Category Archives: cards

Happy Winter

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

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And here is my take:

Abstract Snowman | by karen @ carefree creations

Lately I have been inspired by abstract-type art, where the subject is implied by color and small accents. [Like this one and this one.]

I decided this sketch lended itself to that style quite well. I had lots of ideas, but settled on a snowman. I had to add the branch arm though, because without it I kept seeing sweater (which honestly I still sorta do, and now you do too ;).

The buttons make this too bulky to mail, but I liked ’em too much not to use ’em.

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

happy winter
Stamps: Winter Snow Globe (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Smokey Shadow (PTI);
Paper: White, Spring Rain (PTI); Baked Brown Sugar (Stampin’Up);
Other: Smokey Shadow buttons (PTI); Twigs & Berries die (Memory Box);

Thoughtful Blues

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

ccs_2016-11-17_200

And here is my take:

kth_thinkingofyou-gradientblues

This is our 200th Challenge! And we’re celebrating – complete with prizes!! Make sure you play 🙂 One of prize sponsors is Lawn Fawn. I pulled out an oldie but goodie of theirs to make my card with: Blissful Botanicals. I love the whimsy feel of the images.

I needed a thinking of you card, and the blues of the challenge fit right in.

The sentiment is die cut 3 times and layered to get the dimension.

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Thinking of You
Stamps: Blissful Botanicals (Lawn Fawn); Graceful Greetings (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky, Enchanted Evening (PTI);
Paper: Watercolor (Ranger); White (PTI);
Other: Graceful Greetings die (PTI); white embossing powder (Hero Arts); Stitched Rectangle dies (Lil Inkers);
Technique: watercolor wash;

Happy Boss’s Day, part 3

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Boss's Day | by karen @ carefree creations

My last boss card. This is probably my favorite of the 3 cards.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Happy Boss’s Day
Stamps: Floral Sketches, Watercooler Talk (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Aqua Mist, Autumn Rose (PTI); Lavender (Simon Says Stamp – SSS);
Paper: White (PTI); Gold foil (Die Cuts with a View);
Other: One-Liner Happy die (PTI); Gold embossing (SSS);
Technique: heat embossing;

Happy Boss’s Day, part 2

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Masculine Geometrics | by karen @ carefree creations

I’m pretty happy with how this turned out. As I said yesterday, I wanted to keep a theme to the cards and I wasn’t sure, at first, how to add gold embossed details to this card. The set includes the solid and line images, but originally I had only pulled out the straight lines and I couldn’t find a configuration/placement that I liked. Eventually I spied the diagonals in the set and it instantly became easier. I intentionally did one vertical and one horizontal of each stripe type. And to keep a triangle arrangement, I put two of the stripes close together to form 1 point of the triangle.

Oh, and a process hint: Since I can’t picture anything in my head, I used scraps from the gold paper to mark the blocks I would add details to; that allowed me to move them around before putting ink & embossing to the paper.

The “happy” die has more straight line after the “y”, but I trimmed it off. I thought about trimming the left side too, but I liked having the line to anchor it to the card edge (and, ya know, I wasn’t sure I could trim it into a serif that I’d be happy with).

Thanks for taking a peek!

Happy Boss’s Day
Stamps: What’s Your Type (Stampin’Up); Watercooler Talk (PTI);
Ink: Soft Sky (Hero Arts);
Paper: White (PTI); After Midnight (My Favorite Things); Gold Foil paper (Die Cuts with a View);
Other: One-Liners Happy die (PTI); Gold embossing (Simon Says Stamp)
Technique: heat embossing;

Happy Boss’s Day

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At work, we are a month late, but we’ll be celebrating our bosses this week.

Boss's Day | by karen @ carefree creations

I kept a theme in the cards this year and they all have gold embossed details and gold sentiment. I’ll post the other two cards over the next couple of days.

The sub-sentiment was from a set that only had “boss”. I used a period (from part of the elipse included in the set) as an apostrophe.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Happy Boss’s Day
Stamps: Flashy Florals (My Favorite Things – MFT); Thanks All Ways (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Baja Breeze (Stampin Up); Sour Apple (MFT);
Paper: White (PTI); Gold Foil paper (Die Cuts with a View);
Other: One Big Happy die (PTI); Gold embossing powder (Simon Says Stamp);
Technique: heat embossing;

Holiday Elf Cheer

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Holiday Elf Cheer | by karen @ carefree creations

This is the card I originally created for the CAS Sketches & Color challenge, but I felt it was too busy for CAS style challenge.

Using Copic markers, I added blush to the elf’s cheeks and colored the hair yellow.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Holiday Cheer
Stamps: Jolly Friends (Stampin’Up – SU); Christmas Sampler (Paper Smooches); Background Basics: Super Stripes (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Black (Momento); Green Leaf (Simon Says Stamp): Real Red (SU); markers (Copic);
Paper: White, New Leaf (PTI);
Other: Jolly Hat Builder punch (SU);

Thankful for All You Do

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

ccs_2016-11-10_199

And here is my take:

Thankful | by karen @ carefree creations

I actually started with another idea altogether (I’ll post that card another day), but it didn’t feel CAS enough. This one is still pushing it for me – I think it is all the colors and intricate font of the sentiment.

I do like the happy colors and fall plaid pattern.

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Thankful
Stamps: Phrase Play 7 (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Dark Chocolate (PTI);
Paper: White, Harvest Gold, Dark Chocolate (PTI); Calypso Coral (Stampin’Up); Fall Perfectly Plaid pattern paper (Lawn Fawn);
Other: Phrase Play 7 die (PTI);

Peaceful Day

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Peaceful Day | by karen @ carefree creations

I made this card for the One-Layer Simplicity Challenge. This month is Peace Be With You.

For me, being around nature, especially woods, is peaceful for me. That is why I chose a bamboo image and green and brown colors.

Thanks for taking a peek!

May peace fill…
Stamps: Peaceful Garden (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Cocoa Bean (PTI); Sour Apple (My Favorite Things);
Paper: White (PTI);
Technique: one-layer card;

Oriole

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

ccs_2016-11-03_198

And here is my take:

Oriole | by karen @ carefree creations

Honestly, I don’t know how I got bird from these colors, but I did! The image is supposed to be a yellow finch, but after looking at photos of orioles, I figured it was pretty close. (And after googling oriole every day for a week, I now know how to spell it!)

The frame is 3 layers, the top is white and the other two are espresso. I like how it adds just enough shadow to make the frame stand out. I tried the frame in kraft and espresso but it took away from the bird too much; this seemed like a perfect compromise.

The bird feathers are stamped with espresso, but about 3 layers of ink. The branches are 1 layer of ink and the sentiment is 2 (gotta love the MISTI!).

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: This weekly challenge is posted on Thursday, 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
Stamps: Spring Woods, Out on a Limb, Mums the Word (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Mossy Meadow, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso (Stampin’Up – SU);
Paper: White (PTI); Early Espresso (SU);
Other: Fabulous Frames die, Spring Woods die (PTI);

Dressed Up Christmas

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

ccs_2016-10-27_197

And here is my take:

Dressed Up Christmas | by karen @ carefree creations

This is a versatile sketch! I had lots of ideas to use as the stars, but I settled on the bows. I used 3 different styles of bows which made the card have a fun and flirty feel. I thought the sentiment complemented them well.

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Let’s Be Merry
Stamps: Christmas Sampler (Paper Smooches – PS);
Ink: Real Red (Stampin’Up – SU);
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink);
Other: Bows die (PS); Stylish Stripes embossing folder (SU);