January Card Kitchen, Part 2

At long last ... the remainder of my cards using the January kit from The Card Kitchen. I am ALL set for Valentine's Day cards with this kit!

Card Kitchen - January Kit
Card Kitchen - General Info
Card Kitchen on Facebook
Card Kitchen Blog

That's it for me for today! Have a fantastic week!

January Card Kitchen, Part 1

It's time to share and show off the January Card Kitchen. I love all the different lovey-dovey sentiments this month, and the pretty papers (especially the music paper) from BoBunny's Love Letters collection. For a look at the full kit contents, as well as lots more inspiration on using the kit, visit the Card Kitchen blog and/or the Card Kitchen Facebook page.

Click HERE for general information about the Card Kitchen.

Click HERE to purchase a single kit or a subscription.

A 1" circle punch was perfect for punching out some pretty circle patterns from one of the BoBunny papers. I used those punched circles a lot this month! Here, I used them to create some scallops for the "i adore you" journaling card.

The other side of the circle pattern is the awesome music print, and I found that one of those 1" holes made a perfect frame for a heart in one of the other patterns. (I hope that makes sense!)

 In the kit are bunches of red and iridescent white sequins - how fun! Here I've used red ones in between the scallops. Lots of super fun sparkle in real life.

I love how the black polka dot Soup Staples pattern (Jillibean Soup) makes everything else pop. Just a tiny bit goes a long way! On the Truly Madly Deeply card, I used it as a background mat to the music paper. To save paper, I cut the middle out of that layer since it gets covered up anyway.

I'll be back soon with four more cards from this kit. Have an awesome day, friends!

Verve Release Hop: No Matter What

Welcome to Verve's No Matter What Hop! Today we're releasing a lovely little set that you might have spied during Verve's Thanksgiving weekend sale. It's officially available for sale now, along with three brand new color collections of seam binding! There's a lot of eye candy today, so hop along with us for a chance to win some brand new Verve!

Prizes? Of course! We're picking THREE mystery blogs from today's hop to select a random commenter to win No Matter What plus one of our three new collections of ribbon (the Truly Madly Deeply, Stormy Skies and Signature Ribbon Collections)! So be sure to give a little shout-out in the comment section as you hop around to each blog on the list. Winners will be drawn from all of the comments on the mystery blogs. 

Check out the Verve Blog for all the prize details and deadlines.

1. Julee 7. Amy 2. Laurie 8. Andrea 3. Maureen 9. Betty 4. Teresa 10. Charmaine 5. Tosh 11. Janelle 6. Amber 12. Jen d.

I have a major crush on the super fun bitty bags, which are perfect for gift cards or small sweet treats, such as a Ghirardelli chocolate square. For today's project, I've combined the trendy gray chevron bitty bag with the elegance of seam binding (from the beautiful Truly, Madly, Deeply collection) and bling. The "Love Always" sentiment from No Matter What is stamped on a Tiny Sweet Scallop tag and the darling "no matter what" (love!) is just a sentiment flag adorned with some big ol' red bling. To help the doily pop, I added a dark gray Classy Label die underneath.

Before I go, it's true, this is my last post as a Verve Diva for a while. I recently decided to step down from most of my design teams. A huge thank-you to Julee for the wonderful privilege of being a Diva and to my fellow Divas for their friendship and inspiration. Goodbyes are hard, so I'll keep this one short and sweet.

Hugs,

Belated Happy New Year Wishes!

Hey there, friends, it's been a while since I've posted. I hope those who celebrate Christmas had a very merry one. And warm (belated) Happy New Year wishes to all! My family and I enjoyed Christmas at our home with grandparents (my parents) and my sister, a.k.a. Aunt Pepper. A few days later, we all took off for the West Coast on a family vacation to L.A./Pasadena for the Rose Parade. It was quite an experience seeing the float construction the day before and then enjoying the parade in person at street level. While we were in California, we were able to visit with some of my dad's family (my aunts, uncles, and cousins), some of whom I hadn't seen for nearly 20 years. It was a great trip!

I do have some kind of big new-year news, I suppose. A while back, I decided to step down from the Verve and Cat's Pajamas design teams, and more recently the Deconstructed Sketch design team as well. (Sketch For You To Try shut down last month, so I no longer have that team, either.) I've been struggling with my papercrafting lately, and just need some time and space to renew and rejuvenate. 

Although it feels a little like going over the crafty cliff, it's really not. For one thing, I've still got the super fun Card Kitchen monthly kits that I've been designing with for the past few months, as well as a few other crafty things that will keep me both in my studio and blogging. For another, Julee, Alma, and Jen have graciously left their doors open (and I'll be participating in one more Verve release anyway). I can't say for sure what it will look like around here, but, among other things, I'm hoping to spend more time on Project Life (who else is in for 2013?), photography, Silhouette projects, and maybe even some mixed media. I'm excited to find my way to whatever is next!

I want to give a big, public thank you to Julee, Alma, Jen, and Jen for the honor and privilege of being on their teams. And big hugs to my teammates on all the teams -- they are the best, and I will miss them!

There is so much more I could say, but I think brevity is best. Here's to renewal and change and new beginnings! 

Oh, the places we'll go!

Love to all,