The 12 Kits of Occasions: January 2015

I am a little late to the party, but am finally here with my post for our January 12 Kits of Occasions. Our host this month was Kelly and the theme was 'A Happy Hello'.  Kelly sent a fabulous kit chock full of all sorts of goodies--just the sort of things that are perfect for those cards to send to a friend just because.  Here is a picture of the kit Kelly sent.

I ran out of time way before I ran out of ideas or supplies.  Here are the 5 cards I made so far.

This one is a shaker card.

I am entering this last card at Simon Says Monday Challenge Up in the Clouds--for the airplanes.

You may remember that we had to say goodbye to Renee last month.  Well, this month we are saying goodbye to Kara.  They are both stepping back to spend more time with family, and I am hopeful that they will return at some point.  Stay tuned for our February post, when we announce how we will be filling their shoes.

In other exciting news, we are running a little contest to select a guest designer for the month of February.  The Theme is BIRDS and we would love to see what wonderful creations you would make with our next kit.  Of course, there will be lots of bird related supplies.  To enter our contest, please just leave a comment here on our 12 Kits Blog telling us if you have a favorite bird and whether you do anything special to attract birds to your home.  The deadline for the random drawing will be February 4th and the winner will have their kit mailed ASAP.  

Please head over to our 12 Kits Blog to see a full list of supplies as well as links to participating members and guests this month.

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Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas

Have you made a Clean and Simple birthday card and linked up at CASology #131:  BIRTHDAY yet?  Not to worry, you've still got plenty of time.  I used the confetti garlands technique from this week's Make it Monday #199 to make a birthday card that I hope will provide you with some more inspiration to join in our challenge this week.  I made sequins with my Sparkle and Shine Sequins die, and strong them up along with some beads I swiped from my daughter's stash.

I missed the deadline at Merry Monday last week, and I was determined to make it this week.  I broke out my new Songbirds stamps and dies to make my card, and used the sketch from The Paper Players.

I am also entering both of these cards at Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes.

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CASology Week 131: Birthday

Hello and happy Tuesday.  It's time for another challenge at CASology.  This one is fun and easy, and I sure hope to see a full gallery.  Our cue word is BIRTHDAY.  How fun is that?  

To make my clean and simple birthday card, I used one of my favorite birthday sentiment stamps--from Mama Elephant Make a Wish.  I inked up my stamp in Versamark and then with a very unique ink pad called Kaleidacolor.  It's got 5 different colors of ink all lined up together, and is great for stamping with multiple ink colors.  I clear embossed the sentiment, just to add a little more emphasis to those colors.

Will you play along this week?  I sure hope so.  What do you think of when you see the word BIRTHDAY? Wouldn't it be great to add some birthday cards to your stash?  Check out the beautiful designs from the CASology Design Team members and see how they were inspired by BIRTHDAY.  Don't forget to keep your card Clean and Simple.

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Gillian Ross
Hazel Hodgkins

Jen Wills

Joyce Mehrberg (that's me)

Judy Marino

Kimberly Wiener
Kymona Tracey

May Park

Melissa Chipperfield

Tracey McNeely 

Guest Designer: Hannelie

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Monday Recap

Hello and happy Monday.  I'm here posting a few things I started yesterday and finished today.

I just love my new Stamplorations Houses stamps.  I broke them out for the first time and embossed them in white on colored card stock.  They were really easy to fussy cut.  I added a grass die cut and adhered everything onto a white card front embossed with a Sunrise impression plate.  I used the Stamplorations sketch rotated 90 degrees.

I am entering this card at Color Throwdown #326, Stamplorations January Stamps and Ink, Stamplorations Sketch Challenge #26 and Stamplorations Anything Goes Challenge.

This card seemed doomed from the start.  It is so very simple, but I won't say how many tries ended up in the scrap heap because of irregular or uneven stamping, crooked stamping, ink smudges, etc. And, it looks like it should be a 5 minute card, which it would have been if it wasn't for a string of silly mistakes.  To top it off, it was meant for Merry Monday, and I missed the deadline.  The good news is that the card finally worked just as I wanted, and I can link it up at Christmas Card Challenges #8 Anything Goes and Addicted to Stamps Holiday.

Have you ever sat down to peruse your favorite blogs, caught sight of something inspiring and had to stop it all to make a card right then and there?  Well, that happened to me twice yesterday.

First time--I was on Michelle's blog, I Card Everyone, spotted this card for Inkspirational Challenges #74, and had to make something of my own.  She totally got me with the paint chips and triangles, and this is what I made:

After that, I happened upon the winners post at The Paper Players and this stunning card by Kylie that was crowned winner last week.  I immediately grabbed the nearest piece of patterned paper sitting on my desk and made this:

It was truly a 5 minute card, and I think I'll make some more some time--it's a great design to showcase/use up patterned paper and build up a nice birthday card stash in a hurry.  I'm entering this card at this week's Seize the Birthday--no toppings.

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PTI January 2015 Blog Hop

I made a card for this month's PTI blog hop using the 3 Panel Card tutorial at this week's Make it Monday #198.  I used stamps from Simple Valentine, Heart Prints, Framed Out, Keep it Simple Valentines, and No Strings Attached.  I used a technique from a previous MIM about partial die cutting to partially cut that little heart out of the flap.  (After I made the card, I realized that it would look better if the heart were the other direction, but I didn't want to redo everything).

Here is what my card looks like all folded up:

This is the inside:

And, here is the back:

It was a fun project to make, and I am looking forward to seeing all the other projects on the hop.

I am also linking this card up at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Have a Heart, Time Out #23 Valentine with the optional twist of hearts and Addicted to Stamps: Holiday.

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Lawn Fawn and WPlus9

After working out with a friend at the gym and taking Sherlock to the dog park, I had most of the day home by myself to play in my craft room.  I'm starting to collect polar bear stamps, since my daughter's future college mascot is a polar bear.  I used the polar bear in Lawn Fawn Critters in the Snow to make a few cards for my polar bear card stash.


I created a background using a heart stamp from Into the Woods and used foam tape to adhere my fussy cut my polar bear right on top.  I used my Copics to add a little shading to my bear.  (still don't know what I'm doing there).

I have to say that this next card did not really come out as I saw it in my mind--a bit busy for my taste.  But, I still think that my daughter will enjoy receiving it in the mail.  Another polar bear card for my stash.

I am entering both of these cards at Lawnscaping #98 where the challenge is to create a background with stamps and Simon Says Monday Winter Stamping.  I am also entering the first card at Simon Says Wednesday Have a Heart and Addicted to Stamps #128:  Holiday--my holiday is Valentines Day.


I started playing around with WPlus9 Quilt Prints, trying variations of colors and patterns with the colors and sketch from The Challenge #23.  I decided I liked all my variations--so I added a variety of Get Well type sentiments, some subtle textures, and now I have 4 more get well cards for my stash.

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