Calendar Girls -- Shop 'til you drop!

 

 Happy post-Thanksgiving!

 

 

Did you brave the stores and head out for shopping?

This year, I did not ~

I'm not a big fan of the crowds, long lines, or parking woes!

I'd rather be comfortably in my home, jammies and coffee pot on ♥

 

 

Today is our Calendar Girls posting day

and the theme is Black Friday shopping.

Jeanette and Barb decided together a theme of shopping to commemorate.

My card is using one of my favorite stamp companies - Bugaboo!

I went with the funny JJ Shopping digi and the matching sentiment

I added to the inside of the card ♥

Be sure to visit the other CG posts and see what they've made

with this fun theme ~

you can find them in my sidebar!

 

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.

 



Calendar Girls - Cute 'n Cuddly ;)

Good Morning, blogging friends :)

  Today is the day that the Calendar Girls post our monthly cards,

 created with a theme that the hostess gives to us. This month, our hostess is Linda and her theme is "Cute and Cuddly."  Love her theme muchly :)

I have soooo many stamps that are cute and cuddly, and probably tops the list of what I own in stamps!

 Here is Linda's challenge this month: 

JULY 2013 CHALLENGE

Miss July: Linda

I would like it to be "Cute and Cuddly". The cuddly being a huggable moose, or a raccoon, or a bear, etc. I really enjoy the Riley stamps and Penny Black hedgehogs, but I'm asking you to pick your favorite furry creature stamp and make a card with any sentiment. I happen to be a hoarder of cute stamps, maybe because my kids share in my stamping addiction. It's always fun to see those little critters come to life on a card.
Can't wait to see what you come up with.
Linda

Oh which stamp to use!  I was sorting through my stamps and files
and finally saw this one and knew it was the one :) 

And cows are cute and cuddly, right? *smile!*

Some of my fondest memories are being on my grandparents orchards
in California and the neighboring farms - vast, vast farmlands!
For me, it just evokes such incredible happiness.
So my 'cute and cuddly' became very clear to me ~
"Cow'nt Your Blessings!"

  And the inside of my card:

For my card, I used a digi from Bugaboo stamps.

It was super easy to color, actually very little to color ~ so

I created the card base, paper choice and layout based on the image.

I went with the pink/red/black and in the end, it looks a 

little like a Valentine's card, right?!

I hope your day is *udderly Moo-velous!*

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Card entered into:  SouthernGirls Challenge - Animal Antics

Daring Cardmakers - Creature Comforts

Digi Haven - Animals

LEJ Designs 63 - Cute!

Chocolate, Coffee, Cards - Animals

IDIC #170 - Friendship card with sentiment

Crafters of Faith: Down on the Farm!

Hello there and Happy SONday! :)

Today the Crafters of Faith - a group of christian sisters from SCS - share the cards we've made with a chosen theme by our hostess of the month.  This month, our hostess is Barb - who graciously stepped up when we found ourselves without a hostess ~ Thank you, Barb!!   Barb's theme is so much fun this month ~ I had a ton of ideas swirling in my head and had a few stamp sets in mind to use.  Literally at the last minute, I went through my digi stamps and was eager to ink up this adorable little piggie from Bugaboo - that's farm related, right?!! :)

Here's what Barb's amazing theme is:

June is Dairy Month in Wisconsin. I remember when I was growing up there were dairy breakfasts at farms in our area and my 4-H club had a pie and ice cream social every June. Now--I am not sure that everyone has a dairy themed image. But--if you have something farm related--cow, chickens, ducks, barns, fields, etc. or dairy products related--ice cream, cheese, milk, eggs, cream puffs (the Wisconsin State Fair favorite!), or use your own imagination to honor the dairy farmer. Do you have some farm related DSP or an embossing folder? Chicken wire, barbed wire, farm animals, etc.--please be sure to use that.

I hope everyone enjoys creating a card or scrapbook page with a Dairy Farm Theme! Do you have a farm related story from your childhood to also share when you post your card? We would love to read about a favorite memory.

Have Fun--Enjoy the Challenge!

Oinkers, that's a fun challenge!  So here's what I came up with :) I used one of my digi stamps from Bugaboo called Bobblehead Farm Pig ~ isn't he cute!

I printed it out on DSP and cut it to size, then propped up his nose on alternating dsp for contrast.  As a second thought, I included the hooves in matching colors and the rest is pretty simple and let me tell you, I am LOVING the new Strawberry Slush!  I'll be ordering this again super soon!

And here is the inside of my card - sending hogs! :)

Barb also asked us to share any farm stories and I don't have many!  We were a very transient military family and station in England, once.  They didn't even have a base at that time for military and we lived clustered in the midst of a English town - how my heart was joyful to live there as a child!  We would walk/skateboard/bike down steep hills to a neighboring town that had a vast lands and farm animals roaming about.  One particular elderly couple used to wave to us and invite my brother and I onto their farm and visit with the animals, give us milk from the cow and homemade breads and pastries :)
Such is the gift of hospitality given to us by strangers that became friends :)

And that's my COF card for today! 

 Please be sure to stop in and see what the rest of the girls have made this month with our Farm theme - you can find their links in my sidebar!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I'd rather be stamping! ;)

Hiya!  I hope your weekend is super fabulous!  

I had a little bit of crafting time now that school is officially out for the Summer :)  This is my favorite time of year - having the babies home and the lazy days of doing whatever feels like fun :)  

In continuing with my plans of simplifying the year, my Summer goals are pretty low-key.   Aside from a couple of weeks of camp for 2 of the kids, and a few days of vacation here and there, I'll be at the beach - a lot!  And reading, getting the Cabana turned into a game room, and catching up on scrapbook pages that are years behind!

My beautiful friend Barb is hosting a swap on SCS called 

"What Women Want" and I just love Barb's swaps so much!

I have so many stamps I could have chosen for this swap and in the end, I wanted to ink up this adorable Scarlette stamper from Bugaboo ~

we do all want more time to craft in our busy schedules, right?! :)

 I used the 2011-13 In Colors which are scrumptious!  I paired it with Everyday Enchantment paper pack that I've been saving up :)

Hopefully the swappers won't mind the bright colors - they reminded me of ones I'd reach for when crafting/stamping!

Blessings on this fabulous SONday ~

big hugs!

~Kelly

Mornin', Nurse Margaret!

LOL, isn't she sweet!  *chuckle!*   With my daughter, we've had our fair share of appointments lately and I can tell you - I'm glad we haven't run into any nurses like Margaret! 

Today is April Fool's Day - a day all about jokes :)  But one thing not so funny is that it's time to say goodbye to Bugaboo as a Guest Designer :(   Thank you, Bugaboo, for the opportunity to work with your images and team - it was great fun!

Since today is all about jokes, I thought I'd showcase this hilarious Nurse Margaret and her thoughts on joking ~ apparently, none!  But don't worry - you'll see her again.  May is National Nurse's Month - maybe she'll be happier by then, hee hee!

Spring Break is over here and it's back to school.

I already miss the babies but it will be good to get them back on some sort of schedule - and me, too! 

Have a fabulously fun 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

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

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 

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!

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

I'm all WASHI-d up with Bugaboo!

Hi there! 

 Today is an extra fun posting day for me as it's tutorial day at Catch the Bug ~ Bugaboo Stamp's inspiration blog.

For today's tutorial post, I thought I'd show you a great way to create a card, or project, without using any designer paper ~ surprise!  I adore my layers upon layers on my cards and I'm crazy for my mix 'n match designer papers :)

However, one of the most beautiful style of cards is CAS cards - easy breazy and super pretty!  

So what's one way of creating a card without the use of any designer papers?  

Grab some Washi Tape! =)

 Using a digi stamp like the ones at Bugaboo and Washi tape, it's an easy way to brighten up a card and keep it simple and let the image shine!

For today's card, I am showcasing the adorable Puppy Love digi - available in the store.  Any color/size/style of washi tape will do for your card or project.

For today's card, I used navy blue, hot pink and soft yellow washi tape and cardstock -and that's it!  Not a stitch of dsp anywhere! :)

I started with these few rolls and a classic design ....

                                     

That's it for today's tutorial! 

 I hope you are able to color up your Bugaboo stamps 

and play with the many challenges that go on each week!

Big hugs,

Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly  

Entered into: Oldie but Goodie Challenge - Bright Colors
Corrosive Challenge - Fave Color Combo
Digital Tuesday - Birthday

Guten Tag from Germany! :)

Wie Gehts?!  How I *wish* I were really posting from Germany -
 how blessed that would be!  

 I'm showcasing this adorable Germany card today because it's Time for an Oldie But Goodie day at the Bugaboo blog and ...

February 22nd is International World Thinking Day!

I was Über excited to see this charming AKV World Flags - Germany! I lived all   over Europe as a child and even spent years in Germany -  my 2nd home, as I call it :)   I scooped up this image to create my International inspired card, 

keeping the colors in tune to their flag.

I found/followed this amazing sketch from I {heart} sketches.  Due to the image layout, I added the heart buttons to the opposite side of the image so hopefully that's ok :)

This adorable AKV Germany digi can be found here in the store, along with many other countries, cuties and charmers!
Take a peek!

And you can find the challenge blog here with many challenges to play along with as well as a lot of DT inspiration - see here! :)

And don't forget to stop by the Catch the Bug blog on Friday as there is a freebie give-away you won't want to miss!

Big hugs,
Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I'm filling in for Cupid!

Happy Wednesday!!  

Wednesdays are always fun days at Bugaboo stamps!

Did you know that February 15th is Singles Awareness Day?  LOL!

Among many of the challenges Bugaboo has, this one is 

Humor Me Wednesday using of my very favorites, Stella!

For today's card, I've used "Stella - I'm filling in for Cupid" and it just cracked me up when I saw it!  

Singles Awareness Day!  Hee hee!

I created my card based on this week's Stella Says Sketch #130, too!

 Here's the awesome sketch: 

This card has lots and lots of layers!
 I gave it a pop of blue for a small splash of extra color.

The inside of the card - sentiment also from Bugaboo with the Stella "I'm Filling in for Cupid"

Of course, we'd love to see what you create with the challenges this week!

If you want to use the sketch challenge, please enter your card here!

To see more DT inspiration and see the designers creations this week, take a peek here :)

You can find Stella and many more funny digis in the shop here!

And I'm wishing you the VERY happiest, most blessed Valentines Day!

From my heart to yours, much love!

Big hugs,

Bigger blessings!
~Kelly