Stampin' Up! Peaceful Pines - Playful Season

Hey Stamping Friends!!

Can I just admit something here a minute. I DISLIKE SHAKER CARDS!! Every time I try to make one, they just give me fits!!! This one included.

Stamps: Peaceful Pines

Ink: Cucumber Crush, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Watermelon Wonder

Paper: Cucumber Crush, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer, Cherry On Top DSP

Accessories: Perfect Pines Framelits, Circle Framelits, Banner Triple Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Cucumber Dotted Lace Trim, Dimensionals, Window Sheet

First off... I want a new camera!! 

It's bad enough when a card gives you fits, but then you can't even take a decent picture of it!! Can you tell I'm slightly frustrated by all of this? :)

So shaker cards. They always sound fun and look fun and are fun to send. But they are NOT fun to make. They are really not all that complicated to make. 

First... create a frame and glue a piece of Window Sheet to it. (TIP: Do NOT use any type of liquid glue for this. Glue Dots work so much better.) I made my frame by placing two Circle Framelits inside of each other and running it through the Big Shot. Very easy.

Next... Cut Dimensionals and place around the back of your frame.

Then... Place whatever elements you want to shake: glitter, sequins, etc. onto your background. I cut out some ornaments from the Peaceful Pines stamp set. I wanted to make it look like the ornaments had fallen off of the tree.

Finally... Attach your frame onto your background.

Pretty simple right? But what always seems to happen with me is my shaker elements stick to the sides of the Dimensionals and then instead of shaking, they just sort of hang there and don't move. And then I start banging the card around and the edges get bent and my frame comes loose and then... and THEN!!! Well you know the feeling... AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! 

Maybe there is some shaker card secret that I don't know about. If that's the case, fill me in. I'd like to be excited about making more of these.

I went outside my traditional Christmas box and went with some fun and playful colors. The sketch come from the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge: MOJO423

The circle element is what inspired me to make a shaker card. It might be awhile before I'm inspired to do that again. ;)

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY to join my Snow Friends stamp class!!!

Here are all the details:

Purchase the Snow Friends Bundle #140844 on page 33 of the Handmade for the Holidays catalog (Do NOT buy them separately. You save 15% when you purchase the bundle.) from my Stampin' Up! website using Hostess Code: WESZYAJU by FRIDAY, November 13th and I will mail you a FREE card kit which will include all the supplies to create four fun cards featuring the Snow Place stamp set and matching Snow Friends Framelits. 

It so easy!!

1. Go to my website: Krystal's Cards

2. Order the Snow Friends Bundle #140844

3. Use Hostess Code: WESZYAJU

4. Stampin' Up! delivers your order to your house

5. I mail you an adorable card kit

6. You create cute cards!!!

How fun is that?! You get to have your own stamp class without leaving your home!!!

Already have the Snow Friends Bundle but are interested in receiving the Snow Friends card kit? Then just place any $45 order on my website using Hostess Code: WESZYAJU and I will mail you the card kit. Just make sure and let me know.

If you have any questions, please email me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hope to see you again soon.

Now go STAMP SOMETHING!!!

Krystal

Stampin' Up! For All Things Triple Challenge

Hi Stamping Friends!!

Today I have a triple challenge card. I haven't done that in For. Ev. Er. I used to challenge myself on how many different challenges I could combine into one card. It was so much fun surfing through all my favorites challenge websites and trying to pick and choose which ones would work together. But a lot of the sites put the kibosh on that. Now some of them have limits on how many challenges you can combine. I suppose I can see there point. But it was always fun for me to see just how far I could go. :)

Here is my triple challenge card:

Stamps: For All Things

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist

Paper: Very Vanilla, Mossy Meadow, Newsprint DSP

Accessories: Circle Framelits, Tangelo Twist Striped Cotton Ribbon, Burlap Ribbon, Banner Triple Punch

And here are the three challenges I used:

1. What Will You Stamp #36 WWYS36 challenged participants to use the stamp set For All Things.

2. Nacho Average Challenge #166 NAC166 had a wonderful color challenge this week.

3. Mojo Monday #422 MOJO422 as always had a great sketch to use.

Make sure you stop by the challenge sites and see all the other wonderful cards created for the challenges. And while you are at it, why don't you join in on the fun?! It is a great way to get your creativity going. :)

If you need another way to get your creativity going, you should join my online stamp class!!

Here are all the details:

Purchase the Snow Friends Bundle #140844 on page 33 of the Handmade for the Holidays catalog (Do NOT buy them separately. You save 15% when you purchase the bundle.) from my Stampin' Up! website using Hostess Code: WESZYAJU by Friday, November 13th and I will mail you a FREE card kit which will include all the supplies to create four fun cards featuring the Snow Place stamp set and matching Snow Friends Framelits. 

It so easy!!

1. Go to my website: Krystal's Cards

2. Order the Snow Friends Bundle #140844

3. Use Hostess Code: WESZYAJU

4. Stampin' Up! delivers your order to your house

5. I mail you an adorable card kit

6. You create cute cards!!!

How fun is that?! You get to have your own stamp class without leaving your home. You can even stamp in your pajamas if you want!!

Already have the Snow Friends Bundle but are interested in receiving the Snow Friends card kit? Then just place any $45 order on my website using Hostess Code: WESZYAJU and I will mail you the card kit. Just make sure and let me know.

If you have any questions, please email me.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Tomorrow I will be sharing "From My Heart". I hope you will visit again.

Now go STAMP SOMETHING!

Krystal

Stampin' Up! That's the Ticket Mojo388

Hi Stamping Friends!!

A number of years back I was a card challenge junkie. I seriously needed a 12 step program. I played in every challenge I could find. It was a ton of fun, but also took up a ton of my time so I had to quit. So "for the first time in forever" I am playing in the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge. Here is my card:

Stamps: That's the Ticket

Paper: Primrose Petals (retired), Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Best Year Ever DSP (SAB), Soft Suede DSP

Accessories: Cupcake Builder Punch, Decorative Dots EF, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Ticket Duo Builder Punch, Pink Pirouette Taffeta Ribbon (retired), Pearl Jewels

Here is what the sketch looks like:

I made about 10 of these cards to use as invites to a Cupcakes, Coffee, and Cardmaking class that I am hosting. 

I put them in a clear bag along with a Sale-A-Bration brochure and am handing them out to gals in the neighborhood and moms from my son's class.

I already have 3 RSVP's!! If you are in the North County San Diego area you should come!!

I loved this sketch so much that I decided to use it for our monthly support thank-yous. 

24 of them all ready to go!! Just need to sit down and address the envelopes and sign the insides. Easy enough. Except I always get distracted by some stamping thing or another. Like sketch challenges!  :)

For more stamping fun and a peek into my stamping world, you should come hang out with me on Facebook. 

KRYSTAL'S CARDS - OCEANSIDE

Thanks for stopping by!

STAMP SOMETHING!

Krystal

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge #36

Hi Stamping Friends!!

It's time for another inspiration challenge from Stampin' Celebration!  We would love if you stopped by and played with us this week.  I love the colors in these photos.  How could you ever go wrong with pink and brown?  Flowers and chocolate... it's the perfect combination!

BIRTHDAY BLISS

Have you ever had a card get lost in the interpretation?  This card looked so much better in my head.  But when I made it, I was not thrilled with how it turned out.  It's not a bad card, it's just not what I thought it would be.  If I had had more time, I would have re-worked it.  But that just did not happen.  Oh well, sometimes you hit it out of the park, and sometimes you just make it on base.  But at least I didn't strike out completely.  :)

The card base is Chocolate Chip layered with Whisper White and a piece of Blushing Bride DSP.  The cupcake was made using the Big Bold Cupcake Sizzlets.  I ran the bottom "chocolate" piece through the crimper and added the polka dots to the "frosting" using the Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder.  The little flowers were punched out with the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.  The sentiment comes from the Birthday Bliss set.  The layout for this card comes from the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.

Please stop by the Stampin' Celebration blog and see the fabulous creation the other Design Team members have made for this challenge.  You won't be dissappointed!  And make sure you come back here to tomorrow.  I have a My Digital Studio digi scrap page to share with you using these colors.  I think it is my favorite digi page ever!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Stamping!

Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge #31

Hi Stamping Friends!  It's time for another fabulous inspiration challenge from Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge!!  We hope you can play along this week!  Aren't these such pretty and unique colors for Christmas?  I think they would be so fun for a little girls Christmas tree.  My sister has a tree in her girls' room.  It's a small white tree and they have some hot pink boas wrapped around it and all pink ornaments and some crowns and other sparkly stuff.  Very fun!!

A GIFT FROM HEAVEN

I thought these soft colors would make the perfect "Baby's First Christmas" card for any sweet little girl.  Just so happens that it will be my nieces first Christmas, so I have someone special to give it to.  The card base is one of the In-Colors, Blushing Bride which is layered with Very Vanilla and Brushed Gold that was embossed with one of the SU! Texturz plates.  The adorable manger image comes from my nativity stamp collection.  It is a retired SU! set called A Gift From Heaven.  Isn't it adorable?!!  This set was gifted to me by Lisa Hunter, a fellow SU! lover.  Wasn't that so sweet of her?!  I stamped the image on Blushing Bride cardstock with Early Espresso ink.  Then I used my chalks to add some soft highlights of color.  I didn't want to color it all in.  I wanted it to look dreamy and serene.  The sentiment comes from the retired SU! set called All God's Children.  Of course the perfect finishing touch is lots of Basic Pearls.  LOVE those things!!!  And the Whisper White Satin ribbon just makes it even more special.

This wonderful layout is from the Mojo Monday blog.  This is MOJO168.  It also works for the Stampin' Royalty Challenge #49 which is Winter Holidays.

Please stop by the Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge and see the fabulous creations the other Design Team members have created.  Then after you have been throughly inspired, come play along with us!!  We would love to see your beautiful stampiness.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Baptism Mojo

Hi Stamping Friends!

This Sunday my brother and his wife will baptize their daughter, Lindsay Marie.  For once in my life, I have the card done already, instead of trying to scramble on the day of the party!

REFUGE AND STRENGTH

The two challenge I used today are the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #57 from the HOPE STAMPS ETERNAL blog.  And the Mojo Monday sketch challenge #137 from the MOJO MONDAY blog.  I was inspired by the beautiful work of Teresa Kline at her blog: Enjoy the VA Sunshine.  Mine isn't quite as fabulous as hers, but I am happy with the way it turned out.  I didn't have a great "baptism" sentiment, but I thought the word WONDERFUL summed up the event perfectly!  It was really hard not to create another cupcake card for the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge.  But since I don't own that many cupcake stamps, I thought I would go with something a little different this time.  I used the pink and green colors, along with the swirls and flowers as my inspiration for this card.  The colors I used are Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery, and Kraft.  The damask stamp image is from the Friends 24-7 set.

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow when I reveal the debut challenge of our STAMPIN' CELEBRATION inspiration challenge blog.  The samples from the design team are absolutley amazing!  I'm so excited for you to see what they have done!!!

Refuge and Strength   #115056   $23.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Go, Graduate! Challenged

Hi Stamping Friends!

I wanted to give you a sneak peek at a new stamp set that will be available in the Summer Mini catalog beginning May 1st.  It's called Go, Graduate and it has some really fun images.  Of course I had to pick the two hardest challenges this week and combine them.  What was I thinking?!  Here's my card:

Not totally diggin' this creation, but you win some and you lose some.  This one is NOT a winner.  But it does show off the new Go, Graduate stamp set and the Square Lattice Impressions Folder!  The two tough challenges I used were the sketch challenge from the MOJO MONDAY blog.  This is MOJO134.  I also used the color challenge over at the STAMPING 411 blog.  This is Color Inspiration #119. 

A difficult layout, plus four challenging colors, does not equal a jaw dropping card.  What a bummer.  I guess that means I need to go practice more stamping with my new toys!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Kewl Goes Vintage

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well I have another vintage card for you.  Today's card combines two challenges.  The color challenge comes from the KEWL COLOR challenge blog.  The colors to use are Kraft, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Bordering Blue, and Bashful Blue.  The sketch comes form the MOJO MONDAY challenge blog. 

Here's my card:

I think I might finally be getting the hang of this Vintage thing!  This sketch has a lot going on, so I kept my main image pretty simple.  The bird and the damask image come from the Friends 24-7 set.  I was so happy to hear that Soft Suede will be returning to the next big SU! catalog as a "core" color.  It is the best color brown for distressing stuff.  The card base is Soft Suede layered with Kraft that was stamped with the Bella Toile Bg stamp.  The DSP comes from the Bella Bleu pack.  I've had it forever and this is the first time I've ever used it!  I just had to add a Very Vanilla satin ribbon to the top.  It looked so lonely without it!  If you are looking for some inspiration, try partcipating in a couple of blog challenges.  They are a ton of fun and really bring you out of your box!

FRIENDS 24-7   #113218   $25.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

A Gift From Heaven

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well my posts are few and far between this month.  I hope you can forgive me.  I do plan on being a better blogger in the new year!  I've told you about my obsession, er I mean collection of Stampin' Up! nativity sets.  Well today's card is another of the sets I received from Lisa Hunter (THANK YOU!).  This is actually the set that got the whole ball rolling.  I saw it in an old catalog and just HAD to have it!  I love the image.  Although, I'll have to practice using it, since it is an image that needs to be colored in, and that is not my specialty.  I hope to work on that in the new year too!

Today's sketch comes from the Mojo Monday blog Mojo118 and the color combo comes from the ColourQ blog cQc12.  The colors really don't fit the image, but I thought they were cute, so I went with it anyway.  I just think Arielle finds the best color inspiration pieces!

And here's my card:

This set is called A Gift From Heaven.  Isn't it darling?!  I love the cute little animals peeking at baby Jesus.  It doesn't show up in the pic, but the Certainly Celery layer is embossed with the Polka Dots Texturz Plate.  I can't wait to get the Polka Dots Impressions Folder, that is in the new Occasions Mini Catalog.  I know I'll be using it to death!  Come January 5th, I'll be placing a nice, big order and getting lots of Sale-A-Bration freebies!  Thankfully this image has lots of white animals, which means less coloring for me.  Not sure if baby Jesus' swaddling cloths were Certainly Celery, but it needed a little color near all that brown, and Pretty In Pink just seemed wrong! 

I hope to be able to stamp a few more of my nativity images before Christmas actually arrives.  We had a two family Christmas parties this weekend and now can relax until Friday.  I do have lots of Cards for Mission packs I need to get done.  So far I've sold 25 packs... that's 125 cards I need to make!  Better get stamping!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Time to stamp for fun!

Hi Stamping Friends!

Well it always seems that this time of year keeps me too busy to do any "fun" stamping.  This weekend, for example, my two oldest kids had a swim meet on Saturday and Sunday, plus music recital practices and performance.  And we still have our church Christmas musical coming soon.  Plus I'm neck deep in creating our family Christmas card.  I'm almost finished.  Just need to add our greeting, possibly an embellishment and then stuff them and get them in the mail.  This will be the earliest my cards have been mailed, in years!  And let's not even talk about the decorating and gift buying I still need to get done!  But tonight I wanted to take a break and stamp "just because".  There are so many great challenges out there, that I hate to miss them!

Today's double challenge card is inspired by the Pals Paper Art blog PPA19 and gets the sketch from the Mojo Monday blog MOJO116.  Here are the two blog challenge pics:

I love the vintage look of the PPA challenge piece.  Just simple, traditional Christmas.  Here's what I came up with:

I just wanted to keep it kinda simple.  I tried adding other embellishments, like buttons, but it just wasn't working.  Sometimes you just have to leave well enough alone.  There are some crafters out there that can make the simplest cards look absolutely gorgeous!  I'm trying to learn their techniques.

The card base is Kraft, layered with Real Red.  The stamp images come from the SU! set A Cardinal Christmas.  I'm terrible at watercoloring, so I used Blender Pens and ink from the ink pad lid, to color this image.  I also colored part of the bird with sponges, to give it a softer look.  The Old Olive circle is embossed using the Perfect Details texturz Plate and the Real Red circle is embossed with the polka dots from the SU! Background 1 Texturz Plates.  I sponged all the edges of every layer with Chocolate Chip ink, to help with the vintage look. 

A CARDINAL CHRISTMAS  #111760  $23.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

My First Blog Hop!

Hi Stamping Friends!

I'm sooooo excited because today is the very first time I'm participating in a blog hop!  My demo friends over at my favorite online Stampin' Up! hangout, Stampin' Addicts, put together a fun little hop highlighting the just announced Dormant Retirement List from Stampin' Up!.  These stamp sets are on the Dormant List and did not appear in the current catalog, even though they are available for purchase.  They will be retired on January 4th, never to be seen again!  So have a great time hopping through our blogs.  And don't forget to order these fabulous sets before they are gone forever!

If you started the hop at the beginning, that means you came from the very talented Melissa's blog: STAMPING WITH MELISSA.  I love Melissa's clean, classic style.  She knows how to add just the right amount of "stuff" to a card to make it look spectacular!  If you just found the hop now, you can start here and continue on through.  There will be another link to the next blog, at the end of my post.  (If all the links are not working yet, please be patient.  This hop doesn't officially start until noon on Saturday.)

For my set I chose Grand Soiree.  It was on my must-have list when it first came out in the Fall-Winter 2008 Stampin' Up! catalog.  I love the chandelier image.  I needed a little help getting my mojo going, so I used a couple of challenges to bail me out.  The first two projects use the color combo from the Colour Create blog.  And the first card uses the Mojo Monday sketch.  Here are the challenge pics:

I knew I wanted to use this set for a New Year's Eve style invitation, and I thought these would be super fun colors to use for a New Year's theme.  So I created an invite and a little party gift to match.

Wouldn't this be just fabulous for New Year's?  It's difficult to see in the pic of the invite, but the Orchid Opulent layer is embossed with the Perfect Details Texturz Plate, just like the Matchbox is.  Both sentiments and the chandelier are embossed with black embossing powder.  Gives it so much fun texture and shine.  The Bermuda Bay tag on the Matchbox comes from the same die.  And a chandelier is not complete without a little bling!  So I HAD to add some Clear Rhinestone brads.

I love the "Ain't life Grand" sentiment so much, I made another card using it.  The chandelier looks great embossed in any color, but I love the striking look of black, so this one is black as well.

Don't you just love pink and black?!  So classic.  And that's what I love about this image, it's fun, yet sassy, yet classic.  This would be the perfect card to give to a friend who just had something special happen in her life, promotion, engagment, pregnancy, etc.  There are just so many "Grand" moments in life that should be celebrated!  I love how the Top Note die shape mimics the shape of the chandelier. 

I hope you enjoyed your stop here at my little stamping world.  Be sure to stop by again!  Plus be on the lookout for our next Stampin' Addicts blog hop, coming January 1st through 3rd, where we will be featuring lots of new goodies from the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog.

To continue on this fun little Stampin' Up! Retirement journey, hop on over to the super creative Yapha's blog: RUBBER STAMPING AND CARDMAKING WITH YAPHA.  I know she'll have something adorable for you to see!

GRAND SOIREE  #111580  $24.95

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

1 Colour Q + 1 How 2 = 5 Cards!

Hi Stamping Friends!

I know!  Bad math huh?!  But when Arielle from the COLOUR Q color challenge blog asked me to be a "guest designer" this week for her cQc9 challenge, I had so much fun with the colors that I just couldn't stop!  I ended up creating FIVE cards with the colors.  And because today is "How To Tuesday" (and if you bother to stay 'til the end of this long post!), there will be a photo tutorial on the Baby Wipe Technique.  This technique was from the Tuesday Technique Challenge from my favorite Stampin' Up! online hangout, STAMPIN' ADDICTS.  So each one of these cards is for one or more challenges.  But first the important part... here is the gorgeous challenge photo that Arielle sent me to work with:

Isn't that fantastic?!  Here's the card I created for Arielle to post on her blog:

This card is nice and sparkly IRL.  The "snow" is a layer of Dazzling Diamonds, and the trees are decorated with Swarovski Crystals (the only non-SU! products).  The trees are also dusted with some shimmer mist made with the Platinum Shimmer Paint in the Holiday Mini Catalog.

Here's a card I made using these colors for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #46 over at Karen Giron's blog: the sweetest thing.  I just bought a used stamp set from Karen and I can't wait to get it and use it for one of her challenges!  :)  Here is the sketch:

And here is card number two:

The next sketch comes from the girls at Our Creative Corner.  Here is the sketch:

They made this one easy on me, since I was already planning on using the Delightful Decorations set.  I just didn't know what I was going to do until I stumbled across this perfect sketch!  Here is card number three:

The next card was taken apart and re-made after I saw the Mojo Monday 115 sketch.  I think it is my favorite card of all five of them.  Here is the sketch:

And here is my very sparkly version:

How fun is that?!  And last but not least, the only card that is NOT a Christmas card is for Stamping 411 sketch challenge SSC127.  Here is their sketch:

And here is the fifth and final card:

Isn't that Baby Wipe Technique fabulous?!  Well, if you've stuck around this long, you might as well hangout a little longer, 'cause this technique is super easy and can be done in four easy steps.

Gather your supplies:

Re-Inkers **3-4 colors**

Baby Wipes

Empty Container

Solid-style Stamps

Whisper White Cardstock

Layer four or five baby wipes in an empty container.  I used an empty SU! stamp box.  You could also use some type of Rubbermaid or Gladware.  This will be your stamp pad.  Drip your re-inkers onto the baby wipe.  I start with my darkest colors to the lightest.  I fill in all the empty space with lightest color.

Using a solid image stamp (you won't see the multi-colored effect on a line image), stamp onto the baby wipe "stamp pad" and then onto your Whisper White cardstock.

That's all there is too it!  You may want to be ready to stamp as many images as possbile, because once your ink starts to lighten, that's it.  I tried to re-ink the baby wipe, but the colors began to get all muddled.  You can see in this photo it is after I had tried to re-ink it.  The pinks and blues started to turn purple.  I don't know if you could close the lid and try again the next day, but I think your colors would bleed into each other.  The best thing about this technique is the easy clean up.  Just wipe your container clean with the baby wipes!

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out to the bitter end!  It's not every day that you get asked to be a guest designer.  Better make the most of it!  I hope you have a chance to play along in the Colour Q challenge cQc9 this week!

Happy Stamping!