C.O.F. ~ Praise the Lord!

Hi there!  I have missed you!!  Aside this being summer, we've had 3 trips in a row including this last one where dh and I snuck away for a few days for our FIRST alone trip in 17 years :)  I missed my babies but was so blessed to have the time with my honey who single-handedly did an amazing job recreating our Hawaiian honeymoon!  Right down to the resort, to the luau, romantic dinners - We had a blessed 4 days away :)

And it's the last day of July which means that the Crafters of Faith (C.O.F.) blogging group have our card blog hop!  This is a group so near and dear to my heart.  I was inspired spiritually to create a group on SCS that joined together ladies of faith and that had a love of crafting and have been so blessed that so many lovely ladies have answered 'the call!'  Sadly a few ladies have stepped down from the group en masse in the last month which, I confess, shattered my happiness for a bit but one of God's gifts to us is the answer to our needs in His time.  I have full faith in that timing! Even if I am the last one standing, I will keep the COF doors open and will continue fellow-shipping, crafting and friend-shipping! :) 


I did find myself scrambling this month to come up with a theme on short notice and just on a whim decided why not send a card kit!  Voila!  An idea was born and I whipped up some card kits to send to the gals - with the fun twist of everyone getting a different color of the same papers! I had my unopened Butterfly Nora stamp and inked it up to go along with the papers, tossed in some embellishments and asked them to think of this scripture of the month when creating ....... "Praise the Lord for He is good, His love endureth forever." Psalm 118:1

I added the kits to each gals envelope without even looking so I will have to complete the hop to see what I sent out to whom, LOL!  And when the last one was left, it was blue so here is my very blue card today :)  I used 3 of the DSP sheets, a ribbon to give it a pop of color and kept this one pretty simple due to time constraints.  I added a small bit of glitter to her wings and colored Nora with my prismacolor markers.  


If you have a moment, here is the line up of the COF Sisters who have created a yummy card with this kit, too! 

Patti

Carolina

LizW

LizD 

Carol

Mary Rose

Sharon

                                        

Thank you for your visit today ~ I'm always blessed by your sweet, warm words and will be off to visit you if I haven't already! 

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly 


Card Deets:  DSP paper by Colorbok; Image = CC Designs Butterfly Nora; PTI white cardstock;
Really Reasonable Ribbon; Embroidery Twine; Buttons by Bag "0 Buttons;
Prima flowers, cuttlebug, Prismacolor markers; 3d dots; Tombo

Riley Blog Hop ~ Free Stamp Candy!

It's time, It's time!  The Riley and Company *new stamp release* July Blog Hop has officially begun!  We are thrilled to showcase the darling new Life is a Fairy Tale stamp line, including 16 new stamps featuring Riley and Sophie in Fairy Tale characters and sentiment stamps to match!  If you are just arriving, you might want to start at the beginning here so you won't miss seeing all the stamps that will be showcased tonight.  If you are hopping along, you should have arrived from Frances's amazing blog! 


Tonight I have two cards to show you ~ First up, Peter Riley Pan!  Riley is off in search of Neverland :)  On the inside I used the matching sentiment, "Release your inner child and fly!"

Next up ... Rapunzel Sophie!  She's so charming in her tall tower, tucked away waiting for Riley to come along and rescue her :)  For this card, I wanted one that was demure and classic.  I chose the soft floral patterns from SU for a regal look - and have to give it a tiny spritz of glitter in her silky long locks!  The inside of this card is using the matching Life is a Fairy Tale sentiment "Go ahead - let your hair down!"  

Before you continue on the hop to Laurie's lovely blog, I wanted to share with you the specials that accompany this new release!  Here is a word from the head Moose Ms. Tanya:  


We have some really AWESOME specials for you as well! 


Special 1
If you order any full set (wood, cling or unmounted) within the first 24 hours - we will send you a "Life is a Fairy Tale" word set absolutely FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a $17.50 savings! (One per customer please.)

Special 2 
But wait - there's more!   As an added bonus, we are giving EVERYONE FREE SHIPPING from Thursday night at 9 pm CST until Sunday night at midnight CST! Just enter FREESHIP in the coupon code section! 


Happy Hopping, dear friends!  Please be sure to hop along from start to finish ... at each stop on the DT blogs, ONE lucky winner at each stop will win free candy - a Riley or Sophie stamp of your chosing! 


In case you need the DT line up at a glance, here they are:

• Cindy Haffner
•  Frances Byrne
• Jovita Torres
• Joy Stagg
• Kelly Santi {you are here!}
• Laurie Clout
• Michele L

 Thanks so much for your visit!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Sneak #4 ~ Sophie as Snow White!

Hi there!  ** There's a new Riley Challenge - have you heard? :)  It's Riley going on Vacation!  Link up your vacation cards HERE at the Riley and Co blog.  We've love to stop by and visit!  And if you link up your card to a gallery, use the code Riley1512.  For my card today, Riley (Sophie!) is heading to Disney World - in costume! :)


And how exciting ~ one more sleep 'til the big Riley and Company Blog Hop!  Today's card isn't very fancy but I had a ball making this one - distressing and sand-papering is good for the creative soul!   And it has been hard to chose which of the Fairy Tale stamps to make cards with as 1. I am absolutely in love with ALL of them! and 2. they bring back so many memories, like this one! 


Many years ago, when our daughters were 5, 3 and 1, we were visiting Epcot, the theme park.  Snow White and her 7 dwarfs walked by and stopped in front of us.  She put both hands on our oldest daughter's cheeks in feigned surprise and gave my dd a big hug, then grasped her hand and led her to the grassy area where she told a story to the gathering crowd.  There sat my daughter, wide eyed while the dwarfs played with her hair, tickled her gently, being super silly + funny :) We told her later how she was the luckiest girl to be picked to sit by Snow White!  Even though we've been back many times since then, last year (14 years later) we finally did a photo op and re-took her picture on the same grass in the same spot :)  

I LOVE this one! Her face is priceless :)

How could you not love Grumpy, ROFL!!

All grown up :*)

That's what inspired my card for today's post!  I colored Snow White Sophie with my prismacolor markers and added it to a simple card of October Afternoon dsp and kraft/red cardstock. ONE DAY I will get to scrapbooking all of these pictures :)  

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to see what the rest of the DT has created as well!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly~

I'm also entering this card into these challenges:  AllSorts - Distressing

Let's Hang Around! :)

Hi friends!  I'm excited to show you another new die from The Scrapping Cottage from the new baby collection.   I've made another recipe card for my daughter's future recipe book with one of her sister's very favorite treats - Monkey bread!  It's a favorite in our home and it's quick and easy :)


For this recipe card, I used the Hanging Monkey die and the grass die as a bottom border.  The monkey is adhered on the top branch so it can be lifted to view the entire recipe :)

Here's another look at the dies used .....

Thanks for stopping by today!  Happy Crafting!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Entered into:  Blogger's Challenge - die cuts
Seriously Creative Challenge - Uncut, unopened

Sneak #3 ~ It's Riley Robin Hood!

Hi friends!  We just made it back home late last night and I'm exhausted!  Truly I understand the "I need a vacation from our vacation" manner of thinking, but what fun we have been having - and we are all together :)  Needless to say, this will be a short post and I'll be stopping by to visit you all later today!


For Sneak #3, I used the Riley as Robin Hood stamp ~ so super cute he is!
I hope you have been enjoying the sneaks thus far!  Most of the 16 stamps have been showcased on the DT blogs ~ have you picked a favorite so far?
I think it would be hard to chose a favorite from this new Fairy Tale Riley and Company release!   I also added one of the new sentiments that will also be released at the Blog Hop starting 10 PM EST Thursday, July 26th!

  

That's it from me for today - hope you can stop by for tomorrow's sneak peek! 
Be sure to see the wonderful creations from the Riley DT ~ You can find them on the blog or my sidebar.  Enjoy! x0x0

Big Hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly~


Entered into:  Perfect Sentiments:  Anything Goes with a sentiment

Sneak #2: Red Riding Moose!

Hi there!!  We are still on vacation and hope that you are enjoying the wonders of summer, too!   And what a better way to enjoy them than to be home in the cool a/c and stamping away - especially with the new Riley Fairy Tale release!  I hope you have enjoyed the sneaks thus far!


A little recap:  Riley and Company is releasing 16 new Fairy Tale themed Riley stamps and sentiments to match!  And ......

• Sneak Peek week starts on the 22nd July
• Blog Hop and stamps are available for sale at 10PM EST on the 26th
• One free UM release of their choice for blog candy winner

Today I bring you a card with Red Riding Moose ~ red cape and all :)  

  

  I hope you can stop in and see what the rest of the DT have made for you, too!  You can find them listed in my sidebar right over there! ----

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly~


Card entered into:  CharismaCards - Favorite Animal (Moose!)

Riley Sneak #1 ~ It's the Mad Moose-hatter!

Squeal!!  It's finally time to start the sneak peeks of the Riley and Company new stamp release and they are beyond precious!  This new release brings 16 new rubber stamps with a Fairy Tale Theme!!  We are also releasing matching sentiments to coordinate with the stamps - woohoo!  


Each one just melted my heart - mostly because we spend a lot of time at Walt Disney World ~ having 3 little girls before our son, they have been nearly every single princess - we have rolls of films with them growing up as their favorites, and, of course, each Halloween they had to have their special costumes :)  Hours of watching VHS tapes, decorating their rooms to match the castle of their treasured princess brings back wonderful memories ~ I'm sure each of the stamps in this release will bring back memories for you, too!




For #1 sneak peek,  I bring you a card using Riley as the Mad Moose-hatter! How delightful!  I gave him an outlandish colored suit and shocking hair (ala, J. Depp) :) to keep it fun!  With some BG paper in whimsical patterns, fun colors and the sentiment off to the side, this card came together pretty quickly :)

Be sure to stop in every day up until the blog hop on the Thursday the 26th, 10 PM!  The DT will be showing you samples of the Fairy Tale stamps up until then and they are just too cute to miss!

You can find the list of DT blogs off the right on my sidebar :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly~

Hey Baby! :)

Hi peeps! :)  How exciting to make a baby card ~  I don't get the chance very often but my new Baby themed dies from The Scrapping Cottage arrived and I just squealed with how fun they are ...  it's all about babies this month at TSC!   

It's my turn to post at The Cottage Blog today so I thought I'd create a card showing the adorable Baby Elephant die - it cuts so crisp and clean!  I added it to a pretty CAS card base using the magnolia doily die off to the side for added dimension.  And with the tiny smidge of dsp I had left over from the card, I created a matching envelope and used the ornate circle frame die to create the To/From tag.  Super easy, fun, and oh so adorable!  

Here's another look at the dies used on this card :)

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at this charming die collection from
The Scrapping Cottage!  You can find these, and more, in the shop HERE!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly~

Card entered into:  Totally Paper Crafts - Lots of Layers
Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Get your grill on!

Good morning!!  By the time this posts, we'll most likely be on the monorail heading into the Magic Kindgom - not grilling! :)  But what a fun theme for this month's Dueling Darling card kit duel!  Our hostess this month, Tami, sent us this fantastic-ly fun kit with a Whipper Snapper Grill Sargeant image and a plethora of wonderful emellies and cute papers! I chose the red/picnic themed color palette to make a fun summer-ish card and overall, I think it's pretty simple.  I wanted the Grill Sargeant to be the focal point, though I'm looking at my card now and see I forgot to color his spatula - so pretend you don't see that! *smile!*

Card front

   

The party theme continues on the inside! :)

Tami also asked us to include our favorite recipe from the grill.  Since I don't eat meat, one of my favorite items when dh is grilling is to add my veggies to the grill in a foil package or laid out on a skewer!  For me, it's a meal! I adore zucchini and summer squash - Yum!!  Here's one that I use often from my Weight Watcher recipes:

	Grilled Summer Veggies 4 small uncooked zucchini, halved lengthwise
	2 medium yellow peppers, quartered
	2 medium sweet red peppers, quartered 2 Summer Squash,  cut & quartered
	2 medium uncooked vidalia onions, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
	2 spritzes of olive oil cooking spray
	1/2 tsp table salt
	1/2 tsp black pepper
	3 Tbsp chives, fresh, snipped

Instructions

• Preheat grill or grill pan. Place vegetables on a cutting board and coat with cooking spray.
  
  
• Grill vegetables, turning often, until lightly charred and tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to cutting board. Cut zucchini, squash and bell peppers into bite-size chunks. Separate onions into rings.
  
  
• Place cooked vegetables in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt, pepper and chives; toss lightly. Serve warm or cold. Store leftovers for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Wishing you a wonderful grill-filled week/end!  Be sure to see my sidebar to see what all the divas and dazzlers made with their Time for Grilling cards and I'll see you all on Tuesday!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly~

Water once, Feed Twice, Snuggle Always

Hi friends!  It's official...  I'm totally off my rocker!


I made a card for my dogs.


Well ..... sort of :) I made a card for our sweet house guests that will be hanging out here while we are hanging out in the land of Mickey!   As we head off to our Chevy Chase-like adventure trip to the Disney Parks, we are sadly leaving the fur babies behind on this trip.  I know they are in good hands.  I'm sad that we have to leave them. I know they will feel the anxiety of mommy not being home :(  I will miss them terribly!  But part of my leap of faith is trusting they will be greatly loved and snuggled!  


My husband thinks I'm crazy leaving notes all around the house.   I have a system.  I like organization and not chaos :)  Of course, the longest note is the one on the kitchen counter top with the 16 things they need to know about the pups ~ including the basic food & water and lap snuggles.  The card is right beside the jumbo bag of Pup-Peroni doggie treats. I just hope they know those are for the dogs! :x


I was so excited to ink up one of my Elzybells again!  I just love me some Elzybells stamps and they don't seem to get the chance to get inky anymore.  I paper-pieced the puppy on this one just to give it a different look, used some bright happy colors and ..... surprise!  Buttons!  Imagine that! :)  I hope they don't think I'm as nuts as my husband does for leaving them notes .... especially this one.  It's pretty CAS - inside it simply says ....... Thank You :)

  

Have a terrific rest of the week/weekend!  I hope blogger works its magic and launches my pre-posted blogginess :)  See you next week! x0x0  

Big Hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly~


Card entered into:  Creative Stamp Friends: paper piecing
Squigglefly:  paper piecing
LEJ: Animals

Merry Christmas! :)

Hee hee!!  We are back from Melbourne, FL and had a super little getaway.  I loved seeing Cocoa Beach again (it's been years!) and the TKD tournament was amazing.  We went with small expectations and our little man came home with a BIG win!  His confidence and strength were something to behold - poor mommy nearly passed out but he held his own - took 2nd place in sparring and 3rd in form in his division.  Now it's time to unpack, wash, and repack since we leave again on Thursday - love me some Summer!! :)


And a Merry Christmas to you!!  That's the theme of the new bi-weekly Riley and Company Challenge on the blog!  How fun!  Our DT hostess, Joy, asked us to create a Christmas in July card using any Riley stamp - a theme I just absolutely adore!  I love Christmas and wish we could have it all year round, alas, we wouldn't have this fun and fabulous summer!  I used Elf Riley because I simply adore him and couldn't wait to ink him up again!  Here he is!

Here's Elf Riley!

A view from the side ;)

  

And the inside of the card!

We would love to see what you make this challenge with your Riley and Company stamps!  If you create a card for a gallery other than your blog,
please use the keyword Riley1412.  And most importantly, have fun!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly~

Card entered into:  Send a Smile 4 Kids:  Christmas
Make it Monday Challenge
The Pink Elephant:  Christmas In July
The Crazy Challenge: Christmas in July
Forever Friends:  Christmas in July

When life hands you lemons ....

make Lemon Tea Cakes! :)

Hi friends!   I hope you had a blessed 4th of July!  Ours was almost rained out and it wasn't until way late in the evening that my son finally got to launch some fireworks after waiting all day. We also watched them above the lake 2  blocks away so that was an extra!  Even though our bonfire got drenched, we  had enough dry wood to get it going and the s'mores were mighty tasty!!  It was a nice evening in the end and that's what it's all about :)   We are leaving for a small vacation today and will be back on Sunday night.  My son has a Tae Kwan Do tournament in Central Florida and we're taking advantage of some poolside lounging, his tournament and beach time!  I'm nervous for him but he's excited and in his words "I'm ready!" 

I'm still working on my oldest daughter's recipe book :)  She's an avid baker and I try to keep track of her favorites and am adding them to a small scrapbook.  I used my Cottage Cutz dies, Teacups with Saucer and Teatime border to create this tea cakes recipe card.  I cut the teacup in shimmery paper and added a strand of mini pearls for steam and some simple accent embellies.  

  

You can see my blog post on the Cottage Cutz blog here!

I plan to bring along my handy dandy ipad so I'll be able to keep in touch but hopefully will be doing mostly lounging and cheering from the bleachers! :)  

See you Monday!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly~

COF: Summer in June!

Hi there!  It's time for another Crafters of Faith Challenge for the month of June! Yes, that's June and now it's July .... oopsie!!  I'm so far behind in crafting and getting anything done but I'm finally finished and posting!  I adore the theme that Liz gave us to work with!  But what's more, ** I LOVE SUMMER!! **  And Summer for us means spending as much time as a family as we can together and our traveling actually starts this weekend.  We started off the first week of (non-camp, non-class, free to do what we want) summer night as you might have seen on Facebook!  I took my dd13 (who is the biggest One Direction fan!) to the sold out concert in Ft. Lauderdale along with her sister, dd15  - oh my stars, she was one happy baby girl :)  And even if you aren't a fan, or don't know who they are (okay, I knew WHO they were, just hadn't heard more than like 3 of their songs, lol) I have to say, they are a JOYFUL bunch of talented young men.  They put on an amazing show and were like brothers, so enjoyable to watch.  (see photo below if you want to peek!)


But even in the busy-ness, one thing for certain is how much I adore the beach.  We spent a lot of time at the ocean and I'm truly blessed that we live so close to it and I've raised 4 water babies!  When I saw this image in Mo's shop, I just had to buy it - it reminded me so much of my son when he was little.  He would do something just like this - put the bucket on his head and wear it around like a helmet ;)   Liz's challenge for us is this:

Hi Ladies , Yeah its June and its time for some fun in the sun!  I would like us all to make a "Fun in the Sun " card or scrapbook page I would like to see a Sun, some summer toys, ( bike, beach ball, roller blades ect, these can be anywhere on the card your image doesn't have to be doing it )at least one thing on pop dots and something Blue . is that to much? have fun let your creative side take over and enjoy !!!!! Hugs, LizD

Well!  She didn't have to tell me twice to create a Fun in the Sun card! :)  Although I did miss the actually "sun" part - sorry!  I did get the beach, summer toys, color blue and the pop dot (under the flower) on there *smile!*
I just loved this challenge - thank you, Liz! 

Summer fun:  

And here's a peek at the 1D boys :)  

That's it for me today!  We'll be leaving in a few days but I have one more post to make before we head for the summer fun with the family!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly~

  Entering this into the following Challenges:
Mo Manning Challenge 141 - Straight from the heart