Category Archives: Stampin Up

Fine Feathers

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It is time for another CAS Colours & Sketches challenge. Check out the latest challenge: #71 – sketch.

CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #71

And here is my take:

by karen @ carefree creations - Fine Feathers

If you follow my blog, you’ll know this card is actually my second attempt. For this card I wanted a more simple card – both in design and color. I decided the blocks in the background could be stamped images and the colors would be more calming.

Since the longest feather was also quite skinny, I decided to make my card a 4 1/4″ square card.

FYI – this feather set is being retired by StampinUp – as is the sentiment and embossed frame!

Make sure you check out the other design team members:
Jacqueline
Lizy
Louise
Patricia

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: Posted every Thursday, the challenges alternate between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

Thinking of You
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Fine Feathers, Sweet Essentials;
Ink/Cardstock: Soft Sky, Naturals White, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso;
Other: Designer Frames embossing folder;

Calypso Flower

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It is time for another CAS Colours & Sketches challenge. Check out the latest challenge: #66 – colors.

CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #66

And here is my take:

by karen @ carefree creations - Calypso Flower

These colors are quite pretty together! The two blues together allow for variation, but the pop of coral is great contrast.

When stamping the wheel (I unmount my wheels), I off-stamped to get a lighter color – mostly because I wasn’t sure if I was going to stamp my sentiment on or under the gingham.

Make sure you check out the other design team members:
Jacqueline
Lizy
Louise
Patricia

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: Posted every Thursday, the challenges alternate between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

Happy Birthday
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Bring on the Cake, Gingham wheel;
Ink/Cardstock: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Whisper White, Calypso Coral;
Other: dimensional adhesive;

Thank You Bouquet

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It is time for another CAS Colours & Sketches challenge. Check out the latest challenge: #65 – sketch.

2014-03-13_#65

And here is my take:

by karen @ carefree creations - Thank You Bouquet

As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to use vellum. I decided to finally ink up a new-to-me set: So Very Grateful.

Since I wanted to keep this card SU only, I chose to watercolor the bouquet images.

Once I got everything done I realized that the sentiment just didn’t show up enough, so I decided to add another layer of vellum. I only needed to change the opacity right above the floral layer so I wrapped the additional vellum around that panel:

by karen @ carefree creations - detail

This way I achieved the desired opacity for the sentiment to be visible, but the blue of the card base still peeks through.

Make sure you check out the other design team members:
Jacqueline
Lizy
Louise
Patricia

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: Posted every Thursday, the challenges alternate between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

Thank You
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: So Very Grateful, Another Thank You photopolymer;
Ink/Cardstock: Soft Sky, White, Rich Razzleberry, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz;
Other: silver embossing powder, vellum;
Technique: watercoloring;

Birthday Splatters

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by karen @ carefree creations - Birthday Wishes

This card uses an oops card base. The grey (really pale purple) splatters all over the background are from an exploded re-inker. Since that was the base for my card, I had to use a grunge set!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Birthday Wishes
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Gorgeous Grunge, Four You (seriously, what would I do without this set??);
Ink/Cardstock: White, Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Crushed Curry, Basic Grey;
Other: Blossom punch, circle punch;

With Sympathy

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It is time for another CAS Colours & Sketches challenge. Check out the latest challenge: #63 – sketch.

CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #63

And here is my take:

by karen @ carefree creations - Sympathy

I had a hard time with this sketch – but only because I couldn’t chose which stamp set to use…this is such a versatile sketch that just about anything will work!

Unfortunately I just found out a friend’s father passed away and I needed a sympathy card. I chose a floral stamp set and soft colors.

To make the crumb strip, I used one of the Apothecary Accents dies and only die cut the end. Then I used a trimmer to cut the edges straight.

I needed a bit of texture on the Crumb strip, so I embossed it. Of course the folder I chose left an un-embossed area at the top. I didn’t want to try embossing just that bit, so I used the space to add some (stamped) stitch lines.

Make sure you check out the other design team members:
Jacqueline
Lizy
Louise
Patricia

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: Posted every Thursday, the challenges alternate between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

With Sympathy
Stamps: Best of Greetings, Stippled Blossom (SU); Off Beat Backgrounds (Waltzing Mouse Stamps);
Ink/Cardstock: Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, River Rock, Blue Bayou, Naturals White (SU); Spring Moss (PTI);
Other: Apothecary Accents dies, Elegant Lines embossing folder (SU);

Season’s Greetings in February

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I spent this past Saturday working through my stack of ‘oops’ card bases – mostly ones where I had the dropsies. I hang on to these goofs because I know with a little ingenuity I can make them work.

Here is my oops card:

I stamped my sentiment exactly where I wanted it, but then dropped the stamp and it bounced around. Since the original card was to be a one-layer card, this was not going to work. The way the oops was oriented I figured I could cover it up. And I did:

by karen @ carefree creations - Christmas Ornament

The ornament was positioned to cover the lower part of the oops, but a few at the top were still visible. It was easy to cover them though as they were right up next to the ornament lid and I placed a few little tendril stamps to cover the rest of the oops.

This is a pretty simple card, but I like it! Glad I didn’t toss the oops!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Season’s Greetings
Stamps: More Merry Messages, Ornament Keepsakes (SU); tendril from Strawberry Patch (PTI);
Ink/Cardstock: White (PTI); Real Red, Gumball Green, Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip (SU);
Other: gold cord (SU); Ornament Keepsake die (SU);

Never Too Much Happy

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It is time for another CAS Colours & Sketches challenge. And since January has an extra Thursday in the month, that means the latest challenge is a double!

CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #59

And here is my take:

by karen @ carefree creations - Never Too Much Happy

Firstly, I’m sorry I’m late in posting. Life has gotten the better of me – nothing wrong, just really busy! (I’m now volunteering a few hours every day at the local elementary school – which probably means you won’t see me on here quite as often…sigh.)

Now, on to my card. When designing this sketch, I was inspired by this packaging I found on Pinterest.

When it came time to make my card, I wanted to add those little details – the window and front trimmed a little to show the inside. Speaking of the inside:

by karen @ carefree creations - Happy inside

Getting that flower stamped just right stumped me at first (it is a tight fit to the die-cut window). I’m sure what I did do was the long way around (that seems to be my norm), but it worked. Here is how I did it:

by karen @ carefree creations - Stamping Through a Window

Make sure you check out the other design team members:
Jacqueline
Lizy
Louise
Patricia

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: Posted every Thursday, the challenges alternate between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

Never Too Much Happy
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Secret Garden, Yippee-Skippee;
Ink/Cardstock: Soft Sky, Blushing Bride, Rich Razzleberry;
Other: white twine, Secret Garden die, Adorning Accents die;
Technique: window

Butterfly Grid

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by karen @ carefree creations - Butterfly Grid

ColourMeBadge This card is for the Colour Me challenge.

Whew, this card took quite a bit. The butterflies did NOT stamp well, and filling-in with marker wasn’t as smooth as I would have wished. And then my sentiment is crooked (boo!).

I do like the concept of the card.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Thinking of You
All supplies StampingUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Butterfly Collection wheel, Four You;
Ink/Cardstock: Blank, Smokey Slate, So Saffron, Pink Pirouette;

Beachy Thoughts

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It is time for another CAS Colours & Sketches challenge. Check out the latest challenge: #57 – colours.

CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #57

And here is my take:

by karen @ carefree creations - Thinking of You

Oh I had fun with this one! I’ve seen some awesome cards using the masking tape technique and decided it was time I tried it too. I inked a few lines to simulate sand.

The shells are stamped on Vanilla with Crumb Cake. Then I added a touch of watercolor with the Rose and Plum colors.

This will be another OWH card.

Make sure you check out the other design team members:
Jacqueline
Lizy
Louise
Patricia

I hope you join us at CAS Colours & Sketches!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little About the Challenge: Posted every Thursday, the challenges alternate between color and sketch (if there is a 5th week in

the month you get the double dose of color & sketch).

Thinking of You
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: By the Seashore, Four You;
Ink/Cardstock: Naturals Cream, Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Rose Red, Perfect Plum, Soft Suede;
Technique: watercoloring, masking tape technique;

Birthday Fusion

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by karen @ carefree creations - Butterfly Fusion

I created this card for the Fusion challenge. I used both the sketch and the inspiration photo.

I’m really happy with how this turned out! I love the colors and how it came together.

I actually stamped the panel twice. The first time I stamped the Moroccan border design with basic grey and the sentiment it black but it was just too dark. I had also stamped the butterflies directly on the panel. That was fine, but I didn’t want to waste them, so when I re-did the panel, I punched the original butterflies out and popped them up. The added dimension does add a nice touch (with the shadows).

Thanks for taking a peek!

Birthday Wishes
All supplies StampinUp unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Papillon Potpourri, Bring on the Cake;
Ink/Cardstock: Smokey Slate, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Pool Party;
Other: Butterfly punch;