A Year in Review- Some of my Favourite Cards

 http://snippets-karen.blogspot.ca/2017/01/delightful.html

http://snippets-karen.blogspot.ca/2017/02/flowers-for-friend.html

http://snippets-karen.blogspot.ca/2017/02/landscape.html

 

http://snippets-karen.blogspot.ca/2017/04/shades-of-blue.html

http://snippets-karen.blogspot.ca/2017/07/acrylic-block-watercolouring.html

http://snippets-karen.blogspot.ca/2017/09/summers-end.html

http://snippets-karen.blogspot.ca/2017/10/nature-is-painting-cas-watercolour.html

http://snippets-karen.blogspot.ca/2017/09/joyous-greetings.html

Much thanks for all your most kind and generous comments this year, all so greatly appreciated!!

I hope you have enjoyed some of the techniques and ideas that I have shared here.

Looking forward to a new year of crafting and inky fun.

xx  Karen

Merry Christmas Wishes!!

Wishing you a wonderful

Merry Christmas.

 Thanks so much for the many blessings you have bought to my life.

 

Prancing Reindeer

Good Morning.

The big day is almost here and I'm thinking about prancing Reindeer and Santa's arrival.

Meet today's card.  Pretty simple with a bit of whimsy.

I began by using my acetate inking technique again with blue Distress Oxide inks.

When it was dry, I stamped some graffiti randomly in the bkg. to add some depth and interest.

I die-cut the fun reindeer then stamped it with the check for fun.

I added some black gems to the neckline then stamped the sentiment.

I pop-dotted the reindeer over the inked bkg.

 

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve.

A Gem of a Challenge- ANYTHING CHRISTMAS GOES 

Crafty Calendar- IT'S CHRISTMAS

Sweet Stampin'- LAST MINUTE CAS

Supplies

Stamps- Graffiti (Kaisercraft); T'is the Season (PTI); Texture Mini (Carabelle)

Inks- Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Broken China DOX (TH); 

Tuxedo Black Memento

Paper- heavy white (local store)

Accessories and Tools- Misti; die-Memory Box; acetate sheet; Mister (TH); black gems

Holiday Cheer

Good Morning.

I had some time to play and make a few extra cards to have on hand so of course, I dragged out my Distress Oxide inks and got down to inking.

For those of you that may have missed my little pictorial about how I did what I called 'Acetate inking' then go here!  It is very easy to do and you can place the ink wherever you want it to go.

I began by inking up my acetate sheet with DOX 's in blues, sprayed with water and pressed onto my card front.  I dried it using my heat tool then laid a piece of drywall tape across the front and stenciled through that.  

I stamped the circles to the side to add interest to the overall design, then I die-cut the deer head in black.  I doodled in some lines around the area where I wanted to put the deer then pop-dot mounted it over the doodles.  I added some black gems then stamped the sentiment from Paper Smooches.

The big day is almost here....are you ready??

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:

CAS Mix Up- STAMPING PLUS TWO

(watercolouring, stenciling)

Winter Wonderland- ANYTHING GOES

CRAFT- ANYTHING GOES

Stamps and Stencils- IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

Supplies

Stamps- Grunge (PTI); Joyful Greetings (Paper Smooches)

Inks- Iced Spruce, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean Distress Oxides (TH); 

Tuxedo Black Memento

Paper- heavy white (local store); black cs

Accessories and Tools- heat tool, acetate sheet; fine line marker; black gems;

drywall tape, sponge applicator (TH)

Non-Traditional Christmas

Meet today's card.

Playing around with inking an embossing folder again to create a quick and easy card.

You can see some of the other cards I made using this technique here and here.

I just love the look of this EB folder from Carabelle and decided to make a card using it.

I inked the inside of the folder with Candied Apple Distress Oxide ink, sprayed with water and pressed onto my paper.  Be sure and let the inks dry or use you heat tool as they take a bit longer to dry and will smear.

When dry, I placed the piece inside my Misti and stamped the sentiment with black ink.

Next I punched out a circle then stamped the snowflake onto it using the same DOX ink.

I added a Nuvo drop to the center of the snowflake then pop dot mounted it to the side of my card front.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:
Crazy 4 Challenges- FAVORITE SKETCH (373)
Time Out- INSPIRATION HOME SWEET HOME
Dragonfly Dreams- Non-Traditional

Supplies

Stamps- Snowflakes (Recollections); Joyful Greetings (Paper Smooches)

Inks- Tuxedo Black Memento; Candied Apple DOX (TH)

Paper- heavy white (local store)

Accessories and Tools- Misti; Autumn Red Nuvo drops; pop dots; EB folder-Texte Grunge (Carabelle);

Mister (TH)

Snowy Fun

Good Morning and Welcome.

Another quick card I made using this new Embossing Folder I just picked up.

As you have seen in some of my past posts, creating a background using an embossing folder is a simple way to have an instant card. 

Here is a video to show how to do this.

So I inked the EB folder with Peacock Feathers DOX, sprayed with water then pressed my paper into the wet ink.  After it was dry, I added the die-cut snowflake and stamped the sentiment.

The finishing touch was to add the blue buttons to the snowflake centers.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look especially at such a busy time of year.

 Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says Wed.- STITCH IT

(snowflake)

The Male Room- CHRISTMAS/WINTER

The Rubber Buggy- CHRISTMAS/WINTER

Paper Creator- CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR

Supplies

Stamp- Season's Greeting (Studio G)

Inks- Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide (TH); Tuxedo Black Memento

Paper- heavy white (local store)

Accessories and Tools- Tiles eb folder (Kaisercraft); Mister (TH); blue buttons (YNS); 

Stitched Snowflake (Lawn Fawn); Snowflakes (SSS)

Winter Cheer

Good Morning.

Happy that I had time to play with this wonderful stamp called Red Delight by Penny Black.

I began by masking my card front then placed the stamp into my Misti, coloured directly on the stamp with my Tombow markers, sprayed with water and pressed onto the paper.  I repeated that process until I was happy with the colours and shading. 

 I clear heat embossed the image next as I wanted to watercolour in the background.  

I stamped the sentiment from the PB sentiment set called Yuletide Wishes and also clear heat embossed that.

I used some Peeled Paint Distress ink to watercolour in the background by pressing the pad directly onto my non-stick craft sheet and picking up the ink with a wet paintbrush.

To finish off my card, I splattered some of the green ink left on my mat and some diluted white acrylic paint all over my card front.

I removed the masking tape and mounted the piece onto a dark red cardstock.

Thanks so very much for coming by to take a look.

I truly appreciate you for visiting.

Adding my card to these challenges:

CAS Mix Up- STAMPING and 2 CHOICES

(watercolouring, heat embossing)

Addicted to Stamps and More- MAKE YOUR MARK 

Penny Black Saturday- CHRISTMAS/WINTER

Crafty Calendar- CHRISTMAS

Supplies

Stamps- Red Delight (PB); Yuletide Wishes (PB)

Ink- Peeled Paint Distress (TH); Tuxedo Black Memento 

Paper- heavy white (local store)

Accessories and Tools- Misti; paintbrush; white acrylic paint; clear eb powder; Painter's tape;

Mister (TH); heat tool

Snowy Mountains- CAS Watercolour Challenge

Hello and Welcome.

Time for another card for the 

CAS WATERCOLOUR CHALLENGE

Our theme this month is 

Anything Goes

My card was created so quickly using a simple technique I showed on my blog a few weeks ago that I called Acetate Inking.
It is really simple to do.  Basically, I rubbed Distress inks onto an acetate sheet and sprayed with water.  By bending the acetate sheet, I was able to apply the ink exactly where I wanted it to be on my cardstock.  When it was dry, it reminded me of a mountain winter scene, so I simply stamped the trees leaving my card simple.

I die-cut a frame and mounted the piece onto my card front.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:
CAS on Friday- CHRISTMAS
The Male Room- CHRISTMAS/WINTER WISHES
Card Mania- CHRISTMAS
Allsorts- COLD AND FROSTY COLOURS

Supplies

Stamps- Mountain Top Trees (Poppystamps)
Inks- Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Salty Ocean Distress (TH)
Paper- heavy white
Accessories and Tools- Misti; acetate sheet; Mister (TH); dies- (MFT)

Christmas Tag- The Flower Challenge

Good Morning.

We are having such fun this month playing at 

The Flower Challenge.

Our theme this month is:

ANYTHING BUT A CARD

I decide to make a tag for the holidays using a piece of leftover inked paper.

To create my piece, I spread some Gesso over a stencil onto my cardstock and let dry.

Next, using an inking sponge, I rubbed Distress inks over the dry Gesso to reveal the pattern left behind by the stencil.

I die-cut the tag using a stitched die from MFT then placed the piece into my Misti to stamp the sentiment.

I stamped the script from Penny Black in the background to add interest.

Onto the flower....I just picked up this Winter Flowers set from SSS.  I love the artsy look of the flower and wanted to use it on my tag.  First I stamped it with Versamark and white heat embossed it.

Next, I sprinkled some blue and purple Brushos over the piece and sprayed with water to activate the powdered ink.  When it was dry, I fussy cut it out and pop dot mounted it over my background.

I added a ribbon and a blue brad to finish it all off.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Hope you holiday preparations are going well.

Adding my card to these challenges:
Simon Says Wed- STITCHED
Shopping Our Stash- LET'S PLAY TAG
Use Your Stuff- CHRISTMAS IS COMING

Supplies

Stamps- Winter Flowers (SSS); Christmas Cheer (TTT), Script (PB)

Inks- Tuxedo Black Memento; Peacock Blue, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves Distress (TH), Versamark

Paper- heavy white (local store)

Accessories and Tools- stitched tag die (MFT); Gesso; inking tool (TH); Misti; Brushos; 

Distress Mister (TH); blue brad; silver ribbon; Cuttlebug; pop dots; Tombow clear glue; 
Screen Pattern stencil (Gourmet Rubber); white eb powder

Holly Jolly

Good Morning.

Do you need some ideas for simple cardmaking as the big day gets closer.

This card fits that bill.

I used the Embossing Folders inking technique to do the background.  

Rub a water based ink onto your embossing folder, spritz with water and press your paper into the wet ink and remove.  The Peacock Feather DOX gave such a lovely impression.

When that was dry, I played the piece into my Misti and stamped the sentiment from MFT.

Added the SSS die-cut snowflake and popped up the center for interest and added drops of Nuvo to finish off my card.

Wishing you a happy day as you get ready for the holidays.

Thanks so much for the visit.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says Monday- WINTER/CHRISTMAS

Use Your Stuff- CHRISTMAS IS COMING

Craft Stamper Magazine- ANYTHING GOES STAMPING

Crafting By Design- DECEMBER ANYTHING GOES

Supplies

Stamp- Handlettered Holiday (MFT)

Inks- Tuxedo Black Memento; Peacock Feather Distress Oxide (TH)

Paper- heavy white (local store)

Accessories and Tools- Misti; Snowflake eb folder (Echo); snowflake die (SSS);

Caribbean Ocean Gloss Nuvo; Mister (TH); pop dots

Christmas Wishes

Meet today's card.

This one is more on the masculine side.

I had a piece of woodgrain paper leftover that I had made, tutorial HERE, and die-cut it into an oval shape using a Spellbinders die.  I die-cut the deer head twice and glued the pieces together for stability and added it over the woodgrain bkg.  I cut the leaves, also from the deer set, in red and glued it below the head.

I just picked up this new stamp from SSS called the Christmas Sweater and used it for my background.  I used my Misti to get the perfect stamped impression.

Lastly, I stamped the Hero Arts sentiment and pop dotted the deer head piece with pop dots.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:
The Male Room- CHRISTMAS/WINTER WISHES
Addicted to Stamps and More- ANYTHING GOES
Use Your Stuff- CHRISTMAS IS COMING
Time Out- PHOTO INSPIRATION

Supplies

Stamps- Season's Greetings (HA); Christmas Sweater (SSS)

Inks- Tea Dyed, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen Distress (TH); Tuxedo Black Memento

Paper- heavy white

Accessories and Tools- deer and leaf die (Recollections); oval die (Spellbinders); 

Cuttlebug; Misti; Elmer's glue; ScorPal

Up on the Rooftops

Meet today's card.

Just a simple one filled with some fun.

I began by masking the side panel with a piece of scrap paper.  I punched a circle as well to represent the moon as I sponged with my Distress inks to fill in the masked area.

Leaving the mask in place, I stamped the trees using black Memento ink.

I removed the mask and stamped this fun flying Santa in his sleigh that I just picked up from The Stampin Place, with more black ink.  Added a simple sentiment and then mounted the whole piece onto navy cardstock.

That's it...pretty simple eh?

Thanks for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:

The Male Room- CHRISTMAS/WINTER WISHES 

Addicted to Stamps and More- ANYTHING GOES

City Crafter- WHERE DID YOU GET THAT HAT?

CAS Mix Up- STAMPING/MASKING/SPONGING

Supplies

Stamps- trees (Northwoods); Santa's Sleigh (The Stampin' Place); Christmas Cheer (TT)

Inks- Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Faded Jeans Distress (TH); Tuxedo Black Memento

Paper- heavy white (local store)

Accessories and Tools- Misti; inking tool (TH); paper for masking; circle punch (SU)

Peace on Earth

Hello and Welcome

Meet today's card, Peace on Earth.  

I think we are all praying for that this Christmas season. 

I had fun creating this card.  I began by inking up the background using the Splash Watercolour technique and Distress Oxide ink.  It made a quick colour palette to stamp onto.

When it was dry, I placed the inked background into my Misti and stamped the trees first in black then again using the same colour ink as I had used on the background.  I find by using a colour already on the background, it gives a great shadow effect and adds to the depth and interest.

Next, I die cut the piece using a stitched frame die then distressed the edges and added a snowy feel by rubbing a Versamark ink pad along the edges and then heat embossed with white powder.

I stamped the sentiment using my Misti again then mounted it onto a piece of blue cardstock.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look and wishing you Peace.

Adding my card to these challenges:

The Male Room- CHRISTMAS/WINTER WISHES 

Addicted to Stamps and More- ANYTHING GOES

Christmas at Sweet Stampin- ANYTHING GOES

Craftaholics R Us- CHRISTMAS

Supplies

Stamps- Hand Lettered Christmas (MFT); Trees (Mark's Finest); Tree (Northwoods)

Ink- Faded Jeans, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean Distress Oxides (TH); 

Versamark; Tuxedo Black Memento

Paper- heavy white (local store)

Accessories and Tools- Misti; white eb powder; Stitched die (Avery Elle); 

white acrylic paint

Christmas Tote- The Flower Challenge

Good Morning

It's time for some fun creating at The Flower Challenge.

This month the challenge has a bit of a twist....

Anything But A Card

Check out the amazing things the DT's have created.
We also welcome our special guest Michelle Short from The Card Grotto this month.

Last year, I made a few of these fun Totebags which are just the perfect size for gifting some of your handmade cards, baked goodies or other gifts instead of using a basket.

The nice thing is that once you get the basic design of the tote, you can adjust the measurements of the sides and the bottom to create a bag of any size.

Here is the video link to see how it was created...

Chic Totebag

To see the totebags I made last year see these blog post:
 Totebag for Cardgiving
 Chic Totebag

For my bag, I chose a red paper that reminded me of a cozy red sweater.
Using the video above, I cut my paper and assembled my bag.
For my flower embellishment, I placed the Red Star from Penny Black into my Misti and coloured it with my Tombow markers.  I sprayed with water and stamped onto my paper.  When the flower was completely dry, I fussy cut it out and glued it onto the front of my bag.  I love how it perked the whole thing up and made it feel more festive.
I wanted to add a little tag, so I stamped the sentiment from the Penny Black sentiment set called Love and Peace, cut it into a tag shape and attached it with a piece of silver twine.

Please come and play along with us.
Your project can be as simple as a gift tag or as elaborate as you want.


Adding my tote to these challenges:
Simon Says- ANYTHING GOES
The Crazy Challenge- CHRISTMAS IS COMING
613 Avenue Create- ANYTHING GOES OPTIONAL CHRISTMAS


Supplies
Stamps- Red Star (PB); Love and Peace (PB)
Inks- Tuxedo Black Memento; Tombow markers
Paper- heavy white; DP?
Accessories and Tools- Misti; silver cord; black gems;Tombow clear glue, ScorPal

Here Comes Santa Claus

Morning.

Hope you are having fun creating.

Meet my simple Christmas card using this super cute retro Santa.

At this time of the season, keeping it simple and quick is perfect to finish those last minute holiday cards.  

For my card, I began by stamping the dot pattern along the bottom of my card.  I place the stamp border from WPlus 9 into my Misti, inked it up with Candied Apple Distress ink and stamped.  I moved my paper up in my Misti and stamped again until I was happy with the pattern and spacing.

Next I stamped the sentiment, then stamped the Santa and fussy cut him out.

I pop dotted the flying Santa and done.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- ANYTHING GOES

City Crafter- I BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS 

Card Mania- CHRISTMAS

 One Crazy Stamper- CHRISTMAS/WINTER

Creative With Stamps- REINDEER

Supplies

Stamps- Borders and Bkgs. (WPlus 9); Christmas Cheer (TT); Flying Santa (Flonz)

Ink- Tuxedo Black Memento; Candied Apple Distress (TH)

Paper- heavy whiter

Accessories and Tools- Misti; pop dots

Acetate Inking- CAS Watercolour Challenge

Hello and Welcome.

Time for more fun at the 

CAS Watercolour Challenge

Our theme this month is 'Anything Goes'

This month we welcome out guest Hideko from Papercraft Boutique.

Please check out all the great inspirations the Design Team has created.

 I had the most frustrating time trying to photograph this card so I apologize for the poor quality.

So onto my card.  

As most of you already know, I love to play with my inks and create watercoloured backgrounds that are quick and simple.  I have found that by using a piece of acetate, I can do this quite efficiently as I can bend it and manipulate the inks and place them where I want them to go.

I added ink over ink then when they were all dry, I edged the inked area using my ScorBug and my ScorPal and added the 'Let is Snow' and the snowflake die.  Lastly, I added a silver Nuvo drop to the center of the snowflake.

I created a few of these backgrounds and I took pictures of my process so you could see how I did it.

Hope you enjoy it.

Acetate Inking

Step #1

I got out my piece of acetate and my Distress Oxide inks.

Rub ink onto the acetate sheet.

Step #2

Spray with water, then you can bend the sheet and place the ink wherever you want it to go.

Step #3

Dry each colour layer (I used my heat tool) and then add additional colours you want for your piece.

Finished backgrounds and ready to make a card.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:

 Simon Says- ANYTHING GOES 

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas- QUICK AND EASY

CAS on Friday- CHRISTMAS

Shopping Our Stash- SNOW MUCH FUN

STAMPlorations Never Ending- ANYTHING GOES

Supplies

Stamps- none

Inks- Picked Raspberry, Iced Spruce DOX (TH)

Paper- heavy white (local store)

Accessories and Tools- acetate sheet; Stitched Snowflake die (Lawn Fawn); Let is Snow die (STAMPlorations); 

Scorbug; ScorPal; Mister (TH); Cuttlebug; Nuvo silver drops