CFS Release - Daisy Chain, Full on Floral

Full on Floral! The latest in the CAS-ual Fridays release is quite appropriately named, I think. After playing around with some color combinations, this card was super easy to create. Another good possibility for gifting as a set of cards to someone. It's quick, since there's just one main stamp to ink up, but it still has a large impact due to its size.

 
The sentiment is from a previously released set Mwah. I repeated the orange in the flowers for the ampersand, and the pink in the flowers for the "smooches" to tie everything in. I love that the floral ends partway down the card to give you room for a sentiment. I always feel somewhat accomplished when I'm happy with a card and it's truly one layer.

I've got one tip to share on making the most of your mistakes: if it doesn't turn out right the first time, flip it over and start again. This was my first attempt at the card, where I inked the floral stamp in red, orange, yellow and green. When I got ready to stamp the sentiment on the bottom of the florals, I was stuck at what color to use that wouldn't get lost in all those lines. Nothing seemed to work, especially since the sentiment I wanted (hugs) has thin lines itself. I concluded that I had to omit green from the stamp so the low contrast yellow would be on the bottom and not compete with my sentiment. Instead of throwing it away, or saving it for a later use that will never come, I just flipped it over and stamped on the other side. Now I have a perfectly coordinated design on the back of my card. I'm pretty sure whoever receives will think it's an extra detail, and not realize it's actually a mistake.

   

Well that's it, folks! You've seen all the stamps and now they are ready for purchase in the CAS-ual store! Feel free to use my code "KELLY2017" which will save you 15% off any purchases, including this new release, at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.

  

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

Winnie & Walter Release - Day 4

Warning: More cuteness! Today we get to see the other adorable critter set from Winnie & Walter, Welcome to the Family with Evelin T Designs.

This card uses quite a mix from this release, but as you see they all go together quite well. The thought bubble, sentiment and sketchy heart is from Sketchy Thoughts. The bear is from Welcome to the Family with Evelin T Designs. The sentiments below the bear are from Sending You with Evelin T Designs. LOVE that these sentiments are small, just perfect for adding to your primary sentiment. Or for when you run out of room on your card to say something!

Previously released products include my all time favorite die ever for panels, Essentials: Audrey Cutaways (those tiny scallops and dots, eek!) as well as the Scenery: Madison Creative Screenings stencil.

Here he is again, with slightly different colors, and the heart in a speech bubble instead of on his chest. Doesn't he look just like a gummy bear?! Adore. To make these two cards I had to do a double masking, one for the bear and one to separate the ground/wallpaper. Not difficult, but I definitely had to think about where each ink went and when to take off each mask.

This one is a belated baby card for my second cousin, Gwyn, who unfortunately happens to be 10 months old already! Argh. Watercolors and baby cards just seem to go together so naturally. And how cute is this bear hugging his special bunny?! Seriously.

  I built a little block tower for them to stand on. I always love to personalize a card when I can, and these blocks are the perfect place to put a baby's initials. I don't care who you are, every new mother gets emotional when seeing her baby's name or initials on a piece of paper for the first time. The letters are from previously released Typecast: Cary, which the corresponding dies are now being released. Also did you notice the tiny sentiment on the side of the blocks? This is a perfect example of running out of room for a sentiment on your card. Plus it would have competed with the large initials. So this tiny sentiment on the side is just right.  

 
These sets are just as good on the inside of your card. The sentiment is from Welcome to the Family, of course, and the letters are from Typecast: Cary. We have another tiny sentiment, again, to reinforce the main sentiment.  

  

Be sure to check out the other amazing projects on the Winnie & Walter blog. As usual, leave a comment there for a chance to WIN all of today's goodies. You can also comment on this post for a chance to win ALL TEN stamp sets in this release. Whoo-hoo!  

I'm a little sad that after waiting so long to show you these projects, the release week is now over. The good news, however, is that the stamps and dies are all available for purchase this evening at Winnie & Walter!
  

