Tuesday, February 28, 2017

12 Kits of Occasions ~ February

I can't believe how quickly February flew by!  This month's kit was creatively put together by the amazing Michelle Leone of Pretty Periwinkle, who also just recently was offered a position on the amazing PTI design team.  She's incredibly talented and has such a great eye for color and design.   Congratulations Michelle!

 It was a joy working with her kit this month!  The colors were so fresh and springy and all the element she included in her kit were over the top, adorable and easy to work with.  

All of the images and dies Michelle sent were new to me.  What fun to play with goodies that I've admired but never added to my stash.  This scroll frame is incredibly detailed and oh, so pretty!  I fussy cut the flowers she stamped and added them with a couple of leafy twigs which were included in the kit.

She sent the cutest printed papers!  These papers look like they were made to go with this image and sentiment.  She sent the most colorful array of candy dots too!

  I think this card is my favorite.  The little bird makes my heart smile!

I added three brads from my stash to the centers of these sweet little flowers.

Well, maybe this card is my favorite.... you can have more than one favorite, right?  I loosely water colored these die cut flowers using Zigs and tucked this adorable little bunny in the center.  That stitched background panel is AWESOME!! (Insert singing voice here)

These flowers made a sweet and simple card.

Another cute bunny and this pre-printed image.  So fun!  I added a tiny die cut butterfly from my stash.

I love the texture on this canvas tag Michelle sent.  The brad in the center of the flower is from my stash.

This bird image is totally adorable and goes perfectly with the printed paper and wonderful lacy scalloped white card stock panel that was also included in the kit.

This sweet pre-printed panel was included in the kit and I simply attached it to a green gingham & kraft gift bag for gifting.  Easy peasy and as cute as can be!


I colored this fun cake image using Copics and added it to the top of this sweet polka dotted tag Michelle sent.  Two more fun flowers and yummy candy dots in the centers.

Even after all these cards, I have more than enough supplies left over to keep me going for a long time.  Thanks so much Michelle!  What a fabulous kit and so much fun to create with.

Want to win an April kit? Sharron will be giving away one of her kits to a lucky winner  so be sure to check out the 12 Kits of Occasion blog, leave a comment and see how all the designers were inspired by Michelle's kit.  You'll be completely amazed!!  

Thanks for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit

Dies R Us ~ Poppy Gift Set

Good morning friends~  I'm up at the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog today and I've got a gift box that's just perfect for holding a set of coordinating cards.

Before I get started on my project I wanted to remind you that   DRU is having a Design Team Call until March 18th.  If you want to design for a very generous company and get an amazing discount on a large line of quality dies, then here's your chance!  I have enjoyed my time with DRU and the amazing gals on the design team for a year now and I have learned so much and made some lasting friendships.  You can find all the details of the design team call HERE.
Now on to today's project.  The jumping point for this project is the clear acrylic box on which I created a little floral spray to jazz it up for gift giving. 
I started by cutting a Sue Wilson Carribean Island Collection Background and mounting it to the clear box and wrapping some ribbon around it.  The ribbon is tied in a bow so it can be easily untied and opened to insert the card set.
I cut the Sue Wilson Exquisite Poppy out several times and added color using distress ink and a black marker for the centers.
I shaped the flower pieces on a molding mat and assembled the flowers, adding some black prills to the centers.

I also cut out a few Frantic Stamper FernsDee's Distinctively Dies Berry Sprigs and two of the small  Elizabeth Craft Designs Dandelion Fluff.  I added just a bit of extra grey color to the tips of the Dandelion Fluff using a Copic marker.

I played around with the design until I came up with the one I liked and adhered everything down using Glossy Accents.

 I added some Mercury Glass Stickles to the berries to finish it off.
ETA:  I used Altenew's Beautiful Day to create this card.  Four of these cards with envelopes fit perfectly inside along with a pretty pen.  A nice little gift to give to someone.

I hope this gift idea has inspired you.  Here's a list of dies I used that you can find right now at Dies R Us:
Sue Wilson Designs - Carribean Island Collection - BackgroundSue Wilson Designs - Finishing Touches - Exquisite PoppyDee's Distinctively Dies - Berry Sprigs Frantic Stamper - Dies - Fern

Don't forget to play along at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog for your chance to win a gift voucher to the Dies R Us Store.  A new challenge begins on the first and fifteenth of every month.  Be sure to Follow Us on Facebook too. 


Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit






Monday, February 27, 2017

Uplifting and Encouraging Cards

Hello friends~  I've got some cards here today that I made using images from Stampingbella.  If you haven't yet visited them, you really must!  Their images are all so darling!!


I had a request from someone who wants 50 cards all geared toward well wishes and encouragement.  She has a wonderful card ministry of writing to people who are sick and battling cancer.  So you'll probably be seeing a lot of those types of uplifting cards on my blog in the near future.  Who wouldn't be cheered up by these sweet images!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by!
Blessings~ Birgit

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #396

Cupcake Inspirations
Hello friends~  It's Sunday so that means that there's a new challenge up at Cupcake Inspirations.  This week is a theme challenge:
 CATS
and who better to have as a sponsor this week than the amazing Newton's Nook Designs!  
They're offering up a $25 store credit so don't miss out on this chance to play along and win.

The kind folks at Newton's Nook allowed us to shop with a bit of a discount and I had a hard time choosing which stamp sets were coming home with me as I want so many of them!  I chose to use Happy Mail because who can resist a frisky kitty in a mailbox?  Not me!


I went postal all the way on these two cards, coloring the images up using Copic markers.

Join in on the fun at Cupcake Inspirations.  And be watching as we approach our 400th challenge...  we've got lots of surprises and prizes in store for you that you won't want to miss!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Blessings~ Birgit



Thursday, February 23, 2017

Happy Birthday Friend

Hello friends~  I've been playing around with some older sets in my craft room that have been far too overlooked lately.  It's so easy to get caught up in all the new release parties going on everywhere.  I'm cutting back and enjoying using some of my old favorites like this set from Concord & 9th
I  started by cutting a Stitched Scalloped Rectangle from MFT out of this pretty textured light blue card stock and then cutting the Layers Of Love out of the center of that .

The floral spray at the base of the heart was made using elements from Layers Of Love and an Elizabeth Craft Designs Aster.  This flower is quickly becoming one of my favorite easy to make, "go to" flowers.

The sentiment was stamped and heat embossed in silver onto a vellum Stitched Fishtail Banner and a few sequins to add some bling, finish the card off nicely.

I hope you enjoyed today's card and maybe you're inspired to pull out some of your old favorites and give them some new love.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Blessings~ Birgit




Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Pretty Asters

Good morning friends~ It's my turn to post over at the Dies R Us Blog today.

ETA:  I wanted to quickly note that DRU is having a Design Team Call.  If you want to design for a very generous company and get an amazing discount on a large line of quality dies, than here's your chance!  I have enjoyed my time with DRU and the amazing gals on the design team for a year now and I have learned so much and made some lasting friendships.  You can find all the details of the design team call HERE.

Now that Valentine's Day is behind us, I'm even more eager for spring to arrive!  Since I know we're not even close here in Maine, I opted for another spring like card using a vintage image that was cut using Memory Box Open Studio Stitched Rectangle Layers.


I started by cutting the Memory Box Piestra Tile out of soft pink card stock and the Poppy Stamps Hampstead Corner out of soft green card stock and mounted them to an A2 sized white card base.

Next I cut the Elizabeth Craft Designs Asters out of white card stock and colored them using Copics.

I then molded them and glued them together using Glossy Accents.  I just love how they look when they're all put together.  So pretty!

 
Next, cut the Impression Obsession Love Die out of white card stock that has adhesive sheet adhered to the top of it.  Run it through the die cutting machine and gently peel off the release sheet and add ECD Warm Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter to the top of the die cut word and polish it to give it a good shine.  
I assembled the card and added some Yellow Stickles to the centers of the asters and then added some Crystal Stickles to the petals of the asters on the image.


 A lovely spring card to brighten someone's day!

I hope you're inspired by today's card.
Here's a list of dies I used:
Elizabeth Craft Designs - Dies - Aster Memory Box - Dies - Piestra TileImpression Obsession - Dies - LoveMemory Box - Dies - Open Studio - Stitched Rectangle Layers

I'll be adding this card to the following challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Fantastic Florals
The Card Concept ~ Shabby Chic & Vintage
Dies R Us Challenge ~ Think Spring
Word Art Wednesday

Don't forget to play along at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog for your chance to win a gift voucher to the Dies R Us Store.  A new challenge begins on the first and fifteenth of every month.  Be sure to Follow Us on Facebook too. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit