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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Once again - - - Winner, Winner . . .

Who wants a chicken dinner????

I know I am late (again) announcing the winner of the 2nd $20 gift certificate to VLVS! that I was giving away while I was a Guest Designer for them in October . . . but instead of giving reasons, let's just get to the VERY important part - - - the WINNER!!!

{{drum roll . . . PLEASE}}

and the winner is . . . .

Chris

"Incredible project Kathy! i LOVE IT! you DID 
A GREAT JOB ,THERE IS SO MUCH TO LOOK 
AT ON THIS! Opps sorry I hit caps lock 
but I am really excited for you!!!"

Congrats, Chris!!!  Please contact me either here or on FB with your real name and email address so I can get this out to you once I get the "code" from VLVS! stamps.  Congrats again!!!

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

PS  Check back on Monday to find out who won the gift certificate to Get Inky! stamps. :)

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Mid-challenge Inspiration - S"more

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!

I am here today to to remind you that you still have one (1) week to complete a project for Clear It Out Challenge.  The theme is s'more and the stash item is something brown and cream.  Here's a little mid-challenge inspiration card I put together for you:

This little cutie is from Lacy Sunshine and
 is called "Coco - Cookies & Hot Chocolate for Santa" 
. . . isn't she just adorable? 

This beautiful image if from StampArt Design by Kathryne 
and is called "Autumn Wagon".  This digi image also came with a 
bonus image . . . 6 or so different sentiments that you can use with it 
or with another project.  This was such a fun 
set to color . . . so many different options. :)

Thanks for stopping by today to see what I've been up to . . . and remember you still have a week to get in your projects over at Clear It Out Challenge.  Hope to see you over there!!!  

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




Monday, November 11, 2013

Snowmany Thanks! - Get Inky! challenge #17

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!

Is everyone ready for another exciting challenge?

Today I am Guest Designer over at Get Inky! Challenge blog and the challenge is "Thanks" . . . how easy is that?  It is so easy . . . especially when you have the Holiday 2013 stamp collection from Get Inky!. They are so cute and so versatile that you can make lots of cute cards.

tTis time I used a soon-to-be-released digi stamp from Get Inky! along with the sentiment "Snowmany Thanks" from the Holiday 2013 stamp collection.  Here's how it turned out:


For this card, I kept it pretty CAS . . . I didn't want to take away from the cute snowman image.  I wanted to showcase it.  So I used Echo Park's This & That Christmas paper collection along with my Copics, some silver bead wire, misc. beads and black Momento ink.  I also used some Stickles Dry Gittler on the snowman and the snow . . . but no matter how I did the lighting or changing the angle, I couldn't get it to show up very well.  But is is there, I promise!!!

Now that I have hopefully inspired you to get out you paper and scissors . . . make sure to head over to Get Inky! Challenge blog and join in on the fun.  You have two (2) weeks to get your project in to be eligible. 

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

Saturday, November 9, 2013

HIMCR #123 - Super Scraps Saturday

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!  


It's the 2nd Saturday of the month . . . and do you know what that means?  

It means it is time the Super Scraps Saturday challenge at Hiding In My Craft Room.  I am here to encourage all of you to put away the sweeper and get out your scraps so you can join us for this GREAT challenge.  But if you are still tempted to do some cleaning today, you can always look at it another way . . . you WILL be cleaning out some of your scraps, right?  And we all have scraps we can use, right? :)  Remember you have one week to submit your projects on HIMCR to be eligible for 3 digital images from our amazing sponsor.  Our sponsor this week is the Scrapbook Stamp Society.  (I just realized something . . . it's SSS at HIMCR and our sponsor is SSS. Hmmm.....)

Anway, Scrapbook Stamp Society gave us some AWESOME digital images to play with this week. But instead of doing the usual card, I decided to try something different with my image . . . I wanted to put the image on a candy dish (or a candle dish).  So after some playing around, some experimenting and a few false starts, here's what I came up with:

 Supplies:
transparency (making sure to use a 'multi-purpose" one)
inkjet printer
Copic markers
white paint marker (with fine tip)
Stickles Dry Glitter (white/clear)
Modge Podge
ribbon
glass container

Before I get started, I did use scraps for this . . . the transparencies I used were leftovers from a class I did years ago, the red ribbon is the last piece of my red Hug Snug ribbon and my white paint pen was almost empty.  

With that being said, I did some playing around and experimenting before I did my project . . . I wanted to make sure the products I used would hold up and which products looked the best. At the end of this post, I will make a short list of what I found out. 

