A New Adventure

Happy Day!  Today I'm making my way to Perth, Australia and it's always exciting to travel to a place I've never been before, kinda like a new adventure in life.

Recently, I bought some stamps from There She Goes, and I love this sentiment on the set "Dream A New Dream"  - that one is never too old to seek a new goal in life.  It's a perfect reminder and encouragement for me as I move to a new place.

Just a CAS card.  The image of the girl on ice, from Claire Keay is not new,  I coloured it a long time ago when I was learning how to colour reflection on ice using Copic Markers.  It certainly was a treasure found when I was packing up my craft supplies ;)

Hope you like it!

Have a fabulous day!
Kary

Inspired Stamps - Flip Card

I have a fun card to share for today's Inspired Stamps project.  I've seen quite a number of flip cards recently and dies which make the work easy to create these fun interactive cards.  I don't have the dies, but I managed to figure it out (after 2 failed attempts! LOL!).  I wish I had taken a video of how to make them, but I hope with the photos you'll have a good idea.

Note the Z fold of the base cardstock.

My card measures 5 x 5.5" when closed.  I used the Inspired Stamps set His Word, and stamped the Bible image on a piece of white cardstock cut using the same die as the centre panel.  The image was coloured with Copic Markers - Bible (E21, E11, E13, E15), Pencils (E000, C1, Y35, Y38), Pencil holder (G20, G21, G24), Notebook (R20, R22, R30).  The pink outline piece was cut with two sizes of the same die - I just lay both dies on the pink cardstock and pass them through the Big Shot.

The centre panel moves when the card is standing upright.

When you pull the left and right edges of the card, the centre panel flips to the other side which has the lamp and the verse from Psalms 119.

The lamp was coloured with the following markers - Candle (R20, R22, R30), Flame (Y35, Y38), Holder (RV13, RV14, RV17).   Here's how the card looks when it is opened flat:

For those of you who might be keen to try this, here's a sketch of how I cut the centre panel and folded the card.  The dotted lines are score lines and the bold lines are the cut lines.  You can use any shaped die to cut the centre panel, and the trick is to cut part of the die leaving a 1" section un-cut.

I hope you like this idea, and if you make one be sure to let me know - I'd love to see it.

Please head over to the Inspired Stamps Blog to see the rest of the projects the Design Team is sharing today.

Thank you for visiting me.
Kary


Products used : Inspired Stamps "His Word", Memento Espresso Truffle, Copic Markers, Sizzix Framelits Labels Fancy die, MFT Solid Bracket border die-namics, Sakura White gel pen, Hero Arts layering paper Carnation, Pink Paislee Nantucket 6x6 pad.

Unity Friends with Flair (22.06.2012)

Hello Friends!  Happy Friday, and I'm so glad you stopped by today.  My card uses the Unity Phyllis Harris stamp set Lean On Me.

I stamped the image on white cardstock and coloured just the girl and her cat, and fussy cut it.  Then I stamped the same image again on patterned paper and adhered the girl and cat image, and cut out the chair. To add a little interest, I did some shading on the chair, using some gray markers. Here's the card:

I hope you like the simple layout of this card.  If you are a fan of Phyllis Harris, you can check out all her Awesome Unity stamps here, and her Etsy shop as well.  She has some Awesome prints at her Etsy shop for sale, and one of my favourites is this - http://www.etsy.com/listing/102646447/childrens-wall-art-prints-set-of-three.

Thank you for stopping by.  Be sure to check out the Unity blog for all the Fabulous Friends with Flair projects today.

Have a Wonderful day!
Kary

Products used : Unity Phyllis Harris stamp Lean On Me, Memento Espresso Truffle, Copic Markers, Echo Park Victoria Gardens 6x6 pad, Neenah Solar White cardstock, Hero Arts Layering Paper Lilac.

Inspired Stamps - Easel Card

Welcome to Thursday with Inspired Stamps!  This week the DT is focussing on Easel cards with Scripture.  I must admit, I've not tried making fancy Easel cards, so I'm sharing just a basic one today with a slightly fancy front panel.

Here's the front of the card.  The size of the easel card base measures 3-7/8 x 3-7/8 when folded, which is determined by the fancy front panel and mine is a Nesting Doily square die-cut.  To decorate the front panel, I adhered a piece of printed vellum.  The Scripture sentiment is from the "Fall Gratitude" set, adhered just below the flower.  The flower image is from mini stamp set "Flowers" and I did some quick colouring with Copic Markers (Flower centre - Y35, Y38 & Petals - Y11, Y21).  The flower was adhered on top of a Rosette medallion.

On the inside of the card, I cut a rectangular piece using a Nesting Doily rectangle die.  I adhered it to the card using pop dots, and I stamped the Thank You sentiment from Perfect Sentiments set and the Rectangle frame from Label Maker Alphabet set.  The Rectangle frame outline was coloured using Y35 & Y38.

I hope you like the card.  Be sure to check out the Inspired Stamps Blog for the DT's awesome creations.

Thank you for visiting today.

Have a Lovely day!
Kary

Products used : Inspired Stamps Flowers, Fall Gratitude, Perfect Sentiments, Label Maker Alphabet. Memento Rich Cocoa & Espresso Truffle, Copic Markers, QuicKutz Nesting Doily Squares and Rectangles, Memory Box Woodrow Rosette, Vellum from Webster's Pages, Hero Arts Layering Papers - Eggshell.

L'il Space Cadet

Hello Friends!  Welcome to the Waltzing Mouse Stamps Blog Party for June!  I hope you'll join us, as there's always great projects and awesome inspiration from everyone participating.

This month, the Blog Party theme is "Inspire Me".  We were given this Beautiful Inspirational photo and colour combo to work with.

I love the colours, and the panels on the wall.  I was wishing I had some cherry blossoms and vases ;-) to replicate the gorgeous image on a card.  My end result was nothing like the photo but I hope you can see the inspiration I drew from it.

The focal image was from Half-Pint Heroes and I also used the grid pattern from Off Beat Backgrounds on the embossed background.  The little Space scene was coloured with Copic Markers - Spaceship (BG11, BG53, BG57, BG07, C1, C3, C5, C7), Space Cadet (E000,E02, E11 & Y11, Y00), Moon & Stars (Y11, Y08, Y35, Y38).  

For the background piece, I stamped the grid pattern using Versamark Dazzle Champagne, dusted some Perfect Pearls and misted some water to set it.  When dry, I embossed it with the Dot Matrix texture fades folder for some texture and interest.

Here's another look at the card:

When this blog post goes live, I'm officially on a creative break until I settle in in my new home in Australia.  It's going to feel really odd as I've been stamping and colouring almost daily for so long, even if I don't produce any cards.  I don't know how I'm going to cope with a withdrawal... LOL! 

Thank you for visiting me, and till the next time...

Wishing you a Fabulous day and Party!

Kary

Products used : Waltzing Mouse Stamps Half-Pint Heroes and Off Beat Backgrounds,  Memento Espresso Truffle, Versamark Dazzle Champagne, Copic Markers, Hero Arts Layering papers Pool set, May Arts Twill Chevron ribbons, Tim Holtz Texture Fades Dot Matrix, Perfect Pearls, buttons.

My Little Lady

Wow, my third post for today!  It's like a mad dash to make all the cards before packing up the craft supplies happens.  I just can't miss my favourite Waltzing Mouse sketch challenge, and use my favourite set once again - Half-Pint Heroines.

I gave Little Lady a pink dress with matching shoes, complete with pearls and the Eiffel tower of course.  She was coloured with Copic Markers - Face E000, E02, E11, R20; Dress & Shoes R20, RV00, RV21, RV23, RV25; Hair E21, E25, E99; Bunny R20, E02, E000.  The Labels Twenty Five was stamped using Memento Love Letter (love this gorgeous red) and cut and embossed with the matching Spellbinders' die. The round image from Florentine Frippery was a second generation stamping using Memento Rose Bud and cut out.

The card follows the fabulous sketch by Edna Morissedie:

Thanks for visiting me.  

Have a wonderful weekend & Take care!

Kary

Products used : Waltzing Mouse stamps Half-Pint Heroines, Vintage Labels 25 & Florentine Frippery, Memento Love Letter, Rich Cocoa, Rose Bud & Espresso Truffle, PTI cardstock Pure Poppy & Berry Sorbet, Neenah Solar White cardstock, My Mind's Eye Love Me 6x6 pad, Spellbinders M-bossabilities Mystic, Labels 25 die, MFT Eiffel Tower Die-namics, Zva Creative pearls.

Home...

I'm loving the new Flourishes stamps release, and I couldn't wait to play along in the Noon Time challenge.  This challenge is "Pop It", simple, just pop up any section you like on your creation.

I used the image from On The Porch stamp set, and I popped up a few items.  It's really hard to photograph the popped up sections but hopefully you can see it. Just click on the image for a better view.

I popped up the cushion, the book and some of the leaves of the pot plant.  I added thicker foam adhesive in the centre of the cushion so it has bit more dimension.  This was a really lovely image to colour, and I used the following Copic Markers - Chair E11, E13, E15; Throw B41, B32, B34, B37; Cushion YR00, YR12, YR15, YR18; Book B32, B34, B37, E13, E11; Pot E93, E95, E97 and Leaves G20, G21, G24.

And, here's the card:

Thank you for visiting me.

Wishing you a wonderful Friday!

Kary

Products used : Flourishes Stamp set On the Porch, Memento Espresso Truffle & Nautical Blue, Copic Markers, Hero Arts Layering papers Poppy & Powder,  Echo Park Times & Seasons 6x6 pad

Unity Friends with Flair (15.06.2012)

Hello!  Hope you are having a great day.  It's time for some Unity Friends with Flair inspiration, and I hope you'll hop along with me.

Since it's Father's Day this weekend, a friend asked if I could make a card for her.  I pulled out my very first Unity KOM, February 2010 (which is now retired) - that kit has some great sentiments for Dads.  I selected my favourite sentiment and the 2 little cute birds for this card:

The birds are coloured with Copic Markers (RV93, RV95, R56, R59 and BG11, E23, R56, YG63, BG70 BG72 & outline BG10).  The tree is a die-cut and coloured with Copic Markers (E23, E25, E27, YG61, YG63, YG67).

On the inside, I left it really simple for writing in the message, and used another sentiment from the same KOM.

This weekend, I have to pack up my craft supplies - I've been putting it off but I think it's time.  I'm getting ready for a move - am heading back to work after a long break, and in a new country.  So, it's all very exciting!  Although I won't be making cards for awhile, I'll still be around to follow your creations each week.  Wish me luck!

Thank you for visiting me today.  I truly value your kind comments each week, and your support has made all the difference, more than words can express.  It encourages me to be a better cardmaker and I am also inspired by your creative work.  Throughout the next few weeks, I'll still be posting some cards every now and then, which I've made ahead of time.  I hope you'll like them.

Take care!  Till the next time...stay well.
Kary

Products used : Unity KOM February 2010, Memento Espresso Truffle, Desert Sand and Rich Cocoa, Copic Markers, Echo Park Times & Seasons 6x6 pad, Memory Box Arboscello Tree and MFT Skyline border, Doodlebug Baker's Twine.

Inspired Stamps - Heartfelt Sympathy

This week's Inspired Stamps inspiration is DT choice.  I hardly make sympathy cards. According to the local Chinese culture, it is customary to give "White Gold" to the family of the person who passed away.  "White Gold" is a packet which contains a token sum of money and is generally given before the funeral.  However, when one can't be present, sending a card seems appropriate.

On my card, I used the floral image from Be Still Silhouettes and sentiment from Perfect Sentiments.  The card measures 7-1/4" x 3-5/8" - I folded a piece of white cardstock in half and cut it with a semi-circle reflections die.  Before stamping, I masked off the edges of the cardstock with removeable tape.  Then, I placed the silhouette stamp on a clear block and shaped the stamp to match the circular card. The image was stamped with Memento Pistachio ink, starting from the left of the card.  I discovered the large flower would cover up where I wanted to place the sentiment, so I didn't ink it when stamping it for the second and third time.  To finish off the card, I added some pearls along the edges as shown.

I hope you like this idea and the shaped card.  Please visit the Inspired Stamps blog to see the fabulous inspiration the Design Team has in store today.

Thanks for visiting me.
Kary

Products used :  Inspired Stamps sets Be Still Silhouettes & Perfect Sentiments, Neenah Solar White cardstock, Cheery Lynn Designs Reflections Boutique Mega Die - Scalloped Circle, Memento Pistachio & Rich Cocoa, Viva Decor Pearl Pen - Bronze.

Thanks A Bunch

Do you ever make 10 minutes cards?  It's a fun process and I've got to admit it's been too long since I made such quick cards.  Want to play along?  It's the June Flourishes Release Week Challenge and details can be found here.

I found a piece of patterned paper which I had already cut the sides with a chevron die.  It was perfect, I trimmed the length to fit my standard sized card, and stamped the flowers from Flourishes "With Gratitude" set.  The stamped image looked sort of flat, and so I added some colours with Prismacolor pencils to bring out the flowers.  No fancy shading, just really quick bits of colouring.  I punched some holes along the edges of the patterned paper using a screwpunch, and adhered the patterned paper to a piece of embossed cardstock.  The sentiment piece was a section of the patterned paper which I had trimmed off.  To finish off the card, I added a little button with twine, and the card is done!

Thanks for visiting today.

Kary

Products used : Flourishes Stamp set "With Gratitude", Memento Espresso Truffle, Prismacolor Lightfast pencils, Glitz Happy Travels 6x6 pad, Embossing folder, Red button and May Arts Brown twine.

Poppies

Just recently, I ordered some stamps from There She Goes simply because they have the most gorgeous Poppies stamp set.  So, happy mail arrived and I just had to ink the poppies, and was quite happy with the result.  Here's my card, with a simple layout:

I used Copic Markers to colour all the images - Poppies (R20, R22, R24, R39), Flower centre (YR18, YR00, E79), Stems and Seeds (YG93, G94, G99, G20, YG01Colourless blender), Butterflies (BG32, YG93) and Outline (BG10).

I'm playing along in the Crafty Friends Challenge #5, and the theme for this challenge is Flowers.  An easy challenge to play along, isn't it?

Thanks for visiting me.

Have a Beautiful day!
Kary

Products used : There She Goes "Poppies" stamp set, Neenah Solar white cardstock, PTI Pure Poppy cardstock, Copic markers, Memento Espresso Truffle.

Unity Friends with Flair (08.06.2012)

Happy Friday!!  So glad to be sharing another Unity project with all the Friends with Flair today.  Just a simple card, using the Unity Jillibean Neopolitan Bisque Soup set.  Love everything telephone, and this is a really cute set.

Here's my card:

I decided to make a little collage of patterned papers and did some sewing.  The telephone image and the sentiment "Got time to chat?" were stamped with the new Memento Morocco - love this colour, it goes so well with the patterned papers.  The word Hello was stamped using Memento Espresso Truffle.  A really quick card to put together.

Be sure to check out all the wonderful projects and ideas from the Unity peeps participating today.

Thanks for visiting me.

Take care!

Kary

Products used : Unity Jillibean Stamp set " Neopolitan Bisque Soup", Memento Morocco and Espresso Truffle, Cosmo Cricket 2wenty Thr3e 6x6 pad, Hero Arts Layering paper Carnation, Whimsy Stamps Notables 2  Die.

  

Inspired Stamps - Red, White and Blue

It's time for another Thursday Inspired Stamps project.  This week, it's a colour theme - Red, White and Blue. I decided to go for a simple design with a Scripture Sentiment as the focal image.

On my card, I used the Scripture sentiment from the stamp set Inspired Stampers Favorite Collection #2.  On a piece of white cardstock (3.75 x 5") I sponged some light blue ink using a scalloped border as template, to create the clouds.  Then I stamped the sentiment with a darker blue ink.  The white cardstock was adhered to the red cardstock (4 x 5.25") and I did some stitching around the edges.  To finish off the card, I added some sheer blue ribbon and a rose trim. 


Thank you for visiting today.  Be sure to check out the Inspired Stamps blog for more inspiration from the Design Team.


Have a great day!
Kary


Products used : Inspired Stamps Favorite Collection #2, Hero Arts Layering Paper Punch, Neenah Solar White cardstock, Sheer ribbon and rose trim, Memento Summer Sky and Nautical Blue.

Heartfelt Thanks

Hi Friends!  I can't believe we're into the second week of June.  Soon, it's time to pack up all my craft supplies for a big move (more about that when time draws near {smiles}).  But, before that, I shall try to make as many cards as I can...

This week's Timeless Tuesday #172, Amanda challenged us to create a White Card with Lace, and/or Pearls.  I can't recall the last time I made a white card.  My card uses the new Flourishes' Hydrangea set.  I love this set, and Hydrangea is mum's favourite flower.  She has a chinese name for them which I can never recall, and one time when we were visiting Tasmania, she made me take so many photos of them.

I used Prismacolor pencils, as I wanted a soft image and it was easier for me to use colour pencils.  I can't ever recall seeing a white hydrangea before and had to google for images to see how they look in real life.  My sister has some hydrangeas in her garden, and she said hydrangea colours are affected by soil acidity.  That is a piece of trivia I never knew!  I apologise for the photo, I just couldn't catch the light for a better shot.

I'm also submitting this card to the Simon Says Challenge - Show Some Texture.
Thank you for visiting me today.

Hope your day is lovely.
Kary

Products used : Flourishes Stamp set Hydrangea, Memento Rich Cocoa & Espresso Truffle, Prismacolor Lightfast Color Pencils, Spellbinders Scalloped Edge Frame, Embossing plate, Embossing folder (border), White Lace & Pearls.

Sweet Birthday Wishes

Hello Friends!  Hope you are having a lovely weekend!  It was far too hot here to do much, but I did get round to make a few cards. One of the cards was for my favourite challenge - Waltzing Mouse Stamps Sketch #100!

When I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to use the rose from the Roses in Bloom set - I had in mind a romantic birthday card, not sure why ;-)  Do let me know what you think, if it worked out.

I stamped the rose on white cardstock, masked it to stamp the second rose image.  Then I masked both the roses to stamp the large leaf as shown. The images were coloured with Copic Markers and fussy cut out.  The third rose was stamped on another piece of white cardstock.  After colouring the image, I fussy cut (lots of cutting..here) and adhered it to the first piece using pop dots.  The Copic Markers I used are : Roses (R02, YR00, YR0000, YR30) and Leaves (G40, G43, G46).

The cardbase (linen cardstock) was cut using Grand Rectangles and embossed.  On the patterned paper just above the cardbase, I adhered some chevron die-cuts (horizontally) and two crinkled ribbons in maroon and green (vertically), with a strip of die-cut in between them. For the Oval piece, I used the Floral Oval die - cut once with a maroon shimmer cardstock and again with a peach shimmer cardstock.  The centre piece of the maroon oval diecut was cut out along the tiny pierced border.  Using the Petite Ovals, I cut two sizes, one with the linen cardstock and another with the Cryogen (shimmer) white cardstock.  The Cryogen piece was sponged using Memento Peanut Brittle first before adhering the roses image on it. What a lot of layers huh.

The sentiment was from Compact Sentiments set, stamped with Versafine Onyx Black and cut and embossed with Petite Oval die.  To finish off the card, I die cut a butterfly and adhered it just above the roses.

Here's another look at the card :

This week's Waltzing Mouse sketch is Special as it's their 100th Sketch celebration.  There will be more lucky winners if more people participate in the challenge.  For every 50 participants, there will be an extra lucky prize for grabs.  And, to top it off, a lucky person will be chosen to be the Guest Mischief Maker for a month!  So, if you have never joined the challenge, it's a great time to do so.  I look forward to see your creation!

Thank you for visiting me.

Have a great day!
Kary

Products used : Waltzing Mouse Stamps sets Roses in Bloom and Compact Sentiments, Memento Rich Cocoa & Peanut Brittle, Copic Markers, Spellbinders Grand Rectangles, Floral Ovals, Petite Ovals, Memory Box Vivienne Butterfly die, My Favorite Things Solid Bracket border die-namics and Chevron Stripes die-namics, Crinkled ribbons - Maroon and Green, PTI Linen cardstock, Cryogen cardstock, Neenah Solar White cardstock, Maroon & Peach Shimmer cardstock, Webster's Pages Sweet Season 6x6 pad.

Just Breathe

This is a card I made sometime ago just for fun, because I needed to take a break.  I just want to be this girl embracing the world with happy thoughts, gazing at the sky and not worrying about getting dirt on her dress.

It's not the best of designs, after a tiring day... and all I could think of was pink!  Haa....  I'm sorry I can't recall the Copics I've used on this card as I didn't note it down.  The girl image is from Just Breathe set, and the patterned papers from Authentique's 6x6 pad, Uncommon.

Please visit the Unity blog for some Wonderful inspiration and eye candy from all the Friends with Flair participants today.

Thanks for visiting me, and for taking the time to leave me a comment - they always make me smile.
Kary

Products used : Unity stamp Just Breathe by Phyllis Harris, Memento Rich Cocoa & Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers, Distress Ink Tumbled Glass, Neenah Solar White cardstock, Hero Arts Layering Paper Carnation, Authentique Uncommon 6x6 pad, MFT Die-namics Upsy Daisy, Spellbinders Classic Edges Two and Classic Decorative Inserts Six, Pearl from Zva Creative.