PK Fond Farewell Hop WINNER

Good morning - and Merry Christmas Eve!!! It's time to announce the winner from the Peachy Keen Fond Farewell Hop! In case you forgot...here is the prize:

And thanks to Random.org...out of the 79 comments picked - the winner is comment 74:

Which means the lucky winner is Robin!

  

Big Congratulations Robin!!! I know you will enjoy this set so much! Please email me at housesbuiltofcards@gmail.com with your mailing info, and I will forward it to Peachy Keen so they can get your prize in the mail to you (after Christmas of course!)

Thank you everyone for your sweet comments - on the hop, and throughout the year as I've had the privilege of designing for Peachy Keen! Hugs to you all - and Merry Christmas!!!

Beautiful Silver - Unity FWF

(((If you're looking for the Peachy Keen Fond Farewell Blog Hop, click HERE, or scroll down to find it)))

Good morning! I can't believe how fast this week has flown - and that it is already Friday!!! But, that means it's time for Unity Friends With Flair - so that's good news! Here is what I made this week:

I made a card last week (that I still haven't posted yet!) for the Kit of the Month Sketch Challenge...the only problem was that I forgot to use a Kit of the Month! So...this is my second try - and this time I remembered to use my Kit of the Month! Here is this months sketch:

This also fits for the Unity December Challenge - to make a Seasonal Card with Non-Traditional colors. I had so much fun with these colors! It all started because I got my first Zing Embossing Powder in Metallic Silver - and WOW!!! I'm in LOVE! Can't believe how pretty it is - and can't wait to collect a few more!

I started off using a background stamp called Tea Time Pattern and embossing it with the Zing powder. I then inked the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink in Spun Sugar. I cut a circle with a Spellbinder's die, then stamped a snowflake pattern from the September KOTM in the distress ink, then stamped the snowflake from the October KOTM and embossed them with the Zing powder as well. 

The sentiment - also heat embossed - is also from the September KOTM. Didn't it get all that detail beautifully? 

Next, I distressed all the edges with my Tim Holtz distress tool, matted with a couple different papers - the gray chevron is from My Mind's Eye - an older pad in my stash. Finished off with a bit of bling, some tulle, and a button by Crate Paper. For the center, I used some Baker's Twine, and pulled out the white part of the twist, so I just had the pink that I wanted.

So glad you stopped by again today! Hope all your Christmas preparations are going well - and you are looking forward to a peaceful and special day! Merry Christmas!

A Peachy Snowman - and COLD morning!

(((If you're looking for the Peachy Keen Fond Farewell Blog Hop, click HERE, or scroll down to find it)))

I made this card a while back, and shared it on the Peachy Keen Connection during the release party - but kind of forgot to do a blog post! So...since it is a nice cold -12 degrees here this morning in Wyoming - I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to share it!

I used this little cutie - I think one of my new favorite snowman stamps:

PK-153 Snow me a Man - $11.95

I stamped and colored him with my Copic markers, then inked the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink in Antique Linen.

Wrapped some jute twine around, added a PTI button and a bow, then attached with foam adhesive to the background. 

I made the sentiment banner by hand trimming a long banner, then double folding the sides in. I inked the edges, stamped my sentiment with PTI ink, then attached it to the card by using foam adhesive in the center. Gives a nice 3-D look - here's a closer peek:

My background paper is from Basic Grey's Aspen Frost collection (LOVE this collection - such pretty colors!) 

I have had so much fun designing for Peachy Keen! Each and every month was like Christmas opening up new stamps to play with!

And remember how cold I said it was this morning here in Wyoming? Well...I snapped this picture a minute or two ago with my phone...and yes, that is ice, and yes, it is on the inside of the windows! Brrrr...

Anyway - hope you are having a great day - and staying warm wherever you are! 

My Christmas Cards this year!

(((If you're looking for the Peachy Keen Fond Farewell Blog Hop, click HERE, or scroll down to find it)))

It occurred to me this morning, that it is now less than a week until Christmas - and I still hadn't shared my Christmas cards I made this year! I actually made 48 of these - the majority of them all in one day!!! I was pretty happy to have them all done before Thanksgiving too - nothing like starting early, right? Anyway - here they are:

The only step I finished on a different day, was cutting all the little red buttons using my PTI button die. I was trying to keep them flat for mailing purposes, but turns out the bow still counted as a "bump" so my postage was extra, but that's how it works sometimes, right? 

I die-cut the nativity using my Silhouette Cameo and a file from the Silhouette store. It's hard to see in the pictures, but the PTI rustic white cardstock has some texture from the PTI Linen Impression Plate. I love that texture with the printed paper that looks like burlap! So perfect together!

The sentiment is from Market Street Stamps, and I attached the nativity with foam adhesive dots. I wrapped the twine around and added the button and tied a bow to finish it off. 

Sorry I didn't post earlier! But I love how simple and easy these were to produce! I know a day sounds like a long time to spend making cards - but I did it around all the other normal stuff of the day (homeschooling my kids, laundry, dishes, meals, etc...) so I feel like that wasn't too bad for a days work! 

I'm also linking this up to the Holiday Spirit Challenge over on the Ribbon Carousel Blog, and the Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Merry Christmas.

Peachy Keen Fond Farewell Blog Hop and Giveaway

Welcome to the Peachy Keen Fond Farewell Blog Hop. If you're just arriving from Glora - you're on the right track. If you just happened along, you're going to want to head over to the Peachy Keen Blog to start at the beginning - and find the entire hop line-up in case you encounter any problems or get lost along the way! There are prizes at every stop along the way - and a lot of cute and fun projects to see too!

It's funny how the end of things can sneak up on you! Kind of like the end of this year. This is such a bittersweet occasion! It is always a little sad when a good thing comes to an end - but it has been SUCH an amazing year! I have been filled up to the top with wonderful memories and fun times over the past year! Wouldn't trade it for anything! And even though my term on the team is ending, it won't change my love for Peachy Keen Stamps! I am sure you will still see them on a lot of my projects in the coming year!

So, with that in mind, we were supposed to pick a few of our favorites over the past year to share. It was so hard to narrow it down to just a few, but I tried! I picked some of my favorite cards featuring Peachy Keen stamps over the past year - and included a link underneath to the full post if you want more info on any of them.

Click HERE to see full post

Click HERE to see full post 

Click HERE to see full post 

Click HERE to see full post 

Click HERE to see full post 

Click HERE to see full post 

And - because Peachy Keen is so awesome - they've allowed each of us to pick a favorite stamp set to give away! While it is impossible to pick a very favorite - this definitely rates as one of my favorites for sure! I love all the fun faces - lots of them from many of the Monthly Stamp kits! Comments will be open until Sunday night - and I will pick a winner on Monday morning!

So next up on the hop is Jennie - hop on over to see her next!

Thanks again to Peachy Keen for a wonderful and fun year - and to each of you who have shared this journey with me! I can't wait to see and welcome the 2013 Design Team! I'm sure they will be fabulous!!! Not to mention seeing what Kathy designs for the next year! I'm sure it will be adorable and fun as always! And with this I say a fond farewell!!!

Joining Pumpkin Spice 2013 Design Team!!!

Just realized that with a busy weekend - I didn't remember to share my news! I have been invited to join the 2013 Shop Pumpkin Spice Design Team! You can read the announcement HERE, and see the rest of the team. As I'm looking at the ending of my term with Peachy Keen, I'm excited that I will have another team to fill the empty place! 

Shop Pumpkin Spice is a fun store crammed with all kinds of crafty goodness - and at great prices! I have shopped there previous to now and always been delighted by the fast service and great deals! I know you won't be disappointed, and I know there are lots of fun new things coming soon to the store!

There are also plans for weekly challenges - and tons of fun posts over on the blog starting with a team blog hop on January 5th so make sure to stop by for that! Hope to see you hanging around there lots with me in the coming year! 

One more Neon...

I have actually had this card for the Moxie Fab World Keen on Neon Challenge finished for a while - and just hadn't had a chance to post it yet. I planned on auto posting it over the weekend while we were out of town...but after the events of Friday, I found my mind on other things. I actually probably wouldn't be rushing to post this today if the deadline wasn't tonight. But, it is - so here it is:

I used some more of that same DCWV paper pad, a MFT Die-namics for the grass cut, and my Lil' Inker Designs dies for the rainbow, sunshine, and clouds.

I used foam adhesive to attache the clouds and sunshine in different height layers. 

The background is a combination of Studio Calico Mr Huey's Color mists in bright colors. I was going for sort of a tie-die look. 

Added the sentiment, and a little splash of bright yellow mist, then a bit of self-adhesive bling. Finished off by rounding one corner off.

Thanks for stopping by - and don't forget to remember the town of Newtown, Connecticut - and all the children in the U.S. returning to school this morning - I know I will be...