STAMPlorations more designs with gelli prints

 Hi there peeps! 

I was having so much fun using a technique (a la Susanne R.) which also uses up those gelli prints we all have hanging around our craft rooms. 

Paired it with  a cool coffee mug die cut here.

Or how about with many bloom die cuts cut from black cardstock?

Oh heck. How about with a green heat embossed ice cream cone? Artistic license, ya know?

Art Marks stamp, Zen Coffee Cup die,

Just Caffeinate sentiment stickers,

Trendy Spring Blooms die,

5 Love Words die,

Sweet Cravings stamp,

embossing powder

That's it for today. Thanks for looking.  

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.  

STAMPlorations - christmas bundle

Hi there friends. I'm sharing a few Christmas cards I made with another bundle being offered at a super price over at STAMPlorations right now. 

You're probably aware that STAMPlorations owner, Shery, is battling cancer at the moment. To help bring a bit of revenue to her family while minimizing the amount of energy she has to put into packing and shipping, Shery has bundled some products at great prices. You can check out all the bundles on offer here.

I've worked with some Christmas phrase dies included in the Christmas Bundle - 2 cover plates and 8 phrase dies for $65.

I've used a favorite technique - repeat heat embossing - to pimp the phrases. On this first card I gave the sentiment three coats of embossing powder and adhered it right onto a card front covered with PP.

Then I took it up a notch by adding a vellum mat behind a gold repeat-embossed die cut.

For the last two, I added not only a vellum mat but also some little die cut embellishments for more color and fun.

STAMPlorations dies

Little B dies

 patterned paper, vellum, embossing powders

I'm taking card #3 to Daring Cardmakers Holly challenge, Happy Little Stampers AG with Dies for November as well as Die Cut Divas AG challenge.

Appreciate you stopping by. Have a great day.

golden stamptober

Yep you read that right. I missed Stamptember when it was live but I'm here to share three makes with the Circle Sayings stamp set from Simon Says Stamp Stamptember release in what at least in Germany is a golden October. 

Well they had me at circles. Geometric makes me happy. 

Here's the first.

SSS Circle Sayings stamp

MFT Dienamics circle die

 inks, white embossing powder, pearls

But add an organic touch and my new Pigment Craft luscious autumn colors... be still my happy heart. Look what happens when you use the reverse of the stamp to get those organic circles. A fall birthday card for a guy.

SSS Circle Sayings stamp

Pigment Craft inks

clear embossing powder and washi tape

So I'd been watching some scrapbooking videos and saw this one from Shimelle.  Do you ever try to transfer a scrapbooking layout to a card? I loved her approach to stacks of PP. I gave it a try and topped my stack with a circle die cut, inked and heat embossed with a Circle Sayings sentiment.

SSS Circle Sayings stamp

The Stamp Market Framed Floral stamp

patterned paper, white embossing powder, Pigment Craft Eucalyptus ink

Quite the different approaches. Do you have a favorite? Thanks for coming by. I'm enjoying being back playing with my supplies. I'm hooking up at the SSS Wednesday Challenge where it's about Washi and also the Stamptember Gallery where you can get your fill of Autumn card inspiration!

forgotten but not gone (4)

I've been sharing cards this month that seem to have been forgotten in my photo file. Oops.

Today I'm sharing two Autumn-y creations in case you're in the mood...

First a wine-themed birthday card. It's harvest time ya know? Gave the wine a Merlot-y inked tone and added a mist of perfect pearls for fun. See the sparkle in the closeup?

Spellbinders Wine Country die

Klartext sentiment stamp

And then lovely falling leaves (a bit early I know). I love to make these pocket shakers (idea from Kristina W.) using recycled cellophane packaging. First stamp (and heat emboss) your images on vellum.

Add your fillers and stitch up the pocket. See how I added a sentiment?

You've got yourself an attractive, interactive card.

STAMPlorations stamps

vellum, embossing powder, sequins, sewing machine

Enjoy your weekend!

  

forgotten but not gone (3)

 A few more cards that seem to have been forgotten in my photo file...

Today I'm sharing two techniques you might want to revisit. The first is one of my faves learned from the oh-so-talented Yana S. - random stamping. And while you're at it, make a whole sheet and turn it into four cards. I shared a spotlight tutorial on this over at STAMPlorations if you're interested.

First stamp all over keeping in mind where the four card panels will be.

Cut and adhere your panels.

Add sentiments and you've got a set.

Hero Arts Bird and Branch stamp

floral stamps

Stempelkueche sentiment stamp

Speaking of sets. Here's one made with a solid stamp image using selective inking and spritzing to achieve a truly watercolored look.

Altenew Watercolor Wonders stamp

Altenew Super Script sentiment stamp

Distress Inks

Happy weekend!  

commissioned milestone birthday cards

Next up in my summer programming - commissioned milestone birthday cards. 

Can you guess the recipient of this first card? A teacher! How'd I do?

Action Deutschland banner dies

Simply Graphic frame dies

Memory Box number dies

embossing pen to write sentiment

white embossing powder

star sequins

And this one was a challenge.  A Covid theme for a gal turning 40. Had to get creative with clip art and a hole punch!

Memory Box alpha dies

MFT number die

Have a great day! 

STAMPlorations cas cards challenge april

Welcome to the April STAMPlorations CAS Cards challenge and that ain't no joke ;)

As always the challenge is to create any CAS card but we always give you an optional color twist. This month's colors are blue and purple.

Must have been the flowers in the inspo that took me down a sympathy card route. And it seems I'm always needing them :(

Blossom Overture stamp

Tag 1 nesting die

gold embossing powder

Got those perfect little rectangles cut from stash backgrounds using the tiniest tag die. Gold embossed and fussy cut the rose and mounted it over the tags. Voila!

CAS card tip: I ignored the sweet spot rule here but I think putting all the design items in the middle third of the card works too .

I'm looking forward to your CAS card creations this month! 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 over at the gallery.  

STAMPlorations new release - some snark

Welcome peeps! There's a new release in town. Over at the STAMPlorations shop. And with a new line of snarky stamps from our own Chris Dring. Today we're introducing Some Snark (the set on the right).

I've paired Chris' snarky sentiments with some of STAMPlorations paper goods (ATC). The vibe couldn't be more perfect.

Some Snark stamp

Retro Fashionistas ATC

watercolors, Copic markers, white embossing powder, pearls

Actually have a friend who loves to "moon" people, so this card's headed her way :)

For my next card I recycled plastic packaging to make a fun shaker. Put an inked BG in it along with several heat embossed snarky sentiments cuz they're just all so good (and lots of sequins). I attached the shaker to a cardbase and adhered a B/W ATC to the front with my main sentiment.

Some Snark stamp

Retro Fashionistas ATC

Strung Lights stencil

Distress Inks, recycled packaging, sequins, white embossing powder

That's it for today. Be sure to check out all the DT's creations over at the STAMP blog. Leave comments all around and you might be the lucky winner of one of Chris' new stamp sets.

Thanks for stopping by.  

more scraps as a frame

You may remember this Valentine - part of my scrap strip adventure lately. 

Dienamics Love Centerpieces die

Well what was left of the "stripped" card after die cutting that LOVE square became this frame, which then became this card. Heat embossed blooms. Added light watercolor touches and lots of sequins.

Altenew Frosted Garden stamp

I'm heading over to the Altenew February Challenge with my pinks and greens.

STAMPlorations inspiration #351

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls. I'm continuing on my mission to use created backgrounds.

Thinking of You die

Layered Poinsettias stamp

Bloom Happy die

Die cut four "rectangles" from two backgrounds, adhered them to my cardbase, heat embossed some stylistic leaves and added a gold die cut sentiment. Isn't this a great multi-purpose sentiment? 

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, if you use my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code you receive an additional 20% off your order.  Have a great day! And let's all have a great year!     

STAMPlorations inspiration #348

Ready for another Tuesday inspiration post from the STAMPlorations inspiration team girls?

As we roll along towards Christmas, I've been making cards with ephemera pieces. Lately I'm working with ATC backgrounds. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store.

Here's today's card.

Christmas Backgrounds ATC 1

Reindeer die

Festive stamp

 Simply Graphic frame dies, watercolors

Like on my last cards, I picked an ATC from the package and let its style and colors drive my design.

Since Santa was so colorful I decided to give him a couple colorful friends. I die cut the reindeer and added splotches of watercolor to them. I opted to give Santa a couple skinny black frames, so gave the reindeer a black shadow and used the playful "Merry" outline from that wonderful stamp set for my sentiment. "Christmas" is stamped on the inside of the card.

Again, not a very traditional creation, but it was fun to challenge myself to turn this ATC into a Christmas card. 

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.  Have a great day!    

STAMPlorations inspiration #346

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

And welcome to December. Can you even believe it? I've been making Christmas cards with ephemera pieces lately if you've been watching ;) Now I'm working with another kind of ephemera from the STAMP store - ATC backgrounds. There are lots of ephemera options in the STAMP store.

Meet today's card.

Christmas Backgrounds ATC 1

Christmas Joy Laser Cut Shapes

Christmas Joy stamp

Circles All Over Texture Plate

 Altenew inks, gems, gold embossing powder, washi

Not CAS today.  I chose the bell ATC and let its style and colors drive my design.

I did some multi-color stamping of the poinsettia on the laser cut shapes, picking up on the colors on the ATC. Spritzed the inks with my mini mister to soften the image and added gems to the centers. I added washi to the ATC and heat embossed a sentiment on a die cut oval. Picking up on the ornament and bead circles on the ATC I embossed the circle texture plate onto my purple card front.

I must admit I'm more of a "green and red Christmas" girl. But it was fun to challenge myself to turn this ATC into a Christmas card.

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.  Have a great day!   

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 6

Today I have two more cards that were born as a result of the current November Altenew Inspiration Challenge. 

I still had some die cut leaves left from yesterday's cards, so I pulled out a paper/sticker pack from Action (my dollar store) and let it inspire this sweet card.

Altenew Sketchy Floral stamp

Altenew Virginia Rose 3D die

chipboard, embossing powder

I adhered a piece of notebook paper /that I'd cleaned a stencil off on) to my cardbase. Added the leaves down the edge, added the sweet fox and a strip of CS along the bottom edge and then chose a sentiment that would fit on another scrap - the little circle.

And then a chipboard balloon fell out of the pack and I decided to make myself make another card before putting the pack away. No Altenew here. And I'm done with the November challenge, BTW. Also bummed cuz the hook up doesn't seem to be working over at Altenew :(

It's sure been fun to be creating again. And using up some pieces laying around my craft room. I'm actually starting to dream about moving out of the basement and into DD's empty bedroom... We'll see if that ever happens. 

Seems like blogs don't get much attention these days. Thanks for visiting.

  

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...