January KGC Designer's Choice card - Grace's Flowers

Hello 2018!  I'm back here finally on my blog from a little medical LOA and excited to be able to craft again!  My card for Kennedy Grace Creations this month uses some lovely flower images from KGCs Grace's Little Note stamp set.  As I've enjoyed a little sunshine these last few days, I felt like creating something somewhat simple with light, happy colors. 

I first stamped the 3 floral images onto some smooth Bristol cardstock with my MISTI so I could get the spacing right.  I then used 2 different border dies by MFTs to create the multiple-bordered look. 

I inlaid the central flower panel into its matching border die cut, then used some fun Gold Foil cardstock by DCWV on the outside die cut frame.  Since I was going to use some Nuvo Jewel Drops on my flower images, I decided to adhere all the layers first before coloring, as the drying time can take as much as 24 hours.  I chose a light pink watercolor Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up! as my base layer to coordinate with one of the flower colors and make a nice frame of color around all the white going on in the card.

Finally I get to the coloring, my favorite part!  I decided to use some markers that I'd not used in a while, the Tombow Dual Brush Pens.  I chose 2 greens for the leaves and 3 soft pastel colors in yellow, orange, and pink.  After my coloring was done, I picked out coordinating colors of Nuvo Jewel Drops (Limoncello, Orange Marmalade, and Rosewater).  I applied the drops somewhat generously, as I wanted dimension.  Then I set my project aside to dry.  I returned the next morning and adhered the panel to a standard A2 side folding card base.  Project complete!

I hope you enjoyed my card idea.  I've linked the Kennedy Grace Creations products to the store for your convenience.  To see more of my cards, the most comprehensive collection of my cards can be found on Instagram as jktaylor911.

Enjoy the new year my friends!

Jill

Supplies Used:

• Essentials by Ellen Smooth Bristol Cardstock
• DCWV Gold Foil Cardstock Stack 6x6
• Stampin' Up! DSP Watercolor
• Kennedy Grace Creations stamp - Grace's Little Note
• My Favorite Things Die-namics (Rectangle Frames/In &Out Diagonal Stitched Rect.)
• Tombow Dual Brush Pens
• Nuvo Jewel Drops
• Hero Arts Intense Black Dye Ink

Please be sure to follow the Kennedy Grace Creations blog, facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. Our Design Team has great projects to inspire you with our great stamp sets.

2018 Blog Re-design

Hi there friends and fellow crafters!!  2018 is here and I felt like a change was needed to my Blog.  So I worked on it a bit, but it still needs some tweaking.  Let me know what you think, offer suggestions, etc.  I am hardly very tech savvy, so your advice would be so appreciated!  After all, I want my site to be easy for you to use, helpful, and visually pleasing.  I've been MIA for about a month recovering from hip surgery.  But I have a card post lined up for January 24th!!  I'll continue my 2 posts a month for Kennedy Grace Creations but I also will have some Guest Designer posts for 7 Kids Crafting Supply Store in February and April.  I believe besides my blog post and IG post, it will also post on the 7 Kids Customer Create FB page.  If that changes I will let you know.  But check it out, they have some great posts on their site and I love their store.  I've become acquainted with some new product lines (to me) and Kelly the owner is just fabulous!  Really fast shipping, too.

Yours Truly,

Jill

Believe in the Magic of Christmas

Hello my fellow crafters!  I've created this card for the Kennedy Grace Creations December Blog.  As December winds to a close, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas with family and/or friends.  Although Christmas is now past, I made this card last month before I realized my post would be after Christmas!

To me however, Christmas is not just one day, but the beginning of forever (if you believe).  And as many crafters do, they make Christmas cards all year 'round.  So this is especially for those of you who never get tired of seeing or making Christmas cards.

You may recognize the wreath element in my card and the background technique I used on this card.  I used an Antique Linen  Distress Oxide pad and dragged it down the length of the cardstock several times to create a wooden door or panel look.  Then, I wanted to show how you can totally change the look of your card/wreath simply by changing up your ink colors (see my November Mood Board card for comparison, above).

To make the wreath element, I used the exact same technique as the prior card:  I traced a circle lightly the size I wanted the wreath, then used the 2 small leafy branches from the Kennedy Grace Creations stamp You Inspire Me.  I used 3 green colors from Hero Arts, (Green Hills, Field Greens and Moss).  I stamped 1 color at a time, spacing the branches out and changing the angle of the branches with each new color as I stamped around the circle.  This allowed me to get a fairly even dispersion of the colors, without any distracting clumping up of the colors.  I then used a Hero Arts Red (mini cube from My Monthly Hero Kit, unlabeled) for the berries, that I stamped using the 3 small dots on the You Inspire Me stamp set.  I used the berries to fill in any gaps that may have been present.

Next, I die cut the center of the wreath out.  At first I was going to make a shaker card, but not finding the exact color shaker elements I was looking for, I expanded my search to other things.  I looked into my stash of older Christmas stamps and I found this very cute wood block stamp from Stampendous! called Manger Kisses.  It fit perfectly in the window!  I quickly Copic colored the image, added a little clear Wink of Stella and set it aside.  Next I placed a mask over my wreath and stamped the sentiment from Sunny Studio's Holiday Style three times for an ombre-type look, once above and twice below in Ranger Distress Oxide Inks/DOIs (Worn Lipstick, Candied apple, and Fired Brick), then used some clear embossing powder over them.  I stamped the ink layered bow from the same Sunny Studio stamp set in Frayed Burlap DOI, Delicata Gold and Walnut Stain DOI and clear embossed that as well, then foam mounted it to the wreath.  I repeated the stamping of the small leafy branches and a berry next to the sentiments on the bottom.  

To finish assembling my card, I adhered some clear acetate to the back side of the wreath panel, then cut some Fun Foam slightly smaller than my panel.  I traced the circle from inside my wreath onto the Fun Foam then die cut out a circle slightly larger.  I cut down my card panel to 4 inches in width, then adhered the Fun Foam to the back side of my card panel.  Next I used some #110 NSW cardstock for a top folding A2 cardbase.  I placed some narrow strips of red glitter paper from Stampin' Up! along the edges, then adhered the little manger scene onto it so it was centered in the wreath window.  Before I adhered my card panel to the base, I sponged on some Brushed Burlap Distress Oxide ink along the inside of the wreath, giving it a "wooden edge" or distressed feel.  Then I adhered my card panel onto the prepared cardbase.

As I often do, I add one final detail that in my mind finally completes my card.  You can't really see them in the picture, but in real life you see them quite easily and they just add a wonderful element.  They are small gold adhesive dots (in varying sizes) from Starform.  The dots were small details from a larger adhesive image, but they were perfect for my project!  I scattered them about the wreath and declared my card done.

I hope you enjoyed my card and the versatility of the You Inspire Me stamp set.  Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2018!

Jill



To see more of my card creations, please visit me on Instagram as jktaylor911 for the largest collection of my cards and Facebook as Jill Taylor.

For your convenience I linked the Kennedy Grace Creations products to the store.

Please be sure to follow the Kennedy Grace Creations blog, facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. Our Design Team has great projects to inspire you with our great stamp sets.

Joy Peace Love, December Mood Board for Kennedy Grace Creations

December is here and Christmas is getting near!  Hi there, I've created this card for the Kennedy Grace Creations Mood Board this month (see below).  I continued my playtime with Yupo paper and Ranger Alcohol Inks to create the background for my card.  I think this one turned out fabulous!  I used just 2 colors of alcohol ink, Stream and the Pearl Mixative, along with the Blending Solution.  Since I knew this was going to be the background, and I didn't want to cover too much of it up, I decided to add some die cutting in the center of the card, make it a shaker element (I do love Shakers, you've probably noticed!) and then add some simple, elegant floral images from Kennedy Grace Creations (white heat-embossed) to the two opposing corners.                                                   

 

Here's what I did.  After the Yupo paper dried completely, I die cut the Stitched Square from Simon Says Stamp from the middle of the 5" x 5" Yupo panel.  I then die cut the three Holiday Words die from Essentials by Ellen from both the Stitched Square Yupo panel and some white Woodgrain cardstock from Essentials by Ellen.  I thought the texture would add a lovely element to the card.  Next I adhered a piece of clear acetate to the back of the die cut Yupo paper, then ran the three words through my Xyron 5" Creative Station.  I then carefully inlaid the words onto the Yupo paper.

Now came the difficult part.  I wanted to have more than one shaker well, so that all the sequins wouldn't fall down to the lower "O".  So what I did was use my Stampin' Up! Foam Adhesive Strips to divide up the windows.  I ended up with 3 wells (see picture below).  I carefully added specific sequins from 3 Kennedy Grace Creations Sequin Mixes (Dress Blues, HoneyBee, and Beachside Bliss).  I then removed the adhesive backing and adhered a piece of Crafter's Companion Shimmering Cardstock in Silver Starlight to the back of the shaker element.  I trimmed off any excess around the edges.

Next I went back to the Yupo frame section and prepped the frame with an anti-static tool.  I used the large flower image from Kennedy Grace Creations Loving Mom stamp set.  I stamped it in Versamark ink first, then used some WOW! Opaque White Fine Embossing Powder.  I heat embossed it carefully as the Yupo paper can warp with a heat tool used too aggressively.  Think of it like embossing on Vellum, use the same technique and you shouldn't have any problems.

I decided to frame my card with both Whisper White and Tempting Turquoise cardstock from Stampin' Up!  Lastly, I adhered my shaker element to the center of the card.

I had so much fun making this card!  I hope you try out some of the products and/or techniques used here.  I've linked up the Kennedy Grace Creations products to the store for your convenience.

To see the most comprehensive collection of additional card creations by me, find me on Instagram as jktaylor911 or on Facebook as Jill Taylor.

Thank you, and I wish you all a very blessed Christmas season.

Jill

Please be sure to follow the Kennedy Grace Creations blog, facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. Our Design Team has great projects to inspire you with our great stamp sets. 

Kennedy Grace Creations Card, God's Greatest Gift

Hello holiday crafters, I'm in full Christmas swing here on my Blog!!  My card today is called "God's Greatest Gift."  I wanted to shake things up a bit by using a technique I had never used before - Yupo paper and Ranger alcohol inks.  I created my card background using several colors (in hindsight I would have used fewer) and the silver metallic mixative (love it!).  I then embossed the Yupo paper with a Sizzix Christmas snowflakes embossing folder that I discovered in my stash (I don't tend to use a lot of embossing folders, so I sometimes forget about them).  But that was exactly what this Yupo paper needed to make it look like a Christmas background!








I then die cut Penny Black's Manger die from the middle of the central embossed snowflake on the card panel, then die cut it again from NSW #110 cardstock.  I inlaid the white die cut into the Yupo paper, then adhered some clear acetate to the back side of it.  I used some Fun Foam on the back side of the Yupo paper so that my shaker window would have some depth.  I then used my 1/4" Scor-Tape all the way around the circle opening on the Fun Foam.  With the card facing down, I filled the shaker window with several types of Kennedy Grace Creations fabulous Sequin Mixes (Dress Blues, Beachside Bliss and Caramel Apple).  I then very carefully adhered my Brushed Silver top folding card base from Stampin' Up!

I felt the card needed more white cardstock to balance out the white of the Manger die cut, so I added a white frame, using Avery Elle's Scalloped Pierced Rectangle die.  Then to finish it off, I heat embossed the sentiment from Kennedy Grace Creations Sweet Baby Mine stamp set with Brutus Monroe's Sterling Ultra Fine Embossing Powder.  I cut the sentiment strip from a MFTs Blueprints 29 Die-namics that I cut down as it was a bit too long, then adhered it with dimensionals.  Thinking I was done, I took some photos of my card and looked at them as I was writing this post, and decided one thing was missing.  It's on the last picture here.  It's the rhinestone on the Star of David above the manger scene.  It just looked incomplete without it, so I added it at the very last moment.  Sometimes you can't tell what's missing until you see your card on your blog post and it's one of those Ah-Ha moments!


I hope you enjoyed my card.  For tips on how to create different types of backgrounds using Yupo paper and alcohol inks, see Jennifer McGuire's videos (she has 2 that I know of).  To see more of my card creations, or others on the Design Team for Kennedy Grace Creations, go to http://kennedygracecreations.blogspot.com/  or jktaylor911 on Instagram for all my creations.


Wishing all of you Christmas Blessings and a fabulous Holiday season!

Jill 

** I've linked all the KGC products to the store for your convenience, as well as the Jennifer McGuire video I refer to. **

Please be sure to follow the Kennedy Grace Creations blog, facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. Our Design Team has great projects to inspire you with our great stamp sets.