The 12 Kits of Occasions: August--It's a Birthday Party with Kara

This has been such a fun month! Kara, KandR Designs, is our hostess and the theme is birthdays. Today is the 12 Kits reveal and I'm sure you are going to love Kara's kit as much as I did. See her photo below. She included so many fantastic supplies--papers in so many bright, cheery colors, lots of die cuts and wonderful stamped images. There was even a stamp set from WPlus9 for each of us plus an extra that YOU have a chance to win! Do you feel like you're at a party yet!! 

PHOTO BY KARA

One of the things I especially loved was that Kara cut the plain cardstock with various dies, leaving two  trimmed pieces that could be used together or separately. It also created a great way to show off the awesome patterned papers!

Another item that was included was a supply of glossy cardstock. Kara has been doing some awesome designs with this over on her blog. Be sure to check our her last few posts. Unfortunately I didn't have as much luck. I tried several inks without any success and I don't have any Copic reinkers which is what Kara has been using. But I love the shiny look and the paper can easily be cut with dies. I used mine to make confetti die cuts, using a Mama Elephant die. They look just like white enamel! Wish the photo could capture the shiny finish. I used stars and hearts on two of my cards. 

To create another card with some shine, I used some paper from Marybeth's June kit. Several of the papers were tone-on-tone with a shine/matte design. The matte part can easily be colored with distress inks, leaving the glossy design--a technique I used before after seeing Kara's post here.

Hope this doesn't look too busy! I got a little carried away after I decided on the 'Happy, Happy, Happy' die cut that Kara included. I used a PTI die to cut out 'birthday' and made four layers so it would add more dimension. And the little girl from Mama Elephant's In My Heart set just seemed like she needed to be there!!

I also did the inside! I used the Ink Splats stamps, colored the 2 and used a 'you' die from the last WPlus9 release. Maybe a little too much--but it was fun!

There is still a lot more to see so visit the 12 Kits blog for a link to all the other members' blogs. We also have a special guest designer, Alanna, Allana's Spot in the World, so be sure to stop at her blog too. To enter the drawing for the stamp set, you need to leave your comment on Kara's blog.

Hope you enjoy the hop and have a great weekend,

Sharron

My New Love: Watercoloring!!

When Dawn at WPlus9 started posts for her last release, I knew I had to have this Flora and Fauna set! I love nature images and her butterflies and hummingbirds are AMAZING. I invested in some watercolors and new brushes and started playing with the stamps are soon as they arrived. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!! At first, I just tried different colors on scrap paper and made a bunch of butterflies. I was initially nervous about the hummingbirds but found them really quite easy, at least after I got used to the watercolor! There are many kinds of hummingbirds so I'm anxious to do more colors. These are ruby-throated, a male and a female--the most common ones in our area.

The above is a sympathy card. On the inside, I used an Altenew sentiment with the smallest butterfly in the WPlus9 set positioned at the top.

I decided to try a different colored butterfly for a birthday card and came up with this. I meant to use the smooth side of the paper but this worked okay. Even though I looked through pictures on the internet, I ended up with just playing with some greens and aquas. I purchased watercolors that are in tubes. with 12 colors. I did find a few more tubes in my old paint supplies. Never know what you might find! Don't even know what they were for since I've never done watercoloring but they had to be from ages ago by the prices on them! Initially I felt pretty intimidated with having to mix colors but as I got more comfortable, I really enjoy them. Makes me feel so creative!

I'm going to enter the butterfly card in the CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge.

Thanks for letting me share,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Flora and Fauna 2, Basic Banners  (WPlus9); Bird of a Feather (PTI); Sun Sentiment (Lil' Inkers)

Paper: White (Recollections and Neenah); Green Acres (WPlus9); Watercolor (Grumbacher); Solid Mat Pad (K&Company) 

Die: Basic Banners (WPlus9), Banner from First Place Award Winner Die Set (MFT)

Additional: Watercolors (Koi, Grumbacher, Winsor and Newton); London Fog Ink to stamp images, Bamboo Leaves (Memento); Wet Cement Ink (Hero Arts); Embossing Folder-Branches (Cuttlebug); Color Shine Gold Spray (Heidi Swapp)

CAS-ology Challenge: Magic

This week's cue word at CAS-ology is Magic. It makes me think of all the things we see in nature that seem to occur like 'magic'! Remember when you first planted a seed and watched a new sprout come out of the soil. I don't think I will ever outgrow being amazed and excited about new things growing!

Well, maybe not so excited about weeds....... 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Our temperatures have soared and we spent time today giving drinks to all our plants. So thankful that we have only a short time left before the return of cooler weather.

Thanks for taking a peek at my card!

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Sprout-Mo Manning Digital; Sentiment was computer generated

Cardstock: Neenah White: Harvest Gold (PTI)

Die: Sun (Lil' Inkers)

Ink: Copics

More Bokeh!

I've still been trying out different colors using the bokeh technique that I posted info about two days ago. And I recently won this cute set, Flirty Flamingos, from Newton's Nook and wanted to make something with the sweet flamingos. I already had the background done so needed to cut out one of the birds. After masking off one of the pair, I stamped once on the card and then on some pink cardstock. Just cutting the body and head was so much easier! I used a Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangle die for the tag and cut apart a Memory Box Precious Mittens die for my bow. 

I'm entering my card in these challenges.

CAS-ology: Stripe

CAS(E) This Sketch teamed with Tag You're It

Thanks so much for letting me share,

Sharron

Supplies

Stamps: Flirty Flamingos (Newton's Nook)

Cardstock: White (Recollections); Pink (Bazzill); True Black (PTI)

Patterned Paper: Sugar Chic (Heidi Swapp)

Dies: Precious Mittens (Memory Box); Stitched Rectangles, Anytime Tags (Lil' Inker)

Additional: Watercolors (Koi); Onyx Black Ink (Versafine); White Ink (WPlus9); Clear Wink of Stella

Trying a New Technique!

I've been busy playing with new bokeh techniques after being inspired by Dawn's WPlus9 blog post! I have had better luck with lighter colors but wanted to try these for a couple of challenges. I have also been attempting to mix watercolor paints and don't yet have the hang of getting the right color. I did okay with the aqua but as you can see, the gold I had envisioned didn't quite come out! I had fun though and decided to post this anyway!

I am so new to watercolors but love the look so I'll keep trying. My WPlus9 order arrived today (yeah!) so I'm anxious to see what I can do with hummingbirds! Nothing like starting with something difficult!!

Challenges I Have Entered

Curtain Call-Bow Tie

Colour Q #253

Loved that you took time to visit today!

Hope you have something fun planned and have a wonderful weekend,

Sharron

Supplies
Stamps: My Sunshine (Mama Elephant)
Paper: Watercolor (Strathmore); Soft Grey Cardstock (PTI); White (Recollections)
Ink/Paint: White Ink (WPlus9), Rich Cocoa Ink (Memento); Watercolors-Burnt Sienna, Deep Yellow, Yellow Green, Vermilion (Koi)
Additional: Clear Wink of Stella; Cork Sentiment (Joyce's May 12 Kits Supplies)

The 12 Kits of Occasions: Christmas in July with Tracey

Hi all! Welcome to another 12 Kits of Occasions monthly reveal. This month's sweet and very talented hostess is Tracy, In My Creative Opinion. She has the most amazing CAS style! I am always in awe of how she can turn only a few elements into a creative masterpiece. The theme is "Christmas in July" and her kit included lots of Christmas goodies. My hubby always says I get Christmas gifts every month but when each month's kit arrives, that's exactly what it feels like! LOVED the papers that Tracey sent along with wonderful die cuts, stamped sentiments and gorgeous ribbons & embellishments. Kara is our group photographer who each month creates a collage of the kit supplies. See her wonderful photo below! For a complete written supply list, click here to connect to the 12 Kits of Occasions blog.

PHOTO BY KARA

Also on the 12 Kits blog are links to all the other members' blogs. Plus we have a special guest designer this month--Lesley Croghan, Always Playing With Paper. Be sure to visit her blog to leave a little love and let her know how much you enjoy her wonderful creations.

As I mentioned, I really did love the patterned papers and they were so easy to work with. Some of my favorites are on my cards below. Thank you so much, Tracey, for a truly awesome kit!!

For the next card I used some of the tissue Tracey wrapped our kits in. It was far too sparkly and pretty to not save. I used a spray vellum adhesive to glue it to some cardstock--so easy to smooth out. A little clear Wink of Stella added some sparkle to the snowman and a rhinestone made a wonderful dot.

The sentiment below is one from my stash, Avery Elle's Let It Snow set. Wish I had a whole pad of this gorgeous birch tree patterned paper!

For this card I used the negative from the die cut tree Tracey included in the kit. I used modeling paste colored with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink for embossing. The silver glitter paper is from Michael's. The star was cut with Mama Elephant's Confetti dies.

I thought the 'Santa was Here' diecut was perfect for this little pillow box. The hat and boots are a Stampendous stamp I have had for ages, Santa Trio. I stamped, colored and fussy cut them.

Hope you enjoy our blog hop this month. We'll be back next month with even more creations. Kara is our hostess and our kits have already started to arrive. They are gorgeous!! We can't wait to show you what we've made!

Sharron

Runway Inspired Challenge #63: Just Cavelli Resort

I have had a whirlwind month and a half and am hoping to get back into a more subdued routine with more crafty time. I've really missed the time to create! But I knew right away what I wanted to make when I saw this Runway Inspired Challenge photo.

One of my 12 Kits friends, Kara from KandRdesigns, is so creative and uses the best techniques. I'm always seeing something I want to try out. This recent one was using some papers that were in Marybeth's kit for the June 12 Kits of Occasions. Click HERE to see her technique for adding color to the pretty tone on tone paper (the last two cards on her post). For this challenge I chose a paper with a flower design and used different ink colors. 

This side view lets you see how the colors are on the matte finish leaving the shiny background. I used daubers with ink pads and markers but found the markers much easier to use. I just didn't have many colors! Love the way it turned out and plan to use some of my other leftover papers and other colors. The 'hello' die is from PTI. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sharron

Supplies

Cardstock: SS White, Enchanted Evening (PTI); Textured Black (Bazzill)

Patterned Paper: Blanc Boutique (The Paper Studio)

Die: Hello (PTI)

Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads and Markers