Crackerbox Palace Hello Gorgeous Card

It's Crackerbox Palace Friday and I am sharing a “ Hello Gorgeous”  card I made with Crackerbox Palace stamps. I created a background with distress inks and acrylic blocks, then stamped the gorgeous silhouette stamp over it. The “Hello Gorgeous” sentiment from CBP seemed perfect for this image. I added some baker’s twine and a punched border (ek success) to complete the card.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Please visit the website to see these and many other awesome Crackerbox Palace stamps.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at  Craft it up and Link it Up and Created with Love.

Crackerbox Palace smiles, Karen

Shimmer Sheetz and Butterflies

I recently enjoyed a stamping road trip with some dear friends and of course I came home with a bunch of new goodies. One of the new products I bought is called Shimmer Sheetz (by Elizabeth Craft Designs.) It is shimmery and looks beautiful when you emboss it and then sand it so the embossing stands out. I did that on the left side of the card on a smaller front cut. The sentiment (by Deep Red) is also a new goodie and I colored the HUG part with gel pens. I like to think my hand made cards are hugs with a fold in them, and couldn't resist buying the stamp.

I am entering this card in the butterflies challenge at Anything Goes Challenge and the challenge at Craft-room Challenge to use something new.

Stamping smiles, Karen

DCC Challenge- Don't Be Square

It’s another Designer’s Choice Challenge at The House that Stamps Built, Repeat Impression’s blog. It’s Deonna’s turn and the theme of her challenge is “No Squares at All on Your Card.”  I took that to mean shaped cards, but you can interpret it any way you wish. After you make your card, you can enter it for a chance to win some awesome Repeat Impressions rubber! Please visit the blog for all the details and to see the other Rock Star's cards for this DCC challenge. 

I cut my card shape with a large Nestabilities shaped die. I wrapped the thread spools from Repeat Impressions Pairings set with different colors of baker’s twine after cutting three of them out. The sentiment (from the same set) was stamped in two colors, cut out and attached with each word separate. I added some ruler washi tape to complete the card.

I am entering this card in the Shaped Cards challenge at Paper Nest Dolls and the Anything Goes challenge at Through the Craftroom Door.

Stamping smiles, Karen

A Card to Make You Chuckle

Ha Ha! If you are female (and even if you are not), you must have laughed when you read this sentiment from Create with TLC. She gives away a digital stamp freebie almost every day and this was one of them recently. I printed it on notebook paper and cut out with a deckle scissors. I didn't have any earring stamps or die cuts, so I shopped the Silhouette America files and found these fun earrings (less than 50 cents with my subscription.) I put them on a designer paper background for a CAS fun card.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Challenges 4 Everybody.

Stamping smiles, Karen  

Triangle Inspired Card

Triangles are all the rage right now and after I was challenged at my local stamp club to use triangles in a card, I designed this card. It was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest, but I can't find the link right now. I created a mask by cutting a triangle in a piece of cardstock and taping it down with temporary tape on a cream piece. I stamped the background words and the flower (Stampin' Up) and then sponged with distress ink. I stamped the sentiment and outlined it with scored lines. I continued the triangular theme on the corners, in the small sentiment flag and a few small triangles on the left side.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at QKR Stampede and Pattie's Creations.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Silhouette Sunday End of Summer Cards (and a Super Find!)

The challenge this week at the Silhouette Blog is to use numbers on our cards. I had fun designing this teacher thank you card with primary colors and files from the Silhouette store. Two of the files were FREE weekly shapes- the apple and the chalkboard letters. The numbers along the bottom are from a school border file by Miss Kate. I designed a CAS square card using them, a green dotted card stock and a ruler washi tape strip.

I created a matching envelope with my exciting new find- the Envelope Punch Board by We R Memory Keepers. I saw it demoed yesterday at a stamp store we visited and had it buy it immediately. It is sooooo easy to make a matching envelope with any paper- it took less than a minute to score and fold this matching envelope for the larger square card I had made. I give the Envelope Punch Board 5 stars for ease of use and recommend it very highly.

The second card I am featuring today is for the Hooray for Summer challenge at the Raisin Boat Blog.  I just had to make one more card this summer with the flip flop cutting file from Silhouette America, especially since I found this delightful summer sentiment set of stamps from Joy's Life. I cut the flip flops in blue and pink and added some fun flowers. The "sand" was created by tearing and shading some cork paper. I stamped the fabulous sentiment and added some star buttons to complete the card.

Stamping and Silhouette smiles, Karen

New Stamps and A New Technique to Share

I had never tried the Magic Masking Tape Technique and am sharing my first attempt at this simple but fun background. The challenge at Craft-room Challenge is to try something new, and the stamps are also being used for the first time on this card. Anything Goes at Sweet Stamps this week, and this card will also be entered there.

To create this background, you start with a piece of glossy paper and some low tack masking tape. Tear off a strip and push it into a dye ink pad so that it is covered with ink. Attach it to the glossy piece, then pull off. I did it in three shades of Distress Ink by Tim Holtz, but any ink will do. I know dye inks work, but maybe other types of ink do as well- it is always fun to experiment. After creating the background, I simply stamped the beautiful silhouette flower from Penny Black and added a sentiment. I layered the glossy piece on black and then a peach card.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Magnificent Clara Birthday Card

It's Crackerbox Palace Friday and I am sharing a lol birthday card I made with Crackerbox Palace stamps, If you know anything about my style of stamping, you know I love to use humor in the cards I create and Crackerbox Palace has tons of funny lol stamps. I was looking through my CBP stamps and decided I really needed to use Clara in her swimsuit before summer was officially over. Just looking at her cracks me up and when you add a funny sentiment, the receiver of this card should smile too. Clara was paper pieced and colored, then cut out. I cut the sentiment out with a Nestabilities circle and cut the embossed (SU) background strip with a little larger circle die. Aqua and red has become a color combo favorite for me lately.

Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog. Please visit the CBP website to see these and many other awesome Crackerbox Palace stamps.

I am entering this card in the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” challenge at Going Grey withScrap-Creations and the Round or Square Cards challenge at  Loves Rubberstamps. 

Crackerbox Palace smiles, Karen

CAS Winter Wishes

I know it is no where near winter or Christmas, but I like to make holiday cards all year so I am not rushed when the holidays do come around. The challenge at Addicted to CAS this week is Holiday, and Anything (always) Goes at Through the Craftroom Door. I am sharing this CAS card I made with an old fashioned sled stamp from Raisin Boat. I embossed the background with a Tim Holtz Sizzix embossing folder. The snow was created with glitter along a torn white piece.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Repeat Impressions What If? Wed. Sketch Challenge

It's time for another fun sketch challenge at The House that Stamps Built and we are challenging you to make a card using the sketch below and link it up for a chance at some great Repeat Impressions rubber! For all the details on what you can win and to see the other Rock Stars cards using this sketch, please visit our blog.

I decided to try a newer technique to color this beautiful bouquet of flowers from Repeat Impressions. The technique is called Whitewash Technique and here is a link to a tutorial. Basically, you emboss the image with white embossing powder on kraft or darker paper, then “color” the open parts of the image with white craft ink refill liquid and a paint brush or water brush. After that is dry, you add color with regular markers and a water blender pen. After coloring in this subtle way, I cut out a frame with a Spellbinders die. The background was created with 4 colors of card stock and an embossing folder from Sizzix. 

Here is the sketch for you to follow when you create a card for our challenge. You do not need to use Repeat Impressions stamps to enter our challenges, but you get an extra chance to win if you do!

I am entering this card in the Put a Frame Around It challenge at Robyn’s Fetish and the Anything Goes challenge at Challenges 4 Everybody.

Stamping smiles, Karen 

Monochromatic Purple Haze

Monochromatic color schemes is the theme this week at Simon Says Stamp and Anything Goes at 613 Avenue Create.  I used shades of purple for this card, I started with a two sided purple cardstock for the base. The die that covers the front is from Cherry Lynn Designs. I stamped the sentiment (from SU), then cut and embossed with a Spellbinders fancy circle. I added a purple flower gem to complete the card.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Last Stamp of the Week Blog Post?!

The stamp of the week this week at Repeat Impressions is the beautiful Wings Positive stamp, and it is available this week only for 50% off with the discount code found at Repeat Impressions blog. What a deal! Please visit the blog for all the details and to see the other Rock Star's cards using this stamp.

This is my last Stamp of the Week blog post. Why you ask? Because starting in September exciting changes are coming to the Repeat Impressions blog, The House that Stamps Built! Mondays are going to be even more awesome there. Can’t say anymore yet- but stay tuned. You will want to be a subscriber or follower for sure!

I made this card with the Stamp of the Week Wings Positive and its partner, Wings Negative. I love showing the positive and negative uses of stamps and punches or die cuts. I stamped the Wings Positive on the lighter peach designer paper on both sides, and the Wings Negative on a darker shade of the same dp (all dp from Stampin’ Up as is the butterfly punch.) I punched the butterfly shape on the bottom of each piece and in both shades of the dp and attached the butterflies below each column. I added some black pearls and a perfect sentiment (from Repeat Impressions of course) to complete the card.

I am entering this card in the punches or diecuts challenges at Totally Gorjuss and A Gem of a Challenge.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Personalized Cards for Special Kids on Silhouette Sunday

The challenge this week at the Silhouette Blog is to use our Silhouette cut shapes in unexpected ways. I recently purchased some fun frog shapes for a special young lady who loves frogs and the color aqua blue. I cut the frog silhouette out six times with chipboard and then created an embossing plate with them (see pix below). Using a very thick embossing rubber mat called No More Shims, I embossed a lightweight blue paper. Then I sponged with an aqua blue ink to highlight the frogs. I cut a green frog silhouette and the "sweet" sentiment with my Silhouette, and attached it all to a black card base.

Here is a picture of the inside of the card (with a sweet print and cut frog also by Silhouette America) and the embossing plate I created with the chipboard frogs:

I am also sharing the card I created for my grandson for when he goes back to school soon. The School Rules Blackboard and the Batman bat are cutting files from Silhouette and the designer paper was from a friend. My grandson loves school and super heroes- not sure which one more? - so I combined the two for his back to school wishes.

I am entering this card in the School Time challenge at Clearly iStamp.

Stamping and Silhouette smiles, Karen

Animal Cards 4 Kids at SAS4Kids!

It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This time our challenge is Animal Cards 4 Kids! Create and link any card for a child that has an animal on it and you could win one of our great prizes. You have an extra week to participate this time, as we have new challenges on the 1^st and 3^rd Saturdays and there is an extra Saturday this month!

We have three very generous sponsors for this challenge:  Dollar Graphics Depot is giving their winner a $15 gift certificate! Bugaboo is giving their randomly picked winner 7 digis of their choice!  And Fred She Said will award their winner a $10 gift certificate! TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge.

My first card above features Poppi Surf from Bugaboo. Isn't he sweet? I colored him with Copics, paper pieced the surf board and cut the image out. He is standing on sand made with torn and sponged cork paper and the sun is from Silhouette America. I am entering this card in the "At the Beach" challenge at The Crafter's Cafe'.

My second card features Silly Turtle-Summertime by Cheryl Seslar at Dollar Graphics Depot in a Polaroid frame from Silhouette America. I simply printed him as he is a colored digi and popped him in the frame. The background is an embossing folder from Sizzix. I am entering this card in the "Ice Cream" challenge at Charisma Cardz.

I did a  third card this week because I fell in love with these sweet puppies from the Rosie with Flower collection at Fred She Said. In the file from Fred She Said you get Rosie and her flower in all sorts of colors, so I cut out two of them with a hexagon die and added the other hexagons in a fun pattern to complete the CAS card.

Stamping smiles 4 our kids, Karen

Holy Cow Another Birthday Card from Crackerbox Palace!

It's Crackerbox Palace Friday and today I am sharing a birthday card I made with Crackerbox Palace stamps, a fun sketch and a velum technique I recently learned. The velum technique is easy and looks even better in real life. To achieve this look, I simply stamped the cow on velum paper with a black ink that won't smear on velum (I used Archival Ink by Ranger.) Turn the velum over and place it on a thick mat of some kind. Using a stylus, “color” the parts of the cow that are supposed to be white. This pushes out those parts and makes them white so when you turn it over, the cow stands out and looks great. I attached the velum piece to a black piece with glue dots and covered them up with grey pearls.

To create the background of the card, I simply stamped the “holy cow” over and over in black ink. I cut the diamond out of the center of the card and the other diamonds with my Spellbinders Nestabilities square dies. Then I trimmed the corners of the front off with my paper trimmer. I added the sentiment to the front to complete this humorous birthday card.

Here is another view of the card showing the sketch from the inside: 

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Crafting by Design and the Punches and Dies challenge at Crafty Sentiments.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Please visit the website to see these and many other awesome Crackerbox Palace stamps.

Crackerbox Palace smiles, Karen

Fall Stamp Camp Sneak Peak

Embossing is the theme of the challenge at Top Tip Tuesdays and it helped me decide which card to share with you today as a sneak peak to the "Every Day's a Holiday Stamp Camp" we are in the process of planning right now. If you are local to Wausau WI, mark your calendars for Thursday September 26th (6-9 p.m.) or Saturday October 5th (10-1 p.m.) for an opportunity to make some fun cards with my friend Phyllis and me. More info to follow, but contact me anytime to reserve your spot or for more details.

I love to emboss with my embossing folders and do it on many of my cards. On this card, I embossed strips of orange and gold with a Stampin' Up embossing folder, then layered them onto dark brown strips. I wove them over and under to create the background and added a leaf cut and embossed with a Spellbinders die. The Gratitude was cut with my Silhouette machine and is a Silhouette America cutting file. This card could be used for a fall thank you card or a Thanksgiving card and is one of my favorite cards I have designed for the stamp camp.

I am also entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Bearly Mine Challenge.

Stamping smiles, Karen

My DCC- Things with Wings!

It’s another Designer’s Choice Challenge at The House that Stamps Built, Repeat Impression’s blog. It’s my turn and the theme of my challenge is “Things with Wings”.  Bees, butterflies, birds- anything with a wing (or two) including fairies can be on your card for this challenge.  After you make your card, you can enter it for a chance to win some awesome Repeat Impressions rubber! Please visit the blog for all the details and to see the other Rock Star's cards for this DCC challenge. 

I created my card with the sweet bees and sentiments from Repeat Impression’s newest release, Pairings.  I die cut three circles in a yellow piece and stamped the bees where they would show through the holes. I stamped the perfect sentiment on the bottom of the white card base and raised the yellow piece with pop dots.

I am entering this card in the Lots of Yellow challenge at Paper Playtime and the Anything Goes challenge at Through the Craftroom Door.

Stamping smiles, Karen 

Tiger Vellum Birthday Wishes!

I recently learned a new technique with vellum paper that I am having so much fun with! My buddy Barb shared with us how easy it is to stamp on a vellum piece with an ink that does not smear (I used Archival Black Ink by Ranger) and then from the back, "color" in all the white parts with a round tipped stylus. The vellum you "color" will pop up and turn white and this is even more beautiful in real life! I used  one of my favorite old TAC stamps for the technique and framed him in a "polaroid" embossed frame. I layered the whole piece on a two sided cardstock for a nice masculine card.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Challenges 4 Everybody.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Prickley Pear Thank You Card

I recently purchased a beautiful set of flowers and sentiments with matching dies by Prickley Pear and I couldn't wait to design a card with them. The sketch for the card was cased from a card I saw on Pinterest. I started with a two sided orange floral paper for the card base. I stamped the Prickley Pear flowers in orange ink on an off white panel and also on scrap paper, then cut the smaller ones out with their matching die. I attached the smaller flowers over the larger ones, and layered that piece over a green card stock piece. The "thanks for your kindness" sentiment is from the same set by Prickley Pear. The dotted circle die is by Memory Box and the greens were cut with a Cherry Lynn die. I added some gems to the flowers and sentiment to complete the card.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Paper Take Weekly and Sister Act.

Stamping Smiles, Karen

Grandma Fun on Silhouette Sunday

Anything Goes at the Silhouette Blog Weekly Challenge this week and so I am sharing with you some pictures showing all the fun I had with my grandson this week and my Silhouette Portrait cutting machine and cutting files from the Silhouette America store! The first picture is me and Nate having fun with our shields and swords that I cut and decorated so we could fight the bad guys as Ninjas! Here is a better picture showing the shield for Super Nate and Super Grandma:

 Here are some more things I cut this week that Nate picked out:

Can you tell Nate is into super heroes? Lucky for me all the Licensed cutting files for Batman and Superman, etc. are on sale right now half price! So I could let Nate pick out 9 files for only $4.50! I could cut them any size he wanted and the print and cut ones are so easy to do just that: print and cut. I cut them in a size that he could use them in imaginative play or put on a card for a friend or super hero like Mom or Dad.  Nate also loves Harry Potter so I created him a Gryffindor shield which turned out to be his favorite:

Stamping and Silhouette smiles, Grandma Karen

TTCRD and The Paper Shelter Challenges

I am back- did you miss me (or my new cards everyday?) I took most of the last week off (except for a few design team blog posts I scheduled ahead) for a family vacation to Chicago and then fun times with my grandson visiting, I will post a couple pictures tomorrow so you can see how much fun we had.  But life is back to normal now and I should be posting a new card most every day.

Today's card is going to be entered in the Punches and Dies challenge at The Paper Shelter and the Anything Goes challenge at Through the Craftroom Door. I have slowly been making my way though a pile of dies and other new stuff I have never used, and this quilt die from W Plus 9 was one I had to buy when I first saw it. I love the look of the quilt cards I have pinned, and this die made this one so easy to make.

I simply cut the quilt out in black and two shades of green. I was going to cut another one in a different shade of pink, then decided I liked it just fine with the pink from the front piece coming through the opening in the quilt star. The pink front pieces were attached with pop dots to raise and the sentiment (from Woodware) was stamped on the white card itself.

Stamping smiles, Karen

What If? Wed. Sketch Challenge

It's time for another fun sketch challenge at The House that Stamps Built and we are challenging you to make a card using the sketch below and link it up for a chance at some great Repeat Impressions rubber! For all the details on what you can win and to see the other Rock Stars cards using this sketch, please visit our blog.

I love the vertical positive and negative stamps by Repeat Impressions. This one is Foliage Positive and I stamped it on three different fall colors of designer paper by Stampin’ Up. I added a fun sentiment on a die cut leaf to complete the CAS fall card.

Here is the sketch for you to follow when you create a card for our challenge. You do not need to use Repeat Impressions stamps to enter our challenges, but you get an extra chance to win if you do!

Stamping smiles, Karen

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week

The stamp of the week this week at Repeat Impressions is this beautiful Dandelion stamp, and it is available this week only for 50% off with the discount code found at Repeat Impressions blog. What a deal! Please visit the blog for all the details and to see the other Rock Star's cards using this stamp.

I made this card with two different dandelion stamps from Repeat Impressions. The Dandelion stamp that is on sale is this one:

The other one is Dandelion Breeze and is part of the Summer Series here on the website. I like them both and stamped the Dandelion in black after masking the top and bottom of the white card front. Then I stamped the Dandelion Breeze in blue, and then I white embossed the Dandelion again in white embossing powder. I sponged blue in the center before removing the masking and stamping the perfect sentiment (also from the Summer Series.)

Stamping smiles, Karen

Anything Goes 4 Kids at Send a Smile 4 Kids!

It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This time our challenge is everyone’s favorite: Anything Goes 4 Kids. Create and link any card for a child and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have four very generous sponsors this week: Scrapping Memories is giving their winner 10 free digis or cutting files of their choice! Stamping Dragon Designs is giving their randomly picked winner 4 digis of their choice! Robyn’s Fetish’s winner will receive 2 free digis!  And Tabitha’s Shop will award their winner 2 Digi Paper Packs of their choice! TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge.

My first card above features the sweet Pool Fun digital stamp from Stamping Dragon Designs. I paper pieced the swimming dragon and pool and colored the rest. I used stickers to add the sentiment and created a background with my new favorite dp from Stampin' Up.

My second card features a colored digi from Scrapping Memories called Sunbonnet Susanna. I admit I love colored digis- they look so much nicer than any coloring I could do and make for much easier card making. I cut her out with a shaped oval die from Spellbinders and added some gems and pearls. I created a background with kraft and embossed pink paper with rounded corners. I added a strip of washi tape and a fun sentiment stamp that looks like ribbon from Impression Obsession. 

Stamping smiles 4 our kids, Karen 

Summer Rainbow and Silhouette Crackerbox Palace Card

I will be out of town on Friday, so am sharing a summer card I made with Crackerbox Palace stamps and a fun background sponging technique a day early. Did you know you can make a silhouette image with just about any stamp? Just color it in black instead of the typical colors you would use and it turns into a silhouette stamp. I did this with the picnic table from Crackerbox Palace after I created the rainbow effect on a white piece of cardstock. To make the rainbow, I cut a circle out of acetate with a Nestabilities die, then sponged on the colors of a rainbow with a series of dye inks and sponges. I stamped the sentiment and created the frame with the same circle Nestabilities die.

I like how the card turned out and hope you do too. Please visit the website to see these and many other awesome Crackerbox Palace stamps.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Party Time Tuesday, Simon Says Stamp and Through the Craftroom Door.

Crackerbox Palace smiles, Karen