Kalyn

Peek of the Week 12/2/09

Hey everyone! Today's POTW is doubly exciting because I have 2 "peeks" to share with you. The first is quite thrilling for me and came as a total surprise yesterday. One of my cards was featured as a "sneak peek" for the December 2009 issue of CARDS magazine! I was reading their blog as I always do and lo and behold was one of my cards! It's the first that I've ever had published with them and I cannot wait to see it in print! Here's the link to that blog post. My card is the 4th one down on the left hand side. So excited! I can't wait to get ahold of the issue. 

On to today's Peek of the Week. Today's card is a Christmas greeting for a spouse or significant other. I just fell in love with these little gingerbread cookie die cuts from QuicKutz and wanted to make something simple, but cutesy with them. So here it is! Hope you like it:

 

SUPPLIES:  Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper  Font: Bewitched from dafont.com  Ribbon: American Crafts  Dies: QuicKutz  Felt heart: Provo Craft  Rhinestone: craft store  Tool: Corner rounder punch

Thanks for stopping by!

<3,

Kalyn

Before and After: My Craft Room

Hi there! I've been wanting to share this "before and after" for a while now, but wanted to wait until my new craft space was the epitome of perfection. Well, I realized that's never going to happen and that it looks pretty darn good right now, so why not share my favorite room in the world with my crafty friends? Here's what the room looked like BEFORE:

There wasn't much going on in here "before". Just a spare room that housed our family computer and odds and ends that we didn't have a real place for. I'm so incredibly lucky to have parents that didn't mind me taking over this room. My mom still uses it as her office as well, so we're good about sharing. :)

It took a lot of work and lots of lifting (my mother and I did it all ourselves), but I think it totally paid off. I feel happy every time I walk into this room. Here's the AFTER:

The room is mainly taken up by the desk which houses all of my stamps, tools, inks, edge punches, small paper scraps and miscellaneous items. Then you can see my patterned paper and cardstock holders to the left and right of the desk that I got at westendwire.com. On to some close-ups:

Here you can see my framed cover of Paper Crafts magazine with my gift bag on the cover, my bulletin boards (for submissions deadlines, inspiration and need-to-buy lists), my jars of Papertrey Ink buttons, my QuicKutz squeeze handles, ipod docking station, cutting mat and rotating container for essentials.

Here's another shot of the main part of my desk. I love the "K" that my friend Jenna got me from Anthropologie! 

  

  Here's the right side of my desk, which houses my QuicKutz Epic 6 and Revolution (you can see it peeking out from the left side) as well as my little tool box that houses my Cookie Cutter alphabets and chipboard letters and such. Up above that is a little shelf that I have birthday cards on given to me by lovely friends and fam. :)

This is the messiest part of my craft room, but I can't not include it because it houses some of my favorite embellishments. On the bottom shelf I keep my magazines and books. The shelf above that holds boxes of finished cards. The second shelf from the top is my favorite because it has 3 custom-made boxes (by my awesome mom) that perfectly hold larger items like American Crafts Thickers, medium-sized embellishments like K&Co. stickers / American Crafts Flair and a small one that holds tiny things like BasicGrey pearls. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my craft room. I love seeing other people's creative spaces, so I hope you've enjoyed seeing mine! I'd love to see pictures of your space - just comment with a link! Thanks for stopping by :)

<3,

Kalyn

Peek of the Week 11/25/09

Hi there! In honor of tomorrow being Thanksgiving, I'm going to do a very thankful POTW today! I could go on and on listing things that I'm thankful for, but I'll keep it to a top 5 this year.

1. My family and friends - kind of an obvious one, but I find myself amazed every single day at the love I have in my life because of these people. I don't know what I did to deserve all of the joy that these angels have brought into my life. To my precious family and to my dear friends (both old and new) I love you all. :)

 

2. Adventure - the past year has been a whirlwind and it's just picking up more turbulence as it goes (is that the right metaphor? I'm not a wind expert. Hehe Well, you get the picture). More change is on the horizon for me as I plan to start some major life adjustments, but I'm thankful that God is giving me opportunities that will surely help me grow and learn.

 

3. My hobby, passion, life purpose - whatever you want to call it - paper-crafting, scrapbooking, creating art, it's the love of my life and I wouldn't be me without it. It's the lens through which I see this world and even though my overwhelming desire to make a career out of it will surely lead me down a difficult road, I wouldn't trade the view for anything. 

 

4. Entertainment - this one is a little less "deep" I suppos, but that doesn't make me any less thankful for it. Music is another love of my life and I'm so thankful for the tunes that put a smile on my face (John Mayer's new CD, Battle Studies is just one I'm thankful for). Then there's my favorite books, blogs, and magazines (this book is a new fave, I adore this blog, and these two magazines will always be my faves) which I rely on for a creative escape on a daily basis. And let's not forget to be thankful for the fantastic television we have here in America - where else can a show like Glee happen? :)

 

5. This little ol' blog - How could I not thank my own blog, without which I wouldn't have a place to list the things I'm thankful for? :) I still have a long way to go with how I want my blog to develop, but it's brought so much fun and friendship into my online life. And being thankful for my blog really translates to being thankful to you, my sweet, sweet reader. Thank you for your views, comments, and support! 

I've made you wait long enough. Here's this week's card! 

SUPPLIES:  Cardstock: Wausau Papers  Patterned paper: Crate Paper  Sticker: K& Co. Glitter glue: Ranger  Die cut accent: Crate Paper  Clear stamp: Autumn Leaves  Twine: Westrim 

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and thank YOU for being a part of the many things I'm thankful for. :)

<3,

Kalyn

Pleased as Punch

    I must admit, I'm fairly new to the world of edge punches, but once I added these tools to my collection, my paper-crafting hasn't been the same. While decorative edge scissors will always have a place in my heart and in my process, edge punches add a lot of extra detail and flair that scissors just simply can't. Take a look at just some of the possibilities:

 

 EK Success Fleur de Lis edge punch

EK Success Parisian edge punch

 

Martha Stewart Crafts Loop edge punch

Martha Stewart Crafts Doily Lace edge punch

Fiskars Threading Water edge punch

So far in my edge punch collection, I have the Threading Water punch, Doily Lace punch and Diamond lace punch.  While I love the Doily Lace and Diamond Lace, the Threading Water punch is my favorite because it works with really any style. Here are a few cards I made using all three of these punches:

This card uses the Diamond Lace punch from EK Success

Here's an example of my favorite Threading Water punch in action!

I love to use the Doily Lace punch and the Diamond Lace punch together for an extra lacey effect. :)

I just used the Threading Water punch in a little accent on this card, but I think it always adds a delicate and pretty touch.

    So if you haven't given punches a try yet, I highly suggest it. I honestly don't know how I could create without them now! I'd love to know if you have a favorite or a suggestion for the next punch for me to add to my collection! :)

<3,

Kalyn

Peek of the Week 11-18-09

    Hi all! I'm finally back from a little vacation and trying to get back in the swing of things. I'm also a bit under the weather - just a cold nothing too serious. But I thought in the theme of feeling sick and drinking a lot of tea, I'd share a card using one of my favorite stamp sets from Papertrey Ink! Enjoy :)

SUPPLIES:  Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper  Clear stamps: Papertrey Ink  Patterned paper: Graphic 45  Buttons: Papertrey Ink  Edge punches: Fiskars, Martha Stewart Crafts  Flower: Prima

Hope this post finds you in good health! Talk to you soon :)

<3,

Kalyn

Peek of the Week 11-11-09

    I've officially been bitten by the holiday bug. Yes, it's true. It's happening a little earlier every year (probably since I've started paper-crafting) ... I'm getting more excited for the Christmas season way before Thanksgiving. Oops! :) I blame it on retail stores. When I walk into Target and see a whole wall of the cutest argyle Christmas socks, pjs with footies, and Santa slippers I just can't help but get a little giddy.

    I also blame Paper Crafts magazine for my "illness." When that November/December issue arrives in my mailbox in October, and I get to look through pages and pages of holiday cuteness, I can't help but get totally inspired and in the Christmas spirit. Have you picked up your copy yet? If not, you simply must. Here's the cover:

This issue also includes an awesome feature that shows you how to make coordinating gift bags, tags, and cards! You can catch my interpretation of this challenge on page 51 and another card of mine on page 70. As a sneak peak for you, here's my gift bag/card/tag trio:

You can catch the supply list and instructions in the mag of course. :)

Have you been bitten by the holiday bug yet? Are you itching to get your hands on some cute Christmas socks or get your holiday cards off and running to family and friends? I am! And I don't care that the turkey hasn't even been close to carved yet. :)

<3,

Kalyn

Peek of the Week 11-4-09

    Hi There! I'm going to keep it short today - just going to share an autumn-inspired card to celebrate this beautiful time of year. I'm really loving the colors of this season - cranberry, sunflower, sage, and burnt orange - so I made a card featuring them in all their glory. Enjoy!

SUPPLIES:  Cardstock: Wausau Paper, Bazzill Basic Papers  Clear stamps: Papertrey Ink, Hampton Art  Ink: Clearsnap   Embossing powder: American Crafts, Hampton Art  Twine: Westrim  Button: Papertrey Ink  Brads: Making Memories

<3,

Kalyn

Peek of the Week 10-28-09

    Hi there! So today marks the start of the FINAL ROUND for the Torendi Design Team Competition. And once again I'll be needing your help BIG TIME! Only the 2 designers with the most votes will make the team! If you could go to their blog (www.torendi.blogspot.com) and vote for me, I'd be forever grateful. I'm so moved by all of the support I've gotten so far and by the fact that I made it through the first two weeks, so thank you for all your help! It truly means a lot. Now on to the card!

SUPPLIES:  Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Wausau Papers  Patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket  Ribbon: SEI  Chipboard: Cosmo Cricket  Edge punch: Fiskars  Decorative edge scissors: Provo Craft

Thank you again for being a wonderful blog reader/friend of mine and for supporting my latest crafty endeavor. This card is for you - love you!

<3,

Kalyn

Blog Giveaway Winner

    I'm very excited to announce that I picked a winner for my first-ever giveaway! To be fair I went on to www.random.org to choose a random number and the person whose comment was that number in the list is the winner. So, here goes...

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 2 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

And the number 2 commenter was BRENDA! She wrote:

Your giveaway looks so fun! I remember dressing up in my mom's old prom gown and going door to door trick or treating, filling my bag with lots of goodies. I voted for you at the Torendi blog, love your card. Have a wonderful weekend!

Posted by: Brenda | October 24, 2009 at 03:38 PM

I was going to enter people twice who voted for me at the Torendi blog, but since these 3 lovely ladies all voted that means they still all had an equal chance at winning. Thank you ladies for playing and please check back in a few weeks for another giveaway!

And Brenda, just send your mailing address to paperislove@gmail.com and I'll send those goodies out to you asap!

<3,

Kalyn

Halloween Giveaway!

Hi blog friends! Since Halloween is getting closer and closer I've decided it's finally time for my Halloween giveaway! It's nothing super huge, but since this is actually my FIRST EVER giveaway, I'm starting small. The more people participate, the more goodies I'll add to my giveaway piles. I'm so excited for this. :) I already have 3 other giveaways planned, so keep your eyes peeled.

Okay so here goes...all you have to do is leave a comment on this post to be entered to win! Since this is a Halloween post, feel free to tell me your favorite costume from years past or your favorite Halloween memory. Or just say Hi! OR...better yet say Hi and tell me that you've voted for me over at the Torendi blog! :) In fact, people that do that will be entered twice. Just a little incentive. ;) So, what am I giving away? Here it is:

 

Here's a close-up of the smaller items

The giveaway includes:

-1 super cute clear stamp from Imaginisce

-1 Halloween pendant from Jesse James Bead Co.

- 1 pack of 2 Gothic-inspired Rub-ons from Glitz Design

-The September/October issue of Paper Crafts magazine

 
Here's a card I made using the skeleton stamp from Imaginisce. I just adore this little skeleton gal. :)

So, what are you waiting for? Start commenting away! You only have 5 days to play! I'll pick a winner using random.org on Tuesday, Oct. 27th at 10 a.m. and announce it here. Good luck!

<3,

Kalyn