Hello! A few cards from today's class!

Hi!!  Well, there have been several people who have asked where have I been, am I still stamping, and why aren't you blogging???   Here are my answers!...I have been here all along, and yes, I am still stamping (12 years now!!!), and my life has changed a little!!  RJ started 1st grade in August and my employer has asked me to work 5 days a week now!!  I was working 3 days a week since RJ started Kindergarten and it worked out great since I had 2 full days at home by myself to maintain (I guess you can call it that!) a household  and stamp!  So now I am working all 5 days during the week, RJ started Cub Scouts (yes, I am a co-leader!), which leaves little time to blog!  But I will try to blog from time to time to show you my cards that I have created.  So let's start here...

Following are 3 cards that we stamped this morning at my monthly Tuesday morning class (yes, my employer gives me off 1 day a month so that I can stamp with my friends.  I am very blessed!)

Love this one!!!  My favorite from today!  Colors are Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.

 Inspired by Steph HERE

This next one is taken from a card that I spotted on Pinterest.  Colors are Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White.  DSP is Floral District.

 Inspired by Ashley HERE

This last one is another Pinterest inspiration.  It was actually a video of a few common tips on how to create cards when you are making a bunch.  Video can be seen HERE on YouTube.

Inspired by Catherine.  Check out her blog HERE.

I hope you enjoyed these cards today!  I took a bunch of pictures of cards that I created these past few months.  Hope to post them soon!

Karen

Bright and cheery!

Hi!!  Thanks for stopping by!  I have a card to share with you today.  This is one that we stamped at my Friday Night Stamp Club and my Tuesday Morning Class this month.  Love how bright and cheery it is!

Inspired by Chiaki Haverstick.  You can see her card HERE!

Colors are Whisper White, Tangerine Tango and Old Olive.  DSP is Summer Smooches.  Sentiment is from Petite Pairs (if you don't have this set, what are you waiting for???  Love it!!).  The rhinestone on the flower adds the perfect little touch!

My parents have been such a huge help to me and my husband this summer!  They have been helping me with RJ while I work during the week.  I only work 3 days a week, but they have been picking him up from Summer Camps in the afternoon.  I wanted to treat them somewhere special, so I took them to the charming little town of Kimmswick, MO.  One of my favorite little stores is The Christmas Haus!  And right now, they are having their Christmas in July Sale!!  Score!!  After we did a little shopping, I treated them to lunch at The Dough Depot.  It was so good!!  We really enjoyed it!!  For dessert, I had one of their mini funnel cakes!!  Only $1.50!!  Again, score!!!  If you get a chance to visit Kimmswick, be sure to stop by!  Thanks Mom & Dad for helping us out this summer!!  We greatly appreciate your time and generosity!!  You are both the best!!

Have a great weekend!

Karen

Soft and pretty flowers

Hi!! Who knew watercoloring on Kraft paper (I know...Crumb Cake!) would be so pretty??

This is one of the cards that we stamped at my Friday Night Stamp Club this month.  I saw some similar cards on Stampin' Connection (on-line community for Stampin' Up! Demonstrators) which really caught my eye!  I love how soft and pretty it turned out!

I stamped the image from Bordering on Romance with Versamark, then heat-embossed with white embossing powder.  I then took my Aquapainter and reinkers and watercolored the image.  I first used the Whisper White reinker to soften everything inside the image.  Then I went back and added some Rose Red and Old Olive.  Give it a try!

Hope your day is going well!

Karen

Wish Big with pinwheel!

Hi!!  Hope you are doing well!!  Thanks for taking the time to visit me!!

Here are a couple of cards that we stamped at this month's stamp club and Tuesday morning class.

Sentiment is from Word Play.  DSP is Patio Party.  The top card is Baja Breeze cardstock and the bottom card is Primrose Petals cardstock.  And how about that new embossing folder?  Love it!!! That's the new Argyle folder!!!  My pinwheel size is 2" square.  So easy!!

Take care,
Karen

Simple and clean!

Hi!!  Here is a card that I created because I saw a very pretty card on Pinterest that I wanted to recreate Stampin' Up! style!

Stamp set is Just Believe.  Image is stamped in Kiwi Kiss and the sentiment is stamped in Basic Grey.  The texture on the front Whisper White cardstock was created using a Texturz Plate.  The cardstock is then popped up on Dimensionals.

Have a great day!

Karen

A just because card

Hi!!  Hope you all enjoyed your holiday yesterday!!  We saw some fireworks the night before the 4th that were spectacular!!  What a show!  And yesterday we stayed home and cleaned our screened-in porch and worked a bit outside!  My husband made a great mister "car wash" out of PVC pipe for RJ to run through.  It turned out great!  RJ loves it and he sure gets soaked!!  Thank you Pinterest for the great idea!!

Here is a card that I created just because!  No reason for this card.  Just playing around in my stamp room.  Although this might be a good card for my Friday Night Stamp Club swap!  :)

Have a great day!!  Stay cool!

Karen

A Cheery Get Well!

Hi!  I saw a cute card on Pinterest with a great layout!  So I created my Stampin' Up! version here.  Isn't it a cheery card?  And I love the font for this sentiment, which is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set.

Colors are Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, & Tempting Turquoise.  DSP is  Pawsitively Prints II , which is retired.  The flower is from the Blossoms Party Originals Die and the sentiment is stamped on Whisper White cardstock that was cut from the Apothecary Accents Framelits.

Have a great day!  Stay cool!

Karen

A Journal for my Stamp Club!!

Hi!  We made these journals at my Stamp Club Appreciation Dinner!  I've had a bunch of these on hand for quite some time, and I put them to good use for my Stamp Club!  I love how they turned out.  These On-Board Art Journals are no longer available.  :(  You might be able to find something similar at your local craft store or scrapbooking store.

This DSP is my new favorite!!  Love all the colors in the pack and I love polka-dots!!  And don't you just love the new Butterfly Punch by Stampin' Up!!

Have a great day and enjoy your weekend!!  We have temperatures over 100 deg. for several days!!  Stay cool!

Karen

Hello There!

Hi!!  Isn't this a cute card??  I saw something similar on Pinterest, so I thought I would create my version!  It's so easy!

Colors are Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White.  The DSP is Sweet & Sour Specialty Paper, which is retired.  The stamp set is a current hostess set call Happy You!  And I used a Blender Pen and Markers to color the kite.  I scribbled on a CD with the markers, then picked up the color with a Blender Pen.

Such a cheery card!

Karen

A Night for my Stamp Club!

Hi!!  I treated my stamp club to dinner this past Friday to show my appreciation to them for participating in my Friday Night Stamp Club this past year!!  This is such a great group of ladies!!  I cherish their friendship so much and look forward to seeing them each month.  We will start a new round of stamp club next month and they are all coming back!  I am so excited about this!!!  And we have 2 more ladies joining us for this upcoming round!!  It's going to be so much fun!!

After the girls ate their dinner (we had Pasta Con Broccoli & Cannelloni from The Pasta House...Yum!), they stamped a couple of projects.  Here is one of them...

We puffed the flowers up with a loosened cotton ball behind the fabric!  Turned out cute!!  The Fabric is Twitterpated and yes, that is Blushing Bride (which is now retire, but matched the fabric!) and Riding Hood Red.

I appreciate my Friday Night Stamp Club so much!!!  Thanks girls!!!

Thanks for coming by to visit!  I appreciate it!

Karen

Don't procrastinate!

Good morning!!  I'm enjoying a bit of peace and quiet, while RJ is at summer school this morning.  Not sure why they call it school.  He's having a great time playing sports and doing various arts & crafts and playing with his friends!!  Although it is wearing on the little guy as this is the last week of summer school.  Summer school starts an hour earlier than we typically start during our regular school year!!  To be honest, it's wearing on me too!!!  So I can't blame him!!

I've been playing around in my stamp room the last couple of days!!  Do you procrastinate??  I sure do!!  And I am disappointed in myself every time that I procrastinate.  I get everything done, but it's always in a rushed manner!  It would be so nice to relax a bit before I have a stampin' class or club, or have enough time to add those little touches that you typically don't make time for!!  So I thought I would create a few cards to get a head-start on next month's classes.  Not sure if they will make the cut for the projects next month, but I thought this would be a great time to get started.  I typically have a little time on my hands at the end of each month with no classes or club.  So hopefully I will use this time wisely and keep stamping!!  Plus, who has a million and one things pinned on Pinterest and hasn't created a lot of these things???  So go open your Boards, be inspired and start creating!!  Who's with me??

Ok, I have a ton of retired DSP.  You too??  OMG!  It's crazy!  So I'm going to start using it in bigger chunks!!!  I typically use small pieces so it goes a little farther, especially when I am planning for classes!

DSP for this card is Spice Cake...have 2 packs of it!!!  Sentiment is from Bring on the Cake and the leaf in the background of the sentiment is from Gently Falling.  If you have any other questions, just let me know by leaving a comment.

Have a great one!!

Karen

Make your list!

Hi!!  Here is a project that my stamp club created in May (I think!).  I lose track sometimes!!!  I took a pack of Junior Legal Pads to my office supply store, and had them cut in half long ways.  It's makes a perfect little list holder!  We also added some DSP in the barrel of an RSVP pen.

Let me know if you have any questions!!

Karen

Happy Father's Day!

Hi!!  Hope you all had a nice Father's Day weekend!!  We had a busy one, but it was really nice.

Here is a card that I created for my June stamp club and Tuesday morning class.  As always, they could change the sentiment if they prefer.  The original idea for this card came from Beth at Crafty Creations by Beth.  You can see her card HERE!  I changed the colors and layout a bit from her card.

Colors are Naturals Ivory, Midnight Mist, and Cajun Craze.  DSP is Comfort Cafe.  I love the element framing the sentiment.  I used one of the Designer Frames Folders and the Labels Collection Framelits.  I believe this element is really what caught my eye on Beth's card!

Have a great Monday!!  See you soon!

Karen

Pinwheels!

Hi!!  Pinwheels are very popular right now.  I can't believe I have never made one of these cards before!!  They are so easy!!  You will need (2) 2-3/4" x 2-3/4" and (4) 1-1/4" squares in color cardstock or DSP and another (4) 1-1/4" squares in a different color cardstock or DSP.  You are going to love making these pinwheels.  Give it a try!

Colors are Lucky Limeade, Tangerine Tango and Whisper White.  DSP is Floral District.  I used the new Bitty Banners Framelits for the sentiment.  Love these!!

Have a great weekend!!

Karen

Happy Birthday masculine card

Hi!!  Here is a card that we stamped at my Tuesday morning class last month!!  I can't find the card that inspired me.  I'm sure it was a card that I saw on Pinterest, but I didn't pin it.

I used the French Foilage stamp set and the sentiment is from Loved Ones.  The big leaf is inked in Cajun Craze ink, then the edges are rolled in Early Espresso before stamping on cardstock.  After the leaf is stamped, I added a bit of So Saffron color with a marker to make it stand out.  I distressed the edges of the Always Artichoke cardstock and sponged the edges of the stamped Naturals Ivory cardstock with Early Espresso ink and sponge.

Have a great day!!

Karen

Banners are everywhere!!

Hi!!  Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!!!  RJ played a great baseball game this afternoon, and we had great weather!!  We did a little shopping at Kohls afterwards, then treated ourselves to some frozen Yogurt at Fro-Yo!  Yummy!  Happy I had a good workout this morning!

If you browse the internet at all for stamping inspiration, you know that banners are all over the place!!  They are very popular right now.  I saw a cute card on Pinterest not too long ago, so I created my Stampin' Up! version here...

Colors are Tempting Turquoise, Tangerine Tango, and Old Olive.  Great color combo, don't you think??  Sentiment is from Delightful Dozen.

While playing around, trying to come up with this card, I made a couple of other cards with the design that I had in mind.  But these 2 didn't make the cut for my Friday night stamp club.  I do like the next 2 cards, but I wanted to use current products, and I like the effect using the markers to ink the stamps.

I really like this one, but it uses a retired stamp set...

This next one is ok, but only uses a solid color for the sentiment...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Karen

Clean and Simple...that's it!

