Catch that Umbrella

Hi and welcome to my blog.  After a weekend of failed card attempts, I finally have something that I'm not embarrassed to post!  This card uses the colors from ColourQ, the sketch from Seize the Sketch and the animal theme from Friday Mashup.

I started out watercoloring the whole card after white embossing the images.  And what a yucky vision that was :)  So I watercolored the background then Copic-colored the fox and umbrella. Much better!  Unfortunately my little fox and my sentiment have manufacturing flaws and my fox looks like his tummy has been attacked by a vicious predator!  I cleaned him up as best I could before stamping him, but there are still some problems.  The sentiment has an extra dot under the "C" in "come".  

I had to use the best matches to the ColourQ colors I had, so my fox looks more orange than Cajun Craze, sorry!

Thanks for visiting.  I've just got a new laptop and after spending several days downloading programs, I'm now trying to get used to a new, very low profile, keyboard, so any typos are due to that (promise!).

I think this card is a message to me, more than anything!  I finished my job on Friday - I'd been with the company for 32 years and in that job for 19 years, so it was a big step.  I loved my job but it was restructured so I decided that was the universe's way of pushing me out of the nest.  I'll take a couple of months then hope to find another job.  Hopefully I'll be just as happy in my next job!

Products used:

Stamps:  Up and Away (Mama Elephant)
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock:  Whisper White, watercolor, Xpress-it
Accessories:  Watercolors, Copic Markers, Up and Away dies, Lil Inker Square dies

Cheers
Karren

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

BFFs

Hi and welcome to what is a freezing cold Thursday here in Christchurch!  We've had a pretty mild winter so far, but today is bitterly cold and I'm glad I could spend the afternoon tucked up with a heater in my craft room!

I made a card today for two challenges:  Seize the Sketch, which has a fabulous CAS sketch by Katie, and the color challenge at The Paper Players, which has some gorgeous colors chosen by Nance.

I chose to use the adorable Mama Elephant set called Honey Bunny for my today's card.  I stamped the little bunnies on Xpress-it cardstock and colored them with Copics.  I gave them Blushing Bride tails and the flowers were colored in Hello Honey and Calypso Coral (or as close as I could get with Copics).  The sentiment was stamped with Basic Gray ink and the card base is also Basic Gray.

The bunnies are popped up on dimensionals.  A very CAS card!

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Honey Bunny (ME)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Basic Gray
Cardstock:  Basic Gray, Whisper White, Xpress-it
Accessories:  Copic markers, enamel dots, Wink of Stella

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout-out at both Paper Players and Seize the Sketch.

Tiny Flags

Hi everyone!  Today's card uses the fabulous colors at The Card Concept along with the sketch at Seize the Sketch.  My style for this card would be Clean & Layered, I'm guessing.

I started out with the background panel which I'd sponged with distress inks and flicked with water.  I then white embossed the Tiny Flags stamp over the top.  I love how the aqua and lime inks blended to look yellow!  It's hard to see in the photos but I also stamped the flag background in Versamark on the White panel.

The horizontal panel gave me fits!  I tried so many different option but had to give up in the end and used this white embossed panel which I line up with the triangles in the main panel. 

The sentiment was cut twice in both colors then cut apart between the "thank" and the "you".  I then used the "thank" in Lucky Limeade and the "you" in Coastal Cabana.  

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Tiny Flags (HeroArts)
Ink:  Shabby Shutters (Distress), Coastal Cabana, Versamark
Cardstock:  Coastal Cabana, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White
Accessories:  Feathers die (SSS), Thank You die (PTI), White EP, Enamel Dots (MME), Basic Rhinestones (SU); lime American Crafts twine

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card won at Seize the Sketch.

Travel Ways

Hi and welcome!  Today I made a card using a new-to-me stamp set and a new In Color.  I used the sketch from Seize the Sketch and the inspiration from Card Concept to come up with a clean and layering card.  I also used the theme from Friday Mashup to stamp on something other than cardstock and make a card for Father's Day.  For my card, I used the Faux Silk technique and stamped onto tissue paper.

The stamp set I used is called Travel Ways by Stampers Anonymous and has a lot of cool collage-y images.  I stamped a number of images onto onto the card base and also onto white tissue paper.  I then scrunched up the tissue paper before adhering it to a Very Vanilla panel.  The ship was stamped in Midnight Muse ink and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder.  I used the new In Color that immediately appealed to me - Lost Lagoon - love that color!

I googled a Sailor's Knot and tied it using Hemp Twine.

Thanks for looking.

Products used:

Stamps:  Travel Ways (Stampers Anonymous)
Ink:  Midnight Muse, Gray Flannel (Memento)
Cardstock:  Midnight Muse, Lost Lagoon, Very Vanilla, tissue paper
Accessories:  Clear EP, Hemp Twine, Lil Inkers Tag Die

Cheers
Karren

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

Gold Sympathy

Hi everyone and thanks for visiting.  Before I get to my card, if you subscribe to my blog via email, I have switched over to MailChimp.  So, assuming I've done everything right, this email should come to you in a slightly different format but with all the problems with Feedburner, I thought it wise to make the jump now.

Unfortunately I have need of a sympathy card for a workmate who lost his mother very suddenly while she was overseas on holiday.  I combined the sketch from Seize the Sketch with the colors from ColourQ to come up with this card.

I used the faux patina technique, which is what I immediately thought of when I saw the colors at ColourQ.  I used Pool Party, Tempting Turquoise and Chocolate Chip ink on my faux patina piece, then sprinkled some gold embossing powder over parts of the dry embossed panel.  I cut it into thirds and mounted the center panel onto a piece of Pool Party.  The sentiment is gold embossed.  Here's a close up of the faux patina.

And a shot of the very simple inside.

Thanks for visiting.  And thanks to everyone to subscribes to my blog - I do appreciate you!

Products used (all Stampin' Up):

Stamps:  Thanks for Caring

Ink:  Pool Party, Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip, Versamark

Cardstock:  Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Pool Party

Accessories:  Finial Press EF, Oval Nestabilities, Gold EP

Cheers

Karren

Move Forward

We're in the middle of a summer storm here - thunder, lightning and hail - I love it!  Of course, I only love it because I'm inside and listening to the rain/hail on the roof is something I find quite soothing.  Anyway, onto today's card.  This is a card using the colors at Color Throwdown and the sketch at Seize the Sketch.  I love these masculine colors and the sketch is one I'm sure to use again.

The Night of Navy panels on this card were created using a Tim Holtz stencil and translucent embossing paste.  I love the effect - it's like clear embossing but even more textured.

I used a new-to-me CTMH stamp set called Maximum Power and stamped the tyre track and sentiment onto a Soft Sky panel and one of the car images onto Very Vanilla before cutting it out.  

This inside was kept simple with another tyre track and the other car from the set stamped in Soft Sky.

I might end up giving this card to my 16 year old son, Matthew, who today got his first car.  It's certainly not a muscle car like this one, but he's so excited to have his own car to learn in.  And so am I, because for the last 3 weeks he's been learning in my car - a 3.0l BMW - and I've learned he's got a heavy foot LOL.

Thanks for looking.

Products used:

Stamps:  Maximum Power (CTMH)
Ink:  Night of Navy, Old Olive, Soft Sky
Cardstock:  Night of Navy, Old Olive, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Tim Holtz Stripes stencil, Wendy Vecchi Translucent Embossing Paste, circle nesties, American Crafts twine

Edited to Add:  This card was a Runner Up at Seize the Sketch.

Cheers
Karren

Rosy Celebration

Today's card uses a set I haven't used for quite some time - Kitchen Sink Stamps 3 Step Roses & Hearts.  I love the realistic images these stamps create.

For this card, I used the colors from Color Throwdown and the sketch from Seize the Sketch.

I scored the Pink Pirouette card base and used some retired In Color DSP layered onto Crumb Cake.  The sentiment from CASual Fridays Shenanigans set was stamped in Real Red onto the DSP.  The rose and leaves were stamped onto Whisper White cardstock using Real Red and Pistachio Pudding inks.  

I paper pierced the top right corner of the card base to add a bit of interest and threw a couple of sequins on as well :)

Thanks for looking.

Thanks for looking.

Products used:

Stamps:  Kitchen Sink Stamps, CASual Fridays
Ink:  Real Red, Pistachio Pudding
Cardstock:  Pink Pirouette, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, In Color DSP
Accessories:  Simply Scored, sequins, paper piercing kit

Cheers
Karren