Today is the anniversary of the Pony Express!  On this day in 1860 the first official delivery began in St. Joseph, Missouri with a mail pouch holding 49 letters, five telegrams and other papers. A new horse was provided every  10-15 miles and a new rider every 75-100 miles.  It took about ten days for the mail to reach the west coast.  The Pony Express only operated about 18 months until the telegraph was built.

I'm glad we have better mail delivery these days, although really it sounds like the Pony Express was pretty speedy!  I look forward to the mail coming every single day! It used to be you could look forward to a letter from your mother, your grandmother or a friend.  

So why not surprise someone, or brighten someone's day, when they go to the mailbox in a couple of days?  In honor of the Pony Express today, send a card to someone!  Just stamp a simple card and get it in the mail….or stamp a sheet of paper and write a short note or nice long letter!

Here's a simple card I made with the Designer Cuts Cards & Envelopes Set in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  It already comes with the laser-cut heart. I added a piece of Twitterpated Designer Series Paper behind the heart and added a piece of Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon and a Vanilla Rosette.

If you send a card to someone, please leave me a comment below and tell us about it!

It's time for Summer Smooches!!  The ones from Stampin' Up! anyway! Summer Smooches is a whole collection of coordinating products that will be in the new Stampin' Up! catalog in June!  But you can start playing this month!!  No need to wait!

There is a stamp set Bright Blossoms, designer paper, ribbon, digitale elements for My Digital Studio, brads, fabric and a stencil!  Be sure to check it all out on the flyer HERE.

I decided to make a card with colors that probably not everyone would pick at first…Real Red and Island Indigo.  I always love red and Stampin' Up! has the best red in the world!  I just layered some of the new Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper, used the Eyelet Border Punch #119853 on the bottom for some interest, stamped some flowers with the Bright Blossoms Stamp Set (and punched out with the 1" Square Punch #124094 and the Postage Stamp Punch #122344.

To order your Summer Smooches products and get a head start on the new catalog, just place your online order HERE at my Stampin' Up! store.

The Stampin' Up! promotion known as Sale-A-Bration is rapidly coming to an end, but here is a card I made with the Sale-A-Bration Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper.

Sale-A-Bration is Stampin' Up!'s biggest event of the year and only lasts until March 31st!  With a $50 purchase, you may earn a free product from the special Sale-a-Bration Catalog. If you order Online, after you put in your $50 worth of items (or more!), then add your Sale-A-Bration items to your order….one for every $50 you spend!

When I see this patterned paper I always think it is Real Red and I LOVE red…..but it is Poppy Parade!  Still love it anyway!!  The card base is Poppy Parade with a layer of Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper.  The stamped flower and little border-type stamp is from the Sale-A-Bration set Fresh Vintage.  Notice the little piece of scalloped Everyday Enchantment DSP right under the flower layer piece.  The "Hello" is a greeting from the stamp set Elementary Elegance, also in the Sale-A-Bration Catalog.  You could choose either of these stamp sets for FREE with a $50 purchase! But if you're more of a ribbons and brads girl, just choose the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack to coordinate with the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper. I used two on the Hello label, which is punched with the Decorative Label Punch #120907.

Grab your Stampin' Up! catalogs and make out your Wish List today….then go order HERE and get your Sale-A-Bration items for every $50 you spend!  Who doesn't want free stuff?!

Today may be the first day of spring, but it was a dark and stormy morning here in Houston. However, I think this Summer Smooches Butterfly card would brighten up anyone's day!  Summer Smooches is the new set of products coming out from Stampin' Up! in April (which is SOON!), a sneak peek of the new Stampin' Up! Catalog.  I love the bright colors in this Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper and the lovely Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon…..and you will, too, when you can purchase these products and more on April 1st.

The butterflies are punched with the Butterfly Punch #119848 and the paper is the new Summer Smooches.

And here is the inside of the card, stamped with a cute image from the new, upcoming stamp set Bright Blossoms. I used different Stampin' Write Markers to color the stem and various flowers.  So cute!!

Hope you are having a beautiful First Day of Spring Day!

If you need just a small little note card or thank you card, this 3"x 3" notecard is just perfect.  They are so fun to make.  And easy enough to put a piece of designer paper for the background and punch a matching flower from the new Blossom Punch #125603 in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  The background paper is Everyday Enchantment, which you can earn for free with a $50 purchase during Sale-A-Bration, which ends March 31st. The "Kind Thanks" is from Thank You Kindly #111700.

Be sure you place your Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration order before the deadline!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here's a little punch art leprechaun on a St. Patrick's Day card that you can make for fun!  The leprechaun certainly wasn't my creation, but I saw it on display at Stampin' Up! Leadership and thought he was so cute! If you notice some new designer series paper on the card, it is from the new Summer Smooches, which is going to be a sneak peek of new products in the upcoming Stampin' Up! Catalog….and as demonstrators, we get to preorder certain new things! You will get that chance April 1st!

You can make the leprechaun with these punches:

Face: Ornament Punch, 1/2" circle punch for nose, ears and eyes; 1/4" punch for black eyeballs with little white gel pen highlights

Beard: Scallop Circle Punch  Mustache: Heart Punch

Hat: Large oval punch (cut in half), Word Window Punch, Flower: Blossom Punch

Are you looking for some beautiful designer series paper for your projects? A lot of us think the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper in the Sale-a-Bration brochure is some of the prettiest paper Stampin' Up! has ever carried.  Here is a small piece on this card I had for a project at my stamp camp yesterday. Along with the greeting from Perfectly Penned, it makes a great all-occasion card.  

And how cute and easy is the little stamped butterfly?! Just stamp the flower from Mixed Bunch and cut out two petals on opposite sides.  I also have a Poppy Parade card stock butterfly right underneath, not quite visible in this photo. Just add a brad in the center, or a row of pearls or rhinestones would do as well. The other colors of card stock you see are Pool Party, Soft Suede, and Very Vanilla.

If you are in the Houston area and would like to stamp with us, please email me at Karen@Karenstamps.com or sign up for my Mailing List in the upper left corner of my blog and get notifications of when we are having a stamp camp!