Author Archives: kth

CASology – New Year’s Branch

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There is still time to play along with the CASology challenge – BRANCH; it is an extended deadline!

I thought I’d post some more inspiration for you:

Bird Greets the New Year | by karen h @ carefree creations

I created this card based on an illustration I found searching the internet for ideas. I loved the colors and the inclusion of a bird for new years.

The hardest thing about making this was getting the bird colored! The stamp is a 2-step image so I had to do LOTS of selective inking and masking. And it took 4 tries to get it to this (not perfect, but after four tries, it was good enough).

I hope you join us at CASology- the challenge doesn’t end until Monday, January 6!

happy new year
Stamps: Winter Woods, Keep it Simple-New Year (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Watermelon, Blueberry (Stampin’Up – SU); Smoke (Simon Says Stamp); Sno Cone (My Favorite Things);
Paper: Watermelon, Crumb Cake (SU); Rustic White (PTI);
Other: Winter Woods die, Herb Garden stencil (PTI); Twig & Berries die (Memory Box);

CASology – Christmas Branch

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There is still time to play along with the CASology challenge – BRANCH; it is an extended deadline!

I thought I’d post some more inspiration for you:

Christmas Branch | by karen h @ carefree creations

Since my previous Branch card was autumn, I thought I’d do a Christmas one this time around.

The style of the ornament is a bit retro, so I chose to do retro coloring.

There is lots of extra time to play this cue, so check back again next week when I’ll have more inspiration from this challenge!

I hope you join us at CASology!

Deck the Halls
Stamps: What the Doodle (Papertrey Ink);
Ink: Black (Memento); markers (Copic);
Paper: White, Vintage Jadeite (Papertrey Ink);
Other: Stitched Rectangle dies (Lil Inkers);

CASology – Branch

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It is time for a new CASology challenge. Check out the latest challenge – BRANCH!

Here is my take:

Thankful | by karen h @ carefree creations

I decided to use autumn colors for this card. I kept my stamping to the top 1/3 of the card leaving lots of white space.

Check back next week when I’ll have more inspiration from this challenge!

I hope you join us at CASology – and, for more inspiration, check out the other design team members:

Deidre Payne
Jacquie Southas
Janet Ribet **Sadly this is her last week with us – make sure you leave her some love!!
Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Melissa Chipperfield
Milka Gubo
Nancy Elrick
Sue Symens

Thanks for stopping by!

thankful
Stamps: Beautiful Berries – Autumn (Papertrey Ink);
Ink: Espresso, Firebrick, Evergreen (Altenew); Hello Honey (StampinUp);
Paper: Rustic Cream (PTI);

CASology – Gingerbread, part 2

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There is still time to play along with the CASology challenge – GINGERBREAD!

I thought I’d post some more inspiration for you:

Gingerbread Folk | by karen h @ carefree creations

I’m using the same set as last week’s card. This time I went one-layer.

Knowing I was going to Copic color on a one-layer, I used the heavy weight white from GinaK (and didn’t do any real shading or blending) – for no bleed through to the inside.

I hope you join us at CASology – and, for more inspiration, check out the other design team members:

Thanks for stopping by!

have a sweet christams
Stamps: Sweet Christmas (Lawn Fawn);
Ink: Black (Memento); markers (Copic);
Paper: Heavy Weight White (GinaK);
Other: Stitched Rectangle die (Lil Inkers);

CC&S #351 – ‘Tis the Season

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It is time for another CAS Colours & Sketches challenge. Check out the latest challenge:

This is our final challenge of the year – and like years past the idea is to use a challenge from this past year and make a seasonal card. Here is my take:

Tis the Season | by karen h @ carefree creations

I went back to the end of July for a double challenge #332.

There were a few holiday entries for that challenge and it inspired me to use it for this challenge.

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: This weekly challenge is posted on Tuesday, and alternates between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

‘Tis the Season
Stamps: Holiday Greens, Holiday Lights (Papertrey Ink – PTI); Candy Stripes Background (My Favorite Things);
Ink: Pistachio Pudding, Primrose Petals, Emerald Envy (Stampin’Up); Espresso (Altenew);
Paper: Pistachio Pudding (SU); Vintage Cream (PTI);
Other: Holiday Greens die (PTI);

CASology – Gingerbread

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It is time for a new CASology challenge. Check out the latest challenge – GINGERBREAD!

Here is my take:

Gingerbread House | by karen h @ carefree creations

I wanted a colourful card. That is hard when the cue is gingerbread 🙂

The house is made from lots of layers. The house itself is one layer. The gumdrops are another layer, and the roof is a third. The door is also a layer, but you can’t tell and I’m not sure it was worth doing.

The gumdrop roof was stamped onto white so I could color with Copics; it was then covered with Stickles. The icing on the roof is the Wow puff embossing powder.

The door is outlined with Stampin’Up’s puff paint. The candy on the house is covered with the glitter Crystal Effects.

I hope you join us at CASology – and, for more inspiration, check out the other design team members:

Thanks for stopping by!

have a sweet christams
Stamps: Sweet Christmas (Lawn Fawn);
Ink: Black (Memento); markers (Copic); Primrose Petals (SU); Autumn Blaze (Altenew);
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Seaside Spray, Peekaboo Peach (Stampin’Up – SU); White (Papertrey Ink);
Other: White Puff embossing powder (Wow); Puff Paint (SU); Rock Candy Stickles (Ranger); Glitter Crystal Effects (SU); Dotted Details die (Mama Elephant); tiny silver ball embellishment (stash)

CC&S #350 – Holly Days

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It is time for another CAS Colours & Sketches challenge. And this is a celebration – the challenge is 7 years old! Check out the latest challenge (there’re prizes):

And here is my take:

Holly Decorations | by karen h @ carefree creations

When I saw these colors I knew right away what I wanted to stamp. I love the beaded garland in this stamp set!

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: This weekly challenge is posted on Tuesday, and alternates between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

happy holly days
Stamps: Holly Jolly (Paper Smooches – PS);
Ink: Shaded Spruce (Stampin’Up – SU); Versamark (Tsukineko);
Paper: Cherry Cobbler (SU); White (Papertrey Ink);
Other: gold embossing (Simon Says Stamp); Stitched Rectangle die (Lil Inkers); Bows die (PS);

CC&S #349 – Fill the Season with Happiness

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So I had more fun with the the latest CAS Colours & Sketches challenge:

And here is my take:

Fill the Season with Happiness | by karen h @ carefree creations

This time I pulled out a set I got just before it retired last year (and, um, hadn’t inked yet). I knew the colors I wanted for the foliage and that I wanted a gold frame, but I’m not too sure about the yellow for the frame panel, but done is done 🙂

There is still time to play along with us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: This weekly challenge is posted on Tuesday, and alternates between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

Fill the Season with Happiness
Stamps: Peaceful Noel (Stampin’Up – SU); Fillable Frames 11 (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Autumn Rose (PTI); Cranberry Cocktail (My Favorite Things); Pretty Peacock, Mint Macaroon (SU); Evergreen (Altenew); Burnt Umber (Palette);
Paper: Rustic White (PTI); So Saffron (SU);
Other: Fillable Frames 11 die (PTI); gold embossing powder (Simon Says Stamp);

Warm Winter Woods

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This card is for the current Freshly Made Sketches Challenge.

Here is my card:

Warm Winter Woods | by karen h @ carefree creations

I really loved the up & down of the scribble in the sketch so I took my inspiration from that. My stationary trees may not have the same energy, but they do offer up the change of height.

To get some of the shorter trees, I had to selectively ink the images. Also, the pines are double or triple stamped to get their fullness as I only used the second layer image because it went with the other trees better.

Thanks for taking a peek!

warm winter wishes
Stamps: Enchanted Forest, Keep it Simple – Winter Wishes (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Winter Wisteria, Cocoa Bean, Ocean Tides, Pinefeather (PTI); Wild Wasabi, Mint Macaroon (Stampin’Up); Sour Apple (My Favorite Things – MFT);
Paper: Sno Cone (MFT); White (PTI);
Other: Enchanted Forest die (PTI);

Celebrate – If You Dare

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Celebrate - if you dare | by karen h @ carefree creations

I know, I know, Halloween was so last month! I never did get around to making any new Halloween cards, so when I saw the sketch at Fab Friday, I knew what I wanted to use!

I fell in love with this raven as soon as I saw it in the catalog. Thankfully he isn’t too hard to cut out.

The branch wasn’t quite long enough, but I was able to selectively ink more of it to make it to the side of the panel.

The moon was done with a half-circle image. I turned it around and stamped it again to get a full moon. The image was first stamped with white ink, then over that with orange.

Thanks for taking a peek!

celebrate
Stamps: The Raven (Stampin’Up – SU); Brushed Off (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Fresh Snow, Dark Chocolate (PTI); Pumpkin Pie (SU); Black (Palette);
Paper: Pumpkin Pie (SU); Black, Slate, Smoke Gray (Simon Says Stamp);
Other: Stitched Rectangles (Lil Inkers);