New Website!

I'm  excited to announce my new CTMH website.  You can find me at www.KreatewithKelly.ctmh.com

If you create an account you will be able to shop online, and there is an option to receive a monthly newsletter, as well.

Have some stampin' fun!

Sleigh bells ring....

...are ya listenin? 

This is a fun card using the October stamp of the month set - Holiday Magic. 

Colors are Cranberry, New England Ivy, and Cocoa.

Harvest of Memories

Not a great picture...but love this pumpkin!  The words "Harvest of Memories" is stamped in black in the lower right corner.  Stamp set is CTMH's So Grateful...a new one this year. 

Many Thanks

Circle of Love

This card was particularly fun to make because you just don't know how the stamped image will look until it's on the paper!

Circle of Love is a great stamp set and I adore this peacock image. I think it will be a go to set for a long time.... The paper on this card is from the Magnifique paper packet and I love this ribbon for this card...finishes it just right!





So, to stamp this image you will need your inks - I used Pacifica and Cocoa, and some sponge daubers. First ink the whole stamp with the Pacifica ink. Then stamp it off on some scratch paper. Lay the block on your table and grab your brown sponge dauber. Ink up the dauber with cocoa and then decide what areas you want to accent with the brown - reink dauber as necessary. Then go back to Pacifica and add a little darker blue here and there. You want to leave some of the lighter blue in some areas so that you have lots of good shading and blending. When you have it colored the way you like, stamp it and be amazed!! :)

I finished this card off with a strip of Magnifique paper and a knot of Colonial White ribbon. I used my daubers to add ink around the edges of the whole card and finally stamped the word Love in full-strength Pacifica.



I also made a "clean" copy of this card because I wasn't sure I liked the sponged edges after I did it. I think I like the second version better for this one.

Have fun with this technique! Thanks for stopping by today!

A Game of Love

What a week! It's been hard to even find time to breathe this week! So, I decided this morning to TAKE some time to get a new card posted! :)

This is a fun new set from CTMH called A Game. I wasn't going to order it, but well....things happen!



The colors on this card are Tulip, Baby Pink and Black. Embellishments are Itty Bitty black brads. Fun and simple!


Here's a couple versions...so many fun possibilities. Besides this heart and X, there are several other small images to create your tic tac toe game.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Find Your Style - Shoe

Here's a shoe with Style! I love the way each of the images in this set has words within the image. Right along the heel of the shoe it says "grace." I love that!

The colors in this card are Smoothie and Pear. For some extra bling, I added bows of pretty-close-to-Pear ribbon and some sparkly adhesive flowers. I have inked the edges of the shoe panels by swiping them across my ink pad. The background panel of Smoothie cardstock has been stamped with the word Friend in Smoothie ink and I used an edge distresser and my scissors to rough up the edges. The green shoe has been popped up on foam tape - forgot to do that with the pink shoe so it is just adhered flat on the card.

More to come with this set...Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous, stylish, graceful day!

Find Your Style - Butterfly

So, I went to work on my photos and realized that I hadn't installed my camera's software for editing, etc. Took me a while to figure that out, though....sad! Anyway, I have several cards to share over the next few days, and this is the first installment.

I used the CTMH Stamp of the Month set - Find Your Style. It is such a fun set to use! This butterfly was inked with 3 different colors. First I used Creme Brulee on the whole image, then rolled the edges of the butterfly in Juniper. Finally I rolled just the very edge in Cocoa and stamped it on my cardstock. The word "Soar" was added to the lower corner, also in Cocoa.

You can't see it very well in this photo, but the outer edges of the butterfly have also been clear embossed. After cleaning off the stamp, I rolled the edges of the stamp on my Versamark pad and stamped over the colored image. After sprinkling on clear embossing powder and heating it, the image has pretty sparkly edges. This technique is a really neat way to add a little sparkle and glitz!

The butterfly is layered on Cocoa cardstock, which is then layered on B&T from the Veranda paper packet. The last touch is a bow of Creme Brulee grosgrain ribbon.

Come back on Thursday for another card with Find Your Style...

Coming very soon!!

I've got new projects to post....will take photos today and get first project posted tonight!


Edited to add: My darling daughter has been taking photos for me while I'm at work today...I'll be able to post tonight for sure!! :)

January Stamp of the Month

I am so excited about this month's stamp of the month set! I just got mine and will be playing with it this week. I think it's going to be a lot of fun!!

Happy New Year!

2011 - a new year full of possiblities. Last year, I chose a theme word for 2010 - that was change. Oh my gosh, was that ever appropriate! So many changes over the year - including switching from part-time to full-time work, a complete change in jobs but not workplace, the opportunity to sponsor a child through Compassion.com....

What a year! But now I am looking forward to the promise of this year. My new theme for this year is "no Procrastinating!" Procrastination is a lifelong habit that I want to get rid of. I am tired of living in last-minute stress and the chaos that comes from leaving things too long. I am also tired of not accomplishing the things that are important to me in a timely manner - or even at all! And I'm sad to see that my children have the same habits - my daughter would argue, because she is really good at working on large projects early....but she puts off things like practicing her saxophone and cleaning her room. So, I want to learn to organize my time better, organize my home better, and set up my stamping room so that there is no reason not to stamp, to take pics of my projects, and post them to my blog. I want to hold stamping classes in a calm and relaxed manner so that I can have fun with my guests instead of feeling exhausted at all the last minute work I had to do to get ready. I want to enjoy time with my family and friends without having to stress over the mess in my home or the lack of preparation for company. Lots to do, and it's time to get started!!

Here's to 2011! May it be a good year for all...with new and healthy habits to come!

What is your favorite style of stamp image?

It's been a while since I've paid any attention to my blog. And I've been thinking lately about how for some of us, our stamping styles may change over time. Think about those very first cards you made....mine look pretty different now. How about yours?

I think part of that involves the changing industry. I know that when I started stamping 20 years ago, there was a lot out there.....but now, I'd have to say there's 10 times as much! It has truly amazed me over the years how people keep coming up with new and innovative techniques, supplies, tools, stamp designs.

When I first started I was all about the cutesy. And I loved images that I had to color in. First with markers, then I liked colored pencils....then chalk, then back to markers.... From there, I fell in love with solid images that required no additional coloring. Then I started adding coloring or details to the solid images. See what I mean?

I remember how I did all one layer cards - or only two layers. Now I like to have lots of papers, layers, embellishments.

And embellishments!! It used to be that eyelets were the thing for me. That was almost all I used...then ribbon, then buttons, then spiral clips.... Now I like brads of all colors, ribbon, fibers, and still sometimes the occassional eyelet. But look at all the new bling out there...sparkles, and pearls, and rub ons and almost anything else you can imagine!

What are your favorite embellisments or papers or stamps? How has that changed over the years?

Happy New Year

It's been a while! Sigh....but I'm feeling energized with the new year and ready to get some stamping done! I took most of December off completely from the stamping world to enjoy Christmas with my family. But, this next week I'll be getting back into gear and working on some new projects for upcoming classes. Hurray!

So, tell me, what are your favorite stamping sites or blogs? I'm always looking for new inspiration whether it be sketches for fun cards, or new 3D type projects.

Happy New Year - hope this year is a great one for you!

Happy World Card Making Day

Sadly, I cannot celebrate today...but I am going to the Cavalcade of Bands to watch my son march with his high school Marching Band. And my older son is home from college for the weekend so that's a bonus, too!

So, if you are having fun making cards today...add a little extra embellishment for me! And happy World Card Making Day!

Happy Holidays!

Here's another early Christmas greeting. I am having a lot of fun making round cards - they are kind of a refreshing thing to do! Really changes the way you think about putting a card together!

I used Bird Basics for this one - it's so fun to create those little birds. I'm blanking on where the little branch came from....

The card was cut with my Coluzzle system and I used a corner rounder on the layered panels.

The sentiment is from "Say It In Style."

The ribbon at the top is a folded loop - meant to give the card a little bit of an ornament feel. And then for the finishing touch I used a Black fine tip pen to create a wiggly border around the card...it just needed something!!

Hope your Friday is fabulous! And if you make any round cards...leave me a note so I can go check them out! I'd love to see your ideas!

(All supplies are CTMH)

Just hangin' around...

....til Christmas!

Here's a cute little elf to get you in the Christmas spirit! Yes, a little early, but I try to start doing at least one Christmas card a month for my workshops starting in late summer. That way, we have a few ready ahead of time!

The papers on this card are from the Aspen paper packet. This is a great set of papers!! Love the colors.

This great little elf, from the Merry Pursuits set, is colored in with CTMH markers (my daughter did the coloring!)

The colors are Twilight, Outdoor Denim, Bamboo, and Creme Brulee.

The front panel of the card has about 1-1/4" cut off the long side. Then the plaid B&T paper is centered on the back panel in that space that is left open. The image is stamped colored and layered on Bamboo cardstock, and then layered so that it overhangs the front panel of the card.


(All product is CTMH)

woohoo!

I thought this card turned out pretty fun! These owls from the You're a Hoot set are so much fun. I used itty bitty black brads in the center of the eyes, that are also popped up on thin foam tape. And a white brad in the layered paper flowers.


Hope you enjoy this one...have a great weekend.

I'm worn out tonight from dropping my oldest son off at college for his freshman year. It's so much harder than I even imagined...but I am so proud of him and I know he will do well at college!

(All supplies are Close To My Heart)

you're a hoot!

This little owl is such a fun image! He is stamped in Chocolate ink and his beak is colored in with a Sorbet marker. I also added Sorbet brads to his eyes, and then filled in the whites with liquid glass around the brads.

The branch was inked in Sweet Leaf and then rolled in Topiary. The edges are distressed by rubbing the edge of the cardstock over the stamp pad. I also used a corner punch on all the corners to stay with the round feeling.

The sentiment is stamped in topiary and layered on a piece of Topiary cardstock. The B&T is from the Emporium paper packet, and I added a couple of Chocolate brads around the sentiment.

The round card was cut using my Coluzzle system - which is sadly being discontinued. I love my Coluzzle and I'm sad to see it unavailable.

Hope your day is wonderful! Thanks for stopping by!

(All supplies are CTMH)

The end of the party...time to go...

Here are the last few projects with "It's Your Day" and then I will get busy with this month's Stamp of the Month set!! LOL

I really enjoyed this set and can see it being used a LOT in the future, too!

I used papers from the Animal Crackers paper packet this time. Love these bold bright colors. On the left the cake is cut out and popped up on foam tape, along with the middle package on the right page.

Sweet and simple pages for celebrating a special day!

Colors are Holiday Red, Dutch Blue, Clover Meadow, Sunflower.



Here is a small card for the gift bag - same papers and colors, and the green gift is also popped up on this one.

Thanks for stopping by...hope your day is wonderful!

and the Party goes on...

I still have a few more photos to share of projects with the August SOM - need to get started on September's!! LOL

Anyway, I used Sorbet and Citrus Leaf green for this card. The "flames" on the candles are Sunny Yellow.

For some extra pizzazz, I added Liquid Glass to the cake plate so that it's all shined up for the party! I stamped the Party circle in Sorbet on a piece of cardstock and then stamped the word "time!" over it in black. Then I cut the circle out and adhered it with a piece of foam tape.

The border along the bottom was made with the cake sections.

Party fun!

(All supplies are CTMH)