Karen's Kraft Room

So Incredibly Tweet!

2014-03-26T21:35:00.001-04:00

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks here running around to races, track meets and practices. Spring showed up in Monday but thought it had the wrong address and back to cold today. I thought I would finish up a project I started a couple weeks ago with new stamps.

I love the layered look and layered most of the pieces here. Enjoy!

Oh Happy Day Card in a Box

2014-02-18T13:20:00.001-05:00

Any day is a happy day when you don't have to go to work. I am happy I finally had time to sit down and create.

Today's card is made amusing the new DSP from the Stampin Ups Occassions catalog along with a few new and old stamps!

I love the new in colors. They are so fresh and fun!

It starts out flat (so you can mail it)

When they open it out comes a beautiful 3D creation.

Take a closer look at the layers and details. It looks complicated but it's really easy.

The hardest part is picking the stamps!

This is the back of the card...sentiment and signature!

Sending Good Thoughts Your Way

2014-01-29T07:43:00.001-05:00

Sending good thoughts to those in the winter storm! Stay safe!!!

It's a great day to stay home and stamp. No snow day in rainy Florida. :(

Make a Wish Perfect Pennants

2014-01-27T06:56:00.001-05:00

Just dropping in to share a card made with some of the new products from the Occassions Catalog.

Watch for new projects coming soon!

Holiday Cheer!

2013-09-20T08:49:00.001-04:00

It's time to start on the Christmas cards unless you're like me and like to work under pressure the last week of November!

Here is the first card with layered fishtail flags and the sentiment in the bottom corner.

Watch for more cards coming soon!

MFT Springtime Wishes Happy Birthday

2013-03-23T17:36:00.001-04:00

Finally a rainy day in Florida which means a great day to be in my studio to create.

I haves colored with my Copics since the fall and I was so disappointed to see how much I lost not using them but practice gets you back in the groove and there was plenty to color on this adorable stamp.

I used my fishtail flags die and hand cut a mat. I also blocked the image and left the flowers to stand off the edge. Isn't she so cute?

Hello with Pleasant Poppies

2013-01-31T22:19:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy start to the year and January has just flown by. I have been doing some heavy cleaning and organizing and had a few minutes to make a card since all the stamps are organized and ink pads are at my finger tips!

Today's card is made with the stamp Pleasant Poppies. It's one of my favorite go to stamps when I need a long image. This is just part of the stamp which makes it very versatile.

I colored the image using my new Inktense Pencils. They give a very vibrate color which makes these flowers pop!

Enjoy!

Happy Heart Day

2013-01-24T22:45:00.001-05:00

I can't believe we are almost through January! It will be Valentine's Day before you know it. Have you started your valentines projects? I was working on e Valentine sampler class and came across an oldie but goodie stamp set and stopped and put this cute little card together.

I used the first edition paper along with real red cardstock. The mouse was stamped, colored and cut out so I could make him 3D with my dimensionals. Isn't be the cutest?

Enjoy!

You're a friend....with Inktense pencils

2013-01-15T06:34:00.001-05:00

I just love the look of colors that's "pop" and that is exactly what you get when using the Dewert Inktense pencils. They work like a water color pencil but once they are dry they are permanent.

The poppies on today's card was colored using these pencils and I love the bright color! I stamped my image on the first edition designer paper using my Momento black ink. I then used my water brush and layered color taking it from the pencils until I achieved the results I wanted.

I'm working on another project using these so stay tuned!

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday with Moving Forward

2013-01-13T16:58:00.001-05:00

Another weekend has almost flown by. Katie and I have accomplished a lot today! We put all of the Christmas stuff in the attic, made dog biscuits for Sadie chocolate chip cookies and did all of the laundry.

I managed to knock out a cute little card using some of the new Stampin Up products. The Cloudy Day embossing folder is a must have! It embossed the cutest little clouds. I have used it here on the Bahama Breeze cardstock and how perfect it accents the hot air balloon! This is from the Moving Forward Charity set. I layered my cardstock with dimensionals and added the Happy Birthday on a flag tail strip.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year and Thanks

2013-01-07T21:39:00.001-05:00

Another year has come and gone! I'm starting to plan for new classes and projects to share with you! One of my upcoming ventures is to share my passion for creating with you through online classes! I will keep you posted when this goes live!

I want to put out a huge Thank You to my subscribers and followers! Your kind words inspire me to create and share new things with you.

Today's project is a thank you card made with the cutest little bee! I used my dauber and inked around the edges and raised sections of the honey comb for some added character. To finish I tied a double bow (some of you will learn how easy this is)!

Enjoy!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2012-10-30T06:55:00.001-04:00

I apologize for being MIA this past week. It's been crazy around here getting everyone ready for Halloween and booking events for the upcoming weeks. I have a great opportunity with one of the newest communities in our area to participate in their Christmas event and I have something booked every weekend through Christmas! The pressure's on! LOL

Today I have a great idea to share with you! It's a hand made ornament! I used one of the clear ornaments and embossed a backgound image on the transparency. I then stamped my cute little elf on cardstock and attached him to the transparency and put it in the ornament! Add a little festive ribbon and and some snow and you have an adorable decoration for your tree!

You could personalize these with a photo and/or print out of the year or event! The possibilities are endless!

Enjoy

STAMPS: Raisin Boat - Elves are Watching

OTHER: Copics, Transparency, White Embossing Powder, Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock

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Merry Little Snowman

2012-10-17T23:13:00.002-04:00

I have the cutest snowman to share with you today! I have wanted this stamp from Stampin Up since I first saw it in the catalog I love his size! It's hard to find stamps that allow you to fill up space on your cards! This one is perfect!

I started by stamping the snoman on shimmery white cardstock (I just love that sparkle) and colored him with my Copic Markers. You can see the detail here on this close up. I used the Copic Opaque White Ink to make the dots on his scarf. It creates nice texture and draws your eye in.

Once I got him all colored I assembled the card and added the long ribbon and finished it off with a Tiny Tag attached with DMC floss. The ribbon has wire in it and creates a nice "puffy" bow which reminds me of a beautiful Christmas package.

Here it is all assembled and complete! There are a few more favorites in this set which I will be sharing with you in the next week. Enjoy!

STAMPS: Stampin Up Snow Much Fun and Tiny Tags

INK: Momento Tuxedo Black and Stampin Up Real Red

PAPER: Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin Up Basic Black and Real Red, Shimmery White

COPICS: BG0000, 0, C1, C3, C5, C7, C9, YR00, YR12, YR07, B12, B14, B16, R21, R24, R29, R46,

OTHER: Spica Markers, Clear and Black and Copic Opaque White

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A Goal and the cutest little snowman!

2012-10-16T21:42:00.000-04:00

It's Wednesday already and I haven't comleted half the stuff I wanted to do this week! What I have accomplished is hitting my goal weight and I didn't think that last pound would ever go away! Between alternating running and the Y every other day, I have made great accomplishments getting into shape! Saturday I finally hit my goal weight! If you are struggling with those pounds as I was, don't give up! You will get there, just keep telling yourself I CAN do it and I WILL! I would have never considered myself a runner but I am here today to tell you I AM a runner! Every day I do a little better and accomplish a little more. It is a very satisfying feeling to say I can do this! We are already signed up for our next 5K!

On to today's card! I made this with all intentions of using a cerain paper I had stashed away for the perfect card but got so excited coloring, it didn't even match when I was done! LOL I pulled out my snowflake embossing folder and my Pear Pizazz ink and inked up the embossing folder and embossed white paper so the snoflakes stand out and the inking colored the background! I love the bold white look!

The image is colored with my Copics and I have added some "shimmery snow" details with the clear Spica Glitter Pen! If you haven't tried these they are a must! The glitter is actually tine particles of glass and they hav an awesome sparkle! If you only buy one get the clear, you can use it on anything! It does't show up well in the photo but it adds a nice "wow" in person!

Enjoy!

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Halloween Treats Raisin Boat Challenge

2012-10-16T20:36:00.001-04:00

This months challenge over at Raisin Boat was a treat for Halloween! Mine was simple but when you have to make for a large group I do simple. I make a "treat" for my co workers for all of the significant holidays. Some of them have a years worth in their desks!

I used a cellophane bag and added my candy and added the tie with a cute little tag! You could change the stamp and color to accommodate any holiday or occasion!

Hop on over to Raisinboat to see the other awesome projects have been created by the talented Raisin Boat Crew!

Enjoy

Bless Your Little Hearth

2012-10-15T06:22:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday Peeps! It was a fast weekend. All day Saturday was spent shopping the thrift shops for Halloween attire! WHERE in the world do they get all that "stuff" to sell? It was hard to find something when you're not sure what you're going to be but I managed to find two things. One I'll wear for another party coming up!

I was cleaning up the craftroom this week and looked through all of my shape dies and said to myself I really need to be using these so that was my challenge for this week....USE THEM!

I stamped the Chantango Hearth stamp on my paper and colored him with my copics and when I went to cut him out with the die I was a little short on the bottom so lesson #1 makes sure you have plenty of "space" for your dies to cut! I managed to find a "fix" with my ribbon. After all of that coloring I didn't want to trash it! lol

I found a sketch on pinterest and went to work assembling my card. I did use quite a bit of patterned paper which I find is another thing I don't use very often but I LOVE to collect it!

I challenge all of my readers to use something they have set aside. It's quite refreshing and a great challenge!

Enjoy!

STAMPS: Chantango Hearth

PAPER: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin Up Basic Black, Echo Park Seasons Greetings

COPICS: #31, E35, E37, E34, R21, R27, R29, R39, R43, R46, R59, C1, C3, C5, G40, G43, G46

OTHER: Signo Uniball - White (for the milk in the glass)

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Happy Holidays Fuzzy Copic Bears

2012-10-11T21:32:00.001-04:00

I'm trying to get in the holiday groove early this year as I am in the process of planning my holiday classes. I was going through my Christmas stamps and found these bears and they just seemed to be calling "color us". I haven't done a project with my copics using the "fur" technique so off I went on this sidetracked adventure! I ended up using 22 markers to color these little "cuties" and a red spica pen! They turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself!

Once I completed the coloring I automatically started cutting them out, nother chore in itself and I have looked at them for two days and finally decided on a design for them! I layered the top note die onto a scalloped edged and dot embossed background and popdotted the bears! There had to be a little ribbon as what's a Christmas card without a bow so I decided on the green!

Back to selecting stamps for my classes now!

Enjoy!

STAMPS: Darice, Hero Arts Sentiment

PAPER: Stampin Up Real Red, Basic Black and Garden Green

COPICS: 0, C1, C3, C5, E31, E35, E57, E79, B91, B95, B99, G12, G14, G17, R21, R22, R24, R27, R29, R59

OTHER: Spica Red and Copic Opaue Whute

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Cocktail? and a Homecoming dance

2012-10-08T11:14:00.001-04:00

The house is so quiet this morning! I dropped off the high schooler, hit the gym and then took the dog for a long walk! Packed up my card submissions that are being sent out for publication and almost ready to head to make a couple of returns.

Its been a nice three day weekend although I feel like we spent the most of it getting ready for homecoming dance! I can't believe she's in high school, much less heading out to these dances! Anyhoo, here she is. We had her hair done Saturday morning and I did her makeup that afternoon. She had a great time but I'm glad they don't come along often as it's a small forture! lol And, of course, Sadie had to have a little "bling" bow too :)

Now on to today's card! It's a Krafty Kimmie's Stamp called Perfect Potion! I thought it was adorable but didn't realize how much work it was to color! I think it turned out fantastic though! I love the deep colors. Her dress is purple but I photographed it every which way I could think of and it still shows blue in the pic! It's still cute as can be!

I layered the cardstock and embossed the green and purple pieces with the chevron embossing folder by Stampin Up! I cut her out and attached her to the die cut piece and distressed the edges. I also added a little ink to the bow to distress it and knock off the bright white.

Enjoy!

STAMPS: Kraftin Kimmie Perfect Potion!

PAPER: Stampin Up Basic Back, Lavendar Lace and Lucky Limeade
Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

INK: Momento Tuxedo Black

OTHER: Stampin Up Chevron Embossing Folder, Stampin Up Apothecary Accents Framelits and Stampin Up Festie Paper Piercing Pack

COPICS: 0, C1, C3, C5, C7, C9, E00, E11, E13, BV02, BV04, BV08, YG21, YG25, YG17, YR01, YR12, YR16

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Happy Birthday Christa! Can you say FABULOUS!

2012-10-03T20:57:00.001-04:00

Today is my friend Christa's Birthday and I thought this image was fitting as she like to celebrate with a glass of wine and a good time! I won't pick which one I think is her as I want to remain her friend! LOL

Here is her card! It's all colored with Copics! Took a while to do but I love the results! Happy Birthday Christa!

STAMPS: Art Impressions
PAPER: Stampin Up
INK: Tuxedo Black
COPICS: A LOT OF THEM! :p)

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Color Me Rad, it doesn't get more colorful than this!

2012-10-01T22:39:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful weekend we had. For some time now I have had the urge to RUN! I never considered myself a runner but for some weird reason it just hit me so I talked to my daughter and we decided to sign up for a 5k RUN! Now the big questions was what run should we do? We had no idea there were so many choices. Once we found the Color Me Rad run and knew it was the one to start with!

This day started in a nice bright white shirt, RAD sunglasses (we girly girls had to have pink). I have never seen so many people wearing white!

After a few announcement, pep talks and random give aways, or should I say throw aways as they just threw stuff into the audience, we were ready to go! Our run took us through the trails of the Jacksonville Equestrian Center, a nice wooded path with a few bomb squads to pass. At each bomb squad station, we were met with bombers with LOTS of color and they didn't hold back. We were doused with color, head to toe! At the end of the race, there was a grand finale celebration of....you guess it, color bombing! What started out good clean fun, ended up an awesome colorful day!

If you ever get the chance to participate in one of these event, don't miss your chance! It's a great family outing, and if you're not a runner you can walk the course! There were two 78 year old ladies that did just that and they were just as colorful as we were....and excited too!

We have already found our next race...the Color In Motion....same concept, lots of color, LOADS of fun!

Speaking of color, here is a photo of the Copics I used to create ONE card tonight! It took me all night to do one project! I will share it with you once I get it all together!

Enjoy!

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Oops a Daisy, Thinking of You

2012-09-28T06:48:00.001-04:00

We've made it through another week! TGIF! It's supposed to be a beautiful weeknd here in Sunny Florida and we will spend some time outside enjoying it! I'll fill you in on Monday! :)

Todays card is made using the Raisin Boat Oops a Daisy set. I love to color the daisies with my Copic markers. They just seem to come to life once you add in the shading. I kept it simple but I think it gives it a very elegant look. What do you think?

I hope everyone has a safe and blessed weekend. Enjoy!

STAMPS: Raisin Boat - Oops a Daisy

INK: Momento Tuxedo Black

COPICS: BG0000, C3, C1, 0 and B02

CARDSTOCK: Raisinboat Brighton Beach White and Granite Black

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Faux Washi Tape TUTORIAL

2012-09-26T22:44:00.003-04:00

Here we are fast approaching another weekend. It's been a busy week, cardmaking, paintng and homework!

I have a huge room for my studio and it's always a work in progess trying to find the pefect solution to storing everything! Well I have eliminated having a collection of one thing...washi tape! I have nevre bought any and once I learned this technique I never will!

We will start with the following Supplies...

Heavy Duty Double Sided Carpet Tape

Tissue Paper

Stamp of your choice (Wow the possibilities there!)

Momento Black Stamp Pad

Copic Marker of your choice (BIG WOW for possibilities)

Start by adhering your tisue paper to the Double sided tape. Do not remove the backing (smooth side) until you are ready to adhere to your card. Use your finger to rub the tissue to make sure it' all in place.

Trim to the side of the tape. Don't worry if it wrinkles, just use your finger to smooth it out!

Stamp your image onto the tissue papered side of the tape. I chose the Lollipop Stamp from Raisin Boat.

Using ANY color Copic Marker (WOW WOW WOW) and color your image. I suggest one color unless you are very careful as it will run.

Cut it to size and remove the backing and apply to your project! You can cut it to a small width or make it as long as you want as it is in a roll!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me directly! I would love to see your projects using faux washi tape! Link them in the comments to share!

Enjoy!

STAMPS: Raisin Boat - Perfect Partners, Lollipop

INK: Tuxedo Black Momento

PAPER: Raisin Boat Brighton Beach White, Black Granite, Orange Zest

COPICS: G14, G07 and YG25

OTHER: Bakers Twine - Peapod and white, Spica Glitter Pen, Buttons and DMC Thread

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Embossed Shimmer Hello!

2012-09-20T21:54:00.001-04:00

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TGIF!!! I cannot believe last week this time I was just getting ready to start my Copic Certification classes! It has been a fast and busy week. I believe there are fourteen weeks until Christmas!

I was cleaning in my room last night and my Copics were calling my name so I sat down and colored up this flower. I made lots of shimmer accents on the petals and leaves with my Spica pens and sprayed the background with Sheer Shimmer to compliment them.. It creates an interesting but subtle finish to the cardstock

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend!

Enjoy!

Stamps: The Artful Stamper, Hero Arts Hello Greetings

Paper: Stampin Up - Kraft, Old Olive and Basic Black

Copics: E31, E25 and E29, YR21, YR23, YR24, YR27, YG93, YG95, YG97, YG99, C1, C3, O

Other: Sheer Shimmer Spritz, Stampin Up Border Punch, Swirl Embossing Folder

Trick or Treat with a Jack o Lantern

2012-09-20T07:04:00.000-04:00

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This week is just flying by! Busy weekend ahead with football game, class and whatever else comes our way!

Todays card is made using the Stampin Up Top Note Die to create the Jack o Lantern and the EK Success punch to do the face. I cut the top of the top note die for the "lid" and used ink to shade around the face and edges. For a finishing touch I used my white Signo pen to "stitch" around the pumpkin.

You could do many variations of this card by changing the colors to create different characters such as Frank, a witch, ghost or even a scarecrow and that's just for Halloween! :)

Enjoy!

Stamps: Dollar Stamp from Michaels

Paper: Stampin Up Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun (O how I miss that color)

Other: Stampin Up Top Note Die, Ek Success Punch, Gingham Ribbon

Happy Owloween with Copic Markers

2012-09-18T22:40:00.002-04:00

Happy Hump Day! I am recovering from a major sinus headache and my head still hurts even though the pain is gone. Bring on the change of weather!

Todays card is made using the Outlines Stamps from Hampton Arts. I colored the cute little owl and pumpkins with my Copic Markers. I'm working on new techniques but it's going to take a while to incorporate them all into my creations!

I did a lot of shading and accented the owl hat and cape with the spica glitter pens. They add such a nice subtle shimmer to any project. I also outlined the spider web with the black spica. his eyes are highlighted in Opaque White.

The edges have been distressed and shaded and layered with dimensionals.

SUPPLIES:

Stamps - Hampton Arts Outlines Scary Halloween

Paper - Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, Stampin Up Basic Black, Lavendar Lace

Copics - BV02, BV04, BV08, E33, E35, E37, C1, C3, C5, C7, 100, Y32, Y36, Y38, YR15, YR16, YR18, YG61, YG63, YG67

Spica - Clear, Black and Purple

Copic Opaque White

Other - EK Success label punch, gingham ribbon