Oh Baby!

I hope this blog post title doesn't attract the wrong kind of reader... 😄  It's Freshly Made Sketches time and this week I'm the challenge hostess.  And here is my sketch:

I had the oh-so-brilliant idea to use acetate for the vertical panel, but never gave a thought to the fact I was using balloons for the three elements and most balloons have strings.  I tried drawing strings with a Multiliner pen so they ended up "tied" to the letters in the embossed sentiment but they just looked dorky when the card was opened.  So rubbing alcohol to the rescue and I rubbed those strings away!  Now my balloons are just floating away and have no strings...  

The gingham paper was white embossed with the "congrats" and then adhered to the inside of the card base so that it is visible through the acetate.  In keeping with the sketch, I added a thin strip of green cardstock down the right hand side of the acetate.  Here's a photo of the card standing up so you can get an idea of how the patterned paper and acetate work.

Thanks for visiting!  Head on over and check out how the rest of the design team have used my sketch.  You'll be so glad you did!

Products used:

Stamps:  Congrats All Round, Celebration Balloons (Mama Elephant)

Ink:  Intense Black, Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Acetate, Green Apple (SSS), Homespun Gingham (MFT)

Dies:  Celebration Balloons (ME)

Accessories:  Copics, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen, White EP

Cheers

Karren

Dogs in the Window

Hi and welcome!  I made this card for my son's girlfriend, who was 20 yesterday.  She loves animals and she has a great sense of humour, so I thought she'd appreciate some crazy dogs 😀

I sort of had it in my head that I wanted the dogs to be looking through a window and then I saw the current challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch and I knew I could use the big rectangle for the window and for the circle I could use one of the dogs - who is either trying to get in the window or who has escaped out of the window.

I stamped and colored all the dogs in the Crazy Cats & Dogs set and then die-cut them with the matching dies.  I do have a window die but it was too small for what I wanted so I hunted through my dies and found this from Blueprints 29 which would work as a window.  I die-cut it from a white top-fold card base, then adhered the frame back into the card base.

After I'd arranged the dogs in the window, I adhered them to the back of the open frame then created by background which was made with Distress Oxide inks onto Bristol Smooth cardstock then spritzed with Glitter Dust.

I finished the card with an embossed sentiment popped up on foam tape and the last little dog.

Here are a few other photos.

Thanks for visiting!  I'm also entering this into Seize the Birthday and Work It Wednesday where we are asked to use our favorite stamps.  I have so many favorites, it's hard to choose, but these definitely make me laugh so they're right up there 😊

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Crazy Cats & Dogs, #Hashtags (Tim Holtz)

Ink:  Intense Black, Versamark, Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It, Bristol Smooth

Dies:  Crazy Cats & Dogs (TH), Blueprints 29, Slanted Sentiment Strips (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, Glitter Dust

Cheers

Karren

Because

Yay!  I'm thrilled to report that I finished all the Camp Create challenges!  From deciding I didn't have time to fit them in this time, to making the call to give it a go two days ago, I managed to make 6 cards and blog them!  This last card is for the Awesome Ombre challenge.

I just love the yellow to orange ombre look and used five Distress Inks to create this panel.  I then die-cut the panel with the Vertical Stitched Strip die and adhered it to my white top-folding card base.  The 'because' was die-cut four times and stacked and the top layer was given a coating of clear sparkle pen.  The rest of the sentiment was white-embossed onto black.

All in all a simple card.  And if you've seen all my Camp Create cards, you'll probably see a pattern emerging - ink-blending, white embossed sentiments and black die-cuts.  When I'm in a rush, I tend to revert to my favorite techniques and looks 😊

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Because You (MFT)

Ink:  Versamark, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, Ripe Persimmon Distress Inks

Cardstock:  White, Black, Bristol Smooth

Dies:  Vertical Stitched Strips, Because (MFT)

Accessories:  White EP, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  Thrilled that my name was randomly chosen for the Grand Prize of a  $US150.00 MFT voucher!

Manatee Coffee

It's time for a Just Add Ink challenge and this week we have a very cool inspiration photo, which can take you in so many directions.  My brain took the colours and the coffee theme and decided to make a card featuring a manatee drinking coffee 😁

I coloured up this adorable manatee, gave him a top hat and monocle as well as a cup of coffee using some selective masking.  In keeping with the humorous tone, I used some wonky stitched rectangles for all the panels.

I am sad to say that this is my last post as a design team member for Just Add Ink.  Over the last several months, I stepped down from three of the five DTs I was on.  Being on DTs is fun, but making the card is the easy part - blogging, commenting, voting, etc all takes up time and I was finding it really difficult to fit everything in with a full-time job and family.  For now, I'll just stick to my two remaining DTs (Freshly Made Sketches and Fusion) and play along with Just Add Ink whenever I can.  I'd like to thank Nikki and the team for inviting me to join and for making me so welcome.  This is a wonderful and supportive group and I will miss them.

Thanks for visiting.  Be sure to head on over to the JAI blog and check out how the rest of the DT have been inspired by this photo.  

Products used:

Stamps:  Manatee Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts), Coffee Hour (SSS)
Ink:  Intense Black, Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock:  Kraft, X-Press It, Dots & Stripes (Echo Park)
Dies:  Wonky Stitched Rectangles (MFT)
Accessories:  Copics, Glossy Accents

Cheers
Karren

Soda-Lightful

For my second post today, I have a card for the Delightful Die-Cutting challenge at Camp Create.  For this card, I wanted to make dies the feature of the card (obviously!), so pulled out my Soda Pop Bottles dies and went to work with my distress inks.

I used Bristol Smooth cardstock and Twisted Citron and Squeezed Lemonade ink for my bottles.  I masked off the top portion of the bottle before inking.  I should point out that the blending foam I used for the Squeezed Lemonade had some orange ink on it so it gave an interesting finish :)

The sentiment is white embossed and I rounded opposite corners.  I finished the card with some Nuvo Crystal Drops.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Soda Pop (MFT)

Ink:  Versamark, Twisted Citron, Squeezed Lemonade Distress Inks

Cardstock:  White,Black, Bristol Smooth

Dies:  Soda Pop Bottles

Accessories:  White EP, Nuvo Crystal Drops

Cheers

Karren

So Sorry

I'm back with another card for Camp Create and this card is for the Monochromatic Magic challenge.

I went with grays for my card and came up with this:

I took a panel of Fog cardstock and stenciled over the Geometric Grid stencil with Smoked Hickory Distress Ink, fading out towards the top right of the panel.  I then adhered that to a wider panel of Smoke cardstock and then a wider panel of Slate cardstock and finally onto a white top-folding card base.

I went looking through my MFT stamps for a suitable sentiment and found this one from the Sweet Succulents set and as it was appropriate for the look I was going for and fit in the gap, I went for it.  I finished the card with some die-cut leaves cut from Slate cardstock and a tiny little twine bow.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Sweet Succulents (MFT)

Ink:  Versamark, Smoked Hickory Distress Ink

Cardstock:  White, Fog, Smoke, Slate, Black (SSS)

Dies:  Layered Leaves (MFT)

Accessories:  Geometric Grid Stencil, twine, white EP

Cheers

Karren

Winter Warmth

Hi and welcome!  We interrupt our Camp Create cards to bring you the latest challenge from Freshly Made Sketches and this week our hostess is the fabulous French Cecile Ribon!  And here is her sketch:

I used the colors from the current MFT challenge for my Christmas card this week.  This card can be added to my pathetically small pile of Christmas cards :)

I used the Winter Warmth stamps and dies that I bought in the recent retirement sale and stamped them using the challenge colors (or my equivalent of the challenge colors).  I added some mint colored spatters in the background to represent the circle in the sketch and all the clothing is the rest of the sketch elements.

Thanks for visiting!  Head on over and check out the fabulous cards by the rest of the DT.

Products used:

Stamps:  Winter Warmth, Winter Wonderland, Distressed Patterns (MFT)
Ink: Mint, Teal, Soft Navy, Coral Reef (SSS)
Cardstock:  White
Dies:  Winter Warmth
Accessories:  Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers
Karren

Roses

And the marathon card-making session continues!  I made the last four cards for this round of Camp Create tonight and will post them today and tomorrow.

This card is for the Background Bonanza challenge.

Emboss resist, Distress Oxide inks and black die-cut and embossed sentiment - nothing original here :)  The die-cut word was painted with clear sparkle pen then clear embossed three times to give a raised shiny look.

Thanks for visiting!  I'm also linking this up to Seize the Birthday's challenge.

Products used:

Stamps:  Roses All Over, Happy Hippos (MFT)

Ink:  Versamark, Candied Apple, Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide Inks

Cardstock:  White, Black, Bristol Smooth

Dies:  Blueprints 21, Celebrate (MFT)

Accessories:  White EP, Clear EP, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Chill

And I'm back with my second card today for Camp Create - this time for Day 2 - Magnificent Masking.

I created this one-layer card by first stamping and masking the palm tree.  I then masked off the top and bottom of the ink-blended panel.  Once that was complete, I used some torn paper as a mask for the sand.  The reverse of that mask was used for the sea, along with another straight piece of paper.  Finally I sponged in the sky.  All the inks I used for the sponging were Distress Oxide inks and the paper is Bristol Smooth.

Once I was finished, I removed all the masks, colored the palm tree and used a Sharpie paint pen to add the waves and foam.  To give the tree something to "rest" on, I stamped the sentiment right underneath.  The birds are from the Party Like a Pirate set.

I'm also adding this to the AAA Cards Masking challenge.  Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Penguins in Paradise, Party Like a Pirate (MFT)

Ink:  Intense Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Antique Linen, Broken China, Salty Ocean Distress Oxides

Cardstock:  Bristol Smooth

Dies:  Blueprints 25 (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, White Sharpie Paint Pen

Cheers

Karren

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

Chevron

So, I wasn't going to play along with Camp Create this time, as my card-making time has been curtailed of late.  But today I decided to try and complete all the challenges, so here's my first card of two I made tonight.  Apologies in advance for the number of posts (hopefully) coming your way over the next 2 days.

This card is for Day 1 - Inlaid Made Easy

I used the Split Chevron Cover Up and the Big Thanks dies to make this card.  I also used black, white, After Midnight, Green Apple and Audrey Blue cardstocks.  I started by die-cutting the chevron die in all colors except white.  I then adhered the black frame onto some white card covered with Stick-It adhesive sheet.  Then I randomly filled in all the spaces with the navy, blue and green colors.  Once that was finished, I die-cut the Thanks from the panel and then also in white and inlaid the white Thanks into the chevron panel.

What's really cool is that I now have a gorgeous Thanks left over from the chevron panel that I can use on another card..

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Cardstock:  White, Black, After Midnight (MFT), Green Apple, Audrey Blue (SSS)

Dies:  Split Chevron Cover Up, Big Thanks (MFT)

Cheers

Karren

Blended Celebration

Welcome to another Just Add Ink challenge!  I chose the theme this week and I'm after stencils.  I just love stencils and have quite the collection.  They're affordable, easy to store and create such a wonderful effect for little effort.

I used distress inks to create my stenciled panel, keeping the Twisted Citron in the centre then fanning out with Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers.  Once I'd finished stenciling, I rounded the four corners then cut the panel into three vertically.  I mounted the three strips onto a black panel and then onto a white top-folding card base.

The die-cut sentiment is stacked four high and painted with clear sparkle pen.  I embossed the rest of the sentiment onto a black strip using a lime green EP called Cricket.  A silver thread nest was placed behind the sentiment and I finished with some sequins.

Thanks for visiting!  Head on over to the JAI blog to check out the gorgeous cards made by the DT.

Products Used:

Stamps:  Celebrate All The Things (SugarPea Designs)
Ink:  Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers, Versamark
Cardstock:  White, Black, Bristol Smooth
Dies:  Blueprints 6, Celebrate (MFT)
Accessories:   Diamond Circles Stencil (SSS), Cricket EP (American Crafts), Silver Thread, Clear Sequins, Corner Chomper

Cheers
Karren

Orange Bouquet

Hi and welcome to our newest challenge at Fusion.  This week I created a fusion - using this gorgeous new stamp from Avery Elle, which I colored with Copics and Prismacolors.

The patterned paper, including the ombre panel is from CTMH, apart from the black diagonal stripe which is one of the last strips from my MFT Neutrals pack.

Thanks for visiting.  The rest of the DT have some gorgeous cards, so be sure to head on over and check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Floral Bouquet (Avery Elle)
Ink:  Intense Black, Versamark
Cardstock:  White, X-Press It, Black, Happy Times (CTMH) Dots & Stripes Neutrals (MFT)
Dies:  Blueprints 25, Stitched Flags, Basic Stitch Lines (MFT)
Accessories:  White EP, Copics, Prismacolor Pencils

Cheers
Karren

Legendary

Hi and welcome!  What a fabulous turnout we had for our 300th sketch last week!  The gallery was gorgeous and so many of you said such wonderful things about the challenge and the design team, so thank you!

Today's sketch for Freshly Made Sketches comes to us from our super-talented Canadian friend, Jen Brum.  And what a fun sketch she has for us, too:



I went digging through my NBUS box again.  Let me tell you, my NBUS is not getting any smaller and I physically can't fit anything more in the box, but does that stop me?  No, it does not!  Luckily I only put stamp sets in there, dies go straight in the appropriate die box.  Anyway, onto the card.  This stamp set was bought at the CASual Fridays retirement sale.  I've wanted it forever as it totally puts me in mind of How I Met Your Mother!

I know I should have the "wait for it" in the middle of the "legendary" but I didn't think it would fit across the card.  The background is created with Distress Oxide inks and water and the sentiment was white-embossed before ink-blending.  I die-cut the panel with a MFT border die and then adhered it with fun foam to a black card base.  Can you see the bit of sparkle on the card base?  That is from a spray can of Glitter Dust - so pretty and contained - just the way I like my glitter 😀  In the photo, you can see glue behind the clear star confetti - trust me that was because I took the photos while the glue was wet.  Being Multi Medium Matte glue, it dried clear.

Thanks for visiting!  The design team have done some amazing things with this sketch - as always - so head on over and check them out.

I'm linking this card up to Sunday Stamps color challenge.

Products used:

Stamps:  Wait for It (CASual Fridays)
Ink:  Versamark, Candied Apple, Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink
Cardstock:  Bristol Smooth, Black
Dies:  Stitched Scallops Basic Edges (MFT)
Accessories:  White EP, Sequins, Glitter Dust

Cheers
Karren