STAMPlorations Inspiration

Hi crafters! It's June... May went by so quickly, it's my favourite month of the year for many reasons but this year I have to say the weather really didn't conform with my usual expectation of beautiful, sunny and warm days. Oh well, let's hope the rest of the summer will make up for it.

I'm here to share my card for this week's STAMPlorations Inspiration post, which was inspired by flowers and watercolours. I have been playing a lot lately with the gorgeous Watercolour ATC Journaling Cards. I created a watercolour floral background to frame the ATC by inking up the Sweetly stamp with Distress Markers, spritzing the coloured stamp with water before stamping and then adding watercolours to the florals. I also added some Kitch Flamingo Distress Ink around the edges of the background panel. For the main panel, I simply stamped a sentiment from Beautiful Courage in black and added this to the background. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sweetly, Beautiful Courage

Other: STAMPlorations Watercolour ATC Journaling Cards

Ink and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress markers and inks, Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black

 

Note that I have received some of the stamps and other craft supplies for free as a member of the STAMPlorations Design Team, therefore this blog post has to be identified as an ad. I have been using STAMPlorations products for years before joining the Desing Team at which time I paid for all my STAMPlorations products and I love them as much today as I did then. 

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes. And if you use my code you also get to pick a freebie to the value of $7 (for details see the badge below).

Note that as a STAMPlorations affiliate, I get a small commission on any orders you place in the STAMPlorations store using the links in my blog post or my coupon code STAMPGIRLKAROLA. This is at no added cost to you. Thank you for your support to keep my craft addiction going :) 

STAMPlorations Inspiration

 

It's spring! The start of March surely must count as spring, right? We have snowdrops and daffodils in bloom already, it seems like spring is quite early this year. We are so close to April and May which are my favourite time of year, and I'm excited that there are green shoots in the garden and the sun is starting to feel warm again. 

As it's Tuesday, it's also time for another weekly instalment of the STAMPlorations Inspiration post. This month I'm inspired to create various different blooms on kraft card. I was inspired to do so by a beautiful card I saw on Instagram by @kampakreations. Today's card is a direct CASE of that card and for the remaining Tuesdays this month you will see other ways I have been inspired by kraft.

I started by creating all the different sized layers for this card in kraft and black using my paper trimmer. The top layer is actually some left-over from wedding invites I created for my Bestie three years ago. How time flies! But I digress... Next, I stamped the florals from Shery's beautiful Sweetly set in Versamark and heat embossed them in gold. I inked shades of brown Distress Ink around the edges and splattered brown ink on the card. Last, I added heat embossed sentiments from the same stamp set. I hope my card will inspire you to create something using kraft card. And don't forget to leave a comment on the STAMPlorations Inspiration post for a chance to win a $15 prize code to the  STAMPlorations store.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sweetly

Ink and colouring: Versafine, Tim Holtz Distress Inks

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes. And if you use my code you also get to pick a freebie to the value of $7 (for details see the badge below).

Note that as a STAMPlorations affiliate, I get a small commission on any orders you place in the STAMPlorations store using the links in my blog post or my coupon code STAMPGIRLKAROLA. This is at no added cost to you. Thank you for your support to keep my craft addiction going :) 

STAMPlorations Inspiration

 

Today is a special STAMPlorations Inspiration Post - it's the 300th Inspiration Post! What a great way to celebrate the end of the year. And because of this special occasion, we have an extra special prize to be won - by commenting on the STAMPlorations Inspiration Post and the Design Team posts (including mine) you are entering the draw to win a $25 prize code to the STAMPlorations store. And with this card, I want to thank you all for stopping by to see my cards this year and wish you all a much improved 2021!

I created a colourful Birthday card to celebrate this special occasion. I started by stamping the beautiful florals from Sweetly in Black Versamark onto watercolour card and coloured them with Gansai Tambi watercolours. I also splattered some watercolour onto the background to create a bit of added interest. Next, I stamped the butterfly from the same stamp set onto vellum, heat embossed in gold and fussy cut it. Last, I added a die-cut sentiment using Everyday Sentiments and added some washi tape to the top and bottom of the card. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sweetly

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments

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

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes. And if you use my code you also get to pick a freebie to the value of $7 (for details see the badge below).

Note that as a STAMPlorations affiliate, I get a small commission on any orders you place in the STAMPlorations store using the links in my blog post or my coupon code STAMPGIRLKAROLA. This is at no added cost to you. Thank you for your support to keep my craft addiction going :) 

STAMPlorations June CAS Challenge

It's summer! I know it's probably going to be slightly different than most other summers, but I am fully intent on enjoying all the things I can this summer. I'll have picnics in the garden, have more time for my hobbies and we'll try to go out more for cycle rides and walks where we live instead of travelling somewhere further away. It will be more environmentally friendly and challenge our imagination in different ways, and I'm excitedly looking forward to what this summer will bring. 

A new month also means it's time for a new STAMPlorations CAS Challenge. This will be our last challenge for this season, and we will take a summer break and be back again in October. But there will be plenty going on over on the STAMPlorations blog over the summer, so don't fear you will still find regular inspiration and ways to play along and win prizes. 

For my card, I stamped the gorgeous blooms from Sweetly and watercoloured them with Distress Inks. I splattered purple across the background and added a sentiment which I die cut in shimmering purple card using Everyday Sentiments. I really like the muted colour scheme used for this card.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sweetly

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks Dusty Concord, Hickory Smoke, Peacock Feathers, Seedless Preserves, Wilted Violet

STAMPlorations Inspiration

Happy May, my favourite month of the year! How are you coping? I'm looking forward to a long weekend this week as we have a bank holiday on Friday and I'm taking a day of annual leave on Monday, enjoying four lovely days away from work. I'm planning to... well, stay at home, but not work, hehe. Maybe take a few long walks and work in the garden. It will still feel like a holiday, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather. And today is Tuesday, and that means there is a new STAMPlorations Inspiration post too.

For today's card, I started with one of my Distress Oxide blended backgrounds. I made a big batch of them a few weeks back. I then stamped the lovely Sweetly bouquet of flowers in white heat embossing on vellum. I die cut the sentiment using Everyday Sentiments. Last I added a strip of patterned paper both for the decorative effect and to secure the edge of the vellum to the background. I'm really chuffed about how this card turned out.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sweetly

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Oxides, Tsukineko Versamark

We are soon going to start the Spring Fling blog hop and linky party, so don't forget to check in on May 6th.

 

Products in the SPRING FLING section are 15% off instantly. Discount is applied automatically when you add qualifying items in your cart.

STAMPlorations Inspiration

How are you today? What a strange new world we live in. As of yesterday, the UK is more or less in lockdown. I have now been working from home for a week and a half, and I have to admit I'm rather liking it. I haven't done as much exercise as I did last week for years, and I have set up a little yoga studio in our conservatory. But we are very lucky as we have a big house in the countryside and lots of paths to walk or run on without running into too many people. But as you all, I'm so worried for what will happen, both in the short and long term. My closest family are all medical doctors and I worry for them so much. But I'm trying to tell myself that won't change the situation so I need to spend my time more productively than worrying. I find it hard to create at the moment as there are so many other things going on. But it's a great distraction, and I created this floral card for this week's  STAMPlorations Inspiration Post. For today's card, I was inspired by some of the new STAMPlorations stamps and stencils. I'm totally in love with the big bold new florals Shery created for the latest release, and I just keep using them over and over again. 

For my card, I started by inking Distress Ink through Helen's new Rubber Bands stencil in yellow and green. Then I splattered small droplets of ink onto the panel and left it to dry. I stamped the gorgeous large floral from Sweetly, watercoloured it with Distress inks and fussy cut it. Last, I added a black sentiment using Everyday Sentiments. I absolutely love this die set, as I find it's the perfect size for a card front if you want to keep the main focus on your image.

Stamps: STAMPloration Sweetly
Stencil: ARTplorations Rubber Bands
Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks

If you feel like doing a bit of shopping, you may want to check out the STAMPlorations Springtime Sale in the STAMPlorations store!

Products in the SPRINGTIME section are

20% off instantly until March 31

No code needed! Simply add qualifying products to your cart and the discount is automatically applied.

STAMPlorations New Release Sweetly

It's time to introduce the fourth stamp set of the STAMPlorations February 2020 release week. And it's another one of Shery's gorgeous floral sets - Sweetly. It contains a big bunch of flowers, a butterfly and a mix of words and sentiments. 

For my first card, I stamped the butterfly, masking as I went along. I used my watercolours to colour the butterflies, letting the colours run over the lines to create a rainbow halo around the butterflies. I created the sentiment by heat embossing in white.

For my second card I started by stamping the bunch of flowers onto watercolour card and heat embossed in gold. I then die cut the panel using the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies and coloured the flowers with the Faber Castell watercolour pencils. I attached the panel onto some Tim Holtz patterned paper and added a gold sentiment which I die cut using Everyday Sentiments.

For a chance to win a $20 gift code or one of the new stamp sets, comment on the blog post over on the STAMPlorations blog and the participating designer's blogs. You don't have to comment on all blogs, but every comment will be entered in the random draw. Commenting is open until February 19th and the randomly drawn winners will be announced on February 21st. Also, the new stamps are 10% off automatically until February 19 in the STAMPlorations store and if you use my discount code STAMPGIRLKAROLA you will get an extra 20% off.

Other STAMPlorations projects used: CUTploration Everyday Sentiments dies, Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies