Author Archives: kth

You Are Simply Fabulous

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My final boss’s day card – and probably my favorite.

Simply Fabulous - by karen @ carefree creations

This floral set is a PTI anniversary set (2014). I debated about getting it for months – actually the whole year it was available. I bought it at the last minute because it kept talking to me…and I love it!

Thanks for taking a peek!

You Are Simply Fabulous
Stamps: Bold Bouquet, Alphablocks, Wonderful Words (PTI);
Ink: Black, Autumn Rose, Scarlet Jewel (PTI); Crisp Canteloupe, Lost Lagoon, Honey Honey, So Saffron, Tip Top Taupe (SU); Island Indigo marker (SU); Graphite Brilliance (Tsukineko);
Paper: White, Autumn Rose Patterns (PTI);
Other: Flag Tag dies (Paper Smooches);

High Five

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High Five - by karen @ carefree creations

This is another of my boss’s day cards. This sentiment set has some fun items in it. I paired this one with a rainbow of stripes – and some glitter embossing powder! To make the sentiment stand out, I used a thin Micron marker to shadow-outline the letters.

Thanks for taking a peek!

High Five
Stamps: That Thing That You Did (SU);
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: White, Hawaiian Shores (PTI); Cameo Coral (SU); Banana Split, Sour Apple, Grape Jelly (MFT);
Other: Rainbow Stripes die (PTI); Stitched Squares die (Lil Inkers); Enchanted Gold embossing powder (Ranger);

Boss’s Day

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Today is boss’s day. I actually have 3. I’ll post my cards over the next couple of days. Here is the one for the big boss:

Boss' Herd - by karen @ carefree creations

I CASE’d this card by Natasha Zandbergen. I used the same layout and stamp set, but the colors and accents are different.

I love this stamp set – the image is just too funny!

The white panel is embossed with the same woodgrain folder that the card base has. I did it so the lines would line up.

Thanks for taking a peek!

From the Herd
Stamps: From the Herd (SU);
Ink: Black (Momento); Island Indigo (SU);
Cardstock: Kraft, White (PTI); Surf Blue (SSS);
Other: markers (Copic); Linen Thread (SU); Woodgrain embossing (SU); square die;

I’m Dirty!

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So, if you’ve been wondering what bee got into my bonnet that got me stamping more regularly again….this is it:

Current-Dirty-Girl-Blinkie

Iā€™m still a bit dazed from being asked to be in the Dirty Dozen. I joined Splitcoaststampers back in 2004 and I remember when the first Dirty Dozen was revealed – they were amazing! While I aspired to join their ranks – I am astonished to now find myself in the dirt pile! Thank you so much Lydia!

Viewing the Dirty Dozen gallery is a perk of being a Fan Club Member. I can’t show you any of my creations, but if you join, you’ll have access to all the past monthly galleries as well as the current ones. And just to tease you, here is a glimpse at one of my cards for the month:

kth_2015-10_DirtyTease

Autumn Leaves

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So last week as I was making a fruit salad, I was inspired by the colors:

Fruit Salad Inspiration

Last night I sat down to make a card from it. I decided to do the wet paper watercolor technique (again – I love that technique!). I ended up using distress inks, but I tried to stay close to the colors I chose originally.

When I was done with that, I had no idea what to do. But then I found the Fab Friday Challenge #74 – which was a perfect sketch!

Autumn Leaves - by karen @ carefree creations

I’m usually a straight layers kinda gal, so I know I would never have made this card without the sketch challenge. So happy with this card – thanks Fab Friday Challenge!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Thankful For You
Stamps: Leaf Prints (PTI); Wonderful Words: Thank You (PTI);
Ink: Aged Mahogany, Spiced Marmalade, Crushed Olive, Antique Linen distress inks (Ranger);
Cardstock: watercolor paper (Ranger); Kraft (PTI); Early Espresso, Old Olive (SU);
Other: Patterns Stack – Neutrals DSP (SU); Phrase Play 7 die (PTI); Linen Thread (SU);
Technique: wet paper watercolor;

Acorns for Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving Acorns - by karen @ carefree creations

RetroSketchesBadge

I played along with the recent Retro Sketch #185. This is an awesome sketch!

I also added in the PTI October color play. I never would have thought to stamp acorns with Terracotta if it wasn’t for this color combo!

My leaves are two-toned which I accomplished by sponging the green ink onto the orange-inked stamp.

So I originally stamped the background – but that so did NOT work! I decided instead of trashing the card base, I’d cover it up with paper. And this gave me the perfect opportunity to break out my MISTI. I bought this tool months ago but I’ve only used it one other time (and that was just because I was stamping onto watercolor paper and I wanted the assurance that I could re-stamp the images to ensure good coverage). This time, I pulled out my MISTI because I knew my sentiment would flow from the paper to the card base and I wanted it lined up perfectly. Eeeek – I am in love! This was so blasted easy and perfect!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Happy Thanksgiving
Stamps: Autumn Acorns (PTI);
Ink: Terracotta Tile, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Dark Chocolate (PTI);
Cardstock: Vintage Cream cardstock, Limeade Ice patterns, Dark Chocolate cardstock (PTI);
Other: Autumn Acorns dies (PTI); Branch with Leaves die (MFT);

Aspen Glow

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Aspen Glow - by karen @ carefree creations

Boy this card took lots of work/thought to finish.

I started with a watercolor wash background. I used some new watercolors I bought. (I wanted lots of colors without spending a ton, so I did buy a cheap set. While they may not be the best, I think they are good enough for how I will use them.) I used about 3 different colors of yellow, but it is a very mild gradient that is really only noticeable in person.

After the color wash I wanted to add a bit of sparkle so I stippled on some Twinkling H2Os. That did not work very well, so I added water to wash it all over. I did go back and splatter some but even that didn’t really work. In the end there is a great sparkly glow to most of the background (again, noticeable in person). To add a bit of contrast I did some color spritzing with dark yellow and brown markers.

With the background finally satisfactory, I moved onto the card base. I originally was going to go with yellow but I could not find one that made me happy. Since the sentiment was stamped in brown, I tried that. I definitely like that better than the yellows, but I wonder if I should have gone with white (I do a lot of white, so I was trying to do something a bit different).

I thought I was done but after I moved on to another card and was looking for inspiration for that card, I realized that some sequins would be a perfect fit on this card (I have a hard time using embellishments that don’t serve a purpose – but these I could envision as falling leaves). I chose to use yellow sequins so that they blended in with the background and are more like little surprises when you notice them.

Now, I am satisfied with this card!

I used foam sheets as my backing to the watercolor paper. I did a bit of math and it is actually cheaper to use foam paper than it is to use layers of cardstock or foam tape/squares. And since it actually mails better (see Jennifer McGuire’s post for scientific proof), it is a win-win!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Thanksgiving Wishes
Stamps: Seasonal Sentiments (SU);
Ink: Soft Suede (SU);
Cardstock: Soft Suede (SU); Watercolor paper (Ranger);
Other: Birch Tree dies (Impression Obsession); watercolor paints (Loew Cornell); Crushed Curry & Soft Suede markers (SU); Sunburst Twinkling H2Os (Luminarte); Color Spritzer tool (SU); Sequins (Neat & Tangled);
Technique: watercolor;

Happy Haunts

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Weeks ago when I was making my Halloween cards I realized that I did not have a spooky tree. This needed to be remedied! When the new set arrived, I made one more Halloween card:

Happy Haunts - by karen @ carefree creations

The background is watercolor with distress inks. I used masking liquid to create the moon. After the background was done, I did my stamping. It seemed kinda flat to me, so I used stencil and paste to add stars – I sprinkled silver glitter over the paste. For the most part it stuck to the paste, but apparently you have to be quite quick with that…one of the stars barely has any glitter. I finished it off with some silver cord.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Happy Haunts
Stamps: Spooky (Newton’s Nook);
Ink: Graphite black (Brilliance); Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, Victorian Velvet distress inks (Ranger);
Cardstock: Watercolor paper (Ranger); white (PTI);
Other: Confetti stencil (Heidi Swapp); paste; glitter; Silver Cord (SU); Molotow Masking Liquid;
Technique: watercolor;

By the Tide

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Interactive Card - by karen @ carefree creations

This card is not my best work, but it is good enough for its purpose. After I posted my interactive Halloween card, my mom wanted to know how it worked. I figured the easiest thing would be to make her a card. It just so happens I also needed to send her a check.

I decided to make the whole card be the pocket. I also didn’t want any pieces to come off/get lost after opening. I cut my card base like a normal A2 card, however, I kept the fold on the right-side. This way, once the zipper is pulled, the left piece is glued down and the right piece is still attached because of the fold.

I do have an extra visual, maybe it will help:

Interactive detail shot - by karen @ carefree creations

I did use some repositionable tape so that the check wouldn’t slide out before the card was opened. I felt comfortable doing this ONLY because my mom is a card maker…I know she’ll know how to get rid of the residue and it won’t make her go WTF.

So, one note to help you learn from my mistake: The die I used to make the zipper is long. There was no way to put it through my Big Shot without folding the card over the die (think card front, die, card back). I had a “brilliant” idea to stick my metal shim inbetween the die and the card back to keep the die from making an impression on that side of the card. That did NOT work. It ended up warping everything a bit and still making an impression. I’m not really sure there is a solution to that, except not to make a full-card interactive zipper šŸ™‚

Oh my gosh, I almost forgot! I found a guy that makes dies for some StampinUp sets!! I kept seeing folks with perfectly cut-out Octopus images and wondered about it. After only minimal sluething I found Dies by Dave. They are awesome! The dies are open in the center with the cutting edge very close to the inside edge making lining up a breeze! They are a bit pricey, but I’m completely happy with the ones I bought! The dies I used on this card “Tide” are not on his website, but if you email him, he can add you to a notification list so if he does them again, you’ll find out.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Fishy Interactive
Stamps: By the Tide, Perfect Pennants (SU);
Ink: Night of Navym Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake (SU);
Cardstock: White (SU);
Other: Tide dies (Dies by Dave);
Technique: interactive

50th Birthday

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50th Birthday - by karen @ carefree creations

My sister-in-law is turning 50 tomorrow. This is the card I created for her. I used the Cardabilities #131 sketch. As usual, I stayed close to the sketch.

I really wanted a soft, feminine card…so I chose my colors accordingly. I ended up not stamping a thing!

Thanks for taking a peek!

50
Stamps: none!
Ink: none
Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Bery Sorbet, Spring Moss (PTI); Sea Glass (SSS);
Other: Sweet Blush ribbon, By the Numbers die, Parisian Lace die, Limitless Layers Circle die (PTI); Leafy Branch die (Taylored Expressions); handmade paper (stash);