PGCB: Ornaments

The final challenge of 2014 for The Paper Girls is up!  Wow!  I can't believe we are saying that.  To help get you in the holiday mood, Michele picked the challenge of ornaments...whether it an ornament you make for your tree, or a page about your ornaments, we just want you to get in a festive spirit.

For my project, I am sharing an ornament that was cross stitched for my tree.  The 2 chickadees represent my 2 bundles of energy.

We can't wait to see what your ornament projects.  Make sure you post them on The Paper Girls site for a chance to win the prize Michele has put together.

Cheers!
Kristy

SSInk: December Card Sketch

Hi!

Happy Monday!  Are Monday's happy in your house?  I actually like them.  The quiet of my house after a crazy busy weekend are a blessing.  I love all the craziness, but I also enjoy the quiet.  ;-)

Today on SSInk, we have today's December Card Sketch.  It is such a fun and versatile sketch...

Everyone took this sketch in a different direction.  For mine, I used the Sweetheart Punch from Stampin' Up, punched 5 times, stacked and stapled together.  It is layered over a 2" circle punch from Stampin' Up's gold heart vellum paper.  Now I have one card all ready for Valentine's Day.  Yay!

If this sketch inspires you, please link up your project on the SSInk post for lots of love and credit.

Cheers!
Kristy

Thank You!

Today I have a double feature for you.

1. SSInkspiration is featuring Stampin' Up's Truly Grateful stamp set on the blog.
2. The Paper Girls Challenge's challenge is to create a Thank You card and give it to a friend.

I decided to combine these into 1 project...

I love the background stamp from Truly Grateful, as well as other stamps in the set.  I also colored one of Stampin' Up's Autumn Wooden Elements for that little pop of color.

Be sure to check out the other projects on both sites!  We would love it if you would play along with us at The Paper Girls for a fun prize!

Cheers!
Kristy

SSInk: Layout Sketch

Hi!

Happy Snowy Day.  This weekend, we enjoyed our first snowfall, of what is expected to be a long, cold winter here in the St. Louis area.  It is a good thing SSInkspiration provides us with inspiration for creating throughout this cold season.  My Stampin' Up goodies will help keep me entertained during this season as well.  ;-)

It is the 3rd Monday of the month, which means it is Layout Sketch day on SSInkspiration.

Instead of creating a layout, I was inspired to make a card with the sketch.  I love projects where I can use some of my leftover papers (I don't want to say scraps, that just doesn't sound right to me for these pretty papers).  This card features papers from the All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack.

Make sure you check out the other fun projects made with the sketch on SSInkspiration.  We hope you play along with us!

Cheers!

Kristy

SSInk: November Card Sketch

Hi!

Happy Monday!  Today is Card Sketch Monday over at SSInkspiration.


Here is the sketch:

And here is my card, using my For All Things stamps in Stampin' Up's 2014 Holiday Catalog.  I also used the Tag Topper Scalloped Punch and Color Me Autumn Washi to finish off my design.

I hope you play along with our challenge over at SSInk!

Cheers!
Kristy

PGCB: Mixed Media Project

Happy Monday,

I hope everyone had a great start to their November.  Mine was spent hiking with a bunch of Boy Scouts and just enjoying time with my kids.

It is the first Monday of the month, so that means it is time for a new challenge at The Paper Girls Challenge (remember, we have new challenges every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month!).  Today's challenge from Amber is Mixed Media.  Mixed Media: a single art composition involving two or more artistic media such as pen, ink, chalk, pastel, graphite, collage, paint, and any other media

For my project, I used Gesso to prep my paper, then cut vinyl and had help watercoloring over the vinyl - my daughter LOVES to watercolor with me.  Before I pulled the vinyl up, I traced the shapes with a pen to make sure it showed up really well.  This painting is now hanging proudly in the entry to our house.  

I can't wait to see what you create for this challenge.  You have until Saturday, Nov 15 to link up your projects!  Go ahead and get messy!!!

Cheers!
Kristy

SSInk: Masculine Monday

Hi,

SSInk is featuring Masculine Monday projects today.  For my card, I grabbed my For All Things stamps in Stampin' Up's 2014 Holiday Catalog and added an Autumn Wooden Element.  My husband walked by as I was making this card and gave me a thumbs up.  To me, this makes this card doubly approved for Masculine Monday.  ;-)

Cheers!
Kristy

SSInk: Quick & Easy Cards

Hi!

Today's feature on SSInkspiration is Quick & Easy Cards, featuring Stampin' Up products.  I had about 15 minutes from when I put my daughter on the bus and the postman was coming, so I quickly whipped up this card.

I love SU's Designer Paper Stacks.  Their 4x6 size makes it great for making quick cards.  Here I used the Moonlight stack.  To add a little depth to the "Happy Birthday" from the Making Spirits Bright stamp set by stamping in both Slate and Black, and popped up over a couple punched shapes.  And off this card went, in the mail on time!

Cheers!
Kristy

PGCB: Anything Goes

Hi!

It has been a while since I posted a scrapbook page.  I have to admit, I've missed scrapping.  I've been focusing on other things lately, but I will be back to scrapping even more...soon.

But I did find time to finish this page.  I admit, I started it a while ago.  I got stuck on how to finish it, so it sat in a box waiting until the time when the thought came to me.  So when The Paper Girls challenge of Anything Goes came up, I thought why not pull this page out and figure out what it needed.  It turns out, after adding the title and some simple hand doodling, it was complete.

Don't forget to enter your creations on The Paper Girls.  You have until November 1st to link up your projects.

Cheers!
Kristy

Growing in Unity Blog Hop

Hi!

Welcome to the Growing in Unity Blog Hop!  I was so excited when Unity Stamps asked me to join in the fun.  And I'm so glad to have you here.  Hopefully you came here from Tracy's blog.  If you didn't, you can find the complete list of participants at the bottom of this post.  You don't want to miss a stop.  One lucky commenter will be selected to win a month of Stamp of the Week (SOTW) stamps!  

We were given this week's SOTW stamp to work with: Winter Forest.  I fell in love with the trees when I took the stamps out of the package.  My first thought was to make a window card (and I still may!)...then I went a completely other direction.  Check it out!

Aren't these little canvases cute?  When I found them at a local discount store, I didn't know what I was going to do with them.  Originally, I thought they would be fun for my kids to draw on.  But when I saw the stamps, I knew they would be a perfect fit.  So I grabbed some watercolors to create a chilly background.

I used some Momento ink and the same watercolors to color in the the trees.

Last bit was to add a little sparkle with some stars and a silver pen.  And there you go!  My first Holiday decoration of the season.  

Thank you for visiting.  If you aren't a follower, I would love it if you would be.  Don't forget to comment along the hop for a chance to win a month of SOTW stamps!  As promised, here are all the stops:

1	Tracy	http://queeniesscrapmad.blogspot.co.uk/
2	Kristy	http://mamasanity.blogspot.com
3	Sheryl	igottacraft.blogspot.com
4	Christina	http://christinascreations1.blogspot.com
5	Crystal	Crystalamariscreations.blogspot.com
6	Angela	http://angelascraftyspot.blogspot.com
7	Mandi	http://faithhopecrafts.blogspot.com

Cheers!
Kristy

SSInk: Watercolor Wednesday

Hi!

In keeping with the watercolor theme we have had on my blog this month (you still have time to enter the Paper Girl's Watercolor Challenge!!!), I have a card featuring Stampin' Up products for SSInkpsiration's Watercolor Wednesday.

I used the Lucky Star Textured Expressions Embossing Folder on white, first, then added layers of watercolors to over the embossed Stars.  A diecut B with a little faux stitching, some White & Tangerine Tango Two-Tone Trim, and a stamped sentiment from the Flower Patch set complete the card.

I can't wait to see your watercolor projects!

Cheers!
Kristy

2 for 1: Concentrate

Happy Monday!

Today's 1 layout for 2 teams.  :-D  I love when I can combine projects.

The layout is based on the sketch on SSInkspiration today.  I loved that I could features papers from the Stampin' Up All Abloom Designer Series Pack on my layout, along with the Sans & Stripes stamp set to make the title.

Today's challenge on The Paper Girls is to use watercolors on your project.  I love the soft element that the watercolors add to this layout.

Make sure you play along with these challenges!  And most of all, have fun!

Cheers!
Kristy

SSInk: Fall Blog Hop

Hi!  Welcome to the SSInk Fall Blog Hop!  All of my fellow SSInkers have created some wonderful projects using Stampin' Up products.  As you hop along, please be sure to comment and show some love on every blog! We are always excited to hear from our followers! You should have just left stop #7 on the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration Blog Hop - Bree at Craft-Somnia.  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.

When I saw the new Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper in the Holiday catalog, I knew I wanted to use it for my Fall Project.  There are so many fun patterns in this collection, great for more than just the fall season! Using the 2014-2016 Stampin' Write Markers, I colored the Thanksgiving stamp the Mingle All the Way stamp set and finished with an Autumn Wooden Element.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.  Please hop on to Shellie's blog at Craft Smashup.  If you haven't visited all the blogs, I encourage you to start at back at Cynthia's blog and hop all the way through.

