From now through the end of March is Stampin’ Up!’s favorite promotion – Sale-A-Bration! During Sale-A-Bration, for every $50 you purchase from Stampin’ Up! (no limit!) you may choose a FREE product in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. The free choices are highlighted with a pink hot air balloon beside them.
One of the stamp sets you may choose is the Any Occasions Stamp Set, a stamp set of little banners you can make for many occasions. You’ll find it on page 14 in the Sale-A-Bration Catalog.
Enjoy the Stampin’ Up! video above to see the ideas and tips for using this stamp set!
Need a Sale-A-Bration Brochure or the new Occasions Catalog? I have a few copies on hand right now. Just email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com with your contact information.
Today, January 20, 2017 is Inauguration Day here in the United States. No matter everyone’s political choices, it is the day we celebrate the peaceful transition of power from one President to the other. In honor of today, here is a red, white and blue patriotic card for Inauguration Day!
This card is made with the Balloon Adventures Stamp Set and the Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits Dies. I made it extra glitzy with the Gold Glimmer Paper, die cut with the big pop-up piece. Then I stamped the balloons with Real Red and Pacific Point Ink, punched out with the Balloon Bouquet Punch and adhered them over the Gold Glimmer paper balloons. I also stamped the banner and greeting and just cut out by hand. The red paper behind the balloons is in the Sending Love Designer Series Paper Stack. The card base is Pacific Point cardstock and cut the length of the paper, 11″ x 4 1/4″ with a fold at the top.
Just in case you don’t need an Inauguration Day card, you can easily use this card for a birthday! Lots of possibilities with this stamp set and dies! Want to save 10%? Buy the Balloon Adventures Photopolymer Bundle! Get both the stamp set and set of dies at a discount.
Yesterday we woke up to rain that was forecast, but as it turned out, it continued to rain over the same area of Houston. And when rain does that in Houston, flooding occurs. The path was from just a little southwest of us in Sugarland, up the freeway into downtown and beyond. So it was a morning of local TV stations broadcasting continuously regarding flooded areas and streets and school delays and showing alternate routes around the flooding. I don’t think we could have gotten out of our neighborhood very easily so my husband didn’t leave for work until almost lunchtime. We got a little more rain in the afternoon but nothing like overnight. Today there was even more rain this morning, but somehow it didn’t cause flooding, thank goodness, because today I had to go for an appointment! I only came across one huge puddle which probably yesterday completed flooded the highway access road I was on.
Because of two rainy days in Houston, I thought a rainy day card was in order, using the Beautiful You Stamp Set. One image has the lady with an umbrella. Perfect! I sponged on some gray clouds in the sky with Smoky Slate inkwith a piece of the Stamping Sponge. Then with one of the squiggly stamps in the set, I stamped rain puddles with Marina Mist by stamping off first on scrap paper so the color would be lighter. I actually like the way the puddles turned out!
If there is one thing I think you should buy from the Occasions Catalog, it would be the Watercolor Pencils! I love these and they are so easy to use! Just barely color in, scribble if you like, then blend with the Blender Pen which smooths it all out! I colored in the lady’s clothes in this way.
To jazz up the card a little, I paper-pieced the umbrella. That means I stamped the umbrella part of the stamp on a piece of designer paper and then cut it out. A very easy technique for something a little different. It just adds a little interest! I thought this Houston lady, out in the rain, should look snazzy with her colorful umbrella!
What a great way we have to express ourselves with stamps, ink and paper! We can even make a card for a rainy day – and other than maybe baking chocolate chip cookies, what else is better to do on a dark and gray rainy day than to stamp?!
This new designer series paper from Stampin’ Up! in the Occasions Catalog is called Party Animal, and when I saw the pattern with all the animals on it, the elephants jumped out at me. Just recently it was announced that the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus would be shutting down in May after 146 years, so the elephants on this paper made me think of the circus elephants. Of course, the circus elephants were taken out of the circus several months ago, and that may have contributed to the decline in interest in the Barnum and Bailey Circus among other circumstances. Even though I have not really been that much of a circus person, I know I have been to several performances in my lifetime, and I think it will always be thought of as an American tradition.
I think the animals on this Party Animal Designer Series Paper look so cute with their party hats on! I decided to just cut out one of the elephants from the designer paper and adhere him to an Emerald Envy piece of cardstock, punched with the 1 3/4″ Circle Punch. Then I found a Layering Circle Framelitwith a scalloped edge to die cut a piece of Crushed Curry to layer underneath the punched circle.
I started the card with a Whisper White Thick Cardstock base and layered it with a narrow strip of the squiggly pattern of the paper just on the left and then a thin strip of Emerald Envy cardstock before I layered on the animal pattern. The greeting and banner are from the Balloon Adventures Stamp Set.
Does this pattern of the Party Animal Designer Paper remind you of going to the circus, perhaps when you were a child? What was your favorite act?? If you want to see the famed Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus before it comes to an end you better find a show to see before May. And maybe the elephants have their party hats on and are enjoying their retirement.
If you recall, back in November, Stampin’ Up! released these new Stitched Shapes Framelits Diesas an early release from the upcoming new Stampin’ Up! Catalog. Well, they were SO popular that Stampin’ Up! couldn’t keep up with the demand until they got a lot more in stock! Well, that day was yesterday so now the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies are available again! I ordered mine at the time and have been using them ever since. I really love these dies! They just add a little something to the piece with the stitched look, just a little something that looks really nice. And as stampers, we are always looking for that little extra that finishes a card or project.
Here is just one sample I made with the Stitched Framelits Dies to add that stitched look border to my greeting, If you have some of the other shape dies with the scalloped edges, you can add another layer underneath the stitched shape and it adds a nice look, too.
Watch this Stampin’ Up! video for more ideas on using these framelits! Then go to Stampin’ Up! Online and order yours today! (And remember, these were originally released before the holidays!!)
Check out these dies and other products at Stampin’ Up! today! And don’t forget, with every $50 purchase you get a FREE Sale-A-Bration product!
Here is my first try making this Big Shot Die Cut Window Box with the dies from the Occasions Catalog. This was one of the products I was excited to purchase because I think it makes a beautiful little gift box and lots of other projects. To make this box I used the Window Box Thinlits Dies. For my first time, I would say the process is a little bit tedious and I don’t think this first box is the best I can do……but on the other hand, how else would you make a cute box like this in just a few minutes without Stampin’ Up! products?!
You can just use the box die to make a plain box or you can die cut the top design with any of several different dies and or the sides of the box. Lots of possibilities to explore! You can line the die cuts underneath with another color paper or Window Sheet or Vellum or whatever you like,
You can also use the dies to just make intricate designs on cards! There is also a coordinating stamp set, the Window Shopping Stamp Setthat you can use for greetings with the box. Save 10% when you buy the Window Shopping Bundle to get the stamp set and thinlits dies together. The clear-mount Bundle costs $50.25 which then earns you a FREE Sale-A-Bration item!
Watch the Stampin’ Up! video below to see how Donna Griffith at the Home Office uses these dies. You need to cut two of the box pieces in order to make the full box and she shows you how to cut off the side tabs on one of the pieces. You will see when you assemble the box that you don’t need those side tabs on the one piece because the other piece has them!
With a little practice and patience I think we will all be able to make beautiful boxes of many designs! I can’t wait to play some more!
This morning was the Chevron Houston Marathon, a very big event here in Houston, Texas, so I thought I would celebrate the day with a marathon runner card! Early this morning 27,000 runners began running through the streets of Houston, either running the half-marathon of 13 miles or the full marathon of 26 miles! It’s amazing to see the massive crowd of runners passing by, from the elite runners to the regular people who are just doing it for the experience. There are people of all kinds – I saw a few little kids running with their mom, men older than my husband (who was running the half-marathon), super-skinny people, not-so-skinny people, lots of dogs out with their owners watching from the sidelines, families watching for their loved ones, lots of people with cowbells or in costume, music, whistles, boxes of tissues, anything they could think of to inspire the runners and entertain them to take their minds off the difficult task of the run. Runners come from all over the world and from right here in Houston. It’s amazing! Only to watch, of course, for me!
To commemorate the Houston Marathon, I put together this card with Stampin’ Up! punches and paper, just making it up as I went!
Congratulations to all the runners, the people who put on the marathon, and ALL the Houston Police (HPD) and other security people I saw EVERYWHERE keeping the streets closed off, keeping the runners and observers safe. It really is a tremendous undertaking!
If you would like to make cards or scrapbook pages to commemorate the special events in your life, and just for fun, please consider Stampin’ Up! products! Everything you need for papercrafting and stamping!
When in doubt, refer to the Stampin’ Up! catalogs for an idea to make a card, like this Quick & Easy Party Animal Birthday Card that I copied directly from the new Occasions Catalog! I got my order of MORE things from the Occasions Catalog the other night but haven’t had time to play yet so I felt overwhelmed at all the possibilities! When you need ideas, one place to head is to look at the samples of the stamp set that you perhaps want to use. Of course in the Party Animal Suite in the Occasions Catalog on pages 4-5, there are tons of samples on page 4. I chose to start with the Quick & Easy card down in the corner, just to see if it was indeed “quick & easy” …… and it was! If, like in cooking, I had all my materials right at my fingertips instead of spread around the house due to Christmas decorating (which isn’t totally undone yet!), it indeed would have probably only taken me ten minutes or less! As it was, maybe it took 15-20 minutes.
To make this card, I used a Emerald Envy Cardstock card base. The Whisper White layer for the panel is cut smaller than usual, 3″ x 5″. First I stamped the polka dot balloon from the Balloon Adventures Stamp Set in the Occasions Catalog. I stamped it with Crushed Curry Ink on Crushed Curry cardstock. Then I punched it out with the Balloon Bouquet Punch. Once you have the balloon punched out, you can place it on the Whisper White panel to see where to stamp your balloon string and bow (but pick up the balloon while you do your string and bow stamping!). The balloon can cover up the top part of the string. Then adhere the balloon with a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals. Stamp the greeting from the same set with Emerald Envy ink.
Now the sample in the catalog also has some stamped squiggles on the green card base on the sides of the white layer that I didn’t see at first, so my card was even quicker and easier! Wrap some of the new Emerald Envy 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon around the card front. A quick & easy birthday card made in minutes! Make a bunch maybe in different colors and you will be set for at least a few birthdays that will be coming up!
If you are interested in ordering Stampin’ Up! products and need copies of the catalogs, please email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com with your contact information.
Remember Sale-A-Bration is going on! With every $50 you spend, you choose one FREE item from the special Sale-A-Bration Brochure!
I received a nice big box of new products from the Occasions Catalog, but I’ve been working on a project where I used this big dahlia stamp and got the idea for this Definitely Dahlia Gold Embossed Congratulations Card. Sometimes we forget about the products in the Annual Stampin’ Up! Catalogwhen we have the new seasonal catalogs. When I used the Definitely Dahlia Stamp Set(really just one big single stamp!) on the other project it reminded me how elegant and pretty the stamp was.
The dahlia is first stamped with Versamark Ink and then heat embossed with the Gold Stampin’ Embossing Powder and the Heat Tool. I think heat embossing is one of the most dramatic and easy techniques you can do. You never get tired of watching that powder melt and turn into your beautiful stamped image. I also embossed the greeting in gold at the bottom of the card. The greeting is from Floral Phrases. You could also offset the dahlia to be more in the corner of the card.
I prefer the wood-mount stamp on large single stamps like this one, although you can also buy it in clear-mount. I just like the wood-mount because it is ready to go and you don’t have to take time sticking this large stamp to the acrylic block and hoping it doesn’t fall off. Often times it is easier to lay the stamp facing stamp-side up on the table, pat the ink pad onto the stamp rather than the stamp onto the ink, and then place the cardstock on which you are stamping onto the inked stamp. Then if you don’t want to get inky fingers, grab a piece of computer paper to lay over the cardstock and rub gently with your fingers over the whole stamp area without letting the cardstock move. It usually works fine! This way you aren’t handling a large block and stamp in your hands.
The card base is Whisper White with just a bit of Gold Foil around the border of the dahlia image. You can cut out the center of the gold foil since it won’t show anyway and use that piece for something else.
Today, January 10th, is the day to sign up for Paper Pumpkin so that you will receive a red box like one of these in your mailbox around the middle of this month! You’ve had a busy holiday season, I daresay even a busy clean-up season after the holidays, and it’s time to sit down and do something for yourself when your Paper Pumpkin Kit comes in the mail with an exclusive surprise project inside! With your very first kit you will receive a clear block on which to mount the stamps that come in the kit. In each kit is an exclusive stamp set as well as an ink spot plus all the other materials you need for the project. Almost always the project is a surprise. Sometimes we get a hint or a peek, but not usually. Have some fun, relax, and be surprised!
Each project comes with directions and a Stampin’ Up! video to watch. If you don’t care for the project, make something else with the materials! For example, the December project in the kit was to make an album, but people who didn’t feel that was for them, took the pages of the album and turned them into cards!
This was the December kit:
And for another example, here is the November 2016 Paper Pumpkin Kit, which, from what I could tell, was very popular and really made some lovely Christmas cards! Not to mention all the alternate ideas people made with the kit! I know I thought it was beautiful!
Sign up by the 10th of any month to get that month’s kit. If life gets busy, pause your subscription by the 10th of any month to skip that month or to cancel. Once you are a subscriber, you can purchase any past Paper Pumpkin Kits or refills that are available. Refills come with the materials but not the stamp set or ink spot.
Sign up by the month or prepay for kits on your regular Stampin’ Up! order. For example, during Sale-A-Bration you can put the 3-month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Kit on your Stampin’ Up! order and save $5, perhaps helping you earn hostess rewards at $150 or more, not to mention earning you one free Sale-A-Bration item!
Please choose me as your Demonstrator in the appropriate spot or go directly to my Paper Pumpkin website HERE if you are doing the monthly version.
I feel sure if you try at least a few months of Paper Pumpkin, in order to get a variety of kits, you will enjoy receiving that red box in your mailbox every month! If you have any questions, just let me know!
Today is January 10th, so sign up TODAY to get the January Paper Pumpkin Kit. If you sign up tomorrow or after, that is fine, too, you will receive the February Kit in mid-February.
When you think about it, the Falling in Love Designer Series Paper, really has lots of different patterns in it, and this flowery pattern I chose for this easy all-occasion card wasn’t one that I particularly liked. But sometimes you just have to use the paper or the stamp set to find out that you do indeed like it! I loved this card after I made it!
For any Stampin’ Up! designer paper, you can look on the back of the package and see what colors coordinate with the designer paper. In this card, it was Sweet Sugarplum that went with this paper. I happened to have the tiny strip after trimming down the card, so I used that as a design element along the side of the card.
This card is very basic and simple to make. I was on an easy card-making spree while I was making this one! We don’t always need to be making the most spectacular card there ever was. Sometimes simple is best! And we know that whatever we make with Stampin’ Up! products will be very high quality even in a simple design! Just make cards, don’t be afraid to make them simple and easy! Make them and mail them! Someone needs that card you are hoarding in your stash!
For your own pack of this very pretty Falling in Love Designer Series Paper and the coordinating products in this Suite on pages 50-51 of the new Occasions Catalog, just click to shop Stampin’ Up! Online below!
One of the great new products in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure, available FREE with a $50 Stampin’ Up! purchase, is the Inside the Lines Specialty Designer Series Paper. “Adult Coloring” is such a big trend right now, but I’m sure the Stampin’ Up! stampers of the world will come up with many creative ways to use this paper! Just enjoy coloring in the designs or use it on cards and projects. Color it yourself, leave it black & white for the recipient to color, or use it just black & white. Check it out on page 11 of the SAB brochure. Watch the Stampin’ Up! video to see a couple ways to use this paper!
Shop Stampin’ Up!, perhaps the new Occasions Catalog! But you can purchase any Stampin’ Up! products! For every $50 you spend, you get to choose one of the FREE products in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. Look for the pink hot air balloons with the word “FREE” to find the free choices.
Don’t forget! If you missed getting something from the Holiday Catalog, there are a few products still available on the Carryover List!
After having fun yesterday making a gift bag (in THIS post) with the Falling in Love Designer Series Paper (and using the hearts pattern to make it look a little like Valentine’s Day), I decided to make another one with the OTHER side of the paper, this realistic-looking, beautiful lace pattern!
Once I made the bag, I just punched two holes in the top and threaded the new Sale-A-Bration ribbon that you can get FREE with a $50 purchase, the 3/8″ Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack (143601). You might overlook this ribbon in the brochure, but I can give a high recommendation for it! It’s very soft and easy to tie and beautiful, way prettier than you can tell in the photo. You get both the gold and silver rolls in the pack!
To embellish the bag, I didn’t want too much to take away from seeing the lace pattern on the paper so I just made a simple label with the Tags & Labels Framelits Dies. Since I had a scrap of Shimmery White Cardstock laying on the table, I just used that since it is just the slightest bit off-white and stamped “Love” from the Watercolor Words Photopolymer Stamp Set.I love that stamp set’s greetings – almost something for everything! For some pizzazz, I added a layer behind the greeting of Silver Glimmer Paper. Easy to do that layering with the graduated sizes of the Tags & Labels Framelits Dies!
You can get all the measurements on my post from yesterday! This would be a good time to get out your retired paper stash and make a few gift bags of several sizes and keep them on hand for gifts throughout the year like this Handmade Paper Lace Gift Bag.
The new Occasions Catalog is live as is the Sale-A-Bration promotion, so go ahead, order your heart out!
Here’s how to make a Falling in Love Handmade Gift Bag very easily! The Falling in Love Designer Series Paper will make any number of beautiful gift bags and other projects with the lovely patterns and bokeh look on many of the sheets. This bokeh look is actually a little difficult to photograph because by definition it has some blurriness in it, which also photographs as being blurry! But you will love the paper when you see it in person!
I started off making this gift bag to be for Valentine’s Day with the heart patterned paper and of course it could be. But it could also be for a wedding or shower or baby gift or birthday or any occasion! And if I used the pattern on the opposite side, that would also be beautiful!
To make this gift bag, I just cut a 12″ x 12″ piece of designer paper in half. Think about your pattern as you make something like this so the pattern doesn’t end up upside down (as I almost did!) or sideways. Your scoring and cutting will determine which way the pattern goes.
Then turn and score lengthwise at 1 3/4″ and 5 1/2″. This is where you need to think about which way the pattern of the paper is going because the 1 3/4″ area will be the bottom flaps.
Then crease all the score lines and see how your bag will go together. Cut out the small piece on the bottom edge and cut up on the score lines that will make the bottom flaps of the bag.
Apply strong adhesive to the narrow flap on the right in the photo above. Fold the bag flat in half so that you adhere the other side to this sticky flap. I used Fast Fuse Adhesive.
Decorate the gift bag how you like. I made a banner out of the Falling in Love Designer Paper that the bag is made out of but a piece that had more hearts printed on it, with a layer of Blushing Bridebehind it. For a greeting, I inked up the “Celebrate…” stamp from the Beautiful You Stamp Setwith a Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write Marker so I could omit the “…” at the end of the stamp and used that color so it would show up better on the Blushing Bride cardstock. I just stamped this on plain cardstock first and then punched with the Sweetheart Punch. To jazz up the little heart, I used the Silver Metallic Threadjust wrapped around my fingers and then adhered down a little bit on the back of the heart and then adhered to the banner on the bag. I also punched two holes in the top of the bag and tied a bow with the Silver 1/8″ Ribbon.
You can adjust the size of any bag you want to make by doing a little math. Leave the bag open at the top if you like. I almost did on this bag because the inside is so beautiful.
The Stampin’ Up! computers and systems are up and running today so if you are ready to order from the new Occasions Catalog (and who isn’t??!) and get your Sale-A-Bration rewards FREE with each $50 purchase, go right ahead! If you have any questions or problems, just let me know and I will try to help!
It’s time! The day is here! The new spring/summerOccasions Catalog from Stampin’ Up! is here as well as the biggest promotion of the year, Sale-A-Bration!
(As I write this, the whole Stampin’ Up! system is down worldwide! We hope it will be back up soon. Rest assured, they are working on it! Of all days!!!)
Here are the links for the catalogs, though! I hope you can access them!
Hopefully the system will be up soon and you can order! If you have any questions, just email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com. I will get back to you soon.
