Amazing Opportunities & New Projects.

Well, it's been a busy and interesting few months around here!  I have so much to share with you.  I will try to make it as brief and as painless as possible so that we can get to the projects I want to show you.

He is doing fine now, but my Dad had a heart attack a couple of months ago.  If not for a quick thinking co-worker, it might be different.  Of course there have been a lot of changes for him, most importantly of which he had to quit smoking (YEAH!!), and so far he has been doing great.

I recently finished up the two annual craft fairs that I participate in and ended up with some surprising opportunities.

During the first event, I was asked if I would be interested in selling items on consignment at a local art center.  How could I turn that down?!  I now have several items on sale in the gift store at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City, IN.

It's a wonderful little place and the staff are friendly and so helpful.  They teach classes and hold special events throughout the year, as well as sponsoring and participating in local outreach programs.  If you are in the area, please stop in to check out the wonderful exhibits and the beautiful gift shop.  All items in the gift shop are made by local artists and, in my opinion, there are some fabulous pieces in there.  I am very humbled that I will have my little paper craft and mixed media pieces along side beautiful sculptures, handmade boxes and many other amazing pieces.

At the second event, a returning customer asked if I would be interested in teaching some classes at her new business, Harvest Circle Workshop.  The owner, Apryl, is also very involved with non-profit organizations and outreach programs.

If you've read this far, thank you.  I have some projects that I would like to share with you.

These are some of the gift tags that I made this year.  These little gingerbread men were very popular at the craft fairs. 

I used the Apothecary Framelits to cut the base for the tags.  I put the straight edge of the card stock up against the blade of the framelit so that I would only have the one half circle on the other end.  It was much easier than cutting off the other half circle on all of them.  I was able to cut through 2 sheets of card stock at a time.

For these tags I used the Two Tags Die to make the base of the tag from Soft Suede card stock.  Santa was stamped in Real Red and then punched out with the 1 1/4" circle punch and then popped up with dimensionals on a Real Red scallop.

These chalkboard tags have also been a big hit this year.  I can't seem to make them fast enough. :)

I found the shapes for these chalkboard tags at the local Hobby Lobby.  I punched the holes using my Crop-A-Dile and then spray painted them with chalkboard paint.  They do take a bit of time, as you have to wait for the paint to dry, but they make a fun little addition to any present.

The paint instructions say to use at least 2 coats; I used 4 on each side.  I still managed to get several sets of tags from one can of paint.

Here are the different shapes that I have made so far.

Thank you all so much for continuing to follow me, even with such random postings.  If you have just stumbled across my little blog I hope you will stick around. :)

As a thank you for sharing in my excitement for these new opportunities and for your continued support, I would like to give away come blog candy!  I will be giving away a set of the chalkboard gift tags.

Please leave a comment on this post by midnight (CST), December 13th.  If you'd like, share a unique or unexpected opportunity that happened to you. The winner will be chosen by random.org on Saturday, December 14th.  Please make sure to leave a way for me to contact you, otherwise I will have to select a new winner.

Thank you,

Kym

Epic Birthday Set

I made this set for my daughter's birthday.   I really like the Epic Day DSP.  It has some of my favorite colors in it and that shabby/grungy style.

For the bag I used the set Affection Collection. I stamped the banner in Pool Party and the wings in Sahara Sand and then cut both of them out.  The grungy label stamp from the set  was stamped in Calypso Coral on Calypso Coral and then I used my oval Coluzzle to cut it out.  Remember those?  I then roughed up the edges and used pop dots to adhere the wings to the oval.  The oval and all the banners were adhered to the bag with Sticky Strip.


The inspiration for the card came from here. 

The Epic Day This and That line includes some wonderful Washi Tape.  It's a fun product to add a little extra to a project; and SO easy to use.  I simply stamped the sentiment on it and the taped it to the card.

To get the "spots" on the card I put 2-3 drops of Pool Party ink in an Aqua Pen and then filled it to the top with water.  For the larger spots I let drops of the water/ink mixture fall on the card, let them sit for a minute and then dabbed off the excess water with a paper towel.  For the smaller ones I tapped the aqua pen across my finger so it would splatter.

Using the Bitty Butterfly punch, I  punched a butterfly out from the center strip; and then also one from a scrap of Pool Party Core'dinations cardstock and sanded the edges, layering them to add a little more dimension to the card.  I sponged around the negative space on the strip to help highlight the butterfly; and added the rhinestone for a little bling.

Supplies-Card
Stamps: Bring on the Cake, Script Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pool Party refill, Jet Black (Ranger Archival)
Paper: Pool Party Core'dinations, Epic Day DSP
Misc: Epic Day Washi Tape, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Aqua Pen, Sponge Dauber

Supplies-Bag
Stamps: Affection Collection
Ink: Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Sahara Sand
Paper: Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Epic Day DSP
Misc.: Calypso Coral Bakers Twine, Pool Party 1/8" Satin Ribbon (Retired-SAB), Sticky Strip, Pop Dots, Coluzzle 

In-Color Emboss Resist

Finally playing with some of the new catalog items.  The new in-colors are great for summer projects and are a great compliment to Stampin' Up!'s core colors.  Warning-you may tend to get hungry when you use them though. :)

Using a paint brush and some Versamark refill, I "painted" areas of the white cardstock for embossing.  I decided to use white embossing powder instead of clear to make sure the white really popped against the colors.

After heat setting the embossing powder, I sponged the in-colors over the card.  Starting from the bottom, I sponged Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, and then Coastal Cabana.  I then edged the piece in Baked Brown Sugar and added a little in the center.

Then I took a soft cloth and wiped the ink from the embossed areas and stamped the flowers.  I inked up only half of the sentiment from Feel Goods and then cut it out with the Apothecary Accent framelit; sponging around the edges with Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding and Baked Brown Sugar.

Finally I used pop dots on both the sentiment and the focal point when adhering to the card base.  When stamping over embossed areas be sure to use a solvent based ink like Staz-on or Ranger Archival so that it doesn't rub off the embossed area.

Supplies
Stamps: Feel Goods, Field Flowers
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Versamerk Refill, Jet Black Archival (Ranger)
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White
Misc.: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Big Shot, White Embossing Powder, Paint Brush, Heat Gun, Sponges, Pop Dots

Just a Reminder

Beginning July 1st Google Reader will no longer be available.  If you are subscribed to mine, or any other blog, through Google Reader make sure you change by June 30th.

I am far from an expert on what the best reader option would be, however, I have done a little research and have asked around.

The ones that come up the most on lists from fellow bloggers to tech sites as being easy and having flexible options are:

Freedly
Bloglovin
Networkedblogs

Today I switched to Freedly and it was simple and quick; they have a one click import of your Google Reader list.  In less than 10 seconds I had all of the blogs I follow transferred over.  It also has some really nice options for sorting and how you view the posts.


Kym

Collage Money Holder

Well, once again it has been a while since I posted.  It's frustrating when the daily grind gets in the way of my creative time.  I have several projects lying around my studio just waiting for the finishing touches, but I just can't seem to get them done.  While I am grateful that I have a paying job, said job has been literally sucking the life out of me lately and in turn my creative spirit.

As my daughter so eloquently puts it, "Life rips the creativity right out of you and repeatedly stabs it to death".  Yes, a little dramatic, but she is a teenager after all.  :)

I did manage to complete a swap for a demo meeting and am extremely happy with the results.  I didn't feel like making a standard card this time so I created a money holder.

I adapted the size of this money holder from previous ones I have made.  We can only use current product for these swaps and since the slit punch has been retired for awhile now, I needed to find another way to keep the money in place.

This holder measures 3 1/4" x 7", and the inside slider measures 3 1/8" x 6 3/4".  I used the 1 3/4" circle punch to make the "holders" for the money on each end.

I used an Aqua pen filled with re-inker and water to make the splotches on the front of the holder.  Lay your project flat.  Make sure that your work area is protected and items that you don't want colored are not close at hand; I use an old lidded box when I do this so that I don't get ink where I don't want it.  I then took the pen in my right hand and knocked it against my left hand, moving it around the project.  For the larger dots, I let the pen drip onto the project. I also used the Spritzer tool to get a fine mist in some areas.

The flowers were colored by rubbing them over the ink pad and then misting them with water for a softer tone; I used Pool Party, Island Indigo and Midnight Muse.  The doily was folded and torn into fourths, then lightly sponged with Island Indigo.


Stamps: That's The Ticket
Paper: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Naturals White, Fan Fair DSP
Ink: Island Indigo, Midnight Muse, Pool Party
Misc.: Fabric Flower Trim, Pool Party Bakers Twine, Victoria Crochet Trim, Paper Doillies, Ticket Builder, Itty Bitty Butterfly, Scallop Edge, and 1 3/4" Circle punches, Basic Pearls, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Crop-a-dile, Aqua Pen, Color Spritzer tool, Sponges, Mini Glue Dots


ETA:  I started this post a while back, many of these items are retiring.  Today (5/31) is the last day to get items from the Spring Mini and Monday (6/3) is the last day to order retiring items from the 2012-2013 Annual Catalog.  If you are interested in purchasing any of the retiring products, click here.

Triple the Celebration

Even though I used the same stamp for the focal point, I created three different card types/styles.  The SAB set Feeling Sentimental is a fun and actually very versatile set.

Here is a group photo.

The feminine version was done in a vintage/shabby style.

I'm not a huge pink fan, but I do like it with a dark brown.  Here I used Early Espresso and Pink Pirouette.  The DSP is from the Fan Fair pack. It has the most wonderful patterns and color combos.  I simply distressed the edges and then sponged them with both colors.  I also sponged over the paper with some of the pink.

For the embellishment I took a strip of Pink Pirouette and created a banner using the technique found in THIS post.  The sentiment is from Something to Celebrate(retired).  I tied a piece of linen thread around the Victoria crochet trim and then inked it up to age it a bit.  I placed a small Antique brad inside the largest of the Vintage Faceted Designer buttons.  The brad "legs" will just barely fit inside the button holes, but it was enough to bend them and secure it to the button.  I secured the lace and the button to the card with mini glue dots.

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental, Something to Celebrate
Paper: Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette, Fan Fair DSP
Ink: Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette
Misc.: Victoria Crochet Trim. Linen Thread, Vintage Faceted designer buttons, Antique brads, Basic Pearls, Square Punch, Sponges, Glue Dots, Distressing Tool



The middle card is clean and simple.

The black and white color scheme is elegant, yet still fun.  This could be given to either a female or male and could be used for a birthday, wedding or anniversary; or, simply just because you want to celebrate a child's accomplishment, a friend's promotion or any other life event.

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Pitch Black (Adirondack/Ranger)




The final card is geared with a masculine slant and is kind of a combination of the two other styles.  Clean and shabby? :)

It is also a CASE of the card posted HERE.  I LOVE Sandi's addition of the French Foliage stamp images, but for mine I wanted to keep it a little "cleaner".  Instead of linen thread I used Basic Black Taffeta ribbon to help highlight the sentiment and I used a black and tan (Crumb Cake) color scheme.  To ink the edges I used the ink pad directly on the paper to give it a little crisper edge than sponging would have.

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental
Paper: Crumb Cake, First Edition Specialty paper
Ink: Pitch Black (Adirondack/Ranger)
Misc.:Basic Black Taffeta ribbon


In all, I think it took me roughly half an hour to make all three cards, so time well spent in my opinion.  Even though the feminine card is really more my usual style, that is actually my least favorite of the three.  Go figure... 

Which do you like the best?

Sale-A-Bration

Sale-A-Bration is finally here!  Now through March 22nd you can earn FREE items with any $50 purchase (USD) of Stampin' Up! products.

Check out the details on my site, by clicking on the picture above.

Here are the fabulous items you can earn for FREE when you make a purchase, host a party, or become a demonstrator.

Check out the Spring Catalog for some cute and fun new products.

Place your order online, by e-mail or phone.

Vintage Type

Look what I scored the other day...

There is a wonderful little upscale re-sale shop in town called The Green Goat that deals mostly in re-purposed furniture and cool vintage items.  While the quality of the items she sells is upscale, her prices are more than reasonable. This little beauty cost me under $50.  I have seen similar ones priced on line anywhere from $75 to $700. Yikes!

I am so excited as I have been wanting a vintage typewriter for ages.  It will go great with the antique printer's trays I purchased a few months ago.  It weighs about 20 pounds and needs a little cleaning, but all the pieces are there and it appears to work just fine. I have a wonderful little vignette pictured in my mind with the typewriter and printer's trays...we'll see how long it takes me to get it completed.

In the meantime, take a look at this...

I have a stamp that matches. Imagine that! :)

I made a slit just above the paper bail (feeder) and slipped my "typed" piece of paper through it.  I thought the colorful paper was a nice contrast to the black and white image.

The patterned paper is a sneak peak from the upcoming Sale-a-bration catalog called Sycamore Street.  It will be available January 22nd! 



Supplies 
Stamps: You're My Type (retired)
Paper: Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB sneak peak)
Ink:Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black
Misc.: Exacto knife, Sponge

2013 Begins!

Happy New Year Everyone! 

Hopefully everyone made it through the celebrations with minimal damage. :)  Hard to believe that 2012 is really over.  It seems like the saying is true that time really does go faster as you get older.

I think as we get older we just keep adding more and more to our plates and just don't slow down enough to enjoy anything.  Without getting all heavy and boring...I've realized that is what I have been doing.  Missing out on many things because I'm too worried about what's coming next.

So, among the usual goals I make each year, my big one for 2013 is, to take time.  Take time for me; take time for my daughter; take time for my art; take time to do nothing.

Kaiser Kraft: Chapter 9 DSP and rub-ons; 

Stampin' Up!: Basic Black & Whisper White cardstock, Elementary Elegance Stamp Set, Pool Party Classic Ink

What will you be taking time for this year?