May STAMPlorations CAS Challenge

 

Hi fellow crafters! Happy best month of the year, May is finally here!! I love May. It's spring, there are flowers, TWO bank holidays in a month (if you are in the UK), nature is back to life, it's warm(er), and of course it's my birthday month so I may be a bit biased.

Anyhow, the first day of the month means the STAMPlorations challenges turn over a new leaf. The STAMPlorations May CAS challenge has a really great colour combo which I feel really challenged me - yellow and copper. How gorgeous are those roses in the challenge inspiration pic above? So I definitely wanted to create something with yellow roses myself. I started by stamping In Bloom: Radiant Roses in Versamark and heat embossing in copper. I then watercoloured the roses in Distress Inks and splattered some watercolour on the card front for good measure. Last, I matted the card front on copper card, and die cut a sentiment in the same copper card using  Everyday Sentiments Dies.

I hope you feel inspired to join the challenge, and as usual, there are great prizes to be won, a $20 prize code to the winner and three $7 prize codes to randomly picked entries.

Stamps: STAMPlorations In Bloom: Radiant Roses

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments Dies

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versamark, Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Inks

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 :) 

Reminder for April STAMPlorations CAS Challenge

 

Spring is speeding by, as soon as we enter March it zips past and soon it will be September. Oh well, I'll try to take it one day at a time and enjoy April although half of it is already gone. Or, maybe more appropriately, we still have half of April to enjoy. And that also means half of April to take part in the STAMPlorations April CAS challenge! I'm here along with the rest of the design team with more inspiration for all the challenges over at STAMPlorations. 

For my card, I started by inking pink Distress Inks through Barley Stencil. Then, I stamped the beautiful floral silhouettes from Beautiful You in dark blue Distress Oxides. I also splattered some ink on the card front and added a sentiment from Everyday Sentiments Dies.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Beautiful You

Stencils: ARTplorations Barley Stencil

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments Dies

Ink and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Oxides

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

 

Hi crafters! I hope your week has started in the best possible way whatever your circumstances. It's so lovely to watch the spring coming along, our little tomato seedlings in the conservatory are coming along and growing more leaves. I can't wait for this cold spell to go away and hopefully finally give away to real spring to come along.

For today's STAMPlorations Inspiration post I created a mixed media card, a bit out of my comfort zone but it's always nice to challenge yourself when crating just to see what happens. I used a few gelli plate prints from my UFO box which I had created with Distress Oxides and with Petals 1 Stencil. I then used one of the gelli prints and die cut it to a rectangle, cutting one of the edges with Art Edges Dies. I cut the other gelli print using Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies. I stamped using the fun mixed media stamps from Art Marks 3 on both panels, adding florals from Life Is Sweeter to the focal panel. I added both panels to a black card base, and added a sentiment die cut using Everyday Sentiments Dies. I think it turned out quite nice and allowed me to do a lot of fun stamping! Don't forget that by commenting on the STAMPlorations Inspiration post you are entered into a monthly drawing of a $15 prize code to the STAMPlorations store. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Art Marks 3, Life Is Sweeter
Stencils: ARTplorations Petals 1 Stencil, 

Dies: CUTplorations Art Edges Dies, Everyday Sentiments Dies, Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Oxides

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 I'll continue my explorations of cards on kraft for this week's STAMPlorations Inspiration post. The weather has been a bit miserable here, but the daffodils are in bloom in the garden now being bright yellow spots of sunshine even when it's grey and rainy. Inspired by them and other early spring blooms I stamped the beautiful lilies from Blossom Sprays #3, heat embossed them in black and coloured them with Polychromos colouring pencils. I love how the white pops on the kraft background! I splattered a bit of brown ink, inked some brown ink around the edges of the card panel and matted it on black before attaching it to a kraft card base. Last, I added a sentiment which I die cut using Everyday Sentiments. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Blossom Sprays #3

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versamark, Faber-Castell Polychromos colouring pencils

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

 

Happy Tuesday and happy STAMPlorations Inspiration day. My dreams of spring continue on my cards although the weater doesn't really play ball helping the spring to arrive early. This week my dreams are of florals and purple - one of my favourite colours (well, along with pink, and turquoise, and blue, and yellow and green and... you see my dilemma here?).

Today's card is taking advantage of a little "short cut" to make pretty cards in a hurry - the STAMPlorations Clear Stickers. I created the main panel for my card using a sticker from Botanical Backgrounds Clear Stickers simply by attaching the sticker to white card, cutting out along the edges and rounding the corners a bit (Tip! The Distress Ink/Oxide containers have perfectly rounded corners, so I use a pencil to trace the rounded edge of the container and fussy cut along that line). Next, I inked purple Distress Inks through the Senecio 1 Stencil across the left edge of the card, and I used the same inks to stamp the "barcode" stamp from  Llama Tell You for a bit of added interest. Last, I die cut the sentiment (in purple of course) using Everyday Sentiments Die. It really did not take many minutes to make this card, and I think it turned out pretty great! I hope you enjoyed seeing it and all the other beautiful projects from the STAMPlorations DT over on the STAMPlorations blog. Also, don't forget there is a monthly random draw to win a $15 prize code to the STAMPlorations store and you can simply enter by commenting on the STAMPlorations Inspiration Post. Last but not least, see below for a discount code and check out info about the February offer in the STAMPlorations store

Stamps and stickers: STAMPlorations Llama Tell You, Botanical Backgrounds Clear Stickers

Stencil: ARTplorations  Senecio 1 Stencil

Dies: CUTplorations  Everyday Sentiments 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 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 :) 

Reminder STAMPlorations CAS January Challenge

 

We have already managed to get through half of the most depressing month of the year and to celebrate that it's time for more inspiration from the STAMPlorations challenge design teams in the challenge reminder post!

If you were planning to play along with our monthly challenges but haven't had time to do so yet, or if you haven't linked up the maximum allowed 3 projects, you can still play along. Our January CAS Challenge colour twist is pink, red and orange. I used these colours to ink up a background for my card using Distress Oxides. I heat embossed the beautiful Blossom Sprays #3 in white on the background and added a die-cut sentiment using Everyday Sentiment Dies.  

Stamps: STAMPlorations Blossom Sprays #3

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiment Dies

Ink: Tsukineko Versamark, Tim Holtz Distress Oxides

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 Inspiraton

 

Happy New Year! I hope the year has started well for you. We have had a few cold, but sunny days and we have managed to get some gardening done, well, it was more like fighting your way through the jungle but now the trees and shrubs are somewhat more in control.

After Christmas, there is always a need for Thank You cards so I thought it would be a good idea to make one for the first STAMPlorations Inspiration Post of the year. I started by stamping the beautiful In Bloom: Classic Calla Lilies in the bottom left-hand corner of my card and the inked yellow and green Distress Inks through the Petals 1 Stencil. I also used the Distress Inks with a bit of water to colour parts of the calla lilies. Last, I added a die cut sentiment in black using Everyday Sentiments Dies.

Stamps: STAMPlorations In Bloom: Classic Calla Lilies

Stencils: ARTplorations Petals 1 Stencil

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments Dies

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, 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 :) 

January STAMPlorations CAS Challenge

 

Welcome to the first STAMPlorations CAS Challenge of 2021! 2020 was quite a year, but now it's time to turn a blank card and start creating again from scratch. I hope 2021 will be filled with good things for you, whatever form that will take. I also hope that you will continue to take time to play along with the STAMPlorations challenges! For me, I'm hoping my loved ones will continue to stay safe and healthy. I'm also hoping for lots of time to enjoy the things I like most, like creating cards, knitting and crocheting. 

The first STAMPlorations CAS Challenge of the year is all about pinks, reds and oranges. I created a card inspired by these colours. I started by inking pink, red and orange Distress Oxide through the Senecio 1 Stencil. I stamped the beautiful floral silhouettes from Beautiful You in black and added a sentiment which I die cut from black card using Everyday Sentiments. Last, I matted my card front on pink card before adding it to a white card blank.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Beautiful You

Stencil: ARTplorations Senecio 1

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments

Ink and colouring: Distress Oxides, 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 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 Giving Thanks

 

Today I'm very excited to be joining my fellow STAMPlorations DT members for the 6th annual Giving Thanks Blog Hop and Giveaway. It's the time of year to count your blessings and think about all the wonderful things we are grateful for! One of the things you may be thankful for is that there are lots of prizes up for grabs, 3 winners of a $15 prize code will be randomly drawn from comments left on the STAMPlorations blog and designers' blogs. Also, 2 winners will receive their choice of STAMPlorations products with a combined MSRP value of up to $25 and the big one, 1 winner will receive their choice of STAMPlorations products with a combined MSRP value of up to $50! For more details about the blog, hop, giveaway and full rules, check out the 6th annual Giving Thanks Blog Hop on the STAMPlorations blog. 

For my thank you card, I started by masking off a rectangle using the Rectangles Flexi-Template and inking Distress Inks through the All Blooms stencil. I added a bit of water and ink splatters because - well, why not. Then I stamped the florals from Bloomfully: Sparkle, coloured with Copics and fussy cut them. Last, I added a sentiment from Everyday Sentiments which I inked with some distress ink.  

Stamps: STAMPlorations Bloomfully: Sparkle

Stencils and masks: ARTplorations All Blooms, Rectangles Flexi-Template

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments

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 :) 

This month there are oodles of discounts, for which you can find codes here, including 30% off word/phrase dies, 25% off square stencils and 40% off clear stickers. There is also a Christmas Special Sale .

STAMPlorations Inspiration

 

For today's STAMPlorations Inspiration post I got to play with one of my absolute favourite stamps sets, Beautiful You by the talented Dee of Dees Artsy Impressions. It's been sold out almost all the time, so I was super happy that I was able to get my hands on this stamp set! I made a card with it for the STAMPlorations November CAS challenge the other day and could not get enough so here we go, another card with the same stamp set but a really different vibe.

I coloured the stamps using Distress Markers in beautiful autumn colours, spritzed with water and stamped onto my card, using bolder colours in the front and lighter colours in the back. Then I splattered some ink to create more interest and added a bit of Vintage Photo around the edges of the card before adding a die-cut sentiment using Everyday Sentiments Dies. I love the way it turned out! I hope you feel inspired to create something today, and don't forget that by commenting on the STAMPlorations Inspiration post you are entered into a draw for a $15 prize code to the STAMPlorations store.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Beautiful You

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments Dies

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress markers, Vintage Photo 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 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

 

So was that a great STAMPlorations Belated 7th Birthday week or what? And don't forget that you still have time to play along with the festivities if you want to link up your projects or comment on the posts - the details are here.

I'm almost all crafted out after last week's projects, so for today's STAMPlorations Inspiration Post I'm sharing two relatively quick and easy cards while my mojo recovers :) These cards were made for a request I had for people moving into new homes. And it also highlighted a fatal flaw in my crafty stash as I don't seem to have a single "happy new home" sentiment stamp or die. But limitation only breeds creativity and I think they turned out quite well in any case!

For both of my cards, I used the fun Houses stamps, some watercolour splatters and Lawn Fawn rainbow patterned paper. I used the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Die to cut the panels for my cards from white paper and rainbow patterned paper. Then for my top card, I stamped the house, masked it and splattered a rainbow of watercolours. For the card below I splattered the watercolours first, then stamped the house on a scrap of the patterned paper and fussy cut it. I added a die-cut sentiment using Everyday Sentiments Dies to both of my cards.  

Note that all products (including the new release products) in the STAMPlorations store are 10% off instantly throughout October. BUT you can get 20% off by using my discount code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. If you use my discount code you will also receive the Just Plaid square stencil FOR FREE (see image below)!

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.

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 :) 

Products used

Stamps: STAMPlorations Houses

Dies: CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Die, Everyday Sentiments Die

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Gansai Tambi watercolours

STAMPlorations Belated Birthday Party Day 2

 

Hi crafty friends! Thank you for joining me for day two of the STAMPlorations Belated 7th Birthday Party Blog Hop and Linky Party. Did you get inspired by the projects from our day one post? Did you have a chance to play along with the STAMPlorations stash link-up? If not, make sure to check it out for a chance to win an amazing $50 gift code. There are also prizes for commenting on the birthday hop posts (STAMP blog and designers' blogs) and for linking up your own projects to the birthday linky party. You can find the full details in the Belated 7th Birthday Party blog post.

I had so much fun playing with the products from the new release. Today I'm using one of the new Slimline Stencils called Trees. I'm sure you have noticed a lot of slimline cards around the Interwebs lately, it seems to be one of the latest trends. I'm always a bit slow to pick up on the latest crafty fashion, but luckily Shery, the wonderful owner of STAMPlorations, is on top of the trends and making sure we have the best tools and crafting supplies available. Of course, the slimline stencils can be used on non-slimline cards too, but this time I thought I might as well try the new format. I started by inking the background using Distress Inks and then inked brown Distress ink through the Trees Slimline Stencil. I thought the stencilled trees were so beautiful against the ombre background so I didn't want to add anything else to detract from the simple beauty, so I just added a dark brown die cut sentiment using Everyday Sentiments Die.

Note that all products (including the new release products) in the STAMPlorations store are 10% off instantly throughout October. BUT you can get an additional 20% off by using my discount code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. If you use my discount code you will also receive the Just Plaid square stencil FOR FREE (see image below)!

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.

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 :) 

Products used
Stencil: ARTplorations Trees Slimline Stencil

Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments Die

Ink: Distress Ink