For those of you that have been asking...

Well, you haven't seen me in months, sorry about that! I have gotten many emails and messages asking if I am okay, why I am not rambling, and why I am not creating. Many things collided to cause the cosmic chaos that has kept me away from my blog and my craft room. I decided major life changes were in order started working to make that happen. Once I planned and started doing, some of those changes took on a life of their own and things happened much more quickly than planned. The biggest and best change is that my children and I are moving home. I will be heading back to Texas on the 20th of December. I can not wait to be home in the loving arms of my family. I also can't wait to reconnect with old friends.

Okay, STOP IT!!!! Don't say I am sorry, and don't look at me with pity in your eyes. This is a good thing! I am getting back my life. My children and I are so excited we can hardly stand it. If you thought I was a bit crazy before, you haven't seen anything yet. KathyJo when she is happy is a whole new creature. I haven't been this happy in twenty years, so watch out world.

I can not promise any crafty goodness in the next few weeks, as most of the craft room is packed. I have no time for crafting right now and will be getting settled. I promise as the new year rolls in though I will get busy and you will hear more from me. Thank you to each of you that have expressed your concern. No need to worry... the new and improved KathyJo is still here.
Until then...
Happy Crafting!
KathyJo

Christmas in July

Globecraft Memories has created the most delicious Christmas ornaments. Today I want to share a few with you. today. These delightful ornaments made their debut at CHA. There are a variety of designs and I love them all. I have tons of ideas for things I want to do.

This first one is a beautiful angel. Took the center piece and covered it with embossing enamel adhesive. Then I sprinkled it with copper kettle embossing enamel. I flash set it, then added a second coat and did a full heat set.

 For the top layer, I ran the chipboard through my Vagabond in my Divine Swirls embossing folder. I used a versamark pen to trace the swirls and covered them in the copper kettle powder. I heat set that.

 Next I filled in between the swirls with liquid pearls in a dark blue and let it dry. Once dry, I covered it all with a dark blue Stickles. I then added multiple coats of glossy Glastique. It made such a thick glossy coating. It almost looked like real glass. It added such a depth to the ornament.

 The back globe was painted with the liquid pearls and Stickles. I wish I could send this ornament to each of you to see. It turned out gorgeous.

 This second ornament is also an angel. This one is bowing down to the Christ child. This one was elegant and beautiful as well. I painted the back globe with Chocolate Brown Liquid Pearls. I masked off the outer edge of the middle piece. I used the enamel adhesive to coat the angel, Christ child, star, and hanger loop with 24K Gold Embossing enamel.  Once that was heat set. I painted the outer edge with Jenni Bowlin's Malted Milk acrylic paint.

 The top ring was covered in embossing enamel adhesive as well, and then sprinkled with Mermaid Tears embossing enamel. I flash set and then added a second coat before doing a full heat set. They were all glued together using Glastique which makes a great adhesive as well.

I hope you like the ornaments. They were fun to make. I will share another in the next day or two. I love them. You can head over to Globe Craft Memories and save 25% by using coupon code TS25.

July 100 Cartridge Blog Hop

Welcome to Erica's Craft Room

100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop Day ONE

You should have started at http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/ if not please start at the beginning

Welcome to My Cricut Craft Room's one year

"BLOG-iversary" of our first 100 cartridge Blog hop!

A year ago the blog was kicked off with the first design team members

and daily postings. It took 2 months to get ready for this hop last year.

Now we bring it to you the first full weekend of every month.

Collectively the design team uses over 100 different Cricut Cartridges

in their projects during the two days of this hop. Sunday the new members

of the design team will be announced and some have even made a

project to share with you!!

What an exciting weekend!!

As special treat enjoy 10% off of your total purchase with Erica's Craft Room Store.

Use the code JULY to see 10% off of your total purchase (No exclusions)

on July 7 & 8. Also on Sunday there will be an exciting announcement!!!

 

This month I picked the following cartridges:

 

Pagoda

Sports Mania

Paper Dolls Dress Up

I can't believe it is time for the 100 Cartridge Blog Hop again. It has been a quick month. I wanted this month to be different for my projects.I wanted to use my carts in ways that would make you go, "Wow I can't believe that is that cart." I hope I have achieved this goal.


Here is my project showcasing the Pagoda cartridge. I wanted to make some big flowers that could act as center pieces. I used the shadow for the flower on page ?. It has an even number of petals. I used 12x12 sheets of cream cardstock. I cut the flower at fit to page. I did this six times, because I only had six sheets the same color. I think it would look incredible with more layers.

I cut slits between every other bump on the flower. Each section had two bumps. I then used a skewer to curve the petals back and shape them. I then stacked the layers and glued them together.

I added a votive holder and a candle to make a lovely centerpiece. They would be great for a bridal shower or a nice tea.

This is a picture on a 12x12 sheet of paper to show you the real size of it. On the top layer I added some Iced Stickles in Coffee and then added Stardust Stickles to all the layers.

Some side shots of the details of the petals.

My second project uses both the Sports Mania Cartridge and Paper Doll Dress Up. I was part of a banner swap. I had to make the E in a banner that will spell create and only used white, cream, and kraft to design with.

 When you look at this I hope you would say Sports Mania and PDDU? That is where getting to know your cartridges comes in handy. The hearts are from sports mania and the crown is from Paper Dolls Dress Up. This is a cartridge with lots of fun cuts and at only $29, you can't go wrong, There are many little goodies here.

 

The liquid pearls on the butterflies is called Platinum. I use these on lots of things. Erica is having a great sale, so go check things out, but first head on over to see what my design team sister Doris has for you to see.
Click Here

 

If you get lost along the way here is the entire line up

Start http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com

Jenn Lorist http://www.jennspapercrafts.blogspot.com

Shelley http://shelley-scrapbookingforfun.blogspot.com

Kathy S http://3spoileddogs.blogspot.com/

Teresa http://www.createenjoyshare.blogspot.com

Kathy Jo http://skrappindiva.blogspot.com

Doris P http://mybugandmecreate.blogspot.com

Janet http://janetscreativeworld.blogspot.com

Jenny R http://myimagitivity.blogspot.com

Bunnyfreak http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com

Erica's Project http://ericasprojects.blogspot.com

Lisa Ch. http://lisacustomscrapbooking.blogspot.com

Ashley http://especiallymade.blogspot.com

Ava http://scrapbookdesign4u.blogspot.com

Sarah http://craftingwithsarah.blogspot.com

Mary http://Mary-fortheloveofart.blogspot.com

pattie http://www.sweetpsscrapbooks.blogspot.com

marji http://www.fstampaholic.blogspot.com

samantha http://www.samanthascricutcreations.blogspot.com

Blog Candy http://ericasblogcandy.blogspot.com

Theme Thursday Snow Day

It is Theme Day Thursday at My Cricut Craft Room and the theme I am working with is Snow Day. We don't get much snow down here in Louisiana and or growing up in San Antonio, so I decided to go with a card. Most of you know I don't make cards like a normal person. I start out with an emotion or feeling and try to express it through my card front. I started looking through my Cricut cartridges and I really liked this building a snow woman silhouette. I started thinking about snow days and thinking about childhood and making mistakes. Especially when you aren't used to the snow.So here is what I came up with for your viewing pleasure.

I cut the silhouette at 3 1/4 inches from smooth black card stock. The card front is a a piece of pearlized white card stock. The background was created using my favorite products Tim Holtz Distress Inks. I started with the Stormy Sky distress ink pad. I wanted light coverage, so the pearl would still shine through, so I used a felt pad instead of a foam pad. Once I had the blue background it was a little too blue, so I added just a bit of Weathered Wood distress ink to give it that touch of steely grey in a winter sky. The swirls were stamped off the edge using the large swirl stamp in the Tim Holtz large stamps set Urban Chic. I know for me personally 29.99 sounds outrageous for a set of stamps, but that is the retail. I had to wait for a sale, but they are so worth it. I use this set all the time. If you can't afford them now, make a point to get them the next time Erica has a sale. There isn't a picture on Erica's site, but here is a pic of the stamps on this set.

I used the Stormy Sky ink to stamps the swirls and then outlined then in Waterfall Stickles. I was trying to create the feeling of the swirling snow. In between I added some stickles snowflakes in stardust stickles and they were also used to make the snow at the bottom of the page.

The skirt and scarf were colored in with liquid pearls. I was thinking of a child not used to snow bringing out their mother's silk or satin and ruining it. That is the type of thing I would have done. The skirt, mouth, and dots on the scarf are Liquid Pearls Flamingo. The scarf is Liquid Pearls Ocean Blue.

 Lots of fun great products here. Now if that wasn't enough, I have one more trick up my sleeve. I have a sneak peek for you. One of our new design team members was eager to get started and created a card for today. Since the big reveal of the new design team members isn't until Sunday, she can't post her card today. I thought you might enjoy a peek though of what lies in store.

Now head on over to My Cricut Craft Room and see what my design team sisters have in store for you.

Zany Brainy Kids...

It is Monday and it is Letter of the Day over at My Cricut Craft Room. This week's letter is "Z". I had planned to do something with zebra or zoo until I can across these pics of my two "Zany Brainy Kids." So today "Z is for Zany." I love these pics of them playing in the kitchen with their fakes mustaches. Once your kids get to be teenagers, they sometimes forget to play. I was glad I captured this silliness.

 I love layouts that are quick and easy, but that I still love. This is one of those layouts.I started with basic kraft colored cardstock. I doubled matted my pics with white and red cardstock.

 I used sticker letters for the title. I hardly ever do this anymore. I was out of black cardstock though and didn't think I had enough scraps to cut them out on the Cricut.

 I love how this Zany little bird came out. He was cut at 4 1/2 inches from the 3 Birds on Parade cartridge. If you haven't checked this out look at it. Erica has it for only $15 and there are tons of fun cuts on this cartridge.

 

Since I had pics of both the kids doing the same thing, I made the same page for a scrapbook of each of them. This was the first time I had used this cartridge, but I see many layouts coming from this cart. I hope you enjoyed this. Now head on over to My Cricut Craft Room to see what my design team sisters have created for you to see.
Happy Crafting!
KathyJo

Just How Far Can One Set Go?

Have you see the Card Decor Sets at Globecraft Memories? These sets are fabulous. I have been playing with Card Decor Set #1  and am amazed. I am a frugal woman and love the bang for your buck you get with these sets. They are inexpensive; they are only $3.99 and when you can get four or five projects out of one set they are a bargain.


These are the pieces that come in set #1.  Of course they are bare book quality chipboard like all of the Piccolo pieces. I will let you know that the fine details in the vines make removing them a little harder than some of the pieces. I found a straight pin worked great for pushing them out.

I was wanting to make a card, but I hate to think of my work ending up in a drawer or worse yet in the trash. If you are like me, you are going to love this new item coming out soon. It is an easel card. You simply decorate the front like you would any other card front, but it has a built in easel to insure it ends up displayed by the recipient. I am telling you I love this.

 Of course when I see blank white cardstock I start to see visions of distress ink, so I inked up the front with Weathered Wood and Dusty Concord Distress inks. I made sure to ink the base flap too as it will show a bit when on display.

 Once I had the back ground inked, I stamped the sentiment. I love how whimsical this came out.

 The vines needed to be green. I started to pick up paint, but then I thought about the Mossy Glen Enamel Powder. I love the way it came out. It is such a gorgeous green. These enamel powders are so easy to use. I covered them with Enamel Adhesive which is a snap with the dauber top. I then sprinkled the mossy glen over it. I did a full heat set. I melted it until it was completely smooth. I glued it down using Matte Glastique. This is more than just an adhesive, but on projects like this I love that if I am messy in my gluing it doesn't show. It dries completely clear. You honestly can't see it.

 The butterflies were punched out of white cardstock. They were coated in enamel adhesive and then sprinkled with Enchanted Aubergine. I did a full heat making the enamel completely smooth again. The colors are just beautiful. I used the Glastique to adhere the butterflies too.

 The butterfly trails were ditted ion using Stickles. It was a fun little touch.

When I finished it still needed just a little something more, so I took my Versamark marker and ran it around the very edge of the card front. I then sprinkled Vintage Silver Embossing Enamel around the edge and then heat set it. It just finished it off perfectly.

This picture shows it lying flat to slide in an envelope and mail. This was project #1 from set #1. I apologize in advance for the reflections in the photos of project #2. We were experiencing what I call liquid sunshine. It was sunny out, but raining. It was just enough rain to keep me from being able to take photos outside. The lighting in my home is awful and reflected in the photograph on the layout.

 Just a quick scrapbook page I was making using Echo Park papers. It was pretty, but fell just a bit flat. The addition  of some pieces out of this set aids the eye in moving through the list of adjectives. The vines at the top us Mossy Glen, but the flourishes were cover in 24K Gold. The little heart anchors it all and is covered in Cranberry Wine Enamel Powder.

Here is a better picture showing how it moves your eye through the list. Okay, two projects down and I think three more to go in order to use this whole set. Make sure you head over  to Facebook and like our page there. I will make sure I link the next three cards there, so you can see just how far one set can go.

Now in order for you to see just how far it will go, you need to get your hands on one of these sets. Hobby Baby and Globecraft Memories are making this a little easier for you by offering 25% off your total order. Use coupon code TS25. I can't wait to see what you make...
Happy Crafting!
KathyJo 

Red-White-Blue Summer SteamPunk Celebration Blog Hop

Leslierahye is hostessing another one of her amazing blog hops. I tried to resist, but I couldn't; I had to get in on this Steampunky goodness. I decided to join the hop and designed a card I love. If that wasn't enough Erica over at Erica's Craft Room Store offered to sponsor my stop on the hop and I am giving away a $10 gift certificate to her store.

 When I was trying to decide what I wanted to create or achieve for this hop and started thinking about what Steampunk means to me. The images go along with a period in literature that explores the possibilities. Where peopled dreamed of what could be and how science and technology(somewhat primitive back then) could take us there. Then I needed to combine that with Red-White-Blue Summer which to me says Americana. I thought of the Statue of Liberty, because what says dreams and possibilities more than Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Also when I was younger I had this weird notion that she was a mechanical lady and had walked across the bottom of the ocean to get here. Where she stands was where she came out of the water and broke down. I know I was weird kid with a wild imagination. So even if the rest of the world doesn't think of the statue of liberty as steampunk, she is still steampunk to me.

An ever so slightly different angle to make sure you can see the texture and dimension of the torch. I started off with one of the white basic economy card bases from M's. I cut two pieces of white cardstock. One to fit the card front perfectly and one a quarter of an inch smaller, so i would have an eighth of an inch border. Most of the products I used can be found in Erica's Craft Room Store. If you click on the product the first time I list it, it will take you directly to that product. I inked the edges of the card base and my larger piece of white cardstock with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I took the smaller piece of cardstock and inked it with Tim Holtz Fired Brick Distress Ink and what should have been Tim Holtz Faded Blue Jeans Distress Ink, but I can't find it so I used a different ink and it did not want to react as well as the distress inks. Once I had the red and blue splotches, I went back over the whole thing with the vintage photo. The flowers all started out as white. I pressed the flowers into the distress ink pads and then spritzed them with a mini mister, so the color would spread through the petals. I am not sure which ones are which, because I dump them all together in a container, but there are several different shapes to choose from and then you can layer them too.

The dream tag was inked in the same way and is one of the Tim Holtz Adage tags.I love these, because they add that little something my projects need. There are so many in a pack and different words that I get to spread them out over a lot of different projects. You get almost 100 of them for around four bucks. I love getting a lot of bang for my buck.

This picture is here to show what you can't see. I am the world's messiest gluer and you can not see it. Unfortunately, this glue and the embossing enamels are not something you can get from Erica, but if you decide to get some, use the code TS25 and Globecraft Memories will give you 25% off your entire order. This glue is Glastique matte. I didn't really believe it would be string enough to hold heavy metal embellishments, so I used a lot and it squished out, but it dried absolutely clear. You can not see it at all and it held the heavy metal. I also want you to see the metal piece. It is out of a multi pack of gears and sprockets from M's, but I changed the color by covering it with embossing powder adhesive and then coating it with Globecraft Memories Vintage Copper embossing enamel.  I love how it has that patina effect and the green is showing through. It is even more amazing in person.

This little metal embellishment is a Tim Holtz sprocket, but I covered it with the vintage copper also. It was copper to begin with, but not the patina copper I wanted.

The torch is a cricut cut. It is cut at 3 1/2 inches from the Stand and Salute cartridge. If you have a cricut and don't have this cartridge you will want to look at it. There is so much I use this cart for and not just military or patriotic pages. I have cut out pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness, planes for little boy pages, stars for all kinds of things, anchors for a cruise page. It really is a versatile cartridge and Ericas has it for only $34.99.

The torch is cut out of basic smooth cheap black cardstock, but covered with the vintage copper. Now when working with the embossing enamels, you can use the flash set or full heat set meaning you heat it linger with your heat tool. I completely heat set it and then after it cools, I come back and hit those areas again to really get the green patina to bubble up and show through. That is another one of the Tim Holtz gears up in the corner. Below is another closeup of the patina and aged metal effect.

Once again I would like to thank Erica's Craft Room for sponsoring my stop on this blog hop. In order to be eligible to win the gift certificate, leave me a little comment love and maybe tell me how you would spend your gift certificate. It is not required for you to follow me, but I would love it if you decided to follow.
Happy Crafting!
KathyJo

Demon Lady

Okay, I messed up! Wednesday is Would You Ever Guess Wednesday over at My Cricut Craft Room. That means we don't use the main images on our carts. We just use the feature or create keys on our machines. Well, when I was working on my project for this week I didn't realize on was working on a Wednesday project. I had written down the theme "On Fire" and not that it was a Wednesday project. I went with the "On Fire" and completely forgot about the special feature keys. I hope you like this as much as I do. I love how this project came out.

 This picture was taken after my daughter's performance in Legally Blonde the Musical. We were all in the lobby after the show and in  this pic it looks like my niece has a crown of flames. It was actually a naughty plant. When I saw are theme of "On Fire", I knew I was going to do something with this picture.

Obviously I started with a 12x12 sheet of basic black card stock. I used red and cut a 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 mat for my 5x7 pic.

 I cut the title from basic white cardstock using the San Serif Solution Cartridge at 2 inches. If you look closely there are some raggedy edges on some of the cuts. Normally this would be a problem for me, but I wasn't at home and was using someone else's machine. I am not sure if it was the quality of the paper or a dull blade, but I decided it was okay since it was supposed to look like flames and flames wouldn't have precise edges. Make sure you always have an extra blade on hand so you don't end up with raggedy edges. You can find them in Erica's Craft Room store here.

 I cut the fire balls from the solution cartridge Indie Art and 3 1/2 inches. These were cut from white cardstock also and then set "on fire" with Tim Holtz Distress inks. I used Fired Brick and Spiced Marmalade. I started with the Fired Brick and a piece of felt on a blending handle. Most people use a foam pad with the distress inks. I used felt because the ink would have been more even and smooth with the foam. I wanted the scratchy look and variations like you would have in flames. I added the red and then came back over it with the orange.

 I did the same thing on the journaling. The white was just too stark so I inked it up.

 I also added a little ink around the edges of the photo mat to give it a little more depth.

 These shots let you see her crown better.

 This layout was a lot of fun to make. I hope you will take some time to play with distress inks and see what you come up with. Now head on over to My Cricut Craft Room to see what my design team sister have come up with for you to enjoy.
Happy Crafting!
KathyJo