Citrus Christmas

Hi and welcome to another challenge from the team at Freshly Made Sketches, where our hostess this week is Jen Mitchell.  Turns out I mis-interpreted Jen's sketch from the final design so do as I say, not as I do this week... 

I wasn't planning on making a Christmas card when I pulled out these Dried Citrus Slices dies but that's what happened.

I started by creating the citrus slices, which I was intending to use for the scallop element on the sketch.  From there it just morhped into a Christmas card, with ephemera tags, die-cut holly sprig and vintage-looking patterned paper.  I added some ink-blending round the edges of the embossed panel and the patterned paper, but didn't do any distressing in keeping with the clean theme at FMS.

Thanks so much for visiting and to everyone who left heartfelt comments on my post from last week, thank you.  It meant a lot.

Please check out the fabulous cards from the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Stamps:  Curio Labels (The Greetery)

Ink: Walnut Stain DOX, Walnut Stain, Forest Moss, Aged Mahogany, Festive Berries, Pine Needles, Rustic Wilderness, Antique Linen, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks

Cardstock: White, Desert Storm, Christmas Backdrops patterned paper (Tim Holtz)

Dies: Bigger Botanicals Holly 1, Dried Citrus Slices (The Greetery)

Accessories: Burlap EF (Honey Bee Stamps), Sepia Serenity Ephemera (Aall & Create)

Cheers

Karren

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Birthday Wishes

Hi and welcome.  I'm back with a new challenge for Tic Tac Toe after a short break due to a very close bereavement in my family.  I chose to go with the centre row in the board with Any Colour/Free/Sentiment to come up with this birthday card.

I ink-blended a panel of cardstock with three colours of Distress ink and then I spritzed with Crackling Campfire Distress Spritz and set it aside to dry.  I die-cut the sentiment three times and stacked them together.  A few die-cut elements from a Carnation Crafts set finished off the card.

Thanks for visting.  Please check out the challenge blog and have a go yourself.

Products used:

Ink: Antique Linen, Dried Marigold, Crackling Campfire Distress Ink

Cardstock: White

Dies: Big Birthday Wishes (MFT), Full Flourish (Carnation Crafts)

Accessories: Crackling Campfire Distress Spritz

Cheers

Karren

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Daisy Thoughts

Hi and welcome.  So it's been a while since I've been here.  My husband passed away in May and it was completely unexpected and such a shock.  I was actually in my craft room when I got the news and it took me weeks before I could go back into that room.  Even now, I have to force myself to go and sit at my craft desk and try to create.  

This card was the second one I've made since he passed.  The first was for my daughter's 24th birthday last week and, fair to say, it was a pretty crappily executed card, but she liked it so that's all that matters.  This card didn't involve a lot of original thinking.  I used the colour scheme for the daisies from the packaging and then chose a colour combo from the Colour Cubes.

After I die-cut and ink-blended the daisy elements, I used the matching embossing folder to give some 3D details.  I then went with an Acorn card base and onto that I popped an embossed panel with the centre cut out with a square die.

I finished with a white hot-foiled sentiment on black cardstock.

Thanks for visiting.  This card uses the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and Jennifer Timko is our sketch hostess this week so I hope you'll check out her card as well as all the fabulous cards made by this wonderful design team.

Products used:

Ink:  Berrylicious, Acai Berry, Honey Drizzle, Andromeda (Altenew)

Cardstock: White, Black, Acorn (Spellbinders), Grapevine (Altenew)

Dies:  Inside/Out Stitched Squares (MFT), Always and Forever BetterPress Plate and die (Spellbinders)

Accessories:  Lush Botanicals: African Daisy Embossing Folder and dies, Paper Rhythm Embossing Folder (Altenew), white hot foil

Cheers

Karren

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93rd Birthday

Hi and welcome.  I'm the hostess over at Freshly Made Sketches this week but this is a quick post because I've got some things to deal with in real life.

This card was made a few months ago for my dad's 93rd birthday.  I thought it would work for my sketch so I based my sketch off it.

For a very quick explanation, I used stencils and soft ink-blending for the muted background and ink-blended die-cuts for the focal point.

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you'll check out the wonderful cards made by the rest of the design team and have a go yourselves.

Products used:

Stamps: To the Wise One (Honey Bee Stamps), Mini Messages & More (MFT)

Ink: Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide, Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Tea Dye, Frayed Burlap, Scorched Timber, Speckled Egg, Iced Spruce Distress Ink

Cardstock: White

Dies: Rustic Garden (Spellbinders)

Accessories: Winter Wonder Background stencils (Honey Bee Stamps), Antiqued Bronze Distress Spray Stain

Cheers

Karren

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Good or Evil...

Hi, just a quick post from me today, sorry.  Today's card uses the latest sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, where Cecile Ribon is our hostess.  I went a bit grungy again with my card and used a funny sentiment sticker to go with the Tim Holtz Papercut Cafe coffee cup.

I won't go into details but the products I've used are below.  Please check out the wonderful cards made by the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Stamps: Good Reading Background (SSS)

Ink: Unicorn White (Hero Arts)

Cardstock: White, Desert Storm, Fog (Spellbinders), Dark Night, Espresso, Dark Chocolate (Altenew), After Midnight, Stone Gray (MFT), Enchanted Evening (PTI)

Dies: Papercut Cafe (Tim Holtz), Stitched Strip (MFT)

Accessories: Books Stencil (Stamperia),Opaque White Crackle Paste (Tim Holtz), Gloss White Spray (Dina Wakely), Black Splatter Medium (SSS), Small Talk: Snarky stickers (Tim Holtz)

Cheers

Karren

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Time is Ticking

Hi and welcome! It's time for another challenge from Tic Tac Toe and this time I went down the left column with Numbers/Initials - Gold - Vellum.  My numbers are roman numerals but they still count, right?

I'm still playing around with mixed media and this card utilises a lot of new stuff that I had just received.  I fell in love with the Gardens of Time release by Stamperia so bought several of the elements - some of which I used on this card.  The thing with a lot of mixed media is that it's a one and done - ephemera, patterned paper, rub-ons etc - use them once and they're gone.  That's hard for my crafty hoarding brain to deal with!

Anyway, the background of this card is a panel from 3Quarter Designs which I stenciled over with crackle paste then when that was dry, I sprayed on some distress spray stains, then flicked on some gold and Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide spray.  The central elements are all pieces from either the Garden of Time collection or 3Quarter Designs Eclectic Clockwork patterned paper pack.  On all the elements I distressed the edges, inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then splattered on some gold and Salvaged Patina.

For the vellum part of the challenge, I die-cut some small leaves and arranged them with the other elements.  I also found some really, really old (like 20+ years) roman numeral stickers so used one of those as well.

I finished with some linen thread on the tag and popped up a butterfly from the ephemera pack with foam squares.  I thought about a sentiment but didn't have anything appropriate so left it off.  I guess Time's Ticking can be a sentiment...

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Ink: Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Vintage Photo, Scorched Timber, Tarnished Brass Distress Spray Stains, Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide Spray

Cardstock: White (card base), Eclectic Clockwork patterned paper (3Quarter Designs), Gardens of Time patterned paper, ephemera, junk journal, rub-ons (Stamperia)

Dies: Curvy Leaves (Elizabeth Designs)

Accessories: Mixed Clocks Stencil (Stamperia), Distress Crackle Paste, gold Roman numerals (unknown), gold eyelet, linen thread

Cheers

Karren

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Snail Mail

Hi and welcome to the new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, where our hostess this week is Jen Brum.  Jen has given us a clean and open sketch so have fun with it!

I used some new-to-me products from a UK company called Carnation Crafts that I first saw on Bibi Cameron's blog.  Basically you buy the dies and then download the images to print out on your printer.  This card was made using two separate products - the florals and leaves were from one set of dies and the postbox was another.

Fair to say, I would recommend also buying the paper Carnation Crafts sells to print on.  I tried on different cardstock I had and their paper definitely gave the best, most vibrant result.  In the downloads you can also download a sheet that you then fold in half and can get a double-sided image for either 3D or just to use the reverse side for a different view.  The dies also add embossing to parts of the image for added realism. It's pretty innovative and I've already placed my second order.  I probably won't use these products exclusively on a card, but they are a welcome addition and can be used for quick cards, which is what this was.

The frames on this card were cut from an Altenew die.  I adhered two of them to a white card base then added the Carnation Crafts products.  I finished with a matching sentiment from Spellbinders.

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

Products used:

Stamps:  Send & Seal (Spellbinders)

Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne

Cardstock: White

Dies: Send & Seal (Spellbinders), Fine Frames Cover (Altenew), Elegant Blooms, Post Box (Carnation Crafts)

Accessories: Elegant Blooms, Post Box downloads (Carnation Crafts)

Cheers

Karren

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Beachy Birthday

Hi! Today's card is for Seize the Birthday (animals), Just Add Ink (stencils and/or dies), and the sketch at Card Challenges.

I started by stamping the girl and the turtle onto X-Press It paper.  Once dry, I coloured them in quickly with Copics.  I then took the Beach Scene Builder dies and die-cut them all from white cardstock.  I then ink-blended all the layers.  On the sand layer I stamped some "specks" with Antique Linen ink and a stamp; on the sea layer, I used a waves stencil and on the sky layer, I used a cloud stencil.  Then on both the sand and sea layers I added dots with a white gel pen.

I wasn't 100% happy with the palm tree leaves so went over them with a dark green Copic marker to try and improve the look.  Not much better, but it'll do.

I then adhered all the elements together and added a birthday sentiment.  I went over the sun with a clear sparkle pen. 

Thanks for visiting.

I just realised that the animal should be the focal point at Seize the Birthday.  If my turtle isn't focal point enough, then I'll link this to the Anything Goes challenge.

Products used:

Stamps: Polynesian Paradise, Birdie Brown Greetings Galore, Distressed Patterns (MFT)

Ink: Amalgam (Gina K), Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold, Tattered Rose, Saltwater Taffy, Walnut Stain, Pine Needles, Rustic Wilderness, Speckled Egg, Salvaged Patina, Tumbled Glass, Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap Distress Inks

Cardstock: White, X-Press It

Dies: Polynesian Paradise, Beach Scene Builder (MFT)

Accessories: Copics, white gel pen, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen, Micro Cloud Stencil, Waves Stencil (MFT)

Cheers

Karren

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Reality vs Imagination

Hi and welcome. Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by Verena Shapiro.  I didn't exactly stay clean with my card but I didn't distress it too much so I hope it passes muster.

This card started with the Whirl Butterflies dies.  I thought I would die-cut them in white and then ink-blend, but somewhere along the line I pulled out multiple distress sprays and the grunge began...   While the butterflies were drying, I grabbed the April 2026 card kit from SSS and trimmed a strip of patterned paper over which I added some rub-ons from the same kit.  

I took a full panel of Teal Cave cardstock and embossed it with the Distress Mix EF.  Once that was done, I lightly swiped over the raised pattern with white ink.  Once the butterflies were dry, I went around the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink, then I had the idea to add some foundry wax around the edges so all the elements got that treatment.  I started adhering the various panels to the card.  The thin strip was a leftover from the Distress Spray panel.  

Originally I was going to use three butterflies but then started wondering about the sentiment and thought the centre would make a great spot for that.  I hunted out a sentiment to go with the card's look and stamped and clear-embossed it onto another piece of patterned paper from the same card kit.  I die-cut with a circle die and adhered it to a black cardstock circle for stability.  I then added some Walnut Stain ink and foundry wax.  I finished with some enamel dots and an enamel heart.  Below is a photo of the spray stains I had out - which ones I used for this card, I have no idea!

Thanks for visiting.  The design team have some gorgeous (and cleaner) cards so please check them out.

Products used:

Stamps: Warehouse District (Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Unicorn White (Hero Arts), Walnut Stain Distress Ink, various Distress Spray Stains, Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide Spray, Antiqued Bronze Distress Spray Stain

Cardstock: White, Teal Cave (Altenew), Beautifully Imperfect patterned paper (Spellbinders)

Dies: Circle Infinity Dies (Hero Arts), Whirl Butterflies (SSS)

Accessories:  Fresh Start Rub-Ons (49 & Market), Statue Foundry Wax (Tim Holtz), Clear EP, Distress Mix Embossing Folder (Spellbinders), black enamel dots and heart

Cheers

Karren

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Latte Heart

Hi all and welcome to another challenge from the team at Freshly Made Sketches . Our sketch hostess this week is Kim Singdahlsen and she has given us lots of squares!

When I first saw this sketch I admit to being a bit stumped, but then I received an assorted pack of new Lawn Fawn cardstock in gorgeous pastel colours and decided to use all five in my card.

I die-cut them with a rounded square die and laid them out as best I could using the eyeball method!  Onto an extra square I stamped a sentiment from Mini Messages and More by MFT Stamps and popped it up on the card base to make it stand out a bit.  I then added a Copic-coloured hand holding a coffee cup with embossed "foam"; a pair of glasses and a heart.

I made this card several weeks ago and I'm trying to remember how I got the foam around the cup.  I *think* I lightly rubbed my embossing pad around the edge of the "coffee" circle then added white embossing powder.  I know the heart is from the Oh Frappe set by Ellen Hutson.

Thanks for visiting!  Please check out the wonderful ways the rest of the design team have interpreted the sketch.

I'm linking this up to the Feminine challenge at The Paper Players.  I think the soft colours give off a definite feminine vibe.

Products used:

Stamps:  Mini Messages & More (MFT), Oh Frappe (Essentials by Ellen)

Ink: Versafine Onxy Black, Versamark, Ginger Root, Umber Shadow, Sea Glass (Altenew)

Cardstock: White, X-Press It, Macaron Assorted Pack (Lawn Fawn), silver matte foil

Dies:  Nesting Rounded Squares (Lifestyle Crafts), Creature Comforts, Crafty Hands (MFT)

Accessories: White EP, Copics

Cheers

Karren

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Daisy Border

Hi and welcome!  Today's card was made using the sketch over at Card Challenges, the colours at Color Hues of blue and yellow and the birthday theme at Addicted to CAS.

I started with a Lemon Tart card base and added a white frame cut from the Gift Box Cover-Up die which I adhered using foam tape.  I used the same die to cut another panel from Lemon Tart, stamped the sentiment on one of them and then adhered the stitched panels inside the popped-up frame.

The flowers were cut from Desert Night cardstock to which I added a bit of ink-blending in the centre using the same ink.  The flower centres were cut from some lemon polka-dot patterned paper.  The leaves were die-cut from some Dew Drops cardstock which is a pale blue/pool colour and again I added some shading with the same colour ink.

I arranged the flowers down the left hand side of the card and called it done.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps: Mini Messages & More (MFT)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Desert Night, Dew Drops (Altenew)

Cardstock: White, Lemon Tart (PTI), Desert Night, Dew Drops (Altenew), Itsy Bitsy Polka Dots Pastels patterned paper (MFT)

Dies: Gift Box Cover-Up, Upsy Daisy (MFT)

Cheers

Karren

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Coffee and Reality

Hi and welcome!  Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by our other Camp Mum Jen Mitchell.  I decided to use a NBUS coffee die set for my card.

I die-cut and assembled the coffee maker and the cup and set it aside.  For the background, I embossed a dark brown square panel and onto that I adhered some patterned paper with coffee splats on it and then a stenciled newspaper panel.

The sentiment comes from a sticker set by Tim Holtz that has some fantastically snarky sentiments.  I don't know when I would use most of these but, boy they make me smile - I love me some snark!

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

Products used:

Ink: Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide, Scorched Timber, Aged Mahogany, Frayed Burlap Distress Ink

Cardstock: White, Dark Chocolate, Heartbeat (Altenew), Black, Hot Fudge (MFT), Silver Mirror Foil, Vellum, Graph Paper Garden patterned paper (Aall & Create)

Dies: Lovely Layers: French Press (Honey Bee Stamps), Rounded Rectangles (Hero Arts)

Accessories: Distress Mix Embossing Folder (Spellbinders), Small Talk Snarky stickers (Tim Holtz), Daily News stencil (Stamperia)

Cheers

Karren

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Explore Tag

Hi, it's a holiday here in NZ today (Monday), so I spent some time in my craft room, getting messy and inky venturing into the mixed media space, where I don't go very often.  I based my card on the sketch at The Paper Players and the masculine theme at Krafty Chicks.

While I love clean cards, I really enjoyed putting this together.  I started with the tag using a piece of Aall & Create patterned paper to cut the tag from.  Once the tag was cut I added stamping, ink-blending, splatter, rub-ons and stenciling to the tag.  The rub-ons ended up getting covered up by the layers on top, but they're there.

I went to a craft show here in Christchurch, New Zealand last weekend and bought some supplies I normally wouldn't.  But seeing things in real life makes all the difference.  Of the things I bought was some patterned paper by 3Quarter Designs - a NZ-based company.  The papers are gorgeous (the strip down the left hand side and the fussy-cut elements on top of the tag come from the same paper pack).  

To add more interest to the left-hand strip, I scrunched up some collage tissue paper, lightly rubbed Vintage Photo ink over it then flattened it out a bit before adhering it behind the patterned paper strip.  The original tissue paper strip was longer than the card base so rather than cutting off the excess, I gathered it while the glue was wet to give some extra texture and dimension.  The Desert Storm panel was dry embossed with the Airmail Vault embossing folder and then I lightly rubbed some white ink over the top, before blending some Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain ink around the edges.

Once the stenciling on the tag was dry, I assembled all the pieces, adding a die-cut leaf sprig and some corrugated cardboard.  I adhered it to the kraft panel and then stapled a word I cut with a sentiment strip die from the tag's patterned paper using a Tiny Attacher.  Finally I adhered it all to a white card base.

Thanks for visiting.  This was a fun project and I can see more of this in my future...

Products used:

Stamps: Sign Here (Spellbinders), A Little Artsy (SSS)

Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain Distress Inks

Cardstock: White, Neenah Desert Storm, Eclectic Clockwork (3Quarter Designs), Graph Paper Garden (Aall & Create), Archives Collage Paper (Tim Holtz), corrugated cardboard

Dies: Stitched Traditional Tag Stax (MFT), Tags A Lot (Mama Elephant) [for the reinforcer], Bloom Colorize (Tim Holtz)

Accessories: Opaque Grit Paste (Tim Holtz), black splatter (SSS), White Gloss Acrylic Spray (Dina Wakely), Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz), Vault Airmail Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), 755 Street Stencil (13@rts)

Cheers

Karren

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Edited to Add: This card got a shout-out at Paper Players.