Alleluia, He is Risen!

"The Angel said to the women, 

"Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, 

who was nailed to the cross.  He isn't here! 

 God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would."

~Matthew 28:5-6

Blessings upon you this beautiful Easter! 

Today is the day that the Crafters of Faith post our cards with a chosen theme.  Our hostess this month, Jeanette, asked us to create

a religious-themed Easter card .. No Easter chickies and bunnies or anything that focuses on the 'cute' side of Easter but rather the focus on the Risen Lord.  AMEN to that!

I do have a few SU! stamp sets specifically for Easter but I didn't want to go against her wishes, so I happily inked up my cross stamp from Unity that's been in my stash for forever.  I even started out with a completely different card base and paper and nothing would work right and I'm still not happy with this one, but we've been out all day and I had to get this posted like it or not as I didn't have time to make a new one!

I did add the Easter sentiment to the inside of the card and kept the colors

similiar through-out.  I'm sorry, Jeanette, I tried! :)

Please be sure to stop by the Crafters of Faiths blogs - you can find them in my sidebar.

Many blessings to you on this most holy day!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Entered into: OurDailyBread - He is Risen! 
One stop Craft - Easter
WOW - anything goes with inspirational verse

Vsweetideas - anything Goes

It's the *Happiest* of Birthdays :)

Hi, friends!  

Today is a very *happy* day ~ it happens to be my birthday today :)

But most importantly, a few days ago we received some much anticipated news that brought us to our knees with gratitude and relief.  While it's not 100% what we'd hoped for, it was a ruling out of a lot of scary to rule in a lot more 'treatable'.  Praising God and giving Him all the glory!

And that is one of the BEST gifts a mommy could ever, ever hope for -

I'm humbled and thankful!

AND...  the 28th of the month is also the day the Calendar Girls post our monthly theme creations ~  our hostess is Tami - Miss March.

And did she ever give us a challenge - 

one that had me scrambling my creative little legs off ;)

Here is her challenge for us: 

 MARCH 2013 CHALLENGE

Um, I hope I do not hurt anyone's feelings here but we are all a little bit of paper hoarders!!! 

Well, we are going to have to give up the security blanket for March. I would like to see your best created card with NO designer paper. *gasp*.....*thud* {I think J just hit the floor}.

So go ahead and grab your 'old school stamps' - yep, like a set you have not used in years - and create a card for the Calendar Girls.

Oh, and let's try to keep in theme with 'use what'cha got', please no new purchases for this round. Use what'cha got...well, everything but designer paper that is!

I cannot wait to see what my friends come up with. It is always something to look forward to!

Whew!  No dsp?  Eeek!  What's a layer-it-up, love-my-designer-paper gal to do?!  Embrace the challenge :)  I was so inspired to try the "no dsp" that I made not one, but two cards!

Since this is the 'LINY year', and I'm following 

the MCC "use every stamp" challenge, I said to myself  "Self .. 

continue using stamps that haven't gotten to play and play along with new card challenges - it's a win/win!"

So first up, Happy Birthday Card #1 ~

I saw a similiar card while blurfing around awhile back -  please see the artist's original card here!  I went with a similiar layout - changing up to just one rounded corner and the stamp use and changed the colors to suit ones I wanted to play along with for the new ColorQ challenge.  My stamp - oh me oh my, I've had this for at least 6+ years and inked up the Happy Birthday stamp in this Alphabet Soup set.

 I'm tickled with how it turned out and absolutely plan to make a few of these in a couple of different colors :)  Next up, continuing along with the theme ~

 Happy Birthday card #2:

I went straight for Rich Razzleberry and inked up a Stampendous clear stamp set.  I used the balloon stamps and added 'to you' from the set.  This card made me just laugh and laugh.  I fussed over it longer than I would a card that had multiple layers and dimensions.  I actually added a ribbon after the fact and a few kaiser pearls scattered about and then convinced myself that CAS is okay - really, you'll be fine!  So I took it all back off and well, here it is ~ finished, at least!  I was inspired by the SCS CAS213 Limited Supplies Challenge: Use ONLY line stamps (NO solid ones!) *does not include your sentiment.

Tami, thank you for this fabulous challenge this month!

I enjoyed it so very much as I do all challenges 

but learned that yes, I adore my layers of DSP! :)

Please check out the rest of the Calendar Girls DT blogs 

in my sidebar and see what they've made this month.

Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card #1:  Entered into:  Color Q #182  challenge
CCEE Stampers - Oldies but Goodies stamps

Glad to MITT you! :)

Good Morning, sweet friends! 

 I hope your weekend was marvelous :)

As I look out the front living room window, I see overcast skies and lightly falling rain.  And I seem to have caught my son's horrendous sore throat so I've been whispering around the house for the past 24 hours - which, of course, they think is quite comical ;)  Not the best of starts to the first day of Spring Break, but that allowed me to sneak in a little craft time - YAY! 

 Always a bright side, right? :)

I was SO excited to play along again with the TAWS challenge ~ love, love these stamps and the challenges they have. This week's challenge Be Inspired #24 is no exception - my favorite color palette!  I inked up Kitchen Gadgets 2 ~ what a lovely whimsical stamp set this is,  I let the stripes be the first inspiration for my card and carried over the blue/pinks from the globes to use the flip side of the dsp - perfect!  The sentiment, also from this set, is stamped right onto the paper and I popped up the paper-pieced mitt to give it a bit more dimension.   The button was an after thought but he looks happy there :)

Here is the lovely inspiration photo:

 As you may know, I love to take my pictures outside in the natural light, often in our small garden area.  Look who showed up today to join in the festivities - a cute little lady bug!  Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the small things and the beauty all around us :)

Enjoy your day!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Blessings, friends!

I thank you all so much for the good thoughts and prayers for Chrissy.  This past week(s) have been a whirlwind but we're so blessed to have loving doctors and specialists that go the extra mile. The journey travels forward but we do so with good spirits, a positive outlook and many prayers of thankfulness.  

And it's Spring Break week for my children ... YAY!  

We're so excited to have the upcoming week off of school ~ 

a much needed break and the babies home from school = a happy mama! :)

There is a super new photo inspiration challenge at Catch the Bug

challenge blog ~ this gorgeous rainbow photo:

For my card, I used the Ava Mermaid digi.  I paper-pieced her tail using these ocean themed papers and keeping the bottom portion to resemble the rainbow's colors :)  I wanted to showcase Ava as the focal point so I kept this card pretty simple in l/o and added clear blue button 'bubbles' scattered about.  

Be sure to stop by the blog and scoop up the adorable Friday Freebie ~ the adorable spring buggie!  And did you know that right now, the Easter Digis at the Bugaboo shop are 50% off?  So many fun cards you can make with the cache of Easter digital goodies - and on sale :)  

Have a beautiful weekend :)  I hope that rainbows and sunshine are yours and the snow and chill is melting away :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

I'm on the CASE!

Hello beautiful friends!  Today's post is one that gives me *warm fuzzies* :)  I'm in a group of lovely and talented women called the SOTC, created and founded by our fearless, beautiful leader ~ Kadie!  Every other month, the chosen hostess picks a theme for a card and this month, our hostess was Sweet P and guess what she picked ... to CASE a card made by Kadie!  How ingenious!  

And a wee bit tough :/  Kadie is immensely talented and to go through her blog/gallery and chose just ONE card? Eeeeek!  That's like picking just one dessert!   You want ALL of them, right?  Because they are ALL so fabulous!
So after much debate, I finally narrowed down which card I wanted to CASE.  I have some of the same stamps, some of the same papers of some of her cards but what made this one stand out most of all was the vibrant, bold colors and the "fun-ness" of it - I just had to make one!  So I picked her card HERE over all the others and just had so much fun creating this one :)
One thing about Kadie's card above all things is this girl can color!!  Oh me oh my - she has some mad coloring skills!  Mine isn't even anywhere close, rofl,   so here is my humble offering ... using Clyde from Bugaboo digi stamps!

Here's Kadie's gorgeous card!

And here's Clyde! :)

Thank you Sweet P for this creative twist to card swapping this round!  I absolutely love the idea and hope I did a little bit of justice to her card :)
I wouldn't normally have tried this card design and learned something new while playing around with the papers and layout - woot!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

*Hoppy* Easter! :)

Hi friends!  Happy 1st Day of Spring!  

I'm sure so many of you are eager for warmer temperatures, the beauty of new growth all around you and .... of course ... Easter :)

Riley and Company has a new challenge out brought to us by 

DT member, Michelle ~ use twine on your project or card.

For my card today, I've used the stamp Chocolate Bunny and Riley

paired with some Spring papers from WeRMemory Keepers that I've had for forever and ever (LINY card!)

I've used some baby pink twine from the twinery for the front and outside of the card and within the buttons.  

Please enter your cards here on the challenge blog ~ and you can see what the Riley and Co. DT have created this week!  And as always, thanks for stopping by :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Entered card for:  Little Red Wagon ~ Easter
Cutie Pie Challenge - Easter
Shopping Our Stash - Easter/Spring
Glitter n Sparkle - Easter
Simon Says Stamp - Easter/Spring

Fields of Green ...

 Hi Friends - Happy Weekend! 

 Ours has been jam packed thus far without a stitch of relaxing anywhere :)

   Did you catch the new March Bugaboo Bingo ~ what a fun challenge!

 For my card,  I went with the Green-Flower-Die cut Bingo and used the Girlz Flowers digi.  I just love this image so very much - it's so flowing and soft and reminds me of my daughters when they were little ~ how they loved to romp through the fields and scoop up handfuls of wild flowers.

We used to take them to the vast fields by our house before it was developed all around us and they would just run through the big fields of green grass, pick sunflowers by the bushels.   We'd have bottles and vases of flowers all over the house and I truly got to learn the term "May all your weeds be wildflowers" :)  (yes, sometimes I got twigs and handfuls of grass, too!  But loved all the same!)

I'm using a VERY old paper pack of Basic Greys' Origins ~ I've had this paper for forever and it just felt right.  It was nice to finally get it back out again and use it (LINY card!)  The inside is blank as I havent' decided yet what to do with this card exactly :)

Be sure to stop on by the BINGO challenge and enter your Bugaboo cards!

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you! :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly 


Entered into: Forever Friends Challenge:  Flowers
Fussy and Fancy - Flowers
OldiebutGoodie - flowers

Dueling Darlings are SO LUCKY! :)

Blessings, friends!

  It's the 15th of the month, the fun time when the Dueling Darlings show the lovely card kits sent to us!  This month, our hostess was our newest member of the DD, Kadie!  She sent us a yummy kit full of green, March, St. Patrick's day related papers and embellies and of course, this sweet lil a la mode' "Wishing you Luck" image!  Lookie!

For my card, I lost my original thought like 20 times along the way.  I *knew* what I wanted to do - but somewhere between the thought and the actual creation, it turned out more like what I call a "hot mess" ;)

But I had fun with it and that's what's important, right?!

I fit a lot on here for one wee card! :)

Here is the inside of my card :)

Being of Irish descent (my dad's grandpa!), I hold fast to those Gaelic roots (even chosen a Gaelic name for my firstborn daughter) :)

 I added the Irish Blessing including in the kit to the inside and just let it speak for itself - it's a beautiful ancient Celtic prayer wishing God's blessing for your journey - making your walk an easier one with no mountains to climb over or obstacles to overcome.  

And did you know there is a stunningly beautiful song with this message ~

have a listen :)

I wish you for many blessings, especially during

the St. Patrick's Day festivities and beyond!  

Please be sure to stop in and see the rest of the 

Dueling Darling Divas and Dazzlers - you 

can find them in my sidebar!

Thank you, Kadie, for this beautiful kit of blessings and green-ness! :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Don't pinch me .. I'm Irish!

Really, I am!  I'm sure the name Kelly gave that away, eh?!

And Stella's back!

And, as you can see, she just had her hair did! :)

Hee hee!

Today's inspiration from the Catch the Bug Challenge Blog is Oldie but Goodies.  I colored up Stella - Months, March - to celebrate this week's festivities upon us!  The sentiment to match is just hilarious.  This is a taller card - a 7.5 x 4.5 and I gave it a wonky design with lots and lots of green!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

entered into:  PartyTime Tuesdays 111 - Luck of the Irish
Scrappy Moms Stamps - Luck of the Irish
Whimsical Designs - Happy St. Patricks Day
Glitter and Sparkle - St. Patricks Day
Creative Inspirations Paint - Go Green!
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Green with Envy
Wags and Whiskers - Go Green
Gingerloft - Go Green
FLourishes Timeless Tuesday - Go Green
Twisted Tuesday - Spring into Green
Loves Rubberstamps - St/ Patricks or Shades of Green
Creative Belli 165 - Go Green/St. Patricks
Melonheads - Go Green

I'm NOT old! ;)

Happy Wednesday!  Just a quick post today as the kiddos have me going full speed ahead in 4 different directions!  ::: whew! :::   But what fun it is to celebrate Humor Me Wednesdays at Catch The Bug Challenge blog - where all the funny-fun is! :)

And don't we just love our spunky birthday Stella?  She's back again today celebrating her birthday - true to form, in sassy style!  I just love her!!
I paired her with this bright and bold birthday paper and added the matching sentiment that comes with this digi to the front, leaving the inside on this one blank :)  

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to hop on over to the 'Bug to see what other wonderful creations Stay tuned - Stella will be back again on my blog again this week - as a Marilyn Monroe blonde!  Whoop!!! 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly 

You're one in a Melon! :)

Hi!  Today's post is one of those 'just because' posts, which I just adore :)  In striving with my year's crafting goals,  I am continuing to ink up all my stamp sets that have not/never seen ink and this one by SU! is a perfect example.

In fact, I bought this adorable set on the BST forum at SCS sight unseen!  I searched high and low for a set on the internet, including in the SCS gallery to soon realize - there wasn't one!  Like anywhere!   The lady did her best to describe it and I loved how it sounded and took a risk, crafters are such fabulous peeps!  Well, imagine my *squeals* when it arrived :)  It was just as charming, country quaint as I envisioned and that was the theme I went with when coming up with the design plans for my card!  (Although you know I love me some layers and buttons!) *wink!*

My wonderful friend, Barb, hosted a Thank You swap on SCS and this was my entry to her swap.  If you haven't swapped with Barb, you simply must!  She is the bestest swap hostess and I try to join her swaps as often as I can.  My card is a bit different to the traditional thank you but hopefully they won't mind my creative twist.  This is the sample card I started with but since it's a 5 x 5, I had to tug and pull to the smaller A2 card to fit the swap requirements.  

 And here's the card I made for Barb's swap - similiar, just a wee bit smaller!

Thanks for stopping by today ~  I appreciate your visit because you are - One in a melon! :)

Big hugs ... Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Card entered into: Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes

Lady Anne's Sentiment Friday - Anything Goes

Stamping with the Dragon - Anything Goes

Some BUNNY loves you!

T.G.I.F! 

 Aren't you glad it's Friday!  I am! :) 

Not only is the weekend about to start but it's freebie Friday at Bugaboo Stamps!  You can scoop up this cute little bunny - 

just in time for Easter!

  For my card today, I paired it with some Spring papers from MME, accented with a pink and coral theme with just a wee hint of blue for contrast.  Once again, my dies got to come out and play so I created this one with a two cirlce design (quickly becoming a fave!) and added the one rounded corner only design to give it a bit more character.  

I know so many of you are still gopped with snow so stay safe out there!
Stop on by the blog to scoop up the freebie!  And in case you didn't know,  there is a new fun freebie every Friday!  Happy stamping and Happy Weekend!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card entered into:   
Color Me Creative - Anything Goes
Paper Playtime - ANything Goes

Love Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
Natalie And Amy - Use Die Cuts
Robyn's Festish - Easter
CRAFT challenge - Easter

I got out of bed ....

For this?  :)

Hee hee!  I love Wednesdays!! 

  That's the day Bugaboo stamps get their funny on! And did you know that March 9th is "Be Nasty Day?"  Yikes! Well, Stella is certainly a gal for that job - she's a hoot!   For this week's  Humor Me Wednesday, I colored up sassy Stella's Tidbits 'For this'  digi and ... she sounds so much like me when I don't have my coffee! :)

 In my continued quest to embark on the year of simplicity, I used some of my old paper Basic Grey papers that I have had forever.  I was drawn to the vivid, bold colors and colored her with prismacolors markers to match. The inside is decorated with the scraplings left over from the front.  This card was such fun to make :)

Be sure to stop in over at Catch the Bug and see the inspirations of the DT ~ lots of funny creations to see on this HMW!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Entered into: BasicGrey Challenge - Anything Goes!
 613 Avenue - Tic/Tac/Toe (free/digi/ribbon)
Joanna Sheen Challenge - Layer it up!

Riley's New Challenge ....

Hi all!

It's time for a new Riley and Company challenge and this one is so beautiful!

Our hostess this time is Cindy - she challenged us to create a Riley and Co. card using the colors Green, Blue and Yellow.

For my card, I went with the Funny Bones sentiment as the image again using the stamp "You can never have too much happy." Isn't that sweet! :)

For my card, I used my MME papers again - LOVE this stack!  I will be so sad when it's empty ;(

I stamped the image in Pacific Point for a brighter blue and used up the leftover dsp for the inside.

Please link up your cards here on the blog and if you use a gallery, please use the keyword Riley0513.  Be sure to check out what the DT have created this week! :)

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Entered into:  Frosted Designs - Chevron

QKR Stampede - 3 of something (DSP)

AllSorts -  For a Lady

FlatFriends Challenge - Friendship

Use it Tuesday - Uninked stamp (Riley FunnyBones)

Hush, Puppies!

Being born in the deep South, I love so much of the Southern foods!  Although we left for England before I was even a year old, I think it's fun to call myself an 'original' Southerner :)  

And one of the foods that warms my hearts with memories and tantalizes my taste buds are definitely Hush Puppies!  My oldest and youngest both love them (now!) as through our travels, they gave them a try and yum ~ Fans! 

I'm still completing my daughter's recipe book to include her favorite recipes and was so excited to make this one for her.  And of course, I had to add a Bugaboo digi to the recipe card!   This actually already debuted on the Catch the Bug Bugaboo blog here!

Using festive, fun and fresh colors, I added the kitchen chicken duo digi to the recipe card.  Take a peek!

 Today's post is short and sweet, much like eating hush puppies can be!  We are having a "cold snap" here in Florida and it is too delicious to be indoors!  We are taking full advantage of this gorgeous 50-60* weather!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Entering into:  The Paper Shelter - Animal Magic!
 Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Oldie but a Goodie - Bright Colors