He is risen!

Good Morning, friends ♥

One of the things I love so much about this craft (hobby!)

 is creating with stamps of faith!

My faith is something that I keep close to my heart ~

and in trying times, let it encourage and guide me.

And The Project Bin has just a perfect stamp set for creating cards of faith!

Spring Zen is a brand new stamp set that is perfect for spring,

Easter and the bold and powerful message of Christ!

One of my favorite scriptures has always been Matthew 28:6

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said"

So in creating my card today, I knew I wanted a cross on a hill with a sunset.  

I got out my watercolor pans and watercolor paper and 

made bold brushstrokes across the paper with vibrant colors.

Then I stamped out the zentangle cross onto another

watercolor piece and fussy cut that out with scissors.

To give it a bit more of an edgy look, I die cut the panel

to give the card more dimension with a seperated-die idea.

Not sure if it's a technique, but it just came to me when I was 

about to glue the panel down!

The sentiment is the perfect addition and really finishes off the card,

as well as on the inside.

This style of card is perfect for your pastor, church staff, and more!

You can find this fabulous stamp set here in the shop ~
perfect time to get a head start on your Easter cards!
And remember! If you click on any photo, it will take you to a gallery
with wonderful samples made with the stamps - tons of inspiration!

Thanks so much for your visit!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

Drive By Crafts ~ Honey Bee Smooches!

Hi friends ~ today I'm back on the blog over at Drive By Crafts!

I'm sharing another card with Drive By Crafts products ~ 
bringing you a hybrid card, showing you another way to really stretch
 your stamps by mixing and matching!

For today's card, I've created a cheerful card using Honey Bee Stamps: Celebration Box Stamp set and Paper Smooches: Best Buds !  It's always fun to see how you can take your stamps and mix and match to create another fun way of using them while making a card that's truly unique!

Here's how I made my card ~  First, I used a heavy weight white cardstock and stamped the box from Celebration Box by Honey Bee Stamps.  There are some really cute sets in the Drive By Crafts store!   After that was stamped, I masked off the area with another box on a sticky note, and stamped the Paper Smooches Best Buds flower image right onto the box image.  I wanted a little of the vase showing so I let that peek out of the box, too. I colored my card with prismacolor markers, from the flowers to the box.

And here is the inside of my card:

Thank you so much for your visits and sweet comments!

I hope to catch up this week as I'm trying to catch my breath,

carve out some time to refocus and process life.

Miss you all so much!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

The Project Bin ~ Spring Zen!

Hello friends!

 I pray you had a wonderful weekend 

and the week ahead is filled with blessings ♥

 The Project Bin is blooming with beautiful new stamp sets!

 Denise, owner and designer of the stamps/dies,

has been busy creating new stamps for the store.

And the new Spring Zen is certainly no exception!

This inspirational zentangle style spring stamp set is 

perfect for the coloring enthusiasts,

Zen style of stamping/coloring lets you expand your imagination and creativity, while increasing your awareness, and helps you relax and focus :)

 

For today's card, I used the zentangle tulip from the set,

creating a garden with a variety of colors.

I made this card by stamping the tulips in Brutus Monroe black ink

for the bulbs, and Tim Holtz distress oxide Peeled Paint for the stems.

I colored the bulbs with prismacolor markers 

and added it to a card base of dsp and die cuts.

I added a few enamel dots and propped up the sentiment on a banner

for some extra dimension.

Here's the stamp set in it's entirety:

Spring is a wonderful promise of life renewing ~

and it's only 29 days away!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

CCEE1807 ~ Tic Tac Toe!

Good Morning, friends!

I have two blog posts today ~ 

for my DDD card, please check back as it will be up shortly :)

 

It's my 3rd week to host the CCEE Stampers and this week,

I thought I'd shake things up a bit and create a Tic Tac Toe,

selecting any row of 3 to use as a card base creation!

I had great fun coming up with the chart ~

but even more fun making my card ♥

For today's card, I actually CASE-d one of my own here.
I used the diagonal column of a critter, love theme and sequins.
I switched it up to add a different color palette and dsp behind the 
peek-a-boo striped die-namic heart from MFT. 

I colored/cut the critters and then paper pieced his shirt
from the same dsp, tilted to the side to mix up the stripe direction.

This card is one that I gave to my husband ....

we have a little joke going on with my cards to him.

I always tell him "hang on to this one, honey. 

One day I'll be famous!"  :)

Oh! The stamp set/dies for this card were found at Drive by Crafts! 

It's a fun online store with lots of goodies in the shop!

If you'd like to play along with our theme this week,

and we'd love it if you do,

please use the keyword CCEE1807!

 And be sure to stop by the blog to see what the girls made this week!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

Drive By Crafts ~ Best Buds!

Hi friends!

I'm up on the Drive By Crafts blog today sharing two delightful cards

using the Paper Smooches 'Best Bud's stamp set.

I adore flower stamp sets and what I love so much about this one is the whimsical

look that it has and the fantastic font ♥

 

I've used two different mediums - colored pencils and prismacolor markers.

And, something new, I used a mirror image on making the card bases:

One with kraft and one with white cardstock.

First up, for the white card stock base,  I stamped out the flower banner

using Altenew Crisp Black ink, then masked it off with sticky notes,

and then stamping the jar of flowers onto of that.

It's a great way to get layering with your stamps!

This card has "i love you" on it as it's a card that will be for my mom ♥ 

The sequins are from my stash and its added to an A2 kraft card base.

For the next card, I stamped out the same images onto the kraft cardstock

and colored it loosely with colored pencils.

This one is the same but I used another sentiment

 in the set for a thank you card.

Here they are together:

You can find this stamp set from Paper Smooches in the 

Drive By Crafts store.

And there is also the matching die ~ such a sweet deal!

And if I didn't mention it before, shipping is FAST!

And economical!

And if you are going to do some shopping,

there is an amazing opportunity to be entered into the drawing

where you could win a Spellbinders Prizm!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

The Project Bin ~ Kinda Sorta ...

Hi everyone!

I'm kinda sorta (absolutely!) on Cloud 9!
My husband and I were so lucky to have tickets
to see Andrea Bocelli last night at the Arena here in Miami.
Oh.  Be.  Still.  My.  Heart!
I'm a VERY big fan ~ following his music journey through the years,
and this was my 3rd time seeing him perform live.
Enchanting ♥
And his surprise guest was the one and only Kristin Chenoweth!

I've seen her on Broadway and adore her ~

she was both mesmerizing and hilarious!

I'm so blessed ~ I have the best husband truly ♥

Okay, I guess I should get to my card :)
Today I'm sharing my latest card with The Project Bin 
Exciting news .... there are 2 new stamp sets  
and they are already available for purchase.
I'm using one of those today ~ Kinda Sorta
and I made a quick and easy shaker card!

One things I love - LOOOOOVE - about Valentine's Day cards
is non-traditional colors!  Not sure why, but I think it's just so groovy
to see Vday cards in purple and orange and blue!
So when I stamped out the Kinda Sorta stamp in Hero Arts inks,
I knew I was going in that direction.
I added a simple frame acetate to the back of my dsp striped frame,
cut from a square die, and glue the stamped image to the back as a focal point.
Before sealing the last edge, I added in some multi colored sequins 
in coordinating colors and added to my card base.

The last little touch was cutting out a gold heart with a die.
Since the sentiment is so bold and a wonderful focal point,
I decided not to decorate the inside of this card (gasp! LOL!)

Here's a closer look:

 Are you ready for Valentine's Day?
Any special plans?
I hope they are kinda sorta spectacular, whatever they might be!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥
~Kelly

3M: Heartfelt Hydrangrea

Hi friends!

Don't you just love flower stamps?

They are so much fun to color and are so versatile -

perfect for cards of all themes ♥

On my recent visit to Wisconsin to visit my crafty gal pals,

my sweet friends picked me up at the airport and off to the 

fabulous Gina K Designs store we went!

Lots of surprises that day, including Terry and Shelly joining Barb,

Carol, Darlene and myself to shop and mingle.

Oh, it's an AMAZING store - 

we hoped for a 'celebrity siting" but Gina was at the Creativations event :)

(L-R:  Shelly, me - with the pink scarf, Darlene,  Barb, Terry and in front, Carol

inside the Gina K Designs store)

I miss these girls so much!!

I wish I lived a lot closer ~ as they are all pretty close in distance :)

These are some of the goodies that I picked up,

including the luscious Gina K cardstock line, stamps and dies.

Swoon!  

 

Since I am the hostess for the 3M this month,

I thought it would be perfect to use a stamp that I picked at the Gina K

store ~ Heartfelt Hydrangea.  

I stamped it out and hand delivered it to both Barb and Jeanette - a first!

The sentiment in this set is fantastic:

"I hope you're my friend forever becuase that's 

how long I'm going to need you!"

 I think that sums up how much we love all our friends, right!

Beautiful ♥

and a peek at the inside of my card:

 I'm lovingly calling my card a Hot Mess!

 I played around with the new Arteza real brush watercolor pens ~

oh boy!  

I love to watercolor and usual use my pan colors,

but using these watercolor brush markers is a real learning curve!

After coloring the hydrangea, I added a tiny bit of shimmer to the flower

centers with my wink of stella,

then cut the image in a different shape to give it different look, 

adding it to a base of dsp from Illustrated Faith.

i think it looks really elegant with a black background,

and the matching ribbon is one that was a near perfect match ~
found that at Hobby Lobby's clearance sale for 35 cents!

Enamel dots, and the sentiment inside, and my card is done!

The other 2/3 of the 3M are Jeanette

and Barb (pictured above!) and I hope they liked the sweet hydrangea, too!

  I really had a great time with my card!

One thing I've learned along this journey is this:

It started as a hobby ... joining a card swap 

that led to so much more!

I'm so lucky to call you ALL crafty friends ~

You are all a blessing!

 Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly 

CCEE 1806 ~ Something I love ♥

Hi friends!

February is the month that I come up with the challenges

 for the CCEE Stampers and it's been fun so far :)

 Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner,

I thought it would be sweet to show something that we love

rather than make a traditional Valentine's card.

 

For me, it's hard ...... the list is just too long ♥

 So I decided to make a card with the things that make me happy ...

bright, vivid colors that pop and woodland critters!

Love, love, LOVE!

 

And something else I love - a good bargain!

I love finding a great sale :)

This stamp set by The Greeting Farm was always on my watch list, then it retired but about a month ago, 
it popped up on someone's destash sale for $4 .... brand new!

I was over the moon ecstatic and so grateful
 to be at the right sale at the right time :)

I fussy cut the deer and made it the focal point of my card.

I also 'fussy colored' the deer - not really giving it a structured look,

allowing myself to be a little freer with the ink 

(hoping for fur but yeah ... that didn't happen! LOL!)

This is also my card for the Crafters of Faith February theme, too.

In fact, our hostess of the COF is Liz, also a CCEE stamper!

She said:  Psalm 42:1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.

Make a card featuring a deer or a scene from a lake or a forest.

Please be sure to stop by the CCEE Stampers blog

and see what the girls LOVE!

You can also play along with this challenge and if you create a card,

use the keyword CCEE1806 so we can find you.

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

Drive by Crafts ~ Celebrate!

Hi friends!

I love surprises!  I really, REALLY do! 

And sometimes I even manage to surprise myself! LOL!
Like today!

I'm up on the Drive By Crafts blog today 

(thinking it was for tomorrow - but it was for today ~ see!  Surprise!  Hee hee!)

I'm so blessed that Annette from Drive By Crafts is such a sweetheart ♥

More importantly, she has amazing stamps and dies and goodies in her store!

Including a wonderful assortment of stamps in the clearance section ~

ANd, yes ~ there's more! ~ shipping is economical and FAST!

Here's what I love so much about stamps ...

finding ways to stretch their use and make your purchase 

affordable AND smart!

This holiday Blah Humbunny stamp set from Honey Bee Stamps

is now a Celebration Box bunny! 

Here's how I made this delightful card:

 First, I stamped out the box stamp from the set onto designer paper,

then cut that out, paper pieced it with paper from Illustrated Faith.

Using heavy weight #110 white cardstock, I used my distress oxide

ink in broken china to create a background.

I stamped the bunny in the same cardstock and cut that out as well,

and layered it behind the box because

 the stamped/colored gift was going in it.

Next, I stamped out some confetti swirls from the Celebration Box stamp set

and added some berrylicious sequins to finish the card.

You can find the products I used on this card at Drive By Crafts 

store and so much more ~

reasonable prices, fast shipping, amazing customer service!

Please note that Annette @Drive By Crafts has had to take emergency leave

home but will be back in her store shipping very soon! 

For a quick glance, here are some of the products I used:

 Thanks for stopping by today!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

Mondays with The Project Bin ~ Hole Foods!

Hi friends!

I hope you had a great (Superbowl!) weekend, 

for those in the USA!

Growing up in England and Germany, I absolutely LOVE European soccer

and watching that in our home gets rowdy and loud :)

Today I'm sharing with you a new release stamp set from

The Project Bin stamps:  Hole Foods!

I have such a weakness for donuts, especially cream filled ones - YUM! ♥

How about you?

Do you have a favorite? 

For today's post, I made a card featuring two donuts:

one chocolate, one strawberry with sprinkles!

Close up of the chocolate donut card and sentiment:

 

And to keep the momentum going with the sentiments in this fun stamp set,

I've added one to each of the inside of the cards, 

along with a matching strip of dsp.

 

Here's the stamp set:

 

You can find this stamp set and more

over in the shop at The Project Bin stamps.

If you click on a stamp set, 

it also takes you to the gallery where you can see more card inspirations

using each of the stamp sets, as well as more stamps and dies.

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

F.Y.I #2 ~ Wonky cake :)

Hi friends and happy weekend!

As you may remember from this post, I have a new segment this year called Find Your Inspiration! (F.Y.I.) 

  This is actually post #4, but after I looked for the others, I realized I never launched them!

So I'm rearranging a few blog posts and now #4 is #2 - LOL!  

I'm in a fun group on Splitcoaststampers called the Creative Card Chicks.

This month, our hostess Barb, sent us a super cute card kit

including this wonky cake image from Whipper Snapper stamps.

Which I was SUPER giddy to see because when I went to visit 

the crafty gals at camp, we stopped by Creative Pals which is a store

that's wall to wall whipper snapper (and more) stamps!

What a fun store!!

But more than just the fun store and great card kit,

the minute I saw the image, I was immediately brought back to 

my oldest daughter's Sweet 16 ♥

She's now 23 and engaged to be married and So. Grown. Up!

When we were planning her party,

she told me of a cake she designed and it was bright and neon

and 'sort of wonky.'

When we explained her vision to the cake maker, 

she smiled and said "not a problem, I can do wonky!"

And she did!

Her cake was a vision and EXACTLY what she drew up and described!

See! ↓

I actually couldn't find the photo in my seperate hard-drive photo

and colored the image on my card from memory!

 Once we hooked that up to find these 7 year old photos,

I was so excited that I ALMOST got it right :)

Here's my card, which is a two-fer:

Creative Card Chicks kit  ✅

CYS January challenge per Jeanette

 - Use 3 pieces of patterned paper on your card: ✅

 

Thanks, Barb, for your wonderful kit and the walk down memory lane :)

Have a great weekend, friends!

I hope something inspires you today ♥

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly