Challenges 4 Everybody and Hobby Cutz Challenges

Anything Goes at Challenges 4 Everybody and Hobby Cutz Challenges this week so I am sharing one of the cards I designed for our stamp camp this Saturday in the Wausau WI area. If you are local, there are still a few spots available if you want to join us.

I love this wedding card I made in black and white. The bride and groom stamp is by Penny Black and I stamped them on a circle cut with my nesties, then embossed and paper pieced her dress. After stamping the sentiment and attaching the circle, I added butterflies all around the circle. The white butterflies (punch  by Martha Stewart) were embossed with my favorite Cuttlebug folder and accented with black liquid pearls. The black butterflies have white liquid pearls added, and I used stickles on the flowers. This is what the inside of the card looks like:

Stamping smiles, Karen

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week

The stamp of the week this week at Repeat Impressions is this beautiful Brodie Island Light, 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.

For my card, I stamped the Brodie Island Lighthouse onto white paper, then added the sentiment and clouds before embossing the whole piece with a Stampin' Up embossing folder. I sponged some brown around the edges and images and also sponged a yellow spotlight before layering on a kraft card.

I am entering this card in the embossing challenge at Sweet Stampin’ and the Anything Goes challenge at Catch the Bug.

On another note, I wanted to let you know my friend and fellow SAS4Kids dt member Hilde is starting a new challenge blog and is looking for stampers to join her new design team. Read all about it here.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Delicious Doodles and Polkadoodles Challenges

It's March so Spring must be on the way, right? Polkadoodles wants to see our Spring Flowers this week and at Delicious Doodles they want to see yellow on our cards. I designed this card for the classes I am teaching in my home and the pastels and the greens make me think of Spring. I cut a window with a Memory Box die and embossed the white front with a Tim Holtz Sizzix embossing folder. I applied two sided sticky paper to the back on the window opening and covered the front of the opening with fine white glitter. After I removed the back sticky covering, I applied velum and colored the window from the back with bright copic markers. The bottom flowers are also cut with a Memory Box die and the sentiment is from Repeat Impressions. This year Easter is also my birthday, and we have lots to celebrate with my family, so I am really looking forward to it!

Stamping smiles, Karen

For the Boys 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 the Boys! Boys cards are the type of cards we receive the least of, especially cards for older boys, so we are challenging you to make a card for a boy and enter our challenge. You do not have to donate your card(s) after you enter our challenge, but our boys who are inpatient in one of the children's hospitals we serve would sure love it if you did. And remember we are a card only challenge- cuz that is what we are all about- cards for our kids!

We have three very generous sponsors this week: Stamping Dragon Designs is giving their winner 4 digis of their choice! And Crackerbox Palace is giving their randomly picked winner a $15 Gift Certificate! Floppy Latte’s Digital Designs winner will receive 2 digis 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 a funny frog and sentiment from Crackerbox Palace. CAS with dotted patterned paper and fun colors, but I think one of our boys will like it.

Another fun card for a boy with Stamping Dragon Design's Jiggy listening to his Ipod. I paper pieced him, cut out and  attached to a musical background with two shades of blue and some punched musical notes. 

My last card features Draco the Dragon by Glitterbabe of Floppy Latte' Digital Designs. I paper pieced him, cut him out and popped him up over a diamond cut out of a red and blue striped background over a kraft card. I like to try to find a fun sketch or design to try each time I make a card so that even CAS cards are unique.

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenges at Simon Says Stamp and Stamping Dragon Challenges.

Stamping smiles 4 our kids, Karen 

Sweet Stamps and Craft-room Challenges

The challenge this week at Craft-room Challenges is "For a Man" and at Sweet Stamps they want us to use  embossing folders, dies and stamps. I was playing with some new stamps and embossing folders I had not used yet, and came up with this CAS card for a man. I loved the detail in this bear stamp from Art Impressions and stamped him on kraft paper. The black piece was embossed with a new embossing folder from Lifestyle Crafts and I cut a circle to frame him with using my Spellbinders Nestabilities circle die. The sentiment (by My Sentiments Exactly) was framed with a punched window made with a Stampin' up punch.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Crackerbox Palace Thursday Sympathy Cards

It's Crackerbox Palace Thursday and today I am sharing two cards I made with Crackerbox Palace sympathy sentiment stamps and die cuts. You can win your choice of the stamps featured on one of these cards by leaving a comment at either blog. The simple requirements for a chance at winning are below and now you have even more choices of what you can win!

But first- the winner of last Thursday’s blog candy is                                                     Leanne! Here is her winning comment from my blog: “Really love Vicky's card.”

Leanne, please email me or Crackerbox Palace your address and your choice of which stamps you want (see your options below), so we can get you the stamps you have won.

The first card I am sharing today is my favorite card I have designed lately. It features a  beautiful sympathy sentiment that is perfect for saying just the right thing after a loss. The feather die cut is from QuicKutz and after cutting out the feather, I embossed it with a Sizzix embossing folder. I attached a Clear View Transparency (from the Mark-it Place) behind the feather opening. The feather under the sentiment is another beautiful stamp from Crackerbox Palace which I stamped on patterned paper and cut out. I was inspired to make this card by this card I found on Pinterest. 

My second card features another perfect sympathy sentiment, this time embossed in white over a background made with alcohol inks on glossy paper. The park bench die is from Memory Box and I added a punched heart to symbolize the love that remains in our hearts for the departed.

So would you like to win the stamps featured on one of today’s cards or your choice of another CBP stamp? Here is how to win our weekly blog candy:

Vicky or Karen will post a card or two every Thursday on both blogs. All you need to do is to leave a comment on either blog and if you leave a comment on both blogs you will have a double chance to win. We hope you also want to 'follow' the blogs. The following Wednesday a name will be picked at random and the winner will receive:

The featured stamps that we used in one of the cards that were posted,
OR you can pick out a stamp that is worth up to $10.00 and email us your choice
OR Vicky will email you a coupon code so you can go shopping at Crackerbox Palace store for your choice of the stamp(s) you would like with a $10.00 coupon.

For a Bonus: if you use the blog candy stamps and post it on your blog, Splitcoast or somewhere else you will be able to choose another free stamp. So make sure you check out one of our blogs on Thursday! The winner will have 2 weeks to contact Karen or Vicky.

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenges at Through the Craftroom Door and Party Time Tuesday. 

Crackerbox Palace smiles, Karen

Designer's Choice Challenge at Repeat Impressions

It’s another Designer’s Choice Challenge at The House that Stamps Built, Repeat Impression’s blog. It’s Cheri’s turn and she is challenging us to use the colors black, white and red on our cards.  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. 

The minute I saw this week’s challenge and this week’s Stamp of the Week, I knew I wanted to pair them up with this sweet panda opening a present. They fit perfectly and you can get the lovely sentiment for 50% off all week- visit the blog to find out how! The color combo is one of my favorites and it was perfect for this CAS card.

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

Stamping smiles, Karen