Category Archives: Cards

Embossed Valentine with Hearts

Embossed Valentine Card

Here’s a pretty simple valentine to make. Embossing the bottom edge with the Delicate Designs Embossing Folder (you actually get two and they coordinate with the Large Scallop Edgelits Die) gives the card an elegant look. I adhered some ribbon and a bow at the top of the embossing to hide the little line the folder made and just to delineate the design.

Next, you can just go to town with your punches! Actually, the design in my head was to have LOTS of punched and die cut hearts from card stock and from the More Amore Specialty Designer Series Paper all over the top portion. But once I placed the large heart and two smaller ones on each side, I liked that look. I just layered the little hearts punched from the Small Heart Punch onto die-cut hearts. The little bitty hearts are from the Owl Punch! The “love” is from the “Ciao, Baby” stamp set in the Spring Catalog.

Gather some card stock and punches and make a valentine for somebody!!

Patterned Occasions Cupcake Birthday Card

Patterned Occasions Birthday Cupcake Card

Here’s another sample of a card using the Sale-A-Bration stamp set Patterned Occasions. I found this polka-dot embossed card base in my “scraps” and I decided it would be perfect to use with the cute little cupcake in the Patterned Occasions stamp set. I could have stamped the cupcake in just one color and it would have been nice. To get the different colors on the one stamp, I used our Stampin’ Write Markers to color in the stamp. Then it is punched out with the 1 3/4″ Circle Punch and layered on the 2 3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch.  That is popped up on the 2 1/2″ Circle Punch with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The pretty new ribbon is found in the Spring Catalog on page 30, Melon Mambo 3/8″ Striped Organdy Ribbon.

You can get this fun stamp set FREE with a Sale-A-Bration purchase of $50 or more! Just spend $50 or more during Sale-A-Bration (Jan. 22 thru March 22) and choose one of the products in the Sale-A-Bration brochure.  For every $50 you spend, you can choose one product! Spend $150 and get a free pack of Silver Glimmer Paper, in honor of Stampin’ Up! 25th Anniversary year!

Go to my Online Store right now and do some window-shopping!  When you are ready, just place your order online and choose your free Sale-A-Bration item(s) for every $50 you spend before tax and shipping!  Let me know if I can help!

Stampin’ Up! Sale-a-Bration Patterned Occasions Quick & Easy Note Card

Sale-A-Bration Patterned Occasions Quick & Easy Note Card

If you want to make a quick and easy note card, look no further than this card made with the Patterned Occasions Stamp Set in the Stampin’ Up! Sale-a-Bration brochure and a small strip of the Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper, also in the brochure. You could make it monochromatic, as I did here, add some different colored paper, or color in the elephant and flower with different colors. I started with a Stampin’ Up! Note Card (you can purchase a set of 20 cards, 20 envelopes #107311 for only $5.95 here at my Online Store), stamped the image, cut a strip of designer paper, adhered a little 1/4″ Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon around it, added a knot, and adhered it to the front of the card.  So quick and easy!  I doubt it took more than 30 seconds!

How do you get this stamp set? Just purchase $50 or more in Stampin’ Up! products and get the stamp set FREE in the Sale-a-Bration brochure…or anything else you choose. If you want a good all-occasion stamp set, this is a good one to have, especially if you are starting out.  It’s always good to have a versatile stamp set that you can stamp and use in a lot of different ways!

Imagine just stamping the elephant (or any of the stamp images in the set) on a 3″x3″ card! That’s it!  Use it for a tag on a gift or just a tiny note!  What could be simpler?!

Place your Stampin’ Up! Order here!

Stampin’ Up! On Trend with Window Frames Framelits

Mirrors
When I saw this photo of mirrors from a 2013 home decor market for store buyers, I immediately thought of the Window Frames Framelits that Stampin’ Up! had in the Holiday Catalog and which are carried over in the new Spring Catalog (page 36). You can see that Stampin’ Up! is on trend with the latest and greatest in design so our cards and projects will look up-to-date and in style!
And what new stamp do we have in the Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog?  The Just Thinking single stamp that fits the Window Frames Framelits perfectly!
Just Thinking Stamp
If you want a Spring Catalog to browse and ooh and aah over, please email me. I’ll also enclose the upcoming Sale-A-Bration brochure. And when you are ready to shop, you can do it at your convenience at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store here.

Make an Easy Pinwheel Card

Easy Pinwheel Card

It’s fun to make these little pinwheels with the new Stampin’ Up!  Pinwheel Sizzlits S Die! You can either use a paper piercer tool to poke through the holes to form the pinwheel or use a Mini Glue Dot to hold them down. Then poke a brad through the center to hold all the corners of the pinwheel. Cut a little stick by hand or with your Paper Trimmer from a scrap and adhere all to your card with a Stampin’ Dimensional or some Glue Dots.

The background is made with the Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. They didn’t ask me, but I think they could have made up a better name for this embossing folder!  To me, it seems like such a happy, pleasant design, but “Cloudy Day” sounds dreary!  Maybe if I make some cards with the Rain or Shine stamp set or the Sunshine & Sprinkles Designer Series Paper about rainy weather, maybe I will change my mind!

Then I needed a greeting of some sort on the card, so I used the Ciao, Baby! stamp set which was just the right size plus a little different.  The greeting is punched out with the Petite Curly Label Punch, coming in the Sale-A-Bration promotion, which begins Jan. 22!

The card measures 3 1/2″ square.

If you need any supplies to make this card or any of the other beautiful products in the new Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog, just remember, my Online Store is always open!

Stampin’ Up! Best of 25 Years…..Special Stamp Sets: Best of Birthdays!

Best of 25 Years January Birthday Stamps

As part of the 25-year anniversary celebration, Stampin' Up! is bringing back some of their favorite stamp images from the last quarter century and combining them into 12 sets, which they will release-one set per month-during 2013. For January 2013, the stamp set available NOW is Best of Birthdays #132929  Price $14.95  You can order it now in my Online Store.

Even better, along with some great classic images, each "Best of" set will also include a never-before-seen image!

Some things to remember from Stampin' Up!:

  • All Best of stamp sets will include 3-5 images, including a never-before seen image, and will be priced at $14.95.
  • While we are releasing just one Best of stamp set per month (with a new theme each month), all of the Best of sets will be available until March 31, 2014.
  • A new flyer will be released every month for each new Best of set.
  • All Best of stamp sets are available in Clear-Mount only.

While we are releasing just one Best of stamp set per month, all of the Best of sets will be available until March 31, 2014.

***** As a special incentive to collect the Best of stamps, starting in February Stampin' Up is including a collector's card and 25-year proof of purchase sticker with every Best of set. Collect six stickers, and send it in to redeem a FREE set of your choice valued up to $14.95! Free sets must be redeemed no later than April 30, 2014.

Download the Collector's Card here!

Order your Best of Birthdays Stamp Set at my Online Store right here!

 

Pinwheel Sizzlit Cloudy Day Embossing Folder Card

Pinwheel and Cloud Embossing Folder Card

I tried out my new Pinwheel Sizzlit Die yesterday and used the Cloudy Day Embossing Folder for the background on my card. Both of these products can be found in the new Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog. If you don’t have a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and would like a copy of the Spring Catalog, please email me.  I’ll be happy to mail one to you. Be sure to scroll down to see my little tutorial on using the Pinwheel die.

The Pinwheel Sizzlit Die was really fun to play with! Just put a little piece of paper over the die, run it through your Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, and you have a pre-cut pinwheel to work with!

Pinwheel Sizzlits Die

I found that if I curled the paper a bit with my Bone Folder, it made it easier to fold the corners over to the center. Just a tiny bit, to loosen up the paper.

Pinwheel Die Cut

Then, using your Stampin’ Pierce Mat and the Paper-Piercing Tool, fold the corners with the little holes in them over to line up with the center hole in the die-cut. You can use the Paper-Piercing Tool to keep them lined up. While holding the corners in place as best you can, remove the piercing tool and insert a brad through the center hole. Unfold the brad on the back and press down securely to flatten.

Pinwheel Sizzlits Die Corners

It’s fun making pinwheels, and won’t they really give your cards and scrapbook pages a feeling of spring….when spring arrives!

The little greeting on my card is a stamp set in the Spring Catalog called Ciao, Baby! It is punched out with a new punch coming during Sale-A-Bration (Jan. 22 – Mar. 22), Petite Curly Label Punch. It seemed to still need something, so I punched a scrap piece of paper with the Word Window Punch, cut out a section for the middle to give me two shorter pieces and used those for the ends.

If you want any of these Stampin’ Up! products, just visit my Online Store here.

More Amore Hearts Valentine Card

More Amore Hearts Card

When I was playing with the More Amore Specialty Designer Series Paper the other day, I decided to make another card right away. This hearts card could be a valentine or just an ordinary handmade card. The base is Primrose Petals card stock with a layer of Pool Party.  Those are coordinating colors of the More Amore paper. I used the Scallop Trim Border Punch for the bottom to fancy it up a bit and tied some Primrose Petals 3/8″ Stitched Satin Ribbon around the bottom edge. The really fun part was just punching out six hearts with the Full Heart Punch from the More Amore paper.

Then for just a little something or a greeting of some sort, I chose the Ciao, Baby! Stamp Set. If you check out the stamp set, you will see that the stamps are designed for the 7/8″ Scallop Circle Punch and the Petite Curly Label Punches. The “love” stamp fits the Petite Curly Label Punch (coming in the Sale-A-Bration Catalog!)….but I wanted a circle….so I just colored in the word with the Primrose Petals Stampin’ Write Marker and stamped on Very Vanilla card stock. It is punched with the 3/4″ Circle Punch and layered on the new 7/8″ Scallop Circle Punch in the Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog. Finally I added some Basic Jewel Rhinestones.  I probably should have stopped at one, but rhinestones are so pretty….who can resist?!

So for an easy valentine, get out some designer paper and a heart punch and go to town!  The Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog has so many beautiful embellishments you can choose from it you want to gussy it up a bit!

Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog Valentine Card

Stampin' Up! Spring Catalog Valentine Card

Here’s a card I made with new products from the Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog. It could certainly be a valentine card, but it doesn’t have to be! It could be a nice card for anyone special in your life for almost any occasion. Hearts aren’t just for Valentine’s Day!

I started with a Very Vanilla base and a layer of Primrose Petals card stock, which is a color I haven’t used very much. I added a layer of the More Amore Specialty Designer Series Paper #129309.  The opposite side of that paper is the strip on the side with the hearts, which I moistened and then crumpled. The big red heart is from one of the laser-cut sheets in the More Amore DSP as is the little doily circle at the bottom. Then I stamped a heart on Very Vanilla from the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and cut it out with the Hearts a Flutter Framelits #130159 and added a framelit die cut heart from another sheet of the More Amore DSP. My “love” sentiment is from the Tiny Tags stamp set. To finish it all off, I spritzed the whole card with my Gold Glow Smooch Spritz #118770.

Don’t forget….you can save money by ordering the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and Framelits together in the Hearts a Flutter Bundle! Check it out on page 11 of the Spring Catalog or at my Online Store.

Hearts a Flutter Just for You Card

Hearts a Flutter Just for You Card

I’m trying to do some stamping today with my “new stuff” from the new Stampin’ Up! Spring Catalog that just came out yesterday, so I copied a card that was in our demonstrator magazine, Stampin’ Success. I love the cute little banner made with the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and Hearts a Flutter Framelits Dies.  The center panel of the card is embossed with the Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. These products come in a bundle, the Hearts a Flutter Bundle, which saves you 15%! You might as well get both….I’m sure they will be a big hit!  Remember, hearts aren’t just for Valentine’s Day.  This card could be a valentine, a birthday card, an all-occasion card, even home decor! Be sure to check out the really cute little chalkboard in a frame on page 11 of the Spring Catalog showing a little banner using these stamps and framelits. If you need a Spring Catalog, please email me if you don’t have your own demonstrator. I’d be happy to mail one to you…and the Sale-A-Bration brochure, too!

My stamping supplies are still scattered around in different locations due to Christmas decorating so stamping today is more like a scavenger hunt!  What should I get organized first??!

Use this banner idea on a scrapbook page as well!  Just think of a card as a small scrapbook page!

Lovely As A Tree Snowy Christmas Card

Lovely As A Tree Snowy Christmas Card


Once again I recognized the feel of a Stampin' Up! envelope in the mail yesterday ( I know it sounds crazy, but that's how good Stampin' Up! envelopes are!). I actually gasped when I pulled out this card from my friend Annette because it is SO beautiful! There's that Lovely As a Tree stamp set that I keep telling you about! There is nothing like it! I don't even know exactly how she made this card but I can tell you it is even more gorgeous in person than in this photo! She probably used some masking technique. And of course there is nothing like a little Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add just the right finishing touch!

Annette and I were friends WAY WAY back when when our husbands worked together and when I was first married (and before!). Even though we haven't seen each other in over thirty years since we got transferred to Houston, we have always kept in touch with Christmas cards. So if you have ever wondered if there was any point in sending Christmas cards, even to people you haven't seen in years, this proves it is absolutely a wonderful thing to do to keep in touch! A couple years ago Annette wrote me after Christmas and said she had liked my stamped card and that she had been trying to do some stamping herself. Of course I sent her a Stampin' Up! catalog and we began calling and emailing about stamping. It's been so nice to have a renewed friendship over stamping.  And I feel SURE that someday we are going to get together in person and just have a stamping extravaganza!

Stampin’ Up! Christmas Cards

Merry Christmas everyone!!  I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Day with your families and loved ones. I just had to share a few Stampin' Up! Christmas cards I received.

One I knew was from my dear friend who got me started stamping in the first place. She has always had a simple, beautiful style.

Jan's Stampin' Up! Christmas Card

We received this card from my husband's cousin who I heard was making cards or maybe doing Stampin' Up!  Well, as I was sorting through the mail that day, I could tell by touch that the envelope was Stampin' Up!  Stampin' Up! has the nicest envelopes! They have a nice smoothness to them and you can stamp on them so well.  Now I'm looking forward to hearing from this cousin again and hear how she got started stamping! (I had to hold the card up so I could get a good photo of the sparkly reindeer!)

Ann's Stampin' Up! Christmas Card

And today I received a card from a cousin of my mother's, and again, I thought, "This feels like a Stampin' Up! envelope!"  Well, sure enough, there was a Stampin' Up! card inside, stamped by someone named "Judy" on the back.  She didn't comment in her note how she got the card…maybe it was stamped by a daughter-in-law or grand-daughter or just some other stamper.  But what a surprise to receive a Stampin' Up! card from this lady!

Vera's Stampin' Up! Christmas Card

Sure, it's faster to send an email or e-card, but I hope real cards in the mail never die out. I believe it is a real gift to receive any card or note in the mail from someone, but what an extra-special treat to get a handmade card! And that handmade card deserves a Stampin' Up! envelope!

I hope you received lots of Christmas cards from your friends and family! It's one of my favorite parts of Christmas!

 

Lovely As a Tree for Christmas Cards and Tags

 

Lovely As a Tree Christmas Card

If you need a last minute Christmas card or gift tag, I highly recommend using the tree in Lovely As a Tree.  If there is a stamp set you are likely to own, it is this one (and if you don't, I would put it on your after-Christmas list!).  This is a display card from a Stampin' Up! Convention, but I have made a similar card over and over again in all my years of stamping.  Just ink up the tree, stamp it and without re-inking, stamp again to give that lighter image.  Before you know it, you can have a forest of beautiful trees. For some lovely glitz, add some Dazzling Diamonds glitter with the Two-Way Glue Pen, just scribbling, nothing fancy.  You will be amazed at the beautiful card you can make in a minute!