Fifth Avenue Gift Set

Good morning! This week I'm working on making some card sets to sell at a Mom's group Craft Bazaar that my sister is involved in. This set is inspired by a card by Jackie Wright that I saved to my "Cards to CASE" file back in October 2009. My birthday card below is nearly a duplicate of hers and the others just kind of fell into place.

This is perfect timing because this stamp set, Fifth Avenue Floral, is 20% off this month, along with a few others. Click HERE to find promotion details! If you'd like to see other blog posts using this stamp set click HERE. Greenhouse Garden is another beautiful set that is currently offered as part of this promotion. Click HERE to see blog posts with Greenhouse Garden.

For each card I stamped the flower multiple times in vanilla ink then embossed with vanilla embossing powder. Stampin' Tip: To add a bit of dimension I then colored in each image with the Versamarker! Yep, that's one great way to use that Versamarker. For a few of them I also used markers to add a tiny hint of color to the centers. Finished them off with some dotted grosgrain ribbon in either Rich Razzleberry or Crushed Curry. Aren't they just sunny and happy? Here is a closeup look of each one:

Thanks for stopping by today! I've got a few other sets I've done as well so I'll be showing those over the next few days. Be sure to stop by tomorrow for a FABULOUS Diva Coffee Break Designs color challenge! You won't want to miss it!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Warmest Regards (retired sentiment set)

Paper: Kraft (will soon be called Crumb Cake and have ink to match!!)

Accessories: Vanilla Embossing Powder, Crushed Curry & Rich Razzleberry dotted grosgrain & matching markers, Versamarker, Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss ink

Last round...

(oh boy, now that Jose Cuervo song is going through my head!) ...of pictures from my Craft Fair. Here's a few more of the items I made up for Saturday. The pictures aren't the best because I was really running late on Friday (for set-up) and took these lickety-split!

In order, these are Jumbo Paperclip Bookmarks which I sold all but one, 2x2" square tiles (sold several of these- not sure of exact count- maybe 10-15), Bag Tags- sold very few of these, and a Birthday Thank You Note Kit- only made one and sold it. This turned out to be a good idea and I wished I'd made more. The cupcake stamp was on sale last month and there are lots of cute ways to use it. For this kit I made one cupcake up, and the rest I just stamped on white cardstock then left them blank so the child could color them and fill out the details.

I have two more pics that won't fit on this post so I'll add those next and that will be the end of it, promise!

BTW, everything used in these pictures was Stampin' Up! with a few exceptions, like the tiles, paperclips and plastic tag sleeves which SU doesn't sell. I also did resort to using some ribbon from my non SU stash as well. Everything else, including all stamps, paper and ink are SU! I also just noticed the 2 candles in the first picture- those have the small Decor Elements on them that SU demo's can buy to demonstrate.

Last but not least...

So these are all the extra gift bags I made up leftover from my Christmas Stamp Camp last month. These all sold except two. And last, I found three flat marbles in my stash (these were all the rage for me last year) so I whipped them up into magnets but they didn't sell.

OK, that's all for craft fair jazz! Tomorrow I'll be posting my first effort at being at design work for a fun blog group. Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

Good Monday Morning!

All right- I finally have uploaded some pictures and cropped and digitally altered to make everything appear better than it really is. LOL! Except me- I'm so unphotogenic so I probably won't even be uploading that picture!

Here's my table with my DD working for me. She does like to help, but she also likes to shop at the other booths which is one reason I don't make much at these things. Ha ha! The pillows on my table are my mom's- she makes the best luxuriously soft pillows for babies and kiddos (my kids LOVE them!) and they are completely washable. My daughter was hoping none would sell so she could have everything left!

Next up are the long-promised domino necklaces. I'm kind of torn about these things- they are pretty and fun to make but I also really struggled coming up with a way to make sure the ink was permanent and didn't rub off. I ended up spraying them with tons of coats of the same sealer I use on my tiles, but I'm afraid they will still scratch off if tested too much. My only option left that I might try is embossing the entire piece with clear EP. However, now that I have the ribbon and jewelry findings on each one I don't want to take those off, so not sure if I'll do it at this point or not.

A few of these I painted with a coat of Luimere- that shiny paint that SU used to carry. Mine is a little chunky now due to age and a crack in the lid, but it still worked and I actually liked the texture it added. Also, the Lumiere helped keep the craft ink in place and not rub off!

Well, I'll save the rest for another day. Thanks, as always, for stopping by!

~Kristin

Top Note Place Cards

I'm not sure if these will sell, but they were quite fun and easy to make and I figure, heck I'll use them for our holiday dinners if they don't. The first batch were made with all Earth Elements colors, the Pocket Silhouettes set and the words Give Thanks from Fancy Flexible Phrases- of course the Top Note and scallop & circle punches as well! Easy peasy!

The Christmas set was made using Punch Pals, Punches Three & Snow Flurries stamp sets as well as the Holiday Treasures papers (in the regular SU catalog, not a mini). I really like this set of holiday papers- they are traditional with a twist- to go a bit unconventional you can pull out the rose or baha breeze or play up the fun patterns! For these I also added the square scallop punch and the 3/4" circle punch. Thanks for stopping by! And let me know if I've inspired to try these out!

If you don't have the Top Note die (and Big Shot) I'd be glad to have them shipped directly to you just in time for the holidays - an early gift from Santa maybe!

More tomorrow, be sure to stop back!
~Kristin

3x3 Gift Box with Notecards

I spotted a tutorial on Splitcoast yesterday by Lauraly to make this cute little 3x3 gift box and thought I'd try it out. I'm still looking for cute ideas that I think might sell at my last craft fair this weekend. For this one I used the Bella Rose Designer Series papers.

For the top of the box I used the scallop edge punch on a square, which obviously didn't work out real well on the corners. I'm not sure how to get that just right... The felt flowers in the center are from Flower Fusion Too. The punched circle behind them is the new large circle punch, 1 3/4". I also added a vintage brad to the center and some Riding Hood Red ribbon around the box lid.
So far I've made 5 notecards to fit inside, but it appears I could easily fit 5 more at least! I may just do that, make more to fill it up then add envelopes. At this point I'm not sure how much to sell this for- it is not hard, but is a bit time consuming. But I LOVE how it turned out!

Stay tuned because the rest of the week will be scheduled posts with a few ornaments, some place cards for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as possibly my domino necklaces (Finally!) and maybe even some bookmarks. We'll see!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin~

Neat New Post-it Note Covers

I found a great tutorial at Dawn's Stampin' Studio and decided to try my hand at these since I sold most of my craft fair stock at my Holiday Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday! These are so much faster and easier (and cheaper to do) than the chipboard ones I did last time. I whipped 9 of these out in not too long at all! Will do more for sure. Thanks for sharing your tutorial Dawn!


Here's a picture of the back side and the inside of one set. I tried to spruce up the inside on this set since I left the outside basic. Although the flowers do have some dazzling diamonds in the centers. For the closure I glued a Curly Label to the front then punched a word window on the back so the label could wrap around and slip inside. These will also have pens in the outside loop (where the ribbon is) when I buy them. For each set I used a different type of closure- large oval punch on one, and a cut out tag on the other. HTH! If you want supplies I used let me know... stamp sets are: Be Happy, Heartfelt Thanks, Tart & Tangy, and the inside sentiment is from an old set Happy Harmony which I'd almost forgotten about.

These are great for using up old designer series paper. I used Recollections, Spring Fling I think it was called and the current Summer Picnic (from right to left). I can't wait to do more designs!


My Holiday Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday was a success! I had 7 ladies here and I really enjoyed having them. They completed 16 cards (4 each of 4 designs) and 1 gift bag. I've posted pictures here. Everyone seemed to enjoy the projects, even though they did take some time (4+ hours) as I expected. I try, oh I try, to do simple super-quick projects, but I just can't leave well enough alone. And honestly, I think some of them would be disappointed with 1 layer, 1 minute cards! We also had dinner and snacks, door prizes and lots of laughs.


Anyway, don't forget to contact me about my Award-Winning Roof Garden Gift Set Class if you are interested. Because this class requires product ordered, payment is required with registration no later than Nov. 10th . Space is limited.


Details are as follows: November 23rd at 3pm, my house, $25 includes the Roof Garden Accents & Elements Tin, and 4 full size cards, 4 note cards, with matching envelopes. PLUS, you will have 2 full sets of the Accents & Elements (adhesive cardstock weight embellishments) left to make many many more cards and projects at home!


This class should take much less time (I'd guess 2 hours) since I will have everything completely prepared for you. You will be assembling the cards using your preordered A&E tin, and the only stamping is for the greetings. Don't worry, I will have optional greetings available if you don't really have a use for "To my Wonderful Sister-in-Law". :)

I'll post individual pictures of each of these cards tomorrow, plus hopefully more projects I get done today if I ever end this post! Don't forget, only 3 days left to celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 20th anniversary with their great 20% off deal! (Hint, some of these sets we'll be using in my Annual Birthday Bonanza in January so you just might want to take advantage of this!).

How's that for a post?!? Makes up for missing yesterday, eh?! Glad to have you here!

Christmas Card Bundle

For lack of pictures of anything else here is a bundle of Christmas cards which I made and sold this past weekend (trying to avoid typing "C.F" since I promised in my last post!). Each was slightly different, but the same overall design and layout. In case you're wondering, the c___t f__r went as well as I expected, maybe even better. I didn't have high hopes since I'd heard a lot about low or fluctuating success at these types of events. I sold a little of everything I took except the luggage tags! Man am I glad I didn't sit up late making more of those on Friday night, like I'd considered. Well, my DD did want to buy one so I unloaded one... and no, I didn't charge her for heavens sake!

I did sell most of the paperclip bookmarks and made about 8 more while I sat there so those were popular, mostly for gifts for Book Club members & teachers. I did have quite a bit of interest in the tile coasters and tile magnets as well. All in all it was fun and I'd do it again. My mom did well selling her pillows. I wish I'd taken a picture of everything we had and our setup, but I didn't think of it at all.

This week I'll be preparing for my big Annual Christmas Stamp-a-Stack which is this Sunday. I'm always excited for this each year!

Can you believe October is coming to an end soon? Phew! is all I can say. I have left: 1 football game, 2 parties (birthday and halloween), one day of volunteering at school, and trick-0-treat night left. Then November comes and it starts all over again. :)

As soon as I get a picture of it I have a card to share which was the sweetest RAK from my friend Lisa, wishing me luck this weekend at the you-know-what! Be sure to visit Lisa's blog and congratulate her for all her good news lately- she's been offered the position of Design Team member for Limelight and also for Stamp Something!

Oh, hey- shout out to Angie Tieman also for winning the contest on So Shelli (Shelli Gardner is the CEO of Stampin' Up! and just started her own blog complete with contests!).

Thanks for stopping in! These cards feature some retired stuff like: Festive Favorites Stamp set, In Colors True Thyme and Cranberry Crisp (cardstock, ink & ribbon) as well as some old DSP which I can't even recall a name for right now. Other stuff: scallop edge punch, aquapainter, scallop square punch, curly label punch, Cute & Curly and Punches Three stamp sets.

~Kristin~

Cards for Sale!

Well, I did a few more designs to sell on Saturday. Here they are. Now I'm trying to get all the cards from my stash ready to sell (meaning, stamp inside greetings because I never do that and stamp my SU stamp on the back so they are legal then put in clear envies). I've got tons and it's hard to begin! I have no idea if they'll sell, but I can say I will not have dirt cheap pricing on my prized works of art. If they don't sell then I will use them myself (or I'm considering starting an Etsy store)- it's just not worth giving them away when I've worked hard on them. However, I will probably have a basket of cheaper ones that took less work or are maybe not so hard to sell at lower prices because it is either older or just not a favorite.

I still haven't completed the domino necklaces you've heard about dozens of times. They've been a pain in the keister so I'm just frustrated and almost have given up on them. We'll see. Maybe tomorrow just before I pack up to go set up I'll take a picture of the entire group of everything I've got. It feels like I've been working forever, but I know it won't look like much to me once I see it all (hopefully not though)!

Thanks for stoppin' by!

