DIY custom couture candles - We R Memory Keepers Wick and Silhouette Cameo

I have been noticing candles making a huge comeback in home decor. Gorgeous scents, gorgeous designs, and well, it makes me, not a candle girl, want to have allll the candles! As I thought about it, I thought, wait, I have the We R Memory Keepers Wick Candle Maker AND a Silhouette Cameo...I can make my own custom candles!

I began by making my own candles. The We R Memory Keepers Wick is easy to use. The candle-making machine comes with wax and colored wax to customize your candles to match anything. Instead of using the cotton wicking that comes with the machine, I purchased these beautiful glass candle jars, with lids, and a pre-fastened wick, at Michael's. They had that couture and spa-like feel I was looking for too. 

Don't forget you can take your customization a step farther by adding your own scents! There are candle oils, or you can use essential oils to create the scent you want. I find that I need to use many more drops that I expect. For a full pot of wax I use 15 or more drops. 

Once the candles were finished and cooled, I could decorate the outsides. I used gold vinyl, because, gold! :) I found so many wonderful designs in the Silhouette Design Store! You can add just about anything you can imagine!

For a complete tutorial on how to decorate the candles, visit the Silhouette 101 Blog!

Who wants to make all the candles now? 

Sincerely Yours,

I love you a waffle lot - Silhouette Cameo and a Heart-Shaped Waffle Maker

It really is no secret how much I love to bake and make fun foods for the holidays. Even my teenager still gets a kick out of my silliness! When scrolling through the Silhouette Design Store, looking for Valentine's Day designs, I came across this adorable cut file and knew that I HAD to purchase it immediately. That, and a heart-shaped waffle maker. I know, I am a giant kid at heart and slightly ridiculous!

It was yet another snow day away from school and making chocolate heart-shaped waffles for lunch seemed like a really good plan for my son and I to do together. We covered the waffles with red raspberry syrup, raspberries, strawberries, whipped cream, and a few mini chocolate chips. This was not a healthy lunch. Does the fruit help at all? :D

Before making the waffles, I used my Silhouette Cameo 3 to cut the image out. I repeatedly cut the file's parts from different colors of cardstock. When cutting a file with many layers, but one set of images to place on the design page, I remove the extra layers.

For example, the words on this image did not need to be cut from the brown. Knowing that, I simply ungrouped the images, deleted the extras, and sent only the background portions to be cut. It saves time and paper.

To cut the portions I wanted in red, I simply opened the image again, ungrouped, removed the images I did not need, and sent it to be cut.

After all my images were cut, I glued them together. These images all fit so nicely on the design, but to help myself line things up, I referenced the image in the Silhouette Design Store.

Who wants to come over for Valentine's Day breakfast?

Sincerely Yours,

Silhouette Design ID #248020

custom thank you cards with the Silhouette Mint

Here it is! My first guest post for Silhouette! I am thrilled to be able to be sharing some of their amazing products with you and have a whole lot of fun creating!

It is the thank you time of year. And if you haven't yet, this is your reminder to get those thank yous out from the holidays! Its never too late to send a thank you. 

This time of year I also like to add to my stash of thank yous. Having a new sentiment and image, along with a new color palette is a nice way to start the year. Fresh and feeling a wee bit organized. 

The Silhouette Mint is a small little machine with a ton of creative power! This machine creates self-inking stamps! You can choose from designs that come with the software, designs from the Silhouette Design Store, or even make your own! There are several stamp sizes to choose from, allowing you to make tiny stamps to large ones. Once you load the design, place the carrier inside the machine, it takes about 1 minute to get a stamp!

There are many colors of ink to choose from. Once the stamp has been etched, you add the ink. A tiny bit is all that is needed. You will get about 50 stamps from one inking.

And you can use more than one color of ink on an image as well! Simply add the ink where you desire. And how pretty is that stamped envelope liner peeking out back there?!? :D

I know this is a brief look at the Silhouette Mint, so I encourage you to check out a more in-depth tutorial on the Silhouette 101 Blog! Also, visit me on Instagram @kimberlystamps where I will have a series of videos available in my stories!

For even MORE about the Silhouette Mint, check out my class at Big Picture Classes:

5 Ways to Mint

Sincerely Yours,

GIVEAWAY; 5 Ways to Mint, Big Picture Classes Class

I am thrilled to announce my next class from Big Picture Classes, 5 Ways to Mint! This class is all about creating your own self-inking stamps using the Silhouette Mint! If you haven't seen it yet, the Silhouette Mint is a small machine that creates stamps at home! You can use any images from the Silhouette store, digital images, text, or even photos. The possibilities are endless! I had so much fun designing with the Mint and I know you will also! In the 5 Ways to Mint class you will learn.

• How to set up your Mint
• How to use Mint Studio, the program that designs the stamps
• How to ink your stamps
• How to use text and digital files to create stamps
• How to heat emboss your images
• How to create custom stationary, hand made by stamp, home decor, and more!

The class starts Monday, March 21. Along with 5 lessons, there will be a class group where we can chat, share ideas, and share inspiration with one another! I cannot wait to be inspired by your creativity!

Big Picture Classes is a wonderful resource of classes. For $9.95 a month you have unlimited access to all the basic classes. You can watch them at your own pace, and as many times as you want. The topics range from card making, to scrapbooking, to planners, and more. Each week more and more classes are added. If you haven't tried Big Picture Classes before, they offer a free one-month trial. 

This will be my third class at Big Picture Classes and I love each class more and more! My classes have a mix of video tutorials and photo tutorials, with tons of tips and tricks thrown in along the way. Once you join, be sure and check out my other two classes; Falling for Cards and Make It Sparkle!

GIVEAWAY:

I have a 3 month subscription to Big Picture Classes to give away to one lucky commenter! Leave a comment on this post telling me what you would love to learn about at Big Picture Classes. You have until Friday, March 18 at 10 pm central. I will draw one lucky winner sometime over the weekend and announce the winner on the day the class goes live!

thanks for stopping by!

kimberly

chalkboard wall art with digital cut files

My love for anything and all things chalkboard is no secret. Combine that with my love of using paper crafting to create home decor projects, and you have this gorgeous wall hanging that is over on the Carta Bella Blog. There is a complete tutorial there. And its easy. So easy. Check it out!

thanks for stopping by! and for visiting the Carta Bella Blog!

~kimberly

gold foiling video tutorial

Hello everyone! I am so excited to share this video tutorial with you! Gold was so hot and trendy at CHA again and even hotter, gold foiling! Adding gold foil to your project is very easy and in this video I show you three ways to add the look to your paper crafting projects!

Video:

Direct Link for those that need it : Gold Foiling on Paper Crafting Projects

And you will get a few sneak peeks at new products coming out and projects I have coming up soon! The first product is the fantastic new E-Z Star Adhesive Runner from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L and Donna Salazar, which comes out mid-March 2015. AND you get an early peek at a project that will be on the Carta Bella blog very soon. I am seriously in love with the project! And I cannot wait to display it in my house. And possibly make a million more!

In the video description, I link you up to all the supplies I used, so be sure and head over and watch! And if you haven't before, be sure and head to my YouTube Channel and subscribe! I have over 70 video tutorials!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

rustic Christmas wall hanging

Hi everyone! I just had to share a project I made this week. I think it is hands-down the prettiest piece of holiday decor I have made, ever. This is was really simple to create, but the impact is wowee!

Looking for seasonal digital cut files in the Silhouette Online Store, I came across files from an artist, Nic Squirrell. Unreal detail. Such fine lines. Everything was beautiful! The wreath image is Design ID # 67857. Called Woodland Deer Paper Cut Garland.

Using the Silhouette Cameo, I cut a thin-weight, white cardstock. Be very patient when peeling away this image. There are many delicate lines. 

I felt it needed a sentiment, so I searched the online store some more and found this one, Merry Christmas Phrase, Design ID #52201. I cut it from the same cardstock as the garland design. 

And the final piece that just makes this project, to me, the wood pallet base. It is from Jillibean Soup's latest line called, Mix the Media. There are 4 sizes of wood pallets to chose from, 6x6, 8x8, 10x10, and 12x12. For my wall hanging, I used the 10x10 size.

To adhere the designs to the wood pallet, I painted glue on the back of both of the cardstock designs with a small paint brush. I will not seal this. I love the way the paper has dimension by not laying flat. 

I am busy creating tons of holiday decor, so stay tuned for more fun projects!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Valentine's Day Gumball Machine

I have been waiting FOREVER to share this darling project with you! Head over to the Crafty Power Blog to see my tips on how to assemble this project and what adhesives work best for all your 3D projects!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

chalkboard ornaments

Happy mid-week! How are all of your holiday preparations going? Anyone as behind as I am? Please tell me I am not alone. :) We did manage to get one of the trees up this past weekend. Hubby likes to call it my department store tree. And the little man calls it the fake tree. (The "real" one being down in the lower living room with all the personal ornaments. LOL) Anyways, for my designer tree, I have been wanting to create mini chalkboards. (shock, I know). After some playing around, I came up with these!

While scrolling through the Silhouette Online Store, I stumbled across these sketch files. Not cut files. These files are drawn using special pens made for the machine. The font is just so cute, I knew it would work perfectly! The chalkboard portion is plain black cardstock that has been "sketched" with a silver Silhouette pen. I die cut the cardstock after sketching with a Technique Tuesday die template. The finished ornaments measure 3x4. I am looking forward to making more to fill up the tree!

Fun news: Today I am guest posting over at Moxie Fab World. Stop on over and check out one of the trends I am following these days. And check out all the guest posters. Its been a lot of amazing eye candy over there!!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

Happy Holidays with The Craft's Meow

Its the day! Release day at The Craft's Meow! All those beautiful stamps I have been sharing for the past several days are now available in the store! 

For this card, I combined a couple of sets. The reindeer is from Christmas Blessings. Its the set that includes the beautiful star. He was stamped in brown ink and fussy cut. The sentiment is from Holiday Poinsettia. Remember that open box on the bottom of the poinsettia flower? This is another sentiment that fits. But its so beautiful, it will work on any card! They will all work on any card!

The trees were cut with my Silhouette Cameo from old Studio Calico paper in my stash. I love the Scandinavian and sweater look of it!

You have a chance to win the entire release! Leave comments on all the blogs below for your chance to win! One blog has the winning post!

These ladies pulled out all the stops today! I cannot wait to see what they have created! 

The Craft's Meow Blog
Amy Crockett
Clare Buswell
Deborah Nolan
Jennie Harper
Jessica Fick
Jinny Newlin
Karen Baker
Kimberly Crawford, Guest Designer *you are here*
Larissa Heskett
Lin Brandyberry
Mindy Baxter
Nina Brackett
Sharri Seffens
Stacey Schafer

A HUGE thank you to Lisa and the entire design team! Thank you for including me in this amazing release!  

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

chalkboard easel and more

On a recent Hobby Lobby shopping trip, I found this chalkboard easel. And you know how much I love chalkboards! There were a couple of sizes, this one at about 5x7, but not quite, and a smaller one at 3x4. I couldn't wait to get playing with them, so I took time yesterday afternoon and am thrilled with how this one turned out!

With the small space to work with, I wasn't even going to attempt my real chalk technique. I wondered if my Silhouette could cut the white vinyl with the small size, while maintaining the details. And look! I cannot believe how perfectly it cut! (Silhouette file 47133)

It was interesting to lay this out. :) Silhouette does sell a transfer paper, to assist in applying the vinyl, but I did not have any on hand. This will soon be remedied. :) A tweezers helped me place the pieces. And, they were easy to pick up and move around as needed. Honestly, after two or three words, it was no problem.

To finish the easel off, I stamped these beautiful flowers and leaves from the new Avery Elle set, Laurels. This new stamp set is pretty and perfect. The real brilliance is the way you can layer the images. Each of the flowers has three layers, allowing you to add beautiful dimension.

And one more thing to share with you today, a peek at the new Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking digital magazine! This is the cover of the January 2014 issue! Ok, time for me to be honest. This has been hard. Knowing that the November/December issue was the final print issue of Paper Crafts Magazine was tough. I have loved the magazine since its beginning in 2004. But, there are some very positive things to come out of this:

1. MONTHLY inspiration! There will now be monthly issues. Full of amazing inspiration from the best designers in the industry. All in one place. Beautifully photographed. Large photos. Large text.
2. LINKS! Like that paper? Stamp set? Die template? Supplies will be linked making it easy to find that product that inspires you. Did I mention links to VIDEOS?
3. SHARING! Tweet. Pin. Facebook. Email. You will have the ability to share so much! And if you really want, you can print the entire issue at home or a copy shop.
4. No more clutter! Save all your issues on your computer or digital device! (Have I mentioned that I like to throw things away? Sometimes its important things, like, maybe airline tickets...)
5. SCRAPBOOKING! Many of us dabble in scrapbooking too. I am looking forward to ideas that will inspire me in both hobbies! And even if you don't scrapbook, its still paper ideas.
6. SPECIAL ISSUES. There will be MONTHLY PRINT special issues. And it looks like there may be the possibility of having those mailed to you...stay tuned.

Change is never easy. It isn't easy for me yet. But I will get there. And I am truly thankful that there will still be a magazine. My beloved magazine. New format. New possibilities. 

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

P.S. If you want more details about the changes at Paper Crafts, please check out these couple of blog posts. People who are much better at writing than I. Paper Crafts Connection. Moxie Fab World.

fun with chalkboard and cork

Welcome, welcome! Its a fun day here on the old blog and on the Paper Crafts Connection blog! Its my turn to post over there today, so if you haven't been there yet, stop on over, because there are prizes involved!

If you have already been there, then let's get to a few more ideas with some great new products from Fancy Pants! You already saw the fun chalkboard tape on Paper Crafts Connection, but look at the label shapes! And the cork shapes! I just had to put these to work immediately!

   

The chalk and cork screamed back-to-school time to me. And I happened to have an awfully cute photo of the little man that needed a special place. ;) (Thanks to some repositionable adhesive I can change the photo each year.)

The frame is a 5x7 acrylic frame that I picked up for around a dollar. The background is card stock that was embossed with an embossing folder along with a piece of white card stock that was digitally die cut to look like notebook paper.

And the fun part of the frame; this label on the front. Yes, you read that correctly, I adhered the label to the front of the frame. It lets me add some fun dimension. What I liked about the labels and shapes is how well the shapes and sizes all mix and match. You can see here how well the cork circle fits on the chalk label.  

Fun discovery! You can emboss the chalk tape and labels!! The chalk label was embossed with an embossing folder and I rubbed some white ink over the polka dots to bring them out a bit more.

Here is the tape embossed! The star and enamel dot were adhered to the outside of the frame.

Where are the cork pennants? They are not in the product photo? Well, when I was playing with the arrows, I realized that if I cut the point off the arrow, I could have pennants! A pair of scissors cut it easily. I love getting more mileage from great products!

Be sure and visit the Paper Crafts Connection blog for a chance to win an awesome prize pack of chalk products from Fancy pants!

thanks a million for stopping by!

~kimberly

I love you a bushel and a peck

On the Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Crafty Power blog, I am sharing some of my CHA-S artwork with you. This ensemble was so fun to create! It all started with the sentiment and the need for some fall fun! Stop on over and get all the details!
thanks for stopping by!
~kimberly

Holiday Cards and More Vol. 8

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I can’t help myself. Confession, I bought Christmas crafting supplies at Michael’s yesterday. It was a ton of fun looking at all the new ornaments and projects and ribbons…

Christmas is my favorite holiday and this special issue from Paper Crafts Magazine is one I look forward to every year. Holiday Cards and More Vol.8 is a great issue. And a great resource for your holiday cards and projects. I found quite a few fabulous projects that I could totally see myself recreating for our holiday card!

This issue is also special because I am on the cover! The truck and tree are mine. I have always been drawn to photos and décor pieces with an old fashioned truck getting the Christmas tree, so I thought, why not create that with paper? The truck and trees are all digital cut files from Silhouette. To make the truck a bit more festive, I added a stamped sentiment from Simon Says Stamp.

We are off to the Iowa State Fair this weekend. It will be a first visit for us. We will have to see how it compares to the Minnesota State Fair. ;)

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

silly 16th birthday party ensemble

This latest special issue from Paper Crafts, called Birthday Creations, is a great resource for all card makers. I mean, let’s be honest, the reason most of us make cards is for someone’s birthday! :) The issue is full of cards, great and creative party ideas and matching ensembles, and a helpful birthday organizer section with cute projects to help you remember all those birthdays. Anyone else like me and need all the help they can get?! :)

And this is my favorite project in the issue! It’s a Silly 16th Party ensemble. Photo booths and props are all the rage, so I thought it would be fun to create those, along with a faux driver’s license to add their silly photos to. (You can see it in the driver’s license lanyard in the center.) And I created a template of those for you to print out! Check out the web address in the issue!

It has sure been a busy week around here! I have more coming up as I want to share a bit of our amazing vacation with you and a few other crafty ideas that have been rolling around in my brain!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

Reverse Confetti release hop

Hello REVERSE CONFETTI Fans!  The wait is finally over, and it's time for
another new release from your favorite new company!  That's right, it's our
second release and it's even better than the first one.  Another 4 new stamp
sets are being released TODAY!  We know you all are excited to see what's
new, so start by hopping along with the Confetti Crew.

The hop started over on the Reverse Confetti blog, and you should have made
it here from the talented and kind Jen Tapler's blog.  It would be worth your while to start at the beginning of the hop, so you don't miss a thing.  We have tons of inspiration for you to see using Reverse Confetti's second release of 4
brand new stamp sets!

Here is a look at the set, Celebrate Cake, and a closer look at the little tag .

Look at the genius of this set!!! I have been DREAMING of a set like this for SO long!! Jen designed great sentiments, perfect for that subway style we all love, but these words mix and match! Check out all the combinations above! Isn’t it brilliant?!?!

I felt like I just HAD to make a cake box. This one was digitally cut from kraft cardstock using my Silhouette. To make the box match the patterned paper on the card, I simply stamped the top image from Whole Lotta Dots onto the box before I assembled it. Isn’t it cute?!?!

 

I hope you've enjoyed hopping with us today.  Be sure and hop with us on the
8th of EVERY MONTH for more REVERSE CONFETTI inspiration!  Now it's time to hop on over to the sweet and  fabulous Laurie Schmidlin's blog.  If you get lost along the way, you can find the hop order and list of all the participating designers over on the Reverse Confetti blog. Celebrate the creative side of you!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly