Notable Nest: 2022

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Trick or Treat - New Colorado Craft Company is Here!!

Hello Folks! Before sharing my projects with the new Colorado Craft Company Halloween line, I wanted to share my sympathies for all Floridians. It's been a long day watching news coverage of Hurricane Ian, and for those directly or indirectly impacted, you have my prayers! It was a bucket list item to get to the keys, and we finally made it early this year. We've enjoyed previous vacations to Ft Meyers, Sanibel/Captiva, Daytona Beach, Orlando, Miami, and it's hard thinking of what's happened to the land and people there. Lots of love also to those helping with the rescue/rebuilding operations.

If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to share my cards now ...

Whenever I see a new Big & Bold set, I immediately think shaped cards. There's just something about a card not being a 5.5x4.25 rectangle that makes it extra special. So fun to put these shaped cards together that I made a whole set of them, and am thinking about keeping them all for Halloween decorations!

The shaped pumpkin card is made by cutting a second pumpkin in charcoal, scoring the top of the second pumpkin, and then adhering to the main pumpkin above the folded line. Love that there are dies that cut the insides of the eyes out to make things easy ... interior cuts are always a challenge to get smooth!

Here you can see a side view. Also take a look at the Big Bold Black Cat 1) you can see how he stands, by folding a strip of paper into a box that pops out, and 2) what a fun sentiment to put on the back of your card! The moon above is embossed in silver so it shines.

Love how easy these are to make! And for a tiny bit more effort, paper piecing can really have a big impact ...

I paper pieced the piercing green eyes on the cat,

paper pieced the striped stems,

and paper pieced the insides of the jack-o-lantern. Love how vintage he looks! This would be a great shaker too!

This card uses the Big Bold Scary Pumpkin Stamp Set. Instead of stamping the full pumpkin like the first set of cards, I just stamped a bit of the top pumpkin, made a mask, and then stamped two more pumpkins behind.

These sets come with some fabulous sentiments! I had extra Halloween Greetings, so I used them to double and triple up.

I'm obsessed with the gray/blue pumpkins, even have them stacked in a few pumpkin totem poles at my front door. I colored these very simply and let the colors shine.

Prizes!

There is one HUGE complete bundle giveaway of everything in this release!! To be entered, just use my, or anyone else's affiliate links to make your purchases. You will be emailed if you win.

We are also still doing a giveaway of one stamp set of your choice from comments left at each blog. More comments, more chances to win!! Please check the Colorado Craft blog, or sign up for their mailing list, for the list of winners.

Your next stop on the hop is the uber talented Kelly Taylor!

Thanks,
- Kelly

Supplies used (affiliate links used, thanks so much for your support!)

Big Bold Black Cat Dies

Big Bold Black Cat Stamp Set

Big Bold Scary Pumpkin Dies

Big Bold Scary Pumpkin Stamp Set

Monday, August 15, 2022

Pinkfresh Studio August 2022 Stamp, Die, Stencil, and Hot Foil Release

Hello!! Very excited to share some new goodies from Pinkfresh, as well as a super exciting new (to me anyway) discovery about hot foiling on velvet fabric!!

But first I have a few "normal" cards to share ...

Elongated Lattice Coverplate Die

I'm a big fan of unique backgrounds to really set off your cards in a special way, and the Elongated Lattice Coverplate Die is one of those background creators. I'm going to be using this workhorse in three of the cards, so wanted to make sure you knew what it looks like to start.

This card starts with the Elongated Lattice Coverplate Die and then has the frame and several sentiments from In My Heart layered on top.

The hotfoiled "bestie" running across the card is from Phrase Builder Hello Hot Foil and is designed to work with the previously released dies from Phrase Builder Hello!

Did you notice the butterfly on the top of the card? Recognize where it's from? It's from a section of the elongated lattice coverplate!! I just snipped off the surrounding lattice and got a fun butterfly shape! The body in the middle is also part of the lattice I snipped away, and was particularly happy with the naturally forming antenna on top.

Who knew there was a butterfly in there?!

This card also uses the frame from In My Heart but this time it's embossed in white on vellum. Doesn't it look a bit like lace here? It's a nice way to get a different look.

Here's a better view of the "lace". The flowers from another lovely new set, Beyond Measure, are in the middle peeking out.

Here they are together, same colors, same frame from In My Heart, but different looks.

This card came about from me "seeing things" in the lattice coverplate again ... does this ever happen to you?! We take my oldest six hours away to Ohio State on Friday, and all I've been seeing lately is "OHIO". So I cut out the letters and adhered them on the lattice for a good-bye card [sobs uncontrollably]. To the right is a photo from his grad party in front of the fun balloon arch my friend Brenda and I made.

Love how the letters jumped out of the shapes, and the fun details on the O's.

Here's the final card, and the one I was excited about discovering another use for the hot foil plates!! VELVET!!! One day it dawned on me that we used to lay velvet over solid rubber stamps, iron them, and then we were left with an indented image in the velvet. Strikingly similar in concept to heating hot foil plates and pressing them into fabric, only this is easier and eliminates the iron. But will it work?!

YES!!!

In the bottom right you can see the indentation from pressing the hot foil plate into velvet (actually more like a thick suede). And I was super happy with that, but then started wondering what if I add the hot foil? You can imagine how thrilled I was when I pulled the fabric off the foil plate and got the beautiful gold foiling adhered to the indented fabric!!

Wow-ee, look how beautiful and luxurious that foil is!! I really didn't have to do much with this card. Layered the elongated lattice coverplate in gold, a background in vellum, the FOILED VELVET, and then the secondary sentiment and an XO with alphas.

So much love for the Elongated Lattice Coverplate Die, and the frame from In My Heart. These were some really fun crafting days!!

GIVEAWAYS:

We will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog & YouTube channel!! We will also be giving away a total of TEN $25 gift cards, so comment along the hop for more chances to win. The winners will be posted on August 23, 2022 on the GIVEAWAY PAGE, so check back and claim any prize within 2 weeks. GOOD LUCK!!

I'd like to send you now to the blog of the super talented Kelly Taylor, who has some delightful projects to share with you!

Here's the complete list if you need it:

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly

Supplies Used (affiliate links, thanks for your support!)

Beyond Measure

In My Heart

Elongated Lattice Coverplate Die

Phrase Builder Hello Hot Foil

A Fun New Release from Colorado Craft Company - Adorable Fairies, Honey, Bees

Hello! Colorado Craft Company is launching a brand new collection, a mash up between their beloved big and bold line of large-scale images, and the artistry of Kris Lauren! The theme for this release is rather unique, with honey bee fairies. So you can make bee-themed cards, fairy cards, or use the plentiful secondary stamps and create floral scenes. Very versatile!

Needing another idea before pulling the trigger? Switch it up to jam canning fairies like this card!

You aren't limited to bees, honeycombs, yellows and blacks. This SWEET fairy is resting on a can of grape jelly, sporting a tutu of aqua and chartreuse. She's close enough to smell the fresh flowers and appreciate how beautiful they are.

There's not a stamp that says "JELLY" for the label, but it's nice that the word choices are separate from the label. I just handwrote JELLY in that space.

The wings!! I heat embossed white on vellum for two wings, cut them out, layered and bent them. It's such an easy way to add dimension that will lay flat in an envelope.

The sentiment was modified a bit to fit in this space. So instead of reading the sentiment across, I stamped a few individual words going down the card. And because this isn't a honey bee themed card, I only stamped BE instead of BEE.

I'll be back in a few days with some more ideas for these new sets. If you'd like to check out the products, here's the whole collection, and here's the Honey Jar stamp set.

Prizes!

There is one HUGE complete bundle giveaway of everything in this release!! To be entered, just use my, or anyone else's affiliate links to make your purchases. You will be emailed if you win.

We are also still doing a giveaway of one stamp set of your choice from comments left at each blog thru midnight August 18th. More comments, more chances to win!! Please check the Colorado Craft website, or sign up for their mailing list, for the list of winners.

I'm now happy to send you to the blog of Kelly Taylor who has something fun to share!

Here's a complete list of hoppers in case you need it:

Kelly Griglione <--- You are here!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly

Supplies used (affiliate links, thanks for your support!)

Honey Jar

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Christmas in July - Colorado Craft Company New Release!

Hello Friends! We've got a Christmas in July party going at Colorado Craft Company, and with good reason, as there are so many different sets available under different lines of stamps.

I've made two cards combining a few of these sets!

You can use the giant greetings in the Holiday Quick Cards set on the inside of your card for the sentiment, or why not feature it on the front of your card like this one? There are three different ink colors on the sentiment - I inked the entire stamp with the lighter ink color, stamped, and then with the medium color I only inked up the bottom sentiments, stamped, and finally with the darkest color I inked up the very last sentiments.

The adorable critters are from the Anita Jeram Christmas Hats set. Those little bugs with the santa hats are so different ... I don't think I've seen anything like them!

The scrolly stars are from the Big Bold Joy Ornaments stamp set and are a great way to fill empty space. I struggled with how to finish this card after stamping the sentiment and critters, and using these patterned stars was just perfect to fill that space.

The Kris Lauren Sweater Weather stamp set is a fun one, with six different sweaters to choose from, and a bunch of different sentiments, including this punny one.

To fill up the sweater, I made a mask and stamped the puppy, also from the Anita Jeram Christmas Hats set, on top of the mask.

The background is made with just the circle ornament from the Big Bold ornaments

Prizes!
Things are a little different for this release. There is one HUGE complete bundle giveaway of everything in this release!! To be entered, just use my, or anyone else's affiliate links to make your purchases.

We are also still doing a giveaway of one stamp set of your choice from comments left at each blog thru midnight July 15th. More comments, more chances to win!!

Here's a list of everyone participating:

Good Luck! And thanks for stopping by!

- Kelly

Friday, July 1, 2022

Poshta Design Gingerbread Village Kit - So Adorable, and So Many Different Ways to Embellish!

Yesterday we had our Poshta Design Pre-Christmas in July Celebration with the gingerbread Mr. and Mrs., and today we're featuring the house they live in!

This Gingerbread Village Kit comes in a cute little bag that contains every single thing you need to make these gingerbread house ornaments! I put this to the test, as we left for Ohio State's orientation earlier this week and I wanted to work on these in the 6 hour car ride. What a LUXURY grabbing this bag and not needing to think of what other supplies I'd need to gather (undoubtedly forgetting something). Aside from the die cut machine and a pair of scissors, it's a confirmed grab-n-go kit. Even the needles are provided!

Let's take a closer look!

The beauty of this kit is that it comes with so many different details you can add to customize your house. There is even a guide with different ideas/formulas laid out. I loved one of the ideas so much I copied it almost exactly.

The six-panel door is a cute way to add a lot of stitching details. You can totally dress up the door further by hanging a heart, a wreath, a candy. A seed bead is added for the door knob, also included in this kit.

Flanking the door are two candy canes. I think it's cute how the stripes are added to the main cane. I stitched them on with a coordinating white floss, and then stitched the two canes together with a coordinating red floss.

Over the door is a cute swirl of icing that I've used a stem stitch on to make it more thick and pronounced.

A tiny heart is cozy in the "attic" of the house.

And then the classic peppermint candy in the peak of the roof is a great way to balance out the top. I've added a few seed beads here to introduce a little sparkle. This candy also turned out to be a great way to add the looped hanger to the top, as I neglected to add that to the house before sewing the two pieces together.

Cut two icing sections for along the roof line. Another tip: you may want to use a blunt needle so it will easily glide into the established holes. The sharper the point of the needle, the more chance it goes thru the felt somewhere other than the intended die cut hole.

Now that the front is done it's time to think about the back of the house!

I used another example from the included guide and plotted space for two shuttered windows and a wreath.

Those shutters are so darn cute, and add a nice dimension when they are folded out! For a smoother look I made one large stitch down the middle and across each window, instead of stitching thru all the holes like the front door.

The wreath has uniform holes cut out for you to make a giant zig-zag stitch around the wreath. I probably could have stitched that in coordinating green floss, but I just have random red french knots for berries.

Now that you're finished with decorating the front and back of the house, it's time to connect them together. I used a stem stitch, so the back has a thick icing look.

Before connecting the house panels though, here are a few tips:
- Add a looped hanger to front or back of the house,
- Add the stuffed chimney to the front or back of the house,
- Make sure all the ends from the embellishments are secured,
- Look for places to add some sparkle with seed beads

This Gingerbread Village, along with the Gingerbread Friends, will be released at Poshta Design on Saturday 7/2 at noon EST.

Prizes!
There will be a $50 gift certificate giveaway for both introductory blog posts at Poshta Design. Winners will be chosen from comments on each post, and announced at 9am on Saturday 7/2.

Here's more information on the kit, from Lizzie herself:

Gingerbread Village Kit

Gingerbread houses are one of the most iconic holiday staples. They are a marvel of confectionery, sure to delight even the most obstinate Scrooge. The Homespun Holiday: Gingerbread Village kit celebrates these cheerful dwellings and all of their sugary sweet design possibilities. The die includes embroidered piping options, an array of architectural details, and charming seasonal accents. There is so much variety you’ll be able to put together a Christmas village filled with entirely unique creations - no royal icing required! From 100% wool felt to a carefully curated collection of beads and sequins, everything you need to make beautiful ornaments arrives right to your door in one convenient package. This kit even includes needles, cord for hanging, and a zippered project bag so you can keep your works-in-progress safe and tidy.
Retails for $100.
Homespun Holiday: Gingerbread Village Contents
27-piece die set
zippered project bag
2 all-purpose needles
handy needle storage tube
printed inspiration guide for easy reference
exclusive access to inspirational instruction videos
5 yards of white crochet thread
3 rolls of 5" x 36" felt in Walnut, Gingersnap, and Tundra
one 5" x 6" panel of Cardinal felt
one 5” x 6” panel of Arugula felt
5 skeins of embroidery floss
4 colors of seed beads
2 colors of sequins (in two sizes)
compartmented bead storage container

Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Kelly