12 Kits of Occasions - Christmas in July 2017

Our 12 Kits of Occasions team can always count on Ms. Heggins, of Cupcakes, Cards, and Kim!, for darling additions to our annual set of Christmas cards!  Kim includes such a cute variety of goodies for her Christmas kit... here's a peek:

Kudos to Lindsey for another fun composite photo!

I nearly turned on some Christmas music!  Oh YOU can, too... I'll wait!

Ready.  Set.  Go....

More layers, and papers, than I'm used to using - but don't they all look good?!

[she writes with a hope-filled heart!]

 

A special memory from my childhood!

Who doesn't like to shake their Christmas packages?

Kim HAD ME at Houndstooth!

Hmmm .. think I have a FEW coffee-loving friends who might enjoy this one!

 One of my favorite Christmas Carol's

HAD to make a CAS Christmas card!

 

You'll find tons of inspiration for your own Christmas card-making days at the 12 Kits of Occasions Blog - and all the details about the kit contents, too.  I'm off to be amazed... won't you join me? 

Thank you, Kim for this adorable kit ... it was a true Christmas gift!

=]  Michele

Second Helpings for CASology's Birthday Bash!

There's a little guy here who cannot wait to play cards at CASology's 5-year partay!  You've hopped haven't you?

 

 

He did get a little carried away, right? 

Have a great weekend, everyone!  Thanks for spending a bit of your week with me...

=]  Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #228

Hi, friends ... yes, I'm back again!  Sorry [not sorry =]

I had to come back to play cards with Linda at Freshly Made Sketches 298... oh I saw the challenge, and jumped in head first!

Wanna take the swim with me?  That's too funny, as I cannot swim a stroke!  Here's my way of swimming ...

E.H. Mermaid Tail, and sentiment, by Julie Ebersole;

a few distress oxide inks on silver embossing;

SSS waves white embossed onto linen vellum

 

Now for some news ... I won two tickets to see The Live Tour of Dancing with the Stars!!!!!!!  I'm taking my best dance partner!

 

=]  Michele

 

 



CAS[E] this Sketch #232

Chrissy has given us another fun Sketch this week, open for all of your interpretations:

 



 

I just happened to have a little something new in my craft studio ... see what you think... for CTS #232:

 

Waffle Flower Crafts: Flora Cat Play; MFT Stitched Scallop Basic Edge;

Gina Marie Designs cross-stitched rectangles

Oh, yes, she is mounted on a Wobbler!  We will one day have another cat, or two ... until then, this little sweetie makes me smile...

=]  Michele

p.s.  I have been saving this color combination for a very long time ... must thank Laura Bassen, and the gorgeous card she made on the SSS blog ... you can check it out here!

Color Throwdown 453, and Time Out

Hope you don't mind a second post from me today ... just had to take advantage of a good-mojo kind of day! 

Here is what inspired me ... first these words from Time Out challenge #88:

'If you have good thoughts,
 they will shine out of your face like sunbeams
and you will always look lovely'  - The Twits, by Roald Dahl
 
If it were only true!!  Ha!!  Out of the mouths of babes, right?  anyway, I think sending good thoughts might just do the trick!

At any rate ... Broni's colors at The Color Throwdown #453 were just too delicious this week ...

and they worked beautifully, I think!

I was influenced by Amy Rohl, and Anita in France today ... okay, honestly?  almost every day... thank you ladies!  xx xx

=]  Michele

Supplies:  Frame from the New Day card kit by Altenew; Sunflower is the Gerbera Daisy from MFT, where I also got the dots, and leaf; sentiment from Altenew's Fresh Freesia - cut from two layers of Neenah Solar white #110 cardstock.

CASology's 5th Birthday!

One of the very first challenges I ever dared to "play cards" with was CASology!  CAS was a new-to-me phrase, but it was a style I truly adopted as my own.

So, it is with great pleasure for me today to make a card to celebrate CASology's 5th birthday!   Their Cue Word couldn't be more perfect:

Without further ado, here is my card ... in the style of one of my favorite card designers,  Keren Baker:

I've used a clear acetate card base, with an extra little strip of acetate to adhere the escaping balloons - time certainly does get away from us, doesn't it!

Congratulations, Melissa, for knowing just how to make my juices flow, and to the CASology designers who perfectly represent their Cues every single week!

=]  Michele

Supplies:  E.H. Hinged Alphas
                   and Sock Monkey dies
                   Little Snippets of card stock

Ellen Hutson's July 2017 Pin-Sights Challenge

The mood after seeing the July Pin-sights Challenge mood-board?  Happy, happy, happy!!  See if you have the same results:

The dots, stripes, colors, and party ware just pleased the former caterer in me ... it had me at hello, in other words!

Here is how I interpreted it, using Sock Monkey Surprise's little party hat and die, a few little snippets of patterned paper, and Oh Frappe stamp, and die, for the rest of the elements on my 'late to the party' birthday card:

Copic colored Frappe and party hat.  Sentiment stamped and clear embossed onto vellum.

Hope the cute factor outweighs the late factor!!

=]  Michele

CAS[E] this Sketch #231

Another fun Sketch from N@ Ali this week!

My mind swims with ideas ... but, wow, did I take it CAS this time!  Found a little boat washed up in my snippets dish... it spoke to me, and this is what it said:

Lil Inkers Stitched Woodgrain Cover Up; a sentiment from Altenew.

 

I just know you will have even more fun than I did ... won't you join us this 231st week? 

 

=]  Michele

The Heart Desires Challenge 14

Not only am I back playing cards with those wonderful gals at The Heart Desires, I'm trying something WAY out of my comfort zone today!

This morning [even though they were live yesterday] I watched Marie Browning do the coolest technique with Tombow USA's Dual Brush pens, and photo paper ... watch it on Facebook - you won't regret it!  I used THD14's gorgeous mood board for inspiration - specifically the gorgeous sky, and the sail boat:

Only one other craft supply was used to create my card - a simple sentiment from Altenew!  OH! a credit card was used but not a dime spent - thank you Karen D. of Snippets for providing the technique for the black line details.

I hope you are all enjoying Summer where you live - or
Winter if that's the case!  Seems we are all just a bit more quiet lately, right? 

=]  Michele

Color Throwdown #451 - Thanks a Melon

This card was destined to be made ... turns out, for a very wonderful neighbor!  Here's what happened on the way to this post:

Microsoft decided to update our system ... which immediately caused a meltdown with Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.  I know, there are newer versions, but I refuse any change at this point, and have an  "if it ain't broke" attitude!

After a few searches on the net, my wonderful neighbor [and a guy in Europe] figured out that Microsoft had removed a long list of fonts - guess what?  One of them was used by Elements 9!!  Just a simple little thing like that caused such havoc in my life!!!

So!  This card is going to Marc, after posting to the Color Throwdown #451 challenge!!!

Thanks a melon, Marc!

Thanks to YOU for stopping by today ... sorry about my rant, but figured some of you have had the same issue!

=]  Michele

Color Throwdown #451

I colored a little panel before leaving for our trip ... it was such a nice surprise to find the colors I used featured in the Color Throwdown #451 challenge!

When finished, the panel made me think Poinsettias ... why not a little tropical Christmas card?

Waffle Flower: Greenery, and Magical Flower 2 dies

I must give credit where credit is due... last year, my friend Chriss Blagrave sent me this gorgeous embossed panel to play with.  She was inspired by Shari Carroll's card blog here - you'll see I haven't come close to making mine as beautiful as Shari did - but that's okay, I'm happy, and I have another Christmas card made!! 

I'll be sharing this with Nancy Thomas, who is encouraging us to join her for Christmas in July 2017.

I may have to do Second Helpings for CTD 451 - I'm feeling a little melon-izing coming on!

Thanks for stopping by ... it makes me smile, big time!

=]  Michele 

CAS[E] this Sketch #230

Donna Mikasa has such a smart and versatile Sketch for us this week ... I can only imagine the card she will create with it!  How will it inspire you?

I've taken a literal approach this week, as I do so love a little color-blocking... if you see a little garden plot, my mission has been accomplished!

MFT Fall Florals stamps & dies, and Stitched Strip... PTI papers, sentiment, and inks

I do hope that I've planted a small seed of inspiration ... if not?  Please join me as I visit my fantastic team mates - you'll be as amazed as I am every week, I'm sure of it!

=]  Michele

CAS[E] this Sketch #229

Just in case you haven't heard the news... we're on the road again ... if you don't hear from me, I've either been eaten by wolves in Utah, fallen into the Grand Canyon, or I have no internet service! 

Here is our Sketch this week -

 I'm sure Hannelie did not have a jungle of any kind in mind when she designed her Sketch.  I used this little urban skyline to represent her panels ... with a little turnabout ... and a large-sized panel ... and these fab new jungle leaves from PTI, here is my card:

You've undoubtedly already guessed my inside sentiment, but those Concord & 9th alphas sure do fill the gap in the sentiment department...

I hope all is well in your neck-o-the-woods!  I just know you guys are going to have a blast with this Sketch!  Send them over to CTS #229, 'kay?  xx

=]  Michele