Tears

Hi and welcome!  I'm stuffed up with a late summer cold so it took a while to get moving this morning, but I did have a chance to make two cards for challenges.  This is the first of them, using the Laugh cue word at CASology and the CAS theme at Addicted to Stamps & More.

I love this image and I love this sentiment.  It makes me laugh every time I see it :)  I stamped and colored the women before fussy-cutting them out.  I then adhered them to a white card base that I'd stamped the sentiment onto.  And that's it!

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Laughing (Art Impressions)
Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid (MFT)
Cardstock:  White, X-Press It
Accessories:  Copics

Cheers
Karren

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

Silver Stripes

Hi!  It's time for another fabulous challenge from Fusion Card Challenge and this week we have the most gorgeous inspiration photo and a fun sketch.  Check this out:

I chose to work with the photo this week, focusing on the aqua, white and silver color scheme.

True confession time - I actually made this card a few weeks ago for a couple of challenges that were current at the time, but when I'd finished it, I realised it worked for this challenge, so I held it back.

I used a diagonal stripes stencil and smooshed Versarmark ink onto it before embossing with silver embossing powder.  I die-cut two snowflakes, one from silver foil paper and one from Maliblue cardstock.  The sentiment is white embossed onto a black banner and some Pretty Pink Posh sequins finished the card.

Thanks for visiting.  Be sure to check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Stamps:  Polar Pals (Mama Elephant)
Ink:  Veresamark
Cardstock:  White, Silver Foil, Black, Maliblue
Dies:  Elize, Abby (SSS) Fishtail Flag Stax (MFT)
Accessories:  PPP Sequins, White EP, Stripes Stencil (MFT)

Cheers
Karren

Hennah Hello

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for another sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  This week, I'm the sketch hostess and I came up with a sketch with a few elements in it.

And, when it came time to make my card - I had nothing!  Eventually, I came up with a card:

I Copic-colored the flower and leaf from Hennah Elements set.  I went around the center of the flower with a white gel pen and punched a 1/4" black circle painted with Wink of Stella for the very centre.  I then added both to a Fog stitched circle die.  The sentiment is from PTI and is covered in Wink of Stella.

And that's pretty much it!  All pretty self-explanatory.

Thanks for visiting.  The rest of the design team have made some amazing cards with my sketch, so I hope you'll give it a go as well!

Products used:

Stamps:  Hennah Elements (Altenew)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  White, Fog, X-Press It, Black
Dies:  Hennah Elements (Altenew), Wet Paint (PTI), Stitched Circles, Stitched Rectangles (Lil Inkers)

Cheers
Karren

Poppies

Hi and welcome to another Fusion Card Challenge!  Today we have a beautiful inspiration photo as well as an elegant sketch.

For my card, I stuck with the photo and ended up using the photo also as my sketch :)

I stamped the poppies image in Grout Gray ink and colored with my my pencils and a blender pen.  Unfortunately I decided to outline the image in blue and it looked terrible!  To save that mess, I fussy cut the whole image, which took a while, but was worth it.  I sponged some Steel Blue ink onto a white card base after masking off the side.  I then adhered the poppy image on the card base and finished it off with a sentiment from Label Love that I cut out and mounted on foam tape.

Be sure to check out the fabulous samples from the rest of the design team and have a go yourself.

Products used:

Stamps:  Delicate Blossoms (Hero Arts), Label Love (Altenew)
Ink:  Archival Black, Steel Blue (SSS), Grout Gray (MFT)
Cardstock:  White
Accessories:  Colored Pencils (Derwent)

Cheers
Karren

Oooh, Shiny

This is my second post today, as I'm cranking out some cards for challenges on this, the last day of my long weekend.

This card uses the stars theme from Cupcake Inspiration Challenge, as well as the black/white/glam theme at Verve October Inspiration Challenge and the sketch from Retro Sketches.

I started with a white card base, then added a smaller white panel with silver glitter paper top and bottom.  In the middle of that is a black panel, on top of which I adhered the sentiment, also cut out of the silver glitter paper.  The stars I found in the packet with the glitter paper and I think they are cut from Verve's Starry Dies.  These are popped up on foam tape.

A pretty simple but shiny and glittery card - the only way I like glitter - firmly adhered to card :)

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Good Times (PTI)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Cardstock:  White, black, silver glitter paper

Dies:  Good Times (PTI), Starry dies (Verve)

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Cupcake Inspirations and Retro Sketches.

Yellow Flowers

Today's fabulous sketch at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by the wonderful Cindy Hall.

I went very CAS with my card this week, with lots of white space.

I stamped several flowers using Altenew inks and fussy cut them out.  I chose two to feature on my card and put them to one side.  The card base is white and I have a thin strip of black cardstock that I painted in Wink of Stella.

The sentiment panel was die-cut with a pierced rectangle die and stamped with a scripty sentiment from Sending Happy Thoughts.  I die-cut two tiny little hearts from Daffodil Delight cardstock and adhered those for the dots in the i's.  The sentiment panel is raised up on foam tape as is the smaller of the two flowers.  The larger one is popped up on two layers of foam tape.  The flowers and hears are also covered in Wink of Stella.

Thanks for visiting.  The rest of the design team have some wonderful cards with the sketch, so be sure to check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Sending Happy Thoughts (SSS), Painted Flowers (Altenew)
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Buttercream, Warm Sunshine, Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades (Altenew)
Cardstock:  White, Black
Accessories:  Wink of Stella, Pierced Rectangle Stax (MFT), Storybook dies (Avery Elle)

Cheers
Karren

Autumn Leaves

Hi!   Today's card was made at the weekend but I'm only just getting around to posting it!  I decided to join in the one layer challenge at Less is More as well as a second entry in the current Time Out challenge.  Both of these have an autumn-themed challenge going on at the moment.

I went for a favourite layout of mine with a sponged panel and some over-stamping.  The panel was masked and sponged with Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo distress inks.  After I removed the masks, I stamped a NBUS foliage set by Penny Black called Lush and Lavish in Archival Black ink, using my Misti for good coverage. 

After the leaves were stamped, I put the masks back on and stamped the little dots from Bold Blooms to tie everything together.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Lush and Lavish (Penny Black), Bold Blooms (Ellen Hutson), Happy (Stamplorations)

Ink:  Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo (Distress), Archival Black

Cardstock:  white

Cheers

Karren

Zig Zag

Hi and welcome!  I'm thrilled to be Guest Designer at City Crafter Challenge.  My card won the challenge a few weeks ago and I was invited to be GD for this challenge - and what a fun challenge it is!

Paste it!  Use either Texture (Embossing)Paste, Crackle Paste or Crackle Paint somewhere on your project.

For my card, I decided to use embossing paste and a stencil (one of my favorite techniques!).  This time, however, I colored my embossing paste different colors for each row of zig zags.  The hardest part was not smooshing previously stenciled work when protecting it while spreading on the next color :)

While the background was drying, I started work on the images.  I Copic colored and fussy cut the envelopes and adhered them to a black square I had white-embossed the sentiment on.  I then die-cut another square out of white that I stuck behind the black one at an angle.  That is all popped up on foam tape and I finished the card with some silver thread in the top right corner.

This is a fabulously fun challenge - given how popular embossing paste is at the moment so I hope you'll give it a go.  Be sure to check out the fabulous samples from the rest of the design team.

I'm also linking this up to Just Us Girls who are asking for stencils.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Sending Happy Thoughts, Sending and Wishing (SSS)
Ink:  Hot Lips, Orange Peel, Duckling, Jellybean, Scuba, Wisteria (SSS), Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Cardstock:  White, black, X-Press It
Accessories:  Copics, Embossing Paste, White EP, Nesting Rounded Square dies (Lifestyle Crafts), Zig Zag Dots Stencil (SSS), silver thread

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got Chic of the Week at Just Us Girls.

29 Again

Hi!  Today's card was made using the Silly cue word at CASology, the color challenge at Cupcake Inspirations and as the Paper Piecing challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

I just love the knowing expression on her face!  29?  Yeah, right!  I stamped the "lady" onto X-Press It cardstock as well as some peach-colored patterned paper.  I colored the image with Copics and cut out the dress from the patterned paper.  I die-cut the panel using a Blueprints die, then cut a slightly larger panel using some more of the patterned paper and lastly the scalloped panel using some old Close to Cocoa cardstock.

A simple, but hopefully, fun card!  Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  29 Again? (Art Impressions)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock:  X-Press It, Close to Cocoa, Juntos Patterned Paper (SU), White

Accessories:  Copics, Blueprints 20, 24 (MFT), Wink of Stella

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Cupcake Inspirations and CASology.

Make a Wish

Hi and welcome!  It's time for another challenge from Freshly Made Sketches and this week our hostess is Amy and she has a wonderful sketch for us.

For my card, I decided to use the Graphic Twist die from Simon Says Stamp that I got a while ago but hadn't used until now.  I sponged Apricot, Duckling and Steel Blue onto some white scraps and die-cut the image from each color.  I then put it back together using all three colors.

I kept the rest of the card very plain, stamping the sentiment from another NBUS set from PTI called Good Times.  

Looking at the photos now, if I were to make this card again, I would bring the die cut down a little bit on the panel.  Hey, who am I kidding - I never make the same card twice so it is what it is!

Thanks for visiting.  The rest of the design team have some wonderful cards using this sketch and we'd love to see you in the gallery.

Products used:

Stamps:  Good Times (PTI)
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Apricot, Duckling, Steel Blue (SSS)
Cardstock:  White, Black
Accessories:  Graphic Twist die (SSS), Pierced Rectangle Stax (MFT)

Cheers
Karren

Rock Candy Flowers

Today's card used the (flipped) sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch and the colors from Color Throwdown.

I flipped the sketch to suit the angled panel die-cut I had on hand.  I could have cut it by hand but, you know, where there's a die, why fussy cut :)

I white embossed the sentiment on the panel and die cut the flower and leaves from a NBUS set by Essentials by Ellen.  I wanted to lift the die-cuts somehow so decided to lay down a bit of glue on the pieces and drop them into some Distress Glitter.  It looks quite cool in real life.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps:  Keep it Simple:  Just Because (PTI)

Ink:  Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Black, Wild Wasabi, Tangerine Tango (SU)

Accessories:  White EP, Blueprints 15 (MFT), Bold Blossoms die (Essentials by Ellen), Tim Holts Distress Glitter Clear Rock Candy

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at CAS(E) This Sketch.

Cheers

Karren

Number Celebration

Hi!  It's Friday night and I took a bit of time after dinner to make a quick card for a few challenges.  This card uses the inspiration pic at Time Out Challenges, the masculine theme at Just Add Ink, the Numbers cue word at CASology and the Around the Corner theme at City Crafter Challenge.

Clearly I was inspired by the colors at Time Out.  I kept my main image to the bottom right corner of the card and used a numbers stencil.  

I laid the stencil on a piece of white card and spread Versamark ink direct to paper on top.  I then white embossed.  After that, I used some acetate and distress inks to smoosh the inks over the embossing.  

The sentiment was die cut and layered up with three white layers and one Lipstick Red.  To finish off the card and keep it masculine, I used some enamel dots.  The whole layer is popped up on the card base with foam tape.

And that's it!

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Ink:  Broken China, Mermaid Lagoon, Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks, Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Lipstick Red (SSS)

Accessories:  Good Times die (PTI), Blueprints 21 (MFT), Mini Numbers Collage Stencil (Crafters Workshop), White EP

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Just Add Ink and City Crafter Challenge Blog.

Cheers

Karren

Out of this World

Hi and welcome!  Today's card kept me awake all night!  I watched Sandy Allnock's fabulous videos on watercolor powders last night and when I saw the effect of the black Brusho powder, I immediately thought of a galaxy.  Then I couldn't sleep plotting how to make this card, which uses the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch and the Anything that Flies theme at Seize the Birthday.

See!  Isn't that black Brusho powder amazing!  I took a piece of watercolor paper and sprinked on some black powder before spritzing with water.  I then just put it to one side and left it to dry naturally.  As you can see in the close up photo, there's a black hole in the bottom left corner where the black pooled :)  Once it was dry, I flicked Picket Fence paint onto the panel with a paintbrush to mimic stars and planets.

The images come from Clearly Besotted's new release set "Out of This World".  I loved pretty much all of the latest release so quite a few of the sets have come to live with me.

I stamped the planet onto a panel of white cardstock and cut around the top.  The sentiment was stamped underneath and then popped up on foam tape on top of the "galaxy".  The aliens and rocket were colored very quickly with Copics and also popped up on foam tape and my card was done.

Thanks for visiting.  I love this sketch and have another idea floating around my head, so if time permits, I'll be making another card using it.

Products used:

Stamps:  Out of this World (Clearly Besotted)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock:  White, watercolor, X-Press It

Accessories:  Copics, Brushos

Cheers

Karren

Have a Drink

Hi!  I found some time today to play along with the latest Muse challenge.  This is my first time playing along at Muse and as soon as I saw Tracey's adorable card, I decided to join in.  Ironically, that fabulous penguin set is on its way to me at the moment :)  

I took my inspiration from the stenciled background, background colors, layered die cuts, layout and the drink the penguin is holding.  Here's my card:

I started with a white card base and used a stencil cut with my Cameo ages ago.  I sponged Tumbled Glass and Crumb Cake ink in a similar way to Tracey.  The sentiment was stamped onto the card base using Versafine Onyx Black ink.  I then stamped and colored the drink and accessories from Paper Smooches Free Spirits set.  I adhered the glass directly to the card base then layered the umbrella and straw.  I put the flower on last then covered it with Glossy Accents.  

Thanks for visiting.  Here's Tracey's Muse card.

Products used:

Stamps:  Free Spirits (Paper Smooches)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Tumbled Glass, Crumb Cake

Cardstock:  White, X-Press It

Accessories:  Free Spirits dies, Copics, Silhouette-cut stencil, Glossy Accents

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card was Top Three at Muse.