Winter Pines in August!

As July comes to an end, I am happy to report that I have 20 of my holiday cards complete. Here is another one of my easy to create cards that makes it easy duplicate for multiple cards with the same design.



Supplies Used:
gelly jr. Winter Pine
cardstock and ink Stampin' Up
Versamark ink pen

For this card I cut several squares out of white cardstock, then stamped the tree on them. To add a little something to the tree I used a Versamark pen to ink the tops of the tree branches and embossed them with glitter embossing powder to add a little sparkle.



Thanks for stopping by!

Candy Canes!

Hey gel-a-tins fans! I know it's only July and we're having record high temperatures, but it's also the time I start making my holiday cards. I have learned over the years that if I try to make them all at once right before they need to go out, it gets a bit overwhelming! I like to do a few cards each week so that I am ready when the time comes to send them out. One other thing I do when making my holiday cards is to make them simple!

I used the new gelly jr.'s santa's candy cane stamp and the cherry scented gelly powder. I love the scented embossing powder! It makes it feel like I'm embossing with candy.


Supplies Used:
santa's candy cane gelly jr. stamp
cherry scented gelly powder
versamark ink

And here's a closer look at the embossing powder in action! I love this stuff. I can't wait to try out more scents.



When do you guys start making your holiday cards? Do you have any tips to make holiday cards fun and easy?

Doodle Flowers and ink resist

Wow! This summer has been a hot one for those of us here in Michigan that aren't used to 100 degree temperatures already in the beginning of July. But, all of that heat has meant that I can spend more time inside enjoying my central air and creating!

I'd like to share a layout I made using one of the new gelly jr.'s stamps and ink resist! I have noticed more and more companies offering pattern paper that has ink resist designs already applied to it, but I have yet to buy any. There are two reasons for that, I am thrifty when it comes to spending my scrappy money and I hate when I buy something and then I instantly use it up! That's one of my favorite things about stamps, you can't use them up.

My Girls


Supplies Used:
gelly jr.'s Doodle Flower
versamark ink
Stampin' Up embossing powder
Maya Road mist
Bo Bunny pattern paper and rub-ons
Jillybean alphas and journal spot
American Crafts thickers

To get the white stamped image on the blue paper I used a piece of white cardstock as my base. First I stamped the flower all over with versamark ink. I then added embossing powder and used my heat gun. At first glance the image did not really show up on the paper. After embossing, I sprayed the embossed cardstock with blue mist. I then rubbed the cardstock with a cloth to remove the ink from the embossed flowers, leaving behind white flowers. The ink does not stick to the embossed images, so you are left with the white cardstock showing through the embossed images and the ink on the rest of the cardstock!


I would love to see what you can do with the ink resist technique!

Follow with Love Knots

Welcome to the first full week of summer! One of my favorite summer activities with my family is going to the Children's Garden. I am sharing a layout I created using the Love Knots set about a recent trip to the gardens.

Follow


Supplies Used:
Love Knots stamp - gel-a-tins
gcd Melody Ross pattern paper
border sticker - Sassafras Lass
stickers - Echo Park
Thickers - American Crafts
stick pins - Maya Road
tags and twine unknown stash

For this layout I wanted to use manilla tags to add a little embellishment, but they were too plain on their own. Adding a background stamps adds a little bit extra emphasis to the tags while still keeping the focus on the photo.

Love Knots layout

Hi gel-a-tins fans! The weekend is here. It's going to be our hottest weekend yet in Michigan, so I plan to spend some time enjoying the central air in my craft room and playing with stamps and ink!

I would like to share my latest scrap layout with you.

1 of the Guys



Supplies Used:
gel-a-tins Love Knot stamp
Studio G ink
Paper and quote block - Authentique
black alphas - The Paper Studio
"1"- pink paislee
Tim Holtz chit chat stickers
October Afternoon journaling spots

My favorite thing about the Love Knot stamp is how versatile it is. I stamped onto a kraft circle and used it as an embellishment to anchor the journaling spot and quote die cut.



I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and has a chance to play with stamps and ink!

Love Knots for Dad

Hello out there in blog land! Can you believe it's already June?!? We're half way through the year. Where has the time gone?

We are a little over a week away from Father's Day here in the US. I like to make my husband a card from me for Father's Day. I know that Father's Day is for kids to remind their fathers why they appreciate them, but I like to also remind my husband that I see how great of a father he is to our daughter.



Supplies Used:
Love Knots stamp - gel-a-tin stamps
watermark ink - versamark
clear embossing powder - Stampin' Up
chipboard - Maya Road
buttons - random from my jar o buttons
Modeling Paste

At first glance, the hearts in the Love Knots set made me think of a feminine project. I have a hard time mixing hearts into guy projects. But, I knew that it would work perfect for a card that was given out of LOVE!

I used the Love Knots background stamp to create the background for my card. I stamped it with watermark ink, then added clear embossing powder. I wanted to add texture with this stamp, but I wanted it to be subtle on the background.

I sometimes struggle to add embellishment to masculine projects because I am a glitter and bling lover! One of my favorite embellishments to add for a guy are buttons. For this card, I stuck the buttons in a straight row, then stitched them on with twine. This row of buttons served two purposes. First, was embellishment. Second, the placement was to cover a mistake! I was a little off with seaming the background stamps together on this card, so I made sure that my buttons covered the gap! If there is one thing that I can teach someone about stamping, it's that mistakes happen and it's ok! Keep going with your creation and see where it goes!



Finally, I wanted to use the boy potty person on the card. The smaller keychain people that Maya Road sold had a hole in the middle of the head. To cover that and add more texture to my card, I dabbed modeling paste all over the chipboard. Once it dried I added mist over the top to add color.



I look forward to seeing what everyone creates with this fun background stamp!

Happy Mustache Monday!

Hello everyone! For those of you in the US, I hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend. I know I am enjoying all of the sunshine here in Michigan.

I created this layout of my friends son using the Mustache Mania stamp set. I loved using it to create this layout because it allowed me to make several pieces to coordinate with his picture!



Supplies:
Mustache Mania stamp set - gel-a-tin stamps
watermark ink - versamark
black ink - studio g
Twill tape - Stampin' Up
black alphas - American Crafts thickers
journaling spot and word banners - echo park This and That Charming line
U - pink paislee



I had fun with the Mustache Mania stamp set! First, I stuck the mustache stamps all over my acrylic block to create a fun background stamp and used Versamark ink to create a tone on tone background paper. I then stamped a mustache in black ink onto cardstock and cut it out. To get a more worn out look with my image, I first stamped onto scrap paper, then onto the cardstock.



I also used the stamps again to create a patterned ribbon. I used repositionable adhesive and stuck the ribbon down to my work surface. I then added my three favorite stamps to my block. I then stamped the images repeatedly on the ribbon.

One of my favorite things about gel-a-tins stamps is that I can add a bunch of the stamps onto the block so that I can stamp a few times and get multiple images. It makes it so that I can get the effect I want without having to stamp each image individually. It makes stamping a background paper a lot faster!

Hello Monster card by Kim P.

I saw this stamp set and knew I had to make a card to send to my friend! Who wouldn't enjoy a mustache card?!?



Supplies Used:
gel-a-tins Mustache Mania stamp set, Studio G black ink, Maya Road Avocado Metallic Mist, Sassafras Lass monster paper and brads, Pink Paislee rub-on, My Little Shoebox letter stickers, American Crafts button, Twinery twine, and Becky Higgins grid journaling spot.

Instructions:
I wanted to use the mustache stamps as a background, so I made a background stamp out of them! I randomly placed the mustache stamps on my acrylic block. That way I could stamp several mustaches at one time. First I misted the white cardstock to give it some color and stamped over the misted area.

Meet Kim P!

Hi everyone! My name is Kim Poplaski. I was live in Western Michigan, which I love most of the year. I am a wife, mommy of a sweet 2 year old girl and a crazy dog, and a full-time Social Work student. I enjoy that papercrafting helps me to keep my sanity when life seems to be pulling me in a million different directions! I was introduced to the world of stamps about 10 years ago and instantly fell in love with creating art. I started out making cards, but soon found that my first love is scrapbooking, while creating cards and altered items are very close behind. I love trying new techniques and finding new ways to use my supplies.

I am so excited to be a part of the gel-a-tins team! I look forward to sharing my work with you as well as being inspired by the creativity of the rest of my team.

Here are a couple of my favorite projects: