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

Thanks for 'sticking' by me!

Hi friends!

I'm late, I'm late ~

for a very important date!

The 3M card group posting date was s'posed to be on the 9th of the month

but there were too many sticks to fetch,

too many holes to dig in the backyard, 

and too many shoes to chew!

But!

Thanks for stickin' by me!

I love dogs so very much 

and we are blessed to have two!

Buddy and Buster ~ Jack Russell Terriers, already old men at ages 11 and 10.

Buddy is our JRT that's white with lemon colored spots and is my shadow.

My sweet boy follows me all through the house and has to be right next to me ~

but I don't mind one. single. bit!

Back to my card ~ this month, the image showcased is Newton's Nook Designs

and it's called Puppy Pals.

I'm only 1/3 of the 3 Musketeers and

 Barb and Jeanette have already posted their 3M cards on their blogs.

The sentiment inside of my card ~ thanks for sticking by me!

I spent most of the evening making a ton of cards ~

some upcoming design team cards and one set of cards for a friend,

one set just goofin' off and experimenting and playing around with inks, etc.

Fun times!

Thanks so much for stopping by ~

Have a pawsome Saturday!

Big hugs, bigger blessings!

~Kelly

I'll enter this card to: Allsorts Challenge - Pets

Simon Says Stamps - Summer fun
As you like it - favorites

CCEE2025: Youth Day!

Hi friends!

Today there is a new challenge at the CCEE Stampers blog ~

celebrating Youth Day.

Vicky is our hostess for the month of June and says:

Today, let's make a card for a kid of any age!

  We all have little kids in our life, but we also have those "big" kids who never seem to age (or grow up!) 

 Your choice, a young person....or a person who never ages!

Such a fun challenge, Vicky!

I made a card for a young-at-heart kid :)

I loved the sweet release that Taylored Expressions had last month ~

adorable little critters and an adorable tree with a matching die.

I planned to order the swinging by and saw a bundle for all 4

 and the rest was history :)

I adore animal stamps so this set was an absolute must :)

I've made this fun card by stamping/die cutting the tree

and painted it with the Altenew watercolor markers.

The colors are so rich and vibrant and I had fun painting this.

The rest of the card was created with a sky stencil and distress inks

and the little fox was colored with copic sketch markers.

Please be sure to see what the CCEE Stampers created this week

by heading over to the blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings,

Kelly

Adding to these challenges:  Little Red Wagon ~ animals
simon says stamp - summer fun

Watercolor Wednesday!

Hi friends!

It in indeed watercolor Wednesday ~

although it started on Tuesday!

My new Altenew watercolor brush markers arrived

and I. Am. In. Love!

I was doing some simple coloring in the Color and Connect Zoom class

and afterwards, continued on my own with a smorgasboard of watercoloring.

I ended up spending hours painting and playing … and comparing.

More on that later! :)

I had the Altenew markers, Karin markers and Zig clean color markers to start

and just had fun - no rules applied and messes were allowed *wink!*

This is the card I used with the Karin markers ~

this time, using a water and brush and moving the paint around before it dried.

The rose stamp is from Paper Smooches and it's called So Lovely.

After painting a base layer on the flower, I heat set the color and water

and continued the sequence until I had a little depth and dimension.

Once it was done, I added splatter to the rose with diluted white acrylic paint

and love that the little flicks give it some character.

Because the flower is so vivid and bright, I wanted to tone down the rest of the card and used a grey tone paper and cardstock.

The grey cardstock matched the designer paper (from My Favorite Things)

and the frame is from Whimsy Stamps (had to go check my stash last time!)

The last touch - a sentiment from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips.

I did have to fussy cut the rose, which I'm not super crazy about

so the theme for this:  rustic!

But I do really like this card :)

It's bold and fresh and a bit whimsical and was such fun to create.

I'll be posting a few 'sister' cards soon with the other marker sets ...

stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings 

~Kelly

DDD: A Heart Full of Roses!

Hi friends!

Today is a super fun day ~

It's National Prune Day!

And ima just leave that right there, LOL!

Lucky me ...

It's also the day the Dueling Darlings post our cards with a chosen theme.

This month, the two hostesses (Darlene and Judy) chose A Heart Full of Roses.

How pretty is that!

Judy sent the kits for the Divas to work with

 which included a beautiful stamped rose image from Inkadinkado

 and the loveliest designer paper and some embellishments.

The only thing I used that was 'mine' is the cardstock, markers and glue!

I decided to break out the Karin markers and did some light watercoloring.

I have the Altenew watercolors arriving today and I'm super excited!

For this card, I used several of the colors to achieve a similar color

 of the rose on the paper.
I used Cerise, Pale Pink, Amber and Skin 1 from the Karin brushmarker pro.

I do love how the colors are so organic and do their thing like magic

and how beautifully the colors layer.

And here's my finished card!

and the inside - not so fancy but I carried over the dramatic rose paper :)

And that's my card for the June DDD 'duel!'

You can see the group of cards and what the Divas -vs- Dazzlers

have made with this A Heart Full of Roses theme 

at Splitcoaststampers card groups:  Dueling Darlings :)

Thanks for stopping by 

and thank you for a wonderful challenge, Darlene and Judy!

Big hugs, bigger blessings 

~Kelly

and