Crystal Komara - Blog

Happy Easter

4/10/2023

Hello readers and happy Easter! I am on the Birch Press Design blog today this Easter themed card using one of my favorite dies from the company called Petal Egg Layer set.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. For the first 5 1/4″ x 4″ layer, I ran a piece of the same Neenah white cardstock through the Blooming 3D embossing folder by Memory Box Co (a sister company of Birch Press Design).

Next, I created the layers of the Easter egg from the Petal Egg Layer set:

Layer A - the top layer was cut from white cardstock.

Layer B - the middle layer was cut from yellow glitter cardstock

Layer C - the bottom layer was cut from yellow cardstock

All 3 layers were adhered together with a fine-tip liquid glue and then I fussy cut a yellow background piece.

I adhered all four layers of the egg together using a fine-tip liquid glue. Once this was dried, I placed the egg in the center of the card. Then I used the Tiny Tuft Flowers and Leaves Contour dies. I cut the leaves from two different colored green cardstock and the flowers from both yellow cardstock and yellow glitter cardstock.

Using the You Are Loved Noted Script heat foil plate and die, I heat foiled the sentiment in gold foil on black cardstock. I used the coordinating die to die cut the sentiment out and adhered it over the egg using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

I hope you have enjoyed this elegant card. Thank you for visiting and happy Easter!

XO, Crystal

St. Patrick's Day Inspiration

3/22/2023

Happy St. Patrick's Day my crafty readers! For someone who isn't Irish (and doesn't even claim to be on the one day a year it's acceptable) I make a lot of St. Patrick's Day themed cards. And I send. . . None! To help inspire you to create, here are some of my favorite cards through the years:

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Happy Valentine's Day To My Friend

2/14/2023

Hello friends and happy Valentine’s (or Galentine’s) day to you all! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing one last love or heart themed card for this season. I wish you a day filled with love, happiness and a lot of something sweet!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using Layer A of the Flora Layering Plates, I cut the background layer from white cardstock. Using the new Banner Heart Layer set, I cut Layer A (the top layer) from magenta pink cardstock. I used the I cut Layer B (the middle layer) from black cardstock. I cut Layer C (the bottom layer) from a magenta pink glitter cardstock. I adhered all three layers together using a fine tip liquid glue. Then once the layers were dried, I adhered the hearts to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

*Note, I cut two of each layer of the Banner Hearts die so that my card would have two hearts on it. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment “to my friend” in magenta ink on a piece of white cardstock. This stamp is from the Kind Hearts stamp set. I then used a small punch to punch out the heart and adhered it on the top of the card.

Happy Valentine’s Day, my crafty friends!
Thanks for visiting and be sure to spread the love today and always.

XO, Crystal

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Glittering Hugs

2/13/2023

Hello crafty friends and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing some Valentine’s Day themed inspiration, but in rather non-traditional colors.

First, I LOVE this color combination of mint green, teal green, gold and white. It’s classic and it’s elegant. You can also see what it looks like here with a Christmas themed card. Or here, where I added just a touch of baby pink color too! Clearly, it’s a combination I love as I have used it frequently.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. This is my go-to white cardstock for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! It’s great for card bases, layering, die cutting, distress oxide blending and Copic coloring For the very first base layer I cut a piece of teal green cardstock to measure 5 1/4″ x 4″ from the Lush Green 6″ x 6″ paper pack. Using the Kinsley Heart Layering Plates, I cut Layer C (the bottom layer) from gold glitter cardstock. Next I cut Layer B (the middle layer) from mint green cardstock, also found in the Lush Green 6″ x 6″ paper pack.

I cut Layer A (the top layer) from white cardstock. I adhered all three layers together with a fine-tip liquid adhesive before adhering them all to the card base. I then cut a 5 1/2″ x x 1 1/2″ strip of white cardstock and adhere it to the bottom third of the card. This allowed me to place the words “hugs” onto a white background in order for it to stand out against the detailed die. I used the Big Lingo Type Hugs die here. I cut the bottom thicker layer from teal green cardstock and the top thinner layer from gold glitter cardstock. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment “thinking of you” from the Lingo Thanks Clear stamp set in teal ink on white cardstock. I adhered the sentiment strip to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Gosh, I just looooooove this color combination so much. I hope you have enjoyed today’s card as well. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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2023 Whimsy Stamps InstaPinners Design Team

1/11/2023

Hello friends and happy New Year! Today I am welcoming in 2023 (albeit 10 days late, thank you flu) with an exciting announcement that I am continuing on as Design Team leader for the 2023 Whimsy Stamps InstaPinners Design Team! We had an amazing 2022 year with a real powerhouse of talent from this crew and while we lost a few team members from last year, we're super excited to be adding to our existing team! Many of you know that I am a huge advocate for the underdog, the yet-to-be-discovered-name, the diamond in the rough. When I chose members for my Design Team, I actively pursue artists who have never had the opportunity to be on a team before and experience the friendships, comraderies, adventures and experiences that they might not have had otherwise. I want to give them the chance to let their passion and their work shine. This year, I welcome "newbies" Beth, Lisa, Marie and Melinda.

Crystal Komara - that's me!
Beth Mallette
Candice Crawford
Lisa VanderGeer
Maria Petkash
Marie Bingaman
Melinda MacDonald
Zoe Collins

Please check out this amazing team on Instagram to be inspired by their creative talents!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

12/20/2022

Hello friends and happy December! It's a very busy time of the year between all the holiday decorating, shopping, baking and entertaining. I guess you either love it, or you hate it! While I won't admit to loooooooving it, my favorite part about Christmas is making Christmas cards (okay. . . okay. . . and drinking the eggnog)! Today I am sharing a fun holiday themed card in which the focus is on the ombre sentiment repeated in the background.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. For this card I used the Christmas Wish digital stamp set. First, I manipulated the digital sentiment "Santa Claus is coming to town" to repeat down the card from black font to a very light gray font. Then I printed this onto Neenah white cardstock. I cut this down and adhered it to a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of red cardstock.

I die cut a row of mountains from white cardstock and adhered these over the bottom of the sentiment. Then I die cut the tops of the mountains from silver glitter cardstock. I printed out the ski Santa image from the Christmas Wish digital stamp set. I colored the image with Copic markers and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the image for added sparkle.

I hope you have enjoyed this card. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! Additionally, for more inspiration, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.

XO, Crystal

December 2022 Mood Board

12/1/2022

Hello friends and happy December! The wait is over, the holidays (whether you're ready or not) are officially here! The Design Team at Joy Clair Designs is excited to share the mood board for this month. Mood boards (also commonly called "inspiration" boards) are a combination of colors, images, textures and patterns that can offer guidance or direction. If you feel like you don't know where to begin a project, try looking at a mood board and let the creative juices flow. You might just be surprised by the end result!

Let's take a look at the December 2022 Joy Clair Designs mood board:

This month's mood board is so cool and festive! A monochromatic palette of blues and white these images and scenes evoke chilly winter eves, snow adorned churches and leave me thinking about NOT having a "Blue Christmas."

We would love to see YOU create using this mood board as inspiration too! Feel free to use similar colors in whatever brand of cardstock you have readily available. We'd love for you to use your Joy Clair Designs stamps if you have them! And if you don't have any yet CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING TODAY!

Be sure to tag us on social media using the following hashtags so we can see your cards or other papercraft projects:
#joyclairdesignsmoodboard
#joyclairmoodboard

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! For more inspiration, you can follow me on my website, Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.
XO, Crystal

Be sure to sign up for Joy Clair Designs newsletters. You will receive notifications of new releases, sales and exclusive offers to subscribers. You can also follow the team’s creations from Joy Clair Designs on Facebook Page, Joy Clair Stamp Projects Facebook Group, Instagram , Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube!

Piped Icing Star

11/28/2022

Hello friends! Welcome back from a (hopefully) long holiday weekend. I hope you and your family and friends all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays of the year. And, if you are a shopper, I hope by reading this post, it means you survived the chaos and madness of Black Friday! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog I am excited to be sharing this gorgeous card featuring the Piped Icing Star dies and a few other fabulous holiday themed products all from Birch Press Design. I also created a YouTube video! It's been over a year since I last created a card video, so I'm excited about that too!

There are so many different products all used on this one card. I was really inspired by all the beautiful samples on the Birch Press Design homepage. I never would have thought of combining berries and snowflakes AND Christmas sentiments AND roses all in one card, and it works! Not only does it work, it works BEAUTIFULLY!

I have created a step-by-step video showing I created this card, so click the YouTube link below for all the details!

I was really pleased with how this card came out and I hope you enjoy it too! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Products I used:

Mood Board Elegance

11/21/2022

Hello friends and happy Monday! Today I am sharing another card that I created inspired by this month's mood board at Joy Clair Designs because I am soooo in love with the gorgeous color palette! Ooh la la! It is pure fall elegance.

First, let's take a look at the November mood board again:

Here is the card I created that was inspired by the mood board colors of peach, mustard, raspberry, eggplant and gold.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Yupo (polysynthetic paper) I created the alcohol ink background using Tim Holtz Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks. I used the colors lemonade, salmon, raspberry and valencia. Alcohol inks are one of my FAVORITE backgrounds to create. The colors are always so stunning and well, honestly, you never know what you're gonna get!

Once the alcohol ink background dried, I adhered it directly to the card base. Then, I printed out the sunflower image from the Such a Blessing digital stamp set. I printed the image in yellow ink on Neenah White cardstock. Next, I fussy cut the sunflower out and adhered it to the left side of the card. I used Scotch 3M foam adhesive to adhere the sunflower to the card.

Next, I stamped the sentiment, "hello my friend" in magenta ink on white cardstock. This sentiment is from the Thankful For You stamp set.
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Follow Us
Also, be sure to sign up for Joy Clair Designs newsletters. You will receive notifications of new releases, sales and exclusive offers to subscribers. You can also follow the team’s creations from Joy Clair Designs on Facebook Page, Joy Clair Stamp Projects Facebook Group, Instagram , Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube!

Such a Blessing

11/14/2022

November is a great month to celebrate all the things we are thankful for. Today I am on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing a slimline card she created featuring the new digital stamp set "Such A Blessing. The "Such a Blessing" stamp set is from the latest digital stamp release, Gather Together. Continue reading to learn how I made this card inspired by this month's mood board.

First, let's begin by taking a look at this month's mood board:

Card details:

To start with, this slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of my slimline card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. This is my go-to cardstock for everything. It can be used for card bases, die cutting, Copic Coloring, ink blending, heat embossing and so much more!
Next, I used a slimline die to create the stitched frame on white cardstock. Then, I layered this white stitched frame onto a piece of blackberry bliss cardstock and cut it to size to give the white frame a purple border. I also selected the "you are such a blessing" sentiment and placed it just above the line of pumpkins. After that, I set to work creating the digital image.

To create the long row of pumpkins, I printed out the digital pumpkin image from the "Such a Blessing" stamp set and repeated the image multiple times and in different sizes. Next, I colored the image using a variety of Copic markers in yellow, orange, peach, pink, raspberry and brown. Then I adhered both layers of the card together with 3M foam adhesive.

Thanks for visiting and letting me share my slimline card. Have a wonderfully creative day! Additionally, for more inspiration, you can follow me on my Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.

Follow Us
Also, be sure to sign up for Joy Clair Designs newsletters. You will receive notifications of new releases, sales and exclusive offers to subscribers. You can also follow the team’s creations from Joy Clair Designs on Facebook Page, Joy Clair Stamp Projects Facebook Group, Instagram , Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube!