Valentine's Day Cards - adding texture with embossing folders

Love is in the air! It is time to start making and sending those Valentine's Day cards! These cards came together in minutes with some great tools from We R Memory Keepers and products from Heidi Swapp!

Using the new We R Memory Keepers manual die cutting machine, the Revolution, I ran some striped patterned paper from Heidi Swapp through the machine in a heart embossing folder.

After I took it out of the embossing folder, I gently sanded the top of the raised surfaces off with 180 grit sand paper. Doing that exposed the white core of the paper and added awesome depth to my texture! 

On the paper, I added stickers with sweet words of love.

Visit me on Instagram @kimberlystamps and check out my post and stories for more details and tips and tricks! I love sharing helpful ideas there, because I can share them as I have them happen while I work. I love it! Hope to see you there!

 Sincerely Yours,

Supplies used, listed with affiliate links. My family appreciates your support! And so do I! :D

New Society6 Collection Launch! Hearts and Kisses

I am super excited to announce that I launched new products today in my Society6 shop!

Sincerely Yours, Kimberly

 It its time for Valentine's Day and this sweet, hand-drawn pattern called Hearts and Kisses is perfect for a gift for someone special, or yourself. Wink, wink.

First off, THANK YOU! Without the HUGE response from all of you for my Christmas products, I never would have been brave enough to try this again! Thank you!!

How cute is this bag?!? 

This bag comes in three different sizes or a pack of all three sizes!

How about a sweet throw pillow?

My sister-in-law ordered two of them with the Christmas pattern and they turned out incredible! Amazing packaging. Fully stuffed pillow. And the best part? Removable and machine washable cover! Yesss!

Pillows come in four different sizes!

Mugs were a huge hit and this one is just as adorable! I love that they come in 2 sizes. There is also a travel mug with a great lid.

This one is new for me. But the phone cases and skins turned out way too cute to pass up! Spread a little love everywhere with this on your phone!

Be sure and check out everything in the Hearts and Kisses collection!

Sincerely Yours,

List of all the Hearts and Kisses products in my Society6 shop:

Valentine's Day Decor - We R Memory Keepers Fabric Quill

Love is in the air! I have always loved decorating for holidays, and other than Christmas, the most decor I have is for Valentine's Day. Is it because I am 100% a sappy romantic? Probably? That red is my favorite color? Yep. Is it because the heart image has always been one of my favorite icons? Totally! 

We R Memory Keepers has some pretty amazing tools out there right now. Using several of them, I was able to create this adorable banner. And honestly, it didn't take me very much time at all! Good tools help make that happen. And I don't know about you, but I sure love sitting down and creating and having everything work well and end up with a successful project! 

I began by adding color to my canvas banners with the Cordless Marker Airbrush. Using both pink and orange made an interesting background. I also like how subtle the color ended up being once it dried on the fabric. 

Then I used the new Fabric Quill to draw the hearts on each part. Well, I didn't draw them, my Silhouette drew them with a pink marker in the Fabric Quill Kit. The Fabric Quill comes with an adapter for each major digital die cutting machine and markers. It utilizes the pen tool feature of the machine. The results are pretty darn great and I was really impressed!

I grabbed The Works All-In-One Tool to create the tassels. That tool has every possible paper crafting need you could have-all in one tool that is the size of a paper trimmer. One that's been folded in half! I added some punched hearts, letter stickers, and enamel shapes to finish things off. This looks SO cute hanging in our kitchen over the table!

I have a full and complete tutorial on the We R Memory Keepers blog. I also have some peeks on my Instagram account (@kimberlystamps). I love sharing quick tips and tricks with you in the stories. Plus, you can see my fat cat and my handsome teenager often too. :D

Sincerely Yours,

Supplies used. Affiliate links. Thanks for the support!

I love you a waffle lot - Silhouette Cameo and a Heart-Shaped Waffle Maker

It really is no secret how much I love to bake and make fun foods for the holidays. Even my teenager still gets a kick out of my silliness! When scrolling through the Silhouette Design Store, looking for Valentine's Day designs, I came across this adorable cut file and knew that I HAD to purchase it immediately. That, and a heart-shaped waffle maker. I know, I am a giant kid at heart and slightly ridiculous!

It was yet another snow day away from school and making chocolate heart-shaped waffles for lunch seemed like a really good plan for my son and I to do together. We covered the waffles with red raspberry syrup, raspberries, strawberries, whipped cream, and a few mini chocolate chips. This was not a healthy lunch. Does the fruit help at all? :D

Before making the waffles, I used my Silhouette Cameo 3 to cut the image out. I repeatedly cut the file's parts from different colors of cardstock. When cutting a file with many layers, but one set of images to place on the design page, I remove the extra layers.

For example, the words on this image did not need to be cut from the brown. Knowing that, I simply ungrouped the images, deleted the extras, and sent only the background portions to be cut. It saves time and paper.

To cut the portions I wanted in red, I simply opened the image again, ungrouped, removed the images I did not need, and sent it to be cut.

After all my images were cut, I glued them together. These images all fit so nicely on the design, but to help myself line things up, I referenced the image in the Silhouette Design Store.

Who wants to come over for Valentine's Day breakfast?

Sincerely Yours,

Silhouette Design ID #248020

brighten Valentine's Day for children in the hospital - Mail It Monday

Welcome to a special mid-week post for Mail It Monday. Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. I remember, with a lot of fondness, getting Valentine's from classmates through the years. It was a wonderful tradition that made a fun day as a child. Unfortunately, many children do not get to experience this tradition, or miss out on the day this year because they are currently under care at a Children's Hospital. Many of these hospitals around the country have a place where you can send a card to a child. This is done differently than a standard card drive. These children are very ill and cannot be exposed to outside germs or toxins or anything environmental. Because of these factors, the hospitals have set up a way for you to send a card digitally. The child will receive an actual card, but it will be under their strict care guidelines. I have found a list of several hospitals participating in this sweet and thoughtful idea and am sharing it with you today. I love how this works with our send love, send cards motto!

Cincinnati Children's
Choose a design and they will print and deliver the card. They are so busy, that their system is slow in responding with a confirmation. How wonderful!

Children's Hospital Colorado
They will print the card for FREE and deliver it to a child.

Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Same idea from this hospital, but Party City has come along side them and will be donating $1 to the hospital for each card sent! Again, FREE.

Children's National in Washington, D.C.
Choose from 3 adorable designs. Once again, they will take care of printing and delivering for FREE!

Boston Children's Hospital Trust
More Valentine's. These will be posted in the hospital for all the patients to see. FREE.

St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital
These Valentine's were inspired by patient art and you can also write your own message. FREE but they encourage a donation to the hospital.

Children's Health of Dallas
Suuuper cute farm-themed Valentine's. FREE.

Phoenix Children's
Space themed Valentine's, again printed and delivered for FREE.

-OR-

Arkansas Children's Hospital
This hospital will accept art supply donations this Valentine's Day. They must be brand new and in their original packaging. Visit the link for more details.

I hope you are as excited about this opportunities as I am! What a wonderful thing to be able to participate in-even your children or grandchildren can be involved! Don't forget to join us @MailItMonday on Instagram. We would love to see you in our card-mailing community as we grow each and every week!

Sincerely Yours,

Love Bugs for Valentine's Day

I don't think the word "bug" describes these cuties appropriately! At all! Because they are so stinking cute!!! Remember these from when you were a kid? The pom pom with the feet that were a sticker? Oh, they were so much fun! With some of my We R Memory Keepers tools, I just HAD to make some of my own!

I started with the medium Pom Pom maker and some soft yarn I found at Michael's. The pom poms are easy to make with this little tool and I was surprised at how perfectly they turned out. Sure beats trying to make them with your hands!

I placed the finished pom poms on felt hearts that I die cut. My favorite glue for these projects is Aleene's Tacky Glue. Always a winner! Plus, with the easy clean-up you can make these with your kiddos! (In fact, mine is STILL making them...)

Seriously, how can you not smile?!?!

The heart-shaped antennae were created with the We R Memory Keepers Happy Jig. This wire-shaping tool is fun. I placed three pegs in the board in a triangle shape and wrapped the wire around it, to create the heart shape. I placed the end of the wire down in the glue, making a very thick coat. Then I placed the wire down in the pom pom. It held in place beautifully, especially if I held it in place for a few seconds. 

I finished my new fuzzy friends off with sweet Valentine's Day tags from the Loves Me Collection from Pebbles. I wish I could hand you the whole pile of them and watch you smile!

Oh, and a note to your future self, never, ever, under any circumstances purge your googly eyes from your crafty stash. Don't do it. Because the minute you do, you WILL need them. Ha!

Sincerely Yours,

Supplies. Affiliate links used. Thank you for purchasing via my links!

The Ultimate Inspiration Calendar for Card-Mailers - February 2019

The first month of everyone using The Ultimate Inspiration Calendar for Card-Mailers was AMAZING! You took the idea and ran with it! Some of you printed the calendar and placed it in your planner. Some printed the calendar and hung it up in your crafty space. I saw some amazing cards being created from the days on the calendar. Many of you were happy to find new reasons to mail cards last month! My heart was full of happiness seeing each and every post!

So today, I am thrilled to get you a link to the calendar for February! Simply click the word February and you will be taken to a FREE downloadable and printable calendar!

Once again the calendar is full of silly days, heartfelt days, and well, lots of great reasons to mail more cards! Take special note of "Thank a Mail Carrier Day" coming up next week! It is also Random Acts of Kindness Month, with the focus day being February 17.

Once again, I hope this calendar inspires you to make cards and then mail them. The whole goal is to send love, send cards. We need so much more love in this world, and we can impact so many lives by doing something we already love to do! How many people can say that their hobby could send love to anyone, anytime?! Go forth and mail your cards and change the world!

