A Family Sign and a Card

 

Our family had several friends get married recently and this is one of the gifts I made.  I have been admiring signs for so long I thought I would give it a try.  I had so much fun making this, I know I am going to be making many more.   

I made their wedding card very simple.  I started with a card base of Cryogen White cardstock.  Cryogen White is a white shimmer paper, it has just the right amount of shimmer…and I love it.  I stamped the Background Basics: Houndstooth in Encore Silver.  Check out that shimmer!  I then stamped Congrats from Think Big Favorites #5 in Hawaiian Shores ink.  I added three gems that I colored with an R05 Copic marker to the bottom left hand side.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment from Verve’s Anniversary Birds stamp set in Melon Berry ink and the flourish from PTI’s Fancy Flourishes in Hawaiian Shores ink.  I love the way that flourish mimics the font on the front of the card.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog.  Have a blessed day!

~Karen

My “Washi Tape” Card

 

This is my first time doing the Make It Monday challenge from Papertrey.  I saw the video on making your own washi tape and I had to give it a try.  I have been admiring washi tape from afar now for quite some time and just could not resist.  I didn’t have Scor-Tape in the correct size so I decided to improvise.  I did have some medical tape left over from the hazards of summer, so I thought that might work.  I am happy with the results, but I did notice that the ink really absorbs into the tape and would probably work better with more vibrant colors.  I stamped the polka dots from BB: Polka Dot Basics II in Aqua Mist ink.  It looks much more vibrant in real life, but I had a hard time conveying that in my photo.  I stamped the pitcher in Hawaiian Shores ink.  The leaves and flowers are stamped in Jenni Bowlin Seed Packet and  PTI Raspberry Fizz.  After stamping those images from Iconic Images, I wanted to soften the edges.  I used a sponge to go around the edges with Fresh Snow ink and then to add more dimension went around the edges only with Antique Linen distress ink.  I also stamped some swirls from Fancy Flourishes in Antique Linen at the corners.  The birthday sentiment is from Damask Designs and is stamped in Raspberry Fizz.  I had so much fun making my own washi tape and will definitely be using this technique in the future. 

I am so excited about this three day weekend.  I just wish my must-do list would stop outnumbering my want-to-do list.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

~Karen

Another Birthday Card

I made this card using Soft Stone and Royal Velvet cardstocks.  I have found myself using Soft Stone a lot lately.  I stamped the Text Style background in Charcoal ink.  I wanted it to be more muted so I rubbed New Canvas ink all over it directly from the ink pad.   I then layered the flowers from Botanical Silhouettes on top.  I used Palette L’Amour Red and Momento Grape Jelly inks for the flowers and New Leaf ink for the leaves.  I used a strip of vellum to stamp the sentiment and then scored two lines on the top and bottom and adhered it to the front of my card.  I finished off the card by adding some pure poppy grosgrain ribbon to the top of the card and some clear gems to the flowers.

So what is everyone up to?  It has been busy in our household lately.  We celebrated my husband’s birthday yesterday and we will celebrate my youngest son’s birthday on Saturday.  There always seems to be a birthday to celebrate, but that is one of the fun things of having a big family. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.

~Karen

1 John 4:4 WORDart

I am back with some new WORDart!  I hope everyone’s summer is going well. 

I am so thankful that God is bigger than all my problems, bigger than all my fears and bigger than any temptation!

You can download this WORDart here.

For this card, I used the cane impression plate and inked it up with Fresh Snow ink before running it through the Cuttlebug with the kraft card base.  I then die cut a piece of kraft cardstock using a half & half die and ran it through my printer (taped with removable tape to plain old printer paper) and printed the WORDart.  I tried the dry brush technique, but I am so not thrilled with the results.  I definitely have some work to do to perfect that technique!  I wrapped some black embroidery floss around the end after punching notches with a small circle punch and added some black gems.  The focal point is adhered to the card with foam tape.  That little flourish at the end is from the Half & Half stamp set.  I love this stamp set and dies and have already used them several times…so worth the investment.  All stamps and cardstock are from Papertrey.

Have a blessed day!

~Karen

A Birthday Card

Sorry for the long break from my blog.  I have been busy moving into my new craft room.  It is coming along nicely…now I just have to clean up the mess I made in the old one and turn it into the school room.  It turned out to be a much bigger project than I had counted on.  Why do I always do that to myself?  My husband thinks I’m crazy, I say I am determined.

This is a card I made several weeks ago (months, actually).  I have several cards on my computer that I haven’t been able to post yet.   Speaking of computer, I had the biggest scare of my life.  I set up all of my computer stuff and hooked up my external hard drives. (I have two-one for school stuff and one for craft stuff.)  Well, when I went to post this morning it appeared that almost all of the stuff on my craft hard drive was missing.  I know I had a small heart attack!  After spending way too much time trying to figure out what was wrong and hyperventilating, I realized I was using the wrong hard drive! I was using the new larger size one that I bought to transfer my files to but haven’t quite finished doing that yet hard drive.  SO thankful that it was not messed up like a originally thought.  My heart is still racing!

Anyways, back to the card.  I used the Dot Spot stamp by Papertrey as well as the Big Birthday Wishes stamp set.  I also used the Background Basics Gingham stamp on the Lemon Tart strip at the bottom of the card.  I stamped it in Versamark and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  It is hard to see in the picture but it really adds a nice texture and depth to the card.  The dot spots were stamped in Jenni Bowlin Chewing Gum ink and the smaller dots and sentiment in Raspberry  Fizz.  I stamped “birthday girl” from Enjoy the Ride in Momento Dandelion ink.  I die cut the “5” in Lemon Tart using the By the Numbers dies and stamped and embossed it like I did the strip on the bottom, tied some pink baker’s twine around it and adhered it with foam tape. The By the Numbers paper was die cut with the medium Scalloped die and a strip of Score-tape over the top covered in glitter was added to the bottom of the card.

Some exciting news---I just found out that my Copic  marker storage has been featured on the iCopic blog!  Check it out here.  Thanks so much, Samantha!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

~Karen

Congrats!…and Scrap Storage

Hello!  Just thought I would share this anniversary card I made using “For My Tweetie” by The Angel Company.  I love these little birds, they are just too cute.  I colored them with prismacolor pencils and gamsol.

I always try to use my scraps whenever possible, so this card with the exception of the card base uses all scraps.  

Speaking of scraps, I thought I would share with you how I store mine.I think I purchased these at Staples or Walmart.  I store all of my Papertrey paper scraps that are smaller than a card base in these.  I have two of them.   They close up to a nice compact size that I can easily store by my desk.

I separate all the colors with an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cheap white cardstock so I can fit more in them.  I always check my scraps first to see if I have the color that I need, which really cuts down on the amount of scraps I have to store.  I have found this to really work well for me.   For my other scraps, I throw them in drawers marked Textured Scraps, Metallic Scraps, Patterned Paper, TAC Scraps.  Since I mostly use Papertrey, the drawers work well for everything else.

Thanks for stopping by my little blog today.  I plan to be back on Thursday with new WORDart.  I hope to “see” you then.

~Karen

 

Supplies used for card~

Stamps- For my Tweetie (The Angel Company), Tiny Tags (Papertrey)

Paper- Hawaiian Shores, White (PTI), green (Bazzill), pp (MME Magnolia)

Ink- Noir (Palette), Pure Poppy (PTI)

Dies- Eyelet Lace border die, Angled Labels die, Tiny Tags die (PTI), Rectangle Nestibilities die (Spellbinders)

Other- Orange and Green Apple Divine Twine, prismacolor pencils

Grunged Up Birthday

I made this card for my son’s birthday.  I was so excited to use my new Papertrey stamps.  They came at the perfect time.   For this card, I used Grunge Me, My Hero, My Dad, Star Prints, Ad Sense, and Polka Dot Basics II.

I used Versamark and Weathered Wood, Fired Brick, Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy distress inks.  I love using these inks any time I want that distressed look.  I also really like the way they look on kraft cardstock.

I have been spending a lot of time in my craft room lately, but cleaning and organizing instead of stamping.  It has turned into a much bigger project than I wanted it to be and now I am just ready to stamp.  I am so ready to make something!

Have a fantastic day!

~Karen

Mother’s Day and 31 Days to Clean update

This is a last minute Mother’s Day card I made for my daughter-in-law.  I used Background Basics: Twinkle, Label Basics, Delightful Dahlia and Flower Fusion #3 stamp sets from Papertrey.

I got the sweetest gift from my kids this year.  They all got together and made me a basket of my favorite things.  It really touched me that they took the time to do that for me, not to mention how special it was that they knew so many of my favorite things.  They did a really great job!  I received my very first Grandma card this year.  That was a new experience.  My granddaughter saw me at church on Sunday and yelled down the hallway, “Happy Mother’s Day, Grandma!”….so sweet, talk about melting my heart.

I am finding I am not able to keep up with the really big jobs, but I am very happy with the progress I am making.  I definitely wouldn’t be this far along in my cleaning without this challenge.  So far, I have accomplished…

My refrigerator and freezer are cleaned out and organized.

All of the tops of my cabinets (which includes cleaning all of the glass “untouchables” I keep up there), the top of my refrigerator and my ceiling fan are clean.

My oven and microwave are gleaming.

My kitchen windows are spotless (for now) and the vertical blinds and window treatments are all clean.

All of my cabinets are clean and shiny.

I have one cabinet all cleaned out and organized and have made really good progress on cleaning and organizing my pantry.

My favorite part of this challenge are the Mary challenges, and I have really enjoyed  just reading the book on its own.  I have found it to be so inspiring and thought provoking.  I think I will find myself reading it over and over again.  You can find more info on this book here and on the challenge here.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. 

~Karen

Happy Anniversary

An anniversary card I made with the Sending You stamp set from Papertrey.

I stamped some flowers on Rustic Cream cardstock for the inside.

I am really looking forward to spending some time with my family this weekend.

I hope your weekend is fabulous!

~Karen

Proverbs 31:28 WORDart

 

Since Mother’s Day is just a couple of weeks away, I thought I would share some WORDart honoring mothers.   I have been truly blessed with a wonderful mother. I know the scripture says that her children will rise up and call her blessed, but I feel like I am the one who has been blessed by her.  I am who I am today because of her guidance and example to me.  I am very thankful for her and her friendship and support through the years.  Thanks, Mom, I love you.

Click here if you would like to download the WORDart.

On the inside of the card, I cut the same patterned paper as the front with the double ended banners dies and stamped the sentiment from Delightful Dahlias.

 

Supplies I used: Stamps-fancy flourishes, mat stack 2 collection, women of life, delightful dahlia (all Papertrey); Ink-versamark frost, shabby shutters distress ink, peeled paint distress ink; Paper-spring moss, ripe avocado, sweet blush, raspberry fizz, polka dot parade; Dies-large long rectangles (Spellbinders), simple circles border, mat stack 2, doily details, linen & canvas impression plate, double-ended banners; Other-glitter, buttons, clear embossing powder

 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a blessed day!

~Karen

Papertrey Blog Hop Challenge

 

I am so excited that I get to participate in the Papertrey Blog Hop this month.  The theme is dedicated to all the boys and men in our lives and I have lots of those.  : )  This is the card I made for my son’s 13th birthday.

I used the Just the Ticket and It’s Official stamp sets along with the Just the Ticket border die, Spiral notebook page die and Seeing Stars dies.  I die cut the 13 using the By the Numbers dies then ran them through my Xyron and added glitter.  I used foam tape to pop them up and give them dimension.

For the inside, I stamped the ticket border and the sentiment and stars from Just the Ticket.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today.  Have a wonderful day!

~Karen

 

Supplies: (All supplies Papertrey unless otherwise noted)

Stamps-Just the Ticket, It’s Official; Paper-orange zest, enchanted evening, pure poppy, rustic cream, 2008 bitty box basics; Ink-enchanted evening, pure poppy, summer sunrise, chamomile; Dies-just the ticket border die, spiral notebook page die, seeing stars dies, by the numbers dies; Other-maraschino twine (The Twinery), distress tool (Heidi Swapp), Xyron machine, glitter

Happy Birthday

I made this card some time ago and found it hiding out on my computer.

Supplies Used~

Paper-rustic cream, simply chartreuse

Ink-simply chartreuse, l’amour red

Stamps-mat stack 2, wreath for all seasons, recipe box

Tools-sheet music impression plate, mat stack 2 die, limitless layers die

Other-pure poppy grosgrain ribbon

Have an amazing day!

~Karen

Psalm 91:2 WORDart

In all the craziness and turmoil of the world right now, isn’t it wonderful to know that God is our refuge?  That He is our fortress and that we can trust in Him!  We don’t need to be afraid or wonder what tomorrow may bring when He is our Lord and we are trusting in Him.  I am safe in Him!

You can download this WORDart here if you would like to use it.

The card~

I ran my kraft card base through the Cuttlebug using the woodgrain impression plate inked up with Versamark ink.  The WORDart and the mat were die cut using Labels Two Spellbinders dies.  I stamped the leaves from Turning a New Leaf in Stormy Sky distress ink.  The red textured cardstock is die cut with the Jar Label die.  I wrapped some rustic  jute button twine around it before adding the button tied with Enchanted Evening baker’s twine.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Have a blessed day!

~Karen

Psalm 91:1 WORDart

“He that dwelleth in the secret place”  When I think of a secret place, I think of something close and intimate.  Secrets are shared with the closest of friends that you can trust.  “To dwell” is a verb that means “to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside”.  To be able to live in a close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the greatest thing ever.  Living in the secret place,  we are living under His shadow—the shadow of the Almighty God, the creator of the universe, the creator of you and me.  We have his protection.  There is no power or enemy that can withstand His protection of us.  When we are living in His presence, there is nothing that can come against us that is bigger than He is. 

You can download this WORDart here.

~The card~

I started with white cardstock and stamped the images from Shapes by Design on the bottom third of the card.  I then used the solid circle image to fill in some of the circles using Tumbled Glass distress ink.  I printed the WORDart onto white cardstock.  After die cutting it with a square nestibilitie die, I matted it onto Hawaiian Shores cardstock die cut with the scalloped square nestie.  I cut a slit in the fold of my card to thread the black satin ribbon  through.  I tied it into a bow and and tied a Hawaiian Shores button on it using charcoal baker’s twine.  I finished it off with some black gems on the focal point.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Karen

Supplies: Paper-stampers select white, hawaiian shores, Stamps-Shapes by Design (PTI) Ink-True Black, Tumbled Glass distress ink Other- black satin ribbon (Offray), black adhesive gems, classic and scalloped square nestibilities, hawaiian shores button, charcoal baker’s twine (The Twinery)

Birthday Stars

I found this card that I made several months ago hidden away on my computer.  I made it for my son’s friend for his birthday.  It’s one of those last minute cards you make in panic mode when you realize you don’t have a card.

I used Star Prints and the coordinating dies.  All of the paper is from Papertrey.

On the inside, I used the Fillable Frames 11 die and coordinating stamp for the border.

Thanks for stopping by today!

~Karen

Updated Papertrey Color Ink Matches

I have taken the time to update my chart for ink color matches for Papertrey’s paper colors.  I have changed some that I felt were not working and added some new ones. 

The following colors have been added: Fine Linen, Blueberry Sky, Pinefeather and Royal Velvet. 

Just thought I would share.

You can download the updated chart here.

Have a great day!

~Karen

Oldies But Goodies Blog Hop

Today is the Design Divas Facebook Group Blog Hop.  I feel very blessed to be a part of this extremely talented group of ladies.   The theme of the blog hop is Oldies but Goodies utilizing stamps, papers, embellishments, etc. that are at least 6 months old to make a card or project.  The blog hop starts here if you want to start at the beginning.  If you are following along you should have come from the Carolyn’s blog, Kirei Na Kami.  Isn’t her stuff amazing?!?!?

For my card I used With Sympathy, it is so sad how this stamp set found its way to the forgotten list.  I forgot how amazing it is.  I stamped the swirl image using Frayed Burlap distress ink, then stamped the flowers in Chipped Sapphire distress ink.  I then randomly added some adhesive pearls and stamped the sentiment from Damask Designs in Chipped Sapphire ink.  To finish off the card, I tied some satin ribbon around the Fine Linen card base.  It matches perfectly…love that!

For the inside, I cut a piece of vintage cream cardstock slightly smaller than the card size and rounded the edges.  I stamped the sentiment from Birthday Basics in Frayed Burlap and the flourishes from Vintage Labels in Chipped Sapphire.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Your next stop on the blog hop is Julie Buhler’s blog, Paper Pleasing Ideas.  Julie’s stuff is incredible, she totally inspires me!

~Karen

Happy Birthday in Pink

I made this card for my daughter’s birthday.  Her favorite color is pink and it is a requirement for her card to be made in that color.  The paper from My Mind’s Eye Home collection was my inspiration.   After tying the raspberry fizz satin polka dot bow around the layers,  I adhered them onto Hibiscus Burst cardstock.  I die cut the mat for the sentiment with the Fillable Frames 10 die and then stamped it with the coordinating stamp with Hibiscus Burst ink.   The sentiment from Simple Little Things was stamped with the same ink onto vellum cut with the Double Ended banner die.  I then creased the banner to make it pop out and added the pink gems which covered the mini glue dots that I used the adhere the vellum.

On the inside, I added some strips of  the patterned paper to match the front and stamped the sentiment and flourishes from Mat Stack 1 Collection in Raspberry Fizz ink.

That’s all for me today.  I hope you are having a wonderful day!

~Karen

Gift Card Holders

I am pretty sure I got this idea from Heather Nichol’s blog.  I used the largest die from the Spellbinders Labels Eight and Curvy Rectangles dies to cut the kraft cardstock.  When you fold them in half, they are the perfect size for gift cards.  I cut about an inch or so of the bottom die and used Scor Tape around the edges to make the pocket.  I die cut an ornament with the vintage ornaments die and added glitter around the edges and some bakers twine to finish it off.  The snowflakes are from Snowflake Serenade.

The snowflakes are from the 2010 Holiday Tags set and are stamped in Stormy Sky distress ink.  As a side note, I think this is a terrific match for Blueberry Sky.   I stamped the tree from Tiny Treats Christmas in Giverny Green Palette ink.  The snowflakes were cut from felt with Spellbinders snowflakes dies.

I stamped the postage mark and reindeer from 2010 Holiday Tags in Chai ink.  The dotted circle is from Take Note and the Mat Stack 1 stamp from Tiny Treats Christmas. 

I used the stamps from 2010 Holiday Tags on this one and all the patterned paper that you see  is from Christmas Prints.  All stamps and paper is from Papertrey Ink.

I have been busy, busy, busy working on Christmas gifts, unfortunately, I can’t share any of them until after Christmas.   I guess I could tell my family not to read my blog until after Christmas, but I don’t really think that will work.  

Thanks for stopping by!

~Karen

A Found Treasure

I was going through my pictures on the computer and found this card that I haven’t shared yet, so today is the day!  I made it some time ago and didn’t write down the supplies I used.  I am guessing from the picture that it is Hawaiian Shores cardstock stamped with the A Little  Argyle dotted stamp in Versamark.  It looks like the Mat Stack 1 die was used to cut Raspberry Fizz cardstock and it was stamped with the Round and Round Anniversary set using Versamark as well.  The center circle also uses the Round and Round set and is stamped with Raspberry Fizz ink with some glitter added to the edges.  A bow made from Raspberry Fizz saddle stitch ribbon tied with some floss colored to match with Copic markers finishes it off nicely.  I’m guessing by the “Mother” stamped tag that I made this for Mother’s Day. 

I hope you are enjoying your day!

~Karen