Hi!!!  Happy Monday to you!!!  I have a couple of cards to share with you today.  I created this card to share with my Friday Night stamp club last month.  I always try to keep it clean and simple when creating a dozen or more cards!  And this card is definitely that...clean and simple!!  The flower is punched out with the 5-Petal Flower Punch and the sentiment is from Petite Pairs (Love this set!!).  I corner rounded one of the corner just to add a little interest!  And the Whisper White cardstock to popped up on Dimensionals to give a bit of dimension.

While coming up with the card shown above, this is the card that I started with...

As you can see, I stepped it up just a little in the first card.  Colors for the flowers are Pool Party and Daffodil Delight.

Clean and simple...why don't you give it a try and come up with your own version??  Step it up your way or just change the colors!!!

Have a great week!!

Karen

New Stampin' Up! ink pads!

Hi!!  Just thought I would pop in to share with you a video about Stampin' Up!'s new ink pads!  I'm excited to use the new ink pads!!  This video will explain the new pads and the colors that have been reformulated.  Enjoy!

Take care!

Karen

Yay!!!

It's here!!!  The new 2012-2013 Stampin' Up! Catalog!

Check it out HERE!

Have a great weekend!

Karen

another Pinterest inspiration!

Hi!!  Here is a simple and pretty card!  I saw a card on Pinterest (of course), and thought it was so pretty.  I did change the colors to Wisteria Wonder because I knew the ruffled ribbon that I had on hand would work well with this card.  Check out the card that inspired me HERE.

Colors are Wisteria Wonder, Pear Pizzazz, and Whisper White.  Sentiment is from Petite Pairs.

Have a great day!

Karen

Simple cards in Crumb Cake

Hi!!  Happy Memorial Day!!  I have 2 very simple cards for you today.  Of course, the inspiration for these cards came from a card that I saw on Pinterest!!  Deb Currier created the card that inspired me.  I visit her blog frequently, so I was not surprised that her card caught my eye!  I changed my card up a bit.  I have 2 versions of this card...

We created these cards at my classes in March and April (I think!!).  Let me know if you have any questions.

Karen

You Send Me Soaring!

Hi!!  Here is a card that I created for my April classes.  The stamp set is called Send Me Soaring, and it was a stamp set in the Ocassions Mini Catalog.  It is no longer available, but I hope you will be inspired by the layout, colors or any element of the card.  I actually saw a card that had hot air balloons instead of kites, which inspired me to create this card.  There is so much inspiration out there!!

Hope you are enjoying your Holiday weekend!!

Karen

A Small Gesture of Appreciation!

Happy Friday to you!!!  I received my stamp club order on Thursday this week and look what I found inside!!!    A little stamped image saying "thinking of you"!  And on the back was a hand-written note from Dennis at Stampin' Up! thanking me for my order!  Isn't that neat?  Nice little touch to show how much they appreciate their Demonstrators!

Hope you have some great fun-in-the-sun plans this weekend for Memorial Day!!  We are cleaning out the garage!  Sounds like fun, huh??  Ugh!!!  I guess we will feel good about it AFTER it's done!  On Sunday, we are going to be with family and friends for some good food and company!  Looking forward to that!

Have a great weekend!

Karen

Bright and cheery!

Hi!!  Here is another card that Jen Sannes inspired me to create!!  The things that I changed from her card include the rhinestones and the Tangerine Tango cardstock for the card.

So cheery, don't you think??

Colors are Tangerine Tango, Pacific Blue, Wild Wasabi, and Whisper White.  Sentiment is from Happiest Birthday Wishes, and stamped with Jet Black Staz-On.  The larger circles are punched from the 1-3/4 Circle Punch, and the smaller circle is a die-cut from the Circles #2 Die.  Questions?? Let me know!

Today is our first day of summer break!!  My little Kindergartener is no longer in Kindergarten!!  He is a big first grader now!!  Where did this year go???  I really try to cherish every moment, but it would be so nice for it to slow down a bit!!  :)

Take care!!

Karen

another sweet card!

Hi!!  I came across a very cute card on Pinterest, and it was created by Jen Sannes.  I visit her blog quite frequently.  I am very attracted to her style of card-making.  I think that's why her card caught my eye.  So I recreated it for my swap at my monthly stamp club gathering, and for my Tuesday morning stamp club this month.  I didn't have the DSP that Jen used, so I had to be a little (just a little) creative!!  :)

Stamp set is Bright Blossoms, which will be in the new catalog.  Sentiment is from a retired stamp set.  Colors are Whisper White, Melon Mambo, and Old Olive.  Oh, and the DSP is from the retired Melon Mambo Patterns Pack.

Have a great day!!!  It's going to be a gorgeous day here in St. Louis!!  Enjoy!

Karen

Sweet Card - Just for You!

Hi!!  Here is a sweet card that we stamped at my monthly Tuesday morning stampin' class last month.  Such a cute card!!  Thanks to Heather Summers for this idea!!!  I pretty well copied everything from her card, even the placement of the little flowers. Heather had a white oval behind the butterfly on her card, but I actually forgot to add it.  I changed the sentiment too!

Enjoy your day!!

Karen

Congratulations Katie!

Hi!!  Just thought I would pop in and show you a couple of pictures that I took this morning of my son and stepdaughter, Katie.  My stepdaughter graduated from Missouri Baptist University this month and her church had a nice breakfast for the graduates in their church.  So proud of Katie!!

Katie & RJ

Me & RJ

Enjoy your day!!

Karen

Elegant Best Wishes

Hi!!  Love this card!!  Thanks to Pam for the inspiration!  You can see her card HERE!  The only thing I did to change the card from hers to mine is change the colors.  Colors here are Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler.  Very elegant, don't you think?  The stripes really make the card!

Stamps:  Elizabeth, Sincere Salutations

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!!

Karen

Simple Sympathy

HELLO!!!  How is everyone??  I've been gone for awhile from blogging, but not from stamping.  So I have many projects to share with you from the last 2 months or so.  But first, I wanted to share a couple of new cards that I just created last night.  I found a really nice card on Pinterest that I pinned.  I didn't have the supplies that they used, so I went with what I had on hand.  Love how they turned out!  They are much prettier in person.

I used Whisper White & Basic Gray Cardstock for these cards.  The stamp set is Just Believe.  And the sentiment for the first card is retired, but isn't it beautiful?

I used Stampin' Up's Notecards for this next card.  Love the size of these.  This sentiment is from Petite Pairs.  LOVE this set!  If you don't have it, please consider adding it to your stamp sets!!  It's a must-have in my opinion!!

Hope you are all doing well!!  And thanks so much for stopping by today to visit.  I know it's frustrating when I stop posting, so I appreciate that you didn't give up on me!!

Have a great weekend!!  It's a busy one for us!!  RJ has tennis lessons, a soccer clinic and 2 baseball games all in one day!!  Fun!!!   I love it!!  And Saturday is going to be a great day to soak up some Vitamin D!!

PETITE PAIRS

(W) 122495  $28.95             (C) 122497  $20.95

Isn't it a great set?

Take care,
Karen

Pretty flower card for March

Hi!!  Here are a couple of cards that I created for my Friday Night Stamp Club and my Tuesday morning stampin' class this month.  I love how they turned out!!  I first saw that card on Pinterest.  Mary Brown created her card, which inspired me to create these cards.  You can check Mary's card out HERE!

Aren't they just lovely?  I think they turned out so pretty!!!

The flower from Mixed Bunch was embossed with on Vellum Cardstock with White Embossing Powder.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hope you are having a great week!!  Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Shoebox swap card for Memories on Marshall

Hi!!  Good Friday Morning to you!!!  Today starts the beginning of Spring Break!!  Yay!!!  Not doing too much next week.  RJ is going to a Spring Break Camp.  He is so looking forward to it!!  When he found out that the camp has an XBox and Wii, he was so excited!!  We don't have any kind of gaming system at home, so this is so exciting for him!!  They also have a Bounce House and all different sports activities.  He is going to love it!!

Last month, some of my friends and I went on a weekend getaway to do some crafting!!  We went to a place called Memories on Marshall.  This was our second time there for most of us!!  And we will be back again!!!  The owners are so gracious and they make your stay with them the best!!!  The food is unbelievable!!  Sheryl prepares 5 full well-balanced meals for her guests!  Fresh fruit at every meal!!  I took pictures of all my meals!!  I think some of us go just to be taken care of all weekend!  It's a great feeling!!  Memories on Marshall accommodates 8 crafters.  You can bring anything you want to work on...scrapbooking, stamping, jewelry making, quilting, afghans, or whatever craft you are working on!  Our individual craft stations are set up on the lower level in one room and the bedrooms are on the second level.  It is the perfect little haven for a nice getaway with your friends!  Check it out if you are in or around the St. Louis area.

Each time our group goes to Memories on Marshall, we like to do a shoebox card swap. I haven't taken pictures of the other cards yet, but here is my card that I brought for my friends to make.  I was inspired by Pinterest!  The card on Pinterest really caught my eye, so I changed it up a bit with the supplies I had on hand.  I used some retired DSP (because I have a bunch!).

You can check out the idea for this card HERE.

The flame is actually the wing punched out with the Bird Punch from Stampin' Up!  And the sentiment is from Happiest Birthday Wishes (hostess set).  I added a little rhinestone on the exclamation point and some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter on the flames!!

Cute card!

Have a great weekend!!
Karen

some swaps!!

Hi!!  Happy Monday to you!!!  It's going to be a great week here in St. Louis!!  Looking forward to temperatures in the high 70's!!  Can you believe it?  I think Mother Nature has been a bit mixed up lately!!

Here are a couple of swaps that I received at a local Demonstrator event earlier this month.  This first one is from my dear friend and sideline, Rita.  I just love her cards!!!  I am so grateful to Stampin' Up for bringing Rita into my life!!  She is so much fun!!

And this next card is from my Upline, Lynn!!  Lynn moved out of state last year, and it was so nice to see her at this event!!

A little inspiration for you to start off your week!!  Hope it's a good one!

Karen

Swap card - Just Believe

Hi!  Here is another card that is very similar to the card shown in my previous post.  I created this card to swap at a local Demonstrator event that I attended last weekend!

Colors are Marina Mist, Always Artichoke and Whisper White.  The DSP is Paisley Petals from the current catalog.  Punched flowers are punched from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.  Sentiment is from On Your Birthday and it is punched out with the Modern Label Punch.

Pretty, huh??

Take care and have a nice Sunday!!  Did you turn your clock up??

Karen

Inspired by Pinterest!

Hi!!  Hope you all had a great weekend!!  I sure did, especially since there was stamping involved!!!  My downline, Sally, hosted a stampin' event on Saturday.  It was so much fun to see everyone!!  We have made many friendships through Stampin' Up! and I am grateful for all of them!!  I'll have more about the meeting later, but let's get to a card that was inspired from Pinterest!!  Ok, this is the most addicting website!!  It is truly wonderful!  I wish I was the person to come up with the Pinterest concept!  Who thinks of these things??

Also, this is a card that my Tuesday morning stampers created in February.

The actual card that inspired me to create this card was created by Maile Belles.  You can see her card HERE!  I changed my card to be Stampin' Up! style!!

Colors are Baja Breeze, Whisper White, and Pear Pizzazz.  DSP is Twitterpated from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  Stamp sets are Just Believe and Teeny Tiny Wishes.  The little punched flowers are punched from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.  And the pretty little butterfly is from the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die.

I have another version of this card that I will share with you in a day or two.

If you are in or nearby the St. Louis. MO area and would like to know more about Stampin' Up or any of  my upcoming classes, please don't hesitate to contact me at stampwithkaren@aol.com.

Take care and have a great week!

Karen

For a rocker!

Good Monday morning to you!!!!  Here is another card using the Aluminum Foil Emboss technique.  I am just loving this!!!  This card was created for my Tuesday morning stampers to stamp at our class last week.

Colors are Riding Hood Red and Basic Black.  Images were stamped in Basic Gray and Riding Hood Red.  Stamp set is Grunge Rock.  First time I used this set!  I like it!  Great card for the rocker in your life!

You can see some instructions for this technique in my previous post.  But basically I used an Anywhere Glue Stick to adhere the aluminum foil to a piece of cardstock, making sure you get the edges of the cardstock really good before laying the foil on the cardstock.  Smooth the foil out, and then cut off the excess aluminum foil with Paper Snips.  Run your aluminum foil/cardstock with your embossing folder through your Big Shot.  It's that simple!!  Give it a try!

Have a great week!!

Karen