Crafters of Faith - Nature!

Hi there!  Just a quick post -- PTA meeting and then a fellowship planning meeting after that and back to back appts with the kids this afternoon and add on some Tae Kwan Do for little man in the evening - whew! But I am so excited to post our 2nd challenge for the Crafters of Faith, the February challenge.  We are a faith based, crafting chatting group formed on SCS and this month, our hostess is the sweet and lovely Jackie!  Here are her requirements for the challenge:

I want you to use NON TRADITIONAL colors to create your project
Your creation must be made with NATURE as the main theme....flowers, trees, mountains, water---you get the idea and
Finally, I want to see at least 1 circle shape on your creation.

Since this was the February posting, I decided to use aqua blue for a February card instead of red!  I also used hues of pinks, peach and green to compliment the paper that I paired up with yet another SU! stamp set from my "T.I.O.T.S in 2012" stack of stamps :)  I love this Serene Spring SU! set and believe this is the first time I've inked up this little birdie and flower pot.  My circles are in the DSP and the buttons.  I carried the design over to my card inside, as I always strive to do and did add a little note of prayer with a Verve sentiment I had on hand.  I love how this card turned out - it just brings so much of the Spring to mind.  This one is heading off to a special friend but she'll get to peek at it here today at least *smile!*

Serene Spring!

Sideview

Card inside:  Sentiment from Verve set 

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to stop in and see what the other Crafting sisters in Faith have made!  They are right over there -------------------> 
in my sidebar! I am so sorry for the bad lighting - the indoor lighting in my craft area is just terrible and I will try again in natural light as soon as I make it home in the early morning :)  Thank you, Jackie, for a wonderful challenge this month (yes, it's officially March, but we were waiting for our wonderful hostess!)  

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Take a leap ........ YEAR!

How much fun is today - the 29th!!!  My best friend from high school was actually born on a leap year and we were joking last night "hey, how does it feel to be ... 11!" :)  


First, thank you all so much for your sweet words and kindness for our fur babies.  I don't feel much like we've done a lot - just a small act of kindness for one when so many are still yet in need, but we do love them so!  Second, today was supposed to be our 2nd posting for the Crafters of Faith but our hostess this month, Jackie, was in need of some rest and prayer and to be with her loving family,  so we have collectively decided to wait for her return so we can all post together in her honor :)  We are all praying for Jackie and know that her heart is heavy and plate is full, but truly God will see us all through those moments of utmost trial! {{{ Jackie }}}


So, being that it's Leap Year, I thought I'd just make another CAS card after seeing this adorable bunny card on SCS.  I tried x3 to make this card skinnier and taller and I really wanted the froggies to be 'wonky', but the frogs kept ending up all over the place, just like frogs tend to do!  As soon as all 3 were ON the paper, I just went with it and stopped fussing over it ;)    I inked up an old set using the frog from TGF's "Down by the Pond".  I've had for forever and only inked up the turtle 'til now.    I kept them monotone, added the sentiment but carried it over to the inside with a small addition (computer generated!)  This is pretty CAS for me - only one layer!  I really want to give this card another try so if I get a free moments, I'll try to redo it the way I see it in my head *smile!*

Happy Leap Year Day to you and I hope your day turns out to be a hoppin' good one! :)

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

The Puppy that Adopted a Family :)

Good morning!  It's the 28th and that means the Calendar Girls post once again with a themed card and this month, I'm the hostess :)  I have been meaning to get this post up for the better part of a year now but for all reasons this and that, I never have.  I thought of all the possible themes that are out there for my turn to host and knew that I really wanted to go with the fur babies and have PETS as our challenge this month!  I originally planned a simple Elzybells doggy card but my post just took a life of it's own ;) **This is a personal post as well as a CG post - please scroll down to the bottom if you'd rather not read the full story and see the pictures, which can be heart wrenching and hard to view :(  


Most of you know that we have two wonderful pups in our family - Buddy, a 2 year old Jack Russell, and now Buster, our wonderful eclectic "everything in the kitchen sink" mix of a dog that truly graces our lives with comedy and unbridled love.  Buster adopted us a year ago, almost exactly :)  One Saturday morning we were going out front to bike/skate and saw a HUGE line of traffic on our street - cars back up to both lights at either end, honking, screaming.  Right in front of us a tiny puppy was criss-crossing into traffic, spotted us and ran to us - apparently he saw us before we saw him.  He was so excited!  I, on the other hand,  was horrified.  Not only did he miss getting hit by mere inches, but I was able to see what terrible condition he was in.  Yet he here was, so happy!  I tell you, he did not stop wagging his tail and I would even swear this dog was smiling!  I saw traffic start to resume, one driver screaming obscenities at me saying to 'lock up my dog, put him on a leash, who did I think I was'  ..... my dog??!  I knew I had to take action - find the owner, take him to the vet to see if he had a chip, get him some help. I knew in my heart he didn't.  And I knew in my heart this dog was in bad, BAD shape.


I scooped him up much to my husband's dismay and grumbling and put him in the car - diseased, bloodied, infected, infested .....  The girls insisted on going with me but I made my son stay home - I already knew this was not going to turn out favorable and I couldn't bear for them to see this poor puppy in pain, poked, prodded.  I rushed off to the Humane Society and they confirmed he did not have a chip, hence, no way to know who's dog this was in such pitiful shape.  In fact, they asked us to leave immediately, afraid of whatever he had was contagious and that we'd have to put the puppy to sleep.   Our vet was closed as was chance #2.  #3 came when we rushed to our local Pet Smart as we know on Saturdays a dog rescue organization is there and they confirmed again, he was sick, diseased, and I needed to get him to a vet but he was "probably not save-able."  By this time, the feeling that swept over me infuriated me.  Was anyone going to say something good - something to give us hope?  I found a vet open on the way home, by pure chance. By this time I was teary eyed, feeling helpless, hopeless.  The vet saw us right away and was so very kind - he listened as I explained "this is not my dog, I know he's a mess, but what IS wrong with him and is it treatable?"  Maybe if we could help him, he could be adopted or find a home.  He offered to do some tests pro bono but that I would have to pay out of pocket expenses for all the rest, a figure that knocked me backwards.  I was a mess.  I was literally sobbing when I called my husband to tell him I still had the puppy and I was not going down without a fight. I did not want another dog.  I had Brandy at home with terminal cancer and it was tearing at my heart - what lesson in suffering and humility was I to learn in all of this?  All the doors were closing, people were telling me to put him to sleep without a chance.  It felt wrong.   My girls were teary eyed, the assistant kept coming in with tissues, and I knew part of me already loved this doggie that was a complete wreck, yet still stood there wagging his tail NON-stop. 


We agreed to start his treatment - which was for infections, shots, wormings, getting a horrendous case of mange under control, etc.  I knew I had Buddy at home, and Brandy who was at the end stage of cancer, not to mention the kids, dh and I and asked "can he even come into my home!?"  I'll never forget his reply - he said "it's not contagious - we just tested him.  It's only going to affect him.  But it will affect him for the rest of his life. We'll treat him, we'll work with you, but the commitment is huge.  And expensive. If you can't do this, I understand - we'll take it from here.  I think you know what that means. He clearly isn't going to be adoptable.  But if you chose to go forward, then we'll make this puppy right."  And he left me to think it over, and call my husband who was already on his way with the checkbook, lol.  But then he turned in the door way and said "Oh, btw.  Thank you for loving him."  That was all it took for me.  I knew he was ours :)


