simon says stamp - waves for summer

Have you seen the latest SSS release, Rest and Refresh?  I got to play with this wonderful background stamp, Waves.

So I know, it's called "Waves". But...  if you stamp it once, turn it 45 degrees and stamp it again... you get the coolest design. Just sit back, chillax and watercolor. You may have seen this in my IG stories...

SSS Waves stamp

Altenew watercolors

orange embossing powder

And maybe you saw the first three cards I posted using portions of the watercolored 6 x 6 panel.

The pattern and colors screamed summer to me, so using the panel I reached for the Simon Summertime die and made two cards. First with the negative. Did some ink smooshing with acetate to match the colors of the die cut piece and added two tropical die cuts Kesi Hibiscus and Flora and Fauna Flamingo.

With the positives I revisited a CAS design. Used an older Simon set, Summer Garden and some Nuvo drops.

Check out the release if you haven't, and all the makes with it in the gallery at Simon Says Stamp. Thanks mucho, Simon.

I'm joining the fun at:
SSS Wednesday - AG

Happy Little Stampers - AG with Dies June

STAMPlorations inspiration #222

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team.

As you've probably heard by now, our 6th Birthday party has been postponed, but there is a giant selection of products in the store for a 6th Birthday Sale. Throughout the month of June, products in the 6th Birthday section are 30% off instantly + with my STAMPGIRLMARIA code, you actually get up to 50% off!
  

I love me some ink blending. I put it to use on this birthday card (the inside reads "Happy Birthday to Ewe").

 STAMPlorations Baa Baa stamp
MFT circle die (mask)

Distress inks
white embossing powder

As I was perusing my stamps, this cutie caught my eye. Don't you love a good pun? I chose to make the straight-on ewe the star of the show. So I masked and inked a circle with blues and greens hinting at sky and grass, then stamped her smack dab in the middle.

I used this stamp set here too.

You could win yourself one of 6  $25 GC to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post here. Thanks for looking.

I'm playing at:
Addicted to Stamps - For a Boy/Man
Creative Friday - Clean and Simple

ATSAM - Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers CAS - Funny

simon says stamp - waves threesome

Have you seen the latest SSS release, Rest and Refresh? It comes at the craziest time of my year so far, but I finally got some time to play with this wonderful background stamp, Waves.

So I know, it's called "Waves". But... turn it 45 degrees and call it "Stems" - check out this post to see what I mean.

And if you stamp it once, turn it 45 degrees and stamp it again... you get the coolest design. Just sit back, chillax and watercolor. You may have seen this in my IG stories...

SSS Waves stamp

Altenew watercolors

orange embossing powder

And then decide what to do with the watercolored 6 x 6 panel!

My first thought was to fussy cut along one of the curvy lines. Added a die cut "wishing" to the front along with some enamel dots. And a "you the happiest birthday" to the inside.

And then to die cut a circle of the summery goodness. Added a heat embossed "hey" and some die cut "fresh daisies". The inside reads "happy birthday to YOU" from the older Simon set Hello You.

And of course I couldn't let the leftovers go to waste. So I finally put ink to my had-to-have-but-hadn't-used-yet Beautiful Flowers from Simon and used up some extras from my other designs.

So check out the release if you haven't, and all the makes with it in the gallery at Simon Says Stamp. You'll find lovely "Waves" there. Of the beachy kind ;) Thanks mucho, Simon.

simon says stamp - waves

Have you seen the latest SSS release, Rest and Refresh? It comes at the craziest time of my year so far, but I finally got some time to play with this wonderful background stamp, Waves.

So I know, it's called waves. But... turn it 45 degrees and let's call it "Stems" shall we?

 SSS Waves stamp

Distress markers

So first up I did some mad masking and stamping and masking and stamping. I chose to use an older Simon set called Summer Garden for its sketchy blooms. And messy watercoloring with Distress markers in subdued tones. And a sentiment from an older Simon set called Hey You.

I wanted to make another similar card but decided to keep things easier. Stamped, Copic colored and fussy cut some blooms from a had-to-have-but-had-not-used Beautiful Flowers set to attach to the "stems". I cut the cardbase down so that even with the blooms up top it will still fit in an envelope.

Must admit I love this one even though the flower style doesn't really match the stem style.

So check out the release if you haven't, and all the makes with it in the gallery at Simon Says Stamp. I have a few more makes for you with this stamp set. Thanks, Simon.

I'm playing at:
Creative Friday - Clean and Simple

AAA Card Challenge - One Corner

ATSAM - Anything Goes

spotlight on stamping with the reverse

Check out this graphic goodness! Made with one stamp from Bloomdala Bliss and my new Catherine Pooler inks! My tutorial is over on the STAMPlorations blog today.

STAMPlorations inspiration #221

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team.

As you've probably heard by now, Shery's father passed away unexpectedly so our 6th Birthday party has been postponed. But Shery has put together a giant selection of products in the store for a 6th Birthday Sale. Throughout the month of June, products in the 6th Birthday section are 30% off instantly + with my STAMPGIRLMARIA code, you actually get up to 50% off!
  

This was such a fun card to make.

 STAMPlorations Art Expressions stamp
STAMPlorations Art Marks stamp
STAMPlorations Do What You Love stamp

Distress inks
clear embossing powder

I bet you know a few people you could send this card to ;) I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it with clear powder. Stamped the images around it. Added a few splotches from the Art Marks set and then watercolored small areas for pops of color. Then I added lots of splatters.

I used this stamp set here and in this post too.

You could win yourself one of 6  $25 GC to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post here. Thanks for looking.

sympathy card series - part 4

Recently I created eight sympathy cards as I needed to a) create the perfect card for someone I know as well as b) increase my dwindled stash.

In my crafting session I revisited a couple sympathy card designs I really like, here and here. Today's are two more using the ink smooshing with acetate technique.

Efco Trauer Das Leben stamp

Inkadinkado Bird and Branch stamp

Technique Tuesday So Sorry stamp

Distress inks in Old Paper, Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap. Somehow I don't like the smooshed result as much as I did the look of them paired up on my swatches. Oh well. I thought I could use a couple cards with a more sombre color scheme...

sympathy card series - part 3

Recently I created eight sympathy cards as I needed to a) create the perfect card for someone I know as well as b) increase my dwindled stash.

In my crafting session I revisited a couple sympathy card designs I really like, here and here. Today's are two more using the ink smooshing with acetate technique.

Efco Trauer Das Leben stamp

Klartext Unvergessen stamp

Distress inks in Victorian Velvet, Milled Lavender and Shaded Lilac, smooshed onto a piece of acetate, sprayed with perfect pearls/water mix and smooshed onto cream cardstock.

I'm taking these over to:
Craft Stamper - Take it Make it June
Daring Cardmakers - Come FLY with me

stencil sunday at STAMPlorations

Howdy peeps! I'm up on the STAMPlorations blog today with four projects using stencils. Maybe I can inspire you to pull out your stencils and give them some love.

First up is a great technique for stencils with a lot of open space. Choosing a light color cardstock for my base, as well as adding a drop of pink ink to the pearlescent embossing paste gives the overall design of this feminine card an elegant feel. If you chose a graphic stencil and white embossing paste on dark cardstock you'd easily have a masculine feel.

STAMPlorations Circular Two stencil

STAMPlorations New Day Clear Sticker 

embossing paste

One more tip... careful if using a heat gun to speed up the dry process... the embossing paste will bubble if it gets too hot. See that spot on the lower left?

For my second project I added clear embossing paste through over a PP. I chose a PP with stars and a stencil with stars. You could do the same with, say, hearts. Or animal prints. Or go for contrasts and use a stencil with graphic images, like circles, over a romantic PP. Subtle but packs a punch even though if as in my case, only partially covering the card front. You faintly see the stars in this photo...

STAMPlorations Oh My Stars! stencil

STAMPlorations Shine Bright Clear Sticker 

... but against the light they are very visible. See? Once again I used a  on a PP snippet for my sentiment.

My third projects takes it back to basics - with a slight twist. We all tend to lay the stencil down over a card front and start sponging ink through it, right? How about only using a portion of the stencil? And extending the images off the edge of the card? And flipping it over for one or two images?

STAMPlorations Senecio 1 stencil

STAMPlorations Shine Bright Clear Sticker

Distress Inks 

Stencils with nature images or an organic feel are great for this technique. I found that using scrap paper to cover the holes I didn't want to ink through was a great safety measure ;) And I chose to use Distress Inks for their transparency but you could mix inks and oxides for a mix of transparency and opacity.

As for color choices, I went with blues and followed the gallon-quart-pint rule, adding the bright green for pep.

And my fourth project showcases a great way to use up those backgrounds you have in your stash. I pulled out my box with all my backgrounds and held a couple Faces stencils over some of the less busy ones to see what appealed to me. Surprisingly, this purple and green ink-smooshed background seemed to fit this gal and her mood.

STAMPlorations Faces: Pensive stencil

STAMPlorations Bold Florals stencil

STAMPlorations Hey Sunshine Clear Stickers

Distress Oxides 

Notice how I inked with colors similar to those on my ink-smooshed background rather than just using black?  I also chose to use the oxides (in slightly darker tones than the smooshed ink to be certain they'd be noticed) for their opacity. Then I even added more stenciling with those colors around the edges using a floral image which fits the gal nicely.

You'll notice I also used my tried and true strip-of-PP-along-the-bottom-edge trick for a little touch of gold too!

You may want to check out my post at STAMPlorations. The Stencil Sunday posts include a prize for commenting. One commenter will be drawn from all comments left on the three Stencil Sunday posts for June to win a $15 gift code. Thanks for coming by!

sympathy card series - part 2

In yesterday's post I shared the first two of eight sympathy cards I created recently in an effort to a) create the perfect card for someone I know as well as b) increase my dwindled stash.

In my crafting session I revisited a couple sympathy card designs I really like, here and here. Today's are two more ink-smooshed-with-acrylic-block technique.

Inkadinkado bird and branch stamp

Klartext Unvergessen stamp

Distress inks in Broken China, Worn Lipstick and Scattered Straw.

Never would have guessed when I bought this stamp set years ago I would end up using it so often for sympathy cards...

The sentiment set (for those needing German sentiments) is pretty perfect too.

I'm taking these over to:
Craft Stamper - Take it Make it June
CASology - Calm

sympathy card series - part 1

Why does my supply of sympathy cards go down so quickly? Grrrr.

And the situation called for something special. I wasn't sure what exactly. So I decided to revisit a couple designs I really like, here and here. And make several (as in 8) while I was at it. Cuz what I needed was one for a gal I know whose husband was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident. So incredibly sad. Their kids are about my kids' age. What can you even say???

Inkadinkado bird and branch stamp

Klartext Unvergessen stamp

Acrylic block smooshing. Distress inks in Broken China, Worn Lipstick and Scattered Straw.

Heavy heart.

In the end I decided on the one on the right. The sentiment reads "sometimes there are no words." My sentiments exactly.

STAMPlorations inspiration #220

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team. As I mentioned last week, this is a pretty special month for us at STAMPlorations cuz it's our 6th birthday. But with the unexpected passing of Shery's father we are postponing the partying for a bit.

Nevertheless, Shery has put together a giant selection of products in the store for a 6th Birthday Sale. Throughout the month of June, products in the 6th Birthday section are 30% off instantly + with my STAMPGIRLMARIA code, you actually get up to 50% off!
  

Again I've used a couple products from that sale section to make a fun birthday card.

 STAMPlorations Balloons and Banners stamp

 STAMPlorations Shaker Balloons #2 die
Distress inks
yellow embossing powder
sequins

I thought a party on a card would be nice. I love the tiny images from Dee's stamp set so I did some first and second generation stamping with them. Then I created my shaker which is super easy with the two piece die. I added a heat embossed sentiment in the upper right too.

If you're interested, I've used the tiny images from this stamp set in this post too.

You could win yourself one of 6  $25 GC to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post here. Thanks for looking.

I'm playing at:
Stamping Sensations - Show your True Colors
Die Cut Divas - Birthdays
Happy Little Stampers - AG with Dies

when you're swatching your new catherine pooler inks... part 5

So the other day I finally got around to swatching my new Spa Collection inks from Catherine Pooler. And I had some time on my hands so I had a play...

Meet the last four cards to emerge from this playtime! I totally CASEd Lisa S. and her plays with this Hexagon Hello stamp set from The Stamp Market and the sentiment from Beautiful Blooms.

First in navy blue with copper accents.

Then in colors inspired by The Stamp Market.

Then in horizontal form with black accents and a copper embossed sentiment.

And finally, I had to use that woodgrain hex too. Paired it in purple with a gold embossed With Love and a die cut Folk Heart.

Catherine Pooler Spa inks

I'm very satisfied with the colors and also the coverage of my new inks. What do you think of the Catherin Pooler inks? How about the colors in the Spa collection? Do they speak to you or do you prefer the bright and beautiful ones? Thanks for looking.

I'm taking my first card to Addicted To Stamps June - Man/Boy.
I'm taking my third card over to Craft Stamper TIMI for June and  to Inkspirational Fashion Photo.

I'm taking my fourth card over to ATSAM - CAS

.