Baby

Hi all and welcome!  Before I get to this week's card for Freshly Made Sketches I wanted to let my (previous) email subscribers know that my account was closed by MailChimp because I hadn't logged into it for 24 months.  Silly me ignored the emails thinking they related to the long-closed Fusion Card Challenge because emails for this blog were going to subscribers every time I posted, so of course my account was active 😒.  But no, because I hadn't logged into my MailChimp account, it was closed and there is no way to get it back.  So none of my subscribers have been receiving emails since May.  

Long story short, I created a new account at Follow It which was so much easier to set up so if you would like to receive emails when I post (about 1 card a week!), please sign up to the right 👉.

Now onto this week's card. Jen Mitchell came up with a fabulous sketch and I used some NBUS dies from Scrapbook.com to make a baby card - for who I have no idea 😁  

I die-cut everything from white cardstock and ink-blended using some soft pastel colours.  I arranged the images onto a vellum stitched tag and then onto a strip of gingham patterned paper.  The sentiment die is from SugarPea Designs and stacked three high for dimension.

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

Products used:

Ink: Minty Mint, Sweet Leaf, Rose Quartz, Puffy Heart, Peachy Glow, Peach Perfect, Vanilla Cream, Hazelnut, Rocky Shore, Mocha (Altenew)

Cardstock: White, Vellum, Homespun Gingham patterned paper (MFT)

Dies: Welcome Baby (Scrapbook.com), Baby Diaper Pin (SugarPea Designs), Anytime Tags (Lil Inkers), Stitched Scalloped Borders (Lawn Fawn)

Accessories:  White twine

Cheers

Karren

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Beach Dub

 Hi and welcome!  I designed the board over at Tic-Tac-Toe this week and for my card, I went through the centre with Beach-Blue-Ink Blending.  

I didn't have the challenge in mind when I made this card last weekend, but I was messaging with my daughter while I was making another card and she asked me to make her a card with a car.  I don't have many non-classic car stamps or dies so I found this VW and thought she'd like it.  I stenciled the background using a Hero Art stencil set and then put the van together, pretty much copying the Honey Bee Stamps example.  I personalised the plate by writing my daughter's name and adding a wee heart.

She's been going through a tough time lately, settling into a new town and new job teaching high-school age boys, so I wanted her to know I was thinking of her, hence the sentiment.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Bloom with Grace (Honey Bee Stamps)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Dew Drops, Aqualicious, Starlight, Almond Butter, Sand Dunes (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Fog, Alabaster, Dahlia (Spellbinders), Silver Matte Foil

Dies:  Lovely Layers: Beach Bound (Honey Bee Stamps), Stitched Rectangle Stax (MFT)

Accessories:  Beach Floor Stencils (Hero Arts), Copic Markers (for tyre shadow)

Cheers

Karren

Pizza

 Hi and welcome!  Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by Jennifer Timko and I used some more MFT products to make my card.

I have had the sentiment stamp set for a year or two but the dies had been out of stock forever, so when it was announced that MFT was closing, I went on the hunt and found them at Frantic Stamper, along with a couple of other MFT products I wanted.  They arrived last week so I had to use them for this card!  I cut everything from white cardstock and ink-blended all the elements.  I then adhered it all together, deliberately being a bit haphazard with the toppings.  To make it look more pizza-ish I used a gingham stencil and red ink to create a "tablecloth".

The sentiment was stamped onto a rectangle panel and adhered with foam tape, as was the pizza.  I've added the Perfect Picker and reverse tweezers to the photos because they were definitely needed in the making of this card!

I've listed out in the products below which colours I used for which elements, if you are interested. And also, future me will thank past me for doing this next time I want to use these dies 😁

Thanks for visiting.  Please check out the wonderful cards made by the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Stamps:  Pizza My Heart (MFT)

Ink:  Obsidian (Altenew)

  Pizza Base:  Vanilla Cream, Hazelnut, Almond Butter (Altenew)

  Sauce:  Heartbeat, Vineyard Berry (Altenew)

  Cheese:  Butternut, Golden Honeycomb (Altenew)

  Salami:  Mahogany Bark (Altenew), Pumice Stone Distress Ink

  Capsicum:  Reindeer Moss, Crimson (Altenew)

  Mushroom:  Pumice Stone Distress Ink, Vanilla Cream (Altenew

  Pineapple:  Warm Sunshine (Altenew

  Olives:  Pure Graphite (Altenew)

  Onion:  Purple Wine (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White

Dies:  Pizza Maker (MFT), Stitched Rectangle Stax (MFT)

Accessories:  Gingham Stencil (SSS)

Cheers

Karren

Balloons

Hi and welcome!  Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by Judy Rozema.  I originally was going to put flowers in the corners but then I remembered this hot foil plate, die and stencil set and decided to use it for my card.

