Just a quick post to let you know that at the moment I am missing in action due to my daughter's "misplaced" camera cord.
I have lots of projects and things to share but at the moment still can't find the missing cord to upload the photos onto my computer. Argh!!
Please keep checking, hopefully we may just find it if I get into clean out a room!!!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Missing Camera Cord
Posted by Cards by Karen at 10:56 AM 1 comments
Labels: General
Friday, November 13, 2009
All Things Baby
Lovely friends of ours have had a gorgeous baby boy "Chase" who is now a few weeks old and here are a couple of things I had made for them.
The first one was a cake which I presented to them at their baby shower. It was filled with all things baby. It is surprising what you can fit inside these pieces, from bibs to lotions and even a cute little nail clipper.
Here is a close up of one of the pieces:-
I have previously made a couple of baby cakes for girls but I did find this one for a boy a bit of a challenge. Didn't really want to decorate it all with flowers!!
Anyway, I also made them a card which I gave them after bub was born. It was a very simple card but simplicity is all you need for babies I think.
That's all for babies at the moment. I can say that I have made a start on some Christmas cards this year, and also working on some Chrissy present ideas.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 8:30 AM 2 comments
Labels: 3D Projects, Baby
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Bugs and Daisies
This second card is pretty much exactly the same except that I stamped the bugs onto White cardstock and then cut them out. I then popped them up to give them a bit of a lift.
Anyway, I really should be making Christmas cards but so far just haven't got the inclination. Although, I am currently working on ideas for my mum and mother-in-law so I guess I have made a start.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 3:07 PM 1 comments
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Always Hearts
Hi to everyone out there in the stamping world. After having a busy week of making cards for Christmas pressies I thought I would have a break and post a lovely card that I had made a few weeks ago with the lovely "Always" set.
This would be the perfect anniversary or wedding card and I have a couple of big ones coming up next year with family members. Here it is:-
I'm loving the colour combination of Almost Amethyst, Close to Cocoa and Very Vanilla, just gorgeous!! I used the beautiful swirls from "Priceless" inked in Almost Amethyst and stamped on Very Vanilla. The hearts are cut out and then layered onto Close to Cocoa and cut out again (don't look too closely!!).
Enjoy your day and happy stamping!!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:41 AM 1 comments
Labels: Anniversary, Wedding
Friday, October 2, 2009
Always & Flower Fusion
Good morning to everyone out there in the blogging and stamping world. I had a day where I made quite a few cards with the lovely Always set (which I have only just acquired!! - took me long enough). Here is one of those cards which was inspired by this lovely card I came across on Splitcoaststampers.
It's not the best of photos, I was having a bit of a play around with the camera and lighting. I used Old Olive as the base card and stamped the branch image onto Whisper White card using Old Olive. I then attached the flowers with brads. I used Purely Pomegranate to cut out the scallop circle and inked the saying from "Best Yet" in Pomegranate. This was a very simple and quick card which came up a treat.
Thanks for looking!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 8:09 AM 1 comments
Labels: General
Monday, September 28, 2009
Happy Birthday to my Dad!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 8:19 AM 1 comments
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Another Challenge Card
I came across another challenge set by Marelle Taylor for a card made with no stamps. Oh no, how was I going to pull this one off!!
I thought for quite some time on this one and ended up coming up with the following card:-
I used Pink Pirouette as the base card followed by a piece of retired DSP "Spring Fling". I also cut out the circles from another patterned piece of DSP from the "Spring Fling" collection using my 3/4" circle punch and then mounted them onto Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink and So Saffron. I then finished off my card with one of the lovely flower brads.
I don't have any rub-ons at present so was very tempted to add a stamped saying but refrained from doing so!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 10:08 AM 4 comments
Labels: Challenges
Monday, September 21, 2009
"Spooky" Cupcakes
My second son had a birthday last week, turning the big "10". I put on a party for him this year and he decided on a "Spooky" theme. I was getting a bit worried about how I would pull this off but after a visit to my local Spotlight store lo and behold they were stocked for Halloween!!! This made my day and I thought this spooky theme could just work.
Anyway, after having a chat to my lovely neighbour, who also is a very talented cake decorator, we decided to come up with "spooky" cupcakes. My lovely daughter made 24 cupcakes on Saturday and the three of us had a ball decorating them.
Here is the finished product:-
All 24 lovely cupcakes nicely iced and decorated with webs, spiders, bones and skulls. The cupcake papers have spiders on them as well.
Here is a close-up view:-
The little spooky things are made with icing that sets really hard, painted and sprinkled with edible glitter!! The kids thought these were just the best cakes ever. Too cool!! The party went really well and all thoroughly enjoyed the "spooky" theme. (However, I don't think Mum will be willing to put her hand up again for a party for quite some time!!!).
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:30 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Makeesha's Inspiration Challenge #12
I had a little struggle with this one as yellow is not one of my all time favourite colours but I didn't mind working with it.
Here is my entry for this challenge. Not sure about this card at all but thought I might as well have a play.My photography is not the greatest and it is hard to tell but I dry-embossed the top part of the card to represent the criss-cross of the doors and also around the edges of the white card layer.
I went with Pacific Point as my base colour and used circles from the Big Pieces and Little Pieces sets stamped with Pacific Point and Bashful Blue. I stamped up the flower image onto Summer Sun cardstock with white ink. I tried to achieve the look of the bedspread.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 1:40 PM 4 comments
Labels: Challenges
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Marelle's Spring Mini Challenge
I have been a regular blog stalker of the lovely Marelle Taylor's blog for some time now so decided I would try my hand at one of her challenges!! You can find Marelle's Challenge details here.
My entry is inspired by the one on page 12 of the Spring Mini Catalogue but as I don't have that lovely Forest Friends set yet I thought I would improvise with the Trendy Trees instead.
Here is my entry:-
Probably not the best of photos!! I used Baja Breeze as the base of my card followed by a layer of Chocolate Chip. I then stamped my trees and the little birds from Wild About You onto Whisper White. I layered this onto a piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock and then using a circle punch I punched out a semi circle. I then tied a beautiful piece of Baja Breeze ribbon over the Chocolate Chip layer and under the Kiwi Kiss layer. I then finished it off with a brad and, although the photo isn't the best, I did stamp Thinking of You on the Chocolate Chip layer just near the brad.
Now to see if I can enter the challenge!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:15 AM 2 comments
Labels: Challenges
Monday, September 14, 2009
Catching Up!!
Well I finally managed to photograph my pile of cards and decided to post a couple of cards that I have handed out recently.
This first card was for my DH's birthday which was some time back in August. I am not sure where the inspiration came from for this card. I had it saved in a folder but it has no watermark attached so not sure who to give credit to. It was such a simple card but came up a treat.I have used Very Vanilla as the base for my card followed by Chocolate Chip then a layer of paper from the Outlaw DSP. I then stamped up the tree from Lovely as a Tree onto vanilla with Chocolate Chip. I used my Creative Memories circles to cut this out and also mounted onto Chocolate Chip. I stamped the saying from On Your Birthday onto vanilla cardstock then layered onto a piece of Chocolate Chip.
My next card is our Wedding Anniversary card (19 years!!). Our anniversary was on the 1st September a couple of days after my DH's birthday. Here is the card I made for him. He laughed when I gave it to him and I told him that I slaved away all day (not really!!) to make the perfect card for him!!
This set uses the lovely images from Forever in my Heart. I again went with Chocolate Chip followed by a layer of Baja Breeze and a piece of DSP from the Bella Rose pack. I then stamped the love border onto white cardstock with Chocolate Chip then stamped the heart onto white with Baja Breeze. The "love you" stamp is from Short & Sweet.
Hope you enjoy my creations and keep checking in over the next few weeks because I will be updating regularly and have some special things to share.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 8:32 AM 1 comments
Labels: Anniversary, Birthday
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
An Inspired Card
I stumbled across a beautiful card made using the lovely Petal Pizzazz set and just had to re-create it. Here is the original idea by Sally. I changed mine slightly by colour and really loved the simplicity of it.
Here is my take on the card:-The base of my card is made with Whisper White, the bottom of the front of the card was cut with the scallop edge punch. I then stamped the flowers in Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Pink Pirouette. I used a piece of the beautiful Bella Rose DSP and tied Riding Hood ribbon around it all. The sentiment is stamped in Riding Hood Red and attached with one of the clips. This card uses minimal paper and was very quick and easy.
I have been making a lot of cards just recently with my lovely friends but as usual haven't got around to photographing them yet. Will have to set a date with the camera and just go for it!!
Bye for now.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:09 AM 2 comments
Labels: Birthday
Monday, August 24, 2009
Lovin' the Ideas
Sometimes when I am looking for inspiration I head for the Stampin' Up! catalogues and can always come up with something. The following card is one that appears in the current catalogue on page 81. Here is my take on it:-
Although the one in the book uses a different stamp set that I don't have I came up with a lovely stem from Petal Prints. I also cut out the flowers from a stamp in the Dreams du Jour set. Not a likely combination but I think it came up a treat.
I used the lovely Baja Breeze cardstock for the base of my card followed by a piece of Baja Breeze patterned DSP. I then tore a layer of Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White. My stem image has been stamped in Basic Black and then coloured with a blender pen using Kiwi Kiss ink.
Hope you like it!! I always find plenty of inspiration in all of the Stampin' Up! catalogues and always manage to change them to suit what stamps I have.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 8:35 AM 2 comments
Labels: General
Monday, August 17, 2009
My Son's Birthday Card
Here is the card I made for my eldest son's birthday, which was on the 13th of this month. He turned 17!! Doesn't that make me feel old!!!
He enjoyed his day and loved the tools he got which means he won't need to touch his father's tools anymore!!
I went with this simple card which came together quite a treat. This is a CASE card from Kim and you can find her blog here. (For the life of me I can't seem to find it on her blog).
I used the Big Pieces stamp set and also a saying from It's Your Birthday. My base card is made using Night of Navy followed by a layer of More Mustard. I then added a second layer using Baja Breeze followed by Very Vanilla. I then stamped the circles with Night of Navy, More Mustard and Baja Breeze. The saying is stamped in Night of Navy.
Thanks for looking and I hope you all enjoy your day.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 8:47 AM 1 comments
Labels: Birthday
Monday, August 10, 2009
A Forgotten Card and Another
I have used Old Olive for the base card then a layer of Pink Pirouette followed by a piece of the beautiful Bella Rose paper. I am not sure what red I used there but it could be Riding Hood Red. The flowers I have stamped are from Botanical Blooms.
I just love this sketch and for the second card I am going to show you I have used the same sketch but changed it around a bit.
I have used Baja Breeze for the base card followed by a layer of Taken with Teal (which doesn't seem to photograph well!!). I then stamped the Friendly Words wheel in Taken with Teal on Whisper White. The stamped "Love you" image was coloured with blender pens. This really is a lovely card IRL.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:27 AM 1 comments
Friday, August 7, 2009
Upsy Daisy
Well I have finally managed to get some photos off my daughter's camera and can start updating my poor neglected blog.
Here are some cards I made quite some time ago with my Upsy Daisy set. I just love the simplicity of these cards and thing they came up quite a treat. I had seen this idea previously through blog-hopping but now for the life of me can't seem to find it. I would love to give credit to the person who inspired me.
I used the beautiful Kiwi Kiss as the base card and then stamped my image on Whisper White with Purely Pomegranate.
This next one was using Ballet Blue as my base card and then I double stamped the image with Ballet Blue and ? (for the life of me I can't remember!!). Anyway, it kind of makes your eyes go weird. It has a "fuzzy" effect!! The photograph doesn't really do it justice.
