Guest Designing for My Favorite Things Day Three

Welcome back to the third and final day of my big adventure as guest designer for My Favorite Things!  Today is all about the ever important gesture, the hug.  A card with a hug can be used for so many occasions and spans the gamut of recipients.  Here are a couple of cards that showcase some of the products from MFT's recent release:

This adorable little guy pops out perfectly out of his Peek-a-Boo Wonky Window, with the partial sentiment, "I Miss" just above the "U" missing from the Hugs word above.  The bear was colored with Copics.  I stamped and colored an extra right paw so he could look like he's holding the "U". The "Hugs" die word was cut three times, once in plaid, once in foam, and once in the blue cardstock.  The scene was then framed with a Single Stitch Line Rectangle Frame border in white and mounted on a white top folding notecard.  All of the supplies are listed below. 

Here's a bit of a close-up:

Supplies:

Stamps:  Friends Furever, Lots of Hugs

Dies:  Hugs, Friends Furever, Peek-a-Boo Wonky Windows, Single Stitch Line Rectangle Frames

Papers:  Plaid Patterns

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black Ink 

Copics:  E30, 31, 33, 35, 37, 29, 0, R00, Multi-liner 0.3

Moving in an entirely different direction, the next two cards feature the script Hugs Die-namics, and the Sketched Blooms 2 stamp set. 

Both cards were stamped with gold embossing powder onto watercolor paper.  The Hugs die cut was also heat embossed in the same gold.  Everything was painted with Twinkling Waters which gives it a shimmery finish.  The partial panel and Hugs die cut were foam mounted on the first card, and the Hugs die cut was inlaid into the panel of the second card.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Sketched Blooms 2
Dies: Hugs
Paints:  Twinkling Waters - Royal Orchid, Wine and Roses, Mediterranean Blue, Dreamsicle, Moss Agate, Lemongrass, Deep Coral, Blushing Rose
Other:  Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder, Fun Foam

Thanks so much for joining me today!  Thank you, MFT, for the honor of guest designing for you!  I had so much fun playing with the new stamps and dies and combining them with ones that I already had.

I hope you have a wonderful day!
Kara Lynne

Guest Designing for My Favorite Things - Day Two

I thought I'd begin my second day as guest with a nod to this MFT card.  Birdie Brown's Space Explorer is one of those magical stamp sets that easily sets the stage for any outer space scene:

I began by creating a background similar to this card using Distress Inks, water, and white acrylic paint.  I then went to work coloring this little spaceman with Inktense Pencils, and covered over his suit in Silver watercolor.  His face is covered with Glossy Accents to finish off his helmet.  This is the image where he is holding three star balloons, so it was easy to change them out for the balloon diecut from Blueprints 26.  Kuretaki Gansai Tambi watercolors and watercolor paper were used to create the Earth balloon.    I Googled an image of the Earth so I could get a better idea of where to place the continents.  I cut a little slit in the astronaught's hand so the silver thread would slide through his grip.  The sentiment, from the same stamp set, was white heat embossed.  The boy and the Earth were popped up on fun foam and the whole scene was attached to a white card base.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Space Explorer
Dies:  Blueprints 26
Pencils/Watercolor:  Derwent Inktense Pencils, Kuretake Gansi Tambi Watercolors - 95, 53, 58, 62, 20
Ink: Distress Ink Black Soot, Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet, Chipped Sapphire, VersaMark
Other:  White acrylic paint, Silver thread, Glossy Accents, Fun Foam, SSS White Fine Detail Embossing Powder

This next card has a bit of a retro vibe in color and style:

Can cats and birds really get along?  Certainly these two fancy friends think so.  This set is super fun to color, especially in a non-traditional way!  I used Copics to color them, die cut them using the coordinating dies, and framed them using the new Stitched Rounded Square Frames.  The smaller square was also die cut from foam to give it some dimension.  The word "Friend" was die cut into the background and a sentiment from the Friends Furever stamp set was heat embossed below.  The entire panel sits inside the largest of the Stitched Rounded Rectangle Frames.  I used Nuvo Crystal drops in three colors as a final touch.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Purr-Fect Friends, Friends Furever
Dies:  Purr-Fect Friends, Stitched Rounded Rectangle Frames, Stitched Rounded Square Frames, Friend
Copics:  YG0000, 00,21, 23, BG11, 13, YR 61, 65, 68, 09
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Other: Nuvo Crystal Drops - Caribbean Ocean, Apple Green, Ripened Pumpkin

I hope you were inspired today to step out of the box with your designs and colors.  Thanks so much for coming over to visit.  I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Kara Lynne

Guest Designing for My Favorite Things - Day One

Hello, and thank you for joining me today.  I am over-the-moon excited to be guest designing for My Favorite Things! Thank you to everyone at MFT for this amazing opportunity!

My first card features those sweet little animals from Farm Friends.  They were all colored with Copics and fussy cut.  The background was created using the Horizontal Snow Drifts Cover-Up.  I ink blended each inside section with Distress Ink going from darker in the foreground, to lighter in the background.  I made a stencil using the Stitched Cloud Edges and blended Distress Ink with a finger dauber for the sky.  Each of the animals was popped up with foam tape for dimension.  At first I put the littlest chick on top of the tractor, but moved him onto the pig when I realized, in perspective, that would be one very giant chicken!  I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set on white cardstock, and cut it into a banner coming out from the tree.

Supplies:

Stamps:  Farm Friends

Dies: Horizontal Snow Drifts Cover-Up, Stitched Cloud Edges

Copics:  B00, E40s, YG10s, G02, 05, 07, Y15, 17, YR09, C00, C1, C3, C5, C7, 100, W00, W1, W3, W5, W7, 0, R000, R00, RV000, RV00, R20, RV21, E20s, E49,

Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, Distress Inks - Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles, Tea Dye, Scattered Straw, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso, Tumbled Glass

This next card takes llama drama to a whole new level:

I wanted to try my hand at zentangling (is that a word?), and this llama was game.  I stamped him in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and drew in the lines with a Copic Multi-liner 0.3.  I looked at zentangle patterns online to get ideas.  He was pretty happy with the results, and his llama friends, though shaking their heads, showed their support. 

Here's a close-up of the details:

After he was colored, and given a little sand to stand on, he was framed with the new Stitched Rounded Rectangle Frame and popped up with fun foam.  His friends were also colored with Copics, fussy cut, and adhered partially with foam tape, and partially with just regular adhesive.  They were also given a little ground to stand on.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set, and the card base was cut out using a die from Blueprints 26.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Llama Love
Dies: Blueprints 26, Single Stitch Line Rounded Rectangle Frames
Copics:  W00,1,3,5, E50, E51, 0, YR68, V04, RV69, RV04, G05, Y17, BG02, BV08, Multi-liner .03
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Other: Fun Foam

This little sweetheart in the Pure Innocence line asked for a paper pieced bright yellow gingham dress and I was happy to oblige:

This is actually her second dress.  My first attempt included using Copics to give the dress some depth, but it ended up dulling the entire dress, so she took that off, and I gave her a new one without shadows.  I colored and fussy cut her arm and adhered it on top of her dress.  Her shoes and hairclip have a Glossy Accents finish, and the centers of the flowers are dotted with Enamel Accents in Lemon Twist.  Everything besides the dress was colored with Copics.  The top tag and background were cut with the Stitched Scallop Basic Edges to coordinate with the look of the gingham.  The top of the white panel was ink blended with Fossilized Amber Distress Ink and a stencil brush from Clarity Stamps.  This was my first time using these stencil brushes, and I am in love!  It was so easy to control the amount of ink.
 
Supplies:
Stamps: PI Happy Together
Dies:  Tag Builder Blueprints 4, Stitched Scallop Basic Edges
Paper:  Tiny Check Brights
Copics:  E000, 00, 02, 11, 33, 35, 37, 39, 29, C1, Y11, 13, 15, YG09, 25, W00, 1
Inks:  Fossilized Amber Distress Ink
Other: Ranger Enamel Accents - Lemon Twist, Glossy Accents, Claritystamps Stencil Brush, Yellow Floss

Thanks for coming by to visit!  I hope that this helped spark your creativity in some new ways.  Have a wonderful day and I will see you here again next week.

Kara Lynne

Tag, You're It! #65 With Lisa Arana

I can't believe a month has passed since I last posted, yikes!  Where does the time go?  Well, Valentine's Day quickly approaches and our featured artist, Lisa Arana, created a wonderful tag that really got me in the mood.  Here's my Valentine tag:

 Here's the inspiration from Lisa:

I kept Lisa's red, black, and white colors, and added pink.  I loved Lisa's ribbon, so I kept pretty close to it.  I also added a banner for the sentiment.  Her sweet little critter has his arms up, which made me think of the little girl image from Mamma Elephant's Carried Away.  Her lower half is popped up on two layers of foam to give some dimension.  Her left hand was stamped again and altered to look like she's holding on.

Now I must confess that I forgot about her buttons before I took these photos.  She now has shiny, red buttons on her coat.  Whew, I know you were really agonizing over that, weren't you.  Ha! Okay, if you're like me, you didn't really notice.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: ME Carried Away, SSS Sending Happy Thoughts
Dies:  SSS Clipping Heart
Copics:  C1,3,5, R20,24,27,29,59, RV52,55,27, E000,00,11,33,37,29
Inks/Powder: Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black, SSS super fine white embossing powder
Other:  Ribbon I received from JJ Bolton some years ago, Embroidery floss from Hobby Lobby

I hope you are inspired to come join us over at Tag, You're It!  Check out the TYI blog and you will find many wonderful ideas from my teammates. 

I just noticed that the SSS Flickr Group Challenge #64 is "Love is in the Air" so this card is going to join in over there!

Thanks for coming over to visit.  I hope you are having a wonderful day!
Kara Lynne

Tag, You're It #63 with Karin Akesdotter

Today begins a new challenge over at Tag, You're It!  I've been a long time admirer of our Featured Artist, Karin Akesdotter.  She created a charming little tag to start the New Year off right:

I love that little owl with the night background framed by the clean white tag and details.  I followed along with the same tag shape, but changed the direction of the branch and bow details.  Here's my take:

I stamped,Copic colored, and fussy cut the LOTV image called Spring Swing.  The swing rope was replaced with real floss "rope" tied to the tree and glued to the swing seat.  Little bows hide the glue.  The front tag was popped up with fun foam and the base tag was ink blended with Tumbled Glass DI.

I hope you will play along with us over at Tag, You're It!  Please stop by to see the wonderful interpretations my teammates have created.

Supplies:

Stamp:  Lili of the Valley - Spring Swing

Dies:  MFT Tag Blueprints #4

Inks:  DI Tumbled Glass

Copics:  E30s, 40s, YG 10s, Cs

Other:  Fun Foam, Floss - Hobby Lobby

Thanks for coming over to visit.  I hope you are having a great day!

Kara Lynne

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post to wish you all a very Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

We were so busy with all the activities of Christmas that all we ended up with this year was a family selfie!  That's my husband, Gene and me in the back, and Kate (13) and Elle (15) in front.

I snapped these photos at about 6:00 in the morning yesterday, Christmas Eve.  We had to leave early to visit with family for the day, but for Gene and Kate, the fresh snow was too perfect to pass up:

Thanks for coming over to visit!  May you be blessed this Christmas and throughout the New Year!

Kara Lynne

Many Thanks

Blogland is lit up with beautiful cards of the season, and here I am, a month behind, bringing up the theme of Thanksgiving.  Ah well, thankfulness is always in season, right?  It's rare that I post more than one card at a time.  Frankly, it's rare that I get to post at all these days, but today I have several thank you cards to share, thanking specific fellow paper crafting blogging friends for their generosity:

 

This sweet pup is from a wonderful stamp set sent to me by my dear friend, Therese.  I was so blown away to find this gift in my mail box!  I love the expressions on each of their faces!

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Katzelkraft Les Chiens, SSS You Matter

Dies: SSS You

Paper:  MME Stella and Rose, PTI Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate

Copics:  W00,1,3, C5,7, R20,32,35, E000,21,23,25,27,29,31,47,49, G00, BG10,11,45

Other:  Doodle Bug Sprinkles - Tangerine, Swimming Pool, SSS Fine Detail White Embossing Powder, fun foam

This floral card is full of SSS products, some of which I purchased with a gift card from Barb after winning it during her blogaversary celebration.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  SSS Spring Flowers, Paper Smooches Many Thanks

Dies:  SSS Bubble Breeze, SSS Sending, SSS Basic Banners (extended), SSS Stitched Frames

Ink: Distress Ink Worn Lipstick, Dried Marigold, Abandoned Coral, Memento Tuxedo Black

Copics:  YG 17,21,23,25, R12,32,35,37, YR000,00,20,61,65

Simon Says Stamp is celebrating DieCember (very clever), so the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge #60 theme is "Cut It Out For DieCember".  Therefore, this card will be joining in on the fun over there. 

This card is made from products by Gina K.  They gave me a generous gift certificate to their store during the Fall Coffee Lover's Bloghop.  The Winter Coffee Lover's Bloghop is in full swing right now, so check that out.  Since this is a fall themed card, I'm going to leave it out, but I'm hoping to join with another card before it ends.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Gina K Coffee

Paper:  Gina K Grateful Heart

Ink:  Memento Bamboo, Distress Ink Ground Espresso

Copics:  E 07,23,51, R89, G20,21, YG91,93,95

Other:  Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, Stampendous Pearlustre Jade embossing powder

Thank you to these generous ladies once again!  Thank YOU, too, for stopping by for a visit.  I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Kara Lynne