STAMPlorations Birthday Blog Hop - Day 2

Hello!  It's Day 2 of our STAMPlorations 2nd Birthday Blog hop.  I've used The Bee's Knees PartyGirl again, but I've changed it up a bit.  I inked the dress except for the frilly bit at the knee, using Antique Linen, and stamped it at an angle off the card.  I also stamped the hanger in Antique Linen.

Then came the fun bit!  I loaded up a paintbrush with a very diluted wash of Mermaid Lagoon and sloshed it down the line of the skirt to create a ballgown.  Using a smaller brush, I dotted a more concentrated Mermaid Lagoon on the bust and waist trim, and added some dots around the dress.  Oh, and coloured the birthday sentiment from Party Time.

Our Guest Designer today is the fabulous Anni Lerche from Annikarten! Check out Anni what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all birthday blog hop projects here.

Look what you could win:

Prizes for commenting on the STAMPlorations blog, STAMPlorations designers blogs, and guest designers blogs:
1 winner of $25 gift certificate
5 winners of $10 gift certificate

Prizes for linking up a party/celebration/birthday project:
3 winners of the party stamp sets (1 winner of Party Mates, 1 winner of Party Time, 1 winner of PartyGirl)
1 winner of $25 gift certificate (if STAMPlorations stamps/stencils are used) or $15 gift certificate (if non-STAMPlorations stamps/stencils are used).

Happy Happy Birthday

My trusty little kingfisher is making an appearance again, I just love him!  Today I've used the no-line watercolour technique again, added some splatters (of course!), some washi tape and a sentiment white-embossed on kraft.

Don't forget, CASEplorations is still open if you want to CASE this card, or any of the cards from the STAMPlorations team.  Prizes to be won....

Click here for details.

STAMPlorations Birthday Blog Hop - Day 1

It's Party Time!  We're celebrating STAMPlorations' 2nd birthday with a blog hop and some fabulous new party stamps.

We've got Party Mates designed by Deepti, Party Times designed by Shery, and PartyGirl designed by me!

I've used all three sets for today's card.  PartyGirl is designed so that you can have a front view or a rear view, the dress works for either.  She's ready for a night on the town in her little black dress and fishnets.  Probably not what Coco Chanel had in mind, but there you go.

I masked off a narrow border around the card, then stamped the PartyGirl images.  I usually position the dress and legs on the card for placement, making sure there's enough head room, then stamp the dress first, then the shoulders/arms, then the head, and finally the legs because it's easier to line them up last once the upper body is in place.

I stamped the Party Mates images in Versafine Smoky Grey, and the sentiment from Party Times in red.  I used a Black Soot wash for the image, and added a light sponging of Black Soot around the border.  A touch of ruby glitter around her waist and bustline, and red soles for her Louboutins, and she's ready for off!

Our Guest Designer today is none other than Amy Tsuruta of Tsuruta Designs!  Check out what Amy and the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all birthday blog hop projects here.

You can win prizes by commenting and by linking a card up to the linky party that will be going on all week:

Prizes for commenting on the STAMPlorations blog, STAMPlorations designers blogs, and guest designers blogs:
1 winner of $25 gift certificate
5 winners of $10 gift certificate

Prizes for linking up a party/celebration/birthday project:
3 winners of the party stamp sets (1 winner of Party Mates, 1 winner of Party Time, 1 winner of PartyGirl)
1 winner of $25 gift certificate (if STAMPlorations stamps/stencils are used) or $15 gift certificate (if non-STAMPlorations stamps/stencils are used)

Pop back tomorrow for another glam dress!

Mixed Bouquet

Here's a mixed bouquet for you, using The Bee's Knees Rosebuds and Dee's Artsy Impressions Blooming Buds.

I stamped the large low flower first, masked it and stamped the vase and rosebuds, then kept masking as I built up the bouquet.  I coloured it with various Distress Ink washes and added some splatter (of course!).  The sentiment is from Fond Expressions.

There's more inspirations for you over at the STAMPlorations blog, and if you want to CASE this or any of the design team's cards, why not add it to the CASEplorations linky.  Prizes to be won... :)

STAMPlorations Inspiration

It's inspiration day at STAMPlorations today.  The Bloom Silhouettes ARTplorations stencil also comes with the cutout masks - double for your money!

The rosebuds reminded me of The Bee's Knees Rosebuds set, so I made a little background on my new 5x3 Gelli Plate (it's great, you can use it like a stamp!), and used the rosebud masks from the stencil pack then stamped the Gelli plate over the rosebud masks.  Then I stamped the bouquet from the Rosebuds stamp set on spare white card, coloured it with Distress Ink, added some grunge stamps from the Mixed Media Grunge set and a sentiment from The Bee's Knees World Birthday Cakes, which is released next month.

So, delicate rosebuds can live happily alongside grunge panels - have a go!  If you feel like CASE-ing this card, or any of the cards from the STAMPlorations team, don't forget to link it up to the STAMPlorations CASE playground - you could win prizes!

Happy New Home

I'm playing along at Less Is More, where the challenge is a one layer card, and the theme is 'Home'.  I've used the little cottage from The Bee's Knees Houses, and the fence, gate, path and trees are from a co-ordinating set called HousesExtras, which will be released next month.

It's a cold day here, despite being the middle of summer, so I've drawn in a little plume of smoke.  English cottages always have an open fire going, whatever the weather!

Seize The Birthday - Nothing But Neutrals

It's time for another challenge at Seize The Birthday, and this time the toppings theme is Nothing But Neutrals.

My card uses one of my newly acquired stamp sets, Runway by Tim Holtz, which I've been umming and aaahing over for ages.  I stamped the girl in Versafine Onyx Black and sloshed Tea Dye Distress Ink on her, adding some splatters.  The wording down the righthand side is from my own set, The Bee's Knees CityGirl, and the "birthday girl" sentiment is from Party Time, one of the new sets being launched for STAMPlorations Birthday celebrations - mark your calendars for the birthday blog hop 29 June to 3 July.

So, break out your neutral colours and join us over at Seize The Birthday!

More Butterflies

More butterflies for you today, inspired by lovely photo at The Card Concept.  I made a masterboard of butterflies using my new Distress Inks (Cracked Pistachio, Mermaid Lagoon, Abandoned Carol and Fossilised Amber).  The purplish shades come from the mix of inks.  I cut the masterboard into four, selected this piece and stamped one of the butterflies in Versafine Onyx Black.

And then I added splatters :)

I'm also entering it into Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, Use Your Favourite Technique or Product.  Erm, Distress Inks and splattering!

I'm over at STAMPlorations tonight with a photo tutorial on this little pointillist hummingbird.  Pop on over and take a look!

Collaged Butterfly

Here's a little reminder card for you for the Mixed Media Card Challenge, where the theme is Collage and the optional element is Frame.

The butterfly die-cut is the remnant from this card, which I've covered with patterned tissue paper and added a few candy dots.  I added a frame to the panel with gold Liquid Pearls, scribbled a bit of Gelato in the corners, and added some gold thread behind the butterfly.

I'm entering this into The Card Concept, The Butterfly Effect.  I'm somewhere between freestyle collage and mixed media, or both.

Kookaburra Birthday

It's Inspiration time on the STAMPlorations blog today.  My kingfisher from The Bee's Knees SmallBirds is masquerading as a kookaburra today.  The background is a Tim Holtz stencil with clear embossing paste, then sponged with various shades of Distress Ink.  I added a scribble of gelato around the edges and a sentiment panel from Party Time, then matted it onto chocolate coloured card, then onto the white base card.

Pop over to the STAMPlorations blog for lots of inspiration from the team.  If you feel like CASE-ing this, or any of the other cards you see from the team, why not add them to the CASE playground for chances to win?

 

Craft Stamper Reminder - Take a Technique

Hi folks, here's a little reminder about the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge.  This month it's all about texture.  I've used gold pearl texture paste, with fine glitter mixed in (I wouldn't do that again, you can't really see it).  And there's more texture on PartyGirl's dress in the form of Crushed Ice Crystals.  The sentiments are from STAMPlorations PartyTime.

That stencil is the one that broke my Cuttlebug!  Ok, it was the extra shim that broke it.  My replacement cutting machine is due to arrive today - yay!

Our sponsor is Rubber Dance Art Stamps, and one lucky random winner will get a £20 voucher!

The winning entry selected by the Design Team will be published in Craft Stamper Magazine (so hold on to it, just in case!), and the winner will get a guest design spot, and a profile post on the blog.

Pop on over to the blog for more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team, and get stamping!

The Good, The Bad and The Happy News - Part Deux

So, having been to a couple of shows (good news) and bought lots of stash (more good news), then having lost some Tim Holtz stash (very bad news), I managed to order another stamp set to replace lost item, and treated myself to a couple more TH sets for the trouble (very good news).

Then the Big Shot that I ordered to replace my broken Cuttlebug was suddenly out of stock after my order had been accepted (bad news) but they offered me an Evolution Advanced with detachable motor, which was in stock, at an extremely good price (very good news).  It should arrive tomorrow - will I be able to sleep tonight?

And the happy news is that my new stamp set, Party Girl, is now available at STAMPlorations (there's a pic and a link on my sidebar up there).  Come back tomorrow for a card made with that set.

But for today's card, this is show stash that I managed not to lose, and I'm entering it into Simon Says Monday Challenge, For The Love of Plants.

Stamplorations Inspiration

Have you seen this fab flower set by STAMPlorations' newest designer, Deepti Malik?  I've used the bloom and stem, inking with Distress Ink minis (Peeled Paint, Aged Mahogany, Pickled Raspberry and Worn Lipstick), then pulling the colour in with a wet brush, and adding extra colour - and some splatters.  The sentiment is from the February STAMP Club set, Blossom Overture, and the washi tape is retrieved from the packaging with my latest STAMPlorations consignment ;)

Coincidentally, the latest challenge at STAMPlorations is Stamps and Washi.

I'm entering this into Inkspirational.

The Good, The Bad And The Happy News

It's been a week of mixed fortunes in my little crafting world.  I went to a craft fair, and the good news is I got lots of new stash, some of it at bargain prices.  The bad news is, I managed to lose one of my bags containing a Tim Holtz set (which I'd paid full price for, to do a workshop at my craft club).

Then the other day, I was playing with my new Tim Holtz dies and managed to break my Cuttlebug.  (Yes, I know they're not recommended to go through a Cuttlebug, but I've never had any problem before with them).  I may have been asking it too much, the shim might just have been too thick, and next thing, the side exploded off.  I managed to fit it all together but the bad news is, it keeps popping off as soon as anything goes through the rollers.  So the good news is, I'm upgrading (sizewise at least) to a Big Shot, which I never had room for before.

And the happy news is, I've got a new stamp set coming out, PartyGirl, which will be available very soon, in time for STAMPlorations' birthday party - watch this space!  The PartyGirl set is designed so that you can create a party girl front view or rear view, or you can use the dress separately with or without the hanger.  I doodled a rack for my dresses to hang on.  The sentiment is from another set by Shery that's being released for the birthday party.  The sparkly stuff is Crushed Ice Crystals.

I'm entering this into Virginia's View, Ombré /Monochromatic.

ETA:  I'm also entering this into Pretty Pink Posh Watercolour Blog Hop.

Craft Stamper Take It Make It - Take a Technique: Texture

Hello!  Time for a new challenge at Craft Stamper Take It Make It.  This month we'd like you to take a technique - Texture - and incorporate it into your project.  Don't forget to include stamping as well.

For my card I inked one side of an embossing folder with Antique Linen, added the card and ran it through my Cuttlebug.  The card is embossed and the background inked at the same time - my kind of multitasking!  On a spare piece of card I sponged Antique Linen around the edges then stamped the image in black, and added some squiggly lines with a fineliner then mounted the panel onto the card.

You've got two chances of winning.  Our sponsor this month is Rubber Dance Art Stamps, and one lucky random winner will get a voucher worth £20.

The winning entry selected by the Design Team will be published in Craft Stamper Magazine (so hold on to it, just in case!), and the winner will get a guest design spot, and a profile post on the blog.

Pop on over to the blog for more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team, and get stamping!

Seize The Birthday - Animals

Ready for another Seize The Birthday?  This time our topping is animals.

I have a stash of stamped images waiting to be made into cards.  This one has been waiting quite a long time, she's well past her sell-by date!  The stamp is by Stampassions which I think is now defunct, and the sentiment is from a Hero Arts set.

She must be a member of the Red Hat Society ;)

Pop on over to the Seize the Birthday blog for more inspiration and to link up your birthday creation.

Kingfisher

This is my first "live" post for a fortnight!  For the last two weeks you've been getting a pre-recorded version of me while we went off to Italy, but here I am now, for real, filled with pizza, pasta and Prosecco.  With lots of blogstalking to catch up on, so I'll make this a quick post.

For my card today, I tore out some text from a magazine and painted a layer of gesso over it, then when it was dry I stamped the Kingfisher from The Bee's Knees SmallBirds in Versafine Onyx Black and dried it, then coloured with Distress Inks and markers.  Add a bit of stencilling (TCW), stick the image in place, add a sentiment (Woodware) and some black scratch marks (credit card) and I'm calling it done.

This is going into Simon Says Monday - Royal (KING-fisher)

and Simon Says Wednesday - Make It Masculine.

I'm over on the STAMPlorations blog tonight with this card using Brusho and the marigold stamp from the STAMP Club set.  Check it out here.