12 Kits Of Occasions April 2019 - For The Graduate

Hello friends.  It's the last day of the month, so that means it's time for the 12 Kits of Occasions post, and this month Kara is our hostess who put together a FABULOUS kit with everything you could ever want to make GRADUATION cards!

Look at ALL the wonderful papers, images, & die cuts Kara included in her kit!!  I have never had so much fun making graduation cards before...everything in this kit was just so bright and FUN!  Where I live, the school colors are orange & black, so trust me when I say I've made every kind of imaginable grad card you can make with those 2 colors, so this kit really was a breath of fresh air for me!!  I didn't want to make my post super long, so I only took photos of the card fronts, but I even used supplies Kara included to finish all my card insides too...they are done and ready to go!  Thank you, thank you Kara!!

Kara included a little pkg of Sprinkles from Lucy's Cards, so I HAD to make a shaker card!  I used temporary adhesive on the "2019" in case I don't use the card this year and need to change it to 2020 or 2021.

I loved this gold polka dotted paper Kara included and thought it made a great background for the Stamping Bella Uptown Girl Grace The Graduate.  I colored Grace with a few Copics and used WOS on her cap and gown, so she really sparkles!!  The shimmery gold strip and Congratulations die cut were also a part of the kit.

This card practically made itself as Kara already had the sentiment embossed in gold on the red cardstock panel!  I just added a few strips of DSP from the kit, along with the tassel Kara made, and one of the graduation caps that I colored with my Copics.  A few Lucy's Jewels finished off this fun card!

And how about a Kindergarten Graduation card?!!  I have a 4 year old granddaughter who will love this card in a couple years!

And of course I had to make a spinner card with this fabulous Art Impressions image Kara included!  I'm pretending she's a teacher who's spinning for joy that school's out for the Summer!  I colored her with Copics and then added the DSP to the front and ink blended through the oval for the inside and then added the Congrats die cut inside.  Wish you could see her spin...she's a hoot!!

And last but not least, another card using a couple of the die cut silhouette's that Kara included in the kit, along with some DSP and the gold "Celebrate" die cut.

Here they are all together and not a single orange and black card in sight...YAY!!!  This truly was a FUN kit to play with and I feel so good about having a supply of graduation cards done and ready to use!  You can check out what all the rest of the DT came up with using this same kit and also see a list of all the supplies Kara included right HERE.

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

Laurie's Fabulous Favorites

Hello friends.  Just a quick post today...hubby's been on vacation, so I'm trying not to spend  too much time in my craft room and spend it with him!  I did have a chance this morning to make a quick card for Laurie's Fabulous Favorites which is part of PTI's Win It Wednesday's challenges.  This week Laurie wants us to make a shaped card as opposed to just an A2 standard card.  I hadn't used Cuppa Love stamp and die set in quite awhile and decided it would be perfect for this challenge!!

I used Aqua Mist cardstock for my die cut cup base, and then just had fun stamping away with Aqua Mist and Real Red inks and a bit of white cardstock.  I used one of the To The Point Edger's dies to create my white scalloped border on the top and bottom of the cup.  A quick and easy card to send someone with a tea bag who's under the weather!

You can check out Laurie's card and play along for a chance at a $100 gift certificate right HERE.

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

Laurie's Fabulous Favorites - Favorite Coloring Technique

Hello friends.  Playing along with Laurie's Fabulous Favorites challenge where this week she is asking us what our favorite coloring medium/technique is.  I love them all but like Laurie, water coloring is a BIG favorite of mine!

I used Beautiful Berries: Spring to come up with this simple birthday card:

I started by using Spring Rain ink and smooshing it into my craft mat, spritzing with water, smooshing a piece of acetate into the diluted ink and then smooshing it onto my cardstock.  Using this technique gives me a little more control over where the ink is going and I just keep repeating until I have the coverage I want.  Because Spring Rain is such a light blue to begin with, and then even lighter when diluted with water, my background is VERY light in color and a little hard to see.  Here's a closer up:

Once my background panel was dry, I layered it to a piece of Spring Rain cs and then adhered to a white card base.  For the berry branches, I used my MISTI, and after inking up the stamps I spritzed with water to give a slight water colored look (I didn't used water for the last stamping layer that shows the dots for the berries (Blueberry Sky) or the veins on the leaves (Ripe Avocado).  For the sentiment, I stamped it on a strip of Spring Rain cs and then popped it up with foam tape.  To finish I added one of the smaller sprigs of berries to the sentiment strip and a few iridescent sequins.

What is YOUR favorite way to color a card?  Check out Laurie's BEAUTIFUL card HERE and then play along for a chance to win!

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

Twofer Challenge #15 - ZOO ANIMALS

Hello friends.  Playing along with this month's Twofer Challenge where the prompt is ZOO ANIMALS.

One of my all time favorite SU! sets is Zoo Babies (retired), so that seemed like a natural choice for this months challenge.  But...which animal to choose???  No contest really as I've always loved the zebras when we go to the zoo!  Just something about those black & white stripes...

Try not to stare at the one on the left too long or you'll go blind!  JK!!

It really does do a little number on your eyes with all the black and white stripes, but I sure had FUN making it!!  I used PTI's Shape Shifters: Circle die cut out of black and then again in white and inlaid the white arrow pieces into the black circle and then attached to my white card base.  The Zebra was stamped in black and then I heat embossed him with clear ep and pop dotted him to the shape shifter.  I added a strip of diagonally striped black & white DSP to the bottom (MFT) along with a skinny solid strip of black cs, and then added my sentiment from SSS's Tiny Words.  I think the sentiment definitely fits, don't you??

And for a little less stress on the eyes here's my 2nd card:

I went with traditional baby colors for this card and made a fun background of the Zebra's to be my focal point, and then simply added the die cut sentiment from PTI's Penned Elegance II stamp and die set.  A couple yellow enamel hearts finished off this quick and cute baby card.

Check out all the amazing cards from the DT and then play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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

Tag You're It Challenge #85

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with the Tag You're It Challenge today and have a couple Easter tags to share with you.

Since the inspiration photo was sweet and CUTE, that's the direction I went with my tags and made one for my granddaughter's Easter bucket and one for my grandson's Easter bucket.  Let's start with Addy's:

I started with some of my new goodies from MFT, like the All Lined Up Background stamp that I embossed in white on white cs, and then cut two tags, and then blended Lemon Tart ink over top so the pattern would show through.  Next I stamped and colored (with Copics) and die cut the little girl (Bundles of Love - Pure Innocence) and added her to the tag along with a few ducks (Rubbernecker - 5142-02D) that I blended with yellow and orange inks.  A few sequins and some ribbon and bakers twine finished off my first tag.

My 2nd tag I kept much simpler as Landon is not quite 2 yet and probably won't even notice the tag.  I blended blue ink to the background and then added TJ's Little Bunny stamped in kraft ink.  A little die cut carrot and some Rainstones (PTI) along with some ribbon and bakers twine finished off my 2nd tag.

There's still time to play, so check out all the FABUOUS tags from the DT and play along right HERE.  Wishing all my blog friends a very blessed and Happy Easter!

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

CAS Christmas April 2019 - ELVES

Hello friends.  Still in the Christmas mode here, so I'm playing along with the CAS Christmas challenge where they are asking for ELVES on our Christmas cards.

I had bought a sweet little stamp from Stampingbella last Winter, and had never used it, so today seemed like the perfect opportunity!

Can you see the teeny tiny elf peeking over the jumbo marshmallows??  I just thought this was the sweetest image and had FUN coloring him up with my Copics.  The stamp is called Hot Chocolate (eb751) and is part of Stampingbella's Teeny Tiny Townie line of stamps.  After coloring I kept the card very simple by simply matting it to a red layer and adhering both of those to a white card base.

This challenge is open till the 24th, so check out all the sweet, SWEET inspiration from the DT, and then play along right HERE to get a head start on those Christmas cards.

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

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #8 - SNOWMEN

Hello friends.  Playing along with the current Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they are asking for SNOWMEN on our cards.

And since I happen to have a few (hundred) snowmen stamps, and many which have not seen ink in quite a looooong time, I decided to make 2 cards today.

I used an older Impression Obsession stamp (E8311) which I stamped and then colored with my Copics.  I used a Gina Marie Designs scalloped circle die to cut out my image and then inlaid it into a piece of Hawaiian Shores Bitty Big DSP (PTI) and adhered to a white card base.  I used a MFT die for the banner and SSS's Tiny Words Christmas for my sentiment.

I just love this image of the mama snowman holding her little one to put the star on the tree!  I did add some Dazzling Diamonds glitter and a couple diamond stars to finish off this card.

For my 2nd card I used a Sweet & Sassy stamp set called Snowy Hello and colored and paper pieced it before masking it and then adding the trees (Deep red - Winter Pines).  The sentiment is also from the same stamp set.

I also added some Dazzling Diamonds to the pine trees in this card too...I mean I already had glitter everywhere, so why not a little more?!  Isn't this another really sweet image with the bunny offering the carrot to the snowman for his nose??!!

This challenge is a FUN one to get a kickstart on those Christmas cards, so join in and play along right HERE.

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

CAS Watercolour April 2019 Reminder - Poppies

Hello friends.  Just a friendly reminder that you have till the 24th to play along with our current challenge over at CAS Watercolour.  Loll is our hostess this month and she would like to see Poppies on your CAS Watercolour card.

I used an older Rubbernecker red rubber stamp (4 Red Poppies) to come up with this:

I used my MISTI and colored directly onto the stamp with with a combination of SU! and Tombow markers and then spritzed with water to give the water colored look.  I also used an Aqua Painter to move the color around a bit and to add the black to the centers of the flowers.  I used a PB die (Stitched Square & Circles) to cut out my image, and then sponged the edges with Tea Dye DI before mounting to white & black layers and a white card base.  I used SSS's Tiny Words to emboss my sentiment onto a black strip and used foam tape to mount it to my card.

I also have a twofer for you today because I have quite a few Poppy stamps and I just wanted to play!  I used an older PTI stamp set called Daydreamer and was inspired by this BEAUTIFUL photo from Marybeth HERE to come up with this card:

I used the same technique as my first card along with some masking to make my little field of orange Poppies and then stamped a sentiment from PTI's Mum's The Word.  I also used PTI's Pierced Feature Frames to die cut and stack 4 frames to surround my Poppy layer.

The DT has some FABULOUS inspiration for you, so check it out and then play along with us right HERE.  Remember to keep your card CAS, use WATER COLORING, and post your card in our gallery by the 24th...we can't wait to see what YOU come up with!

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

Laurie's Fabulous Favorites

Hello friends.  This week for Laurie's Fabulous Favorites, Laurie is asking us what our favorite card style is.  Like most things with card making, I have more than one favorite...I just happen to like it all!  Most of the time I opt for CAS, or lots of layers and flowers!  So today I decided to combine the three and make a CAS layered floral card.  Take a look:

I started with a plain white card base and added the Shape Shifter's: Oval ...die cut in white to stick with more of the CAS look.  (plus I just really like the look of white on white!)  Next I embossed in white on water color cs the flower image from Especially You and then water colored it with my Zigs before die cutting it out.  Here's a closer up so you can see my water coloring better:

I layered my flower over the top of the die cut oval and then for my sentiment, I used the dies from Especially You.  After die cutting the "for you" in black, I used some WOS to add some pizazz to the sentiment, and then once dry added that over the top of the flower.  I finished off my card with some baker's twine and a few iridescent sequins.

PTI's Win It Wednesdays challenges are so much FUN and you can play along with Laurie's Fabulous Favorites right HERE to see Laurie's BEAUTIFUL card and for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate!    

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

The Flower Challenge #31

Hello friends.  I am playing along with The Flower Challenge today, and this time it is a sketch challenge.

And here is the sketch they want us to follow:

I love sketch challenges because otherwise I tend to stick to the same layout all the time and it's good to change things up once in awhile!

I followed the sketch and used a couple new (to me!) Altenew products to make my card.  I used the Sketched Lines Stencil with Mountain Mist and Soft Lilac inks to create my vertical panels and then layered them both with Lilac Grace cardstock so they would stand out a bit more.  The shorter one is also popped up on some foam tape for a little more dimension.  For my flowers and sentiment I used the new Sweet Violet set with the Sea Shore (greens) and Shades of Purple mini ink cube sets.  I love using these coordinating ink cube sets for multi step stamping!!

After stamping and die cutting the flowers and leaves I mounted them to my stenciled panels and added that to my card base that I had splattered with a bit of black ink.  The sentiment is also from the Sweet Violet stamp set and then I finished off my card with a few light lavender sequins.

Check out all the amazing cards using this sketch from the DT right HERE and then play along!  This challenge is open till the 25th of this month, so plenty of time to still play along!

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

CAS Stencil April 2019

Hello friends.  The challenge this month at CAS Stencil is to use embossing pastes or gels along with your stencils...messy but oh so FUN!!

I had just gotten a new jar of Viva Glitter Paste, so it was a great time to try it out for this challenge.  Here's what I came up with:

I started by blending my background first with Gina K's Applemint ink, and then used a Penny Black stencil (Petite Blossoms) and the same ink color to create the leafy background.  Without removing my stencil I added the Glitter Paste and then quickly removed it to let it dry.  Here's a closer up so you can see the sparkle better:

This card has some serious sparkle going on and it's even prettier IRL!!  I made this card into a sympathy card with a PTI sentiment and a Poppystamps die cut (Massa Leaf Background).

This really is a FUN way to use stencils and I even made another one using a sunburst stencil, but haven't had time to make it into a card yet.  Check out all the FABULOUS inspiration from the DT, and they also have links to several videos if you've never used pastes or gels with your stencils...you can find it all right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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