Heart Happy

Hi and welcome yet again!  My blog hasn't been this busy in months 😄Today's card is for the latest sketch challenge at MFT Stamps, as well as the Color challenge at CASology - my card represents variations on a color, and the Anything Goes challenge at The Male Room.

Now, I was working from memory and sort of got the sentiment in the wrong place, but I hope that it's close enough to be acceptable.  To make this card, I die-cut several different-sized circles from a panel of white cardstock.  Behind those cut-outs, I added various pieces of cardstock in an ombre pattern.  I then adhered the panel to a white top-folding card base.

The 'because' word is stacked three high and added above the stamped sentiment.  A very simple card!

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Because You (MFT)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Cardstock:  White, Black Licorice, Tropical Teal, Blu Raspberry, Summer Splash, Berrylicious, Sno Cone (MFT)

Dies:  Infinity Circle Dies (Hero Arts), Because (MFT)

Cheers

Karren

Thinking Flowers

Hi!  It's time for another fabulous challenge over at Fusion and this time we have a bright and cheerful challenge headed your way!  First up I'll show you my card, which was a fusion of both sketch and photo.

And here is the challenge graphic.  You can see I focused on the bouquet of flowers in the photo.

I colored up several of the images from Winnie & Walter's In Bloom:  Addie's Garden set, which is one of my favourite floral sets.  Once the images were colored and die-cut, I arranged them into a bouquet and used Press 'n Seal to hold the bouquet in place while I worked on the rest of the card - which was pretty simple!

I found some cardstock that most closely matched the pinks in the flowers and die-cut it with a rounded square die before adhering it to a white card base.  Before I added the bouquet, I stamped the sentiment from a Gina K set, which is fast becoming a favourite for caring sentiments.  Finally I added the bouquet and some Nuvo Jewel Drops and set it aside to dry.

Here are the Copics I used to color the images.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you'll check out the amazing cards created by the rest of the design team.

I'm linking this card up to CASology who have a Bouquet cue card this week.

Stamps:  In Bloom:  Addie's Garden (Winnie & Walter), Assorted Greetings (Gina K. Designs)

Ink:  Amalgam, Versafine Onyx Black

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It, Bubblegum (MFT)

Dies:  In Bloom:  Addie's Garden (Winnie & Walter), Nesting Rounded Squares (Lifestyle Crafts)

Accessories:  Copics, Rosewater Nuvo Jewel Drops

Cheers

Karren

Witching You

Hi and welcome!  Today's sketch for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge comes to you from the lovely Amy O'Neill. 

I have a confession.  I dislike ovals as much as my teamie, Jen, dislikes circles, so I cheated and used an arch instead of an oval.

We don't even celebrate Halloween here but I couldn't resist this adorable MFT stamp set and took it for its inaugural inking to make this card.  I colored the images with Copics and cut them with my Scan n Cut.  I added some dot detail to one of the sweets then set them aside while I worked on the rest of my card.

I masked off an area on my card base and sponged some Distress Oxide inks into the open area.  Once that was dry, I white-embossed the sentiment.  Onto a smaller die-cut panel, I cut out an arch opening and added a stitched arch frame around the opening.  I popped that panel up on foam tape and finally added my colored images.

Finally, I added clear sparkle pen to the pumpkins, hat and the sweets.

Thanks for popping by!  I hope you'll check out the rest of the DT cards as they're gorgeous as always.

I'm linking this up to Southern Girls Critter Crazy challenge, as well as CAS on Friday who are looking for autumn/Halloween cards and CASology with a Scary cue word (not that you can call this critter scary!)

Products used:

Stamps:  Frightfully Sweet (MFT)
Ink:  Extreme Black (MFT), Versamark, Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin, Wilted Violet Distress Oxide
Cardstock:  White, X-Press It
Dies:  Stitched Dome Stax, Stitched Doe Frames, Stitched Rectangle Stax (MFT)
Accessories:  Copics, White EP, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers
Karren

Pastel Leaves

Hi!  I'm here with another fun challenge from the team at Fusion and here is my card!

And here is the challenge graphic:

To make my card, I started by dry embossing the Frames die into a white top-folding card base.  It's hard to see in the photos, but it gives a nice subtle frame around the card.  The leaves were made using various Distress Oxide inks blended onto a Bristol Smooth panel.  I deliberately went for pastel shades to match the photo.  Once I was done blending in a rainbow fashion, I spritzed the panel with shimmer spray.  It looks so pretty in real life!  

After die-cutting the leaves, I arranged them onto the card base, still in rainbow fashion.  I finished with a sentiment from a Gina K Designs stamp set.

Thanks for visiting!  The design team have some gorgeous cards, so I hope you'll check them out.

I'm linking this up to Paper Players who have a leaves challenge (this is my second entry) and to CASology (it may be small, but there is an exclamation mark on my card 😄)

Products used:

Stamps:  Inspiration Mosaic (Gina K Designs)
Ink:  Extreme Black, Tattered Rose, Spiced Marmaladem, Squeezed Lemonade, Crushed Olive, Tumbled Glass, Shaded Lilac Distress Oxide Inks
Cardstock:  White, Bristol Smooth
Dies:  Leaves (Impression Obsession), Frame (SSS)
Accessories:  Shimmer Spray

16 and Driving

Hi!  I'm back with another card for Summer School - this one is the challenge for Complementary Colors, which really was a challenge for me as I don't like complementary colors!  Not even red and green although I will use them together at Christmas, of course.

So I chose my least unliked combo of blue and orange - but I have to admit to going with a lighter aqua blue and a deeper red-orange, so I hope this still passes muster 😄

My youngest son reached the ripe old age of 16 yesterday, and here in New Zealand that means he can sit the theory test for his Learner's Driver's Licence.  Of course, yesterday was Sunday and nothing was open so it was a very impatient wait for 8am this morning to come round so we could go to the testing centre.  

I'm happy (I think!) to say he passed with 100% and now the fun part starts, where either myself or his dad have to give him lessons for the next six months before he can go sit the practical part to be able to drive by himself.  To celebrate, I made him a car card using MFT's Joy Ride Die-namics, with Summer Splash and Persimmon cardstock (meeting the blue/orange combo).  I also added some gray for the accents and black for the wheels and wiper.

The back window is made from acetate and I added Nuvo Crystal Glaze to the lights.  I stacked the registration plate 3 high to add some stability to it.

This was pretty simple to put together and I like the uncluttered finished look.  I thought about adding a scene behind it, but wanted to keep it simple.

I'm also adding this to the Zoom challenge at CASology.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Cardstock:  White, Black, Cement Gray, Persimmon, Summer Splash (MFT), Acetate

Dies:  Joy Ride (MFT)

Accessories:  Nuvo Crystal Glaze

Cheers

Karren

Birthday Cow

Hi

I'm closing in on the end of my weekend and I've got a card to post for a couple of current challenges.  This uses the sketch at MFT Stamps and the "farm" theme at CASology.  I'm also linking to the challenge at The Male Room (Little Boys) and the Favourite Things challenge at Shopping our Stash.  My favourite things are, without a doubt, My Favorite Things stamps and dies 😄

I created a wee farm scene on my stitched tag, using Watercolor Wash patterned paper.  Oh how I love that paper - it's perfect when you don't want to use plain cardstock but you also don't want to use a busy pattern that detracts from the focal point.

I stamped, colored and die-cut the cow and put him (her!) aside so I could create the background.  I die-cut the tag from white cardstock and then from the blue and green patterned paper.  I also cut the green piece with the hill die from the Spring Scene Builder die set, and some clouds with the pale blue patterned paper.  There is no brown in the paper pack so I used Hot Fudge cardstock for the fence.  

I arranged the elements onto the tag and adhered them in place.  I added some "grass" along the bottom before adding the cow.  I was originally going to add a sentiment strip under the fence, but thought it would look too crowded, so added the sentiment along the bottom, which doesn't strictly follow the sketch, but hopefully it's allowed 😄

Thanks so much for visiting!

Products Used:

Stamps:  The Whole Herd (MFT)
Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock:  White, Hot Fudge, Watercolor Wash (MFT)
Dies:  The Whole Herd, Tag Builder Blueprints 3, Spring Scene Builder (MFT)
Accessories:  Copics

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at CASology.

Kindness in Pink

Hi and welcome!  I am so happy to be on a two-week break from work!  The last 6 months have been so, so busy to the point where I wasn't enjoying crafting very much.  I'm hoping that having a short break from work will rejuvenate me and allow me some time to get back to enjoying stamping.

Yesterday was my first day off work and, apart from doing some minor tidying up in the craft room, I spent most of the day binge-watching Netflix in a kind of mindless way.  Today, I decided to get back to normal and after laundry and a bit of gardening, I went into the craft room and produced two cards which aren't too horrible.

Here's the second one I made, which was made using the sketch at MFT, the Gah!Pink challenge at Shopping Our Stash (a new-to-me challenge) and CASology, who have a cue word of Kindness this week.

I cut four Stiched  Mod Squares from the smallest die in the set, using four different pink MFT cardstocks.  I was determined to create a "kindness" sentiment from my MFT supplies, so had to do some manipulating of the sentiments in the Geometric Greenery set to get the "Thank you for being so" part.  I have nothing from MFT that says "kind" or "kindness" so Bottlecap Letters dies to the rescue!  Slanted Sentiment Strips is probably my most used die and here it is again, both in white and for the gold offset.  To keep the stitched theme going, I die-cut the top and bottom edges with the straight die from Stitched Basic Edges.

Once I was happy with the sentiment, I went to work on the card base.  I layered a white, stitched die-cut panel to a white card base and then gold embossed some spatters from the Distressed Patterns set.  I arranged the pink squares and then added the two different parts to the sentiment.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I'll be back tomorrow with the first of the two cards I made today.

Products used:

Stamps:  Distressed Patterns, Geometric Greenery (MFT)
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Versamark
Cardstock:  White, Gold, Bubblegum, Ripe Raspberry, Pink Lemonade, Cotton Candy (MFT)
Dies:  Stitched Mod Squares, Slanted Sentiment Strips, Bottlecap Letters, Stitched Basic Edges, Stitched Rectangle Stax (MFT)
Accessories:  Gold EP

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at CASology.

Twenty

So, here's the thing.  My oldest child turns 20 this weekend and I don't know how on earth that happened so quickly!  I can remember him being born at 5lb 3oz and having to stay in the NICU for 7 days and I had to stay with him.  Luckily we were both discharged on Christmas Eve afternoon, which is also his father's birthday.  Then, in the blink of an eye, he's considerably taller than me, talks with a deep voice, has a beard and does drift-racing as a hobby. 

I thought today's sketch designed by the fabulous Jen Mitchell at Freshly Made Sketches was perfect for a no-nonsense, masculine birthday card for Matthew, who will probably skip the outside of the card in his rush to see how much money is inside 😬

And here is my card.

As you can see, I went with a rectangular card rather than the square card in Jen's sketch.  The reason for that is because I completely spaced on the square part when I was planning my card! The card base is white and onto that I layered a Cement Gray stitched panel.  The Steel Gray background die-cut is from Reverse Confetti and I did a bit of sneaky surgery by adding an extension under the horizontal panels to have it fit the sketch more.
 

The two horizontal panels are both stitched and the sentiment is from the Avery Elle Party Animal set.  I was looking for a no-fuss sentiment that would also fit nicely in the black panel and that one fit the bill.  As a pop of color against all the neutrals, I went for Tropical Teal for the numbers, die-cutting them from PTI's By The Numbers set.  They are popped up on foam tape.  No embellishments, no sparkle, nothing else went onto this card.

Thanks for visiting!  The design team have created some gorgeous cards so please head on over and check them out.

I'm linking this up to CASology who have a cue word of "gray" this week, as well as The Male Room who are looking for December Celebrations.

Products used:

Stamps:  Party Animal (Avery Elle)
Ink:  Versamark
Cardstock:  White, Black, Stone Gray, Cement Gray, Steel Gray, Tropical Teal (MFT)
Dies:  Stitched Rectangle Stax, Blueprints 20, Blueprints 28 (MFT), Straight Stripes Pretty Panels (Reverse Confetti), By the Numbers (PTI)
Accessories:  White EP

Cheers
Karren

Autumn Flowers

Hi and welcome!  It's been a long weekend here in New Zealand - the first in nearly five long winter months!  I spent a chunk of it making cards for upcoming DT challenges, as it's unlikely I'll get to stamp next weekend as the big office move is on!  Anyways, after finishing my DT cards, I took some time to make a card for a few challenges out there at the moment:  Paper Players' sketch, CAS on Friday's flower challenge, CASology's Sorry cue word and Card Concept's autumn love inspiration photo (clean and layered category).

As is pretty obvious from my card, I didn't go with an autumn theme, but instead was inspired by the rich orange-y hues in the photo and the white of the cake.  I stamped these gorgeous layering flowers using Altenew inks and cut them with my Scan n Cut.  The fishtail frame was extended using partial die-cutting to fit the sketch and was cut from Persimmon cardstock.  I used Rose Gold embossing powder on the gorgeous sentiment by Reverse Confetti and die-cut the panel with a stitched rectangle frame.

The flowers, leaf and sentiment panel are all popped up on foam tape.  To finish the card, I added a Copper Penny Nuvo Crystal Drop into the center of each flower.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  My Best Friend (Clearly Besotted/SSS), Lots to Say (Reverse Confetti)
Ink:  Versamark, Bamboo, Parrot, Olive, Sunkissed, Orange Cream, Fire Brick (Altenew)
Cardstock:  White, Black, Persimmon (MFT)
Dies:  Stitched Fishtail frames, A2 Stitched Rectangle Stax (MFT)
Accessories:  Rose Gold EP, Copper Penny Nuvo Crystal Drops

Cheers
Karren