Let's Travel!

 Hi friends!

It's time for another exciting challenge at The Ink Spot

and this week's theme is: Travel!

For my card today, I'm channeling my little guy who just left for

an 8 day Boy Scout adventure camp in Georgia :)

He's only 11, and it was a BIG STEP for us to let him go,

but he was going out of his mind with excitement for this trip!

Mommy needed to be a little brave, LOL :)

We've gotten word that he is having the time of his life,

as we knew he would ♥

From the merit badges and classes he's taking,

and the fun 'down time' with hiking, swimming, boating, etc - he's in his glory!

 

I had him in mind as I made this two part traveling card, 

starting on the front outside and finishing on the inside ♥

There is a total of 4 Riley and Company stamps on this card!

 The front of the card uses Hiking Riley
and the "I am" from the Inspirations sentiment - which is a wonderful way to mix and match your FunnyBones and Inspirations stamps!

Tbe inside features the brave sentiment stamp ~

along with Campfire Riley stamped and colored :)

To see what the rest of the DT created this week with the travel theme,

stop by The Ink Spot blog!

And don't forget to check out the monthly club kits! 
But wait - there's more!
Each Wednesday is a "Wacky Wednesday" flash sale -
and Friday Favorites!
So many ways to save, stamp and get inky!! :)
 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their summer!

I'll be home stamping - all week! :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I'm going to the Mall!

Hi friends!

It's official - I'm another year older!

Yesterday was the culmination of a wonderful week long

Spring Break/Birthday-a-thon ♥

The kids and I were out daily having fun, enjoying the outdoors,

being together, not being in school!
We are taking full advantage of our Year of Adventure :)
 

Glorious it was ~

getting older, not so much!

This is my last year in the 40s :(

They say you are only as old as you feel ....

so that makes me about 101!
 

*wink!*

 

  

There's a new challenge at The Ink Spot,

hosted by Kendra, to create a humorous card in honor of April Fools Day.

With the Funny Bones stamp line, that's easy to do.

These stamps simply crack me up!

I inked/colored up Car Riley

and the "I'm Bored" Funny Bones

to make my funny, cheeky card!

                           Be sure to check out the rest of the DT cards

 for some side-splittin', hilarious creative ideas :)

You can find them here or on my sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Animal Antics! :)

Happy Tuesday! :)

  We just rolled in late yesterday from a truly memorable camping trip ...

 Oh the stories I will share with you :)

  It was so much fun, educational, entertaining, somewhat scary!

Those chatty, excited little boys had us up at the crack of dawn every morning,

bustling with energy and this weary old lady had to scramble to keep up!
They went from dawn to well after campfires each night ...

Luckily, one of my besties in the den brought along her dad's 40+ year old 

camping percolator from 'back in the day' -

the kids got a history "what is THAT?!" lesson but GLORIOUS coffee for us!

  We had such an amazing time, and I'll be posting pictures this week :)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch .......... hee hee!

It's time for a new challenge at The Ink Spot!
You may recall from this post that Riley and Company now has a new home,

nestled in with 5 other stamp companies all in one place!

I was the hostess this week and chose Animal Antics as the inspiration,

inking up Balloon Riley and the sentiment "make today" 

for this cheerful, pick me up card.

Here is the front:

And the inside of my card:

Time to tackle a mountain of laundry, visit my babies (both human and furry!),

AND stop by to see you all to see what crafty things you've been up to!

If you'd like to take a peek at the rest of The Ink Spot DT inspiration,

you can find the ladies here on the blog -

some super talent has joined our team and we're growing by leaps and bounds ~

new DT members, new stamp lines, new inspiration!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His loving kindness is everlasting ~
1 Chronicles 16:34

Happy day, friends!

In just a few more days, it will be Thanksgiving ♥

We have so much to be grateful for and our blessings far outnumber our troubles.

I'm so looking forward to cooking, having the kids all home for wonderful meals,

family time, no work, and holiday decorating!

(and if I'm lucky - craft time!) :)

Today is a new Inspirations challenge from the Riley and Company Design Team -

with a theme of Thanksgiving!

This is one of the two cards I made,

and will showcase this one today, one in which we can all probably relate!

Using Retro Folks "Walter" and a new Funnybones "Thanksgiving AKA"

here is my card for today's post:

Thank you for stopping by! 

I wish you all a blessed, safe and lovely Thanksgiving holiday!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Riley and Company - New Stamp Release Day 2!

Happy Tuesday!

A quick post to show you another new stamp

 being released from Riley and Company ~

available in the store this Friday, November 13th!

17 new FunnyBones stamps and 9 Inspirations stamps

 will make their way to the store to join the incredible selection of stamps.

Today's card is using one of the new FunnyBones ~ Horrible idea! Hee Hee!!

I can think of like 4 friends that would LOVE this! ♥

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Riley and Company - New Stamp Release! :)

Good Morning, friends!!  

First, thank you SO MUCH for the sweet words on my son's card! 

He was super embarrassed, turned a few shades of red, but said "thank you to all the nice people!"

So, thank you Nice People! :)

I can't believe it's already Monday!!

This weekend was action packed and over so quickly

We spent the weekend camping in the Everglades

 with our little guy and his Boy Scout troop :)

Now, I am so not a camper!  

But seeing these young men growing and learning,

gaining such incredible life experience through these outings is truly priceless ♥

I did manage to make some cards last week ~

including two you'll see posted today since it's the 9th (the day the 3M's post)

and a brand new Riley and Company week of releases!

Stay tuned, as this new release has 17 new Funny Bones satmps

and 9 Inspiration stamps.

And funny they are!  As I was creating my cards,

I was home alone just laughing (out loud!) by myself ..

These stamps are available to purchase in the Riley and Company Store Friday, Nov. 13th!

For today's card, since it's Monday, and we've been camping allllllllll weekend

and well, I love my coffee!!!!, I thought I'd show you one of my favorites of the new release:

Without my Coffee ...

 I hope you can stop back to see my 3M card, too - 

AND, all week, the Riley and Company Inspiration Team 
will be showcasing all the wonderful new stamps!  Stay tuned! :)

And here it is :)
This image was sent to us by Jeanette this month, her turn to host!
It's a gorgeous leaf image which is a beautiful reflection of Fall!
I didn't really know how to incorporate such a striking image into a card,
and can't say I'm happy with my end result, 
but I decided to stop messing with it and "leaf" it alone :)
Thank you, Jeanette and Barb, for your friendship!

  Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I"ll enter the first card into:  Craft Your Passion - AG
 Whoopsi Daisy- Lots of Layers 
613 Avenue Create - AG 
 

Riley and Company *New Stamp* Blog Hop!

 

Good Evening! 

 It's time, it's time!

Riley and Company has been 'sneaking' the new

stamps all week and it's time to hop, hop, hop ~

just in time for Christmas to shop, shop, shop!

If you are hopping along, you should have arrived from Kerin's creative blog.
I have two cards to share with you showcasing two of the new
Funny Bones  ~

Here's a close up ........

Next up, another new stamped called "Life is Art" ~

I went with an eclectic look to this card design,
using up scraps of dsp in my bin in various shapes and sizes :)

Here are a few specials for this release!

Special #1: Buy the entire unmounted set of 39 new Funnybones for only $99! (Save $96!) (Offer not available to wholesale customers.) Limit one per customer. Offer ends December 31st.

Special #2: You can also get a set of 3 FREE Funnybones stamps (our choice) AND a limited edition logo stamp during this release by simply placing an order of $30 or more (before tax) in the first 24 hours of the release! (One per customer please.)

Special #3: But wait - there's more! As an added bonus, we are giving EVERYONE FREE SHIPPING from Thursday night at 9 pm CST until Sunday night at midnight CST! Just enter FREESHIPin the coupon code section!

 Thanks for hopping along with us!

From here, you'll hop on over to Monica's marvelous blog!

 

Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend ♥

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

 

Riley and Company ~ Sneak peeks continue!

 

 

Happy Wednesday! 

 One more day 'til the big Riley and Company *new stamp release!* 
 

 Oh la lah!
 

  There is truly something for everyone in this new release -

from the heartwarming, thought provoking to the downright hilarious!

 

 
 

Today's card is simple, using one of my very favorite card designs,

my 'go to' card design of sorts!

Paired with this sensational new Funny Bone stamp -

it's a wonderful message!

I hope today brings you kindness

and warmth and all things wonderful ♥

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Riley Sneak Peeks - Day 2!

 

Hi friends!

I hope your weekend was splendid! 

 

Back again with a super quick post to show you another fun

 Riley and Company stamps Funny Bones sentiment - Coasters!

 

I've paired this one with Doris, one of our Retro Folk stamps already available in the store :) 

 

 

 

Here's a close up :)

 

Be sure to see what the rest of the DT will be 'sneaking' all week ~

you can find their blogs on the Riley and Co blog

or in my sidebar!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Riley and Company *New Stamp Release* - Day 1 ♥

 

 

Hi friends! 

 

It's time!  It's time!  Riley and Company has a brand new stamp release - 33 new Funny Bones sentiments and 6 new Funny Bones Retro Folks ♥

 

Today I have the first of the upcoming sneak peek cards to

share with you - one of my personal favorites of this release!

This is SO me! :)

I'm a big kid at heart, much to the delight of my kids ~

there isn't much I won't do, or try, or jump into ...

well, at least once ♥

 

I have a CAS card to share with you today

using Bouncy Ball Riley and the new Old Enough To Know Better stamp ~

they went spectacular together, I thought!

Here's some information on our upcoming hop!

 

 

Release Date: Thursday 11th December 2014

• Sneak Peek week starts on the Sunday 7th December
• Blog Hop and stamps are available for sale at 10PM EST on the 11th December
• Blog Candy Winner will win a $20 Gift Certificate to the Riley & Co online store!
• 33 new Funny bones sentiments and 6 new Funny bone images to be released!

** Please note that the stamps will go on sale as soon as the blog hop starts

 

We have sneaks all week long up until the hop -

be sure to stop in daily to see what we're creating!

 

Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card entered into: 613 Avenue:  AG
OSAAT - AG
The Ribbon Girls - Use Ribbon
One Crazy Stamper - AG
AllSorts - Animal Magic
Crafty Calendar - White on White

 

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

 

Riley *Sneak Peeks* ~ Day 2!

What is Retirement?!

 

 

It's Day 2 of the new Riley and Company new stamp release -

 49 new Funnybones in all!  That's a lot of smiles! :)

 

For today's card, I'm using two Riley and Co stamps -

one new release Funnybones called "Retirement"

which I've paired with fabulous Ethel from the Retro Folks collection,

already in the store.

 

 

 

I also gave this card a slightly '50's' look with this paper

from the DCWV "Kitchen stack",

SU! Groovy Guava ribbon ('membah that! I've had it for YEARS!),

and a button to finish it off.

Perfectly easy,

perfectly fun,

perfectly ready for having a retirement card on hand ♥

 

For a quick recap:

* Don’t forget to check out all the Riley and Company Design Team’s blogs for more sneak peeks everyday!

* Join us for our release Blog Hop this Thursday 25th September 10 PM EST, starting on the Riley and Company Blog

* 49 Funnybones Sayings to be released and

* the new release stamps are available in the Riley and Company Store from Thursday 25th September 10 PM EST.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Be sure to come by tomorrow for another fun new sneak peek!

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Riley is getting "sketchy!"

  

Good Morning! 

 

 Doesn't it feel like a Monday?!

The long weekend sure threw off my schedule

and with the week ahead, it's already shaping up to be a whopper!

The kids are already on overdrive with school, projects, assignments,

lessons, rehearsals, club meetings .......... ahhhh!

 

 

PTL, I'm armed with my Starbucks!

As my son likes to say ...

"I got this!" :) 

Today's Riley and Company Challenge

is brought to us by Heather ~ a sketch challenge.

Here's the sketch ...

 

And using the Funnybones stamp "depresso",

here's my card.
 

 

Oh this sentiment just cracks me up :)

 

We'd love for you to play along!

If you'd like to link up your cards to a gallery like SCS,

please use the keyword Riley1814.

And check out the cards from the DT using this sketch -

you won't want to miss their inspirational cards.

 

Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly
 

 

 Linking to: PDE Linky Party - Puns
The Crazy Challenge - 3 of a kind (enamel dots)

 

Make today .... Amazing! ♥

Hi friends! 

 Remember me?!!

 

It's been a whirlwind around here ~

from last minute trips before school started to

the chaos of school actually starting!

This year, my oldest is in her 2nd year of college,

daughter #2 is a Senior (when did that happen!),

daughter #3 is a Sophomore and

little man is a brand new 4th grader at a brand new school.

We are certainly looking forward to getting used to

the newness of it all and routine to settle  - for all of us ♥

 

I thought I'd show you the card I had made for the Riley and Company's

new challenge - One Layer Cards.

Holy Hanna, that's about the one type of card I don't do!

I love me some layers! ♥

 

So I thunk and thunk and thunk some more ...

and an idea was born when I was watercoloring.

Let the colors run!

As they were still wet, I tilted my watercolor paper

and let the cards run together - like tie-dye!

 

From Girl Scouts to Sunday School and lazy summer days here at home,

tie-die is one of the activities we've done and love so much.

Why not on a card!

 

 

I used my SU! Watercolor crayons and watercolor paper
and colored it in my VERY favorite color combination :)
I seem to be gravitating to this color combo a lot this summer!

I let the sentiment speak for itself on this one and stamped it

right on the dry paper, peeled off the painters tape from around the edges

and ta-da! 

Hard to believe this card took as long as it did to make -

which I will not admit to, LOL!

Did I mention I love me some layers?! :)

 

Be sure to stop in and see what the rest of the Riley and Company DT

has created!

If you link up your cards to a gallery like SCS,

please use the keyword Riley1714.

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I'll enter my card into:  Addicted to Stamps and More - CAS
Ladybug crafts - CAS
Sisterhood of Stampers - Favorite Color
Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes

 

I'm no Detective!

Good Morning!  Rushing through today to post this super fun card for the new Riley and Company challenge ~ create a masculine card :)  

Did I ever mention I LOVE Mystery/crime shows!  I do! I do!

I grew up sitting by my dad watching episodes of Kojak and Columbo

and then later such shows like Magnum PI and Miami Vice ;)

Not to mention my nose was always in a book, especially the Nancy Drew series when I was really young! Of course, there's no comparison to the incredible advances we've made in tv to what you see now-a-days, but it was fun growing up as a Detective, even if it was only in my head :)

For my masculine inspired card, I thought of my dad ~

but this card is actually for my daughter :)

She has been walking/jogging the trails with me a few nights a week and we just have the best time - trying to talk/laugh as we huff and puff our way around the desolate nature trails.  Suffice it to say, we've said more than once that one day we hope we don't happen to stumble upon something out in those woods that isn't supposed to be there!  Yikes!

Which is why I literally busted out laughing when I saw the Funny Bones sentiment release "I don't trust joggers .... "  How hilarious!!!

Using Detective Riley (he's retired - literally!) and the FB sentiment,

I bring you a funny card to shake up your Tuesday! :)

It's always a good day when I get to play with a Riley stamp, 

buttons AND ric-rac!  Woot! :)

I've got back to back meetings today (3 in total!) so I'll scoot but I sure hope you get the chance to play along with us this challenge.

Link up your Riley and Company masculine cards here to the challenge blog

and stop by the DT blogs to see what they've created this week! If you upload your card/project to Splitcoast Stampers please include the keyword Riley1813.

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I'll enter this card into these challenges:  The Cupboard Trilogy - Male
CardCraftersCircle - for the boys
CreataliciousChallenge #54 - for the boy
OOZAK 21 - ATG w/ dies + punches
Paper Playtime - 3 different papers