This Man is a Super HERO!

Hello friends!

Happy Monday!  Paper Crafts Magazine has a new special issue available this week called Card Creations for Him. Card Creations for Him is filled with oodles of clever card ideas for the special guys in your life.   I was lucky enough to get an advance copy as I have a couple of cards appearing in this issue.

This issue is, in a word my friends, AMAZING and it's only $5.99!  As I flipped through this issue, I had a huge grin on my face looking at all the fun and smart cards.

I wanted to share one of my cards that appears in this issue.  When I was creating for this publication, the movie Man of Steel was number 1 at the theaters, so I was trying to channel a Superman vibe.

I die cut a couple pennants and embossed this fantastic sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps. I trimmed one of the pennants and folded the pennants over a hanger clip (by Tim Holtz) to make a cape.   

You can check out a sneak peak of the issue here or purchase your issue from the Scrap and Paper Shop here.

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

Katie 

Stamping Royalty 2013 Blog Hop!

Hello friends!

Welcome to the Stamping Royalty 2013 Blog Hop!  First of all, HUGE thanks to Paper Crafts Magazine and all of the sponsors for the amazing Stamping Royalty prizes. Thank you also to Paper Crafts magazine for allowing the Stamping Royalty court to take over the Paper Crafts Connection blog today!

 The Stamping Royality 2013 court have been so overwhelmed with all of the stamping goodness that we wanted to put together a blog hop to say thank you and share our stampy bounty. You should have arrived here today from lovely Courtney Kelley's blog.  If not, head back to the Paper Crafts Connection blog so you don't miss a stop on the hop.

My Stamping Royalty win was in the Season's Greetings category, so for today's hop I decided to make a Holiday card using the Waltzingmouse Stamps set, Candy Jar Christmas, that was included in our prize box.

It's been a sweltering week here in tropical NE Ohio, so I thought a little holiday spirit might cool things off.  I covered a kraft card base with some patterned paper from My Mind's Eye (Merry Collection), adhered a doily and wrapped a ribbon around the patterned paper and tied it into a bow. 

Next I die cut a button card from some chipboard and stamped the top scroll and bottom location in Rich Cocoa Ink by Tsukineko.  I added Sweet Shoppe and Mrs. Claus' silhouette in Rhubarb Stalk ink (also Tsukineko).  Instead of buttons, I stamped and punched out the small peppermint candies. 

I adhered the peppermints with pop dots and covered them with Stickles for some sugar-coated shine.  I also inked the edges of the button card with a bit of Fine Linen Distress Ink before adhering it to the card. I think it feels frosty in here already!  LOL!

What's a blog hop without a few prizes and giveaways along the way?  To that end, I am offering this bundle of stampy fun: 

To be entered for the prize, just leave me a comment by Tuesday, July 23 at 11:59 p.m. ET.  I will draw a winner from the comments received at that time and that lucky person will win the following stamp sets: 

Gourmet Rubber Stamps- God Bless the USA

Sweet Stamp Shop- Sweet Alpha Doodles

Skipping Stones Design- Grapeful

The Craft's Meow- Stitched Sentiments and Stitched Flowers

Hampton Art- Crowning Moments

Hero Arts/ Studio Calico- Starburst Background

I will announce the winner on my blog on Wednesday, July 24.  The winner will have one week to contact me to claim the prize, so don't forget to check back! This contest is open to all- US and International.

Next stop is, the oh so talented, Jennifer Rzasa!  But just in case, here's the entire hop order...

Natasha Kara

Lalo Ik

Courtney Kelley

Katie Gehring- you are here :)

Jennifer Rzasa

Jean Martin

Alicia Thelin

Sarah J. Moerman

Joni Andaya

Nina Yang

Emily Leiphart

Pamela Ho

Amy Kolling

Ilina Crouse

Shelly Kurth

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

Katie

Waltzingmouse Holiday Card Exchange

Hello all,

Earlier last month, I had an opportunity to sign up for the Waltzingmouse Stamps Christmas Card exchange on their customer forum.  A few weeks later, an envelope of Royal Mail arrived containing this stunning card....

I was somehow so blessed to be on the receiving end of this beautiful card from the head mousetress, Claire. I often oooh and ahhh over the samples that Claire posts on her blog, but I have to say that now that I have seen one of her cards in real life, I am not sure that the photos do her cards justice!!

A simple photo does not truly capture all the gorgeous details that comprise this breathtaking card. The gems on the ribbon, the black sentiment was clear embossed, and pops of colors were added with marker, the inking, the perfect mat for the label, the background stamping, sigh, I could go on and on....I am so appreciative of receiving this lovely card.  I will treasure it always! 

