The 12 Kits of Occasions: December with Jessica

PHOTO BY KARA

Wow, another whole year has flown by and the 12 Kits of Occasions group is winding up this year's schedule. We are featuring Christmas this month which means we are already starting on our Christmas cards for Christmas 2014. It feels wonderful to know we no longer have the end of the year rush to get our cards completed.

Our fabulous hostess this month is Jessica, The Paper Parade. She has been super busy since October with the cutest little guy you have ever seen. Yet she managed to put together this amazing kit. It was chock full of whimsical images, papers and oodles of embellishments, and even included some stamps! I could have easily made a dozen cards! Thank you so much, Jessica. You even included several images from stamp sets that I had wanted to buy so it was fun to be able to try them out! And thanks to Kara who makes our wonderful collages that show the kit supplies for the month.

I started with a mini card using this gorgeous poinsettia and stamped with a stamp included in the kit.

Love Mama Elephant so these next two cards are favorites of mine.

I like to limit my comments because there is always so much to see and many blogs to visit but I have one very special announcement about next month. I am the hostess for January and decided to do a competition over on the 12 Kits blog for a Guest Designer. It was wonderful to see all the interest! Yesterday afternoon I drew a winner.  A big congrats to Michelle from Pretty Periwinkles! It will be such fun to send her a kit and hope she enjoys her happy mail as much as all of us do!

Be sure to visit the 12 Kits blog from here to find the list of participants in our hop and a list of supplies that were in Jessica's kit.  

Have a great day!

Sharron

Snowflakes in Pink & Gold!

I actually have a card to post!! I wanted to try out this gorgeous dove die that a very sweet friend sent me. And it also gave me a chance to try Kara's (KandRdesigns) two-tone snowflake technique. I used gold embossing powder and pink glitter. Just wish I could get better pictures of the gold. It has so much more sparkle in real life!

The base is WPlus9 Oatmeal cardstock (love the little flecks in the paper) and I also added some clear rhinestones for extra sparkle.

This is being entered in the following 'snow' challenges.

SWEET SNOWFLAKES

LET IT SNOW

LET IT SNOW

Thanks so much for dropping by,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Folk Art Flurries (WPlus9)

Cardstock: Oatmeal (WPlus9)

Dies: Bird (Serendipity Stamps); Peace (Memory Box)

Additional: Pink Glitter Paper (LSS); Fine Pink Glitter (Stampendous); Gold Embossing Powder (Stampendous); Rhinestones (Queen and Co.)

25 Days of Christmas with Tracey McNeely

I was so excited when Tracey, In My Creative Opinion, asked if I would make a tag to be featured on one her 25 Days of Christmas Tags posts. Have you been following her blog with all the fabulous tags?I met Tracey through The 12 Kits of Occasions group. She is such a sweet blogging friend and I am constantly in awe of her amazing CAS style. This special tag feature will be running on her blog for 25 days. She even has a link to tags made in past years so there is soooo much inspiration! If you haven't already, be sure you take time to visit her blog!!

I never have enough tags so I took the opportunity to mass produce several while I was cutting and stamping. Love this stamp from Waltzingmouse that coordinates with Spellbinders Labels Five dies. To make things go faster, I cut out a bunch of circles that I then decorated with various stamps and dies! "To" and "From" is stamped on the back of each tag. My favorite is this little reindeer from PTI's Tiny Treats: Christmas. And all the wonderful sentiments are from Mama Elephant's Winter Wonderland.

Thanks so much for dropping by. And thanks again to Tracey for asking me to play along. 

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Let It Snow (Avery Elle); Winter Wonderland (Mama Elephant); Tiny Treat: Christmas (PTI); Little Box Labels (WMS)

Cardstock: White (WPlus9)

Dies: Spellbinders Labels Five; Christmas Bits (Lil' Inker Designs); Breezy Wreath (Poppy Stamps)

Inks: Onyx Black (Versafine); Nautical Blue, Cottage Ivy, Love Letter, Rhubarb Stalk (Memento)

Additional: Ribbon (May Arts); Twine (Martha Stewart); Glitter Papers (LSS); Glitter (Stampin' Up); Copics; Pearl (Recollections)

The 12 Kits of Occasions: November "A Gingham Christmas"

PHOTO BY KARA

For those in the States, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and to my Jewish friends--Thanksgiving and Hanukkah! Can't believe that the year is almost over. The 12 Kits of Occasions group will be spending these last two months celebrating Christmas and Winter. This month's hostess is Kelly, Gingham Girl, who treated us with the most amazing kit. This photo above gives you an idea of all the fabulous goodies she included. The photo was taken by Kara, KandRdesigns, who continues to wow us with these awesome collages. Kelly's kit included so many fantastic supplies. I think I could have made a dozen projects. Today's post is only cards but I'm anxious to work on tags soon. Bet I'll see some wonderful samples on today's hop!

I loved the papers! And for my first card, I used two of the included die cuts--a string of tiny lights. I decorated the tree with the red ones and then went back and added a red rhinestone on top of each light. Funny thing happened with the sentiment though. I had it laid out with 'Merry and Bright'. The 'and Bright' piece mysteriously disappeared before I could get it glued. I'm pretty sure the dog ate it!!!

I did add a couple of die cuts that weren't in the kit. Both are from Memory Box. In each case it was after I got the card done and thought it needed something else. For this one I added the strip of music.

And for this one, I added a penguin!!

There is so much to see that I'm sure you'll want to be on your way to check out what each of the 12 Kits members made. We also have a special guest designer this month and a little drawing where you might win some of this gorgeous paper. Just think of all the wonderful Christmas projects you could start on! 

Click HERE to connect to the 12 Kits blog. There will be links to all the other blogs plus a list of kit supplies. And be sure to visit again in December when our hostess will be Jessica at The Paper Parade.

I'm so happy that you stopped by. 

Have a wonderful weekend,

Sharron

Happy Birthday, Christina!

Happy, happy birthday to a very sweet blogging friend, Christina, SeaGlass Papercrafts. If you haven't already, you must pay a visit to her blog. Christina is so incredibly talented and I love seeing her creations. There is never a time that I am not truly inspired by her work. And I feel so fortunate that I have gotten to know her better through the 12 Kits group.

Christina, I hope your day is very special, just like you! Joyce, Cards-by-the-Sea, has once again been our super party planner and arranged for us all to get together to help you celebrate.

Wished I could say I baked this cake for you!! I would love to know how to do that flower!

PINTEREST

I'm also entering this in the WPlus9 Monday Mood Board #22. Below is the inspiration photo that Dawn's posted. Fresh Cut Florals is one of my very favorite sets. Loved being able to use it here!

So off you go to see what wonderful thing Tracey has made. Enjoy every minute of your day!

Hugs,  

Sharron

Joyce

Cathy

Darnell

Jeanne

Jill

Kara

Kim

Lynn

Marybeth

Renee

Sharron (you're here)

Tracey 

Supplies

Stamps: Fresh Cut Florals (WPlus9); Beautiful Butterflies (PTI)

Cardstock: Ballet Slippers, Oatmeal (WPlus9)

Patterned Paper: Oxford Lane (My Mind's Eye)

Dies: Fresh Cut Florals (WPlus9); Tiny Bow (Memory Box)

Additional: Embossing Folder (Lifestyle); Pearls (Recollections); Lace (Joann's); Inks--Love Letter, Cantaloupe, Bamboo Leaves, Rhubarb Stalk, Rich Cocoa from Memento, Onyx Black from Versafine

Happy Autumn Birthday, Tracey!

PHOTO CREDIT: MARTHA STEWART

Welcome to the party! This is a special birthday linky party for a very special lady, Tracey, In My Creative Opinion. This was organized by the best-ever party organizer, Joyce, Cards-by-the-Sea. Click on Joyce's blog to connect to the links of the other party-goers!

PHOTO CREDIT: PINTEREST, MARTHA STEWART

Today is Tracey's birthday and her friends, and there are a lot of them, wanted to help her celebrate! Tracey is so incredibly talented. Her CAS designs will absolutely WOW you every time you visit her blog. And if you haven't dropped by there yet, you have missed a real treat! And in addition to all her creativity, she is such a sweet blogging friend, always quick to leave encouraging comments. I feel so very lucky to have gotten to know her through the 12 Kits group!

Tracey, hope your day is truly wonderful and just as special as you are!

Sending HUGS,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Mailbox Greetings (PTI)

Cardstock: Oatmeal (WPlus9); Dark Chocolate, Canyon Clay (PTI)

Patterned Paper: From My Stash

Dies: Birthday (PTI); Grove Branch (Memory Box); Fall Foliage (Spellbinders)

Additional: Woodgrain Impression Plate (PTI); Glitter Strip (October 12 Kits Kit); Wild Honey Ink (Ranger); Potter's Clay Ink (Memento)

12 Kits of Occasions: October 'Celebrating Autumn'

PHOTO BY KARA

Another whole month has sped by and the 12 Kits group has switched our emphasis from Halloween to Autumn. Kara, KandRdesigns, is our hostess this month and above is the photo she took of her awesome kit. It was hard to stop with four cards as I have more already laid out and I haven't even seen what everyone else has made yet. I know there will even more that I will want to CASE! Fall is my favorite season and opening Kara's kit package was such a joy. Loved all the wonderful papers, the die cuts, fabulous embellishments and those gorgeous gold leaves! Thank you so much, Kara, for a truly amazing kit!!

To see all the other members' creations, click HERE and you will be taken to the 12 Kits of Occasions blog. There you will find sample projects and links to all the other blogs. Be sure to scroll down to see the wonderful give-away that Kara has provided. And don't forget to sign up for the drawing! There is also a list of kit supplies provided.

My first card uses the house from PTI's Autumn Hills. The patterned paper under the house was a piece from my stash---loved the pumpkins. Kara included three die cut words and I used one here with 'for friends' from PTI's First Fruits. I added glitter to the cut-out pumpkins here and the tree below but just can't seem to capture the sparkle with my camera!

Here again I stamped a sentiment from Fresh Fruits. LOVE Kara's gold leaves and that fantastic woodgrain paper from Avery Elle!

PTI's Take Three die was perfect for making cut outs for two images from an included sheet of patterned paper. The turkey from the same paper was fussy cut.

There is always so much to see so I'm sure you want to be on your way. Be sure to visit all the blogs!

Thanks for visiting and have a Happy Autumn!!

Sharron

Happy Birthday, Scott!

I made this card this weekend for our son-in-law who is an AVID sports fan. And since this is football season, I thought he would like something in the colors of his favorite NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs. Who, by the way, are so far having a super season!

Love how well the Lil' Inker Pieced Chevron worked for this. The feathers are WPlus9 dies and the sentiment is from On the Line by MFT. I glued two feather die cuts together with some twine in the middle. The twine was threaded through a hole in the circle and secured with a brad. A birthday sentiment from SS Birthdays by PTI is on the inside. The red color seems a little off but I couldn't retake my picture as the card was already in the mail!

Thanks for dropping by,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: On the Line (MFT)

Cardstock: Pure Poppy, True Black, Harvest Gold, SS White (PTI)

Dies: Pieced Chevrons (Lil' Inker); Fanciful Feathers (WPlus9)

Additional: Twine (Martha Stewart); Brad (Basic Grey); Onyx Black Ink (Versafine)

Waltzingmouse Pajama Party: October

I didn't want to miss Claire's Pajama Party over on the Waltzingmouse blog! You won't want to either!! It is the perfect time for some spooky fun as two of the challenges will definitely put you in the mood for Halloween!!!!!

My first card is for Victorian Ghost Stories and while I don't usually do much with a vintage Halloween theme, I have this fabulous new set with a quite scary vintage witch! And as you will see, I was loving the witch/bat theme.

My next two cards are for the Greenish Halloweenish category. Another design using the Vintage Witch set. The image and sentiments work so great for fantastic but quick Halloween cards. Of course, I had to add another bat!

And lastly is using Gracie at Halloween! I LOVE this set!! It was even more special as I had a chance to do some paper piecing and cut another moon with my Lil' Inker dies. The realistic little bats are the best. 

So slip into your jammies and head over to the WMS blog to join the party!

See you there,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Vintage Witch, Gracie at Halloween (WMS)

Cardstock: Soft Stone, True Black, Terracotta Tile (PTI); Unk Bazzill Green

Patterned Paper: Pumpkin Patch (American Crafts); Black and White Basics (PTI)

Dies: Stitched Circles, Stitched Rectangles, Bats and Broomsticks (Lil' Inker); Swooping Bats (Memory Box); Labels 11 (Spellbinders); Basic Banners (WPlus9)

Additional: Grape and Orange Peel Stickles; Woodgrain Impression Plate (PTI); Copics; Twine from October 12 Kits Supplies

Look for Witches Flying By!

It has been one of those weeks and I haven't been able to post a thing! I have been working on some projects that you will see later though. I had fallen in love with this card (the first on her post) that Marybeth created for our last 12 Kits post. Isn't it cool!! And Marybeth was so sweet to send me this wonderful witch die cut so I could try out my own version You might want to check out the Lil' Inker blog today--there are lots of goodies in the new Christmas release--including an awesome new cover up die!! 

I used a mixture of papers from different companies. The piece for the moon is from a Martha Stewart pack and the orange had that wonderful shading, perfect for cutting out moons. Another very sweet friend recently sent me a gift of some WM sets. Aren't I SO LUCKY to have such wonderful stamping friends!! The sentiment I used is from my new WM's Gracie at Halloween which I absolutely love.

Thanks for taking a peek at my card!

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Gracie at Halloween (WMS)

Cardstock: True Black, Soft Stone (PTI)

Patterned Paper: Pumpkin Patch (American Crafts); Vintage Halloween (Martha Stewart); Hocus Pocus (PTI)

Dies: Stitched Circles, Pieced Chevrons Cover-Up, Bats and Broomsticks (Lil' Inker Designs)

12 Kits of Occasions: September "Celebrating Halloween"

It's that time again! The last day of each month is when the 12 Kits of Occasions group reveals what everyone made with this month's kit. And this month is full of lots of fun and spooky Halloween projects! Our hostess is Kim, Cupcakes, Cards and Kim. Halloween is a very favorite holiday for Kim and she always posts the best cards and projects. So if you're looking for some inspiration for this year's projects, be sure to check Kim's blog during October.

But today is the day to check the 12 Kits creations. Here is a peek from my card that you can find over on the 12 Kits of Occasions blog here. You will also find links to all the other blogs plus a photo and list of the supplies that Kim included in our kits. Wow, they are awesome!! And this month we have a special Guest Designer, Darnell from djkardkreations. I can't wait to see what great things she has made plus you never know what fun little tidbits she might share with you when you drop in at her blog.

Well, Halloween is a lot about the candy but also those 'creepies' that jump, fly and screech in the night. So come with us on our Halloween Hop! Hope you have a spooktacular time!!!!

Loved this paper and those great die cut spiders. I had so much fun with my card that I made a bookmark to match! The eyes are Orange Peel Stickles. I also added sentiments from Hocus Pocus and Cicely at Halloween sets by Waltzingmouse Stamps.

Thanks, Kim---you kit was amazing! I loved playing with all the fabulous papers, die cuts and sentiments. And as is usually the case with all our kits, there are still plenty of supplies to make even more Halloween goodies. So you never know when additional creations may show up over on the 12 Kits blog!!

Wishing everyone a fabulous Fall and a Happy and Safe Halloween!

Sharron

Welcome Baby Sonny!

Today those of us in the 12 Kits group are celebrating the upcoming birth of a very special baby! Jessica and her hubby, Phillip, are expecting their first--a sweet baby boy who they are going to name "Sonny"! And even though he won't be here for a couple more weeks, here is my card to welcome him.

Congratulations to both of you--what a wonderfully happy time! I'm sure you can't wait to meet your new little guy. Wishing you many years of happiness and endless magical moments with Sonny! HUGS, Sharron

Click here to visit the 12 Kits of Occasions blog where you can find links to all the other cards and leave your own best wishes for Jessica! 

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Jerry Giraffe Digital (Jane's Doodles); Compact Sentiments (WMS)

Cardstock: White, Lake House (WPlus9)

Patterned Paper: Quilting Bee (My Mind's Eye)

Additional: Button (PTI), Twine (The Twinery); Onyx Black Ink (Versafine); Copics

Happy Birthday, Kara!

Photo Credit

We're having a party! It a blog hop for someone very special. Kara from KandRdesigns has a birthday today! I have gotten know Kara through the 12 Kits group and I absolutely love visiting her blog. She is so creative and does the most amazing things with paper! Kara, I hope your day is wonderful!! It would be awesome if we could all actually get together to help you celebrate. But hope you will enjoy the cards instead as we all wish you a fabulous birthday and lots of crafty time in the year ahead!

Joyce, Cards-by-the-Sea, was so sweet to organize our little party. Thanks, Joyce! A list of all the other blogs can be found below. 

I can't help but think of fall when I'm doing September cards so I used Lawn Fawn's Stitched Leaves for my card.

To everyone--hope you enjoy the hop! 

And to Kara--Birthday Hugs!!

Sharron

Joyce
Cathy

Christina

Jeanne

Jill

Kelly G.

Kelly S.

Kim

Leigh

Lisa

Lynn

Marybeth

Michelle
Nancy

Renee

Sharron (you're here)

Tracey

Supplies

Stamps: SS-Birthday (PTI)

Cardstock: Oatmeal (WPlus9); Summer Sunrise (PTI)

Patterned Paper: Sugar Hill (Farm House)

Dies: Stitched Leaves (Lawn Fawn); Stitched Rectangles (Lil' Inker)

Inks: Sepia (Versafine); Antique Linen, Wild Honey (Tim Holtz Distressed); Bamboo Leaves, Rhubarb Stalk (Memento)