Sentimentals Release!

Who doesn't love a good sentiment? While I love receiving scores of images ready to ink, stamp, and color in my Crafter's Companion order each month, even more do I love a good, versatile sentiment. Whether stamped alone, with an image, or even inside the cards you give your loved ones, sentiment sets are essential for the cardmaker.

Crafter's Companion released new Sentimentals EZ Mount stamp sets today, and I know you have to have them (ok, well, at least I have to have them, all of them!) Here's a fun little card I designed, inspired by the sentiment stamped on the front:

The sentiment comes from the Memories Are Made EZ Mount Stamp Set. I started tearing through my patterned paper, selecting the majority of the designs from the Basic Grey PB&J line. The orange with red polka dot piece is from the MME Lime Twist collection. I free-drew each part of the rainbow on the pieces of cardstock, cut them out haphazardly, and glued them down to the Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock card base with Collal Tacky Glue. I love the primitive look to the rainbow, and decided Black Diamond Stickles would be the perfect finishing touch. I matted the sentiment, added a bow, and gave it the Stickles treatment as well.

There you have it, a quick and easy card that includes a wonderful sentiment, sure to bring a smile to anyone's face :)

Check out the fabulous sentiments available in this new Sentimentals release at the Crafter's Companion store today! Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or our blog to see doses of inspiration all day, every day from our talented team of designers.

xoxo
Khristen

New Sheena Release!

Sheena Douglass is at it again, this time with an addition to her A Little Bit Scenic line. If you love Sheena, you NEED these stamp sets!

I loved the Seascapes set, and sat down to make this as soon as I had a moment:

How awesome is that image?! I used my Spectrum Noir pens (EB1, EB2, EB6, TB1, TB2, BT5, BT4, and GB9) to color it and then mounted it to woodgrain paper. Netting was a nice ocean-y touch, and a few black bling touches finish it off perfectly!

So you should head over to the Crafter's Companion store -- all of Sheena's stamps are being offered at a discount to celebrate the release! Hurry, it won't last long!

xoxo

Khristen

Crafter's Companion/Xyron Blog Hop!

Exciting stuff today: the team at Crafter's Companion is teaming up with Xyron to bring you some fabulous holiday creations! You *need* to head over and take a peek at our blog, and visit all the blogs you can. Lots of giveaways and goodies when all is said and done, so hit up some blogs and leave some love in the form of comments for your chance at a sweet CC/Xyron prize package!

All of us CC designers received some awesome Xyron goodness to make our projects, and if you've used Xyron, you know that is something to be excited about! Here's what I came up with: a holiday box created with my Ultimate Tool, made possible by the fabulous Xyron Mega Runner and High Tack Adhesive Dots.

 After following the instructions for this neat box on the Advanced Construction Techniques DVD held in place with the Mega Runner, I adhered the ribbon handles with the High Tack Adhesive Dots. I added the image, part of the Dee Gruenig - Ahh Christmas stamp set. Memento Dew Drops made it easy to color different parts of the image -- rich cocoa for the sentiment, ladybug for the red, and bamboo leaves for the green. After matting it, the Mega Runner assures it stays put on the top of the box!

There's no question: Xyron makes excellent adhesive! Head over to the Crafter's Companion blog to see the gorgeousness the rest of the team made, and don't forget to leave some bloggy love for your chance at a great prize package!

Happy hopping!

xoxo
Khristen

A Little Bit Oriental Gift Box

Good morning! I hope everyone is enjoying their Wednesday thus far (and no, I'm not going to start getting all "HUUMMPPPP DAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" on y'all).

Today, I plan to get a lot of craftiness accomplished! Ornaments for the shop, Christmas cards, and maybe even a scrapbook page or two! I have some scrapbook pages to share that I just haven't had the time to post, but before I get to those I wanted to show off a gift box I made with the new Sheena's A Little Bit Oriental - Sakura EZ Mount stamp set and coordinating Cherry Branch embossing folder. I love these stamps, just as much as I love Sheena!

After cutting, scoring, folding, and assembling my box from Luxury Centura Pearl 16X16 paper (the only real choice for boxes -- it's so strong and thick, and makes sturdy, reliable boxes), I went crazy with Sheena!

 A sheet of grey cardstock serves as the base, inked around the edges with Espresso Truffle Memento ink, the same ink used to stamp the tree and sentiment on Ultra Smooth Premium White 8X10 cardstock. My Spectrum Noir pens (PP2, PP3, PP5) were used to color the tree. I found a coordinating sheet of cardstock to mount it on, and three brads to add a little something extra to the rectangle. I then embossed and sanded a sheet of black Coredinations cardstock, and adhered it all to the box using Extra Strong Adhesive Tape Runner.

Isn't it so pretty? And I love having this pretty box on hand for a special gift!

Head to the Crafter's Companion store to get your hands on these lovely Sheena stamps and coordinating embossing folders and papers. Check out the redesigned third generation Spectrum Noir pens (which I LOVE), and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see all of the fabulousness our DT creates. In a few days, I'll be sharing our latest challenge, you won't want to miss it!

xoxo
Khristen