Author Archives: clkondo

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About clkondo

I am a teacher, mother, wife, and LOVER of all things papercrafting. It's been my sanity (and sometimes insanity) for the past 10 years. I am an Independent Stampin' UP Demonstrator...which helps me pay for my passion...
Oct13

First Birthdays!

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In Hawaii, a baby’s first birthday is a BIG deal.  It goes back to plantation days where infant mortality was high and if a child made it till his first birthday, it was likely to survive.  So, there was a big celebration.  Well, that tradition has lived on and is still celebrated today.  So, many of my card customers are looking for first birthday cards.  So!  I made some!

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I LOVE this owl.  Made with the Playful Pals stamp set!  I love how he peeks out from behind the 1!  The nice thing about the photo-polymer stamp sets is that you can kind of ‘shape’ the stamps to be how you want.  So, I was able to add a little more ‘curve’ to the ‘look who’s turning’ to make it perfectly fit the circle punch out.

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And of course, the numbers set is fabulous for these important ‘numbered’ birthdays. So, here’s to the first birthday and the wish for many, many more!

 

Oct9

The Relatives Came

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The Relatives Came

So, every summer we make a trek across the globe from Hawaii to Kansas.  With children.  2 year old twins. (ok, we’ve only had 2 year old twins once, but they were 1 and 3 months the summers before this past one).  And, oh my.  Any parent knows you kind of have to PREP the children for such an, um, adventure.  Anyway… So, I did.  I came across this fabulous book in my oldest’s child’s book stash (no idea where it came from, but I am so glad we have it).  “The Relatives Came” by Cynthia Rylant.  It’s an awesome book of family fun and how exciting it is to be together and to make memories with the whole family.  This reminds me of the purpose of these exhausting treks so, I decided to use it to make a little countdown.

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And, of course, I decided get a book for and make  a count-down for all the relatives too, so they could look forward to this with anticipation.

I wish I would have taken a picture of the countdown calendars I sent to the relatives.  It was cuter.  Had days until ‘the relatives come’ instead of ‘Kansas’.  But, of course, I decided to do this about 30 hours before it had to be in the mail…so I was finishing them in the car on the way to the post office. Cause that’s how I roll.  Anyway.  Go buy the book.  Call your ‘relatives’.  Enjoy family.

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For the record, we made it there.  And back.  And, I am happy that I will never have to travel with 2 year olds again.

REALTIVES ARE COMING!

RELATIVES ARE COMING!

And there’s going to be a whole lot of hugging and

laughing and eating until the moment they leave!

(that about sums it up)

Oct5

A Cookie Cutter Halloween

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October is here, ya’ll.  IT’S HERE.  Ready or not.  So, today is to help you get ready.  20160927_193418

 

This is a super fast little project to get those favors made for the kids’ classes.  And, the pencils?  Target Dollar Spot.  The most amazing place in the world.

This favor uses the fabulous new glassine bags from Stampin’ Up! They are food safe, but I decided to be nice to ALL the innocent and not give candy.  🙂

The mummy couldn’t be easier.  Stamp, punch, done.  I chose it specifically because it didn’t need coloring or anything but you could do that if you wanted.  There are other cute images in this Cookie Cutter Halloween stamp set, but we were totally going for fast and mass-production.  Add some googly eyes (or not) and the little binder clip (another fabulous new SU product) some paper scraps and you are DONE!  The sentiment is from Spooky Fun.  It’s a cute and perfect little set to keep to use every year.  Cute words and images that will coordinate for every Halloween.

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I saw on someone’s pinterest making the little pumpkin out of a circle punch, the jack-o-lantern face and a stapled piece of the kraft rope trim.  JUST LOVE IT.  Could make millions of jack-o-lanterns.  And WAY less messy than carving one.

Quick.  Get some made today cause it’s coming… the end of October is coming…  fast.

Oct3

Go Pink!

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Go Pink!

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Welcome!  This is the FIRST EVER Ultimate Pink blog hop!  It’s PINK MONDAY in honor of breast cancer awareness month.  Stampin’ Up demonstrators all over the planet wanted to join together to make the interwebs pink.  Pink.  In honor of those before us and those who will follow who have to fight this ugly disease.  Pink.  Cause it’s beautiful.  And these women are beautiful. So there’s no better reason to go pink.

In keeping with the theme, I decided to use Pop of Paradise and Pop of Pink Designer Series Paper!

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I LOVE the drama of pink and black together.  And it doesn’t even matter the pink!  Light pink works, dark pink works, bright pink… the options are endless.

I’m writing to you from the great state of Hawaii and one of the ‘unofficial’ symbols of our islands is the pineapple!  I love pineapple.  It is delicious.  So, when this stamp set came out, I knew I had to have it!

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And, though one doesn’t usually imagine a pineapple pink, I JUST LOVE IT.  It’s fun, different, and cheery!  A perfect way to send a ‘thank you’ greeting.

The little thank you banner that comes in this set is so fun.  Though Stampin’ UP! has an endless supply of thinlits, this sadly isn’t one of them.  However, the hand cutting is VERY quick.  Only takes a couple seconds.  Not nearly as hard as you’d think.  The pink used here is Melon Mambo.

And, a couple of scores/punches on the envelope punch board and you have a custom envelope that is sure to brighten anyone’s mailbox.  The size of this card is 5.5×3.5  Sure, it’d fit in the normal A-2 card envelope, BUT WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO DO THAT???!!!  When you can use such fabulous DSP to make a custom, form-fitting envelope!??

I originally tried a white card base for this card, but decided the black adds so much more drama.  Happy drama is always welcome.

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So, Thanks for joining us today!  And, go pink this month too… make a pink card, wear a pink shirt!

To move to the next person in the blog tour, click the frog box just below:


Oct2

Fall Leaves

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If you’ve been following these little calendar posts, you will probably have noticed that I am a FAN of the Lighthearted Leaves stamp set (and coordinating framelits).  HUGE FAN.

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So, It was a no-brainer when trying to decide what to use for October…  And, the corrugated cardstock!!  LOVE IT.  The background lines are from the Chalk Lines stamp set…  You notice, that cover for the calendar is the same everything…just a different background paper color… imageHead on over to see what Anne and Cheryl have for you!

Oct1

WORLD CARD-MAKING DAY 2016!!

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Today is World Card Making Day!  Which is a fabulous day!  Everyone should make a card.  Do it.  Today.  It’s therapeutic.  If you cannot make a card, at least send a card.  Take back the snail mail from ads and circulars. Communicate via pen and paper.  Support a post man (disclaimer:  my father-in-law is a retired postman, however no money exchanged hands in this endorsement… 🙂 )

Anyway, here is what I have in honor of World Card-making Day!

20160928_162352I just love this succulent stamp set!!  It’s called Live, Love, Grow.  It’s just the perfect set for world card-making day.  Cause it’s FAST.  You can make a bunch and get them sent out right quick!

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I am in love with the copper thread.  This is a new color addition to the thread line this year and it is just fabulous.  Perfect for fall.

And, you just have to see how I decorated the envelopes.  I found these perfect stamps, (SHHHHH, they aren’t from Stampin’ Up! but they were so cute I could NOT resist.)

 

In honor of the occasion, I’m going to do a little prize give-away.  Comment with the first name of someone you will send a card to today and I will put your name into a drawing for a pack of cards (this succulent card included).  You must comment by Sunday Night (Oct 2) to be considered for the giveaway.  I will contact the winner on Monday!

And, Of course SU! could not let this day go by with out some fanfare.  Check out their specials in honor of WCMD:  wcmd_flyer_demo_oct0116_us

ALSO:  For the whole month of October, all Designer Series papers are on sale:  buy 3 get one free!  This is a fabulous time to stock up!!

Ok!  Enough reading!  Go get making cards!  And send cards!

 

 

Sep1

Awesomely Artistic September

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September brings this beautiful bouquet of flowers…  From the Awesomely Artistic stamp set!  Such a beautiful set of flowers.  image

 

As an aside, I’ve seen this stamp used as part of the new ‘coloring book’ craze….  the detailed outline image allows for the ‘zen’ coloring.  Stamping then coloring!  Couldn’t be more fun!imageAnne and Cheryl have something fun for September as well!

Aug1

Bordering Blooms

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I love mixing a neutral and a bright color!  It adds a great contrast and pop to the project… this is the case with August!!image

 

 

This Bordering Blooms stamp set is SUPER fast and easy to use.  They are longs trips of images and perfectly spaced to do the outside images in one step and the inside in another set!  Tip Top Taupe and Daffodil Delight are the colors used here.  I am a Kansas Girl.  And, these little flowers faintly remind me of sunflowers (my FAVORITE).  And, August is a good month for sunflowers!

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Click on over to see what Anne and Cheryl have made for you!

Jul1

Oh Happy Day

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Oh Happy Day!!  July 4th is definitely a happy day!  It is when we can reflect on the freedoms we so enjoy….  and it also gives us time to pause and reflect on how we earned that freedom… by the sacrifice of so many… past and present…  I am so thankful…image

 

 

This little Banner Banter set is perfect for little flags.  I LOVE banners…  So festive.imageSpend some time with those you love enjoying the freedoms we have… and remember to thank someone who continues to sacrifice so we can enjoy those freedoms…

Go see what Anne and Cheryl have for you!

 

Jun1

Summer time is HERE

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To a teacher, the arrival of June always means the arrival of relaxation, lazy days, and sweet, sweet summer.  (well, with littles, that’s not always the case, but life IS less hectic during the summer).image

 

 

So, I love using this leaf stamp from the Lighthearted Leaves stamp set (now retired) in a bit of a ‘non-traditional’ way (pinks???).  But, I love it!!  It’s cheerful and bold and fun…  all that summer is.  imageHead over to see what Anne and Cheryl have for you!