To join in the card-mailing movement, please join us on Instagram @MailItMonday. There is a growing and lovely community of passionate card-makers who are encouraging one another to be card-mailers! We would love to see you there!

Sincerely Yours,

P.S. There is a cover for the calendar, along with the month of January, both FREE and both still available. If you missed out, you can find it all HERE.

never ruin a card again! We R Memory Keepers Precision Press Advanced

Oooh, it's time to kick off the next year worth of posts for We R Memory Keepers! I am thrilled to be a part of the team again this year! There are SO many wonderful new products ahead and I cannot wait to share them with you!!

Up today on the We R Memory Keepers blog is the Precision Press Advanced. This stamping platform can change how you stamp and just wait until you see the new tools coming out to go with it! I am BLOWN AWAY! Hint-stencils!!!!

I used the Precision Press Advanced to help me perfectly line up my stamp on my die cut heart. Because I don't know about you, but I have ruined about a million and a half cards and die cuts over the years by missing. There is nothing worse! Head over to the blog to read more about how to never ruin a card again!

I also took another new tool for a spin on this card- the Stitch Happy Pen! I have another post coming soon with it! And be sure and follow me on Instagram, @kimberlystamps, to watch videos with tips and tricks for all these great tools!

Sincerely Yours,

Supplies. Listed with affiliate links. Thank you for making a purchase this way!

NEW Mini Evolution Advanced from We R Memory Keepers

ETA: Here is the shopping link http://gohsn.co/WeRMemoryKeepers

The 24 hour craft day on HSN is Tuesday!

The latest die cutting machine from We R Memory Keepers is arriving at HSN! Be sure and check your local listings for the times that this new machine will be available. Not only the machine, but also some really cute products that will be exclusive to HSN! I was excited to play with these new goodies and share them with you!

The Mini Evolution Advanced is the cutest little die cutting machine there ever was! This machine packs all the punch of a larger machine, but in a portable size. The size is really great for people who craft in a small space!

The machine comes with the plates you need for both die cutting and embossing. Simple and easy, the plates are labeled clearly, like all great tools from We R Memory Keepers!

This exclusive kit comes with a mini Precision Press Advanced. The stamps that  come with the kit are designed to line up perfectly inside the press. The base of the stamp is actually notched to line up with the pegs!

After being able to build up layers of stamped images, that are lined up perfectly, you can then use the combo die/embossing folders to take these images to a whole new level. I have never seen anything like this before and the idea is SO clever!

See the details? And the images can be bent to add even more dimension! Look at those hearts!! Be sure and check in with We R Memory Keepers and HSN this weekend on Instagram for more information and details. Happy Weekend! 

Sincerely Yours,

Spellbinders February 13th, 2018 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Spellbinders February Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from the wonderful Amanda Korotkova's blog. Isn't she amazing?! This hop is going to be beautiful. And I am so honored to be a small part of it! The dies being released can be found at Elegant 3D Vingettes by Becca Feeken and Flower Garden by Sharon Sowell.

I am featuring a set of dies from Sharon Sowell called Shapeabilties Corner Floral Etched Dies. These dies are brilliant! When you cut the flower, with the center die only, it creates the negative image only. But when you add the center and the outline die, you get an amazing flower! I used the same die two different ways, to highlight the innovative design. 

First up, the center of the die only. This cuts out the floral image. Using this on a bright background has stunning results. I will not be putting down this die anytime soon! Because look at how beautiful!

The background is an alcohol ink background on Yupo paper. Yupo paper is wonderful for using with the inks. Once the paper is dry, which takes some time, it can be die cut. It may take more than one pass through your manual die cutting machine with intricate dies like these.

The second way to use Corner Floral Etched Dies, is to create the entire flower. Who doesn't love a good flower die cut? The possibilities are quite endless as these flowers could be cut from a million different mediums, or be water colored, or painted, or glittered...you get the idea. :D

Oh, how exquisite is that?! (I have been watching Anne of Green Gables again...)

Time to visit Elena Salo's blog for more eye candy, but be sure and read to the end of the post before you hop away!

Now for the really good stuff! Prizes!

Giveaway #1: To celebrate this release, Spellbinders is giving away a $50 gift certificate to THREE lucky winners. Please leave a comment on Spellbinders blog by Sunday February 18, 2018 at at 11:59 EDT for a chance to win. The winners will be announced in the blog hop post on Spellbinders blog the following day.

Giveaway #2: There is a $25 Spellbinders gift card up for grabs here! I am thrilled to be giving one away! Leave a comment on THIS post until Friday, February 16th, 2018 at 11:00 PM CDT. In your comment, tell me if you find the hidden heart on the love card... :D THIS PORTION OF THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Thank you!

For more chances to win, visit all the blogs!

Becca Feeken
Sharyn Johnson Sowell
Debi Adams
Erum Tasneem
Amanda Korotkova
Kimberly Crawford
Helen Salo
Virginia Lu
Anna Kossakovskaya
Yana Smakula

Sincerely Yours, 

Supplies for Love card:


Supplies for Heart You card: