Here’s a thank you card that is easy to make with my Stamparatus!  I just placed the stamp on the card where I wanted it, lowered the Stamparatus lid to pick up the stamp, inked it up, and then stamped.  With the Stamparatus you can move the plastic plate down to the next hinge and the next to get the various lines of stamping.  Can you imagine how long it would take to do that by hand and get it all straight??

I like to put a piece of window sheet over the card stock particularly with a greeting that I want placed perfectly because I can stamp the window sheet and see how it will look on the card.  If the stamp is slightly crooked, I can correct it and re-stamp.  When I have it right, I just remove the window sheet, clean it off, and stamp directly on the cardstock.  With the Stamparatus the paper doesn’t move so you can stamp over and over and the paper is in the same place.  If the image didn’t stamp dark enough, just reink the stamp and lay the plate back over the cardstock and stamp.  Perfect positioning!

Stampin’ Up! has come out with some new accessories for the Stamparatus®!  I’m especially happy about the Small Grid Paper that easily fits in the Stamparatus to protect surfaces but mainly to give you lines for lining things up. Just like the big Grid Paper I use all the time for stamping.

There are extra Stamparatus Plates if you want even more stamp arrangements to have handy and another Foam Mat.  If you want to order all three items, just order the Accessories Pack.

Just think how handy the Stamparatus will be for making holiday cards this year!

Today is the Autumnal Equinox so here is a First Day of Fall Pumpkin Thinking of You Card to celebrate!  Equinox means equal light so most places will see equal amounts of daylight and night. I was hoping the Autumn Equinox would mean Houston, Texas would cool off to comfortable temperatures with low humidity, but I don’t think that’s what it means!  In fact, it means the opposite! It’s not going to feel like fall here for a long time yet!

My card is one that came out of nowhere. I couldn’t really think of what to make but I knew I wanted to use the pumpkins on the paper in Toil & Trouble.  Eventually, I chose another paper in the package for the background on the card that would go with a few of the cut-out pumpkins. I just cut out a few pumpkins with my Paper Snips.  I chose the Crumb Cake 3/8″ Classic Weave Ribbon to tie around the front of the card. I chose the greeting from the Rooted in Nature Stamp Set because I didn’t want it to be a Halloween card.

Just to make sure I stamped the greeting just right on the designer paper, I used my Stamparatus! I used a piece of vellum over the paper on which I was going to stamp so that I could “test” the stamp to make sure I had it positioned correctly. When it looked okay, I removed the vellum and stamped right on the designer paper.  I wasn’t sure the ink was dark enough, so I just reinked the stamp and stamped again!  You can’t do that without a Stamparatus!  If you don’t have a Stamparatus yet, you might want to get one for yourself!

I hope you will have a lovely first day of fall!  I wish I was going to be seeing colored leaves and wearing a warm flannel shirt and jacket tomorrow!  But I will be starting to think about pumpkins and fall and Halloween decorations that will be coming soon!  I hope this First Day of Fall Pumpkin Thinking of You Card gets you in the mood for a lovely fall season!

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(Be sure to use your Bonus Coupon Codes from August if you earned some!)

One of my favorite things to do since I first learned about Stampin’ Up! and stamping was coloring with Watercolor Pencils. We had a set of Watercolor Pencils back 16 years ago or so when I started stamping as a customer, but they were not the exact Stampin’ Up! colors.  They went away for years, then they were brought back in an assortment of Stampin’ Up! colors. Of course, for us stampers, one assortment is not enough!  We need more colors!  So during the month of August, you can buy a second assortment of colors of Watercolor Pencils! These pencils will likely be in a future catalog, but if you want them now, you better purchase them in August so you don’t have to wait!

I decided to make my card using the Oh So Eclectic Stamp Set and Stazon Ink to stamp three flowers to later color.  The leaves are stamped in Granny Apple Green, stamped off once first.  The card base is Flirty Flamingo Cardstock with a layer of Whisper White. When I was finished, I stamped the little images around in the empty spaces of the card with Flirty Flamingo Ink. Then I tied on a piece of Crumb Cake Twine from the Nature’s Twine assortment to embellish the card.  The greeting is from the same Oh So Eclectic Stamp Set.

I love the Watercolor Pencils because you don’t have to be really precise.  Notice how I colored in the flowers rather sloppily in the photo below!  Just lay down some color.  You can always go back and add more or mix two colors, whatever you like.

Then, use a Blender Pen or Aqua Painter to smooth out the coloring. On Whisper White Cardstock I prefer the Blender Pen (used lightly) so that the paper doesn’t pill from too much moisture. For more serious watercoloring, use Shimmery White Cardstock or even better, Watercolor Paper.

Here is a closer look AFTER I used the Blender Pen to smooth out the colors.

The original set of Watercolor Pencils has 13 colors:  Basic Black, Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White.

The second assortment, Watercolor Pencils Assortment 2, have 10 colors:  Balmy Blue, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Flirty Flamingo, Garden Green, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Night of Navy.

Watercolor Pencils are a great inexpensive way to have a lot of colors at hand for coloring. Be sure to pick up this second assortment during August to avoid a wait! Also check out the Limited Time Blended Seasons Bundle and save 10% on both the stamps and dies. (The Watercolor Pencils are not included in this Bundle.)

I know you will have fun coloring with the new Watercolor Pencils and trying different techniques!

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BONUS DAYS with every $50 purchase!

Today is the day we’ve been excited about – the launch of the new Stampin’ Up! 2018-2019 Annual Catalog! To welcome the new catalog, I made a Hello Card with the Accented Blooms Stamp Set!  I think it is a bright and happy card  which reflects the way we feel today about a new catalog available to us!

Perhaps you have received your own copy of the new Stampin’ Up! catalog or seen new products used online. In just a few more hours, you will finally be able to order those new products you have been longing for!

The Stampin’ Up! ordering website is currently unavailable online while they transition to the new products. Ordering should begin by Noon (MT) – I always say “Stampin’ Up! Time” because they are located in Utah, in the Mountain Time Zone.  That will be 1:00 PM Central, 2:00 PM Eastern and 11:00 AM Pacific. This is a day for patience as a higher number of customers may be ordering!

To make this card, I used a new stamp set, Accented Blooms, available to Demonstrators during our pre-order period. It’s unique in that a couple of the greetings in the set FIT into a space created by the stamp – which also fits the Tailored Tag Punch.  I decided to make a 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ sized card using the bright and happy new In Color Pineapple Punch!

Instead of using Whisper White cardstock for the card layer, I used Shimmery White Cardstock so I could do some coloring.  The flowers are stamped with Stazon ink, making a comeback in the new catalog!  I’m thrilled!  If we are watercoloring, we need to use Stazon ink, not Memento. Then, for a change of pace, I used my Watercolor Pencils and an Aqua Painter to color the flowers and leaves.  You just apply a little bit of color with the pencils and blend it with either the Aqua Painter or Blender Pen.

The Hello greeting is stamped in Pineapple Punch Ink.  I punched it out with the Tailored Tag Punch, but then I trimmed it a bit along the edges so I could layer it on a Tailored Tag in Basic Black.  Then this is popped up in the open space with Stampin’ Dimensionals. For a finishing touch, I added the new 5/8″ Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon around the bottom and just tied a knot.  A bow was too much.

It’s like the world has stopped this morning while we await the new catalog transition at Stampin’ Up! and can begin ordering from the new catalog!  If you are interested in Stampin’ Up! products and do not have a Demonstrator you are currently working with, I would be happy to help you and mail you a complimentary catalog if you would like one.  The catalog will also be available online in a few hours!  Just email me with your contact information at Karen@Karenstamps.com.

Enjoy the NEW CATALOG DEBUT DAY!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online today at Noon MT!