Christmas Mug

Hi and welcome!  Today's card was made using the sketch at Mojo Monday, the inspiration pic at Merry Monday, the sparkle theme at Merry Christmas challenge  and the tag inspiration at Tag You're It.

I was inspired by Lynn's color scheme, the mug, the heart and snowflake and the white sentiment banner.  I just got some new supplies in the other day, and one of them was the Knitted Pattern embossing folder, so I used that on the cream base layer, the chocolate horizontal layer and the red tag.  The mug was die-cut and colored with Copics to match the mug in the Merry Monday inspiration photo.  I die-cut a white snowflake and embossed it with glitter embossing powder and the heart was colored with Star Dust Stickles to give it a bit of glitter as well.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  An Arctic Christmas (SSS)

Ink:  Black Soot Archival, Versamark

Cardstock:  Cream, Schoolhouse Red, Dark Chocolate (SSS)

Dies:  Stitched Circles (Lil Inkers), Stitched Sentiment Strips, Coffee Cup, Warm & Fuzzy (MFT), Abby snowflake (SSS), Tag Me (Reverse Confetti)

Accessories:  Snowdrift sequins (SSS), Diamond White EP, Start Dust Stickles, Knitted Pattern EF (Richard Garay), Baker's Twine, Copics (E40, E41, E42, E43)

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Tag You're It and Merry Monday.

Relax

Hi and welcome to another challenge at Just Add Ink!  This week, we have a gorgeous inspiration photo - one that'll make our Southern Hemisphere players feel cool and make our Northern Hemisphere players feel warm 😁




I wanted to capture that feeling of relaxation by the water so created a one-layer card using sponging and masking, as well as a really, really old SU stamp.

To make this card, I stamped the lady and then masked her while I did some sponging.  I also used torn paper to make a mask for the sand and a cut piece of paper to mask off the horizon.  I sponged Antique Linen ink for the sand, Broken China for the sea and Tumbled Glass for the sky, which I sponged over a cloud die-cut.  Once the sponging was finished I stamped a splatter pattern from Distressed Patterns onto the sand and then removed all the masks and colored in the image using Copics.  It's hard to see in the photo but I used a white gel pen to draw in some waves and surf and also traced around the sentiment with white gel pen.

And that's my card.  I hope it makes you feel like you're at the beach with nothing to do but relax.  And can I say, I don't like the beach but I'd really like to be there about now and not having to work!

You really want to check out the fabulous creations made by the rest of the design team - they have been inspired by this photo in wonderful ways.

I'm linking this card to Addicted to Stamps & More and Simon Says Stamp, where there are Anything Goes Challenges happening.

Products used:

Stamps:  Sketches (SU), Big Scripty Sayings (SSS), Distressed Patterns (MFT)
Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Black Soot Archival, Antique Linen, Broken China, Tumbled Glass
Cardstock:  White
Accessories:  White Gel Pen

Cheers
Karren

Happy Trails

Hi, my card today uses the latest sketch at Freshly Made Sketches - designed by our own talented Cecile Ribon.

I'm not as good at putting unrelated elements together in a pleasing pattern, like Cecile, so I went another route with the sketch and came up with a little scene.

I've created another video and do you know what the hardest part is?  Trying to keep it down to a reasonable time!  I don't want them to run on and on so try and keep them to the 5-7 minute mark.  That means editing a 40 minute video down to about 7 minutes, which results in either everything sped up to warp speed or stuff edited out.  At the moment I'm leaving in the coloring, but speeding it up a bit and cutting out a lot of the other aspects.  I'd love to know which you'd prefer to see, or if you'd like me to mix it up from video to video.  As an aside, editing the videos shows me exactly how long I sit there not doing anything, trying to make a decision on how to proceed 😀

This is more NBUS and uses Happy Trails by Lawn Fawn, which has been in my NBUS box for months.  It was good to finally use it!  I stamped and colored the images before cutting them out with the matching dies.  I then wanted to make a "road" for the vehicles to sit on so had a quick hunt through my stamps to come up with something resembling a road.  I found this double line stamp from SugarPea Designs and went with it.  In hindsight, it probably would have looked better stamped in white, but so be it.  

I die-cut a circle from some watercolor patterned paper and adhered that to the white card base.  From there I arranged the trees and road and then popped up the vehicles with some foam tape.  The stamped sentiment finished off the card.

Thanks for visiting!  The rest of the design team have some fabulous cards to inspire you so please check them out.

You can watch the video below or over on YouTube.

As the stamp set was NBUS, I'm also linking this to Darnell's challenge.  I'm hoping to do some camouflaged die-cutting before the challenge ends, but in the interim, here's a card that just features NBUS.

Products used:

Stamps:  Happy Trails (Lawn Fawn), Noted (SugarPea Designs)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid, Smoke

Cardstock:  White, Smoke (SSS), Watercolor Wash (MFT)

Dies:  Happy Trails (LF), Inside Out Stitched Circles (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Cheers

Karren

Krafty Mums

Hi and welcome!  Today's card was made for Darnell's latest NBUS challenge.  This challenge has the optional twist of coloring on kraft.  I'm not great with colored pencils - I just don't have the patience to go lightly and blend, blend, blend - but I do enjoy using them for relatively quick colored pieces.  Coincidentally, I was on a local website that specialises in gaming and DVDs here in NZ the other day and lo and behold, they stock Polychromos pencils.  I've been hankering after these for some time, so decided that fate had sent me to that website on that day specifically to buy them.  Who am I to deny fate? 😃

This WP9 image is NBUS as is the Power Poppy sentiment.  I stamped the floral image onto some tan cardstock and colored it with my Polychromos.  (Five points for spotting where I made a boo-boo and colored where I shouldn't!  It's pretty obvious!)  Once I was finished coloring, I stamped the sentiment then outlined both with the white pencil.  Some clear sparkle pen was applied to the two big blooms.

I adhered the tan panel to the NBUS Park Avenue frame, cutting out a couple of the leaves on the left to overhang the frame.  I then adhered both panels to a white card base.  I finished the card with a few sparkling clear sequins.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Beautiful Bouquets:  Mums (WP9), Tea in the Garden (Power Poppy)

Ink:  Black Licorice Hybrid,  Black Soot Archival

Cardstock:  Strathmore Toned Tan Paper, White

Dies:  Park Avenue (Mama Elephant)

Accessories: Polychromos pencils, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Happy Hedgehog

Hi and welcome to the first challenge of the New Year at Just Add Ink!  And we're having a blog hop!

If you've come from Kelly's blog, you're in the right place.  If you want to start at the beginning click on the graphic below.

Our theme this challenge is Pop-Up and Interactive.  If you're anything like me, you might be gulping about now 😃  But when you think about it, interactive can include things like a slide-out panel, a lift up flap or a shaker card.  Anything that requires the person receiving the card to do more than just open it.  So don't be daunted!  And if you've never made an interactive card, now is the perfect time to try one.  If you're looking for help, check out Jennifer McGuire's blog.  I've done a search on interactive plus a search on pop-up - just click the links.

For my card, I wanted to use these adorable little hedgehogs to make a slider card.  I didn't want the hedgie to be rolling around willy-nilly so I didn't pop up the top layer on foam tape.  That means the slider mechanism isn't as free-moving so as to slide back and forth.  But it does slide easily when moved with a finger.

I stamped, colored and die-cut the images and worked out where I wanted my hedgehog to "land" when he got to the bottom of the slider, before die-cutting the slider element out of patterned paper.  The sky was sponged with a cloud die-cut and Tumbled Glass ink.  Here are a few photos of the hedgie on the move:

Thanks for visiting.  Your next stop on the hop is Christine.  Click on the graphic below to be taken to her blog:

Products used:

Stamps:  Happy Hedgehogs (MFT)
Ink:  Intense Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Tumbled Glass
Cardstock:  White, Watercolor Wash (MFT)
Dies:  Surf & Turf, Happy Hedgehogs (MFT)
Accessories:  Copics, Slider Disc

Cheers
Karren

Lemons and Limes

Welcome to the new Fusion challenge.  I hope you enjoyed our anniversary celebration and the wonderful guests the design team invited.  Our new challenge is a nod to Australia Day, which is on 26 January.  The wattle is a symbol of Australia so we've gone with that as our photo inspiration this time.  You can be inspired by the floral theme, the colors or as in my case, the citrus at the bottom of the photo!

I stamped and colored this free stamp I got with my last Stamplorations order to represent a lemon and a lime and fussy-cut it out.  I white-embossed the sentiment onto a black card base and adhered the citrus with foam tape.  Lastly, I stitched down some vellum flags with my sewing machine.

Thanks for visiting.  The design team have come up with some wonderful inspiration for you.

Products used:

Stamps:  Lemons (Stamplorations), Just Because (PTI)

Ink:  Intense Black (SSS), Versamark

Cardstock:  Black, White, Vellum

Dies:  Stitched Fishtail Flag Stax (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, sewing machine

Cheers

Karren

Wag Tail

Hi and welcome!  Today's post is for the new challenge at Freshly Made Sketches and this week our hostess is the oh-so-talented Cindy Hall.  Cindy has come up with a simple and versatile sketch that is sure to get lots of use in my craft room.

For my card, I went to my NBUS box again and came up with a card using Playful Pups by MFT Stamps.

This is a pretty simple card.  I stamped and colored the image onto a panel of white cardstock and then added the sentiment.  I backed that onto a panel of Green Apple cardstock which had been cut with a scalloped border, making sure to leave more green at the top as per the sketch.  

I finished off with some glossy accents on the dogs' noses and that was it!

And, for a bit of entertainment, I've made another video - this time with a voiceover!  Don't laugh at my Kiwi accent :)  And apologies for the shaking - it wasn't until after I finished filming that I realised the clamp holding my iPhone was shaking with every little knock on the table.  We've moved my clamp so hopefully that won't happen again.  If you want a giggle, you can watch here or over on YouTube.

Thanks for visiting.  The FMS Design Team have some gorgeous cards using Cindy's sketch so head on over and check them out.

Products used:

Stamps:  Playful Pups (MFT)

Ink:  Intense Black (SSS)

Cardstock:  White, Green Apple (SSS)

Dies:  Stitched Scalloped Borders (Lawn Fawn)

Accessories:  Copics, Glossy Accents

Cheers

Karren

Daffodils

Hi and welcome to the reminder post for The Flower Challenge, where this month we have a Blue and Yellow Color Challenge for you.

I colored up a gorgeous Power Poppy image this time and once it was colored, I die-cut it with a scallop-edge die and foam-mounted it onto a kraft card base.

The sentiment was white-embossed onto a black banner.  And that's about it!  Please pop over to the challenge blog and check out what the rest of the DT came up with.

I'm linking this up to the current Power Poppy challenge - Winter Blooms.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Daffodils (Power Poppy), With Sympathy (Avery Elle)

Ink:  Intense Black, Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Black, Desert Storm

Dies:  Sunshine Layers (WP9), Stitched Sentiment Strips (MFT)

Accessories: Copics, White EP

Cheers

Karren

Coral Flower

Welcome!  Today's card was made using the colors from 4 Crafty Chicks, the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and the gold theme at CAS-ual Fridays.

And here is my card:

I stamped the flower onto a panel of white with 3rd generation black ink and then colored it in using Copics.  Once the coloring was finished, I over-stamped with Versamark ink and gold-embossed.  (Thank goodness for the Misti!!)

I also gold embossed the sentiment onto a strip of Soft Navy cardstock and when I was looking for a banner die to die-cut it, I saw this die and thought it would give the card a modern look so went for it!

I die-cut the panel with a stitched-edge die and adhered it to a white card base.  The card was finished with some rainstones to mimic the sketch.

Thanks for visiting!

Products used:

Stamps:  Mon Ami (CASual Fridays)

Ink:  Black, Versamark

Cardstock:  White, Soft Navy (SSS)

Dies:  Blueprints 21, Blueprints 25 (MFT)

Accessories:  Copics, Rainstones

Cheers

Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at 4 Crafty Chicks and CASual Fridays

Glittery Love

Welcome to my blog and to the latest challenge at Inspired By All The Little Things, where this week, I am the hostess.  My guest is the super-talented Hannelie Bester, whom I'm sure you all know already!

For my card, I focused on the black, red and white color scheme as well as the glittery hearts to come up with this card:

I did some inlaid die-cutting with the black heart and the red glittery "love" and adhered them to a white card base.  I then stamped the rest of the sentiment in black and added some stamped hearts around the image.

Really simple, right?  Thanks for visiting.  Head on over to the Inspired By blog and check out what the DT have come up with and also pay a visit to Hannelie's blog - you'll be so glad you did!

Products used:

Stamps:  Love Stamp & Cut (Hero Arts), Caring Hearts (SPD)

Ink:  Black Soot Archival, Lipstick Red (SSS)

Cardstock:  White, Black, Red Glitter Paper

Dies:  Love Stamp & Cut (Hero Arts), Pierced Heart Stax (MFT)

Cheers

Karren

Another Christmas Card

Welcome to another amazing sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches!  This week our hostess is the wonderful Kim Singdahlsen and she has come up with a great sketch for us.

I made another Christmas card - yes, I'm heartily sick of them, but I just got this poinsettia ribbon die and wanted to use it before putting it away for months.

I cut the die from Cherry Cobbler and Basic Gray cardstock and adhered it to a white panel, offsetting it to the right slightly.  I then die-cut the Joy word and adhered that over top.  A strip of gold foil down the right hand side and a gold-embossed sentiment to match and I was good to go!

The final touch was some clear sparkle pen on the flower and "joy" word.

Thanks for visiting!  The Design Team have used this sketch to make some gorgeous creations, so I hope you check them out.

I'm linking this to the HLS Christmas Challenge, the HLS Anything Goes with Dies Challenge and the Merry Christmas Challenge, who are looking for Clean & Simple.

Products Used:

Stamps:  Joy Stamp & Cut (Hero Arts)

Ink:  Versamark

Cardstock:  Cherry Cobbler, Basic Gray (SU) white, black

Dies:  Joy Stamp & Cut (Hero Arts), Poinsettia Ribbon (Memory Box)

Accessories:  Gold EP (SSS), corner chomper, Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen

Edited to Add:  This card won the Christmas Challenge at Happy Little Stampers.