Shop here for the Holidays!

Have you checked out my Facebook shop yet? If not, you really should. I make all types of greeting cards, home decor, Ornaments, Banners, and other small crafts. I started my Facebook page one year ago, right after we got married. It all started when I would hand out Christmas cards each year to all my friends and family, people just loved them! Well then came my wedding and I made my own invitations. People were going nuts, calling me, telling me they wanted to frame the invite. I had SO many compliments and people encouraging me to open up my own business. 

Well it is safe to say that in just one year I gained about 600 fans! This year I took another big step, I opened up my very own Etsy shop!! Please go check it out! I am now able to accept pay pal and credit cards for all the people that want to order but don't live around me. I will be able to ship anywhere in the US, so go ORDER some stuff ;) Also if you are interested in ordering anything, please look on my Facebook page first and tell me what you want, then I will add it to my Etsy shop so that I don't have to put everything on there, it gets pretty expensive when you have a lot of items to sell haha! 

OH! Here is the best part! I received one of the greatest compliments, and it was posted on a local facebook/craigslist site. This is what one of my customers said: "I'd just like to say I picked up two dozen ornaments from Kayla last weekend. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL and I cannot wait to hand them out to my gf's!!! Worth every single penny and besdies, who wouldn't want the money you work so hard to earn to go into someone else's pocket. She was super sweet and easy to deal with. DO IT! Thanks again Kayla Gerard I have had a hard time keepin my mouth shut about your stuff! LOL" 

This Holiday season PLEASE shop handmade! Nothing is better than supporting local or non- local small businesses and it just means so much more! People love handmade gifts, its more personal, and just really brings happiness to one another. So go on Etsy or shop around this year!! Stop at my shop first *wink wink*

PLEASE ADD MY ETSY SHOP TO YOUR FAVORITES & "LIKE" MY FACEBOOK PAGE!!

Busy, but inspired!

So for the last week I have just been all over the place, working, making cards, went to a wedding, a bridal shower, and out to eat with co workers. During all that, I managed to come up with some new creative ideas for cards! I somehow find some inspiration in all the chaos, and I like it. I wont tell or show you all them now but here is a sneak peek of one of the cards I made...

This is a terrible picture, and I apologize for that. But do you know what this is?? 

IT IS A SCRATCH BOARD CARD! :D

You can scratch your own art and message into it with a toothpick or scrapper of some sort and you get a colorful picture! I will be coming up with more designs to this soon, so please keep an eye out for new ones!

I finally got a really nice stamp that I can use for any occasion, a wreath. I can use it for baby showers, Birthday, Valentines day, Christmas, fall, summer, winter, spring, and literally anything else! It is such a nice touch to any card. I also got this glossy accent to use on anything to give it a more dimensional look. It also just adds a little something to your card :) 

I cannot wait to show you all more items I have created or will be creating soon! 

Have a blessed day!

Encouraging Cards!

Lately I have been really trying to aim towards bettering myself along with my business. I prayed that I would come up with new creative ways to make cards, and make some that will help encourage people, or touch their lives in a personal way. Well, I am on my way to do that! Here is a set of cards that I made :) 

I am so excited for some of my future cards and crafts, God is showing me a whole new idea and target to aim for. :D

....AND the best part about this, is they are super easy to make!! 

NEEDS

Cards

Envelopes

Card-stock

Paper punches

Hemp

Adhesive runner

Stamps 

Ink

AND YOU'RE DONE! :)

Getting Crafty

Here are a few of the cards I have made in the last 2 weeks. I haven't really spent to much time on any but I still thought I would show you some of Kayla's Kreations! If you would like to look at more cards that I have made, visit my facebook shop Kayla's Kreations! Feel free to order some! 

Thanks and God Bless

Kayla

My New Toy! :D

So today I went to Michael's for some craft supplies, and I just went to look around and I ran into all the Cricut, Cuttlebug, and Sizzix machines. I have been looking at some for a long time but I didn't have the money for them. I was actually hoping I could find something that only did embossing/ textures. So when I went to look I found this...

The Sizzix Texture Boutique!!! Perfect size, exactly what I needed, and wanted! 

I walked back and forth for over an hour deciding if I should get it or not, I didn't have a bad feeling about it or anything but I just didn't know if I wanted to spend money haha! I called my mom, and she told me to do what I thought I needed to do. So I came home with it! It is just SOOOO easy to use, so fast and makes cards look amazing! This machine is such a blessing! Here is just a basic sample of what it does...

I just wanted to show off my new blessing! Praise God for crafting! :D

<3 <3 Kayla

My fears and defeating them!

I have so many fears in life it is absolutely ridiculous! I also know I am not the only person that does, so I thought this might be some encouragement for others...

Okay, So I am the type of person that can NOT do anything alone. I will not go shopping alone, I cant go through a drive- thru unless someone else is driving, I mean I really have some issues! I am incredibly shy and I have a hard time talking to people. 

Today I had to do something I really didn't want to do, but at the same time I did... haha I will explain....

Well today I got to meet Tico & Tina and their crew! They are on the Blank Canvas Tour right now and they stopped here in Wisconsin to do some interviews, and I was nominated by my wonderful friend Julie from The Funny Thing of it is. Well Julie asked me and my heart sank because I knew I was going to be recorded and of course had to talk to people I only know from blogging. At the same time I was really excited because they are from one of my VERY favorite blogs! How could I miss the chance!!?! Well also it was for a really good reason, to encourage others to live their dreams and to push through anything! 

So I basically prayed my way through it, I was nervous and had no idea what to say, but I did it! And I give ALL the glory to God for helping me get through it and have me meet some amazing people of God. I couldn't be more thankful! God gave me courage and words to speak today.
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This picture was dawn by thee awesome Randal! It really means a lot to me, and its pretty crazy that every time I look at it, I just keep believing harder for my business! It makes me think that I will make it and this is what God wants for my life. It is a great inspiration for me, and where better to put it rather than on my order board on my desk!??! P.S... I didn't even put holes through it with the tacks, it means that much to me ;)

Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for coming and actually making a difference in my life. Thanks for pulling me out of my shell!

P.S. Sorry for my awkwardness and me talking in circles... I do that when I am nervous. Now I can work on fixing that! haha! <3 <3

God is my Inspiration!

I have been making a ton of different cards lately, mostly for orders but some just because, and while I was making some I just kept coming up with new ideas and new ways of doing things. It became so easy for me to just make them. Lately I have been having an inspiration block and out of NO WHERE I had the most amazing ideas!

Like this one for example, a HUGE hit! I had so many compliments! :)

Have you ever caught fireflies in a mason jar and watch them light up? I had this awesome idea for a card... instead of fireflies, I used music notes! It was like having musical inspiration bottled up and just letting it all out! I thought it would be a cute idea for a card... 

I think God is really showing me that this is what I should be doing! I haven't used any pictures or magazines to find inspiration, all if it is coming from my very own brain >.< I have been just so blown away at what I come up with and just keep saying/asking myself  "I made that? That's one of my cards?" God is SOO good!

Cards!

I know I haven't been on here in a few months but I am going to try my hardest to keep an updated page for the people that don't have Facebook. Here are a few of the cards I have created :) More to come! If you would like to see more of what I do,the link is below >.<

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kaylas-Kreations/188802244535898

Birthday Banner...

For some reason, I really like the idea of banners! Birthday, Christmas, Wedding, Easter, and everyday kind of banners. So I decided to make some :)

I just started my card business back in October and haven't really done to many things to help my business going. So I thought since banners are kind of popular right now, why not make some! I just started so obviously they will look nicer as I go :) I want to get into doing these for ALL occasions!

                Here is one I did for my mothers Birthday!

The Banners I make are all done by me, with my Cricut Expression. 

Example: Basic Christmas Banner!

Right now, starting price for my banners are $5.00, if you want one custom made it may go up in price. All banners may vary in price depending on what is made and how many letters.

Check them out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kaylas-Kards/188802244535898

What to do with broken Crayons...

I saw this idea a long time ago on Tumblr, what to do with your broken crayons...

I thought "hey that's a cute way to recycle old crayons" and had to try it myself! So I went out to Walmart and bought a heart shaped silicone mold (from the Valentines Day section) for only $3.50! You can go to Hobby Lobby or Micheal's for them too, or for different shaped molds. Since its Valentines Day coming up I thought I would make hearts. 

DIRECTIONS

All you do it take your broken down crayons, take off the wrapper if it has any, and break the crayons in 1/2 inch size pieces or smaller to fit and melt down faster in the mold. You fill each mold to the top or how ever thick you want your crayons to be, of different colors. The thicker you want them the longer it will take to bake. What I did was took about 8 crayons to make it bigger, I would say for most 4-6 crayons should be plenty. Turn your oven on to 250 degrees, and put your mold with crayons in for 20 minutes, if you used a smaller amount (4-6 crayons) start at 15 minutes and keep checking to see if the crayons are melted. Also use a baking sheet to but the mold on so when you grab it, it wont dump all over or get messy. Once they are melted, take them out of the oven and let them cool on a flat surface. Once they are cool and hard, just flip them out of the silicone mold and THERE YOU HAVE IT!! :) 

This is a super easy, fun craft for the kids! Perfect for birthday party favors, school valentines, to keep kids entertained at a wedding, or just something fun they can color with! 

Send a little love...

Valentines/Anniversary Cards that I made :)

What to do with Scrabble tiles...

I had the idea to use my old Scrabble game for something, I just didn't know what I wanted to make. I had an old game just sitting there and I wanted to do something creative with it. So I made some cards with it, some cute little valentines. But I felt like I should be doing more, maybe jewelry? I looked on Etsy and EVERYONE that had Scrabble tiles, where using them for jewelry. I didn't want to copy the trend.

So instead of making what everyone else was making, I saw a really cool idea, and something that could be of great use. I saw the idea on Pinterest of how to make a coaster out of your Scrabble tiles. There were a few different ways that I have seen them made. So I decided to make mine a little bit different. 

Scrabble is my favorite game, so why not make your favorite game into something awesome for your house!? All the coasters I was seeing, were only 4x4 and made up of words describing things to eat or drink. I wanted to make mine with inspiration, or some daily encouragement, and a little bigger... 5x5 is much nicer ;)

These have also been made different ways, some use cork on the bottom, some use wood, or hot glue. I have also seen where you are able to take the tiles off and make new words with it like it was an actual game. I decided not to do it like that because it requires more supplies and I didn't want these to cost more than they should, but it was a really neat idea!

I also want to do some window boxes with the tiles, or even magnets for my refrigerator. There are SO many creative ways to use them, just take the time to create it! :) 

I make custom coasters, as long as it's 5x5 it doesn't matter, you also don't have to fill in all the spots, you can use blank ones or make it look like your playing the game. 

Handmade Scrabble Coasters, made by me, are $6.00 each or $20.00 for a set of 4! 

Check out "Kayla's Kards" for details! :) 

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CHECK OUT MY CARD AND CRAFT SHOP! THE LINK IS ON THE LEFT SIDEBAR! <3