Crystal Komara
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Hugs

2/14/2022

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Hello crafty friends and Happy Valentine's Day! Whether you love or hate the holiday, it is still a great reason to make cards (and eat chocolate, of course)! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing an elegant and more traditional card using the beautiful new Adornment Peony dies. 
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Card details: 

​The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. Using the Pinpoint Radial Layer Plate, I die cut that first embossed layer from white cardstock. To create the peonies, I die cut the solid base layer from red cardstock (6" x 6" Berry Paper pack) and the top thin outline layer from red foil cardstock. I die cut the solid base layer of the leaves from light green cardstock and the top thin outline layer from darker green cardstock. I used the 6" x 6" Lush Green Paper pack. I adhered all the layers together with a fine tip liquid glue. 
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​I die cut the word "hugs" using the Hugs Sugar Script dies. I cut the larger shadow bottom layer from black cardstock and top thinner outline from gold glitter cardstock. I adhered both layers together with a fine tip liquid glue and then adhered the entire sentiment over the peonies using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.
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Lastly, I added a couple rhinestones to the top and bottom of the card for added texture.   Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful love, hugs (and chocolate) filled day!
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XO, Crystal 

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You & Me

2/6/2022

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Hello friends and happy Sunday!  Today I am so excited because we are leaving for our annual girl's crafting trip to the Cape!  Eight of us women get together and rent an entire house directly on the beach on Cape Cod, and we do nothing but craft for the entire week. It is heavenly!  We missed last year due to Covid, so we are extra excited for this year's adventure.  Be sure to follow along on Instagram to see all the fun!  

I have a little Valentine's Day themed inspiration to share with you using the Full Heart digital stamp set from Joy Clair Designs:
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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 cardstock for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!  I buy it in bulk because I use it up so quickly.  I used a scalloped frame die to cut the first base layer also from white cardstock . Using the Full Heart digital stamp set, I printed the images onto Neenah white cardstock.  I printed the images twice because I knew I wanted to use two of the floral hearts as the centerpiece of my design.  I colored the images with Copic markers and then fussy cut each heart.
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This card was inspired by the February mood board at Joy Clair Designs: 
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Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative week!
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XO, Crystal 

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With Love

1/10/2022

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Hello crafty readers! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog beginning to share some Valentine's Day inspiration using the Flora Heart Layering Dies. 
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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. The base of this slimline card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. The first layer of the card is also a piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock measuring 8 1/4" x 3 1/4". I ran this piece of white cardstock through an embossing folder with small cascading hearts (a retired product).  

To create the two die cut hearts:

Using the Flora Heart Layering Die set, I die cut Layer A, Layer B and Layer C all from white cardstock. (I did this twice). I adhered all three white layers together using a fine tip liquid glue. Then I fussy cut a red heart background behind the layers to ensure the die cut hearts would "pop" when placed on a white background. I adhered the hearts to the top and bottom of the card using 3M foam adhesive for dimension. 
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To create the alcohol ink hearts:

On a 5 1/4 " x 4" piece of white Yupo paper I ink blended Ranger Adirondack Alcohol inks in the colors in Crimson, Red Pepper and Pink Sherbet. I also added in gold mixative for the swirls of metallic gold. After the ink was dry, I die cut one large heart and two smaller hearts from the Yupo Paper. I adhered the large heart to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I added the two smaller hearts beside the white die cut Flora Hearts.  
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​Lastly, I stamped the sentiment "with love" in red ink on white cardstock. This sentiment is from the Contempo Christmas Greetings stamp set. I die cut the sentiment with the coordinating Contempo Christmas Greetings die. I adhered the sentiment to the center heart using 3M foam adhesive.

I hope you have enjoyed this beautiful and elegant slimline card. While designed with Valentine's Day in mind, this card would also work for weddings and anniversaries. 
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
​

XO, Crystal 

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Rainbow Dahlia Hearts

2/11/2021

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Hello crafty friends!  Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog again sharing another fun idea for a Valentine's Day card using the Dahlia Heart Layering set. I am so in love with ALL the love themed products from Birch Press Design that I just can't stop finding ways to use them!
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This colorful rainbow themed slimline card just makes me so happy!
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For a step-by-step process to see how this card was made, please visit the Birch Press Design blog.  Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
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XO, Crystal 

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Black and White Valentine's Day Cards

2/8/2021

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Hello readers and happy Monday!  I hope you all found a little time to do something crafty over the weekend. Today I am being featured on the Birch Press Design blog sharing two simple and classic black and white themed Valentine's Day cards using Layer A of the beautiful Kinsley Heart Layering Plates.
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​Both of these cards were created the same way, I just alternated the background colors, so they look slightly different. Here is the first card I created:
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And here is the second card I created using the same products:
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For a step-by-step process to see how these cards were created, please visit the Birch Press Design blog for all those details and more.  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
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XO, Crystal 

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Be Courageous by Pinkfresh Studio

2/5/2021

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Hello friends and happy Friday!  I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead.  Today I am sharing another Valentine's Day slimline card using the Be Courageous stamp set and coordinating dies from Pinkfresh Studio.  I have combined this stamp with some large letter framelit dies spelling out the world L-O-V-E in red glitter paper since the stamp set itself wasn't designed with love themed sentiments.  
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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.  The base of this slimline card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White cardstock.  On a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of the same white cardstock, I stamped the large floral background (Be Courageous by Pinkfresh Studio) in Memento Tuxedo black ink.  Once the ink drink, I colored the flowers with Copic markers.  I used the coordinating dies to die cut teh image out and adhere it to the front of the card.  I die cut the large letters L-O-V-E from red glitter cardstock and adhered the letters to the center of the card using strips of 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment "Happy Valentine's Day" in Versamark ink on a thin strip of vellum cardstock.  I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder.  I notched both ends and adhered it to the center of the card over the words "love." 
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Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!
​

XO, Crystal 

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Boho Frames

2/3/2021

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Hello friends! As I type this blogpost (it's Monday evening) and we are in the midst of a true New England blizzard.  With somewhere between 8-14" of snow on it's way, I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a snow day for me - which means I get to spend the day crafting!  I think I have a few more Valentine's Day themed cards I'd like to to create based upon some ideas floating around in my mind.    

Today's slimline card used the Boho Frames digital stamp set from 88 and Clear.  
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Card details: 

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2".  The base of the card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  I cut a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Black Taffy cardstock for the first matted layer.  Using the Slimline Frames & Portholes dies from Newton's Nook Designs, I cut the scalloped layer from Rich Cherry cardstock.  I printed the Boho Frames digital stamp set three times on 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  I used the same frame three times on this card.  I colored the frame with Copic markers and fussy cut the frame.  I adhered all three frames to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  On a 4" x 1" strip of Black Taffy cardstock, I stamped the "with love" sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  I notched both ends before adhering the sentiment to the center of the card. 
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Here is the Boho Frames stamp set from 88 and Clear that I used to create today's card:
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I hope you have enjoyed today's card.  Thank you for visiting and happy crafting!
​

XO, Crystal 

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You Are Loved

2/1/2021

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Hello readers and happy Monday!  I hope you all had a nice weekend.  I am excited to begin sharing some Valentine's Day cards with you over the next two weeks.  Today's card uses the You Are Loved dies and the Beautiful Flowers stamp set both from Simon Says Stamp.
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Card details: 

*Both of these cards were made using the same products, I simply used alternating colors. 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using either petal pink ink (on pink cardstock) or real red ink (on red cardstock), I stamped the background of each with the Roses All Over stamp set by My Favorite Things.  On real red or petal pink cardstock, I stamped the large bouquet of roses from the Beautiful Flowers stamp set in Versamark ink.  (I stamped this image twice because I needed two sets for each card.)  I heat embossed the large roses in white embossing powder and used the coordinating die to cut the flowers out.  I adhered one of the die cuts to the top left corner and one to the lower right corner of each card cutting the edges to fit the 5 1/4" x 4" panel. 
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I die cut the outer shadow portion of the "You are Loved" die on white cardstock and the thinner script portion was die cut from gold glitter cardstock.  I adhered both layers together using a Lawn Fawn glue tube.  I then adhered the entire sentiment to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. 
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I hope today's feature will inspire you to begin creating (and ultimately sending) your Valentine's Day cards.  Thank you for visiting, stay warm, and happy crafting!
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XO, Crystal 

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Kinsley Heart Plate by Birch Press Design

1/11/2021

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Hello crafty friends and welcome back from the weekend!  Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing a beautiful Valentine's Day card featuring the latest new release products.  The focal point of this pink ombre card is the ink blended background peeking through the new Kinsley Heart Layering Plate. ​
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Card details: 

On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Bristol smooth cardstock I ink blended Distress Oxide inks in the colors Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick and Candied Apple. I began with the lightest color (Spun Sugar) at the top of the cardstock and the richest color (Candied Apple) at the bottom. ​
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Using 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Crest cardstock, I die cut the top layer (Layer A) from the Kinsley Heart Plate. ​
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I placed this intricate heart layer directly over the ombre background adhering it with LineCo ph neutral bookbinding glue (my go-to liquid adhesive). ​
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Using the Lingo Thanks stamp set, I stamped the word "love" in Versamark ink on ballet pink cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I used the coordinating Lingo Thanks die set to cut it out.  I also stamped the sentiment "you're in my heart" in Versamark ink on fuschia pink cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder as well. I die cut one large white heart to serve as the center focal point of the card. I adhered the sentiments to the lower right corner of the heart using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I adhered a few iridescent sequins with glue dots to the card for added dimension and sparkle. ​
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I really like how this card came out and I think I'll recreate it in a few additional colors and send them out as MY Valentine's Day cards this year!  

XO, Crystal 

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Petal Heart by Birch Press Design

1/4/2021

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Hello friends and happy New Year! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing some beautiful new Valentine's themed products with you and I absolutely love this new Petal Heart layering die!
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Card details: 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. black cardstock. Using the Pinpoint Radial Plate die, I cut the background from black cardstock. I adhered this stitched background directly to the cardstock base using LineCo PH neutral bookbinding glue (my go-to liquid adhesive). ​
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Using the new Petal Heart Layering dies, I cut Layer C (the bottom layer) from a fuschia pink cardstock. Layer B (the middle layer) from flamingo pink glitter paper and Layer A (the top layer) from a blushing bride pink cardstock. Since I made two hearts for this one card, I then reversed the colors and cut Layer C in blushing bride pink cardstock, Layer B in flamingo pink glitter paper and Layer A in fuschia pink cardstock. For both hearts, I adhered all three layers together with LineCo glue. ​
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I adhered both layered hearts to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I used two sentiments from the Lingo Thanks stamp set. I stamped each sentiment in fuschia ink on thin strips of white cardstock. I notched both ends of each sentiment strip before adhering each sentiment strip over one heart.  Lastly, I added a couple iridescent sequins to the card using glue dots for added dimension and sparkle. ​
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I hope you have enjoyed this beautiful layered heart card!  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, 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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