Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Playing Cards with Friends - on the other side of the World!

Hello again!  I'm ever so happy to turn the page on my calendar to welcome March, aren't you?   Even more happy that my friend Karren Johnson from NEW ZEALAND accepted my invitation to Play Cards this month!  

Karren is a fabulous card maker, Copic coloring genius, and is on two of my favorite challenge teams:  Fusion, and Freshly Made Sketches!  Her blog KarrenJ - Stamping Stuff is a treasure trove of fabulous cards!  You'll have a blast visiting her blog if you aren't already good friends!  

Okay - let me share our assignment:

Did you know that there is a celebration for National OLD Stuff Day! ?  It's a perfect fit for me - not because I'm old, but because I'm trying to fall in love with all the oldest of my supplies once more!  So, Karren and I had to dig deeply and use a set that is MORE THAN five years old!!  

Believe me, that was a LOT of digging!  You probably already know that Altenew is at the top of my favorites list ... so that's where my dig began.  I think this darling Painted Flowers set c. 2015 is one of the very first layering sets I bought from them - but I won't bet money on it.  

Ready for my card?  Let's do this...


  • I've randomly stamped only the line-drawn roses from the set and white heat-embossed them onto watercolor card.
  • Then, using distress inks, went about a very loose coloring - adding more inks after drying each layer.  
  • Even my sentiment is old - from Paper Smooches who are now out of business sadly - popped onto a little slip of vellum.  
  • A little more femininity can't hurt so I've added a little snippet of Pinkfresh Studio who established in 2014! 
There you have it, a very fresh look to some very old, but treasured supplies!  BTW there is another very wonderful friend who shares this name but spells it a little differently - this painting is an homage to Karin a.k.a. Peppermint Patty's Paper Craft blog header!!  I've been wanting to attempt it for years!  

Karren, my friend, thank you SO very much for Playing Cards with me!  I cannot wait one more second to see your card - I've invited all my friends, too - I know you won't mind a bit!

Thanks friends, for stopping by!
=] Michele        

22 comments:

  1. One of my favorite old sets, too, Michele - you've given it a fresh new look!

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  2. This is gorgeous, Michele! This set is probably the first Altenew set I bought as well. I never think to emboss the outlines and then color in...so pretty! And that background..well, I could never re-create that in a million years, but it looks like a million bucks! And who new..National Old Stuff Day?? I celebrate that every day!

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  3. This is so pretty Michele...your watercoloring is FABULOUS on those sweet roses!! LOVE the die cut sentiment on the vellum too! Lovely, lovely card my friend and YAY for using older stamps...have a few of those myself!! Off to check out Karren's card now! Hugs. :0)

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  4. What a feminine and wispy looking card. It is beautiful Michele and love your loose water colouring x. Another fun day crafting with friends x.

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  5. Love it! I just pulled that set out to do a design team card... so funny, it is one my favorites as well. Love the pun on the sentiment. Great card...can't wait to see Karren's!

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  6. What amazing loose watercoloring. It's like walking through a rose garden in a dream. The colors, vellum and bit of lace just add to that feeling. Placing all that on a slimline card just extends the already lovely vibe. Plus, got to see a new to me cardmaker who is exactly what you promised in this post.

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  7. What a delightful card to wake up to! This is stunning and I think Painted Flowers was my first Altenew set to - and still loved. Your watercoloring is amazing and gives such a warmth to the card. And Paper Smooches? I was so sad to see them close up shop - maybe I should pull out a few of my PS sets and have a play. Thank you so much for inviting me to play cards with you and for the lovely introduction.

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  8. What a wonderful soft watercolour look. I also really like the use of vellum and the little shelf that your sentiment sits on, so cute. Brilliant idea to go looking in your old stuff. We really should do that more often xx

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  9. Your water colored flowers are gorgeous! And ‘ello Love is my favorite greeting in the world….and you can only say it
    properly if you are a true Brit. I grew up surrounded by British family and heard that greeting so many times. I miss it!
    And I miss Paper Smooches too! Gorgeous card…..now off to check out my friend Karren’s creation!

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  10. Sweet and beautiful! Your coloring is utterly divine! I love the old stuff!

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  11. Lovely - such a perfect card! Jo x

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  12. I've been waiting for this one since you told me about it! It was WORTH the anticipation, Michele because it's BEAUTIFUL! Your background and those cascading blooms are just dreamy!

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  13. Oh! The Painted Flowers set was one of my first stamps I purchased When I started making cards :) ! The flowers are so cute and the sweet Paper Smooches sentiment matches perfectly with them! I didn't know that there is a National Old Stuff Day!

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  14. Oh this is wonderful in so many ways! First that you got to play with a talented friend. And that you chose to use older supplies. AND that you highlighted Karin as well. That's a lot of love in one card and it holds it all beautifully. Your loose watercoloring is remarkable. I love the homage to Karin's header, too. All three of you are powerhouse talents and isn't it or wasn't it International Women's Day or something like that? You celebrated that in spades! :)

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  15. Beautiful card with that set, Michele. That's the one I never used and gave to Nancy. The colors are so soft and pretty. I don't know how you know when you got the stamps but when I get home I'm going to try to use all my old stuff again.

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  16. Oh your card is gorgeous…making me itch to get out some watercolor paper.

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  17. How fun you are playing cards with Karren, Michele! Your card is beautiful and does look very much like Karin's blog header (love her watercoloring!) Your roses are beautiful against the watery blue. and the lacy die cut is perfect grounding for that fun British sentiment!

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  18. Here's to holding onto those older stamps (if one has the storage lol!)! Your card is just a stunner, Michele, definitely a beautiful homage to Karin's blog banner! Beautiful watercoloring and a lovely add with the scalloped edge die. Gorgeous!

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  19. You are such a fun lady Michele! How fun to play cards with a friend from around the world?! I love that you ladies dug deep to love some old stuff. Never knew there was a "National Old Stuff Day"! But I love it! Your card is stunning, so feminine and dainty. Love the little white border with the sentiment sitting on it. Gorgeous! Hugs, Brenda

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  20. What a pretty and feminine card, Michele! Your loose and layered watercoloring is fantastic! Love the wispy look! I'm pretty good at throwing things away, but stamps are exceptions. I have a problem of not being able to purge them (even though I don't use them) and old stamps are now invading our living room...
    I'm off to Karen's blog. :-)
    Hideko xx

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  21. I don't know how I missed this beauty, Michele, but I'm glad I've found it now! These little roses are so pretty scattered over the card front! They're beautifully colored and stand out beautifully against the blue wash background! Off to see what Karren did...

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  22. Your card is wonderful, and you did a beautiful job with your homage to Karin's blog header. I love the way you water colored the flowers and background and those die cuts are fabulous. Love the "ello", you clever cookie. I am also inspired by your stash digging project. My stash runneth over, and down the hill and under the bridge and over the dam. I am going to try digging more too. Kinda like dumpster diving but for fabulous finds to make beautiful art. (weird analogy of the day)

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=] Michele