BOO to you!

 I'm finally ready to accept that Fall is really coming! It is one of my favorite seasons, yet I still have such a hard time saying goodbye to Summer. Making cute, Halloween-y projects always helps, too! One of my friends in the neighborhood asked me to make a card for her darling baby nephew who is dying from a tragic illness. They are hoping to celebrate a few holidays before he passes. My heart aches for this sweet family. I thought this "Spooky Smiles" set would be perfect for a fun Halloween card.

I've been on the "notify me" list forever, it seems, for the spooky tree and fence. They finally came, as well as a few tag diecuts that I couldn't live without. The fence and tag were the starting point for my design. I couldn't decide if I should have the jack-o-lantern peeking out from behind the fence or the cat. As you can see, the cat won and he's perfectly placed on his gate ready for a spooky night. I added a bowtie and witches hat, (which I am just realizing as I am typing) is kind of strange, but definitely cute! The bat is hanging around as well and it looks like a trick-or-treater might have dropped a piece of candy. Ha ha!

All of the images were stamped using Palette Noir ink and colored with Copic and Prismacolor markers.The sentiment was stamped using Fresh Snow ink onto black cardstock. The tag was tied with a bow of black baker's twine and a few sequins finish it off. I added the darling little Jack-o-lantern to the inside as well as a strip of pattern paper and another sentiment. Thanks for fluttering by!

Blessed are those that mourn...

 Yesterday evening we had the most glorious rainstorm...the kind that I love watching from my cozy front porch. This morning the air was crisp and the smell was so heavenly that I couldn't resist taking a walk after Rhys went to Kindergarten. Now that I'm back, I thought I'd sneak a minute before lunch to share my most recent design.

 I used the new "Blessed" diecut and stamp set to create a simple sympathy card. I love all of the sentiments included in the set. I can see me reaching for this one often. I diecut "blessed" about 3 or 4 times out of stampers select white cardstock and glued them on top of each other for a thickness about the size of chipboard. The rest of the sentiment was heat embossed using gold powder.

The flowers and leaves were stamped in blue ink with yellow centers and are part of the "Garden gate" stamp set. I diecut multiple flowers and popped them up with foam squares. The pattern paper is from a pad from Hobby Lobby that I just love. A few burnished gold sequins finish the design. Thanks for fluttering by!

Today I will choose JOY!

 I'm back today with another tiny town creation. This time I used the church to create a baptism gift for a special girl. The hair clips fit perfectly inside for a sweet little gift.

 The hair clips were made using Sweet Blush wool felt and the flowers were made from Vintage Cream and Simply Chartreuse felt. I also stitched a Spring Moss button to the center of each flower. I attached them to a simple card I whipped up using the "New Every Morning" set and "Handmade Hodgepodge".

 I diecut the main building out of SU!'s Blush Blossom cardstock and the church facade was diecut from a piece of Authentique pattern paper. The window boxes and flowers are from the Sweet Shoppe die collection but I just couldn't resist adding them to the church.

The tag was also made using the "New Every Morning" set as well.  It's stamped in Smokey Shadow ink. I added a battery operated tea light right before it was given to the recipient. Thanks for fluttering by!

A little Sunshine!

 I'm blogging from my phone today, pictures and everything! My digital camera was on the fritz earlier so I figured I'd use all of the fabulous technology at my fingertips, literally! LOL! The kids are back in school, including Rhys, my new kindergartner. I'm hoping with just my little one home I can do more blogging during his nap time. I've posted a new project HERE as well, if you'd like to take a peek. Follow me on Instagram @kellylunceford for more projects and ideas.

 Today's projects are for a friend who's been under the weather for a while now. As soon as I saw the Tiny Town Sweet Shoppe dies, I knew I would HAVE to have them. Mostly becauseof the darling little fabric shop that Betsy made. You can see I've made my own little vintage fabric and notions shop to match the quilted card I made.

 The card was made using the Quilted: Summer stamp set which I recently purchased even though it is more than a year old.

 My color palette is Ocean Tides, Simply Chartreuse and SU!'s Crushed Curry. Such a fun, summery combination sure to cheer someone up! I diecut all of the triangles and quilt frame from white cardstock. I added some stamped triangles at the bottom to give the feel of actual "prairie points".

 The sentiment, which I love, is heat embossed using gold powder onto Crushed Curry cardstock. I love how bright and shiny it is on the yellow cardstock! My card wouldn't be complete without some machine stitching. I'm debating on leaving the tails of the thread. I know it's super trendy right now, but I don't know if I'm sold in this case. Ha ha!

 Here's a close-up of the tiny fabric shop. Let me tell you, if I happened upon this little dwelling, I would not hesitate to stop by! LOL!

I cut the main structure out of the Everyday Blessings pattern paper from PTI. The awning was cut from Kraft cardstock and the stripes are also from Everyday Blessings.The door and window frames are cut from Ocean Tides cardstock. The window boxes are Kraft and the flowers are colored using Copic markers. I did add some Diamond Stickles to the white flowers for some extra sparkle. The vintage sentiment is from one of my favorite older sets called Button Boutique. I added a real, tiny and lightweight button to the shop sign for some extra detail. I had a lot of fun putting this all together. Thanks for fluttering by!

All-Star Teacher Appreciation Week

 With the new school year about a month away, I thought this post was a bit overdue! ha ha! I've been meaning to share all of the things a LONG time ago...better late than never, right?

Our school had a sports theme going this past year so I decided to use that as our Teacher Appreciation Week theme as well. I like to put a fresh spin on things and especially a sports theme. It just seems so "done" if you know what I mean. I knew that I would be changing the "sport" for each day so I decided to keep things neutral and easy to switch out. I wanted to incorporate gold, kraft and green so those were my main colors throughout the week. It was super easy to add pops of color throughout the week which you can see in the pictures....and there are A LOT!

 My budget it very minimal so I just "shopped" my house for all of the decorations. I did buy the mini trophies that I used here and there for a little shine and detail. I thought my star marquee looked perfect! I turned it off at the end of each day and I arrived early each morning to switch out themes and treats so I just switched it back on.

 Being in charge of the entire week AND getting gifts done for my son's teacher was crazy, but I had fun spoiling her. On the first day, the kids were supposed to wear their teachers favorite sports team's colors. Well, my son's teachers favorite team is Real Madrid and their colors are white and different one each year....2016 happened to be silver. What? Are you kidding me? Not fun, but I made it work and decided to make a little jersey tag attached to some Herhey's Hugs.

 I also switched out the chalkboard each day. I would grab it at the end of the day and quickly get the new one created. This is the first day's design. I searched for sports quotes on pinterest for most of my chalkboard designs.

 We were super fortunate to get Little Caesar's Pizza to donate lunch on the first day so I got super cheesy and made a little sign to put up by the pizza. Get it...pizza and crazy bread? Ha ha!

On the second day, we provided a yogurt buffet, cereal and granola bars so Wheaties were a MUST. See how nicely the orange fits in and gives it a nice pop of color?

 I found this awesome Wheaties metal sign at Hobby Lobby and I thought it was the perfect touch to the buffet table. We were able to keep the yogurt cold by putting ice in aluminum roasting trays and filling them with ice.

 This is the card my son gave his teacher the second day with a basket full of her favorite goodies as well as a gift card. I didn't get a picture of that because I was a mad woman! LOL! I used the bubble gum die and coordinating stamp set from MFT. I thought the sentiment was absolutely PERFECT for the theme!

The sports ball "gum balls" are buttons that  I snipped the back off with scissors. I thought it turned out so cute! His teacher's favorite sport is soccer so I made sure that the soccer ball was coming out of the gumball. The background paper is textured to look like a basket ball which I just love. It's the little things, right?

 The 3rd day I put together an all-american baseball concession stand for the teachers filled with patriotic candy, popcorn and more. It was so fun to put together. The chalkboard I created for the day was the famous "take me out to the ballgame" song.

 The funny part is that I didn't actually provide and cracker jacks. LOL! I did, however, attach their invitations to Friday's luncheon to a box of cracker jacks. They turned out super cute, but I didn't take a picture. My good friend from the PTA did an awesome job making the invites on her computer.

I printed this famous quote out onto kraft cardstock and put it onto my decorative bulletin board for some extra inspiration as well as a fun baseball touch. You an see I added the glove and ball to keep the theme cohesive.

The next day the teacher's got hydrated at the powerade "hydration station". The local grocery store donated all of the powerade as well as tons of nutrigrain bars for the whole staff. It was awesome! You can also see the chalkboard that I created for the fourth day.

I made some quick centerpieces for each of the tables in the teacher's lounge. The glass jars are from the Dollar Tree and I filled them up with green spanish moss, peanuts and a baseball on top. I also did some stamping (of course) to create the cute little pennant, apple and mitt and ball attached to skewers. I also added a sprinkling of star confetti for a little sparkle and shine. I didn't get a chance to photograph the last few gifts for Rowan's teacher. I  was burning the candle at both ends that week as you an imagine. I wanted to share a few details that I did not include in any photos;
MONDAY: Pizza luncheon             Gift:luncheon invitation attached to a box of Cracker Jacks

TUESDAY: Yogurt Buffet and Breakfast            Gift: Caramel Apples from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

WEDNESDAY: Concession Stand         Gift: Skor bars with quote

THURSDAY: Hydration Station            Gift: Handmade lanyards with quote

FRIDAY: Staff luncheon                         Gift: Freebie Certificates donated from the community

It was a great week and the teachers LOVED it! It makes it all worth it when they come up and tell you how great the week was. Thanks for fluttering by!

Thinking tropical thoughts

I received some fun goodies in the mail today and I couldn't wait to play. I needed a card and today is HOT so it was perfect! My daughter is going to be having a luau in August to celebrate her birthday and these fun new stamps and dies will DEFINITELY be used. Stay tuned for more fun projects using "Some like it Hot". Today's card also uses "Graceful Greetings" and I used the "thinking of you" sentiment and embossed it in gold onto Hawaiian Shores cardstock. The pineapple and flamingo were diecut once and everything else was die cut multiple times for a fun, full arrangement!

Also, I shared some felt baby booties on Thimbles and Thread if you'd like to check those out. They were so much fun to make! Thanks for fluttering by!

A trio of greetings

 I wanted to share a few more cards that I made for the bridal shower a few months back. I had so much fun making them! I decided to make three cards using PTI's "Graceful Greetings" with a similar feel and color scheme.  The first card was made using a Kraft  card base. I stamped polka dots using white ink and PTI's "Polka Dot basics onto the lower portion of the card. The focal piece was diecut using a spellbinders nestabilities scallop rectangle die. The "Hello" sentiment was stamped using grey ink and then I had fun adding the flowers here and there. I never seem to use ribbon on cards anymore so it was fun to add a pink taffeta ribbon on the side.

I added a few clear sequins for some shine and detail. I also like to add a bit of black ink to the centers of the small flowers which I did with a black Stampin' Write marker. I just feel it gives them a bit of depth.

The next card, which is one of my favorites, uses the same scallop focal piece. I stamped the sentiment in white ink onto kraft. The flowers were diecut out of blush cardstock and rolled up. I just love how they turned out. The "dearest friend" sentiment was heat embossed in gold for some fun shine. The gold glitter paper strip in the background ties it all together.

 The final card uses the same focal piece, of course. Both sentiments are heat embossed using gold embossing powder. The picture is blurry but you can see the shimmer and shine on the next picture a little better. They are all very simple and very straightforward. Thanks for fluttering by! Follow me on Instagram @kellylunceford