Circle Congrats

Welcome to another challenge from the team at Freshly Made Sketches where Cecile Ribon is our sketch hostess this week.  I "sort of" stuck to the sketch to come up with this card.

I wasn't sure what to use for the circle element, then thought of a circle sentiment and it sort of grew from there.  I wanted a dark cardbase and found these floral images already stamped (score!) so this card came together pretty quickly.

The dark blue panel was embossed with a Linen cover plate to give it a bit of texture.  I finished with some enamel dots to match the sentiment.

Thanks for visiting!  The design team have some fabulous cards so I hope you'll check them out.

Products used:

Stamps: Grouped Fresh Dahlias (The Ton)

Ink: Grass Fields, Tea Party sets (Altenew)

Cardstock: White, Dune, Oceanside (Spellbinders)

Dies: Grouped Fresh Dahlias (The Ton), Congrats Circle Frame (MFT), Linen & Canvas plate (PTI)

Accessories: Warm & Cozy Enamel Dots (Altenew)

Cheers

Karren

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Interlocking CASE

Hi and welcome.  Today I'm playing along in a CASE It blog hop over on Instagram.  I thought I would post here too because this is where I keep the record of all my cards.  But I encourage you to head over to Instagram and check out the other cards in the hop.  The hop starts with Nancy and I am the last stop on the hop. For my case, I have had this card by JJ Bolton saved in my IG for a few years now. Originally I was going to do cardstock strip weaving but my cardstock strips were a little too wide for the cover die I chose, so I ended up doing inlaid die-cutting which took way longer, but I like the result. I also didn't use bright colours like the inspiration card but went with more muted tones.

I did stick with the circle element in the centre but added my die-cut flower to the bottom left rather than the top of the circle.

Here is JJ Bolton's card that inspired me.  I hope you can see the inspiration.  

Thanks for visiting.

Products used:

Stamps: Poppy Wishes (The Ton)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Pastel Sunrise, Limestone (Altenew)

Cardstock: White, Eiffel Tower (MFT), Pastel Sunrise (Altenew), Dove (C&9

Dies: Interlocking (Penny Black), Embossed Edge Circle (Kat Scrappiness), Lovely Layers: Mini Holiday Florals (Honey Bee Stamps)

Cheers

Karren

Case Me a Pinecone

 Hi, I'm so pleased that Michelle Lupton is again doing her Case Me A Christmas Card series after having to take a break from organising it last year.  I'm delighted she has asked me to play along again.  I chose this card to CASE and was inspired by the following elements:

• the slimline size
• the foliage in a curve down the left hand side
• the big bold sentiment in gold on vellum
• the two tone geometric background

And here's my card (I'll post the card I cased down below).

I started with a white slimline card base (full slimline size) and added a cream die-cut striped cover plate.  I also cut the cover plate in kraft and filled in the stripes with kraft strips.  I then set that aside while I worked on the pinecones and foliage.

I die-cut the base of the pinecones in Milk Chocolate and the top in Hot Fudge.  I wanted to add some interest to the base layer so spritzed it with Crooked Broomstick and Fallen Acorn mica sprays.  Once they were dry, it looked a bit bright, so I inked over the top with Ground Espresso Distress Ink to tone it down.  I also spritzed the pine needles with Tree Lot mica spray after sponging the edges with Green Onyx ink.  On the sage foliage, I added some Wintergreen ink but it was too similar to the cardstock colour so near impossible to see.

Once everything was dry, I arranged it into a curve and adhered it to the card base.  The sentiment was heat-embossed on vellum and die-cut and adhered with a mix of liquid glue and tiny slivers of foam tape.  Finally, I finished with some gold pearls.

Here's Michelle's card that I chose to case.  I hope you can see how I was inspired.

 

Thanks to Michelle for inviting me again.  I am excited to see which of my cards she chose to case.  I haven't made many cards this year, so the pickings are slim...  Here is a link to the card Michelle created based on one of mine.

Products used:

Stamps:  Merry Christmas Duo (Waffle Flower)

Ink:  Versamark, Wintergreen (Catherine Pooler), Ground Espresso Distress Ink, Green Onyx (Altenew)

Cardstock;  White, Whip Cream, Kraft, Hot Fudge, Milk Chocolate (MFT), Pinefeather (PTI), Sage (Spellbinders), Vellum

Dies:  Slimline Short Strips (The Ton), Lovely Layers: Winter Greenery (Honey Bee Stamps), Merry Christmas Duo (Waffle Flower)

Accessories:  Tree Lot, Crooked Broomstick, Fallen Acorn Mica Sprays, Antique Gold EP, Champagne pearls (Honey Bee Stamps)

Cheers

Karren

Hello

Hi!  I'm here with a card for the latest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches, where our sketch hostess this week is Amy O'Neill.  

I decided at the start to create a floral card and after looking through my stash, I found these already-stamped images so it was a no-brainer at that point!  Onto both a white card base and the gray panel, I embossed with the Subtle embossing folder.  The sentiment was white heat-embossed onto a Peach Bellini panel and adhered to the gray, before being added to the card base.

I then arranged the florals so the sentiment tucked into the flower and glued it down.  I finished with some gray enamel dots.

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

Products used:

Stamps:  Peony Memories, Grouped Fresh Peonies (The Ton)

Ink:  Mango Smoothie, Peach, Rouge, Forest Glades, Evergreen (Altenew), Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Peach Bellini, Cement Gray (MFT)

Dies:  Peony Memories (The Ton)

Accessories:  White EP, Subtle EF, Rock Collection Enamel Dots (Altenew)

Cheers

Karren
 

Colour Blocked Poinsettia

Hi and welcome!  I'm the sketch hostess this week over at Freshly Made Sketches and I went back to my roots for my sketch - colour blocking!  Way back in the late 90's/early 2000's when I started stamping, I was particularly drawn to colour-blocked cards.  So decided to come up with a sketch that has a colour-blocked look.

I also decided to make a Christmas card and luckily, I had all of the floral images and sentiment already stamped and embossed so I really just had to work on the background.  I temporarily taped the three panels together and, using my Stampwheel, stamped over all three panels with a background stamp and Versamark ink, several times.  I then carefully removed the red layer and re-stamped, then removed the green layer and re-stamped to ensure good coverage.  Once that dried, I re-assembled it and adhered it to a card base.

From there it was a simple matter to add the floral elements and the sentiment.  I finished with some pearls.

Thanks for visiting.  I'm keen to see how the rest of the DT interpreted my sketch, so please head on over and check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Poinsettia Wishes, Berry Branches (The Ton), Christmas Background (MFT), Poinsettia Bouquets (WPlus9)

Ink:  Versamark, rouge, Crimson, Velvet, Forest Glades, Evergreen, Espresso (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Black, Amarena Cherry, Jalapeno Popper, Kraft (MFT)

Dies:  Poinsettia Wishes, Berry Branches (The Ton)

Accessories:  Platinum EP, Holiday Pearl Stickers (Honey Bee Stamps)

Cheers

Karren

 

Ampersand

 Hi and welcome!  Today's sketch hostess over at Freshly Made Sketches is Cecile Ribon and as always, she's given us a fun and unique sketch to play with.  Here's my card:

Originally I was going to do a colour-blocked card, but that evolved into this.  I found the Ampersand dies that I'd never used and through it would work for the centre element.  There is lots of gold embossing in this card and all the floral elements were ink-blended.

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

Products used:

Stamps:  Bitty Thanks and Gratitude (MFT), Confetti Borders (The Ton)

Ink:  Versamark, Sunkissed, Orange Cream, Pastel Sunrise, Canyon Clay, Burnt Red, Mahogany Bark, Mountain Mist, Volcano Lake, Cloudy Sky, Nimbus (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Indigo (Spellbinders)

Dies:  Sentimental Ampersand (Spellbinders), Sentiment Labels (SSS)

Accessories:  Antique Gold EP (SSS), Clear Drops: Champagne (Pink Fresh)

Cheers

Karren

Berry Branch

 Hi I’m here with my card using the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches where our hostess this week is Kim Singdahlsen. 

I used the sketch to make another Christmas card and, because I already had the branch stamped and die-cut, the hardest part was choosing the sentiments to fit the sketch layout. Once I found two suitable sentiments, I gold embossed them onto Cherry Crisp cardstock and added them to the card front.

I finished the card with a few gold pearls and coloured each of the berries with a clear sparkle pen,

Thanks so much for visiting. Please head over and check out the fabulous cards made by the rest of the design team.

Products used:

Stamps:  Berry Branches (The Ton), Winter Scene (SSS)

Ink:  Versamark, Mocha, Espresso, Crimson, Velvet (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Cherry Crisp (MFT)

Dies:  Berry Branches (The Ton)

Accessories:  Gilded Embossing Powder (Brutus Monroe), Warm Pearls (Honey Bee), Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Boxy Beer

 Hi!  I found some time this week to make a card for a few challenges.  For the Tic Tac Toe challenge, I went with Masculine/Square/Beer or Drink.  For The Card Concept, I was inspired by the masculine challenge theme, Krafty Chicks have a CAS challenge and Sweet Stampin' are looking for masculine/Father's Day cards.  It's not Father's Day here until September so I went with masculine.

This beer mug was already stamped and waiting in the stamp pocket to be used (present-day Karren gives a nod of thanks to past Karren 😏) All I had to do was fussy-cut it and then work on the rest of my card.  The squares were die-cut with an embossed edge die in three different shades of blue from a Memory Box paper pack (love these packs!). I arranged them onto a white card base so they overlapped each other and then stamped a simple Happy Birthday sentiment.  

The beer jug is popped up on foam tape and I added some clear sparkle pen to the froth.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Beer (The Ton)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Vanilla Cream, Hazelnut, Almond Butter, Limestone, Silver Stone, Buttercream (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Fresh Aqua (Memory Box)

Dies:  Embossed Edge Square (Kat Scrappiness)

Accessories:  Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout-out at Krafty Chicks and Tic Tac Toe.

Amazing Butterflies

 Hi and welcome!  I'm thrilled to be back with the Tic Tac Toe team as guest designer.  The board this week is so fun - I think I just about covered all the squares except Floral Bouquet and Vellum, although I intended to play with the top horizontal row of Butterfly, Encouragement, Slimline.

Full slimline cards can be a bit tricky to photograph and this is the best I could do, but you can see 99% of the card.  I started with a white card base and a die-cut cover die from The Ton.  Behind the first three columns of grid I adhered three strips of cardstock which matched the alcohol-inked pieces that formed my butterfly bases.  This alcohol-inked panel came from my stash so I can't remember which colours I used but I think they were Pearls I was playing around with when I first received them.

I wanted to keep the card light and airy so I cut the top layer of the butterflies with white cardstock and adhered them slightly off-centre for a fun look.  For an encouragement sentiment, I used "you are amazing".  The "you" was die-cut from Ripe Persimmon cardstock and backed with two layers of white.  The "are amazing" was white-embossed onto some Coral Crush cardstock.

I then placed all the elements onto the cardbase and adhered them down with liquid glue.  Finally, I finished with some co-ordinating enamel dots and a heart.

Thanks so much for visiting.  I hope you'll check out the cards made by the design team and give this challenge a go - it really is a fun one!

Products used:

Stamps:  Penned Rose (Altenew)

Ink:  Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Ripe Persimmon, Coral Crush, Peach Bellini (MFT), Yupo

Dies:  Slimline Grid (The Ton), Detailed Butterflies Mini (Tim Holtz), You (SSS)

Accessories:  Alcohol Pearl Inks, White EP, Enamel Dots (Altenew)

Cheers

Karren

Poppy Wishes

Hi and welcome to the new Fusion Challenge where we have the most beautiful inspiration photo for you.  I was influenced by the photo to create this card.

I stamped these layering poppies from The Ton and die-cut them with the co-ordinating die.  Before adding them to the card base, I used a masking rectangle stencil and lightly ink-blended some Speckled Egg Distress Ink, fading it out as I went down the card front.  

The sentiment was stamped in black ink and the poppies were arrange in the centre top portion of the card.

 

Thanks so much for visiting.  I hope you'll check out the fabulous cards made by the design team.

I'm linking this up to the current challenges at Time Out and Addicted to Stamps and More.

Products used:

Stamps:  Poppy Wishes (The Ton)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Speckled Egg Distress Ink, Green Fields, Red Cosmos sets (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White

Dies:  Poppy Wishes (The Ton)

Accessories:  Masking Rectangle Stencil (Taylored Expressions)

Cheers

Karren

Periwinkle Mum

Hi and welcome to a new Fusion challenge.  I made this card several weeks ago for my mother for Mother's Day.

 

The floral stamps are from The Ton and stamped with Altenew inks. I used a block alphabet die to die-cut the word "mum" from both black and Periwinkle cardstock, stacking the periwinkle three high before slightly off-setting against the black.

I stamped the rest of the sentiment and finished with some Nuvo Jewel Drops.

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

Products used:

Peony Memories (The Ton)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Green Fields, Enchanted Garden, Pocketful of Sunshine sets (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Black, Periwinkle (MFT)

Dies:  Peony Memories (The Ton), Classic Block Alpha (Essentials by Ellen) Blueprints 1 (MFT)

Accessories:  Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen, Pale Periwinkle Nuvo Jewel Drops

Cheers

Karren

Flowers and Marble

 Hi and welcome to another Fusion challenge.  I created a fusion with both sketch and photo to come up with this card.

I was inspired by the arrows, the pale blue wall colour, the hello, the marble on the laptop and the pink flowers in the photo.

I gold embossed the background stamped and ink-blended Speckled Egg Distress Ink over the top.  I stamped the marble pattern using a multi-step stamp set and cut a strip which I matted with gold foil cardstock.

The flowers were stamped with pinks and greens and die-cut and the sentiment is stacked three high and topped with a gray die-cut "hello".

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

Products used:

Stamps:  Peony Memories (The Ton), Layering Marble (Waffle Flower), Abstract Triangle BG (MFT)

Ink:  Versamark, Speckled Egg Distress Ink, Rose Petals set, Rock Collection set, Tropical Forest set, Coffee Break set (Altenew)

Dies:  Peony Memories (The Ton), Fancy Words (Reverse Confetti)

Accessories:  Antique Gold EP (SSS)

Cheers

Karren

You Da Best

 Hi and welcome!  Today's Freshly Made Sketch was designed by Jennifer Timko and she has given us plenty of landscape with a slimline card layout.

 

I feel like I cheated with this card because it's the one I made for DH for his birthday in December and never got around to posting on my blog.  So it was all done and I just had to take some photos.

I stamped the beer mug with various Altenew inks and fussy cut it out.  I used some patterned paper on the card base and then added a navy frame popped up with foam tape before adhering the beer mug.

The sentiment is a die from Simon Says Stamp and cut with the same navy cardstock and backed onto white.

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

Products used:

Stamps:  Beer (The Ton)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Vanilla Cream, Hazelnut Butter, Almond Butter, Limestone, Silver Stone, Buttercream (Altenew)

Cardstock:  White, Midnight (Concord & 9th), Patterned Paper (CTMH)

Dies:  Slimline Slim Frames (The Ton); You Da Best (SSS)

Accessories:  Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Thanks Blooms

 Hi all, today's card for the new Fusion challenge was nothing like I imagined when I sat down to create.  I had great intentions of using a critter on my card but instead coloured up a NBUS stamp and made that into a card.  I took my inspiration from the bunch of flowers, the flower colours and the thanks theme.

I don't tend to Copic-colour very much now, so I decided to just colour with no expectation of a card-worthy project at the end.  But once done, I decided to cut this image with my Scan n Cut and use it for my Fusion card.

The Fog card base was foiled with a hot foil frame and the floral image added with foam tape.  The Thanks die was stacked 3 high with Cement cardstock and finished with gold foil cardstock and backed with black.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you'll play along with us.

Products used:

Stamps:  Bonny Blooms (The Ton)

Ink:  Amalgam (Gina K)

Cardstock:  Fog (SSS), Black Licorice, Cement (MFT) Gold Foil, X-Press It

Dies:  Thanks (SSS), Essential Duo Lines Rectangles (Spellbinders)

Accessories:  Copics, Prismacolor