STAMPlorations inspiration #185

DH and I are currently in the US and today just happens to be our anniversary. Happy 25th to us!

We've another inspiration post from the inspiration DT today and I've got a happy rainbow creation for this happy day. This month, I'm creating with the latest Stamp Club set, Art Expressions. What a selection of images!

 STAMPlorations Art Expressions stamp
Crazy Double Running Stitch rectangle die

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Recognize this design? I've CASEd this card by Ashley T.  Love her video. Watercolored a panel of Bristol. Die cut it (and a vellum panel and a white CS panel). Randomly stamped the artsy images. No coloring necessary cuz they have those nice solid areas within the images. Yippie!!! Splattered with white paint and black spray ink. Added spots of color to the sentiment and voila! A rainbowed artsy mess!

A reminder that during the STAMP summer break, every Tuesday all stamps, dies and stencils in the shop are 15% off. Use my code STAMPGIRLMARIA to get an additional 20% off. One random commenter will win a $10 GC this month too.

guest designing at Paper Girls

Howdy! I'm happy to be joining the ladies at Paper Girls Challenge today where for the next two weeks the theme is "Embossing". I went with a couple variations on dry embossing.

 Craft Concepts Woodgrain folder

Lifestyle Crafts Woven folder

Simply Graphic rectangle die

STAMPlorations 5 Love Words die

Hero Arts Thinking of You stamp

pink acrylic paint

sequins

Must admit these items were all discovered in my stash as I was organizing my craft room. Saw those soft, spring-y colors and pulled them out to finally use. A bit ago I had had a go at dry embossing in conjunction with acrylic paint. The BG was dry embossed and then I sponged paint across the raised areas and around the edges. The smaller panel I had painted and splattered with gold spray ink before dry embossing. The stamped image was colored with markers and spritzed before stamping.

Just did some die cutting and arranging and the result was this birthday card!

How about doing some embossing and joining the challenge?!? I'm joining the fun at:
The Flower Challenge - Anything Goes

Joy Clair - March Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers - AG with Dies March

Cuttlebug Mania - Springtime

spring is in the air - part 2

I've got spring on my brain. Can't help but think it's coming. One of these days.

And it helps that I got some happy mail from Alexandra Renke! Did you see yesterday's post? Back with more Cross in a Circle today.

Alexandra Renke Berries and Wreath die

Alexandra Renke Cross in a Circle die
Simply Graphic Rectangles die

Impression Obsession Easter Seals stamp

My apologies. The same sun that is making me all spring-y is also making photos of white cards extremely difficult! Here. Maybe you can see the heat embossed sentiment. 

When's the last time you rounded a corner on a card?!?!?!

Alexandra Renke Berries and Wreath die

Alexandra Renke Cross in a Circle die

Impression Obsession Easter Seals stamp

And this last bit of gelli print was still laying around. Not anymore. This time with neon bunnies peeking through. I'm getting kind of tired of this design ;)

 Alexandra Renke Berries and Wreath die

Papertrey Ink Egg die

Impression Obsession Rabbits die

Impression Obsession Easter Seals stamp

Can you believe March is on its way?!? Hope you're enjoying your weekend! I'm joining the fun at Simon Says Wednesday - Create your own BG and at AAA Card Challenge - Die Cuts Only.

cat on a hot tin roof

I'm CAS(E)-ing a sketch for you today. Twice actually. My first idea did not turn out as I'd hoped. But I like what happened then.

Back to the beginning... I was lucky to win some Rubber Dance stamps over at Craft Stamper TIMI and I chose the whimsical houses designed by Susanne R. For some reason (never try to understand what goes on in my head... which reminds me... did you see this at Ellen Hutson?)...

...how 'bout that chocolate?!?... and while I was washing dishes and thinking about the framed-with-florals sketch and wondering how I could work whimsical houses into my creation, I remembered creating a village with masking like on this card and as the village came into my mind's eye so did the cat stamp I recently picked up as well as "cat on a hot tin roof" so it was a done deal. Lots of roofs and cats instead of florals. Following?

So I masked and stamped away. And stamped and fussy cut cats. And agonized for ages over the "frame". Geesh. What'd I come up with? A circle. Brilliant, eh? And the sentiment (I wasn't going to NOT use it, cuz punny), well it sure isn't the right size/shape. But. Please meet card #1.

Rubber Dance houses stamp

Kaisercraft cat stamp

MFT radial circle die

distress oxides

Actually, I forgot to mention that I first spent an hour putting these Rubber Dance rubber stamps onto EZ Mount. Been ages since I'd done that! Remember that sticky goo?!? And while I was at it I did the same with some rubber stamps I ordered from Alisa Burke (know her?) ages ago. Um, yep. Finally. Surprised the rubber hadn't cracked. But that, my friends, remains for tomorrow's blog post... Stay tuned.

So. One of the stamps I'd mounted and cut was a trio of houses. A trio. Like the florals framing the frame on the sketch! Lightbulb. Meet card #2.

Simply Graphic frame die

Technique Tuesday hello die

watercolors

Weird. I know. But me likey better. Used a snippet of gelli plate print for the die cut. And gave the houses a touch of watercolor. Dad's neighbors have sold their house. I think this may be heading their way.

So. Did I freak you out with the glimpse inside my head? If so, sorry. I'm playing at a couple other challenges too which may have added to my brain stress.

CASE this Sketch - #254

Rubber Dance - January

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Add a Sentiment
Pixie's Crafty Workshop - Snippets (circle frame and blue rectangle, "hello")

tissue paper on acetate

I never made it to the game, but CAS Mix Up had a fun technique in the July challenge - using tissue paper. In various ways actually.

