The 12 Kits of Christmas--February

Hello again, my friends!  Happy Leap Day!

It's the last day of the month, which means it's time for the 12 Kits of Christmas blog hop!  If this is your first time joining us, you can check out my post for January HERE.

This month's holiday card-making kit was provided by Cathy Weber, and she included some darling polar bears and snow globes along with lots of other festive goodies:

I've made three cards so far, and I planned to make a couple more but I ran out of white cardstock!  Yikes!  I ordered more last week and will just have to stalk the mailman until it arrives.  *grin*

This first card is my favorite.  I stitched two of the patterned papers (from Memory Box) to a white card base and wrapped it with white satin ribbon.  The sweet little polar bear is decked out in an Ocean Tides felt scarf and mounted on a die cut label, along with a sentiment from PTI's In the Meadow.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Ocean Tides, White)

Patterned paper:  Memory Box (Yuletide Collection)

Stamps:  Memory Box (Wesley Bear), Papertrey Ink (In the Meadow)

Tools:  Memory Box (Wesley Bear die), Spellbinders (Labels 18), corner rounder

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (buttons), AC Moore (ribbon), thread, DMC floss

For the second card, I used one of the cute snow globes from the kit.  Cathy included a globe embossed with snowflakes, which makes a nice little home for another polar bear, this time dressed in a Copic colored red scarf.  I added some "snowballs" and silver snowflakes, also from the kit.

For the background, I stamped snowflakes from PTI's Peace Be Still and inked the edges with Pool Party ink.  I attached the sentiment banner with some red baker's twine and added a pretty glittered snowflake button.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Aqua Mist, White), brown

Stamps:  Memory Box (Wesley Bear), Papertrey Ink (Peace Be Still)

Tools:  Memory Box (Wesley Bear die), My Time Made Easy (Let it Snow Globe), Tim Holtz (snowflake embossing folder), corner rounder

Accessories:  The Twinery (baker's twine), snowballs, button, silver snowflakes

My last card is a CASE of one I did using the January kit.  I stitched strips of patterned paper to the card base, adding a scalloped border at the bottom.  This polar bear's scarf has some subtle polka dots, added with a Copic colorless blender.

The sentiment, from PTI's Signature Christmas, is embossed in white on an Ocean Tides banner and embellished with a few red buttons.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Ocean Tides, White)

Patterned paper:  Memory Box (Yuletide Collection)

Stamps:  Memory Box (Wesley Bear), Papertrey Ink (Signature Christmas)

Tools:  Memory Box (Wesley Bear die), EK Success (border punch)

Accessories:  buttons, DMC floss, thread, white embossing powder

I can't wait to see what the rest of the gals have created with this month's kit!

Suzanne:  The Card Yard

Cathy: EmptyNestCrafter

Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea

Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim

Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise

Kara: KandRDesigns

Sharron: OnPapillionWings

Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper

Jeanne: AKeptLife

Jessica: The Paper Parade

Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife

Thanks for coming by today, and for always leaving me such wonderful comments.  I appreciate you all so much!

Have a great day!

ColourQ #126

Good morning, ColourQ fans!  It's time for a new color challenge, and this one was inspired by this whimsical set of dishes:

I admit I wouldn't have chosen this palette on my own, but I'm amazed by the DT samples this week and really enjoyed the challenge of working with these colors.  I hope you'll give the combo a try, too.

Since these colors have a bit of a fall vibe, I reached for PTI's lovely Harvest Berries set.  I die cut and stamped the largest branch with Lucky Limeade and popped it up on foam dots.  Behind it I stamped the smaller silhouette images in Early Espresso and added a strip of stamped text to ground the design.

I die cut a double ended banner from Daffodil Delight cardstock and stamped it with a sentiment from PTI's Postmarks.  A sprinkling of orange gems and I call it done!

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight), Papertrey Ink (White)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Harvest Berries, Background Basics:  Text Style, Postmarks)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Harvest Berries die, Double Ended Banner die)

Accessories:  Me & My Big Ideas (rhinestones)

Thanks for joining me today, friends!  I'll be back tonight at midnight EST with a new 12 Kits of Christmas post, so if you're in the mood for some cute holiday cards, I hope you'll stop by.

Have a great day!

Card Patterns sketch #154

Hello, friends!  It's been a little quiet around here, as we still have visitors and my kids are home for winter break.  I love having them home, but I'm looking forward to getting back to a normal routine next week!

Happily, I did find some time this week to play with a new sketch at Card Patterns, which I think you're going to love.

This week we are sponsored again by My Favorite Things.  They have a wonderful collection of clear stamps and exclusive dies, and they were kind enough to provide the Design Team with some goodies to use on our cards.  I chose the Polka Dot Greetings stamp set, which also comes with a coordinating die.

To make a unique scalloped border, I stamped just the ends of one of the polka dot frames along the bottom of the white cardstock panel using Calypso Coral ink.  I added a stitched strip of Pool Party cardstock and some Pool Party ruffled ribbon.

The flower was made using PTI's Beautiful Blooms dies and an Aqua Mist button.  I added a cute, scripty sentiment from Polka Dot Greetings in Island Indigo ink.

The whole panel is mounted on an Island Indigo card base, and I tucked some small strips of polka dot aqua paper from PTI's Library Ledger at the ends.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, Pool Party), Papertrey Ink (White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (Library Ledger)

Stamps:  My Favorite Things (Polka Dot Greetings)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Calypso Coral, Island Indigo)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Beautiful Blooms dies), corner rounder

Accessories:  Stampin' Up! (Pool Party ruffled ribbon), Papertrey Ink (Aqua Mist button), thread, DMC floss

I love how this turned out, especially this fun color combo.  I hope you'll find some time to play along with the sketch this week, too!

Thanks for visiting!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

ColourQ #125

Hello there, ColourQ fans!  Ready for a new color challenge?  Feast your eyes on this week's quilt-inspired palette:

As I was flipping through my stamp sets, WPlus9's Guiding Light caught my eye and seemed perfect for a masculine card using these colors.

I made a 4 1/4 inch square white card base and debossed it with PTI's Book Print impression plate.  I then die cut a window in a square of Baja Breeze cardstock and popped it up with foam tape.

The rocks, bird, and cattails were stamped and cut out by hand before tucking them into the window to make a little scene.  I added a Terracotta Tile button and starfish to the bottom corner and another button tied with floss around the top of the card.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Baja Breeze), Papertrey Ink (White)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Guiding Light)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Basic Gray, Lucky Limeade, Baja Breeze), Clearsnap (Terracotta)

Tools:  Spellbinders (Labels 1), Papertrey Ink (Book Print impression plate), corner rounder

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (buttons), DMC floss

No sentiment on this one--I'm thinking it will be great to pop in my hubby's bag one of these days "just because".

Check out the rest of the fabulous DT samples this week, then add your creation to the gallery to be in the running for Colour Queen!

Thanks for visiting, friends!  Have a wonderful day!

Card Patterns sketch #153

Happy weekend, friends!  We have a busy day planned, so I'll get right to my card and this week's sketch at Card Patterns:

There are lots of ways you could interpret this sketch, as you can see from the DT samples.  My first thought was of quilt blocks, so I made a sweet little baby girl card with "quilted" patterned blocks.

Each square of Vintage Cream cardstock is stamped with a pattern in Pretty in Pink and stitched to the card base.  The bottom half of the card base is debossed with polka dots, and I added a Victorian Lace die cut border.  Love that tone-on-tone look.

I wrapped cream floss around the card and attached a pink button and tiny tag stamped with the word "Baby".  Finally, I added two large drops of Glossy Accents directly to the card base in the top right corner to complement the glossy pink button.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Pretty in Pink), Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (A Little Argyle, Dot Spot, Background Basics:  Retro, Background Basics:  Houndstooth, Tiny Tags)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Victorian Lace border die, Tiny Tags die, Polka Dot impression plate), corner rounder

Accessories:  Ranger (Glossy Accents), DMC floss, button, thread

Stop by the Card Patterns blog to be inspired by the Design Team and link up your creation!  We love seeing your designs every week!

Thanks for your visit today!  Have a great weekend.

ColourQ #124, CAS-ual Fridays 39, & WMSC 84

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you're able to spend some time with the ones you love most today!

I've got a new ColourQ palette to share with you, and it was perfect for making a couple of cards for my kids.

I loved the challenge of using vanilla and white together, as I don't usually think of it but love the way it looks on other people's cards.

On my daughter's card, I stamped the frame and bunny image from PTI's Tiny Treats:  Valentine onto a spiral notebook die cut.  I wrapped the panel with cream ribbon, stitched a pink button in place, and popped the panel up on foam dots.

The white card base has a panel of Pool Party cardstock stitched with a strip of patterned paper from PTI's Library Ledger pack, which has those sweet cream dots to match the ribbon.

Two more pink buttons add the final touch.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Pool Party), Papertrey Ink (White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (Library Ledger)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Tiny Treats:  Valentine)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red), Inkadinkadoo (Black), Copic marker

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (spiral notebook die, Linen & Canvas impression plate)

Accessories:  Michaels (ribbon), buttons, DMC floss, thread

My daughter's card was inspired by the Waltzingmouse Sketch challenge this week, but since a Waltzingmouse Stamps image is required for the challenge, I made my son's card with the same sketch and the Half Pint Heroes set.  I also used paper piecing, so this qualifies for the current challenge at CAS-ual Fridays.

I just adore how this polka dot car turned out!  I paper pieced the entire car body with PTI's Distressed Dots paper, then pieced the bumpers with Pure Poppy cardstock.  I added a "road" using journaling lines from PTI's Scrapbook Series:  Library Ledger.  The hearts are from Tag-its #4 and the sentiment is from Half Pint Heroes.

Isn't this little guy so cute?  My son loves this stamp set!

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Pool Party), Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, White)

Patterned paper:  Papertrey Ink (Library Ledger, Distressed Dots)

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse (Half Pint Heroes), Papertrey Ink (Tag its #4, Scrapbook Series:  Library Ledger)

Ink:  Inkadinkadoo (Black), Stampin' Up! (Pretty in Pink), Copic markers

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (spiral notebook die)

Accessories:  The Twinery (Maraschino baker's twine), thread

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll check out the rest of the samples at the ColourQ blog and share your creation with us this week.

Have a great day!

Card Patterns sketch #152

Hello, friends!  I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  If you have plans to get inky, I hope you'll play along with the new sketch at Card Patterns!

This week we're being sponsored by another fantastic stamp company, Sparkle Creations!  The DT was provided with a few of their cute images to use on our cards, and my card features Football Josh.

This image had me wishing I had some skills with the Copics so I could really bring it to life.  But it was fun to color!  The rest of the DT has done an amazing job with their images, so be sure to check out their creations, too.

I used papers from Echo Park's A Boy's Life, but I colored the teal piece to match my image (it was originally more of a navy blue).

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate, White)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (A Boy's Life)

Stamps:  Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps (Football Josh)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip), Inkadinkadoo (Black), Copic markers

Tools:  Spellbinders (oval, scalloped oval dies), Papertrey Ink (double ended banner die), corner rounder

Accessories:  Michaels (ribbon)

Other:  Prismacolor Premier pencils

Thanks for stopping by today!  I'm off to my daughter's basketball game today, then I need to get some cleaning done before my parents come to visit later in the week.  Oh, and the kids' Valentines aren't done yet!

Have a great day!

ColourQ #123

Good morning, friends!  It's time again for a new ColourQ challenge!  Check out these positively "sweet" hues:

If you're still working on Valentine's projects, these colors would be perfect.  But they're also great for a birthday or any other celebration, which is why I've used them on a "Happy for you" card.

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've succumbed to the banner trend!  First I cut strips of Poppy Parade, Regal Rose, and Peach Parfait using PTI's double ended banner die, then heat embossed the letters in white using the Fresh Alphabet set.

I stamped the largest image from Dot Spot in Peach Parfait, then stamped part of a sentiment from Think Big Favorites #4 on a banner and popped it up on foam dots.  The banner was temporarily adhered to the card base and stitched in place.

 Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Poppy Parade, Regal Rose, Peach Parfait), Papertrey Ink (White)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Dot Spot, Fresh Alphabet, Think Big Favorites #4)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Peach Parfait), Clearsnap (Scarlet), Tsukineko (Versamark)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Double Ended Banner die)

Accessories:  Filigree (white embossing powder), Me & My Big Ideas (rhinestones), thread

Just a fun little card to have on hand in case I need to congratulate someone!

I hope you'll check out the rest of the Design Team samples and link up your creation at the ColourQ blog.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Card Patterns sketch #151

Hello friends!  So glad it's the weekend, even though I have to go to work for a bit today.  What do you have planned?

I hope you'll make some time this week to create something with the new sketch at Card Patterns!

This week we're sponsored again by DRS Designs, which makes beautiful rubber stamps.  They generously sent a package of stamps to the Design Team to work with, and this week I chose to use Hearts and Scrolls and the One Line Valentine Greeting.

On a white cardstock panel, I stamped the Hearts and Scrolls image several times, first with Real Red, then with Pretty in Pink, using a Stamp-a-ma-jig to line everything up.  Then I stamped the sentiment in black.

I rounded the bottom corners and added a stitched border around the edges.  Along the top, I embossed the edge with SU's Framed Tulips folder.

For the finishing touch, I added some Pure Poppy satin ribbon tied in a bow and a Tiny Tag stamped with the word "love".

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (True Black, White)

Stamps:  DRS Designs (Hearts and Scrolls, One Line Valentine Greeting), Papertrey Ink (Tiny Tags)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Pretty in Pink), Inkadinkadoo (Black)

Tools:  Stampin' Up! (Framed Tulips embossing folder), Papertrey Ink (Tiny Tags die), corner rounder

Accessories:  Papertrey Ink (ribbon), thread

How will you use the sketch this week?  I can't wait to see your creations!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great weekend.