STAMPlorations and gelli prints

Hi there peeps! 

I was very inspired by a technique (a la Susanne R.) which uses up those gelli prints we all have hanging around our craft rooms. Don't ya love it?

Paired it with a black heat-embossed-on-white fussy cut floral bloom.

Paired it with a white heat-embossed-on-black fussy cut floral bloom.

Art Marks stamp,

Dee's Flora stamps,

gelli prints, embossing powder

That's it for today. Thanks for looking.  

update on STAMPlorations (3)

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'm going to revisit a few projects from the past in case they might inspire you to pick up a couple digi stamps from STAMPlorations.

How about more florals - if you're not into coloring them, use gilding flakes! I used Love Card Fronts. Here's my post.

Or print them on patterned paper! For details check out my original blog post using Cupful of Blooms.

Next I'll revisit some of the birthday products included in the Bundle #1. Thanks for looking and maybe supporting Shery and the store. 

STAMPlorations introducing spring coffee kit

There's a new product in town. Over at the STAMPlorations shop. Have you seen it? Shery is putting together kits at a great price point.

Today a few of my teamies and I are sharing our makes with the new Spring Coffee Kit. Ready?

The kit contains an image stamp, sentiment stamps and stencils (2 patterns each in large and mini). All you have to decide is...

Do you want to color? Then go for it. Color and fussy cut the image and pop it up on a background created by randomly stamping one of the sentiments.

Spring Coffee Kit

alcohol markers, washi tape

In case you're interested, I watched this video before coloring my coffee (yes I was intimidated by that big expanse of brown!) Easy peasy.

If you're not into coloring, use the mini stencil and a circle mask to "color" the coffee. I added some blue touches with alcohol markers but you wouldn't even have to. I heat embossed one of the kit sentiments in blue but didn't like it so I then stamped over it in black and clear embossed it.

Spring Coffee Kit

circle die, Distress Inks, alcohol markers, embossing powder

And then there's this method for getting color onto a B/W stamped image. Check out this post for the deets. Basically it involves stamping, applying embossing paste and then sponging ink.

Spring Coffee Kit

Just Caffeinate clear stickers

clear embossing paste, Distress Inks, enamel dots

So, that's a wrap. Are you a fan of kits? Be sure to check out all the DT's creations over at the STAMP blog. And be sure to leave a comment, Shery's giving away a kit.

Please remember to use my STAMPGIRLMARIA code if I inspire you to place an order. You'll get an extra 20% off!

Appreciate your visit. Have a great day. I'm hooking up card #1 over at SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

STAMPlorations inspiration #312

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

I have a theme this month - white on white. 

Did you see my latest Spotlight tutorial over at STAMPlorations? I die cut some circles out of a cover plate die cut and couldn't just toss them so I used them on today's card to add additional interest (the pricked circles are interest, the adhered circles add even more!) to the white background.

 Circles all Over Cover Plate Texture die

Lotus Love stamp

alcohol markers, embossing powder

Do you like white on white?

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. Did you see the 30% off sale on Coffee/Tea related products going on right now in the store? 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 ;)

CAS cards challenge march reminder

Have you played in the STAMPlorations March CAS Cards challenge? Get your green on! (Or not.)

As always the challenge is to create any CAS card, with an optional color twist - this month it's dark green and mint.

Meet my card.

Facets stencil

Baa Baa stamp

Altenew inks

Again I played with just a portion of a stencil, inking the masked off "heart" with light and dark green ink and getting a nice blend where the two overlapped. 

The sentiment continues inside "are my sunshine" where I also stenciled a sun for fun.

CAS card tip: Examine your stencils to find just a portion of one that you can ink or emboss onto a CAS card.

For more super CAS inspiration with this stamp set check out this post. I must say I love these sheep images with their bold black heads - they pair with bright colors so well.

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. I'm stopping over at Crazy 4 Challenges where it's about Stencils and ATCAS where the challenge is Shapes.

simon says stamp - slimline friends box card again

A bit ago I made a pop up box card in primary colors. DD actually asked me to make one for her friend and then another one for another friend! She loves the idea of all those kids showing love and support for each other. And I love that ;)

For this gal I decided to go with pastel colors. I love the result. So did she and DD. I hear it's displayed on her dresser :)

SSS Better Together Slimline Friends stamp

 Pinkfresh Live More puffy stickers

Pinkfresh Adore Alpha die 

Action Deutschland - PP, Copics, stickers

Cut and scored PP to make a 7x7x7 cm pop up box. Added more PP to inside flaps. Added puffy stickers to the box as well as the "K" for the gal's initial.

Then on to the gang. I stamped and colored them in colors to match the stickers. Fussy cut them. Adhered them to the box (or plastic strips which I adhered to the inserts inside the box). Also added balloons with the tiny messages. And finally some more puffy stickers in between the kiddos.

Adds such a fun factor to card sending, don't you think?