To do this project, I printed my image on a transparency with an inkjet printer making sure to have the printable side in the printer correctly.  NOTE: Please check your printer's instructions on using transparencies, and when printing, select the "transparency" option instead of paper.  I printed three (3) images because I wanted to "play" around with some different items to see what I liked the best.

Then I colored my image with my Copics.  To help see the image as I was coloring, I placed it over some white paper.  Otherwise, it was challenging to see over my black mat as you can see in the following picture:


To deepen (or help "shade") the colors from my Copics, I "layered" the colors . . . meaning, I went over an area 2 or 3 times, letting it slightly dry between each time and applying the next "layer" with a very light hand.  If you press too hard with the 2nd or 3rd layer, some of the color will wipe away and look streaky.  One thing I loved about coloring on transparencies with Copics was when I went outside of the lines, it was very easy to correct my mistake with the Blender marker . . . making sure to wipe the Blender on a piece of paper after each time to keep it from smudging. (You can use Sharpie pens, but I found I couldn't get decent shading with them.)

I did her hat and tights last.  Since I wanted them to be white, I played around with Pearlized Inks, Ranger Alcohol Inks, Acrylic glazes, Copics, paint pens and plain glitter & glue. All-in-all everything worked except for the Alcohol Inks . . . the "Snow Cap" (a white) did not show up, plus it was very hard to control where it went.  The white Acrylic Glaze worked fine but like the alcohol ink, it was hard to control where it went . . . but as long as you have a fine tip paint brush and a steady hand, it turned out okay, too.  In the end, I used my white paint pen with a fine point and sprinkled Stickles Dry Glitter over the hat while it was still wet. Voila! I had my image done . . .


After letting my image dry for 24-48 hours, I fussy cut it and adhered it to a cylinder glass container with some Modge Podge.  (Reason for the "cylinder" container is because with a "globe" type container, the image would NOT lay flat . . . so make sure the sides of you glass are straight up and down or vertical).  After that was dry, I applied two (2) more coats of Modge Podge over the top of my image and around my container . . . this was to seal my image.  Added some ribbon and VOILA! my candy/candle dish was done.


NOTE:  I put some tissue paper inside my dish so the image would show up better in a picture.  In person, it shows up just fine . . . but in a picture is wasn't was bright.

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

Challenge(s) entered:
(I will add to this when I have a bit more time.)


Here's a quick rundown of some "tips" ---

  • Use Multi-purpose transparencies . . . if you have questions, ask a clerk at your local office supply store.  When I was looking, I found transparencies for copiers, dry erase markers, laserjet printers and multi-purpose (for inkjet & laserjet).
  • Copic markers worked better than Sharpie pens because I was able to "layer" my colors, thus getting some shading.
  • White Alcohol ink does NOT show up on a transparency, plus was very hard to control where it went.
  • Glossy Accents and Hot Glue made the image cloudy . . . whereas, the Modge Podge gave it a more clear look.  In fact, I did another one using a different image and used Modge Podge with sparkle and it looks so . . . well, SPARKLY!!!
  • When handling your transparency(ies), make sure your hands are clean and hold the outside edges to prevent finger prints.
  • When coloring with Copics, allow each color to completely dry before going on to the next color . . . otherwise you will end up with the ink on your hand and, possibly, smudges where it would be hard to get rid of. 
  • And, as with any project using transparencies, make sure each "step" is dry before going to the next one.
  • Most importantly . . . at least a suggestion --- Print two or three different transparencies so you have one or two to "practice" with (or play around with) your coloring.  Once you are comfortable with YOUR technique, then do the final image.
  • If any questions, PLEASE leave them in the comments and I'll do another post later this week answering them. :)

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Clear It Out Challenge - S'more

Does anyone know what time it is?

That's right . . . 

It's CHALLENGE time!!! 


Once again, it's challenge time over at Clear It Out Challenge.  Time to roll up those sleeves, get out paper, scissors, glue & ink . . . and get your crafty on.  And usual, our A-M-A-Z-I-N-G leader, Laura,  has come up with an awesome challenge this time . . . so easy, peasy!!! 

 Are you ready???

I didn't hear you . . . 


Are you ready???

Okay, it's challenge time!!!

Theme:  S'morre
Stash:  Something brown and cream

You have 2 weeks to play (till Nov. 11th)

Our sponsors this challenge are:




For this week's challenge, I used an adorable digi stamp "Kidz-Cookie" along with two coordinating sentiments --- "cookie-friends" and "love you-cookie" from Bugaboo Stamps.  When I first saw "Kidz-Cookie" a couple of months ago, I was so excited and started thinking of all the different ways I could use it . . . then I saw the coordinating sentiments and digi papers and I was like "WOW" this is going to be so much FUN!!!

So with my first card, I used the "love you" sentiment along with two of the digi papers.  Here's how it turned out:


With the second card, I decided to keep it CAS (clean and simple) . . . I also used a card I saw online as inspiration.  Here's how it turned out:


I ended up liking the 2nd card so much that I made 6 of them . . . you know you can alway use s'more "friend" cards to send to our besties. :)

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


Challenge(s) entered:
Artistic Inspiration - Anything/Spots and Stripes (my digi papers on 1st card)

Monday, November 4, 2013

BOO! Get Inky! Challenge #16


Happy Monday, to all crafty friends and family !!! 

Kathy, here and I am here today with some inspiration for you for the current challenge on  Get Inky! Challenge blog  . . 3D Holiday.  

As I mentioned on my last Guest Designer post for Get Inky! stamps, I just LOVE their stamps . . . so much that alI I needed was the "Halloween Spooktacular 2013" stamp set which was on its way to me. Well, it made it and I couldn't be more happy with it.  As soon as I got it, I went to work on some really cute "You've been BOOed" treat baskets . . . kinda like May Day baskets, but more for Halloween (or anytime of the year you want to "BOO" someone).

Yes, I know that Halloween is over . . . BUT I had to share what I did ---

(This is my "You've been BOOed" all together)

 (This is "You've been BOOed" the "instruction" sheet on the outside)

(and this is a close-up of just the instructions)

NOTE: It does say make a copy of the BOO sign . . . well, instead of doing a big BOO sign, I did a tag and added little BOOs to my treat holder. :)

So what do you think?  I know that next Halloween, I'm going to be doing a bunch more of these . . . they are so much FUN!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by . . . and remember to get your 3D projects in for Challenge 16.  (and GOOD LUCK!!!)

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

Challenge(s) entered:
(will put challenges here later today or tomorrow)


Saturday, November 2, 2013

HIMCR #122 - Fall Colors

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!!


Can you believe it's already November?  Where did all the time go?  Probably spent making lots of projects, right?  :)  

Well, here it is the 1st Saturday of the month and do you know what that means?  It means it's time for another Hiding In My Craft Room challenge and since it's the 1st Saturday of the month, it means the challenge it a "Color" challenge . . . so this time we challenge you to use Fall Colors!    

And this month, we have an awesome sponsor -- Template Dreams at Scrap Takeout -- who will be giving away a $5 gift certificate to their store . . . which by the way has so many A-W-E-S-O-M-E digi kits.

For this challenge, I decided to use "Little Pumpkin" digi kit by Template Dreams . . . it was just so vibrant with the greens, oranges and blues in it that I had to have it to use with some pictures I took a pumpkin farm last year. And I used "October Breeze" digi elements by Template Dreams for my flower embellies.

Originally, I was going to do an all digital layout . . . but after a few dozen tries and more hours than I want to admit, I finally decided that the software I had wasn't working the way I wanted it to.  My layers kept disappearing . . . I'm thinking it probably had something to do with the fact it was a free trial version, so it didn't have all the options with it?

So I finally decided to do my layout by combining the "old school" way of paper, scissors and glue with a bit of the "new school" way by printing my paper and embellies from my digi kit.  Here's how it turned out:


I know when many crafters use digi paper, they print a whole sheet . . . usually on 8-1/2x11 (or 12x12 if their printer can print that size).  I use to do mine that way, too, until one day I only had 2 sheets left of my X-Press It cardstock (yes, I know it is usually used for Copics . . . but it is GREAT for printing, too).  Then I realized I could crop the paper in a photo software, then insert it into a Word document . . . thus getting sometimes up to 5 different papers on one sheet.  

That is what I did here . . . since I had a "sketch" I drew, I made "guesstimates" about what size I wanted each paper and cropped them in my photo editing software and inserting into my word document. Then once I had the document "full", I printed and cut the papers to the sizes I wanted . . . adhered to some SuperStock by Canadian Scrapbooker (since I don't have a printer that prints 12x12 paper).   



With the embellies, I just inserted into a Word document, printed and fussy cut.  The digi kit I was using does have blue twine with it, but it was too hard for me to fussy cut, so I used some Denim twine from The Twinery.  I also added some cheesecloth and blue bling from MME. 


After a quick spray or two of "Candy Corn" Glimmer Mist and some quick journaling, VOILA! I was done. 

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


Challenge(s) entered: