Bee Mine Valentines {Avery Elle}

Hello friends, 

I am over on the Avery Elle blog today sharing an idea for personalized Valentines using the Elle's Alpha's stamp set and the Bee Mine stamp set. 

Using the Just a Note Elle-ment die, I die cut two of the notched banners from Pixie card stock and one from white card stock.  I adhered the two pink die cuts together and trimmed the notched end from the white card stock die cut.  I stamped and colored the Bee Mine hive, bee, and dotted line.  

Next, I stamped "Sophie" using the cutie Elle's Alphas stamp set.  I added the trio of hearts from the Lots of Love stamp set. 

I couldn't resist dressing up the Just a Note envelope by stamping some of the sentiments and images from the Lots of Love stamp set.

On the back, I stamped the woodgrain pattern from the Woodgrain & More stamp set and secured it closed with one of the hearts from Lots of Love.  

Well that's all for me today, but be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog for even more inspiration from my awesome AE teamies!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Make a List Notepad {Waffle Flower Crafts}

 Hello friends,

I don't know about you, but I LOVE lists.  I make lists of things to do, things to buy, things to make, you name it.  A couple of weeks ago, I was at a paper supply store and spied a set of four 2.5" x 4" notepads for $0.60.  I couldn't resist.  I decided to cute up my find with a bit of card stock, washi tape, a patterned paper scrap and the On My Mark stamp set and On My Mark die.

I cut a piece of card stock the width of the notepad and added a few score lines to help the card stock fold over the top of the notepad. I trimmed the extra length of cardstock, and I secured the back of the notepad to the card stock cover with Score Tape. 

On the notepad, I stamped the number list included in the On My Mark stamp set with basic black ink.  I thought it would be handy to have my to-dos already numbered. 

To decorate the cover of the notepad, I affixed some washi tape to the top fold and a scrap of patterned paper to the bottom edge.  Then I stamped and die cut the kitty and added "make a list" in black ink. 

I think I am going to cute up a few more of these notepads and give them as little gifts, because who doesn't love lists?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Thinking of You Card {Take 2 Thursday}

Hello friends,

Lindsay and I are back today with another installment of Take 2 Thursday- only this time on a Wednesday.  This week, we are both using Simon Says Stamp January 2015 Stamp Kit featuring the Hand Lettered Winter Wishes stamp set.

I was definitely inspired by the colors included in the January kits- all the pretty and wintery blues and purples when pulling together my card.  I stamped the striped border on a blue card base.  Next I trimmed a panel of cream card stock and stamped thinking of you in navy ink, followed by a sprinkling of the stars included in the stamp set along with a few sequins. 

I adhered the stamped panel to the card base with foam tape. 

This is my second month of my Simon kit subscription.  So far, I really love the kits, but I need to challenge myself to incorporate more of the kit- especially the patterned paper and other embellishments.  I tend to reach for the stamp set and there are so many other goodies included in the kits.  Next month- look for more kit items featured and maybe an extra card or two- hold me accountable friends!  

Well that's all for me today, but be sure to stop by my talented friend, Lindsay's blog to see what she created with the kit. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

A Baby Shower Invitation {Avery Elle}

Hello friends!  

I am up on the Avery Elle blog today sharing an idea to combine one of Avery Elle's older sets, Weather It, with the new You're Invited stamp set and You're Invited Elle-ments die to create a fun invitation to a baby shower.  

I love to find reasons to pull out my well loved sets and when I saw the shower messages included in the You're Invited set, I immediately thought of Umbrellas and the Weather It stamp set. 

I embossed a panel of Aquamarine cardstock with a diagonal line embossing folder.  Next, I die cut the dotted frame and stamped the invitation message with black ink.  I stamped and die cut the umbrella from Weather It stamp set and paper pieced the white stripes. 

I adhered the umbrella to the frame and affixed it to the embossed panel before attaching it to a card base.  

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

Succulent love {Waffle Flower Crafts}

Hello friends,

I am on the Waffle Flower Crafts blog today with a sharing some inspiration on a "growing" trend... succulents and here's a closer look at my card and a couple tips.

To create depth, I masked the two flower pots from the Planted stamp set before stamping the polka dot background from the Pattern Play stamp set.  While some may prefer fancy masking paper, I usually just reach for a pad of post-it notes and stamp the widest portion of the image onto the adhesive portion of the post it note. 

 Next, I grab some scissors and cut out the image.  I try to get as close as I can to the design. Position the post it over the image- the sticky from the post-it is usually enough to hold in place without adding any extra adhesive and risk messing up your project.  Once the mask is in place, stamp the background.  

After stamping, if your masks are in pretty good shape, consider storing them along with the stamp set to save time. 

I do hope you will stop by the Waffle Flower blog to see more about the growing tend of stylish succulents!  

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

Stamp Out Chaos: The Reveal

Good morning friends,

It's been WAY too long, but today, Lindsay and I wanted to start wrapping up our Stamp Out Chaos series by sharing with you some pictures of our crafty space.

If you want to catch up on my other organizational hijinks and shennanigans including some really scary before photos, click here. 

One of the pieces of furniture that has worked really well for me is the Ikea Expedit.  I think it goes by another name now, but I started with a 4 x 4 unit and added a 4 x 2 unit and placed it on top taking the storage up to the ceiling and I love it.  The top cubbies hold my scrapbook albums, some project life supplies and the baskets contain extra card stock as well as memorabilia and items for particular album projects. 

The Expedit also holds my stamp collection in Avery Elle storage envelopes and Fridge Binz.  I use divided plastic boxes to contain wood veneers, metal embellishments and a floral storage box to corral stickers and sticker letters.  

I also added drawers to the bottom two rows of Expedit cubbies.  These drawers hold supplies like stencils, paint, specialty tools (punch boards), felt, fabric, bling, buttons, envelopes, bags, and tags. 

To the left of the Expedit is a large bulletin board.  I painted the board white before stenciling a trellis pattern with cheerful yellow paint.  

Moving into my work area, I have the aqua Raskog cart adjacent to my desk.  I used an Antonius insert to organize my working stamps and supplies- including 6 x 6 paper pads, adhesive and my stamp press.

The two remaining shelves hold project life cards and supplies. 

Tucked under my desk is my Elfa File Cart- this holds most of my "good" card stock and has 3 baskets below perfect for holding paper scraps. 

I found these bright yellow desk accessories at TJ Maxx.  I am using them to hold mini ink cubes, post it notes and other bits and bobs for crafting. 

The Pro Ink Organizer from Organize More is hung on the wall above the corner of my L-shaped desk. Sophie gave me the "World's Best Mom" foam sign last year for Christmas and was insistent that it be displayed in my room.  

I have a dedicated space on my desk for my computer and Silhouette portrait.  Sometimes, the crafty mess migrates to this area, but I do try to keep this area tidy.  

Above the desk, my hubby also installed a shelf that I use to hold ribbons, patterned paper scraps and project life embellishments.  I picked up a metal rod at the hardware store and used some clip-it-up clips to hold some packaged embellishments.  With embellishments in particular, I seem to need to see them in order to remember to use them.  

This is the Making Memories embellishment center and it's super handy for keeping items in close reach, but off my desk.  Currently, it's holding the Mini Distress Ink Cubes and Storage Tins that I received for Christmas as well as stamp storage pockets.  

Below the center is a Bygel rail and 4 containers.  I use this to hold pens and other tools and supplies that should be in close reach.  I recently added a dry-erase calendar to my space to help me track crafty assignments and blog posts and with some techniques tending towards the messy side these days, I thought a paper towel holder might come in handy.  

I have a couple accent shelves on the other side of the window and use them to hold twine, scissors, markers and a few special projects. 

This area is directly across the room from my desk.  This is where I house my paper trimmer, die cut machine and giant wall of die storage.  The cubbies below (more of the Expedit series) hold photos, books, 12 x 12 paper and 8 x 8 paper pads

These two wall units were lucky finds.  One of my girlfriends used to sell Mary Kay and her Father in Law built her this unit to hold her eyeshadow refills.  When she stopped selling, she offered it to me.  It works perfect for organizing embossing powder and displaying a few wood-mount stamps. 

Below is a wooden cassette holder that I use to mostly organize my pigment inks.  I found this on Craigslist for $10.00.  Some day I may get around to painting it white to match the rest of the room.  

Next week, I am planning a post that will contain links to the resources I used when putting together the room as well as some lessons learned along the way.  Until then, please let me know what questions you have or if there is anything that you would like to see in more detail, and I will get back to you!  

Don't forget to check out Lindsay's new space too!  It's pretty fab! 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Katie