Birthday Treat

Quickie today... The Divas have a fun color challenge I dare you to try!  Here's my take.  I used a neto-me stamp level one hostess set called Birthday Bakery and the Big Bold Cupcake Sizzlit set with the Big Shot.

Have a great day!
~Kristin

Not Exactly Traditional

 Elegant, unique, not exactly traditional:  that's what I lean towards (strive for) when designing Christmas cards.  It is rare to find a straight-up green and red card from me- not sure why.  I suppose because I like thinking outside the box and by the time Christmas rolls around I'm about sick of the red/green combo in my face.  Now that's not to say I don't appreciate cards in those traditional colors- because I do, truly!  Even some of my favorites have been true red and green.

With that said, I've chosen Sahara Sand, Bravo Burgandy and Vanila with a touch of Early Espresso for these two designs.  What do you think of that color combo??  I love it and can see it for so much more than holiday cards! 

These are both quite simple as I'm working on designs for my upcoming Holiday Stamp-a-Stack.  Simple is always best for these events with 40 or so people wanting to do the same 12 cards in a limited time.  But simple doesn't have to mean boring or lacking that something special. 

So what do you think?  Would you be excited about making either of these two cards at a Stamp-a-Stack?  The first one entails sponging and a rectangle mask, with a rhinestone and some lovely narrow Espresso Taffeta topping it off.  The second one, which happens to use the CAS sketch challenge from yesterday on SCS, is a Sahara Sand base with monochromatic snowflakes and a portion of the tree showing from the set Snow Swirled.  The extra details include a few touches with the Bravo Burgandy marker on the tree and a rhinestone topper as well. 

Quick, simply and lovely is the goal.  What do you think?  Feel free to "vote" by leaving a comment- I'll let you know what I decide before the SAS on October 23.  If you are anywhere near Kenton, Ohio and are interested in joining me for this fun event I'd be thrilled to call you my guest!  Cost is $30 and that includes lunch and snacks, 12 holiday projects (all cards except one gift packaging idea) and lots of door prizes and fun!  Leave your email address if you're interested in getting the flyer.

Thanks for stopping by! I'm hoping to get some scrapbooking done today... we'll see what happens!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Snow Swirled

Colors: Sahara Sand, Bravo Burgandy, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Wide Bravo Burgandy grosgrain ribbon, narrow Early Espresso taffeta ribbon, Basic Jewel Rhinestones, sponge.

Peek-a-Boo!

Good morning!  I've got a card for ya today, believe it or not.  This sweet stamp set, Build-a-Roo just arrived on Friday and I had to get it inky right away!  I've always thought it is cute and fairly versatile.  This sketch is from the Pals Paper Arts (PPA61) challenge and the color combo is for the Color Throwdown (CTD111). 

For my circle element for the sketch I used a black jumbo grommet.  I have TIP for using those babies:  don't try to put the prongs through the paper, just bend them flat with an old eyelet hammer and attach it with glue dots.  It doesn't wrinkle up the paper and is much easier to attach. 

I colored the kangaroo with my blender pens and some River Rock ink then some touches of Soft Suede for some shading.  Yes, I know, my coloring skills aren't up to par with the masters! 

If you have a Stamp-a-Majig this is a great set to use it for to get the accessories in the kangaroo's pouch!  This set comes with not only the baby roo, but also flowers and hearts plus a few things to put in her hand and 3 different sentiments.

Have a great Sunday!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Build-a-Roo

Colors: River Rock, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo

Accessories: Pacific Point striped grosgrain, Big Shot, Dotted Embossing folder, black Jumbo Grommet, Scallop border punch, blender pens

Diva Day, are you going to play??

 Good morning my loyal readers, how are you today?  I'm tickled to be stamping and that it's no longer 90 degrees here in my stampin' studio!  Ooh, speaking of Stampin' Studio (which you might know is really just one long wall in our master bedroom)- I might have a studio of my own in the next year or so!  Woohoo, I'll post details some other time.  You'll be so excited for me I'm sure!

Anyway, today is a Diva Wednesday and we've got a wonderful sketch for you which I've paired with a color combo challenge from Splitcoast that was much tougher for me than I expected.  I am late posting this today because it was one of those cards that just wouldn't come together- I tried and tried, cut and recut, scrapped idea after idea.  Well actually that's not true, I stuck with my original idea and just kept trying until it worked (which wasn't until this morning at 11am!)  Maybe I should've scrapped my idea last night and I would have come up with something much sooner.  Ah well, hindsight is always 20/20!

So it turned out fairly clean & simple considering how long it took me.  The tree was inked with markers, black and Wild Wasabi which takes a bit of time but I was anticipating a really neat look, especially since I've not used black for the tree before.  It was my layer colors that gave me fits but once I textured the Cajun Craze I liked it much better.  Somehow that texture helps it blend into the background which is what I wanted. 

Do you remember these felt flowers?  Well, it is one of those products that I love but completely forgot about until the box (with two full sets of flowers) fell off my shelf last night (while struggling with this card) and dumped everywhere!  Voila- using them!  I added a corduroy button in Baja Breeze to one and a black brad to the other. 

TIP:  Wondering how I made the layered sentiment?  Don't forget about the Big Shot die Movers & Shapers.  The Punch Windows set (page 209) comes with dies that layer perfectly with the punches: Scallop Oval, Modern Label (that I used here), large heart and the large star.  The idea behind this die is to be able to punch those shapes anywhere on your card, even where a standard punch wouldn't reach... but you can also use it like this and just cut out a layer for behind your punch.  Works like a charm!  I just lay a scrap of paper over the die and run it through the Big Shot. 

Anyway, I did up the inside a bit too so I'll leave you with that.  It looks a little plain to me, but keep in mind that the black striped ribbon actually ties in a bow on the inside of the card so that adds a little something too. 

Thanks for stopping by today!  I love having you visit!  Please go check out the other Divas and play along with the Diva challenge!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Colors: Baja Breeze, Cajun Craze, Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing folder, Felt Flowers, Corduory button, Movers & Shapers die, Modern Label punch, black brad, Black striped ribbon (phew!)

Two in Two!

 Happy Monday all!  I'm back today with two challenges in two different cards.  I was determined to stamp today since it's been a few days so I set out to find a few challenges to try.  First up is the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.  Second, is the Clean & Simple color challenge on SCS to use kraft, red, brown and vanilla.  This rarely happens to me but while brainstorming I had two totally different ideas and decided to do them both!

The first is more clean and simple.  I combined a sentiment from Whimsical Words (a Sale-a-Bration set from earlier this year) and I {(Heart} Hearts!  Did you notice the three clear buttons?  Did you notice the XOX connotation for hugs and kisses (in the buttons)??  Is it cheesy??  I wasn't sure. 

My second card is this Christmas Wishes card made with Gifts of Christmas.  The main image is embossed in Vanilla powder and the dove is painted with Lumiere which is an old pearl white paint that SU used to carry years ago.  My lid has a crack so it was fairly dry, but I just added some water and stirred and it thinned down nicely.

I'm sure you noticed the Glimmer Brads (available now in the Holiday Mini Catalog- pg. 36)- aren't they beautiful?!!  I also embossed the Vanilla piece with the Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions embossing folder.  Finally, the handmade poinsettia was done with the 5-petal flower punch and three black brads. 

I hope you've enjoyed these.  Next time you're trying a challenge, why not do it twice and see how different your cards end up?! 

Thanks for visiting!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Whimsical Words, Stitched Background, Gifts of Christmas

Colors: Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Basic Black

Accessories: Big Shot, Embossing Folders: Dotted & Petals-a-Pleny; large heart punch, scallop trim border punch, scallop border punch, vanilla EP, Lumiere, Glimmer Brads, 5-petal flower punch, black brads, black narrow taffeta, bitty buttons, linen thread

It's the Thought Collection

 Since I've been posting so sporadically lately I thought I'd go ahead and post all four of these at once.  I made them the same day as my last post, all with similar elements that I cut out at once then mixed and matched until I had a whole set.  These were fun and easy to do! 

 Each of the stamped images are from the stamp set It's the Thought, which was in the Summer Mini catalog.  Had you noticed that there are now a Level One and Level Two hostess set in the front of every Mini Catalog?  Yep, that's right!  So when you are finalizing your order of $150 or more, or your workshop, make sure to check them out before making your final decision!

 Sometimes little images can be hard to use.  So I punched them out with the new Decorative Label punch and added some interest to the card base with a variety of strips of paper that have been dry embossed with the Big Shot or punched with one of our border punches. 

I added a bit of ribbon, linen thread or an Antique Brad for a unique touch on each.  Too keep the set similar and easy to make I used the same colors on all 5 cards:  Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Cajun Craze (which is quickly becoming a surprising favorite for me!), and Peach Parfait.  The rows of embossing on the bottom two cards are not a Stampin' Up! product, however our Big Shot easily accommodates most all brands of embossing folders!  I also made sure to stamp the Woodgrain background in Crumb Cake ink on every design to further tie them together.  Wouldn't this make a cute gift set to give to a favorite great-Aunt or long distance cousin?! 

Thanks for stopping by!  We've got a baseball game this afternoon and our very first midget league football game tomorrow- wish me luck.  :)

Hugs,
~Kristin

SUM Supplies

Stamps:  It's the Though, Woodgrain background stamp

Colors: Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Peach Parfait, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Decorative Label punch, linen thread, Antique brad, Double Stitched Wasabi ribbon, SU embossing folders: Square Lattice, Vintage Wallpaper, other embossing folders:  Cuttlebug:  With Love

Enjoy the Journey

Good morning!  I'm back...  sorry I haven't been around in a while.  I've been preoccupied with a few things.  I did some major landscape renovation (well, actually just trimming but it was a HUGE job and I did it by myself!), sick kid yesterday and sick dog today.  Besides all that I'm smack in the middle of a good read and I can honestly say that I love reading almost more than stamping.  Hard to believe, I know. 

Anyway, today it's time for another fabulous color challenge from the Diva's Coffee Break Designs blog.  Now I gotta admit, normally having four colors to work with is tricky for me.  I don't usually enjoy it as much as only three.  But with Crumb Cake being one of the colors I just adored this combo.  You'll see what I mean over the next few days...  I made not one or two, but FIVE cards with this combo!  I guess my stamping hiatus took a toll and I was ready to create.

Anyway, I had this week's MOJO sketch in mind when I did this.  I took some liberty with it, but I must give credit for the inspiration.  I hope you like it and can't wait to show you the rest.  I might have just posted them all tonight, but none of them have been photo'd yet. 

Thanks for stopping by, and please take a minute to CLICK HERE to view the Diva blog and all the other goodies made with these colors.

Thanks for visiting!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  It's the Thought

Colors: Crumb Cake, Cajen Craze, Wild Wasabi, Peach Parfait

Accessories: linen thread, Decorative label punch, jumbo eyelet, Big Shot, Dotted embossing folder, scallop border punch, Wild Wasabi ribbon (retired), markers

Halloween Window card

This is a window card in more ways than one.  I designed it to look like you're looking out a window, and you are actually seeing the owl on the inside through a punched open window.  I'm playing along with the color challenge on Creat With Connie & Mary (CCMC115) to use Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.  I took the liberty of adding some Summer Sun which is generously sponged with Tangerine Tango for my moon.  This is also following the sketch for this week's Clean & Simple challenge on Splitcoast. 

 Here's a shot of the inside.   I had fun with my punches for this:  the large circle is the new 2.5" cirlce punch, of course there's the owl punch and the branch from the Two-Step Bird Punch.

I took this shot so you could really see what window I'm talking about.  Gotta run, I've got water boiling to make my third batch of salsa.  I dread making it, but LOVE eating it! 

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Kristin

ETA:  Thanks everyone for your great comments.  To answer a few questions- I made the window kind of by accident.  I was actually just punching 4 squares from a scrap of Crumb Cake paper and noticed the remaining piece looked like a window so I used that instead!  You gotta love those happy accients (gosh, I just reminded myself of Bob Ross and his "happy little trees"- anyone else remember him?  I'd watch him in college and was so sad when he died!) 

And for the other question- I just made regular ol' tomato salsa I guess.  I've never done anything fancy, just tomatoes and peppers and onions.  Yum!  I've found that the store bought salsa is way too salty now that I make it myself!

Fairytale Sketch Challenge

Today I've got a new Diva sketch challenge for you.  I love how simple it looks because that gives you plenty of room to maneuver!  As soon as I saw the circle I knew I wanted to use my Medallion background stamp that hasn't seen ink in a while.  My next thought was purple and black and a touch of silver.  Both the medallion center and the sentiment were stamped on Brushed Silver cardstock with black craft ink.  My cardbase is Perfect Plum and the Medallion is stamped in Versamark.  I had to add a little bling with the Jewel Basic Rhinestones and some satin ribbon too. 

I hope you'll play along with the Divas!  Thanks for stopping by.
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Medallion background, Full of Life

Colors: Perfect Plum, Basic black, Brushed Silver

Accessories: Jewel basic Rhinestones, scallop border punch, black satin ribbon

"Easely" my favorite!

OK OK,dumb play on words!  But I do love this sentiment and this IS my first Easel card... just go with it, would ya?!  I've been wanting to do this type of fold but just had never taken the time to figure it out until now.  It is so easy too.  This card measures 8.5x4.25" and is scored at 4 1/4" and 6 3/8", but you could also do this with a standard half sheet of cardstock.  For a fabulous tutorial by Beate and all the measurement options CLICK HERE. 

I combined a number of different stamp sets on this one.  Started with the grass and sentiment from Inspired by Nature, added fussy cut flowers from Greenhouse Garden and finished with the uh.... pigeon is the only word that keeps coming to mind, no it's a pheasant.  Yeah, the pheasant (stamped off once for a subtle look) from Autumn Days.

Wondering about the color combo?  Certainly Celery, Cajun Craze, More Mustard and Early Espresso.  This sketch is from Stampin' 411's Saturday Sketch Challenge. 

Thanks for stopping by today! 
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Autumn Days, Greenhouse Garden

Colors: Certainly Celery, Cajun Craze, More Mustard and Early Espresso, Very vanilla

Accessories:  Chantilly Lace ribbon, Antique brad, scallop edge punch

Stacked Hand-Made Gift Boxes

***This is the second post for today.  Scroll down to make sure you do not miss the DCBD challenge posting.  I meant to schedule this for tomorrow but messed up.  Oops.***

 So what do you think of my hand-made gift boxes??  I found this wonderful tutorial from Tina at My Therapy, My Creations that made them so so easy.  It can be found here:  paper box tutorial.  I used the Scallop Circle and Scallop Circles #2 dies with a piece of cardboard that comes in every pack of Designer Series Paper to make the bottoms and lids for these boxes.  Then covered them with cardstock.  There is one TIP that I'd like to point out if you decide to try these:  FOLLOW the tutorial when she says to glue the cardstock and cardboard together BEFORE running them through your Big Shot.  Trust her!  Trust me! 

 Here is a shot of the largest box open.  I am giving this set to a friend with a little something special in each box (I'll show that on another post).  Each box has a little stamped surprise in the lid and, for the bigger two, in the bottom of the box as well.  That's one reason this project is so fun- tons of areas to jazz up however you want!

Here is another shot of the inside of the lid for the largest box.  Sentiment is from In My Thoughts, leaves are from Great Friend.  I also used the new Chantilly Lace, an antique brad, pearls and the Large Oval punch and scallop oval punch with Oval All for the label on the outside.

 This is the medium box with a sentiment from Full of Life and 3 Jewel Basic Rhinestones.

 Here is the smallest box.  It has pearls all the way around it plus a hand-made carnation flower on top (more on how to make those later!)

On the inside of this lid I used a stamp from Think Happy Thoughts and punched a little flower with the Boho Blossoms punch, attached with a Rose Red brad.  For all three boxes I used retired Raspberry Tart DSP (designer series paper).  The measurements I used are as follows: 

Large box: 2"x12" strip & a 1"x113/4"
Medium box: 1 1/2" x 9 1/4" and 1"x9" (as per the tutorial)
Small box: 1 1/2" x 5" and 1" x 4 3/4" 

For the larger two boxes I just cut circles that looked like they would fit with my circle cutting system.  For the small box my 1 1/4" punch worked perfectly!  These circles are to line the inside so the edges of paper don't show. 

Want to know more about the paper carnation?  Here is a tutorial that is super easy:  paper carnation tutorial thanks to Emma F. at Lady and the Stamp.  These have been around awhile so I might just be the last person to try them.  If you haven't either then check out this tutorial! 

Hope you have a great day.  If you have any questions about this post just post a comment and ask, I'll do my best to answer. 
~Kristin

{PS- Special thanks to Tina and Emma for your inspiration and wonderfully done tutorials!}

River Rock Blues

Good morning!  Welcome to another Diva Coffee Break Design Wednesday.  Today we've got a fabulous color challenge for you!  These colors are so beautiful together you really can't go wrong.  If you are scrunching up your eyes looking for my Rose Red, well check out that Glimmer Brad in the center of the ornament.  Yep, that's Rose Red alright! 

I used a variety of different products on this card and I'm so happy with it!  The Northern Flurry embossing folder (available TODAY!) is making another appearance here as well as the ornament from the new stamp set Tags Til Christmas which works great with our ornament punch.  Other accessories include the Jewel Basic Pearls, Glimmer Brad and White Organza ribbon! 

I hope you'll consider playing along with this awesome Diva challenge!  Be sure to check out the Diva blog for more inspiration before you get started, then stop back there and link your creation so we can see your hard work!

Have a great day!  Be sure to stop back tomorrow... I have a rare 3D gift idea- three of them as a matter of fact.  I can't wait to show you!

~Kristin