Hello World, How are you?

Posted in Hello, May 2014, Muse Challenge, Watercolor by Kreative Kymona

Hello everyone! I’m in such a great mood today, I can’t stop smiling. I’ve been working really hard at my craft and slowly by surely its paying off. So, I’m really proud of myself.

I’m here today with a card for the Muse Challenge #69. This is my first time playing along with them so I hope I don’t disappoint them.

Cornelia was chosen to create the Guest Muse this week and her card is full of bright colors, a cool technique and FUN!

Here is her card:

My job is to use the Muse card as inspiration and create one of my own.

When I looked at Cornelia’s card, it reminded me of my all time favorite technique, WATER-COLORING!!! I love how she made the colors mix with one another and the splatters across the card.

So I knew right away that I had to pull out my Koi watercolors. I decided that I wanted to use colors I hardly use that are bright and will stand out on the black cardstock I wanted to use.

Before I painted, I scored the watercolor paper to give it added texture.

I used colors #3, 12, and 16 to create my sentiment and hearts. You can see the colors on my swatch here.

Like Cornelia’s card I wanted to create a one layer card so I decided to create an inlay card with my sentiment and hearts. So, I die cut my sentiment and hearts from the watercolor piece.

After I cut out all of my pieces that I need to create my card, I realized that I wanted my card to have a stitch edge so to create that I had to use my large journal stitch die, which in turn cut off a portion of my card. I was ok with that because I love the stitch edge. That idea came from Nichol Magouirk.

After that cut, my card was no longer a one layer card. I put all of the piece together and here is what I came up with.

Here is my card:

I added sequin, enamel dots and rhinestones to resemble Cornelia’s paint splatters. I choose colors that were close to my watercolor sentiment and hearts.

Sooooo, what do you think? No stamping required. I love how it came out.

Supplies used:

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kymona

30May2014

What is Texture?

Posted in Addicted to CAS Challenge, Die Cut, May 2014, Textural Effects by Kreative Kymona

Happy Friday everyone!!! Today couldn’t get here fast enough. The week was dragging and cold. To keep my cool, I joined Addicted to CAS Challenge this week. Their code word is Texture. How interesting!! How often do you get a card with texture on it. Think about it.

So, the question is what is texture?

According to Webster, texture is the visual and especially tactile quality of a surface. For example a rough texture.

Well that is interesting, who wants a card with a rough texture. When you think of cards, you think pretty, smooth, subtle, funny, and bright. So how does texture play apart on a greeting card.

I will show you, take a look at the card I came up with.

Can you say texture? Yes, you can!! Guess what, it is rough!!! It’s a pretty rough card!!

You can see the thickness of this textured butterfly.

I saw Laura Bassen create a card like this and I wanted to give it a try.

1. I die cut 4 butterflies from Papertrey Ink’s Life is Beautiful die cut to create a butterfly stencil.

2. I attached the stencil to my white cardstock.

3. I mixed two distress inks colors with embossing paste.

4. I spread a thick coat of the color embossing paste over my heart stencil.

5. Once I was done applying the paste, I lifted the butterfly stencil and WALA!!

Have you notice that one of my butterfly antenna’s are missing. I think that is the beauty of this card and that is why I use the sentiment “Life”! Life isn’t perfect and sometimes neither are we.

I hope you like my card just as much as I like it.

BTH: My seven year old daughter made a card for this challenge as well, take a look here.

Supplies used:

Please leave me a comment below and let me know what you think.

~Kymona

29May2014

Watercolor Butterflies

Posted in Blog Challenge, May 2014, One Layer Card, Watercolor by Kreative Kymona

How beautiful are butterflies?? Have you ever seen one up close and personal? Did you know no two butterflies are alike. How amazing is that!!

Today’s card is of beautiful butterflies that were created with water-coloring!! Amazing, simply amazing I must say. If you’ve been following me for the past 4 weeks, you know that water-coloring is my favorite and I vowed to create a card once a week.

Well here it is. My watercolor butterflies!! I made this card to play along with Papertrey Ink’s Make It Monday #166:Debossing Stamped Images.

Before I show you the card, I have to say this was the hardest card I’ve ever made. The stamping was easy, it was the debossing that had me stuck for a while. I just couldn’t do it like Dawn Movey showed us in her video.

She used her die to deboss instead of cutting the paper. I kept cutting the paper instead of debossing. So to fix my problem I turned the die upside down and debossed my butterflies like that. I was able to create detail but not as much as Dawn did. The inside of the wings didn’t deboss. When I finally finish the card, I didn’t mind the look. The watercolor really made the card for me.

What do you think?

I used my Koi Watercolors #2,12, and 20 for the beautiful colors on my card. I created a swatch that you can view here.

To accomplish that look I:

1. Added the three different colors to my clear block one color at a time, mixing the colors where they meet.

2. I misted the colors with water then pressed my stamp onto the block.

3. I stamped my cardstock 3 different times, picking up more ink after every stamp.

4. After the watercolor dried, I stamped my sentiment in Versafine ink.

5. I turned my butterfly die upside down and debossed 3 different times.

6. I added iridescent rhinestones.

The instructions are simple but I had the hardest time doing the debossing. I tried to make this card 5 times before I came up with the card above. The water-coloring was fun!

Supplies used:

Please let me know what you think.

~Kymona

27May2014

My Weekly Wishes #2…Yayyy

Posted in May 2014, Weekly Wishes by Kreative Kymona

Last week, I introduced everyone into my private life by listing my weekly wishes. Its time to see if I’ve accomplished them and to list my new wishes for this week.

Last Weeks Wishes #1 were:

1. To create a gratitude journal – I haven’t had a chance to start this.

2. ~~To take a photography course~~ – I register in a course that will start June 30. I’m excited about this. I will take all of you on this journey with me.

3. Set up an email newsletter on my blog – I haven’t completed this but I did start.

4. ~~Set a date that my daughter will post on her blog~~ – The date is Friday, that way both of us have time to sit and work on her blog.

5. ~~Get some sleep~~ – I’ve made a conscience effort to get to my bed before 12 midnight. I want to bring that down to 10 but that might be a little hard.

This Weeks Wishes #2 are:

1. TO CREATE A GRATITUDE JOURNAL

2. COMPLETE MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER FOR MY BLOG

3. STICK TO AN IMPORTANT DEADLINE

I was asked to participate in a creative blog hop and I have to stick to my deadlines. This is a first for me so I’m so excited. I want everything to go right!

I only have three wishes this week because my last wish is a big one for me. I’m so excited, I’m getting things done and having fun doing it.

If you want to join in on the fun, you can either click the Weekly Wishes banner above or click here. Hope to see you there.

~Kymona

26May2014

Flowers Any One….

Posted in Blog Challenge, Card Kits, May 2014 by Kreative Kymona

Hello everyone, I’m back again with another card for CASology Week 96: Flower challenge. I am pushing this one. I only have 1 hour and 58 minutes to submit my card.

This see how I do under pressure!!!!

I stopped at McDonalds to pick up a large coffee for my mother yesterday morning and I saw these leaves that was just watered and the water was just sitting on the leaves. They looks so pretty, I had to take a picture of them.

What a great way to start the morning!! They leaves were so still that the water drops just sat there so peacefully. I love it.

My card today gives me that same feeling. Very peaceful with very vibrant colors. I used Simon Says Stamp June Card Kit to create my card.

The inspiration for this card came from Sarah Moerman.

No long talking today, I only have 1 hour and 45 minutes to get my card in.

What do you think?

Supplies used:

Please leave me a comment.

~Kymona

25May2014

Simply Beautiful….Papertrey May Blog Hop Challenge

Posted in 3-D, Blog Challenge, Color Combo, Die Cut, May 2014 by Kreative Kymona

Hello everyone, I’m back again for the second time. I’m here joining Papertrey Inks BIG monthly Blog Hop!!!

I’m so excited. I’ve never been on a blog hop before!

I must say it was exciting to create a card in a matter of minutes for the world to see. Ok, so it took me more than a minute, I started making this card an hour and a half ago. But the results are amazing, to me at least.

The challenge was to use two colors: Aqua and Melon!!!

That should be easy, right, wrong!!

I had a Aqua Mist ink pad but I didn’t have any melon color. No ink, paper, embellishments, nothing.

How was I going to participate if I didn’t have melon. I started to fret. I knew the colors for a little while but I procrastinated on buying the melon ink that I needed.

So what is a girl to do????

Ding, Ding, Ding…..the bells went off in my head. Water-coloring is my favorite so why not create the color yourself!!! OMG, I can create the melon color that I need. That is what I did!!

So this is what I came up with first. It looks so close but it was too light so I decided to go at it again.

Much better!! I love how it turned out. I feel like a true artist now, LOL!! I used my Winsor & Newton Water Colours! The colors that I mixed were Burnt Sienna, White and Alizarin Crimson, respectfully.

I took my time and mixed one color at a time, cleaning my brush in between. When it was to red I added Burnt Sienna and when it was to white I added a little red until I got the color you see above.

I was jumping up and down because I can participate in the hop!

So enough with the long talking, here is the card I came up with!

What do you think? Does my butterfly past the Aqua and Melon test? I love WATER-COLORING!!!!

For the butterfly, I attached the out butterfly to the body using foam adhesive so that the wings would stand out.

For the card base, I just sponged the edges with the Aqua Mist and then I used my mini ink blender tool and bought the softer color towards the center.

I stamped the sentiment and Wala!! My card is complete.

Supplies used:

Please let me know what you think.

~Kymona

25May2014

Who Doesn’t Want A Hug?

Posted in Blog Challenge, Die Cut, May 2014, Watercolor by Kreative Kymona

I’m back again today with another card for Less is More Week 173. Today’s card is very simple and clean! I’ve combined my love of water-coloring and die-cutting to create my card.

For those of you who don’t know a couple of weeks ago I start a watercolor class and absolutely loved it. Before, the class started we were instructed to practice using our “stuff” and I created a couple of single pieces. I had hoped to use my pieces during the class but never did because I create other cards. So, when Less is More decided that their recipe this week would be Die Cut, I knew I had to use this piece on my card. No need to throw anything away, especially a big Hug as pretty as this.

I know I wanted to keep my card very simple because the watercolor image is so powerful by itself.

I die cut out 4 hugs and attached them to my watercolor piece to create some dimension on the front of my card.

Side note: I’ve been working on improving my photograph. The background of these pictures are a little dark but I like the effect. It gives the card a warm feeling which is what I love in the words of Olaf, “I Love Warm Hugs“!!

So, what do you think? Do you like “Warm Hugs” too?

Let me know.

Supplies used:

I also used Stampin’ Up! Bring on the Cake stamp set that retired.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kymona

24May2014

Seeing Stars…….

Posted in Blog Challenge, May 2014, Stars by Kreative Kymona

Hello, I’m back today with a card for you, yayyyy!!! I know you missed seeing a card in my last post, but I am more than the cards that I make, so there will be times when you will learn more about me! I hope that is ok with all of you.

Today’s card was made for CAS(E) this Sketch #77.

It took me two days to decide what I wanted my card to look like. I tried hearts, circles, and triangles but none of them were eye-catching to me. So I decided to go with stars. I love how it turned out.

I used Stampin’ Up! Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, and Bermuda Bay Ink and Stampin’ Up! Simply Stars (which by the way is retiring on May 31st) to create my card.

I think the stars really stood out to me because I’m in such a good mood today. Today is the first Saturday in a very long time that I get to really play with all of my craft supplies and not feel guilty about it. Yayyyyy! I’m going to try to make a couple of cards that I’ve been dying to make. I’m also going to sit with my nieces and do some water-coloring! They love playing with me. I can’t wait, can you feel my excitement.

Ok, ok, I digress, back to my card, lol.

I rounded the corners of all three pieces of cards and adhered them together. I also added rhinestone to the stars for a little bling. I’m pleased with what I came up with and I hope it’s a great fit for the challenge.

Supplies used:

Please let me know what you think.

~Kymona

21May2014

Shhhh, I Have Something To Tell You…..

Posted in May 2014, Weekly Wishes by Kreative Kymona

Hello everyone! Today I have something to share with all of you. No cards or projects today. I know, I know how can that be but I have some exciting news for all of you.

Are you ready?

A fellow blogger, Elle from Hey Jayel introduced me to a blog that specializes in-goal setting. Each week, starting Monday you set Weekly Wishes and you try your best to get those wishes accomplished. I think that is such a great idea. It holds you accountable for everything that’s on that list.

So I’m going to post my Weekly Wishes every Monday and I hope all of you take this goal setting journey with me. I’m going to stick to no more than 5 wishes a week, sometimes it might be less. My wishes will be things I really want to get done. This will be a serious mission for me. So here we go…..

Here is my list of Weekly Wishes:

1. TO CREATE A GRATITUDE JOURNAL

I’ve always wanted to create a gratitude journal after watching Oprah show on gratitude. I have so much to be grateful for that I need to write them down. I also want to be an example to my children that we must always be thankful no matter what.

2. TO TAKE A PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE

Taking pictures of my project that I post on my blog is an everyday task but I’m not please with how they turn out. I have the camera, the lens and the tripod that everyone is using but I can’t get it together. I really need someone to teach me how to use my camera, what the settings mean and do and white balance. *You might see this wish until I have a course that is affordable.*

3. SET UP A EMAIL NEWSLETTER ON MY BLOG

I recently took a class on how to Build a Successful Creative Blog with April Bowles and it was awesome!! In this class she taught us how to write, create, and market a successful blog so that it stands out in the crowd. One of the things, she taught me was to have an opt-in email newsletter form. I want to set that up on my blog.

4. SET A DATE THAT MY DAUGHTER WILL POST ON HER BLOG

My seven-year old has a blog and I’ve been neglecting it. She is a crafter too and has a lot to post but I haven’t found the time to really dedicate to it. I want to change that and stick to it.

5. LAST BUT NOT LEAST….GET SOME SLEEP!!

I do not get enough sleep. Right now it is 11:30 PM EST. I probably won’t get to bed until about 2 AM because I have to write my next post. I have to get up at 6, so how much sleep is that. 4 hours….that isn’t enough at all. So I really need to set a time to get into my bed so I can be fully functioning in the morning.

So here you go, this is my list!! I’m so excited to see how many of these things I can get done. I will keep you posted on my new venture.

Let me know what you think or if you any solutions to any of my goals.

~Kymona

21May2014

What’s Your Favorite Flower?

Posted in Blog Challenge, Flower, May 2014 by Kreative Kymona

Spring is in the air and all of the flowers are budding. It’s amazing to see the many different flowers that grow this time of the year.

On my way to work yesterday, I decided to take some pictures of the flowers I see along my walk. I used my iPhone to take these photos and I must say they aren’t so bad. I was pretty amazed. Take a look at what I found.

Look how pretty these flowers look. It makes me want to plant new flowers in front of my house. Let me think, um mm, *shaking my head*, I don’t think so. No green thumb here. What I do have are crafty fingers!!!

So, I created a card using flowers for the Less is More Challenge. The theme this week is Flowers!! How fun!! Perfect timing, my Papertrey Ink order just came in and my new Oopsie Daisy stamp set, which contains a lot of different flowers, was included.

By the way, my favorite flower is the Daffodil!!! Hence the Daffodil Delight card stock!

1. I used the larger flower and stamped it with Colorbox Frost White ink and stamped my vellum card front six times.

2. I allowed the ink to dry because if it doesn’t it would smudge all over the place.

3. Once the ink dried, I added Stampin’ Up large rhinestone to the center of the flower.

4. I attached the vellum to my Daffodil Delight card stock with tiny dot of glue behind the rhinestones.

4. I added Daffodil Delight ribbon and stamped the sentiment in Versamark Onyx. I punched the sentiment out using my Stampin’ Up! one inch circle punch.

This card was easy and fun to create!

Supplies used: