The 12 Kits of Occasions - April 2019

Welcome to The 12 Kits of Occasions - the April 2019 edition!! Kara Pogreba is our wonderful hostess with the most-est and she has assembled her very first kit, 'For the Graduate', which celebrates this momentous occasion/achievement. Whether you are celebrating a kindergarten, high school or college milestone, it's always great to be prepared for the upcoming season!
Lots of beautiful patterned papers, lovely die cuts, perfectly coordinating sentiments and a few adorable tassels are all included in Kara's fabulous kit!! 
Surely the lovely projects from the talented 12 Kits Team will inspire, so please hop around to see ALL of the crafty creations! You can find a complete list of everything that's included in the kit by clicking here.
Thanks so much for joining us today, and many thanks to our hostess, Kara!

My apologies .....  only two cards this morning because I'm off on an impromptu visit to VT. Please stay tuned for a few more projects later tomorrow! In the meantime, be sure to take a peek at of the lovelies created by the 12 Kits crew!!

Papertrey Ink - Throwback Thursday

                     THROWBACK THURSDAY - be happy

It's time for the latest 'Throwback Thursday' feature over on the Papertrey Ink Blog.  The sweet and cheerful Be Happy, designed by the lovely Melissa Bickford, has me thinking SPRING! This 4" x 5.25" trio, in lovely hues of yellow and blue, all share a vellum backed/scallop edged striped frame, pretty little butterflies and blooms and the addition of a few Nuvo drop/sequin embellishments, allowing you to send the perfect spring-infused birthday greeting!

This pretty little Be Happy set was originally released in February of 2014, and had been on my wish list/Pinterest gallery for quite awhile. When the stamps and dies became part of the April Sale Madness,  they were happily added to my Papertrey Ink collection (along with the 2008 Bitty Box Basics and Sheer Basics Vellum collection patterned papers!).

In shades of Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise, Spring Rain and Blueberry Sky, there are some little details (petite/scalloped frame, Nuvo dotted flowers and butterfly, gridded patterned paper background, lovely Sale Tag #3) that add welcome dimension to this simple, but layered, birthday card.

I hope that you'll be inspired to search out, and create with, a few of your Papertrey Ink 'classics'. 

Be Happy, with it's crisp clean lines, lovely diagonal patterns, perfect petite sentiments and pretty scallops, certainly fits into that category and provides oodles of design possiblities!

Papertrey Ink's Saturday Showcase - Bloomin' Cute

Happy weekend to you, friends! I am joining in today for the Saturday Showcase over on the Papertrey Ink Blog. This week we are creating projects with the lovely stamps and dies from 'Bloomin' Cute'!  The fun floral images, in combination with the pretty scripted font and crisp companion sentiments, help to create the most beautiful projects. For additional Bloomin Cute inspiration, please take a peek at what Ashley and Kelly have created!

The lovely Black & White All Over patterned papers were the jumping off point for this little quartet of 4.24 x 5.5" all occasion cards.  With a Fresh Snow Linen background and shades of Weathervane/Enchanted Evening/Ocean Tides/Autumn Rose/Sweet Blush/Smokey Shadow, these would be appropriate for any season/occasion.

  

The crisp Fresh Snow Linen stitched base and Smokey Shadow layering provide definition to each card, while the dimensional flowers and petite pearls add a bit of additional interest.

And.... another use for those oh-so-versatile (AND an incredible bargain at $2) Black & White All Over patterned papers? Be sure to line your envelopes for a coordinated and professional finish!

Each of the delicate Bloomin' Cute Sentiment dies are triple layered to give them a bit of weight and dimension. AND.... they look lovely in combination with the Bloomin' Cute sentiments OR can be mixed and matched with many others in your collection.

Many thanks for joining me today, and wishing you a lovely holiday weekend!

And...... I'm off to prepare a lovely brunch feast for tomorrow!

CAS(E) this Sketch #318

Welcome to CAS(E) this Sketch #318 AND another of our throw-back/'Retro' Sketches.... a timeless design by the fabulous N@Ali!! See the originals from April 2017 HERE. You'll surely find lots of inspiration from the DT, both the 2017 and 2019 versions, so please play along!
Lots of bright and beautiful springtime color here.... with a kaleidoscope of petite butterflies, graphic stripe, my favorite polka dots and sweet sentiment.
There are many wonderfully designed creations from the DT, so be sure to take a peek and then JOIN in at CAS(E) this Sketch #318!

Fusion Card Challenge - 'Tropical Fish'

Thanks for joining us for the newest Fusion Card Challenge - 'Tropical Fish'. 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. Lots of wonderful white space and some vibrant colors.....an ink blended background stripe, colorful coral and a trio of tiny fish. And the petite raindrop accents add just a little bit of shine!
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.

Papertrey Ink - DT Tips

                       PAPERTREY INK - DESIGN TEAM TIPS

Happy Fri-yay!! I'm here with another Design Team Tip for Papertrey Ink. Today it's all about CAS Fabulous Florals/ aka Stocking Your Card Stash!! When I am wanting or needing to add to my cache, I usually begin with a very CAS design.... in this case a crisp white base, a bit of embossed texture and a plethora of vibrant florals. 

For me, less is definitely more when it comes to creating multiples! For all of these examples I used just one stamp set for the images (Seasonal Borders: Spring) and one for the sentiments (Circle of Love).  A bit of texture is provided by embossing with the Nesting Basics: Pierced Ovals, helping to create a center focal point around which the floral bouquets are arranged.

Once I'd decided on a design, I cut and scored all of my 4 x 5.5" card bases and embossed the oval centers using two of the dies from Nesting Basics: Pierced Ovals. Then.... it was off to the races, die cutting all of the pretty floral bouquets. As you can see, I tend to overdo it a bit when I'm doing multi-step stamping - because I am never quite sure how I'm going to like the color layering and/or the color combinations. And, in this case, I needed to stamp in pairs so that I'd have a matching upper and lower image for my card front.

And...... a few 'bonus tags' in more pastel-y shades, using the individual flowers from Seasonal Borders: Spring, a petite sentiment from Gift Card Cozy, a bit of embossing from Nesting Basics: Pierced Circles and the Tag Sale #4 die.

Many thanks for joining me! Hope that I've brought a bit of springtime inspiration and color your way. My messy crafting table certainly looks a little brighter today!!

CAS(E) this Sketch #316

Happy Thursday!! Here's an oh-so-versatile design from Brian King for CTS #316..... and a few fabulous projects from the DT that we hope will inspire!
I had a few more goodies from my March 12 Kits of Occasions kit on my messy craft table, so here is one more project! I've colored the beautiful Wplus9 florals (and sparkled 'em up a bit), utilized some of the pretty patterned paper and added the lovely PPP scripted sentiment die to create this 'hello friend' card.

We hope that you'll be playing alone with us at CAS(E) this Sketch #316 -  can't wait to see your masterpiece!

P.S. - A warm welcome to GD, Agata!!

Fusion Card Challenge - 'Cheery Eggs'

Thanks for joining us for the newest Fusion Card Challenge - 'Cheery Eggs''. 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've got a lot of pattern goin' on here.... with a bit of added texture and that cute little fuzzy tailed bunny (plus a few colorful eggs) helping to create my spring greeting.
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.