I'm back from my summer hiatus! ;-)

This summer was BUSY for us! Too busy to craft, let alone blog!

But now that Fall is almost here it's time to get back into the swing of things! :-)

I've been happily working on a bunch of new projects that I plan on sharing with you over the next few weeks! And I've been improving some old projects as well (new coffee sleeve designs and crocheted embellishments!)

For now I'll show you my latest fun project: stamped tile coasters!

This is a quick and inexpensive gift item that's super fun (and easy!) to make!

You'll need:

-Tumbled Marble Coasters (available at Lowes in boxes of 9. Couldn't find any at Home Depot. Go through the box first to make sure there are no broken ones!)

-Felt or cork with a sticky back. (This is for the little "feet" on the bottom of coasters to keep them from scratching surfaces.I found mine at Lowes.)

-Stazon ink (available at Capture Scrapbooking)

-Various fun stamps in whatever pattern you like! Acrylic or wood both work just fine, but make sure you have an acrylic block for your stamp if you are using acrylic stamps!

-Colored permanent markers such as Sharpie's (optional)


Instructions:

First, wash your tiles to get rid of the chalky dust and let them air dry.

Next, choose your stamp(s) and how you'd like them to be arranged on your tile.

Load up your stamps with your Stazon ink and start stamping! You'll want to be careful that your stamp doesn't slip (those tiles can be slippery!) and ruin your image. Lift it straight up when you are done to prevent smudging.

Let it dry thoroughly.

Once the ink has dried, you can color it in with your colored markers.

When you are done, you'll want to bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes to set the ink. This will help keep it from fading over time.

Once they have cooled, put the felt or cork backing or "feet" on them and you are done! Easy as that!

Here is a set I made using a now retired stamp set from Close To My Heart:


A closer view:




The felt feet I used:


Thanks for looking and check back soon for more posts and contests!

Happy Crafting!
;-)

June Challenge

This month's challenge is an "Inspiration" challenge!

June is a popular month for weddings, and in honor of that, I found a great wedding cake pic to inspire you!



I absolutely ADORE this cake!

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE black and white color combos. And I love scalloped edges as well. And the small dots incorporated into the scalloped edge and borders. And the beautiful flowers!! (I could go on!)

So as soon as I saw this pic I knew I had to use it as a fun inspiration challenge!

Here is my creation:



I used a background stamp from CTMH to mimic the polka dots on the cake. I also used Stickles in Black Diamond and Tiara to highlight the circle, kind of like the dotted icing does on the scalloped edges.

I also added a large flower, and kept the colors simple, just like the pic of the cake.

So, hopefully you'll get inspired by the pic I've chosen and come up with something fun too, be it a card, a layout, or any other paper crafting creation!

Want to see what you're playing for?

This month, I'm giving away a set of Prima Pebbles!



These little self-adhesive "pebbles" are perfect in the center of flowers and make great accent pieces all by themselves! There are many different styles to choose from, available at Capture.

This set has a swirl pattern in fun summer colors, perfect for any occasion! :)

To participate in the challenge, just make a paper crafted (or digital) creation based on the inspiration pic above, and upload the URL to your pic to the Mr. Linky widget below:



NOTE: Starting this month, I'm making things easier for everyone by incorporating the challenge to the Crafty Kitty Facebook page!

Now there are TWO ways to upload your pics! You can use the Mr. Linky widget, or simply upload your pic on Facebook to my Fan Page to be submitted for the challenge! To post your photo(s) on the Facebook fan page, just visit my page Crafty Kitty and upload your pic directly from your computer on my wall. Be sure to include your name and the date, and a link to your blog if you have one!!

This challenge contest ends Sunday, June 27th at Midnight!

Thanks for playing!

:-)

A Congratulations card (and the May Challenge winner!)

This is a card I made for our babysitter, Amy for graduation. She recently moved away (she's joining the Peace Corp, and right now, she's touring Europe. How cool is that?!?) So, sadly for us, it was also somewhat of a "goodbye" card. :(



For the circles, I used stamps from Technique Tuesday and Basic Grey. The sentiment and stamped flower are from My Favorite Things (now retired).

The white flower is cut from felt and tissue paper on my Cuttlebug. (Man I love that thing! I'm making felt hair barrettes and embellishments next!)

The ruffle is just a crinkled strip of paper glued down with Terrifically Tacky Red Line Tape (available at Capture) and covered at the top with some black ribbon.

Now on to the challenge winner......

Congratulations to Buffie (i.e. Crafty Guam Girl) for winning the May Challenge! She gets a custom made cell phone/camera cozy! Check out her cute card:



Stay tuned for the newest challenge! I'm changing things up a bit and (hopefully) making it easier for more people to participate. More details to come!

;-)

Clear Acrylic Cards

Join me this Wednesday, June 2nd at Capture Scrapbooking to learn how to make these 4 fun CLEAR cards!



They're so fun you almost won't want to give them away! ;-)

The class is from 6:30-8:30, Wednesday, June 2nd at Capture in Fort Collins, CO.

$15 for 4 cards.

Can't make it to the class? Buy a kit instead! We will even ship it to you!

Fun new storage cases AND paper flowers tutorial!

So, for the last year or so, I've had my eye on this SUPER cute storage container at Capture. I finally decided I needed it. I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for at first, but then I remembered that my teensy mini tote was literally BURSTING with fun embellishments (like rhinestones, buttons and small acetate flowers and swirls) So I bought it to relieve my mini tote (lol). :)



The top opens up to reveal a pretty deep open storage compartment, perfect for all my sticky buttons and "bling".





The 4 "drawers" are separate containers that pull out, perfect for my collection of brads!



(and yes, I organized them all by color & style. I had to. It's my OCD. Everything I use...in the crafting world anyway...has to be colorized. :) Clockwise from the top, its: jumbo brads and loose buttons & baubles, specialty brads, including sparkle,
rhinestone, flower shaped and fabric, neutral and metallic brads, and solid color brads.)

Needless to say, this is my FAVORITE new toy! Want one of your own? There's one left at Capture, so hurry in today!

Next up: my Stickles container.

You might think one could manage with a somewhat small container for these wonderful and versatile little tubes of glitter glue.

Well, you'd be wrong.

Seeing as how I own oh, about FORTY bottles of Stickles (what? That's not normal??) I needed a large container.

AND, I wanted to be able to store them upside down so they didn't get those annoying air bubbles that threaten to ruin your lovely projects.

So I bought this hugemongous monstrosity, known as my "color box". (I call it that b/c it's so big, I put all of my markers, Smooch Spritz sprays (available at Capture!), colored flock and mini viles of glitter in there, as well as all my Stickles. So basically everything I need to color my world. :-) Well, everything except the dozens of ink pads I have, but that's another post, lol.)





What is that funny looking list in there you say? Welp, my OCD is so bad, I had to make a list of my Stickle colors and an example of what they looked like dry. So I made one. Call me crazy, but anyone who scrapbooks with me always uses my handy little list so......  :P



This wonderful storage container is also available at Capture, along with a variety of different size containers.

After I had organized all of my glitters and sprays and whatnot, I felt the need to create. So I made some more paper flowers, including a new style I found over at Little Birdie Secrets!

The first two are paper roses (find the tutorial for these here). I used white paper heavily inked in red for the first one, and then stamped the 2nd one and sprayed it with white Smooch Spritz  to give it a pearly shimmer. I also added a rhinestone to the center of the 2nd rose. They look better in real life than they do in these pics, but...what can ya do?




Next, I made some Box Top Flowers from Little Birdie Secrets. I didn't have a way to make a scalloped circle at the time, so I just made them with plain circles, but I liked the way they came out. I also sprayed one of them with my red Smooch Spritz. (Man that stuff is fun!)



That's all for now. I hope you try making the flowers too! They're addictive!;-)

Thanks for looking!

Upcoming card classes at Capture

Join me this weekend at Capture Scrapbooking (Fort Collins, CO.) for some fun card classes!

Saturday, May 15th from 1:00-3:00pm: Distressed Cards!

I'll teach you some great paper distressing techniques (including paper ruffles and a new paper flower!)while we make four gorgeous cards, perfect for any occasion!

$12



***********************************************************

Sunday, May 16th, Noon-2:00pm: Masculine Cards!

Create four fun cards for the man in your life! Perfect for birthdays, Father's Day, or just because! And since the sentiments are created with stamps, you can switch them out to make one for your brother, husband, father or son (and even in-laws!)

$12



Sign up in store or online today!

Not local to the area or can't make the class? Buy a kit instead! Everything is pre-cut and ready for you with pictures included. All you have to do is glue it down! We can even mail it to you! :-)

May Challenge: Sketch Contest!

Are you ready for the new May Challenge?!
It's fun and simple. :-)

It's a sketch! :)



I haven't had time to create a card based on this sketch yet, but it's from the Mojo Monday blog, and there are a TON of great projects posted there using this sketch! Check it out for some inspiration!

You aren't limited to creating a card either! This sketch would be cute on a layout too! Feel free to think outside the box! ;-)


Want to know what you're playing for?

This month, the winner will receive either a free camera/cell phone cozy OR a free coffee sleeve! You choose which item and what colors you'd like! (Pick any color of the rainbow...I pretty much have them all! You're not limited to the colors shown here. ;-)





So, upload your pics to the Mr. Linky widget here:



This contest will end Monday, May 31st, so make sure you get your pics entered by then!

Not sure how to share your pics for the contest? If you don't have a blog of your own, you can upload your pics to almost any photo hosting website (like Flickr or Photobucket or Shutterfly) These sites will create a URL for your photo. Once you have the URL, copy and paste it into the Mr. Linky and you're done!
(If uploading from your blog, make aure you ulpoad the URL to the POST which contains your pic, not the URL to your blog in general.)
If you need further assistance, please email me or send me a message on Facebook. :)


Congratulations to last month's winner, Jenny Petrillo! She made an absolutely adorable card using three different types of "shine"! :-) Check it out! (I think my fav. part is the clear acetate flower!) :





Thanks for playing, and happy crafting!
;-)