Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone,

It's hard to believe another year is coming to a close!  As per usual, it's had it's highs and lows, but I'm always grateful for a chance to ring in another new year.  It gives me the chance to start fresh, or at least the illusion of starting fresh, and that's good enough for me :)  

So for my last individual card share of 2015, I chose a celebratory card, anticipating a good year to come. I went with a simple cream and black color combo and die cut some numbers for the new year.  I added a row of gems and using the glass only portion of Pour Me Bottle Glass stamp, I stamped a bunch glasses raised in a toast to the new year. 

 

Finally for the sentiment, I stamped and die cut the Happy New Year Circle Greeting, matting it and embellishing it with some glitter glue.  

Here's to another great year of the greatest hobby of them all!

Happy New Year Friends :)

Snow Better Friend

Hi Everyone,

The big holiday week is here and the weather people in northeast Ohio have already told us that we can dream of a white Christmas, but we won't be having one.  Since that's the case, I went ahead and designed a card with a snowy theme to get me in the mood :)

DRS Designs will be releasing a new group of stamps on the 28th, so here's a peek at some of the new ones.  First off, I knew I wanted to pair the new Snow Better Friend Greeting (678F) with those adorable penguins from the Penguin Snowball Blast stamp.  So I stamped that first and then the sentiment above and went ahead and die cut it.  After matting the image, it was pretty large, so in order to show off the background I chose to make the card a 5 1/2" square.

 

 I used the soon to be released stamps, Medium Filigree Snowflake (673F) in blue ink to make the background design, and added the Ornate Corner Tile (669D) to the corners.  The card needed a little something else, so I stamped and fussy cut Percy Penguin to add to the card with some dimensional tape, finishing it off with a bit of glitter glue on the snowballs.

Thanks for stopping by friends!

Oldies but Goodies

Hi Everyone,

My card today was made with stamps that are tried and true.  They're perfect for my friend who's a way better baker than I am.  Every time we visit her house she's whipped up some dessert that looks like a picture in a magazine.  Wait. Scratch that.  I'm dating myself...Like a picture from Pinterest.  :) :) :)   Yes, that site is amazing, but everything is so perfect, I just can't measure up!

Anyway, I inked up the Merry Christmas Recipe Greeting and die cut and matted it.  I stamped, colored and fussy cut the Gingerbread Boy and adhered it to the side of the sentiment. I created a snowy background using the Interlocking Snow Background stamp in white and maroon ink, and assembled it, attaching it to a Kraft card base.

I hope you can find time to dig into you stash of stamps and join us in our weekly challenge right here!

                                                                        Season's Greetings!

Welcome to Christmas Village

Hi Everyone,

I decided to be inspired by my team mates at DRS Designs and try my hand at creating a more elaborate holiday scene, using stamps from the Christmas Village line.  I have no idea why I was so hesitant, it really wasn't difficult at all.  I did start with a scrap piece of paper cut to 5" x 3 3/4", where I tried out the layout of my scene.  When I was happy with the placement of my buildings, trees, people and such, I went ahead and copied it onto my final cardstock panel.  As with my card in last weeks post, I didn't have to do any masking, so it came together in a jiffy.   Then all that was left was coloring it in with Copic markers, adding glitter glue, lining it with black cardstock and attaching it to a red base.

 

 Here is the list of stamps that I used:

Christmas Village Post Office 

Christmas Village Tree Shop

Christmas Village Four in One Accessories

Christmas Village Town Sign

Christmas Village Craft Store

Christmas Village Toy Shop 

Christmas Village Garage

Christmas Village Four In One Accessories Two

Thanks for stopping by the blog during this busy December month!

Happy Holidays :)

Merry Christmas To All

Hi Everyone,

This Christmas Village Town Sign stamp from DRS Designs is one that you can customize, which means your holiday cards and envelopes could be that much more personal this season :)  I paired my customized sign stamp with a number of other stamps from the Christmas Village series to create this little scene.  I wish I could say the skaters represent me and my husband, but due to the fact that they're upright, they seem much better at the sport than the two of us :)  

After stamping my scene, (I didn't even mask anything...super easy!) I used my Copic markers and some glitter glue to complete it. It was layered on an embossed background, and I added the Christmas Especially To You Greeting and a couple of gems to complete it.  

Here are the other stamps I used to complete today's card:

Christmas Village Town Sign

Christmas Village 4 in 1 Accessories

Christmas Village Pond with Bridge 

Thanks for visiting and Happy December!

Karin

Modern Spiro Wreath

Hi Everyone,

I went with a traditional red and green color combo for my card share today.  I have to admit they're my favorite colors to use when making Christmas cards, because they immediately make me think of the holidays.  I personally don't pair these colors together at any other time :)   

I stamped the newly released Joy to you Christmas Greeting from DRS Designs in red dye ink and die cut it using a round Spellbinders die. Choosing to create a modern wreath look, I stamped and fussy cut the Circle Spiro Design and colored that up in red and green using my Copic markers.   I wanted it to stand out from my background that I made using the Splatter Background stamp, so I attached it to another die cut circle.

It need some embellishment, so I added the Holly leaf that was colored and fussy cut too, and finished it off with a ribbon and some glitter glue on the berries. 

Thanks for visiting the blog today and be sure to participate in the DRS Designs weekly challenges for your chance at a great prize!

Happy Holidays!

Winter Snow Globe

Hi Everyone,

It's hard to believe that next week we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving!  The holidays are definitely upon us, don't you think?   Have you started making your cards?  Well, I'm way behind  in that department, but I have no fear!  DRS Designs is releasing some great Christmas, winter and New Year's stamps on November 21st and they've gotten me in the stamping mood :) 

 Here's a sneak peak at some of the new goodies on my card today.  Last year DRS Designs released a whole group of Christmas Village stamps that enable you to create different holiday scenes. They're adorable and here are some new additions to the collection:

Christmas Village Gazebo 643G

Christmas Village Clock 653B

These were stamped and colored along with the Tree from the Christmas Village 4 in 1 Accessories to round out the scene, adding some glitter glue for some sparkling snow.  I then used my snow globe die to make a shaker card.  My tiny snowflakes inside the shaker are the leftovers from my snowflake border punch. 

The Merry Christmas came from inking up that phrase only, on the Christmas Multi Greeting and the background paper was made using the Interlocking Snow and Snow Background in red and green ink.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

In All Things Give Thanks

Hi Everyone,

My card today serves as a reminder to join us for our current challenge on the DRS Designs blog,  where the theme is Pile it High!  The deadline is tomorrow, so that still leaves you some time for creating and a chance at a great stamp-y prize :)

For this card, I chose some fall colored card stock for the layers and a neutral cream for stamping on.  I decided to use the Autumn Leaf Pile stamp as a sort of design element on the card to frame my Give Thanks Bible Verse banner.  I stamped it once, then turned the panel upside down and stamped it again.  I chose some fall colored Copic markers and matched them to my card base colors. 

 

 

 

 After I was done coloring I ran the panel through my Cuttlebug using a leaf embossing folder.  I attached my sentiment with some foam tape for dimension and added a punched leaf for embellishment.  

Good luck in the challenge!

Karin

Sending You a Smile

Hi Everyone,

I have a clean and simple card share today.  It's one of those cards that I like to keep in my stash for those times when you need a card at a moments notice. For a card like this, I keep the inside blank, and when I need it, that's when I choose what to stamp inside. 

I began with a white card base and chose a medium blue card stock for the top layer.  The blue paper is 1/4" smaller than the base and I cut out a few clouds using a die, attaching it to the base using foam tape to give it dimension.  I also cut out a few clouds out of white card stock and layered them on the blue panel.

I stamped the recently released Hot Air Balloon  from DRS Designs and colored it with my Copic markers, fussy cut it and attached it with foam tape as well.

I wanted the card to be cheerful, so I chose the Sending you a Smile greeting that I stamped on a die cut banner.  

Here's hoping my sweet and simple card brings you a smile today!

Give Thanks

Hi Everyone,

Whenever I go on vacation, I always lament about how I wish my home was more like (insert said vacation spot here).  It could be anything from the beach to a concrete jungle big city, whatever, I'm always wishing for something that my home doesn't have.  Except in October.  It's glorious here in northeast Ohio.  The weather is usually cool and crisp, and I love, love, love the fall colors! I don't even have to travel far from home to see the beauty. See?

 

 This is a photo of the empty land next to the store where I grocery shop, and it's only around the corner from my house.  Super pretty, right?

 

And this scenic overlook is only a few miles from my home.  

Seeing all of this around me, inspired me to grab the new Autumn Leaf Pile (575F) stamp and design today's fall card.  I stamped that first, the Single Fall Tree next, and then nestled the Give Thanks Bible Verse (585E) next to them.  I then die cut this and colored the leaves in all of the gorgeous fall colors with my Copic markers. 

The background was created using the Fall Leaf  with Acorn stamp and I made a strip of patterned paper using the Woven Plaid.  Before I attached my image panel, I added an embossed, die cut fall leaf on top of my background.  It added that extra pop of color that my card needed.

Thanks for visiting today and be sure to visit the DRS Designs store and check out all the fun new stamps!

Karin

Thankful People are Happy

Hi Everyone,

I'm here to tell you that you will fall in love with the new stamps that DRS Designs will be releasing on October 24th.  There are wonderful images and greetings for the fall season and beyond, and I'm honored to be able to share this card with you today.  

The background was created using the new Wood Grain (626P) stamp.  It was so easy to use and the results were amazing!  Not sure if it shows up on my card, but the wood grain is complete with a little knot hole, which adds to the texture and realism :)

I stamped the Happy Thankful People (612G) greeting and the lined up the Cattail Milk Pail (581F) right next to it, colored and then die cut it.  I added some sponging in brown and green ink to soften and add a bit of a distressed or rustic look.

 

 

I added some die cut leaves and gems in matching colors to complete the card.

The design team will be showing off all of the new stamp-y goodness this week, so be sure to check back each and every day!

Have a good one :)
Karin

Witches Potions

Hi Everyone,

I'm happy to share another Halloween card with you today, that features two stamps that are tailor made for each other :) 

 I began by stamping and heat embossing the Magic Potion Shelf, which I water colored using my ink pads and a watercolor brush.  I then stamped the rest of the paper using the Starry Background in Versamark, which I also heat embossed.  Sadly, it looked quite dull on the white card stock, so I simply cut off the bottom portion, (if you look close you can still see some of the stars) and added a gemstone border.  Even  witches should have a bit of glamour in their lives :) The Poison Potions Greeting was stamped die cut and embellished with some matching ink, and the spider die cut was added as another bit of embellishment.

 

This card also serves as a reminder for you to join us for the Spooky or Cutesy challenge right here!

Good Luck!
Karin

Halloween Can Be Creepy

                                                                           Hi Everyone,

 

I was inspired by my teammate Nancy's card in this post here.  I loved the effect of ink impressed into card stock using an embossing folder, so I gave it a try too using an interlocking circle design. Since I began with a dark gray card base, I used gray ink for my Spooky Eyes Background as well as the impressed portion, that I edged with a punched border.

 

I stamped the RIP Tombstone 3 times and then used my circle punches on them , adding them to the embossed panel with dimentional tape.

 



The sentiment came from the first line of the Bump Into Me Halloween Greeting... Is it just me, or does the impressed embossing give this card a creepy elegance? I like it :)

Happy Halloween!

Karin

Hey Ghoul-friends!

Hi Everyone,

This new Halloween sentiment from DRS Desigsn is high on my favorite list this year!  I'm a huge fan of  "punny" on cards, and  My Ghoul Friends Witch Greeting hits my funny bone in just the right spot :)

I decided on some bright colors and chose to pull out my drippy goo border punch and spiderweb embossing folder for my background.  I wanted to use something other than a witch image, so I inked up the little hairy Goblin as a stand in for a ghoul, and added a couple of googly eyes.  To turn her into a witch, I fussy cut the hat from Witchly Accessories and colored the band orange to match my card base.

To make it a little more girly I added a polka dotted ribbon tied into a bow.  

Thanks for peeking in today, Ghoulfriends!

Karin

Brewed Just for You!

Hi Everyone,

 

My favorite time of year for card making has finally arrived...Let's hear it for fall and Halloween!

Woo-hoo :) :)  :)  

 

I had a hard time choosing which stamp to ink up first, but finally ended up on the newly released Magic Potion Shelf  from DRS Desigsn, which I colored with my Copic markers in Halloween shades.  

For my background paper, I began by stamping the Burning Cauldron in the corner once, and then again on a scrap, which I then colored and fussy cut.  I took my Splatter Background stamp (one of my favorites for custom backgrounds) and stamped it in each of the four colors to match my bottles.  I wrapped the bottom of the cardstock with a polka dot ribbon and adhered the colored cauldron right on top.

 

I only inked up a portion of the Halloween Brewed By stamp and colored and die cut it after it was stamped.  Both die cut pieces were then attached with some dimensional foam dots.  

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out our current challenge for fun & prizes!

Karin

Hike on the Wild Side

Hi Everyone,

 

I just got back from a lovely vacation yesterday, so I'm just now getting caught up on real life :)  My card share is one that I made a couple of weeks ago.  A friend was having a birthday while we were gone, and I wanted to make sure I got it in the mail before we left.  

I try my best to make cards specific to the person and one of his hobbies is hiking, so I thought the Silhouette Hiker stamp and the Walk On the Wild Side Greeting would make a perfect pairing.  Since it's still summer and the trees are green, I chose that as my color palette.  The card base is a light green and I used the Silhouette Background Trees for my background, inking it once and stamping twice for a shadow effect. The image and sentiment were both heat embossed, and the image was die cut, matted and enhanced with a bit of green ink.

 

Sorry to keep it short and sweet, but I'm itching to get inky again after being gone...That's much more fun than getting caught up on laundry :(

 

See ya soon!

Penguin Ornament

Hi Everyone,

For today's card, I used the recently released Simple Christmas Ornament from DRS Designs as my feature item.  It's a great size that works perfectly on a card front, is great to color using a special technique, and can also fit any number of stamps inside of it. So many possibilities!

I chose this cute Percy Penguin stamp for inside and stamped and colored  my Simple Berry Branches  for my background.  

After I fussy cut my ornament, I didn't have the patience to wait for the glossy glaze to dry, so I skipped that and embossed the entire thing with some clear powder instead.  I attached it to my card with some dimensional tape and added a matching bow.

 The tiny sentiment came from the Christmas Multi Greeting stamp.  I only inked up that one portion of the stamp and punched it out, adding it with some dimensional tape as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Greetings of the Season

Hi Everyone,

I really like the stamp used for today's card share.  The nature images are lovely and it has a sentiment built right in :)  It doesn't get much better than that!

I stamped the Nature's Christmas Greetings from DRS Designs and colored the images with my Copic markers, highlighting the berries on the holly and mistletoe with Stickles.  I chose to die cut the image using my rectangle Spellbinders dies and layered the matted image on a snowflake embossed background.

 

 I used a red layer to bring out the color of the berries, so I felt the need to highlight the green as well.  I used the Interlocking Snow Background and white ink on my strip of green card stock and added  a punched snowflake embellished with a half pearl.

Thanks for visiting today!

Ornament Trio

Hi Everyone,

My card today serves as a reminder to join in our current
DRS Designs challenge, "You Left Me Hanging",  which means anything that hangs or dangles.

 

I inked up the new Triple Hanging Christmas Ornaments stamp and colored and fussy cut each one for today's card.  I layered them on a matted die cut rectangle, leaving enough room to stamp the Small Merry Christmas on the bottom portion.  I drew in a little string for a couple of the ornaments and added matching ribbon bows.

 

For my background, I began with a piece of red card stock, adding a couple of strips in gold and green to match the ornaments.  I then embossed the entire background using an ornament embossing folder, embedding the two strips right in.

I hope you get a chance to play along...The prize is 3 holiday stamps from DRS Designs!

 

Good Luck!
Karin

From Santa

Hi Everyone!

 

I started out making tags for my post today, but by the time I stamped, colored, fussy cut, and layered this first tag, I decided it took too long to not be a feature on a card :)  My family only cares about what's inside the package at Christmas, so I'm convinced it would have been under appreciated.  Besides, now it can be a super cute personalized card, just by writing the recipients name on it.

 

After coloring up and fussy cutting the Leonard Pig Christmas List, I used the newly released Gift Tag Greetings stamp for the To/From, attaching the layered circles to a Triple Holly stamped panel with dimensional tape.  

 

 

made my background paper using the Christmas Multi Greeting stamp and added some gems and bit of glitter glue for embellishmet.

