Monday, December 31, 2007

Hanna Sneak Peek Day 1

This little Valentine's gift is my first preview to you of the new Valentine set from Hanna Stamps! Aren't the little lips just adorable?!? Not sure who I'll give this to... Might just be a Valentine to myself!!! ;)

I stamped up the coffee bag with Craft ink (Real Red) and Dew Drops (Pixie Pink and Jumbo Java). The sentiment is hard to read, as the ribbon gets in the way, but it says "Wearing long lasting lipstick is a must on Valentine's Day". I love that font, too!
I just rounded corners of the sentiment with my EK corner rounder, punched a hole in the end of it, and tied my May Arts ribbon through! Makes a cute and easy gift, don't you think?

Oh, btw, I've drawn the winner for the sneaky little "Naptime Nugget" contest from the last post, and it's...

Michelle!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:16
Timestamp: 2007-12-31 13:35:51 UTC


So, Girlfriend, send your home addy to my email address (on the sidebar), and I'll send your images off to you!!! Congrats and have fun with them!!! :)

In Other News...
1. I'm planning on another Naptime Nugget soon, because I've almost reached 150,000 hits, so stay tuned!

2. Keep watching for some more sneak peeks of the new Hanna set, being released on Friday! It's a really fun one! Also, check out the other DT member blogs, as they have some great stuff too! (Links on my sidebar.)

3. Starting next Monday (the 7th), you'll be able to check out the new MFT sets being released on the 9th that you're so gonna love! I've already got three samples done that I'm dying to show you! ;)

4. Lizzie Anne has several super-dee-duper sets being released on the 7th as well, so keep a look out for those sneaky peeks!!! I think that I'm going to have most of them, so I'll be having fun with those in a couple of days!!! :)

5. And, Hambo Stamps will be having a release of some Springtime stamps that I'm sure that you'll have to have! I've been privileged to see several of them, and I'll keep you posted as to the release date as soon as I know!

Now, for the conclusion of this lengthy post, I'll wish you a very safe and Happy New Year! We're planning on spending it with friends and family out back for a cookout and fire. We've even got the makings for some S'mores! Mmm, mmm, good! :)

xox,
Kirsten

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Heading for Stardom

This Bella is SO me. Well, if I were that thin and wore a pink bow in my hair, that is. But I heart her SO much!!! :) As soon as I saw an Ipodabella, I knew I had to have her. I LOVE my iPod as much as a teenager! LOL

I colored her with my Copics and added Waterfall Stickles to her "fur". The layout was really inspired by a sketch I saw on Amy's blog here. In order to make the REALLY long skinny rectangle, I just used two, and covered the seam with the dotted layer! The flowers are Primas and the button is Creative Cafe. Sentiment is from one of my favorite Verve sets, Starlight Starbright.

Now MY Ipodabella is probably listening to some Toby Mac or Mercy Me (because that's what I most recently downloaded, thanks to my iTunes gift card I got in my stocking!). What would YOUR Ipodabella be listening to??? Leave me a comment to let me know, and I'll draw a number on Monday. Maybe you'll you'll receive an image or two! :) (Consider it a little bonus to those of you who read all the way to the very end! :))

xox,
Kirsten

With Gratitude

I've got one more (I think) Christmas gift to share with you. This is a set that I made for Wyatt's Grandma Erma. It is a (of course) nugget tin and a card set, using my under-used Papertrey stamps. (I think this is the only thing I actually stamped with this Take a Bough set! :() It's a great set - I'll have to use it more next year. :)

Anywho, the card set is a thank you set for Christmas gifts. The cards are 4 1/4 squares and the envies were found here. A Muse is the ONLY place that I have been able to find them. It seems so silly to order envelopes from clear across the country, but their service is so great (I always get my goodies in 2 days!) that I don't mind a bit! (Shhh, I did end up with a couple of Elzybells, too, but don't tell my hubby!) :) This, of course, is a pic of just the tin, in case you couldn't see it well enough in the last pic. :) The center scallop circle is mounted on dimensionals on the top and bottom, and the ribbon slides right underneath to tie. That way you don't have to rip the whole thing apart to get to your chocolate! A detail very important to Chocoholics, like me. ;) Oh, and I used my Dew Drop inks on this. I love these colors.

Well, I'm off to get ready for the day. I'm REALLY hoping that I get a LOT of stamping done this weekend. I've got several deadlines to meet, and LOTS of new stamps to play with!!!

xox,
K

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Ho Ho Ho!

