Moxie Fab Thanks Blog Hop!

Today I'm participating in a very special (and enormous) blog hop for the one and only Cath Edvalson!  

You should have arrived here from Leigh Penner's blog, but you can find the full list of participants at the Moxie Fab World blog.

Like many of you, I was saddened when I found out that Cath would be saying goodbye to the Moxie Fab World and Paper Crafts magazine.  Cath has been such an incredible source of inspiration to those of us in the world of paper crafting, it's hard to imagine what it will be like in the blogosphere without her daily posts.  Not only did she make the Moxie Fab World the go-to source for everything trendy and beautiful, but her posts were always engaging, enlightening, and written in a friendly voice that made it feel like we were having a chat.

Cath, thank you for showing us that it really is a Moxie Fab World!  You will be missed!

My card for Cath is simple to keep the focus on the message.  I used an inset die cut "thanks" and the coordinating stamp from Simon Says Stamp, Echo Park paper, and Studio Calico wood veneer stars.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 (White)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (A Perfect Summer)

Stamps:  Simon Says Stamp (STAMPtember Stamps Thanks)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Island Indigo)

Tools:  Simon Says Stamp (STAMPtember Thanks Craft Die), Papertrey Ink (Linen & Canvas impression plate)

Other:  Studio Calico (wood veneer stars)

To continue on the hop, your next stop is Heidi Van Laar.

Thanks again to Cath, and thank you for stopping by today!

The 12 Kits of Occasions--July 2013

Hello there!  I have so much to share with you today!  It's the last day of the month, which means it's time for another edition of the 12 Kits, a monthly event where 12 designers work with the same supplies to create cards and projects with a particular theme.

This month we are debuting a new 12 Kits blog where you can learn more about our group and how it started, see sneak peeks of each month's kit, and enjoy bonus posts as we continue to create projects with our "leftover" supplies throughout the month.  It will also be your go-to source for links to each designer, supply lists, and links to our Pinterest board and new Facebook page.  These are all great places to connect with us and find inspiration every day!

To celebrate all of the new features we're bringing you this month, I'm offering a giveaway on The 12 Kits of Occasions blog!  Head on over to check it out and leave a comment on the July kit post for your chance to win.

Now on to my cards for this month.  I was our hostess this month, working with the theme of birthdays.  I had so much fun creating this kit, and you can check out the full supply list on the 12 Kits blog.  I've made 6 cards so far, and I'm sharing 4 of them with you today.

My first card uses the cake and banner topper from Mama Elephant's Soiree, a gold embossed sentiment from Hero Arts, and some fabulous metallic gold twine.

My second card today is my favorite.  The row of cupcakes is colored with Copics and highlighted with a glitter pen, and I placed the sentiment banner at an angle just for fun.

Next up is a simple card using the die cut cupcakes on an embossed label with just a strip of patterned paper and a few wood veneer stars.

For today's last card, I couldn't resist using this cute takeout box from Lawn Fawn.  I stamped the top of the box a few times, cut apart the pieces of the lid, and glued them back on the top to make an open box (inspired by Yainea's card HERE).  Then I arranged the balloons to look like they've just come out of the container.  I pierced small holes for stringing thread behind each balloon.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end!  I'd love it if you'd visit the new 12 Kits blog, leave a comment there, and pay a visit to the rest of the designers if you haven't already.

Have a fantastic day!

Monday Mood Board #14 with Fresh Cut Florals

I picked up a few new stamp sets recently, hoping they would coax my creativity out of hiding. I'm determined to get back into the stamping groove, and the pretty little Fresh Cut Florals set from WPlus9 may be just the thing to get me back into my craft room.

I'm playing along with Dawn's Monday Mood Board for the first time:

In lieu of the ikat pattern in the graphic, I chose some dots and stripes from Echo Park and used shades of yellow, hot pink, and chartreuse.  Stamping and cutting these little flowers couldn't have been any easier, and I can see them getting a lot of use.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Harvest Gold), WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (Dots & Stripes: Soda Fountain)

Stamps:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Fresh Cut Florals)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade, So Saffron), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Tools:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Fresh Cut Florals dies), My Favorite Things (InstaFrame die)

Other:  sequins, thread

That's it for today!  I'm off to my LSS today to pick up some goodies for an upcoming project.  Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

The 12 Kits of Holidays--February 2013

Oh my heavens, what happened to February?!  This month has just flown by, and I can hardly believe it's time for another round of The 12 Kits of Holidays!  Check out the country-inspired Christmas kit that Renee sent us this month:

I actually struggled with this kit for a while because there was so much stuff to work with!  But I managed to get 4 cards done, and luckily have lots of supplies left to use later.  :)

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Rustic White)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (This and That Christmas)

Stamp:  Waltzingmouse (Yonder Star)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Parisian Doily die), WPlus9 (star dies)

Accessories:  My Favorite Things (buttons), Michaels (twine)

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Rustic White, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (This and That Christmas)

Stamp:  Waltzingmouse (Woodenheart Alphabet, Yonder Star Background)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Chocolate Chip)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (Alpha Blocks die), pinking shears, corner rounder

Accessories:  My Favorite Things (button), Michaels (ribbon)

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Rustic White, Dark Chocolate)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (This and That Christmas)

Stamp:  Waltzingmouse (Yonder Star)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red), Papertrey Ink (Chamomile tea dye)

Tools:  Memory Box (Deer Trio die), Sizzix (embossing folder), Spellbinders (label die), corner rounder

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Rustic White, Dark Chocolate)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (This and That Christmas)

Stamp:  Waltzingmouse (Yonder Star)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red, Chocolate Chip)

Tools:  Waltzingmouse (Yonder Star cut files), pinking shears

Accessories:  My Favorite Things (button)

Keeping it short and sweet so you can visit the rest of the 12 Kits crew!

Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea
Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife
Tracey: InMyCreativeOpinion
Sharron: OnPapillionWings

Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper

Jeanne: AKeptLife
Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise
Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim
Kara: KandRDesigns
Kelly: GinghamGirl
Jessica: The Paper Parade

Thanks for stopping by!

CFC#78--So Torn

Happy Friday!  Are you ready to celebrate the weekend with a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge?  This week's theme is So Torn:  tear something on your clean and simple project.  Fun!

We're being sponsored this week by CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, and if you look closely at the Girl Fridays cards this week, you might get a peek at some yet-to-be released sets.  *wink*

When I was brainstorming ideas for my card, I thought of the fliers you often see posted with little tabs at the bottom to tear off, usually printed with a phone number or website.  I thought it would be fun to put a New Year's countdown on the tabs.

You'll have to wait a few days to see more sneaks of the main set I used on this card, but the large dotted circles are from Big Thanks and the little dotted circle is from Woot Woot.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Black, White)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (Dots & Stripes)

Stamps:  CAS-ual Fridays Stamps

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Accessories:  Michaels (rhinestones)

I hadn't used torn paper on a card for a long time, so it was nice to break out of my comfort zone and get a little creative with this challenge.  I hope you'll join in!

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope your weekend gets off to a great start.

CAS-ual Fridays #57

It's Friday!  It's Friday!  Are you all as excited as I am?  I'm thrilled to have my hubby back home and ready for a beautiful weekend.  My daughter's last day of school is Monday, so summer is about to officially begin!

If it's Friday, that also means a new challenge at one of my favorite blogs, CAS-ual Fridays.  One of our very own team members is offering up an amazing prize this week, but you'll just have to click over there to find out the details.  *wink*

Your challenge this week is "clear as day":  use acetate or vellum on your clean and simple project.

I didn't have any acetate or clear cardstock handy so I chose to work with vellum.  I decided to make some vellum clouds for a scene with stamps from Waltzingmouse's Half Pint Heroines.

A co-worker has been going through a rough patch, and I knew this balloon and sentiment would be perfect to let her know I'm thinking of her.  I paper pieced the balloon in bright prints from Echo Park's Dots & Stripes collection.

The clouds were stamped onto vellum and cut out by hand.  Since the vellum is transparent, I was able to flip two of the clouds over to the back to use them in the reverse orientation.

To adhere the clouds, I used a tiny drop of Glossy Accents on the back of each cloud, then added a clear gem on top to hide the adhesive.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Spring Rain, White)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (Dots & Stripes, A Boy's Life)

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse Stamps (Half Pint Heroines)

Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic markers, black pen

Accessories:  Queen & Co. (rhinestones), vellum

Thanks so much for stopping by on your Friday!  I'm definitely looking forward to seeing your creations in the CAS-ual Fridays gallery this week, as I don't often use acetate or vellum and could use some more inspiration.

Speaking of inspiration--be sure to visit the rest of the Girl Fridays to get the ideas flowing.  Those gals are the best!

Have a great start to your weekend!

CAS-ual Fridays #46 & Retro Sketches #5

Good evening, friends!  It's been a crazy week so far, but I'm thrilled to say that my 5-day weekend starts tomorrow.  I have so much catching up to do!

I found a few minutes tonight to combine a couple of challenges:  CAS-ual Fridays and RetroSketches.  

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to be inspired by the lyrics of a song.  How fun!  I thought of a few but needed a card for a friend whose son recently turned four, so I thought of a song by Feist, 1,2,3,4.  The original version of the song is HERE, but I'm a little partial to her version on Sesame Street:

Feist on Sesame Street--1,2,3,4

Everything's better with Muppets, right?  

I started with a kraft card base, then debossed a kraft panel with PTI's Sunshine impression plate and sponged the edges with white ink.  

The patterned paper is from Echo Park's A Boy's Life collection.  I stamped the yellow strip with numbers from PTI's Fresh Alphabet (1,2,3) and Outlines Alphabet (4).  The star stamps and dies are also from PTI.

Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink (Kraft)

Patterned paper:  Echo Park (A Boy's Life)

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink (Star Prints, Fresh Alphabet, Outlines Alphabet)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Not Quite Navy), ColorBox (Frost White)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (star dies, Sunshine impression plate), corner rounder

Coloring medium:  Prismacolor Premier pencil

Off to watch the Celtics with my hubby before bed.  Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to come back in a few hours for a new Muse at CASE Study!