12 Kits of Occasions - May 2017 HAPPINESS IS HOMEMADE

Hello friends.  My dear friend Birgit is hosting this month's 12 Kits of Occasions challenge, and has asked me to Guest Design with her using her Happiness Is Homemade kit.  How could I say "no" to a kit with that name?!  Birgit is honoring her mother (who sadly passed away 2 years ago) who loved everything "homemade" with this kit, and I am so honored she asked me to celebrate her mom along with the other designers from the 12 Kits of Occasions team.

This kit was such a delight to work with...everything was right up my alley!  I loved the papers, the colors, the images, the die cuts, the accessories, EVERYTHING!!  I limited myself to just 6 cards, because I've finally learned that I always see FABULOUS ideas from the rest of the team, and wish I had saved some of the kit to CASE!  So here goes...

 
This kit was SO easy to use as Birgit did all the hard work putting all the die cuts together, like this apron!  Don't you just LOVE it?!  The little pocket was left open at the top so I could add the oven mitt and spoon.  And don't you just love the DSP?  (Bo Bunny "Kiss The Cook")

I had a hard time refraining from using ALL the die cuts Birgit sent with her kit, but really like the way this CAS card turned out using just a few of them!  Hard to see in the photo, but I colored the "Enjoy" with a Copic marker and then embossed it with clear powder, so IRL it's really shiny!

Another case where Birgit colored the die cut, so all I had to do was add the DSP and some trim...easy peasy!!  :0)

Gotta LOVE Stampingbella images, and this one is no exception!  I colored the chicks up with my Copics and then matted with a stenciled background I had found in my pile of "saved" stuff.  Added a little banner (MFT) with one of the sentiments Birgit included and finished...another easy card!!

Absolutely LOVE the DSP on this card, and how can you go wrong with strawberries?!  Once again, Birgit included everything to make this card other than the die I used to cut out the sentiment and the baker's twine.

And last but not least, a card (and envelope!) using the beautiful Tulips that Birgit stamped!  I loved the delicate look of the white border die cut piece, and thought it was so pretty with the yellow cardstock and the Tulips.  Loved the die cut "Hello" too!

You can find links to all the 12 Kits Of Occasions DT members and the winner of this month's kit (Linda Snodgrass) right HERE to see what they've done with this WONDERFUL kit!  I'm so glad I saved a few things from the kit because I'm always so inspired by what the rest of the DT comes up with and then want to CASE them!  Make sure you leave comments, as they always pick a winner to receive the next months kit, and I tell you, it's like having Christmas delivered to your door!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!  And a BIG Thank You to Birgit for asking me to Guest Design this month...I LOVED every minute of it!!  :0)

Merry Monday #250 - Rustic Theme

Hello friends.  It's time for another challenge at Merry Monday, and this week Deanne is our hostess and she would like to see a RUSTIC theme on your Christmas cards.

I equate "rustic" with "vintage", so that's the direction my card took me this week, and when I think "vintage", I think of Flourishes Santa I Believe stamp set.  Here's what I came up with:

This is probably my all time favorite Santa stamp and I inked him up in Soft Suede ink on Rustic White (PTI) cardstock, and then blended TH Walnut Stain ink all over the image.  I used some Bo Bunny DSP and photo corners (PTI Mix & Matt: Herringbone die) on my card and also added a Poppystamps Giovanna Snowflake die cut (stained with the Walnut Ink and lightly embossed with gold). 

How is your Christmas card collection coming along this year?  I think I'm almost halfway done, and that's a good feeling to have in the month of May!  Let us help you get your cards done early by playing along with us each week...lots of fun inspiration and then that overwhelming feeling that comes in November and December when you're thinking how you're going to fit making Christmas cards in with EVERYTHING else won't be there!  Check out this weeks challenge right HERE and then play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!

