Blue Ribbon

A graduation card was requested at a Stampin' Up! workshop I did in May with colors green and gold.  Here I used the stamp sets Blue Ribbon and Fabulous Phrases.  Can you spot the mistake?  It was the first thing I stamped... so I decided to leave it.

Thought I'd share another card with the same layout and stamp sets, but different color scheme.  Simple!

Have you been wondering where I've been?  Here's the answer:  Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan again.  Summers are non-stop for us.  So happy to be home right now.  Maybe I'll even get some time to STAMP!  Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

Modern Congrats

Surprised to see an update from me?  Me too!  Summer keeps us quite busy around here, and this year spring did too.  So on to this card that I made a while back... playing around with some fun new goodies from the new Stampin' Up! catalog.  I'll stop back with the details later.  Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you are enjoying your new SU goodies.

~Kristin

Notecards for Lovina

As I mentioned yesterday I made some notecards for my Amish neighbor lady the other day.  She made a beautiful piano bench cover for me that I'd been wanting for a long time.  It was something my mom was going to do but didn't get around to it before she died.

I provided the fabric and materials and Lovina had it done in a day!  She didn't want to charge me since they use our phone often, but I couldn't just do nothing in return.  So I set about to make a very simple set of notecards.  I think there were about 5 of each.  The only color is the Cherry Cobbler L.  Instead, I used the tiny embossed hearts for some character and charm.  I hope she likes them!

So glad you stopped by today!  In case you are interested, I've started selling some of my jewelry pieces on Facebook.  I hope to open an Etsy store one of these days.  Many of the pieces are sold now, but I am designing and adding more every day. I would love to have you stop by!

Have a beautiful day!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Lovely Letters Alphabet, Four Frames

Colors:  Naturals Ivory, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede

Accessories:  Adorning Accents embossing folder, Big Shot

Thinking of You: Last of the series

Here it is, the last of the series of 6 that I donated to a fundraiser for a local Domestic Violence shelter.  In fact, I think today is the day of the auction.

Yet another pattern of this Epic Day DSP is shown here.  If this paper is any indication of the types of goodies coming out in the new SU catalog on June 1, I am THRILLED!  Can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by.  Tomorrow I've got a very simple set of Monogram cards I made for my Amish neighbor recently.  Stop back!
~Kristin


EDITED TO ADD:  Geesh!  Just realized how awful my pictures look the last several posts.  They look great on my editing software but once uploaded they look overexposed and just awful.  Any tips for me?  I have no idea why this happens periodically.  Sorry!  I'm making this one large instead of XL to see if that helps...

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Epic Day DSP

Accessories:  Big Shot, Polka Dots embossing folder, Labels Collection framelits, Basic Gray striped ribbon, Modern Label punch, Everyday Enchantment brad

Friend to Friend- fifth in the series

Ooh, isn't that paper just wonderful?  I adore it with this Gumball Green Satin Stitched ribbon!  And the Stripes Embossing Folder...  That butterfly brad is another from that old Everyday Enchantment collection.  Have any of those left?  I still have a few- will be sad when I run out!

Thanks for stopping by today.  One more left in the series I think.  Enjoy!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Epic Day  DSP

Accessories:  Gumball Green Sating Stitched Ribbon, Everyday Enchantment brad, Stripes embossing folder, Big Shot, Labels Collection framelits

Happy Anniversary & Happy Birthday: third & fourth in a series

Hi there!  Up next in the series of six is this clean & simple anniversary card.  What do you think of the texture and sophisticated color combination together?  That wide striped ribbon is Basic Gray, embossing folder is called Vine Street, and brad is from the retired Everyday Enchantment collection.  Isn't it awesome that even retired products from Stampin' Up! coordinate with the current stuff?  I just love using up older favorites. 

And here is a birthday card made in that same series of six that I donated recently for a Domestic Violence Shelter fundraiser.  For all 6 cards I used a similar sketch as well as the new This and That Epic Day Designer Series paper which is a sneak peek from the upcoming brand new Stampin' Up! catalog (June 1), and is available now in a bundle with some other fabulous coordinating products.  Check them out!  Stop back tomorrow to see the next one in the series!

This one uses the Chevron embossing folder!  Doesn't it just add a funky flair to those gorgeous designer papers?!!  Once again, I used Teeny Tiny Wishes for the sentiments on both of these, as well as the Modern Label punch and the Labels Collection Framelits.  

Gotta run, stop back tomorrow for another in this series!  
~Kristin

Get Well Wishes: second in a series

Hello!  Here is the second card in the series of six cards that I donated recently for a Domestic Violence Shelter fundraiser.  For all 6 cards I used a similar sketch as well as the new This and That Epic Day Designer Series paper which is a sneak peek from the upcoming brand new Stampin' Up! catalog (June 1), and is available now in a bundle with some other fabulous coordinating products.  Check them out!  Stop back tomorrow to see the next one in the series!

If you aren't in love with this new designers series paper yet, just wait!  I've got 4 more to show you...

~Kristin

Stampin' Up! products

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes

Colors:  Crump Cake, Very Vanilla, Summer Starfruit 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Honeycomb embossing folder, Satin Stitched ribbon, Modern Label punch, Pool Party button,  Labels Collection framelit, Baker's Twine

Hello Baby: first in a series

Good morning!  I have a clean & simple baby card to share this morning.  I made this in a series of six cards that I donated recently for a Domestic Violence Shelter fundraiser.  For all 6 cards I used a similar sketch as well as the new This and That Epic Day Designer Series paper which is a sneak peek from the upcoming brand new Stampin' Up! catalog (June 1), and is available now in a bundle with some other fabulous coordinating products.  Check them out!  Stop back tomorrow to see the next one in the series!

Thanks for visiting and hope you are having a great spring!
~Kristin

Stampin' Up! Products

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Epic Day DSP

Accessories:  Big Shot, Cloudy Day embossing folder, Labels Collection framelits, Calypso Coral Button, Calypso Coral baker's twine, Modern Label punch

Four new Layouts

 I know not everyone is interested in scrapbooking so I'm posted all four of these layouts in one post.  Everything used is by Stampin' Up! except the last one.  Speaking of that last one, can you tell I glued the pages down in the wrong order?  Oh well!

 Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

Believe

How about another quick, clean & simple Easter card.  Used the sketch below from the Clean & Simple blog, as well as the color challenge from Fab Friday!  Check them both out while there is still time to play!

Thank you for stopping by today!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies:

Stamps:  Pleasant Poppies, Just Believe

Colors:  listed above with the exception of using Blushing Bride instead of Pink Piouette

Accessories:  Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Modern Label punch, vintage faceted button, Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Dazzling Details glitter glue

Best Things in Life Aren't Things

Thanks to my friend Lisa Henke's suggestion, I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch for my card today.  We did some virtual stampin' on Wednesday to give each other inspiration.  This is an unusual color combination for me, but just kind of fell in place.  One of those that I struggled with and wasn't sure I liked it until I was done.  Now I like it!  

I'm glad you visited today!  Would love to hear what you think about this one!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies: 

Stamps:  Feel Goods, Flowering Flourishes (see it back there?)

Colors:  Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry, Calypso Coral, Whisper White

Accessories:  Honeycomb Embossing folder, 2 1/2" circle punch, sanding block, Calypso Coral ribbon, Pool Party button, Island Indigo baker's twine, Large Scallop Edgelit

Clean & Simple Easter

I can't believe Easter is coming up so quickly.  This blustery weather in Ohio sure doesn't feel like spring!

Here's a peek at the inside.

Today's card is for the Paper Players sketch challenge.  Can't get much more clean & simple than this can it?!  This week's theme challenge over at SUO Challenges is Easter.  Think this fits the bill?!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes

Colors:  Calypso Coral, Sahara Sand, Lucky Limeade, Early Espresso

Accessories:  Calypso Coral ribbon & button (both FREE right now during Sale-a-Bration), Postage stamp punch, Calypso Coral Baker's twine, Needlepoint Border embossing folder, Tea for Two DSP

Love you!

Doing some virtual stampin' with my old pal Lisa Henke today!  We try to get together virtually (since we're about a 3 hour drive apart) once in awhile to stamp by sharing challenges with each other and stamping at the same time.  Today Lisa suggested we try the Color Throwdown challenge.    I also combined it with the Create With Connie & Mary sketch but missed the deadline by about 2 hours.  UGH!  Hate it when I do that.  

I have a little journal that I keep solely for stamping challenges.  Oftentimes I'll take some time to write down 6-8 current challenges then refer to my journal the rest of the week to work on them.  Unfortunately I rarely remember to write down the due dates.  Oh well, they get me stamping and that's the important thing!  

Funny thing... at first I thought I couldn't work with these colors- they just didn't appeal to me.  But I stuck with it and finally came up with something I really like.  Hope you do to!

Thanks for visiting!  Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see what she's been up to also.
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Betsy's Blossoms, Itty Bitty Banners

Colors:  listed above

Accessories:  large scallop punch, smaller scallop punch, Boho Blossoms punch, antique brad, Vine Street embossing folder, Bitty Banners Framelits, 5 petal flower punch

Happy Hour!

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You Light Up My Life! A 12x12 Layout.

Have you seen the new Parker's Patterns Designer Series Papers in the Spring Catalog?  They include many great, masculine patterns and colors which I thought were perfect for these pictures.  You can get a glimpse of a few of the other patterns at the top left corner.  I did those with the Bitty Banners Framelits.  I rarely do a page with just a single picture, even though I love the look, but I always have so many pictures I want to include.  This time I just put all the rest of them on the opposite page.  Works for me! 

Gotta love pictures of your kiddos when they are getting along!  Especially now that they are 13 & 11.

   

So does anyone else that scrapbooks chronologically leave a blank page in the front and back of the album?  I seem to rarely remember to go back and add that title page... so recently I did two, one for 2004 and one for my 2005 album.  I'm planning to keep them simple so I am more likely to get them done from now on.  For this one I used an old Simply Scrappin' Kit called At Home.  

And this one uses the Tickets and Tags Simply Scrappin' Kit.  Love these kits!!  Saw a page similar to this on Pinterest and HAD to put my spin on it.  I added a few little embellishments and some giant chipboard numbers which I stamped with a large background stamp.

So tell me, how do you wrap up an album on the last page?  One time I typed up a summary of the entire album and an expectation for the year to come.  I really enjoy going back to read it so maybe I'll try that again.  Let me know what you do! 

An Easter Layout

Good morning!  Who is up for some scrapbook pages?!?  Now that I've finished the 215 wedding invitations (picture at the bottom) I've had some spare time to scrap.  What a job that was- but I'm happy to say it went well thanks to good planning and working a few hours a day on them.  

For this layout I used the new Tea for Two Designer Series paper available in the current Spring Catalog.  Thought it was perfect for an Easter page with the soft springy colors.  I also used my new oval framelits for the Big Shot as well.  I wanted to mimic the hexagon shape from the paper so I used my very old Creative Memories cutting system for the pictures on the right.  

 Here is the left page... the title and the bunnies were cut with my daughter's Cricut.  Love that thing!

I am glad to say I've completed my 2004 Family Album and am now diligently working away at our 2005 album!  I am actually happy that I'm so far behind because I love the pictures from when my kids were so little.  They've changed and grown so much since then.  

Here is the box of wedding invitations I completed on February 27th.  Believe it or not, I did really enjoy doing this project!  By the last few days I was ready to get it over with because it had consumed all my free time for quite awhile, but thankfully I allowed just enough time to get them to the bride right on time without rushing.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back with more scrapbook pages and then I'm sure I'll be back to doing some cards soon.
~Kristin

Pinterest Overload!

 

I was sick last week.  A strange kind of illness- didn't feel good sitting... so I kept busy (not working on the wedding invitations I should have been working on but they require sitting).  But look what else I got done- all kinds of Pinteresty things.

 These signs over my kids' toilet.  These things I've said to them probably 9,482 times since they were old enough to do them.  As soon as I saw THIS on Pinterest I knew I had to try my hand at making my own.  Not too hard with My Digital Studio and a HUMONGOUS stash of Designer Series Paper!  Want to try them yourself?  I have shared my files HERE so you can! 

Best part:  recycled frames so cost is $0.  Worst part:  daughter accidentally kneeled on one of the frames at the VERY last step and shattered the glass.  Even worse:  Walmart no longer carries these.  So the WASH sign is laminated with no glass for now.  UGH! 

Notice the ribbons on the shower curtain?  Those are new too.  I went a little nutso!

 Trash to treasure!  An old bookcase of my grandfather's (who passed away in 1995) that my uncle no longer wanted.  The glass is missing from the doors, but I will replace it eventually.  For now, in my haste, I just added some black & white wrapping paper to line the back for FUN and visual interest.  It looks like I've painted it in the after picture, but I haven't YET (just different lighting for the pictures).  I need to take a photo of the vintage, retro door pulls- they are AWESOME!!

Had some left over wrapping paper and this "M" already hanging on the wall so just added a piece to the back for a little change up!  Took less than 2 minutes!

And finally, have you seen all the pins for cleaning up and repurposing old jar candles that are black with soot and have very little wax left?  Well I had a ton of those just taking up needed space.  Wish I would've taken pictures of the process- it was interesting!  I tried a few things and can say- the freezer method did NOT work for me.  I poured boiling water into the candles which melted the wax so it floated to the top and hardened when cool.  Then just take it out and pitch it... or if it is still warm you can roll it into balls and save it to reuse in your wax warmer.  I had a few candles that were much fuller but I was on a roll so I sat those in a pan on the stove with water (maybe 2") and heated until the wax was completely melted then poured the wax into an old ice cube tray.  Again, saved them for my wax warmer. 

 

These two jars worked perfectly for cotton balls and cue tips in the kids' bath, and I did something similar in my bathroom.  The rest of the jars were put to various other uses, some still empty waiting on a genius idea to strike!  Ooh, already found the idea:  Pinterest to the rescue again!  So doing this one next!

 

 

All the while, here is my table of wedding invitations just waiting for me to buckle down.  Actually, I took this picture maybe a month ago.  Happy to report they are all in the final stage (ribbon tying) and I am ALMOST DONE!  If I can stay off Pinterest for awhile I could even finish today. 

Then will be back to stamping again!

Thanks for stopping by!  Sorry for the long absence!!
~Kristin

PS- If you've tried to subscribe lately and it didn't work, well it is working now!  Please try again (in the sidebar on the right!)  UGH:  STILL NOT WORKING.  SORRY- NOT SURE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS.

Swarovski Snowflakes and a Baby Card

 Good morning!  Thought I'd share a picture of these Swarovski Crystal Snowflakes I made for my family for Christmas this year.  Like true snowflakes, no two are alike. I had fun finding different color and bead combinations!   This free tutorial by Bead Animation was so wonderfully done and helped me tremendously.  The first snowflake took me about 2.5 hours but they got much easier and faster each time!  If you'd like to see each one individually I have them posted on my Beading and Jewelry page (link at the top of my blog).

 I made this baby card a while back for some friends who had their 4th baby boy (!!) just before Christmas...  great idea, but I still haven't sent it.  I know, I'm such a slacker!

Here's the simple inside.  These Designer Series Papers (Sycamore Street DSP) and the Island Indigo ribbon are both new to the Stampin' Up! lineup, and are each FREE with a $50 purchase due to the fantastic Sale-a-Bration event going on now until March 22nd.

So glad you visited me today!
~Kristin

Custom Wedding Invitation

Here it is, the project that has all but consumed me for the last month or so and the actual assembly part is JUST beginning.  If this looks familiar to you it is THIS card you are remembering.  The bride's mother found it on the internet somewhere which led her to asking me if I'd consider doing 215 wedding invitations!  Fortunately I helped two friends last summer with wedding invitations so I had some experience, but I mostly did the design and step-by-step instructions for those, along with a little bit of hands on help.  This time they are ALL up to me.

The label across the heart will have the bride & groom's names in a pretty script font that they chose, which will coordinate with the actual invitation wording on the inside.  There will also be a little band on the inside cover which will hold the RSVP and Reception cards in place.

So far I have really enjoyed the challenge and the process, and getting to know the bride a bit.  I have even learned a few things along the way.

Do you like how I embossed the envelope flaps to coordinate?  Well guess what, my Big Shot broke down right in the middle of that process!  Yep.  Thank heavens my dad was here visiting and is far more handy than I.  He had it fixed in a jiffy and got me back to work.  Then he even stood next to me and handed me envelope after envelope for probably an hour!  Thanks Dad!

I've also learned to always save my MDS (My Digital Studio) files as a .pdf file instead of a .jpg for the printer, and that you can not over estimate how much time the whole designing process will take.  Plus I've learned tons of neat tricks on MDS that I never would have known.  Makes me excited to try this again some time (ask me how I feel in a month after gluing 430 birds, branches and wings down!)

Special thanks to my kiddos also for helping me with the little things so far, like punching and scoring!

Thanks for stopping by again!
~Kristin

Lots of News!

OK, yet another example of why I stink as an SU demonstrator... my first post about Sale-a-Bration includes a card with no SAB stamps.  Sorry, haven't had much time to stamp lately... I'm in the middle of making 225 wedding invites for a client which need to be done in a month. (*Yikes*)  However, I did use this new Designer Series Paper from the new Spring Catalog called Parker's Patterns.  I just adore the masculine, but fun look!  

Check out the links below for more great details about not only Sale-a-Bration and the Spring Catalog, but also a most exciting new offering called Paper Pumpkin, a monthly surprise creative treat in a box from Stampin' Up!  

 If you are interested in placing an order for any of these totally cool Stampin' Up! products, or would like to host a Workshop Wow contact me by clicking on my profile at the top right, or leaving a comment with a way to contact you!  (If you'd rather I not publish the comment just say so, then no one else will get your contact info.)

Also, the sketch I used for this card is from Splitcoast Stampers sketch last week!  If you'd like to try it out click here:  Sketch Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!  If you'd like to see the wedding invitation I'm working on stop back tomorrow.
~Kristin