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

Madison Avenue Thank You- FULL of Sale-a-Bration!

How's this for colorful?  I used a recent Mojo sketch for this one, as well as my new Designer Series Paper called Sycamore Street and stamp set Madison Avenue, plus the coordinating Petite Curly Label punch and stamp set Pretty Petites (all FREE during Sale-a-Bration!). 

Interested in earning any of these free products for yourself?  Just contact me to place an order of $50 or more, to schedule a Workshop Wow for you and your friends!

You may also notice some embossing along the edges there.  That is an embossing folder I borrowed from a dear friend Karen.  I forget what it is called, but it is not offered by SU.

Have a great day!
~Kristin

 

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Madison Avenue, Petite Pretties

Colors:  Summer Starfruit, Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango

Accessories:  1 3/4" circle punch, Petite Curly Label punch

Thank You

As I mentioned yesterday, my pal Lisa Henke and I decided to do some virtual stamping together on Monday as we occasionally do.  Basically that means we chat via email and choose challenges to do together then enjoy stampin' with a stampin' buddy (sort of).  It is fun because we live about 3 hours apart and rarely get to see each other. 

So Lisa chose our first challenge which is the Clean and Simple challenge from Splitcoast.  The challenge was actually a color challenge to use Bermuda Bay (or any tuquoise color), Kiwi Kiss (lime green), Ruby Red (any red) and Chocolate Chip (brown).   I did use the Burmuda Bay on the sentiment, but the background blue is actually Pool Party. 

Before the holidays of 2012 I had the privledge (as an SU Demo) to preorder a few things from the now current Spring Catalog which runs through May as well as the Sale-a-Bration catalog which runs from Jan 22- Mar 22 (SOON!).  It was hard to get all those new goodies during such a hectic season but it was worth the wait because I had so much fun playing yesterday! 

You have probably noticed by now the two new embossing folders I put to use.  The top one is appropriately called Cloudy Day (from the new Spring catalog) and the bottom one is Vine Street (FREE during Sale-a-Bration)!  If you are like my your stash of embossing folders is growing because they are ADDICTING!! 

In an effort to keep this as CAS as possible I kept the stamping to a minimum with just a flower and a sentiment.  BUT, the stamps and even the tiny punch are ALL BRAND NEW also!!  The flower is from a Sale-a-Bration (FREE) option called Madison Avenue and that tiny little thank you is from Pretty Petites which coordinates with the new punch Petite Curly Label (both FREE during Sale-a-Bration!).

Gosh, that's enough info I'd say.  But here is a quick shot at the inside detail.  I just stamped the vine image 3 times then punched out two of the stamped flowers and put them on dimensionals so they pop out. 

Thank you for stopping by today!
~Kristin

 

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Madison Avenue, Pretty Petites

Colors:  Kiwi Kiss (retired), Pool Party, Ruby Red (retired), Chocolate Chip, Bermuda Bay (retired), Whisper White

Accessories:  Petite Curly Label punch, Cloudy Day embossing folder, Vine Street embossing folder, Big Shot, 2 1/2" circle punch, Coredinations cardstock (in Pool Party), sanding block

Above & Beyond

Is it too late to say Happy New Year?!?  I hope your 2013 has kicked off nicely and you have hopes for a great year ahead.  I am getting a slow start but ready to dive in with some thank you notes that are always needed just after the holidays! 

This great new Honeycomb embossing folder could sit here no longer without being used!  It is a fabulous new addition to the Stampin' Up! lineup in the new Spring Catalog which is good now through May 31!  Also new is the Bitty Butterfly punch which coordinates with the Elegant Butterfly punch.  Can you tell that I tried to make the butterflies progressively come off the page with the bottom one flat and the top one ready to fly off?  Not sure if I accomplished that but I can at least tell you of my vision.  ;)

To kick off my stamping for the year I decided to try out two challenges, and some virtual stamping with my good friend Lisa Henke!  Every now and then Lisa and I "get together" and choose challenges to work on at the same time, then we get to ooh and ahh over each other's creations.  These are the challenges I chose.  Tomorrow I'll post the card and challenge she chose.  Thanks Lisa!  The color scheme for this card is brought to you by ColourQ while the awesome sketch is from Fab Friday... check them all out (Lisa's blog too!).

                                      

One more thing, Stampin' Up!'s annual Sale-a-Bration begins January 22nd so be sure to contact your demonstrator (hopefully me!) to schedule a Workshop Wow which will be sure to dazzle you and your guests!

Thanks for stopping by, and here's to a fabulous and creative 2013! 
~Kristin

SUO Supplies
Stamps:  One in a Million

Colors:  Basic Gray, Night of Navy, Going Gray (retired), Crumb Cake, Daffodill Deligh,. Whisper White

Accessories:  Big Shot, Honeycomb embossing folder, Bitty Butterfly punch, Basic Rhinestone

Many Thanks: MDS

I know, it looks a little different from what you normally see on my blog.  That's because this is a digital card.  Made entirely in MDS, My Digital Studio.  MDS is Stampin' Up!'s digital software for scrapbooking, card making or any other project you can come up with.

I've used it to make my blog header, business cards, wedding invitations, birthday invitations and thank you notes as well as projects for my home!  I am new to MDS so am just learning all the neat tricks that you can do with digital. 

One of my favorite things about creating digitally is that you get to control the size, color and location of everything- FULL CONTROL!  It's the best for a control-freak like me. 

I'm not good enough yet to give a full description of just what I used, but I can tell you this- the patterned paper inside the letters... I made that myself!  And I can share it with you! Thanks to the wonderful MDS blog and all the incredible people on the forums willing to answer my silly questions!  Best part is, the MDS blog is available to everyone, not just SU demonstrators!  You can find the custom paper I made HERE and while you're there you can join the group and be my friend!

So anyway, if you haven't considered MDS yet now you can give it some thought.  I'm planning to crank out some scrapbooks with it so I'll be able to share those with you eventually.  Don't worry, I am not going to stop my traditional scrapbooking! 

Here is the Paper Players challenge I am participating in today.  Giving thanks!  Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!
~Kristin

Not 1, not 2 but 3 cards this time!



I had so much fun using THIS SKETCH from Create with Connie & Mary that I just had to use it again.  I LOVE the diagnal aspect!  Just like my last card, I used the Comfort Cafe DSP, but this time I used it for a casual card that could even be considered masculine I suppose.  I cut this boot out in three different colors before I got it right- this one is River Rock stamped with Soft Suede ink. 

 My daughter needs some thank you notes for birthday presents she received this month so I set my sights on those.  This one puts 2 challenges to test:  The sketch from Fab Friday (which I took some artistic liberties with) and the color challenge from Color Me Beautiful (Calypso Coral, More Mustard, Raspberry Ripple, Always Artichoke, Vanilla).  I just love how this turned out- the colors are fallish but wonderfully vibrant together, and the variety of textures are so FUN- just what I needed on this cold blustery day!  Edited to add:  the Color Me Beautiful sketch is one from several weeks ago that I'd written down in my sketch journal.  Oops! 

 Here's another Thank You note.  This time I followed the sketch from Paper Players, and the color challenge from Color Q.

 

Quick shot of the inside. 

 

Well, thanks for stopping by! 

~Kristin

Reason to Smile

Good morning!  I had a chance to sit at my desk yesterday and play with some of my new stuff from the brand new Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog so I finally have something to share with you today.  See this stamp set?!  It is available this month for ONLY $5 with a $50 order.  It is valued at over $20!  HERE is a link to this awesome promotion!  If you'd like to place an order with me just shoot me an email and I'll be glad to get you taken care of!

Mojo Monday offered up this fabulous sketch to try out so I did, along with the beautiful color pallette from Color Q to use Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip and Pear Pizzazz (yes, there is a tiny bit of pear on there).  It is funny to me how warm and sunny More Mustard can look paired with the bright yellow of Daffodil Delight!  Finally, the ladies at SU-Only Challenges suggested we make a special thank you this week, so here it is.  How 'bout that, three challenges in one?! 

You would be ashamed of me how long it took to get this card figured out.  I tried nearly every combination of these colors, different patterns, angles, accents etc.  Geez- it's been WAY TOO LONG since I've stamped!  Hopefully now I'm on a roll, we'll see. 





Here are two of the challenges.  Don't they look awesome?!  Thanks for stopping by today.  Stop back tomorrow for a very natural, earthy, casual wedding card. 

~Kristin

SUO Supplies
Stamps:  Reason to Smile, A Fitting Occasion

Colors:  More Mustard, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizzazz

Accessories:  Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, basic rhinestones, Polka Dotted embossing folder, Itty Bitty punch pack, 1" circle punch, Adorning Accents Edgelit, Big Shot, Alpine Ribbon Originals (from several years back)

Fun New Stuff!

Here's a fun one to share.  Used some new goodies from the upcoming Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog.  The stamp set is called Betsy's Blossoms.  I also added a strip of DSP from the new pack called Floral District, as well as the Specialty DSP called First Edition that will be carried over to the new catalog I believe.  This is neat stuff- not sure why I hadn't tried it before.  An entire pack of light weight paper, all printed like pages from a book.  Can't wait to play with it some more!  This is also my first use of the new Bitty Banners Framelits that will be in the new catalog and available June 1. 

Here's a peek at the inside.  I have a special person to send this one too- someone who did me a HUGE favor! 

And the sketch that I used from Pal's Paper Arts. 

Thanks for stopping to see me today! 

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Betsy's Blossoms, Petite Pairs

Colors:  Lucky Limeade, So Saffron, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla

Accessories:  First Edition DSP, Floral District DSP, Dotted Rich Razzleberry ribbon, Dotted Scallop ribbon border punch, Bitty Banners Framelits, Big Shot, Basic Pearls

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

Stamp-a-Stack today!

Are you ready to see what you are missing out on today?  Our Spring Stamp-a-Stack, remember?!  That's OK if you forgot, but that's where I am today and these are three of the twelve cards our guests will be making.  This first one is a CASE of Debra Currier's original!  It is one I saved in my "Cards to Copy" folder but didn't include her name or wesite.  Took me forever to find it! 

 Here is my second card.  This one is another one closely inspired by someone else's card.  Julie Davison's idea HERE got me rolling on this one.  I used a different pattern of the Everyday Enchantment DSP (a FREE Sale-a-Bration option with a $50 order through March 31!), and added the ribbon (another FREEBIE option) with my sentiment on a little tag. 

Here is the third that you've already seen, designed entirely by yours truly.  I can't wait to see what the ladies think of our designs!  Thanks for stopping by,
~K

Sweetheart & a Boy with dirt

Hello and Happy Veteren's Day on this 11.11.11!!  I'm home alone tonight- kiddos out partying with friends- so I'm enjoying some quiet scrapbook time again.  I'm still working on some old pictures from 2004.  Trying to fill in a one-year gap that I found in my chronological scrapbook.  I adored this dress and hat on my then 2 year old.  I love these pictures, but I wish I had my nice Canon camera back then!  My journaling tag is hidden behind the main picture on the top.   

Here's a closeup of the chipboard title which is inked (letters) and covered with paper (heart). 

Since my Sweetheart page was not a double page spread I wanted to do a facing page to balance it out and it just worked out that next in order was this group of pictures of my son.  He was such a livewire as a little kid- FULL of energy!  I always wanted to use the title that I saw somewhere "Boy:  Noise with dirt on it!" so I did here.  He's not dirty in these pics, but anyone with a son knows this title applies anyway!  :)

And finally, here is a card my daughter did all by herself last week!  She used a sketch from somewhere on the internet... I'll see if I can find it. 

Thanks for stopping by!  I've got more pages to show you in the near future!

~Kristin

A Variety of Thank Yous

Good morning!  I'm super busy preparing for my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack this Saturday, but decided to take a few minutes to post these thank you notes I made for my daughter to send for her birthday thank yous.  She needs a few more but this is all I had time for recently.  The Clean & Simple sketch FTL 163 came in handy.  I intended to just whip out 6 or so cards all in the same design, but you know me, I just couldn't do it.  Desgining is most of the fun so they all ended up different. 

 The Floral Fusion sizzlit is new to me so I first made a ton of these flowers with an old 6x6 pack of designer print patterns in Almost Amethyst.  The others shades of purple include current In Colors:  Concord Crush and Wisteria Wonder.   

... with the new dotted designer brad and ruffled ribbon in Wisteria Wonder, oh and the Striped Embossing folder too!

...with the new mini silver brad, and Framed Tulips embossing folder.

... with the new-to-me sizzlit set: Lots of Tags, sentiment from Build-a-Roo.

...also new-to-me, the Designer Frames embossing folders, retired Floral background and some Dazzling Details glitter glue on the tiny white flowers inside.

Here's the sketch!  You should try it too!  Which one do you like the best?

Thanks for stopping by today!  Trick-o-Treat tonight for our household- I guess at 10 & 11 I might have a few more years of this.  Trying not to say "ugh".  :)  Actually, I don't mind it if the weather is perfect and there is no last minute running around scraping up costume parts... but there is zero hope of that.  LOL!

~Kristin

Too Kind!

 This week's Clean & Simple challenge on Splitcoast is to use kraft (Crumb Cake) and bright colors.  This may not look very clean but it is only one full layer, and it was pretty simple thanks to fun and easy tools like the Big Shot and punches!  Here's another view: 

I have used the Movers & Shapers die before a number of times, but rarely the way it's intended- to cut a window somewhere you wouldn't otherwise be able to.  Well today I did!  And it was almost an afterthought.  First I embossed the Crumb Cake card base with the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder.  Then I ran it through the Big Shot again, this time with the Movers & Shapers die that matches the Curly Label punch which I did the white piece with. 

Did you notice the stamp also matches the punch and the die?!  Love that about Stampin' Up! products!  The stamp set that I made the frame with is called Vintage Labels and is retired.  The sentiment is from another retired set called Whimsical Words (both of these were Sale-a-Bration sets that I earned for FREE during SU's big annual promotion!). 

Anyway, the punches I used for the flowers are the NEW Triple Layer Blossom Bouquet punch and one of the bitty punches from the Itty Bitty three pack.  Wondering about the butterfly?  It was super easy with the Beautiful Wings embosslit and Big Shot!  I added some pearls for a finishing touch then stopped while I was ahead.  So what do you think?  Does it qualify for the CAS challenge?  If it doesn't that's OK too. 

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to Lisa Henke for virtual stamping with me today... maybe I'll have more for you tomorrow or Friday! 
Have a great day!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Vintage Labels, Whimsical Words

Colors: Crumb cake, Concord Crush, Wisteria Wonder, Poppy Parade

Accessories:  Big Shot, Movers & Shapers die, Elegant Bouquet textured impressions embossing folder, Itty Bitty punch, pearls, Beautiful Wings embosslit, curly label punch

Nature Walk Gratitude

I was finally able to place an order for a few goodies from the current SU mini catalog.  I couldn't resist this pretty set called Nature Walk and the coordinating paper Botanical Gazette!  This collage/vintage style is tough for me so this card took me quite a while to get just right.  Then, when it was all done I tried to smooch spray it and of course it gooped out all over and ruined my main image so I had to start over on that.  The good news is take two is better than take one and I thought to stamp it on this lined paper from Newsprint DSP which I hadn't done originally. 

Here is the sketch I borrowed, from a sketch blog I found recently:  Unscripted Sketches.  Fun!

I need to give an extra special should out today to Chat Wszelaki, Cindy Beach and Patsy Waggoner for nominating me recently for the Stylish Blogger award.  If you know these three ladies, and you probably do, you'll know this is definitely an honor!  Thank you my friends, you've made my week! 

Have a great day everyone and thanks so much for stopping by!  Your comments are so appreciated- you always know how to make me smile!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies:

Stamps: Nature Walk, Fabulous Phrases

Colors: Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede

Accessories: Newsprint DSP, Botanical Gazette DSP, Antique Brad, Linen Thread, Log Cabin Smooch Spray, distressing tool

The NEED to stamp!

Good morning!  Boy, has anyone else been in a stampin' slump?  I told my husband last night, you know it's bad when I have time to stamp but no motivation or desire!  You really know the winter blahs have set in when you're a stamper that doesn't want to stamp!  So I sat down last night and stamped a few things, neither of which I was crazy about... but this morning I decided to try again and am finally happy with what I did! 

I put the PPA color challenge to work and actually designed my own sketch!  Yep, that means I sketched it out on paper before I even started.  I wish I knew of a way to design sketches digitally and I'd consider having a sketch challenge right here on my blog occasionally.  Maybe some day! 

Anyway, for this card I used a mix of old and new (like always!).  The stamp sets I used are not new, but only the sentiment in the Hodgepodge Hardware is acually retired (Think Happy Thoughts).  The other two are Inspired by Nature and Flight of the Butterfly.  The punches and colors are still available, as well as the DSP Elegant Soiree. 

Hope you like!  And keep your fingers crossed for me that I might be able to hold on to my new found stamping motivation! 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Inspired by Nature, THink Happy Thoughts

Colors: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Night of Navy

Accessories: Itty Bitty punch pack, Desiner Label punch, butterfly punch, scalloped border punch, Big Shot, Dotted embossing folder, basic pearls, Vanilla Hodgepodge

Thank you Thank you Thank you!

 I won't mention any names, but recently someone told me she didn't really think Thank You notes were necessary for gifts and she certainly didn't expect to receive them.  Well, first of all, when I was growing up and thank you notes were mandatory and I still do my best to write them and make my kids write them.  Second of all, I'm a card maker.  SO, needless to say that certain someone is getting the most THANKFUL thank you note I could come up with.  LOL!  Don't worry, she'll see the humor and will also know she is appreciated. 

My large Thank You stamp that I repeated on the background is a very old retired set called Word on Word.  I always liked this set because the way the rubber on the stamp is designed it makes the shading on the bigger letters so the smaller ones on top can be easily read, plus it only needs to be inked in one color! 

Anyway, the yellow circle was initially going to be on the inside but changed my mind.  The sentiment is from the stamp set Full of Life.  Added some ric rac ribbon and a glimmer brad to finish it off. 

Thanks for stopping by today! And be sure to stop by my new facebook page if you'd like! 
~Kristin

Winter Thank You Notes

I needed some thank you notes for after Christmas so my leftover Felt Flurries snowflakes came in handy.  These were so simple to do, using only Baja Breeze and Whisper White.  Dotting the top layer with the Big Shot and embossing folder then adding two layered snowflakes with either a rhinestone brad or a glimmer brad.  Easy!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  Hope you like them. 

~Kristin

Rolling Acorns

Quick post today... using the sketch FTL114 from the Clean & Simple Stamping blog and this week's color combo challenge from SCS CC2945 (Cajun Craze, Early Espresso and Peach Parfait) I came up with this card.  It's not quite as simple as the beautiful sample by Heather on the Clean & Simple blog... I just couldn't be satisfied for some reason.  But it is still pretty simple I think.  I used the acorn from my old set Autumn Fest (since I still had it out from the scrapbook page a few days ago) and decided to make it roll in the autumn wind. 

One is cut out by hand and popped up for some dimension and interest.  Cajun Craze card base is embossed with the Square Lattice embossing folder (you're seeing a lot of that from me lately, eh?!). 

Gotta run to an honor roll assembly that starts in 20 minutes.  Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Autumn Fest, Fabulous Phrases

Colors: Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Peach Parfait, Very Vanilla

Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, Pinking Hearts border punch, linen thread