Birthday Wishes

Hello!


     I can't believe how long it's been since my last blog. I've been so busy! I've  made lots of cards for lots of  Birthday's, Anniversaries and Mother's day. My Daughter-in-Law Graduated from college and we went on vacation to visit my In-Laws they're 93 and 90 and have had a rough year but they came out on top and are in good health.
     I'm itching to get back in the swing of things and I'm starting with this card I made for the Altenew May Inspiration Challenge.

     I've been trying to work on and perfect my water coloring and shading so I've been practicing, a lot. I embossed my image first, for a little extra help keeping in the lines of the petal. For this card I used Remember This and Beautiful Day stamp sets and my Sentiment is from Floral Frame.

     Using my MISTI, I stamped the flowers and leaves on Canson watercolor paper using VersaMark ink and embossed in Ranger Queen's Gold embossing powder. I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens to color the rose buds, leaves and small rose. For the larger flower I used Ranger distress inks to watercolor. Then I fussy cut all the pieces out.

     I used 110lb Core'dinations white card stock for my A2 card and a strip of  SU gold paper for the edge. After affixing the gold strip to the card I laid out all the leaves and the buds where I wanted them and adhered them to the front of the card, then I use dimensional tape to adhere the larger flowers. I stamped the birthday wishes with VersaMark and embossed it using Queen's Gold again.

     Using my Clairty brushes and Tumbled Glass distress ink I shaded around the flowers. I added some blue Queen and Comp. pearls and was done.  

     I really enjoyed making this card, and I think I'm going to have a hard time giving it away, LOL.

I hope you like it as much as I do.

       Well that's it for today have to go make dinner. Happy Crafting

     I will be entering this card in these challenges:



                                                                                Altenew May Inspiration Challenge

                                                                                Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by.

God Bless

Karen

Happy Birthday

     My card today is for a very special young women. She is my son's wife and mother to my grandchildren. I've known her since she was a child of 12 and can tell you she is and amazing women. She takes care of a house, 3 kids, a husband, a cat and dog, she's a part time nanny and she somehow goes to college full time. I love her as if she were my own daughter and so I wanted to make her a very special card for her birthday.
     For Christmas my husband went all out and got me some amazing stamps by Penny Black, Zig clean color pens, and tons more. This card was made using some of them.
     Using Penny Black Slapstick/Cling #40-447 Poppy Gems I stamped with Versa Mark and embossed in black on watercolor paper. Then using my Zig pens I colored in the flowers in 2 colors using some black seed beads for the centers. I stamped the Happy Birthday from a  Stampabilites clear titles set. The butterfly is from Hampton Arts Cling,( Once upon a time springtime set). I added Light blue zig pen around the flowers, and fussy cut 3 butterflies for the front and inside the card.
     I hope she likes this card as much as I do.

I will be entering this card in these challenges:
My Favorite Things Color Challenge #61
Penny Black At Allsorts
Penny Black Saturday Challenge


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

Falling for You

     What a beautiful day it was yesterday! Fall is definitely in the air. It was Grandparents day and Chris and Lindsey invited us for dinner and Ice cream. It was so nice to spend time with them and the kids. the only low point of the day was the Miami Dolphins losing in the last minute of the game, Dale, Chris, Luke and Michael (from Hawaii) were very bummed.

     

       My card today is all about fall.  Recently I got some happy mail which included a background stamp from IO with large maple leaves. That's where my card began.  I came up with the idea for the background while trying to fall asleep last night. The rest fell into place when I decided to use the Sketch from Freshly Made Sketches. Some embossing powder, distress inks, spellbinders dies and some ribbon made it all come together.

Products Used:

Canson watercolor paper 130lb.

IO #CC067 C-A-C Maple Leaves

Inkadinkado Sentiment  #98555 Harvest Expressions

Versa Mark

Ranger Queens Gold embossing powder

Ranger distress inks ( Rusty Hinge, Peeled Paint, Broken China, Vintage Photo)

Spellbinders # S4-116 Standard Circles small

Spellbinders Nestabilities #S4-490 Triple Tear

Orange ribbon

     Using Versa Mark on my large IO background stamp I stamped (1) 41/4 x 51/2 and (1) 31/2 x 41/2 pieces of Canson watercolor paper and then embossed them with Queens Gold powder.  Then using my ranger blending tools I add Peeled Paint, Broken China and Vintage Photo to my background. I then used Rusty Hinge to cover and blend all. then I used a paper towel to remove ink from the embossing to make it pop.

     I used dimensional tape I popped up the smaller panel to give some dimension to the card; then wrapped the ribbon around both panels and tied it in a knot, and trimmed the ends.

     To finish the card I repeated the embossing with the sentiment and the distress ink on a piece of scrap watercolor paper. Then cut it out using my spellbinders die. It needed just a hint of a background mat so I used a scrap of burnt orange paper and my circle dies to make one. I added just a little Rusty Hinge to the edges and adhered it to the card. Done.

I will be entering this card in these challenges:

Impression Obsession Challenge "Falling For You"

Freshly Made Sketches #253

Time Out Challenge #65 "Inspired By Words"

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a wonderfully Crafty Day!!

Karen

Just around the corner

September is just around the corner and I have so many cards to make I'm getting dizzy. Two of my Grandchildren have birthdays in September. Evelyn who is turning 7  and Mark who is turning 5, I can't believe how fast they're growing up. It feels like yesterday they were babies. I also have several birthdays for friends and there little ones and my Niece is getting married. So I've been very busy.

My first card is for my Beautiful Niece and her very handsome Hubby to be:



 Products used: Spellbinders die set  5x7 Elegant Labels 4

Altenew Peony Bouquet set

Ranger Queens Gold Embossing powder

Versa Mark

Paper Pizzazz Gold

White Card stock 110 lb.

Craft foam

Misti

I started by cutting out the frame with my Spellbinders die, I love this die and I have use t quite often when making cards. I also cut out the outside frame out of craft foam. I then carefully removed the backing of the foam, so it wouldn't stretch, and adhered it to my frame. I like to do this because it gives it better stability and it's easier than cutting foam tape strips for the small areas. I cut a piece of Gold paper to cover the whole front of the card, after sticking the gold paper down I added the frame to the front making sure to get it centered. I then glued the center piece to the front of the card and placed the whole card in my Misti. I centered my sentiment and stamped it. I'm not sure what company the sentiment is, I took it off the wood and didn't label it. Sorry, 

Then I stamped and embossed the peonies and fussy cut them out. I arranged then on the front of the card and adhered them using dimensional tape and my tape runner. My Nieces Wedding colors are White and Gold. 

I will be submitting this card to: Simon Says Wednesday Challenge"Make for the Border"

                                                    All sorts Challenge "Fabulous Florals"

  

My next card is a Birthday card I made for my wonderful husband Dale:





We love to go to the Ocean any chance we get our favorite place is Virginia Beach VA, so I went with that for his card.

Products used:

Inkadinkado  #97521 Coastal/ Maritime

Ranger inks

Wood Anchor

Twine

First I stamped the lighthouse and then colored in the beach, the fence, the vegetation and the lighthouse stripes, then fussy cut it out. I tore a sheet of white scrap to shape the beach and used my Ranger ink and a blending tool to give it the look of sand. I then took another piece of torn paper to make the waves, moving it up and down and back and forth using a blending tool and 2 different inks to get the wave effect. Then I punch out some circle punches, of different sizes, and glued them to a piece of paper along the edge: and using my blending tool I did the same as with the waves to create the clouds, on a piece of white card cut to 61/2 x41/2 . When I was done with the background I attached the sand and wave piece to a 5x7 card  and then using some dimensional tape added the Lighthouse. I drew the birds and the light coming from the lighthouse on then attached it to my card. I used the twine to frame the scene and added the anchor, which I used my Ranger markers to color black,  I also stamped the Happy Birthday and framed and popped it up, to finish the card.  

I will be submitting this card to:Little Red Wagon Surfs Up"

                                                   Seize the Birthday "Anything Goes"











Searching my stash

I spent the last week trying to better organize my stamps so I could find them by company. Unfortunately, last year, I took all my wood block stamps of the blocks. In doing so I have several, not several  a lot,  that I don't know which company they belong to. I also removed many stamp sets from they're original packaging when I opened them, so again I don't know what company they are from. So when looking for stamps to create a card for the IO challenge "Squared" I had only one choice, Christmas. I really love the traditional colors of Christmas, Red, Green, Gold and Silver, so I went to work. This is the result:





Products used:

IO stamp #F2268 Winter Wonderland (tree)

IO stamp #B5462 Christmas Joy

VersaMark

Ranger embossing powder Queens Gold

Queen and Comp. Sunflower Yellow Pearls

K&Comp. Christmas Cheer Gold Words paper

Paper wishes  Red Holly paper

Darcie 110lb. white card stock

Spellbinders curved rectangles #S5-006

I stamped and embossed the tree and on my white card stock and the cut it out with my spellbinders die. I wanted to mat it in gold so I traced the die on another piece of white card stock and fussy cut it out. I ran the edges over my VersaMark pad and then using the Queens Gold, embossed the edge. I matted my 51/2 x 51/2 card  with a 5/14 x51/4 piece of Christmas Cheer paper, then I matted the Embossed Christmas tree onto the embossed piece of white card stock. I cut a piece of  the red holly paper 1/4' bigger than the matted Christmas tree. Using dimensional tape I popped up the tree on the red paper and then adhered to the left side of the card. I stamped and embossed the Christmas Joy  sentiment on a piece of scrap paper and matted it in red and green cutting it to make a banner. I added the Pearls and banner. Simple but Elegant. 

I will be entering this card in: IO challenge "Squared"