CCEE2135 ~ September is honey month!

 Hiya friends!

Happy September!

This is one of my favorite months,

 mostly because it's the one my son was born in <3

And school is settling into a good routine

AND I'm heading for a week's vacation in 2 weeks - 

and that's super awesome! :)

September is also honey month!

So at the CCEE Stampers this week, we're celebrating

all things honey!

Think honey: bees, beehives (not the hair kind!), honeycombs, etc!

Here is my card using one of my favorite bee sets:

Meant to BEE from My Favorite Things stamps.

You can link up your cards here on the CCEE blog ...

have fun creating!

Thanks for stopping by!

Simon Says Stamp:  Wednesday - Stamp It

Happy Birthday to me! :)

 Hi friends!

It's the beginning of Spring Break for my son

 so LOTS of time to goof off make some cards :)

Today is also my birthday so I'm sure 

it's going to be a super fun, festive day!

I'm the hostess this month for the Challenge Your Stash card group

and this was my theme:

March 2021 - Kelly -MiamiKel4 CYSMAR

~~Today is my birthday! March is also World Literacy Month - 

create a card based on any book or book characters.

I chose the book (and the popular Pixar movie) Ratatouille!

I loved the moved and have seen it so many times.

I don't know if the book was first or vice versa but that's what I chose!

Here's my card,

 using a mix of Lawn Fawn and My Favorite Things stamps.

I used the plaid remix dsp from Lawn Fawn and the border frame

from Hello Bluebird and copic markers to color the images.

Thanks for stopping by!

Card entered to: Word Art Wednesday - AG

Falliday ~ Twine Inlay!

 

Hi friends 

and Happy World Kindness Day!

"Be kind whenever possible.  It's always possible." ~ Dalai Lama

Indeed ♥

I'm the hostess today at Falliday and I thought I'd show you a quick look

at my card ... a twine inlay.

This is a quick and simple way to create a card that really makes a statement!

It's so simple, too!  Just paper, your favorite die, and twine

(and your usual suspects of glue, trimmers, sentiment stamp, etc)

First, here's my completed card:

Such a wonderful message for a day like today! 

 To create this card, I first die cut the area using a rainbow dienamic from 

My Favorite Things from an almost A2 size card front scalloped base. 

Before I assembled the rest of the card,

I stamped the sentiment first.

This step is important since it will be SUPER big and bulky

and harder to stamp a clear and even sentiment once it's complete.

 

Using a small 3" x 3" cardstock, I started winding the twine around it

in the best ROYGBIV order using the colors that I had.

Here's a sneak peek behind the scenes!

Once it's wrapped, I secured the ends with mint tape

and then added it to the BACK of the stamped panel.

Add plenty of 3d foam to all the areas around the back 

where the twine isn't ~ and build it up until the twine is below the panel.

And that's it!

Easy peasy lemon squeezie!

Here's a quick card of a second one that I made with a winter theme:

This one is using a quick watercolor wash background

and it's stamped with versamark and heat embossed for the sentiment.

The beautiful snowflake die is from MFT Stamps

as is the scallop edge die.  

That's it for me!

Two fun and different cards ~ one result of FUN-bulous!

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings :)

~Kelly

Magical Dragons Cloud Stencil!

Hi friends - it's the weekend!

WOOHOO!

We made it through a CRAZY first week of online school, 

unbearable heat here in Miami

and one. crazy. week. of. stamping!

I have ADORED being a challenge hostess this year

as part of the Splitcoaststampers Dare To Get Dirty -

a wonderful time for the Fan Club members to create cards,

interact with the hostesses and sometimes, just maybe, 

step outside our comfort zones to create!

For today's card, the hostess asked us to create blue skies.

My card is simple (as many of the DTGD cards are!)

and I used the new Cloud Edger stencil from A Colorful Life Designs.

This stencil is SOOOOO popular!

I first spied this here on Dina's blog - 

I think EVERYONE bought it after seeing these!

*SWOON!*

I've paired it with Magical Dragons from My Favorite Things

and stamped right onto the dsp.

That's all for this post!

Thanks for stopping by!  

Big hugs, bigger blessings :)

~Kelly

Meet Brittney! (CYS)

 

Hi everyone!

I'm officially on vacation - yay!

By the time this posts, I'll be far from home and unwinding with no laptop!

I'll be back Sunday night but a few days away, 

no cooking, the beach, activities, shopping, etc - yes, please!

Today is the Challenge Your Stash (CYS) card group challenge.

The theme this month is by Maggie and she chose:  Pets!

I decided to go with kitty cats and create a card for my daughter, Chrissy.

She's the one I'm away with on vacation 

and she's planned a super fun trip for us!

She is leaving her kitty, Finny, behind while we're gone 

as well as her pup, Buster and mine, Buddy!

So for today, I'm sharing a stamp from Stamp Anniething ~ Brittney Purr!

I LOVE this stamp and it's PURRfect for showcasing a pet!

Brittney is colored like my Chrissy - she's blonde with blue eyes

and Finny is a calico (so mostly orange).

The sentiment is from My Favorite Things Love You Furrever.

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings :)
~Kelly

Happy Hugs!

 Hi friends!

What start with an H and wraps around you with big squishies?

Happy Hugs!

 Today's class cards were taught by the absolutely lovely Laura Bassen ~
one of my biggest card stars ♥

Her sense of humor and use of color and whimsy just make me smile!

This is my duo of cards based on her class ~
and yes,

we fancy!

We dipped in gold! 

 

Okay, I would just like to state

~ for the record ~

this card is really pretty in real life!

I know, I know ...

it looks like I found it under my couch after it's been there for a month!

Let me 'splain!

I did a rustic gold dipping ... I wasn't going for perfect lettering

or lines and when I did my dipped gold, it looked a little ......... off. 

So I took the letter S and peeled the gold foil up a little bit

and loved how it looked a little weathered

so I repeated that for the rest of the letters.

I promise it looks super  ~

it just photographed a little more on the funky side!
.

 For this card, I used the only letter die cuts I own - Spellbinders Grand Shapeabilities.

I carried the same color palette through to both cards.

And there's a 3rd card!

I will probably post that at a later time :)

 And I'm definitely sending happiness your way!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly 

Card entiered to: Southern Girls Challenge

CCEE2016 ~ Fun with stencils!

Hi friends!

We have a new challenge at the CCEE Stampers - stencils!

Stencils are such a fun way to decorate our cards

and so many companies have fun ones out there these days.

Frances is our hostess for the month of April 

and her challenge is to create a card that uses at least one stencil, 

either for a background or focal image.

 I love this challenge because I love stencils!

They are a great way to create designs and scenes on a card ~ like this one.

I've used a stamp set by My Favorite Things called You Gnome Me.

I wanted this set for forever

and was sad that they retired it ~

 but super thrilled to get it when they did

for such an amazingly low price during their big retirement sale ~ yay! 

My stencil is from Stamp Anniething and one I love - burlap.

I created a little scene with the fun gnome

but making 'sky' and 'grass' and added some stitched clouds.

Originally, I stamped the HELLO directly onto the cardstock

and it didn't look quite right so I added an extra cloud with it stamped on it.

 I keep my stencils tucked into an OLD DUSTY album ~

originally designed for pocket journaling.

I bought it before my son was even born (and he's almost 16!)

The front opening is for a photo so I added a quick distressed panel

with a little sunflower stamp ~ I love sunflowers ♥

 And the deep 8 x 8 pockets are PERFECT for storing the stencils.

Since I'm still cleaning and purging and moving things around,

I keep it handy on my desk next to Alice's markers and colored pencils.

My little granddaughter has her own sets

so it's a nice balance between the cup and bin! 

 And that's a tiny tour of my stencils, LOL!

Be sure to stop in the CCEE Stampers blog to see what the Design Team

created with their stencils.

As always, you can link up your cards, too ~ check the bottom of the blog post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

One Plus Twelve - February

 Hi friends!

Today's card is for the February  One Plus Twelve ♥

It's a challenge I created last year as a way to stretch the use of my stamps.

The idea is to take 1 stamp (and just one!) for 12 months,

creating 12 unique and different cards.

I asked my friends Barb and Jeanette to join me again this year ... 

and we've all chosen a different stamp and stamp company :)

This year, to go along with my word of the year 'Bloom',

I chose Beautiful Bloom by MFT stamps.

This month's card idea went all kinds of ways AND sideways!

I had an idea in my head but my card had another ;)

Welcome to create a flower,

where if the lines don't match up ~ mix them up!

I started out by stamping the flower with Ranger distress oxide inks

 in Picked Raspberry and Carved Pumpkin. 

I layered the inks and then decided to do a spin off of a spotlight 

by popping up the bottom half of the stamp, using MFT's stitched die-namic.

The shape was a little larger than I needed for this A2 size card and flower

so I ran it through my Gemini Jr twice, moving the die to cut more inside.

 A few sequins and a sentiment from the stamp set 'because',

and this card was complete!

Here's a better view of the dimension ↓

 

It's time to already start planning out my card for March!

You can see Barb's card here 

and Jeanette's card here as well as what stamp they chose.

I have a lot of people ask if they can play along and the answer is - 

of course!  

Just grab a stamp - any stamp - and challenge yourself 

by creating a card with it twelve ways, one for each month.

It's exciting to think ahead and know at the end of this year,

 I'll have a bouquet of BLOOMS ~ in card form :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

Santa's Day Off!!

 Hi friends!

If you ever wondered what Santa does in his free time,

I'm pretty sure it's this!

Karaoke!

 

Tee hee!

I just love this card :)

I love making cards just for the fun of it - 

being inspired just by being silly!

 

Santa is from Jingle all the way from MFT Stamps

and probably one of my favorite Santa stamps.

For this card, I used my Ranger distress oxide ink in black soot,

masked off a section to leave unmarked to resemble a spotlight

and blended and blended until it was finished.

For the sentiment, I heat embossed WOW white embossing powder

on red cardstock and created the funny song he's singing,

popped him up on foam for dimension and that's it!

Super fun, super cute!
He was actually part of a series I had planned to make ...
but like most of my best laid plans, I never have the time!
You may - or may not - see another one or four before Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by!
Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

CCEE: Celebrating Outer Space!

Hi CCEE Stamper Fans!

Blast off! 

It's May!
 That means a brand new month 
and it is time to introduce our new hostess:  Frances!
She has a wonderful line up of challenges this month ~ stay tuned!

Tomorrow 3rd May is International Space Day 
and the 4th of May is Star Wars Day ~
May the FOURTH be with you! :)

I've created 3 seperate cards for this challenge because I
got out the distress oxide inks and had
way. too. much. fun! 
Since it was space themed, I used my Space Explorer stamp set
from the always perfect Torico's Birdie Brown series at My Favorite Things.

Here's card #1 ↓

 

 Here's card #2 ↓

 And card #3 ~ the string idea was inspired by this YouTube video!

 

 And all of the friends in one place! ↓

All of my images were colored with Copic markers or promarkers

and the dies used were also from My Favorite Things,

except the Space Explorer set.  

These have been cut out with my Brother Scan n Cut,

and the embossing is actually a combo of something new I tried.

I was going for a crisp impression by using a combination of white ink

and white embossing powder ~ and while it gave a grainy, almost moonlike

appearance, it's not something I'd probably try again :)

I'm just OVER THE MOON with these cards and 

so excited with how they turned out ~
Mission Accomplished!

Thanks for your visit!

Big hugs bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

CCEE: Non Traditional Halloween!

Hi friends! 
Just a quick dash through to wish you a wonderful day :)  

The CCEE Stampers have a new challenge this wee
k and it's brought to us by Joanne!

Nontraditional Halloween cards

This week we are going to make Halloween cards with nontraditional

Halloween colors.

If you don’t celebrate Halloween, do the same for

Thanksgiving cards.

 I took her up on the offer to make a Thanksgiving card!

I don't mail out Halloween cards (very often!)
 so it's wonderful we have an option!

I made a card with the new Birdie Brown 'Fall Friends" stamps from MFT :)
I was SO blessed to win this in their recent giveaway 
and chose this as one of my treasures!
The stamped images cut out with my Scan n Cut
and the sentiment is from another MFT stamp set: Frightfully Sweet.
The reason for that is I wanted a vertical sentiment
that they could rest on with just a single line of verse :)

 

You can see all the DT cards at the CCEE Stampers blog here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Big hugs, bigger blessings ♥

~Kelly

CYS: "Witching" you a BOO-tiful day!

Hi friends!

*Picture heavy post!  Lots to see! :)*

Today's the day that we post our cards 

for the Challenge Your Stash (CYS) group.

Our hostess this month is the group's founder, Barb!

She asked us to create a card with a fancy fold and a fall theme

 :::: insert panic face here! ::::

In the summer, I was blessed to visit the REAL MFT store 

and it was an absolute dream come true!

My Favorite Things is as wonderful to visit in real life

as it is to shop online and create cards with their stamps and dies!

I chose for my fall theme:  Halloween!

It's not my favorite holiday ~ but being mommy to 4 kids,

we absolutely enjoyed seeing our kids pick 'the costume' each year,

getting excited about going house to house for Trick 'O Treat,

and getting the chance to visit the neighbors!

They ESPECIALLY love visit the Manzanares family ~

"Mommy!  Daddy! They give out full bars!"

♥

So the "fancy" to my fold is I made a bouncy/springer/flattening card!

How's that for a name?! :)

It's similiar to a basic tent fold - mountain and valleys ...

 Here's the top view ~
and there is a card that pulls out from the center :)

 This card, when it bounces down (or springs up?)

folds completely flat and fits neatly into an A2 size envelope!

Which is wonderful ~

since this has to get into the mail! ♥

I hope it's not too soon to consider this *stash*,

but I purchased this Halloween set in the store 

and just now am getting it out to ink it up.

If it is, I'll take the L! 

Barb is one of the kindest and sweetest ladies I know ...

and she's retired from education but I am SURE she won't get out her red pen

and give me a bad grade! 

LOL!

What is your favorite fancy fold?

I'd love to see yours, too, and visit your creations!

Big hugs, bigger blessings! 

~Kelly