Play all day (mosaic layout)

Here is another photo mosaic layout I did recently. I just loved these pictures of Jaxon (my LSS owner's grandson) and all his Geo-Trax, and I thought they'd make a great mosaic layout. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. Thanks for looking!

Supplies: Kraft cardstock by Bazzill, patterned paper by Queen & Co., gingham brads by Making Memories, and Core'dinations cardstock for the title (I ran a strip through my Dymo punch label maker)
Sorry that first picture is kinda blurry. Here's a closer/clearer one:

Pumpkin streusel bread...mmm...

I found these cute little loaf pans at Michael's, and immediately knew I wanted to make pumpkin streusel bread for Halloween gifts. They cost $1.00, are oven- and dishwasher-safe, and Michael's usually carries them in different colors and themes. I also got the clear bags at Michael's, and it just so happened that their credit card machines were down, so everybody in the store got 20% off their entire purchase for paying cash. YAY! Anyway, I used this recipe. And the recipe made enough for 4 of these mini loaves, with plenty of streusel to top each one. I realize there are only 3 loaves in these pics, and you may be wondering about the 4th one...let me just say, it was delicious ;). For the tags, I used a Studio G $1 stamp on patterned paper by DCWV. I used Stickles glitter glue on the word "boo". Ribbons are Making Memories, and I secured the tags to the ribbons with silver brads. I thought they turned out really cute!

Another view:

Orange tag, close up:

Green tag, close up:

Purple tag, close up:

Here is what the cream colored pan looks like:

Here's what the black pan looks like:

A view of all three loaves:

I'm over the moon for you

Here is another card I made using the adorable stamp set from Sandylion (scroll down a few posts to see the set). I wanted to make a boyish card for my husband, so I picked the rocket ship stamp. I really liked the color scheme and pattern of this SEI paper (even though it's a Christmas line and it's kinda old). The blue pattern at the bottom of the card is the back side of the top pattern. The green polka dot strip is Three Bugs in a Rug. The cardstock for the base is Bazzill, and the cardstock that the stamped image is on is Georgia Pacific. I colored in the ship using Prismacolor markers, and accented using Black Diamond Stickles. I used a Heidi Swapp distresser on the edges of the papers, and the holes along the bottom are an EK Success border punch. The ribbon used for the rocket's vapor trail is Making Memories, along with the plastic glittered brackets and star sticker. The lined paper on which I wrote my sentiment is simple notebook paper that I cut down, leaving the messy "notebook" edge, and inked with Tim Holtz distress ink. The black pen I used for the sentiment is a Sakura Gelly Roll pen. Thanks for looking!

Here's a close-up of the rocket ship, colored with Prismacolor markers and accented with Black Diamond Stickles. I used thin pop-dots underneath to give it just a bit of dimension:

Here's a close-up of the notebook paper, plastic glitter stickers, and ribbon:

hello card

Here is the first card I've ever SEWN on! YAY!!! I'm so excited - been wanting to sew on cards/layouts for so long. The thing is...I SUCK at sewing. I just cannot sew a straight line to save my life. So when the sewing on this card actually came out somewhat straight, I was thrilled. Anyway...the cardstock is Bazzill, patterned paper is Scenic Route, the border punch is EK Success, brads are Making Memories, and the letter stickers and felt heart are American Crafts. The green paper is the back side of the patterned paper, and I distressed and sanded the edges. Thanks for looking!
Here's a close-up of the heart, letters, and brads:

A few Cuttlebug cards

So, my mother-in-law got a Cuttlebug a few months ago, and I've been wanting to get together and play Cuttlebugs! Well, we finally got to do just that! The boys went out shooting, and we made some adorable cards. Then we went to Carrabba's for dinner...mmm...Carrabba's...my favorite...(drooling)...
...um, back to the cards. On this one, I used the Swiss Dots A2 embossing folder, and the cute little elephant is from one of my MIL's sets. I used my Scor-Pal to score the lines between which I stamped my sentiment and put ribbon. Purely by coincidence, I had pre-cut a bunch of 2" x 2" squares to use with the smaller embossing folders, and after we had embossed the elephant, I saw this scalloped chipboard frame and wondered if they'd fit together. They fit perfectly! And as luck would have it, I had 2 of them, so we could each use one on our cards. The frame is Making Memories (last year's Valentine line), and the stamp is Studio G. Ribbon was from her stash.
Here's a close-up of the little elephant and the frame. I don't know if you can see it or not, but I took a Prismacolor marker (cool grey 10%) and went over the lines of the elephant. I used a little Frosted Lace Stickles on the flower.

Here is another card I made. I used the Swiss Dots on the upper half of the card, and Perfectly Paisley on the bottom half. The stamp is Studio G, and the embellishments are Making Memories (again, last year's Valentine line). I also used my Scor-Pal and embroidery floss.

Here's a close-up of the embossing and a chipboard corner embellishment.

This next card turned out cuter than I thought it was going to. I really wasn't pleased with it as I was making it, but it's growing on me. The frog is from one of the smaller sets that my MIL has, and the background is the Tiny Bubbles A2 folder. The bookplate is Making Memories (you guessed it, last year's Valentine line), and the LOVE stamp is Studio G. The "u" stamp is Hero Arts, and they were colored with Prismacolor markers. The pearly brads were from my stash, and the ribbon was from my MIL's.

Last, but not least, I made this "you're so sweet" card. I scored a line with my Scor-Pal, and embossed the upper portion with the Swiss Dots folder. Below the score line, I used a Martha Stewart border punch, and filled in the larger holes with Fruit Punch Stickles. The black and white chipboard frame and the plastic embellishment inside it are by Making Memories (you know which line). The plastic embellishment was actually a flower with a pink center. I stamped the "you're so sweet" using a Studio G stamp and Staz-On ink, and then place the flower behind the chipboard frame. I trimmed the flower petals that stuck out past the frame.

Here's a close-up of the chipboard frame, the plastic flower embellishment, and the stamp.

Thanks for looking!

Best witches

My friend Stephanie, who loves Halloween like I do, just got a new job! So I made her this card and sour cream container to "witch" her good luck! The sentiments are computer-generated (Bewitched font), and I printed onto the ribbon. I really love this trick, and should do it more often. The black patterned paper is by 3 Bugs In A Rug, orange paper is Lasting Impressions, witch stamp is Studio G (wooden), image is stamped with black Staz-On and colored in with Stickles. The black and white star and the orange frame around the witch are Making Memories Glitter Stickers (Spellbound collection). I used my Fiskars Threading Water punch on the card, and my paper crimper to close the sour cream container (which contained mini Reese's cups...mmm...). Here's the set:
The card by itself:
Another view:
Close-up of ribbon on sour cream container.

Happy Halloween pop-up

So, I love Halloween, and I can't get enough of it right now. I'd been wanting to make a free-standing pop-up card ever since I saw one of Dawn Griffith's YouTube tutorials. They are so easy, but produce such a great result! One of my Cricut secret sisters sent me this cute spider stamp, and I was so excited to get to use it. I embossed the background with the Cuttlebug spider web embossing folder. I made sure to use a white-core paper; when I embossed it, I placed a piece of carbon paper on top of the orange paper inside the embossing folder. The black carbon transferred onto the orange paper, then I sanded all the raised parts to reveal the white core. Papers are Making Memories, spider stamp is Stampendous, happy halloween stamp is Studio G, ribbon is American Crafts, white gel pen for doodle dots, Staz-on black ink.

Here's what it looks like closed and ready for mailing:
Here it is free-standing:
Close-up of the happy halloween stamp:

More Halloween cards...YAY!

Well, my friend Stephanie came over again, and we made some more Halloween cards. Here are mine. I finally got to use the Grungeboard and the Tim Holtz Distressed crackle paint I've had for months. I used the crackle paint on the Grungeboard skull. I love the way it turned out. Patterned paper is Making Memories, and the glitter cardstock is DCWV. I free-hand stitched with black floss at the top and bottom of the glitter cardstock. Ribbon is from my stash.
Here's a close-up of the Grungeboard with the crackle paint on it. The thicker the application, the better the results.


Here's the second card. Patterned paper is Around the Block. Spider stamp is Heidi Grace, and is covered with Black Diamond Stickles. Glitter cardstock is punched with the Fiskars Threading Water punch. The sentiment was done with the Dymo label maker. Ribbon is from my stash.
Here's a close-up of the Stickled spider:

I know it's only July...

...but I'm getting so excited for Halloween already. So tonight, my friend and fellow Halloween enthusiast, Stephanie came over to make some Halloween cards. It was so much fun, despite the Stickles "incident". LOL Anyway, here's the first card. Patterned paper and tag are Making Memories, chipboard "h" is Cloud 9. Pin is Heidi Grace. Threading water punch along the bottom. Happy Halloween stamp is Hero Arts, stamped with Staz-On.
Here's the second one. Patterned paper is Making Memories (of course, it's the same paper as on the first card). Black scalloped circle is Bazzill, cut with Cricut Mini-Monograms. This originally had a stamped image on the other side of it, but it fell prey to the Stickles "incident" and had to be cut out. But it worked out well. Stephanie still got to use her stamped image, and I got to salvage the scallop. I like the final result. Letters are fun foam. Happy early Halloween!

A cherry hello (Seriously, LOVE this one!)

Okay, so I love this card! I so wish I could claim it as a Kim original, but I can't. I give full credit to Dawn Griffith (SU demo) for the technique, but of course I used different paper and a different stamp set, since I have no SU stuff. Check out her video tutorials on YouTube, or link to her blog on the right. She's fantastic! This is like a card and an envelope all smooshed into one. Of course, if you were going to mail it to somebody, it would need a real envelope. I found that a lighter weight paper (not cardstock) works best on this card, and I'm absolutely in love with every part of it! You probably can't see it in the pics, but the cherries are covered with Glossy Accents. This card screams summer get-together to me!

Here is the card with the top flap open.

Here is the left flap of the "envelope", which bears the sentiment "a cherry hello". I love this stamp set so hard!

Here is the inside of the card, revealing some more cute little cherries, and a place to write your message. Patterned paper is Making Memories, stamp set is Stampendous, Berrylicious cardstock from Bazzill, white cardstock is bulk, stamped with Staz-On, colored using the magic colored pencil technique (MCPT, aka Gamsol magic), Glossy Accents on big cherries. Thanks for looking!