And To All A Good Night

Merry Christmas!!  It's that wonderful time of the year when we often find ourselves one present too short, but no time to go shopping. Usually, that's when the cash starts to look appetizing, but the presentation can be lacking.

Faced with this situation myself, I decided to devote just a little time, effort and thought into the packaging of a stash of cash. I needed something for a 13 year old boy who loves his doggie, and loves to give generously to others.

I used a video instruction by Gina K Designs on Stamp TV for making a quick and easy masculine money holder. You can find the video and the measurements HERE. It took less than a half a sheet of cardstock, and just scraps to decorate the panels. I changed up the inside so I would have an overlapping piece of coordinated paper to tuck in the bills.

I love using this set by Tami Mayberry. She created Warm Winter Wishes with her grandmother in mind, and dedicated 100% of her proceeds to the Alzheimer's Association. How's that for a gift that keeps on giving! 

I think I'm going to hang this on the tree with the ornaments so it doesn't get lost amongst the ripped papers from other gifts. I might make a game out of helping him find it. Hee hee! Wouldn't that be a fun tradition!

I hope you have enjoyed your holiday festivities, whatever form they take for you. Some of our designers are taking a break this week, and we'll be back in the new year with a new format. Stay tuned!

With warm regards,

~ky

Recipe: 

Cardstock, Gina K Designs Pure Luxury

Patterned Paper, Basic Grey Max and Whiskers

Stamp Set, Warm Winter Wishes by Tami Mayberry through Gina K Designs

Coloring, Copic Markers and Stardust gold pen

Ribbon, Gina K Designs

Wishes for you

Blogging routines get disrupted from time to time, and today is no different. Hello, it's Ky, stopping by with a post for Maria. Maria has had sporadic power availability from TS Sandy. She's safe, just in case you were worrying about them. So here's a little wish for you all left picking up from Sandy's tantrum.

I used Theresa Momber's set, Whimsical Wishes, from Gina K Designs for this card. I love the bold images and the large sentiment that really grabs your eye. It's a clean and simple design, which you all know is still a challenge for me. I hope you are safe where you are, and that you might play along and share a link to your project. We'd love to be inspired!

Ta for now,
~ky

Recipe:
Cardstock - Gina K Designs Pure Luxury
Stamps - Whimsical Wishes by Theresa Momber, Gina K Designs
Ink - Memento Teal Zeal and Peanut Brittle
Rhinestones - Basic Grey

Eternal Summer

Kim let us have an 'anything goes' week. I think she must have known Hurricane Sandy would be bearing down on us, and we'd need relaxing time to work on easy projects. We are all hoping everyone out there is safe and secure.

Winter is rapidly approaching with some areas seeing snow already. I guess that's why this quote caught my eye and I just knew it needed to be with this wisteria 'tree'. The quote is "There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." By Celia Thaxter. This photo makes it look a little washed out, but really it's a subtle, vintage aging process that I did with Distress markers and inks.

I have hoarded this paper - it's old Basic Grey (seriously, do I have anything else?), Cappella. This paper just speaks old Chantilly, southern charm and hot French Quarter summers. Hopefully it will take your mind off your current worries, and let you enjoy a steamy cup of rich coffee. Have a great day!

Ta for now,
~ky

Recipe:
Cardstock - Gina K Designs Pure Luxury
Patterned Paper - Basic Grey, Cappella
Stamps - Happy Camper, Sending Sunshine by Theresa Momber/GKD
Inks - Memento, Distress pads and markers
Dies - Spellbinders, Tim Holtz, McGill
Misc - Brads - Bazzill, Rhinestones - Basic Grey, Flowers - Prima

Hey Girlfriend!

Hello friends! It's Ky again, here with a little inspiration for you. Do you know there are tons of new challenges on Splitcoast Stampers website? Yeah, the cards we make are sent to MD Anderson for cancer patients to use, and about $6500 worth of prizes being given away, too. The event is known as Hope You Can Cling To or HYCCT. Once you're done here, go check them out! There's a new challenge every day.

My project today was completed for one of those challenges. This is Tami Mayberry's awesome set - You Go Girl, by Gina K Designs. It's filled with great sentiments of encouragement, perfect for Breast Cancer Awareness month, or anytime. It's really easy to paper piece with, too. I've paired it up with more old Basic Grey papers, and a little faux stitching.

Ok - I'm off to play more challenges. If you decide to make something, link it up here, in the comments, so we can enjoy it too! Have a great day!

Ta for now,
~ky

One Layer Scares Me

I loved Kim's project from yesterday - she used her stamps to make her background. I'm doing something similar, but of course, it is one of my most uncomfortable techniques - the ONE LAYER card!

The key to making a great one-layer card is choosing the perfect stamp set and layout. I used Theresa Momber's set Whimsical Wishes from Gina K Designs, released in June of 2011.

I placed my Spellbinder's die on the card blank, and embossed it using the tan rubber mat. I used the die as a mask and blended on Spun Sugar distress ink leaving just the middle with very little ink. This gives a glowing effect to your image.

Next, I stamped the flower in Picked Raspberry distress ink. I put my distress pens to the rubber for the leaves and stems using the thumping technique. I huffed on the image a few times to remoisten the ink, and stamped it. The sentiment (I just adore the size of this stamp - it's perfect for single layer projects!) was inked in Picked Raspberry distress ink and stamped. I added some Bling It from Basic Grey, and there you go!

Thanks again for stopping by - I hope we have inspired you to give a little lovin' to your older products, and share your projects with us. We'd love to see what you make!

Ta for now,
~ky

Multiplicity

Hi friends - it's Ky today. Last week, Maria challenged us to use paper piecing to make a card. Well, I have a confession. When I paper piece, I can't make just ONE card.

I had a three-part image, and I had to cut one of each critter to make one complete, pieced image. That meant I had enough left over for 2 more images.

So I just used the same layout and swapped the papers around to get the set completed. This is the old Basic Grey Nook and Pantry paper set - remember how huge this set was? I remember waiting weeks to find it in-stock, finally!

This is perfect if you need one to send, and want to donate the others to a great cause like Hope You Can Cling To (Splitcoaster's card drive for cancer) or Operation Write Home (benefiting soldiers deployed overseas and their families here at home). Pull out your old stuff, and give it a whirl. You might surprise yourself!

Ta for now,

~ky

Recipe: 
Stamps - Gina K Designs Basket Blessings (Feb 2011, Melanie Muenchinger illustrator), and Spring Basket
Cardstock - Gina K Designs Pure Luxury, Bazzill
Patterned Paper - Basic Grey Nook & Pantry
Misc brad, ribbon, pearl, and fern leaf punch by McGill

Pieces of my Heart

Hi again - it's Ky here today to share with you my paper piecing project. Don't sprain your tongue! This is an image from Gina K Design's Petals and Wings stamp TV kit. I paper pieced the balloon, basket and heart, and applied flocking to the puffy clouds.

I used some older Basic Grey paper. Maria challenged us to use our oldest, but my oldest was way back in the late 1900s, and it wasn't good enough to hoard! Are you playing along? Link us up so we can see how you roll, old school! Check back tomorrow for more inspiration!

Ta for now,
~ky

Time flies...

Are you one who stops to smell the roses or do you prefer to dance like no one's watching? September is half over, and the kids are back in school. We're not to the panicky part of finding Halloween costumes or tying off the last bow for Christmas packages. Right now... might be the last time you have to really look around before we get run over with deadlines, commitments and the hustle and bustle of holidays.

I love autumn because the colors of nature seem to go wild. Spring is pastel, summer is a lotta green, but fall brings in all the colors. I love crisp apples and nights, football with thick sweaters, and fantastic hot beverages.

So, stop for a minute. Look around you, take it all in, savor it. Then grab some inspiration and join us! I hope this cheery image with the bright colors will put some pep in your step. Don't forget to stop back by tomorrow for Kim's project.

Ta for now,

~ky

Recipe:
Cardstock - Gina K Designs
Stamps - Gina K Designs, Vintage Chic Stamp TV kit, By the Sea
Patterned paper - Basic Grey Lime Rickey
Embellishments - Michael's pearls, misc fabric flowers, Michael's brads, Gina K Designs button, Spellbinders Nestabilities dies, Copic markers.