Tuesday, October 28, 2014

CAS(E) this sketch #97 in kraft for SSS Wednesday Challenge

Love sketch #97 from CAS(E) this sketch and can see myself using it over and over again! Also love Kraft which is the theme at the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge so I made this:



http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com



Stamps: Hero Arts (background and sentiment)
Dies: Impression Obsession

The maple leaves are cut out from watercolor paper, dipped in Distress Inks and splattered with gold. They are inlaid in the stamped panel and everything is mounted with foam tape but it looks sort of flat in the picture. It was a dark and dreary day - not great for taking pictures...

As is often the case I am entering this in the last minute. The galleries are already full of awesome creations! Check them out!


  Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog


Thank you so much for your visit and your wonderful comments!

Hugs,
Susanne

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Happy Birthday, Shirley-bee!

It's Shirley-bee's birthday and Maria F. has organized a linky Party at her blog "Rieslingmama"! Hop on over and look at all the fabulous cards that Shirley's friends have made for her! Better yet, make a card for Shirley and join the party!

You probably know Shirley-bee from Shirley-bee's Stamping Stuff! Her wonderful, artsy creations are all over blogland! Recently she even has released her first two stamp sets available from Stamplorations. Shirley-bee and I share a love for splatters so I made sure to add some to the card I made for her! Hope you like it Shirley-bee and wish you all the best on your birthday!


http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com


Stamps: A Stamp in the Hand (poppies), Hero Arts (sentiment), unknown unmounted script background


Hugs,
Susanne


Friday, October 24, 2014

"Happy Thoughts" for SSS flickr challenge #4

Just a quick post to show you a card I made for the SSS flickr challenge #4 "Watercolor".


http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com



Stamps: Simon Says Stamp
Die: Simon Says Stamp

If you are interested how I made the background please click here.
There is Wink of Stella on the happy diecut.

Thank you for your visit!
Sending happy rainbow thoughts your way for a fantastic weekend!

Hugs,
Susanne

Monday, October 20, 2014

Getting to Know You Blog Hop

Warning: Long and picture heavy post! Find a comfortable position and stock up on food and drink before you start to read!

You probably have all seen some version of the Getting to Know You Blog Hop by now. Well, today it is my turn to tell you a bit more about my cardmaking process. Can you believe that the amazing and talented and extemely kind Anita in France of My Papercraft World has asked little old me to participate? I am so honored and still have to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming! To thank her I wanted to CASE Anita. She has so many inspiring cards on her blog (click here to see for yourself) that I couldn't pick just one so I combined some of the things that she likes (like rainbow colors, CAS design, and birds - just learned about that one) and made this:



http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com


Stamps: DeNami (chick), Hero Arts (sentiment)

Glossy Accent on the beaks, Stickles dots between the sentiment.

Ok, let's get started on the questions!

What creative projects are you currently working on?

I have started my Halloween (almost done) and Thanksgiving (so far, only a prototype) cards which I exchange with the 7 Cardologists, my local stamping friends. I am also in the middle of my big Christmas card production. Unlike many of you I make them all the same and actually enjoy the assembly line method. We need about one hundred. Every year I vow that the next ones will be really simple and every year I add another layer and another step, etc. But this year they are rather simple and even one layer! This one is from 2012:


http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com



What inspires your designs?

Mostly I am inspired by all you fabulous cardmakers out there. (I spend too much a lot of time looking at all your inspiring blogs - much more than crafting...) 
Sometimes an ad inspires me or some design or color combination. Recently I took a picture of the upholstering in a restaurant because I thought the pattern would make a cool card (haven't made it yet). 
Often it's a challenge that reminds me of a stamp or die that I have and that would be perfect. I use Pinterest mostly to pin cards that inspire me in one way or another. 
This card was inspired by a Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger:




http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com



What method/process do you apply to each of your creative projects and how long does each take?

I usually have a certain stamp, die, or embellishment that I want to use. Then I work my card around it. I also love sketches and often use them as a starting point. 
I am mostly a slow crafter. It can take me a long time to find the right paper, ink color, sentiment, etc. (It doesn't help that I have a hard time making decisions.) But that doesn't mean my cards come out perfectly every time because at some point I loose patience and just put it together. Rarely a card just comes together easily and I am even happy with the result! Like the one above for Anita or this one:


http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com


If you had to describe you signature style, what would it be?
I don't think I have a style. I follow a lot of CAS blogs and definitely lean towards CAS without achieving it most of the time, I believe. I admire white space on other people's cards but it makes me sort of nervous on mine. (The card for Anita is obviously an exception!) Sometimes I do Clean & Layered, other times I try to be artsy or do freestyle collage. When I asked the 7 Cardologists they all agreed that I had a style but couldn't pinpoint it either. Maybe YOU could tell me what my style is... ;) 
I do know that I like to adapt the style of my cards to the recipients. If I feel they don't really care for CAS I will add layers and embellishments, etc. 



http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com


What are the three crafting products/tools that you can't live without?

I guess that would be my paper cutter, double stick tape/foam tape, and my stampsinksdiescuttlebugembossingfolderswatercolorsembellishmentsembossingpastestencils. ;)


http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com


Additional tidbit about me that you may or may not be interested (not part of the official interview):

When I got my Cuttlebug it was because I really loved embossed backgrounds. For the longest time I thought I could live without  all those Nestabilities everybody else was buying. Then I thought, well maybe I would use these label dies from Sizzix and maybe those other ones, too, and then so many other companies started coming out with all these cool shapes and word dies and now I have quite a collection and an ever growing longer wish list. 

And now I get to nominate two lovely ladies. You will be able to get to know them better on November 3, when they will put up their blog hop posts. But you don't have to wait until then to check out their blogs and find all kinds of inspiration.

Dora B. from the 7Cardologists.
Knowing her personally I can tell you that she is just one of the kindest, most generous person out there. Every year she uses her time share week to rent an apartment for all of us to get together and stamp to our hearts content! Visit her blog and check out her beautiful cards like this one:





Cathy from Cathy's Card Spot.
Cathy is the master of gorgeous butterfly cards. They are colored so lifelike that you expect them to fly off the paper at any moment. Of course you will find lots of other things like delicate flowers and awesome cards for guys, etc. when you wander through her blog




So mark your calendars for November 3rd or better yet start following their blogs so you won't miss another one of their posts!

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this long, long post!

Have a great week and consider yourself hugged!
Susanne





Friday, October 17, 2014

CAS(E) this sketch #96

Here is a card I made for the CAS(E) this sketch #96. Once I started to look at my stamps, dies, punches I had so many ideas for this sketch! If I find the time maybe I will make another card...

First the sketch:





http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com



Stamps: Hero Arts (Star background and sentiment)
Dies: Impression Obsession (city scape), Momenta (star)
Inks: Distress (Broken China), Marvy (#3 blue)

Hope you can still see the sketch even though I flipped it. This card makes me really happy because, as you probably know by now, I love stars, buildings and sparkle! I was so excited about it that I brought everything to our "7 Cardologists" meeting last night and showed the girls how to make it. They all loved it and it gave my dies and stamps a good work out which is much better than collecting dust. 

Did you notice that I have three more followers? Let's give a warm welcome to

Lyndal of Ideas and Paper
Sandie of London Days

Get comfortable and go visit their blogs full of great inspirations! 

My welcoming quote for you Lyndal, Sandie, and Rachel is by Mother Teresa:

It is not how much you do,
but how much love you put into the doing 
that matters. 

I am so glad that you decided to join me, ladies!

Have a great weekend everyone!
Hugs,
Susanne

Friday, October 10, 2014

Winnie & Walter "Pinspiration with Vanessa" / Virginia's View Challenge #8

I am back with another card for another fun challenge over at the Winnie & Walter blog that started on World Cardmaking Day and fortunately is open until Saturday! This time it's called "Pinspiration with Vanessa". Look at that fabulous Inspiration photo:

vanessa_pinspirationphoto



And here is what I made



http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com



Stamps: Winnie & Walter (sentiment), Hero Arts (woodgrain background)

Since it is another clean and simple card (or is it not?) I am sending this over to Virginia's View Challenge #8 and letting Virginia decide if it is clean and simple enough!

Winnie & Walter also want to see pictures of your workspace or of yourself crafting, called "craftie" so I am showing you part of my desk. (I thought that was only for WCMD but the linky is also open until tomorrow!)






There is so much else, I should be doing but I am having so much fun with their stamps! I wish I had time to make more cards, as there are other challenges on their blog! 

Hope your weekend is a good one,

Susanne

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Winnie & Walter "On Trend with Lea" / Virginia's View Challenge #8

Woohoo, I managed to make another card for the challenges at Winnie & Walter blog, using my new stamps from them,  this time for "On trend with Lea"! Look at her fun sample:


W&W-WCMD-OnTrendChallenge-LeaLawson



I have no camera dies just one camera stamp and a roll of washi with cameras. So I made something that you don't see often on this blog: a One Layer Card! Unless you count the washi as a layer and/or the foam mounted camera...


http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com



Stamps: Winnie & Walter (sentiment), Inkadinkado (camera)
Washi: don't know, maybe Recollection

And since it's pretty clean and simple I am also sending it to Virginia's View 'cause that the theme of her 8th challenge (already - wow!)

It's late and I need to go to bed so I won't keep you any longer...

Hugs,
Susanne



Tuesday, October 7, 2014

SSS Wednesday Challenge "Transport It"

Just flying by (sorry, couldn't resist) with a card for the weeks Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Transport It" . I made this card for one of my globetrotting nieces. Hope you can see the little airplane. I still like the look of letters or numbers raising up from the background. Hope you do too!



http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com


Stamps: Inkadinkado (plane)
Dies: My Favorite Things Die-namics (By the letters)
Other: Patterned Paper (Basic Grey)

Hugs,
Susanne

Monday, October 6, 2014

Winnie & Walter / Colour Me #40

This card I started on World Cardmaking Day but wasn't able to finish it that day. Did you know that the folks over at Winnie & Walter keep their WCMD challenges open until next Saturday? And you don't even have to use any of their products to play. Since I recently ordered some of their awesome sentiment sets (after months and months of drooling over all the fun samples in blogland) I wanted to use them for the first time and what better day to do that than WCMD!


http://keepintouchcards.blogspot.com






 Stamps: Winnie & Walter (The Big, the Bold, and You)


I was inspired by Gayatri's Color Challenge on the Winnie & Walter blog (check out their other WMCD challenges, too)

gayatri_WCMD-Colour-challen


and by the Colour Me #40 Challenge "Monochromatic"



ETA: Ooops, the challenges has already closed! 

Hope you all have a fabulous week with lots of time for crafting!

Hugs,
Susanne

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Happy World Card Making Day!





It's World Card Making Day!
Well, it's almost over now... I hope you had a chance to make a card or two or many and/or look at the inspiring cards in blogland! 

Here is mine:





And here is a close up of the feathers cut from this background (click on the link to learn how I made it)






Stamps: Mama Elefant (Trifecta), Hero Arts (sentiment)
Dies: Simon Says Stamp (feathers)
Other: Gelatos, TCW stencil, Liquitex Heavy Gloss Gel, LuminArte shimmery mist

This is for the following challenges:


Happy cardmaking and blog browsing!
Susanne

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