Author: Karen

I am a very blessed wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. I firmly believe in the quote by Dieter F. Uchtdorf which states "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human heart." Every day I try to create something that lifts the heart for myself and others.

Marble Background Chunky Birthday Wishes

I was in need of some masculine cards. I had this leftover marble background made by ink smooshing some Distress Oxid Inks onto watercolor paper and decided to put it to good use. This image from Stampendous is a favorite one I use for masculine cards. I stamped it with VersaMark Ink and heat embossed it gold.

To color the image I pulled out my Arteza Real Brush Pens and a water brush and added some deep rich color.

Once the coloring was complete I die cut the image using a stitched rectangle. I almost always use a stitched die on my cards. I love the visual interest that it adds. Sticky back foam was added to the back and the focal image was adhered to a top folding ivory cardbase.

The final embellishment was to add Ranger Crystal Stickles to the balloons.

PRODUCTS USED:

  • Stampendous Chunky Birthday
  • Distress Inks: Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey, Vintage Photo
  • Arteza Real Brush Pens: 114 Current Red, 118 Autumn Red, 182 Wine Red, 112 Orange, 124 Apricot, 169 Orange Rust, 156 Sunset Yellow
  • VersaMark Ink
  • Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder
  • My Favorite Things A2 Stitched Rectangle
  • Canson XL 140# Cold Press Watercolor Paper
  • Gina K. Designs Base Weight Ivory Cardstock
  • Ranger Crystal and Gold Stickles
  • Darice Sticky Back Foam
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive

Eliza You Are a Little Bit Older and a Lot More Fabulous

Eliza shares a birthday with Autumn and her favorite color is also yellow. Maybe it’s because they are autumn children and the leaves turn such a beautiful yellow color.

I printed the cute image from La-La Land Crafts onto Neenah Classic Crest 80# Solar White Cardstock with a laser printer so the lines would not bleed when colored with alcohol markers. Once the coloring was complete I stamped the sentiment in the lower left of the card. To add some visual interest the focal image was die cut using a My Favorite Things Elegant Rectangle. I hardly ever use this die, but I really like the way it looks. I cut the next largest die from leftover yellow cardstock and adhered the two die cuts together with liquid glue. Sticky back foam was added to the back for dimension and it was adhered to a top folding white cardbase with liquid glue.

I felt that it needed a little something more, so I pulled out Nuvo White Crystal Drops and added them around the focal image on the yellow background. I really like the way it turned out.

PRODUCTS USED:

  • La-La Land Craft Sightseeing Marci
  • Penny Black Carefree Wishes
  • Copic Markers: Y08, Y06, Y04, Y02,  Y00; Y25, Y23, Y21, Y11, E43, E42; Y38, Y35, Y32, Y11; R22, R21; R20, E11, E01, E00; C2, C1
  • My Favorite Things Elegant Rectangle
  • Neenah Classic Crest 80# Solar White Cardstock
  • Yellow Cardstock from Stash
  • Gina K. Designs 120# White Cardstock
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
  • Nuvo Crystal Drops White
  • Gina K. Designs Amalgam Ink

Have a Wonderful Birthday Autumn

I have a young friend who is turning seventeen in a couple of days. She is really into sports, particularly volleyball. I thought this cut image from La-La Land Crafts was perfect for her.

Autumn’s favorite color is yellow and so I pulled out a lot of different shades of yellow to color this image. I used gray markers to give her some ground to stand on so she didn’t look like she was floating in air.

I stamped the sentiment in the lower left of the card front and then cut out the image using the Memory Box Matinee Rectangle die. I really like the corners on this die, they add such great visual interest. I added sticky back foam to the back of the panel and adhered it to a top folding A2 cardbase made from some yellow cardstock I had in my stash.

The final embellishment was to add some clear stickles to the heart on the sweatshirt and the card was done.

PRODUCTS USED:

  • La-La Land Crafts Sweet Molli
  • Penny Black Carefree Wishes
  • Copic Markers: Y38, Y35, Y13; Y08, Y06, Y04, Y02; E55, E53, E51, E50; E11, E01, E00, R21, R20; C2, C1
  • Memory Box Matinee Rectangle
  • Neenah Classic Crest 80# Solar White Cardstock
  • Yellow Cardstock from Stash
  • Gina K. Designs 120# White Cardstock
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
  • Ranger Crystal Stickles
  • Gina K. Designs Amalgam Ink
  • Darice Sticky Back Foam

Happy Happy Happy 70th Birthday Sweetheart

My husband turns 70 the end of this month and I wanted to create a card that used his favorite color blue, but also acknowledged his milestone birthday. I saw on Pinterest a card created for Simon Says Stamp by iminhaven. Her card was a rainbow birthday, but I kept mine blue. I really liked the repeating white “happy.”

I began by cutting one of the “happy” dies from the WPlus 9 Happy Trio 15 times from white cardstock. They were glued together using Elmer’s Spray Adhesive. They were adhered to a rectangle 1/8″ smaller than an A2 cardbase with liquid glue. The “happy” panel was adhered to a rectangle of blue glitter cardstocks with double-sided adhesive tape. The secondary sentiment was stamped on a scrap of white cardstock with blue ink and die cut using a Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Label Die and adhered to a slightly larger piece of blue glitter cardstock with double-sided tape. It was adhered over the middle “happy” word with Simon Says Stamp Big Mama Foam Tape.

This would be the end of casing the card by iminhaven, but I felt that it needed more blue and something to add visual interest. I decided to cut Simon Says Stamp Balloon Bouquet from the blue glitter cardstock and adhered it in the upper right of the card. I really liked it, but I wanted to personalize the card, so I cut #70 from the same glitter cardstock using the My Favorite Things Little Numbers dies and adhered them in the center of three of the balloons.

Now the card was ready to give to my amazing husband. So blessed to have him in my life.

PRODUCTS USED:

  • WPlus 9 Happy Trio
  • Altenew Birthday Greetings
  • My Favorite Things Little Numbers
  • Simon Says Stamp Balloon Bouquet
  • Doodlebug Design Navy Glitter Cardstock
  • Neenah Classic Crest 110# Solar White Cardstock
  • Gina K. Designs 120# White Cardstock
  • Gina K. Designs In the Navy Ink
  • Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Strips
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
  • Elmer’s Craft Bond Spray Adhesive
  • Be Creative Double-Sided Tape
  • Simon Says Stamp Big Mama Foam Tape

Sharing in Your Sorrow

I recently purchased both #1 and #2 Sizzix Wildflower Stem and decided to use them to create a sympathy card. I selected three flowers and a couple of leaves and cut them from 110# Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock. This is very thick cardstock and required using a metal shim to cut them out.

I used Distress Oxide Inks and blending brushes to add color to the die cuts. I used some Post-it Notes to cut a circle that would protect the center of the flowers while coloring the petals. I also used the negative to protect the petals while coloring the flower centers.

For a background to the flowers and leaves I used a brick and mortar embossing folder to add dimension. I cut down the panel to be 1/4″ smaller than a card front. I used a couple of Distress Oxide Inks to add shading to the bricks. I decided do something I haven’t done before and distressed the edges of the brick panel with Heidi Swapp’s Edge Distressor. I liked the look and decided to add a thin black border before adhering the panel to a top folding gray cardbase.

The flower and leaves were adhered to the brick panel using a combination of liquid glue and a little foam tape behind the flower head. To add a little more visual interest Ranger Gold Stickles were added to the flower centers.

The sentiment was stamped onto black cardstock with VersaMark Ink and heat embossed gold. It was cut using a Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Label and then one end was cut on an angle. Simon Says Stamp Big Mama Foam Tape was added to one side of the sentiment where it did not overlap the stems of the flowers and leaves and the card was done.

PRODUCTS USED:

  • Sizzix Wildflower Stems #1 and #2
  • Hero Arts Remembers
  • Distress Oxide Inks: Weathered Wood, Frayed Burlap, Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feather, Tumbled Glass, Fossilized Amber
  • Stampin’ Up Brick & Mortar Embossing Folder
  • Heidi Swapp Edge Distressor
  • Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Label
  • Neenah Classic Crest 110# Solar White Cardstock
  • Gina K. Designs Base Weight Onyx Black and Whisper Cardstock
  • Gina K. Designs 120# White Cardstock
  • Ranger Gold Stickles
  • Simon Says Stamp Big Mama Foam Tape
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
  • VersaMark Ink
  • Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder

Center Cut Holiday Floral Red and Green Christmas

I decided to use this beautiful stamp by Simon Says Stamp one more time and color it using Copic Markers. They are my favorite coloring medium. You can get such depth of color and add beautiful shadows.

I first stamped the image onto Neenah Classic Crest 80# Solar White Cardstock with Memento London Fog Ink, which doesn’t bleed when coloring with alcohol markers. Once the coloring was complete I stamped it again with VersaMark Ink and heat embossed it gold. The panel was cut down using the largest Lawn Fawn Stitched Stackable Rectangle, which covers the entire front of an A2 cardbase. I love stitched dies. They add that little something extra to a card.

At first I stamped the center sentiment onto some Grass Green cardstock and heat embossed it gold. It was nice, but I decided I wanted to do something different for this card. I cut a circle from a scrap of Gina K. Designs Grass Green cardstock using an Ellen Hutson Essentials Circle Die and ink blended the edges with Fresh Asparagus ink. A circle of sticky back foam was cut using a smaller die and added to the back. I die cut the Memory Box Jotted Script Die from a scrap of red cardstock and the shadow with gold mirror cardstock. The two were adhered together with liquid glue and then adhered to the card front with the same glue. The Ellen Hutson Essential Die was used to cut a thin gold frame, which was adhered directly to the card front with liquid glue. The final embellishment was to add glossy accents to the red sentiment die.

PRODUCTS USED:

  • Simon Says Stamp Center Cut Holiday Floral
  • Memory Box Peace Jotted Script Die
  • Copic Markers: R29, R27, R24, R22; G28, G24, G21; YG67, YG17, YG03; G99, YG63, YG61; YR24, YR21; RV99, RV69
  • Memento London Fog
  • Gina K. Designs Fresh Asparagus
  • VersaMark Ink
  • Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder
  • Lawn Fawn Large Stitched Stackable Rectangle
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
  • Gina K. Designs Grass Green Base Weight Cardstock
  • Gina K. Designs 120# White Cardstock
  • Neenah Classic Crest 80# Solar White Cardstock
  • Paper Accents Gold Mirror Cardstock
  • Darice Sticky Back Foam
  • Hero Arts Infinity Circle Die
  • Essentials By Ellen Circle Die
  • Laromi Blending Brush
  • Ranger Glossy Accents

Center Cut Holiday Floral Traditional Christmas

I decided to use this beautiful stamp once again and watercolor it with traditional poinsettia colors. I stamped it on Strathmore Bristol Smooth with VersaMark Ink and heat embossed it white.

For coloring the image I used Karin Brush Marker Pro colors. I got my hand into some of the green before it was dry and couldn’t completely blot it up, so I decided to use a soft green as a background color and really liked the way it turned out. Sometimes mistakes can be happy accidents. Once everything was dry I cut down the image using the largest Lawn Fawn Stitched Stackable Rectangle and adhered it to a top folding white cardbase.

I watercolored some leftover Bristol Smooth cardstock with some of the green watercolor and once it was completely dry stamped the center cut sentiment with VersaMark Ink and heat embossed it white. I used a Hero Arts Infinity Circle Die to cut out the sentiment. Sticky back foam was cut with a smaller rectangle and adhered to the back of the sentiment, which was then adhered to the card front with liquid glue.

I like watercoloring, but I need to be more patient and add more layers to create greater depth. Overall, it is a very pretty card and I love this stamp set.

PRODUCTS USED:

  • mon Says Stamp Center Cut Holiday Floral
  • Karin Brush Marker Pro: 209 Red, 075 Burgundy, 357 Pale Orange, 552 Ochre, 447 Olive Black, 297 Curry, 210 Apple, 281 Olive Green
  • VersaMark Ink
  • Gina K. Designs Detail White Embossing Powder
  • Hero Arts Infinity Circle Dies
  • Gina K. Designs 120# White Cardstock
  • Strathmore Bristol Smooth Cardstock
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
  • Hero Arts Infinity Circle Dies
  • Darice Sticky Back Foam
  • Lawn Fawn Large Stitched Stackable Rectangle

Center Cut Holiday Floral Christmas

I love this new stamp by Simon Says Stamp. I’ve seen some incredible designs for different cardmakers and have been inspired.

I knew I wanted to watercolor the image so I stamped it with VersaMark Ink onto Strathmore Bristol Smooth Cardstock and heat embossed it clear. I originally planned to color the poinsettia red, but I started coloring what I thought was a leaf with the pretty turquoise color and low and behold it was a petal on the poinsettia, so I went with a non-traditional color scheme for this card and love the way it turned out.

I used my Karin Brush Markers because they give such a depth of color, but still allow you to have soft variations as well.

