Inspiration and another scrapbook spread

It is rare that I create a card that I instantly like.  But the card in this post is one of those rare gems.  Stampin' Up has some new cork sheets (119819, 9.95 for 6) and when I saw them, the first thing I thought of was the bulletin boards at schools.  Must be the former teacher in me.  So, of course, my card ended up with a school theme.  When I designed the card, I had two things in mind.  First, a customer, Susie (Hey Susie!) liked this kind of fold for a card, so I wanted to incorporate that.  Second, I wanted to use the Define your life Stamp set.  Take a look...what'cha think?

Here's the inside of the card.

I used the spiral border punch to make it look like a sheet of binder paper.  My daughter wondered where I got the small piece of paper.  :-)

I also created another scrapbook spread for Kyle.  I am really enjoying making this book for him.

Isn't he a doll! 

Here's closeup of each page.

He's not even a month old in these pictures.  Such an alert boy!

Thanks for spending some of your time with me today.  Hope your day ends up being a lovely one.

Kristine

Back to school and something cool

If your household has been anything like mine, you're looking forward to school starting on Monday.  This time of year always reminds me of my own school years--the school supplies and the clothes and the anticipation and nerves about seeing classmates after a summer away.  My children are excited to go back, for which I am grateful.  Back to school time can also be expensive.  Fortunately, my children have never been worried about keeping up with others and are willing to use again supplies from last year.  This year, my daughter was okay not getting new colored pencils, but really wanted a new pencil box.  We compromised and she picked out some of my designer paper and we created a box to hold the pencils.  It's nice that she still thinks something I create is cool.  Very simple, but it made my daughter smile!

A loop of hemp around the buttons keeps the box closed after the tray slides back into the outer box.  Don't those buttons look yummy?  They are the new buttons in the brights collections. They remind me of sour candy! My daughter likes that she can pull the tray out of the box and not have her pencils roll around her desk.  We also had a good time creating the box.  Stampin' Up! save me again! lol

This next card was a card I made back in January.  This is the cool part.  I was looking at pictures of the Stampin' Up convention that were posted by another demonstrator.  Lo-and-behold, one of the pictures was of my card, which had been posted on a display board at convention!  One of my cards made it to a display board at convention!!  Besides that, this other demonstrator liked it so much she took a picture of it so she could use the idea in her own workshops!  That is too cool!  Stampin' Up encourages us to send sample cards to them so they can use them in displays or in the magazine.  But not every card they receive makes the cut.  Just imagine how excited I'd be if one of my cards made it into the magazine.  My family would not be able to live with me! lol.  Here it is...

I wish all you moms out there the peace and quiet of your family away at work and school.  Get some stamping done! :-)

Kristine

Be yourself

Today I wanted to create a card using a technique showcased in the Stampin' Success Magazine.  In this technique you use a piece of felt and reinkers as your stamp pad.  It allows you to use a single stamp and stamp it once and not have to use markers to get the different colors. It's a great technique when you'll be making many cards of the same design (such as a Christmas card) and do not want to re-marker the stamp for each card.  It is fast! I used the Happy Together set with the three birds.  I find this set of three birds funny.  The middle bird just seems to be marching to her own beat. I played this up by giving the middle bird (that sounds almost naughty!) a different color and some bling.  She also has some "lip" stick too.  Lipstick on a bird...okay, that just makes me laugh.  The sentiment says, "Be yourself," and on the inside of the card, it says, "Nobody is better suited." 

I added a flower from an old pretties kit, but you can now buy them without buying the whole kit. They are called paper daisies and you can find them on page 188 of the catalog.  I sponged some Pear Pizzazz onto it to make it blend better and then topped it with a knot of the new In Color Ribbon in Pear Pizzazz.  The DSP is from the Nursery Suite Specialty.  I think Pear Pizzazz is going to be one of my favorite colors!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today.

Have a good one!

Kristine

SSUS swap and a double page

I did get the latest card photographed, so here's the post.  I made this card for a swap in the Sensational Stampin' Up Swappers group I belong to.  I used the new set Just Believe and some of the new DSP from the package Walk in the Park. The paper looked like smooth stones covered in moss to me, and that made me think of an Asian garden, and that sparked the design.  The three "pebbles" on the left side of the card are the clear dots that belong to the build a brads!  I wanted to continue with the pebble idea, and these were the size I wanted.  The colors are directly out of the new color coach.  At first I thought Wild Wasabi and Perfect Plum? Really?  But I decided to try it.  At first I was non-plussed by what I had designed.  But the more I look at it, the more I like it!

I stamped the image in black Staz-on and then "highlighted" the plant with my markers.  Not sure about the sponging around the edges.  I left that off on the swaps I made for the gals.

Next is my latest pages in my girlfriend's new baby scrapbook.  The paper is retired, and called Muirfield.  The color is the returning color Baja Breeze.  Such a wonderful hue of blue, don't you think? 

Thanks for taking some time to spend here today.  Have a great day!

Kristine

Long time no see

It's been awhile. Life can surly get away from a Mom, don't you think? So here are my latest cards.  The first two are inspired by Mary Fish.  Her work is so simple, yet elegant.  She's my go to CASE.  She's a lovely person besides!

 
 

The next card is a direct CASE from Nancy Riley.  She uses the color palette I like, and her work is eye catching. 

Isn't the reversing of the color squares great!  Love it! 

And the final card is inspired from a card I saw somewhere on the Internet.  I just came back from California, was thinking of card ideas, and California poppies seemed just the thing.  With the new In Color Poppy Parade, it was super easy.  The technique is masking.  Masking allows putting some images "behind" others for more of a dimensional look.

The sentiment is a bit wonky, but I'm still learning to use the clear stamps. It's not a serious card, so a "jumpy" sentiment isn't such a bad thing!

I have two more cards to share...and I will do my darnedest to get them photographed and posted!

If you have any questions about colors or sets used, please drop me an email or a comment.

Thanks for taking time to look today!

Kristine 

Some of my favorite sets...going

June is a bitter sweet time in the Stampin' Up! world.  It's the time when stamp sets are retired.  For me as a demonstrator, that means I can no longer use the set in my workshops and clubs.  So this month for club, we made cards using three of my favorite sets that are going away.  I can still use them for my personal cards, but I just LIKE these sets so much, I have used them many times in workshops and events.  So here they are in their glory.

This first card uses one of my all time favorite sets, Embrace Life.  I also used the retiring color, Sage Shadow.  My thanks to Flutterby Atomic Butterfly for the layout.

Next up is a very versatile set called Tue Friend.  I have always liked the sort of western feel to this set.  The sentiment is from another retiring set called Wow Flowers. Colors are Always Artichoke and the retiring In Color, Dusty Durango.  This is a direct CASE from Nancy Riley.  L-o-v-e Love her work.

And the final card for the club was a red, white and blue tribute using the technique of faux buttons.  The ladies loved punching out all the circles for the six buttons (hehehe).  This card uses the retiring set Celebrate Everything.  I also used the new Square Lattice Embossing Folder available in the Summer Mini catalog.  A little texture is good. :-)  (This card also uses the retiring color of Brilliant Blue.  I'm gonna miss you Brilliant Blue.  You were truly a brilliant color. {sniff})  Thanks to an unknown artist (If this design is yours, please let me know, and I'll give you credit!)  I tweaked mine just a smidgen adding the texture and a brad-held bow.  Love that way of making a bow--easy peasy!

That's it for today.  If you would like any of the retiring materials used in the cards, you can place an order for these items through June 30th through my Stampin Up website.  After June 30th, retiring items will no longer be available for purchase through Stampin' Up.

Thanks for stopping in today.  I appreciate you giving some of your time to me!

Kristine

Floored

Sorry to be M.I.A again.  I have been installing laminate wood flooring.  It's my first time, and I may be getting too old for this stuff.  Ouch, the knees!  But, I think it's turning out pretty snazzy...even if I do say so myself. It'll be great once the baseboard molding is in.  This is just the back hallway...still have the rest of the house to do! Lookie:

I did take a break today to do a double page layout for my friend's new baby.  So LOVE doing baby pictures!  This layout is from a CTMH template, but all the materials are SU. The ducks are free-handed.  The velum pocket on the far left is for the hospital bracelet to be tucked into.  Really broke out my embellishments on this huh?! lol

And a close up of each page.

Thanks for taking the time to look today.

Kristine