World Card Making Day Honorable Mention (and shameless pandering for votes...)

Hi everyone!


I just found out that one of my cards is an honorable mention for the Holiday category in Paper Crafts magazine World Card Making Day contest.  


This is the card: 

Paper Crafts is running a little contest for a pretty sweet package and allowing folks to vote for their favorite card.  So...... if you have a few minutes in the next day to vote, and you vote was for me, I would surely appreciate your support!! 

Voting is easy peasy.

1. Visit the voting site. 
2. You will have to create a user name and password and then they email a confirmation to you.  No additional spam I promise. 
3. Click the Vote tab to see all four cards in the running- mine is card 3 (wink). 
4. Once you select your favorite card from the gallery, click "Save Vote." 

All votes must be received by Wednesday at noon MST. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and for your support! 

Katie

I'm a Cover Girl!!!

Hello friends!

So, a few months back, I started submitting some projects to Cricut magazine.  I have been a Cricut owner for many, many years, but like so many, it can go under utilized for weeks or months at a time.  Well, enter Cricut Magazine, published monthly by Northridge Publishing.  I picked up the March 2011 issue and was blown away by all the cool stuff that some very talented ladies were doing with their Cricuts.  It was just the inspiration I needed to dust off my bug and get to creating.  I will admit that it was a bit strange creating for fall and winter holidays in the spring time, but I created some little treat bags using my Mini Monsters cartridge, took a photo, emailed them off to the magazine for consideration.  I was beyond thrilled that they were picked up for the October issue.

So, several months pass, the weather turned cooler and one Saturday afternoon I am running my marathon errands and stop into Hobby Lobby. I saw the October issue of Cricut magazine and was surprised to see my monster treat bags gracing the cover.

The projects were pretty simple to put together- using the Mini Monsters cartridge, I cut the treat bags and layers from some Papertrey Ink cardstock.  I embossed the layers for some added dimension.

I am looking forward to receiving my issues of this magazine- this one will have to get a place of honor in the craft cave!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Katie

Feature Friday with Skipping Stones Design!!

Hello and Happy Friday!

Welcome to another Feature Friday with Skipping Stones Design!  This month, you have seen a lot of Christmas cards using our newest set, Christmas Song and some older sets including Christmas Swirls and Wise Men. (Both of these sets are on sale through the end of the month if you act fast!)

For a little twist today, I decided to make a Holiday card using a few sets that are not specifically geared towards that special time of year.... enter Sentiment Frames and Timeless Textures.... and here's what I came up with:

Using the Moroccan tile image from Timeless Textures, I stamped it repeatedly on a piece of white cardstock.  This stamp fits together like a puzzle and you can pretty quickly fill an entire panel. I mounted the stamped panel on black cardstock then wrapped a ribbon around the panel and tied it in a bow.  I added a wee little button tied with a little baker's twine to the bow.

The sentiment from Sentiment Frames was stamped in black ink on white cardstock then mounted to a piece of black cardstock that features a little scalloped edge.  I then adhered the whole thing to a piece of patterned paper (Echo Park) that I had trimmed and adhered to a standard white card base.

There you have it!  A stylin' and festive card using sets that you may not have imagined as "holiday" fare.  Take a look at your stash, with the right colors and treatment, almost any set can have a jolly festive feel!

Thanks for stopping by!
Katie

Papertrey Ink- October Blog Hop

Hello!

This is my second post of the day, so if you are here to see Skipping Stones Design sketch 99, just scroll down. :o)

This month's blog hop challenge was to create a project using the following inspiration photo.

This is what I came up with:

Give Thanks 

I guess you could say I was inspired by the theme of the photo to create this super simple autumn card.  I used one of the leaf images from Falling Leaves (one of my all time favorite sets) and stamped it 4 times on a rustic cream panel with different colors of ink.  (Veramagic-Pumpkin Spice, SU! Always Artichoke, So Saffron and Riding Hood Red).  I stamped the sentiment and little acorn with Dark Chocolate ink.  I wrapped   a piece of twine around the panel and secured it before mounting the card to a kraft card base.

Hope you like my take on this month's inspiration photo.  If you would like to play along, check out Nichole Heady's blog for all the deets.

Thanks for stopping by!
Katie

Skipping Stones Design Sketch #99

Hola friends!


Can you believe that it is Tuesday already?   If it is Tuesday, that means it's time for another SSD sketch challenge. Sketch 99 was created by Cristina Kowalczyk, as have all of our sketches this past month.


I decided to interpret the sketch on a horizontal layout using Heartsong. It's hard to see in the photo, but I embossed the background with woodgrain before stamping the little birdie and music on rustic cream and mounting him on top of a teal rectangle. Some twine, wrapped around the card several times adds the finishing touch.   

You Make My Heart Sing

Be sure to stop by the other DT gals and our guests' blogs for more inspiration using this week's sketch.

Cristina Kowalczyk

Jingle

JoAnn Valderama

Kandi Phillips

Tammy Tutterow

Karen Baker

Katie Gehring - you are here :o)

Shannon Teubner

Andrea Ewen

Stephanie Mino

Karen Christensen

Taylor Usry

Wendy Price

Wendy Jordan

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Tuesday Trigger: Finesse the Dress

Hi there-

I got some crafty time last night and was able to create a little card for this week's Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World. Here is the inspiration photo:

 Here is my take on the trigger.

I was inspired by the colors of the dress and the embroidered image on the dress and tried to translate that to paper. On teal cardstock, I stamped a damask image with Versamark and then heat embossed with this really cool embossing powder from Stampendous called Marcasite- like the gemstone.  It's charcoal gray with flicks of other colors throughout the powder. I added a gemstone to the center of the damask for kicks.  I punched the bottom of the teal cardstock with a scallop punch to mimic the hem detail in the dress and attached the teal to a dark gray card base. The sentiment was stamped on light gray cardstock that I die cut with the double ended banner die.

Here's a close up of the embossed damask.

Hope you like my take on the trigger.  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Supplies:

• Cardstock: The Paper Company, Bazzill Basics Paper
• Stamps: Damask (Stampabilities) and Mat Stack 2 (PTI)
• Ink: Versamark and Verafine Black
• Embossing powder: Marcacite (Stampendous)
• Die: Double ended border die (PTI)
• Edge punch: Fiskars
• Gemstone: The Paper Studio

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge 69

Hi all!

I created a little card to play along with the Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge this week.  Here is my card: 

Happy Halloween Hat

And here is  the inspiration sketch:

I created the hat from black cardstock and embossed with a swirly embossing folder.  The brim was cut from a strip of black cardstock that I cut with a pinking border die. Cream lace was added above the brim.  I stamped the focal image from Gracie at Halloween in black in and colored in with some Copics. I am a bit of a neophyte when it comes to the Copics, so please forgive my coloring.  I punched the image with a 1 3/4" circle punch and backed it with an olive pinking circle and adhere it to the lace.  This finished hat was adhered to a simple base of kraft, black and orange paper with pop dots. 

Hope you like my take on this week's sketch.  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Skipping Stones Design Sketch #98 featuring Christmas Swirls

Hello friends!


For today's sketch challenge, the design team members are visiting sets of Christmas past.... Christmas Swirls and Wise Men, both of which, psst, are on sale through the end of the month at the SSD store. 


I used Christmas Swirls and came up with this little card: 

Joy Card

I  took some liberties with the sketch and moved the focal point to the bottom 1/3 of the card. I stamped the ornament on rustic cream cardstock and embossed with Gold EP.  If you stopped by last week for the release of Christmas Song, you will see that I am still on a bit of a kick with the Gold EP and despite by tidy tray, I have managed to get it all over my craft room, esp the floor.  It's ok though, when I happen to walk barefoot in my crafty room and feel the EP beneath my feet, I just close my eyes and pretend that I am at the beach, a very glittery beach!  LOL! 

Anyway, back to the card.  I punched the embossed ornament out of the cardstock with a 1 3/4" punch. I attached it to the card base- more rustic cream on kraft- with a little dimensional adhesive and attached a length of ribbon so the ornament looks like it is hanging from the top of the card. I finished the ornament with a bow and a pearl.  The sentiment was stamped in Dark Chocolate ink. 

There you have it- a super simple card that still packs some punch.  Be sure to stop by the blogs of the DT members and our guests today for more inspiration.  

Cristina Kowalczyk

Jingle

JoAnn Valderama

Kandi Phillips

Tammy Tutterow

Karen Baker

Katie Gehring - you are here :o)

Shannon Teubner

Andrea Ewen

Stephanie Mino

Karen Christensen

Taylor Usry

Wendy Price

Wendy Jordan

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie 

  

Here's the Trick- No Orange

Hello friends!

I am playing along today with the Casual Friday's Challenge #24.  This week's challenge was to create a Halloween card without the use of that Halloween staple and go to color- orange.

And here is my card:

Best Witches

I was at Michael's on Friday picking up Paige from a birthday party and I spied the cutest little goblins in the dollar stamp bin and I couldn't resist getting this little witch.  A couple of her friends- namely a monster and vampire came home with me too.  I will post cards featuring these guys soon- I promise.  With the little witch as my focal point, I created a card using blues, greens, grays, and purple- no orange!  If you have a minute this week to play along, link up your card to the CAS-ual Fridays blog!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Katie

Supplies: 

• Cardstock: Black, white, green, teal- Hollos paper
• Stamps: Michaels (witch), Amuse Studio (zig-zag stitch) and Papertrey Ink (Sentiment)
• Button and twine: Papertrey Ink
• Ink: Verafine Black and Memento Grape Jelly

 

Skipping Stones Christmas Song Release and Sketch 97

Hello and Happy Tuesday!

Welcome to Sketch Challenge #97 and the release of Christmas Song! If you just came from Karen's blog, you are in the right place.  If you just happened along my blog today, start at the beginning of the hop at Skipping Stones Design.  The entire hop order is there and you can hop from blog to blog with ease.

Be sure to hop along and leave comments on all the fabulous designers’ blogs.  This month we are welcoming Andrea Ewen, Tammy Tutterow and Karen Christensen to our team as Guest Designers! 

Cristina Kowalczyk will be providing all the fabulous sketch inspiration this month including the sketch we're using in today's hop!

Here is the card I made using Christmas Song and Sketch 97. 

I stamped the tree image and sentiment in Versmark and embossed with gold embossing powder.  I also added a little ink to the Christmas tree image to achieve a more distressed look.  The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye.  

Head over to Shannon's blog for some more Skipping Stones Design inspiration!  In case you get lost clicking along, here is your blog hop order....

Cristina Kowalczyk

Jingle

JoAnn Valderama

Kandi Phillips

Tammy Tutterow

Karen Baker

Katie Gehring - you are here :o)

Shannon Teubner

Andrea Ewen

Stephanie Mino

Karen Christensen

Taylor Usry

Wendy Price

Wendy Jordan

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Katie

It only takes a SPARK to get a fire going...

Hi all-

I was thrilled to get my new Paper Smooches stamps in the mail yesterday and was inspired to make another card for the Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge.  (On a side note, I ordered the stamps on Saturday and they were waiting for me when I got home from work on Monday- that is what I cal1 super speedy shipping (and I live in Ohio!)

Anyhoo, in an earlier post, I shared the spark photo and it's so darling that I wanted to share it again, just because, so here you go!

Here is my card.  I used the little chick from My Peeps coupled with a sentiment from Chit Chat to create this CAS card.

I stamped the bird and sentiment in Versamark on hot pink cardstock and embossed with white embossing powder.  I matted the pink cardstock on green and tied a little black and white gingham ribbon finished off with a pink button in the center.  The colored cardstock was then adhered to a white card base.

Here's a close up of the little chick. I added a little gem for the chick's eye.

Hope you like my take on the SPARKS challenge.  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Skipping Stones Design Sketch #96

Hi and Happy Tuesday! 


I am back today with another awesome Skipping Stones Design sketch.  This month we are welcoming the uber-talented Cristina Kowalczyk as our October Sketch Artist. 


Also joining us for this month of fun is Tammy Tutterow, Andrea Ewen and Karen Christensen.


Here is my take on this week's sketch: 

Forgive the poor lighting- it has been dark and gloomy in NE Ohio for a few days now.... 


I used Skipping Stones Design's Dandelion Dreams (click here to shop) on a tag that I punched with my Creative Memories tag maker.  I created a little scene by stamping the flora and fauna in the background with a lighter ink and in the foreground with a dark brown ink.  I added a little butterfly and finished the tag with a button and bow. 


I used a scallop edge punch on my lavender "belly band" and wrapped it with a light yellow ribbon.  The sweet sentiment was stamped in brown in in the bottom right corner of the card.  


Check out the rest of the DT for more fabulous inspiration! 


Jennifer Ingle
Joann Valderama
Karen Baker
Kandi Phillips
Shannon Teubner
Stephanie Mino
Taylor Usry
Wendy Price
Wendy Jordan


Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!


Katie

Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge

Hi friends-

I'm playing along today with the Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge:

This challenge runs until October 5, 2011, so you still have time to create a project and link it up! 

The challenge this round is use Paper Smooches Stamps to make a card/project based on this inspiration photo: 

So sweet, right?  Well, I decided to go with the baby theme and came up with this little number:

Welcome Baby 

I stamped and paper pieced the mama and baby elephant from A Little Lovin' and mounted it to a piece of patterned paper that I had die-cut with PTI's notebook die. The baby elephant was given it's spots courtesy of WMS's Gingham and Co,  Mama elephant was stamped on pink cardstock, trimmed and pieced.  I stamped the sentiment in brown ink and inked the edges of the die cut.

The card was made from Kraft cardstock and then I adhered a panel of patterned paper from Fancy Pant's Baby Mine collection.  Before adhering, I inked the edges of the patterned paper and wrapped the panel with kelly green ribbon, adhered the notebook die cut at an angle with dimensional adhesive and finished it off with two wee clothes pins.

Looking forward to checking out everyone's sweet creations.  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Supplies: 

• Cardstock: Kraft- Papertrey Ink
• Patterned Paper: Baby Mine Collection- Fancy Pants Design
• Stamps: A Little Lovin- Paper Smooches; Gingham and Co- Waltzingmouse Stamps
• Ink: Dark Chocolate, Berry Sorbet, Vintage Team Dye Duo - Papertrey Ink
• Die: Notebook page- Papertrey Ink
• Ribbon- American Crafts
• Clothes pins- Darice