Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The 12 Kits of Occasions - February Kit!

Hi and thanks for stopping by!  It's reveal day for The 12 Kits of Occasions Group.  If you're not familiar with us, we're a group of 12 friends who like to papercraft.  We each take turns making a kit for the rest of the group and on the last day of the month we share what we all made with the kit.  We all get the same things and it's fun to see how are projects turn our very similar or oh so very different.
I really love getting to know each of group members better by the kits they assemble.  We each have our own unique style, and choose different themes each moth.

Our hostess this time is Michelle Leone from Pretty Periwinkle blog!  I'm not even going to try to "classify" Michelle's style.  She's clean with layers and likes techniques. She's a  fancy stamper but she knows her way around layers and die cuts too!

Check out this beautiful kit she put together for us!  Pretty Papers, lots of die cuts and pretty flower embellishments.  I think the only thing in this kit that I already owned was the papers.  Every other thing in this kit?  Totally new for me!  I'm happy to be introduced to some new things and I think there's going to be a little shopping in my near future so I can add some of these to my stash. 

I'm always telling you to look out for the "trixies" in the pack.. things that are left over in my tray when I'm done putting together my cards for the month.  No trixies here.. interesting items you might want to look out for include the pink canvas tag in the photo, and the colorful enamel dots in the kit.

I made 7 cards.. so let's get to it!   It's a walk through the garden on a spring day this month! 

I made little bow ties for the bunnies so you could tell "him" from "her" from the little pieces that came out of the fancy frame on the above card.

 
 Here's those enamel dots I told you about!  
Want to see what the rest of the team made with this beautiful kit? Hop on over to The 12 Kits of Occasions Blog where you'll see all the designers and guests listed along with one sample of their projects made with this kit!    You'll want to leave a comment there so you can enter to win a chance to receive a kit and play along with us!


All cards Finished Size: 4.25 x 5.5"
A complete list of supplies provided is listed at The 12 Kits of Occasions Blog.  
I added border dies and sequins from Pretty Pink Posh, Twinery Twine, a paper doily, and buttons. 

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Stitched Easter Greetings!

I'm posting this pretty Easter card on the Poppystamps blog today! 

If you want to get all the details you can find them here at the Poppystamps blog! 

Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"
Dies | Poppystamps Delicate Stitches, Bunny Hop, Happy Easter Curve, Easter Egg Party

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Wishing You Lucky!

Wishing you lucky today with this St. Patrick's Day card featured on the Poppystamps Blog.

If you'd like to see more just click here to jump to the Poppystamps Blog

Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"

Stamps | Poppystamps Grateful Hearts
Dies | Poppystamps Lucky Signs, Lucky Clover, Simmons Collage
Sequins | Pretty Pink Posh Gold 4mm 6mm

Friday, February 24, 2017

Tupelo Designs LLC | Altenew Painted Poppy

Happy Friday!  This week flew by for me!  I'm not sure what the weekend has in store for me.. we usually play it by ear - lots of projects on the "Honey Do" list.. but if DH isn't feeling like it or the weather isn't cooperating there are no objections to keeping it on the list and thinking about it another day!  Last weekend the weather was beautiful and we had a cookout.  It was so nice that we had a fire in the pit and just sat for a few hours.   This weekend is calling for snow so all bets are off!
Friday is my day to post for Tupelo Designs LLC!  I really enjoy being on their design team because I get to work with lots of different product from the store.   I'm always reaching for the Altenew or Concord and 9th.. but there's lots of others to choose from like Reverse Confetti, My Favorite Things, Neat and Tangled and so many more.
This set is from Altenew called Painted Poppy.  I started with a simple watercolor wash using Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors in three shades of blue (Cornflower, Bule and Cobalt).  I painted on Tim Holtz Watercolor paper - it's bright white, and thick enough that  it doesn't warp when you do a loose wash. 
The poppies are all stamped with Altenew Ink.  I started by stamping the outline in Jet Black.  The flowers are stamped with Crimson and Grapevine.   For the leaves I used Frayed Leaf and Forest Glades. 
I used my new Hampton Arts Stamp Perfect tool so I could make several cards at one time. I love that I can get a perfect impression (like the sentiment on the rough watercolor paper) by stamping multiple times if needed. The Hampton Arts is a terrific value too!

Want to go shopping?  Head on over to Tupelo Designs LLC where you'll always find free shipping (USA ONLY) no coupon required.   They also have a loyalty program where the dollars you spend turn into discounts off your next order.  What's better than that?   New products are added to the store everyday and you can mix and match your favorite brands all in one place!  





Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"
Stamps | Altenew Painted Poppy
Dies | Altenew Painted Poppy, MFT Fishtail Flags
Sequins | Pretty Pink Posh
Gansai Tambi Watercolor
Ink | Altenew 






Thursday, February 23, 2017

The Card Concept #67 (Vintage)

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a great day!   I'm getting things done today.  I'm staying home (no running around for me) and getting caught up on laundry and hoping to clear out some things from my craft room.  Mr. J promises a new desk and flooring for me.  I promise you don't want to see the carpeting I have now!   Counter tops and flooring are on order so I'm moving things a little each day - things I don't reach for every day.

Today I'm playing along with The Card Concept.  This is one of my favorite challenges.  They profide an inspiration photo and you can spin it in any direction you like.  The focus here is on style.  Their amazing design team ranges from Clean and Simple to Mixed Media so you're sure to find a style you can identify with.  Me?  I love them all!  I'm in awe of those with a similar style to me, and jealous of the ones who are different than me.   Is it wrong for me to wish I could do it all? 

I think this challenge should have been called Chocolate Heart because that's what I zeroed in on!  I don't usually like to work with neutrals and browns - I'm a bright colorful person LOL.. so I'm always amazed at what comes out when I switch things up.

I'm going to define my style on this one as Classy and Elegant because it definitely has a WOW factor with all that sparkly gold!   All the stamps and dies on this one are from Reverse Confetti.  I triple cut the Double Edge Scallop Border and layered them.  The bit of glitter on the edge of the Topped Off Tag is washi.

I layered the top of the tag too starting with a gold foil Top O'The Tag topped with a Gold Glitter Heart Topper.  I used the extra hearts as confetti and inlaid a few chocolate ones for contrast.
A pretty bow is always welcome - mine is tied with ivory button twine with a engraved button center. 
Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you feel inspired to play along - or maybe made you a little curious to see the other designs inspired by this vintage image.   




Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"
Stamps | Reverse Confetti  Crazy About You
Dies | Reverse Confetti Heart Tag Toppers, XOXO Hearts, Top O'The Tag, Topped Off Tag, Double Edge Scallop Border, Layered Banner Duo
Pattern Paper | Pink Paislee Cedar Lane 6"
May Arts Button Twine
Gold Glitter Washi




Pretty Little Studio - Here Comes The Sun

The weather has been really gloomy here in the midwest the past few days - cloudy skies and scattered showers. I'm in serious need of a little sunshine! Paper crating is my sweet escape and I'm in total control of the forecast in my studio! Today I'm basking in the warm sunshine of the Pretty Little Studio Here Comes The Sun Collection!
Here Comes The Sun is a collection of soft watercolor look designs! I started with a background of raindrops from the Up In The Air 8" paper pack.
I topped the raindrops with a rainbow of Labels from the Label Medley die cut pack. The labels are printed and die cut, ready to work with and come in lots of yummy colors! If you look close you'll see that they also have that soft watercolor look to them - like they were hand painted. 
Even the sentiment from the Here Comes The Sun die cut pack looks hand painted.  This too is printed and die cut.  I attached it to the card with adhesive foam tape so it is raised and adds dimension to the card. 

A smiley faced sunshine is the perfect embellishment to go with this sentiment. The Sun die cut from Coffee Time has a plain solid center. I topped the center of the sun with a smiley face that's included in the same die cut package. 

My favorite part is always the last finishing touches! I added some die cut stars from Label Medley. They really stand out since they're printed in black.. and of course I had to add some sparkly sequins (from Sunsation and Buttered Corn.

I hope this makes your day a little brighter.





Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5”
Pretty Little Studio Products
Paper | Here Comes The Sun | Up In The Air
Die Cuts | Label Medley (Labels & Stars) | Coffee Time (Sun and Smiley Face) | Here Comes The Sun (Sentiment)
Sequins | Sunsation, Buttered Corn