Swirly Hills

Here's my weekly Christmas card. This time I used an image I bought from Stamping Bella before Christmas last year and never got a chance to use. I just love the simple look of this Swirly Hills with Trees image, and it was super quick to colour.

I decided to use SC223 from Splitcoast for the layout. I first started by stamping the image twice with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured them both with copics. I used my square Nestabilities to cut out both images and layered them onto always artichoke. I wanted the snow to sparkle so I added Glamour Dust to the swirly hills. 

The card base is always artichoke, then I ran a piece of so saffron through my snowflakes cuttlebug folder. On top of that I layered a piece of Scenic Route patterned paper and stamped the sentiment, Happy Holidays (also from Stamping Bella). I LOVE the mix of fonts on this sentiment. 

The final touches were four 5mm Moss Glass Pearls in the corners of the image and some ribbon from my stash. I know I keep saying this each week, but I really feel like I'm accomplishing something with each Christmas card I make. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Sketchy Little Cupcake

I'm playing a little catch-up...we were away over Easter weekend, back home in Northern Ontario visiting my family {waves...hi everyone!}, so now I'm working on some of my favourite weekend sketches. This card uses Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #63.

I found this stamp (it's from Inkadinkado) at a little shop in Boston a few weeks ago and I bought is specifically to use for Taylor's challenges cause it has such a sweet little cupcake on the onesie. I know...I'm a nerd...I fully admit it! grin!

The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White cardstock, then I stamped it again onto patterned paper and cut out the onesie. Next I coloured the cupcake, cut it out and added it onto the paper pieced onesie. I added a Tiny Twinkle to the cupcake top. The rectangles are cut out with Nestabilities and I added a little paper piercing to the image panel to coordinate with the pierced scallop border punch. 

The patterned papers are from Imaginisce, For Peep's Sake line, and the little white flowers come with that pretty sparkly blue center...cute! The solid cardstock colours are So Saffron and Baja Blue. I used an EK small scallop border punch on a strip of white and layered the same green patterned paper over top. Some saffron ribbon, a ghost heart and a blue button top off the image. To make the heart stand out a little more I added a line of Crystal Stickles around the edge. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Sketchy Bittybloom

With so many wonderful new images lately from Stamping Bella, I've been somewhat neglecting my BittyBlooms, so I decided with it being Easter time I needed to ink up my adorable Hydrangea BittyBloom. The Corrosive Challenge Blog has a sketch challenge this week that's just perfect for my image, plus there's a prize for one lucky participant.   :)

I started by stamping Hydrangea BittyBloom with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her with copics. I stamped her a second time, coloured the leaves and flower skirt, cut them out and popped them for dimension. For a little bling, I added a dot of Glamour Dust glitter to the center of each flower using my Quickie Glue Pen.

The card base is Baja Blue and I chose patterned papers from Bo Bunny. I really like the colours and the black paper has a gorgeous blue scroll running through it...it's perfectly feminine for the sweet BittyBloom image. 

I added some white ribbon around the card and a pink hydrangea Prima. The flower center and three accents are String of Pearls Baubles from Stamping Bella. 

Em's Bellarific Friday challenge is still going on for this week. Click here to see the inspiration piece. You have until 5pm Thursday, April 16th to email your submission to Em for a chance to win some Bella Bucks!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Fresh Flowers Birtday

Here's a card I made with some awesome products from Taylored Expressions, the amazing Fresh Flowers set and the Mother's Day Key Ingredients. I was playing around with Flower Soft again so I actually have two versions of the same card to show you. Let's go with the plain version first:

The image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Choice Buttercream cardstock (included in the Mother's Day Key Ingredients) and coloured with copics. I masked the vase so the stems wouldn't show...I was going for the look of a coloured glass pitcher. I added some clear rhinestones to the flower centers and coloured them with a blue copic marker (I can't stop doing this little trick ever since I discovered it a couple of weeks ago). 

I used one of the new scallop EK slim border punches for the long brown piece and dotted it with rhinestones. 

Now for the version with Flower Soft:

Everything about the card is exactly the same, but I covered all the flowers in the vase with Sweet Pea Flower Soft. Next I stamped some individual flowers onto Choice Buttercream, coloured them with copics and cut them out. I layered the flowers onto the Flower Soft. 

I was going for the look of a very full bouquet of flowers, using the Flower Soft as a filler. 

I can't decide which version I like better...hmmm. Which do you like best? 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

A Ketto Hug

Today I wanted to show you my Bellarific card from last week. This was the inspiration piece...a big 'ole bag of colourful buttons.

And here's the card I came up with.

Doesn't she just look like she's waiting to give you a hug! I LOVE the Ketto images from Stamping Bella. Well really...I love ALL the images from Stamping Bella...LOL!

I stamped Ivy Ketto (just look at her fabulous eye lashes!) with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured her with copics. I added a little orange Stickles to her dress and to the bulbs on the branch. The leaves were cut out and popped for dimension and interest. I used my circle Nestabilities to cut out the image and layered it onto a scallop circle of chocolate.

The patterned papers are from Pink Paisley. I layered them onto some chocolate and stitched around the edge. The sentiment, need a hug, is also from Stamping Bella. Three 5mm Fuschia Bella Bonbons add just the right touch under the sentiment and a big 'ole plaid bow add the finishing touch. I couldn't resist using that ribbon...it's absolutely perfect for this challenge!

The next Bellarific Challenge is up on Bloggabella. Go take a peek then get your stamps inky and play along. You have until April 16th at 5pm to submit your entry for a chance to win some Bella Bucks!

Have a fabulous Easter weekend!

Karen

Take a Peek!

I've created a super fun project...here's a little teaser. 

Pop over to the Stamp A Sweet Impressions blog to see the entire project, complete with tutorial. Trust me...I don't often make things other than cards, and I'm quite proud of this creation, so it's worth a look!  :)

Sweet 16

My friend asked me to make a card for her daughter's sixteenth birthday. Both my friend and her daughter truly appreciate all things handmade, so I wanted to make this extra special. Lucky for me, her daughter's favourite colour is pink...one of my favourite colours to work with.  

All I knew was that I wanted to use chipboard numbers for the 16...after that I hadn't a clue...until I saw the Mojo Monday sketch this week. Then my card fell nicely into place.   :)

First thing I did was cover the chipboard numbers with Rose Stickles and set them aside to dry. Next I chose BEEday Huggabugg from Stamping Bella. The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, coloured with copics and cut out with rectangle Nestabilities. I wanted lots of sparkle on the card so I added Stardust Stickles to the wings and Rose Stickles to the present. I finished off the antennas with two 5mm Fuschia Bella Bonbons. 

For the card base I layered some S.E.I. Mimosa patterned papers onto a layer of chocolate and stitched around the edges. As soon as I finished stitching I realized that I couldn't add the ribbon like the sketch indicated...doh!...so I added more bling instead. Can you really EVER have enough bling??? I used some 7mm Cotton Candy Bella Bonbons on the top and bottom of the card. 

I know my friend's daughter doesn't read my blog so I'm safe posting this now even though she hasn't received her card yet. But, her mom tells me she'll love it, and I certainly had a lot of fun making it...now I need to get it in the mail. 

Don't forget...Em has posted the inspiration piece for the next Bellarific Challenge. Click here to see it...it's a BEAUTY!!! You have until April 16th at 5pm to submit your card for this challenge. So play along for a chance to win Bella Bucks!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Holly Jolly Stocking

I know, I know...it's Easter Week, but I still want to stick to my goal of one Christmas card per week, so here it is!

I used Jen's Sketch For You To Try for the layout and my finished card size is 5x5 inches.

When Janet was visiting a couple of weeks ago we went to Micheal's (on more than one occasion...LOL!) and they had plenty of stamps in the dollar bin. Twist my rubber arm...I picked up a handful of Christmas stamps and even some cupcake stamps too!

The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics. No complicated shading here...just straight colouring. :) I popped the stocking on dimensionals and then popped the top of the stocking again so it's three layers high. I added a little sparkle to the stocking with some Tiny Twinkles. The image is cut out with square Nestabilities then layered onto Artichoke and red.

The base layer is artichoke, which I ran through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. The rest of the patterned papers are Basic Grey Wassail (that's where the red is from too).

Have a great Tuesday! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

The Challenge Cracked Me Up!

The Corrosive Challenge this week is to create something with a spring/Easter feel...fitting for this week of course! My adorable Cracked Up Huggabugg from Stamping Bella had yet to see ink, so I pulled it out for this challenge. Did you know the sentiment is included with this image...Thanks Em!

I stamped the Huggabugg with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured it with copics. I stamped the small eggs a second time and mounted them on dimensionals so they'd "pop". Some Stardust Stickles on the wings adds a perfect shimmer. The sentiment is one long saying, but I wanted it to fit in the circle so I inked the two halves separately and used my stamp-a-majig to position the words under each other. 

I used last week's Mojo #80 sketch for the layout and patterned papers from Imaginisce, the For Peep's Sake line. The solid colours are bashful blue, so saffron and pink pirouette. A little white taffeta ribbon, lots of paper piercing, some fabulous 5mm Platinum Bella Glitter Dots and voila...one completed card! 

So pop over to the Corrosive Challenge blog, take a peek at this week's challenge and play along. You have all week to play and Janet has a wonderful prize for one lucky participant!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Taylored Expressions-It's Release Day!

Today's the day when the brand new stamp sets, Fresh Flowers and Downtown Diva, are available at Taylored Expressions, along with the new Mother's Day Key Ingredients and plenty more fabulous accessories, including new Spellbinders dies! Yippeee!!!

I have two projects for you again today, both using the adorable Downtown Diva set. I stamped the Sweet Shop image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured it with copics. I knew I was going to use this fabulous Bella Blvd. Swing Into Spring paper so I coloured the awning to match the stripes. 

The ribbon is from my stash, but the felt flowers are from Taylored Expressions. I added a rhinestone from the Mother's Day Key Ingredients for a little bling. 

TIP: I wanted green rhinestones for the flowers at the bottom of my card but I didn't have any, so I created my own. I chose a bright green copic marker and coloured the clear rhinestones from the Mother's Day Key Ingredients. Presto...green rhinestones! 

I made a second little gift card purse for my mother-in-law. This one whipped up in no time at all...seriously, maybe 20 minutes from start to finish, including colouring, because I followed the same basic design as my 'shop 'til you drop' purse from yesterday. 

I started with a die cut scalloped purse and ran the top through my Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder. Next I stamped the three purses repeatedly in a row, coloured them with copics, punched the scallop border and adhered it to my purse. Then I wrapped some ribbon around the purse, embellished with layered flowers and added a quick little tag. Aside from the scalloped purse itself, everything I used on this project is from the Mother's Day Key Ingredients. 

Taylor is offering a fabulous Special Lady Bundle for those who want to try several coordinating products at a fantastic price. The charm assortment and free Kaisercraft alterable hand bag are only available in the Special Lady Bundle. 

I'll be heading to Taylored Expressions to let my fingers do the shopping just as soon as I check out the rest of the Baker's Dozen creations. See you there!

Ana Wohlfart

Charmaine Ikach

Dawn Easton

Denise Marzec

Donna Baker

Jen del Muro

Jodi Collins

Karen Giron

Laura Fredrickson

Laurie Schmidlin

Sankari Wegman

Taylor Vanbruggen

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen