DT Call at TIME OUT Challenges!

Good Morning!
The day is finally here, it's time for the DT Call at TIME OUT Challenges! In our post in the challenge blog we are also introducing our fourth and final round of challenges -head on over there to find out all about it!

My card today is a inspired by CASology (purple) and follows the sketch at Less is More. It's also influenced by this beautiful card by Sandie -she used thin string to create her layout and I wanted to try if it would work with thin paper strips. I'd say it did! I've colored the floral image (by Hobby Art) with Copics and stamped my sentiment with Imperial Purple Versafine -such a beautiful color. The sentiment is in Finnish and means "For Mum".

Thanks for popping by and have a great day everyone! Don't forget to check out the 4th challenge type and DT Call at TIME OUT Challenges!

Photo Inspiratio at Addicted to Stamps and More

Hi everyone!
It's time for a new Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge and it's a Photo Inspiration. I must say our photo inspiration is quite tempting this time... It makes me want to eat A LOT of candy!! :)  I try to keep away from candy but I compensate by eating loads of chocolate... I'm not sure if there's sense in any of it!!

Anyways, the sweet treat in my card is a perfectly cute bunny from DeeDee's Digis, our sponsor. Our photo led me to make a Valentine's Day card with cute pinks. I've colored the bunny with Copics and placed him on a card base where I've stenciled some script using brown ink. I added a ribbon to complete the card and had fun finding the perfect position for the ribbon ends -do you notice similarities with something else in the card?  ;)

I hope you'll head on over to Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge Blog now and check out how the rest of the DT was inspired by this photo. You'll love what you see! All the challenge details on how to play along are to be found there too. Happy crafting!

Runway Inspired Paint Chip Flowers

Hi!
This is a quick card I made for Virginia's Paint Chip Challenge and for Runway Inspired Challenges. The moment I saw the inspiration dress I knew the stamp I wanted the use -Mixed Media by Prima- I knew I wanted to have different colors peeking through white embossing. After hoarding paintships last weekend I got the idea to heat emboss on top of them and that looks pretty fun I think! I chose two chips with complimentary colors for my background. Kiitos is Finnish for Thank You... So Kiitos for paying me a visit, have a great day!

Pssst... Only 2 more days for the DT Call at TIME OUT Challenges!

Sneak Peek Time at TIME OUT Challenges!

Hi friends!

It's my turn to introduce the next challenge type at TIME OUT Challenges. We have proceeded to round 3 and the third challenge in our rota will always be a theme with... Head on over to the challenge blog to find out how that sentence continues! I'll tell you this much: there's a reason why this post has two cards and not only one! ;)

In my first card I've colored in girly girls from Stamping Bella -I longed for these stamps for months until I noticed Quixotic Paperie in UK sells them. Yay! It's difficult to order stamps from U.S. (there tends to be problems with taxes and customs) from Finland so it's always a joy to find American stamps sold  in Europe. By the way, have you European girls noticed a shop called  Make the Day Special? If not, you are in for a treat! 

In my second card I've used stamps from Avocado Arts for a very simple CAS card. I finally got myself into a hardware store last week and helped myself with some paint chips ... Virginia is having a Card Inspiration Linky with Paint Chips and I'm entering my card there (better late than never!) and I think my card will also fit the theme of color blocks at CAS-ual Fridays: my color blocks are tiny but they are there! :)

So, why did I make two completely different cards?!? Head on over to TIME OUT Challenges to find out all about it! There's only 3 days until we begin our DT Call... Exciting times! Have a good week everyone and happy crafting!

Contrasts at CASology

Hi friends!
The cue word at CASology is Contrast: the DT has "CASified" some of their old cards or made two new contrasting projects. Such a cool challenge! I made a CAS version of the card you see below (see the original post here) using just part of the large Impression Obsession background stamp and a very dramatic color scheme. The colors turned out quite wild if you ask me... Let's decide this looks like a (retro) Moroccoan floor tile... Or maybe I was inspired by colors of some football team? :) Anyways, thank you for popping by to check my card and have a great weekend!

Second Sneak Peek at TIME OUT Challenges

Good morning card makers!
We have a new challenge sneak peek for you at TIME OUT Challenges! On Monday you got to hear all about our Inspired by Words challenge and today we are inspired of... Well, go and have a look! :) There's only a week left before our DT Call starts. Exciting times!

My card today is something I created just for fun and for getting my mojo back. I was crafting a lot the last couple of weeks preparing DT projects for the future and this week I haven't done anything really. I thought creating a fun background would be good mojo therapy and so it was! I've used various Memento and Distress Inks for stamping, sponging, stenciling and just being generally messy. The background has maybe 5 different layers of action, it's hard to remember anymore! The swirl-stamp is from STAMPlorations, you'll find the Distressed Floral Swirls here and the Created With Love- stamp is from this month's stamp set by Avocado Arts. The harlequin diamond stamp is by Prima.

I hope you'll head on over to TIME OUT Challenges now! Thanks for popping by.

I'd like to enter:
http://craft-roomchallenge.blogspot.fi/ Age of Aquarius: My first layer in the background is created with a wet acrylic bloc and water-based inks
http://carabbiemomentsofcraft.blogspot.co.uk/ Anythging Goes
http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes

Addicted to CAS at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Hi there!
We are having a CAS week at Addicted to Stamps and More with DeeDee's Digis as our sponsor. Don't you just love this DeeDee's digi of the month called Sending My Love! It's perfect for Valentine's Day here at north where we have snow this time of the year! I colored the bunny with Copics and tried something new for the fur -small spots. I can't decide if it works or if he looks like he is suffering from some (probably very dangerous...) disease! :)

In Finland Valentine's Day is not only for lovers but for friends too -friends send cards and give little surprises to each other. We actually call it "Friendship Day" and that's what my sentiment wishes -Happy Friendship Day. Speaking of friends, the small hearts on my card are a gift from blogging friend Milla -thank you Milla! If you haven't visited her Mustesormi- blog you are in for a treat -Milla makes not only beautiful cards in many styles but amazing art journal pages too.

Do head on over to Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge Blog for all the challenge details -you'll find fab CAS projects from the rest of the DT there too. Enjoy and happy crafting!

Babies at Less Is More!

Hi friends!
Less Is More is all about babies this week and although it's a fun and cute theme, I really struggled -I realized I just had some stickers to go with the theme and that's it! I tried to make this look a bit more contemporary with silver-orange color theme and heat embossed sentiment but I don't know... It's still a bit boring! :) Have a good day everyone and thanks for popping by!

Sketch Challenge at STAMPlorations!

Hi guys!
Thank you all of you who entered the first sketch challenge of the year at STAMPlorations, it's now time for the second one! Don't forget our monthly challenge Stamps and Feathers is still running here. You don't only have a chance to win prizes from STAMPlorations and All About Scrapping, you can get to guest design too -do join us in the fun!

In my card I played with sentiment stamps from VIGNETTE: Chevron and Arrows creating a simple card with no actual images. It was fun to stamp and I quite like this look! I'll play along in some challenges:

http://polkadoodle.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes
http://www.hidinginmycraftroom.com/ CAS (my 2nd entry)
http://kis-challenge.blogspot.de/2014/01/keep-it-simple-31.html Text

First Sneak Peak at TIME OUT Challenges!

Hi friends!
I'm playing along in some challenges this morning... But before that let me tell you that the first sneak peek at TIME OUT Challenges is up! Sandie has created some awesome CAS cards and is telling all about out first challenge type. You'll not want to miss it -click here!

My card follows the sketch at CASE this sketch and I've used my new stamps from Avocado Arts so I'll also enter Addicted to CAS (new) and  Great Impressions (use something new). It's a Valentine's Day card so it qualifies for CAS on Sunday and last but not least... Hiding in My Craftroom has a CAS challenge.

I'm really looking forward to getting my monthly Avocado Arts set, they have so very cute stamps... Getting brand new stamps to your mailbox will feel like having Christmas every month! :) I hope you liked my card and thanks for popping by!

Firebird... Photo Inspiration at Inkspirational!

Hi all!
Two weeks went by and it's time for a new Inkspirational Challenge! We have a photo of a wonderful painting, The Firebird by Edmund Dulac, for your inspiration... I'm sure we'll see many different interpretations on this one, I'm looking forward to visiting everyone who joins us!

My "Firebird" is by Sweet Pea Stamps and I colored it with Copics. I chose a pretty designer paper to go with the image... And liked the simple look so much that I didn't even add a sentiment! Some gems and a ribbon finish off the card. I hope you'll now head on over to our challenge blog for more DT inspiration and all the challenge details. You have two weeks for making your project inspired by this painting. Happy crafting!

Brand New Challenge Blog: TIME OUT Challenges!

Hi friends, fellow bloggers and all!

I have very exciting news for you today: I have set up a challenge blog with my dear blogging friend Sandie, woo hoo! :) Our very own challenge blog is called...

TIME OUT Challenges

Over the next few weeks we will be introducing you to our challenge and hoping that you like what you see!

We currently have a very small DT:  me, Sandie plus 2 very creative ladies:

Lynn-her blog is The Mango Boys and Me

Shery-her blog is One Layer Cards

We are having a DT Call in February and before that you'll get sneak peeks about the challenges.

I'd love you to head on over to TIME OUT challenge blog - take a look and become a follower and/or subscribe so you don't miss out on our posts and our DT call. Looking forward to seeing you there!

I also have a little note card to share -I made it for  CASology's dot-challenge. I went all dotty and have dots even in my card base! The circle stamp is from Gel-a-tins and sentiment is from Patchwork Frenzy: GraphicPentagons by STAMPlorations. Hope you like and see you at TIME OUT Challenges!

Holiday Theme at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Hi friends in blogland,
time for a new Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge! We are having a holiday theme -can you guess I chose Easter? Yep, "Hyvää Pääsiäistä" is Finnish for "Happy Easter". :) Our sponsor is DeeDee's Digis and I used their adorable rooster as my focal point. I've colored in with Copics. I've been making many CAS cards lately so it was fun to go through my (huge...) pile of patterned papers and look for color inspiration from the papers for a change. I'm thinking I have to figure out some CAS ways to use designer paper -I love my papers but they are trickier to work with if you want to make a clean looking card! Anyways, this card is not CAS but it's not very busy either -just some pearls and a doily as embellies. :) I hope you'll now head on over to the challenge blog and check out the other DT projects -ATSM has such a wonderful design team! Happy crafting!

His and Hers

Hello everyone!
Less Is More is having a One Layer week with hearts. I used PATCHWORK FRENZY: Graphic Squares by STAMPlorations for creating two Valentine's cards. I used only one ink color but stamped the "second generation" for lighter shade. The inks are by Memento: Rhubarb Stalk in Hers and Danube Blue in His. The textured cardstock adds interest to the CAS look I think.  I couldn't decide on the perfect placement for the sentiment so I chose a different spot in both cards... Which one do you like better? Have a fun week and thanks for popping by!

You're Sew Special!

Hi there!
Here's my card for the current Addicted to CAS: Use Die Cuts. The theme is chosen by wonderful Loll, the queen of die cuts! I hope you'll visit her blog and leave her some love -she is a very inspirational lady. Sandie is another great, inspirational blogging friend and I have to thank her for this card -she has given me this beautiful mannequin to play with. I had SUPER fun playing with the mannequin -first stamping some script with a Prima stamp, sponging the edges with Vintage Photo DI, adding the lace for dress, ribbon for belt and flower for extra gorgeousness. :) I wanted to add some designer paper to this card too, I think it fits the vintage-feel nicely. Thanks for popping by and have a great new week!

I'd also like to enter:
http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.fi/ Ribbon, no bows

More Flowers!

Hi guys!
As promised yesterday, I have a new flower card + some tutorial links and tips. The stamp set I used is the same than yesterday: VIGNETTE: Eclectic Florals by STAMPlorations. The clue in this coloring technique is that you use markers for coloring in a solid image and not an outline image as you would usually do -this gives a very unique, "hand-drawn" look. If you stamp with a very pale ink like in my yesterday's card (for those of you who missed that, I've added the photo below) the outcome looks a bit like water coloring.

These cards are very much influenced by Darlene's videos Mixed Media Flowers and Lots of Copics. Both of these coloring tutorials teach you how to add depth to solid stamped images using Copics and pencils. If you stamp with inks like Memento it's fine to use markers on top of stamping. Here I've chosen Copics that match my ink color but you could also try more funkier combinations and use your blender pen to fade the sharp line between your Copic coloring and the stamped image. In her Mixed Media Flower tutorial Darlene brings in an Inktense pencil in contrasting color too -I used only white Inktence pencil here for adding more light. I believe you could use any other colored pencils for this technique but Inktense pencils are really great!

The blending in the card I posted yesterday looks softer mostly because of the shape of the flowers: they have bigger, rounder petals so you have more space to blend your dark, medium and light marker. Also the ink I stamped with is very light. If you are interested to hear my Copic combos, let me know and I'll check them for you -I'm writing this away from home and don't remember them by heart! :)

I hope I've inspired you to have a go at coloring in solid images, it's very fun and surprisingly different from working with outline images! Making these cards have made me think of my silhouette stamps in a different way. Oh and do check out Darlene's GREAT tutorials, her Youtube Channel is a gem.

Lastly, the card above is my third card for One Layer Simplicity -one more card for my birthday card stash! Have a fun weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Blue Flowers

Hi guys!
Just a short post to enter current Less Is More (shades of blue) and One Layer Simplicity (restocking the shelves, my 2nd entry, I always need sort of all occasion cards for friends!).

I've used a new set VIGNETTE: Eclectic Florals by STAMPlorations. I'll have another card with these flower stamps tomorrow -I'll talk more about the coloring technique and give links to tutorials then, now I've got to run or I'm way too late soon! Have a great weekend everyone!

Make Your Mark at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Hi guys,
Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge is back from the Christmas break with a Make Your Mark challenge: use markers, pencils or other coloring mediums in your craft project. We are happy to have Deedee's Digis sponsoring us for the entire month of January and I had very fun coloring in their rooster digi with my Copics. The sentiment I used for my background means "Happy Easter" so it looks like I started very early with my Easter cards this year. :) I had an orange doily in my stash and that inspired me to use this very bright color scheme for the card. I chose one of my favorite layouts where extra layers are added to the top of the card -great layout for using paper scraps. I hope you'll now head on over to ATSM challenge blog for the rest of the DT projects -you'll also get to meet our guest designer Gemma! She is one of our Wall of Fame crafters -if you enter ATSM Challenges regularly, you might end up there too! :)  Happy crafting!

For A Wonderful Baby Boy!

Hi friends!
Just a quick post from me, I'm off to work. I made this card to congratulate my colleague, she got a baby boy on 2nd of January. I'm very, very very happy for her! I was also happy when I saw this card by Tracy, what a perfect image! This Mo Manning image also has a cute little dog in it but I left it out from my card, my friend is more of a cat person! I've colored with Copics and Inktense pencils. Okey, got to run! :)

This card is for:
http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes

Sketch Challenge at STAMPlorations!

Hi guys!
At STAMPlorations we always have 3 challenges for you every month: a monthly challenge (this month's challenge Stamps and Feathers is here) and 2 fortnightly sketch challenges starting every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month. It's time for the first sketch challenge of the year  and isn't this sketch a fun one? Very simple sketch you can do a lot with. You have a chance to win 3 digital products from STAMPlorations sister store All About Scrapping so it's worth trying your luck in the challenge! :)

In my DT card I used a sentiment from VIGNETTE: Chevron and Arrows and swirls from Distressed Floral Swirls. I also added interest to the background by stamping a background pattern with an Impression Obsession stamp. I used some scraps for banners, added a flower and pearls as my focal point and voila, my card was done! I quite like this color combo of white, black and beige. I hope you'll now head on over to STAMPlorations challenge blog for the rest of th DT projects -you'll love them -and then start thinking what to do with the sketch! Happy crafting! :)

One Layer Birthday Flowers

Hi again, friends!
This is my second post for today but I couldn't resist sharing this little flower card with you already! If you missed my Inkspirational DT card from this morning, a fun CAS card for all Spring Chickens... Click here.

This card follows the latest sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping and I love it, I'm sure I'll use it again. I made the card One Layer Simplicity Challenge in mind -restock your shelves. I forget birthdays easily so it's good to have some of those cards ready... "Onnittelut" is Finnish for "Congratulations". I'd also like to enter the Anything Goes Challenge at Keep it simple.

I started making this card by masking the edges with washi tape -very handy by the way- and then stamped the flowers. It's not a flower stamp but a graphic stamp that looks like a set of leaves from a new STAMPlorations set called Retro Mod Shapes: this stamp set is coming out very soon but you can already see how it looks like from the front page of STAMPlorations Shop. If you have difficulties figuring out how to form the flower, just leave a comment and I'll demonstrate with photos but it's very easy, just start stamping and you'll surely get the hang of it! After stamping I removed the washi tapes, drew a border with white gel pen and added pearls for my embellishments. This was a very fun card to make, I'm sure I'll make more of similar cards for my stash! Have a very nice weekend everyone and thanks for popping by.

Color Challenge at Inkspirational!

Hi guys!
We had a fantastic amount of entries in our Anything Goes Challenge at Inkspirational and now we hope you to be inspired of the color combo of yellow and brown! You may use any hues of these colors -for example kraft and gold- and combine them with neutrals. Inkspirational is celebrating it's 1 year Anniversary, yay! Congratulations us! :)

I made a very simple card using a stamp set from Crafty Secrets. This was fast and easy to make -I stamped the border and the little chicken, colored her with my Copics and added twine. I then spent some time thinking if I'd frame my image panel or not -I tried some different brown and yellow cards behind it... But in the end I decided to be very CAS and leave the matting layer away. I can't decide if I like my decision or not! :)

I hope you'll now head on over to the challenge blog for the rest of the DT cards -they are fantastic! After that... Happy Crafting!

Stamps and Feathers at STAMPlorations!

Hi friends!
We are very excited about our January Challenge at STAMPlorations because this is the first time the DT -selected from the November DT call- has created cards for STAMPlorations challenges. If you haven't had a chance to visit these ladies yet I'd highly suggest it, they are all great! Here are links to the blogs of these talented women:

Debra

Kylie

Monika

Shirley

Vicki

Shery

There was another DT Call in the December Challenge -stay tuned for the results! :)

Anyways, to our currant challenge! I used two STAMPlorations sets for my card: VIGNETTE: Trendy Feathers and VIGNETTE: Chevron and Arrows. I started the card by adding Distress Inks to the background -I rubbed some ink colors to an ancrylic block, spritzed water to the block and then "stamped" the colors to my card. After this was dry, I used a stencil for sponging hexagons to opposite corners of the background... And then stamped some chevrons and arrows to other opposite corners. I like to be messy and inky but in a controlled manner! :) Then it was time for the stamped feathers and sentiment and after tying my ribbon and matting, the card was done! A fast, fun project.

Remember that you do not have to own a feather-stamp for participating -if you have some feather-embellies or dies, that will work great too! I can't wait to visit your blogs and see what you'll make. Happy crafting!

I'd like to enter:

http://www.trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes

Two Cards With Background Stamping!

Hi there!
Here's two cards that are both inspired by Darlene DeVries. If you don't know her, do check out her fabulous card video blog -she posts a new video every Wednesday. The video that inspired these cards is here. In both cards I've heat embossed an Impression Obsession background stamp with white embossing powder. In the first card I stamped on kraft and in the second card I stamped on grey card. The catch of these cards is that I've colored in some of the details -in the first card I used black marker and in the second card I used dark green marker + green pencil in the flowers. Both sentiments come from STAMPlorations.

My first card is for The Shabby Tea Room (white, kraft and black) and the second card uses a sketch from Try Stamping On Tuesday. Thanks for popping by!

Happy, Healthy and Crafty New Year To You All!

Hi friends!
I'm greeting 2014 with some simple Christmas cards I haven't blogged yet. I sent these around the world for blogging buddies... And one of them has traveled I don't know where but not where it should have -so Shery, the very first card was for you! :)

The stamps I've used are from STAMPlorations, the sets are called Holiday Hexagons and Oh Christmas Tree!. These cards are very basic... The tree stamp I inked with three different shades of green for a multicolored look and added some gold Stickles for shine. In the second card the bigger hexagons behind the stamped ones are inked through a stencil. This might look beautiful embossed with white I think -I'll have a go with that plan later! I've decided that this year I'll make Christmas cards all year round -there was too many wonderful persons that didn't receive a card from me 2013 since I run out of time.

Happy New Year to all of you around the world and here in Finland! Thank you for your continuous visits here at Korttikarkuri - Runaway Cards and all the lovely comments I so often get. You are great!