Father’s Day with a KraftyKreations Mandala
As a reward for purchasing from the Krafty Kreations booth at the Scrapbook Expo, I received a kit which makes two Mandala cards. I was a bit under the weather so Paul helped me make the two cards so we had Father’s Day Cards for the Son – In – Laws.
And this is how we customized it for Father’s Day. The Happy Father’s Day is from words in Pink & Main foil kits, cut to size, and run through the Mini Minc machine with a pretty foil. Call it ‘Mixed Media’!
I think you are taken with the black sticker technique because you always loved black accents.
So true, Sal, and I love glitter! Combining the two, glitter and black accents, with the ability to color the glitter any color and I am thrilled! Wait until you see the Christmas sets I purchased!
You are thinking Christmas already?
Half the year is almost gone; I had better be getting ready for making Christmas cards!
For the inside I used the Stampin’ Up! stamp set ‘Treasures of Life’:
As with most commercial kits, the inside is just the blank white of the card base. Tranquil Tide card stock was a close to perfect match for the card kit front so I cut a piece the full size of the base – 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 (minus a hair on the the 4 1/4 side to account for the score line down the middle). The black mat is 4 X 5 1/4 and the white top layer is 3 3/4 X 3 5/8.
Back to using the kit – when you peel up the outline sticker, you are left with the other pieces and it looks like this:
Krazy Kreations sells ‘transfer sheets’ but I had no clue at the time what those would be used for. Evidently, you apply the transfer sheet to this left over sheet, burnish real well, and then the transfer sheet will pick up all the little pieces and you can then apply those pieces to another card. I will try Glad Seal and Stick and see if that works. I will edit this post after I do that so you can come back and see if I made it work!
Thanks for joining me today as I delve into different crafting techniques.
SAL, Such A Lot of ways to craft
Karen
Click on little Sal in the computer to go to krazykreations.
Riddle of the day:
Question: A barrel of water weighs 60 pounds. What can you put in it for it to weigh 40 pounds.
Answer: A hole.
2024 Scrapbook Expo in Denver
A group of us went to the Scrapbook Expo in Denver, May 17, 2024. It was a fun time, not quite as many vendors as the one I attended several years ago, but certainly enough that I found most things on my list. My favorite vendor that I visited first was Krazy Kreations. I purchased numerous outlines from them years ago but never used them so I wanted to get instructions once again. They had a ‘make and take’ so not only did I receive instructions but I got to use the technique. Sal will link you to their site at the end of the blog post.
The shoes, flowers, greeting and hearts are all glossy stickers. You put the shoe stickers on super fine glitter paper, roll with a brayer tool to set them firmly in the paper and then you color with alcohol markers and then fussy cut the image. I used a light and dark pink to get a little shading. The background is three strips of DSP with a little line sticker on the left side.
I added a happy birthday die cut from pink glitter paper for the inside when I got back home. The line edge is a sticker as well!
It was pretty in real life but the camera didn’t work well with the glitter paper, Sal. I could have used the super fine glitter paper and colored it but I had lots of Stampin’ Up! paper in my stash so I wanted to save the super fine glitter paper I purchased at Krazy Kreations for my Christmas projects when it is my turn for another Shoebox event.
Another vendor I visited and made their make and take was the Spellbinders booth. I have seen the wax kits in advertisements and wanted to try using them. Their card also used a letterpress system to get the tree branch. It has indents and fine details but hard to catch in a photo. The faux strings behind the wax seal are actually from a die. I toyed with buying that die but decided I have a stash of bakers twine so best to save my money – for now!
The next make and take was at the Stampalistic booth, it is a tin box with a top we made from an amazing stamp set that created layers by stamping on different colored papers and then fussy cutting and popping up each layer.
I went back to Krazy Kreations and purchased the borders you see on the bottom of the tin. The flower jewels are from my stash.
I asked if the jewels were Swarovski crystals since they were so bright. She said Swarovski has changed and calls them ‘Illuminations’ so I think the answer was yes, but I am not sure. Anyway they are Illuminations.
And you purchased the stamp so you can make more?
No, Sal. It was a lot of fussy cutting. Now if I had one of those fancy machines that would cut it, I might have. I sold my Brother because I had absolutely no room for it and no time to learn it.
Lastly, we met and compared our treasures. Sharon had found a make and take with a whole kit to take home that makes 8 cards- www.simplestories.com. This was the make and take.
Everything, including the background paper, was a punch out, but a heavy duty punch out, not just a thin sticker. I was impressed. This is something I can do with my grandchildren and they will be able to make a lovely card. They had Christmas card kits but I was hoping for a graduation card kit and birthday kit. I will have to go online for those.
Most of the make and takes were $5 so very reasonable. I had brought cash to make myself keep to a budget and my last purchase of the outline strips from Krazy Kreations, I was counting out my leftover change, but I kept to the budget.
Sharon, Lucille, Terry, myself and Michele!
I headed to the bathroom before we left and when I got back to the group they were yelling “You won”. I won a $20 gift certificate from Acushla Stamps (Acushla is Gaelic for Darling). I chose Petticoat Parlor stamps- a ‘Tea For Two’ stamp set and a ‘Sympathy’ stamp set.
It was a fun day! I would have come back for the second day but I had a party planned for our little graduating kindergarten grandchild, Emmitt. He wanted a chocolate donut and a cake so our dear friend who does cakes for a living made a large chocolate donut cake! She actually made a chocolate and vanilla which was perfect to have one for Jaxson who doesn’t care for chocolate. Yes, he is my grandson, but he sure didn’t get my love for chocolate!
Thank you, Barbara Lane, for wonderful cakes!
Stay tuned for cards from our next shoebox event which is tomorrow. I am the hostess so I will be posting those cards next.
Thank you for letting us bring a pinch of creativity to spice up your crafting world!
SAL, Sharing A Lot of fun with friends
Karen
(Krazy Kreations is the link for this post)
Riddle of the day:
Question: I am easy to lift but hard to throw. What am I?
Answer: A feather.
Sharon Fincham’s May 2024 Shoebox Event
With Mother’s Day and Father’s Day right around the corner, Sharon designed cards that we could use for both. For Father’s Day she used a Stampin’ Up! set of dies- ‘Trusty Tools’ that cut out tools! She had pieces for a toolbox so we could slide the tools in the box and then glue it to the shiny silver embossed background! Our part was easy in putting everything in place. Her part would have been hard with making the little tools! Thank you, Sharon!
I saved two of the tools Sharon had in our kits for the inside and used ‘Guy Greetings’ for a fun saying. The paint brush swirl and the ‘you are extraordinary’ are in the ‘Beautiful Blizzard’ stamp set from years ago.
Another stamp from the Bake Sale list! You should just delete that tab.
You’re probably right. Or maybe I should make a card with each of the products and offer the product with a card for sale to see if that would market the stamp set.
For the second card, Sharon designed a fun gate fold with a piggly wiggly!!
I colored him too dark at Sharon’s house so when I got home I tried to lighten him with the blender pen but the ink ran outside the lines on the left, so then I had to find more flowers like Sharon had for the crown to hide my goof. We have our ways of fixing mistakes!
I will send it to my daughter with the movie “Charlotte’s Web”.
The heart is from the ‘Pictogram Punches’ stamp set. I loved how it had a heart in the heart which went so well with the greeting which is from the ‘Places In The Heart’ stamp set.
Sharon had a third card for us – peak performer that she is….. with products from Stampin’ Up! The designer series paper is ‘Meandering Meadows’ and the die is ‘Garden Meadows’ die.
The Happy Mother’s Day and little rose bud are in the ‘Tea Together’ stamp set.
They are Swarovski crystals I purchased at the Scrapbook Expo years ago. I save them for very special cards like this one. This year’s expo in Denver is Friday May 17-18th.
Thanks for stopping by!
SAL, Smile A Little – summer is coming!
Karen
Riddle of the day:
Question: I can only live where there is light but I die if the light shines on me. What am I?
Answer: A Shadow!
Card In A Box
Sometimes ‘Thinking of You’ just isn’t quite enough so then you might want a special card like a card in a box.
Not again! Those are stamps you had in the Bake Sale!
Yes, Sal. Sigh….
The box looks cluttered in the picture but in actuality there is a double Z fold piece you add to the box to give you different sections. Let’s look at the box from the bottom. The blue dashes show the inserted piece. I recommend tear and tape on the sides that attach. I used tape runner and it isn’t as good. I used strips of window sheet to attach the images to the sections.
The box still folds to fit in an A2 envelope. The back has one long piece which is good for writing your own personal message.
These are so fun to make! I made a dinosaur one HERE.
This is a printable pdf of the directions with lots of pictures: Box Card
This picture shows the sections a little better.
Bye for now!
SAL, Let’s be Salt and Light to someone today
Karen
Riddle of the day:
Question: You go at red, but stop at green. What am I?
Answer: Watermelon. You eat the red part, and you stop eating at the green part.
Lisa Christensen April 2024 Shoebox Event
It is always a delight to meet with friends to create beautiful cards. This month Lisa Christensen was our hostess and her cards were lovely. This first one uses the Stampin’ Up! ‘Berry Blessings’ stamp set and the Stampin’ Up! ‘Sweet Strawberry’ stamp set and punch.
. Oooh….can we look at it berry close?
Why sure, Sal!
My flowers were supposed to come off of the branch but the branch reminded me of all the little runners the strawberry plant puts out so I did it a bit different.
This set was available on Ebay if you missed it before it was retired by Stampin’ Up!:
The last cards I made, I didn’t stamp a greeting on the inside so I could write a short letter. I enjoyed having more room for more words.
I do, Sal, and hopefully others like to read them!
Lisa’s second card was an interesting and beautiful Z fold easel card! We could stamp with Happy Birthday or Happy Mother’s Day or….
Lisa used a die from the ‘Hand Penned Petal’ set for the flower and a die from the ‘Delicate Lace Edgelits Dies’ for the bottom. The greeting is a Close To My Heart greeting.
It’s like an upside down easel card.
True, we usually have the stop at the bottom but how wonderfully unique is this?!
Fancy front and room to write on the back (with a cute little fox in the DSP).
Is that one of those double bows you make wrapping it around your fingers?
It is, Sal. Following is a link to the Facebook Live where I showed crafters how to make the bow. I like that both tails come out from the back. Drag the minute line at the bottom to 28:20 to see the instructions.
I assume you have all those sets from your 15 years as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator?!
No, Sal, and that is what makes shoebox events so fun. Everyone has different tastes and different sets for crafting.
Colorado’s Scrapbook Expo is happening next month, May 17 & 18th. Registration begins April 16 at 9:00 a.m.
Have a wonderful day!
SAL, See you At Lunch at the Expo on Friday
Karen
Riddle for the day:
Question: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps!
Easter Basket Card and 3D
In my last post you saw all the cool cards I made with the Divinity Designs Alleluia die and stamp combo. I also purchased from them a basket die set, a pastel egg paper/die duo and a pastel prints 6X6 paper pad. With all these wonderful products I made these cards with different crosses and different eggs:
And this one:
With pastels you can even stamp on the paper as I did here for the inside of the cards:
I had Easter baskets sitting out with paper grass so I used that grass in the paper baskets.
A picture of the products might help you save words.
Good idea, Sal! And I will link Divinity Designs down below with little Sal in the computer.
That fourth screen shot is one of the pastel print papers. I used the Stampin’ Up! ‘Cross of Hope’ die and put the heart of the paper right in the middle of the ornate cross die. When I die cut the cross, I left the middle intact and put scotch tape on the back so the pieces wouldn’t come out in hopes the little heart would show. You’ll see more of that cross in the 3D baskets I made for the grandchildren. The greeting on the front comes from:
The layer on the front is the Stampin’ Up! Ornate Layers die and the inside greetings are from Stampin’ Up! ‘His Grace’. Check out my previous post ‘Easter Celebration’ to see the Alleluia die at work. There’s not much you need for a recipe on this card. It uses a standard base and layer. Here is a pdf you can print out with the standard layers.
Standard Layers.pdf printable doc
Let’s look at the little 3D baskets Paul and I made for the grandchildren:
I added a little heart to the middle of these crosses since the paper heart didn’t stand out.
On the opposite side of the baskets I used the dove in ‘HIs Grace’ punched out with a circle punch and layered on a slightly larger circle in the same cardstock as the basket:
I cut out numerous eggs and glued matching ones back to back and added them to the basket before the candy. The boys baskets were purple and blue:
3D Basket Recipe
- Base: Cardstock of desired color, 6 X 6
- Score at 2 and 4
- Turn 90 degrees and score at 2 and 4
- Crease all score lines
- Adhere DSP squares to the four corner squares – measurements below
- Cut on the score lines to the middle score line twice on opposite sides
- The middle uncut part is the part to attach the handle
- Fold the sides up to meet each other
- Handle: cardstock of choice, 8 1/2 X 1/2
- Decorative Layer (X4): Divinity Designs Pastel DSP, 1 3/4 X 1 3/4, adhere before gluing basket together
- Ribbon: 12″ tied to handle
- Adhere cross on one side and dove on opposite side- see above for paper used for cross
It was a wonderful Easter with Tyler, Amber and the boys, Jaxson & Emmitt!
The boys had matching shirts!
We died eggs but then made deviled eggs out of them so a bit pointless but tradition is tradition!
The boys hunted Easter eggs in their lovely yard on a wonderful sunny day! (It snowed again on Monday!)
All hostess’ need a hostess gift and I found this cute rabbit holding a carrot around a vase of flowers. I couldn’t resist!
Jonathan & Stacia spent the day on the slopes with Emma, Joey and a friend!
You can’t always have both families and, you know, ski season is almost over!
I know, Sal. At least we got pictures.
Thanks for spending time with me today friends! Hopefully you have ideas for next year’s Easter cards.
SAL, SingALleuia
Karen
Riddle for the day:
Question: What 5 letter word typed in all capital letters can be read the same upside down?
Answer: SWIMS
Joy Meadows March 2024 Shoebox Event
“Stack, Slice & Shuffle” is a fun technique that Joy taught us at our last shoebox event. It is like a quilt card, and with a stack of three designer series papers you can have three different looking cards in no time at all.
Joy used the Butterfly Kisses Designer Series Paper (DSP) on a black layer with a white base.
Recipe
- Base: White, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2, scored at 4 1/4
- Border: Black, 5 3/8 X 4 1/8 for a 1/16 reveal
- Stack of 3 different DSPs: 5 1/4 X 4
- Slice: Cut through all 3 at the same time at a diagonal about 1/2″ over on bottom and about 1″ down on right; set aside the smaller pile of 3
- Slice again: Cut through the other pile of 3 at a diagonal about 1/2″ over and to about the middle
- Note: The 1/2″ over and 1″ down are not necessarily perfect measurements, diagonals can be random
- Shuffle: You should now have three separate piles.
- Leave one pile as is
- Remove the top piece of the second pile and put it on the bottom
- Remove two pieces of the third pile and put them on the bottom
- Base of your shuffled cards (X3): white, 5 1/4 X 4
- Adhere your three separate patterns to the bases
- Embellish with a die cut mounted to cover where all three DSPs meet; Joy used Stampin’ Up! Deckled Circles with the largest being 1 3/4 and the smaller is 1 3/8 popped up on the larger
- Stamp ‘Hello’ in Memento Black; Hello is from SU Irresistable Blooms
- Inside Strip: DSP, 3/4 X 4
- Butterflies: Black to match the border; SU Butterfly Gala Punch for one large and one small for inside; use a black marker to make antennae
- Brass Butterflies around the greeting and a sparkly gem on butterfly complete the embellishments
Time to make a stack of Christmas cards to get ahead of the December push
That would be good, Sal! If I did two sets each month I would be ahead of the game.
Thank you, Joy, for a fun new technique!
Joy had an additional card for us to make at the event!
The picture doesn’t do it justice. The base is soft succulent with a very vanilla layer embossed with a cobblestone looking embossing folder. The dies for the circles and the greeting are the Stampin’ Up! Everyday Details Dies. The large circle is 3 1/4 and the top circle is 2 1/2. The bird is from the Flight & Airy DSP from Stampin’ Up. The glittery gem exactly matches the soft succulent. The happy birthday greeting is Stampin’ Up!’s Birthday Blossoms stamp set on a 2 3/4 X 1 3/8 rectangle in the Everyday Details Dies.
Another beautiful design by Joy Meadows!
Thank you for stopping by today!
SAL, Sharing A Love
Karen
Riddle for the day:
Q= How do you spell COW in thirteen letters?
A= SEE O DOUBLE YOU