A Few Sweet Gifts

Ever been in one of those moods when you have to have something sweet but can't quite figure out what you want? Well I've been in that mood for the last few days but since I can't figure out what I have a taste for, I just haven't eaten any sweets. I was just starting to get grumpy yesterday when I remembered a sweet lil stamp set called Cookies n Milk I won over at Some Odd Girl during a release day blog hop (get yours here!) I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this set when I got it but hadn't intended to blog about it, so I finished my project and put my stamp set away. Well today I decided to satisfy my sweet tooth with chocolate chip cookies. That's right, chewy, soft, warm, and oh so gooey melty so-big-you-should-only-eat-one-but-you-just-can't-help-yourself, chocolate chip cookies, and that's when inspiration struck! I wanted to make my hubby a cookie as well, but what's better than a cookie (besides another cookie, obviously)? A card! Or in this case, a cute decorated mini pizza box, enter SOG brilliance; Cookies n Milk clear stamp set!

Cookies n Milk

Aren't these guys just the cutest?! They also come with two other sentiments in the same awesome font, "Best Friends" and "We Go Together" how adorable is that! I colored these up using my copic markers and created the texture on the cookie by applying a few drops of colorless blender to a terry cloth towel and dabbing gently (hint: you can use the same technique to give denim clothing texture by using a scrap of denim with a little colorless blender). I layered on a few squares of cardstock and a stampin up doily. I stamped the cookie on a piece of x-press blending card, fussy cut them out and popped them up with pop dots. Throw in a couple of enamel dots, a button with bakers twine, and a sentiment from the Cookies n Milk set and voila! This mini pizza box is the perfect size for one giant delicious cookie or several bite sized ones or any other treat really. They make the cutest gift and are super easy to decorate and assemble. Trust me when I tell you tis is another addictively easy project that will 'wow' it's recipient so give it a try. I used a wonderfully simple tutorial found here.  Speaking of gifts, the first project I mentioned earlier was nothing major, just a cute gift for my 4 and 5 year old daughters

I honestly could resist! What was I supposed to do? I had shrinky dink, stazon, clear ultra thick embossing powder, jump rings and even a couple of ball chain necklaces, all the things I needed to make these adorable matching necklaces. They love them and refuse to take them off, meanwhile everyone whose seen them asks where I got them. Win win for me, plus this is my last entry for the SOG July Linky Party. What about you, do you blog everything you craft, or are some things just for fun?

-Krys

A Sunny Share

Hey all my crafty peeps (Lol I've always wanted to say that ^.^)! So lately I've been bouncing around from one crafty thing to the next, my most recent adventure being the mixed media canvases I've been experimenting with. This week I've been thinking a lot about starting a scrapbook. I've always wanted to make one and with so much going on with my family just this year and my hubby turning out to be quite the shutterbug I figure it's time. I tried once before and it was an epic, colossal fail. Try as I may the color schemes never fit, the layouts were terrible, you name it. Recently though everyone's been doing these project life type scrapbooks. They look so gorgeous and seem simple enough that anyone could preserve their memories beautifully and professional looking with no stress. Naturally given my past misadventures in scrapbooking, it was too tempting to pass up so I thought I'd set off to my local craft store and buy a binder and a package of pocket page thingies for my project life album. I also bought a small pack of themed journaling cards to start off with. They were adorable but seemed like something I could easily make at home...so I did! I put away my scrapbook and pulled out my papers, stamps, and markers and got crafty. Here's what I came up with:

Sunny Mae

Aren't they adorable?! I used the SOG Sunny Mae clear set and some papers from the Bo Bunny Lemonade Stand collection for these journaling cards. I meant to make at least 6 but stopped at 4 until I could think up more cute layouts. There's also a website I discovered through Pinterest with free printable project life journaling cards. I can't remember the link but will post in an update when I find it again. In the mean time I'm going to link up these cuties to the Some Odd Girl July Linky Party and I hope to see you guys there. What kind of crafty projects have you tried for the first time lately?

