12 Kits of Christmas with Jeanne

Edit: We are driving home from vacation...if this doesn't post properly, forgive me and I will re-post once we are home. I may not be able to comment on your great cards until I am home, so don't think I won't at least be looking at them while we drive!

Have I been having a great time this week? The answer is YES! Not only have I been on vacation, but I am playing along with my sweet friends in the 12 Kits of Christmas club. Jeanne Jachna of A Kept Life is the hostess this month and she was generous enough to send me one of the 13...yes, 13 fabulous kits she made jam packed with enough patterned paper, die cuts, sentiments and embellishments to make at least a dozen cards. I didn't make a dozen, but I did make 6 cards, the first holiday cards I have made Christmas 2013. Here they are:

I love the Christmas silhouettes from WPlus9...

I just had to add a poofy bow, flowers and lace to this beautiful die cut from Marianne Creatables (Winter Birds).

These were all scraps left over from the gigantic array of patterned paper that Jeanne sent in our kit.

More WPlus9 silhouettes

I used the half scallops from the kit to make a border

Love the silver belt buckle on this one

Here they all are lined up on my shelf. It just makes me happy to look at them!

I have had my fun, now it's time for you to have a little fun. Make sure to follow all the links below to see what the other girls in the 12 Kits of Christmas club have come up with. There will be a ton of inspiration to get you in the mood to make some great Christmas cards for 2013.

Renee

Tracey

Sharron

Marybeth

Jeanne

Christina

Amy

Kim

Kara

Kelly

Jessica

Joyce

 

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CAS-UAL Fridays #106 and CASology #50

 

I haven't played along with CAS-UAL Fridays in a long time, so today I spent some time with their challenge #106. The theme is Over the Edge...now what can I hang off the edge of my card? Flowers? No. Leaves? No. How about some cute butterflies? That sounds like an idea to me. My sister is having a birthday on Sunday and she loves not only butterflies, but the color purple, so those are the elements I decided to use. As I brought out the butterfly stamps, I remembered that this week's CASology #50 challenge cue word is "Free" and for some reason the butterflies seemed to fit this cue word, so lucky me...one card for two challenges.

I die cut some PTI Beautiful Butterflies and stamped the cut out portion with WM Woodgrain. I think Woodgrain looks good on everything, even butterflies! The sentiment is also from Beautiful Butterflies and I used a Cuttlebug Sheet Music embossing folder. The butterflies are scored alongside their bodies and added with scor-tape. I don't have a lot of embellishments here with me, but I did have some pearls, so I lined up a few for the butterfly bodies and think they add a little elegant touch to the butterflies. So what do you think you can hang over the edge of a card? Something that also reminds you of the word "free"? If so, get hopping and make a card for this weeks CAS-Ual Fridays and Casology #50...this was a fun one!

 

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CAS(E) this Sketch #33 & Colour Q #194

Today I have a card I made for CAS(E) this Sketch #33 (sketch is by Jackie) and Colour Q #194. This week's sketch is so cute and I also love the colors of the week, so this card came together in no time.

I used my Lil Inker Mini Bows...wow are those fun to make! I was glad the sketch had three little embellishments because it gave me a chance to make three of these cute bows. I also used some Cuttlebug embossing folders on this card and I cut down Tag Sale #7 so that it would fit the frame. I think I might just make this card is several color schemes just as an excuse to make a few more of those bows!

 

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Happy Anniversary

Best vacation ever. Honestly. Although the weather is poor by California standards, it is wonderful to stay in the cabin and play with my stamps. I have made at least 10 cards so far and as it is cloudy today...looks like this will be another fun day for me. My husband, not so much! Today I have an anniversary card inspired by all the ombre cards I have been seeing lately. One of the dies I brought with me on vacation is the heart border die from PTI. It seemed like the perfect die to use to re-create an ombre style card.

 

I also used Background Basics Sheet Music and one of the fillable frames images. I cut a mask and first stamped the music and then the frame. The sentiment is from Beautiful Butterflies which has one of my favorite fonts. I was going for a fairly flat card with only the one layer of die cuts on it. I love all these pretty pink colors. Thanks for taking a look and listening to me ramble. I am adding a picture of what is going on right outside my window as I type this. Shh! I guess you aren't supposed to feed the deer, but we love watching them!

 

 

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Serendipity Stamps Blog Challenge #14 "Basket Case"

Time for another Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog posting...and a very fun theme this week too!  SSCB#14's theme is Basket Case.  We were challenged to use one of Serendipity's many, many basket stamps as our focal point.  When I say many, many, I really do mean it.  Here's a link the the basket section of the Serendipity Store, Lots and lots to choose from.  Everyone on the Serendipity Design Team chose a different basket to show you the wide range of baskets just waiting to be stamped and colored.  I chose an image that isn't specifically a basket, although there is a basket on the stamp.  Wonder what I chose?

I chose the cutest little bicycle which coincidentally has a great basket on the handlebars.  I have a bicycle just like this at home now and I would love to have a basket in front to carry all the odds and ends I take with me when I ride.  The stamp is Bicycle and was colored with copics and cut by hand.  I also shaded the basket with a brown copic and added those cute balloons and balloon string by Lil Inker.  The patterned papers are My Mind's Eye (Come Away With Me).  The great sentiment that was stamped on a speech bubble die cut is also from Serendipity (Everyday Sentiments, small).  I added a tiny bit of bling just because I felt like it.  Ready to see some more baskets in action?  Make sure to check out all the other Design Team members posts and when you are done, I hope you will play along with this week's challenge.  You can get all the details over at the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog.  If you are the lucky winner, you can win $20 off your next Serendipity Stamp order.  That's it for me...enjoy the other cards!

Jeanne

Marybeth

Anya

Jenny

Miriam

Pauline

Bicycle

Everyday Words Horizontal, small

Silhouette & Waltzingmouse July Blog Party: Summertime Fun!

Edited:  I am also entering this into the Silhouette Weekly Challenge to create a Summertime Project.  I got pretty lucky that I had just made this summer themed card with a Silhouette file just days before their weekly challenge.  I love shape cards and the Silhouette store has tons of them!  This one is from the (Grillers Gear Set) http://www.silhouetteonlinestore.com/?page=view-shape&id=42988
 and is just perfect for dressing up with my favorite stamps.

It's also time for the Waltzingmouse Blog Party...always a highlight of my month.  The theme this month is Summertime Fun and whatever you love about this particular season.  When my kids were younger, the 4th of July was always my favorite holiday.  It is not as expensive as Christmas, there was not as much candy and sweet things around to wind the kids into a sugar crazed frenzy and my favorite part...it is Summer and the kids were always healthy, no colds or flu spreading wildly around our house.  The kids would swim every day and spend so much time outdoors enjoying their time off from school.  My kids are all grown up now, but I still look forward to the 4th of July and to spending time with them.  We always have a big family barbeque and then watch the fireworks from our rooftop.  I made a card which reminds me of our 4th of July barbeque.

I doubt my husband would be caught dead wearing this barbeque apron, but I certainly wish he would. I used a cut file from the Silhouette store and dressed it up with the new USA 1776 stamp set.  The pockets are my favorite and I got so lucky...the star outline stamp in the set was the perfect size to stamp 3 of the sides of the pocket and I only had to mask off one star on top and bottom to finish the 4th side. Very easy.  The stars are also from USA 1776 and I couldn't resist adding some rhinestone stars to sparkle them up even more.  The red/white stripes on the second pocket were added using the smallest stick from Playful Pinwheels.  It was the perfect size to stamp between my star frame.  How about that ketchup bottle?  Isn't it cute?

The card has a wrap around apron string that has an additional spatula woven through it.  I used some shiny silver cardstock to make the spatula.  The inside of the card has some of the great fireworks scattered across it.

What's your favorite thing to do in the Summer?  What do you look forward to every year?  You still have time to make a card and link it on the Waltzingmouse blog...I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else loves about this great season.

CASology #48 :Yellow

I am leaving on vacation tomorrow...a very long, boring drive to our cabin in Montana.  I always dread the drive, but once I am there...it is so beautiful and relaxing the drive is always worth it.  Before I go, I have a card to share that I made for CASology #48.  This week's cue word is Yellow.  The first thing that always comes to mind when I think of the color yellow is the sun, especially during the hot Summer months here in CA.  Too hot usually, but in June, the weather is very nice and the sunshine is welcome.    Here is my card for the color yellow.

Not a lot of stamping on this card, just the sentiment from PTI Fillable Frames.  I used a new die from My Favorite Things (Sunray) to cut an A2 panel layered over white cardstock.   I added a bright cheery rainbow cut from a silhouette file and some clouds from PTI.   The whole card took maybe 15 minutes to make...it actually took longer to clean up my mess.  I am taking a great big box of stamps and dies with me on vacation...I can't think of a better way to spend some relaxing time!

Cloud 9 Blog Hop and Colour Q #193

Today is the final Cloud 9 Blog Hop and I knew I had to play along one final time.  The theme is Anything Goes and I am sure everyone will enjoy this final hop, especially with this kind of theme.  We are likely to see all kinds of cards.  Here's mine:

I have been looking forward to trying my Folk Art Florals set and today was the day!  I am also playing along with Colour Q #193 and the colors are Spring Moss, Ocean Tides, Hawaiian Shores, Pure Poppy and white.  Since there are so many images in Folk Art Florals it was very easy to make some patterned paper with the Colour Q weekly colors.  I could not resist using a Lil Inker stitched rectange as my focal point with the sweet birdhouse...such a cute image.

Are you playing along with the final WPlus9 blog hop?  You have lots of time, the link stays open until June 20th.   I am looking forward to seeing what you create.

Happy Birthday Katie from Lady Liberty

My daughter-in-law Katie loves New York.  Loves it.  Her birthday is on Tuesday and they are going to New York for a vacation.  I just happened to get my new WM USA 1776 Stamp set in the mail yesterday and decided to make a birthday card with it.  I know.  It is a patriotic stamp set, but for the right person and right occasion, it makes a great birthday card.  Can you tell her favorite color is hot pink?

This looks a little bit like Lady Liberty is holding the birthday banner, don't you think?  Katie is turning 30 and I print and cut the banner from a file on my Silhouette.  The New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty are each one of the Waltzingmouse cut files.  I embossed the fireworks (turning 30 deserves some fireworks) in silver embossing powder.  It looks so bright and shiny agains the kraft background.  I usually give my kids $100 for their birthdays, but for this milestone birthday I have 130 one dollar bills ready to jam into this card.  Katie has a great sense of humor and I know she will like it.

Happy Retirement Album

Our secretary is retiring this month and we are giving her a little party to let her know how much we will miss her.  Instead of the usual card where everyone writes their name and half the people in the office forget to sign it, I made her a 3-D mini album with a matching box instead.  I used a cut file from Lori Whitlock that I found in the Silhouette store (Design ID #34171).  It was super easy to do and here are a few pics of the finished album.

 I used MME patterned paper (In Bloom) which is just the softest and prettiest paper.

You can add as many pages as you want to the album and they are secured with two decorative brads.

I gave each person in the office a card with a little decorative trim on it and they all wrote their notes to our secretary.  I collected them and adhered one on each page of the album.

I think this will mean a lot more to her than the standard card...hopefully she reads it at home when she is alone because some of the pages will bring tears to her eyes!

Make it Monday #119 "Flagged Banners"

I honestly can't remember the last time I played along with Make It Monday, but this week's card was so darn cute, I had to make one for myself.  Nothing is more cheery than banners flying in the breeze...well, maybe balloons are, but today, I made a banner card using a whole bunch of dies in all sizes.

My card is very much like the one in the MIM video done by Dawn McVey.  The patterned papers are MME, In Bloom and I added a Think Big Favorite sentiment.  The lower half of the card is stamped with a distressed stripe stamp from Impression Obsession.  It was fun to make a card without having to think too much about each and every element.

Serendipity Stamps Blog Challenge #13 - Zentangle

**This week's sale at Serendipity is Buy 3, get 1 Free and is good through June 12th.  There are still a lot of wood mounted stamps left at 50% off**

Have you ever heard of Zentangle?  Don't feel bad if you haven't...I had never heard of it and when I found out it had to do with doodling, my heart started to race and I must admit I panicked a bit.  I actually don't even like to sign my cards with my poor handwriting and I never get further than a stick figure when I draw.  I won't even play Pictionary, it is that bad, but this week's challenge on the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog is all about doodling, but in a very deliberate and controlled fashion as that is what Zentangle is all about.  If you want to see some examples of what Zentangle "should" look like, here is a link that explains it all.

This a picture of what someone with lots of talent can do with Zentangle.

Now prepare yourself.  Here's my attempt at Zentangle along with a Serendipity Stamp.

I think I can hear you laughing all the way to California!  Why do you think I like the nice, crisp, precise stamps from Serendipity...because they look nothing like my doodles!  I used Serendipity Stamps Half Sun because it reminded me of something hand-drawn.  The sentiment is also from Serendipity (Just Living).  I popped up the large panel and added a little bit of yellow stickles to the flower centers and sentiment.  When you have recovered from your fits of laughter, I hope you will follow the links to the rest of the Zentangle projects by the Serendipity Stamps Design Team.  I have had a peek at them, and believe me, you will see much, much better examples of zentangle than I have shown you.  After you see them, I am certain you are going to want to break out the pens and give zentangle a try.  Make a card using at least one Serendipity stamp or die, add a little bit of doodling to it and enter it into the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog #13.  There is a special prize this week: A set of 30 alcohol ink based markers donated by Marvy Uchida.  Isn't that a great prize for a little bit of doodling?

Jeanne

Marybeth

Anya

Pauline

Miriam

Jenny

Half Sun

Just Living

CAS(e) this Sketch #30

This is my first time playing along with CAS(e) this Sketch.  So many of my friends play along and they had a very cute sketch for us to use this week.

Although I love little banners, for some reason I wanted to use something just a little different with this sketch.  Since I need a Father's Day card for my husband, I decided to make the little banners ties instead.

I cut the ties with my silhouette and layered them on a Lil Inker Stitched Mat.  The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse Stamps (Man of the Hour).  The patterned papers are from MME (Dolled Up) and I wanted my rhinestones to simulate tie pins and actually had to google tie pins to see where to place them.  I guess you can tell I don't pay attention to Warren and his "going to work" wardrobe.   I hope you can see the sketch in this card...it is a bit different, but the overall idea is there.   You still have until Tuesday to make a card for this week's sketch.  Here's a link for all the details!

CASology #46: Furry

Happy Saturday to all, I am starting my first day of Summer vacation and it is a hot one here in CA.  No June gloom here, but then it is always a happy day when I get to play along with a fun card challenge with some new stamps...new to me, that is.  I just bought PTI's Sweet Baby set from my very generous friend Kim (Cupcakes, Cards & Kim) who was very nice to split up some stamps and dies she had for sale.  I have always loved the Sweet Baby set, but only had the dies to work with and now I have them all! This week's cue word for CASology #46 is Furry.

I immediately knew I wanted to use the sweet lion as my image and his "furriness" is his mane cut from brown felt.  I also stamped a striped pattern using Waltzingmouse Cabin Plaid and also another plaid stripe from Offbeat Backgrounds.  The base of the card is impressed with the linen and canvas impression plate from PTI, one of my most used impression plates.  I love the subtle texture it adds to a CAS card.  You still have one more day to play along with  CASology this week, the challenge ends on Sunday, so start digging through your stash and find something furry to stamp!