March 19, 2016

A Fast and Easy Thank You


Here is a card that I made that turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me. It happens to be a card that I did for the sketch challenge that is going on over on my Facebook page. (If you haven’t stopped by to check it out, you really should, we are having lots of fun over there) Anyway, after I had posted the sketch, and I sat down to look at it, I completely went blank! Literally, I had NO idea on what I was going to make to fit this sketch. So, I started by grabbing some scrap DSP I had lying on my desk and from that point forward my card was born. It falls into the category of quick and simple and who doesn’t love a card that’s quick and simple, right? So, here it is:
 

Supplies needed:

Birthday Bouquet DSP 4 5/8” x 2½” and 5½” x 1¼”
Whisper White Cardstock 8½” x 5½” scored at 4¼” and scrap large enough to punch a 2½” circle  
Mint Macaron Cardstock 5½” x 3/8”
Mint Macaron Ink pad
3 pink buttons from the Subtles Buttons collection
2 ½” Circle punch
Hostess Stamp set: A Whole Lot of Lovely
Snail adhesive
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Glue Dots
Rhinestones

 

Begin by adhering the DSP cut at 4 5/8” x 2” to the upper portion of the card base using Snail adhesive, then add the Mint Macaron strip followed by the remaining DSP (I used the same “piece” of DSP and just flipped it to use the other pattern) I then stamped the Thank You from the stamp set using Mint Macaron ink onto the scrap Whisper White cardstock and punched it out using the 2½” circle punch and popped it up on Dimensionals and added it to the card. I then secured the 3 pink buttons using Glue dots. And that completed this card. Fast, easy and really packs a punch!

 
What do you think? Please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts. And thank you so much for stopping by to take a look around.

 
Happy Stamping,

Katrina

 

March 17, 2016

Shaving the Leprechaun?


Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I do hope the Luck of the Irish is with you today and always. I figure I’m Irish by proxy since I married an Irishman..hahaha, but today, we all get to be a little bit Irish. So in honor of the day, I created a couple of cute little St. Patty’s Day cards to share with you using the Shaving Cream technique to create my background paper.
 

The little Leprechaun was made using Whisper White and the 1¾’ circle punch for his face, the Decorative Label punch cut in half for his hat and the Word Window punch for the brim of his hat, punched from Cucumber Crush. For his beard, I used the 1¾” scalloped circle punch pushing the Pumpkin Pie paper only ¾ of the way through. I added a little Pink Pirouette ink to his cheeks and free handed his facial features using the Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker™.

The Shamrock was made using the Sweetheart Punch and Cucumber Crush. I punched 3 hearts and for the stem, I used the Bird Builder punch. I then adhered all of the pieces to a 1” circle I punched from the Cucumber Crush cardstock. I then popped that up on Dimensionals™ onto a 2½” circle punch.

For the background paper on both cards, I used the Shaving Cream technique. I started with a plate full of shaving cream (I used Barbersol since that is what my husband shaves with) and I then added random drops of Cucumber Crush, Wild Wasabi and Pear Pizzazz re-inkers and “stirred” them around until I had the desired marbling effect. (Avoid over mixing/stirring as you will end up with a muddy mess if you do). Once I was happy with how the shaving cream looked, I took my cardstock that was pre-cut to 5¼” x 4”  and placed it face down into the shaving cream. Then I just wiped away the excess cream and hit it with my heat tool to quickly dry the paper. I then added my embellishments and my sentiment, which comes from the ever popular Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set, and Viola!  

Go ahead and try the Shaving Cream technique, experiment with other colors. The sky is the limit on this one. Try blues for a water or sky effect. Use a mix of reds and greens for a Christmas look or pinks and yellows and soft blues for an Easter/Spring look.  Like I said, you can go in many directions with this one technique. So pull out those re-inkers and raid your husbands side of the vanity. You will be pleasantly surprised with your results!

Please leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts on this one.

Happy Stamping,

Katrina

March 15, 2016

It's a Collage of Color


Hello, today, I have a card for you that I made for the weekly sketch challenge going on over on my Facebook page and wanted to share. Once again, I ventured outside my usual Subtle colors that I naturally gravitate to, and came up with this. So, what do you think?
 

Supplies Used:

Basic Black 8 ½” x 5 ½” scored at 4 ¼” and folded for the card base.

Botanicals Garden DSP panel cut 2 ¾”x 5”

Basic Black layer cut 3 ¼”x 4 ¾”

Botanical Gardens DSP cut 3”x 4 ½” (I just turned over the DSP and used the backside of the same 12”x12” I had already cut for the 1st layer)

Basic Black layer cut 2 ¾”x 3 ¾”

Whisper White layer cut 2 ½”x 3 ½”

Basic Black cut 3 ¼”x 1 ¼”

Whisper White layer cut 3”x 1”

Scrap Whisper White to stamp and punch flowers from

Beautiful Bunch Stamp set

Butterfly Basics Stamp set

Petite Petals punch

Candy Dots (Neutral Collection)

Cajun Craze Ink

Mossy Meadow

Hello Honey

Snail Adhesive

Glue Dots

Stampin’ Dimensionals

 
I began by adhering the yellow pattern of the Botanicals Garden DSP to the right of the card base using Snail adhesive. I then took the second piece of the DSP and adhered that to the Basic Black layer and adhered that to the center of the card, then, I inked up the Honeycomb image from the Butterfly Basics stamp set, using Hello Honey ink, and I stamped off then stamped it onto my Whisper White panel. I did that a total of 3 times to fill the panel. I then used the fern image, also from the Butterfly Basics stamp set with Mossy Meadow ink. I stamped down with full ink then without lifting the bottom of the stem, I slightly pivoted the stamp getting a lighter and lighter effect. Then, using the Cajun Craze ink and the small flower from the Beautiful Bunch stamp set, I stamped a total of 3 images on to scrap Whisper White and punched them out using the Petite Petals punch and added them to the panel using glue dots and adhered the panel to the Basic Black layer and adhered that to the right side of the card again using Snail. I then stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Butterfly Basics stamp set with the Cajun Craze ink and adhered it to the Basic Black layer and adhered that to the bottom of the card using Stampin’ Dimensionals and added three Basic Black candy dots.

 
I hope you enjoyed this card, please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts. Have a wonderful day and see you Thursday!

March 11, 2016

If You're Not on My Mailing List........


If you’re not on my mailing list look what you’re missing out on http://conta.cc/1SGkGtz ! Be sure to go to the end to get your free downloadable PDF!

 I promise not to inundate your mailbox with crazy spam mail. I only send out a monthly newsletter and on occasion a notice on a special up coming events. I’m like you, I hate a bunch of useless information in my in-box therefore, I only send you condensed information once a month. So, please go ahead and join my mailing list to keep up with what’s going on in the world of SnS From the Heart. You will be the first to know about future classes.  I plan to continue to offer mail order classes with complete instructions as well. I will share free tutorials using different techniques and other fun stuff. And to sweeten the pot as they say, everyone that is on my mailing list as of April 1st will ALL be placed in a drawing to win a free stamp set!

March 10, 2016

The Best Advise I ever Got about Stamping


Can you smell it? Spring is in the air! I do love this time of year! Yesterday we hit 70 degrees here in Central  NY! I was actually able to open my windows and doors for a bit to let the outdoors indoors. I love how the house smells after a warm Spring breeze comes through. Now I am anxious for gardening season to begin!

Ok, today, I wanted to talk to you about the BEST advise I have ever gotten about stamping. I was told, ‘there are no mistakes in stamping!” At first, when my friend told me this, my face must have spoke volumes because she immediately recognized what I was thinking, because my first thoughts were, “oh yeah, you should see all my “mistakes”. And she said, “think about this, first of all, a little blemish can easily be concealed with an embellishment, and we should always add flair to our work anyway and second, even if you can’t conceal it with an embellishment, there is ALWAYS two sides to your paper!” After I had thought about this for a fashion, I realized she was 100% right on the money!

So many times, a little smudge here or there, just provides an opportunity to add a little extra sumthin’ Sumthin’ to the overall design of the project. So really, our mistakes aren’t mistakes at all, but opportunities.

So, the next time you make a “mistake”, don’t think of it as such, retrain your thinking and look at it as an opportunity and ask yourself, how can I further embellish my project and make it that much more spectacular? I will bet more times than not, you will come up with something that is even better than you had originally planned it to be. So, my advise to you…”there are NO mistakes in stamping!” Embellish away!
 
Happy Stamping,
Katrina

 

March 5, 2016

Let's Get Your Color On!



Hello,
Well it’s finally beginning to look like Spring just might be making an appearance in the Northeast! I think I may have told you this before but Spring is my most favorite of all the seasons. The sun is warm and bright and everything is green and new again. And I love the smell of fresh Spring air! Makes me smile just thinking about it!
Ok….I digress, and I do apologize….I get a little excited when the snow begins to melt! What I really wanted to talk to you about today is color! Or color combinations to be more precise. Sometimes, it can seem difficult to come up with color combinations for our projects, however, there are a lot of resources available to assist in this endeavor. Take this project for instance,


This card uses colors completely outside of my normal comfort zone, however, I used my Stampin’ Up!® catalog as a source of inspiration. You see, Stampin’ Up! has paper packs of select colors that coordinate with designer series paper packs, basically, they bundle colors together, so that is how I came up with the colors for this card. This is Cucumber Crush, Bermuda Bay and Watermelon Wonder…..on my own, I never would have considered these colors together, however, Stampin’ Up!’s color experts did the work for me and I took full advantage. I made this card for a sketch challenge over on my Facebook page.  Another source for color combinations is to look at colors within designer series paper. You’re guaranteed a perfect look combining colors from within the pallet found in these patterns. Other great color inspirations come from fabric and multicolor rugs and tapestries. Take a look around, look at your floral arrangements in your backyard gardens, what about that pretty multicolor blouse you love so much? There is color inspiration just about anywhere you look. Don’t be afraid to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. You never know, just be open to new ideas. Color is a beautiful thing. Embrace it and experiment with it. Where do you find your color inspiration? Comment below and let me know where you find your color inspiration!

Thank you for stopping by, I truly appreciate it.

Happy Stamping
Katrina

March 3, 2016

The Stampin’ Up! ® Opportunity


Hello, I hope Dorothy and her little dog Toto didn’t make a visit to you today. My goodness, the wind has been insane around here. Some of those gusts just about knocked me down!

 Anyway, I wanted to talk to you today about the Stampin’ Up! opportunity because it really is an amazing opportunity. I say it’s amazing because where else can you build a business YOUR way? Where else can you be a business owner and chose to be a hobbyist or chose to be a full time for profit business owner? No where that I am aware of except Stampin’ Up! It’s true! When you sign up to be a Stampin’ Up! business owner, YOU choose how you want to run YOUR business! You choose to set your goals, or not. You choose if you want to work your business full time or part-time. YOU choose if you want to hold classes, if YOU want to hold workshops and if YOU want to build a downline.

Stampin’ Up! is completely customizable, right down to your demonstrator kit! Yep, you get to choose what you get in your demonstrator starter kit! You get to choose $125 in product (ANY PRODUCT) and pay only $99! And it’s free shipping too! And to sweeten the pot, right now, during Sale-a-Bration™, you can add an additional $30 worth of product to your order for FREE!

In addition to all of this, as an additional bonus for being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, you get an exclusive, FREE, subscription to the demonstrator magazine, Stampin’ Success, a quarterly magazine FULL of great stamping and card ideas as well as a wealth of business building tips and ideas. You also get access to a free demonstrator website, Stampin’ Connection, also FREE and exclusive and chock full of wonderful ideas shared by demonstrators both new and seasoned who are always ready to share and help you succeed! And on top off all of that, you get to save 20% off ALL of your orders and you earn a 20% commission from your customer orders as well….and if that wasn’t sweet enough, once you sell or purchase a grand total of $1800, you will begin to save/earn 25%!

So, again, where else do you get to love what you do and do what you love and do it YOUR way? If any of this sounds like something your interested in, just click here, and if you have ANY questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out, I am here to help you. You can either leave me a comment below or contact me by using the “contact me” tab above. I would love to assist you.

Happy Stamping,

Katrina

March 1, 2016

Happy Spring and Happy Birthday #imbringingbirthdaysback


Hello and Happy March 1st! One more day closer to Spring! I don’t know about you, but Spring is probably my most favorite season of all! Everything is so fresh, clean and new again. I love it.

Anyhoo, I want to let you know that I have decided to participate in the #imbringingbirthdaysback movement, started by Stampin’ Up!’s ® own Shannon West. I want to share in making YOUR birthday something special, so that is what inspired today’s card share and I would LOVE to send you a birthday card on your birthday, you just need to send me your name and address along with your birthday, using the “contact me” up above on the navigation bar and I will personally mail you a birthday card on your birthday!


For today’s card, I used Mint Macaron cut 8 ½” x 5 ½” scored and folded at 4 ¼” for the card base. I then cut a piece of DSP from the “Itsmy Party” DSP pack, 5 ¼” x 4” and adhered it to the card base. I then cut another piece of Mint Macaron 3 ¼” x 4 ¼” and a piece of Mellon Mambo 3” x 4” and I embossed the Mellon Mambo piece with the Lucky Stars TIEF and adhered that to the Mint Macaron piece. I then took a piece of CrushedCurry and cut that to 3 ½” x 1 ½” and adhered that side ways across the card. I then cut another layering piece of MintMacaron 1 ¾” x 3 ½” and a piece of WhisperWhite 1 ½” x 3 ¼” and stamped the balloon strings from the stamp set, Balloon Celebration using Memento Tuxedo Black™ ink added a stamped Mellon Mambo ribbon (also in the stamp set) and adhered it to the layering piece of Mint Macaron. I adhered that down to the card base. I then stamped one of the large balloon shapes onto scrap CrushedCurry and stamped the inside with CrushedCurry ink using the “spatter” stamp in the set for a tone on tone effect. I then stamped and punched a small balloon from the same Crushed Curry cardstock and 2 each of Mellon Mambo and Mint Macaron all also with the same tone on tone. I then adhered them to the balloon strings using Stampin’Dimensionals ™.  As a final touch, I stamped Happy Birthday onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock cut ½” x 3” and I bannered the one end and placed that with Dimensionals also.
So, what are your thoughts? Let me know below in the comments. I look forward to hearing what you think. In the meantime, Happy Stamping and have a great day, til next time,

Katrina
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