STAMPlorations Birthday - New Stencils

Hi, I'm back again to continue celebrating six years of STAMPlorations as we are halfway through our birthday week full of new product launches. Today over on the STAMPlorations blog we are showcasing five new fabulous stencils from Sanna Lippert and I have created some projects with two of them. There are lots of great prizes up for grabs and many ways to win. You can comment on the blog posts and the designer's blogs, you can link up to the Wishlist Linky Party or share your birthday- or celebration themed creations in the Birthday Linky Party. 

For my first card I used Sanna's new stencil Peacock Feathers. First, I blended Wilted Violet and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks through the stencil. I stamped one of the feathers from Feathery, coloured it with Copics and fussy cut and added a sentiment from Just Everyday Greetings Clear Stickers which I simply attached to a sliver of purple card. These sentiment stickers are so fantastic!!

For my second card I left my CAS comfort zone a bit and went for a more romantic vibe. I started by attaching a sticker from Botanical Backgrounds Clear Stickers to a kraft card base. Then I inked Worn Lipstick Distress Ink through the Retro Hearts stencil on the diagonal. I also inked Vintage Photo distress ink around the edges of the card to give it a bit of an aged look. Then I stamped the In Bloom: Radiant Roses, coloured with Copics and fussy cut. The sentiment is a sticker from  Just Everyday Greetings Clear Stickers attached on a small scrap of vellum. 

I also created a tag using a mixed media background which was a bit of an experiment. The background was a piece of card I had created by blending Distress Inks and I die cut the card using Stitched Tags Nesting Dies. Then I used a white Signo pen to trace the outline of the Peacock Feathers stencil and added a bit of white watercolour to the feathers. I used a failed attempt at Gelli plate printing to die cut the bird using the Perched Bird die. Then I inked the edges of the tag, the bird and the sentiment strip through the Evolution stencil in Vintage Photo Distress Ink I also inked Vintage Photo around the outline of the bird of the tag. Finally, I attached a sticker from Just Everyday Greetings Clear Stickers to the sentiment strip to complete the tag.

Stencils: ARTplorations Peacock Feathers, Retro Hearts, Evolution

Stamps: STAMPlorations Feathery, In Bloom: Radiant Roses

Stickers: STAMPlorations Just Everyday Greetings Clear Stickers, Botanical Backgrounds Clear Stickers

Dies: CUTplorations Stitched Tags Nesting Dies, Perched Bird 

PS: Check out the STAMPlorations store's CURRENT PROMOTIONS page for some awesome deals: October fall sale, new CUTplorations dies pre-order sale, coffee-themed sale, freebies with orders, and more!

Card kit using Clear Stickers

Today I'm over on the STAMPlorations blog, showing a card kit I made. This kit consists of four cards made using ARTplorations stencils and Distress Inks, with matching envelopes. However, I didn't add any sentiments to the cards, instead, I included card strips which the card kit recipient can use to add a custom sentiment. This is super easy using the new STAMPlorations Clear Stickers. For my kit, I used the Just Everyday Greetings, but you could use another set of stickers if you prefer. I like this set as it has a great all-round selection of sentiments. And during August you will get 30% off the Clear Stickers (see the end of the post for details).

I used the Abstract Oats stencil and Distress Inks in Mustard Seed, Wild Honey and Vintage Photo. I added some ink splatters onto the card for added texture.

Next, I inked the card using Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch and Chipped Sapphire to ink the card and splattered it with water. Then I inked Black Soot through the Bloom Silhouettes stencil. 

I inked Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Worn Lipstick and Wilted Violet ink through the Lupinus stencil. 

For my last card, I inked Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon and Blueprint Sketch through the Peacock Feathers stencil.

All of the cards have a strip of card which I haven't attached to the card. It has a strip of double-sided tape on the back. Any of the sentiment stickers can be added to the strips, the excess trimmed with scissors and then the strip can be adhered to the card. As the images on the cards would work with any of the sentiments, this will allow the recipient of the card kit to use the most appropriate sentiments based on their needs.

I also created a storage box for the cards and envelopes. I used some ombre orange card and stencilled the Abstract Oats on the top of the box.

I hope this inspired you to create something fun using the STAMPlorations Clear Stickers!

