This month...Layers, Layers, Layers at Joy Clair!

Hey stamping friends!  It's Kerry here and I'm excited to join the Joy Clair Design Team as we introduce the August Blog Challenge!

This month it's LAYERS LAYERS LAYERS!  Just simply use the challenge photo as inspiration for your project!  We're focusing on Layers, Layers, Layers...So go to town and join the fun!  Make sure to comment on each designers blog post and post your creation too.  One lucky participant will win a $25.00 Gift Certificate to the Joy Clair store (Check it out and make your wish list now!)

I love sunflowers so I just LOVED the inspiration photo.  I decided to use the Wood Background to mimic the lines of the petals in the photo.  I added a bit of browns to the wood to help accentuate the design.  Stamping it onto yellow cardstock helped too  To pull in the creamy yellow in the inspiration photo, I distressed the top edge of the yellow paper with white ink.  That allowed my inks and colored pencils to bleed a bit and really made the card (in my opinion).

Next up was to add the flower.  I used the flower in the Spring Time Flowers set and stamped and colored it twice then cut it out a bit so that I could "shushzzzz" up the petals.  I added a dark brown bling to the center for some added dimension and layering.

Stamping the sentiment from Hello Sentiments in a curved formation gave my inked panel a bit of whimsy and makes me smile.  I just wish I would have used my Misti to stamp it over again.  Oh well, next time!  

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see your creation show up in our inlinkz feed!  :)

It's Christmas in July at Joy Clair!

WOO HOO!  It's Christmas in July!  It's an entire week of projects and discounts!  You've got that right, discounts!  Join us this week as we celebrate Christmas in July...With Joy Clair Style!  

Hey there inky friends!  This week I'm celebrating Christmas In July at Joy Clair.  All week long the designers at Joy Clair have been sharing some gorgeous Holiday creations and today Steph Ackerman and I are sharing our holiday projects with you!  I'm sharing this fun and festive card using a few NON HOLIDAY stamp sets from the Joy Clair collection.  

Yes, thinking out-of-the-box was the requirement for me this time as I do not have any traditionally Christmas sets from Joy Clair (yet).  SOOO...what was I to do?  Well, I dug through my collection of amazing stamp sets and pulled a few that inspired me to create something Holiday-ish!  Hope you enjoy!  

I selected Doodle Flowers and Hello Sentiments to create this jar of joy card.  I used my colored pencils and watercolors to color the jar and hand write the Joy sentiment.  I also doodled the background frame using a micron pen.  I think it helps contain the jar and helps pop this panel off the page.  

I added a few sprigs from the stamp set, doodled a few red berries and applied some micro glitter to one edge of the jar.  I also wrapped a bit of twine around the neck of the jar to incorporate the ribbon/fiber elements that are consistent in my designs.

Just adding a bit of colored pencil coloring within the doodled lines helped continue the color-theme and connect the border to the jar image.

So...The next time you're thinking of making a holiday card, think OUTSIDE of the box.  Change it up a bit because you don't have to stick to traditional holiday images when making handmade cards!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of Christmas in July!

A Sweet Hello...

Well, hello there Joy Clair friends!  It's Kerry here and I'm sharing my most recent card created using the fun and whimsical flower swirl in the new Doodle Flowers set. It pairs well with the new Hello Sentiments set that is absolutely a new staple sentiment set in my collection. I just LOVE them both! 

My Mini Misti comes in handy for creating this quick and easy wreath!  It also helps to add that perfectly inked scripty sentiment!  

The first steps in creating this fun card were to stamp the wreath onto white cardstock and then create the background that would help color the swirly flowers. To create the wreath design, I selected the frond stamp that leans to the left (there is a reverse image that leans to the right also).  I stamped it repeatedly in a circular layout with three different green colored Memento inks. It was important to create some dimension and depth with my little wreath and I could do that by layering the leafy fronds in three different colors.   

I went to town stamping the swirly flower onto the background paper.  I just love this little stamp! After stamping 900,000 flowers (hee hee), I started the process of cutting them out. Each and Every one...without a clue in the world what I'd make with them!

After the 900,000 flowers were cut, I set them aside and grabbed my Misti again. I used it to stamp the "hello" sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

Up next was to arrange the flowers on the wreath (I used some foam squares to add dimension) and create the leaves.  I colored some white cardstock using Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Reinker by adding a few drops of ink to the acetate sheet our stamps come sandwiched between then spritzing with water. 

Two little drops of this yummy reinker can produce an amazing background!  

Isn't it yummy?!  When this ink is applied to paper with water, several different colors appear on your paper.  So amazing, really.  

After cutting out the leaves I assembled them into a pleasing layout design. To finish the card off, I doodled a few dotty elements then mounted this panel onto a light blue backing and mounted it onto an A2 card base. Of course, almost all of my creations have some form of ribbon or fiber, I opted for a light and natural colored thread tied into a double bow. YUM! 

I so enjoyed making this card.  It's quite simple and you can whip out quite a few in no time! Thanks so much for popping by to see how I created it!  

So long for now!  :)  Happy crafting!