Once the color was dry I cut down the image using the largest Lawn Fawn Stitched Stackable Rectangle, which cover an entire card front, but add that lovely stitched edge that I love so much.

The stamp set come with the center sentiment, but it can pop out and be stamped separately. I stamped it onto Bristol Cardstock as well and heat embossed it clear. I then used the same green I used on the leaves to color the sentiment circle. The first time I cut it I used too small of a circle, so I stamped it again and colored it again. The word was a little blotchy so I stamped it again with VersaMark and this time embossed it with white embossing powder. I then cut it with a larger circle, add foam tape behind and adhered it to the center of the card.

Love it!

PRODUCTS USED:

  • Simon Says Stamp Center Cut Holiday Floral
  • Karin Brush Marker Pro: 253 Grass, 281 Olive Green, 210 Apple, 228 Lush Green, 377 Teal, 172 Blush, 220 Pale Pink
  • Avery Elle Stitched Stackable Rectangles Die
  • Hero Arts Circle Infinity Die
  • Strathmore Bristol Smooth Cardstock
  • Gina K. Designs 120# White Cardstock
  • Hero Arts Detail Clear Embossing Powder
  • Gina K. Designs Detail White Embossing Powder
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
  • Darice Sticky Back Foam

Delicate Flowers You Are So Special to Me

So I have two aunts that are my mother’s younger sisters. They are now 89 and 92 and there health is failing. They have been such a wonderful influence in my life and I wanted them to know how special they are to me. I made the previous card for one of them and had Simon Says Stamp’s Delicate Flowers out for the sentiment and decided to use that stamp set to create the second.

I stamped the images onto Strathmore Bristol Smooth Cardstock with a light ink and watercolored them using ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Markers. They turned out lovely. I stamp them a second time with VersaMark Ink and heat embossed them gold and then die cut them with the coordinating dies.

I cut a scalloped rectangle from white cardstock and arranged the flowers where I wanted them. I then used Glad Press ‘n Seal to keep them in place an allow me to pick them up and add adhesive to the back. I used liquid glue for everything except the largest flower and placed them on the scalloped rectangle.

Before adhering the largest flower with foam tape I stamped the sentiment with VersaMark and heat embossed it gold and then placed the largest flower.

The final embellishments was to add gold sequins around the card front.

I am so grateful for these wonderful women in my life and I pray the Lord will watch over them until he takes them home to dwell with Him.

PRODUCTS USED:

  • Simon Says Stamp Delicate Flowers
  • Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers: 202 Peach Pink, 048 Emerald Green, 045 Pale Green, 067 Mustard
  • VersaMark Ink
  • Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder
  • Spellbinders Fancy Edged Rectangles
  • Pretty Pink Posh Metallic Gold Sequin Mix
  • Simon Says Stamp Big Mama Foam Tape
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
  • Gina K. Designs 120# White Cardstock
  • Strathmore Bristol Smooth Cardstock

You Are So Special to Me

This is the final card I made using the Altenew Build-A-Flower Rose. My crafting friend wanted to make a purple rose, but she didn’t like the way it turned out, so I gave it a try. I think the challenge on creating these roses is to have variations in color, but ensure the tones of the colors used go well together.

I pulled out a watercolor cardstock from Paper Studio that had a beautiful corner of purple shades in light and darker. These were my base and first layer of the flowers. I then went through my scraps of purple to find two more colors that coordinated. This time I only used two layers for the leaves.

For this card I decided to pull out Avery Elle’s Horizontal Stripes background die. It has a lovely circle opening where I could nest the flowers and leaves. I cut it from white cardstock and adhered it to a top folding white cardbase.

The flowers and leaves were adhered around the circle opening with liquid glue and the sentiment was stamped in purple ink on one of the stripes.

For a final embellishment Clear Wink of Stella was added to the flowers and purple sequins were scattered around the flowers, with the centers being filled with Gold Stickles.

PRODUCTS USED:

  • Altenew Build-A-Flower Rose
  • Simon Says Stamp Delicate Flowers
  • Avery Elle Horizontal Stripes
  • Altenew Deep Iris Ink
  • Copic Markers YG67
  • Purple Cardstocks from Scraps
  • The Paper Studio Watercolor Multi
  • Neenah Classic Crest 80# Solar White Cardstock
  • Gina K. Designs 120# White Cardstock
  • Stampin’ Up Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder
  • Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
  • Clear Wink of Stella
  • Pretty Pink Posh Enchanted Garden Sequin Mix
  • Ranger Gold Stickles