12 Kits Of Occasions April 2020 - Happy Birthday

Hello friends.  Well it's been quite the month, hasn't it?!  I think Spring has finally sprung in my neck of the woods, and I'm hoping that we're getting closer to the end or at least figuring out answers to this pandemic, and that life can get back to some sense of normalcy, although I wonder if things will truly ever be the same?  But time continues to march on, and as it's the last day of the month, it's time for our 12 Kits Of Occasions post, and Nancy is our hostess this month and celebrating BIRTHDAYS!

Nancy packed this kit full of all things birthday...I really needed to ramp up my stash of birthday cards and also this kit was just plain FUN to play with!  So sit back, relax, and let me show you what I came up with using just some of the images and die cuts Nancy included in the FABULOUS kit!

This card was so gosh darn simple, but I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!  Nancy included the die cut panel and the stamped candles (MFT - Make A Wish), and I just inserted the candle bases, and then added acetate and foam tape and gold sequins to make a shaker card.  I finished with the sentiment banner Nancy provided and added a few gold gemstones from my stash.

And of course I had to make another shaker card with this die cut panel and the dotted DSP Nancy included...all I did was add the acetate, foam tape, and card base and bakers twine.  Oh and some flat sequins to shake around!

This was another quick and easy one and will be perfect for a masculine card too!  Nancy provided the embossed panel (Cuttlebug) and the die cut "O Happy Day" (Concord & 9th) out of a really shimmery deep red cardstock, and I just added really thin strips of foam tape behind the die cut sentiment before adhering to the embossed panel, and then layered with a black panel and white card base.  And finished with a piece of black & white bakers twine.

Nancy also stenciled the balloon background for us (MFT - Big Balloons Stencil), so all I had to do was color (Copics) up one of the little PI gals (MFT - Birthday Besties) and add her to the background.  I colored her balloon at first, but didn't like the way it looked against the stenciled balloons, so cut out another balloon and left it uncolored...liked it much better this way!  My sentiment was from MFT's Happy You Day.

Isn't this stenciled Hand Drawn Tile (Altenew) piece absolutely beautiful?!!  I truly didn't want to cover it up with a sentiment or die cut or anything as it's just so pretty all on it's own!  I did trim about a 1/4" off each side so I could fit it onto a 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 square card, and even that about did me in to have to take anything away from it!!  I finished it simply by adding a few enamel dots and the black string with a Tiny Tag (PTI).

Nancy also included all the pieces to make a little cardstock purse from Concord & 9th and Becky Roberts...I had SO MUCH FUN making this sweet little purse!!

Nancy included all the black and gold pieces and then die cut the purse body from white cardstock so we could stamp it with whatever we wanted.  Nancy had done a post back in March (Keeping Christmas: March) where she made up a bunch of the purses for Christmas using Christmas DSP, and of course after seeing that post I HAD to order the dies for myself!  And of course I wanted to use DSP on my purse too, so I just cut two of the purse bodies from SU!'s Peaceful Poppies DSP and adhered them to the white cardstock purse bodies Nancy included.

I mean LOOK at all the detail with the little tassel and heart charm and tag...could these purses be any cuter?!!  I totally can't wait to see how the rest of the DT decorated up their purses!!  And they are the perfect size for a gift card or small treats!  Becky Roberts designed a little half cut circle flap so you can keep the purse closed, but I have these very tiny magnets that I got from Amazon HERE that work great with just a couple glue dots.  Our oldest daughter's birthday is tomorrow and once I can see her again she'll be receiving a little gift in this sweet purse and I just know she's going to love it!!

So here's a re-cap of everything I made with Nancy's AWESOME kit, and I still have lots of leftovers that I can use after I see what everyone else did with their kit contents...we always end up inspiring each other!!  YOU can check out what everyone did with Nancy's kit too right HERE, and also check out the full list of supplies Nancy included in her kit right HERE.

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

MFT Sketch Challenge #486

Hello friends.  Used the sketch from this week's MFTWSC486 to make a simple card for my sweet Addy...how many of the rest of you out there are missing your grandbabies?!!  Addy is 5 and her little brother is only 2 (3 in a couple weeks), and I'm missing them terribly, so sending cards and little treats is a way I can make sure they know Nana hasn't forgotten about them!

This layout had me stumped at first, but once I stopped over-thinking it, I came up with this:

I used MFT's PI Blowing Kisses for my main image and paper pieced her dress using a pink polka dotted paper from the Lucky Prints 6x6 pad (MFT).  The rest of her was Copic colored along with the little bunny who is from the BB Adventure Is Calling stamp set. 

My background paper is from Pebbles Garden Party 6x6 pad and the partial frame (PTI's Pierced Feature Frames) uses the same paper as the little girls dress.  The sentiment is also from the same set as the little girl and I used the scalloped frame die from Blueprints #1 to partial die cut my sentiment strip.  A few clear sequins finished off this simple card.

You can check out the inspiration from the DT HERE to play along.

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

Gina K's Merry Monday - Stenciled Snowflakes

Hello friends.  Hope you're all hanging in there and finding things to do to keep busy and still have a little fun doing it too.  I've been watching Gina K lives that she has on FB and youtube on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Friday evenings, and she's been re-visiting old techniques that are a lot of FUN to watch and then try again myself.  She's labeled Mondays as Merry Mondays and always does Christmas cards and you know I love Christmas cards, so I've definitely been following along on Mondays!  This past Monday she used a couple of her snowflake stencils (HERE and HERE) and made the most beautiful cards.  You can watch her video HERE.

I used the same two snowflake stencils that Gina used (Snowflake Mandala Stencil and Stellar Snowflake Stencil) and then rather stenciling on white cardstock, I used Smokey Slate (SU!) cardstock and came up with these 2 cards...

I started in the upper left corners and then blended from light to dark, staying darker in the corner.

I used my blender brush and the Snowflake Mandala Stencil for this card, and then started with Sea Glass ink, then Turquoise Sea ink, and finally Tranquil Teal ink.  Before lifting the stencil off I used a sponge dauber and white pigment ink and just blended around the outside edge of the stencil.  Gina did not do this on hers, but I really like the soft effect it gives on a colored cardstock.  My sentiment is from SSS/Gina K Festive Flower stamp set.  I added a few gemstones to finish off my card.

 I used the Stellar Snowflake Stencil for this card with Bubblegum Pink and Passionate Pink inks and the sentiment is from Gina's Sparkling Snowflake stamp set.

 Very simple and easy cards that really pack a WOW, and now I have two more cards for my Christmas stash!  There really won't be any excuses this year for not having your Christmas cards done, so check out Gina's videos and have some fun!  Thanks Gina!!  :0)

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

The Flower Challenge #43 - Spring/Autumn

Hello friends.  Playing along with The Flower Challenge today and they are looking for Spring or Autumn cards, depending on which hemisphere you live in.

Since I've already been through a looooong Winter, I am ready to post a Spring card today and used Altenew's Paint - A - Flower: Iris to come up with this kind of artsy card...

I started by stamping the larger image in Smokey Slate ink on my background and then embossed in silver the single bloom on another piece of cardstock.  I added (seperately) my inks to a piece of acetate and then smooshed it into the cardstock...it gave me a bit more control where my ink went to do it this way.

Once my image was dry I layered it with some silver cardstock and then pop dotted it over my background.  My sentiment is from Pinkfresh Studio's Layered Bouquet set and I layered that with the same silver cardstock also and then added foam tape to the back to give even more dimension.  A few enamel dots finished off my card.

You can check out all the beautiful inspiration and then play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till the end of the month.

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

12 Kits Of Occasions - Special Blog Hop

Hello friends.  Today the present and past DT members of The 12 Kits Of Occasions are having a special blog hop in memory of one of our own...Sharron Gregory.  Sharron passed away March 30 and left a huge hole in the lives of so many in the crafting community...especially the members of The 12 Kits team! 

To honor the memory of Sharron, we as a team decided to do this special blog hop where we would all make a friendship card and share a memory or two of how Sharron touched our life.  I'm the newest member of the team and have only been on the team for a little over a year.  I did however guest on the team quite a few times and got to know Sharron that way before I ever joined the team.  Sharron ALWAYS commented on my cards and made sure I felt welcomed and a part of the team, and that definitely continued once I became a member.  I was also lucky enough to have met Sharron in person 2 years ago when a group of us traveled to Kansas and the Whatever Craft House in Wichita where Sharron lived.  I knew of Sharron at that point only from commenting on each others blogs, and have to admit I was a little bit nervous about meeting her because I tend to be a little quiet when I don't know someone.  Silly me!  It was no different than meeting the other 5 gals for the first time at the Craft House...we were instant friends and it was no different with Sharron!  I think stampers connect on a different level than other people...it's just always instant friendship!!  And on top of that, Sharron was a talker.  And I do mean a TALKER!!  I wouldn't have had to said a word (but I did) as Sharron talked and talked and talked!!  Sharron loved animals of ALL types and had so much to say about her volunteer work with them and her pets...and it showed in her cards that she loved animals too as there was always some type of cute critter featured on them.  Because of that love for animals, I had to make a critter card in memory of Sharron.  I love all the cute critter stamps out there and have quite a few (well ok, maybe more than a few!), but had to choose this racoon image from SU!  Many of you may be wondering why I would choose such a destructive little critter, but I just love their faces...they always look happy to me and that's how I want to remember Sharron!

All my supplies on this card are SU! from the DSP Feels Like Frost, the Woodland EF, and the stamp set Special Someone.

I think this little guy would have made Sharron smile, and that's how I want to remember her...smiling and friendly to everyone!  Sharron was a gem and will be missed by so many...her hubby Harry and children, and so many in the stamping community!  I praise God that Sharron is healthy now and probably talking everyone's ear off and smiling the whole time too!  God bless Sharron! 

Make sure you check out the rest of the 12 Kits DT right HERE to read about how Sharron touched their lives and see their friendship cards.

 

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

CAS Christmas April 2020 Reminder Post - Christmas Song

Hello friends.  Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to play along with the CAS Christmas Challenge where this month we are looking for Christmas cards with a CHRISTMAS SONG theme.

My card came together so quickly with the help of a die that was gifted to me by my sweet friend Bobby and a piece of cardstock in my box of backgrounds that I had used Brushos on.  Take a look...

The ornament die is from Gina Marie Designs, and I used the outline die to cut out the Brushos piece and then used gold mirror cardstock to cut out the JOY TO THE WORLD (another of my favorite Christmas carols!) and the top piece of the ornament.  I thought it was so cool that the Brushos piece in the greens and blues resembled the earth...I mean how appropriate for this song title!!  I used SU!'s Pine Bough embossing folder for my white background, and adhered both to a white card base.

Lots of beautiful inspiration from the DT and from cards already in the gallery, so check them all out right HERE and play along with us...you'll be so glad you got a head start with your Christmas cards come December!!  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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

CAS Watercolour April 2020 Reminder - SPRING FLOWERS

Hello friends.  Just a friendly little reminder that there's still time to play along with us this month at the CAS Watercolour Challenge where our hostess Susan would like to see SPRING FLOWERS.

Being from West Michigan, what would Spring be without Tulips?!  (LOT's of Dutch people settled in West Michigan way back when, so Tulips have always been a part of our landscape here!)  I used another Impression Obsession stamp (E7754) to come up with this CAS card:

I stamped the image in Versafine Black Onyx and then heat embossed in clear and then used my Aqua Painter and Lemon Tart (PTI), Mustard Seed DI (TH), and Old Olive (SU!) inks to water color the tulips.  I used a Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangle Die to cut out my image and then added a strip of black cardstock and half of a Leafy Branch die cut (Pinkfresh Studios) behind the rectangle before adhering to a white card base.

There's quite a few beautiful cards already in the gallery, but we'd love to see YOU and your beautiful SPRING FLOWERS in our gallery too!  You can check it all out right HERE to play along.  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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

Christmas Kickstart #30 - Winter Wonderland (Create A Scene)

Hello friends.  Playing along with this month's Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they are looking for us to create a WINTER WONDERLAND scene.

I feel like I cheated a little since my die cut created the whole scene for me, but my mojo has been sadly lacking this past month or so, so I was happy to let the die do the work!  And simple as this card may be, I really like the way it turned out...

The die is from Gina Marie Designs and I love how she created the whole Winter scene in one round opening!  I started with a blended background using Stormy Sky and Salty Ocean Distress Inks and then splattered a little bit with some water to resemble falling snow.  I was not able to capture it with my camera, but I also added some Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist to the background and it really does shimmer IRL!

I die cut a circle opening in my top layer to fit the die cut, and then stamped my sentiment (The Greetery's Christmas Eve) before running the piece through my Big Shot with the Subtle EF (SU!).  I assembled the layers onto a white top folding card base and finished!  CAS and I actually love how it turned out!  (Isn't it funny how some of our simplest and easiest cards turn out to be the prettiest and ones that we've worked hours and hours on are just...meh?!)

Make sure you check out Jo and her special GD Jane's inspiration, and then play along with the Christmas Kickstart Challenge to get a head start on those Christmas cards!    

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

Twofer Challenge #26 - Rain/Umbrella

Hello friends.  Welcome to a new Twofer Challenge!  This month we're looking for RAIN and/or UMBRELLA'S...

I used both prompts for my cards using a new SU! set called Under My Umbrella and came up with these:

Have you ever made a stair step card?  I hadn't made one in years and decided it was time to try one again.

I followed directions and a video from Angie Juda HERE  to make my card.  The DSP is from an older SSS kit where they give you a partial 6 x 6 pad, so I'm afraid I can't tell you who the manufactuer is, but isn't the paper with the rainboots so cute?!  The umbrella was stamped from the backside of the DSP and then I used a coordinating punch to cut it out.  The boots and the flowers were stamped (flowers colored with Copics) and then fussy cut.

  
Here's a side view so you can see the folds better.  I admit it did take me a few tries to do the folding the right way so it would actually stand up, so I'm glad I practiced first with a piece of plain white cardstock!  Once I figured it out though, it was really easy to put together and fun to decorate!!  Figured this card would work great as an encouragement card with all that's going on in the world today!

My 2nd card is a friendship card and I used the same umbrella but turned it around so it would look like what happens when the wind is so strong that it turns your umbrella inside out!  I started with a water colored background and then added a bunny from Penny Black (Flying By) that was holding a flower that I surgically removed (I didn't hurt the bunny, I promise!!) so I could have him hold the umbrella!

The bunny was stamped and colored with Copics and then fussy cut before adding to my background.  I used several pop dots behind the umbrella in the middle to give it a bit more definition and then finished by adding the raindrops and sentiment, both of which come from the SU! set Under My Umbrella.

So there you have my 2 different cards using the same umbrella and raindrops.  You can check out what the rest of the DT did right HERE and then play along with us.  Don't forget that you need to show both your cards in one photo and they both need to be for different occasions and be of a different design.  We're looking forward to seeing you in the gallery with your cards using RAIN and/or UMBRELLA'S!  This challenge is open till the 24th.  

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

CAS Mix Up April 2020 - Bleaching

Hello friends.  Playing along with the CAS Mix Up Challenge today and they are looking for BLEACHING on our cards.

I love the bleaching technique but it's been awhile since I've done it and my card did NOT turn out the way I had envisioned it in my head!  My vision was to use a light green cardstock and then use the bleach to remove the green on the blossoms and then water color them a light pink like Cherry Blossoms.  Only problem is that when you start with a light green cardstock, you don't end up with white once you add the bleach...grrrrrr!  Nope, it turned a pale yellow!  So after it dried I added some more bleach thinking it might take the yellow away...NOPE, it turned the yellow even brighter!!  I was going to throw it away and start again, but the more I looked at it, the more I kinda liked it!  Take a look...

I used PB's First Blush stamp and stamped with Versafine Black Onyx ink and then heat embossed over it with clear embossing powder on Certainly Celery (SU!) cardstock.  After both coats of bleach had dried (and I decided I liked it after all!) I used a couple Copics to color in the leaves and then fussy cut along the one edge so I could add it to a white card base.  (The white card base was dry embossed with SU!'s Subtle embossing folder.)  It still needed something to ground it so I added a thin black strip of cardstock to the left side of the card.

My sentiment is from SSS's Sketched Flowers which I stamped before embossing.  I added a simple small yellow enamel dot to finish off my card.

There are so many BEAUTIFUL examples of bleaching from the DT that you can check out right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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

Inspired By Challenge #118 - Here Comes Easter

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Inspired By challenge where this week they have a photo that inspired my card for my granddaughter and grandson for Easter...

I was definitely inspired by the bunnies and also some of the color...I switched up the blue in the photo for pink for my granddaughter...she LOVES pink!

I started with a kraft card base and added a white stamped with kraft ink panel using The Greetery's Windowpane Plaid Background Stamp and also die cut with The Greetery's Postal Frame Dies.  The two bunnies (I unfortunately do not know the manufacturer of these dies...if anyone does, please let me know!!) were die cut from PTI's Sweet Blush and Kraft Bitty Big PP's.  Here's a closer up so you can see how the bunnies have their arms around each other...

Awwwwww...isn't it so sweet that they're hugging each other?!!   I know, I know...in real life there's not much hugging between my grandbabies (they are 5 and almost 3), but they really do play well together most of the time!!  I added a tiny pink bow to the girl bunny and they both got a soft white pom pom for their tails. (Of which I'm sure my grandson will rip off!)  My sentiment strip is stamped with a Michael's dollar spot stamp that I've had for years and years and years...it's an oldie but a goody!!  I finished off my card with a bit of twine and a couple enamel dots.

This challenge is open for a couple more days, so check it all out right HERE.    

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