AAA Card Challenge 281: sending Paper Hugs to kick off 2025

Welcome to 2025 and a big hello from me I hope everyone had a fabulous festive time catching up with family and friends. It's great to be back blogging and AAA Cards is starting of the new year with it's first challenge of anything goes as long as it's CAS. Let me remind you how AAA Cards see CAS as it is a lot stricter than other clean and simple challenge blogs.

The optional twist for this challenge was "flies in the air" so many possibilities and the Design Team have explored lots of them so do check them out.

I've chosen to work with a new set for me from MFT stamps called Paper Planes as I can see a paper plane above.

It was a simple card and very pink as Valentine's Day is coming next month so I might as well get started on my Galentine cards ;)

I masked of the card, ink blended and then stamped in a darker colour cute images from the set. My card is inspired by a card on the MFT site by Carly Tee Miner.

Supply List (I thought I'd do it differently this year and list supplies by company):
MFT stamps: Paper Planes (stamps and dies)
Pinkfresh Studios: Sparkling Rose and Bubble Gum ink; 1" blending brush
Copic Markers: RV00/02/04 W2/4/10

Sakura: white Gelli roll pen #8

As always you have 2 weeks to play along so hope you can join in with us.
Thanks for popping in.

✿Karen✿

Just Add Ink 732: just add a sketch

Hi everyone and it's time for another "fun" sketch with the Just Add Ink crew and I say fun with clenched teeth as I personally never find sketches fun and require thinking outside the box. Today's sketch is no different and I have been KReative and decided the sketch reminded me of mountain tops and as I still need more Christmas cards I've combined those 2 elements to create a fun card which I know the recipient will love.

Now don't ask me why I decided I would do a no line Copic colouring of such tiny critters but I ended up restamping over the images again with the pale grey ink I was using on the car (Jellyfish) and changed up the presents and animals to a light brown (Crunchy Leaf) as they had lost a lot of definition and then die cut them out. 

I also added a frame as I grabbed the wrong die to cut out a panel with a stitched edge to my Ranger Heavy card stock for blending; I had grabbed a stitched rectangle frame die instead of the stitched rectangle die. As the heavy card stock which is great to blend on is too expensive to waste I just blended on the cut out piece and popped the "frame" up with foam strips. I actually think this was a great mistake, I love the frame, it's almost like a window. 

There's a lot of sparkle and shine on the card from the Pixie dust mountain tops, Distress rock candy glitter border edge and Frost Shimmer spritzed over my ink blended sky, plus Prisma glitter added to the bows etc.

Supply List:

Stamps: Car Critters (LF), Car Critters Christmas Add-on (LF), Over the Mountains (LF), Holiday Helpers (LF)
Ink: Salvaged Patina distress oxide (RNG), Shaded Lilac (RNG), Watermelon (C9), Jellyfish (LF), Crunchy Leaf (LF), Versafine Clair Nocturne

Paper: Vellum (LF), Pixie dust sparkle (LF), Distress Heavy (RNG), Neenah Solar white

Dies: Stitched Mountain borders (LF), Stitched Hillside borders (LF), Stitched Rectangle Frames (LF)

Other: Copics, blending brushes, Glossy Accents (RNG), Distress Rock Candy glitter (RNG), Prisma glitter (LF), Quickie glue pen (Sakura), white Gelli roll pen (Sakura), Black glaze pen (Sakura), foam strips and squares, Frost shimmer spray (imagine crafts)

Challenge: JAI#732

This is my last Design Team card for 2024 and I'm going to spend my time entering challenges and making a few more cards and tags for Christmas. I sincerely hope everyone has a "very Merry Christmas", thanks for supporting my blog and the Just Add Ink challenges and I hope to catch you all in 2025 and hopefully you can squeeze in one more challenge too and join in with the sketch challenge as well. If time is tight do check out what clever ideas the design team came up with for this sketch.

✿Karen✿

AAA Card Challenge 280: last challenge for this year

Wow were did 2024 go, it's the last challenge for 2024 for AAA Cards and to finish off we have a sketch, which you might know by now I do not like sketches and this one was no exception. 

This year we have alternated sketches at AAA Cards with "an anything goes CAS with an optional twist". In 2025 Maaike has some interesting challenges lined up and we have different themes which I'm really excited about, we also only get a sketch challenge every 4th challenge - that I am even more excited about!

Anyhow onto the last challenge of the year which I actually had a few ideas for so maybe I am "getting better at them." In reality making my card was the easy bit, photographing and showing how shimmery was the hard bit!

I've flipped the sketch on it's side and ink blended through a rectangle mask stencil (TE) a dark night sky using Distress Oxides: Picked Raspberry, Blueprint Sketch, Villainous Potion and then Black Soot around all the edges but darker at the top. I then added some hot foiled fireworks as thought it would be fun to make a Happy New Year Card especially as this challenge is for a month and finishes on January 4th 2025.

Supply List:
Stamps: Merry Messages (LF)
Ink: Versafine Clair Glamorous; Picked Raspberry, Blueprint Sketch, Villainous Potion, Black Soot Distress Oxides (RNG)

Paper: Hammermill, Neenah Solar white #110, Basic Black (SU!)

Other: Fireworks Hot Foil plates and dies (LF), Rainbow Glimmer foil (SP), Glimmer machine (SP), Rectangles masking stencil (TE), blending brushes (TE), Frost Shimmer spray (imagine crafts)

Challenge: AAA#280

Well I hope you can rise to the challenge and have a go at the sketch, this time you have FOUR WEEKS to play along with us. The Design Team have some great inspiration to get you started, so do check them all out. 

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that plays along with us at AAA Card Challenges, without you we wouldn't have a challenge blog. I hope everyone has a magical and festive season however you celebrate it and my sincere best wishes for a Happy New Year.

✿Karen✿