I just love the simplicity of these cards and even used the same idea when I made a sympathy card for my aunt's husband.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:13 AM 1 comments
Labels: General
Monday, August 3, 2009
Dreams du Jour & Scallop Edge Medallions
I was going through some of the photos that were on my old laptop and came across a couple of cards that were made by myself and a friend quite some time ago. We were having a go at the scallop-edged medallions tutorial found here and this is what we came up with:-
I have used Whisper White as the base card followed by Tangerine Tango and DSP "Fall Flowers". My medallion is made using Tangerine Tango and is layered onto a piece of DSP. I then finished it off with a brown ribbon.
Here is my friend Robyn's card. I am not sure what paper she used here but her base card is Whisper White and I believe the pink is Pink Pirouette. We used blender pens to colour the flowers in on the stamped image.
We finally got my daughter's camera back but unfortunately no box and none of the accessories. Will be making a phone call and hopefully someone can tell us what happened to it all or I will not be a happy person!!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:45 AM 1 comments
Labels: General
Friday, July 31, 2009
Yay... finally!!
Yay, I can finally start updating my poor neglected blog. I managed to tie my DH down long enough to get my things off my old dead laptop and onto my new one!! Can't rush these big jobs.
This is a close up of each individual piece which I stamped the cute baby from "All in the Family". I also made scalloped flowers from the scallop circle punch.
Now for a top view of the cake with all 11 pieces in place. I was very happy with my first ever cake and it definitely had the WOW factor. My friend absolutely loved it so much she ordered one for her partner's daughter who had her baby just last weekend (yes, another girl so another pink one!!).
Here is a close up view of the scalloped flowers. I ended up putting brads in the middle to give it that nice finished off look.
Thanks for being patient and I hope it was worth the wait!!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 8:45 AM 3 comments
Labels: 3D Projects
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
My Apologies
Hi to everyone out there who checks into my blog.
My apologies for neglecting my poor blog and I have so much to show and tell but alas I am still waiting to get the pics off the camera (which has been sent away!!) and onto my new laptop. My DH gave me his old laptop to use and am still waiting to get the bits off my dead laptop. Oh well can't rush these things.
I have been working on quite a bit lately and haven't been able to photograph any of them. I have been making paper "cakes" for babies and even some bags and things for my lovely neighbour's business.
Keep checking in and hopefully will have something to show you in the following weeks. Until then I will keep creating!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 8:50 AM 0 comments
Labels: General
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
New Papers
This next card was a case of CASEing from the very talented and gorgeous Karen Thomas who was very cheeky and made this card for me for my birthday. I don't have the Sock Monkey set (and probably won't!!) so I changed it to the giraffe from "Wild About You". The base card is made from Tangerine Tango which has co-ordinated beautifully with the lovely "Sweet Always" DSP. The giraffe in the Chocolate Chip scallop is mounted on Pink Pirouette and Whisper White. The happy birthday label is made with Chocolate Chip and Pink Pirouette. Such a beautiful combination of colours. After putting this card together I noticed that my poor giraffe looks a bit "anterless" (probably not a word, but it sounds good!!) as the party hat is hiding them.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 4:33 PM 1 comments
Monday, June 15, 2009
No Posts
Hi everyone out there who checks into my blog. I haven't been able to post anything new lately due to the total collapse of my laptop. The poor thing has had a total melt down about a week ago. At the moment I have the use of my lovely friend, Wendy's laptop at present until my DH can get mine up and running again. Fingers crossed!!!
I will try and endeavour to get something on here soon. Will have to take some new photos as everything was on my laptop.
Bye for now, but I promise I will be back.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 6:51 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
More Dreams
Here are some more of the cards that my friends and myself made last week using the beautiful Dreams du Jour set. I am really loving this set right now and it is fast becoming a firm favourite. I think it comes up a treat in any colour scheme.
For my card I chose Pink Pirouette as the base card and then used a piece of Real Red DSP. I wasn't overly happy with the size of the scallop square as I felt it could have been a bit smaller but it turned out okay. I have mounted the scallop onto a piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock.
This card was my friend Robyn's. She also chose the same papers I had but decided to change her card around to give a different look. We also had a play with the blender pens when colouring in the stamped images.
This next card was by the lovely Wendy who completely changed the style of her card and even was very clever adding a ribbon weave. I am not sure what the base colour of her card was but I know Wendy used some of the lovely papers from the Bella Rose collection.
All in all another lovely day of card making with friends.
Anyway, I am off to do some house cleaning and tidying as we are expecting interstate visitors over this long weekend. I need my house to look nice and "spiffy" but with four kids that sometimes is a challenge in itself!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:05 AM 0 comments
Labels: Friend's Cards, General
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Yesterday's Big Day
Yes, I have finally reached the big "40" birthday yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to be joined by the wonderful Karen Thomas and two of my other lovely friends, Robyn & Suzie for a lunch date. It's amazing what can be kept from me (smiling at you Rob).
I don't have any cards to share with you just yet (got to get a camera that will work!!!). Maybe I should have put an order in for my birthday, haha!
But what I do have to share with you is this lovely card made by the wonderfully talented Karen which was presented to me yesterday. I can tell you that the card is just as beautiful in real life. The lovely "Jemima" is just gorgeous!!
I really enjoyed a perfect day yesterday with the early gift giving from my four darling children and was then surprised yet again with a beautiful charm bracelet from my wonderful husband. The evening was then followed by dinner at "Hogs Breath". Two great meals in one day, how spoilt!!
Posted by Cards by Karen at 11:44 AM 1 comments
Labels: Birthday
Friday, May 29, 2009
Cards with Friends
Once a week my lovely friends (waving at you Wendy, Robyn and Suzie!!) get together and have a card making day but I think mostly we spend a lot of time talking and laughing!
This one was made by myself and I went with the new Pacific Point cardstock teamed up with Whisper White and also a piece of DSP from "Petals & Paisleys". I used inks from Tempting Turquoise and Ballet Blue with a blender pen to colour in the flowers and Old Olive for the leaves. The butterflies were inked with Tempting Turquoise. I finished mine off with a very pale blue ribbon.
This next card is made by the lovely Robyn and if my memory is right I think she used Ballet Blue with a piece of DSP from the Old Olive prints. Rob finished her card off with white ribbon.
Next we have the same card made by Wendy. I also think she used Ballet Blue as well and the same Old Olive Prints DSP. Wendy also changed the layout a little and positioned her brads on the top left hand corner. This card was also finished off with white ribbon.
I think these cards all came up lovely and it shows how you can get the same look by changing colours and moving elements around. We did do more cards but I will post them at a later date. There are just too many to put on in one post!! We did end up having quite a productive day with lots of cards made. I will have to get photos of Suzie's cards as she had left before we bought the camera out.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 11:14 AM 1 comments
Labels: Friend's Cards, General
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Lovely Baroque Motifs
The colours I chose are Purely Pomegranate, Pale Plum, Old Olive and Whisper White. I just love these colours together. I also used a piece of Prints DSP in Old Olive.
I will be back with some exciting projects I have been working on to show you. I just can't upload them yet until I give them to the recepients.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 3:50 PM 2 comments
Monday, May 11, 2009
Happy Mother's Day
A good morning to everyone out there and to all the mums I hope you enjoyed your day yesterday. I had a lovely day starting off with the wonderful handmade gift that my second youngest son presented to me which he had made at school. It was a fantastic shoe magnet which he had decorated which is now on my fridge. He had also bought me a beautiful pendant from his school's mother's day stall (I think he may have had some help from my lovely friend Rob who was helping with the stall!!).
I then received a beautiful handmade card which had some money enclosed (which will definitely go towards new stamps!!) from my lovely daughter together with a bunch of flowers.