 

Kudos to all the crafters that out there, that take extra time to make beautiful tags to adorn holiday gifts. Mine was not nearly as complicated as many I've seen; I'm in awe of your patience and talent!  Basically what I'm saying is, feel free to make a tag for my gift.  I would totally appreciate it :) :) :)

Have a great day and happy stamping!
Karin

Let it snow

Hi Everyone,

It's been pretty hot the past couple of weeks in northeast Ohio where I live, but this is not a complaint.  It took summer a long time to finally arrive, so even though I'm fine with the heat, I did feel the need to cool off at one point.  I couldn't think of a better way than to pull out some holiday stamps and get started on  Christmas cards :)

I ended up with a super simple embossed snowflake card, due to a big smudge
appearing (out of nowhere (!) ) on my colored and fussy cut snowman :(  . I did my best to try and save him, covering him in glitter, but the maroon colored mistake was like a beacon flashing "boo-boo" in the middle of his forehead. . Sigh.

To be honest, it's a happy accident because this design is one that I'm apt to mass produce for my personal Christmas card list.  I took inspiration from the song, Let it Snow and stamped the greeting 3 times, dry embossing on top of it.

 

 

I layered it on maroon card stock with a snowflake border, and in place of the snowman, I added punched snowflakes, embellished with pearl brads.

Have you started on your holiday cards?  We've got some great inspiration headed your way this week, with peeks of new stamps being released at DRS Designs!

Stay tuned :)

Citrus Punch

Hi Everyone,

I've been seeing many cards on the Web made using backgrounds cut on an angle, so that's what I was going for here.  However, it came out looking basically like all of my other cards, just with and angled border.  Oh well!  I'm still patting myself on the back for giving it a try, and I still like all the bright colors and the fun summer theme :)


I labeled my post Citrus punch, because I decided to color the fruit in my Lemonade pitcher from DRS Designs something other than yellow, so it's more than lemonade!  I used the Citrus Slice for my background and colored my Citrus Border to match. 

 

The Five O'clock Somewhere Greeting seemed most appropriate for this time of year....I could go for a glass of this right now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

Two cards

Hi Everyone,

 

I wanted to ink up my Fleur de Lis stamp again, so I made a CAS anniversary card over the weekend.  I chose a simple black and white color combo and stamped the ornament in each of the four corners using my Stamp-a-majig and white ink. Then I stamped the Fleur de Lis end to end in black ink and used an Oval Spellbinders die to cut it out.  This was after fussy cutting the tips, to make it fit.  

 

 

Lastly I adhered the Tiny Happy Anniversary that was stamped and cut out using my circle punches.  Simple and elegant.

I mentioned my friend's 10 year old daughter in my post last week.  Well, the family came back from vacation and she brought us back a souvenir.  Her dad told us she picked it out all by herself, and used her own money to buy it.  Isn't that sweet?   

 

Here is our new mermaid that is currently living on my craft table:

 

 

And Lindsey proudly told me, "She's totally made of REAL shells!...except her head." :) :) :)

So I did a CASE (copy and share everything) of Shelia and Janett's cards for a thank you card for her and the family.

 

 

These are the stamps I used:

Brush Thank You

Palm Tree

4 in 1 Seashells

So happy to be able to share with you on the blog today... Hoping your day is filled with smiles :) :) :) 

Karin

Red, White and Blue

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking forward to celebrating July 4th here in America this weekend, I'm just not sure if the weather will be in compliance.  Unfortunately where I live, we've been doused with rain in biblical proportions!  So far, this has been the 3rd wettest June in history, and that's not counting what we still have to add in from today.  After living through the coldest February in history, this is not the kind of record breaking I've been looking forward to. 

Anyway, I've had all things patriotic on my mind lately, so I thought I would think outside of the box with this Fleu de Lis stamp and make a card to celebrate my country.  I looked up the meaning of this decorative design and one source said, "it has been used to symbolize perfection, light and life."  So that to me seemed reason enough to use to adorn my card for this celebratory occasion. 

 

I made a panel by stamping the ornament three times, and layered it with a red border, and a matching punched border.  I adhered it to a navy card base that was stamped using the Interlocking Star Background stamp.

 

I finalised the card using the Let Freedom Ring greeting and a few star shaped gems.

So with that, I will let this card serve as a reminder to join in our "Oh My Stars!" challenge here on our blog!

Sending you sunny smiles from under my umbrella!

Beach Birthday

Hi Everyone,

 

I could hardly wait to show off my beach themed birthday card on the blog today! I've had so much fun using these newly released stamps, that stamping has felt like a vacation!  I swear I could hear the roar of the ocean waves when I was making this card :)

 

I used the 4 in 1 Seashells to make my background.  I stamped them in Versamark and then embossed  them using clear embossing powder and my heat gun. Next,  I used a scallop punch and various shades of blue card stock to give the effect of waves, and finally adding a strip of double sided tape that was coated in sandy colored glittery flock.

 

 

I stamped the Beach Birthday Greeting in Navy ink and die cut it using a rectangle die, and I then layered it onto a glittery blue mat.

 

Finally I stamped, colored and fussy cut four of the shells for embellishment, adding them with some dimensional foam tape.

 

Don't forget to join our weekly challenge here at the DRS Designs blog! 

Sitting here....

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm absolutely obsessed with this sweet new Adirondack Chair (450c) stamp that is soon to be released at DRS Designs! I love that you can add it to a scene on a card or simply use it alone with a matching sentiment.  So perfect in size and design :)  

I began by masking off my background with a left over circle die cut and sponged on a grass and sky setting.  I removed the masked and then stamped the chair, (which I colored with my Copic markers), Sitting Thinking Greeting and my bush. (Four Flower Background)

 

 

 I was imaging that it was early evening after a rain, so I added some glitter glue to the shrub to mimic glistening dew drops :)

While I tried to make this a simple one layer card, I couldn't leave it be.  I love seeing them done by others, but on my desk, they seem so unfinished.  So, I cut it apart and I went ahead and did my standard three layers, added some scalloped edges and twine.  Ahhh....All better ;)

Thank you for the visit today!
Karin

 

You've been on my mind...

 Hi Everyone,

 

I know it's not officially on the calender yet, but the kids are out of school, my flowers are planted (partially eaten by, deer, bunnies and gold finches already!) and the temperature is in the 80 degree range, so for me it's summertime!  Nothing says summer more, than time spent at the water, so I'm celebrating that idea with my card share today.

I stamped the Seaside Dock image from DRS Designs in navy pigment ink and embossed it using a clear powder with small sparkly flecks.  I die cut it and layered it on a scalloped mat, and set it aside to create my background.  I've done both watercolor and sponged backgrounds, but I thought I would try something different, and create a gradient blue background to resemble water.  I pulled out all of my blue Copic markers and began by coloring sections of the paper, working up from darkest to lightest, using the colorless blender to soften the ink in between the color changes.   

 

 

I added a bit of matching sponging around the image, just to make it blend with the background better, and added after a bit of nautical twine and button embellishment. 

 

I chose to match the sentiment shape to the main image, so I stamped the first half of the On My Mind Greeting, and then the second half below it, using a punch to cut it out.  I then did the same type of coloring on it, that I did on the background panel.  

Thanks for visiting us today and don't forget about our weekly challange!  The theme is "Over the Top"! ...

Hope your week is going great!

Karin

 

Friendship

Hi Everyone,

Last week I mentioned that I had some new neighbors move in, and these folks are super nice.  They stopped by and brought me a bouquet of peonies from their yard!  A gesture like that definitely requires a thank you card, so I managed to pull together this quickie for them.  

I began with choosing a light green card base and used the Silhouette Background Trees stamp on my panel.  I added a strip of light green card stock that I stamped with the Polka Dot Background stamp in the same ink.  I stamped the Life is Friendship Greeting in black and added a punched border and piece of black cotton lace.

It needed a bit of pizazz, which in my head always means glitter, so I dabbed that on the greenery :)  Lastly, I used the butterfly from the Three Flowers with Butterfly for an embellishment and added it with some dimensional tape. 

Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

Our House Birdhouse



Hi Everyone,

 

I just met my new neighbors a week ago, and I decided to make a card using my stamps from DRS Designs, with them in mind. We just celebrated Memorial Day, so I chose to use an all American red, white and blue theme for the card.  I love that summer is unofficially here, don't you?  

I stamped the Single Birdhouse multiple times to create my focal image and die cut it using my oval dies, but I did it at an angle, just to give it a different look.  I colored them with my Copic markers and added one of the birdies from the Love Birds Branch stamp that I colored and fussy cut, to the top of one of the houses. 

 

 

The background was made using these three stamps:

Script Background

Splatter Background

Starry Background

 

The sentiment, Our House to Yours was punched out and adhered using dimensional tape.  To finish it off, I added a striped ribbon along with some photo corners that were created using a punch. 

 

Thank you for looking in today!
Karin

Wedding Flowers

Hi Everyone,

One of my all time favorite stamps in the DRS Designs catalog is the Dogwood Branch, and spring wouldn't be complete without using it.  It's so pretty and elegant, that I decided to make a wedding card using it.  

My original thought was to use the stamp to create a background, but after stamping the corners, I decided to leave the center empty and place my chosen sentiment right there.

 

I began with a cream colored card base and made the focal  panel 1/2" smaller.  After stamping the flowers, I colored them with my Copic markers and then used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to place the To Have and Hold Greeting right where I wanted it.  I then finished it off by layering the panel on a piece of black card stock that was 1/8" larger and adding random half pearls and Stickles to the flowers.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to join our weekly challenge.  The theme is Birds and Bees!

Karin

Sunshine...

Hi Everyone,

My niece graduated a little over a week ago, and the weather that day was spectacular.  Nothing but blue skies and sunshine as far as the eye could see; and as with all graduations, the day was filled with joy and hope for the future.  Those thoughts ran through my head as I was making this card that I'm sharing with you today.  

 

I started with a bright yellow base and I embossed a cloud background on a cream panel, layering it onto a piece of black to make it stand out.  I punched out a circle for the sun, attaching a yellow felt button and bit of  twine for some texture.  I then added a couple of white die cut clouds, attaching one with a dimensional dot.  I stamped the sweet Sun Shine on You Greeting recently released here at DRS Designs on matching yellow card stock, lining it also in black, for that extra pop. 

 

 

 

It need something else to balance it out, so I decided to add some yellow punched hearts to stand in for the sun's ray, finishing them off by added a bit of glitter glue.   

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit today and may the sun shine bright for you today and every day!

 

Karin

It's Spring...

Hi Everyone,

I live in northeast Ohio, and we had the coldest February on record!  My neighbors rented a house and spent February and March in Florida for the first time since they retired, and they couldn't have picked a better year for doing that.  When I say it was cold, you know you can believe me :)  There is no one on earth that is more happy that it's spring, than yours truly.

So with that, I give you today's card share with an adorable sentiment (Spring Bee Happy Greeting) that pairs with Happy Bee, all from DRS Designs.  Franky, that bee is me; big smile, glittery wings and all ;)

 

 

My background was made using the Honeycomb Design stamp, Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Copic markers.  The bottom portion was stamped with the greeting and the Bee Trail, and then I dry embossed it with a Hexagon embossing folder by Darice.  I finished it off by added a piece of lace trim to cover up the seam.

I just love the color yellow at any time of year...it's super cheerful!

 

Thanks for visiting today!
Karin

Butterfly Kisses

Hi Everyone,

 

Today's card features the new Butterfly Kisses Greeting, which was released this past weekend at the DRS Designs store.  It's a lovely sentiment and coordinates with any number of butterfly stamps in the current catalog.

While it was hard to choose a butterfly from all of the stamps available, I decided to used the Large Open Silhouette Butterfly and the emboss resist technique. I stamped the greeting in a deep purple and then used the butterfly stamp, Versamark ink and a white embossing powder, heat setting it with my heat gun.  

 

After it cooled, I chose two lighter colors of purple ink and sponged right on top of all of my stamping, adding a few die cut butterflies to give the card more dimension.

 

 

 

I finished it by layering the stamped panel onto some purple card stock and added the gems for embellishment.

Thanks for visiting the blog and be sure to check out the new stamp release here!

 

Karin

 

Dandelion Pinwheel

Hi Everyone,

Years ago I made a card with a pinwheel on it using my punches and patterned paper.  I came across it in my stash, and I decided to make one this week, only this time I used my stamps instead. 

I chose an orange and yellow color combo, stamping the Dandelion Puff once in orange ink, and again in yellow for the shadow.  I punched them out using a 1 1/4" square and layered them onto a 1 3/8" orange square of card stock..  After creating the pinwheel circle, there was a hole in the center, so I covered that up with a punched flower and rhinestone brad.

 

 

I used my Stamp-A-Majig and stamped the Rest Best of  Life Birthday Greeting along the side of the background paper and again stamped the dandelion multiple times on top of it.  

I added a couple of punched corner embellishments and called it done :)

Thanks for visiting us today and be sure to check out our challenge here at the blog each and every Thursday!

Karin

Poppy Birthday

Hi Everyone,

I took my little 9 year old friend to see the movie Cinderella (Super sweet, by the way!), and I did something I haven't done in a very long time.  I bought movie theater popcorn!  With all the reports about how bad it is for you, I generally shy away from it, but it's hard to resist a kid :) Mmmmm....Let me tell ya, it was worth the indulgence.  And it gave me inspiration for today's card share.

I wanted to make a birthday card using the Bowl of Popcorn from DRS Designs, so I began with stamping, coloring and fussy cutting my image.  I created background papers using the Popcorn and Splatter Background stamps and added a bit of ribbon trim to match.  I then layered my image onto some die cuts, but I needed a sentiment for the front.

I chose the Hoppy Birthday Greeting, and changed it to fit the theme of my card.  I used a bit of tape to mask off the H in the first word and stamped and colored my greeting.  I then stamped it a second time on a piece of scrap paper and fussy cut the letter P, adding it to the beginning.  So cute.  It even looks like the greeting is popping around!

Thanks for "popping" by and in the words of Cinderella, "Have courage and be kind."

Have a great day!

Hey, Cupcake!

Hi Everyone,

This new sentiment stamp from DRS Designs, Hey, Cupcake!, might literally be referring to me after all the treats I ate over the holiday weekend...lol!

Seriously though, I knew I wanted to pair the greeting with the actual Cherry Top Cupcake stamp from the current catalog, so I stamped a row of them and added a punched border to the panel. I decided I wanted one cupcake to stand out, so I stamped and fussy cut one, and paper pieced the cupcake liner onto it. The striped patterned paper was created using the Large Original Plaid background stamp and then I attached it using a dimensional dot.

 

 

I finished off the card with some glitter on the cherry, a piece of twine and matching button.

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

Rainbow Card

Hi Everyone,

DRS Designs has just released this beautiful Rainbow Greeting and  it inspired me to try and create a rainbow type background for this card.  I was pleased with how easy this was to do, and the best thing about it, you can't mess it up :)


I used the piece of plastic that came with my stamp-a-ma-jig and wiped it across my ink pad.  I misted it with some water from a spray bottle, and then smooshed it on a piece of paper.  I did that multiple times using all the colors of the rainbow and it gave me a cool, watercolor, rainbow-ish effect.  I took my heat gun and tried to dry it, but it ended up a bit wonky, so I ran a low iron over it to smooth it out.

 

 

 

I stamped, cut and layered a border onto the greeting, but it looked a little too plain.  I decided to add some butterflies using the Three Butterflies stamp, and colored them to look like a rainbow as well. 

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to enter our weekly challenge for your chance at winning some stampy goodness!



Birthday Squares

Hi Everyone,

 

My post today was inspired by my team mate Julie, and I know I speak for everyone at DRS Designs when I say that her cards consistently blow our minds...In the best possible way. She has an eye for design, a way with techniques and the ability to use stamps in surprising ways. That being said, she posted a gorgeous card on Friday, (if you missed it, click here) and my card today doesn't come close. When I played around and I wasn't happy with my result, I tried to look at the general design of her card, and used the tools I had on hand, to make a simpler, "Karin" version of her card.

I started out with an A2 sized card base, a turquoise mat that was 1/4" smaller than said base, and 12 1 1/4" punched squares of various stamps.

 

 

Here are the stamps I used:
Three Butterflies
Birthday Sheet Music
Four Flower Background
Lines O' Plenty Background
Dogwood Branch
Silhouette Branch
Silhouette Background Trees
Large Original Plaid Background
Polka Dot Background
Interlocking Flower Background
Tiny Happy Birthday

This card is the whole reason that I will always be a "stampy" gal. While I love to color open line stamps, and digis have their place too, this card gives me the satisfaction of really participating in the hobby I love.

I hope I've inspired you to use your imagination when it comes to stamping, and not to be afraid of making a flat, easy to mail card :)

Peace, Love and Stamping my Friends!

Karin

 

Irish Blessing

Hi Everyone,

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I 

saved one of my Irish themed cards that I made a while ago, to share with you on this holiday.

 

I chose a simple design to put the spotlight on the lovely Irish Blessing from DRS Designs.  I stamped it in a dark green and die cut it and added a mat in the same dark green color.  The Infinity Shamrock was stamped over the sentiment in a lighter green and I colored it in using a Copic marker.  

 

 

The embossed background was enhanced by rubbing a sponge dipped in green ink over it.  That added just enough color to bring out the shamrocks.  I added a punched border and a piece of white cotton lace to finish the project.

Thanks for visiting and whether you celebrate or not, I wish you a wonderful day!

Karin