Quick and Easy Awash in Beauty Card

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Quick and Easy Awash in Beauty Card

When we talk about making an easy card, this Quick and Easy Awash in Beauty Card fills the bill! All you REALLY need is the designer paper and a card base!

The card base is Polished Pink although there are so many colors in the paper you could choose from many other colors. The Awash In Beauty Designer Series Paper is new in the Stampin’ Up! Annual 2022-2023 Catalog and is beautiful!

Awash in Beauty Designer Series Paper Package

As you can see, every paper is pretty enough to make a beautiful card! But one pattern, in particular, is interesting how Stampin’ Up! designed it. It is easy to cut up and make into cards.

Awash in Beauty Split paper

You could do lots of different things with this paper, depending on the size of the card you are making. I’ll describe how it works for this card. Since the paper is 12″ x 12″, you can cut it into three strips 4″ wide vertically to have the flowers on the top and bottom and white space in the middle. You can cut the strip in half at 6″ if you want but of course, that will be too long for a card. It needs to be cut at 5 1/4″ to fit on a card front. There you have a choice. If you want more white space at the top of your card then you can trim off a bit of the bottom of the flowers. If you want every bit of the floral part of the paper, then trim it 5 1/4″ from the bottom of the flower part. That’s what I did on this card so you can see how much white space you have at the top. If you wanted just a floral pattern on the left side of your card, you could cut it at whatever width lengthwise and could probably get two strips out of the one section. So you can play around with the paper to have differently designed cards!

Back to my card! I adhered the 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of the Awash In Beauty DSP to the Polished Pink card base. For the greeting, I used a greeting in the True Beauty Stamp Set, part of the Awash In Beauty Suite. Then I cut it out with one of the Meadow Dies. I love this little label die! So pretty and almost the perfect size for a lot of greetings. I tied a piece of Polished Pink 3/8″ Open Weave Ribbon through the left side of the diecut. You could do both sides if your greeting isn’t so far to the right of the card. I popped it up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For a finishing touch, I added some Brushed Brass Butterflies flying among the flowers. For some sparkle, I added several Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels on the greeting and the card. That’s all there is to it! That’s how you make the Quick and Easy Awash in Beauty Card with the pretty designer paper!

The Last Chance List & Sale For the Spring Mini Catalog!

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Last Chance Banner 2022 Jan-June Spring Mini Info

It’s time to start saying goodbye to the lovely January-June 2022 Mini Catalog which will officially retire at the end of June. And with retirement, comes a sale on select products on the Last Chance List!

CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE FULL LIST OF RETIRING JANUARY-JUNE 2022 MINI CATALOG!

These products are discounted 50% off! While supplies last!

These products are discounted 30% off! While supplies last.

And other products are not discounted, but if they are not already in the new Annual Catalog, then they will be retiring June 30! If you want any Bundles, get them this month to save 10%. Even if the products are carried over in the Annual Catalog, you will not get the Bundle price.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! LAST CHANCE HERE!

Butterfly Kisses Brighten Your Day Card

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Butterfly Kisses Brighten Your Day Card

I think this Butterfly Kisses Brighten Your Day Card will certainly brighten someone’s day! I just got this Butterfly Kisses 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper and I love it! The colors are so bright and cheerful and the butterfly patterns are so cute! I only got the paper (so far) because I wanted to see how easily I could make a card with just the designer paper.

This pattern in the package just struck me right away. The print is just so pretty and soft, even though some of the colors are rather bright. I chose Parakeet Party Cardstock for the card base, and I could have left it at that, but I decided to add a layer of Calypso Coral underneath the Butterfly Kisses Designer Paper.

I chose a greeting in the Rainbow of Happiness Stamp Set which I thought just was perfect for this card. I stamped it on a piece of Basic White Cardstock and cut out a tag shape with the Tailor Made Tags Dies. I didn’t want to take up much more room on the card front so I cut a rectangle just a tiny bit larger than the die cut tag and then trimmed the angled corners to be a layer under the white tag. It helps it stand out from the designer paper on the card front. Then I cut out some extra butterflies from the same designer paper and popped them up on the greeting tag. The tag is also popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. I used the Parakeet Party Baker’s Twine in the In Color Pack through the hole in the tag. For a little sparkle, I added three Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels to the tag.

This was a pretty quick and easy design using the new Butterfly Kisses Designer Series Paper. It will certainly be fun to use so take a look at it online or on page 37 in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog.

Hello Ladybug Floral Card

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Hello Ladybug Floral Card

This Hello Ladybug Floral Card was so much fun to make! I hadn’t really used the Hello Ladybug Stamp Set very much, but it was enjoyable to work with and make this card! I think it was fun to work with a punch instead of dies for a change. The Ladybug Builder Punch is surprisingly versatile. You can make more things with the punch than just ladybugs!

The card base is Real Red cardstock with a layer of Basic White. One leaf is stamped right on the card layer and the other leaf is stamped on a separate piece of cardstock and then cut out by hand with Paper Snips. It’s easy to cut out. The edge of the leaf is just wiggly, not fussy! The leaves are stamped in Granny Apple Green. The cutout leaf is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The ladybugs are both stamped and punched out. The bodies are stamped in Memento Black ink. The wings are stamped in Real Red ink and then the spots are stamped in Memento Black. If you look at the underside of the punch before you stamp, you can perhaps stamp the images in the right position for the punch! You still may have to trim off a bit of paper for the punch to reach the image properly, but at least you will have the image positioned somewhat close to where it needs to be for the punch.

The ladybug on the top leaf is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. The ladybug on the lower leaf has Stampin’ Seal on just the head portion that is going to overlap the leaf and the rest of the body is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals to match the leaf.

The little flowers are one stamp in the Hello Ladybug Stamp Set. I chose to color them individually with different colors of Stampin’ Write Markers and then stamped them directly on the card front. The greeting is also in the stamp set and is stamped in Real Red ink. I didn’t want the greeting to be very big since I already had a lot of things going on with the card!

If you wanted to, you could add some jewels or a few sequins or something to add some sparkle to the card. I decided to leave it as it was. I think the greeting makes it a fun card and certainly ladybugs are probably the only fun bugs out there in the world for most people!

This Bundle is in the January-June 2022 Mini Catalog which just has one month left! While the stamp set and punch are not retiring (they are in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog!) but if you want to purchase both products, be sure to buy them during June so you can get the Bundle price of 10% off. In the new catalog, they are sold separately.

If you want a fun stamp set and punch, especially for summertime with ladybugs and other things you can make with the punch, now is the time to get it!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Sign Up For Paper Pumpkin Today!

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“Give your card collection a reFRESH with this month’s Paper Pumpkin Kit! We’re talking FRESH ideas, designs, cards, and crafts. Each month we strive to deliver a seasonal selection, and this month is no different. It’s time to express your love, gratitude, and style with summer’s hottest trends in crafting.”

Now isn’t that little bag adorable that you will receive in your Paper Pumpkin Kit for June 2022?! Put some of the cards you make with the kit into the bag for a gift! Be sure to sign up by June 10th so you don’t miss this kit! And during June, you can purchase additional mini canvas shopping bags for a fun twist on card packaging.

You can also add a Prepaid Subscription to your Stampin’ Up! order in the Online Store for a certain number of months, from 1 to 12. This adds to your order if you want to reach Stampin’ Rewards!

ABOUT THE KIT

Name: Pick of the Crop

This kit includes:

  • This month’s kit contains enough elements to create 9 cards—3 each of 3 designs—and 9 coordinating envelopes. This all-inclusive kit includes printed card bases, die-cut paper pieces, adhesive, and more!
  • The Pick of the Crop Paper Pumpkin Kit includes a Calypso Coral Classic Stampin’ Spot!
  • This kit’s stamp set is perfect for expressing your love, gratitude, and style. With sentiments that say “Love you a whole bunch”, “You’re the pick of the crop”, “You are the sweetest,” and so many more, you’ll be able to use this photopolymer stamp set for all of your summer projects.
  • This kit also includes specialty vellum pieces to add a fresh touch to your cards.
  • And you’ll get a Mini Shopping Bag (5-3/8″ x 6″; 13.7 x 15.2 cm) which can be used to hold a couple of cards for a unique craft element. (Additional bags will be available to purchase separately.)
  • Card size: 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ (10.8 x 14 cm)
  • Envelope size: 4-1/2″ x 5-3/4″ (11.4 x 14.6 cm)
  • Coordinating colors: Blackberry Bliss, Cajun Craze, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Garden Green, Night of Navy, Soft Succulent 

Available for purchase on stampinup.com starting June 13, 2022:

Mini Shopping Bags Add-On

Item Number: 161922 

Item Price: $13.00 USD | $18.00 CAD

Add-on details:

  • You must be a current Paper Pumpkin subscriber to purchase this item.
  • Includes 4 mini canvas bags.
  • You can fit a couple of cards in each bag. Perfect for a fun twist on card packaging!
  • Stamp or color on the bags for a personalized touch.
  • Mini Shopping Bag size: 5-3/8″ x 6″ (13.7 x 15.2 cm)

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY!

No risk, no obligation! Continue your subscription as long or short as you like. Skip a month now and then. Stampin’ Up! guarantees all Paper Pumpkin Kits.

Coloring on Perfectly Penciled Designer Paper

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Coloring on Perfectly Penciled Designer Paper

I’m not crazy but yes, I did color in this whole card front on this Coloring on Perfectly Penciled Designer Paper card! If you like coloring, you’ll understand that coloring is fun, and if you don’t like coloring, then you can stick to the beautiful black and white images on this paper!

The Perfectly Penciled Designer Series Paper has hand-drawn black and white floral images on one side of the paper that you can use beautifully as is or add color in any of many different ways. On the other side are generic graphic patterns that you can use as backgrounds on cards. It’s really great paper to use!

I simply cut the Perfectly Penciled Paper to have the floral design I wanted in the center of my card. You may have to think a little bit unless your paper has already been cut into, to get the design that you want to work with. Maybe it doesn’t matter how the images show up on your card design. Just so you are happy with it. I colored in the floral pattern and then I designed the rest of the card.

I started with the large flowers in the center and decided to color those with the Light and Dark Pale Papaya Stampin’ Blends. The leaves are mostly Granny Apple Green, some with a touch of Daffodil Delight, and a few smaller leaves colored with Old Olive Blends. The star-shaped flowers are colored with Melon Mambo, which at first I thought was too bright, but once I got the whole thing done, I liked that pop of bright color. Other flowers and buds are Daffodil Delight Blends and some Flirty Flamingo pinkish buds down in the lower-right corner. There is one little butterfly on the card which I colored with a purple and orange, but I’m not happy with it! Luckily it is off to the side and partially obstructed by the bow! I could have left the colored images as is, but I sometimes love coloring in the background, too! For this card, I used the Light Pool Party Stampin’ Blend. If you just kind of scribble around lightly, it’s not that difficult to color in the whole background. If you bear down with the point of the marker, trying to color in perfectly every nook and cranny, it will probably be an unpleasant experience…unless that is really what you want to do!

To make the actual card, I decided to layer and piece of Pale Papaya under the designer paper and then adhere that to a card base of Melon Mambo. The greeting is in the Celebrating You Stamp Set, a great set to have for sentiments for lots of occasions. It is stamped in Melon Mambo ink and then die cut with a die in the Meadow Dies. It looked like too much to layer it on Melon Mambo so I left it as is. The ribbon across the lower portion of the card is the pretty Pale Papaya Open Weave Ribbon. The bow is tied separately and adhered to the card with Mini Glue Dots. For a finishing touch, I couldn’t resist adding some Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels plus one little Brushed Brass Butterfly!

This card could be for almost any occasion if you just change the greeting. Actually, this greeting is perfect for almost any occasion! It could be for a birthday, thinking of you, congratulations, wedding, anniversary, or even sympathy. Here is another card I made recently by coloring the black and white design using Blending Brushes and ink and not trying to color inside the lines at all!

You’ll find the Perfectly Penciled Designer Series Paper in the brand-new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog!

Spring Mini Catalog Retiring Last Chance List!

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Last Chance Green Square Ad Spring Mini 2022

The January–June 2022 Mini Catalog will be retiring soon! It’s always bittersweet to see a classic Stampin’ Up! catalog take a trip to retirement. But, we all look forward to the new products on their way!

With every retiring catalog comes a spectacular sale: the Last Chance Products promotion! With this sale, you can stock up on your favorite products before they’re gone for good. Save up to 50% on some essential craft supplies starting June 1, 2022!.

LAST CHANCE LIST OF RETIRING PRODUCTS

It’s always hard to believe it’s time for any Stampin’ Up! catalog to retire! We can remember how excited we were when it first came out. But time flies and we are always ready for a new catalog and new Stampin’ Up! products!

CLICK HERE FOR JANUARY – JUNE 2022 SPRING MINI CATALOG!

SHOP THE CATALOG HERE!

LAST CHANCE LIST OF RETIRING PRODUCTS PDF

LAST CHANCE LIST OF RETIRING PRODUCTS (Excel Sheet)

(Sale begins June 1, 2022)

  • All products are available while supplies last, and there are no purchase limits.
  • Discounted items can be added to a Starter Kit and redeemed as a 50% off item or with Stampin’ Rewards.
  • Stamp Sets are not guaranteed during this promotion and are while supplies last
  • Discounted Prices Sales Period:  June 1-30, 2022
  • Ordering Deadline:  June  30, 2022 at 11:50 PM MT

The Sale begins next Wednesday, June 1. You can wait for the sale to get some products at a discount OR you can order early before things potentially sell out. But in the meantime, you can make out your list and be ready to order on June 1st, especially the things you would really like to have!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! HERE!

Jar of Flowers Framed Birthday Card

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Jar of Flowers Framed Birthday Card

While cleaning up a whole pile of scraps of cardstock, die cuts, and who knows what all, I found this stamped image on watercolor paper. I set it aside to color in later and this Jar of Flowers Framed Birthday Card is what it turned out to be! So if you have a messy pile of scraps and miscellaneous, not only is it good to clean up but you just might find something you can use right now for a card!

I colored this stamped image from the Jar of Flowers Stamp Set in the Annual Catalog with ink and Water Painters. These Water Painters just replace the Aqua Painters we used to have. This is a set of three and one brush is pretty wide, good for large areas or laying down a wide swath of water. When you unscrew it to add water to the brush handle, when you screw the brush back on, turn it the opposite way you think it should go. I had a difficult time getting mine back on and I think I just turned it the other way and it worked.

When you watercolor with ink, you can either smoosh the lid of your ink pad to pick up ink from the pad into the inside of the lid or you can put a few drops of reinker in the lid or on some other palette to pick up with the brush. You can also just use an ordinary paintbrush but these Water Painters are handy because they already have water in them! There are other watercoloring techniques too.

After coloring in my bouquet of flowers in the jar of water with various colors (Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Mango Melody, Highland Heather, and others) I let it dry and then cut out the bouquet. I might add the image is stamped on true Watercolor Paper. This works so much better than Basic White cardstock! If you have Shimmery White Cardstock it is probably the next best thing to the Watercolor Paper.

I used the “backside” of a piece of the Hues of Happiness paper to get the multicolored background for the bouquet and glued the bouquet on to that. The frame is cut with one of the new Fabulous Frames Dies out of Gold Foil. I think it makes it look like a real framed painting! The greeting is from the Blessings of Home Stamp Set. The card base is Melon Mambo.

Do something different and try your hand at a little watercoloring as I did on this Jar of Flowers Framed Birthday Card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Paper Pumpkin Kit May 2022 In Color Cards

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Paper Pumpkin Kit May 2022 In Color Cards

My Paper Pumpkin Kit for May 2022 finally arrived the other night. Our mail comes so late every day that it is almost night when it gets here. I swear sometimes they refuse to deliver my Paper Pumpkin Kit until they really have to! It did finally arrive and I made one of each of the cards as designed for the kit to see what they would all look like.

This is the kit we were looking forward to for everyone to have the chance to work with the new Stampin’ Up! 2022-2024 In Colors. The new In Colors are Sweet Sorbet, Parakeet Party, Tahitian Tide, Orchid Oasis, and Starry Sky. I really like this group of colors! Some years I’m not necessarily so thrilled, but these are nice and bright and colorful!

Paper Pumpkin kits are a subscription, a papercrafting kit that is mailed to you each month. Everything you need to make the project inside is included, except maybe scissors to open the wrapping on the supplies. Even appropriate adhesive is included! And with your first kit, you will receive a special Paper Pumpkin acrylic block on which to mount the stamps you will use. Each kit comes with an exclusive stamp set that you can use over and over again if you want to make other projects plus a small, square ink pad called a Stampin’ Spot. You can just tap it on your stamp and then clean off the ink with a damp paper towel or a baby wipe. Directions, of course, are included and you can watch a video of how to assemble the project. Mostly the kits are cardmaking kits but sometimes it is something different. It’s always a surprise but we have been getting sneak peeks in recent years!

These cards were very quick and easy to put together! Envelopes are included and have In Color inserts to give the recipient an extra boost of color when they open the envelope! Or maybe I should say preview. You can follow the directions exactly, especially if you are a new crafter, or you can change up the design or the wording however you like. It is your kit and your supplies! If you already have some stamping supplies, you might want to add some of your own cardstock or embellishments, but you don’t have to have anything extra.

I usually like to follow the directions to make the cards as designed and then if I want to I will make some extras of my own design or just change the greeting. Even if you are an experienced crafter, it is fun to just open the box and have some crafting time all planned out for you! No need to design anything yourself or bring out your own supplies!

The next Paper Pumpkin Kit is already taking sign-ups for June! The deadline is always the 10th of the month so that the kits can be mailed out immediately after that.

  • This month’s kit contains enough elements to create 9 cards—3 each of 3 designs—and 9 coordinating envelopes. This all-inclusive kit includes printed card bases, die-cut paper pieces, adhesive, and more!
  • The Pick of the Crop Paper Pumpkin Kit includes a Calypso Coral Classic Stampin’ Spot!
  • This kit’s stamp set is perfect for expressing your love, gratitude, and style. With sentiments that say “Love you a whole bunch”, “You’re the pick of the crop”, “You are the sweetest,” and so many more, you’ll be able to use this photopolymer stamp set for all of your summer projects.
  • This kit also includes specialty vellum pieces to add a fresh touch to your cards.
  • And you’ll get a Mini Shopping Bag (5-3/8″ x 6″) which can be used to hold a couple of cards for a unique craft element. (Additional bags will be available to purchase separately.)

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN HERE BY JUNE 10th!

Stay In Touch With the Stamping With Karen Weekly Newsletters!

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Email Newsletter

I’d like to invite you to join my Stamping With Karen Mailing List to keep up with news from Stampin’ Up! and to be inspired with new stamping projects, tips, techniques, and more from me! There is always something new with Stampin’ Up! from products to catalogs and early releases of new products and I know you’ll want to know all about it.

I send out a newsletter every Tuesday with at least one free project idea plus the latest Stampin’ Up! news and updates. Stampin’ Up! usually posts updates to Demonstrators every Tuesday morning so a newsletter on Tuesday from me has the news “hot off the press”!

Stampin’ Up! puts out an Annual Catalog once a year, plus two “Mini” catalogs a year {that aren’t so “mini”) plus the big promotion called Sale-A-Bration. These catalogs give you lots of products you will be excited about, want to learn about, and want to see all the ideas for cards and projects possible! Get on my Mailing LIst to keep up with these exciting events and know what to expect. If you’re one of my purchasing customers I’ll send you these catalogs free of charge when they come out.

Keep up with news about the new Paper Pumpkin Kit every month and subscribe if you want to join in the fun of having a project already planned and prepped for you in the cute Paper Pumpkin box! Always sign up or skip a month if you want by the 10th of any month.

As a special gift to my Mailing List subscribers, every year before the holidays I send out my “12 Weeks of Christmas” newsletters, with one new holiday project each week leading up to Christmas. These are ONLY for my subscribers and you won’t find them on my blog or anywhere else

If you are on my blog, you will see a red sign-up box in the top right corner where you can simply put your name (or first name) and best email. If you are on your phone, you probably need to scroll way down to get to the sidebar things. OR you can go to my sign-up page HERE.

When you do sign up, you will receive an email with a link to a free gift from me!

I hope you will enjoy the card and project ideas I send out in my weekly newsletter. Even if you never make the project, maybe just seeing ideas will do your crafty heart good! I know it does mine! I’m all about the ideas!!

Let’s stay connected and in touch with each other over our favorite thing to talk about…..stamping with Stampin’ Up!

Hues of Happiness Trio of Flowers

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Hues of Happiness Trio of Flowers

Is this Hues of Happiness Trio of Flowers card bright enough with all the colors??! I was actually making some other cards using the Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper with all the flowers, and when I turned one piece over to apply glue I saw this dark blue pattern with the tiny flowers! I loved it and wanted to make something with that pattern.

I just started assembling the card itself without knowing what I was going to put on it! I decided on a Daffodil Delight card base, then a piece of the designer paper, plus Sweet Sorbet for the bottom portion. To cover the seam where the two pieces overlap I used a strip of Granny Apple Green. By then it was looking pretty bright!

I thought I would add some of my extra diecut flowers from the designer paper, but the ones I had cut out looked a little pale against the colors I had already used for the card. What to do? Cut out more flowers in deeper colors! I played around with those and thought the card design called for a more whimsical look. I happened to put these three single smaller flowers across the top and I liked that look! They are just glued down flat but they could have been popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. It would also be fun to use the Wink of Stella brush on them to give them a little sparkle.

The greeting is in the Happiness Abounds Stamp Set. I only used part of it, covering up the rest with a piece of washi tape (and remembered to remove it before stamping!!). Then I diecut it with a banner die in the Stylish Shapes Dies. I also wrapped the new In Color 2022-2024 Baker’s Twine in Sweet Sorbet around the middle of the card layer three times and added a separate bow tied with two pieces of the twine.

This is really an easy, basic card design but I think the bright colors make it stand out. A strip of Parakeet Party cardstock across the seam would have been even brighter but I thought I liked the look of the Granny Apple Green color better. You could use this same background paper with some other fun image on the top or middle portion of the card for a different look. Just play with your paper and stamps and you will always come up with something as I did with this Hues of Happiness Trio of Flowers card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Hues of Happiness Floral Card

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Hues of Happiness Floral Card

Did you know that a lot of the flowers and even leaves in certain papers in the Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper can be diecut right from the designer paper?! It’s a fun new trick Stampin’ Up! has been doing with some of its designer paper patterns. I came up with this Hues of Happiness Floral Card idea just by looking through the designer papers and finding this “other side of the paper” that looked so soft and pretty with mostly light blue and just a touch of green and blue in the corners to use as the background layer.

The card base is Pool Party with a layer, as I said, from “the other side” of one of the gorgeous floral papers. When you have papers like this you hate to NOT use the side with the pretty flowers, but sometimes, it must be done! I cut the paper so that it was mostly the Pool Party shade of blue and then a watercolor area of a darker blue in the upper right corner and a green watercolor area in the lower-left corner. You can see the brushstrokes.

Next, I cut the floral paper into smaller pieces so I could die cut a lot of the flowers and leaves using the Blossoming Happiness Dies. I die cut more than I needed, but I can use the extras on another card. I didn’t realize I could diecut leaves as well! Then I laid them out on the card front, fiddled with them for a while to figure out the design I liked, and fiddled some more. Finally, I was satisfied and started gluing them down. The large center flower is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then I placed the leaves around where they looked good.

The greeting is in the Happiness Abounds Stamp Set. I stamped it in Pool Party ink on Basic White and die cut it with one of the banner dies in the Stylish Shapes Dies. This is a new set of dies in the Annual Catalog in the shapes of circles, squares, and labels all with a stitched edge. Very useful! And for a final touch, I added some Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels for a little sparkle.

When you have new designer papers, be sure to check if maybe the dies work on the images on the paper! Sometimes they do like on this Hues of Happiness Designer Paper that I could use on this Hues of Happiness Floral Card.

Cup of Tea Teabag Holder

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This Cup of Tea Teabag Holder is really an old project I have made many times through the years, but the Tea Boutique Suite Collection is perfect for it! As you will see, this little card opens up to be more than a card! It is a card but holds a teabag inside in a side pocket.

When you open the card, there is a decorated panel on the left on which you can write a message and on the right is space for a teabag or if you wanted, a piece of chocolate or another treat!

It’s really very easy to make one of these holders. Start with a piece of cardstock 11″ x 3 1/2″. I used one of the new In Colors, Sweet Sorbet. Score this strip of cardstock at 3 1/2″, 7″, and 7 1/2″. Crease all the folds. On the third section on the right, cut that piece on a diagonal as you see in the photo below. When you fold that diagonal over, that will make the pocket to hold the teabag.

Tea Bag Holder scoring

Now all you have to do is decorate the teabag holder however you like for the occasion.

For the cover of the teabag holder, I added a layer of Basic White, cut at 3 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ with a layer of the Tea Boutique 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper, cut at 3″ x 3″. The white helps the designer paper and the teacup stand out better.

The teacup is diecut from a floral pattern of the Tea Boutique Paper with the Teacup Dies. It reminds me of many old teacups I have from my grandmother. She used to have a tier table full of teacups and saucers that oddly enough, she said my grandpa brought home from birthday parties as favors! Then there is also a collection of handpainted teacups that my grandpa’s sister painted when my grandparents got married.

But back to making the teabag holder – the greeting is in the Cup of Tea Stamp Set. I wanted to use it because it was small enough to fit in the space. With the stamp set and dies, you can stamp and cut out the lemon slice, the little hearts, and even the tag on the teabag. There are two teabag dies so you could layer them, but the word “enjoy” only fits on the larger tag but I didn’t want that large of a tag on this project, so I just cut it down smaller by hand. I added a small piece of white baker’s twine to look like it is attached to the teabag inside the cup brewing tea.

On the inside panel, I just used another pattern in the Tea Boutique Designer paper, and added a small piece of Basic White on which to write a message or sign your name. I didn’t want to cover up much of that cute paper so I made it smaller than a regular layer.

To make the diagonal pouch on the right side, I used a piece of Tear & Tape just on the bottom of the diagonal. I also cut a piece of the designer paper in a 3 1/4″ square and then diagonally cut it to layer on the pouch.

This is really a fun project to make. The extra scoring in the center leaves space for the thickness of the teabag of candy, whatever you put in there. The only thing I forgot to do was put ribbon around the whole thing to tie it closed. You would likely adhere it underneath the layers so that it would tie on the side to hold it closed. But it’s okay as is, really. If it is presented in an envelope, it’s not going to fall open anyway until the person opens it themselves! There are no mistakes in stamping!

Perfectly Penciled Colored With Blending Brushes Card

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Perfectly Penciled Colored With Blending Brushes

Even though I love this designer paper just in its black and white design, one of my first thoughts was one of the ways to add color would be to use Blending Brushes or some kind of sponge. It could be soft and intermittent or more precise, as far as this coloring could go.

This new black and white paper is the Perfectly Penciled Designer Series Paper. While black and white can be very stunning on their own, it also begs for the rather new trend of coloring in! Coloring takes us back to our childhood! I think of some times when my mother would sit down and color in our coloring books with my brother and me with crayons and we thought her coloring was perfection!

Stampin’ Up! has so many different ways you can color in stamped or printed images. With this designer paper, you don’t have to worry about which ink to use or if anything will smear. We have two different kinds of markers, Watercolor Pencils, ink and Blender Pens, ink and Water Painters, Pastels, and more. It’s all fun!

For this card, I colored this floral pattern of the Perfectly Penciled Designer Paper using ink pads and Blending Brushes. Blending Brushes come in a set of three. That’s all I have, at least at the moment. I have found that I can rub them on scrap paper really well after using a color and then go on to use another color. After using them, you can just wash out the ink, but if you wanted to use them over and over, you probably wouldn’t want to work with a wet blending brush. Some people like to have more so they can use a clean brush for every color.

For most of the flowers, I just rubbed the Blending Brush on the ink pad and lightly colored on the paper already cut into a layer for the card. After picking up some ink on the brush, be sure (usually) to lightly rub the brush on scrap paper so you don’t get too dark of a color on your image. After I had lightly colored some of the images, I decided to add a darker layer of color to some of the flowers. Obviously, with this method, you cannot color precisely on any image, which makes it easy because you don’t have to worry about going out of the lines! It’s all out of the lines! The colors I used for the flowers were Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, Mango Melody, and Granny Apple Green for the leaves. You can use any combination of colors you want. I also added a layer of Calypso Coral cardstock under the Perfectly Penciled paper. Before adhering, I added a piece of Pale Papaya Ribbon around the lower part of the paper. Even though I didn’t use Pale Papaya as a color, the ribbon looks perfect on the card. It blends in with the other colors and doesn’t compete with all the other pattern and colors happening on the card. I tied a separate bow and adhered it with a Glue Dot.

For the greeting, I stamped “Happy Birthday” in the Peaceful Moments Stamp Set in Calypso Coral ink. It is die-cut with the oval in the All That Dies set and then layered on a Calypso Coral piece also in the die set. For embellishment, I added an Elegant Faceted Gem to each side of the die-cut.

Since the card base is Basic Black, you will need to add an inside layer so you can stamp a greeting or write a personal message on the inside of the card. You could also make the card without the black card base and just use the Calypso Coral or whatever color you like.

If you want to see a card that is just left black and white, check out THIS POST of a card I made with the Perfectly Penciled Designer Series Paper.

Just play with this paper and see what you come up with as I did with this Perfectly Penciled Colored With Blending Brushes Card.

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