Happy New Year!!

Wishing you much health, happiness and peace this New Year!

Christmas Card Wrap-Up

Morning.

Meet today's cards.

Today, I am doing something a little bit different.  I want to post the rest of my Christmas cards then hopefully it will get me out of  'Christmas card making mode'!!

 I have so enjoyed cardmaking this Christmas season and now it's time to move on to hopefully, making some cards for the New Year.

The above card was done by stenciling using Distress inks and adding a die cut snowflake.

I hope you have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. 

Thanks so very much for taking time out of your schedule and coming by to take a look.

So, here is the final line-up of some of my Christmas card this year.

For details about any cards or questions, please email me and I will be most happy to answer.

Festive

Morning.  

Hope you are still enjoying some relaxing and fun Christmas festivities.

Needed a last minute card for a friend who is coming to visit.  This was an quick and easy one and you could change the sentiment and it could easily be for another occasion.

I have a circle stencil that I cut from a heavy piece of acetate that I used to randomly stencil the circles on my card front using Mowed Lawn and Barn Door Distress inks.  I splattered just the red circles with white acrylic paint for interest.

Stamped the sentiment from MFT and done.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Happy Little Stamper- FAV TECHNIQUE

(one of my favs is stenciling)

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas- CHRISTMAS ANYTHING GOES

My Time to Craft- LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS

Brown Sugar- ANYTHING GOES

Cute Card Thursday- ANYTHING GOES

I hope you continue to enjoy this wonderful holiday season and thanks so very much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamp- MFT/ Distress and Memento ink/ sponge applicator/ stencil/ wh acrylic paint/ paint brush

Holly Jolly

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank-you so much my friends, for your continued support and all the wonderful comments you have left for me.  You will never know how much that means to me.

I love creating and I love that you come along and share with me.  

I hope that your holiday is filled with joyful moments, happy memories and peace.  

warm wishes and hugs,

Karen 

Here's hoping that you...........

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is here.

Soon, we will be seeing shadows of Santa's sleigh in the sky!  

Posting a few last cards that I made.  This one has a shadow-looking background.

 I began by masking my white cardstock then inked the Hero Arts stamp with Grey Memento ink, stamped off and then onto my cardstock.  It gave me a faint, pretty background that I could stamp over top of.  Next, I got out my Misti and stamped the sentiment.  Using my Misti again, I coloured the snowflake with Memento markers, stamped then coloured with the dark blue onto the stamp, sprayed with water to blend the colours and stamped again over the light blue.

The finishing touch was a shiny blue jewel added to the center of the snowflake.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says:  MAKE IT SPARKLE

Little Red Wagon- SPARKLE AND SHINE

Shopping Our Stash- MY PRECIOUS

(the blue jewel that I have had for years in my stash)

The Male Room- CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Supplies:  stamps- Hero Arts, MFT, Recollections/ MISTI/ Memento markers and ink/ blue jewel

Joyful Greetings

Well, the big day is almost here.

I have been super busy as I'm sure most of you are as well.  

Meet today's card.  I picked up a few new stamps and wanted to play with them.

I began by masking my white cardstock and grabbed my MISTI.  I inked the red berries first by coloring on them using Memento markers, sprayed with water and stamped.  I then inked the evergreens the same way and stamped them randomly around the edges to blend in with the berries. I also added some white details to the berries using a white gel pen.

When that was dry, I stamped the sentiment from MFT and sponged the edges with Peeled Paint Distress ink.  Lastly, to add more depth and interest, I inked the script stamp from Penny Black with Grey Memento ink, stamped off onto a piece of scrap paper and then onto my card front. 

 I then removed the masks and mounted onto a piece of red cardstock.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Color Throwdown- ANY CHRISTMAS CREATION, ANY COLOR

Crafting By Designs- HERE COME THE HOLIDAYS

Crafty Creations- ANYTHING GOES

Inspiration Destination- ANYTHING GOES 

Card Mania- CHRISTMAS

Thanks for taking time out of you busy schedule to come by and take a look.

Hope you are almost ready for the big day!

Supplies:  stamps- MFT, Darkroom Door, Memory Box, Penny Black/ Distress ink/ Memento ink/ MISTI/ Memento markers/ TH white gel pen/ inking tool

Nordic Red and White

What's better then a cozy, warm sweater on a cold winter day?

We got snow last night!

Meet today's card.  The pattern reminds me of a sweater.  The stamp is from Simon Says and I just love seeing it done in red and white....so classic looking.

 Today, I am being inspired by the challenge at Splitcoast and a Pinterest board of vintage buttons.

Here are the buttons that inspired me:

I began by stamping the middle panel with Versamark and heat embossed it with white.  I masked that area off and rubbed on Fired Brick Distress ink.  I removed the masked and stamped the panel 2 more times using the same Fired Brick DI.  I then scored the top and bottom to define and add  interest to the stamped area then stamped the sentiment from Paper Smooches across the top.

I die-cut the snowflake from Spellbinders and added it to my card front with a red pearl.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Less is More- HOMESPUN

Simon Says- DIE CRAZY

Shopping Our Stash- LET IT SNOW

Christmas Cards All Year Long- CAS

 As You Like It- FAV CHRISTMAS COLOURS 

(the red reminds me of my Dad as he was Santa)

Hope you are staying cozy and warm.

Supplies:  stamps- Paper Smooches, SSS/ Distress ink/ Memento bl ink/ Spellbinder die/ pearl/ MISTI/ wh Embossing powder/ heat tool/ ScorPal

Christmas Cheer Watercolour

Meet today's card.  

Christmas meets watercolouring.

To create my card, I began by grabbing my MISTI and inked up the Full Bloom stamp using Memento markers to colour the image.  Next, I added some images from the Nature's Gifts set by inking again with Memento markers and spraying with water to blend the colours.  

When that was all dry, I went back with a bit of Salty Ocean Distress ink and watercoloured the background.  I added some splatters as well for interest and finally stamped the sentiment.

Adding my card to these challenges:

The Male Room- CHRISTMAS

Cardz 4 Galz- CHRISTMAS

Crafting By Design- HERE COME THE HOLIDAYS

Crafty Creations- HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Inspiration Destination- ANYTHING GOES

Thanks so very much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Penny Black/ Memento markers/ Distress ink/ MISTI/ paint brush/ Memento bl ink

White Christmas

I called this card White Christmas but I'm starting to wonder if we will have one.  

It is unusually warm and rainy here in Canada.

I have been inspired by the many wonderful tags I have seen for Christmas and wanted to make a card with a tag on it so this is what I came up with.

I pulled out this stamp from Serendipity, painted it with my Brushos and stamped it onto a tag I cut using a die from Reverse Confetti.  Next, I embossed the bkg using a plate from Spellbinders then stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts.  To add a bit of sparkle, I edged the card in gold and added a gold twine to finish it all off.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- TAG IT

HLS Mixed Media- ANYTHING GOES

Use Your Stuff- IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME

Addicted to Stamps and More- CAS

The Male Room- CHRISTMAS

Serendipity- TAG IT

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Hero Arts, Serendipity/ Memento bl ink/ Brushos/ paint brush/ Spellbinder E Plate/ Gold Pen/ gold twine/ bl pearl

Christmas Star

Good Morning. 

Meet today's card.  I am playing along with the CAS Challenge at Splitcoast this morning called Trim the Tree.  Easy right, especially with this stamp-die combo from Memory Box.

I began by stamping the trees with black Memento ink then die-cut them out using the matching die.  

The background was sponged with Salty Ocean Distress inks then splattered with water and white acrylic paint.  I mounted it all under a frame I cut using the stitched frame from MFT just leaving the tree tip sticking above the frame and added the star.

The sentiment is from Amuse.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

CASology- TREE

CAS on Sunday- STARS 

Addicted to Stamps- CAS

AAA Cards- GALAXY STARS OF SILENT NIGHT

Amusing Challenge- Happy Holidays

Thanks so very much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Memory Box, Amuse/ dies- Memory Box, stitched frame MFT/ Memento ink/ acrylic paint/ Distress ink/ 

Father Christmas

Meet Father Christmas.  Are you ready for his arrival?

Today, I am again playing with inking my stamps with Brushos.  I just love the look they give to my stamping.  Kind of a hand painted result when using them.

Grabbed my MISTI to stamp the border and my Tall Timbers stamp from Penny Black.  I randomly painted some Brushos onto the stamp and pressed onto my paper.  Changed the direction of my stamp, brushed on more Brushos and stamped again to create the edge border.

 Next, I painted this vintage feeling Santa that I love from Stampington with more Brushos and stamped.

I cut him out using the stitched border from MFT and cut a larger one to mount it onto.  I pop dotted it over the background and done.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

A Gem of Challenge- CHRISTMAS

My Sheri Crafts- VINTAGE CHRISTMAS

Alphabet Challenge- 'V' for VINTAGE

The Story of Christmas- ANYTHING GOES


May Father Christmas shower you with many blessings!
Thanks so much for coming by and taking a peek.

Supplies:  stamps- Penny Black, Stampington/ Brushos/ MISTI/ paint brush

Walk in the Woods

Morning. 

Today's card is all about finding peace and joy in nature.  Something we are reminded about especially at Christmas time.  I think the snow adds to the purity of the woods as well.

So here's what I did to create my card inspired by the challenge at Splitcoast this morning.  

I began by pulling out my MISTI and the Snowy Grove stamp from Penny Black.  I painted the stamp with my Brushos again and I did that by sprinkling a bit of the pigment powder on my palette, added a touch of water and painted directly onto my stamp and pressed onto my paper.  I then randomly painted the stamp again with another colour of Brushos to give different colours to the background trees.  By using my MISTI, it is possible to layer the colours and add more colour where needed.  I wash my stamp right after I am finished using it with warm water.

After that was dry, I stamped the small Christmas sentiment at the bottom and die-cut the deer from Memory Box.  I sponged some Vintage Linen on the deer's back for more interest.

Adding my card to these challenges:  

CASology- TREE 

Little Red Wagon- SNOW MUCH FUN

The Male Room- THEME CHRISTMAS 

Craft Stamper- TAKE A TECHNIQUE

(painting the stamp with Brushos)

Simply Papercraft- ANYTHING GOES

 

Have a great weekend and thanks so very much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Penny Black, The Old Island/ die-Memory Box/ Distress ink/ Memento ink/ Brusho/ paint brush

It's A Wonderful Life

Happy Friday!

Today, I am playing along with the challenge at Splitcoast called Pick a Movie.

Since I am totally in Christmas mode, I chose my favourite movie for the holidays called It's A Wonderful Life.  For anyone that has never seen the movie, it's about a man named George who feels that his life is worthless and through the help of an angel, he finds the true meaning of Christmas is family, friends and home.  That's what I tried to depict in my card.

I began by stamping the main image and wanted to give it a hand-painted feel so I used my Brushos to paint it instead of using ink on my stamp.  I just sprinkle a bit on my paint palette then add a bit of water and apply with a paint brush.  The image is part of a larger stamp but I cut it down using the stitched frame die from MFT and pop dot mounted it over an embossed frame on the card front.

The sentiment is from Hero arts and is stamped using Memento black ink.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Little Red Wagon- SNOW MUCH FUN 

The Male Room- THEME CHRISTMAS

Addicted to Stamps and More- CAS

City Crafter- WINTER

Card Mania- CHRISTMAS

 Crafty Creations- HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.  

Supplies:  stamps- Stampendous, Hero Arts/ Brushos/ paint brush/ Memento bl/ pop dots/ stitched die- MFT/ Cuttlebug

Dancing Santa

Greetings of the Season.

This morning I am playing along with the challenge at Splitcoast where the theme it 'dance'.

Every time I see this little Santa it makes me smile and think about the song 'Rockin Around the Christmas Tree'.  Here is what I did to create my simple card.

I began by embossing a square in the center of my card using a die from Spellbinder.  I then masked the edges and stamped the sentiment from Paper Smooches a number of times in the masked area.  

Next, I printed off Santa, coloured him with Copic markers and fussy cut him out.

*Santa is a Birdie Brown digi that is no longer available in that format but is available in a stamp set from MFT. 

I pop dot mounted him so he looks like he is dancing and jumping up to point at the sentiment.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Shopping Our Stash- UFO's 

(this unfinished bkg and Santa have been sitting in my pile)

The Male Room- THEME CHRISTMAS

Addicted to Stamps and More- CAS

Use Your Stuff- STAMPING

Crafty Creations- Happy Holidays

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Paper Smooches, Digi/ Copics/ Spellbinder die/ Memento ink/ pop dots/ Cuttlebug

Snowflake Patterns

Good Morning.

So sorry to be inundating you with Christmas cards but once I get started, I find it hard to stop!  I have made more this year then ever before.  Guess the holiday spirit gets my creative juices flowing.

So here is today's card.   

 I began by grabbing my MISTI and inked up this wonderful snowflake by painting on Brushos.  Love the blue on blue look it created.  I punched that out and set it aside.

Next, I inked the stamp with Memento Grey ink and stamped the snowflake to either side.  I scored the lines using my ScorPal and my ScorBug and stamped the sentiment.

Adding my card to these challenges:

 CAS-ual Fridays- SNOWFLAKES

Simon Says- LET IT SNOW

Make My Monday- WHITE CHRISTMAS

Addicted to Stamps- HOLIDAY

Just Add Ink- ADD 'C' (cold)

Have a great week.

Supplies:  stamps- The Stampin Place, Recollections/ Memento ink/ ScorBug, ScorPal/ Brushos/ MISTI/ pearl/ pop dots/ Fiskars circle punch

Holiday Harmony

Meet today's card.

I am playing along with the challenge at Splitcoast this morning; Christmas Greens.

Can you smell the pine and cedar?

I began my card by cutting an oval using my Spellbinder die from scrap paper and used that to mask the center of my card.  Then, using my MISTI, I stamped around the mask using the cedar stamp from the Darkroom Door.  I love the detail that stamp gives.  I inked it using Peeled Paint and Mowed Lawn Distress inks, spraying with water in between stamping to help blend the colours.  I then sponged some blue ink over that and using the end of a paint brush, added the berries to the tree branches.

 I then removed the mask and stamped the sentiment.  It looked too stark for me like that, so I used the negative from the oval of the die-cut to mask the cedars and stamped the script from Penny Black and sponged with a bit of Grey ink. 

Lastly, I splattered the whole piece with white acrylic paint to resemble the look of snow.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Less is More- GREEN AND BLUE

Little Red Wagon- TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS COLOURS

Simon Says- LET IT SNOW

Crazy4 Challenges- O CHRISTMAS TREE

Sisters of Craft- ANYTHING GOES

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Darkroom Door, Penny Black, Hero Arts/ Distress inks/ Memento inks/ MISTI/ paint brush/ sponge applicator/ acrylic paint/ oval die

Peace and Joy

Morning.

When I see all the gorgeous poinsettias decorating stores and homes I think of them as Christmas glories.  They always feel like the perfect finishing touch for the holiday decor.

I just love this stamps from STAMPlorations and I love using the loose watercoloring technique so I put the two together and this is what I came up with.  

I began by stamping the poinsettia on a piece of scrap paper so I could cut out a mask to use so I could get the look of a cluster of flowers.  I inked the stamp with black Memento ink again and stamped it onto my cardstock.
I got out my Brushos next and sprinkled some onto my pallet, sprayed with water and used that to do a loose watercolour on my flowers.  When it was all dry, I fussy cut the piece out so I could glue just the corner and pop the edges up to add more dimension.
Lastly, I stamped the sentiment from PTI, scored a border to pull it all together and added the small pearls to the flower centers.


Adding my card to these challenges:

Addicted to CAS- JOY

Little Red Wagon- TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS COLOURS

Addicted to Stamps- HOLIDAY

Just Add Ink- JUST ADD 'C'
(Christmas, colour)

Allsorts- CLEAN and SIMPLE


Thanks so very much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- STAMPlorations, PTI/ ScorPal/ sm. pearls/ Brushos/ paint brush/ Memento ink

Dashing Through the Snow

Welcome to the weekend.

No, it doesn't look like this at my house yet.  We are experiencing much warmer temperatures then usual.  Sure it's coming though and maybe we will have a white Christmas yet.

I am playing along with the challenge at Splitcoast this morning inspired by the Vera Bradley site and this cozy blanket which you would need after being out in that much snow!

I tried to keep my card mostly red and white which really feels Christmasy to me.

I began by stamping the image from Serendipity Stamps with black Memento ink then coloured it with Copic markers.  I then tore 2 pieces of paper and glued them over the image to resemble snow.  

Super simple.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Serendipity Stamps- HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Simon Says-  LET IT SNOW

Little Red Wagon- TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS COLOURS

Craft Stamper- SHARING THE SEASON- TAKE A TECHNIQUE

(paper tearing)

Crafty Catz- LET IT SNOW

Hope you have a great weekend and thanks so very much for coming by to take a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Serendipity, The Old Island Stamp Comp./ Memento bl ink/ Copic markers

Fun Friday with Penny Black

Happy Friday.  

Something a little different today.  I'm calling it Fun Friday because I have had such fun playing with my new Penny Black stamps released for the holidays.

Also, my cards are being featured on the Penny Black blog today.

So here's 3 cards that I have created for you today. 

  Card #1

Brush Pines

 The background  panel was done by inking up the Tall Timbers and stamping in both directions to create a plaid bkg. using Peacock Feathers Distress ink.  I love that I can use the trees to create a whole new use for them.  The edges were inked with Versamark and white heat embossed to give the feel of snow.
The small main panel was done by inking the Brush Pines with Memento markers, sprayed with water and stamped.  I then watercoloured around the image using more Distress inks and mounted that over the plaid looking background using pop dots.

  Card #2

 Seasons Greetings
I coloured the Full Bloom image with Memento markers, sprayed with water and stamped the main panel.  I then inked the stamp again the same way and stamped on another piece of cardstock, then fussy cut a portion out so it could be pop dotted over the main background to add interest.  I sponged the edges with Distress inks then splattered all with diluted Distress ink.

 Card #3

  Arctic Antics
I masked a circle on my card front then did a watercolour wash in blue. I also applied some Marvvy Snow Marker to the bottom and used my heat gun to activate, giving it a snowy look and texture.  I inked up the polar bears from the Arctic Antics and stamped them onto another piece of cardstock, coloured using Copic markers then cut them out and glued them just over top of the snowy area.  I inked just the stars of that stamp and then coloured them with Copics.  Last, I stamped the sentiment from the set with Memento black ink and mounted the whole thing on a red liner.


Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.
I hope you are feeling inspired today!

Supplies:  all stamps: Penny Black/ Marvy snow pen/ Memento bl ink/ Copics/ Distress ink/ MISTI/ wh embossing powder/ heat tool/ Memento markers

Super Simple

Good Morning.

I hope your holiday preparations are going well.  I totally have Christmas on the brain and I find that once I get into making Christmas cards, I just can't stop!!

Since it is such a busy time of the year, I wanted to show you a quick and easy card I made for a friend.

This year, I am obsessed with snowflakes, weird as I'm not a big fan of winter...LOL.

I inked up these snowflakes from a set by Recollections with Adirondack Blue Jeans ink and stamped them in a group of three using different sizes for interest.  

I stamped this great sentiment from Serendipity over the top then splattered with more of the ink that I diluted with water.  For the finishing touch, I glued on 3 little pearls.
A quick and easy CAS card.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- LET IT SNOW

Card Concept- LET IT SNOW

Addicted to Stamps- HOLIDAY

Cardz 4 Guyz- CHRISTMAS, CAS

Serendipity Stamps- HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps-Serendipity, Recollections/ ink- Adirondack, Memento/

Winter Wonderland

Meet today's card.

A very fun one to create and I think it would make a great card for a guy.

I got out my Penny Black stamp called A Splash of Winter.  I inked it using some watered down Brushos with a paint brush and stamped it 3 times across my card front, each time re-applying more Brushos directly to the stamp.

I stamped the sentiment from the Christmas Cheer set with black Memento ink then splattered some more of the Brushos on for interest.

To finish my card off, I punched out a star and added silver using a Krylon silver pen and edged the outside using the silver as well.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- ANYTHING GOES

Card Concept- FESTIVE GLORY

Weekly Christmas Card- ANYTHING GOES

The Christmas Challenge- OUTDOOR SCENE

PB Saturday- DIE or PUNCH
(star)

Thanks for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Penny Black/ Brushos/ Mini Mister/ paint brush/ Memento bl ink/ Silver Krylon pen/ star punch

Unique Snowflake

Morning.  

Just a fun card today using leftovers I had sitting on my desk.  

As many of you that visit my blog know, I save my 'DUDS'.  You know, the pieces that haven't worked on a card or just aren't the results you expected.

The blue piece was supposed to be a card front, but I wasn't happy with the way the Brushos dispersed when I sprayed on the water, so I tucked it away.

 So, today's the day I will use my leftovers and here's what I did.  

I inked the inside of a Darice embossing folder called Henna (the raised side) with Versamark ink, ran it through my Cuttlebug and then sprinkled on clear embossing powder and heat set.  

Next, I sprinkled on Brushos and sprayed with water.  The clear embossing powder acts like a resist allowing the pattern to show from under the Brusho powder.

 

Next, I took the negative part of the snowflake (Simon Says) leftover from cutting snowflakes to use on another card that was also sitting on my desk.  I stamped this wonderful sentiment from The Stampin Place and die-cut the stitched edge using a die from MFT.  Love that sentiment.

Last, I place that over the Brusho inked and embossed piece and was very pleased with the results.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- ANYTHING GOES

Addicted to Stamps- MAKE YOUR MARK

My Time to Craft- LET IT SNOW 

Addicted to CAS- DIMENSION

I hope you get a chance to use up some of your leftover pieces.  So many possibilities.

Thanks so much for the visit to my blog.

Supplies:  stamps- The Stampin Place/ Darice EB folder/ Brushos/ Versamark/ Embossing powder clear/ Cuttlebug/ Heat tool/ Mini Mister/ snowflake die-SSS/ stitched border-MFT/ pop dots/ Memento bl ink