Category Archives: cards

Amazing Butterfly

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

And here is my take:

Amazing Butterfly | by karen @ carefree creations

I admit it, this *was* a challenge! Finding something where all 3 colors looked good to me was difficult! The way I got to this (which I love) was to remember techniques for combining pattern paper that I learned while scrapbooking. One technique was to ink the edges of pieces you were placing together so that the inked edges helped unify them. Once I started thinking in that direction, I went to stained glass (which I don’t have any stamps/dies for) but that led me to this beautiful butterfly die!

I actually have the other die that looks just like the leafy branch I used but is an outline. I thought about using it and doing the same piecing technique, but it was too much black. Instead, I chose a label sentiment over the green leafy branch to continue the “unifying” effect of black. This way the focus is on the butterfly and sentiment.

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).

Amazing
Stamps: Label Love (Altenew);
Ink: Graphite Brilliance (Tsukineko);
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink); Fresh Fig, Crushed Curry, Lemon Lime Twist (Stampin’Up);
Other: Vivienne Butterfly die, Lorelai Leaf die (Memory Box);

Fighting Fit

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It is time for another CASology challenge. Check out the latest challenge – Fit!

Here is my take:

Fighting Fit | by karen @ carefree creations

I don’t know why, but when I saw “fit”, my first thought was the phrase “fighting fit”. Uniko is our sponsor this week and these stamps really pulled the idea together for me!

I clustered and layered the images to retain white space. The colors are (almost) opposite on the color wheel so they stand out from each other and add interest.

The explosion image and sentiment are fussy cut.

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

Thanks for stopping by!

BAM!
Stamps: Background Blocks – Halftone, Explosion, Explosion Additions (Uniko);
Ink: Hibiscus Burst (Papertrey Ink – PTI); Pineapple (My Favorite Things); Truffle (Momento);
Paper: White (PTI);

Tiny All Around

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

And here is my take:

Thanks | by karen @ carefree creations

The first thing I thought of when I saw this sketch was a polaroid frame. I have two – one that is quite large and one that is quite small, lol. I decided to use the quite small one and make the card into a 4-bar size (3 1/2 x 4 7/8) so that the tiny frame wasn’t completely lost.

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).

thank you so much
Stamps: Framed Out #1 sentiment, Tag-Its #5 flowers (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding (Stampin’Up); Truffle (Momento);
Paper: White, Aqua Mist Pattern Pack (PTI);
Other: Framed Out #12 die (PTI);

I Admire and Love You

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I found a new challenge – Library Craft Challenge. I love reading so I am totally stoked by this challenge! The first challenge is: Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice!

Here is the card I made:

Admire & Love You | by karen @ carefree creations

I love Austen so much. When Papertrey released their Simply Jane set ages ago I snapped it up immediately! I just had to use the set for this challenge.

While the challenge doesn’t have a style requirement, I did end up being fairly clean and simple.

I stamped the couple in black as a silhouette, then embossed with a heart die. To add a pop to the card, I stamped the sentiment on a red banner.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Admire and Love You
Stamps: Simply Jane (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Black (PTI);
Paper: White, Pure Poppy (PTI);
Other: Heart die (Hero Arts);

I’m a Sucker….for a Good Pun

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It is time for another CASology challenge. Check out the latest challenge – Pun!

Here is my take:

Sucker for You | by karen @ carefree creations

I *am* a sucker for a good pun. Lots of my stamp sets are punny. I stamped this on Valentine’s Day so I guess I was a little influenced in my sentiment/image selection.

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

Thanks for stopping by!

I’m a sucker for you
Stamps: Color Layering Octopus (Hero Arts);
Ink: Coral Crush, Persimmon (My Favorit Things); Versamark (Tsukineko);
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink); Island Indigo (Stampin’Up);
Other: white embossing powder (Hero Arts);

You Are Magical

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

And here is my take:

You Are Magical | by karen @ carefree creations

I will say I tried quite a few stamp images before I even got to unicorns and when I started this card I wasn’t really sure where I was going, but I am so happy with the final result. The sparkles add just the perfect touch.

Here is a better glimpse of those sparkles:

You Are Magical - the sparkle | by karen @ carefree creations

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).

You Are Magical
Stamps: Magical Day (Stampin’Up – SU);
Ink: markers (Copic); Black (Momento); Marina Mist, Sweet Sugarplum (SU);
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink – PTI); Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP (SU);
Other: Magic Mates die (SU); Stitched Circles (Simon Says Stamp);

You Rock My World

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The last card I will post from my February 2016 Splitcoast Dirty Dozen time. Each DD month has a theme; if you are a member of the Fan Club, you can view more details about this card and its relation to the challenge here.

Rock My World | by karen h @ carefree creations

The jukebox is gold embossed and colored with Copics. To help ground the jukebox, I used distress ink with a stencil to create “a floor”. I love those tiny little music notes!

The sentiment is done with partial inking to mix and match a couple bits.

Thanks for taking a peek!

You Rock My World
Stamps: Perpetual Bliss, Sweet Hearts, Word Salad, Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches);
Ink: Markers (Copic); Soot distress ink (Ranger); Versamark (Tsukineko); Basic Grey (StampinUp); Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Paper: White (PTI);
Other: Gold embossing powder (Simon Says Stamp); Zippy Dots stencil (Memory Box);

Sing Karaoke

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Another card from my February 2016 Splitcoast Dirty Dozen time. Each DD month has a theme; if you are a member of the Fan Club, you can view more details about this card and its relation to the challenge here.

Karaoke | by karen h @ carefree creations

My hubby and I are one of those couples that just randomly sing love songs to each other (ok, we just randomly sing songs ALL the time, but sometimes they are love songs). That is one of the reasons I bought the sentiment set!

Lots of shine in this card (so hard to photograph). I added a bit of glitter to the music notes.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Sing Karaoke
Stamps: Be Boppin’ (Paper Smooches); Faux Ribbon (Papertrey Ink – PTI); I Like You (Kelly Perkey); Diagonal Stripes background (My Favorite Things);
Ink: Black (PTI); Silver Versacolor, Versamark (Tsukineko);
Paper: white, Silver Adhesive, Black (PTI);
Other: Silver embossing powder (Filigree); Wink of Stella (ZIG);

I just called to say…

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Another card from my February 2016 Splitcoast Dirty Dozen time. Each DD month has a theme; if you are a member of the Fan Club, you can view more details about this card and its relation to the challenge here.

I Just Called... | by karen h @ carefree creations

I really like how this one turned out! I know I felt so clever with it (though I don’t really know why, lol). Very simple design and kept the images light grey so the sentiment would stand out.

Thanks for taking a peek!

i love you
Stamps: Heart 2 Heart #4 Telephone, Litty Bitty Bird (Papertrey Ink – PTI); Say What (My Favorite Things – MFT);
Ink: Wet Cement (Hero Arts); Black, Pure Poppy (PTI);
Paper: White (PTI);
Other: Say What die (MFT);

The Rose

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This weekend I’ll be posting my Splitcoast Dirty Dozen cards from February 2016. Each DD month has a theme; if you are a member of the Fan Club, you can view more details about this card and its relation to the challenge here.

Yellow Rose | by karen h @ carefree creations

Some no-line watercoloring. I loved how it turned out I didn’t want to cover it up, so I kept the design pretty sparse.

Thanks for taking a peek!

hello
Stamps: Year of Flowers: Rose, Graceful Greetings (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Smokey Shadow (PTI); Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard See, Fossilized Amber, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss distress ink (Ranger);
Paper: Smokey Shadow (PTI); Fog (Simon Says Stamp); Watercolor (Ranger);
Other: Graceful Greetings die, Woodgrain impression plate (PTI); Rectangle Frame die (My Favorite Things);
Technique: No-line watercoloring;