A New Year!

Can you believe you haven't seen me since last year? ha. I know, corny joke... but somehow it sounded better than saying you haven't seen me in over two weeks! :-|

Anyway, Happy New Year! I hope you had a great night and will have a great year ahead. I have lots of things planned after a busy end to 2013. I've been thinking a lot about what 2014 will bring. Here are a few things that are coming up at Hofkissed:

Try It Tuesdays

Will feature projects that I've tried based on challenge sites, things found on Pinterest, etc. It might not always be papercrafting, but it'll be fun!

Throwback Thursdays

Will feature my projects from way back when (some from 15 years ago!) and I'll recreate my design, I guess CASE myself, but make it better. I've learned a lot over the years - I used to cut everything by hand (gasp!).

Sketch Saturdays

Whether it's based off a sketch I created myself, or from one I found online, I'm going to create a project based on a sketch. Every Saturday. It'll be fun, and will help get my mojo back after the holidays... and maybe help you out too!

Weekly Series

I've got a couple things lined up here already - one on organization & another using up scraps. These are week-long series about various things. I've done both of these before, but they were both hugely popular, I thought I'd concentrate on these areas again. :)

Sunday Stamps

I'm still happily designing for Sunday Stamps and it is a bi-weekly challenge. If you haven't played along with us before, add that to your "to do" list for 2014! It's fun and will surely get your mojo working as we switch between colour and sketch challenges.

This past Sunday, we had a sketch challenge. One that I created, actually. I'm late in posting my design because on top of the busy holiday season, I was suffering a lot from migraines. Feeling better now and I was glad to be able to get down and stamp!

With Valentine's Day around the corner, I thought it was time to get started on some cards. Simple design, but I love how it came out! Why not pop on over to Sunday Stamps and play along with us?!

Sorry for the extra-long post today! There was so much to tell you about. :) If you made it through, thanks for reading!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Feeling Neutral at Sunday Stamps

Love the colour combo we've got going on at Sunday Stamps this time around. It inspired me to create a manly card - those are always hard to do, aren't they?!

The colour combo is Tan, Black & Saffron. I used Sahara Sand & Soft Suede as my "tan", as well as some of that awesome Burlap Ribbon. I used the stamp set Wetlands that I wasn't fond of at first, but grew to love it. Actually, I always loved those tiny birds because they reminded me of the birds my dad always take pictures of on the shorelines in Florida when on holiday. It was the Goose that grew on me. ;)

Hope you'll join us over the next two weeks. We always love seeing your creations! You have until December 27th to submit your entries...

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Ivory
Ink: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand
Stamps: Wetlands, Sincere Salutations (retired)
Tools: 1" & 1-1/4" Circle Punches
Accessories: Burlap Ribbon

Challenged!

You may or may not have noticed that I've been MIA lately... there are many reasons for that. One of the main ones is that I've lost my stamping mojo. :( Probably has a lot to do with the busy time of year, working on Christmas cards since July, etc.

I needed to be challenged. I needed something to get my mojo back. Hence, my attempt and entry into this week's Technique Twist Challenge:

Okay. So technically I created two cards for this challenge, but I think they're still somewhat the same card, no? I had this awesome vision in my head and these two cards are my attempt at getting it out on paper. Unfortunately, neither does it for me. ha.

So why am I still blogging about them and entering them into a challenge?!

1. I wanted to show I'm making progress at getting my mojo back
2. I don't think they're "bad" cards 
3. They still involve the Double Stamping Technique

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, So Saffron, Calypso Coral
Ink: StazOn Black, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, So Saffron
Stamps: Swallowtail, Papillon Potpourri
Accessories: Jewels
Techniques: Double Stamping
Challenges: The Technique Twist

Team Swap

Every month for the last few months, we've done a team swap. This past month the idea was a holiday card in non-traditional colours. I was still feeling Christmas cards, so that's what I did:

I got the inspiration from a card on Pinterest by Vicki Wu and the Eastern Elegance DSP. I love the colours and designs in it and thought "I could make that work for a Christmas card!". I pulled the colours from the DSP - Summer Starfruit and Smokey Slate and as my neutral, I used Naturals White.

I heat embossed the Beautifully Baroque stamp in Smokey Slate and used the coordinating TIEF of the same name for the background. I heat embossed the sentiment (inside & out) using Silver because I wanted it to stand out more... and what's a Christmas card (or any card for that matter) without some bling?! I randomly adhered some jewels and used some Silver Glimmer Paper. I gotta tell you, I am loving the look of scattering jewels randomly on a project. You should try it out!

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Eastern Elegance DSP, Summer Starfruit
Ink: Summer Starfruit
Stamps: Beautifully Baroque, Petite Pairs
Tools: 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Beautifully Baroque TIEF, Big Shot
Accessories: Jewels, Summer Starfruit Satin Stitched Ribbon
Techniques: Heat Embossing

It's Sketchy at Sunday Stamps!

It's a sketch bi-week at Sunday Stamps, starting today. It's a great one too, designed by fellow DT member Hayley! Check it out:

Can you believe it's December already?! I can't believe how fast this year has flown by... I've been making Christmas cards since August and although I'm getting a bit sick of doing them, I still have a few more left in me. :) I got creative with the Merry Little Christmas Simply Created Card Kit that's in the Holiday Catalogue. It's a great kit, for only $11.95, you can make 8 cards! It's even better when you stretch it... so far I've made double that, and I still have pieces left over. :)

This was one of the designs I came up with for my card buffet yesterday. The ladies really loved it. So simple and so easy, thanks in part to the kit & Hayley's awesome sketch!

Hope you can join us and don't forget to check out the other DT member's designs. Visit their Blogs and leave them some love too!

You have until December 13th to play along!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Gumball Green
Ink: Gumball Green, Real Red
Stamps: No Peeking (retired)
Kit: Merry Little Christmas Simply Created
Tools: Big Shot, Holiday Collection Framelits (retired)
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details (on sale now until December 2nd!)

Sunday Stamps - Late Again!

A day late, but here's my design for this week's Sunday Stamps Colour Challenge. It's a sweet combo of lime, grey & turquoise.

I used Gumball Green, Bermuda Bay & Smokey Slate from Stampin' Up! as my colours. SU! doesn't really have a current "lime" colour anymore, but I thought Gumball Green was a close call and worked really well for this combo. A combo that I really grew to like and think will use again!

I kept it really simple, using the current hostess set in the Holiday Catalogue - Warmth & Wonder. I'm totally in love with the tree. The sentiment is from the same set (gotta love that!) and after adding a few jewels, my card was complete.

Hope you can join us. Remember, it's a bi-weekly challenge, so you have until Friday, November 29th. Don't forget to check out the rest of the Design Team Blogs too and leave them some love. Their designs are sure to inspire you.

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Gumball Green, Smokey Slate, Whisper White
Ink: Smokey Slate, Bermuda Bay
Stamps: Warmth & Wonder
Accessories: Jewels

So Frilly, I Love It!

It's been a while, I know. That's the story of my life right now. ;) Today I'm going to show you a card that I just love. I saw many examples floating around on several online forums and this is a combo of many of them, I was particularly inspired by Dani Dziama's card here.

Isn't the skirt to die for?! So frilly and feminine! I still had some mini cupcake-like wrappers from a kit from the last spring catalogue. They were actually meant to be flowers, but I wasn't feeling that. I cut each in half and then layered until I was happy with the look. 

I cut the figure using the Dress Up Framelits, added some ribbon and a clay flower on top of some embossing and the card was complete. I chose a sentiment that would be perfect for a bridal shower, but could also be used for a birthday or other similar occasion. 

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE:

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Baja Breeze, Regal Rose

Ink: Baja Breeze

Stamps: Petite Pairs

Tools: Big Shot, Clay Molds, Simply Pressed Clay, 1" & 1-1/4" Circle Punches, Modern Mosaic TIEF

So Sorry!

I'm so sorry for the long hiatus! It was my every intention to get my posts all lined up to post over the last couple of weeks when I was extremely busy, but I just didn't have the time. I promise to now make a better effort, even though still very busy. :)

This card uses one of the frames from a punched out tag from the Pop & Place Tags. I heat embossed the sentiment & ornaments & then added some of the gorgeous silver ribbon that I'm in love with! It's just perfect for tying little bows.

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes, Christmas Messages
Tools: Heat Tool
Kit: Pop & Place Tags
Accessories: 1/8" Silver Ribbon
Techniques: Heat Embossing