Thank You Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking Magazine

Hello friends, 

Today I and many, many members of the paper crafting community are joining hands and taking a moment to honor and thank Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking magazine. Last month contributors received notification that the magazine would be ceasing publication after the February 2015 issue, and this week, the editorial team is wrapping up many of their responsibilities. You should have arrived here from the lovely Lalo IK's blog. If not, and you would like to catch up with all the participants, I have included the full list below. 

To be honest, I am not really sure how start this post.  Over the past couple of days it seems that every time I sit down to write, I come down with a major case of the "feels."  In fact, I have managed to delay writing this post until the 11th hour of the evening before in the hop.  I am not sure if my thought process was that the added pressure of deadline would help the writing flow, or if once I completed this project and post, it would mean that it's truly over.  Maybe it's a little of both. Sadly, it's late, and I'm still struggling to find the words to adequately express what's on my mind and in my heart.  

Over the past 3+ years, so many of my creative adventures from my morning blog checks to my weekend crafty to-dos and even my "crafty bucket list" have been inspired by Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking Magazine, and for that, I am so grateful. 

I still remember the giddy joy of receiving my very first project acceptance email from Susan on March 17, 2011.  I was a little shocked, but so, so excited.  Over the years, there would be more happy emails, a couple contest wins, many Facebook acceptance email parties, a crown, and even a cover project (or two).  It's been quite a ride.  

So to the team at Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking Magazine, I want to say thank you.   Thank you for teaching me about design.  Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for challenging me to grow creatively.  Thank for you for the amazing inspiration. Thank you for giving me something to aspire to. Thank you for the opportunities to create. Thank you for being a dream to work with. Thank you for supporting and creating a sense of community among paper crafters.  Your impact on me and the paper crafting community has been profound, and I want to thank you... for everything.

There's more I could say, but there are many more stops and stories to be shared along this hop. 

Before I go and send you along to your next stop, I would like to say to the amazing editorial and design team at PCS, each and every one of you is so amazing.  Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to making the magazine what it was and what it meant to each and every one of your readers.  I have faith that great things are just ahead for each of you, and I wish you all the best in whatever comes next. 

Your next stop is the darling Jennifer Cuthbertson.  

Thanks for stopping by. 

Katie

Card supplies: Tribal Thank You and Loved Stamp Sets by Waffle Flower Crafts, Ink by Hero Arts, Studio Calico and Tsukineko

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 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