My Crocodile Hunter & Pink Poodle named Fifi

Geez, anyone else think this time of year is so crazy busy... and it doesn't seem to end until January! Anyway, I haven't stamped in a few days but I have taken tons of pictures.

Here are my kiddos in their costumes for Trick-o-Treat. I had a Crocodile Hunter & a Pink Poodle complete with a chipboard and rhinestone dog tag and the name Fifi spelled out with rub-ons! That's the best I've been able to do with my supplies in the last few days.

Would you believe that these are about the most creative we've ever been with costumes! I can create on paper, but forget brilliant ideas for Halloween! I'm usually a last minute, whipping-something-together-and-rushing-out-the-door, kind of gal!

Here's about the only picture I took while the Amish crew put our new roof on. It looks so great- I am going to go out and take an "after" picture this morning. They did the entire thing including tearing off the old one, in two days flat! They are workers! They even put my shutter back up that came off in the big winds that damaged our roof and rebuilt a section of the little brick landscaping wall (at left) that had fallen over!

It was neat having them around, hearing their strong German/Amish accents and even having their horses tied up in our garden. When they were all done they invited us to their home to "help" them with their chores. They raise white-tail deer and my son and husband were really interested in the whole thing. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go because DD had a birthday party. They said we're welcome back anytime and we'll get a tour of their home next time. Neat!

OK, back to the real deal of stamping on my next post (I hope!). Hope you didn't mind the little tangent for now. Thanks for stopping by!
Kristin

Sorry, no post today.

Well, I'm posting but only to say that I won't be posting today. I am voluneering for my daughter's first grade class all day today. We're carving pumpkins, pressing apples into cider and making several fall treats! I ran home for lunch to check on my new roof that should be complete today. I've got an Amish crew up there hammering away as I type this. I took a few pictures but can't upload them right now- no time.

Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get a chance to post something. Maybe a picture of my new roof (isn't that exciting- I know, it really isn't for you but it is for me!!).

Roof Garden Gift Set Class, part two!

Here are the rest of the pics....

And here is the Roof Garden Accents & Elements Tin and what will be LEFT after this class!


Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin~

Roof Garden Gift Set Class coming soon!

As promised, individual pictures of the projects for my Roof Garden Gift Set Class coming up in November. Don't miss out- check out the details in my last post or on my SU website!

Here are the first 4 cards and the cute tote to put them in. The other four note cards, which also fit in the tote, will come next!

I wanted to mention that, since I submitted this class to Stampin' Up! and it was published on their website, I've seen lots of other demonstrators presenting this class as well, with their own unique twists. For that reason I may adjust these designs or provide attendees with pictures of lots of other ways to use these Accents & Elements kit!

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!

One Word Only...

For yesterday's WT189 on SCS, Ways To Use it Challenge, we were to use only one word on the front of the card. Hopefully my french script background (on the basic gray) and the script in the Fresh Cuts stamp don't make me a cheater. :) I took this picture last night so I may try to get a better one today. I really wanted the light to show through the paper piercing around the edges so I had to leave my flash off which made it quite yellow and a bit blurry. I will try to fix it.

I am so happy with how this turned out- we were also required to have at least a touch of pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Well, I did more than a touch. A few retired sets were used here. Some of you might have not even heard of them, but this is SUO! The black flower is from Art of Life, a beautiful old set that I can't get ride of. The "friend" is from Noteworthy, an old SAB set I believe, that I've always admired. There is also a bit of French Script- a treasured background in my collection. I combined them with the current sets Fresh Cuts and Heartfelt Thanks for a soft feminine look.

A touch of dazzling diamonds on the flower and edges of the curly label adds a touch of jazz as well, as well as the taffeta ribbon and paper piercing at the edges that is really neat with the light showing through.

Thanks for stopping by- I love having you!

A color challenge

What I wouldn't do for some tips on taking a good clean, crisp, clear picture so the tiny words aren't blurry! I always feel like a migraine is coming on trying to make my eyes focus when my pics turn out this way, which is more often than not. I try hard, I do! I took almost a dozen shots of this card, in two different locations with different flash settings and even did some adjusting on my PC. And sadly, this is what I end up with.

