Anything Goes at Repeat Impressions

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's time for another fun challenge at Repeat Impressions. If there is a 5^th Wednesday in the month, the challenge is my favorite: Anything Goes! Make any card 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 belong to a local stamp club and we have a sketch/theme challenge each month. Last month the theme was Asian inspired cards and the sketch was the one I used to make this card. I started with my beloved Brusho Crystal Colors (now sold at Repeat Impressions) sprinkled on watercolor paper and spritzed with iridescent gold shimmer spray. I stamped RI’s Chinese Calligraphy Background and sponged the edges of the smaller Brusho background with black ink. I stamped RI’s fan twice on a diagonal piece and colored the flowers, then attached that piece to another Brusho piece. I stamped Dream Calligraphy on a orange square diagonally. Then I die cut it out with RI’s scalloped square die, layered it on a black scalloped square and attached with pop dots.

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

**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!**

Grateful for Fall and Napkin Cards

I have been having so much fun since re-discovering how to attach napkins to cardstock to use for beautiful cards. We had a napkin exchange at our local stamp club and this was one of the gorgeous fall napkins I received. Here is a link to a video on how to attach the napkin with cling wrap and an iron.  I created a larger card with this napkin because it was just too pretty to cut too much of it off. I die cut "Grateful" from Penny Black out of another piece of the napkin on cardstock, layered it on another "grateful" cut out of white fun foam for great dimension and attached. I also die cut a pretty butterfly (Sizzix), added some sparkle to the tips with glitter paste from BoBunny and attached.

Today I am writing up an article on this technique as well as adding embossing and glitter to the napkin backgrounds. The article will be published next spring in Scrap and Stamp Arts.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Lil Patch of Crafty Friends and Amusing Challenge.

Guest Artist Cards

This week I had the honor of demonstrating some of my favorite card techniques at a local art association meeting. One of the organizers of the demonstration thrilled me by sharing the two pictures above of a Polish chicken she created with pastels on sanded paper. The name of the artist is Tamara Martin of Mosinee and I am in awe of her talent! I created a couple cards with her pictures. The first one above started with a background I made with orange, terracotta and gamboge Brushos sprinkled on watercolor paper and spritzed with iridescent gold Glimmer Mist. When it was dry, I embossed the watercolor piece with an embossing folder from WeR Memory Keepers. All I needed to do then was attach the gorgeous picture. That is really all I did on the second card too- round the corners and attach the picture to a red Core'dinations cardbase. I die cut the "celebrate" from Cheery Lynn Designs out of the same cardstock and attached.

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenges at Crafting with Dragonflies  and 613 Avenue Create.

Holiday Bows Merry Christmas Card

I am trying so hard to resist buying more stamps or dies because I have so many I have not even used yet. But when I saw this new Christmas bows stamp/die set from The Ton and the Merry Christmas die from Die-Versions, I knew there was no resisting- they just had to come and live here in my craft room with me:) The bows are two step stamps and they are so realistic looking you swear they are two dimensional. I used my MISTI to line them up and made a red, blue and green bow in the different sizes. I cut two negative bow shapes out of a white piece with the matching bow dies from The Ton, attached a gold washi tape strip, and then embossed with a Sizzix snowflake embossing folder. I popped that piece up with pop dots and put the red and blue bows on the cardbase showing through the die cut bow shapes. I die cut Die-Version's Merry Christmas, attached it and added a popped up small green bow to complete the cheery Christmas card.

I am entering this card in the No DP challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and the "Lots of Texture or Layers" challenge at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long. 

Deep Impressions and Color Burst for a Friend

A dear friend had surgery this week and I wanted to send a card to let her know I was thinking of her and sending positive thoughts her way. So I designed this card especially for her. The leaves are created with Stampendous dies, stamps and embossing powders using the Deep Impressions technique (melting layers of embossing powder and then stamping in them while molten.) The colorful strip was done with masking the white parts and sprinkling Color Burst powders, then spritzing with glimmer mist. I am loving the new deeper colors of Color Burst and used Merlot and orange on this colorful strip. I die cut "friend" with a die from Tim Holtz and dotted the i with a black gem.

I am entering this card in the No DP challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and the Anything Goes challenge at Crafty Girls Creations. 

Celebrating Fall with Die-Versions Dies

Fall is my favorite season! I love the cooler temperatures, beautiful colors and football! I am having so much fun with my gorgeous new dies from Die-Versions that I could not stop at just one fall card. My first card above features the lovely “Patterned Pumpkin” die from Die-Versions. I die cut it out of polka-dotted orange and green paper and also out of black fun foam. I layered them together for great dimension. I stamped the background piece with a Stampendous background stamp called “Dream Text” with brown ink. Then I embossed the piece with a swirly leaf embossing folder from Darice. I sponged on some Wild Honey Distress Ink and attached to a brown card base. I attached the pumpkin and also the “Friends” die cut from Die-Versions.

My second card features two smaller fall dies from the Wee Petites collection. I die cut the two maple leaves and a pumpkin out of chipboard.  I melted several layers of embossing powders from Stampendous and Stampamania on the leaves and pumpkin, and then stamped each with a rubber stamp while the embossing powders were still molten. I embossed a gold and green cardbase with a fall words embossing folder from Sizzix, and attached the colorful leaves and pumpkin.

**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 the first pumpkin card in the challenge at Scrapy Land to use a stamp and a die from one of those they sell. I, of course, used Die-Versions dies. I am also entering the 2^nd card in the challenge at Simon Says Stamp to use NO designer paper.

Hunka Hunka Elvis Shaker Card

Today I am sharing a card I made with Crackerbox Palace’s awesome stamps and Color Burst brilliant colored crystals which are available from Crackerbox Palace. The minute I saw CBP’s Elvis stamp, I knew I wanted to make a card that said “Hunka Hunka Burning Love” and had some flames on it. I asked John to design those stamps for me and this card is the result. Customized stamps are a big part of what Crackerbox Palace can do for you. You can contact CBP via phone or email and chances are, they can make a customized stamp out of any idea you might have. If you like Elvis, this song and the flames, you can order any of them by contacting Crackerbox Palace directly.

I started this card with a piece of watercolor paper and sprinkled Merlot, Lemon Yellow and Orange Color Burst powders on, then spritzed with water. After it was dry, I cut the frame out with a Spellbinders die. I stamped the flames on the top of the open frame and applied gold and copper glitter paste from BoBunny. I stamped Elvis and cut him out. I also stamped the juke box and the “hunka hunka burning love” on the white card base. I created a shaker card with two layers of mounting tape and dumped in a bunch of sequins and beads. After attaching card front, the beads and sequins move around and shake, rattle and roll as this picture shows:

I am going to share this card in the workshops we have coming up on October 18^th and 19^th featuring Color Burst and Deep Impressions techniques. If you are local, we have openings yet in the Monday sessions. Email me via the contact feature on the side of my blog if you are interested in attending.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Through the Craft Room Door and 613 Avenue Create, and the No DP challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wed. Challenge.