Love You - Just Add Ink Challenge #779

It's time for a sketch challenge with Just Add Ink and Jan gave us a very simple one to play with.

I opted for a Valentines theme with a quintessential couple.

The heart is distress spray stain and oxide on watercolour and my background teal piece was looking a bit plain so I stencilled lightly with matching ink and gave it a black edge. Mickey is offering a paper rosebud to Minnie.

Materials used:

• stamps - Short & Sweet (Stampin' Up)
• dies - Steamboat Willie Duo (Spellbinders), True Love (Tim Holtz)
• other - distress sprays and oxides (kitsch flamingo and picked raspberry), heat tool, Big Shot, wired paper rosebud, Dimensionals, craft foam, Diamond Motif stencil (Pinkfresh), blending brush

Check out what my team mates created for you on the challenge blog, and do share with us when you play along! 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

More Than Chocolate

Today I'm playing along with some challenges that have a love/Valentines/heart theme.

 
I've had this die set for some time and only ever used the outline heart piece, so spent a very pleasant day yesterday making chocolates, lol. I admit I had to watch some YouTube videos a few times to understand how to assemble them, but once I had it sorted in my head, I was good to go! 

Here's the cover:

And the inside:

Materials used:

• dies - True Love colorize (Tim Holtz), Love You More Than (Stampin' Up)
• inks - kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, candied apple (distress), mocha, espresso (Altenew), silvery shimmer (Delicata)
• other - Big Shot, Dimensionals, blending brushes, computer & printer

(From the Festive Friday list, I used pink, ink blending, die cuts, love sentiment and hearts. Items picked from the Time Out list are red, heart and pink. And for Just Us Girls, lots of heart die cuts!)

All layers of the chocolate box were cut from red card and inked for shading (apart from that one pink piece on the front). The chocolates, including wrappers, were cut from white card and coloured using the inks listed. 

I had a ton of fun making this - it took quite a while, but compartmental making helped, for sure. A real labour of love - pun intended!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Sending Love - All About Challenges #2

It's time for a new challenge with All About Papercraft Challenges and this month it's...

My crafting journey began with scrapbooking, but discovering stamps - red rubber mounted on wood blocks in those days - got me hooked on cardmaking. They're so versatile!

For my project I've made a card with a faux postcard scene. Apart from the stencilling on the base card and a little masking, the rest is created entirely with stamps. 

My first step was stencilling the base card, then I cut the main panel to size. I began stamping with the four lines and the vertical break design using archival ink (to avoid smudging when I inked over them later). Then came the postcard header and the postage stamp, after which I stamped Bundle Girl. She's coloured with Copics, as are the hearts. I tore a scrap of paper to use as a mask for inking the ground and created another mask of the little girl so I could ink the blue portion. The sentiments in the lines were stamped next and the little heart and hugs and kisses in the "stamp" were my last step before mounting the panel on the base.

Materials used:

• stamps - Bundle Girl with Falling Hearts (Stamping Bella), Stamps #521 (Poppy Crafts), Sentiment Strips 2 (Altenew), Basic Sentiments (Pinkfresh Studio), Merci Beaucoup (Clearly Besotted), Hot Cocoa (Mama Elephant)
• other - postage collage colouring stencil (Waffle Flower), blending brushes, Copic markers, MISTI, craft foam

Pop over to the All About blog (just click on the challenge icon) to see more inspiration from my fellow design team members, then get out your stamps and join the fun!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept Challenge #189

It's the second challenge of the month over at The Card Concept, so you know what that means - double the inspiration! Here are the two images to choose from:

 

I love option b, which to me has a country farmhouse kind of vibe, so I've taken that together with the hearts and ticking from the fabric as inspiration for my shabby/rustic card.

Love those cork hearts! The cork-look paper has two layers of card behind it to give this embellishment plenty of dimension, which may be difficult to see in the photo. The floral paper, once the edges had been sponged and distressed, was machine stitched - which had the added bonus of anchoring the very narrow strip of beige striped paper over the lace. 

Materials used:

• card - kraft heavystock (Ranger), Golden Days papers (Mintay)
• other - heart punch (SU), button (Buttons Galore), white bakers twine, sewing machine and thread, sponge dauber, vintage photo distress oxide, mini glue dot, lace (Stamperia), Dimensionals, craft foam

Do head over to the Card Concept blog to see the beautiful cards my fellow team-mates have created, and of course we'd love you to be inspired and add your own creation to our gallery.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Tic Tac Toe Guest Designer

This week I'm guest designer for Tic Tac Toe challenge #196 and here's the challenge board:

I chose the diagonal line from top left - heart, free, die cut - and made a Valentines card.

Materials used:

• card - basic black and smoky slate (Stampin' Up), watercolour, Backdrops (Tim Holtz)
• distress inks - lumberjack plaid, hickory smoke, black soot
• other Tim Holtz products - Tailored thinlits, Gothic stencil, lumberjack plaid embossing glaze, Sentiments label stickers, Sidekick
• other -heat tool, Dimensionals, blending brushes, Country Bouquet punch (SU), R27 copic marker, Versamark ink

For the hearts I first smooshed my Versamark ink pad over the stencil then sprinkled with lumberjack glaze and set it, inked over with the matching distress ink and punched out the hearts after it dried. The die cut pieces were also coloured with distress inks once cut - the pieces from the jacket have to be inked on both sides as you fold back the lapel portions. 

Thanks for calling in. I do hope you'll visit the Tic Tac Toe blog and see the wonderful creations the design team came up with to inspire you.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept - Floral Valentine

It's time for another Card Concept challenge and this time around, love is in the air! Floral Valentine is the theme but of course you can take any aspect of the picture as inspiration.

I've made a clean and layered card inspired by the general theme and the colours.

I began by making the envelope, then stamped, stencilled and cut the flowers and leaves. Once I was happy with the arrangement I worked on my background, continuing the love letter theme by using a postage stamp die and stencilling text (and flowers) on to my pink card. I used transparent texture paste so it would add interest but not steal the spotlight from my focal point. Lastly my die-cut sentiment was added - I cut two of each word from pale pink card and glued them together, then used whatever ink was left on my blending brush from doing the flowers and gently sponged the lower half of the letters for an ombre effect. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Garden Roses (PinkFresh Studios)
• card - very vanilla, pink pirouette, basic black
• Altenew inks - frosty pink, coral berry, ruby red, bamboo, parrot
• dies - Garden Roses die (PFS), Postale envelope die (Tim Holtz), Nesting postage stamps infinity dies (Hero Arts), Love You More Than dies (SU)
• stencils - Garden Roses stencils (PFS), The Flower Garden (Stamperia)
• other - MISTI, Big Shot, dimensionals, craft foam, blending brushes, sponge dauber, transparent gloss texture paste (Ranger)

Pop on over to the Card Concept blog to check out what lovely cards my team mates have created to inspire you, and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept challenge - Love is in the Air

Welcome to The Card Concept challenge #168. Our theme is Love is in the Air and here's our inspiration picture:

For my clean and layered card I was inspired by many of the elements shown - the flowers, heart and colours. 

I often use this little piggie for love or hugs cards because - well, let's face it, he/she is simply adorable. Such a cute little face! Who could possibly resist it? Not me, lol.

Materials used:

• stamps - Hog Heaven (MFT)
• card - basic white, watercolour, mossy meadow, digital floral paper (Etsy), lipstick (Kaisercraft)
• dies - Hog Heaven, Sending Big Hugs (both MFT)
• other - aqua painter, petal pink, mossy meadow and polished pink inks (SU), mounting tape, Big Shot Switch, Dimensionals

This theme is perfect for Valentines but of course you don't need a special day to send a message of love to someone dear to you, so if you end up inspired to create we would love to see it in our gallery. More inspiration can be found from the gorgeous cards my team-mates have made for you, so pop on over to the Card Concept blog to have a look.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Love You - CAS on Friday Challenge #198

Welcome to another CAS on Friday challenge. With Valentines Day just around the corner, naturally our thoughts turn our theme for challenge #198, which is LOVE.

Here's my card:

Materials used:

• card - whisper white, melon mambo, Daffodil Joy designer papers (Nitwit Collections)
• other - triple heart punch, Love You More Than dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, stitched rectangle die, craft foam

Check out what my fellow team members have created to inspire you by following the link above, and we'd certainly LOVE to have you join in our challenge.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Piggy Love - CAS on Friday Challenge

Hi all! It's time for another challenge at CAS on Friday so I hope you'll feel inspired to join us.

This week's challenge is #173 and the theme is LOVE.

We're getting close to Feb 14th and not that you need an excuse to declare your love, but it certainly has become traditional to exchange a card and maybe some flowers and/or chocolates. How much more heartfelt is the message when you make your own Valentine?

Here's my clean and simple card:

All I did was blend a bit of granny apple green ink on my small panel to match the card base, trying for an ombre effect and lightening the colour as it moves up. The pig was coloured with a mix of SU Blends and Copic markers and I added some Wink of Stella to the heart for added sparkle. Clear epoxy dots finished it off after adding the white embossed sentiment.

Materials used:

• stamps - Hog Heaven (MFT)
• card - whisper white, granny apple green, basic black
• other - blending brush, Copic Markers, Stampin' Blends, Hog Heaven dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, craft foam, white embossing powder, heat tool, clear Wink of Stella, clear epoxy dots

I hope you'll visit the blogs of my fellow design team members to see their gorgeous creations, and don't forget to leave us all some comment love!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Friendship and Love

It's the 14th of the month, which means it's time for another team blog hop! So grab a cuppa, relax and take your time scrolling through the inspiration we have to offer you.

This time around we were given a sketch:

First up I made this little cutie. Now, most people I'm giving birthday cards to would need all these candles and more (lol), but they are definitely all awesome.

Isn't she a sweetie? I love how she's very 'matchy-matchy' with her outfit - that's my kinda gal!

Materials used:

• stamps - Itty Bitty Birthdays, Young at Heart
• card - crumb cake, whisper white, Bird Ballad DSP
• Stampin' Blends - calypso coral, pool party, so saffron, crumb cake, soft sea foam, smoky slate, ivory
• other - stitched rectangle die, stitched circle die, Big Shot, Dimensionals, calypso coral seam binding, Ornate Frames dies, clear embossing powder, heat tool

Next up is a sweet Valentine's card featuring products from the From My Heart suite in the upcoming mini catalogue. I switched sides for my feature and changed the circle to a heart.

Materials used:

• stamps - This Little Piggy
• card - flirty flamingo, real red, whisper white, From My Heart specialty DSP
• other - heart doilies, From My Heart faceted gems, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends, word window punch, real red double stitched satin ribbon, clear embossing powder, heat tool

Also featuring new goodies from the mini catalogue is my last offering. This is the first card design I thought of when I first saw the sketch a couple of weeks ago, but I had to wait until the last minute to make it as AusPost managed to lose my pre-order goodies and they only just arrived in the nick of time!

Materials used:

• stamps - Grace's Garden, Itty Bitty Greetings
• card - whisper white, watercolour, Sahara sand, brights DSP
• other - Garden Gateway dies, Big Shot, stitched rectangle die, stitched circle die, aqua painter, Stampin' Blends, Dimensionals, Stampin' Write markers, sponge dauber, blending brush, mounting strips

Now move on to the next team member, Kristy Davy, to see what she has created for you. Thanks for calling in!

Cheers

Kez

 

I Heart You

I woke up yesterday morning with an idea for a Valentine's Day card in my head, so naturally I had to try it out to see if my vision would work. And while it's by no means a Work of Art, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Take a lookie:

I did the texture paste hearts first then assembled the rest while I waited for it to dry, and because I had it all mapped out in my head, this card took probably no more than 15 minutes to make. Some retired product used - ie the papers and the triple heart punch - along with the gorgeous new Celebrate You thinlit and Amazing You stamps. This is the best option in the SAB offering, in my opinion. So versatile.

Materials used:

• stamps - Amazing You
• card - melon mambo, whisper white, basic black, retired DSP
• other - stitched circle die, Celebrate You die, Big Shot, triple heart punch, Dimensionals, texture paste, distressing tool

There's a little more decoration on the inside too:

That's it! Happy Valentine's Day to you all and thanks for calling in today.

Cheers

Kez

#truelove

I rather surprised myself yesterday morning, on two counts.

One, I made a Valentines card.

Two, it is a CAS (Clean and Simple) card.

Both of those things I don't do often! But when I saw the inspiration photo over at Just Add Ink, an image of my card popped into my head and wouldn't go away until I had made it. Here's the inspiration photo:

And here's my card:

Materials used:

• stamps - @SoSocial
• card - cherry cobbler, pink pirouette, whisper white, retired dsp
• other - full heart punch, banner punch, happy heart embossing folder, Big Shot, dimensionals, crystal effects, rhinestones

DH must have been feeling guilty for all the long hours he's been working lately because I got a card, roses AND Belgian chocolates for Valentines Day. And then he went back to work - well, you can't win them all!

Thanks for stopping by

Cheers

Kez

PCS Blog Hop - Eiffel Tower of Love

Welcome!

Some of the Design Team members of Paper Crafters Sampler are holding a blog hop featuring the Eiffel Tower of Love, the featured template from the January 2015 Paper Crafters Sampler, 'Lovable You'.

The iconic structure of the Eiffel Tower has been chosen for this romantic themed sampler, just in time for Valentines Day. Paris is the epitome of love and romance, so join us in exploring just some of the ways the template can be interpreted for your romantic projects.

 Simple and sweet are the watchwords for my project!

The first thing I made was my card. I printed a larger than usual version of the Eiffel Tower from MDS on to whisper white, using a laser printer so the ink would be fixed. My heart shaped moon was made with a mask, then I brayered my romantic sunset and sponged a little at top and bottom also.

To the intricate detailing of the template I have simply added banners, hearts and rhinestones to glamourise the tower centrepiece for the occasion. The colours and shapes of my card are reflected in the embellishments on my tower.

Materials used:

• stamps - Artistic Etchings (MDS version)
• card - crisp cantaloupe, basic grey, whisper white, patterned paper - crisp cantaloupe and wisteria wonder, white glitter
• inks - crisp cantaloupe, wisteria wonder, basic grey
• other - Eiffel Tower template, rhinestones, pennant punch, whisper white bakers twine, dimensionals, triple heart punch, brayer, sponge dauber, full heart punch (MDS version), two-way glue pen
• non SU - computer and printer, e-Cutter

Now it's time to move on and see what Pam Dotts has in store for you. I'm sure you will love her creative ideas!

And if you've just joined here and would like to go back to the beginning of the hop, click HERE to pop back to Melanie's blog.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Love Letter

Being in the mood for colouring yesterday, I dug out my Magnolia stamps and came across this gorgeous image. My card is rather an indulgence of girly-girly pink, ribbon and flowers - but I have to admit it is fun to do every now and then!

Materials used:

• stamps - En Francais (SU), Tilda with love letter (Magnolia)
• card - pink pirouette, basic grey, whisper white
• inks - smoky slate, Memento Tuxedo Black
• Blendabilities - pink pirouette, skin tones, smoky slate, soft sky
• Copics - Y11, Y21, Y32, E50, E33, E55, R85
• other - Spritzer tool; markers - so saffron, pink pirouette, soft sky, Sahara sand; Big Shot; ovals framelits; distressing tool; sponge dauber; dimensionals; 1 3/8" square punch, owl punch, bird punch, pretty in pink satin ribbon
• non SU - paper flowers, hot glue gun

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

You Stole My Heart

I make a point of telling my two girls all the time how much I love them, so I don't usually join in the Valentine's Day hype - but this year I had an idea for a card so I ran with it. I also made them a gift bag of sweet treats.

As the card was very simple, I kept my gift bag simple also and just carried through the colours and motif. Here they are:

I printed the sentiment and stamp twice (created in MDS) and simply cut out the second heart with the matching die, layering it on top with dimensionals.

Materials used:

• stamps - Hearts a Flutter (MDS)
• card - pool party, real red, whisper white
• other - dimensionals, Big Shot, hearts a flutter dies, pool party seam binding, Sweetheart treat bags, computer and printer

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Sweetheart Sunshine

I bought the Sweetheart Treat Bags to play with and although I love the little tags that come with them, I wanted to brighten it up a bit. I tried some daffodil delight (inspired by DD15's formal outfit - see this post) and boy! does it pop!

Take a lookie:

I've used Starburst Sayings for my sentiment - this is a new set coming at the end of this month in the Occasions catalogue. This little gift bag is just perfect for Valentines, anniversary, birthday - or just every day!

Materials used:

• stamps - Starburst Sayings
• card - daffodil delight, whisper white, real red
• other - Sweetheart treat bag, chalk talk framelits, Big Shot, starburst framelits, daffodil delight and real red taffeta ribbons, glue dot, dimensionals
• non SU - 38mm circle punch

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez