If you make this Naturally Eclectic Card For a Friend, be sure to mail it, because we never know when someone might especially need that card that comes from you in the mail. Not to mention that it is just fun to get some “real mail” because we seldom get anything but bills and junk mail!

I just love the Naturally Eclectic Suite in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog!  It is also the suite of products that are shown on the cover of the catalog!  I think the colors are all so pretty together and the flower designs are very nice to use.

With the Oh So Eclectic Bundle, which includes the Oh So Eclectic Stamp Set and the Eclectic Layers Thinlits Dies, you can save 10% over buying the two things separately, plus you will have everything you need…….stamps and dies!  And one of the dies is very artistic and different! You’ll enjoy it!

For this card, I used the Berry Burst Cardstock for the card base and Whisper White on top of that. Layered on top of that is the Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper.  Be sure to tie a strip of Berry Burst  1/2″ Finely Woven Ribbon around the designer paper before you adhere it to the card.

Stamp some flowers and leaves and die cut with the framelits dies and Big Shot. Arrange them how you like on the front of the card, popping up a few flowers with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I also added a bit of Clear Wink of Stella to all three flowers, but the shimmer doesn’t really show up in the photo. It is so fun to use the Wink of Stella!  And the name is incredible to me, too!  The greeting I used is also included in the stamp set.

Here is another card I made with the die cut flowers from the Eclectic Layers Thinlits Dies.  I love this die cut flower!  You can layer it on top of another layer or use it as is.

Be sure to check out this interesting suite of products, the Naturally Eclectic Suite, and maybe you will want to make a Naturally Eclectic Card for a friend!

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This flowery thank you card is made with the Beautiful Bouquet Bundle, and the variations you can make with this set are endless! This Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Stamp Set comes with a multitude of images and sentiments. There are 37 stamps in this set!  You can also purchase the Bouquet Bunch Framelits Dies which comes with 21 dies for all the different flower shapes, stems, and leaves.  Buy the stamp set and dies together in a Bundle and save 10%!

The card base is Pool Party Cardstock with a layer of Whisper White.  I embossed the Whisper White with the Polka Dot Basics Embossing Folder.  I like that this adds just a little bit of interest and texture to the background.  The greeting, of course, is from the stamp set, stamped in Pool Party ink, and die cut with one of the squares in the Layering Squares Framelits Dies . There are also scalloped edges squares in this set of dies and that makes a nice background layer for the greeting.

The flowers and flower stems are all die cut with the Bouquet Bunch Framelits Dies.  I will say that if you are making a lot of cards at one time with this Bundle, it will take some time to do all the die-cutting. The best way to approach this would be to stamp images using different framelits all on one sheet of paper if you can or at least place as many as you can on the Big Shot platform so that you can cut as many images as possible in one pass. If you run each flower and each leaf, one at a time, through the Big Shot, you will be doing lots of cranking away!

I really love the stems die cut because the stems are already arranged for you and all you have to do is adhere some flowers on top!  You con’t even have to hit every stem tip. Add as many or as few flowers as you like.

You can stamp the flowers on Whisper White with colored ink or on the same color of cardstock. You can see both examples on my card.  Add some flower centers, either stamped or with Enamel Dots or other embellishments.

Before I adhered the flower stems piece, I tied a piece of Linen Thread around it.  Linen Thread is one of those staples you should have in your supply. You may not use it a lot, but it is the perfect thing to use at certain times.

Purchase the Beautiful Bouquet Bundle today or tomorrow (by July 31st) and get a $5 Bonus Coupon to use in August on a Stampin’ Up! order!  Remember, Bonus Days end on Monday, July 31.  No limit to how many coupons you can earn, with each $50 purchase.

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How about a “You’re the Best” greeting card to have in your stash for just the right occasion or person? I wanted to use my new washi tape, the Pick a Pattern Washi Tape,  so I looked in the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog for inspiration. I found a card sort of like this one, and this is what turned out! For the card design, I used the stamp set Watercolor Words. I’ve loved that stamp set ever since it came out!  Very easy to use in cardmaking and good sentiments as well!

The card base is Melon Mambo with a Whisper White layer, plus a layer of Basic Black behind the white.  I applied two strips of the washi tape at the bottom of the card layer and then stamped Melon Mambo flowers from the Watercolor Words Stamp Set across the front of the card. I actually stamped the greeting right over the flowers, but didn’t think it stood out well enough. If I was trying this card again, I might try stamping the flower each time off on scrap paper before stamping on the cardstock to get a lighter image. In that way, the greeting might show up better as the focal point on the card. But as it was, I just stamped the greeting on a new Whisper White piece of cardstock and die cut it in a circle and layered on a scalloped circle. These dies are the Layering Circle Framelits Dies. Some are plain circles and some have the scallop edge.

And is a card without an extra little embellishment?  Just had to add some Glitter Enamel Dots!

Don’t forget!  The Stampin’ Up! Bonus Days are coming to an end on Monday, July 31.  For every $50 you spend on an order, you will be emailed a $5 Bonus Coupon to use on an order in August.  No limits!

Or better yet, become a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator this month and get extra perks! Click here for more information and to join!  Just takes a little while to fill out the Demo Agreement and choose your products for your Starter Kit.  After you submit everything, you will be emailed your Demo number and you are official in minutes!

Use my “You’re the Best” greeting card design as inspiration to make your own card! As long as you have your stamps, ink and paper out, make several cards of the same design, then you’ll have them ready to go!

Want to make a simple yet elegant card for any occasion?  This Eclectic Die Cut Flowers and Polka Dots Card will fit the bill!  You will need a Big Shot in two ways to make this card. The top card layer is embossed with polka dots and the flowers are die cut with thinlits. Then just assemble it!

The card base is Whisper White, layered with another piece of Whisper White cardstock that has been embossed with the Big Shot and the Polka Dot Basics Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  This is a great folder to have, polka dots work with a lot of designs and sometimes just add that little something that the card needs!  You could certainly also make this card with a card base the same color as one of the flowers instead of white.

The flowers were meant to be one of each of the new InColors, but I somehow got two of the same colors in there.  But there are no mistakes in stamping and this didn’t make a bit of difference. No one will say, “Oh no, she didn’t use the right colors!”  The flowers are die cut with the Eclectic Layers Thinlits Dies.  The greeting is stamped with an image in the Oh So Eclectic Stamp Set and just punched out. I think it works real well with this card.  It’s there but not real intrusive so you notice the flowers more.

Overall, the Oh So Eclectic Bundle (save 10%!) and the coordinating beautiful Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper make for a beautiful suite of products!  The samples on the cover of the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog are made with this suite of products.  You know they must be good if they are on the cover of the Stampin’ Up! Catalog!

If you would like to see another card I made with this suite, click HERE.

If you are interested in Stampin’ Up! products and would like a catalog, please email me at Karen@Karenstamps.com.  I have a few more catalogs left before I have to order more. It’s always better to have the hard copy to look at, in my opinion! I’d be happy to be your Demonstrator to help you in your stamping and papercrafting!

Learn how to use the new Stampin’ Up! Dynamic Embossing Folders with Donna Griffith from the Home Office!  I find it handy to write down the various sandwiches for the Big Shot, now that we have various tools and techniques (too many to keep in my head all the time!), on a post-it note or piece of paper and keep it right by my Big Shot. Some days I might remember and some days I might not, so that note is always there to remind me!

These Dynamic Embossing Folders came out in the last Holiday Catalog and are really something! It’s amazing what a different look it gives to embossing than the regular folders. It’s just a very strong, deep, dimensional image on your paper.

It is suggested that you spritz the paper a little before embossing and run through the Big Shot twice. It only takes a little and dries pretty quickly. Don’t soak the paper or get it too wet, just a spritz!  You can even order the Stampin’ Up! Spritzers, or several, to use in other ways as well.

Click here to see a card I made using the Cable Knit Dynamic Embossing Folder.

Just click on the images below to get more information on each Dynamic Folder.

Try at least one Dynamic Embossing Folder on your next Stampin’ Up! order! They are really interesting! Be sure to choose the ones with the word “Dynamic” in the name! They are mixed in with the regular embossing folders – and you might want to choose one or more of those as well! Embossing Folders are so great for adding just that little bit of texture or interest when your card or project needs a little something more.

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Ruffled Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
$10.00

Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
$9.00

Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
$9.00

Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
$10.00

Garden Trellis Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
$7.50

Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
$10.00

Sometimes it is fun to just get out one stamp set or suite of products and just play with those instead of combining several stamp sets, colors, dies, etc.  Here is one of the cards I made, the Oh So Eclectic Die Cut Design Card, using the some of the products in the Naturally Eclectic Suite.

I was quite interested to play with the oblong image in the Eclectic Layers Thinlits Dies. I started with the card base of Fresh Fig and added a layer of the stripe pattern in the Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper  to go behind the die cut. This paper has the look of watercolored imperfect stripes. You can also leave the area plain behind that die cut (I don’t know what shape to call it!) if you have some other colored paper behind it or just the card base.  Then I stamped and die cut the three flowers and leaves and added a bit of Clear Wink of Stella, which gives a very subtle shimmer to the flowers, not picked up in the photo.

Since the stamps are clear-mount (or you can choose wood-mount), you can’t see through them to do the 2-step stamping BUT since it all has that watercolored look, nothing has to be perfect. And really, if you are die-cutting you will not notice at all that you didn’t overstamp perfectly. And not everything has to be perfect, remember, when you are making a handmade card!  It’s handmade, not machine-made!

I think you will be able to make lovely creations with the Naturally Eclectic Suite of products! If you would like to order some or all of them, you will find them in the Stampin’ Up! Catalog on pages 132-33. Just click the picture of the catalog on the right side of my blog to go to the Catalog PDF.  Or email me with your contact information and I would be happy to mail you a catalog and be your personal Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator!

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Hopefully you and your family had a fun and happy 4th of July, whether it started last weekend or was just today or maybe you are on vacation or celebrating the rest of this week! We had a quiet day at home until we went to a very nearby fireworks display with our friends that we always watch fireworks with. Amazingly, after a blistering hot day, the evening, at least by 8 pm was perfectly lovely out and with a nice breeze, so it was perfect weather to watch fireworks! I’d love to see the fireworks downtown, but I love being back home in a few minutes instead of in all that traffic!

Here’s a Stampin’ Up! video you will enjoy about the Home Life Stamp Set and Welcome Home Framelits Dies with Donna Griffith from the Stampin’ Up! Home Office. Not only does she talk about the stamp set and dies, but she gives lots of good tips for using this set.

Check it out in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog!  Lots of good things in there!  Let me know if you would be interested in a copy!  Email me with your contact information.

And remember, July is Stampin’ Up! Bonus Coupons to spend in August!  For more information, read this blog post HERE. With every $50 you spend on Stampin’ Up! products, you will be emailed a $5 coupon to spend in August! Be sure to keep track of the emails and codes! Purchase the Home Life Bundle and you will get a Bonus Coupon!

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