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

 

 

Riley and Company + Calendar Girls = 1 card, 2 challenges!

                                         Hello friends!

 

Do you remember playing with Spirograph as a young child?

Me, too!

It kept my brother and I busy for hours playing with it,

creating intricate designs and zig-zag pictures in a variety of colors.

I was so nostalgic when I saw the TLC Spirelli challenge on SCS

 and just knew I had to play along ♥

 

My finished card is actually a two-fer ....

The Calendar Girls and Riley and Company built into one!

 

Barb is the hostess for our Calendar Girls this month

and challenged us to make a card using Black and only one other color

(white in the image base was acceptable!)

and ....
Kerin is the hostess for the new Riley and Company Challenge this week,
which is create a pink monotone card in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness.

So in order to create this card,
I chose pink as the color to work with and nestled the Funnybones
sentiment into the Spirelli inspired floret.
(you can find the tutorial on SCS here:)
The sentiment really resonates that any battle,
especially one with a life changing diagnosis of cancer,
takes courage.

Here is my finished card, inside and out -
 

 



 

Here's the wonderful beginning to the Spirelli technique ~
embroidery twine and a scallop edge.

 

The finished floret!



 Isn't this a fun technique!

I know I'll be using this again and again :)

 

Please be sure to check out the Riley and Company DT creations -

you can find them listed in my sidebar!

Also, if you want to upload your card to play along to a gallery,

please use the keyword Riley2214.

 

And of course stop on over and see what my Calendar Girl sisters

 have created, too!

 

That's it for me!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

 

Butterfly Moments (Cornish Heritage Farms) ♥

The butterfly counts not months but moments,

and has time enough.

~Rabindranath Jagore

 

Hi friends ♥

Today's post is celebrating butterflies ~ for two reasons!

Today is the day the Calendar Girls launch our monthly cards

with a chosen theme.  This month, our hostess Linda,

asked us to create a card with butterflies - that's it, just butterflies!

Since that was the theme for my card, and today is also the day

the Cornish Heritage Farms DT post our bi-weekly challenge cards,

I knew the direction I wanted to go with my card ♥

Irit is our hostess this week and gave us this challenge ~

to use 3 different craft/coloring mediums on our cards.

Wow!

 

For my card today, I started with a butterfly digi image from CHF -

they not only carry a delicious variety of rubber stamps but

digital stamps as well, some of them as low as .99c!

I printed the digi on watercolor paper

so the Tattered Angels glimmer mist would stick the best (medium #1)

I colored the butterfly with both primsacolor markers in light shades

and outlined it with a watercolor colored pencil in white (medium #2).

Lastly, I brought my acrylic white paint out and painted over a piece of

corrugated cardboard I had on hand for the background piece (medium #3).

 

I've also added another CHF sentiment to the inside of the card

along with the small section of cardboard that was extra from the front.

I am all about using leftovers in crafting!

This sentiment can be found in the shop, too :)

 

Be sure to stop in and see what the rest of the Calendar Girls

have created with their Butterflies cards - you can find them

in my sidebar ......

 

And be sure to see what the Cornish Heritage Farms DT has made,

and you can find them listed in my sidebar!

That's a lot of inspiration right there!

If you upload your CHF cards using 3 craft mediums to a gallery

like Splitcoaststampers, please use the keyword  CHF58.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I'll enter my card into: Make My Monday - Butterflies
Crafting when we can - Make your own background
Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes

 

Calendar Girls -- One for the Guys (Riley *Sneak Peek* 4!)

Happy Wednesday! 

It's the 28th of the month and that means the Calendar Girls

 are posting our monthly cards with a chosen theme ...

and
it's Day 4 of the

Riley and Company 
*Sneak Peeks* 

so my card is sharing double duty today :)

 

 Okay, our hostess this month is April and this was her challenge for us:

 

It is May and I always like to honor my father this month.
So, to celebrate him (and fathers every where) let us make a masculine celebratory card with any SCS sketch that ends in 25 (the year he was born).
Please let us know which sketch you used and a memory of a special man in your life!

Thanks, April!

 My card reflects a very special man in my life -- my brother ♥

He's currently stationed overseas in the Army and he is LOVING it!

He was born to be a solider and we could not be more proud of the tours of

duty he's had and the service to our country that he has given with pride.

 

But he is also a perpetual clown! 

There isn't anyone on this planet that loves to laugh as much as him,

play pranks and he's an absolute NUT JOB!

With that in mind, I thought of him with this new sentiment being released

"When I was a kid ..."

{Truthfully I haven't grown up much, either!:)}

                                 I used SC325 which looks like this:

 

 

And my card!

 

 and of course, my card inside :)

 

 

This was a great sketch to work with, April - thank you!

This FunnyBones sentiment stamp will be available on Thursday at our big new stamp release - 34 stamps in all!

 

• Join us for our release Blog Hop this Thursday 28th May 10 PM EST, starting on the Riley and Company Blog.
• 34 Funnybones Sayings to be released
• New Release Stamps available in the Riley and Company Store from Thursday 28th May10 PM EST.

 

Be sure to stop in and see what the rest of the Calendar Girls masculine cards

and

the Riley and Company DT *sneak peek* cards!

 

Thanks for stopping in today!
Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

 

 card entered into:  Paper Minutes - animals
Created with Love - Lots of layers
Make my Monday -- card to make you laugh

Calendar Girls - Mother's Day ♥

Good Morning, blogging friends! 

I cannot believe it's almost May!

Before we know it, it will be the SUMMER - yes! 

I can't wait!  That not only means having my babies home (yay!)

from school but a much needed break for me - hee hee!

I love the summer so much ♥

 

 

 

But I'm getting ahead of myself!

I'm actually posting my Calendar Girl card (a day late - shhhh!)

Carol was our hostess this month and her theme was to create a card with a Mother's Day

theme and use the color pink or red.

About my image:  It's really an old stamp that I saw and just HAD TO HAVE,

seriously, like 8-9 years ago!

I spied it in a card magazine and tracked it down - they were unavailable

and I sat and watched ebay for forever.  One day, it popped up!

I had 2 of my friends along side me watching it and luckily, I was the only bidder - so my .99c treasured stamp means the world to me and I was

glad to ink it up (again!) for this challenge.  I stamped it in

Kiwi Kiss to offset the colors in the paper ~ it just didn't look right

in my Momento black ink.  It felt right to put some matching color on it

since it's a 'stand alone' stamp.  Up close, as you can maybe see,

it's very Monet' - a tiny series of little dots!  Love it :)

I spied this GORGEOUS color combo challenge at

the Cupcake Inspirations blog and just had to use it!

I also followed the sketch at Paper Players #193 this week, super pretty ♥

 

 

 

 

Carol asked us to share a special memory about our mom ~

one thing that stands out amidst many wonderful things about her is that she can multi-task in the most wonderful manner! 

Growing up in a military family, we not only moved around all the time,

but she was a wonderful baker, chef, seamstress, party planner, etc!

In between sewing handmade dresses and clothes for me,

clothes for my dolls and the dolls themselves, but was always making

a blanket, quilt, wedding cake, the entire bridal party dresses, foods for

parties, etc!  I don't know how she managed it all ~ I'm barely able to get

meal on the table at night with all the food groups covered, LOL!

I love my mom and she's an amazing lady,

always someone I aspire to be like in many ways ♥

 

Be sure to stop in and see what the other Calendar Girls made

with this wonderful theme!

I'll enter my card into The Paper Players 193

and Cupcake Inspirations!

 

Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

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
 

2013 - Card Year in Review!

 Farewell, 2013!

This is such a fun post every year, one that I really adore!

For my 2013 cards Year in Review,

 I'm doing it a little bit different than previous years ...

 rather than pick a 'favorite' card from each month,

I thought I'd reflect on crafting goals that I met, adventures I took,

sidesteps that didn't go quite as planned, friendships made and sustained :)

In all - many blessings!

January

 I began the year with a mantra to use my un-inked SU! stamps

and my crafting goal was to try new techniques.  I succeeded with both!

While I didn't use all of them, I sure put a dent in my unused/unloved SU stamps!  And tried new things.

Like this one. 

 I dusted off my aqua painter and my water color crayons!

February

For 3 wonderful months,

I was a guest designer for Bugaboo stamps ~ total fun!

March

I got lucky in March!

Okay ... um .... let me rephrase!  :D

I'm lucky that I have a great group of friends for the Dueling Darlings group,

 a group I dreamed up years ago and here we are - still dueling!
This card was created from a kit from sweet Kadie!

 

April

 This card was created from the generosity of a special friend

who sent me this fabulous birthday stamp! Thank you!!

She's also in one of my other fun card groups - The Calendar Girls.

  Hi!  I'm Miss February! ::: waving :::

Thankfully, there is NO swimsuit competetion ...

Just sayin'!

May

 My firstborn daughter graduated High School and 

jumped right in and started college in the summer term!  

So proud of her!

 

 June

I tried my hand at continuing my year of simplifiying ~

I drooled over a dahlia stamp in the SU! catty but couldn't afford to buy it 

at the time and found a digi stamp that was almost spot on for $2!

What a bah-gain!

AND this turned out to be my favorite card of the year :)

Who knew!

 

July

 The kids are officially out of school ~  I love having my babies home! :)

There is such great joy in having them close by and

 doing all the silly, fun, happy things kids do -  and they sometimes join in! :P

 

 August

Another fun card for a special group I'm in - the Stamp Addicts!

What a special, wonderful group of ladies - welcoming right from the start

and throwing down a guantlet of challenges. This one was probably my 2nd

favorite card of the year - the spotlight technique :)

 

 September

The Crafters of Faith, another wonderful group of faith-filled women, and 

another group I dreamed up after I had one night after a long night of prayer

and particularly grueling bible study I could not grasp.

I think God truly whispered in my ear "Try, try again .."

We had a free month to create an Anything Goes card :)

 October

 Spooktacular greetings brought to you by Riley - 

my favorite Moose EVER!!!

He just could not be any cuter!

I'm SUPER blessed to be on this DT :) 

 November

Earlier in the year, my dh rec'd a beatiful box of fruit from one of his Dr. colleagues.  When it arrived, all my crafty eyes did was

zero in on the gorgeous box!  The kids had yummy pears and plum and more, but what did my crafty self see?  The fuax stamped images on the box :)

Here is one small piece I saved .... and a lovely card it made!

Tis the season to be grateful after all.

December

Alas, due one super crazy life, my laptop dying and virtually

zero access to the internet/blogging, my December craft life

was pretty dismal! 3 cards people.  3!

In.  one.  month.

  Here's to a better next year!

However, one of the cards that culminates how the year was overall,

and the future ahead, was this one.  Amen!

Blessings and CHEERS to 2014!!

Thanks for your visit today

and I look forward to another year of crafty, friendship goodness

in the year ahead.

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I'll link this to Just Add Ink link up
and Debby's ( Scrapjourney's)  Favourite Five here!

I was KISSING this weekend! ;)

♥Smooch, Smooch!♥

Indeed there was some kissing going on in my craft room 

this weekend - with my stamps! 

  

I'm blessed to be part of a wonderful group on SCS called

 The Calendar Girls ~

Hi! I'm Miss February! *wink*!

Our hostess for this month, Barb,a most generous +

and beautiful lady, gave us an interesting challenge this month.

We were to go to SCS's Technique Forum and pick a technique with the

 #0 or 1 in it and create based on that technique. 

So I picked #01 - kissing, a basic usage of several inks stamped onto one image at the same time and leaving behind a printed collage of color.

I chose a Fall related image from my stamps (unlike most of my posts,

this one has seen ink before but it's perfect for this time of year!)

I used SU! inks in Close to Cocoa, Daffodil Delight and Really Rust

and I left the image untouched to show the colors of the inks.

To keep the 'rustic' look of the image, I paired it with Fall papers

and matching buttons in Autumn colors.

And since I read - too late - that it could not be a card

{oops!  Sorry, Barb!}, I added the image to a removable

bookmark/tag!  It's held on by just a wee bit of

removable sticky tape to easily mark the pages of a favorite book :)

I used this sketch from Clean+Simple stamping #264 

and I'll enter this into their challenge.

Be sure to stop on over and see what the other Calendar Girls 

created with this wonderful technique challenge.  You can find their

blogs listed in my sidebar :)

Happy Crafting to all of you! 

It was good to be back in the Cabana again ~

I managed to make 3 cards in 1 day! 

Given that my norm is 1 card in 3 weeks, that's pretty good! :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

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