Riley and Company - CAS Summer!

 

 

Happy summer!

I really do love this time of year,

the kiddies all home giving room to spend our summer days

any 'ol way we chose :)

We've been enjoying the fun-ness of nearly every day,

exploring and creating and loving the long, lazy nights!

 

And summer just happens to be the theme this week

at Riley and Company Challenge blog ~

CAS summer, actually.

 

Well ...........

as most of you already know, I love me some layers!

CAS = quite a stretch!

But I manage to keep just the white space around the Balloons Riley

and stamped out Happy To be Alive, and masked off

with good 'ol fashioned scotch tape the last part

as it had the exact message I was looking for :)

I added a small section of scrap dsp to the left, and a small scrap of cardstock - run through the scallop border punch to the right,

and a button to top if off!

 And the inside, of course, left blank for now ~ and it's done!

 

 

We sure hope you can ink up your Riley and Company stamps

and play along!  Once you create your card/project,

you can link it up to the blog ....

Or, if you'd like to use a gallery like Pinterest or SCS,

please use the keyword Riley1315.

 

Thanks for stopping by today ~

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

 

 I'll enter my card for consideration into these challenges:

Bunny Zoes - Furry Friends
Path of Positivity:  Happiness
Vintage Stamping:  Hot Sunny Colors

 

DDD ~ Show Your Patriotism!

 

Hi everyone! 

 I can't believe it's been a whole month since I've last posted! 

 Life has definitely thrown us a curveball in the 'busy department'

and now that it's summer,

I'm hoping to get back into the crafting/blogging groove!

 

Today I'm buzzzzing by with this adorable patriotic bumble bee card!
 It's the 15th of the month, which means the Dueling Darlings post our cards
with a chosen theme by the hostesses.
This month, our hostesses were Barb and Terry and they have chosen a very patriotic theme based on June 14th  ~ Flag Day!
For team Divas, our hostess, Barb, sent us this super festive kit filled with papers, embellishments, + this adorable Bee image from
 Whipper Snapper Designs.

So, here's my card!

And the inside of my card - left blank for now :)

The second part of Barb and Terry's challenge was to share what we personally feel when we see the flag.

For me, it's a strong symbol of the freedom we have been given
thanks to the sacrifice of so many.
My dad and brother both served this country respectively and
that makes me a very proud daughter and sister!
Coming from a military family, I take pride in what our nation stands for
and what the flag represents.
Sadly, dad lost his battle with cancer 10 years ago
 and was buried in a veteran's cemetery. 
His burial flag was presented to me at his ceremony,
and I display it in our front living room ~
where I see it each day as my own family and I
walk past where it's displayed, a symbol of love and remembrance.

Thank you, Barb and Terry, for a fabulous theme to work with this month!
The DDD will be taking a summer hiatus
and we will be back in the Fall rested and energized! :)

Thanks for stopping by today!
I have a lot of cards to catch up on and post so this will be
 a fun and busy week in blogland! ♥

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

I'll enter my card into
:  613 Avenue Create #128:  Colors of the Flag




 

Summertime Fun-time!

 

Today is such an exciting day!

 

First, it's PROM! 

 My second daughter and her date are heading off in a limo in a few hours with 14 of their closest friends for a night of dancing, magic and

memories!  They will be gone for the weekend, staying a condo right on Miami Beach ... literally opening the French doors to a crystal blue pool, surrounded by sand that leads straight to the beach!

I love, LOVE this group of close-knit kids,
most whom have been friends since elementary school. 
My dd's date is her bestie and they are just so much fun together ~ he asked her to prom with her doggie, saying Prom would be "Ruff" without her - cute!
We called it her prom pup-osal! 

She's a vision in her dress and after today's hair, make up, nails and all things girlie, this momma is gonna cry! :*)

 I will try to share some pictures in a few days.
 

Second, it's also the 15th of the month, 

the day that the Dueling Darlings post our cards with a chosen theme.

This month, our hostesses were Carol for Team Divas

and April for Team Dazzlers and their theme:  Summer!

Carol sent us a fun kit with a twist:  Create anything but a card!
She even included with the yummy assortment of papers and ribbons

a darling little kraft box.  And I have an idea for that box (stay tuned!)

 

So I made a recipe card!

 Since I wanted to use the super cute SU! watermelon image and papers Carol sent, I paired it with a sheet in the same package that I happened to have ...

I didn't want to use up all of Carol's papers just yet -
I have plans for those and that box :)
 

 This recipe card will be part of a book I've been making for my oldest daughter

who is studying early childhood education, specializing in behavorial disorders and special education.

As you may know from this post and  others, I've been putting together
a recipe book for my daughter to take with her when she's on her own/married.
I'm also making her little keepsake recipes for sensory play, like this watermelon scented moon sound (it's cloud dough!)
She made this during the Fall with pumpkin scent and it was a HUGE hit
with the Kindergarten class where she works after school ♥
 You can find the recipe here on this site, where I found it originally.

 

Carol's image and her watermelon papers and shimmery ribbon were a perfect reason to get this recipe card printed and ready to add to her book!
Thank you, Carol!
I can't wait for my daughter to see it and hope I did justice to your image/
Summer theme ♥

Be sure to peek at the rest of the Divas creations using the SU! stamps.
I literally can't wait to create with the rest of mine!
And, you can stop in and see what the Dazzlers will create with the Summer theme, too - you can find both teammates in my blog sidebar!

Is it summer yet?! :)

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Happy Graduation!

As Dr. Seuss would say,

Happy TOOS-day! :)

 

Today there is a new challenge at Riley and Company Stamps

and our hostess this week is me *waving!*

 

Since graduation is quickly approaching for many children,

from Kindergarten on up to colleges,

I thought the it would be a fitting theme.

 

For my card, I used a Funnybones image "You're off to great places!"

and a mish-mash of papers, twine and BUTTONS :)

I can't seem to not make a card with out my babies ~  I mean, buttons :)

 

 

 

We'd love it if you could play along this week!

Ink up your Riley and Company stamps and post here on the blog.

If you'd like to use a card gallery, like SCS, please use the keyword

Riley1015.

 

I'll enter my card into:  craftindesertdivas - Graduation link up

 

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

 

A hop, skip and a jump! :)

 

Happy Weekend!

 

The 3 Musketeers are back again {the 9th of every month!}

with an adorable jump rope girl by Nellie Snellen.

Jeanette was our hostess and sent us this image to work with,

which is a new company for me as I hadn't heard of it before.

I do love how fun and whimsical it is.

 

Tom Stoppard said "If you carry your childhood with you,

you will never become older."

 

Isn't it wonderful when you can spend your day doing something

that brings you back to the 'good ol days' :) 

Growing up mostly in Europe,

 my brother and I spent our childhoods making the world our playground

and that's something I've tried to instill in my children as well.

I'm blessed that we've remained so close and have fun together ~

they know that I'm the first one in whenever there is

 a mud pie to be made, a bike to ride, sidewalk chalk to draw,

underdoggin' the swing to be the absolute highest!

Though somehow the jump ropes always ended up

 being Tarzan ropes in our house :)

 

After looking at the image,

I went in search of my childhood/play

papers and remembered an old mat stack I have had forever ..

it was a perfect match.

The bright colors, the whimsical papers ...

and a simple card design with buttons, of course!

 

I try to create the inside of my cards with the scraps of dsp

I have leftover so this card inside is blank and simple :)

 

You can see what Barb and Jeanette have made with this

same image by stopping by their blogs, too!

 

For all the moms and grandmas and moms at heart,

I sent you blessings and wishes

for a most wonderful, playful, carefree Mother's Day  ♥

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

*Flowers for you!*

Goodness gracious, it's a card! :)

 

This is an incredibly busy time for our family

 and I haven't had a chance to make a single thing, sadly.

 Our second daughter wrapping up her Senior year

 and all the trimmings that go with that ... college visits, auditions, dorm, decisions, finals, graduation!

 

And that's just one kid :)

 

 

 Today's card is my sample for my SOTC card group

and the theme with a 'new life' theme - that had me stumped!

  Since flowers were mentioned as a possibility,

 that's the direction I went with my card ...

flowers are always wonderful!

 

Here's the inside:

 

I scooped up the Tiddly Inks freebie for this week -

 isn't it the sweetest!

I colored/paired this one yellow and blue since this will go

 to one of my sisters-in-law

and it's her favorite color combination.

I've got quite a few more Mother's Day cards still to make -

including one for my own mom ♥

 

I'll enter this into the Tiddly Inks challenge this week -

flowers are always sweet to give and receive :)

I also followed an old Deconstructing Jen sketch #150 from the archives

that jumped out at me .... very inspiring!

 

  

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

card entered into:  Deep Blue Ocean - Flowers
 

DDD's say "Hello!" :)

Happy Hello to all!

 

Although it's tax day, the 15th is always the day the Dueling Darlings post our cards from card kits with a chosen theme from our hostesses
 Tami and Melina ...

"I'd pick a flower for you."

 

For those of you new to my blog, the Dueling Darlings (DDD)

is a group I dreamed up over 4 years ago and most of us original

members are still going strong!

The two opposing "dueling" teams:  The Divas (me!) and the Dazzlers

chose a card kit theme and send card kits to the other members ~

and we create a card around it ..

how fun is that!

*EDITED - updated card :)
I kept the old photo at the bottom, but it so broke my heart to look at it,
and it's just not what I wanted to present.
I ended up using up so much of the dsp that I had just scraps to work with,
and created this patchwork cheer instead ♥

 

 

 

Sadly, this month left me short of time and creativity

and I am really, really disappointed with my card :(

I plan to create a second one soon as Tami's kit was bright and

beautiful ...  the idea in my head just fell flat

and nothing like I envisioned!

I offer my humblest apologies to the team and to Tami!

 

Be sure to see what the rest of the team created

with their kits as well ~ they are in my sidebar!

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

 

Riley and Company ~ New Release!

Happy Friday and Happy Release day!

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed the Riley and Company sneak peeks all week ~

I'm here with another fun card from the new Inspirations Stamp line!

 

In addition to telling you about my card, I wanted to share with you the newsletter announcement ... 

  lookie, lookie! 

 Take a peek!

*****************************************************

We have a very very special announcement from Moose headquarters!  

 

Riley & Company is kicking off a brand new stamp line called Inspirations!

But wait - what's BETTER than a new stamp line? 29 new Funnybones stamps, too!

 

 

The Inspirations line is a lot like the Funnybones line - but BIGGER! The messages are still awesome, but geared towards a more personal theme. These not only make terrific statement cards, but they are fabulous for art journaling, Project Life and all those projects where you needed a really terrific saying!

  

And we are making this release even sweeter by adding 29 new Funnybones! I think this may be the best release yet!

 

The release is "officially" Friday morning, but our designers have been busy busy girls creative a LOT of wonderful sneak peeks for you to see on their blogs! Just head over to our website, and look for the designer list on the right hand side. You are going to love these! You can check out our Facebook page too - lots of great sneaks posted there also!

And what is a release without specials????

  

Special #1:  Buy the entire unmounted set of 29 new Funnybones  for only $95.00! (Save $50!) (Offer not available to wholesale customers.) Limit one per customer. Offer ends April 17th.

 

Special #2:  Buy the entire unmounted set of 25 new Inspirations stamps for only $75.00 (Save $50!) (Offer not available to wholesale customers.) Limit one per customer. Offer ends April 17th.
 

Special #3:  You can also get a set of 3 FREE Funnybones stamps (our choice) 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 #4:  But wait - there's more! As an added bonus, we are giving EVERYONE FREE SHIPPING from now until Sunday night (April 12th) at midnight CST! Just enter FREESHIP

in the coupon code section! 

  

Enjoy and Share A Smile!  

Tanya Kostynuk, Head Moose

 

Thanks for reading our newsletter information!

