Weekly Inspiration 3: Mister Meow Meow & Tweets McGee

Hello Crafty Friends.

Continuing with the New Years Resolution of altering a playing card for a weekly craft project, I present to you the distinguished and honorable Mister Meow Meow and his esteemed colleague Tweets McGee.  They were my inspiration this week.  Actually, Mister Meow Meow reminds me of my cat, Ginger, who inspired me this week to create.  The card altered this week was the 9 of diamonds.

The bright background was mixed media paper sprayed with Dylusions Ink, adhered to the card front and cut to size.  Mister Meow Meow (Stampers Anonymous- Brett Weldele) was stamped using Jet Black Archival Ink and his coat water colored using Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.

Tim Holtz' Harlequin stencil was used to create the tile flooring.  The medium used was Imagine Crafts' Iridescent Turquoise with Distress Marker in Peacock Feathers applied after drying.  Stickles in Aqua was added to the stencil as shown.

The top right corner was a spatter of Distress Stain in Picket Fence.  A row of hearts from the Zombie Casanova stamp set was used on the vertical left side of the card with more Picket Fence.  Stickles was added to Tweets McGee and Glossy Accents to Meow Meow's eye glass.  Tim Holtz' marker spritzer was used with Picket Fence marker to create mists randomly on the card.

Distress Inks were applied along the edges and the altered card was complete.

For those of you that are regular readers of my blog, you may have realized that I missed last week's inspiration.  I have not been feeling well lately and did not go into my craft room last weekend and most of this week.  But, I will make another altered card to make up for missing last week.

The really sweet blogger Carole Robb Bisson asked me how my resolutions were going this year.  I had a lot of resolutions (as always!) and I have not been doing too bad:

• One Pepsi per week.  I have only had three this year.  Yay!
• Downsizing- 15 items per month have to get out of the house every month: we brought 3 or 4 boxes to a local charity this month and I already have 7 items for next month.  
• Save more money (a specific goal in mind): doing well with this one, too!
• Two Christmas cards per month: Well, this one is a bust as I have created zero this month.  Perhaps it is the "burnout" of making so many the last few months of 2015.

Thank you very much for stopping by to see Mister Meow Meow and Tweets McGee.  And thank you for following along in my year long creative resolution!

Have a happy crafty weekend!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This project is entered into the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday, AG
613 Avenue Create, AG
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, AG

"Faith"- newly released Elizabeth Craft Designs die

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today is my Guest Design post at Elizabeth Craft Designs.  For my project I used another of the newly released Elizabeth Craft Designs dies designed by Suzanne Cannon: Faith.

Just like all of the Suzanne Cannon dies, Faith is beautiful with its eloquent swirls and lovely calligraphy.  Have you seen the new release yet?  They are drool worthy!  Here is the link.

Also used on the card were the Elizabeth Craft Designs dies Hydrangea and Oval Flourish Frame Edges.  Feel free to hop on over to the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog for more details on the card and a list of all of the product used.

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This project is entered into the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday, AG
613 Avenue Create, AG

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, AG

Vintage "Love"

Hello Crafty Friends!  Today is my day to post at Quietfire Creations and I am sharing a Valentine's Day card using Suzanne Cannon's newly released die, Love:

So elegant!

Here is a close up of the card front:

For more details on the card, feel free to hop on over to Quietfire Creations.

Before I close, did you hear about the Quietfire Design sale?  It is awesome!:

50% off Almost Gone Forever items! Items must be in stock.  The sale price will not appear until the item is in your shopping cart.

Dreamweaver Stencils - 50% Off!  In stock items only. Sale price will appear when the item is in your shopping cart.

50% off Embossing Folders

50% off Sizzix (including Tim Holtz), Memory Box, CottageCutz and ECD dies.  Items must be in stock.  Sale price will not appear until the item is in your shopping cart.

For my American friends, the above is even better as the U.S. dollar is very strong compared to the Canadian and you will find items at a steal!

Thanks for stopping by!  I do hope you enjoyed the card.  :)

Have a happy crafty day!

Hugs,

Kathy Jo

"Love" Valentine's Day gift card holder- Scrapy Land Challenge

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today starts another fun challenge at Scrapy Land: Love.  The project must use a die from a brand that Scrapy Land sells...which is easy since they have over 40 brands of dies!  

For my project I decided to make a Love gift card holder.  The above photo shows the front of the holder.  A black and red glittery heart were cut from Spellbinders Lacey Hearts dies.  A gold sheer double bow was added for a sweetly romantic touch.  

The back of the holder was made using two dies.  After applying Distress Inks (Scattered Straw, Fired Brick, Bard Door, Vintage Photo), I die cut a heart (Spellbinders Classic Hearts) in a scrap sheet of paper and used it as a stencil.  Next I applied Archival Ink in Jet black to Wendy Vecchi's Vintage Text stamp and stamped through the cut out.  

Elizabeth Craft Designs' newly released Love die was used with more red glitter paper.

The inside of the card holder was has a pocket to hold the gift card and enough blank space to write a loving message to a Valentine.

I do hope you enjoyed the gift card holder!  And I do hope that I get to see your Love project at Scrapy Land!

Have a happy crafty day!

Big Hugs,

Kathy Jo

"The heart has its Reasons..."

Happy Monday Crafty Friends!

How was your weekend?  Did you get crafty?  I was able to squeeze in some crafty time but my craft time is spreading into several rooms in our home.  My current crafty space is bursting at the seams and it has very limited work space.  I am "patiently" waiting for the new window to be completed in my new crafty space so that I can finally move into it.  The room is a little bigger and it has a cool storage nook in the wall...that I intend to fill with supplies!  Oh- how I yearn to be in the new room.  But, until then I will be a nomad crafter and go to alternate work spaces in our home.  :)

The card I am sharing today looks similar to a card I posted a couple of weeks ago for Scrapy Land.  I had bits of Graphic 45 Mon Amour paper left over and decided to make another card with the same background.  This one used different dies and a different Quietfire Design stamped sentiment, "The heart has its Reasons":

It was heat embossed onto white vellum paper.  The heart was stamped onto scrap paper and fussy cut.  The gold die cut is Spellbinders Lacey Hearts and the lovely doily die is Cheery Lynn's French Pastry.

Some wee black gems were added and the card was complete:

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great day!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenges:
Cheery Lynn, Sweet Hearts
Word Art Wednesday, AG
613 Avenue Create, AG
Craft Your Passion, AG
Crafting from the heart, AG
DRS Design, Heart to Heart
QKR Stampede, Lots of Layers
Stamping Sensations, AG with Die

Weekly Inpiration 2- "Let it Snow"

Hello Crafty Friends!

Last week I shared the first weekly inspiration project.  This week my inspiration was snow as we had some beautiful snow on Wednesday and a wee bit on Thursday.  The snow was a perfect excuse to use Brett Weldele (of Stampers Anonymous) stamp set, Blizzy the Happy Snowman.  

Just like last week's project, I started with a large playing card.  

It was covered with two layers of white gesso and Faber-Castell's blue Gelatos was applied. Blizzy was stamped using Ranger's Archival ink in Jet Black:

Blizzy was colored using more Gelatos.  Next, Let It Snow was stamped and Faber-Castell's Big White Brush Pen was used to create small snowflakes all over the card:

Tim Holtz' Snowflakes stencil and Ranger's texture paste was used to add three large snowflakes.  The finishing touch was a dash-dot-dash frame using a fine tip black marker.

It will be interesting to go through all of the altered playing cards at the end of the year.  It is a fun project thus far as I can find inspiration from the week or from how I feel at the moment or whatever!  If you decide to do the project, please drop me a line as I would love to see your weekly creations, too!

Thank you for stopping by and have a happy crafty weekend!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create, AG
Word Art Wednesday, AG
Simon Says Stamp Monday, Stencil
Crafty Sentiments, Baby It's Cold Outside
Creative Fingers, AG
That's Crafty, Winter but not Christmas
Addicted to Stamps, AG
Little Red Wagon, Build a Snowman

CAS Happy Birthday butterfly

Hello Crafty Friends!

Last month a friend of mine kindly gave me a pack of beautiful Martha Stewart butterflies for my birthday.  This week was her birthday so I used one of the butterflies on her birthday card.  :)    Also used was a stamp from Quietfire Designs' Happy Birthday Plain and Simple:

The tent fold card base was made from Kraft card stock. Next was blue card stock cut to size.  Ivory card stock was embossed using Couture's Trellis embossing folder.  

Happy Birthday was heat embossed in gold onto ivory card stock and mounted on blue card stock.  A sheer ivory and gold ribbon was applied and the butterfly was happily adhered.

Apologies for the poor quality photos- I realized right before I was leaving the house that I did not take photos so I quickly snapped some shots.  The card is brighter than what is shown in my bluish photos above!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a happy crafty weekend!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenges:
Seize the Birthday, CAS
Word Art Wednesday, AG

"The best kiss..." using Quietfire Design and Graphic 45

Hello Crafty Friends!  Today is my day to post at Quietfire Creations and I am sharing a Valentine's Day/Love card using Quietfire Designs' "The Best Kiss" stamp:

Such a sweet sentiment!  And yes, it was difficult for me to cut this beautiful paper from Graphic 45's Mon Amour collection but it was well worth it as it goes so well with the stamped sentiment. 

Feel free to pop on over to Quietfire Design for more details.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  

Have a happy crafty day!

Big hugs!

Kathy Jo

"You make me melt"- Stampers Anonymous' Brett Weldele

Hello Crafty Friends!

For those of you attending or following the events at this year's CHA in Anaheim, you will know that today is the last day of the show.  I have been following my favorite companies and designers throughout and drooling at all of the crafty goodness.  Last year I was lucky enough to attend the conference and had the most fabulous time.  This year I planned on attending the event but ended up unable to attend.  It was a little disappointing but the good news is that next year I will attend and my sweet hubby will be in tow.  I look forward to it!

Yesterday morning I remembered moments from the show.  One specific memory was being introduced to Brett Weldele's stamps.  I was blown away by the Zombie Casanova stamp set and have been hooked on Brett Weldele's stamps and stencils since.   The memory of last year's CHA and visiting the Stampers Anonymous booth inspired me to make a card using Brett Weldele's stamp set, Blizzy the Happy Snowman.

The images were stamped using Jet Black Archival ink onto watercolor paper and then colored using Distress Markers and a water brush.  I drew a heart on the snowman and added Stickles.  

The fir trees had Stickles applied and glossy accents applied to the carrot nose.  The seam binding bow was dyed using Distress Stain.  The patterned paper is from Tim Holtz' French Industrial pad.

The inside contains the stamped sentiment from the same set.  It was stamped using Distress Markers.

Isn't the snowman just the cutest guy?  He definitely warms my heart.  There are six stamps in the set and below is the complete set.  Such a happy snowman...he makes me smile.  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed the card and thank you for sharing in the reminiscence of last year's CHA.  

Have a happy crafty day!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

CHA Sneak Peek- Elizabeth Craft Designs "Merci"

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today I am sharing another sneak peek of a soon to be released Elizabeth Craft Designs die "Merci":

"Merci" is one of fourteen new ECD dies designed by Suzanne Cannon.  The new release dies are Oh-la-la lovely!

The die was cut twice using white card stock and silver glitter stock.  It was mounted on a tag sprayed with Dylusions sprays in Postbox Red and London Blue.  

Brett Weldele's Star Stencil was used with Ranger's Texture paste and Tim Holtz' Clear Rock Candy glitter.

The patterned paper is from Tim Holtz' French Industrial pad.

Seam binding was dyed red and tied with silver twine and jute twine.

The card base was made with Kraft card stock and voila!- the card was complete. The card was fun to make and it had glitter.  We all need some glitter in our day...and I had glitter on my fingers and clothes for most of it.  :)

Thanks for popping by to see the new die!  Have a great day!

Big Crafty Hugs,

Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create, AG

Word Art Wednesday, AG

Love to Create, Mixed Media

Inkspirational Challenges, Thank you with something new (Merci die)

Really Reasonable Ribbon, Look what I got (Merci die, Star stencil)

Aud Sentiments, Thank you

Dies R Us, Something new (Merci die, Star stencil)

Emerald Creek, Something New

Weekly Inspiration- "To create is to touch the spirit" mixed media playing card

 Hello Crafty Friends!

Last week I said I would share my resolutions for 2016.  The project today has to do with one of those resolutions: inspiration or crafty fun by transforming a deck of playing cards into a weekly project.  The idea is to take one playing card every week (52 weeks in a year and 52 cards in a deck) and transfer that particular card into a crafty project.  This week I thought I would start with an inspiring, crafty quote from Quietfire Design, "To create is to touch the spirit":

The card transformed into a mixed media project using several mediums from cheese cloth, stencils (TH Flourish, Crafters Workshop Elegant Bracket and Rosetta), Inka Gold...

...Ranger Texture Paste, Dylusions sprays, TH Picket Fence marker "spritzed", gold glimmer mist...

 

...TH tissue tape, chunky metallic embossing powder, gold glitter embossing powder, gems and Distress inks.

 The project is bright, glittery and inspiring.  Very happy with my week 1 card.  :)

The rest of my resolutions?  I always have several each year and this year is no exception:

• Only one soda per week.  I usually have one a day (Pepsi).  I know that it is not good for a healthy lifestyle so I decided to try to limit or kick the habit.  So far this year I have not had any.  Yay!
• Save more money.  I have a goal amount in mind as my hubby and I are planning three trips in the next 13 months.  
• Downsize.  Every month I will go through the house and get rid of 15 things.  This will not only reduce clutter but will also help me save money as every time I shop I will think "Will this be one of my 15 items I will get rid of in a future month?"
• Lastly, create two Christmas cards a month.  Another fabulous excuse to be in the craft room!

So, those are my resolutions.  Do you have any this year and how are the resolutions going?

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a happy, crafty day!

Big Hugs,

Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenges:

613 Ave Create, AG (LOL, I definitely cannot enter into the CAS project)

Simon Says Stamp Monday, New (my new year resolution project)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, New (my new year resolution project)

Word Art Wednesday, AG