Monochromatic Tulips

Hi all and thanks for dropping by!  I am the sketch hostess this week over at Freshly Made Sketches. 

 I've gone with a slimline/mini slimline design and here is what I made:

 

I wanted to play along with the Turquoise theme at The Flower Challenge, so stamped four tulips and coloured them all slightly differently to give what is as close to a monochromatic look as I could get.  I coloured the leaves gray to add to the whimsical and modern look.

Before adhering the tulips to the card base, I sponged on some distress ink in an ombre fashion before splattering some of the same ink.  I adhered the fussy-cut tulips to the card base then splattered on some gold ink.  I then added a thin strip of cardstock and the black strip with a gold-embossed sentiment.

Finally, I finished with some gold confetti.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you'll check out the fabulous cards made by the rest of the DT and I hope you'll play along this week.

Products used:

Stamps:  Whimsical Tulip (Altenew), Mon Ami (CASual Fridays)

Ink:  Amalgam (Gina K Designs) Peacock Feathers, Broken China Distress Ink, Enchanted Gold (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Black, Adriatic (Hero Arts), X-Press It

Accessories:  Copics, Antique Gold EP, gold confetti

Cheers

Karren

Fusion Anniversary

Hi!  I'm here with a card for the latest Fusion challenge.  It's our 5th anniversary challenge and we're kicking off the year by each inviting a guest to join us.  My guest is the super-talented Ksenija Rizova and the card she has created is just gorgeous.  I hope you'll head over to her blog and let her know how beautiful her card is.

For my card, I sort of created a fusion but didn't follow the sketch 100%.

Onto a panel of Bristol Smooth cardstock, I white embossed several butterflies as well as some dots and rings to fill in the gaps.  After heat-embossing, I blended on a rainbow of distress ink colors before working on the rest of the card.

I adhered the butterfly panel to a white top-folding card base and then added some vellum, adhering it down the left side only.  On top of that I added some black and white striped paper and a white cardstock strip.  Both of these were adhered with foam tape.  Finally I stamped the sentiment, from CAS-ual Friday's Big Thanks set and finished with some sparkling clear confetti.

And, as a special celebration, CAS-ual Fridays have offered us a $25 gift code to give away to one randomly drawn entrant in this challenge, so I hope you'll join us.

Thanks so much for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Blissful Butterflies (MFT), Scenery:  Big Bang Confetti (Winnie & Walter); Big Thanks (CAS-ual Fridays)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Versamark, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers Distress Ink

Cardstock:  White, Bristol Smooth, Vellum, B&W Stripes (MFT)

Dies:  Pierced Circle Stax (MFT)

Accessories:  Sparkling Clear Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh)

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

Tutu Celebration

Hi!  My eye is almost healed and I'm back to making cards - yay!  Thanks to everyone who expressed concern and well-wishes.  It was so nice to get back into the craft room.

I made this card for my niece's birthday, which I missed last week due to my eye.  I had actually made her another card, but my Hero Arts monthly kit arrived yesterday, so I had to ink it up and make another card which I think she'll like more.

I used the colors from Color Throwdown and created a shaker card.  The background is watercolored oxide inks in Fossilized Amber and Peeled Paint.  The tutu is colored with coral-colored Copics and the sentiment is embossed with green embossing powder.

Because it's for a little girl, I went with the More is More philosophy regarding bling 😃

Thanks so much for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  MMH Apr 17 (Hero Arts), Shenanigans (CASual Fridays)

Ink:  Versamark, Intense Black (HA), Fossilized Amber, Peeled Paint Distress Oxides

Cardstock:  White, watercolor, acetate

Dies:  MMH (HA), Peek-a-boo Wonky Windows (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, sequins, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen, Wild Wasabi EP (SU)

Cheers

Karren

Eiffel Tower

Hi!  It's Fusion time again and here is the new challenge:

I stuck with the photo inspiration for my card and actually made two cards!  I made the card at the bottom of this post first, but then a stamp order arrived that included the background stamp called Waterfall from a company called Katzelkraft and I thought that would work perfectly with the photo, so I made a second card.  Here it is:

I stamped the background in black and clear-embossed it.  I then adhered some fun foam to some Soft Stone cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot with my Eiffel Tower die.  I also used the same die with a panel of black cardstock which I offset slight to create a shadow.  The sentiment is embossed with Crushed Curry EP.

For my next card, which is actually my first card 😃, I used silver metallic embossing paste over a stars stencil on a panel of Slate cardstock.  The rest of the card was made the same, except the EP on this card is Buttercup which I then outlined with a gray Copic marker.

Thanks for visiting.  Take a minute to check out the rest of the design team's cards - they are awesome!

Products used:

Stamps:  Shenanigans (CASual Fridays), Waterfall (Katzelkraft)
Ink:  Versamark, Intense Black
Cardstock:  Soft Stone, Slate, Black, White
Dies:  Eiffel Tower (MFT)
Accessories:  Crushed Curry EP (SU), Buttercup EP (Wendy Vecchi), fun foam, Silver Metallic EP (Wendy Vecchi) Stars stencil (MFT), clear EP

Cheers
Karren

Birthday Foliage

It's time for another fabulous sketch from the team at Freshly Made Sketches and this week our hostess is the wonderful and funny Narelle.  And she has such a versatile sketch for us.

When I made my card, I wasn't in the mood for the stamping part of this craft, so I worked mainly with dies and washi tape to come up with this masculine birthday card.

I am one of those people who is in awe of crafters who can put different elements together to create a collage but it never looks right when I try to do it.  I spent so long working with different dies and patterns but ended up paring it all back to a very simple design.  I knew I wanted to use the Precious Polaroids die but deciding what to put in it was a challenge.  Finally, I used some gray foliage die-cuts and called it a day.  The washi tape was adhered to a white card base and I stamped a sentiment onto the slate polaroid frame and then adhered the leaves in place.

Thanks so much for visiting!  The design team have some gorgeous cards using Narelle's sketch so head on over and check them out.

I'm linking this card up to the Clean and Simple challenge at Addicted to Stamps & More, the Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies challenge, as well as the masculine challenge at Sweet Stampin'

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Happy Little Stampers.

Coral Flower

Welcome!  Today's card was made using the colors from 4 Crafty Chicks, the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and the gold theme at CAS-ual Fridays.

And here is my card:

I stamped the flower onto a panel of white with 3rd generation black ink and then colored it in using Copics.  Once the coloring was finished, I over-stamped with Versamark ink and gold-embossed.  (Thank goodness for the Misti!!)

I also gold embossed the sentiment onto a strip of Soft Navy cardstock and when I was looking for a banner die to die-cut it, I saw this die and thought it would give the card a modern look so went for it!

I die-cut the panel with a stitched-edge die and adhered it to a white card base.  The card was finished with some rainstones to mimic the sketch.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Mon Ami (CASual Fridays)

Ink:  Black, Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Soft Navy (SSS)

Dies:  Blueprints 21, Blueprints 25 (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, Rainstones

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at 4 Crafty Chicks and CASual Fridays

Birthday Bears

Hi!  It's Saturday morning here and I have a card that I finished last night to show you.  I got the Beary Special Birthday set and dies on Thursday and on Thursday night I just had to color one of the images - they are so cute!  Then on Friday night, I made that image into a card using the current sketch at MFT and the colors from Color Throwdown.  I'm also linking up to Seize the Birthday.

This card just makes me smile!  I love the background and I love that little bear.  To make the background, I sponged Melon and Duckling inks onto a panel of Tim Holtz watercolor paper.  Then I dropped some Perfect Pearls shimmer mist onto the panel.  Finally, I took the Scribble Script stencil and sponged over the top using those same two ink colors.  I just love that stencil - in fact, it's probably my favorite.  The script is undefined enough to be text when you want it to be text and to just be a pattern when you just want a bit of interest in the background, like I've done here.

For the rest of the card, I die-cut a white pierced rectangle frame, cutting off the bottom.  I also white-embossed a sentiment onto black, both of which are popped up on foam tape, as is the bear.  I couldn't decide what to put in the top right corner as per the sketch, but finally decided on two layers of Party Banner dies, the bottom layer sponged in Rosie Cheeks ink and the top frame layer sponged in Duckling.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Beary Special Birthday (MFT), Shenanigans (CASual Fridays)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Versamark, Duckling, Melon, Rosie Cheeks (SSS)

Cardstock:  White, black, watercolor, X-Press It

Dies:  Pierced Rectangle Frames (MFT), Beary Special Birthday (MFT), Party Banner Duo (SugarPea Designs)

Accessories:  Scribble Script stencil (Donna Downey), White EP, Copics, Perfect Pearls

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Seize the Birthday.

Bold Blooms

Today's card was made using the inspiration at Muse as well as the beautiful colors at Color Throwdown.

From Jenni's gorgeous card, I took inspiration from the layout, the black sentiment and the floral arrangement.

I was lucky enough to win a $25 gift certificate to Winnie & Walter in the last Coffee Lovers' Bog Hop and I put that towards the Addie's Garden stamps and dies and today was their first outing.  I colored the flowers using the CTD colors, leaving the blue for the sponged background.  The card base is white and I used a Soft Stone layer, cut with Blueprints 14.  The white circle was cut with Inside Out Circle dies and the sentiment comes from CASual Fridays.

The flowers and leaves were generously painted with Wink of Stella as a finishing touch, which you can see in this next photo.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  In Bloom:  Addie's Garden (Winnie & Walter), Mon Ami (CASual Fridays)
Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Broken China
Cardstock:  White, Soft Stone (PTI), X-Press It
Dies:  Inside Out Circles, Blueprints 14 (MFT)
Accessories:  Copics, Wink of Stella

Cheers
Karren

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

Awesome Day

Hi and welcome to another fabulous challenge at Fusion!  Check out the new challenge:

I thought about going with a nautical theme, but decided instead to focus on the colors and the circle shapes.

I've had this Mod Circle Frame die since it was released and this is the first time I've used it!  I used teal, navy and red cardstock and a white base.  The sentiment is from Rad by CASual Fridays.  To add a fun touch, I added a couple of staples onto the embossed sentiment panels.  I think this would be a fun card for a teenage boy.

Thanks for visiting.  Be sure to check out the fabulous cards made by the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Stamps:  Rad (CASual Fridays)
Ink:  Versamark
Cardstock:  White, Hawaiian Shores, Pure Poppy, Enchanted Evening (PTI)
Dies:  Mod Circle Frame (SSS)
Accessories:  White EP, Primary Blue Topaz EP (Wow), Staples

Big Thanks

Hi!  I made this card late last night and while the background came together quickly, the front panel took a bit longer as I couldn't decide what to put in it.  This is version 3.0:

I used Linda's sketch at Pals Paper Arts and the current challenge at Pinterest Inspired Challenge.  I wanted a long narrow front panel but couldn't find anything appropriate to fit, so ended up with this sentiment and lots of white space :)

For my background panel, I took a piece of watercolor paper and white embossed the Worn Grid stamp from Unity.  I then used Sonja's controlled watercolor technique to apply ink.  I used several distress inks, trying to match the colors of the inspiration picture.  Once it was dry, it looked a bit patchy so I went over the whole thing with Tumbled Glass ink to give it some cohesion, then went round the edges with Vintage Photo ink before die-cutting it with an angled die.

I layered that onto a black card base and put another thin strip of black on the bottom panel to match the sketch.  The sentiment was stamped with High Dive ink and layered onto a black panel.  I finished with some dark grey enamel dots.

I'm also entering this into Stampin' Royalty's Card for Guys challenge.  This is my second entry there.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Worn Grid (Unity), Big Thanks (CAS-ual Fridays)
Ink:  Versamark, High Dive, Scattered Straw, Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, Faded Jeans, Hickory Smoke, Vintage Photo
Cardstock:  Black, white, watercolor
Dies:  Blueprints 18
Accessories:  White EP, enamel dots

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Pals Paper Arts.