Paper Smooches Sparks--Anything Goes!

Hey there!  It's been a while since I made a card for a challenge, but I already had this idea floating around in my head when I saw that the latest Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge theme is Anything Goes.

Nothing fancy about this card, just some stamping and simple coloring on patterned paper.  Love the happy face on the hippo.  All stamps are from Paper Smooches.

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (A Boy's Life), Fancy Pants (Off to School)

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Zoo Crew, Boob Tubes)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip), Copic markers

Tool:  corner rounder

That's all from me!  Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

The 12 Kits of Holidays--April 2013

It's time for another round of The 12 Kits of Holidays!  This month's hostess is Sharron, and she sent this wonderful packet loaded with cute images, papers, and die cuts (and she took this month's picture, too!):

I've made 3 cards so far, but I have so much wonderful stuff left to use.  I'm hoping to keep working with this kit over the next week or two like I did with Tracey's kit last month.

I'm battling a sinus infection that has me wiped out at the moment, so I'm going to keep the chit chat to a minimum and just show you the cards:

Cardstock:  Red shimmer

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Winter Wonderland)

Tools:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Joy die), Fiskars (star punch)

Other:  Michaels (star gems), thread

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Ocean Tides, Pure Poppy), Stampin' Up! (Old Olive), Neenah (Classic Crest White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Winter Wonderland)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Merry & Bright Additions), Technique Tuesday (Jingle All the Way)

Tools:  Lil' Inker Designs (Stitched Flag Sentiment die), Papertrey Ink (Merry & Bright tree die), Memory Box (Resting Birds die), Cherry Lynn (Zig Zag Ric Rac die), Sizzix (snowflake embossing folder)

Other:  thread

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Baja Breeze), Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy), Neenah (Classic Crest White), Hobby Lobby (silver glitter)

Stamp:  Technique Tuesday (Jingle All the Way)

Tools:  My Favorite Things (Stacking Stars dies), Memory Box (Cosmic Star dies), Sizzix (Snowballs embossing folder)

Be sure to visit the rest of the crew to see what they created this month:

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

Have a great day!

More Darling Diamonds

Hello!  It's been a gorgeous weekend here, and we're just about to duck out to my son's soccer game, so I wanted to quickly share another card I made with Lil' Inker Designs' Darling Diamonds and the coordinating stitched pattern die.

I started by using the Circles & Diamonds Stitched Pattern die to impress the stitched pattern onto a piece of white cardstock.  Then I used MFT's 3 x 4 Insert die to cut a piece sized perfectly for my card.

Just a tip:  I think it's better to die cut before adding the stitched impression, as the process of die cutting smoothed out the cardstock and made the stitched detail less prominent.

I used several of the stamps from Darling Diamonds to create the pattern in red and aqua, a favorite color combo of mine.

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

Stamps:  Lil' Inker Designs (Darling Diamonds)

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

Tools:  Lil' Inker Designs (Circles & Diamonds Stitched Pattern die), My Favorite Things (Insert It--3 x 4 Insert die)

Enjoy your Sunday, and have a great start to your week!

Some thoughts on Boston and a card...

Hi there.  Just popping in to share a card I made after a long break from my craft room.  But first, a few words about recent events in Boston.

Last week's tragic events at the Boston Marathon were so horrific and unthinkable that I spent most of the week in a kind of fog, as I'm sure many others did.  I live about 30 miles north of the city, so while my family was not directly impacted by the bombing or the subsequent search for the suspects, the entire thing has been profoundly unsettling.

It seems as if everyone I meet has a personal connection to this tragedy, so while I'm thankful that my immediate friends and neighbors who were in Boston last week returned home safely, I grieve for those who lost lives and limbs to a senseless act of violence.

Making cards can seem like such a trivial activity at times like this, but creating something with your own hands can be incredibly soothing.  I may not be able to control the events going on in the world around me, but I can take a few minutes to put some stamps to paper and try to make something beautiful.  That's what drew me back to my craft room this week.

For this card, my only goal was to play with Lil' Inker Designs' Darling Diamonds stamp set and the coordinating Circles & Diamonds Stitched Pattern die, which has been sitting out on my craft desk for quite a while.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Kraft), Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy)

Stamps:  Lil' Inker Designs (Darling Diamonds)

Ink:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White), Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tools:  Lil' Inker Designs (Circles & Diamonds Stitched Pattern die), My Favorite Things (Insert It--3 x 4 Insert die)

Other:  The Twinery (baker's twine)

Thanks for sharing a bit of your day with me.  Big hugs, friends.

More spring and Easter cards with the 12 Kits

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

Patterned paper:  Pebbles (Sunnyside)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Tweet Talk), Paper Smooches (Sentiment Sampler)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Melon Mambo), Copic markers

Tool:  My Favorite Things (Polaroid frame die), Simon Says Stamp (Holiday Shapes die)

Hi there!

Just popping in with a few more cards I made using the scraps from the latest 12 Kits of Holidays.  I've been trying to use up these cute papers rather than adding them to my overflowing stash.

The first card was inspired by Kara's sweet little love birds.  I added a Polaroid frame and a Paper Smooches sentiment to make it work for any occasion.

For the second card, I tucked some eggs into the "grass" by cutting hills from more of the green vine paper.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Aqua Mist)

Patterned paper:  Pebbles (Sunnyside)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Egg Hunt), Lil' Inker Designs (Darling Diamonds)

Other:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon)

And finally, I used a few squares from one sheet of patterned paper to create a grid with a few simple embellishments.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Enchanted Evening)

Patterned paper:  Pebbles (Sunnyside)

Tools:  Simon Says Stamp (Holiday Shapes die), Lifestyle Crafts (embossing folder)

Other:  button, twine, ric-rac, staple

I haven't created anything for over a week, but that's just how life has been lately.  I hope to be back soon with something new to share!

Have a great weekend!

CAS(E) this Sketch #22

I don't remember the last time I played along with a challenge, but this sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch (by the super sweet Karolyn Loncon, no less!) was just the spark I needed to use up some more scraps from the latest kit sent to us by Tracey for the 12 Kits of Holidays.

I had only a strip of the zig-zag paper left, so it made a nice addition to the bottom of a navy tag.  The orange framed sentiment was trimmed from a sheet of patterned paper filled with colorful square patterns and greetings.  I'll share a few more of them on a card later in the week.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Spring Rain, Enchanted Evening), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  Pebbles (Sunnyside)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Tag Sale #3 die), Lifestyle Crafts (ZigZag embossing folder)

Other:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon), sequins

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great start to your week!

Another 12 Kits card--Happy Spring!

Hello!  It's been too quiet around here.  Believe it or not, I've made 4 cards this week and will be sharing them as I have time.

I was smitten with the colors and spring theme from March's 12 Kits of Holidays kit, so I've been working with the supplies I had left to make several more cards.  This one is my favorite so far.

Isn't this chevron paper gorgeous?  I wanted to keep the focus on it, so I stamped a few flowers from WPlus9's Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions right on the patterned paper, layered one of the sentiments from the kit over the top, and mounted the panel with foam tape on a chartreuse card base.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Simply Chartreuse, White)

Patterned paper:  Pebbles (Sunnyside)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions), Papertrey Ink (Egg Hunt)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Lucky Limeade)

So simple.  And even if you're tired of Easter and spring cards already, you can easily adapt this design to other themes.

Back to work!  Thanks for stopping by today!