Last chance reminder . . .

a little inspiration . . .

and some exciting news!

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!  I here to give you a quick reminder (well, as quick I can be-lol) that you still have a week to enter a project or two (2) or three (3) into Clear It Out Challenge.  Click HERE for details.

This time you had three (3) weeks (until August 5th) to get your project(s) entered.  So if you haven't done so, you might want to do it soon because the last time I checked there were only 6 entries so far, meaning odds of winning are higher than if there were 60 entries. :)  

This week I chose another digistamp from QKR Stampede . . . a train.  I loved the vintage look of it as it reminded me of all the small-town USAs that still use trains for the grain and for some areas that still use trains for transportation.  In wanting to keep the vintage feel, I decided to change the line color to more of a sepia or brown color instead of leaving it black and coloring it with my Copics.  To do this, I first inserted my image into a word document.  Then I right-clicked it and chose "Format Picture".  When the format box came up, I chose "Picture Color" and then changed "Color Saturation" to 8,800 and "Reset Color" to orange.  One other thing I did to my image was flipped it "mirror-image" so it was going in the opposite direction.  Here's how it turned out:

Supplies:

Vintage Finds paper collection by Teresa Collins

Twine from the Vintage Finds collection by Teresa Collins

washi tape from Vintage Finds collection by Teresa Collins 

brown air mail strip washi tape (got in swap-no name on it)

"For Every Occasion" stamp set by Close To My Heart (D1187)

Vintage Photo distress ink

I ended up loving this image so much, I made a set of cards to give as a gift.  I hope the recipient will love it as much as I do. :) 

Now for the exciting news!!!  Laura, the CIO Challenge blog owner has generously decided to add a little incentive.  For anyone who comments on this blog post from now until August 5th, you will have the chance to win a $10.00 gift certificate to any of CIO challenge sponsor’s store(s) (past and present) of your choice.  PLEASE make sure to leave your email address in the comments also so we know how to reach you. And to increase your odds, make sure you go to each of other Design Team member's blogs to leave comments, too, as Laura will be randomly choosing a comment from one of our blogs . . . and we don't know which one she will chose. Good Luck!!!

And for a little more incentive from ME, I will also give away a $10 gift certificate to any of CIO's sponsor's store(s).  To be eligible for mine, become a follower both here and at CIO (if you aren't already) and leave a comment on BOTH blogs along with your email addy in the comments.  

And as always when I'm giving away something, each time my followers increases by 5 (95,100,105,etc.), I will give away some blog candy for each 5 increment . . . meaning, if my followers gets to 105 this time, I will give away three (3) blog candies.  But if it only gets to 96, then I will only give away one (1) blog candy.  For those who have never won blog candy from me, it is usually a combination of of things which could include paper, ink, embellies, chippies, etc. . . .I do try to make sure it is something each individual will like. 

I will post my winner(s) August 7th . . . so make sure to stop back to see if you are one of the lucky winners. :)

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

FIrsts . . .

If you are arriving here from Clear It Out Challenge blog, click HERE for my mid-challenge inspiration.  

Hi, all my crafty friends!!!  Over on CropChocolate this past week, the weekly challenge is about "Firsts"...whether it is a first time using a certain paper/tool or if you were scrapping a memory of a "first" time or whether you created your project at your "first" retreat as one of my CC friends did. 

The first project I did is a layout of my dd.  It was one of the "first" pictures taken of her during my "first" hospital stay when I had cancer for the "first" time.  It is also made from the "first" kit from my "first" order from my "first" time ordering anything from Australia.   So as you can "read" it is just full of "firsts".  lol  It is also the "first" time I did a reverse-masking technique on a layout.  Here's what my layout looked like:

Supplies (in the kit):

Park Bench paper and sticker strips by Fancy Pants

black corrugated paper by Fancy Pants

kraft cardstock

yellow/white twine

black/white twine

punchella mask

from my stash:--Flair by UmWowStudio; Black Ice acrylic paint; 

Broken China distress ink; Helmar Scrap Dot adhesive 

and 450 Quick Dry adhesive; and scalloped circle die by Sizzix

As I stated above, I got this kit from an Australian company . . . Scrappy Chat Designs.  The first time I saw a layout from them, I was hooked . . . Beck's style is just what I want my style to evolve to.  (As you can see if you went to their website, is I didn't change much . . . I did add a few things of my own . . . but it really didn't need anything else).  SCD kits are so unique and fresh that I ended up do a 3-month membership to check them out.  Let me tell you, I have not been disappointed like I was with a certain other kit club from the US.  And I plan on doing another 3-months once this term is up.

So once again, I am VERY happy with how my layout turned out . . . and I think the Park Bench papers worked PERFECT with my pictures. What do you think?

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

Mid-Challenge Inspiration

Hi, all my crafty friends!!!  Once again, I am here to not only remind you that you still have 2 weeks to participate in the challenge over at Clear It Out Challenge blog, but to also give you some mid-challenge inspiration. :)  If you want more details about the challenge, click HERE.

ouou

Even though last week I posted a card using an image from QKR Stampede, I am posting another one this week.  When I saw the image of this little farmer boy with a pig balloon, it reminded me of the Iowa State Fair and I just could NOT resist.

So using a log-cabin quilt I did years ago for my father-in-law with green "furrow" and an appliqued tractor & farmer for inspiration, I came with the following card using washi tape for my "cornfields".

Now doesn't it just make you think of all the little farmer boys running around our corn fields?  Or around the Iowa State Fair?  It also reminds me of my nephew, Eli . . . what do you think?

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

Clear It Out Challenge

It's that time again . . . time to get your crafty on, empty out your stash bins and join us over at Clear It Out Challenge blog for our new challenge.  And if you are like me, the kiddo is out of school for summer vacation, dishes are piling up, the garden needs weeded (again) and it's just been too hot to even craft . . . but that's okay because as always, our wonderful "boss" made the challenge super easy, peasy.  Are you ready?!?!?

Okay, it's challenge time!!!

Theme:  International/Country

Stash Item:  Washi Tape

You have 3 weeks (until July 31st) to play this time.

Our sponsors for this challenge are:

Click HERE to see their fun images

Click HERE to see their fun images

for

When I saw the theme "International or Country/State", I immediately thought of Africa . . . not sure why, but I did.  And when I think of Africa, I think of elephants and giraffes . . . so I headed over to QKR Stampede to see what I could find.  I ended up finding this adorable little elephant taking a bath  and, well, letting a little "air". lol   I also found my saying at QKR Stampede.  You can find both the image and saying HERE.   Here's how it turned out:

I think he (or maybe he's a she) turned out pretty cute.  To make the "bubbles" "pop" a bit more, I used Crystal Stickles for more dimension and then I also used the Crystal Stickles to make it look like the "bubbles" were floating up off the right-hand corner (this was not part of the image).

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

When life give you lemons . . .

If you arrived here from Clear It Out Challenge 

for some mid-challenge inspiration, click HERE.

. . . . make lemonade (AGAIN)!!!

And that is exactly what happened to me . . .

A couple weeks ago, I shared with you a recipe card I made for a recipe swap.  The theme was favorite "Summer Drink".  At that time, I was unsure if I was going to have to use them for a different swap in which my cards had not made it to their destination yet . . . well, they ended up not making it. :(   And because of that, I needed to make another set of 20.  But wanting to make them just a bit different but yet the same, I changed two (2) things . . . I switched where I put my colors and I used a different twine.  (I know, not very creative of me . . . but due to the amount of time I had left to get another set done, it was easier for me to use a design I had already made.) Here's how it turned out:

Supplies

"Joyful Jar Drink" stamp set from Get Inky! Stamps

Distress Inks - (for background) Barn Door, Antique Linen, & 

Stormy Sky and (for saying) Black Soot

Cream Cardstock

Pink Lemonade twine from The Fawn Lawn

China Black Twinkling H2O

White embossing powder by Zing!

Frost White ink by ColorBox

black scrapbooking pen from my LSS 

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Glue

I just love this stamp set from Get Inky! Stamps by Blue Moon Creations.  It is so versatile with all the images and sayings included.  It can be used for cards, scrapbooking, alter arts, etc. . . . even recipe cards can be made more fun with this stamp set.  So if you haven't checked them out yet, do so . . . you won't regret it.

With that being said, after finishing this set of recipe cards, I saw Get Inky! Challenge blog had a new challenge up - "Summer Sun Fun" . . . how perfect is that for me to enter my recipe card?  Not only is it perfect for the theme, but it also uses their stamp set "Joyful Jar Drink".  So I am now headed over to their blog to link it up.

Till the next time I'm up in the night -  I'll keep on making

 lemonade . . . eventually, I will run out of lemons.   

Kathy

PS  If you want to see the first set of "Summer Drink" recipe cards, click HERE.

"Mother's Day - 1997" - Is it working now?

If you are arriving here from Clear It Out Challenge blog 

for some mid-challenge inspiration, click HERE.

About two (2) months ago, I did a layout for a sketch challenge.  It was about my first Mother's Day.  And even though I know I am my own worse critic (aren't we all?), for days I still kept looking at it feeling something just wasn't quite "right". . . something just was not "working" for me.  Here's how it looked before I changed anything:

Before

And here's how it looked after I made a change or two:

After

Can you see what I changed?  If you guessed the title, you are correct.  After about a week or so of trying to figure out what was not working with my layout, I decided it was the title that was throwing it off.  So off I went to see how I could correct this. I ended up using my Cameo to cut my title out of Walnut colored vinyl.  I think it "made" all the difference.  What do you think?

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

PS  If you want to know what supplies I used, click HERE for my original blog post that has my supply list.  Thanks!!!

Playing around (again) . . .

If you arrived here from Clear It Out Challenge blog 

for some mid-challenge inspiration, please click HERE.

Once again, I've been playing around with my Tim Holtz Blueprint stamps and twinkling H2Os.  This time I decided to use the balloon stamp.  Here's  how it turned out:

(close-up)

Once again, I used "Trend Setter" paper collection by Fancy Pants along with African Jade Twinkling H2O.  I also used Tim Holtz "Sayings" stamp set, some Maraschino twine from The Twinery and Rouge Liquid Pearls.  

I fussy cut the balloon and used pop dots to give it more dimension . . .to make it look like it was floating up off the card.  Not sure I got quite that effect, but I'm a still pretty happy with it.  What do you think?

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

I will also be entering this in the following challenge(s):

Crafty Catz - It's Child's Play

Christmas . . . already???

If you arrived here from Clear It Out Challenge blog 

for some mid-challenge inspiration, click HERE.

That's is what a lot of people have on their minds this month with so many companies doing "Christmas in July" promotions.  So to be a small part of that and join in on the fun, I decided to do a quick Christmas card that I saw at my local scrapbook store for a make-n-take.  Here's how it turned out:

Supplies:

white & red cardstock

"Merry Christmas Tree" stamps/die-cut collection by Sizzix/Hero Arts

Big Shot by Sizzix

Silver Embossing powder by Zing!

clear bling

When I saw this stamp & die-cut set being used the other day and fell in LOVE!  I mean, I love to stamp and I love using die cuts, but to be able to do both and not have to fussy cut . . . well, I felt like I was in scrapbook heaven. lol  But seriously, the stamps in this set are the ornaments (8 total), the tree (with all those empty circles begging for an ornament), and a "Merry Christmas".  Then there is a die-cut for each of the 6 ornaments, one for the tree and also one for the "Merry Christmas".  So all-in-all there are 10 stamps and 8 die-cuts.

 I didn't use the one for the "Merry Christmas" since I wanted it to be directly on my red paper . . . but I think it would be great to do so and then use pop dots to give it more dimension.

I kept this card pretty simple, but I still think it looks elegant using just red & white with silver accents.  What do you think?

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

PS  I think I may enter this in Cocoa Creations' challenge #8 on CropChocolate to give a little inspiration . . . especially since this week was the challenge I came up with.  If you haven't checked it out yet, you should because there is a GREAT prize for one lucky winner - a choice of a $20 gift certificate between Paper Issues or UmWowStudio.  Both companies are ubber-fabulous and you can't go wrong with either. :)  Hope to see you there!!!

Ship's Ahoy, Matey . . .

If you are arriving here from 

Clear It Out Challenge blog, click HERE.

If you are arriving here from Clear It Out Challenge blog 

for some mid-challenge inspiration, click HERE.

Well, that's what these cards remind me of . . . being out on a ship somewhere, relaxing back and enjoying a tall, ice-cold beverage.

I did these cards a couple weeks ago at "Scrappy School for Soldiers" . . . it is a non-profit organization, raising money to purchase phone cards for our soldiers.  So many of our soldiers come from one-income families and feel that phone calls are a luxury . . . can you imagine not being able to talk to your son, daughter, mom, or dad for months and months?  I know I can't . . . so when I heard about this, I immediately signed up.

For these cards, I used "Tommy" paper collection by Close To My Heart.  Here's how they turned out:

I made a total of 6 cards with this paper collection along with a box to hold them, but I ran out of space on my memory card for my camera. :(  When I get a new card or get this current  one cleared off, I will post pictures of the rest of the cards along with the box . . . that is, if I don't give them away before I have a chance to take pictures. :)

Till the next time I'm up in the night. Kathy

In Memory . . .

If you are arriving here from Clear It Out Challenge blog 

for mid-challenge inspiration, click HERE.

As many of you know, my sister and brother-in-law's baby was stillborn a couple months ago.  Kali Rena was a much loved little baby even before she was born and her loss will be felt for a long time to come.

While at the hospital, a professional photographer came to visit with my sister and brother-in-law and then took tons of pictures . . . of Kali, of her clothing, of the 3 of them together, of EVERYTHING.  I had been putting together a "Pregnancy" album for my sister . . . but after losing Kali, I decided to give it to my sister & brother-in-law to use for the photos that were taken . . . for a "Memorial" album. 

It had been requested that since this album may not ever be shown to anyone other than Kali's parents and because of the nature of the pictures, that I should keep it simple . . . not so much ink or mixed media that most have come to expect with my layouts.  So here's what I've come up with so far:

All supplies used were from Close To My Heart except for the adhesive, which was Helmar's 450 Quick Dry Glue (love this stuff!). (The paper is the Chantilly paper collection.)

I plan on doing a few more pages.  Then after my sister and brother-in-law have had time to go thru their pictures and mementos and know where they want everything, I will help put titles and any computer journaling, if they want.  I pray this will do just for a precious little angel who was called back to Heaven before she even had a breath here on Earth . . . we will always miss you, Kali!!!

Till the next time I'm up in the night. Kathy 

Mid-Challenge Inspiration

Hi, all my crafty friends!!!  I'm here today to remind you that there is still one more week to get in the the challenge over at the Clear It Out Challenge blog.  You have till July 15 to get your projects posted. If you want to read all the details on the current challenge, please click HERE.   In the meantime, let me give you a little inspiration to help get you started.

Last week, I posted my first project as one of CIO's DT members using an image from Bugaboo digi stamps . . . if you would like to see that card, click HERE.

This time I used an image from The Stamping Chef.  If you haven't checked them out yet, you should . . . they really do have some fun and interesting digi-stamps.  I chose one called "SuperHero Stuff" for my daughter because she is absolutely in love with any dealing with Superheroes.  

With this digi-stamp, not only do you get the image, but you also three (3) 6x6 digi-papers.  Having not tried digi-paper before, I decided to give them a try.  Here's how my card turned out:

Supplies

"SuperHero Stuff" digi image & digi-paper from The Stamping Cheff

black cardstock

"Crystal" Stickles

Helmar 3D Scrap Dots

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Glue

To give the puffs of smoke a bit more dimension, I used Stickles along the shaded curves.  I matted each digi paper with black cardstock and attached them to my card front.  Then I fussy-cut my image and attached it with Scrap Dots for add dimension.

All-in-all, I really LOVE this card . . . and I think my daughter will think it's just SUPER. :)

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

PS  I will also be entering this in the following challenge(s):

Crafty Catz - It's Child's Play

Mojo 300 Celebration

If you are arriving here from the Clear It Out Challenge blog, 

click HERE to see that post. 

Hi, all my crafty friends!!!  I hope everyone had a fun and SAFE weekend whether you were celebrating the 4th of July or just having a typical summer excursion. :)

This week on Mojo Monday, they are celebrating the 300th challenge.  And, in doing so, this week's challenge is based on the following sketch . . . check out their blog for details.

As many of you know that even though I do like sketches because they give me a starting point, I usually end up with something just a bit different.  Here's how I interpreted the sketch  (this time):

I used scraps from from stash for this card which most were from Close To My Heart.   And the ink is "Sunset" from Close To My Heart.  The bling is also from my stash.

Now it's off to finish another card or two . . . maybe I'll even get them done in time to post them in time for this challenge since we can enter as many times as we want, but only one prize per person.

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

Buttons, Buttons . . . Who's got the buttons?

If you are arriving here from the Clear It Out Challenge blog, 

click HERE to see that post. 

This past week for Cocoa Creations' challenge on CropChocolate, the challenge was from Amber.  Here's what she said ---

"Buttons...they're almost a thorn in my side because I have

 so many of them. I've seen some fun creations on Pinterest 

with projects being made with them in the shape of hearts, 

as a photo frame, etc. that I'm loving!

So, here's your challenge - create a project, ANY project!!, 

that includes a shape made out of buttons."

For this challenge, I decided to share a 2-page layout that I did for my sister and her hubby.  As many of you know, I had started a "Pregnancy" album for them.  But since their baby was stillborn a couple months ago, I decided to make it a "Memorial" album for Kali Rena and would put together 12 or more pages for them to use.  As per request, I kept the pages very basic and simple . . . not so much ink and such (basically no mixed media).  So my image made from buttons is also very basic---a line.  I got my supplies from Julie Berg's Scrappy School.  Here's how it turned out:

Supplies

Chantilly paper collection by CTMH

White cardstock by CTMH

White twine by CTMH

Heart chipboard by CTMH

pink buttons by CTMH

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

Even though I have decided I LOVE Helmar's 450 Quick Dry Adhesive for just about everything . . .  I especially LOVE it for chipboard!  Not only for attaching chipboard to page but also covering chipboard with paper.  It doesn't warp or get wavy like some glues might and it has a VERY strong hold.  I found mine on Amazon if you want to try it out. 

Anyway, I just love the softness of the colors from the Chantilly line . . . perfect for a little girl.  As I get more pages done, I will share them here for you to see . . . or I may wait till I get all the pages done and share all at once.  It all depends on timing. :)

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy

PS  Make sure to check out this week's challenge on CropChocolate - "Let's Cool Things Down".  There is an awesome prize to one (1) lucky participant --- a choice of a $20 gift certificate to either Paper Issues or UmWowStudio.  And if there are more than 25 entries, there will be two (2) prizes given away.  (click HERE for more details.)  So stop on by and see what's coolin'.

Clear It Out Challenge

I am so excited to announce that I am now on the Clear It Out Challenge design team!  And I get to work with two of my CC peeps, too!!!  Woo hoo!   I am so excited because I get to use digi stamps on my projects . . . how GREAT is that?  One of the things about digis is that they take up NO physical space and you can adjust their size to whatever you want it to be...and because they take up NO physical space, it will be easier to hide purchases from you-know-who. lol  Did I just say that?  I am just kidding . . . honest!

For Clear It Out Challenge, the challenges are announced on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month.  There will be two (2) sponsors for each challenge...one (1) for the "1st week" and one (1) for the "mid-challenge" (2nd week). For each of the challenges, there will be a theme to follow along with a stash item needed to be used.  and you have two (2) weeks to get each challenge done.  Easey Peasey!!!!

Okay, it's challenge time!!!

Theme:  Make someone's day

Stash Item:  Something sparkly (bling or glitter)

The sponsors for this challenge are:

My first project is a card using the cutest little digi stamp from Bugaboo Stamps called "Some Birdy Loves You".  I also used the sentiment that came with the image for this challenge's theme.  And I used a glittery brad for my "sparkly".  Here's how it turned out:

Supplies:

orange cardstock

misc. paper from stash

X-Press It blending card paper

Copics - YR04, YR09, YG06 & YG09)

Perfect Pearls - Daffodil, Pumpkin & Key Lime

Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots

Helmar 450 Quick Dry glue

I printed my digis on X-Press It blending card paper . . .it works great with Copics.   After coloring my birds, I colored  the beaks with Perfect Pearls to give them a bit more texture.  Then after that dried, I put together my card front.  I used Helmar's Liquid Scrap Dots to attach my birds for more dimension . . . this is my all-time favorite 3-dimensional glue.  I can add as much (or as little) as I want depending on how much dimension I want, whereas with others, you would have to layer them if you wanted more height.  Plus, when working with something little and skinny like my birdies legs, it is easy to get a line of this to help them stay up.

Once I got my card front all attached, I saw it needed a little something more . . . I needed to color the hears by the sentiment. So I used my Perfect Pearls again for these to get a bit more texture.  Added a sparkly ribbon and . . . Voila! it was done.

Hope you enjoyed my first card for CIO Challenge today . . . and don't forget to get your project entered to play along.  You have 2 weeks to play.  But please remember your project must "Make Someone's Day" and have something sparkly on it to qualify for a prize. :)

Till the next time I'm up in the night.  Kathy