Thursday, December 31, 2009

When to say when...

OK, so you are probably wondering about the title of this post and why I have picked it, but before we get to that, I have some exciting things (to me at least) I want to share with you!


First of all, check out this fun little 3X3 Christmas card I made for Sophie a few weeks back....


No, she isn't really old enough to care, but it was fun for me and maybe one day she can look back on it and smile. The story behind this card is that I got the new stamp set Fox and Friends (which will be coming out in the new Occassions Mini (OM) that starts Jan. 5th) on pre-order. This little fox (and all his buddies!) was so cute that I couldn't resist and when I saw it, I was instantly reminded of one of Sophie's books we read often called One Winter Day. She loves this book!

Without boring you...(warning, I am going to explain the story so if you don't want to read it skip down to next paragraph)..It is a story about a little Hedgehog who gets a red wooly had from Santa. He tries the hat on, but his prickles stretch it out, so he gives it to his friend Rabbit. Rabbit tries it on, but his ears get in the way so he gives it to his friend Badger. Badger tries it on, but can't hear with it on, so gives it to Fox. Fox is grumpy about Christmas, but he tries the hat on and LOVES it. Meanwhile he goes out and finds a trail in the snow and then finds little Hedgehog burried under it and cold. Fox wraps little Hedgehog in the hat like a blanket and he falls fast asleep. They all wish him a Merry Christmas.

Sooooo, this little fox was so cute & reminded me of that story and how Sophie loves it, so I took the fox and the hat stamp from the Snow Buddies stamp set in the Holiday Mini (FYI- 1/5 is the last day you can order from the Holiday Mini!) and there you have it. A little sparkle and bling to make you get the feeling of texture, just like there book and here is a Christmas card to my baby girl. :)
Now, you see that little Katie Brooks watermark in the corner (if you can't see it, look at the image below, it is bigger there)? I have had this for a while, but don't have photoshop and needed to download some free software to use it. I am a techno-dodo (is that word in the dictionary? If not, it should be...) so it took me a while. I was excited to finally figure out how to use it though... and on my own I might add! A Thanks to Heather who paid someone to make that for me as a birthday gift! Now, my dear husband got me this small protable photo studio for Christmas (LOVE YOU!) and I have yet to set that up, but am hoping that between that and the watermark, my pictures (admitedly not great now) will only get better!

Finally, I get to the When to say when.... now last night I was playing with another of my new stamp sets from the OM called Vintage Vogue (below). I wanted something that looked....well Vintage and Vogue! So I was going for it, but as you probably know, things to always turn out how you imagined them, if you imagined them at all. I was struggling to create with the set partly because it was new and partly because it had been a few weeks since I stamped, so I wasn't sure what I was going for. I find that when I don't know what I am creating sometimes I just keep adding, because the card isn't quite how I like it but I don't know what will make it better, so out come the multitudes of things all jumbled together in one card. Here is the finished product and I am not sure if I like it or not.


What do you think? I think I like the colors and did well at acheiving a vintage look, but not so sure about the vogue.

Anyway, I know this was a long winded post and I am sure you have work or something you should be doing (tisk-tisk! wink!) so have a wonderful day and be sure to check out my website for all the new OM and Sale-a-Bration stuff!!!!

PS- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Happy Holidays

Remember that project I previewed like 3 mos ago that was a secret for the granparents? Well...shhhhh...it was a scrapbook of Sophie's first year made with My Digital Studio from SU! I am pretty sure most of them live in the dark ages and don't have internet, so I feel safe showing you a few more pages....

I'll be gone for the next week so hoping you all have a happy holiday!

:) Katie












Friday, December 11, 2009

12 Days of Christmas Holiday Sale!

OK, for the next 12 days, everything you ever wanted for the Big Shot is on Sale!!!

Exciting news! From today, December 11th- 22nd, select Big Shot dies and new colors of vinyl sheets for the Big Shot are on sale at 15-25% off! There are 18 new colors of vinyl sheets to choose from, including CLEAR vinyl, which is great for making etched glass creations, and CHALKBOARD vinyl, make your own chalkboard for your wall or as part of a smaller project!



It is recommended that you place your Stampin' Up! order by December 15th to receive it by Christmas...

Place an online at my Stampin' Up! Website (Click Shop Now, then 12 Days of Holiday Sales, then make sure you designate me as your demonstrator to get preferred pricing). If you have any questions you are welcome to contact me- katieannbrooks@gmail.com or 206-947-8273.
Happy Holidays!





Thursday, December 10, 2009

Feeling Krafty

I have been playing a little more the last few days because my holiday card collection is virtually gone (everyone bought them up!) and I don't have any to send to my family. So I have just been tinkering. Some of these cards I like and some I'm not sure on.

Yesterday I was in a Krafty mood, wanted to use my craft paper.

Here is the first card I made. The main image is non SU! but everything else here is. This is the one that I am not really sure if I like. What do you think?


Next is another craft card. I was playing with the soon to be retired (boo-hoo) Sip by Sip stamp set from SU! Had borrowed this set from a friend for something else, but figured why not use it while it's there.


Next is another Sip by Sip card. I love the sayings in this stamp set. The one above says, "Chocolate, coffee, men...some things are better rich!" Now don't get all offended, not necessarily true for me, but true for some. The one below says, "enjoy life sip by sip, not gulp by gulp."


The last two cards are something I have made over the last week or so. The first I CASEd (copied and shared) from Heather Hildebrant. The second was using a fun image with some not so typicall colors.




Thanks for stopping by today~






Monday, December 7, 2009

Success!

Well the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Craft fair is over and I have to say that is a load off! It was super fun, but a lot of work and anxiety too! I ended up taking the Wed. before as a vacay day because I wasn't finished with stuff. Meanwhile, I'd say it was successfull, I did about 3.5 times what I did last year in sales (last year was my first year and dismal). It was great to raise some money for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Patient Fund too! The most popular items were the earrings made from metal edge tags in coordinated matchbox dies (front of table) and the reindeer poop treat bags (left edge of table).

Here is a pic of Emily and I sharing a table, you can see my goods, hers are little (super cute!) sculpy figures on the right. I keep trying to get her to teach a class, but no luck yet. ;)

Sharing in on the fun is my friend and upline Heather. Look, you can see the darling bibs she did in this picture. I got a cute little pair of gloves from her for Sophie. :)


Finally here is my friend Don who was in the table next to us selling he wonderful pottery.


We all had so much fun!
Now I just need to start making my own Christmas cards to send out... yikes!
Thanks for stopping by!