Holiday Ivy - Ketto That Is!

Welcome to the first Ketto Blog Hop sponsored by Stamping Bella! Click here to start from the beginning, on Bloggabella, 'cause you won't want to miss any of these adorable Ketto creations! 

Em has hidden a $40 gift certificate to Stamping Bella somewhere along the hop so be sure to give each card some lovin' for a chance to win. One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post and the winner will be announced on Bloggabella on Monday! So share the LOOOOOOVE!!!

I decided to use Ivy Ketto but I wanted to do something a little 'out of the box' so I decked her out for the Holidays! Doesn't she look simply adorable as a Christmas Ketto?!? She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics.

I had the fun striped S.E.I. paper in my stash...it's from the Glitzmas line...and it already had the sparkly flourish right on the paper. It reminded me of the ivy branch. The Happy Holidays sentiment is also from Stamping Bella.

I layered a ghost snowflake onto a 10mm Denim Glitter Dot then topped it with a 5mm Platinum Glitter Dot. Three 5mm Poppy Glitter Dots tie in with the berries on the branch. The layout for this card is from one of the sketch challenges on the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's site.   

Next you're hopping on to the fabulously talented Candice. She is THE copic queen...I'm just glad I'm before her on the hop and not after!!! LOL! Happy Hopping!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Stella is Bellarific!

Happy Bellarific Friday! 

Did you participate this week? What a super fun sketch this was to work with!!! I chose to give Stella Stella Bo Bella Banana Fana Fo Fella STELLA a little love this time. 

I find myself really needing my afternoon coffee fix with the dreary/rainy weather we've been having so I inked up Stella Has Her Fix for this challenge.

She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics. I used the orange and red Atyou Spica Glitter pens on the star and her crown. Then I cut the image out with my Deckle Rectangle Nestabilities...it's a nice change from the straight rectangle edges. Stella is layered onto Purely Pomegranate. 

I sewed a zig zag stitch around the chocolate base layer cause it was looking a little plain. The patterned paper is by Fancy Pants. I also sewed the strip of green to the pumpkin piece then added some chocolate ribbon. Instead of using a stamped sentiment I opted for one of the badges from Stella's Love Set and I flanked it with two 5mm Bella Glitter Dots in Poppy. Is it too soon to say that I'm already looking forward to next week's Bellarific challenge?!?

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

The Key to my Heart-A Spring Spectacular!

It's no secret that I'm a HUGE fan of the Key Ingredients at Taylored Expressions. Everything handpicked by Taylor, perfectly coordinated to make my paper crafting easier...sigh...I {heart} Key Ingredients! Well, I have some FABULOUS news!!! Taylor has done it again! You really need to pop over to Taylored Expressions and check out the amazing new Spring Spectacular Key Ingredients Kits being offered in limited quantities at a spectacular discount. All the details are on Taylor's Blog so I'll get right down to the cards I made with my Key Ingredients Kit.

Taylor gave us the choice of using one of the four kits, Dazzled, Brilliant, Delighted or Enchanted, and I chose the masculine kit. I know!!! How freaky is it that my last couple of posts have been manly. Anyway...I chose the Brilliant Key Ingredients Kit because I simply love love LOVE all the bright happy colours. It's designed more for masculine creations but really, I can see myself using it for several different occasions (I kept reaching for it recently but had to restrain myself because it wasn't released yet! LOL!). 

For this first card I only used products from the Brilliant Key Ingredients Kit, which includes 12 sheets of solid papers, 20 6x6 sheets of patterned papers, 5 yards of ribbon and numerous die cut images/sentiments. The two star "brads" were punched out from one of the patterned papers in the kit. To jazz up the details, I coated the brads with diamond glaze and popped them on foam tape and I added a smidge of Crystal Stickles to the orange stars on the sentiment panel for just a touch of shimmer. 

On my second card I used one of the die cut images as my focal panel and I paired it with the tie image and sentiment from Boys Will be Boys. The tie is paper pieced with another of the patterns in the Brilliant Key Ingredients Kit. 

For my third sample I chose to use the die cut frame as my focal point. There are 5 yards of delicious ribbon in this kit which I showcased inside the frame. You can't see it in the photo, but the green twill is shimmery and so is the blue organza polka dot ribbon. The owl and "you're a hoot" sentiment are from the Branching Out Coordinates set. One of the patterned papers is all words and I thought it worked really well with this sentiment. 

This is a fabulous opportunity to give Taylor's Key Ingredients kits a try by getting one of these Spring Spectacular Key Ingredients Kits for only $12.95. And best of all, each kit comes with a full colour inspiration sheet with six samples created by members of the Baker's Dozen. 

To see more creations using each of the four kits, hop over to the following blogs:

Brilliant -  Taylor VanBruggen

Delighted -  Charmaine Ikach

Jodi Collins

Dazzled - Dawn Easton

                   Jami Sibley

Enchanted - Laura Fredrickson

                       Sankari Wegman

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

A Sweet Dachshund Card

My friend Janet (I linked to the post where she introduces Abygail) got an adorable new puppy for her birthday earlier in May. She's a little Dachshund with the sweetest face...eeeeks...I just wanna reach through the computer and hug her. Of course, a new puppy deserves a hand-made card.  :)

I knew I didn't own any dachshund stamps so I had to get a little creative. What I did have was the bowl/bone image and the saying, which just cracks me up! Being a dog owner myself, I know this saying is true! I THINK the stamps are by American Art Stamps but I can't be sure because there's no company name on the wood block. When I was looking through my stash of paper I realized I had a sheet with different dogs on it and there was a dachshund...how perfect!

So I started by stamping the dog bowl with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured it with copics. I cut it out with my Labels 3 nesties and layered it onto real red. I stamped the bowl a second time and popped it on dimensionals so it would look like the bones were inside it. 

The fun papers are from the S.E.I. Park Buddies Line. The dachshund is cut out from one of the papers. I added a Tiny Twinkle flower shape to the dog's collar cause she's a girl and needs a little sparkle. I turned the sentiment into a banner and added a chocolate button to the left side. And yes, that's summer sun...eeeks! It's sooooo bright, but the perfect shade for this paper. 

I know Janet loved this card cause she received it the other day. I've been holding off posting it here cause she always visits my blog and I wanted it to be a complete surprise.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Another Manly Creation

Hmmm...I seem to be on a bit of a roll with my Manly cards lately. Could it be that Father's Day is drawing near? Or maybe it's the fact that I have some absolutely wonderful manly stamps in my collection now!

Let me tell you, the Boys Will Be Boys set from Taylored Expressions is perfect for just about any Manly card I'll need to make! I used it again for this card. The layout is Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch #19, but it's also playing double duty as a challenge on Stampin' Out Alzheimer's! Yippeee! 

I really hope I've convinced you by now to check out Stampin' Out Alzheimer's and play along with the challenges and giveaways. What's the worst that'll happen...you'll get some cards and/or scrapbooking pages made. What's the best that'll happen...you could win some super fabulous prizes!!!

Sorry...back to the card. This was a super quick and easy card to whip up. First thing I did was decide on the papers I wanted to use...the Father's Day Key Ingredients...they're so yummy (in a Manly way!). Next I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream and coloured it with copics. I layered some of the solid papers from the Father's Day KI with the patterned papers and voila! I added a little paper piercing around the edges to jazz it up a bit and finished it off with some buttons from the Father's Day KI and a ghost star.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually starting to enjoy making Manly cards. Can you believe it?!?

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

A MoJo Manly Man's Card

Today I'd like to show you another of the fabulous 'manly' images from Stamping Bella.

If a TV and remote doesn't scream 'man' (in a deep, husky voice of course!) then I don't know my man very well...LOL! I used the MoJo Monday sketch for the layout, which, by the way, is also one of the challenges on Stampin' Out Alzheimers. So after I link to the MoJo blog, I'm heading over the SOA to upload my card there and enter it in the MoJo sketch challenge. 

I started by stamping the Funky TV Circle with Memento Tuxedo Black and I coloured it with copics. I chose some manly papers by Pebbles Inc. and pulled the colours from the paper. I added a layer of crystal effects to the TV screen. I love the retro look of this TV. The Stamping Bella circle images like this one are designed to fit perfectly within the Marvy Super Jumbo circle punch (the blue 2" one) then I layered it onto a circle Nestabilities.  

The card base is white followed by a layer of Basic Grey. I used a border punch on some Sahara Sand and tucked that piece under the green polka dot paper. Some grey grosgrain ribbon and four olive brads are the perfect embellishments. I stamped the sentiment, Chill Out, directly onto the polka dot paper. I love love LOVE that this card can have multiple uses, just by stamping another sentiment on the inside. It could be for Father's Day, or a manly birthday, or retirement, or even just as is, to  send to my dad to remind him he still needs to take it easy (eventhough he feels great) as he's recovering from his surgery last month.  :)

So, have you been over to play at Stampin' Out Alzheimer's? I'm having a blast creating for all the challenges. There's definitely more than enough to keep anyone busy for the week. I'll have another SOA creation to show you tomorrow. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

We're Stampin' Out Alzheimer's!

As you may already know, Jen Tapler has set up an amazing event called Stampin' Out Alzheimer's  to raise funds for the American Alzheimer's Association. This is a week long event where members will have access to freebies, challenges, classes, contests, downloads and prizes in a variety of papercrafting categories. To help out in this event I'm co-hosting a card challenge with Jodi Collins and for each card you create for our challenge you'll be entered into a prize draw for a fabulous $25 gift certificate to Taylored Expressions!!!

You'll receive one entry for participating and following our challenge, but you can double your chances of winning just by using Taylored Expressions stamps in your creation!

Only those cards uploaded in the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's gallery are eligible for the $25 shopping spree at Taylored Expresions. So you'll need to join Stampin' Out Alzheimer's in order to participate, but trust me, there are soooooooooo many challenges and wonderful prizes that it's well worth it! To register simply go to the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's website - a $5 donation is requested for membership and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the American Alzheimer's Association. Membership is being approved manually so you may have a little wait before you can access the site. 

Once you're a member of Stampin' Out Alzheimer's you'll find our challenge by clicking on Challenges/Announcements, then click Card Challenges and scroll down till you see "Two By Two Card Challenge". When you upload your creation to the SOA gallery, please remember to tag it with "soatwobytwo" (all one word, all lower case). We'll use the tag to sort photos into our challenge album and draw the winner from there. You may enter as many times as you wish and you may play along in as many challenges as you wish. The deadline for uploading your creations is midnight EST on Sunday, May 31st. Winners will be drawn and posted on the SOA website beginning June 1st. 

I made this card to help inspire you for our challenge, but you'll need to go to the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's website for complete challenge details. 

I used images from the Downtown Diva set for my creation, along with the layout from Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #69, TECC69. The patterned papers are from the Basic Grey Bittersweet collection. The images were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured with copic markers. I paper pieced the cupcake liner and added some sparkle with my fuschia Atyou Spica pen. 

Here are a few of my fellow Baker's Dozen gals that are hosting a challenge for SOA:

Taylor VanBruggen

Karen Giron

Sankari Wegman

I hope to see you on the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's site this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Sketchy Card for Dad

Today I'm showing you my Bellarific Friday card from yesterday. It was a sketch challenge this past week, designed by Nicky (I love love LOVE her layouts!!!). There were sooooo many fabulous submissions so if you didn't take a look yesterday, then pop over to Bloggabella and have a peek. 

With Father's Day less than a month away I wanted to show you one of the masculine stamps available from Stamping Bella. I chose Tool Time and paired it with Happy Dad's Day sentiment. Tool Time was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics. I trimmed around the edges with scissors then layered it onto some Not Quite Navy. I added some crystal effects to the jars so they'd look like glass. 

The fun patterned papers are from Chatter Box...I thought the colours were perfect for a masculine card. I sewed a zig zag around the card base for a little interest. I used my Marvy Giga punch (the purple one) for the circle of Old Olive then I paper pierced around the edge. To finish it off I added three 5mm Blue Jean Bonbons and some fun hardware and ribbon. 

Have you started thinking about your Father's Day card(s) yet???  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Sending Cheerful Wishes

I found out yesterday that my Aunt was in the hospital recently...she's out now but not 100% yet so I figured I'd send her a sweet Cuppie card to cheer her up. I chose an image and sentiment from the Doctor's Orders set from Taylored Expressions and paired it with Sketch Challenge #229 from Splitcoast. 

I stamped the Cuppies with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White cardstock and coloured them with copics. I wanted the card to be bright and cheery so I pulled out some fun Twitterpated paper that hasn't seen the light of day in quite some time. 

I stamped the sentiment onto Baja Breeze then ran it through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. I've wanted to do this in the past but thought it would distort the words, so I never tried. Well this time I jumped right in. It's only cardstock after all, right? But I'm quite happy with how it looks. The patterned papers are layered onto Old Olive and I paper pierced around the edges. 

In keeping with the cheery theme of this card, I added some fun Zva crystal swirls. If that doesn't cheer a person up I'm not sure what will! LOL! I finished it off with some white grosgrain and a button from my stash. 

This card's going in the mail today cause frankly, it really is snail mail when it's going from the USA to Canada (or vice versa). 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

It's Grillin' Time and I'm Ready!

I have a fun project for you on the Stamp A Sweet Impressions blog so head over and take a look. Here's a little teaser to whet your appetite...so to speak!

Taylored Expressions is offering a fabulous special for the Mondays In May sale this week. You can get a Favour Box Sampler Pack, an assortment of 10 popular favour boxes, for the special price of just $3.00, but only for this week. After May 24th you'll still be able to order Taylor's wonderful favour boxes, just not in the sampler pack. 

Peekaboo...I see you!

Isn't this new Peekaboo Bella from Stamping Bella absolutely adorable!!!! Eeeeeks....she's soooooo cute, with her wardrobe full of wonderful clothes and her hair all done up. It's like she's ready for a wedding...oooh, maybe she's the maid of honour. This is one of those stamps that just makes me smile (as many of my Bellas do!). 

I thought it was a perfect image to use for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #18 over on Karen Giron's blog. Square cards are so much fun to make...I should do them more often! The finished size of my card is 5 inches square. 

