Today's Project: Easter Egg Shaker Card
​I cut a white piece of cardstock 4.5x12" and folded in half to be 4.5x6." Then cut a 4x6" piece of plaid patterned paper and adhered to the card base. And took a 4x6" piece of yellow cardstock and cut an oval shape hole in the center with an egg shape die cut and a Big Shot machine. And set a side.

Next I taped down a NEW stencil on white cardstock with some purple tape (like masking tape, but less tacky) and added some color with a blending tool. And trimmed down a little larger than the oval shape opening to about 4x4.5"

When I was at a craft Expo last year I came across these clear shaker bags for cards and thought that was a genius way to contain our sequins and remain flat enough for mailing. Because we usually use foam tape and it's very bulky.

So, I took a clear bag, filled it with pretty spring colored sequins, sealed the top closed and adhered to the back side of the yellow cardstock at the top and bottom that we already cut out the opening previously. Then adhered the stencil panel to this yellow panel, and adhered the whole piece to the card base.

The cut out of the egg shape was a little wider than the clear shaker bag, so I covered that up by adhering these pretty flowers all the way around it. (our little secret) And added glitter enamel dots to the centers for more sparkle. Pretty, right?

To finish up this card I stamped a sweet sentiment in black on green cardstock, trimmed it down, cut the the end with scissors to create a banner and adhered to card, tucked under the flower.  So sweet and versatile for Easter, Birthday, Anniversary, Graduation, New Baby or any special occasion! I hope I've inspired you to use your die cuts and stencils in new and creative ways. And check out these clear shaker bags too! The possibilities are endless!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Easter! ~Kim & family


CAS-ual Fridays products used today:

Challenges:
Brown Sugar Challenge #289 April 2019
Week 515/516 - Blossoms, Butterflies, Bugs
Three Amigos Blog Hop Challenge #25 - Springtime!
LTCCB #33 - April Anything Goes
HLS April Anything Goes with Dies Challenge
Simon Says Wed Challenge: Spring Mood Board
Repeat Impressions Inspiration Palette Challenge ~ A1719
Simon Says Mon Challenge: Beautiful Blooms
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper April 2019 challenge
The Card Concept #113 {Spring Celebration}: (I was inspired by the plaid tablecloth, the pastel colors, and flowers on my clean and layered card with a touch of elegance)


Supplies (affil): CAS-ual Fridays Stamps: Huggable Critters Fri Die Set, Bold Trellis Stencil, and Heartfelt Sayings Stamp Set; Papertrey White Cardstock for card base, yellow and green cardstock; Hobby Lobby white card stock for the stencil; My Favorite Things plaid 6x6 patterned paper pad; Catherine Pooler black midnight ink; Ranger Distress Oxide-Dried Marigold and Blending Tool; Purple Tape; Big Shot Machine; Cre8tive Artz Clear Shaker Bags; Petaloo flowers; Glitter enamel adhesive dots; Sequins; Beacon 3 to 1 liquid glue

Hi ya'll!!! I am SO honored and excited to announce that I have been published as a "Gallery Girl" in the new Spring 2019 issue of Retro Hip Magazine with one of my vintage masculine truck cards!!! So let's celebrate my 10th publication with a GIVEAWAY below too!!! I hope you go check it out in a printed copy or get the digital issue right now "here."

Get your copy now and see 92 pages of inspiration, pattern papers to print and use on your projects, bonus downloads, tips, techniques, the card gallery and so much more!

And with Retro Hip Mama's approval, here is my card below to share with you all!!! I made it for one of my twin son's birthday, as he LOVES classic cars and trucks, cruising in the Spring or Summer, and he just loved this card. And I'm so honored to share it with you all too!!! Go check it out "here" in the Retro Hip Magazine Spring 2019 issue in the card gallery section on page 71, where I used Unity Stamps!

And to celebrate...I'm having a GIVEAWAY, of course!!!
To enter this GIVEAWAY use the Rafflecopter box below. 
The more boxes you check the greater your chances.
The information you provide is confidential, but I need a way to
​contact you if you win, either via email or private/direct messaging.
One winner will be selected randomly and announced ​next week!
Good luck!!!

Challenges:
Challenge #337 - Make Your Mark (I used markers and inks)
Three Amigos Blog Hop Challenge #25 - Springtime!
LTSCB #120 - Male Call
LTCCB #33 - April Anything Goes
HLS April Watercolour Challenge
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper April 2019 challenge

Thank you for stopping by! ~Kim
*
Click ​the pink button below and never miss an announcement, 
Blog Hops, Challenges, Giveaways, Craft Tutorials, & so much more! 
*
​​See more inspiration on these social media networks: 
  Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Blogger | Bloglovin

Welcome to our Friends of Unity Blog Hop where several amazing designer friends and myself share our love (and obsessions) of Unity Stamps with all of you every month and share lots of GIVEAWAYS too!!! Get ready for some amazing inspiration as we pull out all the stops!!!

​But before I get started...check back to all of our March Blog Hops to see if you are one of the many Winners and claim your prizes! 
Congratulations!!! 
Meghan Kennihan 
she is our Winner here at My Kraft Kloset, for March 2019!!! 
Thank you all for participating!!!

​Our theme for this months Blog Hop is...Rainy Days!!!
Which means to me: April showers, bring May flowers. And it's starting to green up and bloom here in the South. And where there is rain, sometimes there are rainbows, which was the inspiration for my project this month. I wanted "Harmony Girl" to appear like she's strong and confident, dancing in the puddles, and she's coming through the storm into the big bright happy rainbow of life. 

I had to be creative, as I wanted to create a "rainy" effect to my card and I achieved that by using a few "new to me" techniques and products and mixing stamp sets I hadn't used before either.  ​As shown on my "Harmony Girl" card below...

Today's project...
I started with a 5x7 white card base, because this girl is tall and I wanted the background to show too! And inked the card base with a few distress oxide inks in blues and purple by dragging the ink pads from the top to the bottom of the card stock, spritz with water, let it run a bit, and added ink back on where needed. And when it dried it was too light, as it oxidized, so I dragged some regular distress inks in two blues to darken it up to look more stormy.

Tip: if you use water color card stock, your paper won't buckle. I just grabbed what was handy to use it up and it did curl a little, but I put a heavy book on it and it flattened out. 

Next I blended several colors of Distress Oxides inks in a ROYGBIV color sequence across a piece of white card stock to create a rainbow using these amazing blending brushes. So great when you're using a lot of colors, just brush it off on a paper towel between colors, and continued blending away with no contamination of colors. Love them!!
​
And then I trimmed down the rainbow panel.​​

​Using my MISTI stamp tool, I placed the rainbow panel down with a piece of purple tape folded behind it, to hold the panel in place, because you can't use the magnets from the MISTI for this project.

Then inked up this "new to me" Dance with Denim background stamp with clear ink and stamped directly over the rainbow panel and leave stamp in MISTI.

Carefully take the panel out of the MISTI and sprinkle with clear embossing powder all over it and heat set. This created my "rainy" effect. Can you see it???

Next I placed an edger die across the bottom of the rainbow panel and put a piece of purple tape down to hold the die in place and cut out with a Big Shot machine to create a rounded edge at the bottom.

​I Stamped this "new to me" Harmony Girl in black ink compatible with alcohol markers and colored her with the colors shown above. I wanted her to have girly colors. Isn't she pretty and feminine?  She is one of the many "Angiegirls" that I love to color up for friends and family!
​
Next I blended some Distress oxide inks around her to create a stormy look with the blending brush. Added a touch of watered down white ink around her and blended it in a circular motion a little at a time. Let it dry a little and went back and blended a little more to get that "cloudy" coming through the storm effect. Cool, right?

Once dry, I placed her in the MISTI with a piece of purple tape folded behind her, to hold her in place, again using no magnets. Then inked up the "dance with denim" background stamp again, that we left in the MISTI from before, and inked up with clear ink and stamped directly over the Harmony Girl panel.
Then carefully took her out of the MISTI and sprinkled clear embossing powder all over and heat set. This created a "rainy" look all over her too. Can you see it? 

Tip: If you don't have clear embossing powder or these tools or stamps to create this "rain" effect, you could use Ranger Goosebumps Spray to create a similar effect too! That was my original plan, until the denim background stamp worked perfectly! We are Always experimenting, right?

​Adhere Harmony Girl to the rainbow panel with liquid glue, because it's textured. Then adhere the whole piece onto my card base with liquid glue, because it's strong too! And I used my big heavy book again to press all these layers in place and flatten the card. Can you see all that "rain?"  I'm so pleased how it turned out!

​Next I stamped out the sentiment from the same kit in black ink. Blended some Distress oxide inks in a few bright colors, trim to fit, and adhered to card base with liquid glue. Tied a red piece of twine in a bow and added a few glitter "rain drops" for some sparkle to complete this strong willed girl, dancing in the rain, and coming through the storm. I just love her!

I hope I've inspired you to try "new to you" techniques or mix and match products in new and creative ways.  The possibilities are endless! 
​ Happy Spring!!!
Thanks for stopping by! ~Kim

​Pssst! There are several GIVEAWAYS along the way, but you have to Blog Hop below to find them all. ​Here is one of them now...​​

To enter this GIVEAWAY use the Rafflecopter box below. 
The more boxes you check the greater your chances.
The information you provide is confidential, but I need a way to
​contact you if you win, either via email or private/direct messaging.
One winner will be selected randomly at each giveaway and 
announced ​in our next Blog Hop on May 4, 2019. ​
Good luck!!!

==> The HOP starts below <==
so go back to the beginning & hop with all these talented 
Friends of Unity Designers 
for even more Inspiration, Giveaways,
and to leave us some love in comments to win! 

Crystal O. Minkler
Eileen Mathys
Jeanie M. Hays
Bobbie Sue McConathy
Dawn Fields
Joyce Verdon
Kim Klinkovsky <= you are here
Robyn Jordan 

Disclaimer: We designers on the Friends of Unity design team appreciate every single comment we get. That's why we use our own stash every month for a giveaway. We are NOT paid or sponsored by Unity Stamp Co., but they do approve of our hop, and that makes us all very happy. We started this hop because we love Unity Stamps. That's it. This hop is our way of showcasing our cards made with our favorite Unity Stamps and to inspire others along the way!
​
Supplies{Affils}: Unity Stamps & Products: Harmony Girl and Dance with Denim background stamp by Brutus Monroe (as the rain) and Gina K Designs-White Pigment Ink; a MISTI Stamping Tool; Spectrum Noir alcohol markers; Neenah white cardstock for alcohol markers; Papertrey Ink white card stock; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Versamark Clear ink; Ranger Clear Embossing Powder; Marvy Uchida Heat Tool; Sizzix Big Shot Machine; Reverse Confetti-Edgers Confetti Cuts die; Picket Fence Studios-Life Changing Blender Brushes; Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks: ROYGBIV (the rainbow colors): Candied Apple, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Lucky Clover, Faded Jeans, Mermaid Lagoon, Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves; Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire; Ranger Mr. Mister water spritzer; Tim Holtz Ideology colored twine; glitter adhesive enamel dots; Purple Tape; and Beacon 3 to 1 liquid adhesive.
​
Challenges:
Challenge #289 April 2019 (spring theme)
WWC215 - Donna's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge
LTCCB #33 - April Anything Goes
Three Amigos Blog Hop Challenge #25 - Springtime!
HLS April Watercolour Challenge
​

*
Click ​the pink button below and never miss an announcement, 
Blog Hops, Challenges, Giveaways, Craft Tutorials, & so much more! 
*
​​See more inspiration on these social media networks: 
  Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Blogger | Bloglovin

Today's Project: Just Breathe Fri Die & Tin Roof Cover Fri Die
Cut a piece of 8.5x11" smooth white cardstock in half. Blended Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks in Weathered Wood and Scattered Straw and created an awesome ombre water color effect with a blending brush. And used the other half of the cardstock to blend a section, a little larger than A2 size, with just the Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pine Needles Ink and spritzed with water for an oxidation water color effect. It looks almost teal. It's so pretty!

Once dry I placed the new "Tin Roof Cover Fri Die" over the newly blended Pine Needles cardstock and ran through my Big Shot Machine. Adhered the cover die with a clear liquid glue over the ombre piece of cardstock and glued them together. Then adhered the whole panel to an A2 white cardstock base, not shown. Pretty, right? I love how this cover die looks like little flowers all over.  ​It's just stunning for so many projects!

​Hi everybody!!! I hope you're enjoying our amazing *NEW* Spring Release from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps this week who are debuting 6 new Fri-Dies, including two Cover Dies, and 5 new stencils, designed in Colorado and made in the USA!!!  Are you loving all the projects???  Well today is sure to inspire you too!!!  ​​

Today's Project: Trellis Cover Fri Die & Sweet Friend Fri Dies
I started with an 8.5x11" piece of smooth white cardstock, cut it in half, chose a few coordinating Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink colors, and created an awesome ombre effect with a blending brush. 

Then placed the new "Trellis Cover Fri Die" over the newly blended ombre cardstock, ran through my Big Shot Machine, and keep all the cut out parts. And adhered to the front piece of A2 black cardstock base with clear glue and gluing two rows of cut outs back into the cover die spaces. I love how it looks like a bunch of spring flowers in a row.

Next place the new "Sweet Friend Fri Die" over a scrap piece of ombre cardstock and run through the Big Shot machine. And cover the words with Stickles glitter glue to make it really sparkle and don't forget to sparkle the dot for the letter "i" too, it's tiny,  and set aside to dry.

While that's drying, cut a strip of yellow cardstock and cut the ends with scissors to create banners. Once the "sweet friend" words are dry, adhere them to the yellow banner with clear glue, and adhere to card panel. The sparkles are hard to photograph, but they are a sparkly orange like above.
 
And that completes my card for today that was created with no stamping. Sometimes it's fun just to play with die cutting. And these are so versatile for a birthday, graduation, encouragement, thinking of you, Easter or Spring cards and so many occasions! ​
​
Happy Shopping at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps => "here"

Thanks for stopping by & have a great week! ~Kim

Happy Monday everybody!!! It's an amazing  *NEW*  Spring Release from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps who are debuting 6 new Fri-Dies and 5 new stencils, designed in Colorado and made in the USA!!! Did you LOVE yesterday???  Well...today is sure to inspire you too!!!  

​AH-MAZING, Right??? Which one is your favorite???
Tell us below...we LOVE comments!!!

Check back daily everyday thru Sat on the 
CAS-ual Fridays Blog => "here"
for daily inspiration from our wonderfully talented
Design Team showcasing these wonderful new products.
And enter to WIN one of two BIG GIVEAWAYS!

Are you still with me??? Yay!!! 

Onto Today's Project: Stencils & Noteworthy Fri Die
I started with our awesome Noteworthy border Fri Die and my Big Shot machine to cut down each side of a piece of plaid patterned paper and adhered to a green cardstock base. 

Then I adhered this beautiful Starlequin Stencil onto a piece of white cardstock with purple tape. It's like masking tape, but not as tacky and more gentle on your project. And using a Picket Fence blending brush I inked up the stencil with Distress Oxide ink and blended around the edges. And spritz with water for some oxidation/contrast. Trimmed to fit and adhered to card panel. 

​Next I stamped this darling sentiment onto green cardstock in black ink, trimmed the edges into banner shapes with scissors, colored the cute little hearts red, and adhered to card. Added several sequins for some sparkle to complete this lovely card that's great for so many occasions.
​
Happy Shopping at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps => "here"

Thanks for stopping by & have a great week! ~Kim
​

Happy Sunday everybody!!! I'm so excited to share this amazing  *NEW*  Spring Release from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps who are debuting 6 new Fri-Dies and 5 new stencils, designed in Colorado and made in the USA!!!

​AH-MAZING, Right??? Which one is your favorite???
Tell us below...we LOVE comments!!!

Check back daily everyday thru Sat on the 
CAS-ual Fridays Blog
for daily inspiration from our wonderfully talented
Design Team showcasing these wonderful new products.
And enter to WIN a GIVEAWAY too!
​

Still with me??? Yay!!! Onto today's projects...
Gift Card Holders or Treat Holders with Huggable Critters

I started with the Huggable Critters Fri Die set that includes an egg shape body, feet, ears, tails and more. AND a coordinating stamp set that includes faces, whiskers, feet, and paws too! It's just darling. You will have tons of fun creating with these. I did! The possibilities are endless. ​

​​I used colored cardstock and cut out all the "egg shaped" body parts, "feet" and "hand" parts with a Big Shot. And die cut from plaid patterned paper for the ears, tails, and paws.  It was very fun to mix and match solids and prints. But I do suggest you make one body at a time, so you don't lose or mix up body parts. It is easy to do! (lol) And since I was making several, I made little piles of the die cuts until I was ready to glue.​

I'm a big fan of recycling, reusing, and re-purposing. And today I'm using paper towel holders cut in half as my holders. Or your local big box craft store sells these rolls brand new too. I kept these rather simple, as all my cuteness will be on the front.

I cut patterned paper in 4x6" strips and adhered around the paper towel roll and added a piece of ribbon with adhesive. To keep the bottom closed I fold in the ends and pinched it in a little. Or you can add a sticker, an eyelet, brad, or even a staple would work to keep the bottom closed if your going to fill it with treats. But a gift card should be fine with or without anything on the bottom.

Next I added a strip of good bonding adhesive down the back of the holder and adhered a huggable critter and filled with gift cards. Aren't these adorable???  Now you too can make puppies, kitties, bunnies, and there is a bear in the set too! So versatile for Easter, Birthdays, Graduations, Baby cards/showers, and more.
​My kids are going to flip when they see this darling critters and yours will too!!! Happy Shopping at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps "here."

Happy Spring & Thanks for stopping by! ~Kim 

Challenges:
HLS March Anything Goes with Dies Challenge
Addicted to Stamps Challenge #333 - Holiday -(Easter)
LTSCB #119 - Anything Goes
LTCCB #32 - March Anything Goes
Simon Says Wed Challenge: Cute
Repeat Impressions-Tic-Tac-Toe-Challenge-M1319- (paper piecing, green, birthday)
Simon Says Mon Challenge: Miniature/Tiny Things
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper March 2019 challenge


Supplies: CAS-ual Fridays Stamps and Fri Dies: Huggable Critters set; American Crafts pastel/brights cardstock and ribbon; HL or May Arts rose ribbon; My Favorite Things 6x6 petite plaid patterned paper; Big Shot Machine; Versafine Onyx Black ink; Ranger Diamond Stickles glitter glue; Beacon 3 and 1 clear glue; Scor-tape 1/2"; and paper towel holders.

Happy 1st Day of Spring! I know many of you are still dealing with snow, ice, flood waters, tornado aftermath, and then some. It's been a rough winter and our thoughts and prayers are with you all.  Here in the south we are drying out from record breaking rainfall and more rain to come, but things are starting to bloom around here too! Yay! And our biggest reason for us to celebrate is our daughter's birthday is today too!!! 

How I made this Spring Birthday card...
I'm so happy I can finally share this purple beauty I made for my daughters birthday! I started with an A2 (4.25x5.5") purple cardstock base, because purple is her favorite color. And using my Big Shot I cut a banner from one of my favorite banner/fishtale dies in this lovely green patterned paper and adhered to card base. Using my MISTI stamp tool I positioned and centered the sentiment right where I wanted it. Inked the sentiment with clear ink, sprinkled with white embossing powder, and heat set. ​It's from one of my favorite sentiment stamp kits listed below. 

Using my MISTI stamping tool again, I stamped a frame in purple a couple times until I got a good solid purple color on water color card stock. Then I stamped this gorgeous Angiegirl Violet image with Gina K Amalgam black ink, it's my favorite and works with ALL coloring mediums. I centered her inside the fame with my MISTI to line her up perfectly. She just exudes Spring, doesn't she? And she's versatile for many occasions, weddings, new mother, mother's day, and more.  I just love her! 

And this time I colored in this beautiful girl with water color pencils. I've been anxious to try them out. I added a touch of color to the outer lines of my Violet girl and used a Q-tip dabbed in a touch of water to smooth out the color and work it around the image, adding more color with a pencil as needed, smoothing again, until I liked her. And I did the same to create her background too with a little misting of water to make it blend. Adhered to the card panel. Added this stunning purple rose ribbon to the top and lots of purple adhesive gems to make her sparkle. I just love her and the roses in her hair too! Isn't she pretty??? She's my new favorite stamp!

Welcome to our Friends of Unity Blog Hop where several amazing designer friends and myself share our love (and obsessions) of Unity Stamps with all of you every month and share lots of GIVEAWAYS too!!! Get ready for some amazing inspiration as we pull out all the stops!!!
​
​But before I get started...check back to all of our February Blog Hops to see if you are one of the many Winners and claim your prizes!  Amanda Rhodes is the Winner here at My Kraft Kloset, Feb. 2019 prize!!! Congratulations!!! 

Our theme for this months Blog Hop is...Creativity!!!
Which could mean anything. Right?  So it got me really thinking.  What new thing could I create?  What products haven't I used?  Or what techniques haven't I tried?  So, I decided to use "new to me" products and techniques by combining two different foiling techniques with NO laminator and paper piecing to give you lots of tips too! 
​As shown on my "Poppy Girl" card below...

It usually takes me a while to warm up to trends, because I like versatile products I can use over an over again or reinvent them for other purposes or occasions. And trends usually come and go so quickly, but foiling has actually been around for a long time and is very elegant and shiny.

Today's project was inspired my inability to find my laminator. (lol)  As I moved a while back and my laminator is still packed somewhere in my craft room and I can't find it, and I refuse to buy a new one.  But I wanted to try this new trend, so I needed to find new ways to foil without a laminator.  And after putting my thinking cap on and watching lots of videos,  I came up with two ways that worked pretty good with products I already had. 

I started my project with an A2 card base in 110lb blue cardstock. Then I inked up this amazing brick wall stamp in the glue pad, add more from the refill to make it nice and sticky, and stamped on a piece of white cardstock. Next I took a piece of red foil, pretty side up or color up, and laid it directly over the stamped image. Smoothing it down gently with my fingers or hand. Then I took a bone folder and gently pressed the foil into the glue. Removed the foil to reveal all magic...with no laminator. Trim image and adhere to a black cardstock mat or frame and adhere to card. Foil is hard to photograph, but you can see all that shimmer!!!

​Next I chose this sentiment because it reminded me that our creative vibes  inspire others in this great big crafty world and because of Unity, we've become our own tribe. Which I thought fit our theme perfectly!

​I inked up the sentiment with black ink and stamped on white cardstock. Using a Big Shot Machine I cut it out with a stitched framed rectangle die. And this time, I used a glue pen and went over the word "tribe" and let it set for a few minutes,  to get tacky to the touch. Then took the same red foil, color side up, and laid it directly over the word. Smoothing it down gently with my fingers. Then I took a bone folder and gently pressed the foil into the glue. Removed the foil to see all this glorious red shimmer. But the word "tribe" looked kind of bloby and hard to read, so I went over it with a black alcohol marker.  It's stunning, isn't it?  And set aside.

​I chose "Poppy Girl" because I had not had the opportunity to ink her up yet and I just love all the poppies. It reminds me of Spring and with all the rain we've been getting in the south, that spring flowers blooming are just around the corner.

I stamped her on Neenah alcohol marker friendly white cardstock with Amalgam black ink. It's my go to ink for coloring with alcohol, water coloring, or using Gamsol blending spirits. One stop ink for all mediums. I stamped her twice, in case I messed up. And I stamped parts of her on two different pieces of patterned paper scraps that will be her clothes and fussy cut them out.

I colored the rest of poppy girl, the flowers, and a light outline in marker FS2 around the whole image with these alcohol marker colors shown above. I'm a big fan of using two markers from the same color family for coloring and shading. And gives a pretty good effect without using a lot of markers.

​Tips: I came across this 101 blog post "here" that does a great job helping you get started with alcohol markers and tips on coloring and shading. And if you do a search on their website there is a newer 102 post too with good information on coloring skin and hair and more. They talk about Copic alcohol markers, but some of it applies to Spectrum Noir alcohol markers too, which are what I used above. 

Then using the same glue pen I "paper pieced" her top and jeans in place. And it looks like one whole piece. Isn't that cool?  It reminded me of playing with paper dolls as a kid and now you can change your paper scraps and change her outfits. Fun, right??? The possibilities are endless and uses up a lot of your scraps!!! 

​I fussy cut poppy girl out by hand, but you could totally use a die cut, scan n' cut, or a silhouette with a pixscan to cut her out too. I also trimmed off the top of the sentiment, because it was too tall and colored around the edges with the same light alcohol marker to match the girl.  Adhered both pieces to the card panel. Added adhesive red gems and adhesive gold metallic embellishments. And added two different twines to complete this super shiny stunning card, that required NO heat laminator, and is great for any occasion. 

Tips: I used two different glues in different ways with colored heat reactive foil. The background was with a glue ink pad and the sentiment used a glue pen. Things we all probably have in our stash of supplies. Right???

I tried several different foils and not all foils seem to work this way or I'm just not patient enough, as it needs be sticky to stick, and it may take some practice. I also don't know the differences between all the different foils on the market, so they may not all work equally with this technique.

I can only share what products I used and We R Memory Keepers foil worked the best with both the glue pad and the glue pen. The Gina K Designs/Thermoweb colored foils also worked. But I didn't have any luck getting the Minc foils to work, but I think because they are a toner reactive foil and not a heat reactive foil. But I'm not sure, as I didn't use heat. Try what you have and see how creative you can be.

Disclaimer: These are my personal experiences and nothing against any of these brands/products, as they are originally intended for a heated laminator. 
​
Here is another look at Poppy Girl in all her shimmery glory!

I hope I've inspired you to try different trends and "new to you" techniques or products in new and creative ways.
 The possibilities are endless! 
​ Happy Spring!!!
Thanks for stopping by! ~Kim

​Pssst! There are a few GIVEAWAYS along the way, but you have to Blog Hop below to find them all. ​Here is one of them now...​​

To enter this GIVEAWAY use the Rafflecopter box below. 
The more boxes you check the greater your chances.
The information you provide is confidential, but I need a way to
​contact you if you win, either via email or social media messaging.
One winner will be selected randomly at each giveaway and 
announced ​in our next Blog Hop on April 6, 2019. ​
Good luck!!!

==> The HOP starts below with Crystal <==
so go back to the beginning & hop with all these talented 
Friends of Unity Designers 
for even more Inspiration, Giveaways,
and to leave us some love in comments to win! 

Crystal O. Minkler
Joyce Verdon
Eileen Mathys
Jeanie M. Hays
Bobbie Sue McConathy
Kim Klinkovsky <= you are here
Robyn Jordan
Dawn Fields

Disclaimer: We designers on the Friends of Unity design team appreciate every single comment we get. That's why we use our own stash every month for a giveaway. We are NOT paid or sponsored by Unity Stamp Co., but they do approve of our hop, and that makes us all very happy. We started this hop because we love Unity Stamps. That's it. This hop is our way of showcasing our cards made with our favorite Unity Stamps and to inspire others along the way!
​
Supplies{Affils}: Unity Stamps & Products: Poppy Girl, Hit the Brick (wall) by Brutus Monroe, Vibes and Tribes, and Gina K Designs Amalgam black ink;  a MISTI Stamping Tool; We R Memory Keepers-colored foil sheet set; Tsukineko-The Essential Glue Pad Kit; Zig two way glue pen; Fiskars Bone Folder; Spectrum Noir alcohol markers; Neenah white cardstock for alcohol markers; BoBunny-Double Dot 6 x 6 Paper Pad-Very Vintage patterend paper; Papertrey Ink blue cardstock base; American Crafts black cardstock and white; Sizzix Big Shot Machine; Gina Marie Designs Stitched Rectangle Frames; Tim Holtz Red Scissors; Adhesive gems and metallic embellishments @Michaels; American Crafts natural twine and bakers twine; and Scor-Tape ½".

​
Challenges:
Week 509 - Seasons - what's your favourite? (My Season is Spring flowers)
MIUCB #23 - Anything Goes + Inked Background (I inked up a glue pad to add foil to my background)
LTSCB #119 - Anything Goes
LTCCB #32 - March Anything Goes
Color Throwdown #532
Little Red Wagon # 486 - LOVE it! (I loved these techniques and stamps)
Simon Says Wed Challenge: Anything Goes
Repeat Impressions Anything Goes Challenge ~ F2719
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper March 2019 challenge

*
Click ​the pink button below and never miss an announcement, 
Blog Hops, Challenges, Giveaways, Craft Tutorials, & so much more! 
*
​​see more inspiration on these social media networks: 
  Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Blogger | Bloglovin

Happy February everybody!!! Welcome to our Friends of Unity Blog Hop where several amazing designer friends and myself share our love (and obsessions) of Unity Stamps with all of you every month and have lots of GIVEAWAYS too!!! Get ready for some amazing inspiration as we honor "friendship" this month!!! 
​
​But before I get started...check back to our January Blog Hops to see if you are one of the many Winners and claim your prizes!  Congratulations!!! Karen Ladd is the Winner here at My Kraft Kloset Jan. 2019 prize!!!

​Our theme for this months Blog Hop is...Friendship!!!
Which is very special to me, as I've made a lot of amazing friends along my crafty adventures and I'm honored to know each and every one of you. You inspire me daily, we encourage, support, and cheer for one another too! Our craft world is the kindest place I've found to be apart of something online or in person that is so positive. You are all remarkable and talented people that I'm glad are in my life! And thanks to Unity for building such a wonderful community of inspiration, kindness and supportive followers that are truly amazing!

Today's project is inspired by the beauty of this new floral border stamp by the talented Angie Blom and combined with this meaningful sentiment by Graciellie Designs to create this amazing card honoring my many friendships in this big beautiful crafty club!

This card is a little bit bigger than I usually make, so it may require a special envelope or a handmade envelope. And possibly extra postage. I started with an 8.5" x 11" piece of quality sturdy cardstock, folded in half and trimmed off 2 3/4" off the length, to give you a 5.5" x 4.25" card base. Then I cut two vintage dot patterned papers 3" x 4.25" in pink and green and adhered to card base. One of my favorite color combos. 

Using a MISTI stamp tool, I stamped this stunning floral border stamp on water color cardstock in clear ink, carefully take out of the MISTI, sprinkle with gold embossing powder, and heat set.  Then tapping directly onto my Distress ink pads with a water brush and colored in the stamp image with just two colors. If you dab with a paper towel as you go, it drys a little and you can add more color to add dimension and shadows. Set aside to dry.

Once dry, adhere to black cardstock and trim a 1/4" border around all edges to create a frame and make those colors pop. ​Look at that sparkle...

Next stamp the sentiment with black ink onto smooth white cardstock, trim into a strip, fussy cut the ends into banners or you could use a punch or die cut, and adhere to floral panel with foam tape. Then adhere the whole image onto the card base.

Adhere floral ribbon to the top, add adhesive gems to the bottom, and added this sweet colorful foil butterfly sticker to the sentiment. I also, added liquid pearls in pink randomly, but as you can see, they dried kind of pointy. Not sure why, but I flattened them down with my bone folder and that seemed to help. 

Here's another look at all that shimmer...isn't she gorgeous in gold? 
​I'm just obsessed with this border stamp. It's so versatile for so many upcoming occasions like Mother's Day, Birthdays, Graduation, Wedding and more.  And to make it even sweeter...both the sentiment and the floral stamp are ON SALE this weekend!​!!

I hope I've inspired you to mix and match your stamps in new and different ways. And to play with embossing powder and water colors to see what you can create. The possibilities are endless! 
​ 
Happy Love & Friendship Month!!!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Kim

​
​Pssst! There are a few GIVEAWAYS along the way, but you have to Blog Hop below to find them all. ​Here is one of them now...​​

To enter this GIVEAWAY use the Rafflecopter box below. 
The more boxes you check the greater your chances.
The information you provide is confidential,
but I need some way to contact you if you win,
either via email or social media messaging.
One winner will be selected randomly at each giveaway and 
announced ​in our next Blog Hop in March 2, 2019. ​
Good luck!!!
​

==> The HOP starts below with Crystal <==
so go back to the beginning & hop with all these talented 
Friends of Unity Designers 
for even more Inspiration, Giveaways,
and leave us some love in comments to win! 

Crystal O. Minkler
Dawn Fields
Joyce Verdon
Kim Klinkovsky <= you are here
Bobbie Sue McConathy
Eileen Mathys

Disclaimer: We designers on the Friends of Unity design team appreciate every single comment we get. That's why we use our own stash every month for a giveaway. We are NOT paid or sponsored by Unity Stamp Co., but they do approve of our hop, and that makes us all very happy. We started this hop because we love Unity Stamps. That's it. This hop is our way of showcasing our cards made with our favorite Unity Stamps and to inspire others along the way!
​
Supplies {Affils}: Unity Stamps & Products: Delectable {border backgrounds} and Here's to Love & Friends; a MISTI Stamping Tool; Papertrey Ink Cardstock in white and black, 15% off thru Jan. 8th; Bo Bunny Double Dot Very Vintage 6x6 pad; Ranger Tim Holtz Watercolor Cardstock; Versamark Clear Ink; Ranger Gold Fine Detail embossing powder and Liquid Pearls in Ballerina Pink; Versafine Black Onyx on the sentiment; Marvy Uchida Heat Embossing Tool; Distress Ink: Picked Raspberry and Mowed Lawn; Water Brush Pen; Adhesive gems @Michaels;May Arts-rose ribbon; Butterfly Sticker sheet @Hobby Lobby; Scotch 3D Foam Tape; and Scor-Tape ½" ​on Sale @Papertrey thru Jan 8th.

​
Challenges:
PCC324: Tic Tac Toe Challenge-(Vintage (lace and roses), Valentines, and Texture with the gold heat embossing)
Simon Says Wed Challenge: Anything Goes
Repeat Impressions Anything Goes Challenge ~ J2319
Simon Says Mon Challenge: Love Is In The Air​

*
​Click ​the pink button below and never miss an announcement, 
Blog Hops, Challenges, Giveaways, Craft Tutorials, & so much more! 
*
​​see more inspiration on these social media networks: 
  Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Blogger | Bloglovin

​Hi everybody! This week I'm still working on a few Valentine cards and today I'm sharing a pretty easy, but colorful card with some of my favorite CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. They have this darling ballerina stamp that is so versatile for so many occasions and the matching die is a card makers dream.  Also, this amazing swoosh stamp I used in the background for a monochromatic look and a super fun banner stamp with a matching die too!

​The 2019 Stamp & Scrapbook Expo dates for the ultimate craft show in paper crafting and stamping, for the public, have been announced and are all listed below. If you are a card maker, scrapbooker, paper crafter, mixed media artist, jewelry maker, a stamper, or any kind of paper artist, then you don't want to miss this show. Each one is different and they are all amazing! 

See below...when they are coming to a city near you. You can go for the day, or take a road trip, go for the whole weekend and book early and get hotel discounts, and join the fun! And if you don't see a city near you, don't fret, plan a trip or mention it on their website or social media and make recommendations. They are always looking for new venues to add every year.

I've attended several shows over the years and have received some super products, shopping deals, great classes, giveaways, amazing make and takes, and the whole experience is fantastic. Enjoy learning some great new techniques, meet wonderful instructors, get LOTS of inspiration, and take home TONS of fabulous products given to each class participant too! 

I suggest signing up for your cities newsletter and get the scoop, notice of early registration, coupons, deals, vendor list, hotel discounts, and more. And stay in the know, because classes do sell out within the first hour of pre-registration. And hotels book up fast. 

Also, the Expo offers paid volunteer positions to help at the shows in booths or in classes to assist instructors, so check your cities website or join your cities Facebook group for more info and stay up to date. 

Meet and shop at your favorite craft manufacturer's, meet designers, see new products, learn new techniques, take amazing classes, join a crop, make new crafty friends, make LOTS of projects, and so much more! Grab your crafty friends and family, take a road trip, go for the day, or book a hotel and have a girls weekend, and get to a Scrapbook Expo. 

I do not work for the Expo, but that would be amazing someday, these are just my personal opinions and experiences, because it is a fabulous show. You will not regret it. It's an amazing experience! ~Kim

Happy New Year!!! And welcome to our Friends of Unity Blog Hop where several amazing designers and myself share our love (and obsession) of Unity Stamps with all of you + Lots of GIVEAWAYS!!! Get ready for some amazing inspiration as we "celebrate" a New Year!!! 
​
​But before I get started...check back to our December Blog Hops and see if you are one of the many Winners and claim your prizes!  
​Rhonda Rushing is the Winner here at My Kraft Kloset's Dec. 2018 prize. Congratulations!!!

Our theme for this months Blog Hop is...New Year! And I'm celebrating you!!! To thank you for your support and for following my crafty adventures. And I can't wait to be even more inspired by you in 2019!

What does a New Year mean to you? To me it means a fresh start, new beginnings, learning new things, and usually getting more organized. ​​​I wish you all a happy, healthy, and crafty New Year!

​
​For tutorial and more details click Read More ==>

May this find you happy, healthy, and crafty this holiday season and always!
I thank you for following me, your friendship, laughing with me, inspiring me,  and supporting my crafty adventures.
And I have more to come in 2019...so do follow along...
you don't want to miss it!

From Our House To Yours...
​Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!
~Kim & family @ My Kraft Kloset

​Supplies: Holly Berry Company Stamp-poinsettia; Ken Oliver Color Bursts; Ranger Ink Gold Embossing Powder, Gold Liquid Pearl drops, and Diamond Stickles glitter glue; DCWV Gold metallic cardstock; Spellbinders Square frame die cuts; and Unity Stamp Co-inside sentiment stamp w/Colorbox Green Chives Chalk Ink; and Vistaprint.com card printing, envelopes, and matching return address labels.

​
Challenges:
Repeat Impressions Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge ~ D1218 (patterned paper, heat embossing, winter holidays)
Lil Red Wagon Challenge #477 ~ All Things Christmas
CASology Challenge Week 324: HOLLY
The Holly&Ivy Challenge # 42 - Anything Christmas Goes
HOLIDAY SEASON CHALLENGE (ALL SEASONS)
ABC Christmas Challenge: Y and Z are for? ("Y" for Your favorite thing, which is heat embossing)
HLS December Anything Goes with Dies Challenge
52CCT December - Pick a Previous 2017 Challenge-(Combo CCT18 - September 2017

​ONLY 9 days until Christmas! You still have time to make this CAS, clean and simple, yet elegant metallic beauty that has no layers you could whip up in no time and is flat for mailing too! While foil is all the rage these days, I couldn't for the life of me find my laminator, it's still in a box some where from my move last year! Crazy right? I know! I may just have to buy a new one...unless I'm on Santa's good list and he's heard my frustrations...I mean wishes! (lol)

Anyhoo...In the mean time I found an alternative. I had a stack of metallic foiled cardstock in my stash of paper and wondered if you could heat emboss on it.  Well, you can, BUT...do it quickly or it will burn or warp your paper. As I had some trial and errors before getting a few perfect ones.

Who LOVES the Nutcracker??? This girl right here does. I could listen to this story over and over again! And for many years I've introduced my kids to different versions of the Nutcracker presented by professional ballet troops, city ballets, or local dance groups. They are all priceless family holiday memories.

So I was inspired to create this sugar plum fairy card with these amazing CAS-ual Fridays Stamps to honor our family traditions. Isn't she pretty?  She is great for a holiday card, but also a thank you card, or even a wintery birthday card too! So fun!

Happy December!  Do you love Coffee, Tea, or Hot Cocoa and crafts? Then this Blog Hop is for you...with 87 Craft Sponsored Prizes up for grabs. It's HUGE! And it's ONLY done twice a year! ​So join the fun...

Click link for ALL the Details:
"Coffee Loving Cardmakers Fall/Winter Blog Hop"

​​​SO MANY GIVEAWAYS UP FOR GRABS!!!
AND
Scroll down to enter my Giveaway too!!!

For tutorial and more details click Read More ==>

Welcome to our Friends of Unity Blog Hop where several amazing designers and myself share our love (and obsession) of Unity Stamps with all of you + GIVEAWAYS!!! Get ready for lots of inspiration as we say "thank you" for following us, leaving kind words, and supporting our crafty adventures as we celebrate our 1 year Anniversary as a group Hop too!
​
​But before I get started...check back to our November Blog Hops and see if you are one of the many Winners and claim your prizes! Becca Y. is the Winner at My Kraft Kloset's Nov prize. Congratulations!!!

Our theme for this months Blog Hop is...Thank You! 
​Which was instilled in me by my mother at an early age to always give thanks. And I've made sure my 4 children do too! As we always hand write "thank you" notes to thank friends and family that gave us gifts over the holiday season or anytime of year.
​And an added bonus is it's another excuse to use your holiday stamps and pretty papers one more time before you put them away. This month I was inspired by the outdoors and patterned papers, as shown in my cards below...

This month I kept my cards simple, but similar styles and designs,  so I could make a bunch of them. And I just love love love this moose! He's going to be great for so many occasions. Did I mention, we have obsessions? Well this is one of mine and a few other peoples, I hear! (lol)

To re-create this wonderful card I started with an A2 piece of kraft cardstock as my base. I used a scrap piece of patterned paper from my stash for my background that had horizontal stripes that resembled a forest. And using my MISTI stamp tool I lined up the trees (from the Northwoods set) in the middle and inked them up with a couple distress ink green colors and stamped the patterned paper. Then I stamped the sentiment (from Abundant Blessings kit) with clear ink directly onto the patterned paper, sprinkled with white embossing powder, and heat set. And adhered to card base. 

Tip: The MISTI stamp tool eliminates your need for lots of acrylic blocks in different sizes. You just need this ONE tool! And allows you to line up all your stamps and sentiments to stamp perfectly every time. Or re-ink with ease. 

Next I stamped this majestic moose with clear ink onto kraft cardstock, sprinkled with brown embossing powder, and heat set. Inked around the image with Distress ink in brown. Then die cut the image out, adhered to card panel, and trimmed the edge. And added a rustic piece of twine to complete this woodland card that was leftover from another project.

And I can totally see using this stamp set for Father's day, Sympathy cards,  or for any of my three sons birthday cards too! Amazing, right?

For my next card I want to show you how to stretch your holiday stamps and holiday paper to use for other occasions too!

I am MAD for plaid and Michaels had packs of cards/envelope sets with this plaid already printed on them. Easy, right? They were 5x7", so I trimmed it down to an A2 size and used as my card base. They are kind of thin, so I also added an extra piece of white cardstock inside to make them sturdy.

Then I stamped these stunning reindeer with clear ink directly onto the plaid card base, sprinkled with gold embossing powder, and heat set. Next I stamped the sentiment (from the Abundant Blessings kit) in clear ink on white card stock, sprinkled with gold embossing powder, and heat set. And repeated for a second sentiment. Then die cut the sentiment out, adhered to card base, and trimmed the edge. And added adhesive gems to complete this elegant card that expresses how truly Thankful, Grateful, and Blessed I am for all of you in my life! Thank you for your support!
​
I hope I've inspired you to use your holiday stamps and patterned papers in new ways for other occasions and see what you can create. The possibilities are endless! 

Welcome to our Friends of Unity Blog Hop where several amazing designers and myself share our love (and obsession) of Unity Stamps with all of you + GIVEAWAYS!!! Get ready for lots of inspiration coming your way today. I just LOVE this time of year!!! 
​
​But before I get started...check back to our October Blog Hop and see if you are one of the many Winners and claim your prizes! You don't want to miss out!  And in the USA don't forget to set your clocks back 1hr tonight!

Our theme for this months Blog Hop is...Strength! 
​Which can be interpreted many different ways. I was inspired by the many craft friendships I've made, such strong women supporting one another, and the beautiful uplifting sentiments I drew strength from, as shown in my card below...

​For tutorial and more details click Read More ==>

Our theme for this months Blog Hop is...Leaves! 
​I​t's my favorite time of year when all the leaves change color, pumpkin everything is everywhere, lots of family birthdays to celebrate, including my own, and cooler weather comes back. Somewhere...not here yet...it's 92* in the south still.
But soon our big tall southern trees will be full of colorful leaves, which was my inspiration for this months theme, as shown in my card below...

Hi everybody! Today I'm trying to get in the mood for Fall projects, even though it's 90* here in the South, but I found pumpkin spice creamer for my morning coffee (Yay!) and that's a good start!!! As I'm trying to get a jump on some Halloween projects and sharing this darling card with you all today that hides a spooky surprise too!

Happy September! Welcome to my first Friends of Unity Blog Hop along with several amazingly talented designers, sharing our love and obsession of Unity Stamps. Which is really your gain, of tons of inspiration coming your way every month. This month our theme is...Wings!

Which is open to interpretation and could be butterflies, fairies, dragonflies, angels, planes, you name it.
Unity has tons of ideas to choose from that are also ON SALE this weekend too!

​The dragonflies of summer spoke to me as shown in my card below...

Summer is winding down, but the temperatures are heating back up here in the South and we're seeing an influx of dragonflies and really BIG ones!
Bigger than I've ever seen in my whole life. 
I captured a picture of one from my garden and it's as big as
​my hand.  No joke.  It looks like one from my card.​ Don't you think?​

For tutorial and more details click Read More ==>

Happy Friday everybody! Today I'm Guest Designing again over on the Crop Stop Blog using a lot of their amazing products from their store.
So be sure to check out this crafty place full of inspiration, and a
monthly challenge with prizes that real people win (I won July 2018),
and lots of goodies to shop from too.
​
Now hop on over and get a step by step tutorial on how I made this stunning blue mixed media beauty made with an embossing folder
and get a complete supply list with links too!
​
Click "here" for details

Thanks for stopping by!
~KIm

Challenges:
Simon Says Wed Challenge: Anything Goes
4 CRAFTY CHICKS #418 ~ CRAZY EGG/ATG
Lil Red Wagon Challenge # 461 - Old or New Trends (Color Burst watercolor background, embossing folder, and sanding cardstock)
Addicted to Stamps Challenge #307 - Make Your Mark (watercolors, embossing folder, and sanding)
Repeat Impressions Anything Goes Challenge ~ A2218
Repeat Impressions Inspiration Palette Challenge ~ A1518

Happy Friday everybody! Today I'm Guest Designing over on the
Crop Stop Blog using a lot of their amazing products from their store to create this golden beauty. So be sure to check out this wonderfully
crafty place full of inspiration, a monthly challenge with prizes that
real people win (I won some of these products in July 2018) and they
have lots of goodies in the shop.

Now hop on over to Crop Stop Blog and get a step by step
tutorial and a complete supply list with handy links.
And see how I made this amazing mixed media card,
embossed two ways and see a second bonus card
with purples and blue too!
​
Click "here" for all the details
Thanks for stopping by!
~Kim

Challenges:
Creative Embellishments (I was inspired by the colors, leaves, and blooming flowers; and used metallic gold embossing powder and gold sticker sentiment)

Addicted to Stamps: Challenge #306 - Anything Goes

HLS August Watercolour Challenge with a flower twist (I used color burst background w/golden embossed flowers)

Repeat Impressions Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge ~ A818:
(I used dimension-the sentiment is raised with foam tape and added a few golden liquid pearl drops in the center flowers and used an embossing folder too; friendship; and for the metallics I used gold embossing powder)

JOY CLAIR AUG. CHALLENGE-ANYTHING GOES (I was inspired by the colors and the flowers)​