Celebration Lily

 Hi and welcome!  I am in the middle of a couple of weeks off work and also in the middle of a DT break, so thought I would make a card for a couple of challenges.  This is the first time I've entered any challenges since losing my son 18 months ago.  Card-making became a chore not an enjoyment and I only stuck at it because I was on a couple of design teams and didn't want to let anyone down.  I also knew that if I stopped stamping I probably wouldn't ever start again and I want that joy to come back.

Anyway, enough maudlin chatter.  I set the intention of doing some colouring while I was off work and this lily was the second image I've coloured in the last week.  I put it onto a card that would fit with the Any Occasion theme at Krafty Chicks and the Sparkle and Shine challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Apologies for the darkness of my photos.  I'm using my iPhone instead of a digital SLR camera and still haven't sorted out the appropriate settings.

This is a slimline card.  Onto a pierced panel in white, I added a silver foil pierced panel and then a navy blue pierced panel I ran through my hot foil machine with the Diamonetta BG and some silver foil.  

The image is a Power Poppy digi and I coloured it with Copics and Prismacolor pencils before cutting it out with my Scan n Cut.  I added it to the card front with foam tape.

I finished the card with a stacked die-cut sentiment using white cardstock and silver foil.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stanps:  Alluring Lily digi (Power Poppy)

Cardstock:  White, Silver Foil. In the Navy (GinaK Designs), X-Press It, Silver Hot Foil

Dies:  Slimline Pierced Nested (The Ton), Celebrate (MFT), Diamonetta BG (Spellbinders)

Accessories:  Copics, Prismacolor Pencils

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout our at Krafty Chicks.

Missed

 Hi and welcome to the last challenge of the year over at Freshly Made Sketches, where our hostess is Jennifer Timko.

Using Jennifer's sketch I made a card for my angel son, Matthew, who would be 23 today, NZ time.  This is a bit of an odd birthday card, but I can't really wish him a happy birthday and this sentiment sums it all up anyway.

Matthew loves sloths so I have bought several sloth stamps over the last 18 months.  I coloured this one with Copics (very rusty colouring!) and fussy-cut the images.  I adhered some patterned paper onto a black panel and then used foam tape to add the sloth pieces.  The card base is pale gray.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you'll visit the challenge blog and see the cards made by the rest of the design team.  This challenge is open for a few weeks to give people time to join in over the Christmas period.

Products used:

Stamps:  Sloth Peeker (Impression Obsession), Greetings & Salutations (MFT)

Ink:  Amalgam (Gina K), Versamark

Cardstock:  Soft Stone (PTI), Black Licorice (MFT), X-Press It, Whatever the Weather (SugarPea Designs)

Accessories:  White EP, Copics

Cheers

Karren

S'Mores

 It's time for another sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, where our host this week is Jacquie Southas.  Jacquie has given us a fun tag to play with this week.

I used another new-to-me stamp set from The Greetery and created this S'More card.  The background was clear embossed onto Bristol Smooth cardstock and then blended various Distress Oxide inks over the panel.  Once that was done, I flicked both Gathered Twigs DOX and white gouache onto the panel and set it aside to dry.

The "S'More" word was stamped, cut with my Scan n Cut and then I added clear sparkle pen and Glossy Accents over it.  The Glossy Accents didn't stay where it was meant to so I might re-do that part of the sentiment before sending it out.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you'll check out the rest of the DT cards - they're gorgeous!

Products used:

Stamps:  Crackle Background (SSS), S'More Holiday (The Greetery)

Ink:  Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black, Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Weathered Wood, Pumice Stone Distress Oxide Inks, Vanilla Cream, Hazelnut, Espresso, Mocha, Moss, Velvet (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Red Hot (MFT), Strathmore Bristol Smooth

Dies:  Christmas Tag (WP9), Stitched Rectangle Stax (MFT)

Accessories:  Gouache, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen, Glossy Accents, Clear EP

Cheers

Karren

Berries and Poinsettia

 Hi and welcome.  I made another Christmas card!  I think this might be about number 4 this year.  I am not forcing things and as they come, they come.  I still don't want to Copic colour which saddens me, but again I'm not going to force things.  Grief has to work its way through many twists and turns before life bears some semblance of the new normal.

But onto more positive things, this card uses the latest sketch at Freshly Made Sketches where our host this week is Judy Rozema.  I tried to stick to the sketch but sort of veered off a bit with the placement of the smaller square element.  

I had all these images stamped and either die-cut or cut with my Scan n Cut so it didn't take long to make up this arrangement.  I held it in place with Press n Seal until I was ready to adhere it to the card.

I used a square foiling die to add some copper foil to a white panel and then I masked off the square and stenciled over a mandala stencil with Speckled Egg DI.  I embossed the sentiment and adhered the panel to a Wild Cherry card base.

I then adhered my arrangement onto the card with liquid glue and finished off with some Stardust Stickles in the centre of the poinsettia.

Thanks so much for visiting.  I hope you'll check out the fabulous cards made by the rest of the DT.

Products used:

Stamps:  Poinsettia Wishes, Berry Branches (The Ton)

Ink:  Versamark, Speckled Egg Distress Ink, Mocha, Espresso, Crimson, Velvet, Rouge, Forest Glades, Evergreen, Honey Drizzle (Altenew)

Cardstock:  Wild Cherry (MFT), White

Dies:  Berry Branches (The Ton), Foiled Frames Square (MFT)

Accessories:  Copper Foil, Antique Gold EP, Stardust Stickles, Captivating Mandala Stencil (MFT)

Cheers

Karren