STAMPlorations anything goes challenge march

Well hello again STAMP friends! It's time for another monthly Anything Goes challenge - the 6th of every month over at the STAMPlorations blog. Did you join the fun last month? It's time to have some fun at the March ATG challenge.

This one has basically only two elements, but so much interest due to the complexity of the background.

Circles all Over cover plate die

Perched Bird die

Thinking of you die

patterned paper

The background was made by die cutting a card front from watercolor patterned paper and then mixing up the pieces when adhering them to my cardfront. I then ran the cardfront through my die cutting maching using the cover plate to add texture to it. The two elements - a bird and sentiment die cut and stacked and voila!

CAS card tip: Only two elements for your CAS design? Make the background more interesting by adding texture to it.

I'm looking forward to your seeing your card creations this month! There will be prizes ;) a $25 prize code for a chosen card using STAMP products and even a $10 prize code chosen randomly from the entries (need not feature a STAMP product.) Please be sure to read all the challenge rules here.

And don't forget about my STAMPlorations discount code STAMPGIRLMARIA for 20% off should I ever inspire you to do some shopping ;)  See you over at the gallery. 

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. 

update on STAMPlorations (4)

Howdy friends! 

As I mentioned in my last post, even in my less prolific days you could still count on me for my weekly inspiration posts using STAMPlorations products. I've been blessed to support Shery and the store since the beginning. Things were quiet around here lately. For the following reason.

You may or may not have seen the post over at STAMP regarding Shery's hiatus. "The energizer bunny," as I've always lovingly called her, has been forced to slow down. She has cancer and is going into battle to kick its butt. 

Basically, the store is closed for the time being since Shery needs all her energy for herself and her family. But she wouldn't be Shery without keeping a couple options open. Afterall, the store provides a portion of her family's income. 

First, digi stamps are still available since they require little physical effort to send to customers. Second, Shery has, as energy allows, created some product bundles at fabulous prices which she can pack up when she's feeling up to it and then just pop in the mail when people buy them. And third, she's offering mystery bundles at an amazing discount. If you'd like to check it out, here's a link to the store and the bundles.

I posted projects using digi stamps from the STAMPlorations store last week if you want to check them out.

Today I will share projects using some of the great products included in the Birthday Bundle #1 which Shery has put together at a price that is 50% off!

Using the birthday cake cover plate and selectively coloring the die cut with markers. See this post.

Or use the cover plate to dry emboss a background.

Or cut it from craft foam to make your own stamp and use it to stamp and heat emboss the design before ink blending the background. Check out my original post for deets.

Here's a card using the phrase die included in the bundle.

 Thanks for looking and maybe even supporting Shery and the store :) 

STAMPlorations inspiration #311

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

I have a theme this month - white on white. 

Today I've added interest to a white card by adding bits and pieces cut out of two cover plate die cuts to it. Just snipped the bits out and adhered them to my card front.

The effect is easier to see in this detail photo.

 Bloomtangled 1 die

Bloomtangled 2 die

Birthday Wishes die

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 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 ;)

I'm joining the fun at:

Happy Little Stampers - March AG with Dies

spotlight on taking cover plate texture dies up a notch

I had some fun with a cover plate die. Check out my tutorial over at the STAMPlorations blog. 

STAMPlorations inspiration #211

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team where we usually feature stamps from one of our talented stamp designers. We're switching it up a little since it's finally beginning to feel like Spring around here. Spring cards it is this month!

Our Spring Fling event is also happening over at the STAMP blog. All throughout April, products in the Spring Fling section of the store will be 25% off instantly. Which means... if you use my STAMPGIRLMARIA code, you can get up to 45% off!

Today I've found my Zen doing some inlaid die cutting. I took a shortcut and colored the die cut pieces with Copics before adhering them.

 STAMPlorations Butterfly Cover Plate die 

STAMPlorations Layered Holly stamp
Copics

  

Butterfly. Spring? For sure. Now you might be wondering about the fantasy colors on my butterfly. Take a look at this month's CUTplorations challenge and it'll all make sense ;) 

image source: Eat Think and Be Merry

This is a new-to-me die so it's the first time I've used it. But for more inspiration with a cover plate die, check out this card. And this one.

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store in our Spring Fling event. And don't forget to leave a comment here for another chance. Check out today's post here. Thanks for coming by.

I'm joining the fun at:

STAMPlorations release - wanderlust/travel dies

Hope you've been enjoying the events over at STAMPlorations this month where the gals have been creating with the newly released products? Today a group of us are working with the Wanderlust/Travel word and phrase dies. You can catch the whole lineup here.

When I saw these travel related products it jogged a memory. Have a moment for a story?

My cardmaking addiction hobby actually started when I made party invitations for DH's 50th. With one circle punch and one PP pack. After that I thought I could scrapbook memories for my kids. Went online to see what other PP was out there. HA! And got sucked in. I still remember discovering online shops. And galleries. And You Tube videos. And challenges. Basically the whole wonderful world of cardmakers (as my kids would say... "oh, you mean your ooooonline friends").

Well, I never made one scrapbook page (though it's kinda funny that my file for online order invoices is titled "scrapbook" - HA!).

But back to today's project. You may have caught wind of pocket page scrapbooking ;) Now that, folks, could be much more my style; I basically used to do it. Kind of. When I was in college I'd cut out words and sentences from magazines and add them into my photo album as captions or overlays for my photos. Ahead of my time, I was ;)

So I decided to make myself some cards/journal cards/whatever they're called (these dies are the perfect size and attitude for just that) in case I ever actually decide to do some scrapbooking!

STAMPlorations Wanderlust stamp

STAMPlorations Trendy Butterflies stamp

STAMPlorations Aloha word die

STAMPlorations Just Go word die

STAMPlorations Bloomtangled 2 die

STAMPlorations Bubbles stencil

distress inks

embossing powder

sewing machine

They're 3x4" with rounded corners. Kept the color scheme the same and quite limited. Used blues thinking they might go well with photos of lovely blue skies from our last road trip.... Not much more I can do now to make that scrapbook page happen than to JUST DO IT, eh?

I'd actually thought of doing the journal cards on old map paper. But then (it's graduation time, ya know?) I came up with this idea as a way to gift money.

STAMPlorations Wanderlust stamp

STAMPlorations Just Go word die

old map
twine

Glued an old map (make it extra special by using a map of the recipient's destination) to CS and die cut the pillow box. Then I stamped a strip of CS and die cut "just go". I decided I liked the look of the negative better than the positives so I added a touch of twine and adhered the negative to the pillow box and called it good to go.

I hope you're enjoying the projects from the rest of the girls today. I just love all the new wanderlust projects. Maybe cuz I just love to travel...

Thanks for coming by. I'm stopping by these challenges:
Kreativtanten - Alles Geht
Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies

Paper Players - Sketch