-Krys

Thank You

Yay me! I finally got that rain and cold front I've been waiting for and I am loving it! Today I thought I'd complete another card for the Stars and Stripes Facebook challenge for Some Odd Girl. I sure hope chevrons count as stripes ^.^ These patriotic themed cards would probably normally just sit in my craft room until next year when I have the chance to send them out to my family and friends for the 4th of July, or worse, get buried lost or thrown away. I found a better cause and so I will be donating them to be sent to the soldiers on deployment, after all who doesn't love an unexpected card in the mail? I know I would! Sometimes these soldiers feel forgotten or lonely and hopefully my cards will make someone's day by letting them know someone out there cares and appreciates what they do for our country. Without further ado, here's Happy Gwen to say "Thank You"

Happy Gwen

I'm loving these digi gals from SOG, they can be printed out by the sheet in multiple sizes for multiple projects and they are so versatile. Most companies that create clear or rubber stamps as well as digital stamps to me are usually somewhat lacking in the digital department, like their digis don't sell as well so not as much detail goes into them. With Some Odd Girl I actually prefer their digis to their clear because they have a much broader range and aren't that expensive but still just as gorgeous and detailed as the clear sets. I can't wait to get my hands on more SOG digis! This baby is about to join the July Linky party for certain, hopefully I can squeeze in a few more before the end of July? See ya!

-Krys

Organized my Chaos (FINALLY!!!)

Hi guys! I normally don't do posts on Sunday, but I finally finished my project remodel/ organize the craft room so, Ta-da:

The lighting isn't the best in my house because apparently someone took "energy efficient" to mean dull and dim so all the lights in my house are as mentioned. I realized I was running out of room on my desk and my room isn't the biggest so there wasn't exactly room for more drawers. That left really only one option: the wall! There was plenty of room there so off I went to my local hardware store and purchased a 4'x4' sheet of pegboard along with a can of white spray paint. I started off spray painting the whole ugly thing white but since the spray paint I chose to use was cheap, the white came out closer to pale grey. Once it dried I sectioned off a chevron pattern using painters tape and painted the sections individually with acrylic paint to match the small buckets, cups, and baskets I found at the dollar store (3 of each for $1). I used L-pegboard hooks to hang my 6x6 and other small paper pads and J-peg board hooks to hold the baskets and cups (after using hubby's drill to make holes in the sides of them). Total price for this DIY peg board storage including baskets, hooks, pegboard, and paint came out to less than $40 and more storage and work space on my desk! Not bad for the amount of space it gave me and it looks amazing! I loved the way my chevron pattern came out so much, I almost wanted to leave it empty and hang it as wall art ^.^

 Of course I couldn't leave it so neat and orderly (that would just be uncivilized!). Instead, I decided to break in my newly organized craft room by making this super cute bookmark today for a friend and sharing it with you guys!

Geisha Kaylee

OMG I just love this gal! I've always loved the Asian inspired themes, so elegant and beautiful and Geisha Kaylee is just fab! I started off stamping on a dark blue piece of cardstock with my versamark ink using a Fiskars cherry blossom 8x8 clear stamp set (borrowed from my awesome friend!) and some white embossing powder to make the background. I layered the largest spellbinders oval die I own, after inking the edges in navy blue ink. I stamped Geisha Kaylee on a sheet of Xpress it blending card, colored her up with my copics, fussy cut her out and glued her on top of my oval. I found a flower from my stash and colored it with my copic markers to match my color scheme. A few well placed pearls, some clear wink of stella, and a little bit of stickles here and there on the flower background and project bookmark was complete. Now I'm headed over to link this lady up for the July linky party over at the Some Odd Girl Blog (If you haven't joined in already there's still a few days so hurry!) In the mean time, tell me, what do you do when you need extra storage space in your craft room???

-Krys

Welcome Home Heroes

Hey guys! As we come to the end of July most if not all of that patriotic spirit present early on in the month is long gone and packed away till next year. However we here at Ft. Drum have something more to celebrate and that's the home coming of the Mountain Division 3rd Brigade. In honor of this heartwarming reunion I thought I would make a center step card for the SOG Stars and Stripes Facebook challenge and also link up for the July Linky party at the Some Odd Girl Blog.

SOG Birthday Mae

I decided to use birthday Mae and repurpose her by coloring her red white and blue. I love finding other uses for stamps when they are holiday/season specific, it gives me more use out of my stamps. The DP used is from Bo Bunny Anthem pad and the dies are memory box precious stars, paper smooch stars and spellbinders lacy ovals and ovals large embossed with a stars embossing folder inked with antique linen distress ink. I'm seriously excited for those families being reunited with their soldiers and can't wait till they're all home safe! I plan to make a few more and donate them to be given to those families and returning soldiers. It's getting kind of late here so I'll call it a night but remember, it's not too late to link up a project for July! Let's see some Stars and Stripes from you guys too!

-Krys

Color me Inspired

Hey! Yet another day of sunshine and heat when we were promised thunderstorms and scattered showers today so the family and I spent a good amount of time outside. My hubby's excuse for keeping me away from my craft room and outside for most of his four day weekend is that we only have another month of warmth before we'll be forced to stay inside anyway as it gets colder and colder here. Personally even thought people keep telling me it won't be that bad, I'm terrified. In the part of Texas I came from, winter only lasted about a week and if it got down below 20 degrees, we just about hibernated till the heat came back! I look forward to mid 50's but anything less than that and I am plain ol' grouchy lol. Anyway, since I was able to get back into my craft room I decided to work on a masterpiece of organization...pictures coming soon (a.k.a. when I finish) which I hope will be by the end of the week. I made quite a bit of progress and I am very excited about how its turning out so far but I can hardly wait to be done so I can share it with you guys! In the mean time, I have a cute little project for this week's FFF over at The Greeting Farm, following this lovely color palette that I simply adore!

Gorgeous isn't it??! I couldn't wait to try out this palette considering it is very similar to the one I've been using for decor in my craft room! SO without further ado:

(From L to R)

Magical Bean, Shiny Bean, Up Up Bean

I created this sign using another of the blank ceramic bisque signs I love so much, multiple beans stamped in tuxedo black memento ink and masking them to make a group scene, and coloring with my copic markers. I think this color palette is so beautiful and happy, it reminds me of my favorite flower, the Stargazer Lilly, so this color inspiration challenge came naturally to me. What a perfect word for a sign hanging in a craft room! And these little beans do just that, out of all the beans, they are 3 of my absolute favorite. They make me happy and happiness inspires creativity for me. Two of the 3 can be found as part of the Magical Kit, available now at The Greeting Farm's shop. What words, stamps, pictures etc. (if any) do you have around your craft room? How do they inspire you?

-Krys

Sticky Noted

Hey guys! Sitting home waiting for these so called thunderstorms we've been expecting for the last two days, and the cool front that's supposed to come with it...no such luck! I think I've been away from my sweet Lone Star State too long because my goodness it's been over 80 degrees here and I've been downright melting, but in Texas we saw triple digits so much, 80 degrees WAS a cool front! Maybe Texas 80's and NY 80's are different, because I shut myself in and decided to get crafty while staying cool. As promised (albeit, a few days late) another post it note holder using the oh so adorable Bookish Tia SOG digi.

Bookish Tia

Both my friend and I agree that this girlie looks absolutely too cool for school, strolling by oblivious to the world outside her book. I LOVE fiction and so I can definitely relate to being so caught up in a good book that I'm drawn into the world I'm reading about and the pages seem to turn themselves as the real world fades into the distance! That exciting point where you leave reality behind for a world where anything is possible. That is what I look forward to the most when I read, which is one of my favorite thing to do second only to crafting! Bookish Tia reminds me of myself and you may get tired of seeing her because she may very well be my new favorite digi and I can't wait to use her again on a set of book marks for both myself and my friend so be looking for those! I'm off to join in on the SOG July Linky Party  before I get back to my projects. What do you enjoy doing when you're not crafting?

-Krys

Stuck on You

Hi guys, did you know that the pinterest contest over at Some Odd Girl ends tomorrow? OMG wow where did the time go?! I barely got to squeeze in any projects but got a lot of love for the ones I have done, I got a spotlight last Friday for the mixed media canvas I created using Geisha Kaylee and won two digi stamps of my choice! For my two, I knew Bookish Tia and Library Mae would be perfect for my rapidly growing digi collection. So far I've only used Mae but tomorrow's project will be Tia

Library Mae Digi

I've seen these adorable little post it note holders many times before but they've always seemed a little intimidating to me so I never tried. Well these girlies were perfect for this type of project and I can just see her sitting on someone's desk, being admired! Maybe I'm a bit proud of this but hey I put on my big girl panties (excuse the expression) and tried something that seemed difficult and I LOVE the results so I can't help but smile from ear to ear ^.^ I can't wait to link this up for the Some Odd Girl July Linky Party and pin this to the oddies Pinterest board, which may be the best idea I've ever seen. In case you didn't already know, SOG created a Pinterest board specifically for all their fans/ followers to pin their Odd Girl project, so sweet of them! I'm on my way over to pin my project now, hope to see some of your awesome creations too!

-Krys

Polkastripes!

Hey! I've been rained in once again so of course you know this means crafting, oh darn! ^.^ Lately I've been experimenting with different mediums as you probably noticed, as well as creating other things than just cards. I figure I would go ahead and make a new card today with some cute DP and a basic fold with my new handsome guy from The Greeting Farm for the FFF challenge this week, Stripes or Plaid

SSSC #7 Puppy Love

Honestly I wasn't crazy about getting this stamp for my stamp of the month, not that he isn't a cutie. No, I think I was in love with the idea of the fairy tale theme that TGF had going and so I was expecting a new princess (fingers still crossed for a princess Jasmine or princess Tiana type!) Never the less he is quite a handsome guy, and my collection is somewhat lacking when it comes to stamps for boy cards. I decided to stick with trying out new mediums so I stamped this little guy in jet black stazon and watercolored him using my water brush and crayola markers. I still love my copics for coloring stamps but watercoloring is fun too. The layout is from this week's challenge over at Retro Sketches, it was kind of challenging to me but I figured it out and I love it! Speaking of my lack of stamps for masculine cards, I can't wait to get my hands on the Spooky Kit available to pre order for a few more days over at the TGF store. I'm not big on Halloween but the adorable little bean monsters in the kit would be just perfect for little boy's birthday cards or invitations and decorations! Not to mention the new Bo Bunny papers I just bought, Our Lil' Monster, that I can't wait to start playing with...now to find some little boys in the family with a birthday coming up!

-Krys

Celebrate Each Day

Hi guys! Im in a very cheerful mood today so I thought I'd do a happy uplifting kind of post! I love cartoons but I was not a huge fan of kung fu panda. Random right? Stay with me I promise this is going somewhere! Anyway not a big fan of the big guy, loved the message of the movie but something about it was more annoying than comical. However, one of my favorite quotes of all time came from this children's cartoon, mind blowing right? A wise old tortoise said : "Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery. But today is a gift, that's why its called the present." Truer words could not have been spoken and that quote stayed with me from the moment I heard it so today I chose to make a card based on the notion that each day should be celebrated, and here she is, Birthday Mae

Some Odd Girl Birthday Mae

I love these awesome little pop up box cards, but I can never get a good picture. They remind me of the celebrationator  from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (which is actually really cute and much better than the first). If you have no idea what I'm talking about, stop reading this open up a netflix account, and watch! Wait... finish reading first, comment, THEN open up a netflix account and watch it! It makes this post that much better ^.^ Now back to the card, it would make a great birthday card too if you change the sentiment but that's exactly my point, you celebrate your birthday right? I say celebrate every day! So go do something fun today just because the sun came up, just because you woke up, just because it makes you smile!

-Krys

A Little Bit of Chicken Fried

Hey there! Hope you guys had an awesome weekend! I spent the weekend with a new friend who also happens to be crazy about crafting, how fun is that?! She lives a few yards away from me and she's into all kind of crafty business, from baking cakes to making boutique style hair bows and she's super awesome! Our husbands are in the same company and went through AIT and Basic together so they hung out and played pool and air hockey in the garage while we bonded lol. Starting this week, we're starting a craft/ baking day where we make cards, canvases or some other project and try out a new baking recipe while our kiddos play in the back yard. OMG can't wait! We were planning to hang out some more today (Sunday) but we got rained in so I spent a relaxing day in my craft room while my sweetheart kept an eye on the kiddos, they even helped him with the laundry:

In case you're wondering, yes, those are her underwear on her head and his socks on her hands (all clean I promise!) I'm so grateful that he takes them off my hands for a while on his off days so I can craft and relax, even though it seems they try their best to drive him crazy ^.^ Since I was in a relaxed mood I decided to make a chill kind of laid back feeling masculine card, so I pulled out an image I'v been meaning to use for a while and created this little card for this week's FFF, Stripes or Plaid over at The Farm

Guitar Ian

Somehow I managed to get  a sneak peek of this handsome fella in the TGF store before he was meant to be for sale and once I found out he wasn't available yet but would be soon, I was on pins and needles waiting to order him! I finally got him, stamped and colored him but hadn't made a card home for him so I put him away till the inspiration came. For some reason the song Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band is one of my absolute favorites and listening to it gave me the inspiration to pull this little guy out and give him a home! Now every time I look at guitar Ian I'll think of Chicken Fried and want to listen to it ^.^ What do you do to get you inspired to craft, I'd love to know! See you guys tomorrow

-Krys

Sunny Somebody

Hi guys!
I'm in a great mood today and I made a new friend which is always nice! I went to a financial briefing last week to take care of my student loans and let me tell ya, there goes my craft budget :( . The adviser was super nice and helpful, so nice in fact that I wanted to make her something to decorate her very blank office walls with her own ray of sunshine

Cheeky Beach

I wanted to squeeze this last canvas in for this week's FFF Challenge: Anything Goes so I'm keeping this post VERY short. She loved it and was so happy she hung it in her office right away, which of course made me happy! I love it when I can make someone's day and this bright sun fun gal can't help but brighten up a room. So what are you waiting for people, go do something nice for someone, be someone's ray of sunshine today!

