Category Archives: Houston TX

A Summer-Themed Card for National Ice Cream Day

A Summer-Themed Card for National Ice Cream Day

What could be better than A Summer-Themed Card for National Ice Cream Day except for a real bowl of ice cream?! With temperatures as hot as they have been lately around the United States (and always in Houston, Texas!) there’s nothing like a cold bowl of ice cream.

My father loved his dish of ice cream almost every night after dinner. I think what we had growing up was actually something called ice milk. I still remember the translucent plastic container it came in. My mom saved a lot of them and they were perfect for putting cookies in or other things. So I think I got my love of ice cream from my father!

When we lived in Oklahoma when we were first married my favorite was Chocolate Almond ice cream from Braum’s. Little did I know that there would be something better waiting for me when we moved to Houston! Blue Bell Ice Cream!!! There is no other ice cream any better (if you ask us!). When Blue Bell had to shut down production a couple of years ago, we tried many other brands but nothing compared. People even had signs in their yards wanting Blue Bell to come back or that they would rather take a chance on eating it instead of watching cartons being thrown out at the stores! That’s devotion!!

In honor of National Ice Cream Day today, I made a bowl of my favorite flavor, Blue Bell Chocolate Chip! You don’t always have to have an exact stamp set to make a card. Sometimes you can just use punches or dies or parts of punches, dies, or stamps to make what you want. My ice cream scoops are cut from Very Vanilla Cardstock in different sizes of Layering Circle Dies. The bowl is a circle of a piece of pink in the Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper. After cutting the circle, I cut it in half to look like a bowl. The chocolate chips are just little pieces of Early Espresso Cardstock. It looks good enough to eat! I’m always hungry for Chocolate Chip!

Since I knew I would be using Early Espresso for the chocolate chips, I chose it for the card base, with a layer of Petal Pink and then Pool Party. To add some interest, I decided to emboss the Pool Party layer with the Tin Tile 3D Embossing Folder. I thought maybe it looked like a kitchen wall in the background! The spoon is made with Silver Foil Paper and the Perennial Flower Punch! I cut a strip of the Silver Foil wide enough but not too wide, to fit into the punch, fed from the top, to get just the petal portion punched. From that, I trimmed off the rest to round the tip a little and make the spoon handle! Kind of fun to come up with that!

I found the greeting in the Itty Bitty Birthdays Stamp Set. What greeting do you use for National Ice Cream Day? “Happy Day” seemed just right for eating ice cream!

I love some of the other Blue Bell flavors too, like Homemade Vanilla and Moo-llennium Crunch. But Chocolate Chip can’t be beat! Sometimes I like to add pecans on top.

An ice cream treat seems to always be something special, one that cools us off on a hot summer day! If you think about it, you probably have special memories of ice cream! Did you ever walk down to a corner store to buy an ice cream bar? Was there an ice cream truck that drove through your neighborhood ringing a bell or playing a tune for all the kids to run out and want to buy ice cream for a dime or a quarter? Did you have homemade ice cream made in an ice cream freezer with ice and salt?

All of these things make it important to celebrate National Ice Cream Day! It also shows how important our stamping and papercrafting is that we can make almost anything or commemorate almost anything with our crafting supplies!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Sales Tax Holidays Are Coming!

Click chart for larger copy!

Sales Tax Holidays are coming in at least a few states and some are in July! These sales tax holidays are to help with buying back to school supplies and clothes. Depending on the sales tax in your state it might not be very much, but if you buy a lot it can add up. At a minimum, it saves you a little bit of money. Of course it is not just back-to-school parents and students that get to use this Sales Tax Holiday! Anyone can as long as you buy eligible items.

I suppose since some of the Stampin’ Up! products can be used for school supplies (and how many times have we moms had to share our craft or stamping supplies with family members for school, Scout or other projects?!). Even if you don’t have a child going back to school, if you order during your state’s tax holiday you can take advantage of this savings.

Just some examples of Stampin’ Up! products that “may” qualify (depends on your state) are adhesives, markers, Stampin’ Blends (yea!), In Color Markers, Grid Paper, the new Pressed Petals Journal, Paper Snips, Watercolor Pencils, and more. Zoom in and look over that chart!

To read this Sales Tax Holiday chart, click HERE and even then you may have to zoom in on your computer screen to be able to read it. You will have to check the dates and items for your own state. Note that Alabama starts July 19-21 and Tennesee and Wisconsin are later in July. Several begin almost right away in August. Just sayin’….be ready! You can plan ahead if you are going to order.

However, remember the Bonus Days in July where you get a $5 coupon to spend in August with every $50 purchase of merchandise. Those early July states can double-dip!

I’m still thinking that school just got out for the summer (because once your kids are grown, except for school crossings when you are driving, your life doesn’t revolve around school schedules anymore) but I have already seen Back-to-School supplies out in the store! And even crazier, someone on Instagram said Halloween items are going out in craft stores already!

So it is coming up on Back -to-School time and you may be able to save a little bit of money during the Sales Tax Holidays on “your” school supplies for stamping!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

At the Movies With Stampin’ Up! New Catalog Videos

Stampin' Up! 2019-20 Catalog Cover
Click for Catalog PDF

Yesterday the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog for 2019-2020 went LIVE! It was a pretty exciting day for all, as every new catalog launch is. We love our Stampin’ Up! products! Today is a good day to watch some of the Stampin’ Up! videos and get some perspective on a few new products. I know I happened to watch the Pressed Petals video yesterday and immediately put it on my order! I read that another Demonstrator did the same thing after watching the video! I love to get the backstory on some of these stamp sets, paper, or other products if there is one! I always like behind-the-scenes information!

So grab some popcorn and a coke, a cup of coffee and a donut, a Margarita, or if you live in Houston today, an umbrella and rain boots and watch these videos! (Yes, Hurricane Season started June 1st and today we are getting “tropical moisture” from a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico!) (Not as bad as all the flooding in the midwest, though, at all.)

You have to start with this super cute fun video!

If you enjoyed the Daisy Delight Stamp Set and Daisy Punch in the previous catalog, then you are probably interested in the Daisy Lane Stamp Set and the new Medium Daisy Punch! Watch this video!

You’ve GOT to see this Pressed Petals video and learn about the paper. We will all make beautiful things with this Suite of products!

If you love hot air balloons, then this stamp set and punch are for you!  See how you can stamp and punch with proper placement.

And, like I said, I think the Good Morning Magnolia Bundle is going to be a hit! Watch this video and also learn how you can make a 3D magnolia with the Hot Air Balloon Punch!

I hope you enjoyed the videos! So much fun to have new products!

Remember, you can check out everything at the
Stampin’ Up! Online Store!


A Noah’s Ark Stamp For Rainy Houston

Noah's Ark Stamp Perfectly Paired

This Perfectly Paired Cling Stamp Set is the perfect Noah’s Ark Stamp For Rainy Houston. I wish I owned this stamp right now because we are having rainy weather in Houston……for days! No, it’s not a hurricane but there have been flooded roads, bayous, cars, and even houses just from heavy rainstorms. Luckily, we have been high and dry at our house!

All this rain was forecast ahead of time, but I don’t think it was forecast to be as bad as it was on Tuesday. I was expecting scattered showers and maybe a few thunderstorms so when it started on Tuesday afternoon I didn’t think much of it. I even texted my daughter and said we were getting a lot of thunder. By the time I had to pick up my husband at the bus, I was hoping I could drive two miles down the road and through the parking lot to get him. That worked fine but as we ate dinner, the sky REALLY opened up and the lightning and thunder were crazy….all night and during the night!

By then the news was showing the typical Houston flood scenes, cars stranded on highways and feeder roads, Good Samaritans pushing stalled cars out of the street (even a man in a new Mercedes!), and stories of kids stranded at school who were fed and were going to spend the night there! (What a bummer!) Way back when, two of my kids were stranded at school, I think Kindergarten and 4th grade, and were fed sandwiches and sent home on a school bus. While we waited anxiously for them to get home, they were having a great adventure on the bus watching the waves of water wash up into yards as the bus drove down the streets!

It continued to rain heavily all evening and through part of the night. We got at least 5″ in our backyard. Then the rain held off all day Wednesday until late evening when it all started up again. The people who were at the Astros baseball game got rained on inside because the heavy rain came through the cracks of the moveable roof! We got another 2 1/2″.

On Thursday morning as I was driving around my “Low Tire Pressure” light came on so I had to get the tire checked. Sure enough, there was a nail in it, so I had to get it patched. They were predicting rain by 1:00 pm so I just wanted this all to be done so I could get home before it flooded again!

Luckily I had grabbed my new Stampin’ Up! catalog that just came the day before to read in case I had to sit around and wait. Just before my car was done, two ladies sat down near me and I heard one say, “Do you do Stampin’ Up!?” When someone asks you that, you know they are familiar with Stampin’ Up! or they would have no idea! They saw my bag I had grabbed for my catalog and magazines with a Stampin’ Up! logo on it. Always fun to meet other stampers! Before we could talk long, my car was ready. That night it didn’t rain much at our house but other parts of town got the deluge!

No rain yesterday somehow, but it is forecast again for today. So far we have had the Seattle-like drizzle (can’t really see it but you can feel the fine mist on your face!) but could get storms this afternoon. Unless it goes south of us. We seem to be on the edge. But who knows. For all these years we have been lucky at our house on our street in the middle of the block, but I never rule out the possibility of something floody happening! You’d think if we made it through 35″ of rain during Hurricane Harvey we would never have to worry. But Tuesday night people’s houses in other neighborhoods flooded that had never flooded before.

So if I had the Perfectly Paired Stamp Set, I might make a card like this one, a Stampin’ Up! sample, for days when we get too much rain. My husband even said, since we have had the Memorial Day Night Flood, the Tax Day Flood, and the 4th of July Flood, that if it continued to rain this weekend they would call it the Mother’s Day Flood! This stamp set is designed for a new baby so it would also be appropriate for Mother’s Day! It’s on the Last-Chance List so be sure to order it if you need a Flood Day stamp set!

Noah's Ark Card With Perfectly Paired Stamp
Image © Stampin’ Up! 2019

It’s getting close to mid-May so you only have a couple more weeks of the Last-Chance List before those products retire. And don’t forget to check the Clearance Rack for some bargains as long as you are ordering!

And the Everything is Rosy Medley Collection is available only in May (and while supplies last). If you love Rose Gold, this is the collection for you. It’s the hottest trend right now! It looks pricey at first glance, but you have to consider you get the stamps, the dies, the papers, the accessories, and embellishments. AND you only have to enter one number #150059 to get it all! That’s what this collection is designed for…..the person who wants it all and can start creating with everything that coordinates!

Stamping is a good past time for rainy days and I know Houston is not the only place that has had tons of rain recently. It’s almost as good as baking cookies! So stock up now on any retiring sets and accessories you need before they are gone.

Also, keep in mind tomorrow is Mother’s Day so feel free to choose your own Mother’s Day gift at Stampin’ Up! That’s what you really want anyway, right?!

A Card Fit For the River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trail 2019 in Houston

A Card Fit For the River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trail 2019 in Houston

This Card Fit For the River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trail 2019 in Houston was inspired by our annual visit to the Azalea Trail of homes and gardens this weekend!  My husband and I have gone to this every single year except one in all the years we have lived here in Houston.  There are a number of private homes that show off their gardens and sometimes even part of the inside of their house and every one has beautiful flower arrangements inside and out.  No photos are allowed inside the homes, unfortunately, but I take lots of them outdoors!  Yes, we do have flowers and azaleas blooming in Houston, Texas!  No snow!

I thought this Petal Promenade Designer Series Paper represented some of the beautiful flowers we saw on the Azalea Trail, not to mention some of our own azalea bushes at our house that are bursting into bloom!

You can get this Petal Promenade Paper FREE during this last month of Sale-A-Bration!  Stampin’ Up! added some Annual Catalog products to the Sale-A-Bration choices!  Just spend $50 or more and choose a free product from the Sale-A-Bration choices in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store.

This card was very quick and easy to make!  The card base is made from Blushing Bride Cardstock.  The greeting is from the Forever Lovely Stamp Set and is stamped with Blushing Bride Ink on Whisper White Cardstock.  Make sure your ink pad is well inked when using light colored inks like this one. Also, do a couple of practice stamps with the ink on scrap paper, especially with the photopolymer stamps.  It usually makes them stamp the image better.  And using the Stamparatus® is good, too, because you can stamp the image again over and over if necessary since the paper and stamp do not move in between!  Purchasing the Stamparatus plus “something else” will get you a FREE Sale-A-Bration item, too, once you reach $50!

After stamping, the greeting is die-cut with one of the large ovals in the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies and then layered on a die-cut scalloped oval in the same set.  I just adhered it flat on the card with Snail Adhesive, but you could also use to pop it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I couldn’t leave well enough alone, I had to add some Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins to the greeting and around on the card!  They are so fun, especially with the adhesive already on them, and I find that the Take Your Pick tool is helpful to use in moving the sequins over to the card.

Here are just a few photos from the Azalea Trail the other day!

Azalea Trail Flower Garden
Azalea Trail Home
Azalea Trail Pool
Azalea Trail FlowerAzalea Trail Garden in BackFloral Arrangement
Pink flower on Azalea TrailAzalea Trail Topiary Bunny with wheelbarrow

I hope you enjoyed these pictures of just one stop on the Houston Azalea Trail put on by the River Oaks Garden Club!  The homes, especially this one, are just amazing.  This one was worth the price of the whole ticket itself!  You just cannot imagine the size of the lot and the home.  I think we should move right in because they had doormats with an “F” printed on them!  Just for us!  Besides the main house, there is a guest cottage, a playhouse, a treehouse, an inground trampoline, a putting green, outdoor courtyards, and verandas – just spectacular!  The previous owner of the house had probably every celebrity and famous person come to a party or “houseguest” in her home, back in the day!  It was really interesting to tour this home and garden on the Azalea Trail.

Be sure to check out all the Sale-A-Bration choices before it ends March 31st!

Need Super Bowl Football Card Ideas?

Today is Super Bowl LIII, the New England Patriots playing the Los Angeles Rams, so if you would like to make a card for your favorite football fan, here are some Super Bowl Football Card Ideas from years past!

Super Bowl 2017 Owl Punch Art Football Game Card

Super Bowl 2017 Punch Art Football Game Card

One of the most popular punches of all time (I would think!) was the Owl Punch, used to make these football players out on the field! Just using a couple of narrow strips of paper can make a card look like a football field.

Super Bowl LI Football Card

A Football Card For Super Bowl LI in Houston, Texas

A couple years ago we were so excited and proud in Houston to host the Super Bowl! Maybe someday our Houston Texans will actually be IN the Super Bowl!  Maybe!

Super Bowl 2017 Card With Punch Art Football Helmets

Super Bowl 2017 Card With Punch Art Football Helmets

Make some football helmets for your card with a few punches!  Use your team colors!

Super Bowl Sunday 2016 Football Owl Punch Card

Super Bowl Sunday 2016 Football Owl Punch Card

Here are these owls again playing football!  Substitute one of our current animal stamps if you don’t have the Owl Punch in your stash!

Join the Stamping With Karen Mailing List!

Join the Stamping With Karen Mailing List

Join my Stamping With Karen Mailing LIst!

Are you on my mailing list? We all get a lot of email, but if you like stamping, please join my newsletter list.

Every Tuesday I send out an email in the afternoon with at least one stamping project and whatever news you need to know from Stampin’ Up! The first newsletter of the month has several stamping projects with a list of supplies and complete directions.

Please share with your friends if you know someone else who might be interested, too!

If you are like me, you can never have enough stamping ideas! Even when I DO have enough ideas, I still like looking and I still can find one more idea that I think I must use!

Sign up for my weekly email newsletter HERE or on the form below and watch your email for a link to your FREE GIFT for signing up!

New Occasions 2019 and Sale-A-Bration 2019 Catalogs Go Live SOON!

Occasions 2019 and Sale-A-Bration 2019 CatalogsHere they are, the much-awaited Stampin’ Up! Occasions 2019 Catalog for spring and the Sale-A-Bration 2019 Brochure for the biggest promotion of the Stampin’ Up! year!  All of the fun starts January 3, 2019, after we get everyone sent back home and back to work and are ready to do something for ourselves!

Inside the Occasions Catalog, you will find beautiful stamp sets, coordinating dies, beautiful designer papers, new accessories and embellishments, ribbons, cardmaking kits, punches, supplies and ideas for Valentine’s Day (is the candy out already now that Christmas is over?!), masculine card ideas, cards for babies, pets, new Memories & More memory-keeping products, cactus(!), and did I mention butterflies?!

Sale-A-Bration is an exclusive promotion by Stampin’ Up! held annually for many years!  For every $50 you spend on Stampin’ Up! products, you get to choose a FREE product from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure!  Earn even bigger rewards when you spend $100 or more (all of this before tax and shipping of course!). No limit on the number of rewards. Even a special bonus when you JOIN Stampin’ Up!

Remember, the Holiday Catalog ends on January 2, 2019. Don’t forget to look through all your favorite things in there one more time. These sales also end Jan. 2nd.

SHOP the Stampin’ Up! YEAR-END CLOSEOUT SALE!

Retiring Products

Discounted Products

How do you get to see these fabulous catalogs??  On January 3, 2019 you will be able to view them online and the products in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store.  If you are a regular customer of mine, I have ordered both catalogs for you through Stampin’ Up! and you may or may not have received them by now. The catalog mail delivery is very irregular!  If you are new and do not have a Demonstrator you are currently working with, I would be happy to help you and send you complimentary catalogs so you won’t miss out!  Just send me your contact information so I can get them in the mail to you.  It’s always fun to start a new Stampin’ Up! catalog of any kind!

Let me know if you do not receive your catalogs in a reasonable amount of time. Personally, I received two SAB Brochures and not the Occasions Catalog in the mail! I don’t know what that means!!  But Stampin’ Up! will send out another catalog if customers did not receive theirs.

Hope you are still having a happy holiday season! Ours comes to an end tomorrow afternoon after the last of the kids leave!  So sad!  But it was fun while it lasted!

 

 

 

 

Stampin’ Up! Bonus Days Are Here!

Bonus Days Flyer 2018 Info

Stampin’ Up! Bonus Days are back!

When you place an order of $50 or more in August, beginning today, you will receive via email from Stampin’ Up! a Bonus Days coupon to use on a purchase in September!  Be sure to save, print out, or write down your coupon code so you have it handy in Sept. lest your email disappears or something!

If you spend multiples of $50 in one order, like $150, you will get one email with all three codes.  If you have separate orders throughout the month, each $50 or more, you will get an email after each order.

If you have an order close to $50, just add another little something to reach $50! Surely you can always use another adhesive, embellishment, or something!

Here’s one way you might want to spend that $50!

Color Your Season Banner

It’s the Color Your Season Limited Time Offer that has the Blended Seasons Bundle if you would like the stamp set and framelits dies. It’s a beautiful set and covers all the seasons you might be making cards for!  In addition, you can order a NEW set of Watercolor Pencils in new Stampin’ Up! colors to add to your previous Watercolor Pencil collection.  Be sure you have a Blender Pen or Aqua Painter to make blending the Watercolor Pencils so easy!  These pencils are not included in the Bundle.  The Bundle is just the stamp set and dies. Just order the WC pencils separately.

Have fun shopping during Stampin’ Up! Bonus Days in August!

 

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With a Handmade Margarita Card

Cinco de Mayo Margarita Card

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a handmade Margarita card like this one! Cinco de Mayo, the fifth of May, is historically a celebration of the Mexican victory over France in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla. (Who says you don’t learn history while you are stamping?!) In the United States, however, Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican heritage and culture. And what better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than with a Margarita…….at least a card!

It’s very easy to make a Margarita glass!  Vellum Cardstock is great for this because it’s kind of sturdy and yet kind of see through to it will look for glass. For the top of the glass, just die cut or punch a circle, depending on what size you want.  I used the largest circle die in the Layering Circle Framelits Dies.  Then cut the circle in half.  Color on the backside of the half circle with green ink (or whatever color your beverage is) with a Sponge Dauber or whatever you like.  For the stem of the glass, just cut a strip of the Vellum Cardstock.  Then punch or die cut a small oval for the base of the glass.  I used the smallest oval in the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies.  It’s almost impossible to hide adhesive underneath vellum so do the best you can!

The card base is the retiring Tempting Turquoise with a layer of Lemon Lime Twist.  I thought those colors would be bright and festive for this Cinco de Mayo card.

Once I had the vellum glass set on the front of the Whisper White card front, I stamped some confetti from the We Must Celebrate Stamp Set as well as the greeting from the same set.  Who would think this animal stamp set would be perfect for a Cinco de Mayo card?! This cute stamp set is retiring May 31, while supplies last, so if you love little animals, be sure to order it.  I colored in the bits of confetti with my Stampin’ Blends markers.  So fun!  And for just a little fun embellishment, I added a little bow to the glass made of the Lemon Lime Twist 1/4″ Ombre Ribbon.

Here is another Margarita glass card I made last year.

I prefer some salt on the rim of my frozen Margarita, so to make that on this card I just used a strip of Tear & Tape and added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to the adhesive.  You could also add Glimmer Paper if you had that.  Or take your Margarita without salt!

Here in Houston, Texas we have a lot of great Mexican restaurants, so my husband and I celebrated early last weekend to beat the crowds this weekend on Cinco de Mayo!  Whether you have a real Margarita or make one on a card, have a fun Cinco de Mayo!

Maybe to celebrate Cinco de Mayo you want to just shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

 

A Card For Barbara Bush

Rose Wonder Sympathy Card for Barbara Bush

Images © Stampin’ Up! 2018 www.KarenStamps.com

If I were going to make a card to send to the Bush family, I would probably make one like this Rose Wonder card with a few pearls in honor of Barbara Bush.  I would say almost all of Houston, Texas is just heartbroken since hearing of the death of Barbara Bush yesterday evening. I don’t think most of us considered the ages of Mr. and Mrs. Bush because they have been in everyone’s lives for so long and so vital in our city. So it was a shock the other day to hear that Mrs. Bush was in failing health, and as with our own family members, even when death is expected, it still is shocking and sad when it finally happens. I was heartened the other day when I heard her granddaughter, Jenna Bush, say on the Today Show that her grandmother told her not to believe everything she hears! I was hoping that meant things weren’t as dire as thought.

I remember when President Bush was still in office and people would ask what they were going to do when his term was over. They never wavered in saying they were going home to Houston, but I detected a bit of skepticism on those asking the question that a former president would go live in Houston. They did make their home here (I used to drive out-of-town friends past their street to say that’s where the Bushes lived, not that you could get into the neighborhood of course!). They were “regular people” in the neighborhood, often seen at their favorite restaurants, Barbara was seen at her favorite grocery store, George was seen at his favorite BBQ restaurant and returning movies to Blockbuster back in the day! Schools were named after them here in Houston.

It was thrilling one time to be at an Astros ballgame and saw, down in the best seats right behind home plate, that President and Mrs. Bush were in attendance! I think I watched from my seat way up high with my binoculars what the Bushes were doing more than I watched the ballgame!  They were frequent spectators at Houston games and often featured on the “Kiss Cam” at the ballgame!

Of course there was all their public service work for which they are admired and will be remembered.  But here in Houston people will remember the kind of neighbors they were in the Houston community all over the city in many aspects. So many stories on our local news of people who knew the Bushes and have such loving stories to tell about Barbara Bush. Houston and Texas, as well as the rest of the country will miss Barbara Bush, but what a full and  exceptional life she led and shared with others. Her whole family can take comfort in that.

Paper Pumpkin Flowers For the First Day of Spring!

Here are some Paper Pumpkin flowers for the first day of spring today! It might not feel like spring where you live if you are having snowstorms, and it is a bit chilly here even in Houston, but today is the Spring Equinox! So we should generally have equal hours of light and darkness. It will be a beautiful day here in Houston as soon as it warms up a bit! The azaleas are in full bloom as our the Texas Bluebonnets, at least in our backyard garden!

The Paper Pumpkin March Kit sold out even before the deadline to sign up, so there are no extras to purchase.  BUT if you missed out on this beautiful spring kit, I have a couple of deals for you!

Paper Pumpkin 50 off March 2018

If you are a new Paper Pumpkin subscriber and sign up by April 10th or May 10th, you can save 50% off the first two months of kits! That is a tremendous bargain for all you get in each kit!  You get a clear block with your first kit when you are new so you can mount the stamps.  Each kit includes an exclusive stamp set, an ink spot (a very small ink pad!), instructions (of course!), link to a video, and all the supplies you need to assemble the project!  You can follow the directions exactly or change up the design if you like! And no risk, no obligation!

Join Paper Pumpkin

If you are already a monthly subscriber, put a 3-, 6- or 12-month Prepaid subscription on your Stampin’ Up! order. You will get an email with directions for activating your account.  Even if you have a monthly subscription, Stampin’ Up! will recognize that, suspend the monthly account until after you use up your prepaid subscription and then it automatically goes back to the monthly account. Don’t worry, it’s easy!

The advantage of the Prepaid Subscription right now, during March, is that with a 3-month prepaid subscription or higher, you will earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration gift!  Add some other items to your Stampin’ Up! order so you won’t pay shipping just on your free gift!

Paper Pumpkin Prepaid Subscription Sale-A-Bration

Enjoy your first day of spring today!  Think about treating yourself to Paper Pumpkin, especially if you are new and want to take advantage of the 50% off offer! And enjoy watching the Paper Pumpkin video with spring flower cards!

 

Chinese Red Money Envelopes for Lunar New Year, Year of the Dog 2018

Chinese Red Money Envelopes1

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival.  This year is the Year of the Dog in the Chinese Zodiac. Chinese people gift family and close friends with cash money in these “lucky envelopes”. A Chinese acupuncture doctor asked me to make some red money envelopes for her so here they are!

Since it is the Year of the Dog I made some of the envelopes with “punch art” dogs. Of course I found ideas on Pinterest and other online places and used what punches I had to make what I could. But for other envelopes, I thought of other ideas, pulling out retired stamps and accessories or whatever I had! I figured lots of gold was good to use on the red envelopes either with Gold Foil paper or gold embossing or maybe some of the Eastern Gold Vinyl Stickers.

Chinese Red Money Envelopes

This is how I began, making the envelopes out of Real Red Envelope Paper (retired). If I wouldn’t have this paper, I would use Real Red Cardstock. Too bad Stampin’ Up! retired this envelope paper because it is a little lighter to use than the cardstock.  The Envelope Board was great for punching and scoring to form these envelopes, and then they just needed a little creasing with the Bone Folder and a bit of adhesive.

Chinese Red Money Envelopes2

The Big Shot came in handy as well, for die-cutting some images to embellish the Chinese red money envelopes.  On these I used the Large Numbers Framelits Dies, the Flourish Thinlits Dies, and the “Happy” from the Happy Birthday Thinlits Dies.

Chinese Red Money Envelopes

Finally I remembered I had the stamp set Color Me Happy, a special set brought out when we got the new alcohol markers, Stampin’ Blends.  You can order it even though it is not in any catalog.  Just search for it in the Online Store. This stamp set had the Chinese lanterns which were perfect for one of the envelopes! Finally I tried the “Eclipse Technique” with the Large Number Dies for the year 2018!

If you want to see envelopes I made last year, you can click HERE. It was the Year of the Rooster in 2017!

The more I worked on these Chinese money envelopes, the more ideas I got! If you want to celebrate the Chinese New Year, make some Chinese red money envelopes for the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dog! Surprise someone with a Chinese gift!