The "Thank You" Blog Hop!

Good morning everyone!  Today is the first day of the "Thank You" blog hop.  You should have just come from Erikas blog!  This blog hop was put together by the lovely Raven to give a big THANK YOU to Madeline of The Shabby Vanity for our blog makeovers!


I don't know if any of my early followers remember my original blog design, but it was BAD.  I have no graphic design or HTML experience and it basically looked like it was thrown together by a fifth grader :)  I decided I wanted a more professional look so I used Madeline and her "5-Minute Makeover" plus some other a la cart items that she offers.  I could not be happier with the final result.  Everything looks professional and organized, and I LOVE my banner!  When I received word about this blog hop I couldn't wait to participate!




One of my favorite things about my new blog look is the cute cherry theme she has running throughout my blog.  From my background to the screen on my Gypsy I'm juggling, it's everywhere, and I love it!  I wanted to make a thank you card that incorporated those cute cherries, and this is what I came up with!

Recipe:

• Wild Card Cricut Cartridge
• George Cricut Cartridge
• Paisley Cricut Cartridge
• Peachy Keen "Everyday Character Faces" Assortment stamp set
• Scrappy Moms "A Pinch and a Dash" stamp set
• Ribbon from Michaels
• Stickles

I cut the card base from the Wild Card cartridge, and then made two layering circles using George and my Gypsy to line them up.  The cherries are from Paisley cartridge and I used my favorite Peachy Keen face stamp set and pink chalk to give them an adorable touch.  I used Action Wobbles underneath each of the cherries so they pop up and wobble back and forth (hence the sentiment).  I used my white gel pen for some doodling and the whites of the eyes, Stickles on the leaf, and voila!  An adorable thank you card.

...you didn't think that's all I had for you today, did you?  How about a little blog candy??  I have TWO Martha Stewart Christmas punches to give away!

Wanna win a Poinsettia Vine Edge punch and a Present Punch and Stamp Punch?  Here's what you need to do:

1. Become a follower of my blog
2. Leave me a comment on this post (make sure you leave a way for me to contact you)

I will draw a winner on Monday, January 1st and email the winner.  You'll have one week to get back to me or I'll have to draw someone else.

Your next stop is Angela at Creative Craftin.  Make sure to check out everyone's projects!


Here's the list of everyone hopping today, and don't forget to stop by Madeline's blog and show her some love!


Raven-   http://love4stamps.blogspot.com/

Ruthie-     http://septemberninth.blogspot.com/

Theresa- http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/

Jennifer- http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Erika-     http://cricutlove1.blogspot.com/

Kristin-   http://kristinscraftykitchen.blogspot.com/ (You are here!)

Angela-  http://creativecraftin.blogspot.com/

Melissa- http://www.melissastampingvoila.blogspot.com/

Michele- http://www.nowstampthis.blogspot.com/

Zeni- http://www.scrappyzeni.blogspot.com/

Madeline- http://theshabbyvanity.blogspot.com/

"Favorite Things" Blog Hop Winner!

First of all, I want to thank EACH and EVERY one of you that participated in the hop and left me such lovely comments.  I read each and every one of the 105 comments I received.  I love you all!

I used Random.org to pick a winner!

And the winner is..... Vanessa!

Congrats Vanessa!  You have one week to email me with your shipping info (click the cupcake on the left hand side of my blog), or I'll have to pick someone else.  Don't forget to email me!  :)


Speaking of blog hops, there's ANOTHER one coming up next weekend!

Join me for a blog hop thanking the lovely Madeline from the Shabby Vanity.  She gave my blog the beautiful makeover you see here, as well as a bunch of other crafty ladies, and we've gotten together to give her a big THANK YOU!  There will be a lot of awesome projects, yummy blog candy, PLUS you can win a 5-minute makeover from Madeline!  Be sure to stop by my blog on the 28th to find the full list of participating blogs!

"My Favorite Things" Blog Hop!

Welcome to The Crafty Kitchen and the ...A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS Blog Hop! 
If you've come from visiting Lisa at My Lil' Bits, you're in the right place! If you've just happened across my blog and would like to play along with our fun hop, you can go to http://www.inkingitupcrazy.blogspot.com and start at the beginning. We would love to share a few of our favorite things with you today! 
Each Design Team member will be featuring an project made especially for this hop using their favorite crafting tools and techniques. Make sure to check out each member's blog. There will be some fun prizes along the way, AND there will be some AWESOME ideas! 


It was so hard for me to choose my "Favorite Thing" because I have SO MANY, and they change all the time.  Currently, my two absolute favorite things are my Pink By Design Stamps and my Martha Stewart punches.  Sarah over at Pink By Design makes the most wonderful stamp sets.  They are of amazing quality and are so versatile.  Although I adore my Cricut I'm also a punch junkie and I'm OBSESSED with Marthas punches and craft products.  Her new Valentines Day punches are GORGEOUS, so for this hop I decided to make a card using a few of her new punches.

Recipe:

• Recollections Craft Cardstock
• Pink patterned paper from Michaels
• DCWV Midnight Spell Stack (glitter paper)
• Martha Stewart Cherish Hearts Border Punch
• Martha Stewart Flourish Heart Punch
• Pink By Design "Scriped Year" Stamp Set

To create this card I used two of Martha's new Valentines Day punches:  the Cherished Hearts border punch and the Flourish Heart punch.  I think the Flourish Heart is my absolute FAVORITE punch right now, so I wanted the card to feature the gorgeous punched image.

I actually punched out two hearts, one in craft cardstock and one from the pink glitter paper, and layered them slightly off-center from each other.  

 The sentiment is from one of my absolute favorite Pink By Design Stamp sets, Scripted Year. Scripted Year can truly be used all year round and the font is just gorgeous.


Are you ready for some blog candy?  I figured a Martha punch would be a fitting giveaway today, since they are some of my favorite things :)

Even though the holidays are over, I know a lot of us are still scrapping Christmas, and this Punch and Stamp Set by Martha Stewart will look great on a layout, or for next years Christmas cards!  The punch comes with three different clear stamps to make three different gift boxes, and they store neatly inside.  So adorable!


In order to win, here's what you have to do:

• Be a follower of my blog
• Leave me a comment on this post telling me one of your favorite crafty things!

You have until Monday, January 17th to leave me a comment on this post.  I will then use random.org to find a winner, and post the winner here on my blog.  The winner will have one week to contact me, if I don't hear from them in a week I will have to pick someone else.

That's it for my Favorite Things today!  Your next stop is Jessie over at Scrappy Jess.  Hop on over to see what she has in store for you today!

Here's the full list of today's blog hop, make sure you visit everyone!  They have some GREAT projects for you!

   Kassidy -http://www.inkingitupcrazy.blogspot.com

   Lisa – http://www.lisa-craft-blog.blogspot.com

   Kristin – http://www.kristinscraftykitchen.blogspot.com (You are here!)

   Jessie – http://www.scrappyjess.blogspot.com

  Jamie – http://www.jmecreations.blogspot.com/

   Susan – http://www.itsmesusanp.blogspot.com/

   Erika –http://www.cricutlove1.blogspot.com

   Celeste –http://www.ccscards.blogspot.com/

   Amanda –http://www.amandascraftsandmore.blogspot.com/

   Meagan –http://beyondpaperdesigns.blogspot.com/

   Rebecca –http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/

   Theresa – http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/

Have a fabulous weekend everyone, and have fun hopping!

SweetSassyDiva Post-It Paper Blog Hop!

 Hello everyone!  Welcome to the SweetSassyDiva Post It Blog Hop.  We all can't wait to share our awesome Post-It Craft Paper projects with you.  If you've never heard of Post-it Craft paper, the explination is simple.  It's craft paper with Post-It adhesive on the back.  It sticks wonderfully, but it repositionable if you make a mistake.  It also works great in your Cuttlebug!

I used the Post-It Craft paper to alter a recipe box to store my photos in for scrapbooking.  I got the instructions for this box from Momo, and let me tell you, the Post it paper not only coordinated beautifully, it made assembling the box a SNAP!

I had made a box similar to this for another project, and it took a LOT of tape.  And to me, my ATG tape is precious.  It's not cheap and I hate to waste it.  This is where the Post It Craft paper was ESSENTIAL.  No tape, no mess, no mistakes.  All I had to do was peel off the backing and stick it where I wanted it to go on my box.  AMAZING, and such a time saver!

See the punched white border?   Yep, thats Post it Craft paper too!  It punches just as well as it cuts in the Cricut, PLUS the whole border sticks, so no using my Zig pen to get those tiny parts!


If you would like detailed instructions on how to make the boxes, check out Momos YouTube Channel for her video on how to make them.



...are you ready for some BLOG CANDY??

How about a Martha Stewart Edge Punch (donated by me)?

This Ponsettia and Vine punch is from her new Christmas Collection and makes a gorgeous die cut border!  LOVE it!

In order to be eligible to win the punch, you:
1.) Need to be a follower of my blog
2.) Need to leave a comment telling me what you would use my Post it Craft box for!

As an added bonus, all the comments from ALL the blogs on the hop will be entered to win a Post It Craft Prize Pack!

I will choose a winner of the punch on Monday, 12/6.


Thanks so much for hopping along with us!  Here's a list of the awesome blogs playing along today:

SWEETSASSYDIVA DESIGNERS!

SweetSassyDiva 

Rebecca

Carissa

Jamie

Laura

Abby 

Alma

Kristin (YOU ARE HERE!)

Jennifer

If you arrived here first, be sure to head on over to SweetSassyDiva's blog http://sweetsassydiva-gspot.blogspot.com/ to see all the wonderful projects that everyone made! 

Special thank you to Post-it for donating the wonderful blog candy!