Hi – …and I do care!  But in this case, that’s the name of the stamp set I used! It’s called Because I Care and it’s a sneak peek at a set that will be in the new catalog.  It has the beautiful hydrangea stamp, the “Because I care” sentiment, a “Thanks” and a few others too in the set.  For this card I used River Rock, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black and Whisper White.  I hope you like it! 

Thanks for stopping by -

kirstin

Hi – Tomorrow is the last full day of school!  Kids are cheering, moms are…cheering too! :0)  Here are a few year end teacher gifts and cards.  Julie and I stuck our heads together and came up with these “Fab 5” made with the First Day stamp set.

Well, that’s 3 out of 5!  They are:  a bottle of hand sanitizer (and what teacher doesn’t need plenty of that!), a notepad with a magnetic closure and a tri-fold “Good Student” coupon holder.  Isn’t that worm a hoot?!  On the card, I used the word window punch to make the book shapes that he’s perched upon.  Check Julie’s out at www.thoughtsthatstick.blogspot.com. They are slightly different since we get to yakkin’ and forget what we’re doing! 

Here’s the inside of the coupon holder plus the two cards to round out the 5 projects.  Hope you like them!  Holler if you have any questions –

Thanks,

kirstin

Hi there – Gee, I’m not sure this card is my favorite design….it’s a little too random for this “let’s make sure everything is lined up and balanced” girl! :0)  But I stepped outside my box and gave it a whirl.  I started with the flower stamp from the Always stamp set and heat embossed it with white powder.  Then I sponged Tempting Turquoise all over it –trying not to make it a solid color, but with dark and light areas.  Then I stamped the sprig in Old Olive and the little flower in Turquoise again.  All the stamps are from one set which is hard to do sometimes!  In person, the white flower are a bit shiny which is kind of a neat texture to add.  So…not my best effort, but hey – maybe someone out there will love it!  :0)

Thanks for stopping by –

kirstin

Hellooooo – I was in the mood for a crisp and fresh looking card and here’s my result…I rather like that there’s lots of white which makes the brighter colors pop a bit more.  I used Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive.  It’s a very simple card to make, but there are a lot of little pieces to adhere on there! :0)

Hope you like it too!  Thanks for stopping by –

kirstin

Trying something new!  Well it’s new to me but it’s a technique that’s been around for a while – bleach embossing. I stamped the flower stems from the Friends 24/7 set in versamark and then embossed it with white embossing powder.  Then I painted inside the leaf and flower spaces with regular household bleach.  Just a tiny amount in a glass bowl is all it takes!  The embossing helps keep the bleach “inside” the lines.  The spaces you bleach will turn lighter right away.  Allow it to dry – which only takes a minute or two – and then use Stampin’ Write markers or chalks or pastels to color in those spaces.  The background piece is the new Presto DSP that is already embossed and sponging over it brings out the hidden design – in this case, words/poetry.  It starts out white and I sponged Old Olive over it.  Colors are Kraft, So Saffron and Old Olive.  Thanks to my stampin’ buddy Julie for teaching me this technique!  Hop over to www.thoughtsthatstick.blogspot.com to see her card.  Same stamps and papers but a totally different look!

Thanks for stopping by –

kirstin

Hi there – Isn’t this an adorable little palm tree?!  Who knew that a clear tube could take on a new identity as a deserted island tree complete with monkeys, coconuts and a bikini!  I took the tubes over to my stampin’ buddy Julie’s house and this is what we came up with…too fun!  I found these clear, plastic tubes at a local craft store.  They are about 7½” tall and maybe an inch and a half across.  In the photo you can see I have coconut Frango’s in there so they are plenty big enough to hold wrapped chocolates. The palm leaves are made out of the Flower Folds die for the Big Shot.  We punched a circle out of the middle of each flower to fit it over the tube, sponged the edges and snipped them to more resemble palm fronds.  The coconuts are the ¾” circle punch, punched 4 times from Chocolate Chip paper, folded in half and glued together with Tombow to give them a 3D look.  The monkeys are from the Fox&Friends stamp set.  The bikini and towel are just hand cut from the Island Oasis DSP.  If you lived somewhere warmer than Western Washington is right now, these would be a great kick-off to summer gift for a friend.  Up here, we just hope for sun and stamp while it rains!  Thanks for stopping by –

kirstin

Hi – Here’s a little something I made with my stampin’ buddy Julie a while back.  I found these cute little baskets at the store and we dressed them up with these big flowers.  They were cut with the Flower Folds die for the Big Shot, first from chipboard and then DSP.  The center has a treat cup in it with a few yards of So Saffron grosgrain ribbon coiled up.   Then I pushed a Pumpkin Pie corduroy button through the top.  The whole flower hangs from a book ring through a jumbo eyelet.  The crop-o-dile set the eyelet right through the basket.  Add some ribbon to the handle and it’s cute, cute!  Thanks for stopping by –

kirstin

Hi – Here’s the sample shown in the tutorial!   It’s Tempting Turquoise and Island Oasis DSP.  The flowers on the flaps have white craft ink on the edges.  The front pocket is large enough to hold a Ghirardelli Chocolate!  Hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by –

kirstin

At long last I’ve got a new backpack to show and a tutorial to go with it.  It has lots of photos in it for those who like a visual to go along with the measurements and words.  I’m quite visual myself so I think a picture is easier to follow than a sentence! :0) I know there are other backpacks and instructions out there, so why chose mine?  I’ll tell you why!  I have a “thing” about using all the available space on a piece of cardstock.  I like my measurements to be easy to follow and almost always no less than ¼”.  I like to maximize every scrap!   This backpack is made from Sahara Sand as the base color and Not Quite Navy DSP.  The ribbon and the scallop circle accent are Bashful Blue for a little brightness.  I was going for a muted denim look.  The sample in the tutorial is Tempting Turquoise with the new Island Oasis DSP so it’s quite a bit zingier! The overall size is 5” tall and 3½” wide and 1¾” deep.  The flaps are held closed with velcro so you can stuff quite a bit in there!  These are great teacher gifts for back to school, end of the year or anytime in between.        I am just about done putting the tutorial pages together but if you’d like to pre-order now, you can do so and I will send it to you via email by Monday evening.  Thanks for stopping by!

$3.95

This is card #2 using the Welcome Neighbor DSP pack and the Good Neighbors stamp set.  The paper has the houses and the clouds on it already.  I stamped the roof pieces and extra clouds, cut them out and then popped them up on dimensionals.  The colors are Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay and Kraft with a bit of Soft Suede thrown in with the ribbon.  The twine piece ties the darker shade of brown back to the Kraft card base.  I kind of like the way the roof pieces aren’t exactly straight – gives them a bit of personality!  I think this would make a good card to give someone who is moving into a new house or moving away from your neighborhood.  Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by –

kirstin