Wow! Isn't the Pals Blog Hop Badge darling? Thank you to Nicole Watt for creating both the badge and buttons for our blog hop as well as featuring a new My Digital Studio download called On Holiday and on sale as part of the 25% of MDS sale through June 15th!

Thank you for joining us for the June Pals Blog Hop and our kickoff to the new catalog! Are you ready to see wonderful creations featuring new products from the 2013-14 Stampin' Up! catalog? Get ready to update your wishlist!

You should have just left stop number 8 on the Pals Hop - Angie Blake. If so, you are in the right spot. If you get off track, the full blog lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you see all of the amazing creations.

Today I would like to show you how you can start to create beautiful projects with just a few basic supplies and then, as your supplies increase, you can step it up! The stamp set I will be showcasing today is Gifts of Kindness. This is a wonderful starter set because it comes with everything you will need to make the three most commonly created cards: birthday, thank you, and thinking of you.

This first card is a perfect clean and simple (CAS) card. The only products required to make it are:

Whisper White cardstock - one sheet of 8 1/2" x 11", trimmed to 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and folded in half
Melon Mambo Ink Pad
Gifts of Kindness Stamp Set in wood mount

If you can afford it, I would suggest purchasing the Stamp-a-ma-jig to help you create stamped images that are straight, but it is not necessary. A Stampin' Trimmer is also helpful for creating clean straight cuts. If you have a bit of ribbon, a simple knot at them stem of the flower would be a nice optional additional touch.

Stepping it Up:

Here I have used the products listed above but added a few more:

An additional layer of Whisper White card stock cut to 4" x 5 1/4" and layered it onto the card base using Stampin' Dimensionals, which are a wonderful addition to any stamper's collection!
A 1 7/16" x 4" of Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper adhered with SNAIL
A bit of 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon - this ribbon is a great investment as white goes with everything but can also be dyed any color!
I stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock and then punched it out using the Word Window Punch

I love the thought that goes into Stampin' Up! products, they create images and sentiments that are made specifically for their punches! I used the longest sentiment in this set to demonstrate that all the sentiments can be punched with the Word Window Punch.

If you don't own this particular punch, another option would be to stamp the sentiment onto a scrap piece of Whisper White card stock and create a banner to attach to the card. You could also use the Gingham Stampin' Wheel in place of Designer Series Paper.

My last sample for you is REALLY stepped up but just uses a few more supplies:

I have added the following steps to create this card:

I added a layer of 4" x 5 1/4" Melon Mambo card stock for a POP of color
I reduced the layer of Whisper White card stock to 3 3/4" x 5" and adhered it to the Melon Mambo layer
I layered the sentiment onto an small piece of Melon Mambo card stock using the Modern Label Punch...yes, it was specifically designed to be used with the Word Window Punch!
I added pearls to the center of the flowers.

So there you have it...three wonderful options to show you how you can start creating with just a few basic supplies and then add bits to your cards as your confidence and supplies increase.

Just a side note here regarding the Word Window Punch is that it can be utilized with MANY of the stamps made by Stampin' Up!, making it a versatile tool and a great investment. All of the sentiments in the stamp set Teeny Tiny Wishes can be used with the Word Window Punch. In fact this stamp set was on my first Stampin' Up! order just over three years ago!

Please let me know if you like this post and would like to see more in the future!