BRRR- It's Cold Outside...How Cold?

That's how cold it is! I love using humor in my cards and so was thrilled this summer to discover a new company called Two Lips Stamps sold by Polkadots and More from my home state of Wisconsin. If you could use some belly laughs, click on the link and be prepared to laugh out loud at all the super funny sentiments on these stamps! Since I live in Wisconsin where it is very cold outside half the year, I could not resist this funny lol sentiment stamp. I paired it with a sweet die cut from Die-Versions which I cut in aqua blue and white. I slipped the white pieces back into the hat and gloves and added some extra snowflakes that came out of you know where:)

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and the Use a Die Cut challenge at Crafty Hazelnut's. 

Let There be Peace on Earth...

The title of this blog post is my wish for you and our world this holiday season and that wish is expressed on most of my Christmas cards this year. I cut the Nativity scene out of a white card base with a beautiful new die from Die'sire. While it was still in the die, I sponged on the blue ink. The die acts as a stencil as well as cuts and embosses. I also used a stencil (stars from Memory Box) on the navy blue card front. I applied silver glitter paste from BoBunny though the star openings. This glitter paste dries much faster than other stencil pastes. To complete the card I added my Peace wish (cut with a die from Ellen Hutson.)

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and the "Something Stenciled" challenge at Daring Cardmakers.

Three Cards - Same Stamp and Medium with Different Die-Versions Dies

I admit I am an addict. When I see great dies or stamps I cannot resist- this is a well known fact. And there are many many great Black Friday sales out there right now with 10, or 20 or 30% off. But at the Die-Versions website, all the dies are on sale and you can save 50% on almost all of them! I admit- I did go shopping there during this sale- but for 50% off, how could I resist? All the cards in this blogpost feature sentiment dies from Die-Versions.

I did resist buying Tim Holtz's Distress Stains for quite a while, until I made some cards in a class at Let's Create in Wisconsin Rapids recently with this gorgeous stamp called Hidden Lane by Penny Black and distress stains. I had to come home with the stamp and a bunch of the stains because it was so easy to apply the stains to the stamp, spritz with water and end up gorgeous watercolor looking cards. My first card above is all in blues with the sentiment die cut from Die-Versions and the card base cut in from navy blue cardstock. I am entering that card in the Monochromatic challenge at Scrapy Land. 

Here are two more cards I made with the same beautiful stamp and distress stains in greens and grey applied directly to the stamp, then spritzed with water. I attached sentiments cut with Die-Version dies and two of the cards also feature lovely ribbon found at Let's Create.

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

What If? Wed. Sketch Challenge and Big Sale at Repeat Impressions!

Happy Wednesday everyone! 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 created a CAS card for this sketch challenge with my favorite holiday word this year – PEACE. I also used Repeat Impression’s Positive and Negative Snowflake stamps. The bottom pennants were stamped on 4 shades of blue and the top banner stamped with Versamark and embossed with a sparkly blue embossing powder.

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 Anything Goes challenges at Crafting from the Heart and Craft Your Passion.

**Don't miss the Big sale at Repeat Impressions until November 26th! Copy down the code above and go to the website here to shop and save!**

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

Gilding Flakes Joy Card

I was reminded recently by the brilliant Franki of Let's Create in Wisconsin Rapids of how fun and beautiful it is to design with gilding flakes. I had some years ago but it was no fun trying to apply them with glue or other adhesives. But now we have all the two sided sticky paper and our dies and it has become fun again to play with these beautiful golden flakes. Frankie had us apply an open die to a piece of the sticky paper and rub the flakes in with a piece of a stamp cleaner pad, then cut the die cut piece out by hand. I did that with the tree, but the cutting process took a long time. Then I thought- why not apply the gilding flakes to a piece of the sticky paper just larger than the die, rub it in and then die cut? I did that with the "joy" and it worked beautifully. The reindeer embossing folder is by Sizzix, the tree die is from Tim Holtz and the "joy" die is by W Plus 9. I love how this card turned out- even prettier IRL.

I am entering this card in the Anything Christmas challenge at Quirky Crafts and the Create your own Challenge at 613 Avenue Create.  I chose A2, Christmas and the colors gold and white.

CAS Monochromatic with Dimension

There are a couple challenges I wanted to be sure to enter this week and this card meets those challenges. Scrapy Land's theme is Monochromatic (using dies they sell) and Addicted to CAS's 3rd Birthday theme is CAS with dimension. This card is all shades of blue, and the dimension is provided by a lovely embossing folder by Spellbinders called Fabric Weave. I embossed the blue patterned paper and then sponged with blue ink to highlight the dimension. I die cut the "make a wish" sentiment from Tonic Studios and the sailboat from Die-Versions in navy blue and attached the card front to a navy blue card. It is so easy to make a CAS but lovely card with great dies and embossing folders.

Shiny Beauty from Tonic Studios

I got home late last night from a stamp show trip to find a box of Tonic Studios goodies waiting for me! I got up early today just to play with some of the Tonic products before the Packer game.  If you follow me, you know I love dies and this gorgeous Winter Snowflake from Tonic Studio's Rococo line is definitely going to be a favorite! I cut it out of white cardstock and also cut the negative shape out of a red shiny cardstock. I embossed the red card front with an embossing folder from We R Memory Keepers. Then I attached a piece of shiny gold cardstock behind the snowflake opening and slipped the white snowflake back in.

I was most intrigued by a new Tonic Studios product in the box called Nuvo Crystal Drops. I checked on line here and could see there are many colors available for $2.99 for a large 1 fluid ounce jar. It appeared to be a similar product to pearl pens and liquid pearls which I have, but have always been disappointed in. So many times I wanted to add them to a card and the "pearl" created had a point to it which does not look nice. I have to say honestly, the Nuvo Crystal Drops form beautiful circular "pearls" without the pointy top. It was easy to add consistent circular gold drops to each of the intersections of the embossed card front. I also added a larger circular embellishment in two steps to the center of the snowflake. The hardest part is waiting for them to dry without touching. Drying time is about the same as with the other "pearl" products.

I love how this card turned out and am entering it into the Christmas challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge  and the Create Your Own Challenge at 613 Avenue Create. I  chose square, Christmas and the colors red, gold and white. I will also be sharing it with the classes I teach in my home.

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 ANYTHING GOES 4 KIDS! Create and link any card appropriate for a child, and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have three very generous sponsors for this challenge: Crackerbox Palace is giving their winner 3 digital images of any of their stamps!  All Dressed Up Stamps is giving their randomly picked winner 2 digis of their choice!  And Sassy Studio’s winner gets 4 digis! 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 features a funny Santa stuck in a chimney from Crackerbox Palace. I stamped Santa, the snowflakes and the Merry Christmas wish on a white card base and paper pieced Santa and the chimney. I die cut a stitched rectangle in the center of a patterned card front and attached a piece of acetate over the hole. I dumped in a bunch of glass glitter "snow" and attached the front to make a shaker card.

My second card features a fun digital stamp from All Dressed Up Stamps called "Cool Dudes". I printed him on a blue cardstock and cut it out with a square stitched die. I layered that on a grey patterned cardstock square card. As usual, I paper pieced all the skateboarder's and his dog's parts with patterned and kraft pieces. 

I am entering the first card in the Christmas challenges at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and the second card at Jennifer McGuire's Share Handmade Kindness Week 3 For Kids. (These cards are going to be donated to Send a Smile 4 Kids to cheer a hospitalized child.)

Crackerbox Palace Ornament Card

It's Crackerbox Palace Friday and today I am sharing a Christmas card and ornament I made with Crackerbox Palace stamps. I love this little kitty peaking out from under the Christmas holly and thought he would would look sweet as an ornament on a Christmas tree. I started with a square green card base and a slightly smaller square of red patterned cardstock. I cut a stitched circle in the center with a die from My Creative Time and attached that piece with pop dots. Here is a picture of the ornament that slips into the top of the card.

I stamped the sweet Christmas kitty on vellum and colored it from behind. I die cut another stitched circle and attached the vellum kitty. I added a paper bow and some gold cord to hang the ornament with. Then I added some Sugar Glitter Paste from BoBunny for sparkle on the red curved edge. I hate to waste any paper, so I used the round cut out from the front of the card to stamp a CBP holiday greeting on the inside.

I am entering this card in the Christmas challenges at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and at A Snowflake’s Promise.

Disco Make a Wish from Die-Versions

Happy Die-Versions Thursday! It's my turn to post a card on Die-Version's blog and mine. Today I am sharing a bright circle card I created featuring the Retro Dancers die from the October release. I am old enough to remember the disco craze and these dancers just make me smile. I cut a circle card with a larger Spellbinders circle.  I sprinkled my favorite colors of Brusho Coloured Crystals on watercolor paper and spritzed them to activate the colors with an iridescent gold spray from Tattered Angels. After the Brusho piece was dry, I cut out the circle card front, and also the “Make A Wish” sentiment from Die-Versions. I attached the Retro Dancers die cut in black and added a few punched stars.

**Remember you can get a 15% discount on any of Die-Versions great dies by simply using my discount code karen15 when you check out at the Die-Versions website.**

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Crafting from the Heart and Craft Your Passion. 

What If? Wed. Photo Inspiration Challenge

On the third Wednesday of every month at Repeat Impression’s blog, The House that Stamps Built, the challenge is going to be an Inspiration Photo challenge. Here is the photo chosen to inspire us this month: 

Will you be inspired by the colors or the shapes in the photos? It is up to you to pick out what inspires you and make a card, then enter it for a chance to win some great Repeat Impressions rubber. Be sure to check out the RI blog for the inspiration based cards by the other Rock Stars. I have seen them and you do not want to miss them!

I was inspired by the reflection image and colors of this beautiful photograph. I heat embossed Repeat Impression’s cattails stamp several times above and below the horizon line I created with a Versamark pen and some more black embossing powder. Then I sprinkled and spritzed the sunset colors with a watercolor powder. I layered that piece on an A2 card base. I stamped the inspirational sentiment on a white side piece and added a couple birds die cut out of a scrap of the same colored watercolor paper.

 I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Crafting from the Heart,  Craft Your Passion, and the Take a Stamp Anything Goes challenge at Craft Stamper Magazine.

My Tim Holtz Christmas Vest Card

I could not resist the new set of dies from Tim Holtz called Holiday Knits. Last year I purchased the Holiday Knits stencil and his holiday words (see below) and this new set of dies matches that stencil. I started with a white top folding A2 card and embossed the "shirt" piece with a SU embossing folder. I cut strips of Tim Holtz Kraft Core Shattered cardstock (from Core'dinations) using 4 of the 5 dies in the set. I punched the collar with an oval punch. Here is a peak at the inside using more Tim Holtz products:

I love how this card turned out and will be sharing it with the classes I teach in my home. I am entering it in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Lil Patch of Crafty Friends.

Awesome Texture with Napkins and Embossing

Some friends and I were shopping at a local gift shop and found these gorgeous holiday napkins. Instead of wanting them for our holiday tables, we knew we were going to make cards with them:) A few months ago, we re-discovered an older technique for attaching napkins to cardstock for cardmaking.  Here is a link to a tutorial that explains how to do that.  The keys are to remove all layers of the napkin except the very top colored one, and use an iron to melt cling wrap to hold the napkin to the cardstock. After I did that, I embossed the piece with one of my favorite new deep embossing folders from WeR Memory Keepers called Quilted. Then I sponged on Fossilized Amber Distress Ink and the piece looks like it is deeply quilted with awesome texture. I layered the napkin bird piece onto black and then onto a card base made with Tim Holtz's Kraft Core Shattered Cardstock from Core'dinations.

I am entering this card in the Texture challenge at Virginia's View and the Red and Green challenge at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge.

Tonic Studios Screen Divider Card

I just received my advance copy of the January 2016 Scrap and Stamp Arts issue and I was delighted to find my article about screen divider cards published in it. The editor of SSA usually tells me what issue an accepted article is going to be published in, but this was unassigned until now. I am sharing my favorite screen divider card from the article today on my blog.  Screen divider cards have four separate panels which allow the card maker to be creative on four separate canvases. Most of the screen divider cards I have created were 12 inches wide x 8 1/2 inches tall and scored at 3, 6 and 9 inches. But on this one I wanted to use a lovely arched border punch by ek success along the top, so I cut it smaller. It is 10 inches wide by 7 3/4 inches tall, and scored at the 2 1/2, 5 and 7 1/2 inch lines. I cut this card out of a floral vintage cardstock and punched the "feet" with half of a label punch from Stampin' Up. All the dies used on this card are from Tonic Studios. I embossed a piece of glitter paper with a Happy Birthday embossing folder from Indentz, then layered it on a black piece. I die cut and attached "Wishes" from Tonic's Everyday Sentiments and add the pearl to dot the "i".

The second and third panels feature two beautiful ladies from Tonic's Silhouette Scenes Bride Set facing each other. The last panel was created with a stencil cut with the Tonic Silhouette Scene Roses panel and Stormy Sky Distress Ink. There is plenty of room on that last panel to write a personal message to the birthday girl.

Here is a picture of this card standing up. It folds nicely to fit in a business size envelope and stands for display of all 4 panels:

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Scrapy Land (Tonic Studios dies used), and the "include a sentiment" challenge at Creative Knockouts.

Celebrate with Crackerbox Palace and BoBunny Glitter Paste

It's Crackerbox Palace Friday and today I am sharing a Celebration card I made with Crackerbox Palace stamps and BoBunny Glitter Paste. Vicky and I discovered this glitter paste last summer at the Papercrafts CHA in Illinois and Crackerbox Palace has been featuring it in their booths at shows since then. I have seven colors of this quick drying glitter paste and have been having so much fun playing with it. I applied the Frost blue glitter paste through a “celebrate” frame stencil from Memory Box, then trimmed the edges after the paste was dry. I embossed CBP’s little black dress with black detail embossing powder from Stampamania. They call their embossing powders “The World’s Greatest Embossing Powder” and both their sparkly embossing powder line and detail embossing powders live up to that name. Very clear and crisp images are easy to achieve with the detail powders. I attached the dress piece to an aqua card base and added some more Frost blue glitter paste to the flower on the dress for some more bling.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Creative Moments and The Paper Nest Dolls Challenges.

Big on Sentiments Repeat Impressions Blog Hop

Hello blog friends! I am so excited! Wendy and Bill of Repeat Impressions (The House That Stamps Built Blog) have released 4 new awesome WORDS sets of stamps and you can be a winner just by hopping along and leaving some comments as you go.

If you visit each blog along the hop and leave a comment at each stop, you will have earned 7 chances at the prizes. The more comments you make, the more chances you earn. But you are not required to leave a comment at each stop. For example, 4 comments, 4 chances; 7 comments, 7 chances and so on. Just be sure to finish your blog visits and commenting no later than 5 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, November 15th. Repeat Impressions will be awarding 1 unmounted word set to one individual who comments on at least 4 blogs. And another lucky individual will win ALL 4 of the unmounted word sets if they comment on the RI blog and all 6 of the design team blogs. The winners will be announced on Repeat Impression’s blog and Facebook page on Monday November 16th.

Here is the order of the blog hop:

Cheri... http://stampnboomer.blogspot.com  

Heather... http://www.wirewrapture.blogspot.com

Joy... http://www.piecesofjoyhadden.blogspot.com/

Karen... http://karenskreativekards.blogspot.com  (you are here)

Deonna... http://ialwayslovetomakecards.blogspot.com/

 Patti... http://cherisheachpreciousday.blogspot.com/

RI blog... http://www.thehousethatstampsbuilt.com

I am so thrilled with each of these sets of sentiment stamps. They are a delightful combination of one over-sized word and a fun variety of smaller words and sentiments that go with it.  The sets are available either mounted on cling or unmounted.  (Click on the highlighted words to go right to the correct page on the website.) The primary words in the 4 sets are Happy, Hello, Thanks and You.

My first card above features the word YOU in a fun congrats card perfect for a teenager or anyone. I stamped the large “you” in red ink on an angle. I used the largest of Repeat Impression’s Flip Fancy Die Set of scalloped squares to create the diamond shaped openings on the white side of some black polka dotted cardstock. I die cut three red scalloped squares with the smaller scalloped die and stamped “rock” and “did it”. I attached the red scalloped squares on pop dots inside the openings and added some black candy gems and a punched star.

My second card would be perfect for saying “thanks” to anyone special. I masked a rectangle opening and sponged several colors of distress ink. Then I removed the mask and stamped the dandelion and “thanks for your kindness”. CAS to make for the next time you want to say THANKS.

I am entering the first card in the Anything Goes challenges at Retarte and Creative Moments.

Please click here for the next stop in the blog hop to see more awesome cards from the Rock Stars with these great sets of sentiment stamps.

My DCC is "Focus on the Sentiment"

It’s another Designer’s Choice Challenge at The House that Stamps Built, Repeat Impression’s blog. It is my turn to host this challenge and my theme is: “Focus on the Sentiment.” Why don’t you join us in this challenge and enter your project 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 projects for this DCC challenge. I have seen them and you do not want to miss them!

It is so easy to focus on the sentiment when you own any of Repeat Impression’s brilliant new text series with one over-sized word and a fun variety of smaller words and sentiments that go with it.  The sets are available here either mounted or unmounted. I have used “happy” in this CAS card. I started with a square blue cardbase and cut a tilted square with a stitched die from My Creative Time. I also cut one out of a white scrap and stamped “so happy for you”. I embossed the whole card with an embossing folder from We R Memory Keepers. I attached the white stitched square on the inside of the card showing through the tilted square opening. I finished the card with a few gold gems.

BE SURE TO STOP BACK TOMORROW FOR A BLOG HOP AND A CHANCE TO WIN ALL 4 OF REPEAT IMPRESSIONS NEW WORD SETS!!

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Crafting from the Heart and Craft Your Passion.

And don’t forget: For a 10% discount on any size order at Repeat Impressions, just make a note of my discount code (rr10kh), click on the blog badge on the side of my blog and go to the website here to shop and save!

Take a Stamp Challenge at Craft Stamper Magazine

I am loving the serene "Snowy Grove" stamp from Penny Black and designed this snowy scene card featuring it recently. I started with spattering masking liquid frisket all over a piece of watercolor paper and letting that dry. Then I masked the moon and the snowbank and created the night sky with Indigo Color Burst powders spritzed with water. After that was dry, I removed the moon mask and stamped with Penny Black's Snowy Grove stamp several times using my MISTI. The MISTI (Most Incredible Stamping Tool Invented) allows me to stamp repeatedly when needed to get a good image keeping the stamp in the same place each time. I removed the snow bank mask and stamped the sentiment from CTMH, then rubbed off the snowflakes masking liquid frisket.

 I am entering this card in the Take a Stamp challenge at Craft Stamper Magazine and the Let it Snow challenge at Crafting with Dragonflies.

Faux Leather Project of the Week

It is my turn to share a Project of the Week at Repeat Impression's blog and mine and I am sharing a favorite background technique called Faux Leather. I found this video on You Tube where the fabulous Sheena taught this technique to make covers for books. I have adapted it for backgrounds on cards and here is a picture of the supplies you will need for this technique:

The supplies are: Glycerin (found at any drugstore or stores with pharmacy), spray bottle, sturdy kraft cardstock (I used Stampin' Up's crumbcake), an embossing folder,  a distress tool and several shades of Distress Ink (I used Vintage Photo and Spiced Marmalade as Sheena suggested.) Mix the glycerin and water in the spray bottle one part glycerin to 4 parts water. Spray it on the kraft cardstock piece liberally and massage it into the fibers of the cardstock. Turn it over and repeat several times. Then crinkle the cardstock up, carefully flatten out, spray and repeat. Here are a couple pictures of these steps:

The next step is optional. You can rub the Vintage Photo ink over the crinkles lightly to add a little more vintage look to the finished background. Then emboss the wet piece with an embossing folder. I have chosen several masculine scenery embossing folders from Tim Holtz for Sizzix for my two cards.

Heat set the piece thoroughly with a heat gun. Once it is dry, start sponging with the Vintage Photo distress ink using the distress tool, highlighting the embossed areas, the edges and then the rest of the faux leather piece. After you have the  leather like color you want, add in some Spiced Marmalade distress ink to highlight the center of the piece.

It is really amazing how much  the completed faux leather background looks and feels like leather. Now all you need to do is add in your favorite stamps and attach to a card base. Here is my finished card with the deer silhouette and "my thoughts" stamps from Repeat Impressions:

I can never stop at just one card when having so much fun with a great technique and Repeat Impression's awesome stamps. Here is another card I made with a darker faux leather background and "hello handsome" from Repeat Impression's new word stamp series. I also distressed the edges of this faux leather piece before starting for an even more distressed look.

I think these cards would be perfect for any special man in your life. I hope they inspired you to try this fun background technique sometime soon.

Merry Merry Christmas with Die-Versions Dies

Happy Die-Versions Sunday! It's my turn to post a card on Die-Version's blog and mine, and today I am sharing a holiday card I made with Die-Versions dies and a gold striped cardstock. This is one of those cards that look much better IRL than it photographs. The tone on tone of the gold with a little red to highlight made for a pretty card I would be happy to share with anyone on my list. I started by die cutting all the words in the Holidays! Complements set and the Poinsettia Flourish in the same gold cardstock as the background. I cut the Poinsettia Flourish apart and filled in the spaces between the holiday words. I also cut “Merry” from a red scrap. I attached all and added some red gems.

***Remember you can get a 15% discount on any of Die-Versions great dies by simply using my discount code karen15 when you check out at the Die-Versions website.***

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes Challenges at Scrapy Land (of course I am using Die-Versions dies) and 613 Avenue Create.

Happy Holidays 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 Happy Holidays 4 Kids! Create and link any holiday card appropriate for a child, and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have three very generous sponsors for this challenge: DeeDee’s Digis is giving their winner a $15 gift certificate!  A Day for Daisies is giving their randomly picked winner a $12 gift certificate!  And Doodle Pantry’s winner gets 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 Doodle Pantry's cute Holiday Ants. I printed the colored digital image of them stealing Santa's cookies and attached to a red crackle cardstock piece. Then I printed the words and cut out with a stitched circle die from My Creative Time, then attached the semi-circles under the red piece. Those were attached to a kraft card base and I added some green candy gems for fun.

My second card features the sweet Teddy from A Day for Daisies. I printed him on a white cardstock scrap and paper pieced him and his stocking. I embossed a white front piece and attached him with pop dots and a gold cord under some reindeer washi tape. The sentiment is from Verve.

I am entering these cards in the "Share Handmade Kindness Campaign" challenge  because I am sharing these cards with my kids at the two Wisconsin children's hospitals I serve delivering handmade cards to for the children who are inpatient there. I am also entering the first card in the Anything Goes challenge at Doodle Pantry.

LOL Get Well Cards from Crackerbox Palace

It’s Crackerbox Palace Friday and today I am sharing two get well cards I made with Crackerbox Palace stamps. I love using humorous stamps when making cards and CBP has a wonderful selection of lol stamps to choose from. I made the CAS get well card above with the aspirin, band aid and Nyquil Margarita stamps. And here is a card for someone who broke an arm or wrist:

I paper pieced the chick with dotted patterned paper and the sling with actual medical bandage material. I layered it on a green piece punched with a Martha Stewart border punch.

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenges at Crafting from the Heart and Wonderful Wednesdays.

Thanks with Brushos and Cling Wrap

It's been a while since I posted a card using the crinkled cling wrap on glossy paper with Brushos technique. I needed a thank you note and remembered I had not blogged this one yet. I started with a top folding kraft card. I crinkled cling wrap on a glossy piece with green Brushos spritzed with water. After waiting just a short time, this wonderful background was the result. I die cut Penny Black's fern twice (cream and dark green) and layered them slightly offset, Then I die cut and attached "thanks" from My Creative Time.

I am entering this card in the Thanks/Thanksgiving challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge  and the Anything Goes challenges at Papertake Weekly and Scrapy Land. (used Penny Black die.)

What If? Wed. Color Challenge at Repeat Impressions

The first Wednesday of each month at Repeat Impression’s blog, The House that Stamps Built, is going to be a color challenge. We give you the color inspiration, and you can make a card using those colors to possibly win a great prize of Repeat Impressions rubber! Here is the color palette chosen this month:

I am in the mood to make holiday cards for my stash and so I started with blue, gold and green strips of cardstock on a white card base and then embossed with a snowflake embossing folder for a background. I stamped Repeat Impression’s snowman family on a white scrap and cut them out. Then I paper pieced the hats and scarves and added colored gems in this month’s colors.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Crafting from the Heart.

**Don’t Forget: for a 10% discount on any size order at Repeat Impressions, make a note of my discount code (rr10kh), click on the blog badge on the side of my blog and go to the website here to shop and save!**

Sing It! A Musical Notes Die-Versions Card

Happy Tuesday! It's my turn to post a card on Die-Version's blog and mine. Today I am sharing a musical shaker card featuring the Musical Notes boy and Harmony notes dies from Die-Versions. My grandson plays violin so I knew I just had to get this sweet musical boy die, and the notes are perfect accents for any musical card. I cut the notes in white and also in navy blue for inside the shaker with the beads.

I started this card by cutting a circle hole just the right size for a Shake It Card Pouch by Impression Obsession. I love to make shaker cards and these plastic shapes from IO make them super easy. I embossed a blue card front with a musical embossing folder from Darice. I die cut the Musical Boy and the notes from white cardstock scraps and also cut some navy blue musical notes. I stamped the fun sentiment from Technique Junkies in blue ink on the white card base where it would show through the shaker circle. I dumped a bunch of beads and some musical notes in the Shake It plastic circle and finished putting the card together.

Here is a close-up of the shaker elements all shook up: 

**Remember you can get a 15% discount on any of Die-Versions great dies by simply using my discount code karen15 when you check out at the Die-Versions website.**

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes Challenges at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and Lil’ Patch of Crafty Friends.

Deep Impressions & Color Burst Fall Card

I am having so much fun with Stampendous embossing enamels and the Deep Impressions technique taught by Fran of Stampendous. Our challenge this month at our local stamp club was to make a Fall or Thanksgiving card with the four sided folded card. I started with two pieces of watercolor paper and sprinkled on several colors of Color Burst, then spritzed with gold iridescent spray to activate the colors and make them sparkle. I cut circles with a Nestabilities die, then cut in half and attached. I die cut a leaf using a Stampendous die and placed it on a craft sheet on an electric griddle heated to 300 degrees. I melted a layer of clear ultra thick embossing powder then added Aged Hunter embossing enamel (beautiful gold with dark green from Stampendous) and then sprinkled some sparkly green on top. While it was still molten, I removed from heat and stamped quickly with an old text background stamp from Stampin' Up. I used more dies for the inside greeting:

I am entering this card in the challenge at Sweet Stampin' to use dies and/or punches and the Anything Goes challenge at 613 Avenue Create.