Golden Christmas cards ♥

 Happy Friday!

Oh my, what a week this has been -

and our weekend is jam packed full, too!

 

The Just For Fun Design Team has some exciting news!

We have a cross promotion this month with Altered Pages -

a wonderful company filled with

arts and craft supplies for all your card making needs.

They sent us, the DT, a wonderful package filled with all sorts of goodies

to create with - from tags to gorgeous collage pages, ink,

borders, mat stack pages and more.

Thank you, Altered Pages!

 

I have to cards to share today as it's my turn on the JFF Inspiration blog ♥

First up, I've created a golden holiday card with shimmery cardstock,

an image from the Altered Pages' Cardstock Pages ~ Mid Century Cmas.

Now, I'm going to show it to you - twice!

How on earth do you photograph Gold Shimmery cardstock!!??

 

The gold was very hard to photograph and I wanted to show off the colors

and unique, fun image from Altered Pages so here is the first look:

 

Then again with the gold highlighted :)

 

 

Next up, this is my hybrid card using both the White Christmas stamp from Just For Fun Rubber Stamps and supplies from Altered Pages ~ the burlap, Bazzill half edge strips, white , the gorgeous vintage book pages in which I've made this scalloped flower and the beautiful mat stack background paper.

 

 For this second card, I've embossed the entire stamp in gold embossing powder to highlight the stamp and added accent papers/pieces around.

 

Here is a close up of the beautiful White Christmas image,

which is available in the store and in many options:  Wood, UM, or as a mounted stamp.

 

 

And a flower made with the vintage pages into a scalloped flower ♥

 

Thanks for stopping by to peek at my golden holiday cards!

I wish you a most wonderful weekend ♥

 

 

You can check out Just for Fun Rubber Stamps here -

and if you are lucky enough to be in Florida, there is a free trunk

show going on this weekend!  Woohoo!

And, of course, stop in to Altered Pages and see all the crafting goodies

they have to offer!  It's fabulous!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

It's picnic time! :-)

It's Fall, it's Fall!

The weather is just absolutely beautiful here,
a nice contrast from our scorching hot, humid summers  :)

I was driving my son to his Boy Scout pack meeting
the other night and just couldn't get enough of the lovely night.
 The sun was just setting, creating a
kaleidoscope of colors, a most gorgeous Indian summer eve ♥
We had the windows down and a faint, familiar smell waifed in through the open
windows and I could tell his curiousity was peeked.

In the distance, somewhere out wherever, we could smell
smoke and fire drifting on the wind, probably miles and miles away
from burning piles of leaves and brush.
Oh, that smell!
It's such a *Fall* smell - burning leaves ~ it's pure bliss ♥

It's time to be outdoors, every day, all day!
It's the perfect weather for nature walks,
biking, playing in the park, and having a lovely little picnics!

It's my day to post on the Just For Fun Rubber Stamps inspiration blog :)
I was inspired by one of my creations from some time ago
to create a little picnic basket w/ a set of notecards
and tried my hand at another one :)

I made this picnic basket out of cardstock, brads and tombo -
super easy!
It stands upright to hold notecards,
perfect for a teacher's desk, office or church colleague!
I made simple notecards to go inside
w/ space to write a quick message - even easier!

Here is a list of the stamps I used to create this set:

To create the cards for the basket:
Stamptangle Fancy Pear,
Stamptangle Macintosh apple,
Let's talk sentiment, and
We're a perfect pair sentiment.
On the front is the sideview butterfly (what' a picnic without bugs!)
I stamped it twice and
then propped up with 3d foam dots
and topped off with a little piece of twine!

All these gorgeous, deeply etched fine rubber stamps are
all available in the shop.
You can also find us on Facebook and 'like' us there
for more inspiration and trunk shows and more!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Be safe out there this weekend
and enjoy the festivities if you celebrate Harvest/Halloween :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Orange Pumpkins ...

My 4 children are huge supporters and fans of my work ♥

 

Now, by work, I mean the 'mommy's cards' that grace their walls and bookshelves. 

 Birthdays, Christmas, all the major card exchange days, they give me the biggest smiles, kindest words and best hugs when they carefully open up an envelope and see a card tailored for them.

 

It warms my heart and soul :)

 

My son, newly 10 years old, is as naturally funny as he is sweet.

His off-the-cuff one liners have me often wondering where he gets his sense of humor from but we sure love him for it.

 

Like when I was making this card .... 

I'm up to my elbows in acrylic paint, swatch of leftover screen from the patio
(yup, screen!)
 and paper that won't stay still no matter how many strips of painters tape I have on it.

 

"Hey mommy, watcha doing?" he asked,

in between dropping more sandwich crumbs on the floor than on his shirt. 

 

"Oh, making a card, babe. Pumpkins!  Orange pumpkins.

Would you like to see?"  I ask.

 

"Sure", he replies. "But what's the screen for?"

 

Insert his sideway, sly-smile look, deciphered immediately because I have that "mom code" for all sideways, sly smile glances: 

{Oh, does DAD know you have that screen!}

{Can I have one, too!}

{That could be my new ................}

 

"Well, that's for giving the paper some background", I quickly averted interjected.

  See, I lay it down and then paint all through-out the screen

and when it blends through, you get a neat little random design of orange paint.

It makes a great backdrop for the card I'm making."

 

He looks at the card, then at me, then back at the card again.

He doesn't need to speak.

I can see those invisible gears clicking around in his head,

his thoughts formulating before they are even spoken.

I know my son :)

 

"Wow.  Cool.  But .... if you wanted to paint the paper orange,

why didn't you just ......... paint the paper orange."

Touche'.

 

Now the artist in me wants to jump up and down!

Yes!

You're right!

But look! 
See the incredible dimension, the shape, the feel of the card!

The texture it gives, the ridges, all the nooks and crannies!

 

My sweet boy.

 My sweet, sweet boy.

He looks at my painted ridged bumpy shapely touchy feely orange background,

then looks up at me with those blue, blue eyes of wonder and sweetness ....

 

and tells me ...

 

"It kinda looks like Iowa."

O-kay then! 
 Today's my turn to post on the Just For Fun Rubber Stamps Challenge blog.
For my card today,  I used the gorgeous stamptangle (zentangle stamps) Large Pumpkin.

In our house, the pumpkins come out in all shapes starting in the Fall
and end up in everything from pies to coffee to scented candles!
Like that funny cartoon you see every fall -
Beware!  Pumpkin flavored everything is coming!

And I'm sure they have pumpkins in Iowa, too :)

Pretty cool screen AND it's a great crafting tool! :)

 

 

You can find these stamps - both the Large Pumpkin

and the sentiment stamp (lots of holiday words in this set!)

in the Just For Fun Stamps store here.

 

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

*Fabulous Fun Flowers!*

Happy Friday!

It's my turn to post on the Just for Fun Stamps blog today

so I'm showing you the Trio of cards I made ~

I call them the Fall-Winter triplets! ♥

 

 

Using the fabulously fun Stamptangle Zen Flowers stamp,

I stamped it out (Momento) 3 times:

Using Oranges/yellows for Fall,

Reds/greens for the Holidays,

and Blues/silvery for the New Year/Winter!

 

 

Each card has a color coordinated piece of twine ~

pretty quick and easy

and great for cards being sent out to family, friends

even the teachers now that school is back in session :)

 

 

For Fall/Christmas, the flower is cut out twice and propped up on 3d foam

for added dimension and a little pop.

 

 

If you're on Facebook, we'd love for you to find
Just For Fun stamps and 'like' us ~

for upcoming releases, new stamps, and DT inspirations!

 

You can find this Stamptangle Zen Flower (G3752)

in the shop along with many others ~

you can find them all here :)

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

Changing Leaves ♥

Good morning!

 

Have you ever had this much fun with buttons?! 

I sure did!

 

One of the most glorious times of year is the "changing of the leaves",

especially for those fortunate enough to live much further North :} 

There is something so profound and tangible when Autumn arrives ....

from the delightful new crispness in the air, the leaves bursting into a kaleidoscope of colors, big comfy sweaters, Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

I love Autumn and the beautiful promise that this time of year holds ♥

 

I thought way outside the box with my card today using
Just For Fun rubber stamps.

 And I had an absolute blast doing so! 

 I sat and sorted through my huge containers of buttons

 in every color, shape and size. 

 I inked up the uber fabulous Stamptangle Tree stamp 
from Just For Fun stamps (stamped in Momento Tuxedo Black),
 gave it a quick monotone brush of color with Prismacolor markers
(walnut, light umber)

and glued down a variety of 'leaves = buttons' for a unique Fall look!

 

The deeply etched rubber makes for a great, clear stamped impression.

And so versatile!  I can picture this stamp being in the 4 seasons -

back again for Winter, snow clinging to the branches to the

beautiful blossoms of Spring.  The possibilities are endless.

 

Thanks so much for your visit today!
 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!

~Kelly

 

Stamp used:  Stamptangle Tree H3809

I'll enter my card into:  Bloggers Challenge:  Buttons!

As you like it Challenge:  Fave Season/why - described above!

CraftyCreations:  From your stash *buttons, paper, ribbon*

 



Sweet Summer Days ♥

Hi friends! 

 

*Raise your hand if you want to be here!*

 

 

Today is my turn to post on the Just For Fun Rubber Stamps blog :)

Today's card is a wonderful reflection of the peace

and serenity of summer 'nothing-ness' :)

 

With summer's end drawing near,

I'm stretching it out by using summer stamps like this one!

I inked up my Hammock in Palms rubber stamp +

colored it with prismacolor markers,

and added a bit of sand embossing powder to the little edge.

And, of course, burlap! ♥

 

 

Truth is, if I head out to my Jeep, I'll find plenty of real sand

from our recent beach trips - LOL!

I've also added a Just for Fun sentiment to the inside of my card
"Thinking of you" .... along with the shells (also JFF stamps!)

You can find all these and many more
in the Just For Fun Rubber Stamps shop!

Thanks for stopping by today ~
Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

 

 CraftyCatz 243 - Lazy Days of Summer
FairyTale 97 - Sun, Beach, Sea
Stampin' for the Dragon -  Sun, Sand, Sea
Aud Sentiments - Thinking of You
The East Wind -  the beach
Our Creative Corner - Summertime

 

Win a $100 Shopping SPREE!

Hi friends!  I've been under the weather - several cards are on the way as soon as I'm well again!

But LOOK AT THIS!
 

Absolutely amazing news from Just for Fun Rubber Stamps!  It's a win/win - $100 in stamps for one lucky winner AND it ships for free!!!  WOW!!!! ♥

 

It's time for a contest! 

 Would you like to win a $100.00 shopping spree 

at Just For Fun Rubber Stamps...

AND 

have it ship for free????
 

 

Right now JFF has 623 followers on our Facebook Page. We'd like to kick that up a notch ~ our goal is 1,000 followers by the ...end of August so here's what we'd like you to do....

Spread the news and tell us about it. Post a link to our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/justforfunrubberstamps and encourage everyone to like JFF Rubber Stamps. Be sure to visit our Facebook page (contest thread) telling us where you posted it so you will be entered (1 entry).   If you post it multiple places, post a second time in the contest thread and send us a link to that post (2nd entry).   AND   If one of your friends likes us and tells us you sent them, we'll give you another entry!! (3rd entry) Remember, they have to like us and post about it right here to count!

 

We'll be keeping track of all the likes and as soon as we hit 1,000 Likes we'll give away a $100.00 shopping spree - and don't forget free shipping too! 

What are you waiting for...

Go spread the word

 and 

remember to come back and tell us about it!!!

 

Good luck!
~Kelly

Seahorse Stamptangle ~ Oceans of Love!

Happy Friday! 

 

I'm super excited to post my first Just For Fun stamps card ♥

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I had making this card!

When I first saw this exquisite stamptangle Large Seahorse stamp,

I literally squealed with delight :)  

Most of you who have known me for awhile now know how much

I adore the beach! 

Any trip to the ocean is a day of bliss for me -

I even named my blog after it! ♥

 

 

So!  For my card today, I had a blast with a technique I haven't done since

under-grad college!  I had to take one of those required art classes

where one of the required projects was to create art from art.

This is my spin-off! 
I took some old designer paper in the colors of the ocean

teal/blue/greens as I knew it would 'peek through' and be a nice

contrast to the stark white.

Here is the finished card -

and if you scroll down, I'll list the card supplies and step by step instructions

on how to make this super fun, beachy seahorse card!

 

For today's card, I immediately thought to create a different background

 to showcase this gorgeous stamptangle (think Zentangle, in a stamp form.)
 

 I did a spin off of my old college art :) 
 I used tiny letters (use thickers or any scrapbook letters will do!),
 craft paint and designer paper.

I knew I'd be covering up the paper with paint, so I used one of my oldest

dsp's that had the ocean colors I was aiming for (teal/blue/green).

I found mine years ago at BigLots for $1 a long time ago and found these in my scrap bin - it doesn't matter that they

are all mish-mashed and colorful, they are going to be painted then tossed.

 

Since I was going for an 'earthy' feel to my card, I didn't get out my stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the letters perfectly - the 'fussy' look worked just fine.
I adhered the letters to the cardstock, then gave a generous coat of
crafters paint (white) and let it dry.  It took less than 10 minutes
and while that dried, I stamped out and colored up the seahorse image.
Yes, that's a Starbucks cup :)
Yes, I have an obsession with Starbucks! ♥
I also like to be thrifty and believe in the waste not/want not mantra
so my empty cup (yum!) became my painters cup - washed out :)
Just a small amount of paint goes a long way!
 Once dry, peel the letters back off to reveal the colorful paper underneath.
I took regular sandpaper (from the hubby's man cave!) and gave it a generous
distressing around the edges and center.

Because I have an obsession with burlap *smile!*,
I saw a small swatch on my desk and painted that as well :)
I hung that up to dry on my small card 'clothesline'.
Because burlap is porous, and painted burlap tends to curl up,
I pressed it under my Cuddlebug after drying for a few minutes
in a plastic bag - instantly flat!
The jute was added and curled and the card was pretty much done!

Wasn't that fun!

 

Here is one last look at the completed card:

I hope you enjoyed this lovely beach card using Just For Fun Stamps!
Be sure to stop by the store to see the brand new summer release
of the stamptangle stamps - they are breathtaking!

We also have a challenge blog for you to be inspired,
see projects and cards and more!
And .... for those on social medias, we are on Facebook, too!

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

I'll enter my card into: MAWTT - Color Scheme
Inspiration Emporium - Summer Fun

Just for Fun Rubber stamps used: 
Seahorse: D3791
sentiment: D3675 

Exciting news!! ♥

Hi all!

  I'm super excited to share a bit of wonderful news! 

 I've been chosen to be on the Just For Fun Rubber Stamps
Design Team for July-December 2014!

 

 Just For Fun stamps, owned and operated by Rick and Debby,
is delightfully right here in my own home state, Florida!
JFF stamps are unique as well as they are whimsical,
elegance and fun.  They have a lot of things in store for you
in the upcoming months, including the exquisite Stamptangle stamps!
You can find those and many more in the JFF Store ♥

I look forward to the months ahead of creating and designing :)
You can meet the rest of the DT here on the JFF Challenge Blog
as well as see wonderful inspirations and cards in the upcoming months!

You can follow us on Facebook, too!

As Always,
Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly