April STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - Dark Navy

Thanks for popping by today, it's great to see you here! It's the first Thursday of the month, and you know what that means - it's time for the STAMPlorations April CAS Challenge. This month our optional colour twist is Dark Navy. I decided to create a card using the fantastic Lupinus stencil by Sanna Lippert. We had a lot of lupines growing on the road leading to my childhood home. There were pink ones, white ones and a dark purple-ish blue. I thought I would combine some of those colours (and add some more for good measure) to re-create those happy childhood memories. I inked Distress Ink through the stencil, and to keep it CAS all I added was a sentiment using the Hugs Word Die. I hope you are inspired to play along with us!

Stencil: ARTplorations Lupinus

Dies: CUTplorations Hugs Word Die

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink

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 combine that with the standard 25% discount in the Spring Fling section, that's not a bad deal in case you feel like adding to your crafty stash!

April STAMPlorations TAG challenge - Recycling

Happy April! Are you experiencing the proverbial April showers? Hopefully you have April flowers rather than showers, I don't see why April flowers couldn't be followed by May flowers! If you are still missing the spring flowers, here is a tag filled to the brim with flowers for you, and for the April STAMPlorations TAG challenge. Our theme this month is recycling.

I started by covering a tag I created using Stitched Tags Nesting Dies in recycled tissue paper. I have started ordering my loo roll from a company who do plastic free, recycled toilet paper and they donate a part of their profits to build toilets. The paper comes wrapped in brightly coloured tissue paper which is perfect for crafting - I used two different striped patterns to cover my tag. I then stamped my flowers using Bloom Doodles onto white paper which had some unsuccessful previous stamped images on the other side of the paper. I try to use the other side of the paper/card if this happens. Waste not, want not and all that. If you colour your images in darker colours with Copics, the stamped outline won't show through from the other side. I die cut the sentiment from a scrap of dark blue card from my UFO pile using Thanks Word Die. Last, I added some ribbon which I rescued from a chocolate box. Do you hold on to all ribbon you find as well, accumulating loads of it but never getting around to using it? If you do, the April STAMPlorations TAG challenge is a great opportunity to use up some of that ribbon. Or any other recycled bits and bobs! 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Bloom Doodles
Dies: CUTplorations Thanks Word Die, Stitched Tags Nesting Dies

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.

STAMPlorations Spring Fling

Welcome to the STAMPlorations Spring Fling event! Every spring, the lovely Shery, Mummy of STAMPlorations, does a grand big event with twelve days of giveaways. And I'm super excited that Shery always invites her design team (including yours truly!!) to join in on the fun. We are sharing spring themed projects which will hopefully inspire you to get creative too!

Every day there is a prize to be won by commenting on the STAMPlorations Spring Fling blog post and the designer's blog posts. You can comment until the 19th of April, and all winners will be announced in a big winner's post on April 22nd so don't forget to check in on the STAMPlorations blog to see if you are one of the lucky winners!

For my first Spring Fling project (yes, there are a few more to come in the next few days!!) I created a kraft tag using all the colours of the rainbow. I started by cutting a tag from kraft Card using CUTplorations Stitched Tags Nesting Dies. Then I inked Distress Oxides through the ARTplorations Peony Number Two stencil. I stamped the Be A Rainbow Typografia Motivate sentiment in Onyx Black ink on top of the peony. Last, I stamped two butterflies from Fluttery, coloured them with Copics in all the colours of the rainbow, fussy cut, adhered to the tag and liberally doused in Ice Stickles. I finished the tag with white ribbon and burlap twine from my stash.

Don't forget that during the Spring Fling, the Spring Fling section in the STAMPlorations store is 25% off (no code needed). However, if you use my code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout, you can get up to 45% off!! 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Be A Rainbow Typografia Motivate, Fluttery
Dies: CUTplorations Stitched Tags Nesting Dies
Stencil: ARTplorations Peony Number Two
Ink: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Oxides, Copics

March STAMPlorations challenges - Mid-Month Reminder

This year just keeps speeding through. Can you believe we are halfway through March already! It's great to move into warmer weather though, isn't it? Have you had time to play along with our STAMPlorations March challenges yet? If not, don't worry as you still have a few more week's to play along. If you played along earlier, maybe you are inspired again and would like to share another project with us? If your mojo is lost, check in the March challenge reminder post over on the STAMPlorations blog where the design team are sharing our latest projects for inspiration!

The theme for our March TAGplorations challenge is All About Spring with an optional twist of birds. I created bird tags using Distress Oxide smooshed backgrounds I found in my UFO box. I used the Stitched Tags Nesting Dies to cut the tags, stamped one of the birds from the For the Birds stamp set using Versafine black ink and die cut the Thanks sentiment using Thanks word die from matching pieces of leftover card. The second part of the sentiment is also from the For the Birds stamp set.

The optional colour twist for the March CAS challenge is Coral Pink. I thought a coral pink scooter would be really cool so I stamped the scooter from Born To Roam and watercoloured it with Abandoned Coral and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I added a sentiment from the same stamp set. Last, I stencilled Vintage Photo Distress Ink through the Retro Circles stencil for added interest.

Stamps: STAMPlorations For the Birds, Born To Roam
Dies: CUTplorations Stitched Tags Nesting Dies, Thanks word die
Stencil: ARTplorations Retro Circles
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Ink, Distress Oxides

Don't forget the Spring Clean March Sale in the STAMPlorations Store, where most stamps and dies are 30% off until the end of March. 

March STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - Coral Pink

Welcome to the STAMPlorations March CAS Challenge. Spring is in the air and our optional colour twist this month is a nice spring colour - coral pink. Spring inspires me to use lots of florals. There is nothing like that spring green shooting from the dark soil to make it feel like we are going towards warmer times. 

I used the lovely Blossom Sprays #3 stamp for my card. I stamped the image in Versamark Onyx Black and coloured with Gansai Tambi watercolours and pearl watercolours. They give such a lovely subtle shimmer. I added a very light splattering of coral pink to the background, before cutting the watercolour card panel using Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting Rectangle dies. Last, I used the same watercolours I used for the flowers to create a banner for the sentiment and added a hashtag from Sparkly.

I hope you are inspired to play along with us over on STAMPlorations blog!

Stamps: STAMPlorations Blossom Sprays #3, Sparkly

Dies: Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting Rectangle dies 

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.

March STAMPlorations TAG challenge - Spring

Welcome to the STAMPlorations March TAGplorations challenge. Our theme is spring, with an optional twist of birds. Is it getting spring-y where you are? I love March as spring starts to show just a little bit with nature turning green and early spring flowers shyly make their way above ground. Thank you for playing along with our February Love challenge, you certainly made it hard to pick our favourites! 

I started by stamping Hummingbird - Large onto watercolour paper and coloured him with Gansai Tambi watercolour and pearl watercolours. For the background, I watercoloured through the Honeycomb Delight Mini stencil and then went a bit overboard with splattering lots of watercolour onto the remaining tag for interest. The sentiments are from Bold Sentiments: Hashtag Authentic and Noteworthy 2.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Hummingbird - Large, Bold Sentiments: Hashtag Authentic, Noteworthy 2
Stencil: ARTplorations Honeycomb Delight Mini
Dies: CUTplorations Luggage Tags Nesting Dies

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.

Rainbows, Rainbows, Rainbows

Long time no see! How are you? Has spring caught up with you yet? The daffodils are already in bloom in the garden and the conservatory is nice and warm in the afternoon. And it's getting lighter in the mornings which is great, it's just that little bit easier to head off to work when it isn't completely pitch dark.  

I believe, from the bottom of my heart, that you can never have too many unicorns or rainbows in your life. So I thought I would send a few countless rainbows your way today.

Today's card is inspired by several challenges. Firstly, I cannot resist a good rainbow so I had to play along with the current Fusion challenge. I'm also linking up with Lawn Fawnatics where the theme is "What's the weather" and Just Us Girls where the theme is Birthday. 

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Winter Unicorn and matching die

Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangles, Rainbow, Puffy Cloud Border die, Simple Puffy Clouds, Simple Puffy Cloud Frames, Happy Birthday Line Border

Ink and Colouring: Distress Paints, Copics, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, gold and silver Sharpie

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka, Let's Polka in the Dark, Really Rainbow, silver glitter card