The 25 Days of Christmas Tags

Hi Folks! It is my great pleasure to join the 25 Days of Christmas Tags festivities hosted by none other than Tracey McNeely, who, as you all know, is just the sweetest blogger and friend ever!  I'm joining this year with CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.

This tag uses my favorite Flurry Fri-Die layered onto a Funky Square Tag. I am such a fan of tiny sentiments ... this is one of the many different sentiments from Sleigh Bells. For the wrapping, kraft paper is my go-to when I have fancy tags and ribbons. I also like to layer the ribbons so you get all those textures together. Here we've got the woven canvas, velvet & metallic pink crossed over each other, and wired tinsel from Dollar Tree (at $1 for 50 feet, it's the best deal around!! I'm on my second helping already).

For the tag, I wanted to give the feeling of fresh snow, so I chose a glittery paper for the tag base, and then bent the snowflakes up. Doesn't it look like they just fell there? OK, maybe it's just me, hahaha!

Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by. Be sure to check Tracey's blog throughout the month for more tag inspiration, and lots of prizes too! It's been so fun to watch this event grow bigger each year. Thanks for all your hard work putting this together, Tracey!

- Kelly

Too Early for Winter Decorations?!?

My kids were so confused when they walked into the bathroom last week and saw snowflakes dangling in the window. It's not even Halloween yet. Such is the home of a blogger, right? : )

I'm at CAS-ual Fridays with this winter project so you too can completely confuse your family!!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly

Winnie & Walter Release Day (4 of 4)

Hi folks! We're at the last day of the Winnie & Walter release, and I know you are going to fall in love with the calligraphy in the Evelin T Designs sets like I did. This first card features one of the sentiments, again with a nice mix of typography and calligraphy. The hanging birdhouse and twig is watercolored, with a few sequins added for good measure.

 

Here's a tag I cut with the Essentials: Noelle Cutaways. The to/from are also in this set. The florals on this tag are from yesterday's In Bloom: Hollie's Festive Florals. Love how the pieces of the flower, leaf, stem, berries etc. are all different stamps so you can easily work a bunch of colors in. Under the tag I layered In Bloom: Paulina's Greenery Cutaway. The package looked a little plain without it, so I was excited when this wreath added a little more color, width and interest. So easy to do.

This last card uses Scenery: The Leaf Effect a couple different times for the sponged leaves, which have been masked off the sides. The scalloped panel that the leaves are on is another great die in the Essentials: Noelle Cutaway set. I went with a solid pink for the flower (from In Bloom: Anna's Flora) since there was so much going on in the background. The gold sentiment is another one of Evelin T Designs ... both sets are Christmas themed, but as both cards in this post show, you can easily use them for non-holiday (even summer!) cards.
 
Be sure to check out the other amazing projects from Julie, Shay and our guest designers (the always surprising Keren Baker!) on the Winnie & Walter blog. As usual, leave a comment there for a chance to WIN all of today's goodies. The Big Giveaway is also going on with a chance to win the entire release!! Of course, there's a ton more inspiration on the personal blogs of our Talent:

Joni Andaya | Lydia Evans | Vanessa Menhorn | Gayatri Murali | Heather Pulvirenti

   
Whew, you've made it all the way through the release! As sad as I am that it's over, the good news is that all the shopping can begin. Whoo-hoo!! 
  

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

Winnie & Walter Release Day (3 of 4)

Hi folks! We're only half way through this massive Winnie & Walter release and there is still so much to show you! This next set is called Our Town and it's full of houses, fences, trees, lamp posts, etc. Anything you'd need to make a town of your own. For this card I stamped all three houses in different colors and masked as I worked my way up the card. The sentiment is another tiny one I'm in love with from Comfort + Joy. It goes so well with the huge neighborhood on the card ... kind of like the card is from everyone who lives in each of the houses.



After I put the w&w watermark on the photo I realized that I created the Winnie & Walter town ... the colors are almost exactly the same as the w&w circles!



For this house I swiped the stamp across a juicy distress ink pad and then stamped it. Love the textured horizontal lines that resulted! I can hardly stand how cute those little stars are. To add to my chilly winter scene, I cut a few layers of hills. This was a perfect place to add my sentiment (from Catherine Pooler's Holiday Stamp of Approval Box.)

Although I made a winter scene here, all the accessories that come in this Our Town set will let you create a scene for all seasons. What a great set of cards that would be!

This last card features a wreath cut with the In Bloom: Paulina's Greenery Cutaway. Really love the open leaves on this wreath. They work well for letting layers show through, especially this gold foil layer on the bottom. The top layer is colored with a few different Copic markers to make a blended Fall wreath. The In a Word Thanks sentiment is bent slightly in a curve to make it fit better on the card (it take up more of the space inside the wreath, as well as doesn't extend over the card edge as much.

For the bow I used the same Copic markers that I used on the wreath to alter my seam binding tape. Perfectly matched!


Be sure to check out the other amazing projects from Julie, Shay and our guest designers (the always surprising Keren Baker!) on the Winnie & Walter blog. As usual, leave a comment there for a chance to WIN all of today's goodies. The Big Giveaway is also going on with a chance to win the entire release!! Of course, there's a ton more inspiration on the personal blogs of our Talent:

Joni Andaya | Lydia Evans | Vanessa Menhorn | Gayatri Murali | Heather Pulvirenti

   
Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the last day of the w&w release! 
  

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

Winnie & Walter Release Day (2 of 4)

Hi folks! Welcome to day 2 of the crazy, packed Winnie & Walter release!



There were several sets introduced yesterday, are you ready for a ton more today?!

There are three creative screenings (stencils) being released ... a faceted design, a leaf design and this awesome birch tree design called Scenery: Into the Woods Creative Screenings. I used distress inks in a rainbow color pattern and inked up several birch trees on the front of the card. So simple. To finish it off, I used a strong sentiment embossed in black from an Evelin T Designs set that will be introduced on Friday. Gotta have some fun paper on the inside too : )






This card uses the same Into the Woods creative screening to make a fall forest design, inspired by the trees outside my mother's patio (check out the leafy floor ... doesn't it remind you of sheet music with all those straight parallel lines?) I don't know how this happens, but my alcohol inks always tend to darken after some time. Does this happen to you too? I could swear this card was very yellow with some orange when I made it, and then the next morning when I photographed it in the natural light it looks very brown. Darn it! Anyway, the In a Word: Thanks cutaway is also used on this card, with some outlining of the letters in a felt-tip pen.

  
This card is made completely from the Comfort + Joy set. I love that there is a deer head and a jingle bell in the same set! LOVE the flock of birds flying. Super love that. And I'm also nuts over all the tiny sentiments. These are so good for when 1) your design is small and you don't want to take away from it, or 2) your design is perfect just the way you want it and then you realize that your card has no sentiment on it yet (I hate it when that happens!) These small sentiments are easy to sneak onto a card without disturbing it too much.

Finally, it was my son's 8th birthday this weekend. We had a party. 18 eight-year-old boys. Yes it was crazy. Yes it was stressful. Yes it was fun. Here's the cake topper I made for his Jack-o-lantern cake.

Eeek, I just loved it!! The true star cutaways in the faceted and solid design are just the right size to pack a whole lot of punch on top of his cake. I love using card-making supplies in everyday life!!

Doesn't take much effort, but it certainly elevates this box mix cake to party-worthy status. One word of caution ... WATCH. THE. CANDLES. Just sayin' : )

Ok, one more photo! Here's the aftermath of the 18 eight-year-olds. Mostly toilet paper from the mummy wrapping. But also a little bit of pinata thrown in on the far right by the front door (see the rope hanging down?) Umm ... good thing we installed hardwood floors when we moved in!

ANYWAY, be sure to check out the other amazing projects from Julie, Shay and our guest designers (the always surprising Keren Baker!) on the Winnie & Walter blog. As usual, leave a comment there for a chance to win all of today's goodies. The Big Giveaway is also going on with a chance to win the entire release!! Of course, there's a ton more inspiration on the personal blogs of our Talent:

Joni Andaya | Lydia Evans | Vanessa Menhorn | Gayatri Murali | Heather Pulvirenti

   
Be sure to stop by over the next two days ... there is just so much left to show you!

  

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

Winnie & Walter Release Day (1 of 4)

Hi folks! I've been anxiously waiting for this Winnie & Walter release for quite some time, and am relieved that it's finally here. There are so many different stamp sets, cutaways (dies) and creative screenings (stencils) that it's difficult to keep track of them all! Winnie & Walter have really outdone themselves this time. Wait until you see the goodies! We've got four days that are utterly packed.

 This first card uses just one of the sketchy blooms from In Bloom: Elsa's Flora. I kept this poinsettia white (except for the red Pretty Pink Posh sequins in the middle) and added color to the rest of the card with patterned paper. The sentiment is from a set being debuted tomorrow that is filled with wonderfully tiny sentiments.
       

For this second card I used the same white poinsettias, with gold sequin centers, and a sentiment from a set being debuted later in the week. The gold sprigs are also from a cutaway that's being showcased on a future day. I know, I know, didn't I tell you there was so much goodness coming?!?

  
Here are the two cards together. Same basic formula, with two patterned papers being divided a third of the way up with fussy cut white poinsettia(s). A formula like this is good if you're one of those people who is crazy enough to make a unique holiday card for everyone on their list. Not me; I am a proud mass-producer!



This release also has some of the great large word cutaways that Winne & Walter is known for. The In a Word: Joy cutaway is a great decoration to add to presents. The "o" in the middle of the word is an oh-so-convenient way to attach it ... just run your ribbon through the middle!

 

How about the quickest little card/tag ever? Just place the metal die slightly above your folded paper and you instantly have a unique greeting that you can write inside. I added a star and a disc onto gold thread and hung it from the bottom of the "o". I love the way it dangles!
   
  Be sure to check out the other amazing projects from Julie, Shay and our guest designers (the always surprising Keren Baker!) on the Winnie & Walter blog. As usual, leave a comment there for a chance to WIN all of today's goodies. The Big Giveaway is also going on with a chance to win the entire release!! Of course, there's a ton more inspiration on the personal blogs of our Talent:

Joni Andaya | Lydia Evans | Vanessa Menhorn | Gayatri Murali | Heather Pulvirenti

   
Be sure to stop by over the next three days ... there is just so much left to show you! 
  

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

CFS Birthday Bash Hop

Hi Folks! It's hard to believe CAS-ual Fridays Stamps is 3 years old already! If you're just joining us, we're in the middle of a grand birthday blog hop (starting at the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog) to celebrate the anniversary!

In addition to this blog hop, there is a no-code-needed sale going on at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps all week. Wait, there's more! All commenters throughout the hop will be entered to win either a $75 gift certificate to CAS-ual Fridays Stamps OR a MISTI ($60 credit to order one). How awesome is that?!?
  

 
This card is special because it uses one of the first-ever CAS-ual Fridays Stamps sets called WTF (the sentiment and the line) and one of the more recent CAS-ual Fridays Stamps and Fri-Dies called Must Love Snowflakes and Flurry (snowflakes). It really spans the lifetime of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.
  

 
Plus it's so fun to layer those cute snowflakes.



The snowflake in the top corner is bleeding off the edge of the inset panel, and continued on the base of the card for interest.

I won't keep you any longer on this blog hop. Your next stop is the wonderful blog of Maureen Merritt. Thanks so much for stopping by!
- Kelly