Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Color Inspiration 36

Well I've had so much fun stamping today, that I thought I'd share one more card. This is for Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge KWCI36. Here's the inspiration piece:








I love these colors together and they are just what I needed to get inspired for my "Love You Much" card class on Jan. 13th. Here's the card I made, using A Happy Heart from the Holiday Mini Catalog and the brand new Love You Much set that will be in the new Spring Catalog coming Jan. 19th:













Happy Stamping in the New Year!
Krystal

Sketch Challenge 209

Well, it's been forever since I've been able to do a Sketch Challenge SC209 over at SCS, but today I finally was able to join in the fun again. I also used the Dirty Dozen December Inspiration Challenge DINSP1208. I love the August calendar page with the pink, orange and red cluster of flowers. I just love letterpress printed stuff. My cousin Denise and I took a class once in San Fransico where we learned all about the art of letterpress. We even got to use the machines. It was a ton of fun. If I had the money and the means, I would invest in a letterpress machine. A girl can dream can't she?! Anywhoo... here's my card:












I used all Stampin Up! products (aka SUO). I used Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango and Whisper White. I have such a hard time deciding when a card is "done". I think I should have stopped a little sooner with this card. There's a few too many layers, but I still like it.

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy New Year!
Krystal

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

I'm back!! (hopefully)

Well, I finally had time to "fun" stamp. It's been forever since I stamped just for fun. It seems I always have a project or two that I'm working on. I did the Color Challenge today over at SCS but the color combo (So Saffron, Bravo Burgandy, Handsome Hunter) was so awful, that I didn't want to post my card here. If you want to see it, check out my gallery at SCS. The link is on the left. The card I did want to post today, was made for no reason at all. I love when I get to do that, since it rarely happens! I was making some Christmas thank-you cards and had one left, so I decided to "bling" it up. I love the sparkly look of Swarovski crystals. They really do shine better than the plastic wanna-bes. So, here's my card:













I used the Cuttlebug Christmas Tree embossing folder. I have no idea what the real name is. I don't keep the packages they come in. I just love how simple and elegant it is. The white cardstock is a metallic paper from Stardreams. I think the color is called Opal. I just love how shiny this card is. I also used SU! Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss. The Kiwi satin ribbon is also from SU! It is by far my most favorite ribbon right now. I just love how thick and velvety it is! Tomorrow I'll try and post our Christmas card and tell you my postal saga. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

Happy Stamping!
Krystal

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Create-A-Calendar 2009

Looking for a fun way to get organized next year?

Come to my Create-A-Calendar class on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 (NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE!) at 7 pm and leave with a fabulous 2009 calendar that you'll love to display! Cost is only $10 per calendar. This class must be pre-paid and is non-refundable. You must RSVP by January 13th. If you pay your registration by December 23rd, you'll receive a a free gift! Hope to see you there! Happy Stamping! Krystal

Monday, December 15, 2008

Nederend Christmas card

Here's the update! Let me know which one you want and I'll send it in.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Christmas 2008 Stampin' Up! Style
















I knew when I started this blog I knew that I wouldn't have the time to post every day, but I didn't imagine that I would get this far behind so soon! Sorry, no excuses here. Life just happened and blogging didn't! I thought I'd share our Stampin' Up! Christmas tree with you. This tradition just started a few years ago when our youngest (who is now 3)







was just beginning to be mobile. I didn't want to have to fuss with a "fancy" tree and worry about him pulling off the ornaments and breaking them. Or worse yet, cutting himself on them. So we decided to do an all paper tree. The kids had so much fun that we have continued doing it every year since. This marks our 3rd all paper tree. Enjoy! And if I don't get on here before Christmas... may you enjoy a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year filled with many happy memories!

Thanks for stopping by!
Krystal

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Be Inspired 28 and Color Challenge 189

Well, it took all day, but I finally finished the two cards I started this morning! Between getting cavities filled, driving kids around, and delivering Stampin' Up! orders, I think I spent less time in my house today than out of it. But I did want to play the Color Challenge over at SCS and I also wanted to participate in Beate's Be Inspired Challenge. You can click on the links to check them out. I have a raging headache at the moment, so I'm only going to post the pics of the cards. After my tooth extraction (YIKES!) tomorrow, I may come back and add some more details. You can always find more info at my SCS gallery. The first card is for BIC28 and also for WSC61:






















The second card is for CC189:






















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

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Featured Stamper 89



This is for today's Featured Stamper Challenge at Splitcoaststampers. Today's stamper is Emily, a.k.a. Ink-E. Her gallery is full of fresh and fun ideas and layouts. And she is only 18! I chose to CASE this card:




I love the fresh clean layout and fun colors. I also love her attention to details, the metal embellishment and the way her peircing is "inside-out". I think it's an awesome card. Mine is nothing in comparison. I thought I owned the large Sizzix Scallop Die, but apparently I don't. So I had to make some minor adjustments to my card. I did get to use my new stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs. Fun, fun, fun! Here's my card:













I used some retired DSP for the scallops. My base is Very Vanilla. The cross is embossed on River Rock with Clear EP. I sponged the edges with Wild Wasabi. Then layered it on VV and Chocolate Chip. I tried the "inside-out" piercing. Very fun and unique! Of course I stamped my sentiment last and of course I stamped it crooked! Grrrrr! I hate when that happens! But I was NOT going to start over, so it is what it is. If your looking for more info, check out my gallery at SCS.


Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great stamping day!
Krystal

Be Inspired #27 and Weekend Sketch #62

Hi! This is for two challenges over at Beate's blog, Fresh and Fun. Everyday Tuesday she offers the Be Inspired Challenge. This week we were to get inspiration from this scarf:

She also provides the Weekend Sketch Challenge every Friday. This is the sketch from this week:







I decided to combine the two challenges this week, since I haven't had much "fun" stamping time lately. I loved the colors in the scarf and chose to work with Basic Gray, Going Gray, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, and the retired Purely Pomegranate. This card did not turn out as I had pictured it, but I decided to post it anyway. So here it is:



















Definitely not one of my favorite cards. It's the top half that bothers me. I wanted a mixture of the PP and GG, like the scarf, but mine just looks wrong some how. I inked up my Bella Toile BG with PP and used my GG marker to add some highlights. Maybe I should have added more GG. I do love the Purely Pomegranate piece though. I inked up my brayer with White Craft Ink and rolled it onto my Cuttlebug Embossing folder. Then I Used my Big shot to emboss my cardstock. Isn't it cool! I learned about it on Splitcoaststampers. I'm sure it has some fancy technique name, but I have no idea what it is. I colored one of my silk flowers from the SU! Pretties Kit with my Pink re-inker.

Enough chit-chat, the rest is pretty self-explanatory! If you want more recipe info, check out my gallery at Splitcoaststampers.

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great stamping day!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Inspiration Challenge 150

I made two cards today for the Inspiration Challenge 150 at Splitcoaststampers. The challenge piece Stef gave us was the Etsy Store of the artist Joom. There are some very beautiful organic pillows and whimsical prints. I just bought my first set of non-SU! stamps and I wanted to use them, since so many of Joom's pieces incorporate birds. They are the beautiful stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs. I love their Christian sentiments and Bible verses. I want to start a Card/Encouragement Ministry at our church, so that was my justification for buying them. But do I really need to justify buying stamps?!


















I also pulled out a retired set from SU! called Such A Tweet. I bought this set off of "the Bay", for some Bridal Shower invites I did a couple years ago. I think it's so cute! I can't part with it. Though I rarely keep anything that is not in the current catalog, since I am trying to make this more than just a hobby! I used my Blender Pens and re-inkers to make markers of the current In-Colors, to color this stamp. It worked great!






















If you want more details, check out my gallery at Splitcoast.
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great stamping day!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Ways To Use It 188

This is for today's Ways To Use It Challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. The challenge was to use plaid. Well, I may have cheated just a little. The only "plaid" (if you can really call it that) on my card is the Canvas Background stamp I used. But I just had so much fun making this card, that I had to make it fit the challenge somehow! It seems if you don't post a card as a challenge card, hardly anyone even glances at it. Anyway, here's my card:





















Isn't he stinkin' cute! YILM (to quote the Great JanTink!) My daughter got the cutest shirt that had these adorable yellow and orange owls all over it. That's what inspired me for this card. I don't know if the Top Note die has been used this way to make an owl or not. It's so hard to know if you have an original idea, or if you saw it somewhere and just forgot.

If you want to know the exact Stampin' Up! supplies that I used, check out my gallery over at SCS.

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great stamping day!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Featured Stamper 88 and Stamp Simply 56

Is it possible to CASE two wonderful stampers at the same time? I don't know, but I'm going to try! Here's a card for the Featured Stamper Challenge on splitcoaststampers. It's also for the Stamp Simply Challenge on Sharon Johnson's blog. I pretty much kept the layout the same as Anne Ryan, the Featured Stamper. The Stamp Simply Challenge was to CASE Sharon.



















Some of the suggested guidelines were: use an elegant nature stamp, embossing folders, wide ribbon, hatpins and beads for embellishments. I tried to fit all that into this card.


I love Chocolate Chip paired with Blush Blossom. And since I knew I wanted to use some of my retired SU! Chocolate Satin ribbon, my color combo just fell into place. I really love this ribbon. I wish SU! would put it in the catalog permanently. I don't know what I'm going to do when this roll is gone. I know I'll be sad! So how'd I do?


Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Color Inspiration 25


My card for today is for the Color Inspiration Challenge on Kristina Werner's blog. What a fun color combo. I just loved the picture from Ikea. That little frog is adorable sitting on top of the pile of quilts. I know we are supposed to be inspired by the colors, but I couldn't help but be inspired by the whole photograph. So here's the card I came up with:


I used some old scraps of DSP to recreate the look of a stack of quilts. I don't have any frog stamps, so I used another stamp that would make a cute stuffed animal, the zebra from Zoofari. I tried to dye my Vanilla button with Ruby Red ink, but it didn't turn out as dark as I wanted. I probably should have let it dry a little longer before wiping it off.

Anyhoo! Fun color challenge. I hope I have time to stamp this weekend. I have a few invitation orders I need to work on, and I really should get ready for my class on Tuesday night. Problem is, my supplies for my class won't be here until Monday night! Yikes!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Ways To Use It 187

This card is for today's Ways To Use It Challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. The challenge today was to use a monogram on your card. I bought the Just K Simply Sent Card Kit from Stampin' Up! just for the letter K stamp. It works perfect for a monogram. I stamped the K In Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and then heat embossed it with Clear EP, three times. It's really thick and extra shiny.




I chose Old Olive and Chocolate Chip because they are my two fave SU! colors right now. I used Groovy Guava for some contrast. I really love the CC Satin Ribbon and the OO twill ribbon. I always miss the ribbons when they retire. I wish SU! would just keep all the ribbons they introduce. I would love both those types of ribbons in different colors. They are both so easy to work with.


Hope you have a great day!
Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Sketch Challenge 197

Hi! My card for today is from the Sketch Challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. You should check out the great SC gallery. I was inspired by the Ghostly Greetings DSP from SU! It's such cute paper. I love the print with the different colored pumpkin faces on the white background.

This card is mostly Stampin' Up! (MSU). Everything but the Cuttlebug Embossing. Even the white brads are SU! I took some Certainly Celery brads, inked them up with White Staz-on, and then with White Craft Ink. Then I dipped them in white embossing powder and heat set them. YAY! White brads! The pumpkins and sentiment are embossed with black EP and the smiley faces are embossed with white EP.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Be Inspired Challenge #26

Beate is one of my favorite stampers. On her blog, fresh & fun, she offers two challenges a week. Tuesday is her Be Inspired Challenge and on Friday she does a Sketch Challenge. This photo of the Greenwich Sofa was our starting point to be inspired today. I loved the Vanilla, Kraft and Navy colors, so that's where I started my card. This color combo always reminds me of the beach, which made me think of my A Light Unto My Path stamp set from Stampin' Up! So this is the card I came up with.
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a blessed day.

Chocolate Tangerine Kisses!

This is for today's Color Challenge on SCS. The challenge was to use Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss. I think these are gorgeous colors for Fall, so I chose to use my Autumn Harvest stamp set. Here's my card:





I've never used my Aquapainters until today. Boy! Have I been missing out! Watercoloring with re-inkers and the Aquapainter is a ton of fun! I know I'll be using this technique again soon! I made my own Kiwi button by painting a Vanilla button with Kiwi ink and my AquaPainter. I also made my own Chocolate Chip brad! I first dipped the top of the brad in White Staz-On ink, then in Chocolate Chip Craft ink and then in Clear Embossing Powder. I then used my Heat Tool to melt the Clear EP an viola! I have a Chocolate Chip brad! Is that cool or what?! The main panel is raised with SU! Dimensionals and the smaller gourds are also raised with dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Color Inspiration #24




I love partcipating in Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration challenge found on her blog. She always finds the most beautiful and inspiring advertisement photos. This one is no different. Even though it's 90 degrees around here, these gorgeous colors remind me of a crisp, fall day. So I went with the obvious (more like boring!) and chose a pumpkin for the focal point of my card. I loved the damask pattern on the plate and it reminded me of the SU! Baroque background stamp. So I stamped my Kiwi Kiss panel with that. I love the curves of the SU! Top Note die, so incorporated that as well. The only fall, Thanksgiving style set I own is Autumn Harvest, so I had no other choice, but to use that. I tried to keep my design simple, in the style of Kristina W. The pumpkin image is raised with SU! Dimensionals. I wished I had placed the Chocolate Chip Stitched ribbon a little lower, but it's all stuck tight and I'm NOT taking it apart!

I'm new at this blogging thing, so please be patient with me as I try to figure it all out. My pics and words are not where I want them, but they will have to be good enough for now.
Thanks for stopping by!
God Bless!
Krystal

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

My First Post!!

Woo Hoo! I have a blog! Now what do I do? This should be interesting! Hang on... I think I have a new addiction!