Sakura Blooms from Pink and Main!

 Hi friends!

Today I'm sharing another new stamp and die

from the Pink and Main March release.

This one stole my heart!

Introducing Sakura Blooms!

I adore cherry blossoms and this set has captured

the beauty and sweetness of the sakura blooms.

To create this card, I stamped and colored the image with my markers.

Next, I used the coordinating dies from the set

and added the sweet friend sentiment.

The GORGEOUS background is from the Colorful Ink Spots 

6 x 6 paper pad - isn't is STUNNING!

It's like alcohol ink backgrounds - already done for you!

I die cut the paper with the Pink and Main Stitched Arches die

and this will make a wonderful card for a sweet friend :)

Be sure stop in the Birthday Party at Pink and Main

on Instagram, their blog and Facebook!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

Sneak Peek: Day 1 ~ Pink and Main's 10th Birthday!

Hi friends! 

Welcome to Day 1 of the Sneak Peeks for

Pink and Main's new release

and 10th Birthday celebration!

I'll be sharing a card/project each day this week

with amazing new products

from new foils, stamps, dies, foilables, shakers and more!

It's a PARTY on paper

with something for everyone!

To create this festive birthday shaker card,

I used Pink and Main:

~ Mice Birthday stamps and matching dies

~ Stitched Rectangle frame dies

~ Color Spotlight Foilable

~ Sparkle Gold Cheer Foil

~ A2 shaker cover

~ Prom Dress Confetti

I have so many amazing products to share with you

during this fun week of sneakie peekies!

Be sure to stop in and see Day 2-4 and the BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Here's a preview:

Thanks for stopping by!

See you soon!
~Kelly

 

Dreaming of a SNOWY winter!

 

Hi sweet friends!

I'm DREAMING of a snowy white winter!

Except ...

I live in one of the hottest states in the continental US 

so it might be awhile! :)

I love love LOOOOOOOVE the snow!

So making snowy / winter / Christmas cards is a favorite.

Another favorite is this October 2017 My Monthly Hero

Hero Arts kit!

I will keep this kit until forever runs out!

Here's a VIDEO on my YOUTUBE channel if you'd like to hear

about this card as well!

I think one of my favorite parts of the kit is I still had

enough of the bubbly cardstock included with it

left to make a snowy background. 

This card is seriously a vision in real life and hard to photograph

the details but it's so much fun.

The theme for today's card group was White Christmas or

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town so I added both!

I'll enter this to the Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero @Hero Arts

January with a Everything Old is New Again theme!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay safe out there :)

xoxo

~Kelly

Have you HERD the *news*!

 

Hi friends!

Have you HERD the news!

I'm SO EXCITED to announce that I was invited 

to be on the Whimsy Stamps DT for 2024 as an InstaPinner!

That means 6 times a month

you'll be seeing creative cards by me with some amazing stamps,

 dies, papers and embellishments from Whimsy Stamps!

For my first card today (one of my posting days!),

I'm sharing this adorable Hee Haw stamp stamp and die.

I can't get over those adorable big eyeballs!

I paired it with the OMG die

and the Heart to Heart Valentines paper pack.

My son is a freshman in college and has the most GRUELING

schedule with difficult classes and he learned he made

the Dean's List!

It's such a fantastic accomplishment and we are super proud of him!

He's also one of the FUNNIEST kids I have ever met in my life

so this card is perfect for him!

Be sure to check out the Whimsy Stamps store

and if you do any shopping, please consider my affiliate link

at no extra cost for you and it helps me to keep creating beautiful things!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

Happy PAW-lidays!

 

Hi friends!

Wishing you a very Happy PAW-liday!

This was a fun card I created for an Instagram hop

 that I put togethera few months ago.

It was an eagerly awaited hop part 2 of the 

Spectacular Stamptember!

A group of friends and I were chatting about our love

of the Simon Says Stamp Stamptember sets

that we put our heads together for a fun hop!

AND we loved it so much,

we continued with a Winter theme: Winter Stamptember!

I used the Lawn Fawn and Simon Says Stamp collab set

Home for the PAWlidays 

and included a piece of patterned paper from Lawn Fawn 

for the 'snowy' background :)

This was a fun card to create ~

very "KELLY" with the bright colors and whimsy!

And we have 2 rescue pups so it warms my heart

knowing they have a FUR-ever home.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

You've been ELF'd!

 Hi friends!

Happy weekend!

Today's fun cards are a 3-fer

for an Instragram hop with a theme of holidays.

I'm celebrating the wonderful JOY of the Elf on the Shelf!

Our EOTS was a huge staple of the holiday fun

for our kids during the holidays.

Ours is a mischevious elf who likes to do hilarious stunts + poses!

                               

                                This was a fun card to make!

I paired it with candy cane paper 

since in the movie Buddy the Elf references the 4 food groups:

candy, candy corn, candy canes and syrup!

Here are the cards together

and I'll share the others on a seperate post :)

These 3 will go to our 3 youngest children 

as our oldest daughter got a different card.

This is a fun group on Instagram but is my last month.

It's been a fun journey but 2024 is going to be 

a busy crafty one for me!

So I need to focus on the tasks as hand, as they say :)

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

Messy Art: You're a hot mess!

 Hi friends!

I'm still playing catch up on adding cards to my blog :)

Awhile back, I created a card group focused on 'messy art'

but life stepped in and I stepped back.

But in 2024, I'll be reclaiming back a few of the things I let go :)

The idea behind my original idea is to have fun with messy art!

I'm NOT one for messes at all ... but when it comes to cardmaking,

I found I have the most fun ~and the most inspiration ~  

when I'm experimenting making backgrounds & new techiniques.

Like these!

For these cards, I added distress oxide inks and spritzed them with

water until I had a cascade.  They were intentionally drippy!

The stamps are from Hero Arts snarky message, LOL!

I am a 'cool colors' girl (greens, blues, purples) but after

making one card, I had to make another in warm colors.

I ADORE how these came out!

So there will be a new series here on my blog and social media!

My messy art cards are making a return in 2024!

AND if you follow me on Instagram, 

you'll see a related giveaway soon!

*hint, hint .. wink, wink!* 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

HOLLY JOLLY!

 Hey sweet friends!

Today's card is showcasing 2 things:

A huge OOPS!

and The Man in the BIg Red Suit!

This was a fun card to make!

If you would like to see the YouTube version,

here it is:

Because I made a rookie mistake when creating this,

I had to think of ways to save/salvage this poor Santa card!

I used the adorable Stamptember Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous

2023 set ~ cute, cute, CUTE!

.

I loved the background stamp by Hero Arts snowflake swirl

and I stamped it with Pool Party ink.

THEN

I had a misstep with the stamp and forgot it had ink,

set it down on  the panel and had a few Santas on it!

So this is the result!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

Coffee! Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop ~ Day 1!

Cheers!

It's time for the Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!

I'm delighted to add a card to the wonderful hop

line up as part of the Crackerbox Stamps team

AND

I'll tell you all about my cat-ty card here :) 

First!

Check. Out. This. Sale!

All Fall, Winter, Coffee stamps are 20% off

until November 11th!  

Here's my card and what I used to create it:

I used the adorable Cat Sketchy and colored it with copics.

I added on a fun Santa hat and popped it up on foam dots.

For the coffee sentiment,

I wanted part of it on the front and the rest inside so I masked it off.

Here's the inside:

Make sure you check out the Crackerbox blog

and check out the Coffee Lover's hop!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

~Kelly

 

Trick or Treat card!

 

Hi friends!

I'm back on the Crackerbox Stamps blog today

with a super fun Trick or Treat card!

For today's card, I stamped Ghost Flying onto the top sky corners

and the Halloween Kids on bottom panel.

The faux watercolor background was created by smooshing

ink and water onto the cardstock.

I let the colors dry and then stamped directly onto the paper.

Here's another look

AND a reminder that there is a 50% off sale!

Check it out here!

If you'd like to do some holiday and Christmas shopping,

there's a sale going on right now for past hoilday stamps.

Wow!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kelly

NEW stamp release day at Crackerbox stamps!

 

Hi friends!

It's an exciting day at Crackerbox Stamps ...

it's new stamp release day!

Be sure to see the Design Team inspiration here on the blog!

AND - there's a sale!

You can save 15% off stamps in the previously released Christmas

section by checking out the store here.

For today's festivities, I've used the new frosted cookies

Cookie Frosted Santa and Cookie Frosted Tree.

They are so fun and versatile to use in cardmaking 

and here's what I've created.

I colored the stamped images and added them to a waiting for Santa

plate with a tablecloth on a table!

There are only 80 days until Christmas, my friends!

It's a great time to plan your holiday cards!

Thanks for stopping by 

and happy shopping :)

~Kelly

Journal Art Prompt!

Hi friends!

Mixed Media art is something I've always long admired.

I seen countless journals and canvases

and artistic creations that just WOW me!

But I haven't dabbled ...  much :)

I took a chance and signed up for a journal cover art prompt open collab

on YouTube hosted by 2 YouTube creators.

Here is my video!

It was a really interesting concept ....

we were mailed a 1" chipboard binder, a plain chipboard cover

and an art journal business card.

Then, we created a cover based on that card

and mailed it to the person who's name we got!

Here is the art journal prompt card I received (created by Rosie!)

 And here is the journal cover I created.

The rules were to use 3-5 colors/theme/items from the prompt card

to recreate the cover.

I kept the emerald green color, the design from the paper and material,

bling and butterfly and color palette through-out.

I had a lot of fun putting this together for my partner!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

Stamping Sisters Camp - Day 2!

 

Hi there, friends!

Welcome to day #2 of the Stamping Sisters winter camp.

That means all 4 of us

(Barb, Darlene, Jeanette and myself)

will bring you a different class / card technique each day this week.

Today, I'm the camp counselor

and I call this cardmaking idea 

"Let's get RIPPED!" :)

This is a photo heavy post but if you'd like to see the video version,

feel free to click on my YouTube channel video here

 ↓

The first thing you'll need is some cardstock - 

both an a2 size base and a quarter panel for the base layer

and 2 sheets of WHITE tissue paper.

You'll need solid stamps and a couple colors of inks.  

Cubes are great since you'll be working in small spaces, nooks n crannies!

Once the images are all stamped out, let them dry for a minute or two.

While that's drying, start your base layer of the card

by taking the second tissue paper and wrapping your card base layer.

Any adhesive or tape will do as you'll cover this part up.

Set that aside and go back to your stamped solid images.

Start ripping /tearing around the image carefully so that you have

just the images along with a slight edge.

This part can be anything you want it to be - torn/ripped/missing a piece ...

it is perfectly imperfect and your OWN creation!

They should look something like this.

The idea is to create a layer.  This works best if you have multiples!

I always lay them out first to get an idea of where they will go ...

before gluing :)

You can use pixie spray or spray adhesive to add them to your card base.

Glue it down and add a sentiment/embellishment if you like!

I used the sentiment strips from Taylored Expressions

and added enamel dots and let the ripped paper be the focal point.

Here she is!

I don't have photos of the blue floral card

but it is in the video content on my YouTube channel.

That one is equally beautiful!

Such a fun technique and I hope you give it a try.

Here are the camp counselors and their class dates:

Monday/January 24th  ~ Jeanette @ Creativeplay 

Tuesday/January 25th ~ Kelly @ Sandcastlestamper

Wednesday/January 26th ~ Barb  @ inkingintoretirement

Thursday/January 27th ~ Darlene @ Accordingtobijou

I hope this made sense!

It's a fun way to create extra dimension and 'drama' to your cardmaking

and takes the tissue paper stamping a big leap further!

Each time you create this, it will always be unique and one of a kind.

Thanks for stopping in today!

Be blessed,

~Kelly