Going retro

I'm still excited to be Guest Designer for Seize the Birthday and it's time for another challenge and yes this one was a challenge for me as the optional topper is RETRO!

Now I don't really own any retro stamps as such but looking through old scrapbook papers I thought maybe I could work with something bright and in your face from the 2000s. But I totally fall in love with this retro wallpaper image online which so reminded me of wallpaper in my family home in the 60-70s. 

Isn't it just so cool - now I'm not sure if this is what STB were thinking of  but I have ended up loving my wee card which apart from the sentiment is a no-stamps card. 

Circles used were 1-1/2", 1-1/4", 1", 3/4" and 1/2"

Supply List:
Stamps: Easy Expressions Birthday (TT)

Ink: Early Espresso (SU!), Versamark

Paper: Neenah Natural White, Buttercup (C9), Pumpkin Pie (SU!), Cajun Craze (SU!), Early Espresso (SU!)

Dies: A2 Layers and Additional Layers (WF),  Sweet Stacks - Circles (HB); 

circles used were 1-1/2", 1-1/4", 1", 3/4" and 1/2"

Other: Gilded EP (BM)
Challenges: STB #290

I can't wait to see what retro ideas everyone comes up with and I hope you can join in with the fun but if the topper is stumping you, you can just enter a Birthday Card as that is always an option with Seize the Birthday card challenges.

✿Karen✿

Humbled & Grateful

It's time for some Inspiration from the Just Add Ink team for this week's challenge. 

I was a bit stumped as I didn't have any stairs or pot plant stamps to my recall in my stash, so I thought outside the box and decided the stairs which to me are the dominant feature were blue stripes and I would add a wee terracotta coloured sprig of flowers along the left hand edge. I love how my card turned out; so it was a fab inspirational photo and I can't wait to see how you interpret the photo.

All of the products I have used today are Pinkfresh Studio and I have blogged before using this set which I think is really versatile, you can see that earlier post HERE. 

I have used a Horizontal Stripe stencil which is for slimline cards but have blended on an A2 panel and you just get a slimmer panel and so my white space is the grey walls. I used 3 blue inks and fading them to the right, starting with the lightest at the top as the stairs would be brighter as they reach the light: Summer Shower, Seaside, Blue Jay. 

I stamped the image from the Humbled & Grateful set in Warm Buff aka "faux gold". This is an easy set with only 2 stencils the flowers and the leaves but using the 1/2" blending brushes from PFS you can still get some graduation easily and I added a deeper colour with the 1/4" brush. Flower stencils were Sunkissed and Mango Sorbet. Leaf stencil was Eucalyptus and Spruce Tips. The sentiment was stamped with Mimosa which is the ink between the two I have used on the flowers. 

Last but not least some Butterscotch glitter drops for a wee bit of bling. All the die cuts have been stacked with plain diecuts as so much detail it would be very tedious to add foam underneath. I hope I have inspired you to find some inspiration from the photo and join in with the fun at Just Add Ink.

I'm also going to play along with Just Us Girls as they have an Anything Goes Stencil week. I have to admit stencils are a really big part of my card making these days, so a fun challenge to join in with. 

Thanks for stopping by, have a fab weekend and hopefully a KRafty one ;)

✿Karen✿

AAA Card Challenge 272: Sketch Challenge

It's time for another new challenge at AAA Cards and this week we have a sketch to play along with. Personally I found it a bit challenging but I've learnt with sketches is "you just do it" and they work, don't overthink it.

I tried drawing some hand drawn hearts with my Distress Watercolour pencils but didn't really like how they looked as my trio of shapes that and then thought maybe I can do the same and hand draw some wonky rectangles but again wasn't floating my boat. All of my practice runs were on scraps of Distress Watercolor paper (RNG).

At this stage I started thinking about Autumn colours and leaf outline dies but didn't have any that were right or small enough in my stash, when I spied a set of wee snowflake dies (Scribbly Snowflakes - Sizzix) and thought yes they are perfect! So then it was easy and viola ...

