The Happy Room

I recently got the Technique Junkies Fancy Folds and Motion CD. Wow, what an incredible collection of tutorials and artwork!! I selected the "Side Step" design for some of my Christmas cards. I had a blast making these, as they were so easy and fast!

This card features an ornament image from Rubbernecker. I purchased it years ago, so I'm not even sure it's available anymore. The text image is from Hero Arts.

Merry Christmas!! Thanks for stopping by today!!

~Kathie

Hello stamping friends! It's been toooo long since I've posted a project here, hasn't it? I hope to make up for lost time by sharing several of my favorite recent papercrafting projects over the next few weeks.

I found a great tutorial for a Corner Bookmark HERE, and I was on my way to making dozens of them! This project was custom made for the author of The Form Benders, a book which will be released to the public in 2011. I used the Technique Junkies technique called Paper Piecing to fill in the images (from My Favorite Things). The sentiment is from Hanna Stamps. I made the book title on my computer!

I hope you enjoy the project!! Thanks for stopping by today!!

~Kathie

Thanks for stopping by today to see this sculpture card. Doesn't it look complicated?? It isn't!!

I accepted an invitation to be a Guest Designer for Stamper's Quest magazine, a fabulous online publication containing not only my project, but dozens of other projects and papercrafting information.

I prepared this card and a very detailed photo tutorial on how you can make one just like it. It's FREE to view and you can even print out the tutorial right from the Stamper's Quest website HERE.

I hope you'll stop by Stamper's Quest and take a look at the tutorial and all of the photos. And I'd love it if you would be so kind as to leave me a comment for me at the end of the tutorial. (Look for the tutorial under "Guest Designers".)

Thanks for stopping by The Happy Room today!

Kathie

Can you tell my new favorite thing is Drawer Boxes?? If you're interested in knowing how to make these, you can see my previous post (below) for all of the links to the instructions and tutorials. They are SO much fun to make and are quite an impressive gift!!

This project was for my BFF, so I made it in her favorite colors. Here is a list of the supplies used and where I purchased them:

Stamps: Close To My Heart, I Brake For Stamps
Brads (used for the "stop" on the top of the box and the base for the drawer pull): Scrappin Deals N Steals
Background Paper: Close To My Heart
Flowers and Build-A-Brad: Scrappin Deals N Steals

Thanks for looking!!

Kathie

Welcome to my Drawer Box project!! I found the directions over at SCS (Splitcoaststampers) and was inspired to try it myself when I saw my dear friend, Bonnie had one on her Craftiblog this week. See Bonnie's gorgeous project HERE. You can find the SCS directions/tutorial HERE

The top of my box is an easel card that I just glued to it. I loved Bonnie's box so much, I decided to top my box with an easel card too! I followed the directions for the easel card, which I found at SCS HERE. I just made adjustments so that the card would match the dimensions of the box's top. It was that easy!

The fabulous embellishments and flowers are from Scrappin Deals N Steals, a great internet daily deals site. I used the Chatterbox brad maker for the brad on the top and another brad for the drawer pull. I added a big glitzy button (also from Scrappin Deals) with tacky glue and threaded a little bit of gold cord thru it.

I used stamps from I Brake For Stamps (for the sentiment and the fern). I added the white dots with acrylic paint and the end of a medium size stylus.

Thank you for stopping by today!!

Kathie

This box was so much fun to make and much less work to make it than appears

I made two of these cards (identical) for two dear friends, who are both very accomplished harpists. I chose the Tri Shutter card design because it gave me so many small pallettes where I could use a lot of my music related stamps and supplies.

The cardstock is from The Paper Temptress, the die cut swirls are from Sizzix, the stamps are PSX (the main image), JudiKins (the musical score) and Alluring Impressions (the harpist). The embellishments are from Scrappin Deals N Steals.

I sprayed the cardstock with some homemade Pearl Ex mix; I learned how to make it over at Technique Junkies. Since the harp player image was directional, I chose to stamp it twice onto acetate using Jet Black StazOn ink. Then, I just flipped one of the images over and then both harpists faced the center of the card. I attached them with brads to the gold cardstock, then glued that to the base cardstock.

I hope you've enjoyed the project and thanks for stopping by!!!

BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW!!








I had a great time playing with all of my new things from Scrappin Deals N Steals!! I used the Cuttlebug Highlights technique from the 10/08 Technique Junkies newsletter—it’s very light on the gold panels, but I thought it was just enough to add some interest on this very busy card.

The Gold frame looking object in the center is a big gaudy plastic belt buckle which is part of an upcoming package over at Scrappin Deals N Steals. Groovy! Since it had a bar across the center of it (for a belt to thread through) I layered my black paper piece on top of it. Instant frame!!

