Sunday, November 30, 2008

Simply Sweet Sundae


This card was designed for the My Favourite Things Sketch Challenge #58 over at Splitcoaststampers. Seems like the last few I've done are circular focals...good thing I like circles. {grin!}


I flipped through my MFT stamps looking for one that would work nicely in a circle and I decided on the hot fudge sundae image from Here's the Scoop

Once I chose the image, I actually knew exactly which patterned paper I wanted to use...I just had to find it! LOL! It's from My Mind's Eye Laundry Line. My eye was drawn to the green sparkly swirls so I decided to colour the dish to look like the green glass that's used for sundae cups (well, I have green glass sundae cups so other people must have some too). 

The sundae was stamped with Memento black onto PTI white cardstock then cut out with nesties and coloured with copics. I wanted some pink between the image and the chocolate scallop, but I didn't want another layer cause it would make the whole thing too large, so I just went around the edge of the white with my copic, R11. The nesties make a perfect rim for this technique.

I popped

 the fudge layer and added a sparkly red Bella dot for the cherry. To finish off the glass look on the cup, I painted on some crystal effects. The sentiment is stamped on SU Blush Blossom and cut out with nesties, then I sponged the edges with 

chocolate for more contrast. The ribbon was the closest match I could find to the Sage Shadow card base. Sage Shadow is not a colour I reach for very often, but I think it's perfect to bring out the green glass dish.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Season of Friendship


I made this card for my friend Tami, to thank her for inviting us to spend Thanksgiving with her family. It was so nice of her to include us in the celebration. We really had a great time.


I started out with Jen's Sketch for You to Try. I wanted to use my Season of Friendship stamp and I thought the tree would look really great in that circle. The first thing I reached for was SU's Autumn Vine DSP...what! I don't own that one! hmph. I thought 'that'll serve me for thinking I don't really need everything'. But, I decided to use that colour combo anyway and I pulled out a piece of chocolate patterned paper from the Bella Rose DSP. Then I added a Really Rust base and the More Mustard strip. The card came together nicely after that.


I stamped the tree with Chocolate craft ink and embossed it with clear EP. Then I cut it out with a circular nestie. I inked the leaves with markers so I could have both colours on the one stamp. Up until this point it was a pretty quick and easy card...then I decided it needed dimension. So I stamped some leaves on a separate piece of vanilla, cut them out, popped them up, and added some Dazzling Diamonds. The ribbon is SU's chocolate taffeta ribbon and I added a little piercing in the top corners to draw your eye inward.

I couldn't resist placing the little bird to look like it's sitting on the knot. Cute, cute, cute! You know I only own this set cause there's a bird in it...just kidding...sort of!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Happy Frog



I've been dying to use my new 'A Flower for All Seasons' set from Stampin' Up! Those who know me know that I was drawn to it because there's a bird in the set. I can't help it...I love birds! BUT, instead of using the bird stamp first, I decided to use this cute little frog. Truth is, I got to use that bird stamp at my friend Joanne's stamp class back in September. LOL!

As I was blurfing around today I stopped on Taylor's site and saw the sketch for her Cupcake Challenge #44. Right away I knew this set was perfect for the challenge. I dug into my stash, ok my giant stash of patterned paper and pulled out this sparkly polka-dotted one by My Minds Eye. You can't really see it in the photo, but trust me, all the green dots are super sparkly.

The card base is a 5x5 square of SU's Garden Green (hmmm...when was the last time I used Garden Green...but it matches perfectly with my sparkly paper!). The chocolate square is 3.25 x 3.25 and the polka dot squares are 1 5/8 x 1 5/8. The im

age was stamped with Memento black onto Gina K white cardstock, cut out with nesties and coloured with copics. I LOVE my copics. I know a few people are chuckling at that comment cause I was adamant that I didn't need
them (or nesties for that matter and we can see how that worked out!).   :)
A little paper piercing here, some sparkly gems there, attach some ribbon at the bottom and voila! When I was all done, I also realized that the expensive sparkly paper qualifies my card for the 'Ways to Use It' challenge #182 over at Splitcoaststampers. Yay! 

Isn't she just the cutest little frog ever! I look at the image and think she just leaped up onto someone's potting table to look at the flowers. I know she's a girl frog, because no boy frog would ever admire flowers like that. grin!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Friday, November 28, 2008

Pretty Bookmarks



My friend Joanne asked me to help her out at a vendor fair for his son's school. I was so excited that she asked...I knew it would be fun. She was going to offer make & take cards for the shoppers and she told me I could bring something to sell if I wanted. I thought about what I could make, that I could whip up a bunch of in not a lot of time. So I landed on these giant paperclip bookmarks.

I have a HUGE stash of Primas that were screaming out to be used. I'm a collector, and I don't like to use things cause then they're gone and what if I can't get it again! But, I've decided to start using my stuff, cause there will always be more cool new things to add to my collection. Having said that, I'm a little ashamed to report that after making all these bookmarks with layers of Primas, my stash of flowers really doesn't look any smaller! sigh...LOL!


These are so simple to make. I adhered patterned paper to some chipboard and ran it through my big shot to cut out the scallops. I layered some flowers and attached them to one of the scallops with a brad. Then I used a hot glue gun to sandwich the paperclip between a plain scallop and a flowered scallop. Finish it off with a bit of ribbon and voila!

These were a lot of fun to make, and, unfortunately I have plenty left over for gifts to friends and family. The shoppers were just not interested in much at all, but we still had a great time and laughed a lot!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Thursday, November 27, 2008

For a Fabby Friend











Happy Thanksgiving for those in the USA, otherwise, happy Thursday!
I made this card 
to send to my friend Em, as a 'thank you' for hooking me up with my new friend Joanne when we moved from Ontario to Massachusetts. Aren't I just SO lucky to know BOTH of these fabby stampers! Em, keep your eyes closed so you'll be surprised when this arrives in your mailbox.  :)

Doesn't this sweet little image make you wanna jump for joy! There's no way I could do the splits like that though. LOL!


The card layout is from this week's Bella Sketch Challenge over on Splitcoast. The image is stamped with Memento black ink and coloured with Copics. I painted on a little shimmer on Fabby's skirt and purse. The flowers are from Stamping Bella and I attached them with my kajinker tool.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Just starting out...

Welcome to my blog! I'm excited to share my paper creations. I really enjoy blog surfing...seeing other people's creativity...so I decided to take a leap and start sharing my creations through blogging. Hope you enjoy the ride! :)