STAMPlorations inspiration #56

It's STAMPlorations inspiration time today. I'm actually sharing my card a day early cuz I made it inspired by two challenges that are closing soon. But check the STAMPlorations blog tomorrow for my teamies' creations.

I used Becca's Reindeer Games set.

First let me share my inspiration. See where I got the warm white, brown and red and snow?

The Card Concept #46 - I think my card is Clean and Layered or Clean and Graphic.

 Pinspirational Challenge #156

AAA Cards #56

I pencilled in where the Amy Tangerine Polaroid frame would be, masked it and applied shimmer embossing paste through SSS Falling Snow stencil. When it dried I stamped the deer and colored his hat. Adhered the woodgrain frame with a heat embossed sentiment on it and filled the little heart hole with a red heart. I just love the shimmery snow!

Please visit the STAMPlorations blog to see the DT's colorful creations. Remember, we've changed things a bit and will be posting every Tuesday. If you leave a comment on the Tuesday post on the STAMPlorations blog, you're in the running for a monthly random draw for a $10 gift certificate.

so the planets aligned

I don't really have a system for following challenges. Or to be more exact, for getting cards created on time to take part in challenges. But I had just pinned this photo which I love and immediately thought of some stamp sets that I wanted to use to create a card with it and lo and behold, I went and did it and there are even a bunch of challenges I can play in with it too. Thanks, planets!

Image Source

So I pulled out a few Aha Arts sets that I have from Ashley G, and just let myself be inspired by the elements, style and colors of the photo.

Used some Hero Arts shadow inks and yellow and mint pigment inks from Avery Elle. Started with the chica and the birdie and went from there. Did some masking. Did some stamp kissing on the "m" (personalizing this for DD). Die cut a cloud opening and a sentiment.

Ha! Just realized I was going for a one-layer card for a couple challenges and I'm not sure that my card counts cuz of the sentiment. (I was actually trying to die cut tulle, backing it with a piece of scrap paper - the tulle fell apart but the scrap paper looked cool so I stitched it on instead!)

Joining these challenges:
A Blog Named Hero - OLC (that little birdie is from an ancient HA set too)
Craft Stamper, Take it Make it - January
Artistic Stamper - Anything Goes
One Layer Simplicity - Sky's the Limit (which I tried to portray with the die cut cloud)
CASology - Open (thus the die cut cloud)

Have a great Sunday. You've still got time to check out the STAMPlorations new release hop. And to CASE Laura B. over at the CASEplorations challenge!

new. beginnings.

I've a reminder card for you today for The Mixed Media Card Challenge. I've got a wedding card, but I skipped the optional sequins. I've got enough going on on my card without 'em ;)

This card was a result of me and my new Color Bursts trying to get to know each other. I dry embossed watercolor CS, poofed some blue and green CB onto it, spritzed it with water and panicked. But after some tipping, dabbing and patience, I was pretty happy with this cool BG panel. And after sopping up leftover color, got five tags outta the deal too!

Grungy stamped some hearts, die cut a heart from old tulle and added a nest of wispy gold thread. I heat embossed "celebrate" from Winnie and Walter Big and Bold Extras onto a snippet of black CS and die cut "love" from Amy Tangerine from black CS and white fun foam. Adhered them together and topped it with Glossy Accents.

Even adhered the "love" with dimensional adhesive. And cuz it's so yummy, here's another shot of that texture and shine!

I'm really pleased with this result. Just have to get a better relationship going with those poofy Color Bursts. Anyone know of good videos for me to watch?

I'm playing at:
Stamps and Stencils - Oh So Blue
Addicted to Stamps and More #176 - Anything Goes
Sisterhood of Crafters - Something old (tulle), Something new (Color Bursts)
Anything but Cute #9 - Bring in the New (Color Bursts)

Thanks for visiting.

STAMPlorations release week hop

The STAMPlorations girls are hopping to share a great new release with you today. The bundle is 20% off, singles 10% for a short time - details here. Lots to see so I won't keep you long.

First up, Shirley's Winged Things, perfect accompaniment to her Folk Flowers. But I used other flowers today! The ones from my go-to Happy Flowers stencil. And a sentiment from Dee's New Beginning.

Masked the area where the flowers would be, stamped the dragonflies, sponged purple Distress Inks through the stencil, spread white embossing paste, removed the stencil, let it dry and voila! The color seeps through the paste to tint it. Lovely, isn't it?

Next up is Becca's hilarious new set, Reindeer Games. Lest you be saying to yourself, "but Christmas is over"... it's great for Valentines too.

My card was inspired by the sentiment. I wanted to streeeeeetch my design so went for two deer, an altered sentiment ("we" instead of "I") and a garland of hearts. I used Soft Stone CS and distressed white textured CS for the Polaroid frames. Wood grain CS backs my sentiment sign and wood grain washi lines the bottom of the card. Cuz I'm playing here:

Pinspirational Challenge #156

The Card Concept #46 - I think my card is Clean and Graphic.

Things get a bit more serious with the next set from Deepti, New Beginning. This set makes me think of sympathy or comfort cards. I made a tall, skinny card of hope.

I created my BG with Distress markers on watercolor paper (a la Kristina W.) then heat embossed the image onto vellum which I stitched onto the panel. Mounted it on a blue cardbase and added a sentiment from True North.

Last up is a versatile sentiment set from Shery, Big Greetings. I was tickled when I stumbled across a piece of PP that inspired a design using this set.

Go bold or go home, ya know? The card made itself thanks to American Crafts and my sewing machine!

So hope you have a few minutes to go hopping this weekend. The whole lineup (and list of prizes) is here if you want to start at the very beginning. It's a very good place to start ;) 

a rerun in green. green?

Green, as I may have mentioned before, is not my favorite color. It's great for Kermit. And the plants and trees in my garden. But not my cards.

So when Colour Q went and did this, I figured it would be a good challenge for me.

And I paired it with Winnie and Walter's rerun of a stamp set I don't have, but I improvised. And drew inspiration from this card of Lydia's.

I pulled out WW True and silver heat embossed a couple borders in a nod to the rows of garlands on Lydia's card. Then I colored in a few triangles with Distress and Zig markers in Colour Q colors. Stamped and partially heat embossed a sentiment.

Sponged Distress Inks in Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters and Broken China onto Neenah CS and die cut WW Friend from it and from white CS. Adhered it offset a la Lydia (this is actually what originally caught my eye on Lydia's card!).

Added a vellum die cut branch and voila!

I chose this word die cuz I want to play at Mod Squad where it's about "Friendship". And the inking from green to blue qualifies my card for the "Ombre" challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday.

Happy Friday! If we're lucky we might be seeing our first snow of the season this weekend...

butterfly, my butterfly

I was truly inspired by the colors in the inspiration photo at The Challenge #56. And it was high time to get a card made for MIL's 80th! Meet my card.

I also wanted to play at City Crafter Challenge where the theme's "Butterfly, my Butterfly". Lots of beautiful inspiration there, BTW.

This was an experiment with Color Bursts. Cuz I stumbled across this video where Sandy Allnock  creates the most amazing painting with Brushos. When I grow up, I want to be an artist like her! Anyhoo, she inspired me to pull out my Color Bursts and this card happened. Why all that yellow is in there when I used orange... don't know. Why the blue got nice and smooth and the orange stayed blotchy... don't know - "... and miles to go before I sleep."

I inked STAMPlorations Happy Sunflower with Mermain Lagoon Distress Ink, spritzed it a few times and then stamped it on my watercolor paper when the Color Bursts had dried. I like how it adds depth to the design and creates a visual triangle with the Color Burst splotches.

The butterflies, die cut from vellum and white CS using Clearly Besotted Butterfly Wishes, were stitched down the middle, the wispy threads becoming their antennae.

The PTI sentiment was heat embossed onto a navy CS banner and the golden "80" from MFT High Rise Numbers were added to the flower center. Voila!

why mess with a good thing

Another card for you today. Does this card bring anything to mind?

If your mind went to Papertrey Ink, I'm not surprised. That's where my inspiration originated. A while ago Maile B. introduced a paper line and this design caught my eye. Why mess with a good thing, I thought, and kinda recreated it using these stamp sets.

Celebrate Artsy

Holiday Artsy

The sentiment is from the new release, a great and versatile sentiment set designed by Shery and called Big Greetings.  Watch for more of it on Friday. I was inspired by colors from The Challenge although I strayed a bit since I needed more tones. Bev of Happy Dance is being featured. Yay Bev!

Since I used a newly released stamp set, I'm squeaking in at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge - Something New.

Two of those swooshes are stamped with Delicata silver pigment ink, so I'm joining the metallic fun at Just Us Girls #325.

And Betsy V''s card totally reminded me of the idea of a strip of striped paper along the edge to pep things up. I'm joining the Create Along With Us over at PTI. I didn't actually use PTI product, but it was Maile's PP that inspired my design!

Happy Hump Day!