The rest of the day was followed by a wonderful BBQ cooked by my eldest son which we enjoyed with some friends. All in all a very nice day. Quite relaxing.
Here are the flowers and card that I received:-
Emily then made her card using the colours of the flowers and this is her beautiful card:-
Emily chose Old Olive for the base card then layered a piece of DSP. She then used a piece of Lovely Lilac followed by Tangerine Tango. You can't see it too well but she had used the Polka Dot background on the white cardstock. The flowers are then stamped with Pumpkin Pie, Pink Passion, Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant. The leaves are stamped with Old Olive. The flowers were then finished off with some brads. (Sorry for the not too good pic!).
Posted by Cards by Karen at 10:07 AM 1 comments
Thursday, April 30, 2009
It's Been a While
This next one has used Ballet Blue cardstock also with the DSP "Fall Flowers". The first image is stamped with Ballet Blue and then again with Pumpkin Pie. Also a card made with colours out of my comfort zone.
This card is more like my colour style using the lovely new In Colour "Pink Pirouette" (just gorgeous) together with the Prints DSP "Rose Red". I stamped the image firstly with Pink Pirouette and then again with Rose Red. I also stamped the word "kind" and then added an oval embellishment to finish it off.
This is made with the lovely Pale Plum put together with DSP "Petals & Paisleys". I really love the plum and olive colours together. The image was stamped with Pale Plum then again with Old Olive. I then stamped the motif image in pale plum, stamping out a scallop then attaching it to an Old Olive circle.
Hope you have enjoyed looking at my blog.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:29 AM 1 comments
Labels: General
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Making Years Count
I was having a play with my new Forever in my Heart set (now retired) and the following card is what I came up with. The idea came from an earlier Makeesha's Sketch Challenge which can be found here.
It is hard to see in the photograph but the base of the card is made with Taken with Teal (doesn't seem to photograph too well). I then used a piece of River Rock which I pierced along the bottom. The polka dot paper is from DSP Petals & Paisleys.
I then stamped "Years Count" saying from It's Your Birthday and paper pierced the corners. I mounted the heart from Forever in my Heart onto a teal scallop and then onto a River Rock circle. I just love these colours together.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 8:49 AM 1 comments
Labels: Birthday
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Petals Again
I have really loved making cards with this petal set, just beautiful!!! This is also another card completed from a sketch challenge by Amy Rysavy which can be found here. Amy has a lot of cool sketches on her blog, worth having a look for inspiration.
Here is my take on the sketch:-
The colours I have chosen are Purely Pomegranate, Regal Rose, River Rock and Whisper White. The petals are stamped in Regal Rose and Purely Pomegrante with a River Rock centre. I have also used the pink polka dot paper from the Spring Fling Designer Series. The card is then finished off with a small piece of very vanilla ribbon.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 4:05 PM 2 comments
Labels: General, Sketch Challenge
Friday, March 27, 2009
Happy Birthday Blooms
I have a friend (waving at you, Rob) who comes around once a week and we have a card making day. I often go through some of my saved sketches and find them to be the easiest way to make a card. Don't have to think too hard!!!
The following card was from an old sketch challenge of Makeesha's and I completely cased this card from the one on her examples (Makeesha's card can be found here). I changed the colours a little (which is completely out of my comfort zone!).
I will go through what I have used (hope I can remember!). I have used all Stampin' Up! supplies except for the ribbon (not sure where that came from). The base card is Purely Pomegranate and the next layer is Basic Gray stamped with the leaf image from Botanical Blooms. I then layered a piece of Kraft (also stamped with leaf image) onto another piece of Purely Pomegranate.
I then two-step stamped the flowers on the main image onto Whisper White cardstock with Rose Red and then Purely Pomegranate. The leaves are stamped in Certainly Celery and then again with Bordering Blue.
Posted by Cards by Karen at 9:16 AM 1 comments
Labels: Birthday