Dragonfly Dreams Swap Cards

Dragonfly Dreams is a really popular bundle in the Occasions Catalog. It was no surprise that several team members in the Stray Ducklings used it for their swaps (yours truly included. You can see mine here.)

This card was made by Josie Wicklund of Byron, IL 

I love the glitter paper for the dragonflies. It doesn't hurt that she used Perfect Plum cardstock for the card either (purple just happens to be my favorite color!)

I just love how this card turned out! It's so pretty!

Our next card was made by Sheryl Diemer. This dragonfly just sparkles in person. It's beautiful. The picture does not do it justice. 

You can view Sheryl's blog here.

And this card was made by Cecilia Grindinger. Look at the cool water-coloring she did behind her dragonflies! Such a fun and versatile set.

I hope you've enjoyed today's card swap. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. 

Happy Stamping!

Valentine's Day Swap Cards

Good morning all :) I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Here in Illinois, it's been cold - not as cold as it could be in January, but that wind yesterday was frigid! It sure makes it hard to do horse chores, but it's nice that the horses can be let out to the pasture since the ground is frozen again. There was a lot of running, bucking & playing going on yesterday. Then needed to burn off some freshness!

Today's cards are still courtesy of our Stray Ducklings swap. 

This settle beauty was created by Sue Boerner from Normal, IL 

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/stampinsueb/blog

It uses the You're So Sweet Stamp Set and the Sweet & Sassy Framelit Dies.

This adorable card was made with love by Mary Booker from Sterling, IL 

http://stamphappycreates.typepad.com/

This card uses the Sealed with Love bundle

I hope you've enjoyed today's card shares. If you need any Stampin' Up! supplies, I'd love to hook you up!
Happy Stamping!

Birthday Swaps

Here are more swaps from our Stray Duckling's meeting. Today I'm sharing the birthday cards.  Lori Helvick made this cute card card with the Cool Treats Bundle. You can visit her blog here.

The next card was made by Christine Thomas. Christine used the set Balloon Adventures.

 

Our next card was made by Laura Roethle using Cake Crazy. I love all the layers with it. Didn't she do a great job?

If you'd like any of these stamp sets, I'd be happy to order them for you. Please contact me :)

Beautiful You swap cards

Yesterday I shared a card we made with the Beautiful You stamp set in my class. Today I'd like to share the cards I received a week ago in a swap with my fellow Stray Ducklings demonstrator group. The talent in this group never ceases to amaze me! 

Check this one out. This beautiful card was made by Debbie Kramer. You will find her blog here: For The Love Of Stamping

This card was made by Bonnie Alexander. It's simply elegant, IMHO.

This colorful version was made by Terese Burdette.

And last, but not least, this pretty card was made by Julie Wiegand.

As you can tell, this set is wildly popular. It's definitely a must in any stamp collection! 

Happy Stamping! 

Beautiful You Class Card

Good morning Crafters! :)  Today is the final card from Saturday's class. We used the Beautiful You set. I must admit, when I first saw this in the catalog I was like, "Meh" but I loved all the sayings. It quickly grew on me when I won it at OnStage ;)

We started with a piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock. The layers are in Blushing Bride and the DSP is Blooms & Bliss. We stamped the image with Black Archival Ink on Watercolor Paper and colored her with the new Watercolor Pencils  using the Aqua painter. The embellishments are the new Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon and a Falling in Love embellishment.

Class friends working hard on their projects :) 

My Sister-In-Law and beloved niece <3 

Kalli & Buster truly love it when everyone comes over. They get so much attention :)

They were pooped out after all the excitement. 

I just love all of the fun we have at class! Please contact me if you'd like to join us next time. Our next class will be March 14th. 

Happy Stamping!

Cool Treats

This is the second card we made in Saturday's class. Doesn't that fudge on the cone look like you could just take a bite out of it?! YUM!!!

We started with a Soft Sky base and layered a pieces of Chocolate Chip & Watermelon Wonder cardstocks on it. I added a strip of the Tasty Treats DSP along the left side of the Watermelon Wonder. I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Cool Treats bundle and layered it on a piece of Soft Sky cardstock after cutting it out with the layered oval framelits. I die cut the ice cream cone from the Cool Treats bundle on a piece of Sahara Sand and Peek-A-Boo Peach cardstocks. I added an Enamel Embellishment under the sentiment.

                                    

The best part, imho, is the shiny chocolate coating on the cone. I created that effect by adding some glossy accents to the chocolate. Yum, yum, YUMMY!

And of course we have to have some stamping inside the card and on the envelope ;)

I hope you've enjoyed today's card. We sure had fun making it! If you live close to the Princeton, IL or Peru, IL area and would like to join us for a class. Please contact me! If you don't have a Stampin' Up! demo (no matter where you live ) I'd be happy to be your demonstrator!

Have a stamp-happy Monday! :)

Valentine's Day Class Card

Good evening all. I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I sure did. I had 14 lovely ladies join me to make cards yesterday. I just love our time together. It goes by so quickly!

Today I'm sharing the 1st card we made in class - the Valentine's Card.

We started with a back panel of Real Red Cardstock. The card base is Mint Macaron that we edged with The heart border die cut from the Sealed with Love bundle. All of the stamped images are from the Sealed with Love set as well. We embellished the card with Real Red 3/8" Stitched Satin ribbon bow and used a small piece of Sending Love Designer Series Paper (DSP) inside the Mint Macaron so it would show through the die cut hearts.

I must admit, my favorite stamp in this whole set is the lips. I think they're adorable! <3

Happy Smooching!

Animal Love Block

Another Christmas present block share today. 

I made this block for the greatest petsitter and 2nd mom a girl could have. Barb takes great care of all of our horses, dogs and cats. I wanted to make her something that showed her love for all 3 types of our "kids."

I sure hope she knows what a Godsend she is to our family. 

We all love her very much! <3

Western Pleasure Block

The block I'm sharing today was another Christmas present for a very close friend who always surprises me with handmade items. I finally got to return the favor.

My friend is a horse trainer who focuses on the Pleasure classes. 

I hope she's enjoying her gift. 

Please contact me if you'd like one for yourself or a friend of yours :)

Stray Ducklings & Dragonfly Dreams

Dragonfly Dreams Swap Card

I wanted to give the illusion that the dragonfly was flying from flower to flower. This was my first attempt at a slider card. The stamp bundle is Dragonfly Dreams out of the new Occasions catalog. This set is GORGEOUS! So many possibilities! The card base is Bermuda Bay. The layer and dragonfly are in Night of Navy. The sentiment is stamped in Sweet Sugarplum. The flowers are punched out with the Blossom Bunch Punch from Blooms & Bliss DSP. I added a sequin from the Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim to the center of each flower. 

I am blessed to be part of a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators in the central Illinois area. We meet every other month. The camaraderie with these women is nothing short of amazing. We share lots of great info, swap cards, laugh and have fun! Here's a video of our swaps and the women who could attend this past Saturday.

I hope you've enjoyed my swap card. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. If you'd like to be part of our Stray Ducklings group, I'd love to chat with you about how you can join us, get $125 of merchandise PLUS 2 free stamp sets with NO obligations to buy/sell anything else!

Happy Stamping!
Kim

Balloon Adventures

Good morning crafters! :) 

Today's card is one we made at Stampin' Up! OnStage event. It showcases the new Balloon Adventures Bundle. This bundle enables you to make a cool pop-up for the center of your cards. I always say, "It's all about the tools." Stampin' Up! gives us the right tools to make us look like creative geniuses ;)  So. Much. Fun. 

The card base is Daffodil Delight. The Designer Series Paper is Party Animal. The balloon embellishment hanging off the Emerald Envy Taffeta ribbon is from the Party Animal Embellishment pack

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask and remember, it's Sale-A-Bration time! For every $50 you spend, you get to pick a free item out of the Sale-A-Bration catalog. 

Happy Stamping!!!

Reiner Block

Hello Crafters :) 

Before I became serious about trail riding, I use to take reining lessons. I love the sport! And, I made one of the best friends in my life when I started taking reining lessons. To this day, she still reins (both with horses and in my life! ;)  ) She's the big sister I never had biologically. She has been there for me through thick and thin and I just couldn't wait to make this for her! 

Carol, I love ya girlfriend! I hope you're enjoying your Christmas present! 

Are you a reiner? Do you know a reiner who would love this block? I'd be happy to make another one ;) 

Happy Trails!

Kim 

Happy New Year!

In light of my upcoming card class on the 21st, I'd like to share this card that we made in our December class. Happy New Year!!! 

The card base is Smoky Slate & the card layer is Sweet Sugarplum. 

I used the Large Number Framelits to cut out the 2017. 

The stamp sets used were It's a Celebration and Frosted Medallions - both retired now. 

Happy Stamping! I hope to see you at my class on the 21st!

Poinsettia Gift Card Holder

Okay, so I'm a few days (Ahem! 12....) Anyhow, I CASEd this from Andrea Tracy-Tucker at onestampinmothertucker.com. It's adorable and it was the perfect size to stick a Subway gift card into for our niece  :)

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Fishin' Block

I have some fantastic friends. After hearing of my new venture, a friend placed her trust in me and asked me to make a personalized gift for her husband's retirement. I was so happy with the way this one turned out. I can't wait to do more of them! 

Thank you Linda for your faith in me and your support! 

Barrel Racer Block

Sooo, what's better than crafting when you love it? Crafting items with pictures of other things you love of course! Hobby-wise, my first love has always been horses. I eat, sleep, live & breathe horses. When I first thought about making these blocks, my goal was to make ones that would sell if I set up a table when I go camping & trail riding. Of course I'm happy to branch out from there ;)

This is the second block I've ever done. I was elated when it was finished! I posted it on Facebook and it sold for a Christmas present right away. Imagine my giddiness! Thank you Edith!

"If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." I'm not sure I could make a living at this, but I won't know until I try, right?!

Happy Crafting!

My New Passion

What started out as a Christmas gift has turned into a new passion for me and this is the block that started it all. I have one of those beautiful, wonderfully-talented Sister-In-Laws that has it all and can make anything herself. What do you get someone like that for Christmas??? You don't. You make her something special from the heart. I've been wanting to try glass etching for a long time now. While I can't say that I'm great at it, I can say that I'm loving it. I'm having FUN! And isn't that what crafting is all about?

I love it when work is a labor of love. It doesn't feel like work that way. In the next couple of months I'll be sharing both lighted blocks and cards on my blog. Who knows what I might come up with next. Whatever it is, I hope to make it FUN!

Happy Crafting,
Kim

Bawk!

Today started the BEST time of year for stampin' - Sale-A-Bration! For every $50 you spend at Stampin' Up!, you get a free item out of the Sale-A-Bration catalog. AND, if you spend $250, you get an extra $25 in Stampin' Rewards! It's the best time of the year to order!

What better way to start off Sale-A-Bration than to show you my favorite SAB stamp set this year - Hey Chick!
                                     
We made this card in my last class. It was a HUGE hit! I just love that Polish Chicken & so did all the other gals. It's so cute!!!

SAB is also a great time to join my team. You will not only get $125 worth of product for $99, but you also get 2 free stamp sets (up to $104 value!) There's no obligation at all. You can simply get your stuff and never buy another thing.

I would love to have you on my team if you'd like to take advantage of this offer.

Happy Stamping!