In Color Masculine Card

Choosing colors plays a role in making a card more feminine, masculine, or neutral. When I started using the 2015-2017 In Colors, I knew that Tip Top Taupe and Delightful Dijon will be great for masculine cards. I also wanted to use some die cuts on a monochromatic background for a faux embossed look. This card came together quickly, and I sent it to a fellow member of the Fun 'n Crafty Stampers in May for our monthly card swap.

Tip: I used the Tip Top Taupe Stampin' Write Marker to only ink up park of my "birthday wishes" stamp from the Build a birthday set. Markers are a great way to customize your stamps.

Supplies Used:
Tip Top Taupe, Delightful Dijon, & Whisper White Card Stock
Big Shot
Hello You Thinlits
Extra Large Oval Punch
Decorative Dots Embossing Folder
Tip Top Taupe Marker
Build a Birthday Stamp Set

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Meatless Monday: CBLT

The first tomatoes are ripening from our garden.

I wanted a vegetarian BLT, and I made a batch of coconut bacon. The recipe is from Joyful Vegan, and I really like it. I do have to carefully watch these in the oven so they do not burn.

Here is my yummy "CBLT" made mostly with ingredients from the farmers' market and our garden.

Baking Break

Paper crafts are my main creative outlet, but I also enjoy baking and cooking. My plan for this blog is to focus on crafts, but it will be fun to share some other posts. These muffins are easy to make and taste great. I adapted the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
4 ripe mashed bananas
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup nondairy semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray or line a muffin tin.
2. Mash 4 ripe bananas and set aside.
3. Mix all of the dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips
4. Add in the wet ingredients and stir.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Fill each muffin spot about 3/4 full.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
8. Cool & Enjoy!

We are not big egg eaters, so I do not often have eggs in the house. I love baking with bananas since they are a binder and taste great. What have you baked recently?

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Color

With each new annual catalog, Stampin' Up! releases 5 new In Colors. The colors are available for 2 years and compliment the existing color collection offered. I love the new 2015-2017 In Colors!

One of the best values in the Stampin' Up! catalog is the bundle of In Color ink pads & card stock. I also love the 2014-2016 In Colors and will continue to create with them over the next year. What is your favorite 2015-2017 In Color? Please let me a comment blow.

Supplies Featured:
2015-2017 In Color Card Stock
2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Kind Koala

I was so happy to see that the Kind Koala stamp carried over to the current Stampin' Up! annual catalog. I wanted to use this cute stamp again and decided to fussy cut the koala from some Crumb Cake card stock. I used a blender pen to add some Crumb Cake ink to the ears. The blender pen also allowed me to add Crushed Curry ink to the flower petals.

I originally intended to die cut a Crushed Curry oval to layer on my card until I realized that I am out of Crushed Curry card stock. Another easy way to add a pop of color is to ink the edges of your card stock with the Stamping Sponges.

I enjoyed making this card last month to enter into the first TGIF Challenge. I love the color combination of Crushed Curry, Calypso Coral and Pool Party! Using card sketches and challenges are a fun way to take a craft break and make a card.

Supplies Used:
Stamp: Kind Koala
Card stock: Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, & Crumb Cake
Ink: Black Staz On, Crumb Cake, & Crushed Curry
Tools: Blender Pens, Big Shot, Oval Framelits, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, & Stamping Sponges
Accessories: Pool Party Baker's Twine (retired) & button (retired)

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Welcome!

Hello & welcome to Craft Break, a blog dedicated to helping busy people take some creative time for themselves. I have been paper crafting for over 10 years. This hobby is a wonderful creative outlet that can fit into a variety of schedules and budgets. I am an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, and I began scrapbooking in 2005 and making cards in 2008. This blog will feature handmade cards, fun paper crafting kits and projects, and Project Life.

Thank you for visiting my new blog!

Masculine Card with New Colors

I love the new 2015-2017 Stampin' Up! in colors. The Delightful Dijon and Tip Top Taupe are great for masculine cards. Plus, Tip Top Taupe makes a nice, neutral card base. I created this card for the Fun 'n Crafty Stampers monthly card swap. Jennifer Blomquist leads this group of stampers from all over the U.S. Our card swaps are optional, and they are one of my favorite ways to stay involved with the group.

Tip: I used a Stampin' Write Marker to ink of part of the "birthday wishes" stamp in the Build a Birthday stamp set. Markers are a great tool for customizing and stretching your stamps.

Supplies Used:
Big Shot
Hello You Thinly Dies
In Color Card Stock
Whisper White Card Stock
In Color Markers
Build a Birthday Stamp Set
Extra-Large Oval Punch
Decorative Dots Embossing Folder

If you are interested in building a stash of quality, coordinating craft supplies and being part of a fun craft group, then you should consider joining Stampin' Up! in June. You can build a business or do this as a hobby. The starter kit (for $99) offers your choice of $125 in product, free shipping, and 2 free stamp sets in June. You can learn more here or contact me for more information.

Thank you for visiting my blog!

June Blog Hop

Welcome to the June Fun n' Crafty Stampers Blog Hop! We are sharing some NEW Stampin' Up! products with some of our returning favorites. I have two cards to share today.

First up, I have a picture of the newest Stampin' Up! catalog, which is my favorite in my 6+ years as a customer and now demonstrator with this company. From stamps to inks to kits to Project Life, there is a variety of wonderful crafting products and ideas in these pages.

Stampin' Up! is known for color coordination, and it is fun to see the new set of "in colors" each year. I adore these new colors and played with my Stampin' Write Markers recently to make this sign.

This first card I made features a new stamp set (Build a Birthday) and new washi tape (Cherry on Top).

The Build a Birthday stamp set is a lot of fun to use, especially with washi tape. This card came together quickly and I like mixing the Watermelon Wonder and Pool Party card stock.

For the second card, I used some of my favorite returning stamps.

I was really excited to see the Watercolor Thank You continue into the next annual catalog, and I recently added Flowering Flourishes to my collection. I also used some of the new Watermelon Wonder card stock and Cherry on Top washi tape.

Don't miss the other stops on the hop & thank you for visiting my blog!

Fun & Crafty Blog Hop

Jennifer B. of Northwest Stamper

Tobe B. of The Craft Sea

Susan S. of Stampin' By The SF Bay

Pam W. of Stinky Tofu

Sara G. of 1200 Some Miles