A smile is the key....

....that fits the lock of everyone's heart!

I have really been trying to stay on top of my card making needs and actually use the cards that I make. I needed a little "thinking of you" card for one of my friends so I sat down to get one done. After it was all said and done, it really would have made a cute Christmas card had I just switched out the focal image and sentiment. The paper is from Scenic Route and is a couple of years old, but it is still some of my favorite! I am so proud of myself...I have been using up so much paper from my stash and I rarely even visit any scrapbook stores! I can't even imagine how long it would actually take me to "run out", though.

All of the stamps that I used on this card are from Papertrey Ink. They include: Everyday Treats, Heart Prints and Heart Prints Sentiments. I used the coordinating die with Everyday Treats and the coordinating punch with the heart. Can I tell you how much I love punches and dies? It is so fast and easy to get layers and details without taking up so much time and effort! I also added some ribbon from May Arts and some baker's twine which is also from PTI.

After I tied the ribbon, I thought it seemed a bit naked, so I added a tiny key to give it a little something extra. It also fits in nicely with the sentiment. Another thing that I love doing with the heart image is to add a button which has been threaded with an X....like cross my heart! I know, I know....I am a goof!

Like I mentioned before, this card looks like it could be a Christmas card, I may just have to work these papers into a Christmas design! Thanks for fluttering by!

Merry and Bright *SFYTT*

It's official...my first Christmas card of the season! I hope everyone had a beautiful and happy Thanksgiving! I love this time of year...lots of family and friends, happiness and fun! Speaking of family, my Mom gave me "Greeting Card Kids" from SU! for my birthday and this is the first time I have used it on a card. I stamped the sweet little school kids, colored them and then never finished anything with them. The next image to use was the Halloween girl, which by the way is adorable, and I was too busy! No excuses now....I inked her up right away and colored her with copic markers. She looks so cute in her vintage finery pulling her tiny tree. The sentiment is from "To you and yours" and is also from SU! All of the sentiments from that set are some of my favorites.

The circle was cut and embossed using Nestabilities and my cuttlebug. I gave it a vintage touch by sponging the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink by Ranger. Of course it wouldn't be complete without a sprinkling of tinsel glitter as well. I made an accordion medallion layered on a scallop circle for some extra color and depth. The snowflake was punched using a Martha Stewart punch. If anyone can point me in the direction of a fabulous snowflake die, I would love to know. Thanks!

The finishing touches include some of the re-purposed tickets, ribbon, buttons and of course, a jingle bell! I had a ball with this sketch! I hope you all find some time to play along!

You won't want to miss the other designers!
Jen Del Muro and Stephanie
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Jenn Diercks,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph
Jodi Collins
CAROLE
Thanks for fluttering by!
P.S. My Mom, my sister and I are taking Emma to see Ballet West perform The Nutcracker today. I am giddy with excitement! I can't wait to watch Emma as she soaks it all in and experiences the magic! I think it is the perfect way to start off the holiday season!

And the Winner is.....

DEBORAH SAARANEN!!!!! Yay! If you want to email me your mailing adress @ kellyrory1@msn.com I will get your goodies out to you! I had such a fun time reading all of your fun comments! The snow itself wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but the temperatures have been soooooooo cold! Thanks for all of your well wishes, too! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I will be back tomorrow with a new SFYTT! Thanks for fluttering by!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love celebrating the end of fall, being with friends and family and of course, the food! Speaking of which, I need to make this short because I have pies to make and rolls to get ready. We are headed to my Mom's this year for Thanksgiving and I wanted to bring a card with some of the fall photos I took of my kids. I sent a card to my in-laws as well.

I have mentioned before that I wanted to play catch up on all of the SFYTT and I think this is the last sketch that I needed to use. It was one that I was the most intimidated by, but in the end it was really fun and the ideas came easily. I was inpspired to use "Lovely as a Tree" as a few of you mentioned that it would be one of your must have sets if you could only pick one. Keep the comments coming until midnight tonight, MST! I also paired it with "Holidays and Wishes" for the sentiment.

Everything is very straightforward in this one. Simple and easy and great for when you are in a hurry! The thing that I love most about Jen's SFYTT is that I end up by using my stamps and supplies in different ways. I never would have used these particular images in this way! Thanks for fluttering by and enjoy your Thanksgiving!

A few of my {favorite} things...

Well it isn't any secret that banners are one of my favorite things! The other day I was visiting Amy's Blog and came across this post. I will admit that I was intrigued. I went straight to work creating a winter banner that would incoporate many of the lyrics from the song. I have been a huge "Sound of Music" fan for most of my life. My sister and I would watch it over and over and over when we were young and we would sing the songs on long car trips. I'm sorry, Mom! I only know now how easily ones nerves can be shot when driving with noisy children. Anway, the point I was trying to make is how dear to my heart this song is.

I wanted to incorporate the lyrics onto the banner, so at the top of each panel I printed out a part of the song and in most cases decorated it accordingly. It was fun digging through my stash of buttons and things to find things that would be fitting. These are the types of projects that I love using things that I had previously been hoarding because I will use the banner again and again. This will actually be perfect in my studio since the paper matches the curtains perfectly as you can see in the photos.

I have come way more than full circle with my banners. I now have at least one for each season/ holiday and in some cases, more than one. I just can't stop!

My daughter went to her friend's birthday party in October and came home with a sack full of these little tickets. I asked her if I could have them and she was more than willing to give them to me. I knew that I could re-purpose them in my crafts. She was thrilled to see them show up here!

Needless to say, I had a lot of fun putting this together! I am a little late for the challenge that MFT put out, but I am glad that I was inspired! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. My blog candy will close at 12:oo a.m MST on Thanksgiving. Feel free to leave comments until then. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments.

Blizzard Blog Candy!!!

What is blizzard blog candy you ask? Well...let me tell you. The blizzard is upon us here in Utah! It has been freezing cold and windy all day and now the snow has come; fast and furious! I am stuck here at home, my camera won't upload the photos I took of my project I have been working on so what could be better than some blog candy? Now...of course I can't actually photograph what is up for grabs, because let's face it, what would be the point if I can't get them off of my camera? LOL! Let's just say some fun stamping goodies could be yours if luck is with you. I will randomly pick a number and whichever comment coincides with that number will be the winner! yay! So let's get going! Simply tell me which stamp set you would absolutely HAVE to have if you were stuck home in a blizzard and only had one to use! Easy Peasy! I have only one stipulation; I will only ship to the U.S. Sorry! Thanks for fluttering by!

Cute and Cuddly *SFYTT*

Happy Saturday everyone! I am so glad to be back participating in this week's SFYTT! I took a little break; a needed break, but it made me realize how much I enjoy each week's new sketch. Jen is absolutely amazing and I feel like some of my best work has come from using her great sketches. So thanks Jen!
I have been in baby mode lately and I needed one more card for a cute gal in the neighborhood who just had her new baby boy. I have had her gift for a while now, so it is about time I got around to the card! Since I only used one design of pattern paper{and you all KNOW how much I love pattern paper}, I decided to create my own by using background stamps & my cuttlebug to add some texture.

For as much as I love Baby Button Bits, I have never used the teddy bear image. I have tried, but I don't think it has ever actually made it onto a card. I decided to paper piece him rather than use markers to color him. Because the image shows some stitching lines, I thought I would bring in some real stitching and sew along the edges of the focal piece as well as some zig zag stitching at the bottom.

The sketch called for a straight layer at the bottom, but I liked the idea of using the sentiment as a tag instead. The sentiment is also from Baby Button Bits. I am glad I am back this week using this fabulous sketch. I hope you all have a chance to play along. Let's see what the other gals have been up to:

Jen Del Muro and Stephanie
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Jenn Diercks,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph
Jodi Collins
CAROLE
Thanks for fluttering by!