CYS: Cajun Mango Flowers!

 Hi friends!

I have another card today ~ for the CYS card group.

The Challenge Your Stash began as a way to inspire us

to use our older, perhaps forgotten, stamps!

Nothing new can be used and we dig through our stash

and create a card with a chosen theme.

This month, Joyce chose a theme of flowers!

Critters are my absolute favorite stamps of all time

but next in line - flowers!

I paired my card today with the color challenge at SCS ~

 Cajun, Mango and Poppy!

The colors lend themselves to a fall or autumn feel to me :)

 

I've used my older Reverse Confetti Cotton and Thistles stamp set

which I just love!

I purchased this from a crafters destash for just a couple of dollars

last year and was so excited to add it to my collection :)

I've used just the flowers from the set

and colored the flowers and cotton stems to match the color theme.

I've added a small sentiment that was on my desk already

from a previous cardmaking session - I went with a white embossed version

so I'm putting this little guy to good use ~ no throwaways!

 

 Thanks for stopping by again! :)

Big hugs, bigger blessings!
~Kelly

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

CYS: I BEE-lieve In You!

 Hi friends!

I'm buzzzzzzing by today with a fun card for the 

Challenge Your Stash (CYS) card group.

I'm the hostess for August and many of us are back to school

 (or about to be!)

so I chose a very simple theme:

Stencils!

At the time of choosing a challenge, I picked something that would be easy.

But I had NO IDEA how many stencils I own!

I started going through them to decide on a card design

and kept finding one after another :)

  

We crafters are funny that way!

Sometimes I surprise myself - shopping in my own stash, ROFL!

 I decided on today's stencil:  Burlap by Stamp Anniething.

I actually purchased this stencil for an upcoming project.

I tried it out - liked the results -

 so it became the stenciled background for this card :)

Don't you just love my worn out blending tools!

I'll let you in on a secret ....

I. Love. Them! 

They are so smooth and effortless and glide across the paper when I blend!

I just replace the little circle dauber thingies as/if needed.

The market seems to have many companies coming out with their own,

and I have some fancy blending brushes

but these are my absolute favorites.

  

Using distress oxide inks (tumbled glass, scattered straw),

I used a light blend to get a mixture of both colors.

I added the stamped/die cut bees and hive from MFT Meant to Bee

including a matching sentiment.

Overall, it's a very clean and simple look

but I'm Ha-BEE with it! :)

 Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings! ♥

~Kelly

Alice's sunshine ♥

Hi friends!

Yay for Friday!

Yay for sunshine outside my window,

shining brightly after days upon days of rain.

And Yay that my son is finally heading home this weekend

after nearly 3 weeks of Boy Scout camp! 

  Every 28th of the month,

the Challenge Your Stash card group post our cards with a theme.

Our hostess this month is Maggie and she said:

Celebrate the start of summer by making a card

 with Yellow and Sunshine.

The CYS card group literally means to challenge your stash

of supplies, meaning nothing new can be used/bought!

It helps us to stretch the supplies that we purchase,

especially if a stamp has only seen ink once (or not at all!)

Today, I'm using the stamp Sunshine by CC Designs,

 stamp I bought over 2 years ago.

I created this card with it in April 2017 :)

The yellow requirement is the base color for the overall design

and the sunshine is in her little balloon hand.

The gingham paper is from my scrap pile 

and the dies I've used have been in my collection for a long time.

And the sweet little lemon sequins are from a win over on Instagram:

Doodles Paper Playground (Sparkle blend: Limonade)

This one is for my little granddaughter, Alice,

and she's definitely my little ray of sunshine!

She's the absolute joy of our lives and we're all just completely smitten.

She's too young for the card at 8 months old,

so I'll have to put it away for her ♥

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

CYS: Happy National Hamburger Day!

 Hi friends!

Today is National Hamburger Day!

 

 

  

The wonderful thing about summer is ...... grilling outdoors!

We're pretty lucky that we get to grill year round here in South Florida ~

which is good since I LOVE fruits and vegetables on the grill!!

My husband and son-in-law know the way to my heart

is with Starbucks

is with fresh vegetables like squash, eggplant, zucchini and asparagus 

grilled 'til it's pipping hot!

I won't actually partake in hamburger day literally,

I'm happy to get a card created for the CYS card challenge group!

The theme, from our hostess Jeanette, is

 include a hamburger or some other food on your card.

Oh boy!

I had to search and search through my stash for anything hamburger

related and even missed it on my first run through. 

Alas, I remembered my Newton's Nook 'Winston's BBQ' stamp set 

from my guest designer spot and it has ......

a hamburger!

↓

Even better ........

my son-in-laws Father's Day card is now complete!

I'm pretty sure he doesn't read my blog, tee hee!

but just in case, I won't spoil the inside of my card - yet :)

This theme must be popular ~

you'll see it twice this week on my blog for card challenges.

Stay tuned later this week for more hamburger/grilling fun! 

 Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥ 

~Kelly 

Cake, Candles, Calories!

Hello, friends!

Orange you glad it's Monday?

I know - me either!

But I am glad you stopped by my blog ~

I have a brand new stamp set to show you from The Project Bin.

  

 This super fun birthday stamp set is called Birthday Girl

and it has fun sentiments and such a gorgeous font ♥

My card is bright, bold, vivid ..

with lot of orange :)

The Challenge Your Stash card group, hosted by Jenn,

is to create a card with her favorite color, orange,

and to use a button(s) somewhere on the card.

 

 Here is another sentiment from the set, on the inside ↓

 You can find this stamp set in the shop here.

There's also an inspiration blog where you can see the wonderful

cards from the Design Team each week day.

 

Here's another look at the stamp set and card:

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

 

Strawberry festival time!

Hi again!

 Cardmaking, for me,  is a funny thing.

Some days I work forever on a card ...

just. one. card!

And I look back at it and think you have got to be kidding!

And then there are other times an idea pops into my head

 and I crank it out superfly quick,

 faster than my eyeballs can gather all the supplies

 and my hands can get it together!

Today's card is the latter :)

Florida has an AMAZING strawberry festival

  right smack dab in the middle of our state. 

 It's filled with a fair with rides, booths with strawberry goodies of every kind, concerts, a rodeo and petting zoo, a large open air market to shop 

and so much more! 

We haven't gone in years but we have such fond memories 

and would bring back bushels full of strawberries! 

Bunny Love from Altenew is such a sweet spring stamp set

and fun to bring out at Easter time!

I used hues of red white and a pop of blue ~

the red gingham was a nod towards the farmers markets.

 

 I created this card with the Challenge Your Stash card group 

where we were to create a card with a bunny on it.

There so many cute bunnies on this one to chose from!

 

What's your favorite way to have strawberries?

I love them sliced and tossed into my salads,

smothered in chocolate,

even skewered and added quickly to the grill with my summer veggies!

Thanks for your visit today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~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