altenew november inspiration - take 3

Yesterday I shared my first two makes for the current Altenew challenge. 

It's a beauty and has me totally inspired to create. November Altenew Inspiration Challenge. 

I mentioned my cousin had given me a few panels dry embossed with 3D designs. One of them she'd actually gussied up a bit.

She didn't like it. I LOVED it. And I love it even more now....

Altenew Alocasia embossing folder

Altenew Virginia Rose 3D die

Altenew 36 pan watercolor

So much that I couldn't bear to put a sentiment on it and cover up any of that grungy goodness!

Now I don't even know exactly what my cousin had done to the panel. Dry embossing, come ink swiping, a little heat embossing? SUCH goodness.

Well I decided to pull out my Altenew watercolors and color this wonderful layered die cut bloom. It took a while. I have such a hard time keeping a light hand. And trusting the process! But I 'm crushing on the result. (Magenta was my favorite color in the Crayola box of 64;)

I'm not done yet. The ideas just kept on coming. Especially when I had this sheet of scrap paper left after the watercoloring...

 

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.

cas cards challenge june reminder

Welcome to our reminder about the STAMPlorations June CAS Cards challenge, folks!

As always the challenge is to create any CAS card, with an optional color twist - this month the twist is light blue and cream.

As I mentioned with my first card this month, those colors would normally take me down the baby card road, but alas I needed several sympathy cards. Here's my second card.

With Sympathy phrase die

Leaf prints stencil

Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle die

alcohol markers

For this clean card I die cut and dry embossed (with the stencil) a rectangle of cream cardstock and adhered that to my cardbase. I colored strips of cardstock in blue tones with my alcohol markers and die cut the sentiment. Stacked the die cuts offset and adhered them to the card.

CAS card tip: Add interest with some dry embossing. Adds no extra color, just a little bit of pattern/texture.

For more inspiration with this die check out this post. 

I'm looking forward to your CAS card creations! 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.  

I'm going over to the gallery at:

Just Us Girls - #588

Happy Little Stampers - AG with Dies

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

 

spotlight on stretching your dies

I'm over at the STAMPlorations blog with a tutorial for this card (and another) using stand-alone dies to dry emboss your CAS card background for additional interest. Check it out. And have a nice day!

STAMPlorations inspiration #261

Because March has five Tuesdays, I'm back with one more Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team!

This month I've been creating cards all inspired by a card I saw last month that just took my breath away - the central design idea being "something framed on an inked background". Today ... well, if you saw last week's card you'll understand where today's originated.

I had chosen the dragonfly die as a potential candidate for the "something" but hadn't used it yet.

Dragonfly Layering die

New Day clear sticker

Distress inks - Cracked Pistachio, Evergreen Bough, Broken China, Blueprint Sketch

So there I was following the same design process, though trying to make it more masculine. I decided to go with the dragonfly but instead of die cutting and watercoloring, I'd dry emboss them on the distress inked BG. And pop on a clear sticker sentiment and call it good.

Subtle dimension, but it's cool. Hope you enjoyed this month's series.

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 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 ;)

I've used the dragonfly on this card too.

Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week.

STAMPlorations inspiration #259

Back with  another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team!

This month I'm creating cards all inspired by a card I saw last month that just took my breath away - the central design idea being "something framed on an inked background". Today I've got another take on it.

Sweet Cravings stamp

MFT Radial Stitched Circle die

Action Deutschland embossing folder

Zig clean color real brushes

Distress inks - Dried Marigold, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick

I thought an ice cream cone could grab the edge of the frame (this time a circle). The background was distress inked and then debossed with sprinkles. Then I added a heat embossed sentiment strip.

Oh and splatters (BTW I use Dylusions white spray ink)! Do you have a favorite product for making white splatters? I'd love to know.

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 over at STAMPlorations. And if you're placing an order at 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 ;)

For a different way of using this sweet set, check out this shaker card. Or this camoflaged one.

Thanks for stopping over today. Crazy how this cardmaking world of our remains a haven while the world around us rages out of control. I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe.

STAMPlorations 6th birthday - cover plate dies

Howdy peeps and welcome back to day 5 of STAMPlorations' 6th birthday celebration! Have you been enjoying the new products  - stamps, dies, stencils and stickers!

Today I have cards made with a new cover plate die - Doodled Birthday Cake.

First up - dry embossed.

I dry embossed the plate onto white cardstock and added a die cut and stacked Make a Wish sentiment that I inked rainbow-y. Used Copics to color the flame since it seemed to fit the idea of making a wish while blowing out the candles.

Then I die cut the cover plate from craft foam and used it as a stamp! Love stretching my supplies with this trick.

First off I attached it to my MISTI with temp adhesive and inked it up with Versamark and stamped and heat embossed it. The right hand side didn't make contact with the paper properly but I left it as is and it made for the perfect place to park my sentiment, don't you agree?

I blended Tattered Rose, Carved Pumpkin, Squeezed Lemonade, Bundled Sage and Tumbled Glass distress oxides over the embossing for a nice pastel rainbow look.

And then I added a shim under the cardstock in my MISTI to ensure better contact with the thin foam stamp and inked it up with the oxides - stamping once for each color (the benefit of using a MISTI).

Hope you've enjoyed our celebratory week. And I hope you're celebrating with us. There's a Birthday Linky Party here. And you can add your Wishlist to this Linky Party. To see how you can win some fun prizes and also to see what the other gals have created check out this post.

CUTplorations may

Howdy friends! It's time for a new challenge over at STAMPlorations CUTplorations! Here's the inspiration for the month of May.

image source: Ellen Giggenbach

I hope there is something in this photo that makes you want to play with us, whether owls, leaves, graphic squares or circles, Egyptian columns. Egyptian columns???

Well, give me a chance to go graphic and I'm gone, right?

 STAMPlorations Coffee Petites die

STAMPlorations Double Stitched Rectangle die

STAMPlorations Mixed Media Grunge stamp

STAMPlorations Little Owls stamp (coming soon)
Copics

This one was fun to make. I let myself be randomly inspired by the photo. A teal card front. An orange and pink owl. Some wispy green die cuts. And four die cuts to provide the graphic backdrop like in the photo, albeit in a very different way. I dry embossed a rectangle to frame my collage in a nod to the rectangular blocks of color in the photo.

I cannot wait to see what you come up with for this challenge! 

Create a project based on the inspiration using at least one die cut and at least one STAMPlorations product. Your project might be chosen as the winner of a $15 GC to the shop. Check out how the CUTplorations 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 shopping;)  All products in the Things with Wings section of the store are 15% off all month ;) Thanks for coming by. See you in the gallery.

CUTplorations april

Howdy friends! Ready for a new challenge over at STAMPlorations CUTplorations! Here's the inspiration for April.

image source: Eat Think and Be Merry

I hope there is something in this photo that makes you want to play with us. Of course Easter comes to mind, but my mind went to those stripes. You'll be seeing quite a bit of them this month ;)

 STAMPlorations Gift Builder #1 die

STAMPlorations Birthday Wishes Phrase die
embossing folder
Copics
sequins

Do you remember ribbon jello? I have fond memories of eating it as a kid. And not so fond memories of making it for my cousin's kids a couple years ago. Man it's time consuming. But still cool.

I had to recreate those stripes. So I decided to incorporate them in the form of a present. I dry embossed the white die cuts in a nod to the white plate in the inspiration photo. The sequins add to the celebratory feel.

Will you join us for some die cutting fun over at the CUTplorations challenge?  Create a project based on the inspiration using at least one die cut and at least one STAMPlorations product. Your project might be chosen as the winner of a $15 GC to the shop. Check out how the CUTplorations 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 shopping;)  Thanks for coming by. See you in the gallery ;)

hello gorgeous

So there's this "dollar store" in town - I basically go there to get hangers! - and wouldn't you know it, the craft supply aisle is the first one you enter when you enter the store.

Needless to say it takes me 20 minutes to get to the back of the store to the hangers ;)

You may recall my pastel washi tapes that just fell into my basket. So there was this embossing folder too. I'm not really a flamingo girl. BUT. Give me a 3D geometric flamingo and I'm in. Today I had a play with both.

3D embossing folder (Action)

Papertrey Ink Tipped Tops die

 Hero Arts Layering Flamingo stamp

Altenew inks

washi (Action)

Look at this... isn't this cool?

A few washi strips. A few stamped grasses along the bottom and the sentiment on a leftover. The bird. And three teensy Nuvo drops. Me likey.

Happy Sunday. I'm joining the fun at:

A Blog Named Hero - Crafter's Choice

A2Z Scrapbooking - January AG

Just Us Girls - Pastels

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - CAS

Addicted to Stamps and More - CAS

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!)

simon says stamp - everyday words on a line - love

I'm a little late to the party, but I'm sure you've seen that Diecember is happening over at Simon Says Stamp? There was a blog hop you need to check out if you're in the market for cool new dies!

I was lucky to receive a sentiment die from SSS to play with. Today's card was a result of my first experiments. The strips are so dainty that when I was cutting them they reminded me of flowers on stems. So I picked some! And put them in a vase!

 SSS Everyday Wishes on a Line die

scoreboard

glitter washi tape

Die cut five of the love you from red CS. Die cut one you are amazing from black CS, but liked the boldness of the negative piece better to ground my vase. For the vase I scored a strip of CS and folded it to make it 3D before adhering it to the cardbase. The cool thing about this dimension is that you can flatten it by pushing it to the left or right so it's mailable. Added a bit of sparkle to the design with the strip of glitter washi.

Here are the phrases in the die. I'll be back with more later.

Thanks Simon!

I'm playing at:
Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes
Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge - Emboss (with a scoreboard)

Addicted to Stamps and More - Anything Goes