Category Archives: Paper Smooches

Winter Hope

Posted on by

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

And here is my take:

Winter Hope | by karen @ carefree creations

Whoa boy, did this card take some time! I knew right away that, with these colors, I wanted to do a winter snowflake card. I spent hours selecting and arranging images to use. There were so many ways to lay it out and they all gave a different feel. I wanted my card to provide a feeling of movement and hope. To that end, I decided not to do anything too geometric/lined-up. I tried to do a watercolor thing, but that didn’t work and the colors weren’t quite right.

I finally decided to do a bit of sponging with the blue and stamp the snowflakes in a triangle with the sentiment as little strips over the flakes.

Originally I didn’t have any border on the main white panel, so I added a bit of wonky stitching with a die, but it didn’t look quite right (the paper was already cut down and I didn’t want to make smaller and not all the wonk fit), so I die cut again but with a straight stitch die.

The card needed one more touch – sparkle. I embossed the snowflakes with a glitter powder. I think my photo shows that the snowflakes are purple with a sparkly layer.

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).

Winter Hope
Stamps: Fresh Snow, Flap Happy, Scripty Sayings, Mini Monograms (Paper Smooches);
Ink: Soft Sky (Stampin’Up); Winter Wisteria, Plum Pudding (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Paper: White, Plum Pudding (PTI);
Other: Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder (Judikins);

Get Well Bear

Posted on by

Here is another card from my November 2015 Splitcoast time. Each Dirty Dozen 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.

Get Well Bear | by karen @ carefree creations

Here are the notes I kept from when I first posted the card on Splitcoast:

My original idea was to have the bear in a tent, but that wasn’t working, so I thought I’d do an approximation of a tent, but what I ended up with made me think sleeping bag. I added a bit of pattern paper to help it look even more like a sleeping bag.

I like to make useful cards when I stamp, so I had to think about what kind of sentiment would go with a sleeping bear. I came up with lots of ideas (sweet dreams, cozy thoughts, etc.) but those aren’t cards I would give to anyone, but I thought sleeping is usually essential for getting better when sick.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Get Well
Stamps: Happy Camper, Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches);
Ink: Cocoa (Momento);
Paper: White (PTI); Midnight Muse (SU); Manchester pattern paper (SU);
Other: markers (Copic); Woodgrain impression plate (PTI);

Oh Hai

Posted on by

Here is another of my Splitcoast Dirty Dozen cards. 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.

Oh Hai | by karen @ carefree creations

Selective inking and masking is what makes this card possible! First I inked up all the body except the head and stamped that; then I inked up the head and all the neck and stamped that.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Oh Hai
Stamps: Zoo Crew, Alphadot (Paper Smooches);
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Momento); markers (Copic);
Paper: New Leaf, Kraft, White (PTI); Daffodil Delight (SU);
Other: Leafy Branch dies (CC Designs); Stitched Rectangles (Lil Inkers); Flag Tag dies (Paper Smooches); Twine (PTI);

80s Prep

Posted on by

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

And here is my take:

Thanks | by karen @ carefree creations

I was a bit stumped at first with these colors, but I knew I could use some fun & funky flowers and make it work. I found an old Freshly Made Sketch and everything started to come together.

The circle frame is popped up. The inner circle is flat on the card base and has a bit of navy spritzed on it.

After I stamped and die cut the flowers, I decided they needed a bit more interest so I added some navy accents. The top flower felt too solid so I added a rhinestone (which led me to add more rhinestones on the card), and the bottom flower needed even more interest so I white embossed a dot to the center.

The sentiment was white embossed on navy cardstock and then fussy cut.

When I was done, the card reminded me of my teenage years with all the 80s neon and preppy argyle.

This turned out to be one of my favorite cards – which is why I love challenges!!

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).

thanks
Stamps: Botanicals 3, Debonair, Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches – PS);
Ink: Night of Navy, Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingos (Stampin’Up – SU); Versamark (Tsukineko);
Paper: White (Papertrey Ink); Night of Navy (SU);
Other: Botanicals 3 die (PS); Stitched Circle dies (Simon Says Stamp); white embossing powder, rhinestones (Hero Arts); Mini Dimensionals, Spritzer tool (SU);
Challenge: Freshly Made Sketch #295

Boss is a Big Deal

Posted on by

Happy Boss’s Day! My final card:

Big Deal | by karen @ carefree creations

The sentiment is printed.

To stamp the cup (which is a solid stamp, unlike the other images which are outline), I used tape to mask the bottom off and stamped the lid/straw with black ink; then reverse masked and stamped the solid cup with blue. I did use some markers to add some shading to the cup.

Thanks for taking a peek!

You’re a Big Deal
Stamps: Think Fast (Paper Smooches – PS);
Ink: Black (Memento); markers (Copic); Blueberry Sky (Papertrey Ink – PTI)
Paper: Kraft, White (PTI);
Other: BinnerD font (FFonts); Think Fast die (PS); Stitched Rectangle die (Lil Inkers);

Let’s Taco About Boss’s Day

Posted on by

Here is my second, punny, boss’s day card:

Taco About Awesome | by karen @ carefree creations

I colored the taco first and used those colors to determine what cardstock I chose.

The sentiment is printed. I used an oooooold font from Creative Keepsakes (I can’t remember if it was free or on one of the many disks I purchased back then).

The card base is done with a piece from a “sampler” pack of paper. I really like it – will probably need to buy some!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Let’s Taco
Stamps: Calorie Free (Paper Smooches – PS); Southwest Style (Papertrey Ink – PTI);
Ink: Black (Momento); markers (Copic): Crushed Curry (Stampin’Up – SU);
Paper: Sunshine (Simon Says Stamp); White (PTI); Cherry Cobbler (SU);
Other: CK Road Trip font (Creative Keepsakes); Calorie Free die (PS);

Sympathy Botanicals

Posted on by

Sadly I needed a couple sympathy cards this past month. I only had one in my stash, so I needed to create one. As with most folks, I find it hard to stamp these cards when I need them. You’ll probably see more over the next few months so I can build up my stash again.

Sympathy Botanicals | by karen @ carefree creations

I picked three colors that were muted and, to me, peaceful. I used the botanical images to lead to the sentiment.

The frame is three layers. I used a Japanese screw punch to create the holes.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Deepest Sympathies
Stamps: Botanicals 2, Salutations (Paper Smooches – PS);
Ink: Winter Wisteria, Simply Chartreuse, Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate (Papertey Ink – PTI);
Paper: Rustic Cream, Kraft (PTI);
Other: Bookplates die (PS); twine (Stampin’Up);

A Rose for Your Day

Posted on by

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

And here is my take:

Enjoy This Day | by karen @ carefree creations

This week’s colors are so soft – and perfect for florals! I feel like this is a bit modern with the grey outline so it gives these retired colors some new life.

The rose has two patterns of pink – the inner petals have a darker polka dot and the outer petals have a white polka dot. I thought it was a cool way to add a touch of 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 Tuesday, and alternates between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

Enjoy This Day
Stamps: Flap Happy (Paper Smooches);
Ink: Espresso Truffle (Momento);
Paper: Stone Gray, Gravel Gray (My Favorite Things); Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Bashbul Blue patterns (StampinUp);
Other: Roses die (Paper Smooches);
Technique: paper piecing;

You Make Life Sweet

Posted on by

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

And here is my take:

You Make Life Sweet | by karen @ carefree creations

The first thing I saw in this sketch was an awning! I went in many directions just with that, but settled on a sweet theme.

The image is stamped with distress antique linen then colored with Copics.

The sprinkles are an outline image…I wanted solid. So I got out some really old glitter and made them solid. And the sparkles give just a touch of pizzazz.

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 make life sweet
Stamps: Sugar Rush (Paper Smooches);
Ink: Antique Linen Distress (Ranger); Cocoa Brown (Papertrey Ink – PTI); markers (Copic);
Paper: Rustic Cream, Cocoa Brown (PTI); Baked Brown Sugar (Stampin’Up);
Other: Large Scallop border die (PTI);

Rich Foliage

Posted on by

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

And here is my take:

Rich Foliage | by karen @ carefree creations

So I had this awesome idea in my head – a cool geometric kinda thing (a la Ardyth)…but, I have the worst time creating with geometric designs myself (I love looking at those designs and have a tendency to buy geometric stamps). I scrapped a few cards before I decided to go in a totally different direction!

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).

hello
Stamps: Botanicals 2 (Paper Smooches – PS);
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive (Stampin’Up – SU)
Paper: Watercolor (Ranger); Black, Pacific Point (SU);
Other: Quote Tag die (PS);
Technique: wet paper watercolor