Ink Blending for Summertime

I was in the mood to do some ink blending and this fruit collection (Create a Smile Fruit Salad) was calling to me. This is such a fun summery stamp set and I wanted bright bold colors. 

I started by embossing 5 fruit images and then used distress inks to blend from pink (watermelon) to orange, yellow (lemons and bananas) and ended with green for a nice citrusy lime.  I wanted contrast so I mounted the fruit band on white cardstock then drew two black Sharpie lines to frame the colors.  Lastly, I mounted the card top on a black base.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

TGIF Summer Inspiration Challenge which features a photo of a bright Lemonade Stand for inspiration.  I went with the bright colors and citrus theme.

Addicted to Stamps Make Your Mark Challenge   so make your mark and play along.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Corgis are the Best

My daughter has the most adorable Corgi, so I wanted  her birthday card to feature her beloved "Newton".  I recently purchased the MFT Lucky Dog  set so that I would have a Corgi stamp.  I thought a clean and simple card with just Newton colored (and emphasized) would be a fun look.

I am happy with the way the card turned out and am entering it in several challenges:

Casology "Jumpy"Challenge

Muse Challenge 271 (focusing on the dog, birthday and "subjects in a row" themes)

MFT Birthday Project Challenge

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Create a Smile Fruit Salad Card

I was invited to be a guest designer for the next Create a Smile Challenge so I've been  busy playing with their fun summery stamp set, Fruit Salad. Summer is my favorite season and I love bright bold colors which work perfectly with this stamp set.

I started by embossing 5 of the fruit stamps plus the sentiment on white card stock.  Next, I colored the images with Copic markers.  I love how bright and lively they turned out.  I wanted the sentiment to be vibrant and summery as well so I selected SSS Big Greetings so that I could color Happy Birthday.  Next I trimmed the card down and mounted on a black card so the embossing would really pop.

I am linking this card to the following challenges:
CAS on Friday Embossing Challenge
Dare2BArtsy Bright Colors

Update:  I was so excited to learn that I won the Dare2BArtzy Bold Colors Challenge (Winners Page)  They offer a beautiful prize of one stamp set and one ink pad.  I chose their whimsical Home Sweet Home Stamp set and Blue Sky Ink Pad.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Yappy Birthday

There's not much better than a card with puppies on it.  I needed some more birthday cards and since I usually send the ones with puppies first, I thought I better come up with a new design.  AAA cards is celebrating their 4th birthday so I an entering this card in their CAS Big Birthday Bash Challenge

I drew two pencil lines so that I could keep my stamped images aligned in a band.  I used Mama Elephant's Playful Pups, which was one of the first stamp set I purchased, and is still a favorite.  I colored with Copic markers and like the simple color scheme.

Happy Birthday AAA CAS Card Challenge!

UPDATE:
I am so excited to learn that my card won 1st place in the challenge!



AAA Cards Challenge Results

Thanks for stopping by,
Karen

Experimenting with New Techniques

Lots of experimentation on this card.  I was interested in entering the Muse Challenge #268 so I spent a day thinking about what direction my card should take.  I knew I would use the floral theme, but the rest came to me in bits and pieces.

Ultimately, I chose to focus on the following:

• Pink and Green Color Scheme
• Embossing
• Black Sentiment Band
• Floral Theme

What I changed:

• I've never done pink embossing but had been thinking about trying it for a while. The pink flowers seemed to be the perfect time.  I wasn't sure if my method would work, but I used Color Box Pink Pigment Ink and clear embossed on top.  I think it turned out bright and cheery, which is a plus for a Get Well card.
• The flower and  leaf looked bland on a white card base so I made a custom background.  Again, I've never done this before, but I used my Green Apple Inktense watercolor pencil and made a lightly striated background to complement the Copic greens.   

I used my new favorite stamp set:  Botanical Love By Create a Smile.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen