Category Archives: Cards

Button Buddies Summer Starfruit Birthday Card

Button Buddies Summer Starfruit Flower Birthday Card

Just playing with the stamp set Button Buddies….and my Color Coach!  I started off thinking I would make this stamp look like fall flowers…and then I looked at my Stampin’ Up! Color Coach which gives you color suggestions of combinations.  Usually you feel like you wouldn’t have thought of that combination on your own, but lo and behold, the Color Coach usually is right! Once I chose Summer Starfruit, the Color Coach suggested Real Red and Marina Mist….so that’s what I used for my card. After stamping my flowers, I added the new Naturals Designer Buttons in the Stampin’ Up! Catalog, tied with a bit of Real Red and Marina Mist 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon.

The greeting is stamped with stamps from the Hostess stamp set Wacky Wishes. See a trick I used for stamping the greeting over on my Facebook page.

It’s Halloween! Trick-or-Treat! Happy Halloween!

Spooky Owl Punch Ghosts Halloween Card

Today is Halloween! There are so many Halloween ideas out there that I didn't get to make that I almost hate to see that the day is here already! But I'm sure that the children who are eager to go trick-or-treating are glad it is October 31st finally!

I love that the Owl Punch can be used to make a ghost!  Do you recognize the owl? Cut off his feet and turn him upside down….he's a ghost! I just drew on little ghost faces with a marker.  The background is stamped with the new Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Stampin' Pad….the bats and spider webs. I wanted purple on my Halloween card so I used the Lattice Die and the Big Shot to add that element.

I almost don't remember how I made the moon, but maybe I just started with Whisper White card stock and sponged it with some colors, like More Mustard, Cajun Craze..maybe some Pumpkin Pie.  You could try any similar inks.  The I stamped a witch on the moon as if you would see her shadow on the moon as she flew by. The witch is from Toxic Treats in the Holiday Catalog but I just colored in the witch, not the whole stamp, with a black Stampin' Write Marker and laid the moon down onto the stamp of the witch. I like the kind of shadowy look I got instead of a crisp stamped black image.

And for some bling, I punched a larger circle of Champagne Glimmer Paper to layer behind the moon.

There are so many fun things to do with Halloween, from outdoor decorations to unique food ideas and recipes to cards and candy favors, party favors, costumes, Halloween decor and just not enough time to do them all!

I hope you have taken some time to make something fun for Halloween, whatever it is. I don't necessarily like the scary part of Halloween but I love the whimsical, the fun and cute ideas for Halloween.  And I hope I get lots of little trick-or-treaters tonight!

Happy Halloween!

 

Male Birthday Card…or Any Occasion Card!

You're Amazing Birthday Card

Twenty-four years ago today I was driving my daughter home from Sunday School and had to practically stop the car while I let a contraction pass. When I got home I called my parents in St. Louis to say probably something was happening. We four all ate lunch and in the afternoon I baked cupcakes for the cake walk at the Halloween carnival that would be down the street the next night. Naturally I had some licks of the batter and frosting! Since we would be at the carnival and trick-or-treating the next night, I decided to cook a special Halloween dinner that night. In the midst of batter-licking and frosting-eating and dinner prep, I decided maybe I needed to quit eating and go sit down and time the contractions. By half-time of the televised Sunday night football game (my husband always appreciated the timing!), it was time to calmly call my friend and ask her to come get the kids since we'd be going to the hospital sometime that night. She rushed over and by the time my husband helped get the kids buckled in their seats in her car I was more than ready to be going to the hospital. The nurse taking my information laughed when I told her my last meal was cupcake batter and frosting!  In just a couple of hours, Steven was born, just about 45 minutes short of being a Halloween baby! How can that be so long ago??!!

We think making a masculine card is hard since we crafters seem to often be using flowers and colors and other images that don't seem to be appropriate for a man or boy. I actually started off thinking I would copy a card I'd seen online, but once I changed the shape of my stamped greeting from "You're Amazing" by cutting it out with one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits, I came up with this design instead. Great way to use up paper scraps, great way to make a card for a male birthday, great way to make a card for ANY occasion! The background of the card is embossed with the Stripes Embossing Folder. And a couple of Glimmer Brads add some pizzazz without being too much bling for a boy!

The paper strips (Summer Smooches…and you wouldn't think that paper would work for a masculine card but it does!) are just cut to varying lengths and widths, no big deal, just whatever you want.  And then cut a little "v" out of the end or use a square punch to punch it out. (I think it is easiest to just snip).

Have fun stamping today!

New Stampin’ Up! Card Kit–Fancy Friends!

Fancy Friends Kit
Stampin' Up! just introduced a new card kit, "Fancy Friends"! You get everything you need to make six cards….and if you want to make more cards, just order some extra notecards….they already provide you with extra rhinestones!
Everything you need…stamps, paper, ink and accessories….is included in this kit. Maybe you voted for it in the Stampin' Up! Facebook survey post of October 1st. This was the winner!
Order this kit along with your 15% off stamps (today, Oct. 29 only) at my Online Store!

Punch Art Pumpkin Halloween Card

Years and years ago I purchased this Halloween gift bag at a craft show and have only used it as one of my many Halloween decorations around the house. It's made with fabric probably ironed on to the paper bag.

Halloween Bag

Then I thought why not make a card like the bag? So I did!

Halloween Pumpkin Card

I started with the pumpkin head, made out of three ovals punched with the Extra-Large Oval Punch.  I sponged Pumpkin Pie ink around all three ovals and then just played with them until I got them placed how I wanted them. You could even use punched circles if you wanted. I just drew on the face with a black marker and drew on the little stitching lines.

For the Halloween hat, I die-cut the medium-size triangle on the Perfect Pennants Bigz L Die using the International Bazaar Designer Series Paper.  Who would think you would use that paper for Halloween? The hat brim I just cut by hand and tied a Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin Ribbon bow.

The moon is a scrap piece of Summer Starfruit card stock.  You can cut it by hand or punch out a small circle for the inside of the crescent moon and then another circle to cut the outside edge.  You still might need to trim the points of the moon.

And for one more embellishment to the card, I stamped the bats from the Wicked Cool stamp set using the new Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Ink Pad. I just wanted a very light, night-time look for the bats in the background. There is a slight shimmer to the ink but it doesn't photograph as such at all…at least not with my camera and skills!

Halloween is getting close!  Time to finish making those cards and mail some out to your friends!

Make an Anniversary or Wedding Card

Very Vanilla Vintage Anniversary Embossed Card

For today, let's look at an idea for a wedding anniversary card (or this could be a wedding card) and take a break from Halloween and Christmas.  I got this idea from a card I saw on our Stampin' Up! site for demonstrators and changed a few things a little bit.  This is a square card made with Very Vanilla card stock on all the layers. I mailed the card so I'm going to have to guess how I really made it!

The layer on top of the card base is embossed with the beautiful Fancy Fan Folder.  I cut a wide strip which I punched along the bottom with the Scallop Trim Border Punch and stamped "Happy Anniversary" from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I cut another narrower strip and embossed it with the Lacy Brocade Folder and adhered that near the top of the wide strip. Then you need a punched or die cut or hand-cut out heart and a few paper flowers. Add some ribbon, or I used some Victoria Crochet Trim kind of gathered up and adhered with Sticky Strip.  And for some bling, I added lots of Pearl Basic Jewels, including one or two Large Pearl Basic Jewels.

Just to add a little more to this card and differentiate all the Very Vanilla layers, I sponged a little Crumb Cake ink here and there, along edges and lightly over the embossed pieces.  Just adds a little something, especially if you want a little vintage look, which is often good for wedding or anniversary.

If you would like to place an order for any stamping supplies, you can order online any time, at your convenience, at my Stampin' Up! Online Store.  Be sure to check the Clearance Rack, too!

Ornament Keepsakes Paper-Pierced Christmas Card

Ornament Keepsakes Paper Piercing Card
Stampin’ Up! gives us so many options for designing our handmade Christmas cards and other projects. One of the big trends right now is paper-piercing. If you look closely at my card, stamped with the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set, you can see three different styles of paper-piercing.  On the Gumball Green ornament, I went around the outside. On the Cherry Cobbler ornament I made a circle inside the ornament, and on the Baja Breeze ornament the piercing is on the center design. Then I free-handed piercing for the ornament strings up to the top of the card.
The Paper Piercing Tool is very handy to have!
Feel free to email me with any questions at Karen@KarenStamps.com.

Toxic Treats Halloween Card with Champagne Glimmer Paper

 Toxic Treat Halloween Card with Champagne Glimmer Paper

It was fun to play around with the Toxic Treats stamp set and the Champagne Glimmer Paper….and all the other elements on this card!  First I used the Spider Web Embossing Folder for the front of the card and then lightly rubbed the new Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Stampin' Pad over the web to give it some shimmer.

I stamped the witch image on Glossy White Card Stock and then sponged the Daffodil Delight moon in the background using a Post-it Note for a stencil.  Then I covered the moon with the punched out circle from the Post-it Note to mask it while I sponged some More Mustard ink around the moon…and then around the rest of it I sponged Cajun Craze. I also used the Labels Collection Framelits to cut out the Toxic Treats image, the Cajun Craze layer and the Champagne Glimmer Paper.  LOVE the glimmer paper!!!  I HAD to put a little spider in the web, although I'm not sure he matches…but oh well, it's Halloween!

Oops, almost forgot to show you the inside of the card, since the card base is black. I just added a layer of Whisper White card stock that I stamped with some images from Toxic Treats stamp set.

  Toxic Treat Halloween Card with Champagne Glimmer Paper _Inside

I hope you will make some fun Halloween cards or projects for your family and friends or maybe neighbors.  It is 90 degrees here today in Houston so anything I can do to make me think it is actually fall here makes me happy!

If you need any Halloween stamping supplies you can find plenty in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog AND the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog!  Find everything you need in my Stampin' Up! Online Store!

Snow Festival Designer Tag Reindeer Christmas Card

Snow Festival Designer Tag Reindeer Christmas Card
These Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags are so cute and easy to add to Christmas cards!  This card took just minutes to make. I used Cherry Cobbler for the card base, punched a strip of Gumball Green card stock with the Scallop Trim Border Punch, and used a strip of the Snow Festival Designer Series Paper.  And for a little extra razzle-dazzle, I added some Rhinestone Jewels to the ornaments on the reindeer antlers, plus a little dot of Dazzling Details on his red nose!
Order yourself a pack or two of these Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags! You'll be glad you did!
Shop at my Stampin' Up! Online Store or email me!

World Card Making Day! Make a Card! How About Spooky Bingo Bits Halloween Card?

Spooky Bingo Bits Halloween Card
Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2012
Today is World Card Making Day, so get in on the fun!  Join cardmakers and papercrafters and stampers all over the world and make a card! Here is one I made in My Digital Studio, the design software from Stampin' Up! for digital papercrafting of all kinds! If you don't own My Digital Studio, you can easily make this same card with some paper, some punches and the stamp set Spooky Bingo Bits! You can get Spooky Bingo Bits in clear-mount or wood-mount. Or you can purchase Spooky Bingo Bits as a digital download to use in My Digital Studio or another design program.
You can purchase My Digital Studio two ways….just get MDS 2 (the new version 2) for $39.95 which is software you can download immediately with a little bit of content and add to it as you like.  Or, purchase MDS 2+ which is the software plus over $500 in digital content for $79.95.  Honestly, this is the best deal….you get SO much content to use for that extra $40.
If you don't even know what I am talking about….digital papercrafting?  digital downloads?  My Digital Studio?? ….. (because I didn't in the beginning!!!), then do the trial version!  Yes, you can try My Digital Studio, the full software plus enough content to play with, for free for 30 days! You can download the free 30-day trial of My Digital Studio.  While you are using the trial version, you can make your projects, print them yourself or send them off to the Stampin' Up! printer.
Whether you make a traditional card, a digital card, or even a hybrid card (digital plus traditional paper additions), stop and make a card today with all the cardmakers around the world on World Card Making Day!

World Card Making Day Tomorrow, October 6, 2012

Gently Falling Birthday Card

Tomorrow, October 6, 2012 is World Card Making Day! Plan now to stop everything and sit down and make a card (or two or three!) tomorrow.  If you make two, you can keep your masterpiece and still have one to send to someone! Just think how thrilled someone would be to actually receive a REAL card in the mail from you! Or take advantage of the day to start on your Christmas cards!  Plan a design today and then you'll be ready to go tomorrow for World Card Making Day!

This card looks beautiful in person.  I'm not sure the photograph does it justice. I used the Gently Falling stamp set of leaves.  It's two-step stamping:  stamp the leaf, then stamp over it with the outline stamp.  If you want it perfect, you can use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig….but usually I just eyeball it and come close enough, as I did on this card. To make the multi-colored fall leaves, I used Stampin' Write Markers of various colors and then spritzed with some water very lightly to blend the colors. Then I over-stamped with the outline stamp of each leaf with Soft Suede. And I even sponged a little bit of color in between the leaves.

You could use this card for a masculine birthday card, Thanksgiving, or fall.

For some extra jazz, I spritzed the leaf part of the card with the Gold Glow Smooch Spritz.  You'll be able to see that gold spritz in the photo below.  The key to using the Smooch Spritz is to confidently push the spray button!  Don't try to do it lightly or half-heartedly or you will get big blobs of gold.  Just spray boldly and a fine mist will come out!  Use a box of some kind to catch the overspray, just in case.

Gently Falling Birthday Card Gold Shimmer Smooch Spritz

Depending on your browser, you might be able to click the photo above and enlarge it. Then you'll be able to see the gold shimmer.

Happy World Card Making Day Tomorrow!

Snow Festival Ornament Christmas Card

Snow Festival Ornament Christmas Card

You can take advantage of the Stampin' Up! Merry Christmas special by purchasing the beautiful Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper and the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set…or even adding the Holiday Ornaments Framleits Dies.  But today I was creatively inspired by the other holiday paper in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog, Snow Festival!  I like the Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green color scheme. The greeting is from the Chock-Full of Cheer Stamp Set (another cute set!) in the regular Stampin' Up! Catalog.

Remember, that if you want to purchase one of the Merry Christmas Bundles, you MUST use the numbers in the special in order to receive your FREE Festive Paper-Piercing Pack.

Merry Minis Teeny Tiny Wishes Christmas Card

Merry Minis Teeny Tiny Wishes Christmas Card

Here is my Merry Minis Teeny Tiny Wishes Christmas Card! Cute name, cute card….if I do say so myself! This is a 4" x 4" square card of Real Red that I just pulled out of my package of card stock scraps and decided to use it. I wanted to emphasize the Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon because tomorrow, Sunday September 30th, is the LAST DAY for the "Back to Spool" Promotion by Stampin' Up! With a $40 purchase of Stampin' Up! product from my store, you can choose a free roll of this ribbon, in any of the 5 colors.  These are the current In Colors so you will love them!

So back to the card….I cut two of the Labels Collections Framelits shapes in Whisper White and Gumball Green.  Then I just punched out three Christmas trees with the fun little Merry Minis Punch Pack from the Be of Good Cheer Designer Series Paper (in the annual catalog) and stamped the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I was going to jazz up the card more maybe with a designer paper layer, some Dazzling Details around the edge of the framelit, maybe a rhinestone on top of each tree…but once I put just the two Basic Rhinestones on top and bottom of the label…that was it! Perfection! Keep it simple!!  Done!  I love this card!

Now I need to go my make own Stampin' Up! order so I can get some FREE RIBBON!!

Back to Spool

Gently Falling Card

Gently Falling Card
It's fall, for two days now!  Not that we can tell here in Houston, TX and we won't have colored leaves until December. But just to KNOW that it is fall makes me feel cooler and looking forward to all the things that are autumn.

This card was made with one of the leaf sets I have….Gently Falling. It's a two-step stamping set which means you can stamp the solid image of the leaf and then stamp over it with the outline image to define it….or just leave the solid image! Or you might want to just stamp the outline image and color in…or use it as a background as I did on the Gumball Green card base.

To give the look of fall leaves, I used several Stampin' Write Markers to ink the stamps. I would start with the lightest color of marker I was using on that stamp and ink up parts of the stamp.  Then I would progress with darker and darker colors of green or brown, for example.  This gives a multi-colored effect.  Either breathe heavily on the stamp to remoisten the ink or spritz it with a little water from a distance. That helps to blend the colors on your stamp.

Just because some packages of card stock were still not put away, I thought they looked good together and decided to use them….Gumball Green, Rich Razzleberry, and Very Vanilla….and some Soft Suede ink plus a little More Mustard and Tangerine Tango markers.

The little greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (such a useful set!!), punched out with the Word Window Punch and layered on the Modern Label Punch. I almost didn't put a greeting so I could add an appropriate one later when I needed a card, but "Just for You" will do for a lot of occasions! I recommend purchasing the wood-mount version of Teeny Tiny Wishes since the stamps are so tiny.

It's fall so lets start enjoying the colors and the mood of autumn! The Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog also has many stamp and paper choices as well as inspiration to get you in a fall-ish mood! If you need a Holiday Catalog, just email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com

My Digital Studio Halloween Card

 

Hallwn-001

Here is a Halloween card I made in My Digital Studio using a designer template….and then changing it!  It was a birthday card with a little bird, but I changed the background paper, added a layer under the main panel, and added Spooky Bingo Bits images instead of the bird.  A couple of Halloween greetings, of course, change the card from birthday to Halloween!  It's so much fun!  Just start with something already designed and then you can change one thing on it or every single thing!  Whatever you like!

For the free 30-Day Trial of My Digital Studio, just go to my Online Store!