Fancy Schmancy Fabulous Fabric!

 

Hi friends ~ Happy Friday! 

 Today is the day the Calendar Girls post our monthly card

creations with a chosen theme. 

I'm Miss February! 

That means, I'm hostess of this month's card group challenge ~ woot, woot! ♥
 

We girls have been together for a few years now and I thought
 it would be *sew* fun to challenge the girls to do something
 we've NEVER done before ~
Use Fabric!

 

I call it the:

 Fancy Schmancy Fabulous Fabric February Challenge! 

 I asked the girls to create a card using fabric – fabric scraps – fabric flowers, panels, and/or the whole card! Think flowers, trees, houses, even holiday ornaments, etc – BUT ....  no stamping our cards this month!

{sentiments are okay but the fabric/elements should be the focal point!}

 

Here is what I came up with this month ~ two cards!

and the fabric I chose: Burlap and lace!
 

I used burlap as my panel backdrop for my first card

with a panel of gorgeous 3" lace layered on the top.

I cut out a second piece of burlap to create the heart.

I wanted to keep the "rustic" look all through-out so I added

a wooden button and some jute string.

The inside is simple with a saying I chose for my dd19

(who inspired this card with her love of all things country!)

 

 

 

I grew up in a waste not, want not household

so I decided to make a second card with the cut-out of the heart!

I put the lace behind this one and used Really Rust

as a backdrop color. I also added some smaller hearts from

even more leftover burlap and a fabric orange button for some pop!

 

 

 

 

I'm tickled with how these cards came out :)  I plan to dabble with burlap again soon!   I love the rustic, romantic look this has. 

However, burlap is a tricky material.  It's finicky and unforgiving. 
If it starts to unravel, so will your project ;)  It will redefine the borders on your card if it starts to fray.  One trick I would say helped was having a small bottle of tombo all purpose glue on hand.  I placed a small dot of glue the palm of hand and rubbed to where it was not sticky but you could feel the substance and I lighted 'palmed' the edges all around.  Worked like a charm :)

 

Here is one last look at them together :)

Thank you for stopping by my blog today!  I hope you stop on in and see my other Calendar Girl friends and see what they 'stitched up!' 

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly



 

I'll enter this card into:  asyoulikeitchallenge (use 3d Texture - Love the country look!)
Charisma Cardz - Something not for crafting (Burlap paneling)
All About the Vintage - Use Lace
 

It's TOOS-Day! :)

 

 

What a wacky, whimsical kind of day this has been!

 

The sit back and just laugh kind of day ~

indeed an original TOOS-day!

That's a cross between the humorous cartoon character I feel like

and the reality of a busy, odd day ... hee hee!

 

One of the things I challenged myself to do this year

(in the year of Endurance),

I wanted to play along with some of the challenges I find refreshing. 
 There are a couple of stamp companies that just bring
 a wonderful integrity and refreshing burst of faith to the table

and I hope to give them a little bit of recognition in my little corner of blog world :) 

From the Heart Stamps is just one of those companies ~
lots of fabulous little digi stamps with a little something

for everyone, from the funny ones to the ones filled with faith.

 

They have a monthly progressive challenge where if you buy/have the

stamp from the month before, and you play along,

you will receive the one for the next month.  A win/win!

So, using this charming Birthday Candle Birdbrain,

I created a simple yet cheery "bird-day" card :)

I wasn't sure where I was going with my card design at first,

so I decided to 'wing it' - haha, get it?  LOL!

 

This set was so full of wonderful sentiments,

it was hard to know what to chose.

 

Here's my Bird-day card:

 

 

and the inside:

 

 

Off to get dinner on the table for my hungry crowd.

 

And would you believe it is ........

CHICKEN!

 

I know, that's just messed up, right :)

Fortunately, I am making a brand new honey lime Dijon

recipe using fresh lemons and limes from my daughter's tree that is overflowing with fruits!

I'll let you know how they like it

(I'll be having a salad, NO CHICKEN for me!)

If it's a hit,

I'll post the recipe :)

 

 

I'll enter this card in the FTHS Monthly Challenge and

Clear it out Challenge - Birthdays (Stash - crochet flowers)

Oldie but Goodie Challenge - (Buttons + crochet flowers x3 years old!)

Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

another Simple Sundays :)

Blessings to you, friends!  

 You may remember if you visited me for this post

how much I adore Sundays. 

 Not just for the blessing of worship but the calmness the day brings. 

 With 4 kids, it's not often that we are still ... and that's okay :) 

 

On Sundays, I hope to post a card that I've made that reflects

the beauty of this day.

In our busy week, I often miss the solitude of our lush and

vibrant back yard that we have.

The quiet mornings in the backyard, sipping my coffee,

watching the birds come to the feeding house my son just built.

My dad's memory tree in full bloom - gorgeous, fiery red hibiscus

flowers are opening to the morning sun.

Even our two funny dogs chasing each other, playing tag

and barking excitedly when stops to sit beside me as if to

say "Come on, brother - there's playin' to do!"

 

This week, my card reflects the simpleness of the moment.

I created this CAS card - and can't believe how much I love it!

I've been trying my hand at CAS cards and
 just can't quite get the hang of it :)

here is my card ...

  and the inside of my card ...

 

 

 

That is ... until this fabulous Retro Sketches #103 caught my eye.

I was also inspired by the bold color combo at the Dynamic Duos Challenge.

And as luck would have it, Addicted to CAS is having a coffee challenge -

as a Starbucks aficionado, I jumped to play along!
I inked up my treasured TAWS Stamps and added a few dew drops,
to emulate 'coffee beans' (looked good in my head!) oh! And it's paper-pieced :)
I'll link this up to PIO - Thinking of you challenge.
 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today and I wish you a joyous,

simple, very blessed Sunday!

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

You're PUUUUR-fect!

Good afternoon!

I hope you are "Feline" fine today :)

 

It's inspiration time at the All Dressed Up Challenge Blog

where I have been delighted to be their GDT this month.

For my inspiration card today, I've used their new release

digital stamp "You're puuuur-fect" - so cute!

 

For this card, I decided to print out the image onto a cream colored

cardstock rather than white.  The texture and pattern of the paper

gives the image a little more definition and was easy peasy to color.

This little kitty cat is just delightful - those big expressive eyes

are just dreamy and sweet!

Here is my humble card:

 

And the inside - please note, this image
also has a matching sentiment!
You can see it here.

I don't always have a plan for my cards but this one will is en route to my wonderful friend, Maggie.  She's one of the most generous ladies

to her fur babies in her neighborhood, giving refuge and much needed

help to kittens and cats from food to keeping them warm and getting them

much needed medical help.  She's not only opened her home to these

kitties, but her heart as well ♥  Being a big animal person and one who

feels strongly about animal rescue and their plight, I am so proud of

Maggie for all that she does in her little corner of this great big world

and the light she brings to the lives of many in need :)

Thank you, Maggie! ♥

Be sure to stop by the Challenge blog this month and see
all the wonderful DT inspirations and the all month
long challenge going on.

Thank you, ADU, for this opportunity to work with
your stamps - its' been a pleasure!

Big hugs,
Bigger Blessings ~
Kelly

Go for the GOLD!

Hi there!

It's the time again - the Winter Olympics!

Oh how much I adore these games and watching the various

sports, rooting on our favorites and wishing well to all :)

My daughter and I are always glued to the tv when the Ice Skating

 events come on {probably the only time I even watch tv :)}

We were thrilled to see David and White bring home the

GOLD last night in Ice Dancing - what a breath-taking moment!

Naturally, I channeled that for my card today for the new challenge

at Riley and Company's Challenge blog ~

brought to us this week by DT member, Michele.

She asked us to make a card with a matching envelope.

Easy peasy!

I used the new Figure Skating Sophie for my card today.

I chose gold colored papers for my card backdrop

and used these gorgeous floral papers I've had in my stash -

and ended up with a dark blue card base to pull off the colors in the paper.

You can find the challenge and the DT samples here!

If you link up your cards to a gallery,

please use the keyword Riley0414.  We'd love to

stop by and see your Riley and Company Creation!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings :)

~Kelly
 

I'll enter this card into:  Fan-Tastic Tuesday - Happy and Bright

Craft Your Passion - Girly Girl

Eureka Stamps - Animal Friends

TTCRD - Anything Goes

You are one of a kind :)

Good Morning!

 I hope your weekend has been long and relaxing :)

 I had some crafty time again yesterday and made a few cards for the week ahead, which from my calendar looks to be quite a busy one!

And look! It's me - on a Monday morning! :)

Hee hee!

Actually, it's the adorable Yeti!

 I wanted to play along with the new TAWS BIC

challenge - oh, how I love this ~

 the color combo this week is so soft and lovely. 

 Here is the BIC inspiration photo:

I searched high and low for a Abominable Snowman stamp set

last year for our Animal Kingdom - WDW scrapbook pages and was

delighted to find the Deep Into the Woods set at TAWS.

It was time for him to see some ink!

And my card:

and the inside of my card :)

I'll enter this into the TAWS Challenge.

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

DDD: *Feel the Love!*

 

 

Hi friends! 

 I hope your Valentine's Day was the LOVEliest of days ♥

It's the 15th of the month which means the Dueling Darling group posts our

cards with a chosen theme. This month, our hostess for mailing out card kits was Barb and Deb - and as an added treat, both groups rec'd  the same sentiment to work with this round.  Thanks, Deb!  However, Barb sent us the card kits and oh me, oh my!  This kit was stuffed full of wonderment!  She included so many things in the kit,  I can easily make 3-4 more cards.  Thank you, Barb, for your generosity and for giving us so many things to play with. 

And Barb, btw,

So let me jump on in ... this is the first card I've made in a week!  It's been 'that kind of week!'  I love, love, LOVE being so involved in my kid's lives and being so active in volunteering at their schools.  Even though the hours add up, the meetings go long, the books to reshelf are stacked high (and so on and so forth!), I hold fast to my Year of Endurance!  I don't mind, really! They are little but just once ... the time flies by and before I know it, they'll be off!  So I absorb them, adore them, enjoy them! ♥  

My completed card with 4 dsp sheets, ribbon and buttons!

 



and the inside of my card - you know I couldn't forget that :)

 

For my card, I went with the dark pinks and tan dsp from Crate Paper - they jumped out at me the most.  I paired the striped pink paper with the lacey tans ~ and since Deb gave us this sentiment in several shades of ink, I chose the red to play off the colors of the dsp.  Some ribbon and a few buttons and voila!

The inside of my card is a continuation of the dsp, my border punch and minimal embellishment. 

Barb asked us to share where our card would be going and 'share the love' this month.  I am not quite sure where this one is going just yet, but have a pretty good idea ;)

 

Please be sure to stop by and see the other DDD girls and what they've created this month!   Thanks for your visit today!

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

This card is entered into: LadyBug Crafts - Be Mine

LEJ Designs - Valentines/Love

One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes

Natalie and Amy - Love is all around

Tok Bobok - Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from me to you!

I'm so blessed by each of you and send great big hugs and kisses ♥  Truly this is one of the sweetest days to celebrate ♥

This card is one of my very faves that I've made, another one I made past weekend.
And boy, am I glad!  I've had ZERO craft time this week and this one was  my son's Valentine's card this year :)   I know, I know ... it's pink!

That's okay :)  He's truly very down to earth and doesn't mind "the little things" {Not to mention he picked pink as his braces color this month at the ortho!}

I picked Snoopy for several reasons.   I just adore Peanuts!  One of the things we do together is wait for the Charlie Brown specials to come on during the Fall, from the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown to the Easter Beagle, we just adore Snoopy!  I have since I was a little girl and passed that love on to my children. 

Most importantly, I wanted to make a Snoopy card for my son for his utmost thoughtfulness.  In his class store (which I run on Friday mornings!), he saved up enough of his 'class dollars' to buy me a Snoopy Halloween pen he saw me admiring.   Let me tell you, I couldn't help but beam with joy and love!  I cherish it greatly and love how he thought of me before himself.  He's truly a Godly boy :)

So, my card is simple.   But it's lovely to my heart and the meaning of why it was made. 
And those truly are the best reasons, right? :)

Big hugs to you, Bigger Blessings and
lots of love to you on this special day!
~Kelly


I'll enter this card into:  CraftyHazelnuts - Patterned papers!
Imagination Crafts - Love is in the Air
Just for Fun Challenge - Love is in the Air
Mema's Challenge - Who Makes you smile? (my son!)
One Sweet Challenge - Love
Paper Crafting Challenge - Spring Colors

Just dropping you a line ;)

         Hi friends!

It's still a chilly winter out there ~ but it's February!
It feels more like Christmas ... yet it's Valentines!
It's like having a little bit of both .. together!

This is such a fun time of year for crafting cards of love for everyone ♥

I thought I'd try something different this weekend...

I made a card using a digital stamp by From the Heart.

This image is actually a holiday stamp -

 but I saw the little heart letter and my mind went right to Valentine's Day.

I didn't get a chance to use it during the busy holiday time

so I looked at it again this weekend and had a vision!

It's still very cold out there for most of the country, lots of snow

and people bundling up but it's still Valentine's Day this weekend.

So I combined the two and created a festive card with

bright, vivid colors and a group of feathered friends wishing lots of love! 

Happy Wintery Day of Love!  

 My friend, Imke, whom you read about on yesterday's blog post,

is on the DT of From the Heart Stamps - you should stop by 

and see all the cute thing they have in the store!

It's a fun place to shop!

Here's on last look at my card ....

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Birthday Greetings!

Zum Geburtstag!

Yes, this card is in German! :)

I have known my dear friend, Imke, for a few years now and

she is truly one of the sweetest, most generous ladies I've met online.

My husband and I took our kids traveling on vacation to Europe for the summer a few years ago and I was literally a few hours from her house!

That would have been a most joyous meeting,

but I am still hopeful for one day! :)

Imke hosts a monthly image swap with her group and I was

very blessed and grateful to be able to join in!

They started in January so I'm playing a bit of catch up.

I was lucky to have a very similar image in my files

so I thought I'd create a card for Imke and get this in the mail.

Zum Geburtstag is a very friendly birthgday greeting to wish

mostly a ... "For your Birthday"

Here is a side view ....

Und a close up of Zum Geburtstag!

{For your Birthday}

I'm still trying to figure out this new laptop.

It truly is outsmarting ME!

From the photo editing features to the keyboard,

it may as well be in a foreign language like my card ;)

I like to say that's what I have 3 teenagers for *smile!*

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

This is my 39/100th card.

 



Crafters of Faith - February Blog Hop "Colossians 3:23"

Hello, dear blogging friends! 

 I'm so thrilled to post again for the Carriers of Faith, 
a blogging group sharing our faith through inspiration, photography,
christian fellowship and more WITHOUT posting a card or paper creation :)
The ideal is to communicate our 'vision' and minister through a single photograph!

If you are hoping along with all the COF girls, 
you will have arrived from April's amazing blog.
  I'm the last stop on the hop but the fun starts at Barb's beautiful
blog if you wanted to visit the hop from the starting place.
Here is Barb's theme for this month:

February Challenge Colossians 3:23 --Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
The Living Bible version-- --Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters

I think we all work hard at many things in life--so I want to challenge you to think of what you might work hard at, but cheerfully. You can take this a few ways:

~Perhaps--you can take a picture of what you would do as a career, if you could "be anything you want to be" when "you grow up". The sky is the limit--no restrictions at all. What is a job you would love to have?

~Or--look around and see what you love to do in life. It could be cooking, or crafting, or gardening, or reading, or whatever....... What do you do that always puts a smile on your face or gets you in a good mood?
  
Ohhh this is a hard one ~  I have many loves :)
 From the Jesus, my Savior most High,
to my beautiful husband and family,
a wonderful church, friends, crazy doggies ...
to fun hobbies, reading, biking, the beach ...
so many things!

 As I was scrolling through the pictures I've taken recently,
I came across this one and knew it was 'the one'.
  God said in Genesis 1:20, "Let the water swarm with living creatures, 
and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."

We recently spent the day in Key Largo, Florida,
one of my favorite places on the planet!
We are truly blessed, despite the heat and traffic problems,
to live in a gorgeous state filled not only with sandy beaches
and year-round wonderful weather, but a plethora of nature preserves,
trails and lovely animal habitats right there outside our doors.
From the Everglades to the mangroves, it is simply an awesome
reminder of God's beautiful creatures.
So, thinking back to this recent trip, and the love of the ocean I have,
the sound of the gentle lap of the waves against the shore,
taking off my flip-flops 
(I live in them year round and have a pair in every corner!) and walking in the warm sand, I remembered how much I love sharing this time with my family.
I love being out in the water as often as I can.
The kids and I take out the canoes and zip around the water ways,
spotting manatees that are common in our areas so close to shore
and have even seen a shark as it swam under the canoe
in a small inlet, bumping our boat from underneath and heading back out to 
the ocean.  They come inland to have their babies then leave
(and hopefully in the future we won't have it happen under our boat again!)

This gorgeous bird was looking for shrimp on the shoreline :]

 I chose the last of the three segments to represent
my post this month - I hope I was close to your request, Barb!
Thank you for a beautiful theme to reflect on this month!
It's a wonderful opportunity to be grateful where we are,
with what we have, and enjoy the true treasures right where we are!

Please be sure to stop by the other Carriers of Faith
and see what one picture they've posted this month!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

 

It's *New Release Day* at All Dressed Up!

  Good afternoon, friends!  

I'm delighted to share that I was asked to be the

 All Dressed Up February guest designer.

It is launch time at All Dressed Up, and we have four fantastic images for you for this month's launch.  For today's post, I'm showcasing this precious digi - Love to Dance.

I've created a card with this image and a collage-style, shabby chic bookmark!

Here is the beautiful new image:

                                                                       Love to Dance

And my two creations using this lovely image:

Would you like to see a few more!

Here is ....

would you like to see a few more new images from this release?

Purrrfect Together

Rock my world

 

Happiness

 

Don't forget our current challenge theme is love is in the air **

 (use this link for your post that will go live on 6th) 

 ** challenge theme is to follow a sketch supplied by one of the dressy girls **

 (use this link for your post on 20th) ...

.these images would be perfect for the challenge theme, plus you are in with a chance

 of winning 3 images of your choice !

Also don't forget to stop by our Facebook Group to share your All Dressed Up

 creations & chat to fellow crafters. Also keep an eye out for more inspiration

 from the rest of The Dressy Girls throughout the month. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings :)

~Kelly

It's a little Sketchy .... :)

 

 It's time for the new Riley and Company Challenge

and this one is brought to us by DT member, Frances.

She's given us a wonderful sketch to work with!

 

 

and here's my take :)

{ I apologize for the quality of the photos, I'll retake in the natural light!}

 

I've used Spring Flowers from Riley and Company
and paper-pieced the flowers in the matching dsp.
Hard to believe in the midst of all the snow and ice,
Spring will be here before you know it! :)

Please be sure to stop on over to the Riley and Company Challenge Blog
and play along with this challenge.
If you upload your card to a gallery, please use the keyword
Riley 0314 so we can visit you.

And be sure to stop in the DT blogs to see what they've made
with this sketch - you can find them in my sidebar right over there! >

Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly