kwernerdesign blog

Color Inspiration #17

2008-07-23T02:38:56Z

Hi all! Here ya go! Another Color Inspiration Challenge for ya! Enjoy!

This week's photo was found while I was just surfin' the net earlier today. I thought this dress was just gorgeous. I love vintage dresses, don't you? :)

SO YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE?

Make a creation (card, scrapbook, etc.) of your own using the above colors. Then take a picture or scan your creation. Upload your digital image to your blog or in an online gallery, and then come back to kwernerdesign blog to share! Leave a comment on this entry with a link to your creation. Please link to webpages, not directly to image files.

Who's in the Round-up?
After the deadline, I'll share my creation with you as well as 20 submitted creations, consisting of ten randomly selected entries and ten of my favorites. Pictures emailed to me will not be considered for the Round-up.

When does your creation have to be submitted?
Thursday, July 24 at 11:59 pm MDT. <--- NEW TIME! You have until basically midnight.

NOTE: Those who have websites and blogs, you are welcome to use the above graphic on your blog. For swatches only, you can download the image file by right clicking here (or control+click for my fellow Mac users) and saving the file to your computer. Then upload the swatch image to your blog.

CI #16 Round-up

2008-07-22T01:46:48Z

Hi all!

Thanks for waiting a bit longer than usual for the round-up. Sometimes the time just gets away from me, ya know? Before I knew it, I was editing this week's video and was all, "Oh, crap! I need to post the Color Challenge!"

Believe it or not, I made this card before I started on MACM, but just got wrapped up in video editing before I could post it! So thanks for being patient. Hopefully it's worth it! :)

I came across what many of you mentioned when you submitted your cards. Pumpkin Pie was particularly hard to tone down with this color combination. It's such a strong color that it often overpowers the colors around it.

The way I worked with it was to make the Pumpkin Pie a smaller section of the card, or a part that could be broken apart (to give the illusion of less "weight" to it). Thin letters always do that because it breaks up the big block of color. So I used Pumpkin Pie for the letters. What do you think? Doesn't it balance out the strength of the Pumpkin Pie?

And on to the 20!

TOP TEN


TEN RANDOMLY SELECTED

Love You - Alphabet stamps (Educational Insights); Big Bold Birthday stamp set, Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, and Very Vanilla card stock, Pumpkin Pie ink, crimper, paper piercer and template, District Ribbon Originals (Stampin' Up!).

MACM - U & Me

2008-07-21T12:25:46Z

Hi all!

This week's card sets the record for "world's easiest card." :) Seriously, it only took me 13 minutes to do! And that includes trying to figure out what to do there in the middle for a couple minutes (I cut out that part of the video-- otherwise, you'd be sitting there like, "Hello? Isn't she going to do something?").

Anyway, enjoy the card and I'll be back later tonight for the Color Inspiration #16 Round-up!

BTW, did any of you see Batman this weekend? Oh. My. Word. I loved it so much! Definitely a very intense movie. And so good!

We saw it on an IMAX screen and 40 minutes into it, the screen shut off. You should have heard the whole audience... Collective gasp and then tons of grumbling and shouting.

Twenty minutes later, it was playing again, but not without starting up without sound for about 30 seconds. So, I missed about a minute in there in the middle. But even with technical glitches, it was AWESOME!

Also saw Mamma Mia this weekend. So good. I loved it! I've always loved Abba, so it was super fun to see the movie. Although, I could have done without Pierce Brosnan singing... Um, awkward. Just didn't seem right. He looked like he was choking the entire time. I wanting to yell at the screen, "Just take a breath!"

Even with that, I loved it. Such a fun movie. Who wants to go to Greece now? ;)

NOTE: As usual, video is also in high quality.

CI Round-Up #16 postponed...

2008-07-20T23:09:08Z

...until after MACM. I was going to post the top ten tonight, but I'm in the middle of editing this week's MACM video, and I'm about to drive to my brother's for a family dinner, so...

Please be patient. I'll have the selected top ten and random top ten probably tomorrow night.

In the meantime, just a couple answers to questions...

- The pearls on my last card where spaced out using a ruler and then making pencil marks. You can still see one of the mark I forgot to erase in the enlarge photo at the top of the entry.

- Yes, I handwrote the word "for" on the card.

- Nope, I'm not a popcorn and candy girl. We never really got popcorn or treats when we went to the movies when I was little, so not having it now doesn't bother me. :)

- As far as where I'll be working at the SU! convention, I'll be all over. They're really workin' us this year. :)

Anyhow, see you all tomorrow morning for the video! :)

So Grateful for You

2008-07-18T02:00:03Z

Hi all!
Just a quick card tonight. :)
Watching Batman Begins in preparation for tomorrow's 12 noon IMAX screening.
Just a refresher course so I remember all the important details.
Haven't seen it since theaters two summers ago.
Man, this movie is intense.
Should be interesting to see the new movie.
Might be a little eerie seeing Mr. Ledger as the Joker.
But I'm still looking forward to it. Heard it's great. :)

So Grateful For You - Amy Butler for K & Company patterned paper (K & Company); Simple Serif Mini Alphabet, Sage Shadow ink, Basic Black marker, Naturals White card stock, Pretties Kit (Stampin' Up!); ribbon (craft supply).

Color Inspiration #16

2008-07-17T01:08:11Z

Hi all!

This week's color challenge comes from marthastewart.com, and these cute felt baby shoes. Aren't they adorable? I love them so much I want to make them! And the colors they used for the photograph? Hello? Adorable!

Martha Stewart always has the most creative, cute, and crafty projects on her website. I just love to see new projects over there!

Anyhow, have fun with these colors! NOTE: That's Very Vanilla up there, NOT Whisper White. :)

SO YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE?

Make a creation (card, scrapbook, etc.) of your own using the above colors. Then take a picture or scan your creation. Upload your digital image to your blog or in an online gallery, and then come back to kwernerdesign blog to share! Leave a comment on this entry with a link to your creation. Please link to webpages, not directly to image files.

Who's in the Round-up?
After the deadline, I'll share my creation with you as well as 20 submitted creations, consisting of ten randomly selected entries and ten of my favorites. Pictures emailed to me will not be considered for the Round-up.

When does your creation have to be submitted?
Friday, July 18 at 11:59 pm MDT. <--- NEW TIME! You have until basically midnight.

NOTE: Those who have websites and blogs, you are welcome to use the above graphic on your blog. For swatches only, you can download the image file by right clicking here (or control+click for my fellow Mac users) and saving the file to your computer. Then upload the swatch image to your blog.

Stampin' Up! Convention 101

2008-07-15T23:26:07Z

NOTE: This is all Stampin' Up! related, so if you're not a demonstrator or not attending the annual Convention at the end of the July, feel free to ignore this entry. :)

I was only a SU! demonstrator for about a year and a half. (Read this entry to learn why I eventually resigned). While I was a demonstrator, I attended one convention as a demonstrator. However it was not my very first convention--not at all! :)

I was hired at Stampin' Up! as a graphic designer back in 2005 and have attended every annual convention since, mostly as an employee. When it was held in Salt Lake, more employees were able to attend and help in the classes, etc. Plus, we got to see some of the great presentations. When I heard that last year's convention would be in Denver, I knew I wanted to go but that the company would only be taking a small number of employees with them. Anyway, Convention is awesome! And I didn't want to miss out on it. Truthfully, it's one of the main reasons I signed up as a demonstrator!

Last year's convention was awesome. Seeing it from a demonstrator perspective was completely different, and yet, very familiar. Attending Convention for the first time in that aspect really merged demonstrator and employee for me in my mind. I realized that while I live and breathe Stampin' Up! 9 hours a day in the office, there are thousands of demonstrators who breathe Stampin' Up! at home every day.

We're a lot more alike than you might think. :)

Anyhow, all that aside, I wanted to share with you all what I learned at Convention last year and some tips to make the 2008 Convention the best ever. These are just my personal opinions. I think it goes without saying, that these are just my thoughts.

1. Wear comfortable shoes - Believe it or not, there is a LOT of walking. Not only will you be walking to and from the Salt Palace Convention Center and to and from classes, you will do a lot of standing, too... Standing in line to buy items in the Memento Mall, standing in line (hopefully super short like last year) to receive your Convention bag, standing in the hallways and rooms while you swap cards, standing in line to have your photo taken with Shelli... etc. Believe me. You'll thank yourself for wearing comfortable shoes. On the other hand, you'll see some women wearing high heels... What? I don't get that. Why torture yourself? Really!. ;)

2. Bring a sweater - Convention centers are known for being on the colder side. It's better than arriving sweating with "pit stains", though, right?

3. Don't stress over your swaps - Seriously, some people get all worked up over the swaps. I have a totally laid back approach when it comes to swaps and it worked really well for me last year. Bring only as many as you want to take home. Seriously. And make only as many as you can handle without pulling your hair out.

In fact, get a number in your head right now of how many you want to swap. Got it? Okay, now realistically, can you do that many? Especially since you only have two weeks left to do them? Have you ordered the supplies? Do you have the time to stamp and assemble them all? I took only 75 swaps last year and I was perfectly content. Don't be afraid to run out of swaps. Ask if you can take pictures, instead. Speaking of...

4. Bring a camera - There are plenty of opportunities to take pictures. Don't be afraid to strap your camera to your wrist and have it accessible at all times.

5. Plan ahead for networking - You're going to meet some outstanding demonstrators with awesome attitudes and memorable stories of their own. You will want to keep in contact with them. Plan ahead to write down or store their contact info.

6. Sit back and enjoy General Session presentations - Nearly everything you will see on stage during General Sessions will be available on the demonstrator website after Convention (at least in the past it has been). So, sit back and relax and just enjoy the technique and Workshop Wow presentations. No need to flash a photo of everything you like--you will have the opportunity to take pictures up close and personal after the presenters have a chance to post their projects outside of Main Stage on the bulletin boards.

Above all, just sit back and enjoy the entire convention! It's going to be awesome. The employees at the home office that have been planning and preparing for this all year are excited to see you and share with you their enthusiasm. I know just a small amount of what will be happening and let me just say this... You will be amazed at what's in store for you. It truly is an informative, entertaining, and incredible show. :)

Now, if the many emails I've received over the weekend since I changed my banner at the top of the page are any indication, this is the question you're all wondering: Will I be at Convention this year? Yes. :)

I'll be working as an employee so I'll have my "worker hat" on, but please feel free to come and say hello. I'd love to get my picture taken with you and perhaps after Convention, I'll assemble a collage of all the pictures of me standing with my readers. You gals are the best and I want to see your smiling faces! :)

That being said, I'm afraid I won't be bringing any card swaps with me. However, please come and show me what you've been working on! :)

Bow-Tying Made Easy

2008-07-14T19:06:11Z

As usual, also in high quality.

MACM - Star Trio

2008-07-14T12:14:31Z

Hi all!

For this week's Make a Card Monday, I wanted to break out some paper I haven't use for a LONG time. The blue patterned paper is actually fabric paper from the KI Memories line Love Elsie. It has an adhesive on the back, but I wanted to pop it up from the card base, so I left the backing paper on.

I also covered a chipboard star with card stock. For more instruction on covering chipboard, please watch this video.

Anyway, I hope you all had a great weekend. I mostly lounged about the house and read. We're reading A Thousand Splendid Suns for our book club at work, and so far I really like it. I'm not too far in yet, but what I've read is really outstanding. I love this writing style. :) Have any of you read it? Without giving anything away, what did you think?

Anyhow, here's the video. :)

Once again, you can watch the video in high quality here.

CI #15 Round-up + TIPS!

2008-07-14T02:46:39Z

Hi all!

Here's my card for the challenge this week. In order to get the punched circles just right, I used the same technique that I used in this video. Super easy and simple. :)

I'll have you all notice the bow, please. I think I finally figured out how tie a good bow! Watch for a video soon. :)

Okay, now HEADS UP! I'd like to give you all some tips on posting your Color Inspiration Challenge submissions. These are tips that will help me and you, so please use them:

1. If you're posting a link to your blog, PLEASE please link to the exact entry that has the card/creation on it. Often, when I go to your main blog page, you've added more entries so I have to scroll down a ways before I see your submission. This is just so I can get through the entries quicker. Often, you can get to the specific entry by clicking on the title of the entry, on "Permalink", or on the time it was posted.

2. It's come to my attention that if you try to include more than 1 link in the comment, it will sometimes flag the comment as spam and not post it. Please include only one link.

3. Please include the ENTIRE link/URL. For example, you need to have http:// in front of your link. This tells my blogging software to make it a link. Just select the entire web address in the address bar of your web browser and copy that into your comment.

4. RELOAD the entry page your commenting on after submitting comment. After you've posted your comment and it says that it's gone through, return to the entry page and hit refresh on your browser. There have been a lot of double posts, and I think it's because some of your browsers aren't recognizing the change in the page. A simple refresh/reload with show your comment. If it's still not there, go ahead and try commenting again.

5. You don't have to have a blog to submit a creation. There are plenty of free image galleries out there. If you want to keep your creation in a craft-friendly place, I suggest signing up with Splitcoaststampers.com. You can upload your images into your own gallery, receive comments from other papercrafters, and also submit a link to your creation to my Color Inspiration Challenges. You can view a tutorial on posting images to Splitcoast in this video.

And that's it! :) Thanks for all your cooperation on this.

On to the top ten submissions and randomly chosen ten!

TOP TEN


TEN RANDOMLY SELECTED

Flower Windows - Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, and Really Rust card stock; Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon; VersaMark ink; Winter White detail embossing powder; Simply Said stamp set (Stampin' Up!).

Card + Box (July Card Club)

2008-07-11T13:45:10Z

Card - Patterned paper (Scenic Route); Kraft and Chocolate Chip card stock, 3/4" circle and 1-3/8" sqaure punches, Chocolate chip wide grosgrain, paper piercer and template (Stampin' Up!).

Box - Click here for tutorial. Linen Prients DSP, Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain, ticket corner punch, Close to Cocoa card stock, linen thread (Stampin' Up!); felt flower, brad, and eyelet (American Crafts).

Color Inspiration #15

2008-07-10T04:44:28Z

Hi all! This week's Color Inspiration Challenge comes to us from West Elm. I just love West Elm! And I love this bedding!

The colors are very autumn looking, and even though it's still summer here, I really was taken with these colors. So soothing. :)

Anyhow, I can't wait to see what ya'll come up with!

SO YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE?

Make a creation (card, scrapbook, etc.) of your own using the above colors. Then take a picture or scan your creation. Upload your digital image to your blog or in an online gallery, and then come back to kwernerdesign blog to share! Leave a comment on this entry with a link to your creation. Please link to webpages, not directly to image files.

Who's in the Round-up?
After the deadline, I'll share my creation with you as well as 20 submitted creations, consisting of ten randomly selected entries and ten of my favorites. Pictures emailed to me will not be considered for the Round-up.

When does your creation have to be submitted?
Friday, July 11 at 7:00 pm MDT.

NOTE: Those who have websites and blogs, you are welcome to use the above graphic on your blog. For swatches only, you can download the image file by right clicking here (or control+click for my fellow Mac users) and saving the file to your computer. Then upload the swatch image to your blog.

thnx Card

2008-07-09T14:02:15Z

Hi all! Thought I would post a quick card I made last night. Still not quite sure if I like this card.

Craft room is almost cleaned up. One more serious organize, I'll be set.

New Color Inspiration Challenge will post tonight. Watch for it. :)

Not a whole lot to say at the moment... Must go get ready for work.

Anyone watching So You Think You Can Dance?

Or Wipeout?

I {heart} summer tv. ;)

thnx - Basic Black card stock, white embossing powder, Take Note rubons (Stampin' Up!); Aqua Mist card stock (Papertrey Ink); white ribbon (American Crafts); patterned paper (Scenic Route); stamps (Educational Insights).

Color Inspiration #14 Round-up

2008-07-05T05:41:53Z

Thanks for all your submissions! You guys are getting better and better each week! I particularly loved the entries this week because they were so bold--just what I wanted! :)

Anyhow, I'm visiting family in sunny-hot-Hot-HOT Arizona this weekend, so I don't have a card for you. But I do have the top ten and ten randomly selected. Enjoy!

TOP TEN


TEN RANDOMLY SELECTED

Covering a Custom Album

2008-07-03T04:38:13Z

You all might remember the album I made a while back. I promised to show you all how I covered it and I finally had a chance to sit down and record it. :)

Please excuse the randomness of the video! :) I had no idea how I wanted to decorate the album, so I totally changed my mind mid-stream and had to improvise a bit to get it the way I wanted it. But it all turned out in the end.

The album is by Secret Scrapper, which was started by my cousin Mandy. She's the cutest girl you've ever seen and I love her to death. When I we were in Vegas last February I asked if she could make me an album like this and she said yes! So, I'm not sure if it's at her online store yet, but I'm pretty sure she'll be selling this exact album soon. Right, Mandy? ;)

I'll be sure to let you all know when you can buy one, too!

Anyway, on to the photos and video! Enjoy!