Wishful Poppies

 Hi and welcome!  It's time for another fabulous sketch from the  Freshly Made Sketches  team and this week Kim Singdahlsen is our sketch hostess and she has a very versatile sketch for us.

I was in the mood to color so decided to make that long vertical panel a floral image.

This stamp (now retired, I think) is from Hero Arts and is fabulous to color as there is so much space to get into.  I am badly out of coloring practice, but I had fun laying down some bold reds on this image.  Once I'd colored the flowers and stems, I added some light gray around the outside of the image and then adhered the panel to a white top-folding card base.  To make the sentiment stand out against the flowers, I backed it with some vellum to provide a bit of separation.

And that's it!  Thanks for visiting.  Head on over to check out the fabulous creations by the rest of the design team.

I'm linking this up to the Retro Rubber Challenge - I've had this floral stamp set for over 3 years (had to go check my SCS gallery to confirm - ha!).  I'm also adding this to the Clean & Simple challenge at A Blog Named Hero.

Products used:

Stamps:  Delicate Blossoms (Hero Arts) Make a Wish (Clearly Besotted)

Ink:  Amalgam, Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Black, Vellum, X-Press It

Dies:  Infinity Circle Dies (Hero Arts)

Accessories:  Copics, White EP, Sparkling Clear Confetti

Cheers

Karren

Bunny Wreath

I'm back with a card for the latest challenge at Fusion!  Check out this fun sketch and beautiful inspiration photo:

I decided to create a fusion this time and was inspired by the flowers, the wreath, the colors and, of course, the sketch.

A year or so back, I stamped a whole heap of these adorable flowers and leaves from SugarPea Designs in many different SSS inks.  I die-cut them all and tucked them in with the stamps.  I've now made three different cards using these and having them pre-stamped and cut makes the job so much quicker!  The gingham paper is from MFT and adhered to a white card base.  I then used foam tape to adhere the angled panels on top.  The wreath was adhered with a mixture of liquid glue and foam tape.  A thanks sentiment finishes the card.

Thanks for visiting!  The design team have created some gorgeous cards so I hope you'll check them out and come join us in the gallery.

I'm linking this card up to the Anything Goes challenges at Simon Says Stamp and Retro Rubber (I've had these SPD sets since mid-2016).

Stamps:  Funky Wreath Spring Addition, Funky Wreath All Seasons (SPD)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Doll Pink, Dark Chocolate, Hollyhock, Hotlips, Jellybean, Twinkling Tutu, Willow, Beanstalk, Lemon Chiffon, Duckling, Apricot, Teeny Bikini

Cardstock:  White, Farm Fresh Gingham (MFT)

Dies:  Funky Wreath Spring Addition, Funky Wreath All Seasons (SPD)

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Retro Rubber Challenge.

Maude

Hi, I've got a few cards to post for various challenges, but I'll try and space them out over the next day or so, so as not to bombard you :)  This card I made this morning and when I started my only intention was to do a bit of coloring.

Meet Maude.  Maude is one of my older stamps, I think I bought her in about 2004 and she is from Art Impressions.  At the time I bought her, I also bought two matching sentiments - the one on the card and another which says "I'll rise but I refuse to shine"!  Love them!

As I said above, I just wanted to do some coloring and decided Maude needed a pink dressing gown.  Once I'd done that, I realised if I was careful how I colored the rest of the image, I could enter her in the latest Color Throwdown challenge.  Consequently, Maude got a kraft nightdress and a teal coffee cup :)  I then went looking for a sketch and found the perfect one at Retro Rubber Challenge, where you are required to use your older stamps.

I didn't spend a lot of time on the coloring, which is one of the things I love about AI stamps - they are drawn so that the coloring doesn't have to be perfect!  After coloring Maude onto a panel of X-Press It cardstock, I then cut the sentiment stamp apart as it is actually on two lines.  I used my Misti to line up the words and stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink.  I then cut a strip of Desert Storm and another strip of Audrey Blue.  The image panel is popped up on foam tape.  Here's Maude in all her morning glory:

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Maude, I Don't Do Mornings (Art Impressions)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black

Cardstock:  X-Press It, white, Audrey Blue, Desert Storm

Accessories:  Copics

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Retro Rubber Challenge.

Pears

I made a quick card this morning because I really wanted to play along in a few of the current challenges - especially those involving fruit!  I have a decent collection of wood-mounted stamps featuring fruit from when I first started collecting and it was time to dust those off and make a card.

So this card was made for City Crafter Challenge and The Male Room, who are both asking for fruit and because my stamps are so old, I'm joining in at Retro Rubber's Anything Goes challenge.  I'm also linking this to CASology with a cue word of "write" and Less is More who want to see green and gold.  I'm a bit iffy about linking to these last two challenges because while my card is CAS in my eyes, there's not a lot of "white" space going on.

Anyway, I white embossed the beautiful calligraphy image onto black cardstock and adhered it with foam tape to the card base with a little sliver of gold at the bottom to add interest.  The pear was stamped onto X-Press It cardstock and loosely colored with Copics before being fussy cut.  It is also popped up on foam tape.  And that's it!

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  N1768 (pear text) A Stamp in the Hand, pear stamp by Collections

Ink:  Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock:  White, black, gold foil

Accessories:  White EP, Copics

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at City Crafter Challenge.

One Day at a Time

Today's card uses the current sketch from Retro Sketches, the colors from ColourQ and the challenge to use a crimper as well as old stamps from Retro Rubber Challenge.

I started with a white card base and added a crimped panel in Crumb Cake.  While my crimper doesn't live on my desk anymore, it does live close by as I use it when making flowers like the one I used on this card.  I crimp the cardstock in both directions to break the fibers in the paper and that makes it easier to squish up and re-shape.

The stamp I used on this card is a very old PSX one that I've had for probably 10 years.  I stamped it on a white panel using Jet Black Archival ink (love the coverage with that ink!).  To keep the card from looking too heavy, I used open leaves die-cut with Old Olive cardstock.  And because I really, really despise Rich Razzleberry, I used as little as I could and it appears in the form of the brad in the center of the flower and three Candy Dots :)

And yes, if you look closely enough, you can see white Mono Multi glue in the center of the flower which must have squished through from the back when I glued it down.  The glue hadn't dried when I took the photo and I didn't notice!

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Masterpiece (PSX)

Ink:  Archival Jet Black

Cardstock:  White, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Old Olive

Accessories:  Brights Candy Dots, Brights Brad, Crimper, Lorelei Leaf Outline (Poppy Stamps), Scallop Circle Nestabilities

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Retro Rubber Challenge.

Icy Snowman

Hi and welcome!  Today I have the great pleasure of being Guest Designer at a relatively new challenge called Retro Rubber.  This is a great challenge and quite unique in that, as well as the usual sketch and color challenges, the twist is you should use older stamps for your cards!  By older, preferably more than a year old - you don't need to go back to last century unless you want to :) 

Like most of us, I love everything that's new and often neglect some amazing old stamps in my sizeable collection, so this challenge is a great way to share the love :)

Anyway, I won their second challenge and was invited to play along as GD on this challenge, which is a cool color challenge to use silver, blue and white on a holiday card.

The stamps I used on this card come from an Inkadinkado set I've had for probably 5 years.  I silver embossed the snowman onto a piece of Midnight Muse cardstock then cut it out with a stitched circle die to get the stitch lines on the inside of the circle.  I then used the same circle die to cut a circle out of a piece of white cardstock which added stitching to the outside of the circle. 

The sentiment was stamped in Midnight Muse ink and the whole panel was mounted onto the blue panel using foam tape.  A strip of silver glitter paper added a bit of sparkle down the right hand side as did the rhinestones.

I hope you'll find time to support Retro Rubber Challenge.  I wish them all the best!

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Holiday Silhouettes (Inkadinkado)

Ink:  Midnight Muse, Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Midnight Muse, Silver Glitter Paper

Accessories:  Pewter EP, Lil' Inkers Stitched Mats Circle Dies, rhinestones

Cheers

Karren

Botanicals

Today's card uses the sketch from The Paper Players and the colors from a new-to-me challenge called Retro Rubber Challenge, where as well as normal challenges, we also need to use older stamps.

I started stamping back in about 2001 and have quite the collection of single stamps from the likes of PSX, Hero Arts, Penny Black as well as several unmounted plates.  Then in about 2004, I discovered Stampin' Up and spent the next several years collecting as many sets as I could.  In 2007, Stampin' Up came to New Zealand and I signed up to be a demonstrator.  I let my demoship drop in October, but my favorite Stampin' Up set is still the first one I bought - Botanicals - and I've used it today.

I started out with an Old Olive card base and stamped the text stamp down the left hand side.  The central panel started out as a manila tag.  I smooshed several distress inks onto my craft mat and spritzed with water before running the tag through it to pick up the ink.  Once that was dry, I stamped various images using Archival ink and cut it down to size before sponging the edges with Vintage Photo ink.  

The maple leaf at the bottom was cut from the excess tag and covered with Glossy Accents before being adhered to the card base.  

The sentiment is from Verve and stamped in Walnut Stain ink on top of a second-generation stamp of the olive branch.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Botanicals (SU), Happy Hello (Verve)

Ink:  Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss, Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Frayed Burlap, Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo (Distress), Archival Jet Black

Cardstock:  Old Olive, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, manila tag

Accessories:  Glossy Accents, button, twine, 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card won at Retro Rubber Challenge and got a shout out at Paper Players.