I hope that you all are having a wonderful Christmas day! Ours started at 6:30 this morning, and my DH and I couldn't help it... We HAD to wake Wyatt up! LOL It was/is so fun with him this year! He got a bike that he adores, along with TONS of other wonderful things. He's napping now, which gives me a minute to post this up, before heading over to the couch for a nappie of my own! :)

This is a "recipe book" that I made for my girls who came to my cookie exchange party. I totally got the idea for this from Lauren's post, found here. I did simplify it a lot, though, since I was making 12 of them, and I wanted to keep it clean like the AC paper. It is holding the 12 recipes from the girls, so that they go home with the cookies and directions on how to make them.

The cover is held closed by the Velcro, and the ribbon holds the recipes in the "book". Trust me, I tried to figure out a way to economically eliminate the ribbon! It took 21 inches for each "book"! The stamp set used is PTI's Holiday Treats.
Well, I will be back with some more things soon. I was blessed with lots of yummy Christmas gifts to play with - some of which isn't even here yet! So, I'm sure that there will be lots of things to share over the next few weeks, especially because there will be several new releases coming up really soon!!! So stay tuned!

xox,
Kirsten

Monday, December 24, 2007

Hot Cocoa, Anyone?

This idea is pretty much a case of the hot chocolate tin on Nichole Heady's blog, that she did a few months ago. There are definitely differences, but the idea was hers. I even used the same hot chocolate recipe! :)

I made 12 of these for "favors" at my cookie exchange party. Everyone recieved one of these and one recipe book (which I'll try and show tomorrow!)

I stamped the dotted circle with Brown StazOn from the Borders and Corners Circle PTI set. The other stamps came from the Holiday Treats PTI set. Paper and ribbon are both American Crafts, and the sentiment was cut with a Cuttlebug die.

Hope you all are getting everything done that you need to get done. I've had to downgrade my planned festivities a bit, in order to relieve some stress, so I'm feeling much more relaxed now! LOL (BTW, the circle sentiment really IS centered on that scallop punch! Just doesn't look like it from the angle! :))

Merry Christmas!

Kirsten

Friday, December 21, 2007

Quicky Little Gift

This is a little fun and super quick and easy gift I made with my Lizzie Anne sets, So Swirly and Celebration Frames, and the new SU! PP, Bali Breeze. I would make a nice gift for that last minute person you forgot about! The candle came from Michael's dollar bins, so it's also SUPER economical!!! :)

The swirls on top are stamped with my Gold Encore pad, so they reflect the gold on the rim. The white layer was punched with my Marvy Giga Circle. I have sense added some white ribbon to the lower portion of the candle, but I don't want to take the time to retake the pic! Does that sound lazy or what?!? LOL

Well, I'm off to go get breakfast! Have a wonderful day, and happy wrapping!!! :)

xox,

k

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Snow Family

This is one of the projects that I've been working on for the past few weeks. I got this kit at a quilt shop in Corpus Christi, TX, while visiting my MIL back in May. Well, I only started working on it when I finished Wyatt's quilt. I love to have something portable to keep my hands busy during boring times, like longer (20+ min.) car rides, etc... I have so many things to do most of the time (usually self-imposed) that I can't stand to do nothing, well, unless I'm tired. Then I just want to veg out on the couch and watch my TiVo! LOL

Each of these felt ornaments has a little pocket on their back to hold tiny things, like those itty bitty candy canes (which I bought just for these! LOL). I should have taken a pic with them filled and hanging on the tree, but you know how it goes! I'll just let you use your imagination! :)
Anywho, there is a Snow Father, Snow Mother, Snow Girl, Snow Boy, Snow Cat, and Snow Dog. They're actually much cuter IRL, but I thought that you might enjoy a change of pace on this "stamping blog" anyways! The eyes are the most tiny buttons you've ever seen! Click on the pic for a closer look.

Hope that you all have a wonderful day, and I'll catch up with you tomorrow!

xox,

Kirsten

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Holiday Greetings

This is one of the four tins that I had to have from Papertrey, after seeing the adorable project that Nichole posted on her blog. I, however, used my Lizzie Anne sets, So Swirly and Celebration Frames to make it, and I think it turned out pretty cute! The tiny images in the CF set fit perfectly on those Avery labels!
I colored each one with my Copic markers. There is Stickles on the holly berries on the main image and the red layer was punched with my Marvy Giga Square. I edged the olive layer with my Encore Gold ink pad to bring out the gold from the candy wrappers.

