Back to Basics with Catherine Pooler!





Hey Friends!

The Catherine Pooler genuisues are hosting a super fun event right now, and I'm here to tell you all about it! 

You can find the awesome videos in the Back to Basics series here and you can read all about the series here , but basically the big idea behind this series is to encourage cardmakers not to forget their basic stamping and cardmaking skills! Sometimes we tend to get bogged down with pressure to create these really elaborate cards, but often times--a clean and simple card with just the basics has the most impact!

Today's card utilizes one simple technique: masking. Everything else is really basic and easy!



Start out by cutting and scoring a 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base. 

Use a piece of masking tape, washi tape, or even a post-it note to mask off the right side of your card, and then using the different pattern stamps in the For Everything set and rainbow colors of CP inks, stamp your border section on the left side of the card. 

After you've finished creating your left side, you can take off your masking component and then stamp a simple sentiment and image in the bottom right corner of the card. 

I chose to add a strip of gold glitter paper to my card, and I also mounted an additional panel with fun foam and glued it on to the card, just to give some added dimension and interest. 



So shush your internal voice telling you that your cards have to be really complex and go back to the basics! To add some fun to the series, the Catherine Pooler shop is offering a super fun sale!


Run over to the shop and stock up on some essentials to get your crafting mojo back!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kelly

Supplies Used:





Kind of Batty Blog Hop Day 3!


Hey Friends! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you came from Catherine's blog, you're in the right place! And you know what?! It's totally okay if you're here just for the chance to comment and win prizes. Cause.....I would totally do the same thing LOL!

Today I'm sharing two more cards featuring products from the newest release, and you can find the entire kit and caboodle of awesome products right here!

Let's get to the cards!

Are you a DIY-er? I'm not really.....to be honest, I spend so much time crafting that the thought of coming up with other ways to do DIY stuff around my house makes me want to take a nap! But you can combine the DIY mindset into the crafting mindset and guess what you get?

A DIY Cover Plate!

Just take your leaf dies from the Hello Autumn set and die cut them repeatedly across a piece of 4.25 x 5.5 inch cardstock and, voila! You've got yourself a die cut background made from your DIY cover plate.



Start off by creating a background of some kind (I choose to create a watercolor background from various Catherine Pooler inks), and then mount your die cut background piece with foam tape, adhere it on to your watercolor background, and you'll be set to go! Just add a sentiment (I chose to emboss a greeting from the stamp set on to a strip of vellum), and then you've got yourself a beautiful card!



One additional thing I did on this card was stamp the inside layers of the leaf images with the new Twilight ink, to give some added depth and dimension on the leaves. I also added a bit of twine to tie in the gray shades on the leaves.

Okay next--who doesn't love a good rainbow card?! This card was so much fun to make, and it was REALLY easy!



I stamped the Angled Squares background stamp on to a 4.25 x 5.5 inch piece of watercolor cardstock with a light water-soluble ink.

I then smooshed various CP inks on to an acryllic block, picked them up with my waterbrush, and then painted them on to my cardstock, following the lines of the stamp to create the bands of color.

After the background was completed, you can kick it up a notch and add some details with a white gel pen!

I stamped the "kind" word from the Kind of Wonderful set and then colored in the tiny floral images with sparkle markers, and then I used the Three of a Kind die to cut out the word before gluing it on to the shadow piece that the die cuts out. I chose to cut my shadow piece out of vellum.



I adhered the entire kind word (with the vellum shadow piece) on to my background, and then chose to add a couple words on to a separate white strip and glue that down as well. I then trimmed down the panel a bit and glued it on to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base.

At this point, you can add a finished edge along the top and bottom of the rainbow panel however you want! I chose to tie in the black sentiment by adding strips of black washi tape.

Thanks again for joining us on another day of blog hops!


Hop along to each blog today and leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Catherine Pooler Shop! Winners will be announced on Monday, August 20. 

2. Kelly Martin (you are here!)

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Kind of Wonderful, Angled Squares, Hello Autumn
Accessories: Copic Spica Glitter Pens, Twine

Kind of Batty Blog Hop Day 2!



Hey Friends!

You guys--this release is so fun! I am not normally in to Halloween products, but these stamps sets are SO STINKIN' CUTE AND FUN!

So let's get right to the cards!

For this first one, I stamped the most detailed layer of the Rose Garden stamp set images on to watercolor paper with various CP inks. I then used a water brush to spread out the inks to create a loose watercolor look.



To create some added depth and variation, I then stamped over the image with white pigment ink, which caused the detailed lines to blend in even more, but still to an extent that they were contrasted.

Here's my advice for doing your own thing on watercoloring: Don't give up! After you've finished painting the flowers, cut them out and I promise it will already look 100 times more like a flower!

So cut out all the flower images and then set them aside.

Then create your background! I used a CP stencil and the new Sandcastle ink to create the background. I cut it down to a 4.25 x 5.5 inch card panel and then glued it on to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base. I then trimmed down some scrap pieces of patterned paper I had in my stash and glued them on to the card base.



I then glued my roses on to the card, stamped a sentiment on to white cardstock, and then cut down the sentiment piece before gluing it on to my card to finish things off. Here's another tip: To add some variation and dimension to your card, choose different elements to mount with foam tape, while choosing others to lay flat on to the card.

For our second card, I broke out some of the dies from the Everything But the Broom set and went to work! I cut out several pieces and covered them with black ink, then set them aside.

To create the simple background, just use various CP inks and a flat paintbrush and paint stripes on a watercolor panel. I cut down the panel and glued it on to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base.



I glued down the die cut pieces to the card and then stamped a sentiment. I cut it down and glued it down flat on the panel.

I added some details to the die cut pieces with a white gel pen, but....HAVE YOU FIGURED IT OUT YET?! These pieces are arranged to make this image look like an actual witch. I added some images from the set to fill in the background and finished it off.



Folks, this is not how I usually do card making, so this design idea was totally and completely outside the box. But so worth it!

Thanks for enjoying these cards today, and here are the details of the hop cause you have some chances to win PRIZES!



Hop along to each blog for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Catherine Pooler shop! A winner will be chosen from each day of the hop and all winners will be announced on Monday evening, August 20.

1. Catherine Pooler
2. Chrissie Tobas
3. Susan Powell
4. Karen Baker
5. Jen Carter
6. Jenny Colacicco
7. Ashlea Cornell
8. Kelly Martin (you are here)
9. Ardyth Percy-Robb
10. Lydia Evans


Thanks for stopping by today and happy hopping!

Kelly

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Everything But the Broom, Rose Garden
Stencils: Perfect Vine
Dies: Everything But the Broom
Inks: Royal Treatment, It's A Girl, Daydream, Sandcastle, Over Coffee, Midnight, Orange Twist, Grass Skirt, Grape Crush