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 - gratitude bundle

Guten Tag. I'm back with some cards I made with another bundle being offered at a super price over at STAMPlorations right now. 

You're probably aware that Shery is going through cancer treatments right now, but she's still finding time to do some work in the shop. You can check out all the bundles on offer here.

In this post I worked with some dies included in the Gratitude Bundle (I love this bundle!) - 1 cover plate, 1 modern trees stand-alone die plus 2 phrase dies all for under $34!!  If you love ephemera, Shery's got a bundle for that too, check out this post.

First I had a play with the phrase dies. I'd picked a color palette of alcohol markers for some Christmas cards (coming soon) so since they were still out I decided to color some strips of paper and play with some stripes.

One on a stenciled BG.

One on PP.

Then I took one of the modern trees, colored more paper scraps with my alcohol markers and die cut the solid pieces from them. Die cut the outline pieces from black, adhered them all plus a sentiment and voila! Super CAS.

STAMPlorations dies

STAMPlorations sentiment

alcohol markers

I'm taking card #2 to Timeout challenge because of the "grateful heart" sentiment, Cut it Up Thanks or Thanksgiving as well as Double D where it's a Grateful theme.

Thanks for coming by.

STAMPlorations inspiration #366

Hi there STAMP friends. Time again for a Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration gals. 

One more make with the "chicks and carrots" Easter vibe ...

Fowl Play stamp

 Tweet Love die

Distress Oxides

Super CAS here. I wanted to use up the strips I'd used when masking this card, so I die cut some little chicks from it. Found a mama hen and a fitting sentiment in Fowl Play and voila. Of course, washi up top is always a good idea.

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 inspire you to order something from the store, if you use my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code you receive an additional 20% off your order.  Appreciate you stopping by. Enjoy your Tuesday. 

STAMPlorations inspirations #365

Happy day, STAMP friends! Time again for a Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration gals. 

Still feeling the "chicks and carrots" Easter vibe around here;)

Bold Florals stencil

Peony Two stencil

Skinny Sentiments die

Distress Oxides

Inspired by Nicole W, I'm having fun with stencils. First I inked yellow through the Bold Florals stencil (its pattern is a bit smaller). Then I removed that stencil and put down the Peony (large open spaces) and inked orange through it. I think the result is kind of dreamy.

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 inspire you to order something from the store, if you use my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code you receive an additional 20% off your order.  Appreciate you stopping by. Enjoy your Tuesday.  

STAMPlorations inspiration #364

Happy April friends. First time this month I'm popping in for a Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration gals. We had a lovely two weeks in South Tyrol in the snow and then apparently brought Covid home with us so it took me a while to get back into the swing of things. Hope you are well.

I'm feeling the "chicks and carrots" Easter vibe around here. That's reflected in my cards this month ;)

Circular Two stencil

Bloomdala Bliss Festive die

Skinny Sentiments die

Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle die

Distress Oxides

Inspired by Nicole W, I'm having fun with stencils. Today I masked off portions of the stencil while inking to get the yellow and orange stripes through the design. Added a die cut and a negative die cut sentiment and called it busy enough ;)

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 inspire you to order something from the store, if you use my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code you receive an additional 20% off your order.  Appreciate you stopping by. Enjoy your Tuesday. 

STAMPlorations giving thanks blog hop

 

Howdy friends. Welcome to our seventh Giving Thanks Blog Hop celebration!  Hope you have time to check it out because there are plenty of prizes to be won.

Today I have a card made with a stamp set and a design I really like. I love it as a one layer card, but decided to layer it up a little today.

STAMPlorations Leaves of Thanks stamp

STAMPlorations Succulently die

Altenew and Distress Oxide inks, Heidi Swapp gold spray ink, gold embossing powder

Since I was layering, no masking was needed. I just stamped the various leaves in various fall colors around the area my sentiment was going to go. Added some splatters. Then I die cut and heat embossed the sentiment. Inked the die cut with oxide ink to match the orange leaves and gold embossed the edges too.

Hope you'll celebrate thankfulness with us.  Each morning when I wake I tell myself what I'm grateful to be able to do this day! I'm grateful for the opportunity to play with STAMPlorations fun products and hope that I'm able to inspire you to create too.

I mentioned prizes. There are $10 prizes up for grabs just for leaving comments on the stops on the hop. And there are generous prizes to be awarded randomly to three people who make a card and link it up to the linky party. Plus, Shery is always so generous there'll probably be other surprises too. The party ends December 8th. Hope you'll join us!

To see what the other gals have created check out this post. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

altenew november inspiration - take 1 and 2

Sooo. I came back to Germany with some new craft goodies and some fun 3D embossed panels my cousin was kind enough to share with me when we got together for a cardmaking date.

It just so happens they were Altenew 3D folders.

And it just so happens that the November Altenew Inspiration Challenge is a beauty. 

Those colors! Those leaves! I was off to create...

My first thought was to use a dry embossed panel with some of my new distress oxides in yellow, pink and purple.

Altenew Flowers and Leaves embossing folder

Altenew Virginia Rose 3D die

distress oxides, Maggie Holmes chipboard

And then I decided to use the same oxide colors on a card for a friend who lost her mom a month ago. I went with "thinking of you" instead of "sympathy" since it's been a little while. Doesn't that layered bloom pair well with the lovely outline stamp? I'm hooking this one up at SSS Wednesday Challenge - Thinking of you.

Altenew Delicate Bouquet stamp

Garden Picks 3D die

distress oxides

I'm not done yet. The ideas just kept on coming.

And I totally love Autumn. Here's a peek of what I get to enjoy in my yard this time of year. No filters added ;) Hope you're having a lovely weekend.

STAMPlorations inspiration #317

Welcome back for another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. 

I'm back with my last creation using my Flexi Template theme this month. I've used the ovals again today.

This time I used the four smallest masks, lined up the bottom edges and fanned them out a bit. I inked the three "channels" first with Tumbled Glass, Mermaid Lagoon and Blueprint Sketch and then I offset them slightly and inked with Citron, Tumbled Glass and Mermaid Lagoon.

 Oval Flexi Templates

Super Hero stamp

Distress Oxides, white gel pen, black Sharpie

Thought those arcs would lend themselves well to Mr Super Hero. I love this little guy and that KAPOW sentiment! 

Hope you've enjoyed this series with the Flexi Templates. What would you do with the templates - I'd love to hear your ideas.

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 - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

STAMPlorations inspiration #316

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

Back with more of STAMPlorations Flexi Templates - the rectangles again. Like in my first card this month, I used the same three  overlapping rectangles, just flipped the orientation.

 Rectangle Flexi Templates

Bloomfully Wonderful stamp

Distress Oxides - Twisted Citron, Tumbled Glass, Mermaid Lagoon, Blueprint Sketch

Do you have any of these Flexi Templates? Are you liking what you're seeing? They are new and different in my crafting world.

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 - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

I'm joining the fun at SSS Monday - Bright Cheerful Colors and Always Fun where it's Anything Goes.

STAMPlorations inspiration #315

Welcome back for another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. 

I'm back with another card using my Flexi Template theme this month. These masks were designed by my teamie Monika S. and there is so much you can do with them. 

I used the oval templates today and by lining up three, taping them together, flipping them over and carefully pulling off the middle one you get a "masked channel" you can apply ink through. I used sponge daubers and distress oxides. (Check out my last Spotlight tutorial over at STAMPlorations for more deets.)

 Oval Flexi Templates

Flutter Zen 2 die

Life is Sweeter stamp

Distress Oxides - Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick, Abandoned Coral, Aged Mahogany

Intrigued by the Flexi Templates? Just keep watching...

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 - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

I'm playing over at Bastel Traum - Butterfly. 

spotlight on flexi templates

I'm over on the STAMPlorations blog today having fun with some Flexi Templates to make this one layer card. Check it out. 

STAMPlorations things with wings hop and linky party

Spring has sprung and it's time for our annual Things with Wings event. Help us celebrate Spring by creating a winged-themed project and hooking up at the linky party and you could be a lucky winner of some fun prizes. I was inspired to have a little mixed media fun by the colors in the graphic and a butterfly stencil.
  

Hello word die 

Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle die

 Shower of Flutters stencil 

 Fluttery stamp
distress oxides, Heidi Swapp Pink Color Shine

I can't actually tell you exactly what I did! I played. I inked the whole piece with Tattered Rose. I put the stencil down on one side and added more ink. Flipped the stencil to the other side and went around the edges with Lilac. Repeated with Peacock Feathers. And spritzed water many times in between. Stamped a few butterflies. Wet the stencil and pressed it down to get the oxidation too. Oh - and I splattered!

For extra fun I stacked three word die cuts and then heat embossed it three times!

If you'd like to see a different look with this unique stencil check out this card.

Have you seen the April CAS Cards challenge? The optional colors are navy and pale pink. Sounds like perfect colors to me for a Things with Wings creation...

So with our Things with Wings event you could win yourself various prizes by leaving a comment and/or playing along with us. Check out today's post here for the details and the link up. Thanks for coming by today. 

STAMPlorations inspiration #314

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

Again I have a theme for you this month. I got my hands on some of STAMPlorations Flexi Templates, so I'll be playing with them. Fun stuff. 

So I pulled the rectangle templates out of the cellophane and a couple corners got stuck together. That gave me an instant inspiration. This happened.

 Rectangle Flexi Templates

Bloomfully Remember stamp

Distress Oxides - Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick, Abandoned Coral, Aged Mahogany

Intrigued by the Flexi Templates? Just keep watching...

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 - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

I'm joining the Anything Goes fun at SSS Wednesday Challenge and The Flower Challenge - Pastels.

simon says stamp - capital B beautiful

Spring has sprung. At least it has in the latest release from Simon Says Stamp called Hello Beautiful and there's lots to inspire you. Check it out here.

One of the dies in the new release is called Capital B Beautiful, how appropriate is that? It's a great size for a slimline card, but my first two cards show how it works on a landscape layout of an A2 card too. It's easy to combine it with  stamps or other word dies you already own. As you'll see, I what I love most about it is its shadow...

 SSS Capital B Beautiful die

 SSS Big Scripty Greetings stamp

SSS Hello You stamp

SSS On Edge stamp

SSS Mega Deco stencil

Charlie und Paulchen Hohlsaumrahmen die, Action Deutschland PP, alcohol markers, black embossing powder, washi, distress oxides

Fun tidbits about the cards?

The first packs a punch thanks to the rainbow colored shadow for the word die and the die (and sentiment) being shiny and raised thanks to heat embossing.

The second my CAS heart absolutely loves. The die cut shadow on the front allows the stacked sentiment (rainbowed) to peek through.

The third, well who doesn't love when pink, yellow and blue distress oxides yield a rainbow. I actually think I love this sentiment/shadow most in the B/W combo I used here.

Check out all the makes with the products from the Hello Beautiful release in the gallery here. And in case you missed them, check out the blog hops for more inspiration. Thanks for visiting.

I'm adding my card to:

Time Out Happy7th birthday!!! Birthday or Celebration

Cut It Up - B/W and a Pop of Color (#2)

Die Cut Divas - Slimline (#3)

ATSAM - Die Cuts and Stencils Um. Yep! (#3)

making valentines - part 3

During the pandemic I've dropped some little gift packs of homemade cards into people's mailboxes - my way of doing something in these weird times and I hope maybe they do something and send them on to people who could use a smile.

I recently had the urge to put together some love cards for my girlfriends since Valentine's Day is approaching. It's not nearly as popular in Germany as in the US, but people know what it is. I'll be sharing some not-your-typical-valentine cards the next couple days.

I don't actually have much in the way of Valentine's Day supplies, though I do have lots of "love" themed items. For my first design I pulled out a background stamp, heat embossed it and ink blended. Old school. SUCH fun. Added a fun die cut sentiment and voila!

The next card follows the same idea, I just added a great heat embossed sentiment from Cathy Zielske.

SSS Center Cut Heart stamp

Paper Smooches Love Word 2 die

Quick Kutz Monogram U die

SSS Clean Line Gratitude stamp

distress oxides, white satin pearl embossing powder

I'm playing at:

SSS Wednesday Challenge - Love is in the Air

SSS Monday Challenge - Love/Hearts

making valentines - part 2

During the pandemic I've dropped some little gift packs of homemade cards into people's mailboxes - my way of doing something in these weird times and I hope maybe they do something and send them on to people who could use a smile.

I recently had the urge to put together some love cards for my girlfriends since Valentine's Day is approaching. It's not nearly as popular in Germany as in the US, but people know what it is. I'll be sharing some not-your-typical-valentine cards the next couple days.

I don't actually have much in the way of Valentine's Day supplies, though I do have lots of "love" themed items. For my first design I pulled out a heart stencil  and some red and pink distress oxides. That's enough to scream "Valentine", right? 

STAMPlorations Hearts All Over stencil

STAMPlorations Romantic Expressions 1 stamp

Then I remembered a stamp set with a punny sentiment. Figured it could work for a Valentine too. I masked the edges and a circle in the center, stenciled some waves, stamped the whale and sentiment and added a little red heart. Cute.

Action Deutschland stencil

STAMPlorations A Ton of Fun stamp

distress oxides, heart punch

Here's a shot of my card packs packaged up (in recycled stamp packaging) and ready to go!

I'm playing at:

Colorhues Challenge - red/pink

SSS Wednesday Challenge - Love is in the Air

Crazy 4 Challenges - Put a Heart on It

Challenge up Your Life - Hearts

The Card Concept - Sweetheart Sweets (luscious red/pink)

making valentines - part 1

During the pandemic I've dropped some little gift packs of homemade cards into people's mailboxes. Cuz it's my way of doing something in these weird times and I hope maybe they do something and send them on to people who could use a smile.

I recently had the urge to put together some love cards for my girlfriends since Valentine's Day is approaching. It's not nearly as popular in Germany as in the US, but people know what it is. I'll be sharing some not-your-typical-valentine cards the next couple days.

I don't actually have much in the way of Valentine's Day supplies, though I do have lots of "love" themed items. For this first one I used a stencil (inked with Tattered Rose distress oxide, offset slightly and inked with Aged Mahogany distress oxide) and a loving sentiment.

STAMPlorations Zen Hearts stencil

STAMPlorations Bloomin Coffee and You stamp

Next up I die cut a heart from some gelli prints, 3D dry embossed them and added a sentiment. Voila!

MFT Heart Full of Love die

Clear and Simple Love Cupid stamp

These two actually read "Happy Valentine's Day" on the inside ;)

I'm playing at:

Happy Little Stampers - CAS

AAA Cards - One Layer

Inspired By - Krafty Love

SSS Monday Challenge - Love/Hearts

Double D - Valentine Love