Stencils: ARTplorations Abstract Oats, Bloom Silhouettes, Lupinus, Peacock Feathers

Stickers: STAMPlorations Just Everyday Greetings Clear Stickers

Ink: Tim Holz Distress Ink

Clear Stickers are 30% off with code CLEAR30 Coloring Books are 25% off with code COLOR25 Clear Stamps* are 25% off with code STAMP25 *Excludes newly released stamps. Codes may be used multiple times per customer throughout promotion period. All 3 codes may be used together in one order. BYOCS/Stamp club subscribers: use your personal coupon code with the codes for 50% to 70% off on qualifying items + your free shipping code on your order of at least $30.

Put at least $25 worth of products in your cart then use code SHIPFREE25 on checkout.

*Free shipping offer to US addresses only. Code will take $5 off shipping to Canada and other countries. Code can be combined with current promotion codes. Free shipping code limited to 3 uses per customer/shipping address. Ends Saturday, August 31, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.

Another feather for your cap

Good morning and happy Saturday! I hang my head in shame and admit I had yet another play with my spritzer tool. Please bear with me as I get through this phase in my crafting life. I promise it won't last forever. But it's just so much fun! And I absolutely loooove the look it creates. It has given me a new appreciation of my stencils, which have been underused for most of my crafty career. 

When I first saw the current sketch over at My Favourite Things I immediately dismissed it. However, it clearly stayed in my subconsciousness. This card just popped into my head as I was laying in bed this morning reading blogs. Actually, it did change it's shape a bit during the creative process, most cards do, but I realised that a Dylusions stencil I bought ages ago would be perfect to create the background for my card. So out came the spritzer tool. I was also inspired by the colour challenge over at Colour Me...! as well as the inspiration picture over at Fusion (any bird themed challenge to me is a reason to pull out those Crazy Birds!!). I'm also linking up over at Addicted to Stamps where the theme is Make Your Mark (my second entry), Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where the theme is Die Crazy and Alphabet Challenge where the theme is P is for Pelican, Peacock or any other bird. 

I created the background with the spritzer tool and Distress markers in Blueprint Sketch, Mowed Lawn and Peacock Feathers using two stencils, the Dylusions Shattered and a circular one I cut using a die onto linen textured cardstock (I currently have a huge crush on the look of this pretty textured card). I painted the bird with a watercolour brush using the same markers. I have tried to get my hands on the Tim Holtz stamp set which has accessories for the birds, but although ordering it months ago, I still haven't got it, it seems like there are none left in the world. So instead to give my birdie a graduation cap, I used the Lawn Fawn Hats off stamps set. For the sentiment, I used the Stampin' Up Alphabet Rotary stamp which has proven to be a really useful tool indeed. The sentiments looked a bit anaemic on their own, so I matted them onto coloured cardstock to make them pop a bit from the background. Last, I added some Glossy Accents to the graduation cap. I took my spritzing frenzy one step further and created a custom stencil using the Lawn Fawn Scripty Congrats die and spritzed through it for the inside of the card. I love how making your own stencils really extends the use of your dies, so much bang for your buck!

Card: Linen textured 300 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card, Scraps of card in Navy and Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay and Old Olive
Stamps: Tim Holtz Bird Crazy and matching die, Lawn Fawn Hats off, Stampin' Up Alphabet Rotary stamp
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress markers Blueprint Sketch, Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers, Black Soot
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Circle and Scripty Congrats die, Ranger Dylusions stencil Shattered, Stampin' Up Glossy Accents, Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer tool

White embossing in a twisted citron kind of way

I have been contemplating my crafting lately. In fact, I have been contemplating more than crafting, which I'm sure is the wrong way around. I've been contemplating the justification of putting as much money into this hobby as I have in the last few years. I have been contemplating Facebook and other services constantly telling me I should grow my blog, advertise it, reach out to get more followers. But I don't want to! I'm perfectly happy doing this as a hobby, and I am not the type of person who wants to push my blog anywhere it doesn't want to go naturally. I just want Facebook to leave me alone, stop showing me those horrible "advertise your blog here" things. They stress me out. I have been contemplating whether my cards have "a look". Whether my cards would be recognisable as my cards. I have started to feel that after more than two years of crafting I have started to find my own look, at least in my head. It's all about watercolours and bright colours and cute critters and die cut sentiments and stitched die cuts and clean and simple designs. Most of the time. I think. At least that's how it's all in my head. Anyhow, they are my cards so if I say I have a look, that must be how it is. Right? Oh well, I take myself way too seriously most of the time.

I didn't take this birthday card too seriously though. I just stamped and watercoloured and had fun with the little Lawn Fawn party stamps. Too bad it was quite tricky to photograph, and it does look much better live than it does in the picture. I seem to have the crafting bit down a bit better than the photography bit.

