STAMPlorations - christmas bundle (2)

Guten Tag. I'm back with more Christmas cards I made with another bundle being offered at a super price over at STAMPlorations right now. Check out all the bundles on offer here. Shery's put them together and is offering them at a great price.

In this post I worked with a cover plate included in the Christmas Bundle - 2 cover plates and 8 phrase dies for $65 and got a threefer out of my crafting session!

So first I die cut the cover plate from black CS, added it to a black card and filled in a few colored pieces. These were from a cover die cut from Neenah white and colored with alcohol markers.

Then I took the white piece (the positive) and used it as a stencil to make this card. I first traced the main images with my alcohol markers again and colored them in, then pounced Antique Linen oxide through the other areas.

So after I'd pounced the oxide through the "stencil" for the previous card I decided I kinda liked the look of it so I took my markers to the main images again to add the pops of color, then softened them a bit with some oxide left on my dauber and voila! Card number three.

STAMPlorations dies

Little B dies

Flora and Fauna sentiment

alcohol markers, embossing powders, gold thread

I'm taking card #1 to Happy Little Stampers November Christmas AG challenge as well as Die Cut Divas November AG challenge.

Appreciate you stopping by. Have a great day. 

STAMPlorations - christmas bundle

Hi there friends. I'm sharing a few Christmas cards I made with another bundle being offered at a super price over at STAMPlorations right now. 

You're probably aware that STAMPlorations owner, Shery, is battling cancer at the moment. To help bring a bit of revenue to her family while minimizing the amount of energy she has to put into packing and shipping, Shery has bundled some products at great prices. You can check out all the bundles on offer here.

I've worked with some Christmas phrase dies included in the Christmas Bundle - 2 cover plates and 8 phrase dies for $65.

I've used a favorite technique - repeat heat embossing - to pimp the phrases. On this first card I gave the sentiment three coats of embossing powder and adhered it right onto a card front covered with PP.

Then I took it up a notch by adding a vellum mat behind a gold repeat-embossed die cut.

For the last two, I added not only a vellum mat but also some little die cut embellishments for more color and fun.

STAMPlorations dies

Little B dies

 patterned paper, vellum, embossing powders

I'm taking card #3 to Daring Cardmakers Holly challenge, Happy Little Stampers AG with Dies for November as well as Die Cut Divas AG challenge.

Appreciate you stopping by. Have a great day.

spotlight on recycling christmas cards

Howdy folks! In my first spotlight tutorial of the year over at STAMPlorations I've recycled some Christmas cards to start my stash of cards for next Christmas. Here's one example. Check out the others over in the spotlight project post.

STAMPlorations inspiration #349

One last Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls for you this year!

And my last Christmas card made with ephemera pieces. 

Here's today's card.

Christmas Backgrounds ATC 1

Christmas Sentiments die

Oh My Stars stencil

 white and gold embossing pastes

Again I picked an ATC from the package and used a stencil to add some texture to my background. "Christmas" is stamped inside.

As always, you could win yourself a $15 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I should ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day!    

STAMPlorations inspiration #348

Ready for another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls?

As we roll along towards Christmas, I've been making cards with ephemera pieces. Lately I'm working with ATC backgrounds. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store.

Here's today's card.

Christmas Backgrounds ATC 1

Reindeer die

Festive stamp

 Simply Graphic frame dies, watercolors

Like on my last cards, I picked an ATC from the package and let its style and colors drive my design.

Since Santa was so colorful I decided to give him a couple colorful friends. I die cut the reindeer and added splotches of watercolor to them. I opted to give Santa a couple skinny black frames, so gave the reindeer a black shadow and used the playful "Merry" outline from that wonderful stamp set for my sentiment. "Christmas" is stamped on the inside of the card.

Again, not a very traditional creation, but it was fun to challenge myself to turn this ATC into a Christmas card. 

As always, you could win yourself a $15 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I should ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day!    

STAMPlorations inspiration #347

It's time for another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. 

As we roll along towards Christmas, I've been making cards with ephemera pieces. Lately I'm working with ATC backgrounds. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store.

Here's my card.

Christmas Backgrounds ATC 1

Patches stencil

Christmas Sentiments Phrase die

 Altenew inks

Like on my last card, I picked an ATC from the package and let its style and colors drive my design.

I thought the graphic style print behind the present looked like the Patches stencil so that's where my design took me. Stenciled some coral, pink and teals, then some splatters of water and called my background good. I die cut a word sentiment from inked cardstock, stacked it and voila!

I must admit I'm more of a "green and red Christmas" girl. But it was fun to challenge myself to turn this ATC into a Christmas card.

As always, you could win yourself a $15 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I should ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day!    

tag a la therese for day 3 of ellen hutson christmas tags

I actually look forward to this every year - Ellen Hutson's 12 Days of Christmas Tags - though sometimes my lack of planning ahead with holiday preparations gets in the way of crafting. Like in 2021. Dang.

But two birds with one stone... Got all my Christmas cookies baked with DD. I'm gifting neighbors cookies this year. DD recently moved into a new apartment and she's decided to gift her new neighbors with cookies too. So of course I offered to make some tags for her cellophane bags.

Enter Ellen's tag event. And Therese's bold and graphic Feliz Navidad tag. And exit stage left. 

Actually, I was inspired to use my new hexagon dies. And make a layered tag. And stamp a sentiment in a foreign language. But that's where the similarities end.

Meet my tags, a la Therese but more DD's style.

A couple close ups...

Action Deutschland Hexagon die

Alexandra Renke Waldtiere 1 die

Alexandra Renke 5 Tannenbaeume die

Klartext 13 mal Frohe Weihnachten stamp

Aldi patterned paper pack

I'm hooking up over at Just Add Ink too where they're looking for Christmas Gift Card Holders or Tags as well as at Happy Little Stampers AG with Die Cuts for December.

spotlight on mass producing CAS Christmas cards

Howdy friends! In my latest Spotlight Project over at STAMPlorations I produced a batch of CAS Christmas cards, letting ephemera do the hard work for me. I just stamped a couple images and added fun sentiments. Check out the tutorial here. And below you'll find all the cards I made in the process. (I mentioned in my tutorial that I'd run out of daylight to photograph all my cards - it's a December thing around here, ya know?!?)

Enjoy! And thanks for looking. I wonder if you have a favorite?

I shared this card in the post over at STAMP...

But actually made this card in my tutorial... still using black ink but relocating the design elements.

Then I decided to change up my ink color and pick up on the yellow from the ephemera...

And then green...

And finally some Christmas red. Even filled in the berries on these. The last one is my favorite piece of ephemera - driving home for Christmas, ya know? Just makes me smile :)

STAMPlorations inspiration #346

Welcome to our Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. 

And welcome to December. Can you even believe it? I've been making Christmas cards with ephemera pieces lately if you've been watching ;) Now I'm working with another kind of ephemera from the STAMP store - ATC backgrounds. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store.

Meet today's card.

Christmas Backgrounds ATC 1

Christmas Joy Laser Cut Shapes

Christmas Joy stamp

Circles All Over Texture Plate

 Altenew inks, gems, gold embossing powder, washi

Not CAS today.  I chose the bell ATC and let its style and colors drive my design.

I did some multi-color stamping of the poinsettia on the laser cut shapes, picking up on the colors on the ATC. Spritzed the inks with my mini mister to soften the image and added gems to the centers. I added washi to the ATC and heat embossed a sentiment on a die cut oval. Picking up on the ornament and bead circles on the ATC I embossed the circle texture plate onto my purple card front.

I must admit I'm more of a "green and red Christmas" girl. But it was fun to challenge myself to turn this ATC into a Christmas card.

As always, you could win yourself a $15 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I should ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day!   

STAMPlorations cas cards challenge december

Welcome to the STAMPlorations December CAS Cards challenge!

As always the challenge is to create any CAS card, with an optional color twist - this month the twist is metallic plus one color.

On the slim chance that you haven't started your Christmas cards yet, here's a super easy design for you.

Comfort and Joy stickers

Merry Go Round stencil

gold embossing paste, Festive Berries distress ink 

CAS card tip: Extend your image off the edge for more interest. Include 3 or 5 of something to please the eye (I've used four pinwheels + one good sized sentiment).

I'm looking forward to your CAS card creations this month! Your project might be chosen as one of the prize winners. 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 I ever inspire you to do some shopping ;)  Thanks for stopping over today. See you in the gallery. 

STAMPlorations inspiration #345

Welcome to today's inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. 

Lately I've been making Christmas cards with ephemera pieces. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store. And lots you can do with them. I tend to like CAS designs.

Meet today's card. 

Christmas Ephemera 1

Comfort and Joy stickers

Oh My Stars stencil

 embossing paste, die cut stars

It's CAS that's for sure. The ephemera piece needs something to anchor it so I added some stenciled stars in the corner of my card front and added a couple gold die cut stars too to create a threesome with the ornament. Three is always a good design idea, right? 

A sticker sentiment made this card super quick.

As always, you could win yourself a $15 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I should ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day!        

spotlight on easy Christmas shaker cards

Howdy peeps! Happy Thanksgiving if you're stopping by when this goes live. If it's after the fact, hope your day was great and your fridge is full of leftovers. Cuz then you can craft instead of cook!!!

I have a spotlight tutorial over at STAMPlorations for some quick and easy shaker Christmas cards. I put ephemera to work for me - ATCs to be exact. Check it out - just click on the Spotlight Projects category in the sidebar.

I had such fun I made four!

STAMPlorations inspiration #344

Welcome to today's inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. 

Lately I'm making Christmas cards with ephemera pieces. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store.

Meet today's card. 

Christmas Ephemera 1

Festive stamp

Merry Go Round stencil

 embossing paste, glitter, washi

This card was not necessarily quick and easy, but I love the design elements. That VW bus is just the cutest darn thing. Picking up on the light green color I randomly stamped my background. Picking up on the hood ornament I chose my stencil. Masked off all but two of the "candies" and applied embossing paste, sprinkling glitter on them while they were still wet. A little strip of washi along the bottom upped the fun factor don't ya think?

As always, you could win yourself a $15 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I should ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day!       

STAMPlorations inspiration #343

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. 

As we head towards Christmas, I'm making Christmas cards with ephemera pieces. I'm using the Christmas in the Air Kit #1 but any holiday ephemera will do. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store.

Here's today's card. 

Christmas Ephemera 1

Festive stamp

Crazy Double Running Stitch rectangle die

 washi

This was quick and easy too. The toughest part was choosing a red and white PP. I went with large stripes to compliment the stripes on birdie's hat and the present.

Heat embossed my sentiment and added a couple strips of washi. "Christmas" is stamped on the inside of the card to complete the sentiment!

As always, you could win yourself a $15 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I should ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day!      

STAMPlorations inspiration #342

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. 

As we head towards Christmas, I'm making Christmas cards with ephemera pieces. I'm using the Christmas in the Air Kit #1 but any holiday ephemera will do. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store.

Here's today's card. 

Christmas Ephemera 1

Merry Everything stickers

 washi

This was quick and easy but only cuz my craft room is so messy! That green die cut scrap was staring me in the face and I thought "ephemera piece needs a backdrop". Ta da. A pine forest it became ;) Cutting the Christmas tree is one of my favorite Christmas memories. Do you cut a real tree? We still do.

Added the sticker sentiment to red cardstock and a couple little washi strips. I chose kraft to continue the woodsy feel.

As always, you could win yourself a $15 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I should ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day!     

STAMPlorations inspiration #341

Welcome to our Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. 

As we head towards Christmas, I'm going to take a look at making Christmas cards with ephemera pieces. I recently got the Christmas in the Air Kit #1 (which is sold out at the moment) but any holiday ephemera will do. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store.

Meet today's card.

Christmas Ephemera 1

Festive stamp

Christmas Joy stamp

 silver embossing powder, pom pom

Another pretty quick CAS. I chose a large piece of whimsical ephemera which could "stand on its own," stamped a background for him with sentiments and added a heat embossed sentiment too. A fun pom pom added to the whimsical factor.

As always, you could win yourself a $15 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I should ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day!     

STAMPlorations inspiration #300

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team. Just so happens it's the 300th! Is that incredible or what?

Hope your Christmas was lovely, even under the circumstances. Nice of you to take time out of your day to visit my blog.

Well, I had this idea for a card design. "Get rid of 2020." I think I succeeded (and even ended up with a bit of a Grinch-y feel too, which is a win in my book!!)

Gift Builder 1 die

Numbers Plate die

When you see my card for the January CAS Cards Challenge, you'll know where today's card was born ;) I cut apart the negative piece from the die cut numbers and adhered them getting pushed off the bottom of the card by a nice big and sparkly Christmas present. Nuff said!

Because this is our 300th inspiration post, Shery is being extra generous. You could win yourself a $25 prize code to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations.

Should 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. Let's get 2020 outta here. Happy New Year!

I'm hooking up at Inspired By cuz they're happy to get rid of 2020 too! And at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday where it's about Sparkle and Shine.

STAMPlorations inspiration #299

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team

Remember my UTEEd stag from a couple weeks ago (which a few people said looked like chocolate!)? I have another one for you today. He became the center of attention on a simple collage card design. Meet my card.

 Mixed Media Grunge stamp

Two Reindeer die

Numbers Plate die

Altenew inks, UTEE powder

Stamp the flourish in green on cardbase. Adhere UTEEd stag. Die cut numbers from white and striped CS and adhere them offset with dimensional adhesive. The PP strip along the bottom is just for fun.

UTEE embossed die cuts are just so cool! They'd make great ornaments or additions to a garland, especially if you UTEE both sides.

You could win yourself a $15 prize code 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. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

CAS cards challenge december reminder

Hello there friends! Time for the mid-month reminder for the STAMPlorations CAS Cards Challenge. Here's the graphic.

As always the challenge is any CAS card, with an optional color twist - this month is red/brown.

I'm sensing a Covid related gravitation to softer colors lately. You may have noticed my red/brown in my first card morphed to red/khaki. Well my next card then morphed into khaki/pink.

Trendy Christmas Trees die
Trendy Christmas Trees stamp

Winter Mug stamp
Altenew inks, UTEE powder

Pretty simple. Stamp deer. Swipe ink pad to ground them. Die cut tree from metallic CS and hit it with two coats of UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel). Done.

CAS card tip: Add a DIY chipboard element to a simple stamped card. Make the chipboard by die cutting PP or cardstock or whatever to a second layer die cut from thicker CS or scrap cardboard.

For more fun, completely different inspiration with this die check out this post.

I'm enjoying your CAS card creations this month! Your project might be chosen as one of the prize winners. 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 doing some Christmas shopping ;)  Thanks for stopping over. See you in the gallery. 

Or at these fun challenges:

Die Cut Divas - Anything Goes

Country View Challenges - Anything Christmas

STAMPlorations inspiration #298

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

I've got another Christmas card for you today. Perhaps you saw my Spotlight over on the STAMP blog? I was having fun with UTEE powder to create my own fun chipboard. Today's card was made using the result of my experiment of UTEE on glitter cardstock.

 Trendy Christmas Trees stamp

Trendy Christmas Trees die

Oh My Stars stencil

washi, UTEE powder, embossing powder

Oh man. Glitter plus super shine! Doesn't get any more Christmassy than that. I chose to pair that sparkly red tree with charcoal CS. Added a bit of stenciling on a masked area of the cardbase and a heat embossed whimsical sentiment. Finished the design off with two strips of shiny washi.

You could win yourself a $15 prize code 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 over at:

Country View Challenges - Anything Christmas