I'm joining the fun at:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Favorite Technique (lately pop up box cards!)

Pinkfresh Studio February Challenge - Alphas/Words

Just Add Ink - 542 (loved the pastel, tropical vibe)

Happy Little Stampers - Feb AG with Dies

spring summer coffee lovers hop

Know how I've been playing with fantasy watercoloring this month? I kinda carried on with that inspiration for today's projects which are a part of the Spring Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. STAMPlorations is a sponsor and in addition to the four STAMP prizes being given away on the hop, you could win a prize for leaving a comment over at the STAMP blog today too.

For my first project I used the new set, Sweet Kindness. This set arrived just in time as that floral spray (not coffee related, I know) was perfect for a tag to accompany a birthday present!

 Sweet Kindness stamp

Lowercase Alpha Plate dies
Tag #1 Nesting dies

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Watercolor paper.  Tag die cut. Water. Watercolors. Dabbing and voila! I love how those little half-embossed alphas fit perfectly to personalize the tag for my friend. Here's the tag in action ;)

And then I went all "fantasy watercolor" again. Made this next card with Bloomin Coffee and You.

Bloomin Coffee and You stamp
Just Caffeinate clear stickers

Gansai Tambi watercolors

I printed a digi version of the stamp (cuz my postman hasn't delivered this set to me yet) onto watercolor paper. FYI, my image is larger than the stamp in the set. But if you're interested in digi stamps, this collection of digi stamps has a similar image and many more.

So. Fantasy watercolor. Wet-on-wet technique. I wouldn't call it "sloshed" cuz only Shirley can do that. And it's sure not realistic. It's kinda dabbed. Kinda pushed around. But I stuck to a more limited color palette and even kept the coffee brown!

I fussy cut the image and adhered it to a cream colored cardbase since my watercolor paper is creamy. A sticker sentiment tops off the cup.

Hope you're enjoying the hop with a nice cuppa. Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week and remember to "Be kind, be calm and be safe."

I'm joining the fun at:
Spring Summer Coffee Lovers Hop
I pulled my colors from ATSAM - Photo Inspiration

STAMPlorations digital stamps with patterned paper

I'm over on the STAMPlorations blog today with five digital stamp projects. You could win a $15 GC to the store for comments left here and there. Just sayin...

So as I mentioned in my last Digital Wednesday post, I'm a newbie to digital stamps, but there are definitely some benefits to digi stamps - no smudges, perfect coverage without a MISTI, image resizing, even layering images (though I've yet to give that a try).

My technology tools are limited to Microsoft Word and my Canon ink jet printer. I watched this video for a great intro to digi stamps.

For today's projects I used a pad of patterned paper from the dollar store. The pastel colors caught my eye. The paper is thin however, so to print on it I used cellophane tape to attach the 6x6 sheets to a normal sheet of copy paper. This went through my printer without any problem.

TIP: First I print the image onto copy paper and then hold that up to the light with my 6x6 PP in front of it to see where I would like the image to be. (See how I lined up the flower on the floral PP so that one of the red roses was in the center of the bloom?)

Here's a look at the PP pad and some of the images I printed.

Another TIP: I use Photoscape to edit photos. I'm no pro. But since I knew I was only using the bloom from the latte-cup-with-bloom image, I cropped the image to remove the top portion of the to-go cup. This was then what I printed to waste less PP. (As if I don't already have enough PP to last 300 years...)

Let's get to my cards, shall we? First up, I used a cup of blooms image and thought I was going to mix and match cup and blooms - paper piece just the mug from PP onto the image printed on white cardstock and then give the white blooms just a little dab of color. But I liked the look of the image on the watercolored-look PP so much I couldn't cut it apart! So these two cards happened.

For the first, I fussy cut the image printed on Neenah solar white, added dabs of color to the flowers and adhered it on a floral PP.

Cupful of Blooms digi stamp

Just Caffeinate clear stickers

alcohol markers

patterned paper

Then for the second card I added color to the centers of the flowers on the image fussy cut from the pretty watercolored-look PP and added it to a shimmery, linen texture cardbase.

TIP: Look for pencil colors fairly close to your PP colors to keep the contrast minimal. I used a pink, a purple, a blue, a gray and a green cuz they were closest to the tones of the watercolored-look PP.

Cupful of Blooms digi stamp

World Birthday Cakes stamp

Prismacolor colored pencils

patterned paper

embossing powder

For my next card I used an image that covers the front of an A2 card. I printed it once onto white cardstock and once onto PP. When fussy cutting the blooms from the PP to paper piece on the other panel, I carefully cut out the frame too.

TIP: When I fussy cut the flowers touching the frame on the PP panel, I made sure to leave the thick black line around the frame intact. This enabled me to use the frame for a second card. In general when paper piecing, fussy cut on the black line. Since you will be adhering the fussy cut piece to a stamped or printed image, those outlines will show.

I lightly applied some Spun Sugar and Squeezed Lemonade to the Neenah panel before adhering the PP flowers. Then I stamped the sentiment and added some sequins.

Coffee Blossoms digi stamp

Dream the Impossible stamp

Distress inks

PP, sequins

To accompany the fussy cut PP frame, I shrunk one of the other coffee cup images, printed it onto contrasting PP (twice so I could see which size I preferred) and fussy cut just the flowers to use to embellish the second card. (This was when it dawned on me to use Photoscape to crop the image so only the part I need would print and I wouldn't waste PP ;)

Added a sentiment in the form of a clear sticker to the frame. And colored the leaves of the flower spray and added gems too.

Coffee Blossoms digi stamp

Birthday Word Art clear stickers

This last card was such fun. I printed the image (sized to my liking) onto four different patterned papers, felt like I was back in kindergarten as I fussy cut the flowers and then arranged them on my cardbase.

TIP: Use the bits and pieces you trim off around the edges to fill some of the white space on your cardbase. I only had four flowers but it looks like I used seven.

I did not add adhesive to the outer edges of the petals so there's some dimension. I love how the sequins fit perfectly in the flower centers. Adds dimension. And that sentiment die with the drop shadow adds even more dimension.

Holiday Lattes digi stamp

Skinny Sentiments die

sequins

Whew. That was a lot. Don't forget to leave me a comment. And on my Digital Wednesday post here too, for another chance to win.

With card #1 I'm playing over at:
The Flower Challenge - Anything Goes
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Whatever the Weather (card's going to girlfriend who combats stress with coffee)

STAMPlorations digital stamps four more ways

I'm over on the STAMPlorations blog today with four digital stamp projects. You could win a $15 GC to the store for comments left here and there. Just sayin...

So. I'm no pro with digital stamps. I love getting inky with actual stamps. And I'm a pro at ink smudges. But there are some benefits to digi stamps - no smudges, perfect coverage without a MISTI, image resizing, even layering images (though I've yet to give that a try). And no shipping!

I use Microsoft Word and my Canon ink jet printer. I recommend this post for a great intro to digi stamps. It's where I figured out how to print them using Word.

I've got four projects to share today. One image enlarged. One shrunk. One left as is. And one heat embossed. Let's get started.

First up, I wanted a really large image. I inserted the PNG file for the image (it's the rectangular frame with roses along its left edge) into a Word document. Then I clicked on the image and stretched it to enlarge it. It's got nice thick lines so this worked great. I trimmed the printed image down to the card front size I wanted and made a shaker card.

Blossom Frames digi stamp

Succulently die

Copic markers

Klartext Kartengruss stamp

sequins

Something about those thick black lines... I decided to go all dramatic on this one. Chose red tones and Copic colored only a piece I die cut from the printed panel and set it back behind the shaker. Added a heat embossed German sentiment since this will be a birthday card for DS's girlfriend.

For my second card I shrunk a digi stamp so it could be just an accent piece on my card.

Blossom Frames digi stamp

Manila Tag die

5 Love Words die

Altenew ink

Sweetly stamp

PP, washi, sequins

You can imagine my joy when I stumbled upon this PP in my stash. A perfect complement to the digi image. Thinking anniversary or wedding, I chose silver glitter for the die cut sentiment and the strip of washi. Sequins added more sparkle.

To eliminate some of the empty white space I masked and stamped some yellow blooms with the Sweetly stamp. On the cardbase and within the digi frame. BTW, I flipped the die and made a second cut to turn the manila tag into a rectangle!

So after enlarging and shrinking images on the previous cards, my next card uses an image just as it is (A2 size), I merely trimmed away the black lines of the frame.

Fluttery Garden digi stamp

Bloomful stamp

Copic markers

No need to color the entire image. I had fun coloring just the butterflies. Have you ever been to a garden where those gorgeous blue butterflies flutter about? They were my inspiration.

I added interest by cutting out parts of their wings with an exacto knife and backing the "holes" with yellow cardstock. Added white gel pen dots to the wings and some color to the background with dots of various yellow Copic markers.

My final card was the result of an aha moment I had when I was printing digi stamps on PP (for my March post!), and using cellophane tape to hold my PP in place on copy paper. I noticed the toner ink remained wet where it printed on the tape...Maybe that would also be the case on vellum, I thought. And it was! Which means if you're quick you can heat emboss a digi stamp printed onto vellum! 

Cupful of Blooms digi stamp

Birthday Bash stamp

PP, embossing powder, vellum

It may not be as perfect as with normal heat embossing, but I think it's pretty amazing! And quick. I chose to back it with floral PP and adhere the vellum with just a line of messy stitching up top.

That's it for today. Don't forget to leave a comment here.  And here too, for another chance to win.

I'm playing over at:

SSS Wednesday Challenge - Add a sentiment (card #3)

Die Cut Divas - Hearts or Flowers (card #1)

Creative with Stamps - Red (card #1)