Welcome...

This card was such a quick card, but I loved how fun the elements are. Very simple.

I used the Kitchen Sink Playful Ovals and Never a Loss 4 Words sets for this card. Once I'd stamped the floral oval, I cut it out using my trusty Coluzzle (love that tool!!!). I also cut out an oval for the center.

Designer Tip:

To get perfect placement of the sentiment (Welcome and Little one are
separate words from the set), I placed them face down on the oval where I wanted
them to be and then pressed an acrylic block to pick them up. I then inked
the words and was able to get them aligned perfectly.

To finish the card off, I added a line of flowers on the card base, inked the edges and added white gel pen dots to the centers of all the flowers. It adds the ideal finishing touch!

Thanks for stopping by,

lise

Aren't Babies Wonderful???

I love little ones. I have bigger kids now, but I loved it when they were little. Now I get to enjoy when friends are having little ones!!!

This project was made for a friend of mine who is having a little one (any day now, actually).

The baby's room is is yellow, pale green and I think there are black accents... so, I made this baby frame. My friends don't know if they are having a boy or a girl, so the colors are perfect. I usually prefer to make the frame with the baby's name... but that's yet to be determined. So, I'll swap out the center when the little angel is here.

I used Kitchen Sink's Playful Alphabet for these projects. I like that it's easy to line up clear alphabets and the style is really very versatile. I stamped the letters in light green and colored with brush tip markers (dye based). Very sweet in real life!

The second part of the gift was a mobile. I'd seen the design in PaperCrafts magazine - so the design concept is not mine. {reference: Paper Crafting with Photos, PaperCraft magazine, pg 57, Designer: Wendy Sue Anderson} I just loved the project and thought I'd try my hand at one too. I covered a styrofoam ring with designer paper and adhered ribbons to hang the final mobile. I added ribbon to the ring to hang clips. Attached to each clip is a covered chipboard circle or square, in which I'd stamped the letters - B-A-B-Y and flowers. I loved how it finished!

This is a close up of the clips and chipboard letters. Sorry for the blur. It was swinging!

Thanks for stopping by,

Lisa

Sweet Bunny Boy...

My son has always loved bunnies. He received a stuffed peach bunny from my mother-in-law when he was born and still sleeps with him. I think it's darling... until it's two in the morning and that little bunny rattles it's way to our room to get us up. Oh well.

Anyway, my little man just had a birthday and he asked for a bunny card. I was SO happy to! I'd just received this set from Kitchen Sink Stamps - 3 Step Honey Bunny set. It's darling!!!

Bunny Birthday:I used the ribbon by WeR Memory Keepers as my inspiration for the color choice (a good boy combo... teal, rust, and olive). I used my Nestabilities to cut out the image and matte. It's as simple as that! And my little birthday boy loved the card!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

lise

Kitchen Sink Sweetie

I love the ease of using clear stamps. It's so easy to line up the images.




This card is a one I made with Kitchen Sink's valentines's set - Forever & Always:

This was really fast! I used Basic Grey's Stella Ruby designer paper (I prefer the 6x6 pads for cardmaking since the size of the pattern is smaller), as the inspiration for the color scheme. The main image is the gorgeous swirled sentiment of the set... and a peak of the same swirl was inked on the Rose Red layer. Nothing else is needed! Purely beautiful in it's own right.

I distressed the edges with my paper snips after I stitched around the edge with my sewing machine. I added a bit of ink to add to the roughed up charm and embellished with some Flame Dew Drops. Very simple.

Thanks for stopping by,

Lisa

Charmed!

I had the Kitchen Sink Playful Alphabet on my work desk and thought I'd try something different. I found my shrink film (which to be honest, took me longer than the project itself... my room is a mess).

I stamped the image with Black Stazon on the shrink film (this is a matte / opaque film, but you could use a clear). I punched each image out with a different shape punch... the heart was perfect for the designer label punch by Stampin Up, a circle for the "r" and the key tag punch for the "j". I added a hole at the top of each.

To shrink, I do it the easy way. I put my piercing tool in the hole on the top (you must do this before you shrink), and gently heat with my heat gun. I have an old acrylic block handy to flatten, in case an edge curls. And that's all it takes! No fussing with the oven.

The challenge for me was how to color the image. Since I used Stazon and still wanted the detail of the stamped image to shine through, I needed to use something that wouldn't smear or compete. Watercolor markers will wipe off without "sticking". Copics or Sharpies will smear the Stazon. And then the lightbulb moment... Pearl-ex and wax. You know you've got Future Floor wax and Pearl-ex in your stamping room. Admit it! I needed something that wasn't water soluble or alcohol based - so the Pearl-ex and wax is a perfect fit!

I painted the images with a bit of Pearl-ex and gently heated again to set. It's just that simple.

I think these charms will make a great addition to a card or as a gift itself. I have a friend that I know collects cell phone charms... so one is going to her right away.

Thanks for stopping by,

Lisa

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

OK... so that's not what I ended up using as the sentiment of this card, but that's what I was thinking when I created this flower.

Love You Always card:I used the Pretty Petals stamp set by Kitchen Sink Stamps to create this card. I have to say... it's a DREAM to use. It's so easy to make a flower, and make it even! Being clear, you can see exactly where it needs to be positioned. Perfect outcome on the first try!

I did each petal separately so I could alternate the colors, but if you wanted to create the flower on your acrylic block and stamp at one time, you could do that too. I do have one tip for you on the sentiment. I used the Never a Loss 4 Words set. I placed the words face down on the cardstock, aligning them where I wanted them. When everything was in place, I pressed my block on top of them and gently lifted. The words stuck to the block, I inked and viewed where I wanted to put them. Perfect.

This card was SO quick for that very reason.

Thanks for stopping by,

Lisa

----------------------------

Supplies:

Stamps: Pretty Petals and Never a Loss 4 Words by Kitchen Sink Stamps

Paper: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White by SU

Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Garden Green, So Saffron, and Basic Black by SU

Accessories: Clear dew drops, ticket corner punch, white gel pen for highlights.

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe a new year is here already! I'm not sure where 2007 went!

Some housekeeping, before I share a quick card:

1. I added a subscription option to my blog. If you'd like an email when I add a post, just drop your email address in the Feedblitz bucket on my sidebar.

2. Cornish Heritage Farms is having a sale today (1/1/08!!!). Check it out!

And now a card:This was a fairly quick card using the 3-Step Daisy set by Kitchen Sink Stamps. I stamped the daisy on Kraft paper - first in white pigment ink, a light and dark yellow for depth to the detail. The final touch to the daisies are the chocolate brown centers.

So... I'll update you with more details on the card tomorrow... oops, I mean today (after I've slept).

Happy New Year!

lise

p.s. More later from me... I'd love to know your resolutions for the new year.

------------------

ETA: Card supplies

Stamps: 3-Step Daisy, Never a Loss 4 Words by Kitchen Sink Stamps

Paper: Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive

Ink: White craft, So Saffron, More Mustard, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip by SU

Embellishments: buttons, Sunflower Dew Drops, Tonic piercing tool and matte, sponges

Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Holiday...

I hope you didn't mind the break from holiday cards. It can be overwhelming to create Christmas cards on a TIGHT deadline. And, being the classic overachiever that I am, I must finish. Not sending cards isn't an option for me.

A few things that I do to make life simple:

1. Create mailing labels for all my family and friends. It only takes the investment of time once to create a database of the addresses.


2. Determine which cards are going to get a personal letter or handwritten note and which ones are going to just be signed with your name and best wishes. This creates a "fast" and "slow" pile. Get the bulk of the cards done quickly and you'll feel a sense of accomplishment.


3. Make simpler cards. I know... it's tempting to make that really knock-out, kicked up card to impress your family and friends. But remember, not everyone saves every card sent to them. I know... let the shock of it absorb for a second. Breathe in, breathe out. OK, better now? The truth of the matter is that friends will just be amazed you sent them - in the age of emails and e-cards. Keep it simple.

So, with those thoughts / ramblings on Christmas cards, I'll share with you a really quick card:

The elements of this card that make it fast are the designer paper (Blitzen Basic Grey), punches or dies that make the central image pop, and an embellishment like ribbon (cut for many once you've determined the length needed). When I made a stack of cards using this three step image from Kitchen Sink Stamps, I lined up each step image on their own acrylic blocks next to their ink color. I was able to do a production line operation with a complex-looking image... and no one will be the wiser!

In this card, I've kicked it up a bit, without adding much to the time invested in the project. I used my new Copic marker airbrush system that I bought from Ellen Hutson LLC. This was a first attempt for me, so it's a tad blotchy... but oh, so cool. And FAST! I also added some of the clear Dew Drops I bought from Ellen and colored the backs with my Copic so they would match the paper perfectly. I love those darn things!

The last piece was to add the sentiment, which highlights two of the words in the Never a Loss 4 Words set by Kitchen Sink Stamps. Great variety of words to select...

I hope this helps someone... but now, I'm off to make more Christmas cards! Yikes!

Thanks for stopping by,

Lisa

---------------------

Supplies:

Stamps: 3-Step Holly & Mistletoe by Kitchen Sink Stamps and Never a Loss 4 Words set by Kitchen Sink Stamps.

Paper: Blitzen Basic Grey, Old Olive cardstock, Shimmery white, Cranberry Crisp (retired SU), Creamy Caramel

Ink: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Cranberry Crisp, Stazon Timber Brown

Embellishments: Dew Drops, stitched ribbon, Copic airbrush system

So... What's going on in the Kitchen?

If you answer the question literally at my house, not a thing! I did so much stamping this weekend that I managed to talk my husband into dinner out. SWEET!

But seriously, Kitchen Sink Stamps is releasing 4 new sets December 3 (tomorrow!!!) that are really wonderful.


Happy Birthday Cupcake set is one of the new sets. I made a card and a matching gift tag today and chose a more masculine color scheme to it.

Denim Wishes:
The large circle in the set was used to make the background paper - a tone on tone stamping of Brocade Blue. I stamped the large cupcake and colored in blue and red. With the small sentiment in the set, I rimmed the main image, adding a dot of red glitter between phrases. It came together really fast... something I love.

The tag has the same color scheme:To achieve the dome topped tag, I used my trusty Coluzzle and oval template. Love that thing! The same layout was used, the only difference is that the central image is the circular cupcake image. My son told me he liked the colors... and asked if I could save this for his birthday next year. Hmmmm... I'm sure I can do that.

Check in at Kitchen Sink Stamps tomorrow for the new sets. Keep your eyes peeled for a banner ad at Splitcoaststampers... could mean savings for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa

--------------------------------------------

Supplies:

Stamps: Happy Birthday Cupcake

Paper: White, Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, Real Red

Ink: Pitch Black and Brocade Blue

Accessories: Coluzzle oval template and blade, Large eyelet, red and navy grosgrain and gingham ribbons, Copic markers, Spica glitter pens, staple.

Birthday Wish

I have birthdays on the brain right now. I have several friends and family members with birthdays this time of year. In fact, today is my grandmother's birthday. I am so grateful that she (and my grandpa) are a part of our lives. My children spend the morning with them until they go to school... their great-grandparents. How wonderful, don't you think? With grandma's health issues in the recent past (doctors found a brain aneurysm that was treatable with non-invasive surgery = miracle), I'm glad we're celebrating. It makes my heart light to think about it.

So, I have a fun birthday card to share with you.

The card base is Bashful blue, with all the designer papers by Cosmo Cricket (Storytime). I used a new set by Kitchen Sink Stamps called Happy Birthday Cupcake, which will be released on December 3rd. It's a very versatile set, perfect for quick cards, paper piecing, you name it. I stamped the circle in Certainly Celery on shimmery white cardstock. The central cupcake is stamped in black and colored with copic markers. I added a bit of glimmer to the icing and candle with Copic Spica glitter pens. It's cut out (a small scallop edge) and popped up with dimensional tape. I used the corner ticket punch to give the striped panel a bit of the circular design and inked edges. I added the little sentiment in black - because who doesn't want their birthday wish to come true? The ribbon completed the fun... really simple.

I will be making more cards with this set, so check back soon!

Thanks for stopping by,

Lisa

More Love from the Kitchen!

So, if you couldn't tell yet, I've been in a rush to create holiday cards this year. I've really been meaning to have them done by now, but I've had other projects I just HAD to do first. But, I've been slowly collecting cards that are perfect for my close friends and family - a mix of simple, elegant and kicked up cards!

For both of these cards, I used stamp sets from Kitchen Sink Stamps.

Retro Ornaments:

The primary set used for this card is the Background & Borders set by Kitchen Sink Stamps. Now, the card looks complicated, but it went together fairly fast.

The card base is white cardstock with a little pink dye ink sponged onto the edges (this is all retro, remember - LOL). The background matte is Certainly Celery cardstock with the same color diamonds stamped on it. Then, I stamped various patterns of the backgrounds on white cardstock - like the small swirls in Certainly Celery dye ink, multiple colors for the stripes, Real Red and Pretty in Pink diamonds. These scraps were used to decorate my ornament shapes.

To create the ornaments, I used my oval Coluzzle template to partially cut ovals, leaving the bottom portion uncut. With a pencil, I freehanded the pointed bottoms and cut out with my precision scissors. I used a sanding block to even out any imperfections. I added a bit of foil (glued to paper scraps for stability) for the tops of the ornaments and added a jump ring for that authentic look. The Coluzzle made another appearance for the circle ornament - and the sentiment strip. The sentiment is from the new set, Never a Loss 4 Words - to be released on Dec. 3rd. Stay tuned for more samples with this set. It's amazing!

Gifts:

This card was super simple.

The card base is Real Red with a matte of Kraft cardstock. I used the Backgrounds & Borders set again to create "wrapping paper" designs, on shimmery white and Garden Green cardstocks. With the Classic Rectangle Nestabilities I purchased from Ellen Hutson's store, I cut out the gifts and embossed. The third gift is a rectangle gift bag out of Creamy Caramel cardstock with hemp twine handles. It's adhered with dimensional tape and has a sprig of tissue behind it. The sentiment and the gift ribbon are from the 3 Step Holly & Mistletoe set. The final touch to the card was the shadows inked under the packages to give some grounding to the image. Overall, a very fun card.

I hope you enjoyed these projects. I had a blast making them. I will have some new KSS stamps this week and projects posted. The next release will be December 3rd... so cool!

Thanks for stopping by,
Lisa

Holly

This card falls into the quick category for me. The set is the 3-Step Holly and Mistletoe set by Kitchen Sink Stamps - a Holiday favorite of mine!

The card base is Ruby Red by SU with a matte of Fruitcake designer paper. The central image - the large Holly Leaves - was stamped with Creamy Caramel, Certainly Celery and Old Olive. The center berries were stamped in Creamy Caramel and Ruby Red (first kissed off for the second layer and full-force for the top layer). I added some random highlights to the leaves with a white gel pen.

The sentiment (not yet released - so it's a sneak...) is from Never a Loss 4 Words was stamped in Chocolate Chip on Kraft paper. The paper was faux stitched - my trusty mat pack, paper piercing tool and white gel pen. A quick button finished the card.

I didn't realize until I was typing my description that I didn't use ribbon on this card. **Gasp** To be honest, when making a stack of holiday cards, I try to limit supplies a bit so it's not so costly to create and mail. I'm adding this design to my stack for easy duplication!

Who knows, I may get all my cards done in time this year! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa

Smooches...

Since Christmas is just around the corner, I would normally have my cards all ready... just waiting for my darling kiddos' pictures. But... not so this year. It's been a crazy year. One minute we're planning summer vacation, the next we're planning Christmas gifts. Sheesh!

So this card is a quick one I'd like to share with you.

The card base is olive green, with a layer of holly cardstock from the Basic Grey Fruitcake line – a line of stitching added to anchor the layer. When I make a mass of these (which WILL happen), I plan to eliminate the stitching for speed.

The mistletoe image is a 3-step stamp by Kitchen Sink Stamps - 3 Step Holly and Mistletoe; light tan ink as the base and two shades of green on shimmery cream cardstock build the mistletoe. The red ribbon (center) was stamped, trimmed and added with dimensional tape. Additional highlights to the stamped image were added with a white gel pen. The central image was cut out with rectangle Nestabilities and while the die was still in place, I sponged light brown ink towards the mistletoe image, leaving the edge of the rectangle unlinked. It is mounted on a scallop of ruby red cardstock.

I didn’t have ruby red ribbon, so I dyed white grosgrain ribbon by coloring with a Copic marker to match (great trick!). The ribbon was threaded around the holly cardstock. A quick addition of the striped ribbon and a few brads finish the card.

I think typing the description took longer than it did to make this card. But isn't it pretty? I know I'll be making a stack of these for this holiday! Simple elegance.

Thank you,

Lisa

Have you given up on me?

Hi! I swear, I've been stamping. I just have been on a kick to get things submitted. So, I promise to have a few things to share with you soon.

I did happen to see Jeanne and Sherrie's Challenge today... Just Because We Wanna (JBWW). The challenge was to make a black and white card with a splash of color. These are TOUGH. I think the main image really has to be stunning to pull this off.


So... I gave it a shot.
This Santa Portrait is amazing, isn't it? I love the detail. He looks so life-like and stamping it in black and white is perfect. I purchased him from Stamp Francisco about a month ago and have just inked him today. What was I waiting for?!?!?

The card base was stamped with the Petite Pattern Backgrounder by CHF. The splash of color came from my Kitchen Sink Stamps - holly, which I trimmed with precision scissors and added with a dimensional. The greeting is also from the KSS 3 Step Holly and Mistletoe set. I added a quick bit of grosgrain ribbon and completed the card. To get the ribbon to lay in a flowing manner, I adhered it in several spots with mini-glue dots. I saw this on the fabulous Sharon Johnson's blog (No Time to Stamp?).

Thanks for hanging with me... I promise to post again soon,

Lisa

Simple.. or is it?!?

I recently joined a share for metal sheets by my friend Sencie (her blog is amazing, by the way ---> Serving the King). I was too intrigued to pass this up. I have to admit that I've used tin before in my stamping... heavy duty foil, double thick... and it still ripped. I thought I'd try these metal sheets to see how they work.

I'm really glad I did. The card came together so quickly!!!

Here it is:

The metal layer was embossed with the textile Cuttlebug folder. To give the silver tin a "less shiny" appearance, I used Ranger alcohol inks (Currant, Butterscotch and Meadow). Once this was dry (a few minutes to loose the tacky feeling), I dabbed Wheat VersaMagic ink over to highlight the design.

The stamped image is from the Kitchen Sink Stamps (3-Step Holly and Mistletoe). I added a bit of Fruitcake designer paper, ribbon loops and a couple of brads.

Simple! And yet, I think it looks pretty kicked up, don't you?!?!

Thanks for stopping by,

Lisa

Kitchen Sink - A Card for you!

Hello! While all the Design Team from Kitchen Sink Stamps have been creating up a storm, I've been waiting on our lovely postal service to get my kit to me. While I'm not always a patient person, there's just nothing you can do...

So, I hope you don't mind that I'm catching up a bit with the crew and just posting a card today.

The card base is Old Olive cardstock, with panels of Basic Grey Fruitcake, and scallop panels in teal. The stamped image was created with the Holly 3-step stamps to build a wreath. I used a circle punched out of a post-it note to give me a working base for a circular shaped wreath. I stamped the ribbon separate, trimmed it out, and popped it up for dimension.

The card is a Gatefold card. The central image has a scalloped square matte that had been cut and embossed from my Nestabilities set.

Anyway... I hope you like this card. The set (3 Step Holly & Mistletoe) is truly gorgeous! I can see that I'll get a lot of use out of it!

Thanks for looking,

Lisa

------------------------------------

Supplies:

Stamps: 3 Step Holly & Mistletoe

Paper: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Taken with Teal, White GP cardstock, Fruitcake by Basic Grey

Ink: All VersaMagic (Leaves: #1 Wheat, #2 Tea Leaves, #3 Hint of Pesto; Berries: #1 Red Magic, #2 Red Brick, #3 Wheat; Ribbon: #1 Aspen Mist, #2 Sea Breeze, #3 Ocean Depth)

Accessories: Ribbon, copper brads, Nestabilities

Kitchen Sink - Almost Here!!!

Are you ready??? The release is November 1st!!

The release is 4 new Holiday Stamp Sets from Kitchen Sink Stamps! Look for the banner ad on Thursday, November 1st at Splitcoaststampers. You can purchase the new stamps and get a 15% discount!!!

So exciting!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Lisa

Exciting News!

I'm thrilled to have been asked to be a visiting crew member to Kitchen Sink Stamps. It's a new company that specializes clear stamps with detail being the cornerstone.



The announcement on the Sink News is HERE! These ladies are celebrity chefs, indeed!!!


Kitchen Sink Crew
Paula Bloom
Nicole Cooke
Tracy Durcan
Tammy Hershberger
Erika Martin
Julie Masse
Sarah Moore
Rebecca Oehlers
Lori Tecler
Jan Tinklenberg


Visiting Crew Members
Dee Jackson
Rachel Shirk
Beth Silaika
Lisa Silver

As a visitor, I'll be headed to the Kitchen to cook up a few designs as needed. But, be prepared to wait in line for what the KS Crew is serving!

Thanks for stopping by,

Lisa