Well, I'm off to have some pizza with my two favorite men - one little one and one big one. Maybe I'll get to some stamping tonight, but if not, I've got things to show you for a few more days! ;)

BTW, did you get a look at the new SU! Catalog??? OMW, there were so many things that I wanted even before I got out of the Hostess section!!! LOL I'm going to be in trouble!

Have a good night, and I'll be back tomorrow with something fun (not sure what that will be yet, though!)!

xox,
Kirsten

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

You Rock!

This is a card that I made for Lizzie Anne, using last week's SCS Sketch Challenge (154). Sets used were Sketched Sentiments, Jolies Fleurs, and So Swirly, and you can find them here. I love all three of these sets, and I use them often.

I really am in love with these new PP lines from SU! I think that they might actually get all used up!!! That NEVER happens, unless I make a BIG conscious effort to do so, as in the case of my Cookie Party invites! LOL This series is called Bali Breeze.

I really liked playing with this layout, and I'm fairly happy with how the card turned out. The little green "dots" were made with my Lime Green Stickles and my Paper Piercing template for spacing. It's my favorite part of the card! LOL

Well, I'm sure that you're all happy to know that the whole nursing thing is coming back to me, slowly but surely. :) In fact, today I actually started THREE IVs - which isn't too bad, since I've not done it in nearly four years! I'm super tired, though, since I've had to wake up at 4:30am the past two days to get to work at 6! In fact, I now refer to that unGodly hour as the "BCD" (butt crack of dawn), OR the "ACD" (I'm sure if you thought about it, you could figure that one out! ;)) if I'm REALLY feeling unhappy about it. Oh well, it's a nice unit with some great nurses, so it's all good.

Well, I'm off to catch up on a bit of TiVo on the couch (and maybe take a nap), so I'm going to catch up with you again tomorrow. Have a good one!

xox,
Kirsten

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Hanna's Here!

Sorry for the huge delay in posting this "sneak peek" for the new Hanna sets, Perfect Package and Things Hanna Would Say! Like I told you before, I've been a bit crazed. These sets are now available at the link above! Don't walk. RUN to the website and check them out, if you haven't already!

I used my new SU! PP, Ginger Blossom, for this card. I LOVE the new PP!!! I ordered both packs, and they're the only things I got from the new catty preview!

The image is colored with, you guessed it, Copics. I paper pieced Hanna's pants with the PP, and added some clear Stardust pen to the ribbon (on the image). The sentiment was stamped on the Key Tag punch in Ruby on Guava. This layout was inspired by this one, by Julee Tilman.

Well, I hope that you love the new Hanna. I just got three of the upcoming new sets, and you're going to keep on loving her, I can assure you of that! Hopefully later this week I'll have time to make another card with this set. It has so many possibilities, it's killing me not to keep playing with it! I'm beat though, right now. I WAS able to make a few things for another upcoming deadline today, and I'll be showing you those later this week, as well!

Tomorrow starts my orientation on the floor. I've got to be there WAY early, but that also means that I'll get home at a decent time. :) Hope you have a wonderful Monday, and I promise that this week will bring you more frequent updates from me, as I've have some stuff to show you!!! :)

xox,
Kirsten

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Season's Greetings

This is the last of the S-A-S cards from a couple weekends ago. It's probably my least favorite, but my hubby loved it, so that must mean that it appeals to the masculine among us?! Anywho, it's a tent topper card, and I had the girls stamp the tree onto blue paper, to avoid the extra coloring. The tree is from the SU! set, Fun and Fast Notes, and the sentiment is from Many Merry Messages.

So, I spent the evening making, like a ZILLION cookies! LOL I used the website (which I love), http://www.allrecipes.com/, and one of the things that I love about it is that you can change the quantities for the recipe, and it changes the quantities for the ingredients. Well, either I, or the website, did something wrong, because I've got enough (mega yummy) Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies for a DOZEN cookie exchange parties! LOL Oh well, now I'll have to make some coolio gifts for some nearby family with them!

So, how many of you are completely crazed like me??? You can admit it if you are. You are among friends! LOL Just kidding - I guess misery just likes company! :)

Have a great night, and I'll be back soon with a Hanna card - I promise!!! :)

xox,
Kirsten

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Merry Christmas

Hi All! I'm writing this as I'm sitting here completely exhausted from a day in hospital orientation, grocery shopping, child playing, and child bathing. I'm thinking about how much I'm going to miss my little monkey again tomorrow, how I need to make my 6 dozen cookies, finish my "recipe books" for my cookie party, and go to bed. Not sure if the cookies are going to get made tonight...

Thanks to everyone wishing me luck on my job. Not much to screw up today! I just sat, and sat, and sat (this reminds me of Wyatt's Once Upon a Potty book! LOL), and listened to people drone on about things that I already know. For those interested, I'm going to be working in an area hospital, in the Outpatient Surgery department. It'll be a part-time gig, but I'm going to seriously need to rethink my time management! I'm at the present, VERY overwhelmed with all that I need to do. Two weeks before Christmas is not the ideal time to start a new job, after over 3.5 years of being a SAHM!

Please forgive my venting. I'm not in the best of moods. I did want to show you this card (another S-A-S card) and let you know (those who were wondering) how today went. Tomorrow will be more orientation, but will be more applicable to what I'll be doing in the unit. I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm getting paid for this, and we need it!!!

Now, onto the card. I embossed the trees with White EP, and added glitter glue to the trees. The bkgd was (obviously) dry embossed with my Cuttlebug. The colors used were Sky, Bayou, and Pomegranate, and stamps sets were Lovely as a Tree and Fancy Flexible Phrases.

Thanks for dropping by to check in on me, and if you've read this far, God bless you! Have a great night, and as soon as I'm able, I'll show you a card from the new Hanna set and my Cookie Party projects.

xox,
Kirsten

Monday, December 10, 2007

Happy

This is another one of my Stamp-a-Stack cards from last week. These, right now, are all I've got to show you! I've not been stamping much, except for projects for my Cookie Exchange party, which I'll share later in the week.

For this card, I used Snowflake Spot, Take Three, and Define your Life (I think that's what it's called!?) Colors are Wasabi, Rock, Real Red, and Black. I really like this color combination.

So, I start orientation for my new job tomorrow. I'm kind of nervous about it, but I know that for the first few days, it'll be mostly listening and watching videos. Still, wish me luck! :)

Well, I'd better get running. Still got tons to do. Make sure that you check back soon, because I'm working on a little SNEAK PEEK of the new Hanna Stamps set, Gift Giving!

xox,
Kirsten

Friday, December 7, 2007

Rain Delay

Did you miss me??? Man, I was so swamped yesterday, I didn't have time to post anything for the new MFT release! Did you see the sets??? If you didn't, you're missing out! And get there fast, 'cause Kim said that they're flying off the shelves!!! This card is made from the new set, Rain or Shine. How cute is she with that dog??? I colored the main image, and then added the umbrella after it was all put together. I'm also in love with the sentiments that come in this set!

Here's the Fine Print...
Stamps: Rain or Shine
Paper: CC, AC, PTI, Sky
Ink: Java Dew Drop, Palette Noir, Sky
Accessories: CB, 1 in punch, Copics, Ticket Corner punch

And lastly, I told you that I'd make another Kick Stand card with one of these new sets, so here it is. I used my Copics to color the main image, and for the inside, I used the "sparkle cluster" stamp and colored with SU! markers. The sentiment says (this one has great sentiments, also!) "You're the Icing on my Cake", hence the name of the set, Icing on the Cake.

Directions for Kick Stand cards can be found here.

Here's the Fine Print...
Stamps: Icing on the Cake
Paper: PTI, Teal, Rose, Regal
Ink: Same, Saffron, Palette Noir
Accessories: Copics, AC ribbon, Spellbinders, CB


What do you think? What did you all order? Any of the new Digital Papers? My printer is out of color ink, so I haven't had a chance to have fun with those yet. :( They look awesome, though! Check them out here.

Well, I'm off to go snuggle my baby a little bit. Have a great weekend!

xox,
Kirsten

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Peaceful Wishes

This is another one of my Stamp-a-Stack cards from this past weekend. It was inspired by a card that Kelly Lunceford did with this set and these colors. It was quick and easy, and my favorite card from the set of five. It's pretty self-explanatory, so I'll skip to the other picture.
This is just a little taste of Christmas here at our house. If you can't tell, this is an Ohio State University football ornament, and it's hung quite proudly on our tree. Can I tell you how totally psyched we are that OSU is going to the National Championships!!! Wohoo Scarlet and Gray!!! :)

Remember, tomorrow is the Release Party for MFT on SCS, so hopefully I'll see you there!

xox,
Kirsten

Monday, December 3, 2007

It's Sneak Peek Time!!!

You may have seen this adorable My Favorite Things Baby It's Cold Outside image before, but have you seen it in a circle??? I wanted a circle image to echo the red dots on this Petaloo Magnetic Tag, and I think it turned out pretty cute. I'm sure that you could figure it out, but I simply used my marker to eliminate the square box around the image and punched! The image is, of course, colored with my Copics. {Please, Santa, may I have some more!!! LOL}

I couldn't decide on which embellies I wanted to use, so I just used both! The first picture is my favorite. I punched a hole with my Crop-a-Dile, and threaded my AC (so yummy) ribbon through to tie and hold the tag closed.For the second picture, used some cutie Christmas-y Prima flowers. The last picture shows the tag opened (duh, right!?). As you can see, you can create a simple pocket with some Sticky Strip down the sides to hold your gift card in place.
I think that this was such a cute idea that Kim had to supply these on the website! Make sure that you check them out! They come in quite the variety of colors! Also, make sure that you remember Wednesday is the MFT release party over on SCS. If you missed the deets on one of my previous posts, I copy and pasted it here for you...
"MFT is having a New Release Cocktail Party on Wednesday, December 5 from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time. Check out the MFT forum, over on SCS, for all the details and join us there on Wednesday night. There will be give aways, coupon codes, a challenge and sneak peeks. ALSO, find out on Wednesday how you can become a MFT Guest Designer. How much fun would THAT be??? :)"

There will be three totally cute and awesome sets released. You won't want to miss them! More about them later! I think this post is long enough, don't you think!? :)
xox,
Kirsten

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Kick Stand Cards

I've gotten several questions regarding the Kick Stand card invites, so I'll just address them here. They're really very simple to make! I'll write it out in a few easy steps for you...

1. Cut cardstock to 4 1/4 x 11, and score in half like a regular tall tent card.

2. Trim 1 1/4 off the bottom of the card front.

3. I like to use a pretty patterned paper here. Cut it to 4 in square, and mat to front.

4. Stamp your main image and mat it on some sort of scalloped layer (if you like scallops!). I prefer the circle, but I've also used squares and ovals. I usually use my Marvy Giga punches for this.

5. Lay your card face up on your table, and adhere the main image so that the bottom of it is lined up with the bottom of the card back (inside of the card).

6. Add some coordinating patterned paper to the inside of the card. If it's dark, you might need to layer a small panel of WW to write on/stamp your sentiment.

7. Finish with your embellies! I have to ALWAYS have ribbon on mine, but I'm a ribbon junkie! :)

Hope that that answers every one's questions. If you have more, don't hesitate to ask! I will plan to make another KS (kick stand) card soon for one of my MFT sneak peeks, but you can find some of my other ones HERE!

And now I'm off to go play a little Hide-and-Seek with my baby! Have a good night!

xox,
Kirsten

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Holiday Hello

Check it out! I DO have Stampin' Up! stamps! LOL I know, it's been forEVer since I posted a Stampin' Up! creation. That is simply d/t lack of time. I have a stack of brand spankin' new SU! sets sitting on my table that I'm dying to play with, but it seems I never get around to it! Well, tonight I'm having a Christmas card Stamp-a-Stack for a friend, so I've made five SU! cards, which I'll be posting in the next few days, along with the MFT releases (starting Monday)!

The colors are a bit hard to determine from the picture, but they're Night of Navy, Artichoke, Bordering, and Rose Red. I used SU! markers to color the main image. I also added a touch of Liquid Applique to the hat, which I know that the girls will think is fun. They will make 5 different cards, 4 of each design, for a total of 20 cards. Even though I haven't done one on these classes in a while, they always make for a fun time.

Now for some news...

Hanna Stamps - As of today, we're welcoming Jeanne Streiff and Sherry Cheever to the Design Team! I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what they cook up with these stamps!

My Favorite Things - MFT is having a New Release Cocktail Party on Wednesday, December 5 from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time. Check out the MFT forum, over on SCS, for all the details and join us there on Wednesday night. There will be give aways, coupon codes, a challenge and sneak peeks. ALSO, find out on Wednesday how you can become a MFT Guest Designer. How much fun would THAT be??? :)

Lizzie Anne Designs - Make sure you check out this month's Projects of the Month, over on the website! The girls have cooked up some really cute ideas/creations!

Hambo Stamps - I almost missed this! Good news for all of you procrastinating shoppers out there! The BIG SALE is extended till tomorrow at midnight! Check out this post for more info!

Well, I think that's it! I'll be back soon with either a SU! Christmas card or a MFT preview. See you then!

xox,
k