And Everything Nice with Simon Says Stamp!

 Hi friends!

The holidays are upon us!

It's time to start working on those Christmas cards

and no better time like the present!

Simon Says Stamp has a new release and I am beyond honored 

to be part of the creative process again this month.

The And Everything Nice collection is a beautiful addition

to the Sugar And Spice collection from last month!

Here is my card using the new Retro Wreath set .

What I love so much about this holiday wreath is

it's actually one you can use all year long!

The sentiments are perfect for thinking of you, hello, 

happy holidays and more!

For this card, I wanted a rustic country charm Christmas look

and picked kraft, red and green.

I stamped the background with a SSS red rubber stamp

called Hand Lettered Friends.

The retro wreath is colored with my prismacolor markers

and popped up on foam for added dimension.

Here is the collection - head over and see the new goodies!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

Entered to:  CRAFT Challenge - Christmas

Craft Rocket Challenge - Christmas

Time Out Challenge - Favorite Holiday

New Inky Challenge - Week 1

Hi friends!

Today starts the new Inky Paws challenge for November.

This month we bring you a sketch challenge,

challenge #246!

                               And here is my card featuring

these Newton's Nook Designs products:

Christmas Time Dog clear stamps

Christmas Time Dog die cuts

Essential Tags die set

Christmas Party 6 x 6 paper pad

And here is my card for this week!

Now it's your turn!

Head over to the Inky Paws Challenge blog and link up

your projects here.

Have a PAW-tastic day!

Thanks for stopping by today!

~Kelly

Exciting News! ~ getting my paws inky!

 Hi friends!

The secret is out of the bag!

I'm delighted to be joining the Newton's Nook Designs

Inky Paws challenge team :)

Thank you, Jen for the invite to join the talent ~ 

I am beyond excited!

Newton's Nook Designs has such a fun variety of cat and dog

stamps and so much more - 

paper, dies, and cuteness overload!

You can find them here in the shop

and be sure to stop in the NND Inky Paws blog

to see the creative inspiration from the team.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

Rainbow Palette with Whimsy Stamps!

 Hi friends!

Today I'm sharing a rainbow themed card 

where the requirements are MOSTLY white 

with a splash of rainbow somewhere on the card.

I am delighted to use the Paint and Palette die set

from Whimsy Stamps.

I wanted SO BADLY to add splatters and splotches

but it's not in the allowed parameter's of the card so ...

next time!

Products used:   Paint and Palette die set

Painter Panda (sentiment)

Thanks for stopping by!
Kelly

Halloween - CoCo!

 

Well hiya friends!

Today I'm sharing a Halloween card 

from the Craft-o-Ween IG hop.

My friend Tammy created a hop group for creators

who purchased the Spellbinders 13 Days of Craftoween Kit

and wow!  

It's a fun one!

You can see all the days so far here on my Instagram :)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE surprises 

and opening one each day has been a lot of fun.

Even if you don't send Halloween cards (like me)

they are versatile enough to make them into other designs.

But, each of the cards I've made so far will be donated

on Wednesday to the Free Little Library.

My card is based on this week's AAA Cards Challenge 

"Follow the Leader" by Karen.

Her cards is a CAS card with a center focal point and sentiment

so I added the stenciled clouds, ink blended in an oval stencil shape.

Then added the haunted house to the center with a wee bat,

keeping this very simple!

Normally, my cards are bananas, I know! :)

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

Also, entering to:  A Cut Above Challenge - Use a die cut

Neglected Stuff Challenge ~ Stencils (oval and cloud stencil)

Simon Says Stamp - Add some texture

Stamps and Fun!  - Halloween

Christmas Cheers!

Hi friends!

If you celebrate, Christmas is 2 months away!

And I am SURE you are all on Santa's nice list :)

I wanted to share a fun card I created for the current

Inky Paws Challenge @ Newton's Nook Designs.

It's a wonderful color challenge and such dreamy colors!

I had a pile of itty bitty papers and scraps on my desk

and added them in a creative away to create a whole card :)

Using the Simon Says Stamp and NND Stamptember collab

"Happy Paw-lidays" and colored him with my prismacolor markers.

You can see the REELS here on Instagram!

And my card 🠋

We have several amazing rescue cats that now live with us

for various reasons #rescuecatsrock !

So this one will be a terrific card for the vet assistants 

that we just LOVE so much at our vet!

Head over to the Inky Paws Challenge blog and link up your 

cards inspired by the color challenge, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

Also linking to these challenges:

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - AG

We love to Create - AG

52 Christmas Card Throwndown - 30 minutes (see my reel above!)

Send A Smile 4 Kids - AG

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