Hot Mess Success ~ #2: CASE the floral sunset :)

Hello again and Happy Monday!

I know - sounds like an oxymoron! 

 Happy? 

 on a Monday? :)

I hope yours is off to a great start!

We have the day off of school

:::::::::::: insert HUGE waaaahooooo! :::::::::::

 

You may remember from this post that I was invited to join a card group

called the Hot Mess.

 It's a very messy card group :)

The idea is to create a card using particularly messy products ~

paints, watercolors, mousses, etc ...

ones that aren't just a simple paper, ink and markers!

Speaking of school ~ my card is very rudimentary ...

I've used old school crayola watercolors!
I always use my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors

but found these in a box and thought why not!

Here's my card: 

As a member of the Gallery Gazers card group,

I thought it would be a great chance to CASE (copy and share everything)

my card for September.

The idea behind this group is we find a card in the SCS gallery

and try to recreate it.

One in particular stood out for me to do it uniqueness ..

the vibrancy, the wonderful silhouette!

 This is the card I chose .. the beautiful floral sunset by Daylene. 

 

I used my crayola watercolors to paint a backdrop

on Strathmore watercolor paper.

Once it was dry, I chose to use my Rubbernecker stamps rose stamp set ~

which I won on Instagram as a giveaway.

Thank you, Rubbernecker Stamps! 

I inked it up with Ranger inks in 2 different yellow hues

and stamped the background rose it to the dry watercolor panel.

I layered the rose outline stamp in Momento Tuxedo black ink

and stamped on top of that.

The sentiment is a white embossed, heat set sentiment from Simon Says Stamps

called Best Friends.

 This was a fun card to make

and way out of my comfort zone, which was the best part!

Try new things, broaden our creative horizons :)

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

~Kelly

Happy International Coffee Day!

Hi friends!

Today is a REALLY fun and awesome day to celebrate ~

 one I like a latte!

 Today is a day to celebrate COFFEE!!

 

That's my blood type!  I swear it.

   

While I knew about and celebrate National Coffee Day,

I was today years old when I heard on the radio

that it's International Coffee Day!

 To which I say ...

Cheers!

 My card today is using My Favorite Things 

Sweater Weather in the Woods.

This stamp set stole my heart!

I stamped/cut the critters and then colored them roughly

with Copics and popped them up on Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam.

The background is a simple sky piece that I made 

with my Ranger Distress oxide inks and the MFT Cloud Stencil.

I ran the panel through my gemini jr with a stitched die

for this simple, clean one layer card.

And the sentiment is also from teh Sweater Weather set. 

This set has endless possibiilities!

I know I'll use it often ♥

 

 Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

CYS: One of a Kind! ♥

Hi friends!

I'm doing a little lot of hopping this week ~

just like this little 'roo!

My beautiful granddaughter, Alice, turns ONE next week!

I can't believe the year has flown by so fast ♥

The theme for this month's CYS (Challenge Your Stash) card group 

is anything goes:  Get Well, Thinking of You, etc
I went with I'm thinking of you 
and a sweet reminder of what an incredibly good mama my daughter is.
Truly one of the most God-has-plans-for-you moments of my life ...
(Jeremiah 29:11)

For this card, I created a background with distress oxide inks

and made little hills for the Kangaroo and her babe to rest upon.

It's not her favorite animal by a long shot ~

or her favorite color (purple is!)

but it just felt right to create this one with a very (VERY!) old stamp set,

a collaboration with Ellen Hutson and Avery Elle.

 

It's a nod to Australia and it's called G'Day Mate.

I believe it was released in 2017 as part of the United We Flourish campaign,

where stamp companies support each other 

'because together we are better!" 

You can watch the behind the scenes creation of this here! 

Back to my card! 

After coloring the image, and die cutting it, I built the card base quickly.

I layered a few cardstock pieces in coordinating colors of beige and pink.

The beige came from pulling the colors I used for the kangaroo.

Finally, I stamped the sentiment and popped that up with some foam

for dimension and so it wouldn't get lost on the card.

That's it for me today!

I'm finally back in the saddle with card making

so hopefully I can crank a few out before the party

and before I have to put everything away again :)

Dining room table crafting at it's best!

Big hugs, bigger blessing!

~Kelly

CCEE1939: World Dream Day!

Hi friends!

It's time for a new challenge at the CCEE Stampers challenge blog

and our hostess, Frances, has another fun one: 

 World Dream Day!

Frances shared:
The 25th September was World Dream Day.
  So for our challenge this week create a card
 with someone/something sleeping/dreaming.

That sounds so nice!

(since dreaming usually involves good sleep or a good nap!) 

For my card today, I've used 2 different stamps.

The sweet bear is from Stamping Bella's Buddy Bears stamp set.
I used my scan 'n cut to cut the bear and colored him with copics

and popped it up on 3d foam dots from Scrapbook Adhesives 3M.

For the background, I used a tiny scrap of dsp that was on my desk

and ran it through the die cut machine with a die to give the feel of carpet :)

The funny sentiment is from Art Impressions Zoo Crew Feline set ~

and these two together made me LOL!

You can see what the design team created this week

 by heading here to the blog.

Some super cute cards showing all kinds of dreaming ;)

I'm up for the month of October on the CCEE blog
and have some fun challenges in the works!

Stay tuned!

And if you ever want to play along, one week or every week,
there's a link at the bottom of the post 

where you can add your cards, too :)

  

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

Happy first day of Fall!

Hi friends!

Happy first day of fall!

Don't you just love this time of year?

Fall is in the air :)

 While it's still very hot here and everything is a lovely shade of green,

I so love this time of year.

The world offers us a crispness to the air and the crunch of the leaves,

and the smell of all things autumn in recipes ♥

From candles to coffee, from kitchen decor and front porch doors,

I'm seeing lots and lots of fall!

For me, it's always a wonderful reminder that the holidays

 are right around the corner and the promise of many wonderful things to come.

I'm posting my card for The Project Bin a tiny bit early

so I can post on Fall the 1st :)

I've used an older set from The Project Bin but one that I still love so much.

It's called New Leaf and this set is just too cute 

with that cute little owl with his big 'ol eyeballs!

Lately, I've been staring at my stacks and stacks of unused paper pads 

and thinking ..

 'Kel, you really need to use those more!'

My friend Jeanette is the queen of perfectly picked designer papers

and uses them so wisely on her cards ...

The images are perfectly matched to the paper!

I saw the Echo Park autumn papers in my stash

and thought it wouldl make a cute card

by creating a faux tree for the owl.

The card base is from a Lawn Fawn paper pad

and the owls are from Echo Park with my die cut/colored owl sitting

in the tree with all the friends!

The sentiment is a perfect one for the arrival of autumn.

This stamp set is in the shop

and if you click on ANY stamp set, it will take you to a galleries

where you can see samples of gorgeous cards and how you can use the stamps!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

DDD: B is for baby .....

 Hi all!

A quick post with my Deuling Darlings card for this month!

I'm calling this my 'ketchup' week

 as I'm about 3 cards behind schedule! 

Our hostesses for the August duel for the Dueling Darlings 

are Judy and Donna with a theme of:  babies!

  

Hanna stamps is LONG retired and I smiled when I saw the card kit.
I actually own this stamp set!

I thought I was the only one with a few Hanna stamps left in my collection :)

 

I colored the image with Copic markers

and shortened it from the original image (there's a bib on the end).

For this card, I didn't have a plan in mind where I was going with it.

Most of my cards, I plan a person in mind or an event ~ like a birthday!

I did spy the Inspiration challenge at SCS

and saw this balloon picture to use as the inspiration point. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

Spooky Village feature ♥

Oh friends, my Saturday just got spookier! 

 You may remember my Spooky Village card from this post.

I loved making this card with my Lawn Fawn Spooky Village stamp set

 and had so much fun with it!

I was so excited when Scrapbook Pal reached out to feature my card!

They spotted it on Instagram where I often post and I said yes!

  It was one of my favorite cards to make and it's a joy to share it :)

You can see it here on their blog at Scrapbook Pal

along with find all of the items that I used to create it.

And at the very bottom,

many of the products I used at listed in their link form.

Thanks for peeking!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

One Plus Twelve - Foxy's August Adventures!

Hi friends ~

Happy Friday!

Hopefully you aren't out there storming Area 51! :)

This year, I started a new series I called One Plus Twelve.

The idea?

Take one stamp - and just that one stamp - 

and make a card once a month to find creative ways to use it

and really stretch the use of a treasured stamp! 

I chose the fox from Warm Wishes by Honey Bee Stamps

(I call him Foxy!)

For this month's round,

I wanted to use an out of the box idea to create splattered paint.

My son's birthday weekend included going paint-balling!

BUT!

I created my card while talking to my daughter ...

while prepping for a party ...

while doing 1 million other things!

I wasn't paying close enough attention to realize

i used another stamp!

Gulp!

It happens, right?

I didnt' realize when I was talking  eating party prepping crafting that

I'd grabbed another stamp to make the splatter splotches!

So, I remade another card 

although I'm not happy with it at all ~ at least it's following the rules, hee hee!

For the second card, I used good old fashioned crayola paints

and just flicked a paintbrush with soppy wet paint and let it land on the paper.

Barb and Jeanette, my stamping cohorts, are also 

playing along with the One Plus Twelve this year.

You can see their cards here and here!

 

 I'm sure that's what my son and his friends and the guys in our family

will look like after a day at the paintball field!

I''ll be back tomorrow with a special post that I'm REALLY excited about!

And ....

YAY ME!!

I have the ENTIRE WEEKEND FREE to craft and catch up 

to my heart's content!

No places to drop off my son,

no extra work to finish up,

the house is spotless,

laundry is done ....

BLISS! ♥

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

 

 

CCEE1938 ~ Talk Like A Pirate!

Ahoy there me Hearties!!!!

Good day to ya!

Did yer know that it's talk like a pirate day?

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh, it 'tis!

It's also Thursday ... and that means it's time for another
  challenge time on the CCEE Stampers blog.

Frances, the hostess for the month of September, says:

Today is Talk Like A Pirate Day,

 so grab those pirate stamps/dies to create your card this week. 

No pirate stamps?  Think beach, ocean or treasure!

Here is my card using CC Designs Rascals Pirate Henry,

the popular-on-my-blog Lawn Fawn tropical background die

and a pirate sentiment from a Peachy Keen stamp set.

 

Now for the FUN part!

The background panel is actually .......

a paper towel painting!

I started the background as part of my 'hot mess' post 

and didn't get to finish the card so I'll make another one :)

I used Strathmore heavyweight water color paper 

and added Gansai tambi watercolors directly to the watercolor paper.

While it was still sopping wet, I laid a paper towel onto it and let it sink in.

I THOUGHT it would soak up most of the paint and leave a dull base,

but surprisingly, much of the paint remained

 as well as the impression of the paper towel. 

 I used a sheet of Bounty that had really pretty swirls :)

Ta-da!

 

Be sure to stop in the CCEE Stampers blog to see the rest of the cards

from the design team,

as well as find the linky to add your cards, too!

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

TPB: Pumpkin Spice Surprise!

Hi friends!

I'm finally coming up for air :)

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks.

Our son's birthday party was a success but oh. so. much. work!
So very glad it's only once a year :)

I packed up my ENTIRE craft life, 

boxed it away for the party

and spent the entire day yesterday looking for everything.

Not even so much as a tombo runner could be found :)

Today I'm sharing a card I call Pumpkin Spice Suprise! 

I LOVE cards with a surprise effect ~

so that's what I aimed for when creating this card using Pumpkin Spice

from The Project Bin stamps.

It's one of the new release stamp sets

and perfect for the fall season and pumpkin "everything" connoisseurs!  

 

 This is the first time I've used this die that I've had in my collection ~

the window die!

I loved advent calendars growing up ~ the ones with the chocolates 

behind each numbered window.

So for today's card, I wanted to make an element of surprise!

This is an A2 size card and when the windows are popped open,

you can see the spice for the pumpkin spice latte :)

The sentiment is stamped in Momento Tuxedo Black ink

and the pumpkin is MFT orange and Archival brown (for the stem!)

You can find this stamp set in the store here,

and here it is in it's full view:

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly 

CCEE: Honey Month!

 Hi friends!

There's a new challenge at the CCEE Stampers this week:  

September is Honey Month!

This week the challenge is use that in any way as your inspiration ~

honey, bees, bears, even stamp companies that have honey in the name!

I went with the latter ~ Honey Bee Stamps!

I really love their stamps

(and chose it for my One Plus Twelve challenge this year!)

Earlier this week, SCS had a card challenge using the theme of 'brick'.

I haven't had a second free to make any cards other than 

for The Project Bin

so I did the next best thing ....

quickly checking my stash from The Daily Marker challenge!

I adore the Honey Bee Stamps Blah Bunny 

and had it colored and die cut in a binder of images 'ready to assemble later' :)

The card base was a super simple brick stencil

and Ranger archival ink in coffee, blended in just a section of the cardstock.

Last, I used a funny saying from blah blah blah 

to represent how Mondays can be!

 Be sure to stop in the CCEE Stampers blog
to see what the rest of the DT made this week
with lot of HONEY inspired projects!

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥
~Kelly

TPB: Pumpkin Kisses ...

Hi friends!

Just a short post from me today :)

It's our son's birthday and we've been celebrating!

He's such an amazing young man who just turned 15 ♥

We've been enjoying different family outings and FUN-derful events,

and his big party with his friends is this weekend at our home.

We have SO. MUCH. TO. DO!

 

 Today's card is one from The Project Bin stamps

and it's clean and simple.

I wanted the sweet little pumpkin stamp to be the focal point

and the adorable sentiment stamp just makes me smile!

I've stamped the pumpkin with inks from Hero Arts and My Favorite Things.

I fussy cut that and popped it up on foam

in the window frame with the falling leaves paper behind.

Here's the set in the store:

You can also see cards on the blog every week day

with different stamp sets here.

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly