Go Ride a Bike

This week's challenge for CAS108 on Splitcoast is 'the great outdoors'.  We've been having fairly nice weather lately...almost good enough for bike rides around the neighborhood.

I included some flowers with my papers, and along with the flowers in the basket, this seemed outdoorsy enough for me.  The wheel hubs and flower centers are bedeckled with Stickles for a triangulation of bling, and a small row of piercing echoes the holes from the border punches.

I didn't stamp a sentiment because #1 I couldn't decide where to put it, and #2 sometimes it's nice to have a sentiment-less card.  At least that's what I tell myself.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts
Paper - GKD PL white, My Mind's Eye calendar kit that was included with a magazine I purchased.
Ink - Tangerine Tango
Accessories - border punches, paper piercer, Stickles, SAMJ

Hope your week is off to a great start!

K

Catching Up on Challenges

I really missed participating in some of the challenges out there, so I got caught up with some of them today.

My first card is for this week's CAS107 challenge to create your own background.  I sponged mine, and used a stamp out of my new stamp basket.  Woohoo!

I tried spritzing the background with water to get a watercolor effect, but it didn't work and just ended up warping my card.  It isn't bad now that it has completely dried.  Maybe I needed more ink to get the effect I was after.  ??

I off-set the sentiment to the left to balance the image placement on the right.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Leaf  Cluster and sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - various Memento dew drops for sponging and the image
Accessories - Nestabilities circle (to make mask for sponging), sponge, SAMJ

Next is a card for the Less is More week 3 theme challenge where the theme is spring.  Spring makes me think of planting pots of flowers, so that's what I made on my card.

Last year, I bought all new planters for our patio, and they were all blue.  I love how the blue makes the flowers seem so much brighter, so I colored my flower pot blue.

Supplies:
Stamps - Blooming with Love
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, Star Dust Stickles for flower centers

And my last challenge card for now, this time for OLW42 hosted by Jennifer Styles.  The theme is music.

Another (lame) attempt at a collage card, but I guess it's ok.  My practice scraps were much worse!  I off-
stamped the gray once so it wasn't so dark.

Supplies:
Stamps - Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar, Hampton Art sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento Rhubarb Stalk, Paris Dusk, London Fog

I'm glad there are so many challenges to choose from.  They help keep my mojo flowing!

K

CAS101 A Day in the Snow

Today's CAS challenge is to use snow on your card.  We just got about 6" of the powdery white stuff, much to my kids' approval.  They can't wait to try out their new snow shoes that Santa brought them.  Needless to say, I was in the mood to stamp some snow today.

I pulled out my Changito set that I used for my Christmas cards a couple years ago.  I think he is the cutest little monkey, and there is a sentiment in the set that will ring true for many people across the country right about now.

I stamped the image first, leaving room to emboss the snow.  Then I cut some curves for the snow, and continued to cut around the image.  I added a little flock to his clothes and randomly dabbed Stickles for the falling snow.  This turned out way cuter than I had imagined.  Don't you love when that happens?

Supplies:
Stamps - Stampendous Changito Snow Play
Paper - bashful blue, GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - CB Divine swirls EF, Big Shot, Copic markers, Sakura quickie glue pen, white flock, star dust Stickles 

Hope you aren't too buried in the snow!

K

CAS86 - Sketch Inspiration

This week's CAS challenge over at SCS is a sketch inspired by Charlene's (cookiebaker) Thank You So Much card.  It is a sketch I have used frequently, so I was very comfortable using it for my card.  I added a few elements, and although I still consider it CAS, it has a lot more fluff than I usually use.

This card was also tied in to Susan's (LateBlossom) inspiration week on her Simplicity blog.  I tore out a few pages from ads and catalogs recently that were inspiring to me.  This card uses a color combo from one of those ads, and I really love it.  It is so warm and rich!

Here is my DT sample card.

Every time I see a card with a bow made from wide ribbon, I am in awe.  This is the widest ribbon I have (5/8"), so I tried a big bow on this card.  It's not really that big, but it has the effect I wanted.  I think the sponged edge on the image panel is a great balance for the bow.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Turning a New Leaf, Mega Mixed Messages
Paper - Sahara Sand, Cajun Craze
Ink - Versamark, vanilla craft, espresso
Accessories - vanilla EP, heat tool, sponge, brads, satin ribbon, dimensionals, square lattice EF, Big Shot

Oh, in case you're wondering, here is our euchre scoreboard.
Boys - 3
Girls - 1
We haven't given up hope yet, and still have a week to whoop them for good!

Toodles!

K

CAS garden challenge

Have you ever had a stamp set that you fell in love with when you saw samples, but couldn't do anything with it once you got it?  I've had several, and most of them ended up in my for sale box after just one attempt at trying to make them work.  Isn't that pitiful?  One try, and out they go?  It takes me long enough to make a card anyway, that if I have to try too hard to make the stamps work, it isn't fun anymore.  Stamping should be the easy part.  After all, that's why I don't draw my own images; it's too much work.  And I'm not much of an artist.

When I saw this week's CAS challenge on SCS to make a garden themed card, I knew what set I was going to use.  It was one I fell in love with, had to have, and ended up banishing to my shelf ever since my first attempt at using it.  It was way too much work the first time, but there was something about the set that made me want to work at it again.

I'm so glad I tried it again, because now I like it, and I'll be using it a lot more.

I'm not sure if this qualifies as CAS because there is a lot going on, and there isn't much 'white' space, but it was very easy to make.  It's just a bunch of punches!

After I finished this card and uploaded it to my card file, I noticed that the first card I made with this set also used the same "get well wishes" sentiment.  Guess I feel that these are healing flowers.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Awash with flowers, teeny tiny wishes
Paper - marina mist, celery, GKD PL white
Ink - wasabi, celery, melon mambo, pretty in pink, marina mist, bashful blue, daffodil delight
Accessories - punches:  word window, modern label, large oval, ticket corner, EK lattice chain, half pearls, dimensionals

Can you believe I didn't use my SAMJ on this?  I can't remember the last time I didn't use it on a card.  SU!'s clear mount stamps are so awesome, I could just eyeball the 2 step images.

What do you do when you have trouble with a stamp set?  Do you work at it until you get it, or do you give up like me?

Bad Karen, bad!

K

Stampin', Stampin', Stampin'!

Yea! I finally got some time to stamp! There were some really good challenges out there this week, so I had a lot of motivation. Now that my ink pad holder is finished, I deserved some time to play.

This is for Susan's (LateBlossom) OLW blog challenge to use ribbon on a one layer card with no other embellishments if you can help it. It was difficult for me, but I was able to get by without using anything else but the ribbon.

I added some highlights to the flower with my Sakura white gel pen.  SU!'s vanilla ribbon is a pretty good match for so saffron ink.

Supplies used:
Stamps - The art of life, Hero Arts sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - so saffron, Memento black
Accessories - grosgrain ribbon, white gel pen, SAMJ


For my next card, I combined three challenges from SCS; CAS66 was an inspiration challenge based on a sketch by Kelly (kmahany), CC270 Mambo suede with a wood grain dessert option, and WT270 edge distressing.  Isn't this little stinker cute?

Not only does the image have wood grain, but I made my own by dragging the soft suede ink pad down a strip of suede cardstock.  The image was watercolored with an aquapainter and reinkers.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Hambo Stamps
Paper - GKD PL white, soft suede, kraft
Ink - soft suede
Accessories - soft suede, melon mambo and creamy caramel reinkers, aquapainter, HS edge distressing tool, dauber, mini pop dots, SAMJ


Here's one more super quick card I made tonight.

This was for a challenge to myself to use any new toys before they gather dust!  I finally received my butterfly embosslits die after it was on backorder, and tried it out tonight.  I love it!!!  I ran the butterfly through my Cuttlebug first, then stamped it with the butterfly accent stamp inked in riding hood red.  It gives the butterfly a lot more dimension with the embossing.  Add a few half pearls and some ribbon, and you have a 10 minute card!

Supplies used:
Stamps - butterfly accent, teeny tiny wishes
Paper - GKD PL white, riding hood red
Ink - Memento black, riding hood red
Accessories - butterfly embosslits die, Cuttlebug, half pearls, ribbon, dimensionals, SAMJ

Thanks for stopping by.  Make it a great day!

K

Hello Again plus Springtime in the Rockies Continued

One of the freebie sets I picked or SU!'s Sale-A-Bration this year was Hello Again.  I vacillated with the idea of ordering it, because it isn't really my style.  I thought it was cute, but knew I would have to work at getting it to work for me.  So it sat for several weeks longing to be inked.  I finally had time to search the SCS gallery for ideas, and decided on what I was going to do.  Then I just happened to see the CAS64 challenge to use orange, and this is the result.

The pierced line wasn't planned, but when I embossed the flowers, the edge of the folder left a line in the cardstock.  It looked really bad, so I improvised and added the piercing.  I lightly sponged pumpkin pie over the embossed flowers to give them a little more pop.

Supplies used:
Stamps - hello again, teeny tiny wishes
Paper - GKD PL white, old olive, pumpkin pie
Ink - Memento black, pumpkin pie
Accessories - pumpkin pie, so saffron, old olive, melon mambo and soft suede markers, CB folder and machine, ribbon, brads, paper piercer, sponge

I had fun using my new set, and thought I might as well make another card while I had it out.

I ended up making four.

Supplies used:
Stamps - hello again
Paper - kraft
Ink - pacific point, real red, rich razzleberry, melon mambo
Accessories - all the above colors plus summer sun and old olive markers, SAMJ (I won't stamp a sentiment without it!), stickles on flower centers

What do I think of my new set that I was going to have to work at using?  I love it!  It is really fun, and I can see lots of possibilities for it.  Sometimes you just have to think outside your comfort level and try something new.  I'm glad I did!

Springtime in the Rockies, continued

Remember my Colorado saying from yesterday?  Well someone must not have liked the weather because this is what we woke up to this morning.

More snow!!  It was only about an inch, but still!  All I can say is it's good for the grass and all the plants.

It also makes it that much harder for me to get my planting beds prepared.  Wet clay soil and tillers don't do well together.

Hoping for a dry spell...

K

As Clean and Simple as it Gets

I made a card this week that is probably one of the simplest cards I have ever made.  A stamped image with a simple frame popped up on dimensionals with a sentiment to go with it.  It doesn't get much simpler than that!

I made this for CAS62 - an inspiration challenge inspired by postcards from Mackinac Island, Michigan.  I didn't even need to see a postcard since I spent many weeks of my life as a kid around the shores of Lake Michigan.  The first thought that came to my mind was a bicycle.  There are no motorized vehicles on Mackinac Island (except for emergency vehicles), so one of the easiest ways to get around is on a bicycle.  I remember one time when my family and I went to Mackinac Island, I rode my rented bicycle all the way around the island without any hands.  That was such a big deal to me way back then.  I was so proud of myself!

I love the retro feel of the Bermuda Bay color.  I wish I had a Cruiser in this color!  It screams classic to me, so I let it do all the talking on this card.  No embellishments needed!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Just riding, Tee talk (GKD)
Paper - GKD PL white, Bermuda bay, basic black
Ink - black and Bermuda Bay markers to color stamp
Accessories - Nestabilities, SAMJ, dimensionals

I also included a sneak peek at one of the new SU! core colors - Daffodil Delight.  It is a gorgeous yellow!

K

My Own Layout

It isn't very often that I come up with my own layout.  I usually take bits and pieces from other cards I've seen, or use a sketch from a sketch challenge, but this card just came to me one day.  It was floating around in the big void of my head for a long time before it actually made it to paper.  The CAS61 challenge at SCS to stamp only the sentiment was the perfect opportunity for me to use it.

This card is also to honor SU!'s announcement of their color renovation this week.  These are all colors that will be in the revised Brights color family.  I am very excited about their color revisions - so many of the current colors are old and tired and need to go away.  And I am very glad they chose some of my favorite In Colors to be core colors.  My stockpile of cardstock won't go to waste after all!

Here is my card...

Don't you think these colors look great together?  I think the Brights family is going to be my favorite.  What a refreshing change from the garish bold colors of the past (well, almost past).  The new Brights family includes real red, tangerine tango (returning In color), pumpkin pie, daffodil delight (brand new color), old olive, pacific point (returning In color), tempting turquoise, rich razzleberry (current In color), melon mambo (current In color), and regal rose.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI out on a limb sentiments
Paper - GKD white, melon mambo, old olive, patterns pack II
Ink - old olive, regal rose
Accessories - Nestabilities, Wizard, trio flower and spring flower bouquet punches, old olive satin ribbon, dimensionals, liquid pearls, dauber

Thanks for stopping by today.

Toodles, K

Guest Designer Week

This is my week to be a guest designer for the CAS57 challenge.  This week, our challenge is to layer 2 different shapes while keeping it clean and simple.  I struggled with many different ideas, and in the end, they all came together for me.

Here is the card I submitted as a designer.

This was the first idea I came up with - an oval on a circle.  When I first put the shapes together it looked like an eyeball, or the CBS logo, and that weirded me out.  Then I saw a beach ball and knew that is what I could make.  Then I had to figure out how to get it into a card design.  A day or two later, this is how it came together.

Supplies used:
Stamps - none
Paper - SU whisper white, real red, yoyo yellow, brilliant blue
Ink - yoyo yellow and brilliant blue for sponging
Accessories - Nestabilities oval and circle dies, circle punch, black marker, daubers, pop dots, computer generated sentiment using Write me a memory journaling font volume I.

Here are the other cards I made for this challenge.

I love this cute little image from A Muse, and decided to use stars in my design.  I didn't have a star big enough to go around the circle, so I enlarged one of the punched out stars by hand and cut it out.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Rock star by A Muse
Paper - GKD white, brilliant blue, tempting turquoise
Ink - Memento black, brilliant blue for sponging
Accessories - Copics, circle and star punches, dauber, Zig writer

Another one...

This one is very simple - a square on a rectangle.  I just learned how to make this kind of bow from ApricotRose on SCS.  I had tried many times before, but just hadn't fiddled with it enough.

Supplies used:
Stamps - baby firsts, warm words
Paper - GKD white, barely banana, bashful blue, prints pack
Ink - Memento black
Accessories - Copics, square Nestabilities, ribbon, pop dots

And another one...

This cute image is by Stamping Bella, and I came up with the color combo from the Bali Breeze DSP pack.  I colored the button to match with a Copic marker.

Supplies used:
Stamps - pots o' stuff and sentiment by Stamping Bella
Paper - GKD white, taken with teal, Bali Breeze DSP
Ink - Memento black, pumpkin pie for sponging
Accessories - Copics, Nestabilities label die, ribbon, button, embroidery floss, glue dot

I had a great time as a guest designer this week.  I hope you enjoy all my creations!

K

CASE-ing Myself

Remember when I said my embossed buttons with the gingham ribbon would make a cute baby card?  This is what I had in mind.

The CAS56 challenge this week was to make a square card.  This one is 4 1/4" square.  I normally don't make square cards, but this was fun.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Wild about you, so many sayings
Paper - GKD pure luxury white
Ink - Bashful Blue
Accessories - CB folder and machine, gingham ribbon, popdots


Here is another card I made for the same CAS challenge.

Supplies used:
Stamps - none
Paper - GKD pure luxury white, In color DSPs
Ink - none
Accessories - large needle (for piercing), white gel pen, 1" square punch, Zig writer, pop dots

It's a beautiful spring-like day here.  Hope you have a beautiful day, too!

K

Happy Spring card

I really wanted to make a second card for the CAS54 challenge - Wishing for Spring.  Probably because I can't wait for Spring to arrive, and I want to be surrounded by the sights of Spring!  Like many of my stamps, I have had this one for a long time, and it has never seen ink.  Lately, I have been making more of an effort to use some of my neglected stamps.  Something about feeling guilty...

I am kicking myself right now because I had the perfect sentiment out and ready to use, then I forgot all about it.  It says "have a sunshiney day", and I like that so much better than "happy spring".  I may just have to make another card!

This image is watercolored, then cut out with a Nestabilities label die.  After embossing, I left the paper in the die to sponge the sky and grass, leaving a white border.  I tied a piece of thread around the ribbon to gather it a little bit under the button.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Happy Forest (Stamping Bella), Every day flexible phrases
Paper - GKD pure luxury white
Ink - Memento black, various SU classic reinkers for watercoloring
Accessories - aquapainter, Nestabilities die and Wizard, sponges, ribbon, thread, button, embroidery floss, glue dot, dimensionals

Is it Spring yet?

K

Twisted Humor

I had been looking for a realistic chocolate bunny stamp for a long time, so I was very happy when I saw this Chocolate Bunny stamp in the current Occasions catalog by Stampin' Up! It was just what I was looking for.  Then it sat on my desk for a couple weeks patiently waiting to be inked.  I've known for a long time what I was going to do with it...that's why I was looking for it in the first place.   Well, it finally met it's ink, then it sat there for a few more days waiting to be made into a card.

Then Miss Boo announced the CAS54 challenge for this week - Wishing for Spring.  Spring makes me think of Easter, which makes me think of chocolate bunnies, which makes me think of biting their ears off!  Doesn't everyone start with the ears?  (Did you know there was a reason why everyone starts with the ears?  The way the bunnies are made and rotated when they are cooled, there is more chocolate at the tips of the ears than any other part of the bunny.  I'm not making this up - I saw it on "How It's Made".  I love that show!)

Anyhoo...It was time to make my twisted humor bunny card!  My bunny was thrilled to finally be made into something useful.  His friend didn't fare so well...

Don't they look like real chocolate bunnies?  They just need those yellow and blue eyes!  The second bunny was made using the mirror image stamp.  I used Versamark ink and clear EP.  The grass was sponged around the edges before I cut the blades into it.  I tore a sticky-note to use as a template for the clouds, and sponged them with Bashful Blue ink.  The eggs were colored with SU markers and cut out.  I used 1/4" and 1/8" punches for the thought circles and outlined them with black Sharpie.  The sentiment ovals were cut out with Nestabilities and popped up on dimensionals.  I used the 1/8" punch to take the bite out of the poor little bunny's ear.

Supplies used:

Stamps - Chocolate Bunny, Stampendous Mirror Image Stamp, Michael's $ stamp

Paper - GKD white, Choc. Chip, Green Galore

Ink - Versamark, Garden Green, Bashful Blue

Accessories - clear EP, heat tool, daubers, sticky-note, various SU markers, 1/4" and 1/8" punches, Nestabilities, black Sharpie, dimensionals

I hope you enjoyed my twisted humor today, 'cause that bunny is spittin' mad!

K

New old challenge cards

Jen, MissBoo on SCS, just announced a new search for CAS Design Team members.  We had to make and submit a card using a past CAS challenge, so these are what I made.

This was for CAS24, a color challenge to use turquoise, orange, and yellow.  I've had this Michael's $ stamp for a long time, and this was the perfect occasion to use it.  The ribbon was in my scrap jar, and I think it compliments the trees nicely.  Aren't these colors pretty together?

Supplies used:
Stamps - Studio G trees and katie &co sentiment, both Michael's $ stamps
Paper - GKD pure luxury white
Ink - Taken with Teal, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Memento black
Accessories - SAMJ, ribbon, glue dot

This was for the CAS45 challenge - "I've Got Curves".  The Cuttlebug layer was a leftover from a previous attempt at a card.  I used my Fiskars cloud scissors to make the waves, and paper pieced the whale.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Pun Fun
Paper - GKD pure luxury white, Bashful Blue, Delicate Dots DSP
Ink - Memento black, Bashful Blue
Accessories - CB D'vine swirl folder and machine, Fiskars cloud scissors
Technique(s) - Paper piecing, DTP

Which one do you think I should submit?  Let's see if you pick the same one I did!

Thanks for stopping by!

K

Thank Ewe!

Here is a card I made for the Splitcoast CAS53 challenge.  It is an retro candy inspiration challenge, and this is what I used for my inspiration http://candy-crate.stores.yahoo.net/cuwumba1.html  After looking at all that candy, I really want to eat some right now!  Thank goodness for chocolate fudge P90X protein bars!  heehee!

I used the colors from the candy wrapper for the card, and I think the scallop trim frame looks like the candy.  Mmmm...I can taste the caramel and chocolate right now!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Pun Fun
Paper - GKD white, Real Red, T. Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - CB D'vine Swirl folder and machine, SU scallop trim border and corner punches, ribbon, Copics, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by!

K