My card today is using one of the new Inspirations stamps -

the world truly is our canvas and yours to paint!

I followed a very old Deconstructing Jen sketch to make the base

of my simple patchwork card, using up a lot of scraps in my pile

and some simple enamel dot placements  and done!

Easy and beautiful, my favorite kind of card :)

 

Be sure to check out the rest of the DT and scoop up your new

Riley and Company stamps!

Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

 

It's a mysterious ..... Bunny! :)

Hi everyone!  

Today is the day the 3 Musketeers post our mystery image cards :) 

 This fun trio was a group created by Jeanette

 and I was graciously invited to play along with Barb - making up the 3Ms!

This month, I'm the hostess

and sent the other 2 ladies this C.C. Designs "Bunny Lucy" image ~

 fitting for this time of year.  

I've had this stamp for ages and hadn't stamped it yet 

so it felt right for her to get a little inky.

 

              For my card design, I followed an old Retro Sketches #150

that I had in my files,

and used up some old SU! Bella Rose I've had for forever

and found when packing up the Cabana!
 

 

And as is my custom, I matched the inside of my card

but left it blank for writing a message :)
 

 

Unfortunately, my laptop has gone to computer heaven

and I'm unable to post/edit most pictures ...

so this one will have to post as is until I get back online.

Posting from the kids borrowed computer/laptops

is a bit scary, LOL!

Be sure to pop on over and see what Jeanette and Barb

have created using Bunny Lucy!

And I will be back a little later on with another

Sneak Peek from Riley and Company ... stay tuned! :)

Big hugs, Bigger blessings!

~Kelly

Find Joy ....

 

Blessings, everyone!

 

 

 

When I was little, my dad used to use the saying

"don't miss the forest for the trees!" 

It took me a little while to figure out what he meant by that :)

 

Today, as a busy mom always running to and fro,

and always on the go, go, go ...
 I remind both myself and my children to stop and enjoy the small things.

When I saw this new Inspirations stamp from Riley and Company,
I was so excited because it's very me ♥
I'm a firm believer in finding joy in the ordinary ~
life, embrace, enjoy everything around you.
It only takes a second ...
to just be in the moment, that moment of everything ordinary
and turn it into something extraordinary.
 

 Cherish the breeze blowing,

the sunshine landing just right,

the scent of the flowers on the wind,

the chirping of birds,

the dance of the butterflies in flight ...

the small things ♥

 

I've paired this stamp with some papers I had in my stash,
along with a few enamel dots.
And I decorated the inside of my card as is my custom,
 adding one of the new Funny Bones
sentiments as well with another positive message :)

As a reminder, these two stamps are part of the new release available
this Friday, April 10th.  26 new Inspirations stamps and 29 Funny Bones
will be released and you can see the sneak peeks with them all week long
on the DT blogs :)

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



Brand new from Riley and Company!

 

Good Morning ~

I hope you had a blessed holiday weekend ♥

 

 

I'm super excited to finally share some news and let the cat out of the bag :)

There is wonderful news from Riley and Company stamps,

and this week we will bring you sneak peeks of the brand new

Inspirations stamp line!

 

 

This week, we will showcase 26 new Inspirations stamps

and 29 new Funny Bones, all in this release!

The Inspirations stamps are larger, bolder, and have such

profound messages, perfect for cards and scrapbooking.

 

 

 

 

First up today, I have a coffee theme card

using one of the new Funny Bones sentiments ~

and for a coffee aficionado like me, this says a lot - LOL!

I've paired it with some floral paper with a satin

ribbon and a few buttons.

 

The DT will have card samples and sneaks up all week to show you

 the new Inspirations and Funny Bones stamps so be sure to check back! 

 The new stamps will all be available in the store this Friday, April 10 - woohoo!

 

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

Happy Easter from Riley 'n friends ♥

 

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes! 

We had an incredible weekend and I'm certainly blessed to have a loving husband and 4 super sweet, adventurous, selfless kiddies ♥

 

Wow!

Spring Break is officially over and we're back to the running around ~

 and now Easter is right around the corner ...

it snuck up on me this year :)

 

 

This week, the Riley and Company challenge is to create a card with

(oops! I the challenge as "fancy fold" ....

do I get a it was my birthday excuse? :)

Hopefully Riley will get some brownie points just for being cute!

Here he is with his friends Buster and chickie

in their Easter basket ready for some Easter fun!

 

 

 

If you'd like to play along, and we'd love it if you do,

then be sure to link up your More than one Fold cards to the blog.

If you use a gallery like SCS, please use the keyword Riley0715.

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

 

 

Happy Birthday .... to me! ♥

Hi there!

 

Yes, today is the 'big day' and I'm 29 - again! 
 It's so much fun how that happens ........ like every year! 
 I know, right?! :)

 

By the time this posts, I will have already been in the Florida Keys,
one of my very favorite places to be :) 

Sandy beaches, blues skies, lounge chair, a mojito (or 3 or 4!)

We hoped my son would finally recover enough to keep the trip -

and he did!  We have canoeing, lots of seafood eating, snorkeling

and more on the itinerary of fun lined up ♥

Back to my card!

I am in a group on SCS, founded by Jeanette, where for one month,
 we are showered with card kits from all the other members.
The next month, we shower the next person and so on and so forth.

This month, March, I'm up - yay! :)
I'm starting out with Terry's kit first since it's a *beary special* kit
and fitting for the occasion today ~ thanks, Terry! 

 

 

I followed the current Deconstructing Jen sketch,

letting this adorable bear be the focal point,
and then added a few buttons here and there, as is my custom :)
I also decorated the inside of the card as I like to do
but I couldn't find the photo of that -
must be birthday brain!
hee hee!

Have a wonderfully fabulous weekend!
Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Monday morning 'brews' .......

Hee hee!

 

I've got the Monday morning brews - I mean, blues!

It's Spring Break here and ours started out with the flu!

Our son came home Friday with a fever & flu like symptoms,

just to go downhill from there and struggling with this whopper of a flu -

going on day 3 :(

Poor little boy is positively miserable and

we're praying we don't start dropping like dominos,

especially our daughter who is immune compromised :(

 

Needless to say,

I've been barely sleeping and being nurse to this poor little one,

lots of TLC for him,

lots of coffee for me!
Our oldest daughter has driven to Starbucks twice this weekend

just for me - she absolutely can't stand the smell/taste of coffee

so the fact that she did that, for lil 'ol me, well it just means the world to me ♥

 

 

How 'bout this fun image !

I wish I had a S'bux the size of this cup!
Ohhhh I'd be so happy ♥

It's actually my card submission for the Mystery Image swap by Imke

on SCS ~ Jo was our hostess this month! I found these super fun

papers in my stash pile and just built a card around them.

I also decorated the inside of the card panel with this

sentiment ~ such true words!

 

 

I hope your weekend was wonderful

and Spring/sunshine has started to show it's lovely self,

wherever you may be in the world!

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

We're Glamorous! ♥

 

Oh la la!

Isn't this lady glamorous! 

 

I sure hope this is me when it's my birthday,

dancing around in my party dress and feather boa :)

 

 

                        It's a new mystery reveal from the Mystery Image swap,

and this one is the adorable Magda from the Stampingbella line.

 Carol is our hostess this round and sent us this cute image

and we had to create a card to go around it ~

and this is my take :)

 

 

Carol loves blue so I went with a blue hues

and she also loves her bling and glitter,

so I added some rhinestones to sparkle up the party girl.

I've had this SU! Urban Oasis dsp for forever and a day
so it was time to use it!

And, how fun to finally get inky and play in my Cabana ♥

 

 I decorated the inside of my card as well as I usually strive to do,

adding the sentiment that came with Madga

to the inside of the card.

 

Thank you for stopping by today!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ♥

 

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly



Challenges:   Jo's Scrap Shack - Birthdays!
Polkadoodles - Birthdays
Seize the Birthday:  Use a sentiment
Crafting with an attitude:  AG