You're Perfectly Polished!

Yesterday Joanne announced a new challenge in the Gina K forum on Splitcoast...to ink up stamps that haven't seen any love yet. Sadly...I have lots to choose from for this challenge cause I've neglected my latest purchase. But that's what a challenge is for, right? 

I knew exactly what set I wanted to use...Perfectly Polished. And I also knew I wanted to use the nail polish bottles and the coordinating sentiment cause it makes me think of my BFF...she got me hooked on doing my nails and now I have a wonderful polish collection.  :)

The image is stamped with Memento ink onto Gina K pure luxury and coloured with copics. I stamped one extra polish bottle, cut it out and place it too like like it had tipped over. I really wanted to leave the cap off and have some polish dripping out but I couldn't get it to look realistic enough. I added crystal effects to the bottles for some shine. The image is cut out with circle nesties (I love circles!) and I recalled seeing a great sketch with circles on the Our Creative Corner blog so I decided to use that layout. 

All the other papers on my card are from the Basic Grey Bittersweet 6x6 paper pad. I stitched around the main and background panels with my Janome Sew Mini. The sentiment is cut out using my new Lots of Tags sizzlet dies from Stampin' Up! Love Love LOVE that shape...I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing it again, and again, and again... {grin!}. 

This is another card that just makes me happy. Could be all the pink, might be the image, maybe the shape of the sentiment cut-out...don't really care why, it just makes me happy. :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Bean Thinking About You...

My friend Joanne is running a 'Get Krafty' challenge on the Gina K. forum on Splitcoast...basically, use kraft paper on your creation. I love kraft paper too, so I figured this was a challenge I could definitely tackle. 

My original plan was to use kraft paper as my main panel, but the idea morphed into this instead. I stamped the coffee beans and bag from the Gina K Designs set My Cuppa Joe onto Gina K pure luxury cardstock then again onto kraft cardstock. I misted the kraft paper with water then crumpled it up into a little ball. I flattened it back out and set it aside to dry. Once it was dry I cut out the bag and added the word 'Beans' (and that's supposed to be a little coffee bean beside the word but it's kinda distorted cause I only thought to add it once the paper was all crumpled). I coloured the image with copics and drew in the counter line and the wall (like I've seen so many other people do). It's supposed to look like wide bead board...but it kinda looks like jail bars to me...hmph...I'll have to work on that technique. I layered lots of copic colours on the 'wall' to try and get shadows and depth. 

The patterned paper is from Collage Press, Jackson Lodge line. It's hard to see in the picture but I zig-zagged around the edge of the patterned panel, then straight stitched inside the zig-zag. It's subtle, but I like it. 

I picked up the ribbon yesterday at AC Moore and I think I'll go back for more...it was on sale and I really like it! I added a row of Marble Chocolate Bella Dots under the sentiment and pierced a photo corner in the top right. 

This is the last of the Valentine's cards for my brothers. Really, this one isn't Valentinish at all, but both he and his wife love coffee, and I've been thinking about them cause we'll see them at Easter when we're back home for the long weekend. I sent the Cookie Love card to my other brother, cause he loves cookies. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

A Clean Challenge

This card is for my friend Joanne's "keep it clean" challenge in the Gina K Designs forum on Splitcoast. The rules are only two layers on the card base and three embellishments. 

So I just HAD to pull out my brand new Gina K set 'Home Tweet Home'. Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to learn this was on my first stamp order from Gina K...I love birds and I have a bird house collection.  :)

I stamped the image with Memento black onto Sahara Sand cardstock...I really liked the look of pencils on kraft cardstock on my Blue Shoe Mojo card, so I was thinking of doing something along those lines. Next I decided on a patterned paper...I ended up with a piece from my Basic Grey Periphery 6x6 paper pad. I let the colours in the paper guide my colour choices for the image. 

I used my Lyra pencils, odourless mineral spirits and a stump to colour the image. I have to say, I'm not entirely thrilled with how bright the blue came out, but there isn't a nice light blue in my set of 72 pencils (really, there isn't)...hmmm...do I need more already?!?{grin!} Once it was all coloured I cut it out with a scallop nestie and sponged some Close to Cocoa around the edges. 

The card base is Always Artichoke. I also sponged around the edge of the card with Always Artichoke, to give it a bit of a shadow on the outer edges. Once I tore the patterned paper, I found the white core too bright so I sponged both Cocoa and Artichoke to tone it down, then I distressed the bottom edge of the card base for more texture. 

The ribbon is SU chocolate felt and I tied in the blue on the image with a blue button and some linen thread. Once it was all put together I pierced along the ribbon and around the image.

There you have it, one card base, two layers, three embellishments...a handmade card, priceless.  :) 

Hmph...I've just realized...this is one of only two cards I've made lately that doesn't use any Gina K pure luxury cardstock at all...not even as a card base. The ironic part is that this one is for a challenge in the Gina K forum. LOL! Hope they don't hold it against me!   :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen