STAMPlorations Inspiration

 

Hello fellow crafters! It's Tuesday, which of course means it's STAMPlorations Inspiration Post day, but what's more is that it's the last Tuesday of the month and I'm sticking to my 'New Year's resolution' of creating four Christmas cards for my stash to help future me be better prepared for Christmas than I was last year (although I think any failures to do absolutely anything in 2020 should just be automatically forgiven due to you-know-what reasons :). As always don't forget that by leaving a comment on the STAMPlorations Inspiration Post you automatically get entered into a monthly draw of a $15 prize code to the  STAMPlorations store

Today I decided to play with colours and do some layered stamping using Shirley's fun Layered Holly stamp set using non-traditional Christmas colours. I picked my colour combos for every card stamping the solid images in a lighter colour and the outlines in a darker shade of the same-ish general colour (for example the yellow-red combo is Mustard Seed for the solid leaves, Fossilized Amber for the leaf outline, Festive Berries for the solid berries and Aged Mahogany for the outline, and the purple-green combo is Twisted Citron for the solid leaves, Peeled Paint for the leaf outlines, Wilted Violet for the solid berries and Seedless Preserves for the outlines). I added a sentiment from the same set on a matching coloured piece of scrap card (excellent way to use up those little pieces you keep hold of because you can't throw away any scrap pieces. I'm not the only one doing that, surely?). Last, for some added interest I added the fun barcode-like strip at the bottom in a matching colour. It's from Mixed Media Grunge and a super fun way to add that final finishing touch to the edges of cards.

Here is another look at the cards in a bit more detail:

Stamps: STAMPlorations Layered Holly, Mixed Media Grunge

Ink and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Inks, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black

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 April CAS Challenge - Reminder

Hi all, have you had a chance to play along with the STAMPlorations April challenges yet? If the answer is no, fear not as we still have a good two weeks left of April. There is a lot of inspiration over on the STAMPlorations blog in the April Challenge reminder post. I made this card for the April CAS challenge where the optional colour twist is lemon yellow. I used the super fun Layered Citrus stamp set by Shirley.  I hope you are inspired to play along! 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Layered Citrus

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Fossilized Amber, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Squeezed Lemonade

Stamps in the SPRING CLEARANCE section are 50% off

Use code SPRING50 on checkout.

STAMPlorations April CAS Challenge

Hi all, we got through March, officially the longest month in the history of the world! Happy April everyone and welcome to the April STAMPlorations CAS Challenge. Our optional colour twist this month is lemon yellow and I created some bright yellow flowers using the Happy Flowers stencil and Distress Inks. The sentiment is from Softly. I hope you feel inspired to play along, and check out the main blog post for the rules and prizes. Happy crafting!

Stamps: STAMPlorations Softly
Stencil: ARTplorations Happy Flowers
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Don't forget the Spring Clearance in the STAMPlorations store

 

Stamps in the SPRING CLEARANCE section are 50% off

STAMPlorations March CAS Challenge - Reminder

We are well into spring now, don't you agree? Midway through March already! We are getting well into my favourite part of the year. I love seeing nature spring to life, starting with the daffodils and asparagus in the garden and everything else following. But it also means the gardening work needs to ramp up again to keep everything under control, as our garden is a bit more like a jungle than a garden at the moment.

But from gardening to crafting, which is why we are all here today, right? There is loads of crafty inspiration over on the STAMPlorations blog as we are sharing our mid-month additional inspiration for all three STAMPlorations challenges. I created a CAS card, inspired by the optional colour twist which this month is light blue. I inked dar and light blue Distress Ink through the Two Feathers stencil covering the whole card front. Then I simply heat embossed some a sentiment from Feathery in white on black card and added them to the card. Quick, easy, clean and simple.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Feathery

Stencil: ARTplorations  Two Feathers

Ink: Tsukineko Versafine, Tim Holtz Distress Ink

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 Inspiration

Hello crafters! How are you? I'm so happy days are finally starting to feel longer, there is a sliver of light in the mornings when I leave home, and even some in the evening as I drive home. As I drive east in the mornings and west in the evenings, I often see the most stunning sunrises and sunsets.

Anyhow, enough about sunsets as we are here to see some crafting, right? As it's Tuesday, it's time for another STAMPlorations Inspiration post. For today's card, I used the super cute Tweet Love stamp set, stamping the adorable little Ellie Elephant and coloured her in Copics before fussy cutting her. I created a background using the Oh My Stars! Mini stencil and yellow Distress Ink. Last, I added a sweet sentiment from Tweet Love.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Tweet Love

Stencil: ARTplorations Oh My Stars! Mini

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Onyx Black, Copics, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Squeezed Lemonade

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 October CAS Challenge - Orange

Welcome back to the STAMPlorations CAS challenge! We had a long break but are now brimming with pent-up CAS inspiration. I hope you will enjoy playing along, and can't wait to see what you create. And of course, you will have plenty of chances to win amazing STAMPlorations prizes too.

Our first optional colour twist this season is Any Shade of Orange. I was inspired to create a big flower using the lovely Peony Number Two stencil so I inked Distress Inks in yellow and orange through the stencil using a foam applicator. I finished my one layer CAS card with a sentiment from Noteworthy 2 and splattered some water for added interest.

Now it's your turn to create a CAS card, either with or without orange. You are free to use any products you want, but if you have any STAMPlorations crafty goodies, we would love to see what you create with them. Don't forget to display our challenge graphic in your post and link back to the CAS challenge post on the STAMPlorations blog to be eligible for our prizes.

I'm linking up this card over at AAA Cards where the theme is One Layer and the optional twist is autumn.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Noteworthy 2

Stencil: ARTplorations Peony Number Two

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink Squeezed Lemonade, Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, Abandoned Coral

STAMPlorations Inspiration

Welcome to this week's STAMPlorations Inspiration post! As usual, it's time for me and the rest of the Inpiration team to showcase some of our favourite STAMPlorations products. I was inspired by dragonflies today, probably because I'm already missing summer, although it's barely gone. So I inked up some summery colours and did some die-cutting to bring back some of that summer feel. As always, don't forget to leave a comment on the Inspiration post on the STAMPlorations blog for a chance to win a gift certificate!

For my card, I created a background using Distress Oxides and a stamp from Vignette: Celebrate Artsy. It's such a quick and easy way to create an impressive background. I then used the Dragonfly Layering Dies to die cut the dragonfly in vellum and white shimmer card. Last, I added a sentiment from Vignette: Celebrate Artsy in black.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Vignette: Celebrate Artsy

Dies: CUTplorations Dragonfly Layering Dies

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Oxides Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers, Wilted Violet

Don't forget you have a few more days to take advantage of the great

 End-of-summer sale in the STAMPlorations store.

Pink Calla Lilies

Today's card was inspired by several challenges. I was inspired by the "Up to one third" theme over at AAA Cards and I also went with the inlaid die cut twist. I'm also excited to play along with the new Perfectly CAS challenge where the theme is Flowers. I used the colours from this week's Just Add Ink challenge and I'm also linking up over at The Flower Challenge where anything goes.

I used the STAMPlorations In Bloom: Classic Calla Lilies stamp which I heat embossed with clear powder before watercolouring with Distress Oxides on watercolour paper. I added a few splatters of green ink to the white space. I die cut the sentiment using the CUTplorations Hello word die. Last, I matted the card front onto dark green card.

Stamps: STAMPlorations In Bloom: Classic Calla Lilies
Dies: CUTplorations Hello word die
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versamark, Distress Oxides Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet, Lucky Clover

CAS Cacti

Today's card is a one-layer card, my favourite kind! I was inspired by the desert theme over at Cupcake Inspirations to stamp these succulents which I hope are close enough to the theme? I was also inspired by the colours over at Color Throwdown and I'm linking up over at Just Add Ink where the challenge is "Just add C" (cactus in my case) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes. 

I stamped the cute little succulents from STAMPlorations Succulently, masking the first one before stamping the other one behind it. I coloured them with Copics and added a sentiment from the same set. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Succulently

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics

White Butterfly

After a few super hot days, we have cooling rain today. And of course, rain means craft room time! I bet the garden is enjoying the rain, but I feel sad that it will completely undo all my hard work cleaning my windows over the last week. We were going to have the out-laws over for a visit this weekend so I wanted our windows to be shiny clean. Now the visit is postponed due to the rain, so they will never see my shiny clean windows, only the water-stained ones. Sigh. Not that they would care, but I do.

Anyhow, end of rant. I had lots of fun in the craft room today, and I had Distress Oxides on my craft room desk which were perfect for this week's Color Throwdown. I also was inspired by the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. 

I used Distress Oxides to stamp the background using a stamp from STAMPlorations Vignette: Celebrate Artsy and stamped the sentiment using a stamp from the same set. I then cut the beautiful Flutter Zen 2 layering butterfly die, using white card and vellum for the background.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Vignette: Celebrate Artsy 

Dies: CUTplorations Flutter Zen 2

Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Oxides Mustard Seed, Spicy Marmalade, Picked Raspberry, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black

STAMPlorations Christmas in July

I'm very excited to be here today for the kick-off of our Christmas in July sale and giveaway over at STAMPlorations. And, to be honest, it's the kick-off for Christmas crafting for me this year. I really love to see all the Christmas inspiration all over blogland this time of year as it finally got me inspired to start with my Christmas crafting. The inspiration and talent in the crafting community never cease to amaze me. If I ever feel like I'm in a creative slump, all I need to do is go on Pinterest or Instagram and I'm showered with the most amazing art, so thank you all for that!

For my first card, I used the Sketchy Yule Trees, stamping directly onto white card and colouring the trees with Distress Markers. Next, I stamped the Merry Little Christmas typografia stamp in Versamark onto vellum, and heat embossed in gold (currently this stamp is out of stock, but there are plenty of other Christmas typografia stamps in stock in the STAMPlorations store). I added a few drops of glue on the vellum under the sentiment to attach it to the card panel. If you want more inspiration for these stamp sets, check out here, here, and here.

I used the same layout for my next card, this time using the super cute snowman from Winter Chill for the background and the  Build A Snowman Typografia Christmas. I stamped the sentiment in black onto vellum and heat embossed in holographic embossing powder which gives it a great shimmer. For other ideas using these stamps, see here and here.

I created one more card using a Christmas typografia stamp, this time I combined the Jingle All the Way typografia stamp with the cute bells from Jingle Bells. I started by stamping the bells in Versamark, then I sprinkled gold and copper embossing powder to create a two-tone effect which you can see in the close-up image. I inked up the sentiment using Distress Markers, spritzed very lightly with water and stamped onto vellum. As I often manage to smudge ink when stamping on vellum, I quickly heat embossed the sentiment in clear powder, before cutting the vellum with the smallest die from Crazy Double Running Stitch Nested dies. 

For my last two cards, I was inspired by the beautifully geometric Yuletide Deer stamp set. I restricted my colour palette to bright red, black and grey against crisp white card. I started by stamping the deers in Tim Holtz Festive Berries. Then I used a black watercolour marker to colour only the word Christmas from Merry Little Christmas (although you may want to make your life a bit easier and just use a stamp which you can ink up the normal way). I then used the "merry" stamp from Joyful to complete the sentiment, inking it up once with black ink and stamping three times without inking it up in between. I then used a stamp from Mixed Media Elements to create some interest around the edge. I completed the grungy look by splattering some diluted black ink on the card front before matting it onto red or grey card and attaching to a white card base.

A few links to some other cards made using the same stamp set here and here.

I hope you have been inspired to create some Christmas cards of your own. If you want to add to your Christmas crafty stash, you can find Christmas stamps reduced over in the STAMPlorations store and there is even a giveaway!

I'm linking up my first deer card over at Crafty Card Challenge, Tales from the Craft Room, Shopping Our Stash (Happy 400th challenge!!) and Crafty Gals Corner. All of the challenges have a Christmas in July theme.  

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sketchy Yule Trees, Merry Little Christmas Typografia Christmas, Build A Snowman Typografia Christmas, Winter Chill, Jingle All the Way Typografia Christmas, Jingle Bells, Yuletide Deer, Mixed Media Elements 
Dies: Crazy Double Running Stitch Nested dies
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Tim Holtz Distress Inks and markers

Gin and Tonic

It's been a while since I have spent any time in the craft room (and it seems like this is how I start all of my blog posts these days). It's been a few weeks of beautiful summer which means the garden is growing way too much (why is it only the weeds that grow out of control but not the actual plants you want to grow?). Anyhow, today's rainy weather brought with it some mojo.

Inspired by the CASology challenge, where the theme is Citrus, I created this quick one layer CAS card. I love the fun STAMPlorations Layered Citrus stamp set which was perfect for the theme. I stamped the lemon outline in Distress Oxide and used the layering stamps to "colour" it using Distress Inks. Last, I stamped the sentiments and splattered some watered down Distress Ink for a grungy feel. I'm also linking up with Cupcake Inspirations where the theme is shades of yellow and Shopping Our Stash where the theme is One Layer Card. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Layered Citrus

Ink: Tim Holz Distress Oxide Fossilized Amber, Distress Ink Mustard Seed and Squeezed Lemonade, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black

If you feel like doing some crafty shopping, don't forget to check out the 

STAMPlorations Summer Sale with over 300 products at 40% off for some great finds!

June STAMPlorations challenges - Mid-Month Reminder

The summer is rushing away in a hurry, how can we already be halfway through June? The silver lining is that we are only halfway thorough June, so there is still two more weeks to play along with the STAMPlorations challenges. Together with my fellow DT members, we were so inspired by the current challenges that we wanted to share some more projects with you over on the STAMPlorations blog. Hope you will join us if you haven't already!

I was super inspired by one of the CAS challenge entries from May, by the super talented Jane. She had used the faux watercolour technique for her beautiful card, and I immediately went into my craft room to create a card. I coloured the beautiful Blossom Sprays #3 stamp using Distress Markers, spritzed with water and stamped on watercolour card. I then lightly sprayed the stamped image to blend the inks just a little bit more. The colouring of the stamps can be a bit fiddly, but I absolutely love the look, so it's definitely worth the time. For a high impact sentiment, I heat embossed a Thank You from For the Birds in white on black card.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Blossom Sprays #3, For the Birds

Ink and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Markers, Tsukineko Versamark

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.

Last but not least don't forget the 6th Birthday Summer Sale in the STAMPlorations store.

CLICK HERE to see all 250+ qualifying products!

Happy Wedding

We are going to our friends' wedding this weekend, and I realised I don't have any wedding cards in my stash. How is it possible that despite having dozens and dozens of cards, there is never a suitable one when you need one? Oh well, that just gave me an excuse to spend some time in the craft room, something I rarely make time for during the week.

To create my card, I used the super cute Lawn Fawn Happy Wedding stamps and Stitched Rectangle dies. I also used some of my gorgeously beautiful hand-made (not by me though!) paper which has a stunningly beautiful texture and a delicate, slightly rose tint (you can't really see the paper in all it's beauty as I just about managed to snap the pictures in what was left of the evening light. I heat embossed everything in gold as this matched the wedding invite. I did some minimal colouring on the cake in the front using a pink Copic, a silver Sharpie and a white gel pen. I also stamped a sentiment inside the card and heat embossed the wedding cake on the envelope.

I'm linking up with the following challenges:

Scrap From Your Heart - Wedding

Addicted To Stamps And More - Anything Goes

Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes

Crafting From the Heart - Anything Goes

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Happy Wedding
Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Nesting Dies
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versamark, Copics, Sharpies, White Gel pen