7.21.2015

Riley and Company - Summer Fun!


Hi friends! 
 
It's time for a new Riley and Company challenge,
the cutest little Moose that ever was!
This week, our challenge is ~ Summer Fun!

Our summer has had all kinds of wonderfulness,
but one of our favorite past-times is just being still.
Because of how hot it is here during the day,
the backyard breaths full of life in the coolness of the evenings -
the kids, us, the dogs ...
 all head outdoors to enjoy the beauty of our tropics!
When the kids were little, we build them a wooden play fort,
tree house, slide, bridge, pirate rope, jungle gym, swing set play set.
It's a utopia of wooden bliss :)

It's a beautiful thing to see all 4 kids all lined up on their swings ...
no longer little, but still loving their space ♥

My humble card offering today is using Swinging Riley ~
created with scraps in my bin and using a very old sketch in my files.
The buttons were on my desk and were a nearly perfect match -
You know they had to be on the card :)



Want to Play Along?
If you would like to play along with us of course we would love to have you! 
To play create a card using Riley and Company images.
Once you have created your card/project,
 post to the Riley and Company challenge blog and place a comment with a link to your card/project to this post so we can see what you have created.
 If you upload your card/project to Splitcoast Stampers, please include the keyword Riley1515.   We can't wait to see what you create! 
 
By now, I'm on the road to college!
We're taking off for a few days to get dd to her orientation and registered,
as well as scrambling to get so much accomplished while we're up there.
In the meantime, get our your Riley and Company stamps
and show us your Summer Fun cards!

Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly


 

7.18.2015

Mystery revealed ~ I love Dogs! ♥

 
 
Happy Weekend! 
 
I'm watching the torrential rain falling outside the kitchen window
and am grateful today is an inside day!
I'm a coffee girl, that's no secret :)
But on rainy days, I love a cup of warm tea, snuggling up with a good book,
or heading to The Cabana to stamp, color, create!
 
 
 
Today is also the day we reveal the *Mystery Image*,
a progressive swap that I am in at SCS.
This swap was originally started by Jeanette,
and all of us take turns being a hostess and sending out an image to
all the participants to build a card around it ...
then return it to the hostess for swapping back out.
 
This month, I was the hostess :)
I sent out this adorable 'in the doghouse' Elyzbells stamp
as it remains one of my very, very favorite in my stamp collection.
I wanted to see what the other ladies
would create with this same image so this one was top pick!
 
This is my take ~ very 'primary colors',
pretty simple as I wanted the sweet pup to be the focal point.
The buttons just jumped out of my bin and onto my card :)
The inside is with another Elzybells coordinating sentiment stamp.
   

                                                       In our family, we love dogs!
My daughter recently had a fundraiser for a dog rescue organization
and I sold off 75% of my SU! stamps to donate to the cause.
As well as some VERY generous purchases through many of my
online stamping friends that were a beautiful blessing + contribution ♥
 
I hope today is a good one for you!
Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card entered for consideration:  HIMCR - Lots of Layers!
Polkadoodles - 2 designers papers
Animals Friends - an animal on the card!

7.09.2015

It's a Orange and Grape Riley Challenge!


 Happy Summer-a-licious, wonder-licious Day!
It's time for a new Riley and Company Challenge ~
use the colors orange and purple!
 I normally associate those colors with Halloween so I had to
think outside the box with this one.

And it's Shark Week
We love shark week in our home
and wait for it each summer to come on.
It's a good week to be a Moose! :)

I used that as my inspiration to create today's card ...
Using Fins Riley and swim the ocean Funnybones,
this is what I came up with!


Since I had both the image and the sentiment on the front,
I left the inside blank with a small decoration to keep it versatile.
 
 

 
Not quite sure what's going on with the editing of the pictures,
crystal clear on the site and then slightly out of focus on my screen
I'll keep working on it!
 
Meanwhile, we'd love for you to play along in the Riley and Company
bi-weekly challenge.

To play create a card using Riley and Company images.
Once you have created your card/project, link to your card/project to the blog  or if you upload your card/project to another site like Flickr or
Splitcoaststampers,  please include the keyword Riley1415.
 
I hope your weekend goes "swimmingly!"
 
Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card Submission:  Aud Sentiments (Animals & Sentiment)
Creative Knockouts - Summer Fun

You're the cat's meow! ♥

 
 
Hi friends!
  You are absolutely PURR-fect! ♥
 
Today's the 9th of the month,
which means the 3 Musketeers {Barb, Jeanette and I}
will post cards from an image mailed out by the hostess ...
and this month it's me! :)
 
I chose this garden kitty image from Elzybells, 
one of my very, very, VERY favorite stamp companies of all time!
I haven't inked it up in years but it remains one of the treasured
stamps in my collection that will stay with me forever ♥
I cherish my Elzybells stamps so much!
They came all the way from England and I'd stalk my mailman
for weeks after I'd order the stamps ♥
I was heartbroken when Elizabeth (owner/designer of Elzybells)
 closed up shop but I was able to scoop up a many of the wooden stamps
before they were gone forever *smile!*
 
 
 
With my card designing, I start with chosing the papers first,
 then I chose a layout,
then color the image to match the dsp!
 I'm always in awe when I hear
folks say they color their image first,
because for me - I'd spend HOURS in the Cabana if I did that,
looking for papers to match what I'd just colored!


 
The inside of my card is the matching sentiment to this stamp,
and truly, in the garden of life,
friends help us blossom into the beautiful people that we are ♥
 
And, you may have noticed, I missed last month's 3M post :(
I'm in the doghouse for that, I'm sure.
Truth is, I can't find my card anywhere!
I'm not able to recreate as I goofed the other image but as soon as my card is found,
I'll be sure to post it.
Meanwhile, please stop by and see what Barb and Jeanette have made, too!
 
As always, thanks for stopping by!
I hope your day is absolute purr-fection :)
  
Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly

Card submission:  Aud Sentiments (Animals & Sentiment!)
Time out Challenge:  Nature/Animal

7.02.2015

The 3:09 card!

 
Good Morning, friends!  
 
I can't believe it's already July!
And a little trivia for you ...
did you know at 12 pm today, we will be exactly half way through 2015!
Not only does that mean the summer is flying by,
but Christmas is going to be here before you know it!
 
I've been busy in the Cabana making tons of cards,
catching up on some overdue cards and creating the new ones.
This one is a very CAS card,
which if you have been a follower for awhile now,
will know this is so. not. me!
The inspiration, and challenge, for this card came from a friend on SCS.
Her challenge for us was to use the image/papers
and create a card in ....
 
UNDER 30 minutes!
 
The what what??
I literally loved her challenge!
Because it takes me 6 hours to make anything!
 
 
 I looked at the clock in the Cabana, and it read 2:51 ...
seeing the ocean feel of the precolored SU! image,
I reached for my Marina Mist cardstock and the swatches of dsp
and just made them work as a base for the image.
 
ah, you know how much I love my layers!
This wasn't easy, but somehow, I am happy with how it ended up :)
And I was done at 3:09!
I could get used to this :)
 


I'll enter my card into: 
Crafting for all seasons #105 - Cute and Summery

 
As always,
Big Hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly