Calling All Sistah's Hop

  

Hi Folks! Here's your 17th-of-the-month-reminder to check yourselves, and/or schedule a mammogram if you're due. It's a busy month of the year, for sure, but our health does not know that presents need to be bought, cookies need to be made, and decorations need to be put up (yikes, I still need to do all of those things!) This month's card features CAS-ual Fridays products, including half of a sentiment from You are Loved, a star die cut and a star outline stamp from Twinkle.

      

 
 Gold thread is tied around the "waist" of the star. But my favorite part of the card is the background created with the circle of mini hearts stamp from Calm and Loving. This stamp is originally intended to be the leaves on the tree, but it also makes a pretty neat background. You just have to slightly overlap the hearts so there are no gaps. Yay for multiple uses!
  

   
You may have come from Lori Kobular's blog. If you'd like to start at the beginning of the hop, head on over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog.

Should you be interested in purchasing anything from the Calling All Sistahs line, 50% of the profits  are donated to National Breast Cancer Foundation. You are also invited to participate in next month's blog hop. Check out all the details at CAS-ual Fridays, along with information on prizes.

Don't forget the discount code KELLY2016 to save 15% off your purchases! 

   

 
Your next stop on this hop is the charming Sandi Pressley.

   

Thanks for stopping by!

-Kelly

Christmas Thank You Cards - Fast, Faster and Fastest

Hi Folks! I'm back with another set of cards from Catherine Pooler's Holiday Wrap-Up Bundle. These cards all feature the Still Smiling set which is filled with sweet thank you sentiments, especially useful after the holidays. Even the name of the set is endearing ... "still smiling" after receiving your gift. Aww.

   

Lately I've been into using as many words as possible on a card to construct a sentiment that is more robust than our typical "thank you". I think it's a little more impactful to the recipient. Here I have four different sentiments, in different inks (colors to be released in January). The tiny snowflake and Christmas tree stamps fill in between the sentiments. I construct this kind of card much like a embroidery sampler where you combine several smaller items to make one big composition.

I really like this card, but have to admit the stamping did take me about a half hour to get everything lined up and situated the way I wanted. Practically, that doesn't match with how I use thank you cards. If I don't have what I need on hand, I'm usually in a rush, and just need something quick. So I came up with a few other versions. They all use the same main Thank You sentiment separated by a bright pink star.

Fast, Faster and Fastest.

 

   

This one is stamped on a panel, with masked lines made by blending inks in between sticky notes. And a brightly patterned paper for the base.

Fast: 10 minutes

This one skips the ink blending entirely and just uses the sentiment stamped on a panel. It's mounted on two patterned papers. 

Faster: 5 minutes

   

This one is just the stamped panel. I think having the pink star in between the Thank You is enough of a design element to allow it to stand on its own. And great for Christmas since you have the green and red/pink combo. This would be an ideal candidate for mass producing!

Fastest: 2-3 minutes

   

  

Here is the Still Smiling set, on the left, in the Holiday Wrap-Up Bundle. Don't forget, orders by December 19th will ship in time for Christmas!

 

 Thanks so much for looking!

-Kelly

Catherine Pooler's Holiday Wrap-Up

   
 Hi Folks, I've got a few cards from Catherine Pooler's latest Holiday Wrap-Up collection! This card features a pair of cozy winter mittens (look how the string coils up into an adorable heart shape, seriously clever) on a background panel of silver embossed snow flakes. These are all from the Holiday Mittens set, if you don't want to buy the full collection.


   
   Not sure if you noticed ... the mittens are felt, which is why they're cozy! The Holiday Mittens die set comes with two different sizes of cuffs to add to the ends. This comes in handy when using the thick felt, as you get a ton of extra dimension. I was also surprised how well the die cut the thin string out of felt. I added some love to the mittens with a heart shape from the new Still Smiling set and colored it in with a copic marker. I was not surprised how well the new Catherine Pooler inks worked on felt, such a crisp image!
 

 
Here are all the sets you get in the Holiday Wrap-Up collection.



This card uses the sweater border stamp to make another cozy card. I used several of the new ink pads that will be coming out in January to make it seem like a colorful sweater. Here I used warm reds and oranges to add to the cozy feeling, but you could alternate holiday colors, go monochromatic, make thick stripes by stamping the border twice in each color, endless possibilities.
 

  
 The sentiment is the Sending Blessings single stamp. I wanted to add the word "warm" to the sentiment, where "sweet" is now, but the version of "warm" in this set was a little too large. When you're doing your own sentiment, don't forget you can usually add to it and come away with a custom sentiment. The thick embroidery floss is tied around the sentiment, to enhance the cozy sweater feel.
    

If you need any gifts for the paper crafters in your life, feel free to check out Catherine Pooler's gifts section that would be shipped in time for Christmas if you order before December 19th!

Tomorrow I'll be back with another set of cards from the Holiday Wrap-Up collection.

Thanks for looking!
-Kelly

Advent Calendar Extravaganza with Taheerah Atchia

   

Advent Calendar Extravaganza is -the- festive event of the season! This ‘hop with a twist’ was dreamed up by Taheerah Atchia and features surprise destinations each day! Joining in the fun with Taheerah are ONE HUNDRED special guests - each serving up some fantastic Christmas inspiration! Just like an Advent Calendar, you’ll never know where you’re going to be visiting next until you ‘open the door’!

And that’s not all! With 25 *amazing* sponsors taking part as guests as well, your crafty wish list is bound to get a boost with a chance to win a prize EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

Join in the fun every day at taheerah-atchia.com to see what special surprises await behind the door!

 

   

 This card was created for a specific purpose, as you'll see a bit later. I loaded up my watercolor brush with some green ink and, starting at the top of a piece of scrap paper, swiped it back and forth until I ran out of color. Then I loaded up my brush with some pink ink and did the same starting at the bottom, until the two colors met in the middle. Once the paper was dry, I stamped Winnie & Walter's house from This Awesome House on top and cut around the image. 
   

 
The banner is from the same set, embossed in white on charcoal paper. I added the shading lines with a white gel pen and then embossed the sentiment from the new Sentimental: Winter set. Love how it fits in the banner! I still thought it looked a little plain on top so I added the Merry die from In a Word: Merry Cutaway to pick up the pink on the bottom of the house AND the pink on the inside of the card. 

So, why did I make this particular card?

Well, the house stamp is the perfect image to go with the village of chipboard Christmas houses I created for our nieces and nephews in Texas.

 
They are made with a thick doll house die from the now-out-of-business Top Dog Dies. I thought they would be cute sitting underneath the Christmas tree, on the mantel, or even in bookcase.



Going through my Christmas paper "collection" was so fun to find patterned papers for all the different parts of the house. I tried not to repeat any papers across the group of houses. Sometimes I'd alter a patterned paper by coloring it with a copic marker, like the shutters here which were originally the white and red zig-zag paper on this next house:



The roof of each house has a grouping of die cut berries, pine branches, and sometimes a strip of this cute snowflake trim.


 
This roof is covered with layers of scalloped lace to mimic the look of shingles.


  
 This roof has a bit of snow that's collected on top. Love the peppermint chimney (because who doesn't want one of those?!)


 
Each house is personalized with their first initial on the door. This door also has a crystal doorknob.
  

 
I covered the back with another patterned paper and added a chipboard stand covered in paper. The stand, conveniently enough, is the perfect spot for a greeting! For those detail oriented folks, you may notice that this was LAST year's present.
 

 

All the different backs.

  

 
Here they all are, wrapped up with an initial on each tag. If you're sending presents to far away family or friends this year don't forget decorating the box itself! These boxes were quick to pretty up with the w&w Winter Woodland set. Might as well make a good first impression : )

It’s not a party without a prize - and with prizes every day there are several chances to win! Today’s prize is generously supplied by Winnie & Walter so you’ll definitely want to win! Simply leave a comment on this post - then head back to taheerah-atchia.com and leave a comment there too! You must leave a comment on Taheerah’s blog as well as mine in order to be eligible to win! Don’t forget to grab the other surprise destinations from Taheerah’s blog and head over to them to leave comments there as well to improve your odds even more! You have until 23:59 EST on 31st December 2016 to enter.

Don’t forget Advent Calendar Extravaganza runs from 1st-25th December inclusive so make sure you visit taheerah-atchia.com every day for fabulous inspiration and amazing prizes every single time! Merry Christmas!

Thanks for looking!
-Kelly

Advent Calendar Extravaganza with Taheerah Atchia

Hi Folks! It's time for Taheerah's Advent Calendar Extravaganza! Head on over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog to see one of the surprise destinations in her advent calendar : )

Thanks for looking!
-Kelly

A ROUND of Applause

      
Hi folks! This card is over at the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog today, where I did a quick tutorial on how to get a straight sentiment to curve around a circle using the MISTI.
 

  

Feel free to use my code "KELLY2016" which will save you 15% off any purchases at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. This is even more awesome because a lot of the stamps are ALREADY on sale so you get an additional 15% off the sale price.

Thanks for looking!
-Kelly

Winnie & Walter Tour of the Stars Blog Hop

 
Hi Folks! We're celebrating the end of the Winnie & Walter winter release reveal with a Blog Hop showcasing all the fabulous new products that are already available to purchase! You may have come from the fabulous Kate Capper, but if not, you're more than welcome to start at the beginning with Winne & Walter.
  

   

My two cards use the adorable snow scenes from Season's Tweetings with Evelin T Designs. This card is super simple, even for coloring the snowman. I mean, c'mon, he's WHITE! 90% of the work is already done before you've uncapped your markers.
  

    
Seriously, how adorable is he? I cut a few layers of my husband's comic book backing boards for extra dimension (these are perfect for this purpose, about twice as thick as the 110 lb paper, but not too thick that you can't cut through it easily, like chipboard sometimes). 
 

 
This set also comes with an igloo (hello, also white!) and several more adorable winter characters. I like these images for a birthday card because it reflects the season, with the colored lights on the igloo, but there is no Santa, reindeer, Christmas tree, or anything else that screams "Christmas" instead of "birthday". I don't have a December birthday, but one of my best friends from childhood had a birthday on Dec. 28th and she never loved getting Christmas items for her birthday.

I love using and mixing ALL the sentiments from Winnie & Walter, and really think that makes for a well put-together card. A few different fonts that go together are all you need. I liked this combination of sentiments so much that both cards use the same wording. For these cards I've used the new The Big, The Bold, and Greetings, Sentimental: Winter, and two of the older The Big, The Bold sets (Merry and Party).

Good news on prizes, five randomly chosen commenters will receive $30.00 credit to shop at Winnie & Walter! All you need to do is leave a comment by Monday, November 21, 2016 at noon CST.

Your next stop is the amazingly innovative Keren Baker (love what she comes up with!)

Thanks so much for looking!
-Kelly

PS. In case you missed them, here are my other cards from this release: