February STAMPlorations TAG challenge - Love

It's time to get geared up for a new month of great STAMPlorations challenges. Our February TAGplorations challenge is All About Love, with an optional twist of cupcakes. As you can see from my card, uncharacteristically I stayed true to my diet and stepped away from the cupcakes.

Can I confess something? I'm not really big on Valentine's day. Never been. I'm not a romantic, and neither is my dearest. Bless him, the first year we were together he did get me a Valentine's card, and he had even made it himself using photos from our first trip together. But no more cards after that. I usually make him one which he dutifully displays on his nightstand. But don't let that spoil your enthusiasm if you are a fan of Valentine's, this challenge will give you a great opportunity to flex those Valentine's muscles! If you are like me, there are plenty of other options for love, it doesn't have to be romantic love. I love (haha, pun intended) the sentiments in the Big Dreamer stamp set, and I felt there was a perfect one for the love theme while making the tag cheery and colourful.

I die cut the tag from a piece of card I had created a while back when I did a big batch of rainbow coloured backgrounds by smooshing Distress Inks onto watercolour paper. I stamped the flowers on white card, coloured with Copics and fussy cut. I stamped the sentiment in black and added some hearts and heart borders from It's a Girl Thing: Sunshine before attaching the coloured flowers. I think the colourful tag and flowers are just what we need while waiting for spring to arrive!

I'm linking up over at Just Us Girls where the theme is Love.  I'm also linking up over at Shopping Our Stash where the challenge is Ode to Jessie, a talented crafter who you might know from her design work on challenges such as Shopping Our Stash and Sisterhood of Snarky stampers. Sadly Jessie passed away late last year. I was inspired by the colourful watercolour background of Jessi's card here. Last, but not least I'm linking up over at Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge where the theme is Add Some Red. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Big Dreamer, It's a Girl Thing: Sunshine

Dies: CUTplorations Stitched Tags Nesting Dies

Ink and Colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics

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.

January STAMPlorations TAG challenge - Winter

Happy New Year! I hope 2019 will be a very crafty year for you. Last year was full of things which kept me from my craft room. I hope 2019 will bring me more time to continue to develop my crafting skills and to simply enjoy creativity. 

On the first day of the year, we also launch of first STAMPlorations challenge of the year - January TAGplorations challenge. The theme is Winter, and there is an optional twist of using texture paste, which I didn't take this time. I wanted to create a wintery scene using the adorable fuzzies from Woodland Friends. I hope you are inspired by this wintery scene and share your creations with us!

I die cut my tag using Stitched Tags Nesting Dies and used the Oh My Stars Mini stencil with Distress Inks to create a monoprint to create the night sky. I then inked in yellow inks through the stencil to create the stars. I used a white gel pen to create the snowfall. I die cut the snowy landscape using Stitched Tags Nesting Dies and Stitched Winter Landscape. I stamped the cute critters from Woodland Friends, coloured with Copics and fussy cut. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Woodland Friends,
Dies: Stitched Snow Hills, Stitched Tags Nesting Dies, Stitched Winter Landscape,
Stencils: Oh My Stars Mini stencil

December STAMPlorations TAG Challenge - Christmas

Welcome to our December TAGplorations challenge. Our theme is Christmas with an optional twist of glitter. Perfect for crafting those last (or first?) tags of the season. I have to admit I'm better at crafting tags than actually using them! Maybe this year my Christmas resolution should be to use more of my tags, although we have agreed to have a gift-free Christmas this year with family so it might be a bit hard to use tags, come to think of it... 

I decided this close to Christmas I don't have time to create anything time-consuming or elaborate, but I don't want to skimp on making gorgeous projects. The fun layered stamps by Shirley of Bees Knees include many festive images such as the Holly I used here. You can find others, such as layered Mistletoe, Poinsettia or even Snowman in the STAMPloratios shop. It's so much fun to use these artsy stamps and I like using non-traditional Christmas colours for extra wow-factor. The Typgrafia Christmas stamps are perfect to add that big, bold and beautiful sentiment whether you prefer to heat emboss it like I have or stamp it in one, or why not multiple, colours. There are so many gorgeous stamps in this series, but I have to admit Merry Little Christmas has become my all time favourite (but don't tell the other stamps...)

Card: 300 gsm watercolour paper, Dovecraft 110 gsm premium vellum

Stamps: STAMPlorations Layered Holly, Merry Little Christmas Typografia Christmas 

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Victorian Velvet, Iced Spruce, Frayed Burlap, Tsukineko Versamark

Dies: CUTplorations Stitched Tags Nesting Dies

Other: Gold embossing powder, adhesive gems and pink ribbon from my stash

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.

Love TAGplorations Day 7

Welcome to the final day of STAMPlorations Love TAGplorations. I hope you have enjoyed the amazing inspiration over the last week and also have had fun creating your own Love themed crafts. I have certainly enjoyed all the inspiration both from my fellow DT sisters and especially from you. It's amazing to see all the different creations - proof that there are no limits to the human imagination. Today's tag is dedicated to my dear Culinary Consultant. He is not a very romantic soul - I have learned not to expect anything. To be fair, he did create a custom Valentine's day card the first year we were dating. That's a few years ago now... But that's ok, he has other ways of showing me he cares. We are all different and being in a relationship is all about accepting our differences, isn't it. So if you aren't in a relationship this Valentine's day don't think things would necessary be any different even if you were. I'm saying go out and buy yourself some chocolates (or wine, or whatever your favourite treat is). I will visit the chocolate shop in the weekend to see if they are selling their leftover Valentine's treats for half price, usually they do! If you are looking for a good deal on crafty stash, don't forget you get 20% off your purchase in the STAMPlorations store if you use my discount code STAMPGIRLKAROLA. More info at the end of the post.

For my tag, which I die cut using the largest die from Luggage Tags Nesting Dies, I created a background using Distress ink and the Retro Circles stencil. Then I stamped the delicious looking sundae on white card coloured with Copics and fussy cut. After adhering it to my tag, I added some Crystal Effects to the glass bowl to make it look more glassy and although you cannot see it well in the picture, I added some embossing paste to make the whipped cream look more foamy. Then I stamped the letters onto white card, coloured them with Copics, fussy cut and adhered them to the tag, adding some Ice Stickles for extra bling. Last, I used words from various sentiments to make the second part of the sentiment, sponged some pink ink around the edges of the tag and added a cute little ribbon from my stash. 

Card: 250 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sugar Rush, Sketchy Alphabet

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Picked Raspberry, Copics

Dies: CUTplorations Luggage Tags Nesting Dies

Stencils: ARTplorations Retro Circles

Other: ribbon from my stash, Ranger Ice Stickles, Stampin' Up Crystal Effects, Wendy Vecchi Embossing paste

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 have any questions or problems, just let me know!

Love TAGplorations Day 3

Another day, another tag! Welcome to day three of the week long STAMPlorations Love TAGplorations event. By now you probably already know there are plenty of prices to be won by commenting on the projects the DT has created to inspire you and for linking up your own projects as well. There are more details over at the STAMPlorations blog where you can see all the gorgeous projects the DT has created for your inspiration. There is still plenty of time to join in as the commenting and linking is open until February 14th.

For today's tag I used the new Pocket Blooms stamp set together with a watercolour background I had in my UFO (UnFinished Objects) box. You know when you make something that doesn't actually turn out at all like you wanted it for the project you are doing at the moment, but it's too pretty to throw away. Sometimes I like to challenge myself by deciding that I have to use something from my UFO box. And the watercolour background was perfect for this tag. It looked a bit bare though, so I grabbed some of the gorgeous new Scribbly Splattery Grunge stamps and randomly stamped them in the background using neutral colours. I die cut the pocket from jeans blue card and stamped the flowers on white card, coloured them with Copics and fussy cut them. I also used a scrap of orange card from the UFO box for the die cut sentiment, adding some Ice Stickles for extra bling. I also added a bit of Ice Stickles around the edges of the flowers.

Card: 250 gsm watercolour paper, scrap of Tim Holtz Chipped Sapphire card, scrap of orange card, 250 gsm white card

Stamps: STAMPlorations Pocket Blooms with matching die, Scribbly Splattery Grunge

Dies: Hugs Word Die, Luggage Tags Nesting Dies

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics, Gansai Tambi Watercolours, Tim Holtz Distress Inks Hickory Smoke, Antique Linen

Other: Ranger Coffee Ice Stickles, orange ribbon from my stash, Papermania Seafoam White embossing powder

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 have any questions or problems, just let me know!

Love TAGplorations Day 2

Welcome to day two of STAMPlorations Love TAGplorations, seven days of Valentine tag making fun. You can never have too many tags, can you? I hope you enjoyed the first day of the hop (if you missed it, you can find it here). I hope you will join us by commenting on the tags you see during the event and by linking up your own tags too which you can do between February 8th and 14th. And there are loads of prices:

• 3 randomly drawn winners from all comments left on the STAMP blog and participating designers blog will each receive a $10 gift certificate to the store
• 1 randomly drawn participant in the Love TAGplorations linky party will receive her choice of stamp set (Pocket Blooms, A Full Heart, or Two of Us)
• 1 randomly drawn participant in the Love TAGplorations linky party will receive her choice of any 2 of the new love-themed dies (Love, Always, XOXO, Forever, You & Me, Clustered Hearts)
• 1 randomly drawn participant in the Love TAGplorations linky party will receive her choice of tag set: Luggage Tags or ATC/Tag Builder

Also don't forget that you can use the discount code STAMPGIRLKAROLA to get 20% off your purchase in the STAMPlorations store if you want to, see the end of this post for further details.

I started today's tag by stamping the adorable oliphant and balloons from the super-cute Tweet Love in a very light pink. I then used Tim Holtz Distress Inks to watercolour the image to give it a no-line appearance. Next, I used yellow and orange distress inks through the Dots All Over stencil to create a bit of colour in the background. I also used a foam applicator to add some pink around the edges of the tag. I used the Hugs Word Die on a piece of pink scrap card to die cut the sentiment, and stamped the second part of the sentiment using a stamp from Tweet Love. Last, I added some Ice Stickles to the sentiment and some ribbon from my stash. I can't wait to show you the matching card I created to this tag!

Card: 300 gsm Daler&Rowney watercolour paper, scrap of pink card
Ink and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Inks Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral, Black Soot, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black
Stamps: STAMPlorations Tweet Love
Dies: CUTplorations Hugs Word Die, Luggage Tags Nesting Dies
Stencils: ARTplorations Dots All Over 
Other: Ranger Ice Stickles, ribbon from my stash

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 have any questions or problems, just let me know!

Love TAGplorations

I'm very excited to be part of STAMPlorations Love TAGplorations, seven days of Valentine tag making fun. We hope you will like the tags we have created with the DT to give to the important people in our lives and to showcase the gorgeous new Valentine's stamps, stencils and dies in the STAMPlorations shop. And as usual this wouldn't be half as much fun unless you could join us in the celebrations by commenting on the tags you see during the event and by linking up your own tags too which you can do between February 8th and 14th. And there are loads of prices:

• 3 randomly drawn winners from all comments left on the STAMP blog and participating designers blog will each receive a $10 gift certificate to the store
• 1 randomly drawn participant in the Love TAGplorations linky party will receive her choice of stamp set (Pocket Blooms, A Full Heart, or Two of Us)
• 1 randomly drawn participant in the Love TAGplorations linky party will receive her choice of any 2 of the new love-themed dies (Love, Always, XOXO, Forever, You & Me, Clustered Hearts)
• 1 randomly drawn participant in the Love TAGplorations linky party will receive her choice of tag set: Luggage Tags or ATC/Tag Builder

Also don't forget that you can use the discount code STAMPGIRLKAROLA to get 20% off your purchase in the STAMPlorations store if you want to, see the end of this post for further details.

For today's tag, I used Faber Castell watercolour pencils to colour through the Zen Hearts stencil onto a kraft tag I cut using the larges of the Luggage Tags Nesting Dies. I then traced the outlines of the coloured pieces using a white gel pen. To match my white outlined stencilled heart I die cut the Clustered Hearts Die from white card and also from a scrap of pink card from my UFO box - I think I created this with Tim Holtz Distress Paints. I then sprayed the tag with gold perfect pearls to give it a very subtle gold sheen - unfortunately I didn't manage to capture that in the photo.

I used another scrap of watercoloured card I created with Distress paints, this time in pink and blue to die cut the "always" using Always Word Die. I adhered the die cut pieces to the tag and stamped the first part of the sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black using a stamp from the Pocket Blooms stamp set. For a finishing touch I added some stickles to the die cut sentiment, a few adhesive rhinestones and a white ribbon from my stash.

Pocket Blooms

Zen Hearts

Card: kraft card, scrap of white 250 gsm card, 300 gsm Daler&Rowney watercolour paper

Stamps: STAMPlorations Pocket Blooms

Stencils: ARTplorations Zen Hearts

Dies: CUTplorations Always Word Die, Clustered Hearts Die, Luggage Tags Nesting Dies

Inks and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Paints, Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Faber Castell watercolour pencils, White Gel Pen

Other: Adhesive gems and white ribbon from my stash, Ranger Coffee 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. If you have any questions or problems, just let me know!