My Journey to Card making

      I have been crafting one thing or another most of my life. My grandmother started me off at 5yrs old doing cross stitch and needle point. My Mom was a seamstress and taught me to sew as soon as I could sit at the Singer and work the knee pedal. I taught myself to crochet when I was 18 to make a blanket for my first nephew.

    

      In 1998 I began scrapbooking. I loved creating something that was more than a photo album, something that brought the pictures to life. Something that my now grown children and grandchildren love to open up and relive the good times in there lives. I never dreamed at the time that I would someday have a room dedicated to just crafts, and that I'd have enough of that stuff to stock a store. LOL

 

      Card making came as a direct result of my love for stamping on my scrapbooking pages. I love to give gifts that I have created myself so I started making gift tags and cards for friends and family. Card making then became my favorite craft. Oh, I still scrapbook to keep up with the grandkids lives and I still crochet, but Card making seems to be my greatest love and I do it as much as possible.

       I love discovering new stamp companies and recently I stumbled onto the website of JustRite stamps. (http://justrite-papercraft.myshopify.com/) I love all these beautiful stamps and have used them on many of my cards. This company is affiliated with Spellbinders.

 

       My card today is made with a JustRite background stamp that I just fell in love with. I'm always inspired by cards with lots of colors and flowers. They make me happy so in turn, I believe they will make others happy.

Products used:

JustRite #CL-05089 Blooming Vines

Hampton Arts  (Smile)

Canson watercolor paper

Ranger distress inks

Ranger Archival ink

Misti

     I started by placing the stamp in the Misti, inking with archival ink and stamping it. The beauty of the Misti is that if the first impression isn't perfect you can re-stamp until it is. When I was happy with the outcome I started water coloring using my ranger inks and a paint brush. First the leaves, I used Peeled Paint distress ink, I painted a very lite watered down layer. When that was dry I went back to each leaf with the same color, with less water and added just a touch to the bottoms of each leaf for shadow and texture. I did the same with the flowers using Shaded Lilac distress ink.

    

     After I was done water coloring I placed my paper back into my Misti, making sure it was in the exact spot as when I stamped the first time, and stamped it again to define the out lines. Then I used Abandoned Coral distress ink and a blending brush and did the outside edges of the card.

      I cut it down to 41/8 x53/8 and wrapped a piece of purple nylon ribbon around it and tied a knot. Then I adhered it to a violet card.

      I stamped the word smile and the frame from the same set and fussy cut it out, popped it up with dimensional tape and I was done.

I will be entering this card in these challenges:

Color Throwdown Countdown #411

House of Cards Challenge (Add a Bird and/or Colors)

Love to Scrap Challenge Blog #86 (Anything Goes)

Muse Challenge #185

   

Thanks for stopping buy.

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  

 

  

Sunnier Days

     It's been so beautiful the last couple of days, sunny and the temperature in the 70's perfect. I won't complain about the summer and the heat because it's better than snow, but these last few days have been a wonderful reprieve from the high 90's.

     My card today is inspired by the beautiful sunny days of summer, and the Inspiration Photo on Addicted to Stamps and More. 



 Products Used:

JustRite Stamps #CL-02138 Sweet Posies

JustRite Sentiment #CR-04835 Black Eyed Susan Vintage Labels Five

Ranger Archival Ink

Ranger Distress Ink (Salty Ocean, Peeled Paint, Wild Honey, Carved Pumpkin)

Ranger Distress Markers

Canson Watercolor paper

Misti

     I love the JustRite stamps, they are a custom product of Spellbinders and have dies that coordinate, they have so many beautiful backgrounds, sentiments, flowers and so much more. Check them out when you get a chance.http://justrite-papercraft.myshopify.com/collections/all-stamps.

     I stamped the bouquet on the left side of the watercolor paper, using my Misti. Then I used my Ranger markers and using the fine tip I colored in the small areas of the leaves, center of the flowers and buds. For the larger flowers I stamped ink onto an acrylic block and water colored them. My stamp was still on the Misti so I stamped it again to define the edges and make it pop.  

     The Butterfly was so pretty I had to add it to the card, so I stamped it on the card and then on a scrap piece of watercolor paper. I water colored the one on the scrap piece of paper and then fussy cut it out and adhered over the one on the card.

     When I stamped the sentiment I didn't realize I had ink on my fingers, Ugh! My solution was to stamp some of the flowers again and watercolor them. I fussy cut them out and placed them over the ink smudges and not only solved the problem but it added a nice touch to the card.

     I used some of the same color ink as the flowers around the edges of the card to soften them.

I will be entering this card in:

Addicted to Stamps and More "Photo Inspiration" 

Love to Scrap "Flower Power"

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Stamp It"

 

  

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Wonderfully Crafty Day!!

Karen