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 Inspiration

Did you see May anywhere? I heard a rumour it was May, but now it's almost gone. How did this happen? I remember how March and April took at least a year each, but May, my favourite month always flies by. If you have any ideas what happened, let me know in the comments!

It's also time for this week's STAMPlorations Inspiration post. As usual, the design team is showcasing some of our favourite STAMPlorations stamps. This time I decided to play with the fun Houses stamps which I coloured with watercolours and attached to a card base created with Distress Inks. I added a sentiment using Skinny Sentiments.

Stamps: STAMPloratoins Houses
Dies: CUTplorations Skinny Sentiments
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Inks, Gansai Tambi watercolours

Don't forget the current promotions in the STAMPlorations store. If you prefer to shop from the non-discount categories, you can use my code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout for 20% off normal price products.

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

Products in the COFFEE/TEA LOVERS section are 40% off with code COFFEE40.

April STAMPlorations challenges - Mid-Month Reminder

Welcome to the April STAMPlorations Mid-Month reminder post. We have once again sped through half of the month. We have had a cold start to April, it was really warm and lovely for one weekend in late March but then it turned cold again. As in having-to-scrape-your-windscreen-in-the-morning cold. I'm ready for lovely sun now, thank you and please. We really need to do some emergency work in the garden. Most of our neighbours are retired and spend a lot of time making their gardens so beautiful whereas we must be the house they all point at with disapproving looks... Anyhow, it's more important to have some quality crafting time than a pristine garden, don't you think?

I created a tag inspired by the recycling theme for our TAGplorations challenge. I started by using some tissue paper which was used to wrap my toilet paper (yes, that's right!). I covered some scrap card (left over from a failed experiment) with the tissue paper and die cut a tag using Stitched Tags Nesting Dies. The tissue paper was originally black and white striped, but I used Gansai Tambi pearlescent watercolours to colour the white bits, and splattered some silver and gold pearlescent watercolours onto the tag. I stamped the paint brushes from Life In Full Colour again onto a scrap piece of card (which had some failed stamping on the other side of the paper) and coloured with Copics. Last, I heat embossed a sentiment from the same stamp set in white and added a scrap piece of ribbon and some leftover wool to the tag.

My card for the CAS challenge was inspired by the Dark Navy optional colour twist. I smooshed Distress Paints onto watercolour paper, adding some white and yellow splatters to create a starry sky. I die cut the card using Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting Dies. I stamped several houses from Houses and coloured them with Copics. Last, I added a simple dark navy strip for the sentiment which was heat embossed in white. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Life In Full Colour, Houses

Dies: Stitched Tags Nesting Dies, Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting Dies

Ink and Colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Gansai Tambi Pearl Colours, Copics, Distress Paints

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.

Home Is Where The Cherry Tree Blossoms Are

Dear Webstagram Hivemind, do any of you have any experience with Wifi enabled memory cards? My poor old computer is reaching a state where it's having frequent strokes and I fear it is nearing that time it goes to the great big junkyard in the sky. Well, it will go to recycling but anyhow... I pretty much know which computer I want to spend my life's savings on but it doesn't have an SD card slot. Yes, I could get a separate card reader, but why do that if I could just get a wifi memory card instead? So any experiences you have, good or bad let me know, please. 

And from that let's move on to today's card. What is it with weekends, I woke up at 5am this morning when I could have slept in, whereas during the week I simply cannot bear to drag myself out of bed at 6 am? The one good thing about early Saturday mornings is that my creative mojo seems to be at it's strongest, so I've already made a few cards today, the first which you can see here. It was inspired by the Cosy Home challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. I was also inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch, the colours over at Color Throwdown and the gorgeous Cherry Blossoms inspiration image over at Just Add Ink. 

I started by stamping the cute houses from STAMPloratios Houses in grey ink. Then I stamped the tree from Houses Extra, coloured it with Copics and fussy cut it. I didn't have a stamp with the sentiment I wanted to use, so I printed it onto pink card and added the red die cut heart to the sentiment. 

Card: 250 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 190 gsm white card, scrap of pink card, scrap of red card

Stamps: STAMPlorations Houses, Houses Extras

Ink and Colouring: Stampin' Up Smoky Slate, Copics

Other: Lawn Fawn Critters in the Arctic dies, Ranger Ice Stickles

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.