WOYWW #691

 Good morning, friends.

Before I forget (because I have short term memory as I age, apparently) Someone was dong a flip book last week and I promised to post a link to a YouTube video by Natasha at Treasure Books. This is her tutorial I've followed:

https://youtu.be/cadOAahftcM

I had also said I'd post something for someone else but didn't write it down so if that was you, please remind me and I'll get it put in next week, I promise. I'll write it down this time lol.

The desk is a bit of a mess this morning... well two desks actually. They're both part of the same work table, just different sections.

The first (main) part of the worktable you're used to seeing:

I've set the bee journals aside til tomorrow. Today is all about working on the G45 challenge. I spent some time last night unpacking a laundry basket full of stuff I've ordered from SpectrumArtCreations over the past few months. Part of which was this family album and the Stamperia molds there in the center.  I also unearthed a clam shell box of my black bling just in case I need that for the G45 project.

I was inspired by THIS post from Tim Holtz maker Jan Hobbins. She made a December Daily vignette box tray. I want to do one for a Spell A Day vignette. 

Next:

This is the ironing board platform on the end of my worktable. The photo box and the pile in front of it is what I might use in the G45 project... all Halloween related and various dies to go with their CHARMED collection.

Everything to the left on the actual platform and behind the box is the rest of what I unpacked out of the basket. Mostly paper pad collections and ephemera bits. I'll file those papers away today before I get started.

That's it for my desk (and story) this week. Who's Miss Julia and why am I here?  When you are done visiting me in the Ozarks, please hop on over to Stamping Ground for all the details. Miss Julia has a long list of other studios you can peek into. No standing on an up-turned milk pail to look in the window. We open the doors wide and welcome you.  Please leave your number and you'll be among the first on my list.

 Creative Blessings!

~ Kelly

HAUL TIME - Tim Holtz + G45 Project

 Good morning, everyone!

I'm deep in cleaning mode today and finishing the bee journals - finally! Will have them to show on Friday.

In the mean time, here's my latest haul video. All about Timmy! I usually order his new Halloween stuff and this year is no exception. The only difference is instead of ordering through Simon Says, I caught an excellent 40% off Sale at JoAnn's plus $2.99 flat rate shipping! Whooo Hooo! JoAnn stores are the only brick n mortar to carry his line this year.

I have more coming as I've put in an order through Spectrum Art Creations during a LIVE sale. They'll have more on Saturday - yay!!! There's still a couple of things I'm missing.  PLUS I think I'll find some at the 75% off sale at Hobby Lobby this week. I have a good idea from one of the managers when to expect the mark down. Their truck just got there yesterday and they are short staffed. So there will be a second Timmy haul video in the future.

In the mean time, here's where I'm at so far:

I also have a Graphic 45 challenge that I want to enter. I'm pushing for end of day on Thursday. I got the idea from Jan Hobbins' December Daily box. She is one of Tim's makers and I just love the idea of a vignette box with the file tabs for each day.  You can see her game plan HERE.  I want to do one using the Graphic 45 CHARMED collection. 

I'll be back on Friday to show off the bee journal as well as what will be going into my shop then I'm taking a couple of weeks off. We have company coming plus I'm thinking of a short get away before Bob goes back to work. 

Creative Blessings

~Kelly

MAKE IT MAIL IT MONDAY - August Paper Pumpkin

Good morning, everyone!

I finally made time to pop open a current paper pumpkin and so glad I did. Aside from the florals and bee theme, they included free honeycomb foil laser cuts I can add to the bee journals!  Journals, which I intend to finish this week!

Here's a shot of the instruction sheet:

This kit will make nine cards and the envelopes are GORGEOUS! Everything has the 'look' of having been created on watercolor paper. If you missed out on this kit, I'm so sorry for you. If the items come up on a kit in the future, I'll be sure to let you know because I'll probably be buying a refill for myself.

I made one of each of the three cards. 

For the first one, the flowers to the left as well as the sunflower and the sentiment strip are all raised on dimensionals. So are the bees. They gave us the sunflower base as a die cut. All I had to do was use the stamp set to stamp the sunflower, the center and the sentiment:

Card number two was the simplest of the three. The only stamping required was for the sentiment. Everything was just die cut and layered with dimensionals and glue dots!

I loved this. The honeycomb and the florals are all one piece. just adhere with four glue dots to the card base. The bees and the sentiment mat were attached with dimensionals. I just had to stamp on the sentiment mat then adhere.

Seriously, if you want quick cards or projects, Paper Pumpkin is the way to go! With the exception of the stamps and inks (included) you don't have any leftovers unless you want to go out on your own journey and do your own thing.  So you are not adding a lot of bulk to your already bulging craft supplies.

The stamp sets are created exclusively for Paper Pumpkin.

I think the September kit will have something to do with Halloween Treat containers of some sort. Remember, you must subscribe before September 10th to get in on the mailing.

Demonstrators don't even know what the kit will actually contain. We are surprised when we get our box just like you are! Once you subscribe, the kit usually arrives around the 21st of the month.  Please use the link below to subscribe and join the fun with me!

https://www.paperpumpkin.com/en-us/sign-up/?demoid=2166634

I have my Make It Mail It video up. You can watch in real time how I put the three cards together:

I'll be back tomorrow with a short Tim Holtz haul video and talk about the next project I'll be working on - that is due FRIDAY!

Creative Blessings!

~ Kelly

 

WOYWW #690

 Good morning, friends!

Where was everyone last week? Just busy, I hope. Let's get back to crafting!

Can you believe that we've been together (well, not everyone every week, but still...) for over 13 years!!!

My goodness, that's a lot of blogs, a lot of friends and a whoppin' amount of inspiration and creativity!

So what's on my desk this morning....

I'm getting closer to completing the bee journals. I finally got the new sewing machine out yesterday, figured out how easy it is to thread and the needle went through the two layers of manilla envelope, two layers of fabric easily.   That's my signature to the right of the cover. The cover is surrounded my this and that and elements of construction - except for the playing cards. They're left over from the mixed media ATC class. I just haven't gotten down on my kneeling bench to put them away. 

This week on the organization front, I'm talking about GLUE. I've had several questions about not only the glues that I use on a regular basis but how some of them work compared to others. I hope there's information in the video that helps you. Also, please share your favorite glue in the comments below.

Here's another tidbit for you before I go.

If you haven't already, I hope you'll subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Friday at 11 a.m. EST I'll be having my weekly premiere - but this one is SPECIAL!

I'll be unveiling the FIVE give away packs in honor of my 500 subscribers. I'm working on something now that I might even be able to offer something to NATIONAL Subscribers. Cross your fingers I can make that happen. 

In the mean time...

That's it for my desk (and story) this week. Who's Miss Julia and why am I here?  When you are done visiting me in the Ozarks, please hop on over to Stamping Ground for all the details. Miss Julia has a long list of other studios you can peek into. No standing on an up-turned milk pail to look in the window. We open the doors wide and welcome you.  Please leave your number and you'll be among the first on my list.

 Creative Blessings!

~ Kelly

CARD CHICKS -August

 Good morning, friends!

I'm actually on time with this month's Card Chicks envelope. 

First, the contents:

Terry was our hostess for this month. As you can see, she sent a unique item. Something I'd never seen before - 'tin pin' embellishments. They are basically known as 'flair' in the scrapbooking world. You'll find them on Darcie's website by clicking HERE. Terry also included papers from the Darcie line. If you go to the main Honey Bee page  then scroll down, you'll see individual items I used listed.

Terry suggested if we were going to use the Tin Pins to color the entire image first, then place the flair in place to prevent white edges showing from beneath. I think this close up will show you what she means.

As you'll see in the cards below, some flair cover better than others so having that stamped image colored before adding the flair is important for a clean look.

Technically we aren't to use any other materials except what's in the kit and our card bases. I did bring in more of the basic black and Bumble Bee to let the images pop off the pattern a bit more.

Card #1 -

I used the smallest dual hexagon from Stampin' Up! Beautiful Shapes dies to punch from the patterned paper. I glued those to Basic Black cardstock then trimmed 1/8" around all sides to create the mat.

I used the second - largest hexagon in the set to cut out the image then did the same as the small ones but matting with Bumble Bee cardstock.

Card #2 - 

I used the layering circles dies from Stampin' Up! to cut out the bee image and mat. The sentiment was cut out using the postage stamp style die from Stampin' Up! Rectangle Stitched Framelits then matted with a die from the Stampin' UP! Stitched So Sweetly set.

Card #3 - 

I didn't place the flair in place on this one before I took the picture so you could see what the image looks like underneath before placing the tin pin in place.

I used the largest hexagon fie in the Beautiful Shapes set to cut out the image and my Fiskars hexagon punch for the sentiment. 

All of the images were colored with Stampin' Blends in varying shades. Daffodil Delight, Pale Papaya, Basic Black (Lt & Dk) as well as Stampin' Write marker Real Red. I used a gold Recollections metallic pen for the crown and added bling from the kit in the center of the crowns.  Wings were colored with Wink of Stella.

