Extra! Extra!

It's that time again! Stampin' Up! has released their retired stamp set list! Now through December 23rd, Stampin' Up! is offering not only 10% OFF all retired stamp sets, but they're also offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders of $70 or more!

Click here to see the Retired List (Alphabetical)

Click here to see the Retired List (Numerical by page number)

Once you've made your selections, be sure to visit my website (www.createwithcari.stampinup.net) and click on the "Shop Now" button to place your order. If your merchandise total is $70 or more, you'll automatically receive free shipping!



With 10% off AND free shipping, what better time to order these stamp sets before they're gone!?

Happy Stamping!

Christmas Crop

Do you have some Christmas projects or your Christmas cards that you'd like some time to sit down and finish? Come this Saturday, December 6 for some uninterrupted time to finish your projects before Christmas gets into full swing.

Topeka & Manhattan
Saturday, December 6, 2008
9a-6p (come & go)

The fee is only $5 and includes open access to all our stamp sets & tools (including the Big Shot) as well as Christmas music and Christmas snacks!

Please RSVP as soon as possible to let us know when you're coming!

Merry Christmas & Happy Stamping!

Holiday Extravaganza Promotion!

Click here to view the flyer

From November 26–December 1, get up to 50% off select Stampin’ Up! products. Find the perfect present for all the stampers and paper crafters in your life—or just stock up for yourself!

Click here to order
(click on "shop now" in the upper right-hand corner)

Holiday Extravaganza!

Get excited! Stampin' Up! is offering a huge Holiday Extravaganza sale this Wednesday, November 26th-Monday, December 1st. Be one of the first to check out the sale on my Stampin' Up! website on Wednesday morning! Quantities will be limited for these special sales! Don't miss out!

I'll Be Back...

Just wanted to let you all know that I have been extremely busy, especially with school! I am stamping a bit--but only Ben's graduation invitations and my Christmas cards. I am mostly working on a 20-page paper that is due next week (agghhh!!). I would post it here for you to read, but I have a feeling you wouldn't enjoy it much :-) Unfortunately it's about exercise training at altitude and not stamping...so sad!

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and hopefully I'll be back posting soon! In the meantime, here are a couple pictures of the puppy Ben & I will be getting for Christmas (yay!!)

Quick & Easy Christmas Gifts

Here are the projects we completed at the Christmas Gifts class tonight. The Topeka version on Thursday night will have slightly different projects.

2x2 Box (filled with Hershey's Hugs)

Click here to download the pattern for this box.

Cello Bag (with 4 covered York Peppermint Patties)

I forgot to order actual cello bags, so I improvised and we used clear envelopes instead. These actually work really well, and I liked how the project turned out!

Pillow Box (filled with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups)

This box turned out really simple, but absolutely perfect for mass-production :-)

Pop-Top Can (filled with Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses)

I simply bought the small cans of fruit from the store (they come in packs of 4) and used a can opener to open the bottom of the can. I cleaned out all of the insides, filled the can with candy and a little note from me and resealed the bottom with Crystal Effects. The person who gets the gift can then "pop the top" and find a personalized message along with some candy for a nice little gift. People are always surprised to find that you've actually filled the can!

Happy Stamping!

Same design...different card!

Well, I was right! I used the design again :-) Ben is graduating this December, and we decided that instead of buying the terribly over-priced graduation announcements, that I could just make invitations instead. Ben loves silver, and I (of course) had to use purple for K-State. I really like the way this card turned out (and so does Ben!)



I'm just hoping that I'll be able to get all of these made along with all our Christmas cards...hmmm...I may just have to quit doing homework. Christmas is SO much more important! :-)

Stamp Sets: Year After Year (retired), Hugs & Wishes
Colors: Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Brushed Silver

Happy Stamping!

Merry Christmas

As you all know quite well, I love Dannie's blog. I love her style and I find myself copying her cards quite often. Today was no exception! I simplified her design a little bit because I was hoping to make a card that I could use for my Christmas cards, but I'm just not sure that this is the design I want. Nevertheless, I really like this design and I'll probably use it again:



Stamp Set: Season of Joy
Colors: Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White

Happy Stamping!

Christmas Card Stamp 'Til You Cramp

If you’d like to make your own Christmas Cards this year, but you really don’t have the time to design and create all your cards, then this class is for you! You'll make 60 - yes, 60 cards in only 3 hours while enjoying Christmas music and snacks!

Class fee is $60 ($1 per card) and includes the I Wish Simply Scrappin’ kit (p. 174), 1 package of Stampin’ Dimensionals, and 60 Whisper White envelopes. Examples of a few of the cards we'll be making are included at the end of this post.

Topeka Class Times
Sunday, November 30th, 12-6p (any 3 hour period) OR
Thursday, December 4th, 5-10p (any 3 hour period)

Manhattan Class Time
Saturday, December 6th, 9a-6p (any 3 hour period)

We must have your prepaid reservation by Tuesday, November 18th to hold your spot and have time to prepare your card kits.

We will be using the Snow Swirled stamp set (p. 32). You can add this stamp set to the class for $24.95 plus shipping and tax or you can share our set.

You must provide your own adhesive. We recommend at least 2 snails to complete all 60 cards. We’re glad to order it to have at class for you, just let us know!

A pair of scissors and a bone folder will also be helpful for you to bring.

Wishing You a Happy Heart

Well, I finally had a few minutes to sit down and stamp something today! I am totally at a loss for creative ideas of my own, so I fell back on Julee's Mojo Monday sketch and Kristina's Color Inspiration and came up with this little creation:



I bought this stamp set months ago and just haven't had the chance to use it yet! I have a feeling that I'll end up using more after Christmas when I'm in full Valentine's Day mode :-)

I copied Dannie's technique of stamping an image on the inside again. I really like how it turned out:



As always, thanks for looking! Sorry again for my absence, but I can't promise better posting as the looming holidays and end-of-semester projects and tests are beginning to overwhelm me :-)

Stamp Set: A Happy Heart
Colors: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Kraft, Whisper White

Happy Stamping!

Christmas Gifts

Do you have a long list of people that you'd like to give a small gift to this Christmas season? Maybe you'd like to make a little something that is fast, easy, and cost effective?

Come on Tuesday, November 18th from 7-10p and make a eight cute and easy candy-filled Christmas gifts (2 copies each of 4 different gifts) and receive detailed instructions for each gift (including a supply list). The registration fee is only $20 and includes all the supplies (including the candy) for these 8 gifts!

Please register for this class by emailing me at cari@ksu.edu by Saturday, November 15th to reserve your spot. You won't want to miss out on this class! I'll see you there!

Birthday Wishes

To share a glimpse of how busy my life has been recently, I will ashamedly confess that I received a Stampin' Up! order in the mail on WEDNESDAY and did not get around to even opening it until this evening...even despite the fact that I had received these new Filigree Designer Brads!



Thankfully, despite my delay in opening the box, everything that I ordered was still there. They had not yet disappeared due to my lack of time to get everything out and play immediately. I worried that my Stampin' Up! orders had become too accustomed to being opened the minute they hit the porch!

I was so excited to use my new brads, and I was even more excited when I visited Dannie's blog and found a super-cute card to copy!



I do not have a very good assortment of DSP, so I used the Old Olive Patterns DSP that I do have and improvised for the rest of the card. I really liked the striped DSP that Dannie used on her card, but of course I had no striped DSP to use :-( Instead I used my scoring blade to give the look of striped paper! It was so easy and fast! Here's an up close picture of my stripes (and my new brads!)



I subscribe to Dannie's blog (because she always has such great ideas!), and I've noticed that she often stamps a small image on the inside of her card. I really like that technique, so I copied it for this card as well:



I hope you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Sets: Eastern Blooms, Upsy Daisy
Colors: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Old Olive

Happy Stamping!

thanks

So last week on Halloween, Ben & I hung out with a guy (who Ben met in one of his classes) and his wife--we'll call them Jack and Jill. It was our first time hanging out with this couple, and we were really getting along and having fun. We had decided to carve pumpkins that night. To make a long story short, I ended up having to buy baking pumpkins instead of jack o'lantern pumpkins (because I was shopping too late). I mentioned to Jill that we should try to save some of the insides so we could bake something good later. Jill thought it would be fun to bake a pumpkin pie that night. So she ran to the store to buy a few ingredients. Unfortunately, the pie-making venture turned out to be a little more difficult than we expected... We ended up staying until 12:30a, baking 4 pumpkin pies (which all baked for 2 hours and still weren't done), and making a DISASTER of their dining room & kitchen (picture pumpkin parts everywhere!). We felt bad for having stayed so late and for making a total mess of their house, so I made this thank you card to send to them:



I hope they'll invite us over again sometime. But in the meantime I wrote that they could come over to our house and bring some glitter if they wanted :-)

Stamp Set: Baroque Motifs
Colors: Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Baja Breeze, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive
Tools: Big Shot with Leaves #2 Bigz die

Happy Stamping!

Ready, Set, Snow!

Well, it's November now--time for Christmas!! Whoo-hoo! Wait...I may have missed a holiday...or a whole month. Oh well! I can barely contain my excitement! I don't know what it is about Christmas that I love so much--the crazed shoppers, family chaos, scraping icy windows in the morning, having to wear a million layers...I don't know why it's so much fun for me :-) As my mom always sings when things start to get stressful or crazy around the holidays, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." I just can't wait!

Okay, so here's a card that was way too much fun to make:



I first cut the scallop circle with the Big Shot and then measured the size of the circle with my Coluzzle. Then I cut a partial circle from the front of the card in the same size as the scallop circle. Using my paper trimmer I just cut from the end of the semi-circle to the corner. After stamping and punching out the snowflake, I used the Crop-a-Dile to emboss little circles around the punched circle. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

I was so excited to get to use so many fun tools for this card! The basic design of the card was copied from the catalog page 54. Check it out! It's really cute too :-)

Colors: Pacific Point, Bashful Blue, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive
Stamp Set: Best Wishes & More

Happy Stamping!

Happy Halloween!

Look at these CUTE gifts I got in the mail from my mom today!



She made these using the Top Note die and the Sizzix Big Shot machine. They're just the right size for a Reese's pumpkin and a Starbucks card! Yay! Thanks, mom! She's the best!



Don't forget to sign up for the coaster class! I'll extend the deadline to Saturday, November 1st. Remember, you get to make sets of 4 personalized stone coasters for only $10! The ink on the coasters will not run, and you can make them to match any decor! Email me (cari@ksu.edu) to register today!

Happy Stamping!

You Make Me Laugh

Here's a little card that was so fast and easy! You just have to try this card!



Stamp Set: Say It With Scallops, Chit Chat rub-ons
Colors: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Riding Hood Red
Accessory: Button Bouquet

Happy Stamping!

Coaster Class--and you're invited!

These coasters are fun and fast to make, and they're sure to be a hit with your friends and family this Christmas! Come make as many sets of coasters as you please, and customize them however you want! Get all your Christmas shopping done in one night!

You’ll have open access to all my stamp sets and all the Stampin’ Up! ink colors!
The cost is $10 per set of 4 coasters (includes coaster wrap). Just email me (cari@ksu.edu) by Friday, October 31st and tell me how many sets you plan to make!

These are my monogram coasters:

...but you can make yours however you like!

Manhattan Class Times

• Tuesday, November 4th 7-9p
• Sunday, November 9th 2-4p

Topeka Class Time

• Wednesday, November 5th 7-9p

**Registration deadline is Friday, October 31st**

Happy Stamping!

Halloween Treats!

Happy Halloween! (almost) As usual, something went off in my crazy brain and said, "Make Halloween gifts for all of your employees!" This same little voice seems to always speak when any kind of holiday is on its way...so here's what I made:



These little 3" x 3" cards were inspired again by Kristina. She has such cute stuff on her blog! Here's an up close look at one of the cards:



I did use the retired Halloween DSP from last fall. I have a whole bunch of it left over! The solid colors I used were: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Kiwi Kiss, and Orchid Opulence.

For the glitter band, I simply cut a piece of Whisper White card stock to about 1/2" x 4-1/4". I then ran the card stock through the Versamark ink pad, leaving about an inch at one end for me to hold onto without getting my fingers icky. Since I only actually needed 3" of glitter, I only inked up a little over 3" of the strip. After completely covering the card stock with Versamark, I covered the strip in Heat & Stick powder. Using the heat tool, I melted the powder. I then sprinkled purple glitter on the sticky part and re-heated the strip to set the glitter. I cut the strip to be 1/2" x 3" and adhered it to my card! Yay for glitter!



What would Halloween be without a little candy (even for fitness center employees!)? Using my Word Window Punch, I made a slot on each side of the card to hold a mini Hershey's bar. To make sure my slots lined up, I carefully measured where the slots should be on a scrap piece of 3" x 3" card stock. After punching those slots, I used that scrap paper as a guide. It only took me a few minutes to punch all 25 cards!

Thanks for looking!

Stamp Set: Batty for You
Colors: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Kiwi Kiss, and Orchid Opulence

Happy Stamping!

Coaster Class

I apologize for the late notice. My coaster class was originally scheduled for tomorrow night (October 28) and Sunday afternoon (November 2) in Manhattan. I have had to reschedule both Manhattan class times due to conflicts. The coaster class will be held on both Tuesday, November 4th from 7-9p and on Sunday, November 9th from 2-4p in Manhattan. The same class will be held in Topeka on Wednesday, November 5th from 7-9p.

If you are on my mailing list, you will receive an invitation soon. I hope you can make it!

Christmas Cheer!

How about a little Christmas cheer for you on this dreary, rainy, almost wintry day?



I copied this idea from Kristina on her blog. It was pretty simple to make, and I always love Christmas things :-)

Supplies: Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi (retired), Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit (retired), Silver stretchy cord (current--Holiday mini catalog)

Happy Stamping!

