Stamping Sisters Camp - Day 1!

 

Hello sweet friends!

Welcome to my blog and Day #1 of winter camp!

For the next 4 days, we 4 friends (Barb, Darlene, Jeanette and myself)

will be bringing you a 'class a day' with a fun, interesting,

and definitely unique technique!

We are sharing it to inspire YOU as well!

Maybe it's something you are familiar with

or will be seeing for the first time ~ like me!

This is our camp class line up:

Monday/January 24th  ~ Jeanette @ Creativeplay 

Tuesday/January 25th ~ Kelly @ Sandcastlestamper

Wednesday/January 26th ~ Barb  @ inkingintoretirement

Thursday/January 27th ~ Darlene @ Accordingtobijou

Jeanette gave us these directions:  The idea to feature embossing folders came to me as I was organizing (and purging) my huge collection of embossing folders. I realized I rarely ever use them. It is time they see some action so I knew for my challenge, three things had to be present...

1. The embossing folder/s MUST be the star of the card.

2. No stamped images are allowed on the card.

3. Sentiments are optional.

Today's class is taught by Jeanette and 

I was today years old when I learned AND tried luster rub on! :)

My set of luster rub on paints were definitely full of shimmer and sparkle

and I ended up buying a set that was a little brighter and colorful.

Because of that, I dug through my embossing folders

fully intending at first to do a floral 

(since the yellow/red/greens lended to that)

BUT it was absolutely hideous.

I had a house full of people, cooking, talking, laughing

and just absolutely could not think of another way to make it work.

So I tossed it, went back to the drawing board

(as they still ate, talked, laughed!) and thought 

Outdoors!

Grass, sun, sunburst!

And a ta-da moment was born ........
I used a Taylored Expressions starburst embossing folder

and white embossed a sentiment to match.

At first I used my blending brushes (da junky ones!

the luster is absolutely messy!)

but then just switched to my hands and did RUB it ON, as the name says!

And I. was. out. of. black. cardstock!

SO!

I used dark purple :)

This card is just okay - not my favorite but not my worst ;)

Definitely a learning curve!

As you can see from my pots, this stuff goes all over!

I need to wipe it down but it was get this up and blogged, first!

And that's it for Camp day #1!

I hope I get at least a C+ :)

This was fun!

Try it out!

And come back tomorrow - I'm the teacher.

Er'body gets an A!

Hugs!
~Kelly

Stamp What?! ~ Just checkin in!

 Hi friends!

Today's post is for the monthly card series Stamp What?!

started by my son one say coming home from school :)

We were chatting about my "Old Dusties", 

the really, REALLY old (nothing current)

Stampin' Up! stamp sets that were collecting dust

 and he encouraged me to use them.

The name:  Stamp = Stampin' Up

What = What willl he chose!

He choses it - I use it!

I never know what he will bring down the hall and I love

LOVE 

to ask him why he chose a particular one - 

sometimes at random, sometimes because 'it looked cool!"

This month:

Best of Cluck

circa 2005!

Me:  Super cute!  Why did you chose this one?

Him:  Because I thought of your chicken soup :)

He's right!

He's been sick. Very, very sick.

101+ fever, vomiting, dehydrated and we've been super worried.

But, he is better and a very watchful mama has been doting on him

and he's on the mend, PTL!

So naturally, he's thinking of chicken - and apparently chicken soup! -

that I made for him while he was unable to really eat much.

Onward ... my card!

I still think this was one of the best SU! catalog releases!

This stamp set included :)

This is one of those classic sets that is still fun to use today!

Be sure to check out Barb and Jeanette's cards, too!

I'll be continuing this challenge next year 

and he and I will continue the fun!

Thanks for stopping by 

and wishing you a beautiful Sunday!

~Kelly

Stamp What?! ~ Cute as a bug!

 

Hi friends!

It's time for another installment of Stamp What?!

This series was created by my son a couple of years ago

when we were talking about my really, really, 

REALLY 

old wooden Stampin' Up! stamps.

He had an idea - he'd chose one and give it to me blindly!

Once I see it, I create the card - great teamwork!

This month, he chose:

Cute As A Bug, circa 2003

Me:  "Oh, cuuuuuuute one!  

And why did you chose this stamp set?"

Him: "Because you love dragonflies (yes! I do!)

and our night bike rides - we see a lot of bugs."

LOL!  Yes, that is true, too!

Here is my card:

Here's how I updated it ...

1.  I used current dies from the last year or so from MFT Stamps

2.  I've used several stamps to compliment is, 

like this Taylored Expressions simple strips.  

I used it because it was already on my desk :)

 I did cut off the 'friend' from the sentiment strip and added a die cut 

one instead to give it a little more drama.

3.  Colored with Copics, which I didn't own in 2003!

Barb and Jeanette, who share many of my crafty collabs,

are also joining me this year.

I do love this series as it was created by my son,

who is working hard at the moment juggling Scouts & summer school ..

I shouldn't call it that ... it's EXTRA school in the summer, lol.

He's in a performing arts school and a 2nd language and physical ed

are required but there's no room in the year's curriculum -

so the students do it on their own.

We've been working out together on and off (I do it mostly alone)

so it's fun to have an exercise buddy  - AND these crafty experiences!

I'll see you on my next blog post soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps What?! ~ Chicken in!

 

Hi friends!

Just chicken in on this Monday!

Today's card is for the Stamp What?! card challenge

which was started by my son.

You can read how it got the name and beginning here!

It's a whole lot of fun and a great way to get to use some older

stamp sets that have been sittin' around collecting dust!

He choses the stamp set without me seeing it

and then hands it to me unseen and I make the card - like this one!

For May 2021:  Best of Cluck

circa 2005

My friends Barb and Jeanette are joining me in this challenge

again this year and you can see their cards on their blogs today.

AND, I had a wonderful stroke of good luck today!

I signed on this morning to Splitcoaststampers and 

the CAS challenge was a theme of: chickens!

I don't think in all my years of stamping that's ever happened :)

YAY me!

So my card is ... clean and simple!

What is updated?  Not much, honestly!

The DSP is a newest mat stack as are the stitched dies.

I love the look of gingham for farm cards

and was lucky to spot this small 5 x 5 sheet of red dsp.

Here's my stamp set that's been in my collection for YEARS!

And that's it from me!

Thanks so much for stopping by today :)

Stamp What?! ~ Everything nice ...

 

Hi friends!

Happy weeekend!

Today's card is for the Stamp What?! card series

that was created by my teenage son :)

Here is how it all started and his creative idea 

is to breath new life into {much} older stamp sets that go unused!

This month, here is the stamp set he chose:

And Everything Nice w/Hollyhocks

circa 2005

As always, I like to 'rib him' a little bit and ask why he chose it :)

Me:  'INTERESTING choice!  Why did you pick this one?"

Him:  "It reminded me of Singing In The Rain."

Wow I haven't used this stamp set in a month of Sundays!

And ... I was a bit stumped so here it is.

Not my favorite card I've made but it. is. what. it. is!

How I modernized this older, wooden stamp set is

that I've used copics (didn't own those in 2005),

designer paper and dies that are current to the last few years.

And that's my card!

Barb and Jeanette are joining me this year on this card journey

and you can see there cards on their blogs, too.

Here's one final look:

Thanks for stopping by 

and have a wonderful weekend!

CAS - Optical Illusion!

 

Hi friends!

Spring Break is over here and today school starts once again.

I LOVED being off for the school break

but I also know that before I can blink, it will be summer :)

I hope you all had a beautiful Easter week/end!

I went WAY off the deep end with my healthier eating lifestyle

and have not exercised in 4 days :(

I know as soon as I drop my son off at school ...

at 6:15 AM - eep! -

I'll be hitting the track and going the EXTRA mile!

I. Got. This!

Today's card is (sort of!) an optical illusion.

I was looking at this card after photographing it

and realized the left looks WAY larger than the right ....

except .... they are equal!

I've used the Dragonfly Garden stamp set from Stampin' Up

because .. of course .. dragonflies :)

This is the first time I've used this wildflower bunch included in it

and I love the contrast of the stark black in against the sunset colors.

I know this is a set I'll use over and over and over :)

My card is very clean and simple because it's for the CAS card

at Splitcoaststampers where it's a One Sheet Wonder challenge.

Thanks for stopping by 

and Happy Monday!

I'll enter this to:  World Art Wednesday

Stamp What?! ~ Chocolate Bunny!

 Hi friends!

Today I'm sharing a card from my Stamp What?! card challenge 

that was started by my son :)

I LOVE this monthly card series because it's one that he challenged me 

to use my old wooden Stampin' Up stamps we call "Old Dusties."

He chooses the STAMPin' up stamp

and I don't know WHAT it is until he hands it to me!

For this month, he chose Chocolate Bunny!

 I always like to ask him just for kicks and giggles ...

Me:  "Ohhhhh, what made you chose this one?"

Him:  "It has a bunny and I thought it would be nice for Alice's

Easter basket."

That's SO sweet! He's the best uncle!

And here's my card ...

I'm sure Alice is going to love her Easter Basket

 and yummy chocolate bunny.  

She adores her stuffed animal bunny and even loves to hop around

 the house like a bunny, including inviting me to hop around with her :)

The sentiment is from an MFT Stamps set and I added some dots, too.

I've invited my friends Barb and Jeanette to play along in this challenge

and their cards are on their blogs.

Here's one final look at this teeny tiny stamp from Stampin' Up!

I'll be back in April as this challenge is the 10th of every month.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp What?! - Friendship warms the heart

 Hi friends!

Today's card is for my Stamp What?! card series where,

 once a month, my son chooses an "Old Dusties" wooden stamp set 

from the yonder years!  

You can read here how this all started

 and this is my second year, still going strong!

My friends Barb and Jeanette are joining me again this year

on this creative journey, although they are choose their own stamps 

each month while mine are always whatever I'm given by my son :)

February's stamp:  Friendship warms the Heart

 circa 1994

           Me:  This is awesome for February!  How did you chose this?

Him:  Because it has a heart ..........

Perfect!

TBH, I think this might actually be the 2nd time I've even used it!

I purchased this sweet rag doll set for a swap 100 years ago

and then it sats and sats!

Here is my card!

I chose a patterned paper as a background that kinda sorta

looked like a quilt.

I colored it with copic markers and added the buttons 

to mimic the ones on the rag doll and her heart.

How did I update this?

 The dies I used weren't around back then

and the patterend paper is from just a few years ago.

Barb and Jeanette have joined me this again this year

and you can see their cards on their blogs.

I often have people tell me they love the idea - thank you!

And I also encourage you to give it a try!

This series came about when mine sat neglected

and it was as simple as taking a leap, picking one

 (or have it picked for you as a surprise!) and go go GO! 

Thanks for stopping by!

entered to: Word Art Wednesday - AG

Stamp What?! ~ Wanda's Wit and Wisdom!

Hi friends!

Today's card is from a Stampin' Up stamp set,

literally pulled off a shelf by my son 

 lovingly called my Old Dusties collection :)

THIS is how it all started and I'm. so. glad. it. did!

It's the second year of Stamp What?! and I love that we share this ♡ 

My son encouraged me to grab my old, forgotten Stampin' Up sets

and put them to good use as a challenge - so I did!

And, because my friends are always up for a challenge, 

I enlisted the other duo of the popular trio - Barb and Jeanette.

So we 3 pick any of our old Stampin' Up sets and make a card.

As always, I ask him to go and pick one off the shelf at random 

and then I ask him ....

Me: "So what made you pick this one?!"

Him, this month:  "It reminded me of the pandemic."

Awwww - yeah ... me, too :)

January's stamp:  Wanda's Wit and Wisdom 

circa 2004

My card is MEH

but she still cracks me up!

But it was a busy weekend and I have been recording for my YouTube

and my brain is mush!

How it's updated ... the gor-juss gingham paper is from recent SU

and the dies are all from MFT Stamps and just a few years old.

I also popped the top speech bubble up on foam for dimension.

And that's it!

You can see Barb's card here and Jeanette's card here.

I actually JUST THIS WEEKEND had an epiphany

that maybe I might unmount all my old stamps.

I think I'm the last one on the planet to keep them on the wood

becuase I LURV it! 

I'm a very tactile person and I just love the wood stamp in my hands

but ooooof - the lack of space is definitely hard :)

There's none in my house, lol.

I'll think it over and that might be one of my goals in '21.

maybe.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp What?! ~ Travel Time!

 Hi friends!

I have another card for my Stamp What?! personal card challenge

 that was started by my son :)

Earlier this year, after seeing my stacks of old wooden Stampin' up stamps, 

he asked me why I don't use them so often and created an idea ....

He'd bring me one of the 'Old Dusties' at random and I'd use it in on a card.

I always ask him "what made you chose this one?"

and - eek! - I can't remember what he said for this one a couple of days ago.

(I'll edit it later) 

He brought me 'Travel Time' .... circa 2003.

 

I colored the card to match my dad's old, olive green Granada 

that we had in Europe when I was a kid.

He cherished that card and drove us everywhere in it!  

My mom would ride shotgun, of course, and the nod to the lost map on my card

is for her - never able to read it so she would make up directions, LOL!

Hard to believe back in the day we had to read gosh honest maps

and did NOT have cellphones with siri and google :)

Since friends often do things together, I invited Barb and Jeanette

to create with me and their cards on own their blogs, too.

And I encourage you to treasure your Old but Goodies if you got 'em!

Just dust them off and let them shine anew!

Here's how I modernized it to this day and age ....

I used the MFT Stamps sunburst stencil, Ranger inks and PFS blender brushes.

Here's my Old Dusty:

This is the first year I'm doing the Stamp What?! challenge because 

it's special to me ~ and next year, he and I plan to continue the trend 

(at least so he says!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings :)

~Kelly