Inkspirational Challenge #238~Sketch...Missees Selfies #Sweet

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #238, where Shauna has selected a sketch as our prompt for the next two week. I can't recall the last time we offered up a sketch, so this will be a TON of fun, especially as the squares can be represented by any shape or image. 

True story: I have embraced the Missees collection to the nth degree! For whatever reason, I simply can't get enough of these images, especially the ever-so-clever die sets (which you'll see in action fairly soon...).  Today, I'm featuring one of the stamps from the Betty collection (I'm awaiting the arrival of Tasha and Carol) who nestled into the filmstrip dies - and accompanying panels - from Mama Elephant. My copic skin blends need some work but overall, I'm happy with the results. 

Please check out my teammates' takes on the sketch, then play along with us!

Marina, Shauna, Pia, Marlena, Lindsey

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #582~Word Week...Dreaming of Seeing You Soon (floating bunnies from MFT Sky High)

Hello!

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #582, where our sweet Sue has select *Float* as this week's prompt. Loads of possibilities, from balloons, to boats, to root beer/ice cream floats. Let your imagination...well, float! 

Joining us as our May guest designer is  Jacinda; you're sure to love her creativity as much as we do. 

I've brought out MFT's Sky High kit, from a while back for this challenge, and created a trio of little floating, dreaming bunny scenes. Those bunnies...soooo cute! Purple gingham for backgrounds? Yes, please! 

That's it from me; looking forward to seeing how *Float*inspires you!

Thank you for dropping by!

Sticker Monday for STAMPlorations (Part 1)...Stickers and Speech Bubbles

Hello,

I'm delighted to be sharing my first, of three, Sticker Monday posts with you today; a great chance for you to see how versatile these stickers can be, regardless of your crafting style.

I've been having a 'thing' for speech bubbles of late, so I decided to pair them with an assortment of stickers. My trio ranges from colourful simple, to colourful + a bit more complex, to clean and simple.

  

Card 1

For this encouragement card, I used snippets of rainbow patterned paper from my collection,

added the stickers, then cut them with a variety of speech bubbles. The Circles All Over adds

some texture to the background; the bubbles are all stacked for extra dimension.

STAMPlorations Products:

Hey, Sunshine~Clear Stickers

Inspirational Stickers #3~Clear Stickers

Circles All Over Texture Cover Plate

Card 2

Stripes every which way, cut from strips of cardstock/patterned papers, are trending in the

crafting universe of late. Using that as inspiration, I opted to create strips with the Bits of Washi #2 stickers. 

• First, I decided on my speech bubble arrangement, then ran the panel through my Big Shot. At this point, I stamped the sentiments.
• Afterwards, I added washi strips to pieces of cardstock trimmed to fit the bubble openings (slightly larger) and adhered them to the underside of the panel. This panel was then placed on the card base. Yes, I *could* have just cut the speech bubbles + washi together, but I wanted my panel to create the appearance of inlay. 
• The final step: adding the Thanks word die cut.

STAMPlorations Products:

Bits of Washi #2~Clear Stickers

Thank You Coffee

Thanks Word Die

Card 3

My Thanks card, featuring heart-shaped pops of colour made from Bits of Washi #2, 

was super simple to make. 

• I placed the washi on cardstock, then cut the hearts with some small heart dies. 
• Various 'thanks sentiments were stamped on the speech bubbles and added to the panel sporting the Wonky Stitched Grid. 

Even though I didn't use a *lot* of stickers for this card, they really are the stars-of-the-stage. In this case, less IS more! 

STAMPlorations Products:

Bits of Washi #2~Clear Stickers

Thank You Coffee

Frames and Flowers~Dee's Artsy Impressions

Wonky Stitched Grid Textured Cover Plate

I hope my cards have given you ideas for using your STAMPlorations stickers!  See you in May with my second installment!

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #581~Photo Week...A Note to Say Thanks (PFS Dainty Blossoms)

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #581, where our sweet Bobby has selected this Spring photo as this week's inspiration. We had a 'teaser' of warm weather for two days this week but now, we're back to winter temperature. Yesterday, it was -3C when we walked Lily; today, it's 0C....and snow is in the forecast for the weekend. Yes, Spring in Alberta is...interesting...

Once again, we're delighted to have Claire Apostoloff guest designing with us; her card is wonderful, as are those created by my teammates. Do check them out and, if you can, leave them some love.

As I've mentioned multiple times: I find flowers challenging and, as you've discovered, they don't appear all that often on my cards. I rarely colour flowers, so when they show up, they're either ink/cardstock layered, stenciled or, as is the case here, die-cuts. All about simplicity *grin*

On my card, the wood slates and overall colour scheme were translated into the rainbow stripes of the patterned paper. I went with a simple arrangement of PFS Dainty Blossoms. This didn't take long to make, once I figured out the plan..and that took quite a while! Let's just say that a few other attempts (with stamps) just didn't make the cut *grin*

That's it from me; looking forward to seeing how the photo inspires you!

Thank you for dropping by!

Inkspirational Challenge #237~Photo Inspiration...Many Thanks (PFS Stencil and Modern Layered Florals)

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #237, where we're inviting you to draw inspiration from this fabulous photo. Yellow and grey...Pantone's colours of the year are certainly visible here. Just sayin'!

The colours and patterned/textured background caught my eye, so I translated them into this card, featuring products (diagonal stencil and Modern Layered Florals) from Pinkfresh Studio. I missed the 'red' from the taxis' tail lights, which I could have accomplished by changing ink for some of the smaller flowers, but...hindsight, right!  Yellow is good *grin*  

Please check out my teammates' takes on the photo, then play along with us!

Marina, Shauna, Pia, Marlena, Lindsey

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #580~Colour Week...Thick Brush Happy Birthday (Gina K Designs and Poppy Stamps Poe Script)

Hello, 

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #580, where our sweet hostess, Lisa, selected this trio of colours for inspiration. Sooooo pretty!

Once again, we're delighted to have Claire Apostoloff guest designing with us; her card is wonderful, as are those created by my teammates. Do check them out and, if you can, leave them some love.

I've had this Thick Brush stencil from Gina K Designs for ages, carefully tucked away in my stencils binder where, like too many others, it was forgotten. Fortunately, it caught my eye during a flip-through and the play date happened, finally.  Distress inks in the colours mentioned, a die-cut sentiment from Poppy Stamps (that Poe Script style is lovely), a sticker and...done! 

That's it from me; looking forward to seeing how you use the palette this week!

NOTE: Honoured and delighted to be selected as one, of two, Seize the Cake winners for this challenge!

Also sharing at:

Seize the Birthday Challenge #212

Thank you for dropping by!

The Color Hues Challenge #16~Yellow and Grey...Just Calling to Say LOVE (Waffle Flower Secret Admirer)

Hello,

Welcome to our Colour Hues Challenge for April (can you believe...mid-April already!!), where we're inviting you to use hues of  Yellow and Grey, the Pantone Colours of the Year. Definitely a combination with umpteen lovely possibilities, as our guest designer and my teammates will demonstrate!

I am so smitten with Waffle Flower's Secret Admirer set that I *had* to bring them out for a yellow + grey playdate.  AND, I even found a sheet of matchy-matchy patterned paper in my stash - Girl Gang - from P13, my current favourite paper company! First sheet used from this collection and yes, love it as much as I love allllll the others I've used. The patterns and thickness are win-wins for me.

Please visit the rest of the team, along with our guest designer; they've created quite the array of dazzling delights with Yellow and Grey:

Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

Karen

The challenge is open until 9:00 AM (EST) on April 29th.

 The winners will be posted an hour before our next challenge goes live (May 1st). 

The overall winner will have the opportunity to be a 

future Guest Designer!

Thank you for dropping by!

STAMPlorations Reminder Post April 2021 CAS Challenge~Anything CAS Goes (optional: Baby Pink and Navy Blue)...Peeking Sunflower Thank You

Hello

Welcome to my STAMPlorations Reminder Post for the April 2021 CAS Challenge, where the theme is always Anything Goes with an optional colour twist which, this month, is Baby Pink and Navy Blue.

