HIMCR #129 - CASE Yourself!

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!  

Here it is the 3rd Saturday of the month . . . 

and do you know what that means?  

Well for one, it means, we have only 4 days left till Christmas.  But it also means it is time for another AMAZING challenge at Hiding In My Craft Room.  And I am here to encourage all of you to put Christmas wrapping and get your crafty space cleared off so you can join us for this fun challenge. Remember, you have one week to submit your projects on HIMCR to be eligible for a Close to My Heart Stamp set from Carrie.  Hmmm, pretty nice prize . . . too bad I'm not eligible.  :)

Anyway, the theme this week is CASE Yourself! . . . meaning "Copy and Share Everything".  Basically, pick something you have done before and do it again by either revamping or redoing it, adding to it or just making it again because you really liked it and want another.

Well, for this challenge, I took a card that I did towards the beginning of November (click HERE to see original post) and have had on my crafty table since then because I just did not feel like it was "done" . . . that it still needed "something".  So when I saw what this week's challenge was going to be, I knew I had the PERFECT opportunity and project for it.  So Here's my card in it's "BEFORE" state:

BEFORE

Here's how it turned out after I changed or added a few things to it:

AFTER

As you can see, the "BEFORE" card is okay . . . but the "AFTER" card is much, much better.  What I did make it better was adding the words "Peace", "Joy", "Love", & "Noel" from Get Inky! 2013 Holiday stamp set around my digi image along with the "Merry Christmas" sentiment from the same stamp set from Get Inky!.  I also used small red glitter gems from Close To My Heart by placing them to the top and bottom of my card and larger ones to each side.  And "Voila!" . . . I was finally happy with it.

Now it is your turn to "CASE" something and turn it in to HIMCR in the next week.  I can hardly wait to see what you do.

Have a VERY Merry Christmas!!!!

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

Clear It Out Challenge - Warm Fuzzies

Does anyone know what time it is?

That's right . . . 

It's CHALLENGE time!!! 

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!! Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner? Less than 8 days to go, I think?  And are you finished with your holiday crafting, baking and shopping?  Well, even if you aren't, that is okay because once again, it's challenge time over at Clear It Out Challenge.  Time to clear away the shopping lists, clear away any remaining baking "stuff" (well, except for a few cookies/candies to help you keep focused--lol), and clear away anything else that is stockpiled in your crafty space . . . and let's get our crafty on!!!  And usual, our most G-E-N-E-R-O-U-S leader, Laura,  has come up with another amazing challenge for us . . .and it's so easy, peasy!!!  So get out your paper, scissors, glue  and . . . 

 Are you ready???

I didn't hear you . . . 

Are you ready???

Okay, it's challenge time!!!

Theme: Warm Fuzzies

Stash: Something textured

You have 3 weeks to play (till Jan. 6th)

Our sponsors this challenge are:

Stitchy Bear Digi Outlet 

 

When I saw "The Perfect Christmas Tree" by QKR Stampede, it reminded me of a Charlie Brown Christmas and how beauty is in the eye of the beholder . . . old cartoons like that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And with it being so close to Christmas (less than 8 days away), I decided to show you once again this quick and simple card using "The Perfect Christmas Tree" digi image . . . as I have mentioned in other blog posts, it is a style I have done many times before and I never get tired of it. And I decided to get a headstart on my "Thank You" cards for after Christmas. Here's how it turned out:

One thing though, this is the first time I used a digi image on this style.  So while this card is a simple and quick one, you do need to take a few minutes to figure out the placing of where you are going to print your image.  How I did it for mine was take a 8-1/2"x11" piece of cardstock and made a pencil mark at the halfway point (vertical), so it would look I would have two (2) 4.25"x11" pieces at the end. Then I measured down 5.5" (to where the fold of the card would end up), then measured another 1/2" or so to where top of the image would be . . . BUT this will all depend on how big YOU decide YOUR image will be. With these numbers, I went into my Word doc and made the necessary adjustments to the margins and using the little ruler at the top and side, I inserted my image (which I changed its size to 1.25") approximately 6" down from top and in approximately 2,25" from side. BUT this all depends on how big you want your image.  If you are unsure if you got it in the correct place, then print it on plain white paper first to see if you need to adjust your measurements . . . that is what I did.  I was able to print two (2) images/cards.

Once I had it printed, I colored with my Copics, added some Stickles, some green Flowersoft Flock and Smooch Pearlized Ink.  Then add some twine from The Twinery and the "THANKS" sentiment is from Close to My Heart.  Then last, but not least, added a miscellaneous red button on the folded corner.  Voila! It was done!!!

As you can seen before, this style of card not only would work GREAT for regular clear or red rubber stamps, but it also works GREAT with digi stamps.  So now that you have an idea for a quick and simple card, I hope you enjoy making it as much as I do . . . as you can see, I've already done three (3) different ones this past month or so.  I just love it and how you can get different looks.

Have a Very Merry Christmas!!!

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

Get Inky - Challenge #19 Christmas

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!

Are you ready for Christmas yet?  I know I'm not quite there . . . but that is okay because I still have 10 days, right?

Well, right now, Get Inky! Stamps has a super fun challenge going on over at Get Inky! Challenge and I am here to give you some inspiration.  With it being so close to Christmas (less than 10 days away), I decided to show you a quick and simple card . . . it is a style I have done many times before and I never get tired of it. And with how versatile Get Inky! stamps are, I can get so many different looks. Here's what I came up with:

For this card, I used two (2) stamps from Get Inky! Stamps' 2013 Holiday stamp collection.  For the tree, I used my Copics (YG63, YG67, E43, E47) to color it and Xmas Red Stickles for a little decoration . . . I also used a sequin at the top of the tree.  The twine is from The Twinery.  And to finish off the card, I used a red button from my stash. Voila! It was done!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, especially when I know so many of you are busy with last minute preparations for Christmas.  And, just maybe this card might help you with a few last minute cards?

Have a Very Merry Christmas!!

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

HIMCR #128 - Super Scraps Saturday

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!  

Here it is 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.  And I am here to encourage all of you to put Christmas baking and get out your scraps so you can join us for this super uber fun challenge. Remember, you have one week to submit your projects on HIMCR to be eligible for 3 digital stamps from our amazing sponsor, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  (I just realized something . . . it's SSS at HIMCR and our sponsor is SSS. Hmmm.....)

Anway, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps gave us some AMAZING digital images to play with this week.  I will admit that the following card is not the one I started out with . . . and that is because as I was typing up my blog post and trying to list what products and paper I used, I realized that some of my scraps were digi paper (and not from Sweet 'n Sassy---Oops!)  So back to the drawing board . . . and here's what I came up with:  

For this card, I chose "Cocoa's Christmas Tree" digital stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps . . . isn't he so adorable?  You can even get this same image as a clear stamp in "Cocoa Christmas" clear stamp set (comes with 2 images and 6 sentiments).  Isn't that GREAT!?!?

Anyway, at first I had used all scraps from "Very Merry Christmas" paper collection by Echo Park . . . but I messed up on resizing my tree paper, so I had to open a new pack of the same paper to get a full sheet of the tree paper.  Yes, I said a new pack . . . for those who know me and where I have bought a lot of my paper, understand how I may have 2 or more sets of different paper collections.  Right, my fellow CCers?  For my image, I colored it with my Copics---YG63 & YG67 for the tree, C1 & C3 for the mouse and R000 & R11 for his ears & nose. I used Smooch Pearlized Ink in yellow for the star. And for the ornaments & garland, I used Stickles in Christmas Red and Silver. I also distressed my paper with Walnut Stain distress ink and used Helmar's Scrap Dots to give more dimension to my layers.

All-in-all, I am VERY happy that I had to do a new card because this one turned out even cuter than the first. I think I may do my own Christmas tree this year in a two-tone theme . . . yes, I am late getting mine up this year.  But my family and I plan on doing it this weekend. :)

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

Mid-Challenge Inspiration

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!  

I am here today to remind you that you still have one (1) week to complete a project for Clear It Out Challenge.  The theme is "Christmastime" and the stash item is "make room for presents" (or basically, "Anything Goes" or even something with presents on it).  Here's a little something I put together as inspiration for you:

As I mentioned last week, I love having homemade tage to go on my presents.  And when I saw this digi image "Inspirational Candy Canes" from Stampart Design by Kathryne, I knew I had to make not only some cards with it, but also some tags for my presents as a reminder of the true reason  of Christmas.  

Since there were four (4) different images in one (1) document, I cropped each one so I would have four (4) different images to choose from . . . two (2) with a sentiment and two (2) with just candy canes.. Also, if you look real close, you will notice the white stripes on the candy cane are a bit different from the white paper . . . this is because I used Smooch Pearlized Ink in white for the stripes to help them stand out on the white paper.

So now I have some GREAT tags for my presents that not only will go with my presents, but will also be a gentle reminder of the true "Reason for the Season".  Have a very Merry Christmas!!!

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

HIMCR #127 - Holiday Colors

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

Is everyone staying warm enough this past few days?  I know, it's been challenging here trying to stay warm with the temperatures being in the teens during the day and low single digits (and sometimes below 0) at night . . . in fact, I had to put two (2) more quilts on my bed last night because the temp dropped so low.  I pray that those of you who are in the path of the ice storm that is hitting our nation are staying inside where it's safe and, hopefully, warm.  Okay, enough about the weather. :)

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 your Holiday Colors!    

And this time, HIMCR is giving away this A-W-E-S-O-M-E Christmas package ---

I got the idea for the card I did for this challenge from a card my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday . . . it was actually kinda funny because as she handed me the envelope with the card, she said "Happy Birthday . . . and I'm sorry."  When I opened it, I was like "Sorry for what?  I LOVE this!!!" So after searching the internet, I found a SVG file to make one  from App.box.com (https://app.box.com/shared/5a7tp4rhaj). Here's how it turned out:

I used scraps for this card and printed "A friend is like a good bra" sentiment on the inside:

"A Friend is Like A Good Bra . . .

Hard to find

Supportive

Comfortable

Always lifts you up

Makes you look better

Always Close to Your Heart!!"

And the back is a thong with a little S.W.A.K. (lips) tattoo . . . but since I didn't want to hurt anyone's sensibilities, I decided not to show the picture of it. :)

Remember, you have one week to get your "Holiday Color" project in to be eligible for the Christmas package.   Have a GREAT (and warm) weekend!!!

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

Clear It Out Challenge - Christmastime!

Does anyone know what time it is?

That's right . . . 

It's CHALLENGE time!!! 

Hi, all my crafty friends and family!!!  Has everyone recovered from Thanksgiving yet?  I hope so because once again, it's challenge time over at Clear It Out Challenge.  Time to clear away the dishes, clear away any remaining Thanksgiving "stuff", and clear away anything else that has stockpiled in your crafty space this past week or so . . .   and get your crafty on.  And usual, our A-W-E-S-O-M-E-L-Y, A-M-A-Z-I-N-G leader, Laura,  has come up with another great challenge for us . . . it's so easy, peasy!!!  So get out your paper, scissors, glue  and . . . 

 Are you ready???

I didn't hear you . . . 

Are you ready???

Okay, it's challenge time!!!

Theme:  Christmas time (anything goes)

Stash:  Make room for your new Christmas presents 

(basically, anything goes or you can add a present) 

You have 2 weeks to play (till Dec. 16th)

Our sponsors this challenge are:

When I saw this week's challenge theme and stash item, I thought to myself "I wonder about making tags for Christmas presents?"  So off I went and I found a cute tag from Bugaboo called "Christmas presents-Tags".  How perfect is that?  Here's what I came up with:

As you may notice, I don't have names on these tags yet . . . that is because every year I like to have a dozen or so "generic" little gifts ready just in case an extra guest comes by or I just want to do a little extra for someone or help a friend or family struggling to make ends meet or just to brighten their day. Whatever the reason, I always try to make sure I have them and these tags work PERFECT to help make my "generic" gifts more personable, too.

But the BEST thing about this tag digi stamp is not only can I make it any size I want, BUT I can color or decorate it to coordinate with my gift or wrapping paper.  I am kinda funny that way . . . I like to have my tags match . . . at least somewhat.  So this time round I inserted the digi into a Word doc and make it 3-inches high.  Then I copy and pasted it until I had a whole page of tags  and I ended up with 9 tags on one sheet . . . it's a start for now.

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