Blog of the day!

Hi All,
I wanted to share a lovely honor I received based on my "Pumpkins Galore" card that I made. I was listed as one of the "Blogs of the Day", click here to check out all of the blogs listed!! Thanks so much Kelly!
Karin
ps Hope your all enjoying the Olympics!! I love the eventing course!

Punch Art Beer!

Hi All,
Bet the title got your attention! I wanted to share the second card I will be presenting at my August stamp Club. I had a request to do a masculine card and thought some punch art would do the trick! Here it is:

Here is what I used:

Stamps:     Itty Bitty Banners

Cardstock:     Island Indigo – half sheet

                        Crumb Cake-  4”*51/4

                        Vellum Cardstock – 2 ¾ x 3 ¾

                        So Saffron -  2 ½ x 3 ½

                        Scrap Whisper White & Vellum

                       

Ink:  So Saffron

Punches:  Boho Blossom, Large Oval, Corner Rounder and Modern Label

Embellishments: Big Shot and Stripes Embossing folder and Bitty Banner Framelits 

Hope my "clubbers" like the card! Contact me if you would like to start your own club!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

No Reason to let time run out!

Hi All,
I wanted to remind you that you have just FOUR  days left to purchase the Reason to Smile stamp set for $5 with any $50 purchase!! This set is so versatile and an unbeatable value!

This stamp set is a July exclusive and will not be available after July 31st. Contact me or click on the "Order Online" button to receive yours today!!

Have a great day!

Karin

Pumpkin's galore!

Hi All,
Thought I would try my hand at Create with Connie and Mary's sketch this week:

And as I am still working on my Aunt's cards I knew it would have a Fall theme:

As you see my need for pumpkins has continued!! As I have mentioned before I love using all of my scraps and especially love the Spice Cake DP! I ran my Very Vanilla cardbase through the Big Shot in the Vintage Wall Paper embossing folder and then "distressed" it with some Early Espresso ink. I think used my Bitty Banners Framelits to cut out the "Thankful" banner! I just love the Framelits!! Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

Freshly Made Pumpkin!

Hi All,
I am motivated to finish my Great Aunt's Thanksgiving cards and think I have hit on the "one"!! I had gone on over to Freshly Made Sketches and they had another fantastic sketch:

And I instantly came up with this clean design (or at least that's what I thought!!)

I knew that I would be using up the scraps of my beloved (and retired) "Spice Cake" DP, as well as some Early Espresso Satin ribbon. I am on a bit of a "pumpkin" kick I guess as that's what I initially saw as the "Any Shape" portion. I also know that its a large enough element for her to see, which is always nice as, sometimes, embellishments are to small for someone who is almost blind. Hope she likes them!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

Paper Players Challenge

Hi All,
I decided to take a little break from Halloween cards and work on my Great Aunt's Thanksgiving cards. I was inspired by the great sketch at the Paper Players Blog:

Loved the "clean" sketch. Here is what I came up with:

I used a base of Very Vanilla, a layer of Chocolate Chip that I ran through the Lattice Folder on the Big Shot and some left over (and very coveted) retired Spice Cake DP. I made the pumpkin using my large oval and Build a Bird punch. I added a little depth by sponging Cajun Craze ink on the sides of the pumpkin. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

Owl Mojo!

Hi All,
I have been trying to come up with a Halloween card design for my great aunt. She is 100 (almost 101) and is legally blind so as part of her birthday present every year I make her her Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas cards. I need to be able to make a large number so the design has to be easy to replicate. I had gone over to Mojo Monday for inspiration and their great sketch delivered:

Here is what I came up with:

I just can't resist all the ways you can use the Build an owl punch!! I ran the Basic Grey panel through the Vintage Wall Paper embossing folder and added a few more of my Night and Day scraps. I am a BIG proponent of using your scraps! I took a little creative freedom and instead of an element on the lower left hand corner I used it for my speech bubbles up to the right! Hmmm I like this so much maybe I should find another design for my aunt! LOL!!

Have a great day!

Karin

More Halloween Fun!!

Hi All,
I wanted to share a card that I was thinking of making at a friend's upcoming Halloween workshop. It was a card shared with me by my upline! Great to have the support system that Stampin Up puts in place for new demonstrators! Here is the adorable card (if I do say so myself!):

Great for those who may not have Halloween stamps on hand but want to send out some cute Halloween cards! Have a great day! 

Karin

Stamping 411

Morning All,
I hate to admit it but I have been avoiding my trip to the gym to do my exercises all morning! So I thought I would do try to turn the morning around by completing a very cool sketch challenge I found over at Stamping 411:

I need to start prepping early for my August club as I will leave on vaca soon after and thought this challenge card was perfect for my group:

I just love the cheerfulness of the Floral District DP and thought the Happy Hour set was called for once again! The Daffodil Delight stitched ribbon adds some nice texture as my center layer. I used my Bitty Banners Framelits and the coordinating "Itty Bitty Banners" stamp set new this year! Banners are so "in" right now for crafting and this set is perfect! The framelits make it so easy to add a quick banner to the project! I also decided to add some Crystal Effects to the drink glass and umbrella. Here is a close up:

It give it a nice 3D look as well as some added "shine". Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

Happy Hour!!

Hi All,
Today I needed a thank you card for a friend of mine and had gone on over to Pals Paper Arts where they had another great sketch:

Here is what I came up with:

I really love the "Happy Hour" set and when you combine it with Floral District DP the card just screams "fun" to me!! I decided to run the bottom panel through the Big Shot and the Polka Dot Embossing Folder, which just added to the "cheerful" element, at least that's what I thought! Hope she likes it! Have a great day!

Karin

Customer Rewards!

Morning All,
I wanted to share with you one of my newest customer rewards programs!! I am SUPER excited about it to! I am offering a "50/50" board during all workshops! This means that if you order $50 worth of product you get to place your name in one of 50 squares on my board and when the board is full I cut it apart and pull a name and that person receives $50 worth of merchandise FREE! So if you place an order for $101 you get to fill out two squares but if you place an order for $97 you fill out one square. Here is a picture of my "board":

I used some left over Raspberry Tart DP that I have held onto (I bet you can see why!?? Its beautiful!), a piece of Wild Wasabi and some Whisper White which I have scored with my new "Simply Scored" tool. Great tool for scoring and getting the perfect effect quickly! Please email me with any question and to set up your next workshop where this can be a great incentive to your guests!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

(Edited to add some "bling", I felt like it needed a little "decoration")

Another perspective

Hi All,
Well since there was a tornado warning for where I live, I decided to hang out in my crafting room...in the basement! So I decided to take a different perspective on the Cottage Window card I shared yesterday. yesterdays card had you looking out, while today I have you looking "in"!

I used some more of my retired Night and Day paper for "creepy" wallpaper, the stripes embossing folder and some interest with my "Spooky Bingo Bits"! I cut out the window, the wall paper, Frankenstein and my "bats"! I thought the stripes folder made the house look like it had siding! Another very simple but fun Halloween card! Bring on the rain!
Karin

Clean and Simple Halloween

Hi All,
Sorry for my slight disappearance! My knee and back was very sore and I couldn't sit for any length of time to create. Course the heat doesn't help either! Had a better start to my day today so I decided to play with one of my favorite new sets, "Cottage Window". I am also still trying to finish up my Halloween cards and think I have found a favorite:

I used glossy paper to stamp the window, cut it out and stamped the spider with Staz on. Then I stamped the pumpkins on more glossy paper and colored the window and pumpkins with my wonderful Blender pens and mounted the pumpkins on the window sill with a dimensional! I used some of my retired Night and Day paper for the wall paper and ran some Basic Black through the Stripes embossing folder and placed some Whisper White as the chair rail. Hope you like it!
Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

Stampin Queens Challenge

Hi All,
I am very excited to share today's Halloween card! I had gone on over to Stampin Queen's Challenge and they had a great sketch:

When I saw this sketch I immediately imagined the images from Spooky Bingo Bits peeking out. So here they are:

I used some of my retired "Night and Day" DP, ran the Basic Grey paper through the Big Shot in the Stripes Embossing folder and placed a piece of Satin Ribbon on the bottom piece. Love the look and its easy peasy!  Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

Try Stamping On.....Thursday!

Hi All,
I wanted to share another Halloween card I made yesterday based off of the great sketch at Try Stamping on Tuesday:

I thought it offered a lot of great possibilities. So here is what I came up with:

I love how "clean" this card came out! I used one of my favorite Halloween stamp sets "Spooky Bingo Bits"! It has so many possibilities! The Designer Frames works perfectly with these stamps, you can fit them in without overlap. I punched out the sentiment and popped it up on dimensionals. Off to work!

Karin

Freshly Made Halloween!

Hi All,
I am still on my Halloween card making stint and wanted to share my latest creation. I had gone on over to Freshly Made Sketches and they had a great sketch as usual:

I am also still fascinated by the "Soot" technique so I combined everything and here is what I came up with:

I decided that I liked the images rotated. I used my House of Haunts once again and some retired black and white DP that I have some scraps of. I love when some of the scraps I end up hoarding work for a project! To recreate this technique you need glossy cardstock. It really packs a "Wow" in person! Have a great day!

Karin

The need for MDS!

Hi All,
I wanted to quickly share this "quick" project I was working on for my mother yesterday. You see my grandmother turns 100 this September and we are having a party for her. My mom didn't want to "bother" me with making the invites and RSVP's so she bought some. Long story short they wouldn't run through the printer, the color on the invites wasn't "even" and the quality of the cardstock was just not there. So after hours (yup at least three) of trying it all different ways I threw up my hands ran some of SU's Whisper White cardstock through the printer with the info I typed up, ran it through the Big Shot on the Top Note Die and then "dolled" it up as best I could. Here is the end product, SO not my best but if you only knew!!

Anyway it really made me rethink the value of the My Digital Studio software. I would have had the colors, images and it would have easily printed on the cardstock and I would have been done in no time!! If your interested in NOT having my experience LOL then click here and learn what if can do for you!

Have a great day!

Karin

Halloween Mojo!

Hi All,
Well I decided I better get moving on making my Halloween and Thanksgiving cards, as the Fall is quite crazy! So I had seen the "Soot" technique on Dawn Olchefske website and knew that it would be perfect for my cards.I just wasn't sure about the layout. So I went on over to Mojo Monday and they did not disappoint with their sketch:

  So without further adieu here is my first attempt.

As I have a retirement special going this week with some of my goodies I thought I should use one of my old favorites, "House of Haunts" for this card. I love the variation you get on the glossy cardstock with the flame and how some of the edges are a bit more "dog eared" then others. I decided that I liked the front without the sentiment and added inside instead. You should really try out this technique! Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

Retirement Sale!

Hi All,


I am getting re-organized and am listing some of my retired "goodies" for sale. This ranges from stamp sets, die cuts, embossing folders, and ink pads. I have listed some sets that have pictures but do not have pictures for every item. Email me if you would like a picture of a particular item. I am not currently looking for any items for trade. Shipping can be combined and I use the flat rate boxes. Thanks and have a great day!


Karin




Stamp Name Wood or Clear Sale Price  

$5 Stamps:

Christmas Greeting Wood

Fresh Vintage Clear

Ornate Blossom Wood NUM

$8 Stamps:

Delight in Life Wood

Kindness Matters Clear 

$10 Stamps:

Cottage Window Clear

Loving Thoughts Clear

Not So Seriously Clear

Northern Hearts Clear

Vintage Vogue Clear 

$15 Stamps:

For All You Do Wood

Packed for Everything Bundle Wood

Wonderful Favorites Wood

Misc Supplies

3/4 full spool of Pink Pirouette Grosgrain Stripped Ribbon $5

1 & 3/4 full boxes of Deck the Hall Fabric $3 for both

Sizzix Large Heart Shaped Die $15

Bigz Large Scallop Square $15

Hearts Pressed Embossing Plate $10

Bigz Holiday Stocking Die   $15


Fall Harvest Regular Sized Wheel $5

Soft Holly Regular Sized Wheel $5

Stampin Pastels Hardly used old colors $8

Small Tag Punch $10

Textured Impressions Designer Frames $5

Paper Piercing Pack Essentials $8

 

Freshly Made Sketches

Hi All,
I had planned on sharing another card today but unexpectedly needed a sympathy card for a co-worker. As usual these are the toughest for me to plan out so I had gone on over to Freshly Made Sketches for some inspiration and was not disappointed. This is the sketch of the week:

And here is what I came up with:

I used Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy and Naturals White for my cardstock, Not Quite Navy and Crumb Cake for my ink and Just Believe and Thoughts and Prayers for my stamp sets. I hope you can see the "ghosting" technique that I did with the main image. You stamp with your darker color first, then use your Stamp-a-ma-jig and align it slightly to the left to give it a shadow with a lighter color. Finally I used the Color Spritzer Tool to add some Crumb Cake "dots" to the image. Feel free to email with any questions. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Karin

Merry Monday...on a Friday

Hi all,
I didn't have a chance to post this card this morning as, what a surprise, I was running late to work thanks to ponies causing havoc to my schedule! Anyway I had gone on over to Always Playing with Paper for their
Merry Monday challenge and they are taking a well deserved vacation this July. However, they challenged us to use a past sketch to enter the contest:

So I had gone through their very cool sketch list (click here) and really liked this sketch:

I really liked the clean and simple layout. Here is what I came up with:

I wanted to have a few options to chose from at my next stamp club by the class sign up list and thought this fit in very well. I just love Dasher and always reach for him when setting up for at least one of my stamp a stack cards!! Well hope its a hit! Would love your comments! Thanks for stopping by!!

Karin

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th all!!
Can not believe that it is July already!! The Summer is zooming by! Eek! Anyway I had a few moments between activities and I wanted to share my July "Thank you's' with you. I am in love with the Reason to Smile stamp set available only this month so I chose to you that as my focus, as well as the cool new (well to me) cutting technique I have been playing with.

I hope you can see the DP I lined the bottom of the inside of the card peeking out at you! I used some old favorite colors as well, Concord Crush and Pear Pizazz. Hope the crew likes them! Enjoy your fourth!
Karin

Another Reason to Smile

Hi All,
I wanted to share the third card that I will be presenting to my stamp club this July. I had been inspired by a cutting technique I had seen over at my friend Linda's Blog. There you can see who she was inspired by. I thought cutting the edge was a perfect technique to showcase the "Reason to Smile" stamp set, as well as the Floral District DP. Without further delay here it is:

Here is a closer peek:

After stamping the edge of the whisper white card stock in Staz on, I colored the flowers to varying degrees with blender pens and Rich Razzleberry and Daffodil Delight ink. Then I cut along the edge so that when it closes you can see part of the inside edge of the card. I place a 2 x 5 1/2" piece of coordinating DP so that you get the "splash" of the pattern to show through. For a final touch I took another piece of the DP and ran it through the Beautiful Wings folder and placed the butterflies on the front. Hope they like it! Thanks for stopping by!

Karin 

July is a GREAT reason to Smile!!

Morning All,
Starting a little slowly today after a busy weekend! Can not believe that it is already July! Crazy! Well Stampin Up is also celebrating and has a fantastic promotion! If you spend $50 this month you will be able to order the "Reason to Smile" stamp set for $5!!



Aren't these stamps great!!?? I absolutely LOVE daisy's and have already posted a card using this set. Click here to check out my triple stamping technique using this awesome set!! Perfect set for the perfect Summer card!! Feel free to call or email with any questions or if you would like help with your order!
Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

Dinosaur Gift Basket

Hi All,
I wanted to share the dinosaur themed gift basket that I am donating to the Its My Heart "Keep the Beat" walk today before I run out the door.

Please come by if you have a chance!!
Thanks Karin