Hello From Kate

OWH Sketch Challenge #7

It’s time for another sketch challenge.

Here’s the sketch:

Here’s the card:

About the card:  The cardstock is Very Vanilla.  The sentiment is Teeny Tiny Wishes, stamped in Riding Hood Red.  The paper is from a non-SU! set I bought ages ago.  I don’t know the brand.

I don’t have a lot to say tonight.  It was a busy weekend, and I can’t believe tomorrow is Monday again so soon.

Kitty teeth sold separately.

Tonight’s card would have been last night’s card, but part of it mysteriously disappeared, and I thought I was just overly tired (which I was) and brain dead (which I often am) and had mislaid it.  So I gave up and this morning I found said missing piece in the hallway where I’m sure it went all by itself. 

And those little sharp marks are definitely not from kitty teeth.

But the marks are hardly visible, and don’t even show up on the pic, so I’m going to just send it to my friend anyway, and hope her day is just as bright with kitty love included.

This is also my card for the OWH Stars & Stamps color challenge.  Here’s the inspiration picture:

Here’s the card:

About the card:  The cardstock is Regal Rose and Garden Green.  The designer paper is Shades of Spring.  I used a 1″ circle punch to make the dahlia.  The brad is So Saffron.  The ribbon is random, from an ebay lot.  The sentiment is from Flight of the Butterfly, and it’s stamped in Garden Green.

Here’s a close-up of the sentiment and the dahlia.  I don’t think I metioned on here that I recently posted a dahlia tutorial on the OWH Stars & Stamps blog.  Of course, if you’re reading this, you probably already know that.

The yellow is pretty washed out in these pictures, and I’m missing the bold POP of the coral/orange/bright yellow from the picture.  I may try another card for this challenge tomorrow.  On Saturday.   Yay for Saturday!

Birds! On a Wire!

That Martha Stewart, she makes the cutest punches, doesn’t she?  The day I saw this punch, I set the world record for the shortest interval between, “OMG! Look!” and “Submit Paypal.”

And now it is mine! Allllll mine!  Muhahahahahahahaha

Tell me, just try to tell me this is not one of the cutest cards ever!    Also, and I almost completely forgot, this is a sketch challenge card for OWH Stars and Stamps.  Here’s the sketch:

And here’s the card!

About the card:  The cardstock is Whisper White  and Chocolate Chip.  The background paper is from the Tall Tales set.  The stamp set is C is for Cat, and it’s stamped in Chocolate Chip craft ink.  The birds are punched out with Martha Stewart’s Birds on a Wire border punch.  Which I LOVE!

More Mother’s Day cards

 Here are some more Mother’s Day cards I made on Friday, following this week’s sketch pattern.  I like it a lot.

Dahlia Buds

I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time.  It’s the dahlia fold, but not a full flower.  Also, the green bits (I can’t remember the word for them on an actual flower) are dahlia petals, except on the larger flower, which is just a circle, folded around.

I really like it.  I can tell I’ll be making more of these.

About the card:  The cardstock is Very Vanilla, Old Olive, and Soft Suede.  The Suede is punched with the new border punch from SU!, though I can’t remember the name of it.  The ribbon is Old Olive.  The designer paper is non SU! The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and is stamped in, oddly enough, Pink Passion.

Here’s a close-up of the smallest bud:

Sketch Challenge #5

It’s time for another Stars & Stamps sketch challenge. 

This is a pretty literal interpretation of the sketch.  I kept trying to think of things to add to jazz it up a bit, but my stampin stuff is scattered in a couple of different rooms right now, and I was too lazy to go looking for anything I didn’t have handy.

But I made a card, and that totally counts.  

Plus, it’s a Mother’s day card.  Remember OWH Half & Half challenge is underway.

Here’s the sketch:

And here’s the card:

About the card:  The cardstock is Whisper White, Real Razzleberry, and  Melon Mambo.  The designer paper is Razzleberry Lemonade.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, and it’s stamped in Pink Passion ink.

There’s something extra emotional to me about making Mother’s day cards for OWH.  Any card could go to a mother any other time of the year, but I know these cards are going to mothers whose babies are in harm’s way.  I can only imagine the special kind of worry they carry.   I think getting these cards must also carry a special kind of joy.

Stash Challenge – Paper & Buttons

I’ve been meaning to use buttons on cards for a while.  I see other people using buttons.  I’ve seen really cute cards with buttons.  Julie uses them all the time. 

I’ve gotten pretty good about incorporating ribbon.  I fairly often use brads now.  These are things that I’ve had to consciously decide to use, because my natural tendency is toward really simple “clean lines” cards, without a lot of adornment.

If my cards were on Office Space, they would lack flair.

I was just talking to Julie about this recently, and lo and behold! OWH Stars & Stamps came up with a stash challenge to make a card using two designer papers and at least one button.

So, here it is.  I think I should get bonus points for making it a Mother’s day card also.   If you haven’t heard, we’re already making Mother’s Day cards for Operation Write Home.  Check out the Half & Half Challenge.

Ok, on to the card:

About the card:  The cardstock is Whisper White and So Saffron.  The designer paper is Delicate Dots.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, stamped in Brocade Blue.  The button is More Mustard and the ribbon is a very distressed bit of Certainly Celery ribbon from last year’s Occasions Mini.

I think it’s interesting to see how much difference a brad makes to the look of the card.  Here’s a second version (that doesn’t meet the challenge):

I should mention the dahlia.  This is my first time to make dahlias with the scallop circle punch.  It presents a bit of a challenge, but I like the effect.  You’ll be seeing more dahlias in the near future. 

Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday (suit)

This card is SO cute.  I will warn you now though,  if strategically placed pink flowers  approximating  the appearance of a topless female would be offensive or inappropriate for where you are currently viewing this, don’t scroll down to the second picture.

How’s that for an intro?

This card is for Jessica (happy b’day!), who recently had a rather public incident involving the unintentional loss of her bikini top.  So, of course I had to incorporate that into the card. 

Here’s the G rated version:

About the card:  The cardstock is Blush Blossom and Basic Black.  The ribbon I saved off a birthday present Julie gave me. 

The photo doesn’t do it justice. The silver is very shiny.  The ribbon is threadded and tied so that if you untie it, the top opens. 

This is the part I warned you about.

I forgot to take a picture before getting the tie the way I wanted, so we just flipped up the top for the picture, and Julie held it up for me.  That’s Julie, the fingertip model featured in the pic.

The “flowers” are rub ons.   Oh the jokes, they just beg to be spoken.

Birthdays and Butterflies and …

um, sketch challenges doesn’t start with a B, and I’m not thinking of something else clever to add there.

Last night I made two, count them, TWO cards!  But I’m only posting one of them right now because the other one is on its way to its intended birthday girl.  Tonight’s card is also for a birthday girl, DeLecia (wave to everybody, D), and I’ll warn you now, the girl loves pink, and purple, and butterflies. 

Also, this is my card for this week’s sketch challenge over at stars & stamps.  Here’s the sketch:

And, ::drumroll::  here’s the card:

About the card:  The cardstock is So Saffron, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, and Lavender Lace.  The sentiment is stamped in Regal Rose, and it’s from the Sincere Salutations set.  The designer paper is Shades of Spring.  The ribbon is Very Vanilla.  The butterflies are cut using the Beautiful Wings die in the Big Shot.

I just love that Beautiful Wings die.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DELECIA!!!

Wishing you…

Here’s another sketch challenge  card for Operation Write Home’s Stars and Stamps blog.  I’m glad for this blog, if for no other reason than doing the challenges is about the only thing motivating me to make cards.

I had about a half-dozen ideas for this challenge,  but my stamping stuff is scattered hither and yon right now, and this card was made with what was handy.   I’m having fun with the Big Shot again.  This flower is probably my favorite die, though the beautiful wings are a close second.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

About the card:  The cardstock is Whisper White (though it looks pink in this photo for some reason), Taken With Teal, Bashful Blue, and Chocolate Chip.  The flowers are cut with the Simple Flower die using the Big Shot.  Each has a crystal rhinestone circle brad.  The sentiment is pre-printed, from a kit I bought a long time ago.

Wishing all of you a day full of joy.  This card will definitely be in my OWH stack.  I hope it brings joy to both the sender and receiver.

Two challenges in one!

I haven’t done much stamping this week (you may have noticed!) and I really want to participate in the challenges over at the Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps blog.    This card is meant to meet two challenges in one.  First, to make a card using this template:

The other, to make a card inspired by the colors in this dress:

And so, (insert drumroll here)

About the card:  The base of the card is Whisper White cardstock.  The blue and yellow cardstock is non-SU!   The strip of Old Olive textured card stock was run through the Big Shot with a raised dot embossing pattern, but you can’t really tell in the photo.  The ribbon is Certainly Celery.  The butterflies are cut with the Beautiful Wings die,  from Bashful Blue and Taken With Teal cardstock.   The grass is the Inspired by Nature stamp set, in Certainly Celery classic ink and Mellow Moss craft ink. 

If I were to do this over, I’d adjust the spacing and allow for a sentiment.  It’s fun, and a different kind of challenging to follow a (redundancy alert) challenge.   I guess that’s the point.  Flexing the brain muscles.

No red in this card.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to use some spare parts from my Christmas cards that didn’t get used, but between Christmas and OWH Valentines, I am oh so very tired of red.  So I decided to just pack the red away for a while and dig out some spring colors.  This paper was from last year’s Sale-a-bration.

About the card:  The card stock is Whisper White, Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue.  The paper is Delicate Dots.  The sentiment is from Sincere Salutations, stamped in Soft Suede.

I’m not sure I got the math precisely right on the panels, but I like the layout.  It reminds me of a quilt square.  I need to figure out how to embellish it up.  I’m not a real embellishy stamper.

Laughing Pals

Well, it’s been a while since I posted.  I need a happy middle between every day and once a week!

Tonight’s card is in honor of Operation Write Home’s new blog, called Stars and Stamps.  Where the OWH Homefront blog is about the shipping and the announcements, and the Hero blog is about the heroes, this new blog is for the stampers who make the cards.  There will be periodic challenges and card making tips, etc.  The first challenge was to use a specific sketch.  I’ve been wanting to do some sketch challenges, because sometimes I get the feeling that all my cards start looking the same.

Tonight’s card also features my first card made with a non-Stampin’ Up! stamp.  I have started branching out.  I’m dangerous. I can’t stop buying things.   Yikes!

About the card:  The stamp is from Stampendous and is called Laughing Pals.  How much fun is that!   The ink and cardstock are Not Quite Navy, Real Red, and Crushed Curry.  Plus Basic Black ink and Whisper White card stock. 

I think it’s impossible to look at this stamp and not smile.

Thank you twice

I wanted to make some thank you cards, and happened to open this new stamp set I just got.   I couldn’t decide which color to make, so I made both!

I really really love them.  I love them enough to want more of this patterned paper.    Which I will not buy (I hear you, Julie!) because, dude, I have more paper than the Shreveport Times.

About the cards:  The card stock is Whisper White and Soft Suede.  The designer paper is from the Patterns Pack Designer Series Paper III.  The top is Night of Navy and the bottom is Mellow Moss.  The stamp is from the Very Thankful stamp set.  The top is inked in Night of Navy and Soft Suede.  The bottom is inked in Always Artichoke and Soft Suede.  The ribbon is Soft Suede polka dot grossgrain ribbon.

Branching out again

I was just saying at work this afternoon that art was never my thing.   Oh, my mom and I were crafty.  Name a craft that was popular in the seventies and we probably did it for a while at least (hello, holly hobby decopage).   I always wanted to be artistically talented, but the closest I ever came was paiting little flowers and butterflies on oil cans.

Lately I’ve been really drawn to the sponging, and the things people are doing with brayers, etc.  I bought a brayer, but I haven’t played with it yet.  The sponging – with daubers – I’ve been doing a lot of.   Not all of it turns out successfully.  I’m happy with this one, though.

About the card:  The card stock is So Saffron and Basic Black.  The ink is Basic Black, More Mustard, and Pumpkin Pie.  The stamp sets are Branch Out and Inspired by Nature. 

Clear and cold

This card doesn’t look cold.  I know.  When you look out the window here, it doesn’t look cold either.   Bright blue skies and an occasional cardinal, or flock of ducks flying high overhead, but when you leave the insulation of the house, it’s all brrrrrrrr! 

Seriously.   It’s cold.

Anyway, this card doesn’t look anything like Christmas or Valentines.  Isn’t that nice?!

About the card:  The cardstock is So Saffron and Bashful Blue.  The designer paper is Washington Apple.  The stamp set is Branch Out.   The sun was made by masking a punched 1-1/3″ circle and sponging Summer Sun craft ink.  The tree is stamped with Chocolate Chip and the bird is Riding Hood Red.  The ribbon is So Saffron and the brads are Bashful Blue.

New Year, New Approach

We now return to our regularly scheduled hellofromkate.com post.  Sort of.

You may have noticed I took a break.  I needed it for a few reasons.  It seemed like I went straight from the rushrushrush to get OWH Christmas cards done, to getting my Christmas cards done, and also getting OWH Valentines done, and making a card a day for the blog, and feeling like I HAD to do it.  I didn’t make as many of my own Christmas cards as I had people I wanted to send them to, add holiday blues, and a four day virus ringing in the new year, and all of that adds up to Kate needs a break.

Plus a re-think.

I don’t need to make a card a day.  I need to find a little balance.  Seems like everything is either work or card making, and there’s a lot more facets in the Kate crystal.  So, I’m re-grouping.    Posts may not be every day, but I’ll still be making them. 

Everything is fine.

Meanwhile, it’s winter in Louisiana.  We actually got teeny tiny little snowflakes this morning.  It was nice.  It’s going to be cold this week, and the skies are cloudy.  When the sun is coming up or going down, it makes pinks and purples and oranges mixed in with the grays, and occasionally a flock of ducks flies by on the way to somewhere else.  And so, tonight’s card.

About the card:  The card stock is Bashful Blue, Basic Black and Very Vanilla.   The ink is Bashful Blue, Lavender Lace, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Going Gray, Basic Black, and a non-SU! white craft ink.  The stamps are Branch Out, Sincere Salutations, and Waterfowl.   I inked just the smaller birds from the main stamp in the Wildfowl set with a Basic Black marker and stamped them several times.

i heart u

Yep, more valentines.

Not feeling very wordy.

About the card:  The card stock is So Saffron and Chocolate Chip.  The sentiment is from the Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin’ kit.

My Christmas card

I figured since today is Christmas, I would post a pic of the card I sent out for the holidays.  I did not make as many as I wanted to, and  a lot of people didn’t get one, and I’m sad about that.  I think if you take a good look at it you’ll see how labor intensive it was.

I tend to take big bites and not be able to chew it all.

Also, this looks very similar to a card I made a few weeks ago, but I really got good at the wreath making, and this ribbon is much better.  So it totally counts as a separate card. (My blog, my rules.) 

Anyway, happiness and peace to anyone who happens across this post, regardless of what holidays you celebrate.  Here’s hoping that 2010 is better than 2009.

About the card:  The card stock is Naturals White, Real Red and Always Artichoke.  The wreath was made with a Martha Stewart punch, and I’m posting a close up below.  Most of the wreath is Always Artichoke, but if you look closely, you will also find Handsome Hunter, Garden Green, Mellow Moss, and Old Olive.  The berries are very small red brads.  The ribbon is from that dual ribbon pack from the SU! holiday mini.

Ok, closer look at the wreath.  As tired as I got of making them, I really do love them.

Christmas Eve

Well, it’s the last night before Christmas, and so in addition to the card I made today, I’m going to post all the unused Jingle cards I was still holding onto.  I’ll admit I don’t love these stragglers as much as the others, but hopefully they still serve their purpose well.

But first, the latest Sparkle card:

About the card:  The card stock is So Saffron.  The borders and sentiment stickers are all from the Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin’ kit.  You can’t see from the picture but the little pink dots on the brown rickrack are actually hearts.

Now for Island of Misfit Jingle cards:

Guest post – Julie

Julie has given me permission to share one of her cards from our card making day.

My favorite thing about this card is the pattern on the hearts.  The first time I saw the card I didn’t even realize how she made it.  Now  I do and I just love it.  I’m hoping she will comment (hint hint) and give us the name of that stamp.

About the card:  The base and the scallop circle are Whisper White.  The circle was cut using the Big Shot.   The hearts were made by stamping (a yet unidentified background stamp) onto Whisper White card stock.  I’m not sure about the ink color either, now that I think about it.  Then the Heart punch was used to make the two hearts.  They’re attached with pop dots.  The gold ribbon picks up the gold in the designer paper. 

The first time I saw the card, I thought the two hearts were one piece.  Here’s a closer look at that background pattern.  How sweet are the tiny hearts!

Edit:  Julie reports that the stamp is from Stampabilities and is called Heart Vine Background.

Dec 22

One more work day until Christmas.  Four day weekend.

Five golden rings.

(hah, couldn’t resist)

I did not get as many Christmas cards made as I wanted.  It’s ok. All is well. 

Meanwhile, Love Sparkles.  Another layout swiped from someone at Splitcoast, and you can really tell because this one is way more accessorized than I would usually think of being. Check out all the different strips of border.

About the card:  The card stock is Regal Rose and Whisper White, both textured.  The borders and hearts and sentiment are all from the Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin set.

Winter Solstice

You might have noticed there was no post yesterday.  I did’t make one.  I meant to, but I didn’t, and it’s ok. The world did not implode and nobody died and I am making one tonight, so no harm.

I have this thing I’ve done my whole life.  I enjoy doing something, and instead of just doing it, I decide to do it.  Then I decide how to do it, and soon enough I’m not doing it right, or I feel like I have to do it, and I no longer enjoy just doing it.  And then I stop doing it because I’m stubborn and I don’t want to do things I have to do, and I don’t enjoy doing things if I can’t do them right, or at least well.  And the whole time all the criticism is coming from me.  Or at least a lot of it is.

So, I don’t sing anymore. I don’t write anymore.  I don’t do hypnosis or meditation or socialize or lots of other things.  And at some point I was really good at some of those things.  And some of them I miss very much.

Rambly, I know.

But tonight is Winter Solstice, and it’s the longest night of the year.  Today a friend of mine gave me a gift of a pretty wind spinner, shaped like the sun, which was a perfect gift for Winter Solstice, because tonight the sun is born and the days grow longer and the wheel of the year turns.  And today I am reminding myself that everything that lives does so in cycles.  And maybe the things I “don’t do anymore” are just things I haven’t done in a while, and my seasons can spin in the wind like that sun, and the light can sparkle on me.

So, last night there was no post, but tonight I have another Sparkle card.  Again swiping the pattern from someone on Splitcoast.  Here we go.

About the card:  The base of the card is Regal Rose textured card stock.  The border, hearts and sentiment are all from the Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin’ set.

Introducing Love Sparkles

You know how I got a kazillion Christmas cards made out of the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin’ kit?   Well, here is my first card from the Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin’ kit.   I swiped the design from someone at Splitcoast, but I’m sad to say there aren’t as many examples of people using this set as there are of the Jingle cards, so I may be largely left to my own devices soon.

I love the unexpected color combination of Regal Rose, So Saffron, and Chocolate Chip.  It reminds me of the mid to late sixties, which would be more retro than anyone reading this blog would remember.

About the card:  The card stock is Chocolate Chip.  The designer paper has been cut in 1″ squares.  I like the way the alternating directions gives it a basket weave feeling.  The paper and stickers are from the Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin’ set.

Hearts in Soft Focus

Yeah, that’s the ticket.  I’m calling it soft focus.

No, really, this picture sucks and I should retake it but the card is in an inconvenient place and I want to get this posted. 

This is another card I made during the card making day.  I used that 3 heart punch.  Not sure of its name, but it was in one of the packages Stampin’ Up! had on sale recently.  I have used it a lot.

About the card:  The base of the card is Naturals Ivory.  I used some designer paper I bought in a pack that looks really vintage-ish.  The ribbon is from that ebay lot.  The flash distorted the color of the ribbon.  It really matches much better than you can tell in this picture. 

Here’s the card from the shot of all the cards grouped together.

See, the lighting is better.  You can see that the ribbon doesn’t actually clash with the paper.

This weekend I must finish my holiday cards. I can’t believe I’m not finished.  I think everyone is a little nuts this holiday season.  Ho Ho Ho!