Dala Horse Hoop {Neat and Tangled}

Hello again,

I am guesting with Neat and Tangled this month and today Danielle is introducing Dala Horse.  Dala Horse speaks to my love of all things Scandinavian and using the set, I decided to create a little piece of home decor.

I stamped and die cut the Dala horse and colored him in with Copic markers.  I adhered the horse to a piece of patterned paper that I trimmed to fit inside an embroidery hoop.  I stamped Valkommen or "welcome" in Swedish on a banner and added a couple of the small flowers included in the set on either side of the sentiment. 

I glued the patterned paper to the embroidery hoop and tied a bow with a bit of twine.   I've got the perfect spot in mind for this sweet Dala horse.   

Well that's all for me today, but be sure to stop by the Neat and Tangled blog for even more new release previews and inspiration from the design team.  All of the products previewed this week will be available for purchase on Friday, March 13th. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Katie

Rise + Shine Card {Waffle Flower Crafts}

Hello friends,

For the better part of three months, we have been in a deep freeze in Northeast Ohio.  Subzero temperatures, arctic wind chills, epic snowfalls, and seven (7) calamity days (no school for the kiddos).  I haven't seen my lawn since late December and my lllooonngg driveway could double as a hockey rink.

All that's about to change, thankfully.  The spring thaw has begun, so I wanted to make a card in celebration of all things bright and sunny using Waffle Flower Craft's Rain Check stamp set and the Partly Cloudy die.

I covered a card with blue patterned paper and stamps the sun rays onto white card stock. 

TIP: For the gingham rays, I stamped the rays with a light colored pigment ink on the back of the patterned paper and trimmed them out. 

I adhered the rays to the card and added a yellow card stock circle cut with the Flower Circles die set. I just love the dotted detail on the Flower Circle die set. 

I stamped and die cut the clouds and stamped the sentiment on the clouds.  I adhered them to the card with a bit of foam tape. 

I am sooo ready for spring and I hope we see lots of bright, sunshiny days ahead!

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

It's a Banner Day! {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

I am over at the Avery Elle blog today with a card featuring the Bunting stamp set.

On a panel of white cardstock, I stamped the little half-circle banner in red, gray, peach and yellow ink- over and over until I filled the card front.  To help with placement, I lightly drew pencil lines spaced at 5/8", but I didn't worry too much if the pattern was perfectly straight.  I think it looks a little more whimsical when banners are askew. 

I adhered the stamped panel to a Fog card stock base and die cut a flag using the Dotted Elle-ments die set from Mimosa card stock.  I punched a circle from white card stock and stamped the sentiment with black ink. 

Be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog for even more inspiration! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

You + Me Card {Take 2 Thursday}

Hello friends, 

It's been a few weeks and Lindsay and I are back again today; this time with another edition of Take 2 Thursday.  This week, we are using the adorable Snow Day stamp set from Lawn Fawn. With the holidays behind us, I decided to use the tiny heart images included in the set and paired it with this sketch from Retro Sketches to make a clean and simple Valentine's Day card. 

On a scrap of white cardstock, I die cut a heart  and stamped the Me + You sentiment.  The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's Woodgrain Backdrops stamp set. 

I lightly traced the heart onto a panel of white card stock and filled in the shape with the tiny hearts.  I erased the pencil lines and adhered the heart negative panel with foam tape.  Finally, I adhered the white card stock to a merlot card base.  

Well, that's all for me today, but be sure to stop over at Lindsay's blog to check out her fabulous take on this set.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Let's Celebrate Card {SPARKS Challenge}

Hello Party People!  

Let's celebrate the very first Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge of 2015!  YAY!  It's a super easy challenge because ANYTHING GOES!  Here's my celebratory card. 

The champagne bottle is the Apron Dies- die cut twice and layered.  Then I added some streamers, confetti and the "Let's Celebrate" sentiment using the Free Spirits stamp set. 

Ready to play?  You know the routine!  Link up your take on this week's challenge to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog by 11:59 p.m. PST on Saturday, January 10.  The winner of the challenge will get a $30.00 gift certificate to the Paper Smooches store!  Yay!!!!  

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

Lynn Mangan

Lori Tecler
Larissa Heskett

Savannah O'Gwynn

That's all for me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I can't wait to see what you create! 

Katie

You're Invited {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

today, I am over on the Avery Elle blog sharing a card I created with the You're Invited Elle-ments die.

When I started card making several years ago, my sole purpose was to make party invitations and holiday cards and crafts.  Although I have expanded my horizons over the years, I was really excited to see Avery Elle's You're Invited Elle-ments die and coordinating You're Invited stamp set included in the latest release- these fun products make it super easy to make special events a little more special.

To showcase these products I created a mod baby shower invitation.

The stripes were die-cut with the Dotted Borders Elle-ments die before adhering them to a panel of Fog card stock.  Next, I die cut the bracket shape- I just love the dotted detail on the inside and outside of the die cut.  I die cut a second bracket from white card stock and adhered the "You are Invited" words and stamped "to a baby shower" in Fog ink.  I added a few stars with Daisy ink from the Bunting stamp set. 

I adhered the fog panel to a white card stock base with foam tape and dropped in the white card stock interior. 

Well, that's all for me today. Be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog today (and EVERY day) for even more inspiration from my talented teamies.  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Silver and Sea Glass Thank You Card {Avery Elle}

Hello friends, 

I am sharing a project today on the Avery Elle blog using the new Thank You Elle-ment die. 

To start, I cut a panel of Sea Glass card stock and stamped and embossed the falling dots from the Circle It stamp set.  Next, I die cut a circle in the center of the card stock.  I adhered the embossed panel to a card base made from Birch Woodgrain Heavy Card Stock with a bit of foam tape. 

I die cut Thank You from some silver card stock and adhered it to the wood grain card stock. 

Be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog today (and EVERY day) for even more inspiration from my talented teamies.  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Tropical Seasons Greeting card {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hello friends,

I hope you are having a great weekend.  Today starts another Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge and this week... ANYTHING GOES!  See what I mean?

Last month, we took a family vacation to Florida where Christmas preparation was in full swing at several theme parks and resorts.  I started thinking about what a tropical Christmas would look like, and that was the inspiration for my little holiday scene.  

I die cut the sea and waves using the Borders 1 die set.  I punched a circle from yellow card stock and adhered it below the waves to look like the setting sun.  Next I die cut green card stock using the Feathers die to create a palm tree. 

Then I stamped and die cut the snow men from Freezy Fellas only this time, I don't think they are so freezy... they are sand men! To amp up the Holiday feel, I added a Santa Hat with a pom-pom puff on top to the larger sand man from Merry Motifs and added some sparkling lights to the palm tree with sequins.  Finally, I stamped the sentiment from the Christmas Sampler stamp set. 

Ready to play?  You know the routine!  Link up your take on this week's challenge to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog by 11:59 p.m. PST on Saturday, December 27.  The winner of the challenge will get a $30.00 gift certificate to the Paper Smooches store!  Yay!!!! 

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

Lynn Mangan

Lori Tecler
Larissa Heskett

Savannah O'Gwynn

That's all for me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I can't wait to see what you create! 

Katie

Simple Gift Wrap {Waffle Flower Crafts}

Hello friends,

Christmas day is drawing near and my thoughts have turned from cards to wrapping- gift wrapping to be precise.  I wanted to share today some simple gift wrap ideas using Waffle Flower Crafts stamps and dies.

First up, a simple label tag.  I die cut a circle using the Flower Circles die set and stamped A Gift from You from A Homemade Christmas stamp set in black ink.  I added the recipient's name using the Be My Guest stamp set and added the pretty bow from the Loved stamp set as an accent.

Here's the same tag; this time used as the focal point in the center of a doily that I wrapped around the gift with a bit of ribbon.  

Lastly, I used the Be My Guest stamp set along with the Surface-Tag Die-Starter Kit to create some gift tags to tie onto my daughter's Christmas gift.  My daughters receive 4 gifts for Christmas- 

• something they want
• something they need
• something to wear
• something to read

Santa fills their stockings, of course, but we really love this framework for keeping the holidays simple. Speaking of simple, I just die cut the tags from rustic cream card stock and stamped the gift category with black ink.  I was able to create two sets of these tags in no time flat and I will tie them to their gifts with plain twine that I picked up from the hardware store. 

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

Katie

Warm Wishes Snowman Card {Avery Elle}

Hello and TGIF!  

I am on the Avery Elle blog today with a card I made using Avery Elle's Dotted Borders Elle-ment die set and the Be Jolly stamp set. 

First, I made a card from white card stock and covered it with the pale blue heart patterned paper from the Sorbet Collection Paper Pad.  I thought the hearts could pass for snowflakes falling.  Next, I cut a pair of snowdrifts from white card stock using the wavy Dotted Boarder dies.  I stamped "Warm Wishes" on the bottom drift before attaching it to the card with a bit of foam tape. 

I stamped and die cut the darling snowman from the Be Jolly stamp set and colored him with some markers.  I tucked him among the drifts and secured him to the card with a bit of adhesive. 

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 

Let's Celebrate Card {Take 2 Thursday}

Hello and Happy Thursday!

It's time for another Take 2 Thursday with my friend, Lindsay.  Today, we are using the Simon Says Stamp December Kit of the Month.  Recently, I made the decision to switch my monthly card kit subscription from Studio Calico to the Simon Says Stamp kit, and I am really pleased with this first kit.  Lots of useful items- card stock, embossing powders and a cute stamp set to boot.  I used said cute stamp set to create this super CAS card.

I stamped the "let's celebrate" sentiment in black ink and added a few of the sweet banner shaped just beneath the banner.  I was tempted to leave it as that, but decided that it needed a little something special, so I wrapped the card with black and white baker's twine tied into a sweet bow and added a sprinkle of star sequins. The name of the kit after all is Sparkle and Shine.  

Although the kit is sold out, the stamp set is still available here.   

Be sure to stop by Lindsay's blog to see what she made with this fun kit.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Katie

Rockin' Record Card {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hello!

Today starts another Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge and this week, we are inspired by this picture of a lovely necklace:

source

There are so many approaches to take with this inspiration photo, but when it came down to it, I saw rocks and my mind went here: 

Using the Beboppin' stamp set, I stamped a bunch of the records on a white card base.  I added the record labels with ink colors that reminded me of the rock colors.  I popped a few of the records up with foam tape for a little interest.  

I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of white card stock and trimmed it at an angle. I adhered it to the card also with foam tape on top of a black card stock mat.   Lastly, I stamped the star among the rockin' records and called it finished. :)

Ready to play?  You know the routine!  Link up your take on this week's challenge to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog by 11:59 p.m. PST on Saturday, December 20.  The winner of the challenge will get a $30.00 gift certificate to the Paper Smooches store!  Yay!!!! 

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

Lynn Mangan

Lori Tecler
Larissa Heskett

Savannah O'Gwynn

That's all for me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I can't wait to see what you create! 

Katie

A Christmas Wreath Card from Our Home to Yours {Waffle Flower Crafts}

Hello friends, 

Today, I am sharing a Christmas Wreath card that I made using a couple sets from Waffle Flower Crafts.

It's no secret that I LOVE Waffle Flower's Loved stamp set (see my other cards I made this this amazing set here, here and here) and I pulled it out this weekend to stamp a holiday wreath.

To start, I traced a circle onto a panel of rustic cream card stock and stamps the leafy laurel with Hero Art's Soft Olive ink.  I left a space between each laurel as I knew I wanted to add in some flowers and the bow which I did with WPlus9's Cranberry Crush and Sweet Gelato ink. 

I continued working my way around the wreath stamping the branches and other botanicals with darker shades of green ink (Hero Arts- Forever Green, Field Greens) along with the vibrant cranberry and gelato.  Once I reached the point where I was concerned that I would mess it up if I stamped any more, I added a sentiment from A Homemade Christmas stamp set. I inked the edges of the card stock panel before adhering it to a kraft card base.  

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

Katie

New Release Blog Hop {Avery Elle}

Hello, hello and Happy Avery Elle New Release Day! 

Today, the Avery Elle design team is sharing projects created with the December release.  I used the Simply Said: You stamp set and die to create this cheerful card:

I covered a card base made from Mimosa card stock with a patterned paper from the Every Day 6x6 paper pad.  I positioned the paper so that the rays would start at about one-third of the way up the card.  Next I die cut one of the larger balloons from the Balloons Elle-ments die set and positioned it at the center of the rays.  I die cut a white card stock strip with the Dotted Border Elle-ments dies and adhered it at the bottom of the card and stamped the "Brighten My Day" sentiment with red ink. 

I die cut "you" from several shades of card stock, adhered them together and affixed the die cuts to the card.  When the recipient looks at the card from an angle, he or she will see all that rainbow goodness.  Finally, I added a couple enamel dots as a finishing touch.  

Now you can't have a blog hop without prizes and to celebrate our December 2014 Release Blog Hop, Avery Elle is giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to one random winner.  You have until midnight Sunday, December 7th to enter.  The winner will be announced on the Avery Elle Blog on Monday, December 8th .  All products are available for purchase in the Avery Elle store right now.

To enter to win you can do 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or all 6 of the following to increase your chances:

1. Comment on any of the design team's posts and/or here on the Avery Elle Blog
2. Follow us on Twitter and tweet the contest (we are @averyellestamps )
3. Follow us on Facebook (we are www.facebook.com/AveryElle ) and share us with your friends - make sure they tell us you sent them.
4. Follow us on Pinterest
5. Become a blog follower through email (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you already follow us)
6. Join our Flickr group (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you already belong) 

Be sure to check out the projects made by the rest of the Avery Elle team and leave some love for these talented girls for even more chances to win!

Avery Elle / Jamie

Karolyn Loncon 

Chunyuan Wu

Caryn Davies

Heather Campbell

JJ Bolton

Yainea

Melania Deasy

Katie Gehring 

Maska Vanacker 

So that's all for me today, but thank you for stopping by and good luck!

Katie

Introducing Made With Love {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

The December release preview week is continuing on the Avery Elle blog and I am sharing a card I made with the new set filled with motifs perfect for the knitters and makers in your life and anyone who appreciates a good pun- Made with Love.

When I think of knitting, I think of blankets and scarves- I know there are so many other possibilities, but I was definitely going for a scarf vibe with my card:

I stamped rows of knitting stitches on a panel of silver fox card stock and then colored in the stitches with some Copic markers.  I die cut the panel with the wavy boarder die from the Custom Panels Elle-ments set.  I adhered the scarf to a Fog card stock card base and stamped the sentiment and tag on white card stock.  I trimmed the tag and tucked it under the scarf.  And that sentiment? Cracks me up every time.  And I know that you are singing Brittany's school girl hit in your head right now- no judgement. ;) 

Made with Love and all the sets that Jamie is previewing this week will be available for purchase on Thursday, December 4.  Be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog for more details about the release including additional sneaks and previews. 

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

Katie

 

Introducing Berry Good {Avery Elle}

Hello, 

This week, Jamie is sharing some sneak peeks and previews of Avery Elle's December release and I wanted to share a couple cards that I made with the Berry Good stamp set.  Berry Good is an amazing fruit-filled set featuring berried, peaches, pears and lemons.  The set also takes some of the guess work out of sentiment placement because many of the sentiments included in the set fit right inside the fruit.  

First up is a card I made with the lemon image.  I did some simple masking to achieve the set of lemons stamped in Old Paper Distress Ink.  Then I did a bit of "no line" watercoloring by smooshing distress ink pads on an acrylic block and adding the color to the stamped image. 

Once the ink was dry, I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment with white powder, and I die cut the stamped panel using the Finished Frames Elle-ments die set.

Next up, it's more simple masking and "no line" watercoloring with this "peach" of a card.  I tried to envision what the peaches might look like hanging off the branch of a tree.  I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder and added a strip of patterned paper from the Fancy Pants Burlap and Bows paper pad.  

I die cut the bottom edge of the panel with the Pinked Elle-ments die set and tied a bit of twine into a bow before adhering it to a kraft card base. 

Well, that's all for me today, but be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog today for more sneaks and previews of this and the other awesome sets that Jamie is introducing today! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

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 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