Now I'm a big one on using up leftovers as you know. I often reach for scrap or toilet or tissue paper to mop up leftover ink when I'm doing a technique. And I really love Loll T.'s idea of adhering it to acetate and die cutting it.

Did you see my Spotlight post over at STAMPlorations two weeks ago - Water Bleaching Distress Oxides? Well I had a blob of leftover ink on my craft mat during my project and tissue paper came to the rescue. This week's Spotlight post - The Joys of Tissue Paper - explained how I made a card with it. And today's post uses up the last bit of the tissue paper/acetate. And watercolored tissue paper!

Whew! Ready?

I attached (with multi medium matte) the last bit of torn tissue paper (mopped up Wilted Violet, Broken China and Iced Spruce Distress Oxides with it) to a card stamped with a freebie from Sweet Stamp Shop. Adhered a frame (Simply Graphic Rectangles) and outline dragonfly (CUTplorations Dragonfly Layering) cut from hammered gold CS. This die is new to me. I love it.

Then I glued on the tissue paper/acetate solid dragonfly. Voila! If you haven't tried this technique yet, trust me you're gonna love it!

See ya next week.

simply graphic on distress ink smoosh again

Yep, that's what today's post brings - another twofer with one of the smooshed Distress Ink backgrounds I created.

You met my new Simply Graphic crocodile yesterday. Is that what he is? Don't really know but he's lean and lank and I like him!

Today's card used the negatives (yesterday's leftovers) from Rectangles and Doudous from Simply Graphic, some stamp surgery on Papertrey Belated Birthday Mini and a word from Tim Holtz Holiday Words Block (which obviously isn't just for the holidays!)

I couldn't resisit using that negative of "wishes" to go with the negative of the croc, whom I decided to back with some zebra striped PP. I love all the B/W on this. So playful, don't you think?

Have a great one! I'm enjoying some vacay with my Dad in MI as you read this... CU again next week.

simply graphic on distress ink smoosh

Yep, that's what today's post brings.

I had a go at another of the smooshed backgrounds I created. Picked the faint blue/green one that you can barely see in the upper right corner of the IG photo. (Actually... notice the grid pattern on it? That's cuz I used my lined acrylic block and used the lined side to smoosh with. Oops. It leaves a line where the ink pools on the block. Well for this session it didn't really matter :)

Of course I had to reach for my new Simply Graphic dies again - I like the twofer effect, like in this post. Today I used Rectangles and Doudous.

To finish it off I did some stamp surgery on Papertrey Belated Birthday Mini. A strip of B/W PP along the bottom and voila! (When you see tomorrow's card, you'll know where I got the inclination to use a pop of B/W!)

Have a great one!

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 :)

give a girl the right dies...

Oh my goodness. Simply Graphic dies... simply exquisite.

I ordered several (so hard to choose which ones) and now I'm certain that at least three of them were definitely worth it.

Did you see my photo on IG last week? I had a Distress-Ink-on-acrylic-block session after watching Jennifer M.'s video. Well today I took one of those little rectangles of color and made these two cards with it using positives and negatives. I think they speak for themselves.
I know I'm enamored!

Picked Raspberry

Mustard Seed

Salty Ocean

duo love

cadres cectangles fins irréguliers

fleurs abstraites

I'm hooking these up at Freshly Made Sketches , Basteltraum and Happy Little Stampers.

winnie walter hi birthday girl

Had to give it a go when I saw this color combo at Winnie and Walter's June color challenge.

"Tactile" was all I could think. How about rows of satin adhered to cardstock and die cut with that In a Word "hi"? In the end, laziness won out, but tactile remains in the form of  Simply Graphic die cuts popping off the page. And a nod to the black lines with some hint of woodgrain from Scenery: Into the Woods to ground the "hi".

Can you guess how I "colored" those leaves? Grabbed some pink, turquoise, yellow and olive Adirondack inks - I still love the vibrancy of these inks - and stamped sentiments from Sentimental Winter with them and spritzed with Perfect Pearl/water mix to get a little ink bleed before die cutting the leaves! Who cares if they read "sparkle and shine" and "happy new year" and "tidings of comfort and joy"? You can't really decipher them!

I'm playing at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where it's Anything Goes this week. CU there ;)

an indigo mood board

The goddess of layers, Kate L, put together a fabulous moodboard, rich in layers and indigo hues. Have you seen it over on IG? I was quick on the take with a technique idea but slow with a design.

My self-imposed constraints for my crafting session were: two anniversary cards (needed) incorporating die cut die cuts (to play at Seven Hills Crafts June challenge). 

What catches your eye amidst that beauty? My eye was drawn to that gown. I saw die cut waste, gold embossing and distress inking! This is what I made.

The couple whose wedding I stood up to in a peach gown way back when gets a piece of peachy PP behind the die cut die cuts (one inked with Tea Dye and Festive Berries) and various bloom die cuts in navy on the smaller heart.

I stood up to this recipient couple's wedding in teal - couldn't make that happen here ;) Brought in more lines in a nod to that cool pant suit in the form of PP and washi. Used feathers on the smaller heart. And added some tiny red hearts to mimic a tab on the left. Hearts = love = anniversary.

Thanks for the inspiration Kate! And thanks for stopping by today.

heart dies

triangle die cuts

geometric stamp

blooms die

long leaf die

leafy branch die

tall numbers die

tiny heart/scallop die

feathers die

small numbers die