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

Celebrate Love- A natural, casual wedding Card

Hello again!  Here is my natural, earthy, casual wedding card for a wedding I have coming up in August.  Think burlap and twine, brown paper and mason jars with candles.  You know, all things hot and trendy on Pinterest right now!  I helped this bride design her invitations and I must say they turned out great!  I might post one, but they are hard to photograph and even harder to appreciate without it in your hand...  I wanted to make her a wedding card with the same style and design so here it is. 

Everything is lightly sponged with Soft Suede ink for a softened look.  The Wild Wasabi piece is distressed (just crumpled then smoothed out) and torn.  And the poppies were colored with an Aqua Painter and some Wild Wasabi ink. 

I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches on this one, and obviously let some things off kilter to make it my own.  If you look closely I'm sure you'll see the resemblence though! 

 And a shot at the inside too.  You may notice by now, I like things a little off kilter, unusual and asymetrical.  Hope you like it anyway!  :)  Thanks for visiting. 
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Pleasant Poppies, Fabulous Phrases, Full of Life

Colors:  Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, Naturals Ivory

Accessories:  (NEW!) Woodgrain embossing folder, Antique brad, Linen Thread, Decorative Label punch (inside), sponge, Modern Label Punch

Love You Much: Artisan Award Entry

So far you've seen a card, my recycled album clock and a scrapbook page... all entries in SU's Artisan Award contest in which I did not make the finalist round.  Up next is another card.  This was one of the first cards I made so I was sick of it by the time I shipped it off.  In fact, considered redoing it several times.  Now that I've not seen it in person for over a month I am liking it again.   

The fun details that I thought made it unique are the punched flower window with a white lattice piece behind it showing through.  I love the idea of seeing something behind that punched flower... but maybe the lattice is too busy, or the white too stark?  That's the part I reconsidered dozens of times then left.   



Perhaps my favorite detail is the three rows of scallops at the bottom that show from the inside when the card is closed.  Sort of like a 2 for 1!  I left the inside blank so it could be used as a note card for any occasion.  Thanks for stopping by! 

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

I'll stop back to add supplies.  Must run right now!



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

Goodbye I {Heart} Hearts

Saying goodbye on May 31st to I {Heart} Hearts as well as Short & Sweet, which is a go to sentiment set for me.  I loved playing with this sketch from Clean & Simple- so many possibilities!  Had to utilizing my new Adorning Accents Edgelits for the side panels on the sketch just for a unique flair.  Love combining new stuff with older stuff!  Also added a clear heart button and some white baker's twine.  So what do you think? 

For the inside I had to use a few scraps of the Newsprint DSP that almost went in the trash.  Love recycling!  Also, this well-loved sentiment set Curvy Verses will saying goodbye as well.  *Sniff sniff*

Thanks for visiting today, so glad to have you!  Hope you've found some inspiration here. 

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  I {heart} Hearts, Short & Sweet, Curvy Verses

Colors:  Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Peach Parfait

Accessories:  clear button, white baker's twine, Big Shot, Adorning Accents Edgelits

On the topic of Valentines

Hello hello hello!  Right back at ya with yet another Valentine.  Funny, I don't send many... I probably have a stash of Valentine's I've made over the years and never sent.  I should send them- there are a few people I love.  Or I could just sign them and slip them under a few pillows.  Hmmm, like that idea. 

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I used a sketch today.  Yep.  Isn't it fun?  I'm all about asymetrical so it spoke to me.  You should see all the sketches I DON'T use.  Seriously, there are tons out there.  I only bring you the best.  :)  This one is from Splitcoast Stampers- they have a sketch every Wednesday. 

Kept this one pretty simple.  A little stampin', little embossin', little punching.  Ooh, did you notice my cupid's arrow??  Can you guess how I did it?  I'm the last one on the bandwagon, but I finally have SU's large snowflake punch.  If you have it punch one and play around- I'm confident you can figure out this arrow.  And YES, I did have to cut some things and glue some things.  It didn't come out exactly like that.  The seam is hidden behind the sentiment piece.

More embossed dots, did you notice??  I have gotten my money's worth out of that embossing folder.  Actually, I didn't even pay for it.  Jackie Pedro sent it to me a LONG time ago! 

As promised, here's the inside all done up.  Fast and easy. Thanks for stopping by! 
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Love you Much, Short & Sweet

Colors:  Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy, Pink Pirhouette, Whisper White

Accessories:  Big Shot, Polka Dots embossing folder, Large snowflake punch, large heart punch, markers, scalloped trim border punch, Modern label punch, Pearls, Narrow Rich Razzleberry ribbon

I Love You This Much!

For today's Diva Coffee Break Designs Color challenge we are to use Poppy Parade, So Saffron and Baja Breeze in combination. 

I chose to use Build-a-Roo by stamping him on some Greenhouse Garden DSP.  I then grunged him up with an aquapainter and some Early Espresso ink like an old loved stuffed animal, and immediately regretted it.  He looked much nicer before but I'd already "fussy-cut" him so I wasn't about to start over. 

The hearts in his pouch are from the Heart to Heart punch and the larger heart is the Small Heart punch.  The background So Saffron paper is dry embossed with the Texturz Plates Kit #4 and the Big Shot.  YES, I finally found my Silicone Rubber pad that had been lost (fell behind my file cabinet). 

I hope you'll stop by the Diva Blog and check out the other designers and their great samples!  Then be sure to play along and let us know.  You might even be chosen as our weekly "Featured Artist"! 

Thanks for stopping by again today.  I'll be gone all day today on a field trip to see the Ohio State Band with my son's 5th grade band class.  He was thinking of wearing his Michigan jersey so it could be... interesting.  Wish me luck!  :) 

~Kristin

PS- I forgot to mention that our Annual Holiday Stamp-a-Stack last Saturday was a GREAT SUCCESS and so much fun!  We had 24 delightful guests and they did 12 fun projects and we were done in record time (2 hours earlier than last year!)

My Only Sunshine

I loved singing that song to my kids when they were little.  I'd rock them to sleep and sing You are My Sunshine over and over again.  Then one day my aunt taught me the second verse ("The other night dear, while I was sleeping, I dreamt I held you in my arms.  But when I woke up I was mistaken so I hung my head and cried")  When I sang that verse to them they suddenly made me stop singing it and didn't like that song anymore- still don't.  Too sad I guess. 

Anyway, I still like that saying "You are my sunshine" and had to use it on this card.  This is for today's Diva sketch which I really like!  I kept it pretty literal other than the banner style sentiment which I just hand cut.  Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by.  Now why don't you go check out the other Diva's samples then play along with us! 
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Aviary, sentiment from Something Sweet

Colors: Daffodil Delight, Craft, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Greenhouse Gala DSP, Antique Brads, Old Olive narrow ribbon, scallop border punch, markers

Newsprint Birthday

Good Wednesday morning! I hope it's sunny for you right now- it is bright and beautiful here this morning. You ready for a new Diva challenge?? I've got a sketch for you which I made into an aniversary card for my hubby. Yesterday we celebrated 14 years with shopping and dinner, with kids at grandpa's house! It was a nice evening!

So for this sketch I was itching to use some of my new goodies that came in my preorder from the new SU Catalog available July 1st. The designer series paper here is called Newsprint- I am just positive it will be wildly popular. It has several great newsprints, as well as a page of numbers, vintage looking ledger papers, sheet music etc.

Are you wondering what this luscious red color is?? That is the new Cherry Cobler which I think might be my favorite new color!! I also used my new Crumb Cake (Kraft) ink- woohoo, I'm so excited to finally have ink in that awesome neutral! And the bitty button from the Summer Mini catalog. Guess what- the tiniest heart in the Heart to Heart punch (the one with 3 hearts) fits the heart button perfectly!

Finally, in case you can't see it, the Crumb Cake strip of cardstock has been textured with the "Distressed" texture plate by SU. Unfortunately I can't find my silicone rubber piece that is needed to the texture isn't as deep as I'd hoped.

Oh yes, almost forgot to mention... the stamped print on my main oval panel is from the old background stamp called By Definition. Told 'ya I don't get rid of stuff! ;)

Have a great day! Be sure to check out the other Diva cards with this sketch then join us!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Inspired By Nature, By Definition, Well Scripted

Colors: Cherry Cobler, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Big Shot, Texture Plates, Curly Label punch, Heart to Heart punch, Bitty button

Sweet Sunday on a Wednesday!

Have been procrastinating today- avoiding getting my taxes together. Should be some great cards coming out of me in the near future- I'm a top notch procrastinator!! Came across Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge and decided to try it out. I managed to clean my desk off today and ran across this Melon Mambo scalloped square with the heart punched out from another project, and decided to use it. Did two more in Soft Suede and Crushed Curry too.

What a great sketch- I had fun with it! Thanks Karen!

Stampin' Tips:

• When you find a favorite challenge site or blog that really appeals to you SAVE it in your faves! Go there often!
• Use scraps! (Did I say that yesterday?? It is a recurring theme for me.)
• Tired of your embellishment selection? Look to your punches, combine them, and see what you come up with!
  

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Picture This

Paper: Melon Mambo, Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Sahara Sand

Accessories: Scallop trim punch, small heart punch, Soft Suede dotted grosgrain, Heart to Heart punch

Retro Candyland... and some beer

What on earth?!? Is that what you thought when you read my title? LOL! Well, today's Clean & Simple challenge over on SCS is to find inspiration on this website Candy Crates Retro Candy Store. Well, I was looking for something really graphic to be inspired by (the candy just wasn't doing it for me) so I went in search of something sweet for the guys where I found this Killians Red beer sign. Perfect! Or so I thought. I love the bold colors and graphic nature of the image but I gotta tell you my first two tries were U-G-L-Y. Even my sweet sweet daughter who approves of everything I do with a resounding "IT'S BEAUTIFUL!" said "yeah, it's not your best mom" or something along those lines to which I totally cracked up!

Anyway, flipped a layer over, then threw it away and started over in my thinking and finally got to this. I'm happy with it. My first idea was way too literal and it wasn't going to be very clean or simply anyway.

After I used half a bottle of reinker to refill my vanilla ink pad I managed to emboss the word Wanted with it, and even stamp some weathered background. The hearts are from the Heart to Heart punch, and "Hugs & Kisses" is from All Holidays (which I get a LOT of use from).

Well, thanks for stopping by and stay tuned. While I was busy working yesterday my DD made her own card that I think is pretty awesome for an 8 year old! I'll post it next after I get them off to school.

~Kristin

Diva Day!

That's right, it's Diva Day once again! This week we are bringing you this sketch to work with and it is not hard at all. In fact, pair it with some strips of coordinating DSP like I did and you're nearly done already. This week I wanted a bit of a springy color combo so I used the Tea Party DSP. It actually looks ideal for Easter, I think, with the dots and the ribbon. Reminds me of a dainty/frilly little girly dress that my daughter WILL NOT wear. (Neither would I so who am I to complain??)

The sentiment stamp is from the new stamp set called Well Scripted which is in the Occasions Mini Catalog and available in the new clear mount option. The punched heart was stamped with I {Heart} Hearts also in the Occasions Mini and available in clear mount (remember, that's clear blocks and red rubber).


The Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon and the Tea Party DSP are both available in the regular SU catalog.


Thanks for stopping by today and for your comments, I really enjoy reading them! Please, take a minute to check out the other Divas' cards using this sketch then consider playing along!


~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Well Scripted, I {Heart} Hearts

Colors: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst

Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions folder, corner rounder, Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, small heart punch

To Infinity and Beyond!

Buzz Lightyear to Star Command, come in Star Command! OK, so I've watched Toy Story a few too many times! Anyway, this is for today's Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge- that's right, we're back after a well-deserved two week break! We've got this great sketch to work with this week.

Took me a while but I finally decided to use stars for my three elements on the left so naturally I had to dig out my fun spaceship from Pun Fun for the main image. Don't recognize the sentiment? That's because I printed it on my computer. It's fun, try running your cardstock through your printer and then you can use any sentiment you want! I used the star punch to make the point on the end of my sentiment piece so it is the exact same angle.

My color scheme for today came from the Color Challenge on SCS yesterday to use Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bad and Handsome Hunter together. Love that combination and I never would have thought to use it. I also added in some Whisper White for my neutral.

Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

PS- I nearly forgot... well, I did forget but you shouldn't. Take some time to go visit the Diva blog to see many more examples using this sketch, then be sure to play along!

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Pun Fun, Extreme Elements

Colors: Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bad and Handsome Hunter, Whisper White

Accessories: Silver brads, Blender Pens, small and large star punches

Clean & Simple Challenge: Curves!

That's right, curves are the challenge for today's CAS challenge CAS45. I've never tried using curves like this for grass or snow so I did one for each... one cut with a craft knife and one torn. What fun! I had no idea what I was missing out on. Of course using my brand new set Love Bandit made it fun too! This DSP is once again from the retired Simply Scrappin' Kit that I used a few days ago called Pina Colada. Doesn't it look awesome with the Rich Razzleberry ribbon?! I just love these colors together.

The sentiment is from Short & Sweet and guess what... so is that tiny flower I added at the last minute. I don't think I've ever used it, and it seemed the perfect proportion for these trees. Finished them off with a touch from the white gel pen. Tree trunks are watercolored with a touch of Close to Cocoa ink and an aquapainter.

Here's my second version- using vellum cardstock for snowy hills. Does it work? It is tough adhering vellum so that the adhesive won't show. This is the best I could do with a bit of Tombo Mono Multi that I rubbed around with my finger to spread as thin as possible. Can you tell there aretrees from Lovely as a Tree in the background? I haven't used that set in ages- in fact, was considering putting it in my storage bin for a while. They are stamped in White craft ink while Dasher is stamped with black craft ink. The circle sentiment is from Punch Pals.

Neither of these is totally clean & simple in the sense that they have a lot of "white space" but they use minimal layers and embellishments so I think they qualify- at least by my definition.

So thanks for stopping by today! We'd love to have you join us for the CAS45 challenge.

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

(card 1)

Stamps: Love Bandit, Short & Sweet

Colors: Kraft, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Close to Cocoa

Accessories: Modern Label punch, Rich Razzleberry dotted grosgrain.

(card 2)

Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Dasher, Punch Pals

Colors: Ballet Blue, Whisper White, Bashful Blue

Accessories: White vellum cardstock, circle punches, White organza ribbon

Love you much

For yesterday's Mojo Monday contest challenge... My main image is stamped with black Staz On on glossy white paper, which my photo didn't exactly capture. The flower ended up black since I inked it that way so I just covered it with a red punched out flower with black brad.

So what do you think of this color combination? It just kind of happened... I grabbed my Pink Flamingo DSP from SU since I didn't get much use out of it before it retired, and went from there. The Cameo Coral in it use paired with Ballet Blue on the trusty Color Wheel so that's where the blue came from.

This morning I woke up with another idea for this sketch so I may be doing it again today after I take the kids to school.... we'll see.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Love You Much, I {heart} Hearts

Colors: Ballet Blue, Basic Black, Real Red (or Riding Hood Red?) and Cameo Coral

Accessories: Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain, black brads, boho Blossoms punch, Heart punch, Pink Flamingo DSP

Love You Much!

Woo Hoo! Am having fun playing with this new set! This time I wanted to try it out without the paper it is bundled with just to show some variety. Most all the samples I've seen so far are in the reds, pinks and chocolates (which are awesome colors!) As you know by now the bundle also includes an awesome 3-heart punch- the first ever heart punch for me. And I love how it coordinates with a stamp in this set and has three different sizes!

I've combined a LOT of different items this time: the #2 Scallop circles die for the Big Shot, the Filigree brad (LOVE 'EM!), white gel pen, Kiwi Satin ribbon, Scallop Edge punch and a Flower ribbon slide from the Silver Hodgepodge Hardware kit! Ooh, how I got so many favorites on one card I have no idea! The last thing you may be wondering about is the jumbo wheel used on the Pacific Point cardstock. It is an old old one called Everyday Blossoms (no, I never get rid of anything!)

Hope you like! Be sure to click the link and get your bundle today! Don't forget to register if you order on-line and enter my name as your demonstrator (if you don't have one)- you'll save 10% off all orders that way.

Thanks for stopping in!

~Kristin