 

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop - May 2017

Hello friends.  It's the 25th and that means it's time for Papertrey Ink's monthly blog hop!  Nichole has chosen a really pretty photo by irtsya for this month's inspiration:

I love the beautiful colors in this photo...the pink and peach colors in the flowers and the blues and grays in the leaves.  Nichole suggested using a water color medium that we're not comfortable with, and that definitely meant Zig water color markers to me!  I have a love/hate relationship with these markers...every once in awhile something turns out ok, but most of the time I'm very frustrated with them!  I've been told paper is the key to getting good results with these markers, so I guess I need to do some more experimenting!  But anyway, I feel I was somewhat successful this time, but it did take 2 tries before I was happy with the result!  Take a look:

 
I silver embossed on heavy weight white cardstock the main flower image from the new Especially You set, and then used my Zigs and water to color in the flower and leaves.  While that was drying, I worked on my background layer where I stamped in gray ink the flower image repeatedly on a piece of Blueberry Sky cardstock, and then die cut the hole border using the Mix & Mat: Flourishes die.  I also die cut the tea cup (Fancy Tea Cup die) with white and silver embossing for the top layer and a piece of Blueberry Sky DSP for the back layer.  Here's a closer up view:

I thought about adding bakers twine, sequins, Rainstones, ribbon, etc., but in the end decided I liked it just the way it is.  I also left the sentiment off the front of the card and instead put it on the inside:  Grateful for little things, big things, and especially you.  Love everything about this new floral set, from the beautiful flowers and the wonderful sentiments!!

Can't wait to see how everyone else was inspired by this month's photo, so I'm off to hop along.  You can too...find it all right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!  :0)

 

Make It Monday #285 - Felt Flowers

Hello friends.  Lizzie is up for a tutorial on making felt flowers in this week's Make It Monday challenge.  I have a whole box of different colors of felt that I had bought when I purchased the coin purse dies and guess what?  Haven't made a single coin purse and haven't used even a scrap of the felt!  So no excuses, I needed to make a flower!!  I was actually quite intrigued by the rolled flower Lizzie showed, and made a tag with it.

I started with a piece of 1 1/2" X 12" Winter Wisteria piece of felt, and rolled, and rolled, and rolled!  My flower turned out quite large and I wish I had stopped at about 8".  I still really like the way it looks though, and added a few Simply Chartreuse leaves that I die cut using the leaf die from the Enclosed: Apple set.  I attached the flower to a (Tag Sale #10) couple of tags I cut and stamped with the new Especially You stamp set.  I have some white gift bags and purple tissue paper that this tag will look really nice with!  Quick (well except for trying to find my glue gun!), easy, and FUN...I will definitely be making some more of these!  Thanks Lizzie!!

Still time to play, so check out Lizzie's video and BEAUTIFUL flowers all right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by...I love it when you do!  :0)

   

Merry Monday #249 - Mistletoe

Hello friends.  Colleen is our hostess this week at Merry Monday and she would like to see some Mistletoe on your Christmas cards.

I had fun using a sweet little set I had won from Deepti and Stamplorations called Christmas Bell Medley and a embossing folder from Quickutz.

Pretty CAS, but I really liked how elegant this one turned out!  I embossed in gold the mistletoe and bow images, and then blended a little Ocean Tides and Pure Poppy inks on them with makeup sponges.  A little hard to tell in my photo, but I used Gina K's Ivory cardstock for the base layer and the embossed layer with all the Christmas words...it looks a little white to me in my photo's, but it really is a pretty cream color IRL!  I used a Lil Inkers Stitched Circle die and inlaid the Ocean Tides circle into the embossed ivory layer, and then finished up with pop dotting my bow and adding a few SU! pearls for the berries.

So dig out those Mistletoe stamps and play along with us this week...you'll be so glad when December rolls around if you keep playing with us each week!  Check out the rest of the inspiration from the DT and then play along right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!

  

CAS Watercolour May 2017 - Flowers

Hello friends.  Playing along with this months CAS Watercolour challenge, where FLOWERS are the subject.

It seems like everyone in blogland lately is using the Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors, so I finally broke down and purchased them, and then tried them out on a simple card using Altenew's Painted Poppy set.

I heat embossed the flower, stem, and leaf in black and then watercolored them, and I have to say I really like the way these watercolors go on!  Very smooth, and bright and vibrant colors!  I still like my Peerless watercolors too, but I think there's room for both in my life!  After my watercoloring was dry, I added my sentiment from WPlus9's Hand Lettered: Hello (LOVE this set!!), and then because I thought it needed just a little something extra, I added just a lightly stamped partial background using a retired SU! background stamp called En Francais with Smoky Slate ink.  Added a few Rainstones (PTI) to finish it off and I really like how this came out!  For this card I watercolored, die cut, embossed, & stamped.

You have till the 24th to play along with this months challenge, and there is LOTS of GORGEOUS inspiration to get you started!  You can check it all out right HERE.

 Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!  :0)

Create Along With Us - May 2017

Hello friends.  Playing along with this month's Papertrey Ink's Create Along With Us challenge, where we choose a favorite card or technique by one of the DT to re-create.  Lots of beautiful inspiration this month, but one design in particular by Dawn McVey really grabbed me!

I loved this simple layout and also the colors, and came up with this:

I kept my colors and the layout very close to Dawn's using the Gran's Garden set, and then used my Noted: Scalloped A2 Vertical die to create the diagonal scallop on the Amethyst Allure piece.  My sentiment is from the Boutique Borders: Sympathy stamp set.  I also added some splattering and a few iridescent sequins to finish my card.

I was on Nana duty last week and didn't get a chance to play along with Melissa's Make It Monday challenge using a sentiment as your background, so first thing I did when I got back into my craft room was to try my hand at it!  Have to admit keeping your sentiment straight on a diagonal is not as easy as it looks, but I still like the way this card came out!

My background sentiment is from the Think Big Favorites: #3 set and the sentiment on the banner is from the Keep It Simple: Praying For You set.  I used the Noted: Scalloped A2 Vertical die for my Harvest Gold card base, and then Gran's Garden (LOVE this set!!) for my flowers and leaves.

And what kind of Nana would I be if I didn't leave you with a couple pictures of the newest member of my family, born to our oldest daughter and son in law on Mother's Day (can you think of any better gift to receive on Mother's Day??!!).

Our granddaughter Addy is head over heels in love with her new brother as are all the rest of us!  We were truly blessed this Mother's Day!  :0)

There are still a few days to play along with this month's Create Along With Us challenge, and you can find the link and all the inspiration to play along right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!

 

Merry Monday #248 - A Color Challenge

Hello friends.  I'm the hostess this week for Merry Monday and I have a color challenge for you!  I would love to see turquoise blue, green, & purple.

Aren't those such pretty colors on that wreath?!  Not your traditional Christmas colors for sure, but they are bright, fun and festive, so I'm hoping you all have FUN with this one!  Here's what I came up with:

I wish my purple would have shown up more "purple", but it looks blue to me in my photos....grrrrr!  I started with some Yupo paper and Al inks in Pool, Meadow, & Purple Twilight, and then die cut it with my Impression Obsession Sleigh Scene die.  I die cut again using just plain white cardstock, and then inlaid all the tiny pieces from the Yupo paper.  Here's a closer up view:

It was a little bit time consuming, but well worth the effort!  The sentiment is from PTI's In The Meadow set.

As Darnell would say, I have a "two-fer" for you today.  I had left over inked up Yupo paper, so made another card using a Casual Friday snowflake die from their Bring On The Snowflakes set.

The sentiment on this card is from Casual Fridays also...Snowy Sayings.

Make sure you check out the inspiration from the rest of the Design Team, and then play along with us!  I can't wait to see what you come up with using TURQUOISE BLUE, GREEN, & PURPLE!  You can find it all right HERE.

TYI! Challenge #71 - Reminder Post

Hello friends.  Just a reminder that there's still time to play along with the Tag You're It! Challenge, where we have Lindsey M-P's fabulous tag as inspiration!

I kept with Lindsey's red, white, & green theme this time (kinda) and used MFT's Pretty Poppies to come up with this tag:

I punched out my tag with a retired SU! punch in white and red, and then trimmed a little off the white layer so the red showed.  Next I stamped the Poppy in Pure Poppy ink (fitting, huh?!!), the leaves in New Leaf, the background script in Smoky Slate, and the hello (from WPlus9's Hand Lettered Hello) in black.  I added a few Rainstones (PTI) and some white bakers twine to finish off my tag.

Make sure to check out the rest of the inspiration from all the talented DT members, and then play along right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!

Merry Monday #247 - Silhouette NOT Using Black

Hello friends.  Sue is our hostess this week here at Merry Monday, and she would like to see your Christmas cards with a Silhouette NOT Using Black. 

Doesn't the white silhouette really "pop" on that weathered board?!  I love it!  Here's what I came up with:

I did a blended background with Distress Inks and then thought I'd add some iridescent gold Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels) that I've had for ages.  You know how when something doesn't work like you think it should so you start pushing/pumping harder?  Well apparently because I hadn't used this in SOOOO long, it gummed up and I really had to reef on it to get it going....you can see where this story is going, right?!  I always get after my hubby when he uses brute force on something and usually ends up breaking it, and here I was doing the same thing!  Instead of taking the mister part of the bottle off and running it through some hot water to unclog it, I went the opposite route and of course it exploded all over my background and looked like a hot mess!!  I set it aside as I started cleaning up so I could start again, but after it dried a bit, it really looked kind of cool...so I used it!  Phew!!  I did added a little bit of spattering with white acrylic paint and then added my die cut silhouette (Gina Marie Designs) with foam tape behind it to give a little dimension.  My sentiment is from PTI's Think Big: Christmas #10 and was embossed in gold.  For such a disastrous start, I really like how this came out!

Now it's your turn and we can't wait to see what you come up with using a silhouette that's NOT black!  You can see all the Design Teams inspiration and then play along right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!

 

TYI! Challenge #71

Hello friends.  I am honored to be Guest Designing for the Tag You're It! challenge today, and what a beautiful tag by Lindsey M-P we have to inspire you!

CAS perfection, isn't it?!!  I was inspired by the two Tulips, the simple coloring and layout, and the pretty script sentiment.  Here's what I came up with:

I used SSS Spring Flowers to stamp the two whimsical looking Tulips and then did a little blending with Raspberry Fizz ink on the flowers and used my Copics for the leaves.  The sentiment is a die cut from SSS also, called LOVE.  I used PTI's Basic Bookmark #2 for my tags, one from basic white and the other from Raspberry Fizz cardstock.  A few sequins and some bakers twine finished off my tag.

We'd love to see what you create using Lindsey's tag as inspiration, plus all the inspiration from the Design Team!  You can check it all out right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!

CAS Mix Up May 2017

Hello friends.  Playing along with the CAS Mix Up card challenge for this month, where they are asking for Splattering.

My eyes lit up when I saw this challenge...I do LOVE splattering!  In fact, sometimes a little too much!  Like I don't know when to stop sometimes!  But I held it together this time and came up with this:

I couldn't resist starting with some of my new DOX inks (Spiced Marmalade & Worn Lipstick), and I have to tell you, these inks are addicting once you get started!  They blend like you just can't believe!  Laura Bassen always says that certain inks blend like "buttah", and that describes DOX inks to a "T"!!  And then when you combine two of my favorite colors together AND splattering, well, color me happy!!  I splattered with water first and then a little white acrylic paint.  After letting my panel dry overnight, I simply adhered it to a white card base and added a fun and new (to me) die cut from Waffle Flower called Magic Flower Border that I had cut out in white.  To finish I added a banner die cut (PTI"s Quilted: Tag Sale and Keep It Simple: Birthday), and a few sequins.

To complete this challenge I Splattered, die cut, & stamped.  This challenge is open till the 24th, so get out all your splattering tools and play along right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!

  

Make It Monday #283 - Watercolor Wash Backgrounds

Hello friends.  Laurie is up with her first Make It Monday challenge this week, and she has a great video with lots of wonderful tips for creating beautiful watercolored backgrounds.  Here's what I came up with:

I used some of my new DOX inks (Broken China & Cracked Pistachio) along with the Meadow Greens stamp set to create my background.  Laurie had mentioned in her video about using outlined stamps to create your background, and after using the ferns from the Meadow Greens set, I can see why that would work better than a more solid image like the ferns.  However, this was one of those cards where I had the idea in my head, and it involved the ferns, and they were not outline images.  Oh well...after adding the watercolor and some splattering, I still like the way this came out!  I embossed the flower on vellum and fussy cut out to add another little bit of dimension to the card.  Here's a closer up:

  I die cut my watercolored layer and base layer with the Noted: Scalloped A2 Vertical dies and added the banner from the Quilted: Tag Sale die and stamped it with one of the Keep It Simple: Birthday stamps.  A few sequins and some bakers twine finished off my card.

There's still time to enter this challenge, so check out Laurie's video and beautiful cards, and then play along right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!

  

Merry Monday #246 - The Night Before Christmas

Hello friends.  Nina is up this week as hostess for Merry Monday and she has a FUN challenge for you this week!  She would like to see you create a Christmas card using the theme of the classic story The Night Before Christmas.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a MOUSE!!  Yep, had to do a Christmas mouse card!!

 

I chose one of the images from SU!'s Merry Mice stamp set and colored him with some Copics and a gold WOS pen.  I computer generated my sentiment and then added a few sequins and an enamel dot to finish off this CAS card.

Can't wait to see what all of you will come up with for this challenge, so check out the Design Team's cards for inspiration and then play along with us right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!