TAG! You're it!

 Hi friends!

Tag, You're it!

Today is the start of a new series:  Tags & Techniques!

The idea is to find and create a tag based on a new technique 

or one that you've tried and loved,

create any size/shape tag and mark the back with the name,

 technique, how-to, and any specifics like supplies or colors.

For October:  Ink Smooshing handmade tool!

I know, ink smooshing has been around since the dawn of time!

But this month's technique, first shown by NB Cards on Youtube,

showed a tutorial on how to make your own ink smoosher.

1.  Plastic bag

2.  Paper towels

3. Tape or twine to tie off the top of the bag!

EASY PEASY!

I don't have a video because planning a wedding is exhausting!

I didn't film it!  

BUT here's a quick eyeball look at the smoosher (upper right).

I used Whimsy Stamps products on top of this tag!

The tag itself is made with Whimsy Stamps mini slim tags die set 

and I used 4 distress oxide inks for the base:

Carved Pumpkin, Wild Honey, Fossilized Amber and Ripe Persimmon.

I think in hindsight just 3 would have been perfect

but my Type A ADHD self doesn't know when to leave things alone!

The ADORABLE grumpy guy on the front is Grumpin Pumpkins

clear stamp and die set.

Finally, there is a light dusting of a Twinkle stencil in the background.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

SSS - New Release: Sugar and Spice!

 

Hi friends!

(for my 3M October card series, please check back on Firday!)\

Today I'm delighted to once again have been invitted to showcase

the new Sugar and Spice release from Simon Says Stamp!

This release is so charming and colorful and 

perfect for a start to the holiday crafting!

I was sent this GORGEOUS and absolutely enchanting

Graceful Swans, so delicate and elegant!

This set has 22 clear stamps and matching dies

with a birthday, thank you and thinking of you sentiments.

For my first card, I used patterned paper and the birthday stamp.

I added Versamark ink and SSS gold ultrafine embossing powder

 for a pop of gold.

The Sugar and Spice collection is available now in the store ~

and be sure to stop by for the Instagram and SSS Blog hop

information, as well as another card share!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

I was told there was candy!

 Hi friends!

Today I'm sharing a cute and wee bit cheeky card :)

I just adore this Peeking Kitty die set from Whimsy Stamps

and, as mama to several kittes,

 it will be fun to make one in different colors!

In addition to Peeking Kitty die, I also used Build-A-Pumpkin 

Patch die set for the fun large pumpkin die.

Finally, I added the Slimline Fence die set for the pumpkin patch.

You can see this card and more on my Instagram!

 Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

Grunge Ghosts!

Hi friends!

Here are 3 easy to make cards using card fronts 

and quick strip sentiments ~

 cards in under 5 minutes!

I've used Whimsy Stamps Quick Card Fronts - Grunge Ghosts.

 I love the homespun, earthy feel to these!

They aren't OVER the top spooky haunted Halloween

but more grungy, vintage, sort of old time quality :)

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

BOO!

Hey BOO!

I was BEYOND lucky to receive the new STAMPtember

Simon Says Stamp and Whimsy Stamps collab to work with.

This set did sell out but you can hop on over to both SSS

and Whimsy Stamps to see similiar amazing products!

I ink blended the backgrounds to create a nighttime scene

with a moon glow.  Honesty, I LOVE this card!

I added the Whimsy Stamps EEK shadow word die

and the spiders and web die set to complete a Haunted Mansion look.

We just spent a few days at Disney and Haunted Mansion is 

actually my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom :)

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

 

3M: Be Happy!

 Hi friends!

Today I'm sharing a catch up card from earlier this month:

The 3 Musketeers mystery image swap.

3M is Jeanette, Barb and myself and we take turns

swapping images every month to create a card.

This card would have been on my blog earlier

but a lot of things swirled about to push it back a bit ~

and what do they say ...

no time like the present!

For this month's 3M image, Jeanette was the hostess

and sent us an adorable scarecrow from Stamps of Life.

Such a cutie!

Thank you, Jeanette!

You can see Jeanette's card here

and Barb's card here.

Thanks for stopping by

and happy fall, y'all!

~Kelly

I (heart) you!

 Hi friends!

Quick card share ~

die cut, sentiment strip and cardstock scraps for the win!

My Instagram card group called Rainbow Connection

has a monthly requirement to create a card using MOSTLY

white space with a splash of rainbow.

I'm a fill 'er up kind of card making and CAS is hard for me!

But I did my best :)

I used the retired MFT Stamps striped heart die

and tons of cardstock scraps, layered it up on black cardstock

(another allowed color in addition to white) for some contrast.

I'll see you soon with another card!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

BLOOM - you are worth it!

Hi friends!

I'm sharing a card that you may have seeen on Instagram

earlier this week.

I'm so grateful for the scheduled option

which is perfect while traveling :)

This is a card I created for a very important awareness hop

that was hosted by a friend.

I really wanted to showcase the beauty of life

(flowers blooming)

and the importance of how special every person is.

So Gina K Designs was a perfect choice!

This is from her set Flower Medley.

I ink blended the flowers in different tones of pink and peach

and used her oval stencil to create a background.

The flowers were also created using the coordinating stencil.

Off to tackle a mountain of post travel laundry

and catch up on papercrafting!

Take great care,

Kelly

 

Hello from the tropics!

Hi friends!

Happy Friday!

I'm sending you tropical greetings from afar!

We are on vacation this week and next

and making some amazingly beautiful plans - 

our family is so incredibly blessed  <3

I have a few blog posts and cards to share

a little out of order so stay tuned!

This card literally melts my heart.

I created it when my granddaughter was with me for 2 weeks

in a fun, creative way.

Video will on my YouTube channel soon but

You can view the REELS on my Instagram channel here!

         This gorgeous large floral stamp and die set are from Altenew

called Bountiful Bouquet.  It's a beautiful layering stamp set

and I did stamping onto the watercolor background.

I just love the bold, vibrant colors!

To create the watercolor look, I used waterbrush markers,

also from Altenew.

I added a background lattice die and added a frosted vellum

underneath and a bit of splatter to give it a dew look!

Here's another look:

   Thanks for stopping by!

  ~Kelly

Happy STAMPtember!

 

Hi friends!

Happy September and 

a joyous STAMPtember!

We are sharing today our creations

AND

there is a wonderful free gift with purchase!

It all starts here on the Simon Says Blog!

I am delighted to share with you a card creation

from the new release of Simon Says Stamp

called Squirrely Birthday.

This set is part of their new stamp release

and there are 3 easy steps to follow!

Here is my card, using inks for the layering system

and I just love the puns with this set!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

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

 Hi friends!

I have another edition of Kell-of-a-mess

where I take messy art to the craft room!

A few years ago, I created a Messy art group

but took some time off for my granddaughter and life

but I. am. back!

Messy isn't usually my style UNLSS it's art!

The messier, the better IMHO :)

I love finding creative ways to showcase how ELSE you can create

and the more untraditional, the better!

This month, I had my beautiful granddaughter for 2 weeks!

Oh the fun we had!

One of the art moments was painting with rain ~ 

that's right, RAIN!

As is ... from the sky :)

You can peek at it here on my YouTube channel:

And the result:

I love how they turned out, even for sympathy cards,

which I normally would not have made with OUR art :)

But we had so many panels of beautiful rain-colored art,

I thought they would make beautiful florals.

We have a part 2 - stay tuned!

Those are O.M.GEE amazing!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

Whimsical Christmas!

 

Hi friends!

Today I'm sharing a snowy village Chsristmas card

featuring Lawn Fawn stamps & dies.

This card was SO MUCH fun to make :)

This card has a few things I ADORE ..

 1.  Snow!!!

2.  Bright whimsical cheerful colors

3.  A quaint little village where I'd LOVE to live one day

and craft/write 'til my hearts content!

But my husband says 

'You wouldn't make it .... there's no Starbucks."

HAHA!

He got me there ...........

I paired together Lawn Fawn's Winter Village and 

Over the Mountain Borders stamps to make this happy place.

I did a white paint splatter on everything within 2 feet

 for the falling snow and colored the images with

prismacolor markers.  

And I don't say it often, but I'm totally smitten <3

I hope you have a great start to your week!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

Sharing with:  Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round

Crafter's Cafe - AG

Farmquest Country Christmas

Sparkles Christmas - Include a tree

3M: Thankful Magnolia

 

  Hi friends!

It's the 9th day of the month, the day the 3 Musketeers

post our cards with a mystery image.

The way it works:

 Barb, Jeanette and I take turns sending each other

a stamped image and we all create a card with that same image.

I think this is the 11th or 12th YEAR of this challenge ... wow!

So for this month, we are showcasing Thankful Magnolia

from Gina K Designs .

I did a dual stamping technique where you stamp once (the image)

and then twice (overlay of versamark/heat embossing)

which gives such a unique look!

Barb was the hostess for this month and sent us this to work with.

I had a lot of fun playing with mixed medias to get

a fun technique card!

You can see Barb's card here

and Jeanette's card here!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

Simon Says Stamp - NEW RELEASE!

 Hi friends!

It's an EXCITING day!

I am OVER THE (summer) MOON thrilled to have been invited

by Simon Says Stamp to showcase products from the

new release this month called Happy Camper.  

The new release is filled with amazing new stamps,

 dies and so much more. 

 Summer is coming up to a close but there is still a little bit left

 to enjoy the endless days of summer fun and starry nights :)

This card is feauturing Fun Birdie ~ an adorable 2 piece wafer die.

I love how versatile it is and I can already see holiday cards!

In traditional Kelly colors, I went with cheerful and happy

when coming up with this card design.

The outer border die is Simon Says Stamp stitched rectangle die,

the arches are Pink and Main and 

the cardstocks are a mix of Lawn Fawn and Concord & 9th.

Be sure to head to the blog for the full release

and tune in to the YouTube channel Live Stream 

at noon EDT on Friday, August 1!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

Lavender Haze ......

 Hi friends!

It's been 2 weeks since my last confession 

last blog post!

It's been WILD, to say the least!

I thought I'd share my latest hybrid card ~

a textured monochromatic purple floral birthday card.

Whew :)

The textured background embossing folder = Altenew

Stamped image = Altenew

Sentiment strip = Gina K Designs

Watercolors = Kuretake

Dew Drops = Concord and 9th

Distress Oxide Spritz Spray = Ranger

and with all that, one fun birthday card!

That's it for me ~

thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

Summer in Nantucket ...

 

Hi friends!

Welcome to summer in Nantucket!

This has been a fun-filled week of cardmaking with sharks

and coming up with fun ways to incorporate them into my creating.

This was an idea I *saw* in my head (ahem - first red flag!)

and when I went to actually make it ....

welp.

 

So, here's my we-just-stopped-by-the-giftshop-on-vacation postcard!

Kinda looks like the ones we'd get back in the day, right?!

Honestly, it's almost funny ... especially with the LIGHTHOUSE

in the MIDDLE of the ATLANTIC OCEAN.

Double ahem.

I used various Lawn Fawn stamp sets to create this fun card

and a theme of Red, White and Blue for my Wednesday 

card group on Instagram.

The ink blend was using Distress Oxide Inks and if you look closely,

I inverted the ocean with the darker 'bottom' on the top.

Totally meant to do that - YEP! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly