Sketchy Floral

Hello,
      I'm so happy you could come by. Just a quick stop in to get a card up before the challenge closes.
As stated in my previous blog I love the combination of gray leaves with my flowers. One of my Favorite techniques is watercolor and this card has lots of that. I used Altenew's Sketchy Floral stamps, Altenew-Antique Silver embossing powder, TH distress ink, (Milled Lavender + Dusty Concord) for flowers and (Pumice Stone + Hickory Smoke) for leaves. The Sentiment is form Altenew- Beautiful Inside set. I used Canson #140 watercolor paper and black Recollections
for the card.
     I silver embossed this beautiful stamp on my Canson paper and then using the distress inks water colored it. I wanted a clean and simple card so I only added a few black pearls around the sentiment.
I cut it down to 41/8" x 53/8" and adhered it to my black card. 

      I will be adding this card to these challenges:
Altenew- 2018 April Inspiration Challenge
AAA Cards-#112-My Favorite Technique
Penny Black and More-April- Black, White plus one
Casual Fridays #196-Spring Fever
SSS Wednesday Challenge-Happy Birthday
 

Well thanks again for stopping in, if you like what you see, please leave me a comment, I'd love to here what you think.
Have a wonderfully crafty day!
God Bless,
Karen

Wishing You a Lovely Birthday

Hello again,
     Another dreary day for us here, but lucky for me I have a craft room to escape to, and a husband that doesn't mind if I spend the day in it.
     Lately I've been experimenting with colors and have found that I really like gray leaves with my flowers, that doesn't mean that I won't be using green ever again, but I do really like the effect that gray leaves gives to my cards. With that said I have a few cards that I would like to share. The first is below, the second will be in my next blog.

     This CAS card was fairly simple, I stamped the flowers on Neenah #110 white cardstock. I used
Altenew's Remember This stamp set ,  Shades of Purple mini cubes,  Rock Collection Mini cubes and some black glitter washi tape I picked up at Michael's. For the Sentiment I used Build-a-Flower-Sakura-Blossom also by Altenew.
     Since I don't have the dies for the Remember This set I fussy cut the flowers and stems. I used Recollections #110 card stock for my card cut 2 pieces of washi tape and placed them side by side on the front left edge, off setting them. Then I glued down the stem and flowers, adding just a touch of dimension. I stamped my sentiment added a piece of card and washi tape to the inside and I was done.
     I will be adding this card to these challenges:
Altenew April 2018 Inspiration Challenge
Penny Black-Black White plus one
Freshly Made Sketches #331
SSS-Wednesday Challenge- Happy Birthday
Casual Fridays- #196 Spring Fever
Thanks for stopping by,
Have a wonderfully crafty day!

God Bless,
Karen

     
   

Hope your day is amazing

Hello again,
     It's a gray day here in Rochester, NY and only 29 degrees. A normal Spring for early April, but I sure wish the sunshine and warmth would hurry up, lol. I  have been working on Spring cards to make waiting a little easier. I just got this beautiful new stamp set from Altenew's March release
Sweet Rose Bouquet I love it ! I Also Got the Hope Stamp set  and a while back I purchased Create-a-Wreath-die set with these I created this card.

                                      

     I also used Altenew Ink sets Pocketful-of-Sunshine-oval-set and Green-Fields-oval-set and for the stitched edge Stitched-rectangle-dies-by-kat-scrappiness.
     I wanted something special for my Sister-in-Law's birthday and these stamps were perfect for that. I stamped the leaf stamp using only the lightest of the greens, so that I knew where I wanted the image to be. Then I stamped the 4 layers to complete the flowers and finished the leaves. Next I used the stitched rectangle die for the edge. I stamped the sentiment and cut the oval with the create a wreath die. I adhered the background on a 41/4" x51/2" yellow card, then using fun foam on the back of the wreath, I placed it so the stamped images matched, giving dimension to the wreath. The center image was then glued down to the card inside the wreath also matching the image. I took it a little farther by stamping the image on the inside, using only the lightest green and the lightest yellow. for the roses I used the 3rd layer of the stamps to get a very light partial image. That's it.
                                                            
I will be adding this card to:
Time Out challenge #106 Altenew 4th Birthday
CAS-ual Fridays #196 Spring Fever
Mod Squad Simply Clean Challenge
SSS Wednesday Challenge-Happy Birthday

That's it for now, thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderfully crafty day!
God Bless,
Karen

Prismacolor Penoy

     My card today is another I made using my Prismacolor pencils. I've really enjoyed playing with them and have made several others that I will share in the future.
     I put together to stamp companies to create this card. the first being Stampendous. My friend Lynda came over to stamp with me and brought along some new stamps. This one is called Cling Fresh Peony,  Stampendous Cling Fresh Peony-Amazon, and Altenew's new dotted washi tape, Altenew- Dotted Washi Tape and Thank you from Flower arrangement die set, Altenew-Flower-arrangement-die-set,.

Other supplies used:
Prismacolor Premier soft core pencils
Michaels Black glitter washi tape
Recollections White 65# cardstock
Recollections Black  65# cardstock
MFBGOLD-1212-1 gold mirror cardstock
3M Dimensional tape
Sharpie fine tip pen black
Zig glue pen
     I colored the Peony and then traced all the lines of the flower to make then more defined, I did the same with the leaves.
     The background was very simple, I just layered the Washi tape over a piece of cardstock, smoothed it down, and trimmed the edges. Then I added the black glitter washi tape. For the Thank you I cut one in Gold and 5 in white, and using my Zig glue pen, glued them all together.  I needed the sentiment to be the same height as the flower.
     I used dimension tape and some glue to adhere the flower to the background. I needed the glue because the finish on the washi tape doesn't allow the dimensional tape to stick well, but a little white glue and it's perfect. 
 I will be entering this card in these challenges:
Freshly Made Sketches #329
Power Poppy-Inspired by Fabric
Card Concept #89-Spring has Sprung  (I used the Yellow from the inspiration photo)
Thank you for stopping by.
Have a wonderfully crafty day!
God Bless,
Karen
    

Floral Birthday

     Just a quick post to enter some challenges.
     This card was made using my stash again. It's so bright and colorful just like the way I feel while looking at my garden, in the Spring after a very long winter.  All the flowers were embossed in gold, water colored and fussy cut. I took them from my stash and started gluing them to 4 x 51/4" piece of white card stock, then I mounted the large Pink flower using dimensional tape. With my Clarity brushes I added yellow distress ink along the edge of the flowers for sunny glow. I stamped the sentiment and adhered to a pink card.  Time to create, about 15min.  

Supplies used:

Altenew Adore You stamp set
Altenew  Antique Gold embossing powder
Altenew embossing ink
Ranger Archival ink
Ranger distress ink
MISTI
Recollections cardstock
Happy Birthday-unknown
I will be entering these challenges:
Altenew Inspiration Challenge March 2018
HLS March Watercolor Challenge
Time Out Challenge-4th Birthday
Have a wonderfully, crafty day!
God Bless,
Karen

Happy Birthday Bling

     Blue skies and sunshine, what a wonderful way to start the day!  We had a great visit with Chris, Lindsey and the kids last night, dinner and conversation, always a joy to spend time with family. Michael, Kari, Mark and Logan are moving back to NY in June, and in July, Dale and I will welcome our newest grandson Carter James, we can't wait. We love being a grandparents. Well enough about my life, for now, lol.
     Today's card is one I threw together using my stash of pre-stamped and water colored flowers.
I've mentioned this before in a previous post, New Year Hello,  I really love having premade florals for quick cards. This one took about 10 minutes to make. Yes, I stamped directly onto the glitter gold washi tape, doesn't it look amazing, I love it!  I adhered the tape to a strip of white card and centered it on my card using 1 narrow strip of dimensional tape down the middle. I adhered the flowers behind the strip with glue, but only along the bottom edge of the flowers, to give them some movement and dimension. Then I did the same with the leaves.

Supplies used:
Altenew Adore you Stamp set
Altenew Glitter Gold Washi Tape
Altenew Antique Gold embossing powder
Ranger Distress ink (Peeled Paint, Picked Raspberry, Shaded Lilac, Mustard Seed)
Ranger Archival ink
Recollections mini sequins
Recollections 110# White cardstock
Canson watercolor paper
Stampabilites  Clear Stamps (Happy Birthday)
I will be entering these challenges:
Altenew March 2018 Inspiration Challenge
HLS-March Watercolor Challenge-Anything Goes
Time Out Challenge- 4th Birthday
Have a wonderfully, crafty day!
God Bless,
Karen
       

Watercolor Birthday

    So here we are, the first day of Spring in Rochester, NY. It's sunny with a few clouds, you know the white fluffy ones, and 30 degrees. Not very warm, but you can't have everything, I guess.  I can't wait to be able to open my windows and let the fresh air in, it's been way to long.
     My card today is one I made using a technique I saw in one of Jennifer McGuire's
 video's, I love this technique and have used it many times, with beautiful results.
     First I stamped my image on Canson watercolor paper. I inked up my stamp and spritzed it, quite a lot. and then stamped it. It came out even better than I expected and I set it aside to dry. I don't like to use my heat tool for drying as it might spread the ink where I don't want it, and sometimes warps the paper. Once dry I used my blue painters tape, (I stuck it to my arm to remove some of the stickiness first) and framed my stamped image with it. Then I took one of my background text stamps and inked it up, stamped it off on another piece of paper, then on my background. I repeated this several times using only a small section of the stamp. I used my blending tool and distress ink to color the background. When I took off my tape I had a center background with parts of the flower and branch outside of the inked area.
      I stamped my sentiment, trimmed down my card to 4" x 51/4"added some fun foam and adhered
it to a card.    
                                    
Supplies used:
Penny Black  #40-450 The Unfolding
Penny Black #30-413 Birthday Love
Distress Ink (Dusty Concord, Forest Moss, Shaded Lilac, Gathered Twiggs, Vintage Photo)
Ranger Archival ink (Black)
MISTI
Canson 140lb. watercolor paper
Recollections ivory 110lb. paper
Fun Foam
Blue Painters tape
I will be entering this card in these challenges:
CAS-Watercolor-March Challenge-Garden
Penny Black Saturday Challenge-Anything goes
Time Out Challenge- 4th Birthday
The Flower Challenge-#18 Anything goes

    
As always I hope you have a wonderfully, crafty day.
God Bless,
Karen

Coneflowers and colored pencils

     I'm kind of a novice when it comes to colored pencils so, I asked my friend Lynda for a quick lesson. She was more than happy to oblige and I am so thankful to her, I learned so much. 
     My card today is the result of that lesson and I totally Love it! I hope you do too.

Supplies used:

Stampendous Cling Coneflower #CRS5104

Prismacolor colored pencils

Sizzix Thinlets dies #660220 (corner)

Altenew Blooming Bouquet (little dots)

Pretty Pink Posh clear dew drops

Sharpie fine black pen

Neenah bright white cardstock

Recollections burnt orange cardstock

Fiskars clear stamps #03-008261( Thinking of you)

Clarity brushes

Distress ink ( Squeezed Bundled Sage) 

     After receiving some great tips and tricks on coloring and blending I created these blossoms and just had to use them on a card. I also created several more for my stash. 

     I laid out my flowers and leaves on my paper and then used a piece of Glade Press-n-Seal to hold it together and added my adhesives to it. This made it so easy to get it back just how I wanted it, giving the flowers lots of dimension. I used the Clarity brushes to go around the edges with just a hint of yellow and stamped the dots in the two greens then added the dew drops. I adhered it flat to my Burnt Orange card and it was done. 

     This is the first card I've made with my colored pencils, but defiantly not my last.

I will be entering this card in:

The Flower Challenge-Anything Goes

Power Poppy-Inspired by Fabric

            
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful , crafty day!
God Bless,
Karen

Peonies in Blue

      Friday my wonderful friend , Linda, and I had a great time together making cards and just talking. we try to get together every week. She has been such an inspiration to me through the years and I don't know what I would do without her, she's not just a friend, she's family. This card is one I created while we were together and was really quite simple, you see, I have a stash of flowers that I've stamped and fussy cut and I store them till I need to make a card quickly. I didn't really need to  make a quick card, but I wanted to try out my new embossing folder and dies. 

Supplies used:
Altenew Peony Bouquet stamp set
Altenew Coral Charm Stamp set
Altenew Create-A-Wreath dies
Altenew inks
Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large #S4-110
Cuttlebug Mosaic Embossing Folder
Fun Foam
Reflection 110 lb. card stock (Ocean pack)
Neenah bright white 65lb. card stock
JustRite #CR-04835 Black-eyed Susan (sentiment) 
Tombo liquid glue
     First I cut the oval from my 4" x 5 1/4" cardstock, then I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the Mosaic folder. I cut an oval wreath with my Altenew die set from another piece of bright white. I glued the wreath over the cut mosaic background centering on the oval cutout, and set it aside to dry. While it dried I search through my stash to find the right flowers and leaves to work with. I've been working with a lot of blues these last few days so these peonies were perfect. I placed them how I wanted them along the curve of the oval and adhered them with Tombo glue.
      I wanted dimension so I added fun foam to the back to raise it. I stamped my sentiment on a separate piece of Neenah 65# paper and adhered the two together, trimming the excess from all sides.
then I adhered the whole thing to my Ocean blue 110# card.
      A fairly simple card with a beautiful result. I hope you like it as well.
I will be entering this card in:
The Flower Challenge-Anything Goes
Dies R US Challenge #93 Frame It
Power Poppy- Inspired by Fabric                      
              
I hope you have a very crafty day!
God Bless,
Karen

Watercolor Hello

     It's been a long cold winter, to much snow and temps. in the negatives. The only flowers I've seen in months are the ones on my cards. There have been signs of Spring, geese flying over head, honking their return, birds making lots of noise while they chase each other trying to find a nest mate; I just love listening to them. I haven't seen any Robins yet but I'm hopeful that I will soon. With Easter just a few weeks away I hope the weather gets warmer and the spring flowers in my gardens show themselves.

     My card today is one I made for my wonderful friend, Lynda Pleckan, for her birthday. Geraniums

are one of my favorite flowers, strong plants with beautiful blooms all spring and summer long. I took a little artistic license with the color, but  purple and green embossed in gold, just go so well together.                                                  

Supplies:

Bristol smooth surface paper

Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens

Altenew Antique Gold embossing powder
Altenew Flower Arrangement (hello)
Altenew Glitter Gold Washi tape
Stampendous Cling Geraniums
Kat Scrappiness Stitched rectangles die
Clarity Brushes
Ranger Distress ink ( Peeled Paint, Wilted Violet, Broken China)
Hero Arts Stamps (background)
Reflections 110lb. card stock for card
gold mirror paper MFBGOLD-1212-1

     I stamped and embossed the Geraniums on a piece of Bristol smooth, cut to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".
Using my Zig pens and a paint brush I colored the petals one at a time then went back with the same color to darken the centers. (Bristol smooth is my favorite paper to use with my Zigs because the color moves so well on it.) Next came the leaves and I did them the same.
     After the flower was completely dry I used my Clarity brushes and some Broken China Distress ink around the flower to accentuate it. I still thought it need something so I pulled out my stash of
hero arts background and edging stamps. These are my go to stamps whenever I'm creating a background. I chose colors that matched the ones I used for the flowers and stamped them off before bring them to my paper, for a lighter image.
     Using my Kat Scrappiness Die I cut the card. Then I cut out the word hello from my Gold mirror paper. I then decided to add the gold washi tape around the edges of the card, I didn't want to waste it so I placed it on my trimmer and cut my strips half. adhered it to my card and finished of the inside.
I will be entering this card in these challenges:
The Flower Challenge-Anything goes
Color Throwdown- Green, Purple, White

                                                 
     Well, that's it. Have a wonderful, crafty day!
God Bless,
Karen





               

                                 

    

Valentine I Love You

Hi,
     My computer crashed today so I'm doing this on my tablet. I sure hope it works.
     My card today is a fairly simple one, but I love how it turned out.

SUPPLIES:    

Spellbinders die  S2-022 Vines of Passion (heart die)

Altenew   Creative edge-Lace die (double cut down center)

Altenew   Forever and Always stamp set (I love you)

Altenew  Patterned paper (Reflections 6x6 paper pad)

American Crafts   glitter cardstock (Rouge)

ColorMates  cardstock (red)

Neenah solar white cardstock

The gold cardstock is labeled MFBGLD-1212-1

     I will be entering this card in these challenges:

Altenew February Inspiration Challenge

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ( It must be love)

Power Poppy Power + sparkle challenge

Have a very crafty day!

God Bless,

Karen

  

My Valentine

 Hi,
   My card today has a little story behind it so here goes. My husband and I have been married for 40 years and always celebrate Valentines as if it is our first. Candy, flowers and a special dinner. He gets candy too. He always finds just the right card to give me and I do the same. However in the past I've had to buy his card because I didn't have the right stamps to make one. This year I did.
    While browsing the Penny Black sight I found 2 stamps that were perfect for what I had in mind. Tom and Lily (40-098) and Sweetheart (40-503). I bought them and waited. As soon as they arrived I got to work on my vision for the perfect Valentines card for my sweet hubby.
     I stamped them, separately, on Tim Holtz white watercolor paper with black archival ink and used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens to color. When I was done coloring the heart wreath, I fussy cut it out leaving just a hint of white around the flowers. I then worked on coloring Tom and Lily, and added some blue to the background to look like sky and clouds. I stamped the Happy Valentine's Day in red Archival ink using Clearly Posh Stamps (POSH-CST_024) then went over it with a red glitter pen. I used some dimensional tape and popped up the heart around their heads. Then I stamped several different sized hearts with red archival ink and colored them with the red glitter pen. Lastly I found the Eternally Yours stamp in My stash (from the $ bin at Michael's) and stamped it on the bench. The birds are from Altenew's Be A Lighthouse set.

     

 I'm very excited to give this card to my wonderful hubby Dale, as we celebrate Love and Happiness this Valentine's Day.

I will be entering this card in these challenges: Mod Squad Challenge Valentine Love

                                                                       Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Layer it Up

                                                                       Penny Black- January-Anything Goes

Have a very crafty day!

God Bless

Karen 

 

New Years Hello

Hello,
     I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to a healthy, happy and very Crafty New Year. My Christmas was fill with all the people I Love and my New Year started by welcoming a new little Niece to the family, Brynn Harper Linton, what a sweet girl. My Sister is over the Moon to have another grandchild to love, as are we all. My husband and I also found out over the holidays that we will be welcoming a new grandson in July, we're so excited, #6 is on the way.
     I didn't get into my craft room much in the last few months, but my New Years resolution is to work on my blog more and enter more challenges, so here I am. I've made several cards with stamps I received for Christmas and from my stash of previously stamped and colored flowers.
      Whenever I get a new stamp, I stamp them out several times and color them for future use. That way when I need a card fast, I can go to my stash and get it done fairly quickly.
     My Stash of Altenew flowers:

When making this card I decided to use several flowers from different sets and my Altenew Wood Pallet background.

     The flowers and leaves are from 3 sets, Peony Bouquet, Garden Treasure and Beautiful Day all from Altenew. I used distress inks, Recollections 110 lb. grey card stock, and Neenah solar white 110 lb. card stock. I adhered all the leaves and the Peony to the card then added a piece of 110lb. card behind the pink Garden Treasures flower and dimensional tape behind the Beautiful Day flower. This gave it many dimensions and I loved the effect.
     I will be entering this card in these challenges:Altenew-January 2018 Inspiration Challenge
                                                                         Simon Says Stamps Wednesday Challenge-Layer it Up

Have a crafty day!
Karen