12 Kits of Christmas - August with Kim

It is time for our 8th edition of The 12 Kits of Christmas club.  This month's hostess was Kim Heggins of Cupcakes, Cards & Kim who sent identical kits of card ingredients to the 12 cardmakers in our club.   I was lucky enough to receive my kit the day before I went on vacation and had the pleasure of making 3 cards with the great kit while I was enjoying the beautiful Montana weather.  Here is a picture of the kit ingredients we all received from Kim:

Photo courtesy of Kara

Just look at those beautiful colors...so different from the traditional red and green.  This month is also different because the stamps are digital...and she sent a lot of them!

My first card is actually my favorite of the bunch even though it took almost no time to complete!

I used some pink shimmer paper along with the silver "Holiday" diecut Kim sent us.  The beautiful ornament is from Serendipity Stamps (Ornament Die) and is just so beautiful cut from the silver paper.  The pink ribbon is from Kim's kit.  The edges of the card were cut with a Spellbinder edgability die.  I am anxious to try this same card using light blue shimmer paper.  I think that would look really pretty with the silver ornament and words.

My second card was also an easy card to make...Kim's kit made it very easy!

Since I was on vacation, I had limited dies with me, but I did have PTI's Label Basics, so paired it with the cute shoe and holly image.  I used the embossed white panel, pink ribbon and pearls that Kim sent in our kit.  Love those shoes...doubt I could walk in them though!

My last card started out as one thing and ended up as another.

Originally there was a whole piece of cardstock with the great mittens at the top, but of course I messed up the sentiment and had to cut out the mitten image and piece it on top...same idea, just not a single layer card as I had originally envisioned.  I used the jingle bells and Holiday diecut Kim sent us along with a little twine I happened to have with me.

Kim put together a fabulous kit...ready to see what the other 11 people in our group have come up with?  I am sure that by the time you look at all of these great holiday cards, this is going to be your new favorite holiday color scheme too!

Suzanne:  thecardyard

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

Christina: SeaGlass&Sentiments

Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife

Details:  Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants Design, Winterland
              Digital Images:  Pink Petticoat
              Wonderful Word Holiday Dies, PTI
               Cuttlebug Folder, Snowflakes
               Serendipity Stamps, Ornament Die

Fall, Through the Window

I guess I should have said "Fall, Looking through the window" as no one is falling on this card, but these last few days I have been daydreaming about Fall.  It is so very hot here in CA, and is very much still Summer, but I can dream of warm days, crisp, cool nights and leaves starting to fall from the trees.
Here is the scene I have been dreaming of:

Behind the Madison Grand Window diecut from Poppy Stamps, I used Serendipity Stamps (Bare Tree) image, stamping off the ink for the first tree to make it look a little further away  Since this is a Fall card, I added some splotches of Fall colors using re-inkers and an aqua pen, just enough so it looks as though the trees still have a few leaves left on them.  The patterned paper is from Bo Bunny, Forever Fall Collection.  The bottom half of the card is embossed with a Darice striped embossing folder to look like wainscoting.  I added a Spellbinder label with a Serendipity sentiment (Everyday Words, small horizontal set).  The finishing touch is a pine bough swag punched with a Martha Stewart punch in Fall colors.  The boughs are tied up with a button and some jute twine.  This card is going to go to my Dad who has a Fall birthday.  If you would like to make a Fall card of your own using these stamps, make sure to check out the Serendipity store. 

Serendipity’s Special this week is a 40% Off coupon which gives 40% off the most expensive item in the shopping cart. The coupon code is 40FROMHIGH The coupon expires August 29th. 

Serendipity Stamps - Center Step Card

I have some pretty big news today, so big that I have had a really hard time keeping this news to myself.   A few weeks ago I was asked to join the Serendipity Stamps Design Team.  I know!  Me.  On a Design Team.  Shocking, right?  Even more so when you see the names of the other fabulous designers who are on the Serendipity Team.  Among them are current team members Jeanne Jachna, Amy Cokley, Jenny Gropp, Sue Eldred and Miriam Napier. Today there are two other new faces joining the Serendipity Design Team along with me, Pauline Pollington and Helen Berry.  I  can't believe my cards will be right up there with all these great card designers and the best part...I get to use Serendipity Stamps and Dies!   You won't believe how many great images they have and quite a few beautiful and intricate dies as well.  I hope you will make sure to check out the Serendipity store and you will quickly see what I am talking about.  Serendipity’s Special this week is a 40% Off coupon which gives 40% off the most expensive item in the shopping cart. The coupon code is 40FROMHIGH The coupon expires August 29th.

Today for our first challenge, we were to make a Center Step Card.  First assignment, and I have already had to do a Google Image Search to see what a center step card looked like.  Turns out there a ton of examples and even several tutorials with step by step instructions.  Here is the link to the tutorial I used to make my cards.  I love baby cards.  Granted, I don't know a single person who is having a baby and my son and daughter-in-law have not been too cooperative in that area just yet, but I am hoping to be a grandmother one day soon.  I made a couple of center step baby cards using the most adorable Serendipity baby-themed stamps.  What do you think?  They are cute stamps, aren't they?

Just to be sure I have all my bases covered, I made both a boy and a girl version.

I rarely make a baby card without using gingham and these cards are no exception.  The bib is paper pieced and the little duck is popped up with dimensionals.  It's hard to see in the photo, but the flower on the baby cup has some sparkly stickles on it.  Way back in the olden days...even before I had my children, hospitals used to put a cute little beaded id bracelet on every baby.  I added some similar beads tied with twine to look like an old fashioned id bracelet spelling out the word "Sweet".
Here's a pic of what a center step card looks like from the side:

Now that you have seen my first Serendipity cards, make sure you check out what the other designers have created...and for even more fun, don't forget to take a good long look at all of the other great stamps and dies available from Serendipity Stamps.

Serendipity’s Special this week is a 40% Off coupon which gives 40% off the most expensive item in the shopping cart. The coupon code is 40FROMHIGH The coupon expires August 29th.

Jeanne Jachna

Amy Cokley

Jenny Gropp

Miriam Napier

Pauline Pollington

Helen Berry

Details:  Serendipity Stamps, Patterned Paper from Papertrey Ink, yellow twine from the Twinery.

Baby Bib, Etc.  630E

Baby Girl Small 738A

Baby Boy Small 740A

WMSC #111 - Be Happy

I made a quick card today for Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #111, a super cute long and narrow card sketch by Julia Aston.  Here's the sketch:

I love stamping backgrounds for my cards, and very often do it subtly with Versamark on kraft cardstock.  For today's card I turned the sketch on it's side and stamped a  harlequin pattern from Heirloom Patterns onto the kraft cardbase.  It's very easy to line up and looks so much nicer than using just the kraft cardstock all by itself.  I stamped the jar from Candy Jar Christmas Fillers onto a Spellbinder Label.  I made a few patterned paper Playful Pinwheels and added them into the jar with some bamboo skewers.  I added two strips of ribbon and a cute sentiment banner from Playful Pinwheels.  I punched a couple of holes in the label and threaded some bakers twine though to hold my banner.  I think I am keeping this card for myself...who doesn't need to see such a happy sight every once in a while?

Waltzingmouse Stamps August Blog Party

It's the 17th of the month and time for Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Party.  It's very appropriate that it is called a party because this month, the theme is Birthdays!  Gotta have a party on your birthday, right?  Waltzingmouse stamps has lots of stamp sets that work with the birthday theme.  So many, in fact that I ended up narrowing mine down to three stamp sets.  Here  is my card:

The first thing that popped into my mind was Eat Cake.  I love stamping that cute layered cake in a creamy ivory icing using AMuse Latte ink.  Since I have never used my new Playful Pinwheels set, I decided to add a pinwheel instead of a birthday candle.  The sentiment is also from Playful Pinwheels.  I also have never used my Heirloom Patterns set, so I stamped a cute lined background with the stripe and dot image using Mango Fresh Ink.  It is a perfect match for PTI Summer Sunrise.  The patterned papers are from PTI pattern paper packs.  The little flowers were punched with a teeny, tiny punch and I used a stylus to round them out a bit.  Make sure to check out all the great birthday themed cards over on the Waltzingmouse Blog.  Why not enter a card yourself...great opportunity to win a free stamp set!  Just follow this link.

Four of a Kind - August with Renee

Edit:  Make sure to read all the way to the bottom, both Joyce and Kim are celebrating their blogaversary and have blog candy up for grabs.  

August 16th...time for another edition of Four of a Kind, this month's hostess is Renee Lynch of It's a Patchwork Life.  No surprise here...Renee sent a fabulous kit for us to use this month, lots and lots of goodies from Sewing Box Hugs by Waltzingmouse Stamps and patterned papers by Lily Bee Designs, Double Dutch collection.  Sewing Box Hugs is a set I own and is my very favorite of all my Waltzingmouse stamps.  I use it all the time, love the cute stitched images.  Here is a picture of the kit that Renee sent to Joyce, Kim and I.

For my first card, I used the the cute Lil Inker Bow Die, the little brown paper sack and gingham hearts from the kit.

The background is embossed with PTI's Polka Dot impression plate, love the bright cheery colors on this one.

My second card uses the gingham stars and Lil Inker Texture Plate Collection, Frame One.

Isn't that a great embossing folder?  I love the texture the woodgrain and polka dots around the inside of the frame adds to a very simple card.

My last card is my favorite of the three.

I used the gingham flowers, branch, leaves and cute sentiment that Renee sent us. She also sent the pearls and the ribbon, I didn't have to use one thing of my own except the cardbase.  Such a fun card to make.

Don't you think Renee did a great job with our August kit?  September is my turn to play hostess and I have just about got my kit all ready to go, can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.
Make sure you check out the cards that Joyce, Kim and Renee made with their August kit.  I am sure they will blow you away with their creativity and imagination.

                                                                      Joyce (Don't forget to check for prizes on her blog)

                                                                    Kim (Don't forget to check for prizes on her blog)

Renee