Stampin Queens Challenge #19

Morning All,
Well trying to get myself back into a routine! Ick. So before I start the house cleaning I started making my Valentines. So for inspiration I went on over to the Stampin Queens sketch challenge blog and this is their sketch of the week:

I really liked the layout. Here is what I came up with:

As usual I had to incorporate gold embossing powder with the letters and I had to use the Sending Love DP that is now retired. Some of my all time fav paper! I have a "stash" set aside that I picked up during last years clearance blitz. This years is going on until January 5th so click here to check out this years deals. Hope your enjoying your New Years Eve!

Karin

Our Creative Corner "Home for the Holidays" Challenge & Sneak Peek

Morning All,
I wanted to post a card I made for my January club. I was inspired by the "Home for the Holidays" challenge on the Our Creative Corner blog. Their challenge was to make a card that was inspired by something in your home or that you see out your window. Well we have this grouping of bird feeders outside our kitchen window and for Christmas I gave my sig other quite a bit of bird seed (one in the shape of a snowman, so cute!) and the birds have all come back to partake. There are the beautiful cardinals, blue jays and wood peckers but in the midst of this feathered chaos was this little brown bird. I am not great with bird names, perhaps it was a wren? In any event he/she was half the size of this other colorful birds, but he pushed himself in and chowed down! Love it! So here is my card based on that adorable bird:

Here is my "recipe:

Stamps:           Take it to Heart & Tiny Tags

Cardstock:        Very Vanilla – Half Sheet

                        Pear Pizazz DP 5x4”

                        First Edition DP 4x4”

Ink:                  Staz On

                       

Embellishments: Pretty in Pink Taffeta ribbon, Watercolor wonders crayons: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, River Rock, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso crayons. Sticky Back pearls and Blender Pens. Big Shot and Top Note Diez.

Punches:  Jewelry Tag Punch:

Techniques: Stamp the image in Staz on ink. Using the

blender pen take the color from the bottom of the crayon (to

save the point for coloring) and color the image.

Thanks so much for looking!

Karin 

Less is More #47 and continued sneak peek!

Hi all,
Well procrastinating doing some work this morning and thought I would make a card for a challenge. I went on over to the Less is More Blog and their clean and simple challenge was to use "Just One Word".
Here is what I came up with:

As you can see I am still on my gold embossing "kick!" Love the stuff! I used my Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, colored the center of the flowers with my versa marker and heat embossed with Gold embossing powder. I then used one of the great choices from the soon to be released "Loving Thoughts" stamp set in gold and finally added the last bits of the beautiful gold ribbon my friend gave to me. Thanks for checking out my entry. I hope you are enjoying your week!
Karin

Friday Mash up #38 & sneak peeek!

Hi All,
Hope you all enjoyed your holiday! Its funny you clean and cook for hours than you have to do it again a few days later to clean up the Christmas "hurricane" that went through! However I do love all the get togethers! Once I cleared a path :) to my craft room I decided to check out the Friday Mash Up challenge of the week. Here is what they have for us:

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using the "Sketch".
2. Or Make a project using "Watercoloring".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the "Sketch & Watercoloring" .

I choose to "Mash it up" with watercoloring and that great sketch. Here is what I came up with:

I liked it so much that I am planning on doing this card for my January Stamp Club. Here is my recipe:

Stamps:           Flower Fest, Take it to Heart and Loving Thoughts

Cardstock:        Pear Pizzazz – half sheet

                        Naturals for the Top Note 5 x 3 ½”

                        Pretty in Pink 1” x 4 ¼”   

                        Pear Pizzazz .5” x 4 ¼”

                       

Ink:                  Basic Black and Staz on Black

Embellishments: Linen thread, water color wonders crayons in Pretty in Pink and Bravo Burgundy, Big Shot and Top Note Diez

Tools: Blender Pens

Techniques: Run the naturals card stock through the Big Shot with the Top Note,

stamp the rose image from the Flower Fest stamp set in Staz on and color it

LIGHTLY with Bravo Burgundy and Pretty in Pink crayons. Blend with the blender

pens going slightly outside the lines for a water color effect. Stamp the Banner from

the Take it to heart set with the sentiment inside, cut out and mount .

Karin

Hope your having a great week!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to ALL!!
I wanted to post a quick picture of some stocking stuffers that I made for my niece and nephews! Gotta love all the things you can make with the Owl builder punch!! Hope you all enjoy your holiday!!

Karin

Try Stamping on Tuesday #46 & Inkspriations #100

Evening All,

Well another few nights of marathon card and gift making has left me a little cross eyed! I love to craft but I always love doing different designs rather than the same one over and over. I felt like I needed to jump start my creativity in my crafting before I quit for the night so I went on over to Try Stamping on Tuesday's blog and they had another great sketch this week:

I also went on over to another favorite blog of mine, Inkspriations challenges, and was sad to read that this will be their last challenge. They have done such a great job and I really appreciate the time and effort that they have put into their challenges and site. So anyway onto their challenge. They opened this week to anything Christmas. So I decided to mash up the challenges and make one (of the many) cards this evening fit the requirements. Here is what I came up with:

I turned it in hopes that you would be able to see that I ran the large piece of early espresso through my Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. I really like the feel of this paper and decided to add the sticky back pearls to continue with the vintage theme. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

Try Stamping on Tuesday challenge #45

Evening All, Just got in from a packed day of fun and festivities and realised that I never posted my card this morning! Well I needed another sketch last night as I was creating a box of all occasion cards for my sister in law and I stumbled upon this great site! Try Stamping on Tuesday had a very nice clean and simple sketch:

I thought "perfect"!! I will make a bunch for her using this design. Here is one that I came up with:

I have had more fun playing with all the challenges I have found!! It is a great jump start when you need a sketch or starting point with colors! So anyway without further ado here is my recipe:
Paper: Lovely Lilac retired, Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, Certainly Celery, and DP that is retired and I can not think of the name at the moment!!LOL!!
Ink: Certainly Celery
Embellishments: Certainly Celery Ribbon (retired)
Punches: Decorative Label and Scallop Trim Border



Thanks so much for stopping by!

Karin

CCMC180 challenge!

Hi All,

Back from a wonderful ride on the beach and thought I would post the card from the other half of my card making marathon last night. I had finished my aunts Easter cards and now I need to complete her Valentines. Hopped on over to Create with Connie Mary and checked out this weeks sketch challenge:

I liked the layered look. Here is my take on it:

I used the sketch for two different based cards, but the exact same embellishments on each as I couldn't decide which I liked better. When I received my Holly Berry DP I noted the sheets with the roses and thought they would make beautiful Valentines, especially when combined with the sparkly dots! Here is my recipe:

Paper: Very Vanilla, Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Holly Berry DP

Ink: Real Red

Stamps:Take it to Heart (New for the Occasions mini!!)

Punches: Large heart

Embellishments: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Vintage wallpaper embossing folder, and Very Vanilla velvet ribbon

Hope you like it!

Karin



PPA 124 A sketch Challenge

Evening All,
Well I just finished my first mini card making marathon of the night! I made Valentines and Easter Cards for some of my relatives as part of their Christmas gifts. My Great Aunt is 100 and is a card junky! There isn't a holiday that she doesn't have a card for!!:) She is also a very devout woman, which clearly works for her as she is 100 and can walk without assistance and is still sharp! So when I saw the Easter Dove a'la carte stamp in the upcoming Occasions Mini I instantly thought of her! Only problem was deciding on my layout. So I went on over to the Pals Paper Arts blog and here was their sketch:

And here is what I came up with:

I totally saw this stamp gold embossed and I was recently given this beautiful gold ribbon by my new downline and I thought "perfect!" I just made ten of these and am happy with each one and think she will also be quite pleased!
Here is my recipe:
Paper: Lovely Lilac (retired) and concord crush DP
Stamp sets: Easter Dove and Simply Soft
Embellishments: Heat tool, gold embossing powder and gold organza ribbon
Punches: 1 1/4" square and scallop square
Thanks for checking it out!

Karin

Clearance Blitz!!

Hi All!
Quick post to let you all know about Stampin Up's online Clearance Blitz!! It begins today and runs through January 5th!! Check it out at my online store! Great deals on punches, paper, ribbon, crayons, etc!! Wow!!So remember to treat yourself this holiday season if there is something Santa forgot to bring you!
Take care, Karin

Freshly Made Sketches #15

Hi All,
Well needed a few minutes of crafting time after a long day! So headed on over to Freshly Made Sketches to check out this weeks sketch. Here it is:

Love love LOVED this sketch! Here is what I came up with:

I have been on a gold embossing "kick" lately! Love it on Cherry Cobbler! So festive! Here is my recipe:

Paper: Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla

Ink: Cherry Cobbler and Versa Mark

Stamp Sets: En Francais, Lovely as a tree and Tiny Tags

Embellishments: Linen Thread, Heat Tool and Gold embossing powder

Punches: Jewelry punch

I totally love using a "non" traditional stamp like En Francais for Christmas! Really shows the versatility! Also couldn't resist gold embossing a piece of the cherry cobbler to add a little more "punch"!

Have a great night!

Karin

Reindeer Games!

Morning all,
Quick post before I run to work. I had to share this fun reindeer card we made at our recent stamp club:

It totally cracked me up! I CASEd this idea from many different blogs. I can not recall where I saw it first to give credit. Here is what I used:

Stamps:           Curly Cute (inside)

Cardstock:        Very Vanilla – half sheet

                        Holly Berry DP 3 ¼ ” x 5 ½ ”  

                        Whisper White  2” x 5 ½ ”   

                        Scrap Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Whisper

                        White and Red Glimmer paper.

Ink:                  Real Red (inside) and Early Espresso Marker

Embellishments:  Mini Jingle Bells, Very Vanilla Velvet Ribbon

Punches: Owl Builder, ½ circle & Two step Bird punch.

Have a great day!
Karin

The Paper Players #76 & Inkspirations Challenge #99

Morning All,
Quick post before I go attack those leaves again! Finally chilly here in the North East but its been great to do yard clean up! On to the challenges! I went on over to one of my favorite challenges. The Paper Players and they challenged us to use the following colors:

Now that I had my colors I needed a sketch, so I clicked on over to this great site I stumbled upon recently, Inkspiration Challenges, and their sketch was:



I really liked the sketch! So I mashed up the challenges and here is what I came up with:

I really love gold embossing on Cherry Cobbler! So sharp! Here is my recipe:
Paper: Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler
Stamp sets: En Francais, Tiny Tags and Christmas Lodge
Embellishments: Heat Tool, Gold embossing powder, versa mark and very vanilla Victorian Crochet Ribbon
Hope you are getting your Christmas shopping done!
Karin



PPA123 & Less is More Challenge

Hi All,
Well another Saturday and another challenge (or two!). I went on over to Pals Paper Arts Blog and they challenged us to "Put on the Ritz" with our card. After checking out that challenge I went on over to the Less is More Blog. Their challenge was to complete a single layer card with the theme of "Let it Snow". So I "mashed" them together and this is what I came up with:

The card is one layer of Not Quite Navy. I hope you can see (my photography skills leave a lot to be desired) that I ran it through the Big Shot Snowflake embossing folder, then I sprayed it with Vanilla Shimmer and stamped the trees from Christmas Lodge and the sentiment from Short and Sweet with Frost White paint and finally I placed some sticky back rhinestones on the points on the snowflakes. I wish I could capture the "shine" this card has!! I love the effect of all the glitz!!
Have a great night!
Karin

Friday Mash Up #36

Hi all,
I actually had a few minutes this morning between all the chores for some stamping time. So headed over to the Friday Mash Up and their Friday challenge was:

1. Make a project featuring "Snowmen".
2. Or Make a project using the colors "Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze & Basic Grey".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Snowman project with the colors Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze & Basic Grey".

I chose to "Mash it Up" and have some fun with punch art. Here is what I came up with:

My Recipe is as follows:
Paper: Silver Glimmer paper, Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride DP and card stock and Whisper White
Ink : Basic Grey
Stamp sets: Lovely as a tree
Embellishments: Big Shot and Polka Dot embossing folder, a variety of circle punches and sticky back rhinestones

I really love using non-traditional Christmas colors! Its makes the card a little more whimsical. Have a great day!

Karin

Freshly Made Sketches #14

Evening All,
Had a fun night out Christmas shopping AND took in a movie! Hence I am to awake to pack it in for the night!! So went on over to Freshly Made Sketches and checked out this weeks sketch:

                                      

And here is what I came up with:

 Here is my recipe:
Paper: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Deck the Halls (retired)
Ink: Early Espresso and Crumb Cake
Embellishments: Cherry Cobbler Quilted Ribbon
Stamp Set: Christmas Lodge & Pines and Poinsettias

I totally love how this came out! Hope you do to! Have a great night!
Karin

Inkspriation Challenge #98

Evening All,
Well I was in the mood to stamp "something" before I worked out so I searched for a challenge that would inspire me. I happened upon Inkspiration's Color Challenge. Their challenge was to use the following colors:

I was ready for a little "non" Christmas creativity and here is what I came up with:

I love the stained glass technique! Such a great, soft look! To do this technique you emboss the image on Vellum Cardstock, turn it over and color in the image, which gives it the stained glass appearance. My recipe is as follows:

Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White and Vellum Cardstock

Stamps: Elements of Style

Markers: Rose Red and Wild Wasabi

Embellishments: White embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, Lattice embossing folder, white organza ribbon and sticky back pearls.

I love the end result and hope you do to!

Karin

The Paper Players #75

Evening All,
Well wrapping up a busy weekend and took a few minutes to complete another challenge. I went on over to the Paper Players Blog and their challenge was to create something "Christmas" or Holiday with non-holiday stamps or colors. So I went and pulled out my favorite non-traditional Christmas colors Pool Party and Early Espresso! Love! Anyway, in my thoughts I was checking out my friend Linda's blog and was reminded of a cool trick with the Silver Glimmer paper and loved the combination of using it with the Bird Punch to make a wreath. I wanted to make it my own and thought I could try my hand at making a Christmas door card for the challenge. So here is what I came up with:

My recipe is as follows:
Paper: Pool Party, Early Espresso, Spice Cake DP and Silver Glimmer paper
Ink: Pool Party (on the Silver Glimmer Paper hope you can see in the picture!!)
Punches: Bird Punch, Modern label, Large and Small tags and Corner Rounder
Embellishments: Antique Brad and Early Espresso Satin Ribbon.
Hope you like my attempt!
Karin

OCC + PPA122 Challenges

Hi All,
Well after a very long day I gave myself a little time to complete a card challenge (or two!). I started over at Pals Paper Arts. They have a lovely seasonal color challenge. They wanted a card with the colors Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, and Very Vanilla.  Once I had my colors in mind I went on over to our creative corner and they had a great sketch. Here it is:

So I combined these two wonderful challenges and this is what I came up with:

I changed up the center shape to fit my needs. Here is the recipe:
Paper: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke and Deck the Halls DP (retired so sad!!)
Punches: Ornament.
Embellishment: Big Shot with Oval Die cut and Petals a Plenty embossing folder. Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, which is layered under the Vanilla Victorian Crochet ribbon on top (very pretty in person!!). Finally there is Cherry Cobbler Quilted Ribbon that the ornament is "hanging" from.  I also sprayed the ornament with Vanilla Shimmer mist. Very "sparkly" but understated. :)
Hope you like it! I love to play with these two challenges!
Karin



Freshly Made Sketches #13

Evening All,
Well here I am "burning" the midnight oil again. So I took a few minutes for myself and went on over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog and here is this weeks challenge:

And here is what I came up with:

I hope you can see the Irredescent Ice embossing power in the pic, its really beautiful up close! At least I think so!! LOL!! Anyway here is the recipe:

Paper: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Spice and Cake DP

Ink: Early Espresso and Chocolate Chip Craft Ink

Punches: Ornament and small oval (retired)

Stamps: Short and Sweet and Northern Hearts (retired)

Embellishments: Very Vanilla Velvet ribbon, Heat Tool and Irredescesnt Ice embossing powder.

I really love that you can use craft ink with embossing powder to get the exact color you want! Thanks for such a great sketch!

Karin