12 Kits of Occasions: Fashionista + GIVEAWAY

Happy New Year's Eve!  Are you as surprised as I am that the new year starts tomorrow?  If anyone knows how to slow time, please let me know! :) It seems fitting that I am closing the year with a post with my friends from The 12 Kits of Occasions.  This group of friends is one of my most favorite parts of cardmaking.  I love them all...past and present. :) And it is always such fun to see the surprise kit we take turns putting together.  Tracey's Fashionista kit this month was full of new-to-me items, and they could not have been more perfect for creating cards for my teen and tween nieces.  I'm so excited to pop these in the mail. 

Doesn't this girl from Ellen Hutson's Spa Day make you chuckle?  One of my nieces received several face masks for Christmas.  Naturally, this card is going to her. :)

Another one of my nieces told me all about how she loves all things Paris.  She even received Eiffel Tower Legos for Christmas.  She also made all of us the sweetest hand crafted gifts for Christmas, so this is for her.  Again, Tracey's kit supplied the most perfect pieces to create this card: Hero Arts Paper Layering Eiffel Tower,  MFT Stitched Flowers, and MFT Thanks Dies.

I loved the negative from the MFT Thanks Die, so I filled it with a bit of Echo Park's Fashionista Paper from the kit and added a scalloped frame from Winnie & Walter's Noelle Cutaways.  Simple but fun.

Now, make sure you head to the 12 Kits Blog to see everyone's projects.  And although these kits are not for sale, you can always find the list of supplies that we use HERE.  Now for the GIVEAWAY!!!  Jeanne, who puts together the most AMAZING kits, has one to giveaway for January.  If you'd like a chance to win it (and trust me...you do!), make sure you go to The 12 Kits of Occasions Blog to enter to win.  Thank you for stopping by!  Wishing you a year full of joy!

United We Flourish: Sweet Sprinkles Blog Hop

Hello and welcome!  I am thrilled to be hopping along with the United We Flourish Sweet Sprinkles Blog Hop.  And of course there are prizes to be won. (Details below.)  Yay!  Ellen Hutson has teamed up with Concord & 9th and the awesome result is a super fun set called Sweet Sprinkles:

Isn't it great?  It's fabulous for so many occasions.  First up is a thank you card that's quick and easy to put together.  

This ice cream cone is as cute as could be on it's own, but I thought that putting it on top of Concord & 9th's Plaid Background Stamp upped the sweetness even more.  The scattered confetti is made with the little heart sprinkles die included in the Sweet Sprinkles set.  Oh, and to emphasize the occasion just a bit more, I added "thank you" from Concord & 9th's Blooms Fill-in Set.

I'm still in the mood for Christmas, so I also made a trio of Christmas tags.  In addition to the Sweet Sprinkles stamps and dies, all of the tags use sentiments from my favorite Essentials By Ellen stamp set: Cozy Christmas.  The tag bases are from Concord & 9th's Blooms Fill-in Dies and the little circle tab comes from C9's Love Notes Envelope Dies.

My first tag features a combined sentiment using the Sweet Sprinkles and Cozy Christmas stamp sets.  I topped my cupcake with some sprinkles and a little tree cut with Essentials By Ellen's Home & Hearth dies.

My next cupcake has sprinkles as well, but I added a few stars from Cozy Christmas.  The little holly is from Concord & 9th's Ornamental Stamp Set and the sentiment is stamped on a tag in C9's Love Notes Envelope Dies.

My last tag features a darling cupcake topped with sprinkles and stars die cut with Essentials By Ellen's Home & Hearth dies.  On this cupcake I actually cut a slit and inserted the little tree.  It adds just a bit of dimension that I love and looks more realistically like a cupcake pick.  The sentiment is stamped on a banner from C9's Pineapple Perfection dies.

I cannot wait to tie these on some neighbor gifts!

Thanks so much for joining me!  Now to send you away with a bit more fun...

GIVEAWAY: 
To celebrate, two randomly selected commenters will win a $30 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson shop and two commenters will win a $30 gift certificate to the Concord & 9th shop.  To enter just leave a comment on the Ellen Hutson Classroom blog and the Concord & 9th blog by 12 pm PST on December 26th.

NEXT STOP TO HOP: 
Your next stop on the hop is the fun and talented Laurel Beard.

Concord & 9th Polka Dot Turnabout

Good morning!  I'm so excited to share with you my latest (and maybe last) Christmas card of the season.  I always mourn the end of the Christmas cardmaking season, so I'm squeezing one more in and had some very special people in mind when I made it. :) I used the fabulous new Polka Dot Turnabout from Concord & 9th.  I think this one might be my very favorite!!!  I just used it stamped once here (the space between the dots is perfection), but I love all the options whether you stamp it one or four times.  

You may be wondering where I got the poinsettias on this card.  Well, back in June I made a exciting discovery that the small berry sprig in Concord & 9th's Wildflower Stamp Set fits perfectly inside the petals of one of the flowers (see THIS POST).  I used it then to create leaves, but as I stamped a bunch to cut out, it dawned on me that they would make perfect poinsettias if I layered them.  I created the picture below in June to help show you what I used.  The only difference is that I used the small flower this time as well.

And I love how the poinsettias turned out!  I stamped two in red, one in pink.  Then I dressed them up with a few gold pearls and topped them with a sentiment from the Magnolia Wreath Stamp Set.  Isn't the Polka Dot Turnabout the perfect background for it all?  This card just makes me happy. :D  

Concord & 9th has a whole bunch of designers featuring their fabulous Polka Dot Turnabout today, so make sure you head over to their BLOG to check them all out.  It will be inspiration overload in the best way!  Have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for visiting!

Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge #16

Good morning!  It's time for a new challenge over at Where Creativity Meets C9, and I think this one is going to make you happy and possibly heave a sigh of relief.  The theme for Challenge #16 is...

Anything Goes!  It couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me. 

Today I'm sharing a card I made a bit ago with some of my favorite Concord & 9th stamps: Barnwood Background, Hello Lovely, and Sophisticated Script.  It doesn't matter how many new stamps I get, I turn back to these time and time again.

Lots of my teammates are sharing cards using Concord & 9th's brand new release products today, so make sure you go to the Where Creativity Meets C9 Blog to check them out.  And if you're all ready to shop, you can head HERE to find Concord & 9th's the new release.  Hopefully I'll be able to share some of that soon.  Thanks so much for visiting today! Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Christmas with The 12 Kits of Occasions

Hello!  As crazy as it is that today is the last day of November, I'm so excited about Christmas that I don't even mind.  Our latest kit from The 12 Kits of Occasions had a whole lot to do with me being so excited.  Jessica (from The Paper Parade) put together a kit full of cuteness, and it happens to be the same colors as my Christmas tree decorations, so now I'm eager to get my tree all set up.  My post today is a bit of a tease.  Mom duty called after I had only photographed one card, so I'll be adding more of my projects soon.  In the meantime I hope you enjoy this card, which is a mashup of many, many different companies (MFT, Mama Elephant, Winnie & Walter, Neat & Tangled, etc!)

Make sure to visit The 12 Kits of Occasions Blog.  My teammates are so talented and there is cuteness galore to be seen!  I'll be back soon. :) 

Technique Tuesday Giveaway Winner

Just popping to share the winner for the Technique Tuesday Giveaway.  Random Integer chose Sharron.  Congrats!! I'll be in touch with you.  Get thinking of the Technique Tuesday stamp + die that you would like. :)

Nuts About You + GIVEAWAY!

Good morning, friends!  I'm super excited to share this duo of cards today.  It’s an extra special post because not only was I honored to have the chance to use some of Technique Tuesday’s cute stamps and dies, but they are also giving you a chance to win a set of your choice, too.  How nice is that?!  I love, love giving things to people and it just seemed like the perfect week to do a giveaway.  My heartfelt thanks to Technique Tuesday for making this possible!

The super cute set I'm using today is Technique Tuesday's Sammy the Squirrel.  I love this sweet squirrel!  I colored him using a few Prismacolor colored pencils and then cut him out using the coordinating dies.  I planned on Sammy holding a little acorn, but in the end didn't want to cover up his cute tummy, so I opted to randomly stamp them on the card base instead.  

Uu

Now, if you eknow me, you know that I'm not always in the mood...or maybe more accurately just don't always have the time to color images, so I wanted to show you how this set still works great even if you don't color. 

On this card I stamped Sammy and the little caterpillar, which is also included in the set.  Then I masked Sammy off and added the super cute owl from Fly By Owl.  And guess what?!  You can earn Fly By Owl for FREE when you sign up for any of Technique Tuesdays four clubs (Memory Keepers Society, Greenhouse Society, Animal House Club and Fresh Cut Studio). Free is always fun and I love that Technique Tuesday's clubs cater to so many different style preferences.

After stamping and fussy cutting the critters, I punched out a circle and turned it into a balloon with a little bit of cord.  To further emphasize the happiness of the occasion I repeatedly stamped "Happy Day" across the balloon. Oh, and I also used a craft knife to cut around the squirrel's hand, so he could hold the balloon a bit better.

I've had these cards out the last couple weeks, and seeing these cute critters has made me smile lots.  I mailed them just yesterday, so their on their way to bring some more smiles.  Okay, now for the part you've all been waiting for....the GIVEAWAY!  I'm grateful for Technique Tuesday's generosity to allow me to offer you the chance to win any Technique Tuesday stamp set of your choice.  All you need to do is visit Technique Tuesday's Animal House Collection and comment to let me know what your favorite animal from the collection is.  Easy, right? The giveaway will close on Sunday, November 26th at 11:59 pm EST.  I'll announce the winner here and on Instagram. Have a blessed Thanksgiving week my friends!  I'm SO grateful for you!!!

Where Creativity Meets C9 Sneak Peek

Good morning!  I have a handful of simple Christmas cards on the Where Creativity Meets C9 Blog that put your scraps to good use.  I hope you'll join me there. :)

25 Days of Christmas Tags + Concord & 9th

Hello!  I'm excited to be joining my friend Tracey's amazing 25 Days of Christmas Tags Event today.  My Where Creativity Meets C9 team and I are showcasing Concord & 9th, one of the event's fabulous sponsors.  

I had lots and lots of ideas swirling in my head for this tag, but I didn't use any of them!  I was pulling out my Concord and 9th Christmas dies and happened to get a partial view of Concord & 9th's Hope Label Die.  In fact, all I saw was "HO" and curiosity got the best of me.  I had to see if I could turn this everyday die into a Christmas tag.  

It turns out that if you cut a 2" strip of paper, "HO" from the Hope Label Die fits perfectly.  The edge of the strip will be right up against the "P" on the die, so it makes lining up really easy.  I die cut "HO" three times, then trimmed the length of my tag to 5.5" and cut the bottom with one of straight edge Select-a-Size Edge Dies.  I needed something for the string to go through, so I pulled out the Sprinkles Tag Dies and used one of the little hole topper dies. 

Just for fun I stamped the back of the second tag with Concord & 9th's Barnwood Background Stamp.  Might as well be cute on the front and the back, right?  

The 25 Days of Christmas Tags is definitely something you do not want to miss out on.  There is so much inspiration and SO many prizes to be won, so make sure you visit Tracey's Blog right away to find out how and enjoy the fun.  Have a blessed week!

Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge #15

Good morning!  It's the start of a new month and a new challenge over at Where Creativity Meets C9.  Yay!  

Our Christmas theme for Challenge #15 will hopefully be a fun and easy one to join!  

The idea for this card has been floating around in my head for months and months. As soon as I bought Concord & 9th's Best Banners I knew I wanted to make a card just like this.  And the oversized Joy Die fits just perfectly on top of the banners.  Since this card has a light, joyful feel I found that I liked the stacked die cut letters better a little wonky rather than straight like they cut right out of the die.  Isn't it fun how such a simple modification can change the whole feel of this die?  I'm all about stretching my supplies. 

I'm looking forward to seeing all the festive cheer you will create for our Where Creativity Meets C9 Christmas Challenge.  And don't forget when you join us you have a chance to win a guest spot for an upcoming challenge or a $25 gift certificate to Concord and 9th. (And who wouldn't want one of those in their Christmas stocking?!) Make sure you head on over to the Where Creativity Meets C9 Blog to see my teammates' fabulous cards and be sure to check out the latest and consistently phenomenal release from Concord & 9th HERE. 

12 Kits of Occasions - Boo To You!

Happy Halloween!  It's been pretty quiet around here lately, but that is because cardmaking had to take a major back seat to costume-making.  I can hardly sew, but for some reason I love to tackle Halloween costumes for my little ones.  I finally got everything finished up, and was able to sneak in a few quick minutes to play with this month's Boo To You kit for The 12 Kits of Occasions.  Nancy's fabulous kit was full of fun and as always I was wishing for more time to play. 

This Halloween Hill die from Impression Obsession was my favorite.  A little ink blending on some Bristol Smooth paper, a sentiment die from PTI, and the card was done.  I love that kind of card. :) 

I couldn't waste the negative and as soon as I saw these colors together I thought of Wicked...perfect for my oldest niece who loves musicals and had a Wicked themed cake for her 16th birthday.

Nancy included several Halloween cats from Poppy Stamps.  One of my nieces has revamped a cape three years in a row to be totally different, yet equally awesome costumes.  Naturally this caped kitty needed to go to her.   And while the kitties were out, I made a second card.

I loved all the glittery papers and dies Nancy included in the kit, so I put a bunch together to make this next CAS card. 

And here's the whole lot of them...minus a treat wrap I made that I totally forgot to photograph.  Oops. :) 

Make sure you visit The 12 Kits of Occasions Blog next.  You won't want to miss seeing all the fun projects my teammates made with this fabulous kit.  Have a wonderful week friends!

Where Creativity Meets C9 Sneak Peek

Hello, friends!  It seems like a long time since I've shared a card, so I'm happy to let you know that I'm over at the Where Creativity Meets C9 Blog this morning sharing a little additional inspiration for this month's challenge.  I'm revisiting an old favorite, but you absolutely should check out Concord & 9th's new release HERE if you haven't already.  Love it all!

Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge #14

Good morning!  I'm happy to say that the newest Where Creativity Meets C9 is officially live. :) 

This month the theme for Challenge #14 is "Shades of Concord and 9th", which you know happens to be the same colors in our challenge logo.  I love this color combination because it works for any occasion. I decided to make a card for my most needed and favorite occasion - thank you.  

Concord & 9th's Many Mandalas set is just so beautiful, and I knew that it would be perfect for trying to mimic the color scheme with just a bit of dark blue and then lots of fading shades of teal.  I really wanted the focal point to stand out, so I stamped just that image in the graduated darkest shades and did all the rest of the mandalas in the lightest aqua color.  Then, I used the largest die in the Many Mandalas Die Set to cut out the image from vellum and placed it on top to frame the focal point.  The sentiment (also from Many Mandalas) was embossed in black. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how you use the Shades of Concord and 9th!  Head HERE for all the challenge details (including how to enter to win a $25 gift certificate to Concord and 9th!) as well as to see all the wonderfully creative ways my teammates have used this color scheme.  And then, make sure you go HERE to check out Concord and 9th's brand new release today!  Oh my you guys.  There is SO MUCH to LOVE!!  I want it all. :) Hope this week brings lots of hope and happy moments!

12 Kits of Occasions - Hello Fall

Good morning!  Today is going to be a great day, and one of the reasons why is because I get to share my cards for our Hello Fall edition of The 12 Kits of Occasions.  I just love this group of friends and each month it's like Christmas to open up my package to see what our lovely hostess sent. This month Marybeth (whom I love, love, love!) sent the most darling kit full of things I couldn't wait to try out.  Nearly everything I used on my cards is from the kit, so make sure you check out the full supply list here.

The first things I reached for were the darling images from Purple Onion Designs.  How cute is "Fox and Frog on Bicycle"?!  And the street scene couldn't be cuter either.  (I am in love with all of Stacey Yakula's work.)  I colored the images with Prismacolor Colored Pencils, and as soon as I finished this card I immediately added these stamps to my wish list.  I added a little sentiment banner with a sentiment from PTI's Fresh Floral Wrap-Ups...I've always loved the font combos in Maile's sets.

The little pup on this next card is technically called "Running Dog", but when I saw him my mind immediately saw a little pup standing up holding a balloon...odd, I know, but I went with it.

I cut out the balloon and string with Concord & 9th's Happy Balloons Dies and added a sentiment from Many Mandalas (also from Concord & 9th). Don't you just love the patterned papers Marybeth included in the kit?

Since my first two cards both involved coloring, I decided to go in a completely opposite direction with my third card.  I created a little scene with the stamps from PTI's Autumn Scarecrow, leaving them black and white and using a colorful card base.  

And here are my cards all together. :) 

Sadly I was a bit in a card making rut (lots on my mind and "plate" lately), which resulted in several supply casualties from Marybeth's kit, so you'll absolutely want to head over to The 12 Kits of Occasion Blog to see how my teammates used all the other cute items in the kit.  Wishing you the most blessed weekend!  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Oh, and I almost forgot.  I'm happy to be able to link these up to the current Simon Says Anything Goes Wednesday Challenge. :)