I made a custom brad with a Chatterbox Easy Brad Maker, also from Scrappin Deals N Steals. What a fun tool!! It comes with 3 circle punches in varying sizes to fit the three brad blanks that come with the tool. The flourishes around the brad are pieces from a Cuttlebug die, as well as the small fleur-de-lis in the outer corners. The gem flourishes are from Scrappin Deals N Steals too! How did I ever craft before I found that place? LOL

Cardstocks are from The Paper Temptress.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the project and thanks for stopping by!!

Kathie

I just got this new set of stamps from Firecracker Designs by Pamela, and I'm having so much fun with them. There are numerous images on this sheet of horses in every shape and size along with some hilarious text "horse sayings". I'm such a fan of Dancing With The Stars (NOT So You Think You Can Dance--but it's dance related just the same), so I HAD to use it on this card.

I'm especially fond of Paint horses, so my horse is naturally a Paint!!! Add to that, this image looks strikingly like the Gypsy Vanner breed--a breed of horse which tugs at my heart strings every time I see one. I was giddy with excitement when my stamps arrived--or should I say "giddy-up" with excitement? Well, anyway I was really happy! I colored my Paint Gypsy Vanner with a technqiue called Pencil Over Marker. I learned it over at Technique Junkies.

The base card is from a great company called Creative Cuts and More. It made the designing portion of this project a snap! I am suprised at all the time I save with that one simple change in card designing. Starting out with a pre-cut base is really a great way to begin. The other cardstock layers are from The Paper Temptress.

Lastly, my brads are from Scrappin Deals n Steals.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

~Kathie

For years, I've been a big fan of Faith's over at Mark's Finest Papers. She is the queen of all borders polka dotted and a fabulous artist/paper crafter/stamper! So I decided I was going to try to copy Faith a little (imitation really IS the sincerest form of flattery, right??) because I saw a card she made that I LOVED! So, here is my shameless attempt at copying one of my stamping heroes, Faith!

The images are from Sweet'n Sassy Stamps; this is the first time I've used their products. WOW, do they ever stamp nicely! Thank you Sweet n Sassy for some top quality products!!

The paper is from The Paper Temptress and the ribbon and embellishments are from a new favorite company of mine called Scrappin Deals and Steals. The teal theme is part of an upcoming bundle of products that will be available on Friday July 9th. All of the bundles on this site are available for one day only, so don't miss out on some of the fantastic deals over there--especially this upcoming one!

I've included several photos of this card because it's fun on both the inside and outside. Two photos of the inside are included because I used my new Scor-Buddy to make the border score lines. The second photo of the inside of the card is lightened up a bit to help show off those score lines. It sure helped when I was making all of those white dots! I used a technique from Technique Junkies to add some interest to the white~it's called "Wisped Frames".

Thanks for looking at this big post about my big love for my big card! I'm sure glad you stopped by today!

I think I'm hooked on the Background Whimsy technique that I just learned at Technique Junkies! Some of my oldest, never used stamps are coming out of the drawers and finally seeing the light of day!

The background image is from Stampin'Up! and the sentiment is from I Brake For Stamps. I thought this was the perfect pair! I framed the sentiment with a new Cuttlebug folder and die set that I found for 2.00 at my local Big Lots store. What a deal! My little gauzy butterfly came from a local mill ends fabric store. It was a real find at 10 of them for 1.25.

I LOVE the brads so much!! They were a find over at Scrappindealsnsteals, the home of some amazing products and daily deals. I can't stay away from there. I signed up for a free daily email which shows the deal of the day. If I'm interested, I can snag the deal before it's gone or if not, I just hit my friendly delete key. I love easy stuff! And the white corner pieces are from a Cuttlebug die that I use so much I finally had to buy another one. The first one was completely worn out.

I hope you've enjoyed the card and thanks for stopping by today!

Kathie

Have you seen the images at Twisted Papers?? What a fabulous website! I had so much fun navigating through the vintage images in almost every subject! I chose this image and with a few clicks, I downloaded the photo, saved it to a file on my computer and was ready to go. I loved it because I could size the photo to fit my card, something that you can't do with a stamp!

I printed this onto cardstock from The Paper Temptress on my Canon inkjet printer. With so much detail in the image, I decided to leave it as is-no coloring necessary! I used a technique called Wisped Frames (Technique Junkies)but then I trimmed a little off the edges and sewed on top of it, so I think I all but removed it. I tell myself that there are no mistakes in papercrafting, only happy accidents!

I had fun embellishing the image with some stitching and cotton lace. I made the pin from a corsage pin purchased at WalMart in the floral section. I added some pearls from my junk box and glued the last one on with Fabri-Tac to hold the others in place. And lastly, I glued the long bead at the end of the pin. The bow is tulle.

The sentiment is one of my favorites from I Brake For Stamps. I've used it so many times!

I hope you've enjoyed the project and thanks for stopping by today!!

~Kathie

Remember my Technique Junkies filing tip I posted several weeks ago?? If you missed it, I shared that after I make some TJ backgrounds, I organize them by placing them inside of envelopes marked with the name of the technique and the date in which it appeared in the newsletter. Those envelopes are kept in a file box labeled Technique Junkies Techniques.

I dug through my box tonight and took out an envelope labeled Metallic Alcohol Roll 10/2007. I had the partially made card in my "gotta finish this card" stash, so this was a fast and easy project.

The stamp is a Michael Strong image and the flowers are from the wedding aisle at Michael's Arts and Crafts store. All I needed to do was add some bling to the flowers and my card was done!

I hope you've enjoyed the project and thanks for stopping by!!

It looks like I'm hopelessly hooked on making these roses, doesn't it?

I made this purple rose several weeks ago from some plain white cardstock and painted it with some Twinkling H20's on a stamping sponge. I "streaked" the sponge across the rose for a little different effect.

I learned a great new technique called "Patchwork" from Technique Junkies, so I borke out my Distress Inks and made a few backgrounds. Then, I dug through the rose stash to see what would match. Since the rose was already purple/white striped, I thought adding some navy ink with a stamping sponge would make a great coordinated embellishment.

The silk leaves are from my leaf assortment, the fern punch is Martha Stewart, and the butterfly is a purchase from a local mill ends fabric store. Corner punch is from Marvy.

Stamp credits:
Close To My Heart (zig zag stitches)
I Brake For Stamps (Beauty)
Stampin' Up! (Fern)

Thanks for looking!

~Kathie

Welcome to my picture tutorial for making Paper Roses as seen on 3TV's "Your Life A to A" in Phoenix, AZ. I first learned this technique from Tim Holtz, a fabulous papercrafting guru! I hope you like my interpretation of the process and please let me know your comments and/or questions! And remember, you can click on any picture to get a larger view.

Thanks for looking!!

~Kathie











































Thanks for stopping by today! And sign my guestbook so I'll know you were here!!

~Kathie

I thought I'd get a Mother's Day card done since there aren't many days left! Just in time, I received some new rubber from The Rubber Cafe and couldn't wait to ink it up!!

I love the little grater because I don't cook and I'm constantly using kitchen utensils and other items intended for kitchen use in my stamp room. Seemed like the perfect use for a grater to me..........a flower pot!!

I stamped the grater image with VersaMark, embossed with detail black EP and colored it in with Distress Ink refills. So easy! The background papers are from my stash, as well as the other embellishments.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

~Kathie

I had the pleasure of meeting Melissa Forsyth-Sampaga of The Rubber Cafe/Pugnacious Ruber Stamps recently at a stamp convention here in AZ. I found this fabulous "Thistle Flower" image among her line and couldn't wait to create some cards with it.

This is my first card using it (more to follow): the base of the card is basic white cardstock. The next layer is some pre-made cardstock with luscious gold swirls which I thought was perfect for this project. Melissa also had some wonderful new Cuttlebug embossing folders and coordinating dies there at the show, so the white panels are embossed with those (sorry, don't have the set name as it is out on loan right now). The scalloped edges is also a Cuttlebug die which was simply cut apart and "fit" around the layers.

The image was stamped with VersaMark onto basic white cardstock and embossed with Stampendous Pearl Gold embossing powder. That layer was cut with a Nestabilities die. Then lastly, I stamped the Thistle Flower image a second time and hand cut it and applied a little Paper Tole technique to give it dimension.

The gold filagree embellishment was a thrift store find, the oval brad in the center is from Wilton. I purchased it at Michael's. The small pearls are from my stash. The leaves are from the same Cuttlebug set!


I hope you've enjoyed the project and thanks for stopping by today!

~Kathie

Here is a little Happy Birthday card for my dear friend, Hetty Sanders in The Netherlands. I had so much fun making this card, because I thought about Hetty the whole time that I was making it and remembered our long time friendship.

The dragonfly image is from Michael Strong Stamps. It was stamped with VersaMark ink onto black cardstock and embossed with gold embossing powder. I hand cut the image and then stamped it a second time, cut it out and layered it on top of the first image. That allowed me to gently shape and curl the wings to give it a 3-D effect.

The top layer of the card is just basic white cardstock which was Cuttlebugged and layered onto more basic black. Here is where the fun begins on this card. The gold layer is obviously Cuttlebugged, but do you know what it really is??? It's foil from a coffee bag!! Now if you know my friend, Michael Strong, you will know that he is the "Original Recycler". I'm a short step behind him, because as one of my friends always says "Kathie was 'Green' before it was cool!" So how could I throw something away that was so recycle-worthy??? I'm happy with the results!

The inside of the card (white layer) was cut with the Stampin' Up! Top Note die. I added a little dragonfly image and utilized a fun little technique called "Pierced Patterns" learned over at the Technique Junkies group. It made a nice little flight trail to show you how happy this little dragonfly really is!

Best of all, my dragonfly flew out of Arizona last Monday and landed on a leaf in Hetty's yard today (Saturday). Just in time to deliver my Happy Birthday wishes to my dear friend. Love ya Hetty!!

Thanks for stopping by~

~Kathie