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Zany Zoo Brights Z-Fold Birthday Card

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Zany Zoo Brights Z-Fold Birthday Card

Sometimes you have an idea for a card but it doesn’t work out. Instead, something else “calls to you” and you come up with a completely different card than you imagined you would make. In this case, this Brights 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper caught my eye and I couldn’t resist! I already had some Poppy Parade cardstock out for my original idea, and I found a Z-Fold card base ready to be used in that package! Poppy Parade is one of the many colors in that designer paper pack so I had my card idea in my head! At least, the basics.

To make a Z-Fold card, you will fold the right half of the front of the card back toward the fold on the left. You’re folding the card front back on itself. Start with a piece of cardstock 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″. Score at 2 1/8″ and 4 1/4″. Fold and crease in half, then fold at the 2 1/8″ score line so when you view the card from the top it looks like a “Z”.

To decorate the card, I cut a Poppy Parade diagonally striped piece of designer paper at 2″ x 5 3/8″ or you can make the measurements 1/8″ smaller at the width and length if you want more of the cardstock to show in the margins. On the inside, I cut a piece of the heart pattern at 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″. It’s optional to add designer paper to the inside panel on the left of the card. It would be the same measurements as the striped pattern on the front panel.

For the card’s focal point, I thought it would be fun to use the Zany Zoo Stamp Set to go with the bright colors! I picked this cute little guy holding the balloons for a birthday! He is stamped with Memento Ink on a piece of Basic White that is diecut with one of the Countryside Corners Dies. I hadn’t done any coloring in a little while, so I got out my Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers and colored him in with Light and Dark Pecan Pie Stampin’ Blends and a little gray on his front. The balloons are colored with Poppy Parade, Tahitian Tide, and Parakeet Party Blends. The greeting is in the Zany Zoo Stamp Set and I got it to just fit on the piece!

I thought I would like layers of the colors I used for the balloons so I diecut a piece of Parakeet Party, Tahitian Tide, and Poppy Parade. But I didn’t want to make it all TOO big. I cheated a little and used my Paper Trimmer to try to, as evenly as possible, trim off a little of the Poppy Parade layer so I could use the regular-size die for the Tahitian Tide layer. Otherwise, the Poppy Parade would have been the same size as the Tahitian Tide and then the Tahitian Tide layer would have had to be the next largest die up (which might have been the largest one) and that was going to take up a lot of room on the card front.

When whatever your focal point is on the front of the card, you only want to glue half of it to that folded-back front section. So carefully figure out which side the glue will go on and try to center that part as best you can.

If you want a panel on the inside of the card, over a print as I have on this card, cut a shape the same size as the largest layer on the front so it doesn’t stick out and show when the card is closed. Then lay it face down on the back side of the focal piece, apply glue, and make sure it stays in place lined up with the front of the card, then close the back of the card over to the inside panel gets adhere to the inside of the card but stays hidden behind the front piece. You’ll understand when you do it!

For the inside of my card, I stamped a birthday greeting from the Cheerful Daisies Stamp Set and also some confetti with the stamp in the Zany Zoo Stamp Set in the same colors of ink I had already used on the front of the card – Poppy Parade, Parakeet Party, and Tahitian Tide. On the front of the card, I added some Iridescent Rhinestone Jewels for some sparkle.

Z-Fold cards are easy to make and for sure should be in everyone’s repertoire!

Unfortunately, this Brights 6″ x 6″ paper is backordered until the week of September 25 at this time, but many of you may already own it and of course, you can use whatever designer paper you have for the card that you want to make!

Here is a view of the card when opened.

Zany Zoo Brights Z-Fold Birthday Card open

I hope you will be inspired to try a Z-Fold card. Make it as simple or fancy as you like! Keep checking, maybe this Brights DSP will come back in stock sooner! Don’t forget to use your Bonus Coupons if you earned some in July. Use your Bonus Coupons by August 31.

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Textured Floral Happy Birthday Card

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Textured Floral Happy Birthday Card

I just got this Textured Floral Bundle the other day, and wow, am I happy with this first card I just made! This Textured Floral Happy Birthday Card came together really easily! It reminded me a lot of a stamp set that just retired from the previous annual catalog, but then I saw samples online and couldn’t resist any longer! No matter how many floral stamp sets we have, we still need more!

These stamps have that “Distinktive” style which gives you some texture and makes the image look very artistic. They look good stamped right on the card or you can use the dies to cut them out.

I wanted this card to look bright and summery so I started with a card base of Lemon Lime Twist and a layer of Daffodil Delight cardstock. I stamped the three flowers in Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight, and Highland Heather on a separate piece of Basic White cardstock and then die-cut them with the Textured Floral Dies. One set of leaves was stamped with Garden Green ink on Basic White and the other was stamped on Lemon Lime Twist cardstock with Lemon Lime Twist ink. The stem with the tiny leaves was die-cut from Lemon Lime Twist. I thought it was so pretty I had to use it on this card!

When I first stamped one of the smallest flowers with Highland Heather ink, I thought the flower was so beautiful that I got the idea to stamp those flowers directly on the card and the others would be fine to be diecut and popped up on the card. I think the beautiful Highland Heather flowers really make a pretty backdrop for the other flowers.

After stamping the Highland Heather flowers around where I planned to place the other flowers, I could fill in some empty spaces so it turned out I stamped more purple flowers than I first thought. But I really like them! Then I adhered the Flirty Flamingo large flower with a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals and then the Daffodil Delight flower off to the side, and finally had to add a diecut purple flower, also popped up. When you know you are going to slip some leaves underneath, be sure not to have too much adhesive right on the edges of the flowers. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to adhere all the different leaves and the stem.

The greetings in the Textured Floral Stamp Set were too large for the space I had left, so I used a small “Happy Birthday” stamp in the Go To Greetings Stamp Set. I was going to stamp it on some small label, but took a chance and stamped it directly on the card. If I had messed it up, I still could have covered it with a large stamped greeting label. It’s pretty risky to stamp directly on a card that you have just spent time making!

For a little sparkle, I splattered some Wink of Stella around the front of the card. I could have used Iridescent Rhinestones or sequins instead for a little bling.

On the inside of the card, I did stamp a greeting from the Textured Floral Stamp Set and adhered an extra Highland Heather diecut flower to the corner. Now the card is all set to mail to a friend for her birthday!

Remember, tomorrow is the last day for the Bonus Days at Stampin’ Up! to earn your $5 coupons with every $50 purchase at Stampin’ Up! Then spend your coupons in August!

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Bright & Beautiful Diagonal Birthday Card

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Bright & Beautiful Diagonal Birthday Card

Make this Bright & Beautiful Diagonal Birthday Card for anyone’s birthday! The paper makes it festive and bright and of course, who doesn’t love a cupcake?

This Bright & Beautiful 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper is a great package to own. You can purchase it at a 15% discount right now through June 30th! It has bright and beautiful colors and designs, just like the name says! So many coordinating colors with this paper, also. Some papers are like ombre-dipped shades, then there are stars, dots, diagonal stripes, circles, confetti, and more. Use it for cards or scrapbooking. For sure, the papers go well for making birthday cards.

The card base is Bubble Bath cardstock. If you want to have some stamped images on the side without designer paper, be sure to do that before you add the designer paper. I just stamped the cupcake from the Circle Sayings Stamp Set in Bubble Bath ink on the Bubble Bath cardstock. That gives a watermarked look, the same as if you used Versamark ink instead. It just adds a little interest rather than the blank cardstock on that side.

To cut the designer paper on the diagonal, first decide what size you want it to be. If you want it to fit corner to corner, completely against the fold of the card and all the way to the bottom of the card, then cut a piece of designer paper 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″, the exact size of the card. Then cut it diagonally from corner to corner with your Paper Trimmer. Put the top left corner of the designer paper even with the Paper Trimmer cutting track while also putting the lower right corner of the paper also even with the cutting track. That puts your paper on the diagonal. To avoid tearing the corners when you start cutting, place the cutting blade up into the paper, then back down to the corner, and then go up to the top, or vice versa. That takes some of the pressure off that pointy corner of the paper with the cutting blade jamming into it.

If you want the card to have the usual margin, cut the paper at 4″ x 5 1/4″, then adhere it 1/8″ off the fold and from the bottom as you would normally do. Either way is fine, or even smaller, depending on your design.

For the center greeting, I stamped the words and the cupcake from the Circle Sayings Stamp Set on Basic White with Bubble Bath ink. I punched it out, which was very close, with the 2″ Circle Punch. I wanted to use the 2 3/8″ Circle Punch for a layer of Bubble Bath so I had to use the 2″ Circle Punch. It worked fine!

I added Stampin’ Seal to the back of the greeting circle so that I could wind the Gold & Vanilla 3/8″ Satin Edged Ribbon back and forth behind it, and then I added Stampin’ Dimensionals to hold down the ribbon and to pop up the greeting in the center of the card. I liked the touch of gold on a festive birthday card!

And what birthday card would be complete without some bling? I used the Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins here and there on the cupcake and card to some sparkle. I have used these sequins a lot, maybe because the colors go with a lot and because they already have adhesive on them, unlike sequins we used to have that we had to glue down ourselves.

You can use this same card design with the other images in the Circle Sayings Stamp Set or even use some other greetings and dies. Here is another card I made recently using the same paper and stamp set, but with a few differences.

Check out the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper Sale!

Melon Mambo Daisies Birthday Card

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Melon Mambo Daisies Birthday Card

Sometimes it’s fun to stamp your own images on a card instead of using die cuts or designer paper! It’s like getting back to basics and it feels so good to have that stamp in your hand and stamp over and over!

This card is very simple. I chose a Melon Mambo cardstock card base with a Basic White layer. Of course, stamp the white layer before adhering!

I used the Cheerful Daisies Stamp Set to stamp three of the largest daisies and then filled in the rest of the space with the smaller outline daisy stamp. For the flower centers, I used Daffodil Delight ink. There is a smaller flower center stamp and a larger one. Of course, flowers need leaves, so I inked up the leaf stamp with Granny Apple Green ink and filled in wherever I could.

The ribbon tied around the card is the Lemon Lime in the Ribbon Duo Combo Pack. To make the bow a little more substantial, I used two strands of ribbon and tied a bow.

The greeting is in the Cheerful Daisies Stamp Set and is stamped in Melon Mambo ink. It is diecut with the small banner die in the Countryside Corners Dies. For a final touch, I added several pink Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins.

This is just a fun, simple card to make and good to have on hand for birthdays or other occasions!

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Hello, Irresistible Floral Birthday Card

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Hello, Irresistible Floral Birthday Card

I seem to be quite taken with this paper lately, even though it’s not one of the brand-new products, but there is something about it! I made this Hello, Irresistible Floral Birthday Card mostly with die-cutting the elements on the card.

This is the Hello, Irresistible 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper, available as an Online Exclusive in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store. This means you won’t find the paper in the catalog, but it can be purchased online for as long as it is available. If you like this paper, you can purchase it at a 15% discount during the month of June on the Designer Series Paper Sale! The patterns are all so soft and pretty!

In making this card, I chose a card base of Flirty Flamingo, but I also added a layer of Petal Pink. I couldn’t decide which color to use so I used both! Next, there is a layer of designer paper. There are so many pretty patterns to choose from. I liked this color-washed linear design to be the background for the flowers.

What really inspired this card was the die-cut vertical piece on the left side of the card. I already had it in my pile of scraps that I didn’t use one other time, so I carefully adhered it to the card on those dots. You might not notice, but I decided to punch out some Vellum Cardstock circles, one with the 2 3/8″ Circle Punch and two with the 2″ Circle Punch. I put the largest circle near the bottom of the card and the other two above.

You can stamp flowers and leaves if you like from the Irresistible Blooms Stamp Set or you can die cut them right out of the designer paper! There are large and small outline flower dies plus a couple of different leaf dies. It is so fun when you can cut out the designs from the paper. Then I just played around with the flowers and leaves until I was happy with the placement and glued them down. The bottom flower is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The greeting is stamped on a piece of designer paper in a Soft Sea Foam color in Soft Sea Foam ink. The greeting is in the Go-To Greetings Stamp Set. I used a narrow banner die in the Stylish Shapes Dies to make a thin banner for the sentiment without covering up too much of the flowers.

For a finishing touch, I adhered several of the Petal Pink sequins randomly on the card in the Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins. I really like these sequins, three different colors, and different sizes.

Here is another card I made using the Hello, Irresistible Paper.

Take advantage of the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper Sale while you can!

Hello, Irresistible Floral Birthday Card Closeup

Bright & Beautiful Circle Sayings Birthday Card

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Bright & Beautiful Circle Sayings Birthday Card

Here’s a quick and easy birthday card to make, the Bright & Beautiful Circle Sayings Birthday Card. I just chose a soft, ombre designer paper for the card layer and added one of the Circle Sayings.

The card base is one of the new colors, Bubble Bath. The designer paper is the Bright & Beautiful 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper. This pack of paper has all kinds of colors and patterns that will make lovely and bright & happy cards and projects for you. This particular pattern I chose has ombre shades of Bubble Bath. You almost can’t tell it very well in the photo. It’s like a dip-dye where each dip gets lighter and lighter at the top and darker at the bottom.

For the greeting, I used the Circle Sayings Stamp Set and the 2 3/8″ Circle Punch. You can purchase both together in the Circle Sayings Bundle and save 10%. I simply stamped the circular greeting in Bubble Bath ink on Basic White cardstock and then the cupcake in the center also in Bubble Bath. At first I wished the circle punch was a bit smaller so I could make a layer with the 2 3/8″ Punch, but the 2″ Circle Punch seemed a bit too small. I think it turned out okay the way it is.

To jazz it up a bit, I put some ribbon, back and forth behind the circle. This is the White 3/8″ Glittered Organdy Ribbon, which is still available in the Online Exclusives. Just put “organdy ribbon” in the Search box and it will come up. It is soft enough to go along with the soft colors of the card, but you can see the bits of glitter embedded in the ribbon for a little sparkle. As I got out some Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels, I decided to color one with the Dark Bubble Bath Stampin’ Blend Marker and put it on top of the cupcake! I was going to put more rhinestones on the card but changed my mind to the Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins. I just chose three of them and placed them on the card. It adds a little bling but not too much.

This Bright & Beautiful Designer Paper will be on the Designer Series Paper Sale on June 1st at 15% off, so put it on your list if you don’t own it already!

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Zany Zoo Foxy Birthday Card

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Zany Zoo Foxy Birthday Card

When I started working on this Zany Zoo Foxy Birthday Card, I had no idea what I was going to make. I only thought I would use the Zoo Crew Designer Series Paper because I hadn’t used it too much yet. I looked through the papers, this little fox on a Pool Party scooter caught my eye and as I played around, this card came about!

The little fox on the designer paper was already partially colored and you can leave the characters that way or you can color in some of the uncolored parts. I used Stampin’ Blends on the scooter seat, light, tires, and the fox’s scarf.

For the balloons, I stamped the raccoon holding balloons in the Zany Zoo Stamp Set on Basic White cardstock. I die-cut the raccoon and then cut off the balloons so I could use them with the fox! I colored them in with several Stampin’ Blends colors.

The card base is Pool Party cardstock with a layer of the black and white side of the Zoo Crew Designer Paper. I diecut two circles in the Stylish Shapes Dies, one in Basic White and one for the layer in Pool Party and adhered them together. To break up the background, I added a narrow strip of another black and white pattern, to go underneath the circles.

After adhering the circles to the card front, I cut out the fox on the scooter with my Paper Snips and popped him up over the circles with Stampin’ Dimensionals, plus stuck on the balloons, too.

For the greeting, I stamped the sentiment from the Zany Zoo Stamp Set and die-cut it with the banner die in the Zany Zoo Dies. For the Pool Party layer, I held the greeting banner on the Pool Party cardstock and just cut around it by hand! It turned out fine. It would have been nice to have a layering die for that, though!

For embellishments, I tied a little bow with the Black & White 1/4″ Gingham Ribbon and adhered it with a Glue Dot. For a little sparkle, I used the Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins around the fox and on the birthday banner.

For not knowing WHAT I was going to make this time, I was quite happy with my card when I was finished! So even if you don’t have any creative ideas in the moment, just get out some designer paper you like and see what you end up with!

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Abigail Rose Floral Birthday Card

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Abigail Rose Floral Birthday Card

I’m maybe having a difficult time letting go of some of the retiring products, now that it is getting down to the wire! The Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog ends on May 1st, which is right around the corner! I was a late-comer to this Abigail Rose Suite so I’m not quite ready to give it up! I was in the mood for some coloring, so I chose on of the designer paper patterns, colored with Stampin’ Blends, and made this Abigail Rose Floral Birthday Card.

This card starts with an Early Espresso card base with a layer of the pretty Petal Pink striped paper in the Abigail Rose Designer Series Paper. This paper is discounted a little bit in the Last Chance Sale so grab it while you can and use it or hoard it, whichever you like!

The colored flowers are from another sheet of the designer paper. I cut out this bunch of flowers, just roughly off the whole sheet of designer paper so it would be easier to color. I used several different Stampin’ Blends. The Petal Pink Combo for the large flowers, Light Pumpkin Pie for the smaller flowers, Light Highland Heather for the tiny flowers, and the Granny Apple Green Combo for the leaves with a bit of Daffodil Delight on some of them.

After coloring all the flowers how I liked, I cut out around the flowers with Paper Snips, not following the lines perfectly, but leaving a tiny white margin around the edge everywhere. Then I adhered it flat to the card with Multipurpose Liquid Glue. It could also have been popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The greeting is stamped from the Go To Greetings Stamp Set. It was then diecut with one of the banner dies in the Stylish Shapes Dies. Since there was little space, I trimmed off the right end of the banner and adhered it flat against the edge of the striped designer paper, slightly overlapping one of the leaves. For some sparkle, I added several Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels randomly on the card.

Here is a very similar card I made a while back using the striped paper and part of the flower grouping. I used vellum die cuts for some texture behind the main flower image. One of the dies cuts out this flower and its leaves.

This Abigail Rose Designer Series Paper is still available in the Last Chance Sale as are the Cottage Flower Dies. Don’t miss out if you want these products!

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Framed Florets Pale Papaya Birthday Card

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Framed Florets Pale Papaya Birthday Card

This Framed Florets Pale Papaya Birthday Card uses retiring stamps, dies, and colors. Gotta eke out all the uses I can before these lovely things retire and we move on to all the exciting new things! I really wish this stamp set and dies were staying.

The card base is Soft Succulent, one of the outgoing In Colors of 2021-2023. Then I have a layer of Pale Papaya, another outgoing In Color in that group. That layer is cut with the die in the Framed Florets Dies (I think they are sold out.) I also diecut a Basic White oval to put in the center with the greeting stamped in Soft Succulent Ink with the Framed Florets Stamp Set. I love that particular greeting and font.

The flowers are all stamped in Memento Ink and colored with Stampin’ Blends. Then they were die cut as were some foliage to add behind the flowers. I used Soft Succulent cardstock and some Fresh Freesia for the single leaves.

I added some 2021-2023 In Color Opal Rounds for a bit of sparkle. These are retiring along with their In Colors and are discounted a little. So if you like collecting embellishments, get these pretty dots! You could use them with lots of subtle colors.

Check out the Last Chance List and get what you want before any more sells out!

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Glitter Washi Tape Birthday Card

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Glitter Washi Tape Birthday Card

I saw this idea of using our Glitter Washi Tape this way on the @Stampinupofficial Instagram account the other day and I loved the idea! Because of the colors, I assumed they were suggesting this was a way to make a Halloween card. While that would be very cute, I thought I could make a Glitter Washi Tape Birthday Card with three of the four washi tape colors! And I did! But I’m also dying to make a Halloween card using this technique, too!

The main idea is to use the Black & White Designs Designer Series Paper and add strips of the Glitter Washi Tape in the Holiday Mini Catalog on page 57. You have to look up in the upper left corner of the page to find it! I did make THIS CARD for Halloween using some Glitter Washi Tape but not in this way. I think this is such a clever idea to use this washi tape with this designer series paper!

The colors of the Glitter Washi Tape are Old Olive, Black, Highland Heather, and Pumpkin Pie. I left out the Pumpkin Pie so it wouldn’t look like Halloween. The card base is Highland Heather and I embossed the front with the Hive 3D Embossing Folder. I would normally use a separate layer to emboss, but since this card base was already cut and folded in the cardstock package I just went with it this way. I had to run the folder through my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine sideways which isn’t the best but it worked. Since I had a slightly smaller layer for the card front I thought a little texture around the edges of the card was in order.

The card front is a polka dot pattern in the Black & White Designs Designer Series Paper in the Holiday Catalog. I ran the washi tape diagonally in between the polka dots. There are also striped designs and others so you can choose other ways to apply the washi tape. Just let the strips of washi tape extend over the edges of the cardstock and then fold them all under instead of cutting or tearing them off at the ends. You could do that though. I used Stampin’ Seal+ adhesive to adhere the striped card front to the card base.

Glitter Washi Tape Card Front
Glitter Washi Tape Card Front2

I used the Biggest Wish Stamp Set for the greeting and focal point of the card. I stamped the words separately in Highland Heather ink and cut them very closely to the words with the Paper Trimmer. I also added a narrow layer of Highland Heather behind the stamped words. This stamp set is a fun one to own and perfect for a card like this.

Just in case the Glitter Washi Tape wasn’t enough “bling” on this card, I added a few 2021-2023 In Color Jewels even though they are retired now. (Such a shame!) I thought the Fresh Freesia jewels could be a close enough match to work on the card and applied a few to the greeting.

You might want to add this 4-pack of Glitter Washi Tape to your next order. It’s not just for Halloween and you can use the tape in so many ways in cardmaking and scrapbooking. You could just use little touches of it or actually make stripes or designs with it on cards. Just one of the fun embellishments we have for our papercrafting!

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Enjoy The Moment Birthday Card

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Enjoy The Moment Birthday Card

This Enjoy The Moment Birthday Card is made with the Enjoy The Moment Stamp Set that is retiring on Monday, May 2. This is an odd stamp set to me! I would generally say I don’t like this stamp set … yet, when I have made cards with it, I really like the card! Probably a lot of people don’t even know what the images are in the stamp set. They are nuts, seeds, and pods…I guess! Anyway, there is something about this stamp set that is fun even though I don’t care for it!

The card base is Garden Green cardstock. I don’t use this color very much, but I had already chosen this green and white floral pattern of paper in the Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper (now retired) for the background layer. Then I just stamped three of the images from the stamp set, and cut them down 1 1/2″ wide and just long enough. I layered those on the Garden Green cardstock and hoped they would fit okay on the card without doing the math! They did! I just used Garden Green ink to keep it monochromatic and simple.

I adhered the images flat on the card. You could pop them up on Dimensionals if you wanted to. The birthday greeting is in the same stamp set so I stamped that in Garden Green ink also and cut it out with the little banner die in the Tasteful Labels Dies. These dies are retiring on May 2 and are even discounted so you can save about $6 on these dies right now. These have been some of my most-used dies. I hate to see them leave. This greeting I did pop up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

On the inside of the card, since the cardstock is rather dark if I wanted to write something inside the card, I added a Basic White layer on which I stamped another image in the upper left corner and added a strip of the same designer paper across the bottom. Now the inside carries the same look to the inside and is ready for stamping or writing a personal note or message.

Here’s another card I made with this Enjoy the Moment Stamp Set.

I think this set was used in a virtual Stampin’ Up! event a while back. I know I wouldn’t have just bought it on my own. But as I said, each card I have made I have enjoyed! So, are there really any “bad” Stampin’ Up! stamp sets??!! I even used one of the seed pod (?) images to look like fireworks on THIS CARD last July.

I think Stampin’ Up! should have included these live oak tree pollen things we have here in Texas that have caused so much allergy suffering by those allergic to the pollen. For weeks now, our live oak trees have been shedding this yellow dusty pollen and leaves and now these “catkins” have been falling and are all over yards and sidewalks. Along with the falling leaves from the trees, these catkins, which are male flower parts, are just everywhere. You can leave them and have your yard completely covered or rake them up into bags and hope the yard waste garbage truck comes by. In almost a few minutes, you will have to rake again! There is your science lesson for today!

If you are interested in plants and nature, you might like this Enjoy the Moment Stamp Set (it’s even on sale!) but be sure to order it soon as Monday, May 2 is the last day for this stamp set.

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Flowing Flowers Trio Birthday Card

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Flowing Flowers Trio Birthday Card

Sometimes you don’t know exactly where you are going with a card idea, or what you thought of doesn’t work out very well, yet in the end, something works out and you come up with a card you are happy with like this Flowing Flowers Trio Birthday Card!

The card base, which is difficult to see in the photo is Petal Pink with a layer of Melon Mambo, and then Basic White for the card front and flowers. The Flowing Flowers Stamp set is a beautiful one! This is a Distinktive** stamp set; it has a special texture that gives added depth and dimension in a single step, creating photo-realistic images. **Patent pending. In other words, the stamp does all the work and will stamp surprisingly beautiful! If you look at it after inking it, it will look like you missed some areas. You can stamp on scrap paper just to make sure and then reink it for your card or project. Some areas will be darker, some lighter, and some blank. It’s a surprise when you stamp it and see how pretty the image is!

For this card, I stamped several Flowing Flowers but ended up using just three of them. One is Highland Heather, one is Melon Mambo, and one is Mango Melody. I stamped them and then cut them out with Paper Snips. If I had known for sure how the card would come together, I could have stamped the two flowers on the ends straight onto the card front and then added the separate middle flower. But I didn’t know that at first! The flowers may look complicated to cut out but you don’t need to cut right on the lines and in some spaces, there aren’t any lines so just cut it out free and easy! I usually like to leave a tiny margin of white around the stamped image anyway so you don’t have to be precise.

The middle flower is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals and the other two adhered right on to the cardstock. There are no leaf stamps in the stamp set, so I just used the Sprig Punch to quickly punch out a bunch of leafy sprigs. I used three different green cardstock – Granny Apple Green, Pear Pizzazz, and Soft Sea Foam. I just tried to scatter them around tucking them underneath the flower edges.

There wasn’t much room for a greeting, but I stamped the “Happy Birthday” on Basic White and die cut it with one of the Tailor Made Tags. It seemed to fit best tucked in the upper right corner, just barely tucked under the Melon Mambo flower. It also has a piece of the Petal Pink 1/8″ Cotton Ribbon Combo Pack.

For some sparkle and glimmer, I colored over all three flowers with Clear Wink of Stella and also added a few Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels.

Check out the Flowing Flowers Stamp Set. There are no dies, so you can just buy the stamp set and not worry about spending extra money on the dies! With that Distinktive style, you will stamp beautiful flowers on your cards and projects. Here is another card I made recently with the other major flower stamp in the set.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Calming Camellia Birthday Card in Fresh Freesia

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Calming Camellia Birthday Card in Fresh Freesia

I so loved making the card the other day with the Calming Camellia stamp that I had to try another one. This Calming Camellia Birthday Card in Fresh Freesia though was really super simple! The stamp does all the work of making a beautiful card!

The card base, as you might have guessed, is Fresh Freesia Cardstock, one of the 2021-23 In Colors. I really like this group of In Colors. I cut the Basic White layer for the card front a little smaller than usual just to let more of the Fresh Freesia color show. It is 5″ x 3 3/4″. I stamped the camellia up a little high in the center of the Basic White with Fresh Freesia ink. The entire image you see on that card is all from the Distinktive stamp, a new type of stamp developed by Stampin’ Up! You don’t have to add anything else to get that full look of all the texture and detail.

The birthday greeting is also in the Calming Camellia Stamp Set so I stamped that near the bottom of the card. I decided not to do a die-cut or punch, but just to stamp right on the card front (unless I messed up!). Then I just tied the Fresh Freesia Open Weave Ribbon around with a bow so it looked like the bow was on the flower stem. That’s all there is to it! I didn’t even add any jewels this time, I just wanted the card to be simple and basic.

Now this stamp set, Calming Camellia, is special because you can’t just purchase it. It’s a Host set to earn with a $300 order during Sale-A-Bration which is quickly coming to an end in less than ten days! It can be all your own order or go in with some friends to reach that amount.

You can earn Sale-A-Bration products by ordering from either of the catalogs plus from the Clearance Rack! Just spend $50 and choose a product in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. Spend $100 and you have additional choices! No limit to the products you can earn, so shop in $50 increments!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Blessings of Home Floral Birthday Card

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Blessings_of_Home_Floral_Birthday_Card

The Blessings of Home Stamp Set in the new January-June 2022 Mini Catalog has this beautiful bouquet stamp in it. You might think it would be too involved to color in this Blessings of Home Floral Birthday Card, but I found that I was done before I knew it.

This time I started with the stamp set, Blessings of Home, with the largest bouquet. I would decide later what color the card base would be, etc. I stamped the bouquet on a piece of Basic White Cardstock and die-cut it with the Flowers of Home Dies. You can purchase both the stamp set and dies in the Blessings of Home Bundle and save 10% over buying them separately.

I stamped the bouquet in Memento Ink so I could color it with my Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. I looked at the colors that coordinate with the Heart & Home 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper but mostly I just wanted a soft look to the flowers. I started with Pale Papaya for the big center flower with a Delightful Daffodil center, with maybe a touch of Mango Melody to darken it. The other flowers are Calypso Coral, Highland Heather, and Pool Party. The leaves are mostly Granny Apple Green. Just use whatever colors you are in the mood for!

I decided on Cinnamon Cider for a card base with a Pale Papaya layer. Then I cut two pieces of the Heart & Home Designer paper to use for angled layers. They are 3″ x 4 3/4″. I actually mixed them up by accident! I intended for the wood pattern one to go behind the flowers since it is plainer, but I think it works okay the way I made it. The busy flower pattern is behind the bouquet but I think it still looks good. You probably can’t go wrong with the pretty designer paper and this floral stamp! The floral bouquet is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

The birthday greeting is in the Blessings of Home Stamp Set. I simply stamped it in Memento Ink on a scrap strip of Basic White and cut it down to the right length. I put a strip of Basic Black behind it to help it stand out. I could have used Cinnamon Cider perhaps or one of the other colors in the flowers instead. Since it goes across the popped up bouquet, I put Mini Dimensionals on each end and a bit of Stampin’ Seal in the center to adhere to the card over the bouquet.

It really didn’t take me long to color the flowers. Besides, coloring is good for our mental health and relaxation so we should take the time and not feel rushed! But if you don’t have time or really don’t like to color, just stamp the bouquet in a color. HERE is a card I made earlier with the smaller bouquet and just stamped it in Cinnamon Cider.

There are many beautiful and fun stamp sets and products in the new January-June 2022 Mini Catalog or Spring Mini, so take your time and make out your shopping list! Don’t delay too long though for things you really want because you know what can happen sometimes! And don’t forget about Sale-A-Bration! With every $50 purchase, you earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product!

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Sunshine & Rainbows Birthday Wishes Card

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Sunshine & Rainbows Birthday Wishes Card

Here’s a bright and happy card to start the New Year, this Sunshine & Rainbows Birthday Wishes Card. With things still disorganized at my house from moving things around for Christmas, I don’t even know what new products I have or where they are! I found one little pile and this paper was in it!

Beginning Tuesday, January 4 (yes, tomorrow!) the new Stampin’ Up! Spring Mini Catalog goes live plus our Sale-A-Bration promotion! Spend $50, get one free Sale-A-Bration product! This is everyone’s favorite promotion because who doesn’t like free product! This paper is used on this card is a Sale-A-Bration product that you can earn for free with a $50 purchase! It’s the Sunshine & Rainbows 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper and it coordinates with the Rainbow of Happiness Bundle in the Spring Mini Catalog. Some images coordinate with the dies and the new punch.

I was surprised to find this polka dot paper in the package, I was thinking it was all going to be rainbows on the “front” side of the paper, but when I saw this colorful polka dot, I had to use it! The bottom striped portion is the opposite side of the polka dots side!

The card base is Magenta Madness. I cut one of the pieces of designer paper a little longer so that they could overlap and not just meet, although that would have worked out okay, I didn’t know which ribbon I was using at first. The striped bottom piece is 5 1/4″ x 1 3/4″ and the polka dot pattern is 5 1/4″ x 2 1/2″ so the two papers can overlap by about 1/4″. The ribbon I used is the White 3/4″ Frayed Ribbon in the Spring Mini.

The greeting is found in the Little Delights Stamp Set, stamped in Magenta Madness ink on Basic White cardstock, and die cut with a die in the Painted Labels Dies. Then the greeting is layered on one of the Stitched So Sweetly Dies in Magenta Madness. It is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals over the wide ribbon. This stamp set is retiring from the Holiday Mini so TODAY is the LAST DAY for the great stamp set! Get it while you can!

To finish off this card, since the die cut behind the greeting was rather large, I felt like I should add something. Of course, that something was some jewels! I used the new Iridescent Rhinestone Jewels and a couple of the Gilded Gems from the Annual Catalog on each side of the Magenta Madness die cut. I’m not sure I love the placement of the gems, I didn’t feel like I was getting it right, but it’s right enough, so I decided to leave well enough alone! Sometimes you have to know when to stop!

*** Remember: Today is the last day for the LAST CHANCE PRODUCTS, the products retiring from the July-December 2021 Holiday Mini Catalog! Take a final look at your list and especially check in the Online Store to see what is still available! Check the Clearance Rack, too, as long as you are looking! There are a few things you could even use for making Valentine projects soon, plus punches, embossing folders, great dies, Gold Mini Pizza Boxes (great for treats, little 3″ x 3″ cards, small gift)

One more day until the new January-June 2022 Spring Mini Catalog AND Sale-A-Bration! Sleep well so you are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow!! Happy New Year and Shopping!