-Krys

Confidently Crafty

Hi guys! Loving this rainy weather here, I've been stuck inside so I'm back with another canvas with a quote near and dear to my heart. A few months back on Pinterest a friend of mine sent me a pin of a T shirt that she said I needed. In bold glittery pink letters the shirt read: "I'm So Crafty I Sweat Glitter", I was in love, instantly. Had to have it. Plain and simple. Period. Since I couldn't find it I considered making one but that wouldn't have been as fun as the idea I came up with, a canvas with the quote for my craft room!

Frappi Anya

I used TGF's Frappi Anya because she's just so darn cute! Everything about her to me screams cool and crafty,  from her cool creamy frappuccino, tp her slouchy shirt with leggings and ballet flats. I used some weathered wood looking papers, book pages, stamped all over with Bo Bunny Aloha stamp set in white acrylic paint, and covered in a gesso wash to create the background. I distressed the edges with a brown gelato and pink acrylic paint wash. The dies I used were a combination of spell binders and memory box, the chipboard letters and flowers were from my stash. I love anything goes challenges, and this week that's exactly what the FFF Challenge over at The Greeting Farm is! So me and this little cutie are headed over to The Farm now to join in, hope to see you there!

-Krys

Geisha Girlie

Yes I'm back with yet another mixed media canvas! I'm addicted to these things because you really can't go wrong, just let your creative flag fly and before you know it you have a masterpiece you can't wait to share with everyone! Today I thought I'd use one of my SOG clear stamps, Geisha Kaylee. I just LOVE the Asian inspired look of this gal and her kimono and flowers in her hair remind me of one of my favorite movies, Memoirs of a Geisha. Its such a beautiful love story that I thought Geisha Kaylee would be just perfect for my theme

Geisha Kaylee

I started off by layering the background with a few book pages and some cherry blossom paper from my stash and distressing with sand paper. I used acrylic paint in light pink mixed with water to create a wash and used a red gelato around the edges. I also used the same red gelato to draw a few flowers and a water brush to spread the color. I stamped here and there with the stamps that came with the set as well as a few I've had a while and printed the sentiment off of my computer. I love pink so right now I think I have a winner as far as my favorite so far but who knows what I'll come up with next, pink and cupcakes maybe...? You'll just have to wait and see! Hope to see some mixed media projects from you guys for the SOG July Linky Party

Oh I also had a scrap of cherry blossom paper left over so I created this ornament for my new friend who has a love of Asian themed things, also using Geisha Kaylee and a few of the stamps included with the set. Colored with my copics and stamped on ceramic bisque like my coaster projects and sealed with a spray on acrylic, she loved it! I even added wink of stella to her fan and the lace on the kimono for a little extra shimmer.

I mounted the cherry blossom paper on the back blank side of the ornament but goofed up and forgot to take a picture of the completed backside before giving it away, so you'll just have to imagine lol!

-Krys

Flying High

Howdy! OMG I know I say this all the time but guys, I'm seriously excited about my project for today! I spent the weekend working on a few mixed media projects since I wasn't all that impressed by my last one and came up with a couple of beauties. One of which actually ended up hanging on my living room wall because my hubby liked it so much he wanted everyone that came over, to see it! So since TGF's FFF Challenge is Anything Goes, my little canvas goes great!

Skyward Anya

I used a mix of acrylic paints, gelatos, Memory Box dies, and book pages to create the background and the sentiment is from part of TGF's Anya Lifts set, cut apart for my project. The flowers are prima and the rhinestones are from my stash. I had soooo much fun making this and even made my own embossing paste and used the remaining cardstock outline from my die cut clouds as a stencil to give the canvas some texture and depth. The hot air balloons were cut from a scrap of paper from my Bo Bunny Enchanted Garden pad and blinged out with wink of stella clear. Skyward Anya was colored using my copic markers with a touch of Eucalyptus stickles on her scarf and some Diamond glaze on her goggles with a white gel pen for highlights.

This was my second mixed media project using a panel canvas instead of the wooden frame type canvases I'd used previously. The Image is Faith the Fairy from Stamping Bella Uptown Girl series. The flowers are from I am Roses, originally all white, I used my homemade spray paint/glimmer mists to dye them the colors I needed. I used gelatos for the base colors in the background and the chevron stenciling in the background was made by me out of a re purposed piece of chipboard packaging cut with an x-acto knife and sprayed through with some of my DIY sprays. The butterfly in the corner is a Joy! die and the rest are stamps I've had forever.

 I absolutely love the way these turned out and I hope you guys give making a mixed media project a try, its a great stress reliever for me and gives me a chance to let loose and have fun because making cards actually stresses me out sometimes when I have a hard time creating a layout. I hope this inspires you to give it a try too, see you tomorrow!

-Krys