Honey Bee Stamps Autumn Afternoon Release Blog Hop - Day 1

Hello, Everyone!

I'm so happy to be sharing some inspiration with you from the newest Honey Bee Stamps release - Autumn Afternoon.

This release is full of all things Fall - which is my favorite season!

Today I have a card to share with you that uses the adorable Let's Hang Out stamp set



I began by cutting down a white piece of cardstock to 4 x 5.25 inches. Using a piece of blue painter's tape, I masked off the bottom third of the card. I used my ink blending tool and applied Distress Oxide inks in Peacock Feathers, Chipped Sapphire, and Black Soot to create the night sky.

I then switched the position of the mask and masked off the top two thirds of the cardstock. I applied Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss, and Black Soot to create the grass portion of the card. 

I flicked water on to the entire panel to create the look of texture, and I also flicked white acryllic paint on to the top portion of the card to look like stars. 



After stamping out several images in black ink on to white cardstock, I colored them with my copic markers and then used the matching die set to cut them out. 

I arranged them into this little scene and then adhered them down with liquid glue. 

I stamped a sentiment on to a white piece of cardstock and trimmed it down. After gluing it down to a yellow cardstock matte, I adhered the finished sentiment piece down to the card and finished off the card by applying dry adhesive to the back of my panel and adhering it down to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base.




There is so much inspiration to find today on the hop! Stop by each blog on the hop and leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 gift card!

Here is the complete blog hop list:


Honey Bee Stamps
Jessica Frost Ballas
Bobbi Lemanksi
Jenny Hall
Brenda Noelke
Mindy Eggen
Julianne Foyil
Ilda Dias
Vera Yates
Kelly Martin - you are here!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and spending some time with me! Don't forget to check out the entire new release here and happy hopping!




Heffy Friends Blog Hop!

Welcome, crafty friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and participating in this fun blog hop to showcase the most recent Heffy Doodle release!

Today I'm sharing a card that just makes me smile - and it was really easy to create, so let's get right to it!



I began by stamping several images from the You Go, Gull stamp set and then colored them with Copic Markers. Here are the colors I used:

Seagulls - W1, W3, YR16, YR68

Clouds - B000

Parchment Paper - E53, E55

Bottle - E33, Y13, Y11, T1

Log - E33, E13, E25

I also used the coordinating die set to cut out the images and then set them aside while I constructed the background. 

I used the Breaking Waves border dies and three different colors of Heffy Doodle Cardstock and then sponged some Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide inks to create a little dimension on the edge of the waves.


I arranged all my die cut images and glued them down using liquid adhesive. I then stamped the sentiment on to the parchment paper image in black ink to finish off the card.

Thank you so much for joining this hop and helping us celebrate a new release! You will find all the details for the blog hop below.

Hop along to each blog listed below and leave a comment for a chance to win a £50 gift certificate to the Heffy Doodle store. A winner will be randomly chosen and announced on the Heffy Doodle blog on Tuesday, August 25th.

Hero Arts and Honey Bee Stamps Collaboration Blog Hop





Welcome, friends!

Thanks so much for setting aside a few minutes in your day to stop by and join the fun we're having with the Hero Arts company in showcasing a fabulous new collaboration set with Honey Bee Stamps!

This stamp set is part of a special line that Hero Arts is creating with other companies in the crafting industry. You can read all about the program here, and it's all about coming together with other crafty friends to show unity in the industry!

So let's get to today's card!



I used some of the heart images from the You Are Amazing stamp set and stamped them with various dye inks on to white cardstock. I trimmed that piece down to a smaller size and also trimmed down a piece of colored cardstock from my scrap pile. After adhering the patterned piece on to the solid piece (slightly offset), I set it aside and went to work on the rest of the card.


I stamped the large heart and hand image from the set on to white cardstock and then fussy cut it out and glued foam on to the back of it before adhering it down to the patterned paper panel that I created.



I used a background die from Hero Arts to create the light blue background and glued it down to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base. After mounting the finished patterned paper panel on to the card, I stamped out a sentiment, trimmed it down, and then glued it down to the card.

Hero Arts and Honey Bee Stamps will give away TWO $50 shopping sprees during this hop - one to the Hero Arts store, and one to Honey Bee Stamps! Winners will be drawn from the comments left across the hop - comment on more blogs for more chances to win! Enter by Wednesday, July 15th at 11:59pm pacific, and the winners will be announced on the Hero Arts and Honey Bee Stamps blogs the following week.


Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Kelly

Honey Bee Stamps Hello Summer Release Blog Hop



Happy Summer, Friends!

Welcome to our fabulous blog hop where we've got so much fun inspiration in store for you! You can find the entire release here!

For today's card, I used the Freshly Picked stamp and die set, along with the Pearfect Sentiments stamp and die set.


I began by stamping out the images in different dye inks and then used the coordinating die set to cut out the images. I set them aside and then created the small watercolor panel by smooshing some dye inks on to a piece of acetate, spraying it with water, and then pressing the acetate down on to my white cardstock piece.

After arranging and gluing down my images to the watercolor panel, I set it aside and worked on the card base.



I cut and scored a white 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base and then chose a piece of patterned paper from the Back to Basics paper pack, trimmed it down and then adhered it to the left side of my card base. I chose a small piece of pink cardstock and trimmed it down to a small strip. I glued it down alongside the black and white piece to create a finished edge.



After glueing a piece of foam on to the back of my watercolored panel, I adhered that panel down to my card base, off-setting the placement just a bit. I finished off the card by stamping and diecutting a sentiment from the Pearfect Sentiments set and adhering it down to the card with a bit of foam tape on the back.

Thanks so much for joining the blog hop today! Hop along to each blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 gift card to the Honey Bee Shop!

Honey Bee Stamps
Mindy Eggen
Sara Sherlock
Kelly Martin - You are here!
Danielle Flynn - Go here next!
Brenda Noelke
Amy Tsuruta
Bobbi Lemanski
Amanda Fitterer
Vera Yates
Ilda Dias
Laura Jane
Jenny Hall
Jessica Frost Ballas


Have a fantastic day! 

Studio Katia June 2020 Release Blog Hop




Hello, Everyone!

Thanks so much for joining our blog hop today! You should have arrived from Tracy Freeman's blog.

Studio Katia has a fun new release with some exciting products - including a brand new 6x6 paper pad and slimline card dies!

For today's card, I decided to use the new Dotted Slimline Set 2 dies and the Flourishing Note stamp and die set.



I cut three different panel elements from three different pieces of colored cardstock: Blush, White, and a light gray. These were all cardstocks I had in my scrap pile and any color would work for this design!

After glueing the two smaller die cut pieces together, I adhered a piece of foam on the back and then glued that down to the largest die cut piece.



I then embossed the image from the stamp set on to a piece of white cardstock, used the coordinating die to cut it out, and then fussy cut around the bottom outside edge of the floral image and cut away the envelope portion of the image.



I glued down the floral images to the top and bottom portions of the card and then finished off the card by die cutting a "hello" sentiment and gluing it down, centered on the card.

Studio Katia is giving away a $50 Gift Certificate on their blog! Hop along to each design team member's blog and leave a comment on their post. All comments must be left by Friday, July 3rd, 2020, 11:59 PM EST and all winners will be announced on Sunday, July 5th, 2020 on the Studio Katia Blog.


Thank you so much for stopping by and happy hopping!

Kelly

The Greetery Release is Live!


Hello, crafty friends!

The day you've been waiting for is finally here! The new release from The Greetery is live in the shop, along with a major restock of lots of other products as well!

And how about some even MORE exciting news! Betsy, the very sweet and generous owner, has put on a sale all weekend to celebrate the first anniversary of The Greetery.



Head over to the shop to check out all the fantastic new products and perhaps you'll even add some previously released products to your cart as well - I know I will be!

Here is a card I made using the Birthday Blooms Stamp Set in the latest release.



I began by stamping the background on to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch care base, using the Sketchbook Roses Stamp Set and a pale yellow ink.  I then stamped and die cut some image from the Birthday Blooms set in blue inks and then set them aside.


I cut two strips of paper that I had in my scrap pile - a piece of patterned paper and then a coordinating piece of light colored cardstock. I glued the smaller patterned strip on top of the solid strip to give it a matte effect, and then stamped a sentiment from the Birthday Blooms set and glued it down on top of that completed strip. I then applied a piece of foam to the back so that it would pop off the card a bit.


I glued that strip down to my card, but only applied the glue down the middle of the strip so that there would be some wiggle room for my flowers!


I arranged my flower die cuts behind the strip and then applied liquid glue on the back, securing them firmly to the card. After all the flowers were glued down, I applied more glue to the back of my strip to make sure that piece was also secure.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and spending some time with me! I hope you'll check out the new release and treat yourself to some crafty goodies!

Have a great weekend!

Kelly

Watercolor Die Cuts

Hey, everyone!

Welcome back to my blog!

I'm finishing up my guest design projects for Whimsy Stamps and I've had so much fun creating with these beautiful products!

For my final project today, I used the Peony Flower Die and a few different inks from Catherine Pooler Designs as my watercolor palette.

I began my smooshing the Party Dress and Sauna inks down to my work surface and then sprayed them with water to get the color moving.



I cut out the floral pieces from watercolor paper and then laid them down into the pool of watercolor I'd created on my work surface. I moved them around in different directions to get some variation in the color, waited for them to dry a bit, and then ran them through the pool of watercolor again to get some additional layers of color.

After they dried completely, I splattered some more concentrated drops of the ink on to the flowers
and then set them aside.



I repeated this watercolor process with the leaves, using Grass Skirt and Eucalyptus inks.

After the die cuts were dry, I arranged them on to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base, using foam tape to pop up some of the parts of the flowers to give added dimension and fullness to the arrangement.



To finish off the card, I used a few stamps from the You're Too Kind stamp set to create the completed sentiment!

Thank you so much for stopping by again to join me in taking a look at these cards!

Happy crafting!

Kelly

The Greetery Confetti Collection Release + Blog Hop Day 1


Welcome, Friends!

I'm so excited to be participating in the inspirational blog hop today with the rest of The Greetery friends! This new release is so fabulous, as always!

If you're looking for some fantastic birthday and celebration stamp and die sets, then this release is for you! You can find the entire release here on Friday, May 29th at 10 am EST, but I'm going to share a few projects using a few of the sets in the release. The Greetery Blog is where our fun starts out today, so be sure to stop by there first for some gorgeous inspiration and more details about the release!

First up is this happy and bright party on a card! I used the Twisted Crepe die and a sentiment from the Birthday Blooms die set to create the elements on this card. Additionally, I used the Ticker Tape Background stamp to create the soft gray confetti background. 




I removed the foam piece from my MISTI and then I placed the background stamp on the door. I applied Weathered Wood Distress Oxide ink on the stamp and then closed it down on to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base that I'd placed inside the MISTI. 



I then cut several streamer pieces from the Twisted Crepe die and applied several colors of Distress Oxide ink over them with a finger dauber, alternating the dark color and the lighter color, so it looks like the crepe paper is twisted! 




After applying foam tape to the back of the streamer pieces, I placed them across the front of the card.

I stamped and die cut a sentiment from the Birthday Blooms set, applied foam tape to the back of that sentiment piece and then finished off the card by placing it across the front of the card as well.

For the second card, I stamped several floral pieces from the Birthday Blooms set in a light and dark pink ink and then set them aside to assemble later. I then created the card base, by cutting and scoring a white c4.25 x 5.5 inch card base and then glued down a 4.25 x 5.5 inch piece of pink patterned paper on to the top of the card base.



It's so fun to combine sets to create different looks, so the Sketchbook Roses stamp set also made an appearance for this card! 



I created a small panel from a scrap piece of paper  and using a light pink ink. I adhered a piece of foam behind the panel and then glued that down to a piece of blush cardstock. After adhering that smaller panel set down to my card base, I then stamped a sentiment down in the center.


Arranging the floral images was the most enjoyable part of making this card! I glued them down along the left side of the card and then applied small pieces of foam tape behind the parts that were hanging off the left edge, so that everything would be an even dimension.

For my last card, I used the Big Balloons Die set and Ticker Tape background stamp again. I created the background using the same process of removing the foam from my MISTI and placing a 4.25 x 5.5 inch card panel inside. I applied gray ink on the stamp and then closed my MISTI. 



I die cut three balloons out of pastel colored cardstocks I had in my scraps and then applied Distress Oxide inks around the edges of the balloons to give them some dimension and highlights. 



After applying some foam on to the back of the balloon pieces and gluing them down to the card panel, I colored the balloon strings with a black marker and then glued those down flat on to the panel.



I stamped and die cut a sentiment from the Birthday Blooms set and then trimmed down the right and left edges of the panel before gluing the finished panel down to a cut and scored light blue 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base. 

Thank you so much for joining in the fun today! To celebrate the new release, The Greetery is having a giveaway during this week of inspirational blog hops! They will be giving away two $50 gift cards for the Day 1 blog hop today! Comments left on each designer's blog will be entered into the giveaway. Winners will be announced Friday, 7 AM on The Greetery blog.

Here is the list of designers you can check out for today's hop!

Kay Miller
Laurie Willison
Dawn McVey
Heather Nichols
Keeway Tsao
Angelica Conrad
Kelly Lunceford
Norine Borys
Wanda Guess
Melissa Phillips
Caly Person
Dana Kirby
Kelly Martin
Jill Hawkins

Thanks again for stopping by and have a great day!

Kelly

Whimsy Stamp Guest Post + Die Cut Cards

Hey, friends!

I'm so pleased to be sharing some cards as a guest designer for Whimsy Stamps this month!

Today I'm sharing two cards that I created using two different die sets. I love using die sets to create cards because it really stimulates my creativity because it's almost like putting together a puzzle! And there are so many different ways to use them!

For the first card, I used the Build A Garden die set to create this little scene. These cards were not difficult at all to create - my favorite kinds!!



I used the dies to cut out the different elements from paint swatches that I keep on hand for projects like this, and after gluing them together, I set them aside while I planned out my scene.

Because the elements were a little small to carry off an entire 4.25 x 5.5 inch card, I incorporated some patterned paper from my scrap pile and glued two different strips of different widths down to the bottom of my cut and scored card base.



I also used Shabby Shutters Distress Oxide inks and an ink blending brush to blend on a soft background to the card base. To add a little bit of dimension to the bird, I used some Tonic Nuvo drops in Ebony Black to create the eye on the small bird.

After planning out where my die cut elements were going to go, I then chose to stamp a sentiment by using different stamps from the You're Too Kind stamp set and then glued down all the die cuts.


For the next card, I incorporated one more die set to create this one! I used the Connected Oval Frame Die to cut out the focal wreath and glued it down to a white cardstock panel.



Because I knew I wanted to create a wreath, soI wanted to make sure I left enough room to stamp out my sentiment - so I went ahead and did that step next. I used more stamps from the You're Too Kind stamp set to create the sentiment and then went to work on the wreath.



Using more paint swatches and the floral and leaf dies from the Build A Garden die set, I created some floral cluster arrangements and then glued them down to the wreath, along with the small bird that I added a Tonic Nuvo drop to for added dimension.


I trimmed down the finished panel, found a piece of light blue cardstock on my scrap pile, and then glued the panel down to that slightly larger blue panel for a matted look. I glued down the finished piece to a 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base that I made with a piece of patterned paper adhered to the front. I really like the way that striped paper coordinated with the colors on the floral wreath!

Thank you so much for joining me here today and be sure to check out theses products and others from the Whimsy Stamps shop!

Incorporating Scrapbook Elements into Cardmaking

Hello, friends!

Thank you so much for joining me here today for a quick look at two cards I created, using different elements from a few scrapbook-type collections availabe from Echo Park Paper!



I used various patterned papers, ephemera, and die cut piece collections from Carta Bella and Echo Park to create these cards. 

I didn't really have an official technique for pulling this card together, but I've compiled a few tips for creating cards like this when you're using a lot of pre-made pieces.



1. Alternate your paper patterns and colors - It's usually a good idea to alternate levels of busyness when you're putting pieces of patterned paper next to each other. You'll notice that my card base is a solid color without any pattern on it. When I put the smaller black floral matte piece on the background, I also added an extra white matte just to create some separation in the color and pattern. 

2. Don't be afraid to use small scraps  - Using small strips or pieces of paper can help to break up patterns and help the overall look of the card not to be too busy.

3. Use dimension and don't forget to layer - Incorporating foam tape under certain pieces of the card can also help to create visual interest on the card. Also, don't be afraid to cover up some of your elements so that other elements can be in focus. I love that floral tag that's in the center of the card, but I needed a couple other finishing touches on the card, so that's why I used those watering can and pitcher images to cover up some of the tag and put those elements in focus.

Here is another card I made using these same principles!





Thanks again for stopping by and joining me on the blog today! 

Kelly

Honey Bee Stamps 5th Anniversary Blog Hop + Giveaway!




Hey there, friends!

Thanks for joining the fun on the blog hop today! If you've just come from Julianne's blog, then you're in the right place! I'm so happy for Melissa's celebration of 5 years in this industry - especially since I'm also celebrating 5 years in cardmaking this year as well!

There's so much inspiration to be found along the way, so let's dive right into my card for today!



I began by using the Birthday Candle Background Stencil set to create those circle elements on the card. This set comes with three stencils, so you can stencil the candles spearately from the flames and get two different colors! The third stencil is the entire pattern in one stencil for creating a tone-on- tone look all in one color.

These stencils are etched with grid lines so you can line up your cardstock and get everythig centered - genius, right?!

After I ink blended my candle images on to my white cardstock using Mermaid Lagoon and Mustard Seed Distress Oxide Inks, I used a circle die from an older set to cut out several areas of the cardstock. I then used the same blue ink to color the frame piece.

I selected a piece of patterned paper from the Birthday Bash paper pack and cut it down to a 4 x 5.25 inch panel. I then glued down my circle elements to that piece of patterned paper, arranging them around so that most of them were coming off the edge. After cutting off the excess around the edges, I adhered that finished panel down to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch white card base.



I used the Party die and some of the same patterned paper from that Birthday Bash paper pack to create that large die cut and then stamped the "Let's" from the matching Party stamp set to finish everything off!

And of course it wouldn't be a celebration blog hop without a chance to win some prizes!

Hop along to each stop today and leave a comment on each blog. This blog hop is going on for two days, so there will be two opportunities to win a $25 gift card to the Honey Bee Stamps store.

Here is the hop list for day 1:

Honey Bee Stamps
Vera Yates
Kelly Latevola
Bobbi Lemanski
Jenny Hall
Galina Filippenko
Ilda Dias
Brenda Noelke
Jessica Frost Ballas
Julianne Foyil
Kelly Martin - you are here!
Jill Hawkins
Arjita Singh

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Kelly