ISO a feather!

Gosh Seize the Birthday's latest topper is a bit of a hard one, to use a feather on a birthday card! 

Personally I think of feathers with dream catchers and slightly bohemian, I had to search really hard to find a feather in my stash. And yes I could have just used a bird I'm sure but the challenge topper was feather. I found 2; the one I used and a really large Lavinia feather. I decided to go with the AALL and Create stamp set Butterfly Effect #990 and attempt to make a mixed media card .

Below is my second go at creating what I had envisaged. I started of with my background but the first time I added the feather first then masked it and realised when I went to "pop it into the watering can" I should have masked the watering can which is why attempt 2 is posted. I actually think now I would stamp the watering can then mask it totally before creating the background. 

To create the background I swiped Lost Shadow ink vertically and then ink blended Spun Sugar through the stencil. I have stamped off the wee words in the set at least 3x in Morning Mist and Saltwater Taffy ink.

It's very subtle but I have added gold pigment ink to the edge plus splattered some Gold Wink of Stella wee droplets around as well as adding some gold highlights to the butterfly and feather with the brush as well. I have used my Distress watercolor pencils to colour up the images and then fussy cut out (or should that be fussy cussed whilst cutting them out).

Supply List:

Stamps: Butterfly Effect #990 (AALL), Watering Can #437 (AALL), Notes of Nature (SU!)

Versafine Clair Ink: Acorn, Morning Mist
Distress Oxides (RNG): Spun Sugar, Saltwater Taffy, Lost Shadow, Hickory Smoke, Scorched Timber
Distress Water Pencils (RNG): Worn Lipstick, Abandoned Coral, Twisted Citron. Mermaid Lagoon, Hickory Smoke, Lost Shadow

Paper: Smooth and Multifarious (LAV), Honeysuckle (C9), Neenah Solar White #110

Other: Glory stencil (LAV), Gold Wink of Stella glitter brush, Masking Magic (GKD), Golden Glitz pigment ink (Delicata - Tsunikedo), Pixie Dust: Ombre glitter drops (PFS), A2 Layers die (WF), 2mm square foam (SP), clear embossing power

Challenges: STB#294

Well that's my idea of using a feather on a card - hide it in the watering can behind the wee bunch of "lupins" ;) 

I did have a lot of fun creating my card and my crafty space looks like a bomb has been released, so a "good challenge" to play along with.

✿Karen✿

AAA Card Challenge 277: Trick or Treat time

It's time for an anything CAS goes challenge at AAA Cards with the optional twist of Halloween. I love playing along with the twist to get me started.

I can see Halloween is just around the corner as lots of Halloween challenges to play along with at the moment. So I'm also going to play along with Addicted to CAS's Halloween challenge;  Inkspirational Challenge's SEASONAL challenge and  Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge which is Spooky and/or add some purple.

My card is pretty easy to recreate; I've masked off a strip to do my ink blending directly to a Neenah White A2 Base card then added a delightful wee fox dressed up trick and treating. I've die cut out 2 extra foxes to pop up my Copic coloured one for a tad of dimension.

Supply List:

Distress inks (RNG): Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold, Wilted Violet
Stamps: Frightfully Sweet (MFT), Good Greetings (SU!)

Other: Frost Sheer Shimmer Craft spray (imaginecrafts), Masking magic (GKD), blending brushes (TE), Copic markers, Black glaze pen (Sakura), white gelli roll pen (Sakura), Versafine Clair Nocturne inkpad
Challenges: AAA #277, ATC#270, Inkspirational#327, SSS Monday Challenge

Copics Used (darkest > lightest):

Fox: E19 YR27/24 E51/50 R30/20

Cloak: V09/06/04/00

Pumpkin: YR68/15/21

Thanks for popping in and I hope you can find time to join in with us at AAA Cards this week, as always you have 2 weeks to play along.

I also wish everyone a Happy Halloween how ever you celebrate it, I know my grandkiddies are looking forward to dressing up and getting lollies on Thursday night.

EDITED 14/11/24: Very happy to see my card was the CAS Perfectionist at Addicted to CAS

✿Karen✿

RAK from Karren

Gosh it's so exciting to find a homemade card in the letter box. I know postage isn't cheap but truly I think it's worthwhile to surprise your friends with a card unexpectedly. I was overjoyed to find this fab card from one of my DT colleagues from Tic Tac Toe challenges Karren Johnson from Christchurch, New Zealand. 

Being a kiwi I have admired her work from afar and I was absolutely thrilled to be on a design team with her when I joined TTTC, even if we are on opposing teams but that's probably a good thing so there's always a touch of kiwi each week and a touch of Karen/Karren.

I love all the details on the mushrooms/toadstools with little ruffles etc, my real job was working in a Mycology Lab at the hospital so it's always great to see a fungus on a card. I was able to work out that these beautiful die-cuts are from a Spellbinders set called Autumn Wonder etched dies. So huge thanks Karren you made my day!!!

✿Karen✿

AAA Colourful's latest colourboard

I'm liking the Halloween vibes of the latest colour board at AAA Colourful so I thought I'd play with my favourite moon stamp and do some ink blending to make a wee scene. It also gives me the chance to play along with Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge to go spooky and/or add some purple and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to go Halloween/spooky.

I masked my moon after stamping with the 3 inks (I stamped off the Paper Bag ink once as it was too deep a brown stamped directly), masked and then added the following Distress oxides; Dusty Concord, Wilted Violet, Villainous Potion and Black Soot. I also added some white pigment ink directly around the mask. I used my darkest green oxide I own to go behind my die-cut to ground my trick and  treaters. I now wish I had added some Black Soot to it too for the colour challenge to tone down the green .

Supply List:

Stamps: To the Moon (ALT)

Paper: Basic Black (SU!), Pumpkin Pie (SU!), Mango Melody (SU!), Grape Soda (C9), Buttercup (C9), Distress Heavy (RNG), black glitter (CTMH)

Ink: Buttercream (ALT), Warm Sunshine (ALT), Paper Bag (ALT), Unicorn white pigment (HA)
Distress Oxides (RNG): Dusty Concord, Wilted Violet, Villainous Potion, Black Soot, Rustic Wilderness

Dies: Halloween silhouettes (Sizzix), Mini Alphabet (SU!)

Other: Masking Magic (GKD), foam blending domes, white Gelli Roll pen, black gel pen, white paint (SP), Frost shimmer spray (imaginecrafts)

Challenges: AAAC#9, SSS Monday challenge, SSS Wednesday challenge

 

✿Karen✿

Seize the Birthday: goes Dotty

Hi everyone I had such a fabulous time being the Guest Designer for Seize the Birthday in August and September I didn't want to miss their next challenge. I'm rather shocked to see I haven't actually entered any challenges for "fun" for nearly 2 months but it's now 5 weeks since my surgery and I spent the last week tidying up my craft room; so really pleased I am managing to squeeze in an entry for STB's latest challenge. As always it's a birthday card plus the choice of playing along with the topper. I love the topper option it helps me to focus. The current challenge's topper is "dots" and I had too many ideas so glad I told myself to just make a card today, as eek I only have 17 hours to enter ... too much thinking which is always my problem.

I have gone with an easy design using the fab stencil by Alex Syberia Designs where each layer adds another colour. The last time I used this stencil it moved on me and I only managed to add two colours (you can see that card HERE) but I really wanted to use all 5 this time so used a sticky mat to hold everything in place. My colours have faded back quite a lot, so now wishing I had used the next darkest ink colour but ca la vie, it's still a fun birthday card which came together easily. I've added 2 die cuts behind the glitter one for dimension and stability.

Supply List:

Ink (all PFS), Sparkling Rose, Lemon Whip, Apricot, Grassy Knoll, Summer Shower
Stencil: Confetti (ASD)

Paper: Neenah Solar white, Black glitter (CTMH)
Die: Happy Birthday Script (MFT)

Challenge: STB#293

✿Karen✿

Just Add Ink 724: Colour Challenge time

Hi everyone it's time for another fun challenge at Just Add Ink and we have a colour challenge to play along with.

The peach and the blue colour are complimentary colours on the colour wheel so I thought I would work with warm browns as my 3rd colour. I do not own any of these SU! inks or card stock so chose to work with Apricot and Storm adding in Warm Buff  for my 3rd colour, all from Pinkfresh Studio. I've also added their lighter shade of ink for my blending of the "abstract art background".

I'm also going to enter my card in Pinkfresh Studio's monthly challenge as this months challenge is all about ink blending and I have used stencils to make my "work of art" plus colour in my oranges.

Supply List (all PFS unless stated otherwise):

Stamps: Framed Art (plus matching stencil and dies)

Ink: Warm Buff, Peach Fuzz, Apricot, Slumber, Storm

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Hammermill, Light brown woodgrain (LF), Barely Peach (SP), Vellum Paper (SU!), 
Dies: Diagonal stitched plaid coverplate, Curly Leaves, Stitched sentiment strips (MFT) 

Other: Foam squares (SP), Gold Metallic pearls, blending brushes
Challenge: JAI#724, PFS October 2024

The Design Team from Just Add Ink do have some fab inspiration to get you inspired for this colour challenge, so do check them all out and hopefully you will be inspired to have a go, what will your 3rd colour be?? As always you can use neutral colours (white, "brown" and black) in your mix.

Happy stamping....

EDITED 2/11/24: My card was the "winner" of the $50 gift certificate from Pinkfresh Studio, I'm a great believer in entering in challenges which involve my favourite companies. It would be lovely to be in the "top 3" but being able to buy new goodies for FREE even better!

✿Karen✿

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✿

Just Add Ink 722: Just add a sketch

Wow this was a challenging sketch for the new challenge at Just Add Ink and I'm really interested to see what everyone comes up for it. My first thought was a card front of cascading banners  and then I had an aha moment and recalled I owned a very old background stamp from MFT stamps Balloon Strings which I had seen someone turn sideways and make a lovely watercoloured scene with hills and sky etc. which I always had wanted to have a go at but never have until today, when I went beachy. You can see the original card that inspired me HERE by Karin Akesdotter.

I've used my mini Distress inks to make the beach, the sea and the wee island in the distance and I used different colours in different panels but at the same time trying to follow some of the curves. I smooshed the pad onto my glass panel and then using my no. 4 round brush and water painted. It was very therapeutic.

I don't have every Distress colour as an ink and was wishing I had Antique Linen for the beach at the time but looking at my panel I really like the Tea Dye, the Antique Linen may actually have been too light.

Supply List:
Stamps: Balloon Strings (MFT), Flippin' Fabulous (HB - sentiment), Beach Day (EE - wee gull)
Distress Inks (RNG): Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain, Tumbled Glass, Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon, Salty Ocean, Stormy Sky

Paper: Distress Watercolor (RNG), Vellum, Neenah Solar White #110
Other: Versamark inkpad, Alabaster White EP (BM), Copics, no 4. round paint brush, glass mat, stitched rectangle die (LF)
Challenges: JAI #722

I hope you can rise to the challenge and join in too. I love my card and definitely going to have a go at Karin's scene after this.
✿Karen✿