I'll be back tomorrow with WOYWW. Hopefully, there will be a change in the worktable. Cross your fingers. LOL

Creative Blessings!

~Kelly

MAKE IT MAIL IT MONDAY - Bee Cards!

 Good morning, everyone!

I took time to play last night so this post AND the coordinating video would go up on time. 

As I sat thinking about what card to make for today I realized I wanted a card to go with each of the bee journal packages going in the mail later this week. 

As I was pulled items I knew I wanted to use for the card, this sketch was in the front of my sketch file box. I could almost hear it say 'pick me - pick me!'  So I did. LOL

I don't know where the sketch originated. Please ignore the grid lines in the back. LOL That was from the sketch.

Here is the card:

I used Basic Black for the card base and cut the woodgrain mat from a piece of the Heart & Home Designer Series Paper I've been using for the journal.

The mat is cut to 4" x 5-1/4"

I used the Layering Circles die set from Stampin' Up! The larger circle was cut from Bumble Bee cardstock using the 2" circle. The other 4 circles were cut from scraps of the Heart & Home DSP using the 1-1/4" circle

I used the Message Dies (Retired SU) to cut the sentiment. You can see how that was done in the video. Easy enough to modify if you don't have that die. 

You can use any small sentiment. I used the 'hello' from the August Paper Pumpkin kit, It's what I had handy. 

The brad is from the Eyelet Outlet (available) but I purchased mine from Spectrum Art Creations. (out of stock)

Stay tuned because I'll be using this same layout for Halloween & for Christmas in the coming weeks.

Here's the video:

Creative Blessings

~Kelly

WOYWW #689

 Good morning, everyone!

Last week was just nuts. When Bob is only off the boat for two weeks and spends 5 of the first week at his brother's just really shortened our time to do things that needed done and just spend time together. We only got to play cards TWO days! That is so not like us. 

So my desk this week is busy. I took a Lindy's magical technique class from Madi at Spectrum Art Creations last night so all my pieces were left to dry over night. I worked with the Jingle Bells collection. She is sold out of those at the moment but if you go HERE, you'll see what color collections she does have in stock. 

Some of the bee journal items are along the back. I'm hoping to finish those this weekend. I'll have my video premiere Friday morning 11:30 a.m. EST on my youtube channel if anyone would like to come and chat with me. The video will run while we're in the chat room.

The studio organization is still in progress. I'll drop last week's video at the bottom of the post if you want to see where I'm at in the process. In the mean time, I have a drawer perfect for storing my stickles but the units from Stamp n Store won't fit so Bob made one for me:

 

As I organized I realized there were some colors I don't have... Orange for one. Madi pulled some colors into the sale for me last Saturday. I have four new colors on the way... including the errant Orange. You can't do Halloween without orange!

Here's the video from last week:

That's it for my desk (and story) this week. Who's Miss Julia and why am I here?  When you are done visiting me in the Ozarks, please hop on over to Stamping Ground for all the details. Miss Julia has a long list of other studios you can peek into. No standing on an up-turned milk pail to look in the window. We open the doors wide and welcome you.  Please leave your number and you'll be among the first on my list.

Creative Blessings!

~ Kelly

OOPS! - Rescheduled

 Hey everyone!

No card post today. I didn't get to make anything yesterday as a project I thought would only take a few hours took ALL day.

I'll have a video tomorrow showing what took so long.  In the mean time, check out this video from Tim Holtz showing how to work with the different mediums Ranger offers!

Tim makes a great point in this video. Play with everything and make backgrounds. Then when you need a card, you have a base to embellish! No last minute 'start to finish' card making!

This is a long one, so get comfy! You didn't want to clean anyway LOL

Creative Blessings

~ Kelly

MAKE IT MAIL IT MONDAY - Fall Is Coming!

 Good morning, friends!

While out shopping last week, I found several Close To My Heart stamp sets at a price I could not pass up!

ETSY LISTING - $10

POSTER TIDINGS

September Stamp of the Month

After seeing a Christmas card made during a card summit a couple of weeks ago using a similar style of stamp set, I knew I could use this one. Daniel West of Colorado Craft Company did a beautiful Christmas card. Here's the link to the demo Daniel did. 

I was inspired by this card:

PINTEREST

I started with this:

I chose papers from Stampin' Up! Gilded Autumn ( Holiday 2019-2020), Early Espresso card stock, Early Espresso and Pumpkin Pie inks plus ribbon from my stash

The card base and mats are Early Espresso.

Card Base - 4-1/4" x 5-1/2"

From pattern paper - 4" x 5-1/4"

From Early Espresso - 2-9/16" x 4-7/8"

Stamp the image twice on pieces of white or cream cardstock measuring 3" x 5-1/2" - once in Early Espresso and once in Pumpkin Pie

I recommend using a stamp positioner such as a Stamparatus (Stampin' Up!) or a Misti.

Trim the image stamped in Early Espresso close to the words all the way around so that it will just fit inside the Early Espresso Mat. 

Trim the focus words stamped in Orange out close to their letters. 

Adhere over their matching words with dimensionals.

Cut two pieces of your ribbon at 2" each. Fold each one in half and stick with glue dots to hold. Then use another glue dot or double-sided tape to adhere to the back of your sentiment mat. 

Cut a piece of the brown ribbon 3" long. adhere ends to the back of the mat. Take another length approximately 3" and tie around the first piece and taper the ends (as shown in photo) 

Adhere Dimensionals to the back and place over their matching word (stamped in Early Espresso)

Here's the video link for the 'talk-through'. I've also left a questions. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I'll be back tomorrow with a quick card as well as a link to my recent haul video. I hope you'll join me!

Creative Blessings!

~Kelly

WOYWW #687

 Good morning, friends!

Where did July go? Has anyone seen it? Left without so much as a goodbye!

No animals this week but I'm glad you enjoyed my visitors last week. I think even they are hiding in the heat. Well, except for the one squirrel who keeps coming up on the back deck and rattling his feed can. 

I've managed to get the ladder shelves and the work table moved back into their spots.

Die cutting station with photo boxes ready to be filled with all of the dies. I'm still thinking about covering them with the teal & white Moroccan patterned shelf liner. or at the very least, two of them so that I could have white/ pattern - top shelf, and pattern/ white bottom shelf. We shall see.

The planner shelf is back in operation. The boxes are bird suet cake boxes covered in the blue Moroccan shelf liner I'm considering for the die cutting shelves. What do you think about my idea to cover part of the boxes on the die cutting so I have a checker-board effect.

What you came for...

The desk is covered mostly in items for the bee journals, except for the LIFE magazine from 1963.That particular issue contains a story as told by the last man to see President Lincoln's face before the sarcophagus was placed in it's final resting place. If you're a Lincoln aficionado, or even just a history buff, I'm linking the YouTube video telling of Lincoln's multiple burials until this final entombment.  

Finally, a shot of the bee journals in progress...

Each pile contains the journal signature, pieces for the cover as well as completed embellishments and components of things to be finished.

That's it for my desk (and story) this week. Who's Miss Julia and why am I here?  When you are done visiting me in the Ozarks, please hop on over to Stamping Ground for all the details. Miss Julia has a long list of other studios you can peek into. No standing on an up-turned milk pail to look in the window. We open the doors wide and welcome you.  Please leave your number and you'll be among the first on my list.

Creative Blessings!

~ Kelly

CARD CHICKS - July + Bonus Item

 Good morning, everyone!

I finally got to work on my July card chicks kit this morning. Mostly, because if I didn't get it done for this post, I feared the envelope disappearing in the chaos again.

Roxie was our hostess for July. She picked up the following stamp set (not the die as show) at a stamp convention. She dug through 5 tubs of stamps to make sure she had enough sets for each of us to have one.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ON EBAY

On a search for an image of the stamp set, I found this on Ebay -- which includes the coordinating die. 

As is our 'rules' Roxie included everything we needed to make the card. We can add a card base as well as any tools such as die cutting/ embossing folders/ ink  to make our card.  Everything except the stamp set was from Stampin' Up! The only thing I added was to die cut out the center of the sun, ink and adhesives.  I used Bumble Bee and Mango Melody inks.

I used the provided ribbon to hide where I seamed the two dsps but then I cut a length of ribbon in half so that it was narrower to tie on to the full length. I felt at the original width it overpowered the card. The narrow piece also provides balance for the bee, which was part of our kit. 

I'll be back tomorrow for WOYWW and will link the Premiere video on Friday. Then I will be hit or miss as Bob comes home tomorrow and is only home for two weeks this trip. 

Creative Blessings

~Kelly

MAKE IT MAIL IT MONDAY - August 1, 2011

Good morning, everyone!

Coming in a tad late but I was trying to get the author blog posts for the week done. That blog will always come first.

I'm still working on the studio as well as the bee journals so I'm resurrecting a Christmas card from August 1, 2011. You can see the full post HERE. 

I'll try to keep posts up this week but Bob comes home on Wednesday after having been on the boat for a month!  Yeah, this first few days are all about him. 

Creative Blessings!

~Kelly