Crystal Komara
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Happy Headlines

9/30/2020

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Yesterday I shared a rainbow themed card with you that was made using all dies and no stamping.  Today I am using that same die (Leaf Foliage 2 from Whimsy Stamps) and have created two more cards with it to show you the versatility of these products.  In fact, I could think of countless more ways to use these beautiful leafy dies and have no doubt you'll be seeing them here again this fall.  
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Card details: 

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post. 

*Both of these cards were made the same way, simply using a different color combination on each card. 

Both A2 size cards begin with an 80 lb. base of Neenah Solar Smooth white cardstock. I lined each card base with a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of the same white cardstock than I ran through a linear embossing folder to give it a subtle pattern.  Using the Leaf Foliage 2 dies, I cut a variety of leaves out in either purples, pinks and gold, or green, blues and golds.  I adhered the leaves to each card in a circular pattern using a Tombow permanent dot
runner.  I die cut a large scalloped circle from gold glitter paper and a small circle from white cardstock.  On the small circle, I stamped the sentiment in either pink or green ink.  I adhered the sentiment circle to the gold glitter circle and adhered both circles to the center of the card. 
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This card could easily be made in any color combinations you prefer!  I think by adding some elements of gold (or silver, if you so choose) it really adds a touch of elegance. 

Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies: 

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Rainbow Foliage

9/29/2020

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Hello friends!  If you are new here, welcome!  I hope you find creativity and inspiration while you are here.  Please check out my gallery, for the largest compilation of all my work.  If you are a regular visitor to my website, then I thank you for your continued support.  

Today I am sharing a card that required NO stamping at all!  Today's card was made completely from a variety of dies from Whimsy Stamps.  
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Card details: 

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post. 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah White Solar Smooth cardstock.  Using the Lattice die, I die cut the first layer from white cardstock.  I adhered the lattice directly to the card base.  Using one of the leaves from the Leaf Foliage 2 die set, I cut the leaf in rainbow colors from pink, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.  I placed them down the left side of the card in that ROYGBIV pattern.  I then placed a thin strip of black cardstock over the left side of the card where all the leaf stems met, to make it seem more clean.  Using the "thanks" die, I die cut the bottom shadow layer from black glitter cardstock and the top layer from white cardstock.  I adhered both layers together using liquid glue and then adhered the entire sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. 
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I think that adding rainbow colors on a card with a lot of white space really make those colors pop.  I hope you have enjoyed this cheerful design.  Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies: 

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1 Comment

Inky Paws Challenge #133

9/28/2020

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Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend!  I hope you found a little time to do something crafty.  Today we have a new challenge to share with you at Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge. Challenge #133 is a theme challenge.  Using the inspiration shown in the image below, share with us YOUR creations!
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Here is the card I created inspired by this week's autumn theme:
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Card details: 

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2".  Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage.  The base of this slimline card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Slimline Frames dies, I die cut the frame from gold foil cardstock.  I lined the back size of the frame with some yellow gingham miscellaneous scrap papers.  I stamped the flower images multiple times in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock.  I colored the flowers with Copic markers and then die cut them using the coordinating Hummingbird dies.  I also stamped the hummingbird in black ink and colored it with Copic markers before die cutting it.  I adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive.  I stamped the sentiment in black ink on a thin strip of white cardstock.  I adhered the sentiment to the top of the card notching the left side.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.  
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Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along for a chance to win?!  We will randomly select one linked entry to receive a $20 store credit to the Newton's Nook Designs online shop! 
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We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday, so that all entries have a chance to be featured on the Newton's Nook Designs blog.

Please make sure you review the challenge rules page before you link up your project!  
Deadline to enter is Friday, October 9, 2020, at midnight CST.

Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there!

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies: 

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1 Comment

Eye Scream

9/25/2020

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Hello friends and happy Friday! I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead.  I have a to-do list a mile long calling my name!

 Today's card may not exactly be the "ice cream" you had in mind, but this play on words is the name of the newest Halloween release stamp set from Whimsy Stamps.  The Eye Scream stamp set is filled with eyeballs, eyescreams, bat eyes and more creepy crawly Halloween goodness!
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Card details: 

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" and it's base is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Slimline Wobbly die, I cut the frame from black cardstock.  The green spider web paper behind the frame is a 6" paper pack from Whimsy Stamps called "Haunted."  I stamped the eye images in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and colored them using Copic markers.  I fussy cut each image and adhered it to the frame using 3M foam adhesive.  I stamped the various sentiments in lime green ink on thin strips of white cardstock and adhered them beside the images.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.  
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Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful weekend and find some time to do crafty things!

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies: 

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1 Comment

Christmas Ornament and Labels

9/24/2020

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Hello friends, I can't believe I'm about to say the word Christmas. In September. . . . I know, I know, I hear ya, it's still kind of early (and by kind of, I mean A LOT)! But, if you hand stamp or design all of your Christmas cards, then chances are you should probably be thinking about starting now! I send approximately 100 cards every Christmas, so after today's three cards, I've only got 97 more to go!! : )

Today I am sharing this trio of cards on the Birch Press Design blog.  These cards use the new Christmas Ornaments and Labels stamp set and coordinating dies.  

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Today's trio of cards uses the brand new Christmas Ornament and Labels stamp set and coordinating dies. For these cards, I chose a traditional Christmas color palette in red, green, kraft and gold. The base of each of these A2 sized cards is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Crest cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" sheet of green, red or kraft cardstock, I stamped the large background stamp in Versamark ink and then heat embossed the background with white embossing powder. I then stamped the image again on an alternating colors of cardstock. I stamped the ornament in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I used the coordinating ornament die to cut the ornament. I adhered the ornament to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. ​
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I die cut the top of each ornament from gold glitter cardstock. I die cut some of the leaves using green, gold or red cardstock. I tucked the leaves under the ornament topper.  I stamped the various sentiments in red, kraft and green ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and used the coordinating label die to cut each sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment banner to the center of each ornament.
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I'm looking forward to replicating these cards using non-traditional colors too. Blues, mint green and silver is another holiday favorite combination of mine. ​  Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal 

1 Comment

Happy Pugmas

9/23/2020

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Hello friends and welcome back to Day 2 of the Whimsy Stamps collaboration with Simon Says Stamp for the Stamptember celebration!  Yesterday I shared my first card using the new "Happy Pugmas" stamp set and today I am sharing another way to use this fun new holiday stamp set.  
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Card details; 

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2".  Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage.  The base of this card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White cardstock.  Using the Slimline Birthday Scallops die, I cut the frame from red cardstock.  Using the Slimline Bunting Borders die set, I cut the banners from lime green cardstock and teal striped cardstock.  I cue a 8 1/2" x 2" piece of woodgrain paper to use as the "floor" of the card.  I stamped the images from the Happy Pugmas stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and colored the images using Copic markers.  I fussy cut the images and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo black ink.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.  
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Stamptember is a great time to find unique stamp sets from Simon Says Stamps and their collaboration with various stamp companies.  Many of these stamp sets are exclusive and cannot be bought after they sell out, so have fun looking and shop now!  To see more products from Whimsy Stamps, please click here.  

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies: 

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0 Comments

Simon Says Stamptember Collaboration

9/22/2020

1 Comment

 
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Stamptember is a month long collaboration between Simon Says Stamp and various stamp companies teaming up together to design and offer fun, exclusive products.  It's like a new release day EVERY DAY for the entire month of September!  Many of these stamp sets sell out overnight and once they are gone, they can often be hard to find. 

Today I am happy to be joining the Stamptember celebration representing Whimsy Stamps and their special collaboration with Simon Says Stamp.  They have designed an exclusive Stamptember set called "Happy Pugmas."  Now you all know that I'm a cat lover, but I have to admit, these Christmas pugs are super cute and festive for all the dog loving friends I have.  
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Card details: 

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

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 this slimline card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  On a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Bristol Smooth cardstock, I ink blended Distress Oxide inks in the colors in Spun Sugar, Barn Door and Twisted Citron.  After ink blending the three inks, I then splattered the Barn Door Ink over the entire piece of cardstock.  Using the Slimline Postage die, I die cut the frame from pink cardstock.  I stamped the pugs in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and colored them using Copic markers.  I fussy cut the pugs out and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  I stamped the sentiments in red ink on white cardstock and die cut them using the Speech Bubbles dies.  I adhered the sentiments to the card with 3M foam adhesive.  Lastly I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.  
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I hope you have enjoyed this fun card featuring the new "Happy Pugmas" Stamptember collaboration with Whimsy Stamps!  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal 

List of products:

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1 Comment

Inky Paws Challenge #132

9/21/2020

1 Comment

 
Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend!  I hope you found a little time to do something crafty.  I have been on vacation for the past week in Maine and it was just heavenly!  After being in virtual self-quarantine life since March, it was nice to see something other than the four walls of MY own house!  It was a much needed mental break!   Today I am sharing another card that I made for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge.  Week number two of Challenge #132 is continuing on with this sketch challenge designed to inspire you.  Our challenges run for two weeks, thereby giving you more time to create, so I have designed a second card to share with you this week that was still inspired by the same image seen below:
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Yup, I know, my first official holiday card of the season and it's only September 21st!  ; )
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Card details: 

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  For the first 5 1/4" x 4" mat, I used a piece of gray gingham paper from the Lawn Fawn Gotta Have Gingham paper pack.  I die cut the red frame from the Frames & Flags dies by Newton's Nook. I lined the red frame with a 4" x 2 3/4" piece of white cardstock.   I stamped the images from the All Aboard for Christmas stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and colored the images with Copic markers.  I used a color palette or pink, red, turquoise and grey for this scene. I used the coordinating All Aboard for Christmas dies to die cut the images out.  I adhered the train images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  On a thin scrap of Pool Party cardstock, I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and notched the right side before adhering to the card.  Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.  
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Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along for a chance to win?!  We will randomly select one linked entry to receive a $20 store credit to the Newton's Nook Designs online shop! 
​

We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday, so that all entries have a chance to be featured on the Newton's Nook Designs blog.

Please make sure you review the challenge rules page before you link up your project!  
Deadline to enter is Friday, September 25th, 2020, at midnight CST.

Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there!

List of supplies: 

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1 Comment

Inky Paws Challenge #132

9/14/2020

0 Comments

 
Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend!  I hope you found a little time to do something crafty.  Today we have a new challenge to share with you at Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge. Challenge #132 is a sketch challenge.  Using the sketch shown in the image below, share with us YOUR creations!

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*I will be taking my first official "vacation" of 2020, and, as such, will also be taking a much needed break from blogging.  I will return to regular posting on Monday, September 21st.  Be well friends and I'll see you when I return.
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Halloween is my favorite cardmaking holiday, so I'm all about spooky colors, bat stencils and cute kitties hiding in pumpkins!
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Card details: 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Frames & Flags dies, I cut the scalloped frame from black cardstock.  I cut a 5" x 3 3/" piece of Bristol Smooth cardstock to ink blend the distress oxide inks on to create that background.  I first ink blended Wilted Violet Distress Oxide ink onto the paper and then I laid the Flying Bats stencil on top.  I then ink blended Seedless Preserve Distress Oxide ink and Twisted Citron Distress Oxide ink bats over the background color. I die cut the grass using the Land Borders die and Granny Apple Green cardstock.  I stamped the cat and pumpkin image from the Newton's Boo-tiful Night stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and colored it using Copic markers.  I die cut the image using the coordinating Newton's Boo-tiful Night dies.  I adhered the image to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  I cut a thin strip of black cardstock and notched the right end before adhering it to the left side of the card (to fit the sketch image) and I stamped "Happy Halloween" in Memento Black ink on a thin strip of white cardstock to adhere directly below the black strip.  Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the image for added sparkle. 
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Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along to win a prize? We will chose a RANDOM entry to win a $20 store credit to our Newton's Nook Designs online shop! We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday so all entries have a chance to be featured on this blog! 

You have TWO WEEKS to play along - Deadline to enter is Friday, September 25, 2020 at Midnight CST. The winners will be announced on the Newton's Nook blog the following Monday. 

Are you ready to play along and get your paws inky? Make sure you check the challenge rules page before you link up your project.

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies: 

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0 Comments

Inky Paws Challenge #131

9/7/2020

1 Comment

 
Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend!  I hope you found a little time to do something crafty.  Today I am sharing another card that I made for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge.  Week number two of Challenge #131 is continuing on with this color challenge designed to inspire you.  Our challenges run for two weeks, thereby giving you more time to create, so I have designed a second card to share with you this week that was still inspired by the same image seen below.

*I will be taking my first official "vacation" of 2020, and, as such, will also be taking a much needed break from blogging.  I will return to regular posting on Monday, September 21st.  Be well friends and I'll see you when I return.
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Here is my slimline card using the Autumn Mice stamp set by Newton's Nook:
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Card details: 

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

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.  Newton's Nook is now selling slimline envelopes in a variety of colors, so scoop them up now to send your cards out!  The base of this card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Slimline Portholes frames, I die cut the frame from Blackberry Bliss cardstock.  I then cut an 8" x 3" piece of white cardstock for the background to the mice.  Using the Land Border dies, I die cut the grassline from the same Blackberry Bliss cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment in the middle of the card in Blackberry Bliss ink.  I stamped the images from the Autumn Mice stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and colored them with Copic markers.  I used the coordinating Autumn Mice dies to die cut the images out.  I adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle. 
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Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along for a chance to win?!  We will randomly select one linked entry to receive a $20 store credit to the Newton's Nook Designs online shop! 
​

We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday, so that all entries have a chance to be featured on the Newton's Nook Designs blog.

Please make sure you review the challenge rules page before you link up your project!  
Deadline to enter is Friday, September 11, 2020, at midnight CST.

Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there!

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies: 

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1 Comment
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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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