Crafters of Faith: Mother's Day :)

Hi there, friends!  Today is the Crafters of Faith blogging group monthly post and this month our hostess is Olga!  She asked us to create a card with a Mother's Day theme and these requirements:  Use at least one die, 5 x 7 in size and create an envelope!  Although my card is a 5.5 x 5.5, the rest of it is right on with the challenge :)  


For my card set, I originally planned to make a more traditional card with a scripture.  But I really wanted to continue my "Take it off the Shelf in 2012" mantra so I pulled out my SU! set that I've had since it was released :)  I've only inked up the little boy so it was fun to create this whimsical card using the darling little girl stamp.  My mum - born and raised in England - loves yellow and LOVES flowers, so I think she will smile when she sees this non-traditional card (and they actually celebrate Mum's day in March in England) :)

And that's it for me - still trying to catch my breath, find my way, refresh my soul :) I'm behind in crafting - behind in all areas other than prayer and faith :)  The kids have had me running to and fro while dh rested most of the weekend - errands and 'rides' he normally would do fell to me - including driving in the rain that did not stop ALL DAY today!  Each day gets a little better, a little easier and that's just all part of the journey :)


Please be sure to stop by the other Crafters of Faith - you can find them linked in my sidebar and see what they have created with this fun theme from Olga! x0x0

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Cottage Cutz Spring Blog Hop!

Good morning! Welcome to The Scrapping Cottage Blog Hop for April!  You should have arrived here from Carol's amazing blog where you saw her fantastic creation!   If you just arrived, I'm so glad you did and you can start here at the very beginning where you can see the entire blog line up.  We have so much to share with you today using the amazing Cottage Cutz dies so grab your favorite morning drink and enjoy the hop!!


For my Cottage Cutz creation today, I made a wonderful Springtime window card using The Scrapping Cottage die.  This beautiful die cuts so crisp and clear!  I added TSC's mini butterfly to the window for added flair - but the beauty continues on the inside with TSC's flower vine in matching papers and colors!  

 From here, please be sure to head on over to superbly wonderful Cheryl!  You won't want to miss her Cottage Cutz creation!  Be sure to leave comments on all the blogs along the hop including The Scrapping Cottage and you might be one of the lucky blog hop winners!  
  
Here is a quick recap of the Cottage Cutz dies that I used:  

Thanks so much for your visit today!  Have fun with the hop!

Big Hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

It's a Twisted Birthday!

Hi friends - sending blessings your way and praying your week is off to a good start!  I'm on pins and needles this week as we head back for results after weeks of tests, waiting.  I thank you so much for the emails, texts, cards and all the wonderful words of comfort you have shared for my husband and I.  Coincidentally, our Anniversary is this week - 19 years married (but 28 years together), 4 beautiful children, and a lifetime of wonderful memories.  I ask of Him nightly to bless us 28 more years together - minimum - *smile* and that His mercy reach down this far and wrap us in His loving arms of hope.  


But how about sharing a smile!!  How this card made me smile to make, so bright and whimsical and full of color - you all know how I love COLOR!  It's for the new Twisted Tuesday Challenge that starts today -- Make a Birthday card for a child!  The "twist" is that you must include a funny sentiment to go with it and I was truly stumped on that one!  I have tons of funny but in order match this adorable PI Birthday girl I created one that sounded like it matched.  And - forgive me! - but the balloon design on this particular PI drives me crazy that it's cut off! :x  So I made my own by extending it outward to make it a full balloon and added the sentiment to the inside.  You know me, I adore doing the inside of my cards as much as the front.  

Happy Birthday!

Side view

Inside of card ;)

You can find the challenge HERE on the Twisted Tuesday Blog.

The Challenge:  *Make a birthday card for a child*

The Twist:  Make a funny sentiment to match your card!

Please remember a few details:

Here are a few things to remember:

~ Submissions close Sunday at 9pm (CT)

~ You may combine your creation with as many other challenges as you'd like

~ Remember to link back to 2TC in your post

~ No back linking, create something new and exciting
~ If you link your creation to any online gallery, please use the keyword 2TC2
~ You may enter up to 3 times per challenge

Thanks for your visit today!

Big Hugs,

Bigger Blessings,

~Kelly

Riley is having a ball!

Good morning - short post today...  I had 3 hours of sleep last night and even grabbing a Starbucks on the way home from taking kids to their schools isn't cutting it.  We have back to back appts today that tend to run loooooong, but at least I can squeeze in this post for the new bi-weekly Riley and Company challenge!  Our hostess this week is Michele L.

Michele has challenged us to create a small gift box/ treat bag. 


For this week's Riley and Company challenge blog project, I created an explosion box.  Or a version of it.  That's all I'm sayin' ;)  I didn't have the template handy so I just 'winged it' and Riley is just so absolutely adorable, he could be on just about anything - how could you not smile :)  I used one of my favorites from Riley - Bouncing Ball Riley....  Oh.  So.  Cute!

The closed box ;)

A peek at the top

Once you have created your card/project come back here and place a comment with a link to your card/project to this post so that we can see what you created. If you upload your card/project to SCS don't forget to include the keyword RILEY0812. We can't wait to see what you create!

It's Tax Day today, April 17th! Ok - so NOT the "moost" fun we all have each year - but we are going to make it better for you!

FOR ONE DAY ONLY (that would be today), our ENTIRE site is 17% off!

That's right - EVERY SINGLE RILEY is 17% off!

BUT - it's one day only folks!

Simply enter "Taxday" in the coupon code section when you check out and you will reap Riley's type of tax day savings!

Thanks for your visit today - be well, hugs those around you!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Cottage Cutz - It's Picnic Time! :)

Hi Blogging friends!  It's been awhile since I've been able to craft/blog - I'll hope to share an update on that soon.  But for now, I wanted to share with you a new journey that started this April ... I'm delighted to share that I'm now part of the CottageCutz Design Team from The Scrapping Cottage!   You may have seen this news - life's curveball kept me from posting the same time, but today I'm excited to take you on a picnic!   Wouldn't it be wonderful to do this IRL, too :)  And what picnic wouldn't be authentic without some cute bugs to come along with us?!  Our virtual picnic includes a basket, linen tucked in and an adorable set of note cards inside the basket :)


For my CottageCutz post today, I made a picnic basket from a template I've had for awhile - I had fun making this again.  I added the beautiful Hummingbird and flower die to the front of the basket, nestled into this gorgeous ornate circle frame die.  I made a set of cards with similar patterns using the butterfly, grasshopper, ladybug and dragonfly die cuts.  And just like Noah, I thought the bugs should go in pairs of two :)  These dies are so crisp and clear and make a bold, beautiful impression!  When I was creating this picnic basket, I thought how nice this would sit on a teacher's, church friend, dr's office desk - reach in, grab a card as needed! :) 

Here is the picnic basket ;)

a sneak peek inside

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope to have some more creations to show you soon.  

Big Hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Here are the die cuts again that were used to create the picnic package above:

Spring into Action ;)

Hi friends - short post tonight but I sure wanted to share with you some pretty fun news in card making :)  For this week's bi-weekly challenge, I'm the hostess!  Since Spring is April 8th this year, I put forth a challenge the Riley and Company DT - and all of you - to created a card "Spring-ing into action with Riley!"  We'd love for you to create a card or project that moves!  Consider pop-up cards, wiper cards, waterfall, slider, swing flop cards - SCS has tutorials for about 40!   When you load your cards to a gallery, please use the code Riley0712.

For my card, I made a slider/spinner card - Riley is off on a journey to wonderful places! This card slides up and down, thanks to a strategically placed penny ;)  His hot air balloon is paper pieced in matching paper to the card and I used Cloud background paper because today's post for the Twisted Tuesday Challenge is to use clouds on your card, the non-stamped kind! You can find the blog here.  For the sentiment (computer generated) I used one of my favorite sayings from Dr. Suess from "Oh the places you'll go!"  and started the quote on the front, finished in the inside :)

Thanks for stopping by - and thank you for the prayers for our family.  I'll keep you posted, this will be a worrisome week, that's for sure, but God is great and knows our hearts and needs long before we do.  *Hugs, sweet friends!*

Up, Up and ....

Away!

You're off to great places ...

Inside of card :)

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings,

~Kelly