Cas(e) this Sketch #112

LINK TO CHALLENGE

Couldn't believe it took me three tries to get this simple card done! After using some tape that tore my paper and getting too much glue on everything, I had to start over. Then after I got the second one done, I didn't like the patterned paper I used for the sentiment. But all turned out with the addition of some gold cardstock and an embossed hummingbird. My card actually ended up a lot better than I had planned!

Thanks so much for taking a peek! Hope you're having a great week!

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Ori Kami (Altenew)

Cardstock: Blueberry Sky, Lemon Tart (PTI), White (Recollections), Gold (LSS)

Dies: Thanks (Memory Box)

Additional: Gold Embossing Powder (Ranger)

The 12 Kits of Occasions: March, featuring Spring & Easter

I feel awful that I haven't posted one thing since the last 12 Kits post. So I'm especially happy to replace my snowman cards with cards that reflect Spring. I'm sure there are many people who have had all the snow they can stand for one year!

This month our hostess is Kelly, from Gingham Girl, and she sent us this fabulous kit! (See photo below) It was chock full of bunnies and birds, a wonderful variety of flowers, Easter eggs and lots of embellishments. Way too much to list everything but one of my very favorites was the paper! It was swoon-worthy! I was tempted to hoard everything but was good and cut into some of the awesome patterns for my cards below!! You can find a list of all the supplies at The 12 Kits of Occasions blog. Be sure to click on the link to also find pictures submitted by all our members plus a special guest that Kelly invited. Karen from Crrafty Mama's Kitchen is this month's guest designer. Be sure to visit her blog to see the great ways she has used Kelly's kit. Links to all the other 12 Kits members can be found on the 12 Kits blog also.

A big thank you to Kelly for a fantastic kit and treating us to so many fantastic supplies. Loved it, Kelly! And a shout out also to Kara for taking the great photo below.

PHOTO BY KARA

Kelly also included one of my favorite ever Waltzingmouse images--the cute bunny on my first card. Since I have the Lil' Buddies set, I stamped another bunny on the polka dot paper and was able to do a little paper piecing.

I'm also entering this card in the Fusion Card Challenge. I thought the sketch was a great design for using the large egg die cut.

Wish you could see this Easter card IRL. The eggs and butterfly were brushed with clear Wink of Stella and the heart is all shiny with Glossy Accents. Some things just aren't very photogenic!

Hope you enjoy the hop! Thank you so much for stopping by,

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.)

Wishing You Sunshine!!

Had to do another card for the Sunny Days Challenge over on the Lil' Inker blog! There's still a little over a day left for you to post an entry too!!!

Instead of rainbows, this time I used some hearts in different colors. And the sun is stamped with an image from Darling Diamonds. It fit perfectly!

My heart goes out to all those people experiencing all the tornado and flood damage in the Midwest.

Wish everyone could be blessed with sunshine!

Hugs,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Rainbows and Clouds Sentiments, Darling Diamonds (Lil' Inker)

Cardstock: Blue (Stash); Harvest Gold, Blueberry Sky, Pure Poppy, New Leaf, Orange Zest, Royal Velvet (PTI); Ultra Thick White (SSS); Spectrum Ultra Smooth Premium White

Patterned Paper: Paradise Beach (Echo Park)

Dies: Stitched Rectangles, Instant Camera, Rainbows and Clouds, Large Sunshine (Lil' Inker);

Precious Hearts (Memory Box)

Additional: Versafine Onyx Black Ink; Moracco Ink (Memento); Pages Pebbles (Making Memories)

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #94: Chipboard

Click on banner to link to CAS-ual Fridays Challenge blog and many more samples of what to do with chipboard.

This week's challenge is to use chipboard. As I didn't have any in my stash, I went the cupboard route and cut a section out of an almost empty cereal box! The umbrella is a die from Memory Box and I cut five pieces from the box, followed by two pieces from patterned paper (a textured brown and the matching paper with glittery polka dots). Gluing these together makes a wonderfully sturdy chipboard element. One nice thing about this particular die is that it is scored so you can fold back the sides to make the umbrella more three dimensional. This doesn't work so well with regular weight paper but works great with the heavier chipboard. I glued just the bottom part of the handle and the sides when putting it on the card.

I finally got a chance to play with my new Watercolor Wonder set too! This is going to be a really great set!! And lastly I just needed to find a sentiment and decided on this one from Scattered Showers.

Be sure to visit the CAS-ual Fridays store blog too. They are having peeks of their new release. Today are lots of fun new sentiments--so ah-mazing--you won't want to miss it!!!

