The Happy Room

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

This was one of those projects that was close to going in the trash. HUH? Me throw something away?? Well, I thought about throwing it away but then there was an A-HA moment.

My friend Judy and I spent an afternoon making Faux Designer Paper, a fabulous technique I learned over at the Technique Junkies group. I was trying to make a very special card for a another very special stamping friend, but I just wasn't loving how it turned out (and I usually really love the technique) so I thought I'd toss it and start over. Judy suggested to me to try stamping a big huge stamp right on top of it and let the Faux Designer Paper peek through a little bit. So I inked up an old Close To My Heart favorite image of mine in Tuxedo Memento Black ink and overstamped it. , I loved it and thought my other friend might love it too (another stamper really can appreciate what one can go through in the creating process, right?).

I didn't want to do a lot of embellishing, because this image is pretty powerful on its' own, so I opted to add just a few little Dew Drops along two edges. It still needed a little something else, so I found the paper tile in my stash that looks like a little painting. That darling friend of mine, Judy, gave me a package of these tiles and I've had so much fun with them. Thanks, Judy! I think it added the perfect touch to my almost trashed project. So would this be considered Trash To Treaure?? :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathie

Hi blog hoppers! Wasn't Jane's project incredible? (If you didn't arrive here from the her blog, you don't want to miss what our whole TJ Design Team has in store for you!) Go back and start this hop at the Technique Junkie Blog.

Pat will be offering a prize at the end of the Technique By Design Challenge through a drawing for those who PARTICIPATE in the challenge! You will need to comment on her blog AND CREATE a card sharing the link to the project. The prize will be an assortment of products from our Fabulous Vendors.



1. Follow the sketch...
This is a great way to incorporate technique backgrounds into your cards. Just make sure the colors coordinate and you can mix and match different techniques on your card with a stunning effect! If you make extra backgrounds when trying out the techniques, you will love being able to use them here. Note: in order to qualify for the drawing, at least two different TJ techniques must be used on the card.
2. Post a link to Pat's Technique Junkie Blog
3. The deadline to the challenge is MAY 15

Please visit the TJ Blog for exact measurements of each layer for your card

Directions:
1. Attach Layers A, B and C to Layer One, following the arrangement in the sketch. Attach the three brads (or other embellishments) to the top left of the layered piece, arranging them vertically.
2. Attach Layer One to the Base Cardstock, leaving even spacing between the top and sides of the pieces.
3. Stamp the greeting on the bottom right corner of the card beneath the decorated layer.
4. Attach the Focal Image to the center of the layered squares.

And here's a little bit about my card: I used two fabulous TJ techniques. The layer on the right hand side of my card is "Double Bugging". The layer on the left and the strip along the bottom is from the current newsletter. It's called Metallic Parchment. Without a doubt, it's one of my very favorites EVER! A photo hardly does it justice~it's stunning in real life! And the large medallion is a Paperclay sculpture that was stamped in Brown Marvy Matchable ink and dried, then I applied gold metallic rub-on. It looks heavy, but it's light as a feather! I attached it to the card with a combination of Aleen's Tacky Glue and Fabri-Tac.

The next stop on your journey is the fabulous blog of Kimm Bennington-Thompson. Thanks for playing along!

~Kathie

I made this card for a friend who is a Culinary Chef at a high end resort in New York. Obviously, his name is Jeremy and I decided to put him in his own "Chef Jer's Bistro". I created the sentiment on my computer. Jeremy made a fabulous Italian dinner for me a few months ago when he was visiting in Arizona, so the pile of spaghetti seemed perfect for him! The image was colored with Prisma Colored pencils and blended with Gamsol. The floor image and the chef are Stampin' Up stamps; the wall is patterned paper. Jer's pants are paper pieced.

I hope you've enjoyed your visit to Chef Jer's Bistro and a little taste of Italy!

~Kathie