My name, Karin, was pretty common when I was growing up...just not the spelling. Unless you are of German heritage like I am. So, I have spent my entire life answering the question, "What is your name"?... With, "Karin...with an "i"! Who knew it would come in handy all these years later when I went to name my blog.
Edit to add: I have great news! One of my favorite crafty places, DRS Designs, has graciously offered up a second prize of a $15.00 voucher to their store! Yippee :) I know first hand they have some super stuff in the next release!
Welcome
to the
A Year In Review Blog Hop!
In keeping with the spirit of the season, this is the place to look back and highlight some of your favorite projects from the past year. Please place your name in the Linky spot, (please link to the post, not your general blog) and remember to spread the love to your fellow bloggers who are participating. I even know of one person who is offering up some blog candy of her own, so you never know what you may see along the way :) If you are just finding out about this now, have no fear. You can add your name to the list anytime before the hop is over :)
I will be back on January 1st with my list of favorites and I will also announce the random winner of the $25.00 gift certificate to the crafty place of your choice.
Woot! I told you the Hambo Hoedown would be back this week ;) Here we are ringing in the new year with this cute (aren't they all cute?) digi and the challenge to use something "new" on your project. Along with this Reptile and punny sentiment, I used my new paper pad of Lilly Bee papers for the background and to paper piece his shirt. It was the one thing I snagged for myself as I was shopping for gifts a couple of weeks ago. He looks like he's waving at me from sunny Florida in his vacation shirt...lol! Anyway, I will be sending this off to a friend that lives in sunny California.
Are you ready to ring in the new year? We are doing the usual and staying in for dinner. Have a safe and happy time, whatever your plans are, and I hope one of your resolutions is to join us at the Hoedown!
Also, don't forget about the Year In Review Blog Hop. It's starts at 9:00 am (EST) here on my blog and there is a $25.00 gift certificate up for grabs to one lucky participant. The winner will be chosen randomly and I will let them choose the crafty place for their prize :)
Edit to Add: Please go to the home page to link up your"Year In Review"
Hi Everyone,
Last year I participated in a "My Top 10 Favorite Cards" Blog Hop and I had so much fun looking back on the past year, that I thought I would host "A Year In Review" myself this year.
All I need is for you to participate, and it's super easy.
Just pick out your favorite cards from the past year, and post them on your blog. Then come over here and pop your name in the Linky spot ( Fingers crossed that I can get it to work!) and let the oooing and aahhing begin. All I ask is that you limit the number of cards you choose to 12 (That's one for each month of the year) and post a photo of the button below at the top of your post and link back to my blog.
Nothing like waiting until the last minute to let you know, right? Well, that's only because I thought of it maybe an hour ago myself. So, until we start at 9:00am (EST) on December 29th, I would appreciate any advertisement you could give me ;) Just popping the picture above in your side bar with a link back here, would be most helpful.
And what is a hop without a prize? Pretty lousy...lol. So, I will be offering up a $25.00 gift certificate (to a yet to be determined crafty place) to one lucky participant chosen at random!
So, spread the word, start your list of faves and see you here on the 29th!
Are you making plans for the new year yet? I hope one of them will include joining us for the Thursday challenges that we are hosting on the DRS Designs blog :) Since the current challenge is Heat Embossing, I decided to use that technique for the birthday card I needed to make.
I used the Starry Background stamped in Versamark and heat set it with gold embossing powder. Spaceboy Skip is an adorable image for a boy's card and I love the Out of this World Birthday sentiment; It's the perfect match for him and his space friend. However, to make it fit my card design, I stamped it separately and cut it out attaching it on top of a border made from using the Interlocking Circle stamp.
Here is a close up of the embossed stars, the clear embossing on his space helmet, ribbon and felt button embellishment. They're mail friendly ;-)
Thanks for dropping by the blog today. Get those heat guns in gear before the next challenge on this Thursday!
TheHambo Hoedown challenge is taking a break for the Christmas holiday this week. Have no fear though, because we will be back next week :) Until then, I wanted to share the card that I made using the new Elf Gift digi that is available in the store right now.
I won these letters awhile back, so I decided to break them out for my card today. I thought a little sentiment like that would be enough along with the "Merry Christmas" paper at the bottom. I wouldn't want to pull focus from that adorable elf :) I think this image would make the cutest thank you card for all the lovely gifts we receive this time of year, don't you?
Thanks for stopping by. I know I haven't been posting much recently, it's just that with Rod taking off work at the start of December, I got super behind on everything. If I don't get a chance to say it before the weekend, Merry Christmas. And just because of my card today, I thought I would go ahead and elf myself.
Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Lilly Bee Design, The Paper Studio, Markers: Copic, Foam Letters: Pink Paislee, Punch: EK Success, Nesties, buttons and twine from my supplies.
Well, the big Christmas holiday is almost here and I'm popping in quickly to let you know that the currentchallenge at the DRS Designs blog is Red, White and Green. If you're taking a break from the holiday prep, I hope that you can play along!
Here are the stamps I used on my Christmas card today:
It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for a new Hoedown!
The challenge this week is CORNERS. How's that for easy? Grab your Santa Monster digi that you received for playing along last week, or any Hambo Stamp, and adorn your corners any way you see fit.
I just nipped mine off on the background papers and also on the panel that houses my Santa Monster. I did also add some brads from my stash to those, but left the outer ones blank. No real reason for that, just thought less is maybe more.
I used some sheer ribbon edged in gold and a gold metal snowflake embellishment to finish it off.
Are you done making cards? I'm almost done. I will be using some store bought ones (GASP!) to help me finish out my list this year :)
Hope you get a chance to play along at the Hoedown...I'm always blown away (and humbled) by your creativity as I visit your blogs each week!
Details not listed above-Paper: K & Company, The Paper Company, Markers: Copic, Punches: EK Success, Ribbon: May Arts, Brads and embellishment from my supplies.
The current challenge this week at the DRS Designs blog is to use Polka Dots on a card. This was an easy one for me, because I was able to use the Polka Dot Background stamp which is a favorite of mine.
Yes, I still need Christmas cards so the theme was a no brainer for me. I used the Interlocking SnowBackground stamp for the base and since Penguins are all the rage, I used the Let it Snow Penguins since it doubles as an image and sentiment in one :)
Also, DRS Designs is the sponsor at the PlayDate Cafe. The prize is a $15.00 voucher to the store. Yes, a chance at more stamps! Here is the photo inspriation for the challenge:
What are you waiting for??? Have a great day!
Details not listed above: Paper: The Paper Company, Ink: Stampin' Up!, Memento, Punch & Stickers: EK Success, Ribbon: American Crafts, Markers: Copic
How about a break from all the Christmas cards? I know that I can use it! I've been loving seeing anything spring like or floral lately. I think it's just the holiday fatigue that's setting in. Not good since Christmas isn't even here yet :)
Anyway, this is one of those card shares that I couldn’t wait to show off to you. I was just thrilled with the results when I finished it, and while it’s only 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ square, it packs a big beautiful punch. I used what might be my new favorite glitter from Sparkle N Sprinkle named Carnation (G1028). I adhered it to some Sticker Paper(99558) to create a gorgeous base for my flowers, which were made by stamping in Versamark (99702) on vellum and embossing with White Detail (EP298) powder. Each flower was fussy cut and adhered to the card using a rhinestone brad. These lovely designed flowers come from the Stampette set named Blossoms To Go (440S) and the sentiment is from another flower set named My Rose Garden (402).
I simply added a scrap of patterned paper layered with a border to the top of my card and finished it with a bit of ribbon and butterfly charm. A very girly card that could be sent to a friend for any number of reasons. We all have those special people in our lives that need to be remembered with a card.
If you need further details regarding my card, I invite you to check it out in the gallery here.
It's Hambo Hoedown time again and it's fun challenge this week. If you played along last week, and emailed a photo of your card, you should have received this darling digi named Anta Claus. And because he looks like he's going to fold under the pressure of carrying this huge package, the challenge is to make a card with more than one fold.
So instead of making my usual Z fold card, I was inspired by my blogging friend Gina, and I made a Center Step card using this tut here. It only took two tries for me. Sometimes I'm a bit dense when it comes to following directions that include measuring and numbers...lol. Anyway, it was easy to decorate with patterned paper and I even did a bit of paper piecing on the enormous gift :) Also, I took the December 25 from the patterned paper I was using and I made that my sentiment. Yes, even though it's pink, it really is holiday paper.
I hope you can get out of your comfort zone and play along in our "more than one fold" challenge at the Hambo Hoedown!
Details not listed above- Paper: Bazzil, Georgia Pacific White, KI Memories, Markers: Copic, Die: Provocraft Cuttlebug, Stickers: EK Success.
The first challenge is STITCHING, real or faux. And here is my super simple, and oh so stampy card to inspire you!
I did a bit of faux stitching since I couldn't get my hand held stitcher to cooperate ;) I kept it flat and easy to mail so that I could send it out for the holidays :) Here are the stamps I used on this little number....
The deadline to link up you card for this challenge is tomorrow, and then on Thursday we will have a new challenge for you. If you don't enter, you can't win :)
Hope you can play along and Happy Winter!
Details not listed above- Paper: The Paper Company, Markers: Copics, Creative Memories, Ink: Memento, Stampin;' Up!, Punch: Martha Stewart, Gem from my supplies
The buttons above will take you to each of the blogs participating in this fun "Elfish" hop...If you are going in order, I'm the third purple button in the second row, and Julie is your next stop after me :) Make sure you leave a comment before moving on, because all of us participating in the hop will be giving away the elf digi used on our card shares. And from that group of winners, one lucky person will win the Elf on a Shelf gift set complete with story book! What a fun prize compliments of Amber Ink.
I love his little impish grin...So mischievous :)
Have fun hopping (remember Julie is next!) and to see all of the elves, stop by the Amber Ink store!
Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Georgia Pacific white, K&Company, Markers: Copic, Felt Embellishments: K&Company, Cord and Sticker: Making Memories, Nesties
Today starts the big holiday sale at Lindsay's Stamp Stuff. If you didn't shop over the weekend and thought you missed out on all the good deals, you didn't! Everything is 1/2 off through December 4th.
I used the Rudolph image from the clip art set Christmas Follies for my card today. The characters are all pre-colored so everything comes together quickly when using these images. I also used a sticker for the sentiment, so there wasn't any stamping on this card at all.
This is the entire set. It would be so easy to make your own tags using these characters!
I'm keeping it short once again. Even though it's only December one, I feel like I'm so behind in my holiday preparations. Please tell me I'm not alone...lol.
Thanks for stopping by here, and Lindsay always has some great crafty tips and projects on her blog. If you stop by, I bet you will learn something new!
Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, K & Company, Twine and Border Punch: Martha Stewart, Nesties, Circle punches: EK Success, Stampin' Up!, Stickers: EK Success and Making Memories.
Are you ready for winter? Where I live, we had an awesome month weather wise.
I can't even remember a November this nice...EVER! I didn't wear a coat on Thanksgiving, and we usually have snow by then.
However, I know it's coming! So to get you in the spirit of the wet winter months, we have a challenge at the Hambo Hoedown to stay dry with DRY EMBOSSING.
If you played along last week and emailed your photo of your card, you should have received your Snowball Fight digi. I'm imagining they are brother and sister in for the fight of their life. I mean, if looks could kill, right? LOL! I had this epoxy sticker with the "frosty" word on it, and I just thought it described the stares they were giving each other perfectly. All I did to finish it off, was add dimension by using pop dots on the snow and images.
I have to say I love my card share today. Not only is this newly released Penguin Snowball Blast super cute, but it's a card I made with little ole me in mind. Why? Well, because I'm one of "those" people with a Christmas birthday. The 23rd to be exact. Let's just say, I don't love that. As a kid my presents all came at once, they were always wrapped in Christmas paper, and my cake many times had poinsettias on it. Sigh. However, one year someone sent me a card that said something about, "Your Christmas Birthday" and that made me feel special. Like not many other people were going to receive a card like that, and that's what this card with the Snow Doubt Birthday greeting reminded me of...
Here is a closer photo of the Glossy Effects I added to the igloo and the sparkle on the snowballs :)
Thanks for visiting today...I know I haven't been around to your blogs lately, but if you want to catch up with me and find out why, click here or scroll down for yesterday's post.
And don't forget, DRS Designs has many more stamps now available in the new releases section in the store!
I feel like I've been away from blogland forever. I had my posts scheduled to go live last week done in advance, so it truly has been a couple of weeks since I've sat down to write you something. And I'm not even going to get into how long it's been since I've stamped. Ack! Thank goodness design team commitments force me to "work" ahead, or I'd really be in the weeds this week. I'm just behind for next week ;)
We had a lot of family drama the week leading up to Thanksgiving with four of my family members in the hospital for various reasons. I volunteered to do the meal if needed, but in the end my cousin Cathy was able to host it as planned. It was great to visit with family we hadn't seen in a while, and we didn't get home until after 8:30 that night.
The day after Thanksgiving my cousins Cathy, (far left), Jenn and I took our Aunt Inge out to celebrate her 80th birthday. It was earlier in the month, but due to work schedules and the aforementioned hospital going ons, this was when we could work it in. We had a nice tea at Clemintine's...
with a lovely little cream puff in the shape of a swan for dessert! (Sorry. Took the photos with my phone, so not the greatest!)
I also decorated my home for the Christmas holidays. I won't show you any photos, because my trees are the same every year.
I also joined in the pop culture craze that is Twilight and saw the movie with my friend this morning.
So girly. So cheesy. Still liked it and had a good time with my best friend from high school.
One of my hubby's goals this year, was to do one cultural thing every month. I think we missed a couple, but earlier in November we went to hear Billy Collins read his poetry. I cannot say enough good things about him. His is really poetry for the masses. Even if you think you hate poetry, I dare you not to love this one. It starts at about 50 seconds in.
I've also been reading a lot lately.
Finished Girl in Translation for my book club. It reads like a young adult novel to me, but I enjoyed it.
Turn of Mind was a little on the dark side. Don't read it if you want a laugh, but a decent literary whodunnit.
I was so excited about When She Woke, and I was loving it at the beginning. However, about 2/3-3/4 of the way through it takes a REALLY weird turn. Like the character does something that doesn't ring true...AT. ALL. And the ending? Dumb. Lame. Left me completely bummed. So if you choose to read, consider yourself warned.
The Marriage Plot is my newest pick. Only in the early stages of this one so far.
Ok, if you made it this far, thanks. Your reward will be this crafty little card I made using my stamps from Sparkle N Sprinkle that I have yet to show off on the blog.
It's made using the following stamps sets (Thoughtful Frames #436 , My Rose Garden #402) and some Waterscape Glitter #G1108. The rose in the corner just called out to be layered and popped up and Thoughtful Frames is one of the sets included in the sale this month as well :) Full step by step instructions can be found in my gallery.
Now you are all caught up on my happenings. I'm dying to know what you've been up to as well, so I will be around to you very soon. Hand on heart. I promise :)
If you live in the USA, I hope you are having a wonderful time sharing the holiday with family or friends...Or if not, I hope you are taking some time to indulge in your favorite paper crafting hobby!
If you need a reason to shop, there is a sale and everything is 50% off. So to inspire you to pop on by, here is my last card made with a digi from the Halloween Doodles from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff.
Enjoy the rest of your day and as always, I'm thankful for you!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Me & My Big Ideas, Markers: Copic, Stamp: Studio G, Stickers: & Square Punches: EK Success, Border Punch: Martha Stewart, Twine from my supplies.
Since tomorrow is the big turkey holiday here in the good ole US of A, it's going to be a quick no chit chat post for me :) I do want to encourage you to play along with us this week at the Hambo Hoedown though!
If you played along last week and you received your free computer digi, use it to play along this week where the challenge is Soft-Wares! Get it? Use something soft along with a stamp from Hambo Stamps!
I used some felt flowers to match those flowers in the vase and ribbon that matched my papers. The punny sentiment is one I made up myself and layered behind the image. I used my craft knife and cut out the computer screen and placed a piece of acetate under it, and the sentiment behind that.
Thanks for peeking in to check out my card this week and I hope you get a chance to play along!
Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, K&Company, Markers: Copic, Punch: EK Success, Flowers: Inique Boutique, and ribbon from my supplies.
I have my usual DRS Designs card share for you today. It uses the new Snowmen Smiles greeting stamp, along with a few others. You can't really tell in the photo, but everything is layered on a base of embossed white snowflakes, and I made the plaid paper by stamping the Large Original Plaid in red. Since the greeting mentioned snowmen, I chose to use this totally cute Stretch the Round Button Snowman stamp along side.
I finished off the card by using my snowflake punch, ribbon and buttons. I hope you think it's as cute as I do :) You can see all the rest of the new stamps that were released by DRS Designs right here!
Are you ready for the big meal on Thursday? I will be doing my part by making the cranberries and sweet potatoes.
Then let the Christmas frenzy begin...lol! Have a great day!
Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Ink: Stampin' Up!, Markers: Copic, Punches: Martha Stewart, Stickers: EK Success, ribbon and buttons from my supplies.
I thought I would post a song before too much time passes again. Since I've been listening to the new Indigo Girls ever since the day it came out, they are my choice this week.
It's Hambo Hoedown time again, and this week the challenge is to use a tag on your creation. As the title of my post suggests, I'm giving you two tags on my card today. Little Wee Henry is on a tag and so is the sentiment which comes along with this adorable Thanksgiving digi!
I used some more of this fall themed paper from my giant paper pad. I really have to start not buying 12" x 12" paper pads...They last FOREVER! Oh, and let me share another obvious tip with you...If you cut yourself during the card making process, stop and take care of it. Like with a real band aid and don' t bleed on your card. I think I managed to hide my paper cut smear in the end, but can I be a bigger loser? lol!
And the pumpkins are Jolee stickers. No, I'm not that good.
I hope you can join us for the tag challenge at the Hambo Hoedown and if you live in the U.S., I would love to hear your Thanksgiving plans.
Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Me & My Big Ideas, Punches: Stampin' Up, Fiskars, EK Success, McGill, Markers: Copic, Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug, Stickers: EK Success, Jolee's, Ribbon and brad from my supplies.
How are you doing on your holiday card making? Do you need some inspiration? Well, DRS Designs has just rolled out some more new stamps for Christmas! Woo Hoo! Nothing like new crafty stuff to get the mojo flowing :)
I used this new Snowflake Circle Cut Out stamp and layered it up with with a doiley and Spellbinders die cut for my Christmas card. I created the background by using the Silent Night Sheet Music stamp and for the center sentiment I used the words only from the Three Wisemen Peace stamp. I also covered it in my favorite embellishment...Glitter! I have to say that I love how this turned out and it doesn't even have any lumpy embellishments, which makes it perfect for mailing :)
Stop by DRS Designs and check out all of the newly released stamps today!
Details not listed above- Paper: The Paper Company, Ink: Stampin' Up!, Punches: EK Success, Doily: Darice, Glitter: Stampendous.
Welcome to Sparkle N Sprinkle's blog hop named "It's a Cultural Thing" This title encompasses numerous different types of stamps, so you will see many diverse cards and projects along the way. I hope that you can join us!
If you arrived here fromElenore's blog, you are right on track. If not, start at the Sparkle N Sprinkleblog for all the details. You won't want to miss anything and make sure you comment along the way for your chance at winning one of the many prizes!
Both of my cards use stamps from the sets Asian Carp (181) and Thoughtful Frames (436). My first card is 5 1/2" square and uses the large plate stamp from Asian Carp (181) and some glitter paper made using Sticker Paper (99558) and Royalty (G1057) glitter. This is one of the prettiest blends of glitter colors that I have ever seen! So lovely in real life :) The plate was stamped 3 times and popped up for a layerd look. The sentiment is from Thoughtful Frames (436).
For this next card, I used a piece of patterned paper that had a subtle two toned look, and customized it by stamping right on top with these Asian themed stamps. The Flourish Oval Frame (3541-436K) was embossed with Clear Detail (EP280) embossing powder and matted for a finished look. I ruffled the ribbon using 1/2" Tear-iffic Tape (SAT04) and embellished some store bought flowers with Midnight Gold (G1080).
Full details on my card with all the specific product numbers can be found in my gallery right here.
Your next stop is Gerlinde'sBlog. Don't forget to leave a comment so that you are eligible for one of the prizes!
Thanks for visiting and here is the entire list in case you need it :)
I love Wednesday, because that means it's time for another challenge at the Hambo Hoedown :) If you played along last week and emailed a copy of your card, you received this fun Camera Guy digi! Print him out and play along with today's challenge which is to use a frame on your card. Don't have any Hambo Stamps? Click here for a freebie.
I was excited to receive this cute little dude myself because it gave me the chance to use this film embellishment in my stash. It's from Tim Holtz's line of crafty stuff and I bought it because I thought it looked really cool. Then when I got it home, I realized I had no bright ideas how or when I would use it! Then Camera Guy came to my rescue.
I hope you take the challenge and play along this week. If you need more inspiration, just stop by the Hambo Hoedown and see what the rest of the Bacon Bits created for you.
Have a great day :)
Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, DCWV, Nesties, Punches: Martha Stewart, EK Success, Ribbon: American Crafts
Posts
