Just a Note {Avery Elle}

Hi folks!

Happy Friday!  I am on the Avery Elle blog today with a card I made using the new Just a Note Elle-ment die set.  

I die cut the banner card from Avery Elle's Aquamarine, Fizz, Mimosa and Sapphire card stock. I arranged the banners on a panel of white card stock.  Next, I die cut "just a note" from gold card stock and adhered it to the panel. 

I adhered the completed panel to a card base made from Sapphire card stock.  That little extra strip of the Sapphire card base at the bottom?  That was a mistake- apparently, I couldn't recall that card bases were 4.25 x 5.5 and I cut the panel of white card stock a bit too short, but I thought the asymmetry looked cool, so I left it.  

Well, that's all for me today.  Be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog for even more inspiration from my talented teamie, Karolyn Loncon.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie 

You're a gem {Take 2 Thursday}

Hello, hello friends,

Happy Thursday!  Lindsay and I are back today with another Take 2 Thursday.  This week we are using the Poet Society Card Kit from Studio Calico.  I have been a Studio Calico subscriber for 7 months now, and I have to say that the stamp set included in the September kit is hands down one of my favorites- jewels, banners, a fancy font and sentiments for a variety of occasions- what's not to love?!  Anyway, here's my take with the kit:

I made a card from white card stock.  Next I die cut a circle from a panel of 4.25 x 5.5" white card stock.  I aligned the die cut panel with the card front and used a pencil to trace the circle on my card.  I stamped the sentiment first in black ink. 

Next, for the gems and jewels, I employed the "two step stamping with one step stamp" technique.  In other words, I inked up and stamped the back side of the stamp before stamping the lined image on top.  This technique works well with almost any symmetrical stamp.  I am not great at coloring, so this allows me a fast and easy way to get some color to my lined images.   

Once I stamped the larger images, I filled in the design with a few of the smaller gems and stars.  I erased the pencil line and adhered the die cut panel to the card with foam tape. 

Here's a look at the Poet Society kit: 

That's all for me today, but please be sure to visit Lindsay's blog to see what she created with this kit.  I know it will be amazing! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Hello, You are Fabulous {AE Challenge}

Hello friends!  

Welcome Friday and welcome to another Avery Elle I {heart} U challenge.  This week's challenge is Clean and Simple also known as CAS.  Here's my take:

I recently picked up the Hello stamp set.  It's one of Avery Elle's earlier releases and it's been on my wish list for some time.  I just think the name label is so stinkin' clever.  And where do name labels belong?  On a shirt, of course and in this case, a V-neck!  

I made a card from a white card stock and covered it with a panel of skin tone card stock- in this case, I used Blush Blossom card stock from Stampin' Up.  Next I used the angled die from the Custom Panel Elle-ments die to cut a V in a piece of green card stock.  

I adhered the green card stock to the card.  I stamped the "Hello You are" label with blue ink and "fabulous" with black ink.  I trimmed the label and adhered it to the "shirt."  Finally, I stamped the smiley face included in the Hello set on yellow card stock, punched it out and adhered it to the label.  

Well that's it for me today. Be sure to stop by the AEI{heart}U blog for even more inspiration from the design team and to link up your take on this week's challenge.  I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

BIG, HUGE, EXCITING NEWS + giveaway!!!

Hello friends, :)

Today I am a 

(happy camper)!  

I finally get to share the secret that I have been carrying around for what seems like a very, very long time.  About a month ago, I received an email from Jamie Gracz inviting me to join the Avery Elle Design Team.  You can read the announcement here. I am beyond thrilled, excited and all those other adjectives for happy.  I remember finding Avery Elle shortly after their launch in 2012 and falling in love with the bold, modern, trendy, and sweet designs, not to mention the amazing cardstock, fabulous ink and gorgeous ribbons!  

Jamie and the team have been hard at work creating some amazing products for the Fall Release that will be introduced this week.  I can't wait to show you some of what I have been working on!  My first post will be for this Thursday's new release blog hop.  After that, my projects will be featured on the Avery Elle blog on Fridays- the best day of the week just got better!  :) 

To celebrate this news, I have an extra Home Sweet Home set to giveaway today!  

Just leave me a comment and I will choose someone at random to win this set (one of my AE favs)! I will announce the winner on Saturday, September 6.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Katie

Cats Gone Wild {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hello friends,

I'm ba-ack! Last week, was a bit of a fail for me in terms of blogging.  I just couldn't bring myself to post anything at all.  After working on a few projects for a submission call, I was sort of tapped out creatively.  Do you ever feel that way? In addition, the girls headed back to school- I must have spent 2 hours solid labeling their school supplies and long hours at work kept me out of my crafty space most of the week.

I did find a few moments to put together a card for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.  Since there are 5 Sundays in August, this week is a BONUS Anything Goes challenge.  Yay!!

I love combining Paper Smooches sets to create little scenes.  This card will be the first in a series called "Cats Gone Wild."  So here's the set up... Oscar the cat, spied his favorite "wet food" can in the grocery bag and decided to dive bomb the bag and help himself.  Can any other cat owners relate?

The kitty is from the Nine Lives stamp set which also features coordinating dies.   He's peeking out of a shopping bag that I created from kraft cardstock and the versatile Shopping Bag Die.  I used the can image from Market Fresh as the kitty food, but I stamped the fish image from Nine Lives on the can before coloring it and cutting it out.

The sentiment is from Slang Gang- I just LOVE that sassy set and it seemed to be a suitable reaction to kitty's antics!

Ready to play?  You know the routine!   You have until 11:59 PT on Saturday, September 6 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: 

Katie Gehring

Lynn Mangan

Lori Tecler

Alice Wertz

Erin Taylor

Jenny Mullens

Savannah O'Gwynn

That's all for me today, but I will be back tomorrow to share some exciting news!
Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Sending Good Vibes {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

Last week on the Moxie Fab World blog, Teri Anderson shared this picture.

Just for fun, I decided to make a card inspired by this watercolor van.  First I sprayed a watercolor panel with water and applied some distress inks allowing the colors to swirl and run. 

After allowing the panel to dry, I stamped the van and surf board from Avery Elle's Surf's Up.  The sentiment is from Sending You. 

I adhered the stamped watercolor panel to an aquamarine card base. 

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

Katie

Tribal Cats {Paper Smooches}

Howdy friends and Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend!  Mine was spent running around getting these kiddos ready to start school at the end of the month with a little crafty time thrown in- so it was just about perfect. ;)

I am continuing my mission to put to use previously uninked stamp sets, affectionately referred to as "A Month of Neglect" and today, I have a card that uses 2 of such sets- Paper Smooches Tri-balation and Feline Friends.

I adore the fun patterns Kim designed for the Tri-balation set and I think I was "saving" it for the perfect design inspiration or occasion.  One of the lessons I am learning through the Month of Neglect is not to horde crafty supplies in anticipation of perfect- perfect rarely happens.  (truth)

So I just inked it up and stamped the borders with some Hero Arts inks (Lime Green, Soft Apricot, Tide Pool and Soft Granite).  Next I decided the card needed a little something, so I added one of the cats from the Feline Friends set in black ink.

I die cut a Word Bubble and stamped the sentiment (also from Feline Friends) inside the bubble.  I love that the font has sort of a groovy, tribal feel to it. 

I added a few strips of orange card stock as a mat and adhered the stamped panel to an aquamarine card base.

Oh and before I go, I wanted to announce the winner of the $10.00 Waffle Flower Crafts gift certificate.  Random.org told me the winner was #2- Marcie S. Congrats Marcie!  I will be sending you an email! 

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

Katie

You Brighten My Day {Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge}

Hello and Happy Sunday!

I am popping in today with a card that I created for this week's Picture Perfect SPARKS Challenge.

I was inspired by the lamp and the rolls of washi tape from the inspiration photo to put together this card.  First I die cut the ray panel with my Silhouette Portrait and a piece of white card stock.  I used this cut file resized to 4.25" x 5.5".  Next I covered the ray cut outs with washi tape.  I used 4 types of washi from my stash and I tried to vary the tape pattern for more interest. 

For the focal point, I punched a circle with a 2" circle punch and stamped the lightbulb and sentiment from We Totally Click.  I colored the lightbulb with Copic markers and stamped the heart included in the set a few times with pink ink.  (Oh, and in case you are keeping track, this is another previously unused stamp set, so I am totally counting this towards my "Month of Neglect." Ok, I feel better now.)

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, August 16 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

S'MORE fun with you {Take 2 Thursday}

Hello friends!

Lindsay and I are back today with another Take 2 Thursday.  This week, we are using the Love You S'more set by Lawn Fawn.   When I purchased this set, I also picked to the coordinating dies, so using the stamps and dies, I created a little campfire scene. 

I die cut the animals, grass and campfire from scraps of cardstock and stamped the coordinating images. I thought about adding some shading with Copics, but decided to leave them as is. 

I adhered the die cuts to a 4 x 6 Project Life title card.  I die cut a stitched circle from white card stock and stamped the sentiment in black ink. 

Be sure to stop by Lindsay's blog to see what she designed with this stamp set.   

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

You're Bokeh Brilliant {A Month of Neglect}

Hello friends,

I am back today with another card in my Month of Neglect.  This card uses two previously uninked stamps from MFT Stamps- Bokeh Builder and Watt's Up.

I stamped the large circles from Bokeh Builder in Aqua, Pink, Yellow, Pale Blue and Pale Green inks on a panel of white card stock. Next I sponged some yellow and aqua ink on the edges of the card stock.   I noticed that the aqua and yellow ink sort of blended to a shade of green, but I just went with it.

I stamped the sentiment from Watt's Up in black ink and added a few clear sequins. The finished stamped panel was adhered to an aqua card stock base. 

Well that's it for me today!  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

We Must Ketchup {A Month of Neglect}

Hello and Happy Monday!

I am back today with another card to share today in my ongoing Month of (Stampy) Neglect.   This time I am using the Churros stamp set from Studio Calico.

I started with a kraft card base and covered the front with a piece of patterned paper.

I stamped the tomatoes in Hero Arts Fresh Peach ink and the blush circles in Sweet Gelato from W Plus 9 on a piece of white card stock. I added the stem leaves in Hero Arts Field Greens and the sentiments in Versafine Black Ink. 

I matted the stamped card stock on a piece of green card stock and adhered it to the card.

Well that another stamp set down and many, many more to go! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Katie

You are so cray cray {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hello and Happy Sunday!  

I am popping in today to share a card I made for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge. This week is a Designer Draft (sketch) challenge and here's my take: 

I started with an aquamarine card stock card base.  I stamped the Dippy Dots background stamp on a piece of Lemongrass card stock panel and adhered it to the card base. Next I trimmed a rectangle of adhesive cork and affixed it to the card at an angle. 

I die cut a piece of lined patterned paper with the  Notebook Scallop Die.  I stamped "you are so" from Chit Chat onto the notebook paper.  I die cut the crayons using the School Icon Die set.  For each crayon, I die cut the crayon twice using two shades of orange and pink card stock and trimmed the edges of the lighter card stock to create the wrapper. Using a ruler and a black pen I drew lines on the wrapper.  The push pin is also from the School Icon Die set. I stamped "cray" from Slang Gang onto the crayon labels and added the smiley face using the Market Fresh stamp set.  

Here's a look at this week's sketch: 

Ready to play? You have until 11:59 PT on August 2 to link up your take to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog! I can't wait to see what you create!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

A Pair of "Fancy" Cards {Waffle Flower Crafts}

Hello friends and Happy Tuesday,

I took a quick weekend trip down to Columbus, Ohio.  Columbus is about 2 hours south of where I live just a bit north of Akron, and on the way down, I must have heard Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" every 30 minutes (love Top 40 radio!).

Anyway, with that song firmly ingrained in my head, I decided to revisit the very fancy Waffle Flower Crafts Bowtiful and Bowtiful Additions stamp sets.

First up, and this one is for the guys, a dashing black tie card using Bowtiful Additions stamp set and Bowtiful die set.

I die cut a triangle pennant (Spellbinders) from white card stock and notched the corners.  Next, I adhered the pennant to a black cardstock rectangle.  Notice that the notched pennant extends past the top of the black rectangle.  I stamped the solid bow from the Bowtiful Additions stamp set on white card stock and die cut it using the larger Bowtiful dies.  I attached it to the card using foam tape.  

I stamped and heat embossed "Hey Handsome" also from the Bowtiful Additions stamp set on the black card stock. 

I added a few black pearls to the pennant to act as buttons.  Finally, I adhered the finished panel to a white card stock base. 

Next, a "fancy" card for the ladies using gray, cream and gold and the ever fabulous Bowtiful stamp set and Bowtiful dies. 

On a panel of gray card stock, I stamped the random star pattern repeatedly to create a background.  I kept rotating the stamp to keep the pattern truly random.  I adhered the gray panel to a cream card stock base.

I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment with gold powder on a cream card stock strip with an angled side.  I stamped and embossed the smaller bow and die cut it with the coordinating die.  The sentiment strip and bow were attached to the card with foam tape.  A few gold star sequins add just a bit more fancy to the card. 

This fancy card was also inspired by Waffle Flower's very first challenge for June/July.   There is a sketch challenge and a technique challenge.  You can check out all the details here and you have until July 25th to enter!

Here's a peek at the inspiration sketch: 

Good stuff, right?  Go check it out now. :) 

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

Katie

Sew Dang Cute {Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge}

Hey, hey everyone!

I hope you are having a great weekend!  I am popping by today to share the card I created for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge. This week is an Anything Goes challenge and continuing my personal quest to share the love and use among my stamps, I decided to use Needle Little Love on this week's card.

Before I found paper crafting, cross-stitch was my craft of choice, though I lacked the patience and follow-through to complete anything other than small samplers and the occasional Christmas ornament. Still Home Economics was one of my very favorite classes in middle school, so this set makes me all kinds of nostalgic for my bygone hobby.

I cut some squares from aida cloth (aka cross-stitch cloth) and trimmed the edges with some pinking shears that I held on to from my sewing days.  Next I stamped the sweet images from Needle Little Love on the squares.  I did some very simple masking with the thread spools and the flower in the bottom left corner.

I stamped the sentiment and couple small hearts from the set.  Then I added a strip of patterned paper and some twine topped off with a pretty button and a twine bow.

So now it's your turn! You have until 11:59 PT on Saturday, July 12 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

 

You Color My World Card {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hey everyone!

I hope you are having a splendid weekend!  Today starts another Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge. This week is a Picture Perfect Challenge and here is my take on the inspiration photo.

Seeing all those paint swatches on the wall made me think of paint so I die cut card stock with the wavy border from the Borders 1 die set.  I angled the die so that each color of card stock would create a point, then I nested them together and adhered them to a piece of white card stock. 

Next I stamped the paintbrush from the I Heart Art set and colored it in with Copic markers.  

I didn't want the sentiment to compete with the rainbow of cardstock and paintbrush (plus I was really digging the white space on the card, so I decided to stamp the "you color my world" sentiment from Headliners on vellum and adhere it towards the bottom of the card.  For narrow a strip of vellum like this, I ran it through my Xyron "X" sticker maker.  Because the entire vellum strip is covered with adhesive, the adhesive is not noticeable at all.  Finally, I adhered the completed panel on a kraft card base. 

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

{source}

Now it's your turn!! You have until 11:59 PT on Saturday, June 14 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