A little swishy dress

There is one thing that has always appealed to me...light, swishy, classic dresses.  Alas, I do not have the body build to wear them, but I love them.  Do you remember the dress Julia Roberts wears in the movie Pretty Woman?

She is at the race track and has on a brown and white, spotted dress along with a wonderful floppy hat.  I love that dress!!  My daughter and I were at Stein Mart Department store last week, and they have a wonderful breezy dress with this same color and pattern.  It was a filmy material in a shirt waist style.  Oh, if I only had the kind of figure that could pull it off, I would have bought that dress!  {sigh}  I have thought about that dress ever since seeing it on the rack. 

Then as I went through my DSP, I came across the polka dot pattern in the Mocha Morning Specialty Designer Paper.  It was kismit!  It was a way for me to express my love of the dress!  So, long story shorter...I made a card.

I wanted to keep the card clean and simple, and I wanted that polka dot design to be a main focal point.  I blinged up the card just a smidge by adding some Champagne stickles to the flower centers. (Didn't Julia's character sip champagne in the movie?) The flowers come from the Posey Punch set.  A piece of Espresso Satin Ribbon to cinch the card's "waist", and a Curly Cute sentiment finishes it off. 

Maybe not as glam as Julia Roberts in her dress, but I likey.  Plus, it's easier to make this card than shed the 30 pounds needed to fit into the dress at Stein Mart! lol!

Still for sale:

I am still taking orders for this Christmas Card/Tag workshop.  The next order will be placed on October 1st and will ship to you by mid October.  Please click HERE to see the full details.

And a final note:

I have added a few items for sale in my Selling Spot Blog.  Click on the link on the right side-bar with the For Sale sign to see the retired items I am selling!  Thanks!

Thanks for spending time with me today.

Kristine





Another Christmas Card

I seem to find myself with more time this fall than I have had in falls past.  I am putting that time to work by joining in on some of the wonderful challenges out there.  Last week I did the Color Throw down and a sketch from the Stampin Queens Sketch challenge.  This week I selected the Paper Players Challenge #63  (because I saw a beautiful card made by Ann Schach and decided I needed to play too!)


and paired it with Create with Connie and Mary Sketch #166.



 I think the colors of the Paper Players Challenge speak Christmas!  So I made a Christmas card using one of the sets I received free at Convention called Warmest of Wishes.  This is a hostess set, so to be able to get it, you have to hostess a workshop.  However, if you buy $150 worth of merchandise, this set can be your freebie choice until the Winter Mini ends on January 3, 2012.

Here's my interpretation of the challenges.

 I like this card so much that I used up all of the DSP (The DSP is retired and is called Cottage Wall.)  I had and made 6 more to send out at Christmas!  I feel so ahead of the game!  This card was the first time I used the new Stripes Embossing Folder.  What a simple way to add a little something.  The ribbon is the Basic Gray Taffeta which I made into a double bow and secured with a Clear Rhinestone Brad.  That is the only bling on the card. 

When I showed my husband this card, he really liked it, but then said, "What does No El mean?" I was baffled by his question.  Then I realized that his mind is not in Christmas mode like so many of us crafters, and I laughed.  He did not see the letters as belonging to one word.  So I jokingly said  that it translated to "No the."  He was even more baffled as to why there was a stamp for this saying. I could have teased him more, but when I told him to think about Christmas, he got it. 

I hope you enjoyed the card.  And, thanks for stopping in.  Please leave me a comment.  I love those!
Kristine

A Challenging Day

As kids grow up, it's hard to find something that the child still likes to do with the parent.  Thank heavens that my daughter Olivia (who's 11) likes to stamp.  Since she comes home earlier from school than her brother, we found ourselves with some time this week.  We decided to challenge ourselves and find a sketch challenge as well as a color challenge and each create a card.  For me, the idea for the sketch came easily.  Working with the colors...not so easy.

Color Throw Down #158.  The sketch challenge came from a new place. This is only the third challenge, but I like the design! The site is called The Stampin' Queen's Sketch Challenge.

And here are the cards that Olivia and I made.  I decided to go with a square card.  I had a REALLY hard time with the colors.  Peach Parfait didn't seem to go with the other colors.  But the more I look at the card, I'm not hatin' it as much.  I do like the ribbon.  It is the first time I have worked with the new 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon.  Yup, I likey it!

Stamps:French Foliage, Petite Pairs

And here is Olivia's card.  She was speedy with her card.  She was done in 30 minutes.  I dragged along trying to make myself like the colors!

She said she didn't notice the other layers in the card, but was happy to keep hers clean and simple.

And a reminder...

I am offering a virtual workshop using the stamp set Christmas Lodge.  Here's what it entails...

If you would like to make all the cards in the picture, click here for more details.

Thanks for stopping in.  I would love a comment.  They make my day!

Kristine

Christmas Lodge Workshop

I have been working on putting together a Workshop on the Go for my customers the past week.  When the Holiday Mini was given to us at convention, the set that I fell in love with immediately is the set "Christmas Lodge."  It is so old fashion!  So soft and detailed.  I had to have it.  So I bought it in my preorder as a demonstrator and began playing with it.  That turned into the idea of creating a workshop for my customers that they could do on their own, at their own pace, but with all the card stock cut and directions.  The resulting workshop I am calling the "Get Together Workshop" and I plan to offer them periodically.
Here are the three projects in the workshop...

And here is what you get in the workshop!!

There is enough materials for 6 of each project to be completed.  Just think...one kit and you are a dozen cards closer to being ready for Christmas plus 6 gift tags ready to go!  AND, you will have a beautiful stamp set to keep and use again as well as left over bling.

You will notice that the workshop comes with the clear mount Christmas Lodge set, a package of Basic Rhinestone, and a bottle of the new Dazzling Details Glitter.  All of the card stock and ribbon comes cut and ready for you, or you and some friends, to assemble. 

I have this Christmas Lodge Get Together Workshop available now.  Would you like one?  What if you already have the stamp set and just want the card kits?  What if you just want the instructions?  No worries...I offer all three.

I am placing the order for the materials for the workshop on September 15th.  I will begin shipping the workshops out as soon as I get the order returned and kits prepared... I'm expecting to have them shipped by the end of the month.  I will email you the PDF instructions when I ship your workshop. 

Option 1: The Entire Get Together Workshop is $70 (shipping and tax are already included.)

• including the stamp set,
• rhinestones,
• glitter,
• prepared card stock and ribbon is .

Option 2: Just the prepared card stock and ribbon is $35 (shipping included)

• You can order multiples of this.  There are enough prepared kits for 6 people to complete 1 each of all three projects.

Option 3: If you only want me to send you the PDF instructions with cutting guidelines, the cost is $3. Lots of photos to help!

Order now and then set aside some time to get together with a friend, or maybe even 5 friends, and make the Christmas Lodge Workshop.

Workshop contents

Entire Workshop $70.00 Card kits only $35.00 PDF Instructions only $3.00

Hello Again

Sorry to be MIA for a little time.  My husband had the last three weeks off, and we have been enjoying time together as a family.  Blogging didn't make it into the timeline!

This is a card whose color palette is different for me.  I started with the DSP paper Berry Blossom and then went to my Color Coach to coordinate some card stock.  The colors used are Calypso Coral, Baja Breeze and Daffodil Delight along with the basic Whisper White.  I think it's a happy card!  A customer of mine, Kimberley, gave me a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens Magazine this past Christmas. After making this card, I realized that the color combo is used in the magazine as a room makeover! How cool is that! This will be my order thank you card for August.  I thought it would be a quicker card, but it took me and my daughter, Olivia, some time to run all the pieces through the Big Shot and to punch the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch for each.  There is a learning curve on that punch--at least for me. :-)  The original design came from a convention card swap made by Arlene.  (Her last name has been smudged, and I cannot read it!  No blog address to refer you to. Sorry.)

One of the reasons I decided to CASE this card is the use of the Ornament Punch used as the vase.  I have seen this idea before, but I have not used it.  If you look closely at the flower, you will see that it has been run through the Polka Dot Embossing Folder.  First I adhered the flower pieces together and then ran them through together.  The littlest part of the flower, punched out in the Baja Breeze, is the flower punch found in the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.   The card also uses one of the new triple punches Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch. Finally, the sentiment is from the set Curly Cute. I masked the thank you to make it run vertical rather than horizontal.

Next up is a card we did at the class I held on August 13th to show how to convert wood mount sets to the clear mount style.  Man, did we get sticky!  This is a card that came from Convention, too. Stampin' Up in their +One program gave each convention attendee not only the Make and Takes that we could complete during a workshop time there, but also gave us a gift bag filled with materials to do a workshop at home, including a hostess gift, a demonstration card, and 10 make and takes. We did the make and takes at the class. I think they're pretty cute! Very simple, but I like that.

What I like about the whole thing is the use of the open envelope with the circle cut out of it.  I also like the ribbon tied around the envelope and not the card.  Makes it feel like a present!  One of the new items SU will have available in the new Holiday Mini Catalog is dazzling diamonds in a little bottle.  I love adding shimmer and bling to cards, but it can get messy.  This new product works like stickles and putting it on a card ain't nothin' but a thing!  Can you see that the frosting is glittery as well as the pompoms on the platter?  The coloring of the image was done with a blender pen and classic inks.  One thing I have to mention is that this stamp set is really a great one.  It is called Easy Events and it was one of the FREE sets given to convention attendees.  (Aside: One thing I really like about SU is that there are always opportunities to get free things as a demonstrator.  Since I joined SU I have received more than 100 sets free. That's a conservative guess.  It could be more than that.  Isn't that cool?!)  If you want to buy one stamp set that will cover many occasions, put your money in Easy Events.  It's worth your money.

Alrighty all.  I should be back to my weekly postings now.  Thanks for sharing some of your time with me.

Kristine

Wine anyone?

I created this wine label for a friend.  I like the way it turned out. Always nice when that happens.  I didn't have the exact date for the event, so I just put question marks in just so she can get an idea of the label's look.  I will swap that piece of the label out when I know the date. I think personal wine labels are a pretty cool idea for a gift on a wine bottle. 

I used the stamp set Best Friends Forever. I like this set more than I would have thought.

Thanks for stopping in. 

Cheers!

Kristine

3D from convention and a personal note

This is the 3D swap I made for convention.  I used up all of the embellishment holders I had.  Each one was filled with peppermint and cinnamon hard candies.  My daughter Olivia helped me make them.  I was not sure what to make for a 3D, but these seemed to be fine. Kind of patriotic.  IRL, these do not look as splotchy as they do in the picture.  Maybe that's the flash? IRL, they just sparkle.

On a personal note:

Today is a special day.  Nineteen years ago today, I married my hubby.  Can you believe it!?! We have actually been together for 21 years.  In two more years, I will have been with Mitch longer than I was single.  Go figure.  He still makes me laugh, he still makes me feel loved, and he still makes me feel like I am THE luckiest woman to have married him.  He's a sweety! I am thankful for him EVERY day.  Together we can get though anything...we know. I love you Mitch!