SSI: Friday Favorites

Hi All!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.  I have been in Lego building mode for 2 days with my little guy. 

 

Wow!  It has been a while since I blogged.  December was outrageously crazy and stressful.  But I'm keeping positive thoughts that 2014 will be a tad calmer (and now that I've said it, it will be even more than 2013!!!).

Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration is featuring Friday Favorites today.  It was easy to create something for this post.  The new Spring catalog features so many of my favorite things to use in my scrapbooking and card making, the hardest part was picking just one.  Today I'm going with the Designer Series Paper Stacks Stampin' Up started featuring last year.  Their size is perfect for card making...and I can save my 12x12 paper for my scrapbooking.  ;-)

If you like what you see above, they will be available in the new Occasions Catalog, starting January 3rd (there is even a Sale-a-bration item on here too!).

Cheers!
Kristy

Simple Sketches Sketch 13

Happy Saturday!

I am back today with another inspirational sketch from Melissa at Simple Sketches.  I know I say it all the time, but I truly LOVE her sketches.  They always make me want to break out some paper and see where her sketches take me.  For example, here is this week's sketch:

And here is where I went with it... 

I couldn't resist documenting the Hailey learning to write her e's.  She kept singing "1 aaaaaand 2" with each "e" she wrote.  That was the inspiration for using the music paper from my November Citrus Twist kit (actually everything on this layout is from my November Citrus Twist kit!).

Thanks for visiting!

Cheers!
Kristy

Stylin' Stampin' Squad: November Blog Hop

Thank you so much for joining us for the November Stylin’ Stampin’ Squad Blog Hop! This month our projects focus on Christmas. While we have yet to give thanks this month, some of us are already thinking about sending Christmas cards, what kind of packaging to present gifts in and how we want ...to deck our halls. On this month’s blog hop we are showcasing many of the Stampin’ Up! products that are available in the Holiday Catalog. You will see everything from cards to gift tags to 3-D décor and gift packaging. We hope you enjoy seeing how we use the products to create our projects and feel inspired to come up with some great projects of your own.

Remember you can order all of the products showcased from your Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator.

You should have just left stop number 14 on the Stylin’ Stampin’ Squad blog hop - Jennifer B. of NW Stamper. If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn’t work or you get off track, you will find the full blog hop lineup below.

For today's hop, I featuring Christmas cards made with the Season of Style Designer Series Paper Stack.

My first card is a sassy little snowman (from the Snow Day stamp set) waiting to meet you under the mistletoe.  The saying is a sticker from the Season of Style This and That Designer Stickers. These stickers were originally intended to be used in a journaling format, but I just couldn't resist using them on the front of a card!  And what is a snowman without a bed of snow to sit in?  I used some glitter for his "bed".

 

 

To make the eyes and other items really stand out on the snowman, I heat embossed all the items. It took 4 passes with the heat gun to make him smile (each color was a separate pass), but in the end it was worth it.  

 

For my second card, I used the 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon.  I ran thread through it and pulled at the top to scrunch it.  Since my embossing gun was out, I decided to emboss my stamp from A Banner Christmas.

I used my 1/2" Circle Punch with some Seasons of Style of Washi Tape to create the center of the brad.

For my final card, I grabbed some of the scraps from my previous cards.  I love that you can make so many different cards from just a few pieces of paper from stacks!  And aren't the Expressions Thinlits Dies and sparkle of the Silver 1/8" ribbon great?!?  You can make such quick and easy cards with them.

Thanks for visiting me today.  Next up on the hop is Shellie G. of Craft Smashup .  And if you have missed anyone along the way, here is a complete list of participants.  Make sure you check them all out.  There is some wonderful inspiration to be found!

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun
2. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
3. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
4. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
5. Cynthia R. of Ink-a-Doodle Creations
6. Jamie H. of Unique Ink
7. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
8. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
9. Diana E. of Stampin' Fun with Diana
10. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin'
11. Bree R. of Craft-Somnia
12. Anastasia R. of Stampin' Blondie
13. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
14. Jennifer B. of NW Stamper
15. Kristina M. of Mama's Sanity
16. Shellie G. of Craft Smashup

 

SS INKspiration: Quick & Easy Cards

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has had a great week.  I've had a fun week playing with my new Stampin' Up goodies - including a Quick & Easy card up today on Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration.

Here's what I used to make this card:
Christmas Ornament Punch (#132152)
Christmas Messages Stamp Set (#131793)
Seasons of Style Designer Series Paper Stack (#132181)
All of these can be ordered from the Holiday Catalog here.

To make the dimensional ornament, I punched 5 ornaments from a single sheet of paper.  I stapled them together then folded the ornaments in half.  I continued to "fluff" the ornament until I had the rounded look I liked. 

This truly was a quick and easy card.  I think it took longer to collect all the items to make this card than to actually put it together.  ;-)


Cheers!
Kristy

PGCB: Cut It Out!

Happy Monday!

It feels so good to be back in the grove of scrapping after having to take a little break due to injuries and surgeries.  (Not to worry - we are all on the mend now.  :-D )

There is a new challenge up on The Paper Girls Challenge today: Cut It Out.  It is time to dust off your machines - whether it be a Cricut, a Big Shot, a Silhouette, or even your scissors - and join in the fun!  Make sure you check out all the projects over on the blog.  The Paper Girls really outdid themselves this time!

For my project, I used my Pretty Pennants cartridge on my Cricut to make the banners behind my photo.  I was inspired by the new Amy Tangerine stitching templates to add a little more dimension to the heart.  I didn't want to use too many other embellishments because I really wanted the heart to shine.

 

Thanks for visiting!

Cheers!
Kristy

Woohoo!

Happy Halloween! 

I'm a little late in posting this...but I am very excited to say I am part of the Fall/Winter Design Team at Scrapbook Steals!  Melodee & and crew over there have picked an amazing group of ladies to be part of this team.  Check them out here. 

As many of you know, I love Scrapbook Steals.  It is because of them that I started this fun journey of scrapping.  Now I feel like life has come full circle, and I'm excited to be designing for them.  My first post will be up next Tuesday.

I hope everyone has a safe (and dry) Halloween. 

Cheers!
Kristy

Simple Sketches: Sketch 9

Happy Tuesday!  I wanted to share my page done with Sketch 9 from Simple Sketches. 

Here is the sketch:

And here is my page.  I actually took this sketch with me to the Scrapbook Steals crop in Salt Lake City and decided to use it on a page about the girls I sat with at the crop.  I loved all the strips behind the pictures.  I thought it would be fun to use all the cut-offs from the bottom of the papers we were working with.  So I had all the girls (my #mustachedogs!) give me theirs and stacked them behind the photo.  The sprays in the background were the colors were kept passing around the table. Even the "#" stitched in the title represents all the stitching we did on our projects while we were there.  It is fun to have all the little things that remind me of our amazing group on one page. 

 

 

Cheers!
Kristy

SSI: Layered Punches

I'm up today on Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration with a quick technique that adds a lot of punch (no pun intended) to a card - layering punched elements. 

 

I love using punches.  In fact, I have a wall full of them.  While dies are great, with punches, I don't have pull out my Big Shot and hope I line everything up correctly.  I can sit down, stamp and punch to quickly create the image I want.

 

Here are 3 cards that I used at least 3 punches layered on top of each other to create a focal point.  Each card includes the 1-3/4" Circle, Decorative Label Punch, and the Extra Large Oval.

 

For my first card, I used my Versamark ink pad to stamp the leaf stamp from the Best of Autumn stamp set on my card base.  The sentiment is also from the same set, but I colored "Give" first and stamped it and followed with the "Thanks", to create a stacked sentiment that would fit in the Extra Large Oval.

On this card, I punched 2 Word Window strips.  They are layered on top of each other behind the Extra Large Oval to create a longer strip and help anchor probably my favorite sentiment from Yippee-Skippee.

For my last card, I wanted to create a more masculine card.  I used Gorgeous Grunge to create the background.  I actually hand cut "You're The Best" from a larger stamp on Hello, Lovely stamp set.  Using Stampin' Dimensionals helps add an extra pop to the card.

Don't forget, all the stamps from this post (except Best of Autumn) are 25% off on the Stampin' Up site today.

Scrapbook Steal Blog Hop Winner!

Hi All!

I just realized I forgot to post the winner for the Scrapbook Steals Blog Hop.  My mom has been visiting and it threw me off a little.  So...without further ado, the winner of some My Mind's Eye titles and die cuts are:

ScrappyMamaOctober 4, 2013 at 10:46 AM

LOVE your layout & the unique way you used the title die cuts to make a banner...very clever!!

ReplyDelete

 

Scrappy Mama: Please send me your address to kmackeen1 at gmail dot com by the end of the month so I can send you your prize!

 

Cheers!
Kristy

Simple Sketches #7

Happy Saturday!  Today is Simple Sketches 7th sketch.  This is a fun sketch if you do Project Life style scrapping - or like me have some fun little photos you want to highlight.  I actually stayed pretty true to the sketch for my project...

Let's look at the sketch first:

 

And here is my layout:

 

 

I know what you are going to say...wait, there are no pictures here.  And that's true.  What will be there are some of the photos I took of the wonderful food I ate in Florida this summer.  Unfortunately, my printer took a nosedive on me and I have a hard time getting mini-photos printed the way I want them at retail stores.  But I promise, the photos and what we ate will be there!  (My new printer will be here soon!)

 

If you liked this sketch as much as I did, make sure you link up your project on the Simple Sketches page.  We'd love to see your take on it!!!

 



Thanks for visiting!  Have a great weekend!

Kristy

PGCB: Stitch it up!

Hi! 

Happy Monday to everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I've had a whirlwind couple weeks.  Two weekends ago, I was in Salt Lake City for the Scrapbook Steals Retreat.  I had a total blast, and got to hang out with 4 other Paper Girls.  This weekend, we picked up my mom at the airport for visit.  :-)

As I was thinking about Jessica's challenge for The Paper Girls today, I thought it would be fun do to a page about meeting her and the other girls at the retreat.  So I used my Amy Tangerine stitching templates to stitch a "photo corner" on my layout.  (The paper is also from the American Crafts class we attended at the Retreat.)

One day I hope we can get a picture with ALL The Paper Girls in it.  Thanks for visiting! 

Cheers!
Kristy

Scrapbook Steals October Blog Hop

If you are looking for the PGCB Hop, click here.

Welcome to the October Blog Hop for Scrapbook Steals.  I was so happy when Melodee asked me to be a part of the hop.  I was even more excited when I was at their Retreat last weekend, and she handed me the steal to work with...My Mind's Eye Titles, Quotes & Die Cuts Mega Pack.  Let me tell you, when they say mega, they mean MEGA.  There was probably a stack more than 1" thick of tags, quotes and die cuts from some of my favorite My Mind's Eye collections, including The Sweetest Thing, Collectable, and Indie Chic.

I can't wait for you to hop along with some insanely creative designers.  Make sure you leave a comment on all the blogs for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to the Scrapbook Steals store.  Comments must be left by October 6th at 11:59 pm MDT.  Here is the order of the hop:

ScrapbookSteals.com - http://scrapbook.steals.com/ <- Did you start here?  If not, hop back!
Kristina MacKeen- http://mamasanity.blogspot.com/ <- You are here!
Charissa Miller http://www.akihasmommascraps.com <- Hop here next.
Staci Jones http://scrapbookingischeaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/
Heather Conklin http://goldiecar.blogspot.com/
Erin Shultz http://trailofscraps.blogspot.com

And now, here is my project:

As I was looking through the all the tags, I thought it would be fun to make kind of a banner style hanging of all the titles.  After I laid out the ones I liked and thought would be good together, I glued them down and gave them a light whitewashing of gesso.  These tags are actually from all 3 of the collections.  Adding the gesso toned down the colors, and made them flow together nicely.  I added a light coat of Frost White Shimmer Paint from Stampin' Up over the gesso.  It is hard to see in the picture, but it added just a touch of shine to the background and tags.  I loved how you can still see the colors, yet they flow together nicely.  Instead of using the frame (also part of the Mega Pack!) in front of my photo, I added it behind.  This way you are able to see all my daughter's (and son's) animals, yet the pop of color is still there.  A quick trip to the sewing machine and some journaling around the edge, and I was done. 

I hope you enjoyed my layout!  Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win the gift certificate to the Scrapbook Steals store. 

And since it is almost my birthday, I feel like sharing a few presents with you!  I will choose one comment to win some of these fun My Mind's Eye titles, quotes, and die cuts.  Make sure you are a follower to win!  I will announce the winner on Oct 10th.

Cheers!
Kristy

PGCB Blog Hop: Fall Decor

The Paper Girls have put together an amazing blog hop with lots of inspiration.  Take a few minutes for yourself and hop along our blog hop for a little extra help with that “Fall Decor”?

 

A hop wouldn't be a hop without prizes.  The Paper Girls Challenge Blog has a Scrapbook Pal gift card up for grabs...See details below on how to win!

 

Here is the line up:

The Paper Girls Challenge Blog: www.thepapergirlschallenge.blogspot.com <- Did you start here?

Kristy: www.mamasanity.blogspot.com  <- You are here!

Amber: www.allamberallthetime.blogspot.com <- Visit here next!
Erica: http://stampingstarlette.blogspot.com/
Charity: http://menemenetekeluniversity.blogspot.com/
Heather: http://heatherskraftykorner.blogspot.com/
Charissa: http://akihasmommascraps.com/
Jessica: http://errantscraps.blogspot.com/
Michele: http://about-the-paper.blogspot.com/
Cathryn : http://www.catscrapcreations.blogspot.ca/
Becci: http://b-handmade.blogspot.com/
Misty: http://mistylynnwhat.blogspot.com/
Deborah: http://scrappinthelittlethings.blogspot.com/

And here is a fun project to hopefully inspire your thoughts on fall décor:

 
I used my Cricut to cut a BUNCH of leaves (honestly, I don't remember how many, but it is was a lot).  I used Fabrications paper by Teresa Collins, which matches the wreath I made at the beginning of the month.  After inking the leaves - and my hands - I started gluing the leaves down to the paper.  To make sure I had the right sized paper, I simply used the paper that came with the frame, flipped over, of course!

The words are from Stampin' Up.  I got them through Sale-a-bration last year and hadn't used them yet.  By adhering them to the glass, I can create different backgrounds to match the seasons or holidays.

On to the important part - PRIZES!!!

How do you get your hands on the gift card to Scrapbook Pal? Would you like a chance to win?

Get an entry for commenting on each of the blog posts, "Like" the Paper Girls Challenge on Facebook, and being a follower on our blog (all are required for an entry). You will see some fabulous projects and find some inspiration.

You have until Sunday, October 6, 2013 at 11:59pm MST to comment. We will announce the winner on Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 9:00 am MST. International readers are welcome to play along but currently we are only shipping prize packs to the US and Canada due to shipping costs.

Now hop on over to Amber's blog!!!

Cheers!
Kristy

Sketch & Stamp Challenges: A Double Dip

Hi All! 

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Ours was the usual craziness, but that is always the way when you have 2 kids, right?

I have to admit, I am combining 2 Design Team projects into 1 today.  Bad Kristy, but hey, it happens to all of us, right?  Right?  Jennifer over at Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration designed a great page sketch for us to use - head on over there to see the sketch.  And Heather asked us to "make our own stamps" at The Paper Girls Challenge.  I thought these would be great combined together!

Here is my page:

Recipe (all items Stampin' Up):

Paper: Winter Frost DSP Stack (#132183), Venetian Romance (#130144), Polka Dot Parade (#126902), Quatrefancy Specialty (#130141), Whisper White (#124302), Strawberry Slush (#131295)

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar (#131174), Coastal Cabana (#131175), Crisp Cantaloupe (#131176), Pistachio Pudding (#131177), Strawberry Slush (131178), Summer Starfruit (#126991), Stazon White (#106960)

Punch: Blossom (#125603), Pansy (#130698)

Etc.: Hung Up Cute Clips (#129389), Pearl Basic Jewels (#119247), Glue Dots (#103683), Clear Block Bundle (#118491)

 

As you can see, I was feeling a little sentimental.  I never do a page about me, and when I saw this picture, I thought, why not???  Go for it!

 

Remember I mentioned that The Paper Girls Challenge was to make our own stamps?  Well, for me that was my SU Clear Mount stamping blocks.  To make the background, I laid out all my ink pads and blocks.  I pressed my blocks right into the ink, and then onto the paper.  (The new ink pads work GREAT for this, better than the old style.)  Oh wait, I have a couple helpers that can show you what I did:

 

 

Note to self when I do this again...don't let the kids use your good SU ink pads.  I may have some Strawberry Slush on all my ink pads now.  But the kids had fun and were so proud of their work - that is the most important thing!!!

 

Cheers!
Kristy