The Challenge - September Challenge

I received the most wonderful email last spring. Kim from Cupcakes, Cards and Kim asked if I would like to be the featured guest designer for The Challenge this September. Wow, I was so thrilled, and honored. This week the inspiration is this fabulous sketch. I have been playing a lot lately, doing birthday cards, using Concord and 9th sets. I don't often post many of my cards so wanted to use the first die set I bought from them. I love their products and they have just been celebrating their first birthday. 

So here is my card! The paper pad from My Mind's Eye is so gorgeous. In addition to this lovely floral pattern, there is lots of shiny gold. The polka dots on my card are stunning in real life but just didn't photograph well.

Thanks so much to Kim and to Lesley at Always Playing with Paper for giving me the opportunity to share with you. Hope each of you in the States has a great Labor Day weekend! And hope you will find some time in the upcoming week to be inspired by this fun sketch. 

Looking forward to seeing what you created. And I'll be back next weekend with a new challenge!

See you then,

Sharron

Supplies:

Stamps: Uplifting Thoughts (SSS)

Dies: Floral and Flutter (Concord and 9th)
Patterned Paper: Fancy That (My Mind's Eye)
Additional: Vellum (PTI), cardstock from my stash

The 12 Kits of Occasions: August with Lisa "Sweet Pea"

Welcome to another reveal by the 12 Kits of Occasions!! What a fun month! The hostess is Lisa, My Paper Tales, and this is her very first kit created for 12 Kits. It is extra special as it is using images from her very own kit that she created and introduced earlier this year called "Sweet Pea". Not only is the kit absolutely precious but it so well reflects Lisa's charming style. One of the best parts of being one of the 12 Kits group is being able to play with supplies from so many different people with different styles.

COLLAGE BY LINDSEY

Lisa's kit also included several Pure Innocence images and the first thing I did was color and fussy cut each one out. I've always loved this sweet line! You might notice quite a few scallops on my cards too. I used one of my very favorite die sets from WPlus9 called Sunshine Layers.

I won't keep you as you'll want to visit all the other blogs shown on the 12 Kits of Occasions blog. There is a guest designer and two fabulous give-aways so don't miss out on anything! And a list of the supplies in Lisa's kit is posted at the top.

THIS FIRST CARD IS IN HONOR OF LISA'S WONDERFUL STAMP SET AND HER ADORABLE LITTLE GRANDDAUGHTER!

LISA INCLUDED SEVERAL CUTE SENTIMENTS THAT CAN BE USED WITH THIS LITTLE GIRL. I DECIDED TO USE THE 'HELLO' ON THE FRONT AND PUT ONE OF THE SENTIMENTS ON THE INSIDE AFTER KNOWING WHO WOULD BE RECEIVING THIS CARD.

I OPTED FOR A SENTIMENT FROM SSS EMBOSSED IN GOLD. THEN THIS CARD CAN BE USED FOR A WEDDING, BIRTHDAY, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. WITH APPROPRIATE SENTIMENT ON THE INSIDE.

Thanks so much for coming by and a big thank you to Lisa for a wonderful kit!

Hugs to all,

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: July with Marybeth "Christmas in July"

The 12 Kits of Occasions are celebrating Christmas this month. What a great theme for hot, steamy July! It has been unusually hot in Kansas this summer but the worse part is the humidity which we don't normally have with high temperatures. Marybeth was our very talented hostess and sent an amazing collection of Christmas beauties. See the wonderful collage photo that Lindsey did for us below. There were beautiful papers, great die cuts and fun images. I still have several adorable little critters that I haven't used yet so it will be fun to see what everyone else made and do some CASing! To see all the great creations yourself, click HERE to connect to the 12 Kits blog.

PHOTO BY LINDSEY

Look at all this gorgeous gold! I had a little trouble with getting good photographs so hope you can at least get an idea of all the sparkle! 

ADDED SENTIMENT, EMBOSSED IN GOLD,  IS FROM WPLUS9 SILVER BELLS SET.

ADDED SENTIMENT IS FROM TECHNIQUE TUESDAY JINGLE ALL THE WAY, WITH A FEW
STAMPENDOUS SNOWFLAKES STAMPED IN GOLD.

ADDED SENTIMENT IS FROM MY FAVORITE THINGS HAND LETTERED HOLIDAY AND, IN HONOR OF MARYBETH, I ADDED LOTS OF GLOSSY ACCENTS ON THE BERRIES.

