STAMPlorations Inspiration

Today is a special post for me, as I can reveal that I am now officially part of the STAMPlorations Inspiration team. I'm so excited to join the incredibly talented designers who have inspired me to start creating with STAMPlorations products many years ago and still blow my mind with every one of their gorgeous creations. I feel slightly out of place among them, but I'm so happy I get to share the projects I enjoy making using all the STAMPlorations products I have come to love so much over the years. On top of everything, all the ladies on the Inspiration team are super nice too!

For my first Inspiration project, I have used the Bloomtangled 2 Cover Plate Die. I find it so relaxing to assemble cards using the cover plate dies. I started by die cutting the cover plate in black to form the frame for the flowers. Then I die cut it a second time from watercolour paper and watercoloured that version using Distress Oxides. I then assembled them, piece by piece into the black frame. I find the process almost meditative. Just me, a cup of coffee, a good podcast and a pair of tweezers.

As always, you can win a gift certificate over on the STAMPlorations blog. If you comment on the Inspiration team blog posts, you are entering in a draw to win a $10 gift certificate.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Llama Tell You 

Dies: CUTplorations Bloomtangled 2 Cover Plate Die, Happy Word die

Colouring: Distress Oxides

Currently, there are several great promotions in the STAMPlorations store, including a great offer if you want to pre-order the new dies which will be available in October. You can find all the promotions summarised on the Promotions Page. You can also find great discounts on dies and stamps.

May STAMPlorations challenges - Mid-Month Reminder

Welcome to the STAMPlorations May Challenge Reminder. May is my favourite month of the year, but this year it has just disappeared on me. I can't believe it's already half gone. But I'm trying to be optimistic about it, that means there is still half of it left to experience and of course the long weekend coming up at the end of May which happens to fall on my birthday. Let's keep our fingers crossed for some gorgeous bank holiday weather!

My reminder card for the STAMPlorations May CAS challenge was created using Bloom Doodles, one of my favourite ever flower stamp sets. I stamped and masked the three large flowers and coloured them with Copics. I then die cut the sentiment using Happy Word die in lilac and black card and heat embossed the word Birthday from the hilarious Llama Tell You stamp set. Last, I fussy cut the front panel of the card along the outline of the flowers and added a piece of lilac patterned paper to the back panel.

For the May TAGplorations challenge, I created a tag using a Mixed Media background I have created sometime in the past using Distress Oxides and then stamped in Vintage Photo Distress ink using Mixed Media Grunge. Sometimes it's nice to just look through the box of various unwanted crafty things and find something you get inspired to use for a project. I die cut flowers from various colours of leftover cardstock using Trendy Spring Blooms dies and assembled a big bouquet of flowers on my tag, adding some leaf die cuts too. The sentiment consists of blue glitter card die cut using Hugs Word die and a white heat-embossed sentiment from Funny Kinda Love. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Bloom Doodles, Llama Tell You, Mixed Media Grunge
Dies: CUTplorations Happy Word die, Trendy Spring Blooms, Hugs Word die
Ink and Colouring: Tsukineko Versamark and Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics, Distress Oxides, Distress Ink Vintage Photo

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at theSTAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The discount applies to all normal priced and discounted stamps, stencils and dies. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes (but note that it combines with promotions such as the below Typografia and Things With Wings sale!!). The following two promotions are ongoing in the STAMPlorations store at the moment

CLICK HERE to see all Typografia stamps!

CLICK HERE to see all qualifying products. 

March STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - Mid-Month Inspiration

As usual the weeks have just flown by and we are already in mid-March. So we are popping in with a mid-month inspiration post from the fantastic STAMPlorations CAS team to hopefully inspire you to create something sky blue for our March CAS challenge.

We just came back from a week's skiing holiday and when we got home, it felt like spring. The daffodils are in full bloom as is the apricot tree. So I thought it would be perfect timing to get out the Framed Solitary Daffodil which I stamped using Versafine onto watercolour card and painted with Gansai Tambi watercolours. I die cut the first part of the sentiment using the Happy Word Die and stamped and fussy cut the word Easter using Sketchy Alphabet. Before adhering everything in place, I splattered some watercolours on a white card base to create some interest in the background as well. I really like how the colour combo turned out, I particularly love that stunning vibrant green in the Gansai Tambi palette.

Card: 250 gsm white smooth card, scrap of yellow card, scrap of blue card, 300 gsm Daler&Rowney Watercolour paper

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Gansai Tambi watercolours

Stamps: STAMPlorations Framed Solitary Daffodil, Sketchy Alphabet

Dies: CUTplorations Happy Word Die

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The discount applies to all normal priced and discounted stamps, stencils and dies. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes. If you have any questions or problems, just let me know!

Colourful Circles

It's rather grey and dreary out there so I thought we really need a card with bright colours today. I was inspired by the new challenge over at AAA Cards which is circles. I was also inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch and the CAS Mixup challenge where I have already played along twice this month but could not resist a third go as I think this month's challenge of Stamping+Masking+Your choice (die cutting in my case) is just so much fun I couldn't resist a third go. I'm also linking up with Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With a Die Cut challenge.

I started by inking through the ARTplorations Bubble Dance stencil using Distress inks Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean and Picked Raspberry. I just love how the colours blend and you get so many more colours than you start with. Then I used the CUTplorations Happy Word die and die cut words for the sentiment from Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid paper and black card. To complete the sentiment I stamped the word Birthday from STAMPlorations Balloons And Banners. Last, I added a lot of Ice Stickles for some bling. 

Card: 250 gsm white card, scarp of black card
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean and Picked Raspberry
Stamps: STAMPlorations Balloons And Banners
Stencils: ARTplorations Bubble Dance 
Dies: CUTplorations Happy Word die
Other: Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid paper, Ranger Ice Stickles

Coffee and Donuts

I'm back to celebrate the wonder of coffee and this time I'm celebrating the sweet union of coffee and donuts. Every time I look at the STAMPlorations Sugar Rush stamp set I get such a craving for donuts. I love the "Drink Coffee, Read Books, Be Happy" sentiment from the fantastic Literary Caffeine-ations by the funny and talented Becca Cruger but I thought she had left out a very critical bit about eating donuts, so I decided to add that little bit to make the sentiment complete. 

I started by stamping the coffee mug from Coffee Happy, and after masking the mug I stamped the coffee pot and then the donuts onto a white card base that I had die cut using the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting dies. I stamped the sentiment and die cut the happy using CUTplorations Happy Word die twice, once using black card and once using patterned paper from Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall paper. I coloured the images using Copics inspired by the colours from the patterned paper. Last, I inked around the edges of the die cut panel using Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink and attached the stamped panel onto Early Espresso card.

I'm linking up over at the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop for one last time, it's been such a blast as usual and the inspiration from all you fellow crafters has been so amazing. I'm also linking up over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges Anything Goes and AAA Card Challenges where the theme is masking. 

Card: Neenah Solar white card, Stampin' Up Early Espresso, scrap of black card

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sugar Rush, Coffee Happy, Literary Caffeine-ations 

Ink and Colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Copics

Dies: CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting dies

Other: Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall paper