12 Kits of Occasion ~ December

Where did 2019 go?  It whizzed by so quickly for me this year, but I for one am glad to say goodbye to it and I hope that 2020 brings better, and more joyful events.  One thing that always brings me joy is when the 12 Kit's of Occasion gals post their projects using monthly kits put together by each member of our team.  This month our hostess was my dear friend Marcia from Marcia's Stampin' Pad and she made the most adorable tag kit for us aptly titled "The Tags of Christmas". 

 Just look at all the goodies she included.  I could have created for days and days, if I'd just had more time.  

These tags went together so quickly and they've already been put to good use on my Christmas packages.  Aside from a little coloring using Copics, these tags almost made themselves.  

Just look at that little snow globe tag.  Isn't it darling?  I left the embossed floral tag uncolored and just let the Joy die cut work its magic.

Sorry for the poor quality of my photo's  It's been dark and dreary here and I didn't realize the pictures were coming out blurry when I was photographing them.  Guess I need to have my eyes checked again and get some new glasses.

These little polar bears are super cute.  I wish I had more!  I may just have to add that stamp set to my collection.  

All the tags make me smile, but I think this one is my favorite.  Marcia sent this beautiful vintage printed tissue paper from Tim Holtz that I added as a background to a tag.  I added the greens and jolly ol' St. Nick.  

I was able to make 7 tags and I still have lots of left overs to make even more tags for next year.  Thank you so much Marcia for a darling kit!  You've helped make my gifts look amazing.

I hope you'll stop by the 12 Kits of Occasion blog to see how my talented teamies were inspired to use Marcia's sweet kit.  I have no doubt they'll make you smile. 

I wish you all a healthy, happy and blessed New Year!

Thanks for stopping by!

Last Minute Christmas Cards

I've been busy wrapping things up for Christmas before our son and daughter in-love arrive from California.  We haven't spent Christmas with them in five years.  I am so excited for them to come this Sunday!  I've got a couple of last minute Christmas cards I've made and then I'll be taking a bit of a blogging break until after the holiday.

I purchased these Christmas Carol background stamps from Marianne Designs late last year and never had a chance to use them.  I was so happy to ink them up this year for the first time.  

I stamped the sentiment in black and then masked off a rectangle and added some distress ink.  I then stamped over the sentiment again using my MISTI and Versamark Ink and embossed it using clear embossing powder. 

 I added some die cut snowflakes and my favorite Marianne Designs Deer.

My next card was inspired by the beautiful blues at  the Inspired By Challenge:  Painted Pinecones.

I used another fun Christmas Carol stamp and added distress ink and embossed it in the same way as the first card.  The village dies are from Joy Crafts.

I'll also be adding one of these cards to the following challenges:

Simon Says Monday Challenge ~ Cityscapes

Word Art Wednesday ~ Anything Goes

The Sisterhood of Crafters ~ Anything Christmas

Christmas Kickstart Challenge ~ Last Minute Madness

I hope you have a Christmas filled with many blessings.

Thanks for stopping by!

Seven Swans A~Swimming ~ Double D Challenges

Do you enjoy joining in on card challenges?  I do!  One of my favorite duos is Double D Challenges hosted by Darlene Pavlick and Diane Hover.  I've worked with Darlene for a few years now and have loved her from the start.  She is truly one of the best team leaders I've ever worked with!  Diane is equally as wonderful and they're both always inspiring to me.  With that said, I'm excited to tell you that I'll be joining the Double D Challenges design team in 2020!

 To celebrate, I made this card for their newest challenge "12 Days of Christmas" part 2.

I went with the "7 swans a-swimming" panel for my card:

I used this beautiful swan from Quickutz.  It's an older die but the swan is so beautiful, it will never go out of style.  I added a festive wreath around her neck using some stamps and dies from PTI.  

I hope you'll take the time to visit Double D Challenges and join in on the fun.  There's always a prize up for grabs, not to mention the great inspiration you'll find there.

I'll also be entering this card into the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday ~ Anything Goes

May your Christmas be full of peace, love and joy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pretty Poinsettia's ~ The Flower Challenge #39 ~ Use A Die

Hello lovelies~  I'm popping in with a card I made a while back but never got around to posting.  I thought it would fit perfectly for The Flower Challenge, to "Use a Die".

No flower says "Christmas" more to me than beautiful Poinsettia's.  I printed the background image and added these lovely stamped poinsettia's from PTI.

There's still plenty of time to join in on the fun over at The Flower Challenge.  I'll also be adding this card to the Word Art Wednesday challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Holiday Decor ~ Dies R Us ~ Christmas

Christmas.... I love everything about Christmas!  The warmth of candles and Christmas lights aglow, listening to Christmas carols on the radio and most especially, the time spent with family and friends.  But the greatest gift ever given, is the gift of God's son Jesus, who was brought to this earth to bring peace, love and eternal life to all who believe.  
Dies R Us is starting a new challenge today and It's all about Christmas.  I pulled out all the stops on this Christmas project to create a pretty holiday sled ornament.

I've had this wooden sled in my craft close for far too long, just waiting to be used.  I painted it up, distressed it a bit, added a computer printed background and adorned it using dies from Dies R Us and some of my favorite Tim Holtz vintage Christmas images.

For the spray on the top, I used Dee's Distinctively Pine Sprigs 2.  I rubbed a little Distress Ink onto the pine sprigs to give them a more natural look.  I cut some skeleton leaves out of gold, added some red berries and a pretty pink Poinsettia from Elizabeth Craft Designs, which I molded using a ball stylus.

I hope this post inspires you to look at your dies in a different way.  They can be used for so much more than card making.

You can join in on all the fun here.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by!

She Will Bear A Son... Christmas Kickstart Challenge #25 ~ The Christmas Story

Hello friends~  I'm just popping in with a card that I made for the Christmas Kickstart Challenge "The Christmas Story".  

I used a stamp from Sweet N' Sassy Stamps called "Holy Night", which I stamped in black.  Then using stamps from PTI's Watercolor Wonder set, I stamped an artsy looking Christmas tree, in gradient shades of green.

 I then stamped back over the sentiment using Versamark ink and clear embossing powder.  The panel is cut using MFT's Wonky Stitched Rectangles and mounted on coordinating green cardstock.

Lest we never forget the reason we celebrate this season of love and giving called "Christmas".

Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Making Mouse ~ Dies R Us ~ Winter White

Hello crafty friends!  Thanks for popping in.  Today's card was made for the new Dies R Us challenge that starts today.  The theme is "Winter Whites".  

 I took a little liberty on the "whites" part of this challenge and added a bit of soft pink.  Ok, there's a bit of soft green on the background too.  
...So much for "winter white"!  I started out going in that direction but got quickly distracted when I had to dress the adorable little Mouse from Marianne Designs Eline's Mice Family using MD Eline's Outfits. 

I just couldn't help myself when I saw the pink gingham paper sitting in my craft box saying "choose me!  I'd make a great scarf!" 

The little mouse is holding a sparkly paper lantern from MD Eline's Christmas Decoration.

Anyway, be sure to visit the Dies R Us Challenge Blog to join in on the fun and see how my other team mates followed the rules to a "T" and I hope you still enjoyed this card.

Thanks for stopping by!

12 Kits of Occasion ~ November

Wow!  Where does the time go? And how quickly time flies!  November flew by like a leaf in the wind and I am scrambling to get this post done for the 12 Kits of Occasion team post.  Our hostess this month was Lindsey Larsen from Occasional Crafting.  Her kit is titled, "All Is Calm, All Is Bright" and it's filled  with nostalgic and heartwarming Christmas images and beautiful colors.  Thanks so much Lindsey for a wonderful kit!!

I'll jump right in to my cards starting with this sweet deer!

 It's hard to see in the photo, but I added glittered snowflakes on the background and some white nuvo drops.  Isn't that the sweetest face??

 The essence of this card says it all!  The real reason we celebrate this wonderful holiday.

I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you'll hop over to the 12 Kits of Occasion blog to see how my gifted team mates were inspired to use Lindsey's kit.

Happy Christmas season!  May the days and months ahead be filled with many blessings and all good things.

Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage / Retro Box Ornaments

Good morning friends.  What is your favorite crafting style?  Double D Challenges just started a new challenge asking that question.  

I enjoy lots of different styles but the one I continue to go back to as my favorite year after year, would be vintage / retro style.  

I created these vintage style ornament boxes last year and never got around to posting these last two.  

The ornament box was made using Spellbinders nestabilities dies with a stitched oval cut from the center of the front panel.  I covered the front panels with ModaScrap Christmas Paper and then added some of  my favorite embellishments from Tim Holtz Christmas Ephemera to the inside and front of the ornament.

You can see in this photo, that the thickness of the box is about 3/4 of an inch, so there's lots of room on the inside for layering your favorite goodies.  I added lots of Distress Mica Flakes or glitter on the inside of the ornaments to make them shine.  

If you'd like to see the posts from last year with the other boxes I've made, click on the links below.

Festive Christmas Ornament Boxes

Festive Deer Ornament Box

Make It Monday Ornament Box

I'll be adding one of these projects to the following challenges:

Double D Challlenges ~ Favorite Style.... Vintage / Retro

Word Art Wednesday ~ Anything Goes
Christmas Kickstart Challenge ~ Santa

Thanks for stopping by!

Cards of Encouragement

Good morning friends~  Just popping on to share some cards I made using papers from Mintay by Karola called Bloomville.

I made a set of inspirational cards to give as a gift at a women's retreat.

The printed papers and elements in this paper set are stunning and so cheerful!

The nest, bird and butterfly were fussy cut from a bonus sheet that's included on the back cover of the paper pack.

Paired with a variety of scripture stamps, this set of cards came out beautifully.

Because we all need a little boost of encouragement from time to time.  

Thanks for stopping by!