I was inspired by the embossing challenge over at Lawnscaping.  I was also inspired by this weeks Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge where the theme is Citrus with a twist, which made me choose some very uncharacteristic colours for me. I was also inspired by the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. FMS is celebrating the 200th sketch with a major, major challenge and a huge amount of sponsor prizes. Happy 200th FMS, and here's to many more!

I stamped a mix of the small party stamps from the Lawn Fawn Party Animal set in Versamark onto watercolour paper (I have to start buying that stuff in bulk!) which I had die cut with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die and heat embossed them in white powder. Then I took Tim Holtz distress markers in Squeezed Lemon, Twisted Citron, Pistachio Pudding and Peacock Feathers and smudged them onto a clear block. I picked up the ink with a watercolour brush and just played around to create the background. I die cut the sentiment from a leftover piece of coloured paper I had created with Tim Holtz distress paints for my crazy bird and doughnut card here. I then double heat embossed the sentiment with holographic powder before attaching onto the card. I attached the coloured panel with foam pads onto some linen textured card. For a little subtle bling, I added a few sequins in the same colour scheme as the card. I hope you like the card as much as I do, it's simple but I have to say it turned out quite nice, didn't it. Oh well, I'm off now to enjoy bread week on the Great British Bakeoff!

Card: 300 gsm white linen textured card, Daler&Rowney 300 gsm Aquafine watercolour paper
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Party Animal
Ink: Versamark, Tim Holtz Squeezed Lemonade, Pistachio Pudding, Twisted Citron and Peacock Feathers
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle and Happy Birthday border dies, sequins from my stash, Papermania Seafoam White and Holographic embossing powder

Watercolour Thank You

Today has certainly been a busy day. The sun was shining when I woke up, and isn't that just the best feeling ever! But with that beautiful, bright spring light came the realisation that the house really needed a thorough spring clean. Which is what I have been working on most of the day. I have vacuumed, washed, steamed, squeegee-d, scrubbed, wiped, dusted and whatever else. I also threw away a big binbag full of all that weird food that accumulates at the back of your fridge. Oh how I hate finding those jars which used to be something and now cannot be identified and also grow completely new life forms.

I also cooked a great big lasagne. And I went for a run, for the first time in ages. I'm in pain... Also, I realised it's probably not a really good idea to eat a big chocolate bunny right before going for a run. That bunny almost hopped it's way back out to daylight... is that to much information? Tomorrow will be a very lazy day, that's all I'm saying.

I did have time for a quick stint in the craft room. My thank you card was inspired by the great colour palette over at Color Throwdown. I was also inspired by the "Thank you" theme over at ShowCase Your Style. I'm also linking up with the Anything Goes challenge over at Inspiration Emporium. I'm also linking up over at The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers where the theme is Q is for Quick. The idea is to make a card in less than 10 minutes. I think this was more like 5... I really love this stamp set, it makes really impressive cards quickly and easily and it's very versatile also. 

Card: White hammered 300 gsm white card, kraft card
Stamps: Stampin' Up Seasonally Scattered
Ink: Versamark, Tim Holtz Peeled Paint, Peacock Feathers
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies, Ranger clear embossing powder, home made enamel dots

More pastel Easter

Looks like my theme for this year's Easter cards are pastel colours and Distress ink backgrounds. For Grandma's card, I used an adorable Easter digi from Bugaboo stamps, which I coloured with Copics. I created the background by embossing resist, I stamped the ornate Easter egg and heat embossed with clear powder before inking with just three colours, yellow, turquoise and pink. Where the colours overlap they create such wonderful, vibrant greens, purples and oranges as well, so it looks like there was much more colours used. This is such a great tip especially if you are new to crafting and haven't built up a big stash yet, by choosing smartly you can get so much more out of your stash. I die cut the image and background vellum using Lawn Fawn dies, and printed the sentiment as I have a very limited supply of Finnish sentiments (my Grandma doesn't speak a word of any other language than Finnish). 

The card was inspired by the sketch over at STAMPlorations. I was also inspired by the wonderful inspiration board over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge. I'm also playing along with the Catch the Bug March Bingo Challenge (my Bingo is Spring/Easter Image, Player's Choice = vellum and Die Cut), Addicted to Stamps where Anything Goes, Just Add Ink "Eggs or Ovals", Shopping Our Stash "Make your own background" and Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers "E is for Easter".

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Inspiration Board

Card: 300 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card, Dovecraft 110 gsm premium vellum
Stamps: Personal Impressions Easter Set 1, Bugaboo Scene It Easter
Colouring: Copics of many colours (I might have forgotten to make a note of which ones I used, but it was pretty much all Copics I own)
Ink: Tsukineko Versamark, Tim Holtz disterss ink Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade
Other: Ranger Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder, Lawn Fawn Stitched Journal card die, Stitched Rectangle dies

Masculine card in blue and turquoise

It's been a great few days. Yesterday we had a nice lunch with our team at work, and I was able to leave work early as planned to enjoy the beautiful sunshine. On my way home I popped by the post office to pick up a parcel from my Mum with yummy goodies from home along with some Moomin mugs and towels. And today I have been out taking pictures of  parrots and alligators in the beautiful sunshine. I also decided to start another blog for my photos! Stay tuned for a link tomorrow. But no more ramblings for today, I'll move on to the reason you are here.

Today's card is inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch and the great colours over at ColourQ. I was also inspired by the "Masculine" theme over at Just Us Girls and the "Tag You're It" over at RetroRubber. I used two Tim Holtz stamp sets that I have owned for ages, but used very little. In fact, I've never used the stamp I used for the background before. Actually, I realised all the supplies I used for this card, apart from the white and black cardstock have been in my stash for ages. Last but not least I'm linking up at The Friday Mashup to celebrate the 200th challenge (Happy 200th challenge FMS!!). You can pick your favourite challenge/challenges and I have chosen to go with a mix of  #30 Recycled Materials (stamped on newspaper for the background) and #159 Use a stencil (Tim Holtz bubble stencil used for the background).

Card: Coloured 240 gsm kraft card in black, 300 gsm white card, Ranger #8 size craft tag, newspaper

Stamps: Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Remnants CMS130, The Journey
Ink: Stampin Up Distress ink Peacock Feathers, Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot, Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress paints Peacock Feathers, Chipped Sapphire
Other: Tim Holtz stencil Bubble Layering Stencil  

Butterfly bonanza

This set of birthday card and home-made wrapping paper were all made to match. I saw the tutorial on how to make the flowers using the Stampin' Up blossom punch here and wanted to give it a try. In addition, I had a few swallowtails I had stamped, embossed and coloured earlier. The swallowtail works so well in every card I have made with it, it brings that extra something. I love colouring the stamp, this time I did it by sponging distress ink. I embossed the background for the card using a Cuttlebug embossing folder

To make the wrapping paper, I stamped a big and smaller swallowtail stamp and stamped using Tim Holtz Distress Embossing ink and dusted with Perfect Pearls powder onto basic brown wrapping paper. This gives such a beautiful, subtle effect. The pictures really don't do it justice as the shiny powder doesn't quite show up on photos as beautifully as it does in real life. Also, to get the best result, you should only stamp one stamp at a time, add the perfect pearls and then go on to stamping the next stamp. If you stamp all the butterflies and then start adding the powder, the ink will have dried and the powder won't stick anymore.

To further snazz up the wrapped present, I added two yellow ribbons from my stash and stamped the Chalk Talk stamp and fussycut it. I also inked a doily and attached another swallowtail I had coloured. 

I would like to enter the following challenges: 

Party Time Tuesdays - Anything Goes

Bunny Zoe's Crafts - For the Girls

Incy Vincy Designs - Punch or Die Cut (flower punch for the flower)

My Craft Creations - Anything Goes

Perfectly Rustics Design Challenge - Wings

Through the Purple Haze - Flowers

Vintage Stamping Challenge - Bring on those Spring Colours

Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge Blog - Anything Goes with a twist: wings

Crafty Calendar Challenge - Anything Goes 

Cardstock: Hobbycraft three shades of yellow 160 gsm cardstock, Hobbycraft white 160 gsm cardstock, Craft UK kraft card
Inks: Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers, Pumice Stone, Shaded Lilac and Squeezed Lemonade, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain distress inks, Stampin' Up Markers in Bright colours
Stamps: Stampin' Up Swallowtail and Chalk Talk, Hobbycraft Butterfly clear stamp, Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Sketch CMS131
Other: Cuttlebug embossing folder textured script, Ranger Perfect Pearls in Interference Blue, Interference Green, Interference Red and Interference Violet, Papermania tinsel silver embossing powder, Stampin' Up Blossom Punch, doily and yellow ribbon from my stash, brown kraft wrapping paper

Lots of weird things

This card contains several things that are very strange for me, which I don't use very much. I don't use much of orange, it's a very difficult colour for me. I also almost never use buttons, they make cards difficult to post, and just don't feel... well... right. However, I was very inspired by the challenge over at The Friday Mashup which involved a sketch and to use two different embellishments. I hardly every use any, or if I do, it's almost always gems. So this time I thought I would go "overboard" and use not one, not two but three embellishments. But somehow the style of the card still feels quite clean and simple, so I like it despite all the weird stuff on it. One reason I like it so much is the amazing colour combo over at Colour Me...! The colours are so bright and go really well together to my big surprise. 

I would also like to link up over at CASE-ing the Catty, where the theme this week is to use a new DSP. I love the cool new Irresistibly Yours DSP and have used it already with markers and with my cool new Tim Holtz spritzer tool. This time I thought I would use distress inks, and was inspired by the image on page 14 of the SALE-a-bration cattie. It's such a super versatile DSP. I am also linking up over at Craft Hoarders Anonymous where the theme is to choose your challenge by picking from different categories. I picked ink for colouring medium, twine for fiber, stamping and die cutting for technique, embossing for texture and buttons and bling for embellishments.

Inspiration picture from page 14 of the
Stampin' Up Sale-a-bration catalogue.

Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge

Card: Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay and Rich Razzleberry card, Leonardo Stationery 300 gsm card
DSP: Stampin' Up Irresistibly Yours 
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers, Seedless Preserves and Spiced Marmalade
Stamps: Stampin' Up Four Feathers and dies, Just Sayin'
Other: Yellow twine, Stampin' Up buttons subtles, Papermania adhesive gems

Valentine's Flowers

It seems like I haven't been crafting in ages. I made the cards I posted this week last weekend, so I really haven't crafted much at all this week. I think I'm suffering from a bit of the winter blues, I just don't have the energy for anything right now. I just want to bury myself under the duvet with a ton of chocolate and not surface until April.

But admittedly I'm not having as hard a time as my poor Grandma. She turned 90 years last week! But she had to move out of the flat she has lived in for probably the last 50 years or so, and into a small rental studio while there is some major work being done in her own place. She is so unhappy about it, so I thought I would make her a bright and colourful Valentine's day card to cheer her up.

This card is inspired by my latest new toy, the Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer. It's really fun to play with and creates cool air brushed effects. I used it on the Stampin' Up Irresistibly Yours DSP to create the cool background. I stamped the flowers from I Like You and coloured with Blendabilities and cut out using dies. I printed the sentiment (that says Happy Valentine's day in Finnish, although the literal translation is "Happy Friends Day" as Valentine's is called Friend's Day back home, which I like much more) and used the spritzer tool a bit over the sentiment banner. 

The layout for the card was inspired by My Favourite Things sketch challenge and the colours are from this week's Color Throwdown. I'm also linking up at Shopping Our Stash where the theme is "Not your normal paper" (I used the cool paper from Stampin' Up which comes with resist patterns and you can colour it yourself to match your project), at A Creative Need where the theme is "Something New" (my "new" is of course my new Spritzer tool and getting to use it on this card) and at STAMPlorations where the January challenge is stamps and inks.

Card: Leonardo Stationery 300 gsm white card, Coloured 240 gsm kraft card teal and baby pink, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamps: Stampin' Up I Love You

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz distress markers Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers, Stampin' Up Blendabilities Old Olive, Melon Mambo and Coastal Cabana

Paper: Stampin' Up Irresistibly Yours

Other: Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritz tool, heart border punch, Stampin' Up Labels Collection Framelits

Bloom with Purple

This week the colour combo over at Colour Me...! is so fantastic, I had to play with it almost immediately. The colour combo, along with the picture over at Stampin' Royalty were my inspiration for this card. It was fun to take a break from the Christmas crafting and create something completely different. I used the sketch over at My Favourite Things. Last but not least I'm entering over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where Anything goes. 

I created the background panel by stamping the lovely large flower from Bloom With Hope in Versamark and heat embossing in clear powder. I then inked the card using distress inks, and spritzed some water to create that lovely splotchy look. I adhered two strips of lace, one which I had coloured with the same Blendabilities I used for the focal flower. To finish, I added some stickles to the flower. I also did some stamping and inking inside the card.

Card: Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card
Stamps: Stampin' Up Bloom With Hope
Ink: Tsukineko Versamark and Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz disters inks in Dusty Concord, Peacock Feathers, Seedless Preserves and Victorian Velvet
Colouring: Stampin' Up Blendabilities Rich Razzleberry
Other: lace from my stash, Ranger Tim Holtz distress stickes Dusty Concord