or Baker’s Twine!

Retro Fresh Stickers

Retro Fresh Stickers to use in the coordinating journal or on any project.

Retro Fresh Peachy Keen

The Polaroid and film look of Peachy Keen is in now!

Retro Fresh Journaling Tags

Retro Fresh Journaling Tags – Use them for journaling or making cards or other projects!

Retro Fresh Journal

Retro Fresh This and That Journal, much like the popular smash books where you add mementos and memorabilia in a casual style. I love the look of the debossed camera on the front!

Kaleidoscope Suite

Look how cute the Basic Metal Buttons are displayed!

Hip Notes

Hip Notes coordinates with the Essentials Wooden Elements and Retro Fresh Suite.

High Tide Suite

Cute striped grosgrain ribbon display!

High Tide Designer Paper

Seeing the new designer paper in person is always great!

Framed Chalk Art

Love this chalk art with the very trendy garland from the Springtime Hello Simply Created Garland Kit on the frame!

Watercolor Wonder

Beautiful Watercolor Wonder Designer Note Cards and Envelopes.

Display Fox Card

Cute, cute card with the new stamp set Life in the Forest.

Essential Wooden Elements

Go natural with the Essentials Wooden Elements which can be stamped on.

Blessed Easter Card

Beautiful Blessed Easter Stamp card watercolored and accented with gold.

Arrows Embossing Folder

Arrows must be in! Use the new Arrows Embossing Folder.

Giant Stamping Party at Stampin’ Up! Leadership!

It was a giant stamping party last night at the Stampin’ Up! Leadership Conference!  This was after a full day of a speaker and various classes plus a most delicious dessert at lunch!

The Stampin’ Up! employees greeted us as we walked in the room! After we picked up one of our stamp sets we found a place to sit at the lovely tables decorated with little Stampin’ Up! bags with our Make & Takes and another stamp set. Some of our favorite Stampin’ Up! people did stamping demonstrations on stage.  Love that part!!  And there’s a new product coming if you don’t have the Big Shot but want to do some embossing! Not to mention the new Blendabilities alcohol markers. And there’s a new Paper Pumpkin special for signing up!

And if you are in the Houston area today, come to the George R. Brown Convention Center this afternoon to preview Stampin’ Up! and you probably get to stamp something too!  It’s from 2:00 – 7:00 and open to everybody. Dad and the kids can go see the Train Show there and Mom can go stamp!

Blurry but cute being greeted as we walked in! We love the Stampin' Up! staff!

Blurry but cute being greeted as we walked in! We love the Stampin’ Up! staff!

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Flowerfull Heart Gold Card

I finally got some swap cards made for Stampin’ Up! Leadership today!  I did lots of embossing with my Stampin’ Up! Heat Tool and Gold Embossing Powder! This is the Flowerfull Heart, one of the Valentine sets in the Online Store and the greeting is from the cute set Yippee-Skippee.

Flowerfull Heart Gold Card

You can’t see too well in the photo but the card base is Baked Brown Sugar card stock. And for the finishing touch, I used the new Watercolor Wonder Washi Tape in the corner.  Washi tape is so easy and fun to use.  Just tear it off the roll or cut it.  It’s even repositionable.

I’ll let you know what fun I have at the Stampin’ Up! Leadership Conference today! It’s always exciting to wonder what new products or announcements they will have for us. It’s always a good time when you are at a Stampin’ Up! event!  Think about signing up to be a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and be part of all the fun while running your own business!

Sale-A-Bration Sneak Preview Happy Card

Sweet Sorbet Happy Card

Here’s a Sale-A-Bration sneak peek preview for you!  Sale-A-Bration is the biggest promotion of Stampin’ Up! With every $50 you spend, you earn a free product from the Sale-A-Bration brochure!  The designer series paper you see on this card, Sweet Sorbet #133521, is one of your choices.  Although it is valued at $10.95, you would get it FREE with a $50 purchase. The flower stamp is also one of your choices, the Petal Parade stamp set.  I stamped it, cut it out, and popped it up with a couple Stampin’ Dimensionals. The greeting on the card is from a great set, Yippee-Skippee. The washi tape across the paper is from the Occasions Catalog, Retro Fresh This and That Designer Washi Tape. I actually got the “coordinating colors” mixed up as the paper matches Crisp Canteloupe and the tape and ink are Tangerine Tango.  But it all still looks good together! And I love the saying on that stamp!!

You won’t be able to get your free products until Sale-A-Bration starts January 28, but there are lots of great products available in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store! When you order, be sure to check the categories listed in the left sidebar of the store page – Weekly Deal, Clearance Rack, Valentine product, etc. You don’t want to miss a thing!

So Very Grateful Card with Gold Hearts

So Very Grateful Gold Hearts Card

I found myself drawn to this stamp image again from So Very Grateful in the new Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog. This time I stamped it and colored it in and cut it out with my Paper Snips. (Paper Snips are great for this kind of intricate “fussy cutting”! If you don’t own some, put them on your next order.) I wasn’t quite sure what I would do with it and played around with a partially gold embossed paper doily. But what I decided to do was layer a piece of the Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum on Whisper White, adhered my cut-out flowers on top and tied some new Gold Baker’s Twine around the layer. I didn’t see a good spot for a greeting, just couldn’t figure out that part, so I just left the card plain. Nothing says you have to have a greeting on every card you make! I can always add one later or just use it as a notecard with no specific sentiment.  I LOVE the vellum with the tiny gold hearts – and all the rest of the sheets in the package!

You can find the products in the new Occasions Catalog (By the way, it’s not called the “Occasions Catalog” but it is referred to as that. It’s actually titled “Celebrate The Everyday”). You can shop at your convenience at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE or contact me and I can put your order in for you.  If you are shopping today, don’t forget about the current Weekly Deals, only good until midnight tonight MT.

So Very Grateful Thank You Card

So Very Grateful Thank You Card

This thank you card made with the new So Very Grateful stamp set in the new Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog 2014 might bring a hope of spring to those of you snowed in in many parts of the country today! Personally, I am a little jealous that I am not in a winter wonderland with lots of snow – as long as I could be home with my family and baking cookies, stamping, or going out to play in the snow! The cold air is even supposed to reach way down here in Houston but just for a night or two and then it will get up to a balmy 72 degrees later in the week (they say!).

This is also a sneak peek at some designer paper you will be able to get FREE during Sale-A-Bration beginning January 28. It is called Sweet Sorbet #133521 and will be beautiful on your springtime projects! You can see the strip of it on the side of my card layer with a strip of Pool Party punched with the Scallop Edge Border PunchThe card base is one of the 2013-2015 In Colors, Crisp Cantaloupe. I haven’t used that color very much but I think it will be pretty for spring and summer coming up!

I stamped the flowers in Stazon Black ink so I could watercolor with my Blender Pen and ink pads.  I used the colors Pool Party, Crisp Canteloupe, Pistachio Pudding, and Summer Starfruit. All these colors coordinated with the Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper.

In case you are new to Stampin’ Up!, Sale-A-Bration is the company’s biggest promotion. For every $50 in merchandise that you purchase, you earn one FREE product from the special Sale-A-Bration brochure. This promotion runs from January 28 – March 31.  You will want to take advantage of it! If you are new and don’t have a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator you are already working with, email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com if you would like the Sale-A-Bration brochure or the new Occasions Catalog just out!

If you are snowed in this weekend, get out your flower stamps and light-colored card stock and stamp and think of spring! This So Very Grateful stamp set, available in clear- or wood-mount is going to be able to used in many ways and comes with three nice greetings! Check out the new Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog in my Online Store right now.

Happy New Year 2014 Card

New Year's 2014 Card

Happy New Year 2014!!!

It’s happened! It’s January 1, 2014! I hope you had a happy New Year’s Eve and now are full of optimism and happiness for the New Year!  It’s nice to have a fresh new start whether you are making grand resolutions, reordering your life, shredding your past year’s bills and paperwork, or cleaning out your closets! Maybe you are organizing your stamping supplies! Maybe you are scrapbooking those Christmas photos or making a new calendar for yourself.

Here’s a card I made for the gold and shiny New Year! It’s a piece of new Fancy Foil Designer Vellum #133363 coming in the new Occasions Catalog in two more days! I used one piece with little gold hearts as the layer over Whisper White card stock for the card base and cut some strips of the striped vellum for little banners. The greeting is from the stamp set Happy Day, backed with a piece of Gold Foil.

Start your New Year off right!  Stamp something, scrap something, make something!  It does your heart good!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Supplies:

Fancy Foil Designer Vellum #133363 (coming in the Occasions Catalog January 3, 2014)

Using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig for a Snow Day Tag

Snow Day Christmas Tag

This weekend I finally was able to make some Christmas cards.  This year I am making about ten cards of each design. The only difficult part will be when I start signing and addressing the cards in deciding to whom I want to send what design! I like making different designs because there are so many cute ideas out there.  Of course I can’t possibly make them all, unless maybe I made a different card for each person.  But since I didn’t start back in July, I can’t do that!

One group of cards will have this Snow Day snowman on the front. Pictured above is a tag I made with an extra snowman and oval die-cuts from the Ovals Collection Framelits.  The scalloped edge is the largest framelit. I wanted to use it so I decided it could be a tag and the message could be written on the back.

Now if you want the features and accessories for the Snow Day snowman to be closer to perfect placement, you might want to use the Stampin’ Up! Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, It comes with a plastic sheet on which you stamp and then wipe off with some water or Stampin’ Mist and a paper towel (unless you use Stazon!). If you have a stamp set with which you will want to use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig a lot, it makes more sense to make a permanent sheet using a piece of Vellum Card Stock. Just cut a piece of vellum (or more) and use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to stamp in each corner. If you use different colors of ink, you can stamp OVER some images and keep it to one sheet! Then just keep this vellum sheet in the case with the stamp set and you don’t have to restamp these images.

Using Vellum with Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Here is the plastic sheet that comes with the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.

Stamp-A-Ma-Jig Plastic

I bought my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig way back when I first started stamping.  Now they are black for Stampin’ Up!. You might think it is a confusing tool to use but there are good instructions and once you use it, you’ll understand. It’s very useful in certain stamping situations even for people who don’t have to have perfect placement all the time.

Try the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig! It’s a great tool to have in your stamping arsenal just in case you need it!

Don’t forget the Weekly Deals ending today and the new Valentine products you can buy now and get a head start (if you are finished with Christmas!). Just go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store.

A Snow Day Snowman Christmas Card

Snow Day Merry Christmas Card

Are you still working on making your Christmas cards?  Or just starting? Here’s one I made pretty easily. You could use this idea for a Christmas card, a Christmas scrapbook page element, or a tag. Just use the Snow Day  snowman for a winter theme. The word Merry is die cut with the Expressions Thinlits DiesTo make it easy to use this die, place a piece of wax paper in between the die and your card stock and the very thin word will be easier to get out. There are also tiny holes in the die which you can poke through with a pin or Paper-Piercing Tool to help release the die cut. To adhere the word to the card, I used the 2-Way Glue Pen.

I found with the Snow Day snowman, it is nice to use the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig and a piece of vellum card stock to stamp the accessory stamps on so that you can keep the vellum in the stamp case and reuse it. I even stamp over another image perhaps with another color ink so I can just use one sheet of vellum and have all the pieces right there.  You still can eyeball the stamping of his buttons or face or arms, but for those of you or those times that demand perfect placement, the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig really helps!

Of course you can’t really have a snowman without a little bit of glitter for sparkle, so with my 2-Way Glue Pen and a sprinkling of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter my snowman has a bit of pizzazz!

The snowman and snowflakes are all stamped in Soft Sky ink for this card. And for his scarf, a few bits of Real Red 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon adhered with Mini Glue Dots (smooshed up a little bit on the sides to fit the narrow ribbon).

If you need some stamping supplies, just visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store or contact me for help with your order. Don’t forget to check the Weekly Deals and the Clearance Rack for additional savings!

Christmas Card Day 2013

Little did I know that today is officially “Christmas Card Day”! December 9 honors Sir Henry Cole of England who created the first commercial Christmas card in 1843.  Apparently Sir Henry was a very busy man and since the custom was to hand write each Christmas card back then, he just didn’t have time. He hired a London artist to design a card for him to send his friends.  The center panel was a drawing of a family celebrating, each side panel has a charitable scene. The London artist, John Calcott Horsley, made 1000 lithographic copies of the card but Sir Henry Cole colored each one by hand! (too bad he didn’t have Stampin’ Up! markers and Blender Pens!)

I was going to declare today National-Make-Your-Christmas-Cards Day, but I guess I don’t need to! We’ve already been inspired by Sir Henry Cole! He was busy too, yet he got his cards sent out! We can do it too!

Christmas Card Day

Do the “assembly line” method:  Cut, cut, cut; score, score score; stamp, stamp, stamp; punch, punch, punch! Not only do you not have to think what comes next, but you get into “muscle memory” so your hands just do it automatically!  It’s the fastest way to make a bunch of cards.  And you don’t have to make ALL your cards the same.  If you like several designs, make ten of each design. That’s what I will do!  Make sure you have envelopes and stamps, too!

The post office would like you to mail by December 21 for Priority Mail in order for it to arrive by December 24. Did you know you can do almost everything online instead of going to the post office?  It is one of the most amazing inventions of my lifetime to eliminate standing in line at the post office!  One time, honest to goodness, I was the ONLY person in the line and I STILL had to wait for someone to wait on me!!!  I know, some post offices are better than others, but mine has always been slow (except on Saturday morning right before closing! You want to see great and speedy customer service?!)

For anything you need for making Christmas cards (except postage stamps!), please visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store! (If you wait until tomorrow, I hear there is going to be a Clearance Rack Blitz!)  But check out the Weekly Deals available only until tonight!

 

Christmas Collectibles Ornament Christmas Card

Christmas Collectibles Ornament Christmas Card

The Christmas Collectibles ornament stamp set of course is perfect to have for making your own Christmas cards.  Even better if you have the Christmas Ornament Punch #132152 to go with it. And you can have both in the Bundle and save 15%. Or you can buy each one separately. It’s so easy to just stamp the ornament shapes and punch out and stick on a Christmas card.  If you want to take it to the next level, add some rhinestones or pearls to the ornaments or tie a little bow on top.

This card started out with the red striped paper from Seasons of Style Designer Series Paper going to be the layer with Whisper White over it. I decided to cut out the center to save some paper to use another time since I love it.  Well, once I had that “frame” I really liked it as a frame! I decided to just insert the ornaments within the frame rather than just having the stripes be a decorative border. Next I decided to pop up the frame with Stampin’ Dimensionals and have the ornaments be “3D” as well, just hanging from the top of the frame by the Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine.  The twine is adhered to the back of the frame using Dimensionals as well as on the back of the ornament.  But then I discovered that if the ornaments were going to freely hang, they might get flipped around and the backside would show.  So I stamped three more ornaments, punched out, and glued on the back so either side can show on the card.  Probably not a card you want to mass produce but easy enough to make for someone special.

Have you made your Christmas cards yet?

Cyber Monday Specials at Stampin’ Up! and More!

The Stampin’ Up! Holiday Sale has been ongoing since November 20 and now will come to an end on Monday, December 2, 2013. Don’t miss it! But be sure to check back tomorrow, Cyber Monday, when Stampin’ Up! will have these products on a special Cyber Monday Sale!!

Stampin' Up! Holiday Sale Cyber Monday Specials

Here are the links to my Online Store where you can see the products. Keep in mind the sale price will not show today (Sunday, December 1st). Don’t try to order or even put on your list until tomorrow!

You can also add to your order (you won’t believe this!) Valentines!!  Well, you know it will pop up soon right after Christmas!  This way you will be ready with your supplies!

A Whole Lot of Love Stampin' Up! Valentines

Click to Read Flyer

A Whole Lot of Love Stamps

Click to Read Flyer

You can purchase these products beginning today, December 1st, at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE. On that page, click on the product and then you can read more about the details and also click the magnifying glass to enlarge.

And one more thing!  The last “Best of 25 Years” stamp set is released today. This stamp set is called “Best of Sale-A-Bration”. All of these stamp sets are available until March 31, 2013. You can see all of the stamp sets HERE.

Best of Sale-A-Bration Stamp Set

PS:  Don’t forget to check the Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack every time before you order!  New things may have been added!

Absolutely tomorrow, Monday December 2 Cyber Monday, go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store and check out the Cyber Monday specials and all the other items on the Holiday Sale, plus the items I mentioned in my post above!  Whew!  Happy Shopping!