Category Archives: Cards

Halloween Spooky Ghosts Card

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Halloween Spooky Ghosts Card

A Halloween card that I saw years ago much like this Halloween Spooky Ghosts Card is one of the things that inspired me to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator! I was visiting my friend who first introduced me to Stampin’ Up! and we went to what was a team meeting, I guess, or some kind of gathering. I was so taken with a creative Halloween card made like this one with a ghost on it that I fell in love with stamping and eventually signed up to be a Demonstrator.

Can you guess how I made these ghosts?? They are die-cut hearts, cut in half! Sometimes it doesn’t take too much to thrill me! That card from years ago will always be one of my favorites, maybe because I like Halloween so much, too!

In addition, I decided to make this one of those new-fangled Slim-Line cards everyone is talking about. I have made others HERE and HERE. They can be made in various sizes, so you can make one longer and/or wider than mine. Just make sure it is going to fit in an envelope!

To make this card, I started with a card base of Gorgeous Grape cut at 6″ x 6″. When you fold that square piece of cardstock in half, you have a card that is 3″ x 6″. It will fit into one of those regular, but small, envelopes you likely have at home. If you make it longer and wider, then it has to fit into one of those regular longer envelopes.

I made the layer Basic Black so the ghosts would show up really well in Whisper White! I die cut several small, medium and large heart shapes with the Be Mine Stitched Dies. You could use heart punches if you don’t have the dies or even just cut out hearts by hand. Then just cut each heart you are going to use in half with scissors, from the point at the bottom right up through the middle of the heart. Then just add some eyes with a black marker. Place the heart halves along the edge of the card as if they are peeking in.

As I was looking for a greeting, I wanted to use this one from the Ghoulish Goodies Stamp Set and decided to emboss it right on the black cardstock with white embossing powder. I also noticed the tiny little “Boo” in the stamp set and thought that would be perfect also embossed on the card. I used my retired Embossing Buddy to remove some of the static on the card before stamping with Versamark Ink. Then I dumped on White Stampin’ Embossing Powder, dumped it back off, and heated the powder with my Heat Tool. I did all the embossing before I adhered the ghosts to the edges of the card. Then I adhered the black layer on to the Gorgeous Grape card base.

So there you have one of my favorite cards for Halloween! It’s so easy and fun, even if you don’t do the heat embossing. You can stamp and adhere a greeting the regular way if you like.

Have fun making a card like this Halloween Spooky Ghosts Card!

Forever Fern Fall Leaves Thank You Card

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Forever Fern Fall Leaves Thank You Card

While we mostly think about “green” when we think about the Forever Fern Bundle, I wondered if I could use fall colors instead, and I ended up with this Forever Fern Fall Leaves Thank You Card. I really like it!

The card base is Garden Green with what was going to be a full Whisper White stamped layer. There is nothing difficult about the technique I used, but placing the stamps resulted in too much of a hodgepodge at the bottom of the Whisper White that I did not like. Luckily I thought of just cutting off that bottom portion and using a piece of Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper instead. I wanted a rather plain piece of designer paper so it wouldn’t look distracting and busy against my stamped leaves.

After I cut off the bottom mess of leaves, there were a few sticking up, but there seemed to be too much white space in the middle, even with the greeting stamped in Cajun Craze. The greeting didn’t look right stamped lower. So, what to do? I chose one of the long tamps in the Forever Fern Stamp Set and stamped it so it went up into the center of the card a little bit. I got lucky and really liked how it turned out!

After adhering the two papers, I wrapped the Whisper White Faux Linen Ribbon in the Flowers For Every Season Combo Pack (you get 3 ribbons!) around the seam. I tied the bow separately and adhered it with Mini Glue Dots. One tip I could have done would have been to tie a piece of white twine around the ribbon where I would place the bow to cinch that ribbon going across the card just to make it look more like I tied the bow on that ribbon going across!

Let’s talk about the stamping technique! I just used my Stampin’ Write Markers (not Stampin’ Blends) to color directly on the stamp. I pulled out various green markers, yellow, orange, darker yellow, even Cherry Cobbler for a dark reddish. It’s best if you start with the lightest colors, but even if you don’t, just scribble the darker color off your marker on scrap paper. You don’t have to be precise, just use the side of the brush tip of the marker to randomly color on the leaves all around, then use another color and another, whatever look you are going for. Don’t forget to “huff” (breathe) on the stamp to moisten the ink that might be drying, and then stamp. Each time you stamp it’s a surprise!

You can see on my card that the top bunch of leaves have a little more Cherry Cobbler ink on them, which I loved. The other ones have more green with a little yellow and orange. Each time you use this technique and stamp it will be different because while you can see the wet marker ink on the stamp, you can’t really see the colors until you stamp! In the end, I loved how this card turned out!

If you haven’t done this technique before, you can practice a few times, but it is plenty easy and I’m sure you will be happy with your efforts! Remember that the Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper is on the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper Sale during the month of October.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Paper Pumpkin Halloween Cards

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Paper Pumpkin Halloween Cards

The September 2020 Paper Pumpkin Kit may have been designed to make a bunch of Halloween or fall treat holders, but I don’t need that many this year so I used some of the supplies to make Paper Pumpkin Halloween Cards!

This kit really has a ton of pieces to use on the treat holders or however you like so it was really easy and fun to make these three cards. And I plan to go back and make some more cards and use up more of the pieces in various card designs.

The top card has a Basic Black card base with a layer of Cajun Craze. I used the Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder to give the Cajun Craze paper a little texture. The little diamond shapes on the side are the scrap pieces from the treat holders! I stamped the faces on the pumpkins from the exclusive stamp set that came in the kit. The black cat and flowers are all die cuts in the kit as well as the two lacy yellow pieces. The greeting is stamped from a stamp in the kit on a die-cut piece in the kit. It’s just that easy!

The second card uses a piece of the Plaid Tidings Designer Paper for a layer on the Cajun Craze cardstock, layered on the Black card base. The pumpkins are stamped with faces and popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals with a die-cut witch’s hat in the kit and some flowers and a swirly piece that looks like a vine with the pumpkins. I had a scrap strip of Cajun Craze so I slid that underneath the black lacy piece. Another fun, easy card!

The third card has a Basic Black card base with a Cajun Craze layer on which I stamped a few of the tiny leaves in the kit stamp set using Cajun Craze Ink. I could also have used Versamark Ink but I already had the Cajun Craze out and it gives almost the same look. I just cut up one of the treat holders to get the orange diagonally striped pieces underneath all the pumpkins and leaves. All of these die-cut pumpkin pieces and leaves come in the Paper Pumpkin Kit.

These Halloween cards were fun to make and I’m looking forward to making some more! In yesterday’s post I showed you the treat holders I had already made from the kit. A lot of times I like to make some of the cards or projects in the Paper Pumpkin Kit exactly as designed. But then I might like to use the rest of the supplies to make some alternate ideas. You will always find alternative ideas for any of the Paper Pumpkin kits online after people receive theirs and start making them!

You can’t get this fall pumpkin kit any longer but the next one comes out in just a few days! It’s a holiday kit called Joy To the World with international greetings if you’d like to send cards to other countries! You can even join a special Facebook group to connect with other Paper Pumpkin subscribers about this kit! Today, October 10th, is the last day to sign up to get this holiday kit so don’t delay!

Here is my personalized link for you to sign up to subscribe to Paper Pumpkin so you won’t have to add my name:

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN!

Gilded Autumn Fall Acorn Card

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Gilded Autumn Fall Acorn Card

I absolutely love the Gilded Autumn Designer Paper for fall cards and I noticed there was one pretty, but kind of odd patterned paper that I hadn’t used. It is actually the opposite side of this acorn and leaf paper and I had planned to use both sides on this card. But then I didn’t! I liked just the acorn and leaf print on this paper so I only used this one side on my Gilded Autumn Fall Acorn Card.

This card is just a simple, basic design we can all make very easily. You can keep it very simple or add some embellishments. It’s just a layer of designer paper on top of the card base and a greeting. That’s really all you would have to do.

The card base is Mint Macaron, one of the coordinating colors with the Gilded Autumn Specialty Designer Series Paper. This paper with its fall colors also has some papers with Gold Foil or Copper Foil accents. That’s what makes it so beautiful. It’s one of my favorites this season!

The greeting is stamped on Very Vanilla from the Gather Together Stamp Set. Then it was die cut with a circle in the Stitched Shapes Dies and layered on a Mint Macaron scalloped circle that I already had in my package of paper! I popped up the greeting on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Running underneath the greeting is a Just Jade ribbon in the Flowers For Every Season Ribbon Combo Pack. It’s not a perfect match but I think it is close enough and I like the gingham ribbon.

I couldn’t finish the card without doing a little more embellishing! I had a piece of the Forever Gold Laser-Cut Specialty Paper laying out on my desk and thought I’d see if some gold leaves would look okay behind the greeting. Then on the bottom of the greeting, I added three of the smallest Gilded Gems.

So if you are looking for an easy card to make for fall, just follow this simple design!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Sign Up Now For the October 2020 Paper Pumpkin Kit!

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Paper Pumpkin October 2020 Kit

Only a few days left to get signed up for this October 2020 Paper Pumpkin Kit! Paper Pumpkin is a papercrafting kit sent to you in the mail once a month with all the materials you need to complete the project inside! So easy for you whether you are a novice or an expert! Even experts sometimes like to just sit down and make something without thinking up a design and gathering the supplies!

The Joy to the World Paper Pumpkin Kit has been thoughtfully released in preparation for the season of spreading joy. October’s Paper Pumpkin kit was designed to bring people together—connecting them with one another and spreading joy with each other around the world! With die-cut sentiments in English, French, and German, subscribers can send holiday cheer to their friends across the globe—in their language.

To connect and spread joy with international customers and demonstrators through the Joy to the World Paper Pumpkin Kit, join our Facebook group: Joy of Paper Pumpkin! When connecting with your new friends, don’t forget to share your experience with the #joyofpaperpumpkin hashtag.

Be sure to get signed up for Paper Pumpkin by this Saturday, October 10th.

Here is my personalized link to go directly to my page to sign up!

OR

If you are placing a Stampin’ Up! order by October 10th, you can add a Prepaid subscription to your order, particularly if you are trying to reach $150 or more in Stampin’ Rewards. The Paper Pumpkin subscription of whatever length you choose will count toward your total Stampin’ Up! order.

Go to Prepaid Paper Pumpkin!

Once you submit your Stampin’ Up! order, you will receive an email telling you how to set up your Paper Pumpkin account. Be sure to do this by October 10th so you will receive this October Kit. If you need help, let me know.

Paper Pumpkin is a present you give yourself every month! Have fun making the project inside the box or use the supplies to make something to your own liking! There are always a multitude of alternative projects posted online, even on the Paper Pumpkin directions, if you prefer to make something a little different. Have fun! Be creative!

Join Paper Pumpkin TODAY!

Celebrate Sunflowers Celebrate You Card

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Celebrate Sunflowers Celebrate You Card

If you want to send a card to someone who maybe had something special happen to them or just to send someone a happy thought, make them a card something like this Celebrate Sunflowers Celebrate You Card with these pretty sunflowers!

I felt drawn to make a floral card and the sunflowers won out, hopefully with a bit of a fall look. I actually thought I would use the coordinating Sunflower Dies, but once I stamped and colored the sunflowers in the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set, that was all I wanted to do.

The sunflowers are stamped in Memento Ink because I was going to use our Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers to color in the flowers. I saw that someone had colored in sunflowers with Light Daffodil Delight, Dark Pumpkin Pie, and Dark Mango Melody so I just went with those colors. You could easily choose some other similar colors or a different color scheme entirely. For the leaves, I just used some lighter and some darker greens, probably Granny Apple Green, Old Olive, and maybe some Mossy Meadow. The flower centers are colored with Soft Suede Stampin’ Blends (light and dark) and parts were just kind of dotted, following the stamped image.

The greeting is in the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set but I only wanted to use the “Celebrate You” part of the stamp due to space. I inked up only those words with Old Olive Ink and die cut with one of the Ornate Frames Dies. I felt like it needed something to set it off from the background but I didn’t have much space so I just used the Dark Old Olive Stampin’ Blend marker along the edge of the die cut. Luckily I had a stead enough hand and it worked out well! It might not have, but it did! Then I added some ribbon behind the greeting but I’m not necessarily in love with that on this card. I think I should have used some gems or sequins or something in a few places on the card for that bit of bling.

The coloring might look overwhelming, but really it is not. I just kept the darker colors at the base of the petals and the rest was colored lighter. It’s mostly a solid image so I just colored all of the petals with my lightest color first and then went in and added the two darker colors. Then I went back over some of it with the lightest color to help it all blend. Just put on some music or something and enjoy yourself while you color! It’s great for relaxation!

The card base is Soft Suede and I will need to put a Whisper White layer inside the card since it is a dark cardstock. I’ll stamp one of the little sunflowers somewhere on that piece, maybe coloring it in or maybe just stamping in Soft Suede or a yellow shade and just leaving that as is.

Here’s another card I made by just stamping the small sunflower and some leaves randomly over the front of the card. You can see I didn’t use as much color on the flowers as I did on this card.

Take some time to do some stamping and coloring with whatever coloring technique you like to use!

Celebrate Sunflowers Celebrate You Card Closeup

Ghoulish Goodies Spooktacular Halloween Card

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Ghoulish Goodies Spooktacular Halloween Card

It’s October and that means it’s time to be making Halloween cards like this Ghoulish Goodies Spooktacular Halloween Card. This is one of those cards that just came about as I worked on it. Sometimes you have to know when to stop and sometimes you have to know when to keep going until you get the card you want!

The card base is Basic Black with a Pumpkin Pie Cardstock layer. I stamped the tiny little pumpkin in the Ghoulish Goodies Stamp Set randomly on the Pumpkin Pie layer with Versamark Ink. Later I also stamped the “EEK” in the stamp set to fill in some more of the spaces.

I stamped the image of the witch, the cauldron and the black cat on Highland Heather Cardstock and die cut it with a die in the Stitched So Sweetly Dies. Then I layered this piece on another die cut piece from the same die set. The greeting is also in the stamp set and the die in the same die set.

The card was coming together but still needed some jazzing up! I chose the Blue Adhesive-Backed Gems to put on each end of the black layer. Even though these say “blue” they are sparkly and iridescent so they kind of look purple and I thought went okay on this card. I also added some of the yellowish Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels around the witch and the black cat.

And for a final touch, I just tied a knot in a small piece of the Black Glittered Organdy Ribbon. Sometimes you just have to keep working on a card and this was one of those!

Here’s another project I made using the Ghoulish Goodies Stamp Set for a Halloween treat. It’s a fun stamp set to have for making Halloween cards but also Halloween goodies and treats.

Be sure to check out the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper Sale going on during the month of October on select designer papers! Stock up or get the ones you missed before!

Make & Send a Card on World Cardmaking Day 2020

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World Cardmaking Day 2020

Today is World Cardmaking Day! Almost everyday is Cardmaking Day for a lot of us avid stampers and papercrafters, but today we should make a card and MAIL ONE to someone…..or even better, make and mail several cards! It’s good for us to take some time for being creative and getting our mind off the news and it will also be good for the recipient to know that you were thinking of them!

Here are two cards I made with the Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper. As it happens, this paper is on sale 15% off during the month of October in the Designer Series Paper Sale! Be sure to check out the list of papers on sale so you can order your choices soon.

Forever Greenery Friend Card

This card was made with a Whisper White card base (you could use the Thick Whisper White Cardstock also) and larger margins than usual. I cut Shaded Spruce Cardstock a little smaller than usual, 5″ x 3 3/4′”. Then I chose three of the designer paper patterns and cut them into smaller pieces to make the card panels. They measured 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″. The greeting is from the Peaceful Moments Stamp Set. I cut it out with the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch and a wider strip of Shaded Spruce for a layer. I wanted a little embellishment on each end of the punched greeting so I chose the Elegant Faceted Gems. I didn’t feel like they stood out enough so I colored them with the Dark Shaded Spruce Stampin’ Blend Marker. It worked! I think they add just a little something in the right color. The Forever Greenery Paper uses several colors of greens so you can have your choice of greens that you have available.

Forever Greenery Easy Thank You Card

This card is really easy to make! Again, it uses a Whisper White card base with wider margins than usual. The layer under the Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper is Shaded Spruce. The greeting is stamped with Shaded Spruce Ink from the Peaceful Moments Stamp Set also. I used the Stitched So Sweetly Dies to cut out the greeting and for size considerations, just cut a rectangle to layer underneath. For something a little extra, I used some Just Jade Ribbon back and forth under the greeting. You could make either of these cards with any designer paper that you have so you have no excuses! Try something!

Let’s all celebrate World Cardmaking Day by sending one of our handmade cards to at least one person or stick one in your neighbor’s mailbox!

Happy World Cardmaking Day 2020!

(one of the good things about 2020!)

Forever Greenery Easy Cards

Forever Fern Card For a Friend

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This Forever Fern Card For a Friend is one that I copied from a sample in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog on page 5. The other day I was browsing through the catalog and it was one of those times that samples in the catalog were jumping out at me right and left! Some days you can’t think of any idea for a card and nothing inspires you and then other times everything you see you want to make!

Since I haven’t used this Forever Fern Bundle as much as I would have liked yet, I decided to just use a sample in the catalog to get more of a feel for the stamp set and dies. This Forever Fern Stamp Set is a Distinktive** stamp set; it has a special texture that gives added depth and dimension in a single step, creating photo-realistic images. **Patent pending. To me, that means that when I stamp with it, I am impressed and marvel at the beautiful image!

This card sample is beautiful and looks pretty fancy and involved to me, but really, when I made it, it is pretty basic. There are only two stamped ferns and the greeting. The other two ferns are die cuts.

The card base is Just Jade, one of the new In Colors, and the layered designer paper is the 2020-2022 In Color 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper. The catalog sample uses one of the other patterns of the paper. I made several cards at once so I used different paper patterns. This one has the small circles or polka dots. When you copy a sample, you can still change some of the elements. In fact, a lot of time when I think I am going to copy something, I end up with something completely different.

The designer paper is cut smaller than usual. I cut mine at 3 3/4″ x 4 3/4″ and it is pushed over to the edge of the card rather than centered. I used my Bone Folder to curl up the opposite corners a little bit. You could do that or not do that. You could center the designer paper if you chose to.

The large fern in the background is die cut from Shaded Spruce Cardstock. If you have the Adhesive Sheets and think ahead to use them, this would be a good time on this large fern with small leaves. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to put small dots of glue onto the back of the large fern. The next die-cut fern I changed up a bit. In the catalog sample, it is Smoky Gray I think. I didn’t want to use gray so I used Gold Foil. I also adhered this piece with the Multipurpose Liquid Glue. You could also pop it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

The two other pieces are stamped, one in Just Jade ink (stamped off once) and one in Granny Apple Green. Then they are die cut with the new Stampin’ Emboss & Cut Machine and the Magnetic Plate using the Forever Flourishing Dies. The greeting, in the stamp set, is stamped in Shaded Spruce Ink and die cut with the second smallest square in the Stitched Shapes Dies. I popped up the two stamped ferns with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

As to the greeting, the ribbon is layered back and forth behind it before being adhered to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The ribbon is in the Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack. The color is Terracotta Tile. If you don’t have this particular ribbon, you could use white or whatever color you have that you think will work. I ended up using two pieces of ribbon – one straight just laid across the back on a diagonal and the second piece looped on each side. I first added some Stampin’ Seal to the back of the greeting to hold the ribbon in place and then placed Dimensionals to adhere it to the card.

All in all, like I said, this is a simple card to make. Here is a card I previously made with just stamping. You can get a better idea of the look of the Distinktive stamps.

Look through the Stampin’ Up! catalogs and see what samples jump out at you. Either try your hand at copying directly, or just use them as a starting point and see where your creativity takes you. I made a few simple changes to my Forever Fern Card For a Friend so see what you choose to do!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Forever Fern Card For a Friend Closeup

Freezin’ Fun Christmas Wishes

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Freezin' Fun Christmas Wishes

Here’s a cool and icy looking Christmas Card, perfect for the skiing bunny, called Freezin’ Fun Christmas Wishes. The little guys in this stamp set are so cute you can’t help but love them! This little bunny is having fun skiing down a pretty steep slope amid the snowflakes! If you are making several designs of Christmas cards, you might like this one for a fun, whimsical card to send someone special.

I had planned to use the Feels Like Frost 6″ x 6″ Specialty Designer Series Paper. It was brought back from last year. I guess all the snowy, wintery photographic scenes on the paper were hits! As pretty as those scenic papers are, the other side with silver foil designs is also pretty and fun. It’s hard to use one side and miss out on the opposite side! For this card, the foil side won out, even though I had planned on the wintery scenes! You never know when you start creating!!

The card base is Balmy Blue with a layer of Whisper White to help the Feels Like Frost paper stand out a little. Cards with foil are always hard to photograph because of glare, but this paper is silver foil with white dots that look like snow.

I stamped the bunny from the Freezin’ Fun Stamp Set and cut him out easily with the Freezin’ Friends Dies. You can buy both the stamp set and the dies together in the Freezin’ Fun Bundle and save 10%.

The Balmy Blue oval is die cut with the Stitched Shapes Dies. In the Freezin’ Friends Dies is just a long curvy die with which I made the snowy slope. I die cut the slope just out of a scrap of Whisper White, then adhered it to the oval and trimmed off the excess with Paper Snips.

The bunny is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals skiing down the slope! Of course, I colored him with Stampin’ Blends first, which I love to do! After adhering the layers together to make the card and adhering the oval to the front, I added some Adhesive-Backed Snowflakes. Those were sure fun to stick on! You could also glue on Snowflake Sequins with teeny tiny drops of Multipurpose Liquid Glue. Be sure to grab your Take Your Pick tool when you are handling these tiny pieces! It makes it a lot easier!

The greeting is stamped in Balmy Blue Ink from the Banner Year Stamp Set. I simply stamped it on a long scrap and then punched the ends with the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch. Not being able to leave something plain alone, I had to add a couple of Rhinestones to the ends!

Even with the die-cutting, this card is pretty easy to make, simple design! Check your stash and see if you bought this designer paper last year and if so, get it out and start making some cards with it. It doesn’t even have to be just for winter or Christmas with the foil designs! If you don’t own it, you can purchase it, but wait until October 1st! There’s a designer paper sale coming!!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Join Stampin’ Up! and Get Extra Products FREE!

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You can join Stampin’ Up! as a Demonstrator and start your own business any time, but if you can get some extra free products when you join, why not join then? If you are interested now or think you might be in the near future, purchase the Stampin’ Up! Starter Kit now and take advantage of the special promotion going on for just a few more days in September! This special promotion is designed to give a new Demonstrator some extra products to help with your first event!

In addition to the regular Starter Kit (for $99 USD/$135 CAD, new recruits choose $125 USD/$165 CAD-worth of products) a new recruit will also receive enough cardstock pieces to make 16 cards, a pack of Rhinestone Basic Jewels, the So Much Love stamp set, and the Queen Anne’s Lace stamp set—all for their first event.

  • In addition to the regular starter kit (for $99 USD/$135 CAD, new recruits choose $125 USD/$165 CAD-worth of products) new recruit will also receive enough cardstock pieces to make 16 cards, a pack of Rhinestone Basic Jewels, the So Much Love stamp set, and the Queen Anne’s Lace stamp set—all for their first event.
  • 8 packs of precut cardstock of the Coastal Cabana pack will be provided, and 8 packs of precut cardstock of the Granny Apple Green pack, for a total of 16 cards (packs include envelopes). The new recruit can choose what samples to replicate and how to distribute the packs to their customers.
  • Important note: Ink, adhesive, cutting tool, and clear block for stamping must be purchased separately. However, these products may be included as part of the Starter Kit product selection.

Look on the Stampin’ Up! website to read about joining to get some information about being a Demonstrator! Then if you have any questions, just contact me! I suggest thinking about if you want someone local to you to be your Upline to help you perhaps in person. Check the Demonstrator Finder and see is someone near you is interested in having a new recruit. Otherwise, it is perfectly fine to sign up under any Demonstrator you choose who can help you via all the media we have these days – phone calls, email, messaging, whatever works! Stampin’ Up! has lots of help “behind the scenes” on the Stampin’ Up! website to help new recruits get started!

It’s fun and easy to sign up! You get to choose $125 worth of whatever product you choose and pay only $99! Now with this promotion during September, you will also get the extra cardmaking products! Free shipping on Starter Kits!! As soon as you sign up, you will receive an email from Stampin’ Up! with your Demonstrator number and with that you can sign in to the website and start exploring and thinking about how you would like to run your business. There are many ways, even in these pandemic days. I’m happy to help you and direct you to extra resources depending on what you are interested in or what will help you. We all have slightly different businesses and sizes, but it’s up to you to choose what works for you!

Get started by getting some information! Let me know if I can help! Email me at Karen@Karenstamps.com when you have questions!

This offer ends Wednesday, September 30th!

JOIN STAMPIN’ UP!

Become a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator Today!!

LAST DAY: Wed., September 30, 2020

Tag Buffet Christmas Gift Tags

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Tag Buffet Christmas Gift Tags

For some fun and relaxation, I took the afternoon and spent time making the kit I recently ordered that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on and made these Tag Buffet Christmas Gift Tags! You will find this Tag Buffet Project Kit in the Holiday Catalog on page 5. I immediately loved the images for the tags and couldn’t wait to order it! Then I forgot to order it over two orders and finally, I got it!

The project kit comes in a cute green holly print box. As long as you have a cute box, that’s almost all you need, right?! If you want, you can order the coordinating Tag Buffet Stamp Set to stamp the greetings on the tags. But if you already have a good selection of Christmas greeting stamp sets, you might have something you can use without buying a new stamp set. But I do love the ornament and stocking in this stamp set, plus the verse that you could stamp inside the card. I plan to make some extra Christmas cards and maybe more tags using this stamp set.

You get all the materials you need to make the tags, but you do need your own ink pads and Stampin’ Dimensionals. The coordinating ink colors are Real Red, Shaded Spruce, and Garden Green. The only stamping is for the greeting so really, you could get buy with any one of those colors or two if you wanted a red and green. I did use a lot of Dimensionals but I did use up some scrap edges of old sheets because no one will see them anyway! And if you don’t want to pop things up, you could just use glue or Stampin’ Seal or Stampin’ Seal+.

And if you want to, you don’t have to follow the directions at all, just do your own thing with the kit supplies. This would be a great kit for a beginning or novice stamper or crafter because all you have to do is stamp the greetings and then assemble the tags and tie them together with the included gold twine.

Since they are gift tags, I stamped the “To: From:” on the back of each of the tags before I put them together. The tags are large so if you also want to add a personal message on the back of the tag or stamp some other image, there is plenty of room! They are really nice tags!

Another thing you could do, is make the tags and then use them as a focal point on the front of a Christmas card. And what would be really fun is if you used just enough adhesive to hold it on the card but that the recipient could take off and use themselves or hang on the tree like an ornament. When I was growing up, my mother knew some people who were very rich and their Christmas card was always the fanciest one, but part of it was actually an ornament to save and use! We always looked forward to that one!

Don’t miss the Tag Buffet Project Kit in the August-December 2020 Holiday Mini Catalog on page 5! You might miss it as you rush to page through the beautiful catalog! The kit makes 30 tags!! That is 6 different designs, 5 tags each! The tags are 3 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ so that is a nice size. Your present will really stand out with these beautiful handmade tags!

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Gather Together Fall Colored Leaves Card

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Gather Together Fall Colored Leaves Card

I might have seen a tree with a few yellowish leaves at the top the other day when we were out for a walk so I was inspired to hope for fall and make this Gather Together Fall Colored Leaves Card. The weather has even been a little cooler lately (in part thanks to Tropical Storm Beta). In fact, the night before last I almost a felt a little cool on my legs wearing shorts. Yes, in Houston, Texas we are still wearing shorts, complaining about the heat, and running the air-conditioner. It kills me to see pictures way up north of trees with beautiful fall colored leaves. But fall leaves will get here, too….just not until December!

I just wanted to make a simple fall card and this is it! The card base is Cajun Craze and the layer is Shimmery White Cardstock. I love Shimmery White Cardstock, as I have said many times before. It is the tiniest bit off-white and has a very subtle shimmer. It’s also good for watercoloring if you don’t have watercolor paper.

The stamps are in the Gather Together Stamp Set. They are just inked up with Memento Ink, stamped randomly on the card, and colored in with Stampin’ Blends. Just choose a variety of fall colors and color the leaves with whatever combinations you want. I think I used the Light and Dark of Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Old Olive, Granny Apple Green, Pumpkin Pie and a few others like Cajun Craze.

The little texture stamp is also in the Gather Together Stamp Set. I inked it up with Old Olive but stamped off first on my Grid Paper so it would stamp lighter. The greeting is also in the same stamp set and I just stamped that in Old Olive Ink on a scrap strip. For some reason I decided to just let the strip extend completely across the bottom of the card. I liked it.

I hope you are beginning to see signs of fall where you live. A few houses in our neighborhood have some Halloween decorations up. I think it’s a little early but I love to put up Halloween decorations, inside and out. Maybe this year I will go a little lighter since no one will be coming in to see them. But of course making myself happy with my favorite Halloween and fall decorations is just as important!

Here is another card I made with the leaves in the Gather Together Stamp Set you can check out for another idea.

If you don’t own the Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers, you could color these leaves with a sponge or Sponge Daubers or pick up ink and color in. There are lots of coloring techniques. Try your hand at making some fall leaf cards soon like this Gather Together Fall Colored Leaves Card.

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24-Hour Stamp Sale Going On Now!

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24-Hour Stamp Sale

Stock up on stamp sets at a stellar price today! For one day only, you can purchase select cling and photopolymer stamp sets at a 15% discount. This short, stamp-tacular sale only happens once a year—you won’t want to miss out on these super savings!

For 24 hours on 23 September—from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM (MT) online—a select number of cling and photopolymer stamp sets from the 2020–2021 Annual Catalog will be available for purchase at a 15% discount.

The Online Store will have a category entitled “Stamp Sale” that displays every stamp set on sale to ensure a quick and easy shopping experience.

SHOP THE STAMP SALE ONLINE TODAY!

Here are some cards I have made with a few of the stamp sets on sale today so you can see some ideas for using them!

Snowman Season Stamp Set

Snowman Season in Plaid Tidings

Nature’s Beauty Stamp Set

Nature's Beauty Deer in the Fall

Beautiful Friendship Stamp Set

Beautiful Friendship Pink Flowers Card

Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set

Perfectly Plaid Christmas Card With Trees

Waterfront Stamp Set

Waterfront Stamp Set Mountain and Island Scenery Cards

Butterfly Gala Stamp Set

Butterfly Gala Thank You Card With Floral Garden Impressions

Bloom & Grow Stamp Set

Bloom & Grow Bird Ballad Laser-Cut Card

Hope these sample cards give you some ideas for how to use some of the stamp sets on sale today! Click on each photo to go to my blog post for details!

Have fun shopping!

Perfectly Plaid Christmas Card With Trees

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Perfectly Plaid Christmas Card With Trees

This Perfectly Plaid Christmas Card With Trees is one you can make with two stamp sets that will on sale at 15% off tomorrow, September 23 during the Stampin’ Up! Stamp Sale! This sale will only last 24 hours!

You can check out the list of select stamp sets that will be on sale on my blog post from yesterday HERE.

The sale will last basically for 24 hours on Wednesday, September 23, 2020—from 12:00 AM to 11:50 PM (MT) Remember, just select stamp sets but there are a lot to choose from.

For this Christmas card, I chose Garden Green for the card base with a layer of paper from the Heartwarming Hugs Designer Series Paper. So many great patterns to choose from for cards in this collection!

The stamp set that will be on sale is the Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set. This is a great Christmas set from last year that is now in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. There is a coordinating Pine Tree Punch that works great with the stamped trees if you want them to be cut out. I owned this Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set last year and used it a lot.

While that stamp set has lots of great holiday greetings, I also used another stamp set that will be on sale tomorrow for 24 hours, the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set. I LOVE all these Itty Bitty stamp sets! Sometimes you need a small greeting to fit on the card and these sets always have something I can use! In this Christmas set, I chose “Season’s Greetings” and then punched it out with the Classic Label Punch. To help offset it, I added a piece of Real Red behind it and snipped the ends to match the punched ends.

I stamped each tree and punched it out, then layered it on a small piece of Heartwarming Hugs DSP. Those are layered on a strip of Real Red Cardstock. To help that stand out, I added a strip of Whisper White top and bottom on the Real Red strip. The trees are popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals, the Minis and the Black ones.

If you need some stamp sets, make your list and check it twice! Save 15%! It’s something!

Stamp Sale September 23!