Buster, before :(

Buster has been with us for a year now :)  He's a completely healthy, 110% recovered, and thriving pup, but more than that, he is the joy that we could not have ever imagined.  He is the happiest dog I have ever known!  I tell my kids, dh and sometimes my friends, what a lesson I have learned from the stray that stopped traffic, found a family, and rescued us.  So many days I am 'in a rut' and I see him, doing something so funny, and I start cracking up thinking "You're right, Buster - it's not really that bad" :)  Sadly, Brandy passed away just a couple of weeks after he joined our family and but Buddy and Buster are inseperable.  They became fast friends and sleep together every night, snuggling like two fur babies sharing one family, one home.  My hubby likes to joke that he went from pitiful homeless dog to a pampered interstate traveler ;)  He's been a joy to add to our family, this small little rescued doggy that adopted our family ~ and I whispered in his ear, holding him after one of his painful treatments, never to fear - with us, he has a forever family :*) 


And Buster now, with lots of TLC :)

Mmmm, mommy!  When is dinner!?! ;)

                                   
So here is my submission for the Calendar Girl's post with PETS this month!  We have 2 dogs now, one bunny rabbit, and a macaw.  But I couldn't resist creating a page of a candid shot I took of the boys :)  They are my absolute shadows - I go from room to room and so do they.  They are constantly on my heels and as I sat to craft one day, they sat beside me and stared ~ so I took their picture.    Maybe I should give them some cardstock and markers? LOL!
Thank you for making this far, if you have :)  Here is my finished, simple project for the month - PETS and the two fur babies that have a FUR-EVER home :)  

 My page is simple - I love simple pages!  They make creating them so much easier, especially with the stack of pictures I have to scrap :)  I used papers from DCWV and Basic Grey and SU!  Everything is from my stash except the picture which I had to run to Walgreens to print ;)  I wish it wasn't so washed out.  And I do hope you take a moment to see what the rest of the Calendar Girls have created for you this month -- you can find them in my sidebar over there  -------------------------------->


Thanks for taking the time to read if you made it this far, I appreciate it and I am glad to finally introduce Buster along with his brother, Buddy, who you've seen on my blog before ;)  


“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea tell you. Every one of these knows that the hand of the Lord has done this. The life of every creature and the breath of all people are in God’s hand.” ~Job 12:7-10

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings and

Furry hugs!! :)

~Kelly

Just CHICKEN in! ;)

Happy Friday to you!  I hope your weekend ahead will hold many wonderful things!   Even though I'm still dragging this horrid cold around, we have a few things lined up that I had forgotten about!  This weekend lil man will have a belt testing for his half-black decided in Tae Kwan Do and we have a big birthday party on Sunday after church.  In between, mama isn't moving! LOL! 


I made a few cards this morning using that same stack of SU stamps from my "TIOTS in 2012" pile and am so happy I'm actually keeping up with the intended use of what I have :)  I LOVED this stamp set when I saw it and scooped one up on SCS when a buyer posted it for a really reasonable price a good while back.  I have only used one of the stamps once before, so today I decided to get inky with two of them and make a card set!  I wanted to use something in the yellow/red family or farm style, and found my last remaining 12 x 12 sheets of Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety. I wish I could remember where I got these little gigham flowers from - they were my last two and a perfect fit - if they look familiar to you and/or you know where I can scoop these up, please let me know! :)

Both together

Thanks a bunch ;)

I have a sweet, dear friend that is so good about "chicken on me" and has an uncanny ability to text at just these perfect moments.  I could be lost in deep thought or troubled and hear my phone ping with a "how are you today!" Not to mention how many times I've been 'busted' in the Starbucks drive-thru, LOL!  So this is my way of saying "Thanks, chick!" :)  I hope she likes these and mostly knows how I love her muchly ;)


Okay, that's all from me for today!  

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

SUPER CAS card set ;)

Thank you all sooo much for the well wishes and prayers - I felt them all :) Finally today the medicines kicked in and I can somewhat breath/function again and they are keeping me up on my feet at least to accomplish everything until my honey gets home :) This is truly one of those mommy has to push forward no matter times and I'm grateful I was able to muddle through - and thank you, coffee! ;)


I have been so inspired by all the CAS cards I see on so many of my blogging friends blogs and I just have to say I LOVE IT!! You are all so inspiring and so creative and I just WISH I could make a card like you all do.  I love my layers and tend to just mash up some papers and tons of layers and create fun card insides so I guess that would be my style if I have one, lol!  I actually was laying in bed the other night and watching a little tv to try to fall asleep and jumped up to scribble in my notepad this idea for a CAS card set.  Remember my "Off the Shelf in 2012" pile of stamps for the month?  This was one of those sets - SU's "Heard it from the heart."  I wanted to make a set using every stamp so I grabbed the first 4 cardstocks at random and a dsp that would match all 4. Leave it up to my kids to say 'You picked Fruit Loop colors!"  *smile!* 

Click photos to enlarge ;)

I picked matching SU ink pads to match the cardstocks and haven't used colored inks in SO LONG!! I had sooo much fun going through the shelf and looking for them and just got this warm fuzzy feeling (rich razzleberry still had the plastic wrap!)  I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with the outcome, but I know that I had so much fun creating these in the process!  And ...this is actually part 1 of a something something I'm working on but thought I'd at least show this part :)

Thank you so much for stopping by today! 

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Cardstocks:  SU: Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Rich Razzleberry, PTI White;

All SU inks; S.E.I. paper; Cuttlebug, nesties, ric rac, tombo

Going Around in Circles!

Hi friends!  If you could spare a good thought and prayer, I'd so appreciate it!  I have caught the yuckies my kids have had for the past 2 weeks and it hit me like a freight train last night.  And of course, as luck would have it, dh is out of town til the end of the week - happy day!  From my aching bones to splitting head and nose that won't stop running/sneezing, I'm a mess!  Not to mention blogger has been giving me fits for over 2 hours now when I should be in bed resting.  I guess my card definitely fits ME for this week! :)


You might have guessed it ~ It's Riley and Company's moose-tacular bi-weekly challenge time!  For this challenge, our DT member Frances with a theme of "going around in circles."  Use your Riley, Sophie or new friend Percy to create a card with circles - either the shape, in your dsp, your design - show us how you go 'round and 'round :)  For my card, I used Juggling Riley from the circus release along with the matching sentiment (found inside the card).  This is one of those the card looked better in my head moments, but the good thing is that it totally matches how my week is starting out!  See, a positive! :)

Juggling Riley card front :)

Sneak peek at the inside - lots of layers on this card :)

To see the challenge blog, click HERE to enter your cards.  And don't forget to check my sidebar to see what the DT have created using this circle theme!


I'm going to crawl back into bed, friends.  Moments like this I truly wish my daughter would get her driver's license and I can grab my box of tissues, tea and pillow and wake up on Friday! *smile!*


Big hugs,
Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Sand and Surf :)

I know most of you are covered in snow and ice, but here we are having sweltering mid-80's already, indicitive of a pretty humid, hot, sticky summer is soon on it's way!  I truly do love Miami for many of it's envronmental splendors - especially taking a run to the beach on a beautiful day and spending all day making castles, playing in the surf and wearing 110 SPF :)~

We saw "The Vow" and it was as enchanting as I envisioned it to be.  And bring some tissues if you haven't seen it already - what a joyous love!  We also took lil man golfing on Friday with his sisters and I haven't had much time to craft until late last night, but that project is still waiting for some camera time :)

So here are so warm sunshine pictures for you to enjoy if it's cold where you are. I'll just post the nature ones :)

 

Blessings!
~Kelly



As most of you know I have 4 children, and my dd17 was sitting under the umbrella in the chairs with me,
so when this little guy flew up and sat down with them, I told her "I think you've been replaced" ;)



In case you haven't read the Hunger Games, my dd15  LOVES that trilogy and made the 13 districts instead of a regular castle ;)