Bittersweet Ketto

Hello all! I hope that today is a great day for you. We're cooling down a bit in the Bay Area but overall it's still pretty nice out. School starts in less than 2 weeks now--can you believe it?

Here's a card I made for a birthday party dd went to recently. She's in a button phase and asks me to use "lots and lots of buttons" when I make cards so I decided to oblige her.

Here are the details on the card. Cardstocks used were SU Soft Suede, & Melon Mambo as well as Neenah Classic Cream. Patterned paper is from BasicGrey's Bittersweet collection. Buttons are Making Memories.

Tatiana Ketto is stamped onto Neenah Classic Cream in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored in with Copics and Spica glitter pens. I have a lot of trouble when I use reds and pinks while coloring with Copics--they inevitably bleed outside of the lines so I use a lot of colorless blender to try to push it back. Any idea why it happens with those 2 colors? I grounded her with an Amuse Oval that was stamped in Memento Desert Sand. The sentiment is from SU's Amazing to Zany and stamped with Melon Mambo ink. Everything else should be straightforward but feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

Wisteria Tulips

I made this one for one of dh's coworkers. I hope that she finds comfort in it and knows that he's thinking about her and her family.

Sympathy cards are always really hard for me to make. I want them to be elegant but tasteful and not over the top. I think this one does the trick.

Cardstocks used were SU Soft Sky (retired) and Neenah Solar White. Patterned paper is from BasicGrey's Wisteria collection--this paper is simply beautiful and I didn't want to cover too much of it up. I stamped the tulips from PTI's Wishing You onto Neenah Solar White with Versamagic Purple Hydrangea, Aspen Mist, and Aloe Vera. The sentiment from the same set is stamped over one of the stems in PTI's True Black. I then cut and embossed it with one of the Labels One Nestabilities and attached it to the cardfront with Soft Sky striped grosgrain and dimensionals. I finished it off with three purple dewdrops and that's it.

Thanks for visiting and be sure to come by again soon!

Colorful Monsters

As soon as I finished this card, I had a JanTink moment and had to exclaim "YILM!" ( also known as yes, I love myself in JanTink speak). I think this is my favorite card that I have made in quite some time and wish the pic actually showed just how awesome it really is. This is going to one of my 7 yo's friends for his birthday. I hope he likes it :-)

Here are the details on the card. Cardstocks used are SU Bermuda Bay, Green Galore, and Neenah Solar White. Patterned Paper and brads are from BasicGrey's Lime Rickey collection. Stamps are from October Afternoon's Nite Lite clear set. Inks used are Memento Tuxedo Black, Brilliance Sunflower Yellow, and Brilliance Lightning Black. Copics and Spica glitter pens were used to color in the monsters. The corners were rounded with my SU corner rounder and the holes on the green layer were punched with an EK Success Swiss Cheese border punch.

I stamped the monsters on the Neenah Solar White in Memento Tuxedo Black and then colored them in with Copics. After matting it on the Green Galore layer and adding the brads, I fiddled with how I wanted it on the card front since if it was straight, it would be a little too long. I decided to angle it slightly and then added the brads and popped it up on dimensionals. It was still missing a little something so I stamped the arrow onto Neenah Solar White with Brilliance Sunflower Yellow and then stamped the word over it in Brilliance Lightning Black, cut it out, and popped it up on dimensionals as well.

When I was finished, I was bouncing with excitement since it turned out pretty stinking cute! My 7 yo keeps asking to look at it and I'm fairly certain he wants to keep it for himself instead of giving it to his friend.

Thanks for visiting and be sure to come by again soon!

Cupcake invites

My daughter turns 5 at the end of the month and here are the invitations I made for her party. I had to do 2 different colors because she wanted the boys to have blue ones and the girls to have pink ones. I kept them fairly simple since I had to make a bunch of them but I do like how they turned out.

Here are the details. Cardstocks used were SU Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, and Naturals White. Patterned paper is from BasicGrey's Lemonade collection. Ink is Versafine Onyx Black. I did a few in Memento Tuxedo Black and didn't get as rich and crisp of a black as I did with the Versafine so I'm wondering if I need to reink my Memento pad or if the Versafine is just a deeper black color.

I used my Hero Arts cupcake set for this one and stamped the cupcake onto both Naturals White and the patterned paper. I paper pieced the cupcake wrapper since I knew that I wasn't going to color in 24 cupcakes. The tops of the cupcakes are colored in with a combination of Pearlescent Watercolors and Smooch so they're nice and shimmery. The cupcakes are cut out and popped up on top of dimensionals on Naturals White which is matted with Basic Black for a little pop. It's hard to see but I stamped a row of circles from PTI's Background Basics: Retro on the cardfront in Versamark Frost Dazzle before I popped up the focal piece on dimensionals. It's pretty subtle but adds a nice effect.

So there you have it--something pretty easy to mass produce but still packs a nice wow since it's got the shimmer :-)

Thanks for visiting and come by again soon.

Button Trees

Here's another card I made with PTI's Everyday Button Bits. The images in this set are so darn cute! I made this for my boss who recently injured himself--hope he's feeling better soon.

Here are the deets on the card: Cardstocks used are PTI's New Leaf, Scarlet Jewel, and Dark Chocolate Bitty Dots as well as SU Naturals White. Inks used are PTI New Leaf, Dark Chocolate, and Fresh Snow. Buttons are New Leaf Vintage Buttons and ribbon is Satin Scarlet Jewel. If you like buttons, I recommend that you get some from PTI--there are so many different gorgeous buttons in each bag that they send you. The main image is popped up on dimensionals but other than that, it should all be self explanatory.

Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

Cherry Buttons

Today's my first day back to work but I just wanted to share a little of what I did over my summer break. Fortunately, I got some card making done and was able to preschedule some blog posts since I know my free time is going to be much more limited now. This card is going to a really super sweet person who RAK'ed me recently.


I love, love, love PTI's Everyday Button Bits! I will be reaching for this set alot! I saved my last piece of the Cherry paper from BasicGrey's Lemonade collection just for this card :-)

Here are the deets: Cardstocks used are PTI New Leaf, Berry Sorbet, and Scarlet Jewel along with SU Naturals White. Patterned Paper comes from BasicGrey's Lemonade collection. Inks used are PTI New Leaf, True Black, and Scarlet Jewel. Buttons are PTI Berry Sorbet and ribbon is PTI New Leaf Top Notch Twill. After stamping the stem/leaves and sentiment on Naturals White, I cut and embossed it with a Labels Three Nestability and then mounted it on a piece of Scarlet Jewel which is also cut and embossed with anothe die from the set. The buttons are attached with mini glue dots and this piece is popped up on the cardfront with dimensionals.

I know that I already said that I love this set but one of the things I love the most is the sentiments in this set--I love the fonts used and think they're super cute when they're inked up in different colors. Since most of my PTI inks are the cubes and I have many different dewdrops (Memento, Versamagic, Brilliance) I see many multicolored sentiments coming in the future. I also love that I have an excuse to use more buttons on my cards!!!!! I love the PTI Vintage Buttons and think my dd does as well--she takes them from the little baggies and puts them in containers for me and does NOT want my help :-) Here's a little snippet of my buttons. I do admit that it bothers me that all of my jars don't match and I'm going to change the containers that have the colored lid and put those buttons into containers that match so that they're all pretty and coordinated for me to look at when I'm stamping. You can see a teeny bit of my messy area since I had just finished doing some marathon stamping before I snapped this pic.

Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

Blue Monster

I really, really love these little monsters from October Afternoon! They are so much fun to color and with 2 boys, they're going to get a lot of use in this household.

This is another pretty simple and straightforward card but you know that's my style. Here are the deets: Cardstocks used are SU Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango (both retired) and Neenah Solar White. Patterned paper is from BasicGrey's Marrakech collection. Inks used were Memento Tuxedo Black and PTI Fresh Snow.

The little guy is stamped on Neenah Solar White with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored in with Copics and Spica Glitter pens. I went over his eyes and teeth with a white Souffle pen and in hindisght, I probably wouldn't have done it again since it didn't turn out exactly like I was thinking it would when I did it. He's cut out with one of the Nesties from the Labels Four set and mounted on another cut and embossed piece in Tangerine Tango. The sentiment from the same set is stamped on the bottom of the card in PTI Fresh Snow--love that white!

Since this is a kid card, I kept it fairly simple and didn't use too many embellishments since I know it probably won't be saved.

Thanks for visiting!

Domain Name issues

Hi all,
I'm going back to the blogspot domain name: www.kathatstamps.blogspot.com

Even though I'd registered it without the blogspot, it's pointing to a different site.

Weird, since it's not like I have thousands of readers/followers. Hopefully, it's just a mistake.

Boys will be boys

Yes, I do stamp! I've just been pretty busy and haven't blogged much lately but plan to rectify that right now. I've got a bunch of stuff photographed and will preschedule some blog posts for your viewing pleasure :-) That is if all of my readers haven't disappeared since it's been forever since I've shared with all of you.

I made this card for my 10 yo. He really liked how it turned out. The image and sentiment are from Elzybells Boys will be boys stamp set and are both stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah Solar White. The little guy is colored in with Copics and Spica Glitter pens--I added the DGK to his shirt since it's my son's favorite skateboard company. He's cut out and embossed with a circle Nestability and mounted on SU Basic Gray which is cut out with my Nesties. Other cardstocks used are SU Tangerine Tango (retired) and Summer Sun. Patterned paper is from BasicGrey's Ambrosia collection. I think everything else is pretty self explanatory but leave me a message if you've got some questions.

Easy Peasy and just my style! Thanks for visiting!

Cleaning Up

Wow, I know it's been awhile since I've blogged. I've been stamping when I can but the blogging has fallen by the wayside a little. I started to lose the joy of doing it when for a little bit. It's hard when you have a job that is more public and people start to scrutinize your personal life and make some judgements, right or wrong.

Anyway, I'm cleaning out the stamp room and found some stuff that is new and unused that needs to go to a new home. Let me know if you're interested. Prices are fairly flexible.

SU 2009 Retired 12X12 In Color Textured Cardstock (NIP) $11.95
SU Retired DSP Good Morning Sunshine (NIP) $9.95
SU Retired DSP Urban Garden (NIP) $9.95
SU Retired Simply Scrapping Kit Island Blossom (NIP) $19.95
SU Retired Simply Scrapping Kit In Full Bloom (NIP) $19.95
SU Retired Accordion Book Kit (neutrals-NIP) $9.95
SU Retired Saddle Stitch Book Kit (neutrals-NIP) $9.95

PTI Borders & Corners-Circle (never used, in CD case) $20

I'm published!!!!!!

Woohoooooo!!!!!!

I got a copy of The Stamper's Sampler Catch Up Issue in the mail yesterday and was a little baffled since I didn't remember ordering it--then it hit me!!!!! I'm published!!!!!!! I submitted a few cards last summer and one of them made the catch up issue.

I'm on p 35 and soooooooooooooo excited right now! I've been in a bit of a stamping slump since I've been super busy at work and my parents were visiting from out of the country for awhile but now I'm so motivated to stamp again.

Tim Holtz, Part 2

So, Tim posted on his blog today about his weekend in Berkeley and posted a couple links to others who took the class. Lo and behold, I saw myself :-)

Check it out!!!!! Here's Tim's update: http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/04/thank-you-scrapbook-territory.html and you can see a tiny bit of me working in the 16th picture on Susan's blog: http://theartfulmama.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-with-tim.html

I {heart} Tim Holtz

Ok, so I know it's been forever since I've blogged and I did say that I wasn't going to leave you all hanging after my last blogging break. . .

What can I say? Life got crazy :-) My parents have been visiting from Thailand and have sort of taken over my stamping area which makes it a little harder for me to get in and play with my stuff. Work has been busy--I love my job which makes it ok but it truly has been really busy around here the last couple of months and as we prepare to wrap up the school year and plan for the Fall, I don't see it slowing down much.

I have done some stamping and I'll have to edit and post those pics for you in the next couple days. One of the highlights of last weekend for me was taking a class with Tim Holtz at my LSS. If you ever get a chance to take a class with Tim, I highly recommend it!!!!! He is just the nicest guy and I learned so much from him. The class I took was Generation Grunge and I got to get grungey and make a grunge book. I'm really happy with the way mine turned out and the 4 hours of class just flew by. I really wish I had the chance to take more of his classes when he was out here but I'm so happy that I got to take the one class that I really wanted to take.

Thanks for visiting and I promise to be back with some stamped goodies before the end of the month :-)
 

Silent Auction Donation

I made 2 different sets of 6 cards for the PTA's Silent Auction. I wasn't going to do it since it feels a little weird to me for a few reasons. Part of me doesn't feel that my cards are that amazing--you know what I mean? Don't get me wrong, I know they don't suck but are they really good enough that people would bid on them? Actually pay money for them? My friend suggested I do it and thinks that they'll definitely sell since they're made by *me*. Someone will bid on the principal's cards, right?

Both sets contain cards that are all pretty similar to each other so it made it pretty easy to crank out 6 at a time. Set #1 uses PTI's Teacher's Apple. Cardstocks used were Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, and SU Naturals White. The patterned paper is BasicGrey's Offbeat collection (see, I told you I love this paper). Inks used were Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate, and Versafine Onyx Black. Ribbon is Pure Poppy Satin. These cards are pretty self explanatory but I like how this set turned out. My dd wanted to help really badly and her job was to check the apples out and decide if they looked ok or needed to be restamped :-) She was a little more of a perfectionist than I was when it came to picking out the best apples for the cards. I didn't decorate the envelopes but did add some Naturals Ivory cardstock and a strip of matching patterned paper to the inside of the card to finish it up. All 6 cards and envelopes are packaged up in one of PTI's Clearly Creative Card Boxes.

Set #2 uses PTI's Beautiful Blooms. The cardbase is PTI's Stamper's Select White and this is as close to a one layer card as I get :-) Inks used were pretty much the whole rainbox of PTI's inks: Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, Lavendar Moon, Plum Pudding, Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz, and Sweet Blush as well as Palette Hybrid Noir. A few flowers are popped up on dimensionals and the glitter used is Doodlebug Designs Sugar Coating glitter. All ribbon is PTI as well. The popped up flowers and sentiment are stamped on SU Whisper White.

PTI Over the Rainbow Challenge

If you follow my blog at all, you know how much I love Papertrey Ink. Nichole is a genius and I've admired her work since I started stamping. Yesterday, she posted a challenge with the chance to win over $100 worth of PTI cardstock. You know that I couldn't pass up the chance to play along, especially since it's such a great challenge. We were supposed to use Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Ripe Avocado, and Ocean Tides to create a project and then link up to her blog post. These colors are gorgeous together and I'm pretty happy with what I made.

I used Summer Sunrise, Ripe Avocado, and Pure Poppy cardstocks as well as SU's Naturals Ivory. The patterned paper is from the BasicGrey Offbeat collection which is my current favorite. I popped into my LSS earlier today and they didn't have anymore 6X6 pads of this paper and I don't know what I'll do when I completely run out (they did have Porcelain and Marrakech which I can't wait to play with). The flowers and little owl from Wise Owl were stamped onto Naturals Ivory in Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Ocean Tides, and Memento Tuxedo Black. I colored the owl in with Copics and then added some white Doodlebug Crushed Velvet to his belly. The sentiment, which is also from the same set,is inked up with Memento Tuxedo Black and Versamagic Red Magic-I only have the full size Pure Poppy pad which made it difficult to selectively ink the word I wanted and I'm too lazy to Stampamajig it :-)-and stamped onto SU Vellum cardstock. I used a square punch on the end of the strip to make the little tail and then adhered this over the flower stems. I finished up with some Making Memories buttons that are tied off with SU Linen Thread.

Tah Dah! All done! I love when something I have in my head works out.

Thanks for visiting and be sure to come back soon.

Bright Elzybells

We're going to a 1st birthday party for our friend's daughter this weekend and I made this card for her. All I can say is "Wow, it's pretty bright!" I knew I wanted to play around with circles, use an Elzybelle, and my BasicGrey Euphoria paper and this is what I came up with.

I used Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, and Neenah Solar White cardstocks as well as BasicGrey Euphoria paper on this card. All the circles are cut out with Nestabilities. I used Memento Tuxedo Black and Angel Pink inks. I inked up my Elzybells Stardust and Moonbeams set and colored the girl in with Copics and Spica Glitter pens. The Primas are from my stash and have a dot of Stickles in the center. It's hard to see but there is also Stickles on the heart and swirl underneath the sentiment.

This card was really fun to make and my dd really wants it for herself :-) I may have to make one for her. Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

Bittersweet SFYTT

I hope you all are enjoying Superbowl Sunday! I'm battling a little cold and hope that I feel better soon--dh is travelling this week so I'm flying solo with the kidlets. I had a little time yesterday to play along with Jen's SFYTT. I was pretty excited when I looked at it but it was actually much more difficult than I thought it would be once I got started. I thought about giving this to dh for Valentine's Day but it seems a little too feminine so I'll have to try again for him.

I used PTI's Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Fizz cardstocks as well as Neenah Solar White. The patterned paper is BasicGrey's Bittersweet. I stamped the images from TCP's Puppy Love onto the Neenah Solar White in Memento Tuxedo Black and PTI's Raspberry Fizz, colored them in with Copics, and added some Shimmerz to a few parts (wings & hearts). These are punched out, matted on Raspberry Fizz, and popped up on dimensionals. The ribbon is PTI's Raspberry Fizz Satin and the brads are from the SU Retired Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware.

Thanks for visiting! I've got a long day on Monday but hope to get back into my stamping room again later on in the week :-)

Amazingly Fast Shipping!!!!!!!

I just wanted to point you all to the Shimmerz Blog and Store. I've been looking at Shimmerz since they came out and was really hoping my LSS would start carrying them and I could look at them in person before I got some. Well, they haven't started carrying them and I decided I'd go ahead and place a small order since they're relatively inexpensive. I ordered 3 on Sunday, got a shipping notice that day, and they were on my doorstep on Wednesday!!!!!!! Unfortunately, I got home rather late last night and didn't get to play but plan on leaving work at a reasonable hour today and will play with them later. I can't wait and have a feeling I'm going to need more colors :-)

Thanks for visiting!

A Poochie SFYTT

You know that I love Jen's sketches and this one is pretty cool and I couldn't wait to give it a try of my own.  With 3 kids, I'm always needing a birthday card so I decided to go with some bright and kid friendly colors for this one.  I'm still on a Baja Breeze kick and paired it with Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red for this card.  The colors are a great match with the patterned papers from BasicGrey's Offbeat Collection.  I'm so addicted to all the wonderful 6X6 paper pads from BasicGrey--they are so perfect for card makers! 

Poochie, the space ship, and the sentiment are from The Cat's Pajamas It's a Mod, Mod World clear set and are stamped on Confetti White with Versafine Onyx Black.  I added a teeny bit of red Spica Glitter pen to the top of the ship and went over the glass area with a Clear Sakura Glaze pen.  I used my Circle Nesties, SU's photo corner and scallop edge punches, some Kiwi Kiss striped ribbon, and a button from Making Memories.  I really like this card and almost don't want to give it away.  Then again, it does me no good to just keep it for myself now, does it?

Thanks for visiting!

FS103

I had a little time to play along in today's FS Challenge at SCS.  I was inspired by this card of Vicky's.  I changed the Cuttlebug folder, stamp, ribbon, and used dewdrops.  I also added some liquid pearls and stickles.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy--I have another card to add to my stash.

Here are the deets:  Card base is shimmery white and other cardstocks used were Chocolate Chip and Pink Pirouette. I used the Floral Fantasy embossing folder on the lower half of the Pink Pirouette piece and stamped the branch from Stem Silhouettes on the top in Chocolate Chip.  I sponged the edges and went over the embossed area with Tattered Rose Distress Ink.  I tied some Chocolate Taffeta around this and matted it on a piece of Chocolate Chip that is edged in Versamagic Pixie Dust.  After I attached this piece to the cardbase, I added some White Opal Liquid Pearls and Cotton Candy Stickles to the branches.  Finally, I added 3 dew drops underneath the ribbon.

Thanks for visiting!

Urban Floral Frenzy

How is everyone doing today? This card did not end up anywhere near what I was thinking of when I started to stamp. I went in a completely different direction than my original thoughts but like the end result so much better than what I originally planned to do. It's nice when I have some time to just play around and stamp for fun.

Cardstocks used are PTI's Pure Poppy and Aqua Mist, SU Whisper White and Basic Black, and BasicGrey Urban Prairie patterned paper. The flowers from PTI's Floral Frenzy are stamped onto the Whisper White with Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, and Ripe Avocado Pallette Hybrid ink--these inks work so great with the PTI clear stamps!!!!! The sentiment from the same set is stamped with Pallette Hybrid Noir. All the squares are cute out with my Square and Scalloped Square Nestabilites and are mounted to the card front with dimensionals. The ribbon is PTI's Pure Poppy Satin ribbon. I struggled with it a bit since I was trying to tie a bow and just gave up and tied a knot. I'm seriously bow impaired right now but my plan is to keep trying and eventually I'll get it.

The inside is decorated to match as well but I didn't get a pic of it. Another heavy, multi-layer card!

Thanks for visiting!