We Wish You a Merry Christmas card {PS SPARKS}

Happy Sunday friends!

I hope that you are having a lovely holiday weekend.  My No{work}vember is sadly coming to a close, and I head back to the office on tomorrow, but it's been wonderful having some time off for a Walt Disney World vacation with the family and another week to recover from the vacation because let's face it, WDW with two girls is not really a vacation.  

Whilst recovering, I found some time to make a simple, but colorful Christmas card for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.   Since there are 5 Sundays in November, we have a bonus Anything Goes challenge this month and here's my card: 

On a white card stock panel, I stamped the evergreen boughs from the Holly Jolly stamp set in Mint Julep (Hero Arts), Limeade Ice (PTI) , and Emerald City (SC) ink.  

Next, I added the berry clusters with Sweet Gelato (W+9) ink. To make the berry branches, I stamped a few of the twigs and stems from the Botanicals 1 stamp set in Cranberry Crush ink (W+9) and added the berries with one of the small circles included in the Holly Jolly stamp set. 

I added a few green dots with Emerald City ink and a couple yellow stars with Sunny Days (SC) ink to balance it out a bit before stamping the greeting with black ink.  The greeting and the small stars both came from A Holy Holiday stamp set.   I matted the stamped panel on black card stock and attached it to a white card stock base. 

Are you ready to play along?  Link up your take on this week's challenge to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog by Saturday, December 6 at 11:59 p.m. PST.  In order to be eligible for prizes and recognitions, Paper Smooches stamps and dies should be the main focus of your project. As always, the challenge winner will receive a $30.00 gift certificate to the Paper Smooches store!  

Please be sure to check out the Anything Goes creations of the PS SPARKS team playing along with this week's challenge:

Alice Wertz

Erin Taylor

Jenny Mullens

Katie Gehring

Lynn Mangan

Lori Tecler
Larissa Heskett

Savannah O'Gwynn

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

DIY Snow Globe Gift Card Holder {Avery Elle}

Hello friends, 

I am over on the Avery Elle blog today sharing an idea for a DIY Snow Globe and Gift Card Holder using the Be Jolly stamp set designed by my teammate, Heather Campbell.  

I love the mason jar snow globe projects I have been seeing both online and on stationary, so I decided to try my hand at making one with the cutie snowman from the Be Jolly set and make it a gift card holder as well. 

To make this project you will need: 

• Be Jolly stamp set and coordinating Elle-ment die by Avery Elle
• Alice Tag die Elle-ments by Avery Elle
• Wide mouth Mason Jar
• Black, Red and Pale Blue ink
• Copic Markers- I used E29, BG10, BG13, YR18 and a Colorless Blender to add polka dots to the hat and scarf
• 2 binder clips
• Foam Tape
• Strong glue- I used Aleene's Tacky Glue, but a hot glue gun would work too. 
• Pillow/plush Stuffing
• Chunky glitter
• Ribbon

Below is a step-by step for assembling the snow globe: 

1. Stamp and die cut snowman.  Color with markers. Die cut a second snowman shape, but do not stamp or color this die cut. 2. Attach snowman die cuts to both sides of a binder clip.  I used craft glue, but you could do it with any strong adhesive or even a bit of washi tape.  3. Use foam tape to attach front and back of snowman shape together. 4. Attach gift card to second binder clip and using craft strong adhesive (hot glue gun works too), adhere the flat side of the binder clips to the jar lid. 5. Apply more glue and adhere a bit of pillow/plush stuffing to the lid to cover the binder clip. 6. Add a tablespoon of chunky glitter to the jar.  

Once the adhesive is dry-and it's VERY IMPORTANT that everything is dry and secured to the lid- insert the lid in the ring, and screw the lid to the jar. Turn the jar upside down and shake the glitter to distribute.  

As a finishing touch, I die cut a rectangle tag included in the Alice Tag Die Collection and stamped Warm Wishes along with some small flakes also included in the Be Jolly stamp set.  

I tied the tag to the jar with a bit of red and white polka dot ribbon.

And voila!  All wrapped up and ready to go for gifting fun.  One last tip: To avoid making a mess of the glitter when your recipient opens the globe to retrieve the gift card, you may want to mention that the snow globe should be turned upside down so all the glitter falls to the bottom of the jar. 

Well that's all for me today!  Please let me know if you have any questions.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie 

Nuts About You {Take 2 Thursday}

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving to my US friends!

Today my pal, Lindsay, and I are sharing another rendition of Take 2 Thursday and this week we are playing along with Studio Calico's November card kit.  Here's my take:

Even though acorns are very much a fall icon, I went for a non-traditional color scheme with the black, glass slipper and clean slate ink. 

I added a cluster of leaves, small "Xs" that were included in the October card kit stamp set and small dots at the top of the stamped panel.  I stamped the sentiment in black and adhered one of the wood veneer hearts included in the card kit.  Once the panel was completed, I adhered it to a gray card stock base.  

Here's a look at the November card kit- Walden- just in time for the December kit reveal!  

Be sure to stop by Lindsay's blog today to check out her take using the kit.  I know it will be amazing! 

Edited to add: So Lindsay sent me a note to advise that she is running a bit behind today with her post.  Something about a turkey and not ruining the holiday for her family-LOL! Her post will be a delayed, but you should stop by her blog anyways because it's awesome!   It's up now!  Go see and enjoy! :)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Katie

DIY Desktop Calendar {Waffle Flower Crafts}

Hello friends,

The holidays are upon us, and today I am sharing a gift idea and the how-to for making a cute and compact desktop calendar using Waffle Flower Craft's Planner and Calendar stamps sets.

To get started you will need:

• 6 x 6 patterned paper pad- I used the Everyday 6 x 6 pad by American Crafts
• 2-3 sheets of cream or white card stock
• Small wooden easel- found in the wood craft aisle at JoAnn's for $1.99
• Ink
• 3/4" Circle Punch
• Surface-Tag Die- Starter Kit
• Waffle Flower Craft's Calendar stamp set, Planner Add-on Weather 1 and Planner Add-on Weather 2 stamp sets, Planner: Stay Focused stamp set
• Other Waffle Flower Crafts small image stamps- see details below

First I trimmed the patterned paper to 3 x 3" squares.  This means that you can make 4 calendar sheets from 1 6 x 6" piece of patterned paper. Next I die cut 12 rectangles from the Surface- Tag Die- Started kit from cream card stock and trimmed the rectangle length to 2".  Save the scrap that you trim off from each rectangle as you can use that a bit later on.
 

Next, I determined which month would go on each piece of patterned paper and using the Calendar stamp set, I stamped the month and dates on the trimmed tag die cuts.  If a month had fewer than 31 days, I used a moistened cotton swab to wipe away the ink from the extra dates as needed.  I had a 2015 calendar handy for reference when I was completing this step.



Remember those tag scraps?  This is where I put them to use, I went through my Waffle Flower stamps collection and stamped small images representative of each month on the tag scraps and used a 3/4" circle punch to punch them out.

For reference, I put together a list of the stamp sets I used for each month:

• January: Snowflake from Planner Add-on: Weather 1 stamp set
• February: Heart from Loved stamp set
• March: Kite from Planner Add-on: Weather 2 stamp set
• April: Rabbit from Tribal Thank You stamp set
• May: Flower and Stem from Loved stamp set
• June: Sun from Planner Add-on: Weather 1 stamp set
• July: Ice Cream Cone from Planner Add-on: Weather 2 stamp set
• August: Jar and Bugs from Riverside stamp set
• September: Checklist from Planner: Stay Focused stamp set
• October: Raven from Tribal Thank You stamp set
• November: Coffee Cup from Planner Add-on: Weather 2 stamp set
• December: Gift from A Homemade Christmas stamp set

I adhered the calendar and the month icon to the patterned paper, stacked them on the easel and admired the cute:

These were a cinch to put together and would make a perfect holiday gift for your coworkers.  

Speaking of gifts, Nina has created two Holiday Gift set bundles perfect for gifting to your crafty friends or adding to your own holiday wish list: The Die Bundle and The Gift Wrapping Bundle.

You can read about what's included in these bundles as well as cut offs for holiday shipping times in her blog post here. 

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

Katie

With Gratitude {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hello friends, 

It's time for another Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge! This week is a Designer Draft or a sketch challenge. 

Confession time:  I have to admit that this sketch got the best of me... hangs head in shame...so I simplified the sketch- a lot and here's what I came up with:

I stamped two of the large leaves from Leafy Greens onto a cream card stock panel.  These leaves are taking the place of the squares on the sketch.  Next I added the sentiment from Chit Chat in brown ink.  After I stamped it, I thought about stamping it on a banner- ala the sketch, but I decided to leave it as is. 

I felt that the card was a little too simple, so I added the stitched die lines from the Stitched die set and adhered the stamped panel onto a piece of woodgrain patterned paper before attaching it to a cream card base.  

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

Ready to play? You know the routine! You have until 11:59 PT on Saturday, November 29, 2014 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!  

Well that's all for me today!  Be sure to check out inspiration from the awesome members of the Paper Smooches SPARKS team playing along with this week's challenge:

Larissa Heskett
Lori Tecler
Lynn Mangan
Savannah O'Gwynn

Thanks for stopping by! 

Katie

Time to Soar {Avery Elle}

Hello!  

I am still on my mini-bloggy break, but I am popping in because I wanted to share a card that is being featured on the Avery Elle blog today.   A few weekends ago, I had a crafty retreat with my girlfriends and I had the opportunity to try a few techniques that don't get a lot of "play" in my day to day card making- like watercoloring.  

I stamped the sentiment and feather from Avery Elle's Look Up stamp set with Ranger's Black Archival ink on a piece of watercolor paper.  Next, I smooshed some yellow, green and blue dye ink onto an acrylic block and added the ink and lots of water to the feather images.  

I die cut the watercolor panel using the Finished Frame dies (love those!) and adhered it to a black mat.  I attached the card front to a white card stock card base.  Finally, I added a few enamel dots to the panel to balance it out.

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

Katie

Stuff, news, a card and {CASE}ing Genius

Hello friends,

Can you hear that?  (crickets chirping) I am taking a much needed mini blogging break until around Thanksgiving.  Now I have managed to work ahead a bit, so I will still be sharing projects here and there, and this blog with be a much more happening place towards the end of the month. :)

In the meantime, while I am recharging my batteries, there is lots to share, so I thought I would pop in with a quick update.  On Thursday, I received an email that stopped me in my tracks.  Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking magazine will be ceasing publication after their February issue.

The above picture is of the December 2014 issue- see that card in the bottom right- that one is mine.  I was lucky enough to be selected as a December Cover Girl!

I am an introvert by nature, so I have spent the past 72 hours processing this information.  After all that thinking, I still don't have the words to accurately or adequately describe what I am thinking and feeling about this.  So for now, I would just like to say that my thoughts are with the Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking editorial team- Jennifer, Kerri, Susan, Holly, Stacy, Melinda and Matt.  While change is never easy, I have faith that great things lie ahead for each of them.  They have been a pleasure to work with over the past 3 years, and I will miss both them and my beloved magazine dearly.

Since magazines work so far in advance, many issues into 2015 were planned out, projects selected, typed up and sent in.  Here is a card I made which was slated to appear in the March 2015 issue.

The call was for baby cards- inspired by children's literature.  Can you guess which book inspired my card?  The monster cut file is from the Silhouette online store and the sentiment was stamped using Milo's ABCs by Lawn Fawn. 

Finally, before I go, I wanted to share that I am being featured this week on Kelly Latevola's {Case}ing Genius series. 

Living in NE Ohio, I am lucky to live near some card makers with some seriously mad crafty skillz... some of these gals are "known" out and about in blogland and some prefer to be a bit off the radar. We get together at my church for a day of crafty fun about once a month.  Earlier this summer, Kelly popped by, and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to meet and connect with her- she is one amazing lady and card maker.  

I was so flattered when she approached me a few weeks ago about being the subject of her Caseing Genius series.  If you have a moment today, please stop by Kelly's blog, You and Your Big Dreams, to learn a bit more about me- including  fascinating tidbits like who I would like to play me in a movie,  AND more importantly to see Kelly's AMAZING CASE on one of the inspiration cards I sent her way.  I haven't seen the project yet, but if it was made by Kelly, it will be STUNNING. :) 

Alrightly, that's all for me for now- back to relaxing. :)  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Peace on Earth Globe Card {Avery Elle}

Hello friends and happy Friday!

I am over on the Avery Elle blog today with a card I made using Avery Elle's Joy to the World stamp set.

On a piece of white card stock, I adhered a green dot strip from the Every Day patterned paper collection.  Next, I stamped the globe stand with gray ink.  On a separate piece of white card stock, I stamped and heat embossed the globe with gold embossing powder.  I die cut the globe using the coordinating Joy to the World Elle-ments dies and adhered it to the stand.  Lastly, I added the garland and berry image to the globe.  

It's a super simple card, but I really love the gold embossed globe- it's so pretty!  

Well, that's all for me today. Be sure to stop over at the Avery Elle blog and see the amazing card that my teamie Karolyn Loncon made for you today as well! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Katie

12 Days of Gift Giving with Waffle Flower Crafts

Hello friends,

It's Day 8 of the 12 days of Gift Giving at Waffle Flower Crafts, and I am just popping in today to let you know that I am on the Waffle Flower Crafts blog today with an idea for dressing up my go-to gift for the holidays- that's right, the gift card!

I would LOVE for you to stop by and see my project.  You can check out my post here. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Happy Thanksgiving Card {Avery Elle}

Hey, hey everyone! 

Happy Friday!  I am up on the Avery Elle blog today with a Thanksgiving Card using the new Seasonal Sentiments and Fabulous Florals stamp sets. 

First I die cut a panel of Speckled card stock using the large Finished Frames Elle-ments die.  Next, I stamped the acorn from Seasonal Sentiments and built a wreath around him using the flowers and leaves from the Fabulous Florals stamp set. 

The branches were created by stamping some of the stems and leaf veins included in the set with brown ink.  I also got a little crazy and did a "rock and roll" technique on the yellow/orange leaf.    I finished the acorn by die-cutting Papaya card stock into a cute little bow and adhering it to the acorn top.  The bow is also included in the Finished Frames die set.  Finally, I adhered the completed panel to a kraft card base. 

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

Katie

Lettuce Celebrate {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Greetings crafty friends!

Happy Sunday!  Today starts another Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge, and this week, Anything Goes!  My card uses the Calorie Free stamp set and coordinating dies plus the Polaroid die set. 

 I made a card from white card stock and covered it with a panel of patterned paper. Next I die cut the polaroid from white card stock and stamped the sentiment from Calorie Free.  I die cut the frame insert from brown card stock and stamped and die cut the lettuce on green card stock.  To make him party-ready, I created a little party hat using orange card stock and a small white pom-pom.  Finally, I stamped his face using the smiley face included in the Spectrum stamp set and added a few enamel dots for a fun confetti look. 

Ready to play?  You know the routine.  Make a project showcasing you favorite Paper Smooches stamps and dies and link it up to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog by 11:59 PST on November 8.  The challenge winner will get a $30.00 Paper Smooches gift card!  Woo hoo!  

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

Katie