Whew! I made it.

Ok, I finally got everything done. I never thought it would happen. But, as you can see from this box crammed full of stuff for convention I actually got it all together. I have 3 shoe box swaps, 100 punch pages, a gift for my roomie, about 50 swaps, and a bag tag in this box. Hope it makes it to convention in one piece!

Got a few things up my sleeve, or on my back!

Hello again. I know, I said I wasn't going to post, but I just can't help it. I miss you guys if I don't check in once a day. I thought I would show you what I plan on wearing while I'm in SLC during convention. I created this t-shirt at cafepress.com. What do you think? Did I give people enough warning? :) If you happen to be attending the convention, make sure you find me and say hello. I'd be happy to take a picture of you and post it on my blog. I may not make you famous, but I know we will have lots of fun!

Wasn't that Incredible?

Ok, I will be the first to say it. The Royal Blog tour was absolutely incredible! All those amazing projects and cards. I have to admit, I may have managed to fill up my CASE file once again. I hope you all took a moment (or a couple of hours) to see the hard work that everyone put on display. If not, you don't know what you are missing.

Normally this is where I post a new card, or a new project, or a swap I recieved. Unfortunately, I don't have one to post today, or tomorrow, or this weekend. You see I am still working on all my stuff for Convention. I leave Sunday for my 23 hour trip to Salt Lake City. While it sounds super long, I'm actually pretty excited about my trip. I am traveling to the states in First Class (gotta love those frequent flier miles!). But, as I was saying, I don't have anything to show you for the next few days. I did recieve some of my acetate swaps from my VC_Rocks group, so if I can get those photographed and posted before I go, I will. Otherwise you may just have to sit and twiddle your thumbs for a few days.

I promise I will make it worth your while though. While I'm at convention I am planning on attending several swaps and Make N Takes during the pre-convention activities. And I will update daily to let you know all the cool stuff I'm seeing and hearing at convention. So, if you please will forgive me for my lack of original posts the past few weeks, I'm sure you will be well rewarded.

Ok, I'm off again. I need to go complete my roomie's welcome present and put the finishing touches on a couple of swaps. I'll talk to you soon from Salt Lake City!

Royal Blog Tour

I have always been a fan of Asian artwork, so it is no surprise that I chose Asian Artistry for my Royal Blog Tour stamp set. This set is one of the level two hostess sets, which means it is completely free! A beautiful set, for free? Make sure you ask your local demo how to get one! Now, onto what you really came to see......the CARDS!

This first samples uses only the dragonfly stamp from the set and a little embossing. I love the way the stamp can be randomly stamped on a piece of cardstock and make such a cool looking background, don't you?

This second sample uses the Take Nine designer series paper from Stampin' Up! as well as Asian Artistry. Isn't it interesting how you can make this stamp set super versatile?

Finally, what I think is the most Asian looking of the bunch. I had the idea for this fan in my head for quite a while before I made this card. I have to say that I am totally in love with it now that it is out of my head and down on paper.

I hope you have enjoyed my samples today. Don't forget that this is only one of four tours happening today. Make sure you don't miss a thing and check out all the amazing artwork being posted by our princesses!

My new Blog Look

So, hopefully by now you have all seen the amazing layout on my blog. Michelle Laycock of Laycock Designs took my crazy ramblings of " in colors, busy, bright, fun" and turned it into this amazing layout. Heather Wright-Porto of Blogs by Heather then set up my blog to include Michelle's new graphics. Personally I love it. They even gave me a signature for all my posts. They also worked super fast to get my new look ready for the Royal Blog Tour tomorrow! So, I'm happy to hear what you think. I have to admit though, I think that those who know me will agree, this blog now screams Kelly!!!!

Silver Beauty

This silver masterpiece was created by Terri Tank. All of my stampin buddies have drooled over this card. It will be hard to let it go. For those keeping track, I planned out my 3D shoebox swap and wrote down the recipe. Slow and Steady wins the race.

Another Not so Valentine's Card

Once again Alanna Hillis showed me that it doesn't have to be Valentine's Day to use these I love you stamps. Don't you just love the way the glitter looks on her card? Unfortunately this was the last of the Ebony and Ivory Swap cards, and I'm still not done with all my convention stuff. Don't despair though, I've not working like a dog to get them done. This weekend my family and I are heading down to beautiful Garmisch for some camping (hopefully better weather than Lego Land was). While I'm basking in the beautiful Alps I thought I would share some of the techniques my sidelines shared with me at our last meeting. I'll start those tomorrow, then once I'm back, I'll start to show you some of the stuff I've made for convention.

Great Minds Think Alike

Kim Frank is the artist behind this creation. She and I must think alike, because when presented with this black and white swap we both reached for Baroque Motifs. It just screams black and white to me too!

Circle Card Anyone?

Anyone out there tired of all these Black and White cards? Me neither. I am always so amazed at how many different styles can emerge with the same simple supplies. Lizz Obstarczyk changed it up by using a circle shaped card. Isn't it adorable with the Cheep Talk stamp set? I have made a few more punch pages. Now I'm close to 60. Only 40 more to go!

An Elegant Black and White Card

Kimber Kindle sent this card, and it just screams elegance to me. I love the way the detailed image looks in the sharp black and white contrast. I'm always one to reach for my colors while my black is relegated to a dusty shelf. I am definitely going to have to dust off my black card stock and try it out with some of my favorite stamps. Hmmmm, maybe I can use that to motivate me to make some more swaps!

Embrace Life

I never realized how stunning vellum could be until I received this gorgeous card from Susan Schemp. I love the way the velum is embossed with the white embossing powder. Ok, I managed to get a few more punch pages done. At this rate I may be finished with everything by September! :)

Who said Love cards are only for Valentine's Day?

I think this set is one of the cutest ones that SU! has in it's current catalog, but I had resigned myself to waiting until February to use it again. Luckily Loni Holt swapped this card. She showed me that Love you Much can be used all year round. Thanks so much Loni! For those keeping track, one shoebox swap is now cut out, packaged, prepped and ready for SLC. Woohoo!

My amazing swap card from Pat Huntoon

Pat Huntoon is one of the most amazing artists I know. She is the brains behind technique Junkies and I wish I posessed the talent she has in just her little finger. This gorgeous card was her contribution to the Ebony and Ivory swap and is absolutely breathtaking in person. She used a small hole punch to accent the swirl behind the sea horse. Yet another great technique from Pat!

My Christmas Ornament- Just a Note

I had several people ask me for the instructions to make the Kusudama Christmas ornaments that I thought I better post where I got them. The link to the tutorial is now included in this Post.

WooHoo! I'm Famous

Ok, maybe not famous, but I am the featured Princess on the Royal Blog Tour Homepage! I feel so honored to be a part of this amazing group of talented stampers. If you haven't checked out the artists featured in the Royal Blog Tour, make sure you take the time today! And don't forget you can follow along on the tour July 26, 27, and 28. See you there!

Gorgeous Sympathy Card

This striking Sympathy card was created by yet another unknown artist. I love the way the she scalloped the side edge of this card. Once again, as soon as someone takes credit for this I will give her proper credit. Just so you know, I did manage to get somr punch pages put together. Slowly but surely I will get it done.

SMUSHING

Wow! Whoever thought you all would like this technique? It's really pretty simple. The recipe is below.

Clear Acetate Page protector (cut this down one seam so it opens like a folder)
Several colored markers
A squirt or mist bottle
Glossy white, Shimmery white, or White DSP backing cardboard

Ok, ladies are you ready? Here are the directions
Color all over the inside of one side of the page protector. Scribble different colors in a random pattern.
Spray lightly with water
Close Page protector and smoosh the colors all around.
Open up the protector and lay your white card stock in between the pages of the page protector.
Close the page protector and smoosh the color onto the card stock
Remove card stock and let dry.

Honestly that is all there is to it. You can make this using any background colors you want. If you have any questions, drop me a line.

Where has the time gone?

ARRRRRRRGGGHHHH! Do you realize that I leave in a little less than three weeks for convention? Where in the world has the time gone. I have three shoe box swaps (two cards and one 3d project) 100 punch pages and swaps to prepare for. I'm also in the middle of an inspection this week as well as have to get all my August work done during July so I can actually take the time to enjoy myself in SLC. Saying all that, I am going to need to really buckle down and work for the next several days so I can get it all done. Don't worry, I won't leave you with nothing to look at. I decided that I would share with you the amazing creations I recieved from my VC_Rocks group. I joined an Ebony and Ivory swap. The requirement for this swap was to only use Neutral colors in our card making. I showed you the card I made for this swap here, but here are the wonderful ones I recieved back!

This first card is the one that inspired me to make the card I showed you yesterday. Unfortunately the artist didn't put her name on the back. Hopefully she will let me know who she is. I absolutely adore her use of the pocket silhouette stamp set.

Mush Technique

I know I have showed you this technique on numerous occasions (can you tell it is one of my favorites?) but I decided to update it's look with the new in colors. We had a technique downline meeting yesterday, and I took this card to demo. I have to admit, I CASEd the layout from someone in my Ebony and Ivory swap I did with VC_Rocks. I would love to give her credit, but she didn't sign her work so I have no idea who it belongs to. Please contact me if it was you! I'll let you see her card tomorrow. But for now...you get to see my take on it.

It uses Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, and Crushed Curry. The stamp set used is Pocket Silouhettes. Can you believe I waited this long to get this set? I finally recieved it as one of my five free stamp sets I earned from Sale-a-bration. I have to say, being a demo sure has it's privileges!

If your interested in this technique, you can see my original post here. I'll be happy to share the technique, just leave me a comment or drop me a line.

The best laid plans.....

Well as usual, Murphy's Law has struck. First of all, I got the flu. No, not the Swine flu, but still probably the worse case of Summer sniffles and cough I have ever had. Then, My boss came in from the states for an inspection this week. His plane was due to land at 9:10 AM. Well, thanks to the well prepared Atlanta Airport he missed his flight in Paris and didn't come in until 2:20 PM. Guess what that was in the middle of? Of course, my open house. Needless to say, I ended up cancelling my open house. I promise I will host another one soon, but this was not the weekend for it! Instead of seeing all the great pictures of my open house today, as promised, you will only get to see the project I had planned. Since I have everything already prepped, I will either use this for one of my shoe box swaps at convention, or as a workshop make n take this month. I am not a big fan of the lovingly named "Poopy Brown" aka Soft Suede, but even I have to admit that the Melon Mambo looks stunning on it. This card was relatively simple, just a card base, a layer of Razzleberry Lemonade, a scallop circle cut out using the scallop circle 2 die from my big shot and a textured white circle cut with my brand new circle scissors. I was very leery of buying this particular circle cutter, but I have to admit that it was much easier than I thought. You MUST have the glass mat to cut on and stick the paper down, but once you get started it is super easy to do. As always practice makes perfect, so make sure you use some scrap paper first! Finally I colored the large image from the Razzle Dazzle stamp set new in this catalog. It took a while to color all the different pieces, but I think the end result is amazing. What do you think?

Last Retro Card

Ok folks. I know your ready to get back to the future (loved that movie! I'm such an 80's chick!) so this will be the last "old" card I'll post for a while. I promise. I have my new catalog open house tomorrow and we are going to be making a ton of stuff. I will have lots of new things to show you. Besides handing out the monthly coupons, and having Sara's famous cookies we will be making candles (I'm totally in love with this technique!) making a couple of cards (they will have the option to make a few to donate to From Our Hearts. This is an awesome group that makes blank cards to send down range. The soldiers can then pick from these cards and mail them back to loved ones. I got involved because I was lucky enough to receive one of these cards. Marti and her group are absolutely amazing. Please click on the link in this post or on the logo on the top left), browse the new catalog and just hang out and socialize. The open house is from 10 AM until 4 pm. If you would like to come, feel free to drop me a note at kisskel2@gmail.com and I'll give you all the pertinent info. So, on to the card. Remember that horrendous bee card I showed you a few days ago? Well, I didn't want that card to leave you with a negative impression of the "Just Buzzin By" stamp set. This is another card I made about 2 days after the atrocity. This one is so much better, don't you agree?

Cute Pick Up

Can you believe Loads of Love is still in the catalog? I mean, they added new accessories, but I think that is the oldest one in there. It was one of the first stamp sets I ever bought. Of course I had to buy all the accessories too. I made this card for one of our little neighbor boys (we have about eight boys in the neighborhood between the ages 4 and 7. We keep threatening to start our own baseball team!). It was my first attempt at a spinner card. I don't know if he liked it, but I sure did. I think this was the first card Jay helped me with too. He ran the wheel all over the card stock.

Turkey Take Two

I had so many requests for a close up of my turkey yesterday, that I thought I would post it on my blog instead of emailing it out. I never realize how many anonymous people there are out there reading the gobbledygook that I write every day. Anyway, for those of you requesting a Turkey to CASE, here he is! (Sorry he is blurry, I hadn't gotten my high speed camera at that point in time.)

I'm back!!

So, did you all miss me? Dublin was awesome. We had some rain, but it seemed to just make it more Irish (if that makes any sense). I know I promised I would put some new stuff on here once I got back, but I still am recovering and I haven't had a chance to stamp. Besides, I am kind of having fun with the time machine :) If you all could give me just a couple more days of reminiscing, I'll have some new and fabulous creations for you. To keep you entertained, I've included a picture of my flock of turkeys from Thanksgiving. We always invite over a bunch of friends and single soldiers for a home cooked Thanksgiving meal. I thought it would be fun to make placecards (then we figured out we didn't have enough chairs for everyone, so some ate sitting on the floor!). They use the top note die and about a million punches (ok only 3). Aren't they just adorable?

Pretty cool Christmas Project

These folded Christmas ornaments seemed to be all the rage last Christmas. My upline gave me a copy of a tutorial she found and I went wild. I made tons of these. Only problem with them was that it took me about six hours just to fold and glue one together. Oh well. I hope the people that got them liked them and didn't just throw them away :)
UPDATE: I had so many people asking for a tutorial on this that I had to include where I got the instructions. I wish I could take credit for this, but the best instructions I found were here at Folding Trees. Hope all of those that asked have fun making these!

A Terrible Mistake

On Splitcoast a while ago, they had a forum running where you would make a card and send it to the next person who replied. It was called "Funk" something or other. Anyway, the idea was that you would get a card from someone who needed an idea for a specific stamp set. I can't remember who I sent this card to, but I really want to apologize. I cringe everytime I look at it. What was I thinking? Yellow acetate on Yellow card stock, and the yellows don't even match! The Hodge Podge made the front of the card so heavy it wouldn't even stand up. This was a disaster from start to finish. If you happened to be the unlucky recipient of this card please leave me a comment. I would love to send you a "new and improved" version!

Another First for Me

This was my first Onesie card. I didn't use SU! paper (what can I say, I wasn't a demo at this point in time) but I did use the frog stamp set that retired about a year ago. I loved this set. This was the first card I made that I actually gave away. I used to get so attached to my creations I didn't want to let them go (who am I kidding, I'm still like that!) . I am actually still pretty pleased with this card. I look at it now and there are very few things that I would change. Now, the card I'm going to show you tomorrow isn't like that at all. Wait until you get the story on that one!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Boxes

This as the first project I ever made all by myself. It has actually become a staple in my crafting repetoire (anyone know if I spelled that right?). Whenever I want to make a little gift for someone (kid's bus drivers, scout leaders, teachers, Valentine's Day etc) this is what I make. They have gotten a bit more decorative and diverse over time, but this one was my very first. It still holds a place of honor in my stamp room. I used to love this Berry Bliss paper, of course as new papers come out I find new ones to love, but I think I just used my very last piece of this one. I will miss it.

Dublin here I come!

Ok, I know. I have no excuse. I haven't been stamping. First it was WOW distracting me but now it is DUBLIN, IRELAND! As you sit here reading this hubby and I are winging our way across the English Channel into the land of potatos, Bailey's and Guiness. In honor of the occasion I thought I would bring back one of my favorite projects. I made one of these back in February when we planned this trip, but I gave it away to a friend of ours who is going with us. I decided I needed one to keep my pictures and notes in as well. So, here is my little Leprechaun friend. Isn't he adorable? Oh, while I'm gone, I thought I would show you some of my earliest work. It should be good for at least a laugh. I always look back to when I started just to see how far I've come. I like to think I've improved, but you can all decide that over the next few days! See you when I get back on Tuesday.

Sitting here Twiddling my thumbs

Well, I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs. Now that I have my order in for new stamps from the NEW CATALOG my "old" stamps (some of which I've only used once) just don't hold as much interest for me. Oh well. It will take a couple of weeks for them to get here. I thought I would show you another new to me technique. This one is called Baby Wipe Background.

BABY WIPE BACKGROUND
Take a baby wipe and fold into fourths.
Take ink refills and squeeze a couple of drops along the edge of the baby wipe.
You can use as many different colors as you would like.
Line the edge of your baby wipe up to your glossy card stock and smear across the top.
Let it dry (it dries quickly)and decorate as desired.
You can also fold your baby wipe into a triangle and ink it up with refills.
Twist the baby wipe to distribute the colors.
Spin the baby wipe on glossy card stock to give a tie dyed effect.

This card show the swipe technique on the pick up truck, but I can't wait to give the tie dye technique a shot.

A CASE from SU!

One of the best parts of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is having access to all these amazing products. Sometimes though, you get stuck in a rut and don't think outside the box like you should. Stampin' Up! has come up with a cure for that problem. It comes in my mailbox every month and is called Stampin' Success. It is a magazine published solely for demonstrators, and it has some great ideas inside. The card I am showing you today comes from the newest issue. It is a three sided pop up card and it is simple to make. This one shows off the Crazy for Cupcakes Stamp set. I know,this card uses old in-colors, but I wanted to squeeze in one more card. Which reminds me...Today is NEW CATALOG DAY!!! If you haven't gotten your new catalog make sure you get in touch with your demonstrator immediately! We can start placing orders today. If you haven't got your own demo, I would be happy to help you with anything you need. The catalog can also be viewed online at www.stampinup.com. Make sure you check it out! Ok, I have to go place an order. Sorry kids, your college fund will just have to wait. Mommy has stamps to buy :)!