Flower Fest

I wasn't going to post this card, but I figured since it took me over an hour to make, I had to share it LOL.  To me, this card is somewhat OTT, uses bright colors that aren't my go-to colors; and has angled panels, which I'm not fond of.  Maybe it will appeal more to someone out there...

So after that lead-in, wanna see the card???

I used the sketch from this week's Stamping 411 site and the inspiration photo from Just Add Ink.

I think the pearls were a step too far, but I couldn't remove them as they were stuck down too well.  But as I'm fond of saying, it is what it is.

Thanks for looking.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamps:  Flower Fest

Cardstock:  Basic Gray; Basic Black; Whisper White; Twitterpated DSP; Calypso Coral; Lucky Limeade; Concord Crush

Ink:  Versamark

Accessories:  White EP; Simply Scored; Pearls (lots of pearls..)

Edited to Add:  Well,despite all my negative comments, someone liked my card.  The girls at Just Add Ink chose it for an Honourable Mention.  Thanks, girls!

Cheers

Karren

Razzleberry/Olive

The color challenge at Dynamic Duos this week is Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive.  I really, really don't like Rich Razzleberry, so this was a true challenge for me.  I combined the color challenge with the sketch from Stamping 411.

I went simple with this card, letting the Big Shot and the colors do the work.  I used my Daisies die and the Little Leaves die to create a flower and leaves.  I sponged all the die cuts to give a bit more dimension.  All said, despite not liking Razzleberry, I actually quite like this card.  I think all the white softens the glare of the Razzleberry somewhat.

Here are the challenge details:

Thanks for looking.  Hopefully, I'll get some more posts up this week, not having to deal with that pesky full-time job for a week LOL.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!)

Stamps:  Happiest Birthday Wishes

Cardstock:  Whisper White; Rich Razzleberry; Old Olive

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry; Old Olive

Accessories:  Daisies Die; Little Leaves Die; Brights Buttons; White Bakers Twine

Edited to Add:  This card was an Operators Top Pick at Stamping 411 this week!

S.W.A.K.

Today's card is for two challenges:  Create With Connie & Mary have a color challenge and the Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge.

I thought the colors tended towards masculine, so I went in that direction and made an anniversary card.

I couldn't find a way to make the strip behind the scalloped circle work, so I ended up leaving that off.  Both of the scalloped pieces are popped up on Dimensionals.

Thanks for looking.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamps:  S.W.A.K.; Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock:  Crumb Cake; Cherry Cobbler; Island Indigo; Very Vanilla; Jolly Holiday DSP

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler; Basic Black

Accessories:  Island Indigo Bakers Twine; Regals Button; Tasteful Trim Die; 1 3/8" circle punch; Scallop Circle Punch

Cheers

Karren

Paper Daisies

I have had the Stampin' Up! paper daisies since they were first introduced and today is the first time I've used them!  I combined three challenges with this card - the Hand Stamped Sentiments color challenge; the Just Add Ink challenge to just add pearls and the Stamping 411 sketch challenge.  Here are the challenge details:

For my colors I substituted Whisper White for Sahara Sand.  I sponged color onto the paper daisies and left them for a few minutes to dry before sticking them together with glue dots.  A large pearl in the centre of each flower finished them off nicely.

It wasn't until I was adding the watermark that I realised there was no stamping at all on this card.  But there was lots of scoring!  I diagonally scored the Basic Black layer and scored a frame on the Whisper White layer.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

Cardstock:  Basic Black; Basic Gray; Whisper White

Ink:  Daffodil Delight; Basic Black

Accessories:  Paper Daisies; Pearls; Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon

Thanks for looking.

Cheers

Karren

Reason to Smile Debut

Here is my card for this week's Stamping 411 sketch.  I really liked this sketch and I can see myself using it again.

This card uses the brand new set Reason to Smile, which arrived on my doorstep yesterday morning.  Those flowers are tedious little suckers to cut out - let me tell you LOL.  The sentiment comes from a retired set Afterthoughts.  I undertook some surgery on the image and deleted the words underneath the "Thanks".

Here's the sketch:

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamps:  Reason to Smile, Afterthoughts

Cardstock:  Basic Black, Whisper White; Daffodil Delight; Old Olive; Attic Boutique DSP; Watercolor Paper

Ink:  Black Stazon

Accessories:  Daffodil Delight marker; blender pen; faux brads; Bird Punch; Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon

Thanks for looking.

Cheers

Karren

Nature Walk

I used both the color challenge at Stampin' Royalty and the sketch challenge at Stamping 411 for today's card.

The colors threw me for a bit until I decided on using Nature Walk.  The plant alone used Wisteria Wonder (one of my least liked colors); Certainly Celery and Blushing Bride.  I used my favorite color of the four as my base.  

Aside from the sentiment, this whole card was stamped using markers.  For the bird after I stamped him, I went over him with markers and blender pen to "flesh" him out a bit.  After I inked up the butterfly in Baja Breeze and Early Espresso, I went over the edges of the wings in Wisteria Wonder to add a bit of interest.

Products used: (all Stampin' Up!)

Stamps:  Nature Walk, Curly Cute

Ink:  Early Espresso

Cardstock:  Baja Breeze; Very Vanilla; First Edition DSP

Accessories:  Baja Breeze; Certainly Celery; Blushing Bride; Wisteria Wonder; Early Espresso; Tangerine Tango markers; Pearls; Baja Breeze Seam Binding ribbon

Edited to add:  This card was chosen as a top pick at both Stamping 411 and Stampin' Royalty this week.  Thanks guys!

Cheers

Karren

Tulips

The inspiration photo at Stampin' Royalty is gorgeous.  Look at this:

I interpreted the picture literally and dragged out an oldie but a goodie from Stampin' Up! - Terrific Tulips.  I combined that with the sketch at Stamping 411

and came up with this card:

This is such a Spring-y card and even though it's the middle of Autumn where I am, I can dream, right?  I flipped the sketch as the tulips looked better on the left but other than that, it's pretty true to the sketch.

Edited to add:  This card was picked by Stampin' Royalty this week as a top pick.  Thanks so much!

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamps:  Terrific Tulips; French Filigree; Warmest Regards

Cardstock:  Old Olive; Calypso Coral; Whisper White

Ink:  Old Olive; Calypso Coral; Daffodil Delight

Accessories:  Calypso Coral Ribbon

Cheers

Karren

Bordering on Romance v2.0

Here is the second card I made using Bordering on Romance today.  This card is for the sketch challenge over at Stamping 411.

This time I used another color combo from the Color Coach.  I wanted to use Island Indigo so chose to pair it with Lucky Limeade and Daffodil Delight.

Looking at the photo now, I'm not so sure about the spikey bits of the Lucky Limeade ribbon.  Maybe I'll cut them a bit shorter.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamps:  Bordering on Romance
Cardstock:  Island Indigo; Lucky Limeade; 2011-13 In Color DSP; Brights DSP; Watercolor Paper
Ink:  Black Stazon
Accessories:  Island Indigo; Lucky Limeade; Daffodil Delight markers; Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon; Lucky Limeade Taffeta Ribbon

Cheers
Karren

Stamping 411 - Love and Care

I don't normally get a chance to stamp mid-week, but today is a holiday as it is ANZAC Day here in New Zealand.  Today is the day we remember the servicemen who played a part in the Gallipoli campaign of 1915 as well as all other wars our troops have been sent to.

I decided to spend some of my day off stamping (of course LOL).  I made a card for this week's Stamping 411 sketch challenge.  Here is the sketch I worked with:

I decided I wanted to do some emboss resist and chose Pear Pizzazz as my starter color.  From there, I used the Color Coach to decide on the color combo of Pear Pizzazz; Cajun Craze and More Mustard.  As Love and Care was already on my desk, I used that.  After embossing and sponging, I splattered some water on the cardstock to give it a bit more interest.  I found some old Earth Elements buttons to embellish the card.

Onto the card:

Products used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamps:  Love and Care
Cardstock:  Pear Pizzazz; Cajun Craze; More Mustard; Whisper White
Ink:  Pear Pizzazz; Basic Black
Accessories:  Cajun Craze; Pear Pizzazz; More Mustard markers; bakers twine; buttons; sponge

Edited to Add:  This card was chosen as one of the operators Top Picks - how cool!

Cheers
Karren

Branch Out

I love the Branch Out stamp set so decided to pull it out to use for this week's Stamping 411 sketch challenge:

I pretty much stuck to the sketch, but I didn't put a sentiment on the front as I don't know yet what this card will be used for.  Of course, it could end up like 90% of my other cards - sitting in a box LOL

Like the card in my previous post, this again uses more masculine colors, although I think the Adorning Accents edges tend it towards a feminine recipient.

Products used (all Stampin' Up!)

Stamps:  Branch Out

Cardstock:  Early Espresso; Cherry Cobbler; Baja Breeze; Very Vanilla

Ink:  Early Espresso; Cherry Cobbler; Baja Breeze

Accessories:  Adorning Accents Edgelits and EF; Baja Breeze Button; Linen Thread

Everybunny

After wanting the Everybunny set since the catalog first came out, those cute little bunnies finally came to live with me this week - just in time to crank out one card for Easter.

This card combines the sketch from Stamping 411 and the inspiration challenge from Stampin' Royalty.

Here's the card I made using both these challenges as inspiration:

Products Used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamps:  Everybunny

Cardstock:  Peach Parfait; Very Vanilla; So Saffron; Watercolor Paper; Just Add Cake DSP

Ink:  Black Stazon

Accessories:  Markers; Blender Pen; Circle Scissor; Peach Parfait Ribbon

Edited to add:  I was lucky enough to have this card chosen as a top pick by both Stamping 411 and Stampin' Royalty this week.  Thanks so much, guys!

Cheers

Karren