quick holiday cards - Cordless Marker Airbrush

Join me over on Instagram and check out the latest tool from We R Memory Keepers, the Cordless Marker Airbrush. This tool adds a great airbrushed look to your projects! Check out all the ways I used it on this set of Christmas cards.

And hey, if you still need to work on your Christmas cards, let this be some inspiration for you! 

Because I certainly fall into that category! 

After die cutting various leaves and berries from basic white card stock, I added layers of color with the Cordless Marker Airbrush and the markers that come with it. The markers are juicy and vibrant. The color selection is great-especially for layering!

By layering greens, yellows, and blues, I was able to get a ton of dimension and texture on these die cut pieces! Adding the color is easy, making quick work of mass-producing cards!

I created the custom background paper with a stencil. Using stencils with this tool is wonderful! Great coverage and the stencils wash clean quickly with water in the sink.

I also added a touch of color and stripes to my envelopes! What a fun way to finish off my cards!

Pop on over to Instagram and join me. @kimberlystamps

Sincerely Yours,

Supplies used, with affiliate links. Thanks for making purchases with these links! It costs you nothing extra, but it has sure added to my family this past year. It is so greatly appreciated!!

FREE printable gift tags for Christmas!

As a quick and sweet thank you to all of you who have been ordering, I thought I would make a few coordinating gift tags for the Vintage Peppermint collection. You can download these tags and print them on paper, card stock, or even full sheets of white sticker paper. I mean, who doesn't love a good printable? Especially a free one!

 Use these to add a fun touch to your Christmas gift wrapping. Please tell me you are not done shopping yet. I have SUCH a long way to go!! :D

DOWNLOAD FREE GIFT TAG PDF -- CLICK HERE.

Don't forget the special code to get 35% in my Society6 shop available until Dec 16th! It includes all items!

Click here:

Sincerely Yours, Kimberly

Sincerely Yours,

Caring Hearts Card Drive 2019

Sharing information today about this beautiful card drive started by my friend, Vera, back in 2010! She works hard to send cards and love into the world, and I am all about that! Please consider getting involved and help Vera reach her goals this year!

My name is Vera Yates and I am the founder of Caring Hearts Card Drive. I started this card drive 10 years ago thanks to my mom suggestion. When I started this card drive in 2010, I honestly thought it'd be for that year only as I wasn't sure whether I will even have people participating. I was cranking up a lot of card myself just in case I don't receive many cards. That first year I collected  about 750 cards. 

I was super green and so very thankful to have Jennifer McGuire's guidance and with her support she really helped me in keeping this card drive going year after year. LOL, every year I always thought it's going to be the last one, but then I feel certain commitment to those who are looking forward to receiving these cards.

The purpose of our card drive is to collect handmade holiday cards for the elderly that live in nursing homes or live alone.

The holidays are about family, kindness, and joy. During this time many of the elderly living in nursing homes may feel extra lonely or miss their families. We can bring a smile to their faces and brighten their holiday season simply by sharing our love of card making. A simple gesture to let them know that they are not forgotten. That someone is still thinking of them. We all love making cards and what’s better than knowing that our creations can bring a smile to others, right?

We send packages of cards to hundreds of nursing homes throughout the US, Canada and Australia. I have an amazing group of volunteers who helped in collecting and distributing the cards. From some of the nursing homes they express how much their residents love receiving the cards and comparing where they're from. It's one of the thing they look forward to. I hope many of you will join in and contribute.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:

• This card drive will be run from October 4 to November 8, 2019. We need to receive your cards by November 15, 2019
• Please make the cards for Christmas or Holiday Wishes only.
• All cards need to have a message inside (can be stamped or hand written).
• Sign your name and where you are from inside the card. 
• Include an envelope for each card and please don't seal the envelope.
• Please stick to standard size A2 or 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card as this will help us in packing more efficiently. 
• Please don't use any pins or loose glitter (for safety reasons). 
• This is totally optional, but if you'd like to include $3 or $5 to help with shipping, it'll be much appreciated. We cover the shipping cost ourselves & postage prices have increased. Last year we struggle to cover the postage cost, so any donation toward shipping would help us tremendously.

For US, you can mail the cards to:

• Vera Yates, 1314 Roy St., Houston, TX 77007 (Note: if you're in Houston and would like to drop off the cards directly please email me at: wirianta at hotmail.com)
• Cindy Groh, 111 10 Mile Rd NW Sparta, MI 49345 

For Australia:

• Deb McCleary, CHCD, PO Box 54, Watsonia, VIC, 3087 Australia

For Canada:

• Caroline Bredeson, 11 Ave. des Oblats, Unit 112, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5V8, Canada
• Rita Andrews, 28 West Gissing Rd, Cochrane, Alberta T4C 1L6, Canada 

In each package, PLEASE include THIS 2019 SUBMISSION FORM. This helps us in keeping track for prizes! For each card you send, you will get a chance. So the more cards you send, the better your chances.

For complete details on the prizes please go to my blog post HERE.

Sincerely Yours,

handmade Christmas gifts - candles with the We R Memory Keepers Wick

There is nothing better than making a special Christmas gift for someone. Choosing the colors, styles, and whatever that mean something to the recipient is just so darn cool! The gift becomes more heartfelt and personal. Certainly better than a gift card!

Each of these candles was created with the We R Memory Keepers Wick Candle Machine and the new silicone mold designs. As I have told you before, I was really not sure about this machine. I mean, I am a card-maker, and paper-crafter, not a crafter...Until I tried using it and became instantly hooked. Not only was it easy, but it was E.A.S.Y.! I could add color, scent, and create candles in shapes, or even in basic jars. I made candles for my deck to keep away mosquitos and my mom made candles for her new bathroom. So, I guess you could say we are all addicted!

When the new silicone molds arrived, I was in love with the modern and geometric look of these candles. They screamed my sister's name, so I got to work. My color palette is modern, yet Christmas. For all the details on how to make candles, including my tips for coloring and adding scent, visit the We R Memory Keepers blog. 

After the candles cooled, these special objects needed special packaging! I wrapped them up in boxes I created with the We R Memory Keepers 123 Punch Board. I measured the candles to get a size that would work for all three. These beauties are going to look lovely under the tree and be so loved when they are opened. And that is the best part!

Sincerely Yours,

Supplies. Affiliate links used. No cost to you, but a lovely blessing to me!

Winter Wonderland decor - DCWV and JOANN Fabric and Craft

Admit it, you have started decorating for Christmas. I know I have. I cannot help it. Something about Christmas decorations brings so much magic to the house. Memories of Christmases past. The memories of loved ones. The little hands that made the ugliest mugs and plates that you proudly place on the mantel. The twinkling lights. The scents of pine and cinnamon. 

Each year, I find another corner of our home that needs some Christmas magic. Being a paper crafter, I love making projects. Then the magic is paired with handmade touches. Nothing could be more special. Today I am sharing projects made with DCWV and JOANN Fabric and Crafts. Creating heartfelt projects, easily, because friends at the holidays, it HAS to be easy!

Using DCWV White Christmas Premium Stack, available at JOANN, I created several fun pieces of decor for a new shelf in our house. This pad is full of double-sided patterned papers, glitter papers, tag and journaling card pages, and a sticker page. Not only could you make tons of decor pieces, but this pad can help you make all your cards this holiday season as well.

I started by making this white shadowbox frame. A piece of wood panel patterned paper was placed in the back. Then I cut out this large journaling card from the pad as well. Its so lovely, it needed to stand on its own! From a duplicate card (included in the paper pad), I cut the house out and foam mounted it over the base image. Adding a bit of dimension really makes projects like this pop. Two small bottle brush trees were also placed in the frame. I am obsessed with those trees!

Please note that to take photos of these projects, the glass in the frames had to be removed to stop the glare. However, I did make sure that the projects could truly be created with the front of the frame intact. Big thumbs up!

Every Christmas project needs gifts! I created small gift boxes using the 1-2-3 Punch Board from We R Memory Keepers. On the top of the small boxes, I created a wreath from greenery. In that greenery, I added a tag. The tag was cut from a sheet of patterned paper from the White Christmas pad. There are SO MANY TAGS! Hello pretty gifts under the tree this year!

There were many unique tags, some smaller like this, and some traditional-style tags as well. To attach the tags, I used the small punch on my We R Memory Keepers Cropadile to punch a hole through the paper. To make it easy to attach the tag to the wreath, I cut a into the hole in a straight line, allowing me to wrap the tag around the greenery wire.

Don't forget the larger box in the background. On the top of that box, I used the We R Memory Keepers 1-2-3 Punch Board to make a bow for the top. It makes me smile.

This little frame is where this entire ensemble got started. I created a wreath from greenery and "hung" it from a piece of patterned paper inside another white shadowbox frame. To make it hang better inside the frame, the green striped paper hanger is foam mounted to the base. That allowed the greenery to lay better.

I trimmed one of the tags and adhered it underneath the wreath. There really is no place like home for the holidays!

I wish you nothing but the best this holiday season! May this season bring new and happy memories. And maybe some new decor!

Sincerely Yours,

Supplies. Affiliate links used.

Sending Joy - available now!

It is time! The October release for Papertrey Ink is now available! For all the release information please visit this page: October Release. To purchase Sending Joy and Sending Joy Dies, please click the images at the bottom of this post. Thank you, one more time for all the love, support, comments, messages, and emails! I could not be more fortunate to have such a wonderful group of people surrounding me! I could never express how much it means to me!

For tonight's cards, I used one of my personal favorite images, this diamond from my set, Bold Basics. It creates one lovely focal point on a card!

After stamping and heat embossing the diamond image from Bold Basics, I began layering my stamped and die cut images from Sending Joy. The elements in this set are perfect for mixing and matching. I am pretty sure there is no way to use this set "wrong!"

The last step was adding the stamped and die cut word joy. Oh, and to finish it off, I added one of the straight-line sentiments from Sending Joy. I masked the image off to make it fit into the design of my card. Using a post-it note, I inked the first two words and stamped them. Making sure my image was clean and dry, I once again masked and added ink, but this time to the second half.

One more card. This intensely dark green cardstock was giving me fits for photography, but the elegance of the rich color with the gold is stunning in real life! 

On the cardstock, I stamped and heat embossed the diamond from Bold Basics and the small pine branch image from Sending Joy. When heat embossing on dark cardstock, be sure and use an embossing magic pouch on your surface to help eliminate stray flecks of powder.

For more depth, I stamped the berries from Sending Joy and then applied gold Perfect Pearls. I will be trying this dual look again soon!

And I couldn't end this release without showcasing the main image of Sending Joy, the word joy. Have fun shopping tonight! I cannot wait to see what you make! Be sure and tag me on social media, or email me your projects! Seeing how your creativity uses images and dies is a thrill that cannot be described! 

Sincerely Yours,

Supplies. Affiliate links used. List will be updated as quickly as possible.

Sending Joy

The thing about Sending Joy is, you can make it work with your favorite color palette or holiday motif. You can even add the images to some of your other favorite holiday stamp sets! Simple, clean, and very versatile! We are inching closer to the time when you can order these images from PapertreyInk.com. October 15 at 10 PM Eastern. I will be sure and post a reminder when that times comes around!

I am having fun layering all these images together in different arrangements. The combinations really are endless. One big twist on this card-I stuck the die cut branch and berry image into a watermark ink pad and heat embossed the whole thing, without stamping the image. Its a cool look. I think next time I will repeat the process a few times and really build up the shine and the metallic finish.

And of course, these images work for envelopes! Since the launch of my Envelope Envy kit from Papertrey Ink last November, I have continued to be obsessed with adorning my envelopes. Its so easy to do and makes your happy mail even happier. Not to mention, its fully customized this way!

And, one more project, a simple tag. Tags are essential for gift wrapping in our house, so I know I will be making a bunch of these! Ok friends, next post will be time to shop! See you then!

Sincerely Yours,

Supplies. Affiliate links used. List will be updated with new products on Oct. 15.

Sending Joy - cards and a table runner

More projects with Sending Joy today! The October release from Papertrey Ink continues today. Be sure and visit the blog for a look at all the amazing products coming out this month! So much holiday goodness! And once again, thank you for all the online love! When you work so hard creating a set of images and dies, it feels SO great to have others get excited about them! Huge hugs to you all!

For the last two Christmases I have been obsessed with buffalo check, and the buffalo check pattern in red and black. I changed my tree ribbon to it and bought an adorable wool coat with the same pattern! Its probably the northern Minnesota girl in me and my love of flannel. But the look can be created easily with the gingham border image in Sending Joy. I stamped my image on red cardstock with black ink. I trimmed it out and distressed the edges to give it that rustic feel.

Please note: the border image in this set is an incredibly detailed image. It is also a very long image, as it runs the length of an A2 card. When you stamp the image, you will need to put a good amount of pressure on the center of the image. 

I added several stamped and die cut images from Sending Joy in the corner. To tie in the gold embossed sentiment, I added details to the stamped images with a gold gel pen. Simple touch, easy to do, but it adds quite a bit of visual detail. Plus, sparkle! :D

Wanting to continue using the buffalo check pattern, I punched the stamped image with a small star punch. I knew I could use them to create the look of ornaments. 

After stamping the pine branches along the top of my cardstock, I foam-mounted each of the stars. A black pen allowed me to draw quick strings to "hang" my stars. I finished off the card with some glitter. I stamped an image from Sending You Comfort and used my Quickie glue pen to add glitter. I know, enough with the glitter already. :D

The final project I have to share with you is this table runner! I found this table runner in the Dollar Spot at Target last year and picked up a few. I knew I could stamp on them when the perfect set came along. Today was that day!

Using an ink made for surfaces, I stamped the word joy first. Then I surrounded the word with images from Sending Joy. Again, its simple, but what a beautiful touch to add to your holiday table this season!

I am thoroughly enjoying the visit with my parents, so I apologize for this posting a little late. Shopping and cooking, watching movies, and today some crafting-I could not be happier! Have a wonderful day, friends!

Sincerely Yours,

Supplies. Affiliate links used. List will be updated on October 15, when the release is live.