Stamp Review Crew | So Sentimental

January 4, 2021January 4, 2021 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 4 Comments

Hello! Thank you for joining us for the first Stamp Review Crew of 2021! My international friends and I will continue to bring you inspiration at least twice a month using a selected Stampin’ Up! stamp set. We hop the first and third Monday of the month with a bonus hop on the fifth Monday if there’s 5 Mondays.

Today’s hop features projects using the So Sentimental stamp set from the 2020-2021 Annual Catalogue. This stamp set is bundles with the Stitched So Sweetly Dies which are the perfect size labels to coordinate with the sentiments.

You know I love a good sentiment set, especially one with gorgeous fonts! This stamp set lends itself to so many occasions. I’ve paired it with a range of other products in my stash and have 4 cards to show you today.

CARD #1 – This Calls for Confetti Shaker Card

So Sentimental | kelly kent — With Sweet Ice Cream stamp set, Painted Texture 3D Embossing Folder & Ice Cream Corner Sprinkles

CARD #2 – Hello Baby

CARD #3 – Sending Healing Hugs

CARD #4 – I Can’t Thank You Enough

Note: some of the products used are from my Jan-June 2021 Mini Catalogue pre-order and may not be available in the online store until tomorrow.

To see what the rest of the crew have done with this stamp set, continue hopping on to my lovely friend Linda Callahan. You can see the full hop line up by visiting the Stamp Review Crew blog.

Have a great Monday!

Social Stamping | sympathy

July 25, 2020November 4, 2020 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 13 Comments

Welcome to Social Stamping – the first of the monthly hops focused on social greetings as themes. If you joined us for any of the 15 weekly Social Stamping hops, you’ll be familiar with the blog hop style, linked to each other and also a main blog host post. Click here to see a full list of designers participating today.

Today’s theme is ‘sympathy’. Sympathy cards can be very hard to make. The elements of the card – the colour choices, the theme, the stamps, the layout – it seems to carry more weight when the job of the card is to express to someone how much we care. I wanted to make a card that covered feeling sad and the new Boho Indigo stamp has has the perfect sentiment – “sorry you’re feeling blue”.

I really love the Boho Indigo Product Medley with it’s serene blue tones and beautiful imagery in the stamp & die set.

Flowers are a great way to express condolences and a good theme for sympathy cards. The stamps and dies in this project set make it easy to create visually stunning arrangements in no time at all. I’ve used a combination of the vase (Smoky Slate), flowers (Misty Moonlight) and leaves (Seaside Spray).

I came across this style of card on Debbie Henderson’s blog recently. She called it an interlocking card – and I just love it!!!

The finished card is the same size as a standard Australian card (A6) and fits in a normal C6 envelope. To create the gap needed for the slider, you cut the card front down by 1/8″ to allow for the slider mechanism to sit snugly down the gap. The card base is 8-1/8″ x 5-7/8″, scored at 2″ from each end.

The slider is made using two labels or tags held together with Foam Adhesive Strip. I used two of the same size die from the Tasteful Labels set, cut from Misty Moonlight cardstock and held together using a piece of Foam Adhesive Strip.

It’s so simple but so clever – my favourite kind of card! I can see this being my new favourite as it will fit any style or theme of card.

I’ve added the flowers & vase to the slider and also a piece of ribbon to act as a pull tab.

Thanks for hopping with us today. Next blog to visit is by Julia Quinn – who makes gorgeous projects in sunny Queensland.

Enjoy your weekend. I hope you don’t have a need for many sympathy cards, but if you do, I hope this hop has provided some helpful inspiration!

Social Stamping Blog Host | sympathy

July 25, 2020July 27, 2020 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 4 Comments

Hello! I started Social Stamping Blog Hosts back in March when COVID first started affecting our day to day life in Australia and we were in our first experience of lockdown. It was a way to stay connected with each other and share projects in an online platform while many of us were at home. Visit week 15 of the weekly Social Stamping posts to see all the topics – with links to each theme. The themes were chosen for their relevance to the COVID experience and it was wonderful to see how they were interpreted and expressed through creative designs using paper, stamps & ink.

The next phase of our Social Stamping Blog Hosts have moved to a monthly hop with themes of social greetings. They weren’t in any way meant to be related to COVID, but this month’s theme of “sympathy” still seems particularly relevant. I wonder with COVID being so all encompassing at present, that everything in our world will somehow form ties to this pandemic we are living through.

It’s July 2020 and the world has undergone a humongous change. It’s been 5 months of change, chaos, adaptation, adjustment and emotion. We are living through the evolution of this virus – we are part of the research, action and analysis. For some there’s been a huge amount of loss and grief and for others a wonderful amount of reflection and positivity. Many of us have experienced the highs and lows of this pandemic rollercoaster.

While things are fairly stable here in our Western Australian bubble (for now), our east coast has had a spike in transmission and virus numbers. My heart goes out to friends who are in Victoria and back into a lockdown environment. The first time around was challenging. I’m not sure if the second lockdown is heartbreaking, or a sense of resigned de ja vu.

I’m also thinking about family and friends around the world who live in an area that is yet to feel like they are winning against the fight, where numbers keep rising and they feel vulnerable to the spread of the virus. Socially distanced virtual hugs!

Sympathy cards are by far one of the hardest type of cards to make. I’m looking forward to the inspiration on this hop, to be able to draw on the layouts, colours and designs of my crafty friends to make this task a little easier in the future. There’s a full list of participants below, please enjoy the talents of my wonderful stamping friends!

Participant List – “sympathy”

Just Add Ink #500 | Add a Die Cut Word

April 9, 2020May 8, 2020 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 7 Comments

The Just Add Ink Design Team are super excited to be sharing 500 challenges!!! Not only did we make it to this point, but our challenges continue to be popular with lots of stampers joining in every week from around the world using a range of different brands. It’s an honor to be involved in the Just Add Ink community. Thank you to everyone who shares their creation in our gallery for challenges – we appreciate you!

To celebrate this amazing milestone, we have turned this challenge into a blog hop. Click through the next button on each post to visit the whole design team and see what they’ve made.

It’s a great challenge, suggested by Jan – Just Add a Die Cut word!

Image may contain: text

As fun as this challenge is, it was a sad crafty reason for me this week with another of my friends losing someone close to them. I’ve made a string of sympathy cards since the beginning of the year.

This card started with some fussy cutting of the Pressed Petals DSP. The floral photography is so beautiful and vivid and made a great centrepiece for my card.

The die cut word is from the Well Written Dies, with the coordinating ‘heartfelt’ from the Well Said stamp set.

One of my favourite techniques for using word dies is to using adhesive tape on the cardstock before cutting, cut several of the same word and then layer them on top of each other for some depth & texture.

Since the front of the card is so plain, I’ve added more DSP to the middle of the card and followed through the centre panel (cut using the Nature’s Thoughts Dies which were available as a special purchase last month).

I find the colours in this DSP beautiful and the styling very serene.

Next up on the blog hop is the gorgeous Tina Gillespie with her fabulous project. I always look forward to Tina’s take on each challenge. She has such a diverse range of products and comes up with such unique cards!

To upload your creation to the gallery for this special challenge, visit the Just Add Ink blog.

Colour INKspiration #59

July 10, 2019July 9, 2019 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 4 Comments

It’s time for another Colour INKspiration hop. Chosen by Bronwyn Eastley – this colour combination is just divine! Soft, dreamy and oh-so-pretty.

No photo description available.

I’ve seen a sneak peak of some of the cards on this hop and you’re going to love them all. So much variety from florals to masculine to pretty kitties!

We’re joined today by guest designer Denise Buetler. Denise won challenge #57 and accepted our invitation to join us for this hop. You can see her project by clicking here or keep hopping through all the projects til you get to her gorgeous card.

As with many the Colour INKspiration Crew, there was something about these colours that was reminiscent of the water. I’ve used the new Seaside Notions stamp set to create another sympathy card. Sadly it’s the week for it.

Seaside Notions | kelly kent

The background is the Stitched Lace die – I just can’t get enough of this die. It’s adds such elegance to the card. This time I’ve cut it using the lace die (see my previous post for tips on getting a great cut) and then cut it to card front size using the largest Stitched Rectangle Die. If you have these dies, you’ll know the proportions are a little different our card sizes, so I’ve cut the card down to 4-1/8″ wide by 5-1/2″ long (11″ before scoring and folding in half). Seaside Notions | kelly kent

I’ve layered a Subtle embossed mat in Smoky Slate and a frame made using the Stitched Rectangle Dies in Seaside Spray. I am loving this new In Color – so serene!!! The seahorse is stamped in Seaside Spray and fussy cut, layering it over the ‘thinking of you’ sentiment. Finished off with a couple of silver Metallic Pearls.

I’ve carried the theme through to the inside of the card and added some stamped shells and a sand dollar on another stitched rectangle background with a strip of Seaside Spray DSP.

Seaside Notions | kelly kent

I loved these colours together, but if I’m honest, using Very Vanilla was a huge challenge for me!!! I guess I’m just a Whisper White girl at heart!

We’d love for you to join the challenge by sharing your creation made with these colours in our Facebook group. Click here to visit.

Next up on the hop is my gorgeous friend Leonie Stuart and a beautifully delicate card.

Thanks for visiting!

Product List

Seaside Notions Cling Stamp Set

$40.00

Stitched Lace Dies

$61.00

Stitched Rectangle Dies

$61.00

Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$17.00

2019–2021 In Color 6″ X 6″ (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

$20.00

Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock

$17.00

Seaside Spray A4 Cardstock

$15.25

Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate

$15.25

Seaside Spray Classic Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Early Espresso Classic Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Metallic Pearls

$12.25

Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals

$6.00

Paper Snips

$17.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

$7.00

CASEing the Catty #236 | Love, Thanks & Support

July 7, 2019July 7, 2019 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 9 Comments

The calendar tells me it’s Sunday today but it’s school holidays here so I really have no idea! It’s slow mornings, family fun and endless food around here!

We started a 1000 piece puzzle yesterday – which has been lots of fun! It’s terribly addictive but the perfect activity for the wet weather days.

Since it is actually Sunday, it’s time to share a project for CASEing the Catty. The theme this week is the Love, Thanks & Support section of the Annual Catalogue – pages 72-97.

No photo description available.

Pick any photo from these pages and share your twist. Change the colours, use the layout, be inspired by the technique – there’s endless ways to be creative with the catalogue as your starting point. Please share your creation in our Facebook group – we love seeing what you’re making.

I’ve used a mish mash of inspiration from this section – the colours of one card, the stamp set of another and the layout of a third.

CTC#236 Inspiration | kelly kent

The colours are Whisper White, Rococo Rose, Crushed Curry & Old Olive. The stamp set is Healing Hugs and the layout uses tone-on-tone Stitched Lace die as the background with the floral centrepiece on top.

Healing Hugs | kelly kent

The Stitched Lace Die is becoming one of my favourites. I usually avoid fussy dies because they are a pain to cut. But….through a combination of recommendations by other demonstrators, I have discovered for my Big Shot that the following ‘sandwich’ works the best –

Bottom – top: Magnetic Platform, Precision Plate, Die (cutting side up), cardstock, Cutting Plate.

It needs to go through a couple of times but the pieces all come out quite easily. I give it a brush with the Take Your Pick Die Brush while the cardstock is still in the die and then I poke out the stubborn bits with a paper piercer. Once all the pieces are out I gently ease the cardstock away from the die.

Healing Hugs | kelly kent

For this card I’ve used the edge die that comes with the Stitched Lace Die to create the scalloped edge. Make sure you use a bit of washi tape to keep the die in place while you run it through your die cutting machine.

Healing Hugs | kelly kent

The sentiment for this card is from the Seaside Notions stamp set. Sadly I’ve needed too many sympathy cards lately – my friends are hurting, so I’m sending lots of paper hugs out.

There’s more wonderful creations to visit on this blog hop. Click on next to visit my lovely friend Lauren Meiklejohn to see her gorgeous take on the catalogue.

Thanks for hopping with us. I hope your week is wonderful!

Product List

Healing Hugs Cling-Mount Stamp Set

$37.00

Seaside Notions Cling Stamp Set

$40.00

Stitched Lace Dies

$61.00

Stitched Rectangle Dies

$61.00

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock

$14.25

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

$17.00

Rococo Rose A4 Cardstock

$15.25

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Rococo Rose Classic Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Old Olive Classic Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

$7.00

Paper Snips

$17.00

Just Add Ink #455 | Sympathy

May 2, 2019May 1, 2019 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 2 Comments

Some challenges are a fun way to provide inspiration and an excuse to get into the craft room. The theme for Just Add Ink this week is “Just Add Sympathy“.

It was going to be a challenge where I created a card for my stash for another time. Sadly, my friend shared the news that her Gran had passed, which meant this card was specially made to let her know I’m thinking of her.

Wonderful Romance | kelly kent

I’ve used the spotlight technique for this card. Using my Stamparatus, I stamped the floral images from Wonderful Romance twice – in exactly the same place on two identical pieces of cardstock.

I adhered one piece to the Whisper White Thick cardstock base. The second piece I coloured using Stampin’ Blends and then cut (in the middle of the cardstock piece) using the Stitched Rectangle Framelit.

Lining up the images, I layered the coloured & cut cardstock over the base layer. For extra pop, I adhered with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Wonderful Romance | kelly kent

The beautiful flowers in the Wonderful Romance stamp set work so well for this technique. It would work well with other large solid line stamps that you can colour too.

Wonderful Romance | kelly kent

Wonderful Romance (and the coordinating dies – not used here) are on the Last Chance Retirement List and will only be available until 3rd June 2019 – or supplies sell out. See all retirement list items in my online store – click here.

We’d love to have you join our challenge. Share your sympathy cards on the Just Add Ink blog. You’ll also find all the design team cards there – it’s a wonderful resource for the next time you have a sympathy card to make!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Product List

Wonderful Romance Cling Stamp Set

$39.00

Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies

$61.00

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock

$13.50

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

$17.00

Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

$10.00

Old Olive Stampin’ Blends Markers Combo Pack

$15.50

Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Blends Markers Combo Pack

$15.50

Dark Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends Marker

$7.75

Stampin’ Blends Color Lifter

$7.75

Stampin’ Dimensionals

$6.00

Colour INKspiration #52

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 4 Comments

Hi! Thanks for joining us for the second Colour INKspiration challenge of the month. We hop on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month and bring to you a fresh round of colours each hop.

Today is the start of challenge #52 which is minty, chocolately and oh-so-yummy.

Image may contain: food

The first card I’m sharing today isn’t actually mine! It’s the stunning card of our guest designer – the winner of Colour INKspiration #50 – Ronda McJimsey-Gibson. Ronda’s card is totally amazing. You know when you see a card and think ‘wow, I wish I’d thought of that’! The colours are perfect for the Fable Friends bunny!!!

Colour INKspiration #52 | Ronda McJimsey-Gibson

Anyone can join us at Colour INKspiration – even if you don’t have a blog. Share your project on Facebook using the challenge colour combination and you could be our next winner! Click here to visit the Facebook group.

A friend lost a family member last week and I wanted to send a card to let her know I was thinking of her.

The Rooted In Nature bundle was my choice with the lovely green tones of the colour combination. Rooted in Nature | kelly kent

The fold was inspired by one of my team – Mandy Depiazzi. I attend Mandy’s class each month and she always comes up with such great ideas!

It’s called X fold and the front left panel tucks into the triangle pocket at the bottom right.

Rooted in Nature | kelly kent

It folds out to reveal a writing panel on the inside.

Rooted in Nature | kelly kent

I’ve used two embossing folders on this card – Layered Leaves for the white panels and Subtle for the Soft Sea Foam.

The front panel is 3-1/2″ x 3-1/4″ (3-1/4″ x 3″ for the mat). I stamped the leaves in Soft Sea Foam and then the sentiment over the top in Granny Apple Green.

The card base is a piece of A4 card cut lengthways and then 3″ cut from the end of the card. It’s scored at 5-7/8″ and folded over.

Rooted in Nature | kelly kent

It’s always fun to find a new fold. I love this one and have plans to make more with all kinds of themes!!! It would look lovely dressed up with some DSP. Watch this space!

There’s lots more creative inspiration on this hop – just keep clicking on next!

From here, you’re visiting the gorgeous Nikki Spencer…

Thanks for hopping with us!

Product List

Rooted In Nature Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$73.00

Nature’s Roots Framelits Dies

$68.00

Rooted In Nature Clear-Mount Bundle

$126.75

Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$16.00

Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$17.00

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

$17.00

Early Espresso A4 Card Stock

$14.75

Soft Sea Foam A4 Cardstock

$14.75

Granny Apple Green A4 Cardstock

$14.75

Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Pad

$13.00

Whisper White 5/8″ (1.6 Cm) Flax Ribbon

$12.25

Stampin’ Dimensionals

$6.00

It’s Time to end MND

June 22, 2018June 19, 2018 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 6 Comments

I rarely post sympathy cards on my blog. There’s not usually a happy reason to need to send a sympathy card – even if it’s the end of awful suffering. The loss of a family member, friend or acquaintance is always a sad time.

A family friend lost his battle with MND (Motor Neuron Disease) last week. If you live outside of Australia, you may know it as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). It affects the way nerves work – causing the muscles to gradually weaken and waste, as the nerves degenerate and die. Muscles across the body are affected and functions such as talking, walking, eating & breathing become increasingly difficult. It’s such a horrible disease and one that has affected my extended family, as well as so many families around the world.

In lieu of flowers, we made a donation to MND Research – an organisation driven forward by the vision to understand the causes, find effective treatments and discover cures for MND.

Discover MND research

Click here to donation to MND Australia or MND Research.

If there is such a thing as a manly sympathy card, I wanted to make one! So Waterfront & Wood Textures DSP was my go to.

Waterfront Sympathy | kelly kent

The Waterfront panel was made using the baby wipe technique – I didn’t want crisp and I wanted to include a variety of colours. My baby wipe was coated with Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green & Tranquil Tide reinkers. This was used to stamp the mountains and grass at the bottom of the scene.

The water, trees & sand bank were inked first in the main ink colour (Coastal Cabana, Tranquil Tide & Crumb Cake – respectively, but separately) and then stamped on the inky baby wipe to create a distressed effect.

Waterfront Sympathy | kelly kent

The sympathy sentiment is from Itty Bitty Greetings – such a great staple to suit a range of card making occasions.

Waterfront Sympathy | kelly kent

#makeacardsendacard, even if the reason is sad.

kelly kent | mypapercraftjourney.com

Product List

Waterfront Photopolymer Stamp Set

[146386]

$30.00

Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[146667]

$63.00

Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies

[145372]

$50.00

Classic Label Punch

[141491]

$31.00

Banner Triple Punch

[138292]

$38.00

Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack

[144177]

$19.25

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

$17.00

Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock

[121685]

$14.75

Tranquil Tide A4 Cardstock

[144252]

$14.75

Soft Suede A4 Card Stock

[119982]

$14.75

Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin’ Pad

[147097]

$13.00

Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin’ Pad

[147146]

$13.00

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin’ Pad

[147116]

$13.00

Coastal Cabana Classic In Color Stampin’ Ink Refill

[131164]

$4.95

Granny Apple Green Classic Stampin’ Ink Refill

[147163]

$6.50

Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin’ Ink Refill

[144091]

$6.50

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$15.00

White Stampin’ Emboss Powder

[109132]

$8.75

Heat Tool

[129056]

$50.00

True Gentleman Buttons

[145596]

$12.25

Linen Thread

[104199]

$8.00

Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals

[144108]

$6.00

Colour INKspiration #29

March 14, 2018March 13, 2018 ~ Kelly Kent ~ 5 Comments

Hello & welcome to a stunning colour combination for Colour INKspiration #29.

Image may contain: one or more people, flower and wedding

As always, I’ve fallen in love with the inspiration picture. You should see what the design team have come up with!!!

Sadly, I needed to make a sympathy card for a friend who lost her canine companion this week. For some, their animals are as much a part (or more) of their family as any human member.

Sorry for Everything stamp set – available in the Annual Catalogue – a great array of useful sentiments for sad occasions including a specific one for the loss of a furry friend.