The hot foiled images were stenciled using Distress Inks and then die-cut.  It's hard to see in the photos, but there is a larger bunch of balloons in each corner and a smaller bunch popped up with foam tape closest to the centre circle.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you'll check out the wonderful cards made by the design team.

Products used:

Ink:  Saltwater Taffy, Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Scattered Straw, Fossilized Amber Distress Inks

Cardstock:  White

Dies:  Balloon Arch Hot Foil and Dies (Honey Bee Stamps) Stylish Script Thank You and Happy Birthday (Spellbinders)

Accessories:  Balloon Arch Stencils (Honey Bee Stamps) Copper hot foil

Cheers

Karren

 

Mermazing

Hi and welcome.  Today's sketch artist over at Freshly Made Sketches is Amy O'Neill and this card was made as a tribute to MFT Stamps who announced last week they are closing down after almost 20 years in business.  

My stock of MFT stamps, dies, cardstock, stencils and patterned papers is more than any other single company.  Back when I was doing a lot more card-making and Copic colouring, I couldn't get enough of MFT - especially Birdie Brown images.  It also helped that their international shipping was probably the cheapest and the fastest, so it was a given that every new release and new kit, I was there waiting with bated breath to place an order.  I am sorry that MFT is closing its doors, but I can understand the reasons and wish nothing but the best for Kim - the owner.

My card was made using mostly MFT products.  I started by ink-blending some Distress Inks onto a panel of white cardstock, then using the Ray of Light stencil to create the ocean light effect.  Over top of the ink, I added some Sparkle Texture Paste to give a shimmery finish.  While that was drying, I stamped and Copic coloured the mermaid and fish.  

 

The porthole was die-cut and stacked three high.  I also added some acetate to the back to give the impression of a window.  I added the fish and mermaid and set it aside to work on the card base.  

As soon as the stenciling was dry, I die-cut with a rectangle die to allow room to stamp the sentiment on the bottom right of a white card base.  After adhering the stenciled panel, I added the porthole and mermaid and called it done.  

It's not totally in keeping with the sketch, but I sort of figure the "rays" can be the cardstock strips on the sketch - maybe, perhaps....

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

Products used:

Stamps:  Mermazing, Gill Friends (MFT)

Ink:  Amalgam (Gina K), Versafine Onyx Black, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot Distress Inks

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It

Dies:  Mermazing, Ocean View Porthole (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, Sparkle Texture Paste, Ray of Light Stencil (MFT), white gel pen, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Letters

Hi and welcome!  Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by Narelle Farrugia and I went with a postage theme.

I die-cut some envelopes and ink-blended with distress inks.  On the background panel I did some partial die-cutting to get the shape I wanted and then stamped various postage images with pale gray ink.  I finished with a stamped and die-cut sentiment and a wee faux wax seal.

Thanks for visiting!  The design team have some fabulous cards so I hope you'l check them out.

 

Products used:

Stamps:  Sealed Sentiments, Postage Collage, Postage Collage Royal Mail (Waffle Flower)

Ink:  Morning Frost (Altenew), Saltwater Taffy, Salvaged Patina, Shaded Lilac Distress Inks

Cardstock:  White, Bellini (Spellbinders), Fog (SSS)

Dies:  Postage Collage Envelopes Die, Sealed Sentiments (Waffle Flower), Postage Edge Rectangles (Spellbinders)

Accessories:  Clay heart

Cheers

Karren

Charcuterie

Hi all.  It's been a long time since I've made a card just for fun, but we had a long weekend here in New Zealand and rather than do boring stuff like doing some winter gardening,  I decided to spend a whole day in my craft room.  That turned into a day and a half, but it was good to just play with no design team commitments.  I decided to play along in a couple of challenges with my card today.  The Honey Bee Stamps Buzzworthy Challenges FB group has a monthly card contest and this month's challenge is Father's Day.  Father's Day isn't until September here but I bought this set specifically for my DH so I thought it was time to put it to use and get ahead of the game!

I'm also playing along with Addicted to Stamps and More who are looking for die-cuts this challenge.  Everything apart from the patterned paper was cut with dies.

I hadn't done any Copic colouring for a long time so that was my plan this weekend.  I coloured up a sunflower which will be in an upcoming DT post and then had fun colouring all these images, using about a million different Copic markers.  Once coloured, I worked on the cutting board which was die-cut and then ink-blended with Distress inks.  I arranged the food onto the cutting board and adhered it all with liquid glue then used foam tape to add the board to the card base.  I tucked in a few pieces to the side of the cutting board and added the sentiment.

Thanks for visiting!

 Products used:

Stamps:  So Char-CUTE-rie, To The Wise One (Honey Bee Stamps)

Ink:  Amalgam (Gina K), Versafine Onyx Black, Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso Distress Inks

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It, Gingham (Echo Park)

Dies:  So Char-CUTE-rie, Cutting Board, To The Wise One (Honey Bee Stamps)

Accessories:  Copics

Love Hearts

Hi, I'm here with my card for the latest challenge at Tic Tac Toe where this time I went through the centre with CAS, hearts and stripes for this almost white-on-white card (which is notoriously difficult to photograph!)

I die-cut and stacked different sized hearts and adhered them to a white panel.  Onto the card base I added strips of black and white striped paper then popped up the heart panel with foam tape.  I found a pre-foiled sentiment which worked perfectly so added that to the centre.

Finally, I finished with some clear sparkle pen on the hearts and a mini clay heart.

Thanks for visiting!

 

Products used:

Cardstock:  White, Black & White Stripes (MFT)

Dies:  Blueprints 32 (MFT), Fall Foliage Sentiments (Honey Bee Stamps)

Accessories:  Copper hot foil, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Best Fishes

Hi!  Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by our new teamie, Michele Ferguson, and what a great sketch it is!

I decided to play with some new dies from Honey Bee Stamps and created a CAS underwater scene using white cardstock and various Altenew inks.  The sentiment was from an alphabet die set I had that fit in the space.  Of course, given that it was Michele's sketch, I had to have a punny sentiment 😄

Thanks so much for visiting!  Please check out the fabulous cards made by the rest of the design team.

 

Products used:

Cardstock:  White, Black

Dies:  Lovely Layers: Fish, Lovely Layers: Aquarium (Honey Bee Stamps), Waves Cover Plate (PTI), Bottlecap Letters (MFT)

Ink:  Amber Burst, Vanilla Cream, Citrus Burst, Maple Yellow, Charcoal Suit, Canyon Clay, Burnt Red (Altenew)

Accessories:  Black Glaze Pen, Enamel Heart (Altenew)

Cheers

Karren

Be-Leaf

Edited:  I just realised I had my post set to publish next week instead of this week - doh!  Apologies!

Hi and welcome. I’m the sketch hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  I had no card planned when I came up with the sketch and I don’t love my card but it will do.

I bought this propagation collection when Spellbinders had a big sale and this is their first outing. I used a combination of coloured card stock and ink-blending to put together the die-cut elements and patterned paper for the background.

Thanks for visiting. Please check out the wonderful cards made by the design team.

Products used:

Stamps:  Propagation Garden Sentiments (Spellbinders)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Green Opal, Forest Glades, Sand Dunes, Dew Drops (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Black, Jalapeno Popper (MFT), Avocade (C&9), Grain & Grunge (Honey Bee Stamps), Gingham Pastel (Echo Park)

Dies:  Propagated Plants, Laboratory Glassware (Spellbinders), Infinity Circle Dies (Hero Arts)

Cheers

Karren

Pinboard

Hi all, a quick post from me today.  Cecile Ribon is our sketch hostess over at Freshly Made Sketches and I went very literal because all I could see in her sketch was a Post-It note.  Luckily I had just received a die that is a pinboard note and pin so this card was pretty easy to put together and as I was pressed for time, it all worked well!

 

The photos are a bit glare-y so it's hard to see but I BetterPressed a script plate onto both the card base and the yellow note, using no ink for the card base and cream ink for the note.  I also added ink around the edges of the note to make it look more dimensional.  The sentiment was BetterPressed and die-cut and the flower was ink-blended with inks to match the pin.

This is a very simple card that came together quickly and definitely won't set the world on fire, but it meets the brief.  Thanks for visiting.  The design team have much more imaginative cards using the sketch so I hope you'll check them out.

Products used:

Ink:  Pink Diamond, Pinkalicious, Rubellite, Shadow Creek, Vanilla Cream (Altenew, Versafine Onyx Black

Cardstock:  White, Vanilla Cream (Altenew)

Dies:  Push Pin Notes, BPOM Post Edge Expressions, LDOM Lock & Key Mailbox (Spellbinders)

Cheers

Karren

Stitched Birthday

 Hi and welcome! Jen Brum is the hostess over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I had the perfect die for it!

This MFT cover die was ideal for the sketch and I paired it with some NBUS dies from Waffle Flower. Most of the dies were cut with white card stock and ink-blended with various Altenew inks. The scissors, pins and safety pins were die-cut with silver mirror cardstock.

I finished with a hot-foiled sentiment. I sort of got my scale wrong for the top panel, but you can almost see the sketch!

The design team have some gorgeous cards so I hope you’ll check them out.

Products used:

Ink:  Volcano Lake, Lagoon, Pastel Sunrise, Dusty Rose, Limestone (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Fog (SSS), Silver Mirror

Dies:  Notions, Sew Fun (Waffle Flower, You Are Everything Sentiments (Spellbinders), Stitched Cover-Up Horizontal (MFT)

Accessories:  Silver Hot Foil

Best Dad

 Hi and welcome!  I'm here with my card for the latest challenge at Tic-Tac-Toe where I went in two directions:  Die-cuts - Ribbon/Twine - Embossing Folder and Masculine - Ribbon/Twine - Plaid.

Onto a panel of Desert Storm cardstock, I embossed with the Woven embossing folder and then adhered to a white card base.  I added a panel of plaid patterned paper and then a sliver of gold embossed cardstock (in hindsight, I regret that strip but it was too late to rip it off).  The sentiment was die-cut from black and I also added a couple of gold-embossed hearts.

Finally, I used my new-to-me twine die-cut which I cut from dark red cardstock and added to the card.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Cardstock:  Neenah Desert Strom, Black Licorice (MFT), Vineyard Berry (Altenew), Black & White Plaid (MFT)

Dies:  Best Dad Ever (MFT), Field Notes Twine, Parcel & Post Heart Decorations (Spellbinders)

Accessories:  Woven EF (Spellbinders, Gold EP

Cheers

Karren

Semi Wreath

 

Hi! Today’s sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by Verena Shapiro @simple_stamper on Instagram.

I immediately saw a half wreath so went that route with some die-cut and ink-blended florals.  Once I had them arranged nicely, I worked on the background. I added an extra layer to the original sketch with an embossed brick background. 

I finished with a die-cut sentiment and some pearls. 

Thanks for visiting. Please check out how the rest of the design team have interpreted the sketch.

Products used:

Stamps:  Bloom With Grace (Honey Bee Stamps)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, various Altenew inks

Cardstock:  White, Pastel Sunrise (Altenew)

Dies:  Bloom With Grace (Honey Bee Stamps), Garden Wreath Add-Ons (Spellbinders)

Accessories:  Salvaged Brick Embossing Folder (Honey Bee Stamps), Pastel Pearls (Honey Bee Stamps)

Cheers

Karren

New Home

Hi and welcome!  I'm here today with my card for the latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches where our sketch hostess this week is Kim Singdahlsen.  Her sketch was perfect for a card I needed to make for my daughter.

Some of you will know that our daughter has moved to Blenheim (about 4 1/2 hours drive from us at the top of the South Island of New Zealand).  She is in her first year of teaching high school in Design and Visual Communications as well as Automotive.  She finally moved into her new home up there a couple of weeks ago and this was the card I made for her to celebrate that.

I created a panel of pink stripes onto a gray card base and onto that I adhered a little house and trees I made using Honey Bee Stamps dies.  I had to do a bit of swapping out between their various house die sets to get windows that more closely resemble hers. I also snipped off some pieces around the roofline. I then took a white panel, die-cut a heart from the centre and stamped a sentiment, before using foam tape to adhere over the die-cut image.

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

Products used:

Stamps:  New Home (WP9)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Cloudy Night, Charcoal Suit, Espresso, Volcano Lake, Mountain Mist, Lagoon (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Cement Gray (MFT), Cream (SSS), Sweet Pea, Carnation (C&9), Blush, Tutu, Chiffon (Spellbinders)

Dies:  Spring Cottages, Summer Cabin (Honey Bee Stamps), Infinity Hearts (Hero Arts) 

Tea Party

 Hi!  I'm here with my card for the CASE It Instagram hop where we choose a card that inspires us on Insta and create our version of it.  I was inspired by Debra James' card which I've added below and came up with this card using similar elements:

I bought the stamp set especially for this challenge because I just loved Debra's card so much but didn't want to copy it too slavishly.  I went with a different colour combo and stencils but kept a lot of Debra's original ideas.

Here is Debra's card that inspired me.  Isn't it fabulous?

Thanks for visiting!  The whole hop list is over on Instagram.  The link to my IG is in the sidebar.

Products used:

Stamps:  Par-tea (SSS)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Amalgam (Gina K), Volcano Lake, Lagoon (Altenew

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It, Volcano Lake, Lagoon (Altenew), B&W Stripes (MFT)

Dies:  Par-tea (SSS), Stitched Fishtail Flag Stax (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, Letter & Number Stencil (Stamperia)

Cheers

Karren