Enjoy

Hello! How hot is it in your area? We're supposed to get up to 105 degrees today, same as yesterday, with a heat index of 110 due to the humidity! Whoa, that's hot! While temperatures are soaring outside, I'll be crafting inside my air conditioned studio! Hopefully the power doesn't go out like it did yesterday for just over an hour! Things got mighty hot mighty fast!

Enough about the heat, how about a crafty share? I've been making a bunch of pinwheels for another project and it got me to thinking that a trio of them might be fun for a card.

How about that texture? Pinwheels are perfect for celebrations and I figured the 'Enjoy' sentiment would cover just about any occasion. Papertrey Ink makes the stamp and die used to make the tag.

Do you recognize this paper collection? I've used it a lot! :) It's the Doodlebug Design Boys Only line.

I think I'll stash this card away for my son's birthday next year. Since he doesn't read my blog, it'll be new to him! :)

Hope you have a super fun weekend! Stay cool! Enjoy!

Kathy :)

Pin-spiring Project

How about a fun and funky Friday post?

What do you think? Funky? Fun? Both? Neither? She's lost her mind? ;)

I was browsing my Pinterest boards hoping to see something that sparked some ideas for something different when I ran across this pin from Martha Stewart Weddings. It's a pop art show piece to create for your reception. Since cards are right up my crafty alley, I thought I'd try to incorporate this into one.

Obviously with a card I had a much smaller scale to work with so I cut my papers to 1"squares. 

Even with these little squares, I couldn't create as many rows as the wall sample nor did I have an even amount of rows so I improvised with some flat squares.

This is a great design for putting your scraps to use. Yes, this great paper combo came from my scrap bin! :) I think these colors make it a perfectly masculine anniversary or Valentine's card, don't you think?

So what's up for your weekend? I'll be working. I got a last minute CHA assignment and I have a lot of projects to prepare for July. It's a good weekend for hanging out in my air conditioned craft room because a heat wave is headed our way. We had such a mild June, but we're in for it now!

Thanks for stopping by. Stay cool and enjoy your weekend! :)

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Cards on Thursday & Giveaway Winner

Hello! It's a Bella Blvd. Cards on Thursday, a day I look forward to because I get to share some of my creations with you and see what my talented teammates made.

For my first card I created this design using strips of patterned paper from the Baby Girl collection. Bella Blvd. makes some of the prettiest and most colorful patterned papers and I thought this was a good way to show some of them off.

I love how this It's a Girl dress stamp image has the same little flowers as the patterned paper at the bottom of my card. If I had to do it again, I would have colored my pink flower more of a fuchsia color. Do you do that? Think of things you would change when you're done with your project?

My second card started out with one of my favorite papers from the Sunshine and Happiness line, Sunny Side Up. I used the colors to pick out my stamp ink and accents.

I wanted my pear image to have a sun faded look so I stamped it first on a piece of scratch paper and then onto my card. Also included is a bit of Designer Tape and a Button Market button.

Now to announce the winner of yesterday's giveaway. I appreciate all your visits and funny coffee comments! You all made my day! The loot goes to Lisa from Lisa's Creative Niche. Congratulations Lisa! 

Thanks so much for popping in today. I hope you enjoyed the cards. For more fabulous Cards on Thursday, click here.

Kathy :)

Giveaway Day

Hello! I've been up to my eyeballs in paper crafting projects, but all for CHA and July posts so today I thought I'd do a giveaway instead of stressing myself out to get another craft project done and posted. How does that sound to you?

Today's giveaway features goodies from Pebbles, American Crafts, Maya Road, Bella Blvd., Hampton Arts, Jeni Bowlin, Ki Memories, GCD Studios and Pink Paislee. Woot woot, just look at that loot! I think I've had a little much coffee this morning! ;)

To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment. Tomorrow morning I will draw from those comments and announce a winner! That's it! Easy! I will also have a couple Bella Blvd. card shares too.

Have a great day!

Kathy :)

Thank You

Good day! Did you make it through Monday okay? Mine was busy busy!

Today I have a card share that's created with a mix of goodies. I love the look of aged wood and flowers, don't you?

The wood grain paper is from the Miss Caroline collection by My Minds Eye. I'm going to need a few more sheets of this pretty paper since it can be used for a lot of different projects! I mixed it with some old text paper by Basic Grey, some Love My Tapes fabric tape, a die and stamped tag from Papertrey Ink and a chipboard flower from Echo Park's This and That line.

I'm going to keep my post short and sweet today since I have a lot to do today. How about you...how's your day shaping up?

Kathy :)

Right Now

(source)

Eating:   It's 6:00 in the morning so I haven't had breakfast yet, but I'm planning on making a strawberry, banana, blueberry, yogurt and almond milk smoothie. Try saying that three times fast!

Drinking:   Coffee! A lovely cup of organic, fair trade, dark roast with a tablespoon of hazelnut half and half, to be exact! :)

Watching:   Christopher acting out stories he's written about Wall-E for his dad. He's recently watched Star Wars and now he's writing his own similar stories with Wall-E robots.

Listening:   To the ceiling fan whirl around. I love a little quiet time first thing in the morning before my boys get up. It's already shaping up to be a warm day starting at 72 degrees outside and even warmer inside. 

Loving:   Our cats! They are so sweet and so darn cute and you just have to love them! This is our boy Latte.

Enjoying:   All the arts and crafts Christopher made at camp last week. One of my favorite is an alligator made of a clothespin and big googly eyes. I also love the toothpick and tissue paper campfire and the s'mores made from cardboard graham crackers, card stock chocolate and a cotton ball marshmallow.

Wanting:   More vacation time! Four days is just too short! :)

Needing:   Nothing! I already have just about everything I need. Except for a few more vacation days! ;)

Feeling:   That there's not enough hours in the day. I'm the only one, right?!?! July is shaping up to be a very busy month so I'm feeling a little anxious and hoping it all goes well.

Preparing:   For CHA. I've got all but one of my 16 projects finished! Whew! I'm looking forward to being able to see them in person this time.

Thinking:   Of too many things! Like all I need to do today....boring stuff!

Searching:   For a dress that has a little bit of a sleeve and one that goes just below the knees. Does that exist anymore?!?! I haven't purchased a dress in years and recently I thought it might be nice to have a couple casual ones for the summer. I was surprised that every dress at Old Navy was sleeveless and short. Any suggestions?

Making:   Cards, pages and altered projects, oh my! In addition to my regular design team work I'll be guest designing for a couple companies next month. Wish I could spill the beans and tell you more. Soon!

Anticipating: Christopher's first day of middle school starting on July 9th. So far he's been as cool as a cucumber about it. His dad and I.....not so much! Change is not something Christopher does well and it's sure to be a rocky road. Or maybe he'll surprise us? We'll soon find out! ;)

Have a lovely Monday! Thanks for stopping by!

Kathy :)

Thanks

Hello! Happy Saturday! I have a Love My Tapes project post for you today. 

Can you tell what this rosette is made of? It's washi tape, Light Green Chevron! You may have heard me talk about applying washi tape to vellum so that you can create die cuts, but maybe you haven't thought about using it for rosettes too? The second tape I used is the Gray/White Diagonal.

I really enjoy creating projects with a mix of goodies! In addition to the washi tape, I've included vintage buttons, a brad, office supply tags, die cuts, a mini paper clip and clothespin.

We're back from staycation. It was fabulous and way too short! I can't believe how fast four days passed! The museums, hiking and antiquing were awesome! Dinners were delicious and the movies hubs picked were outstanding! If you're in the mood for a great movie and haven't seen any of these yet...

The King's Speech

Cinderella Man

Bourne Identity

All About Eve

Temple Grandin

I loved every one of them!

Christopher had a great time at camp! We've been going through all his artwork and notes that his camp counselor compiled for us. He caught a fish, road a horse, went on a safari, roasted marshmallows and swam  everyday. I bet he's going to miss all that fun!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Thanks so much for spending a part of it visiting my blog!

Kathy :)

Core'dinations & Bella Blvd. Team-Ups Week

T.G.I.F! It's the last day of Team-Ups week with Core'dinations and Bella Blvd! Have you enjoyed the week? Have you been inspired by all my teammates projects and from the ladies at Core'dinations? I have one more project to share with you, a scrapbook page.

I've fallen in love with the Core’dinations Jillian Dot! This card stock combines three of my favorite things, bright colors, texture and polka dots!  Pair it with the Bella Blvd. Baby Girl collection and you have the perfect mix of whimsy which is ideal for documenting this very special mother’s day gift from my son.

The pinwheels were made by doubling up two die cuts so that they have two different colors. I discovered you can print on the Jillian Dot paper, just make sure you print after you do your sanding.

I added lots of cool Bella Blvd.accents, Flags, Designer Tape, Ciao Chip and a Button Market flower shaped button. For my title, I used some alphabet dies.

So, do you think Core'dinations and Bella Blvd. make a great team?

Be sure to check out all the great projects and giveaway opportunities at Core'dinations and Bella Blvd!

Kathy :)

Core'dinations & Bella Blvd. Team-Ups Week

Have you been enjoying Team-Ups week with Core'dinations and Bella Blvd? I've been looking forward to and preparing for this week for quite some time and I'm excited to finally be able to share a couple projects with you today!

 For my first project I created this kind of bulletin board with magnetic pinwheels and mini wood clothespins that allow you to switch out photos!

 The pinwheels were created with two die cuts, one made with Core'dinations card stock and the other from Bella Blvd. pattern paper. I love the texture of the Core'dinations mixed with the bright colors of the Bella Blvd. paper. I used some small brads to hold the pinwheels together and then used some Quick-Dry Adhesive to attach the magnets.

Isn't it cool that everything on this 'board' is interchangeable? And you know what the black wire backing is? It’s something you may already have at home, a panel from one of those cubical shelving units that snap together.

 I really enjoyed this project and now I have a great decor piece for my office too!

It would be easy to add some pretty ribbon for a hanger, I just used a simple nail to hang mine. Wouldn't several of these look great hung together?

For my second project, I combined this pretty Jillian Dot Core’dinations card stock with the Bella Blvd. Baby Girl collection. Don't they look perfect together?

To create this pattern I used a square set of nesting dies from Spellbinders.

Accents include Bella Blvd. Ciao Chip and Miniatures Stickers.

I think it's cool the way this Jillian Dot paper looks like it's bleached from the summer sun!

I'll have another project to share with you tomorrow. Until then, be sure to check out the Core'dinations and Bella Blvd. blogs to for more inspiring projects and your chance to win some prizes!

Thanks for dropping by today!

Kathy :)

Pals for Life

Hello! Today I have a birthday card share using a Doodlebug Design Create-A-Card, a fabulous sketch posted on the Doodlebug blog today and the Boys Only Collection.

I adore this line! The colors, patterns, die cuts and buttons...they're all so fabulous! And now there's some fun new Doodlebug/Hampton Arts Stamps to add to the mix.

I used the You Said It set for my sentiments. Isn't this 'celebrate' stamp cool?

I think the file folder style Create-A-Card is my favorite! The tab is perfect for sentiments.

I hope you enjoyed my card and have a moment to hop over to the Doodlebug blog to see the cards my teammates made and the fabulous card sketch we have for you.

Staycation has been wonderful! Yesterday, our second day, started off at Durrant Park for a hike. There's nothing more beautiful and relaxing than the great outdoors!

After our hike we headed to the Museum of Natural Sciences. They have an amazing new wing that just opened. This is part of the building! It's quite impressive and looks like it goes out into the street! There's a theater housed in it.

There's so much to see and it was beyond what I've ever experienced at a science museum. Within the exhibits are real laboratories with scientists working on current projects.

I took so many pictures that I'm not sure which to show you and so much of what we saw there was pretty amazing! Since we paper crafters use butterfly images on a lot of our projects I thought I would show you this gorgeous display of butterflies.

Today we're driving out to a quaint little town about an hour away to do some antiquing.  I never get tired of browsing! I'm always on the look out for Charlotte transferware. It's really hard to find. I also look for interesting containers for storing crafty goodies. One of my most recent finds is an aluminum container with the word 'grease' on it. It was for storing bacon grease in the cupboard for use later on. Yuck! But that's how things were done. Now it holds buttons! ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Tomorrow I'll have my first Bella Blvd. and Core'dinations Team-Ups projects to show you! Have a super day!

Kathy :)