I love these red Adirondack chairs on this Anniversary Card On the Waterfront.  The card could be for anything, but adding a little red heart to match the chairs makes it into a card for someone special.

I think I decided to use the red chairs, die cut with the Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies before I decided on the rest of the card!  I love red and I love those chairs!  I was envisioning the chairs on the shore of our favorite little lake in Michigan, where it is a lot cooler than here in Houston. I could have sponged in some sand and water, but I got out the Waterfront Stamp Set and used that. I think instead of a lake in Michigan I created a beach in the South Pacific or somewhere!!

This stamp set, Waterfront, is a real sleeper if you ask me.  I didn’t even pay much attention to it in the past Occasions Catalog when it came out until I saw what people were stamping with it. It is a tremendous stamp set to use to make yourself look like a true artist!!

The card base is Crumb Cake Cardstock layered with Shimmery White, probably my favorite kind of paper.  It is good to use with anything close to watercoloring if you don’t have official Watercolor Paper.  You might be able to see the tiny bit of shimmer in my photograph from the paper. Even in person, it is very subtle but when you see it, it is beautiful!

I started by stamping the sand with Crumb Cake ink, stamping off sometimes, other times full strength.  The water is Coastal Cabana Ink and the mountains, I think, are Crumb Cake and a bit of Early Espresso.  For the sky, I just used my Aqua Painter to paint in some Balmy Blue ink and then added a little yellow and orange to look like a sunset.  I also used the Aqua Painter just a little bit on the water and mountains to smooth them out a bit and make it look more watercolored.  I really was thrilled with how it all turned out!  You can do it, too!!

The little heart is die cut from Stitched Labels Framelits Dies.  You could also just cut out a little heart by hand or draw one in the sand!  I thought about doing that, too.  I didn’t put a greeting on the front, but you could, for whatever occasion.

If you are looking for an interesting stamp set, I would try the Waterfront Photopolymer Stamp Set and just play with it! In fact, you can purchase a set of all the products to make some notecards! It’s called the Waterfront Cards (149037).  You get the stamp set, a Clear Block, small note cards, two ink pads, and Nature’s Twine.  This Waterfront Stamp Set was designed by a Demonstrator who reached $1 Million in sales!

Try out this stamp set so you can make artistic cards like my Anniversary Card On the Waterfront or these cards that I made previously.

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If I were attending the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, I might make A Handcrafted Wedding Card For the Royal Wedding Couple like this one!  I think I would make it look very elegant and rich but not overdone. Sometimes you have to know when to stop!

I think one of the best things Stampin’ Up! offered for wedding cards and other occasions is the Bloomin’ Heart Thinlits Dies. This heart die with the additional little flowers can make the most elegant and beautiful card for a wedding or other very special occasion or even Valentine’s Day!  I especially like to use special paper like Shimmery White and some Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper for a border and underneath the heart. The Shimmery White Cardstock has just a hint of shimmer if the light is right so it is very elegant and pretty.

I stamped the wedding greeting straight on to the front of the card since space was limited. I tried a die-cut oval and glimmer paper layer underneath but it was all too big for the space. Sometimes simple is better. I used my Stamparatus to make sure I stamped it well!

For a little bling, I had to use some Pearl and Rhinestones on the flower centers! You can’t give a wedding card to the Royal Couple without some bling!

If you like this Bloomin’ Heart Thinlits Dies, be sure to pick up the set at the Stampin’ Up! Online Store under Last-Chance Products.  The Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper is also on the retiring list and is discounted a little bit.  The Bloomin’ Heart dies are also discounted! For sure you should get it then!

I wonder if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will get any Stampin’ Up! handmade cards like this one!  Probably not, but if I were sending one I would make an elegant yet simple card like this one!  Enjoy the wedding!

The Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markal is tomorrow, and I suspect there have been many afternoon teas around the occasion, so to commemorate that I have this Royal Wedding Afternoon Tea Party Handmade Card! Sometimes it is fun to think about current events and how we can incorporate our papercrafting and stamping into those.

The Just Add Color Specialty Designer Series Paper has some teapots and teacups as images that are ready to be colored in and made into a project! This paper is on the Last-Chance List and even discounted, so it is a great deal! If you don’t already have the Stampin’ Blends Markers you can use other coloring techniques or you can save the paper and order the markers as soon as they are available so you will have them for some therapeutic, fun, relaxing coloring! I think coloring always takes us back to our childhood so maybe that is why they say it is so de-stressing and therapeutic for adults these days!

I picked the fanciest teapot and teacup to color on this patterned paper. My teapot is a mixture of sterling silver and porcelain!  Even the background is colored in with the Light Daffodil Delight marker for the wall color.  The base is left white for the crisp linen tablecloth.  Then I added some Very Vanilla Lace Trim (even though it isn’t white) because I just think there has to be some lace at a tea party!  I was able to cut this portion of the designer paper out just right to fit on the card.  To make it pop a little bit I edged it with strips of Soft Sky cardstock to match the little bit of Soft Sky marker I used on the coloring.  The card base is Powder Pink.  I can add a greeting later if I want to or just leave it off.  It can be a lovely notecard without a greeting.

Here’s another teapot card I made with the Just Add Color Specialty Designer Paper. On this card, I cut out the teapot and cup and adhered it to the card. Another way to do it!

Perhaps you will have a cup of tea if you will be watching the Royal Wedding very early tomorrow morning! Be sure to shop the Last-Chance List and get a package of this Just Add Color paper, great for a little adult, stress-free coloring as I did on this card for Royal Wedding afternoon tea parties!

I’ve been getting kudos on Facebook after my daughter posted a picture of this Wedding Anniversary Card with Rose Wonder I sent her and her husband.  I almost didn’t remember this stamp set and die were current!  Sometimes we forget what is in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog when we get so caught up in the Holiday Catalog!

There are many ways to use this stamp set and thinlits dies!  The stamp set, Rose Wonder, comes with a great selection of greetings and sentiments, which may be one of the reasons I bought this stamp set!

I used Shimmery White Cardstock, a must-have in your inventory, for this card for the stamped layer. The card base is Concord Crush (retired), but you can substitute something else.  The reason I used a retired color is because Concord Crush is the cardstock I used when they got married to make their wedding invitations! I stamped the flower in black ink (probably my old Stazon) and then colored in with the Concord Crush ink refill and my Aqua Painter. It’s always best to watercolor on Watercolor Paper, but Shimmery White works pretty well and has that oh so subtle shimmer to it.

The funny thing is, I think I just used lighter and darker shades of the ink (using less and more water) and the flower came out kind of multicolored.  I think some of those colors were hiding in the purple ink!  The greeting came from the Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Stamp Set.

Now the card was pretty at this point, but to add some extra pizzazz, I used the Rose Garden Thinlits Dies to die cut the flower and leaves out of Gold Foil.  The photo might look like Silver with the lighting, but it was the Gold Foil Sheets. It would be good to use the Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets. Since I didn’t have any, I used tiny dots of the Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

Even though this stamp set isn’t “brand new”, it’s a good one to own for the beautiful flower and leaves plus all the wonderful greetings. I was able to make this Wedding Anniversary Card with Rose Wonder pretty easily even though it looks very elegant!

I’m calling this a lacy wedding card made with the Falling in Love Designer Series Paper because of the lacy patterned paper, but really this card could be for lots of occasions. The Falling in Love Designer Series Paper has lots of beautiful patterns in the pack, but the one that really catches my eye is this lace pattern. It’s one of those papers that you hate to cut into! The lace made me think of a wedding dress so this is theoretically a wedding card, but it could be birthday or any of a number of occasions.

This designer paper coordinates with Very Vanilla so I used that for the card base with a layer of Basic Black. Behind the paper I have Silver Glimmer Paper.  The greeting is from the upcoming stamp set, sure to be a hit, Beautiful You. If Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator reaction is any indication, I would say this stamp set will be very popular.  The beautiful silver metallic ribbon is a Sale-A-Bration item, called the 3/8″ Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack. You get both white ribbon woven with shiny silver and vanilla ribbon woven with shiny  gold accents.

Remember, the new Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog begins January 4th as well as the annual favorite Stampin’ Up! promotion called Sale-A-Bration.  During Sale-A-Bration, for every $50 Stampin’ Up! purchase you make, you get to choose a FREE Sale-A-Bration item in the special brochure!  These catalogs will be available online January 4th. If you are interested in Stampin’ Up! products and would like complimentary copies of the catalogs, send me your contact information via email at Karen@KarenStamps.com.

In the meantime, be sure to check out the Stampin’ Up! Year-End Closeouts Sale going on now through January 3rd and make sure you get everything from the Holiday Catalog that you want!

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