Crystal Komara
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Happy Mother's Day

4/20/2022

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Hello friends and happy Wednesday!  I hope your week is off to a good start!   My mother is THE single most important woman in my life and I'm honored to call her my very best friend.  I hope you are all as lucky as I feel to have a special woman like this in your life - be it a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, niece or even an older mentor you admire.  
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Card details: 

​The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  This is my go-to white cardstock for e-v-e-r-yt-h-i-n-g from die cutting, to Copic coloring, ink blending and yes, for printing my digital stamps too! I used a piece of this Neenah paper to die cut the butterfly background.  I printed the two roses from the Spring Rose digital stamp set from Joy Clair Designs onto the Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  I also printed the butterfly from the Just Butterflies digital stamp set.  I colored the rose and butterfly using a lot of colors in the purple family of Copic markers.  I fussy cut the butterfly and roses and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  
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​I printed the sentiment "Happy Mother's Day" onto white cardstock and used a large oval punch to punch the sentiment out before adhering it to the card also using 3M adhesive.  Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the roses and the butterfly for extra sparkle.  You can never have enough sparkle!!
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I hope you have enjoyed today's card and that it inspired you to think about the special woman in your life.  Mother's Day is coming up on May 8th this year.  
"Here's to strong women.  May we know then.  May we be them.  May we raise them."


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.



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Rainbow Star Flowers

4/18/2022

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​Hello crafty readers! Thanks for taking the time to be here as the Design Team shares inspiration ideas, tips and tricks for creating beautiful cards using Birch Press Design products. This is Crystal Komara here with you today sharing an amazingly detailed slimline rainbow card using the Star Flowers, part of the all-NEW Contour Layering dies. Last week I shared another rainbow themed card using the Wispy Blooms Contour Layering dies, so if you missed that post, please click here to be WOW'd!
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Card details: 

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. I always use 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock for my bases. Then I used the Star Flower Contour dies and cut it in every color cardstock. I cut the flowers in two shades of red, orange, yellow, green blue and purple. I adhered the two layers of flowers together and added the round center piece to each flower. 
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​I adhered the star flowers in a ROYGBIV pattern up the length of the card. I also die cut a couple green stems from the Fuddled Leaf Branches Contour Layering Dies and green cardstock. I stamped the sentiment "hello" using the Contempo Greetings stamp set. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink on black cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and then I used the coordinating Contempo Greetings die to cut the sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  
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​Wow! Yes, that was a LOT of die cutting and piecing together flowers but the end result was totally worth it. This card came out beautiful, if I do say so myself! Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
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XO, Crystal 

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Truly Inspired Mood Board

4/13/2022

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Hello readers!  Today I am on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing another card that was inspired by this month's beautiful mood board.  In case you missed it, on the first of every single month, we share a mood board that is designed to inspire YOU to create.  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.
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Here is the April mood board:
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Here is the card I created using the Spring Rose digital stamp set from Joy Clair Designs:
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​Ironically, when I created this alcohol ink background, I didn't initially love the ink colors.  When I work with alcohol inks, I typically create a whole bunch of backgrounds at one time (maybe 40-60 pieces) and I save them.  Then I can pull from these pieces to create "quick cards."  Well, this piece was one that I almost threw away because I just "wasn't feeling it."  After coloring the flowers, I searched through the bin of pre-made alcohol ink pieces and wouldn't you know, the one I didn't like was nearly a perfect fit!  It's funny how that works out sometimes.  
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Card details: 

​The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  The alcohol ink background was created on a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Yupo paper using purple and pink alcohol inks.  I printed out the two flowers from the Spring Rose digital stamp set onto Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I colored the flowers with Copic markers and then fussy cut each flower out.  I adhered the two flowers to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  I printed the sentiment from the You Are Loved digital stamp set.  I used an oval punch to punch out the sentiment before adhering it to the card.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle.  
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This month’s mood board is inspired by the fresh, fun and bright colors of spring!  For some of us, March does mean the start of spring, while for other geographic locales, they’re not quite there yet!  Either way, let these colors start to put a little spring in your crafty step! 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 

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I Miss Your Face

4/11/2022

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Hello crafty readers! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog and I am SOooooo excited to share this card with you! My card features the Wispy Blooms dies, part of the all-NEW Contour Layering products from Birch Press Design.  
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Now, I'm not gonna lie, you're going to take one look at this AH-mazing garden of rainbow delight and be WOW'd! Then, you're gonna take a second look and say "wait, did she really die cut ALL those flowers? Is she craaaaazyyyy?!" Yes and yes! : ) Do I have the patience of a saint? No. Not at all. In fact, I typically shy away from oodles of die cutting (that's all you, Jennifer McGuire!) but once I started and saw where this card was going, it was SO worth it! 
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Card details: 

​Yeah, so the basic gist of it, just keep die cutting flowers in ALL the colors of the rainbow! Then, when you think you're gonna go insane, start adhering all the layers together! But, wait. . . there's more! You've still got stems to die cut and adhere!   Are we having F-U-N yet?!
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Step 1: Die cut a TON of flowers using a variety of colored cardstock.
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Step 2: Adhere the two flower layers together.
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Step 2: Die cut a lot of stems using a minimum of 2 different colored green cardstock.
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Step 4: Adhere the stems to the flowers.
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Step 5: You can never have enough flowers and stems for a rainbow garden!

​The base of this slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". I use 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth for all my white cardstock. Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business envelope and require no additional postage. I cut an 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of white cardstock and ran it through a basketweave embossing folder, then I began to adhere all the flowers to the card in a ROYGBIV pattern. Using the Contempo Greetings stamp set I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink on black cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and then I used the coordinating Contempo Greetings die to die cut it out. Lastly, I adhered the sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  
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​So sure, this card a LOT of die cutting and piecework, but the end result is gorgeous and I would do it all over again! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
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XO, Crystal 

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Mood Board Lilies

4/6/2022

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Hello crafty friends and happy April!  This is Joy Clair Design Team member Crystal Komara here with you today sharing a card that I created inspired by this month's beautiful mood board colors.  First, let's take a look at the April mood board:

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​Swoooooon!  This month's magical dreamy board is made up of all my favorite things - from the pinks, purples and fuchsia colors to the tulips, marble, macarons and YES to whatever is in that pretty looking pink drink!  I envision lots more creations this month inspired by this color palette, but here is the first card I created:
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Card details: 

​The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of black cardstock.  I stamped a plaid printed background stamp on this black cardstock with Versamark ink.  Then I heat embossed it with black embossing powder.  I LOVE a black-on-black background and they especially make for powerful backgrounds against brighter floral images.  I die cut a large scalloped oval from white cardstock and adhered this to the center of the card.
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​I printed the lilies from the Refresh the Soul digital stamp.  I enlarged the lilies to 5" x 2 3/4".  I colored the lilies with Copic markers and then I fussy cut the images out by hand.  I adhered the lily on the right directly to the card.  I adhered the second lily slightly on top of the first lily, but used 3M foam adhesive to make this flower pop.  I also printed the sentiment "happy birthday" on the Neenah White cardstock and then punched it out using a scalloped oval punch.  I adhered the sentiment to the bottom right of the card using 3M foam adhesive.  Lastly, I added a couple pink rhinestones to the card for extra sparkle.  
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I hope you love this beautiful color palette as much as I do!  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 

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April 2022 Mood Board

4/1/2022

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Hello crafty readers and happy April!   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 April 2022 Joy Clair Designs mood board:
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This month's mood board is inspired by all things pink, fuchsia, rose, blush, purple and magenta!  It's dreamy and magical.  It's beautiful and elegant.

Here is a fun card that I made using this month's mood board colors:
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Card details: 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I cut a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of the same white cardstock for the first matted background.  I ran this cardstock through my Big Shot using a linen printed embossing folder to give the paper some added texture.  I printed out the Mandala Love digital stamp set on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I colored one of the mandala's using Copic markers in the colors of this month's mood board.  I fussy cut the entire mandala and then cut the mandala in half.  I placed one half of the mandala at the top left of the card and the other half at the bottom right.  Then I die cut a bunch of different sized stars from purple and pink cardstock and glitter paper.  I added the stars randomly over the card.  I added a sentiment strip on the lower right side of the card.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the mandala image for addes sparkle.  
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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 

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    Hi, I'm Crystal!

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    Disclaimer:

    I, Crystal Komara, am solely responsible for this blog and all of its content, including, but not limited to designs, concepts, text, images and photographs. This website is for your personal enjoyment, inspiration and to help stimulate your own creativity.  

    If you use one of my posts, images, classes or designs please be sure to give credit where it is due.  Thank you!
    2019 ©


    Disclosure:

    • I participate in several affiliate programs.  This means I earn a small commission when products are purchased using my links (at no additional cost to you). 
    • I do not work for any companies. 
    • I buy all of my own supplies, unless where mentioned in a post that a product has been gifted, or if I am supplied products in exchange for being on a company's Design Team.
    • I do not do sponsored posts (where a company pays me to talk about a product).
    • I do not place ads on my blog.  Ever. I hate them and I know you do too!

    ​Whether gifted, or from my own supply, all of my recommendations are based on items that I use and truly love, and I think you will too. 
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