CCEE2030 ~ National Zookeepers Week!

Hi friends!

It's a ZOO out there!

And on the CCEE Stampers blog this week, 

quite literally :)

Lois is our July hostess and has asked us

 to create a card with at least one zoo animal on it.

Today's card is a slimline card, 

a card style quite popular in the crafting community!

I can't say I've 'caught the bug' fad just yet 

but I'm loving the inspiration I'm seeing everywhere.

This slimline die set is from Lawn Fawn and I've paired it 

with the super fun Zoo stamp set from Gerda Steiner.

To create the sky, I used the MFT Cloud stencil and
Ranger Ink Distress oxides in Tumbled Glass and Broken China.
For the hills, I used a stitched die
and added it like a puzzle piece to layer it.
Finally, I stamped the sentiment 'It's your birthday ..."
and on the inside "Go WILD!"

I'll be making a video of this very soon 
and you'll be able to see it on my YouTube channel ~
which was my happy news to share before I ended up sick.

I even have a wee giveaway right now that ends August 1st -
head on over if you'd like to peek!
I'm really new, really novice but excited to start this new venture
and I'd love to have you subscribe!

Here's a final look at my zoo card:

Be sure to stop over at the CCEE Stampers blog
and link up your zoo cards, too.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Big hugs, bigger blessings!
~Kelly

TPB: You're A-GLAZ-ING!

Hi friends!

I'm back on the blog at The Project Bin stamps 

and today I'm bringing you a box of donuts!

Paper ones, that it :)

I'm using one of the fun stamp sets that is so versatile and fun

and it's called Hole Foods.

It's a very pun-ny stamp set, like many of the ones in the shop are, 

and there are so many creative ways to make a card.

The donuts are stamped first in a random pattern ~

and I colored them according to make a variety,

pretty close to my 4 kids favorites.

I added a 'lid' of a stitched frame and a piece of acetate.

The final touch - a piece of baker's twine

and the inside sentiment.

I've seen many similar cards on Pinterest 

so I can't credit any one person

and I'll plan to remake this card in the future with a different spin to it!

You can see this stamp set and more in The Project Bin store.

During the week, you'll see terrific cards

to inspire your creativity, too!

Here's Hole Foods in the shop:

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings!

~Kelly

RSG ~ What happened in .......... 1930?

Hi friends!

It's time for another Ready, Set, Go card challenge 

and this month, Jeanette gave us the theme:

What event happened in 1930?

 Here's her challenge: 

My dad's birthday is in July. He was born July 27, 1930. 

The Ready Set Go theme for July will require a little research. 

My dad will be celebrating a milestone birthday later this month 

so in honor of him I want you to find some fact about the year he was born (1930) 

and use it as inspiration for your card. Easy peasy, right?

Awwww!  Happy Birthday to dad!

My dad's birthday is also in July ~ although his is in heaven.

Funny thing!

When I was searching for events in 1930,

I did what almost everyone does - went to the internet!

And as soon as I typed 'what happened ...'

that's as far as I got before it automatically said

 'What happened to Monday?' in the search bar.

Haha! How many people lost a Monday that they needed to google it?! 

I know I never what day of the week it is 

so safety in numbers, I say!

So I did some searching and didn't really have stamps to fit the bill.

So I improvised.

In 1930, Clyde Tombaugh, an American astronomer,
 discovered the planet Pluto.
It was the 9th planet in our solar system until it was later
reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. 

Aw, poor Pluto!

Here's my card representing looking into the night sky at the solar system.
I've used Lawn Fawn's Wish Upon A Star
and Ranger Ink distress oxide inks for the background.
I'm sure in the middle of the star system there's a planet or two!

You can see Barb's card here and
Jeanette's card here and what they chose from 1930!

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings :)
~Kelly

Christmas in July!

Hi friends!

Christmas in July is a fun tradition and it sure seems like

 we all need a little extra cheer!

This is such a fun time of year when Christmas 

is mingled with the blazing hot summers.

My personal favorite?

 Santa on the beach!

Everyone needs a holiday :)

The idea behind Christmas in July is a wonderful joy ~

it shouldn't be just one time a year.

Kinda like a half-birthday ...

twice is better than once!

My card is one that I did for Watercolor Wednesday at SCS

and it was somehow stuck in draft mode.

 I missed about 2 weeks of reality not even knowing my own name

so I'm sure it had a lot to do with that!

Hi. My name is Starbucks Kelly and I love coffee you!

For this card, I used the Altenew watercolor brush markers

and I am IN LOVE with these!

I'm still learning how to navigate the water and layer the colors

and I'm having fun in the process!

This is the layered Jolly Holly background from Taylored Expressions,

stamped with pigment ink for fast drying, no watercolor smearing.

I heat set this with the embossing tool in between each color 

(after the greens, then after the reds) to avoid any welling.

I usually chose my cardstock and/or papers first

(to make sure I have colors that will match)

so I was lucky that after it was waterolored, I found just the right ones.

The final touch was a sentiment stamp 

with a friendly greeting.

The joy in these big background style cards 

is even though they are large, they are super simple to mass produce.

And it was nice to dust off a stamp set that's been sitting in the bin

for way too long :)

I'm still doing card catch up and I'm way behind ...

baby steps!

Thanks for stopping by 

and, as always,
Big hugs, bigger blessings :)

~Kelly

CCEE: National Hot Dog Day!

Hi friends!

It's another challenge at the CCEE Stampers blog 

and this time it's celebrating National Hot Dog Day!

Here's the challenge:

Yesterday (7/15) was National Hot Dog Day.  

Make a card using something you would have at a picnic --

 a hot dog, a hamburger, a checkered tablecloth, or maybe some ants!

I went with a free clip art this week

and here's my super simple card ...

Stop by the CCEE challenge blog to see the DT cards

and the link to add yours, too!

Thanks for stopping by 

Big hugs, bigger blessings!
~Kelly

DDD ~ A bit of humor ...

Hi friends!

I'm still here ... just slower than usual!

I think I tried to get back to routine a little too soon

which sounds a lot like something I do.
I need to s.l.o.w. my row, as they say!

And today is the last time the DDD card group will be 9!

By this time next month,

 will we have been crafting together for 10 years ...

*~* 10 YEARS! *~*

And I'll let you in on a little secret!

There will be a month long party in our card group forum 

celebrating the 10 year anniversary.

Shhhhhh!

For this month's card kits, Barb and Tracie sent card kits with a humor theme.

Heaven knows we can all use some funny moments right about now ~

it's absolutely crazy out there!

My card today is made with the kit Barb sent to me 

and it was full of black and white papers with a Crackerbox/So Suzy image.

The moment I saw the image, I got 'old timey feels

from the Sunday comic section and left the image uncolored.

To contrast that, I used hot pink cardstock to give it a pop of color

and carried the theme to the inside as well.

Due to lack of time and energy 

I followed the card sketch on SCS from this week

 and flipped it to the side and made my card super simple.

Here's the sketch from Splitcoaststampers:

To find all the DDD (that's Dueling Darling Diva and Dazzler) cards,

please visit Splitcoaststampers and find the DDD card group in the forum.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings 

Kelly

Hot Mess Success ~ Pop Art!

Hello friends!

Thank you for your sweet words on my last post!

I've been in bed for a week and hope that I'm on the road to wellness.

I haven't had the energy to make cards at all

but today I just needed to pull up my bootstraps and just get. it. done!

I'm behind in creating at least 5 cards so today was crunch time.

I did take a quite a little time pull together this messy card

 for the Hot Mess Success card group.  

This month, I did a technique I call Pop Art!

Although I don't like messes AT ALL, I confess ~

I am LOVING this crazy card group!

Each month on the 12th, we find a technique 
- or in my case, create one -

and make a mess card.

So what's PoP aRt?!

One day, quite by mistake,

 I was playing around with my highly pigmented powders by Vicki Boutin.

Normally, it's meant to add to your mixing mediums

 like molding paste or glaze.

Since I've tried the CreativeFX iridescent glaze and stencils before, 

I thought it would be interesting to see how it would perform

 as a base color(s) when wet.

Low and behold - it stuck to the paper

and as I looked at it to see what to do next, it popped!

Pockets of air are underneath the dry powder
 and created a POP effect on the panel. Hence, Pop Art :)

 I wanted the paper to hold up to water, 

so I used #110 heavy weight cardstock.
It was certainly a cool effect and it gave me this card's idea :)

I normally prefer to dry my panels overnight but time was an issue

so I simply used my heat tool and dried the watery-powdery panel quickly.
The heat also activates the powder faster and more PoPing occured
giving the background panel amazing character :)

I made several A2 size card backgrounds 
and just chose one at random to use for this card ~ stamped in Stazon.

The cute birthday bear is from Penny Black and
 I've added sentiments from a Simon Hurley Creates stamp set.

My friends that also made cards today are:
Barb
Jeanette 
Terry

By using this 'Pop Art' technique, I was able to make quite a few panels.
I varied the colors and started with fresh water each time.
One it was heat dried, it sealed in the powder to the paper
but I did noticed if it's still wet, the dry part of the PoP Powder rubs off.  
Just a tip :)

This card took quite a bit of time and it's definitely not a quick card ~ 
 I kept getting tired through out the process,
but stuck it out and I'm so glad I did!
This card is just adorable and super-mess aside, I'm glad I made it :)
In fact, I am already planning uses for the other colored panels.

Here is another final look of the very messy birthday bear!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ...
~Kelly

TPB: Yello friends!

Yello friends!

That's like hello - only better!

It's a greeting with extra cheer and zest :)

And a great big THANK YOU to Denise,

owner and creator of The Project Bin stamps ~ like the one I'm using today.

I've been so very sick

which really stinks because I have some wonderful news to share soon :(

I had to pull a card from my gallery at Splitcoaststampers from VSN

and in true fashion to her sweetness, 

Denise said 'No worries', exuding to her amazing kindness!

It's probably no secret that I love 

~ LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE ~

citrus!

Grapefruits, oranges, lemon, limes - YUM!

I love the fruit, juices and even use it quite often in cooking.

We are very blessed that many years ago, we planted lemon/lime

and sour orange trees in our backyard so supply is always on hand.

For my card, I did some watercoloring

 with my Altenew watercolor brush markers.

  I am over the moon in love with these!

Since the VSN theme when I made this card back was fruit,

I stamped the lemon and slices in a random fashion to showcase that.

I'm a BIG BIG BIG fan of the loose watercoloring ~

not going all the way to the lines 

and just letting the water and paint do their own thing organically.  

I don't (always) force the color to the lines ...

and probably why I'm a fan of artists like John Marin, 

an American Modernism artist who painted this ↓

John Marin, Brooklyn Bridge, 1912

Back to my card!

I used the stamp set Yello and stamped the images in a random order.

Because the colors were so vivid and bright,

I stamped the coordinating sentiment in black and white for contrast.

The image is stamped and watercolored on #120 white cardstock 

and cut with a Spellbinders die set. 

 The final piece is the designer paper from Stampin' Up!

I did have an OOPS! with this card ...
can you see it?
eeeek!

You can see all what the design team creates all week on the blog,
as well as check out the galleries when you click on each stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Big hugs, bigger blessings!
~Kelly

World UFO Day!

Hi friends!

Just wanted to tell you ~

your friendship is out of this world!

There's a new challenge at the CCEE Stampers

with the talented Lois at the controls for July.

Since today is World UFO Day and her first challenge this month is:

Lois here to start my month as hostess for the challenges. 

 Today is World UFO Day.  Make a card with something from space -

- the sun, the moon, a planet, a UFO, a rocket ship.

  Or, create a galaxy background for your card.  

I don't have any stamps with a UFO or alien theme so I went with an

alcohol inks alcohol blending solution background galaxy thingie card!

It turned out super groovy!

I happen to get lucky and found a few sheets of Yupo paper, 

left over from a past project ~ I don't keep a lot on hand 

(because it's 'spensive!)

I also paired it with the adorable astronauts from MFT Stamps: Mission Control

and colored them with my copic markers 

(for The Daily Marker - Day #2!)

The sentiment is a time issue and I found it on my desk - done and done!

And that's it from my today!

Be sure to stop in to the CCEE Stamper blog and see the the DT cards

as well as the linky where you can add your cards, too.

Thanks for stopping by ~

Big hugs, bigger blessings!

Kelly

Birthday Love!

Hi friends!

Can you believe it's July?!

It's hard to believe that half of this crazy year is gone

and my prayers are it will be better than the first half.

Since June just ended,

 I am finally getting my act together making a card …

 made with Altenew stamp club stamp and die.

I'm a BIG fan of Altenew stamps.

 And you know when you love a stamp company

and they say 'we have a stamp club!' 

and you say "where do I sign up?!!!"

Yeah!  

Me, too!

It's like a little surprise in the mailbox each month :)

The July club stamp just arrived ta-day and 

I. just. had. to. peek ….

Super excited!

The adorable stamp of the month for June is:

Birthday Love!

It's an cute mini balloon hearts set and matching die,

super versatile and a delightful set to use all year, over and over.

 For my card, I wanted to go with a whimsical look

and the decided to do some quick watercoloring.

I just did a super easy, tried and true smoosh method

with ranger inks and water and acetate.

The fun thing about the technique is with one pass of the inks,

you can get backgrounds for days!

It's like the ink that just keeps giving :)

Once it was dry, I stamped with Stazon ink and only used

the silhouette stamp to highlight the balloon shape and die cut it.

I added some simple twine and tacked it underneath the balloons
and heat embossed the matching stamp set sentiment
with white embossing powder and ta-da!
Done!

I'm super excited to work on the next card
(since this is actually the card for June!)

Today, the Daily Marker starts up again.
I've been playing along for a few years now
and it's a daily coloring/use-any-medium-just-be-creative idea from Kathy R.
This is my Day #1 card!

Some days I will color, some days I won't be able to,

some days I will make a full card ..

I'll surprise myself, LOL!

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings
!~Kelly