Wishing you sunshine,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Scattered Showers, Watercolor Wonder (PTI)

Cardstock: SS White (PTI)

Patterned Paper: Hey Birdie (KaiserCraft)

Ink: Cantaloupe, Dandelion, New Sprout, Rose Bud (Memento)

Die: Petite Umbrella (Memory Box)

Additional: Corner Rounder Punch (EK Success)

CAS-ual Fridays #91: Hi Ho Silver

Click on banner to link to CAS-ual Fridays blog

This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge is to use a design with a bit of silver. So I used another Memory Box die cut over some silver glitter paper for the rain and stamped one of the clouds from Up, Up and Away with Versamark, then embossed with silver embossing powder.

The sentiment was computer generated. For a dose of color, I chose some Bitty Dot paper in Summer Sunrise. The umbrella was cut from the same glitter paper and then the piece of the colored paper was glued on top.

Thanks so much for taking a peek!

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Up, Up and Away (PTI); Sentiment was computer generated

Cardstock: Soft Stone, Stamper's Select White (PTI

Dies: Petite Umbrella, A Little Rain (Memory Box)

Additional: Silver Glitter Paper (Paper Source), Bitty Dots Patterned Paper (PTI), Silver Embossing Powder (Ranger)

Monday Mood Board--Week 2

There's a new challenge over at WPlus9! Each week Dawn will post a Monday Mood Board photo for inspiration. Click here to find out more about the rules and prizes. I missed last week's first challenge plus the Cloud 9 WPlus9 challenge so it was wonderful to be able to try this one out.

Monday Mood Board: Coral, Navy & Kraft

I love color challenges but these were the closest colors I had for coral and navy. And my lace substitute for a lacy look is my new Trellis Die. This morning after I received an email with this week's PTI's Design Team Tip, I knew the perfect flowers to use too. I was anxious to try out Maile's coloring technique. Love the way it looks on these Mother's Day Bouquet roses! Since I didn't have anything close to coral ink, I used Potter's Clay ink on Melon Berry cardstock. Then I tried the same technique on the leaves and, for a more subdued look, I stamped green on kraft.

Ever have those times when you have plenty of time to be crafty and can't seem to create anything you like? That's been me this week! Even looking through blogs didn't help. So I spent the last couple of days watching our wonderful 14 inches of snow fall. LOVE it!!! Our bird feeders were overcrowded and the pond busy with, believe it or not, birds taking baths! Today is sunny and absolutely gorgeous-- but unfortunately with fewer birds!! And the neighbors are building a snow fort across from our house on the golf course--such fun!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Mother's Day Bouquet, Pretty Patches: Apple (WPlus9)

Cardstock: Oatmeal (WPlus9); Enchanted Evening, Melon Berry, Kraft (PTI)

Die: Trellis (Memory Box)

Additional: Pearls (Recollections); Memento Inks (Potter's Clay, Bamboo Leaves); White Embossing Powder (Ranger); Corner Rounder Punch (Stampin' Up

Play Date Cafe Challenge #166

I switched gears this morning when some happy mail included this Memory Box Trellis die. It's hard not to want every new die that comes out! And since I now have the Memory Box Metal Adaptor Plate, everything cuts like a dream.  

The PDCC this week is a Color Splash--black and white and this time a splash of emerald green. These were as close I could get. The butterfly's body and tips of the wings have green and I used New Leaf cardstock for the trellis insets. Kara at KandRdesigns has such an amazing talents for creating patterns. So when I first cut the trellis out, and after seeing her blog yesterday, I started thinking about designs I could create. Hopefully the green gives the abstract look of a vine. I thought the added flower gemstone might help. I like to do dimensional butterflies so I stamped one on the cardstock and stamped and cut out the body and wings of another one to layer on top.

Just a note about supplies. Two of my mainstays are Tombow Mono Permanent Adhesive and Helmar V2 Vellum Adhesive. I prefer Tombow to glue most everything on my cards. The V2 adhesive is a spray and perfect for adding vellum or clear cardstock plus things like the trellis. It's so easy to spray something that isn't solid. Then I added very small dots of Tombow in the openings where I added the green--really fast and easy!

Perhaps this will make you think of Spring!

Have a wonderfully creative week,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Antique Engravings (Hero Arts); Half and Half (PTI)

Cardstock: Soft Stone, Stamper's Select White, New Leaf (PTI)

Dies: Trellis (Memory Box)

Additional: Gemstone (Hobby Lobby); Tuxedo Black Ink (Memento); Copics

The 12 Kits of Christmas: December

Just two more days in 2012 and our last 12 Kits post for this year! This month I had the honor of putting the kits together and decided on a winter theme. I started with the patterned paper collection from Bo Bunny called Snowy Day, a mix of green and blues with a touch of yellow. I love designs that are nature inspired so I was able to include some of my favorite things. Now I am SO anxious to see what everyone else made! Kara was so sweet and took a picture of the supplies in the kit (see below).

If this is your first visit, HERE is a link where you can find out more about our little group.

PHOTO BY KARA

I kind of went crazy with the glitter this month! For this card, I used glitter on the trees, the snowflake and some on a few of the 'snowflake dots' in the background.

More glitter! The snow drifts are glitter paper but I added my own after stamping a sentiment on the snowflake. "Peace on Earth" seemed to fit better for a nature-themed card (a little deviation from the sentiments in the kit). This sentiment is half of one in the Love Lives Here-Holidays set by PTI.

I cut out one of the circles in the patterned paper to decorate the mug in this card--then covered it with a layer of Glossy Accents. The steam is glittery too but doesn't show up well so you may not see the sparkles!

This is my easy peasy card. I love birds so knew I had to use these! I cut the 'Merry Christmas' from the embossed cardstock that was embossed using a Cuttlebug holiday sentiment folder. I didn't realize the birds would need something so small for eyes and after searching my stash I luckily found these teeny pearls on a flourish that Renee sent to me earlier this year. The red trim was cut with a Spellbinders border die.

Love these little snowmen by Lawn Fawn! For the kit the plain snowmen were stamped on a piece of cardstock and I first thought about being more creative and cutting them apart. But in the end, they were just fun to dress up, add a little glitter and have them ready to mail to the grandkids who are enjoying their first snow after just moving from Florida to Ohio.

Funny, I thought the first things I would use in the kit were the sweater and mittens. I found the dies recently through Ellen Hutson and thought they were so cute. So guess what I haven't used yet! 

Below is a list of all the participants so be sure to take time to visit all the blogs. You'll love all the inspiration available from my 12 Kits stamping buddies. There are always amazing creations to see!

May each of you have a safe and happy New Year's. 

Wishing you peace and many blessings in 2013,

Sharron

Renee {It's a Patchwork Life}

Suzanne {The Card Yard}

Cathy {Empty Nest Crafter}

Joyce {Cards-by-the-Sea}

Kim {Cupcakes Cards and Kim}

Kara {KandRDesigns}
Amy Kolling (Stamp-n-Paradise)

Marybeth {Marybeth's Time for Paper}

Jeanne {A Kept Life}

Jessica {The Paper Parade}

Christina {Sea Glass Papercrafts}

December Kit Supplies

Stamps: Snowflake Greetings (Cas-ual Fridays); Making Frosty Friends, Winter Fox (Lawn Fawn); In the Meadow, Pretty Peonies, Signature Christmas (PTI); Folk Art Flurries, Winter Wishes (WPlus9)

Cardstock: Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy, Soft Stone, Stamper’s Select White, Vintage Cream (PTI); Baja Breeze, Old Olive (Stampin’ Up); Oatmeal (WPlus9)

Patterned/Textured Paper: Glitter Paper-Opal White (LSS); Snowy Days (Bo Bunny); Mitten Weather (for one of the sweaters) (Cosmo Cricket)

Dies/Punches: Birds, Pine Branch (Impression Obsession); Mittens, Sweater (Lifestyle Crafts); Anna Snowflake, Tall Birch (Memory Box); Sentiment Strips, Snow Drifts (MFT); Christmas Label, Framed Out #3, In the Meadow, Mat Stack 4, Pretty Peonies-Frame (PTI); Pretty Patches Tree, Seasonal Sentiments, Simple Snowflake (WPlus9); Scalloped Oval Punch (Marvy)

Embossing Folders: Christmas Words & Dots Set (Sizzix-Hero Arts)

Embellishments/Misc: Bells (Darice); Buttons (PTI-Hawaiian Shores); Felt (National Nonwovens); Gemstones (Paper Studio-Hobby Lobby); Pearls, Rhinestones, Large Gemstone (Recollections-Michaels); Ribbon (Hobby Lobby & Michaels) 

Inks: Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive (Stampin’ Up); Rich Cocoa, Teal Zeal, Tuxedo Black (Memento)

The 12 Kits of Christmas: August

Well, we have finally arrived at the last day of August! I know Summer isn't officially over but it always seems like it when September arrives. And tonight the Red August moon will also be Blue! If you don't know where the phrase "once in a blue moon" came from, it is from the rare occurrence of two moons in the same month. The second one is the 'blue' moon!

But today is also important because it is time for another 12 Kits of Christmas reveal. For any visitors who haven't visited before, HERE is an explanation about how we got started. Our wonderful hostess this month is Kim (Cupcakes, Cards and Kim)! She chose the prettiest non-traditional colors and included these great digital designs in CAS styles. Below is the photo of supplies that Kara, our trusty photographer, took. Just look at all the goodies! Aren't the colors gorgeous!

PHOTO BY KARA

I just knew the first thing I would use were those cool word cut-outs but you know, I didn't---yet! I'm saving them for a later CASE!!! And I can't wait to see how other people used them! All my cards turned out to be very CAS and I loved making them. Thanks Kim for a truly fabulous kit--I loved it! 

I adored the stripes and used the girly shoe image for a simple feminine card. The only things I colored were the holly leaves and berries. I added some Glossy Accents to the berries and used a Sizzix embossing border on the Autumn Rose center strip.

I absolutely loved the pleated ribbon Kim included. So my next card is a combination of patterned papers and that gorgeous ribbon! The little tag is made from some included patterned paper and glued to a piece of Ocean Tides cardstock. It can be taken out so a signature or even a small photo could be added.

To me, there always seems to be something special about white on white or in this case, cream on cream. Kim included the already embossed snowflake panel and I decided one of the little trees would work great for a focal point. It was so quick to use the broad tip of a Copic to color the tree. Talk about easy! I love using tags on cards so I cut out two PTI tags and cut an opening in the Scarlet Jewel one. I was going to use some ribbon but remembered how wonderful the Lil' Inker bows look on tags. So I got out one that Renee had sent me! I thought the black and white polka dots looked great with the mod little tree! 

This final card is my CASE of this card from Christina's April post:

I really tried not to COPY it but didn't end up with many changes. Love her card so much so kept with her design! Hope that is okay, Christina!

One of the best things about being in this group (and gosh, there are many!) is seeing what everyone else makes with the same supplies. I try to stay awake on release night so I can at least peek! So below is the list of participants. Be sure to visit all the blogs for lots more holiday/winter inspiration!

Renee {It's a Patchwork Life}

Suzanne {The Card Yard}

Cathy {Empty Nest Crafter}

Joyce {Cards-by-the-Sea}

Kim {Cupcakes Cards and Kim}

Kara {KandRDesigns}

Marybeth {Marybeth's Time for Paper}

Jeanne {A Kept Life}

Jessica {The Paper Parade}

Christina {Sea Glass and Sentiments}

Enjoy the hop!!

Hope to see you next month--same time--same place,

Sharron

Supplies included in Kim's Kit (those I used are highlighted)

Digital Images: Pink Petticoat

Cardstock; Autumn Rose, Sweet Blush, Ivory and White (PTI)

Patterned Paper: Winterland (Fancy Pants Designs)

Dies: Wonderful Words Holiday (PTI)

Embossing Folder: Snowflakes (Cuttlebug)

Pearls and Bling: Stampin Up

Ribbon: Blue (Joann's); Sweet Blush (PTI); Pleated (SU); Victorian Crochet (SU)

Buttons: PTI

Misc: Jingle Bells and Vellum Envelope

The 12 Kits of Christmas: February

Another exciting reveal for the 12 Kits group! It is such fun to see what everyone has created. For those of you not familiar with our little group, we started out this year with a group of 12 stampers who all wanted to get a jump start on Christmas! Each month one of us puts together kits for all the members. We all get the same supplies and then post our creations on the last day of the month! 

This month Cathy, The Empty Nest Crafter, is our hostess and below is a photo of the supplies in her kits. Kara has kindly taken pictures that any of us can use if we didn't do pictures when our supplies arrived. Guilty here!! And thanks much, Kara! I love the day the kit arrives! It's a total surprise packet--full of wonderful stamping supplies--like a Christmas package full of goodies!! Thank you, Cathy--I loved working with this month's kit!

Photo by Kara

Meet Wesley Bear--isn't he adorable! Cathy cut out several copies of Wesley and stamped him. She also included a felt version. You'll see him in a second! Also included was a snow globe and lots of pretty trim pieces for us to try. I wanted to add some of the 'snow' Cathy sent so I cut a circle out of the front and added a piece of clear plastic. Wesley is now enclosed in his little winter wonderland. Loved those little sparkly snowflakes so had to use those too! The snow globe card is then mounted on a base of kraft cardstock and a piece of the Memory Box patterned paper in the kit. The front of the globe can be lifted leaving a circle where a message can be written.

And here is felt Wesley. Don't laugh at his nose! I embroidered his face but kept looking at him thinking his nose was too big! I debated about redoing it but finally decided to leave well enough alone! The sweet little scarf was from Cathy! I did add something not in the kit. The Nordic patterned ribbon was part of a Christmas gift from my dear friend, Renee. I thought it was just the perfect touch! Wesley loves it too!

Here is a list of everyone who is participating. Be sure to visit their blogs for some wonderful inspiration! You don't want to miss even one!! I'm going to try and stay up late tonight so I can see everyone's posts as soon as they go up!!

Renee
Cathy
Suzanne
Marybeth
Joyce
Amy
Christina
Kim
Kara
Jessica
Jeanne
Sharron--you're here!

So happy that you came to visit. Hope you had fun!

HUGS,

Sharron

Supplies in Cathy's Kit (Those I Used Are in Red)

Snow Globe-My Time Made Easy

Paper-Yuletide Collection-Memory Box

Polar Bear Stamp and Die (Wesley)-Memory Box

Banner Die-Spellbinders Ribbon Banner Trio

Embossing Folder-Tim Holtz

Buttons-PTI

Sentiments-Holiday Lights, In the Meadow (PTI); Compliments of the Season (WMS); Cocoa Bear (Lil Inkers)

Synthetic Snowflakes (Michaels)

The 12 Kits of Christmas: January

Hi everyone!

So glad you dropped by today--there are some exciting activities! Find a comfy place to sit and grab a beverage (coffee for me!)--this is a long post--but full of lots of goodies--including links to 11 other blogs and information about some blog candy!!!

OMG, I have been so anxious for this day to arrive! I was thrilled when Renee asked if I would be interested in joining this new group. The name is a play on 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' and the idea was a concept from Renee and Suzanne to help us support each other and get our holiday cards done early. Each month one of us will prepare 12 kits of supplies--one for ourselves and 11 to send out to the other participants. We can select the stamps/dies/etc. from any company--use any styles, any colors--just whatever suits our fancy. And when the kit arrives at our house, it is like a birthday, Christmas or fun celebration every month! Our February kits have already started arriving and wow, it is SO ADORABLE!

Renee got us off to a fantastic start with the most wonderful die cuts and a bundle of the most awesome supplies! It was definitely like Christmas when it came in the mail!! Just looking through all these goodies was a treat! And she loves this window so much that she sent everyone a bunch of extras--so you may be seeing Spring window cards soon too!! Of course, now we'll all want our own window die! It's OOS most places but sure to be on many wishlists!! I ordered the smaller version (plus a few more Memory Box dies!) and my order just arrived today!!!! 

PHOTO BY KARA

I don't have a very large crafting area so I put everything from Renee's kit out on the dining room table. It was such fun to play with layouts! With everything right there, it is so easy to get started creating! Did I mention how much I LOVE this idea!!! We only have to make one card or project but I ended up with three---could have done more but thought I might be overdoing it!

Anyway, on to my first card............

One theory of the origin of the phrase "I'll be there with bells on" is from when horses, often adorned with bells, were a major form of transportation? When I saw these bells and black velvet ribbon, I knew I wanted to use the sleigh and make a bell strap for my card! But just couldn't bring myself to use all the bells---I only used three!! Everything on this card, except the MS coarse glitter came from the kit!

My second card is perhaps my favorite. 'Cuz I LOVE the plaid! I did add a piece of light denim cardstock for the sky and used two different circle punches to punch holes so it would look like snow! See Renee's card here--she is using a Memory Box Snow Die. Isn't it cool--this is my DIY version! The wreath was cut using a MS fern punch.

For my last card I added Santa and his sleigh from WMS Twas the Night Before Christmas. And I did a little something different with the tree. I cut a piece of white cardstock to place behind the tree so all the cutouts (see Kara's photo above) would appear white. Then I colored part of them red with a Copic marker. Did you notice how the design in the tree matches the design in the background paper? The whole tree was then covered with fine glitter.

Be sure to visit all the other blogs! We all schedule our posts to go live at the same time so, as I am writing this, I have not seen anyone else's. That's part of the fun!! Can't wait to go visiting myself!! Also Renee is offering some blog candy--a collection of die cuts of your very own so you too can play!! Check her blog for details. You just need to leave a little lovin' as you hop along!

Renee

Suzanne

Cathy

Joyce

Kim

Amy

Kara

Sharron--You are HERE! 

Marybeth 

Jeanne

Jessica

Christina

Thanks so much for visiting! Have fun!!

SMILES,

Sharron

Here is a list of some of the supplies included in the Kit that I used:

Stamps: Twas the Night Before Christmas, Compliments of the Season (both WMS)

Dies: Grand Madison Window (Poppystamps); O Tannenbaum Christmas Tree (Cheery Lynn); In the Meadow (PTI)

Velvet Ribbon (Simplicity)