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

Bird Branch

 It's time for another challenge from the team at Freshly Made Sketches and this week our hostess is Linda Callahan.  I went a bit rogue with my card this week - distorting some of the elements on the sketch to fit my card.

I had all these elements apart from the birds already made so I pulled them out and tried to make them work with the sketch.  Apart from the bird and the grass and cloud stencils, these are all from an Altenew Craft Your Life kit.  I arranged the elements to sort of look like the sketch then found a sentiment for the top right corner.

I added some soft stenciling onto the card base for grass and clouds then adhered the images down.

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

Products used:

Stamps:  Rustic Charm (Altenew)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Razzleberry, Bamboo, Grass Field, Mountain Pine, Green Onyx, Hazelnut, Milk Chocolate, Almond Butter, Mossy Meadow, Rocky Shore, Mocha, Velvet (Altenew), Speckled Egg Distress Ink

Cardstock:  White

Dies:  Rustic Charm (Altenew), Layered Bird Branch (SSS)

Accessories:  Rustic Charm Embossing Folder (Altenew), Micro Cloud Edges Stencil, Grassy Edges Stencil (MFT)

Cheers

Karren

Clipboard

Hi and welcome to Freshly Made Sketches weekly challenge. This week our sketch hostess is Jen Mitchell and I love her sketch!

Now, I think this might also apply to a lot of card-makers but I absolutely cannot resist stationery supplies and/or miniatures so when I saw this miniature clipboard in a Tim Holtz vault die set, I had to have it!  I decided to make a teacher card for my daughter who is in her first year of teaching high school boys (brave, brave girl!).  Of course, for her the sentiment should read "Energy Drink, Teach, Sleep, Repeat" 😄

I did some background stamping and inked up the edges of the panels to give everything a vintage-y look.  The little clipboard is so adorable and the top "clip" is popped up on two layers of foam tape to give it a realistic look.  The notebook paper was stamped in a pale blue ink, then I went over the vertical line with a pink Sharpie for realism.

And, by total luck, the stamped sentiment fits perfectly on the lines of the notebook!

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

Products used:

Stamps:  Steampunk (Tim Holtz), Teach Sleep Repeat (MFT), Smarty Pants (Your Next Stamp)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Rocky Shore, Mocha, Sea Glass (Altenew), Antique Linen Distress Ink

Cardstock:  White, Whip Cream (MFT), Desert Storm, Silver Mirror Foil

Dies:  Torn Paper Edges (MFT), A2 Ripped Notebook (Picket Fence), Vault Noteworthy (Tim Holtz)

Accessories:  pink Sharpie

Cheers

Karren

Flower Bunch

It's time for another Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge and this time I chose the top right diagonal - Flowers/Patterned Paper/Stripes to come up with this card.

I already had the flower stenciled so I only needed to fussy-cut it out.  Onto a white card base I embossed with the Subtle embossing folder and added some patterned paper strips in varying widths.  I then stamped a Mother's Day sentiment, added the flower popped up on foam tape and finished with some pearls.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Bountiful Leaves (The Ton)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Forest Glades, Frayed Leaf, Evergreen, Pastel Sunrise, Canyon Clay, Burn Red, Moon Rock, Lava Rock, Nimbus, Dark Night (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Watercolor Wash Brights (MFT)

Accessories:  Pastel Pearl Stickers (Honey Bee Stamps), Subtle EF (SU), Flower Bunch Stencils (Altenew)

Cheers

Karren

Abstract Hello

Hello (to quote my card below!). Today's sketch hostess over at Freshly Made Sketches is Jennifer Timko.  Once again I used my new Alex Syberia Abstract Background Press Plate - this time with hot foil as well as just using it as ann uninked press plate.

 

To create my panel I adhered two colours of cardstock together with tape on the back and then hot-foiled with copper foil.  Once finished, I cut the panel down and matted one of the pieces onto copper foil cardstock.  Onto a kraft card base, I used my BetterPress to press the Abstract Background plate.  I then adhered the foiled panel and finished with a reverse foiled sentiment from Honey Bee Stamps.

And it wasn't until I was putting this blog post together that I realised I put my sentiment in the wrong place.  Doh!

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

Products used:

Cardstock:  Desert Storm (Neenah), Dark Indigo (PTI), Moss (Altenew), Rose Gold Foil Cardstock

Dies:  Abstract Background Press Plate (Alex Syberia), Fall Foliage Sentiments Hot Foil (Honey Bee Stamps)

Accessories:  Copper hot foil

Cheers

Karren

Blocked Birthday

  Welcome to my blog where today we have a new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our sketch hostess this week is Judy Rozema and she came up with a fun sketch.  My first thought was the old-school retiform technique using masking and stamping, but that just sounded like too much work so I went with simple colour blocking - letting the gorgeous new Spellbinders cardstock do all the work.

 

After choosing my cardstock with the help of the Colour Cube, I cut it out and pieced it together to cover a card front.  I then ran it through my Betterpress with my new Alex Syberia plate to provide some subtle texture.  I didn't use any ink, just pressure.  I added some thin slivers of white cardstock to separate the colours and adhered it to a card base.

I then went hunting for a sentiment and found this already-foiled sentiment.  I like the boldness against the pastel cardstock background so decided to use it.  I finished with some enamel dots in the three cardstock colours.

Thanks for visiting!  Please head over and check out the fabulous cards made by the design team and meet our newest team member - who I am sure will be known to most of you... 😉

Products used:

Cardstock:  White, Black, Bellini, Waterfall, Seaside (Spellbinders)

Dies:  Abstract Background Press Plate (Alex Syberia), Happy Birthday Hot Foil (Waffle Flower)

Accessories:  Gold Hot Foil, Enamel Dots (Altenew)

Cheers

Karren

Purple Spring

 Hi!  I'm here with my reminder card for the current Flower Challenge which is to use spring colours.  I'm not sure that these purples qualify as spring but it is what it is!

One of my favourite layering stencil sets is Charming Delight by Altenew, so I set to with various ink colours and the stencils and created this floral image.  Using the co-ordinating die, I cut it out and then spritzed it with shimmer spray to give a lovely shimmer to it.

I went with my go-to layout which is a panel down the left hand side of a white card base.  The darker purple strip was created using direct-to-paper and one of the purple ink colours I used.  The sentiment was from a Pink Fresh stamp set.

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

Products Used:

Stamps:  Miss Your Smile (Pink Fresh Studio)

Ink:  Obsidian, Enchanted Garden set, Warm & Cosy Set, Nature's Wonder set (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Proper Pinstripes Pastels (MFT)

Dies:  Charming Delight (Altenew)

Accessories:  Charming Delight stencils (Altenew), shimmer spray

Cheers

Karren