The 12 Kits of Occasions January 2020: "January Leftovers"

Welcome and Happy New Year to All!! We're here and ready for another wonderful year. There have been a few changes as we are sadly losing some team members (at least for now!) while we are thrilled to have another return. Sometimes life brings changes and people need to step away and sometimes former designers are able to rejoin. Everyone who is or has been a part of our group is always considered "family" and there are no goodbyes!! So we are wishing Lisa Elton, Lindsey Larson and Kara Lynne Pogreba a great 2020--we'll miss you. And Kelly Schirmer will soon be sharing her creative talents with us again.!

For a change of pace our theme is Leftovers. It is amazing how many we accumulate. I'm up to two large baskets! Each month I add a baggie labeled with titles and goodies safe inside. I finally had to separate the Christmas themes out but that only put a small dent in my supplies.

Our group started out in 2012. We're had title changes and much shuffling of members but continue here always feeling blessed to be part of such a special group and focused on a fun way to share ideas with each other and with you! Visit the 12 Kits blog to see all the other designers' blogs!

When I started looking through my baskets, I was at first a little overcome. Where does one start?? But after a while I felt I could play forever! I didn't make as many as I would have liked but found it magical how easily some of my basket buddies quickly were playing together!!

 Loved this gorgeous patterned paper with the brown and pale pink butterflies. The die cut frame worked perfectly with those little black hearts--very classy1

I knew I wanted to use this sentiment on one of the pretty floral papers. A little color was sponged on and then a PTI die used.

I had this cutie set aside after finishing with Jessica's sweet kit. He was still in an envelope until now!

Another favorite kit for me was Jeanne's January 2019 "Good Fortune". These last three cards used materials from there.

I still had one Ninja left and he seemed perfect here. At the last minute I saw the star die cut from another of Jeanne's sets, Out of the World.

The wonderful Asiatic designs reminded me of the Chinese Garden at Wichita's Botanical Gardens. I liked the paper but didn't see the best use for it until now. I also sponged the tea house with a little color to look like wood. I had to search through all my stamps looking for that sentiment. I knew it work great on a Lil' Inker cloud die cut. The sentiment is from Altenew's Ori Kami!

Thanks you so much for your visit! I hope we were able to inspire you with the possibilities your leftovers hold!

Hugs, Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: December with Marcia "The Tags of Christmas"

Wishing a very Happy New Year to everyone!! Not only is this month coming to a close but a whole year and a whole decade -- WOW!! We may be making some changes to our 12 Kits of Occasions in 2020 so be sure to stay turned to find out what new things may be in the future.

This has been such a FUN month. Our hostess has been Marcia, Marcia's Stampin' Pad. Marcia is one of our newest designers and this has been her first kit. She chose to feature Christmas tags and sent us an amazing selection of supplies--fabulous stamps and so many die cuts! What could be more appropriate for December when we are trying to finish up our supply of cards and tags. We've never done just tags before and it was an awesome choice. Thanks so much Marcia!! Just click HERE to connect with the 12 Kits blog where you will find links to all the other designers and their wonderful collection of tags. Marcia's list of supplies can be found at the top under Monthly Supplies.

PHOTO BY LINDSEY

Do you have special New Year's Eve plans? If so, have fun and stay safe!!! Thanks for spending a few minutes here. I always enjoy your visits.

Have a happy and blessed new year!

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: November with Lindsey "All is Calm, All is Bright"

PHOTO BY LINDSEY

Hope everyone in the States had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! We are now on the countdown to Christmas and other winter holidays! And fitting with the season the 12 Kits group was able to focus on Christmas and winter designs. Lindsey, Occasional Stamping, was this month's talented and very sweet hostess and she sent us a truly beautiful kit. You can find a list of all the supplies Lindsey included at the top of the 12 Kits blog. I loved the natural colors and emphasis on nature. There were so many options on ways to combine elements and after coloring my images I spend quite a bit of time mixing and matching until I could finally decide on my favorites. There were just so many great images, pretty papers and fun die cuts! Thank you Lindsey for a wonderful month! Now I'm anxious to see what the other designers have made so am heading over to the 12 Kits blog HERE. Won't you please join me........

I always love little critters that I can color. This month I used Prismacolor pencils for everything. The sentiment is from an Avery Elle set.

(EDITED PHOTO --I GOT THE MANGER ON MY FIRST CARD CROOKED.
SINCE I MESSED UP THE BLACK WHEN I PEELED IT OFF I ADDED THE GRAY LAYER. I THINK I LIKE IT BETTER!)

These reindeer were so cute! Here I did add a sentiment from Picket Fence.

I dug out a very old rubber stamp to make the cap and added a pearl accent!

I ended with this whimsical design and Rudolph!

Hope you enjoyed the hop and got some inspiration to help with your Christmas designs! Have a blessed and peaceful holiday season!

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: October with Sharron "Autumn Days"

WONDERFUL PHOTO BY LINDSEY

Hi all! We're here with another 12 Kits of Occasions reveal. It's also one day early as we always post early in October - due to all the Halloween festivities. And I'm your hostess this month! I always love fall and all the gorgeous colors that make the world seem magical. Here in Kansas we finally have cooler temperatures and the ground is becoming covered with lots of those pretty leaves. I was lucky to find these wonderful patterned papers and fun images. Hope you enjoy your visits to all the designers' blogs. Just click HERE to be connected to the 12 Kits blog. There is also a supply list at the top of the blog in case you are interested in the supplies used.

Loved this Stamping Bella image!

Several turkeys were included but I only used one. I googled turkey photos to get an idea of colors. 

If I could have multiples of any of the patterned papers it would be this one. Don't the leaves just shout "FALL"! The stamped and die cut leaves were a wonderful addition. I really liked the patterns and stamped each with a light ink. Using additional color (I used Copics) really brings out the patterns.

I have loved this Mo Manning/Penny Black image for a long time and took the opportunity to buy her for this month's kit. She is so precious and I felt like she worked as the only image on this card.

October arrives in a swirl of fragrant blue leaf smoke, the sweetness of slightly frosted MacIntosh apples, and little hard acorns falling. We are in the midst of cool crisp days, purple mists, and Nature recklessly tossing her whole palette of dazzling tones through fields and woodlands.

Jean Hersey

Hope you have a wonderful Fall!!

Sharron

The 12 Kit of Occasions: September with Kim "Friends and Food"

Hi all! This is a very short post but I wanted to get my cards posted! I had a heart cath on Friday and I'm having a very hard time typing. Visit the 12 Kits blog to connect with all the other blogs and see what the other designers have made. We even have a guest designer!. Thanks Kim for a wonderful month.

PHOTO BY LINDSEY

APPROPRIATE SENTIMENT CAN GO INSIDE!

More later when I can get back to typing!

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: August with Michelle "End of Summer Soiree"

Summer seems to be winding down! I'm really not a hot weather person (actually it's the humidity!) and I'm always happy to have the temperatures come down! So I enjoyed playing with this very easy end of summer kit. See all the wonderful supplies in Lindsey's photo below. There is also a list printed on the 12 Kits blog. Our talented hostess this month is Michelle from Pretty Periwinkles. She does such wonderful cards with clean designs and beautiful use of colors.

PHOTO BY LINDSEY

As I said, this kit was especially easy to work with--the cards almost made themselves! It's always fun to just lay all the supplies out and mix and match then see designs magically come together. For my first card I used the pretty blue patterned paper for a sky and arranged some images. 

This next design is a combo of gorgeous patterned papers that Michelle sent. I did die cut some embossed paper with a new die from The Greetery. I couldn't resist ordering it as I knew I would love it--and I do!

This background paper was die cut so I had a scalloped edge. Then it was quick to arrange the blooms and leaves that were already colored and die cut. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamps.

This was fun! Michelle wrapped our supplies in some patterned paper which I cut for this card. Polka dots are always a favorite! The large sentiment was another must-use! I fussy cut the bear and heart-shaped balloon and used some twine Michelle had tied around some tags.

This gorgeous die cut was glued to one of the pretty papers and then I just placed one of the sentiments on top.

This is such beautiful paper! I wish all the gold would show up better in a photo. I used a medallion from the kit and some of the flowers. The sentiment is from The Greetery. I have been sending cards every week to a friend who is extremely ill so this one will be for her.

A big thank you to Michelle for an awesome kit! And thanks to you for taking time to come by for a visit. We'll see you again in September--the last day of the month!

Hugs,

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: July with Marybeth "The Best Summer" Ever"

Welcome to another 12 Kits reveal! Summer is official here in Kansas with temperatures in the 90s. Our flowers that looked so fantastic after all the earlier rains are now showing the stress of the heat. It's a perfect time to stay inside and play with this month's kit. Our sweet and super talented hostess is Marybeth, Marybeth's Time for Paper.  See the photo below to get a peek at some of the wonderful supplies. There were lots of fun images, fabulous patterned papers and really "cool" die cuts! A complete list can be found at the top of the 12 Kits blog. Links to all the designers can be found there also.

PHOTO BY LINDSEY

I really enjoyed playing with all these products, all were new to me! Thanks to Marybeth for a truly wonderful month! This amazing Mason jar is from The Greetery. Marybeth sent them already stamped. I absolutely love this set--so realistic!

Marybeth also stamped this paper, which makes a wonderful subtle background. I added some patterned paper from my stash for a border. And I love the kit's fabulous die cut sentiment.

The patterned papers in the kit were so awesome, so summery. This gingham worked great with the wonderful Poppy Stamps frame. The sentiment is from The Greetery.

Easy peasy card--adore the stripes and isn't the popsicle fun!

These next two cards are for our twin granddaughters who had a July birthday. Of course they had to be in their favorite colors--pink and purple!

Card #2

Thank you so much for visiting! Hope you enjoyed the hop!!

Hugs,

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: June with Birgit "Summer Fun"

Happy Summer to All! It's so hard to believe that summer is actually here as only in the past week have we, in this part of Kansas, had really typically hot weather. But just looking at the fabulous photo below (done by Lindsey) is sure to put everyone in the mood. Look at all the wonderful products put together by this month's wonderful hostess, Birgit, Crafting While I Wait. Don't they remind you of all the fun things that make summer special. There were so many amazing stamped images, fabulous die cuts and perfect patterned papers. Thanks so much, Birgit!!

COLLAGE PHOTO BY LINDSEY

While I loved everything in the kit, I absolutely ADORED all the penguins. The first thing I did was color all of them! And I still have one left in case it's needed for a CASE! So let's go visit all the blogs over at the 12 Kits and see what fabulous things all the other designers made. In case you're interested in products, Birgit also put a list of the supplies that are in the kit at the top of the blog.

I loved how the wonderful patterned papers in this kit could be used in so many ways.

I don't do much layering so this is my summer attempt!

Sentiments from The Greetery

Sentiment from Lil' Inker

Hope you enjoyed the hop and got some inspiration for your summer designs. Thanks so much for letting us share!

Have a wonderful July!

Hugs,

Sharron