Best Wishes Echo Park Mini Card Kit

Hi Everyone! Thought I would show you my next card kit to go on Etsy. Is it just me or is there not enough time in the day! I wish that I could get more kits made. Oh, well :).

So I am still liking to make small cards for my kits. But I thought I would try a different size besides my standard 4" square card. So, okay, it's still 4". But I did 4"x3". Ha! Talk about a variation! :). But I do have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

Here is the card:



Best Wishes Card Kit W/Echo Park paper:
Cardstock - Very Vanilla, Soft Suede Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper - For the Record Echo Park
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Marina Mist Stampin' Up!
Punches - Scallop border, Designer Label, Itty Bitty Flower Stampin' Up!
Mini Clippie - Stampin'  Up!
Twine - My Stash
Ribbon - cream grosgrain My Stash

I think it is safe to say, I have finally joined the Echo Park band wagon. As much as I have loved all the lines that I have seen, I am already a huge American Crafts fan, and I feel like a lot of their lines look like American Crafts - even though they are super super super cute! But I found a line of theirs today called For the Record. It has my name written all over it! It's so shabby and pretty and reminds me of my grandma :). I can't wait to see everything I can come up with now!

As for the shabby stamp set above - it's actually a combination of 3 - the pretty birdhouse and "no. 147" is a Stampin' Up! set that I have been debating for quite some time of whether I should get it or not. Well I finally bit the bullet, and I love it!!! I admit, I don't love all of the stamps in the set, but I have a few like that anyway. The set is called Nature Walk and it is in the current mini catalog. The bird is from the Sale-a-Bration set, Bliss. And the Best Wishes stamp is from the Vintage Labels set that is now retired. As you all know, I am a Stampin' Up! girl, through and through! The images of their stamps are consistantly top notch. And the quality of their stamps is amazing. In my opinion - :) - there are only a few other brands that I think are as good of quality. Okay, there is my 2 cents! I promise that is all for the night!

Hope you all like it. When I get the kit put together, I will post it on here. And of course on Etsy to sell.

Linking up to:

Paper Issues

Have a great night everyone!

P.S. While I am thinking about it, have you all been watching American Idol! How do you choose a winner?? They are all so good! Paul is probably my favorite. And then Lauren Alaina. But I love almost everyone!

And last thing, have you been watching Outragous Kid Parties on TLC? $30k for bday parties. Who does that kind of thing? Well apparently 2 families here in Salt Lake, plus other families across the country. I don't get it!

Alright, off for the night, I promise :). Have a great one!

Card Patterns Sketch Challenge 107

Hi Everyone! Thought I would show you my very first attempt at a sketch challenge. The card didn't quite turn out how I wanted. Oh well :). Card Patterns Blog always has cute sketches. But I have never made a card from any of them. Or any sketch for that matter. So I thought I would give it a try.

First, here is my card:



Bliss Card - Card Patterns Sketch Challenge 107:
Cardstock - Pink Pirouette, Whisper White Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper - Dear Lizzy for American Crafts
Stamp - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Early Espresso Stampin' Up!
Punches - Flower Petal border EK Success; Bird, Itty Bitty Flower Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Brown Grosgrain May Arts
Paper Doilies - Darice
Bling - Half Pearlie Stampin' Up!

For the doily, because it was a lot bigger than the paper rosette, I folded it in 1/8th's, cut the center out and then gathered it so it fit snugly behind the rosette. I know it's pretty subtle, but there is an embossed hydrangea blossom on the top right hand side of the patterned paper. I didn't want to cover the whole thing up because I love it, so I did the borders, ribbon, rosette and bird on the bottom 1/3rd of the card. That way the hydrangea blossom wasn't lost.

And now here is the sketch:

As you can tell, I also rotated the the card on it's side and then, like I mentioned above, moved the scallops, ribbon and rosette down to the bottom 3rd.

I linked up my blog to the sketch challenge. I hope I win because the prize is Unity Stamps! Love them! I haven't ever purchased any of their stamps but the images are so cute! And now they have teamed up with Webster's Pages, another brand I love. So cross your fingers for me :).

Before I head off, here is one last card I made:


Happy Birthday Banner Card:
Card - Studio G
Cardstock - Whisper White Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper - Dear Lizzy for American Crafts
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Early Espresso Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - May Arts
Punches - Scallop border, Itty Bitty Heart and Flower, Designer Label Stampin' Up!
Button - Stella and Rose for My Mind's Eye
Glitter - Martha Stewart


The card is from Studio G. They have a few packages of cards where you get small cards - my favorite!!! - and coordinating envelopes. There are two of each style, and three designs. And of course, they are only $1. You can't pass that up! And because I love small cards, I definitely couldn't pass them up.

I made the banner by cutting the different papers into half in strips and then just cutting the flag end into each piece. Super easy! Oh, and before I cut the end, I scored them at 3/4" so that way each one would be a rectangle and not square. But since the card is so small, I didn't want the flags to be too big.

I am linking my post up to

Paper Issues

and

Card Patterns

If you haven't checked out either blog, I highly recommend to do so! They are both great!

Off to craft a little more before the weekend is over. Hope you have a great rest of yours!

I'm Back! And I've Been Busy!

Hello. My name is Leana and I am a crafting supply hoarder. {admitting feels good! :-)}

There, I said it! Well, not only do I hoard crafting supplies, but I am just a cluttery person in general. Sigh.... Well, my husband has been really wonderful and is helping me get out of my rut! It started with turning the weekend of Martin Luther King Day into a three day holiday of cleaning my craft room - I started the weekend before really, but kept it going. Now I am loving my room all over again! I still have a lot of work to do on it, but it is at least getting manageable.

But wait, there's more....

I also cleaned out my bedroom closet this week! I had about 6 bags of clothes that went to the D.I. - for those that don't know what that is, think Good Will - and found a bunch of clothes that fit me again :-)! I was able to put some pants and other clothes that are too big away, and get out clothes that I haven't been able to wear in like 5 years! I haven't actually typed it down here on my blog, but I can tell you all that I have lost 30 pounds :). I am starting to feel like my old self again. I still have a lot of work to do and I am not down to my goal. But I actually feel like it's achievable now. I have been basically working with the old Weight Watchers point program, but didn't follow it strictly. I have worked hard though with portion control and trying to eat healthy - though it doesn't always work.

Because of all the cleaning that I mentioned before, I was able to go through my stamps and get rid of a lot that I don't use anymore. I have them listed on Etsy for purchase. I have them listed pretty cheap, if you all want to hop on over and check them out. :-)

Aside from all this other news though, I have been trying to craft when I could sneak in some time. This evening I finally finished two things to list on Etsy. They are both card kits. One comes completely assembled with the cutest little envelopes to fit the cards. The other comes with 1 finished card and then everything needed to make 5 more cards to match.

I'll show the assembled kit first...


Don't you love that chair! It's one of my favorite stamps from the current Stampin' Up set. And it's one of my most recent purchases.





This little envelope is a Big Shot die from Stampin' Up! Isn't it so cute!

 As you all know, I love to make smaller cards. It's just my thing lately! I am doing a swap with some friends, and I was specifically told that I had to make my cards 4x5! Ha! Funny hu! Oh, well.

Anyway, I have had this envelope die since I got my Big Shot and never used it. I have used my upline, Cindy's, at her house for our monthly club projects, but I have never done anything with mine on my own. I knew though that I wanted to make a small set of cards that had envelopes to go with them. And then it hit me - du! I have envelopes that I can make and then make the cards to fit them! Gotta love the light bulb moments! So I took my favorite chair stamp and some My Mind's Eye patterned cardstock and this cute little set was born. I made 6 cards and 6 envelopes to sell at my Etsy store craftydork.

 Here is the kit all packaged up and ready for Etsy :-) ....

This is what I used to make them:

Cardstock - Pretty In Pink, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Naturals Ivory Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye
Die - Scallop Envelope Big Shot for Stampin' Up!
Punches - Itty Bitty 4 petal flower, Designer Label, Scallop Trim border, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border, Large Scallop Circle, 1/16" hole Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Chocolate Chip, Soft Suede, Pretty In Pink Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Old Olive grosgrain Stampin' Up!
Pearls - Stampin' Up!
Adhesive - glue stick 3 M; liquid glue Crystal Effects from Stampin' Up!

A few things to note: I stamped the envelope flowers in Soft Suede on 3 envelopes, and then Chocolate Chip on the other 3. Also, for some reason, even though all the chairs are in Soft Suede, a few of them came out darker than the others. Not really sure why, or how I did that! And the last thing is, the envelopes don't seal. I think they would be cute with a bit of ribbon tied around them, or just a tiny dab of Crystal Effects to hold it closed would work too.

And there you have it folks. I think these would be adorable on a present! What do you all think?

So my next kit features one of my most favorite paper brands, American Crafts! But more specifically, their Dear Lizzy line! I've said it before, but Elizabeth Kartchner is such a cutie! And her stuff is to die for! And her Enchanted papers are so cute! I love the big florals and bright colors.

This card just makes me happy....


Isn't the paper so pretty! :)

Stampin' Up!'s spring mini catalog is full of gorgeous stamps, paper and accessories. The dress form stamp is from the Oh Sew Suite line and it is one of my favorites! The button is also from Stampin' Up! but it is in the main catalog.

Here is a breakdown of the supplies:

Cardstock - Daffodil Delight, Whisper White Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper - Enchanted Dear Lizzy for American Crafts {the solid paper, besides the white, is the reverse side of the patterned paper}
Stamps - Sew Suite {dress form} Stampin' Up!; frame and "my favorite" sentiment Dear Lizzy from American Crafts
Inks - Perfect Plum, Baja Blue, Early Espresso Stampin' Up!
Punches - Small Scallop Circle, 1/16" hole, Scallop border, 1 3/8" Circle Stampin' Up!
Bling - half pearls Stampin' Up!; orange jewels Doodle Bug; pink metal flowers with rhinestones Making Memories {aren't these so cute!!!!!!}
Ribbon - blue and brown scallop American Crafts; baker's twine my stash
Button - Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Up!
Adhesive - glue stick 3M; ribbon line Pop Dots;

Here is the kit all packaged up...

The only things you need to assemble the kit together is a glue stick and a little bit of liquid glue! The liquid glue was used to adhere the orange jewels and then just a dab behind the bottom of the stand on the dress form. Everything that needs to be inked, cut, punched, tied or scored is already done for you.

As I mentioned, this card just makes me happy. :-) The colors and patterns are all about spring. And I am so anxious for it to just be here already! How about you all?

And lastly, I have some fun Valentine cards I made. Originally I had made these to go on Etsy too. I am working on a set of 10. But I had the owner of the company I work for, purchase them already :).

Here are the 3 I have finished so far...

The patterned paper is absolutely adorable, don't you think! It's all Fancy Pants brand, except the red glitter paper. The cards - in Sahara Sand - are from Stampin' Up! about 4 years ago.  They have envelopes that fit them. The patterned paper is actually to make little Valentines. They have a label on the other side so you can put to and from. But I decided I would just convert them into cards - at least for the set of 10. I bought another sheet of the paper though, so I may make some to go along with some candy as just regular Valentines.

Here are all the supplies used:

Patterned Paper - Fancy Pants
Cardstock - Whisper White, Early Espresso Stampin' Up!
Glitter Cardstock - American Crafts
Stamp - Love American Crafts
Ink - Early Espresso, Ridinghood Red markers Stampin' Up!
Punches - Scallop border, Itty Bitty 4 petal flower, Itty Bitty flower, Scallop Trim border, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border Stampin' Up!; Lace border Martha Stewart
Button - BasicGrey
Bling - pearls, rhinestones Stampin' Up!
Glitter Glue - red Studio G {used on the Happy Valentine's Day card. I used it on the heart shaped balloon}
Ribbon - Brown and white polka-dot grosgrain May Arts; Red grosgrain Making Memories; Baker's Twine my stash
Adhesive - glue stick 3m; foam adhesive Dimensionals from Stampin' Up!; Glue Line Pop Dots; liquid glue Crystal Effects from Stampin' Up!

So for the Everything Grows Better With Love card, the hearts are cut out from one of the patterned papers. On the From My Heart to Yours With Love card, those pink hearts were just  hand cut out. Stampin' Up! has a heart punch that I so want, but I just haven't bought it yet.

And there you have it. As soon as I get more of the Valentines cards finished, I'll post those. And check out my Etsy store if you are interested in the card kits. Oh and as soon as my room is finished, I will post updated pics of it here too.

Last thing before I am off... I decided to try out for the Stampin' Up! Artisian Award this year. I don't know what my chances are, but here's hoping! I have a few things completed already. But I will share them at a later date :)

Hope you are all good and staying crafty!