12 Kits Of Occasions Dec. 2019 - The Tags Of Christmas

Hello friends.  Hard to believe it's the end of the month AND the end of 2019, but here's wishing you all a bright and shiny and Happy New Year!!   Before we completely say goodbye to 2019 though, let's celebrate a bit with the 12 Kits Of Occasions where I am the hostess this month,  and provided all my teamies with a kit full of options for making Christmas tags.  I have looooong been a fan of making tags, and thought this would be a great way to send out a kit that would be quick, easy, fun, and useful for this time of year!  Here's what I included in this month's kit:

   

Doesn't Lindsey do such a wonderful job photographing our kits each month?!  She makes us all look SO professional!  Thanks Lindsey!!

I made 15 tags with my kit, but don't worry, I grouped several in each photo so you wouldn't be here all day!  So sit back and relax, and enjoy what I've created for you, and then hop along to the rest of the team HERE and see what they did with this tag kit.  (You can find a list of all the supplies I used for my kit right HERE.)

I had so much fun just randomly pulling out stamps and dies from my stash to make up this kit, and used mostly Copics to color in my images before adding them to the various tag shapes I also included.  My Llama tag is very sparkly IRL because of all the Wink Of Stella I added to his scarf and saddle, and I added a bow from The Greetery's Fit To Be Tied die to my Nativity tag.  Did a little bit of non traditional colors on the 4th tag with the aqua colored berries, but really like how it turned out!

The 3rd tag in this photo was made from a roll of tissue paper by Tim Holtz that I die cut with the Reverse Confetti Hex Die and then glued to the same white cardstock tag shape.  The surface was not very smooth after gluing, so I lightly ran my Versamark pad over the top and edges, and then added gold embossing powder.  I love the way this tag turned out...very vintage like!

Had to attach this tag to one of my mom's gifts and she loved it!  The JOY die cut is from PTI's Bold Borders: Flurries.

Can you tell I love coloring up all the little critters?!  I also had fun with the 1st tag from SugarPea Designs which is named Santa's Gift Tag...can you tell that I lightly stamped the background of this tag with a sweet Santa image that I had bought from Hobby Lobby back when I first started stamping?  Here's a closer up for you:

And the last of my tags...

Had to include a shaker tag in my kit because, well, they're just too FUN not to include!!  The Lawn Fawn stamp and die sets were originally intended for Easter with jelly beans in the little shaker jars, but why not peppermints for Christmastime?!

I hope I've given you some inspiration for next years Christmas tags...they're easy, fun, and a great way to use up all those little scraps we all have on hand!  Make sure you check out what all the rest of my teammates did with this kit right HERE...I just know they're going to blow you away with all of their creativity too!

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

Merry Christmas

"I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God and saying, Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.  Luke 2: 10 - 14 (NLT)

Merry Christmas to all!!

(Reason For The Season by Unity Stamp Co.)

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

Cotton Blossom Christmas

Hello friends.  Feels like FOREVER since I've posted, even though it's only been a little over a week!  Busy time of year for all of us though, so I know you understand.  Hope you are all getting everything done that needs to be done, but still taking time to enjoy the season and to most importantly reflect on the real meaning of the season...our Lord and Savior's birth.

I did take a little time for myself this week after seeing Betsy Veldman's card she showed on her Make & Tell Tuesday video using the Cotton Blossom stamp set along with the BotaniCuts Pine Bough dies.  It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and since I needed a couple thank you cards for a Christmas Tea I had been invited to, I decided to do a little bit of CASE-ing!  Here's my version:

I used some of the same stamps and dies as Betsy, but changed up my background using the Nordic Frame Dies and also a plaid piece in a light brown and green using Concord & 9th's Plaid Background Stamp.  I also used the Inside & Out Berry Branch die in white cardstock before adhering my pine branches, the pine cone, and the cotton blossom.  Here's a closer up:

You can also see in this photo that I added some Distress Mica Flakes (TH) and Distress Glitter Rock Candy (TH) to the pine branches and the pine cone.  My sentiment comes from the Pine Blossom stamp set from The Greetery.  LOVE the way the Cotton Blossom looks with the pine branches and pine cone...that Betsy is just too clever and  I loved her idea!!

That's all for now...

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

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #25 - The Christmas Story

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with the current Christmas Kickstart Challenge where this time they want our card to tell The Christmas Story.

I have an oldie but a goodie stamp from Morning Star Stamp Company that is in the format of a birth announcement that I absolutely LOVE to use to tell The Christmas Story...take a look:

Isn't it just beautifully worded?!  I embossed it on vellum to use as an overlay over my image of the Wise Men which was embossed in clear on white cardstock and then I blended Salty Oceans and Blueprint Sketch Distress Inks over it.  I chose the image of the Wise Men over the Nativity scene because I love the symbolism of them following the star that was the wondrous HOPE and PROMISE of God's LOVE for ALL of us.  Here is a closer up so you can see the wording better:

The Wise Men image is from a SU! set called Wise Men from Afar and I die cut both that layer and the vellum overlay with a die from Penny Black's Stitched Square & Circles.  I also cut another of the circle dies that I made into a frame by using another plain smaller circle die and then layered over the top of the two layers before mounting to a square layer (and a black layer and a white card base).

I didn't want to totally leave out the Nativity scene in my card, so I added it to the inside...

I die cut the Nativity scene from Penny Black's Manger die and added a small silver Stitched Circle (from the same Penny Black set as above) behind it.  My sentiments are from an older SU! set called Christmas Blessings.

This challenge is still open for a few more days, so check it out right HERE.  Not sure how much I'll be posting before Christmas, so let me take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a most blessed and happy Christmas surrounded by family and friends, and most of all God's LOVE!   

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

The Flower Challenge #39 - Use A Die

Hello friends.  Playing along with The Flower Challenge and this month they would like us to use a DIE on our cards.

I had no problem using a die for this challenge...in fact I used LOTS of dies!  All my dies are from The Greetery...take a look:

I started with a die cut panel using the Nordic Frame Dies, and lightly blended some Salty Ocean DI on it and also added some black splattering.  I die cut the pine bough (BotaniCuts Pine Bough) from white cardstock and then sponged on a variety of ink colors till I got the look I wanted.  The pine cone (also from the BotaniCuts Pine Bough set) was die cut from kraft cardstock and sponged with Soft Suede ink.  Both the boughs and the pine cone were then treated to a little bit of painting with Copic Opaque White to look like snow.  Next I stamped and die cut my Poinsettia from the With Love At Christmas set and pop dotted it over the pine boughs and pine cone.  Next I added a little filler using a few pieces from the Inside & Out Berry Branch, which I left white and just added a bit of Distress Glitter (TH).  Here's a closer up so you can see more of the detail:

I added a piece of Real Red cardstock behind my die cut panel to help bring out the red in the Poinsettia and then layered to a white card base.  My finishing touch was the sentiment from the Pine Blossom set.  Again, ALL dies and stamps are from The Greetery.

This challenge just started this week, so you have lots of time left to play along...especially if you need to still get some of those last minute Christmas cards done!!  Check out all the beautiful inspiration from the DT and their special GD Nancy Penir and then play along right HERE.    

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

Inspired By Challenge #100 - Pink Christmas

Hello friends.  Couldn't resist playing along with the challenge at Inspired By where they are looking for cards inspired by this awesome PINK CHRISTMAS photo...

I loved the knitted hat box, the gold stars, the kraft packages and of course all the PINK in the photo too!!  Here's what I came up with using MFT's Pure Innocence Holiday Cheer.

I started with a Sweet Blush card base and then added two die cut layers using The Greetery's Nordic Frame Dies.  I also stenciled using Sweet Blush ink and Funky Fossil Designs Knitted stencil for my background on the top die cut layer.  I water colored the sweet little girls hat, coat, and boots using the same Sweet Blush ink, and then Copic colored her face, legs, hair, and shopping bags before die cutting her out.  (Thanks Michele!!)  I used a gold glitz gel pen to add dots and stripes to the kraft shopping bags and buttons on her coat. Here's a closer up so you can see the gold a bit better...

The gold stars were die cut from gold mirror cardstock and I added my sentiment to the inside because it just didn't fit on the outside where it looked good!

There's still a couple days to play along with this challenge, so if you love Pink and Christmas, check out all the FABULOUS inspiration from the DT HERE and then play along. 

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