April STAMPlorations CAS Challenge

 

It's April! Spring is here for real, flowers are in bloom, it's light in the mornings and evenings. Soon it will be my favourite time of the year,  that time when spring turns to summer.  I always feel hopeful at this time of year, particularly right now as the stay at home restriction has been eased slightly and things look like they are going in the right direction here in the UK.

So a new month means it's also time for a new CAS Challenge over at STAMPlorations. This month the optional colour twist is pale pink and navy blue. I was inspired by the colours to create a floral card (maybe I'm inspired by any colours to create a floral card... ;) I started by running a card front through my Sizzix using the Wonky Stitched Grid Texture Cover Plate Die and then splattered some dark blue ink across the card front. I heat embossed the florals from Bloomfully: Sparkle in black, watercoloured with Distress ink and fussy cut, adding them to the card front along with a heat embossed sentiment from Bloomdala Bliss.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Bloomfully: Sparkle, Bloomdala Bliss
Dies: CUTplorations Wonky Stitched Grid Texture Cover Plate Die
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versamark, 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 March STAMPlorations CAS Challenge

 

Happy Mid-March! Have you had a crafty month? I have learned a new craft this month - I have started to learn yarn dyeing and I love it. I love all the aspects of colour theory it involves, just like I love those aspects of crafting. Which colours to pick and how will they go together? But for today's card I didn't have to think about colours, as I went with the colour twist for the March STAMPlorations CAS challenge.

If you haven't had a chance to play along with the challenges yet this month there is more inspiration for all challenges from the design team over on the STAMPlorations blog today. For my card, I used the dark green and mint green colour twist for my CAS card. I stamped the leaves from Leafy in the two greens, die cut the panel with Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies and sponged some ink around the edges of the panel. I stamped the cute little bunny from Woodland Friends, coloured him with Copics and fussy cut him. Last, I added a sentiment from the same stamp set. I hope you find all the Design Team's creations inspirational and find some time to play along with the challenges this month.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Leafy, Woodland Friends

Dies: CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies

Ink and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Oxides, Copics, 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 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 :) 

March STAMPlorations CAS Challenge

March?!?! It's March?!?! March 13th (which incidentally last year happened to be Friday the 13th...) marks one year of working from home for me. I feel so very grateful that I have a job to go to every day but more than that, a job I can safely do from home. And if I'm totally honest, working from home has improved my quality of life a lot as I have a relatively long commute, so I'm saving loads of time and money. We have been told that we will not be expected to return to the office until September, so I will enjoy this spring and summer and the flexibility that working from home gives me for a little while longer. But I'm sure you didn't pop in to hear me talking about work but to see what is going on with the STAMPlorations CAS challenge, and I'm so glad you did.

The optional colour twist for the March CAS challenge is dark green and mint green. I decided to stamp some spring inspired leaves on my card using Deepti's beautiful Leafy stamp set. Sometimes I think it's nice to work with just one stamp set, and also if I'm thinking of buying a stamp set I like seeing examples of that stamp set used on its own to give me ideas of what I can do with it without having a ton of other stash at hand too. So I used two pieces of scrap paper to mask off a strip of my card front and lightly inked it with Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink. Then I stamped the leaves in Lucky Clover Distress Oxide and added a sentiment from the same stamp set. If that isn't CAS, I don't know what is :) 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Leafy

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Cracked Pistachio, Distress Oxide Lucky Clover, 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 :) 

Cupcake Inspirations #500

Today I'm happy to be celebrating the 500th Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. Congrats and big thanks to the whole Cupcake Inspirations team for all their hard work to keep this super fun challenge running for all that time, and to many, many more great challenges to come!

For my project, I used the cupcake stamp from STAMPlorations Sweet Kindness which stamped and heat embossed in gold four times. I used Faber Castell watercolour pencils to colour the images and blended the colouring with a watercolour brush. I created the Dots All Over stencil and Distress inks to create the fun dotty background and finished the card with a bold black die cut sentiment from Everyday Sentiments. 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sweet Kindness
Stencil: ARTplorations Dots All Over
Dies: CUTplorations Everyday Sentiments
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versamark, Tim Holtz Distress Inks, Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils

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.

Happy International Women's Day!!

Hi everyone! Happy International Women's Day!! I want to dedicate today's post to all the amazing women out there who make the online crafting community such a wonderful space. Thank you all of you for being there for each other and for sending wonderful and supportive comments to each other. In all the horribleness that is the Internet and the world in general today, I find it encouraging that we can have this community where we focus on supporting each other and sharing our creativity. I fully welcome all and any men into our community as well, don't get me wrong. I'm so happy we have strong male crafty role models too like the amazing Tim Holtz who clearly has done a lot to also introduce men to the crafting world. But I still think it's amazing that at large, we are a community of women who spend time not on criticizing each other or putting each other down but lifting each other up!

So I admit today's card isn't specifically a Women's Day card, it's, in fact, a wedding card. I used the snowy backdrop stamp from snow cool to create the background for the card, stamping the snow at the bottom and top of the card, heat embossing in gold. I then stamped more of the snow on another card, adding the glasses, bubbles and little heart from Happy Wedding and heat embossed everything in gold again. Then I used the Stitched Rectangle dies to cut the panel, attached it to a doily and finished everything with a die-cut sentiment from STAMPlorations Everyday Sentiments.

I think we should raise a glass in honour of all the wonderful women out in the world, doing their thing whether it be being business leaders, politicians, stay-at-home mums, students, artists or whatever else they feel is their calling in life. I hope you'll join me and send love to as many wonderful women as possible today!

And now I'm off to visit the blogs of wonderful crafty women bloggers out there, and I hope you will do the same!!

I'm playing along with  Lawn Fawnatics - Inspired by a book, movie or a song (Champagne Supernova by Oasis, and how is it that this song is from 1995? how old am I? :) and
Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - B is for Booze (sorry no snark this time...)

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Happy Wedding, Snow Cool

Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Stackables, STAMPlorations Everyday Sentiments

STAMPlorations December CAS Challenge - Reminder

It's time to interrupt your pre-Holiday craziness for a quick reminder. Our December CAS Challenge is halfway through, people. Halfway through! Consider yourselves reminded :) I know you are busy with everything, but the whole point of CAS Cards is that they are quick and easy. So you will surely have time for a little crafty project.

I stamped Poinsettia Row and very quickly and messily watercoloured the stamp with Distress Inks and splattered the white space with a bit of yellow. I added a die-cut sentiment in red using Christmas Sentiments and that's it, Christmas card done! You certainly have enough time to create one of these, no matter how busy you are.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Poinsettia Row

Dies: CUTplorations Christmas Sentiments

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Inks

If you are thinking of doing some STAMPlorations shopping, don't forget to visit the STAMPlorations store Promotions page for discount codes for stamp sets.

Take advantage of our last sale of the year. Get 25% off nearly all products in the store*.

  

 

Use code DEC2019 on checkout.

No minimum order. Flat shipping rates apply.

STAMPlorations November CAS Challenge - Reminder

How can it be mid-November? What happened? I am completely, 110%, sure the November challenge started maybe two or three days ago. Therefore I have to accept that someone has stolen at least a week from my November. Maybe instead of putting the clocks back one hour, someone forwarded a full week? 

Whatever the explanation is, I guess I better accept it's the 15th and therefore I'm happy to share my mid-month reminder and additional inspiration project for the STAMPlorations November CAS challenge. Our optional colour twist this month is brown and I used Sanna's gorgeous Barley stencil to create a fun one layer CAS card by inking Distress Inks through the stencil. I added a sentiment from Noteworthy 3.

I hope you feel inspired to play along with the challenge, you have until the end of the month to link up. You don't have to use STAMPlorations products, but if you have them we would love to see how you are inspired to use them. Don't forget to make it a CAS card!

Stamps: STAMPlorations Noteworthy 3

Stencil: ARTplorations Barley

Ink: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo

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

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

Sunset Sympathy

I made this sympathy card as I wanted to play along with the "Special Thoughts" challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. I was also inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch and the Bling It On challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

I created the background by blending Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Candied Apple, Seedless Preserves and Black Soot Distress Oxides and splattered with water. I inked the flowers using the Bloom Silhouettes stencil in Black Soot. I added the beautiful sentiment from Lotus Love onto purple card and matted onto red card. It says "When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure". Last, I added a few sequins for a bit of bling.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Lotus Love
Stencil: ARTplorations Bloom Silhouettes
Ink: Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Candied Apple, Seedless Preserves and Black Soot Distress Oxides, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black

Fiery Birthday Mandala

Do you remember when you first started making cards and thought it would be such a great way to save money? Never having to buy any cards at Clintons ever again for a full two or three pounds? Before you realised that when you divide the thousands of pounds you have spent on craft stash by the number of cards you have made, you get a figure somewhere in the neighbourhood of £60 (purely fictional example, don't ask me where those numbers come from...)? Don't worry, we have all been there! This is a safe space where we can all admit we have a problem. And encourage each other to never get better!!

But sometimes it's great when you find exactly what you need in your stash to create just the card you need, not having to buy anything new and able to create just the card you imagined. It almost brings back that warm and fuzzy dream of saving money by making your own cards! 

I needed a birthday card for a colleague and I didn't have anything I deemed suitable in my stash (it's the same feeling as having a cupboard full of clothes but nothing to wear...). Quick and easy enough for a weeknight craft session. I think it turned out quite nice. I hope my colleague will like it too. I even made an envelope to match. The stamping is done using the faux watercolour technique. I coloured the Simon Says Stamp Elizabeth Background stamp with Distress Markers, spritzed with water and stamped. I added some splatters to the card, and used a sentiment die from Lawn Fawn.

I'm linking up with 
CAS on Friday - use die cut words
Fusion card challenge - I was inspired by the red and yellow colours and the wrought iron  handrail on the house, which I think looks a bit like the black die-cut letters
Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - Stamp It
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Stamp It
Crafting Happiness - Birthday
Inkspirational - Crop (I took this to mean cropped off the edge of the card)

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Elizabeth Background Hey Love
Dies: Lawn Fawn Happy Birthday Line Border die
Colouring: Tim Holtz Distress markers Squeezed Lemonade, Fossilized Amber, Ripe Persimmon, Festive Berries

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #447

It's time for another Cupcake Inspirations Challenge, and STAMPlorations is the sponsor this time, so I'm excited to be one of the STAMPlorations designers guesting over at CIC. The theme is Food and Drink, my favourite! I could not resist inking up the delicious ice cream cone from STAMPlorations Sweet Cravings using Distress Markers. I stamped a sentiment from the same set in black and added Washi tape.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sweet Cravings

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

Colourful Swallowtail

The current challenge over at CAS Watercolour is Colourful Butterflies. My absolute favourite butterfly stamp is this old Swallowtail stamp from Stampin' Up which I feel I can use over and over and over, and constantly find new ways of using it. This time I decided to use the faux watercolour technique. 

I coloured the stamp with Tim Holtz Distress markers and spritzed it with water before stamping onto watercolour paper. The first time, I didn't quite manage to place the stamp as I wanted it, so I used that first attempt for my tag, die cutting it with Stitched Tags Nesting Dies. I heat embossed a sentiment in white using STAMPlorations Trendy Butterflies 2 to the tag. 

My second attempt at stamping the swallowtail turned out better as I was patient enough to ensure even pressure all across the stamp and really pressing it into the paper before removing it. I added a sentiment using STAMPlorations Happy Birthday and splattered some ink onto the white space for added interest.

I'm also linking up the card over at Cardz4Galz where the theme is Wings, Seize the Birthday where the theme is Butterflies and Stamping Sensations where the theme is Things with Wings.

Stamps: Stampin' Up Swallowtail, STAMPlorations Trendy Butterflies 2, Happy Birthday

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

Dies: CUTplorations Stitched Tags Nesting Dies

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

Save the Drama for Your Llama

My craft room desk is so overflowing with stuff (no, it's not a mess, it's the embodiment of the creative process!!) things get lost in the archaeological depths of piles growing higher and higher. Today, I found this fun stamp set my partner got me for my birthday (which was in late May, so that's how old the stuff in that pile was... *cough, splutter*). 

Anyhow, I couldn't resist having a play with the cute little critters as soon as I re-discovered them. I started by stamping the llama onto watercolour card, watercoloured him with Distress Inks and fussy cut him. I stamped a few cactuses for the background and added a bit of colour to the ground and sky, before die cutting the scene with a STAMPlorations die. I added the llama using 3D foam dots. Last, I stamped the funny sentiment onto a scrap piece of blue card and attached the cute scene onto light yellow Stampin' Up card. 

I'm linking up over at Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers where the theme is J is for Joke (although I guess this is more of a pun than a joke, maybe the Sisterhood won't mind?) and 2 Crafty Critter Crazies where anything goes with a critter.