Fusion: Party Lanterns

Welcome to another fun Fusion Challenge!

 I was all about trying for the photo and sketch on this challenge. The festive party stamps are from winnie & walter The Party. For the Chinese lanterns I incorporated the silver from the photo by adding a real tassel with silver thread. The bottom right corner has party confetti instead of the banners from the sketch. To fill the middle space I did some generational stamping on the sentiment.

Here are some fabulous cards by our design team!

Amy Tsuruta

 Betty J.

Jeanne Jachna

Julia Aston 

Katie Brooks

Lynn Mangan

Kimberly Wiener

Lyndal Higgins

Michelle Williams

Michelle Lupton

Stephanie Severin

Winners: Will be chosen by all of our teammates in two weeks. We each will choose one favorite. The winners will be announced at 4 am (PST) in two weeks!


Thanks for looking!
-Kelly

Summary Saturday: Heart Border Die

Welcome to a slightly different Functional Friday where I'm happy to review all of the different ways the Top Dog Dies' Heart Border Die has been used over the past three months. Yes, I am officially closing the book on this die : ) Like the Functional Friday articles, my hope is that even if you don't own that exact die, the ideas will translate to similar dies you do own.

Each of the photos and captions below are linked to the original article in case you missed a project and want more details on it. 

stitch shapes

tear for a background

stitch sentiments AND use the tiny hearts like sequins

make rosettes

die cut with another die

cluster the tiny die cuts

cluster more of the tiny die cuts

die cut with another die

wrap small packages

create a stained glass look

dress up vases or wine bottles

layer to make different patterns

sponge ink through the holes

use the old dryer sheets for a detailed background

BEST TIP EVER on getting those tiny die cuts out ... what a life saver!!!

Thanks so much for all your feedback throughout this series! It's been so wonderful to read your thoughtful comments. We are currently in the middle of packing up our home of the last 17 years and getting it ready to be put on the market. Packing has come to a large halt after finding severe water damage in our master bath that has caused us to tear it down to the studs. This surprise remodel has taken on a life of its own as we navigate through the permit process, find replacements for everything that is not standard in our house, attempt to save money by doing everything we're able to by ourselves, and uncover additional hidden issues. Unfortunately, this all means I haven't had much time left at the end of the day to be out and about in blogland. I'm really looking forward to some time coming up where I'll be able to say "hi"!! Until then, have a wonderful weekend, and a blessed Easter if you celebrate!

Hugs,
Kelly

Light It Up Blue Blog Hop + Virginia's View Challenge

I'm very pleased to be participating in the Light it Up for Autism Awareness Blog Hop, hosted by the lovely Tenia Nelson and Veronica Zalis! Our dear friends and neighbors have the sweetest boy ever who is diagnosed with Autism. They just got the good news that he will be able to attend kindergarten in our local elementary school with the other kids from our neighborhood next year! We are very blessed with caring staff and a wonderful school district to make sure that's possible.

We had a new addition to the family last week, baby Theodore "Theo", and are so excited to get to meet him at our Easter celebration in a few days. Unfortunately, he may have to sit out on the egg hunt this year : )

What a perfect coincidence that the lovely little man Tenia is dedicating this hop to is also named "Theo"!

   

Knowing that I wanted to play in my dear friend Virginia's View Challenge, I wanted to make sure to layer this one up. Keeping a mostly white palate helps it stay clean. I focused on layers of "love you" over the elephant, the repeated "baby" sentiment on the "T", the tiny heart on the "O" and the layered alpha letters. The bottom layer of alphas is made from blue distress ink.

 

For the inside of the card I chose to keep the coordinating strip on the bottom of the 12x12 patterned paper to introduce a little color.

A big thanks to the wonderful sponsors of this blog hop! Let's hear it for them!! For every comment you leave throughout the hop you will be entered in a whole slew of drawings for fun goodies.

Thanks so much for looking!
-Kelly

Functional Friday: Cover Plate Stencil

Hi all! Time for another Functional Friday installment. In case you missed this post, I'm featuring one die from Top Dog Dies each month, and each Friday I'm sharing a different way to use the die. My hope is that even if you don't own that exact die, the ideas will translate to similar dies you do own.

 

If you're reading this real-time, you may be wondering why it's indeed Saturday when I'm posting a Functional Friday article. You see, I had Summary Saturday all lined up, where I was going to recap of all the Heart Border Die projects, but there was one more idea I wanted to try. Let's take a look ...

Rather than use the actual negative or positive die on the card, I used the die as a tool for a stencil/blending project. The die is only an inch or two wide, but since there's a repeating pattern it's easy to sponge ink through it one time, move the stencil down your card, line it up with the previously inked area, and stencil some more. After repeating this several times you end up covering the entire card. 

After sponging in the hearts, I removed the stencil and blended the background with the same color to give it a richer look.

For the sentiment, I colored each letter of "color" with a different copic marker on top of the white embossing. 

OK, so aside from next week's recap, this is really it for the Heart Border Die. I pinkie promise!

Thanks so much for looking!

-Kelly

MFT Challenge: Breakin' In

Hi folks! You would not believe this adorable little dog, trying to get inside! Persistent little fella. Stop by this week's MFT Sketch Challenge to see the rest of him : )

You can also see the sentiment inside, which I tried to "wag" like the little dog's cute tail!

Sadly, this is my last guest post for MFT Sketch Challenges. A HUGE THANKS to Ms. Susan Opel for inviting me to participate for the month of March! It is quite an honor and I had so much fun playing along with all the AMAZING talent on the MFT team. Boy do they make some incredible cards!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
- Kelly

MFT Challenge: A Blast from the Past

It's funny how someone will pin a random card from years ago and it will just take off and generate more traffic to your site than all of your current month's projects combined.


 
It's even more strange when that card is the FIRST CARD you ever posted on your blog, way back in January 2012 for a PTI blog hop. (nice kitchen floor in the photo, Kelly!) Trying not to take it personally that my first card posted has more views than ANY of the 500 cards I've posted since then, I have come up with a rationalization. I think the popularity may have to do with me linking cards up to non-card blog parties in the first couple months of blogging, before I really figured out the landscape of the card-making blogs. It must have gotten broader attention that way.

To honor my first card post, I used the same folding idea (instructions in this post) and adapted it to the sketch challenge at My Favorite Things. Stop by to see it if you get a chance! I colored in my first-ever girl stamp : )

Thanks for looking!
- Kelly

Playing Cards, Birthday Cards or Both!

Hi folks! I've got a fun idea for using playing cards to make a customizable, yet quick, birthday card. Stop by the Winnie & Walter blog for more details!

Thanks again for looking : )

- Kelly