Crystal Komara
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Thankful Mandala

5/5/2020

2 Comments

 
Hello friends!  Today I am over on the Birch Press Design blog sharing these two cards using the Thankful Mandala stamp set.  I chose to work with this stamp set because it was something very different for me, and I'm so happy that I decided to challenge myself because I love how these cards came out!  

The very first thing I did after receiving this stamp was to actually cut it down!  Yes, this was equally as scary as it sounds!  I knew this could go wonderfully right, or horribly wrong really quick and that I was taking a chance at potentially ruining a $25 stamp set!  But, I didn't particularly like the large square shape of the mandala, so I trimmed off the outermost layer to give more of a peacock edge shape.  I regret that I did not take a picture of this process so you could see exactly what I mean.  
​Fortunately, it worked out just fine! Phew!​
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Card details: 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I stamped the large mandala in Versamark ink on black cardstock and then heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I cut the mandala in half in order to separate it on the card. I adhered each half to the top and bottom of the card base. I die cut the larger outline word "thanks" from gold foil paper and the smaller word outline from black cardstock. I mounted the two together using a Tombow tape runner and adhered both to the center of the card using foam adhesive. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment "for all you do" in the middle of the card in Memento Tuxedo black ink. ​
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Card details:

For the second card, my card base is a sheet of turquoise cardstock. I stamped the mandala in Versamark ink on another sheet of turqoise cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I trimmed the image down to 5" x 3 3/4" and mounted this stamped mandala onto a scalloped sheet of white cardstock. I adhered both sheets to the card base. I die cut the word "hugs" from both gold foil paper and white cardstock, layering the two together using a Tombow tape runner. I stamped the words "it's your birthday" in Versamark ink on a thin strip of turquoise cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I notched both ends before adhering it to the card below the word "hugs" using 3M foam adhesive. 
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Thanks for visiting and I hope today's post will encourage YOU to try using a stamp set that might be a bit out of your comfort zone!  You just might find that the end results were worth it. 

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies: 

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2 Comments

Folk Art Heart Layered Dies

4/16/2020

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Hello and happy Thursday!  Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing this wedding themed card created using the Folk Art Heart Layering dies.  And yes, that is a mouthful to say!  I only had to do about 27 outtakes on today's video when I blubbered through those words!  My husband and I actually had a wedding that we were supposed to attend two weeks ago in Orange County, California, that was canceled due to coronavirus.  There were over 300 people anticipated to attend and travel in from across the country.  Ugh, I can't even imagine what that poor bride (and groom too, of course!) have been
​going through. . .
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*You can see the full details for how to make this card in the video tutorial located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I also created a white scalloped frame from the same cardstock. Using Memento Tuxedo black ink, I stamped the sentiment at the top and bottom of the card, so that there would be room for the two hearts in the middle. I tried to create each heart to resemble more traditional bride and grooms colors, though you could easily make the hearts to match the wedding colors, or create two pink and white hearts if there were two brides to be celebrated!
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Here are the Folk Art Heart Layering dies from Birch Press Design that I used to create this card:
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​I hope you have enjoyed this card!  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal 

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String Art Frame by Birch Press Design

3/24/2020

1 Comment

 
Hello crafty readers! I hope you are doing well, staying healthy and being as positive as possible right now.  Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog for their Blog Blitz celebration! All week long the Creative Team is inspiring you with their amazing designs, but also giving YOU a chance to win some of these fun NEW products!

I am sharing two vividly detailed cards using the new String Art Frame.  Be sure to read all the way to the end of today’s post to see how you can win this die and watch the video of how to create these cards.  
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Card details: 

For this second card, I used an alcohol ink background filled with blues and greens that resembled the ocean. When I die cut the String Art frame in silver, I realized it kind of looked like a fishing net! So, I went with it and created an “Ocean Fantasy” scene.
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I stamped many of the images from the Ocean Fantasy stamp set in Versamark ink on a variety of blue and green colored cardstock. I heat embossed the images with white embossing powder and then fussy cut each image (there is no coordinating die set). I adhered the images to the card with 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I even added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the images for even more sparkle!
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Here is the second card I created using the same String Art Frame: 
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Card details: 

For this A2 sized card, I used a base of Neenah Solar White Smooth 80 lb. cardstock. I created a background from alcohol inks in the colors of Raspberry, Salmon and Valencia. I die cut the new String Art frame from gold glitter cardstock and adhered it directly over the alcohol ink background.
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Using the Lovely Butterflies stamp set, I stamped three of the smaller butterflies in similar ink colors (Raspberry, Salmon and Yellow). I die cut the butterflies and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I also added a couple gold rhinestones to the bodies of each butterfly for added sparkle.
Using the Garden Bloom stamp set, I stamped the “butterflies” sentiment in Raspberry ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and the “remind us of how good change can be” in salmon ink just below it. I trimmed the sentiment strip to 4 1/4″ x 1 3/4″ to fit the card just below the butterflies.
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I have created a video for you showing how I made each of today’s cards. I hope you will enjoy it seeing the step-by-step process:
Birch Press Design will be having giveaways on their Instagram account from March 21-29, 2020.

For a chance to win this String Art Frame die and MORE great prizes: 

1.) Follow Birch Press Design on Instagram
2.) Double Tap (LIKE) the post with this giveaway
3.) Tag A Friend in the comments

Good luck! And thanks for joining us!  

XO, Crystal 

1 Comment

Colorful Floral Star

3/18/2020

1 Comment

 
Hello readers!  Today I am featuring these cards using the beautiful new "Floral Star" Layering Dies on the Birch Press Design blog.  These dies, like all of the Birch Press Design products, are simply gorgeous and after initially making the purple card, I wanted to show you how these dies look in other colors too!   This basic flower/star design would well for a variety of occasions.
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I have created a video for you to watch and learn how these cards were made.  Each A2 sized card was made in a similar monochromatic color tone.   Each color was carried throughout the card both in the cardstock base and coordinating ink.
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I hope you have enjoyed today's cards and instructional video.  Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal 

You might also enjoy:

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1 Comment

Golden Thanks

3/6/2020

0 Comments

 
Hello readers! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing another way to use the beautiful Butterfly Garden Layering dies. If you recall, just last week I shared these two cards created using these same dies, yet they look vastly different when they are done in a completely different color scheme! I can't decide which one I like better, can you?!
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I have created this fairly short video for you to watch to see how I put this A2 sized card together. This will guide you though step-by-step each process of this card - and it's all under five minutes long! I'm a fan of keeping things short and sweet!

​There is also a list of supplies used (with clickable links) conveniently located at the end of this post.
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I hope you have enjoyed this card and video tutorial.  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies:

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0 Comments

Butterflies in Blue

2/26/2020

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Hello friends and happy Wednesday! Today I am over on the Birch Press Design website sharing two cards created from one layered die! I'm always trying to find the best way to get more "bang" for my buck, whether it's recycling or repurposing products or making my craft supplies stretch just a little bit further. Who else has one of those "bits and pieces" bins filled with little odds & ends just waiting to be made into a card!?
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Today I have used the Butterfly Garden Layering Dies and the Lingo Thanks stamp set and coordinating dies from Birch Press Design. I feel like this is one of those cards that you could make in ANY color! I do that quite frequently, especially if I need to replenish my card supply. Perhaps someone really likes pinks or purples, then this design would also accommodate other colors too. Plus, by the time you are done die-cutting all those butterflies, you will have lots of extra ones to add to your "bits & pieces" bin!

I have created a short step-by-step instructional video for you to see how this card came together. I do hope you will find it helpful!  I have also provided a full list of all the supplies I used at the end of this post. 
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Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal 

List of supplies: 

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0 Comments

Love You by Birch Press Designs

2/13/2020

2 Comments

 
Hello readers!  It's kind of an exciting day for me as not only am I making my grand debut on the
Birch Press Designs Creative Team, but I am sharing with you my very FIRST crafting video!  I have been wanting to create video content for a while now, but it's a scary leap to take!  I poured a lot of hard work and time into the creation of this video and I'm quite proud of my first attempt, but I'll let YOU be the true judge.  I also hope you will enjoy the first of many more cards to come featuring the beautiful, intricate layering dies from Birch Press Designs.   I just received a large box of new spring release products and I look forward to sharing those with you soon!    
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For today's Valentine inspired cards I have used the beautiful Delfina Layering dies, the all new Flora Heart dies and the Love You Outline dies. I chose to cut all three layers from the Delfina Layering Dies. Layer C (the bottom) was cut from a rose red cardstock, Layer B (the middle) was cut from a carnation pink cardstock and finally, Layer A (the top) was cut from silver glitter paper. I adhered all three layers together with a fine-tip liquid adhesive.

Please check out this step-by-step video detailing how I created every layer of this card.  I have also provided a list of supplies used at the end of this post.
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I do hope you found this video helpful and I welcome your kind comments and constructive criticism (bonus points for niceness!) so that I can continue creating content in a way that's most useful to you. ​  I won't be creating video content for every project I feature, but I will do my best to create them for the more intricately detailed or challenging cards!  

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal 

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List of supplies: 

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Real Red cardstock
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Petal Pink cardstock
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Silver Glimmer paper
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Delfina Layer set
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Flora Heart Layer set
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Fine Tip glue pen
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Handwritten Love You dies
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Neenah Solar White Smooth
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Tim Holtz Vagabond 2 die cutting machine
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Foam Adhesive
2 Comments
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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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