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Hello readers! I live in Massachusetts (and grew up in remote northern Maine) so January is essentially the "dead of winter" here with cold temperatures and typically measurable amounts of snow. But, in absolutely no way am I a cold weather person. You'll find me happily crafting INside.  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 paper, I created a background using Ranger Adirondack Alcohol inks in the colors Glacier Blue, Sailboat Blue and Limeade. Once the alcohol ink background dried, I adhered it directly to the card base. I die cut two snowflakes from the Frosty Flake Layer Set. I cut Layer A from a piece of blue glitter cardstock in the Ocean Blue 6" x 6" paper pack. I cut Layer B from white cardstock. I adhered both snowflakes directly to the alcohol ink background using a fine tip liquid glue. I stamped the sentiment "just add sparkle" on teal cardstock in Versamark ink. This sentiment is from the Contempo Christmas Greetings stamp set. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and then die cut the sentiment using the coordinating Contempo Christmas Greetings dies. I adhered the sentiment to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a couple clear rhinestones to the snowflakes for more sparkle.   I love working with alcohol inks! They can provide a beautiful background for the most simple of elements. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
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Hello and happy Tuesday! Today I'll be sharing my very last holiday themed cards for 2021! I know there are only four days left until Christmas, so by now it's too late to make any more cards and send them out, but, if you're super ambitious, you can always get started on next year's cards!  I just love this new Christmas Mandala Tree stamp and coordinating dies, though for these cards, I only used the two tree dies!  Card details:*Please note - both cards were made the exact way I just used alternate color combinations for each card to show variety. These slimline cards measure 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" inches. Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business mailing envelope and require no additional postage. For one card I used a lilac purple cardstock base and the other I used a garden green cardstock base. I lined each cardstock base with an 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I then started die cutting trees for each card. For the purple trees, I used some of the glitter cardstock from the 6" x 6" Graceful Garden Glitter pad and some extra purple plaid paper I pulled from my scrap bin. For the green trees, I used glitter cardstock from the 6" x 6" Frosted Glitter pad.  I adhered the first five trees directly to the card base. I adhered the "top" tree (with the mosaic cutouts) to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. On thin white strips of cardstock, I stamped the sentiment "wishing you peace" in either green or purple ink. This sentiment is also included in the Christmas Mandala stamp set.    Thank you for visiting! I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad & Happy Kwanzaa! Whatever you celebrate may your festivities be filled with peace, love and joy. I'll see you in the New Year! XO, CrystalHello readers! I can't believe we are only 11 days away from Christmas! I am proud of myself for getting all 121 of my handmade Christmas cards out (and on time) this year! Although, my friends in Austria and Germany may see their cards around Valentine's Day. . . I tried. Today I am sharing two cards made using the Frosty Snowflake Layering dies from Birch Press Design and while the sentiment on these cards says, "be merry," they could easily be made into winter birthday cards or holiday thank you cards by simply changing out the stamped sentiment.   Card details:*Note - both of these cards were made the same way, I just changed out the color combinations. The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Pinpoint Radial Plate die, I cut the background from the same white cardstock. Using Layer A and Layer B of the Frosty Flakes Layering Dies I cut the snowflakes from the 6" x 6" Twinkling Jewel Glitter pad. I adhered the snowflakes directly to the background. Using the Contempo Christmas Greetings stamp set and coordinating die, I stamped the sentiment "be merry" in either blue ink or purple ink and then I used the coordinating circle die to cut the sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment to the center of each card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  Here is the same card made in an alternate color combination:   I hope you have enjoyed these beautiful cards. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
Hello crafty friends! It is a mad dash to the finish line to create those holiday cards and get them out in time! Today I'm sharing a fun and festive way to use a simple holiday shadow word die as the focal point of your card.  Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock for the first layer and matted that with a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of red cardstock. Using Layer B of the Frosty Flake Layering Set, I cut four snowflakes from white cardstock. I adhered these four snowflakes onto the white cardstock to create my background. It's a very subtle look to allow the colorful words to POP! I die cut the word "Jolly" three times using the Jolly Honey Script Word Die. I die cut one word from gold glitter cardstock, one from red glitter cardstock and one from green glitter cardstock. All of the glitter cardstock was from the 6" x 6" Frosted Glitter pad. I cut the thinner shadow portion of the "jolly" from white cardstock. I layered the two "jolly" layers together with a fine-tip liquid adhesive. I then placed the three "jolly" sentiments going down the middle of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.    I hope you have joined this fun way to use your shadow word dies to create holiday cards, no stamping required! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
Hello crafty readers and happy 1st of December! 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 2021 Joy Clair Designs mood board: 
This month's mood board was inspired by the magic, warmth and wonder of the holiday season with pops of colors in turquoise, purple, magenta and white. It's cheerful, whimsical and magical! Maybe this will inspire you to create for Christmas, Hannukah, winter or simply let these colors inspire you to create for any occasion.
Here is a card that I created inspired by this month's mood board: 
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
The base of this A2 size card was made using 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. The first base was created using a Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Rectangle die and cut from white cardstock. In the bottom lower right corner of the card, I stamped the sentiment "warmest wishes" in blue ink. l created a background from Faded Denim and Blueprint Sketch Distress Oxide inks. Next, I printed the images from the Christmas Cocoa digital stamp set and colored in the two mugs using Copic markers. I added the mugs to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I also added the white foam cream and marshmallows to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to all the images for added sparkle. 
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, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
List of supplies:
Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend! I hope you found a little time to do something crafty. Well, it's Monday and today I am sharing another card that I made for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge. Week number two of Challenge #138 is continuing on with a sketch challenge! 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: *Please note this will be my last post for 2020. It has been a very busy and challenging year in so many ways, and while I am extremely grateful for the many opportunities and experiences I have been afforded this past year, this girl is 100% burned out. I took on the work of four Design Teams throughout the past twelve months and found myself overwhelmed. I look forward to a well deserved break heading into the New Year. I wish each of you and your families a happy, healthy and wonderful holiday season! I'll see you again in 2021!  Here is the snowflake themed card I created inspired by the sketch:  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 Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Frames and Flags die set, I cut the scalloped frame from Bermuda Bay cardstock. I matted this scalloepd frame with a blue piece of plaid cardstock. I stamped one snowflake in Versamark ink on Bermuda Bay cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I stamped one snowflake in Versamark ink on Pool Party cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I stamped on snowflake in Bermuda Bay ink on white cardstock. I die cut all three snowflakes using the coordinating Beautiful Blizzard dies. I adhered a blue houndstooth piece of paper down the right side of the card (to mimic the sketch). I heat embossed the sentiment on the lower 1/3 of this houndstooth paper with white embossing powder. I adhered the three snowflakes to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I tied a piece of blue twine around the card and lastly added a couple rhinestones to the center of the snowflakes for added sparkle.    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, December 18th, 2020, at midnight CST. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there! XO, CrystalList of products:
Happy December, friends! Wow, what a year! Today is an exciting new release day with Whimsy Stamps and I am featuring the fun new Yeti for Christmas stamp set. This new stamp set features two adorable yeti's (one on a sleigh delivering Christmas presents and the other stringing up some elves), plus, it has some punny yeti sentiments to go along with it!  Card details:*A full supply list is located at the end of this post. 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 cherry red cardstock for the first mat and then a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white again (with a 3" circular hole cut in the middle. I lined the back of the circle with a piece of blue snowflake paper from the Blurry Flurry paper pack collection and two trees die cut from the Tree Assortment die set in lime green cardstock. I stamped the yeti in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and colored the image using Copic markers. I fussy cut the image and adhered it to the front of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment "Are we yeti for Christmas" in cherry red ink on the bottom right side of the card. Lastly, I added a a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the image for added sparkle.    I hope you have enjoyed this fun card! Be sure to check out the latest release from Whimsy Stamps here! Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend! I hope you found a little time to do something crafty. Unfortunately ours was filled with garage cleaning, leaf cleanup and cooking, so there wasn't much fun or relaxing time to be had. Well, it's Monday and today I am sharing another card that I made for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge. Week number two of Challenge #136 is continuing on with choosing your favorite NND stamp set! 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:  In full disclosure, this week I selected the "Festive Fawns" stamp set as my favorite simply because the images were already colored leftover from another card I had made last year! So, yes, this might be cheating just a little bit, but I'm all for "work smarter, not harder!" : )  Card details:*A full supply list is located at the end of this post. The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I created the background by using alcohol inks ink pink, coral and lemonade on Yupo paper. I die cut four white birch trees using the Forest Scene Builder die set. I adhered the trees to the background before cutting a snowbank from white cardstock using the Land Borders die set. I stamped the sentiment in pink ink on the lower left side of the snowbank. I stamped the critters from the Festive Fawns stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black in on white cardstock and colored the images using Copic markers. I used the coordinating Festive Fawns dies to 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.    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, November 20th, 2020, at midnight CST. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello and happy Friday friends! Yay for a 3-day weekend! Hopefully you get to take advantage of this long holiday weekend too. Today I am sharing another fun new release from Whimsy Stamps called Gossip Holiday Girls. Earlier this summer, Whimsy Stamps, released an entire comic themed line of stamps that were so popular, including the original Gossip Girls stamp set. So, I was very excited to see the Christmas/winter themed version of this fun stamp set with this latest release.
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 slimline card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. Using various 2 1/4" square pieces of the Whimsy Stamps Cosmic themed paper, I lined the back of the white Slimline Filmstrip die with these patterned papers. I stamped the Gossip Girl images in Memento Black ink on white cardstock and colored the images using Copic markers. I die cut the images using the coordinating dies and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Using the Speech Bubbles dies, I stamped the sentiments on white cardstock in purple ink and die cut the speech bubbles. I also adhered the sentiments to the card using 3M foam adhesive. 
I hope you have enjoyed this fun card. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend!
XO, CrystalList of supplies:
I am only mildly afraid to post today's cards. . . About two weeks ago I posted my first Christmas card of the season and was met with multiple resounding "NOOOOO, it's too soon" messages! So, the thought of "winter wishes" is sure to send a few people over the edge! #sorrynotsorry It's the downside of designing for companies that must market holiday products months before the actual holiday season!
Today's cards feature the new Tree Assortment Die set from the October release at Whimsy Stamps. I created four cards in a variety of vibrant colors, all with alcohol ink backgrounds, to really highlight the stark white die cut trees. 
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
Please note all four cards were made the same way, just with a variation of color combinations. Each A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I matted each layer with a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of colored cardstock (pink, blue, green or purple) and then cut a 5 " x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock again. On this smaller piece of white cardstock, I die cut a 2 1/2" circle in the middle. I created four alcohol ink backgrounds in various colors on 3 x 3" pieces of Yupo paper and once they dried, I adhered the alcohol ink backgrounds behind the circular hole before adhering them to the card. I die cut the white trees and adhere them to the front of the card, tucking the bottoms of the trees down into the die cut circle. 
I stamped the sentiment "warm winter" in the corresponding ink color (pink, red, blue or purple) onto a thin strip of white cardstock. I notched the right side of the sentiment strip and adhered it under the left side of the die cut circle. I stamped the word "wishes" in Versamark ink on colored cardstock and heat embossed the word with white embossing powder. I fussy cut each word "wishes" out with a pair of scissors as there is no corresponding die for this stamp set.
I hope you have enjoyed today's cards, despite the fact that they are winter themed and it's only
October 6th! ; ) Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
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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: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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