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

If you enjoyed this post and would like an email when I post new content, please follow me

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

If you enjoyed this post and would like an email when I post new content, please follow me

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

If you enjoyed this post and would like an email when I post new content, please follow me

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