The 12 Kits of Christmas--September

Hi there, friends!  It's time again for another edition of The 12 Kits of Christmas.  This month's kit was provided by Kara, and she sent us this gorgeous pile of goodies:

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Kara included one of PTI's notepads and a template for the cover so that we could make holiday planners.  What a cute idea, right?

I cut the cover from Pure Poppy cardstock and used supplies from the kit, adding a bit of stamping to the patterned paper.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream, Kraft)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (All is Bright)

Stamps:  My Mind's Eye (All is Bright), Papertrey Ink (Take Note, Tag-its #8, Label Basics)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate chip, Pool Party, Real Red), Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate, Fine Linen, Chamomile tea dye)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Limitless Layers circle die)

Other:  My Mind's Eye (twine)

The template includes a pocket on the inside, and I thought it would be fun to include some cards with space for my kids' Christmas wish lists.  

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (All is Bright)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Dear Santa), Papertrey Ink (Tag-its #8, Label Basics, Scrapbook Series:  Library Ledger)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip, Pool Party, Real Red)

Other:  Papertrey Ink (notepad, template)

My first card is my favorite.  :)  I embossed the white cardstock with chevrons and added a strip for the sentiment.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy), WPlus9 Design Studio (White), Stampin' Up! (Lucky Limeade)

Stamp:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Spring Post)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Wonderful Words Holiday), Lifestyle Crafts (embossing folder), Martha Stewart Crafts (holly punch)

Accessories:  button, DMC floss

I used more of the beautiful paper in the kit to make the rest of the cards.  For the first one, I just added stitched edges, a doily, and a pretty red bow.  I placed a clear dome sticker over the poinsettia in the corner, too.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Kraft)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (All is Bright)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Wreath for all Seasons)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip)

Other:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon, circle dome stickers), doily, thread

I just love this layout for showcasing patterned papers.  I colored the word "merry" with a Copic marker to match the red paper and added some twine and rusty bells from a previous month's kit.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Kraft, Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (All is Bright)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Wonderful Words Holiday die), EK Success (border punch)

Other:  My Mind's Eye (twine), bells, thread

For my last card, I just stitched together some of the patterned paper I had left, added part of a doily, and embellished it with brads and a sentiment.

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (All is Bright)

Stamp:  Papertrey Ink (Signature Christmas)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip)

Tool:  circle punch

Other:  My Mind's Eye (brad), doily, thread

Keeping this fairly short so you can visit the rest of the gals:

Suzanne:  The Card Yard

Cathy: EmptyNestCrafter

Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea

Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim

Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise

Kara: KandRDesigns

Sharron: OnPapillionWings

Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper

Jeanne: AKeptLife

Jessica: The Paper Parade

Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife

Thanks to Kara for a wonderful kit this month!  And thanks to you for stopping by!

CAS-ual Friday's #72--Toot your own horn!

Hey there, lovely people!  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  It's been an especially busy week at work, so I'm very happy to be *almost* to the weekend.  Luckily, that also means it's time for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge!

This week we're asking you to "toot your own horn":  create a clean and simple project based on your own blog header.  How fun is that?!

We're sponsored this week by A Muse Studio, and you'll have to stop by the CAS-ual Fridays blog to check out the awesome prize up for grabs.

I think it's pretty obvious how I was inspired this week.  *grin*  I can't take credit for the design, of course, since I just copied the lovely colors and arrangement of elements that Karen Baker came up with for my new blog header.  Have I mentioned how much I love it?

The colors I used are SU's Island Indigo, Pool Party, and Peach Parfait.  Stamps are from WPlus9's Guiding Light and PTI's Faux Ribbon and Think Big Favorites #4.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light), Papertrey Ink (Faux Ribbon, Think Big Favorites #4)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Island Indigo, Pool Party, Peach Parfait)

Tools:  WPlus9 Design Studio (starfish die), Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate), corner rounder

I always look forward to seeing the creations in the challenge gallery, but I think this week will be especially interesting.  How does your blog header inspire you?

Thanks again for your sweet comments, my friends.  I always appreciate your visits!

Have a great start to your weekend!

CAS-ual Fridays #71--Fall Fun

Hi there, friends!  It's still a little quiet here on the blog, but did you notice my new look?  Many thanks to my sweet and talented friend, Karen Baker, for giving my blog a facelift.  She's an incredibly sweet and talented crafter and designer, in case you didn't already know.  *wink*

Soooo, time for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge!  I didn't think I'd be able to get a card done for this week since my craft room is still being painted and my supplies are all over the house.  Luckily I had a card that I made a while back that I hadn't posted yet, and it fits perfectly with this week's theme, Fall Fun.

We're sponsored this week by Great Impressions Stamps, and they are offering up a gift certificate to our winner.  Thank you, Great Impressions!

I used the scarecrow and pumpkin from Paper Smooches' Autumn Groves, adding color with my Prisma pencils and stitched hills for a clean and simple landscape.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Rustic Cream), Stampin' Up! (Early Espresso)

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Autumn Groves, Metropolis)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Early Espresso)

Tools:  We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper)

Accessories:  Queen & Co. (rhinestones), thread

Coloring medium:  Prismacolor Premier pencils

We're pumpkin picking this weekend to welcome the cooler weather and official start of Autumn.  What do you have planned?

Stop by the CAS-ual Fridays blog for more Fall inspiration and to link up your clean and simple creation!

Thanks for stopping by!

CAS-ual Fridays #70--Black & White plus one

Hi there, friends!  Thanks for your suggestions for paint colors in my craft room.  I'm still undecided, but I will keep you posted and maybe even share some before and after pics when it's done.  :)

One color which will probably not make my short list--orange.  But it did make it onto my card this week for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge, which is to use black and white plus one other color on your clean and simple design.

And guess what?  There's a gift certificate up for grabs from Neat & Tangled Stamps!  You don't want to miss out on a chance to treat yourself to some of their darling stamps, so be sure to join us for your chance to win.

I just couldn't help it when I saw that we were using black and white this week.  I immediately thought of the zebra in Paper Smooches Zoo Crew set, which had yet to see ink.  I stamped it three times onto a white strip of cardstock.

I stamped the giraffe onto scrap cardstock and colored it with Copic markers, then cut it out and adhered it off the edge of the white panel.  The sentiment was heat embossed in white, and I added some texture to the card base with the Linen & Canvas impression plate.

Cardstock:  Michaels (Black), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Zoo Crew)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Versamark, Copic markers

Tool:  Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate)

Other:  Filigree (embossing powder)

Don't forget to visit the rest of the Girl Friday Designers and link up your creation at the CAS-ual Fridays blog!

Have a great start to your weekend, friends.  :)

Cloud9 September Blog Hop

Hello out there!  September's Cloud9 Blog Hop is live, and this time Suzanne has picked a lovely photo to inspire our creations.

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I was inspired by the soft blue sky, branches, and the bird cages, so I used WPlus9's Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions and Love Birds on an aqua background.  The purple flowers and turquoise accent on the table in the photo led me to use Rich Razzleberry for the bird and to sprinkle on some turquoise gems.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Aqua Mist), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions, Love Birds, Very Vintage Greetings)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip, Rich Razzleberry, Garden Green)

Tools:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Love Bird dies), Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate)

Accessories:  Queen & Co. (rhinestones)

You can link up your design until 10 am EST on September 12.  There are two gift certificates and a Guest Designer spot up for grabs, so you don't want to miss out!

Thanks for visiting!

CAS-ual Fridays #69--Embossing

Welcome back, friends!  We've made it to the end of another week!  I am definitely ready for the weekend.  What do you have planned?

One of my favorite things about the weekend--a new challenge at CAS-ual Fridays!  Now before you think I've gotten stuck on last week's Top of the Class challenge, let me introduce this week's theme:  embossing!

You can choose heat or dry embossing (or both!) on your clean and simple design, just be sure to link it up for your chance to be a Guest Designer at CAS-ual Fridays and win a gift certificate to use at Simon Says Stamp.

My Paper Smooches stamps have been getting a lot of use lately.  :)  For this card, I paired images from Smarty Pants with the small pocket from WPlus9's A Pocketful.

The white "stitching" on the pocket is heat embossed, and I used PTI's Book Print impression plate on the white panel to go with the school theme.  The pocket was given some added texture with the Linen & Canvas impression plate, too.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, Enchanted Evening), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Smarty Pants), WPlus9 Design Studio (A Pocketful)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Versamark, Copic markers

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Book Print, Linen & Canvas impression plates), WPlus9 Design Studio (pocket die), corner rounder

Other:  Filigree (embossing powder)

I absolutely love embossing, so I can't wait to see all of the inspiring designs in the gallery this week.  I hope you'll join us.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!