Thanks for stopping by all week!

-Kelly

CFS Release - Gift Card Holders + A DISCOVERY on Using Punch Boards

Two exciting things in this post: 1) a super fun set of sentiments releasing from CAS-ual Fridays, and 2) a revelation on adjusting envelope sizes when using the envelope punch board!  

 First things first! This new Frankly'isms set is made to go with the previously released Scallop Tags, but you can absolutely use them on their own. They are the perfect size for stamping on the outside of gift card holders. Let's face it, not many people are going to be keeping a gift card holder afterwards, like they would a card, so why spend a ton of time on them?! These sayings are just right for making your gift cards fun and unique, while taking just a minute to stamp.

They were so quick and easy, I ended up making a dozen of them! Just to have on hand. Why not?!

Love all the funny sayings. "You should know I'm secretly wishing this was all mine" often applies to me : )

 

Now for my recent discovery. I am fully admitting, "discovery" is a pretty dramatic word once you hear what it is, but I've always been in such a hurry to make the darn envelope that I never stopped to figure this out.

 Are you ever disappointed in the size of your envelope after following the guidelines on the envelope punch board? For gift cards, my punch board says to take a 5" x 5" paper and score at 2". Well I'm sorry, but that's really not the right size for a gift card. It is barely tall enough to close, and has a ton of space on the ends. 

 

I found that as you increase the scoring measurement, your envelope becomes more tall and narrow.

  

I was so excited, I wrote this on the actual board in permanent marker so I don't forget it!

Here you can see the different results I got by changing where I made the first score. Somewhere around 2 1/16" ended up being just right. Now maybe you all know this, and I'm just behind on things, but I thought it would be helpful to someone!

     

     We've just got one day left to share the new CAS-ual Fridays collection. Feel free to use my code "KELLY2017" which will save you 15% off any purchases, including this new release, at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.

 

Thanks for stopping; I'll be back tomorrow!

-Kelly

 

 

Winnie & Walter Release - Day 3

   Oh my! The critters are here! Evelin really knocked the illustrations out of the park in Winnie & Walter's Big Hugs with Evelin T Designs set (stay tuned for tomorrow's companion set). Cuteness overload, and with the large open spaces there are so many different ways to bring these little fellas to life. Watercolor, alcohol marker, sponged ink, paper piecing, pattern kissing, so many choices.   

 

      Now with these adorable creatures, you are probably thinking baby cards, toddler birthday cards, anything fun and happy. On this card, however, these little guys are serving to bring lots of love to my dear friend  who just lost her father in a quick battle with illness. Since it's a sympathy card, that will also explain the charcoal and black background. We're really close, so I felt like I could do a little more than a sympathy card with natural elements (trees, leaves, etc) like I usually do. 

  
The elephants are paper pieced in a gentle pattern (that actually would be good for a baby card too). There is a large space in the middle of them, since they are locking trunks and all, so it's the perfect opportunity to fill it with another layer. I was able to introduce a purple glitter heart from Flawless Heart Cutaways in that spot to convey even more love. The background is stamped with scripted "I love you's" and the gold embossed sentiment perfectly captures what I wanted to tell her.

 
We rarely show the insides, right? Here's a sneak. Inside is a great place to use The Big, the Bold words; these come from The Big, the Bold and Comfort.

So, as cute as these guys are, they are not limited to babies and birthdays. Anyone who needs a hug can benefit from their warmth! This would actually be a good sympathy card for a miscarriage, given the "baby" feel of this card with the elephants and the soft patterns.

On a lighter note, this card is all about cute babies! I super love the message here ... tiny bunnies surrounded by giant elephants, with a tiny sentiment saying "little one." Ack! And it's a completely flat, one-layer card, with narry a sequin in sight : )  


So fun to make your own patterned paper. I just stamped the elephants so that their tails would be connected, and then in the space that was left I stamped the bunnies. The remaining spaces got filled with the hearts. Then it was just a matter of coloring OUTSIDE ALL THE LINES. Hahaha! So fun.

   

Be sure to check out the other amazing projects on the Winnie & Walter blog. As usual, leave a comment there for a chance to WIN all of today's goodies. You can also comment on this post for a chance to win ALL TEN stamp sets in this release. Whoo-hoo!
 

Believe it or not, there are still so many posts left! Look forward to showing you even more tomorrow!
  

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

CFS Release - Flower Power, Peace Out

What a great message in the latest stamp set being released by CAS-ual Fridays this week ... a large peace symbol made from delicate flowers! Now that's something we could all use more of, no matter where you live, amiright?


 
Its embossed in white, and then I've blended Catherine Pooler's new inks on top (side note, these inks blend amazingly well, perhaps even better than distress inks!) I mixed the script "sending" from Happy Mail with the funky "peace, love & happiness" from this Peace Out set. I kept stamping this sentiment until all the ink was gone to add a little interest.

A few gold spatters of Heidi Swapp color mist, and some gold/clear sequins from Lucy's Little Things, round out the rest of the card. Not sure that it's going to inspire world peace, but it certainly does make me happy : )

     

   

 We're only halfway done before the whole CAS-ual Fridays collection will be available to buy on Saturday. Feel free to use my code "KELLY2017" which will save you 15% off any purchases, including this new release, at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.

  

"Peace Out" lovelies : )

-Kelly

Winnie & Walter Release - Day 2

     

More Winnie & Walter goodies! Perhaps one of my favorite sets of this release, Sentimental: Endearments, is chock full of unique sentiments in a stylish script font. There are about 20 different sentiments, like "truly, madly, deeply," "my precious," "you complete me," "forever & always." You can use these as a secondary sentiment to beef up a traditional sentiment like "Happy Birthday," use them on their own, or use a bunch of them to fill in a shape or background like I have here.    

  

This is a postage stamp shaped card, from the new Essentials: Lana Cutaways set. The die is meant to cut a postage stamp panel to put on a standard card, but you can easily turn it into a shaped card by making sure the fold of the card is inside the cutting edge of the die. I think it's super versatile to use as a card base. You can turn anything into a stamp now! You may notice some diecut letters and numbers on top of the postage stamp ... YES ... there are alpha and number dies coming out! And, another sneak for a new In a Word die still to come ; )

I'm telling you, this release is PACKED!
    
 

   

Be sure to check out the other amazing projects on the Winnie & Walter blog. As usual, leave a comment there for a chance to WIN all of today's goodies. You can also comment on this post for a chance to win ALL TEN stamp sets in this release. Whoo-hoo!
 

I'll invite you to keep stopping by my blog every day this week ... there is still a ton to show you! 
  

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

CFS Release - Heartfelt Sayings, Special Delivery

  
Another release is coming your way, this time from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! We have a whole week to showcase 8 new sets. Today's Special Delivery stamp set is related to the Happy Mail set that was released a few years ago. It features this floral mailbox that is just bursting with happy mail. The font of the sentiments in this set is adorable, with tiny hearts nesting in some of the letters.
  

  
For the love note envelopes bursting out of the mailbox, I ended up blending ink on a scrap piece of paper, stamping the envelopes, and then cutting them out myself. Since each envelope is just a rectangle, it was easier for me to make four cuts with my scissors, than to mask/stamp/color the envelopes directly onto the card. Plus, having the envelopes fussy cut allowed me to stick one of them inside the mailbox (tucking it into a cut I made on the mailbox with an exacto blade).

 
The flag on the mailbox actually works, too! I stamped and fussy cut the flag out separately, and then attached it to the mailbox with a brad. This allows the flag to pivot back and forth, just like it would operate in real life. So fun!
  

 

Check out the rest of the Ink Squad to see more awesome projects with these stamps, and be sure to come back for the next three days to see the other newly released stamp sets. They will all be available for purchase at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps on Saturday!
    

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly