Crafters of Faith: Love!

Hello, dear friends :)  I pray you are all well ~ I've missed visiting you all and hope to catch up as soon as school finishes here (one more week!)   

I think for the first time ever, I can say that I am mentally and physically drained.  Tired, mojo-less, in desperate need of sleep!  Pastor talked lovingly the other day of our busy schedules and being distracted of that never ending, extra long "to do" list.  In a day, from sunrise to sunset, I'm here and there and everywhere in between with so much packed in, I can't imagine NOT having that list ... I'd be so lost!  There's not much more than 5 minutes that are not penciled in :/  And at the same time, we need to nurture our souls as well as our minds and hearts ~ finding that delicate balance between the two when so much needs to be done .... I am still working on that part :) 

Luckily, it's a beautiful time of the month to post the Crafters of Faith blogging group cards +  share our cards with a chosen theme by a hostess.

This month's hostess is the fabulous Jackie!

Here is her theme for us:

May Theme 

Hostess: Jackie 

"For God so loved the world; that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

This is my most favorite verse in the Bible. It speaks to me about love...a great love that will never end. How awesome!!! For the month of May; I would like you ladies to create something out of love. Interpret this anyway you want...it can be a fave stamp set; some of your fave embellishments, maybe even a project for a loved one. There's so many possibilities & I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

 Have fun & Happy Stamping

Thank you, Jackie!  We LOVE your theme!

For my card, I went all around on what I wanted to represent as love - 

my family, the ocean, the outdoors, cooking, reading, etc - the list goes on!
And in the end, this stamp LITERALLY landed in my lap as I went to reach for some flowers and I had to chuckle ...

Gives a whole new meaning to 'Lord, here my prayer!' :)

So this was the one ~

And do I LOVE Our Daily Bread stamps!

I also incorporated my other love of bright, vivid colors ...

I'm not a pastel girlie at all - the more color, the happier I am!

And of course, I LOVE buttons!!  Lots and lots of buttons!!

For the inside, I added a bit of washi tape - I have lots of washi

tape and thought it was time to start giving some of it a little craft time, too.

Whew, thanks for reading my rambling - I'm blessed by each of you

and know that even though I may not be able to stop by right now in this busy season of life, I'm thinking of you all and missing you muchly.

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

/ Entered into:  WordArtWednesday:  Anything Goes
LexisCreations:  Focus on the sentiment
Sisterhood of Crafters:  Say it Loud!
MilkCoffee - Load on the flowers
AsYouLikeIt Challenge - Favorite Stamps (ODBD)
TotallyPaperCrafts - Anything Goes

Riley's New Challenge!!

Good Morning, sweet friends ~

 still flying right along in these unbelievably crazy days, trying to catch my breath and keep a smile on through sheer exhaustion!  It's been one event after another but despite the insanity, I know how absolutely blessed we are.  Our son just finished up school on Friday and we anxiously await his sisters finishing in 2 more weeks, including one of whom will be graduating and the other moving on to the same high school :)  

Today marks the new Riley and Company bi-weekly challenge and this week, our hostess is Jovita!  She brings us a fun challenge: "anything but a card" -  how crafty, challenging + creative!

Being an avid reader, my mind went straight for a bookmark *wink!*

Using the newly released stamp "Strong", an absolutely lovely sentiment, I created this simple book marker with bold colors of yellow and blue. And the best part even yet ... this entire bookmark was made from everything scraps!  Tiny slivers of dsp, left over ribbon and buttons that needed a turn :)

To play create a card using Riley and Company images. 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 RILEY1113.  We can't wait to see what you create!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Design Teams blogs today so see what they created for this challenge - you can find them in my sidebar!

I leave you with this beautiful quote today :)

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. 

Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. 

Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. 

Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. 

Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!

--Christian D. Larson

Big hugs to you, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Hello, Graduate! :)

Blessings on this Sunday morn! :) 

 Life has hit full throttle here and I just can't seem to find time to craft or blog, but that just means life is busier and blessed more than ever in other wonderful areas :) With 4 kids, schools ending, a bevy of activities and ceremonies for each, and *surviving* Prom week (yes, week - what a production!) with dd18 and her circle of friends, and moms, all joining us here in our home for the photos and the mommy's *after* party.  Our oldest daughter is also graduating High School in a couple of weeks and starting college in the summer (rather than take off in the Fall) and it's been a whirlwind.  Needless to say, we booked a week long vacation for the end of June at a resort to unwind, relax and sleep!  If I could have sat down to write myself a letter to know what these past few months would be, I still would not be anywhere near prepared but that's the beauty of God's plan for us and knowing that our lives are filled with the presence of God in all things, even in the busy-ness :) I look back and reflect my mantra for this year: Simplicity and think - wow, this month more than ever am I feeling WHY I chose that word!  Lord, hear my prayers.

So how about I'm behind in creating my own card kit!  ::: Oops! :::  Apologies!

With the Dueling Darlings duel this month, Jeanette and I were the hostesses with a wonderful theme: 

Making Memories, Celebrating Moments!

Since May is traditionally the month of celebrating Mother's Day, many anniversaries, upcoming June weddings, Holy Communions and Confirmations, graduations and so much more, we thought we'd take this time to celebrate the moments that mean so much!  

I knew I wanted to make a graduation card kit this month around (one of the perks of being the hostess - so much to chose!) so I sent the Divas identical card kits using this theme.  Here is my take on my card kit!

 I searched the 'net looking for the perfect papers to match the stamp I chose to use, Tessa Tassles from Kraftin' Kimmie.  In my search, I found Carta Bella's Beautiful Moments and I bought just by the name :)  And wow, are these papers lush and gorgeous!  I had trouble deciding which paper to choose so I sent the girls all of them, along with ribbons and an assortment of embellies and topped it off with the crown jewel - Tessa Tassles from Kraftin' Kimmie ~  how I adore Kraftin' Kimmie stamps!

We also asked the teams to share a celebratory moment that was special to them.  For me, I think one of the best moments was seeing my husband finally become Dr. Santi and holding our 1 year old daughter (yes, the same one just now graduating!) - she clapped her little hands when they called his name to my enthusiatic "there's daddy" - having no clue what was really going on, but she was happy to be there none-the-less!  It's incredible to think he'll be doing the same for her in a few weeks at her graduation, too :)

Blessings to each of you and be sure to stop by and see all the Dueling Darlings to see what they made this month!

You can find them in my sidebar right over there ~~~}

Thanks for stopping by and wishing you a blessed, 
beautiful SONday :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card Making with Skittles!

Hi everyone!!  I'm so excited to be a Guest Designer for Carri at Double Click Connections :)   Carri is one of the most creative and inspiring designers, always making something whimsical and sweet to make you smile.  I've known Carri in the blogging world for years now and I can tell you ~ she is very talented as well as one of the sweetest, nicest ladies ever!   I'm delighted to showcase the magnificent Skittles that she creates.  You can find them here in her store - take a peek!

Not only are the colors vibrant and rich, but they are so versatile!  You can use these on a variety of projects, including cards and scrap-booking pages.  A little dab of glue and you are good to go!  Carri was so generous and send me these 5 gorgeous colors to work with ~ Latte, Sailboat Blue, Sunset Orange, Wild Plum and Purple Twilight ~ divine!  For my first card, I used every color!  I paired it with this cutie TGF image and added the Skittles to the coordinating colors off to the side.  With the brightness of the MME paper, it gave great allowance to use the rainbow of colors and IRL, the colorful Skittles just make this card burst!  And for Megan, I colored her with prismacolor markers and paper pieced her outfit and hairbow with matching paper to the card.

 (post edited - further deets to follow!) :)

These Skittles were so much fun to work with and Carri is so generous - you will absolutely love to craft with them! There are plenty left to continue this crafting trend :)  Please stop on by her store and take a look at the variety of colors available!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Entered into:  TGF - Retro/Bring on the sun
ColorQ - color challenge

The "Almost" card! :)

 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: 

but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 

~Isaiah 40:8

Oh, how I love the book of Isaiah!  It's such a powerful reflection of our salvation and God's promise to provide us a redeemer.  I can't imagine what it was like to walk in the times of these powerful prophets and preach the gospel but what beautiful words we have to reflect on, especially when they are as beautifully described (and harsh at times) as Isaiah.

I reflected on this verse a few weeks ago at bible study and it was the inspiration behind my long overdue card.  The ever so sweet Lynn of T.U.I.C. blogging group gave us a challenge (awhile!) back to create a one layer card with a flower.  Eeek!  I couldn't do it!  I tried and messed up more cardstock than one person should, lol.  I couldn't get it right no matter what I tried so I added a couple pieces of DSP and ehh .... no much better but here it is :)

I loved the challenge, Lynn, and hope to do better on the next one!

I did, however, continue on with my stamping goal of inking up my old SU stamp sets - yay!  This one was probably my 3rd or 4th stamp set that I bought - a true oldie but goodie!  Although it's a sympathy set, I chose to leave the inside blank on this one as it's not intended to be used as one.

Thank you, Lynn, for inspiring my card creation :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings and 

have a blessed SONday!

~Kelly

Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes!