Back from Chicago :)

       *~* Blog Candy NOW CLOSED! :) *~* 

Thanks to all who entered - I promise to print/read each and every comment and a Grand Prize winner and follwer second winner will also be chosen but please give me a day or so to recoop from an exhausting trip!   Winners are TBA so check back!

What I can say about this school trip in one word is ....... WOW.   What  a city!  It reminded me somewhat of downtown Miami but with frigid temps, lol.   I loved the mixture of architecture between modern skyscrapers nestled between old building with such detail.  Although we did not get lucky with snow,  I loved, loved, loved the cold weather :)  We saw so many shows, eateries (loved me some Chicago pizza!!), restaurants, museums and monuments .....  like the Sears (Willis) Tower - and YES! I went out on those crazy glass boxes (I hate me some heights, lol)   Fascinating city with a surprising politeness to it's people that I have missed living in Miami, ha ha.

Thank you for the birthday wishes!  As hard as it was to be away from my family, my wild and wacky friends and the entire group of 59 of them made sure to embarrass me each step of the way (restaurants, comedy club, top of the Sears Tower!) and also treat me with such kindness and joy and treasures.  My heart just melts at the thought :)

Proudly, my daughter's Chorus group scored quite high and took First Place all across the board in every category!  We are parents - we're supposed to think they are wonderful, lol, but they beat out every other school and just sang like angels.  Hearing them in that huge hall, on the stage with amazing acoustics, they simply brought the house down and received a standing ovation - even from the parents visiting for their own kids schools.  I know that sounds terribly bragging, but I am so very proud that these High Schoolers sang at the level of what adults sing (like we learned at our visit to Northwestern University) and performing flawlessly.  And we were SOO Excited to receive a prestigious and rare award along with an invitation to perform next year at Carnegie Hall!!!!  Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! :))))

And for some random goofy Chi-town pictures, for your entertainment ....... lol
You will notice I will be absent from ALL of them!  Time to lose some serious weight ............ and dd apparently needs to change the date on her camera!!!  (2005?  2007?!)  I promise WE WERE THERE! *grin*

                          "The Bean" ~ what a hilarious sculpture ;)

Lake Michigan w/ skyline view ...  My dd, Kaitlyn (white jacket) and bffs!

The Whole Gang!

Miami girls out on the town!   AWESOME musical, btw!!

Ferris Bueller, anyone?! ;)

We Won, We Won, We Won!!!!!

Sears Tower .... from the ground! ;)~

And the Top, the very very very tippy top on a glass box hanging off the building ..

and people do THIS for fun ....... ;)

Xoxoxoxo

~Kelly

** It's a Happy Birthday ........ I'm 29 - again! **

Hee hee!!  I wish!   Today's post is actually a repost to celebrate a special day ~ although I'm far from home, it's a beautiful thing and a wonderful blessing to have the technological advancements we have so at least I get to keep in touch with dh & the kids while away. 

**Please make sure to sign up at the original candy give-away post!
It's HERE!**

And you get to view this BIRTHDAY BLOG CANDY give-away one more time!  By the time I return home, this will have ended and a winner(s) will be chosen.  Check back - it just might be YOU! :)  Good luck to all :


Hugs + Blessings!
~Kelly

Hippity Hoppity Easter's on it's way!

            *~* For the Blog Candy give-away,
                          click HERE! :) *~*


Happy Friday, friends!  It's Fabulous Friday at Sugar Creek Hollow *and* freebie Friday!  If all goes well, this post will have launched for you to see the new Easter images available to you from
                           Sugar Creek Hollow! 

This bunny image is part of the new Easter Images set that you can enjoy, just in time for Easter :)   This adorable little bunny was printed out on dsp & propped up, following the Sensational Saturday Sketch that will be up on the SCH blog tomorrow :)  I hope you get the chance to play along this week!

Paired with some Sweet Always paper from SU!, one of my faves ~ it's so sweet and cute with the perfect hues for Spring. I added a gingham ribbon, seriously pink blingie frame behind the CB frame & a button and dew drops to follow the sketch pattern. 

Be sure to stop by and see the SCH DT to see what beautiful creations they have in store for you to see! 

Tracy * Joseline * Linda * Donna * Cheri *

Marsha * Sarah * Stephanie * Nancy *

Kristina * Joan * Loretta * Dani *

Cassie * Kelly (you are here :)

Blessings & see you next week!!

 xoxo
~Kelly

Inktegrity's Challenge #4 ~ {I'm praying for you!}

For the Blog Candy post,

 click HERE! :)

Happy Wednesday!!  I'm happy to bring you another card before leaving to the Windy City!  :)  Have you hopped on over to Inktegrity to play along with the challenges?  Well, here's your chance!  

And using Inktegrity's "Thankful Bizzy" sweet little praying mouse, here's my take on the challenge!

 I paired it with SU's Red Riding Hood, Baja Breeze and SU's dsp "Sweet Slumber."  I paper- pieced Bizzy's jammies, added a matching flower combo w/ button & ribbon and the sentiment tag.  To keep Bizzy from "floating" around on the square, I anchored him into a cuttlebug, swiss dotted label.  

Remember, you can flip the sketch, rotate it,  use your choice of colors!  As long as we see the element of the sketch, it'll work! 

Take the Inktegrity challenge here!

TFL, friends! ~ I'll have another post launching for you on Friday from SCH so I hope you stop back by, and remember to enter the Blog Candy as a winner will be chosen around April 1st when I return!  Good luck and happy crafting!

xoxo

~Kelly   

It's Spring-time at SCH's Fabulous Friday ...

**To enter my BLOG CANDY birthday give-away, click HERE!**

Happy Friday!  I hope Spring is starting to show in your area ~ the greenest of grass, flowers blooming & lovely colors replacing your winter snow :)  Today for Sugar Creek Hollow's Fabulous Friday I bring you ... Spring!  This beautiful digi image is cherry blossom and I colored it in Spring colors ~ be sure to stop on over and see it in the store along with many of the fantastic new Easter images!

THis week's challenge was to use sewing.  The running joke in my house is ... me, lol.  My mom was a seamstress for over 30 years, as were both of my grandmothers the most amazing talent women making quilts and dresses ...... even my 13 year old daughter has an amazing flair for the machine.  And then there's me ..... hee hee!  So I bring you this stiched ribbon!!! *grin!* 

I also followed the sketch pattern that debuts tomorrow at Sugar Creek Hollow!  I hope you take the time to stop on over and play along with the sketch tomorrow :)

Here it is, so you can get started!  There will be some stunning blog blingy for the winners!

And *remember!* today is freebie Friday for your wonderful SCH digis!  See them here!

Have a most blessed weekend,
~Kelly

Hey Lady! :)

~~~To enter my BLOG CANDY give-away,

 Click here!~~~

How cute it is!!  :)  I hope you have been enjoying this Fairy Wonderful Week at Inktegrity!  Today I bring you ...... Ladybug Fairy, my favorite of all the fairies being released this week!  I hope you've had the chance to see all the wonderful Fairy creations - these are the cutest Fairy digis I have seen EVER!  And Joni has had a contest all week long to "guess the fairy" before the release - how's that for Fairy lucky for the winners! :)

I paired this Fairy Beauty with some Sassafras paper I stumbled upon awhile ago at my LSS ~ used my new border punch that my sweet sistah *Carol* just sent me for my birthday - thank you, sweetie!  I propped up her wings after a sprinkling of fairy dust to give it more dimension.  Be sure to stop by the other DT blogs and see what yumminess they have created for you!

xoxoxo

~Kelly~

It's Fairy Week at Inktegrity! {Fairy Release!}

        **  To enter my Blog Candy Give-away, click here! **

{I have two posts for you today!

 For Fresh Brewed Designs mini-hop post, see previous post!}

                               

I'm so excited to see Joni's new Fairies this week at Inktegrity!   Each day, the DT will be showing you a Brand New Fairy!  Today's release is Daisy Fairy!  Be sure to stop by the Inktegrity blog - Joni has a contest going on for a fairy giveaway!  

Introducing ..... Daisy Fairy!

She appears to be hiding more behind a tulip,

lol! But I had this image in my head

of how I wanted to make this fairy card ;)

Side-view :)

Opened card to reveal the sentiment!

It reads:  Garden Fairies come at dawn,

Bless the flowers then they're gone.

Beautiful, isn't it!!

Be sure to stop by and see what the rest of the DT have made for you with these

beautiful faires and stop by Inktegrity and guess the fairy! :)

X0x0x0x0

~Kelly

Inktegrity DT:

Joni (owner!) ♥ Diane ♥ Jacquie ♥ Kelly (me!) ♥

Ashley ♥ Jackie ♥ Rhonda ♥ Lelia ♥ Julie

Deets:  Cardstock:  Soft Suede, Crushed Curry; DSP = So Saffron by DCWV;

Image and sentiment: Inktegrity; colored with prismacolor markers; Cuttlebug;

 labels 10; MM Trimmer; Kaiser pearls; MS glitter; Tombo

It's a Delicious Fun Foods Mini-hop, by Fresh Brewed Designs :)

*~* To enter my Blog candy give-away,

click here! *~*

First, I apologize for the late post -- very unexpected delays this morning after already getting up after only 1.5 hours of sleep!  My humblest and sincerest apologies for the slightly interupted break in the hop!  But here we go! 

Welcome to Fresh Brewed Designs new release of Fun Foods!  Truly a scrumptious lot of new digi doodle images sure to strike your crafting appetite!  I fell instantly in love with all the yummy new images ~ I'm sure you will, too, as you hop around and see what the DT have created for you!

If you are hopping along, you should have arrived from creative Jenn's blog!  If not, start at the beginning HERE.

First up:  I'm Sweet On you!  These Fun Food images are full of whimsy and adorable sentiments ~ available for you at the Fresh Brewed Design store!

Next up:  Donut Worry!   This image stole my heart! It's adorable.  And I love me some donuts, lol.  They are my weakness!  Such a sweet way to send a special wish to someone who needs a little pick me up :)  

Last, the happy couple together!  I went with a matching pair of cards for several reasons - to keep them as a set when I complete a few more with even more adorable images Heather has in store for you!  Also, to use up some scraps that I had that otherwise wouldn't have had the chance to play, too :) 

My word for you on this hop is:  Fries

Be sure to stop by and see what the rest of the DT have created for you to see!

It's yummilicious!

From here, hop on over to see the amazingly talented Barb!

TFL & Blessings to you today!

~Kelly

Deets: Cardstock: SU Soft Suede, Regal Rose; DSP = scrap within reach "Freckles"; Images by Fresh Brewed Designs;

colored with prismcolor markers; aquapainter; MM Trimmer; Cuttlebug;

 nesties; misc ribbon; SU and Bo Bunny Buttons; Tombo, Signo White pen

Unity's Friends with Flair Friday ~ Bubble Gum Tree :)

Happy Friday! Click here if you'd like to enter my BLOG CANDY giveaway!

I have TWO posts for you today!  For Sugar Creek Hollow, please see this previous post :)

And Welcome to Unity's FWF Friday!  After seeing some of my gal pals playing in the FWF, I thought I'd get my feet wet and share this card for my first FWF!

You can stop by here on Angela's blog for the line-up of unity friends for this hop!

I used my November KOTM called "Enjoy your story .... laugh" and I just love, love, love this Bubble Gum Tree stamp.

 I stumbled upon this terrific Crate Paper (Paper Dolls Collection) as my LSS and knew they were the "the one" :) I paper pieced some of the tree "leaves" and propped them up on 3D dots, added matching embellies and a sentiment to the inside which says "Home is where your story begins." 

I actually made a second version of this card after posting it!  It looked a little "busy" to me and the tree got lost in all the geometrics of the paper, so I gave it a softer back ground with this powder blue dsp.

What do you think - busy or blue?  LOL! 

Thanks for stopping by and may your today be a terrific one!

~Kelly~

Deets = Cardstock:  Earth Elements SU!, DSP - crate paper, dollhouse; K.I.M. blue patterned dsp; prima flowers, bo bunny button; misc ribbon; Tombo, 3d dots; cuttlebug, circle nesties; Momento black ink.

Kelly's Birthday Blog Candy! :) (TWO winners to be chosen so far!)

Blessings to you, my dear friends!

This post is my Birthday Blog Candy Give-away! 

(Ends 3/31!)

**Update**  I just checked the candy give-away post and am humbly shocked and ecstatic to see this many entries!  That means a SECOND Blog Candy {not pictured} will be given away!!  We up are up to TWO WINNERS to be chosen {candy pictured + mini giveaway}!

Thanks bunches :)

My birthday is getting closer every day (eek!!) and I wanted to share my special day with all of you my sisters and sisters-in-Christ!  The greatest blessing I have received is meeting so many wonderful people, making some true blue friends and having the wonderful opportunity to also fellowship with some of you :)  My heart especially goes out to those who post on my blog regularly - silly as it sounds, it means the world to me with your daily stops & I love you! :)

So in honor of how special you are to me, I'd love to bless you back!

Because this is "blog candy", there are a few things I'd like for you to do!

One lucky person will win this smorgasboard of some of my very favorite things - flowers, vivid + bright colors & a little bling!  Below the photos you'll see a list of these items as well as a couple of close ups. 

Close ups ;)

I'd love for everyone to win, alas, there can only be ONE winner ;)   BUT, if by any chance I am able to get more than 50 new followers, I will add a 2nd mini blog candy {photo soon}!  That's two chances right there!

What do you have to do to win?  Just 2 things!
1.  Leave a comment below so I know you stopped by!
2.  Please become a follower if you aren't already ~ it would be appreciated, but not necessary.  Just place THE FIRST PHOTO in your sidebar, linking back to my blog :)

***~***   Blog Candy ends March 31st!  ***~***

Here is what is included! (random order listing)

1. Basic Grey Mat Stack - Nook & Pantry

2. Basic Grey Granola Glazed Brads

3. Basic Grey Granola Rub-Ons

4. Martha Stewart Cardinal Paper Punch

5. Making Memories Flower Shop Collection Flowers in Tin

6. Flora Doodle Flower pack (pink/blue)

7. Color Stories Giant flower stack w/ brad

8. K I Memories Icon Tattoos (rub-ons)

9. KI Memories Chipboard Accents

10. KI Memories Gel Candy

11. Two Bohemia Transfer Tiles (Dreamer, Free Spirit)

12. Inkadinkadoo 6 Clear Stamps - Flourishes

13. Two UM Rubber Surprise stamps! (In sheer green bag - ONE from Whipper Snapper and ONE from Doggone stamps)

14. 1  pack of Fancy Pants Buttons "On a Whimsy" Collection

15. 1 Petaloo Glitter Flower pack chipboard (Not pictured)

16. Q & Company - 1 pack each: Denim Pearls, Slime Green pearls

17.  Basics Bling Rhinestone flowers

18. Kaiser Silver Bling rhinestones

19. Two stamp pads:  1 green, 1 pink!

and lastly,

20. Four (4) handmade cards from each of the stamp companies that I'm blessed to work with:  a) Inktegrity b) Busy Beauties Boutique

c) Fresh Brewed Designs and d) Sugar Creek Hollow

Thanks for entering my blog candy and sharing my special day with me!

Hugs + Blessings!

~Kelly

It's Kit-Cat Sunday! And I bring you ..... Japanese art! :)

Hello beautiful blogger friends!  I hope you're having a blessed SONday!  This will be long, and there is a lot of wonderful information about each part of the kit, so I hope you get the chance to read it all and be as inspired as I was to put this kit together! I added all the technical stuff to the kit for the kittens to read, and my daughter's words were "Mom ... seriously .... is this a term paper?"  LOL!!

This month the Kit-Cat Club's hostess was .... ME! ;)  I knew instantly that I wanted to challenge (myself!) the girls to try something a little different and reached for my absolutely breathtaking Kodomo Japanese stamp that I've had for a year and a half!  Honestly, I was scared to ink it up and give it a try.  Silly, I know!  In Japanese, Kodomo literally means "kodomo no koa" which translates to "the look on a young person's face when they are absorbed in play."  That alone made me smile all over, because that's so much what crafting is to me!  So with the help of the kittens, I just stamped it out and off we went - paw in paw! ;)  And I'm really sad I waited - it's fantastic!   I decided to go with a unique fold to match such a unique and exquisite stamp and lucious Japense papers.   I searched the web until I found THE PAPERS that I wanted to buy & use and found a company that imports Washi paper from Japan.  Washi paper isn't made the way paper is made here in the US ~ it's made from the Gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub or paper mulberry.   Literally, Washi translated means WA (Japanese) and shi (paper)!   Making Washi paper involved a long, laborous process including using no chemicals and takes place in the very cold winter so they can use the pure, cold running water from the mountains.  

To complete the kit, I sent along some Mizuhiki paper cords which resemble long thread or twine, but it's actually tightly rolled paper.  You'll also see a small charm that reads "Good luck" in Japenese.  Lastly, I sent each of the kittens a box of lucious "Belle Fluer" flowers (from the US *smile*), each receiving a different color box and (hopefully!) coordinating papers to use on their creations. 

And now for the card!  {Tee hee!}   I went with a folding card, added a clip art with Japanese symbols  to the front which reads "Friendship".   That was a very last second addition as the front seemed to be missing something.   As it opens, you'll see the Kodomo stamped image, colored with my prismacolors markers and some water color crayons and painted with my aqua painter.  It's hard to see, but I propped up the image and scalloped (Floral) the side for added dimension.  As it folds, the bottom folds inward to reveal this "surprise inside" element, and I'm so very excited that I was finally able to use my beautiful Kodomo stamp and create this Japanese beauty :)

Front view, tied closed with gold ribbon...

Close up .....

Middle fold ...

Side view ....

Stamped Kodomo image, insert ...

And the beautiful stamp that inspired it all :)

I so hope you've enjoyed this (long!) post today and hope you have a moment to stop by and check out the other kittens!     

 Jeanette

Catherine 

  Lorie  

 Michelle  

 Susan

And make sure you stop back by tomorrow - I will be listing my Birthday Blog Candy!  Woohooo!

xoxoxo

~Kelly

And He Shall Be Called ..... {SCH: Color Combo}

Happy Friday! I hope this weekend brings you whatever is in your heart - rest, sleep, a quite night in ... or out!  And crafting!  Sugar Creek Hollow can sure help you there!   Joseline challenged us to make a card for SCH's Fabulous Fridays using this awesome color combo with the most glorious colors -- I hope they inspire you as well :) 

Here is my card using the image from SCH called "And He Shall Be Called ..."  it's an amazing digi, full of inspiration!  

Be sure to take a peek and see what wonderful creations the DT have made for you - you can find them HERE! 

And stop by and see the NEW Sugar Creek Hollow blog - it's all new and improved and looking superb!

We hope you've enjoyed this Grand Opening this week and stay tuned for many more wonderful things to come :)

x0x0x

~Kelly

 

Deets:  Cardstock = SU!  Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, PTI white - DSP = SU!  Candy Lane (Pink!) and Bo bunny (red!) ~ Image:  Sugar Creek Hollow, sentiment is computer generated but available at Sugar Creek Hollow as a digi; Ink:  Pink Pirouette for distressing; Prima flowers; misc button; pink velvet ribbon from Sweet Pea (giftie from my lovely friend Tanja!); EKS Border Punch; CB; Nestie; Kaiser pearls in chocolate. 

~*~ Busy Beauties Boutique Release + Blog Hop! ~*~

It's the BUSY BEAUTIES BOUTIQUE

NEW RELEASE BLOG HOP & CHALLENGE!

And let me start of by saying

Happy Birthday, Carmen!

One of our very own BBB Design Team Members

is celebrating her birthday TODAY! 

Wishing you a blessed day, my friend, and may all your birthday wishes be sweet and fulfilled :)

God Bless you!

xoxoxo

Welcome & THANK YOU for joining the Busy Beauties today! If you are arriving here from the incredibly sweet & uber talented Carolyn, you are hopping right along.  She is also the beginning of this hop, so make sure to start on her blog as you will not want to miss what she has in store for you!

We are super excited to introduce a new set of images (available for purchase on Saturday, March 6) and also share some news! Coming Soon...The BUSY BEAUTIES BLOG! We are hoping to have all the kinks worked out and launch the blog next month, but we just couldn’t contain our excitement and want to get our feet wet now with OUR FIRST EVER BUSY BEAUTIES CHALLENGE! Our theme is “GO GREEN!” and the challenge is to use GREEN as the predominate color on your card/project. The challenge is open from now through WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17TH (St. Patrick’s Day)! BBB images are of course encouraged & preferred, but not required for this one. Since our official blog is not yet ready, Catherine will be hosting the challenge on her blog, where you can find all the nitty-gritty details and link your creations. (She's the last stop of the hop, so just keep bopping along.) And since this is our premier challenge, there is a tangible prize package for the winner:

The PRIZE includes: Basic Grey Origins 6x6 pad;

 4 yards of American Crafts satin ribbon,

1 yard of May Arts striped twill ribbon,

 1 jar of Shimmerz.

And here is my card for you to see ~ using Party Snail!  Isn't he fun and festive and all things wonderful!  He is dedicated to birthday girl Carmen and as busy as she is with work and full time school and being the most amazingly supportive wife to her husband Tim &  two sons ~ Girl, my party hat is off to you!  You are an inspiration and a blessing to me!  Muah!  {{{ Hug, hug! }}}   I paired this cutie with some parti-licious K & Co papers "Berry Sweet".  I am so enjoying this paper!  It's bright and fun and I colored party snail with my prismamarkers and he just looked like a fun kinda snail that could handle some color :)   My 5 y/o son says "oh, cool!  It's Gary!"  {you know ..... Spongebob!}  I actually totally picture Party Snail being the life of the party!  "So there's this snail that walks into a bar ..........." :)

Next up is the STUNNING new image from Carolyn and Thomas called Water Lily Beauty - she is AH-MAY-ZING!!  Superbly beautiful and versatile to color in just about any flower color you can dream up :)   I acutally had another card for you but it just wasn't looking right to me ... I don't know what was wrong with it, but something was ... it nagged me and I changed it around and around, then finally just started all over with a new digi :)   I paired this beauty with K & Co new release "Ciao, Bella" papers .. lucious and stunning!

As always, we also have HOP PRIZES! There will be winners chosen from the comments left on certain DT blogs, but it's a secret which blogs we'll draw from! The prize for these winners is their choice of 3 Free BBB Images! There will also be a GRAND PRIZE of 5 Free BBB Images (winner's choice) drawn from the hoppers who leave comments on *all* the DT blogs. So be sure to leave some love all along the way! Blog Hop Winners will be announced Friday night on Carolyn's blog.

Your next stop is  Annita!  Enjoy the show and we can't wait to see your GO GREEN Challenge creations!

Hugs + Blesssings,

~Kelly

Little Bunny Foo-Foo ..... Hoppin' thru the Forest ......

scoopin up the field mice and bumpin them on the heads ... *smile!* 

When my girls were at preschool, they would come home every Spring  + Easter singing this little song and smiling ear to ear, having a grand 'ol time!  They attended a christian preschool where the teacher had taught for over 40 years, bless her heart, and every child that went through her doors was going to know that song!  LOL! 

So here we are ..... {they now being 15, 13, and 11!}  still singing about little bunny Foo-Foo ;)  

So I bring you little Bunny Foo-Foo, Inktegrity style!  This adorable image is  Easter Gift.  The super sweet and fabulously talented Joni created this little image for us to use and it is delightful.  When I first saw this image a few weeks ago, I knew instantly I was going to print/paper piece her into this pattern.   When my brother + I were little, every Easter  the E.B. *wink!* would bring us a new stuffed bunny. My mom always, always made sure mine was pink and always gingham or plaid :)  I paired it with some Basic Grey "Two Scoops" paper and My Mind's Eye plaid for Easter Gift bunny. 

And the smiles just keep on coming today because it's the launch of Inktegrity's Challenge #1!  Follow the sketch provided + when posting your card to your blog/gallery or other, please use Inktegrity  in the title so that Joni can find your card :)  When uploading your card into SCS, PCP or other stamping community, please use the short name: IHDI-1. The winner will receive their choice of 3 single images HERE at our store!  Please use Inktegrity images if you have them, if not we would love to see you play along anyway. And since this is going to be our new feature here at Inktegrity, EVERYONE who enters the sketch challenge this week will be sent these two friends as a thank you {images}

The card above is my sample for you, but you can see the sketch right here. 

Happy Crafting, everyone :)

~Kelly