ADDED SENTIMENT, EMBOSSED IN GOLD, IS FROM HERO ARTS

It's not too early to start on Christmas so hope you got some inspiration from today's hop!

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend,

Sharron

Hupffeh Bffday, Darnell!!!

Earlier today I saw this post and knew I wanted to make this card for Darnell! She is one of the sweetest, most lovable people in blogland. We have never met in person but I have long enjoyed her fun, creative and humorous blog. If you have never visited her blog, you must! Just click HERE!! It won't take long for you to understand why I just had to make this card for her birthday. Unfortunately I made it today so it won't get to her until after her birthday is over but I'm still wanting to wish her a wonderful birthday and much joy in the next year.

THIS IMAGE IS A DIGITAL FROM MO MANNING. THE FIRST TIME I SAW IT I JUST KNEW IT WAS MADE FOR DARNELL. SORRY THE SILVER ISN'T ALL SPARKLY LIKE IN REAL LIFE!

Thanks for letting me share,

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: June with Joyce "Birthdays to Die 'Cut' For"

One of my most needed type of cards is birthdays. So what a treat when I received my kit for the June 12 Kits of Occasions. Joyce, our wonderful hostess, sent an amazing collection of die cuts, stamped images and sentiments plus some great papers---all designed for this month's theme "birthdays! Gosh, there were so many cool options. And, as always, I still have lots left for creating later! Thank you, Joyce, for a really fun month. And one of the great things about using die cuts is that cards come together so quickly. :)

Below is a collage showing the variety we had to work with.

PHOTO BY LINDSEY

OF COURSE, I LOVE TO COLOR SO THIS COLLECTION OF CUPCAKES WAS A FUN PLACE TO BEGIN.

GOTTA LOVE BLACK AND WHITE WITH ACCENTS OF RED!

I DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF THIS EMBOSSING FOLDER THAT I GOT ON SALE FROM A LOCAL SCRAPBOOK STORE BUT I DID FIND OUT THAT IT DOESN'T DO WELL USING LIGHTWEIGHT CARDSTOCK. AFTER TWO SHREDDED VERSIONS, I SWITCHED TO 100 LB. CARDSTOCK FROM WPLUS9.

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So, are you ready to create some birthday cards? There are lots more creations so be sure to click HERE to connect with the 12 Kits of Occasions blog where you can hop to all the other members' blogs.

Thanks for letting me share!

Have a great day,

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: May with Sharron "Here Comes the Sun"

Hi all! It's once again time for a 12 Kits of Occasions reveal! This month we are enjoying the end of another school year and the official beginning of summer. I am this month's hostess and thought an appropriate theme would be summer, sun and fun! A special thanks to Lindsey for doing this fabulous collage of the kit contents (see below). A complete list can be found on the 12 Kits blog HERE. I chose stamps with a summer or tropical theme from three different companies and added some papers that had a watercolored look.

We don't have a guest designer this month but I have put together an extra kit that will be mailed to one lucky winner! Just leave comments on the various blogs as well as on the 12 Kits blog for a chance to win. The deadline is June 8.

I'm as anxious as you are to see all the creations so I will keep my blog comments short. Just click HERE to connect with the 12 Kits blog where you will find links to all the members' blogs.

PHOTO BY LINDSEY

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope this helps get you in the mood for some summer fun! Have a great one!!

Sharron

The 12 Kits of Occasions: April with Tracey "Crazy for Coffee"

Love this month's theme for our 12 Kits of Occasions! Tracey, from In My Creative Opinion, decided on "Crazy for Coffee", featuring my favorite beverage. I may drink too much but the current opinion is that it is good for your health so I have something to justify my obsession! But I didn't have any coffee-related stamps so this was a perfect chance to try out supplies from several different companies. The photo below shows some of the supplies included in our kits. Tracey sent lots of fun die cuts, stamped sentiments and wonderful patterned papers, all in the most appropriate colors! My favorite item was the awesome bear from Ellen Hutson. Isn't he adorable! A list of supplies is over on the 12 Kits blog. Visit there or link here.

PHOTO BY TRACEY

"I LOVE YOU MORE THAN"

SENTIMENT IS SLIGHTLY HIDDEN BY THE SEQUINS.

Click HERE to link to the 12 Kits blog where you can connect with all the members' blogs. We also have a special guest designer this month so be sure to visit her blog and leave some love. 

Enjoy the hop and have a wonderful weekend,

Sharron