Bunny Wishes

I really adore the cute-sy stamp set from There She Goes called The Fairy Best!  The bunny holding a flower behind his back is the uber-cuterest!  There She Goes has challenged us this week to create a project using circles.  I purchased the Lifestyle Crafts circles a while back and use them A LOT!  For this card, I pulled out some pastel colored pattern paper from my scrap pile and went circle nuts :)

Craftily (and circle-y) yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Signing Papers

First of all, Happy Memorial Day!  I hope we all take a few moments to thank and pay homage to our fallen warriors.  We enjoy the land of the free because of the brave.

Last October, my son, Brian, came to me and said, "Momma, I want to talk to you."  He proceeded to tell me that he has decided to join the Army.  The conversation went something like this,

Brian:  I've decided I'm going to join the Army.
Me:  No, you're not.
Brian:  I've been thinking a lot about this, momma, and I think it's the right choice for me.
Me:  No, it's not.  You can't do this.
Brian:  Momma, I'm an adult now.
Me:  No, you're NOT!

Well, he is.  After some amount of grilling about his decision, I told him that I would support him.  (Of course, I would - that is being a momma.)  I went with him to see Sgt Upchurch, and he signed up that day.

I'm creating this journal as a record of his journey for him and as a way to divert my missing him into something creative and positive.

This page was inspired by UmWow Studio's June sketch.  I used the sketch fairly literally.  A couple of the stars are UWS chip, and the hexagon pattern was made with another piece of UWS.  I'm also entering this into Crop Chocolate's sketch challenge (created by D2 from UWS)!

On the other side of each journal page, I'm writing a note to my son to account the memory from my perspective and/or to put letters he wrote to me (after he left).

Last, but never least, recently I was accepted into a new design team - Silhouette Challenges.  I'm so excited to be part this this great team.  Our leaders are SUPER nice, and I'm stoked to be learning more and more about my Cameo!  Their first challenge (still open) is Anything Goes.  I used my Cameo to cut the "my hero" phase.

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Word

I recently picked up the Smarty Pants stamp-set from There She Goes stamps.  I just "had" to get it inky for their sketch challenge this week!  This girl is mini-me! 

I've always proudly been a bit of a nerd.  That is indeed the "word."  Ha!  Rhyming nerd!

I am also submitting this to 3 Girl Jam Challenges Anything Goes!

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

ATS Ice Cream Shoppe Hop

Welcome to the Ice Cream Shoppe Hop brought to you by the All that Stickles design team!

Summer is almost here... and that means it's almost time for summer's favorite treat... ice cream! Bring on the cool scoops of your favorite ice cream flavor (mine happens to be pretty much ANY - coffee, chocolate, vanilla, I could go ON and ON!), the never-ending list of toppings, and of course, you can't forget the cherry on top!

Today the All that Stickles design team has created many different ice cream-themed projects for you to savor. :) And what's our favorite topping?! Stickles, of course!

When I think of ice cream, I think of hot, sunny days and yummy drippy ice cream cones, so I decided to head to the Silhouette Cameo store and search for "cone".  I cut the cone shape from Bazzill cardstock and the design paper from a piece of Amy Tangerine Sketchbook.  The digital stamp is a from Birds Cards that I picked up quite a while ago...so it's an ice cream cone decorated CONE! I used Diamond Ice Stickles on the image and on the little dots.  I added a little glossy accents to the fudge!  These would be fun to use as party favors or a gift card holder!

We have blog candy for those who are a follower of All that Stickles and leave a comment on every stop of the hop! Winners will be announced Wednesday May 22nd at All that Stickles.

QKR Stampede

5 Digi Stamps of Winner's Choice

My Craft Spot

1 Stamp Set of Winner's Choice

Fresh Brewed Designs

$15 Gift Certificate for Digital Stamps

Bugaboo Stamps

10 Digis of Winner's Choice

Your next stop is the talented and fabulous Cynthia!

Here's the complete lineup:

All that Stickles

Tonya

Chas

Karen <-- You are here

Cynthia <-- Go here next

Julie

Cathy

Thanks for hopping! :) Don't forget to check out our Cotton Candy Linky Party!

Craftily yours,

Karen

Brian's Army Journey

So many of you know that my youngest son enlisted in the U.S. Army.....left for boot camp in January 2013.  I work very hard to be an Army Strong Mom, and I couldn't be prouder of him. 

I decided a couple weeks ago that I wanted to chronicle his journey in an art journal.  It's mostly a way for me to channel my "missing him" into something more productive than feeling sad.  There She Goes stamps has a challenge this week to create something with the "Movin' on" theme.  This was my motivation to start his journal.  I'm also entering this into Paper Girls Challenge to add some doodles to my project.

The boots and "so proud of you" sentiment are both from There She Goes boot camp stamp set.  (This stamp set came out right around the time Brian enlisted....and is how I found this company - who does some really fabulous stamps....I have a bunch now!)  The title, circle, and heart are cut with my Cameo......and the doodles are done with a green and grey zig-writer pens...  The arrow is from UmWow Studios. 

I love how the page turned out!  It makes me smile.  Isn't he the handsomest soldier!!?!

Crafily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

So Sweet Thank You

I went through a phase of collecting digital stamps....some I bought, a few I won, and some I found freebies.  I haven't used them a lot because I don't have a printer at home (yet).  In order to use them, I have to remember to take my good cardstock to work and remember to print them.  Remembering isn't my strong suit!  LOL

3 Girl Jam challenged us to use a digi-stamp and some ribbon this week, so I made an extra effort to REMEMBER!  So glad I did!  This digi is one I found from http://sliekje.blogspot.com/, and, of course, the ribbon is the yummy crinkle ribbon from 3GJ (Ice Blue from the Hot and Cold Bundle)!

I love this image!  SO cute!

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Cotton Candy Note Holder

Today is the mid-inspiration post for the All That Stickles Cotton Candy linky party!  If you haven't already broken out your Cotton Candy Stickles and had fun with the yummy pink goodness, get at it!

For my Design Team project, I used a wood star that my husband cut out for me and created this note-holder.  The notes go into the clothespin hot glued onto the back.  It's framed with Timeless Twine and, of course, Cotton Candy Stickles!  There are also Cotton Candy Stickles on the beautiful UmWow Studio Chipboard stars (that are painted with pink acrylic paint) and on the rolled flower at the bottom.  I finished it off with a little 3 Girl Jam Crinkly ribbon!

Thanks for stopping by to see my project!

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Spark Your Creativity Now Challenge

I'm so excited to have been picked as a new design team for Spark Your Creativity Now! Challenge blog.  This "anything goes" once a month challenge is a super easy and super fun way to just let your imagination run wild and CREATE anything your heart desires!

Today is the mid-May inspiration post and my FIRST design team creation will be up!  Here it is:

The paper used here is from the Amy Tangerine Sketchbook collection.  The image is one of my faves from Unity Stamp Company (ok, I have a LOT of favorites from Unity!!)  Be sure to stop by the Spark Your Creativity Now! Challenge and link up YOUR creation by May 31!

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Chemistry Set

Over at Friday Mash-up, they have a challenge that just screamed to me this week. First, they posted a sketch, and I do love sketch challenges. Their challenge is as follows:

1. Create a project using "the sketch".
2. Create a "set of cards".
3. Or Mash it Up and create a "set of cards using the sketch".

Well, I mashed it up.  I created a set of cards that I'll be sending to Operation Write Home using the Chemistry set from There She Goes Stamps.

Here's what I came up with:

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Happy Mom's Day

Twenty years ago today, a wonderful thing happened - I became a mom! Another thing happened, like a tidal wave, the realization dawned that my mother is the smartest person in the world.  My mom tells me now that I'm a good mom.  Well, if I am, it's because of you, Mom. My mom also became a grandma 20 years ago today....and she's a GREAT grandma!

Timeless Twine has brought back their challenges!  Yippee!  Their challenge this month is to create something with a mother's day theme.  Easy peezy.  I used Timeless Twine in Raspberry Lemonade and the newest Unity Stamp of the Week to create this card. I'm also entering this card into Little Scrap Pieces challenge to create something for mom!

It's hard to see in the photo, but I used liquid pearls to create a shimmery background for the image and stickles to make the flowers glittery.  Held up to the sun, check it out!

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Blimey, You're 20!

Today, my oldest son turns 20!  Hard to believe!  He went from a 9 lb; 8 oz; 21 inch bundle of joy to a 6 foot 3 inch tall wonderful, strong, sweet and handsome man in a blink of an eye!  He works as a care-giver at a local elder care facility for Alzheimers and dementia patients.  He loves his old people....even when they do things that try his patience.  So proud of my son!

I made his birthday card from my new Shiver-Me-Timbers stampset from There She Goes!  The map is paper pieced together, distressed and run through an embossing folder to give it a little "old dimension," so I'm entering it into the There She Goes Clear Stamps challenge to paper piece!

Blimey, Erik, you're 20!  Momma loves you!

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Unity FWF - Oodles of Unity

I created these cards for some of the Crop Chocolate NSD Challenges and loved them so much that I'm sharing them here for Friday Friends with Flair at Unity Stamp Company.  Love Fridays!  The weekend is coming, and I load up on inspiration from all you lovely crafty peeps!

Here are mine for the week.  Love this happy Chickee card!

This is one of my favorite Unity stamps to ink (ok, I have many favorites!).  It makes for one HOPPY birthday!

 

On this, I tried playing with my TH distress inks and some embossing.  I like how it turned out!

The final card I made this week using Unity is my blinged up Angie Girl card....  I stickled all of the hearts!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Art Journal - Blog Candy Winner

Thank you to everyone who hopped along with the Mixed Up Media Chix last week.  I loved all the fun journal pages and reading all the lovely comments.  The winner of my blog candy is JPScraps.  Please email me at karey2005 at sbcglobal dot net so I can get this prize in the mail to you!

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Mixed Up Media Chix Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Mixed Up Media Chix - Art Journal Girlz blog hop!  I was inspired to begin expanding my crafting world into art journals by the fabulous Maria!  This is my first attempt, and I really enjoyed the free feeling of just getting crazy inky!  If you've stumbled upon the hop, start at Maria's blog HERE!

It features several Unity Stamps, so I'm also entering this into Unity FWF!  Recently, one of my favorite crafty online retailers (Crop Chocolate) decided to close its doors.  It's more than a retailer - it's become a family.  I've been on the Design Team since January, so one piece of this journal is dedicated to my DT sisters as they always choose to shine!

One final pic to share is a tag that I made as a "try-out" for art journaling:

Always believe in something absurd!

Before you go, I've got some candy to share

It includes a bling ring, some ribbon, some twine and a HUGE flower stamp set that would be great for art journalists.  All you have to do to be entered is follow my blog and leave me some love <3.  I'll announce the winner on Monday afternoon, so be sure to check back!

Now onto your next stop on the hop - the fabulous Lisa!  I can't wait to see what she has in store for us!

Check out Lisa's blog --->www.lisahetrickdesign.com/in_the_studio

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)

Crop Chocolate National Scrapbook Day

As many of you have heard, one of my favorite places to shop has decided to close their retail doors.  *Sadface*  The good news is that Crop Chocolate's social doors are going to remain open, and the owner is trying to work with his customers to make things work in some way.  The online friends that I've met through Crop Chocolate mean so much to me, so I'm happy that it will continue in some way.

To celebrate National Scrapbooking Day, Crop Chocolate is hosting a whole series of challenges.  Check them out under the contest tabs at CropChocolate.com!  Here are the challenges I've completed so far:

Challenge #2:  Tic Tac Toe - Using the tic tac toe board, pick one line in any direction and include those three items on your project (card or layout). Please make sure you let us know which 3 you used!

I did the row down the middle - a stamp, patterned paper and a ribbon.  I'm also submitting this to 3 Girl Jam Challenge - Anything Goes!  The ribbon is one of their fabulous crinkly ribbons that I just LOVE!

Challenge #3:  Buttons and Bows - Create a project using at least one button AND at least one bow. As far as the rules: for the bow(s)…you can use ribbon, twine, paper, a stamped image or even a hand drawn bow. And since we are so easy ;) same goes for the button(s)… you can use an actual button, a stamped image, chipboard piece, paper or hand drawn image. The sky is the limit! Use your imagination, go crazy!! We are celebrating today!! Have fun and show us what you GOT!!

Challenge #4:  Bugs - Spring is upon us and many things are coming out of their winter sleep . . . . . bugs being one of them. So our challenge to you is to do a project out of your comfort zone and use bugs in/on it.

You can check out the instructions for this card on my Instructagram - here!

Challenge #5:  Make a card or layout using 2 kinds of glitter, gems, Stickles or some other bling.

Bling on the corner and all the hearts are Stickles!

Challenge #6: Create a project, card, scrapbook page or altered item that contains a window.

Challenge #8:  Use Karen's sketch to create something AMAZING! Only catch?? Aside from using the sketch, you must use something new, and you must use something from your scrap pile.

I will be giving away two prizes.  One is blog candy drawn from a name of someone who enters a project into Challenge #8. It includes some liquid pearls, some rub-ons, a CTMH stamp set, some ribbons and a TH embossing folder.  To be entered into the drawing for this candy, submit a project to Challenge #8 and follow my blog.

I will also be giving away a $15 Amazon gift card to a crafty contestant who follows my blog and enters a different project into each of the 8 challenges!


Craftily yours, 

Karen (karey2005)

May Flowers

There She Goes Stamps asked us to make a project with the "April Showers Brings May Flowers" theme.  I recently had purchased their Blossom by Blossom set, and I can't get enough of inking it up, so my entry into their challenge is using that stamp set.  It only has one flower (the pink button), but the colors of the papers, the smile on the girl's face, and them sweet chickies just made me feel Spring.  It's been gorgeous weather here in No California, so it seemed to be fitting!

Wishing you bright, sunny (and not too HOT) days!

Craftily yours,

Karen (karey2005)