15 Minute Challenge {Calendar Girl} Creation!

 Happy SONday to all! 

 I hope your weekend was fabulous :)   After church I was lucky to have some time to squeeze in some time to make a trip to the farmer's market for some fresh veggies and fruits to stock up for the week! 

 

Today's post is my very belated Calendar Girl post ::: oops! :::

This month, our hostess was Michelle and she gave us carte blanche'

to create as we wish with an "anything goes" with no stamped

images except sentiments!

I was absolutely sure what I was going to do this month

with making a scrap layout page, but it wasn't until I stumbled upon

this 15 minute creative challenge that it really came together!

Basically, the 15 Minute Challenge is to get creative in 15 minutes each day!

I know for me, lately, to put a card together takes HOURS.  I rethink the entire thing over and over and end up using up more precious time than I really have!

There are 3 rules to follow - and they are simple ...

they are ones you set for yourself!!

My rules are:

1.  I have to create something - anything - in 15 minutes or less.

2.  I do not have to like what I make!  I just have to be in a creative process and accomplish my goal - to create and see where my creative journey goes!

 No second guessing, no changes, just set the timer and go, go, go!

3. I will be committed to the creative inspirations that land on the paper! 

For my scrap page, I had this picture of my son on my craft desk

and didn't have time in my alloted 15 minutes to go grab a different one, lol.

So I reached for my scrap basket and literally pulled out a mish-mash of

papers from different companies and laid them down to the color sides

that matched the colors of his hat, shirt and baby blue eyes :)

He was the smiliest, happiest baby EVER and his baby books are literally filled with smiling baby photos but this one was taken when he turned around, totally spontaneous ...

which are my favorite kinds of pictures :)

I added a small sentiment in the corner because he is my "sweet love"!

Want to see what the other CG's made this month?

You can find them on their blogs!

April + Barb + Carol + Debbie +

 Jeanette + Kelly (me!) + Michelle + Paola + Tami + Terry

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Riley's *Going on Vacation* New Stamp Release BLOG HOP!

Can you believe it - the day is finally here!  Riley's Blog Hop has begun
 and I couldn't be more excited to share with you two cards using the new stamps:

Riley is going on Vacation!

It has been so much fun this week of "sneaks" to see
the places Riley and Sophie have visited!

Hopefully you arrived here from the Frances' fantastic blog
- if so, you're on the right track!
If not, start here .   And there is some *great news* today!

1.  There is FREE domestic shipping on any new orders until Sunday night
(use coupon code FREESHIP)
2. All orders placed within the first 24 hours will receive a FREE Swimmer Riley!
3. Purchase the entire set - get a FREE surfer Riley!

Ready to see some fun-tastic Riley? 
He is one adventurous little moose!

First up, we have Waterslide Riley!
He's the perfect addition to making those fun cards and scrapbook pages.
I paired Riley with some summery fun papers from MME and Echo Park,
colored with prismas and kept the inside in the same pattern for special notes :)

Next up, Riley is going hang-gliding!
This is a sport I haven't tried but nearly did ~
In Hawaii, dh and I were given the chance but we opted out
(I *chickened out* and dh was sweet enough to stay in the boat with me, and not even
10 minutes later, guess what we saw in the water - Sharks!  See - women's intuition! LOL!)
But Riley sure is brave and isn't he sweet!
I left the inside blank, too, but can easily see this as a "Hang in there" or
"Flying by with a Hi!" card  - the possibilities are endless!

Thanks for stopping by today! From here, you will hop on over to see what
Heather has made and you won't want to miss it!
  For your chance to win a FREE
stamp from this release, remember to leave a comment!
One lucky commenter will win here but
   you have 13 chances to win by visiting each designer's blog so make sure to complete
the hop and leave some love! <3
We also have a Guest designer this month, Stephanie Hill! 

Here is the complete line-up:
Riley and Company Blog

Cindy

Juliet Huang 

Sarah Gough

Frances 

Kelly {you're here!}

Heather Prince

Laurie

Jovita Torres

Silke 

Margie Cortina

Therese

Michele L

Joy Stagg

and Stephanie Hill (July Guest Designer)
 http://honeybootique.blogspot.com/

Happy Hopping!

Big hugs,
Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

card #1:  GKD Turquoise Sea; SU Pumpkin Pie; Summer Sun, PTI White; Riley and Company stamp:
Waterslide Riley;  DSP from MME and Echo Park
; prismacolor markers; cuttlebug, nesties; MM brads; tombo,
Card #2:  Rich Razzleberry; Melon Mambo; Kiwi Kiss;  Riley and Company: Hang Gliding Riley;
PTI White; MME Lime Twist; Prismacolor markers; CB, nesties;
Misc ribbon; Basic
Grey Button; twine; 3d dots; tombo

Entered into:  The Pink Elephant 109 Fun in the Sun
Forever Friends:  Animal, Strips

**~ Exciting News to Share!! ~**

Hi everyone!  I'm tickled GREEN {pink!} to share that I'm a brand new Pixie!!   I'm so humbled and excited to have been chosen for the Pixie Dust Studio DT!  You might have seen the announcement here last week while I was vacationing but I'm squealing with delight to be back in the creative groove again and finally share this news :)

Today begins a new challenge for the Pixie Dust Studio ~ create a card or project with a monochromatic theme.  And mine is ......... Kelly Green!   My favorite color is green so I was pretty sure I knew where I wanted to go with this darling image called Dear Baby Deer.  My niece that just came to visit loves lime green so I tweaked the hues just a bit to create this one for her :)

You can see more of the new "Oh Baby!" digi stamps, including

a special "pixie pack" price, here in the shop!

You can enter your project HERE for a chance to win
 a Pixie Dust image of your choice and a Pixie Star Award for your blog!

You can meet the DT and see

their monochromatic creations by clicking

on their blog links!

Kathy - owner and illustratorPixies Design Team

Kathy - Illustrator, Owner

Cat

Erin

Cyndi

Gudrun

Jessica

Jingle

Joyce

Karen

Kelly {me!}

Margie- DT Coordinator

Mary

Suzi

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card deets:  Cardstock SU Green Galore, Garden Green; PTI white;

Image from Pixie Dust Studio "Dear Baby Deer"; MFT die; cuttlebug,

prismacolor markers; prima flowers; spare parts flowers; BG

buttons; twine; tombo, aileens

Day 5 - Riley Sneaks "Zip Line!*

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  Yes, I've done this - and it ROCKS!!   

 I'm back today with another sneak peek at the new Riley's being released tomorrow!   I hope you have been enjoying the DT sneaks all week long showing all the places Riley is going on vacation .... today he is off for some fun zip lining!   

I found this sketch this morning on SCS and thought it was a great inspiration for my card

layout.   Then I realized I'm missing the 4th front panel, so creative ingenuity I added it to the inside of my card *grin!*  Riley looks like he is having a great time - zipping through

some gorgeous sunshine-y vacation spot!

Be sure to stop back in tomorrow!   I have some SUPER exciting news to share,

and later tomorrow, the Riley Blog Hop begins!

For more sneak peeks, check out the DT blogs! 

And don't forget to add your Riley cards to the "R is for Riley" recipe challenge!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Riley's "R" Challenge - and Day 4 of sneaks!

 Hiya!!  It's Day 4 of the Riley and Company new Stamp release Sneak Peeks

  and also a new challenge at the challenge blog, brought to us by DT member Sarah :) 

  Her challenge this week is .......

R is for a Riley Recipe!

Create a card or project incorporating the following:

Riley, Red (along with any other colors you like) Ribbon, and Rhinestones!

I found this fabulous sketch #201 at Mojo Monday this week and used another soon to be

released stamp - Riley with his traveling trunk and ticket ready for vacation!

Where do you think he's off to today?

Being that the sketch called for buttons, I substituted the rhinestones for buttons

so my R is for Riley/traveling card looks like this!
If you load your card to the SCS gallery or others, please use Riley1511 :)

Be sure to stop back in to see more sneak peeks

and, of course, the Riley Blog Hop on July 28th!

You can see the DT sneak peeks by clicking the blogs here!

** And the Travel Blog Candy Winner! **
by Random.org, lucky #7 came up and the winner of
the travel blog candy would be .....

 Lori said...
You are so darn cute! This post is making me smile, I love surprises,
so I hope blogger does what it's supposed to.

Your hidden stamp is from C.C. Designs!

Congratulations!
Please contact me at Kelnkids@aol.com
with your mailing information and
I'll get your blog candy win right out to you!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Day 3 of the Riley Sneaks!

Hi there, sweet blog friends!  It's Day 3 of the Riley and Company new sneak peeks!  Where is Riley heading today?  With this map, it could be anywhere :)

 Did you hear that we have 15 new Riley images and a travel sticker stamp set being released?!  So exciting!!

You'll soon see the entire collection at the release

THIS THURSDAY, July 28th!I'm so excited to preview this Riley stamp, especially since we are now HOME from vacation! It's fun to guess each day where is Riley going next? We had so much fun, visiting 6 different theme parks in Orlando in 7 days!!  (we went to Islands of Adv. twice to see Harry Potter again :)

But after 7 days of the parks, I'm tired and climbing one VERY BIG

 mountain of laundry!  I have a ton of pics to share, but will keep that for another day!

For now, I'd love to share with you this wonderful Riley reading his map :)

Was it turn left, then right ...... or right, then left?!

I tucked him into this lil Criss-Cross fold card with travel

paper - I just love this lil guy!

Thanks for stopping by!  A winner will be drawn today at midnight for the travel candy - if you haven't entered, you can enter HERE!

If you have, stop back by and see who random.org will chose!

And you can see more sneak peeks at the DT blogs here!

We have a guest designer this month, too - you can meet Stephanie Hill and visit her blog to see her card creations!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Day 2 - Riley Sneaks "You're a Star!"

It's Day 2 of the Riley Sneaks!

Introducing Hollywood Star Riley!

Riley is another new star that is going to be released

on July 28th!

Here is a close up :)

Thanks for stopping by!  We're on vacation but keep on stopping back for a few more sneaks

and the big blog hop where ONE LUCKY winner will receive a Riley of their choice

the day of the hop!

HERE are all the DT creations,

you won't want to miss them!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Day 1 - Riley Sneak Peek!

** For the Blog Candy Give-away - Click HERE!**

:::: Her name was Lola, She was a show-girl ::::

Who remembers that Barry Manilow tune?!  LOL!

It's Day 1 of the Riley Sneak peeks!  I'm on vacation, and hope Blogger "has my back!" - and guess what?

RILEY is going on vacation, too!

This new release is OVER THE MOON adorable!!

For my sneak peek today,

I used Las Vegas Sophie,

with all her glitz and feathers and glam!

I went with an uber girly card - lots of pink and black and bling :)

You can see even more sneak peeks on the DT BLOG

located here!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Tomorrow will be another sneakie peakie and

every day up until the 28th :)

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card deets:  GKD Black, Pink Club Scrap; Dsp - unk, Stamp:  Las Vegas Sophie,

Prismamarkers; i-rock flowers, Kaiserr bling,

We are ON VACATION!!! (And Blog Candy, too!)

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!   Sandcastle Stamper is off for vacation until the 25th of July!  I am SUPER excited and hope this trips goes off smoothly and as fun as we've planned it to be! 

Coincidentally, there is a new Riley and Company absolutely unbelievable stamp release this month and the theme ...........   Riley goes on Vacation!  

LOVE IT!!!!!  Could it be any more appropriate!   You will NOT want to miss this release!  I'd love it if you could stop back by even though I'm away for the new sneak peeks!   The DT will start previewing them on the 23rd of this month - even here on my blog, provided post-blogger does its work!  (or we'll both be really surprised, lol!)

And to thank you already I'm giving away a wee little blog candy!  It's a Travel Kit, no less!  It's filled with DSP, cardstock, ribbons - etc ...... and ONE SECRET stamp inside the green card!  No sneakie peeks on that - you'll have to wait and see!  The only hint is that the company has 3 initials  in their name!  hee hee!   No rules to follow, nothing to do except leave your name in the comment section below and I'll draw a name from random blogger when we return!  Simple - easy breazy! 

Be well, friends!

Big hugs!

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Happy Dueling Darlings Day! :)

It's the 15th of the month - and that means the Dueling Darlings are back for another friendly duel!  This month our hostess for the Divas is LJ!  She sent a super darling veggie themed kit with a theme of Garden of Friendship!  (Can I get an AMEN!)   Friendships are one of the greatest GIFTS He has given to us and I treasure the friends I've made off and online - like all of you!   

My card is pretty simple :)  I am still packing and scrambling and having an absolute wonderful (and exhausting!) time with my niece and nephew - we are getting ready to roll out on vacy so I do hope you'll stop back by even while I'm gone - lots of sneak peeks heading your way!! :)

Here's Flopsey!!  LJ sent us a smorgasboard of yummy embellishments and cute patterned paper ~ I love veggies, and a trip to the farmer's market for me is a rare but wonderous treat!  And I have about as far away from a green thumb as you can image - I think even plastic flowers are in danger in my house!  My dad was the most amazing person with plants and planting - wish I had inherited just a small fraction of that gene.   But at least I can grow this card!  LOL!!

Here's the inside verse: 

Be sure to check out the rest of the Diva cards!

LJ * Barb * Carol  * Judy * Jamie * Joan * Tami

and to see the dueling theme from the Dazzlers, you can find them here!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Check back tomorrow (or next post!) as I'll have something pretty yummy to share as well!
x0x0x0

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly


Cardstock  SU! Summer Sun, Baja Breeze, Joanns Red, and embroidery twine - all the rest are from LJ's kit!  This is what she mentioned, though the big fabric flower I'm not sure :)  * Image - Gardening Flopsey (My Favorite Things), terned Paper - October Afternoon, Red/White/Green Buttons - various vendors, Ribbon ~ Green is from JoAnn's,*   I used my Cuttlebug, nesties, and tombo!

Tag - You're it! :)

Hi there!  Just a quick post today to bring you the new Riley and Company challenge - Michelle asked us to create Birthday tags! 

Using Bouncing Ball Riley (I think he is my FAVE!!), I created this happy tag and it came together pretty quickly.    I added Riley to the K and Company tag stack with and popped the back ground with the bright red ~ he just makes me smile :)

Be sure to link up your Birthday Tag creations here, on the blog!

We'd love to see what

you create and stop by and visit you!

If you load your birthday tags to another site, like SCS gallery,

please use the code Riley1411

For the DT amazing creations,

you can see them HERE! 

You won't want to miss it!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

It's a *Sweet Blog Hop!*

Welcome to the Fresh Brewed Designs

New Digi Blog Hop for July!!!

I'm the very beginning of the Blog Hop- if you just landed here, lucky you!

What is this hop all about you ask???

Sweet Talking!!!

Rich, creamy, chocolaty, fruity, thick, airy, light, sweet and delicious! Desert. Something we all LOVE and crave. Summer time is the perfect time to try new ice cream flavors, add fresh fruits to our favorite cakes, pies and cold drinks. You know what I am talking about... and I know your mouth is watering already :)

Fresh Brewed Designs has their own special recipe for SWEET things and added a few new ingredients to their already darling Angel Cakes for this image release. Angel Cake loves summer and ice cream and hanging out with her new best friend Huckleberry Pie.

Along this hop you will see Angel, Huck, and some too sweet for words images that have been added to the Fresh Brewed Designs shop.

For my card, I used GumBall Angel Cakes - isn't she adorable!  I just loved her and went with a bright bouquet of colors, pulling from the variety of gumballs
and adding matching papers from Echo Park, rainbow ric-rac and rainbow glittery brads!  I just love using color and a bright, fun card = a Happy Card! 
Her wings have a dusting of fairy dust glitter on them, although hard to tell
from the pic.

Want a chance to win this image plus more? You will want to hop in full leaving comments on ALL of the blogs in the hop. **There is ONE special secret hop stop that is giving away 5 digis of choice.**

This hop ends tonight at Midnight, so don't wait!!! HOP NOW!!

Thank you for your visit!

 It is time for you to move on to the next sweet stop. Please hop on over to Gale's blog and see what delightfully delicious creations she has to share with you today.

Sending you HUGS and SMILES and lots of

FRESH BREWED CREATIVITY!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

** IF you made it this far, thank you! Esp for the good thoughts for my son.   We are now home!  VERY long weekend, but what fun!  My son felt HORRIBLE at the tournament, and his earache got even worse.  I was torn on even letting him enter this tourney in the first place but some very trusted friends assured us it was safe and tame, lol.  And it was.  I felt silly worrying in the first place - but I'm the mom.  That's my job :)  He competed and medaled and it was all very sweet - at this age!  As he gets older, it's far from cute and by then, I hope we moved on to something like ........ chess :)

And I'm mommy to 6 for the next 2 weeks!  We picked up my niece (13) and nephew (10) while in North Florida and we are LOVING it!
They are such great kids and we are so thrilled to have them!
More to come! x0x0
~Kelly

Bon Voyage! See ya Sunday :)

Hello friends!  Just a quick post to say we are leaving town til Sunday night ~ We are taking the kids to see the very last and very historic Atlantis Shuttle launch in Cape Canaveral, FL tomorrow ~ if all goes well!  It will be sad to see the program ending.

But we are blessed to be in close by at the same time for our son's TaeKwanDo tournament in Melbourne.  It will be his first competetion in form, technique and sparring!  It will be quite an adventure as I hate car trips :(  I get such nausea and headaches - not to mention the rain has not stop falling since my last post (yes, the one about picture perfect weather, lol!)  The trip already is starting out adventurous and has been very delayed due to the little guy waking up with an earache this morning and scrambling to get him to the pediatrician before we rolled out .... got home and dd14's brackets and wires came loose from her braces - another long wait!  Okay! This is starting to shape up like a Chevy Chase vacation!  Hee hee!   Think good thoughts for us for the drive as I'm NOT looking forward to it and the competetion :)  I'll be sure to post a FaceBook update and get some pics as lil laptop is coming along!

I wanted to share with you that the Fresh Brewed Challenge this

month is a recipe challenge!

 Use 2 patterned papers, 2 embellishments and 2 different

shapes! 

I used this yummy Echo Park paper again and made a rectangular card with a star off to the side, button and twine ~ and my card is inspired by this road trip we are embarking on, lol! 

I hope you can join us on Monday for the

Fresh Brewed Designs Blog Hop!

It's going to be *Sweet!*

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Saving for a Rainy Day .....

Hi! We've had picture postcard weather here in Miami - the kids and I have been in the pool now that the rain has slowed.  It's summer in Florida, and that means rain - lots of it, but we've had two beautiful days and lovin' every second of it! 

  

I saw this color combo challenge on SCS and just love it!  I love colors and using them in my card making -- the rich, vivid colors are so striking and had to play along.  Using Umbrella Riley, I paired this with some melon and orange papers from K and Co - paper piecing the umbrella to match.  I found this sketch in last year's TSG files and thought it would be a good time to give it a try {a year late!}



Inside View - Left blank for future notes!



Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope the sun is out shining where you are, too :)

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Entered into:  Lollipops Challenge - Fairy Floss

Deets:  Cardstock:  Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Dusty Durango, PTI white;  K and Company;

Image:  Umbrella Riley; K and Co Ribbon; Basic Grey button; prismacolor markers;

cuttlebug, nesties, Embroidery floss twine, tombo

** Happy 4th of July! **

Hi!  I hope you are having a fabulous 4th of July! 

We are gearing up for a bbq, pool party, bon-fire and lots of s'mores later!  I'm also happy to bring you a new card using a Fresh Brewed Designs image -   this gorgeous Flamenco Flamingo (the party version!) which is right in line with  challenge #53 - Party theme!  

My card today is using Flamenco Flamingo Dancer and she's

ready to party with her fancy dress, flowers and party shoes!

I started out thinking joy fold and then ended up creating this

fancy half folded accordian style card :)  {If this has a name, please

drop me a note and let me know! It was a lot of fun!}

As it opens, I made an identical space with a party note

that's hidden when the card is closed!

  The inside sentiment is computer generated.

If you peek at the FBD Challenge Blog today,

you'll see a patriotric version of this card :)

**And just a reminder also that there will be a blog hop

coming up July 11th!**

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card deets:  SU Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo;  Dsp - Basic Grey:  Image = Fresh Brewed Designs

Flamingo Flamenco Dancer; Cuttlebug, nesties, prismacolor markers,  flowers, bling, tombo

The BELLE of the ........ show! :)

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH my goodness, I could not be beaming happier and prouder right about now!  Seeing Chrissy in the show was something I'll never forget :)  Other than my camera battery dying 10 minutes into the show {it was fully charged!!!}, it was perfect!   At least we got a few really bad i-phone pictures albeit super grainy and way out of zoom!  Here's my sweetie as Belle in Beauty and the Beast.  I had some serious tears during her rendition of "Home"!  She did an amazing job, such raw emotion comes out when she sings - with such passion and she truly is one of those performers that "owns" the music - singing from the heart through and through. The entire cast was perfect with such young voices of talent - a pure delight and I won't be coming down from this high for awhile! :)  Thank you Jesus for this blessing of beautiful voices, talented children and the eyes to witness it!


Singing "Home"



Chrissy with the Beast when the last petal fell :)



Thank you for the indulging a very proud mama!

And HEY!!! 

Some fun news to share with you from

the Fresh Brewed Store, too!

Fresh Brewed Designs is having a SALE!!

ALL digis in the kids section are 40% off

All handmade embellishments are 40% off

All unmounted rubber stamps are 30% off

Sale ends July 5 ~ midnight EST

Mark your calendars for a Fresh Brewed "Mocha Monday" with a freebie giveaway on the blog, available for one day only!

But wait, there's more!!  Did you see the fabulous SWEET blog

banner at the top of the blog - YEP, Blog Hop coming soon

with a new release sure to give you a sweet tooth!!

Delightful!!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly