Shaker birthday card

It's been awhile since I've made a shaker card and I should make more as they are fun, pack a wow, and I might get to use up all those shaking bits I can't help myself collecting.

When I saw AAA Birthday's April challenge was for a shaker card I knew exactly what die I wanted to use as it had taken me a long time to track one down and that die is the Happy Birthday Circle Frame die from MFT stamps. Inkspirational also has a very cool rainbow mood board which I feel my rainbow colours play along nicely with as well (especially of the words). I'll also play along with Seize the Birthday's Anything Goes and as you have to be in it to win it I'm always pleased when Simon Says Stamp has an anything goes challenge.

I've just die cut my HB Circle frame out of white card stock and then Copic coloured the letters in a rainbow, made my shaker and then had to decide what image to add for some extra cute appeal. I'm still in love with my Party Animal set from Pink and Main so used the party chick and cupcake this time. As the chick is yellow I used the complementary colour which is supposed to be Violet for the background colour of the mat and for the cupcake icing. My final card is a 4-1/4" square.

Supply List:

Stamps: Party Animal (P&M)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: Orchid Oasis (SU!), Neenah Solar White, Xpress IT blending

Dies: Happy Birthday Circle Frame (MFT), Stitched Scallop Square (PFS), Master Layouts 3 (GKD), Sweet Circle Stack (HB)

Other: Copics, acetate scrap, foam tape, Rainbow Sprinkle mix (PPP), white Gelli roll pen

Challenges: AAAB#60,  INK#313, STB#282, SSSW#116,

Well I'd better go tidy up my wee craftastrophe but this in all honesty is a relatively easy card which is always fun to give, thanks for popping in and hope you can play along with some of these fabulous challenges.

✿Karen✿

Time to return to my craft room

Gosh I didn't realise how much time a new kitten takes up but I'm really happy to report that Cinder is settling in really well after a few weeks of some TLC and I decided it was time to start crafting again. It might have been easiest to catch up on a class but decided I was going to have a go at combining a few challenges as I really enjoy my challenge blogs and so today's effort was trying to work out how I could create a card that could cover a few to ease me back in. 

In the end as I played with the cat too long I've had to snap my card late at night with artificial light but tomorrow rain is predicted and we always have the grandkids on Friday so this will be as good as it gets!

I wanted to play along with The Color Throwdown's colour combo of yellow, green and aqua. These colours played nicely with the moodboard at AAA Colourful and I chose to play along with the latest Lawn Fawnatics' latest challenge which is a Bingo board (I'm doing the vertical line under I: bright, critter, lawn cuts, stamp and cute). It also plays nicely with BOTH the Simon Says Stamp challenges; Monday's wants Up in the Air and Wednesday's Anything Goes

Lawn Fawn Supply List:

Stamps: Fly High, Wheely Great Day, Winter Birds
Dies: Just Stitching Double Circles

Other: Prisma glitter

Other Supplies:

Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne, Memento Tuxedo Black, Salvaged Patina oxide (RNG), Cracked Pistachio oxide (RNG)
Paper: Neenah Solar White, Xpress IT Blending

Other: Copics, clear EP, white Gelli Roll pen no 8., Sweet Stack Circle dies (WF), Additional A2 Rectangle dies (WF), mini cloud edges stencil (MFT), blending brushes (TE)
Challenges: CTD #790, AAAC #3; LF#171; SSSM; SSSW #116

Well I thought I would share what is keeping me from crafting and I'm sure you would agree that Cinder is a very good excuse.

Thanks for popping in and hopefully will be back to blogging more regularly/normally going forth.

✿Karen✿

Berries and Blossoms with Heather

Gosh it's been nearly 2 months since my Virtual Cardmaking with Pinkfresh Studios happened and I haven't shared all the cards I made at the event. It was quite interesting how quickly they released a lot of the products we received in our kits in their March release, and this stamp set was one of the items released.

Before the event I thought the cards we were creating looked OK but I really loved working with this set. It's actually a "large" red rubber stamp which you stamp/heat emboss and then use the corresponding stencils to colour up followed by the coordinating die cuts out all the different elements in one pass. Card one is gold embossed, card 2 has been stamped in a light grey ink (Rocky Slope).

The class was officially titled "Elegant Notecards" and they truly are elegant and taught by Heather Hoffman.

We've used the notched corner frame dies to make a frame with PFS's Rose Gold glitter cardstock for card 1 and to make an impression for card 2. Card one also has the coverplate die (Stitched Octagons) we received as an essential for the event as an added feature on the background with a few wee splatters of ink. Card 2 we just used a bit of left over ink on our brushes.

At the time this was the first card we got to make on "our Monday" and it was a great start to the day's crafting. 

✿Karen✿

AAA Card Challenge 263: For the Bride

Hi everyone it's time for a new challenge at AAA Cards and anything CAS goes but with an optional twist ; wedding or anniversary. Even though I don't have a wedding coming up it's good to be prepared and I knew I had a lovely stamp just right. The bride stamp comes from a long retired stamp set from Stampin' Up! called Wondrous Moments.

I've stamped off the edge with Smoky Slate ink (SU!) , which I always think is the closest ink I own to silver that is not silver. I've trimmed off 1/4" of 2 sides to make the image pop a bit more and then 3 tiny gems in a row to complete the card. How easy is that!! Only 3 supplies needed (excluding basic tools, glue and paper).

Well I hope you can join in with us this week but as always do check out the inspiration on the blog at AAA Cards Challenge.

✿Karen✿

Friend Flower

It was lovely to do a live class again as it has been quite awhile. I'm actually sitting on my hands and not signing up for new Virtual classes as I need to get on top of the mound under my desk "still to do one day".

Today's class I made it to live was held at 930am on my Sunday and was part of Hero Art's weekend Spring Stamp-a-Long and taught by my favourite teacher Kristina Werner. It was funny looking at the sneak she provided, I actually thought I'd forgotten to buy some groovy flower die that she was working with. But as it turned out, it was using one of the FIVE things I actually did buy to do the event with, namely the Rounded Jewel  Infinity dies. We've used the 2 smallest sizes of these dies to create the petals and leaves. 

The lovely big friend die and sentiment is from the Smile Friend stamp and die set (2nd item). The 3rd item I bought was the Teal Hero Pearls. I also have a Mandela stamp set with a matching stencil (4 and 5) but I felt it was minimal what I needed to buy to participate fully, plus I liked them and I had nothing similar. I am also working with stuff I have in my stash already too.

I used Distress inks to blend my die cuts with: Peacock Flowers, Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry and Squeezed Lemonade. For my background I used an older stamp from Hero Arts I had in my stash: Rough Dots Bold Prints. I stamped it firstly with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink, then ink blended Charcoal ink (also HA) lightly over the whole panel, before blending the edge with a black ink, Memento Tuxedo black ink as I thought that it would dry faster. The stems are drawn with a white Gelli roll 10 pen. It is a really quick and effective card.

That was a great start to my day and I have to be honest the next card I am most interested in doing from the weekend event is also using these Rounded Jewel Infinity dies. I think they are going to be a great addition to my stash.

If you've ever thought about doing a Virtual class I can highly recommend the Stamp-a-Longs with Hero Arts, they are really are a reasonable price to register, especially if you sign up early, you don't need to buy everything they're working with either. Use what you own where possible and if you do buy a few items like I did their prices are really reasonable and I find their shipping from the States to be the cheapest and even more incredibly the quickest. As it's their 50th anniversary this year, it sounds like their Summer event in mid-July is already being touted as huge and not to be missed.
✿Karen✿

Spring Flowers anyone??

I'm absolutely delighted to be the Guest Designer for CAS on Friday's latest challenge which is SPRING.

I actually don't have a lot of small flowers but thought it might be time to get out an old favourite the gnomie with a bunch of "Spring Flowers" from Hanging with My Gnomies (MFT). This wee gnomie always makes me smile so hopefully whoever receives the card feels the same.

