IG Hop & New Release w/Creative Worship

Are you ready for another FABULOUS and FUN New Release?  Well, once again, Creative Worship Stamps has some really amazing NEW stamps, dies, stencils and products to entice you.  I'm sharing a card that uses a few of these wonderful new goodies.  As always, Creative Worship Stamps products work well on their own and when combined with other Creative Worship products.  These NEW stamps and dies are SO much fun.  Here's what I created to share with you today.

I used basic white and black cardstock for the base of my card.  The top layer is an older patterned paper from Crate Paper's Oh Darling line.  I used the sweet NEW Summer Collage Stamp Set on the background of the card along with the Library Card Stamp, Vintage Postcards Stamp Set and Sew Many Stitches Stamp Set to create my wonderful mess.

I used the awesome NEW Film Strip Dies to cut my film strip.  I placed vellum in the center pieces so that you can still see the stamping underneath.  Splashes of Oxide Spray here and there gave my card the messy colors I desired.  Even when you get a "splotch" of color here and there, it's all good.  Just go with it.  Art can be messy sometimes, but as long as you're having fun; you're on the right track.  My butterfly can be found in the NEW Funky Flutters Stamp Set.

OH, and did I mention that there's a FUN Instagram Hop where you can WIN a $25 gift card to spend at Creative Worship Stamps?  Yes, it's true.  Head on over to my Instagram Page or the Creative Worship IG Page to get started.  There's always loads of fabulous inspiration, and of course a chance to WIN is always enticing as well, right?  Happy crafting and thank you SO much for visiting me here today.

I'm sharing my card in the following challenges:

TIME OUT Challenges: Challenge #316 - I was drawn to the geometric lines in the solarium (? is that the correct word?) overhead as well as the water which is represented in my colors.

The Paper Funday Challenges:  Challenge #89 - Anything Goes w/Optional Summer Splash.  This card does have a bit of a Summer splash.  Two of my favorite companies are sponsoring...how FUN!!

Blessings,

Karen

Let's Get Cozy w/Creative Worship Stamps

This month at Creative Worship Stamps, we're showcasing and featuring many of the FUN and FAB stamps, dies and other products that are "Reading Related".  In an effort to encourage us to read more, we all wanted to create some cards, bookmarks, journal pages, etc. to showcase these amazing products and to pair them with other Creative Worship products such as Stencils, Inks and Sprays.  As part of this month's Creative Worship Instagram Hop, I'm sharing my first two projects of the month....this card and bookmark duo.

My card starts with black cardstock layered with white cardstock that I stencilling using Spun Sugar Oxide Ink and the gorgeous Star Pattern Stencil.  I also stamped the background with the super cool Typewriter Text Background Stamp.  I also used the Peace Joy Love Stencil to add the words BE STILL at the bottom of my card.

I used the adorable Let's Get Cozy Stamp Set for the sentiments, chair, blankets, lamp, coffee, etc. and the coordinating Let's Get Cozy Dies to cut them.  There's also a small piece of tulle behind my couch.  Why?  I'm not sure.  Like I tend to do a lot, I knew that I wanted to make a matching bookmark for this card; especially since we're celebrating the art of Reading.

I used the Bookmarks & More Dies to cut my bookmark.  I used the Star Pattern Stencil and Typewriter Text Background Stamp again on the background of my bookmark.  The sentiment, light and stack of books are also found in the Let's Get Cozy Stamp Set and were cut using the coordinating Let's Get Cozy Dies.  Some tulle at the top of my bookmark will stick out the top of your book....how fun.

Be sure to hop on over to the Creative Worship Instagram Hop for lots of great Reading-Related inspiration and a chance to WIN a $25 gift card to spend at Creative Worship.  We'd love to have you join the fun and....who knows, you might just find some fabulous new products for yourself at Creative Worship.  Have a wonderfully creative week.

I'm playing along here:

A Cut Above Challenge Blog - February: Anything Goes Using Dies - All the dies I used on my card and bookmark are listed and linked above.

The Paper Funday Challenges - February: Anything Goes/Optional Pastels - I did use the Optional Pastel Twist along with lots of fabulous paper layers.

Double D Challenge Blog - Shabby Chic Challenge - I thought the cozy chair with blankets, coffee, and especially the flowered doilies on the armchair really seemed vintage to me.

Craft Rocket Challenges - Challenge #133 - Flowers - This card has pretty flowers on the couch.

Blessings,

Karen

Christmas JOY w/Really Reasonable Ribbon

It made me feel a little bit (or maybe a lot) sad when I first heard that Really Reasonable Ribbon is going out of business.  I've been on this Design Team for over 15 years, and I've really enjoyed it.  But when I heard WHY Really Reasonable Ribbon is going out of business, it made complete sense.  My friend, the Owner of Really Reasonable Ribbon, Bonnie, has recently become a Grandma.

Her sweet new grandson has, rightfully, claimed a BIG piece of her heart.  For this reason, Bonnie has decided to close the doors of this AMAZING long-time business of hers.  But hey...who could blame her?  Certainly not me.  Those grandbabies are SO precious.  They grow up much too quickly; as we've all learned from raising our own kids.  She's not going to miss a minute of this little guy's life, and I couldn't be any more excited for her.  It would be awesome for her to be able to SELL OUT of everything.  Can you be a part of this?  You'd not only be helping out a truly wonderful small-business owner, but you'd be able to really SAVE on lots of fabulous products.

This means BIG SAVINGS for all of us.  Hurray!  It's a great time to stock up on Baker's Twine (currently $0.75 per yard) in many colors solid and striped or Seam Binding at $0.30/yard.  There are fabulous bargains on ribbons, adhesives, hair accessories, embellishments, mulberry flowers and much more.  The discounts are absolutely amazing, and this is the time to grab yours before the best things sell out (and they're going quickly).  I used an old Papertrey Ink Mitten Die to cut my mittens from wool felt.  I machine stitched them together.  The red wool felt border was cut using the Scalloped Border Dies from Creative Worship Stamps.

I used a leaf die from Paper Sweeties to cut some green leaves from wool felt, and I hand-stitched those.  The word JOY was cut from the red wool felt using the Peace & Joy Word Dies from Stamp Simply.  I attached more of the hand-stitched leaves to the word as accents of color and texture.  I attached some rusty jingle bells using Solid Red Baker's Twine, Solid Ivory Baker's Twine and Cherry Baker's Twine.  ANYONE who places an order this month at Really Reasonable Ribbon and lets me know will receive a special prize from me personally (minimum value $20).  Promise!!

OK...what else?  I tucked in some Christmas candy sticks and a Starbucks gift card.  This little mitten could easily become a Christmas ornament by simple attaching a piece of Grosgrain Ribbon or Gingham Ribbon to the top left (where the bow is).  Easy!  By using RIBBONS, it's easy to create lots of great projects.  You've seen the darling Christmas Trees and sweet projects on Pinterest and Instagram that are created with trims, right?  Check out ←those links for SUPER CUTE ideas for using Baker's Twine, Ric-Rac or Jute.  Well, now is the time to really STOCK UP on these DISCOUNTED Ribbons, Trims and Twines to help you create ornaments and projects of all kinds.

Thanks for stopping by.  It really would be a blessing to Bonnie as well as to me personally to know that you stopped by Really Reasonable Ribbon to see if there's anything that might catch your eye during this Retirement Sale.  I appreciate you visiting, and of course as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this little mitten.  Really Reasonable Ribbon has so many great products still in stock to help you make something extra sweet.  And if you do end up making a purchase this month at Really Reasonable Ribbon, don't forget to let me know so that you can claim your extra BONUS GIFT from me (mentioned above).  Have a creative week and use RIBBONS!

I'm sharing my project here:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Simon Says Use Dies in DieCember - I used lots of different die-cuts on this project.  They're all mentioned and linked above.

The Die Cuttin' Diva's Challenges - December: Christmas/Winter Theme using die-cuts.  All the dies I used on my card are mentioned and linked above.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Simon Says Use Dies in DieCember - Again, lots of dies were used on my project and you can find them all linked in my blog post above.

Double D Challenge Blog - Christmas Wrappings Challenge - I came up with a very different to "wrap" and give a small gift.

Happy crafting!

Blessings,

Karen

New Release & Instagram Hop w/Creative Worship

Are you ready for some FUN, inspiration, amazing NEW products (including stamps, dies, stencils and more) and a chance to WIN a $25 gift card to spend at Creative Worship Stamps?  Well, if so, you're in the right place because we have all this (and more) is waiting for you at the Creative Worship Stamps November IG Hop.  Come and join the fun and be prepared to fall in LOVE with these fabulous new products from Creative Worship.

I used a base of patterned paper from the Craft Consortium's 6x6 Scorched Wood Paper Pad.  I layered that with a piece of basic cream cardstock that I cut using the fabulous Stitched Rectangle Dies to create that sweet background frame.  I stamped that piece using the super cool Typewriter Text Background Stamp.  I also did a bit of stencilling using the fabulous NEW Moroccan Quatrefoil Stencil.  A few splotches of paint and some stamped "smudges" using the Going Postal Stamp Set accent my card.

The sentiment was also stamped onto a Stitched Rectangle Die piece.  I used the Autumn Splendor Stamp Set to stamp all the lovely leaves and acorn that I placed about my card as accents.  The sweet sentiment (Happy Thanksgiving) is found in the NEW Thanksgiving Pumpkins Stamp Set.  I just LOVE how all the stamps from Creative Worship work together and compliment one another so nicely.  I used several colors of Tim Holtz Oxide Inks to stamp my card and paint my leaves.

Be sure to stop by the Creative Worship IG Page to hop along with us for your chance to WIN.  You'll love the NEW products and all the wonderful inspiration you find along the way.  Thanks so much for visiting me here, and please don't forget to Follow me on IG.  Happy crafting, everyone.

Here's where I'm playing along this week:

Paper Funday Challenges - Challenge #82 - November: Anything Goes w/Optional Merry & Bright - This one, obviously, uses the Anything Goes theme; but I always enjoy using lots of paper layers.

Blessings,

Karen

Winter Blog Hop w/Word Art Wednesday

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Word Art Wednesday Winter Blog Hop.  You should arrived here by way of Stephanie's Blog, but if not; you can get caught up quickly by visiting the Word Art Wednesday Blog.  There are only eight (8) stops in total, so it's not a terribly long hop; and there are fantastic PRIZES from Emma's Paperie at each stop.  Plus, there's an awesome prize from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps for the challenge itself.  There are LOTS of FUN things happening at Word Art Wednesday.  Here's the prize being offered from my blog.  This pile of mine is continually GROWING, so the winner will receive much more than what you see in this picture.  Emma's Paperie was very generous to us, and we have AWESOME Blog Hop PRIZES as a result of this.  Emma's Paperie is still opened for another week or so if you want to take a look.  Everything is marked down considerably because they're going out of business.

The card I created for this challenge doesn't use the free scripture digi from Word Art Wednesday because my printer wasn't working.  Instead, I use some sweet products from our primary sponsor, Stamp Simply Clear Stamps.  You can enter a total of 15 entries in this three-week challenge (5 per week) to increase your odds of winning the prize from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps.  The stamp set I used is called Fall/Winter Season Wreath.  To win the personal prizes donated by Emma's Paperie; just leave a comment on each blog along the way.  As mentioned, there are only 8 stops on this Blog Hop, so it won't take long to finish; and you can win lots of great prizes.

Here's The Blog Hop Order (In Case You Get Lost)

Word Art Wednesday

Karen Conner

Holly Lau

JoAnn Atterbury

Ginny Maxam

Natalie Houston

Stephanie Wright 

Karen Letchworth

I'm the last stop on the Word Art Wednesday Winter Blog Hop.  I'd really LOVE for you to become a New FOLLOWER on my blog if you're not already following me.  I'm planning to have a BIG give-away if/when I reach 1,000 followers.  I've been "close" for a long time, so I will really celebrate if/when I finally hit that milestone.  I'd sure appreciate having YOU as my newest Follower.

If I do happen to hit 1,000 followers during this Blog Hop, I will add a second prize for the lucky random winner from my blog.  Thanks again for stopping by, and please don't forget to enter the challenge at Word Art Wednesday.  We always LOVE having you join the fun, and I'm always SO grateful to have you share your talents with us.  You could be one of our BIG LUCKY WINNERS.

Have a wonderful week, everyone.  I always appreciate your visits to my blog, and to Word Art Wednesday.  It's a great time to play along, and I thank you again for stopping by today.  You're making cards/art anyway, so....come by and link up with us.

Blessings to you,

Karen

I'm playing along here in these FUN challenges I love:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Simon Says "Christmas Critters" - This card features the most adorable little Christmas Critters...the darling little deer on the background patterned paper I used.  Yes, They're random; but I thought they were cute.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog - Simon Says "Cold As Ice" so I used the poinsettia, and the adorable little deer who, by the way, are straight from the North Pole.  Just sayin'.