CutCardStock.com: Pearlescent Watercolors

Don't forget to join me over at CutCardStock.com this week for my tutorial using the Zig Pearlescent Watercolor paints that are new in their store. You can see it all RIGHT HERE.

These paints were a lot of fun to work with and they are SO shimmery I couldn't stop gasping as I used them. Here is a little peek of what it looks like when you add it to black card stock. So stunning!

Thanks for stopping in today. There is a lot more to come this week so keep checking in!
xoxo
k

Stamping with Crafty Friend Jill Hawkins!!

Hey there! It's a Monday, and what better way to start off the week, than with a card! I wanted to share with you a little number that I made up a few months ago. You might remember the Re-Mix challenge they had over at PC Magazine for a publication call? Well, you were supposed to choose a crafty friend to work with. One of you makes a card and the other re-mixes the idea and makes a card as well.  

Well, my special crafty friend Jill Hawkins over at Fastest Turtle joined with me to make some card magic together. Now let me just say, Jill is a gem! She is so kind, and generous and FUNNY! She just cracks me up all the time. I loved working with her. Her style is fun and fresh and she does really intricate work. Every time I see something of hers I go, "MAN! That is awesome!"  I was so happy she was willing to be my partner. And wouldn't you know, we made cards that got picked up for publication! YAY! (Too bad PC Mag had to shut down before actually using them. Boo :(

So today to start our week out right, Jill and I are sharing the cards we made. Here is the first one. Some spotlight stamping:

This started as a die cut water-colour panel. I stamped the images with coloured ink and then spritzed them with water. I then stamped the background in varying greys and then splattered the whole thing with some gold spray mist.

And here is the second card using some coloured embossing paste and a stencil. This stencil is definitely my favourite! All the inks I used to tint the embossing paste with are Distress Inks. I love all these colours together.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts which I covered with a healthy dose of Glossy Accents.

And actually, you get to see a little bonus card. This card was originally different.... Here is the first attempt I made when I used water-colour and the stencil together (A technique you can learn from the Online Card Classes: Watercolor for Cardmakers). I used the same supplies, just different colours and technique. I started with a panel of card stock painted with some gesso. I decided the card above was stronger, so I entered it as the one for publication instead. That's the great thing about crafting! You can try different things to see what results you get. It's a fun way to learn.

Please be sure to check out Jill's blog and post to see her take on these cards. She creates amazing things! She is currently on the MFT design team and creates stunning cards every week that are inspiring and get your crafty blood pumping. Be sure to stop by her blog to say "HELLO Wonderful," to her!!

Thanks so much Jill for being my special crafty friend! You make me smile and give me the urge to bust out my ink and stamps. A girl couldn't ask for much more than that! God bless you, friend....

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a great week! Get craft and do something special for yourself. I hope amazing things are in store for you, starting with today!

Until next time,
xoxo
k

Where have I been? I've been Missing YOU!

Hey there crafty peeps! It's been awhile. Nay, I dare say it's been forever!! I kind of went quiet there, but for good reason. I have been gone. 

Can you guess where?:

A good friend and I took a quick weekend trip to Bangkok! We ditched our kids (and hubbys too) and took a break. Bangkok is amazing. As I am sure a lot of you know. We had a great time. I won't bore you with my travel details but will show you a few things I saw along the way. 

Each time I visit a (predominantly) Buddhist country I learn so much more about their beliefs. I dare say its one of my favourite religions.  We saw so many amazing Buddha statues. This following one is just about the biggest one I have seen. (The other one is in Myanmar). We had a great time and it was nice to shut down for a bit. The internet was spotty so I didn't really know what was going on elsewhere. But now I am back, and jumping in again!

So today I wanted to share a little card with you that I made to submit to publication. It didn't get picked up which means I can show it to you!

I started with a water-colour paper and heat embossed this Lawn Fawn image onto it.

Next came the distress inks and water brush.

Then came the card!!

I used some gold metallic paper to mat the white paper. I wanted it simple because all the stuff going on. With colours and little images, you can't go crazy everywhere else on a card.

