STAMPlorations inspiration #269

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration post of the month from the STAMPlorations inspiration team!

My theme for my inspiration cards this month is fantasy watercoloring. No pressure about getting the shading right, ya know. Just pick up and place some color. Meet my card.

 Wooded stamp

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Watercolor paper. Stamping. Watercolor dabbing. Voila! I tore the edges and adhered the panel to a kraft cardbase. I think it fits the natural feel of the card. This one too is going to my stash of sympathy cards.

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd really appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week. I'm stopping by at Addicted to CAS where the theme is "rainbow" since I rainbowed my wood slice ;)

spring summer coffee lovers hop

Know how I've been playing with fantasy watercoloring this month? I kinda carried on with that inspiration for today's projects which are a part of the Spring Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. STAMPlorations is a sponsor and in addition to the four STAMP prizes being given away on the hop, you could win a prize for leaving a comment over at the STAMP blog today too.

For my first project I used the new set, Sweet Kindness. This set arrived just in time as that floral spray (not coffee related, I know) was perfect for a tag to accompany a birthday present!

 Sweet Kindness stamp

Lowercase Alpha Plate dies
Tag #1 Nesting dies

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Watercolor paper.  Tag die cut. Water. Watercolors. Dabbing and voila! I love how those little half-embossed alphas fit perfectly to personalize the tag for my friend. Here's the tag in action ;)

And then I went all "fantasy watercolor" again. Made this next card with Bloomin Coffee and You.

Bloomin Coffee and You stamp
Just Caffeinate clear stickers

Gansai Tambi watercolors

I printed a digi version of the stamp (cuz my postman hasn't delivered this set to me yet) onto watercolor paper. FYI, my image is larger than the stamp in the set. But if you're interested in digi stamps, this collection of digi stamps has a similar image and many more.

So. Fantasy watercolor. Wet-on-wet technique. I wouldn't call it "sloshed" cuz only Shirley can do that. And it's sure not realistic. It's kinda dabbed. Kinda pushed around. But I stuck to a more limited color palette and even kept the coffee brown!

I fussy cut the image and adhered it to a cream colored cardbase since my watercolor paper is creamy. A sticker sentiment tops off the cup.

Hope you're enjoying the hop with a nice cuppa. Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week and remember to "Be kind, be calm and be safe."

I'm joining the fun at:
Spring Summer Coffee Lovers Hop
I pulled my colors from ATSAM - Photo Inspiration

STAMPlorations inspiration #268 - new coffee stamps

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration post of the month from the STAMPlorations inspiration team! Today we have something special for you, an introduction to two new coffee stamp sets available in the store. Just in time for the upcoming Coffee Lovers Blog Hop too!

Know how I've been playing with fantasy watercoloring this month? I kinda carried on with that inspiration for today's projects.

Meet #1. I've used the new set, Sweet Kindness.

 Sweet Kindness stamp
5 Love Words dies
Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle dies

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Watercolor paper. Water. Watercolors. Dabbing and tipping. Voila! Doesn't that graphic image make for a great focal point?

And then #2. Made with Bloomin Coffee and You.

Bloomin Coffee and You stamp
5 Coffee Phrase dies

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Again, watercolor paper. Onto which I printed a digi version of the stamp cuz my postman hasn't delivered this set to me yet. FYI, my tag is actually somewhat larger than the stamp itself. I chose to dab watercolors onto the background, leaving the image uncolored. I did add some grays to the bloom however. I think the die cut sentiment works well over the image.

I hope you are doing well in these crazy Corona times. As the health officer in British Columbia says, "Be kind, be calm and be safe."

You could win yourself a $15 GC to the store OR one of the new sets by leaving a comment on the inspiration girls' posts and over at the STAMP blog! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd really appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week. I'm stopping over at:
Stamping Sensations - Flowers
Happy Little Stampers - May Watercolor

CAS cards challenge may reminder

Hello peeps! Back with a reminder about this month's CAS card challenge at STAMPlorations. 

Here's the May CAS Cards challenge inspiration.

As always the challenge is anything goes with an optional color twist - this month is baby pink.

Today's card.

STAMPlorations Art Marks 2 stamp
STAMPlorations  New Day clear sticker
Altenew watercolor

I used pink watercolors for my first card this month. To use up the leftovers, I grabbed the Art Marks stamps and stamped with watercolors in a masked off rectangle on my card front. Added a couple orange rings of color too to warm up the pinks.

Then I added a few pops of black and a sticker sentiment and called it good and CAS.

CAS card tip: Mask off an area of the card and go crazy within that area only!

For more inspiration with this stamp set check out this post.

Have you joined us yet? Your project might be chosen as the winner of a GC to the shop. Check out how the DT was inspired by this month's photo here.

And don't forget about my STAMPlorations discount code STAMPGIRLMARIA for 20% off should you find yourself shopping ;)  Thanks for stopping over. See you in the gallery.

I'm heading to the gallery at:
ATSAM - CAS

spotlight on stretching your dies

I'm over at the STAMPlorations blog with a tutorial for this card (and another) using stand-alone dies to dry emboss your CAS card background for additional interest. Check it out. And have a nice day!

STAMPlorations inspiration #267

Welcome to May the second Tuesday inspiration post of the month from the STAMPlorations inspiration team!

With my mojo taking a break during these Corona dayz, I decided this month my theme for my inspiration cards was going to be fantasy watercoloring. No pressure about getting the shading right, ya know. Just pick up and place some color. Here's #2.

 Blossom Spray #2 stamp
Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle dies

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Watercolor paper. Stamping. Watercolor dabbing. Voila!

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd really appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

Looking for more inspiration with this beautiful spray of flowers? Check out this post.

Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week. I'm stopping by at:
Craft Stamper - Take it Make it May
Happy Little Stampers - Watercolor Challenge

STAMPlorations inspiration #266

Welcome to May, friends.  It's time for the first Tuesday inspiration post of the month from the STAMPlorations inspiration team!

Corona has me less enthusiastic about card designing. Has it sparked or stunted your mojo? I decided this month my theme for my inspiration cards was going to be fantasy watercoloring. No pressure about getting the shading right, ya know. Just pick up and place some color. Ready for #1?

 Blossom Overture stamp
Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle dies

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Pretty simple. Watercolor paper. Stamping and masking. Watercolor dabbing. I turned it into a sympathy card... well you can guess why.

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd really appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

Looking for more inspiration with these roses? Check out this post.

Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week. I'm stopping by at:
Craft Stamper - TIMI May
CAS on Sunday - Use your favorite flower stamp

CAS cards challenge may

Hello there peeps! How's it going these days? Hope you and yours are staying healthy. We're back with a new CAS card challenge at STAMPlorations. 

Here's the May CAS Cards challenge inspiration.

As always the challenge is anything goes with an optional color twist - this month is baby pink.

As my mojo went when Corona came along, I went to my craft room with no idea what I wanted to make. I saw watercolors and decided to make things really easy on myself. How about a pink rainbow?

Today's card.

STAMPlorations Birthday Word Art clear sticker
Altenew watercolor

Grabbed a flat brush. Painted some curves. The sticker sentiment reminded me of a cloud, so I cut it into a cloud shape and adhered it. Voila!

CAS card tip: Although the card is full, thanks to the monochromatic color scheme and the big pop of black it's still very clean and simple. All the attention goes to the font of the sentiment.

For more inspiration with this sticker set check out this post.

I'm looking forward to your CAS card creations this month! Your project might be chosen as the winner of a GC to the shop. Check out how the DT was inspired by this month's photo here.

And don't forget about my STAMPlorations discount code STAMPGIRLMARIA for 20% off should you find yourself shopping ;)  Thanks for stopping over. See you in the gallery.