Wedding and Anniversary Cards

Hello fellow stampers,

Wow! What a crazy beginning to our summer.  So far three weddings and three big anniversaries.  I have to admit - I love make wedding and anniversary cards!  It's just another excuse for me to use my Big Shot and fancy dies.

For this wedding card, I cut out a large shape - any die will do, I used Spellbinders Label 20.  The negative space is nice to show some really pretty designer paper.

This next card was made for a special couple's 50th wedding anniversary.  This card uses several different dies - from Spellbinders - Fancy Framed Tags 2 and Oval Ironwork. From Stampin' Up, the oval nesting dies and from Creative Expressions, Gemini Pavo die.  The paper is vanilla or ivory colored cardstock with gold shimmer paper.  The "50" is heat embossed in gold.

This next card is made with the Eastern Palace suite - die and stamp set bundle from Stampin' Up.  The papers are also from the same collection - just beautiful designer papers.  The stamps are from several sets.  I couldn't find my Happy Anniversary stamp so I improvised and I think it makes the card very unique.  The medallion dies are layered with dimensionals to give it some life.  I am really enjoying this set - hope to post more samples soon.

I hope you get a chance to experiment with your dies.  Mixing and matching is really a lot of fun and you get something totally unique and stunning.

Happy stamping!

Father's Day Cards

Hello fellow stampers and crafters,

I really like making masculine cards.  I think the fellas in our lives are sometimes forgotten but they really like getting cards too.  These particular cards I made for Father's Day but the tags could say happy  birthday, congrats, happy retirement, thank you or just about anything.

I did not include a lot of embellishments.  The embossing gives the cards a nice clean touch,

 Think about making more masculine cards and give these a try.  You can find more cards on my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/handmadebykathiek?ref=seller-platform-mcnav.

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy stamping!

Craft Room Update

Hello stampers and crafters,

My craft table and storage shelf are done! I'm still organizing all my supplies  - but that's seems to never end. The table tops are made from sheets of melamine.  The shelves or cubicles were ordered from Closetmaid.

I designed the craft table to be quite high - I am fairly tall and wanted to be able to stand at the table and work without being bent over.  My chair is adjustable and be used at a standard height or raised up for the craft the table.

The craft table sit on 8 casters.  This allows me to move the table around to position it in the best light or push it up against the closet doors when I don't need to get in there.  The room is small but the casters allow me to make the best of the space.

The paper storage, ink storage, and shelf are from Stamp n' Storage.  I highly recommend their products.  I'm hoping to add a few more pieces in the near future.

I am loving my new craft room! Please share your craft room design ideas and organization tips.

Check out my new Etsy shop here, Handmade by Kathie K (the shop name is all one word handmadebykathiek).

Thanks for stopping by. Happy crafting!
Kathie K

Mother's Day Cards

Hello fellow stampers and card makers,

I didn't have a lot of time to make mother's day cards this year.  Although the designs are simple, the impact was huge! I like to make cards for not only my mother but also aunts, sisters-in-laws, and good friends.  They all loved these cards.

The first card is made with a 2-step stamp set, the rose and leaves are stamped with two coordinating colors.  The effect is awesome.  I also added a little extra touch with pearls and clear embossing powder.

The second design has a vintage look using a script background stamp and adding age by sponging on a light brown/tan.  The extra touches on this card are the organza ribbon and pearls.

The size of both cards is 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 which fits an invitation size envelope.  I also stamp the bottom left-hand corner of the envelopes with the flower stamp - looks like a matched set.

Handmade cards do not need to be complicated to look complicated.

Happy stamping!

Cards with die cut edges

Hello fellow crafters,

I love the Spellbinders Card Creator sets!  The die cut edges really add a classy and feminine touch to any card.  It really gives cards that one-of-a-kind feeling - making the recipient feel very special. The dies are designed to fit 4.25" and 5.5" card widths.  The notches on the dies give you perfect placement - no measuring needed.

The card below were made with the A2 Bracket Borders One set and the Stylish Stems Framelits from Stampin' Up.  You can use a single die to create the layered border.

The next card also uses the A2 Bracket Borders One.  On this card, I paired two dies together to produce this elegant edge on the white and navy cardstock.  The dies fit perfectly together providing different decorative options. This technique works great for monochromatic styles.  The layered circle dies are from Stampin' Up.  This is a great set - lots of layering options.

The third card was made with the A2 Curved Borders set.  On this card, the die cuts are used as an embellishment instead of on the edge.  This card takes a few minutes longer as you need to die cut three pieces of cardstock but the look is worth it.  The three layers are attached to a vanilla card - the vanilla shows through the intricate design.  The colors used are Elegant Eggplant, Crumb Cake and Mellow Moss with Altanew's Peony Bouquet stamp set. The background was stamped using a set from Inkadinkado.

I hope you get a chance to experiment with these dies from Spellbinders.  I just love all the ways they can be used to embellish cards.

Happy crafting!

Sunsets by the ocean

Hello fellow crafters!

When my husband and I are able to take a vacation, we love going somewhere warm by the ocean. Since we live in the mid-west, this is something that we don't get to do very often. So in between vacations, I recreate those memories through stamping.

Here are my current favorites.  I love doing the sponging technique to create the blue/green hues of the ocean, and the yellow and purple sky of a setting sun. Thanks to all of you that post your great creations as they definitely inspire my creativity. The thing that I like most is that every card turns out a little different.

The cards below were made for a couple of my friends that needed a little pick me up.  I also think these designs would be great for sympathy cards and for the guys in your life.  The version with the lighthouse was made for my brother's birthday.

Both cards were made with the Stampin' Up High Tide stamp set.  Here are few tips when making these cards:

• Before stamping or sponging, make sure your card stock is cut to the finished size.  When I made these cards I trimmed after and lost the really cool edging the sponging makes.
• For the masking, I found post-it notes that have a large sticky area.  This made masking so much easier. They are made by Post-it and called full adhesive notes.
• When stamping the lighthouse, be aware of the shadow that is created by layering the two stamps together.  Just make sure you place the light source on left.

I am still amazed how these turned out!  Both cards started out completely white,  Give this a try.  I hope you have as much fun as I do making these cards.

Happy crafting!

Hello fellow stampers!

Lately, I have been attracted to monochromatic designs but haven't tried them very often.  I was going through my card lists and realized that I had forgotten to make anniversary cards for my brother and sister-in-law.  I needed something fairly quick so monochromatic seemed like the right way to go,

I made this card using a script background stamp, Make a Medallion from Stampin' Up, and Celebrate Thinlits from Tim Holtz.  I think the design is great for a couple.

Here's a couple tips:
When I make cards, I also like to include a matching envelope.  The envelope is a standard invitation size bought at an office supply store.

I die cut two "happy birthdays" and I used Stick-it paper to adhere them together.  It strengthens the words and makes it easier to attach to the card.

I hope you give this card a try.  What are your favorite monochromatic designs?

Happy Crafting!