More OWH Goodness

Here are a few other cards I made for the big OWH hop over Memorial Day.

You can click on any image to enlarge it. All stamps are from Gina K Designs, and I used her cardstock as well. Patterned paper is Basic Grey. Side note: the ring in the lower right corner of the last card is a flattened milk jug seal ring.

Thanks for stopping by - I'm always happy to share a little sweetness with you!
♥ky

More OWH Father's Day work

Yep, Cabana Boy is on the road this week. I'm taking full advantage making Father's Day cards for Operation Write Home. Here's the latest:

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I used Gina K's cardstock, Basic Grey patterned papers, and one of the new sets, Follow Your Dreams by Theresa Momber; and Lovely Labels 3 by Nina Brackett. I colored a bunch of images with Prismacolor pencils using Odorless Mineral Spirits so that I could make a bunch of cards quickly.

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This card uses Gina K's pure luxury cardstock and Bo Bunny patterned paper. The stamps are from Nina Brackett's Lovely Labels 3 (sentiment) and her Vintage Backgrounds (circles stamped in white on black cardstock to make my own patterned paper). I strung beads on fishing line along with the truck charm. I used 2 eyelets to make sure the fishing line wouldn't tear the paper.

So, that's what I have for you today. Stay tuned, I'm always busy! Don't forget to check out Operation Write Home. We're celebrating the one millionth card made for the soldiers to send home! WOW!

Have a great day!
♥ky

Father's Day for OWH

Father's day comes early for Operation Write Home crafters. Our deadline for Father's day cards is May 21, to give them time to ship them out so soldiers can send them home. I was feeling a little uninspired until I found some great color combinations on Pinterest, and wonderful card sketches from Gina K's Stamp TV.

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I found this BoBunny paper this weekend at my Archiver's store. I love the entire pad! I used Special Father's set by Nina Brackett and colored the clock with my Copic markers.

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I made a stacked sentiment with my Nestabilities, and I wanted something to create a splash, but being a Dad's card, it couldn't be flowers or ribbon. I raided the Cabana Boy's tackle box, and got his fishing line. I cut the line into segments, and glued seed beads to both ends. I love how these add a little masculine sparkle to the cards. And just to be safe, I glued the beads to the card, too.

Give it a go sometime - what a terrific addition it will give those fishing styled cards! Now I'm off to make up a few more for soldiers to send back to their dads.

♥ky

Time Passes

Wow - it's been 5 days since I've posted. You guys need to poke me or something! LOL

You all responded so pleasantly to my previous masculine card, that I decided to do another. This card uses Sizzix (Tim Holtz) texture fade, bird cage die (cage embossed with silver powder), and Spellbinder's die for the sentiment. Lots of Ranger distress ink, and a sentiment from Gina K Designs. There are 4 brads on this card, and three of them have a metal nail head on them. I added a drop of glossy accents on the bird for an eye.

This card just makes me happy. I created another that is very similar to this, so I won't show it. These are off to Operation Write Home next week!

Wishing you a happy, creative weekend!
♥ky

Another Ippity Hop!

I'm on a roll!! Yay me! Really, with surgery this week and no preparation, I didn't think I would have anything to show you today. Thank the Lord for His healing touch!

Mother's Day is about done for Operation Write Home, so I've started thinking about Father's Day. Fortunately, we have the BEST stamp set for Father's Day!

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I love old cars, especially for father's day. Who hasn't either been give a car, helped to find a car or instructed in how to care for a car by a dad? My father was very instructive, but he didn't know I'd been sneaking out for years to drive for my half-brother at dirt tracks! I still have fond memories of my first car, and those memories inevitably lead back to dad!

I hope everyone had a very good weekend and your week is smooth sailing. Don't forget to set a little time aside for you to do what you love! Next on the hop is ArtsyEm with Art from the Heart!

Hugs!
~ky

Supplies: Ippity Authentic Man stamp set
Bazzill cardstock
May Arts wide ribbon
Offray silver twine
Spellbinder's nestabilities dies

Home! And Resting

Surgery went well, and I'm home now. I thought you might find it silly, but the doctor thought I was coloring with crayons in my room at that hospital! We had a good laugh and a brief discussion about the healing power of art.

I have 4 weeks before I'm supposed to be up and around like I was before. What will you bet that I won't make it 4 weeks?? My legs already feel heavy, so we took a stroll around Walgreens when I picked up my medicines.

I guess I'll be entertaining you with more than my usual number of blog posts. Here's a card I made the night before surgery.

All lovely in green - Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope you are enjoy a bit o' the Irish today. I'm Irish, so you know I am - no corned beef or green beer for me, but I am loving some Celtic music and dance.

This card is old Leisure Arts patterned paper. OOOOollllldddd hoard. Gina K Designs pure luxury cardstock in asparagus and soft sand. Did you hear? Gina is releasing a new cardstock color! Tonight! Over at StampTV! 7-9 p.m. Central US time - I hope you can join us!

So, I'm sending you sunshine from my recliner today. If it's not beautiful where you are, then create something beautiful!

Ta! ~ky

Other supplies: flower soft, cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilities die, May Arts and Gina K ribbons, Neocolor II watersoluble wax pastels.

Ippity Butterfly Extravaganza!

My dear friend, Eva, got a brilliant idea to have a blog hop focused on butterflies - not on a company or a color palette, but a theme. I love theme hops! Eva - thank you so much for doing this!

So - if you've just stopped by because your one of my adoring fans (insert laugh track here) - you might want to go over to Eva's blog and hop through all the sites. There are chances to win some wonderful prizes (thank you to all who are providing these goodies!), and tons of inspiration!

You know I have a few weaknesses: Ippity and Sweet Pea Stamps, Spellbinder's dies, Cuttlebug embossing folders, lots of texture, steampunk anything, and coloring. Wow - I managed to get all of that into this one card:

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I adore this luna moth inspired stamp created by Brigid Ashwood. The sentiment is from ippity - Just Wanted to Say. I know you'll want more details so here's a close up.

I've colored the image with Prismacolor pencils blended with Odorless Mineral Spirits. It's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but all the gearing, support bars and pin-striping is done with metallics.

I was blessed in my career as a biologist to have some very special butterflies in my care. I got to spend days exploring their biology, and captured the first photograph of mating behavior for the Diana Fritillary butterfly. One of my favorite projects was crafting a neglected landscape into the perfect habitat for this creature, and the other butterflies, plants and animals that share that habitat. Warm fuzzies here.

Ok - you've got several places to hop along to, and I do hope these flighty creatures can brighten your day. Spring is coming!

Hop on over to Sylvia's blog for a *gorgeous* butterfly project! You'll love it!


If you're here for the {ippity} blog hop, head over to Carole's blog!

Cheers!
♥ky

More Cards!

Yes - the muse is rolling with the cards. Great for the soldiers, so I don't really mind at all. Besides, it's fun!

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I have this OCD thing - if I have to cut a base for a card, then I have a leftover base. My head can't let go of that orphaned base, so I'm compelled to complete the other card. Same thing with leftover pieces-parts. You would think I could just put them away for later, but no - they *must* be used right away! LOL What do you struggle with?

I also feel the need to stamp multiple images. This is Charlotte with a Rose, made by Sparkle Creations. I stamped 5 of her, then colored her with my Prismacolor pencils, and used odorless mineral spirits to blend and smooth. These two cards were created using Stamp TV's current sketch challenge.

I think Charlotte is beautiful. What soldier wouldn't love to send her to his mom or sweetheart back home? It's even good for the women soldiers - perfect for mom, or to send a piece of their heart home.

Ok - I'm off for now. I need to get things done so I can't hopefully get messy with paints today. I have awesome ideas for a new canvas and a couple of art journal pages.

Be creative!
♥ky

P.S. if you need specific information regarding any technique or supply used, leave a message and I will get back to you!

I got the Bunny!

No - I do - the real one!! So I didn't make a bunny card for the hop.

(this is MacMiller, my rescue, getting caught using the Vagabond. Oh my!)

I'm so glad you are here! You should be coming here from Jennifer's blog, The Sparkle Within. Are you lost? Just dropped by? We're having a wonderful hop for Operation Write Home, a non-profit group that sends homemade cards to soldiers so they can use them to write home. Want to start at the beginning? Click here, or on the icon up to the left! You don't want to miss out - tons of eye candy, some blog candy, challenges, tutorials - get inspired!

I have a little challenge for you. If you create 2 new cards for soldiers - that's all, just 2 - and put them on the internet (your blog, Facebook, Flickr, wherever there's public access) then link them back here, you can be entered in a drawing for this prize package. You'll have until 10 p.m. CST, Monday, March 7th to post a link to your work, here, to be eligible for the drawing.

(Play along and you could win this!)

Here is my little bit of inspiration for you:

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This is a clean and simple (CAS) card design set with hand watercolored flowers, embossed nestabilities dies, and extra pages on the inside for sending thoughts toward home. Some have sentiments, some don't, but they are all spring themed. I used Gina K Designs paper and stamp sets for these cards. Please read the OWH blog for guidelines for sending multiples of a design.

The deadline for you to get your Easter cards to our shippers is March 18th! 

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I made all three of these cards using a Gina K Designs stamp set, and of course, her Pure Luxury cardstock. I embossed the images in gold, and colored them using Neocolor II watersoluble wax pastels. Please read the OWH blog for guidelines for sending multiples of a design. These cards say All My Love, and are perfect for Mother's day and more.

The deadline for you to get your Mother's Day cards to OWH for shipment is March 31st.

I love browsing through the Operation Write Home website. There's so much information there, and it's very easy to come away inspired. My favorite post, hands down, is the description of the average soldier making use of our cards. Check it out (bookmark it for later!) then head over to:

Samantha at Expressions of a Craftaholic

Thanks for hopping along with us!! ~ky

More is More!

First let me say that I lost one of my most favorite cousins to cancer this morning. She was a very strong lady, and I am so sad to know she's gone. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers for my family's safe travel to western Texas for the funeral. Thank you!

Many of you know that I make cards for soldiers. We have a blog hop coming up to celebrate and highlight this cause, so I'd love it if you could come back to visit on Saturday March 5th to enjoy that. I will have links to the beginning of the hop to make it easy for you to start at the beginning. Here are some of the new things I've been making:

I love Gina K's stamp sets (Spring Mix, here). They coordinate with other products so well - like these Cuttlebug embossing folders, and the Spellbinder's nestabilities dies. Basic Grey papers work beautifully with Gina K Design's Pure Luxury cardstock, which is so yummy to use with either Prismacolor pencils or Copic markers. I just love how quickly they come together, too.

Thanks, once again, for stopping by my blog. Be sure to visit again on Saturday, because I will have a challenge with a prize for you! I hope happiness is in your path today.

Hugs!
~ky

CHAPTER 8: You can learn a lot of things from the FLOWERS...

`Never mind!' Alice said in a soothing tone, and stooping down to the daisies, who were just beginning again, she whispered, `If you don't hold your tongues, I'll pick you!'


There was silence in a moment, and several of the pink daisies turned white.


`That's right!' said the Tiger-lily. `The daisies are worst of all. When one speaks, they all begin together, and it's enough to make one wither to hear the way they go on!'


`How is it you can all talk so nicely?' Alice said, hoping to get it into a better temper by a compliment. `I've been in many gardens before, but none of the flowers could talk.'

Hello everyone! What a sweet, sunny sign of Spring it is when all of our floral friends come out to play! The Twisted Thirteen, Doormouse and Guest Croquet Player Kim all definitely agree with Alice that you can learn a lot of things from the flowers! This week's challenge? See if you can pick up on it...

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I love these newspaper flowers. You see them everywhere these days. I used a simple scalloped punch and an old newspaper plus a brad to make this one. Fun!!

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And I adore this image! She really appeals to my inner tomboy! I colored her using my Copic markers, then cut her out and whetted her eyes and lips with some glossy accents. I accented her buttons and the edge of the Labels Nine background with Patina stickles. She's also popped up with dimensional foam to dramatize her position near the flower.

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And here she is all together. I call this project "Old News" - partly for the newspaper (collected on my recent trip to visit my husband). I also call it this because "a little birdie told me" was a code for "and everyone already knows..." LOL! I had so much fun with this project. I do hope you will join in our challenge to - did you guess it already? USE FLOWERS on your card or project!


We have ANOTHER generous prize to give away this week! We at Oh, Alice are just floored at the outpouring of generosity from these wonderful companies and are thrilled to announce that this week's prize is being donated by STAMPOTIQUE!

That's right! ONE RANDOM WINNER will be chosen to WIN a $15 GC to the STAMPOTIQUE store! (they sell rubber stamps and other goodies :) Good luck, and we'll announce the winner during next week's challenge, so get those entries in by Friday, April 16th at 8pm CST! Make sure you link your creation to Mr. Linky on the Oh Alice! Challenge Blog and use OAC8 as your keyword when uploading to a gallery.  Thanks and good luck!!


Happy Stamping and Happy Spring!
Ta for now, ~ky

CHAPTER 5: WHOOOOOOOO RRRRRRRRRRR YOUUUUUUUU?

CHAPTER 5: WHOOOOOOOO RRRRRRRRRRR YOUUUUUUUU?

"Who are YOU?" said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation.

Alice replied, rather shyly, "I--I hardly know, sir, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."

This week we are celebrating SPRING here in Wonderland! And, we have some WONDERFUL winged-things to show off courtesy of this week's sponsor, our very own Jen Shults! Jen's stamp company, Wild Flower Kids, has grown to be a favorite of mine and we are SO honored that she's agreed to sponsor the Oh, Alice! Blog by showcasing one of her new lines "All-A-Flutter"! Jen was gracious enough to provide the DT with some of these wonderfully cute and whimsical images as well... I chose Miss Willow to work with for this project:

I colored Willow with copic markers, cut her out and popped her up with dimensionals over a Basic Grey pieced background. I added shimmer to her wings (invisible when photographed - just like faeries!) with iridescent ice embossing powder. I cut out the sentiment with my Spellbinders tags die, added Doodlebug eyelets, Gina K ribbon, button and base cardstock (all spruced up), and Michael's rhinestones.

I ADORE Jen's images!! They are so full of attitude, and the sentiments that go with them are great. I hope you'll take a minute to check out her shop - Wild Flower Patch.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to create a card using a CATERPILLAR or BUTTERFLY on your projects this week! You have until Friday, March 26th at 8 p.m. CST to submit your entries using Mr. Linky on the Oh Alice! challenge blog. Winner will be announced on Saturday 3/27 during our next challenge and the WINNER will receive the "All-A-Flutter" digital images from Jen! This week's keyword is OAC5.

We'll stop by to see your amazing creations! HAPPY SPRING, everyone! See you next week! OH - and don't forget, I have BLOG CANDY!!!

Ta for now! ~ky

It's a Royal H{ippity} Hop!

I have *wonderful* news!! I was selected to be a Royal Stamping Maid for Queen Kat Designs! Yippie skippie!!! I'm so excited!

Now...back to your regularly scheduled blog hop...

I combined my {ippity} stamps with Gina K's stamp TV sketch challenge to create this:

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Yep - Gina K's new pink palette of papers! Those who know me may just roll over - I used *PINK*!!! LOL! Well, it's a seasonal thang, ya know? The heart (stamped 4 times) is from Life's Little Moments, and the sentiment is from Because of You.

Those of you who think stamping requires a big investment take note: all of my {ippity} projects have been created with just two sets. Just TWO! I love how versatile these sets are! And Unity makes them super affordable with top notch quality!

Ok - got a ton of projects to work on for CHA. I hope I'll see a bunch of you there. If not, keep an eye on this blog. I plan to post as many photos as I can and give you a running narrative. Thanks for your comments - they mean so much to me!

Hop back to the {ippity} blog for the full list! Enjoy the hop!

Cool runnings - peace be the journey! ~ky

FWF Friday!!

Wow do I dislike technology issues!! I think my camera thought it was Monday. Sigh...

Welcome!! I know you are seeing a lot of inspirational projects along this hop. I always enjoy hopping, but I sometimes can't get to in on a Friday. If you're like me, you can still hop even if you're late. Just find the list on the Unity blog, and go to each blog. Then, you may have to scroll down a little to find the FWF post. Better than not missing it all!

Here's my project!!

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Whew! I used Card Positioning System's sketch #149. I love their sketches. I used the new Treasure To Me set from Unity for this card. It made me giggle...!

Next on the hope is that very talented Rachel!!  Or, you can go back to Unity for the full list!

Cool Runnings! Peace be the journey. ~ky

Recipe: Gina K pure luxury cardstock In the Navy, and Ocean Mist; Ranger ink, Unity Stamps, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nesties Labels 3, American Crafts Ultimate Gell Pen, pastel white, Basic Grey patterned paper, pop dot, Michael's rhinestone, Making Memories ribbon.

H{ippity} H{ippity} Hop!

It's amazing how quickly a little change can make Mondays so much better! I look forward to Mondays now, because I get a whole bunch of inspiration and eye candy from all the {ippity} fans! Be sure to visit everyone on the list by starting at the {ippity} blog!

I made a really simple birthday card. I wanted something grown-up enough for my son (turning 17!!), masculine in color, but with just a hint of playfulness. This is what I came up with:

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I used Gina K pure luxury In the Navy base weight, Basic Grey Nook & Pantry cupcakes (fun!), Gina K pure luxury sweet corn cardstock, Memento Paris Dusk ink, Ranger scattered straw distressing ink, Offray ribbon, Basic Grey bling, Cuttlebug Swiss dot embossing folder and Spellbinders Labels 1 dies.

I hope you find a lot of little treasures along the hop. Don't forget - new {ippity} sets will be out in February!! I can hardly wait! Click here to go back to the {ippity} blog.

Cool runnings ~ peace be the journey!  ~ky

Gina K's Customer Blog Hop

Ok...since I flubbed the first project by not focusing on the correct stamp sets, I decided to try again! Here's my second attempt - it's not a set, but I do like how it turned out.

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I used the new Pure Luxury Tan Leather paper for the background, and Cranberry Tart for the base. The patterned paper is Basic Grey. Stamps are from the Stamp TV Holiday Cheer set (trees), Vintage Borders (quote) and Gina K ribbon and buttons for the extra touches. The 'snow' is Liquid Applique. Here's the inside:

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I used the same Basic Grey paper on the inside, trimmed with my EK Success border punch, and stamped the sentiment (the Magic of Christmas) and scroll shelf from Vintage Borders.

I have seen some really beautiful work on this hop, and I hope Gina gives us a chance to do this again. It's so much fun!! More blogs to check out - click here to go back to the list!

Ta for now, ~ky

Sunshine Stamps Warm the Heart!

Sunshine Stamps has been focusing on winter/Christmas images and sentiments. I just love this snowman, and thought he deserved a little vacation time in warm surroundings. Don't worry - it's not warm enough that he'll melt - just melt your heart!

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I've been working on making the insides of my cards more special. I thought I'd show you this one. I thought it turned out rather cute! What do you think?

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Well, I have another project to upload here in awhile. I hope you enjoy this one - I really enjoyed making it! Check out Sunshine's Stamps in the store!

Ta for now, ~ky

FFF, FWF Anyway you spell it, It's FUN!

Welcome to another Friday Friends with Flair! Woohoo!! We're having a ton of fun this weekend!!

It's time for another Virtual Stamp Night over on Splitcoast! Come join us for a Masquerade Ball tonight and all day tomorrow! We will have prizes, challenges, great chatting and lots of fun! You're going to have a chance to try new techniques, meet other fun stampers and get great ideas for more projects!

Second, Operation Write Home (formerly Cards for Heros) is hosting a 75-blog hop on Saturday. It will begin at noon Pacific time. Just click the picture to go to their site!

Here's my FFF project for this week. Our unofficial theme was to use embossing. Remember, Angela has lots going on with Unity and Ippity - so check her blogs!! And be on the look-out for that hidden blinkie for your chance at free stamps! I'm soooo excited that Donna Downey has a Unity set!!! Squeal!!!

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This card was made for our US soldiers stationed abroad. It will be mailed to Operation Write Home for use as a Valentine's card! I just adore this owl! Here's an inside view!

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I also used a cuttlebug folder (Forest Branches) to emboss the lower half of the card. The image is colored with Copic markers. I used Basic Grey paper for the sentiment and inside decoration.

Hope you've enjoyed your stop. Next you're off to Maria's blog!

Ta for now! ~ky

A little memory and a little color!

Makes a big splash! Each Tuesday, Stamp TV has a scrapbook page challenge. It's always fun, and we always have a great project sample. Here's the one I did for this past week.

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These are just a couple pictures from my yard here at the beginning of fall. I love seeing the last few big flowers from my hollyhocks, and freshly picked apples on aspen logs. The smell of the air changes to a crisp, sweet coolness with hints of woodsmoke. Mmmmm....warm apple cider, big pots of stew or chili, warm cuddly sweaters. Heaven to me.

Here's a close up of the chipboard A (for Autumn). I covered it with matching paper, ran it through the cuttlebug in an embossing folder, then spattered it with some copper ink. It's layered over a Spellbinders Fleur De Lis pendant.

I used the Nestabilities rounded rectangles to create the base 2 layers of the journaling block. Then I stamped my Gina K leaves (Melanie Muenchinger's A Year of Leaves) over the Gina K luxury soft sand paper. I embossed the edges with the leaf folder in my cuttlebug. Using the Spellbinder's Fancy and Double Ended tags, I created journaling tags to layer over the journaling base.

Using the same stamp set, I cut out some leaves to scatter on the layout. I also used Holiday Greetings (Gina K Stamp TV set) to stamp the circle in the center of the layout. I hope you've enjoyed stopping by today.

Ta for now! ~ky

Recipe: Basic Grey Dasher and Fruitcake; Gina K luxury Soft Sand and Gold cardstock; Making Memories brads, other items listed above.

Yummy, Sweet Autumn!

I love fall. Love the colors, the temperatures, the beauty of the earth going to rest. I enjoy Halloween mostly for it's candy, stories, and the fun side of costumes. I'm just a big kid!

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I also have a black kitty. She thinks she's tough but she just a big soft heart with legs and a tail. So this card reminds me of her - her name is Scrap. She was just a scrap left over from the making of her litter mates, barely the size of a 3 week old kitty when her siblings were 6 weeks old. Later, she loved chasing wadded up pieces of paper from presents or scrapbooking...she's always been my scrap!

This image was created by Ildi Company as part of the halloweenie series. You can see them all at Ildi's shop. Keep checking back - we're going to have a joint hop with Sunshine's Stamps in November that you'll want to see! Hope you have a terrific day!

Ta for now, ~ky

Recipe: image base, Pebbles; gold cardstock, Gina K; patterned paper, rub-on and ribbon, Cosmo Cricket; brad, Making Memories.