My Other Pages

To make it easier to read about our trip to Ireland, I have made a page that is just for that. There is a tab above for Ireland Trip 2014 or click on the Home tab to read my other posts. I have also created a new page for My Weight Loss Journey if you are interested in that, click on the tab above.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Sneakers

Hi all you people out there in bloggerland! 
When I saw Sneakers (#12706) in the QKR Stampede store, I loved it right away.  Maybe it was that it reminds me of my son and his not so small feet, I don't know, but I loved this image and had to have it.

I had to pair it with this argyle paper from TaDa Creative Studio, as Jaryd loves argyle.  I know the argyle is running sideways, but does it really make a difference?  I like it anyway, LOL!
The houndstooth is the other side of this wonderful TaDa patterned paper.

I saw this style of card somewhere on the net and thought it was pretty neat and wanted to try it out. I think it turned out pretty nice. The over all size of the closed card is 4" x 4" and it opens diagonally.



Inside there is a pocket that holds a little note card where any sentiment can be added. This pocket is also a great place to put a gift card or some cash for the recipient.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Why not hop on over to QKR Stampede and see what images you have to have?
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this style of card.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Blog award. Thanks Roxie!

I had a nice surprise from my blogger friend and fellow QKR design team member, Roxie.  She honored me with the "Stylish Blogger Award"  I have the award posted at the right side bar of my blog, as I have received this one before and given to others also.
Part of what I need to do is to post 8 things about myself on my blog, so here goes.  Hopefully, I won't post any of the same things I posted before.
1.  I was an RN in my 'former life' but I haven't worked in nursing for over 25 years.
2.  When I was much younger, I always wanted to be a redhead, and now I am.
3.  I have been friends with my one sister in law for over 50 years and with another for over 40 yrs.  Pretty long time for someone as young as I am, eh?
4.  When I was a kid, I used to tell the other kids that my Dad killed Hitler.  After all he was my hero and what better thing for a hero to have done.
5.  I hate fresh tomatoes, but not as much as I hate tripe.
6.  My favorite foreign country is Ireland.
7.  The coolest thing I've ever done on a vacation is fly over Tuscany in a hot air balloon.
8.  I took about 10 yrs. of baton lessons as a kid, and I was pretty darn good at it too, if I must say so myself.  Maybe some day I'll share a picture of my adorable self here on my blog in one of my costumes.  Wouldn't that be a hoot!

So there you go, a little bit about me for you.  I know I've shared some strange things here, but heck I'm a strange kind of person.  LOL!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Girl with Balloon

Girl with Balloon (#4901) is an adorable stamp from QKR Stampede.  I thought she would be perfect on this woven heart that I made.
I started by cutting strips of different papers, some patterned and some solid colors.  I then laid out several strips horizontally and used more strips to weave through them vertically.  I use ATG Tape to adhere the whole thing to a piece of scrap card stock.  I made a heart template and traced it onto the back of the woven piece and cut it out, then adhered it to purple card stock and cut around it.
I stamped the Girl with Balloon onto white card stock and colored her with colored pencils. I used my Cuttlebug and a Nestabilities die to cut the oval shape. 
 I inked the edge of the oval and used foam tape to adhere the oval to the heart and the heart to the card base.

To finish off the card, I added some Prima flowers and added pearl accents in the flowers and the opposite corner.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Why not take a hop over to QKR Stampede and see this image and so many other wonderful images.  You never know what you might find there that you need!

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Another blast from the past.

Hello craft lovers!
While looking through old digital pictures the other night, I came across a lot of pictures of ceramic pieces that I had painted.  These bring back some wonderful memories.  I do miss painting!  Maybe I'll get back into it one day.
When I was working at Different Strokes, a paint your own pottery studio, I did a lot of custom orders.  I remember the first time Toby asked me about doing a custom order.  A customer had called to ask if something could be painted for her and Toby said to her "Probably, Kristie can paint anything!  Let me ask her  and I'll get back to you."  I couldn't believe it when he told me this!  But he had confidence in me and from then on, I did all the custom orders that came in.  Some of the pieces I'm showing you were custom orders and some are pieces that I painted for myself or as gifts.  I hope you enjoy them.
This platter was a custom order for a wedding.  There are markers that you can purchase to write on ceramic pieces that have been glazed and fired, then you 'bake' them in your home oven.  This couple was having their guests sign the platter to have for a keepsake.  It matched their invitations and theme.
This piece is actually a platter which I painted and drilled holes through.  The woman that ordered it wanted it for their winter place in Bermuda or somewhere equally as tropical.  She was going to have someone attach it right to the front of Poolside Villa #5.  She wanted tropical flowers and bright colors and that's what I gave her.  She loved the end results.  I wish the picture showed the detail and shading in the flowers better.

I made this plate for my niece's baby shower.  We all signed it at the shower with the markers that I wrote about above.

Know that baby shower above?  I made this plate for the baby from that shower, my great niece Sami.  Eric, her dad, is pretty partial to Curious George, so I made this for her, or him as the case may be.

The couple that managed Different Strokes, for a while before it closed, asked me to make this plate.  Toby said his mom was 'famous' for her deviled eggs and he asked me to design and make a plate that they could take back to Arizona with them.  This is what I made for her.  If you look closely you can see that there are several silly little chicks coming out of eggs where the eggs are to sit.  They don't show very well, but I'm telling ya, they were cute.  Wonder if she still has that plate!

This is a spoon rest that I made for myself.  I love it!  I also made a little cup and saucer set that match it which sit on the buffet in my diningroom.
Remember Eric, my nephew who loves Curious George?  I knew he also loved the Muppets, so I asked him who was his favorite, weeeelllll, he wouldn't give me a straight answer.  If you know Eric, you will understand.  He told me several different characters.  I was planning to make a set of dishes for Sami with Eric's favorite character on them.  I ended up making a much bigger set than I planned.  Animal was one of the favorites.  I also made Gonzo, Rolf, Fozzie Bear, Statler and Waldorf and Beaker.  I think that covers all the favorites, at least the ones I painted. LOL!

This is a set that I made for myself.  The little dish sits right down into the top of that center space.  I love this and really have to remember to use it more often.

I made this set for my great niece, Alexandrea, for her 3rd birthday.  She loves princesses, so I painted these for her.  Her sister has a set of dishes with the Little Mermaid on them and her cousin has a set with Tinkerbell.  I do have some pictures of the Ariel ones somewhere, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the Tink ones and they turned out so cute. 

Both the ceramic shops that I worked for closed before I got the chance to paint sets for the other greats, but maybe someday I will get that chance.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you have enjoyed this little blast from my crafting past.  If you have a paint your own pottery studio near you, go give it a try.  There are so many fun things you can do with ceramics.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Etsy Shop

Hi all you blogger friends!

Today I made a decision to give Etsy a try again.  I have put a couple items in my shop which you can find here.  I have also put my Etsy address at the right side of my blog.

I plan to list more things for sale, so if you are interested, please stop over there and see what I have every now and then.  If not, that's okay too.


If there is anything that you see on my blog that you are interested in purchasing, please feel free to ask.  I will let you know what the price is, without any obligation to purchase.  I'm always open to questions. I have added my e-mail address to the right sidebar also.

Here are a couple pictures to peak your interest.  Now hop on over to my shop and see the rest of it.
Thanks for stopping by.  If you have any questions let me know.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Blast from the past!

Tonight I was going through a lot of old digital pictures and found some things I had forgotten about.  This card was one of the first cards I made back in July 2007.  I had gone to visit my friend Mary in Toledo for the first time and attended Krop for Kids 2007. Mary extended her hospitality to Kelsie and me and I made this card to thank her.
The charm on the front of the card is a little angel. Perfect for Mary as she loves and collects angels.

Once the "belly band" is off and it was opened once, this was inside.

Opened all the way and there was this sentiment.
Pretty simple card actually, but I don't think it was bad for a first card. Especially since I didn't have a clue what I was doing and I came up with the design myself.
Maybe I need to look at making some more cards in this style, I really like it.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you have enjoyed this card and may try something like it yourself.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Triangle Trifold card

I follow quite a few blogs, but there are certain ones that I check daily and one of those is "Fresh & Fun" where Beate has some of the best ideas and tutorials on the web.  Recently, she posted a tutorial for this type of card and today I decided to try it out.  You may also know her from Splitcoast Stampers 
On Monday I posted about having an invitation order cancelled and that I have several colored images that are the same.  I used one of those colored images for this card.  This is Bouquet (#16220) from QKR Stampede.
This card measures 4" x 4" when it is closed, when opened it is 12" x 4"

Here is a view of the card part way open so you can see how it 'works' I love that it is different than the average card.
I left the inside with no sentiment, so it can be used for any occasion.
All the papers were from my stash, you know how bad I am with knowing what companies I get particular papers from.

If you are interested in learning how to make this type of card, hop on over to Beate's blog and watch her tutorial.  While you are there, check out her other posts!  She really is quite wonderful.

Also take a hop over to QKR Stampede and see all the wonderful stamps, both rubber and digi, that they have to offer.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this card.  Personally, I really love it.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!