Sick Bear

This is just a quick post as I want to get my card posted for CASology.  I also used the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch but not the optional extra of a pet-themed card as bears don't tend to make good pets :)

This is another NBUS set and I'm pleased to report the contents of my NBUS box is going down quicker than I can fill it up!  I colored up this little bear and his hot water bottle and die-cut them.  The white card base was scored three times as per the sketch.  I stamped the sentiment from the same set and then positioned the bear and hot water bottle and called it done!

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Under the Weather (Clearly Besotted)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It

Dies:  Under the Weather (CB)

Accessories:  Copics, Scoreboard

Cheers

Karren

This card got a shout out at CASology.

You Say Witch...

Hi and welcome!  Today's card was made the other evening, when I felt like doing some coloring.  After I'd finished coloring, I decided to make it up into a card and this is the finished result.

I'm linking this up to ColourQ and City Crafter challenges.

This is another NBUS image that has been in my NBUS box since near the beginning of the year!  I stamped her onto Neenah Solar White and colored her with Copics.  I then masked her using a Molotow masking pen and sponged Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Carved Pumpkin inks around her, finishing off with some Black Soot at the bottom.  I then removed the masking fluid and stamped the sentiment.

Finally, I cut the panel with a pierced rectangle die and adhered it to a white card base.  I then took my Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen and colored her skin, a la Edward Cullen :)

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Esmeralda Girl (Unity)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hyrbrid, Versafine Onyx Black, Black Soot, Spiced Marmalade, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed

Cardstock:  Neenah Solar White 80lb

Dies:  Blueprints 21 (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, Sequins, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Wine Aerobics

Hi and welcome to another fun Just Add Ink Challenge!  This week we have a sketch for you and it's a good one!

Now, I just love circles on cards so this was right up my alley.  I used another NBUS set that just begged me to buy it - even though I don't drink wine (or do aerobics, for that matter)!

I went with a neutral background using different gray cardstock and white-embossed images.  The dies were cut with a wonky stitched die because, well, too much of those aerobics and you'd be a bit wonky, ha ha...

Thanks for visiting!  Check out how the rest of the DT have used this sketch - there is some wonderful inspiration for you!

Products used:

Stamps:  Wine Aerobics (SSS)

Ink: Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black

Cardstock:  Fog, Smoke, Slate (SSS)

Dies:  Wonky Stitched Circles (MFT)

Accessories:  White EP

Cheers

Karren

Thankful Fox

Hi and welcome!  I'm thrilled to be Guest Designer over at Time Out Challenges.  This challenge is Inspired by Words:

'Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart'

A beautiful sentiment, indeed.  And here is my card:

I stamped, colored and die-cut the adorable fox image from Fall Fox and put him to one side.  On the white card base, I die-cut a square out of the top center and adhered some acetate and patterned paper in the gap.  I then stamped the sentiment using Stazon ink.

Finally, I adhered the wee fox with foam tape.  A very CAS card!

I used a sketch from SugarPea Designs Challenge, so I'm linking up there.

Thanks for visiting.  The Time Out team have some wonderful inspiration for you so be sure to check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Fall Fox (SugarPea Designs)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Black Stazon

Cardstock:  White, X-Press it, Acetate, Homespun Gingham (MFT)

Dies:  Fall Fox (SPD), Pierced Square Stax (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics

Cheers

Karren

Bunny Christmas

It's time for another sketch challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches and this week our sketch hostess is Kim Singdahlsen.  Here is her fabulous sketch:

I'm still on my NBUS mission, so when I spied the cute Love & Laughter Stampember set with its long street light, I knew it would work with the sketch.

I colored the images and die-cut them with the matching dies.  The sentiment banner is white embossed and cut with a stitched flag die.  The card base was also cut with a stitched die.  The wee bunnies are adhered with foam tape.  This was a pretty simple card to make, but ended up quite cute.

Thanks for visiting.  There are some fabulous cards over at the challenge blog from the DT so please check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Love & Laughter (Memory Box/SSS)
Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Versamark
Cardstock:  White, Black, X-Press It
Dies:  Love & Laughter, Stitched Rectangles (Lil Inkers), Stitched Fishtail Flags (MFT)
Accessories:  Copics

Cheers
Karren

Maturing

Hi and welcome!  I took some time last evening to make a card using the Art Impressions Maturing set.  I've been wanting to play along in their current challenge to use an Action Wobble and I only have a couple of days left, so I set aside some time to come up with this card, which I'm also linking to Seize the Birthday plus I used the sketch from Sunday Stamps.

I have the Birthday Fairy set from AI which is designed to use an Action Wobble with, but I wanted to use some NBUS so out came this fun set.  I stamped onto a panel of X-Press It cardstock and colored the image.  I also stamped the lady and cake onto a scrap and colored and fussy cut her out before popping her up on a Mini Action Wobble.  I adhered a thin strip of black cardstock down the right hand side and put it to one side while I worked on the card base.  

Quite by chance, the colors I'd used to color the image matched the Perfectly Plaid paper by Lawn Fawn so I adhered a strip down the right hand side of a white card base.  The stamped image was then popped up on foam tape.

This image just makes me smile!  Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Maturing (Art Impressions)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid

Cardstock:  White, Black, X-Press It, Perfectly Plaid (Lawn Fawn)

Accessories:  Copics, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Art Impressions and Seize the Birthday and Sunday Stamps.

Ranunculus

  Hi and welcome to my blog!  Today's post is for the  Fusion Card Challenge - Soft and Subtle.  Check out this fabulous inspiration pic and versatile sketch.

I decided to stick with the photo because, well, flowers!  I tried my hand at watercoloring with my Zigs to come up with this card:

After white-embossing the image onto watercolor card, I loosely colored with my Zigs.  Once I was finished I applied a light watercolor wash in gray all around the image then masked the image before splattering gray ink over the top.  The sentiment is embossed onto vellum.  I die-cut the panel with a stitched die and adhered that to a scalloped gray panel and finally onto the card base.  The card was finished with some sequins.

Thanks for visiting - I do appreciate you taking the time to stop by.  The rest of the DT have created some gorgeous cards using the challenge graphic and I encourage you to check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Beautiful Bouquet:  Ranunculus (WP9)

Ink:  Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Smoke, Watercolor

Dies:  Blueprints 20 (MFT)

Accessories:  Antique Gold EP (SSS), sequins, Zig markers (Pink, Lt Carmine, Green Gray, Light Green, Light Gray

Cheers

Karren

Yappy Birthday

It's time for another fabulous challenge from the team at Freshly Made Sketches and this week my friend, Linda, is the hostess.  And this is the versatile sketch she has come up with.

I had so many ideas running around my head with this card, but in the end I couldn't help but make a dog card, knowing that Linda is a dog-person :)  These dogs just crack me up!

I've had this set for a while but this is its first outing.  I stamped, colored and die-cut the dog, as well as the popped up eyes/eyebrows and nose which I coated in Glossy Accents.  For the horizontal panels, I sponged in to resemble a wall and floor with the skirting board in between.  To be honest, that wasn't my intention - it was meant to be sky and ground but I wanted to stay true to the sketch so left a gap between.  Then it just looked like a wall and floor so that's what I'm going with :)

The sentiment is from Playful Pups by Mama Elephant.

Thanks for visiting!  The DT have some gorgeous cards to inspire you so please check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Mini Crazy Cats & Dogs (Tim Holtz), Playful Pups (Mama Elephant)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid (MFT), Versafine Onyx Black, Broken China, Antique Linen Distress Inks

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It

Dies:  Mini Crazy Cats & Dogs (Tim Holtz)

Accessories:  Copic Markers, Glossy Accents

Cheers

Karren

You Can Do It

Hi!  Today's card was made especially for Becca's Hop to Stop to raise awareness for victims of domestic abuse.  I'm also linking up to Simon Says Stamp's Totally Resistible Challenge.

Becca is asking us to make a card with purple on it, and this is my card:

I started with a panel of watercolor paper and white embossed the butterfly from Tim Holtz' Perspective Mixed Media set.  Over top of that I white embossed the You Matter background stamp.  Then I set to with Dusty Concord and Wilted Violet Distress Inks.  Around the edges I rubbed in some Seedless Preserves and Black Soot Distress Crayons.

I die-cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die and adhered it to a white card base.

I've been waiting and waiting for the You die-cut that matches the You Matter stamp set to come back into stock, so while I wait, I decided to scan the stamped image and cut it with my Silhouette.   And yes, I do see the irony.  I really should use my Silhouette more :)  The rest of the sentiment was white-embossed onto black.  I finished the card with some Wink of Stella and clear sequins.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  You Matter, You Matter Background (SSS), Perspective (Tim Holtz)

Ink:  Versamark, Wilted Violet, Dusty Concord Distress Inks, Seedless Preserves, Black Soot Distress Crayons

Cardstock:  White, Watercolor, Black

Dies:  Blueprints 11 (MFT)

Accessories:  White EP, Clear Sequins

Cheers

Karren

Petals

Hi and welcome to the mid-challenge post for The Flower Challenge.  Can I just say that the Design Team are all thrilled with how well-received this challenge has been.  I mean, we all love flower stamps, but to know that so many other people do too, and want to join in the fun, is fabulous!

For my card today, I went back to my NBUS box and pulled out Painted Petals.  I used Tracey's fabulous card at Muse as my inspiration and originally wanted to have several flowers on my card, but they were so big, it just didn't work.  So I ended up with this:

I stuck with bright colors and a similar layout to Tracey's with the flowers covering the top left portion of the card base and the black sentiment in bottom right.  I used Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Harvest Gold and Canyon Clay inks for the flower and Spring Moss for the leaves.  Once I'd die-cut the flower and leaves and arranged them onto the card base, I realised I could stamp some of the tiny flowers as well so stamped those in Hibiscus Burst.

Finally, I painted the big flower and the centre of the smaller flowers with Wink of Stella.

Thanks for visiting.  Check out the fabulous floral creations by the Design Team and remember, there is still 10 days to go in the Anything Goes challenge, so what's stopping you?

Products used:

Stamps:  Painted Petals (PTI)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Harvest Gold, Canyon Clay, Spring Moss

Cardstock:  White

Dies:  Painted Petals

Accessories:  Wink of Stella

Cheers

Karren

Retro Wreath

Hi and welcome!  Today's post features a Christmas card that I made using the sketch at MFT, the retro/vintage theme at Merry Monday and the colors from Color Throwdown.

I think olive, aqua and gray are quite retro colors for a Christmas card, so I hope this passes muster at Merry Monday.

I die-cut three of the wreath shapes and glued them together.   I then randomly placed groupings of tiny little aqua stars.  Once I'd die-cut the bow, I went over some parts with a matching Copic marker to give it some definiton and shading.

The sentiment is stacked three high and it, plus the stars are all liberally coated in Wink of Stella for a lovely shimmer.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Cardstock:  White, Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse (PTI), Smoke (SSS)
Dies:  Merry Christmas, Winter Wreath, Blueprints 11 (MFT)
Accessories:  Wink of Stella, Copic Marker BG45

Cheers
Karren

Green and Gray

Hi and welcome!  Today I am thrilled to tell you that I've been invited to be a Guest Designer over at Just Add Ink.  I really enjoy JAI's challenges and join in whenever I can so I'm looking forward to the next three months!

Our challenge this week is......

I went down a rather boring route and used green and gray to come up with this card:

I started by masking off a panel on a sheet of watercolor cardstock and sponging all four of Altenew's grey inks in an ombre fashion.  Before I removed the masks, I spritzed with a Perfect Pearls mist, then I die-cut the panel with a stitched die and mounted it onto a white card base.

I then die-cut some foliage using various green and gray cardstock.  Once I had them positioned how I wanted, I adhered them to the card base.  Finally, I die-cut the Big Hello die from Slate cardstock and adhered it with foam tape.

All up, I used four gray inks, three gray cardstock colors and three green cardstock colors, so I think I'm good to go with the challenge brief this week :)

Thanks for visiting!  Please check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the design team and have a go at Just Adding G.

Products used:

Inks:  Warm Grays (Altenew)

Cardstock:  Watercolor, Slate, Smoke, Fog (SSS), Cactus, Jellybean Green (MFT), Ripe Avocado (PTI)

Dies:  Blueprints 25, Big Hello, Layered Leaves (MFT), Chloe Stem (Memory Box), Fall Foliage (Tim Holtz), Curvy Leaves (Elizabeth Dies)

Accessories:  Perfect Pearls

Birthday Band

Hi and welcome!  It's Freshly Made Sketch Challenge Day and this week, Rita is our hostess and here is her fabulous, layered sketch.

I have to admit to a moment of panic when I saw the sketch - all those layers!  But when I broke it down into elements, it became much easier to come up with a card.

This is another NBUS set, so one more checked off :)  The images were colored with Copics and arranged onto the white-embossed banner as their "ground".  The two layers behind are both patterned paper and for the flag, I used vellum.  The wee heart was die-cut from Blueprints 29.

I have to say I feel a bit sorry for the first wee bunny having the second bunny blasting into his ear :)

Thanks for visiting.  The rest of the design team have created some gorgeous cards using Rita's sketch so pop on over and check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Strike Up The Band (MFT), Celebrate (Neat & Tangled)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Versamark

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It, Pure Poppy (PTI), vellem, Watercolor Wash (MFT), Perfectly Plaid (Lawn Fawn)

Dies:  Strike Up The Band (MFT), Pierced Square Stax (MFT), Pierced Fishtail Flag Stax (MFT), Blueprints 29 (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, white EP

Cheers

Karren