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!

Moxie Fab World Birthday Tags & Wraps Challenge

How's it going, friends?  I'm still on vacation--just two more days visiting family, two days on the road, and I'll be home.  *sigh*  I think I'm looking forward to high-speed internet most of all.  The connection here is so dreadfully slow, I haven't been able to browse as much or leave many comments, but I hope to remedy that next week.

I do have one more project to share with you that I made before I left.  It's for one of the challenges in the Moxie Fab World celebrating the latest special issue, Birthday Creations.

Cath has challenged us to make a birthday tag or gift wrap, so I whipped up a simple tag and stamped it with banners from Mama Elephant's Soiree.  I used a craft knife around the sides of three of the flags to curl them up for dimension.

I was dying to use the metallic gold twine from The Twinery, so I heat embossed some tiny gold stars on the tag to coordinate with it.  I wrapped a book (my favorite gift to give) in turquoise tissue paper, wrapped it with twine, and attached the tag.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Stamps:  Mama Elephant (Soiree), Lawn Fawn (Critters Ever After)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Pool Party), Memento (Tuxedo Black), Versamark

Tools:  Spellbinders (circle die), hold punch, corner rounder, craft knife

Other:  Zing (gold embossing powder), The Twinery (gold metallic twine), tissue paper

There's still plenty of time to play along in the Birthday Creations challenges, so be sure to check all of them out!

Have a good one!

Birthday Linky Party!

My friend Stacey is hosting a party to celebrate her birthday!  And you can't have a party without presents, so she's offering a chance to win fantastic prizes just for linking up a birthday card HERE.

I pulled some of the colors from the graphic for my card and repeatedly stamped a banner from Mama Elephant's Soiree.  I did a little masking at the top so that I could overlap them.  A sentiment from Hero Arts with glitter accents, a few sequins, and this card is ready to mail.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  American Crafts Dear Lizzy (Christmas: Sparkling Season)

Stamps:  Mama Elephant (Soiree), Hero Arts (Many Birthday Messages)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Pool Party, So Saffron), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Other:  Zig Wink of Stella clear glitter brush, sequins

Stop by and wish Stacey a happy birthday and link up your card for a chance to win!

Have a great week!