Category Archives: Cards

Slimline Painted Christmas Banner Card

Slimline Painted Christmas Banner Card

I remembered that one of the Christmas papers in the Holiday Mini Catalog is a returning one, Painted Christmas! And I have it from last year so I was anxious to try it out again! After pulling out all the papers and some coordinating colors of cardstock, I came up with this Slimline Painted Christmas Banner Card, much to my surprise!

I say “much to my surprise” because I didn’t imagine I would be making a slimline Christmas card! But you never know what you may come up with! As it turned out, from the pieces of designer paper and scraps of cardstock, it just seemed like they would fit well as a slimline card! This is even a fairly large one that could be used if you wanted a lot of people to sign the card!

The card base is 8 1/2″ x 7″, folded in half so the width is 3 1/2″. I used Pear Pizzazz cardstock. The layer of Painted Christmas Designer Series Paper is 3 1/4″ x 8 1/4″.

For the greeting, I decided to use the Christmas Banners Stamp Set. I stamped the banner in Real Red ink, diecut it with the Christmas Banner Dies, then stamped the words. You could do all the stamping before die-cutting. The stamp set and dies can be purchased together as the Christmas Banners Bundle so you can save 10%. I thought the banner might need a background to stand out better so I used Real Red cardstock to die cut a Stitched Rectangle. You might notice it is longer than the actual die. I used that technique to partially cut the rectangle, then stop and move the die down longer, lining it up with the already cut die-cut lines. You will feel it fit in there. But don’t roll that end of the die through the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss. Start it farther down and then roll the platform past the longer end. If you try it, you will figure it out! It always takes me a minute to remember how it works, but it’s a good technique when you want a longer die.

Next, I stamped and diecut lots of the leaves and stems in the Bundle to decorate around the greeting. I even found a scrap of gold foil in my little pile so I used that for a little gleam on the card. The banner greeting is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals® and the stems can be slid a tiny bit underneath the banner around the sides. Just lay around with the pieces that you have and see what looks good. For a finishing touch, I added some Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

This card will fit into one of those long business envelopes or you can use the Slimline Envelopes in the Annual Catalog. Here is another slimline card, but much smaller, in this post. That one is 3″ x 6″ but I think that’s a good size too. Just make your cards to fit the envelope you have! We are past July 25th so it is LESS THAN five months until Christmas! I hope this Slimline Painted Christmas Banner Card offers you some inspiration for a holiday card!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

True Beauty Flowers on Rings of Love Paper Card

True Beauty Flowers on Rings of Love Paper

I was surprised to find the background of this card was the design on the back of the paper I used to make the gift bag on yesterday’s post. That side of the paper looks so “fallish” and this side of the paper is light and “springish”! But it caught my eye and I thought it would make a pretty card! And that’s how this True Beauty Flowers on Rings of Love Paper Card began!

I chose Petal Pink for the card base as it is one of the coordinating colors for the Rings of Love Designer Series Paper. This paper is one that is FREE during Sale-A-Bration with a $50 purchase of any Stampin’ Up! products. There’s only a little more than a month left of Sale-A-Bration! I chose Pear Pizzazz cardstock for a layer under the designer paper. This pattern of the designer paper has a soft background of pink and yellow with printed leaves and stems scattered around. While I was trying out some ribbons to use on the card, I came across a stack of already stamped and die-cut flowers and leaves from the True Beauty Stamp Set. I played around with those on the card and came up with this design! Some of the flowers and leaves are popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals and some are adhered flat on the card.

The greeting is stamped from the Celebrating You Stamp Set (a fantastic one for sentiments!) in Pear Pizzazz Ink. I used the die in the Meadows Dies to cut out the greeting. It is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals also.

For the finishing touch, I looked through all my embellishments and decided on the 2021-23 In Color Opal Rounds. I just chose colors that didn’t match the flowers for the flower centers and a little bling. I also love the Brushed Brass Butterflies and had to stick one on the card by the flowers!

Sometimes it is a surprise what goes together when you make a card or what you come up with that is unexpected! If you have trouble coming up with a design just look through your designer papers or samples in the Stampin’ Up! catalogs to copy or to wake up your inspiration!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Rings of Love You Are Wonderful Card

Rings of Love You Are Wonderful Card

If you want some pretty fall paper with which to make a card like this Rings of Love You Are Wonderful Card, then browse through the current Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration brochure and check out this designer paper! You can earn it FREE with a $50 Stampin’ Up! purchase! You’ll find it on pages 6-7. It’s the Rings of Love 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper and has so many usable patterns. There are images of cottages, mushrooms, acorns, birds, tree rings, and flowers. So interesting and so pretty!

