Queen Kat Royal Monday Hop

Hello friends and fellow bloggers! In case you just dropped by (which I love!) I wanted to let you know that QKD’s Royal Monday hop is happening today!!

Here are the bloggers, please don’t forget to visit each person in case there’s blog candy involved!!!

QKD blog
Alex’s blog
Vicki’s blog
Kelly’s blog
Helene’s blog
Penny’s blog
Meredith’s blog
Linda’s blog
Anita’s blog
Sara’s blog
Ashley’s blog
Queen Kat Designs Store

Also, QKD is  extending free stamp week for this week where you buy 2 stamp sets and get 1 separate stamp free, or buy 3 separate stamps and get 1 free.

A Faith Perspective Blog Hop 11/14/09

Friends of Faith Blog Hop

HI there fellow bloggers and friends of faith! I am hoping to help spread the word about a very special blog hop happening in November!

“A Faith Perspective is organizing a Blog Hop for the weekend of Nov 14th, 2009. We would love to show the world how many faith based blogs, and bloggers of faith, are available on the internet, as well as give an opportunity for these blogs of faith to be seen. The theme for this weekend will be Thankful for Friends of Faith. We will ask that any who would like to participate create a project with a friendship theme, based on the verse: ‘Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.’ Ecc4:9-10a”

For more information about this hop, please check out this information! And let’s make some blessed blogalicious noise! =)

Release Day – Hooray!

It's a Royal Wednesday blog hop

Welcome welcome! Having come from Lara’s blog, you already know that the QKD design team is beyond excited about this month’s stamp releases! Guaranteed, you can start at the QKD blog and not be disappointed by all the creativity!! Note: the creativity technically began on Monday, 11/2, with the QKD Royal Monday hop — please check out this thread to be inspired!! (And yes, I apologize for being remiss in posting here about Mondays blog…bad BAD Alien)

I stepped completely and totally out of my comfort zone when I requested for November to work with this lovely Green Fairy. And now for some True Confessions: I’ve never previously owned nor colored this type of stamp, so I really didn’t know what to expect of me or her! I love the DCWV La Creme papers and wanted to go a bit schmancy with my project…

Nov release schmancy GreenFairy

I honestly like how this fairy, designed by our lovely Che Gilson, turned out since I used a whole lot of Shimmerz on her (painting the Shimmerz on was fun!)!!! And then some of the best advice I got about creating with this beautiful fairy came from Queen Kat herself: Don’t hold back, these images are meant for bling and fun-ness! That advice turned my Green Fairy projects from nearly average to kapow (this is my opinion, of course!). But have no fear, I am still a rookie here amongst QKD talent!!!

Check out the glimmery Shimmerz

I stamped her on GinaK luxury cardstock with VersaColor black pigment ink, heat-embossed her with a clear/bridal powder combo, set down a base color on her using Copics, then painted over everything but her skin with Shimmerz. Please trust me, she is beyond beautiful in real life when the light catches the Shimmerz just right! Here’s a look at her straight on:

GreenFairy closeup

I shadowed her with Copic Sketch YG06 to really help her stand out and emphasize her playfulness! It’s been quite a while since I’ve been this satisfied with a project. Let me know what you think!

You are not going to want to stop here, no way!!! You’ve just got to see Nina’s project next!!

Here is this week’s hop order for your reference (actually I use it alot too *hehe*):
QKD blog
Shannon’s blog
Jules’ blog
Maria’s blog
WIS blog
Bev (SG’s) blog
Andrea’s blog
Lara’s blog
Anessa’s blog – this is your 20
Nina’s blog
Nancy’s blog
Stephanie’s blog
Katarina’s blog
Queen Kat Designs Store

Please remember, we have two blog hops per week now: one on Royal Mondays  (mentioned above) and today’s regular Royal Court Wednesday hop. As you know , they both start at the QKD blog.

We also have a fun special this week at the store: Buy 2 stamp sets, get 1 separates stamp free ($3.99 or less) or buy 3 separates, get 1 free. So, whatever you see that you like, you can buy at the store TODAY!

And one MORE fun surprise that’s coming up in November: the 19th is our 3rd birthday, so don’t forget to come that day for a special new release! And you won’t believe how awesome it is!

Queen Kat Bequeaths to Me a Blog Award

My friend, fellow blogger, and actual owner of Queen Kat Designs has given me a blog award and in between stomach flu pain right now, I shall post my thanks to Vicki and the rules:

Pass this award on to five people, post on their blogs to let them know the award is there, and then answer a list of questions in ONE word.
1. Where is your cell phone? Somewhere
2. Your hair? Curly
3. Your mother? Who?
4. Your father? Abusive
5. Your favorite food? Chinese
6. Your dream last night? Bow-chicka-bow-bow
7. Your favorite drink? Mojito
8. Your dream/goal? Author
9. What room are you in? Crafting
10. Your hobby? Scrapping
11. Your fear? Hypocrisy
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? New Zealand
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren’t? Skinny
15. Muffins? Blueberry
16. Wish list item? Money
17. Where did you grow up? Paonia
18. Last thing you did? Pooped
19. What are you wearing? Parka
20. Your TV? Netflix
21. Your pets? Salamanders
22. Friends? Loving
23. Your life? Entropy
24. Your mood? Blecch
25. Missing someone? Karla
26. Vehicle? Old
27. Something you’re not wearing? WindSong
28. Your favorite store? Cranium
29. Your favorite color? Alien
30. When was the last time you laughed? Earlier
31. Last time you cried? Dawn
32. Your best friend? Cindy
33. One place that I go to over and over? Woooooooooork
34. Facebook? Yessiree
35. Favorite place to eat? Hubby’s
Ok.. now for my nominees…

I gotta get back to ya on that!! Please Stand By…

Royal Kat Snowy Wednesday

It's a Royal Wednesday blog hop

Hello there from snowy Colorado! Please bear with me as I’ve been out shoveling because wow, this snow is wet and sticky – so perfect for snowmen! But it definitely came down with some purpose!

Thank you for hopping along on the last Wednesday of October – whoo hoo, almost Halloween! The fun started at the QKD blog, but I know you know that because you came from Lara’s blog, did you stop to ponder all those wonderful colors in her Melody?? Oh ya!

Based on our Inspiration challenge, I created this card using the oh-so versatile Moving Game set:

Inspiration challenge

I love the Take a Ride phrase and the ever so charming Car in this set!! The Car makes me smile!

Are you staring at my tires?

Nina is the next wonderful stop on our hop for today – I can’t wait until you see her adorable creation! Here’s a handy list of our hoppers today:

QKD blog
Shannon’s blog
Jules’s blog
Maria’s blog
WIS blog
Bev (SG’s) blog
Andrea’s blog
Lara’s blog
Anessa’s blog – this is me =)
Nina’s blog
Nancy’s blog
Stephanie’s blog
Queen Kat Designs Store

Happy Royal Kat Wednesday!

It's a Royal Wednesday blog hop

So glad you could hop along with us today!! As you know, all the fun started at the QKD blog, and you’ve probably come upon this thread by hopping from Lara’s blog after giving her some love, right? =)

We were challenged with four colors from Queen Kat’s fun list: orange, black, purple, and white. It wasn’t necessary, but I went a tad bit Halloweeny with my card:

Fun colors challenge

This card is based on one that I saw on Tina’s blog and absolutely love!! I also used the Friendship Tree from QKD to make a sparkly addition to this card:

Close-up

I could have ensured that all the residual embossing powder sparkles weren’t still on the black cardstock, but my daughter specifically told me that “magical trees” give off sparklies, so for her, I left them!!!!

Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving me some love…please don’t stop here though! You just HAVE to see what Helene’s got in store for you as you continue the RKW hop!

Here’s the blog hop list in the event that you’d like to refer to it:

QKD blog
Shannon’s blog
Jules’ blog
Penny’s blog
Vicki’s blog
Maria’s blog
Kelly’s blog
WIS blog
Bev (SG’s) blog
Andrea’s blog
Victoria’s blog
Lara’s blog
My blog – you’re here =)
Helene’s blog
Nina’s blog
Alex’s blog
Meredith’s blog
Linda’s blog
Nancy’s blog
Anita’s blog
Sara’s blog
Stephanie’s blog
Ashley’s blog
Katarina’s blog
Queen Kat Designs Store

Also, you’ll want to check out these sales at the QKD store:
55% off of all Clearance items

30% off of these stamps:
Thanksgiving Dragon
Christmas Tree Dragon
Off Beat Alphabet
Jester Alphabet
through 10/25/09

Royal Wednesday Sketch Challenge

It's a Royal Wednesday blog hop

Hello there, friends! I’m sure glad you dropped by my blog today for this Royal Wednesday blog hop! I’ll bet you’re stunned with what you’ve seen, starting at the QKD blog and hopping here from Lara’s blog!

Just in case (*wink*) you’ve forgotten what our sketch was for this week, I thought I’d post it here for ya =)

October 14th challenge sketch

Working with the Friendship Tree set and hoping not to disappoint, here is the card I have for this week:

Dual Friendship Trees

I stamped the trees on 140lb watercolor paper, heat-embossed them, then colored them with colored pencils and OMS. I’ll certainly be doing THAT again! I sure love how much control I have over the blending with OMS! The sentiment is also stamped and heat-embossed on watercolor paper.

Thanks for visiting my blog today…this post was certainly brief and concise, eh? Now hop to Helene’s blog to see where her mojo took her! =)

Paper: Bazzill Bling; Canson watercolor paper; K&Company Winter Wonderland
Ink: Tsukineko VersaColor black pigment ink
Accessories: Nestabilities Ovals and Scalloped Ovals large; Caron Fabulous ribbon; Koh-I-Noor colored pencils; Spellbinders Fancy Tags

White Halloween?

So last year was a pretty stinkin’ warm fall! I have pictures of hubby and me on Halloween wearing short sleeve shirts while taking the kids trick-or-treating! The first snow came on 12/2/08. Not this year! Might as well blow that record straight off the map! Yes, it snowed earlier this week in increments tiny enough to coat the trees a sparkly white then melt. But today? 10/10/09? The kids are out in 4 inches of snow, having a blast! Hubby’s poor joints and fibro convinced him to get a new furnace filter at the Ace right up the street! Well, on to my card!

I think the kids and I have been talking up Halloween for over a month now! I just love it!! They do too, and I hope that doesn’t fade for a long, long time! I want to see Paranormal Activity, don’t you?! There’s nothing paranormal about our destined pair, Jack & Sally!

NMB4C

I clearly cannot get enough of the QKD two-step tree, can I? =) Love it!

you and me, two-step tree...

Honestly, if I were thin enough IRL, I would be Sally every year for Halloween! Hubby could easily go as Jack, though! We’d be quite the pair, kinda like now, only with costumes! =)

Sally on a tombstone

Well, I’m having a wonderful snowy weekend at home with my family, we’re not really interested in going out of the house today, we’ll see how long that lasts!

Don’t forget to check out the sales happening in the QKD store:

♥ 27% off of QKD stamps
(Excludes custom and separate stamps)

♥ 55% off of all clearance
♥ 15-20% off of all Past Kits
♥ 10% off of all paper packs
♥ 20% off of the scrapbooking kit section
♥ 10% off of all grab bags

♥ 10% off of all acrylic blocks
Sales end 10/17/09

You’re tuned in…to Royal Wednesday

It's a Royal Wednesday blog hop

So glad that you’ve hopped here from Lara’s blog, after starting at the beginning, right? =)

New release Wednesday – it’s finally here, I’ve been nearly exploding to share some of the awesome ways to take advantage of the Friendship Tree:

QKD Friendship Tree

So I have had this ribbon for what feels like eeeeeeeons (read: maybe a couple of months) and made myself find an excuse to use it nearly immediately.

Perhaps...a thing of beauty

The quote at the top and the tree at the bottom are both part of this QKD stamp set, along with another wonderful quote by Latourelle!

Nobody can really deny it

I really like the look of sewn overlapping ribbon, and trust me, IRL the BasicGrey Perhaps paper and the ribbon came from different backgrounds but were born to be together! Be honest, what do you think of this ribbon effect?

Ribbon me this...

Now I shall rely upon you to tune your web channel to Helene’s blog, and continue in awe of New Release Wednesday!! Leave me some love so I can visit your blogland!

Paper: Bazzill Bling and textured cardstock; BasicGrey Perhaps
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black; Cat’s Eye Chalk
Accessories: Hobby Lobby Flutterby hearts ribbon; Nestabilities Classic Oval Large and Scalloped; Primas; Paper Studio glittered brads; Koh-I-Noor watercolor pencils & OMS; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder

Altered Project Royal Wednesday

It's a Royal Wednesday blog hop

So glad that you are here for our “altered” Royal Wednesday blog hop! You’ve probably come from Lara’s blog (isn’t that snowman fantastic?), though all the fun began at the QKD blog!

I thought I would share with you a few “before” pictures; this one is prior to my doing anything:

My "raw" material

This picture is after sanding the inset of the frame, but prior to altering:

After sanding

I have been wanting to use some SEI travel papers and embellishments that I have, and in considering this frame, the papers, and which picture to have in the frame, I decided to attempt deeper meaning in the theme. So I paired the travel paper and embellishments with a stamp from QKD’s Take a Journey greetings and the first picture taken of hubby and me during our first Christmas together 8 years ago – making this project a “Journey of the Heart.”

Journey of the Heart

I cut 1″ strips of paper to fit within the inset, and using the flip side of the greenish paper, rather randomly tore and adhered the backside strips onto the greenish paper to give some more depth and contrast.

Another angle

I stamped Celebrate the Journey on spots around the inset:

Close-up

I love this set of papers by SEI, and the embellishments are no exception:

Close-up

I pop-dotted the Scenic Area cardstock sticker and placed it to point at my belly in the picture – I was pregnant and, as of the date of this picture, had gotten some really “scenic” (very tongue-in-cheek, yes) ultrasounds of my daughter.

Thank you for checking out my project, and please continue along the hop to Helene’s blog, who also went with a travel theme!!

Paper: SEI Travel papers from June Megakit
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: SEI Travel embellishments; 7Gypsies photo turn; an old decroded “car” key from my stash; Lime Twist Glitter Mist