All Star Coach

Last Saturday was my son's last basketball of the season so of course that means coaches gifts! My husband was the assistant coach so I really only needed one. In "Kelly" fashion, I was running a bit behind so I had to make something quick! I always do the same thing for my son's coaches. I go to the dollar store and get the large plastic popcorn bucket and fill it with microwave popcorn, candy, etc. I always include a Blockbuster gift card to continue with the theme. Well....I didn't end up by getting the gift card; apparantely Blockbuster is up for bid and so they can't sell any giftcards so they know where their assets are. ughhh!

I had to *quickly* make a card, which kindof bugged me because I wanted to be able to relax and take my time. Anyway, PTI stamps and dies to the rescue! For as much as I love banners I had to have PTI's Banner Builders stamp set and coordinating dies! I got it when it was first released and this is the first time I have used it! Shame on me!

I started off by picking the paper; I chose to use some old SU! paper, but it was perfect! The bright colors were just what I wanted. After I did that, I die cut all of the pieces and then stamped each one with a different design. The letters are from a really old PSX set that I love! They fit perfectly, all except the "H". The string image that came with the set was too small for 5 banner pieces so I just arranged them like I wanted and then used crochet thread tied in a bow and glued to each end. It worked out well. The #1 and "All Star" sentiment are from su!

P.S. I want to take this time to thank all of you who stuck by me during my many weeks of morning sickness and fatigue! I really feel like a brand new person; actually, I just feel like *me* again, which is great! I was really starting to worry whether my desire to do much of anything would ever return, but it is here... full force! Thanks again and stay posted this week for some fun St. Patty's day projects!

In the Limelight

As I mentioned yesterday in my SFYTT post, I am March's Limelight designer for Flourishes! I was honored and thrilled to be asked! I can only share a sneak peek here, but you can check out my first post as the Limelight designer here. I will be posting new projects each Sunday throughout March. I am in love with their images and have had so much fun using them!

P.S. I have a few other projects to share this week including some St. Patrick's Day ideas! Thanks for fluttering by!

Birthdays are the Best *SFYTT*

I am so glad March is here! Spring is on it's way!***FUN NEWS****Before I dive into deets about this month's sketch, I have some fun news! I am March's Limelight Designer over at Flourishes this month! You can check it out here! My first project will be shown tomorrow! Since it is the first Saturday of the month, you know what that means, a new SFYTT! I am in need of a few birthday cards, so I got to work using this month's sketch which is sponsored by Amber Ink.

Although I didn't use their images, you will definitely want to check them out. She has some really fun images!

For my card, I used PTI's "Blooming Button Bits"! This particular image is one of the main reasons I chose to buy this set, but I have never used it before! Go figure! I started the design by picking out my papers first! I chose to use some fabulous bright and cheery papers by K & Co. Once I knew what colors I would be using, I stamped the focal image using Spring Moss ink. I stamped the leaf image again, trimmed it out and adhered it using a pop-dot. I chose to use three different button colors to tie all of the papers together. Can you imagine a plant with buttons blooming all over it? I think I would plant several in my yard! LOL!

The sentiment was stamped onto a strip of paper and then added using foam squares. I decided that I needed a little bit more stamping on my card, so I used PTI's "Just the Ticket" to create a little tag to hang from the gingham bow. I stamped it directly onto a piece of pattern paper to keep it bright and cheery.

You won't want to miss the rest of the designers!Jen Del Muro and New Guest Designer
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph
Jodi Collins
CAROLE

Kerry Johnson

Thanks for fluttering by!

So sorry for your loss

Yesterday at my PTA meeting, I found out that one of the board members had lost her mother this week. I have helped her with the book fair every year, so I wanted to send her a sympathy card.
I have decided that I have become addicted to sketches; partly because it gives me a challenge and a new way of looking at things, but also because it takes out all of the guess work and gets me right to the fun part! I decided to check out this week's Mojo Moday sketch and really liked it. She gave you two options; square or round. As you can see, my card is neither. This did pose a problem as I got down to placing everything. I had a hard time getting it balanced.

I chose to use some older SU! papers and stamp set. I didn't want to use my traditional sympathy sets. I wanted something nice, not too bright, but not too drab, either. I thought these papers were a nice balance. It is gray and rainy here today, so my photo is ending up looking a little gray as well. The card is much more cheerful in real life.

Rowan has just woken up from his nap, so my creative time has come to an end. I haven't even showered yet, so I better get going! I have an end of season basketball coach gift to put together for Saturday as well as this month's new SFYTT. I also have some fun news to share! Thanks for fluttering by!

Hello Friend

I needed a few cards to send out before the end of the month so I made them quick, easy and used the same design on all three. It is so easy to mass produce! I knew that I wanted something bright and cheerful to welcome in spring and chase away the gray, so I chose to use Bird Watching and Bird Watching Additions. I love these sets, but haven't used them in a while.

The background was embossed using an embossing folder and my cuttlebug; a quick and easy way to get some texture and detail without much work! The blue paper is also textured. When making simple designs, things like that can make all the difference.

I knew that I wanted to add some felt flowers to the design. After I was done die-cutting each piece, I thought that it might be kindof fun to make them into hair clips, since all of the ladies who will be getting these have little girls. It seemed such a waste to make all of those pretty flowers just to have them sit on the card!

Since I needed a place to "clip" the flowers without making it too hard to get them off. I simply adhered the "Hello Friend" strip with two glue dots on each side. It made a perfect place to clip the flower.


Thanks for fluttering by!

Celebrate Today and Everyday *SFYTT*

If February flew by as fast for you as it did for me, then you might not have gotten a chance to play along with this month's SFYTT! It's not too late...you still have the entire weekend to play along! Remember there are always prizes involved, so you may want to head over to her blog to find out all of the deets! Jen always does an amazing job and this month is no exception! I am in love with this sketch. Remember, this month's sketch is sponsored by Anita BeSTampin!

I decided to use the same paper as I did for my "Lucky" banner in my previous post. I added in some of the backside of one of the sheets to really change the entire look! The pop of burgundy really made a difference and made the card look really "homespun", which is the direction I decided to head in as I finished it off.

I started off by using PTI's Butterfly Dreams for the focal image and Autumn Abundance for the sentiment. I really liked the shape of the flowers in the background paper and I knew I had a punch with a similar shape, so I layered the flowers along the bottom. I normally wouldn't make black butterflies, but they were just what this card needed.

The circular piece the butterflies are on is a nestabilites die that I picked up the other day when I was "St. Patty's day" shopping. I just couldn't resist since I got $10 off! When it was all said and done, this card ended up having quite a "Debbie-Mummish" look to it, which I really like. She has been a favorite for years!

Remember, it is not too late to play along! Here is this month's sketch! Take some time
out for yourself and make a card for someone you love! Thanks for fluttering by!

Lucky Banner

I normally don't decorate for St. Patrick's Day, but since Easter isn't until the end of April, I decided to whip something up! Making banners is kindof an addiction for me and since I pretty much have every other holiday/season, it was the perfect excuse. I don't know about you, but really cute and classy St. Patrick's Day decor is kindof hard to find; at least around here. Everything seems to be made out of shiny metallic cellophane or tinsel and just isn't my taste. Since I love green so much anyway, I just used a few things I already had with some new purchases to put together a cute little ensemble on my bench under the banner.


The paper is all from Graphic 45, but from different collections. I just grabbed the patterns that I liked in green and called it good. The little image under the letter "c" is from Crafty Secrets. I was wishing that I hadn't gotten rid of all of the horseshoes I bought for one of my kid's Cowboy/Cowgirl birthday parties. I noticed how cute the little horshoe tied up with ribbon looked next to the Leprochaun in the little image.

Everything else is pretty straightforward and standard on my banners. It whipped up quite quickly since it only used 5 letters. It is shorter than most of my banners so it doesn't span the entire length of the board. I found something green to hang on the last handle to fill things up!

Everyone loved their little Valentine's treats when I passed them out at school. I ended up making chocolate dippped strawberries for the teachers. I put them on silver platters that I found at the dollar store and tied them up with cellophane. I gave the principal the stacked boxes from my last post which she absolutely loved. She confessed to me this week when I dropped into the office to tell me that she had re-gifted. I guess her son needed something quick for his girlfriend and wanted to give her that. I thought that was cute!

Alot has been going on here; throw-up, diarrhea, more throw up (thank goodness none of those for me, I am actually feeling quite good these days), going forward with some construction (Rowan threw up all over the floor when the workmen were here), a fender-bender, weening Rowan onto a sippy cup, tantrums, we are most likely expecting another boy, homework,etc. February has almost come and gone. I will be back tomorrow with my second design for this month's SFYTT! Thanks for fluttering by!