Circle Hello

Thanks for visiting me today.  This is my second "meh" card (refer to yesterday's post for my first one).  I made this card to cover three challenges - The Friday Mashup to use sequins and/or make a hello card; Stampin' Royalty who have a gorgeous inspiration photo and a new-to-me challenge called Keep it Simple who have challenged us to use turquoise.  I hope Bermuda Bay is turquoise-y enough.

For my card I cut the Circle Parade die out of both Bermuda Bay and Daffodil Delight cardstock.  I then adhered the Bermuda Bay negative die to a Whisper White card base and very carefully stuck the Daffodil Delight outline into the negative space.  That bit was messy - it's very hard to glue those tiny little pieces :)

The hello die was cut from Whisper White cardstock then I used some silver sequins to finish off the card.

Thanks for looking.

Products used:

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  Circle Parade die (SSS), Hello die (Paper Smooches), silver sequins

Cheers
Karren

HB2U

Hi and welcome!  Ever have one of those crafting days where everything you produce is just "meh"?  Well, I had one of those days today.  I made four cards and two of them will never see the light of day and the other two are just okay.  I'm posting one here now and I'll put the other one up tomorrow.

So, after that auspicious introduction, I suppose I'd better post the picture of my card!

For this card, I used the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch (flipped) and the colors from ColourQ.  It's my son's 12th birthday next week and he is obsessed with his iPhone, so I couldn't resist this new set from Clearly Besotted.  Unfortunately the matching dies are out of stock so I had to cut the iPhone by hand and didn't even attempt to cut the earbuds!  The iPhone is popped up on dimensionals.

The Blush Blossom color is so pale, it's really hard to see but I stamped three smiley faces above the HB2U - two in Blush Blossom and one in Bashful Blue.  The iPhone and earbuds were stamped in Versafine Onyx Black because it gives such beautiful ink coverage.

I feel there's something missing from this card, but I don't know what.  As it's for a boy, I can't bling it up, so it'll stay plain.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Text Me (Clearly Besotted)
Ink:  Bashful Blue, Blush Blossom, Island Indigo, Real Red, Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock:  Whisper White

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout-out at ColourQ!

April Showers

The challenge at Fab Friday this week is to use all five of the new In Colors.  Now this IS a challenge, because (a) I've only just got the new in-colors and (b) I only like one of them yet.  So I decided to make myself use them in the hopes I would like more than just Lost Lagoon!

This card was originally going to be my Freshly Made Sketches DT card until I realised I hadn't followed the sketch.  Doh!

I used a new-to-me set called April Showers from Clearly Besotted.  I've been wanting this set ever since it came out and I love it!

I die cut the umbrella then stamped it with Tangelo Twist, Hello Honey and Mossy Meadow.  I colored the handle with a blender pen and some Mossy Meadow ink.  The sentiment was stamped using Blackberry Bliss ink.  The raindrops use Lost Lagoon as does the die cut tile pattern.  I finished the card with some orange twine.

Thanks for looking.

Products used:

Stamps:  April Showers (Clearly Besotted)
Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist, Blackberry Bliss, Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Lost Lagoon
Accessories:  April Showers die, American Crafts twine, Piestra Tile Die (Memory Box)

Edited to Add:  This card was a Fab Fave at Fab Friday.

Cheers
Karren

Leafy Accents

It's Freshly Made Sketches day and today our hostess is the gorgeous and funny and talented Jen Brum.  Jen's sketch allows for a lot of creativity so I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

I decided to go with a masculine card this week.

My main panel used the Whitewashed Woodgrain Technique which I saw on Stamp TV.  I'm not sure I did it properly because I watched the video a few days ago and worked from memory - and at my age, my memory isn't to be trusted!  Anyway, I think it turned out okay.  I used the new Lost Lagoon color - love that color!

I die cut a leaf then stamped it with Mossy Meadow, which is quite a nice dark green shade.  The die-cut 'happy' was cut in Lost Lagoon and Black and then slightly offset to give a shadow effect.

Thanks for visiting.  I'm also linking this up to Seize the Birthday who have an Anything Goes challenge this week.

The rest of the Freshly Made Sketches Design Team have some fabulous cards for you this week, so go check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Leafy Accents (Clearly Besotted), The Big the Bold and the Happy (Winnie & Walter)
Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Whisper White Craft Ink, Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Lost Lagoon
Accessories:  Happy die, Leafy Accents die (Clearly Besotted), Oval Stitched Mats (Lil Inkers), Burlap Ribbon, Enamel Dots

Cheers
Karren

Orange Flowers

I had some unexpected stamping time today as I had to take the day off to look after a sick boy.

I chose to make a card using the colors from Just Us Girls and the sketch from Viva la Verve.

This card uses the new In Color Tangelo Twist.  I sponged some ink over a stencil cut using my Silhouette, focusing on the bottom left and lightening it up as I moved across the card.  The flowers are from Lean on Me and colored with Copics.  I colored the centers with Wink of Stella for a little bit of shimmer.  The white panel is raised up on dimensionals.  Some enamel dots from Freckled Fawn finish the card.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Lean on Me, A Happy Hello (Verve)
Ink:  Tangelo Twist, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Cardstock:  Tangelo Twist, Whisper White, Xpress-it
Accessories:  White EP, Pointed Flowers Dies (Verve), MFT Fishtail Flags die, SSS A2 Curved Die, Copics, Wink of Stella, Freckled Fawn Enamel Dots

Edited to Add:  This card got a mention on Viva la Verve

Cheers
Karren

Winter Cabin

Here we are again with another Merry Monday challenge.  I hope you're building up your Christmas card stash with our challenges.

Today's challenge from Katie is to add sparkle, shimmer or shine on your card.

Being someone who doesn't reach for the glitter, this was a hard challenge for me!  I ended up with this card which is about as glittery and shimmery as I get :)

It's always hard to see glitter in photos, so I'll explain what I've done with this card.  The card base was spritzed with Frost White Shimmer spray and the bottom was cut with a curved die so some silver glimmer paper could show through.  After the scene was die cut, I colored the roof of the house and the branches of the trees with a Versamarker, then heat embossed with Irridescent Ice embossing powder.

The sentiment was white embossed.

Here's a close-up from another angle so you can see a bit of the shimmer.

Thanks for visiting.  Be sure to head on over to Merry Monday to check out the glittery and shimmery creations from the rest of the design team, who obviously don't have the same glitter issues that I have LOL.

Products used:

Stamps:  Mini Holidays (Stampers Anonymous)

Ink:  Versamark

Cardstock:  Midnight Muse, Silver Glimmer Paper, Whisper White

Accessories:  Winter Cabin Landscape die (Memory Box), Irridescent Ice EP, Versamarker, Frost White Shimmer Spray, Spellbinders A2 Curved Die, silver ribbon

Cheers

Karren

Wish Big

It's Sunday night here and I haven't had a lot of time to stamp this weekend.  I did manage to squeeze in half an hour earlier this evening to make a quick card using the sketch at Pals Paper Arts and the colors at Colour Me.

I chose to use a stencil cut with my Silhouette for the horizontal panel.  I masked the top and bottom of the card base with some torn paper then sponged Pink Pirouette ink over the stencil.  The banner was cut using the banner framelits then stamped with a very, very juicy Strawberry Slush inkpad.  The banner was layered onto a piece of Strawberry Slush cardstock and trimmed very close.

Finally, I cut two stars in Pool Party and Strawberry Slush from the Lil Inkers Stitched Stars dies.  I placed a candy dot in each and mounted them using Dimensionals.

Thanks for checking out my very CAS card.

Products used:

Stamps:  Word Play
Ink:  Strawberry Slush, Pink Pirouette
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Strawberry Slush, Pool Party
Accessories:  Lil Inkers Stitched Stars die, Subtles Candy Dots, Banner Framelits, Stencil cut from Silhouette Cameo

Cheers
Karren

Deepest Sympathy

It's Freshly Made Sketches day and that means another cool sketch for you to try.  This week the very talented and sweet Cindy Hall is our hostess and she has come up with this fabulous sketch.

For my card, I pulled out a sheet of First Edition DSP that I'd painted with Gesso some time ago.  I cut it to fit the sketch and layered it onto Very Vanilla.  The sentiment is black embossed over the Gesso layer.  I die cut and stamped various images from Larger Than Life and arranged them on the left-hand side of the card.

This is a very simple card, but quite effective.

Thanks for visiting.  The rest of the design team has some fabulous inspiration for you.  I hope you have time to join us this week.

Products used:

Stamps:  Larger than Life (PTI), Deepest Sympathy (Verve)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Cardstock:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla, First Edition DSP
Accessories:  Gesso, Larger than Life die, Freckled Fawn Enamel Dots, Black EP. American Crafts twine

Cheers
Karren

Frosty Friends

Hi!  It's Merry Monday challenge day and this week Kathy has given us a color challenge.

Isn't this photo gorgeous?  I have to say that my card isn't my favorite ever - by a long shot... so here goes...

I stamped Frosty Friends onto some Whisper White cardstock and colored portions using various pink Copic markers.  I then took a grey Copic to add some shading to the snowmen.  The sentiment is embossed in Pewter Embossing Powder.  I used Regal Rose as my pink and what is hard to see in the photo is some translucent embossing paste on the large Whisper White panel.

Thanks for visiting.  Head on over and check out the rest of the design team if you haven't already - they have some fabulous cards!

Products used:

Stamps:  Frosty Friends, Christmas Greetings (SU)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Regal Rose
Accessories:  Copics, Tim Holtz stencil, Translucent Embossing Paste, Pewter EP, MME Enamel Dots

Cheers
Karren

Color Blocked

As soon as I saw the sketch at Retro Sketches, I immediately thought of color blocking.  I love color-blocked cards but I have to confess it took me quite a while to choose the colors!  I knew I wanted to use the gorgeous new Lost Lagoon and Basic Black, and I ended up combining those with Riding Hood Red, So Saffron and Wild Wasabi.  It's a bold color combo for me, but I quite like it.

This is just a fun card and it uses six stamp sets.  Each of the panels was cut into 1 1/4" strips then stamped with various stamps.  All of the panels were stamped first with Off the Grid to give some continuity to the pieces.  Once I had all the stamping done, I cut the pieces to size and over-stamped with the Binding Edge stamp from Stampers Anonymous.  It wasn't until after I'd stuck all the pieces to the card base that I remembered I wanted to sponge around the edges - doh!

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge, Off the Grid, Grunge Rock, Background Builders (SU), Wall to Wall Textures (Bo Bunny), Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches), Binding Edge (Stampers Anonymous)
Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Wild Wasabi, Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:   Lost Lagoon, Wild Wasabi, Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Basic Black
Accessories:  MME Enamel Dots

Cheers
Karren

Travel Ways

Hi and welcome!  Today I made a card using a new-to-me stamp set and a new In Color.  I used the sketch from Seize the Sketch and the inspiration from Card Concept to come up with a clean and layering card.  I also used the theme from Friday Mashup to stamp on something other than cardstock and make a card for Father's Day.  For my card, I used the Faux Silk technique and stamped onto tissue paper.

The stamp set I used is called Travel Ways by Stampers Anonymous and has a lot of cool collage-y images.  I stamped a number of images onto onto the card base and also onto white tissue paper.  I then scrunched up the tissue paper before adhering it to a Very Vanilla panel.  The ship was stamped in Midnight Muse ink and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder.  I used the new In Color that immediately appealed to me - Lost Lagoon - love that color!

I googled a Sailor's Knot and tied it using Hemp Twine.

Thanks for looking.

Products used:

Stamps:  Travel Ways (Stampers Anonymous)
Ink:  Midnight Muse, Gray Flannel (Memento)
Cardstock:  Midnight Muse, Lost Lagoon, Very Vanilla, tissue paper
Accessories:  Clear EP, Hemp Twine, Lil Inkers Tag Die

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout-out at Seize the Sketch.

On the Diagonal

Welcome to Freshly Made Sketch Challenge Day!  This week, the talented and oh-so-funny Linda Callahan is our host and she has given us a very trendy sketch.  Check it out:

Diagonal elements are very trendy now and luckily, I'd just received an order of Lil Inker dies that included the On the Diagonal die, so it was put to use on my card.

I started with a Crumb Cake card base and "finger-walked" the Dictionary background stamp onto a piece of Whisper White using Crumb Cake ink.

The flowers were made using some white tissue paper which I colored using Tangerine Tango and Daffodil Delight ink.  For the orange flowers, I actually sponged Tangerine Tango ink onto both sides of the tissue paper.  By the time I got to the yellow flower, I was sick of that, so just used the Direct-to-Paper technique and smeared Daffodil Delight ink straight onto the tissue paper.  I cut about six scalloped circles out for each flower and squished them up.

The diagonal panel was cut with the Lil Inkers die then I stuck little strips of cardstock to keep as close to the sketch as possible.  The sentiment was die cut and painted with Wink of Stella so has a lovely shimmer in real life.

I'm also entering this card in the Fusion challenge.  The inspiration I took from the photo was the flowers and the text.

Thanks for visiting.  Check out the fabulous inspiration from the rest of the design team!

Products used:

Stamps:  Dictionary
Ink:  Crumb Cake
Cardstock:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black
Accessories:  Tissue paper, gold brads, Little Leaves Sizzlet, Freckled Fawn Enamel Dots, Avery Elle Hello die, Lil Inkers On the Diagonal die, Rectangle Stitched Mats die

Cheers
Karren

Ho Ho Ho

Apologies if some of you are experiencing deja vu at the moment.  I accidentally published this last week - a week early.  Doh!

It's Merry Monday Challenge Day and this week it's my turn to host the challenge.  I saw this adorable photo on the internet and had to make a challenge out of it!

For my card, I again went CAS and used an old HeroArts stamp of a Santa hat that I've had for years.

I stamped my hat onto Xpress-it cardstock and colored it using Copics.  I went over the white bits with my Wink of Stella pen and you see a bit of the shimmer in this next photo.

The sentiment stamps comes from Close to My Heart and was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black onto Whisper White cardstock.

The card base is Real Red embossed with a Lil Inkers Stitched Mat die.

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you have time to check out the rest of the DT cards and give my challenge a go.

Products Used:

Stamps:  Santa's Greeting (CTMH), Santa's Hat (HeroArts)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  Real Red, Whisper White, Xpress-it
Accessories:  Copics, Wink of Stella, Lil Inkers Stitched Mats Rectangle Die

Cheers
Karren

Ombre Brickwork

It's Sunday morning here and I have a card that I made yesterday using the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and the colors at ColourQ.  My first thought when I saw the sketch was brickwork so that's what I went with.

I taped my stencil onto my card base then very lightly sponged Bashful Blue ink at the top, darkening it as I went down the card.  I then switched to Night of Navy ink and very, very lightly joined that with the Bashful Blue.  The bottom of the card is full-strength Night of Navy.

The sentiment and flowers are from Avery Elle's Oh Happy Day.  This is the first time I've used the Congratulations stamp and it has a manufacturing flaw in the 's' so I'll have to do some surgery on that stamp soon :)

Thanks for visiting.

NB:  I'm also entering this at a new to me challenge called Paper Crafting Challenge.  Their challenge is to use stencils.
Products used:

Stamps:  Oh Happy Day (Avery Elle)
Ink:  Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  Whisper White
Accessories:  Mini Bricks Stencil (Crafters Workshop)

Edited to Add:  This card got an Honorable Mention at CAS(E) This Sketch.

Cheers
Karren

Banner Thank You

Today I have a very CAS card which uses the colors from Colour Me - Coastal Cabana and a neutral.  

I used the Banner Wishes set from CTMH and stamped the banner in black onto Coastal Cabana cardstock.  I then white embossed the sentiment onto the banner.

After I cut it out, I went around the edges with a black marker.  A few enamel dots and my card was done.

Thanks for looking.

Products used:

Stamps:  Banner Wishes (CTMH)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Cardstock:  Coastal Cabana, Whisper White
Accesories:  White EP, MME Enamel Dots

Cheers
Karren

Fresh Cut Tag

Today is Freshly Made Sketch Challenge day and this week our hostess is the very talented Rita Wright.  Rita has a cool sketch for us incorporating a tag.  I love tags but rarely remember to use them!

For my card, I decided to use pops of color against a dark background.

I started with a Basic Gray base and tag.  I then used the die cuts from Fresh Cut Florals and stamped various images using purple, yellow and green inks.  For the flags I used retired DSP in a striped pattern.

I finished off the card with a clear button and some yellow twine.  Of course I put some Wink of Stella on the flowers!  You can barely see it in this photo.

The inside is finished very simply.

Thanks for looking.  Don't forget to check out the rest of the design team's card - they're sure to be awesome as always!

Products used:

Stamps:  Fresh Cut Florals (WPlus9), Birthday to You (Verve)
Ink:  Dusty Concord (Distress), Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Versamark
Cardstock:  Basic Gray, Whisper White, Brights DSP, 2010-12 In Color DSP
Accessories:  Lil Inkers Tag die, Lil Inkers Stitched Mat Rectangles Die, Clear Button, American Crafts twine, Fishtail Flags Dies (MFT)

Cheers
Karren