Friday, September 28, 2012

Ghoulish Googlies


Hello friends! TGIF! Can't believe it's the last Friday of September! Fall has begun, although it doesn't feel like fall in Phoenix, we're still having 100 degree weather! Oh well, it could be worst.  So today I have another card I made for a different swap.  This is made with the Ghoulish Googlies stamp set and it is part of a great bundle in the Holiday Catalog.  You get all the items below. I love the googlie eyes! I stamped the mummy on the newsprint dsp with black stazon, then went over the lines with the black marker.  This is such a fun stamp set to use! I know I'll be using this set a lot for Halloween. Hope you have a great weekend!





Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Color Me Beautiful #4

Hello stamping friends! Hope your week is going well.  I'm back with another card for the Color Me Beautiful blog.  The challenge for this week is Tuscan Rise using at least three colors; More Mustard, Basic Gray, Perfect Plum or Cajun Craze.   When I first saw the colors I didn't think I could meet the challenge, because in my mind, I was thinking, "I gotta have all the ink pads, card stock and embellishments" and if I don't have them I gotta get them.  But that's also part of the challenge, using what you have in stock.  So back to my card, I used for the first time the stamp set "Blooming with Kindness" and I drew inspiration for my card from the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog.



I used all four colors in my card.  The base of the card is basic gray, textured card stock though it is retired.  The DSP is cajun craze from "Comfort Cafe" and the top color is very vanilla. The gray button is from the neutrals designer buttons.  I also used the basic gray marker with the color spritzer tool. Ever since I bought the new paper piecing pack with the new "Stampin' Pierce Mat" it's becoming my new go-to-tool.  It makes a big impact! Well friends, I better call it a night.  Hope you have sweet dreams of a tuscan night! 



Monday, September 24, 2012

Got swaps? & Keep Calm...

Hello stamping friends! Hope you had a great weekend!  Can't believe it is already the last week in September! Only three more months until the end of 2012! Not that I want 2012 to end just yet, it is after all the Year of the Dragon according to Chinese astrology and I am a Dragon! :)

The above photos shows all the swaps I received in the mail as part of a huge all catalog swap from the new 2012-2013 Stampin' Up! catalog.  Fellow Stampin' Up! demo Kayleen Clements hosted this second annual swap and other Stampin' Up! demos signed up to create "swaps!" What's a "swap" you ask?  A swap within the stamping world (or at least in my world) is a handmade card you make and based off that sample, make "x" number of the same card.  Then you will swap it out with others and in return get x number of different cards.  So lets say, 10 of you are swapping, you will make 10 same cards and get 10 different cards. So I signed up for 12 groups, which meant I had to make over 200+ swaps. It was a challenge worth taking and I had a lot of fun! Receiving my box of swaps was like opening a big'o box of presents!

I'll start by showing you the cards I made for the hostess groups.  I signed up for the Carry On stamp set.  When I first saw the stamp set in the catalog, I knew I wanted it right away! You can earn this great stamp set with a qualifying order-if you're interested in learning how you can earn it, let me know.

I used the new ink pads on both cards and they are amazing!  When you stamp with the new ink pads your image is much more crisp! I'll continue to show you more of the swaps I made.  Hope you like them. 

Do you know the history of the phrase "Keep Calm and Carry On"?  Below is a great video on it.  Every time I watch the video I want to jump on a plane and travel to Barter Books.  I miss local bookstores.   




These are other swaps I have made with the same stamp set.


Well friends, hope you have a great evening.  Below are the other images included in this great stamp set. Until next time.

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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Color Me Beautiful! Challenge




Hello friends!  I'm back to show you another card I made for another cool challenge blog!  It's called Color Me Beautiful! and I first learned about it from our exclusive website just for Stampin' Up! demos. The Challenge this week is called Aubergine Dream, doesn't it sound dreamy? Just saying it makes you feel as if you are somewhere else, say it again, Aubergine Dream. 

Okay, so the challenge was to use at least three of the colors in your design and I chose to use all four.  



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Now when I first saw the colors, right away I had an idea in my head of how I was going to use the colors.  But somehow I think the idea seemed better in my head than in the implementation.  Does that ever happen to you?  Anyhow, this is my end result and I like it. I used the new stamp set called "A Fitting Occasion". 



It actually didn't take too much time to make, but then again, when you're dealing with paper crafters, especially me, time doesn't matter when it comes to creating.  Hope you had a wonderful day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps * Create * Vida*

Kathya

OMG, I almost forgot, I was so happy when I saw that Jackie Bowman is one of the design team members for Color Me Beautiful! HI JACKIE! I met Jackie last July 2011 at my first Stampin' Up! Convention during Hispanic Night and she and I sat together and worked on a project!  I saw her again this past July at convention and she is such a sweet heart! I love all the great friendships I've made with Stampin' Up! 





Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Friday Mashup Design Challenge #76



Hello friends! Welcome back!  I'm having so much fun creating new cards and sharing them on my new blog!  Every once in awhile I get in a creative rut and don't have an idea of how I want to design my card.  Luckily, there are a lot of great "creative challenge blogs" out there for inspiration. This week I took the plunge and participated in my first ever challenge!  It pushed my creative skills. I saw the sketch on the Friday Mash Up blog http://www.fridaymashup.com/ and decided to give it a try. Below is the sketch.  

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The technique for this card is called "Starburst" and I have seen so many wonderful creations with this style!  I will definitely be designing and creating more cards with this great technique!   Another technique included in this card is called the dryer sheet technique, which I used on the snowman.  It's hard to tell, but it is covered in dazzling diamonds glitter.  I think next time, I'll add more glitter!  Glitter makes everything better!  


Thanks for stopping by! Until next time!


Monday, September 17, 2012

Quinceanera

This is a stamp set that I received at the 2012 Stampin' Up! Convention-Hispanic Night. The stamp set is called Quinceanera and it is featured in the Celebrando Creatividad, Spanish Catalog.  Did you know Stampin' Up! offers many stamps sets in Spanish?  Pues claro que si! Yes, of course!
This stamp is perfect for quince parties, a traditional coming of age party in the Hispanic culture.  I had a quinceanera back when I turned 15, and many of the decorations I handmade myself, I had to be crafty.  This stamp set lends itself to some great paper piecing!  I had a lot of fun creating this card, especially with all of the small details of the card.  Hope you like it!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Cake, Anyone?

Hello stamping friends!  Welcome to my new blog!  I'm venturing into blog land again, although for me maintaining a blog continues to be a work in progress!  I'll be sharing my stamping creations with a sprinkle of my life here and there.  I hope you will grow with me in this creative journey.

I'm inspired by so many stamping blogs and I recently (for me) discovered Pinterest, which I hear is a great place to spend lots of time drooling! Even more inspiration!  So the other day I was debating which way to highlight my stamped cards to display, standard point and shoot or with a live model?  Hmm...hard choice. This is Azul, my Australian Shepherd, he is 10 years old and I love him so!  I made this card using the stamp set "Make A Cake" and that stamp set is so versatile!  I also used our Color Coach to pick a color scheme.  I love using my color coach, it's my number one go to guide! So what do you think, which style should I use to display my cards? I'll keep my first post short and sweet.  Thanks for stopping by!