Mid-Challenge Inspiration

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!  Is it hot enough for you this week?  Well, around here it's been in the high 90s/low 100s . . . so I've been staying inside with the central air, staying cool.  And what's better to do when you can't be outside?  Staying inside and crafting!!! :)

With that being said, I want to remind you that you still have a week to complete a project for Clear It Out Challenge.  And for a little inspiration, here's a card I made:

The image is from QKR Stampede called "School Day".  My chipboard piece is the photo corner at the top right of the card and the paper I used was "Recess" by Basic Gray.

Challenge(s) entered:

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Back to School

Send A Smile 4 Kids Challenge - Animal Cards 4 Kids

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

Tag - Cherish the Ones You Love

Click HERE if you arrived here from Clear It Out Challenge.

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!

I want to share with you a tag I did when I was "playing" around with some new supplies . . . Shimmering Rain Mists and Studio 490 Embossing Paste.  (If it looks kinda familiar, you are right . . . the background is similar to my ATC "It's Okay 2 Change. I got the idea of embossing & inking from making this tag . . . just in a mini form.)  Click HERE if you would like to see that ATC.

For the background on this tag, I embossed it with embossing paste and, once it was dry, inked it with Seedless Grapes, Antique Linen and Walnut Stain distress inks.  Stamped it with a Tim Holtz stamp (can't remember the name and it only has #s on the acrylic). The sentiment was printed from my computer, cut and inked.  For the lace ribbon, I inked it with Seedless Grapes distress ink by inking my splat mat, misting with water, and then picking up the "ink" with the lace.  Once dry, I gathered it and glued to tag.  Then I used my Zig marker to do faux stitching.  

After adding a few more items, I then missed it with Gold Ice Shimmering Mist.  Once dry, I added two (2) final touches . . . doodle (or faux stitch) around edges and flicked China Black Twinkling H2O.  Reason I did the Shimmering Rain before the doodling is because if I did that VERY last, the doodling would have bled . . . believe me, I know from experience. :)

All-in-all, I am happy with this tag considering it was an experiment of sorts since I had been just "playing" around with new supplies.  What do you think?

Challenge(s) entered:

Hiding In My Craft Room - thread/stitching (real or faux) 

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

ATC - It's Okay 2 Change

Click HERE if you are arriving here from Clear It Out Challenge.

Today I want to share an ATC I did for a Spring/Summer ATC swap with my CropChocolate Design Team members. 

While trying to come up with an idea for my ATC, I was thinking what Spring and being on CropChocolate's Design Team meant to me . . . and what, if anything, did they have in common.  Well, it didn't take me long to figure that out.  Spring is about new beginnings . . . or change.  And being on CCDT#3, I found myself growing and changing as a papercrafter . . . at first, I wasn't sure how I liked that.  But I realized that I am constantly growing and changing both as a crafter and as a person.  As the papercrafting industry grows and changes, I see myself and my style grow and change.  And that is OKAY.  Hence, I came up with my sentiment "It's Okay 2 Change".  And I also decided to use butterflies on my ATC as another symbol of change and how sometimes change is a good thing.   Here's how it turned out:

Supplies:

Manila tag paper

Tim Holtz distress inks - Antique Linen, Seedless Grapes, 

Peeled Paint and Black Soot

Glitz "Love Me" navy alpha (yes, navy but they look black to me)

Making Memories magnetic alpha stamp (for the word "change")

Zig black pen

Diamonds Stickles

Charcoal twine from The Twinery

jute string from Maya Road

heart confetti from UnWowStudio

I used embossing paste and a hexagon mask to emboss the background.  After letting it dry for 48 hours (I wanted to make sure it was DRY), I inked it with 3 different inks.  After letting it dry for 48 hours again, I stamped the background using the script background stamp from Tim Holtz, added some of the new solid Charcoal twine from The Twinery, did some doodling around the edges, some faux stitching  around the letters, and heart confetti (which I painted red with my twinkling H2O).  For the butterflies, I used Seedless Grapes for color and Diamond Stickles for the body and then used Helmars Scrap Dot Adhesive to adhere them to my ATC.

All-in-all I am very happy with this ATC . . . and I am VERY happy with the changes I have seen in myself and my papercrafting this past year.  I pray that I will continue to make great changes in the future. 

Challenge(s)* entered:

Hiding in My Craft Room - thread/stitching (real or faux)\

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

*(I have 1 or 2 more challenges I am going to enter this in, but I can't remember the addys right now.  So will add them later today when I am more awake. lol )

Finally . . . . Winner, winner , who gets a chicken dinner?

If you arrived here from Clear It Out Challenge for the 

August 20th challenge, click HERE.

(Okay, I know I didn't get the quote right, but then I am one who usually goes by a different beat. lol See I didn't even get that one right. lol)

A few weeks ago, we had a special incentive over at Clear It Out Challenge . . . a $10 gift certificate to one of our sponsor's stores (winner's choice).  At that time, I decided to give a little more incentive by also offering a $10 gift certificate to one of our sponsor's stores (winner's choice).  In addition to that, I offered blog candy (again) for each time the # of followers increased in 5# increments . . . well, the # is now over 95, so I will be drawing one (1) name for that.  But due to having computer problems, I wasn't able to post the winners till now.

Well, enough of "talking" . . . let's get down to the important stuff. :)

{{drum roll}}

The winner of the $10 gift certificate is . . .

MomCleo

The winner of the blog candy is . . . 

Miwa

And since I took so long to post the winners, I decided as an apology to give another $10 gift certificate to one of CIO sponsors to one (1) lucky winner.  And that winner is . . .

Gail

Congrats, ladies!!!  For the ones, who won a $10 gift certificate (MomCleo & Gail), please go to the Clear It Out Challenge blog and choose which digi stamp store you would like your certificate to.  Then email me (clayton528@aol.com) with your choice and I will get that to you . . . probably via email if it is like most places.  (Please put "digistamp gc winner" in the subject line, so I know it isn't spam. Thanks!)  I will be deleting my email addy from here once I hear back from both of you.

As for you, Miwa, please email me your mailing addy along with your real name and I'll get some yummy blog candy out to you.

Again, CONGRATS to each of you!!!

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

PS  One more thing before I sign off, one of my CIO DT peeps is having not 1 but 4 awesome giveaways. For more information, click HERE to go to her blog "A Piece of Heart".  Thanks, Sharon, for such a GREAT opportunity!!!

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.  Like so many others, I've been super busy the past couple weeks getting the kiddo ready to go back to school and am ready to get my crafty on.  And what better way to get started than with a challenge . . . right? :)  So once again, our wonderful "boss lady" rose to the occasion and made the challenge super easy, peasy . . . but FUN!!!  Are you ready?

Okay, it's challenge time!!!

Theme:  Back to School

Stash:  chipboard

You have 2 weeks to play (until Sept. 2).

Our sponsors this this challenge will be:

click HERE to see DD's fun images

click HERE to see QKR's fun images

click HERE to see Limited Runs' fun images

When I think of back to school, I think of fall because like for many others my age and older school use to start in the fall or right after Labor Day . . . not mid-August like schools are doing now.  So when I saw this DigiDarla image of a kitty playing in leaves, I knew I had to play with it . . . not only because it reminded me of fall, but also because it was a kitty or cat which is my nickname, "Kat".  :)

This time I decided to do something a little different.  The first thing was I did a different type of fold for the card base.  The second thing was, I colored two (2) of the image so I could fussy-cut some of the leaves to make them look like they were floating down on my chipboard frame.  Here's how it turned out:

Front

Inside

For this card, I used some scraps I had from Close To My Heart along with the sentiment "Autumn is nature at her best".  I colored the kitty and leaves with my Copic markers, added a chipboard frame to go over the image, added some burlap and put tiny pearls at each corner of the frame.  All-in-all I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. 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

For inspiration this week, I used a cute little image from Lacy Sunshine . . . a napping gnome.  Here's how he turned out:

Along with using my Copics, I also used some Shimmering Rain mist that I mixed two colors to get a really light blue (like I did for last week's card) to get a light blue for the sky.  I masked off my image and lightly misted it.  If you look real close, you can see the sparkle and some clouds. :)  I also used some scrap burlap and two (2) different rub-ons to get my sentiment "Dare to . .  Follow Your Dreams".

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

PS  Right now my computer is down (this is a scheduled post - it is actually only August 1st as I am typing this).  When I get it back up, I will be posting the winners for the last challenge . . . can't do it yet since that challenge isn't done yet.  So stay tuned.

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.  Iif you are like me, you have been super busy lately and are ready to get your crafty on.  And what better way to get started than with a challenge . . . right?  So once again, our wonderful "boss" made the challenge super easy, peasy . . . but FUN!!  Are you ready?!

Okay, it's challenge time!!!

Theme:  Summer Vacation

Stash Item:  Rub-on or stickers

You have 2 weeks (until August 19th) to play this time.

Our sponsors for this challenge are:

Click HERE to see their fun images.

Click HERE to see their fun images.

Click HERE to see their fun images.

One of my fondest memories of a summer vacation was when I was a child going to the lake with my family and fishing.  So when I saw this digi stamp (Sunbonnet Fish2) from Bugaboo Stamps, I knew it would be the perfect stamp for this challenge . . . plus would make a perfect card for my dad who is an avid fisherman. :)  Here's how it turned out:

Supplies

"Surf's Up" paper collection from Close To My Heart

"Chocolate" Liquid Pearls (for worm)

rub-on from Making Memories

Copics

Shimmering Rain sprays

Since I didn't want to try coloring my "sky", I mixed Ice and Turquoise Shimmering Rain sprays to come up with a VERY light blue . . . I then masked off my image and lightly sprayed the background.  It is hard to see in this picture, but believe me it is there.  And to give the worm a bit more dimension, I used Chocolate Liquid Pearls.

Since I am still trying to find my "style", I had decided to try to do more of a CAS (clean and simple) card this time.  I think I did a pretty good job of it.  What do you think?

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

They're not just for "markers" anymore . . .

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!

I'm here today to share with you a great digi-stamp that I received from Get Inky! stamps for being their Guest Designer today as they "Monday Mojo Mention"... actually it for the FIRST ever Monday Mojo Mention. Yay!!!  Let me tell you when I found out I was going to be a Guest Designer fro Get Inky! stamps, I was over the moon . . .  I just LOVE their stamps and have several sets.  And I have just started getting in to digi-stamps, so it was even better when Thia told me I could use one of their digis for my project today.  Also, today is the start of another challenge on Get Inky! Challenge blog and the theme is ribbons . . . so if you haven't had a chance to join in on the fun, what are you waiting for?  Click HERE for more information about their challenge(s). And click HERE for more information about "Monday Mojo Mention".

I chose "Funky Flowers" because I really felt . . . well, "FUNKY". :)  This digi stamp came as one with four (4) flowers on it . . . but I decided to cropped each flower and use them individually and make a set of notecards with them.

knowing I wanted to inspire at least one (1) person, I decided to use something other thanmy Copics to color them to color my images.  I decided I would use both Twinkling H2Os and Liquid Pearls to color or "paint" each flower. So the first thing I did was print off my images by inserting them into a word document and then adjust my margins so I could print (two (2) images on one (1) piece of paper and have two (2) notecards.  After coloring my images, I used some of my Close To My Heart sentiments and ink to stamp them . . . added a bit a twine and "Voila!" I was done.  Here's how they turned out:

I am so happy with how these turned out even though I did keep the CAS (clean and simple).  I did this because I didn't want to take away from the wonderful "funky"ness of the flowers. :)  Did I achieve my goal?

Thank you, Thia, once again for asking me to be Get Inky!'s Monday Mojo Mention's Guest Designer (now say that really fast three times - lol).  :)  I had a GREAT time working with this digi-stamp. And thank you to all my friends for checking this out today . . . and if you haven't checked out Get Inky! stamps yet, PLEASE do!!!  You won't be disappointed . . . their acrylic stamps are of the highest quality and their digi-stamps are fun to play with.

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

Scrap Your Story - Challenge #21 DIY

If you have arrived here from Clear It Out Challenge, click HERE.

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!  Tonight I want to share with you another layout I started while I was at a scrapbooking retreat with some of my CC peeps . . . and decided to enter it in Scrap Your Story Challenge #21. 

But first, if I haven't said it yet, I will say it now . . . I had a GREAT time with all of the ladies that I had had the priviledge of meeting on CropChocolate.com and finally getting to meet them in person.  I had already met three (3) of them before at Memories on Marshall in St. Louis a couple of times for another scrapbooking retreat.  And this time at Blooming Escapes Retreat in Madison, WI, was the first time I had the honor of meeting 4 more of my CC peeps.  We had so much fun that we are planning another retreat . . . not sure where yet, but whereever it is it will FUN. :)

Okay, to the layout  . . . I started out using a kit from a company in Australia - Scrappy Chat Designs.  It is kinda like Studio Calico except that you get a link to a video teaching a new technique or two and the layouts end up being what I would call "clean-altery".  Meaning, it is a mix of CAS (clean and simple) and Altered (or mixed media).  Beck has such a unique style that is much more like my style than any other kit club I have found.  I just love, love, love these kits . . . at the two (2) I have received so far. 

For this challenge, we were to make our own embellishments . . . a DIY (do it yourself).  So the embellies I made are the "arrows" or triangles, inked some burlap to change it from a kraft color to black, then used it as matting, and made a small tag that is sticking out near the top of the layout. Also, I used a plastic cup and a lid of my gel medium to get my watermarks.  Here's how it turned out:

Supplies

Misc. paper

Artison words by Pink Paislee

"Talk Nerdy to Me" Flair by UmWowStudio

Charcoal chalkboard glimmer mist

twine from The Twinery

burlap

Helmar Scrap Dot & 450 Quick Dry adhesives

This layout is of my daughter the first time she was able to climb up on our green chair all by herself.  As you can see in the picture, she was VERY pleased with herself . . . 

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

Challenge(s) entered:

Scrap Your Story Challenge #21 - DIY