Stamp of Approval Release!

Hello!

Welcome to another blog post that is shamelessly flaunting the awesomeness that IS the new Stamp of Approval Collection from Catherine Pooler! You can now purchase the release here.

Today's card has a fun and vintage/shabby chic feel to it, and I incorporated one of my favorite techniques--watercoloring!

Did you know that the Catherine Pooler inks are awesome for watercoloring? Once you stop you won't be able to stop so consider this your enabler warning! In order to do a watercolor wash, you'll just need to pounce some ink on to a slick surface (I used an acrylic block). You can use a water brush or a paintbrush and get the same result with either.



Cut and score a 4.25 in x 5.5 in. card base and set it aside. You'll also want to trim down a piece of watercolor paper to 4 in. x 5.25 in. Take your water brush or paintbrush and apply clean water to the paper. Next, just take your water brush or paint brush to your slick surface and then drop in the color on to your wet watercolor panel. Move the color around, add more water, or add more color until you achieve your desired affect.

Stamp some images from the I Eat Cake stamp set on to your white Catherine Pooler Designs cardstock (The CP inks stamp like a dream on this cardstock!). Trim down those pieces until they are small enough to fit all across the cardstock panel. I mounted mine with foam tape to have them pop off the card panel, but you don't have to. Choose a sentiment to stamp and then adhere your watercolor card panel on to the cut and scored card base that you created earlier.



Now, step back and try not to eat the card you've just created because....for real....these cake images are just a little too realistic for my own comfort level. I'm gonna be suggesting scratch and sniff inks to Catherine soon, so you just push the save button on that thought and maybe it will become a reality. Edible cards can surely be a thing, am I right?!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kelly

Stamp of Approval Blog Hop + Giveaway!


Hey There!

Thanks for stopping by today! If you've come from Catherine's blog, you're in the right place!

Are you totally counting the hours until this SOA release? Cause if you're not....you totally need to be. Folks, if you purchase this SOA collection, you will never need another birthday or party stamp set ever again. Get on the waitlist here.

So let's get right to the cards cause I'm sure you're already chomping at the bit to get the collection and you just want to see the cards!



The first card today incorporates a favorite technique of mine--foiling! I used a CP stencil and applied transfer gel with a palette knife before running it through my laminator to create the colorful background. And I then used some surprise items from the collection along with some CP inks and and created the card panel by using the sentiments from Woo Hoo! stamp set in the SOA collection. I also filled in the background with smaller images. You can use these images in lots of different ways to fit whatever occasion you're needing a card for! You can trim down any stamped panel and put it on a background to kick things up a notch. 


The next card was inspired by the Pioneer Woman dishes line. Have you seen them???? They are just so beautiful and I want to buy all of them. I wanted to make a bright and cheerful card because teapots are lovely and feminine, and that is totally my style!


This stamp set is so versatile with all the different color schemes you can incorporate. I stamped out the images and then die cut them and set them aside. I cut a 4.25 in. 5.5 in. card panel and used a 2nd generation stamping technique to create the background. I then used the Bordering Sweet die to cut several layers of white cardstock and then adhered that on to the bottom of the card. To finish off the card, I put my teapot and teacup images on to the card by adhering foam tape on to the back of them, and that will help you make the image pop off the card!


So let's get on to the good stuff! Comment on each stop of the blog hop for your chance to win a $97 certificate to the Catherine Pooler store! Winners will be announced on April 23rd at 6 PM on Catherine's blog. 

Here is the hop for today:

2. Kelly Martin (you are here!)

Thanks again for stopping by, and happy creating!


CAS Thank You // Right At Home Stamps + Catherine Pooler Ink Blog Hop

Hey There!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! If you've come from the wonderful Maureen Merritt's blog, then you're in the right place!

Today we've got a fun collaboration going on with the Catherine Pooler Creative Team and the owner at Right At Home Stamps. Nicole is super sweet and is totally killing it with all her fun and trendy stamp designs! You can find her shop here. I especially love her new Folk Alphabet stamp set--such a clever idea! I know she'd love your support of her wonderful store!

Nicole is also bringing the Catherine Pooler inks into her shop, and the CP inks are totally worth their weight in gold. I loved creating with them for today's card and I know you'll love getting inky with them, too!

So this card is a really clean and simple design that won't take much time at all to incorporate into your own version.



Start off by inking up your pot images from the Let Love Grow set and stamping them on to white cardstock. It's fun to add some additional dimension and shading by inking up the edges of the pot image and stamping it again. You can then choose whichever combination of stems and leaves to create the actual arrangements. Try to think outside the box by clever masking and such to make your arrangements look fuller. The sky's the limit!



After you're done putting together your arrangements, choose a bold sentiment to carry the rest of the card. I chose one from the Script Greetings set to complete the Clean and Simple look.

If you'd like to avoid the look of the arrangement floating in mid-air, you'll want to add some shading underneath the pots with a Copic marker. I chose some neutral grays and it was really simple to complete the look by adding a few flicks of those gray colors.



Finish off the card by trimming down the stamped panel to 4 in x 5.25 in and gluing it on to a cut and scored 4.25 in x 5.5 in card base.

GIVEAWAY!!

Now we get to the good stuff!

Hop along to all the blogs today and leave a comment for your chance to win an item of YOUR CHOICE from Nicole's newest Right At Home release! Winners will be announced on April 26th on the Right At Home blog. Be sure to leave a comment at every blog in order to be entered for the chance to win the prize!

1. Right At Home
2. Melissa Miller
3. Chrissie Tobas
4. Tracie Pond
5. Ashlea Cornell
6. Ardyth-Percy-Robb
7. Ilina Crouse
8. Laurel Beard
9. Jen Carter
10. Karen Baker
11. Jenny Colaciccio
12. Kristie Goulet
13. Maureen Merritt
14. Kelly Martin (you are here!)
15. Susan Powell

Thanks again for stopping by today and happy hopping!

Kelly

I Just Love Your Face!

Hey There!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Over at The StampNation, we're having an awesome class called "Eat, Sleep, Create!" There have been tons of great tutorials and you definitely won't leave without being totally inspired! You can find details on the class here.

Have you ever done something that totally scares you? I find that the older I get, the less inclined I am to take risks. I like my security, and I like staying in the comfort zone of things I feel I'm good at.

Can you relate?

Well, leave all your fears behind you before starting this class, cause it's going to take you WAY out of your crafty comfort zone! I'm not a messy cardmaker that just slaps color and other things down on a card front and just "makes it work." Oh--and doodling? Lettering? FORGET ABOUT IT. Totally not in my wheelhouse.

But after watching all the awesome tutorials for the class, I was totally inspired to tackle some of these things that scare me! It's tough for me to create things and just put them out there when I don't have the safety net of a stamp or something pre-designed.



So let go and just have fun--it's a tough hurdle to jump, but I did it and so can you! You can follow along with this card I made and try your own design--you'll probably be amazed at what you can create! Letting go and just having fun is also really therapeutic and a fantastic way to get your craft mojo back!

Start off by laying down a watercolor wash on to a card. You can choose any colors or any mediums. I chose the inks from the Life of the Party Collection from Catherine Pooler Designs. After you have your background all set up, it's time to pick up your pencil and just letter away! Be sure to watch Shawna Clingerman's tutorial in the class to get some helpful tips and tricks on creating your letters. After I doodled my words on to my card front, I went over them with a black Tombow Marker.



After the card front was done, I thought it looked a little bland. So this is where I had to just let go of my expectations and doodle away! I just scribbled some simple doodles until I was satisfied with the outcome. I then used some Tonic Nuvo Drops to add some extra dimension.

I was slightly afraid to share this card because it was so out of my comfort zone, but I had to learn to just have fun and craft, regardless of what people (including myself) think of the outcome!