This card is so quick and easy to make! You could use almost any of the patterns in the designer paper package and use this card design. You could make the card fold any way you like, but I put the fold at the top for a change. Cut the sheet of cardstock in half lengthwise at 4 1/4″ (half of 8 1/2″, the width of the cardstock) and score at 5 1/2″ for the fold.

The card base is Parakeet Party, which is really a BRIGHT color! I used a layer of Poppy Parade underneath the Rings of Love Designer Paper. The Poppy Parade color is on the designer paper. I just love this sheet of designer paper! Such pretty designs with mushrooms, berries, and leaves plus a butterfly!

For the greeting, I used a strip of Basic White cardstock about 3/4″ x 3 3/4″. The stamped greeting is in the Celebrating You Stamp Set. It is stamped in Poppy Parade ink and off to the right side a little bit. Then it was layered on a wider strip of Poppy Parade.

For a final touch, I added some of the Adhesive-Backed Seasonal Sequins. They are Sweet Sorbet in color but they still look good on the card!

One interesting this about this Sale-A-Bration paper besides being free with a $50 purchase, is that it coordinates with the Ringed With Nature Bundle in the July-December 2022 Mini Catalog (Holiday Mini Catalog) on page 62. So if you purchase that Bundle that comes with the Hybrid Embossing Folder and 16 dies, you can choose this Rings of Love Designer Series Paper FREE and make all kinds of cards and projects with all these coordinating products!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Watch the Sale-A-Bration Videos!

Sale-A-Bration Cover July-Dec 2022

We are already three weeks into Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration 2022, the second one of the year! Sale-A-Bration is probably the oldest promotion Stampin’ Up! has, continually improving since the beginning when there were less choices than we have now! Sale-A-Bration is an opportunity to earn FREE products in the Sale-A-Bration brochure with every $50 purchase (before shipping and tax). No limits! With every increment of $50 on your order, you can choose a free product. You can choose a few special ones with a $100 order instead of two $50 level ones. With a $150 order, you also earn Stampin’ Rewards starting at 10% PLUS Sale-A-Bration products! With a $300 order, you receive the Perfect Pomegranate Stamp Set FREE.

Here are some videos you may watch to learn more about the Sale-A-Bration options!

ENJOY!

Hippest Hippos Ballerina Card

Hippest Hippos Ballerina Card

The Hippest Hippos Stamp Set in the Sale-A-Bration brochure is one of the fun stamp sets available! If you are looking for something cute and whimsical, animals usually fill the bill. I picked this hippo with her tutu to be my first card using this set, the Hippest Hippos Ballerina Card. You can use one hippo at a time or all three of them at once.

This card has Pool Party for a card base and a layer of Basic White underneath the designer paper just to help set it off. The designer paper is in the Design a Daydream 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper. You can find this paper at the very tip top of page 179 in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog as a Host Reward you can choose with a $150 or more order. There was one like it in last year’s Annual Catalog…a giant package of designer paper, 48 sheets, 4 each of 12 designs! The catalog says 12 sheets but that is incorrect, you do get 48 sheets of 12″ x 12″ paper!! Just think of the projects you can make! I liked this dotted circle design in the package, but it was difficult to choose!

The ballet hippo is stamped in Memento ink on Basic White cardstock and colored in with Stampin’ Blends. Then I diecut the hippo with one of the circles in the Stylish Shapes Dies and cut the next largest circle out of Petal Pink. If you layer any of these circles on top of each other the margin is a little big so I decided to just offset the Hippo circle to the side. After adhering the Basic White layer and the designer paper to the card base, I popped up the hippo focal point with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For the greeting I used one in the Hippest Hippos Stamp Set to go with the ballerina! It is stamped on Basic White with Memento ink and the die cut with one of the small Stylish Shapes Dies circles. I put Dimensionals on the back of it but off to the lower right side since it would overlap the larger circles with the hippo. To make it stand out a little bit without a layer, I just used the brush tip of my Light Pool Party Stampin’ Blends Marker to make a colored edge around it very lightly and carefully.

To finish the card, I had to give the ballerina a little rhinestone necklace and a few rhinestones scattered on the card. On the inside, I added a layer of Basic White on which to stamp or write a message. I had just a very narrow scrap of designer paper so I adhered that to the left side of the white insert. Even just that little bit of paper added something!

Remember, Sale-A-Bration runs through the end of August. With every order of $50 or more in merchandise, you get to choose a free product in the Sale-A-Bration brochure! No limits! Check out the Sale-A-Bration brochure HERE.

There are lots of good choices during Sale-A-Bration! Maybe you will choose the Hippest Hippo Stamp Set. There are also Hippo Dies available if you can get both the stamp set and dies with your order amount.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! DURING SALE-A-BRATION! GET FREE STUFF!

Creativity Now Splendid Thoughts New Life Together Card

Creativity Now Splendid Thoughts New Life Together Card

Last month Stampin’ Up! offered a virtual event for Demonstrators called “Creativity Now”. It was all stamping, no business, as they said. Just a gathering of Demonstrators from all over, stamping together following different presenters making several cards plus a couple of interviews with designers talking about the Splendid Day Suite and the Sweetest Christmas Suite. I always love “behind the scenes” information! I didn’t get to watch and stamp live last month but I did get to catch up and watch the recording and make most of the cards. This card, Creativity Now Splendid Thoughts New Life Together Card, is the first one that was shown.

This card sort of fits into “Watercolor Month”. Although it’s not really watercolored, it has that look in the background made with Stampin’ Blends markers rather than true watercoloring. The card base is Soft Sea Foam cardstock with a layer of Basic White cardstock and a piece of the Splendid Day Specialty Designer Series Paper. We started with the Basic White piece on which we “scribbled” light and dark colors of Pool Party and Fresh Freesia Stampin’ Blends markers. The top half of the Basic White is colored with the Light Pool Party and the bottom half (not quite out to all the edges) with Light Fresh Freesia. Then halfway down the Light Pool Party, it is colored with Dark Pool Party down to the Fresh Freesia. Likewise, the Light Fresh Freesia is half-colored with Dark Fresh Freesia. We were told just to scribble back and forth and you could do this as solidly or less solidly as you liked. If you wanted to, you could have used water and ink to achieve the same look. Just be cautious on Basic White so that you don’t get too much water.

After coloring the bands of color on the Basic White piece, we stamped the bee in the stamp set a couple of times, randomly, in upper and lower halves both in Pool Party ink and Fresh Freesia ink.

The greeting is stamped with one from the Splendid Thoughts Stamp Set in Fresh Freesia ink on a piece of Basic White, then the ends were “flagged” with Paper Snips. On the back of this sentiment piece, an 8″ piece of Soft Sea Foam Ribbon is folded in half and adhered to the back with a loop on the left side and the ribbon tails hanging out on the right side. The ribbon can be secured with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

We also used the Splendid Stems Dies to die cut two of the leafy stems in Soft Sea Foam. These are adhered to the back of the greeting, top and bottom, using Mini Glue Dots. This greeting piece is adhered to the center of the Basic White piece. Then this Basic White piece is adhered, at an angle, to a piece of the Splendid Day Specialty Designer Series Paper. We used the Fresh Freesia print side of one of the patterns, not the foil side. Then this layered piece is adhered to the card base popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. It is adhered at an angle. The presenter said she tried to place it so that the Basic White top piece is straight and then the designer paper underneath is angled slightly. You can do that or have it all straight as we usually do it.

You can take this idea and change it up a bit. Add a different greeting, different diecuts, color in the background with true watercoloring or different colors or even blocks of cardstock, stamp a random design on the card base, add some bling! So many possibilities, yet this card is soft and beautiful just as it is. It could be an engagement or wedding card or change the greeting for another occasion. This design idea is very versatile.

I think this Splendid Day Suite is kind of a sleeper in the Holiday Mini Catalog that might be overlooked. The designer paper is just gorgeous and the coordinating colors make for soft, colorful, and even relaxing impressions. There are lots of choices in the stamps and dies for leafy stems or stamped images. Be sure to check out the Splendid Thoughts Bundle for a savings of 10% if you want both the stamp set and dies. If you also want the designer paper and embellishments of Soft Sea Foam Ribbon and Open Leaf Trinkets, then just order the whole Suite!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Here!

Hello Harvest Pumpkins Card

Hello Harvest Pumpkins Card

This Hello Harvest Bundle in the new Holiday Mini Catalog is right up my alley because I love fall, pumpkins, and Halloween! This Hello Harvest Pumpkins Card is not for Halloween necessarily but you could make it look that way. For now, this is just a pretty fall card that you could send anytime during the fall for a birthday or just a “thinking of you” kind of card and certainly for Thanksgiving. Not to mention using the pretty pumpkins for fall or Thanksgiving treats and favors if you like to make those!

This card has a card base of Early Espresso cardstock and a Very Vanilla layer. I don’t use Very Vanilla that often but this card idea seemed to call for it. I stamped two of the pumpkins directly on the Very Vanilla card front and spaced them apart a little bit. If I had spaced things a little better on this card, I would have stamped the pumpkins a little lower on the card to allow more space for the greeting at the top. But it is still okay as is.

The middle pumpkin is stamped on a Very Vanilla scrap and die cut using the Rustic Pumpkin Dies. I colored the pumpkins with Light and Dark Pumpkin Pie Stampin’ Blends and the middle one with a bit of Cajun Craze. Then the middle pumpkin is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals®. I also die-cut the little curly-cue stems in Old Olive cardstock and adhered those to the pumpkins plus a little flower that is in the stamp set.

The greeting is stamped from the Hello Harvest Stamp Set. There are some nice greetings in that set. It is stamped in Early Espresso ink on Very Vanilla then diecut with the little banner piece in the Scalloped Contours Dies. Next, I trimmed off the scalloped edges and die-cut another banner piece in Old Olive and layered the greeting on that. It is also popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For a little grounding for the pumpkins, I very lightly scribbled in some Light Soft Sea Foam Stampin’ Blends under the pumpkins across the bottom of the card. It is literally scribbled lightly, not heavy-handed coloring. On the inside of the card I would suggest putting a layer of Very Vanilla maybe stamped with a little something from the stamp set since the Early Espresso is too dark of a color on which to write.

If you like fall, you will really like this Hello Harvest Bundle and maybe even the entire Rustic Harvest Suite Collection!

Check it out in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE!

Splendid Thoughts Sale-A-Bration Card and Envelope

Splendid Thoughts Sale-A-Bration Card and Envelope

Just as I had made this card using the Sale-A-Bration Pool Party & Soft Sea Foam Cards & Envelopes I saw that Stampin’ Up! had an update that this product was SOLD OUT! Ugh!! It was a great product to have a package of card bases and decorated envelopes ready to go….for FREE! However, we can still make something similar on our own with designer paper, half a sheet of cardstock, and an envelope!

Although I used one of those card bases, you can simply use a very light designer paper background or stamp your own background on Soft Sea Foam cardstock.

I used the Splendid Thoughts Bundle in the Holiday Mini Catalog to decorate this card. The die-cut flower pot is the Texture Chic Specialty Designer Series Paper. I thought it looked fancy with the gold foil design on it plus has a little distressed look to it like a flower pot might have. The rest of the plants are all die cut with the Splendid Stems Dies. There are more dies for stems and leaves than there are stamps in the Splendid Thoughts Stamp Set so you get a lot extra with the dies! In fact, if you needed to save money, you could just purchase the dies to make the stems and leaves and cut out cardstock or do your own coloring. Be aware that the stamps that you would think would color the leaves and flowers(?) of the other stem do not line up with the outline and that’s how they are supposed to be! Maybe a more modern look? It’s fine, but just know that your stamp is not defective or that you’re not crazy!

I popped up the pot on Stampin’ Dimensionals just at the bottom so I could stick in the plants wherever I wanted from the top. I had two that I stamped and overstamped with the “coloring in” stamp and the others were simply diecut from cardstock. I cut quite a few extras so I could play and arrange them in different ways. With this set, as long as you are diecutting some of the plants, do extras and keep them on hand! Some of the stems I cut shorter to fit properly.

I already had the second half-circle die cut in my cardstock in Soft Sea Foam cardstock so I copied a sample in the catalog and stamped a greeting on it. There are very nice sentiments in this Splendid Thoughts Stamp Set. Then I used Stampin’ Dimensionals on the right side of the piece so it could overlap the flower pot and be even. I also added some Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels for a little bling!

If you wanted to decorate the inside of the envelope, just stick a piece of designer paper inside and then you’ll have to trim by hand the top portion to follow the line of the envelope flap but below the glue portion….or cover the flap entirely and add your own glue to mail the envelope. Or easier, adhere the designer paper to the outside of the flap and then trim around the flap to cut off the excess designer paper. A friend I sent a card to the other day noticed and asked about the flap of the envelope I had decorated in that way!

These card bases and envelopes may not still be available during Sale-A-Bration, but you can still make cards in Soft Sea Foam and Pool Party for sure! Remember to shop in increments of $50 if you can during Sale-A-Bration so you can earn the products you want in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure! If you have a large enough order, you may be able to choose $100 level products or mix in some $50 level and a $100 level! Nice choices!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! TODAY!

Sweet Sunflowers Paper Pumpkin Kit For August

Paper Pumpkin Kit August 2022 Sweet Sunflowers

Get the Sweet Sunflowers Paper Pumpkin Kit for a crafting experience you won’t forget! This month’s kit includes watercolor designs inspired by nature, two Classic Stampin’ Spots for a Two-Step stamping experience, and an all-new twist technique. As a bonus, this month’s kit includes a FREE gift that will add the perfect golden accent to any of your projects. Time to make smiles bloom!

ABOUT THE KIT
Name: Sweet SunflowersItem Number: 161120


This kit includes:

  • All the supplies you need to create 9 cards: 3 each of 3 designs; and coordinating envelopes.
  • An all-occasion stamp set to express words of gratitude, friendship, greetings, and beautiful wildflower-designed images.
  • Specialty Vellum honeycomb shape pre-cut pieces.
  • 2 Classic Stampin’ Spots (Crushed Curry and Soft Suede) for a Two-Step stamping experience with a twist!
  • Paper pieces and embellishments with watercolor designs and images.
  • Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals.
  • FREE GIFT: 8 Gold Foil Honeycomb Sheets

Completed card size: 5-1/2″ x 4-1/4″ 

Coordinating Stampin’ Up! colors: Blackberry Bliss, Crushed Curry, Evening Evergreen, Melon Mambo, Mossy Meadow, Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede


SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscribe to the July Paper Pumpkin Kit between July 11 and August 10 at www.paperpumpkin.com! Note: Supplies may be limited toward the end of the subscription period.

This looks like a kit I can’t wait to get!! Even the box is so pretty!


JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN HERE!

Best Witches Haunt It Halloween Card

Best Witches Haunt It Halloween Card

This Best Witches Haunt It Halloween Card is the first Halloween card of the season! It’s a little early, considering it is over 100 degrees these days here in Houston! I have to say some Halloweens here haven’t been all that much cooler either by October 31st! But weather aside, I wanted to try in my new Halloween stamp set, Best Witches and I was in the mood to color!

You’ll find the Best Witches Stamp Set in the July-December 2022 Mini Catalog or Holiday Catalog, as I like to call it (and type it!) on page 55. The stamp set has two cute witches, a toad, some stars, and some cute sayings! It’s just my kind of Halloween set!

To make this card, I used Granny Apple Green cardstock for the card base. Then I added a piece of Black & White Designs Designer Series Paper to the bottom half of the card. These will be fun papers to use for Halloween or any time. You can leave them black and white or you could color the white parts of the papers.

I stamped the witch in Memento Black and colored her in with Stampin’ Blends. I just chose whatever colors I wanted with no planning so just play and choose whatever colors you are in the mood for. I think I used Smoky Slate and Gray Granite on the witch’s hat, Daffodil Delight for the gold buckle, Fresh Freesia for the hat band, but Highland Heather for her dress. Her face is Ivory with a little pink blush on her cheeks, Petal Pink. Then I cut out the witch by hand with Paper Snips You wouldn’t have to but that was my original idea when I wasn’t quite sure what the background was going to be.

Stampin’ Up! says July is Watercolor Month so I thought I would do a little watercolor background on which to layer the witch. Since I was using Basic White which can’t handle very much water at all, I watercolored VERY lightly. I used the wide Water Painter to pick up just a little bit of ink in the lid of the ink pad with minimal water and just brushed across the paper very lightly. I used Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Gorgeous Grape. You can barely see it but, as I said, I didn’t want much water on the paper which could make the paper pill and look messy. Then I stamped with the small stars stamp in the Best Witches Stamp Set, in Daffodil Delight, on the background. I had also stamped at the top half of the Granny Apple Green with Granny Apple Green ink so that it would just be very light in the background to add a little interest and match the stars on the designer paper.

The Basic White paper was die cut with one of the Stitched Rectangle Dies. The witch is adhered flat on the paper although you could use Stampin’ Dimensionals to pop her up if you wanted to. The greeting is stamped in Memento Black and then cut apart just for fun. I think this would be a fun card to send to a girlfriend for Halloween! I love it! And for a finishing touch, I couldn’t resist adding a bow of Fresh Freesia ribbon in the corner. My other thought was to use Iridescent Rhinestone Jewels for a little sparkle but I did the ribbon for something different.

I love Halloween and I had so much fun making this card! It may barely be the middle of summer but you know time flies so if you enjoy Halloween, don’t hesitate to get an early start on fall. If you are having summer heat like we are, maybe making a fall or holiday card will cool you off! Certainly staying inside in the air-conditioning and stamping will keep you cool! I hope this Best Witches Haunt It Halloween Card will inspire you to think ahead a little bit to the fun days coming up!

SHOP THE HOLIDAY CATALOG ONLINE HERE!

Rustic Harvest Pumpkins Card

Rustic Harvest Pumpkins Card

This photo of this Rustic Harvest Pumpkins Card really doesn’t do this designer paper justice. In real life, the beautiful pumpkins against the black background are really dramatic and elegant. You don’t often see artistic pumpkins like these!

This Rustic Harvest Designer Series Paper is really something special for fall! I could barely wait to get it in my hands to see it in person. There will be so many beautiful ways to use this paper for fall cards and projects you will be making. There is another pattern with beautifully colored fall flowers against a black background and another with fall gourds. If you love fall, you’ll want this paper.

This is a super simple card that mainly showcases the Rustic Harvest Designer Paper. The card base is Cajun Craze and I used the pumpkin designer paper as the full card front. The greeting is in the Hello Harvest Stamp Set. You can purchase this stamp set separately or along with the Rustic Pumpkin Dies in the Hello Harvest Bundle and save 10%.

I stamped the greeting on Crushed Curry cardstock and die-cut it with one of the Rustic Pumpkin Dies. It is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals® on the card. Before adhering the designer paper to the card base, I added a piece of the Evening Evergreen 3/8″ Windowpane Check Ribbon and tied a knot. I was just looking for a quick card and to try out the beautiful pumpkin paper! There is lots more creativity to be had with this Rustic Harvest Suite Collection on page 48 of the July-December 2022 Mini Catalog.

Remember, today, July 10th is the last day to get signed up for the July Paper Pumpkin Kit! It’s great for beginning crafters and even experienced ones! This month’s kit has a nautical theme. Join Paper Pumpkin HERE.

The July-December Mini Catalog isn’t just about Christmas! Check it out for lots of fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving ideas! There are even stamp sets and products that you can use any time of year included in the Holiday Catalog. Not everything is about a holiday or season!

We may be in the heat of summer, but fall will soon be here (I hope!) and we’ll be in full crafting mode! Check out the Rustic Harvest Suite and see what you like!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!

Tomorrow: Last Day to Sign Up For Paper Pumpkin July 2022 Kit!

Paper Pumpkin July 2022 Banner 1

Isn’t the thought of sending a message in a bottle something we have all wanted to do? Now you can, (sort of), with the July 2022 Paper Pumpkin Kit! You won’t be throwing a bottle into the ocean, but it will still be fun for you and the card recipient!

“Seas” the day and set sail across the ocean with the Sending Good Thoughts Paper Pumpkin Kit! With beautifully designed nautical imagery, a fun message in a bottle motif, and sentiments that are “shore” to please, this month’s kit is full of warmth and fun.

Each kit contains enough supplies to create 9 cards—3 each of 3 daring designs—and 9 coordinating envelopes. This month’s Paper Pumpkin kit will have your loved ones feeling sand-tastic!

Stampin’ Up! also has a special game for you to play—take part in the Sea if You Know Paper Pumpkin quiz to learn more about Paper Pumpkin and this month’s kit! Plus, subscribers to the Sending Good Thoughts Paper Pumpkin Kit will be entered to win a 1-month prepaid Paper Pumpkin code!

Play the Sea if You Know Paper Pumpkin quiz and share it with your friends! Good luck! (You’ll also get a sneak peek at the August Paper Pumpkin Kit!)

HERE’S A TIP! Right now, during Sale-A-Bration, instead of signing up for the monthly subscription, purchase the 3-month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription in the Online Store, which is over $50 so you can earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product along with your Paper Pumpkin subscription! You can still skip a month if you like. And you can add anything else to your order for stamping as you normally would! It’s just putting in a regular Stampin’ Up! order and adding a Prepaid subscription to take advantage of Sale-A-Bration! Or if you have just a few things on your order, add the 1-month subscription to maybe get you to the $50 minimum for Sale-A-Bration! Even if you already have a monthly subscription, you can add a Prepaid subscription to your order to take advantage of Sale-A-Bration! You will get a code to enter into your account and that will be used for the months you purchased, then will revert back to your monthly subscription. Let me know if you have questions!

ABOUT THE KIT

Name: Sending Good Thoughts  

This kit includes:

  • Sending Good Thoughts Photopolymer Stamp Set
  • Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin’ Spot®
  • Printed dry-embossed card bases
  • Printed envelopes
  • Printed die cuts
  • Twine
  • Mini glue dots
  • Dimensionals

Card size: 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″

Coordinating Stampin’ Up! colors: Balmy Blue, Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay, Fresh Freesia, Pacific Point, Poppy Parade

TOMORROW, SUNDAY JULY 10TH, IS THE LAST DAY TO JOIN!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY!

Christmas Candy Cane Card

Christmas Candy Cane Card

As long as I still had the paper, stamps, and dies out from yesterday’s card I decided to make another card design with all those materials. As I looked through the Sweetest Christmas Designer Series Paper, I liked this small candy cane print with this little red and white print on the backside of a candy cane stripe and that’s how this Christmas Candy Cane Card was born!

The card base is Real Red. I cut the two pieces of the designer paper to overlap a little bit. I intended to use Real Red Ribbon across the seam but I glued the paper down to the card base before I put the ribbon across. So the next best thing, maybe even better, was to use a strip of the Real Red Glimmer Paper! It really makes it festive!

To decorate the card, I die-cut one of the candy canes on the Sweetest Christmas Designer Paper from the Candy Cane Dies. You can cut it out with Paper Snips if you don’t have the dies. However, you can purchase the Sweet Candy Canes Bundle with the stamp set & dies and save 10% over buying them separately. I popped up the candy cane with Stampin’ Dimensionals and tied on a bow with the Real Red Ribbon in the Real Red and Garden Green Ribbon Combo Pack. Then I used some diecuts of leaves, Gold Foil and Garden Green, using the Christmas Banner Dies. You can decorate the candy cane as much or as little as you like.

The greeting is in the Sweet Candy Canes Stamp Set. I used the oval die in the All That Dies to cut it out. I think it fits perfectly along the glimmer band. For a finishing touch, I added two of the Adhesive-Backed Seasonal Sequins in green. They come in four different colors.

This would be a relatively easy card to make multiples of because it’s mostly designer paper. The candy cane is easy enough to cut out by hand or die-cut and the extra greenery, whether gold foil or green doesn’t need to be stamped, just diecut. Only the greeting is stamped. Even if you don’t make lots of multiples, you could make 5-10 of this same card, and little by little as you make new Christmas cards you will end up with enough to mail out to lots of friends and family!

You can get by making this card with just the package of the Sweetest Christmas Designer Series Paper, the Real Red & White Glimmer Paper, some ribbon, and a Christmas greeting (which we all have in our stash!) plus some die-cut leaves (and if you have any die cuts, you probably have some leaves or sprigs or a punch!). This Christmas Candy Cane Card is really a basic card design with two different patterns of designer paper top and bottom, a focal point, and a greeting. Here you can see some cards from a few years ago with the two patterns of designer paper and a greeting. Easy peasy!

Sweet Candy Canes Christmas Card

Sweet Candy Canes Christmas Card

My first order from the new Holiday Mini Catalog arrived yesterday, and after a busy day, I got to open it late last night. The first thing I wanted to make was this pretty Sweet Candy Canes Christmas Card that is pictured in the catalog on page 10 in the Sweetest Christmas Suite Collection. I didn’t want to try to figure out my own design at that moment since it was late, but I look forward to playing more with the paper, stamps, dies, and embellishments as soon as possible! I already had ideas dancing in my head just opening the designer paper package! I didn’t take time to look up the sample recipe for how Stampin’ Up! made this card, I just stared at the catalog page multiple times to figure out at least something close to this sample card! The sparkle is so pretty!

I started with a card base of Real Red and used the large striped die in the Candy Cane Dies to die cut the new Real Red and White 6″ x 6″ Glimmer Paper. I only used it once, but there are a lot of narrow slivers of glimmer paper that will come out of your die-cut piece. I believe that if you turn the glimmer paper over to the other side, you will be able to see the die-cut lines better and see if you got all of them out of your piece.

You can use just the die first to see how it lines up with the diagonally striped designer paper in the Sweetest Christmas Designer Series Paper to make the background look like candy cane stripes, just to get the idea. I’m not sure yet the best way to size a piece of designer paper to line up with that die, so for now I would say either cut a larger piece of designer paper than you need, adhere the glimmer paper, then trim off the excess or just adhere the die-cut glimmer paper on the large 12″ x 12″ paper and then trim. Someone will figure out a less wasteful way to get the diecut placed correctly on the designer paper!

The Candy Canes Dies work with the candy cane printed paper in the Sweetest Christmas DSP. You might want to just cut with your scissors into the candy cane you want to diecut. At that point, it really is almost easier to just cut out the candy cane with your scissors! But the dies do match and that’s what I did for this card. Just make sure you get the candy canes that face different directions if that is what you want. You can also use the stamps, inking up the whole candy cane in one color or use Stampin’ Write Markers to color multiple colors on the different stripes. I think that will be fun too to make your own custom candy canes! I adhered my candy canes flat on the card but you could pop them up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Next, I stamped the tag with a greeting from the Sweet Candy Canes Stamp Set. There is a die for making this tag and you can use it a couple different ways. I simply cut off the bottom half of the tag and the bow went over the hole when I adhered it to the card. The ribbon is in the new Real Red & Garden Green 3/8″ Ribbon Combo Pack in the Suite.

The small green leaves on the card sticking out from behind the tag and candy canes are stamped from the Sweet Candy Canes Stamp Set and die cut. The Gold Foil leaves are die cut with the dies in the second Bundle in the Suite on page 11 of the catalog. These are the Christmas Banner Dies. There are several leaf options you can choose from.

For a finishing touch, use a few of the Adhesive-Backed Seasonal Sequins in the Suite. These are metallic and somewhat shiny but not sparkly and come in two sizes and several colors. Since you have a lot of glimmer going on already on this card, you don’t need too much more sparkle!

I think this is going to be a useful and fun Suite to work with making Christmas cards and other projects. There are lots of sample ideas in the catalog to get us started! Soon there will be hundreds and thousands of ideas online I’m sure for using this Suite of products! Maybe you make all your cards the same, but if you like a variety, when you design and make one card you make go ahead and make several more (like 4 more) then you will have five cards that are done and ready to go. When you make the same card over and over it is faster because you are not figuring out the design each time and you can make the additional cards assembly-line style!

If you want ALL of the products on pages 8-11, just use the Sweetest Christmas Suite Collection number #159579. If you want to leave out certain items, then order each product you want separately or order extras of certain ones you want more of! You can try out this Sweet Candy Canes Christmas Card to get you started with a very lovely card to send and then come up with more of your own creative ideas or use the other samples in the Holiday Catalog for inspiration!

SHOP THE HOLIDAY CATALOG HERE!

Splendid Day Sending Hugs Card

Splendid Day Sending Hugs Card

These stamps, paper, and ribbon to make this Splendid Day Sending Hugs Card are the only new things I have at the moment from the new July-December 2022 Mini Catalog that just went live a week ago! But a box of many new things is coming in another day! I can’t wait!

The reason I have this new Splendid Day Suite is that Stampin’ Up! held a virtual stamping event for Demonstrators recently! It was only stamping, no business! We could order this Suite ahead of time so we’d have all the materials to stamp along. I didn’t get to watch it live but “any minute now” I’ll sit down and watch the recording and make my projects along with the Stampin’ Up! stampers. It sounds like so much fun! Even though I haven’t made those projects yet, I just got out the products and came up with this card.

This Suite is something unexpected, I think, in this Holiday Mini Catalog. It’s not holiday, Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or even fall. It’s just soft and pretty. While it may not have jumped onto my Favorites list the first time I saw it, I think it has lots of potential. And the Splendid Day Specialty Designer Series Paper is very gorgeous with its foil sheets and white printed accents on one side and a more generic pattern on the other side.

I realized I was getting my “greens” mixed up while making this card! The card base is actually Mint Macaron, but I first was thinking it was Soft Sea Foam. I originally was going to have a strip of the foil paper on the left side of the card which is actually on the other side of this dotted pattern paper. But I just didn’t feel like it was working and I really liked this dotted pattern so I scrapped the foil paper! I added a layer of Basic White under the designer paper just to help set it off a bit from the card base with just a narrow margin.

The plant image is in the Splendid Thoughts Stamp Set. I stamped the outline image of the plant in Soft Sea Foam ink. Then I stamped over it with what looks to be the solid image of the leaves to fill in the color. However, this image does not line up perfectly with the outline leaves as we usually have and that’s how it’s made to be. So it’s a little more modern stamping look. You might like it fine or you might hate that look! If you don’t care for it, then just stamp the outline leaves and color them in with whatever coloring technique you like, maybe Stampin’ Blends markers or Watercolor Pencils. Whatever. I inked up the solid leaf stamp and VERY lightly stamped it off on my Grid Paper, then stamped over the outline. So it is barely there!

I used the beautiful Fabulous Frames dies to die cut that lovely frame. I did one in Basic White to get the inner portion on which I stamped the leaves and Mint Macaron to get the actual frame. The greeting is in the Splendid Thoughts Stamp Set along with some other very nice sentiments. I stamped it in Memento ink and die cut with one of the banner dies in the Stylish Shapes Dies. It just barely fit but it worked. I didn’t want anything too wide or it would cover up too much of the plant. I popped up the greeting on Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

Before adhering the designer paper to the Basic White layer, I adhered the new Soft Sea Foam 3/8″ Seam Binding Ribbon around the designer paper, then tied a separate bow and adhered with Mini Glue Dots. This ribbon is very soft and beautiful. I think since it is so light in weight and color it wasn’t too much with the large Fabulous Frame on the card.

To jazz up the card a little bit, I added some Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels for a little sparkle on the card. I think these are some of the best jewels Stampin’ Up! has had because they can pick up the colors on the card very lightly. A little bling and sparkle on a card is almost always good!

In this Suite are also some Open Leaf Trinkets in gold that you can adhere or tie on to your projects. These are very pretty and will be a great embellishment on projects.

Along with all the holiday stamp sets and products we are drawn to in the new July-December Mini Catalog, be sure to take a look at this Splendid Day Suite Collection on pages 64-65. The Splendid Stems Dies will be fun to use also. I think the colors on this Splendid Day Sending Hugs Card and the greeting are very calming and will be a great card to make and send to someone who needs a card that day.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! HERE!