Wednesday, May 31, 2017

12 Kits of Occasions ~ Happiness Is Homemade

Hello friends~  My how quickly the month of May flew by!  That means it's time for the 12 Kits of Occasions friends to reveal their cards using this months kit that was put together by me.  My first kit!  Lindsey put together this wonderful collage photo as she does each month.  Thanks so much Lindsey for making my kit look so good.

My theme for May is called "Happiness Is Homemade" in honor of my mom who passed away two years ago this month, 2 days after Mother's Day.  She made a wonderful "homemade" life for me and my two sisters as she loved to cook for her family and was always doing something crafty.  She was an exquisite quilter.  She made dozens of pet quilts that she donated to local shelters.
This is Sofia.  She was a shelter cat that my parents adopted, sitting on one of my mom's warming quilts.
My mom also enjoyed watching her spring flowers pop up after a long, cold Maine winter.  I hope that through the cards you've seen created with this kit, you get a small glimpse of some of the things my mom enjoyed.  Now on to my cards:
 You can see why I had to include this wonderful Newton's Nook image from Newton's Nap in the kit.  Colored with Copics and tied with a piece of twine from the kit.
I added a strip of sparkly black paper to the edge of this card.  Otherwise everything else was included in the kit.  The cake and sentiment is from PTI's Just Desserts.  The cake plate is from Elizabeth Craft Designs Christmas Pudding.  My mom made me a cake just like this for me on my birthday quite a number of years ago.  What I wouldn't give to go back to that special day.

 This lovely image from Clearly Besotted Sunshine & Smiles is colored using Copics with white gel pen accents.  
It's hard to see in the picture but the flowers got a healthy dose of Clear Wink Of Stella.
 PTI's Still Life Summer and a sentiment from MFT's Cheerful Blessings embossed in gold.
ECD Apron and Kitchen Tools.  The sentiment is from My Creative Time Fun Notes and the Poppystamps Kitchen Jars.
 PTI's Tulip Time and sentiment from ECD Love Sentiments.
PTI's  Button Boutique, Hanging By A Thread, SAF 2014 Regency Era and Neat & Tangled Hoop Die.
Sweets canister from Joy Crafts, heart shaped sugar cookies from Quickutz and "Thanks" from Impression Obsession  


I adore this fun image from Stampingbella "Iron Chef Chicks".  It's colored using copics.  I added some printed paper and some ECD Stitched Fishtail Banners.
My Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor Paints arrived in time for me to try them out on these last two cards.  This one is Fresh Freesia from Altenew.  I painted the flower by wetting the image and dropping color in and letting the paint do it's thing.

 I wasn't excited at all by the way this water coloring was coming out but I pressed forward and finally had to walk away in the end.  When I went back to it the next morning, I decided it wasn't so bad that I couldn't use it.  Sometimes things look better after a good nights sleep.  The image is Stampingbella's "Ramona and Her Wagon".  So adorable!!

Be sure to visit the 12 Kits of Occasion Blog and see how all my talented teamies were inspired to use this kit.  We also have two guest designer's this month.  My dear friend Marcia Hill from Marcia's Stampin' Pad and the winner of this month's kit and another dear friend of mine, Linda from Lin's Craft Corner.  Please be sure to stop by their blogs and leave them some love.

I'll be adding one of these cards to the following challenge:
Seize The Birthday ~ Something Sweet

Word Art Wednesday ~ Anything Goes
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Anything Goes

If you're still with me, thanks for stopping by and sticking with me through this rather long post.  I sure hope you'll take the time to leave a comment to let me know you were here.
Blessings~ Birgit

23 comments:

Marybeth said...

Thank you for a beautiful kit, it was just perfect, Brigit! I think this is a beautiful tribute to you warm and wonderful mom!
Your cards tell me a lot of who she was , sounds like you were blessed !
I love your watercolor card and think it turned out beautifully! The summer fruit card is one of my favorites! Your first kit was a huge hit, I had all my cards made weeks ago and they came together with pure ease! Now you can relax and enjoy for a while 😉

Donna Phelan said...

Beautiful cards. What a beautiful and loving post dedicated to your sweet I love your dear sweet Mom. I love all of your cards, you totally get a sense of the woman she was. I think I would have called her friend! xo~ (((hugs)))

Marcia Hill said...

You outdid yourself with this FABULOUS kit my friend...I enjoyed every minute playing with it and truly felt the love you put into it honoring your mom! She must have been a lot like you!! Your cards are all fantastic, yes, even your water colored one! Thank you again so much for inviting me to play along with you this month...I had a blast!! Well done my dear friend!! :0)

Ann Greenspan's Crafts said...

You've put together a wonderful kit that I'm sure the other teamies will love working with. After reading about your mother, I now know where you got all your craftiness from. So sorry she is no longer with you in person but I am a believer that she is with you in spirit every second of every day.

BeverlyBL said...

Thought you did a great job putting together your kit. Looked like you included a bunch of fun elements.

Nancy Penir said...

Oh Birgit~ how I loved every sweet image and element in my kit! Thank you for making it so special. I could feel love in every single 'homemade' treasure. Your cards are all wonderful. Love seeing how you put yours together. Especially the cat on the quilts, one of the stamped images I didn't use. Beautiful coloring! Your mom would be proud!

Darnell said...

You put together an amazing kit as a loving tribute to your mom, Birgit, and your inspiration makes are all just sensational! Thank you for so many ideas!! Hugs, Darnell

I Card Everyone said...

I'm changing your Kit name, Birgit... it really is Heart-Made! You've made fabulous cards! It is always so fun to see the cards that our Hostess has made, and I'm delighted by each one - you've colored the Chick-y Chefs so beautifully!! and I cannot wait to make a dozen more of the Freesias! Ramona is sitting on my craft table, patiently awaiting her turn! xx and thanks!
=]

Linda said...

Birgit, this was such a fabulous kit. I enjoyed every minute of creating with them. It's so fun to see what everyone else makes from the same images. Lovely cards my friends. I think your watercoloring turned out great. Love your Sunshine & Smiles cards. It is colored beautifully. Thanks again for being your GD and for winning the kit.

Lindsey said...

Birgit, I knew your cards would be nothing short of amazing! Your mother and I love a lot of the same things, and I LOVED working with your wonderful kit. Thank you! Your watercolor cards turned out beautifully...way to go on your first time using them!

Karen said...

It's a fabulous kit, and a wonderful tribute to your mom!

Karen said...

It's a wonderful kit and a lovely tribute to your mom!

Nora Noll said...

You created a totally fabulous kit and ROCKED all the papers and stamps. So fun to see how many cards you created from this!! FABULOUS design on each and every one!!

Sharron said...

What a wonderful, amazing kit, Birgit! And I love seeing the things you created from it. It's always such fun seeing what the hostess makes! This has been a beautiful tribute to your mother. She must have been a very special person. Loved every one of your cards! The watercoloring is fabulous and the coloring of the Stamping Bella images is fantastic! Thanks again for a great month!

Lisa Elton said...

BRAVO to you sweet Birgit for putting together an incredible first kit! I love all of the goodies you included. The colors of the patterned papers made my heart happy. A beautiful tribute to your mom. My cards will be going to many of the wonderful moms in my family. I love the way you've colored the pretty pink flowers and added the white dot accents to the blooms!! Lots of prettiness here today!!

Janice said...

What a lovely tribute to your Mum Birgit, she sounds as though she was an amazing lady! Fabulous cards, congratulations on your first kit, I particulary love the Iron Chefs....so cute!

Conniecrafter said...

wow you have been a very busy girl, such a wonderful dedication to your mom, I am sure she felt very blessed to have you as a daughter!
Love the kitty one, terrific coloring and so cute! The pretty pink flowers with the white accents are just lovely and like the border with them also!
Since I love cross-stitching also that stitched card is just terrific, you put everything together just perfectly!! The watercoloring on the last two are terrific!! Great color combo on the flower and terrific coloring of the scene!

Barbara said...

Congrats on your first kit. It is fabulous! You sure have been busy and I bow to your creativity. You can make any style card and make it so good. I saw your name and had to check out your entry. Thanks for joining us at Seize the Birthday.
Barbara DT member

Patti said...

These are all so wonderful Birgit. I love "homespun" : ) I lost my sister almost exactly two years ago as well. My Mom passed away at only 66, twenty one years ago. I suppose it gets easier knowing they are in the arms of the Father but we sure miss them huh?!!

BIG (((Hugs))) and prayers for you friend.

Patti

Kim Heggins said...

Wow....you can really see the love you put into your kit, your cards are over the top fabulous! You made the best kit and I had so much fun playing with each and every piece of it. Thank you for making your first kit so much fun to play with, love all the sweet home spun touches you added.

Tracey McNeely said...

Birgit younsent us the most amazing kit. The patterns and colours were really out of my wheelhouse but I had such a wonderful time creating with them. I got a perfect glimpse into the homespun world your mother created for you and your sisters. Everything about it was full of warmth. You created so many cards and now I have some idea of cards I want to create with my leftovers. Thank you so muc!

Tracy Freeman said...

Oh wow so many amazing cards. you really made use of the kit...and such a cute cat !
Thank you for joining us at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge x

Jeanne J. said...

Thank you so much for this beautiful kit that was a tribute to your Mom Birgit! I know that you made her proud - and I feel like I got to know a little bit about her from all the magic you put in this kit. I know she was a treasure to you and made you appreciate that happiness is home made! You made so many beautiful cards with so much attention to detail. That close up of the pink flower is eye candy.. I love all the embellishment you added to it to bring it to life! I can't thank you enough for this kit - you brought back so many good memories to me of some of the amazing ladies in my life! We've both been blessed !