I Love You More

Hi all,
      Well Valentines Day is just around the corner and I find that I don't have many valentine stamps.
I searched through my stash and found these cute little Owls and a sentiment stamp from Impression Obsession that did nicely. Hope You Like it.

     I stamped the owls in brown Archival ink, masked them, then stamped the branch. I used a piece of vellum over it to position the branch. I had to stamp and move it a couple of times to get it right. (The vellum was placed over the image and then stamped until I was able to get the branch in just the right place). Then I positioned the sentiment stamp and stamped it in Archival black. I used my Prismacolor pencils to color the owls, and distress ink for the branch. Then a little edge of Tumbled Glass around the branch and Owls. Then using a Red Gelly Roll sparkle pen I wrote Happy-Valentines-Day-Be-Mine around the edge. I Matted in Red and attached to a white card.


Products used: Impression Obsession stamps- (Owls-E7760) and Sentiment (C14534-More Today)
                         Ranger Archival ink (black and brown)
                         Prismacolor soft core colored pencils
                         Canson watercolor paper
                         Gelly Roll sparkle pen (red)
                         Canson cardstock (red and White)
I will be entering this card in: Impression Obsession challenge(love is in the air)
Thanks for stopping by.
Happy crafting!
God Bless,
Karen

Black, White and a spot of Red

     Today's card took me out of my comfort zone, big time. I love to use lots of color on my cards and the challenge was to only use Black, White and Red. I think I dreamt about it last night, LOL, because when I got up this morning I knew exactly which stamps I was going to use to make it. I love the way it turned out and I think I will be trying this again soon.

Products used:
Altenew Stamp Sets( Beautiful Day and Peony Bouquet)
Ranger Archival Ink ( Black and Grey-Watering Can)
Ranger Distress ink (Fired Brick and Aged  Mahogany)
Ranger Distress watercolor paper
Hampton Arts sentiment
Canson red cardstock
Inkadinkado masking paper
Misti
     I started by stamping out the different flowers on scrap paper to get my positioning just right. Then I started stamping the first flower by using  Black to outline, then I used the Grey over the whole flower and stamped the shadows in Black, creating my focal point in the bouquet. I then masked it and stamped the second flower and the 2 smaller flowers in Black and the shadows in Grey. Again, I masked the Flowers and stamped the leaves in Black and masked them.
I stamped the rest in Black and then removed the masks. I was very happy with the result. I put down a light layer of Pumice Stone ink and water to give it depth and stamped, Thank You in Red. I finished by matting in Red.
I will be entering this card in these challenges:
                                        Make My Monday ( Black, White and a spot of Red)
                                        Addicted to Stamps and More (Anything goes)
                                         Tuesday Throwdown Challenge ( Anything Goes)
                                         Simon Says Wednesday Challenge (Anything Goes)
Thanks for stopping by,
Happy Crafting.
God Bless,
Karen

To a special Lady

     I made this card for a very special Lady. She turned 80 yesterday, and she is my Sister-in-law's Mom. Many years ago even before my brother met his wife, I was on a ladies bowling league and she was on one of the teams; coincidently with my other sister-in-law's Mom. Small world. So we've known each other for a time. She's a great Lady.
     I wanted to make her a special card to let her know how much she means to me. One of my very favorite stamp sets that I got for Christmas was The Altenew Beautiful Day set. I just love it and have been using it a lot.  So here is the card that I made for this very special Lady.

 





     I was so happy with the way these blue flowers came out that I had to do a little on the inside too.

 

     Just a little to pull it al together.

Supplies used:

     Altenew Beautiful Day Stamp set

     Ranger distress Inks(Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Stormy Sky, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint,

Mustard Seed)

     Canson Card Watercolor paper

     Inkadinkado masking paper

     I used my favorite stamp set with My favorite inks to create this card for one of my favorite people. 

I will be entering this card in: The Flower Challenge Blue and Yellow

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy crafting!

God Bless,

Karen

    

    

  

 

Snowman Shaker card

Hi all,


     Made this card for Christmas and decided to enter it in the Addicted to Stamps Challenge-
( Frosty Friends) I loved how this little guy turned out and I hope you do too. By the way, this is my first shaker card.



Addicted To Stamps Challenge

     The Snowman is From AI and Hampton Arts the set comes with 2 snowmen, 2snowflakes a sentiment, a snowman and snowflake die #ASTM D4236. 

The trees are from Fiskars, snow globe mini set. The snow globe is just a spellbinders circle die and the base is a digi. I colored using Ranger distress inks. I used Recollections stars glitter shapes for snow.

     The card was a big hit with my family and friends I hope you like it too!

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy crafting!

God Bless,

Karen

Seasons

      Today I want to celebrate the beauty and joy of the changing seasons. 

 

      Winter; cold and not so much fun for most people, shoveling, wearing boots and heavy winter coats. However, there are also times, when you look out the window after a snow storm and everything is pure white and laced with snow and ice and it's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. Building a snowman with your kids, sledding, skiing, snowboarding, when you have snowball fights or make snow angels, Christmas. Then Winter becomes a wonderland full of fun and excitement.

      Spring; crocuses, daffodils, tulips, cherry blossoms, dogwoods in bloom,  trees waking from their winters nap with green buds, rain, birds singing, the sound geese flying overhead and spotting the first robin of the season. The promise of warmer, longer days, Easter bonnets, bright colors and baseball games. People coming outside after a lone winters hibernation to enjoy the beauty of a new season. What a glorious time of year.

      Summer; longer hotter days, lots of sunshine, cookouts, 4th of July, fireworks, family reunions, graduations, weddings, and of course vacations. It's a time to celebrate with friends and neighbors, a time for swimming, flip flops, shorts, hiking, tubing, camping, mowing the lawn and making s'mores around the fire pit. Hopping in the car and taking long rides in the country, carnivals, festivals, amusement parks, finding adventure around every corner. Summer is full of fun and enjoyment for everyone.

      Autumn; leaves changing from green to red, orange, yellow and brown; cooler days and nights, a crispness to the air. Sweatshirts, sneakers, long pants and jackets. Farmers markets, apples picking, carving pumpkins, Halloween, trick or treats, falling leaves and the World Series. Thanksgiving with family and friends, Football, pumpkin and apple pie   A time to take stock in all you have and to be thankful.

     My cards today reflect the beauty of the Fall season.

     Card #1 Celebrate

Products used:

Penny Black #40-357 Autumn Dance

Penny Black Die #51-028 Celebrations

Ranger Queens Gold embossing powder

VersaMark

Ranger Distress ink

Misti

Canson watercolor paper 130lb

      Using the Misti, I placed the watercolor paper in it and centered the stamp. Then I inked it with VersaMark and stamped it on the paper, I did this twice to make sure all the detail was stamped. I removed the paper from the Misti and covered it with the embossing powder, then tapped off the excess and embossed with my heat gum. When the embossing was set I let it cool then used my Ranger distress ink to shade and blend the background. I spritzed it with water and dried it. I did this twice to give the background movement and texture. I wiped any excess ink off  the embossing and added the celebrate die-cut.

Card #2

       I learned this technique from my friend Lynda, and she in turn learned it by watching 

 Watercolor with Brushstroke stamps and the Misti PB and J YouTube   



Products used:

Penny Black #40-492 Berry Kissed

Penny Black #30-229 Special Wishes

Canson watercolor paper 130lb

Canson card stock

Ranger distress ink markers 

Ranger Archival ink

Misti

     I started out with my stamp and watercolor paper in the Misti. I colored in just the leaves with Tea Die and then I added some Gathered Twigs to the bottoms of each leaf and just a touch to some of the edges. I spritzed the stamp with water and closed the Misti to stamp the leaves. Then I used a paint brush and blended just a few of the leaves at a time, and stamped again without adding any more ink. I did this with all the leaves until I was happy with the texture, color and definition in each leaf. I repeated this technique with the berries using Carved Pumpkin and Rusty Hinge. I did the stems in Ground Espresso. (see website above)

     I also used my Misti to stamp my sentiment so I would get a clear stamping and so that if it wasn't I could stamp it over again if needed.

 

     This technique is so awesome I have already used it on a bunch of my other stamps. Try it I'm sure you will love it too.

    

 I will be entering these cards in:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge (Nature)

Color Q Challenge #361

Make My Monday( No Patterned Paper)     

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge (Anything Goes)

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a wonderfully crafty day!

Karen

Clean and Simple

     Clean and simple card are not my favorite cards to make. While they are usually quick and easy I have a problem knowing when to stop. I always want to add just a little more of this or that and then they're not Clean and Simple anymore.

     Well today I am happy to say that I started out with an idea of what my card should look like and I didn't add anything extra. Yay for me. However, it wasn't simple, but it was fun.

Products used:

Altenew "Peony Bouquet"

Misti

Ranger distress ink

Ranger Archival ink

Penny Black #30-229 "Special Wishes"

Canson 130lb watercolor paper

Inkadinkado masking paper

     Using my Misti I inked the first peony outline with distress ink, Mustard Seed, and spritzed it with water then stamped it onto the water color paper. Using a paint brush and some water I drew the ink from the edges to color in the flower.  Then I inked the stamp again and re-stamped the image using the same ink. I then lined up the second stamp, highlights, over the first stamped image, inked using Mustard Seed, and spritzed with just a little water and stamped. I used a brush to soften the highlights, then masked it and moved onto the next 2 flowers and the leaves using the same technique. The Misti allowed me to stamp my image as many times as needed to get the desired effect with each layer. It is by far one of my favorite stamping tools.

     

     Using distress ink, Tumbled Glass, and water I added a shadow around the bouquet to give it stability.

     I stamped the sentiment also using my Misti and I was very glad I did because the first stamping was not dark enough so I re-inked the stamp and stamped it again, perfect!  

     My inspiration for this card came from the Muse card below The colors and the flowers, these colors are so perfect together, and I love to watercolor flowers.

I will be adding this card to these challenges:

AAA Cards "Masking"

Addicted to Stamps and More "Make Your Mark"

Muse Challenge Blog #184

Altenew Ultimate Blog Hop

     Muse

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a wonderfully crafty day!

Karen

 

    



Autumn Colors

     I love the beautiful colors of fall, the gold, yellow, red, orange, browns and greens they make me feel warm inside.  Cooler days and crisp nights, cuddling with the one you love. Fire pits burning bright in the evenings, s'mores, a glass of wine, and good company. Taking a drive in the country to just look at the beauty of God's wonderful creation in full color, breathtaking! Halloween, all the kids dressed up in their costumes. Trick or Treat! We loved those days setting up all the decorations and carving pumpkins, fun times. Then there's Thanksgiving, friends and family getting together to enjoy a wonderful meal and being thankful for all the good in our lives, and Football, of course. Those are the things I look forward to when fall comes around.

     

     When making this card I was tried to capture some of the beauty of Autumn.

Products used:

Just Rite Shabby Chic "Autumn leaves" #CR-03870

Impression Obsession #E13185

Ranger Archival ink Black

Ranger distress inks

Canson watercolor paper

Canson card stock

Misti

     Using the Misti and distress ink, Carved Pumpkin, I spritzed with water and stamped the Chinese Lanterns. This is an outline stamp so next I took water and a brush and colored in the image, pulling the color from the stamped areas. I then stamped the image again after inking the stamp with a darker color, Rusty Hinge, no water this time. I pulled some of the darker color out for shading and then stamped it again for definition. I used a mask to cover the first stamping and added the lower branch using the same technique. The sentiment is from the Just Rite set. Then I used Peeled Paint, Rusty Hinge, Carved Pumpkin and Fired Brick distress inks to blend the background.

     For the second panel I used the same colors to blend the background and the using Archival black ink I stamped the Leaves.

I will be entering this card in these challenges:

Make My Monday #30 Autumn/Fall colours"

MoJo Monday #466 Sketch

Time Out Challenge #66 "Photo Inspiration"

Color Q Challenge #360

               

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a wonderfully crafty day!

Karen  

 

  

Upcycling Fall

     Well September has been very busy, busy, busy. Birthdays for 2 of our grandchildren and our niece's wedding, Dr. appointments, Grandparents Day, kids football games, and a whole host of other little errands.  I thought our retirement would be, kick off your shoes, sit back and relax. It's been anything but. I don't know how we found the time to work, with all the other things going on in our lives. I guess I would have time for work if I wasn't in my craft room, and on my blog for 6 hours a day, but what fun would that be. LOL

    

     I have been very busy working on, new to me, techniques. My friend Lynda and I have gotten together quite a few times and tried out some new things on our Misti. It's so wonderful having a friend that loves to create as much as I do, and lives 5 minutes away.

     My card today is an "Up cycled" card. I used a Thanksgiving napkin from last year to create a falling leaves card. 

      

 

Products used:

Ranger distress ink

Napkin

Stamp-n-up "Sentiment"

     This card came together in about 20 minutes. First I removed the extra layers from the napkin and glued it to some white card stock to make it easier to cut out and give it more stability. Then I used a Gathered Twiggs distress marker and went around the edges to cover the white and make them pop. I added dimension, by popping up two of the leaves. Peeled Paint, Fired Brick and Carved Pumpkin distress ink on the stamped sentiment and then added just a touch of Wild Honey distress ink to the edges. Done! 

I will be entering this card in:

                                               AAA Cards#73 "Up cycling"

                                               Colour Q Challenge #360 "Photo Inspiration"

                                               Addicted to Stamps "Trees/Branches/Leaves"

                                               Make My Monday Challenge "Autumn Colors"

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a wonderfully crafty day!

Karen

 

Blog Hop Joy!!

     How exciting Altenew is having the Ultimate Blog Hop that includes 17 other blogs and 5 $35 prizes plus a chance to win on the other blogs too. Then I checked out their blog this morning and there's another one for their new product release.  Three $50 prizes and a chance to win more on the other blogs. Love Altenew stamps, inks and dies.

     Todays card is one I made with my Altenew stamp set Vintage Roses.

Products used:

Altenew Vintage Roses

Spellbinders Designer Series S6-268 Quatrafoil Panel

Ranger distress ink (Spun sugar, Worn Lipstick, Festive Berries, Fired Brick,

                                                  Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters)

Ranger Archival ink

Canson Water color  paper

Canson 110lb white CS

Canson off white CS

     I started with my spellbinders die and cut it out of the canson110lb white CS. I cut a 1/4" strip of the same CS for the top and bottom of the panel. Then I cut strips of dimensional tape for the back to pop it up, and set it aside for later.

 

      With my distress inks I stamped out about 50 different roses in all sizes and also some leaves.

Then I fussy cut them all out and adhered them to each other in different groupings. After I had several groupings I arranged then on my trellis. When I was satisfied with the way it looked I adhered the trellis to the front of the card. I cut the Happy Anniversary sentiment stamp from the Vintage Roses set and stamped it at the side of the trellis. Done!

I will be adding this card to these blog hop sites: 

Altenew Ultimate Blog Hop

Addicted to Stamps and More (Anything Goes)

Love to Scrap (Anything Goes)

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a wonderfully crafty day!

Karen