So Grateful

I have had two very exciting things happen this morning. Last week, I participated in the GDP008 challenge over at the Global Designs Project blog. It was great fun and I encourage all of you to play along. I found out this morning that I was one of three winners! My project can be found here.  Thanks so much to all of the talented designers over there who continually inspire me.

I have been a member of Splitcoaststampers for many years. If you do not know about this amazing website for papercrafters, check it out. It is chock full of inspiration, tutorials and tons of challenges to get your creative juices flowing. Each week, they feature a stamper. This morning, I was completely humbled to find out it was me.  With all of the talent exhibited on that website, I was completely floored. Please visit my gallery (small, but growing) and CASE one of my projects. Use #FS456 so I will be able to find it and be inspired by your work!

After last week's post using the flower from the Stampin' Up! set Remarkable You, I just couldn't quit thinking about the watercolor possibilities of the images from this stamp set. Look at these amazing images:

This is how I did it...all products Stampin' Up! unless noted. I inked the stamp with Sahara Sand ink, stamped it off once on scrap paper, then stamped it on watercolor paper. This gives you a faint image to paint with your inks. I tapped ink from the colors I had chosen on to one of my acrylic blocks, using the block for my paint palette. Using one of my Aqua Painters, I painted the flower with Cherry Cobbler and Crushed Curry and the stem and leaves with Old Olive and Old Artichoke. To complete the look of this flower, I took a sketch pencil from my stash and traced the image, paying special attention to the details. This really helps the image pop. The rest is pretty self explanatory, but please let me know if you have questions. If you are viewing this blog post via email, you may have to click on over to my blog to see the products I used. 

Products used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Please use the hostess code shown in the top right corner when ordering online, unless your order will total $150 before shipping & tax. At that point, you become your own hostess and get all the rewards! Please keep in mind if you choose "no contact" from the demonstrator, I'm unable to even send you a thank you note for your order...That's right, I'm not even able to see your name. 

Enjoy your Sunday and I hope you have a creative day!

Artfully Yours,
Kim

Global Design Project #8 and New Weekly Deals

I had not had the opportunity to participate in the challenges over at the Global Design Project blog until this week. This week's #GDP008 challenge is to CASE the designer, the very talented Kylie Bertucci. We were instructed to be inspired by either the theme, layout, the colors or particular stamp sets. Here is her card:

I ended up using the theme (flowers) and the color combo of Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler, Tip Top Taupe & Crushed Curry. All products used are from Stampin' Up! including the recycled corrugated cardboard I tore from a Stampin' Up! shipping box. 

I somewhat flattened the corrugated cardboard by running it through my Big Shot between the cutting plates. Then I randomly rubbed Versamark on it and embossed those areas with White Stampin' Emboss powder. I added water & color randomly on the tag before stamping the flower image from Remarkable You on it with Tip Top Taupe and the speckles with Crushed Curry using my most used stamp from the  Gorgeous Grunge stamp set. I then used a barely wet brush to paint the flower with Cherry Cobbler & Crushed Curry. I used the White Signo gel pen to add a few highlights to the flower. I dyed the Whisper White Seam Binding Ribbon with Crushed Curry ink. All in all, I am happy the mixed media look of this card. 

Products used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Click on the image above to check out the new Weekly Deals! Save up to 25% on the items below. There are also still some amazing items on the clearance rack. 

I hope you enjoyed the project. Please use the hostess code shown in the top right corner when ordering online, unless your order will total $150 before shipping & tax. At that point, you become your own hostess and get all the rewards! Please keep in mind if you choose "no contact" from the demonstrator, I'm unable to even send you a thank you note for your order...That's right, I'm not even able to see your name. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions about the project or the products used. Thanks for visiting my blog. 

Artfully Yours,

Kim

Pals Blog Hop: Halloween & Harvest

Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for October where we are celebrating an early Fall season by sharing Halloween and Autumn projects using our wonderful Stampin’ Up! supplies.  We hope you enjoy our creations!

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from Jennifer Michalski's  Stamping Serenity blog, number 17 on the Pals Hop.  If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you see all the projects.

I have a tip to share. As I was getting ready to make this project, I realized I didn't have any black & orange DSP (designer series paper). However, I did have some black & white DSP from the Go Wild Designer Series Paper Stack, which I brayered with Pumpkin Pie ink to make the paper used on this project. This technique will work with just about any ink color. Don't you just love this Go Wild DSP? The 6x6 size is so easy to work with and perfect for so many projects. 

Don't forget to do a bit of stamping on the inside of the card to pull the look together. 

The little wispy black pieces are just narrow strips of cardstock I curled with my bone folder. The matching envelope liner really completes the ensemble. Full product list below blog lineup. 

The next stop is Becky Volp's Ink Blossom blog, number 19 on the Pals Blog Hop!  Thanks for visiting; I hope to see you on next month’s Pals Hop!

1. Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin'

2. Peggy Noe at Prettypapercards

3. Nicole Watt at Pixel Maven's Retreat

4. Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose

5. Sue Becker at RnR Stamping

6. Karen Hallam at Karen's Stampin' Habit!

7. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits from Dawn

8. Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom

9. Sherrie Gross at Stampin' Sunshine

10. Michelle Gleeson at StampinMojo

11. Tricia Chuba at ButterDish Designs

12. Debbie Mageed at Secret Stamper

13. Ronna Butt at www.cardstockcastle.com

14. Jane Knudsen at see jane stamp

15. Susan Itell at Simple Stampin

16. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty

17. Jennifer Michalski at Stamping Serenity

18. Kim Jolley at Stampin' Artfully

19. Becky Volpp at Inkblossomwithbecky

20. Lynn Kolcun at Stamping with Avery's Owlery

21. Maggie Mata at Maggie Made Cards

22. Jackie Diediker at Stampin' Jackie

23. Rae Harper at Wild West Paper Arts

Product list:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

I hope you enjoyed this blog hop project. Please use the hostess code shown in the top right corner when ordering online, unless your order will total $150 before shipping & tax. At that point, you become your own hostess and get all the rewards! Please keep in mind if you choose "no contact" from the demonstrator, I'm unable to even send you a thank you note for your order...That's right, I'm not even able to see your name. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions about the project or the products used. Thanks for visiting my blog. 

Artfully Yours,

Kim

Midas Touch

I love gold and all things that are glittery gold. That's what made this project one of my favorites so far this season. I did see a layout like this on Pinterest, but cannot recall who the original artist was. (her's was in colors, not gold & neutrals) All products are Stampin' Up!

Look how this simple layout turns to "wow" with the added touches of gold!

Look how the new gold cord just curls up perfectly under the leaf, adding lovely dimension to this project. The sentiment is from the Sheltering Tree stamp set, but you could use just about anything in its place or nothing at all. The design speaks for itself. 

Products used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Click on the image above to check out the new Weekly Deals! Save up to 25% on the items below. There are also still some amazing items on the clearance rack. 

I hope you enjoyed the project. Please use the hostess code shown in the top right corner when ordering online, unless your order will total $150 before shipping & tax. At that point, you become your own hostess and get all the rewards! Please keep in mind if you choose "no contact" from the demonstrator, I'm unable to even send you a thank you note for your order...That's right, I'm not even able to see your name. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions about the project or the products used. Thanks for visiting my blog. 

Artfully Yours,

Kim

Happy Fall!

I adore this time of year. The colors that nature produces are some of my favorites to work with. I was in the mood for fall trees & leaves today, so I came up with two projects. All supplies used are Stampin' Up!

There is a tiny set of leaves in the Sheltering Tree set. I used that stamp to stamp the leaves in the many colors I used. It's the image in the lower right corner below. 

It is hard to tell, but I used the large stamp on the lower left to create a very pale blue sky on the card on the right. 

In order to make the leaves look soft like they do, all images were stamped on watercolor paper, then I "dabbed" at the leaves with my Aqua painter to soften and blend the colors. I love the look! 

The sentiment is from the brand new stamp set called Lighthearted Leaves. 

Product list:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

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Click on the image above to check out the new Weekly Deals! Save up to 25% on the items below. There are also still some amazing items on the clearance rack. 

I hope you enjoyed the project. Please use the hostess code shown in the top right corner when ordering online, unless your order will total $150 before shipping & tax. At that point, you become your own hostess and get all the rewards! Please keep in mind if you choose "no contact" from the demonstrator, I'm unable to even send you a thank you note for your order...That's right, I'm not even able to see your name. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions about the project or the products used. Thanks for visiting my blog. 

Artfully Yours,

Kim

One More Butterfly

Yes, I know the weather is changing and I should be thinking about fall and the pending holidays. And I am. Really! However, my favorite butterfly die set called Butterflies Thinlits Dies is on sale this week for 25% off, so I couldn't resist making this post with a sample using it. All products Stampin' Up! See details below about how to receive a free gift from me with an online purchase by midnight of 9/17/15. (That's tomorrow night, so hurry!)

I used Tip Top Taupe ink to create the watercolor background, then stamped a few of the fern images from the Butterfly Basics stamp set, before stamping the same image with Versamark ink and  embossing it with Stampin' Emboss powder in white. The piece of vellum under the butterfly was punched with the Decorative Label punch. 

Products used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

uilt for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

I hope you enjoyed the project. Order $40 or more (before tax & shipping) online by midnight of 9/17/15 with the hostess code above and I will mail you the Metallics Sequin Assortment embellishments approximately 2 weeks from the above date. These are a must for glamming up your holiday cards and gifts. Please use hostess code listed above on the right column when ordering online, unless your order will total $150 before shipping & tax. At that point, you become your own hostess and get all the rewards! Please keep in mind if you choose "no contact" from the demonstrator, I'm unable to even send you a thank you note for your order or mail you the Metallics Sequin Assortment if your order qualifies. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions about the project or the products used. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Artfully Yours,
Kim

Holiday Catalog and Gift With Purchase

The 2015 Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog went live on 9/1/15. However, this is the first chance I have had to blog about it. The catalog is fabulous...filled with wonderful samples and new toys to play with. Tons of bundles are available to save you dollars! Click here to take a look at the catalog or use the link on the right. See details below about how to receive a free gift from me with an online purchase. 

My first card (one on the left) was inspired by a piece of artwork I saw on Pinterest. The card on the right was just a natural deviation on the same idea. I just love minimalist canvas art and pin lots of them to go back and drool over. All products Stampin' Up! unless noted. When I saw this one, the texture reminded me of the new Woodland Textured Impressions embossing folder. 

Inspiration art:

My cards:

This look was simple to achieve. I simply masked areas I wanted to emboss on Whisper White cardstock. I tapped Versamark on those areas, them covered that entire area with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder before heat setting. After the area was cooled, I embossed that piece of cardstock with the Woodland Textured Impressions embossing folder. I adhered the words and the sequins with the new "must have in your stash" Fine Tip Glue Pen. I love the look! 

Product list:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

I hope you enjoyed the project. Order $40 or more (before tax & shipping) online by 9/12/15 with the hostess code above and I will mail you the Metallics Sequin Assortment embellishments approximately 2 weeks from the above date. These are a must for glamming up your holiday cards and gifts. Please use hostess code listed above on the right column when ordering online, unless your order will total $150 before shipping & tax. At that point, you become your own hostess and get all the rewards! Please keep in mind if you choose "no contact" from the demonstrator, I'm unable to even send you a thank you note for your order or mail you the Metallics Sequin Assortment if your order qualifies. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions about the project or the products used. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Artfully Yours,
Kim