As this is a CAS challenge I went for stamping directly onto Neenah card stock so I could Copic colour up the image. Then adding a mask to the gnome. I used a die cut out square to make a mask so I could do some simple ink blending through with Twisted Citron and Salvaged Patina Distress inks (RNG).

I've coloured my wee gnomie up with the following colours (darkest > lightest):

Skin: E13/93/00

Beard: W3/1/0

Clothes: YR02/61/20; Y19; W9/5/3

Flowers: Y19/08/02; R22, YG23

I just wanted to add a generic sentiment as it's now Fall down under and definitely not Spring, so I thought this wee sentiment from Butterfly Kisses (LF) was appropriate. 

So what do you think of when you think of Spring?? I think of flowers but the team at CAS on Friday would love you to join in and show us what Spring means to you.

✿Karen✿

"Bamboo" wishes you a Happy Birthday

A couple of my favourite challenge sites would like Spring flowers; at Seize the Birthday they are the optional twist and they are also wanted at Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge.

 Bamboo's  really big gerbera would be my perfect birthday flower I would like to receive. Bamboo is a really old stamp set that I picked up early 2010's when I was first introduced to Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, and the stamp set is also a Crafter's Companion product and amazingly I see it is still available in some stores.

I've stamped her up on Neenah Solar white 80lb card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Copic coloured her up. I stamped a generic Happy Birthday sentiment from To the Wise One (HB).

I've used a wee sentiment from the Bamboo set and another butterfly to stamp inside my card.

Copics used (darkest >> lightest):
Greys: W9/7/6; W3/1/00

Pinks: RV13/21/10

Yellows: Y19/15/11

Browns: E37/33

Greens: YG09/05

Thanks for popping in.

✿Karen✿

Cake Inspiration

Playing along with Just Add Ink's latest challenge which is an inspiration photo which is good enough to eat and the DT have come up with some fab cake cards which truly are even scrummier plus lots of lovely flowers. It's also a really nice colour palate to play with. I've been inspired by the "cake" and the colour palate; I see cream, mint green, freesia purple and a darker purple in the image.

I actually only own 2 cake stamps one from a Simon Hurley Class kit and one from Studio Katia (Mini Birthday Cake). I went with the latter as it has a matching die. I did use the wee stencil of Simon's from the class kit which is a prototype/smaller stencil of the released Flip Flop Circles (stencil). I ink blended through the stencil Fresh Freesia ink (SU!) and then turned the stencil over and used a glitter paste I created with Fairy Dust stencil paste (LF) and Mint re-inker (PFS). I Copic coloured up my image in the following shades:

• Greens: G05/03/02/000
• Violets: V17/15/12
• Yellow-reds: YR23/21/20/31/30 

The sentiment comes from MFT's Itty Bitty Celebrations. I've also added a Just Double-Stitched Rectangle (LF) pattern to my card to add a subtle bit of detail.

Hopefully you can see the homemade glitter paste in this snap better, but it is very pretty IRL. I love minty greens.

Just a very quick post and card as I happy to report that I have adopted a rescue cat ~3months old and it is day 2 of being "mum" but she is quite lost and lonely at the mo but seems extremely smoochy so will post some pictures soon of her. 

I'd also like to play along with Colourful Options who are challenging us to use "PASTELS" in April.

And also entering at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - where this week the theme is "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

 Thanks for popping in.
✿Karen✿

Rainy Days

Addicted to CAS latest challenge is "Rain"; Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is "Whatever the Weather" and Simply Clean and Simple's April challenge "Weather" is the optional theme.

I thought I would play with a stamp set that I bought last year and hadn't played with but in the end I only used the sentiment as I liked how clean and simple it was and IMO the sentiment and the ink blended rain was all I needed.

Supply List:

Stamps: Rainy Days (ME), My Monthly Hero Feb. 2017 (HA)

Ink: Distress Oxides - as above, Versafine Nocturne Clair, Versamark
Paper: Neenah Solar White #80lb and #100lb

Dies: Just Stitched Double Rectangles (LF), A2 Layers (WF)

Other: White and Clear EP, blending brushes (TE)

Challenges: ATC #255, SSS Monday, SCAS April 2024

EDITED 18/4/25: My wee card was chosen as the Addicted to CAS's winner for this challenge, which was a lovely surprise to see when I'm catching up on my blog reading in my PJs on Sunday morning!

✿Karen✿

Scrappy Strip goes mosaic

I saw recently that the Bertucci's had a new version of their scrappy strip technique I thought it might be fun to have a go using the colours I could see in the new colour board at AAA Colourful.

How to get started; in a nutshell you create a "scrappy strip panel". As the strips have to be uneven in width you actually create the strips by cutting.

I also need to say that I will never do this technique again it's so messy, you have to glue down the first strips really well as every bit has to be adhered for when you cut the second strip. EDITED 4/4/24: One of my crafty friends Sarah had a brilliant suggestion to use adhesive sheets on the card stock before making scrappy strips so then no glue needed.

You then attach them to a panel of black, leaving small gaps between, leave over night to dry and cut off the ends with your trimmer/guillotine/sharp scissors. Then using a trimmer or guillotine,  I used the latter, create a pile of 1/4" strips.

When attaching the 1/4" strips you still leave a wee gap but the gluing is much easier as you can glue straight down the middle and not edge to edge.

I've just used a sentiment  from Hero Art's Encouragement Sentiment Strips to finish off as I had a pile in my stash already white heat embossed.

This is the colour board at AAA Colourful that inspired my colour choices which were: Sweet Pea (C9), Fig (C9), Grape Soda (C9), Very Vanilla (SU!), Lemon Lolly (SU!), Orchid Oasis (SU!)

As always I'm pleased to have tried something new and if I had an Zig Glue stick of old I think I would have liked adding the glue to the back better but you definitely have to have the first strips adhered fully to make this work. Thanks for popping in.

✿Karen✿

AAA Card Challenge 262: Sketch Challenge

Welcome to the latest sketch challenge at AAA Cards.  I really find sketches challenging but I am finding it is best not to overthink them and actually just use them as inspiration. 

So for the latest sketch challenge I've made a stacked animals in an "L-formation" without masking.

The 2 die-cuts balancing on top are just die-cuts with the bottom of the die-cut snipped gently up to the line by me and then using my Memento black brush marker swiping that edge so the images look seamless and as if "masked".

When I first got this set I played with it colouring the racoons in grey toned markers but looking for fresh inspiration lots of the MFT design team have done them in shades of BV (blue violet) and I thought how stinking cute is that, so just had to have a go and I really love how it turned out. 

The middle raccoon is slightly lighter BV02 > BV00 > BV000 > BV0000 as Carly Tee did HERE. I decided I wanted to go darker and added BV04 into the mix for the top and bottom racoons.

Supply List:

Stamps: A Little Racoon (MFT), Adorable Elephants - sentiment (MFT)

Ink: Sprout (C9), Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other: Copics, white gel pen, black glaze pen (Sakura), Grassy stencil (LF), Memento Tuxedo Black dual marker, 1mm square foam (SP)

Challenge: AAA Cards #262

Well I hope you want to rise to the challenge of this sketch, do check out the AAA Card blog for lots of inspiration from the fab design team. I love seeing what everyone creates so I do hope you can join us, as always you have 2 weeks for the challenge and don't forget we're a CAS (Clean and Simple) challenge. It's also my birthday today and that would be a fab present if you do choose to join in with us and play along.

Thanks for popping in.

✿ Karen ✿

Let's Get "Striped" with Time Out Challenges

I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to be the Guest Designer for Time Out Challenges latest challenge. It's a real fun one too; to use stripes on your project. You have 2 weeks to have a go and you too could be a future Guest Designer for a challenge (if you want too) AND Lawn fawn are generously sponsoring this challenge so you could also win a $25 Gift Card to the Lawn Fawn store, how cool is that!

I'm using a card idea that Jenn Shurkus, taught me/us at a 2023 Virtual Art Retreat. I've modified her idea and am using a stencil and distress inks to make my stripes. Jenn loves making fab backgrounds. In her original class we made very loose streaks of colour using Distress Watercolor Pencils as our background then placed our dark grey Copic coloured image on top. 

I've used a stencil to re-create her look and working with my smaller blending brushes to blend in the stripes. As I am actually using a slimline stencil I die cut out a perfect stitched rectangle with Lawn Fawn's largest Inside Out Stitched rectangle die. But oops I'd been a bit messy and there was gold embossing powder on my plates and I had gold speckles on the RHS after running through my Big Shot. As this was my second go at doing the panel, I went into how to fix-it mode. So spritzed with shimmer spray and water and blotted but felt it needed some black splatters. I used my Licorice spray bottle to add a few drops by unscrewing and just tapping lightly the tubing for the nozzle to make controlled wee drops/splatters. When I sprayed it was much too dark on my practice run. 

My first panel I added a glitter paste through the stencil after ink blending and it looked fab but had a few funny reactions around some of the stripe edges which is why I tried again to make my striped panel.

Supply List:
Stamps and dies: Humbled and Grateful (PFS)

Distress Inks (RNG): Worn Lipstick, Kitsch Flamingo, Dried Marigold, Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Salvaged Patina, Shaded Lilac, Wilted Violet

Paper: Hammermill white, Neenah #110, Black

Other: Versafine Clair Nocturne ink, clear embossing powder, Frost shimmer spray (imagine), Licorice Izink dye spray, distress mista bottle, small blending brushes (TE) and foam strips, Inside Out Stitched rectangle die (LF), Horizontal stripes slimline stencil (PFS), Warm Gray Copics (W2,4,6,8)

Well this is a fun, fun challenge and there's no doubting that adding stripes is really effective so hope you can join in as well but definitely check out the Time Out Challenge blog to see the the inspiration on show.

I'll also enter my card at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge which is an anything goes challenge. I also see Just Us Girls would like us to use  a stencil so I'll also enter their current challenge.

Thanks for popping in.
✿Karen✿

Birthday dinosaurs

Just Add Ink has a "weird colour combo" up at the moment, the last time I thought a colour combo was weird and went just do it, just make a card, I really ended up loving it. This time I am not totally convinced about the combo. I personally find when I don't like a colour combo try to use it with scraps of card stock and dies. I thought the colours would work with my new-to-me Birthday Dinosaurs dies from Spellbinders. Making a girl dino with all the bits is always going to be super cute and I think she does look "RAWRsome" in Pretty Peacock, Fresh Freesia and  Cajun Craze.

I had a spare dino so decided to play along with the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches as well. I can't decide which card is cutest so will enter the double dino photo into the Just Add Ink Challenge and the Cajun Craze dino into the Freshly Made Sketches sketch challenge.

Supply List:
Stamps: Burlap background (TE), Fairy Friends (LF - sentiment "have a magical day"), Monster Fun (GSD - sentiment RAWRsome")
Ink: Fresh Freesia (SU!), Peacock (C9)

Paper: Fresh Freesia (SU!), Cajun Crush (SU!), Pretty Peacock (SU!), Neenah Solar White, black scraps

Dies: Birthday Dinosaur (SP), Featured Sentiments (ALT)

Other: 1mm foam squares (SP)

Challenges: JAI #694, FMS #628

There is something about a card made of dies that looks really special, but the wee girl dino certainly brings a smile to my face no matter what colour she is wearing. Thanks for popping in.

EDITED 28/3/24: Absolutely rapt to get an honourable mention at Just Add Ink, the winning card was amazing so you should check it out for real she totally knocked these 3 colours out of the park. 

The kind comments the some of the design team had to say...  "Such cute and fun cards, great use of the challenge colours".  "Absolutely adorable and perfect use of these colours!"  "Love these Dino! They are so pretty and super cute!!"

✿Karen✿