I'm sorry for the things I said ....

Hi friends!

 We're home from vacation!

It was SO. MUCH. FUN!

My kids are so energetic and a blast to hang out with ♥

I managed to barely keep up ride every roller coaster at all the theme parks, enjoyed the sights of our fun side trips, relaxed,

enjoyed the surf of crystal blue waters and sandy white beaches,

  ate ridiculously yummy foods 

AND!!

checked off a couple of scrapbook/stamp stores off my bucket list

that I'd wanted to visit in my state of Florida ~ yay!

(post on the 'road trip' coming later!)

If you ever get to Whim-So-Doodle, be sure to meet Doug!

He's an absolute gentlemen and the "fluffiest" salesman in the biz :)

Isn't he adorable!

He sold me a lot of crafty goodies! :)

Photo: Whimsodoodle on Instagram

 I'm back to card making and still in summer mode :)

Using 'Summer Fun' from The Project Bin ~

this sentiment right here, LOL!

It's hysterical! 

I love being on the design team for Denise, owner/creative genius behind TPB.

She's such a sweetheart and innovative in her stamp line ~

truly unique for what's out on the market.

She's always coming up with fresh, new stamp sets so

be sure to see the new ones in the shop!

On our trip, I saw some of the most AMAZING sunsets on the opposite

coast of Florida and that was the inspiration for my card today ↓

 

In addition to the stamp from The Project Bin,

 I used a die from Lawn Fawn and distress oxide inks from Ranger ~ 

Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio and Mermaid Lagoon.

The black ink for the sentiment is from Picket Fence Studios:  Intense Black.

I almost always use Momento Tuxedo Black but I noticed

 it was not as vibrant of a black with the distress oxides -

 as soon as i used the PFS, it was much more prominent. 

We were blessed enough to swim in an ocean

 just as beautiful as this blue

~ isn't it marvelous how things around us inspire us!

 

Here's a look at the entire Summer Fun stamp set ↓

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I hope it's sunny and gorgeous or perhaps, cooling off, where you are :)

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

CCEE ~ Use those stencils!

 Hi friends!

And much like this unicorn,

 I'm absolutely on cloud 9 to be on vacation :)  

There's a new challenge from our hostess Vicki

at the CCEE Stampers blog: Stencils!

 

 It's so funny, 

I was just talking to a dear friend about using stencils

the other day and how they are quite popular right now.

For me, they are my most under used stamping tool!

I do have quite a few - 

yet never really seem to use them that much!  

My card is using Picket Fence Studios darling unicorn - For You.

The stencil is geometric grid from MFT 

and I've used the amazing Distress Oxide Inks from Ranger.

The sentiment is from a different stamp set as I needed 

a small font so I used my Hello Bluebird sentiment stamp.

Be sure to stop by the CCEE Stampers 

and see what the DT has made using the stencil theme! 

There is also a linky where you can add your cards, too!

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

RSG ~ More than one way!

 Hi friends!

Yippee Skippee ~ I'm on vacation!

    By the time this posts,

 we'll already be off on our second summer adventure! ♥

Today's post is for the RSG card ... 

and that's the Ready, Set, Go Challenge! 

This is a group that I created as a spin-off to the 3M (3 Musketeers)

 it's a card created with a challenge that's a little more extreme

 and makes us think WAY outside the box!

This month, our theme was chosen by Jeanette and she said:

I am always impressed when crafters use a stamp or die

 in a way other than it was intended.

Make a card using a stamp or die in a way other than it was originally intended.

Ready? Set? Go!

I LOVE this challenge.

I think it has great potential to do something I always love to do ~

get more use of the stamps and dies!

so while I love the challenge ......

my card?

Meh.

Not so much!

 I had a great idea to re-use my Catherine Pooler Never Forget Fern stamp

that you may have seen in this post. 

When I first ordered it, along with several colors of green ink,

I thought it looked somewhat like a Christmas tree :)

For this challenge, I remembered that although it looked better in my head!

I added multi colored tiny buttons as the twinkling ornaments

and one yellow one at the top representing the topper!

The ink I used for the fern (tree) is Spruce by Catherine Pooler

and the sentiment is from an MFT Stamps holiday set

which I heat embossed with Ranger white embossing powder.

You can see Barb's card here and Jeanette's card here!

 

 Next time,

 if I were to redo this card,

  I might try sequins instead :) 

Happy Christmas in July! 

 Thanks for stopping by :)

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly 

The Project Bin ~ Snuggle up!

Hi friends!

Happy Tuesday!

It sure is hot outside and my card may seem a little .... out of season :)

But ..... 

it's Christmas in July!

It's also the day I post on The Project Bin blog!

Denise, owner and creative mind behind this stamp company,

has been busy designing some wonderful new stamping goodies :)

And today ~ Denise is debuting a brand. new. stamp. set!

It's simply out of this world!  

It's called Milky Way and it's absolutely adorable and now available in the shop.

Now that's far out!

 

 

For my card today, I'm sharing the 'scraps' that were on my desk 

from this weekend's cardmaking mess creating!

Christmas in July - continues!

 For today's card, I'm using one of my favorite winter set:  North Pole.

 I love the look of rustic Christmas cards ~

blues and browns and cranberry colors ♥

I've used a leftover piece of designer paper from Suzy's card kit

and heat embossed the sentiment using white embossing powder. 

The final touch was a few crystal gems added for extra bling!

 I'm pretty sure this card will be for my husband this year ♥

 You can see this stamp set and more on the blog ~

and if you click on any photo, it takes you to a gallery of card samples.

Here is the stamp set I used:

 

Head on over to The Project Bin and look around ~ it's an amazing place!

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

DDD ~ Christmas in July!

Hi friends!

 

It's the 15th of the month and that means it's time

 for another friendly duel with the Dueling Darlings card group :)

My card today is based on a card kit that I received and

 this is my completed card, using only the kit, except the base cardstock!

Our hostesses this month were the fabulous sister duo:  Suzy and Deb!

They both live in Texas, where it's HOT, and thought "Christmas in July!"

Here is the card I created ↓

I left the beautiful image intentional uncolored.

I loved the contrast of the snowy cabin with the richness of the paper colors.

Suzy included the die cut snowflakes, ribbon, twine, gems and tiny snowflakes

and I wanted to make sure to use at least one of each thing included!

and the inside of the card ↓

In addition, the second part of their challenge is to share a recipe

that is made at Christmas time.

In our home, that's Spritzgebäck!

 (not my photo - iviewing purposes only! Unknown source on the internet)

 Each Christmas that we lived in Germany, my mum would gather

 all the ingredients to make luscious buttery hazelnut and almond cookies.

They are crunchy and soft and the instant you take a bit,

 it tastes like instant Christmas ♥

 I started making these when my children were very small,

and while it's not their favorite cookie, they always get excited 

knowing that it brings wonderful memories for their mama!

I am truly blessed ♥

Here is an example of a standard recipe:

#5 should say let them cool down and inhale!  LOL!

Since the Dueling Darlings are dividedi into 2 teams:

The Divas (me!) and the Dazzlers,

it's hard to list all the blogs and galleries 

so you can see the full list of cardmakers here at Splitcoaststampers!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

VSN ~ looking back at a few challenges!

 Happy weekend, friends!

You may remember from this post that I was a hostess during the Rock Star 

challenge at Splitcoaststampers VSN (Virtual Stamp Night),

 in which hostesses post a new challenge every hour over the course of 2 days.

It's fun, fast-moving and a whirlwind of paper, ink and glue! 

I made 10 cards for 10 different cards ~

and this is just a sample :)

Each challenge is 'rock' themed - either rock 'n roll, engagement rock, etc.

I was only able to play in about half of the challenges

due to all the wonders that summer brings!

Here are just a few of the cards that I made for a specific challenge!

1.  For Marg's challenge:

 It is huge and is described as a sandstone monolith, one of the largest in the world and stands in the middle of Australia in the desert. 

The rock changes color depending on the time of day and the season 

but is best known for its deep rich reds and purples.

My challenge to you is to use the colors: Cajun Craze Gorgeous Grape Garden Green

I used MFT stamps Jingle all the Way and Happy Friends ~

yes, combining Christmas with Easter! 

Total time:  This card took 34 minutes to color/create. 

 2. Kelly's Rock 'n Roll technique:

Kelly's (not me!) challenge to you is to create a card using the oldie-but-goodie

 Rock & Roll technique. 

 This is where you ink up a solid image stamp with a light colored ink and then roll the edges of the image in a darker colored ink. This creates a cool two-toned image. 

I've used Technique Tuesday's Greenhouse Society's June stamp ~

 Blooming Branch

Total time: this card took me 27 minutes to make.

 

3.  Melody's Fossil Stone Technique

My challenge today is to make a fossil stone background. 

 It's really a very easy technique, and on the plus side, you get two pieces to work with.
Here is a pdf file with instructions. fossil stone technique.

I used Technique Tuesday's  fresh peonies March stamp

 and Ranger distress inks Wilted Violet and Shaded Lilac.

Total time: this card took me 37 minutes to make!

 

4.  Melody's Fossil Stone Technique

  My challenge today is to make a fossil stone background.

 It's really a very easy technique, and on the plus side, you get two pieces to work with.  Here is a pdf file with instructions. fossil stone technique.

For this card, I used a Hero Arts kit a window ~ I used another die for the cat

and my fossil technique is glossy paper behind using Ranger alcohol inks.

I used a striped paper to emmulate wall paper :)

Total time:  It took the longest - 48 minutes to make!

Such a fun time to create cards way outside my comfort zone

and ones I wouldn't have made normally ~

but it sure was fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

 

Bring out the Sunshine ♥

 Hi friends!

Today at the CCEE Stampers challenge blog the theme is:

Cheer Up the Lonely Day!

What a sweet, sweet thought ♥

Vicki is the hostess for July and gave us this as her challlenge this week:

Most of us probably know an older person who may or may or live alone

  Let's make a "Thinking of you" card and actually send it out! 

 If you don't know anyone, send it to a local nursing home 

and address it to "Someone Special" or any other phrase  you can think of.

Let's cheer up some people today!  Have fun!

My card might look a little familiar ;)

While I just created this card, I used previously colored, stamped images
from The Daily Marker challenge!
I colored these on day 9! 
(we're now up to day 27!)
 

This set is from My Favorite Things stamps and it's called Bring Out The Sunshine.

This is one of the two identical images I colored for the Dialy Marker Challenge.

I hope - with lots of luck and peace and quiet and some 'me' time 

to create cards with all of the loose images that I've colored so far!

You can link up your cards here on the blog,

as well as see what the DT has created.

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly