die cut a card edge flap

Saw a cool technique over at Scrapbook.com which inspired me to give it a try.

I'm not a huge interactive card fan, but this level of interactivity I can handle. Turns your sentiment into a tri-fold card flap holder. (There must be a better name for this!)

One graduation and one get well version.

STAMPlorations inspiration #326

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

I've had a play with the card fronts paper goods available in the STAMP store. I like that the words/messages printed on these card fronts can be used for multiple occasions. Here's another graduation card I made with one. 

Wish Big A2 card fronts

Congrats  die

Uppercase Alpha Plate die

Number Plate die

Besides die cutting all the letters and numbers, I sliced up the card front and adhered it to my cardbase leaving some white space peeking through. Pretty simple. Love that the color scheme of the card front supported the grad's school colors!

As always, 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.  

STAMPlorations inspiration #325

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

I've had a play with the card fronts paper goods available in the STAMP store and today's card is a graduation card made with one.

Wish Big A2 card fronts

Congrats Word Art die

Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle die

sentiment stamp, vellum

Pretty simple. I die cut the card front and the vellum piece with the rectangle die to get the detailed edge. Popped the "congrats" up on fun foam and added a secondary sentiment from Papertrey.

As always, 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. 

fun with funky fossil designs adventure

Happy Monday! I had some fun this weekend with some new stamps from Funky Fossil Designs (I won a GC at Time Out and of course I had to pick up a few things while I was at the store ;).

My first play was with the Quirky Owls. Check them out here.

I also picked up Adventure and made two cards to share with you today.

First one turned out exactly as I'd hoped. I think this image is so cool.

Stamped it in black on PP and then heat embossed the sentiment in white onto vellum that I stitched loosely to the front. I'm thinking this could make a good card for a graduate or someone starting a new job or moving to a new city.

My second card... well, a good idea but lousy execution.  I'm sharing it anyhoo.

I was going for a sunrise feel. DH says it looks like the forest's on fire. Oops. Next time I'd use sponge daubers to apply ink to the stamp rather than the ink pads. Or maybe mask the image and apply ink behind it? I heat embossed the sentiment over the hot mess to hide a bit of it ;)

Fun, fun, fun. I just noticed Sarah is having a sale at Funky Fossil. 15% off until midnight tonight.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm stopping by at:
Daring Cardmakers - Something you Love (that image of mountains/trees)
Creative with Stamps - Red

CAS cards challenge january reminder

Hello there! It's time for a reminder about the CAS Cards challenge at STAMPlorations. First, the inspiration...

As always it's anything CAS goes. This month the optional twist is Anything Metallic.

STAMPlorations Oh the Places stamp
STAMPlorations Car-Large stamp

washi tape

Metallic... how about a car, watercolored with shimmery blue? And how about some silver heat embossing?  Here's a closeup of the dimensional metallic touch.

CAS card tip: One of my favorites. Add a strip of washi tape (or cardstock) along the bottom edge of your CAS card. A perfect way to ground an image with a little bit of texture.

I'm looking forward to seeing what inspires you and your CAS card creations this month! Your project might be chosen as the winner of a GC to the shop. 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 you find yourself shopping ;)  Thanks for stopping over. See you in the gallery.

I'm joining the fun at:
Challenge up your Life - Anything Goes
CAS Watercolor - Cool Colors

congratulations with hero arts peony

You know the "problem". So much NBUS accumulated and not enough time to try it all out. I took some time to play with new-to-me goodies this weekend and these two cards happened.

Are you loving all the strips of colored CS we're seeing lately in card designs too? Well after I'd given my dollar store (Action) rainbow die a run I had to continue with more Copic colored strips.

 Action Deutschland die

Hero Arts Birthday Hugs and Kisses stamp

Copics

I die cut all the pieces from white CS. Copic colored a few of them with pastel colors and added a heat embossed secondary sentiment. A couple sequins for sparkle and this should make some little birthday girl happy.

Hero Arts Birthday Peonies stamp

Copics

This congratulatory card is off to a gal who just finished her bachelor's degree. Love the simplicity.

Come by tomorrow for some birthday celebrations...

I'm taking these creations to:

A Blog named Hero - October

Seize the Birthday - For Kids

The Flower Challenge - CAS

STAMPlorations inspiration #218

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team. Hope you'll forgive me. Today our theme is Things with Wings. Well. A space shuttle has wings, doesn't it? I guess I'm actually showcasing the line of Typografia stamps available in the store though.

Just so you know, til May 31, products in the Things with Wings section of the store are 15% off  and with my STAMPGIRLMARIA code you can get up to 35% off.   

And also til May 31, products in the Typografia section of the store are 15% off instantly + with my STAMPGIRLMARIA code you can get up to 35% off! There are so many great ones to choose from. Since I needed a graduation card I chose one that always brings a Dr. Seuss induced smile to my face...

 STAMPlorations Oh The Places stamp

 STAMPlorations Wanderlust Hipster Icons stamp

So darn easy. Especially with a stamping tool to ensure good coverage on the solid areas. His school colors are black and orange. Hope he "gets" it ;)

I've used Typografia sentiment stamps in this post too.

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store by leaving a comment on today's inspiration posts. Check out today's post here. Thanks for looking.

STAMPlorations inspiration #216

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team. Today we're showcasing the line of Typografia stamps available in the store.
  

From May 14 to May 31, products in the Typografia section of the store will be 15% off instantly + with my STAMPGIRLMARIA code you can get up to 35% off! There are so many to choose from. I chose one that I thought would work well for a graduation card, encouraging the young gal going on to study law. What an adventure!

 STAMPlorations Be Somebody stamp

MFT Radial Stitched Circle die

embossing powder

Distress Inks

Typografia stamps are a great way to use up those artsy backgrounds we all create so many of! I chose this smooshed inks BG with the funky colors. To pep up the design a bit I die cut the embossed sentiment with a circle die and popped it up on fun foam. Added a few Nuvo drops too. Voila!

I've used this sentiment stamp (and a couple others) in this post too.

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store by leaving a comment on today's inspiration posts. Check out today's post here. Thanks for looking.

I'm joining the fun at:
Inkspirational - Adventure

Happy Little Stampers - May AG with Dies

Craft Stamper - May Take it Make it

using wanderlust for a graduation card

Summer programming coming your way for a couple weeks ...

Here's a card I put together using STAMPlorations goodies perfect for a graduation/good luck card. DD's friend finished school and is working on a cruise ship this summer. Talk about a "grand adventure", eh?

STAMPlorations Born to Roam stamp

STAMPlorations Wanderlust stamp

STAMPlorations New Beginning stamp

Distress inks

washi/twine 

Masking. Sponging. Voila! Hope your day is grand! Thanks for visiting. I'm playing at Stempelkueche where the theme is Hooray!

freestyle collage - a CASE of myself

DS's girlfriend just celebrated her graduation and a card was in order. I decided to CASE myself and do a freestyle collage on this one cuz horses are a huge part of this gal's life. And I love my little horse hoofprint stamp!

Pulled out a Heidi Swapp watercolor themed 6x6 PP and die cut Technique Tuesday "Say It -hello" and Memory Box Parker Alphabet "abi"(which is short for Abitur, the A levels) from PPs. Die cut Papertrey Cloud from the creme colored cardbase and then stamped and masked the rest.

Used Viva Decor Rose. Technique Tuesday Alphabet. And my no name horse hoofprints (from Aldi). BTW, the triangle pattern on the vellum snippet is Kaisercraft Texture Triangle. It's great for adding that "little extra touch". Added the date stamp to personalize the card even more.

I did photograph this one flat too, but ended up liking the stand up image better. Seems to show the dimension better... What do you think?

I'm playing at:
Pinspirational - #194 (gave me a push in the color direction)

Time Out - Celebrations (graduation)
Inkspirational - Rural (cuz... hoofprints!)
Creative with Stamps - Celebrate

Hope you had a great 4th of July weekend. We're finally enjoying some nice summer weather here in my neck of Germany. Hope it continues! Thanks for visiting.

spotlight on water bleaching

Call it what you want - water bleaching or ghosting - taking advantage of the amazing properties of Distress Inks by making them disappear by painting with water is just one more way to make cardmaking magic! Check out my tutorial over at STAMPlorations today.

STAMPlorations inspiration #77

I've a twofer fer ya today - one card for two posts! It's one of those kind of days ;)
Here's the card. And you can find more fabulous inspiration from the DT here.

I used the fantastic Born to Roam set and did some water bleaching. If you'd like to find out more about my card, check out my tutorial over at the STAMPlorations blog on my Spotlight post this evening ;)

I'm sharing my project at:
A Blog Named Hero - Tone on Tone
Cards and More - Use Lots of Color (I used LOTS of blue and gray)
Inspired by All the Little Things (finally playing along with that shabby blue look) - #16

The Challenge - Masculine (got that retro feel going on)

Appreciate your stopping by today!

charming purple graduation

Squeak, squeak. Hear me squeakin' in under the buzzer for this week's Curtain Call challenge?

Time for a graduation card. The gal's colors are purple and white. Her mom is a seamstress. So when I saw that Curtain Call photo, I knew I had to give it a go. Various PPs (mostly Basic Grey), an MFT die and a PTI sentiment die played the main roles. Used a Lil Inker stitched rectangle die on my cardbase and a Winnie and Walter scalloped rectangle (which I then dry embossed with some dots) for the background elements. Doesn't it have a comfy, fabric-y touch?

Thanks for looking. Hope your week's off to a good start. Mine is after a fabulous, sunny weekend which even included a wine wagon ride!

mix it up with altenew

Haven't been able to play in the challenges over at Ellen Hutson as often as I'd like, but I did it this time. It's time to mix Essentials by Ellen product with Altenew. What a great pair-up.

How'd I do?

DS is finishing up his schooling. We're still not sure with which qualification (did he pass his Fachabi exams?!?!?) but it's a milestone!

I paired a subtly stamped "awesome" (in SSS Fog on PTI Soft Stone CS) from Altenew's Super Script with the Zipper Panel and You Rock die cuts plus secondary sentiments from Altenew's Magnolias for Her and Papertrey and some number stickers. A strip of washi finished off the bottom of my card.

Now, what to fill the secret compartment with? (Maybe it depends on which qualification...)

I'm also hooking up at Make it Monday #214 where it's about stamping with neutrals.

Thanks for visiting. Hope your weekend is lovely.

nbus goes us - take 4

More fun with PTI Phrase Play #11 die. Hope you've enjoyed my series. Meet the card that started it.

For a homeschooled grad. Now I don't know how homeshooling works with "graduation", but I saw some photos of her friends with red gowns and I wanted to work rainbow colors into the design. So where are they, you ask?

ROYGB with a layer of white on top. I actually made the stacked die cut first then chose to adhere it to a black cardbase. Maybe not girly (she's not), but definitely striking.

So then, for the boy wearing the blue gown in his family's photos (TG for FB!)...

For Papertrey Make it Monday Neutrals. Did some stamping. And used neutrals including Soft Stone PP to let the die cut pop. Hope that counts.

And finally, waiting in the wings...The "series" started when I started playing with all the fun remnants from the die cuts for the first card above.

Gave it a tilt when adhering and added a few stars for fun. Kinda funny that this card of Ardyth P.'s pushed me over the edge to purchase this die. And I haven't even tried cutting it apart yet!!!

Going to CASology #115 with these

Thanks for looking! Happy weekend.

guesting at Virginia's View

I'm guest designing over at Virginia's View #15 where it's all about "Ombre/Monochromatic" this month. You must check out the beautiful gallery entries. I've got two cards over there for you, ombre die cutting and dip-dyeing , but I 've one more for you too.

I recently made a graduation card for a grad whose school color was purple. This one is for a college grad whose gown also appeared to be purple! Whoddathunkit? Purple! Reminds me of when DS started with "bambini" soccer. Their uniforms were purple! And I was on the sidelines yelling "Go lila, go" (Lila being the word for purple.) Lotsa moms in town still come up to me chanting that ;) But I digress.

So. Take your grad's school color. Or the bride's color scheme. Or your Mom's favorite color.

Find yourself a large sentiment stamp (mine is STAMPlorations). And color it using your kids' old school markers in various shades of your chosen color. Give it a light spritz of water before stamping and Ta da! Ombre. You're keeping your card design simple, but adding interest with the various hues of your chosen color.

To go with the purple I chose Liquid Platinum embossing powder for my secondary sentiment and the tassel of the MFT mortarboard. Which I die cut from glitter CS cuz the grad is a gal ;)

Isn't the bit of sparkle a nice contrast to the sketched sentiment? So how about giving "Ombre/Monochromatic" a go and hooking up at Virginia's View?

Still want more ideas. How about ombre stamping? How about ombre watercoloring? How about a set of ombre tags? Or ombre inking through a stencil?

Have a good one, folks!

lime and grape - yum!

Wings and foil - that's what it's all about at the Mixed Media Card Challenge in May. Butterflies, insects, birds, angels... find some wings and show us your mixed media skills.

We received a graduation announcement and it had a wonderfully 1960s/hippie vibe to it. I checked out the gal's school website for her colors and purple it was. Even found her class motto "live, love, dream".  (How did we ever live without the Internet???) So off I was...

Guess I don't have a "live love dream" sentiment, but thought this one from Freckled Fawn would do the job. So I heat embossed it onto a panel I'd watercolored and splattered lime green.

Stitched it with a layer of vellum to a cardbase that I smooshed and splattered with leftover watercolor before splattering some water droplets onto it which I covered with platinum embossing powder and heated. TIP: Heat from underneath the paper to melt the powder if it is only "attached" with water.

The feathers from Lifestyle Crafts (wings have feathers, right?) were die cut from watercolor paper and painted purple and blue before being edged with platinum embossing powder. A smidge of washi finished the card.

Voila! A somewhat unconventional, but very personalized graduation card.

Since I used NBUS - the feather die and the sentiment stamp - I'm joining the "New" fun at A Blog Named Hero.