Chalked Up Valentines

Yesterday I needed a distraction so I decided to play with my Taylored Expressions goodies and use the chalkboard technique.  I made a few Valentines and I'm super happy with how they turned out.

The stamp I used for both cards is called Graphic Greetings Valentine & I stamped it with white pigment ink then heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  Once the embossing was dry, I used a sponge to smear some white pigment ink on the image for the chalkboard look.  The adorable little tag on my first card is from the Designer Mini Tags die cut set and the I used the Heart Cutting Plate on both cards ~ love the look of that!  Oh and the pattern paper is Love Letters from Bo Bunny.

... and my second card ~ a chalkboard heart!

Thanks for buzzing by today ~
hope your day is filled with love and happy thoughts!

Wonderful Wishes...

Popping in this morning to share a clean and simple card using the new Flower Power set by Crafter's Companion.   I also used a sentiment from the Sentiment Swirls set ~ which is turning into one of my GO TO sets for sentiments!  

Have a great Wednesday!

Office Parties...

Today's fun creation is the perfect card to give a co-worker, boss or someone on your staff for their birthday.  

I love the combo of the great set by Gourmet Rubber Stamps called Just Wanted To Say & the October Afternoon pattern paper in the 9 to 5 Collection.  A match couldn't be more perfect! I also thought the sentiment matched well with the "typewriter font" & it's from the Everyday Sayings set.  I stamped the image in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then just colored in the keys with a coordinating marker.

Bold New Flowers

Welcome back Monday...I missed you!  I can't tell you how much I needed a fresh start today & a major  attitude adjustment!  I was a little grumpy this weekend...to say the least!   However, I did manage to escape my grumpies for a bit and ink up some fun new images from Crafter's Companion.  I am LOVING these big flowers from the brand new Flower Power set which is part of the new Sheena Collection.  Then I stamped this pretty sentiment from the Sentiment Swirls set directly on the pattern paper.  All of the images were stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.

Hope you have a great start to your week
~ thanks for buzzing by today ~

be mine...

Happy Saturday...
Just a quick Clean & Simple Valentine to share today.
I used the Truffles set called Elegant Valentine
by Gourmet Rubber Stamps.

No chit chat today...off to stamp!

GRS January Color Challenge

Post #2 for today... and it's another challenge card.
I guess it's been a "challenging week" ~ LOL!!  

On the 25th of each month, the designers for Gourmet Rubber Stamps have a color challenge.  Here is the color palette for this month!  YUM ~ so soft and pretty.

So...my card started out closer to the color palette, but when it was all said and done, I'm not sure if I missed the mark or not.  I do love it...so at least I have that going for me!  I used the new Rustic Floral Appetizer set along with pattern paper from Basic Grey's Lucille Collection.  For the background, I stamped a script background from the Sealed with a Kiss set in Antique Linen Distressed Ink.  Then I used my Memento Dew Drop Inks in Bamboo Leaves and Rhubarb Stalk to in up the flower.  I love the Dew Drop ink pads because they have a point and it's super easy to get into small areas of a stamp.

I know you'll want to see what the other designers came up with, so don't forget to hop around and take a look!

• Deb Felts

• Jeni Allen

• Kendra Wietstock - You're Here

Kelli Palmer

• Taylor Usry

• Jennifer Ingle 

• Stepanie Lee

You should totally play along with this color palette and post your fab creation on the GRS Facebook page so we can make lovely comments about your amazing work!

CAS-ual Fridays & Crafter's Companion Challenge

TGIF ~ it's a CAS-ual Friday here on my blog because the Crafter's Companion Team is joining in on the CAS-ual Friday Challenge this week to bring beautiful color to your cards with Spectrum Noir Markers!  The challenge is to use MARKERS on your Clean & Simple styled project!

For my challenge card, I used a new set from the Stamp-It Australia Image Collection that just came out for CHA.  The name of the set is called Dreamy Daisies and it has some beautiful floral and butterfly images with a few very handy sentiments too.   I stamped the image with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then colored it with my Spectrum Noir Markers.  For the final touch, I added some trims from May Arts.

Hope you have a chance to play along on this challenge ~ I know there will be a FABULOUS prize this week from Crafter's Companion.

HEY ~ Have you seen my new Crafty Facebook Page ~ Kendra's Paper Creations?  Come on over and "LIKE" my page so we can chit chat and have some fun!

Use Your Imagination...

It's Thursday already ~ where in the world did this week go?  I've either been stamping or driving/waiting kids...it's been a busy week filled with activities, but I did have some time to create this pretty card using some Stamp-It Australia images.  The background image is from the Discovery Collection and the sentiment is from one of the new sets called Time to Dream.

Here's how I made this super easy card:

1. Stamp the image in white pigment ink on white paper.
2. Heat emboss with white embossing powder.
3. Use a sponge to apply 2 colors of Distressed Inks and apply in a circular motion.  I used Peeled Paint & Faded Jeans.  I used green first and then added just a touch of blue.  
4. Mat the stamped image to a slightly larger piece of white cardstock & attach to the card.
5. Use a sponge & Antique Linen Distressed Ink on the edges of the Kraft cardstock & stamp the sentiment in Tuxedo Black Memento ink.  
6. Add some ribbon and a button & BOOM you're done!
   

Have a great day & if you're in the path of this arctic blast...STAY WARM!

A few CAS Valentine cards...

I've been creating like CRAZY over the last few weeks.  I'm having a BLAST stamping all sorts of projects in a zillion different styles & today I have three Clean and Simple cards to share.

First up ~ It was freezing cold yesterday so I hid in my studio with the fireplace roaring & played with my Chevron Stripes Coveralls Background stamp by Gourmet Rubber Stamps.  This stamp is a HUGE background and there is so much you can do with it!  Not only can you make great backgrounds on your cards, but here I stamped it in red ink on kraft cardstock and then used my heart die cut to trim it out for my tag.  Then I also used the same stamp for the turquoise border and just trimmed a 3/4" strip to add on my card.

For the adorable Sizzix tag, I simply stamped the lined stamp from the Noteworthy set in Sky Blue Memento Ink and then added the LOVE YOU sentiment in Love Letter Red Memento Ink.  After I added the Chevron heart to the tag, I popped up a little polka-dot embossed heart & then some red/white twine.  My finishing touch on the card is the punched edge at the top.  I love it ~ so simple but so fun!

My next two cards are for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge this week.  The challenge is Long & Short ~ which means one long side and one short side to the card.

For both of my cards I used the Just Wanted To Say stamp set for the telephone and then I used the sentiment from Happy Heart Day on the first card & Everyday Sayings for the second card.  All of the sets are by Gourmet Rubber Stamps.

Go play along on the CAS-ual Friday challenge this week ~ it's super fun and they have a new challenge each week.

just saying hello...

Just looking you up today to say HELLO!  Hope your Tuesday is starting off well.  

I'm excited about my fun little card today.  I have to say, it's probably one of my favorites that I've made with this new FABULOUS Appetizer set by Gourmet Rubber Stamps called Just Wanted To Say...  This set is SO FUN!   The pattern paper is from October Afternoon's 9 to 5 Collection ~ fun color combo huh?  The notebook lined image {stamped in gray behind the telephone} is from the Noteworthy Appetizer set and the sentiment is from the Simply Sentiments set and everything is stamped with Memento Ink.

This card is also for the CAS-ual Friday challenge from last week ~ to make a long/short card {one long side and one short}.  The measurements for this card is 4"x6.5".  Make a great clean and simple card and share it on their blog!

Well this card reminds me...I have a few friends to call today!  Time for some good old BFF chit chat!  Have a GREAT day!

At-A-Glance Studio Calendar

For the past few years, I've made a calendar to put up in my studio so I can quickly glace at dates.  I like to see the whole year right in front of me, so I make the calendar as a 12x12 layout.   I use a 3-ring 12x12 page protector with the binding at the top and then just thread some ribbon through it to hang it from the shelf in front of my desk.  Then once the year is over, I simply slide the page out & put it in my scrapbook to use it as a cover page for that year.

My Twenty-thirteen calendar uses Kraft cardstock as the base, a free printable calendar from Finding Nana, and then punched out assorted shapes for each month using this great pattern paper from Pebbles, Inc called Seen & Noted ~ totally LOVE these papers!  I finished it off with chipboard numbers by American Crafts and gems by Kaiser Crafts.  EASY PEASY ~ I won't get tired of looking at this all year long!

Here are a few close-ups of the punched out embellishments I added to each month...

Oh ... I have some fun news today ~ Crafter's Companion is releasing 10 NEW Sheena Douglass stamp sets today.  I am so excited to get these sets inky... Go take a peek.

Ahhhhh...a finished project!

WOOHOOO!  This week I finally had time to sit down and finish my December Daily Album.  I'm not sure that I've ever finished an album that quickly, but with the help of the fabulous Simple Stories products, it went pretty quickly.  I also planned ahead and wrote down what each page would have on it & made sure I took photos for the planned pages.   For an album like this, it is very important to write things down as you go and put some effort into planning ~ otherwise, the project will never get finished.  And I have enough unfinished scrapbooking projects laying around my studio!

So here are the rest of my pages...

and here is the final page that recaps the whole month...

Hope you enjoyed seeing my busy December.
Lots of activities, family, and tons of fun!

Warm Fuzzies...

I just gotta say that this little guy gives me super warm fuzzies when I see him.  This adorable image is part of the Mulberry Woods Collection for Crafter's Companion and the set is called Birthday Wishes.  I stamped the image with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then colored him with my brand new Spectrum Noir markers.  Not too shabby for my first try with these new markers.  I'm just a beginner with these new alcohol ink markers so I'll be checking out out all of the fabulous tutorials on the Spectrum Noir website.

Have a Happy Weekend!

Supplies Used:
Stamps ~ Crafter's Companion (Mulberry Woods ~ Birthday Wishes)
Ink ~ Memento Tuxedo Black

Markers ~ Spectrum Noir (OR1, GB5, DG2, DG4, BT2, BT4, BT5, BT9, PP3, PP5, PL1, PL2, BG2, BG4, BG6, CR8
Pattern Paper ~ Pebbles Inc (Seen & Noted)

Elegant and a little bit Vintage

Hi there friends...what a week ~ has your's been crazy too?  The weekend is fast approaching & I hope you have some fun plans.  I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but I'm leaning toward including some scrapbooking in my plans!

Enough chit chat  ~ on with my crafty post ...  I've made a card with a bit of a vintage-feel to it today.  I used two of the new Stamp-It Australia Image Collection sets by Crafter's Companion (#67 & #61) along with some paper by My Mind's Eye and ribbon from May Arts.

Have a VERY special day!