Hello there

Happy last day of 2012!  We are busy, busy today.  There are 4 kids currently in da house (2 of ours and 2 of our friends) as they prep for their annual NYE party and Iron Chef competition. The kiddos are currently watching Madagascar 3 which will be followed by lunch and rock painting.  For tonight's Iron Chef Competition, this year's theme ingredient is citrus.  We will be bringing lemon bars and a garlic lime chicken (which I still have to make.... like I said, busy!).

Given that the to-do list is long today, I am just popping in the share another Avery Elle card I created for the AE i{heart}u challenge.  This one uses elements from Blossoms and Blooms, Bright Days, To the Point, and Merry and Bright to create this super bright flower.

I first stamps the circle from Bright Days in the top third of the card in black ink.  Next, I stamped the larger leaf from Blossoms and Blooms around the circle in many, many colors of ink to create the petals.  The stem was created by stamping the line from Merry and Bright in black ink along with more leaves from Blossoms and Blooms. 

I tried to emboss the sentiment from To the Point directly onto the stamped circle, but it was a bit of an epic fail, so instead I die cut a circle from black cardstock and embossed the sentiment in white.  A small gem finished off the card.

Well, that's all for me today!  Thanks for stopping by!

May this be your best year ever!

Well, I am officially transitioned into vacation mode, one week in and one glorious week still to go.  Now that the holidays are winding down, I found some time to sneak into the mom cave and create some cards that I will be sharing on the blog this week. Yay!

First up is a card with a decidedly New Year's countdown feel. I am entering this card (and hopefully a few others) into Avery Elle's first AE i{heart}u challenge.

I used one of my beloved stamp sets from Avery Elle called Count on It to create this one layer card. The  challenge was to make a card that reflects your personal style.  From a card-making perspective, my style is under a constant state of evolution as I love to try new things,  but one constant is my unfailing love and adoration for COLOR!   This card involved lots of fun colors of ink from Amuse Studios and VersaMagic Chalk ink.  The sentiment was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black pigment ink. As the final step, I rounded the bottom corners using my 3/8" corner chomper from We R Memory Keepers. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a safe and happy New Years!

Katie

A *VERY* Bright Christmas

Neon is hot- it seems to be popping up everywhere and not just on my tween's wardrobe and accessories.  As a child of the eighties, I am happy to see this trend revisited as it brings back fond memories of jelly shoes and banana clips. Cath, in Moxie Fab World is hosting a Keen on Neon Challenge, so I grabbed my favorite neon rolls of washi tape and I whipped up a couple neon Christmas Cards to play along:

On this card, I used a Hero Arts die to cut a Christmas tree from cardstock and backed it with neon washi tape at a diagonal angle.  The sentiment is from Avery Elle's Merry + Bright set. I embossing the black cardstock with an embossing folder from Lifestyle Crafts. 

Here is another interpretation of a neon Christmas Tree.  This time I cut it from Spellbinders pennant dies to form the tree and the trunk.  The black carkstock panel was embossed with Wplus9's chevron embossing plate and the sentiment was stamped onto a folded banner die from Simon Says Stamp. 

That's all for me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Katie

Sweet Treat Bag

Hi friends,

I am over on the Neat + Tangled blog today with a fun way to dress up your holiday treats with your Neat + Tangled stamps.

 

Stop over and see what I have been up to! Hope to see you there!

Katie

PS- The Little Tangles Challenge Blog's Challenge 2 is open until Sunday, December 16th.  The theme is  Happy Holidays.  We would LOVE for you to share your creation.  Click here to check out the details and play along!!

Shimmer and Shine

Hello friends,

Sadly, it's been ages since I have been able to play along with the Tuesday Trigger challenge that Cath posts in Moxie Fab World.  The recent challenge, Shimmer and Shine is so pretty and festive, I couldn't resist playing along.

I carried the snowflake images on the ornaments, the ornaments themselves and the shimmer from the trigger photo into my project. First, I stamped and heat embossed two of the ornaments from the set with gold and silver embossing powder on white cardstock and cut out the ornaments. I stamped the sentiment, then embossed a panel of shimmer cardstock with a snowflake embossing folder. 

I attached some silver cord to the ornaments and adhered them to the embossed panel with foam tape. The completed card front was adhere to a gray cardstock base.  I think the photo below shows the shimmer a bit better. 

Here's this week's inspiration trigger: 

You have until December 16th to link up your take on this trigger to this post and play along!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Merry and Bright!

Hello!

I am over at the Neat and Tangled blog today with a card that is:

yep.... merry and BRIGHT.  Stop over and see what I have been up to! 

Thanks friends!

Katie

Skipping Stones Simple Snowflakes

Hello there, 

Today, I wanted to share with you a super simple design for your holiday cards using just cardstock, ink and a few gems. 

When I make holiday cards, keeping my design simple is a must, especially if it is something that will be mass  produced.  Through the use of color, even a simple card can pack plenty of visual punch: 

Using snowflakes from  Skipping Stones Victorian Christmas and Sassy Snow, I created this scene of colorful snowflakes on a piece of white cardstock trimmed to 3.75 x 5".  The sentiment is from Victorian Christmas, and I stamped it in black ink.  A few gems and a rounded corner keep the design interesting. I then attached the stamped panel to a A2 cardbase made of red cardstock which provides a strong visual border for the design.  

This card would be very simple and post-office friendly of you are looking for clean and simple designs for your holiday cards.  If flat cards are a must, you could also skip the gems. :o)

That's all for me today.  Thank you so much for stopping by!

Katie

Neat and Tangled Tag Hop

Hello there!

Did you hear the news? Neat and Tangled has received Moxie Fab Stamp of Approval!  We couldn't be more excited and decided to celebrate by doing a little tag hop.

I have a confession, I am not much of a tag maker.  I usually resort to the adhesive variety that you can purchase at Target, so this was a bit of a stretch for me. Funny thing though about tags, once you start, it's kinda addictive.  You know, like potato chips, and it's hard to stop at one, so I created four to share with you today.

First up is a tree tag that I created using Little Bear, Elves at Work and the little Star is from Sweet Home.

I added some googly eyes and a smile using a 3/4" circle punch to animate the tree.  He's happy to be a Christmas Tree after all! 

Next up is a Santa Bear tag using Little Bear.  The Santa Hat is from Hey Cookie.

Again, I added googly eyes and a bit of baker's twine to make a scarf for the little guy- hey, it's cold outside! 

Now, a super simple tag using Santa's Notes. 

I stamped the Naughty or Nice frame onto the tag and then again on white cardstock that I trimmed and adhered to the tag.  I thought the red checkmark would be most visible on a plain background. Some red gems accent the frame.

Finally, and elegant tag using Fresh Blooms and Elves at Work: 

One of the things I love most about working with Danielle's stamps it their versatility.  Stamped on red cardstock and doubled up, the blossoms from Fresh Blooms positively look like poinsettias.  The sentiment is from Elves at Work that I stamped onto a Martha Stewart doily die cut.

All of the tags today were made with circle dies from Spellbinders.  I cut two circles for each tag, the second circle is to write the recipient's name without marring the tag.  The patterned paper is from the Winter Wonderland Collection by My Mind's Eye.

Well that's it for my team of holiday tags today.  Here's one more group shot. 

Hope you decide to treat yourself to a little holiday fun and try your had at making some tags!  If you haven't already, stop over at the Neat and Tangled blog to the fabulous tags the other girls created. Thank you for stopping by!

Katie

SSD Blog Hop: Tag Trio!

Hello and good morning!

Today, I am playing along with the Skipping Stones Design Blog Hop. You should have arrived here from the fantastically talented Glenda's blog.  If not, please visit the Skipping Stones Design blog and pick up the entire hop order there.

Kelly Schirmer designed a fabulous tag sketch for us this week, and I couldn't resist making a few tags with some of my favorite festive Skipping Stones sets.

First up is this colorful tag featuring Grunge 2 and Christmas Swirls.  I die cut a stocking and stamped the chevrons from Grunge 2 and accented the stocking with green cardstock toe and heel and a washi tape cuff. The background of the tag was made by layering a few strips of washi tape.

Continuing with the Grunge 2 chevrons, this tag features the martini glass from Cheers!  Wouldn't a tag like this be perfect for adorning a host gift for a swanky New Year's party?

Finally, here is a more elegant tag using Christmas Song and Damask Darling.

Here is Kelly's sketch:

Well, I am the last stop on the hop today, and now it's your turn!!We would love to see what you create with this week's sketch.  Don't forget to return to the Skipping Stones site and link up your take.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Katie   

Washi Holiday Fun

Good morning,

Just popping in to share a couple projects I created with my newest addiction, washi tape! This low tack tape is so fun to work with. I am amazed that what started off innocently enough as a couple rolls of tape, grew, seemingly overnight, into quite the collection!

First up is this little musical number:



The pink florals and green stripe boarders are all washi tape.  I covered strips of cardstock with the tape and even die cut one strip to make a sweet scalloped border.  The stamp is from Amuse Studios and some twine and a few Jingle Bells finished off the card.

I also found that washi tape is fantastic for quick and easy gift wrapping.



I wrapped a plain white box with several strips of washi tape.  I didn't want to detract from the Washi stripes, so I die cut a tag from vellum, stamped the sentiment (PTI) and hid the adhesive behind the stars and snowflakes.

I am sharing both of these projects for Paper Crafts Magazine November 2012 gallery challenge. Take a minute to check out the amazing projects that some very talented crafters shared.  Lots of fun ideas to perhaps make a dent a growing horde, I mean stash, of washi tape.

I will be back tomorrow and every day this week with lots of fun holiday projects to share.  Hope to see you then!

Katie

Skipping Stones Sketch Challenge 155

Hello friends,

Today, I am playing along with another sketch challenge with Skipping Stones Design and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!  All of the fabulous sketches this month we are using at Skipping Stones Design were designed by Kelly Schirmer.  Ivanka Lentle and Jennie Harper are joining us this month as guest designers.

Using one of our featured sets this month, Christmas Song and this week's sketch, I created the following  card:

I die cut a frame from cream cardstock and stamped the tree image from Christmas Song in light green ink and outlined it with clear stickles.  What is it about this time of year that just begs for a dusting of glitter?  A banner  with the sentiment in a gorgeous font grounds the tree and buttons act as both accents and ornaments.  

The patterned paper is from My Mind' Eye that I picked up at Michael's a few weeks back. As much as I love the traditional red and greens for Christmas, pastels for the holidays stir something deep within my girly, shabby chic soul. 

Here is look at this week's sketch: 

Be sure to stop by the Skipping Stones blog to check out the other fantastic cards that our guests and design team created with this week's sketch.  While you are there, link up your own take on this week's sketch challenge! 

Thank you so much for stopping by today and have a lovely Tuesday!

Katie

I'm honored!

Good morning!

I woke up yesterday morning to some exciting news...  A few weeks ago, I sent in a few cards for Paper Crafts Magazine's World Card Making contest.  I found out that one of my cards was selected as an Honorable Mention in the Hello/Thinking of You category.

This was my favorite of the four cards I mailed in.  True confession: I was so last minute with my entries, that I didn't even get a chance to snap pics of the cards before I shipped them off to the Paper Crafts office. (Picture Sunday night before the Monday deadline, very late, yours truly hunched over the coffee table typing supply and instruction lists... good times, good times....) Needless to say, I am thrilled to have this photo and my big thanks goes to the Paper Crafts editorial team for highlighting my card!

The patterned papers are from the Sn@p Collection by Simple Stories and the stamps and die are from Simon Says Stamp's line.  Washi tape by Target. :o)

Please vote!

Here's an opportunity to let your voice be heard! Paper Crafts Magazine is asking for your help to pick a favorite Honorable Mention card to win a really fun prize. Click here to check out the other four fabulous cards in the running and click HERE to cast your vote! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope today is a great one!

Katie

Skipping Stones Sketch Challenge 153

Good morning,

It's Tuesday and that means it's time for another Skipping Stones Design sketch challenge!  All of our sketches this month were designed by the fantastic Kelly Schirmer.  Ivanka Lentle and Jennie Harper are joining us this month as guest designers.

I flipped Kelly's sketch upside down and interpreted Kelly's sketch as an ornament.

I die cut 2 large snowflakes and stamped the music image from Timeless Textures on the die cuts and adhered them together with foam tape.  I topped a rosette with a scalloped circle stamped with another pattern from Timeless Textures. The star was stamped with the text pattern from garden stamp kiss and the banner was stamped with a sentiment from Christmas Song.

Lots of inking around the edges and some twine and pearls finished off the ornament. It's ready for hanging on a tree branch or garland of your choosing.

Here's this week's sketch: 

Be sure to stop by the Skipping Stones blog to check out the fantastic projects this week by our amazing Design Team and our guests. 

Well, that's it for me today.  Thank you so much for stopping by!

Katie

Hello, Little Tangles!

Good morning!

Today, the Neat and Tangled and Little Tangles design teams are teaming up to say "Hello" to Neat and Tangled's challenge blog, Little Tangles. You should have arrived here from the talented Tracy's blog.  If not, please visit the Neat and Tangled blog when you can pick up the entire hop order. :o)

To say hello, I combined Little Bear and Just Hello to create a card with a decidedly fall feel.

I just couldn't resist the fox asking what's up to the owl perched in the pine tree.  

As part of Little Tangles' debut, Danielle is giving away two fantastic prizes. Winners will be selected from comments on all the blogs, so the more blogs you visit and leave comments, the better your chances are to win!  Comments must be received by Sunday, November 4th at 11:59 p.m. to be eligible for the prizes. 

Little Tangles will kick off it's first challenge on Thursday, November, 15.  To help folks play along, Danielle is offering a free digi stamp on the Neat and Tangled blog.  

That's all for me today, but your next stop is the fabulous Linda! 

Halloween Hoop-Dee-Do!

Hello folks!

I am over at the Neat and Tangled blog today sharing a little project I made with the adorable Halloween Scene.  Here's a little sneaky peak:

Please stop over and check it out!  Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Katie

Bewitched

Good morning!

Halloween is just a few short days away and the excitement is palatable around here- along with the girls trying so hard to finalize their costume selections.  I wanted to share a card I made a few weeks ago that was inspired by one of the sketch challenges currently appearing in the September/October issue of Paper Crafts Magazine.

I stamped the images from Waltzingmouse Stamps on a piece of soft stone cardstock and added some ink to "ground" the images.  The window frame was made from PTI's block alpha die- cut twice.  I just trimmed around the die negatives and voila, instant window frame. This was attached to a card base that I covered with patterned paper from American Crafts.   I stamped the sentiment on a tag and finished the card off with a couple buttons. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I hope you have a fantastic day! 

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Hello friends!

Just popping in to share a little card I created with Skipping Stones latest sketch challenge and our Fangs or Fur set.

There are some awesome images and sentiments in this set for Twilight fans.  I chose to use the image that features Edward and Bella smooching in the meadow. Behind this image, I tried my hand at paper pleating and wrapped the pleated strip with twine before adhering to the card.  I chose to use soft blues and grays for the card because those are the colors I think of when I think of the movies (and yes, I am a fan). 

Here's a look at Fangs or Fur: 

And here's this week's sketch: 

Stop by the Skipping Stones blog for more inspiration using this week's sketch and to play along with this week's sketch challenge.  One lucky participant will be chosen to win a free stamp set.  Yay!

That is all for me today.  Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great Tuesday!

Ombre + Ikat

Hello there,

I hope you are having a super lovely weekend!  Just stopping in on this beautiful Sunday to share a card I created using Avery Elle's Ikat set trying my hand at a little ombre gradient stamping.

The colors for this card were inspired by a super fun set of glasses I saw this summer at Target which featured bold gradient stripes going from yellow to berry. 

I tried to mimic the effect with inks.  From left to right (SU Barely Banana, PTI Harvest Gold, SU Blush Blossom and Cameo Coral, PTO Melon Berry and Berry Sorbet.) The Ikat pattern was stamped on white cardstock with was mounted to a Berry Sorbet card base,  I stamped the sentiment in Berry Sorbet on a strip of white card stock, matted it with Harvest Gold and adhered it to the card.  I affixed a couple gems for a finishing touch. 

That's all for me today.  Thank you so much for stopping by! 

Inspired by Pinterest: Foxy Baby Card

Hello and Happy Friday Friends!

Like many of you, I am sure, I love Pinterest and come across the most interesting and inspiring photos and projects through this site.  Many of my cards and projects are indeed sparked by pins, but sometimes, my favorite ideas for cards and paper crafts don't involve even a scrap of paper in their original form.

For instance, a few weeks ago I came across this picture:

A Beautiful Mess

I thought that this chair of foxy pillows might make for a good baby card, so I pulled out some of my dies and came up with this:

The fox was made by combining my boxy banner dies from Papertrey Ink with pennant and oval dies from Spellbinders.  I cut my desired shapes from patterned paper (My Mind's Eye) and pieced together the fox before tracing the shape onto a card base to make the shaped card. I added buttons and twine for the nose and eyes and the sentiment is from Waltzingmouse Stamps- Compact Sentiments.

You can check out some of what's been inspiring me lately on Pinterest by checking out my boards.

So what's your favorite non-paper inspiration for paper projects? 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Katie 

A Neat & Tangled iPhone upgrade

Hello all!

A couple weeks ago, I shared my Neat & Tangled iPhone upgrade on the Neat & Tangled blog.  Danielle was so gracious to allow me to share this little how-to on my blog as well.  Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------

So you may have heard that Apple's iPhone 5 was available for purchase last Friday.  Me?  Not so much.  I was driving my kids to school before work and couldn't figure out why all these people were standing in line outside the AT&T store at 7 a.m.!

I guess I am not what you would consider an early technology adapter. I think I am waiting for my kids to get older so they can show me how to do all this cool stuff.  I received an iPhone 4 for Christmas last year, and although I love my phone, updating models was just not part of the plan at this time (literally, I can't upgrade for another year). :o)

I strongly believe that part of the fun of phones, tablets and laptops these days is the ability to personalize and customize your technology and experience.  In honor of this new technology, I decided to use some of my crafting supplies and Neat & Tangled stamps to give my old iPhone a little upgrade.

I pulled out a few of my Neat & Tangled sets: Little Tangles and Just Hello.



I also used a few other supplies:

And you will also need one of these.

I found this clear iPhone cover at Michaels.  It is created by Mark Richards Enterprises.  It was $3.99,  but you could use a coupon to bring down the cost even more. :o)

I trimmed a piece of patterned paper to 2.25" by just a touch shorter than 4.5" and rounded the corners using the 3/8" corner chomper.  Using the phone cover as a guide, I traced oval where I would need to trim away the paper for the camera flash and lens.  I used my old Stampin' Up slot punch to start the oval and finished it with a craft knife. This is seriously the hardest part of the whole project. :o)

Next, I selectively inked and stamped one of the tangles from Little Tangles onto the cardstock to make a phone cord.  I stamped the phone from Just Hello on a piece of aqua cardstock and trimmed out the handset and adhered to the "cord."

I also stamped the sentiment from Just Hello onto the patterned paper and then slipped it into the cover and snapped my phone in place. Now I have a low cost, but high style and totally adorable cover for my iPhone that just may help me keep loving my old phone until I can upgrade!

That's all for me today.  Thank you so much for stopping by!

Katie