Welcome to my blog!

Today is such an exciting day, so I hope you're ready for another really great release! The newest Catherine Pooler products are available for purchase now! You can find the entire release here.

For our first card, I couldn't wait to break out that BEAUTIFUL patterned paper! Can we just take a minute to realize that I JUST CAN'T EVEN with this paper and the fact that it coordinates with CP Inks!! When I opened the package, I seriously said out loud, "You just shut your face with this stuff, Catherine." The products just keep getting better and better.



When you've got patterned paper that you're not quite sure what to do with, my advice is to go clean and simple--and that's exactly what I did for this card. I cut some square pieces of the patterned paper, mounted them with fun foam and then glued them down on to my 4 x 5.25 inch card panel. I then chose a sentiment and heart image from the Bon Voyage Stamp set (an item in a previous SOA collection also being released!) and stamped it in Grape Crush, one of the coordinating ink colors. I cut a 4.25 x 5.5 inch piece of the patterned paper and glued it flat on to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base to finish it off.



For the next card, I incorporated one of my favorite techniques--foiling! I used some transfer gel on the Twisted Sunburst Stencil and then ran it through my laminator with a piece of foil once the gel had dried. I trimmed it down to 4 x 5.25 inches and then adhered it on to a cut and scored 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base.



I stamped some of the images from the Say It In Diamonds set with Grape Crush and All that Jazz inks and then trimmed them down. I also created some matte pieces to go behind the images by cutting out some scraps slightly bigger than my diamond images and applying the matching inkes on to the edges. I then popped the assembled piece up with fun foam and glued them down on to my card panel.



Now, on to the PRIZES!

Comment on each stop along the blog hop for a chance to win TWO free ink pads (and free shipping)! Winners will be announced Friday evening, June 22 on Catherine Pooler's blog.

Here is the lineup for today:

1. Catherine Pooler 
2. Josefine Fouarge
3. Jen Carter
4. Ashlea Cornell
5. Melissa Miller
6. Kelly Martin (you are here!)
7. Karen Baker (go here next!)
8. Illina Crouse

Thanks so much for stopping by and happy crafting!

Kelly


Supplies Used:
Stamps: Say it in Diamonds, Bon Voyage
Stencil: Twisted Sunburst
Inks: Grape Crush, All That Jazz, Midnight
Paper: Catherine Pooler Premium white cardstock, Paisley and Peacocks Patterned paper
Miscellaneous: Thermoweb Deco Foil in Platinum, iCraft Deco Foil Transfer Gel

Hey Crafters!

Today's the day you've been waiting for! The January 2018 Stamp of Approval release is live in the Catherine Pooler Designs shop! Find it here.



To celebrate the release of this fabulous collection, I'm sharing a card with you that reflects one of my loves: travelling! Where is your most favorite place you've ever been? I'd love to hear about your travel adventures, so leave a comment and share your stories! Y'all wouldn't BELIEVE some of the crazy stuff that has happened to me while going abroad. Seriously....you can't make this stuff up!

You'll want to reach for the stamps and dies from the Bon Voyage set and various Catherine Pooler Designs inks. I also pulled in one of the stamps from The World Awaits stamp set--don't you love to challenge yourselves by combining stamps from different sets?



Cut and score a 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base and set it aside. Do yourself a favor and use Catherine Pooler Designs premium white cardstock, because it's PERFECT for card bases. It's thick and sturdy! Stamp the suitcase images on some cardstock scraps, because you'll be die cutting them. Also, can we just take a minute to complain about the fact that there is a DEPRESSING lack of cute luggage on the market that does not also cost 1 skillion dollars? I feel like my expectations are low...give me something relatively cute and that won't require me to take out a 2nd mortgage on my house to own. Unreasonable?! I think not.



Back to the card base. Use a second generation stamping technique to stamp the faded compasses on the background and then double stamp the sentiment in the center of the card to create the focal point. Use the heart/arrow images on either side of the sentiment to create the look of movement.


Glue the die cut suitcases on to the card base as well, and then finish off the card by stamping the border image on the bottom.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you're inspired to do some fun creating with your Stamp of Approval collection! We are having TONS of fun over at StampNation gabbing about the release. Now is a perfect time to join us as a member! Find out more information about StampNation here

Bon Voyage,
Kelly