Dear Friend

HI and welcome!  I made this card for a few challenges - Mojo Monday, The Card Concept and Seize the Birthday Anything Goes theme - definitely not playing with the One Layer Toppings Option here 😉

This card has more layers on it that anything I've made in a very long time, but I still quite like it.  I used lots of patterned paper and a NBUS set from Altenew.  I'm calling this Clean & Layered.

The images were stamped with Altenew inks and the sentiment embossed with gold embossing powder.  It's hard to see in the photo but the two vertical strips are gold - one plain gold and one gold dots on white.  I didn't want to cover up the scripty paper so for the rectangular panel, I used vellum.  I painted the flower with Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen and finished the card with some glitter drops.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Best Buds, Budding Thanks (Altenew)
Ink:  Frosty Pink, Coral Berry, Ruby Red, Frayled Leaf, Forest Glades (Altenew), Versamark
Cardstock:  White, Black, Live Beautifully Patterned Paper (CTMH)
Dies:  Budding Thanks (Altenew), Inside/Out Stitched Rectangles (MFT)
Accessories:  Gold EP (SSS), Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen, Nuvo Glitter Drops

Cheers
Karren

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

Christmas Mug

Hi and welcome!  Today's card was made using the sketch at Mojo Monday, the inspiration pic at Merry Monday, the sparkle theme at Merry Christmas challenge  and the tag inspiration at Tag You're It.

I was inspired by Lynn's color scheme, the mug, the heart and snowflake and the white sentiment banner.  I just got some new supplies in the other day, and one of them was the Knitted Pattern embossing folder, so I used that on the cream base layer, the chocolate horizontal layer and the red tag.  The mug was die-cut and colored with Copics to match the mug in the Merry Monday inspiration photo.  I die-cut a white snowflake and embossed it with glitter embossing powder and the heart was colored with Star Dust Stickles to give it a bit of glitter as well.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  An Arctic Christmas (SSS)

Ink:  Black Soot Archival, Versamark

Cardstock:  Cream, Schoolhouse Red, Dark Chocolate (SSS)

Dies:  Stitched Circles (Lil Inkers), Stitched Sentiment Strips, Coffee Cup, Warm & Fuzzy (MFT), Abby snowflake (SSS), Tag Me (Reverse Confetti)

Accessories:  Snowdrift sequins (SSS), Diamond White EP, Start Dust Stickles, Knitted Pattern EF (Richard Garay), Baker's Twine, Copics (E40, E41, E42, E43)

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Tag You're It and Merry Monday.

Bouquet of Leaves

Welcome back!  This card came together over a couple of evenings after work.  I had some leaves left over from this card so I pulled them out to make a card using the sketch at Mojo Monday, the Nature theme at Cardz 4 Guyz, and the Leaves themes at The Male Room and Just Us Girls.

I used Antique Linen ink and my Scribble Script stencil to stencil on both the card base and the ivory panel.  With the already-prepared leaves I spritzed them with Antiqued Bronze Mica Spray and also flicked some on with a paint bruch.  I gave the same treatment to some die-cut foliage cut from brown cardstock.

I stamped the sentiment which is actually a speech bubble but I masked off the "speech" part and then arranged all the elements onto the card and adhered everything with glue.

Finally, I placed a black tag and a smaller leaf to mimic the banner and tag in the sketch and added some twine.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Leaf Prints (PTI), So to Speak (Clearly Besotted)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Peeled Paint, Fossilized Amber, Rusty Hinge, Bundles Sage, Scattered Straw, Festive Berries, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen Distress Inks

Cardstock:  Ivory, Black, Watercolor, Early Espresso (SU)

Dies:  Leaf Prints (PTI), Fall Foliage (Tim Holtz), Leaves (Impression Obsession), Basic Stitch Edges (MFT)

Accessories:  Scribble Script Stencil (Donna Downey), twine, Antiqued Bronze Mica Spray (Tim Holtz)

Cheers

Karren

Father's Day

This Sunday is Father's Day here in New Zealand and I wanted to make a special card for my father.  I decided to go with the Mojo Monday Tall & Skinny sketch and combined that with the stitching challenge at Simon Says Stamp, the "no designer paper" theme at Sweet Stampin' and the "F" challenge at Cardz for Guyz.

I used a new stencil and my new stencil brushes to make the blue and green panels.  Once I'd finished brushing ink onto them, I stamped some of the splatters from Distressed Patterns using silver ink before cutting them to size..  My card base is 7" x 4" and I adhered the blue panels top and bottom, leaving a blank spot in the middle.  The green panel was matted onto a black backing and the sentiment was white-embossed onto a strip die-cut with a die from Blueprints 6.  For tha flag, I used a strip of vellum and clear-embossed the silver splatters to tie it into the rest of the card.  I then stitched the vellum and the blue panels onto the card base.

The words were die-cut from Little Letters dies and positioned in the bottom right corner of the green panel - and yes the 'love' is slightly crooked :)

That pretty much sums up my card.  Thanks for visiting and I hope my dad will like this.

Products used:

Stamps:  Distressed Patterns (MFT), KIS:  Father (PTI)
Ink:  Versamark, Hero Arts Silver, Broken China, Twisted Citron Distress Inks
Cardstock:  Black, watercolor, vellum
Dies:  Little Letters, Blueprints 6 (MFT)
Accessories:  Clear EP, Scribbles Stencil (Stampers Anonymous), sewing machine

Cheers
Karren

Critter Love

Hi and welcome back for my second card today!  I'm rushing to get this posted as I just realised the linky at Mojo Monday closes in two hours!

This card was made for the following challenges:  Mojo Monday; Just Us Girls and Sweet Stampin' Challenge.

I'll be quick with my explanation :)  I stamped and Copic-colored the adorable little dog holding his rose, then die-cut both the image panel and a Smoke panel using pierced square dies.  I cut a Slate layer and die-cut the top and bottom with a Basic Stitch Lines die.  The image panel is popped up with foam tape.  The Smoke panel was lightly sponged with Smoke ink and a grid stencil to add interest.  Finally, I colored the rose with Wink of Stella.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Critter Party (Penny Black), KIS Valentine (PTI)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Smoke

Cardstock:  White, Smoke, Slate, X-Press it

Dies:  Pierced Square Stax dies, Basic Stitch Lines (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, Wink of Stella, Large Grid Stencil (MFT)

Cheers

Karren

Doodle Flowers

I had to play along at the brand new Pinterest Inspired Challenge when I saw the fun inspiration pic they had for us!  I combined that challenge with the sketch at Mojo Monday and the Summer Flowers theme at Friday Mashup and the Homegrown Summer theme at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

I concentrated on the color scheme from the inspiration pic and the doodle-y flowers.  I stamped a whole bunch of the flowers and foliage from Doodle Buds and colored them with Copic markers.  And yes, I have teal leaves and grey flowers LOL.

After I'd cut them out, I colored them all with Wink of Stella then added some dots with my white gel pen.  The yellow circle was cut from a piece of white cardstock I'd smooshed Squeezed Lemonade on to try and match the yellow flowers.  The banner was done the same way using Peacock Feathers ink.  It took me longer to arrange the flowers than it did to do everything else!  I was trying to separate the colors and, of course, wasn't organised enough to plan out how my bouquet was going to look before starting to color :)  I was happy enough with it in the end, so all's well.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Doodle Buds (WP9), Scribbled Flowers (Clearly Besotted)

Ink:  Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feathers Distress Inks, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark

Cardstock:  Smoke (SSS), white, black, X-Press It

Accessories:  Copics, white EP, Pierced Circle Stax (MFT), Fishtail Flag Stax (MFT), Doodle Buds dies, Wink of Stella, Blueprints 21

Cheers

Karren

Neutral Roses

Today's card was made for the inspiration challenge at Just Add Ink, the challenge at Seize the Birthday and Mojo Monday.

For my card, I started with a white card base.  What you can't see in the photo is that I then adhered some woodgrain cardstock onto the top of the card base.  The bottom is Smoky Slate with a strip of black.

I looked all through my collection to find a large stamp with a diagonal stripe and didn't have anything suitable (time to shop!) so I went with a piece of emboss resist card from a long-ago pack of patterned paper by SU called Presto Patterns.  I lightly sponged Smoky Slate ink onto the panel and the embossing in the paper resisted the ink.  

The circles were cut with my pierced circle stax dies.  The rolled roses I've had made and sitting waiting to be used for months, along with the saffron leaf spray.  It was good to finally put them to use!  I stamped the sentiment from Label Love and cut it out and my card was finished.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Label Love (Altenew)

Ink:  Smoky Slate (SU)

Cardstock:  White, Black, So Saffron (SU), Smoky Slate (SU), Presto Patterns (SU), Slate (SSS), Woodgrain (SSS)

Accessories:  Pierced Circle Stax (MFT), Rolled Roses die (MFT), Curvy Leaves die (Elizabeth Designs)

Cheers

Karren

82 Years Young

I had fun in my craft room today and after last week's struggles, the two cards I made today came together in a way that I'm happy with.  The first card I made is for the next Freshly Made Sketch Challenge, but this card is for my Dad's 82nd birthday next week and uses the colors from ColourQ and the sketch from Mojo Monday.

I really, really like this card and I hope my Dad will too.  I went a bit Tim Holtz on this card using lots of stencils and lots of sponging.  I'll try and remember how I made the center panel...  

I started with a strip of white cardstock and sponged over the Crocodile stencil with Pumice Stone ink.  I then sponged in the following order:  Cargo with Wild Honey ink; Measured with Dusty Durango ink; Splatter with Dusty Durango ink; Shatter with Pumice Stone; Lattice Work with Pumice Stone and Numbered with Peacock Feathers.  Phew!  I then sponged around the edges with Vintage Photo before stamping over the whole piece with the text stamp from Papillon painted with Antique Linen Distress Paint.  After heat-setting that, it created a resist and I sponged on more Vintage Photo ink.

The card base was also stamped with the same stamp and Antique Linen Distress Paint.  Here's a close-up so you can see some of the layers of sponging and stenciling.

The circular panel was first die-cut then stamped with Archival Black ink using my Misti - perfect coverage and placement!  I sponged a strip of white cardstock with Peacock Feathers ink and cut a couple of pieces of Wild Honey and Dusty Durango cardtock.  Some thread finished off the card.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Roundabout Additions (Reverse Confetti), Papillon (Stampers Anonymous)

Ink:  Peacock Feathers, Pumice Stone, Wild Honey, Vintage Photo (Distress Inks), Dusty Durango (SU), Archival Black (Ranger), Antique Linen Distress Paint

Cardstock:  White, Neenah Desert Storm, Hello Honey, Dusty Durango (SU)

Accessories:  Lil' Inkers Stitched Circles dies, thread, Tim Holtz stencils:  Cargo, Splatter, Measured, Shatter, Lattice Work, Crocodile, Numbered

Cheers

Karren

Happy Snowman

When I went into my craft room today, I just didn't feel like stamping :(  So I decided just to do a bit of Copic coloring and see where that took me.

I colored up a beautiful snowman from Purple Onion's Stacey Yacula range and once I was finished, I decided to make him into a card.  I went looking for a suitable sketch as this fella is pretty big!  I found this week's Mojo Monday and went to work.

Isn't this snowman and his little bunny friend just too cute?  I cut each layer with stitched dies.  For the green layer, rather than use green cardstock, I sponged some Green Apple ink around the edges to give some added interest.  For the round element at the bottom, I didn't want to cover up my bunny, so I die-cut a vellum snowflake, punched two tiny holes in it and threaded some green twine through it before tying a little bow.

Looking at the snowflake in the photo, I might paint it with clear Wink of Stella and see if that makes it pop a bit more.

Thanks for visiting.

Products Used:

Stamps:  Warm Hearted (Purple Onion), Christmas Joy (Verve)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Green Apple (SSS)

Cardstock:  White, Island Blue (SSS)

Accessories:  Copics, snowflake die (SU), green twine, Lil' Inkers Stitched Mats dies

Cheers
Karren

Starry Night

Today's card is my first attempt at a galaxy scene and let's just say you need to squint to see a galaxy in this background :)  But I'm putting it up anyway.

The galaxy theme is this week's challenge at Friday Mashup plus I used the sketch at Mojo Monday - although the proportions are a bit off due to the size of the sentiment.

I created my galaxy using watercolor paints.  I did try another one using distress inks and might use that another day.  After it was dry, I white embossed the sentiment and stars.  I decided the yellow was most prominent so used some Crushed Curry cardstock for the scalloped piece which I scored at the end of each scallop.  I carried the scoring over to the black panel to mimic the sketch.  I wrapped some striped blue twine around the panel before using foam tape to adhere to a white card base.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Make a Wish (Mama Elephant)
Ink:  Versamark
Cardstock:  Watercolor, white, black, Crushed Curry
Accessories:  watercolor paints, baker's twine, white EP, large scallops die (SU),score board

Cheers
Karren

The Q7 Card

Firstly, apologies to anyone who ended up here on my blog after googling Audi Q7s.  There are no cars in this post :)

The reason for my post title is that I made a card for my niece, Quin, who is turning 7.  I used the colors from The Card Concept and I'm calling my card Clean and Layered.  I tend to stick to clean cards although I do occasionally venture into vintage/shabby, but not today.

I'm also seizing the toppings at Seize the Birthday, which is to feature numbers on your birthday card.  I've used the sketch at Mojo Monday and because it's a birthday card and also features twine, I'm linking another card up to Friday Mashup.  Phew!  Bet you just want to see the card now?

I started my card with a Crumb Cake base which I embossed with a new-to-me EF from Couture Creations.  In my Blushing Bride scrap folder I found the strip that had been embossed with the cross-stitch EF and cut with the Finishing Touches Edgelit, so I cut an Early Espresso strip the same as a layer.  I used some old In Color DSP for the main panel and again layered that onto Early Espresso.  The Q7 were cut from textured cardstock using the Alphabet Typeset die for the "Q" and PTI's By the Numbers for the "7".  I lightly inked around the edges of the die cuts with a sponge dauber and Blushing Bride ink to make them stand out a bit more.

The sentiment is from Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler set and stamped onto Very Vanilla and cut with Spellbinders Curved Rectangles die.  Some pink twine from American Crafts and some translucent sequins finished off the card.

Here's a side shot:

Thanks for looking.

Products used:

Stamps:  Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches)
Ink:  Early Espresso, Blushing Bride
Cardstock:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride, Blushing Bride DSP
Accessories:  Couture Creations EF, sequins, By the Numbers die (PTI), Alphabet Typeset die (SU), Finishing Touches Edgelit, Needlepoint Border EF, Curved Rectangles Spellbinders die, American Crafts twine.

Edited to Add:  This card won top billing over at Seize the Birthday!

Cheers
Karren