Creating the Crafty Life's 3 year Anniversary Youtube & Blog Hop!

Welcome to my blog post for this absolutely awesome hop! I hope you're having fun so far!

If you ended up here, then you likely came from the link posted in my Youtube video! If not, then please scroll down a bit to see the entire lineup to start from the top and work your way down the list!
If you ended up here and are wondering what is going on, well there is a Youtube and blog hop going on in celebration of Creating the Crafty Life's 3rd year anniversary! The event runs from July 27th to August 2nd.

(FYI - My regularly scheduled weekly posts will be postponed until this Youtube and blog hop is over)

As you may have noticed from the banner above, the theme for this event is...  GRAPHIC 45!!

Winners will be chosen randomly from one of the videos/blog posts in the lineup, plus there are some hidden prizes from the ladies too (like this one!). Make sure to comment & subscribe/follow on all of the hop stops! Here is whats up for grabs for the grand prizes:

Sponsored by MB's Treasurista

Check out the STORE!!!

To be eligible for the grand prize you must do the following:
*Must* follow and comment on all the videos/blog post in the lineup!**

**This blog post is not considered part of the lineup, but it does give you a chance to win something directly from me!!

The participants and links for the hop participants is as follows:

Misty Busby- ‪http://www.youtube.com/user/ziggy13mity1
Deb Edwards- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1KrvoTq3MM
Kerry M - http://www.youtube.com/user/kjmckenz *** You are here (second chance opportunity) ***

Kim Cornwell - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAXcB3AazFM
Stephanie Garon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYYWD7bZGOc
Melissa Divelbiss - http://milliemade13.blogspot.com/2014/07/ccl-graphic-45-youtubeblog-hop.html
Johnna Sengdara - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7dRUwrbqZc
Lisa - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVV1pTYUclw

Now, on to the good stuff!  Below you'll find the unlisted video to my second project for this hop and the project designated for this blog post!
You can only access the video on this post OR via THIS LINK.
You have the option to leave a comment directly in the comment section of the video, or on this blog post!

Whether you leave a comment on the blog post or on the video, you will have to check back on either Youtube or on my blog once the hop is over to see if you've won either of the prizes I'm offering!

I've included photos in this post of BOTH projects I made for this Youtube and blog hop below!

Bohemian Bazaar Name Plate

Botanical Tea Altered Pringles Can

Here are the prizes up for grabs from me personally, for this youtube & blog hop!

Echo Park Prize Kit for the winner of my Youtube video of the first project

My Mind's Eye Prize Kit for the winner of my blog post for my second proiect

Your visit to my blog is tremendously appreciated!
Thank you so very much for stopping by!!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

MFT Card Sketch Entry

Today was a day full of card making.

And although only 3 cards were made, this is card 1 of 3 and my entry into the MFT Card Sketch Challenge (186).

The sketch for this card was:

And my take on it goes a little something like this:

Thanks for dropping by

Mojo Monday Card Sketch Entry

And here it is, ladies and gentlemen: the last of the cards (#3 of 3) that I've made today.

This card was made for the Mojo Monday card challenge #355.

The sketch went a little something like this:

Here is my take on this one!

I thought the print was already so busy so I omitted the banner at the top.

I pulled out some Inka Gold in a red colour in order to colourize the stars around the circle of the sentiment. Since the stars had holes in them, I wanted to cover those up, so I pulled out the smallest bling I could find and put some in the centers of the stars. :)

Thanks for dropping by!!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Cardabilities Challenge Entry

Well here is card #2 of 3 for the day!

It is my entry into the Cardabilities Sketch Challenge #103. :)

The sketch I started with was:

And my entry goes a little something like this:

I used the Studio Calico card kit stamp set to stamp the clouds, then I fussy cut them out a-la-Lawn Fawn die cut style (with a slight white border). I used some of the Studio Calico Project Life paper stuffing to add dimension and texture to the card underneath the clouds.
Threw in some buttons, stamped and layered the sentiment "HI" and fussy cut one of the clouds from the 6x6 paper pad, also from the card making kit.

Thanks for dropping by!!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Freedom Friday!!!

So, I posted a video on Youtube yesterday about re-subscribing to the Studio Calico kits for the next 12 months.

I'm going to share the reasons why I chose to do this..

I unsubscribed to the SC scrapbook kit at the end of last year because I thought the colours were bland, the embellishments were lacking and there was a lot of repetition. Since then, I've noticed that the kits are a bit more colourful, a bit more playful and have a bit more variety.

The downside to my re-subscribing is that I committed to a 12 month subscription period... I don't know if that's a good thing, or a very very bad thing, but I'm hoping it's more good than bad. :)

I posted a video of everything I got in the July Penny Arcade kit on Youtube, and I'm including it in this post as well. It's a little long of a video, but it's everything I got. :)

Thanks for dropping by!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Freshly Made Card using Studio Calico's Penny Arcade Card Kit

Well, I pretty much *just* got the Penny Arcade kit from Studio Calico in the mail today and I've already gotten some mojo back... I think? Lol

Here is my entry into the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #146.

The sketch went a little something like this:

And my card goes a little something like this:

For this card, there's even a ... *gasp* process video! It's a small embellishment cluster, so it wasn't a difficult card to make, but it's my first recorded process video in a LOOOONNNNNNGGGG time. Lol

This is also my entry into the House of Cards Challenge for this month, since I used the super wide ribbon to hand make a bow for the card!

Thanks for dropping in!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Tube Thursday, Second Edition

Today, I would like to share with you a video that is actually a tutorial. :)

The last couple videos have been about completed projects, so I thought I would share a video showing how to make your own wire seed bead flower embellishments.

For reasons beyond my knowledge, Youtube/Blogger is not allowing me to embed this video into my blog post (probably a setting set by the video owner), however the video is definitely live and accessible!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO

Jen goes through quite a bit of detail showing you what kind of beads to use, what kind of wire to use, how to string the beads and even how to add a crystal center in the middle of it!

Thank you, Jen, for sharing your process with us!!

Hope you were inspired by the process video and will try to make your own too! It's always a great feeling of knowing you're making your own custom design at a fraction of the cost of buying it pre-made!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

WWW Wednesday, Third Edition

Let's talk about colour schemes!

Do you find it difficult to work with colour schemes?

I ask this because I really really do.  I don't know what it is about trying to match colour that scares me so much, but when I look at a set of colours and think that I'll need to coordinate a project with it, I get a little worried.

Not so with these AWESOME crafters!

Kreative Koncepts recently posted the winners to their colour challenge #26 where this was the theme to gain inspiration from:

When I look at a colour arrangement like this, I start to slowly back away from the challenge and find myself a sketch to work with instead. LOL

However, the people who won (and even the people who entered at all) really went all out with this and I'm blown away by their ability to use colour the way they did!

For some colourful inspiration, drop by the Kreative Koncepts blog to see the marvelous projects created by these wonderful crafters!

Thanks for dropping by!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Pinterest Tuesday, Third Edition

So, I know this is totally cheating, but I just had to do this - I pinned a YT video so I can post about this today. LOL

Anywho!

This video shows us details on a mini album that was a la Kathy Orta style by Carolyn Gunn on YT!

I really dig Kathy's style because she's a quick scrapper than still pays attention to stylization.  That's something I really appreciate!
Carolyn's take on the Kathy Orta "Contessa" styled mini album was simple and the colours were so rich that I just liked looking at it! :)

I hope my favourite Pin-share for today has inspired you at least at little bit today!

See you around soon!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Motivation Monday, Second Edition

You may or may not be aware, there has been some amount of, umm, cattiness, towards a particular member of the crafting community on Youtube. This is not a direct reply to this particular person or any of the people who felt they needed to respond to the original topic that caused the cattiness to occur.

It is more so a general gentle reminder that we are all human beings. We all have feelings and everyone should be aware of how they respond to or directly speak to others.

The quote I'd like to share with you for today is:

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible"

- Dalai Lama

I mean, it seems pretty simple and straight forward, but we tend to forget... Even me. I'm no stranger to being on the receiving end or the giving end of not-so-niceness! Sometimes I need a smack to bring me back to reality and realize that wasting my time with negativity will not bring me any advantage in life. :)

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Next edition of Tube Thursday is July 24...

An additional post was posted on Tuesday this week In Lieu of Tube Thursday! :D

Borrowed image from http://mindfuldigressions.com/2014/01/23/no-post-today/.

See you there!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

WWW Wednesday, Second Edition

For this week, I'd like to share a post to a Studio Calico Creative Team member's layout share + start to finish video post.

She uses a large die cut as a foreground on her layout and pushes all the colour to the background by having the die cut piece as her foreground.

Here is a snapshot of her layout for you:

How cool is that!

She even added dimensional adhesive foam in order to give it a raised look and stitched around it.
I love me some dimension!

There is a video to watch showing how she builds this layout, and I definitely recommend it! You can even try this with chipboard and wood embellishments while you're at it. :)

Thanks for dropping in!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

In lieu of Tube Thursday...

A project is shared today instead! This means not to look out for a post on Thursday, since this is the alternative post for it. WWW Wednesday is still a go however!  Moving on...

First and foremost, I do have to apologize for the very unfortunate photo of this layout. It was taken with a camera that isn't mine and, well, if it were mine, I'd try to sell it and get a different one. LOL

In any case, this is a layout entry into a few challenges this month!

The first challenge this layout is entered for is the Creative Scrapper Sketch 272 Challenge.

The challenge this month was to use no photos on your layout. This is actually something that I do pretty regularly, so there was no issue with the idea behind the concept.... My biggest challenge with this sketch was all the space in which nothing was written. :P  I felt as though the bright colours of black and pink were enough on the background, but once I wrote my blurb, I felt like SOME kind of photo needed to be added in the bottom left hand side of the layout... Is it just me? Do you feel that way too? :)

The second challenge this layout is entered for is the Scrapping Everyday Miracles Challenge.

That's where I grabbed the CREATE theme  from for this layout. Otherwise it would have been a bit more difficult to find something to write about. :)

The third challenge this layout is entered for is the Craft-Dee Bowz July Anything Goes Challenge.

Now I'm not a huge fan of bows, but with the layout of the sketch, and the very big amount of extra space I had, I decided to make a bow to put in the lower, right-hand corner of the layout. I used black seam binding for the bow, and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out for my first multi-eared bow. (Is that actually a thing)?

And now, onto the layout itself, in all of it poorly photographed (SORRY!) glory!

That was a lot of challenges to enter one project in, in my opinion, but every challenge played it's part, so I'm happy with it. :)

Thanks for dropping by!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Pinterest Tuesday, Second Edition

Today I'd like to feature a layout I spotted on Pinterest. The pinterest link to this layout can be found here.

And the layout itself is this one!

Every time I scrolled through my Pinterest feed, this layout kept catching my eye! I think it may have something to do with the elegant nature of this layout; With the beautiful punch used around the edges of the layers to the fussy cut pieces being layered so nicely, it really adds a lot to this layout!

I'm also a huge fan of the fact that even though there is so much happening on this layout, it doesn't take away from the photo at all! I think it's because the photo's in black and white and is so "punchy" on such a light coloured themed layout. :)

If you haven't joined Pinterest yet, I think that it is about time you did. ;) There's so much inspiration to be found there, and you can find it without all the clutter of the text on a page - Kind of like all the text here! Lol

Thanks for dropping by!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Motivation Monday, First Edition

A note on procrastination.

So it's one thing to not have crafty mojo, but it's a whole other thing to know that you have something crafty to do, whether it's for a birthday, wedding, holiday, whatever, and STILL not doing it.

The quote for today is:

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday"

- Don Marquis

I'm totally guilty of this myself, but we've got to get out of our stalled thoughts and keep moving forward! That's why I'm giving you this little nudge to create today! Don't wait until you have 48 hours left until the project is due to be completed and then decide to work on it. You're at a much higher risk of failure this way and are more likely to be dissatisfied with your final project!

Go on, get busy. I'll be here when you're done. Lol

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Tube Thursday, First Edition

This week, for Tube Tuesday, I chose a video from someone to whom I'm subscribed that shared her ATC cards that she made with us.

The ATCs she made really caught my attention because of how she made the background! Take a look at the video and you'll see what I mean. :)

If I had been at home while watching her video, I would have pulled out my glue gun and tried to recreate this look! There's so many things we can learn from one another by watching each other's project shares, and I really do love that about Youtube. :)

I hope you've been inspired to try something new with you're already owned products!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

WWW Wednesday, First Edition

So, it's very difficult NOT to make mention of a fellow Canadian here.

She's such a sweetheart and does such awesome work!  I hope to one day be able to set aside time to craft together so I can try to absorb some of her level of awesomeness!

Keren Tamir's blog post, Fly High- Flying Unicorn July's Your Passion Your Art Kit, has some awesome photos of her most recent work with Flying Unicorn's July Kit.

Here's a quick pic of her layout from her blog:

Like, How beautiful is that!

When I see this, I think of those wooden picnic tables that have planters down the middle of them, and I just feel like going outside and enjoying the outdoors!

I absolutely LOVE what she did with this, and I follow her posts and Youtube videos quite a bit because her style just gets me every time!

I hope you drop by her blog and show her some love!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Pinterest Tuesday, First Edition

Welcome to my first installment of my regular blog updates!!

I created a mini schedule for you to see what's up for each day. Don't forget to come back again tomorrow for another dose of inspirational goodness!

I hope that even when I've got nothing to share with you, I may be able to inspire you and make you aware of things that you may not have been aware of previously!

For my first edition of Pinterest Tuesday, I bring to you this lovely mixed media tag.

This tag is my pick for Pinterest Tuesday because it shows how beautiful simplicity can be. I know that there are a lot of people who enjoy elaborate and very detailed projects, but that's not always for everyone.

Tammy has a walkthrough on her blog about how she created this tag and I hope to create something as awesome as this in the near future. :)

I hope you were inspired by Tammy's beautiful creation as I was!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

Some Colouring, Watercolour style!

Welcome to this blog post - Filled with a card that was stamped and coloured by myself, made for a lovely lady I know.

This card is an entry into the challenge hosted by A Blog Named Hero (Hero Arts Challenge).

The theme was "Colour it In", and as you can imagine, that is the reason for all the colouring on this card. :)

I used my Tim Holtz Distress Inks to get some colour down on a piece of acetate and then I spritzed it with water and went to town on this card.

The bird is actually a fussy cut image that I coloured, outlined and placed over the originally stamped bird. I didn't realize how much I love watercolouring. :)

I purposely left the flower white for some contrast and I stamped the butterflies with Versamark and used some heat embossing on them with a copper coloured embossing powder.

I cut down a piece of mixed media journal paper to the size I needed it to be and then did all my painting and THEN I glued it to the face of the card. :)

Thanks for dropping by!

Krafty Kerry signing off!

The second half of the year has started...

And just as fast as my mojo returned, it has now disappeared once again. LOL

I went on a great creating adventure in June, and now... not so much.

I'm thinking to start sharing inspiration I find out and about while cruising online or in my daily life so that even though I can't share my creations (since I haven't made anything new), at least I can share what I'm seeing and doing and what I find inspiring.  Hopefully I can inspire you as well!

So, first up, some crafty news - I'll be part of a youtube/blog hop at the end of this month. :)

The hop is hosted by Misty, who runs the community site Creating the Crafty Life. The CCL site is turning 3 years old, and the hop is in honour of it's 3rd anniversary. :)

As you can see, the theme of this hop is my all time favourite, Graphic 45!! :D

I'm SUPER excited for this hop, and plan to bring my A-game Graphic 45 project to the table. :) I will be having prizes for visitors to my Youtube channel as well as my blog. Stay tuned for that!

I am trying to get in the mood to enter some blog challenges this month, but it doesn't seem to be coming to me, but I'll see what kind of mojo I can muster by mid-month. ;)

Thanks for dropping by!

Krafty Kerry signing off!