I added a glossy heart to my home state of Utah. Which of course, is where I am missing all my family! It was also super convenient that the heart just *happens* to balance out the look of the card. Don't you think? If I put the heart on NY (which is where we moved from, and I miss terribly too!) It wouldn't look as good. It would have covered up all of the state! Anyway, just a little peek into my crafty brain. ya?

Ok. That's it for today! Thanks for stopping in and not giving up on me while I have been gone :)

Be sure to check over at CutCardStock.com for my little home decor post going up later tonight. And of course there is always some thing else going on, so be sure to check back in for some Sweet Stamp Shop and Paper Wings Productions all which are coming next week.

Until next time...
xoxo
k

Paper Wings Productions: Featured Friday

Hey there! Thanks for stopping in today. I'm over at The Aviary with a Featured Friday post for Paper Wings Productions. So jump on over! Today I'm covering one stamp set; two ways with this great Paris Clear stamp set and adding water-colour for good measure.

Anybody else out there intimidated by water-colour? There is SO much out there. Lots of ways to do it, but regardless, the results are stunning and will surprise you every time!

I hope you will come join me and maybe you will find something new to love? I know I did!

xoxo
k

The Card Concept: Be Inspired!

Hey all! Welcome to my little space in the blog-o-sphere. It's Kristie here and I have a few cards to share with you for The Card Concept challenge for this week. Check out the inspiration below:

My challenge for this week was to create a Clean and Simple card with the above picture for inspiration. The first things that stand out are obviously, the white on white tone, the BIG chartreuse flower print and my favourite element; the stitched head board. I Just love it!  So here is what I came up with after a few different tries:

Now I say a few different tries, because I did make a few cards for this challenge. I for some reason, really thought of myself as a CAS designer. But it took me a few tries and some reading of the "styles" to come up with something I felt fit and even then, I had to ask some people if this card did actually qualify as a CAS card!

But... lets not get ahead of ourselves. Before we get into ALL that, let me show you what I did for this card. As I said, I LOVE the stitching on the headboard and knew I wanted that element in my card design. Lucky for us there is a plethora of stitching die cuts on the market that help give this great look without having to wield a needle! Whew! 

I used a die cut from Lawn Fawn to cut some water-colour paper and then embossed my flower images in white. I then took a blend of green, yellow and white water-colour and did a 'simple' wash over the entire area (I say simple because if you are like me, even a watercolor wash takes some time and concentration and becomes not so simple when you freak out about where you want colour and where you want water-- aaawww Freak Out!)

So once I had that, it was really simple to just add a sentiment and pop it up onto a card base. The only trouble was what to do with those pesky holes! I didn't want to run ribbon through it because it became way too bulky, thus killing any CAS qualities I felt like this card actually had (which after the watercoloring fiasco, seemed like very few) So I opted for some embroidery floss twirled around the holes a few time. Not the most simple execution but hopefully still a CAS look.

Ok, so that was card creation #3. Let me introduce you to cards 1 and 2. And I'll tell you why I didn't chose them to be my final card for today's challenge, (as you sit there and think I'm crazy!)

Here was the first card I made:

Now I LOVE this card. I think its super awesome. So awesome in fact that I made a whole set of them! They were SO simple to make. Stitched die cut, pop of colour, great big sentiment all white on white. What's not to love? And really, they were so simple! BUT, and that's a big BUT...

It was only after seeing some designs from a different category that these cards seemed too Clean and Graphic to me. (Not to be confused with Clean and Simple.) I re-read the styles and while most of this card design fit CAS (easy to recreate, lots of space, limited layers) the features of the Clean and Graphic seemed pretty spot on too (bare boned, no frills, message conveyed quickly). I mean, that's all I see is a BIG message and no frills! Anyway, I love them, and maybe that means I am more apt to be a Clean and Graphic designer, but I was not going to be deterred. 

I was determined to create a spot on CAS card... And card #2 was born:

So honestly, you want to know why I didn't pick this card?? GAG... that's why. I just thought it turned out TOTALLY ugly. I just dislike it for so many reasons, I just could not, in good conscience post this as my final card. It's just too UGH-ly for words. I even tried so hard to put in my stitching element on the right hand side of the card, and it just looks like I stepped on it with spiky shoes or something. I mean, just really don't like it. And the colour? What's up with the muddy colour?!

SO!That is why I made card #3. Which I adore and had such a great time making (you can see I chose some brighter more fun greens and yellows for this one... the last card was too pukey!) But does it officially classify? I will let you be the judge.

And there you have it! The epic long explanation of why I made three cards instead of my required one and what I learned in the process. I LOVE graphic. I LOVE simple and I can't necessarily differentiate between the two! HA!

I hope you try out the challenge this week over at The Card Concept. I would love to hear how it goes for you. Are you drawn to more than one style? Or do they all blend together? So drop me a comment if you have time. Which card do you like best? I'm excited to see how you navigate the challenge!

Thanks so much for joining me and taking the time to get all the way to the bottom here, which is a LONG way from the top ; )

Hope you have a great day!

xoxo

k

Paper Wings Productions August Challenge

**I have never had more than one post in a day, this is momentous! So if you're interested in The Card Concept blog post too, please scroll down! Yay for double post days!**

Hey there crafty peeps! Today marks the Paper Wings Productions August Challenge!  Can I get an "Aw-yeah!"??

Ok, are you ready for this? Here is my card based on the challenge: Anything Goes!

I love the Vintage Technology set. It's just so great. And this little cassette (as you may know) is a fav of mine right now. I was playing around with a lot of sets and this little cassette just kept sneaking back into my hands! It has a mind of it's own!

So here is what I did:

I stamped and fussy cut my cassettes and then using Distress Inks and my Aqua brush I painted each one a different colour. I wasn't looking for perfection or control really, just a nice smattering of paint. A little 'rock-n-roll' if you will.

I splattered my card base with some black paint and then lined up the cassettes leaving a spot for my sentiment. I used some Magenta embossing powder and the Solid Whimsical Alphabet stamp set to create the word MIX. (my photo below was my testing emboss... you want to be sure you are going to like it before you put it on your card of cute cassettes!!)

I then used some Basic Grey alpha stickers to finish off the sentiment. And just so you know, I did a little google for some nice graphic prints of cassette tapes. I needed some inspiration and that's how I got the sentiment. You can find it around the web-o-sphere. But you know, it rings true to me, which is why I wanted to use it.

Because as time will attest, life is definitely a mix tape. You never know what is going to come next. Sometimes you feel like dancing and other times you want a slow sap-song to cry your eyes out to. But regardless the music keeps coming ; )  This seems like a good card for a friend who might need a little pick-me-up. You know, some love from one friend to another.

Ok. That's all for me today. Check out the Paper Wings Productions blog and participate in this monthly challenge! It's a great challenge for everyone because, well, Anything goes! AND there's something fun to win, so what are ya waiting for?!

Thanks for stopping in today. And thanks for your comments! I love hearing from you so drop me a line if you have an extra moment to spare!

xoxo

k

Vintage Technology Clear Stamp Set

Solid Whimsical Alphabet Clear Stamp Set

InLinkz.com

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Hey there. Welcome! Today I am joining in the challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog.

Do you remember this water-colour panel I made into a card a few days ago? Well, I did end up finding it... no cheerios or boogers on it to be seen ; ) I had made it for this challenge but it took me awhile to locate it again and get photos. Plus I panicked about time and took my photos before realising the background had a tropical feel. Wha?  Soooo NOT gelling with my summery-wild-flower feel. But you love me so much, you will let it slide this once, right? 

Ok the challenge this week is "Anything Goes" using Cas-ual Fridays or Technique Tuesday. So I pulled out my Technique Tuesday stamps. I have a few sets and I have picked up quite a few of their die cuts recently, so I thought I could manage myself pretty well.

I started by stamping my images using distress inks and then went over the images with a water brush. It was looking pretty good, or at least I thought it was. But I got over zealous (who, me?!?!) and cut the panel too small (EEK!) So I matted it on white card stock and then put it on my card base and also 'shmeared' on some Wink of Stella. Now I LOVE Wink of Stella as much as the next gal, but it just shouldn't go on this water-colour panel. I groaned after I did it. Oh crap, I knew better! Don't you hate that? You can see it a bit in this photo... Not my favourite thing. But what do you do now? Not going to toss it, although I did do a good job of 'losing it' for a few days ; )

 
Then using my die cuts I glued a few 'hello' pieces together and then adhered it to its matching mat. I love that Technique Tuesday makes mats for their die cut words. It adds something fun. I then popped up the sentiment panel to make it stand out a bit more.

And thar ya have it!  I love this technique of water colour. It's a great way to cheat and look like you know how to water colour, even if you are like me, and SO do not. At least I had you fooled until the Wink of Stella ;)

ok. thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!
k

Faux Watercolor Thank You

One of the things I love about die cuts is you can use both the negative and positive pieces. It makes fast, easy cards. 

Here is the negative from the card I made the other day (in the last post...just scroll baby!)

I love that you just pop the little bits back into the letters and its easy to read.

This background paper was made using Crayola washable markers. Can you believe it?! They run and bleed so well when you add water, its just like painting with water colours. I told you I would share with you the tutorial, but you really don't need one, its a very simple and hopefully I will explain it below well enough.

So, say you are dying to try this whole water-colour technique that's all the rage right now, but you don't want to invest in the product just yet. There is the perfect solution... Pull out your kids markers and go crazy! Just be sure you use WASHABLE markers and you will be fine.
Use nice water-colour paper and draw a design of your choice with as many colours as you'd like.  Remember its going to bleed so you don't need a ton of detail. I like to use big strokes and run them around each other.

After you have your paper marker-ed up, add some water with a paintbrush. I love colours blending, but not too much. I think it's nice to have a vibrant variety to look at. Of course everyone is different, so just create away!

Now once you are done "painting" and your paper has dried, go back in with a black pen and draw around the different shades of pooled ink. Even if there is a dark drop in a larger pool of light ink, draw around the little drop and then around the bigger one too. Basically outline every different shade you see. As you go, you will start to see how many different shades you really do get when colours blend! What happens as you do it is you get this marbled look on your paper from the added pen that's really fun to look at. It adds some dimension to your colours that you may not have noticed before.  (Click on the picture to see a close-up. That might help you see what I mean better)

I have one more to show you. This was one of the first ones I did. I just wanted a little bit of colour so I drew three circles in marker. Then added water:

See how they bled together and created more shades? Then I took a pen and outlined the shades. I love how it looks. What do you think? (Uh, don't mind the crap-tastic photo, I tried to crop the chaos out but, you know...)

I would love to hear your reaction and if you have time to try it out, be sure to send me the link. I would love to check it out!

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you have a good one, wherever you are.
I'm just shutting down for the night. It's almost Friday here which is a big deal in our house! That means we survived another week of Singapore Maths and Malay Language classes at school! That's no small feat for my little boys (and the momma that loves them!)


loves to you and yours,
k

365 Cards: Cutting Cafe Cherry!

Happy Friday!! I was thinking it would be a bright and sunny day to go along with my card, but low and behold, it is raining! And actually its the perfect day to stay in, cozy up with the kids and make soup. Just a little bit of winter time activities for a rainy spring day. Anyway, here is my card for today using the Cutting Cafe Cherry image. The challenge to go along with it is to use only 2 colors. Well lets just say, I tried:

I thought I was doing really well and then realized I had used brown on the cherry stems! Oooh, SO close to keeping within the guidelines! So what I did today was printed the image at 100% onto watercolor paper and used dye ink with an aqua pen. I think it's only the second or third time I have tried watercoloring. But I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Then I stamped my square (diamond) and also created a mask and then stamped random lines across the front. 
I actually wrote over the sentiment with a black pen to make it nice and bold and then outlined it with a red pencil. I had to reprint the sentiment on regular paper because the colored pencil was catching in the grooves of the watercolor paper (just a tip if you want to try it too).  I added some stickles to the cherries and some twine bows and called it good! I really love the pop of red off of the green card.

I'm excited to see what everyone else creates today! Thanks for stopping by!

k

Deets:

Stamps: Printable Stamps Fruit by Cutting Cafe, Faux Ribbon and Borders and Corners by Papertrey Ink

Ink: Ruby Red, Garden Green, Close to Cocoa by SU!

Paper: New Leaf, Vintage Cream by Papertrey Ink, Watercolor Paper

Accessories: Aqua Pen, Colored Pencil, Bakery Twine by Martha Stewart, Black Pen, Stickles