June 12 Kits of Occasions

Hello!  Another month is coming to a close, so today we get to share our latest cards for the 12 Kits of Occasions.  Our theme this month is A Birthday to Die (CUT) For and Joyce (from Cards-by-the-Sea) sent us a kit packed full of birthday goodness.  As always, it was so fun to work with this kit!

I adore these Reverse Confetti cakes, so I was eager to start with those.  The little swirls at the top are a nod to my sister.  She is a cake decorator and often adds little curly cues to her whimsical cakes. These curly cues are actually the bottom portion of one of PTI's Balloon Strings dies Joyce sent us.  I just trimmed the top string potion off and flipped it upside down.

I loved the balloon die cuts Joyce sent, so I used nearly all of them on this card.  I added a little Wink of Stella to the balloons...boy do I love how it makes them shine! :) 

This next card was also heavily influenced by my sister.  She insisted I color the cake, and I'm so glad I listened to her.  And by listening to her I mean that I colored it exactly the way she told me to, and she even took over the pencils at one point to add a few finishing touches. 

This last card is my favorite.  It is the first card I made and the one I intended to upload on the 12 Kits of Occasions blog...but if you started there, you'll probably understand why I changed my mind.  Joyce and I were clearly channeling the same wavelength. :)  

I also wanted to mention that I'm joining the fun and linking these cards up at the Simon Says: Anything Goes Challenge. 

Thanks so much for spending part of your day with me!  And many thanks to Joyce for sending this super fun kit.  Make sure you head to the 12 Kits of Occasions blog to see the fabulous creations the other ladies cooked up with this fantastic kit.  You won't want to miss them. :) 

PTI June Blog Hop

Hello!  I'm popping in quickly to share a card for Papertrey's June Blog Hop.  PTI provided an incredible inspiration photo, but I sure had a hard time figuring out what to make. I tried creating a background drawing from some of the colors, images, etc. from the photo, but after a lot of smooshing, blending, splattering, stamping, water brushing, and more I wasn't pleased with the result.

PTI Inspiration Photo Source

So what did I do? I put it down and left it....for days.  It was fairly desperate need for a thank you card that made me pick it up again.  I used PTI's Headline Alphabet dies to die cut the word "thanks", added a couple score lines behind the word (you have to look close), and finished it off with a few Neat & Tangled sequins...and I am much happier with the result.

I hope you have are having a fabulous weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge 12 Take Two Sneak Peek

Good morning! Today I'm over at the Stamping Smiles Designs Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge sharing my very last project as part of the Design Team.  I cannot believe how quickly the last 6 months have gone by!  Oh, how I wanted to continue on with this team, but in my heart I knew that I needed to really focus on my family and our home.  I mentioned it bit ago, but I absolutely want this summer to be as jammed packed with family time before my son starts kindergarten this fall.  So, I'd love it if you'd hop over to the Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge Blog one more time to see my last official card, but I hope you'll continue to hope over the 1st and 16th of every month to play along and be inspired by this super fun challenge.

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #12

Hello, friends!  Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #12 goes live today, so I'm popping in to share my challenge card. 

I chose to work with the middle row: arrows, jute/natural twine, and tag.  There are a few subtle touches on this card that make me happy.  The black diagonal strip is textured cardstock with a little stitching detail, the white is actually a rustic white so there are little flecks of color here and there,  and the arrows are wood veneers that I colored black.  It's the little things I tell ya.  I've also been loving the extra nudge Anna Kossakovskaya has given us to get extra mileage out of our stamp sets, so once again I've used Concord & 9th's Flourish stamp set to create a simple, bold floral pattern.  It's been fun trying to stretch myself to use this set in different ways and different color combos (like this one, which is very out of the norm for me), so I'm entering this into CASometry Challenge 2. Make five: Stage 4. 

You'll definitely want to head over to the  Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge blog next.  This marks our last challenge with the current design team, so you won't want to miss any of the fabulous ladies' projects.  And I sure hope you'll join us for Challenge #12.  It is always so fun to see the many different ways each board inspires others to create.
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Another CASometry Card :)

Hi!  I'm popping in quickly to share my latest card.  I had a teeny bit of time a few nights ago to make another card for Anna Kossakovskaya's CASometry Challenge 2. Make five  This card is for Stage 3, making it my third card using Concord & 9th's Flourish stamp set.  I inked up my stamps, then brushed over the ink with a water brush before I stamped them to create a watercolor-ish feel.  Then, I decided to be a little crazy and did some really simple doodling on top of the images.  I'm not sure why...the idea just popped in my head, so I went for it.  It is far from perfect, but I tried to remind myself that that is what doodling is...quick, imperfect scribbles.  I also got to ink up Concord & 9th's Sophisticated Script for the first time, which I thought was really exciting.  I'm not very good at hand lettering, so I love that this stamp set does all the work for me. :) I better get to bed, but I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

12 Kits of Occasions - May 2016

It's the last day of the month, which means I get to share my 12 Kits of Occasions projects. :) Our wonderful hostess this month is Sharron (from On Papillion Wings) and her "Here Comes the Sun" kit couldn't have been more perfect to get me in the mood for summer.  My son finished preschool last week, and I have every intention of making this our best summer ever before he starts kindergarten. (I can't even think about that...I'm so sad!) But, this kit is all about sunshine and happiness, and since I'm a bit late posting this I'll get on to the cards. 

 One of my nieces has beautiful red hair, so I used her as the inspiration for this Hawaiian cutie.

I decided to go with the more colorful versions of toucan and plumeria here.  I think I was just having a lot of fun delving into my zig colors. :)

I love this little guy.  But really, everything in this kit was so so cute! Okay, I've got to run, but please head to the 12 Kits of Occasions blog to check out all the other designer's cards.  They are amazing!!

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #11

Good morning!  It's the beginning of a new month and therefore a new Stamping Smiles Designs' Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge.  For Challenge #11, I chose the middle column: mixed alphas, ink splatters, and monochromatic. 

This card is really straightforward.  I pulled out Altenew's Vintage Roses, tried to channel my inner Aga (isn't she amazing?!), and got to work stamping.  My mixed alphas are represented with the two different fonts in the sentiment, and my ink splatters were created with a super light mixture of Delicate Silver Shimmer Ink and water.  My first choice would have been to do a blue monochromatic card, but I knew my grandmother would appreciate pink more, so pink it is. :) I made one tragic mistake in the process of making this card, though.  In my haste to get things finished, I quickly pulled the leaf stamp off my block and much to my shock, it ripped in half.  I'm not gonna lie...I'm pretty sad about it.  But you can guarantee I'll be more careful from here on out.  Lesson learned.

Make sure to head to the Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge blog next to see how the other designers were inspired and to get all the details on how to join for Challenge #11.  Thanks for visiting!  Hope you have fantastic day!

Supplies

Stamps: Altenew (Vintage Roses), PTI (Birds & Blooms)

Ink: Hero Arts (raspberry jam), PTI (lovely lady), Wplus9 (sweet gelato), Memento (tuxedo black), Tsukineko (delicata silver shimmer)