A Little Fairy Magic in the Air

I was taking a walk in the forest last week when the winter weather suddenly farted out a beautiful spring day.  Can you imagine 60 degrees at the end of January---in Chicago??? 

Neither could I, which is why I wasn't surprised when I glanced down on the forest path to spy this little fairy taking a break from her busy schedule.

When she saw my big clodhopper boots near her private sanctum, she rushed off in a cloud of fairy dust, but not before inspiring me to make this card with Mushroom Fairy stamp by Miss Megs.

I tried to catch the shimmer that surrounded her, but we mere mortals can't quite see the fairy folk as they really are.  Still, I think I did a decent job of capturing my magical moment with her, don't you?

Speaking of fairy folk and magic, have you read Beauty by Sherri S. Tepper?  It's an old read, but a good one, with a twist to the old sleeping beauty theme set in modern days. 

I think I still have my copy, and I'm in the mood for a little fantasy reading tonight!  You can probably snag your own copy on Amazon or at your local library.

Miss Megs and Her Fairies

Miss Megs has done it again!  This beautiful image is called Mushroom Fairy.  She is surrounded by fairy dust, and is lounging on her tuffet.  I wanted to give her a more ethereal look, so I colored her a pale yellow.  I wanted the wings to POP, so besides the more vibrant colors, I stamped the image twice and cut out and attached the left wing on a "hinge" of paper, giving her a 3D effect.
Of course I had to load on the embellies!  There's a bit of paper doily, some flowers, jewels and that lovely pink fiber.  The border on the bottom of the card is actually the negative piece of cardstock from when I diecut a daisy border with my Epic Six!
To see all of Miss Megs stamps, and the rest of the February new releases, click on the Shoppe!  Which one is your fave?  As for me, I love them all, and will have to play the lottery so I can buy them all (I'm greedy, I am!).

Utopia scissor charm

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I don't know about you guys, but when it comes to crafting out side of my home, I take along a basic stamping kit.  One of the must haves in my kit is a great pair of sharp scissors.   To keep them easily identifiable, I love to make scissor charms.

The one above comes from Queen Kat her name is Utopia.

I stamped her onto the slick side of shrink plastic using black Staz-on Ink.  Then I turned the material over and colored on the rough side of the material.

Using caution, I heat set the image until it was completely shrunken down.  I let my heat tool cool down a few minutes then I heat the shrink plastic again until it turned clear. 

I had previously poked a hole in the piece.  Once it was shrank I created a dangle using a piece of broken jewelry.  The entire project took about 5 minutes total to complete.

I hope you will give this a try.  It was a bunch of fun and there will be no doubt as to whom those scissors belong too.

Findings can be found at your local stamp/craft store.  Please email me with any questions.

Stamp happy Be a Blessing!!

Somebody to Love...

Today I made a CAS card, which is a Clean And Simple card, using Fae of Hearts stamp by Joanna Bromley.  This fairy is so dainty, so sweet, that I wanted the "pinkness" to shine.  I colored her with Copics, put a whsiper of Stickles on her wings and cut her out with my Labels Four Nestabilities die from Spellbinders.  I framed her in black with the next size die up, and placed her on this gorgeous patterned paper I had in my stash.  A few jewels for some shine, and a silk embossed butterfly to embellish and my CAS card is ready to hand to one of my friends this Valentine's Day.
To see all of Joanna Bromley's lovely stamps, click HERE.  The February new releases are ready for purchase, so get your fingers ready for some online shopping!

Loretta's Give away!!! Your chance to WIN!

A quick reminder that I will be giving away this luna crystal ball, a dream journal and a couple of surprises on 2/7/2012. All you have to do is leave a comment here or on the qkd blog to have a chance to win.

Good luck, Happy Stamping!

Stamp Highlights...

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a fabulous week! It's time for some more stamp highlights from our new stamp release last week. Sit back and enjoy!

First up we have the March Hare by Steven Benson at the Freaks Factory.

This lovely lady is from Melia Newman. Her name is Steampunk Valentine.

These cuties are named Firey Friends and they come to us from Danika Lindsell in Australia!
Last but not least we have Pot of Luck by Joanna Bromley in England.

Start your St. Patrick's Day crafting now. We have lots of fun stamps in store for your rubber fix. Click here to visit Queen Kat Designs.

Happy Stamping,

Vicki

It's That Old Devil Moon in Your Eyes

Here's a card I made for Valentine's Day, using Queen Kat Designs "Fae of Hearts" stamp by Joanna Bromley.  As I colored her, I realized that I had been humming the song "Old Devil Moon" from Finian's Rainbow, so I borrowed a verse from the song for my inside sentiment:

    Just when I think, I'm
    Free as a dove.
    Old devil moon,
    Deep in your eyes,
    Blinds me with love.
When I was a teen and got my first job, I bought two tickets to the Arie Crown Theater in downtown Chicago for my parents to go see the live musical, Finian's Rainbow.  I was so proud of myself for getting such a great present, and knew my parents would enjoy their evening.

I have it on DVD now, and still like the story line and the music.  Who wouldn't like to go to "Glocca Morra" or find a pot of gold to wish upon?  My moon holds a fairy, not a devil, but the magic is still there, thanks to Joanna Bromley!

Stamp Highlights...

Wednesday was our February release day here at the Castle. We had a great time on Facebook. I'd like to share with you some stamps from the release here on our blog! So sit back and lets check out some new stamps!

This stamp is by Charles Bristow and her name is Calista.

Meet Cheeky Fairy by Christina Lynn Myers..

The Gentleman is in the house! Isn't this birdy cute? He's by Sandra Caldwell.

Isn't she just dreamy?? This is Dreamy Lashes by Maigan Lynn

We also had new releases from Steve Benson, Myka Jelina, Renee Lavoie, Coriander Shea Detwiler, Carla Morrow, Micah Carmichael, Joanna Bromley and more! Stop by the store and get your rubber fix today!

Our next release day is March 7th. Please come by our Facebook Fan Page and "Like" us today. We are having a giveaway when we reach 3200 fans!

Have a happy stampy day!

Vicki

January Fantasy Wedding

In the forest where fairies dwell, the foliage is lush and vibrant with colors.  Snow may glisten at the edges of this mysterious realm, but in the heart of the forest, where the magic is strongest, you will find perpetual spring.

Here is where the lovely Elf Bride finds herself, amongst her furry friends, her Mother Nature, and her soon-to-be husband.  For this fantasy, I created a card using "Elf Bride" by Monika Ptok Byard.  It's one of the January new releases here at Queen Kat Designs.
The sentiment inside reads: "Still the one I love" (title by Shania Twain), and is benchmarked for my hubby of 35 years (of course, I got married when i was thirteen...do you believe me?)
Anyway, she is a gorgeous image to color and I love her pose, as it is a great showcase for the shadows on her face.
You can get "Elf Bride" and more from Monika at the Shoppe.  Tell them Pat sent you!

Queen kat project GIVE AWAY!

I have been working on many projects this month for Queen Kat and have decided how much fun would it be to give away these great projects to you our dedicated customers and fans.

In an effort to get your creative juices flowing, I created Luna's Crystal ball using a snow globe I purchased on clearance after the Christmas Holidays. I used a 25 strand white light set also purchased on clearance, cut a small hole in the bottom and threaded the lights up.

Luna is stamped onto tissue paper and colored with my Copic markers. I then cut the image out carefully with very sharp scissors and applied the image to the snow globe using Crystal lacquer. You need to work quickly but delicately to keep the tissue from wrinkling and then seal the top over with another layer of the crystal lacquer.

I then applied various flowers and butterflies to the globe using both E6000 glue and hot glue. The hot glue just holds things in place while the E6000 glue dries. I also used some dangles/baubles and bling from my personal collection. The entire process took about 2 1/2 hours to complete. I hope you will give this a try, it is super easy and fun.

All you need to do is leave a comment on my blog here or the queen kat blog here. On Feb 7th I will announce the winner. Please note if you are not a US citizen, the package may take up to 4 weeks to reach you. I ship via US parcel post to try and save money. You will receive Luna, two stamped cards and the dream journal as part of this give away.  Loretta's blog.

 

Happy Stamping and Good luck!

Nothing Says I Love You Like a Box of Candy

Hi, crafters!  Pat here with another project using Secret Admirer by Danika Lindsell.  This time I decided to make a tag card with this cute, love-sick dragon. 
Since the patterned paper was a sea of dots, I cut out my colored image in a circle, framed it with dark red cardstock, and added a few embellies, namely a flower, a feather and some jute lace.
I glammed up the box of chocolates a bit with a few punched and Stickled hearts.
Check out the new January releases at the Shoppe, and tell them Pat sent you!

Queeen Kat on Tuesday from Designer Loretta Rodger

 Grace by Micah Carmichael and Luna by Kerry Swinamer

 Hi Friends!

  It is Tuesday and time for some more of the yummy Queen Kat stamps.

  The first project is using Luna on a dream journal.  Very simple.  I used a junior legal pad that was purchased from an office supply store and measured it.  I covered the journal with brown card stock.

  I taped the paper pad to the inside back cover, slit two holes for ribbon closure and covered the front with different patterned papers from Jillibean soup purchased from my local craft store.

  I attached Luna to the front with E6000 glue.  Then I attached the different "do dads" to the front with the same adhesive.  I used a sentiment from my personal stash and hand wrote out dream, love, faith,pray randomly over the cover.  The entire project took less than 10 minutes.

  For the Grace image, I kept things simple yet elegant.  She was stamped onto Copic card using memento tuxedo black ink. She was then colored with copic markers.  I trimmed the image out using scissors.

  Using card stock from my stash, I layered on different papers and flowers to give her a more finished look.

  I really like the way both projects turned out.  I hope you will give them a try!

  Visit Loretta's blog.

Secret Admirer Offers a Box of Chocolates

Do you realize Valentine's Day is only a month away?!  I know, I know, wew just finished celebrating December's holidays, but still, only one month to start and finish all those Valentine cards, candy pulls, goody bags, and other expressions of love!


Secret Admirer by Danika Lindsell

 Well, I just started my collection for the holiday made for sweethearts with this Ribbon Pull Candy Card.  This cute QKD image by Danika Lindsell is called Secret Admirer, and I think it will be a big hit with my friends.  I bought a package of sugarfree bubble gum packs and when each recipient pulls the ribbom up from the card, the gum comes out of its card!

I think I'll color the dragon as many colors as I have matching flowers & ribbon and make each one different in that little way.

So, half begun is half done (well, maybe not half, but at least I started).  Secret Admirer is brand new, one of many new QKD releases this month.  Get yours HERE and check out all the other new releases.  And tell them Patacake sent you!!

Crayola Model Magic

Queen Kat and her wonderful stamps

This video tutorial is for the visual learner, I hope you will give this a try. Crayola model magic is a wonderful product and so fun to use! See last Tuesday's post for the written step by step. Visit Loretta's personal blog here.
Enjoy! Stamp Happy be a blessing! For the visual learner:

January New Release! Elf Bride by Monika Ptok Byard

Ah, 2012.  A new year, a fresh start, an opportunity to open the floodgates of inspiration, explore new techniques, and challenge my creativity.
And what better project to start with than a new release stamp from Queen Kat Designs?  I made this card using a stamp called Elf Bride by Monika Ptok Byard .  I love the detail in this stamp.  She looks haunting as a bride, and I had fun coloring her. 
Since crafters tend to look forward to the next holiday on the calendar, I have hearts and love on my mind, so this image I framed with a paper doily heart.  Lace, stitching, pearls and a flourish finish off the card, and I hope you like it!
There are quite a few new releases this month, including Monika's Elf Bride.  Check them all out HERE.  And don't forget to check out the QKD BLOG and Facebook page for more inspiration

Thursday Thoughts

Back to blogging, not sure where my mind has been the last month, but I do have some cool cards to share with you this month. This stamp that that I used for the first card is by Kerry Swinamer. Click on her name to be taken to her section of the store.

Kerry's style is a little edgy but also soft at the same time. I know that doesn't seem to go together, but the image I used for this card is called BioHazard. She is intense but almost has a softness.























Thanks for stopping by; make sure you go see what all is new in the store.