5.30.2016

Happy Memorial Day!


Hi, friends :)


I hope you are all having a wonderful Memorial Day,
 enjoying this day in all the ways that are special to you!
 As a child of a military family, I'm always honored by the men and women who have served our country and proud to be an American ♥

We've had an incredibly busy weekend,
including a beautiful Flag Retirement ceremony at a local farmer's market.
It was moving and educational
and a special invitation that the troop participated in with honor.

Preparing the flag, stripping along the stripes and getting ready for the fire
  

My son is the taller one on the left, one of his best buddies on the right :)

And my card today is a reflection of this Memorial Day -
using red, white and blue and scraps of dsp from my bin
to create this 'ribbon card'.
I'm using a stamp from The Project Bin Stamps
from the A Way with words "Awesome Sauce" stamp set.
 At the end of the day ...
such a versatile stamp with many meanings ~
       and you can tailor this to any way you'd like for your personal cards!


 
This lovely stamp in the set comes with a scalloped square border,
so I masked off the border to use just the wording
since I was using a circular shaped stamp base.
Quick little hack - washi tape or even old address labels work great!
One of my favorite types of cards - 
using new stamps, old scraps = amazing creative process :)


Thanks for stopping by today!
Big hugs, Bigger Blessings ♥
~Kelly

I'll enter this into:  Amusing Challenge - National Colors
Crafting when we can - Use Stars 

  

5.25.2016

Be Yourself .......

 
"Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself"
 ~ Coco Chanel

Hi, sweet friends ♥
Such a lovely, lovely saying 
and incredible truth behind the beauty of words!
It's amazing how one sentence, just one grouping of words,
makes an incredibly powerful statement.

Believe in yourself, Be yourself ♥

 

I have another card to share with you today from The Project Bin,
from the Wise Women "A Way with Words" acrylic stamps.

And can I just tell you?
They are dreamy!
 These stamps are so crisp and clear right out of the package,
and so versatile for a variety of your card or paper craft projects
(cards, scrapbook layouts, memory books, Project Life - the list goes on!)
I am just tickled pink with these stamps!

For this card, I channeled my dear friend, Maxine
who is the queen of embossing!
I found my SU! Melon Mambo embossing powder, heat gun, 
and stamped out the Coco Chanel saying in Versamark ~
stunning results!
I was going for a CAS card look 
(me? I know, right?!) so I really wanted the sentiment to POP
a little brighter.  I added a few sequins and bakers twine in matching colors
and the card just speaks volumns. 


I didn't even need to decorate the inside as I usually do ♥

Please be sure to stop by The Project Bin blog and follow along
for wonderful, inspiring cards and projects.
You can find this stamp set and much more in the store ◄ HERE!

Thanks so much for stopping by today ~
as always,
Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly
 

5.24.2016

Riley and Company - Fun and Fancy!


Hi everyone!  

Happy Tuesday!
We ladies at The Ink Spot have a new challenge - Fun and Fancy!
I happen like both of those - how 'bout you?!

It's no secret that I love me some coffee!
Especially from a certain little store ...*wink!*
So, I created a fun little shaped card - and yes, it's an A2 card :)
This was SOOOO easy to make!
I stamped out the single coffee cup first, then ran it through 
the cuttlebug and nestabilities circles/scallops,
and added it to the currogated coffee slip.


\
I added a small pocket to the inside to hold a gift card as well.
Such a fun and fancy way to send a quick thank you
or an invite with a special friend to have coffee ♥
 The inside of the card is stamped with another Funny Bones,




 Be sure to check out the rest of the design team
to see what they made fun and fancy.
You can find them listed in my sidebar :)



And don't forget to take a peek at the new  Tickle My Funnybones
stamp club!  You cand find out all the details here.

Thanks for stopping by !
Big hugs, Bigger blessings!
~Kelly

Card entered into:  Inky Chicks - anything but square 
A Place to Start - Upcycle (the Starbucks sleeve, reversed)
Shopping our Stash - anything but a card

  

5.21.2016

Just BEE happy!



Hi friends!
  I hope your weekend is off to a great start :)   

Today's post is a quick one -- we movin' and shakin' 
with so much packed into one quick, small weekend. 
 My question every week is always the same -
 Is it summer yet?!!


 I'm in a wonderful card group at SCS called the Creative Card Chicks
and it's lead by our sweet leader + friend, Suzy!
She organized a mystery envelope swap group,
so every month we take turns hostessing.
She sent us a bee-utiful card kit with
this wonderful assortment of papers, honecomb embossed paper,
flowers, sequins and a delightful image of SU's Betsy the Beekeeper.



Now here is what I made, minus Betsy!
I did create a card with her, but had a mishap with the repositioning
of the card design ...
naturally, since I don't own the stamp set, it was harder to make that work twice!
So here is the remainder of the kit and what I made :)





We are off to a Boy Scout car wash - it's 97* out there today!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly


I'll enter card 1 into: creative corner - CAS
Crafting with Friends - AG
Simply Papercraft - AG
 

5.18.2016

You are so Ador-a-bull!

Hi friends!

  The mystery is revealed!
Today's card is one I made for a card group I am in over at SCS,
the Mystery Image card swap.
There's also the Unidentified Image card swap ... so
I'm Mysteriously Unidentifiied or Unidentifiably Mysterious!   

Olé!


I was the hostess for this round of card swapping,
and I based my card image choice on two things:
my sweet husband being from Spain, born and raised, 
having just celebrated his 'in the 50 somethings now' birthday
and our 23rd wedding Anniversary! ♥
We've been together for 32 years {married for 23}
and he is so supportive of this craft and my hobby :)
Naturally, I wanted to create him a card that reflected his heritage,
and this absolutely darling stamp from Sugar Pea Designs 
"hug-a-bull" was the perfect fit!
  
 One thing different about this card is that my new personal challenge
is to try different shading and learn different shades of color.
We are all God's children, after all - 
beautiful in a rainbow of colors!
I've been so afraid to color anything other than prismacolor deco/light peach
or Copic E00 that I've been a bit stuck in a rut .......
but I'm brancing out! :)
       


Did you know that Sugar Pea Designs has card challenges?
 They do!  In fact, I used their sketch this week to create the card base style 
you see here on this one - perfect!


 Remember, you are ador-a-bull!
And hug-a-bull!
And kiss-a-bull!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly


I'll enter this into the current Sugar sketch challenge #53

5.15.2016

DDD: May Flowers ♥

Hi friends!

The 15th of the month is always an exciting day,
as that means the DDD (Dueling Darlings) post our cards made from a kit
 we've received from the hostess!
It's like Christmas in our mailbox every month :)

This month, Tami and Terry were the hostesses for our friendly duel,
which basically means they sent two kits to the two teams (Divas -vs- Dazzlers)
but they have one united card kit theme:  May Flowers!

 Tami sent the card kits to us Divas, Terry sent them to the Dazzlers,
hence, 'the duel'.  
 And how bloomin' adorable our kit is!
I hadn't heard of the stamped image we got to color up
"Oh no she didn't" from Red Rubber Designs, so that as fun!
And the paper ...... swoon!

Here's what I made with Tami's delicious kit:



 Tami and Terry  also asked us to share what flower we plant yearly.
Me - weeds!
Seriously ...
I. don't. do. plants.

I wish I had inherited my dad's green thumb.
He was amazing with plants and gardens and, growing up farming,
learned to give wonderful life to the greener friends we had :)
I did plant a flowering hibiscus tree in his memorial garden
and it's still growing strong, 10 years later ♥
It blooms a few times a year,
and some off years it's actually bursting with flowers.
While I don't actually plant one every year, I cherish it's blossoms.
I love that tree :)



Thank you, Tami, for your bloomin' wonderful kit!
It was as unique and special and just as colorful as you are, my friend!
Please be sure to stop by and see what the rest of the DDD
has made with two different kits, one theme ~
you can find them all right over there in my sidebar →

I appreciate your visit today!
Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

 I'll add this to the Quirky Crafts Challenge!

5.10.2016

Cards for the guys :)

 
Good Morning!

Today's card is showing the masculine side of card making
for the new challenge at The Ink Spot.
With only 39 days until Father's Day,
and just a handful more until summer,
I thought I'd created a card for the grill masters! 


 Dh used to do a lot of grilling back in the day,
now it seems like the kids (and their friends) have taken it over
and do a really good job :)

And there is nothing better than fresh veggies on the grill!
Yum! 
   



You can see more masculine cards from the DT
by visiting the blog at The Ink Spot,
as well as see all 6 stamp stores in one convenient place!


Thanks for stopping by today :)
Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card entered into Cards Und More - masculine cards
stamps and fun - male 
Creative card crew - Anything Goes 

5.06.2016

*Dreams*

 Hi friends!  
It's Friday - yay!
This week has been so very busy, like most of them are :)
 I'm looking forward to a wonderfully almost quiet weekend,
especially since my stack of books to be read is growing quite tall!
I would like to start by saying ...
Happy Mother's Day!
to all my online blogging friends that are mommies, grandmas, etc!
Yours is the most incredible and beautiful job in the world
and I hope your day is filled with love ♥

Today's card is example of the stamp set "Wise Women" now available from
There is something intrinsically lovely about Eleanor Roosevelt quotes,
such a positive and influencial voice in history.
So naturally, I was instantly drawn to this lovely quote,
one of the 7 stamps in the set :)
 


Wishing you a weekend of wonderment
(or peace and quiet if that's what you are needing - LOL!)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I'll enter my card for consideration A Beautiful Mess - Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday - ANything Goes
Chocolate, Coffee, Cards - Circles and squares 
cards for gals - use a button or two