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.

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to y'all!
I'm taking a break until after the first of the year
to spend more time with these amazing people.
My daughter and son in law,
Kelsie and Brad.


My son and grand children
Jaryd, Marie (3 yrs old)  and Asher (6 months old)
My daughter in law and grand kids
Sara, Marie and Asher
Me with my 3 of the kids.
Ahser's first Halloween.
Our Bills cheerleader and big fan, Marie.
My husband, Dave and our little Miss Molly.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and
a fabulous, happy and healthy 2023!











 

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Congrats Card with Mulberry Paper

Hello!
Today I have a very simple, but beautiful card to show you.
I love the look of torn mulberry paper.
To tear mulberry paper, use your wet finger or a
wet paint brush and run it along where you want to
tear it.  Once it's wet just pull it apart,
this will give it the feathery edges like on this card.
The 'congrats' was heat embossed with white 
embossing powder onto gold metallic card stock.
I simply layered the mulberry paper onto some metallic
gold card stock, added the greeting and adhered it to
a card base and the card was done.
So quick and easy and any greeting could be used
on this type of card.
You can make it masculine or feminine, whatever
you are in need of.

Thanks for stopping by today and checking what I've
been up to lately.
I hope you will come again soon.
Until then,
experiment with different kinds of paper.


Wednesday, December 14, 2022

BFF Breast Friends Forever

Hello!
"My girls" asked me to do some sweatshirts for them
to wear when they participated in the 
Susan G Koman Upstate NY More Than Pink Walk
held in October.
One of my daughter's closest friends (one of "my girls") was diagnosed with
breast cancer not too long ago.  She is only 27 yrs old
Colleen and the other 2 friends were all in her wedding
party and they walked together.
On the backs they had me put 
BFF
Breast Friends Forever
On the fronts they wanted the breast cancer ribbon.
Here are the 3 girls ready for the walk
2 Beauties ready for the walk.
Here is their team with Colleen,
they even took our grandchildren.
Marie resting up for the big walk.
Kelsie giving Asher a bit of nourishment.
Both kids were dressed in pink for the day.
Colleen with her "Breast Buddies"
Isn't she beautiful?!?!
She is undergoing chemo treatments and will
be having a double mastectomy in February.
So far she is doing well and it determined to beat
this evil disease.

Thanks for stopping by today.
I hope you were inspired in some way and
will come again soon.
Until then,
support cancer research!





 

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Heat and Dry Embossed Card

Hello everyone!
A couple posts ago I showed you a couple cards
that I made with embossing folders and the
letterpress technique.  Today I have another 
card to show using an embossing folder.
For this card, I rubbed a VersaMark Ink pad
over one side of the inside of the embossing folder.
I used a heavier hand and the ink got the raised areas
as well as the lower areas.
I added a piece of white card stock and ran it through
my Cuttlebug.
I then added silver embossing powder and heated
it until it was melted.
I think it gives this a look of night time
in a forest and I love how it turned out.
I added that little bird and that finished off the
card.  This could be used for any occasion.
I really need to try some of my other embossing
folders with this technique.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you 
have been inspired in some way.
Come again soon,
until then,
emboss something!


 

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Thank Full Journal - Junk Journal Style

I've been bitten by the junk journal bug!
I have made journals in the past and learned how
to make hand sewn signatures and such, but 
I guess, it was last spring I got interested in 
junk journals.  In June I made my first one and 
I'm now loving making them.
I made this one for a friend after seeing a 
video by Nik The Booksmith
where she made a "thought-full" book.
I combined her idea with a junk journal and 
now have made a few "thought full journals"
This is the outside of the journal.  I made the whole thing
from scratch, cover and all.  I used some canvas that I 
had sprayed with ink sprays to cover the cover.
I braided embroidery floss and wrapped it around buttons
attached to the front for a closure.
I can't show you all the pages I made, this would be a 
way too long post with all the pictures, so I picked a few
and will show you them.
This is the inside cover, I used paper that I created by
dipping string into paints, swirling them onto the page,
covering it and then pulling it out the bottom of the page.
My friend is a bit fan of Janet Evanovich, so I used the
dust cover from one of her books to create this page,
with a belly band.
I used some printed and embossed velum that has been in my 
stash for a long time for the page on the left.  I bought
it because I loved it, but then never found a use for it, until
now.  The page on the right has a large tuck area that is
made with some eco-printed paper from my stash.
I made a tag to go into the tuck too.
Using book pages and music is great for journals.
I used some lyrics for the page and sheet music for the
pockets.  The front is a piece of eco-printed paper.
Here is a video explaining how to make these
I used some of my alcohol inked background papers for the
page on the left and created a diagonal belly band with 
a coordinating piece.
The page on the right is part of a page from a very old
book on how to manage your household money.
On the left, more eco-printed paper and on the right
I used some instructions from an old sewing pattern.
The purple is some paper that I made a while back, it's
thicker than regular paper, so really lent itself to being
decorative.
Guess I've chosen several eco-printed pages for this post.
Here is another one.
I have a very small dictionary that I picked up at a 
recycle store and I love using the pages from it in my
journals, this one I have starred "flowery" since it is
on the page next to the eco-printed flowers.
An alcohol ink back ground, with an ink sprayed piece of
canvas for a tuck spot and a tag from eco-print paper on the left.
The right is a page for her to write about memories.
This page is a page that I colored from an adult coloring book.
Every wonder what to do with those colored pages, well
cut them up and use them in a journal, they are also
great to cut up to make cards.
The pocket on the left is simply a piece of card stock with lines 
to outline it and a small journaling tag.
The bottom right is a picture of M&Ms from a magazine
that I fussy cut and made into a small pocket.
This is one of the center pages in a signature.  It's a cover from
some very old sheet music.  I love the picture and there is 
a poem on it.  I think it's beautiful and she can write on it and still 
be able to see the picture, if she wants.
Here is the inside back cover.  Another piece that I made.
This time using paints and a gelli plate.
This is where I added the buttons that hold the 
string that closes the book.

Well, that's all I have for this journal.
I'm sure I'll be posting more about my journals,
I have made a few more already and intend to make even
more of them.  I love creating something from things I have
and things that are old.

Thanks for stopping in, I hope you have been inspired in some way
and will come again soon.
Until then,
think junk journals and give them a try.
Here are a couple links to some of the people I follow on 
YouTube that may help if you are interested in creating 
some of your own.




Friday, December 2, 2022

Letterpress Cards

Welcome to Kristie Kreates!
I'm glad you here to spend a little time with me.
Today I'm showing you a couple 
letterpress cards.
Letterpress is when printing or an image is pressed
into the paper/card stock
I used embossing folders to do this letter press
technique.
I inked up the raised side of the embossing folder, 
put the card stock into the folder and ran it through
my Cuttlebug.
I have found that a light hand with the ink works 
best for me, but it's kind of a hit or miss until you
find the right amount or color of ink.
Sometimes, I will do a second generation printing,
where I run it through once, then without inking up the
folder again, run it through with another piece of card stock.
It all depends on how much ink you have on the folder and
also the color of ink.
I cut the little birds from a die set that I have
in my stash and added them to the fronts of the cards.
I really love that pop of color.
For one of the cards, I used this little die cut bird
on the inside of the card, just to add a little pop of color
and interest.
I love this technique and should remember to use it more often.

Thanks for coming by today for a visit,
I hope you'll come again soon.
Until then,
try some letter press printing.

 

Monday, November 28, 2022

Paw Tree Unique Decoration

Hello crafty friends!
Do you have a beloved pet?
Today I'm sharing a gift I made for my husband
last Christmas.
I saw this basic idea when a friend took her dog
to make one.  I thought it was a really cute idea
and since our little Molly is my husbands soul dog,
I knew he'd love one.
I simply dipped Molly's paw into some green paint
and pressed them onto a canvas in the shape of a
tree.  She's such a good girl and just went along with it
for me.
Once that was dry, I used stamps and paint to add the
greeting.  It did need a little touch up, but that was easy.
I think it would have been easier and gotten a better imprint
from the stamps if I had used a canvas board rather than a 
stretched canvas. 
I added some dots for ornaments and a star on top of the tree
and there I had a cute gift for my hubby.
If you have a pet, give this a try. It makes a great
gift and a wonderful keepsake.

Thanks for coming by and spending some time with me today,
I hope you'll give this project a try and come visit again
soon.
Until then,
try something different!





 

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Fall with handmade paper and leaves

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope your turkey day has been wonderful.
Today I thought I'd share a fall themed card with y'all.
I had some handmade paper in my stash
that I picked up somewhere quite a while ago.
Don't know why I hadn't used it yet, but it
is beautiful.  There are small leaves embedded
into the paper and I love the look of it and it feels
so nice too.
I used that as a panel adhered to a card base.
I then embossed some leaves onto
metallic gold card stock with embossing folder and
my Cuttlebug.  I fussy cut them and glued them
to the front panel of the card.
Here is a better picture of what the leaves look like.
On the inside I stamped this sentiment onto
a piece of the handmade paper and adhered it inside
the card.  I love the different look on the inside of this
card.  Something a little unexpected.

I'm so glad you stopped in to see what I've been up to
lately, I hope you have been inspired in some way
and will come again soon.
Until then,
enjoy the fall season.



 

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Give Thanks

Hello crafty people!
Thanksgiving is this week, so I thought I'd share a
"gift thanks" card with you.
I used a piece of eco-printed paper from my stash
for this card.  Having a stash of background papers
makes putting a card together so quick and easy.
I found the sentiment in my stamps stash and
simply stamped it, trimmed it out and adhered it to 
the card with some foam tape.
Easy peasy!

Thank you for coming for a visit and I wish you
a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope you are able to 
spend it with family and friends.
I have a great deal to be thankful for and
crafting and the ability to share it with
y'all is one great blessing in my life.
I hope you will stop by again soon.
Until then,
Happy Thanksgiving!



 

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Floral Embossed Card

Happy Day to you all!
I hope the sun is shining where you are and you 
are having a fabulous day.
Today I have a card that I made from a piece of card stock
from my background stash.
I'm not sure how I made the background piece, but
it was light yellows and oranges and I thought it would
be beautiful to emboss it.
So I ran it through my Cuttlebug in an embossing folder
and love how it turned out.
I thought it worked out beautifully on a yellow card base.
I added the little sentiment in the lower corner to finish
off the card.
I used this card as a birthday card for my Aunt who 
just turned 99 yrs old.  I thought the brightness of it
was very cheerful and would give her a smile.

I'm so glad you stopped by today and hope you will come 
again soon.
Until then,
bring out your embossing folders and make 
something pretty with them.



 

Saturday, November 12, 2022

One in a Minion

Good Day!
My son in law's birthday was in October and
my granddaughter wanted to make him a card.
My daughter in law gave me this idea and we 
ran with it.
Marie and I used yellow craft paint, dipped her thumb
into the paint and made finger prints on a piece of
white card stock.
I put dabs of glue down and she put the eyes and the
hearts onto it.  I then used a Sharpie to make the faces etc.
Inside I wrote a message for her and she helped
me sign the card with her name.
We had a lot of fun making this card together and
she was so proud of it.  Uncle Brad loved it.
Kids are never too young to start crafting.

Thanks for coming by today,
I hope you have been inspired in some way,
and will come again soon.
Until then,
craft with a child.

 

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Autumn Greetings on Mulberry Paper

Hello crafty people!
One day at our crop a friend asked if I
knew what mulberry paper was.
I told her that I did and had some right there
at the crop, pulled some out to show her
and decided that I should make a card using some
of it.
I love using mulberry paper, but often don't think
about it.  I'm glad my friend asked about it.
When you use it, the easiest way to get the 
size you want it to use a paint brush or even your
finger to wet the paper where you want to tear it.  Then
gently pull it to tear.  The fibers in the paper give you
the feathered look along the edges, which I love.
If you don't want that look, you can always just use a paper cutter
to cut it to size.
I stamped the image and sentiment with brown Archival ink
and used Bearly Arts Glue to adhere it to the front of
the card base.
I use ATG tape very often to adhere panels to my card
bases, but mulberry paper just doesn't work with tapes,
the tape just doesn't stick to the paper,
so wet glue is a must.
I love how this card turned out.

Thanks for stopping in today to see what I've been up to.
I hope you will come again soon.
Until then,
give a new supply a try.







Note the links are only to give a reference so you can
see what the products are.
I didn't necessarily purchase from these sites,
except where specified,
and you may find better prices elsewhere,
I am in no way promoting any particular site.

Friday, November 4, 2022

Embossed Christmas Cards

Hello and Welcome!
It's that time of year to think about getting those
Holiday cards started.
Today I have a couple very simple cards to show you.
Embossing folders are simple to use and often don't need
much in the way of embellishment.
You can see how simple it is to make a quick card using 
and embossed piece of card stock.
With the trees at the bottom, it was easy to stamp 
Santa's sleigh and the sentiment to finish off
the front panel.
Inside I stamped a sentiment and my card was done.
Here is another embossed card that is quick and easy.
Again, stamped an image and sentiment for the front of the
card and done.
Inside, another sentiment and the card is finished.
I think both of these cards turned out beautiful and
were quick and easy to put together.
Look through your stash and see what you have that
would make it quick to make your Christmas cards.
These aren't the ones I'll be making to send out to my 
family and friends, but I love how they turned out and they will
be put into an auction basket of handmade cards.

Thanks for stopping by today!
I hope you have been inspired in some way
and will come again soon.
Until then,
get started on those Holiday cards.