The 12 Kits of Occasions--January 2014

Well, hello strangers!  Did you think I was never coming back?  The last several months have been absolutely crazy around here, and crafting has definitely not been at the top of my priority list.  But I have tried to escape from my responsibilities for a few minutes here and there this month, and so I have 5 cards to share with you for this month's edition of The 12 Kits of Occasions.

Our hostess this month is Sharron, and the theme is love and Valentine's Day.  Sharron sent such a fantastic kit with a color combo that I absolutely adore as an alternative to the usual red, pink, and white.  And many thanks to Kara for creating our beautiful graphic once again this month, giving you a peek at all of the goodies packed into our kits.

My favorite card was the first one I made, shortly after my kit arrived.  I love the striped paper and the pretty script in the sentiment.  It's hard to see in the photo, but the Sahara Sand cardstock was debossed with a music score impression plate.

Sorry for the shadows on the next card, but I popped up the die cut "happy" with teensy pieces of foam tape in a few spots.  I used another of my favorite papers and some of the cute die cut accents from the kit.

How do you like these cute elephants?  I think they're adorable, especially paired with the matching paper.  Such a cute sentiment from Mama Elephant, too (of course!).

For my next card, I layered the pretty heart doily with the word "love", along with a couple of stitched die cut hearts and gold sequins.

My last card is sort of a work in progress, and maybe you can help me finish it.  I've had it sitting on my desk for at least a couple of weeks just like this, and I feel like it needs something else.  I've tried buttons, twine, sequins--nothing quite works.  I think it's ok the way it is, but it's just a little blah.  Any suggestions?

That's all from me, but I have so many cute supplies left to use.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the 12 Kit Designers created with them:

Cathy Weber
http://emptynestcrafter.blogspot.com/

Jeanne Jachna

http://akeptlife.blogspot.com

Jessica Davis

http://thepaperparade.blogspot.com

Joyce Mehrberg

http://cards-by-the-sea.blogspot.com

Kara {kandrdesigns}

http://kandrdesigns.blogspot.com

Kelly Schirmer

http://ginghamgirlsadventures.blogspot.com

Kim Heggins

http://cupcakescardsandkim.blogspot.com

Marybeth Lopez

http://marybethstimeforpaper.blogspot.com

Renee Lynch

http://itsapatchworklife.blogspot.com

Sharron Gregory

http://onpapillonwings.blogspot.com

Tracey McNeely

http://inmycreativeopinion.blogspot.com

And our Guest Designer for this month, Michelle from Pretty Periwinkles.

For supply information, be sure to visit The 12 Kits of Occasions blog, where you can also access information about our group and links to all of the designers.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a great day!

CFC89--Love Song

Hello again!  Is everyone on the East Coast ready for the blizzard?  They're calling for 2 feet of snow here, and as excited as my kids are to finally do some sledding, I'm hoping the forecast is wrong.  Snow days are great until you have to shovel.  :)

It's CAS-ual Fridays challenge time, so let's get right to it:

Doesn't Michele come up with the best themes every week?  This week, in honor of the Grammy awards coming up on Sunday, we're challenging you to use a song as inspiration for your clean and simple design.

Our sponsor this week is Michele's very own CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, so be sure to play along for a chance to win some of her fabulous stamps!

This was a tough one for me, and several of my ideas didn't quite translate to paper.  Then, while scrolling through song titles on the web, I came across the song "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat.  It made me think of this sentiment in the PTI mini set, Luck of the Irish.  Since my hubby loves green and the Boston Celtics, I'm thinking he won't mind this unconventional Valentine.  :)

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Gumball Green, Real Red), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Distressed Stripes, Luck of the Irish)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Gumball Green, Certainly Celery, Real Red)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (heart dies)

The hearts and "leaves" were cut with PTI's Heart Prints dies, and I hand trimmed the stem.

Please join us this week with your song-inspired creation!  It should be fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

The 12 Kits of Holidays--January 2013

To see my CASE Study post, please scroll down!

Hello again!  I've got another fun post to share with you today.  If you've been coming around here for a while, you know that in 2012 I partnered with 11 fellow stampers to bring you The 12 Kits of Christmas.  Each month, we create cards and projects for Christmas (and Hanukkah!) using the same supplies.

This year brings a few changes, including the addition of two new crew members, Tracey McNeely and Kelly Schirmer.  Please give them a warm welcome, as I'm sure you'll enjoy their creations as much as I do.  :)

The other change for 2013 is that we'll be featuring lots of different holidays and occasions, not just Christmas!  There will still be plenty of Christmas inspiration throughout the year, with winter holiday kits every other month, but we'll also be bringing you ideas for Valentine's Day, Easter, birthdays, thank yous, fall holidays, and more.

Our first hostess for 2013 is Joyce, who provided us with a darling Valentine's kit full of goodies.  Fabulous papers, ribbons, and die cuts galore.  Behold:

Photo by Kara

I'd hoped to create a few more cards this month, but prepping to teach my very first class at the college drained most of my mojo over the last couple of weeks.  Lucky for me I have lots of supplies left to make several more projects before Valentine's Day arrives.  :)

On to the cards!  I've been smitten with this Memory Box die since it came out, so I had to reach for it first.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores, Pure Poppy, White)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Heart Prints), WPlus9 Design Studio (Love You More)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tools:  Memory Box (Piestra Tile die), WPlus9 Design Studio (envelope dies), Papertrey Ink (heart dies)

Using some strips of the My Mind's Eye papers in the kit, I think this simple little number is my favorite.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Poppy Parade)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lucky in Love)

Tool:  Papertrey Ink (XO border die)

Accessories:  buttons, DMC floss

This next one is a CASE of a card by Suzanne from last year's November kit.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Sweet Blush, White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lucky in Love)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Love You More)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tool:  Spellbinders (Labels 18 die)

Accessories:  button, DMC floss

Perhaps this last one is too simple, but I like it a lot.  I left off the embellishments since the sentiment and paper are fairly busy.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lucky in Love)

Stamp:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Love You More)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tool:  Spellbinders (Labels 4 die)

What do you think of the new 12 Kits format?  We hope you'll enjoy finding inspiration for lots of different holidays and occasions in the coming year!

Time to hop around to see what the rest of the gals have come up with!

Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea
Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife
Tracey: InMyCreativeOpinion

Sharron: OnPapillionWings

Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper

Jeanne: AKeptLife
Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise
Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim
Kara: KandRDesigns
Kelly: GinghamGirl
Jessica: The Paper Parade

Thanks so much for visiting!

Card Patterns sketch #151

Hello friends!  So glad it's the weekend, even though I have to go to work for a bit today.  What do you have planned?

I hope you'll make some time this week to create something with the new sketch at Card Patterns!

This week we're sponsored again by DRS Designs, which makes beautiful rubber stamps.  They generously sent a package of stamps to the Design Team to work with, and this week I chose to use Hearts and Scrolls and the One Line Valentine Greeting.

On a white cardstock panel, I stamped the Hearts and Scrolls image several times, first with Real Red, then with Pretty in Pink, using a Stamp-a-ma-jig to line everything up.  Then I stamped the sentiment in black.

I rounded the bottom corners and added a stitched border around the edges.  Along the top, I embossed the edge with SU's Framed Tulips folder.

For the finishing touch, I added some Pure Poppy satin ribbon tied in a bow and a Tiny Tag stamped with the word "love".

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (True Black, White)

Stamps:  DRS Designs (Hearts and Scrolls, One Line Valentine Greeting), Papertrey Ink (Tiny Tags)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Pretty in Pink), Inkadinkadoo (Black)

Tools:  Stampin' Up! (Framed Tulips embossing folder), Papertrey Ink (Tiny Tags die), corner rounder

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon), thread

How will you use the sketch this week?  I can't wait to see your creations!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great weekend.

ColourQ #122

This is my third post of the day.  Please scroll down to see my 12 Kits of Christmas post and my card for Cath!

Happy Tuesday, ColourQ fans!  Are you ready for a "love"ly color combo?  I couldn't resist inking up some sweet little hearts with this palette:

I stamped a grid of polka dotted hearts using a darling little stamp from DeNami Designs in Regal Rose on a white cardstock panel.

Next I cut a strip of black cardstock and heat embossed white hearts across it.  I stamped the heart one more time in Versarmark onto red cardstock and added a "love" sentiment, also from DeNami, then cut it out by hand and attached it with foam tape.

I finished off the card with some Maraschino baker's twine and one of PTI's Tiny Tags.

FYI:  This cutie measures just 4 1/4 inches square, if you're curious about the scale of the stamps.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Kraft, True Black, Pure Poppy, White)

Stamps:  DeNami Designs (Hearts Petit Fours stamp set, Heartfelt Greetings Petit Fours stamp set), Papertrey Ink (Tiny Tags)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Regal Rose), Inkadinkadoo (Black), Tsukineko (Versamark)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (tag die)

Accessories:  The Twinery (baker's twine), Filigree (embossing powder)

Won't you join us this week?  I can't wait to see your designs in the ColourQ gallery!

Thanks for stopping by again today!  Have a good one!

ColourQ #119

Hello!  Is your week off to a good start?  I have to admit, I'm having a hard time getting back in the swing of things after the Christmas break.  Every couple of months or so I just get so overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done, with no time to do any of it.  

Luckily for me, this week's new color combo at the ColourQ challenge gave me a chance to forget about all of my responsibilities for a while and just play with paper.  I'm loving the color palette this week!

And, we have an extra special treat for you this week as we are introducing a new member of the Royal Court Design Team, the immensely talented and super sweet Silke Ledlow!  I've had the pleasure of designing with Silke before, and I just know she's going to knock our socks off every week.  Be sure to stop by her blog, My Life, and give her a warm welcome!

For my card this week, I had to sub Basic Gray for Going Gray, and the baker's twine is closer to Tangerine than Pumpkin, but it works.

I managed to CASE my own ColourQ card from 2 weeks ago without even realizing it!  I stamped a sentiment from PTI's Faux Ribbon onto the white panel, then debossed it with the Polka Dot impression plate and rounded the top corners.

I added some striped Basic Gray paper at the bottom and layered an eyelet border along the top edge.  For just a pop of orange, I tied Mandarin baker's twine across the border.  Finally, I added a trio of pink hearts cut with PTI's heart dies and mounted the whole panel onto a Raspberry Fizz card base.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Raspberry Fizz, white), Stampin' Up! (Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink)

Patterned paper:  Stampin' Up! (Neutrals paper pack)

Stamp:  Papertrey Ink (Faux Ribbon)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Melon Mambo)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (heart dies, eyelet border die, Polka Dot impression plate), corner rounder

Accessories:  The Twinery (Mandarin baker's twine)

I can't wait to see all of the creations with these colors!  I hope you'll play along, too.

Thanks for your visit today, friends!  Have a great Tuesday!

ColourQ #117

Hello!  It's ColourQ Tuesday!  Hooray!

Arielle is taking it easy on us this week, as many of us are likely still in Christmas hangover mode.  *heehee*  This week's color palette is black, white, and your choice of any one color.  Fun!

I'm still recovering from hosting my husband's family for Christmas, and now I'm trying to get everything ready for our trip to Indiana to see my family.  So things will continue to be a little quiet around here for the next week or so.

I kept my design fairly simple, using red as my third color to make a Valentine's Day card.  The white cardstock is stamped with music score at the bottom and debossed with the sheet music impression plate at the top.  I die cut 2 heart-shaped windows at the top and placed red cardstock behind them.

The black border was cut with PTI's Photo Finishers die, then stamped and heat embossed with a sentiment from WPlus9's Spring Post.  The largest heart was die cut and wrapped with Maraschino baker's twine.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (True Black, Pure Poppy, white)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Background Basics:  Sheet Music), WPlus9 Design Studio (Spring Post)

Ink:  Inkadinkadoo (Black), Versamark

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Heart Prints, Photo Finishers dies, Sheet Music impression plate), corner rounder

Accessories:  Filigree (embossing powder), The Twinery (Maraschino twine)

I hope you'll find time to play along this week!  I'm looking forward to seeing the rainbow of colors in the gallery.  And one of my New Year's resolutions is to do a better job at making comments on the blogs I visit, so I'll be sure to stop by and leave you some love when you post your creation!

Thanks for your visit, friends!  Have a great day!

Rainbow Hearts Birthday

 

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, Orange Zest, Harvest Gold, New Leaf, Blueberry Sky, white)

Stamp:  Papertrey Ink (Signature Series:  Dress Form)

Ink:  Inkadinkadoo (Black), Copic markers

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (heart die, Linen & Canvas impression plate), corner rounder

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (buttons), twill ribbon, DMC floss

Hi there!  I have several projects lined up to share with you in the next few days, if I can just get them all photographed!  In the meantime, I remembered that I hadn't shared this card that was made for a recent PC call.

I used the medium-sized die from PTI's Heart Prints die set to cut heart "windows" along one side of a piece of white cardstock.  It took a few tries to get them lined up just right.  It would have been much easier to cut the hearts from colored cardstock and layer them on top of the panel, but I just love using negative space on a card, so I was determined to make it work.

I stamped a sentiment from Signature Series:  Dress Form, rounded two corners, and added some texture to the main panel with the Linen & Canvas impression plate.  Colored squares are adhered behind the heart windows, and I embellished them with a few color coordinated buttons.

I added rainbow stripes to a piece of white twill using Copics, then tucked it under the main panel, which is popped up on foam dots.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Enjoy the start of your weekend!