Along with the many new stamp sets in the new 2010-2011 Stampin’ Up! Catalog, there are all new hostess sets — available only for one year! Today’s cards use the Level 1 stamp set ”Because I Care”, which hostesses can get for free with a $150 workshop.  

Because I Care Cards

 
Thank You Card Instructions:

1. Start with a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of Whisper White cardstock.
2. Stamp the hydrangeas in Rich Razzleberry and Marina Mist on the left and bottom sides.
3. Take a Stamping Sponge and sponge Rich Razzleberry ink on all four sides.
4. Stamp the “thank you” sentiment in Soft Suede ink.
5. On a scrap piece of Whisper White cardstock, stamp the small hydrangea flower in Marina Mist and cut out with  Paper Snips. (Don’t even TRY this with “regular” scissors or you’ll end up with a “blob” instead of a detailed flower!) Attach it to the card with a Stampin’ Diminsional.
6. Adhere the Whisper White cardstock piece to a Crumb Cake card.
    

 
Because I Care Card Instructions:

1. Start with a 4 3/4″” x 3 1/2″ piece of Whisper White cardstock.
2. Stamp the hydrangeas in Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, and Early Espresso ink.
3. On a scrap piece of Whisper White cardstock, stamp the “because I Care” sentiment in Early Espresso. Ink the edges of the cardstock by rubbing it along the Early Espresso ink pad. Adhere to the Whisper White cardstock.
4. Create the butterfly using the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die in the Big Shot and adhere it to the card with a Stampin’ Dimensional.
5. Adhere the cardstock to a 5″ x 3 3/4″ piece of Early Espresso cardstock.
6. Adhere to a Cherry Cobbler card.

 
Stampin’ Up! Stamping Supplies:

“Because I Care” stamp set
Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, and Early Espresso cardstock
Rich Razzleberry, Marina Mist, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight and Early Espresso Classic ink pads
Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die
Big Shot
Stampin’ Dimensionals  
Stamping Sponge

Because I Care Hostess Stamp Set

Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die

 
For more information on hosting a Stampin’ Up! workshop:

• Three Great Reasons to Host a Stampin’ Up! workshop
• Hostess Benefits - When you host a qualifying workshop, you’ll earn FREE products, plus I’ll give you a FREE Idea Book & Catalog!
• What is a Workshop?
• Contact me to Host Your Workshop!

 
Make sure you stop by tomorrow for day 3 of the tour. I’ll be showing you a scrapbook page made with some of the accessories available in the new catalog!  

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Welcome to Day 1 of the Remarkable New Catalog Blog Tour!

Stampin' Up!'s New Colors

One of the things I’m most excited about with the new 2010-2011 Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalog is the Color Renovation (Stampin’ Up!’s new colors)! There are four new color collections, with 10 colors in each collection, that are fresh and exciting. Plus – the In Colors will be available for two years, instead of just one. Five new In Colors will be introduced every year — so starting in 2011, there will be a total of 10 In Colors to choose from.

The four core color collections are: Brights, Subtles, Regals and Neutrals. Some of your old favorites are still there… some of the previous In Color colors have returned… and there are some fresh new ones too!

Stampin' Up! New Color Collections

For today’s cards, I decided to focus on the NEW core colors: Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Marina Mist, and Crumb Cake (formerly known as Kraft). Even though these colors are from four different color collections, I thought they still looked great together! So these 2 quick-and-easy cards incorporate all of these colors.
 

Our Journey Card Instructions:

This first card starts with a Crumb Cake card. Then I used the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die in my Big Shot with the remaining 5 colors. (If you didn’t purchase this cute little embosslits die during the Occasions Mini Catalog sales period, you have a second chance – because it’s back in the new catalog!)

Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die - Closeup

I adhered the butterflies in a line on the card and drew in the antennae with an Early Espresso Stampin’ Write marker. I then stamped the “journey” stamp (from the “In a Word” stamp set in the Summer Mini Catalog) in Marina Mist ink on Whisper White cardstock. I adhered that to the bottom of the card (leaving it raised a bit to draw attention to the “our” in “journey”), and topped it off with 2 more butterflies and a scrap piece of Early Espresso cardstock.

The second card is even easier!
 

Remember Me Card Instructions:

I layered a piece of Whisper White cardstock on an Early Espresso card. Then I punched out circles of cardstock with my 1/2″ Circle punch. Before adhering them to my card, I lined them up where I wanted them to go. Then I stamped “remember” (also from the ”In a Word” stamp) in Early Espresso ink, making sure to line up the “me” circle with where the top right circle would go. (The clear stamps came in really handy for this part!)

On a scrap piece of Whisper White cardstock I stamped it again – and this time punched out the “me” circle with my 1/2″ circle punch – and then adhered that to my card with a Stampin’ Dimensional.

Finally, I adhered the remaining cardstock circles to the card and then outlined them with my Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker.

With all the excitement of Stampin’ Up!’s color renovation, you might be wondering what the best way is to update your existing Stampin’ Up! products. Wonder no more! With the new color kits, you can get all of Stampin’ Up!’s new colors (and just the colors you need) without the expense of replacing products you already have. In fact, all of the new colors I used in today’s cards are included in the “Card Stock and Classic Stampin’ Pad New Color Kit”. For $34.95 you get 6 Classic ink pads and 24 sheets of 8 1/2″ x 11″ smooth card stock (4 each of 6 colors). Download this flyer for more information on all the color kits that are available: Stampin’ Up! Color Renovation Kits (PDF document).
 

Stampin’ Up! Stamping Supplies:

“In a Word” stamp set*
Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, and Whisper White cardstock
Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die
Big Shot
1/2″ Circle Punch
Early Espresso and Marina Mist Classic Ink Pads
Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker
Stampin’ Dimensionals

*Items from the Summer Mini Catalog (available May 1 – August 31, 2010)

In a Word Stamp Set

Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die

Make sure you stop by tomorrow for day 2 of the tour. I’ll be showing you some samples made with one of the new stamp sets available for FREE when you host a workshop!
 

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 Welcome to day 3 of the RemARKable Stampers Special Occasions Blog Tour! Today I am focusing on Babies!

When I saw a baby carriage party favor on Niki Estes’ blog, I couldn’t wait to re-create it with my Stampin’ Up! supplies. (And be sure to keep scrolling down to see the matching card I created!) Here’s my take on her adorable party favor:

Baby Carriage Party Favor

Niki generously provides a template for this project on her blog – but I’m more of a “dimensions” type of gal. So I downloaded her template and measured out the approximate dimensions of each piece so I didn’t have to cut out the template pieces, trace them, and then cut out each piece from my papers. In case you’re like me and prefer to bypass using the template, I have included the dimensions that I used for each piece.

 
Baby Carriage Party Favor Instructions:

Cut out the following items from Regal Rose cardstock:

• (4) 1-inch circles (using the 1″ circle punch)
• (2) 3 3/8″ circles
• (1) 8 1/8″ x 2 3/8″ rectangle

Cut out the following pieces from Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper:

• (4) 3/4″ circles (using the 3/4″ circle punch)
• (2) 3″ circles

Cut out a piece from each of the large circles (think Pac-Man shape!).

Adhere your Pink Flamingo circles on top of your matching (larger) Regal Rose circles.

Score 1/4″ in on both of the long sides of your Regal Rose cardstock rectangle. Then cut triangular notches along both edges as shown:

Top Edge is scored with the notches already cut out. Bottom edge is scored with marks showing where my cuts should go.

Now comes the tricky part: adhere the rectangle to the 2 large circles. It was a little difficult to work with these pieces; but here’s how I finally got it to work. First, adhere the middle of the rectangle (the flaps) to the middle of the circle. Then work your way from the middle to the edges as shown:

Top view -- first circle is attached to the rectangle.

When adhering the second large circle, I found it easiest to start on one end and work my way adhering the rectangle around the circle to the other end.

Add a Filigree Designer Brad to each wheel and adhere to the carriage.

Punch a strip of Whisper White cardstock with the Scallop Edge Punch and adhere to the carriage. (You could adhere it to either the inside or the outside of the carriage.)

Stamp “welcome” stamp on a 4 1/8″ long strip of Whisper White cardstock and mat on Regal Rose cardstock. Adhere to the inside of the carriage.

Fill with candy or a small lightweight gift (maybe baby socks?).

Notes:

1. Use Sticky Strip for your adhesive; it really holds the pieces together nicely.
2. Even though I love the “Bliss” candy (and it matched so nicely!) — it was too heavy for these favors. I would suggest using a more lightweight candy – or not filling it quite as full as shown.

 
Baby Carriage Card: 

I wasn’t done working with these adorable baby carriages, so I created a matching card:

Dimensions of the baby carriage pieces:

• (1) 3 1/4″ circle of Regal Rose cardstock
• (1) 3″ circle of Pink Flamingo patterned paper
• (2) 1-inch circles (using the 1″ circle punch) of Regal Rose cardstock
• (2) 3/4″ circles (using the 3/4″ circle punch) of Pink Flamingo patterned paper
• 2″ long strip of Whisper White cardstock, punched with the Scallop Edge punch

 Scallop-edge punch the bottom front flap of a 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ Whisper White card. Line the bottom inside flap with a 5 1/2″ x 1″ strip of Regal Rose cardstock. 

Adhere a coordinating piece of Pink Flamingo patterned paper to the top. (I inked the edges with my Regal Rose ink pad first.)

Attach a Filigree Designer Brad to each baby carriage wheel. Adhere your baby carriage on top of the card, as shown. Then stamp your sentiment with Regal Rose ink.

 
Stampin’ Up! Stamping Supplies:

“Warm Words” stamp set
Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper
Regal Rose and Whisper White cardstock
Scallop Edge Punch
1″ and 3/4″ Circle Punches
Filigree Designer Brads
Regal Rose Classic Ink Pad
Sticky Strip

Warm Words stamp set

Stampin' Up Filigree Brads

Stampin' Up! Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper

I hope you enjoyed the Special Occasions Blog Tour! Check back next week for more scrapbook pages! After all, it IS National Scrapbooking Month!

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Welcome to day 2 of the RemARKable Stampers Special Occasions Blog Tour! Today I am focusing on Weddings!

I saw many different versions of this card online and I knew I had to make it! I decided to pick-and-choose my favorite parts from each, adding in a few of my own touches as well. It actually was a very easy (and fun!) card to make! And it looks so elegant too!

Bride and Groom Wedding Card

Instructions:

To create this 5″ x 7″ tri-fold card, cut a piece of 7″ x 12″ Whisper White cardstock. Then score it at 3″ (for the bride) and 4″ (for the groom).

Groom:

Adhere a 4″ x 7″ piece of black cardstock on the right flap of the card. Cut a triangle of Whisper White cardstock and add 2 rhinestone brads from the Pretties Kit. Adhere to the card flap. The flower is made by folding a white flower (from the Pretties Kit) in half — and then fold it in half again — and fan it out a bit.

Bride:

Cut the edge of the card into the shape of the dress. Cut a slit in the fold of the card and thread Read Red 5/8″ Satin Ribbon through the slit and adhere it around the card. Top with a flower and white halfback pearl (both from the Pretties Kit). Stamp the swirls with Versamark ink, add Heat & Stick Powder and heat with your Heat Tool until it becomes sticky. Shake on Dazzling Diamonds Stampin’ Glitter.

Finish by stamping your sentiment in the inside of the card.

Stampin’ Up! Stamping Supplies:

“Baroque Motifs” stamp set
“Sincere Salutations” stamp set
Pretties Kit
Real Red 5/8″ Satin Ribbon*
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter
Heat & Stick Powder
Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, and Powder Pals
Whisper White and Basic Black Cardstock
Versamark and Basic Black Classic Ink Pad 

*Item available in the Summer Mini Catalog (available May 1 – August 31, 2010).

Baroque Motifs Stamp Set

Sincere Salutations Stamp Set

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Welcome to day 1 of the RemARKable Stampers Special Occasions Blog Tour! 

Today I am focusing on Birthdays! Inspired by a birthday party invitation my son received a couple weeks ago, I re-created the invitation (plus an additional matching card), Stampin’ Up style!
  

I used patterned paper from the Sunny Day Simply Scrappin’ Kit. Remember: Simply Scrappin’ Kits aren’t just for scrapbook pages! You can use them for your cards and other projects! 

 
Birthday Party Invitation:

First create a “pocket” by folding a piece of patterned paper in half vertically, and adhering the sides together with sticky strip. Due to the double-sided paper, your pocket is automatically “stylized” inside and out! 

The insert is a piece of Tempting Turquoise cardstock with a wider piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock on the top. You can make the card whatever size you want; just make sure the insert is slightly SMALLER than the width of the pocket, and the patterned paper strip is WIDER than the width of the pocket. 

Stamp the invitation on Whisper White cardstock, mount on Pumpkin Pie cardstock, and attach to the card insert. 

Top off the insert with a fancy bow! I created my bow by punching out 3 butterflies and adhering them together as shown. 

3 Punched Butterflies (1 upside-down)

Adhere bottom 2 butterflies together

Adhere 3rd (upside-down) butterfly to the back of the other 2

I then added a satin ribbon bow on top (adhered with a glue dot or sticky strip). 

Finish by adding a vertical strip of old olive cardstock to both the present’s “top” and to the pocket (so it looks like the ribbon is wrapped around the present). And add a tag stamped with the “You’re Invited” sentiment. 

 
Birthday Card:

I also made a matching “thank you” card. This card is smaller and flatter so could easily be sent through the mail. (The invitation could also be mailed; but you would need to use a large envelope and possibly pay extra postage due to the larger size and the bulk from the ribbon.) You could also use this same card idea for a “Happy Birthday” card. 

Start out with a card made from a 7 1/2″ x 4″ piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock (approximate dimensions). Add a 4 1/4″ wide piece of patterned to the top of the card. Top with a 3-butterfly “bow” and add a flat bow made from the Old Olive Satin Ribbon. (If I was hand-delivering this card, I would make a bow similar to the invitation. I like how that bow looks better… but I was trying to make this card flatter so it would be easier to mail.) 

Finish with a stamped pink tag layered on white cardstock. 

 
Stampin’ Up! Stamping Supplies:

“Sunny Day” Simply Scrappin’ Kit
“Three Little Words” stamp set
“Introducing” stamp set
Old Olive 5/8″ Satin Ribbon*
Punches: Butterfly and Tag
Cardstock: Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive
Basic Black Classic Ink Pad 

*Item available in the Summer Mini Catalog (available May 1 – August 31, 2010).

Stampin' Up! Sunny Day Simply Scrappin Kit

Introducing Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!

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Here’s a quick and easy card that can easily be adapted to many different occasions (my favorite kind to make!).

I stamped the branch from the “Cheep Talk” stamp set with Ballet Blue ink several times along the bottom of a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of Ballet Blue cardstock. Then I stamped my saying (from the Whimsical Words Sale-A-Bration set) in White craft ink on top. Adhere to a Whisper White card and you’re done!

Don’t have the Whimsical Words stamp set? Unfortunately Sale-A-Bration is over – but there’s a very similar stamp set in the Occasions Mini Catalog (available until April 30, 2010): “Well Scripted”. This set is available in both wood-mount and clear-mount.

Well Scripted Stamp Set

Stampin’ Up! Supplies:
Stamp Sets: “Cheep Talk” and “Whimsical Words”*
Ballet Blue Classic Ink Pad
White Craft Ink Pad
Ballet Blue and Whisper White cardstock

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Winter is still here… but I’m not in the mood to stamp snowflakes. And since I live in Wisconsin, spring is a ways away yet. So here’s a batch of quick-and-easy cards perfect for this getting-sick-of-winter-but-it’s-not-quite-spring-yet period!

I started out by creating my cards from the following Rich Regals cardstock colors: Ballet Blue, Bravo Burgundy, Elegant Eggplant, and Taken with Teal.

Using the scoring blade on my paper cutter, I scored two lines on the bottom of each card.

Then I stamped my trees in black ink on the top right side of each card, making sure to stamp off the edge of the paper.  I followed by stamping my sayings in black ink on the left side of the paper.

For some of the cards – I was done!

For a few others, I added some snow with my white gel pen.

Stampin’ Up! Supplies:
Stamp Sets: “Lovely as a Tree” and “Stem Sayings”
Basic Black Classic Ink Pad
White gel pen
Paper trimmer with scoring blade

*Cards inspired by Nichole Heady.

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Here is a cute (and quick and easy!) mini note I made for my son’s Love Notes Mini Mailbox.

I stamped the red heart on the card first. Then I punched out the curly label and stamped the small heart on top. I adhered the label on top of the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals so that it “stands out” from the card.

Inside

 In the inside of the card, I stamped the heart first – and then the saying on top. (I LOVE the new clear mount stamps for getting things to line up “just right”!)

And that’s it! Super easy and quick!

Stampin’ Up! supplies used:
Stamp sets: I {Heart} Hearts* and Well Scripted*
Clear-Mount Block
Cardstock: Whisper White and Real Red
Punch: Curly Label
Classic Stampin’ Pads: Basic Black and Real Red
Stampin’ Dimensionals

*Items from the Occasions Mini Catalog (available January 5 – April 30, 2010)

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Here are my Valentines for this year!

I used my new favorite Designer Series Paper: Sending Love Specialty*
It’s double-sided paper that’s glittery on one side. Soooo pretty!

First I added a small strip of Pretty in Pink cardstock to the bottom of my Whisper White card. Then I adhered the patterned paper on top. I cut a slit in the fold of the card and threaded my ribbon through the slit, around the front flap of the card and tied a knot. I stamped my saying at the top. And I finished it by gluing a white halfback pearl on top of one of the flowers.

Here’s a slight variation that uses a rhinestone  brad instead of the pearl:

**If you like the stamp set I used, you can get it for FREE during Sale-A-Bration! It’s one of the stamp sets you can choose for free with your $50 order (or $300 workshop)! Ask me for more details!

Stampin’ Up! supplies used:
Stamp set: Three Little Words
Designer Series Paper: Sending Love Specialty*
Cardstock: Whisper White and Pretty in Pink
Classic Stampin’ Pad: Real Red
1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon: Pretty in Pink
Circle Fire Rhinestone Brads (Red)
Pretties Kit (white halfback pearls)

*Items from the Occasions Mini Catalog (available January 5 – April 30, 2010)

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Here are some stamped items made with the new Vintage Labels stamp set. This set is only available for a limited time – and you can get it FREE with a $50 order or by hosting a $300 workshop! Contact me for more details!

Stampin’ Up! supplies used:
Stamp Set: Vintage Labels
Card Stock: Blush Blossom, Sage Shadow, and Very Vanilla
Nouveau Chic Designer Series paper
Basic Gray Classic Stampin’ Pad
Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon
Clear rhinestone brads
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Scallop Circle punch
1″ Circle punch
1-1/4″ Circle punch
1-3/8″ Circle punch
1-3/4″ Circle punch

Stampin’ Up! supplies used:
Stamp Set: Vintage Labels
Card stock: Basic Black, Brocade Blue, Kraft, and Whisper White
Mini Square envelopes
Basic Black Classic Stampin’ Pad
Brocade Blue Classic Stampin’ Pad
Sahara Sand Classic Stampin’ Pad
Whisper White taffeta ribbon
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Curly Label punch
Scallop Circle punch
Scallop Edge punch
Wide Oval punch

Stampin’ Up! Supplies Used:
Vintage Labels stamp set
Card stock: Kraft, Old Olive, and Whisper White 
Textured Card Stock: Soft Suede
Welcome Neighbor Designer Series paper pad
Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, and Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Pads
Soft Suede Stampin’ Write marker
Kraft 3/8″ taffeta ribbon
Pretties Kit
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Color Spritzer Tool
paper-piercing tool
Scallop Circle and 1″ Circle punches
Sizzix Big Shot
Fancy Favor Bigz XL die

Stampin’ Up! Supplies Used:
Vintage Labels stamp set
Card Stock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Kraft, and Whisper White
Welcome Neighbor Designer Series paper pad
On Board So Tweet
Close to Cocoa and Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin’ Pads
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Boho Blossoms, Curly Label, and My Way punches
hole punch
sewing machine and thread (non-Stampin’ Up! supplies)

All samples provided courtesy of Stampin’ Up!

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