St Lucia Day

Happy St. Lucia Day. When I was young I learned the song about St Lucia (Lu Chia) because I was taught by Italian nuns. Now I say Lu Sha like the island. When we were in Sweden several years ago we attended two ceremonies honoring St Lucia. One was very formal in a church setting. It was beautiful. The second was unexpected and so fun. Children from a nearby school came to our motel during breakfast. It was such a nice surprise and a great experience to end our trip.

Snowflake Spinner

It has been about a month since I posted on the blog.  Did anyone even notice?  I have been posting more on the Facebook page lately and ignoring the blog.  So if you are following the blog and don't see posts for awhile, hop over there and you will see things on it.  Search for Kilroy Krafts.

This snowflake is 3d.  It is a spinner and is beautiful when the sun hits the clear glass.  I would much rather have this type of snowflake than what my family in the north has.

White Birch

This weekend we will be headed to Cedar Key for the Seafood Festival with Jim’s stained glass. It is a two day show, October 19 and 20. I will not have my greeting cards at this event.

A Lonesome Tree

Craft show season is approaching here in Florida. Our first show will be Saturday September 14 at the Maven Market in downtown Tampa. This will be the first time we have participated in this market.  Along with stained glass panels and suncatchers, we will have items for anyone who doesn’t have space to hang items. We will have this tree with us. 

Come Sail Away

I have never bought Stampin Up memories and more cards before because I don’t scrapbook. But some of the lace panels appealed to me so I decided to give them a try. Here is a stack of what I made so far.

 Looks like it is going to be a wet and windy Labor Day here so there won’t be any beach time.

Sympathy Cards

I usually keep a variety of sympathy cards on hand so I can have a selection to pick from when I need one.  I didn't have a good selection left, so I worked the past few days making them.  I made this one both horizontally and vertically.  I liked this one the best.

To make this one, I made a mask and sponged in the sun.  I removed the mask and stamped the trees.

Another Magnolia

Here is another card made using the magnolia stamp. There is a lot of coloring but I really didn't mind doing it. I usually watch TV while I color. That way I don't feel like I am wasting time.

Good Morning Magnolia

I finally ordered some things from the newest catalog. All of the magnolia products were the first items that caught my eye. So the next several posts will feature magnolias.

Take Life by the Reins

It is time to move on to a different stamp set, but not without showing just one more horse.  This would be a good card for a non-traditional graduation card or just to give someone a bit of encouragement.

Leave the Gate Open

This is one of the cards that my card group made with me this past month.  The background on the kraft paper is also a stamp.  The horse was colored with watercolor pencils and smoothed with a blender pen.  Blender pens make my coloring look so much better than what I color without them.

Let it Ride

Usually when I get out a stamp set, I make a few different cards with the same set before I move on to a different set.  So the next three times I post I will be featuring horses.

The Whale Tail

I ended my last post with a teaser asking why I had posted so many beachy things.  Well, it is because we were at the beach, Daytona Beach to be specific.  Even though I really like making greeting cards, my favorite hobby is playing in two community bands.  This past week I participated in the statewide Florida Community Band in Daytona Beach.  This last beach scene, for awhile at least, is a whale tail made from glass bevels, various blue glass, and textured clear glass along with some glass nuggets to make air bubbles.

Last Flip Flop

This card is a little bigger than what I usually make.  Recently I made a similar one in the size I normally make.  Since it was smaller, I could only put one of the flip flops on it.  Wondering why I have been showing so many beachy things?  I will tell you in my next post.

More Flip Flops

This time the flip flops are made of glass instead of paper.  It looks like someone left their flip flops by the palm tree so they can take a quick dip in the ocean.  I know this sounds crazy but even in Florida the ocean is too cold for me.  I prefer to swim on the West Coast in the gulf.

National Flip Flop Day

So there is a national flip flop day too. I am a little late for it though as this year it was on June 21. I have another flip flop card and a glass piece with flips too so get ready. This card is made using a napkin and a pair of flip flops from a die cut.

National Flamingo Day

Today is national flamingo day.  I think there must be a day set aside for just about anything you can think of now .  There must be more than one thing assigned to each day because I also heard that today is national pink day.  Who comes up with all these crazy days?  So to honor the flamingo, here is a piece Jim made of a flamingo.  Hope they all had a good day.

Summer Rains

We have had rain the past three days. It looks like our rainy season has begun and our lawn is happy. The sentiment on my card should also have and a rainy afternoon.

Painting the House

We have been painting our family room. Of course, since everything has to be moved around, we are also doing some major cleaning. This card isn't the type of painting we have been doing, but I'll use it to represent our past few days.

Horse in the Wind

My sister in law saw a picture of this and said the blue glass looked like wind streaks to her and that was blowing the horse's hair.  I think that is a good description.  This horse has more of a traditional look and color than the last one I posted.

Horse of a Different Color

When he drew this on paper I was not sure about it.  I guess because I said that he thought I wouldn't post it on Facebook so he did it himself.  He usually doesn't mess too much with posting so I was surprised by it.  It has been received very well there so I thought I would share it on the blog too.  He did another horse that I will post in a few days.

Happy Easter

The Easter bunny came early to our house, March 24. However, we were good and waited until today to put the chocolate bunnies out on the table. Thanks to Ken for our surprise.

Easter Egg

This is one of the Easter cards that we made this week.  Anyone that didn't want it to be for Easter cut a circle instead of an oval so it didn't look like an egg.

An April Easter

Now that it is April,  I start thinking about making Easter cards.  I try to make a selection of religious and non-religious.  I have been thinking about making something like this since my friend Julie bought this embossing folder for me.

A Colorless Palm

Like I said in the last post, Jim has this thing about making trees.  This is the first time that I remember him making a palm tree.  This one is different textures of clear glass, some are iridescent, and there is one strip of a pale grey.

Glass Bonsai Tree

Jim has this thing about making glass pictures of trees.  This one is a bonsai tree with lots of different shades of green and yellow.

Happy St Patrick's Day

I guess since St Patrick's Day is on Sunday people have decided to make it St Patrick's Weekend. I really like this piece with the different textures and the perfect amount of red to break up the green and clear. It has been hanging in our upstairs window this week.

AN Irish Birthday

My youngest brother has a birthday coming up later this week. He was almost a St Patrick's Day baby. The joke in our family always was that my dad, who was of Scotish decent, didn't want him born on the 17th. He drove my mom, Irish decent, and us to her mother's house and made sure to hit every bump along the way. Dad always said this was why he was born on the 16th. A compromise was made and his middle name is Patrick to make up for missing the date.

Cheers

Whenever I get a new stamp set, I spend all day working on cards using that set. After working with this set all day, I requested something with dinner. Any idea what I might have asked Jim to get me?

Another Celtic Design

I used to make St Patrick's Day cards, but just for the siblings.  I stopped making them because there really wasn't a lot of paper or stamp sets to use.  I don't like sending them a card with the same stamp set even if the layout is different.  So I won't be posting any St Patrick's Day greeting cards.  Jim loves making Celtic designs so I will have a few more of that type of design.

St Patrick's Day

Since February is already drawing to a close, we are now thinking about St. Patrick's Day. This is a panel of Celtic knots which are a part of Irish heritage.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to our niece Cathy and her husband Chuck. Now before all the other family members wonder why they are special and get a shout out, it is our anniversary too. That is the only reason why I remember the date.

Happy Valentine's Day

The paper I used on this valentine is actually Christmas designer paper.  It is suppose to be that old fashioned sugar candy.  I don't know what it is called.  I thought it would work fine for a valentine card.  I hope everyone had a good day today.  I had off from band tonight but we didn't do anything special.  It was just nice to relax at home.

Tropical Valentine

This valentine has traditional colors but the heart is subtle.  The flamingos are kissing and their necks form a heart.

My Childhood Cat

When my brothers and I were young, they came home with a stray cat wanting to keep it.  My mom told them if they could give it a bath, they could keep it.  My mom had cats when she was growing up and they would never allow her to give them a bath.  Mom knew the cat wouldn't allow them to give it a bath so she would be able to say they couldn't keep the cat.  Well, guess what happened?  The cat let them bathe her so mom kept her promise.  We had the cat for a lot of years.  This piece reminds me of our cat, although she had less black and more white fur.

Ancient City Cat Club

Our next craft show will be in St Augustine, February 23 and 24 at the Ancient City Cat Club show. It will be held in the Solomon Calhoun Community Center on Duval Street. We will have several cat panels and suncatchers. This pretty cat is strutting her stuff. 

Masculine Valentine

I had my brothers in mind when I made this card.  They really don't care if I send them a fancy  card.  They are happy to get my cards and in fact, they save them and use them as decorations.  Sometimes though I need a valentine without all the pink, ribbon, and lace.  This one does have ribbon but it is a neutral color and goes well with the wood background.

The First Valentine Card

I am starting to work on valentines now that Christmas is over. I kind of like this one even though it isn't my usual lacey vintage look of valentine. I've got a long time to decide which one I make will be my family card.