Paper Smooches--Let's Chill

Last week's Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge was a a fun sketch, and although the challenge ended yesterday, I thought I'd share my take on it anyway.  I forgot to include the scattered star element and really couldn't make it work once my card was done, so it's just as well that I didn't link it up.  :)

I got the Memory Box Pine Border Background Die recently, and I had Paper Smooches' Swanky Snowdudes in mind when I ordered it.  Don't they work perfectly together?  I cut the pine border from chartreuse felt and added tiny clear gems to make the trees look festive.

I cut the snowy hills by hand and layered them, brushing clear glitter along the top edges.  The snowdude was also cut by hand and popped up with foam tape.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Pool Party), WPlus9 (White)

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Swanky Snowdudes)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic markers

Tools:  Memory Box (Pine Border Background die), Sizzix (snowflake embossing folder)

Other:  Papertrey Ink (felt), Zig (Wink of Stella clear glitter brush), clear rhinestones

We're enjoying some beautiful fall weather here at the moment, but I know those chilly winter days will be here before we know it.

Thanks for visiting today!

The 12 Kits of Holidays--January 2013

To see my CASE Study post, please scroll down!

Hello again!  I've got another fun post to share with you today.  If you've been coming around here for a while, you know that in 2012 I partnered with 11 fellow stampers to bring you The 12 Kits of Christmas.  Each month, we create cards and projects for Christmas (and Hanukkah!) using the same supplies.

This year brings a few changes, including the addition of two new crew members, Tracey McNeely and Kelly Schirmer.  Please give them a warm welcome, as I'm sure you'll enjoy their creations as much as I do.  :)

The other change for 2013 is that we'll be featuring lots of different holidays and occasions, not just Christmas!  There will still be plenty of Christmas inspiration throughout the year, with winter holiday kits every other month, but we'll also be bringing you ideas for Valentine's Day, Easter, birthdays, thank yous, fall holidays, and more.

Our first hostess for 2013 is Joyce, who provided us with a darling Valentine's kit full of goodies.  Fabulous papers, ribbons, and die cuts galore.  Behold:

Photo by Kara

I'd hoped to create a few more cards this month, but prepping to teach my very first class at the college drained most of my mojo over the last couple of weeks.  Lucky for me I have lots of supplies left to make several more projects before Valentine's Day arrives.  :)

On to the cards!  I've been smitten with this Memory Box die since it came out, so I had to reach for it first.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores, Pure Poppy, White)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Heart Prints), WPlus9 Design Studio (Love You More)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tools:  Memory Box (Piestra Tile die), WPlus9 Design Studio (envelope dies), Papertrey Ink (heart dies)

Using some strips of the My Mind's Eye papers in the kit, I think this simple little number is my favorite.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Poppy Parade)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lucky in Love)

Tool:  Papertrey Ink (XO border die)

Accessories:  buttons, DMC floss

This next one is a CASE of a card by Suzanne from last year's November kit.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Sweet Blush, White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lucky in Love)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Love You More)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tool:  Spellbinders (Labels 18 die)

Accessories:  button, DMC floss

Perhaps this last one is too simple, but I like it a lot.  I left off the embellishments since the sentiment and paper are fairly busy.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy, White)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (Lucky in Love)

Stamp:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Love You More)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tool:  Spellbinders (Labels 4 die)

What do you think of the new 12 Kits format?  We hope you'll enjoy finding inspiration for lots of different holidays and occasions in the coming year!

Time to hop around to see what the rest of the gals have come up with!

Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea
Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife
Tracey: InMyCreativeOpinion

Sharron: OnPapillionWings

Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper

Jeanne: AKeptLife
Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise
Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim
Kara: KandRDesigns
Kelly: GinghamGirl
Jessica: The Paper Parade

Thanks so much for visiting!

The 12 Kits of Christmas--April

Hi there!  It's that wonderful time of the month again where I get to share my creations for The 12 Kits of Christmas.  If you've missed out on the first three months, this is a challenge between 12 designers where one of us hosts each month and sends a kit of supplies to everyone else for making holiday cards.  We all post our creations at the end of the month and pat ourselves on the back for having a few more Christmas cards stocked up for the end of the year.  *smile*

This month's host is Marybeth from Marybeth's Time for Paper, and here's a peek at the goodies she sent us for April (thanks to Kara for the photo once again!):

This kit had lots of beautiful die cuts, so I set out to work with those first.  I've been smitten with the Memory Box landscape dies since I started seeing them, so I was thrilled to work with this one.  And check out the fun eyelash yarn Marybeth included in our kit!

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Ocean Tides, Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (The Merry Days of Christmas), Papertrey Ink (2008 Bitty Dots)

Stamp:  Papertrey Ink (Tree Trimming Trio)

Tools:  Memory Box (Country Landscape die, Star of Wonder die), Spellbinders (Banner Ribbons die), Papertrey Ink (woodgrain impression plate)

Accessories:  Martha Stewart (yarn)

See these darling red bells?  They're flocked!  How sweet is that?  I added the silver jingle bells in the corner to go with the pretty sheet music patterned paper.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Cherry Cobbler), Papertrey Ink (Rustic White, True Black)

Patterned paper:  The Paper Studio

Stamp:  Papertrey Ink (Signature Christmas)

Tools:  Memory Box (Jingle bell border die), Papertrey Ink (music score impression plate)

Accessories:  silver pearls, bells, DMC floss

I had a hard time covering up the gorgeous snowflake border on this next card, but I decided to nestle the tree silhouette into the corner.    It's hard to see, but there are a few stamped white snowflakes in the upper right corner, and the edges are inked white for a soft, snowy look.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Spring Rain, True Black, White)

Stamp:  Papertrey Ink (Peace Be Still)

Tools:  Memory Box (Frostyville border die), Papertrey Ink (tree die)

Accessories:  silver pearls, ribbon

Yes, I've used this next layout every month so far, but I love it so much for patterned paper strips!  It's a CASE of a card by Veronica Zalis in the 2011 issue of Holiday Cards & More.  I added my own layered die cuts and a sentiment from WPlus9 to the papers included in this month's kit.

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Cherry Cobbler), Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream, Kraft)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (The Merry Days of Christmas), The Paper Studio

Stamp:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Poinsettia Patterns)

Tools:  Spellbinders (Fancy Tags die), Papertrey Ink (Photo Finishers die), EK Success (border punch)

Accessories:  pearls, thread

My last card has a cute little image that I colored with my Prismas and blinged out with glitter.  It goes perfectly with the fun trim!

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Certainly Celery), Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream)

Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye (The Merry Days of Christmas)

Stamps:  Stampendous (girls), Papertrey Ink (Signature Christmas)

Tools:  Spellbinders (Labels 18), Papertrey Ink (music score impression plate)

Accessories:  Hobby Lobby (decorative trim), rhinestones, glitter, thread

Coloring medium:  Prismacolor Premier pencils

I can hardly wait to see everyone else's cards and CASE them with the supplies I have left!  Be sure to visit them for some holiday inspiration:

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 stopping by, friends!  I hope your week gets off to a great start!

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!