Mouthwatering Popsicle First Day of Summer Card

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Today, June 20th, is the first day of summer….at least it will be by 7:09 PM (EDT). What better way to celebrate the first day of summer than with mouthwatering popsicles! In this case, the popsicles are stamped with the cute Mouthwatering stamp set!

If we had "smell-o-vision", maybe you could smell the Cherry Scented Stampin' Emboss Powder #127035 embossed into the center popsicle! Yum! Stampin' Up! says the scent should last up to 2 weeks.

After tying on the Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine #125572 with a Pumpkin Pie Brights Designer Button #119747, the card still needed something. I chose the little heart stamp in the new Make a Cake stamp set, using the same ink colors I used for the popsicles, but "stamping off" first for a lighter shade. I think it made the card look fun and cute! The popsicle colors are Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo, and Tangerine Tango.

Why not make a bright and fun card today to celebrate the first day of summer?!

It's a rainy, cooler day in Houston, TX today so not our typical hot, hot, hot summer day….but I'll take it….because tomorrow the summertime heat could return!

Join My “Stamping With Karen” Newsletter!

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If you are reading my blog and enjoy what you see, please sign up for my "Stamping With Karen" email newsletter mailing list! You will see the box in the upper left corner of my blog! I send out a monthly newsletter full of the latest Stampin' Up! news and many stamping projects, plus another short note around mid-month of reminders or newest updates.

Make an Easy Father’s Day Card!

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This easy Father's Day card will take just minutes to make! To add some texture to the background, I used the new Chevron Embossing Folder #127749…of course you could use most any folder you have…or none at all. Then I just cut strips of designer paper into little banners to decorate the front. This paper is the beautiful new International Bazaar Designer Series Paper #126920, but you could use any that you have on hand. The "DAD" is stamped with the Broadsheet Alphabet (p. 144). I kept it super simple and didn't even use layers! The card base and ink color is one of the new In Colors, Midnight Muse.

Stampin' Up! products make coordination easy and simple. Now get busy and make an easy card for the father in your life today!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

Handmade Father’s Day Gift Idea: Stamped Picture Frame

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It's getting down to the wire! Do you have a Father's Day gift yet? Here's a very easy handmade Father's Day gift idea….just make a stamped picture frame! I bet you have a picture frame of some sort around the house or they are inexpensive to buy. Either using the mat that comes with it or cutting your own from Whisper White card stock, so some stamping on the mat and insert your photo! On this one I used the My Friend stamp set. The leafy image was easy to stamp and good for a Father's Day gift.

Just to fancy it up a bit, I first inked up the stamp a bit with the new In Color Summer Starfruit, then the Gumball Green and finally some tapping with Old Olive. As long as you start with the lightest color first it won't affect your ink pads. It just gave a little bit of a varigated look to the leaves. If you had some leaf stamps, you could stamp those randomly around the mat.

Make a matching little gift card by stamping the leaves on a small card.

An easy gift for the kids to help with, and you probably have the supplies around the house! And Dad will treasure it!

Father’s Day Scrapbook Page in My Digital Studio

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How about using My Digital Studio to make a Father's Day scrapbook page for photos of Dad and the children? You can put it in a scrapbook (if you print it out) OR you can print it and frame it! You most likely can find any size frame these days, particularly one made for scrapbook pages. Add the photos where you see the black boxes. Or if you prefer, just use this design for a starting point and make it the traditional way with paper, ink and stamps! Add your embellishments and you have a great Father's Day gift. Personalize however you like!

For more information on My Digital Studio, click HERE.

It's very easy to either completely design your own page…or do like I did and start with a template in My Digital Studio and change it up how you like it!

Handmade Father’s Day Card Idea

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There are a lot of these Father's Day card ideas out there with the shirt and tie. Usually the tie, and sometimes the shirt, is an origami technique, but I wanted something easier for a handmade Father's Day card idea.

For the shirt, I started with a piece of designer paper (this one is Summer Smooches #125409 from Stampin' Up! cut 4" x 5 7/8". At the top score at 5/8" and again at 1 1/4"….that is, if you want the collar to match the shirt (so that your designer paper is folded over twice). Otherwise, just score at 5/8" if you want the other side of the paper to show for the collar. Either is great! Where you want the collar to fold in, cut in at the sides one inch. That gives you the collar separated from the shirt so you can fold that much in toward the center. Find the center of your paper (2") and fold those top tips to that mark making the collar. Use Stampin' Dimensionals #104430 under the collar edges to hold it down.

Before glueing down the collar, make the necktie. I just used a piece of the new 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Gumball Green #126848 (p. 172), tied a little knot at the top and snipped off the bottom to make a point. Then I stuck it down with a Mini Glue Dot at the top and one lower down. You could also use a little mini brad for a "tie tac". After you have the tie in place you can stick down the collar edges.

Here is what the necktie looks like:

Adhere the Father's Day shirt to a card base and add a greeting and you are done! So cute and relatively easy!

A Father’s Day Gift Idea for the Gardening/Yard Dad

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And what dad isn't involved in at least a little bit of gardening or yard work? This is a Father's Day gift the children can make with some adult supervision by Mom. Buy some roof flashing at a home improvement store, cut it out with your big shot and an appropriate die and then hang on a stake of some sort.

This is one of my photos from the San Antonio Regional back in January where I learned to make these. As you can see, you can cut out most anything with your Big Shot and then punch a hole and hang it and stick it in the yard or in a pot of flowers or a plant. Perhaps it will even scare off the squirrels from the garden….that's what we're trying to do in our garden! But it is pretty and eye-catching no matter what! The flashing has sharp edges until you run it through the Big Shot so you do need to be careful if children make this for Dad. Use your imagination! Once you make one I bet you'll have to make more!

Lovely As a Tree Father’s Day Card

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Father's Day is sneaking up on us! It's Sunday, June 17th….this Sunday!! As you have heard time and time again, this stamp set, Lovely As a Tree (p. 84) (now available in clear-mount!) is so versatile and well-loved….and perfectly suited for those difficult masculine/manly cards for any occasion.

I think the simplicity of this card will suit a father or any man in your life. You can use any background paper, layer the tree and add a greeting for whichever occasion. Teeny Tiny Wishes is perfect for most occasions!

Just stamp the tree in Black Stazon ink and color in however you like. I used a Blender Pen and various inks straight from the ink pad. I started with a little yellow (the new Summer Starfruit) because someone used to always say use a little yellow with any green. Then I colored in with the new Gumball Green and Old Olive. And there is nothing "artistic" about coloring in the greenery on the tree….just scribble on some color…really! It will look fine! The tree trunk is Soft Suede to match the card base and layers. The designer paper background layer is the new Comfort Cafe #126898. If you don't have the new papers yet, I'm sure you will be able to find something suitable in your stash. Well Worn from last year would be great…and don't overlook the subtle patterns on the back of the more dramatic sides of any designer paper.

To order Lovely As a Tree in either wood-mount or clear-mount or any other stamping supplies, please go to my Stampin' Up! Online Store HERE. Or contact me if you prefer and I'll put in your order for you!

Get started on your Father's Day cards right now if they need to be mailed..and check back this week for more Father's Day papercrafting ideas.

Cascade Mixed Bunch Birthday Card

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Maybe this will be my last Cascade Card for awhile…especially with the stamp set Mixed Bunch and the matching Blossom Punch #125603 ….but then it makes such a great card, you never know! When you are making a special card for someone, it's fun to go as over the top as you want. I added some bling with Basic Pearls and Rhinestones plus the pink rhinestones that came in the (now retired) package of Blossom Builders die cuts. I punched the leaves with the Blossom Petals Builder Punch #121808. The greeting on the front is from the stamp set Bring on the Cake. The banner in the background (that you can hardly see) is "Happiest Birthday" (and I can't remember the stamp set it is from!!).

Try a Cascade Card this weekend!

If you want to place an order, just go to my Online Store HERE!

Here is the card folded flat for mailing. I did use a larger envelope that I just had in my stash. Of course now you can make your own envelopes with the Simply Scored Scoring Tool #122334 and Simply Scored Diagonal Plate #125586.

Layered Labels Create Card

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Still playing with the new In Colors! The card base is Primrose Petals and the layer is Summer Starfruit. Then Whisper White is embossed with the Polka Dot folder for a little interest. The ribbon is the new 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Gumball Green #126848. (p. 172) Really cute!

I used two stamp sets: Layered Labels (p.103) for the "Create" at the bottom, cut out with the Apothecary Accents Framelits Die (p.191) (#127003). I stamped it again in Gumball Green so I could use the 1" Circle Punch for the word "Create" and popped it up with a Dimensional. The flowers are from Everything Eleanor (p. 112), a free stamp set we got at Stampin' Up! Leadership! It's been a long wait until we could use it! But it is a beautiful stamp set with a little bit of lots of stuff….a label, a flourish, flowers, a little bird and a lovely circle design….well, you have to look at it yourself HERE. The flowers I stamped in different colors and cut out by hand….it wasn't too bad! Paper Snips #103579 make all the difference if you are cutting little things.

You could put some other greeting on this card and have something for almost any occasion!

Betsy’s Blossoms 3×3 Note Cards

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Which card do you like better? I couldn't decide so I made each one different….perhaps each label goes better with the color of the bird! The bird, flowers and stem are stamped with Betsy's Blossoms (p. 72). The label is from Layered Labels (p. 103), but I only punched out the center greeting with the Large Oval Punch #119855. On the first card I mounted the label on the Scallop Oval Punch #119856. On the second card I just mounted the oval straight onto the card. I think maybe the second one goes better with the lighter colored bird, and maybe the Raspberry Ripple Scallop Oval goes better with the darker Midnight Muse bird!

These are little 3"x3" cards that can be used for little notes or a gift tag. Once you make one it's easy to keep making more and you should because they are handy to have on hand!

Want to get your hands on these new Stampin' Up! In Colors? Shop Online HERE!

Marking Clear-Mount Stamp Positions

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As I was going through my new stamps, I realized certain stamps are difficult to tell which way they fit back in to the rubber. I don't know if you maintain your stamps this way, but I keep the rubber that I punch out the stamps from in the stamp case, and that way I can tell if I am missing any stamp in that set. You can just have the individual stamps in your case….this was just a tip I heard when the clear-mount stamps came out and I thought it was worth trying.

Some stamps that aren't a distinct shape….like the bird in this stamp set…make it difficult to know which way it fits the best in the empty shape. (Somehow this is very difficult to explain!) So I will just show you some photos now!

I decided to just mark one spot on the stamp and the excess rubber with a permanent marker so that when I put the stamp back I will match up the lines and it will fit perfectly back into the shape without having to twist and turn it to get it right. Does that make sense??! If you look at the little bird stamp in this set, you can see that it will be easy to put back so no need for marking.

It's probabaly easiest to recognize which stamps you might want to mark this way before you even pop them out of the rubber, that way you don't have to fidget with getting them back in the empty space properly.

Try it and see if it works for you!

Stampin’ Up! Take the Cake June Recruiting Promotion

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If you would like to get in on the fun of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, why not join now? You will start with a brand-new catalog that everyone is excited about AND you can take advantage of the new promotion just announced for new recruits! Not to mention you will be starting your own stamping business to provide a source of income for yourself or your family while having fun being part of Stampin' Up!

The Take the Cake promotion runs from June 1 through June 30, 2012. Join the Stampin' Up! family during June, and not only will you get to choose up to $125 worth of products from the brand new catalog for your fully customizable Starter Kit, but you'll also get select products from our brand-new Patio Party Suite-all for the low price of $99! Plus, it still ships for FREE!

Page	Item	Description	Retail Value
44	126740	Make a Cake Set (wood-mount)*	$14.95
44	126742	Make a Cake Set (clear-mount)*	$11.95
165	126916	Patio Party Designer Series Paper	$10.95
199	127215	Patio Party Digital Collection DVD	$22.95

*Choose wood- or clear-mount; clear-mount set does not include clear blocks

For more information about becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, just click HERE.

To join, just sign up online on my website HERE by clicking the JOIN NOW button in the left column.

If you have questions or want to talk about this great business opportunity, just email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com anytime!

To view a flyer with more information about this offer, click HERE.

We {Heart} Our Hostesses Stampin’ Up! June & July Promotion!

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Can the day be any more exciting??! New Stampin' Up! Catalog and new promotion for Stampin' Up! Hostesses!

For more information, you can also click HERE.

Here are some things to know:

Online orders are not eligible.

Orders must total $450 or more (excluding tax and shipping) to qualify.
Hostesses may use their additional hostess free merchandise on any regular catalog/mini catalog merchandise. However, hostess dollars cannot be applied to 50 percent-off items.
Orders larger than $450 are not eligible for additional hostess free merchandise dollars. For example, a $900 order will not receive an additional $100 in hostess free merchandise dollars.
This offer good through July 31, 2012.

To view the flyer about this promotion, please click HERE.

Keep checking back everyday to see what else is new in the wonderful world of Stampin' Up!

New Stampin’ Up! 2012-2013 Catalog Goes Live Today…and New Ink Pads!!

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Today is the day we have all been waiting for! The new Stampin' Up! 2012-2013 Catalog will go live today at Noon Mountain Time (Stampin' Up! Time). There will be no ordering from midnight MT until noon MT.

Click image to go to Stampin' Up! Catalogs page

New Celebrando Creatividad 2012-13

Click image to go to Stampin' Up! Catalogs page

So while you're waiting, and while I'm driving back to Houston after helping my son move out of his apartment for three days, please enjoy this video from Stampin' Up! about the new firm foam ink pads by Shannon West, one of our many favorite Stampin' Up! employees!