~Kristin

Additional Craft Fair Projects

Yep, still playing with fun new projects with more to come! Time is running out- I've got 10 days left.

These are large paperclip bookmarks that are fun to make, and quite easy with the scallop circle punch! I have many many more to make but these are the ones I got done yesterday. Not sure if the picture shows but most of them have a touch of glitter for some bling.

Next up, some beaded pens. Boy are these neat to make! I have learned from trial and error a few things about these. First, bold bright colors work much better than the lighter pastels. And second, if you've perfected random stamping and the "Less is more" theory then this may be a struggle. In the case of these pens "More is More" applies!

I haven't quite finished my domino necklaces. My mom is teaching me how to finish the ends so they look nice. Maybe I'll post what I've got done tomorrow.

So glad you stopped by! ~Kristin~

Christmas Card Winner!

In my book anyway. What I mean is, I've been designing Christmas cards lately for my upcoming Stamp-a-Stack (October 26th) and I finally have a "hit" after many "misses" (think battleship here). I think it's a hit anyway. It is simple, I love the slightly non-traditional color scheme and it features DSP, the Big Shot and embossing. Before you even think it, yes I know my sentiment is crooked. I was in a hurry, OK?!


Anyway, there is a very good chance of seeing this at my next event, even making a stack of them.

Better go, I've got several more to design... Not to mention the domino necklaces I'm trying to finish up for the craft fair so I can show you! I think I'm liking them... just need to have my mom show me how to finish them off so they look professionally done. She makes jewelry so she has all the tools and experience- I have none. Yes, my mom makes pillows (as mentioned before) and jewelry, she also makes scrapbooks and cards. And she asks me all the time "where'd you get your creative talent??" My dad asks me that too (can you tell I've got them completely befuddled?) and he used to draw when he was younger and now he likes to carve (whittling). Both my grandmothers had the problem of not being able to throw anything away if it could possibly be recycled or reconditioned into something else... uh, do you see the resemblance?? I'm a chip off the ol' block, wouldn't you say? Ooh, sorry for the tangent!


Have I mentioned that now when I go to the store I am eyeballing everything for it's potential to "do something " to it either for a class or for these craft fairs?? No kidding, my DH is starting to roll his eyes. Last night it was glass candles and now I'm emailing him saying "could you bring me home some flat suckers?" I remembered to buy some magnets so I'll MAYBE finish my calendar one of these days that I keep talking about.

Thanks for hanging with me!
~Kristin

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Baroque Motif, Short & Sweet

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Baha Breeze, Holiday Treasures DSP

Accessories: Clear EP, Chocolate grosgrain, Top Note Big Shot die, Versamark

Happy H*OWL*oween!

OK, corny title I know. And there are lots of cute sayings for owl stamps out there too! Anyway, thanks to my UPS guy (substitutes are always behind) finally arriving with my Top Note Die for my Big Shot I was able to complete my next Craft Fair project!! I am so excited I think they turned out adorable. Now I can't take all the credit... in fact, I really can't take any other than the labor involved. I completely copied this idea from Jackie Wright! I saw these on her blog the other day and just HAD to try them. So easy and fun and.. OK, I already said adorable. But I'm allowed to gush since it was in no way my idea. Go visit Jackie and tell her how stinkin' cute they are!!

The best thing about these is they are done entirely with Stampin' Up! punches plus the Top Note Die!! I used the scalloped circle, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1/2" circle punch and the 3/4" square punch. The cardstock is Kraft, Really Rust, Barely Banana (or So Saffron) and Chocolate Chip. Creamy Caramel ink is sponged around the edges for some dimension. For the beak I folded a 3/4" square in half then kind of bent the outside corners to make little tabs to glue down. I love the dimension this adds for a craft fair item, but if I were to do more of these for a classroom project for my kids I would probably use the photo corner punch for the beak. It would save time and effot and still look cute. Here's a closeup of one:

Thanks for poppin' in today! I'll see if I can work on my perpetual calendar now and get that posted tomorrow... we'll see. I'm feeling a bit cross-eyed.

Birthday Invite & More Craft Fair Stuff...

Yes I've been busy... too busy to post yesterday I guess. Here is the birthday invitation my daughter helped design that we've been working on this weekend. Can you guess what kind of party she wants? You guessed it- roller blading at the local roller-rink. We'll see how that goes with a bunch of 6 & 7 year olds! It is complete with black chunky glitter, brads (of course) and moving wheels. This wasn't too hard. I free-hand drew the basic shape then added details with the Word Window punch for the straps and the circle punches for the wheels.

Next up... beaded pens and magnetic chipboard coaster post-it note holders. Phew, that's a mouthful! I only had a handful of chipboard coasters (including three more I haven't finished yet) so I won't have many of these but they turned out so cute I think! I may just have to keep one for myself. Both sides of the coaster are covered with a Stampin' Up! pack of designer paper including (from left top) Ginger Blossoms, Urban Garden, Wintergreen, Summer Picnic and Spring Fling.

This is the first I've made the beaded pens. They were fun and not too hard. I have learned that you really need to use bright colors for them to show up under the clear micro beads. I've got 6 more of those I can make.

Everyday I am thinking of more things to make for these craft fairs coming up. I hope I have time to make most of them. Tomorrow when my Top Note Die gets here for my Big Shot I'll be making some cute Halloween treat bags that I found on-line- adorable! I'll be sure to post those as soon as I can. They should be fairly easy since they are entirely made of punches and the die cut.

Thanks for stopping by! (And a special hi to my Mom who says she read my ENTIRE blog yesterday! Hi to Dad too!)

Magnet & Coaster Tiles...

MORE craft fair stuff! I have been doing the quickest projects first so dug into my stash of tiles yesterday and stamped on every single one of them! Now I'm bummed I don't have more- the closest store to stock up is about 30 miles away. Anyway, the 2x2's are magnets (or will be when I glue the magnets on) and the 4x4 are tile coaster sets. I made four in each design. They will have corkboard on the back and packaged together somehow, probably with ribbon and a tag. I tried to cover a variety of styles with all of these, and while I certainly don't love all of them I hope someone will!

Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow I'll post the Birthday Invite that my daughter helped design for her party coming up next month. Can I just say that I'm in big trouble with her... she'll be 7 and her design includes chunky glitter, 3 different SU punchs, brads and moving parts!

~Kristin

PS- Isn't early morning sunshine just wonderful?!? That's what I'm grateful for today!

Working on Craft Fair Stuff!

I don't know what I've gotten myself into! I've signed up for not one, but TWO craft fairs. One on October 18th in Kenton, Ohio and one November 8th in Columbus, Ohio! I've never done one before where I could actually sell stuff so I'm furiously working to have a nice variety of gifts, stocking-stuffers and other hand-stamped items. I think my mom might be sending some of her hand-made decorative pillows for me to sell as well! She does the best work- my kids' beds (and mine too) are loaded with pillows from grandma. She even made all new pillow covers & coordinating throw pillows for our couch and loveseat!

For those of you who have asked (multiple times in some cases) if I would ever consider selling my cards... well, now the answer is finally YES! My stash is way bigger than I could ever send and while many of these are my favorites, it is time to say goodbye. I will have a LOT of cards for sale!

So far I have also made tile coaster sets, small tile magnets and luggage tags for suitcases, backpacks, diaper bags and more! This is just in the last three days! PHEW! I've got plans to make much more and a huge list that I could never possibly accomplish, but it's OK to dream, right?! I'll post pics as often as I can in the coming days and weeks.

If you are interested in attending either of these locations feel free to leave a comment or contact me and I'll get more information to you. I'm sure I'll post more details as the days get closer as well.

So far I only have pictures of the luggage tags I made yesterday so I'll post that now. Sorry I'm not going to list all my supplies for these but I can tell you that everything except for about 2 strands of ribbon are by Stampin' Up! In fact, it's only the white and offwhite ribbons on the "Game On" tag that are not SU. I have no idea if these will sell or not, but I'm thinking I might take my alpha stamps along and offer to customize them on the spot (on the back of course). What do you think? Any suggestions? I have three left that I can make but I got sick of them yesterday!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin~