Echo Park and Imagine Crafts Blog Hop

Its fun blog hop today with Echo Park Paper and Imagine Crafts! With the stamps, dies, and stencils available from Echo Park, the inks, markers, and sprays from Imagine Crafts are a perfect combination!

I started with creating my base layer on a piece of white card stock. I placed Echo Park Designer 6x6 Stencil Snow Flurries over my card stock. The edges were secured with washi tape (and yes I used the cute stuff!), so the stencil would not move while ink was being applied. Using a foam applicator, I applied Imagine Crafts Memento Summer Sky ink through the stencil. You can see how soft and pretty the color is and how it adds a winter feel to the card. (which is ironic, given its name, hee hee)

For my snow banks, I die cut white card stock with Echo Park Designer Dies Nature Edges, twice. Making one snow bank taller than the other. Each of those pieces were spritzed with Imagine Crafts Fireworks Sky Blue mist. How cool is it that they have coordinating products like that?! The mist comes out evenly, but be sure and protect your surface. It also has shimmer to it-so pretty!

Next step was to create this adorable snowman. Echo Park Designer Dies Snowman #2 comes with all the pieces you need to piece together this snowman. I took it a step farther and added details with Imagine Crafts Memento Markers.

For his smile, I accented each tiny hole with black marker. It really made his smile stand out more.

For his carrot nose, I added a shadow to the orange card stock with an orange marker. Stepping up your dies with markers is a great way to add more interest!

And to finish off the scene, I added these stamped pine trees, with a little twist.

Echo Park Designer Stamps Winter Wonderland has this great tree image. Imagine Crafts Memento ink was applied to the stamp, then using a Memento marker, in the next darkest color, I added shading. Yes, I colored directly on the stamp and directly over the ink. How cool is that?! Once the color was added, I blew hot air on the stamp and then pressed it into card stock. The added texture is fantastic!

What would a blog hop be without a prize?! Check out this amazing prize package. To be entered to win, simply leave a comment on this blog, and the rest of the blogs for a chance to win! You have until Sunday, October 9, 2016 at midnight EDT to enter. Winners will be announced on the Echo Park Paper blog.

Hop along for more inspiration!

Echo Park Paper
Jana Eubank
Mary Prasad
Terre Fry
Kimberly Crawford
Alison Heikkila

Jennifer Vanderbeek
Wendy Sue Anderson

Roni Johnson
Nadine Carlier
Anya Lunchenko

Mark Melnick

Neva Cole

Becki Adams

Monica Edwards

Imagine

thanks for stopping by!

kimberly

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

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

Celebrate The Season with The Craft's Meow

Hello again!! Today I am peeking the sets, Holiday Poinsettia and Inside Christmas,  from The Craft's Meow. All these stamps will be available on Monday, October 21!

The first card uses the image in a traditional way, stamped and colored with Copics. I admit, I am very, very rusty with my coloring, but with this beautiful image, can you really go wrong?

The box underneath the poinsettia is actually open and has several sentiments that fit inside. Very clever.

A photo of the markers I used. And the white pen is a Uniball Signo Wide. Adore that thing!

Now I know that the set, Inside Christmas, is meant to be used on the inside of your card, but you know me and I have to try and use stamps in a different way. The sentiments are all beautifully worded. So, why not use them on the front of your card? I stamped the sentiment and decorative line with StazOn Jet Black Ink. Be careful when stamping on a photo because it is a slippery surface. To finish the card off, I added a punched set of holly leaves and an enamel dot.

Be sure and visit The Craft's Meow blog to see everyone's projects. There are so many talented designers, its a lot of eye candy!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

Happy Holidays with The Craft's Meow

The peeks have begun! I am so thrilled to be a part of the release from The Craft's Meow this month! As I said earlier this release is all about Christmas! And there is something for everyone! For the next 5 days I will be bringing you cards! (at the end of all the peeks, then the stamps will be available for purchase)

This card started out with the tree. I stamped it onto kraft cardstock and heat embossed it with white powder. Then I added patterned paper, ribbon, and twine. Country style.

To color the tree, I pushed Distress Ink pads into my craft mat. Then I lightly spritzed each color with water. Using a paintbrush to pick my up created watercolors, I applied the color inside the embossed lines. Soft and subtle.

Be sure and head to The Craft's Meow blog to see what everyone else has created!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly 

inspired by wood pallets

Welcome from the Paper Crafts Connection blog! You haven't been there yet? Head on over. I will wait for you here...

What did you think? Are you inspired by wood pallets yet? Did you come back for more ideas? I can tell you that I had way too much fun with this idea because this is only a few of the ideas I came up with! Maybe I will share a few more later on!

Idea: turn the light colored wood darker, like a pallet and add subway-style sentiment

To turn the wood veneer paper darker, I inked it with Distressing Ink (Vintage Photo) with a foam applicator tool. Its messy, but worth it! 

All of the stamps I used are clear, making it easy to lay them out and see what would and wouldn't work for my sentiment. Once the stamps were all in place, I pressed my acrylic block into them and they were ready to be inked. By doing that, I made sure they stayed lined up exactly how I envisioned.

Idea: inspired by a Pin to create an ombre look with ink and wood veneer paper strips

Again I inked with Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry) on the wood. Each piece received a bit more ink than the previous. The nice thing about the ink is, I could add more as I needed. So each piece started out very light until I achieved the amount of intensity desired.

And again, I lined up my stamps, pressed by acrylic block into them, inked, and stamped.

Idea: inspired by a Pin to create multicolored wood veneer strips, die cut wood strips

Each strip of wood veneer received ink, directly from the pad this time. (My Favorite Things) The dye based ink worked very well, but it did stay wetter longer, so watch that. (Messy, messy, messy.) The inked strips were adhered to a piece of cardstock and then run through a manual die cutting machine with a heart die template. It took several passes because of the thickness of the material. But it turned out awesome! The words love you were die cut from cardstock.

Ready to create cards inspired by wood pallet art? There are tons of possibilities! Be sure and visit the Paper Crafts Connection blog for your chance to win a set of stamps from Hero Arts!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

P.S. If you are looking for more inspiration, check out my board on Pinterest, Wood Pallet Love.

Boo! and fun news

Happy Monday! Look familiar? Well, if you like a card design, why not lift your own card? This little ghost stamp from Technique Tuesday is just way too cute! It reminds me of Its The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! And the die cut notebook paper? Its a new DIY Die from Technique Tuesday also! Its the perfect size not only for card making, but also scrapbooking and pocket page scrapbooking! This will also be making many appearances on my projects!

And I have some fun news to share! This month I will be guest designing for The Craft's Meow! Lisa is such a beautiful person and her stamp designers and design team are all amazing! Peeks start towards the end of the week of their October release. Its Christmas and its beautiful! I will keep you up-to-date and let you know when and where to check it all out!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

P.S. We just had a fantastic weekend with my husband's family! The visits always go by too fast. Lots of food, games, and hanging out. The leaves are starting to change and it is the end of the quarter at school for the little man! Fall is in full swing here! Time to start pulling out the sweaters soon! 

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.

Go-To-Gal Designer Challenge

What is a Go-to Gal Designer Challenge you may ask?  Once a month the Paper Crafts Magazine Go-to Gals will challenge each other to create a project focusing on products from a particular manufacturer.  We plan to feature one manufacturer the last Wednesday of each month.  Just for fun! This month we are featuring Elle's Studio.

Elle's Studio has a lot of great paper crafting products! Their focus is pocket page scrapbooking supplies. But, for my card making friends, their papers are hip and fresh and their stamps are of super high quality (for those afraid of scrapbooking stamps).

Elle's Studio's summer line, Saltwater, feels like a summer day. The colors and textures are perfect. And while I used photos of my little man and some of his pool adventures this summer, I would not hesitate to use this line of papers on any layout or card.

Scrapbooking with these pocket pages has been a fun discovery for me. Each of these little pockets is like a card space waiting to be created! And then I get to add photos, which make me so very happy!

And you will notice the cork arrow. I needed some dimension, so I added those on the outside of the pocket pages.

The journaling cards make this process so easy and manageable. Best part was, I cut apart a second one of these and used the numbers to label my photos, making them correspond to the journaling. 

Here you can see the journaling number. Both of these embellishments were added directly to the photo. 

Look at that handstand! :)

Some of the pockets are blank. I might leave them that way. Some I will fill in with some more personal journaling later.

One last pocket to show you. Embellishments on the photo and the outside of the pocket.

When did he get so big?!?

And last, but certainly, not least, a card, using the same products. This time I used the stamps. 

And there you have it, supplies that cross over from scrapbooking to card making. Very happy about that. Very happy.

Stop by and see how the rest of these fabulous ladies used Elle's Studio product. I know I cannot wait as they constantly amaze me with their creativity and talent!

• Teri Anderson
• Heather Campbell
• Kim Kesti
• Betsy Veldman
• Laura Williams

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

Reverse Confetti new release blog hop

We've been counting down the days, and it’s finally here—a new release from REVERSE CONFETTI!  It’s the 8^th of the month (Reverse Confetti blog hop day) and this time we are looking forward to those fall days and the spooky treats that come our way for Halloween.  Come and hop along with the Confetti Crew as we share some creative ideas using September’s five new trendy stamp sets.  Along with the Confetti Crew (our fabulous design team), we've also invited some extra friends to join in on the action! 

The hop started over on the Reverse Confetti blog, and you should have made it here from the sweet 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 all the new Reverse Confetti stamp sets! 

The layout started with stamping all of the darling images from Spooky Cuties. After trimming them from card stock, they made cute accents for the page.

(The clouds were made by stamping Whole Lotta Dots onto card stock and punching them out.)

These solid images are fantastic because they allow you to use many different techniques. Take the pumpkin for example, I started by stamping him yellow, then right over the top of the yellow, added orange ink around the outside. It adds so much dimension and interest!
I also repeatedly stamped the fence on the striped patterned paper. Isn't it fun? That is something I do not do often enough. It needs to happen more!

Then I moved on to using Spooky Sentiments. The October 31 sentiment is perfect for a layout. It was stamped onto card stock first, then die cut. Ink was added to the edges and I colored in the numerals with a Copic marker.

And for the last touch, another phrase stamped, then die cut, inked, and tucked underneath the photos. I love all the touches you can add to a layout with two stamp sets. Such mileage from these two sets!

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 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. 

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

A super happy birthday to my little sister! She is one amazing person and I am lucky to have her in my life!! Have a wonderful day and I miss you!!

P.S. Just to keep you “in the know”…

SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY (SFYTT)—Play along with us each month for your chance to win the ENTIRE NEXT RELEASE and to be invited to play along with the Confetti Crew as we sneak peek and hop with all the new stamps.  Click HERE for more details and link list.

‘FETTI FINDS—Link your REVERSE CONFETTI creations to the link list posted on the Reverse Confetti blog each Monday.  (Note:  Reverse Confetti stamps are required for ‘Fetti Finds.)  A ‘Fetti Fave will be announced on the Reverse Confetti Blog from that months’ entries.  The ‘FETTI FAVE will receive the ENTIRE NEXT STAMP RELEASE and be invited to play along with the Confetti Crew as we sneak peek and hop with all the new stamps.  Click HERE for more details and link list.