Due to the discovery of legal issues back in June, Stampin' Up! turned off this Hostess Set. But now after review by the legal department, Stampin' Up! is making this Carry On Hostess Set available again! So if you host a workshop with sales of $150 or more or you have your own personal order of $150 or more, you can now consider purchasing this stamp set with your Hostess Dollars! It was a popular set while it was available and promises to be so now that we can all get our hands on it!
The Olympics begin with the Opening Ceremony tonight! The city of London is hosting the 2012 Olympic games and they are finally going to get started! It seems like we have been looking forward to the Olympics for a long time and now it is finally here!
Here is the story behind the colored Olympic rings from the Olympic Museum Manual:
"Pierre de Coubertin first proposed this symbol at the 1914 Olympic congress in Paris.
The five rings on a white background form the Olympic flag, which was unveiled during the same congress. The flag flew for the first time in an Olympic stadium in 1920 during the Antwerp Games.
If the number of rings represents the continents, the colours (six of them, counting the white background) were chosen to ensure that every country would have at least one of the colours in its national flag included."
"The five rings that make up the Olympic symbol represent the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from all over the world during the Games. They symbolise the universality of the Olympic Movement."
To make this card:
Stamps: Loving Thoughts Stamp Set
Ink: Real Red Classic Ink
Paper: Pacific Point, Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch
Note: Punch the 1" circle first, the turn your 1 1/4" punch upside down, reinserting the punched piece so you can see the sides. Once you have it lined up correctly, punch out the ring. This is easier than punching the larger circle first and then trying to center the 1" circle.
Enjoy the games!
As I looked through some of the photos other demonstrators took at the Stampin' Up! Convention last week, I was inspired to make a birthday card using these colors. Then I found a scrap with a scallop border punched with the Scallop Edge Border Punch #119882 so I just started with that. I covered the scrap of Whisper White with a piece of Twitterpated Designer Series Paper #125406 just down to the scallop edge. The card is embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Folder #117335 (one of my favorites). The greeting is from the Perfect Punches stamp set (page 120). If you noticed that the Modern Label Punch #119849 is unusually long to fit behind the Perfect Punch stamp, it is because I cut it in half so the ends would stick out on the sides of the greeting. And then I added a pearl on each side.
So there you have a simple, soft pretty card perfect to send to someone special for a birthday!
If you haven't gotten your $5 Reason to Smile stamp set with a $50 order from Stampin' Up! yet, place your order today at my Stampin' Up! Online Store.
Yesterday Stampin' Up! did something they have never done before! They live streamed about thirty minutes of the last general session of the 2012 Convention to us demonstrators. I think it was mainly to give us all a taste of what attending Convention is like, for those who haven't attended yet. Next year will be the 25th Anniversary of Stampin' Up! and you can imagine that they will do that convention up right!
During the live stream, Sara Douglass, Shelli Gardner's daughter, gave a demonstration of some decorating ideas for mason jars! When you see the Holiday Catalog August 1st you will see why! Apparently mason jars are trendy items right now!
Here are some photos that I took of my computer screen during the live stream from the Stampin' Up! Convention!
Here's a tag she made look tie-dyed just by embossing and then coloring in (not neatly!) with various inks. The bottom tag is embossed with the chevron design.
Very pretty! I'll have to listen again to catch the instructions! I'm sure you recognize the doily die.
Here are matching cards you could give as a gift or have people write advice or good wishes at a wedding or shower or whatever occasion. Then they get put in the mason jar!
And here's another creative idea…this time the jar is filled with something (mints?) to hold skewers attached to decorations or flowers or whatever you would want to make…just like a vase.
All Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2012
And here's one item she made to stick in the jar for a wedding gift for a friend. She also stuck a gift card holder on the back.
Even thirty minutes of live Stampin' Up! was great fun!
While cleaning up my scraps recently, I found I had a little stack of these Two Tags die cuts already cut out, so today I decided to use one somehow on this thank you card. This is also a sneak peek at the 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch coming in the Holiday Catalog August 1st. So cute!!
Since I was making my scallop flower out of Daffodil Delight, I looked at my Color Coach for fun to see what colors they put with it. One was Early Espresso so I used that for my card base. Of course the Daffodil Delight card stock layer needed a little something so I tried out my new Fancy Fan Embossing Folder #127751. Love it! I love this die cut from the Two Tags Die, so to jazz it up a bit I stamped with the small flower in Reason to Smile (the stamp set you can get during July for $5 with a $50 purchase). The greeting is from the Perfectly Penned stamp set (page 132), stamped in Early Espresso.
To make the scallop flower, I punched six scallops, then softened them up with my bone folder, crinkled them up, stacked them up, pierced the center, and inserted an Antique Brad #117273. You could use other brads or a button (if you glued them together first). Then I squished each layer up around the brad to get some dimension and then let them lay back down gently! The ribbon is our new 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon in Whisper White #126877.
Since the Early Espresso is such a dark color I added a piece of Whisper White to the inside of the card, with a few Daffodil Delight flowers stamped in the corner from Reason to Smile again.
Whew! For such a simple thank you card I had a lot to say! I love how the new little Scallop Circle Punch flower fits so perfectly in that top of the Two Tags die….of course you also get another die on that same die so it is a great deal!
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Amazing what you can find in your card stock scraps! I had already stamped some flowering branches from Elements of Style on pieces of Crumb Cake card stock but then didn't use them….they were stuck in my pile of scraps in the card stock package. I guess I stamped them one time and then it didn't work out. But today I thought I'd see what I could do with a piece.
All it took was a little coloring in by touching my Blender Pen to the ink pad to pick up ink. If you want to try to be artistic, you can follow the highlighting (the little lines) on the stamped images and apply a little darker ink in those areas. Then come back in and either spread that out a little with your Blender Pen or use a lighter color. This gives you a shaded look that will make people think you are a professional artist! Stamping can make anyone look good!
I thought one of the flowers from Everything Eleanor, a new stamp set I got free at Stampin' Up! Leadership in San Antonio last January, looked like it would match closely enough with the flowers on the branch, so I stamped that separately, twice, cut them both out and glued on the card, slightly offset. And stamped the little bird from Everything Eleanor. The greeting is from Elements of Style. Such a beautiful set!
If you want any stamping sets or accessories, Stampin' Up! has them here!
Place an order of $50 and add on Reason to Smile for only $5!
Don't think your catalog is just for shopping! Get out your Stampin' Up! Catalog and use it! If you just flip through the pages, you will certainly find some ideas to inspire you. Don't be left hanging with no creative juices flowing! Maybe you will see a card or box you like….maybe you will see an element on a scrapbook page you could put on a card instead. Maybe you will see a card you can picture enlarged into a scrapbook page if you just add some photo mats. And the samples aren't just on the stamp set pages….look back in the accessories, too! This catalog features close-ups and allows you, in some cases, to imagine what the rest of the project looks like and develop it yourself.
My inspiration for this post was found on page 74. My card isn't exactly like that sample but at least it got me started. Above you can see the elements I made to assemble the card.
And as you might barely be able to see, when I was finished I spritzed the whole card with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz #118770. I like the way it turned out. I didn't get big blobs of gold or overspray and ruin the project. What I have heard about the Smooch Spritz is don't be afraid to push down the sprayer! Put your project in a box or somewhere that you won't make a mess. Do some practice sprays after shaking the tube back and forth gently to mix it up. Then don't try to be delicate in spraying….that's when you will get a mess. Push down like you know what you are doing! Of course hold a little distance away. Try it!
Click to Enlarge
If you are interested in buying Stampin' Up! products and would like a new catalog, please contact me at Karen@Karenstamps.com. I just got a new box of them!
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Thirty-five years ago today I was a bride! It’s hard to imagine I am saying my husband and I have been married for thirty-five years when it seems more like we should be saying we are thirty-five years old. Or that our parents have been married thirty-five years…but not us! And then you add on another four years that we knew each other before we got married (maybe the reason we are still married after thirty five years?), you are talking about a long time together! I actually had to take pencil to paper and do the math….2012 minus 1977 = yep, 35 years! Crazy! Crazy but good!
And since it is wedding season, here is a wedding card I CASEd (Copy and Share Everything) from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog page 34. Easy Events is a great stamp set, fun for a little bit of coloring in, and all occasions are covered…or leave off the words and just use the picture! For example, if you wanted this to be an anniversary card instead of a wedding card, just don’t ink up the words..or place a post-it note over the words before you stamp on your paper. Easy Events is a good set for new stampers because it is so versatile.
Look through the beautiful new Stampin’ Up! Catalog and choose a card or project to copy today!
As long as I had my wedding stamping supplies out after making the gatefold wedding card in yesterday's post, I decided to make a little 3×3 wedding gift card to match. Maybe you will just be attaching a little gift card to the wedding or shower gift instead of a full card.
The greeting from Word Play is so great to use on anything for a wedding! Be sure to add a Basic Rhinestone to the ring! I punched a little scrap of Silver Glimmer Paper with the Scallop Trim Border Punch for a little pizzazz at the bottom and tied on a little of my favorite ribbon, Whisper White Organza Ribbon.
Little 3×3 cards are so fun to make! Why don't you try to make one today?
June isn't the only month for weddings…and this summer has lots of weddings! Perhaps you are in need of wedding card ideas as well. This is a wedding card I made with a gatefold, using the "Happy I Do Day" greeting from the Word Play stamp set.
Each panel on the front of the gatefold is embossed with the popular Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. The greeting is backed with the new Delicate Doilies Sizzlits Die in Silver Glimmer Paper. You've got to have glimmer paper! It is SO beautiful!
To check out all the fantastic Stampin' Up! products available to help you make beautiful cards and other projects, browse my Stampin' Up! Online Store.
Funny how this Postage Stamp Punch card started out as something completely different! So sometimes even when you know exactly what you are making, you end up with a surprise!
I had the idea from a magazine to use my reinkers and Aqua Painter to make some paint-like stripes on a piece of Whisper White card stock. Well, the first try didn't thrill me so I covered another piece of card stock with alternating stripes of Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise. Hmmm….didn't really know what to do with that either….but somehow I got the idea to punch out some shapes. The Postage Stamp Punch was chosen and after some fiddling around, I came up with this!
That yellow ribbon is the brand new Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon #126872 with a couple Tiny Tags stamped and then punched with the Jewelry Tag Punch. I think they kind of make the card! And I like the summery look to the card!
This was one of those projects where I had to tell myself "Walk away from the card!" Sometimes you have to know when to stop! I can still look at it today and wonder if I should have put something in the centers of all the squares or partial squares in the empty spaces…or something! But sometimes you have to just stop!
For Stampin' Up! paper, ink and accessories, shop at my Online Store!
***Don't forget about the Reason To Smile stamp set for $5 with a $50 order!!***
Just playing around with the new Reason to Smile stamp set, Comfort Cafe Designer Series Paper, and the Apothecary Accents Framelits! The greeting is from the World Treasures stamp set (the one with the peacock!).
Get your stamps, ink and paper out and play! You never know what you might come up with!
Don't have any new catalog products yet?? You can sneak in an order right now at my Stampin' Up! Online Store!
Would you believe this card stamped with Betsy's Blossoms and embossed in gold started out to be just one more 4th of July card in red, white, and blue? There is something so compelling about Betsy's Blossoms…even though I would say I don't "love" it…..I've got to use it! I thought for the day after July 4th, I could get by with trying this big blossom as a firework stamped in red and blue….then I thought "how about a gold cardstock layer?"….then looking at that I thought "what about embossing some gold on the Whisper White card front?"…. then I thought "what if I embossed the gold card stock for the card front with all gold blossoms as fireworks?"….and after I did that and added the rhinestone bling, I no longer liked it on the red card base and thought it actually looked pretty/elegant. So then I mounted it on Soft Suede card stock and added a gold embossed greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes with a little ruffled ribbon behind it…and there you have it….one more fireworks card….that probably isn't!
To order any embossing supplies, including the new Heat Tool, check page 159 in the catalog and then place your order online.
****Don't forget the new Reason to Smile promotion after you have placed $50 in Stampin' Up! products on your order….Get the Reason to Smile stamp set for only $5! Once your order reaches $50, a special offer box will show up for you to make your selection, if you choose!
Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2012
Designed in My Digital Studio
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If you would like to read a transcription of the
Declaration of Independence, please click on the image below.
Have a Happy 4th of July!
It's certainly fun to play around with red, white and blue for the 4th of July and the end result was this 4th of July Flag Card. It's funny where inspiration comes from sometimes. I was planning an entirely different designed card and was pulling out my Stampin' Up! designer series paper in reds and blues to see which ones I might use. Somehow the way the red and the blue fell together on the table reminded me of a flag, and so I made this card instead! Not a real flag, of course, but kind of looks like one! These papers happen to be Summer Smooches #125409. The greeting is from Perfectly Penned (page 132), a very useful stamp set with "Thank You", "Get Well", and "Happy Birthday" greetings.
Why not grab somed designer papers today and see what your creative mind comes up with?!