Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes December 2012

 

It's my last PSS post of 2012...but don't worry, there are many to come in 2013! So this is one of my favorite cards I've EVER made! I just love it :) It feels so homey. I created the wreath/kissing ball by stamping the holly leaf from "Warm Hearts" and then masking until it made the kissing ball :) The snowman is from "Freezy Fellas" and the sentiment is from "Joyful Greetings." The door die is from Memory Box, the snowdrifts from PTI. I used Stickles on the snow drifts to give them a little sparkle. The patterned paper is from My Mind's eye. What do you think? Do you love it as much as I do? I sent this one to my parents o thank them for all the awesome stuff they gave me for Christmas (including tons of crafty goodies!)

 

 

So this challenge is Anything Goes....why don't you play along? Here are the other members of the DT that are playing along, so make sure to go and check out what they've created, too!

Lisa Arana-- http://dahlhouse-designs.com

Nina Yang-- http://waffleflower.com

Lynn Mangan-- http://www.themangoboysandme.blogspot.com

Jessica Davis-- http://thepaperparade.blogspot.com

Lori Tecler--  http://inkingaloud.blogspot.com

Jessica Bavier-- http://stampingwithjessica.blogspot.com

Vera Wirianta Yates-- http://lingshappyplace.blogspot.com

Ahsley Marcu-- http://www.cherryhilldesign.blogspot.com

Savannah O'Gwynn-- http://www.savannahland2.blogspot.com

 

The 12 Kits of Christmas December 2012

 

Welcome to the last 12 Kits of Christmas post of 2012! I can't believe its here. I have enjoyed this group SO much! Because of it, I got my Christmas cards out in the first week of December this year, and that is a record for me! Usually I'm still working on them on Christmas eve, so they don't get sent out until late. I'm super excited about next year, there will be some changes, and I already have next month's kit containing some of the changes, so make sure to stop by on the last day in January to find out what I'm talking about!

 

Now, this months kit was sent by Sharron, and boy oh boy did I love it! In fact, I made the most cards that I've made out of any month...a total of 8!

 

And here are the 8 cards I made...a great start to my stash for 2013!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my I had so much fun with this kit! I loved that it had both whimsical and non cutsey stuff in it. The papers were bright and fun, and I really loved that sparkly paper that the snow drifts were cut from! Here is what Sharron sent:

 

Stamps from Cas-ual Fridays, Lawn Fawn, PTI, and Wplus9

Cardstock from PTI, Stampin' Up, and WPlus9

Patterned Paper from Bo Bunny, Cosmo Cricket, and Sharron's LSS

Dies/Punches: Impression Obsession, Lifestyle Crafts, Memory Box, MFT, PTI, WPlus9, and Marvy

Embossing Folders: Sizzix/Hero Arts

Embellishments: Darcie, PTI, National Nonwovens, Paper Studio, and Recollections

Inks: Stampin Up and Memento

 

Now, let's go see what my other fellow "12 Kitters" made!

 

Renee {It's a Patchwork Life}

Amy {Stamp-n-Paradise}

Suzanne {The Card Yard}

Cathy {Empty Nest Crafter}

Joyce {Cards-by-the-Sea}

Kim {Cupcakes Cards and Kim}

Kara {KandRDesigns}

Sharron {On Papillon Wings}

Marybeth {Marybeth's Time for Paper}

Jeanne {A Kept Life}

Jessica {The Paper Parade}-Me!

Christina {Sea Glass & Sentiments}

Paper Smooches Sparks Picture Perfect December 2012

 

Its not my week on the DT for PSS, but I wanted to play along! Here is the photo we were given:

 

 

I used a bunch of sets for this card: "Friendly Flowers," "Chit Chat," "Word Salad," "Reflections," "Word Up," and "Cyber Café."

The paper is from My Mind's Eye, the ribbon from PTI and the pearls from Recollections. The pearls represent periods. I did the clear words so that you could see the white like the words in the photo. I stamped them in blue to represent the color of the wall and vase. I'm going to give this card to Phillip as a thank you for my awesome Christmas presents from him...a facial and a subscription to CARDS magazine!

PTI Blog Hop December 2012

 

Merry Christmas everyone! Its been awhile since I've been able to play along with the PTI blog hop, so I'm happy to join in today! This month's challenge was white on white. I never do cards like this, so this was very new to me. I am happy with the results, though!

 

 

The branch is from Maya Road, the embossing folder from Sizzix, the cardstock and wonderful words die are from PTI. I'm going to give this card to my brother and sister in law for their anniversary next week. She loves birds and trees for décor, so I think this card will be right up her alley ;) My fingers are crossed that Santa brings you all lots of crafty goodies!

Little Tangles #3

 

Merry Christmas! So I screwed up this morning and posted the PTI blog hop card a day early LOL! So I'm saving that one until tomorrow. In the meantime, here is the card that I made for this week's Little Tangles Color challenge:

 

 

The sentiment and note are from Neat and Tangles. Its hard to tell from the photo, but they are stamped in red. The washi tape is from Recollections, the ribbon from Amuse, the cardstock from PTI, the patterned paper from My Mind's Eye, and the snowflake from Sizzix. The cool sequin looking stick on eyelets were in some happy mail from one of my 12 Kits friends, Jeanne. Thanks, Jeanne!

 

I hope you were all as lucky as I was this Christmas in the craft department...I got tons of Lawn Fawn sets, some cardstock, ribbon, buttons, and a subscription to CARDS magazine!!!!



Lawnscaping #48: Make It Shine Take #2

 

Here is the other card that I made last night for the Make It Shine challenge that Lawnscaping has going on. I used those awesome rhinestone balloons that were also in the little package Sharron sent my way :) I found out through a Christmas letter that one of my fellow Marine wives from back when Phillip and I were first married, is pregnant with her second child. So I made this to send her way :)

 

 

The mat stack die is from PTI, the ribbon from Amuse, stamps and sentiment from Lawn Fawn, patterned paper from My Mind's Eye. The clouds are from MFT.

 

I just stepped out of my craft room to make lunch, but I got two more cards made today, whoo hoo! Hope you are getting some extra crafty time like me :)

Lawnscaping #48: Make It Shine!

 

Hi everyone! I know that my blog has been pretty quiet lately, well, I have 4 days off for a little (much needed!) Christmas break, so I plan to spend a lot of that time in my poor neglected craft room! I already made two cards tonight :) Both for the Lawnscaping Challenge that is going on now. It's to use glitter or rhinestones to make your card sparkle!

 

 

I used some rhinestones that were sent to me in a surprise happy mail package that I received this week! I love this time of year, there are either cards or other surprises in the mail every day :) Thanks, Sharron, for these great rhinestones! The paper is from My Mind's Eye, cardstock is PTI. I used Encore silver ink to make the sentiment shine, too :) Stamps are Lawn Fawn. I'm also going to enter this card into this week's SimonSaysStamp challenge which is to make anything "Christmasey."

 

Paper Smooches Sparks Cool Shades December 2012

 

It's Paper Smooches Sparks time!

 

 

This month's color challenge was to use red, green, white, and yellow. I couldn't resist making a Partridge in a Pear tree using "Winter Grooves" :) The sentiments are created from the "We Connect" set. That paper had the perfect colors for the challenge! It is from This and That from My Mind's Eye. The cardstock is from PTI and the ribbon from Amuse.

 

You have all week to link up to the challenge, so come on a give it a shot! Check it out here.

 

Now go on over to the DT blogs and see how they worked their creative magic with these colors!

 

 

 

Ashley Marcu - www.cherryhilldesign.blogspot.com

Lori Tecler - http://inkingaloud.blogspot.com/

Nina Yang - http://waffleflower.com/

Savannah O’Gwynn - http://www.savannahland2.blogspot.com/

 

 

Little Tangles #2

 

I had a card half way done for the first Little Tangles challenge, but its still only half way done! I decided that this time I'm going to finish my card, so I made this holiday themed card. Look closely...the wreath is made out of envelopes!

 

 

I only own one Neat and Tangled set, and it was fun making it work for a holiday card. I started by making the envelopes into a tree, but after seeing the woodgrain paper, I knew I had to go for a wreath! All the fun paper is from an Echo Park paper pack. All stamps are from the "Just Hello" N&T set. This card took awhile to get the way I wanted, but I think it turned out fun, there's so much to look at! There's still time to play in the challenge, you can check it out here.

Serendipity Stamps Challenge #1

 

Several of my friends from the 12 Kits of Christmas group are on the Serendipity Design Team. As you saw last month from our awesome kit, Serendipity has some beautiful and delicate dies and stamps! I don't own any myself, but Jeanne sent enough in the kit that I have a huge supply still left over! So I went into my stash and was able to find all you see on the above card to create a card for the first ever challenge on the Serendipity Challenge Blog!

 

The challenge is to create a card with an accordion/honeycomb element. I've never tried this technique before. It recommends cutting at least 10 dies, but I didn't quite have that many, so I worked with 3 and it still worked! All stamps and dies are from Serendipity. The patterned paper is from Echo Park.

 

Want to give this technique a try yourself? There's still time to play! You just need one Serendipity stamp on your card to play along. There is a great prize up for grabs. Go check it out here.

Paper Smooches Sparks Trend Watch December 2012

 

 

 

 

This month's trend was cameras and polaroids. Funny, I used a polaroid for my last entry card! You are definitely seeing them pop up everywhere! I started off with that cool camera paper from Echo Park, I knew I wanted to use that. I thought about another polaroid, too, but didn't want it to be overkill ;) I used the new PS "Woofers and Tweeters," for the two dogs, "Alphadot" to create my own sentiment, and "Knick Knacks" for the camera image. That cool ticket strip is from Maya Road. I wish it was film, but I thought it looks pretty close! Its hard to tell, but the ticket strip is clear. The cardstock and the double ended banner die are from PTI.

 

Isn't this challenge fun? You have all week to play along, so check it out here at the Sparks blog. Need more inspiration? Check out the blogs of my fellow DT members, here:

 

 

Ashley Marcu - www.cherryhilldesign.blogspot.com

Lori Tecler - http://inkingaloud.blogspot.com/

Nina Yang - http://waffleflower.com/

Savannah O’Gwynn - http://www.savannahland2.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

The 12 Kits of Christmas November 2012

 

Yay, Christmas is in the air....for real! I've got Christmas decorations up, and a box of about 50 Christmas cards that I made throughout the year with this seriously awesome group that I'm a part of :) This month's kit was from Jeanne. She sent us SOOOO much stuff! I seriously barely scratched the surface of with the 5 cards I made! Check out the goodies galore she sent us:

 

The first card is my favorite of the bunch. I love the bold colors, and those deer silhouettes really pop against the blue winter background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeanne sent SO much stuff...lots of crafty supplies I've never played with before :) And get this, there are two special things about this month...there is blog candy, and a sale! Mary Dew Lee the owner of Serendipity stamps is having a one day sale on Friday, Nov. 30 in honor of our 12 Kits this month. Everything Christmas is 20% off!!! Go check it out and get some of the amazing supplies we got in our kits. And what was that about blog candy? One winner will be randomly selected out of all the 12 Kits Posts, so make sure to comment for your chance to win a stamp and die kit!

 

Okay, now I know you're just itching to get over and see what the other girls made, so start your hop right here:

 

Renee {It's a Patchwork Life}

Amy {Stamp-n-Paradise}

Suzanne {The Card Yard}

Cathy {Empty Nest Crafter}

Joyce {Cards-by-the-Sea}

Kim {Cupcakes Cards and Kim}

Kara {KandRDesigns}

Sharron {On Papillon Wings}

Marybeth {Marybeth's Time for Paper}

Jeanne {A Kept Life}

Jessica {The Paper Parade}-Me!

Christina {Sea Glass & Sentiments}

 

 

Paper Smooches Sparks Picture Perfect November 2012

 

Well, I just got my latest installment of brand new Paper Smooches stamps that haven't even been released, yet! The three new sets this month are amazing! I used all 3 on this card. I know you all know I went crazy when I saw there was a dog themed set!! :) The 3 sets I used are called "Woofers and Tweeters" (the dog and owl and paw print in heart), "We Connect" (the "love), and "Flap Happy" ("sending"). This month was a picture challenge. Here's what we were given to work with:

 

 

I was inspired by the white "love" on the yellow pillow, with the light red behind it, and then the bold yellow pattern on the chair. I started with the damask patterned paper, and went from there. The paper is all My Mind's Eye (a couple of packs), the cardstock PTI, the twine The Twinery, and pearls from Q&Co. There's plenty of time left to play in the challenge, so go check it out! :) Look for my own DT post this coming Monday, and also the 12 Kits of Christmas post this Friday!

And the Winner Is...



Hi everyone! I had SUCH a fun time promoting the new Paper Smooches "Winter Grooves" set! I was blown away with how many comments I received and how great they were :) So who is going to win this set?

 

 

After using Random.org, the winner was #72, Lindsey!

 

 

This is what Lindsey said:

 

LindseyFriday, November 16, 2012

Love this set and your sweet cards!

 

Congrats, Lindsey! I hope you truly enjoy the set :) Please email Kim at kimhughes22@aol.com with your address so she can send you your new "Winter Grooves" set :)





Paper Smooches Sparks Cool Shades November 2012

 

Hi everyone! I'm back with my second PSS challenge as a member of the DT!  I used the new "Freezy Fellas" and "He Said She Said" to create the fun card above. This is a color challenge, so I used the colors that we were given below:

 

 

 

The polaroid die, snow drifts die, ribbon, and cardstock are from PTI. The patterned paper is from MME. I think this card turned out pretty cute, it makes me smile :) And the sentiment is perfect for living in New England, because those New Englanders love to say "wicked!" Now that you've seen what I made, would you like to play along? You have until Sunday to play, so head on over to the PSS blog here to submit your card!

 

Now you've gotta go check out the cards that were made by my fellow DT members, I know I can't wait to see 'em either ;)

 

Ashley Marcu - www.cherryhilldesign.blogspot.com

Lori Tecler - http://inkingaloud.blogspot.com/

Nina Yang - http://waffleflower.com/

Savannah O’Gwynn - http://www.savannahland2.blogspot.com/

 



 

Something Special to Share and a Giveaway!

Paper Smooches released their newest Kismet stamp set called Winter Groves on November 15th and I am here today to help promote this sweet set!  You will find the new stamp set HERE.

Check it out...isn't it adorable?!

I absolutely LOVE that igloo, the cute skinny tree, and that partridge :) You'll read at the end what I plan to do with him in the future!

I have one Winter Groves stamp set to give away to one lucky person!  You have until midnight on Sunday, November 18th to leave a comment.  I will post the winner here on Monday, November 19th. 

For more chances to win...please visit:
Paper Smooches Blog -  http://papersmooches.blogspot.com/

Jean Manis - http://jeanmanis.com/

Now on to see what I created with this awesome new set! The first card of the bunch is my favorite :) I used the tree image several times on different colors of green cardstock. I left 2 blank, embossed two with fun patterns, and then stamped the circle from the set on the last to give it polka dots :) I stamped "Welcome Winter" then cut it out to layer on the trees. I think that the denim ribbon and woodgrain paper really tie it all together :)

Next, the cute snowman sliding down the hill :) I originally had the snowman up right, but then saw the little swirl and my idea came to light :) The snowflakes are embossed, and the snowdrift has glitter to make the snow glisten. I paper pieces the snowman's scarf, too. Isn't he cute?

And last but not least, a card that Phillip says is "not like you." But its still fun! I stamped the igloos in 3 different colors and used those colors in my ribbons, too. I just tied a couple of strips into the knot to get the effect. That penguin is just great, too :)

Well, I hope I've been able to give you some inspiration on ways to use this new "Winter Grooves" set. I could have made so many more cards with this set, too (and definitely will!). I have great visions of that partridge in a pear tree :) Which one is your favorite? Don't forget to comment for a chance to win this great set! I feel so honored that I got the chance to showcase this set. I had the biggest smile on my face when I received my happy mail with this set!