CYS: Hello Lady(bug)!

Hello Lady(bug!)

 It's almost the weekend ~

and that's a pretty bug deal :)

March 19 is the first day of Spring!

The Challenge Your Stash card group has a new theme this month:
Old School!
Jenn asked us to create a card using an old school stamp or style.
My old school item ~ brads!

My card is spring inspired card ~ 

new growth and flowers, green leaves sprouting, and the return of life -

yes, even bugs! ♥

I've used the ADORABLE Hey Lady from Lawn Fawn for my card.

I adore this set and it reminds me of my little granddaughter, Alice ♥

I realized (too late) that this is a newer stamp

and the idea is to challenge your (older) stash of stamps

BUT ....

I'm playing along with the Lawn Fawnatics challenge #71

Bring it Back - old school crafting items.

I've made a slimline card and started with a base of white cardstock

and blended distress oxides in Picked Raspberry and Spun Sugar

with my Taylored Expressions Blending Brushes to create the background.

I used a paintbrush and lightly ficked it with water to create the splatter.

Then, I stamped the images with Momento Tuxedo Black ink,

and colored them with copic makers.

I realized too late that I didn't add the matching dies to my order ...

so I used my Brother Scan n Cut and

 'scattered' the cut out leaves and sweet ladybugs onto the card.

For my bring it back and stash challenge (CYS), 

I've used my very old brads - circa 2008! - as the additional decor to my card.

I think these are from Doodlebug and are super glittery and sparkly cute!

 So this month,

 I'll have to just go with the flow and not get bugged about it! :)~ 

 Last, I added the matching sentiment and popped it up on foam, too.

I can't believe we are almost in March!

That's my birth month so I'm really looking forward to the new month ♥

I've also entered my card to:
Pixie's Crafty Workshop!

Thanks for stopping by!
Big BUGS, 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

WELCOME to the funny farm!

Ooops!

 I mean greetings from the funny farm!

Today is the day that the Challenge Your Stash (CYS) card group

creates a card with a chosen theme.

This month, our hostess is Vickie and she chose "Down on the Farm!"

Isn't that a-moo-sing?! :)

I have quite a few farm stamps and it's always fun to ink up the stamps

 that haven't gotten to play!

Here is my take on the farm ~
a barnyard full of happy, smiling farm friends!

I created this card with Sunny Studio Stamps "Barnyard Buddies", 

stamped in Momento Tuxedo and colored with a combination of 

prismacolor markers and promarkers.

In order to create the little farm scene,

I used the Sunny Studio Stamps gingham jewel tones patterned paper 

and layered the barn and fence in the background.

The animals in the front are popped up on 3d foam.

 The inside of my card is pretty simple ...

The possibilities of using this stamp set in a card are endless!

  I already see a 3 cards-1 stamp project :)

 And I can't wait to see what the rest of the CYS did with their farms ...

Yeeeeehaw!

 Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

 ~Kelly

It's a Cool Day for watermelon!

 Hi friends!

YAY for the weekend!

I hope yours is off to a good start :)

And watermelon, pink and green snow?

Yes, please! 

Today's card is one I made for the Challenge Your Stash (CYS) 

 card group. This month, Barbara asked us to go to the Splitcoaststampers

color challenge master list and create a card 

based on any one of the color combinations.

 I chose the #688:

Smoky Slate, Watermelon Wonder and Old Olive ♥

These colors ~ So gorgeous!

These polar bear cuties were pretty easy to color,

which was important in order to stick to just those 3 colors predominantly.

The premise of CYS is to use things from your stash, 

nothing bought, nothing new.

Check and check!

I've had them awhile now and it was so fun to dig for them in the middle of July!

The front of my card is using MFT Polar Bear Pals 

and MFT Cool Day, using the matching dies to cut them out.

I stamped the sentiment inside due to a space issue

and added it right to the pink snowbanks :)

Inside of my card ↓

To create the pink snow, I used the CC Designs stitched snowbank die,

including on the inside. 

The frame is from Avery Elle wonky cloud die.

A winter themed birthday card is exactly what I need in my stash!

With 3 daughters, and all 3 having a birthday in December,

I'm sure it will come in handy!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

I'll enter this into: Cut It Up Challenge - Christmas In July

Fab N Funky - Christmas in July

Crafty Gals Corner - Christmas In July

 

Memorial Day Mouse ♥

 Happy Memorial Day!

To my friends and family near and far,

I hope this day brings you a moment of reflection

 and happiness and remembrance ♥

 

And to my 'boss', Denise, at The Project Bin stamps,

thank you SO MUCH for the day off! :)

 My card today warms my heart as it's one I recreated after receiving

the sweetest message via Facebook!

That's what I love so much about this craft of ours ~

the friends we 'bump into' by happenstance ♥

I was chatting with a sweet lady about the military and us growing up

all over the world in an Air Force family.

She mentioned her son is a new US Marine and stationed in Hawaii ..

and I sent her a package to her and one for her to send to him.

She received it as she sent the sweetest message via FB.

It prompted me to recreate a card that I had made 

previously, which you can see here.

i quickly got to work and changed a few things around

to meet a patriotic theme instead ...

and voila!

In case you were wondering why a mouse on a card for a soldier?

Glad you asked!

LOL!

Today's the day that we post our "Challenge Your Stash" cards

and Pansy - hostess for May - asked us to add a mouse to our cards.

It's her signature since she's C-Mouse - isn't that cute!

I used Harvest Mouse stamps and dies from My Favorite Things

and then added a sentiment from another MFT stamp set "Adventure is calling."
  The star designer paper was the requirement for the CAS challenge on SCS

and the sequins were added to finish off the look.

Now I just hope they make it on their long flight to Hawaii ♥

Be blessed today, friends.

Hugs your loved ones and thank a soldier ♥

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

You GIRAFFE me crazy! ♥

I love, love, LOVE Altenew Stamps! 

 They are just gorgeous in design and a joy to stamp and color.

I was so so SO blessed to win a gift certificate early this year
and chose this stamp set awhile back,

 I took advantage of a sale during the summer AND they had free shipping

 so went back to bought the matching dies!  

Now that I finally inked it up, I wonder what took me so long
(no pun intended!)  :)

I know in my heart this set will get a lot of use ~ 

it's so different and unique and just stunning ♥

Onward to my card!

I'm in a card group on Splitcoaststampers called Challenge Your Stash (CYS)

in which we make a card once a month using things we already own.

No new products, no buying, just dig through your stamps

and make a card based on the challenge theme.

This month ~ our hostess is the amazing Darlene!

She asked us to .........

GULP ....

make a card using no designer paper.

Wait, what?

no.  designer.  paper?

None?

Oh this took some thinking!
And in the end, I ended up making a card, 
then fixing the card,
and so now I have two :)

Here is my original card:

 and my fixed one! :)

Thanks Darlene for a fun challenge this month!
The girls in the card group ROCKED this challenge -
from embossed backgrounds to just images as a focal point, 
it was fun to see them all :)

Jody is up next month and
I can't wait to see what she asks us to create :)

Big hugs, bigger blessings!
~Kelly

I'll enter my card to:  AAA Cards - Creatures Great & Small

We love to Create - Anything Creative

Scrap and craft creations - colors of autumn

CYS: Amazing You!

Good morning, friends!

  It's the 28th of the month ~

 the day the Challenge Your Stash friends post our cards with a chosen theme.

This month's theme is from our hostess, Terry L:

 "Use your favorite floral stamp."

           

Confession .... shhhh!

I don't have a favorite!

I did, however, finally ink up a floral stamp set that I LOVE ♥

I took advantage of Altenew's free shipping and sale awhile ago

and scooped up two of the stamp sets: Amazing You and A Splash of Color
I'm glad I finally got to pull them out and ink them up,

gently nudged from Terry's floral theme!

I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE art fan ~

 especially the works of impressionist Monet and post-impressionist Seurat.

**Swoon!**
I think that's why I was drawn to the watercolor/splotchy look. 

My card is inspired by one I saw somewhere on Pinterest ...

I couldn't find the original poster again (as soon as I do, I'll link it up!)
Her card inspired me to mix both of these stamps to create a very 'artsy' look.

It was a bit of a labor of love but so. much. fun!

So I made 3!
  

 My oldest daughter LOVES Alice in Wonderland and said it reminded her
of the playing cards (guards) running around painting the roses red!
The background for this one is a ruby red/dark pink.

 Here is another flower in the stamp set, and the card base in yellow.

I'll add this pink card to the Altenew inspiration challenge :)

Thank you, Terry, for your wonderful floral theme!
Your CYS nudged me to get these out and finally ink them up ~
no longer sitting in my *please use me bin!*

May your day bloom with wonder,
and remember,
 you are amazing!

Big hugs, bigger blessings!
~Kelly

CYS: Superheroes!

Shazam!  Kapow!  Bam! 

Hi friends!

Today is a very special day on my blog ~

It's National Superhero Day!

It's also the day the SCS group Challenge Your Stash (CYS) groupies

post our cards with a theme chosen by the hostess.

This month - it's me!

In January of this year, I chose a "Superhero" theme,

long before I made the connection of the superhero day.

According to some, like Marvel comics, superheroes are fictional ...

but I think there are {super}heroes all around us all the time ♥

They protect, they serve, they teach, they are role models.

I chose this challenge based on a call I heard on the christian radio station

and it just tugged at my heartstrings.

In the call, a dad shared that his wife and mom to their young children

 was in the hospital receiving chemotherapy for an aggressive form of cancer.

Whenever he and their children would visit,

they all wore superhero capes!

 The CYS group is exactly that ~ we have to look into our own stash

of stamps and papers and challenge ourselves to make a card

 with whatever we have on hand.  No new purchases!

I knew instantly that I wanted to use Super Hero Henry from CC Designs ~

bless him, he's been waiting to get inked up and onto a card!

Since my favorite color combo is green/teal,

I kept the colors similar to the package insert.

I also used their sketch from the challenge archives to create the card base.

And SHAZAM!

My superhero card is complete and I absolutely adore it!

Go out into the world today and be a superhero to someone,

in some way ... big or small!

Just put your proverbial (or real!) cape on and make a difference.

Your heart will smile ♥ 

Big hugs, bigger blessings!
~Kelly

CYS: I prayed for you ♥

Hi friends!  

Happy Saturday!

I got in earlier from trail walking with our pups .... 

it's SO hot here in South Florida :(

We didn't last as long as I thought we would - the heat was just unbearable.

  And it's only April!

  

Today's card is one that I made a couple of days ago

for the Challenge Your Stash (CYS) March card.

It's a group of friends on Splitcoaststampers 

where you use everything in your existing stash to create cards with a theme!

No new products are allowed, hence, pulling from what you own :)

Shelly is the hostess this month and 

challenged us to make a card using this theme:

A sympathy theme in honor of her father, the color green, 

and 3 embellishments of our choice.

 

I went with a nontraditional sympathy card,

using this sweet little praying boy Chase from Whipper Snapper Designs. 

I can't remember where the sentiment is from -

it's a small acrylic stamp that fell out of it's set, but it was a perfect fit!

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Kelly