I Myth you!

Hi friends!

It's Monday, 

even though I rarely know what day of the week it is anymore :)  

The sun is out, school is out, who's counting?!

I do so love the lazy days of summer

with an empty schedule and lots of time to just be.

I took advantage a few weeks ago of the one-day-only flash sale

at Taylored Expressions for this AH-DOR-A-BLE 

mythical grumplings stamp and die combo set.

Both were offered together for a wonderful sale price - yes, please!

It's so hilarious!

(I actually needed just the Yeti stamp 

so the other stamps are like a bonus!)

For today's card, I'm using the funny unicorn

and adding to a background of multi-colored rubber band stamps.

This is the technique lover's for today at Splitcoaststampers 

and I love Oldies But Goodies!

It's fun to bring back techniques we tried and are now trying again!

The idea to add a stitched cloud came from one of my earlier cards

back in May.

I

I enjoyed making it for spring card camp ~

 and, as they say, if it works!

I paired my unicorn, colored with copics, with ranger distress inks

as I happened to have the colors needed:

Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet and Mermaid Lagoon.

I used an old acrylic block and borrowed some tinier rubber bands from

my granddaughter, Alice  

The center is cut with an MFT Rounded stitched die

and I left the rest of the card without a back panel because it's already busy!

And that's my mess my card for today!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Big hugs, bigger blessings!
~Kelly

Card entered for consideration to
Crafty Cardmakers - make your own background
Get Creative - Fantasy characters

3 cards from VSN at Splitcoasttstampers :)

Hi friends!

Splitcoaststampers is having the Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) this weekend

and it's a fast paced, card making bonanza!

For a few hours on Friday and Saturday,

the hostesses have themes for a card and one hour to complete the card

before the next challenge begins.

I was Ms. Friday Night  at 7 pm!

And nope!

I didn't require wearing a bikini ~

that was optional!

hee hee!

Since the theme is centered around a summer playlist,

I chose an older song from 1960 by Brian Hyland:

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini!

This song always brings back happy memories of summer time

when this song would play on the radio!

Here is my card using MFT Stamps Pure Innocence Beach Day.

Completion time:  36 minutes

Next,

Shelly's challenge ~ gradient color.

Completion time:  43 minutes

I used my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors with watercolor sheet paper,

and then die cut it with a die-namic from MFT Stamps.

And last, 

Annette's challenge: Fishing in the dark!

Completion time:  23 minutes

I used Avery Elle Hello Chum - such a fun stamp set!

My son wants to go deep sea fishing and night boating - mama says no!

This is just a few cards that I've made ~

and hopefully will be able to make a few more!

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ~Kelly

Mini card camp ~ Final Wrap up with Barb!

Hi friends!

Today is the final day of our friends mini card camp

and today's card idea is by:  Barb!

Barb's tutorial today is stencils, waterbrush markers and a word sentiment ~

easy and fun!

We hope in some way our little card camp has given you some inspiration :)

While it was just a fun summer idea while we are all homebound,

we loved sharing these crafty ideas for your cardmaking and papercrafting fun!

I'm thankful for the ladies that joined me each day this week ~

it's nice to have friends that you can craft with far away

AND ones that when you have a crazy idea, they say what time!

For my stencil, I used the Funky Rainbow from Picket Fence Studios

and Karin markers on 120# cardstock.

 I added a bold hello 

with vellum and black cardstock.

The small sentiment stamp is from Simon Says Stamps

and was fitting for this card :)

 This was so fun to make and I love the simplicity of it ~
yet it really makes a bold hello statement!

Thank you for your visits this week!
Here is the line up of camp counselors and the day we had classes:

Monday/June 22 ~ Kelly @ Sandcastlestamper

Tuesday/June 23 ~ Darlene @ Accordingtobijou

Wednesday/June 24 ~ Jeanette @ Creativeplay

Thursday/June 25 ~ Barb @ inkingintoretirement

Here is a final look at my card:

 Big hugs, bigger blessings!
~Kelly

I'll enter my card to:  Word Art Wednesday for consideration!

CCEE2026 ~ National Bad Eagle Day

 Hiya friends!

Today is self portrait day!

And this is mine ...

before my Starbucks! 

Just kidding, of course :)

(it's my face before any coffee!)

Hee hee!

There's a new challenge at the CCEE Stampers

and this is Vicky's challenge for us:

Today we celebrate the Bald Eagle. 

 Make a card with a bird on it....extra credit if it is a Bald Eagle.  

My daughter-in-law loves Eagles.  She and her son go to our local lake to spot the Eagles high up in the poles.  The size of their nests is unreal and seeing one in real life is one of life's pleasures!

Have a fun, creative day!

 This is my card this week ~ not quite a bald eagle 

but I thought it was such a funny stamp.  

This is a wooden stamp from Art Impressions called The Buzzard.

My dad would have gotten SUCH a kick out of a card like this!

This card will go right into my giveaway stash 

and hopefully someone will get a kick out of it!

Please be sure to stop at the CCEE Stampers blog 

and see the gorgeous line up of eagle and bird cards this week. 

 If you use a gallery like Splitcoaststampers,

use the keyword CCEE2026 

or add your card to the link up at the bottom of this blog post!

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings 

~Kelly

Card entered for consideration to:  Art Impressions Challenge - Make me Laugh!

Mini card camp - Day 3 with Jeanette!

Hi friends!

Today is the 3rd of 4 days of mini card camp ~ 

tomorrow is our final class and wrap up day!

I hope you've been inspired by the cards, tutorials and inspiration 

from the 'camp counselors' :)

Today's class is taught by:  Jeanette!

Her theme for today is 

Modified Stencil - Modified Silhouette

For this challenge, the idea is to take a background die

and use the die cut as a stencil.

The addition is a stamp blocked out as a silhouette

and the contrast is really a great visual!

I've made 2 cards for this challenge ~ one per the requirement

and the other one with the negative die cut.

It was such a pretty background that I didn't want it to go to waste!

I used Pink Fresh Studio's Escape the Ordinary stamps and die background

and the Distress ink in Speckled Egg and Iced Spruce,

blended with my ranger ink mini tool.

Here are my 2 cards individually.

The required stenciled background card :

And the reverse using the die cut that was embossed:

When it came to my color selections,

and to highlight the colored mountains, I used black as a nod to Jeanette

who uses it often on her cards.

Here's a final look!

We invite you to play along and use the classes as a springboard

for your card making and inspiration!

The camp classes and dates this week are:

Monday/June 22 ~ Kelly (me!) @ Sandcastlestamper

Tuesday/June 23 ~ Darlene @ Accordingtobijou

Wednesday/June 24 ~ Jeanette @ Creativeplay

Thursday/June25 ~ Barb @ inkingintoretirement
.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings!

~Kelly

Mini card camp ~ Day 2 with Darlene!

hello!

It's Day 2 at the summer mini card camp

and our camp counselor for today is:  Darlene!

She's the very same sister that came up with the group name :)

Her class is bursting with fun ~

with a create your own background AND a fancy fold.

Her step by step tutorial and amazing photos

 (perfect for me since I'm a visual learner!)

made it a fun and interactive learning experience.

Darlene asked us to go on a Scavenger Hunt 

and find an item not usually used for stamping.

I wanted to keep it original and not do something I've already done

(bubble wrap, mailers, corrugated cardboard, cups!)

so I looked around and spied 2 things!

One you'll see today - the other (which I absolutely loved) another day.

So what item did I find?

Empty thread spools!

I saw my sewing kit, a treasured gift from my momma,

and inside it had empty thread spools

 for the countless pinned posts I have on Pinterest

that I was saving for a rainy day ~ today was that day.

Here's my card with the background, dipped in 3 brightly colored inks.

Because I used Distress oxide inks, it took a little while to dry.

Once that was done, the real measuring and figuring came into play ~

I went old school and used my Cuttlebug where it was easier to line up plates.

I used a Paper Smooches stamp and inked it with the same ink

(Peacock Feathers) to match the background image.

This is my finished card and video!

I love how vibrant it is!

Very "Kelly colors" :)

We invite you to play along and use the classes as a springboard

for your card making and inspiration!

The camp classes and dates this week are:

Monday/June 22 ~ Kelly (me!) @ Sandcastlestamper

Tuesday/June 23 ~ Darlene @ Accordingtobijou

Wednesday/June 24 ~ Jeanette @ Creativeplay

Thursday/June25 ~ Barb @ inkingintoretirement
.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings!

~Kelly

TPB: This land ....

Hi friends!

It's almost the 4th of July here in the USA 

and I'm a patriotic vibe :)

It also happens to be my son's favorite holiday ~

 yes, he loves it even more than Christmas!

Today's card is sharing a stamp from The Project Bin.

Each year we plan an outing to the lake and watch fireworks at night,

but not this year.

We will be staying home, safe and sound!

  

In the spirit of Independence Day here in America,

I created this card using the super fun stamp set Red, White and Boom!

and a balloon dienamic from My Favorite Things.

You may have seen it when I used it here on this post 

and it's so versatile - it's back again today with a patriotic theme.

I used a small snippet of star paper I had left over from a recent project ~
a win/win!

Here's the stamp set in it's entirety:

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ~

Kelly

I'll enter this to:  Simon Says Stamps - Stars

and Pixie's Crafty Playground #380 - snippet paper!

Welcome to summer Mini Card Camp ~ Day 1!

Hi friends!

There is something super exciting on my blog today!

It's the first day of summer mini card camp!

Right about now, my son would be in the mountains 

at a 2 week Boy Scout rafting/camping trip

and our church would have hosted Vacation Bible School (VBS).

This gave me an idea!

 Create a 4 day mini card camp,

gather up some 'camp counselors' and teach a class a day!

Each day, myself and 3 friends will bring you a tutorial taught by us

with an original card design, materials you most likely have at home,

and enthusiasm to create a simple project during this stay-at-home time.

The classes are FREE, relatively quick and easy to create and

 we invite you to craft along with us each day 

this week, Monday-Thursday, June 22-25.

Today's lesson:  C.A.M.P. ~ Bold Color, No Color!

For each of the letters in CAMP, 

use each letter to build your card including a stamp with an A!

Materials needed: 

• cardstock, both colored and white (images)
• circle die
• any stamp that starts with the letter 'A' (dies optional, you can fussy cut!)
• paper cutter
• stamping tool or acrylic block
• ink
• adhesive
• optional:  Signo white pen and vellum

Let's get right to it!

We - as cardmakers - LOVE TO COLOR, amiright?!

The idea behind this look is not only to do something out of the ordinary

but using a bold background filled with a lot of color 

gives contrast to the images left uncolored.

The idea for this card came to me when my 2nd daughter, my son and I

were at a night viewing of the planets through a telescope at a local event.

The sky, a brilliant shade of blue with a huge super moon,

left a white glow on all of us on the ground.

It was quite something!

C = cardstock, circle die, clouds

A = animal stamps

M = midnight, My Favorite Things stamps, mounting foam adhesive

P = paper trimmer

To create my card, I started with a base layer of Neenah Solar White cardstock

and did a quick distress oxide blend to create a night sky.

You can also use any paper for this ~ grab a quick piece of DSP!

Once that was dry, I did the same for the moon with slightly darker shades

and dotted the moon with the white gel pen for star-lights.

For the shape, I used a medium size spellbinders circle die.

Using a larger die, I cut 3 half pie shapes with green cardstock

and layered them to resemble hills.

Finally, using a cloud die, I cut the cloud shapes with the vellum (white cardstock works great, too!) and adhered those to the top.

Finally, I stamped/die cut the animals, tent and camp sign using black ink,

white cardstock and my Gemini Jr.

I used 2 different stamp sets from My Favorite Things to create a camp scene,

Warn and Fuzzy Friends and Forest Friends.

Layering them on the card was simply which way the critters were facing

and the inside sentiment reads:

May the FOREST be with you!

We invite you to craft along with us and allot yourself an hour or 2

 to gather supplies and make your own version of this camp card:

Bold Color, No Color!

It's a fun and wonderful way to make a few new cards this week 

and there are NO BUGS at this camp :)

 I can't wait to see what you create!

Each day, we will post our class cards are 7 am

and you can craft along with us and use our tutorials as your guide!

The line up of camp classes and instructors this week are:

Monday/June 22 ~ Kelly (me!) @ Sandcastlestamper

Tuesday/June 23 ~ Darlene @ Accordingtobijou

Wednesday/June 24 ~ Jeanette @ Creativeplay

Thursday/June25 ~ Barb @ inkingintoretirement

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ...

~Kelly