Cheers!
Kristy

Blog Hop Participant List:

1. Cynthia at Ink-A-Doodle Creations
2. Diana at Stampin' Fun with Diana
3. Darcy at Dj's Stampin' Place
4. Pam at Stampin' in the Sun
5. Jennifer at Happy 2 Scrap 4 Life
6. Heidi at Stuck on Stampin'
7. Bree at Craft-Somnia
8. Kristina at Mama's Sanity
9. Shellie at Craft Smashup
10. Kim at Stamping with Kim

SSInk: Card Sketch

Hi!

It is Card Sketch Monday on SSInk, .  Today's sketch was a very outside of the box sketch for me, but I had fun with it.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my take on the card:

I decided to do a half card front, featuring The All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack and A Happy Hooray stamp set by Stampin' Up.  I'll be sliding a set of Jamberry Nails wraps in this card and mailing it off to my big sis.  Shhhh...don't tell her.  ;-)

Cheers!
Kristy

Growing in Unity Winner (and a PGCB Challenge)

Hello!

Welcome back to another fun week of crafting and projects from my house.  I need to announce the winner for the Growing in Unity comments from last week.  But first, I want to share a "bonus" Growing in Unity project, that is also a Paper Girls Challenge project.  I used February 2014 SMAK Kit: Camera Ready to make this page about my daughter going Back To School (The Paper Girl's Challenge for 9/2/14: Back to School)

Thank you to everyone who commented on my projects last week!  All your comments were very inspiring.  The winner (courtesy of Random.org) is:

Kris BAugust 27, 2014 at 9:25 AM

Beautiful card! Love how you stamped the butterflies onto the background! Lovely sentiment!

Congratulations Kris!  Drop me an email by Sept. 14th at kmackeen1@gmail.com and let me know the 2 Itty Bitty Stamps you would like.  

And don't forget to enter your Back to School projects on The Paper Girls by Sept. 14th everyone!

Cheers!
Kristy

SSInk: Decorative Masks

Today is Technique Tuesday on SSInk, featuring Stampin' Up's Decorative Masks.  I used the Hearts & Stars Decorative Masks for my card.  I first inked over the mask with Night of Navy, concentrating more ink at the top, then working down.  Then I added a second layer of ink, Illuminate, over the top for added sheen and a hint of shimmer.

Stampin' Up's Decorative Masks are one of the best deals in the book.  For $2.95, you get 2-8x8 masks that can work on paper, canvas, and many other projects.  Check out SSInk for bunch of great ideas for using decorative masks.

Cheers!
Kristy

Growing in Unity - Day 5

Wow!  I can't believe today is my last day at the Growing in Unity Girl.  I have so much fun playing with the different styles of Unity Stamp Co. stamps.  Today, I'm going out with a toast and some sparkles.  I'm using the Let's Get SIP FACED stamp set to send out the week with a "Cheers!".  You might be able to tell that I used just a touch of Wink of Stella on the wine bottles to add a little sparkle to them too.

I hope you have enjoyed my projects this week.  If you have missed any, you can link back here:
Day 1
Day 2

Day 3

Day 4
Make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win 2 Itty Bitty Stamps.  You have until Monday, Sept 1st to leave comments on today's and all of my blog posts this week.  I will choose 1 winner from all the comments.

If you have enjoyed my projects - and would like to see more - please follow my blog.  When I hit 200 followers, I will send out a little blog candy to one of you!

Cheers!

Kristy

Growing in Unity - Day 4

Wow! I can't believe it is Thursday - Day 4 of my week at the Growing in Unity Girl.  This week has just flown by.

I have featured some more classical stamps the last couple days.  Today, I'm back to another "punny" stamp.  This time it is from PUN in the Ocean.  Unity Stamp Co knocked it out of the park with this stamp set, in my humble opinion.

I hope you have enjoyed a glance at today's card.  Make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win 2 Itty Bitty Stamps.  You will have until Monday, Sept 1st to leave comments on today's and all of my blog posts this week.  I will choose 1 winner from all the comments.  If you have missed a day or two, here are the links:

Day 1
Day 2

Day 3

See you tomorrow for my final Growing in Unity post.

Whale Hugs!
Kristy

Growing in Unity - Day 3

Hi!

Welcome back to Day 3 of my Growing in Unity week.  If you have hopped over from Unity Stamp's blog, I'm glad to have you here.  I hope you stay a while (like following this blog ;-) ).

I couldn't resist using the January 2014 Kit of the Month set: Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful stamp set for another card.  The sentiments are so perfect.  I truly believe you should be your own kind of beautiful.

Don't forget to leave comments for a chance to win 2 Itty Bitty stamps of your choice.  In case you missed them, here are the links to my previous Growing in Unity cards:
Day 1
Day 2

Thanks for visiting!  See you tomorrow.
Kristy

Growing in Unity - Day 2

Today is my 2nd installment as the Growing in Unity Girl.  I am using the January 2014 Kit of the Month set: Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful for today's project.  This set features so many wonderful designs and sayings.  I have to say, this may be one of my all time faves.

Thank you for visiting today.  Don't forget leave a comment for your chance to win 2 Itty-Bitty stamps of your choice (here is a link to Day 1 - leave a comment there too, if you haven't already).  I would also love it if you would follow along here on the blog.

See you tomorrow for more!
Kristy

Growing in Unity - Day 1

Hi!

I'm very excited to be the Growing in Unity gal this week.  I will be featuring projects using Unity Stamp Co stamps all week.  Look for a new post everyday.  Be sure to leave a comment to win 2 Itty Bitty stamps of your choice!

I'm going to start the week off wishing you a GRATE day (and week!).  I absolutely love the PUN in the Kitchen stamp set.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for another project featuring Unity stamps.  I would love it if you would click that little Follow Me button to the right.

Cheers!
Kristy

SSInk: CASE the Stampin' Up Catalog

It's Friday!  Woohoo!

SSInspiration is having a lot of fun today, CASEing the Stampin' Up Catalog.  CASE stands for Copy And Steal Everything - you can copy the card exactly as it is, or you can just use it as a jumping off point for your card.  As you would expect, the Stampin' Up catalog has so many inspiring pieces throughout its pages.  I really enjoyed grabbing my Work of Art stamp set and CASEing the card on page 164 from the catalog.  I added some water to my stamps to soften the edges of the ink.  I think it gave it a really pretty look/blend.

Cheers!

Kristy

SSInk: August Sketch

Happy Monday!  Today is Card Sketch Day on SSInk.  Everyone had such different ideas using Stampin' Up products to make our cards - from punches to stamps (of course!) to stamped images split into 3 pieces.

Here is the sketch:

For my take on the sketch, I used punches layered together to create the pattern.  And I have to say, I'm just kind of a little in love with this Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up.

Cheers!
Kristy

SSInk: Anniversary Post

SSInk (Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration) is celebrating our 1 year anniversary!  It has been so much fun creating with these girls...and a good excuse to pull out all my new Stampin' Up stuff and put it to use.  

The theme for our anniversary post was Anything Goes.  I have to admit, I love that type of challenge/theme.  For this challenge, I used 3 stamp sets I just got in my hot little hands: Be The Star, Work of Art and A Happy Hooray.  I love how way they all play together.  

SSInk is kicking off our 2nd year with some new ways to keep in touch with us.
Now you can follow us on Pinterest!

Join our group on Facebook!

Cheers!
Kristy

SSI: All About Kids

Today's theme at Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration is All About Kids.  I love seeing everyone's take on this theme, using Stampin' Up products.  There is so many different ways you can go with this.  Me, I thought of all my kids' friends having birthdays this month (5 in total!).  A couple are little ballerinas, like my daughter, so when I saw the Sweet Stuff Stamp Set, I knew it would be perfect for those little girls.

The All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack, Basic Hodgepodge Clips, and 2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment added some fun accents to the little dancing girl.

Next up are the boys.  Stay tuned.  I'll post them here when I'm done.

Cheers!
Kristy

PGCB: Red White & Blue Challenge

Hi!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.  Ours has been busy since the kids got out of school, which is great, but it also means less time for crafting.  :-(  I was able to sneak away a little bit to create a page for The Paper Girls' Red, White & Blue challenge, using the Pansy 1 sketch from Scrapbook Steals and the wonderful Brenda Smith.

I took the red-white-blue color scheme pretty literally with my page, using only red, white and blue paper & glitter on my layout.  I love the patriotic feel of the page, and as much as glitter can be the bane of my existence, I love the extra sparkle it added to the page.

I promise, you will see me around more this summer.  Mama needs this sanity to keep her going.  ;-)

Cheers!
Kristy

SSI: Retiring Stamp Set - Secret Garden

Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration is featuring the Secret Garden stamp set today...one of the Stampin' Up stamp sets retiring as of June 4.  

I love that this stamp set offers a couple different ways to use it.  You can color or paint the stamps that are just line drawings (as I did here).  Or, you can use the "solid" stamps and just ink and stamp to create your image.  It is fun when a stamp set gives you so many options in one set.  Stampin' Up even offers framelits that coordinate with this set to make it easy to cut the different images.  Right now, both the stamp set and framelits are on sale.  Grab them quick, before they are gone!!!

Cheers!
Kristy

SSI: Quick & Easy Card!

I love Quick & Easy Card day on Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration.  I'm all about quick and easy these days.  ;-)  Who isn't?!?  My card today features maybe one of my FAVORITE stamp set of all times from Stampin' Up...Crazy, Mixed Up Love (Item #131071).  There was something about the lava lamp featured in this stamp set that called out to me.

The longest part of making this card is waiting for the Crystal Effects (Item #101055) to dry! I used Crystal Effects on the lamp, as well as to make the texture on the background.

If you love this lamp as much as I do, make sure you head over to Stampin' Up and grab this set before it is gone.  It will be retired on June 4th!

Cheers!
Kristy

SSI: Masculine Monday

Happy Monday!

Well, it looks like I've been on a roll lately with cards, which is good since I'm getting into my busy card giving season.  ;-)

Today at Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration, it is Masculine Monday,  I took this opportunity to make one of the birthday cards I need for the month.

Recipe:
- Another Great Year Stamp Set (Item #133041)
- Silver Fancy Foil Designer Vellum (Item #133364)
- Core'Dinations Brights 12x12 (Item #129953)
- Aqua Painters (Item #103954)

Cheers!
Kristy

SSI: CASE the Catalog

Hi!

Is it bad to say I'm a little excited that the kids are back in school (even if it is just for a few more weeks before summer break!)?!?  I'm enjoying a little quiet time to do a little crafting.  Good thing I've already started a "Summer Craft Box" for this kids, so I'll be able to get some things created this summer.

Today on Stampin' Stylin' Inkspiration, we are featuring projects inspired from one of our favorite projects in the Stampin' Up catalog.  Ever since I opened the 2013-2014 Idea Book and Catalog and saw the sample with the World Map (Item #130345) stamp, I knew I wanted to make a card like it.  You can find it on page 25 of the IBC if you would like to see where I started from.

Stay tuned...I'll be back later this week with  more Stampin' Up projects!  In case you haven't heard, Stampin' Up released their retiring stamp and accessory list this week.  Make sure you get your favorites before they are gone!

Cheers!!!

SSI: Ombre Cards

You would be hard pressed not to notice how popular the ombre trend is right now.  You can find it in everything from clothes to scrapbooking to even hair (I'm included in that trend!).  

Today on Stylin' Scrapin' Inkspiration, we are featuring the ombre cards, using Stampin' Up products.  For my card, I used Bermuda Bay (Item #131171) to create my ombre effect.  Instead of traditional top to bottom ombre look, I took it left/right towards the center. I added a few drops of Bermuda Bay directly from my Ink Refill (Item #131156), then sprayed the whole thing with a little rubbing alcohol to give it the watercolor look.  I used rubbing alcohol instead of water to help prevent warping.

 

Ribbon twisted onto a Jumbo Sticky Rounds (Item #127852) and a sentiment stamped from Regarding Dahlias (Item #130327) finish the card.

Make sure you head over to SSI and see what the other girls have created.

Cheers!

Rose 8

Hi!

I'm up today on Scrapbook Steals' blog.  As a matter of fact, I'm the "guest sketcher" for the Rose 8 Mid Week Mojo.

When Melodee told us they were going to do a Design Team Picks week on SS, I was excited.  I gave her a huge list of some of my faves.  Then she asked if I would be willing to do the Mid Week Mojo sketch during that week, using We R Memory Keeper's Chalkboard collection, I was a little hesitant at first (don't tell her that though).  I had a bit of a hard time working with another chalkboard collection.  But after I got WRMK's collection in my hot little hands, I was in heaven!!!  For some reason, this collection was so much easier to work with.  I think the patterns and the brighter/variety of colors made it a joy to work with.  As a matter of fact, I got so excited about the paper, I started on a home decor project to post before I remembered I was supposed to be doing the MWM.  Oops!

Ok, enough talk about the collection and the everything, here is the page I created:

I also had fun playing with some of my WRMK tools to make this page.  Here are just a few.

For a more detailed look at the layout, as well as the sketch, be sure to visit the Scrapbook Steals blog.  Don't forget to play along with the MWM sketches for a chance to win prizes.

Cheers!