At least I really like the card- I suppose it would be worse if I felt that way about the card. This is for Tuesday's color challenge on SCS which I haven't done in a while, but it is still my favorite challenge!! Now that I'm done with this card, and reworked the sentiment like 6 times and re-embossed the flower once it was already glued down, I still see some things I'd like to change if I were to do it again (which I just might). I wish I would've stamped a subtle background in versamark- either French Script or maybe Floral. I also sort of wish I'd tried pink pirouette cardstock for the vanilla layer in the hodgepodge frame. I don't know about you, but I have a tough time getting the frames to look like I envision. I do like the sentiment on the small oval and raised on dimensionals though.

Anyway, I'm actually scheduling this on Wednesday to post on Thursday because I absolutely MUST get to work on my SAS on Sunday!! I have quite a bit of cutting to do! At least I have all directions and pictures done and cards actually designed.

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Wonderful You
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Alpine Felt ribbon, Top Note, Big Shot, Ice Rhinestone brad, Flower Fusion Too, Vanilla HOdgepodge Hardware, Stampin' Dimensionals

As promised, more Christmas card ideas!

So this is a card I actually whipped up pretty quick. It is cased from one I designed a long time ago. I sold a pack of these this weekend- they were the most elegant and formal I had. I will make more I think! The card base is Purely Pomegranate with the Stitched background stamped in Chocolate chip. The "frame" around the sentiment is just done with the crimper on all 4 sides. The Joy image from Illuminations stamp set is embossed in gold. The ribbon is the wide satin in pomegranate also left over from last year. So glad I have plenty left! This card was inspired by one on the SCS gallery (I'll have to go find it again). I'd never really used this stamp set- Sidekick Sayings- that was a hostess set last year I think. I like the idea and design, but I don't like the stress of trying to make out the words. At first, while making this, I wasn't really sure until I layered it on the Soft Sky and added the rhinestone brad. Then it grew on me. Ink and cardstock are Blue Bayou and Soft Sky (old In Colors). The giant snowflake is the old background stamp called Supersize Snowflake that is retired now.
More Pomegranate here. This is a twist on the wreath card I posted a while back. I replaced the brads with a few 1/8" hole punches and voila! I really like how it turned out. I'll probably make more of these as well- quite easy. Stamps include: Snow Burst and retired Fancy Flexible Phrases (one of my favorites!). Ink is Always Artichoke and Purely Pomegranate.

I'm so glad you stopped by today! Come again soon!

Sweet RAK from Lisa & A birthday thank you

My good friend Lisa Henke sent me this card last weekend wishing me luck for my craft fair activities. Wasn't that sweet?! She's always so thoughtful to her stampin' sisters (not just to me by the way). Thanks Lisa- you made my day sending me some happy mail! I owe ya!

My DD and I designed this quickly the other day because she has LOTS of Birthday Thank You notes to write. After I cut out all the paper and she stamped many of the flowers to punch out I remembered the new stamp that was to arrive yesterday: the Simple Birthday Thanks giant cupcake with a thank you note included in the stamp. This is on sale right now for SU's birthday celebration so I had to order it. So we scrapped this idea and set the cardstock aside until the UPS guy showed up!

Well, we stamped a bunch of the cupcakes and worked together to color them in today while she's home sick. I'll show those tomorrow once they are mounted on the Gable Green bases I have ready. They won't be works of art since we had to do them so quickly, but I can see all kinds of possibilities with this giant cupcake stamp!

Also coming tomorrow, a few more Christmas card ideas. Thanks for stopping by! (BTW, did you notice my Stampin' Top 50 number going up above 400 recently?!? How fun! That's all thanks to YOU!)

Oops, almost forgot my Stampin' Supply List for my Thank You card above:

Stamps: So Many Scallops, Wow Flowers, Little Pieces

Ink: Pink Passion, Pumpkin Pie, Marigold Morning, Lovely Lilac

Cardstock: Whisper White, Gable Green

Accessories: Scallop punch, pop dot

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~

A Quick Note about PMS night tonight!

Sorry but I must cancel tonight's PMS night at my house due to having to set up for my craft fair tomorrow morning! Since I don't require an RSVP I thought I should post this just to be safe. The good news is, once this craft fair is over you won't have to read another word about it!! Well, I guess that's not a promise since I do have another one in November, but THIS ONE you won't have to read about anymore. :) Thanks for stopping by. I may have another post later today with an actual picture of something!

PS- If you're not familiar, PMS night is a free night of Popcorn, Music and Stamping at my house every third Friday where everyone is invited to bring your current craft project and play with my "stuff". Mark your calendars for November- it will be on the 21st from 6-10pm. December's PMS will be cancelled as well (I promised myself last year NO EVENTS in December- even wrote it in big letters on my 2008 calendar!) but we will resume in January!

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

My handsome young man!

I don't know if I've posted any picture of my son specifically and since I took these just the other day during a gorgeous sunset (and you know me & sunsets!) I felt like posting them. Thanks for indulging me! ;)

Let it Snow (not literally!)

Here are two more Holiday cards I completed yesterday. I really like this first one, even more so in person, so I made 10 more to sell this weekend. Unfortunately I messed up and cut the base out of whisper white (not in this one, but in the other 10) and the images are all stamped on very vanilla so... I'll be making 10 more for 20 total! With the Big Shot the background piece is quite easy. I just wheeled an entire piece of Baha Breeze cardstock with the Snow jumbo wheel in Vanilla ink then cut 3 at a time out with the Top Note Die! I think on the others I make the banner won't hang over the edge because it won't fit in a standard envelope if I do that. Ooh, forgot to mention that the scallop oval was made just by piecing two scallop circles together.
This second card will not be duplicated, at least not with the brads since I won't have enough to make very many. I do like the simplicity of it though. The wreath was made by stamping a snowflake from Snow Burst multiple times. The chocolate chip card base was wheeled with the Poinsetta jumbo wheel and versamark, but I'm not sure if it shows much. Had a heck of a time with lighting today due to rain.

Thanks for stopping in today!

Right around the corner

Christmas that is! So here are a few cards I whipped out yesterday- actually fairly quickly once I put my mind to it and stopped blog hopping! I was hoping to come up with an easy design to make a lot of to sell this weekend at my first Craft Fair, but I'm not sure I've hit on the best one yet. I don't know, I think I just enjoy designing so much that I'll never find the perfect card to make in bulk! Maybe I'll just sell variety packs, eh?!? I sure won't get as many done that way though. Hope you like 'em. I'll do my best to list the supplies at the bottom. I'm not worrying about using only current stuff since my plan is to sell them or use them... so some stuff is retired.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stampin' Up! Supplies (in order)

Stamps: Wanted, Canvas, Paisley, Many Merry Messages

Ink: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip Craft, Riding Hood Red

Cardstock: Creamy Caramel, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla

Accessories: sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals, Riding Hood Red Ribbon, stapler, distressing tool, Clear EP

___________________________________

Stamps: Punches Three, Baroque Motifs

Ink: Real Red

Cardstock: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Real Red prints

Accessories: Scallop Square punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

_____________________________________

Stamps: Snow Burst, Snow Flurries, Many Merry Messages

Ink: Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Versamark, Baha Breeze, Bashful Blue, Night of Navy

Cardstock: Baha Breeze, Night of Navy, Kraft

Accessories: Ice Rhinestone Brad, Baha Breeze Ribbon, Sponge

______________________________________________

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Punches Three

Ink: Basic Gray, Real REd

Cardstock: Basic Gray, Real Red, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi Prints

Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, Stmapin' Dimensionals

Phew, big weekend!

You can probably tell since I haven't posted since Thursday that it's been a hectic weekend around here. Actually, it wasn't so bad. We just had a football game and overnight on Friday night, then volleyball tournament (yes, we were champs!) on Saturday, plus my sister and niece spent the night on Saturday then my daughter's birthday party on Sunday! I was tired last night by the time it was all said and done, me and the kids ate Cheerios for dinner! Seriously! And they were fine with that... go figure!

Anyway, I did manage to whip up a card for DD just before leaving for the party (at the roller skating rink) but I wanted it to be spectacular and I was in such a rush that it was just so-so. It even made us 10 minutes late to our own party!

It's nice and sunny and beautiful here this morning so I have no excuses for getting lousy pictures of this card. Well, my excuse is my camera. I'm so disappointed with it lately. I need to order a new battery today!!

So this is the front- I used the frame made by cutting out the Top Note on the Sizzix. The butterfly is sparkly and standing out from the paper. On the inside I tried this technique that we learned at Convention for the first time. Making a spiral of paper to attach things to so they spring from the card when it is opened. Well, DD liked it and she had a wonderful time at her birthday party so that is all that matters! I can't believe how time flies and how fast they grow up. Having my 1 year old niece here this weekend gave me a slight twinge of wanting another one! If only to have a child that fits on my lap again. :)

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be furiously working on my craft fair stuff this week so will be busy. Hope to have more pics to post.

Takin' a Break For Me!

Well, today I just wanted to stamp something for me, no strings attached, no deadlines or craft fairs in mind! I stumbled upon Kristina Werner's color challenge today and I just LOVE the colors- Ballet Blue (an all time favorite of mine), Certainly Celery, So Saffron and Ruby Red. Aren't they just happy together?!?



When trying to clear off a spot on my desk my Fresh Cut Notes fell out of my cabinet so I thought, what the heck. Well, here's what I quickly came up with. I think it accomplishes the happy-go-lucky feel I was going for.

Thanks for stoppin' by!

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Pretty Petals background, Fancy Flexible Phrases

Ink: Ballet Blue, Ruby Red

Cardstock: Fresh Cut Note in Whisper White, Ruby Red, So Saffron Print Patterns

Accessories: 5-petal flower punch, Button Bouquet, Linen Thread, Wide Grosgrain in Brocade Blue (which I always use with Ballet Blue!)

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~

You Are Invited!

Holiday Stamp-a-Stack

Get a jump start on your Christmas cards plus a BONUS adorable gift bag*!

The class fee of $30 includes all the precut materials for 16 cards, 4 each of 4 designs, complete with coordinating envelopes and a bonus gift bag perfect for that little last-minute gift!

At this Stamp-a-Stack you will enjoy using the new Big Shot, stamps and gorgeous ribbon from the current Holiday Mini Catalog as well as a variety of papers, ribbon and versatile stamp sets that aren’t just for holidays!

Contact me today to reserve your seat in this great class!

Prepayment is required with reservation by October 19th.

*The original design for this gift bag is by SU Demo Diana Gibbs.

Mosquitoes, eggs & Christmas

Yep, it's gonna be one of those posts. Very random and bizarre in nature! So story first.... I may have mentioned at some point in the past that my kids have been trying to raise some baby painted turtles all summer. Well all was fine until we decided to move them inside for the winter. After maybe 2 days I decided I didn't want the mess and hassle of these indoor creatures and stinking tank and filthy water and trying to keep it all clean during the long cold winter months. I fairly easily convinced them to release the turtles in a neighbor's pond- problem solved. Well, almost. Fast forward two busy weeks with the tank still sitting in the hallway by the kids' rooms. I go to put them to bed tonight (after being gone all weekend) and their rooms are both FULL of mosquitoes!! I kid you not, we actually bred our own mosquitoes. OMG, I couldn't believe it. Long story short, kids helped me anhilate as many as possible then scoop and dump the contents and carry tank outside. Phew! Oh, forgot to mention I also had them cover up in bed and spritzed their rooms with mosquito spray just for good measure.

Now, on to the egg portion of this post. Last week I made myself two fried eggs and am so impatient that while they were cooking I had to run to the computer and browse a few blogs. When I got back they were nearly burnt, but that's not the story. They were in the shape of a butterfly-seriously! I was planning to post the picture I took of them, but it's kind of gross (since they were nearly burnt). I don't know, if enough of you ask I might post it. We'll see.

OK, so if you're still reading you might be interested in some actual stampin' talk! So, I quickly whipped out a Christmas card on Friday before I left for the weekend. So, here it is:

This set, in case you're not familiar with it, is now available in the Holiday Mini Catalog. It is called Home for Christmas and is a set of three. The greeting on the tag that is tucked behind the image says "Though far and wide on earth we roam, at Christmastime our hearts come home."

I wanted to experiment with only coloring some of the image since I'm working on cards for a Stamp-a-Stack that are fairly fast. I like how this turned out I think, although I stamped "A Christmas Wish" at the bottom of the main image and it is not entirely obvious. Might be moving that inside... what do you think? The background is Weathered, which is retired, but I really thought it fit with the rustic feel. I will make a few more this week before I decide for sure if this makes the cut. Anyway, that's long enough! I'd better go iron something. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you had a great weekend!

~Kristin

Franky & Francis

OK, so many of you have seen many of these. In fact, mine are nearly exact duplicates of these by Cambria Turnbow. However, for lack of anything else to show and just in case YOU haven't seen these yet, here they are. I didn't cut the hair quite as short so I had to kind of squish the faces a bit. The only real change I did was the eyelashes on Francis. She also kind of looks like she's hit the bottle I think. Tee Hee. Franky is missing an arrow because I dropped it and didn't feel like punching another so he's a bit off kilter as well- they sure make a pair don't they?! These are fun and easy with the right punches and the Top Note die. These use the 1" circle, 1/2" circle, arrow punch, round tab punch and a black marker and white gel pen. That's it. The noses and eyelids are sponged a bit with some Wild Wasabi also. Cardstock colors: Wild Wasabi, Brilliant Blue, Pixie Pink, basic black, whisper white, pretty in pink. TFL!

~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

Out of Steam!

You know those days, when you feel you've just hit a brick wall?! For me I know it's one of those days when I don't feel like stamping! Yep, that's today. Here's why, besides the previous week or more of posts of craft fair stuff: I haven't ordered my DD's birthday present yet (birthday party in 11 days!); haven't heard from roofers yet and we need our entire roof replaced desperately; still waiting to hear from heating/cooling guy to install new air return; can't finish my calendar project because I forgot to buy magnets (TWICE) and my craft room (aka bedroom) is a wreck among many other things! Mostly, I've just done so many projects lately that I'm out of steam!

Well, here's the only thing I could muster yesterday. Trying out different Christmas card ideas for my upcoming SAS. I doubt this one will make the cut. I suddenly and without warning decided to try the old Emboss-Resist technique where you clear emboss something, in this case J-O-Y, onto either a stamped piece or patterned paper as I did here. Then brayer a dark color, chocolate chip, over and wipe the ink from the embossed area. Obviously I couldn't entirely hide the pattern in the paper, which I sort of like, but it's also kind of muddy so I'm not completely sold. Stamping in versamark on a busy paper is tough to see and line up so I wasn't happy with the spacing, but fixed that with the felt flower and build-a-brad. Finally, I used Tombo Mono Adhesive (which I love) to glue down the layers but then decided my JOY panel was too low and couldn't move it for ANYTHING! So, ideally it would be a tad higher so the label didn't interfere as much. You get the idea?! Overall it worked out much better than I thought it was going to while brayering on that chocolate. It nearly went to the trash can.

I did try a second idea and reworked it over and over until I finally was running late and had to leave so it's still in a state of incompletion. Maybe I'll get to it after I finish my cup of tea (full octane). Sorry, hope I didn't totally deplete your energy sources! I'll get my act in gear, promise.

~Kristin~

Oh forgot to tell you that my winning contest entry finally made it to the SU website, but guess what?!! It won't open... well, for me anyway. Others are saying they can see it so that's good. Not sure why I can't. OK, see ya tomorrow... hopefully, I'm volunteering at school so we'll see.

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.