Welcome to the Family {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

I am on the Avery Elle blog today with a card that I can't wait to send!  In a little less than a month, I will be an Auntie for the third time. My brother and sister in law are expecting their first baby this November, and I couldn't be more excited for them.  Using Avery Elle's We R Family and We R Family additions to create a card for my new little niece or nephew.

On a panel of Daisy card stock, I stamped the family member roles in yellow ink.  I used a stamp press and it made for easy work of creating this wordy background.  Next, I added a strip of patterned paper from the Everyday Collection 6x6 paper pad. 

I die cut a circle from white card stock and stamped the sentiment in gray ink.  I added a circle swirl and heart flower as a finishing touch and adhered the stamped panel to a kraft card base. 

So now the card is all set, we just need the baby!  Can't wait to meet him or her in only a few short weeks!  

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

Katie

Thankful Feather Card {Waffle Flower Crafts}

Hello friends!

I hope you are having a great weekend!  I am popping in today to share a card I created with one of Waffle Flower Craft's newest stamp sets, Feather More.

I wanted my card to have a very luxe feel to it, so I started by stamping the feathers onto white card stock with Gold Delicata ink and again with Versamark and gold embossing powder.  After setting the powder with a heat gun, I die cut both feathers using the Feather More Die Set.  I love using open dies where I can stamp first and die cut second.  I find that my borders are much more even that way!

Next I settled upon a color scheme for the rest of the card- white with a few rustic touches.  I made a card base from white card stock and trimmed a panel of woodgrain white card stock at an angle and adhered it to the bottom of the card with foam tape.  I trimmed a white card stock strip and stamped Thankful from the Holiday Labels- Give Thanks stamp set in brown ink and affixed it to the card.  

I layered the feathers and adhered this to the card. I tied a small bow with twine and attached it to the base of the feathers.  A few glitzy gold enamel dots add a finishing touch. 

I really love the look of the gold feathers contrasted with the pristine white card stock.  Very luxe indeed! Well that's all for me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Katie

Spooky Spider Favors {Avery Elle and Halloween Week}

Hello friends,

Halloween week is coming to a close on Stamping Lightly and today I am over on the Avery Elle blog with another easy project perfect to pass out at classroom Halloween parties or even to trick or treaters.  With so much candy available during this holiday, here's an approach for a party favor that's candy-free.

I trimmed Fizz card stock into rectangles measuring approximately 2" x 2.75".  Next, I stamped the spider web image from the Boo stamp set using orange dye ink.  Using the Pinked Elle-ments die set, I die cut a pinked edge banner from black card stock and stamped and heat embossed the Boo sentiment.  I attached the banner to the cards with some adhesive and a tiny staple. 

Finally, with a craft knife, I cut a slit in the center of the spider web and inserted a black plastic spider ring.  I was able to pick up a pack of 30 rings at Five Below for a dollar, so these are super affordable favors.  You could also stamp a message on the back of the card and have your child sign his or her name- like Valentines, only scarier. :)

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

Katie

Happy Halloween {Take 2 Thursday}

Hello!

Happy Take 2 Thursday!  This week, my friend Lindsay Amrhein and I are playing with the Underground Card Kit from Studio Calico.  Since it's Halloween Week on the old blog, I simply had to make a Halloween card:

I die cut a panel of white cardstock with a stitched rectangle die and stamped the fronts and backs of the circles and pumpkins in assorted ink shades of quartz, rust, apricot and cantaloupe.   Next I added the stems and faces to the pumpkins with black ink.  

I stamped the sentiment and then adhered the stamped panel onto a kraft card base.  I really love how all the silly pumpkin faces turned out!  So much fun! 

That's all for me today- be sure to stop by Lindsay's blog to see what she created with this fun kit. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Classroom Treat Bags {Halloween Week}

Hello friends!

It's Halloween week at Stamping Lightly, and I am sharing easy ideas for adding a special touch to your Halloween tricks and treats.  Today- it's all about the class parties and at our elementary school, they are always looking to a generous parent or two to bring in goody bags or take home treats for the kids to enjoy after the party.  Treat bags x 20+ kids can add up pretty quickly, but by dressing up simple and small paper bags, your treats can be the hit of the party without breaking the bank.

Level one- add some stamping or drawing to a small white paper bag.  This couldn't be easier- just stamp or draw a skeleton face or even a ghost with black ink.  Fill the bag with some candy and you are good to go!

Level two- stamping and a few accents.  While you could stamp or draw a pumpkin face on any orange bag, I decided to add a few accents in the form of a stem and leaf.  While a few more steps are involved, it's still simple and easy to mass produce.  

Here are the bags together- aren't they cute?  

Supplies: 

• Stamps: Halloween Sweets and Treats (Papertrey Ink); Modern Leaves (Avery Elle)
• Bags: Micheals (orange); Canvas Corp (white)
• Other: Black and green ink, brown and green card stock

Well, that's all for me today.  Thanks for stopping by and I will see you tomorrow for a super spooky edition of Take 2 Thursday!

Until then, 

Katie

Spooky Skeleton Treat Container {Halloween Week}

Hello friends,

Halloween Week is rolling on here on Stamping Lightly and today, I am sharing an oldie, but a goodie.  This project first appeared on the pages of Paper Crafts Magazine's September/October 2012 issue- it's still available here.

This is another idea for dressing up sweets and treats or even a small trinket and it couldn't be easier. I picked up a translucent take out box at Michaels and stamped the Skeleton face from Papertrey Ink's Halloween Sweets and Treats stamp set.  Stazon ink is a must for stamping on this slick surface.  I also placed my hand inside the box when I stamped to stabilize it.  I filled the box with crumpled white tissue paper so an extra spooky look.

I stamped the sentiment on an ordinary tag that I picked up from the office supply store and tied it to the handle along with some random bits of black and white ribbon.  I added a gray button to the tag as a finishing touch.

Well, that's it for me today!  Stop back tomorrow for a few more ideas for dressing up Halloween treats! 

Katie

Batty Candy Boxes {Halloween Week}

Hello friends!

Welcome to Halloween Week at Stamping Lightly!  Yes, I know that Halloween is NEXT week, but if you are anything like me, now is the time that I start thinking about what I need to do to celebrate Halloween with the kiddos (and their classes).

All week long, I will be sharing some ideas for Halloween Tricks and Treats- simple paper crafted projects that you can easily create to add a homemade touch to your Halloween celebrations. Although I typically make a lot of cards, Halloween is ALL about the candy, so today, I am sharing a simple idea to transform a candy box into a spooky sweet bat.

You will need: 

• Black card stock
• Candy Box punch board by We R Memory Keepers
• Halloween Sweets and Treats stamp set and coordinating mega dies by Papertrey Ink
• Versamark ink
• White embossing powder
• Score Tape 
• Black and White Baker's twine

I trimmed a piece of black card stock to 7" by 5".  Using the instructions included with the punch board, I punched and scored the card stock. 

Before assembling the box, I stamped and heat embossed the bat face with white embossing powder. 

I formed the candy box into a rectangle securing it with strong adhesive- red line tape or score tape works well for this. I tied one end of the box closed with baker's twine and added a few small pieces of candy to the box before tying the other end of the box closed.  

I die cut the bat ears using the coordinating dies from the Mega Halloween Treats and Sweets die set, added a thin line of glue and inserted the ears into the seams of the box.  If you don't have these dies, you could also cut simple triangles from card stock and use them for the ears.  Likewise, If you don't have the Halloween Treats and Sweets stamp set, you can improvise with any small circle stamps or even google eyes and a white gel pen to draw the mouth.  You can make two of these batty treat boxes from one 8.5 x 11 pieces of black card stock making these cutie boxes easy and pretty economical as well. 

Well that's all for me today, but I will be back tomorrow with some more ideas for Halloween treats. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Frankenstein Treat Bag {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hello, hello!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  It's been rainy and chilly here in Northeast Ohio- perfect fall weather for staying inside and getting my craft on.  :) Today starts another Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge and this week is Anything Goes.  I was channelling my inner Dr. Frankenstein when I created my project this week and fashioned a monster from Paper Smooches dies.

I started with one of those cute kraft gift bags that are 3 for $1.00 at the craft store (in this case, Hobby Lobby), and I covered it with some fun polka dot paper from my stash.  Next, I die cut a tag from white card stock using the Tag Stitched Die and I die cut and adhered Boo from the Halloween Icon Dies. I tied the tag to the bag handle using some black and white baker's twine. 

I used a bunch of Paper Smooches dies to create my monster face. I put together the graphic below to show which dies were used where.  A list of the dies I used and links to the Paper Smooches store is below. 

What I love about projects like this is that they truly show how versatile dies can be when a little imagination is used.

Paper Smooches Products used: 

Halloween Icon Dies

School Icon Dies

Stitched Dies

Tag Stitched Die 

Cardbooking Dies

Ornament Dies 

Quote Tag Dies 

Borders 1 Dies

Mini Monogram stamp set

I added black enamel dots to create the eye irises and I adhered the nose with a bit of foam tape.  If you have any questions about how I created the Frankenstein's monster, just leave me a comment and I will get back to you. :)

Ready to play?  You know the routine!   You have until 11:59 PT on Saturday, October 25th to link up your take on this week's challenge to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog for a chance to win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Paper Smooches store. Woot woot!  

Be sure to check out the amazing inspiration from the other members of the SPARKS design team playing along with this week's challenge: 

Larissa Heskett
Lori Tecler
Lynn Mangan
Savannah O'Gwynn

I can't wait to see what you create!
Thanks for stopping by!
Katie

Season's Greetings {Avery Elle}

Hello friends, 

I am on the Avery Elle blog today with a card I created using the Season's Greetings die. 

I trimmed a panel of Silver Fox card stock and stamped the birch tree image from Let it Snow with Avery Elle's Silver Fox and Pure White pigment ink.

I die cut Season's Greeting from some pretty gold card stock and I adhered it to the stamped panel. I attached the panel to a white card base.  Finally, I trimmed a rectangle of white card stock at an angle and adhered it over the stamped panel with foam tape. I just love the gold card stock against the gray background- it's subtle, but so pretty.

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

Katie

Give Thanks {Waffle Flower Crafts}

Hello friends,

Earlier this month, Waffle Flower Crafts released the Holiday Labels- Give Thanks stamp set.  With our Canadian friends celebrating Thanksgiving yesterday, I thought it was the perfect time to ink up this set and create a trio of thankful cards.

I started with a panel of white cardstock and lightly traced a swooping line with my pencil.  Next I stamped the leaves and acorns from the Holiday Labels- Give Thanks stamp set.  Once the larger shapes were in place, I stamped the small set of leaves that were a part of the 'Give Thanks' sentiment.  I performed a bit of stamp surgery to separate them from the sentiment. I also added a few dots from the Feather More stamp set.  Finally, I erased the pencil lines and stamped the sentiment in brown ink. I matted the stamped panel on a piece of patterned paper and adhered it to the card base. 

This design is super easy for mass production, so I made a few more. 

On a gray patterned paper mat with bright green leaves. 

Same ink colors as above matted with yellow patterned paper.  (And no, your eyes are not playing trick on you, I made a trimming error, so the yellow card is 4 x 5.5".  I am hoping the recipient will not notice.) ;o)

Here are the three cards- all stamped out and ready to go!  

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

Katie

You are in my prayers {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hello all, 

It's time for another Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.  This week, we are inspired by a gorgeous floral monogram on a woodgrain background and here's my take: 

I pulled out the beautiful floral stamp set, Calico and stamped a cluster of flowers and leaves.  The sentiment is from Spiritual Sampler stamp set.  I chose to stamp it in brown ink to add a darker element to the top of the card. 

I adhered a strip of woodgrain patterned paper from my stash and tied on a bit of twine as a nod to the twine suspending the floral letter in the inspiration photo.  

Here's a look at this week's inspiration photo:

Ready to play?  You know the routine!   You have until 11:59 PT on Saturday, October 18 to link up your take on this week's challenge to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog for a chance to win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Paper Smooches store.  

Be sure to check out the amazing inspiration from the other members of the SPARKS design team playing along with this week's challenge: 

Larissa Heskett
Lori Tecler
Lynn Mangan
Savannah O'Gwynn

I can't wait to see what you create!  

Thanks for stopping by!
Katie

A Waffle Flower Winner- Stay Focused Planner Blog Hop

Hello!  

Just popping in quickly tonight to announce the winner of the Waffle Flower Craft's Planner- Stay Focused stamp set from last week's planner hop.  

The lucky winner is comment 116 from Halina!

 Halina said...

Thank you so much for the great ideas!!

October 7, 2014 at 2:26 AM 

Congratulations Halina!  Please send me an email at scrappy_diva@yahoo.com and let me know your mailing address.  I will get it right over to Nina and she can get your stamp set mailed out to you!

I was so overwhelmed by all the comments and participation on my post for the hop, and I was so pleased that many people found an idea or two that they could see adopting as their own.  We all want to lead fulfilling lives and wear many hats to make that happen.  Of course there are always surprises along the way, but planning helps organize the chaos so that we can envision what each day holds while we strive to make the most of each and every day.   In case you missed the hop- you can get started here. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Katie

Fun with Alice and Friends {Avery Elle}

Hellloooo and Happy Friday!

I am up today on the Avery Elle blog with something a little bit different- milk and cookies meets Alice in Wonderland.  Check it...

When I saw the darling Alice and Friends stamp set and coordinating dies designed by the ever-amazing JJ Bolton, I thought that they would be perfect for creating and personalizing decor for an Alice in Wonderland party.  Trouble is, I am fresh out of party occasions, so I had to go with the next best thing... a super special after school snack! 

I wrapped a couple dairy jars that I picked up at Michaels with a band that I created from the Sorbet patterned paper pad.  I cut a 6x6 page into 2"strips.  You will need 1 and a half strips to go around the jar.  I was just careful to hide the seams in the back. ;)

I die-cut and stamped the Alice and White Rabbit images on white card stock.  I colored the images using Copic markers then adhered them to a white oval that I matted with a black scalloped oval. Using foam tape, I attached them to the bands. 

I die cut two of the small rectangle tags from the Alice Tags Elle-ments collection from Sea Glass cardstock.  I stamped 'drink me' and the scroll image in opposite corners and slide them on a couple polka dot paper straws. I was thrilled to find out that the small tags in the Alice Tag die collection fit the circumference of paper straws perfectly!  (I *may* have a small addiction to paper straws and this opens up a whole new world of possibilities for me- no rabbit holes needed!)

To fancy up the small cake stand of homemade chocolate chip cookies (yes, I baked, my daughters about fainted with delight), I wrapped the stand with some polka dot ribbon and tied on an tag.  This tag was created with the large rectangle tag die.  I stamped the scroll in all four corners and stamped 'eat me' the sentiment on the scrolled banner included in the set.

Here's one more look at the Alice treats.  All ready for two hungry girls.  

Well that's all for me today!  Thank you so much for stopping by! 

Katie

A Cute Little Christmas {Take 2 Thursday and Paper Smooches}

Hello!

Happy Thursday!  Lindsay Amrhein and I are back today with another Take 2 Thursday.

This week we are using the darling Holly Jolly stamp set from Paper Smooches.  Holly Jolly was the Thanks A Million set that Paper Smooches offered for free(!) with a $60.00 purchase in September.  Of course, it is also available to purchase in the store in case you would still like to add it to your collection.  :) The set features tons of builder images for trimming the tree and decking the halls and here's my take: 

So this is a bit more rustic than I have been creating of late, but there is just something about a rustic holiday scene that makes me feel all cozy... like flannel jammies curled up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa cozy.  I started with a panel of rustic cream card stock and stamped the pine branches in Hero Arts Field Greens ink.  Next I stamped clusters of berries using WPlus9's Cranberry Crush ink and the sentiment in Hero Arts Cup of Joe ink. 

I inked the edges of the cream panel, and attached the card to a kraft card base.  However, I still felt like the card was missing a little something-something, so I pulled out a supply I haven't used in a LLLLLOOOONNNNGGGG time...  

That's right friends... JT is bringing sexy back, Meghan Trainor is bringing booty back, and I am bringing twine back (except, I'm not sure that it left to begin with...).  I even left the twine tails long and twirly for good measure. 

So now you need to go see what my talented friend Lindsay created with this same set.  I know you are in for a real treat. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have an awesome day!

Katie

Planner Stay Focused Blog Hop {Waffle Flower Crafts}

Hello friends,

Welcome to the Planner - Stay Focused Blog Hop! We have invited some of our planner friends, along with our own Waffle Flower design team, to bring you a fun hop about planners! Some of us are hard-core planner nerds, and some of us have just started. We all have one thing in common, as well as many of you who are reading this post, we are juggling between many roles in life and we want to play them all well. Family is as important as our personal achievement. How do we stay focused?

The main purpose of the hop is to share tips on using a planner to help us get things done so we can spend more time with our loved ones or just playing.

We will be featuring our brand new stamp set called Planner - Stay Focused in the hope that planning can become part of your life if it is not already. No matter how you organize your life, we hope you can find or make something that will work for you to makes things go even smoother.

2014 was the first year in a very long time that I didn't purchase a planner.  I recently acquired a small tablet and decided that digital was the way to go.  It worked pretty well for me for a few months.  I used Google Calendar to track all my submission and Design Team commitments.  I used a calendar connected to my email at work to track all my business appointments.  To do lists were scribbled on post-it notes, index cards, and occasionally the note function on my phone- it was really all over the place, but somehow, I was making it work.

Something happened though at the beginning of this school year. My daughters are in 1st and 5th grades and are becoming more and more involved in school activities.  I had one too many occasions of double booking a child or waking up in a cold sweat trying to remember if I had volunteered to help at a Girl Scout function and whether that would conflict with Sunday School and Cheerleading Practice, that I decided to go back to a paper planner.

After some research and a recommendation from a friend, I ended up selecting the Happy Stripes Life Planner by Erin Condren.

Production and shipping took about 3 weeks.  I seriously thought I might die in the meantime, but I was SO HAPPY when my new planner showed up on my doorstep last week. 

So I am just getting my feet wet again with the planner-thing, but so far, I am in LOVE and the Planner-Stay Focused stamps from Waffle Flower Crafts has made setting up and personalizing my planner even more fun.  Here's a peek inside my real life planner and process. 

Each tabbed month starts off with a two page spread.  I started by noting some of the events- football games, Girl Scout Meetings, Parent/Teacher Conferences, etc...  I also used the stamps included in the Planner-Stay Focused Stamp Set to mark dates for blog posts and other crafty due dates.

After the month at a glance pages, each week has its own two page spread.  Each day is separated into Morning- Day- and Night; however, I am using the top row for Work, the middle row for Family/Kids and the bottom row for my crafty assignments, goals and commitments.  My plan is to take a few minutes each Friday to start thinking about the coming week and filling in the details. 

Each week has a column for Goals and Notes.  I used the Planner- Stay Focused stamp set to add the Work and Personal headers and to add the darling checkboxes to the lines.  There is just something so gratifying about a checkbox.  I love marking things off! 

For this upcoming week, I am trying something a little different with adding a "Due Today" spot at the bottom of each day.  More checkboxes makes me a happy gal!  I am only a few weeks back into "paper planner mode" and already I feel better.  I make sure to check my planner throughout the day to keep me on track with my deliverables and to dos, and at night, I am sleeping soundly once more.

Hop Prize: (The giveaway is now closed)

To celebrate the release of all these amazing planner stamp sets, Waffle Flower Craft will be giving away all 5 of the new planner sets to one Grand Prize Winner. The winner will be drawn from comments left on all of our blogs and announced on Waffle Flower Crafts Blog on Friday, October 10.

I will also be awarding a Planner: Stay Focused Stamp Set to one of my readers.  Just leave a comment to enter.  Don't forget to follow Waffle Flower Crafts on Instagram, Facebook and their blog for even more inspiration (and prizes)! 

Here is a list of the other amazing crafters participating in the Planner Stay Focused Hop:

Waffle Flower Blog 

Jennifer McGuire 

Joni Andaya 

Patricia Roebuck 

Katie Gehring - you are here :)

Candi Billman 

Lorena Canto 

Kristina Werner 

Suzanne Dahlberg 

Debby Hughes 

I know this has been a post of epic length, so thanks for sticking with me.  I hope some of these tips and advice shared on the hop today provide you with some useful ideas that you can apply to your own life.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie