Category Archives: Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine

Gather Together Fall Pumpkin Card

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Gather Together Fall Pumpkin Card

Sometimes you just need to stamp and do some coloring! I needed some relaxation and stamping images randomly on a card and then coloring them with markers was just the perfect thing! I think we all need a hobby of some kind to turn to for a little stress relief and enjoyment! Stamping certainly is mine!

These pumpkins are images in the Gather Together Stamp Set which was in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog last year. You can click on that link to view the PDF of the catalog from last year and get more ideas for samples for that stamp set and dies, but of course most things in that catalog have retired. It was a favorite and I was happy to see it return this year!

There is also a set of dies that go with the Gather Together set, the Gathered Leaves Dies. You can purchase the stamps and dies in the Gather Together Bundle and save 10%! The leaves are also very pretty in this stamp set.

To make this card, stamped the pumpkins randomly on a piece of Whisper White Cardstock. I used Memento Ink since I was going to color in with our alcohol markers, Stampin’ Blends. Mainly I used the Light and Dark Pumpkin Pie with a touch of Light Daffodil or Light Granny Apple Green. I also had out Cajun Craze and used that on a few for a slightly darker shade. The stems are all Light and Dark Granny Apple Green.

After I had the pumpkins stamped and colored it, I was tempted to stamp in the empty spaces with that dotted image in the stamp set. I wasn’t sure I should and perhaps ruin my card after all that coloring. But I was daring and I did it! I chose Granny Apple Green Ink and stamped off on my Grid Paper first to make it a little lighter. Since it is a photopolymer stamp and I could see through it, I could see if the stamp was going to fit in a space so I wasn’t stamping on the pumpkins. I think it added a little something to the card!

I have to admit I was a little sloppy in my coloring on a couple of the pumpkins. I used the Color Lifter but in my opinion it doesn’t always work as well as I would like. Maybe it depends on the color. And it wasn’t that bad, but I was able to cover it with my greeting! Remember, there almost always is a way to fix a mistake…..in fact, there are no mistakes in stamping!

I stamped the greeting in the stamp set in Pumpkin Pie ink and die-cut it with the Stitched So Sweetly Dies. There isn’t something that layers perfectly underneath it, so I chose the flagged banner die in the Tasteful Labels Die Set. It barely stuck out on the sides of the greeting, so I cut it in half and was going to make each end longer sticking out from the sides. It was a little tricky to fit on the card the way I wanted it, so I got the idea to put the two pieces off on the left side almost like two tail ends of ribbon. That’s something different and it made the greeting stand out a little. The greeting is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

That’s really all these is to the card. The stamped layer was adhered to a card base of Pumpkin Pie. I tried an extra layer either in Granny Apple Green or Basic Black but I like it fine just on the Pumpkin Pie card base.

Here’s another card with stamped pumpkins from the Gather Together Stamp Set that I cut out and arranged in a group on a card.

Sometimes it is good to get back to some basic stamping and whatever coloring technique you like for a simpler card. Pick this stamp set or another one you like and stamp the image randomly for the background of the card. If you don’t want to color in, just stamp in a color. See what you can make using my Gather Together Fall Pumpkin Card as inspiration!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Don’t Stop Believin’ Santa Christmas Card

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Don't Stop Believin' Santa Christmas Card

I got this Don’t Stop Believin’ Santa Christmas Card idea from myself, from Pinterest! I happened to see my Christmas Pinterest board and spotted a card I made last year with the Holly Jolly Christmas Stamp Set and thought I could do the same thing with a current stamp this year!

I planned to call this a monochromatic card, but since there is green in the plaid paper, maybe it’s technically not monochromatic! The card does have a “red” theme, though.

The card base is Real Red Cardstock with a layer of red & green plaid in the Heartwarming Hugs Designer Series Paper. The Santa is stamped from the Don’t Stop Believin’ Stamp Set. Isn’t that the best name?! It’s really a cute stamp set, worth a look! I stamped the Santa in Real Red on Whisper White and die-cut with one of the Stitched So Sweetly rectangle dies. The next smaller one was a little too small.

I wanted a layer underneath the Santa in Real Red but the Rectangle Stitched Dies don’t fit the Stitched So Sweetly rectangles exactly. I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing, but I shortened the Stitched Rectangle so it would fit the Santa better. You can find the best technique for doing this, but I took a guess and it worked. I die-cut the rectangle part way, then moved the die up so it would be shorter, keeping the die fit into the part that was already cut. You can feel it, if it is still in its die-cut design.

Next, I stamped the word “believe” in Real Red ink from the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set. That word is die-cut with a small Stitched Shapes circle die. Then this was layered on a scalloped circle die in the Layering Circles Dies in Real Red.

There is a tiny star above the “i” and I thought it would be cute to put a small Rhinestone above it, almost like the twinkle in Santa’s eye. Actually, I’m not sure I like the rhinestone there, maybe some rhinestones scattered around the Santa would have been better. What do you think?

I popped up the Santa image and layers on Stampin’ Dimensionals and also the greeting. I had to put the Dimensional under the greeting off to the one side so it would line up with the popped up Santa image. Otherwise, one side of the greeting would be above the Santa. I did add a Mini Glue Dot to the side of the greeting that would overlap the Santa image to hold it in place there.

Here is my card from last year, the Monochromatic Real Red Holly Jolly Santa Christmas Card. This card is even a little simpler, cutting just rectangle shapes and an oval.

You might enjoy making this Don’t Stop Believin’ Santa Christmas Card with this cute stamp set, no matter which card design you come up with!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

Flowers For Every Season Thank You Slimline Card

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If you are looking to make a “happy card”, look no further than this Flowers For Every Season Thank You Slimline Card! Some days you just need something “happy” and the flowers and colors in this pretty paper will improve anyone’s mood or day!

This is what is called a slimline card since it is long and narrow. You can make these cards longer and a little less narrow and they will still fit in a business-size envelope. Since this paper is 6″ x 6″, I thought 6″ wide would be plenty slim-enough. Half a sheet of the designer paper would fit on the card front. This card will fit in that smaller regular size envelope that people use, not our good Stampin’ Up! envelopes.

For this card, I just made a card base of Whisper White at 6″ x 6″ folded in half to 6″ x 3″. I chose two patterns of the Flowers For Every Season Designer Series Paper for this card. There isn’t any margin, the designer paper is the full size of the card base. Actually the flowers and the polka dots are the same sheet of paper, opposite sides. I just cut each piece wide enough to overlap on the front of the card and adhered a ribbon across the seam of the two papers. It’s a very easy card to make.

The ribbon is the pretty Magenta Madness In Color Ribbon. I adhered it around the designer paper layer and then adhered the designer paper to the card base. I also tied a knot on each side of the greeting.

The greeting is in the Blossoms In Bloom Stamp Set. I wanted it to fit on this particular circle die cut so I stamped the words individually one above the other. Make sure the stamp is completely clean so you don’t get a bit of ink where you don’t want it. It is stamped in Just Jade Ink to match the polka dot paper, then die-cut with that pretty circle in the Tasteful Labels Dies. As extra little accents on the greeting, I cut out by hand a few flowers from the designer paper and adhered them to the greeting die cut. The greeting is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals®

If you would like to try something a little bit different but easy, try one of these narrow, slimline cards. Here is another one I made recently that I really liked making.

While we are all getting excited and beginning to get wrapped up in making holiday cards and projects out of the new August-December 2020 Mini Catalog, let’s not forget the pretty things in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. There is still time for colorful flowers like on this lovely designer paper and we could all use some bright and happy colors and cards in our lives right now so try something like this Flowers For Every Season Thank You Slimline Card.

Learn About the New Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine

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Tuesday the new Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine became available to customers so now it’s time to get familiar with the machine. Watch the video above to find out about the machine.

It’s easy to figure out the sandwich for each situation, unless the previous machine where I had to check my notes now and then to see what to use and in what order. These instructions are printed on the base platform and the plates are numbered. Note that he says in the video you don’t have to place the die in the center all the time.

Keep in mind that there are the regular, more flexible embossing folders and the 3D embossing folders that are stronger and don’t bend. The sandwiches are different for each.

https://youtu.be/gLjviY6zjOQ

I can’t wait to get my Magnetic Plate I ordered! It should be much better than the one we have had previously. There aren’t scattered magnets inside the platform which used to pull our dies off to the side sometimes. The whole piece is magnetic and it will be used as a cutting plate.

This should get you off to a good start with your new Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine!

Order yours today at Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

New Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine! And Clearance Rack Refresh!

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Cut & Emboss Machine Closed my info

Today is the day! The new Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine is here for you today, September 1st! Customers can now order this Standard Size machine in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store! (The Mini is not yet available.)

Cut & Emboss Machine Open my info

Everything you need is included when you purchase the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. Included are 1 Base Plate (Plate 1), 1 Die Plate (Plate 2), 2 Cutting Plates (Plate 3), and 1 Specialty Plate (Plate 4). You don’t have to purchase anything extra right away to use the machine.

However, if you would like, Stampin’ Up! just announced that the new Magnetic Plate (149656 $24) IS available for purchase TODAY!

“It is a thin, fully magnetic sheet with self-healing cutting surface. Magnetic Cutting Plate (Plate 5) holds dies securely in place, even nested dies. This slim, portable sheet replaces a Cutting Plate in your sandwich, making it even easier to take with you. Use with the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine.”

This means it is BETTER than the one we had with our old machine! On our old one, the magnets inside the platform were spaced around inside so when you sometimes put down a die, it would jump over a bit to the nearest magnet in the platform! This new one will have a full magnetic area. You do not NEED the Magnetic Plate with the machine BUT I highly recommend it. I’m ordering one!

So what sets our machines apart from the rest? Here are some of our favorite features:

  • Durable machines with high-quality results. The solid steel construction frame and rubber feet that securely grip the work surface produce crisp, clean, precise cutting and beautifully detailed embossing.
  • Easy to use. The machines and tools are designed for an intuitive die-cutting and embossing experience. For example, all plates are labeled with a number and are color-coded for easy reference and use when building your sandwich. And just like the name suggests, our Magnetic Cutting Plates have fully-magnetic surfaces to make it easy to securely position your dies and keep them in place.
  • Simple to store. The platforms on both machines fold for space-saving storage and they look pretty too–the sleek, clean design suits any crafting space.
  • Portable. You can use both machines at home or on the go with their folding platforms and ergonomic carrying handles. This makes it easy to showcase the product line in your classes and workshops! It’s also convenient for those of you who like to attend crops or other crafting get-togethers.

AND Stampin’ Up! added new items to the Clearance Rack (while supplies last!) so shop soon for the best selection!

Order your new Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine today and beat the rush!

Pine Tree Punch Christmas Card

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Pine Tree Punch Christmas Card

Even though we always want new things, I was happy to see a few things I already purchased last year show up in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. Two things I used on this Pine Tree Punch Christmas Card were the Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set for the greeting and the Pine Tree Punch for the Christmas trees.

I got the idea for this card by looking back at last year’s Holiday Catalog at a sample of a tag. I changed it a little bit plus made it into a card. Of course, I could have stamped the trees from the Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set and punched them out as they did on the sample from last year’s catalog, but instead, I wanted to use our new Plaid Tidings 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper for the trees. One punch and done!

Instead of doing all three trees in plaid, I punched one out of Gold Foil, but then I embossed it with the new Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder. Two trees are adhered flat to the background and the front green and red plaid tree is popped up on Black Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The card base is Real Red with a layer of Shimmery White Cardstock. I love the Shimmery White Cardstock for its very subtle shimmer. It is basically white but just a tiny shade off-white. I embossed this layer with the new Winter Snow Embossing Folder.

The circle behind the trees is actually two die cuts in Real Red. The outer one is the largest Layering Circle Die with a scalloped edge and then a Stitched Shapes Die circle on top of that.

The greeting is stamped in Real Red Ink from the same Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set on Shimmery White. I got the idea to punch just the ends out of this narrow strip using the Everyday Label Punch.

Be sure you stick in the label from the top of the punch, not from the side like usual or you will punch both ends, unless that would happen to fit perfectly, but usually when you do a trick like this you have to punch one end at a time.

I tried various ways of layering some color underneath the greeting, even thinking about leaving the greeting without a layer, but finally, I came up with red just under the top and bottom of the greeting. Then I added a Red Rhinestone on each end. If you don’t have the Red Rhinestones, just color one of your clear rhinestones with a Stampin’ Blend marker! You can have rhinestones in any color!

I also added some Snowflake Sequins on the layer behind the trees and also on two of the trees. The gold embossed tree didn’t seem to need anything else! Mixed in with the sequins are other sequins that are not snowflakes so I used a few of those on the trees almost like ornaments. Put just the teeny tiniest dab of Multipurpose Liquid Glue where you want the sequin and place the sequin with the Take Your Pick tool. If you don’t already own this tool, you should put it on your next order! It is handy for picking up sequins with the sticky end and the pointy end or spatula end are great for picking rhinestones and other things up off their sheet getting underneath the adhesive. You will use it a lot!

Once you make one of this Christmas card, you could easily do an assembly-line process of making more. Get all the pieces punched or embossed or stamped and then just assemble. Don’t make one whole card at a time, except for maybe the first one for a sample. Cut all the strips for the greeting, emboss all the card layers, punch all the trees of one color, punch all the trees of the other color, etc. etc. In some ways, you almost get muscle-memory while you are working doing the same thing over and over and it makes assembly go faster! And it’s fun to make multiple cards without having to thing of designing each one! Try it with this Pine Tree Punch Christmas Card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Snowflake Splendor Merry Christmas Card

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Snowflake Splendor Merry Christmas Card

I couldn’t help but carry on with the snowflake theme with this Snowflake Splendor Merry Christmas Card. When I made the snowflake die cuts in the card from yesterday’s post, I had these three beautiful snowflakes I could use on another card.

It might look like I watercolored the background of this card, but it is actually the Snowflake Splendor Designer Series Paper. I chose a portion of the paper that had the colors of blue and also the purple. It’s really a beautiful background and not quite the traditional Christmas colors.

The card base is Highland Heather Cardstock with another layer of Whisper White to help set off the designer paper. These are just 1/16″ margins rather than 1/8″ because I needed the width of the card for the three snowflakes. The snowflakes are die cut with the So Many Snowflakes Dies.

I adhered the three snowflakes to the designer paper with tiny dots of Multipurpose Liquid Glue. The greeting is stamped from the Poinsettia Petals Stamp Set. Then I used the Lovely Labels Pick A Punch to punch each end of the stamped strip. This punch is like two punches in one so it is really fun to use! After I insert the strip, I turn the punch over to make sure the strip is fully inserted and that it is centered. You don’t really have to be this precise, but if I think of it, I like to double-check before punching.

I could have popped up the greeting, but since I thought I would probably put an embellishment at each end, I didn’t want it to be too thick for mailing. I used the lightest color, Coastal Cabana, in the Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels in the center of each snowflake and larger ones at each end of the greeting strip.

For the inside of the card, I added a Whisper White layer and stamped a greeting from the Poinsettia Petals Stamp Set. I had also die cut a snowflake, the same as the ones on the front of the card, out of a scrap of the same designer paper, but I thought it took up too much room on the inside Whisper White layer, so I adhered it to the inside of the back of the card front.

That’s all there is to this pretty card! It’s really just the die-cut snowflakes and the watercolor look of the designer paper. If you would like to make this Snowflake Splendor Merry Christmas Card, just visit the Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Snowflake Splendor With So Many Snowflakes Dies

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Snowflake Splendor With Many Snowflakes Dies

Brand new designer paper, dies, ribbon, and even a new die-cutting machine to make this Snowflake Splendor With Many Snowflakes Dies card for the holidays! Actually, I am hoping the snowflakes will cool me off in this very hot Houston weather!

This card is actually pretty simple! The card base is Balmy Blue Cardstock and I used the new Snowflake Splendor Designer Series Paper as a layer underneath the die-cut snowflakes. The snowflakes are die-cut out of Whisper White Cardstock (Shimmery White Cardstock would be really pretty, too!) using the So Many Snowflakes Dies. As a bonus, I now have three beautifully die-cut snowflakes to use on another card or project!

The new Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine, pictured in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog is almost available! It will be available to customers on September 1, which is coming up soon! It IS available for preorder for Demonstrators (which is always a good reason to sign up!), but only the large machine. The cute Mini is not available and we don’t have a date yet. Mine just arrived and I’ve only played with it a little bit! I will post some quick photos I took of it, but I didn’t have the handle attached to it yet!

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine Closed
Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine Open
Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine Both Sides

The Stampin’ Cut & Emboss comes separately from any order you also placed with it, in a box of its own, very well packed. There are some instructions and I encourage you to read them. The handle assembly instructions are just drawings, as most manuals are these days, but there is important information in the written information just inside the cover. Please read it so you don’t void your warranty and keep it handy. Be sure to save the little wrench that comes with the machine you need to attach the handle because you may need it in the future possibly.

The machine itself is gorgeous, especially the silver embossed Stampin’ Up! logos! It’s so nice the way the platform folds up on each side for storage or just to take up less space wherever you have it. Since mine is always out on the dining room table, this might neaten things up a bit!

The platform and plates are numbered and have directions printed on the platform for the sandwiches to use for dies, thinner embossing folders and the 3D embossing folders. That is so great! Before you start, though, take a good look at your beautiful, new clean clear plates with no marks on them yet!! Just admire the beauty before they get messed up with die-cutting marks! LOL!

I found the machine to work very well and did I mention how pretty it is?! My Big Shot is still working but is ten years old and has been overhauled once by my husband a few years ago so I wonder how much longer until it konks out. I will certainly keep it as it may work for many more years, but I did have to have the new one!!

But back to the card! I die-cut the three snowflakes and then tried various designer papers underneath to see what I liked. If you want to be real persnickety, you can see if you can line up any snowflake designs underneath your die-cuts. I kind of did that and drew a pencil line around the Whisper White die-cut layer on to the designer paper and cut it out by hand, but even that wasn’t perfect so I don’t know that I would bother with that again.

The greeting is stamped in Balmy Blue Ink and die cut, as well as the Balmy Blue Cardstock layer, with the Layering Circles Dies. I was trying to make the whole greeting as small as possible to avoid covering up my die-cut snowflakes, so if you were making this same card, you might try to plan ahead with the greeting and try to arrange your dies so you have the space available that you want for your greeting. It doesn’t hurt, though, if a tiny corner of the snowflake is covered. The greeting is from the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set.

Since I had just received the Snowflake Splendor 1/4″ Ribbon, I wanted to use it and just zig-zagged it behind the greeting before adhering with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The ribbon is a little stiff and is making the greeting pop up so I probably need to work on that a little bit!

For some bling I added some Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels in Night of Navy to the center of each snowflake. You could use other things, too. Then I added a few Snowflake Sequins randomly on the card front and on the greeting. The Take Your Pick is handy for picking up these tiny snowflake sequins and placing them on the teeny tiny dot of Multipurpose Liquid Glue. I hope this Snowflake Splendor With Many Snowflakes Dies card has cooled you off from the summer heat and gotten you in the mood for holiday cardmaking!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online in the New Store! Make sure you see my name as your Demonstrator since this is a new site. If you have questions, just let me know!