Category Archives: Big Shot

Die Cut Flowers Black and White Birthday Card

Grab a bunch of die cut flowers in bright colors and put them on a card against black and white for a snazzy-looking birthday card. These flowers were all die cut with the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies, which sadly are retiring. If you don’t already own these dies yet, you an get them for 50% off during the Stampin’ Up! Retiring Sale! I love the way the one flower has the petals partially die cut so that you can fold up the petals a little bit if you like. Then there are all kinds of little die cuts that you can add for flower centers or as little smaller flowers. Cut some extra flowers while you are at it with your Big Shot so that you have some on hand for a last minute card!

The card is made with a Whisper White card base and layered with Basic Black Cardstock. You will be surprised to know that the designer paper that the black and white stripe piece belongs to is called Pop of Pink! The Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper was one of my favorites. And now it is on the Retiring List at a good discount! You can also get the matching Pop of Pink Designer Washi Tape for a fun accent on your cards or envelopes. There is also the Melon Mambo Thick Baker’s Twine and the Basic Black Solid Baker’s Twine for more coordinating items for your projects. And for a glittery accent, I adhered a strip of Gold Glimmer Paper between the black cardstock and designer paper in the center of the card.

The greeting on the card is stamped with Melon Mambo ink and is from the Build a Birthday Stamp Set. You could make this card for almost any occasion, or none! It’s pretty enough to stand alone and just write a note inside.

Be sure to check out the Retiring List from Stampin’ Up! Some products are already gone but there is still lots to choose from if you don’t want to miss out after May 31.

Shop Stampin’ Up! Retiring Products and More!

Easter Cross Card

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I was amazed when I saw someone make a cross out of the die cut strips in the Flourish Thinlits Dies for this Easter Cross Card. You will have to trim some of the ends with your Paper Snips to get the correct size you want. After I made the cross, I stamped some flowers from the Basket Bunch Stamp Set and die cut with the Basket Builder Framelits Dies. Both the stamp set and framelits are on sale right now on the Retiring Products List, actually a little cheaper than buying the Bundle. I cut out quite a few flowers and colored them in with markers and tried to fit them on to the cross. I just wasn’t getting the right layout. Then I finally just put one single flower in the center of the cross and that was it! Actually, when I did that it reminded me of some small wooden crosses my brother made a gazillion years ago, me might have copied one someone gave my grandma as a gift, I don’t remember. And each white painted cross had a lovely plastic flower in the center! That was the thing back then!

I also die cut several pieces of the grass with the Basket Builder Framelits and played around with using three pieces or one. In the end, I liked the simplicity of one piece of grass just as the base of the cross.

The Easter cross card base is Whisper White although it is difficult to see in the photo. Next is a layer of Soft Suede with a layer of Soft Sky over that. It’s really a very easy card and will certainly mean something to whomever you send it!

Shop Stampin’ Up! HERE with all the Retiring Products!

Don’t Delay!

Make Easy Punch Art Easter Bunnies

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If you are making some last minute Easter cards or bunny tags for Easter baskets, here are two ways to make easy punch art Easter bunnies. Punch art is always fun and easy to make and you can be so creative with your punch shapes and of course Big Shot dies.

I started with the card on the right with the Crumb Cake card base. To give a little interest, I stamped the Easter eggs from Basket Bunch randomly on the background of the card. You can do each one individually or do as I did, put all three eggs on a block and stamp! I stamped off once after inking up the stamps with Crumb Cake ink to give a very light watermark look on the card. You can achieve the same look with Versamark Ink.

For the bunny on the Crumb Cake card — I used a heart shape from the Sweet & Sassy Framelits Dies and turned it upside down. The ovals for the ears are made with the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. The face is stamped with the bunny face pieces in the March 2017 Paper Pumpkin Kit. I often forget to use the exclusive stamp set I get in each Paper Pumpkin Kit, but today I remembered! The Easter greeting is stamped with the Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set! Boy, was I glad THAT set was not on the retirement list! I use it all the time! Such a good “go-to” stamp set for almost any greeting you need! I prefer the wood-mount set. Those are little Enamel Shapes on the end of the greeting, punched with the Classic Label Punch.

The other punch art Easter bunny on the Pink Pirouette card base, is made with the 2″ Circle Punch for the face. The ears are made with the same oval die cuts as the other card. The greeting has little pearls (retired). I couldn’t resist putting a little blush on the bunny’s cheeks with some Pink PIrouette ink and adding a little bow with the Smokey Slate 1/8″ Ribbon.

Here’s another Punch Art Easter Bunny I made a few years ago. Just click the link. If you would like more ideas, just do a search in the box on the right for “bunny”.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box for new ways to use your punches and dies and other tools and accessories. There are so many creative ideas out there! If only there was enough time to make everything that is cute!

You could also use a punch art or die cut bunny on a baby card or tag for a baby gift! Bunnies aren’t just for Easter!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online! Check out the Retiring Products category!

Basket Bunch Easter Card

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Easter will be here in just one week! I don’t know where the time has gone considering Easter is late this year! Here is a Basket Bunch Easter Card that I got the basic inspiration from a card I saw online that was an egg-shaped card. Instead of making mine an egg-shaped card, which I have done in that past, like THIS CARD, I gave the impression of an egg by die-cutting an oval in the front of the card with the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. Then I cut a Whisper White layer to put behind the opening and placed some of the Basket Bunch images on that layer inside the oval as well as stamping the greeting from the Basket Bunch Photopolymer Stamp Set.

There are a lot of little dies in the Basket Builder Framelits Dies that you can use with the stamped images to die cut Easter eggs, bunnies, grass, a basket, a bow and more! So many fun choices! As I was putting this little scene together, I thought I should have had a scalloped border around the oval, but the largest scallop was too small for the shape. However, since the bottom portion was going to be covered up anyway, I just die cut the largest scalloped oval and then cut it open at the bottom to that I could “stretch” the oval around my opening to make it fit! I think it worked pretty well!

Here is a close-up of the die-cut elements of the card:

While there are a lot of Easter elements in this Basket Bunch Photopolymer Bundle , I’m sure you can see how it can also be a good set for lots of occasions leaving out the parts that say “Easter”. A basket full of flowers, for example, is good for any occasion and is made even cuter with this die cut basket. And bunnies are cute any time!

Remember, the Stampin’ Up! Retirement List comes out tomorrow, April 10th at 1:00 pm MT, which is 2:00 PM Central Time. Remember, on big days like this, there can always be computer glitches and delays so just exercise patience if you have any problems viewing the website or putting in an order.

To order anything today or to see the Retiring Products tomorrow afternoon, just go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE!

Mini Egg Cartons by Stampin’ Up! Back in Stock!

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Image (c) Stampin’ Up! 2017

The Mini Egg Cartons by Stampin’ Up! are back in stock! What a shame that they were unavailable for this length of time, but you can get them now. If you do want them for Easter and depending on where you live, you still might be able to get them in time to decorate if you order today or even over the weekend. There is even Expedited Shipping if you REALLY want them FAST!

With the popularity of the Hey Chick! Stamp Set at Sale-A-Bration, I would say these Mini Egg Cartons could be used for cute projects even after Easter, so don’t hesitate to think of other creative ideas beyond Easter.

Image (c) Stampin’ Up! 2017

As you can see, the Mini Egg Cartons come very plain, just like real egg cartons. You can spritz them with a color if you like, using the Stampin’ Spritzer and ink refills, or leave them plain and embellish according to the occasion. In the photo at the top of my blog post, you can see there is a piece of designer paper inside the lid and a matching belly band around the carton plus decorations made with the Basket Bunch Photopolymer Bundle. These can be used as a gift box or treat box. If you are looking for a different kind of presentation, this just might be it!

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Remember, the Retirement List for the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog and the Occasions Catalog comes out on Monday, April 10th at 1:00 pm Mountain Time. If there are things you REALLY wish you would have ordered already, it’s time to get them before someone else does, whether you know it’s going to retire or not. Once the Retirement List hits, all bets are off; some things sell out in the blink of an eye and many do not. So you never know. We don’t know what is on the list except for the In Colors of two years ago, so be sure to consider those first of all! You don’t want to pay high prices on Ebay later!

Check out the Mini Egg Cartons and perhaps add some In Color products to your order before Monday!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online Today!

Last Day of Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration 2017!

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This is it! Today, March 31 is the last day of Sale-A-Bration! This is Stampin’ Up!’s biggest promotion of the year so don’t miss out! Just spend $50 on any Stampin’ Up! merchandise and choose a FREE GIFT from the Sale-A-Bration products! A few are no longer available but there are still plenty to choose from! No limit to the number of gifts you can earn!

Need suggestions?

If you ever wanted a Big Shot, this is a great time to buy one! The Big Shot comes with the platform and cutting pads for $110. That earns you TWO FREE Sale-A-Bration gifts! If you want to buy some dies or anything else for $40 more, you will be at $150. You will receive THREE FREE Sale-A-Bration gifts PLUS 10% in Stampin’ Rewards….so at $150 you will get $15 to spend on MORE products!
Stock up on Adhesives! You’re going to use them anyway, might as well get $50 worth to keep on hand….or less plus other stuff, like cardstock!
Stock up on the outgoing In Colors while they are still available! There could be a rush when the Retirement List comes out in April.
Your husband called and said you should buy anything you want today from Stampin’ Up! Go for it! (especially in $50 increments!)
Buy a 3-month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription on your Stampin’ Up order – or even if you subscribe monthly, put the 3-month prepaid subscription on your order and this will be used before your monthly subscription and then revert back to your monthly order. (It’s easy, really!) The only caveat is that if you ONLY order the prepaid subscription to get a free Sale-A-Bration gift, you will have to pay minimum shipping to receive the SAB gift. So add on some other Stampin’ Up! items you want to make it worthwhile! But it’s still a way to get a free SAB gift!!

Have fun doing your Stampin’ Up! shopping today! Let me know if you have any questions!

Shop the Last Day of Sale-A-Bration!

Mini Treat Bag Birthday Pocket Card

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Two of my favorites here in this blog post: I used the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies to make this treat bag turned into a birthday pocket card AND the Cool Treats Suite of products in the Occasions Catalog! I used the Tasty Treats Specialty Designer Series Paper for the Mini Treat Bag.

Watch the pattern when you run it through the Big Shot because the popsicles on the paper are going in one direction! The first one I did I had it upside down! Since there are no mistakes in stamping, however, I will save that upside down treat bag and cut it apart and use the smaller pieces of paper on other projects! When you are working with patterned paper on any project, you do have to think about which way your design is going to go on your project and cut it or lay it out accordingly!

Although this die is named “Mini Treat Bag” you can design a card to add on the inside, which can be a greeting or hold a gift card. If you like another design, you can fold the top over and make a smaller type of little package. Click HERE to see my Altered Folded Mini Treat Bag. It was very cute, if I do say so myself!

There are lots of dies in this collection that can help embellish your Mini Treat Bag. Use plain cardstock or designer paper, your choice. It is easy to assemble and fun to make!

Today, tomorrow and Friday — these are the last 3 days of Sale-A-Bration so be sure to get your order in! If you are new, Sale-A-Bration has been going on since January but is Stampin’ Up!’s biggest promotion! You can order from the Occasions Catalog or the Annual Catalog or even the Clearance Rack!

With every $50 you spend on Stampin’ Up! merchandise (before shipping and tax) you get to choose a FREE product in one of the Sale-A-Bration Brochures.

Remember, we had a few new options released last week! Here are the choices!

Original Sale-A-Bration Brochure

New February Releases

Final Days New Releases

Not all items are still available, so if your online order says an item cannot be added that means the supply is exhausted,

It’s time to shop! Get whatever you want! If you get close to another $50 increment, add on some adhesive or reinkers or cardstock so you can get another FREE Sale-A-Bration product!

Have fun! Shop Stampin’ Up! HERE!

Cool Treats Ice Cream Sundae Card

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When I first read the Occasions Catalog, the suite that stood out to me was the Cool Treats Suite! I didn’t order it right away, but I loved everything on pages 32-33. I haven’t really had time to stamp with it yet, so when I finally did, I started with inspiration from the Occasions Catalog. I decided to mostly copy one of the cards on page 32.

Really the only stamping on the card is the greeting, the rest are all die cuts with the Frozen Treats Framelits Dies. I also did not make my card square as I believe the catalog sample is. Did you know that if you mail a card in a square envelope you have to pay a surcharge? Even if you make a square card, it is better to put it in a rectangular envelope. To stamp the greeting in the two colors, I inked it up with the lighter color, Peekaboo Peach, and then colored over on the “cherry” word with the Watermelon Wonder Stampin’ Write Marker. Always remember to “huff” or breathe on a stamp when you have delayed stamping with it to remoisten the ink.

Before I adhered the ice cream scoops and bowl onto the Whisper White layer, I sponged some Pool Party ink for the background. For the little spoon, I die cut the Silver Foil paper. How cute! Now you can die cut the sprinkles, but oh my, they are as tiny as a strand of hair! I don’t know how you glue those down, or barely even see them without magnifying glasses! So instead, I used the Sprinkles Embellishments! These are a combination of sequins and tiny pearls, all very small. Just put a tiny drop of glue on the ice cream and then add the Sprinkles Embellishments. Or maybe punch some tiny circles or stars!

The little ice cream dish is die cut from the Tasty Treats Specialty Designer Series Paper. Such cute designs on this paper! Remember that usually Stampin’ Up! makes their designer paper so that one side is bold or graphic or themed, and usually the other side is something more generic that you can use for other things as well.

You probably have seen many yummy samples of cards and other projects with this Cool Treats Suite of products. I love the colors and all the cuteness! Not to mention I love ice cream! If you like the stamp set and the dies, be sure to use the Cool Treats Bundle number to order and save 10%!

The Occasions Catalog will come to an end but not until May 31. However, if you wish to take advantage of Sale-A-Bration, this is the last week!! Can you believe it?! Get your $50 or more orders in by March 31 to take advantage of this fun promotion! A few Sale-A-Bration choices are no longer available.

If you love ice cream and other frozen treats, you might enjoy the Cool Treats Suite of products, especially with summer coming up! Lots of potential for party invitations, birthday cards, neighborhood get-togethers, happy cards!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

Easy Masculine Thinking of You Notecard

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Stampin’ Up! has so many great products that it is difficult to keep up with all of them! One very overlooked product, I think, are the notecards and envelopes which make creating a card such as this Easy Masculine Thinking of You Notecard so simple and quick. The notecards are available in Whisper White and also in Crumb Cake. Sometimes you would even rather have a smaller card with less space because you just want to write a short and quick note and notecards are perfect for this!

Another great product in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog is the Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack. There are many different designs, a lot that are perfect for masculine cards. On this Easy Masculine Thinking of You Notecard I used a Whisper White Notecard but put a layer of Soft Suede Cardstock on top and then a woodgrain patte.rn from the Serene Scenery Paper Stack. The greeting is from the Window Shopping Stamp Set and die cut with the Big Shot and the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies. Then this piece was layered on a die cut made with the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. For an embellishment, I wrapped a piece of the Kraft Rope (retired) around.

While we get very excited about the seasonal catalogs, such as the current Occasions Catalog, don’t forget to look in the main Stampin’ Up! Catalog because there are lots of goodies in there, too! In fact, this catalog will fairly soon be on it’s way out, so it would be a good idea to look through it and reacquaint yourself with the catalog so you know if there are any products in there that you want before the retirement list hits!

Check out the Stampin’ Up! Notecards and Envelopes, both in Whisper White and Crumb Cake, although I would suggest the Whisper White ones are a little more useful. You can simply stamp right on the notecard with an image and/or greeting and be done. You can’t get any quicker and easier than that! Yet you can also embellish to your heart’s desire if you want! It is also great to know that you have the proper size envelopes with the notecards.

Click here to see a similar masculine notecard I made with the Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack. We’re always looking for ideas for masculine cards and the Serene Scenery paper will really help you out!

Remember, with a $50 purchase, you get to choose a FREE Sale-A-Bration item! This promotion ends March 31.

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What You Need to Know About the Big Shot by Stampin’ Up!

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I use my Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine almost every time I am stamping or making a project. Sometimes I even realize I am using Big Shot die cuts more than I am stamping! Since I use mine SO often and love it, I think I expect that “everyone” knows about the Big Shot and probably already owns one. But I doubt that is really true, so I thought perhaps if you are person who does not own a Big Shot, maybe you would like to hear more about it. After all, during Sale-A-Bration is a GREAT time to buy a Big Shot because you will get at least TWO FREE Sale-A-Bration products with the purchase of a Big Shot! And you probably will want some other accessories, too.

The BIg Shot is a die-cutting system that you can use to to make a multitude of die cuts and embossed shapes for cards, tags, scrapbook pages, and gift and decor items. It is manual, not electric, and easy to use and move around. There are many accessories that you can add on over time to give you so many choices for projects.

The Big Shot comes with a platform and cutting pads. Then you can add on more items when you are ready. One of my favorites is the Magnetic Platform, which holds the framelits and thinlits in place. But until you have one, if you think the die might move, you can lightly use a piece of washi tape to hold the die in place. If you are going to be using the newer intricate dies, then it would be good to have the Precision Base Plate and, one of my favorite, the Big Shot Die Brush, which helps get all those little pieces released.

If you happen to watch any older Big Shot videos, you will see that the Big Shot used to come with a different platform.

If you are already a Big Shot owner, I’d like to suggest that you watch Holly’s video above for a refresher! So many things have changed with these new platforms and intricate dies that we can all use a review now and then. Perhaps make a checklist to keep by your Big Shot to remind you what goes with what! The instructions are on the platforms, I just forget to pay attention there!

Purchase a Big Shot for $110.00, add on another $40 either in accessories or other Stampin’ Up! products, and you will have a sales total of $150 which will entitle you to THREE Sale-A-Bration products, PLUS 10% ($15) in Hostess Rewards….another $15 to spend however you like! Now that’s a deal! Don’t forget, Sale-A-Bration ends March 31, 2017 so don’t delay! You will love your Big Shot!

Shop Now at Stampin’ Up!

How To Make An Easy All-Occasion DIY Gift Bag

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Save yourself a trip to the store and learn how to make an easy all-occasion DIY gift bag out of designer paper! You can make a gift bag using the Stampin’ Up! Gift Bag Punch Board or you can make one by just scoring paper to determine the size you want. I use my Paper Trimmer as I cut the paper to score with the Scoring Blade, (one comes with the Paper Trimmer) but you could also use the Simply Scored Board.

Decide what paper or cardstock you want to use. I used the beautiful Falling In Love Designer Series Paper. While I could have used either side of paper, I had planned to use this soft bokeh-look pattern and that is what I cut. But when I turned the paper over, I saw that the pattern on the other side was a butterfly print. Had I wanted to use that side and didn’t give it any thought, as you can see in the photo below, I would have the pattern going wrong, so be sure you check which way you want your pattern to go and make sure you cut the paper in the correct direction.

For this particular gift bag, I cut the paper at 6″ x 11 3/8″. I placed the paper “long-ways” (portrait) in my Paper Trimmer and scored at 1 3/8″ for the bottom flaps. Then I turned the paper “sideways” (landscape) and scored at 2 1/8″, 5 1/4″ 7 3/8″, and 10 7/16″. You can’t really see all the score lines in the photo below and the photo is not blurry! That’s the design on the paper!

As you can see, I cut out that tiny little piece on one end that you will see after you score your paper. And just to make the flap easier to fold without the top and bottom edges showing, I trimmed off the edges of the flap. This flap is where you will put adhesive to start assembling your box. As for the bottom of the paper with the 1 3/8″ scored area, just snip each score line up to the 1 3/8″ scored line to form the flaps. Assemble your gift bag and decorate!

To decorate my gift bag, I die cut a butterfly with the Big Shot and the Butterflies Thinlits Dies, the largest butterfly, out of a Gold Foil Sheet. (My daughter used to call butterflies “foof-flies”.) How beautiful is this large gold foil butterfly? And to make it even more elegant, I added some Pearl Basic Jewels to the body. After I punched a hole in the top of the bag I tied on a Whisper White 5/8″ Organza Ribbon (my all-time favorite ribbon!) using the ribbon with the gold accents in the Sale-A-Bration 3/8″ Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack (143601). You can also add a greeting or tag if you want for whatever occasion you need.

Check out another card I made when the Butterflies Thinlits Dies first came out. These butterflies are made with the smaller medium size butterfly die, cut out of designer paper.

Remember, Sale-A-Bration comes to an end on March 31 so don’t let time fly by and miss it! Remember, there are three new releases since February 21 so you have two brochures to view at that link above. One thing that is no longer available is the gold-striped Card Tin. Everything is available only while supplies last so don’t wait too long!

Make some easy all-occasion DIY gift bags to keep on hand for any last-minute gifts!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

How To Make a Hexagonal Decorated Birthday Gift Box

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This Hexagonal Decorated Birthday Gift Box is fairly easy to make and turns out really cute! I strongly suggest you watch the Stampin’ Up! video below on how to make the box, even if you have watched it before because you might need a review like I did!

To make this hexagonal gift box, use the Big Shot and Window Box Thinlits Dies by Stampin’ Up! This set of dies is amazing! Besides the basic hexagonal box shape, it has pieces to decorate the to and sides of the box with decorative little cutouts! There are also other little pieces, one makes a tag and one makes those flag ends on a strip of paper.

On this box, even though it has those decorative dies to use, I opted to just make the basic box and then decorate it with designer paper and balloons for a birthday! You can make these boxes for ANY occasion or holiday! I’ve even seen them online where it is like they are stacked to make a taller box. I’ll have to learn about that and try it! After I made the Hexagonal Window Box, I die cut a piece of the polka dot paper in the Party Animal Designer Series Paper package with just, the lid portion of the basic box die. Then I cut along the score lines or slightly inside, so that it would fit on the top lid of the box. Around the side of the box, I cut a strip of the candles pattern paper to go around. Luckily a 12″ strip does fit and even overlaps a little on the back. For the candle pattern, I cut it so that the candles themselves would be fully pictured, which meant I first cut off a strip on the edge that just had partial images of the candles. My strip is 1 3/4″ wide, but you can make yours narrower if you like depending on the pattern or look you want. Another choice would be to stamp on the box before you assemble it. After I had the paper around the side, I tied on some 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon in Emerald Envy. For the top of the box, I stamped and punched three balloons with the Balloon Adventures Stamp Set and the Balloon Bouquet Punch. I attached some Whisper White Thick Baker’s Twine to the balloons and tied on a bow. If I hadn’t tied the bow, I might have put a “Happy Birthday Banner” instead. This Hexagonal Decorated Birthday Gift Box is a cute box and can be made in any colors for any occasion. It’s big enough for a small gift or some candies or treats.

To make the window box (with or without windows!), die cut two of the basic box pieces. If you want the decorative inserts you can cut them now or cut them before you assemble the box.

One thing to remember is to cut off the end tabs of the straight strip portion on ONE piece. That is because when you go to assemble the box, you won’t need two tabs matching up, just one. Use a strong glue like the Multipurpose Liquid Glue or the Tear & Tape Adhesive.

Fold the scored lines for the tabs. I think it is easiest to glue the beginning part with the box laying flat. Just make sure everything is straight.

Enjoy the Stampin’ Up! video to learn about and how to use these Window Box Thinlits Dies!

Now are you ready to make these beautiful boxes for gifts or even just decorations or party favors? Order yours today at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE. Get the Bundle with the Window Shopping Stamp Set so you have everything you want and save 10% over buying them separately. The cost of the Bundle will earn you a FREE Sale-A-Bration product as well!

Order HERE at Stampin’ Up! Online During Sale-A-Bration!

Placing Glimmer Paper Under Die Cuts on a Card

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This blog post will be about placing glimmer paper under die cuts on a card so that you can use the beautiful new 6″ x 6″ Glimmer Paper Assortment Pack (143831) that you can earn FREE during Sale-A-Bration. You’ll find this Glimmer Paper Pack in the extra Sale-A-Bration Brochure that came out February 21 to give you a few more choices during Sale-A-Bration, which ends March 31.

I love the beautiful Special Reason Stamp Set and especially the Stylish Stems Framelits Dies. If you buy both in a Special Reason Bundle you can save 10% and you will be all set to go! It seems that Stampin’ Up! never wants us to be without flower choices! These dies are particularly unique in the way they can cut out the flowers so that makes them even more interesting.

This card isn’t what I started out making, and I have to say, I don’t like my card! But since it is really about how I made the card rather than if I loved it and since I’m a bit under the weather today, I don’t really care that this isn’t one of my favorite designs!

I was going to just die cut a big flower and two smaller ones and place the new Glimmer Paper underneath. But then I realized that what I was thinking of was having the top card layer popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals, so placing the Glimmer Paper underneath was going to be just a wee bit trickier. I couldn’t just place the glimmer paper underneath the die cuts directly, seeing what I was doing. I was going to have to adhere the glimmer paper to the card base and have it lined up perfectly with the die cut images on the layer I was going to place over it.

There was just a bit more playing around to make sure the color was under the entire area of the die cut flower without sticking out underneath the sides of the top layer or running into an adjacent flower. Once I thought I had it placed perfectly, I put a few pencil marks where the glimmer paper would go and glued down with my Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

Next I added the Stampin’ Dimensionals, with a few in the center of the card for support.

Finally I stuck on the top layer on which, of course, I had already die cut the flowers with the Stylish Stems Framelits Dies.

Now after I did that, I realized I should have already stamped a greeting on the card front! I did finally take a chance and stamped a happy birthday greeting from the stamp set but it doesn’t look that eye-catching on the card. But for today, “oh well”!

The card still looked like it lacked something so I die cut some glimmer paper leaves! They are pretty but I’m not sure they worked that well on this card. Maybe they did on the big flower, but then the little flowers didn’t have anything! So I took a chance and stamped some leaves with Mint Macaron ink around the little flowers. That didn’t look great so I added Clear Wink of Stella to the leaves. That didn’t do much, so I added the Gold Wink of Stella to the leaves! Finally I stamped the leaf veins and then I liked it a little better!

Maybe you like the card after all! In some moments I do, but I think I could do better. Sometimes you have to know when to STOP when you are designing something! My friend and I used to always say that back in the day when we were painting tee shirts and wine glasses and plates! Maybe I will give this card another shot later, but now you know one way to use the Glimmer Paper, one of the new releases for Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration, with die cuts!

Take Advantage of Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration Before March 31 and Get Something FREE!

Easy Stamped Flower Card with Special Reason Stamps

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Here is an easy stamped flower card with the Special Reason Stamp Set. I wanted this to be a quick and easy card and it was. For the card base I just used the Whisper White Thick Cardstock and I have no layers except for the greeting. To stamp the flowers and leaves, I used the 2016-2018 In Colors, all of them except Dapper Denim. The greeting is one that is in the stamp set, Special Reason, as well as the shape that it is stamped on. I forgot that the matching Stylish Stems Framelits Dies have a shape to cut out both the greeting shape and the layer underneath, so I actually just hand cut them with my Paper Snips! Not too hard at all if you don’t have the framelits! The ribbon is one of the Sale-A-Bration FREE choices with a $50 purchase of Stampin’ Up! merchandise. It’s called the 3/8″ Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack (143601) and is on page 11 of the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. One ribbon is white with silver accents and the other is vanilla ribbon with shiny gold accents woven through. It’s very soft and easy to tie and very pretty! I’ve ordered it twice!

I find that stamping a LOT on a card or scrapbook page is therapeutic. It just feels good having that stamp and block in my hand and fun to stamp randomly and see what turns out. If you need to get some stress-relief, just get out a clean piece of cardstock, choose a stamp and some ink and just stamp all over! And after what happened in our neighborhood on Tuesday, some stress-relief was in order! As I sat down to eat lunch and checked my phone, I also checked our neighborhood website for new posts. Wow! There was a warning for my street and some others nearby to stay inside, there were burglary suspects on the loose!! In about another hour, someone posted that they heard gunshots. Very unfortunately, a neighbor down the street who is a policeman, answered the call even though it wasn’t for him, and he and another policeman went into a backyard to check out a shed where the door was open. At least one suspect was in there and shot both officers, although the gang member criminal was shot and killed by a third officer. Luckily the other officer was hit “only” in the leg and foot but our neighbor was critically injured. At that point, even more police, helicopters, ambulances and news media flooded into our neighborhood and we were “sheltered -in-place” all day while they searched for the suspect who got away. Our neighborhood is not like this at all but for some reason this all happened the other day. I guess we never know what can happen from minute to minute. I plan to stamp some notecards that the officer’s wife down the street can use later on if she has people to thank and I’m sure she will. At least it is reassuring to know that the whole police community will be by their family’s side through this.

So on a lighter note, consider this pretty Special Reason Stamp Set and the Stylish Stems Framelits Dies, which you can purchase in a bundle and save 10%. The stamps have just a little texture on them, so don’t think they didn’t stamp well if you see some lighter areas. You will be able to make lots of beautiful cards and projects with this stamp set and dies.

Sometimes you just need to do some stamping, and by that I mean really pounding that ink pad and stamp to paper! Try it! It feels good! And when you do some random stamping, you can make an easy stamped flower card like this one with the Special Reason Stamp Set!

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Shimmery Heart Die Cut Engagement Card

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If you need an engagement card for an engagement party, use the Shimmery White Cardstock, which is beautiful in itself, and the gorgeous Bloomin’ Heart Thinlit Dies to make a Shimmery Heart Die Cut Engagement Card.

Here is how I made the card. The card base is Shimmery White Cardstock. The next layer is embossed with the Falling Petals Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. To me, this looks like little hearts, but I guess they are meant to be flower petals! It makes it hard to remember the name because I think the folder should be named “heart-something”! But it is a beautiful embossing folder and will be great to use on many, many cards. The heart and little flowers are die cut with the Bloomin’ Heart Thinlits. It’s best to use the Precision Base Plate with the Big Shot since this is a more intricate die, and be sure to run it through twice, depending on your machine. And I also highly recommend that you have the Big Shot Die Brush to use to get the little pieces out of the die and the die cut. Then adhere the little flowers on to the heart. I used the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper for the heart and flowers. And for a little bling, Rhinestone Basic Jewels are always good! The “Congratulations” greeting is from the Floral Phrases Stamp Set.

This card doesn’t photograph well because of the subtle shimmer of the Shimmery White Cardstock and the dazzle from the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper! In person, it looks very pretty and elegant. You wouldn’t even have to have the Falling Petals embossed background, the die cut heart is pretty enough by itself on a card. You could even color the glimmer paper with a little reinker and Aqua Painter or brush to add some lightly colored flowers on the heart. You can see this coloring technique that I did on some punched hearts on this card here on my blog.

They say June is the month for weddings, so maybe you need to start an engagement and wedding stack of cards! It’s always nice to have some extra cards on hand. When you make one card and like it, make a couple more of the same while you have the supplies out. You could also make this same card for other occasions, just by changing the greeting or leaving any greeting off. This Shimmery Heart Die Cut Engagement Card is well suited for an engagement card, wedding, birthdays, congratulations and many occasions.

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