Columbine

Hi and welcome!  I'm here with a card for today's Freshly Made Sketches challenge where our hostess this week is Narelle Farrugia.  I decided to use a NBUS die set to make this card.

This die set has a matching stamp set and cleverly, there are three separate floral die sets that work with the same stamp set, so of course I had to buy all three!  I created the flowers, adding the stamped portions as well as some light ink-blending.  I then used a stylus tool to provide a bit of shape to the various pieces. 

The background die is also NBUS and I stacked it two high to give a bit more dimension.  The foiled sentiment was already made so I just had to adhere it to the card and call it done.

Thanks for visiting! Please check out the fabulous cards made by the rest of the design team - most of which seemed to have a floral thing going!

Products used:

Stamps: Flower Centres 3 (Elizabeth Craft Design)

Ink: Alpine Aster, Crystal Violet, Indigo Skies, Parrot, Maple Yellow (Altenew)

Cardstock: White, Sour Apple, Daffodil, Wild Wisteria, Purple Rain (MFT)

Dies: Columbine (Elizabeth Craft Design), Decorative Lattice, Hexi-Gem Sentiments hot foil (Spellbinders)

Accessories: Copper hot foil

Cheers

Karren

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Strawberry Thanks

Hi and welcome to another sketch from the team at Freshly Made Sketches where our hostess this week is  Cecile Ribon.

I was a bit rushed for time with this card so I went looking for some already prepared die-cut pieces and found a few leftover strawberries from this post.  I had to do some jiggery-poke with the diamond die because it was designed for an A2 card, not a square card, so I extended the sides a bit to make it fit.  Although looking at the sketch, it appears I have completely missed a layer - doh!

I wasn't thrilled with how bright the Teal Cave cardstock looked against the strawberries and as I wasn't going to finagle with the diamond die again, I went over both panels with some Uncharted Mariner distress ink to darken it up.  The Paper Bag card base was embossed with an embossing folder to add some interest to the diamond cut-out and I embossed the sentiment with Scorched Timber Embossing Glaze.

At this point in time, I decided the diamond panels were a bit splotchy so I covered that up by stamping over the top with a background text stamp and Uncharted Mariner Distress Oxide ink - taking care to not give complete coverage.

Thanks for visiting.  Please check out the fabulous cards made by the design team.

Products used:

Stamps: Good Reading BG (SSS), Written Words (C&9)

Ink:  Versamark, Uncharted Mariner Distress Ink and Distress Oxide Ink

Cardstock:  Paper Bag (Lawn Fawn), Teal Cave (Altenew)

Dies:  Halfsies Diamond (The Greetery), Written Words (C&9)

Accessories: Scorched Timber Embossing Glaze, Herringbone Decor EF (Spellbiders)

Cheers

Karren

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93rd Birthday

Hi and welcome.  I'm the hostess over at Freshly Made Sketches this week but this is a quick post because I've got some things to deal with in real life.

This card was made a few months ago for my dad's 93rd birthday.  I thought it would work for my sketch so I based my sketch off it.

For a very quick explanation, I used stencils and soft ink-blending for the muted background and ink-blended die-cuts for the focal point.

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you'll check out the wonderful cards made by the rest of the design team and have a go yourselves.

Products used:

Stamps: To the Wise One (Honey Bee Stamps), Mini Messages & More (MFT)

Ink: Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide, Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Tea Dye, Frayed Burlap, Scorched Timber, Speckled Egg, Iced Spruce Distress Ink

Cardstock: White

Dies: Rustic Garden (Spellbinders)

Accessories: Winter Wonder Background stencils (Honey Bee Stamps), Antiqued Bronze Distress Spray Stain

Cheers

Karren

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Snail Mail

Hi and welcome to the new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, where our hostess this week is Jen Brum.  Jen has given us a clean and open sketch so have fun with it!

I used some new-to-me products from a UK company called Carnation Crafts that I first saw on Bibi Cameron's blog.  Basically you buy the dies and then download the images to print out on your printer.  This card was made using two separate products - the florals and leaves were from one set of dies and the postbox was another.

Fair to say, I would recommend also buying the paper Carnation Crafts sells to print on.  I tried on different cardstock I had and their paper definitely gave the best, most vibrant result.  In the downloads you can also download a sheet that you then fold in half and can get a double-sided image for either 3D or just to use the reverse side for a different view.  The dies also add embossing to parts of the image for added realism. It's pretty innovative and I've already placed my second order.  I probably won't use these products exclusively on a card, but they are a welcome addition and can be used for quick cards, which is what this was.

The frames on this card were cut from an Altenew die.  I adhered two of them to a white card base then added the Carnation Crafts products.  I finished with a matching sentiment from Spellbinders.

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you'll check out the wonderful cards made by the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Stamps:  Send & Seal (Spellbinders)

Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne

Cardstock: White

Dies: Send & Seal (Spellbinders), Fine Frames Cover (Altenew), Elegant Blooms, Post Box (Carnation Crafts)

Accessories: Elegant Blooms, Post Box downloads (Carnation Crafts)

Cheers

Karren

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Reality vs Imagination

Hi and welcome. Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by Verena Shapiro.  I didn't exactly stay clean with my card but I didn't distress it too much so I hope it passes muster.

This card started with the Whirl Butterflies dies.  I thought I would die-cut them in white and then ink-blend, but somewhere along the line I pulled out multiple distress sprays and the grunge began...   While the butterflies were drying, I grabbed the April 2026 card kit from SSS and trimmed a strip of patterned paper over which I added some rub-ons from the same kit.  

I took a full panel of Teal Cave cardstock and embossed it with the Distress Mix EF.  Once that was done, I lightly swiped over the raised pattern with white ink.  Once the butterflies were dry, I went around the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink, then I had the idea to add some foundry wax around the edges so all the elements got that treatment.  I started adhering the various panels to the card.  The thin strip was a leftover from the Distress Spray panel.  

Originally I was going to use three butterflies but then started wondering about the sentiment and thought the centre would make a great spot for that.  I hunted out a sentiment to go with the card's look and stamped and clear-embossed it onto another piece of patterned paper from the same card kit.  I die-cut with a circle die and adhered it to a black cardstock circle for stability.  I then added some Walnut Stain ink and foundry wax.  I finished with some enamel dots and an enamel heart.  Below is a photo of the spray stains I had out - which ones I used for this card, I have no idea!

Thanks for visiting.  The design team have some gorgeous (and cleaner) cards so please check them out.

Products used:

Stamps: Warehouse District (Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Unicorn White (Hero Arts), Walnut Stain Distress Ink, various Distress Spray Stains, Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide Spray, Antiqued Bronze Distress Spray Stain

Cardstock: White, Teal Cave (Altenew), Beautifully Imperfect patterned paper (Spellbinders)

Dies: Circle Infinity Dies (Hero Arts), Whirl Butterflies (SSS)

Accessories:  Fresh Start Rub-Ons (49 & Market), Statue Foundry Wax (Tim Holtz), Clear EP, Distress Mix Embossing Folder (Spellbinders), black enamel dots and heart

Cheers

Karren

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Coffee and Reality

Hi and welcome!  Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by our other Camp Mum Jen Mitchell.  I decided to use a NBUS coffee die set for my card.

I die-cut and assembled the coffee maker and the cup and set it aside.  For the background, I embossed a dark brown square panel and onto that I adhered some patterned paper with coffee splats on it and then a stenciled newspaper panel.

The sentiment comes from a sticker set by Tim Holtz that has some fantastically snarky sentiments.  I don't know when I would use most of these but, boy they make me smile - I love me some snark!

Thanks for visiting!  Please check out the wonderful cards made by the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Ink: Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide, Scorched Timber, Aged Mahogany, Frayed Burlap Distress Ink

Cardstock: White, Dark Chocolate, Heartbeat (Altenew), Black, Hot Fudge (MFT), Silver Mirror Foil, Vellum, Graph Paper Garden patterned paper (Aall & Create)

Dies: Lovely Layers: French Press (Honey Bee Stamps), Rounded Rectangles (Hero Arts)

Accessories: Distress Mix Embossing Folder (Spellbinders), Small Talk Snarky stickers (Tim Holtz), Daily News stencil (Stamperia)

Cheers

Karren

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Explore Tag

Hi, it's a holiday here in NZ today (Monday), so I spent some time in my craft room, getting messy and inky venturing into the mixed media space, where I don't go very often.  I based my card on the sketch at The Paper Players and the masculine theme at Krafty Chicks.

While I love clean cards, I really enjoyed putting this together.  I started with the tag using a piece of Aall & Create patterned paper to cut the tag from.  Once the tag was cut I added stamping, ink-blending, splatter, rub-ons and stenciling to the tag.  The rub-ons ended up getting covered up by the layers on top, but they're there.

I went to a craft show here in Christchurch, New Zealand last weekend and bought some supplies I normally wouldn't.  But seeing things in real life makes all the difference.  Of the things I bought was some patterned paper by 3Quarter Designs - a NZ-based company.  The papers are gorgeous (the strip down the left hand side and the fussy-cut elements on top of the tag come from the same paper pack).  

To add more interest to the left-hand strip, I scrunched up some collage tissue paper, lightly rubbed Vintage Photo ink over it then flattened it out a bit before adhering it behind the patterned paper strip.  The original tissue paper strip was longer than the card base so rather than cutting off the excess, I gathered it while the glue was wet to give some extra texture and dimension.  The Desert Storm panel was dry embossed with the Airmail Vault embossing folder and then I lightly rubbed some white ink over the top, before blending some Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain ink around the edges.

Once the stenciling on the tag was dry, I assembled all the pieces, adding a die-cut leaf sprig and some corrugated cardboard.  I adhered it to the kraft panel and then stapled a word I cut with a sentiment strip die from the tag's patterned paper using a Tiny Attacher.  Finally I adhered it all to a white card base.

Thanks for visiting.  This was a fun project and I can see more of this in my future...

Products used:

Stamps: Sign Here (Spellbinders), A Little Artsy (SSS)

Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain Distress Inks

Cardstock: White, Neenah Desert Storm, Eclectic Clockwork (3Quarter Designs), Graph Paper Garden (Aall & Create), Archives Collage Paper (Tim Holtz), corrugated cardboard

Dies: Stitched Traditional Tag Stax (MFT), Tags A Lot (Mama Elephant) [for the reinforcer], Bloom Colorize (Tim Holtz)

Accessories: Opaque Grit Paste (Tim Holtz), black splatter (SSS), White Gloss Acrylic Spray (Dina Wakely), Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz), Vault Airmail Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), 755 Street Stencil (13@rts)

Cheers

Karren

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

Pink Makup Bag

Hi and welcome.  I took some time today to make a card for the latest challenge at Seize the Birthday which is Primarily Pink, as well as the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is Make it Feminine featuring Paper Rose Studio products.  I made this card below and the patterned paper strip along the bottom is from Paper Rose Studio's One of a Kind paper pack.  I spritzed it with Distress Spritz and changed it from white to pink to match the rest of the card.

I assembled all the die cut elements using a mix of ink-blending and coloured cardstock.  I then arranged them and adhered them together.  The card base was embossed with the Plaster embossing folder which is a tongue-in-cheek nod to those who plaster on their make-up 😉

While assembling the various elements I added a thin strip of gold foil cardstock to tie everything together.

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps: Essential Sentiments (MFT)

Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne, Antique linen, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry Distress Inks

Cardstock: White, Black, Gold Matte Foil, Vellum, Blush (Lawn Fawn), Bubblegum (MFT), Warm Sunshine (Altenew), Tutu, Fruit Punch, Alabaster (Spellbinders), One of a Kind patterned paper (Paper Rose Studio

Dies: Lovely Layers: Makeup Add-On, Lovely Layers: Zipper Bag (Honey Bee Stamps)

Accessories: Plaster embossing folder (Spellbinders), Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry Distress Spritz

Cheers

Karren

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

Woven Congrats

It's Freshly Made Sketches day and this week our hostess is camp mum Jennifer Timko.  I had just received this floral die set so had to use it for my card.

I die-cut the floral image from Peach Bellini and Sage cardstock then added some light ink-blending for interest.  Once assembled, I adhered it to a vellum stitched flag and set it aside.  The embossed panel was lightly swiped with white ink to provide more dimension.

I finished the card with a pre-foiled sentiment.

Thanks for visiting!  The design team have some gorgeous creations, so please check them out.

Products used:

Ink:  Peachy Keen, Eucalyptus (Altenew), Unicorn White (Hero Arts)

Cardstock: White, Black, Peach Bellini (MFT), Sage (SSS), Vellum

Dies: Lovely Layers: Dianthus (Honey Bee Stamps), Hexi-Gem Sentiments (Spellbinders)

Accessories: Woven Embossing Folder (Spellbinders), gold hot foil

Cheers

Karren

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Sticky Note

Hi all and welcome to another sketch from the team at Freshly Made Sketches.  Our sketch hostess this week is Judy Rozema and here is the card I made.

As soon as I saw the torn edge, I thought stationery so that’s the route I took. I created two sticky notes and a torn edge and adhered them to an embossed background. I finished with some silver foil paper clips and a bold sentiment - albeit in the wrong place!

Thanks so much for visiting. The design team have some gorgeous cards so I hope you’ll check them out.

Products used:

Stamps: Take Note (SSS)

Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne

Cardstock: White, Stone Gray (MFT), Misty Morning (Altenew), Peach Sorbet, Terracotta (Spellbinders) Mist (Lawn Fawn), Off The Grid patterned paper (MFT), Silver mirror foil

Dies: Push Pin Notes (Spellbinders), Notebook Edge (MFT), Notebook Journal Card (SugarPea Designs)

Accessories: Distress Mix Embossing Folder (Spellbinders)

Cheers

Karren

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Whisking

Hi and welcome!  Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by Narelle Farrugia.  I went a touch rogue but did sort of include all the elements of the sketch - just in different shapes!

As soon as I saw the Spellbinders baking series by Tina Smith, I wanted it.  You know me and anything miniature...  This is the first card I've made with it.  I stuck to a fairly limited colour scheme and assembled the die-cut elements.  The background is the embossing folder which I lightly inked with white ink.

I arranged the die-cut elements to match the sketch as closely as I could (the mixer and beaters are the top two circles, the cord is the foliage (albeit on the wrong side); the mixing bowl is the third circle; the measuring cups are the bottom circle and the cookies are the foliage at the bottom) 😄

Thanks so much for visiting.  Please check out how the rest of the DT stuck more closely to the sketch than me!

I'm playing along with Addicted to Stamps and More's Birthday challenge

Products used:

Stamps: Sugared Expressions (Spellbinders)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Unicorn White (Hero Arts), Hazelnut (Altenew)

Cardstock: White, In The Buff, Eiffel Tower (MFT), Bellini (Spellbinders), Guava (Lawn Fawn), silver mirror foil

Dies: Magic Mixer, Measure Mates (Spellbinders)

Accessories: Confection Companions Embossing Folder (Spellbinders), Corner Chomper

Cheers

Karren

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Flower Barrel

Hi and welcome!  Today's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was designed by Michele Ferguson.  I was originally going to create an arch as in the sketch but then found this NBUS die set from Spellbinders and thought the barrel would be a great substitute.

I went with a dark background and embossed it with a brick embossing folder before adhering the panel to a card base.  I then added a kraft coloured pierced frame.  All the die-cut elements for the focal point were die-cut with white cardstock and ink-blended with Altenew inks or Distress Inks.  The foliage was already ink-blended and I have no idea what inks I used!

After arranging the flowers and foliage, I found a pre-foiled sentiment and decided that this card would make a suitable sympathy card.

As an afterthought - I was just previewing this post before publishing and I looked at the card with the sympathy sentiment and immediately thought "body in a barrel" along the lines of my favourite TV serial killer Dexter, so maybe I need to replace the sentiment with something a little more appropriate 😱😁

Thanks for visiting.  The DT have created some gorgeous cards so please check them out.

Products used:

Ink: Orange Sorbet, Apricot Frost, Canyon Clay, Pastel Sunrise, Mocha, various green inks (Altenew), Scorched Timber, Gathered Twigs Distress Inks

Cardstock: White, Black, Dark Chocolate (Altenew), Paper Bag (Lawn Fawn)

Dies: Rustic Garden, Hexi-Gem Sentiments (Spellbinders), Chocolate Flowers (Altenew), Lovely Layers: Mini Fall Florals (Honey Bee Stamps), Pierced Rectangle Frames (MFT)

Accessories:  Gold hot foil, Rustic Brick Wall EF (Honey Bee Stamps), shimmer spray

Cheers

Karren

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Butterfly Love

Hi and welcome to the latest sketch from the team at Freshly Made Sketches where our hostess this week is Jen Brum.  I used the sketch to make a soft butterfly card.

The background text is a BetterPress plate inked up with soft brown ink.  I then die-cut the postage edge frame and adhered it to a white card base.

The butterflies were hot foiled, stenciled and die-cut and I chose three for the sketch (one more than the sketch but I like odd numbers). 

I finished with a sentiment chosen to cover as much of the horizontal panel as possible.

Thanks so much for visiting.  I hope you'll check out the rest of the DT's cards - they're gorgeous!

Products used:

Stamps: On The Line: Succulents (Honey Bee Stamps)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Warm Linen (Altenew), Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Dried Marigod, Fossilized Amber, Black Soot Distress Inks

Cardstock: White, Black, Alabaster (Spellbinders)

Dies: Small Butterflies hot foil and die (Pink Fresh Studio), Post Edge Expression Press Plate (Spellbinders), Postal Frames (The Greetery)

Accessories: Satin Pewter hot foil

Cheers

Karren

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Mouse Love

Hi all and welcome!  It's time for another sketch from the team at Freshly Made Sketches and this week our hostess is Verena Shapiro.

I wasn't going to buy these dies even though they are so goddamned cute, because I thought they would have limited use and my craft room is already too full!  But then I caved and they arrived last week.  I made this card straightaway, keeping the mice in black, white and grey and just adding a pop of colour with the chocolate box.

The kraft cardstock is embossed with the Subtle embossing folder to add a bit of interest, but I deliberately wanted to keep everything neutral apart from the chocolates, so no scene in the background.  The oval was the perfect size for the sketch and provides some grounding for the mice.

I finished with a simple sentiment.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you'll check out the fabulous cards made by the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Stamps: #Hashtags (Tim Holtz)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Aged Mahogany Distress Ink

Cardstock: White, Black, Fog (SSS), Dove (C&9), Neutral Kraft Stock (Tim Holtz)

Dies: Classic Mouse Duo, Classic Mouse Love (Spellbinders), Oval Shadows (MFT)

Accessories: Subtle EF (SU)

Cheers

Karren

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Blue Leaves

Here I am back again - two days in a row - that must be a record!  I made this card for the Color Hues blue and white challenge and the Inskpirational shades of blue challenge.

I was drawn to the blue squares in the Inskpirational visual prompt so after embossing and ink-blending my leaves, I decided to go with a postage theme and die-cut pieces with both a rectangle and a square postage edge die set.  I backed both pieces with a Midnight postage edge border and overlapped them for added interest.  I found the Herringbone Parquet panel already die-cut with my Midnight cardstock, so decided to go with a blue-on-blue theme.

Finally, I went looking for a pre-foiled sentiment and found this one which worked perfectly.  The postage images and the sentiment are popped up with foam tape to provide some separation from the background.

Thanks so much for visiting.

Products used:

Ink:  Uncharted Mariner, Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink

Cardstock: White, Midnight (C&9)

Dies: Postage Edge Rectangles, Postage Edge Squares (Spellbinders), Herringbone Parquet (The Greetery), Wonderful Sentiments hot foil and dies (Pink Fresh Studio)

Accessories: Leafy Splendor Embossing Folder and Stencils (Altenew), black hot foil

Cheers

Karren

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