Saturday, May 31, 2008

Cherish Dad

For the final day of National Scrapbooking Month, I had to post another scrapbook page. This started as a 6x6 page that was done at one of my workshops and then I turned it into a progressive 12x12 page. With Fathers Day around the corner, the 6x6 works well to place in a floating frame and give to the 'Dads' in your life and then eventually work into a layout. Great gift option for those of you who aren't big scrapbookers.
Anywho... the 6x6 is on Brocade Blue and the picture is mounted on Basic Black. I inked my sentiment 'cherish' from Warm Words with VersaMark and then heat embossed with Black Embossing Powder. I did the same for my letters d-a-d from the Jumbo Outline Alphabet. I poked silver brads through the bottom portion (enough to have your thread slightly across your photo). The prongs are through the front to kreate that 'anchor' look. Click on the photo for a closer view. I looped 2 pieces of linen thread together and then kreated a figure 8 or 'boaters knot' around the brads prongs. And there's your 6x6!
I mounted that on Close to Cocoa which I randomly stamped my shells, from a retired set Shore Thing (current Life's a Breeze could work too) in Close to Cocoa Ink. Journaled with my Close to Cocoa marker and you have your progressive 8 1/2x11.
The final 12x12 page is also done on Brocade Blue. Added three more photos to capture the 'event' on top of a little bit more Linen Thread to tie all the elements together. To cherish Dad and to especially cherish the memories!!

For now, go kreate for those cherished Dads in your life...
Kim

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Too Much of a Good Thing

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. It's just been one of those weeks, where it seems EVERYTHING is going on. Anyway, can you believe it is almost the end of May already? I couldn't let National Scrapbooking Month go unnoticed here, so this was a 6x6 page that I wanted to showcase of my littlest that I took just about 2 weeks ago. She just turned 17 months and this was her first 'experience' with flowers this season. My hyacinths and daffodils were the first to bloom in my garden and she just couldn't wait to go touch them. So of course I had to capture the moment she sat down next to them.
I choose to take the color out of the picture and use my markers (love them) to accent the flowers and stems. I used Barely Banana and So Saffron on the flower petals and Mellow Mose to accent the leaves. Loved the effect. I tried to do it with my Adobe photoshop program, but it just wasn't as simple as I thought, so out came the markers. Couldn't hurt to try and now I love the end result!! No need to always mat a photo, I placed the picture directly onto the 6x6 So Saffron paper. I then took my Scallop Punch to Very Vanilla paper and created my daisies. TIP: Using your paper snips, cut at each nitch toward the middle, but angled toward the nitch on the exact opposite side. I hope that makes sense. Email me if you need my help. Then I used my 1/2" Circle Punch on So Saffron to kreate my flowers center. Using the Large Oval Punch and then halving each oval, I kreated my leaves in Certainly Celery. TIP:Crease the leaves down the middle for a little more depth. I also bent a few of my daisy petals to give it that 3-D look as well.
I crossed the page with Certainly Celery ribbon. Below the ribbon, I inked up a small flower from Time Well Spent (Hostess Lev 3 set) in So Saffron and randomly stamped around. TIP: I masked off a small space for my sentiment, to be sure not to stamp flowers in that space. I then took my sentiment, again from Time Well Spent, and inked it in VersaMark and then sprinkled on some White Embossing Power and heated it up. I love it!! Hope you do too! And eventually this page will make its 'home' on a full 12x12 spread. Gotta get kreatin :)

For now, go kreate
Kim

Monday, May 26, 2008

I got an award!

I'm shocked and so honored, a "Kreativ Blogger" Award has just been passed to lil ol me by Kris, from Kween Bee Kreations. She has made my day, thanks for your vote of confidence! A very sincere thank you Kris (and to your Aunt Mary for 'introducing' us in cyber world). You both have been a great source of support, encouragement and great inspiration as I've begun my endeavors as a SU demonstrator and entering 'the world of blog'.
Make sure you go and check out her amazing kreations, you are sure to be inspired!

There are SO many very talented stampers and bloggers out there, how to choose ONE who this award will go to next??? Well, another great source of inspiration for me has been Scrapnextras. She has great designs and I love her Technique Tuesdays. So be sure to check her out. Enjoy!

And for now, go kreate,
Kim

Celebrate You

Hope you all are enjoying your Memorial Day Weekend. This is a fairly quick and simple card to make. The most difficult is aligning your 2-step stamps together. Once you get a hang of it, it's a piece of cake. Really no need for perfection though, it always comes out looking great. I love using my markers :)

I used a flower from Heartfelt Thanks. The solid image is colored with Pale Plum and Certainly Celery marker and stamped onto Whisper White. The outline of the image is Perfect Plum and Old Olive markers. I Ticket Punched the corners and layered it on top of Elegant Eggplant(sorry, the lighting makes it appear black) and used dimensionals to adhere it to the base. The base of the card is Pale Plum and Perfect Plum. A layer of Certainly Celery with a white organza ribbon lies horizontally across both. And of course, the sentiment, 'Celebrate You' inked in Elegant Eggplant comes from the set A Little Birthday Cheer. I finished off the card with the Corner Rounder punch to the bottom. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to like the finished product, but for quick and simple... I'll let you be the judge :) Enjoy the rest of your weekend. We are off to a BBQ - YUM

For now, go kreate
Kim

Friday, May 23, 2008

Don't Wait

Did you every really like something, but kept procrastinating about getting it... then you see others with it and it makes you want it even more... I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Usually its a great pair of shoes, but this time it's the Tart N' Tangy set from the Occasions Mini. I've been staring at it since its debut in March and soon it will arrive at my door. Thank goodness you have 1 more month to buy it. I've seen so many adorable projects using only these 4 stamps. Good things come in small packages. I only wish I had gotten it sooner. It's just so 'summer-y', 'picnic-y', 'margarita-y'... I could go on, but I'll spare ya. Thank you to my very good friend and mentor Tanya for letting me borrow it while I anxiously await that big brown truck with all my new 'toys' :)

Any who... very simple card to make. I used my Real Red and Old Olive markers to color my images, huffed and stamped. Then used my 1-3/8" circle punch to get my Real Red circles layered under my apple and strawberry which were punched with the 1-1/4" circle punch. The cherry on top (or in this case the middle) was showcased with a Real Red scalloped circle. TIP: Punch out your middle circle first and then place your scalloped punch over your open circle and you get a great 'framed' scallop. All glorious fruits were layered on top of Old Olive diamonds. Final touches were the Red Gingham ribbon and the 'you make me happy' rub-on. Sorry, that particular rub-on is from Sale-a-bration, but any of the current rub-ons and sayings would work just perfectly!! Wasn't thinking when it was adhered - just that it WAS the perfect saying, 'cause it it did make me happy! Hope it made you smile too! There are a lot of great sets in the Occasions Mini catalog. So don't procrastinate, after June 30th the Occasions Mini will retire and you won't see these sets again! Don't drop the ball like I did, if you like this set, don't forget to order the coordinating Designer Series Paper, Summer Picnic... guess you know what I'll be ordering soon :)

For now, go kreate
Kim

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

4 Pocket Memo Board

Well, here is the final project I have to show you from the Inkredible Spring Fling convention. We used Jersey Shore Designer paper and if this paper doesn't give you that WOW factor than imagine it with your favorite patterned paper.

The supplies used were:
Stamp set: So Happy
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Jersey Shore Designer Series Paper
Inks: Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: On Board Accents, Anywhere glue stick, Sticky Strip, Take Note Rub-ons, Wild Wasabi & Pumpkin Pie Striped grosgrain, Wild Wasabi double stitched, White grosgrain, Daubers, Crystal Effects, small clothespin, 1-1/4" circle punch.



The pockets aren't real deep, but its great to put a memo pad, incoming or outgoing mail, honey-do lists :) etc... I have placed a few items into 2 of the bottom pockets. The little clothespin is attached to another pocket and there is one additional below that with the rub-on "favorite" and little white bow to the left.
4 little pockets. Cute and functional. Makes you want to make one doesn't it!!!
Contact me and I can tell you how.

For now, go kreate
Kim

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

So Girly

Doesn't time just fly!!!!! My oldest daughter is turning 4 the beginning of June. Not only can't I believe how quickly she has grown from my itty bitty baby girl to my little girl, but oh my, I didn't make up her invitations! Always good intentions to have them done the first week in May, but, as I said, time flies! And I know you've all been there. We had an extra long weekend visiting with family, so no laundry or cleaning to do, kids were entertained and I had time to do her invitation. She decided on a butterfly theme and I of course loved it.

I took the flowers from the Simply Said set, inked them with my markers, huffed and stamped. I did the same with my butterfly from Time Well Spent hostess set. Host a party and you could be eligible for this set too :) I then punched out my butterfly and Certainly Celery paper with the Scallop Punch. I offset each with dimensionals. I then took my Corner Rounder punch and scalloped the edges of a piece of Certainly Celery cardstock and adhered it to the edge of my card. The final touch was a Certainly Celery stay put bow. Pretty simple design. The coloring and huffing technique takes alittle bit of time, but I think worthy of the effort. Every card that I make is always beautiful in her eyes and this one received her big smile of approval. Hope it receives yours as well.
As always, if you'd like any information on how-to's or about hosting a party or placing an order, feel free to contact me. Click on the link to the right under contact me. Hope to hear from you soon.

For now, go kreate
Kim

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Ready set SWAP

I met some wonderful people at the convention and just as wonderful are the 30 somethin' swaps I received. Thanks Ladies for the great cards! In no particular order is a show of them. Not all demonstrators gave their recipes for their card, so I captioned them with the most pronounced stamp set used. Some did use more than one. If you would like more information on any of the cards displayed, contact me and I will gladly give you the ingredients. Enjoy the show!




Now, go kreate

Kim

Friday, May 16, 2008

Nifty Gifty


OK, so my title is a little corny...but aren't we always in need of a money holder or gift card holder. Well, here is a great little card we did at Spring Fling using that Jersey Shore DS. Now remember, if this isn't your taste, imagine it in YOUR favorite DS. The outside of the card is wrapped in a Pumpkin Pie belly band with Wild Wasabi double stitched ribbon attached to a chipboard tag. The tag again uses Jersey shore DS and the 'love you 100%' is from the Take Note Rub-Ons. We used So Happy stamp set with Wild Wasabi, Brilliant Blue and Pumpkin Pie inks, on the inside of the card. My 3 1/2 year old daughter had to add her play money to the inside 'cause that's what mommy said its for'! She's correct, or a gift card fits great too!

So cute right!! If you'd like to know how to make this kreation, feel free to click on the email link and contact me!

2 more projects from Spring Fling that I can't wait to show you... and yes they will also be in Jersey Shore DP.

For now, go kreate
Kim

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Whale Wishes

How I dislike when someone is very sick. I'd much rather kreate a card for happier occasions...But I was hoping this 'punny' whale will brighten her day alittle and let her know she is in my thoughts. She's very dear to our family and I pray she will be comforted during this time.
I haven't used much DS paper with cards yet, but this being the first, I was pleased. I used the Prints Pack Designer Series Paper which is available through Level 1 Hostess Benefits.

I inked out my whale from the Pun Fun set in Basic Gray (waterproof) onto watercolor paper FYI: If you ink out your outlined image in a non-waterproof ink, it will smear/blur into your image as you watercolor. I used my Aquapainter with Brocade Blue and watercolored my whale. She 'spouted' off Simply Said flowers with a Brilliant Blue marker(for the water she sprays and that she is afloat on) and Pixie Pink marker for the flowers. Alittle bling to the flowers with Dazzling Diamonds. Layered her on top of Regal Rose paper and used the ticket punch at the corners. The DS paper was also ticket punched and all were placed on top of Bordering Blue background paper. A little dazzle and a whole lotta love to Get Whale Soon!!!

For now, go kreate
Kim

More to come from my Inkredibles convention...

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Mini Album

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day and are nice and rested from a day of pampering (I hope anyway) So as I said the Inkredibles Impressions Spring Fling convention was great!! Lots of helpful information - great speakers, fabulous demonstrations, awesome displays, great swaps, door prizes, raffles (yeah, I won my first ever prize in a drawing) and of course the make and take projects!! Awesome right?!! Oh, did I mention a table full of chocolate to feed our energy :)
Anyway... All the projects used the Jersey Shore designer paper, so if that's a favorite, you'll enjoy. For those of you who aren't fans, that's ok, pick your favorite and start kreating!!!
Today, I'll show you the cute little 6 page album we made. So for National Scrapbooking month here is a little picture book you could put together for a great gift (in time for Fathers Day) or to keep for yourself. The trickest part of the album was the spine which was made with chopsticks, how kreative! If you want to learn more about how you can make this project, contact me and I'd be glad to help you!! Here it is, isn't it cute!!

The ingredients to kreate:
Stamps: So Happy stamp set
Paper: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie and Jersey Shore DP
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: On Board Heart Chipboard, Scallop Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Crop-a-dile, Take Note Rub-ons, Pumpkin Pie 1/2" wide grosgrain ribbon, adhesive and chopsticks (non-SU)

And here are a few additional pictures of the inside.







So all you have to do is insert your pictures and you have a great little keepsake or gift. Great right?!! Don't forget about the On Board Chipboard 25% off offer - save some money for your upcoming kreations!!
I'll be bringing you the other projects from convention in the next few days, so make sure to come back and visit!

For now, go kreate
Kim

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day

Hope you all are being pampered!!! If not, go pamper yourself in your stampin and scrappin korner :) I pray that each of you will have a very special day that you all deserve. Here is my 'virtual' card to you. (In person the purple flower and cardstock do match, I promise - so use you imagination. Couldn't get a truer picture.) But my wish for you is still the same - a very Happy Mother's Day.


For now, go kreate
Kim

Saturday, May 10, 2008

My First Swaps

Today's post will be a quick one as it's been a long day, but oh so fun!!! Today I went to my first convention. Wait to you see the great projects we did. I'll post them soon. But for now, I thought I'd share with you the 2 cards that I made for my swaps.

So, this card is made using the Priceless set - seems to be a staple of mine lately.
Bashful Blue paper was inked in flourishes and tiny flowers with Whisper White. Layered a Whisper White square, in which the edges were sponged with Brocade Blue, on an angle/diamond with a So Saffron square matted underneath. I inked out the butterflies on the Whisper White with Brocade Blue to create a shadow effect. Then inked out additional butterflies in Brocade Blue, cut them out (phew, wasn't thinking of this step when planning to do 40 cards) and popped them up on dimensionals above their 'shadows'. Then took my oval punch and punched out my 'So Kind' sentiment.

The next card uses the Heartfelt Thanks set - another set I really like. It's great if you like the 2 step stampin technique.
The Pretty in Pink background paper is stamped with the solid flower also in Pretty in Pink ink. Layered on top is Whisper White stamped with the 2 step stampin technique using Basic Brown ink as the outline and Pretty in Pink ink as the flower. And that is layered on top of Chocolate Chip. The 'heartfelt' sentiment was inked in Basic Brown and also layered on top of Chocolate Chip and popped on dimensionals. The final step was to 2 step my flower again (Pretty in Pink and Basic Brown ink), snip it out and again pop it off the card.
So there you have it, my first card swaps. And by the way, I will post the cards I received as well. So you must come back :) Lots to look forward to... 4 projects and many cards from convention! Bet you can't wait.

For now, go kreate

Kim

Friday, May 9, 2008

It's Party Time

Well, as promised, if you stayed tune you'd see some fun projects that the kiddies will do at my niece's party. No need to go out and buy all those crazy favors, they get to create their own stuff and it will all be packaged in a cute gable box to go home. Now, onto the projects...

First is a simple Mother's Day card, since we all must remember our great mom's on Sunday.
I used Tempting Turquois Paper, inked up my flowers from Background Basic set (pg 110) in VersaMark and stamped them along the top portion of my card. Then I used White Taffeta ribbon to tie a stay put bow. Bows are always tricky, so this tutorial will come in handy for you. Then I used a non-SU stamp inked again in VersaMark to place my sentiment below the ribbon. FYI: There are great sentiments in the All Holidays set (p146)- which I hope to purchase in my next order :) Finished it off with some pink, hot pink, purple and teal non-SU paper flowers. Under 15 minutes to do and cute too. Right?


The next adorable craft for the kiddies are these monogram notecards. You can click on the picture to view them larger. I made these samples up for the birthday girl Kyleigh.
Pretty basic... Inked up an image and randomly stamped it for the background. Then inked out my 'K's with On the Edge which is now a retired set, but another great alternative is the Short Order Alphabet (pg 154). The 'K's were punched out with my 1-1/4" Circle Punch and then adhered to a colored cardstock circle punched out with the larger 1-3/8" Punch or the Scallop Punch. I then used dimensionals to pop it up over the ribbons (non-SU). And there you have it, simple and oh so adorable!! If you'd like to know any of the stamp sets I used, feel free to contact me and I will gladly let you know.


Now are you ready for more fun? This one is my favorite!!

This is called a nugget tin and I got the idea from Stampin Prettys' Mary. Click here to see her tin and check out her tutorial. I inked my avery labels with a stamp from the Priceless set (pg 108). I colored the flower with Rose Red marker and the outer rings and dots with Apricot Appeal marker. I huffed and stamped. Wrapped those cuties around Hershey's nuggets and Voila'. Placed them in my tin, wrapped it up with organza ribbon and grosgrain ribbon. With Apricot Appeal ink I stamped and circle punched Smile (from Be Happy set-pg 48) and then used my scallop punch on Rose Red and made my centerpiece a flower. Great little gift!!


And finally, the cute gable box to take home their loot.

Not sure where my sister in law picked up the boxes, but most craft stores sell them. I wheeled the jumbo Kindess wheel (pg 49) in black and then the kiddies can randomly color in some flowers as I did. The final touch, I used the large tag punch and inked a For You tag in Certainly Celery. So, now I'm ready to go party with all the kids!! Hope you enjoyed the fun too!



Now you can go kreate.
Kim

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Happy Birthday to my Niece

What can be more motivating to make a card than a special occasion. This card is going to my niece, happy 7th birthday Kyleigh. This was quite an easy card to kreate, a definite under 15 minutes. Gotta love those, especially when they come out so cute!


This card used an On Board chipboard letter - check out the 25% off current promotion on all chipboard!
My niece is a big pink fan, as is her Aunt, so I choose to use Pixie Pink as the background paper. I then used Pixie Pink ink to randomly stamp the smallest flourish from the Priceless set (pg 108).
Whisper White craft ink covers the 'naked h' along with some dazzling diamonds. For the final touch I added a cute little bow to further dress up our 'h'. TIP: I didn't have Pixie Pink ribbon, so I used my Pixie Pink marker on white taffeta ribbon. Get's the job done!
The 'happy' sentiment is from the Define Your Life set (pg 156). This was inked in Whisper White on Pixie Pink paper and then mounted on Whisper White. I scalloped the edges using my SU corner punch. Then of course the inside says "birthday". So a very happy birthday to my niece, hope she likes it! Stay tuned for some more fun stuff that I will be doing for her SU birthday party!
For now, go kreate.....
Kim