Pop Can Tutorial

I've been duly corrected with my terminology. I did not use just any old pop can for my samples. Instead, I used exclusively Diet Dr. Pepper cans as they of course are the best type of can :-)

Additionally, I've had a few requests for a tutorial on how to use a Diet Dr. Pepper can in the Big Shot. Unfortunately, I let my mom borrow my Big Shot and all my dies, so all I have is the Diet Dr. Pepper can part :-) I'll finish the tutorial without pictures for now.

**Be sure to watch for the cut edges of the can. You are cutting metal, and the edges can become VERY sharp**

Step 1: Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut through the rim of the can at the mouth of the can. I used my rubber scissors as I no longer need them to cut stamps (yay for die-cut stamps!)


Step 2: Cut the top of the can off. Be sure to cut right on the edge of the "lip" of the can. If you cut too far into the flat part of the can, your can won't be wide enough to fit on the die. If you don't cut far enough, your can won't lay flat. You may have to play around with the cutting of the can until you find a place that works best for you (because all cans are not created equal--they are all inferior to the Diet Dr. Pepper can).




Step 3: Cut a straight line to the bottom lip of the can.


Step 4: Cut the bottom of the can off in the same way that you cut off the top of the can.


Step 5: You now have a nearly flat surface. Since your can has been in a cylinder for most of its life, it will want to curl.

I just take the can and roll it up in the opposite direction to help flatten it out. Once you run it through the Big Shot, it will be plenty flat, but it helps to flatten it to begin with (especially if you're trying to adhere it to something before you cut it).


From here, you are ready to send the can through the Big Shot. When I made the albums I showed a few days ago, I adhered the pop can to a piece of card board before I sent it through the Big Shot. Click here to see the full post.

Be sure to always put the good side down on the die when you use the Big Shot. This way your image will always look correct!

Happy Stamping!

life is good...

...yes it is :-) Although things in my life have been completely crazy over the past few months, it's been helpful to think about all the good things in my life. I have all my basic needs, plus I have an amazing husband and family and I get to stamp! I know it's not Thanksgiving yet, but there's never a bad time to count your blessings!

Despite the fact that I've tried my best to think about all the good things in my life and have a good attitude today, this card did not end up on my list of good things...



I tried another Mojo Monday sketch from Julee (which usually results in an amazing card), but unfortunately, today I did not have the mojo going! Oh well! Maybe it was the circle...I really don't do well with circles! But at least it gave me a reason to get out the good 'ole Coluzzle :-)

Stamp Sets: Best Wishes & More, Text & Texture
Colors: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Really Rust, Kiwi Kiss

Happy Stamping!

Autumn Album

Well, I mentioned a few days ago that I was having a really good time embossing on pop cans and cutting fun embellishments with the Big Shot...so it's no surprise that I created another embossing-on-a-pop-can project :-)



I LOVE how this turned out! The leaves look engraved on the aluminum!



This look was so easy to create! All I did was use the Versamark ink pad to randomly stamp the leaf image from "Best Wishes & More" on the aluminum pop can. Then I covered the stamped images with clear embossing powder. I shook off the excess powder and heated the can. Be careful! Aluminum is a heat conductor (at least I learned something in Chemistry...). I just set my can on top of a piece of scrap paper on the ground to emboss it. I made sure it was cool before I picked it up :-)

Then to make the fun album, I used the cardboard that comes in the back of every package of Designer Series Paper and cut pieces that were 4" x 5". I adhered the pop can to one side (good side facing out), and adhered a piece of DSP to the other side of the cardboard. The cardboard was completed covered and only served as a sturdy "core" piece for my album.

Once all the layers were adhered together, I put the pop can/cardboard/DSP (all adhered together and all at one time) into the Big Shot on top of the Top Note die. Ta-da! The album cover! I cut three more pages just like this (except with DSP on both sides of the card stock). I then used my Crop-a-Dile to punch through all 4 pages (yes, all at the same time--a total of 4 pieces of cardboard, 7 sheets of DSP, and a pop can!!). I used 1-5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon to hold the album together. Yay! Now all I need are some Autumn pictures :-)

Here are a couple other similar albums I have made (no embossing on these):



I made this album for my friend after her bachelorette party and mailed it to her as a little memento from the evening. I used the pop can for the cover and the Pretty In Pink Prints DSP for the album pages.




We always refer to our family as "The Fam." I guess it's kinda an inside joke, but really I just ran out of room to write the whole word "family" in chipboard :-) Here's the inside page of this album. I really like this image on the DSP from the Sweet Always Designer Series Paper pack:



If you'd like to use the Big Shot to make an album like this of your own, be sure to register for the Topeka Big Shot class coming this Thursday, October 23rd at my mom's house. Contact me for more info!

Happy Stamping!