Masculine Birthday Card

Doesn't the 3 words in the title make you grimace. It's my SIL birthday soon and he's a keen golfer so I thought I would play along with a few challenges to help get me started.  CAS Colours & Sketches has provided me with a sketch which was my starting point. CAS on Friday just wants boy/male and I'm getting ready to go away for a crafty weekend and I really wanted to acknowledge Time Out Challenges for celebrating their 10th anniversary/birthday, what a worthy achievement and definitely deserving a shout out!

The SIL is a keen golfer so I grabbed the SU! set I bought especially for him but went CAS this time, the last time I used it was 2 years ago and you can see that card HERE - it had a fun fold.

I've Copic coloured up the golf ball on the tee and made a background panel using an Argyle stencil and then matted up on a strip of Gray Granite card.

Supply List:

Stamps: Clubhouse (SU!)

Ink: Jet Black (LF), Poppy (C9), Sahara Sand (SU!), Gray Granite (SU!)

Paper: Sahara Sand (SU!), Gray Granite (SU!), Xpress IT blending, Neenah White #80

Other: Copics, Argyle stencil (PFS), foam squares
Challenges: CAS C&S #531, CAS on Friday #277, TOC #257

Well it certainly speed up the creativity block when you mention masculine adding some parameters from a challenge. Thanks for popping in.

✿Karen✿

A challenge!

Playing around with the challenge for CAS Colours and Sketches to make a slimline card, which is something I struggle with BUT the big challenge is to take a picture, I've snapped my card on the kitchen bench at 10pm at night and I am not even sure if it is focused.

I used up scraps on my desk for the card (the DSP and Sizzix gold glitter paper). I started off with a 7.5" x 6" piece of Neenah White #110 which I scored at 3", my DSP is 3.5" x 2.5" and is from the Oceans Ink Drops (Craft Consortium). I have stamped a sentiment from Altenew's Magnolia Ballerina in Versafine black ink and then clear embossed to try and make it pop. I ended up flattening my card in my big shot as the paper seemed to warp heat embossing it, so I have a debossed die-cut from Honey Bees Springtime Greenery. I think I may need to run my dehumidifier if my card stock is this wet and winter hasn't even started.

EDITED 2nd May: the sun is shining and I'm out of bed early to snap hopefully a better piccie.

This was very easy to put together quickly so a really effective sketch to follow along with!

There may not be time to join in now but do check out the fab other cards on the site.

EDITED 5/5: Amazingly my card was chosen as one of the fabulous favourites by the DT. Thank you all so very much!

✿ Karen ✿

Hanging out with my gnomies

Hi everyone I thought I would try something different over the weekend and just use ONE stamp set and see how many challenges I could enter with it. Now I have a list of 20 challenges sites I like to play with and 3 of them are Christmas themed; so out of the remaining 17; I managed to make 3 cards from the one set to "enter" 5 challenges, how cool is that.

It was great to have a real play with the set as quite often we only use one or two images. Now the set is actually quite a big set called Hanging with my Gnomies by MFT stamps, and its a 26 piece set (yes 26). It also comes with matching dies. I have Copic coloured all my images and die-cut out to make the cards.

We'll start with the A's and work our way down.

AAA cards wanted small and few and (lady) bugs. AAA birthday cards wanted anything birthday. Both these sites are CAS challenge sites.

This was chosen by the DT as the winner at AAA this week, which was a very pleasant surprise.  

Next up was CAS Colour & Sketches which is a sketch challenge. The DSP for the inner layer is Sweet Talk DSP from SU!

 And I am very happy to report that this card was chosen as the weekly winner :)

Just Add Ink this week also gave us a sketch challenge, this sketch is a design I often use in card making. 

I've also used MFT's Stitchable DotCircle STX to make the circle, this die set does not cut and you need to use a plain circle die if you want to cut it out but I like it as it's different. I have used a "circle" from SU! Tasteful Labels to add an inner.  

The thank you also comes from an old retired SU! set called Free As a Bird and I thought the "right size" for my sentiment. I have white embossed the sentiment on a scrap of black card stock and fussy cut out. I have added a few white highlights to the image with a white Signo Uniball pen.

The yellow card stock is Lemon Chiffon from SSS. I'll also enter this card for SSS Wednesday Challenge as they are "highlighting" MFT and adding some colour or music to your cards for "Summertimes Blues".

I have to say this set is just adorable and I'm really glad I got it, there were so many gnome stamp sets on the market when I bought it late last year, it was hard to pick which one to buy but I think the sheer number of images you got in the set made it a no brainer which one to choose and hopefully I have demonstrated what a versatile set it really is. 

EDITED: Wow 2 challenge winners amongst this great set of cards is a testament to what a fab stamp set this is.

Thanks for popping in.

✿ Karen ✿

Another dreamy colour combo

I think it's because it's so gloomy, grey and wet in New Zealand at the moment that I am loving all the soft "dreamy" colour combos on some of the challenge sites at the mo.

Even if you don't have time to join in, check out all the fab cards from the design team and those that rose to the challenge for CAS Colours & Sketches.

I really wanted to have a go with my new background Stained Glass hot foil plate and it's matching stencil that I have just acquired and I thought these 3 colours would look great on a "stained window" and they did.

 I added a reverse foiled sentiment from the fancy script hot foil plates and also watercoloured up the Cherry Blossom using re-inkers.

 

I added the wee excess strip inside the card to finish it off:

Supply List:
Stamps: Forever Blossoms (SU!)

Ink: Blushing Bride (SU!), So Saffron (SU!), Soft Sea Foam (SU!), Versamark

Paper: Neenah Solar white crest #110, So Saffron (SU!), Soft Sea Foam (SU!), Watercolour (RNG)
Hot foil plates/dies: Fancy Script (PF), Stained Glass (PF), solid hot foil die (PF)

Dies: Master Layouts 2 (GK), Cherry Blossoms (SU!)
Other: Stained Glass stencils (PF), blending brushes, round no. 2 water brush, clear embossing powder, clear Wink of Stella, foam squares, matte gold gimmer foil

Challenges: CAS Colours & Sketches #479

EEK just realised I probably didn't make it CAS - focused too much on the great colour combo and I probably only needed the hello but I love my card so happy the challenge got me KReating it!

✿ Karen ✿

Just A Hello

I'm playing with "to me" my new stencil and stamp set from Pinkfresh Studio called Just A Hello Floral. The set has 5 stencils (3 for flowers and 2 for leaves). 

I have to admit this was probably the first stamp and stencil set I ever bought. I bought it at SENZ in July 2021 and it was the only stamp set with stencils and matching die I could buy at the time. As this was at a time when all my crafting supplies were in a box between house moves, I never got to play with it until now. 

 It's actually a very cool stamp set and die as the image when cut with the die gives you 2 floral strips or if you just stamp directly onto a card you have room in the middle for a saying. Even the sentiments that come with the set are a one piece stamp and matching die.

Most people do use both bits on a card but I made 2 cards which I love. I decided to use the set for the latest challenge at CAS Colour and Sketches whose challenge this week is to use Crushed Curry, Gorgeous Grape and Pear Pizzazz on a card.

This certainly is not a colour combo I would ever have dreamt of but I love my cards so much so I am not sure which card to enter so I maybe cheeky and enter both! I have embossed the image with Rose Gold embossing powder. Otherwise I think it is all pretty obvious. 

Supply List:
Stamps, Stencils and Dies: Just a Hello Floral (Pinkfresh Studios)
Ink: Crushed Curry (SU!), Gorgeous Grape (SU!), Pear Pizzazz (SU!), Versamark
Paper: White, Pear Pizzazz (SU!), Strathmore Bristol smooth (for blending)

Other: Rose Gold EP (ALT), some old retired SU! embossing folder ?name, single stitched line rounded rectangle die (MFT), Iridescent jewels and pearls (SU!), adhesive strips and dimensionals (SU!), corner rounder, blending brushes (TE)

Thanks for popping in.

✿ Karen ✿