Kristie Kreates

February Blog Hop for Eureka! Stamps

2012-02-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello and welcome to my post for the Eureka! Stamps Blog Hop!

This month we are celebrating

"Clovers, Leprechauns and all things Lucky!"

So the luck 'o the Irish to y'all!

If you have just happened upon the hop, you'll probably want to start at the beginning, as you won't want to miss a thing!

If you get lost along the way or there is a link that doesn't work, hop on back to the Eureka! Blog where you will find the line up with links to all the participating blogs.

If you have come here from Carol's Blog, you are on the right track.

Now on to my card.

I used the "Celtic Background" (#31601) as well as

"May Your Luck" (#13504) from Eureka! Stamps.

I masked the area where I wanted to stamp the sentiment and stamped the "Celtic Background" with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I then removed the mask and stamped the "May Your Luck" greeting with Moss Green VersaFine Ink.

I then layered it onto green paper and then onto gold card stock.

This was then adhered to a white card stock base.

There are so many wonderful images at Eureka! Stamps, I hope you will stop in and see the fabulous variety.

Thanks for stopping by, now you need to head to
Ceal's Blog

and see what wonderful creation she has to show you.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Great give away on Going Buggy!!!!!

2012-02-12T22:21:00.000-05:00

There is a fabulous giveaway going on, giving away a 90 marker set of "Flexmarkers" from Letraset. Now I haven't used these markers, but word has it that they are fabulous. Who wouldn't want a set of 90 cool markers, right?

So pop on over to Going Buggy and maybe you will be the lucky winner. It's easy to enter. And while you are there, check out Enfys' blog, she is a hoot and always give me a good chuckle AND she does some fabulous work. This is one of my favorite blogs.

Now go, go, go and check out Going Buggy, right now!

Word Card - I (heart) U

2012-02-06T17:28:00.000-05:00

Hello blog friends! I know it's been ages since I posted. Lots happening around here and I can't seem to get any stamping and creating done.

Today I want to share with you, a card that I made using a design that I saw on one of my favorite blogs. Beate has the most beautiful cards and projects and often has videos, so those of us who are "visual learners" can see the actual process. Check out her blog and see her instructional video to make this style of card.

I chose to use part of the

"Butterfly Background" (#58501) image from Eureka! Stamps.

I stamped and colored the image onto watercolor paper and fussy cut the butterfly. I also covered it with Glossy Accents and adhered it to the heart with glue dots.

I added the bling to the bottom of the heart from my stash of bling.

I think it turned out very pretty, hope you like it too.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Hogs & Kisses

2012-01-26T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hi crafty people!
Today I have a little "Hogs & Kisses" card to show you.
I made this cute little card with
Pigs in Love (#2702) from QKR Stampede.

I used to be a pig collector, years ago, we had pigs of all sizes in every room of our house. Since that time, I've changed my style and now I, pretty much, only stamp pigs.
I thought this couple were adorable and they are a quick and easy image to color. I stamped onto water color paper and used water color crayons to color them.

I hand printed the sentiment.

I think this would make an adorable Valentine for my hubby!

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you will stop in to the

QKR Stampede shop

and see all the wonderful versatile images they have to offer.

Stop back soon and see what else I'm up to.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

You're a Star!

2012-01-24T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello all!

I have always loved when I see cards made with pages from old books and I have a couple books that I keep just for that purpose.

I love how this card turned out!

I used the Lg Patriotic Star (#11603) from Eureka! Stamps to make this card.

I tore a page out of an old book and stamped the star image randomly all over the page with red Distress Ink. I then used clear embossing powder to heat emboss the images.

As you can see I layered a couple layers onto a red card base to give a bit of dimension.

For the inside I randomly stamped onto another page from the book with red Distress Ink.

I used my computer to print the sentiment onto white paper, then used a bit of Antique Linen Distress Ink to tone down the bright white of the paper. I stamped a star into the center of the sentiment. I didn't want the star to overpower the sentiment, so I stamped it onto scrap paper and then onto the sentiment.

I think this card could be used for Valentine's Day, as a congratulations card, or for anytime you just want to let someone know you care or are proud of them.

There are many wonderful image in the Eureka! Stamps Store that can be used for a lot of different occasions, just try to think outside the box and use your imagination.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you will leave a comment and come back again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Have a Sunshine day!

2012-01-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello friends!

"Sunshine Day!" (#15003) from Eureka! Stamps is the image I chose to use on this card.

I wanted a quick and easy card and this one sure qualified as that.

I stamped the "Sunshine Day" sentiment onto a scrap of patterned paper, adhered it with foam tape to card stock that was layered onto a white card stock base.

I wrapped the yellow card stock with some homemade 'baker's twine' and added a butterfly that was cut from a piece of paper I found in my stash.

Adding some dash marks finished this card.

Very quick, very easy and I love the sentiment.

Eureka! Stamps has many lovely sentiments. Just pop on over to the Eureka! Stamps store, click on "Go Shopping" or "Rubber Stamps" then go to "Greetings" you will find many, many pages of sentiments to choose from.

Thanks for stopping by today! Leave a comment if you wish and come back again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

QKR Stampede January Blog Hop

2012-01-19T20:00:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the January Blog Hop for QKR Stampede!

This is the first hop with our new design team.

If you have hopped in from
Jessica's blog
you are on the right track.
If you have just happened upon the hop, you may want to go to the beginning at the QKR Stampede Blog

where you will find a list of all the participants. If you get 'lost' along the way or one of the links isn't working you can hop back there to get on track.

For my card I used "Love Words" (#15717) from QKR Stampede.

I stamped the image onto white card stock with red Distress Ink, and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. You can see the shine that the embossing gives the image.

I layered the image onto red card stock and wrapped some "baker's twine" that I made, around it. Then adhered it all to a white card base.

I decided to make this a vertical card that opens at the top with a flap that holds the card closed. The flap was punched with an EK Success border punch and holds the card closed by tucking behind the front panel.

The white layer inside was punched with a Fiskars border punch.

Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment if you wish.

Then hop on to

Molly's blog

and see what she has to inspire you.

Be sure to pop into the QKR Stampede shop and see all the fabulous image they have for you to create with. Valentines Day is coming soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Bookmark

2012-01-16T23:20:00.000-05:00

Hello stamping fans!

Today I'd like to share with you, a bookmark that I made using

"Rose Border" (#15411) from QKR Stampede.

I stamped the image onto watercolor paper and colored it with water color crayons. I then fussy cut it, adhered it to some yellow patterned paper, fussy cut it again and adhered it to yellow card stock then to black card stock.

I punched a hole in the top with my Crop-a-dile and used some 'baker's twine' to make a tassle.

This is an easy way to make a cute little gift for someone who loves to read.

Thanks for stopping by today, leave a comment if you wish, then go visit the QKR Stampede store and see what images you would love to work with.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Dangling Hearts

2012-01-12T00:01:00.002-05:00

Hello all!

Do you realize that Valentine's Day is just a little over a month away?

Have you started you cards yet? Do you usually make Valentine's?

Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.

Today's card is made with

Love You (#10301) from QKR Stampede.

This image can easily be used as a Valentine or for any occasion when you just want to say I Love You!

The image comes in 3 parts. I cut the 3 components apart and use them separately. The sentiment is stamped directly on the white card stock, the rag doll is stamped onto another piece of white card stock and colored with water color crayons. The heart is stamped 3 times onto red card stock.

I fussy cut the doll and the hearts.

The doll is adhered with foam tape as well as the heart she is holding. The others are adhered with glue dots.

I pierced each heart and the letters above with a paper piercer and used 'baker's twine' that I made to "hang" the hearts.

Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you have enjoyed this card and will come back soon.

Now why not pop into the QKR Stampede shop and see what you can find to make your Valentine's Day cards with. Or for that matter any other cards, there are a lot of great images there.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

You're an Angel!

2012-01-10T01:06:00.000-05:00

When I was deciding what to create earlier tonight, I was browsing through my Eureka! Stamps and came across "Sm Ribbon Angel" (#21401) and knew this was what I wanted to work with.

I have had this stamp for a while and I don't know why I haven't used it before. I ordered it because she was so beautiful and then she got buried in with my other stamps and just never got noticed.

I'm so glad I found her!

Guess I need a better way of organizing and storing my stamps, eh?

I stamped her onto water color paper and colored her with water color crayons. I wanted a bit of sparkle, so I used some Stickles on her wings and halo. Every angel needs a bit of sparkle don't you think?!?!

To add a bit more sparkle I layered the image onto blue glitter paper then onto a white card base.

I thought this card went right along with the Eureka Blog Hop theme this month of "Love" What signifies love more than an angel?

I plan to send this card to a friend who has been there for me through some very tough times. I will write inside "You're an Angel!"

I do believe that some people in our lives are our guardian angels, there to be with us through thick and thin.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you like this card as much as I do.

There are many beautiful angel images in the Eureka! Stamp store so if there is an angel in your life, check them out and let your angel know that she/he is appreciated.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Eureka! Stamps Blog Hop

2012-01-09T00:01:00.003-05:00

Hello and welcome to the January Blog Hop for Eureka! Stamps.

This is the first blog hop with the new design team and although some of us are old friends, there are some new people who will, I'm sure, give us all some great inspiration.

If you have just stumbled into my post, please start at the beginning at the Eureka! Stamps blog page. You won't want to miss any of the wonderful projects our team has to show you. If you get lost along the way, just hop back to the beginning where you will find links to all the blogs.

If you have come from Roxie's Blog you are on the right track.

This month our theme is Valentines/love. If you haven't started making your Valentine cards, you will want to get started when you see all the great ideas and the wonderful stamps from Eureka! Stamps.

For my card I have used a variety of images.

I stamped Heart Background (#57901) and Cascading Hearts (#14707) onto white card stock and layered them onto red card stock. These were adhered to a white card base, the Cascading Hearts was adhered with foam tape to give a bit of dimension that really doesn't show in the picture. Sorry!

The "I Love You" is a portion of "Love Words" (#15717) from sister company QKR Stampede.

I masked off the areas of the stamp that I didn't need with post it notes, inked up the section I wanted and used my Stampamajig to get the proper placement of the sentiment.

I hope you will hop on into the Eureka! Stamps store and see what images you want to use for your cards and project.

Now hop on over to

Ceal's Blog

and see what wonderful project she has to show you.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back soon.

Leave a comment if you like, I'd love to hear what you think.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

My 2011 favorites

2011-12-31T19:55:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite projects of 2011.

Some of them are cards, some are altered projects, some are layouts, but for whatever reason they are ones that I really love.

So here they are. Hope you enjoy seeing them. I'm not sure that all of them have been posted on the blog before.

Stamping and coloring on dryer sheets.

These next 3 are my "pear series" I love this stamp and made several different cards with it.

Sorry about this picture, not the best clarity, but I love the card.

2 altered jeans pockets.

These were made for my nieces friend.

"House" mini book I made for a Mother's Day exchange with my scrapping friends.

These are the covers of the scrapbooks that I made for my nephew and new niece of their wedding. I love the entire scrapbook, but I couldn't share all the pages, just too many. LOL, that's why I had to put them into 2 books.

I decided that I want to make a layout of each of my nieces and nephews. This is the first one of my nephew Joel.

Finally am working on layouts of my kids when they were little.

I made these 2 from pictures from one photo session of them.

Love this layout of my Grandparents. That little wallet sized picture is my Mom. The picture doesn't do this layout justice, it really turned our beautiful.

I made this for a scrapping cyber friend who had a baby just before Christmas. A group of us made layouts and sent her a 'starter' scrapbook for little William.

These are hats I made for a couple of my greats. (That's what I call my great nieces and nephews)

Love this gift card holder that I made. That penguin is so darn cute. I made a few with this little guy.

Well, those are my faves, hope you like them too.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

More Gift Card Holders

2011-12-25T12:59:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I just found that I had started this post and never put it up on the blog.

So I'm showing you a couple gift card holders that I made and have given to people already.

This first one was for my nephew Joel. I used "Ice Skating" (#7902) from QKR Stampede.

I stamped Ice Skating onto watercolor paper and colored it with water color crayons. The white card stock was embossed with the snowflake folder and my Cuttlebug. The 'baker's twine' around the top is some that I made, a very simple process. If you are interested in making your own baker's twine here is a tutorial.

This second gift card holder I used "Joy" (#15703) from QKR Stampede. I stamped onto red card stock and then used various colors of Stickles to "bling" it up. Again I used the snowflake embossing folder.

Of course these gift card holders can be adapted for any occasion.

QKR Stampede has many different stamps for all occasions, so pop on over to their shop and check them out.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you had a fabulous Christmas and wish you a happy and healthy 2012!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

This is what it's about!

2011-12-22T01:07:00.000-05:00

Today's post isn't about crafting, it's about what Christmas is all about.

These past few days have been an absolute nightmare.

It all started on Saturday.
We started out the day with plans to drive out and cut down a Christmas tree. This is our family tradition. We go out past Franklinville, which is over an hour drive away, to a wonderful tree farm called Johnson's Tree Farm. We have been going there since Kelsie was a baby and we love the family that runs the farm.

Anyway, that was our plan, but that all went awry when Dave told me that he needed me to come right away to his Aunt Bea's house.

When I got there he handed a dog through the car window and said it needed to go to the SPCA as one of his cousins dogs, of which she has 10, had bit it and she didn't want it harmed anymore.
So off I went to surrender the dog, it was a stray and she had only had it about 2 weeks. My hope is that the owners came to claim it.

In the mean time, Dave was taking his cousin to the hospital. I won't go into all the details, but she was very, very ill and was admitted right into the ICU.

Aunt Bea is in her 80s and has pretty bad dementia and Deb was caring for her at home. So now Aunt Bea is alone at home and needs to be cared for.

Dave ended up moving in and sleeping on the sofa and caring for Aunt Bea and all the animals, 10 dogs, 2 pigs, 2 chinchilla and a parrot.

Needless to say we didn't get out to cut the tree. With caring for Aunt Bea, all the animals, being with Deb etc. etc. etc we figured we wouldn't be able to get a tree.

As it turns out, Deb is a lot sicker than we originally realized. She has masses in both lungs, her liver and lymph nodes. She is having some kind of GI bleeding that caused her hemoglobin to be 6.
It should be between 12 -16.

Right now we are not sure what is going to happen. But it sure wasn't going to be going out to buy a tree.

On Tuesday evening, Jaryd was out with his best buddy, Brian, and Dave came home for about an hour. Kelsie called Jaryd and asked if he was finished shopping as Dad was home and she thought he would want to come home and see him before he left again. They haven't had much chance to see him since Saturday. So he said he'd be home soon. We went on talking about the fact that we wouldn't be having a Christmas tree, but we'd still have Christmas anyway. We'd be okay.

A few minutes later Jaryd and Brian came in and they were carrying a Christmas tree! They had gone out and bought us a tree! I'm guessing that since Kelsie and Jaryd work together, they planned it all that day at work.

I just started crying, how sweet are these kids?!?! Brian is like a 2nd son to me and it was so sweet of him to be involved in this too. I hadn't realized how much I really wanted a tree until I saw them come in with it.

The boys gave me hugs and told me Merry Christmas!

Now this is really what Christmas is all about, don't ya think!

Right now the tree is standing in the corner of the livingroom, naked, but it will get decorated and we will have our Christmas.

We have worked out some things with caring for Aunt Bea, the animals and visiting and being with Deb, between Dave, his siblings and me, we have it covered. This will be a bit of a different Christmas, but we will have our celebration.

AND we have a Christmas Tree!!!!

Let us all remember the meaning of Christmas and show the love that my kids (all 3 of them) showed this season.
Wishing you the love of Christ this Christmas season and all through the coming year!

Embossed Tree Card

2011-12-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello readers!

Today I'd like to share a pretty basic card with you.

On this card I have used the "Tree" image (#14501) from QKR Stampede

I stamped the image onto blue card stock with VersaMark watermark ink then applied gold embossing powder to the image. I then heated it with my heating tool to melt the powder.

If you have never done heat embossing and want to try it, it is very simple and gives beautiful results. If you have questions, feel free to e-mail me.

Once this powder is heated it becomes metallic and shiny.

I love the effect heat embossing gives.

I layered the image onto gold metallic card stock and then onto the black with gold stars and used a white card base.

This is a very 'clean and simple' card that I love.

Very easy to make.

Thanks for stopping by today, come back again soon!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Poinsettia card

2011-12-19T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello all!

Today I have a card made with the Poinsettia stamp (#83407) from

Biblical Impressions.

Biblical Impressions is another sister company to QKR Stampede and Eureka! Stamps.

This is the stamp that was used for the Design Team Call for

Biblical Impressions. I am on the other 2 company design teams and I think that is enough for me right now, but the owner was happy to have me create a card with this image even though I'm not on that team. She is wonderful to work with and like the other two companies, Biblical Impressions, has many versatile images.

I stamped onto watercolor paper and colored the image with watercolor crayons. I then used my new set of Spellbinder dies to cut the scalloped circle shape. I adhered it to the card stock base and added the crystal bling around the edge.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you'll stop in to Biblical Impressions and see the many images they have to offer.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Gift card holders

2011-12-18T11:15:00.000-05:00

I generally don't like to give gift cards for Christmas, but I have come to the realization that sometimes, this is the best gift for a person.

For instance, my Aunt Marilyn, who lives is North Carolina

and is 88 yrs old.

For years I struggled with what to give her for Christmas.

Then one year I hit on something that she really loved. So, for the last 4-5 yrs I have given her gift cards to restaurants.

She loves this gift from us every year. $10 at Burger King can last for a long time when you just get a burger and a senior coffee! She loves to get out of the house for a bit of a walk each day and then stop for a quick little lunch.

I like to dress up her gift cards a bit with some kind of cute little holder. Today I'm showing you what I made for her this year.

"Ice Penguin" (#7902) from QKR Stampede.

Snowbaby stamp from Department 56, 1995 Rubber Stamp Heaven

Snowflakes are punched with punch from Creative Memories.

"Poinsettia" (#83407) from Biblical Impressions

"Joy" (#15703) from QKR Stampede.

Snowman is from Studio G Clear Stamps

Tree is from Bo Bunny, Merry Christmas Clearly Stamps set.

These two are stamps from my stash and have no name on them.

Inkadinkadoo Holiday Assortment.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'd love to hear what you think of my little gift card holder, so leave me a comment and let me know.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Round Card

2011-12-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I hope your holiday preparations are moving along well. Mine are, we made a huge dent in our Christmas shopping today, now just to get them wrapped.

Today I'm showing you a round card I made with

"Snow Scene Circle Stamp" (#17301)

from Eureka! Stamps. This is the image used for the Design Team call for Eureka! Stamps. I'm happy to tell you that I will be on the Eureka! Stamps Design Team for another 6 month term. I am thrilled to be able to work with this company. There are so many wonderful images in their store!

I stamped onto watercolor paper and used watercolor crayons to color the image. I used a glue pen and added glitter on the snow and used Glossy Accents to give the moon and the pond some shine.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you'll stop again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Christmas cards

2011-12-15T00:01:00.001-05:00

How are you doing on your Christmas cards?

I was having a tough time deciding on a card to make and I was thinking I wouldn't get them done. Finally, a style ect. just hit me and I was set to go.

I decided to use the "Pine Sprig" (#15702) image from QKR Stampede.

I stamped it onto white card stock and colored them with water color crayons.

I used a few different colors of card stock with the image as a mat.

I then ran white card stock through my Cuttlebug with the snowflake embossing folder.

Here is a close up that shows the embossed snowflakes better.

I use just a touch of gold Stickles on the bells to finish them off.

On the inside of the cards I used the digital image of

"Merry Christmas" (#6803) from Eureka! Stamps.

By using the digital image, I could adjust the size and change the color to match the card fronts.

I'm lovin' how they turned out!

Did you make Christmas cards this year? I'd love to hear about them.

Leave me a comment telling me about them and a link if you have them on a blog etc.

Thanks for stopping by today. Come again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Banner for the wall at My Happy Place

2011-12-12T00:19:00.000-05:00

A very long time ago, I won a lovely banner kit from Teri during a virtual crop on Christina's blog. And when I say a long time ago, I really mean a long time ago. This beautiful kit has been waiting for me to put it together, sitting at My Happy Place with my other supplies etc, begging to be taken care of and loved.

This past Saturday, I finally put my foot down and said

"Kristie, you have to make this beautiful banner!!!"

So I got all the parts out and took a look at them, there were so many lovely supplies to work with! It's been so long that I don't even remember what Teri's banner looked like, so I just started creating and I really LOVE how it turned out.

This is the whole banner and below you can see all the individual pieces.

Right now it is hanging on the blackboard at My Happy Place, but we are going to find a nice spot where it will really show up and hopefully be an inspiration to those who come to scrapbook and craft with us.

Thank you Teri! Sorry it took me so long to get this done. I guess good things are worth waiting for. Hope you like it as much as I do!

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope, if you live in the area, you will come to My Happy Place and see my banner in person.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

QKR Design team call and card

2011-12-12T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello and welcome!

I hope you are having a great time getting ready for the holiday season!

I've got my cards done, but that shopping just doesn't seem to want to do itself, still plenty to do there.

Today I'm going to show you a card I made with "Snowy Cabin" (#13807) from QKR Stampede. I ran a piece of white card stock through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder, sorry I don't know the name of this one, but I love it. The center is the perfect place to nestle this little "Snowy Cabin" I used watercolor pencils to color the image, then used a glue pen on the snowy areas and added glitter.

QKR Stampede and it's sister companies are looking for some new design team member. If you are interested you can check out the "rules" at the links below. For the QKR Stampede team a project using this "Snowy Cabin" is part of the process.

I'm happy to say I will be staying on the design team for another 6 months. If you are interested, be sure to check these links.

QKR Stampede

Eureka! Stamps

Biblical Impressions

Thanks for stopping by today!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Snowman card and ornament

2011-12-11T15:28:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

Last Sunday we had our Christmas Crop at My Happy Place and I wanted to share a simple project with the gals at the crop.

Today I'm showing you what we made.

For my card I used the "Skinny Snowman" (#13813) from QKR Stampede.

I love this little guy. I stamped him onto watercolor paper and colored him with watercolor crayons.

The snowflakes were punched out of silver paper with a Creative Memories punch.

On the inside of the card I adhered more of the snowflakes and a little fold out embellishment.

This is one of the ways that the little project that we made at My Happy Place can be used.

Below is the ornament that we made at the crop. They are simple and quick and can be made with any symetrical shape.

We made a pretty basic version of this ornament, I didn't want to take too much time away from everyones scrapping. I just wanted them to learn how to make them and they could take it from there.

A couple of the ladies used some glitter to bling up their ornaments and I hear that one of them has been making these type of ornaments with a Christmas tree cutout.

They are fun and are simple enough for kids to do too.

If you would like to know how they are made, let me know in the comments with a way to contact you or send an e-mail out to me and I will get some instructions to you.

These can also be used as cute gift toppers, just like it was put into the card, they can be adhered to the top of a gift.

Thanks for stopping by today, let me know what you think of this little project.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Beauty...

2011-11-29T23:54:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know did!

This past weekend we had "Why Shop When You Can Crop" at

My Happy Place

Friday and Saturday we cropped from 11 a.m - 11p.m. and had a ball doing it.

One of the layouts I did was inspired by the layout below.

When I see something in a magazine that I like, I tear it out and put it into my inspiration notebook. I took this layout out of the notebook a while ago, because I love it so much and wanted to do something like it.

I'm sorry I can't tell you what magazine I got it from, but I do know it is titled "Grateful for These 4" and was created by Jennifer Perks. Isn't it beautiful?

Below is the layout that I did. I scraplifted the basic design and went my own way with the pictures and flowers. I really love how it turned out.

The pictures on this page were taken when Kelsie was 5 yrs old. We went and had Glamour Shots taken as a gift for my husband, Dave. It was really Kelsie's call and she chose all the clothes that we wore for the session. I would have never chosen sequins, but she has always been a girlie girl and sparkle and shine is soooooo attractive to a 5 yr old girl.

What a great time we had doing this together.

Honestly, if Glamour Shots was still in the mall, I'd do it again with her, now that she is 21 yrs old.

Maybe this time she wouldn't pick the sequins. LOL!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have been inspired.

QKR Stampede November Blog Hop

2011-11-17T22:00:00.002-05:00

Hello Hoppers!

Welcome to my post for the QKR Stampede November Blog Hop.

This month our design team has made projects using snowmen/women.

If you came from

Monika's blog

you are in the right place. If you get 'lost' along the way or there is a link that isn't working, you can find the entire lineup at the QKR Stampede Blog.

Now, on to my card. I have used "Best Friends" (#23502) from QKR Stampede for my image and "Warm Fuzzies" (#8604) from sister company Eureka! Stamps for the sentiment.

Both of these come in a choice of rubber stamp or digital format.

I stamped the image onto watercolor paper and colored with watercolor crayons. I used a glue pen on the snowman and the sentiment and added some glitter. I used a bit of cotton for the top of the hat.

The blue background is some glitter paper that was run through the Cuttlebug in a Snowflake embossing folder.

I fussy cut the image and adhered it with foam tape.

The sentiment is adhered with ATG tape.

Thanks for hopping in today. I hope you enjoyed my card as much as I enjoyed making it. Although I don't like the cold and snow, I do love making winter/Christmas cards.

QKR Stampede has a lot of wonderful winter images, so after you finish the hop, take a hop over to the shop and check them out.

Now, I'll send you off to see what

Kristine

has made to inspire you.

Until nest time, Happy Crafting!

Life is sweeter

2011-11-17T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello!

Today I have a card that I made with only part of an image.

I have used the image "Life is Sweeter" (#9102) from QKR Stampede.

I cut the rubber stamp apart and used only the sentiment.

With the stamp cut into pieces I can use it in many more ways on cards and other projects.

I saw the technique to make the circle embellishment on

Kristina Werner's blog.

If you haven't checked out her blog, you should, she is a wonderful inspiration!

First I punched out circles in different coordinating papers, then adhered them to a piece of card stock. I then trimmed it to the size I wanted for the card and layered it onto another piece of card stock. Before adhering it to the card base I punched another circle out of the right side of the card stock. I used a border punch to punch out the tiny hearts and used foam tape to adhere them to the card.

This card was quick and easy and I think it turned out very pretty. I hope you have enjoyed it too.

Now, hop on over to QKR Stampede and see what stamps you might be able to use in different ways.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Eureka! Stamps November Blog Hop

2011-11-13T21:36:00.001-05:00

Welcome to my post for the Eureka! Stamps Design Team Blog Hop!

If you have just happened upon the hop, you may want to start at the beginning, as you won't want to miss any of the inspiration the design team has to show you.

If you have come from

Monika's blog,

you are on the right track. I'm sure she had something wonderful to share with you.

I have 2 cards to share today.

For this first card I used my Cuttlebug to emboss some blue card stock with a snowflake pattern. I then used a white ink pad and a direct to paper technique to add a bit of white to those snow flakes. Even though it may not show in the picture, the card has a snowy sparkle to it, as I sprayed it with some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I love the way it makes things shimmer and shine!

The "Bundle up" is part of the "Bundle Up and Enjoy" (#34401) image from Eureka! Stamps. I used the digital format of this image for my card, which made it easy to size and fussy cut for my card. This image also comes in rubber.

I used the 2nd half of the image inside my card.

When I saw the next image I had to have it.

It is called "Photographic Memory" (#24207) also from Eureka! Stamps. When I read it, I laughed out loud. I used the rubber stamp of this sentiment, but it does also come in digital format.

I had this camera die cut from a sheet of die cuts I bought a long time ago. When I got the sentiment I knew exactly what I would do with it.

When my son suggested that I adhere the camera to the card base and fussy cut around it, I thought it was a great idea.

I stamped the first 1/2 of the sentiment onto silver vellum and adhered it to the back of the camera to show through the lens opening.

I used the other half of the sentiment inside the card and added a couple stars, that were on the die cut sheet, as accents.

Now I have to find just the right person to send this card to. LOL

I hope you have enjoyed my cards today, thank you for hopping along.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of my cards and then hop on over to

Kristine's blog

and see what lovely inspiration she has to show you.

Eureka! Stamps has a lot of sentiments in their shop. Some funny, some sentimental and some just plain nice. So why not hop there after you finish the hop and see what they have to offer?!?!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Joy

2011-11-08T17:13:00.000-05:00

Hello stamping fans!

Still haven't decided on a Christmas card to make to send out, but if I keep up at the rate I'm at, I will have a enough different cards to send out to everyone on my list.

That being said, I'd like to show you another fun Christmas card.

I saw this style of card somewhere the other day and loved it. Unfortunately, I forgot to pin it to my board on Pinterest so I don't know whose blog I got it from. Sorry! If you are interested in how to make this style of card, e-mail me and I will get back to you with some instructions.

For this card I have used 2 images;

Joy (#15703) and Christmas Border (#15706) from QKR Stampede

I stamped the Joy image and colored it with watercolor pencils

On the inside of the card, I stamped the Christmas Border image, colored it with watercolor crayons and put Glossy Accents over the image. I love the way Glossy Accents gives such a nice shine!

This is a 4" x 4" card, but it fits nicely into a standard invitation sized envelope. If you want to be sure it doesn't slide in the envelope, you can use some foam tape and stick it inside the envelope on either side of the card.

Using this size envelope will keep you from having to pay extra postage for a square envelope.

If you are like me and haven't started your Christmas cards yet, pop into the QKR Stampede shop and see what wonderful Christmas images you might want to work with. You will find links there to the 2 sister companies of QKR, Eureka! Stamps and Biblical Impressions or follow my links. They all have wonderful images that come in rubber or digital format.

Thanks for stopping by today. Let me know what you think of this style of card in a comment.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Skinny Snowman

2011-10-30T16:03:00.000-04:00

Hello crafty people!

Are you in an area that got snow this weekend?

If so, I hope you are safe and warm in your home.

Here in the Buffalo, NY area it is cool, but sunny and no snow.

We did have a bit in the air the other day, but nothing hit the ground.

If you are wanting to see snow you have come to the right place.

Today I have 3 cards made with the "Skinny Snowman" image (#13813) from QKR Stampede.

I think this little guy is just adorable and I had a lot of fun playing with him and making different cards.

This card I decided to do some dry embossing. I used brass stencils and my light box to add the snowflakes around the Skinny Snowman and to emboss the Merry Christmas along the left side of the card. Sorry that doesn't show up very well in the picture.

The white snowflakes were punched with the Creative Memories snowflake punch.

This 2nd card I used some striped paper cut on a diagonal. I love these candy striped papers at Christmas time.

This 3rd card I used some TaDa snowflake paper behind the Skinny Snowman that I had fussy cut.

QKR Stampede has a lot of really cute snowmen/women stamps to choose from. So if you are looking for one to use for Christmas cards pop on over to the QKR Stampede store and take a look.

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave me a comment and let me know which card you like the best.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Filagree Border

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hello stamping fans!

Today I have a card I made using the Filagree Border (#57703) from

Eureka! Stamps

As you can see a border stamp doesn't need to be used on an edge as a boarder. Here I have stamped it onto some Kraft card stock and trimmed it to just the border to be used toward the center of the card. I used some patterned paper and card stocks from my scraps stash for the other elements.

I used an EK Success border punch for the scalloped edge on the patterned paper.

For the hearts, I freehanded a couple hearts and cut them out. Then used a Zig pen to put some dash marks around the edge of them.

The edges of the card were inked with Distress Ink.

Thank you for stopping by today. Leave a comment if you wish.

Stop into the Eureka! Stamps store and take a look and see what different ways you might be able to use the wonderful images they have.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Stamping on ribbon.

2011-10-25T00:01:00.003-04:00

Hello crafty people!

I was going through my "inspiration" notebook the other day and got this idea from a layout I had saved.

I used the "Tree" (#14501) image from QKR Stampede for this card.

First I cut 6 pieces of green grosgrain ribbon. I used ATG Tape to adhere them to my craft mat, so they wouldn't shift. Using Versa Fine Ink I stamped the Tree image onto the ribbon.

Once the ink was dried I picked up the pieces of stamped ribbon and adhered them to a piece of white card stock and randomly trimmed the ends.

I used a yellow star brad on the top of the tree then layered it onto the torn red card stock. I think the white card stock sets off the image nicely.

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of my stamped ribbon technque.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Happy Holidays

2011-10-23T19:01:00.000-04:00

Hello cyber friends!

I keep saying I need to start making my Christmas cards and I keep "playing" around with ideas, but haven't decided on a card yet.

Today I'd like to show you one of the cards I made while "playing around"

I quite like it, but I don't think this will be the one I make to send out.

This is a very simple card, just some stripped paper, card stock, buttons and a "Happy Holidays" metallic sticker.

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave me a comment if you wish and come back again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

October QKR Stampede Blog Hop

2011-10-20T22:00:00.003-04:00

Hello and welcome to my post for the

October QKR Stampede Blog Hop!

If you have come from

Monika's Blog,

where I'm sure she had something wonderful to show you,

you are right on target, if you have just stumbled upon the hop, you may want to start at the beginning where you will find a list of all the blogs included in the hop. You won't want to miss any of the lovely work the Design Team has to show you.

This month our theme is Encouragement/Get Well.

I decided to use

"Secrets" (#14312) and "True Friends" (#10205)

from

QKR Stampede

What is more encouraging than to know that you mean the world to someone else? To know that your "Secrets" are safe with them? To know they are there for you no matter what?

I love these two rag dolls sharing their secrets with one another.

I colored them with water color crayons and mounted them to card stock that was embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

I used a sanding block over the embossed dots to bring out some of that core color and give contrast.

Here is a look inside the card, which I stamped and then embossed with the Swiss Dots Border folder.

Thank you for stopping by!

Leave a comment if you wish then head over to see what

Kristine

has to show you on her blog. I'm sure it will be something lovely.

Once you are done with the hop, make one last hop to the

QKR Stampede store

and see the many fabulous images they have to offer.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Life is Good

2011-10-20T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello! I hope you've had some time to do a bit of stamping lately.

Today I'm showing you a simple card that I made with one sentiment stamp.

I used the "Life is Good" (#16307) stamp from QKR Stampede.

I stamped this sentiment 3 times with VersaMark ink and then heat embossed them with gold embossing powder. It's hard to see in the photo, but the words are a nice metallic gold.

Once they were embossed and cooled, I used a circle punch to punch the words out in the circles and also punch out circles in some coordinating papers.

The circles were all put through my Xyron and adhered to a piece of card stock.

The edges were all inked with Distress Ink.

I used an EK Success border punch on the right edge of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave a comment if you wish and be sure to come back tomorrow (October 21st) for the

QKR Stampede Design Team Blog Hop.

I'm sure there will be some lovely projects to see on the hop.

Hope to "see" you there!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Wrapped up Kitty and Puppy

2011-10-17T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hello bloggers!

Today I'm showing you an adorable kitty and puppy stamp from Eureka! Stamps called Large Wrapped up Kitty and Puppy (#17802)

I thought I'd stick with the theme that we had for our hop this month and do another dog and cat themed card. Eureka! has some adorable images of cats and dogs and I thought this one was perfect for a Christmas card.

I used Copic markers to color this image on white card stock.

I haven't started my Christmas cards yet, but I think this one will be going to my Aunt who is a real kitty lover. I know she will love it.

I hope you will check out all the adorable cats and dogs that Eureka! Stamps offers. There are images for all occasions, not just Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave a comment if you like.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Stamping for a layout.

2011-10-14T00:01:00.002-04:00

Hello blog friends!

A while back I got a set of adorable alpha stamps called "Angel Alphabet" (#10502) and "Watering Hearts" (#8403) from QKR Stampede

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the "Angel Alphabet" and finally did it this weekend.

I stamped out "Kelsie Angel Baby" and colored it with water color crayons

In the center I used the "Watering Hearts" image.

These were perfect for this layout, as we called her that from the time she was born.

I'm way behind in my scrapbooking. That little Angel Baby is getting close to 22 yrs old now.

I love how this layout turned out. I love using stamping on layouts and this is a perfect example of one way that it can be done.

The "Angel Alphabet" can be used for so many different kinds of projects. How cute would it be to use them to make a name plate for a little girl's room?!?!

QKR Stampede and it's sister company Eureka! Stamps have a lot of great angel images. So pop on over to the stores and take a look.

Thanks for stopping by today! Leave me a comment if you like.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Dogs love Christmas too!

2011-10-12T00:01:00.003-04:00

Hello! How are y'all today?
I have an adorable Christmas card to show you today.

I made this card with "Dog Pile" (#17703) and "Piled High Christmas" (#23302) from Eureka! Stamps.

I stamped the image onto water color paper and colored it with water color crayons. I used some Stickles on the star and ornaments and some Glossy Accents on the ribbon on the gift.

The inside sentiment was stamped with black ink and layered onto colored card stock to give it a little pop.

There are many wonderful images in the Eureka! Stamps store, whether you are looking for dogs, Christmas or both or maybe some thing else.

Hop on over and see what Eureka! Stamps has to offer.

I'm sure you will find something you just love!

Thanks for stopping by today, come again soon!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Eureka! Stamps Dog and Cat Blog Hop.

2011-10-09T22:00:00.003-04:00

Hello, and welcome to my part of the Eureka! Stamps Dog and Cat Blog Hop!

If you have hopped over from

Monika's Blog

you are headed in the right direction. I'm sure you got some great inspiration there!

If you just happened to stumble onto the hop, hop over to the start of the hop at the Eureka! Stamps blog and start there. There will be links to all the participating blogs there, so if a link doesn't work or you get lost along the way, check back there and get back on track.

When I saw "Party Poopers" (#14303) in the Eureka! Stamps store, I knew I would love working with it. Are these little guys cute or what?!?!

They were stamped onto white card stock and colored with Copic markers, fussy cut and adhered with foam tape to the colored card stock.

Brads were added as accents and it all was layered together onto a cream card stock base.

There are many adorable dog and cat images in the Eureka! Store, so once you are finished hopping here, hop on over and check them out.

For now, hop over to

Roxie's blog

where I'm sure you will find something wonderful to inspire you.

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave me a comment and let me know which of these little guys you like the best.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Cronucopia

2011-10-09T01:46:00.000-04:00

Hey there fans!

Today I have a card to show you that I submitted for the 2nd round of the card contest on the Practical Scrappers Blog.

I had to make a fall card and include some kind of twine on it.

I just learned that I didn't make the next round, but that's okay, I like my card anyway and had fun making it.

I chose to use

"Cornucopia" (#16305) and "Leaf Background" (#26901)

both from Eureka! Stamps.

The Cornucopia image is colored with water color crayons.

In this picture you can see how this card opens and that I used the

Leaf Background image on the panels that are attached behind the Cornucopia.

I stamped the Leaf Background onto plain colored paper with VersaMark and used a small brush to brush over it with Gold Mica Powder, which is also sold in the Eureka! Stamps Store.

Thanks for stopping by today. Now hop on over to the Eureka! Stamps Store and see all the wonderful images and supplies they have to offer.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Picking Flowers

2011-10-06T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello crafty people!

Today I would like to share "Picking Flowers" (#11401) with you.

This is one of the cute 'Girl' images from QKR Stampede.

For this card I stamped her onto white card stock and colored her with Copic markers. I borrowed them from a friend the other evening at a crop and I definitely will be putting Copics on my birthday and Christmas wish lists.

I used an oval Spellbinders die to cut out the image and mounted it on a larger oval. I inked the edges of the image cut out and sanded the edges of the outer oval.

The background paper was embossed with a Sizzix embossing plate and my Cuttlebug, then sanded with a sanding block to bring out the flowers.

These were all adhered to an ivory base card and the edges of the card were inked.

I found the flower and butterfly buttons in my stash and added them with foam tape.

I hope you'll pop on over to the QKR Stampede store and see what great images there are to choose from. These little girls are just adorable and very versatile.

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave a comment and stop back again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Got through the first round

2011-10-01T17:29:00.000-04:00

Practical Scrappers Blog is having a contest and I submitted my 3 cards and I made it through the first round. The card had to have pink on it. The card below made the cut.

Now the voting begins.

So if you could hop on over to their blog and check out the cards, if you think I deserve a vote, put in a vote for me.

The rules are on their blog, you may have to scroll down a bit to find the post, as they post something most days and voting goes through October 6th.

The name of the post is "Let the Voting Begin" I'd give you a direct link but the cards are in several different posts.

Thanks! I'm keeping my fingers crossed and better go get to work on my next card, so I'll be ready if I make it to the next round!

Two of my favorite fall stamps

2011-10-01T01:34:00.000-04:00

Hello friends!

Today I'd like to share with you, a card using 2 of my favorite fall stamps from QKR Stampede.

Last night I made this card using the Leaf (#3901) image and Pumpkin Vine (#18802) that are under the 'Autumn" category in the QKR Stampede store.

I used the Leaf stamp with VersaMark randomly on Kraft card stock and brushed them with gold Mica Powder for my background.

I stamped the Pumpkin Vine on orange and green pieces of card stock and fussy cut them. If you look at the Pumpkin Vine image in the QKR Store you will see that there is more to the image than shows here. I chose to only use part of the image. This is one of the things I love about stamping, you can use all or parts of an image. Stamps are so versatile.

After piecing the Pumpkin and Vine I used foam tape to adhere it to the background.

The ribbon came out looking very bright in the pictures, but it actually matches much better than it looks. Sorry for the poor photo, it is very rainy and dreary here today.

I hope you'll hop on over to the QKR Stampede store and see all the fall stamps they have to offer in both rubber and digital format.

Also be sure to check out the variety of Mica Powders that are offered in the store.

Thanks for stopping by today, come again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

QKR Stampede images on a layout!

2011-09-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hi all you crafty people!

Today I thought I'd show you a layout I made where I used 2 images from QKR Stampede.

I used the "Tree" image (#14501) and "Joy" (#15703)

I stamped the trees onto a few different colors of green card stock then fussy cut them. I stamped just the bottom of the trees onto brown card stock and fussy cut just the trunk of the trees and used Elmers Quick Dry Glue to add the brown trunks to the trees.

I added some red Stickles to the trees to give them a bit of 'decoration' and used foam tape to adhere them to give them different dimensions.

I stamped the "Joy" image onto white card stock and colored them with water color crayons, trimmed and added it to a green mat and then onto the layout.

I love using stamps on layouts, there are so many different ways they can be used to spruce up a layout.

Stop in to the QKR Stampede site and see what images you might want to use on some layouts one day soon.

Thank you for stopping by today. Leave me a comment and let me know if you have used stamps on any of your layouts.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Cornstalk and Pumpkin

2011-09-20T22:40:00.000-04:00

Hello!
Autumn is on it's way and that doesn't make me too happy. I like the really warm weather and by that I mean 70s & 80s, really warm, well more like hot.

We've been having some early fall-like weather, but today it was beautiful and I hear it's supposed to be more summer-like for a little while.

The one thing I do like about fall is the colors. I love the oranges and browns, the reds and yellows. I love all the wonderful fall images that Eureka! Stamps has to offer.

Today I'm showing you a card that I made with the "Cornstalk and Pumpkin" image (#29802) from Eureka! Stamps.

I made this card while I was at a crop at My Happy Place this past weekend. My friend Jen let me play with her Copic markers and I'm telling you, I loved messing around with them. Maybe Christmas! I'll have to put them on my wish list!

I have never used Copic markers before, but have seen many videos and what a joy they were to work with!

Then I played with another new toy, my friend Jen's Slice! I used it to cut the word Autumn for my card. It cut so easily and is so easy to use. My birthday is coming up so I will be getting one from my kids. It's already been ordered, now I just have to tell them that is what they will be giving me. LOL!

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you'll hop on over to Eureka! Stamps and see all the wonderful fall stamps they have to offer.

Leave me a comment if you like and come back again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Nature/Animals QKR Stampede Blog Hop

2011-09-15T22:00:00.002-04:00

Hello blog hoppers!

Welcome to the QKR Stampede Blog Hop!

If you have just happened upon the hop, you may want to start at the

QKR Stampede Blog where you will find a link to each participating blog. If you get lost along the way or a link doesn't work, you can always go there to get back on track.

If you have arrived from Jessica's blog, you are headed in the right direction.

Our theme this month is Nature/Animals and I have made 2 cards to show you.

For this first one, I didn't use any stamps, I used some of the lovely paper flowers available through QKR Stampede. There are many color combinations to choose from. For this card I used flowers from the "Orange 4" packet.

For the basket I used strips of white card stock, cut to 1/4" I used Distress Ink to color the strips then wove them together.

I used tape to adhere the strips to the back of the "basket" and trimmed the corners with my Corner Chomper.

The flowers are adhered with glue dots and foam tape.

I used a bit of Stickles in the centers of each of the flowers.

This second card is made with the "Seahorse" (#18708) stamp.

I stamped the seahorse onto some blue paper with VersaMark and covered with Gold Leaf. Gold Leaf is also available through QKR Stampede and is also available in many colors and combinations.

To give it the "watery" look, which you can see a little better in this picture, I put some blue hair gel in a little plastic bag, sealed it and adhered it over the sea horse.

The bubbles on the front of the card were made by punching out some circles with my Crop a Dile adhering them to the card and covering them with Glossy Accents.

I first saw this hair gel technique when my friend, Jen, used it at

My Happy Place Scrapbooking

to make invitations for a pool party for her son's birthday. They turned out adorable and I thought of this when I wanted to do something with this wonderful Seahorse image.

The next stop on the hop is

Kristine's blog

where I'm sure you will find some wonderful inspiration.

I hope you have enjoyed my cards today and will try using some of the products I have showed you today. Hop over to QKR Stampede and check out the stamps as well as the other products that they offer.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Fall is on the way.

2011-09-14T00:01:00.001-04:00

This month our Eureka! Stamps Blog Hop had a fall theme, so I thought I would carry that theme on.

This is one of the first Eureka! Stamps that I ordered. As soon as I saw it, it went onto my wish list.

I have two cards to show you today that I made with the
"Tree Losing Leaves" (#34502) image.

I stamped the image with VersaMark, applied Sticky Powder, heated and then applied Gold Leaf. You can find a tutorial on this process here.

I cut around the image and layered it onto some card stock from my scrap stash and then onto the black paper with gold stars. This then went onto a white card stock card base.

Inside I used a the lovely "When I See" (#34902) greeting.

I think this is such a beautiful and loving greeting!

Layering it onto black card stock really makes it stand out.

This 2nd card I used the same process and made it with blue card stock and layered it onto a white card stock base then cut around it giving the card a bit of a different look.

Eureka! Stamps has many wonderful fall images to choose from. Whether it is for a birthday, encouragement, Thanksgiving card or whatever occasion, there are many lovely images to use. So hop on over to the Eureka! Stamps shop and see what you can find that you like.

Thanks for stopping by today! Leave a comment if you like.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Eureka! Stamps September Blog Hop

2011-09-11T22:00:00.001-04:00

Hello Blog Hoppers!

If you have just happened onto this hop, you should hop on over to the Eureka! Stamps Blog and start there. It's the best way to be sure you don't miss any of the wonderful projects the design team has to show you.

If you arrived from

Jessica's blog,

you are headed in the right direction.

This month our theme is "Fall" It's not quite here, but we need to be thinking about getting those fall themed cards and projects done.

Today I have a card that I made using the "Pumpkin Background" (#26601) image from Eureka! Stamps.

For this card I stamped the image twice, once on kraft card stock with VersaMark and once on white watercolor paper with brown StazOn ink.

I used water color crayons to color parts of the image and fussy cut them to adhere over the image on the kraft card stock. I used foam tape to give the images dimension.

I wanted the images to stand out so I layered them onto white card stock.

I then added the brown embroidery floss and layered it onto a kraft card stock base.

What says "Fall" more than pumpkins?

Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment if you like and then hop on to

Kristine's blog

where I'm sure you will find something lovely.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Tender Thoughts from Eureka! Stamps

2011-09-10T02:19:00.000-04:00

Hello! Hope you are having a better than average day today!

Eureka! Stamps has a wonderful line of stamps called "Tender Thoughts" These images are a set of 3 that work together. The stamps can be purchased individually and used separately or together.

Today, I am showing you just one part of the set, I have used "Butterfly & Sunflower" (#20801) on 2 different cards.

This image from the set can be used as a "stand alone" image or when used with the "On My Heart" (#55901) it would be used as a layer over the "On My Heart" image. The third part of the set is a sentiment for the inside of the card.

These Tender Thoughts sets are very versatile and absolutely beautiful.

For both these cards I stamped onto watercolor paper and colored with watercolor crayons.

I used the "out of the box" technique to cut the purple image.

You can find a couple great tutorials on my fellow design team member, Roxie's blog (Here or Here)

She does a great job of explaining 2 different ways to achieve this look.

The sentiment is "Just a note" (#6505) also from Eureka! Stamps

On this 2nd card I added a little "Niji Pearlescent Watercolors" that gives the butterfly some shimmer and shine.

I decided to make this card simple, I cut the image to size and rounded the corners. A simple but beautiful card, ready for any occasion.

To see this "Tender Thoughts" image and all the others that Eureka! Stamps has to offer pop into the shop, click on the "go shopping" link at the left side of the page and then the "Tender Thoughts" link. There are several different sets, one more beautiful than the next.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoy my cards as much as I enjoyed making them. Leave a comment if you wish.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

I love this product, King's Hawaiian!

2011-09-03T19:02:00.000-04:00

My blog has been chosen to be one of the ones to bring news from the King's Hawaiian company. If you have never tried King's Hawaiian breads, you are missing a real treat. I totally love their products.

Below is a press release about their new rewards program, so read on.

Then get ready for your chances to win some of their products.

KING’S HAWAIIAN DEBUTS DIGITAL REWARDS PROGRAM TO THANK FANS

Online program gives fans the opportunity to win King’s Hawaiian bread for year, earn badges to showcase their love of the product, and play Hawaiian-themed family games.

TORRANCE, Calif. (August, 30 2011) – Building on the success of its social media pages and email newsletters, the world’s #1 brand of Hawaiian Sweet Bread announces the King’s Hawaiian Rewards program at http://rewards.kingshawaiian.com/. This program is designed to reward fans for sharing the Aloha Spirit and officially goes live on Tuesday, September 6, 2011, at Noon Hawaiian time. Within King’s Hawaiian Rewards, fans use their creativity, intelligence, social behavior and digital community involvement to collect points, badges and downloadable prizes for completing fun and interactive activities for the entire family. One lucky winner will also win FREE King’s Hawaiian bread for a year*!

King’s Hawaiian wanted to give back to their existing passionate and loyal fan base by spreading the Aloha Spirit, a way of living life that is based on sharing, and mutual expressions of kindness and respect with others. King’s Hawaiian Rewards offers fans points and badges for actions they already love doing, such as sharing favorite recipes on Facebook and Twitter, learning about King’s Hawaiian and watching cooking how-to videos. King’s Hawaiian also created a wide array of new, custom downloadable assets and prizes such as Hawaiian themed calendars, recipe cards, coloring books, tropical evites, e-mail signatures and party accessories available only through the Rewards program.

King’s Hawaiian Rewards is the first program of its kind in the company’s 60+ year history. This is yet another exciting step forward into the digital engagement space for King’s Hawaiian, where they have already proven success in creating relationships with fans on social media platforms like Facebook with more than 65,000 Likes and Twitter with more than 3,500 followers.

Starting Wednesday at Noon Hawaiian time, fans can start collecting points and badges, and complete all the required badges to be entered to win a free year’s supply of King’s Hawaiian Bread*!

*Prize consists of fifty-two (52) $4.99 coupons for King’s Hawaiian Bread.

Kings Hawaiian Rewards Sweepstakes. No purchase required. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Sweepstakes runs July 26, 2011 to October 26, 2011. Must be resident of continental US or DC, 18 years or older. Void where prohibited. For more information, please visit the Official Rules and the Privacy Policy.

About King’s Hawaiian Founded 60 years ago in Hilo, Hawaii by the Taira family, King’s Hawaiian Bakery continues to be well known as a family-owned producer of “irresistible, original-recipe foods made with Aloha Spirit.” In addition to operating a dynamic 150,000 square-foot bakery facility, the company continues to expand its distribution of bread products into stores nationwide with an appreciation for quality ingredients and great taste. King’s Hawaiian’s signature bread products are used in dishes at a number of restaurants, including the Disneyland Resort, Dave & Busters, Ruby’s Diner, among others, and the company owns and operates two Torrance, Calif.-based restaurant locations including the King’s Hawaiian Restaurant & Bakery, which opened in 1988, and a fast-casual restaurant concept, The Local Place, which launched in 2002. For more information or recipes, visit the company’s web site at http://www.kingshawaiian.com/, like King’s Hawaiian on Facebook or follow King’s Hawaiian on Twitter.

Gold Leaf, black hot glue & Make a Mold OH BOY!

2011-08-31T23:34:00.001-04:00

Hello everybody!

What a fun time I had this past weekend.

There was a stamp and scrapbook convention in the area on Saturday and Sunday and QKR Stampede/Biblical Impressions/Eureka! Stamps were here.

Fellow design team member, Jessica and I helped out with demoing.

We got to meet Maribeth, the owner of these 3 sister companies, and her husband and grand daughter. What lovely people they are.

I got some fabulous products that I hadn't worked with before and learned about them and had just an absolute ball teaching others about them.

The title says it all. Well maybe not all, there is even more, and I'm going to tell you a bit about these products, how they are used and show you what I made with them.

I have some pictures to show you from the show as well as the card I made with my new products. So let's get started. There is a lot to tell you about!

This is a picture of Kristie (that's me) Maribeth (the owner)

and Jessica (friend and design team member)

The next few pictures are of Jessica giving a demo on how to use Sticky Powder and Gold Leaf.

We used the Leaf (#3901) stamp from QKR Stampede for our demo.

The first step is to ink up the stamp with a VersaMark watermark pad.

Then cover the stamped area with Sticky Powder, just as you would if you were using embossing powder. The Sticky Powder will stick to the VersaMark.

Now here is a very important part, heat up your heating tool until it is hot, then heat the Sticky Powder, when it turns from white to shiny STOP heating it. You do not want to over heat it, as it will become dried and not sticky any longer. Now you have a sticky impression. This will stay sticky for a while, so if you are making a quantity of cards, go ahead and do 8 or 10 of them, then move on to the next step. Experiment with this as the temp and humidity in your space may make a difference in how long it will remain sticky.

Next put your piece into your container with the Gold Leaf and cover it with pieces of Gold Leaf. Use a fairly coarse brush and pounce over the sticky image, pressing the Gold Leaf onto the image. Then begin to brush the extra off the image. You don't need to be gentle at all, you want to get all the extra Gold Leaf off and back into your storage container.

Nothing dainty about this process.

Once you have gotten all the excess off, take a soft cloth (we used Swiffer cloths, you can use an old diaper, a scrap of flannel, whatever you have handy) and buff up the image. This is metal, so buffing it will make it shine.

Now you have a beautiful image that can be used on a card, scrapbook page or any other project you can come up with. Gold Leaf can be used on other surfaces as well, glass, ceramic tile, acrylic, wood. Use your imagination and play with it, see what you can come up with.

This is a card I made with one of the images I made at the show.

I used a pen with metallic ink for the dash lines around the outside border.

Here is a little bit closer picture.

Can you guess what that dragon fly is made with?

Believe it or not it is BLACK HOT GLUE, yep that's right!

I'd never seen it before either!

I did demos on Make a Mold and Black Hot Glue along with the

Sticky Powder and Gold Leaf on Sunday.

What great products they are, so much fun! Oh and then there's the Mica Powder!

Make a Mold is a product that allows you to make a mold of any object that you would like to be able to make multiples of. Maribeth had made the dragon fly mold by pressing a drawer pull that she had bought at a home supply store (like Lowe's or Home Depot) into the Make a Mold compound.

All you do is mix equal parts of the compound together and press an object into it, let it set up for about an hour, pull the object out and you have a reusable mold. You can used, beads, buttons, drawer pulls, jewelry, cameos, what ever you like, I have even used ribbon roses to make molds.

What I did with the dragon fly mold was fill it with black hot glue. When you do this you need to do it slowly with the tip of the glue gun right down in the glue, so you don't get bubbles. Then you set it aside to cool.

You can use any kind of medium that will hold it's shape once it is dried/cooled. Polymer clay, paperclay, hot glue to name a few.

Once the glue is cooled you remove the piece from the mold.

What I did next was use a little bit of Mica Powder on the tip of my finger (you can also use a small paint brush or even a Q-tip) and rub it over the surface of the molded piece.

Now I had a Gold Leafed image and a dragonfly. What do I do with them. Well, of course, I combined the two. Since the dragonfly is made of hot glue all I had to do was heat the back of it just enough to make it sticky again, then I could place it on the card stock piece and it is stuck for good.

If you have a small piece, put it onto the card and heat from under the card. The card will heat, then the molded piece and it will be adhered to the card.

I can imagine so many ways to use the Make a Mold and the Black Hot Glue! Cards, scrapbook pages, embellishments for frames and vases. Use your imagination.

I know this is a very long post, but I just needed to share this with y'all. I am so excited to share these products and techniques with you.

Below is a list of the products from QKR Stampede

that I used.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you will try out some of these techniques, they are really a lot of fun!

Product list

Leaf stamp (#3901)

Sticky Powder (check out the different ideas for using it here)

Gold Leaf (there are many colors to choose from)

Mica Powder (many color choices here too,

the one I used was from True Metals)

Follow the links above or go to QKR Stampede and use the

search box to find these products.

These 2 products below are not currently on the website.

I will check on how to order them and post that information as soon as possible.

Make a Mold ($14.95 for a large kit)

Black Hot Glue ($9.99 for 10 - 10" glue sticks)

New info: These products will be up on the website very soon. If they are not there and you have questions or would like to order, please e-mail Maribeth through the "contact us" link.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Happy Birthday

2011-08-24T22:22:00.000-04:00

Hello there stampy, crafty friends!

Today I'm sharing a card that I made with a few QKR Stampede images.

I used "Fishing Gear" (#20401) "Fishing Hat" (#20309) and "Happy Birthday" set (#22803)

I stamped onto watercolor paper with the "Fishing Gear" stamp and colored it with watercolor crayons. I used some "Perfect Pearls" on the fish to give it that shimmery, iridescent look that fish have. Unfortunately the shimmer doesn't show up in the pictures.

I stamped and colored "Fishing Hat" on another piece of paper and fussy cut it, then adhered it with foam tape.

The "Happy Birthday" was stamped onto the card with Moss Green VersaFine ink. This card could have just as easily been for another occasion. I just happened to pick birthday.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you will stop over to the QKR Stampede shop and see what other wonderful images they have.

They have something for every occasion and need.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Happy Day

2011-08-23T23:24:00.000-04:00

Hi all!

Today I'd like to share with you a "Happy Day" card.

For this card I used the "Butterfly Background" (#58501) from Eureka! Stamps

I also used part of the "Happy Birthday" set (#22803) from QKR Stampede and some of their lovely paper flowers.

Did you know that QKR Stampede also has supplies other than stamps?

If you "Go Shopping" then click on the 'supplies' link you will see that there are links for Sticky Powder, Paper Flowers, Gold Leaf and more.

For this card, I started with plain white card stock and used Distress Ink to make a nice shade of sky blue, I layered the paper flowers and added some brads in the centers and attached them to the card with glue dots.

I stamped the "Butterfly Background" on water color paper with VersaFine ink and colored it with watercolor crayons, fussy cut one of the butterflies and attached it with a pop dot on the body area. I curled the wings out to give them a 3-D look.

I have cut apart the Happy Birthday greeting from the "Happy Birthday" set and used the pieces to stamp Happy Day onto the front of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you will stop by Eureka! Stamps and

QKR Stampede and check out the stamps and other supplies that they have to offer.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

QKR Stampede August Blog Hop

2011-08-18T22:00:00.002-04:00

Hello Hoppers!

If you have just happened upon this blog hop, welcome! But you should probably start at the beginning on the QKR Stampede Blog. You don't want to miss out on any of the fun projects that the other design team members have to show you.

If you came from Jessica's blog, great, you are on the right track. I'm sure she had a great project to share.

By now you know that our theme is "Boys, Trains, Planes and Cars" this month. I have decided to go with this wonderful boy image.

QKR Stampede has many 'boy' images and "Going Fishing" (#13209) is one that I love to work with.

I stamped onto watercolor paper and colored with watercolor crayons.

I used scraps from my scrap stash and layered the image onto them.

I had some brown brads that I've had in my stash forever and this is just why I have been saving them. I knew I would find the perfect place to use them.

I hope you like my 'boy' card. Leave me a comment if you wish and pop on over to QKR Stampede to check out the fabulous images they have to offer.

But first, hop on over to see what Kristine has to show you. I'm sure it will be something wonderful.

Thanks for hopping along!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Flying Girl

2011-08-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

Happy Day to you all!

Today I would like to share a happy card with you that I made with 3 images from Eureka! Stamps.

I am having so much fun working with the balloons and holders. If you haven't seen these images, you should go check them out in the Eureka! Stamps Store.

Just "Go Shopping!" then click on the "balloons/holders" category.

There are so many options and once you have a few, you can interchange them.

For this fun card, I used the Flying Girl Holder (#21701), Oval Balloon (#5201) and Heart Balloon (#5204)

The Flying Girl was stamped onto watercolor paper and colored with watercolor crayons and fussy cut. The balloons were stamped onto various colors of scrap card stock and fussy cut.

I used crochet cotton for the balloon strings, which were all gathered for the girl to hold on to.

Some of the balloons were adhered with ATG Tape while the girl and the rest of the balloons were adhered with foam tape to give a bit of dimension to the card.

The clouds were free handed onto white card stock and adhered with ATG Tape.

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope this card made you smile and that you have enjoyed it.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Mama's Little Man

2011-08-13T23:16:00.000-04:00

Hello there blog followers!

Today I'd like to share with you, a kind of silly card that I made using a couple stamps from QKR Stampede.

The image I used is "Picking" (#15714) I stamped it onto watercolor paper and colored with watercolor crayons.

The sentiment "Mama's Little Man" is from a digi stamp

"Mama's Man" (digi15211)

Since the sentiment is a digi I could cut out parts and rearrange the words to fit the card. The stamp actually says "From Mama's Little Man" but I rearranged it for this card.

Did you know that most of the QKR stamps (if not all) come in rubber and digital form? With the digi you can resize them and make them work where you need them. I don't do a lot of digi, but it is a wonderful option to have.

When my son was a baby, I used to call him my little man. He was a big baby at 10 lb. 3 oz. and just looked like a little man.

Now on Monday that little man will be 19 yrs old.

I told him this card would be perfect for him. LOL!

Thanks for stopping by today, leave me a comment and tell me how old your kids are.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Noah balloon update.

2011-08-12T23:08:00.000-04:00

Hello there!

I just wanted to pop in and show you an update on my Noah holder and balloon project.

My husband is a photographer and custom framer, so I asked him to frame this piece for me and I think it came out just fabulous.

How cute would this be in a child's room?!?!

Check out these and many more holders and balloons at Eureka! Stamps.

"Go Shopping" and then to the holder/balloon category.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Balloons and Holders

2011-08-07T22:00:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome to the Eureka! Stamps Blog Hop.

Today we are sharing some of the fabulous balloon and holder stamps that Eureka! has available.

If you have come from Dawn's blog you are on the right path.

I'm sure she has a wonderful project to share with you.

If you have just happened onto the hop, you should probably start at the beginning.

Hop on over the beginning at the Eureka! Stamps Blog.

If you get lost along the way or a link doesn't work, you can hop right back there where all the participating blogs are listed.

Now on with my projects.

I am having so much fun working with these images and as soon as I saw Noah and all the different animals, I knew I wanted to create with them.

I need to apologize as this project isn't quite finished. It needs to be put into a frame, but I don't have one handy at the moment.

I stamped all the images onto watercolor paper and colored them with watercolor crayons.

The background is also done with watercolor crayons and paper.

The boat is freehanded onto card stock then colored and cut out.

I fussy cut all the pieces and adhered them with foam tape.

I tied a piece of string to each balloon and attached them to Noah's hand so they wouldn't float away.

I love how this turned out. Hope you do too.

There are many more animals in the Eureka! Balloon and Holder colletion, so if you don't see your favorite, pop into the shop and see what else is there.

My 2nd project is a card done with the Pirate Balloon Holder and the Parrot Balloon.

I used the same techniques for stamping, coloring and cutting as the other project, then made a card with the images.

I used some Cosmo Cricket sticker for the "Ahoy Matey"

All the images I used for these projects are listed below and are available at Eureka! Stamps. There are lots of fabulous images in the balloon/holder category as well as in the rest of the store, so pop in and see what you might like.

Now leave a comment if you wish and head over to see what fabulous project

Roxie has to show you. I'm sure it will be worth the trip.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have enjoyed seeing my projects.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Here is a list of the images I used for my projects:

7953(488) Noah Balloon Holder

11804 Moose Balloon

23906 Parrot Balloon

24101 Monkey Balloon

5205(438) Elephant Balloon

5209(416) Giraffe Balloon

8001(499) Zebra Balloon

8002 Rhino Balloon

8009 Lion Balloon

23907 Pirate Balloon Holder

All available at Eureka! Stamps in the balloon/holder category

3-D Fish

2011-08-02T00:01:00.002-04:00

Hello everybody!

Today I have a card made with one of the fabulous 3-D/pattern images from Eureka! Stamps.

I have used "Fish Pattern" (#28901) to create this sweet fish.

Each 3-D/Pattern stamp comes with instructions on how to put the 3-D piece together.

I used watercolor crayons to shade his fins, then added a bit of Stickles to give a bit of shimmer.

I also used the Stickles for the bubbles.

The 'sand' on the bottom is made with torn kraft card stock.

I simply tore the paper and used some VersaMark ink to give a bit of variation in color.

I roughed up the paper a bit, then layered strips on top of each other.

There are many 3-D/Pattern images to chose from, so pop on over to

Eureka! Stamps and take a look to see which ones you like the best.

Thanks for stopping by today, leave a comment and let me know which

3-D/Pattern you like the best.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Shower invitations

2011-07-30T16:06:00.000-04:00

Hello all!

I hope your weather is as beautiful as mine is here.

It's a beautiful, sunny day here in Western New York.

The perfect day to show you the invitations I'm making for my nieces shower.

I used the beautiful "Bouquet" (#16220) image from QKR Stampede.

If you have been around my blog for a while, you have seen this image before, guess that's because it's one of my favorites, it can be used for so many different kinds of project.

The image was stamped onto white card stock and colored with

watercolor crayons.

I used a Nestabilities die and my Cuttlebug to cut the oval shape,

then inked a bit around the edges of the oval.

I used a Fiskar's border punch to make the "belly band" and adhered the Bouquet image to it. This band can just slide off the card.

When you slide the band off, the card opens to a little 'box' where I will put all the information about the shower.

The card is made from one sheet of 8.5" x 11" paper.

If you are interested in how to make these cards, send me an e-mail and I will get the info out to you.

Aren't these just lovely?

I love that each one will look a little different, since they are all hand colored.

I will also be making them with different colored bands and possibly some with different papers for the 'card'

Thanks for stopping by my blog today, leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Then head over to QKR Stampede and see what other wonderful images you can find for a beautiful, sunny summer day.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Back to the wedding album!

2011-07-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hi everybody!

I thought it was about time I showed you some more layouts from the wedding scrapbook.

This first one is one of my favorites!

I used my computer and my wide format printer to make the 12x12 paper for the base of these pages. I love to make my own papers, especially for a special occasion like this.

I used the "program" on the top of these pages and the wedding party along the bottom.

Since the wedding was outside at a favorite State Park the 'aisle' was a very long walk, so we have a lot of pictures from the beginning all the way up to meeting Joel. I wanted to show this progression and I love the way it turned out.

These 2 pages are also paper that I made for the book. I used pictures that I took of the surrounding hills and beautiful fall colors that were all around us.
That couple looking over their shoulders at me are my brother and sister in law.

The left page was when Joel and Renee took 2 vases filled with different colors of sand and poured them into 1 jar to signify the joining of the 2 families.

The colors were so beautiful all around the park and it was such a gorgeous day that I took a lot of pictures of the trees etc. These are also papers that I made.

This last layout is another favorite. I used pictures of Joel and Renee during the ceremony to make the base paper then used the same pictures in the lower corners of the pages. The peacock feather was to match his boutonniere and the white flower and tulle (which doesn't show in the picture) are to match her headpiece.

I must apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. There is a lot of reflection and I'm sorry about that!

Thanks for stopping by to see more of this wedding scrapbook.

We're about half way through it now, I'll be back with more pictures one day soon.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the scrapbook so far. I know Joel and Renee both love it. Hope you are enjoying it too.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Tangled lights.

2011-07-27T00:01:00.001-04:00

Maya Angelou is an amazing woman with so much insight, I think she is wonderful. Below is one quote from her and I think it is quite appropriate to go along with the card I am showing you today.

"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights."

I wanted to end my July posts with one more "Christmas in July" project.

Hopefully, you have gotten some great inspiration and ideas from my blog this month and have gotten started on those Christmas cards and projects.

I love this image called "Skunk and Lights" (#10901) from Eureka! Stamps.

The "Merry Christmas" (#13806) sentiment is from QKR Stampede, one of the sister companies of Eureka!

This image is great to use on cards that you want to make a lot of, as most of the image is 'colored' for you already. Once the "Skunk and Lights" is stamped all you need to color is the lights and they are quick and easy.

The sentiment was printed from my computer. "Merry Christmas" comes as a rubber stamp and also as a digi, which is what I used. I don't use a lot of digital stamps, but I do love that I can size this sentiment to whatever size I need to fit my card.

I used "Christmas Border" (#15706) also from QKR Stampede, on the inside of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have gotten some inspiration and will hop on over to check out the images at Eureka! Stamps and QKR Stampede to see what wonderful images you can find. While you are at it pop into

Biblical Impressions, the other of the 3 sister companies, and see what they have to offer.

Be sure to check out the QKR Stampede Blog if you haven't been there recently, for more ideas for both Christmas and many other occasions.

All three stores have some amazing images and the Design Team ladies have some wonderful projects and cards posted.

Be sure to click on the tabs at the top of the blog home page and see what all three design teams have to show you.

Leave me a comment and let me know if you have started your Christmas cards yet and/or what your plans are for your cards.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Christmas or Not...

2011-07-21T00:01:00.002-04:00

Hello! We've been having quite a hot spell in our area. I love the heat, but this is getting to be a bit much. Hope you are staying comfortable where you are.

Today I have a card to show you that I'm calling "Christmas or Not"

I made it using 2 images from QKR Stampede.

First I used "Tree" (#14501) I inked the stamp, stamped it on a scrap paper and then stamped onto the green vellum. I did this several times to make the 'forest' Then I stamped onto green card stock, colored the trunk of the tree with brown and fussy cut it.

This was adhered to the card with foam tape.

Next I stamped "Bear Hugs" (#15007) onto water color paper and colored them with watercolor crayons.

I fussy cut them and adhered them with a double layer of foam tape.

I intended this to be a Christmas card to go with the "Christmas in July" theme we have been having this month. Once I got it finished and mounted on the red card base, I realized it could be used for something other than Christmas.

So you decide, Christmas or not?

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Christmas or Not? that is the question.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Mini albums

2011-07-20T18:01:00.001-04:00

Warning!

This post is very picture heavy.

I'm not going to go into detail about how I made these mini albums or the supplies I used. I just want to share them with you.
If you have questions, please feel free to e-mail me.
My e-mail addy is at the right sidebar.

This first mini album is a masculine envelope album. Can't believe I don't have a picture of the cover!

This mini is a more feminine

envelope mini.

Thought I had more pictures of this album, but I can't find them.

This is an album I taught a class on at My Happy Place.

This last mini album is my favorite

Probably because it was the first I made when I came up with this

design. I originally designed this album for the pictures from this vacation.

Later I designed the pink one above for the class.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my mini albums.

Hopefully, this will inspire you to make one of your own.

Thanks for stopping by today, leave me a comment and let me know which is your favorite.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Santa and Balloon

2011-07-19T21:07:00.000-04:00

Hello blog friends!

Today I have another "Christmas in July" card.

I'm really excited about this card, because I used a couple of my new stamps from Eureka! Stamps that I just received in the mail the other day

There is a whole category called "Balloon/Holders" and they are the cutest things ever. There are so many options with these stamps!

You can choose from the many holders like "Santa Balloon Holder" (#5603) the one I used for this card. Then choose balloons to go with the holder, I used "Christmas Balloon" (#16402)

There are several options that would work with Santa.

Hop on over and check them out.

I stamped "Christmas Balloon" and "Santa Balloon Holder" onto watercolor paper and colored them with watercolor crayons.

I used red Stickles for the berries on the balloon, icicle Stickles for the fur on Santa's hat and coat, gold Stickles for his belt buckle and white Liquid Pearls for his beard.

I used VersaMark ink and silver embossing powder to heat emboss the background with "Snow Background" (#27301) also from Eureka! Stamps.

I used green embroidery floss for the string that Santa is holding.

Santa and the balloon were adhered with foam tape to the background which was then layered onto silver vellum and a green card stock base.

I do have some other balloon and holder stamps which I have been playing with. I will be posting some projects using them in future posts.

These are such fun, pop into the Eureka! Store and see which ones you like.

Thanks for stopping by today! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of these balloons and holders and which ones you like the best.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

QKR Design team blog hop. A simple tag.

2011-07-14T22:00:00.002-04:00

Hello all you craft loving friends!

I know, I just went back to summer from my Christmas posts and here I am again with another Christmas post!

Today is the QKR Stampede Design Team Blog Hop and our theme is

"Christmas in July"

and you know it's a great time to be thinking about those

Christmas projects you want to get done.

Don't wait until the last minute and end up not getting them done.

Start them now.

Today the design team has some wonderful ideas to show you, so if you just happened onto the hop here on my blog, pop over to the QKR Blog and start at the beginning, you will want to see all the projects and get some great inspiration.

If you have come from Jessica's blog, you are on the right track!

Now for my project, as simple tag.

I love hand made tags. For this one, I used red distress ink and used the direct to paper technique to put the color down onto the tag.

I then used "Trees" (#14501) from QKR Stampede and stamped it onto green card stock. Once I had cut it out, I applied some liquid pearls on the edges of the branches and a bit for snow here and there on the tree.

I used foam tape to adhere the tree to the tag.

The "Merry Christmas" is a sticker that I had in my stash.

There is plenty of room on the back of the tag to simply write 'to' and 'from' or include a little wish or message to the recipient.

This tag was simple to create and would be very easy to mass produce.

Hop on over to the QKR Stampede store and see what other Christmas images they have that would be great for your Christmas tags. There are a lot of wonderful images at QKR.

Now, I'm sending you off to Kristine's blog to see what wonders she has to show you.

Thanks for stopping by today. Remember to leave a comment as there is a prize to be won. See the QKR Blog for details.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Back to summer!

2011-07-13T00:00:00.001-04:00

Summer is back on Kristie Kreates!

The last couple posts have been Christmas in July posts, but now I'm back to summer!

I love summer! It's my favorite season of the year.

I love the hot weather, the sun, the flowers, summer fun and summer clothes,

no coats - yippee!

I have a tag to show you today.

I used "Shell Pattern" (#29001)

one of the wonderful Pattern/3-D stamps from Eureka! Stamps

Each pattern/3-D stamp comes with directions on how to use these stamps and make your 3-D piece.

I simply stamped the image onto card stock, shaded it a bit with some chalks, cut it out, scored it, used a little bit of glue to put it together and that was it. Easy peasy!

For the tag, I used blue Distress Inks, applied with foam pad applicators. I used a Mini Mister to give it a little spritz of water. This gives it a little bit of texture and more of a 'watery' look.

The 'sand' at the bottom of the tag was done by tearing strips of kraft card stock, distressing them with my fingernail and layering them on top of one another.

The "Summer" is from my stash and and is part of a set from We R Memory Keepers.

Tags are great to use on scrapbook layouts, on gifts or just as a little greeting to someone.

Thanks for stopping by today. Feel free to leave a comment and become a follower. I'd love to hear what you think.

And hop on over to the Eureka! Stamps site and check out those pattern/3-D stamps, they really are pretty cool.

Until next time, Happy crafting!

Christmas in July with Eureka! Stamps design team

2011-07-10T22:00:00.002-04:00

It's Christmas in July with the Eureka! Stamps design team!

If you have happened upon the hop because you stopped by my blog, you can start right here, as I'm the first of the design team on the hop.

The Eureka! Stamps Blog is the official starting point and has a list of all the blogs to visit. If you have a problem, you can always hop on back to the

Eureka! blog and get back on track.

Be sure to comment on the blogs as you go, to give youself as many chances as possible to win a free stamp of your choice from Eureka! Stamps.

You also will have a chance by following the Eureka! Stamps Blog and following QKR Stampede on Facebook.

The official start is at 8a.m. so if all the links aren't functioning, please be patient, they will be soon.

You don't want to miss any of the wonderful inspiration

the design team has to offer so be sure to hop through all the blogs.

If you have come from Eureka's blog you are on the right track.

Today I'm sharing a scrapbook layout that I made with pictures from my family Christmas tree hunt 2010. While the guys were doing the tree cutting, Kelsie and I were getting silly and modeling for one another.

The poinsettia was made using Eureka! Stamps

"Poinsettia Pattern" (#30401)

This is one of the wonderful 3-D stamps that Eureka! offers.

You stamp the image, cut it out, score on the lines indicated and piece the flower together. It really is quite simple. Each 3-D stamp comes with directions on how to make these lovely pieces.

Here is a close up of the poinsettia. It does come with leaves also, but I chose not to use them for on this layout. This flower can be made to have even more dimension, but for this layout I didn't want too much bulk as it could get smootched (that's a technical scrapping term, LOL) in my scrapbook.

It's all up to you, when you use these stamps. Lots of dimension, or a little. Either way they turn out beautiful.

I hope you will pop on over to the Eureka! Stamps shop and check out all the beautiful Christmas and pattern/3-D stamps that are offered.

It's a great time to get started on your Christmas cards, or maybe use some stamps on your scrapbook layouts like I did.

Now it's time to hop on and see what the talented Holly has to show you. I'm sure it will be something wonderful.

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to leave me a comment and become a follower.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Not too early......

2011-07-10T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello! Hope you are all enjoying beautiful summer weather.

Why?

Because I'm going to throw you a curve ball by saying

It's not too early to be thinking about Christmas.

I know, it's only July and the weather is hot and beautiful,

we don't want to think about snow and cold!

But, if you are going to make your Christmas cards,

this is a great time to get started.

Today I am showing you a Christmas card I made with 2 images from

QKR Stampede.

I used "Tree" (#14501) and "Sleigh & Reindeer" ( #15705)

I heat embossed "Sleigh & Reindeer" onto blue card stock with silver embossing powder.

At the bottom of the blue, I swiped the VersaMark pad across the bottom and embossed with puffy white embossing powder to make the snow mounds.

I dotted VersaMark and embossed the 'snowflakes' also.

"Tree" was stamped onto green card stock with Versa Mark ink and heat embossed with white puffy embossing powder. Then I fussy cut and layered it onto the card with foam tape.

I layered this scene onto red card stock and adhered it to a white card stock base to finish off the card.

You can find these and so many more wonderful images that you can use to get your Christmas cards started at

QKR Stampede.

Pop on over to the store and have a look around, there is sure to be something you'll love.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wedding Scrapbook continued

2011-07-01T15:49:00.000-04:00

Hello! Hope you are having some beautiful weather where you are. We are here in the Buffalo, NY area. Let's hope it continues!

Today I thought I'd share a few more of the layouts from the Wedding Scrapbook.

I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Renee, getting ready for the wedding.

Some of my family.

Sorry for the poor photos of the layout!

More family.

Family and friends waiting for the ceremony.

Parents of the bride and groom. My brother is the handsome guy with the darker suit and my sister in law is the pretty gal in the upper right hand corner.

Happy parents on both sides.

That's it for today, quick and easy. Hope you enjoyed them.

Leave me a comment and let me know and like I said above, sorry for the horrible photos, but it's all I have.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Same stamp different looks

2011-06-27T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello!

Tonight I was straightening my craft room and found these 3 cards on my table and realized I'd never shared them with y'all.

All 3 are made with the same stamp, but colored differently and made into different layouts. They are made with the "Butterfly and Sunflower" stamp (#20801) from Eureka! Stamps.

I stamped them all onto watercolor paper and colored them with watercolor crayons.

My favorite crafting motto is "There are no mistakes, just opportunities to be creative." This card is a perfect example of that motto. I had the front of the card all done, had put some "Liquid Pearls" on the lower corner and put it aside to dry. If you have ever worked with them, you know that Liquid Pearls take a while to dry. I set them aside and went on to work on something else. About 15 minutes later, I realized that I had put something right on top of that card. What a mess, so I cut the bottom of the front off.

Now I had a card front that was short. My solution? I punched out the swirls and flowers with an edge punch and added them to the bottom of the inside. I like how it turned out. Sometimes 'goofs' are a good thing.

I have been wanting to make some cards with lace on them and I was pleased with the way this one turned out. I love the look of lace and think this is going to be used a bit more from now on.

This third card doesn't show in the picture as well as I would like it to, that blue layer is actually glitter card stock. I got some wonderful colors of glitter card stock when I visited my friend, Mary and we went to Crafts 2000 in Michigan. I haven't used much of that glitter card stock, but it's another supply I think I will be using more.

I hope you have enjoyed my cards today. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of them, become a follower if you like.

And be sure to stop in to the Eureka! Stamps shop and see all the fabulous images they have to offer.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Wedding pages

2011-06-25T16:58:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody!

I just realized that I haven't been posting any pictures from the Wedding Scrapbook, so I thought I'd put up a few.

First let me apologize for the poor quality of the photos, I was having a very tough time with reflections and lighting. I didn't want to remove all the pages from the protective covers, so sorry, you'll have to suffer with the reflections. LOL!

These first 3 layouts are of the bachlorette party. Unfortunately, I wasn't there, but Renee had plenty of pictures posted on her facebook page the I could lift.

In the first LO in the upper left is the invitation to the bachlorette, Renee ask me to make the invitations for here and I loved doing it. I thought I had posted them at the time, but I don't see the post anywhere.

This layout shows the "older generations" Pictures with Renee's Mom and Aunt and my Mom and Sister in Law, Joel's Mom, and a group picture.

I lifted all these pictures from her facebook of Renee with her friends.

Now on to the wedding. This page is the beginning of the wedding section of the book.

This has an invitation, directions to the location and a recipe request card that was sent with the invites. (I designed and printed the recipe cards for her too)

They used peacock feathers in the wedding, so I tried to get them into the book too. The peacock feathers on the right side are stamped with a stamp from Eureka! Stamps.

Below you can see a close up of the stamped feather.

I hope you have enjoyed these pages of the Wedding Scrapbook. I'll post more soon, well that is if I don't forget again.

There are a lot more to see!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this post, leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Until next time, Happy Crafting.

Beautiful Butterfly card

2011-06-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello all you beautiful people!

It wasn't hard for me to decide that I wanted this beautiful

"Butterfly Background" (#58501) from Eureka! Stamps.

I knew I would love using it and once I had stamped it onto watercolor paper and started to color it with my watercolor crayons, I loved it even more.

Inside I used:

"Happiness Like a Butterfly" (#40403) also from Eureka! Stamps

I love this beautiful sentiment.

Eureka! has many wonderful sentiments, if you are like me, and are short on sentiment stamps, Eureka! is the place to go!

To add the butterfly at the bottom of the inside, I stamped it with VersaFine Black Onyx ink onto white paper and fussy cut it. Then adhered it with Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoy my Beautiful Butterfly card as much as I enjoyed making it.

I'd love to hear what you think, so leave me a comment.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Summer Celebration with the QKR Design Team

2011-06-16T22:23:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the Kristie Kreates post for the

Summer Celebration with the QKR Stampede Design Team!

If you have just happened upon my blog and didn't start at the beginning of this summer celebration hop, you probably want to start at the beginning. You won't want to miss any of the great inspiration and projects any of the design team ladies have posted.

If you have arrived here from Kristine's blog you are on the right track. I'm sure you were inspired by her project! Isn't she talented?!?!

For my project today, I have a card to share with you. I used "Sneakers" (#12706) from QKR Stampede along with one of the 3-D images from Eureka! Stamps called "Butterfly Pattern" (#29401) Eureka! is a sister company of QKR Stampede.

Nothing says 'summer' to me more than walking barefoot in the grass and that is what inspired this card.

I love the "Sneakers" image and thought it was perfect for a summer card. It reminds me of being out of school for the summer and running through sprinklers to stay cool in the summer sun.

I stamped the image onto Kraft card stock and fussy cut it.

For the grass I cut strips of green card stock from my scrap stash and then cut LOTS of little blades of grass, then layered the 'grass' onto the card.

The sneakers nestled into the grass and adhered with foam tape.

The butterfly is a wonderful 3-D image and I will post more with this image at another time.

Be sure to stop by the stores and take a look at the many wonderful summer images they have at QKR Stampede and Eureka! Stamps.

Thanks for stopping by, now you will want to go to

Jessica's blog

and see what creative project she has to show you.

Feel free to leave me a comment and become a follower!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Summer Fun....

2011-06-16T00:35:00.000-04:00

Hello crafty friends!

Today I'm showing you a card made with the "Upset Golfer" image (#16507) from QKR Stampede.

My older brothers are big into golf and now my son is also. Personally, I have never golfed and I'm sure I never will. I think if I did, you could put my face on this image and it would be appropriate. LOL!

I used watercolor pencils to color this image and printed off the "Summer Fun..." from my computer.

Thanks for stopping by today and be sure to check back tomorrow (Friday, June 17) to see what I have to post for the QKR Stampede Design Team Blog Hop. We will be featuring summer and 4th of July images and project.

Feel free to leave a comment and become a follower.

I love to hear what you think.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

First ever Eureka! Stamps Blog Hop

2011-06-12T22:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome one and all to the first ever

Eureka! Stamps Design Team Blog Hop!

If you have arrived from Jessica's blog, you are on the right track. If you have just happened upon the hop by stopping by my blog, you will want to start at the beginning at our Eureka! blog. There is sure to be some wonderful inspiration all along the hop. If a link doesn't work along the way, just go back to the Eureka! blog where there will be a "master" list.

I'm so excited to be on this new design team.

I love the stamps at Eureka! Stamps.

Today our theme is 4th of July and summer.

I have chosen to show you a couple cards that I have made to send to some of our servicemen/women. I think they deserve a huge thank you for all they do to keep our freedom. Without them, past and present, we wouldn't be celebrating the 4th of July!

This first card was made using Large Patriotic Star (#11603)

from Eureka! Stamps.

I used VersaMark ink to stamp the star randomly onto the kraft card stock.

I then stamped it onto white card stock with blue ink and fussy cut it,

and adhered it over one of the VersaMark stars with foam tape.

This second card, I used the same Large Patriotic Star image. This time I stamped them onto red card stock with VersaMark ink and heat embossed them with white puffy embossing powder.

I fussy cut them, adhered them to blue card stock and fussy cut them again. They are adhered to the card with foam tape.

I'm sorry this doesn't show up better in the picture, but I used VersaMark again to stamp a star at the bottom of the inside panel.

I will be adding a personal note of thanks and then sending these cards off to a cyber-friend who will be sending them to her husbands unit in Afghanistan.

If you are interested in sending some cards to thank our servicemen & women, send me an e-mail (there is a link in my right side bar) and I will get more information out to you.

Thank you for stopping by! I'd love it if you would leave a comment and then you need to hop on over to Monika's blog where I know you are going to find some more wonderful inspiration!

And be sure to stop in to the Eureka! Stamps Store and see what fabulous stamps you can find! They really are quite wonderful!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Just a note... 2 cards

2011-06-08T00:01:00.011-04:00

Hello Blogland friends!

Today I have 2 simple cards for you. Very similar using a different border stamp on each.

This first one is using

"Filagree Border" (#57703) and "Just a note" (#6505) from Eureka! Stamps

I like the clean and simple look of this card.

This second card is using

"Heart Chain Border" (#35902) and "Just a note" (#6505)

I adhered the green to some kraft card stock that I stamped with

Baroque Background" (#57701) using VersaMark ink to give it a bit of texture.

All these stamps are from Eureka! Stamps.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you like these simple cards.

Be sure to stop in at the Eureka! Stamps Store and see what other wonderful stamps they have to offer!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Did someone say...

2011-06-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hey all you blog fans!

I love tennis! Did y'all know that? Maybe not, I haven't played for several years. This year, I'm hoping to be able to play at least a little bit of tennis.

I had a total hip replacement almost a year ago and the doctor says I can play if I'd like to. So maybe soon!

Anyway, my love of tennis is what prompted me to order this image.

This is "Tennis Bear" (#16113) from QKR Stampede

I don't look near as good as this little gal in a tennis outfit, LOL! I think she is pretty cute.

I stamped her onto watercolor paper and colored her with watercolor crayons.

I think she looks a little clueless, so I printed off the sentiment from my computer and added the 'Love' tag with a brad.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you enjoy the humor in my card.

I'd love it you would leave me a comment letting me know if you 'get' my humor.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

What's on you desk?

2011-06-01T20:28:00.001-04:00

That's the question that Christina posed on her blog.

Creations with Christina is one of my favorite blogs. If you are not familiar with it, you should check it out. Christina is very down to earth and shows some wonderful projects, some in pictures and some in videos. I just love seeing what she creates.

Today she is encouraging others to take a picture of their desk, or crafting area and post a link to the pictures on her blog.

So, here ya go! You asked for it! I know it's an unholy mess, but it's the way I work.

This first picture shows the entire table from one end of it. I have a pile of things that need going through there on the end. Seems I'm always cleaning things up and putting things away, yet it's always a mess.

Here is my actual work area right now. You can see that I didn't put things away when I was done making the last card. I was running late and had just finished stamping a couple gift bags for a couple of my 'greats' and I just ran out the door once they were finished.

Tonight I'll probably be getting in some crafting time and will get these things put away, so I can make another mess. LOL!

There you go Christina! I've bared my mess to the world!

Thanks for stopping by today, no new project tonight, just a mess!

If you stopped by to check out my mess, I'd love it if you took a look around my blog and let me know what you think!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Life is Good and an announcement.

2011-06-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello all!

Today I have a card to show you, but I also have an announcement to make.
Y'all know I'm on the QKR Stampede Design Team, and QKR has two sister companies, Eureka! Stamps and Biblical Impressions.
I'm proud to announce that I am now on the first ever Eureka! Stamps Design Team as well as the QKR team.

Eureka! has so many beautiful and versatile stamps that I have a huge wish list! I'm sure you will love their stamps as much as I do. Stop into the Eureka! store and check them out.

Now onto my card for today.

I made this card using the

"Hybiscus & Bee"(#21001) from Eureka! Stamps and "Life is Good" (#16307)from QKR Stampede.

I love flowers, so it only seems appropriate to put this beautiful Hybiscus with the "Life is Good" sentiment.

I stamped with VersaFine ink onto watercolor paper and colored with watercolor crayons.

I extended the outline around the card with a black pen.

Thank you for stopping by today, come back again soon. Now that I am on 2 design teams that means twice the fun. More posts and more blog hops.

Be sure to stop in at all three sister shops and see what wonderful images you might want to try out. Many of them come in rubber stamps as well as digital.

And be sure to stop at our blog, where we now have 3 pages besides the home page, one for each company. The design teams will be posting some wonderful inspiration on a regular basis on all pages.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of this beautiful image!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Bridal Tea layouts.

2011-05-28T16:31:00.000-04:00

Hello crafty friends!

I thought it was about time to post a couple more layouts from the Wedding Scrapbook, so here are my 2 favorites from the Bridal Tea that Renee had.

She invited the women who were important in their lives to this lovely tea. Renee just told me that the tea house where it was held is closing, that is a real bummer! But at least we have the memories of this lovely day.

If you have been following my blog for a while, you may remember the Alice in Wonderland themed menus, place cards and "eat me" tags that I made for this tea.

The tea house had hats that we had a lot of fun trying on. I found out later that we could have worn them in to the tea. I soooooo would have worn one!

Next Wedding book layout post will be from the bachlorette party, which I couldn't attend, but I lifted a lot of great pictures from facebook of it.

Thanks for stopping by today. Stop by again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Bear Hugs

2011-05-26T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello all and welcome to my blog!

Today I'm showing you a card I made using "Bear Hugs" (#15007) from

QKR Stampede

The background was done with Pan Pastels. This isn't the best background I've ever seen, but it was my first attempt at this type of creation.

For the Bears I stamped them onto kraft card stock then again onto the different papers that I used to piece the vest and patches. I fussy cut the bear then the other pieces and used Tombow Mono Multi Glue to adhere them.

I learned a trick for small pieces from my friend Roxie. I used a stick pin to put a small amount of glue onto those itty bitty pieces, placed them down and slid the pin out, leaving the tiny pieces in just the right place. This works so much better than trying to put them on with fingers that get all sticky. ~Thanks Roxie!

The bears are mounted to the card with foam tape, which gives them that little extra bit of dimension.

Thanks for stopping by today! Come back again soon!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!