AAA Card Challenge 276: another sketch to challenge us!

This sketch is a challenge all right. I love the idea of a moon and some bats but someone on the DT bet me to it so I've been a rebel and used a "round" flower die-cut which I wanted to add 3 stamped lady bugs too but they were a tad big so 2 leaves and a bee trinket = done and a happy cheery card to send to a friend.

I'm probably pushing the boundaries of clean and simple the AAA way but I'm on a mission to get all my DT challenges done until the end of October as I'm having surgery mid-September and I'm not sure how long my recovery will be. I've been a bit down waiting for it all  to happen and haven't actually felt like crafting but here we are 2 days before my operation "going" for it! 

Supply List:

Stamps: Friendly Hello (SU!)

Ink: Versafine Clair Summertime

Paper: Mango Melody (SU!), Soft Suede (SU!), Granny Apple Green (SU!), Neenah Solar white #110

Dies: Sunny Sunflowers (LF), Zesty Lemon (LF - leaves)

Other: Bumblebee trinkets (SU!)

Challenges: AAA #276

Well I hope you can find time to join in and be challenged, do check out the rest of the inspiration from the DT, you'll be amazed what they created with the sketch, so many cool ideas!

Thanks for popping in.

✿Karen✿

Easy thank you card for the latest Tic Tac Toe Challenge

It's time for another fun challenge board at Tic Tac Toe and this week's board has been created by Felicitia. I had so many ideas looking at the board, it is a fun one but at the time of creating my card  I was  having surgery in 2 days time, so  I went with embossing, thank you and free as I seem to be needing thank you cards lately. I'll also enter my card in Simon Say Stamp latest challenge to add some texture.

I wanted to play with the new to me Spotlight on Nature stamp set and dies from SU!. I bought this bundle as the dies are really cool circle dies and I had nothing like that in my stash. I die cut out the 2nd to largest circle from watercolor paper and then stamped with Versafine Desert Sand ink which is a water proof ink. I did some very simple watercolouring with my ZIG real color brushes (Bright Flamingo, Sage Green and Leaf Green) and a Wink of Stella clear glitter brush on the flowers and a water painter for the leaves.

Otherwise I think it's all pretty self explanatory.

Supply List:

Stamps and Dies: Spotlight on Nature (SU!)
Versafine Ink: Desert Sand and Acorn
Paper: Petal Pink (SU!), Soft Suede (SU!), Watercolor (Fabriano Artistico - cold pressed), coral (?name in my SSS kit papers)
Other: ZIG real color brush markers, Wink of Stella Clear, water painter brush, Exposed Brick 3D embossing folder (SU!), linen thread (SU! - original one), Master Layouts 2 (GKD - tag die), 2mm foam squares (SP), distress tool (SU!)
Challenge: TTTC #258, SSS Wednesday

Well I hope you can find time to play along with us, as always you have 2 weeks to have a go - just choose a line (vertical, diagonal or horizontal) and have a play.
✿Karen✿

Gorgeous You with Kim Kesti

Gosh I am so far behind on blogging and actually doing my classes. I'm sharing today the cards Kim Kesti from Spellbinders taught at a Virtual Card event with Pinkfresh Studios in August!!

I love these Create and Connects and if I'm honest the cards that have excited me the most are often the guest company. I do love PFS but too many flowers!!! But I am so happy they seem to be offering more than flowers in recent kits.

I have to be honest this event was happening around the time a lump was discovered in my breast at a routine mammogram, so as well as the shock, my main crafting time was to my future Design Team work for my challenge sites. I buckled down and created and blogged all my DT cards till the end of October; so no time really for classes. Mid-October now and 3 weeks post surgery and all is going well here apart from the markers found on my biopsies at surgery meaning I have to start anti-hormone treatment for up to 5 years. So we'll see how I handle that and planned radiotherapy but certainly life is not as we knew it!

OK enough of me back to the class. OMG we were so spoilt from Spellbinders, as well as the beautiful perfume bottle bottle die, we received the cutest ever flower does, gorgeous 3D embossing folder and a stamp set with matching sentiments for the bottle.

These are the 2 cards I created as taught by Kim. Both cards have a tad of ink blending and the embossed background has had pink ink (Sparkling Rose) blended up from the bottom. Other PFS inks used on the flowers were Storm and Key Lime and adding a tad of blending it certainly gives the die cuts more oomph. the wee pink sequins in the shaker card are Spellbinders and they are perfect as quite flat.

Cards up close; followed by Kim's examples.

Back soon with some more virtual adventures. Thanks for popping in.

✿Karen✿