Kari's Krafts

Here are some awesome projects and cards from the Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah this year.  Tons of display boards with hundreds of ideas!  Also, see some SNEAK PEEKS of new products coming up this fall.  

I absolutely LOVE Stampin' Up! Annual Convention and 2015 was every bit of fun, friendships and stamping!  It was especially fun to share this year's Convention with my mom; her first trip to Utah and her first Stampin' Up! event.

My mom, Jan, and I getting ready for the Opening General Session to kick-start the weekend!

I love meeting up with my Stampin' Up! demo friends!  Brandy Cox, and my NEW Instagram friend that I finally got to meet in person, Dana Leigh Lewis!

I received this lovely decorated gift box from my Stampin' Up! demonstrator upline, Jan Reid!
Meeting up with more of my Demo friends!  Jennifer Blomquist, Marcia Swanson, and Marianne Stuard

I am so excited to be attending the annual Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah! The event is called Inspire Create Share. It is a chance to meet up with Stampin' Up! Demonstrator friends, see new product, learn stamping techniques, and have tons of fun!

A fun part of the convention is swapping cards; a great way to meet new friends and get cute card ideas! My swap this year of course had to pull in my love of Disney!

I used two circle punches (1 1/4" for the head and 3/4" for the ears) and I used the Owl Builder punch for the heart on Minnie's bow.
The greeting "Happy Birthday" is from the Tin of Cards stamp set; don't you love that font?!



Also, it's fun swapping in an organized group.  This is my second year participating in the Swap In Your Jammies held at the Marriott City Creek.  I made 52 of these cards below and received 52 beautiful cards in return!

Are you looking for a quick, easy way to craft....but don't have time, space, or know where to start?  Wanna know how to create on-the-go with something that is convenient, affordable, and FUN?!  I have GOT to let you guys know about Paper Pumpkin!  


Paper Pumpkin is a monthly kit subscription that arrives to your mailbox.....it's a magical crafting escape....your fairy paper godmother.....ready for you to create!  Supplies included, even instructions, with paper already cut, prepped and die-cut.   Kits include EXCLUSIVE stamps that you can use to create other projects.  


Creativity in a box.....so you can skip to the fun!

*Easy, ready to assemble projects right at your fingertips
*Only $19.95 a month + tax (Shipping Included)
*No commitment; can cancel or hold subscription at anytime
*Can purchase additional kits and refills



Don't you just love HAPPY MAIL in a CUTE red box!

Take a PEEK inside the June 2015 kit:



As a subscriber under Kari Reese (yours truly), you will receive these Paper Pumpkin Perks:
Kari's Paper Pumpkin Subscriber Perks
*a FREE Snail adhesive tape runner
*extra cards used in a creative way
*decorated stamp case to hold your stamps



To get your very own red Paper Pumpkin box delivered to your mailbox, Check It Out and Sign Up here: Paper Pumpkin

Making a handmade card is an expression of creativity; there are no wrong ways to make, create, stamp, and/or design a card.  The sky is the limit and your imagination can give you multiple ideas to create!

Many times I am asked "What do I need to get started?"  It's simple, really.  You need a stamp set, an ink pad, cardstock and glue.  Of course, you will also need a really awesome trimmer to cut your cardstock and I can't say enough glowing remarks about the Stampin' Up! trimmer!  But, I digress.





My best advice is to pick a stamp set that you love, that has images and greetings that inspire you to create with.  Sometimes picking two stamp sets works; one with images and another with greetings....or use WORK OF ART (in the image above)...one of my favorites from the catalog!!

Next, pick ink colors that YOU love; start with two colors to get started.  You can't go wrong picking a black or a brown for greetings and a color for the other stamped images.

The great thing with Stampin' Up! products is that their colors coordinate with all of their products.  It takes all of the guesswork out of matching.  The ink and the cardstock are the exact color; so stick with the color that you picked for your stamped images....and of course, pick Whisper White cardstock as a basic natural color.

Last, but not least, we need something to hold the project together: Glue!  Whether it is liquid glue, double sided tape, dimensionals, glue dots, or a tape runner.....this is a basic need to hold our projects together!

There you go...a basic "toolkit" (if you will) that will give you an A++ in Stamping 101    

It seems with today's technology, that sending tweets, emails, text messages, snapchats, and the like...are replacing the handwritten note.  We can't lose sight of how powerful a handwritten note, sent by snail mail, to a friend/family member/neighbor/etc, can be!

Imagine opening up your mailbox and not just pulling out the usual flyers, credit card offerings and those pesky bills but a handwritten, handstamped card addressed to YOU in a cute/colorful envelope!

Whether it's a birthday card, a thank you card, or a thinking of you card, those are special tokens of friendship and love that should be treasured and duplicated more often.  So get out your cardstock, your stickers, your embellishments, your stamps, your ink and your glue....and get crafty!!

Check out my photos below of me mailing extra special birthday cards to some extra special friends from Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom!  Yes, that's right!  You can SNAIL MAIL from the Magic Kingdom!!!  I LOVE doing this when I visit the park!

Why do I do what I do?!  :)  I love being creative with stamps, ink and paper and sharing my passion with others.  Making a difference with a simple handmade card really inspires me to teach and share this love of paper crafting with others.

I remember a scrapbook that I worked on for a Business club event in college; whoa, if you could see the fancy cut out shapes and bright colors now...I wonder what ever happened to that book. LoL.  My love of scrapbooking grew from there and I just wanted to know more and more about the industry, the creators, the tools, everything about paper crafting.

I am a HUGE lover of photography, taking pictures, documenting our life stories...that scrapbooking was a natural choice.  Then I found a way to take my hobby and turn it into a business.  

After being invited to my first Stampin' Up! party in 2008, I was hooked!  How fun that I could create cards, 3D projects, scrapbook pages, home decor, etc, etc, etc with stamps and ink.....and get a discount on my favorite supplies to boot!  The friendships that I have made along the way are amazing as well; It is always so much fun to get together with friends and stamp.  I wanted to be able to teach others, share stamping, and earn an extra income doing something that I LOVE.....thus, my stamping business began.

I love the quality and versatility of Stampin' Up!'s products; how relaxing and fun it is to turn a sheet of cardstock into a cute project; and the joy of bringing a smile to someone thru a snail mail card.

I started this blog to share pictures of cards and projects to inspire others to get crafty.  To show how easy and fun it can be; to teach tutorials of how to start from scratch and make a card.  Thank you for reading, enjoying, crafting, and following along on my stamping journey!

"To all who come to this happy place...welcome" - Walt Disney



Welcome to Kari's Krafts!  If you are new here, I want to welcome you to inspire you with handmade cards, Project Life pages, home decor, and gifts made of paper....with a love of Disney here and there!

My name is Kari and I love to create with stamps, ink, and paper with Stampin' Up!  I started scrapbooking in 2001; fast forward to 2008 to when I fell in love with handmade cards and stamping.  Then, I started teaching my love of paper crafting in 2011, joined the Stampin' Up! family and have loved every minute since.  The best part of this journey with Stampin' Up! are the friendships I have made and getting to stamp with others!  I am also a Human Resources gal during the day, a frequent visitor to "The Happiest Place On Earth", Walt Disney World, and can pretty much quote the entire movie of Goonies.

My goal is to inspire you with handmade cards, projects, home decor, and crafty ways to create! From simple ways with a little Paper Pumpkin escape to knocking it out of the park with stamps, ink, and ribbon.  Do you like to stamp, scrapbook, or just create?!  Are you looking to learn the wonderful world of paper crafting?  Then I am so glad you are here!

**NEW** Stamp Club starting July 2015....Do you want to try Stamp Club, have fun making new friends, stamp handmade cards, build your supplies over time on a budget...?  Stamp Club is for you!  

You will receive a FREE Stampin' Up! catalog, 3 cards/projects each month, one month to be Hostess and earn FREE product valued anywhere between $15-$40, and much more!  Plus, receive a special invitation to the annual Hostess party in December 2015 with Fun, Food, and Prizes!

See samples below of projects from past Stamp Club projects: 


The next Stamp Club will be starting soon.  Join us on Friday, July 17 at 6:30 and stamp with us! 

Looking for 2 more to join us for the next round, are you in?!

Do you love to craft and create?  Would you love to build your supplies and get a discount?!  This is the BEST DEAL to purchase a Starter Kit now to get some of the *NEW* products from the new catalog....AND.....get 2 FREE stamp sets when you purchase a Starter Kit before June 30.

What you get:
*Purchase $99 Starter Kit with FREE Shipping
*For your $99 kit....you pick out $125 worth of product!
*You get a 20% discount on your purchases for the next 4 months!
*Your very own Stampin' Up! catalogs to share
*Ideas, fun, friends, and stamps :)

Don't forget about this month's Stampin' Up! special; 2 FREE stamp sets of your choice; any 2 of your favorites.  Wanna learn more about it?!

Click here now