Thursday, August 31, 2017

12 Kits of Occasions - Teacher's Pet

Good morning!  I don't think there is a better way to celebrate the closing of a month than to "play cards" with my 12 Kits of Occasions teammies.  I love that this group connects friends from across the country, and this month our fabulous hostess is Lisa from My Paper Tales.  I had the hardest time using Lisa's Teacher's Pet kit...not at all because it was difficult to work with (because it was not), but rather I loved it SO much that I didn't want to use any of it because then it would be gone.  So many times I just looked through the pieces and smiled and smiled. Then finally I came up with an idea to use it...and to keep it. 
 I used nearly all the darling images Lisa sent from Purple Onion Designs as well as the cute apple buttons on my banner.  I cut the alphabet with Neat & Tangled Journaling Alphas Dies and adhered them all onto stitched circles cut with Concord & 9th's Hooray Ribbon Dies. Aren't these little critters so darling?  That is why I couldn't part with them.
Since I already had the Hooray Ribbon Dies out, I decided to use them to create a card using some papers and ribbon from the kit.  I really love all the layering pieces in this die set, and the the way the medallion part ends up being dimensional kind of blows my mind.  I made many a banner with medallions back in the day and it took forever to score and fold each one.  So glad to have this die to make it so easy.  And it's great on cards, too.  
I loved the floral patterned paper Lisa sent and florals + stripes is one of my favorite combos, so I stamped the stripes using Concord & 9th's Hooray Stamp Set then trimmed them into strips and pinked the edges with the Hooray Ribbon Dies.  I even used one of the edger dies in the set to cut the notches out of the real yellow ribbon Lisa sent.  The sentiment comes from Concord & 9th's Hooray Stamp Set .
I was all about using my scraps this time around, so I paired some of my leftover letters from the banner with this darling Enclosed Apple from Papertrey Ink and the cute sentiment banner (all from Lisa's kit). 
This last card uses even more scraps...the negatives from the letters, some extra medallion dies, even a strip of paper.  I paired all my scraps with the cute bus, pencil strip, and die cut sentiment circle in the kit. (PS You can find all the supplies Lisa used to put together this kit here.)
I was kind of surprised that I only ended with 4 projects because I used quite a bit of what Lisa sent.  I guess the banner alone used quite a few things.  Thank you, Lisa, for such a fabulous kit!  For even more inspiration (and there is lots!) makes sure to visit the 12 Kits of Occasions Blog next.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Introducing Concord & 9th's Here's the Scoop

And the Friday fun continues!  Today my Where Creativity Meets C9 teammates and I get to showcase Concord and 9th's new Here's the Scoop Bundle.  It is certainly fun for birthdays, but the sentiments lend themselves to oodles of occasions.  Are you ready to get started? 
Oh, friends...the Here's the Scoop Stamp Set is so fun!  I love the sketchy feel, the ability to customize your ice cream with different toppings, and the large scale really helps cards to come together quickly.  My husband happens to love ice cream, so I decided to make a card for him (something I think I need to do more often!).  This is what the inside of the card says: 
Since the card says "my sundae" I used a few Prismacolor Pencils to color a bowl of ice cream that pretty much depicts exactly how I would eat it.  No chocolate sauce for me...just gobs and gobs of caramel on top of vanilla ice cream.  I was tempted to draw a few bananas (because I would definitely want some on my sundae), but I was worried I would mess it up.  Oh, and the bowl is in a slight ombre pattern because again, this is representing me. :) I don't do anything fancy when I color, and in case you are wondering, these are the colors I used in the order they appear on my card...pretty much one color for each thing (cherry, cookie stick, caramel, vanilla ice cream, and then the bottom three for the bowl),
Doesn't it just look yummy?  In fact I thought it looked so yummy that I avoided covering anything up by stamping my sentiment on a strip of clear cardstock. #win  
I promise I don't mean to keep neglecting the fabulous coordinating dies in all these new Concord & 9th Bundles.  I just love stamps so much that I seem to always reach for them first.  So make sure to head to Concord and 9th's Feature Friday on their blog next.  You definitely don't want to miss out on seeing anyone's projects.  My teammates are so talented...they'll wow you for sure! :) Thanks for stopping by today!

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Friday, August 18, 2017

Adventure Awaits...Introducing Concord & 9th's Happy Balloons

Good morning friends!  I have the pleasure of featuring Concord & 9th's Happy Balloons Bundle today.  This bundle is awesome for not just birthdays, but all celebrations, so today I'm celebrating the excitement that life holds.  I had a blast creating these hot air balloons from the Happy Balloons Stamp Set.  The patterns you can layer are so fun!  I blended a soft blue ink around my balloons--purposely uneven--to mimic wispy clouds in the sky.  The sentiment, from Concord & 9th's Globe Greetings, could not have been more perfect to finish it off.
I love the light, airy feel of this card and the optimism in that sentiment.  I've just scratched the surface here, so to see lots more inspiration from my wonderful Where Creativity Meets C9 teammates using the Happy Balloons Bundlemake sure to visit Concord and 9th's Feature Friday on their blog.  You'll love the dies, too, and they can even stand on their own.  Thanks for sharing a bit of your day with me.  With the weekend upon us...go forth and have fun!  Adventure awaits!

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Where Creativity Meets C9 Sneak Peek

Hello, friends!  I have a quick and easy card over at the Where Creativity Meets C9 Blog this morning.  It shares a message I think we all need to be reminded of and uses two sets that I find myself reaching for over and over again. And guess what?  One of them is even on sale right now.  (Happy sigh....You can find it here.)  Hope you'll stop by the Where Creativity Meets C9 Blog to check it out. 

Friday, August 11, 2017

Concord & 9th - Sprinkled With Love

Hello!  Today my Where Creativity Meets C9 teammates and I have the pleasure of showcasing Concord and 9th's awesome Sprinkles Turnabout Stamp Set.  This newest addition to the Turnabout line up is so easy to use, and I love that there are lots of extras in the set that are fantastic in their own right.  In fact, I love them so much that I made them the focus of my card.   

I used both of the cupcakes in the Sprinkles Turnabout Stamp Set to stamp my background.  I really wanted the sprinkles to stand out, so I stamped them in color and opted to leave everything else black and white.  I emphasized the love part just a tad more by using a tiny heart from the Globe Greetings Stamp Set to stamp just a few of the cupcake wrappers.  (Isn't it a perfect fit?) To ground my sentiment, I used a coordinating Sprinkles Tag Die (trimmed down about 1/2").
I went simple here (surprise, surprise) :) but the Sprinkle Bundle really has so much to offer!  It includes the fabulous sprinkles turnout stamp as well as lots of ways to fancy up those cupcakes, cupcake wrappers, and the Sprinkles Tag Die.  And as a random aside, anyone else a fan of frozen yogurt?  Because as I'm looking at this card I think this could totally pass for a bowl of frozen yogurt with sprinkles on top...just the way my daughter likes it. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  To see lots more inspiration using this stamp set by suuuper talented teammates, visit Concord and 9th's Feature Friday on their blog.  I hope your day is sprinkled with love. :) 

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Concord & 9th 2nd Birthday Celebration

Good morning!  I'm so excited to share first of several posts this month as the Where Creativity Meets C9 team helps celebrate Concord and 9th's 2nd birthday.  To make it easy for you to play along, Challenge #12 is going to be Anything Goes. :) There are lots of fabulous stamps and dies being released today as well as a HUGE sale going on.  Make sure to head HERE to check them out!  
My card today features an awesome new set called Seriously, Thank You that is FREE with a $60 purchase.  Woohoo! (You can see all the details about it on Concord & 9th's PROMO Page.)
I love this big, bold sentiment so much that I think it looks pretty fabulous all on its own.  I plan to stamp a bunch of cards just with the sentiment to help build my thank you stash, but I decided to step it up just a tad today.  On my first card I stamped Seriously, Thank You, and then added a few die cut flowers from the Enjoy It All Bundle.  And guess what?!  Enjoy It All happens to be one of the many items on sale right now at Concord and 9th.  (Quick!  Go pick one up. :) )
My second card is slightly more embellished.  I used another flower from Enjoy It All  and created a leaf sprig by stamping the stem image in the set and then adding a bunch of leaves to it.  I'm pretty sure it was designed to be the inner detail on a single leaf, but it worked great this way for what I needed.  I fussy cut the leaf sprigs and embellished the flower with a few black pearls.  Easy peasy.
My last card is a lot more embellished, but still easy to put together.  I cut some 1/8" strips of cardstock and used them to frame the Seriously, Thank You sentiment.  Then I created the floral clusters with several die cut and fussy cut images from Enjoy It All.  To add a bit more dimension some of the images are stamped directly on the card base and others are popped up. 
As you can see, embellished or not all, this stamp set is great.  Now quick, head right over to Concord and 9th and place your order, so you can earn this set free with a $60 purchase, then make sure you stop by the Concord and 9th Blog and Where Creativity Meets C9 for more inspiration as well as to join us for our Anything Goes Challenge  Now would be a great time to enter to win a $25 gift certificate to Concord and 9th, don't ya think? :) Have a fabulous day, my friends!

Thursday, August 3, 2017

CTS Birthday

Hello!  I'm just popping in to share a birthday card I made and mailed off a few days ago.  It's headed to one of my favorite people who epitomizes warmth and kindness and is an all around lovely lady.  I am playing around with some new Concord & 9th Stamps - Hope and Petals & Pallets.They're winners for sure, and I really love the looseness of the flowers in the Hope Stamp Set.  I ended up liking the softness of this color scheme so much that I made several cards with it, so you'll see more to come.  This particular card was inspired by CTS #232.
Have a wonderful day, friends!

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

You Make Everything Shine!

Good morning!  I made this card last week just for fun and forgot to share it.  My inspiration came from this quote for TIME OUT Challenge #88:

'"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." -Roald Dahl

Isn't it a great quote?  Well, I am loving Concord & 9th's Sunshine Turnabout Set at the moment, so I immediately wanted to play along.  I thought the sentiment was perfect.  That fabulous striped square stamp is from Concord & 9th's Hooray Stamp Set.  It is what immediately drew me to the set and honestly I would have bought it just for that one stamp....but luckily I love everything else in it as well! Wishing you a day full of sunshine (figuratively even more than literally)!

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