On the giving end, I was assigned to send a card to Design Team Member, Julia Aston.  I love her creations, so it was a bit intimidating to come up with something to send her.  Here's what I came up with: 

I stamped all the little Christmas icons from Gingerbread Joy to a card base I made from a rustic cream card stock. I then die-cut a tree using my pennant dies from Spellbinders and adhered it to the card base with foam tape. 

I then die cut and banner from more rustic cream card stock and adhered it to the card with more foam tape.  A few weeks later, I received a lovely handmade note from Julia thanking me for the card.  She is just awesome! 

Hope your day is off to a great start! Thanks for stopping by!

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! 

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 

Once Upon A Time...

....there was a girl
and she was very brave
and she was amazing
and I was so proud of her

When I saw tIhese sentiments that Claire included in her new Half-Pint Heroines set, I am not going to lie, I fell hard.  As a momma to two little girls, these sweet sentiments so perfectly capture what I want them to know most of all.

I wanted to share a card I created for this month's Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Party. I use Half-Pint Heroines to create a "lunch box" card for my daughter, Paige.

Because I love these sentiments so, I really let them take center stage on the card. I framed the sentiment with patterned paper and a delicate scallop edge created with an EK Success edger punch.  The patterned paper is from Echo Park- This and That collection.  The die is Mat Stack 4 from Papertrey Ink and a little doily and heart sticker surrounded the die cut.  

Going with the theme of this month's blog hop to use felt or cozy fabrics on our project, I added a felt bow in teal to "tie" everything together so to speak.  The felt bow is by Prima.

I do hope that Paige likes the card.  I wish I could be there to see her face when she opens the card in her lunch tomorrow morning.

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

Katie

Bonjour!

Hello!

Hope you had a lovely weekend and a Happy Mother's Day!  I got a few blissful moments in my craft room to create a card using Waltzingmouse Stamp's French Country and Chicken wire.  The layout for this card was inspired by this card by Ashley Cannon Newell (thanks Ashley!).

The main panel of the card is Vintage Cream.  I stamped the top portion with the small Chicken wire and the bottom with the tile pattern from french country. The stripes are decorative tape from Martha Stewart.  I did adhere the tapes to a separate pieces of cardstock to avoid the stamped pattern showing through.  Once all the tapes were laid out, I adhered them to the panel at a diagonal and trimmed the excess.  

I stamped the rooster and sentiment in dark chocolate ink and finished the panel with a bit of twine + a red button.  All of the edges were inked and then the finished panel was adhered to a kraft card base. 

Thank you so much for stopping by!  

Katie

Supplies: 

Stamps: French Country and Chicken Wire (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

Paper: Vintage Cream, Kraft (PTI)

Ink: Tea Dye Duo, Kraft, Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate (PTI)

Button: PTI

Twine: May Arts

Other: Decorate Tape (EK Success)

Hey!

Good morning!

My blogging efforts over the last few weeks can be summarized in two words- Epic Fail.  Sometimes life just gets in the way. :o)  It's all good stuff like a little kitchen "botox" that the hubs and I are working on, a crafty baby shower for a dear friend and oh, a business trip, which despite me generally not sleeping well in hotels, resulted in one of my best night's sleep in years! But enough about all that, I wanted to share a card I made for the recent Stamping Royalty Contest held by Paper Crafts Magazine.

I used several sets to create the eclectic look I was going for including: Skipping Stones Garden Stamp Kiss, Pumpkin Seed Sentiments, and Grunge, Waltzingmouse: Compact Sentiments, and PTI Fancy Flouishes. There was also lots of stamp smooching and masking involved- let's just say that me and  Spellbinders circle dies and post it notes were like this- (insert mental image of me crossing my index and middle finger) during this process.  I did have to do a bit of fussy cutting for the bird and the butterfly wing, but it was totally do-able- this coming from the gal who is not a fan of fussy cutting. 

Here are a couple close ups of the "fussy" spots.  First up, the bird: 

And the butterfly:

Since I am sharing it with you, this card was obviously not a winner, but I was, and remain to be, really proud of it.  Creating this card stretched be creatively and I tried a look and some techniques that I don't normally do and that makes me really happy!  

Here is a peek of the Pinterest image that inspired my card: 

Via

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Katie

Ooh-la-la

Hello friends!

Playing along today with the Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge #89. I was so excited last week to have Royal Mail, and inside were all my goodies from the February WMS release!!  I couldn't wait to use my new stamps and I was feeling very Parisian when this card came together!

I stamped the Tour Eiffel (as they say in France) from the Paris Nouveau set and paired it with the ooh la la sentiment from Compact Sentiments.  The sketch calls for one large focal image and I thought this worked pretty well.  The rest of the card I tried to keep simple- just a sweet scalloped edge and some gems to evoke the twinkling "City of Lights" feel.  The patterned paper is Teresa Collins.   

I just love these sets and I am thinking that they will come in handy for my daughter's birthday party in a few months- she is very into Fancy Nancy and we are having a spa slumber party.   I promise to share when I get to creating for that event!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Katie

Ahoy Matey!

Good morning!

Just a super quick post to share a card I created for this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge.  It's been several weeks since I have had a chance to play along, but this was the week and here is my card:

I used Half Pint Heroes on my card to create a little pirate peering out a porthole on a ship.  The pirate is from PTI Tiny Treats Birthday, but the other images are all WMS!  It was fun and maddening to create the little nautical flags and as a disclaimer, I have no idea what the flags mean.  My card likely says Beware- Calm Seas Ahead!  LOL!  

I found this cool photo on Pinterest that inspired these flags. 

Have a great day!  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Moxie Fab- Die Cut Challenge

Hello friends!

I wanted to share a card I made for the Die Cut Challenge that Cath is hosting over at Moxie Fab World.

Our challenge is to incorporate die cuts in an innovative way and well, my entire card is a die cut.  Using my Cricut and the Just Because Cards cartridge I cut the sailboat image at 6" from cardstock and patterned paper (Simple Stories- Celebrations).  To make the die cut a card, I cut 2 shadow layers and scored the second shadow layer below the flag and adding some super strong adhesive above the flag to hold the layers together.  

I stamped some swirls (PTI- Fancy Flourishes), and sentiment (Half Pint Heroes- Waltzingmouse Stamps) on the sails and added the star (another die cut) and some buttons for a little extra embellishment. (And because I really like buttons and twine. They are kinda my go-to embellies.)  

This card is going to my sweet nephew Carson who is turning 1 in just a couple weeks along with a whole boat-load (get it??) of bath time toys.  Do you think he will like it?

Can't wait to see you ideas for using die cuts!  Link up your project by Feb 13 to play along!  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day!

Katie

Runway Inspired Challenge- Gareth Pugh Spring 2011

Hello!

If you stopped by today to check out the Skipping Stones Design blog hop, click here or just scroll down.

Have you see the Runway Inspired Challenge blog?  It's a challenge blog dedicated to sparking inspiration through cutting edge fashion.  I have been wanting to play along the last couple weeks, but alas, it hasn't been in the cards, so to speak. :o) But this is the week, I had a chance to create a card based on this inspiration photo:

Runway Inspired Challenge #3- Gareth Pugh

 
Here is my card:

I was inspired by the layers and criss-cross stripe action in the coat to cut several strips of striped patterned paper, which I adhered at a diagonal and overlapping.  The model is such a striking silhouette that I decided to represent her through a hero arts silhouette stamp.  The sentiment stamp is from Waltzingmouse Stamps- Tiny Trees set.  I added a little bling including a rock on the lady's necklace.  I finished the card with a little satin ribbon tied into a bow.

Want to play along?  The deadline is January 13 at 11:59 EST.  I am looking forward to checking out what everyone else has done with this amazing inspiration photo.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Have a great evening!

Katie

Waltzingmouse Stamps Tag Challenge

Hello friends-

I wanted to share a little Christmas Tag that I created for the Tag Challenge that Claire is running over at Waltzingmouse Stamps.

The tag was created from Spellbinder's Label 4- the largest one.  I used Oven Fresh Gingerbread Joy and Nordic Winter to create the tag in shades of light pink, rhubarb, green and ginger. I topped the tag with a bit of twine, button and ribbon from the stash.

I must confess, I am not much of a tag maker, but I had so much fun creating this little guy, that I may have to make some more!  Stay tuned!

I hope your week is off to a great start! Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Waltzingmouse Stamps November Blog Waltz

Hello friends!

I am so excited to be participating in my very first Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Waltz!  The theme for this waltz is Christmas projects. Using the new Nordic Winter, I came up with this:

Nordic Christmas

I stamped images from Nordic Winter in Riding Hood Red and the sentiment in Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!). I matted the stamped panel on dark brown cardstock that I punched with a scallop border punch.  Before adhering to the card base, I tied a bit of brown twill ribbon around the matted panel and topped it with a cream button threaded with twine that I tied it into a bow.

This card seriously only took like 20 minutes to put together start to finish which is always a good thing when the days are getting shorter and shorter and daylight is a precious commodity! Hope you enjoy my waltz card! Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Christmas Greetings

Hello!

I wanted to share a little Christmas Card I created for a couple challenges over the weekend.

I stamped the "mod pine tree" from WMS's Tiny Trees set in Pear Tart Ink and followed up with the stary garland with Raspberry Fizz ink.  To anchor the tree on the long rectangle, I tore a piece of white cardstock and drew a thin line of glue with my glue pen and followed it with a dusting of glitter to give it that meadow of snow look.  The sentiment, also stamped in Raspberry Fizz, is from Tiny Trees too.

For a finishing touch, I added a little tag that I stamped with the reverse polka dot pattern from Gingham and Co and adhered a small heart die cut.  I topped the tag with a button tied with a bit of Rustic Cream button twine.

Here is a closer look at the tag and glittery snow:

This card is based on sketch 73 for the Waltzingmouse Stamps Weekly Sketch challenge.

I am also linking it to the Casual Fridays Challenge #28- Tag You're It!

Hope you find some inspiration in my take on the sketch and challenge.  There is still time for you to play along. As always, thanks for stopping by!  Your visits and kind thoughts mean so much to me!!!

Katie

Happily Ever After

Hello!  

Hope you are having a great weekend!  I wanted to post today as I am waiting for Sunday dinner to finish cooking and share another card that I had submitted for the World Card Making Day contest.  

The card below was created for the Love category and I used two of my favorite newer sets- Big Day Additions from Waltzing Mouse Stamps and Harvest Berries from Papertrey Ink. 

Happily Ever After Card

I stamped the ginko leaves and sentiment on a piece of shimmer cardstock with black Verafine ink.  I matted the stamped panel on black cardstock and attached it to a card base made from Aqua Mist Cardstock.  I added some clear rhinestones for berries for a finishing touch.

Super simple, but elegant for weddings and the like.  You could also change the color of the card base to coordinate with the wedding colors.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great evening!

Katie

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge 69

Hi all!

I created a little card to play along with the Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge this week.  Here is my card: 

Happy Halloween Hat

And here is  the inspiration sketch:

I created the hat from black cardstock and embossed with a swirly embossing folder.  The brim was cut from a strip of black cardstock that I cut with a pinking border die. Cream lace was added above the brim.  I stamped the focal image from Gracie at Halloween in black in and colored in with some Copics. I am a bit of a neophyte when it comes to the Copics, so please forgive my coloring.  I punched the image with a 1 3/4" circle punch and backed it with an olive pinking circle and adhere it to the lace.  This finished hat was adhered to a simple base of kraft, black and orange paper with pop dots. 

Hope you like my take on this week's sketch.  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Tuesday Trigger: Girly and Gutsy

Hello friends!

(This is my second post for the day- scroll down if you would like to see my contribution to the August Papertrey Ink Blog Hop.)

It's another Tuesday Trigger project based on a lovely photo that Cath found and posted on the Moxie Fab World Blog.  (Click the link for details and to play along!)

And here is my card:

I decided to use the leaf motif in the black and white rug as the focal point for my card.  I stamped the ginko leaves from PTI's Harvest Berries set in black ink and added some bling in the place of berries- ala the chandelier and wall sconces.

(By the way, can I just say, Harvest Berries....I love this stamp set!  You may be seeing it quite a bit in coming posts.)

I also tied in the chartreuse green chairs and pink walls into the card as well through cardstock and ribbon.  By the time I added the ribbon and rhinestone buckle to the card, it was feeling pretty formal, so I used a beautiful, scripty congrats sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps.

Well, there you have it!  I hope you find some inspiration in my take on the trigger. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Take care,
Katie

Supplies:

• Cardstock: Stampin' Up! and Papertrey Ink
• Clear stamps: Harvest Berries from Papertrey Ink and Big Day Additions from Waltzingmouse Stamps
• Rhinestones: The Paper Studio
• Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento
• Border punch: EK Success
• Ribbon: Stampin' Up!
• Gem ribbon slide: Making Memories
• Corner punch: Stampin' Up!

Trigger Tuesday: Perty and Flirty

Hi friends!

Did you see the Trigger Tuesday inspiration pic on Cath's Moxie Fab World?  I don't think this coat could be any cuter. Totally dreamy!

Our challenge was to create a card that pays homage to this lovely inspiration photo, and here is what I dreamed up. 

You're Lovely

I echoed the yellow coat through the yellow flirty bloomers on the dress form.  I also selected a soft pink background to represent the floral background in the photo.  The buttons on the coat translated into the touches of black and of course the button in the center of the newsprint flower- see close up below. 

I incorporated prints like the houndstooth and polka dot that you would find in clothing because the inspiration was fashion and finally, the florals,  glitter, scallops, and ruffles just up the feminine ante just enough, I hope to capture the essence of this beautiful trigger.

There is still plenty of time to play along (deadline Sunday, July 24), and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Thanks for stopping by!
Katie

Supplies

• Cardstock: The Paper Company
• Stamps: You're Lovely from Waltzingmouse Stamps
• Ink: Verafine
• Patterned Paper: Websters Pages
• Ribbon: Offray
• Button and twine: Papertrey Ink
• Glitter: Martha Stewart
• Dies: Papertrey Ink
• Border Punch: EK Success
• Other: Bookprint