A Card For the Total Eclipse of the Sun 2024

Today is the big day! The day of the Total Solar Eclipse 2024 that many people have been looking forward to! We are here in Central Texas hoping for at least a little parting of the clouds so that we can see the actual eclipse with our fancy glasses we bought months ago!

Of course, I had to make a card to commemorate the big event! This is my vision of the moon coming between the sun and the earth on this day at just the right time to line up and perfectly cover the sun. This will be the last total eclipse across the United States for another twenty years!

For this card, I had to have darkness so I started with a card base of Basic Black. I used two inks and Blending Brushes on Basic White for the dark sky. I used Pebbled Path first and then Starry Sky. Of course, I could have just used Basic Black cardstock but that wouldn’t be as interesting. I just colored and colored with the Blending Brushes until I had a dark enough color.

For the eclipse representation, I used the Deckled Circles Dies. I thought they were perfect because they say the sun will peek out behind the mountains of the moon and the corona of the sun will have an uneven edge. So the Deckled Circles Dies were better than punched circles!

I chose this one in the Color & Contour Stamp Set (sold out) for a greeting. I first thought I would cut out the word ‘amazing’, but I decided the whole sentiment was fine. Because the total eclipse is “absolutely amazing”. I stamped it with Versamark Ink and used Gold Embossing Powder to make it special.

I’ll have to let you know later how the eclipse turned out! It seems a lot quieter here than we expected. Perhaps a lot of people changed their plans when it turned out the forecast was for clouds obscuring the eclipse and maybe some storms afterward. We expected massive traffic jams everywhere but we haven’t seen that so far although there are more popular places to see the eclipse than where we are. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we will have a break in the clouds at the right time and that we have the full experience of this magnificent event!

Fresh As a Daisy Hello Card

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If you like a quick and easy card, this one is it! The pretty designer paper with the daisies is part of a panel of all different designs on one sheet of paper. All you have to do is cut it apart and make it into a card.

This Fresh As a Daisy Designer Series Paper has been a favorite the past year that we have had it in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. But now it is time for it to retire, although the Cheerful Daisies Stamp Set and Dies are returning to the new catalog! If you want the Bundle, order it before the catalog retires and save 10%.

For this card, I made the card base Boho Blue, the In Color from last year, so it will be sticking around another year. Under the designer paper panel, I added a layer of Basic White which helps it stand out a little bit with the white flowers.

Before adhering the designer paper to the layer of Basic White, adhere a piece of the Boho Blue Ribbon around the lower portion. I tied a separate bow and adhered it with a couple of Mini Glue Dots.

The greeting is stamped from the Irresistible Blooms Stamp Set. It is cut out with a die in the Something Fancy Dies. This little hexagon shape fit perfectly. For a little interest, I used a Light Boho Blue Stampin’ Blend Marker to add some dotted lines around the edge of the shape since there is not layer to help it stand out. It is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

That’s all there is to that card! Very pretty with very little effort! Let the designer paper do the work!

Shop the Last Chance Products SOON, April 9th!

New Things From the New Catalog!

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One of the best parts of my week was the new Stampin’ Up! 2024-2025 Annual Catalog arrived! This was the complimentary copy I got as a Demonstrator, but hopefully, the ones I ordered for my customers will arrive in a couple of weeks as well! You can’t see the inside yet, but here are some of the goodies I got in my Demonstrator pre-order that arrived yesterday!

New In Colors! At first glance I thought two of the colors looked exactly the same – Summer Splash and Shy Shamrock! But as I got used to them a little, I can tell they are different.

Peach Pie, Pretty in Pink (a returning color from years ago!), Summer Splash, Petunia Pop, Shy Shamrock

The In Color ribbons are really nice, I think!

New In Color Embellishments AND the new Basic Beige Ribbon. (I forgot to order the cardstock and ink!)

The thing we always say about Stampin’ Up! designer series paper…It is SO much prettier in person than you think looking at the photos online! I wasn’t too thrilled looking at the online photo of this paper, Unbounded Beauty Designer Series Paper, but once I opened the package I thought it was really beautiful paper! You’ll like it! Very pretty colors!

The three stamp sets I ordered. I’m always looking for more greeting choices. I thought the Simply Said Stamp Set and the Unbounded Love Stamp Set had some useful choices. I just couldn’t pass up the Layers of Beauty Stamp Set (plus the dies and the decorative masks for coloring in the flowers!).

This embossing folder is a “WHOA!” It’s giant size! Looks rather interesting. I put a piece of cardstock inside so you could see the design.

This is the Saying Something Ephemera Pack. You get two of the same sheets. There are three other ephemera packs to choose from! Great for scrapbooking but also for making easy cards!

The Unbounded Love Dies! I think these will be useful dies to own for making frames and labels!

The Layers of Beauty Dies for that big bouquet of flowers that you can color with the Layers of Beauty Decorative Masks which I didn’t photograph and haven’t played with yet.

I also got the new Stampin’ Blends in the In Colors, the Ink Pads, the 12″ x 12″ cardstock because sometimes you want a 12″ x 12″ piece of paper! Maybe there’s something else. And I do know I forgot to order some things but there is plenty of time to catch up! Now to find some time to play with all these pretty new things!

Only 3 more days until the Last Chance Sale begins at Stampin’ Up! on April 9th for the retiring products in the Annual Catalog and the Spring Mini! Not everything is discounted, of course, but a lot of things are in the Annual Catalog. Be sure to check it out as early as you can.

Flowering Zinnias Note Card

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I’m calling this the Flowering Zinnias Note Card, not because it is of the Stampin’ Up! Notecard size, but because I didn’t add a greeting to the front. Either a greeting can be added or it can just be a card in which to write a note with no special occasion in mind!

Don’t forget about the new products in the Online Exclusives, like the Flowering Zinnias Designer Series Paper and if you like, the Simply Zinnia Bundle with stamp set and dies. The Online Exclusives is going to be an ongoing thing with Stampin’ Up! so that we can continually get new products to purchase without waiting for a new catalog. So always remember to look in the Online Exclusives when you are shopping!

The card base for this card is Berry Burst cardstock. Then I used the Radiating Stitches Dies to diecut a frame out of Basic White cardstock for a frame around the flowers. It is the largest one in the set. The background inside that white frame is a leafy pattern of paper in the Flowering Zinnias DSP. Mine is cut at 3 1/8″ x 4 1/2″. Then I just cut out assorted flowers from the designer paper plus a few leaves. The two flowers on each side of the center are adhered flat on the card and the center flower is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. Those leaves are already attached to the flower in the paper.

This Flowering Zinnias Designer Series Paper is so bright and cheerful, I know it will brighten up the day of the person you send the card to!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Don’t Forget About Paper Pumpkin!

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Paper Pumpkin April 2024 Kit Delicate Wings

Most everyone loves butterflies so most everyone will love this Paper Pumpkin Kit! Now that April is here, it’s time to get serious about signing up for the April Paper Pumpkin Kit and maybe purchase the Add-On dies that work for three months’ worth of kits! Paper Pumpkin is the papercrafting kit that comes to you in the mail once a month! I say it’s a gift you give yourself….or maybe even others, especially if you would like to craft with a family member or friend!

This April Kit is called Delicate Wings. Send elegant words of encouragement and support to those you love. The photo above shows you one card design with a pop-up butterfly and champagne foil behind it. It’s very elegant looking! Lots of champagne foil in this kit!

Kit Details:
· Makes 9 cards: 3 each of 3 designs with 9 coordinating envelopes
· Precut paper pieces and butterfly designs
· Champagne foil images, sentiments, and labels
· Coordinating colors: Lost Lagoon, Moody Mauve, Basic Beige, Basic Gray (Classic Stampin’ Spot), Basic Black, champagne foil
· Partial pop-ups to make your cards shine!

Express your gratitude and add something special to each of your crafting projects with the Thanks & Beyond Dies! Cut out a butterfly outline and a separate detailed piece that nests inside to create a partial pop-up feature. You can also add the sentiment to any card front or use the hexagon label for whatever you need. We love how these dies offer more options for not only April, May, and June Paper Pumpkin kits but also any other crafting projects.

The Add-on details:
· Item number: 164397
· Name: Thanks & Beyond Dies
· Price: $12.00
· Availability: available for purchase on the online store starting March 11 and while supplies last.
· Includes: 4 dies

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY SO YOU DON’T MISS OUT!

Cheerful Daisies Brightest Birthday Card

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This Cheerful Daisies Brightest Birthday Card is one that I made because I haven’t used this set in a long time. There’s always something new to try out and use, and lots of times, the sets we have had for a while get buried in the pile of forgotten stamp sets! If you love this stamp set and dies, you will be happy to know it is carrying over into the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog (not an April Fool’s joke!) coming in May! They have included a section called “Encore” of stamp sets returning from previous catalogs. I love new things but I’m always happy to see some of the stamps, dies, and other products returning in the new catalog.

This card uses the Cheerful Daisies Stamp Set and Cheerful Daisies Dies. Until the new catalog comes out, you can buy the Cheerful Daisies Bundle and save 10%. When the new catalog comes out, the stamp set and dies will be sold separately and you won’t get the discount. There will be new Bundles of new products but not the carryover ones.

The card base is Basic White because I thought that would look good with the white daisies. The background paper is a pattern on the other side of one of the daisies papers in the Fresh As a Daisy Designer Series Paper. This paper is retiring soon even though the stamp set and dies are returning. Beginning April 9th, this paper will be discounted by 20% so if you love daisies, this paper is for you!

The group of daisies on the card is from a whole die in the Cheerful Daisies Dies. The three daisies and two leaves together are all on one die. Of course, they are all white being cut out from the Basic White cardstock, but then you can color in the flower centers and the leaves. I used Daffodil Delight and Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends. Then because I wanted a little more, I cut out the skinny foliage piece from Granny Apple Green cardstock that I adhered under the one diecut daisy. The extra leaves are the bottom of the large daisy are diecut from Granny Apple Green cardstock although perhaps I should have done those on Basic White and colored them with Stampin’ Blends as I did the attached ones. I cut the two leaves apart so I could adhere them where I wanted to.

The greeting is stamped from the Cheerful Daisies Stamp set on Basic White and diecut with a label in the die set. It is stamped in Boho Blue to match the background. Since I wanted a bright layer underneath it, I also diecut a Daffodil Delight label and cut it horizontally in half. Then I adhered it top and bottom to the white greeting and even though it doesn’t extend out to the sides, it looks like it was made perfectly to layer under the greeting.

For some embellishment, I added some Iridescent Rhinestones sprinkled around the card. These have been some of my favorite embellishments, but they are retiring. These will be discounted 40% beginning April 9th so be ready to grab some of those before they go away!

You could make this card for other occasions, just change the greeting! Daisies are almost always perfect for a card! Here is another card using the pretty Fresh As a Daisy Designer Series Paper and stamped and diecut daisies and leaves. Check out these products!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Happy Easter To You!

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Happy Easter To You & Your Family!

(I think this cute illustration could be an inspiration for a card! Just cut off the right side of the card front and then “hide” the bunny and flowers partly behind the card front! Maybe I’ll have to try it!)

Easy Easter and Spring Treat Bag

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Here’s one last Easter project for you if you need something last minute, maybe to put some candy or a small gift inside! Or make it and keep it for your own Easter decor! You can even leave it out for Spring and really, summer. Leave off the Easter Bunny! To make this Easy Easter and Spring Treat Bag, I used the Flowering Zinnias Designer Series Paper. I used the sheet that has flowers at the top and bottom with a white space in between. You can vary the height of this project if you want to make it a little shorter or cut the paper in half at 6″, right in the middle of the white portion.

I cut the designer paper at 12″ x 6 3/4″. Of course, you can use any kind of designer paper or even cardstock. I like the idea of the beautiful flowers right there on all sides of the bag. The piece of designer series paper is scored at 1 3/4″, 5 1/2″, 7 1/4″ and 11″. Make sure your pattern is going the correct direction, then score the bottom flaps at 1 3/4″. Optional: If you like the pattern on the other side of the bag, score at the top of the paper about 1/2″ so you can fold that down for a nice pattern on the front of the bag at the top. Or, you can glue an extra strip around the outside of the top of the bag if you prefer.

Cut the score lines for the flaps, up to the horizontal score line. Cut off that little corner piece as you see in the photo. Then crease and fold on all the score lines and see how your bag will go together.

Here’s what the other side of the paper looks like which will be the front of the bag.

Easter Treat Bag Scoring and Cutting Front

Pay attention to what will be the front of the bag. If possible, keep the side seam that you glue together to form the bag in the back and also fold in the flaps so the last flap you fold and adhere will have the fold line on the front of the bag and not the edge of the back flap. That doesn’t sound very clear, but if you look as you make your bag you will see what I mean. You want the front to look as smooth and professional as possible.

If you want to, cut a strip of cardstock or designer paper for a handle. You don’t need to do this. I used a strip of Lemon Lime Twist cardstock that was about 3/4″ wide and I covered it with a narrower strip of the “other side” of the paper I used for the bag. That way it matches the front lip that I folded over on the bag. I just adhered it to the inside sides of the bag with Stampin’ Seal but you could use brads or staples if you wanted to.

I wanted my treat bag to have an Easter look so I stamped a bunny in the Easter Bunny Stamp Set and cut him out with the Easter Bunny Punch. I colored in his ear and his nose with a Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Write Marker just for a little color. For a little sparkle, I added some Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels. These will be retiring so make sure you stock up because I use them all the time!

Just in case you would also need one last Easter card to go with this treat bag if you were giving it as a gift, I used another piece of the Flowering Zinnias DSP for a card front, layered on Lemon Lime Twist Cardstock to match the bag. I wanted to keep it simple so I just added a ribbon about the Zinnia paper and adhered it to the card base. This is the 3/4″ Herringbone Ribbon, retiring soon! I also tied a bow with it around the handle of the gift bag!

For a greeting, I stamped “Happy Easter” in Lemon Lime Twist ink on Basic White and cut out with a label die in the Something Fancy Dies. These were a good choice for the size and opportunity to cut out a layering die in Lemon Lime Twist. I popped up the greeting with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I added two Lemon Lime Twist gems on each side of the greeting in the Tinsel Gems Four Pack.

Now all you have left to do is maybe put a little tissue paper or shred in the bottom of the bag and add some Easter candy or a small gift! You are all set with a card and gift! Or put some candy in the bag and set it out for your own Easter decoration or maybe at your Easter place setting!

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Diorama Excellent Eggs Easter Card

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This diorama card is one that I have made for many years. It looks pretty dramatic, right, being a 3D kind of display for a card? Of course, with most projects in stamping, it is pretty easy once you know the basics! The basis of this Diorama Excellent Eggs Easter Card is that you score the ends of two pieces of cardstock that are the same size, cut some kind of hole in the top piece of cardstock, make some kind of scene on the back piece of cardstock that will show through the opening on the front, then crease the score lines and adhere the end sections together. This type of card can be folded flat for mailing so that is not a problem!

This card base is Bubble Bath cardstock. Cut two pieces of cardstock at 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″. Of course, you can vary your measurements if you want a similar card in a larger or smaller size. Score each end of each piece of cardstock at 1/2″ and 1″. See the photo below for the side score lines and then whatever type of opening you want in the center.

Score those ends first and then you can more easily place the opening on just the top piece of cardstock so that it is centered. Crease and fold those score lines back and forth so that when you hold them together they will make the card into the diorama shape. You can see from the top view on this photo below. Don’t glue them together yet so you can more easily make the scene in the center of the back piece.

Decide if you want another piece of cardstock or designer paper for the background. I chose Boho Blue. Measure your space and see what size you want to cut the background paper. You may have to trim tiny bits off the sides to accommodate the score lines. Mine is 4 1/4″ tall and just a “smidge” less than 3 1/2″ wide.

I stamped three of the Excellent Eggs with Memento ink and colored in with Stampin’ Blends markers. They are easy to cut out by hand if you don’t have the dies, which is what I did. The one farthest back is glued flat to the card, the other two are popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The front opening for the diorama card is cut out with one of the Scalloped Contours Dies. You can use any shape or size.

The greeting is stamped in Boho Blue ink from the Excellent Eggs Stamp Set and then diecut with one of the banner shapes in the Stylish Shapes Dies. Since that cute little bunny was also in the Excellent Eggs Stamp Set, I stamped, colored, and cut him out also in hopes I could use him somehow. Luckily, he seemed to fit just fine at the end of the banner in the corner of the card!

For some sparkle and to fill in the empty space in the background, I added three Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins in gold, Balmy Blue, and Petal Pink. Remember, a lot of these embellishments can be used even if the colors are not exactly the same. My background is Boho Blue but the one sequin I used is Balmy Blue. The recipient is never going to notice or be critical of that! We are often too hard on ourselves trying to make everything perfect when we make a card!

Here’s another Diorama card I made for Easter a few years ago.

This Diorama card will fold flat to mail and fits in a regular size Stampin’ Up! envelope, but you may want to make one and use it for your Easter decor!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Diorama Excellent Eggs Easter Card Full View

Easter Bunny Happy Easter Card

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I’ve been into Bubble Bath the last few days and I can’t say I was before now, but I guess it is a good color for Easter! I didn’t even have a grand plan for making this Easter Bunny Happy Easter Card but it just came together when I already had the package of Bubble Bath cardstock out along with the Lighter Than Air 6″ xx 6″ Designer Series Paper. Since this paper got lost in my stash for a while, I have missed out on using it on other spring cards. The colors are so pretty and it’s not all about hot air balloons!

The card base is Bubble Bath, a very soft pretty pink. At times it looks like it has a purple tone to it. I simply took a strip of the diagonally striped designer series paper and laid it across the card. Then I saw that the Balmy Blue pattern would look good with the stripes at the top and bottom. The striped pattern is cut at 5 1/2″ x 2″. The blue strips are about 3/4″ inches wide and 5 1/2″ long. That gives you space for glue to adhere the blue pattern to the top and bottom of the striped paper with about 3/8″ showing. If you remember to tie some ribbon around the striped pattern before adhering to the card base, then you won’t have to adhere it down and cut off the ends on the edge of the card! On the other hand, now that I look at it, once I adhered the two bows to each side of the bunny, you can’t see the ribbon anyway! If you copy this and put bows on each side, you don’t need a ribbon going across the center of the card! The ribbon is the Bubble Bath color in the 3/8″ Sheer Ribbon Combo Pack.

For the focal point of the card, I cut a scalloped rectangle in Bubble Bath pink with the Scalloped Contour Dies. By hand, I cut a Basic White rectangle to ft inside the scalloped rectangle. It’s a “smidge” less than 2″ wide and 3 1/4″ long.

On this Basic White piece, I stamped one of the bunnies in the Easter Bunny Stamp Set and colored him in with gray Stampin’ Blends (I think I used Smoky Slate.) and Bubble Bath pink for the inside of his ears. For the background, I just used a Pool Party Stampin’ Blend marker to just scribble in some blue-like sky. The carrot is stamped, colored, and cut out. I thought the bunny needed to be sitting in the grass, so I just lightly drew in blades of grass with the Light and Dark Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blend Markers. This piece is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

There wasn’t much room for the greeting but I solved that problem! I stamped “Happy Easter” from the Excellent Eggs Stamp Set in Bubble Bath ink on Basic White. Then I just fussy-cut around the letters without trying to be perfect and adhered it to the card with tiny dots of Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

If you’d like to see another card I made last spring with the bunny and LOTS of carrots from the Easter Bunny Stamp Set, click HERE.

Both of those Easter/Spring stamp sets will be retiring in April. The Easter Bunny Stamp set will be discounted at 50% off starting April 9th. The pretty ribbon combo will also be discounted at 30% off. Be sure to check out the bargains on April 9th, but if there are products you really really want, it might be best to buy them right now lest they sell out!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Easter Bunny Z-Fold Easter Card

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I often say Z-Fold cards are so easy to make yet look exceptional and special to the recipient! This Easter Bunny Z-Fold Easter Card was fun and easy to make with the Easter Bunny Stamp Set and Lighter Than Air 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper. My package of paper had gotten lost, and pushed to the back, and I often forget to use the 6″ x 6″ paper. However, when I found it and looked at it, I saw that the colors and patterns were perfect for Easter and spring cards! This paper will retire April 30 along with other Spring Mini Catalog products.

The card base is Crumb Cake and was cut at 4 1/4″ x 11″. Instead of cutting horizontally across a sheet of cardstock, it was cut vertically. I decided to put the fold on the side of the card and make it into a Z-Fold card. To make a Z-Fold card just fold the front of the card back on itself. Score the front of the card in the center vertically, then fold the right half back, essentially making a Z shape if you look down on the upright card.

To decorate the card I used the Lighter Than Air Designer Paper. The panel on the left is 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″so I cut the designer paper at 4″ x 2 3/4″. The striped paper was also cute, so I cut that for the inside of the card at 4″ x 5 1/4″. I also added to the inside left panel the same designer paper that you see on the circle under the bunny.

For the focal point of the card, I stamped a bunny from the Easter Bunny Stamp Set. This stamp set is so cute and useful for springtime cards, Easter, baby, and maybe animal cards for little children. It will be retiring from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog by the end of April and beginning April 9th will be discounted 50%! There is also a coordinating Easter Bunny Punch, also retiring and will be discounted by 20%. The bunny was colored with Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers (Light and Dark Crumb Cake plus Bubble Bath pink for the ear) as well as the little carrot in the stamp set.

The diecut circles are the largest and the next smaller circle dies in the Stylish Shapes Dies. The smaller one is the Lighter Than Air DSP and the background circle is Balmy Blue cardstock. When you adhere a shape to the front of a Z-Fold card, be sure to only put adhesive on the half that attaches to the card front on the fold and not to the inside of the card.

On the inside, I diecut a Basic White circle with the largest Stylish Shapes circle die so that it would fit perfectly underneath the front Balmy Blue circle. You want it hidden underneath the front of the card so it is a little tricky to get it positioned perfectly. To do this, put adhesive on the back of the inside piece, and with the card open, place it face down over that front piece. Then carefully close the card so the inside piece will adhere to the inside of the card, lined up with the front of the card so it will not be seen.

The inside of the card is stamped with “Happy Easter” in Memento ink. I had already stamped and cut out the three Easter eggs to possibly use on the front of the card, but instead, I used them inside the card. It would have been easier to stamp them on the inside rather than cut them out!

For an embellishment, I tied a Bubble Bath pink ribbon and bow just around the front folded panel. This ribbon is part of the 3/8″ Sheer Ribbon Combo Pack. The other two colors are Azure Afternoon and Lemon Lolly. This ribbon will be retiring and will be discounted at 30%. I could have added a greeting on the front of the card also, but there wasn’t very much room for one and I had the main one on the inside. You could also add some sequins or gems to the card.

Check out this Easter Bunny Stamp Set, Easter Bunny Punch, and ribbon when they go on sale on April 9th plus the other retiring products from the Annual Catalog and the Spring Mini. Here are the lists of Last Chance Products. Also, if you need any Stampin’ Blend markers (check yours for any brush tips that don’t work very well anymore if you use them a lot and you might want to replace them) the price will be going up $1.00 per Combo in the new Annual Catalog.

Last Chance Products Spring Mini Catalog 2024

Last Chance Products Annual Catalog 2023-2024

Excellent Eggs Easter Treat Card

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This Excellent Eggs Easter Treat Card is one of those cards that I came up with so easily and I like it! The egg was already colored in and cut out from another stamping session where I must have made extras to use another time. Since it would be by itself, I thought it needed a smaller card. First I thought of 3″ x 3″ but if I were to mail it, 4″ x 4″ would fit in a regular-size envelope.

The card base is a 4″ x 8″ piece of Fresh Freesia cardstock to match the egg folded in half to make a 4″ x 4″ card. You can have the fold at the top or the side, as with any card. Mine is at the top. After I decided on Basic White for the background behind the Easter egg, it looked too blah so I embossed it! I used the Cane Weave 3D Embossing Folder for this 3″ x 3″ square of Basic White. After some deliberation, I layered a Bubble Bath piece of cardstock, cut at 3 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ underneath the embossed cardstock. That color of pink goes well with the Fresh Freesia since the Bubble Bath had purple tones in it.

After seeing where the egg would go, and finding that I did have some Bubble Bath ribbon in the 3/8″ Sheer Ribbon Combo Pack (which is retiring in April and will be 30% off!), I wrapped and adhered the ribbon around the white embossed layer to go behind the egg. After that I could adhere the white piece to the Bubble Bath layer and then onto the Fresh Freesia card base.

The Easter egg is stamped with Memento Ink from the Excellent Eggs Stamp Set in the Spring Mini. This stamp set will be retiring in April. I colored in the background of the egg with Fresh Freesia Stampin’ Blends, left the bunnies white, colored in the stones gray, and colored in a few pink flowers with green leaves. Use whatever color of Blends or markers to color your egg. The egg is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals over the ribbon. I also added two knots on each side of the egg with the ribbon. The little silver thread along the sides of the ribbon really adds a little sparkle to the card!

For the greeting, I stamped this one in Fresh Freesia ink from the Easter Bunny Stamp Set in the Annual Catalog. This stamp set is going to retire at 50% off in April which is a fantastic deal if you need some bunnies in your collection! Three different bunnies, a carrot, a butterfly, Easter eggs, flowers…everything you could need for cards even other than Easter. Bunnies always make cute baby cards! I stamped the greeting on a narrow scrap of Basic White, then flagged the ends and it fit perfectly on this small card!

You still have a little time to make a few Easter cards, especially if you aren’t going to mail them or if the recipient doesn’t live too far away! Who knows with the post office these days?

Two Little Easter Baskets For You

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Next weekend is Easter, believe it or not! If you need some little Easter baskets for a little treat for someone, a dinner table favor, or just a little home decor, try this basic easy basket patterns! Decorate however you like once you know the way to make the basket!

I used the same pattern for both baskets. Just start with a 6″ x 6″ square piece of paper and score like a tic tac toe. Score at 2″ and 4″, then turn and score at 2″ and 4″. Cut on the two vertical score lines up to the horizontal score line. Do the same on the opposite side. See the diagram below. Cut a handle of about 8 1/2″ x 1/2″.

Crease and fold all score lines. If you like, round all four corners. Or you can leave them as is. Form the paper into a basket and use brads or glue to hold the sides and handle together. The handle goes in between the two side flaps and the center flap. That hides it a little bit on the inside. (If you think of it ahead of time! Or it can just be glued to the inside of the basket.)

Decorate the basket with designer series paper or stamping or whatever you like.

For the basket in the photo at the top I cut a 6″ x 6″ piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock and the plaid pattern in the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper. I glued them together so the whole front of the basket would have the yellow plaid design.

After assembling the basket, I stamped a bunny in the Easter Bunny Stamp Set (retiring soon!) and colored in with Stampin’ Blends. For the bunny, I used Light Pecan Pie and Petal Pink for the ears. I cut out the bunny and layered him on a diecut from the Thoughtful Expressions Dies. It’s cute-shaped label with a stitched look around the edge. It will retire soon also. I also added two of the Adhesive-Backed Hearts & Flowers Embellishments.

Excellent Eggs Sweet Sorbet Easter Basket

For this basket I used Sweet Sorbet cardstock, but added the cute little flowered paper in the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper cut in squares to decorate each side, front and back. Since each square is 2″ x 2″, I cut the DSP at 1 7/8″ x 1 7/8″ .

The Easter egg is in the Excellent Eggs Stamp Set (retiring) and to keep it all simple, I stamped it with Sweet Sorbet ink, then colored in just parts of the egg with the Light Sweet Sorbet Stampin’ Blend marker. I cut out the egg by hand, although there are dies if you like. After adhering it to the basket, I added some Iridescent Pearl Basic Jewels in two different sizes. Very easy!

If you want to check out some other baskets I have made, look HERE and HERE.

You will be surprised at how easy these little baskets are to make. You can make them for other occasions, not just Easter or spring!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!

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Have you signed up for my Stamping With Karen Mailing List yet? If you like visiting my blog or if this is your first time here, please join us by signing up in the Mailing List Sign Up Box! It’s the red box over on the top right side of my blog or perhaps at the bottom of this post if you are on your phone. You will receive an email newsletter on the first Tuesday of each month with the latest Stampin’ Up! news and any special offers, plus at least one tutorial for a card or another project or tip.

Each following Tuesday I send an email, again with some stamping idea or a review of some projects I have recently had on my blog, plus any news or reminders. Stampin’ Up! updates us on Tuesday mornings with any news or special offers, so Tuesday is a good time to get in touch with you!

If you like getting new ideas for stamping, then this is for you! These projects are exclusive to my newsletter. I don’t post them on my blog or online.

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Cheerful Daisies Birthday Card

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It’s been quite a while since I have used this daisy set, but I got the idea to make this Cheerful Daisies Birthday Card since it looked so springlike! I love the background paper in any case and putting a daisy on the front seemed like the right thing to do!

The card base is Basic White Cardstock with a layer of Daffodil Delight and then the layer of the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper in the Spring Mini Catalog. This paper will be retiring April 30. This pattern, with the Sweet Sorbet background with tiny little white daisies, is nice because there are no hearts or bees so it is easy to use. And I love the color, Sweet Sorbet, which is also retiring. Sad to see that one go! You wouldn’t have to add the Daffodil Delight layer under the designer paper. I just thought it brightened everything up even more by bringing in the yellow in the daisy centers on the paper.

I used the Cheerful Daisies Dies to cut out two pieces to layer to make up the one large daisy with a Daffodil Delight center. The leaves are Granny Apple Green Cardstock and are attached to a collection of different daisies. I just used a portion of that die on the Granny Apple Green Cardstock to cut out the leaves and stems. I decided to leave in the cutout veins of the leaves since I didn’t want the background paper to show through.

There was another die, too, that cut out that very fine foliage piece. It would be good to think ahead and use Adhesive Sheets before die-cutting very delicate pieces like that foliage. Then you wouldn’t have to try to put the tiniest drops of glue on the back of the stems.

After gluing the two layers of daisies together, I popped that daisy up with Stampin’ Dimensionals in the bottom corner of the card and adhered the leaves and foliage underneath.

The greeting is in the Cheerful Daisies Stamp Set. I stamped it in Sweet Sorbet ink and used the label die in the Cheerful Daisies Dies to cut it out. I think it fits perfectly in the space on my card. Sometimes you design a card and then don’t quite know where to put the greeting! I also added three of the Iridescent Foil Gems, two to the greeting and one farther down on the card. I love adding those little embellishments and had to stop myself from adding a couple more!

I’m happy to see that this Cheerful Daisies Bundle of stamp set and dies is in the new Annual Catalog, but not as a Bundle any more. Stampin’ Up! retires Bundles although the pieces of the Bundle may still appear separately. What this means is, in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog you will still be able to buy the stamp set and you will be able to buy the dies, but you will not save 10% buying the Bundle unless you purchase the Bundle by April 30 when the current Annual Catalog retires!

Also, even though the cute Bee Mine Designer Series Paper that I used is retiring, the Bee Mine Stamp Set and Bee Builder Punch are carrying over into the new Annual Catalog, but again, not as a Bundle. I’m happy we can continue to use that fun punch!

Remember, the 2022-2024 In Colors and all their papers and accessories are retiring so if you need any of those colors, be sure to stock up. I wish they weren’t retiring as I like those better than the ones we got last year! But we will be excited for the next new In Colors!

Check my blog post HERE for the retiring lists of products in the Spring Mini and the outgoing Annual Catalog!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!