Merry Monday #188: Hot Bevvies! & MFT Color Challenge

I've been having computer problems so I am posting this very late for this week's Merry Monday challenge! Love these MFT images so I wanted to use the colors for MFT Color Challenge too.  

I first embossed some snowflakes from Snowflake Flurry in white, and sponged the background with distress inks. The adorable mug is from BB Merry Christmoose and the sentiment is from BB Toasty Greetings. Love these stamp sets!! The snowflake peeking from behind the sentiment is a leftover from Lindsey's December 12 Kits kit. The oval was cut with a Stitched Ovals die from Lil' Inker.

Wish I could send some yummy cocoa to all my stamping friends in the snowed states in the Eastern U.S. To all of you, stay safe----and warm!!

Hugs,

Sharron

CAS-ology #180: Open

I couldn't miss posting this card on CAS-olgy this week. I thought of this stamp set when I first saw the cue word and then didn't get my card made until this weekend. Sewing Box-Hugs was one of my first WMS purchases and I always enjoy these sweet images. And I remembered that it also included this perfect for the challenge sentiment.

Paper piecing seemed like a great technique for a CAS card. I used the brick pattern from PTI's 

Petite Places Sweet Shoppe. Different colors of cardstock were used and I cut the door so it would open. The green door has two pieces of cardstock to make it more sturdy.

The inside needed a tiny sentiment but it was hard to find anything that small. I finally decided on this one from PTI's Tiny Tags. The hearts are from PTI's Wonderfully Whimsical.

Thanks for letting me share!

Sharron

Fusion Challenge

Fusion is celebrating their 2nd Year of wonderful challenges. And everyone is invited to the party! Check their blog to see lots of inspiration from designers and their guests. And doesn't this fabulous photo below make you want to join the party!

I started by embossing some white cardstock with a Lifestyle Embossing Folder called Zigzag. After watercoloring a piece of watercolor paper with yellows, I used an Avery Elle Chevron Die (not shown in the store anymore) and used just the arrow pieces. The top papers are vellum. The oval is a die cut from PTI's Limited Layers and the cake was stamped and fussy cut. Cake and sentiment are from Verve's Big Wish. The sequins are from Lucy's Little Things Muted Metallics.

The cake was embossed in white and colored with Zig Clean Color markers. The sentiment is embossed in gold but I never can get the shiny gold to photograph well. It does look wonderful in real life though!

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for dropping by,

Sharron

Merry Monday Challenge: Using Plaid

I love plaids and there is always something special about plaid decorations at Christmas. I found this wonderful plaid paper in my basket of 12 Kits leftovers. Great colors, don't you think! And it gave me the opportunity to play in this week's Merry Monday Challenge. 

CLICK HERE TO CONNECT TO CHALLENGE

The little elf is from MFT's Birdie Brown Santa's Elves. It is a wonderful set that received much love this past Christmas. I normally use Copics but decided to try colored pencils for a change. Only his red boots are done with Copics. The bell is done with a silver marker and topped with IrRESISTible Pico Clear. The embossed snowflake on the ornament is from PTI's Warm Wishes.

I'm hoping to do more Merry Monday challenges this year to help build my holiday stash. Lots of other activities took over my stamping time this past year so hope 2016 isn't so hectic!

Thanks for letting me share. 

Please drop by again!

Sharron

A Couple of Challenge Cards to Post Before the Year Ends

I've had these two cards done for a while but just didn't get them posted. The first was a Christmas card for a special friend and the second was my hubby's birthday card for a couple of days after Christmas.

I knew the instant I saw the Fusion Challenge inspiration that I would use my PTI Winter Woods set. Nichole designed a trio of birds in Charley Harper style. And I absolutely love them! The only problem now is wishing Nichole would design more birds in the same style! The background is embossed with a Sizzix snowflake folder, the oval is Lil' Inkers Stitched Ovals, sentiment is a PTI die cut and the patterned paper is from Cosmo Cricket. Greenery is from WPlus9's Merry & Bright and the birch trees are Avery Elle. I tried several reds for the cardinal and found the best is Avery Elle's Strawberry, a gift from a very sweet friend. I wanted the bird's head to be black with the wing/tail stamp to be a dark gray so I cut my stamp apart to stamp. 

The Freshly Made Sketches Challenge led me to this design. Guess what, a snowflake! Mine is a Memory Box Bianca Snowflake, cut from glittery paper. The embossing is a Lifestyle Snowflake pattern. I made my own sentiment which is computer generated. The cup (done in green-hubby's favorite color) is from a Christmas present set, MFT's Birdie Brown Merry Christmouse.

 And below is the inside. Stamp from the same set.

A Little Side Note:

I helped at our botanical gardens before Christmas making greenery arrangements to sell at the holiday Illuminations. There were a lot of assorted decorations to use for accents but when we started to run low I decided to make some using stamps. I used all kinds of stamps but this particular one is from MFT Birdie Brown's Santa's Elves. I bought the smallest plastic ornaments from Michaels and PTI's Tag Sale #4 fit perfectly. I just had to cut off the top tag part so we could use the more sturdy plastic one. I added artificiaI snow purchased at a local nursery. If you are ever looking for winter decorations for your home, fresh greenery works better than anything else as it will last for ages by just adding a little water to the oasis. I bought this one to bring home. It was made 3 weeks ago and is still fresh as new!

Have a safe evening if you are going to be out and about, and a very blessed New Year!!

See you next year,

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: Walking in a Winter Wonderland with Lindsey

It's that time again!! This month the members of the 12 Kits of Occasions are playing in a Winter Wonderland, courtesy of our sweet hostess, Lindsey, Occasional Crafting! Below is a picture of some things in her kit. I so wish you could see this in real life. The colors are absolutely gorgeous and there is LOTS of sparkle!! I knew when I took photos of my cards that they weren't going to even be close to what they really look like. Lindsey did such an amazing job of selecting papers and elements. There is something for everyone--from elegant to whimsical! You are going to love touring all the blogs!

I know everyone has been super busy lately but I hope you can take some time to see all the wonderful projects. Lindsey also asked two people to be guest designers so there is lots to see. Click here to go to the 12 Kits blog. There are links to the members blogs as well as the blogs of our two wonderful guests. There is also a contest where Lindsey is giving visitors a chance to win a fantastic Clearly Besotted stamp set. It's one that has been discontinued so you don't want to miss this chance!

PHOTO BY LINDSEY

THe SPARKLE ON THE PINK PAPER IS AWESOME!

I'M GOING TO ENTER THIS CARD IS THE CAS-OLOGY CHALLENGE WHICH FEATURES 'MERRY'.  THE  MERRY DIE I USED IS FROM SSS.

LINK TO CHALLENGE

I LOVED THE AVERY ELLE WREATH THAT LINDSEY SENT US BUT UNFORTUNATELY MESSED IT UP.
I WAS SET ON USING THESE WONDERFUL COMPANION ELEMENTS SO USED MY CHISHOLM WREATH BY SSS AS A FILL-IN. SENTIMENT AND STARS ARE FROM MFT HAND LETTERED HOLIDAY SET.

Don't you love the adorable deer on this last card! He is one of the stamps in the set Lindsey is giving away so be sure to leave a comment over on the 12 Kits blog to have a chance to win.

Enjoy the hop! Wishing everyone a very blessed 2016!!

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: Have a Holly Jolly Christmas & a Festive Fall

Wow, it's almost Christmas and we are in our eleventh month of 12 Kits of Occasions for 2015. The year has really flown! Our lovely hostess this month is Kim from Cupcakes, Cards and Kim. I was so excited when her kit arrived. I already had the Harvest Mouse set but I didn't order dies so I knew it would be so much fun to start by coloring all the little critters. And I really wanted the bears but finally decided to limit my purchase and wait until later to order them. And then they arrived--already cut out and stamped and ready for some crafty fun! Thanks, Kim!! As you can tell, I loved your kit!

I had already spent time playing with the mice that I had. I have limited Copic colors and you might see a lot of variation in their patterns. Kim included lots of polka dotted papers which is another favorite so practically every card has some dots!

I try to keep my post short as there is always so much to see. We have two guest designers this month to add to the fun. Just click HERE to connect to the 12 Kits blog where you can find links to all the different blogs. A collage created by Tracey is below showing all the wonderful supplies in Kim's kit and you can also find a list at the top of those on the 12 Kits blog.

PHOTO by TRACEY

THIS CARD USES AN IDEA I GOT FROM JENNIFER MCGUIRE IN A VIDEO ON ALTERING YOUR STAMPS. I JUST CUT OFF THE BASKET OF APPLES ON THE STAMPED IMAGE AND USED THE STAMPED PACKAGES. I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO LINK HER VIDEO HERE BUT YOU CAN CHECK HER LIST OF YOU TUBE VIDEOS. THE PACKAGES AND SENTIMENT ARE FROM MFT SANTA'S ELVES.

THIS CARD WILL BE ENTERED IN THE FRESHLY MADE SKETCHES CHALLENGE.

LINK TO FMS

SENTIMENT FROM MFT HAND LETTERED HOLIDAY

SENTIMENT FROM AN OLDER HERO ARTS SET

So happy that you came by and hope you got some inspiration from this month's theme. Enjoy the rest of the hop and have a wonderful week!

Sharron