Welcome to the STAMPlorations May Challenge Reminder. May is my favourite month of the year, but this year it has just disappeared on me. I can't believe it's already half gone. But I'm trying to be optimistic about it, that means there is still half of it left to experience and of course the long weekend coming up at the end of May which happens to fall on my birthday. Let's keep our fingers crossed for some gorgeous bank holiday weather!
My reminder card for the STAMPlorations May CAS challenge was created using Bloom Doodles, one of my favourite ever flower stamp sets. I stamped and masked the three large flowers and coloured them with Copics. I then die cut the sentiment using Happy Word die in lilac and black card and heat embossed the word Birthday from the hilarious Llama Tell You stamp set. Last, I fussy cut the front panel of the card along the outline of the flowers and added a piece of lilac patterned paper to the back panel.
For the May TAGplorations challenge, I created a tag using a Mixed Media background I have created sometime in the past using Distress Oxides and then stamped in Vintage Photo Distress ink using Mixed Media Grunge. Sometimes it's nice to just look through the box of various unwanted crafty things and find something you get inspired to use for a project. I die cut flowers from various colours of leftover cardstock using Trendy Spring Blooms dies and assembled a big bouquet of flowers on my tag, adding some leaf die cuts too. The sentiment consists of blue glitter card die cut using Hugs Word die and a white heat-embossed sentiment from Funny Kinda Love.
Stamps: STAMPlorations Bloom Doodles, Llama Tell You, Mixed Media Grunge
Dies: CUTplorations Happy Word die, Trendy Spring Blooms, Hugs Word die
Ink and Colouring: Tsukineko Versamark and Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics, Distress Oxides, Distress Ink Vintage Photo
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 (but note that it combines with promotions such as the below Typografia and Things With Wings sale!!). The following two promotions are ongoing in the STAMPlorations store at the moment
My explorations into my brand new goodies from STAMPlorations continues (I tried my first CUTplorations die yesterday here in case you missed it). There's nothing that gets the creative mojo going like being away from the craft room for almost a week - it seems like I have been creating on a roll for the last few days.
I stared by stamping the Framed Zinnia in Versamark Onyx Black (which is compatible with watercolouring). I then coloured the flowers using my Gansai Tambi watercolours using the colours from this week's ColourQ. I then masked the frame and stamped around the edges using several stamps from the Mixed Media Elements in Squeezed Lemonade and Spiced Marmalade Distress ink. I also sprinkled some watercolour splotches on the card. Last, I used one of my brand new CUTplorations Awesome Word Die to die cut the sentiment from a scrap of purple card. Last, I stamped the first line of the sentiment in black ink to complete the card.
I'm entering the following challenges:
Freshly Made Sketches
ColourQ
4 Crafty Chicks - Your favourite Designer/Paper/Company (STAMPlorations obviously :)
Cards 4 Galz - No Patterned Paper
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Card: 300 gsm watercolour card, scrap of purple card from my UFO box
Stamps: STAMPlorations Framed Zinnia, Mixed Media Elements, Hashtag Authentic
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Gansai Tambi watercolours
Dies: CUTplorations Awesome Word Die
Well I can safely say today's card is way out of my comfort zone. But hey, it's fun to mix it up a bit form time to time, right? The challenge over at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is "G is for gears" with a theme of steampunk. I'm never sure what steampunk really is. All I know is it's all about gears and men in top hats. Ok, so gears and top hats it is then! I started by inking up my Tim Holtz Steampunk embossing folder with Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Inks, and ran a piece of cardstock through my Big Shot. Then I inked the embossed gears using Hickory Smoke ink, adding a bit of shadow around the edges using Black Soot. Then I used a brush to add some Perfect Pearls on the gears as well. Next, I stamped one of Tim's Crazy Birds and some paraphernalia from the Crazy Things, coloured it all with Copics and die cut using matching dies. Last, I created the sentiments using Lawn Fawn Violet's ABCs and STAMPlorations Sketchy Alphabet and distressed the edges of the sentiments and the embossed panel. I also added some Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso ink to the edges of the sentiments. I matted the whole shebang onto black card.
I'm also linking up with Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the theme is Make Your Own Background, Little Red Wagon where the theme is "Mainly Manly", Left of Center where the theme is "Big Eyes", Craft Rocket Challenges where the theme is "Feathers or Fur" and Craft Your Passion where Anything Goes
Card: 300 gsm black card, 300 gsm white textured card, scraps of Tim Holtz Core'dinations card and a scrap of a homemade coloured card made with Distress Paints
Ink and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Early Espresso and Black Soot, Tsukineko Versamark and Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Stamps: Tim Holtz Bird Crazy and Crazy Things and matching dies, STAMPlorations Sketchy Alphabet, Lawn Fawn Violet's ABCs
Other: Perfect Pearls, Steampunk embossing folder, black glittery embossing powder, Tim Holtz Distress tool
