I have used up my stash of reserve birthday cards and I needed a few for fellow choir members. I’ve been whittling away at my stash of older swap cards and Paper Pumpkin cards, and I’m fresh out. This meant that I had to pull out some supplies to create a small batch of cards. I had Monday off due to Labor Day and I enjoyed some creative time to make this card. It really was a lot of fun!
I dug into my stash of retired patterned paper for the designs on the left and bottom of the card. The stamps I used were the Product of the Month (POM) from a few months ago. I used the checkerboard stamp and, of course, the greeting and snail from the Wild Bunch stamp set. My instinct makes me think that this POM has been the most popular to date. I don’t have official details but it seemed – to me – to sell out super fast.
Stampin’ Up!® offers a new POM each month and they are always available while supplies last. This month the POM is a beautiful, richly colored paper that features gold foil imagery. I’m waiting for my package to arrive soon! The POM is a fantastic deal and is available to everyone with a qualifying order. You can purchase a POM for $5 when you order >= $75 (before tax and shipping). As I said, quantities are limited, and you will only be able to buy a specific POM one time.
This old sketch was the inspiration for my card design. I love grid-style designs and this one seemed perfect to feature a square focal image. I recently bought the Tile Garden bundle featured in the new catalog, and I was happy to use these great dies. These dies are a collection of squares with varying border designs; I’m sure that they will be very popular and useful!
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I made a batch of these cards over the weekend. I made a total of 36 cards for the church birthday card ministry which will be enough for the full month. I wanted to use the Glow of Harvest patterned paper which is the August Product of the Month. I love the Fall theme of these papers and I hope the September birthday folks do, too. I pulled out some retired ribbon as an accent and I love how the two ribbons I chose go with the designs of the papers.
I used this very old sketch layout as the design inspiration for my card. I have used this layout a lot when I want to create something quickly that features beautiful patterned paper. The upper section is smaller in my card to give more space to the DSP. This way I can use a 4″ x 4″ piece of the patterned paper for each card which makes me happy because I use the full sheet of DSP.
The Glow of Harvest paper is absolutely stunning and my picture doesn’t do it justice. There is a pearlized finish to each of the papers which gives an extra touch that adds beauty. I mentioned earlier that this paper is the Product of the Month (POM) for August. This means that you can get it for only $5 when you place an order that is at least $75 (before tax and shipping). I just checked and confirmed that the product is still available, so if you want some you need to get it soon. Stampin’ Up!® offers the POM products while supplies last. If you want some you need to act quickly because none of us know when they will run out.
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I needed a couple of Thank You cards and I wanted to feature this gorgeous patterned paper. This paper is not included in the Designer Series Paper and Cardstock sale, but it’s definitely worth your time to give it a look. I pulled out a retired stamp set for the greeting and this card came together super-quick. I added a bit of Darling Duckling ribbon and raised the greeting with Dimensionals. I didn’t feel like the card needed anything more, so I left it pretty simple. Stampin’ Up!® makes such gorgeous paper that it really does deserve to be the star of the project.
I used this older sketch as the inspiration for my card layout. The stamped greeting panel is narrower in my version to match the size of the greeting I used. I really like the simplicity of this design and I can see using it again and again. The dark sections seem perfect for using patterned paper like I did for my card. I really like the contrast of the bold, stamped greeting with the soft, subtle flowers with gold highlights in the patterned paper. What do you think? I encourage you to experiment with the stamps and papers you have to create something with this sketch.
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For three days Stampin’ Up!® is giving shoppers double rewards points! This started yesterday (sorry I’m late to share – life’s been busy) and goes through Friday. For all of your purchases that you make during this period you will earn double the reward points! The minimum order amount to receive rewards is $20, and that is not changed for this promotion. You can even earn the double bonus points when you sign up or purchase a prepaid Paper Pumpkin subscription. Sorry current subscribers, you can’t receive bonus rewards for your existing subscription.
This is a great time to stock up on staples that you need, shop the Last Chance section of the online store, and take advantage of the Designer Series Paper & Cardstock sale. All of these products will earn double bonus rewards. The only requirement to receive these rewards (other than the minimum purchase) is that you must have an online account with Stampin’ Up! and you have to opt in to the rewards program. That’s it! Every time you shop (with a minimum purchase) you will earn rewards that you can redeem in the future.
Happy shopping!
I purchased the Sunflower 3D embossing folder a few months ago when I could. This particular folder has been extremely popular since it was introduced by Stampin’ Up!® and it is frequently sold out. I’m very happy to share that it is currently in stock, so if you want one for yourself you can get it! One huge factor in why it’s so popular is that lots of people have shared some great techniques and projects featuring it. The depth and detail of the embossing is amazing and really is the star of any project.
For this project I used an extremely easy technique that I watched online. No special tools are required beyond the embossing folder, a die cutting machine, and some ink pads. Here is how I created this look:
- Warning – your fingers might get quite inky!
- Emboss a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ piece of Lemon Lolly cardstock
- Flip the embossed cardstock so the debossed side is face-up
- The background of the image is the raised part
- Very lightly drag the edge of the Timid Tiger ink pad over the debossed cardstock
- Rotate the cardstock as needed to apply the ink
- Let the ink dry for a few minutes
- Then, again very lightly, drag the edge of the Pecan Pie ink pad over the debossed cardstock
- Rotate the cardstock as needed to apply the ink
- You should still see some of the Timid Tiger color but most will be covered with Pecan Pie
- Let the cardstock dry before handling further
- Trim the cardstock to the size needed for your project
- This will remove some of the edges that might have collected extra ink and are splodgy
I made a batch of these cards for the late August/early September birthdays at our church. I can’t wait to hear the reaction from the gal who organizes the card ministry! She always loves my creations but I think this one will especially please her.
I hope that you have an opportunity to try this technique. It is a really easy way to experiment with color combinations and create something that is truly your own and a work of art. Happy crafting!
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Stampin’ Up!® is offering a discount on select papers this month. Until the end of August you can save 15% on select packs of patterned paper, Two-Tone cardstock, and solid core cardstock. This sale is a great chance to replenish your supply of essentials and add some gorgeous patterned paper to your crafting stash. You can shop the sale here. All of the sale items are available while supplies last. Here is a card that I created recently that features two of the DSP packs that are on sale. I used sheets from the Homemade Sweetness and Paper Medley paper packs for my card. I love how they two papers coordinate on the project! That’s the purpose of the Paper Medley and Mixed Up Patterns papers; to offer patterned papers that coordinate with other papers because they feature simple imagery. I encourage you to check them all out!
I made 12 of these cards for some of the August birthdays for the church card ministry. I like to mix in cards that are season specific and this card is one of those times. I love these cheerful, summer-y images and the coordinating colors are perfect for summer time. I really hope that the people that receive one of these cards enjoy the fun images.
I bought the Summer Happiness bundle and washi tape early this summer and I love the images! They are perfect for summer-themed cards, scrapbook pages, and other projects. The washi tape in particular makes it super-easy to have multi-colored cheerful images quickly. I’m pretty sure this is the third coordinating washi tape that Stampin’ Up!® and I’ve bought every one of them. At first I wasn’t convinced, but I saw so may beautiful projects using the Extraordinary Flora Washi that I became convinced to give them a try. The washi tape partnered with coordinating dies really add something extra to projects and you get a lot of images on a roll of the tape. It’s a pretty inexpensive way to try something new using the tools you already have (if you have a die cutting machine).
I used the Banner Sayings bundle again for this batch of cards for the card ministry. This bundle really is turning out to be extremely handy and I’m so glad that I bought it! When I want a greeting that isn’t too big, but gets the message across, this stamp set and coordinating punch are perfect. I really encourage you to check it out!
I used a non-Stampin’ Up! die from my stash for the circle trio. I can’t give any info on it due to Stampin’ Up! policy, but I can use this as an opportunity to point out that you can combine products from different vendors when you create. Use any products that you love when you are crafting because it is all about having fun as you explore your creativity.
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I mentioned in my last post that I intended to play very soon with my new foil system and dies. Well, I made a batch of this card for the July/August birthdays for the church card ministry. I purchased the Classic Greetings dies at the same time that I bought the Hot Foil System; those dies were the first thing I noticed and I knew that I would use them. I love how adding a bit of foiled imagery on the card makes it seem even more special.
I used this older sketch as the inspiration for my card layout. The foiled and diecut greeting is sized a little differently than the white panel in the foreground, but that’s the beauty of sketches. They are a starting point and there are no rules about how we use a sketch.
I made 18 of these cards pretty quickly. I wondered about doing mass production with the foil but while I was waiting for the machine to re-heat, I diecut the greeting that I had just foiled or cut pieces of DSP and foil. In this way I was able to keep my hands busy during the enforced heating times for the foil machine. The rest of the card layout is quite basic with the DSP doing the work, so the cards came together quite quickly.
The patterned paper (DSP) and Two-Tone cardstock are retired products and I am thrilled to be able to use them for a batch of cards for the church ministry. The pattern with the cool drinks is perfect for a summer time card, and I hope the recipients like the combination of pretty foil and fun paper imagery. As I’ve said before, many times, it is fine to combine old with new. It’s a great way to find new ways of using the supplies that you have and get more life out of your past crafty investments.
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Starting today – July 10th – Stampin’ Up!® has added foiling to their amazing product line for paper crafting. It is absolutely amazing!!! I just got my machine a couple of days ago along with a couple of dies and I’ve been able to experiment a tiny bit. I’m definitely a big fan! Now I just need a break from my pesky day job so I have some more time to play and really get accustomed to the machine and any tips I may figure out.
There are actually two types of foiling machines out there in the paper-crafting world. The first (and I think oldest) is a machine that uses heat to fuse foil to toner. For this machine (which is like a laminator), the images have to be printed on the paper, and typically you purchase the paper with the designs and then foil with the color you want. The second is a machine that heats special dies that then apply the foil to the paper that you provide. This is the type of machine that Stampin’ Up! is selling. The dies are more expensive than the pre-printed paper, but you have A LOT more versatility to pick the paper (and therefore the color of paper) that you want to foil your image on. And you won’t run out of it like you can with the pre-printed papers since you’re using your own paper for the foiling.
I’m explaining all of this because the types of foil for these machines are different – you cannot use foil for the laminator style-machine in the hot die machine, and vice-versa. If you purchase the Stampin’ Up! machine, make sure that you purchase foil for die-based foiling systems. Stampin’ Up! offers 3 colors of foil: Gold, Silver, and Pink. If you purchase your foil from Stampin’ Up! you will definitely have the right type. If you purchase foil elsewhere, make sure that it is the right variety.
You can shop all of the Hot Foil products here on the Stampin’ Up! site. Stay tuned here because I’ll share projects as I have a chance to play with my new toys.
There are a LOT of birthdays at our church in July and August, so I’m taking a multi-batch approach for the card making this summer. Last month I created this card and the coordinator had enough to get started sending cards for the beginning of July. This batch of 25 cards will cover most of July, but not all. When I handed off the cards to the coordinator yesterday I told her that I would do another big batch soon so she had enough to start in August, and then I’ll do one or more batches to finish up August and have enough to start in September.
Card making is a great activity when it is so stinkin’ hot outside. We had several days last week where it was over 90° and I kept busy and productive by working on these cards. And I got to be creative, too!
I like to use patterned papers in my card ministry creations. This time I used papers that are currently available – I didn’t dig into my stash. Stampin’ Up!™ has gorgeous papers with lots of different designs, and these are great examples. The fruit paper is from the Homemade Sweetness pack that is an Online Exclusive and the striped paper is from the Paper Medley pack which is designed to partner with other papers. I really like how these two papers come together on the finished card! The card itself is quite basic, so the papers are the star of the show. Speaking of star… the three stars on the card are from a bag of confetti stars that I purchased from Amazon over a year ago. I have so many I could embellish cards over three lifetimes! They are a great option that doesn’t add any lumpiness or weight, so they are perfect for the card ministry cards.
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