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured it with copics. I apologize in advance...I used a mitt-full of copics on this one. Most are the earth colours though. After all, I couldn't have all the wood the same tone, and her hair had to be different too, not to mention her skin. I wanted the door panels to look like fabric rather than wood so I coloured them with blues. I knew I wouldn't be layering the image onto another colour so I sponged the edges with chocolate instead. 

I layered rose red onto the white card base then followed it with some yummy patterns from the My Mind's Eye Pretty Please collection. I stitched around the edges and added four String of Pearls Baubles to the corners. 

Last but not least, some sheer pink polka dot ribbon and a chocolate button add just the right detail. The sentiment (which is included with the image) is just peeking out from behind the ribbon. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Celebrate in Style

Really...what is it with me and the Orchid Opulence lately??? I used it again on this card. I'm still using my original package I bought back in 2003, but at this rate, with all the pretty purple patterned papers on the market right now, I'm going to need to reorder...eeeeeks!

Last night I sat down to stamp with absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. Both my MFT's and my Gina K's need some lovin'....hmmmmm....then I remembered my friend Jane (the one who takes our mini schnauzer when we go away) has a birthday coming up in June, so my MFT Let's Go For A Walk set won out. I used the Weekend Sketch Challenge #81, hosted by Charmaine, for the layout. 

I stamped the main image and the present with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured them with copics. Both images were cut out with Nestabilities. The main panel is layered onto Elegant Eggplant and the circle is layered onto a fun shade of green called Frosted Kiwi by Prism Papers. 

I started with a white card base then layered on some Frosted Kiwi and Orchid Opulence. I stitched around the edges with my Janome Sew Mini. The patterned paper is Groovy by Daisy Bucket Designs and there's a fun polka dot pattern on the reverse side. You can't see it in the photo but the patterned paper has a linen texture to it, much like the texture on Bazzil paper. My ribbon, green polka dot from Taylored Expressions (it must be sold out because I can't find it on the site), doesn't quite follow the sketch but it didn't look right if I placed it where the sketch shows. 

I can't believe I didn't add any bling to this card...weird! But then again, I don't think it needs any...the green is bright enough on it's own. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

It's a Cuppie Christmas Card of the Week

It's been a seriously long time since I used my Season's Sweetings set from Taylored Expressions, and it's the very first Christmas set I bought this year, back in January (when I decided to do one Christmas card a week...I needed some new rubbah for inspiration!). So I pulled it out for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge, TECC68. 

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black twice onto Choice Snow White cardstock and coloured it with copics. I cut out the tree and popped it with dimensionals and I added a yellow star eyelet to the top. Some Christmas Red Stickles on the tree and Crystal Effects on the Cuppie's cherry finish off the details. I cut out the image with circle Nestabilities and layered it onto a scallop of Riding Hood Red. 

The patterned papers are from Sonburn Designs, the Classic Christmas Collection. I used my EK Slim Snowflake Border punch along the edge of the striped piece and added a layer of Riding Hood Red then some fun Turquoise Polka Dot ribbon. For the final embellishment, I layered a red button onto a turquoise felt button, then onto a ghost snowflake. I LOVE ghost shapes!!!

I'm really pleased with this Christmas card...it has a fresh feel to it and I love that. And best of all, my little stash of Christmas cards is really growing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

'Owl' Hang Out With You

Sorry...I just couldn't resist replacing "I'll" with "Owl" in the title...he he he!

This week Stamping Bella is the sponsor over at Card Positioning System and the sketch, CPS116, is super fun! Come play along and you could be the random winner of some fabulous Stamping Bella product!

I wanted to use some of my newest rubbah for this one and Lady Owlie on her Sign (including four sentiments) seemed like a perfect choice. I just love the way her head is cocked to one side and I'm pretty sure that if she had eyebrows, the right one would be raised a little. LOL...I just realized I'm sitting here trying to imitate her expression as I type this! LOL!!!!

I started by stamping Lady Owlie with Memento Tuxedo Black and colouring her with copics. I cut her out with Deckled Rectangle Nestabilities and layered her onto chocolate chip. For a little texture I added some Espresso Liquid Pearls to the wood branch and some Siren Smooch to the flowers. 

The patterned papers are from Die Cuts With a View, the Woodland line. The blue base layer has the look of wood grain and the colours in the floral piece are so bright and cheery. I sewed around the base layer with a zig zag/straight stitch combo...I wanted it to look a little quirky just like the owl. I used one of my EK slim border punches on a strip of chocolate then tied some blue stitched ribbon and added a matte chocolate button to the bow. The space between the stitch lines was the perfect size to add some Glitter Bella Dots in dark cocoa and poppy. 

Today it's cloudy and dreary with rain forecasted for the entire day...yippeeeee!!! It's a perfect day to stay in and stamp!!!! We should always look on the bright side...right?!?  :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen