The 12 Kits of Occasions - March 2019

Welcome to The 12 Kits of Occasions.... the March 2019 edition!! Lisa Elton is our fabulous hostess with the most-est and she has assembled the beautiful 'A Whimsical Garden' kit,  with a fabulous array of spring images -  bunnies, topiaries, florals, and more!  Plus..... pretty patterned papers, lovely die cuts and perfectly coordinating sentiments!! 
Surely the lovely projects from the talented 12 Kits Team will inspire a bit of ooh-ing, aaah-ing and CASE-ing, so please hop around to see ALL of the crafty inspiration! You can find a complete list of everything that's included in the kit by clicking here.
Thanks so much for joining us today for the March edition of The 12 Kits of Occasions, and many thanks to Lisa for her beautiful kit!
P.S. - Lisa has so generously created two additional March kits that you can WIN!! Hop on over to Lisa's blog by 4/7/19 to enter!!

Papertrey Ink - Throwback Thursday

                     THROWBACK THURSDAY - give love

It's time for the latest 'Throwback Thursday' feature over on the Papertrey Ink Blog! The sweet, whimsical birds from Give Love have me thinking SPRING, and provide the perfect way to send a heartfelt message.....no matter the season.The addition of a few vibrant florals, a textured/layered heart and the petite sentiment are the finishing touches.

I love the texture that the Fresh Snow Linen card stock provides, and it is the perfect backdrop for the pretty posies and precious little birdie. I've die cut the center panel from the Mix & Mat: Pretty Brackets twice in order to have a larger panel to fit behind the From the Heart die. This center panel is also die cut with the Noted: Simply Stitched die, layered with Berry Sorbet and popped up on my linen card base.

The Aqua Mist birdie, with his speckled Ocean Tides belly, takes center stage. The petite florals, in bright shades of Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist and Summer Sunrise help to balance out the darker Cocoa Bean branch and sentiment.

Yes, I am more than happy that spring has sprung!  However,  those little birds building a nest in the wreath on my front door.......!! 

Thanks for visiting, and wishing you a lovely day!

CAS(E) this Sketch #314

Happy Thursday, and the very first full day of SPRING!! Here's a great design from Chrissy Larson for CTS #314..... and some fabulous projects from the DT that we hope will inspire!

This graphic had me envisioning warmer days and a large, strawberry-flavored ice cream cone. I've taken a few liberties with the positioning of this sweet creation, but lots of great texture and a plethora of sparkles should distract you from that!! And, I'm kinda liking this neapolitan color combo too!

We hope that you'll be playing alone with us at CAS(E) this Sketch #314, and can't wait to see your masterpiece!

Fusion Card Challenge - 'Create'

Thanks for joining us for the newest Fusion Card Challenge - 'Create'. The amazing inspiration photo is a wonderful starting point. But that sketch is pretty great too! So, which will you try?
The fabulous photo and the great sketch helped with this design. I loved the clean/graphic image and the crisp b/w stripe, in combination with the vintage type and beautiful sentiment die from The Stamp Market. 
The DT has provided some amazing inspiration, so be sure to hop on over and join the party!
When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo as you jumping off point. OR, if you are feeling super duper clever, you can fuse 'em together!

We hope that you'll join in at the Fusion Card Challenge and will enjoy all of the loveliness from the DT and the always amazing gallery!

Barb Ghigliotty

Jeanne Jachna

Jen Mitchell

Karren Johnson
Linda Callahan
Lyndal Higgins 

Michelle Lupton
Wanda Cullen

PROCEDURES:

1. Play with just the sketch challenge.
2. Play with just the inspiration photo challenge.
3. Or you can create FUSION by combining BOTH challenges into one card.
4. Use the challenge graphic and link back to Fusion in your post.

The Stamp Market

Papertrey Ink - Transformation Tuesday

PAPERTREY INK'S TRANSFORMATION TUESDAY!

Good morning, friends, and welcome to Papertrey Ink's Transformation Tuesday! I thought that is would be fun to take this CAS card, one from my holiday stash, and give it a little makeover!

Here's my original card (click HERE to see the original post):

Yes..... it was time to switch out the winter-y shades of green/red/brown (and holiday sentiment) for something more SPRING like! I've incorporated similar design elements (Bold Borders die, Mix & Mat-type center panel, petite/wrapped bouquet, simple greeting), but have created this new, transformed card with a happy mix of yellows, greens, pinks and corals. A harbinger of spring, I hope, because it's still snowing here in my neck of the woods!!

My older creation included a Classic Kraft background (my 'neutral') with a Prairie Grass center panel. The new springtime version has reversed this, as the Bold Borders: Prism provides a colorful backdrop to the crisp white panel, petite flowery bouquet and simple sentiment.

The pretty posies from Mixed Bouquet (2018 Anniversary set) are stamped in shades of Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise and Green Parakeet. The assembled mini bouquet is wrapped/tied with a snippet of white crochet thread and accented with a few mini pearls.

I find the yellow tones so hard to photograph..... and this is so much softer IRL. But that did not stop me from trying another color combination! Here is an identical layout in soft pinks (Pale Peony/Hibiscus Burst) to add to my birthday collection. Which do you prefer??

CAS(E) this Sketch #313

Happy Thursday, and welcome to CAS(E) this Sketch #313! Here's a lovely one, courtesy of Chrissy Larson ....... AND it's a 'Retro' sketch from January of 2016. Please take a peek at the DT's past creations for a bit of additional inspiration!
It's still winter in my neck of the woods, so I'm channeling a bit of Spring with this pretty daisy-like bloom from The Stamp Market. Papertrey Ink's brightly patterned papers and simple sentiment are the finishing touches on this 3.75 x 5.5" card!
We hope that you'll be playing along with us at CTS #313 and can't wait to see your masterpiece!
P.S. - A warm welcome to our GD, Jennifer!!

Papertrey Ink - Design Team Tips

                        Papertrey ink - Design team tips

Happy Fri-yay!! I'm here to share my very first Design Team Tip with you for Papertrey Ink. And.... it's all about easy ink blending and how you can create not only the perfect edge (and the perfect spot for your sentiment!), but also a lovely background for your image!  I am certainly no expert at this ink blending thing, but oh.... how I love the soft, subtle look and added bit of interest! Plus, I 'needed' to use those lovely new Picket Fence Studios blender brushes (and, yes, they might just be 'life changing'!). So, I am jumpin' in and trying my hand at ink blending - the CAS version!

I started with my supplies - lots of white card stock, a few shades of yellow, blue and green as my blending colors,  a floral stamp set ( 'Flower Favorites'), 1" masking tape and those lovely brushes (thank you Buffalo Stamps!). Then I just began to play.... ink blending and stamping away!

I placed the 1" masking tape just above the stitched line on my white card front/panel and blended the color - trying Papertrey Ink's Harvest Gold and a few other Distress colors. I loved the subtlety of the Harvest Gold blending, as it allowed the pretty pinks/corals/reds to really stand out and created a subtle divide and perfect placement for the Weathervane inked sentiment (from the Happy Hearts stamp set).

These cards worked up so quickly that I had time to create a little card set and matching Bitty Big patterned envelopes. A simple layer of color behind each panel and a petite butterfly were the finishing touches!

CAS(E) this Sketch #312

Welcome to CAS(E) this Sketch #312! It's another beautiful one from Donna Mikasa...  a sketch that is sure to spark a bit of creativity! Please take a peek at what the rest of the DT has come up with, as they are sure to inspire!
I took this sketch quite literally, with my very favorite polka dots....sparkled up in a bit of A Muse diamond glitter. That beautiful The Stamp Market die/sentiment takes center stage, as it should. CAS all the way (and so much prettier irl!).
We hope that you'll love this sketch and will be inspired to play along. Can't wait to see your addition to the CTS #312 gallery!
P.S. - A warm welcome to our fabulous GD, Mary!

Fusion Card Challenge - 'Mint'

Thanks for joining us for the newest Fusion Card Challenge - 'Mint'. The amazing inspiration photo is a wonderful starting point. But that sketch is pretty great too! So, which will you try?
The fabulous photo and the great sketch helped with this design. I loved the beautiful floral images from Altenew's Nature Snippets.... stamped in shades of mint, accented with a neutral gray and a subtle bit of sparkle. The delicate sentiment helps to finish off this CAS card!
The DT has provided some amazing inspiration, so be sure to hop on over and join the party!
When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo as you jumping off point. OR, if you are feeling super duper clever, you can fuse 'em together!

We hope that you'll join in at the Fusion Card Challenge and will enjoy all of the loveliness from the DT and the always amazing gallery!

Barb Ghigliotty

Jeanne Jachna

Jen Mitchell

Karren Johnson
Linda Callahan
Lyndal Higgins 

Michelle Lupton
Wanda Cullen

PROCEDURES:

1. Play with just the sketch challenge.
2. Play with just the inspiration photo challenge.
3. Or you can create FUSION by combining BOTH challenges into one card.
4. Use the challenge graphic and link back to Fusion in your post.