Thank You for Bee-ing Such a Great Friend on CBP Friday

It’s Crackerbox Palace Friday and today I am sharing a thank you card I made for a friend with Crackerbox Palace stamps. This was a very easy card to make but I like how it turned out. I sponged through a stencil to make the background and then simply stamped the bees, beehive and perfect sentiment from Crackerbox Palace. I attached the card front to a black card base.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

Die-Versions Bunny Hug Card

Hope you are having a great day! It's my turn to post a card on Die-Version's blog and mine, and I am sharing a bunny hugs card featuring Die-Version’s new Whispers Bunny and Curly Word Hugs found here on the Die-Version’s New Release Page.  I started this CAS (clean and simple) card by die cutting the Curly Word Hugs out of a white scrap and also out of the blue checked card front. I replaced all the pieces back in the blue checked piece (using a technique called inlaid die-cutting.) I die cut the cute bunny and decided to keep the pieces in the bunny. I attached him to the card with pop dots to raise.

**Remember you can get a 15% discount on any of Die-Version’s 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,  Crafting from the Heart, and Craft Your Passion.

Feminine Card with NBUS

A while back when I had some free time I has playing with NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) I had laying on my bed to be used before putting away. I bought this fun stamp from Dare 2 B Artsy back in summer of 2015 at the summer CHA in Chicago- so you can see how behind I am in playing and posting NBUS... The Sizzix flower die was bought at a rummage sale last year too and the stencil is a fairly new one from Jenni Bowler. I sponged on Cosmic Cloud Blending Ink through floral holes in the stencil fading out towards the edge. I stamped the fun sentiment and popped up the die cut flower pieces, then added a gem to complete the feminine card.

I am entering this card in the Make it Girlie challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge and the Anything Goes (optional for a lady) challenge at Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge.

Wanted, good man with extensive wine collection....

I have quite an extensive napkin collection because of a re-discovered technique on how to attach napkins to cardstock with an iron and cling wrap. There are many videos on line that show how to do this. The main black and white and red image on this card is a lol cocktail napkin- love it! I embossed the white card  base and the red strips with a We R Memory Keepers embossing folder. I cut the napkin piece on an angle and attached. I added a wine glass die cut from My Creative Time to complete the fun card for a wine-lover I know.

I am entering this card in the "Make it Girlie" challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and the Black and White and One More Color challenge at Dies R Us. 

Butterflies and Rainbows Thank You Card

I was playing with my Brushos and outline stickers for an article I was writing and came up with this butterfly rainbow card. (This card was published in the May/June 2016 issue of Scrap and Stamp Arts on stands now.)  I love butterflies and rainbows and this was a super easy card to make. I simply sprinkled on Brusho Coloured Crystals in ROY G BIV colors and spritzed with water. When the card front was dry, I applied the butterfly outline stickers and a flight line with the tiny black stickers. The finished card fits into a legal size envelope. The "thanks" die is from My Creative Time.

I am entering this card in the Butterfly Beauty challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and the Make it Girlie challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. (I think butterflies and rainbows are very girlie:)

Be-You-tiful Lacy Butterfly Card

I am back from my awesome vacation and almost ready to get back into a routine of blogging everyday and cutting for classes and designing. I designed this feminine card for last month's in home class. It features an old technique updated with better supplies. Years ago I learned how to attach lace to a piece of cardstock covered in carpet tape, then cover with colored glitter. Now we have two sided tape paper and much finer glitter, so it is even prettier. After dumping on and burnishing in the rose colored glitter, I removed the lace and added white glitter to where the lace had been. I made an extra piece and punched out a butterfly and added a lovely sentiment cut with a new die from Essentials by Ellen.

Here is another look showing the lacey glitter close up:

I am entering this card in the Butterfly Beauty challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and the Make it Girlie challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. (I think lace and glitter is very girlie:)

Oh Happy Spring at Scrapy Land

I am very happy to participate this week as a Guest Designer at Scrapy Land which is one of my favorite challenge blogs. The theme of this challenge is: “Oh Happy Spring” and use at least one of the die brands Scrapy Land sells. Here is a list of the over 40 different brands Scrapy Land carries.

I think flowers are a sure sign of Spring, so I used several Memory Box floral dies on my card. The sparkly glittery party of this card was made with the Kiss Cut Technique. I applied a 3” x 5” piece of sticky two sided tape on a thick piece of white cardstock. I cut the Memory Box Joyful Bouquet die only through the sticky tape top part. This “Kiss Cut” is accomplished by using a thinner plate when die cutting on your favorite machine than you typically use. On the Big Shot, I used the transfer plate instead of one of the usual cutting plates. Then I used a Tonic Studios Tim Holtz pick to pick out the pieces of the flower I wanted to be pink, and dumped pink glitter in the flowers. I repeated with purple for the center flower, light green for the leaves centers and dark green for the rest of the flowers. Then I removed the rest of the sticky tape cover and sprinkled on white glitter. I rounded the edges and then embossed the piece with a Sue Wilson Beaded Fan Fare embossing folder. Here is a closer look at the sparkly glitter piece: 

I cut a green A2 card base and rounded the corners. I die cut Memory Box Floral Breeze and applied some purple gems through the flowers on the white center piece.

Why don’t you pull out your favorite dies and create a card for this challenge? The prize is a $15 Scrapy Land gift certificate and you know you can find something great you want there!

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Craft Your Passion.

Animal Cards 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 Animal Cards 4 Kids. Create and link any card appropriate for a child with an animal on it and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have two very generous sponsors for this challenge: DRS Designs is giving their winner a $10 gift certificate! And the winner from Stampendous gets a $20 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.

I printed a beautiful stamp from DRS Designs called Mrs. Ed for my card. I die cut a stitched card front and sponged on blue and light brown ink after some masking. I stamped the "wonderful" sentiment from Ranger to complete the CAS card.

Happy Birthday To You Box Card with Tonic Musical Dies

I had so much fun creating this box card for a 3D class I am teaching using Tonic Studios musical dies line! There are many tutorials available to show you how to make a "card in a box" or box card, so I am not going into detail on how to do that. I started with a larger black "card in a box" that folds to mail. I have seen a box card on Pinterest that featured the Tonic Studios jukebox die on the front, but am unable to find the original post to give that designer credit. I cut the Jukebox Jive die in black and a back in gold mirror card and attached to the front of the box card. I die cut the Treble Clef die out of black cardstock and added Nuvo Indian Gold Mousse before attaching it to the first inside tab. Then I die cut the Electric Guitar out of white cardstock and attached it to the second inside tab. The back of the box card has the musical score of Happy Birthday to You printed on red paper and one musical note.

I applied a strip of two sided tape to a piece of card stock and then dumped on some Ruby Red, Glitter Gold and Charcoal  Black Nuvo glitter one at a time in different areas of the sticky piece. After burnishing in the glitter, I die cut the Piano Melody and applied to the right side with a couple glue dots. I also attached another black Musical Note.

On the left side flap, I attached Dance Tribute after cutting him twice and offsetting the black and gold mirror diecuts slightly. It is time consuming to make one of these box cards, but well worth the time spent when you see the look of delight on the face of the music lover you give it to!

I am entering this card in the Happy Birthday challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

Happy Birthday Simon Says Stamp!

My favorite challenge blog is celebrating their birthday this week and so I am entering this CAS birthday shaker card for a chance to win one of the gift certificates! Happy Birthday to Simon Says Stamp (being celebrated on their Wednesday challenge blog here.)  I love making shaker cards and bought this circular Happy Birthday die from Tessler Crafts with that type of card in mind. I stamped the fun  background from Fun Stampers Journey, then cut the center piece out. I sponged on aqua blue ink and attached the HB circle on the acetate piece on the back. I dumped in a bunch of birthday sequins and attached the shaker front to an A2 card base. Here is another view all shook up:

I am also entering this card in the "Use a Die-Cut" challenge at Creative Card Crew.

My First Guest DT Blogpost for Scrapy Land

I am very happy to participate this week as a Guest Designer at Scrapy Land which is one of my favorite challenge blogs. The theme of this challenge is Anything Goes as long as you use at least one of the die brands Scrapy Land sells. Here is a list of the over 40 different brands Scrapy Land carries. I have chosen to use Sizzix and Impression Obsession dies on my card for this challenge.

I created the card base for this card with a Sizzix Jen Long die called Thinlits Fold-A-Long and some two sided cardstock. The front also features the Sizzix Pete Hughes Magical Butterfly and “For You” by Impression Obsession. 

This is how the card looks when the baker’s twine is untied and the card is opened. I added another Sizzix die called Graceful Flourish to the center of the fold up card.

Why don’t you pull out your favorite dies and create a card for this challenge? The prize is a $15 Scrapy Land gift certificate and you know you can find something great you want there!

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Craft Your Passion.

Die-Versions Thank You Layered Card

Hope you are having a great day! It's my turn to post a card on Die-Version's blog and mine, and I am sharing this Thank You card featuring Die-Version’s new Stitched Nesting Combo and a couple other Die-Versions dies. I die cut four layers of different sizes of the Stitched Nesting Combo dies out of a blue polka dotted cardstock. I used mounting tape to raise each layer a little higher as I attached them. Then I cut a funky stitched circle out of white cardstock and attached Die-Version’s “Thanks” out of the same polka dotted blue. I added Die-Version’s Scrolly Bow on the bottom of the card front. It is a shame to waste any of the fun stitched shapes I had cut out, so I put a few in the inside of the card to write a personal note on.

**Remember you can get a 15% discount on any of Die-Version’s 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. Also at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

School Color Crazy Bird Grad Card

I love making graduation cards in the school colors of the grad, and purple and gold are the colors of the high school my nephew is graduating from this spring. When I saw this sketch I knew I wanted to try a card using it. The center flap lifts up to reveal another oval in the center to write your message on: 

I started the  card with a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of purple cardstock. I embossed the slightly smaller gold layer with a "congrats" embossing folder by Cuttlebug. I cut two white ovals with stitched dies from My Creative Time and stamped the "hats off" sentiment from Crackerbox Palace. I stamped the Crazy Bird (from Tim Holtz) on the larger white oval and again on a patterned dp and paper pieced him. I stamped and cut out the graduation hat and diploma from Crazy Bird Things in gold and attached.

A strip of purple cardstock is attached behind the gold layer and comes down the center of the front where I attached the front oval. I decided to put a strip of cardstock behind the larger oval and slipped in a money gift for the grad. I love it when a card comes together exactly as it was designed in my head:)

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends.

Sneak Peak at Let's Create Tonic Studio Cards Inside and Out

I was so excited about my new Tonic Studios dies and some cards that I created for a Take 5 article in Scrap and Stamp Arts to be published in the fall, that I shared them with Franki of Let's Create in Wisconsin Rapids while taking one of her classes. She was so impressed with the Tonic Studio dies and Nuvo Crystal Drops, she ordered a whole bunch of them for her shop and asked me to teach a special class sharing some different ideas for using them. The cards above are the ones I am going to be teaching on April 29th at 5:00 and April 30th at 10:30. To get registered for the class, just call 715-424-1343. I can tell you even if you are a ways away from Wisconsin Rapids, the road trip will be worthwhile. Let's Create has the best selection of new dies and stamps and everything else new and crafty! I would sure love to see you at one of these classes!

For a Mom or Special Female (From the 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 For Moms or Special Females (From the Kids). Create and link any card appropriate for a Mom, and you could win one of our great prizes.

We are doing this challenge now to remind you that now is the time to make and send in cards that the kids in the hospitals we serve who are inpatient on Mother’s Day can give or send to their Mothers or Grandmothers. Having a special card for Mom or any other loved female on this day will make the child and the recipient feel special. You do not have to send in your cards to participate in our challenges, but our kids would sure love it if you did!

We have two very generous sponsors for this challenge: Sami Stamps is giving their winner a $12 gift certificate! And the winner from Dies R Us gets a $15 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.

I created an easel card for this challenge featuring the sweet "Covered in Kittens" digital stamp from Sami Stamps. We love kitties at our house so I could not resist this stamp. I printed the stamp on white cardstock and paper pieced her outfit, hair and the cute kitties. I stamped a "purrrrfect" sentiment from Tonic Studios. 

The easel top of the card is held up with a Cat's Whiskers kitty die from Tonic Studios. I cut it in brown and black, offset the two slightly and popped it up with pop dots.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

What Else Can We do with our Dies Colorful Edition

I am sharing three more cards I made with Tonic Studio's Plush Peony Entwining Trellis die set today. All three of today's colorful cards will fit into legal size envelopes.  I played with different colors of Magenta Nuance watercolor powders on the two cards above. I love the trellis look on the inside of this die and the flowers can be popped on top or cut out and then placed back in the holes the flower dies created. I used alcohol inks on glossy paper before cutting out the oval trellis on the last card I made:

I cut the  flowers out of white cardstock scraps and added different colors of Nuvo Glitter Drops while the flowers were still in the die. I added a sentiment by Dina Wakley for Ranger to complete the card.

I am entering the second card in the Anything Goes challenges at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and 613 Avenue Create.