STAMPlorations inspiration #237

Time for another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team.

Like I said last week, I've accepted that summer is over and I'm loving Autumn (except for the rain that's delaying our harvest of the Riesling on the steep slopes). I had pulled out a gelli print background for last week's card and used a part of it for today's too. Also pulled out some PP ;)

 STAMPlorations Hello die

STAMPlorations Trendy Leaves 2 die
Lil Inker Stitched Circle die
patterned paper

After I die cut the circle from the gelli print I die cut the leaf out of it. Backed it with a larger circle cut from green PP. Adhered both circles to a panel of PP and then topped it off with the gold "hello". I really love that die.

For other ideas with this die check out this card. And this one.

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 here. And I'd love it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off if you're placing an order from the store.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm stopping by at:
Die Cut Divas - Fall or Fall Colors
Creative Friday - Autumn
Basteltraum - Autumn

simon says stamp - parental props goes beachy

Have you seen the latest SSS release, Celebrate You? I'm back with another make with the stamp set from CZ Design, Parental Props.

This time I focused on the abundance of wonderful sentiments. Thinking this would be for my Dad this year for Father's Day and since he lives on Lake Huron, I took a background (marbled with Alcohol Inks) from my stash that reminded me of the lake and horizon, and keeping it clean and simple let the message do all the work.

 SSS Parental Props stamp

Lil Inker Stitched rectangles die

Alcohol inks

black embossing powder

Easy peasy. Used my MISTI to line up all the sentiments. Stamped and heat embossed them then die cut the center of the panel and popped it up with craft foam. Added the gold star from my stash cuz, you know, "award"... "best in class"... "gold star from the teacher"...

So check out the release if you haven't, and all the makes with it in the gallery at Simon Says Stamp. I'll be back with more. Thanks mucho, Simon.

I'm playing at:

Creative Friday - For a Man

spellbinders dance for joy

Ever since I saw this die it tickled my fancy (see the pooch nipping at the last girl's dress?). So I got it! I do love silhouette dies. And what to do with them? Well, there are several, albeit limited options. I went with the classic, black silhouette...

I pulled out an old inked and stamped-off piece that had some blues and greens in it, reminiscent of the sky and grass. I die cut it and adhered the silhouette to it, hanging it over the edge a bit for added interest. Then, cuz I didn't know what do for a background behind this piece, I decided to give an acetate card front a try. I really like how it turned out.

 Spellbinders Dance for Joy die

Lil Inker Stitched Rectangle die

distress inks

See the subtle stamped print in the BG? So unexpected, but pretty.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm stopping by at these fun challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Anything Goes

Basteltraum - Die/Stencil

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Fusion - Penguin Love (that photo of the three loving penguins plus the Fusion colors... I think my card fits the challenge)

simon says stamp - outline clustered leaves gone white

I've one more make for you using the gorgeous Outline Clustered Leaves die from the latest release over at Simon Says Stamp called You are Loved. See it there in the photo - in white on Shari's red card.

Meet my white card.

SSS Outline Clustered Leaves die

Lil Inker Stitched Rectangles die
SSS Smile die
patterned paper  

distress inks

sequins

Here's a close-up.

Once again I've used bits of that PP pad that fell into my basket at the dollar store (Action, for those of you in Germany) ;) This time I've used some coral and some print with coral and lilac feathers just to add a touch of color to the card. I used the negative pieces of the Smile die cut glued to a white circle for my sentiment, and inked it ombre lilac.

To add interest to the BG panel I die cut the Online Clustered Leaves twice from cardboard and dry embossed a panel of Neenah 80 lb. CS. Adhered this panel askew to my lilac cardbase. I adhered only a segment of one white die cut vine, and only put glue on the stems to give that wispy feel.

Be sure to check out the release if you haven't, and all the makes with it in the gallery at Simon Says Stamp. I'm happy I got to have some "fun" with this new set. Thanks mucho, Simon.

I'm playing at:
A2Z Scrapbooking - Anything Goes

SSS Work it Wednesday - December Try Something New (my die!)
Challenge up your Life - All New (the die and the patterned paper pad are brand new!)
Cuttlebug Mania - New (the die and the patterned paper pad are brand new!)

more faux metallic for christmas

Did you see my makes yesterday? I made a couple Christmas cards with an oldie but goodie technique. A great idea for adding a metallic touch to a project is Perfect Pearls. With the faux metal technique (a la Jennifer M.) you brush them onto a Distress Inked area while it is still damp. I thought I'd give the technique a try with Distress Oxides.

So the Oxides have a longer open time than the Inks. And therefore will pick up even more of the Perfect Pearls powder if you lay it on too heavily. Like I did. Got some mega streaks. Oh well.

But a positive side effect is that after using a water/Perfect Pearls mixture in a mini mister to lightly spray the finished area and set the Perfect Pearls, the oxidation droplets appeared where there were larger water droplets and that's kinda cool!

When the inked/pearlized panel was dry I die cut the rectangles and then dry embossed them. Die cut some iconic Christmas figures and heat embossed some sentiments and then assembled my cards.

STAMPlorations Christmas Icon Angel die

STAMPlorations Christmas Icon Nativity die
Lil Inker Stitched Rectangles die
Winnie and Walter Comfort and Joy stamp

Altenew Lyrical Script stamp

We R Memory Keepers Geometric embossing folder

Distress Oxides - Lucky Clover, Cracked Pistachio

Perfect Pearls

Still love this technique. And those embossing folders. I'm in the middle of Christmas cookie baking. How about you?

I'm playing at:
CAS on Friday - Make a holiday card
SSS Wednesday Challenge - AG
SSS Work it Wednesday - Ho Ho Holiday

faux metallic for christmas

Christmastime is sparkle time, right?

I made a few more Christmas cards with an oldie but goodie technique. A great idea for adding a metallic touch to a project is Perfect Pearls. With the faux metal technique (a la Jennifer M.) you brush them onto a Distress Inked area while it is still damp. I thought I'd give the technique a try with Distress Oxides.

So the Oxides have a longer open time than the Inks. And therefore will pick up even more of the Perfect Pearls powder if you lay it on too heavily. Like I did. Got some mega streaks. Oh well.

But a positive side effect is that after using a water/Perfect Pearls mixture in a mini mister to lightly spray the finished area and set the Perfect Pearls, the oxidation droplets appeared where there were larger water droplets and that's kinda cool!

When the inked/pearlized panel was dry I die cut the rectangles and then dry embossed them. Die cut some iconic Christmas figures and heat embossed some sentiments and then assembled my cards.

STAMPlorations Two Reindeer die

STAMPlorations Trendy Christmas Trees die
Lil Inker Stitched Rectangles die

SSS Winter Scene stamp

Winnie and Walter Comfort and Joy stamp

We R Memory Keepers Geometric embossing folder

Distress Oxides - Lucky Clover, Cracked Pistachio

Perfect Pearls

Still love this technique. And those embossing folders. Come back tomorrow for the red versions.

I'm playing at:
SSS Wednesday Challenge - AG
SSS Work it Wednesday - Ho Ho Holiday

spellbinders heart like a wildflower - positive negative

I was lucky to get the Spellbinders Heart like a Wildflower etched die from the Stephanie Low collection to play with and today I have two more card ideas for you that showcase the fun you can have with die cut positives and negatives. Seems like so often I find myself more inspired by the negatives!

Here is the die. For today's cards I used only the die on the bottom left! 

In this post I mentioned that when test driving the intricate dies, the first thing I noticed was the cool negative space they make. (Those two dies on the top are to create "shadows" for the intricate dies and though I will have examples of that too, I'm still just playing with the positive and negatives of the intricate leaf and wildflower branches.) So I cut the leaf branch from a black rectangle.

Because I needed another sympathy card, I used the same design idea and made this with the positive die cut.

  Spellbinders Heart like a Wildflower Etched die

Kartenkunst Trauer stamp
Distress Oxides

Then I die cut a few more and used the negatives...

Spellbinders Heart like a Wildflower Etched die

Hero Arts All Occasion Messages stamp
PP
gold embossing powder

washi

I added a tropical PP to my cardbase and foam mounted the negatives. I added a heat embossed sentiment on a strip of washi and voila! I love the mix of B/W graphic with the natural elements, don't you?

Thank you to Team Spellbinders for this lovely die to create with. I'm joining in at:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Anniversary/Wedding

Daring Cardmakers - Tropical
Crafty Hazelnut's PP Challenge - June
Happy Little Stampers - June AG with Dies

Crafter's Cafe - Tic Tac Toe (I've used white, PP and embossing)

2 Sisters on the blog - #16

spellbinders heart like a wildflower - rainbow

I was lucky to get the Spellbinders Heart like a Wildflower etched die from the Stephanie Low collection to play with and I have two super easy card ideas for you that showcase the watercolor with black as well as the nature with graphic combos that I love so much. And I used up some artsy backgrounds from my stash in the process!

Here is the die. For today's cards I used only the die on the right! 

When I did a test drive of that die, the first thing I noticed was the cool negative space it makes. So I cut it from a black rectangle and backed it with a smooshed Distress Oxide piece from my stash.

  Spellbinders Heart like a Wildflower Etched die

Kartenkunst Trauer stamp
Distress Oxides
PP snippet

I added a strip of striped PP to the edge of the panel and ran my sympathy sentiment vertically too.

Then I used the positive die cut as a silhouette in the foreground of a bright watercolored strip. Inspired by this card I made a bit ago.

Spellbinders Heart like a Wildflower Etched die

STAMPlorations Trendy Spring Blooms stamp
watercolors

washi

I added a heat embossed sentiment on vellum and a touch of gold/black graphic washi for balance at the base of the focal panel. It took me forever to figure out exactly how I wanted to do my sentiment on this thank you card, but it's super easy to recreate if you like the idea ;) I blogged about the watercolored piece here.

Thank you to Team Spellbinders for this lovely die to create with. I'm joining in at:

Pinspirational - #216 (card #1)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Anything Goes

Watercooler Wednesday - Anything Goes

christmas card set - charlie und paulchen

So it's never too late to add a new stamp set to your Christmas arsenal, right?

Who has the sweetest face in the animal kingdom? I've always thought Labrador puppies and fawns with their big, round eyes. So can you understand how when I saw this precious fawn from Charlie und Paulchen, a new-to-me company in Germany, he/she just had to come live at my house?

I'm back today with a set of cards for my neighbor gifts that just happened. I kept trying out ways to use an image like this, not your typical stamp. Not all results are great, but I'll share them with you anyway ;)

 multicolor inked with Altenew ink cubes

heat embossed - Lil Inker Stitched Rectangles,  Klartext Frohe Weihnachten, pine punch

 masked and stamped with tiny golden dots 

 stamped with Distress Oxides and clear heat embossed, Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

and stamped off with the leftover Distress Oxides, Winnie and Walter Audrey Cutaways and topped with a punched bow!

 and while I was embossing, why not a gold one on black CS?

So whaddyasay? Are you a fawn fan? Do you have a favorite design from my lineup? I think I might like the first and last ones best.

I'm joining these challenges:
Inkspirational - Designers Choice

Addicted to Stamps and More - Clean and Simple

HLS November CAS Challenge

christmas card set - just add ink sketch

Oops. Before I bring in the bears I have to pop in with this set of cards which was inspired by a pad of PP I bought at the local dollar store (Tedi for anyone in the listening area!) and a sketch from Just Add Ink #385.

And since the challenge closes soon, I'm squeaking these in. Playing at:
HLS Anything Goes with Dies November 
Where Creativity meets C9- Christmas
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes
12 Months of Christmas Linkup - Star Struck too!

The patterns on the paper inspired the "feel" I went for on each card with my take on the sketch.

Number one. Went with the busiest paper and kept the embellishing simple. But glittered! And I thought my latest product from Simon Says Stamp (thanks, Simon) would do well cut up for the three "banners".

STAMPlorations Gift Builder #2, SSS Fa La La

and Fa La La stamp set

Number two. One sheet of  PP fits two cards perfectly, so...

STAMPlorations Christmas Baubles #1, Lil Inker Stitched Rectangles, Concord and 9th O Christmas Tree

Number three. Stars go well with angels, don't you think?

STAMPlorations Christmas Icons Angel, SSS Holiday Shapes Hearts Stars, Cottage Cutz Loops Edger, Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

Number four. The stars needed to be a bit bolder so golden they became!

STAMPlorations Christmas Icons Angel, PTI Sketched Stars, Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

Number five. This paper is such fun, had to embellish with "fun" vellum dots and a sparkly tree!

STAMPlorations Trendy Christmas Trees, Lil Inker Stitched Rectangles, Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

Hope you've enjoyed. I sure enjoyed creating within the restrictions of sketch and PP, just trying to create a different feel for each card. Back with the bears tomorrow!

anniversary a la clean up my desk

Had a request for an anniversary card. So I made one , a couple, many. And you got to see them all! Cuz today's is the last :)

Meet my card. This was really a get-into-the-anniversary-mode freebie. Cuz I just picked up scraps from this card off my desk and voila. I do prefer the original better, the colors, wispy die cuts... but this one's already on its way too!

Digi Papers are from The Lily Pad Herbology.

Cut my panels with Lil Inker Stitched Rectangles, hearts with Sizzix Hearts, blooms with Simply Graphic and sentiment with CUTplorations Hugs. Oh and there's a portion of that vellum cut with MFT Peek a Boo Polka Dots.

If you've been following my series of anniversary cards, did you have a favorite?

Hope your week is off to a great start. I'm starting my packing list for summer vacay in MI :)

STAMPlorations january release - day 1

 

It's hop time with the STAMPlorations Inspiration DT. Ready to see the new stamps and dies in action? Pull up a seat. You can check out the whole blog hop lineup in this post, BTW. Until February 10, all 4 stamps and 3 plate dies from the January release are 5% off automatically. (Don't forget the discount code in my sidebar ;)

The star of today's post is Shery's Noteworthy 2. (So excited to see some of the sentiments I'd suggested show up in this set!)

I CASEd myself for today's card. Maybe you remember this one.

When looking for a way to showcase a sentiment from Noteworthy 2, I thought about creating a BG with it. Or part of a background. Since I'd decided to try to work with red, orange, yellow and blues for this hop, I even kept the yellow and red color scheme the same.

After stamping the BG, I adhered a panel of PP and two alphabet plate (coming later this week) leftovers before adhering my circle die cut which I'd stamped with seven chicks and one "exception" from Fowl Play (coming tomorrow).

U be the judge. Does it get my "U be the Exception" message across? I don't know why but the whole things gives me some kind of galactic vibe...

Check out the rest of the inspiration from the DT here and see how and where you can comment to win some great prizes too!