I've die cut the snowflakes out of Pixie Dust card stock (LF). My rectangles I 've actually painted directly through a Swatch stencil (Woodware) using some Ranger Distress Mica stains I bought last Christmas and never used. Colours used were Wonderland, Frozen Fog, Frosty Mint. The wee sentiment comes from Yeti or Not (LF). It's hard to see how sparkly this in real life but I love it and I'm sure the lucky recipient will too. I also love it that I have another Christmas card made too!

I look forward to seeing how you were inspired by the sketch as so many possibilities - it's fun just to play and see what magic you can create too when you play. Do check out the fab cards from the rest of the Design Team to inspire you.

I'm also going to enter my card at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to add a sentiment and they are featuring Lawn Fawn this week. You don't have to use Lawn Fawn - any sentiment will do - but mine is a Lawn Fawn sentiment, I'll also enter in their Monday challenge which is all about sparkle and shine.

Thanks for popping in.

✿Karen✿

I'm going to the Beach with TTTC

We have a fun challenge board at Tic Tac Toe Challenges this week, so many possibilities but I chose to go with  the bottom line of Beach, Dies and Blue.

I've used the fab die Flip Flop Builder (HB) to create my flip flops which we call jandals in New Zealand. Some patterned paper and viola all done and its so fun and cheerful, just what I need to dream about as its the middle of Winter down under.

I'm also going to play along with Simon Says Stamps Monday challenge wanting a little bit of sparkle or shine.

Supply List:

Stamps: Flippin' Fabulous (HB)

Ink: Sand Dune (Versafine)

Paper: Wheat (C9), Sand, Surf & Sky DSP (MFT), Essential Glitter cardstock : Color Sampler (PFS), Neenah Solar White

Dies: Flip Flop Builder (HB), Master Layout 2 (GKD), Stitched Hillside borders (LF)

Other: 2mm foam squares (SP)
Challenges: TTTC #254, SSSM

✿Karen✿

More cute birthday critters

I'm absolutely honoured and delighted to be Seize the Birthday's Guest Designer for August and September playing along with their "optional topper". This is a fortnightly challenge and you can enter any birthday card for the challenge or play along with the optional topper. I always like as much direction as possible to get me started, so I love the topper and normally choose to use it when I find time to play.

This week the challenge is cute critters - my favourite kind of birthday card! I've been wanting to play with my Treat Cart set from Lawn Fawn which until now hadn't seen any ink. I missed the Create with Us class as I was out of town but decided I would like to make my cart a rainbow and played along with the colouring guide they provided for the class tweaking the colours a bit and adding in the bunny as well. I made a rainbow using my Tim Holtz Rays stencil (I liked it was a bit uneven) and the wee foam domes and distress oxides that were similar shades to my ice cream cart. I don't own every colour and the only colour I would choose to swap out is the Victorian Velvet to Milled Lavender if I owned it.

The grass comes from Yappy Birthday Add-on and Butterfly Kisses sets; the clouds from All the Clouds set.

The wee critters look like they are having a fab time and looks like they may even get some birthday cake as well. I've added Prisma glitter to the icies with a Quickie glue pen. Well I hope you have time to join in as who doesn't like to get a cute critter birthday card. Thanks for popping in.

✿Karen✿

Challenging colour combo

Gosh the colour combo is a challenging one this week at Just Add Ink and I'm looking forward to seeing what the fabulous design team and also what YOU create with this combo. Even though it's a challenging combo I learn so much by trying to have a go and also seeing what others create, so don't be shy just start stamping or colouring or blending and join in creating something.

I have the 4 card stocks listed above but not all the inkpads so I've used the following inks: Crushed Curry (SU!), Candy Corn (TE), Cherry Pop (TE) and Peacock (C9) and a fun modern, uplifting stamp set A Fresh Start (ALT). Like most Altenew stamp sets they have a wee booklet with card ideas and I modified one of their ideas to stamp my fun panel out. I then used my Master Layouts 2 dies (GKD) to mat it all up with some Pumpkin Pie card (SU!). I've also die cut out extra sentiment dies and the hearts to provide a tad more dimension. The sentiment has also been clear embossed so it appears darker to make it stand out more.

I look forward to seeing everyone's creativity in the gallery. Thanks for popping in. 

✿Karen✿

AAA Card Challenge: Surf's Up!

When I saw the graphic for the optional twist this week at AAA Cards - the mini car, surfboard and suitcases I knew exactly what stamp set I wanted to use as it had a VW Kombi van stamp which was what I recall many, many years ago surfers used. My first car was a Mini Clubman so this evoked some old memories. 

I've coloured my wee Kombi up green and cream as that is what I recall as the most popular colour in the '70s and green is my favourite colour as well.

I've used the following Copics to recreate the colours above; G09/05/02/00 and E42/41/40. I also decided to use one of the BetterPress plates I received as part of a 6 month subscription with Spellbinders and used my Pinkfresh Studio inks to ink it up as I felt I needed a wee palm tree in the scene. I added 2 extra die cuts to give my wee van a bit of dimension as well.

Supply List:

Stamps: Beach Bound (NNN), Car Critters Road Trip Add-on (LF - sentiment), Summer Vibes BetterPress plate (SP)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Warm Buff (PFS), Mint (PFS), Versafine Clair Acorn

Paper: Porcelain cotton (SP), Xpress IT blending

Other: Copics, BetterPress Letterpress system (SP), Nuvo Crystal Glaze

Challenge: AAA#271

By the time this blog post goes live I will be in the middle of Winter in New Zealand so I hope the sun is shining where you live and "surf's up". Thanks for popping in and I hope you can join in with the challenge, anything goes as long as CAS or CAS with the optional twist. I look forward to seeing your cards in the gallery. As always you have 2 weeks to have a go.

✿Karen✿

Birthday Critters

Hi everyone thanks for popping in, I'm delighted to be the Guest Designer for AAA Birthday and their latest challenge to make a Birthday Card with a Critter. Now that's a cool and fun theme, the problem which critter to choose??

I bought a new stamp set this year called Party Animals and have slowly been working my way though all the images - today it was time for the bear to shine and eat cake. You can see my other cards HERE, HERE and HERE. I have to admit this has been one of my favourite purchases in 2024, I just love how cute they all are and I still have a few more party animals I haven't used as yet!

I started off with colouring with 3 distress inks to make a rainbow using a splashy stencil from MFT. I also used a few stamp sets from Lawn Fawn to make some bunting and add some balloons and a sentiment and all done.

I then coloured my wee stamped images with my Copics. I colour most of my animals up with this brown combo below but the other colours were chosen from what was in a big tin on my desk I normally take a picture of my jar of Copics but there's too many so will list the colours here (darkest > lightest):

• Bear: E37/33/53/51/50 R20 BV000/0000
• Aqua: BG13/32/11
• Yellow: Y38/15/11
• Red:R35/32/30
• Pink: RV13/21
• Green: YG05/01
• Violet: BV04/02/00

Supply List:

Stamps: Party Animals (P&M), Really High Five (LF), Elephant Parade Add-On (LF), Fangtastic Friends (LF)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Squeezed Lemonade (RNG), Kitsch Flamingo (RNG), Salvaged Patina (RNG) 
Paper: Really Rainbow 6"x6" DSP (LF), Xpress IT blending card stock, Neenah White

Other: Watercolor wash free form stencil (MFT), blending brushes (TE), Outside In stitched rectangle die (LF), 1mm and 2mm foam squares, Copic markers.

Challenge: AAAB#64

As always you have a whole month to create a birthday card with critters if you would like to join in with the fun. It's always great to have spare birthday cards in the stash but do definitely check out the fab creations from the DT at AAA Birthday.

✿Karen✿