Stuck With You

Hi and welcome!  I made this card over a year ago for a DT challenge that never went ahead.  I've had these photos sitting in draft form on my blog ever since.  I've now decided that the Succulent challenge at Curtain Call is the perfect opportunity to get this post published :) I'm also linking up to a new-to-me challenge Southern Girls who have an Anything Goes theme this fortnight.

How I made the card is pretty obvious.  I stamped, colored and die-cut the succulents ant pots and set them aside.  The card base is Soft Stone and I used the Stitched Strip die on it to add interest.  The angled panels were die-cut with the Paper die by Paper Smooches and I can't remember if I stamped the notebook lines or if it was patterned paper.  I think it was a stamp, but not sure which one.

Finally I put the card together using foam tape under the black panel and also under the left-hand succulent pop.  Some baker's twine finished off the card.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Sweet Succulents (MFT)
Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid
Cardstock:  Black, White, Soft Stone (PTI), X-Press It
Dies:  Sweet Succulents, Stitched Strip (MFT), Paper (Paper Smooches)
Accessories:  Copics, Baker's Twine, white gel pen

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Southern Girls Challenge.

Doggy Love

So, I made this card on the weekend, but I missed the deadline for one of the challenges I made it for because I forgot to blog it!  Luckily, there are lots of fun challenges out there at the moment looking for love or pet themes so I'm adding this card to those challenges at the bottom of my post.

I dry-embossed my card base using two rectangle dies and then did some ink-smooshing with Hickory Smoke distress ink.  The cute little dog was colored with Copics and I added Glossy Accents to the red heart and his nose.  The sentiment is white-embossed onto black and die-cut with a flag die before being adhered to the card base.  The dog is popped up on foam tape.

And that's my card!  I've been enjoying making Valentine's cards this year - although here in New Zealand we don't tend to give them to anyone other than our significant other and my boys will scoff if I give them one because they're "too old" for "lovey-dovey cr@p".  But maybe, just maybe, I'll give them all to Pete next Tuesday, because who says that one is enough 😃

These are the challenges I'm linking to (click on the graphic to be taken to the challenge):

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Addicted to CAS and Addicted to Stamps and More

Christmas Foliage

Welcome to my little corner of the internet.  Today's card came about because I got an order of Power Poppy stamps and wanted to do some coloring.

I used Cindy Lawrence's coloring of this gorgeous image as my guide and once I was finished coloring I decided on a layout, using the 200th sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch.  I was also inspired by the photo at Card Concept and cut my banners from gingham paper to match the chair in the photo.  The colors and foliage also inspired me from the photo and I'm calling this card Clean & Graphic.  The winter colors and warm feel to the Curtain Call inspiration were also reflected in my card and finally, I'm linking up to Addicted to Stamp & More's Holiday theme and the Christmas theme at AAA Cards.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps;  Simple Joys (Power Poppy)
Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Versamark
Cardstock:  White,X-Press It, Schoolhouse Red
Dies:  Pierced Circle Stax, Pierced Fishtail Flag Stax (MFT)
Accessories:  Copics, white EP

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at CAS(E) This Sketch, Curtain Call and The Card Concept.

But First...

Hi!  I'm back for the second time today with my card for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, which has a summer theme.  My card also meets the themes at Curtain Call and City Crafter, so I'm linking up there too.  Inkspirational has a masking theme and as I did two different types of masking on this card, I'm adding my card.

This is a one layer card and involved masking off a strip on a white card base before sponging Antique Linen ink for the sand and Tumbled Glass ink for both the sea and the horizon, using a much lighter touch for the sky.  I also used a cloud mask for the sky.  Once I was finished sponging, I used a white gel pen for the waves and a Copic marker to add texture to the sand.

Once I was happy with the image, I removed the mask and stamped the sentiment in black ink.

A very simple card but I hope it evokes a feeling of peace while drinking coffee on a warm morning with a view like this :)

Thanks for visiting.

Products Used:

Stamps:  Oh Frappe (Essentials by Ellen), Distressed Patterns (MFT)
Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid (MFT), Antique Linen, Tumbled Glass Distress
Cardstock:  White
Accessories:  White Gel Pen

Cheers
Karren

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

Enjoy

Hi and welcome to my Paper Players post.  This week, Claire has a fun challenge for us - a CAS "Summer Treats" card.

My card is a little bit similar to last week's DT card, but it wasn't intentional.  It was just the idea that came into my head and nothing was going to make it budge.

I used the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch as well as the inspiration pic at Curtain Call for my card.  

I sponged a panel of white cardstock using some distress inks to produce a soft and subtle beach scene.  Once I had finished sponging, I added some waves using my white gel pen, which you can see better in the close-up picture below.  The drink was stamped then colored with Copics before being cut out.  I die-cut the sentiment three times in white and once in black and stacked them all together.  Both the drink and the sentiment are colored with a clear Wink of Stella pen.

Given that I'm in the middle of winter where I live, this card makes me feel warm and that's got to be a good thing :)

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you'll have time to check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Stamps:  Free Spirits (Paper Smooches)

Ink:  Tumbled Glass, Old Paper, Scattered Straw Distress Inks, Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock:  White, Black

Accessories:  Copics, White Gel Pen, Wink of Stella

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card won top honors at Curtain Call.

Warm Winter Wishes

Warm Winter Wishes is an odd title for a blog post considering it's the middle of summer here, but this card uses  the winter wonder theme from Curtain Call as well as the "winter" theme at Just Us Girls plus the sketch from Sunday Stamps so it's appropriate.

I clear embossed the pine branch onto some Crumb Cake cardstock then used a sponge dauber and some white ink to sponge around the branch.  I then cut the panel with a curved die by Spellbinders and adhered both pieces to the card base.

The sentiment was stamped in Sparrow ink onto a white panel and cut with a flag die.  I stamped the double pinecones onto a white scrap and cut them out and stuck them to the flag before painting them with Wink of Stella.  I then spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to get the thread to look natural and random!

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Holly Berries (SSS), Two Feet Deep (PTI)
Ink:  Versamark, Sparrow (SSS), Unicorn White (Hero Arts)
Cardstock:  White, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Silver thread, Clear EP, Fishtail Flag Stax (MFT), A2 Curved Dies (Spellbinders), Wink of Stella

Cheers
Karren

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

Gingham Christmas

Hi!  I should be sick of making Christmas cards, but still I keep churning them out - even though I don't need any more this year!  

This card is for the Candy Cane theme at Curtain Call, as well as the challenge at Fusion (this time I'm using the inspiration pic).  I also used the sketch from Pals Paper Arts.

The gingham panel down the left hand side is a stenciled piece using the Gingham stencil from SSS and some white embossing paste I colored red.  The white panel has several die cut "merry" words layered onto it.  The banner is white embossed and has a little twine bow.  

And that's it!  Thanks for visiting.  I hope your Christmas preparations are winding down and you are getting the chance to relax.

Products used:

Stamps:  Wet Paint Holiday (PTI)

Ink:  Versamark, Real Red

Cardstock:  Real Red, white

Accessories:  Wet Paint Holiday die, white EP, MFT Fishtail Flag die, Gingham Stencil (SSS), Embossing Paste, twine

Cheers

Karren

Quirky Christmas

Today's card covers a few challenges.  I started out with the sketch from Just Add Ink and then decided to make a non-traditional Christmas card for Less is More.  From there it was a simple step to the bright colors at Curtain Call and then I decided to join in with the brand new challenge ShowCASe Your Style, which has a tic-tac-toe challenge.  Rather than going in a diagonal, vertical or horizontal line, I chose sparkle (Wink of Stella), sequins and die cuts.

My little penguin was colored with Copics and I gave him a purple hat and yellow scarf before die-cutting him and popping him up on foam tape.  The die-cut sentiment was cut from Elegant Eggplant card and inlaid into the white panel.  Some yellow sequins in the right hand corner balanced out the card.

These are not the colors I would normally choose for a Christmas card, but I think they turned out rather cute and quirky and would make a fun card to give a kid.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Polar Pals (Mama Elephant)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock:  Daffodil Delight, Elegant Eggplant, white

Accessories:   Copics, Polar Pals dies, Lil Inkers Stitched Mats Rectangles, Season's Greetings die (SSS), sequins

Cheers

Karren

Autumn Leaves

I got the urge yesterday to make another autumn card - even though it was a glorious spring day!  This time I sponged a manila tag with various distress inks then over-stamped some realistic leaf images.

The tag is quite big and even though I cut some off the length, it still takes over the card.  The sentiment is white-embossed over a patch of sponged Fired Brick ink.  Once all the stamping was done, I flicked some water onto the tag.

The card base had some subtle embossing folder inking on it to break up the Crumb Cake a bit.  Then I adhered thin strips of black down each side.

I'm entering this into Curtain Call and Paper Players who both have fall challenges.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  With Gratitude (SU), French Foliage (SU), The Big, the Bold and the Happy (W&W)
Ink:  Distress Inks - Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed, Fired Brick, Gathered Twigs, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo; Stazon, Versamark
Cardstock:  Crumb Cake,Basic Black, Manila Tag
Accessories:  Picket Fence Distress Stain, Dot Matrix EF (Tim Holtz), White EP

Cheers
Karren

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