Summer Hanna...

Isn't she CUTE???? I love the look of this new Hanna ~ I do wish I looked like this in a bikini! I need to give credit to my sweet friend Pam Hooten for the water bottle tag ~ she did one several years ago and I just love the idea! I used two new sets for these pieces and they both have adorable images. These new sets will be available from Hanna Stamps on Friday, May 2nd (at midnight).

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps (Fun in the Sun & SPF 50); Cardstock ~ Prism & Papertrey (white); Pattern Paper ~ Cloud 9 Sunrise Smoothie Collection; Ink ~ Black Palette, Copics & SU Guava; Eyelets, Ticket Corner Punch & Ribbon ~ Stampin' Up!; Scallop Rectangle ~ Megabilities by Spellbinders.

Everybody sing...

"She wore an Itsy, Bitsy, Teenie, Weenie, Yellow Polka-dot Bikini..." That's the first thing that occured to me when I saw this bikini image, so I had to make something with yellow and polka-dots ~ LOL! Here is another card showing new images from a new Hanna Stamps set that will be released on Friday, May 2nd.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps (SPF50); Cardstock ~ Papertrey white & SU Summer Sun; Ink ~ Palette, Copics, and white gel pen (SU); Punches ~ SU; Embossing Plate ~ Cuttlebug; Eyelets ~ SU; Ribbon ~ May Arts; Font ~ Poor Richard on Word.

Garden Girl...

I have about 30 seconds to share this card with you this morning. Busy, busy, busy! This is one of the 4 new sets that Hanna Stamps will release on Friday, May 2nd. Don't you just love her Crocks and the little snail! Too Fun!

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps!; Cardstock ~ PTI white, SU Textured; Ink ~ Palette & Copics; Pattern Paper ~ SU; Circle Punches ~ SU & Martha Stewart; Dies ~ Megabilities by Spellbinders.

Bright Blooms...

I love bright colors and I adore this brand new set from Lizzie Anne Designs called Le Jardin and one of the older sets called Joles Fleurs. I just love every single image in both of these sets!

Here's how I created these beautiful blooms:
1) I stamped the image in black pigment ink onto shimmery paper. 2) Then I heat embossed the images & colored them in with various shades of pinks, oranges and golds using my Prismacolor pencils. 3) I then used Mona Lisa's Oderless paint thinner (available at Michael's or Hobby Lobby) & stumps to blend the colors. 4) Once that was done, I added some Stickles and beads to add a little extra punch.

ETA: Krissy asked about the colored pencils, paint thinner vs. water and blending stumps. The Prismacolor pencils are an artist quality pencil. They have a smooth texture with extra thick leads and permanent pigments. They are available at Michael's, Hobby Lobby or art stores but they are expensive so make sure you buy them with a coupon! They sell them in sets & some stores also sell a variety of individual pencils. Make sure you get a few of each shade so that you can blend them. These pencils are very different than watercolor pencils. The color is very bright and doesn't fade. Watercolor pencils tend to be more muted and are perfect for a softer look. Since the Prismacolor pencils are not watercolor pencils, they cannot be blended with water. Instead, you can either blend them with a Prisma blender (which basically looks like a colored pencil but has an off-white tip) OR you can use a material called Gamsol or Oderless Paint Thinner (either will work). I found the Mona Lisa Oderless Paint Thinner at Michael's and then bought a special container to store a small amount in to use. The Blending Stumps are also available at Michael's. I really like the gray paper stumps.

Stamp your image on a good quality paper, fill in your colors (I usually use several so I can get a nice shaded look), dip your stump into the Oderless Paint Thinner and then using a circular motion, blend the colors together. Your image will turn out nice and bright. Don't be afraid to try it ~ it's really rather easy. I hope that helped Krissy.

Otter ~ the ribbon is 1" sheer dots & I got it from Michael's.

Spring Blooms...

You may find this hard to believe, but I actually took all three of these pictures & right in my own back yard (and my neighbors yard too)! I'm actually in shock at how wonderful they turned out! This top picture should actually be turned in the other direction, but I really love it this way & decided not to rotate it.

We have several Cleveland Pear trees in our yard ~ they are non-fruit bearing trees and they have these gorgeous white blooms on them in the spring. I wish these beautiful little buds would last longer. We are due to get rain over the next few days, so I hope they make it through the heavy drops.

I actually had some cards ready to post for today, but I just love the details in all of these photographs and I really wanted to share them. What wonderful creations God has given to us!

Hanna Stamps Challenge for today...

Well it's Friday and that means there is a Hanna Stamps Challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers! I don't get to play every week, but it's fun when I can. So here is my masculine card for the challenge.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps (Riley Collection); Ink ~ Palette Ink & Copic Markers; Cardstock ~ Stampin' Up!; Pattern Paper ~ Scenic Route; Ribbon ~ Stampin' Up!; Oval Punches ~ Stampin' Up!; Sentiment ~ typed in Word.

A quick layout idea...

Can you say ~ SUPER SIMPLE! This card doesn't take any time at all to pull together. It's great having one of those easy peasy layouts in your stash to pull from now and again. Change up the pattern paper, the colors and even the sentiment & you have a whole new look without a lot of work. I used the same stamp set, the same layout and I even cut the ovals at the same time.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Far East); Ink ~ Stampin' Up!; Cardstock ~ Stampin' Up! & Prism (on card #1); Pattern Paper ~ card #1 Scenic Route, card #2 MOD by Autumn Leaves; Ribbon ~ Stampin' Up! Flowers ~ (card #1) Prima; Jewels ~ (card #2) K & Co.; Die Cuts ~ Nestabilities by Spellbinders.

So ... what do ya think?

Yes ~ you are in the right spot!

It's still my Paper Dreams blog, I just have a new look. My sweet friend Beth, made this great banner for my new little business based off a sketch I gave to her. She does a great job on banners, logos, blog designs, etc. Check out her site for more information.

For the last few months, I've been slowly working on ideas for my creative freelance business called Kendra's Card Company. This is my second week off since I quit my part-time job & I love having time to devote to my art. I have several things in the works including more classes in my home, an Etsy store, lots more publication calls and some local freelance jobs. I am also still designing for Lizzie Anne Designs & Hanna Stamps. It's all good & it's all fun!

I am completely blessed to have this opportunity!!!

What a gorgeous day!

THIS is why we live in Indiana...SPRING!!! It's here! It's really here! Well it's about time (IMO). I hope you are enjoying a beautiful day too.

Can you believe I almost forgot to post something today? Here is a card I made with my fun Lizzie Anne Designs Stamp set called Far East. It's just a little bit of a variation from one I posted last week.

NYC...

I will have something creative to share later, but I wanted to post a few pictures of the trip to New York City during Spring Break. I thought this was a great shot of Lady Liberty. I took it while we were on the cruise of the Harbor. I adore this picture of Matt ~ it totally cracks me up. That's pretty much how we were the entire first day in the City. You have to realize, the cities we live near don't have tall buildings. It was total culture shock to us! I know I'll have to incorporate these photos into a scrapbook at some point for sure!

I may have something else to share with you today ~ I'm busy, busy, busy today. I feel a little behind since I didn't get much done yesterday because of appointments and a never-ending 2nd grade fieldtrip! LOL!

A Fun Mission...

I have a wonderful friend named Bev Barton (aka Bevie Pearl) that assigns the most wonderful challenges and missions. About 3 weeks ago, she let me know that I would be part of a secret mission & that I would receive something in the mail soon. It was very mysterious! Well it turns out she sent out 44 images to our stamping group (one image to each person) and on April 20th we needed to upload our creation to the site. Well this is the image I received and the card I uploaded for her to see. It was a fun little challenge & a way for all of us to sit and create something fun that wasn't for anything in particular. Thank you Bevie for the fun little mission!

Supplies Used: Stamp ~ unknown; Cardstock ~ Stampin' Up!; Pattern Paper ~ Doodlebug; Ink ~ Stampin' Up! Markers (now I remember why I bought my Copics!); Ric Rac & Buttons ~ Doodlebug; Embossing Plate ~ Cuttlebug.

A card with an Asian touch...

Sharing yet another Lizzie Anne Designs card from my April assignment. This fun set is called Far East and has 11 wonderful images all with an Asian flare and two script sentiments. I love that you can get so many different looks with this set.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs; Cardstock ~ Stampin' Up!; Pattern Paper ~ Basic Grey; Ribbon ~ Stampin' Up!; Ink ~ Stampin' Up!; Embossing Plate ~ Cuttlebug by Provo Craft; Ribbon ~ Stampin' Up!

Hanna's Weekly Challenge...

If you have any Hanna Stamps, grab them and head over to SCS for the challenge this week. Each Friday one of the design team members hosts a layout, color and embellishment challenge. This week, my sweet friend Cami is the host. Her challenge is Polka-Dots & Flowers ~ two of my favorite things.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps (Riley Collection); Cardstock ~ Stampin' Up!; Pattern Paper ~ Paper Salon; Ink ~ Palette & Copics; Punch & Ribbon ~ Stampin' Up!

Photo Cube ~ Part 2

So here is part 2 of my Mother's Day Photo Cube. I'm hoping it's a big hit with my customers (and with my mother-in-law too).

There's a great new idea book out by Paper Crafts called Paper Crafting with Photos. There are lots of fun project ideas and cards using your photographs included in this issue.

Mother's Day Photo Cube

I just wanted to share with all of you my next class project. It's a Mother's Day Photo Cube with a matching card and gift bag. Anytime I can incorporate photos into my projects, I do because it's such a great way to personalize a gift. Tomorrow I'll show you the other views of the photo cube.

Supplies Used: All supplies are Stampin' Up!, except the dies are by Nestabilities.

Perfect for a guy...

I just love it when I come up with a card I like that works for a guy. This is one of my April cards for Lizzie Anne Designs using the set called Far East. The great part about this card is that it didn't take long at all to put together.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Far East); Cardstock ~ Prism; Pattern Paper ~ Scenic Route; Ink & Ribbon ~ Stampin' Up!

Jolies Fleurs ~ Part 2...

Well here are a few more cards from my little "Play Session" on Sunday afternoon. I really love the colors in this pattern paper. It was fun playing around with several different layouts using the same supplies.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Jolies Fleurs & Flower Frenzy); Cardstock ~ Stampin' Up!; Pattern Paper ~ MOD by Autumn Leaves; Ink ~ Palette Black & Copics; Ribbon ~ Stampin' Up!

Jolies Fleurs...

I just love this gorgeous set from Lizzie Anne Designs! It's a perfect set for coloring in with my favorite Copic Markers.

Today I decided to sit and just stamp for fun since I haven't stamped in over a week. We just got home late Friday evening from New York City. We spent a week in the big city for Spring Break. WOW ~ can you say CULTURE SHOCK!!!! Even though I grew up in the Detroit area, I am no longer a city girl. I love my small town where you know everyone and can't see into your neighbors house from your side window. I'm not knocking the big city, I just know it's not for me.

That being said, we did have a wonderful time on vacation. The highlight for me was seeing two Broadway Musicals ~ Wicked & The Lion King! They were both amazing. I'll share some pictures of our vacation in the next few days.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Jolies Fleurs), Cardstock ~ Stampin' Up!; Ink ~ Black Palette & Copics; Pattern Paper ~ MOD by Autumn Leaves; Ribbon & Brads ~ Stampin' Up!

Just a couple more pages

Well there are a total of 14 pages in this scrapbook kit that my customers will be making; however, this is the last of what I'm going to show until after the class this weekend. I hope you enjoyed my little class preview...

Now that I'm home from New York City ~ I'll have lots of new stuff to share with you!

More from my Class Project...

A few weeks ago, I shared some pages I made for a scrapbooking class I'm doing this month. I used the Summer Days Scrapbook Kit from Stampin' Up! & I love how all the pages turned out. I thought I would share a few more pages from my book.

Do you see a theme here?

I told you we spend lots of time in the gym from January through March ~ Gym Rats for sure! These are the last two pages I have to show you right now (only because I don't have anymore done yet). They go together very fast & I'm looking forward to start working on them again very soon.

Remember the journey...

I love watching my daughter play volleyball & basketball! She is so passionate about it & takes it very seriously. Every January through March, we spend lots and lots of time in the gym for both sports (what else are you going to do in Indiana) ~ so I need to make sure I have it down. These are (and will remain) fabulous memories.

Don't forget to journal...

Sometimes I really hate that word! However, it's important to at least put the basics down (dates, names, key events). Of course, the more you journal, the more you'll love it in the future because of all the emotions it will bring back. Don't be afraid to journal the not-so-good stuff too ~ it's all part of our journey.

More of my little book...

Above are the next pages of my 2007 scrapbook project (see all the details from yesterday's post). I also thought I'd share with you what the book cover looks like ~ I haven't decorated it just yet because I haven't decided what I want to do. I may just wait to do it once the inside is finished.

I {heart} Scrapbooking!

I really, really do love scrapbooking. In fact, I was scrapbooking for many years before I took up making cards and gifts. However, I will be the first one to admit that it can totally overwhelm me. The fact that I haven't really done any "traditional" pages for at least a year makes me very sad. I tons of pictures from several years ago that are not done. As a result, I constantly put pressure on myself to get pages done. Therefore, I have to make scrapbooking "do-able"!

I was shopping with my friend Paula last December & I found this cool little book with matching paper, rub-ons, stickers, and borders by Creative Cafe. As soon as I saw all of these wonderful products ~ I knew what I wanted to do with them. So I began planning my 2007 scrapbook. There are 12 tabbed dividers in the book, so I stamped the month on each one. Each month also has a "highlight" page with the big stuff that happened that month that I just wrote out on a journaling block. Then I took some of my favorite pictures from each month and added some journaling to document the event.

I can always go back and do full 12x12 pages, but now at least I have the year documented and the pressure is off! Stay tuned this week for more pages from my fun little book.

Hot Babe!

Isn't she just the cutest thing? This is Sophie G in Hanna Stamps Riley Collection. I just love playing with all these Riley stamps because they are perfect for coloring. Hope you're have a sunny day!

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps (Hanna Stamps); Cardstock & Pattern Paper ~ Stampin' Up!; Ink ~ Palette & Copic; Brads ~ Making Memories; Paper Flowers ~ Prima.

Catchin' some Rays...

I just love this Riley stamp by Hanna Stamps! I figured this card was appropriate since most of Elkhart County is heading to Florida this week for Spring Break. For those of you who aren't (Rachel) ~ I wish you warm temps and sunshine!

Althought we are not going any place super warm, we have a fun trip going on right now ~ we are driving to NYC to visit family. It's gonna be a BLAST! Happy Spring break everyone.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps (Riley Collection & Passport set); Cardstock ~ Papertrey Ink & Prism; Pattern Paper ~ Paper Salon; Ink ~ Black Palette & Copics; Buttons ~ Chatterbox; sewing.

My Favorite Things...

I have such sweet friends! Wednesday was my last day of work & that evening my friends took me out to dinner. At the end of the evening they presented me with this wonderful goodie basket filled with some of my very favorite things {Diet Pepsi, Take 5 candy bars, Garden Salsa Sun Chips, Twizzlers, a gift certificate to Papertrey Ink, and a gift certificate to iTunes} ~ WOW! They not only spoiled me, but got me the PERFECT basket of goodies. I thought it was so sweet that they knew me so well, they could pick out everything I like. It told me that, in the future, I need to do a better job of finding out just the right gift for people.

Thank you Michelle, Rachel & Vicki ~ I will miss working with you!

"STAMP" that passport...

Takin' a trip? This is the perfect set for saying ~ "Bon Voyage". Here is the main image of the new Hanna Stamps set called Passport. Hanna is sporting a new do in this set (but don't worry, her long hair will be back). This set will be available tonight at midnight over at Hanna Stamps. If you want to join in some fun tonight, Hanna Stamps is hosting a release party for the new 2 new sets coming out. Head on over to the Hanna Stamps forum on Splitcoast Stamps at 9:00pm (EST).

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps (Passport); Cardstock, Pattern Paper & punches ~ Stampin' Up!; Ink ~ Palette & Copic Markers.

Perfect for Dad...

I realize Father's Day is still a few months away. However, when I see a set with tools in it, I immediately think of a Father's Day card. My husband is totally Mr. Fix-it so this will be a perfect card for him. I used the new Tool Time set by Hanna Stamps which will be available on Friday, April 4th.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps (Tool Time); Nestabilities; all other supplies are by Stampin' Up!

Off we go...

I found the perfect purse size notebook at Target the other day & knew that I needed to use this set with it. My kids piano teacher is going to Paris next week, so I thought this would be an ideal gift for her. This set is the new Passport set by Hanna Stamps ~ available this Friday, April 4th.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Hanna Stamps (Passport) & Hero Arts (alphabet); Ink ~ Palette, Copics; Paper ~ Stampin' Up! (retired); and Ribbon ~ Stampin' Up!