Non-Artisan Award Winner...

Yes, I'm a little bummed to have not gotten a call yesterday about the Stampin' Up! Artisan Award contest for demonstrators to be on SU's Design Team for the coming year.  However, the upside is I can show you all my projects now.  Unfortunately I won't get any of them back.  Here is a picture of the group of them.  Over the next few days I'll show them to you individually so you can see the details.  Which would you like to see next? 

This card was one of my favorites.  It is so me- very earthy and natural, just my style.  I also love that shade of blue (I think it was Marina Mist) paired with River Rock and Always Artichoke.  This now-retired stamp set will go down as an all time favorite of mine, Inspired by Nature.  I used the Adorning Accents Edgelit to make the "frame" for the flowers, then punched a 3/4" circle in it to showcase the Antique Brad with the jewelry tag sentiment. 

I didn't get a picture of the inside but I mimicked the River Rock piece and left it blank for writing a note. 

I think this was the best sample of my style because it is somewhat clean & simple, with a few unexpected details.  I hope you like it better than the SU judges did.  LOL! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Inspired By Nature, Pennant Parade ("Love")

Colors:  Marina Mist, River Rock, Always Artichoke

Accessories:  Big Shot, Adorning Accents Edgelit, 3/4" circle punch, Antique Brad, Jewelry tag

WOW! 11 day hiatus!

Wow, I can't believe it has really been 11 days since I posted last!  Actually 12 by the time this goes live.  Well, I've had some issues... first one being I spilled tea on my new laptop last Monday!  OMG, I almost threw up.  But it turns out, after letting it sit and dry out for 5 days it is up and running.  The only residual problem is that my 3 key doesn't stay put (because I pried it off in my panic) and the keys where I spilled sound a little different now.  I guess I can't complain.  Better than buying a new laptop!

  Anyway, I've also been painting my kids' bathroom.  It has been bright yellow- not kidding, like Daffodil Delight- for probably 8-10 years!  Any guesses as to what color it is now?  I'll post some before and after pictures when it is all complete.  I'm so excited- I think it is going to be fabulous! 

So, due to those and other events I haven't stamped since the last card I posted.  I'm not really even feeling withdraw yet... I suppose my creative outlet has been the bathroom.  But, I do owe you two Diva Coffee Break design challenges so I decided to combine last week's sketch with today's color challenge.  I hope you like it... you know I struggle with bright colors.  Be sure to stop by and check out the other Divas' creations and then play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by!
Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: For All You Do

Colors: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories:  Newsprint DSP, Rhinestone, narrow Rich Razzleberry ribbon

Happy Moments!

I've missed the MOJO sketch challenges recently so decided to finally play along this week. I've been having so much fun with SU's new Demo-only website that has a fun Facebook look and feel, that I've neglected my stamping!

These colors came to me in kind of a funny way- I ordered several packs of paper in my last order and when they arrived they looked so nice next to each other I just had to use them together! They are Sahara Sand, Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum and Whisper White.

You might not believe it but this is my FIRST time using an actual clear-acrylic block with my new unmounted SU stamps! I won't even try to explain how I'd been using them before. I also squeezed on here some other products from the new Occasions Mini Catalog: Chocolate Epoxy brad, Scallop Trim punch and Polka Dot Textured Impressions folder.

Hope you like it. Don't forget to comment on my last post for a chance to win the awesome blog candy! Thanks for stopping by today,
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Happy Moments

Colors: Sahara Sand, Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Whisper White

Accessories: Chocolate Epoxy brad, corner rounder, Scallop Trim punch, Big Shot, Polka Dot Textured Impressions folder, Felt Flowers, aqua painter

Vellum Vase

I saw someone use the new Ornament punch as a vase for flowers and just LOVED it!! In fact, that very idea is what put me over the edge and decide to order the ornament (and the coordinating stamp set of course!). Anyway, I was lamenting all the beautiful Ribbon Originals that I have purchased and savored and hoarded for so long that it is no longer available when I noticed how lovely these two ribbons are together. I'm not even sure if they are from the same colleciton or not! The layout I've used is CASEd from one I used for this month's WICKED challenges- if you're an SU demo go check them out {please!}. I didn't post this card there because of all the retired product on it (everything except the ornament punch, felt flowers and a few colors).Thanks for looking!


Have a great weekend!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Itty Bitty Buds, Best Yet (both retired)

Colors: Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava (former In-Colors), So Saffron, Old Olive

Accessories: Vellum cardstock, Felt Flowers, Silver Brads, Ornament punch, Ribbon Originals (retired), Scalloped border punch.

ETA: Here is the card I saw using this ornament punch as a vase!!

A Fabulous New Fold: Venetian Blind!

I first noticed this awesome new type of fold on Julie Semone's DCBD card two weeks ago. I was immediately enthralled and decided I would certainly try it out! Thankfully Julie linked directions to Nancy Legate's blog which has a typed tutorial available! Thanks Julie and Nancy!

My parents' 40th wedding anniversary was this weekend so we went up north to celebrate and this is the card I made for them. The directions show this card on a typical card front so you can have a stamped message inside as well as behind the blind, however I only made mine a card front because I wanted the focus to be the message behind the blind.

The nice thing about this technique is that even if your stamping isn't all-star material (like here) the look of the folds makes it look much better I think. If it hadn't been for the folds I would've pitched this piece and started over.To open you pull the cords straight out to the sides (this is in Nancy's step 12 but I missed it and nearly tore my card apart). Here's the inside.

If you are like me you can mostly figure out a card just by looking at it- without formal instructions of any kind. However, that wasn't the case with this card. The folding I could've figured out, although having measurements done for me was wonderful. But threading the cording through the holes was complicated and would have been near impossible for me without following the step-by-step tutorial. I did make a few changes to Nancy's directions that worked better for me, which I would recommend, but don't hold your breath waiting for me to make up my own tutorial... just takes too long and I'd rather be stampin'! If you don't intend to make this card SKIP THE ENTIRE NEXT PARAGRAPH.

{In case you do try this out yourself here are the changes I would make: I believe the picture in step 4 is a bit different from the actual directions. You may have noticed mine has an extra hole at the bottom (doesn't show real well- you may have to click to enlarge) that I didn't thread through. I have 10 holes on each side but I didn't use the bottom one because the directions say there should be a 1/4" flap at the end that doesn't need punched. Actually the flap shown in the tutorial that has no hole is 3/4" I believe... SO, you could follow the directions as they are and your card will look like Julie's I linked above with the 1/4" flap on top of the cording, or you could read the direcitons for step 4 to say "Fold the scored area like an accordion, starting at the top with a valley fold. There will be a 3/4" flap at the end that you should not punch..." if you do this it will lay like mine but without the extra hole that I have that is not needed. Also, step 5- I believe the measurements should read 1/4" from the side and 1/2" from the bottom. Otherwise there is not enough room for the sticky tape as shown in the pictures. My sticky strip had to go above the bottom piece of thread as opposed to below where it is supposed to be. It worked OK, but I did end up adding some mono glue to hold it further. Clear as mud? }

Thanks for stopping by! I've got some surprises in store for you beginning next Tuesday (Sept. 1) which I'll be working on this week. I'll try to squeeze something else in in the mean time for you to enjoy. Have a great week!

~Kristin

Almost SUO Supplies:

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Greenhouse Garden, Kanji (retired), In My Thoughts (retired), Stem Silhouettes (retired), Organic Grace (retired)

Colors: River Rock (retired), Dusty Durango, Rich Razzleberry, Ballet Blue, Soft Suede, Black

Accessories: Crop-a-Dile, Linen Thread, Modern Label punch, Filigree Brads, Non-SU Watercolor paper (crummy Walmart stuff that I don't recommend- ink smears!)

Diva Day! {DCBD124}

Yes! There's a new DCBD Challenge today! It is a color challenge based on inspiration from these pillows. The colors to use are a combination of Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Going Gray or Basic Gray and Basic Black. I think I got 4 of the 5 in there- no white on this, although now that I think about it I could've achieved a neat look making the bottom layer of each of the flowers white. There are other things I regret about this card, but I won't obsess over them here (eta: OK, I guess I did obsess a bit).

I love the natural, very chic and of course modern look of these pillows so I decided to let that inspire me as well! I started out by embossing the branch from Eastern Blooms in clear on the vanilla paper. Then I sponged over it in a swiping motion (as opposed to blotting)- I was going for a little motion- maybe stormy skies kind of look (I don't know what I'm trying to say either). Anyway, then I stamped the same branch in going gray (so far so good) and again in black (ick!). Basic black has undertones of purple so I never should have gone there, but I just couldn't bring myself to redo it... I kept thinking "I can fix this".

The idea for a square card came from the pillows as well- that's twice in two days for doing square cards- yeah me! The flowers are all double layers which I cut by hand then distressed by crumbling as much as possible. Each has a metallic brad in the center.

For the sentiment I overlapped the "Heartfelt Thanks" from set of the same name. Enter next mistake- I like the idea, don't get me wrong, but the colors just are too muted. Actually, I think they were fine before I decided to sponge another layer of Basic Gray to help hide the black/purple (could be considered mistake #3?!).

Oh well, maybe if you get in a dreamy state with your eyes all squinty you can visualize something really glamourous and artistic. So what do you think? What should I have done differently? Go ahead, I'm a big girl!

Doing this card gave me another idea, so I might go work on that now... or maybe tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

PS- PLEASE go play along with this challenge on our Diva blog! It is always fun and we'll leave you sweet comments and heck, it'll get you stampin'! Be sure to check out all the Diva's artwork while you are there, you won't regret it!

PPS- Hey guess what?! Today's my birthday! HB to me!

Recycled Flowers

My swaps finally got finished and mailed out yesterday- whew! What a job- 12 shadow box cards was a big committment for me... well, maybe it was the many various steps I added that complicated things. I will post them in a few days.

For today... have you ever made something for a card, say a decorative element, then it just didn't work so you set it aside. After doing this numerous times you may end up like me, with an entire jar full of discarded/rejected elements. Well, this card I made for yesterday's Technique challenge started with these three flowers I had made out of glossy paper "smooshed" with reinkers then never used. Here is a link to the original card I did with this technique. So Monday's TLC was not to use a rejected card element, but to stack ribbons. Sounds easy and fun, right?? It was! I can't wait to try this again. My ribbons aren't exactly layered the way I had intended at the on-set but this is what evolved and I really like how it turned out.

The bottom half of this card was stamped first with Canvas in cameo coral (stamped off first) then with Pretty Petals background in Coral (not stamped off). Then the ribbon layers were added and the flowers after that. The center flower is raised on a pop dot for dimension. The 4 corners of hte kraft cardstock are punched with the ticket corner punch, then the entire piece is sponged with white to help with contrast. I really had fun using the Designer Label punch this way, folding it in half and only stamping on one side, then attching with three Vintage Brads.

If you have not already been convinced from past posts that kraft cardstock is the best neutral ever, then maybe this will do it! Not that it takes the place of white or vanilla, but it looks good with almost every color out there (except maybe sahara sand, river rock and creamy caramel- all great by their own rights!). Well, thanks for stopping by again- and I'd love to have you sign my new guestbook up at the top left corner! Have a beautiful day!

All SU Supplies
Stamps: Embrace Life, Pretty Petals background, Fancy Flexible Phrases, Canvas
Paper: Groovy Guava, Kraft, Glossy White, Blush Blossom
Ink: Apricot appeal, close to cocoa
Accessories: Vintage brads, aqua painters, water color crayons, Flirty Ribbon Originals, Kraft Tafetta, Designer Label punch, ticket corner punch

Color Combo Challenge (CC155)

Well, I tried to post this yesterday but blogger must have been having some problems... Anyway, every Tuesday Splitcoast hosts a color combo challenge, which is one of my favorites. For yesterday's challenge the colors were awesome- River Rock, Basic Black and Whisper White. Here is the card I came up with, which I'm pretty pleased with! I love the sharp contrast of these colors together...
All supplies used are from Stampin' Up: Love & Happiness Rub-Ons in white and black (hint: there are no stamps used on this card!). These rub-ons are part of the Sale-a-Bration deal and can be FREE with a $50 order if you choose them! The ribbon used is Black Gingham and Double Stitched Grosgrain in River Rock. The scallop punch fits the rub-on I've used here and is raised with Stampin' Dimensionals (pop dots). Thanks for looking- I hope this inspires you to give rub-ons a chance- they are SO MUCH FUN!

My First Day of Blogging!!

ETA: What are the chances?!? The very first card I post on my blog is the first (and only to date) card I've ever gotten published! This card appeared in the Aug 08 issue of CARDS magazine. I had promised to repost the picture in September and ...well, it's November and I'm just getting to it. Thanks for the reminder from one of my posters!

Consider this a Thank You to you for visiting my new blog! I have ventured to Blogland for fear of missing out! There are so many blogs today and it seems like a fabulous way to share what I love with anyone else who might love it as well. So here you go, my first ever blog posting (on my own blog that is)! Stay tuned, I might even start one for my DH's critter business...

By the way, this card is made using the current Level 2 hostess set called Spring Solitude. The set includes a matching wheel, but I did not use it here. The flowers were stamped and embossed in white along the left edge of the kraft cardstock. Then the Thank You stamped in Real Red and the bird in Sahara Sand. The wide grosgrain ribbon is real red, as is the card base.