Hot Air Balloon card

This card design was cased from this one which was made by Grisel Blanco from My Chic and Crafty Lil' Heart. I needed to made a kids card in a hurry and this one was easy to do!

Materials:

Card: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Island Oasis DSP, vellum, Naturals Ivory

Ink: Tuxedo Black, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Copic Sketch marker E57, Sakura Stardust gel pen in clear

Stamps: Blue Skies, Year One by Lawn Fawn

Tools: Dimensionals, Blue Skies Lawn Cuts dies, Big Shot machine

A little boy's birthday

It's been a while since I posted a 'Kate Original' card. (Obviously meaning I didn't copy or case it from anyone, it's my own creation, just a product of my crazy thoughts.) Here's one for you today! I made this card for a friend's son who turned 3 today.

Here's how it's made:

Materials:
Cardstock: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White.
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Versamark, Tuxedo Black (Memento). Markers: Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Bashful Blue, Pink Pirouette, Basic Black.
Stamps: Monster Fun (Hero Arts. I borrowed this from a friend at our card making day - thanks Shauna!), Put on Your Party Hat (Fiskars), Admit One (Lawn Fawn).
Accessories: Maraschino and Cappucino baker's twine (The Twinery), Miss Nelly jewels (Kaisercraft).
Tools: Big shot machine, Top Note die, sponge, dimensionals, 2 way glue pen, glue tape, mini glue dots, sanding block.

Tips and Tricks:
1. The blue layer was stamped randonly with a Lawn Fawn star in Versamark. I sponged around the edges with Tempting Turquoise ink.
2. I trimmed up the white top note die cut to reveal the red one beneath. Then I sanded the edges of the white (I would have used my distressing tool had I brought it with me) and sponged around it with Tempting Turquoise ink.
3. The monsters and balloons were coloured in with Stampin' Up markers. After cutting out all the monsters and balloons, I used a black marker to colour the cut edges.
4. The balloons were adhered to each other one at a time so I got the right positioning on the card. Then I attached the twine to each balloon using glue tape. After that I attached the balloons to the card with dimensionals.
5. I tied up the balloon strings and stuck them in position with a mini glue dot.
6. The mini monster is on dimensionals too to make him stand out and look like he's holding the bunch of balloons.

Stuff Ups:
1. This is just a technicality but I don't like the streakiness of the markers. There's nothing I can do about that apart from buy Copics instead.
2. The cutting out the top note die cut could have been better (as always).

Pleasant Surprises:
1. The way the red and blue contrast. I like it.
2. The stamp set is so cute. I would have been lost without it!
3. Finally, a concept I had in my head was realised in the way I wanted it to be!!

A Little Birthday

I don't have much of a call for kids cards as there simply aren't many kids in our family right now - only two. This card I designed for the youngest kid - he has just turned two. I must get some more kid oriented stamps for future years.

This card was inspired by a set of decorative brads I bought featuring cute balloons and birthday cake slices. I didn't end up using any of those on the cover! The blue stars and the big round brads are from that set though.

Materials:
Cardstock: Shimmery White, Gable Green (retired), Real Red, Pacific Point, Whisper White.
Ink: Pacific Point (ink and marker), Pumpkin Pie (marker), Real Red (marker), Daffodil Delight (marker), Chocolate Chip (marker), Versamark, Stazon black.
Stamps: None that are from Stampin' Up.
Other: Pumpkin Pie taffeta ribbon, Lattice embossing folder, big shot machine, Paper piercing tool, mat pack, sponge, dimensionals.
Non Stampin' Up: Fiskars clear stamps - Cookies, Cake & Ice Cream stamp set, Put On Your Party Hat stamp set, Square scallop punch, Doodlebug Designs brads, Fiskars Cupcake border punch.

Tips and Tricks:
1. The scallop squares have Pacific Point ink sponged around the edges to liven them up a little. The squares are also popped up on dimensionals.
2. The stamps on the scallop squares were all stamped in Versamark, then Stazon black, then heat embossed. I find that makes colouring them in easier. The images were all coloured in with markers.
3. Shimmery White is a lot thicker cardstock than Whisper White so I always choose it for a card base.

Stuff Ups:
1. The main reason for the green panel is that the lattice embossing folder doesn't reach to the bottom of the card and I needed a way to hide it.
2. I was going to have more of the green colour in the stamped pictures on the scallop squares but I forgot that I didn't have a marker in that colour. Thankfully there is a little green in those big brads to tie it in better. I also used the green inside the card to make a layer to cover up the back of the brads and that unembossed portion.
3. I kind of wish I used a different colour than green so I could make that cupcake border stand out more. It looks a bit grass and picket fencey to me. Having said that, using blue or red would be too much. Orange would make the ribbon pointless....yellow maybe? Brown?

A Tropical Wedding

The wedding in Bali was wonderful! Couldn't ask for a better setting or weather, everything went smoothly for the bride and groom. I wanted to make a tropical themed card for them. This design was cased and modified. Thanks and credit to Kathleen Hopperstad at My Happy Stampin' Place for the inspiration.

Materials:
Cardstock: So Saffron, Old Olive, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Island Oasis DSP.
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Versamark, Rose Red marker, Tempting Turquoise marker, Pumpkin Pie marker.
Stamps: Tropical Party, Teeny Tiny Sentiments.
Other: Pumpkin Pie Taffeta ribbon, dimensionals, Modern label punch, Pearl accents, dimensionals.
Non Stampin' Up: Clear embossing powder, Martha Stewart Circle cutter.

Tips and Tricks:
1. The grass skirting is cut with plain old scissors.
2. The coconut, palm frond, sentiment and flowers were stamped in Versamark then colour. After that they were heat embossed with clear embossing powder.
3. The circle were layered and sponged around with Pumpkin Pie ink as well as the sentiment.
4. Pearls adorn the flower centres and sentiment.
5. The markers were used to colour the coconut's umbrella and straw.

Stuff Ups:
1. Even though I searched my Teeny Tiny sentiments, I still managed to miss the stamp that says 'For the Newly Weds'. I am still kicking myself about that. It would have been sooo much better than just 'congratulations'.

Island Oasis Birthday

I made two of these cards for two friends who's birthdays are in April. Actually they are on the same day! The colour scheme and basic layout of the card was cased from Shaz's Card Table. I added my own style and elements to the card to make it kate-ified.

Below is the insert I will write on then stick into the card. That way if I mess up what I'm writing I haven't ruined the card. It also looks nicer and if your card base is dark, a lighter coloured insert will make reading your written message easier.



I used the flower stamp from the Tropical Party stamp set and added a tiny pearl to the centre of each flower. You could layer the insert on another colour, such as Rose Red, but I want to conserve my cardstock.

Materials:
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Rose Red, Whisper White, Island Oasis DSP.
Inks: Pumpkin Pie ink spot.
Stamps: Tropical Party.
Other: Modern label punch, 6mm Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, Lattice embossing folder, big shot machine.
Non Stampin Up!: White stick on pearls from Kaiser, Versamark Dazzle - Frost, 'happy birthday' sentiment from Penny Black's Critter Party stamp set, Prima Flowers High Gloss Pebbles - Birds and Butterflies.

Tips and Tricks
1. The lattice embossing folder doesn't fully fit the length of card required for this project. I managed to press the card once, then align the impressions at the end of the card with the unpressed card inside the folder. Then I put it a little way into the big shot machine. That way it doesn't flatten the already embossed card. That all sounds wordy but I don't know how else to explain it.
2. Never press hard when cutting an embossed piece of card in a paper trimmer. You can crush and damage the embossing. Just use very gentle pressure, enough to stop it slipping.

Stuff Ups:
1. I forgot to allow extra card (only a few millimetres) for the embossing to 'shrink'. I had to trim down my base card to make it all the same length.

2. I wasn't too careful when peeling the pebbles of the backing sheet and the image ripped away from one of the pebbles. Always be gentle! They are a bit pricey for what they are so you don't want to waste them.
3. I would have heat embossed the palm fronds on the background if I hadn't lost my clear embossing powder. So frustrating!!

Tropical Birthday

Here's a card I made for my nephew's girlfriend. I wish I could lay claim to the design but I can't. I cased this from Stampin Funn with Cheryl. I love it so much I barely changed a thing. I embossed the background palm fronds and I coloured in the straw and umbrella, that's it.

Rating: Delightful



Materials:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Island Oasis DSP and what I thought was So Saffron but it's not. It must be some old cardstock from my subtles collection.

Inks: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise marker, Pumpkin Pie marker, So Saffron marker, Versamark.

Stamps: Tropical Party.

Other: Sponge, scallop oval punch, oval punch, dimensionals, whisper white satin ribbon, clear embossing powder, heat tool.

Non SU: Wendy Irving Collections: Expressions Clear Cling Stamps -  'Occasions'.

Tips and Tricks:

1. I used markers for the flowers so I could use multiple colours at once.

2. I coloured in the straw and umbrella after stamping with chocolate chip ink.

3. The whisper white is sponged around the edges with old olive ink.

4. The orange polka dot paper is from the Island Oasis DSP pack.

Stuff Ups:

Surprisingly none! The only thing that bugs me is that the happy birthday isn't capitalised.