Recycled Artistry ~ January!

 

Today's card is straight from the trash!

Almost :)

  Hi friends!   

One of my new shares for 2025 will be all about garbage.

In January, I shared here that I'll be introducing

 2 new blog series: this is the 1st!

When I posted this card on Instagram,

the respond was incredibly warm and kind!

I had so much positive feedback and I enjoyed the card so much

(full disclosure: I don't like many of my cards 😔) 

Although I'm downsizing my IG card groups, 

the idea of creating with anything recycled, upcycled, reclaimed,

 pull from the trash, trash-to-treasured, etc is SO ME!

My friend Dawn saw my card on Instagram ,

and we chatted, planning the kickoff to the collab.

We posted an upcycled card together 

and then suddenly 2 became many! 

Here's January:

I used the packaging from my Atlenew Adhesive Foam Tape 👇

(note:  this is not my photo, it's from the Altenew website!)

After looking for a focal point, I took a variety of dies

and made different shapes to build a card.

I especially loved the back of the packaging with the small envelope

image with the heart and wording!

I LOVE the idea of being able to use something 

that would be heading to the landfill.

While I don't like clutter or messes,

 I do try to keep things that look like I could use them craftily.

 I tuck them into a file folder until an idea strikes!

This will be a trashy fun year ahead!

Thanks for stopping by!

AECP ~ Celebrate Stencil Techniques!

 Hi friends!

Today I'm sharing a cheerful stenciled card 

bursting with color and technique!

 I'm excited to have completed my card for the next course 

in the AECP Altenew Academy Level 1 journey

that I began in late 2024 and am half way through!

This exciting course was taught by the talented

Laurel Beard and it's all about ways to use your stencils.

I started out with the Build-A-Garden Morning Asters kit

which has a stamp, die, stencils and mini blending brush.

Laurel encourages us to use stencils in creative ways

and wow, she is an entertaining instructor!

I used the stencils in the kit to create a bold flower birthday card,

starting with stamping with black ink and die cutting the images.

Once I had the images ready, I used the matching stencils

and mini blending brush and yellow hues of ink

 from Deco Garden and Pocketful of Sunshine sets.

Once the flowers were blended from the stencils, 

I moved on to the leaves and stems using distress oxide inks.

I also added a background panel using the 

Dotted Starburst Debossing Die.

Here's one final look:

I loved Laurel's energy and how she encourages us to make things

 our own, which is a belief I've always stood by.

For example, make your own embossing paste colors for stencils -

mix in ANY color ink.

If you don't like it, remix it until you get a desired result.

And her techniques of lighter to darker make SO MUCH sense!

I look forward to my next class!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

entered to:  Stencil Crazy Fun ~ Hello

It's a Kell-of-a-mess: January!

 Hi friends!

How about another session of messy card creating adventures!

I adore art and creating in crazy new ways 

and adding in a little messy fun ...

hence the title of this series from last year:

Kell-of-a-mess!

Once upon a time, I had lots of ideas for groups

but had to step away to my busy, wonderful life journey.

My schedule freed up a wee bit 

so I've revisited some of my old stompin' grounds ...

like messy art!

And wow was this one ever so ...

my fingers and hands had mica powder for a whole day!

I used the Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals

to create a few backgrounds.

I've used the PandM and Ken Oliver but gurrrrrl.

These are shimmer and potent!

When gramma used to say "Honey, a little goes a long way!'

now I get it. 

Just a dash of this and SHAZAM!

Lots of color, lots of sparkle and shimmah! 

For this card, I used 2 different sets and matched my cardstock

to the colors pulled from the background.

This adorable All Inside stamp set from Ellen Hutson

and it will be a cute Valentine to mail 💜

Thanks for stopping by!

3M vibes for '25!

 

Hey friends!

One of the FUN groups that I'm thrilled to be part of is the 3M,

also known as the 3 Musketeers mystery image card group.

Jeanette was the mastermind behind this group's creation

and I think this is the 10th .. maybe 11th year together?!

How it works:

We take turn selecting an image,

we stamp it out and mail the identical image to the other 2 friends.

We all create a card based on that one mystery image

and I was up for January - surprise!

Note to self *check emails and ask questions!*

(Always check the company's Angel Policy on sharing!)

What I chose:

I decided to go with Pink and Main clear stamps *Be A Mermaid*

to swim into the new year.

I created my card thinking of my little granddaughter ~

she was HUGE into mermaids when I bought this stamp set

(now I think we've moved on to unicorns!)

My card:

I started with a sun ray stencil and ink blended an underwater

background.  Once it was dry, I splattered white paint

to give the illusion of water bubbles.

The mermaid and her friends and sea kelp are colored with

my prismacolor markers 

and the sentiment is stamped on the ocean floor :)

Be sure to check out how Barb and Jeanette created a card, too.

We post on the 9th of every month,

 more or less :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Birds of a feather!

 Hi tweet friends!

Today's card is for the birds!

Literally!

It's National Bird Day (January 5)

My sweet friend Melissa is hosting her wacky holidays

 card group again this year and I'm here for it!

 I just love searching those fun/wild holidays that don't get

enough recognition through-out the year.

This month, I went with National Bird Day,

celebrated every year on January 5th.

 I used my Ellen Hutson Better Hero Arts collab 

stamp and die set, circa 2018!

While I'm not impressed with how my card turned out,

I do love the color combination of the teals and greens 💚💙

Here's another look 

AND ways YOU can celebrate our feathered friends:

Way you can celebrate and help:

* Go birdwatching!  I often bring a sketchbook with me.

* Build birdhouses/feeders

* Donate to a bird conservation

* Spread awareness ~ share about habitat loss, 

pollution, climate change, human activity, 

reduce pesticides

Thanks for stopping by!

I'll see you tomorrow!

1 + 12 ~ Thrives in '25!

 

Hi sweet friends!

Welcome to The Era's Tour! One Plus Twelve,

 my FAVORITE personal card challenge of. the. year!

( I know, I know - not s'posed to have favorites

but I do!  Shhhhhh!)

Once upon a time, I had an idea to take ONE stamp - 

and ONLY one stamp - 

and use it once a month.

This is my 7th year of this challenge ..

that's like a whole CHILD! :)

We spend so much on our crafty supplies 

and often would get a stamp/die/product and use it.

Just once.

So to challenge myself to use my products more than once,

 I came up with

One (stamp) Plus Twelve (months) of cards!

So, you will see today's stamp 11 more times this year.

I invited my dear friends Barb and Jeanette to join me way back 

with this crazy idea and and they said WHAT TIME DO WE POST!

Aren't friends amazing?

This year, I chose another floral.

I ADORED it when it was released during Stamptember

and when chosing a stamp that I want to create cards with 

12 times, I thought of what cards would someone want to receive?

I donate most of my cards to a local nursing home

so flowers are always a joy.

Introducing 2025's Alex Siberia's Stamptember Close At Heart

as my 1 + 12 Thrives in '25:

I decided to ink a distressed background with white ink 

as a contrast against the peachy pinks.

In hindsight (20/20!), I should have heat embossed it

so *note to self!

and use the matching die cut for this floral.

The background is a simple watercolor panel I had in my pile

and I added a lattice die frame underneath.

This set comes with a few sentiments which I'll be switching up

throughout the year but this one says Love You!

I'm excited that this year my friends are joining me again

and you can see what

 Barb and Jeanette 

chose and created by heading to their blogs.

As always, you can find me on Instagram!

Here's to a fabulously creative 2025!

2025 ~ Word of the Year + Crafty Goals!

 Welcome 2025!

Each year, I share on my blog a word of the year 

that becomes my guide in this journey called life.

I don't usually seek a word, it always manages to find me,

usually in the most obscure times like out jogging or sitting in church.

True story!

This year was almost different.

I had another word in mind, one I thought was 'mine.'

I even took the proverbial 'Dayspring quiz!' like every year 

and it gave me a completely different second word.

Oh boy.

So, I sat with the first OG word for a bit, marinating in it ...

until one night, something absolutely life changing happened.

It tore to the core of my soul.

I sobbed for 2 hours, absolutely broken.

And finally I said "Heavenly Father, I can't do this!"

And I swear on my father's grave I heard, "Yes, you can.'

(to which I literally looked up to the dark sky

having a 'Are You There God' Margaret moment.)

And I felt ... peace.

PEACE.

There you are.

My little word.

I found you 💚

It reminded me that while we might be in the trenches,

 it doesn't mean the battle can't be won.

Peace, for me, is living an abundant life 

and growing on a personal level,

and building a vision for goals that brings harmony on my journey.

Inner peace is incredibly healing.

I just have to seek it, live it.

PEACE.

AND FUNNY THING!

Not too long ago, I bought a tshirt on a whim (TikTok Made Me Buy It)

and the t-shirt that says "If it costs your peace, it's too expensive."

PEACE.

There it is again, that word.

And I was still marinating in the other word when I bought it.

So, today ... I put it on :)

January 1, 2025

Oh! And peep the new hair cut!

I also chopped off 10 inches of hair.

I left to get groceries, walked past a salon, went in

 and said chop off my hair!  

I was in a moment of total crisis and chaos but my stylist 

 ~ who I met for the first time & luckily didn't judge 

or call for a Baker Act ~

 took my tears and insanity in stride AND gave me a bomb AF hair chop!

Total whim but at least I'll go into 2025 a few pounds lighter!

I also forgot the groceries but that's another story 😏

CRAFTY GOALS!

2025 has some in with the new, out with the old.

A peek at my vision board for a visual here!

* I'm delighted to be on the Whimsy Stamps design team,

continuing onward with another year! Thank you! 💗

* I was invited to join the Crafty Meraki DT - me?! 

After the shock, I said YES! and will navigate this new adventure.

* One Plus Twelve card challenge ~ my favorite card challenge!

It's one that I created with the idea of stretching

our stamps and I just adore the challenge.

This will be the 7th year.

One stamp, Twelve months of cards!

* 3 Musketeers mystery image card creation group continues!

* Cards For All Seasons Instagram Wednesday card group!

We have rebranded but still going strong! 

* Kell-of-a-mess (formerly Hot Mess cards)

I'm returning to the fun of making a mess, but only on cards!

* 2 NEW challenges! I have ideas upon ideas 

and am excitedto bring this to fruition!

  My brain is always on hyper-drive

and the things I come up with are absolutely wild! TBA ~ Stay tuned!

I've decided to cut back on all the IG hops due to time restrictions

and possibly shelf my YouTube channel.  

Between the hauls, unboxings and cards

 (why I started my channel in the first place),

my cards were the least favorite among my viewers.

EEK!  

Low viewer count, lots of thumbs down ... harsh!

I go back and forth of restarting videos

so that's an 'maybe pile' for now and

I'll be adding more REELS to Instagram instead!

Thanks for making it this far 💗

I wish you a year ahead filled with all the blessings!

Peace!