I used the Peeking Sunflowers Slimline stencil for my first card of the challenge and decided to play with it again to make an A2 sized card. Worked a charm! I paired it with a sentiment from Thank You Coffee and Circles All Over Texture Cover Plate (on the navy). Super simple and a wonderful way to stretch (or would that be 'shrink') your slimline stencils!

That's it from me; time for you to play along.

• You can find Challenge details here. PLEASE READ as they've been updated.
• If you decide to purchase some of the products I - or other designers have used - head over to the STAMPlorations Online Store (always great deals to be had!)
• To receive an additional 20% off your purchases, I invite you to use my discount code: STAMPGIRLCAROL.

Thank you for dropping by!

Perfect CAS April 2021 Challenge #13~Wings...Make A Wish Fairy

Hello,

Welcome to Perfectly CAS April 2021 Challenge, where this month's theme is WINGS!  Butterflies, birds, bees...planes....if it has wings, and your design is CAS, then we'd love to see you in the gallery!

I went VERY clean-and-simple with my card by keeping well within 1/3 of the panel and in selecting a minimal palette.  My pretty fairy and sentiment are from Poppy Stamps; haven't given these sets much attention, of late...so here they are, as performing solo on the stage! 

Please be sure to pop by my teammates' blogs, leave them some love, then bring your Perfectly CAS Birthday creations to the gallery.

• A friendly reminder: For this challenge, we're asking you to use one-third (aka: the rule of thirds) or less on your card designs, leaving plenty of scrumptious white space (two-thirds of your panel) to draw our eyes to to your focal image. Kylie has included an easy-to-follow explanation on the challenge blog here.

Hope you're staying safe and healthy!

Thank you for dropping by!

Cool Tees~Coffee Monday; Coffee Friday...AAA Cards Game #187~Two Quarters

Hello,

Popping in this crisp, cool, beautiful blue sky Sunday morning with a fun card for AAA Cards CAS Game #187:

I've used Your Next Stamp's Cool Tees to create my two quarters, which includes the t-shirts and a whole bunch of images - including these hilarious coffee cups. Even though my days seem 'run together,' I still know when Monday and Friday roll around - and react accordingly. LOL! Must be the lingering effects of having been a teacher for 30+ years!  

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #579~Use More than 1 Stencil (Trend Week)....Today It's All About You (PFS Stencils)

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #579 where, as this week's hostess, I'm inviting you to use more than 1 stencil on your cards/projects.  With stencils being incredibly trendy, I'm sure you have a couple in your stash that would play well together or perhaps you have some of the gaining-in-popularity layered stencils that are making their marks in the crafting universe. Whatever your choice, bring on those stencils in twos, threes, fours...or more!

Once again, we're delighted to have Claire Apostoloff guest designing with us; her card is super cool, as are those created by my teammates. Do check them out and, if you can, leave them some love.

I bought a small selection PFS layered stencils *ages* ago and finally, a couple are making a debut. The background diagonal stripes are one stencil; the You Are My Favourite are three. Total: 4 stencils. And a quick way to make a floral card, stress-free!

That's it from me; looking forward to seeing how you use more than one stencil this week!

Thank you for dropping by!

HLS April 2021 Anything Goes with Dies Challenge...Congrats on Your New Furbaby

Hello,

Time for Happy Little Stampers April 2021 Anything Goes with Dies Challenge. 

I've been seeing an absolutely wonderful physiotherapist over the past few months and recently, she and her husband welcomed a Weimaraner puppy into their lives. Of course, it just seemed fitting that I make her a card to mark the occasion! 

This Photoplay puppy kind-of looks like a weimaraner (copic-coloured) and, because the new furbaby is a girl, I created a 'girly' background for her. The paw prints on the slimline and label are just soooooo cute!

That's it from me! Check out what my talented teammates have created, then bring out your dies and join us in the gallery!

Thank you for dropping by!

STAMPlorations Things with Wings 2021 Hop and Link Party...Butterfly Coverplate Trio

Hello,

I'm delighted welcome you to STAMPlorations' 2021 THINGS WITH WINGS Hop and Linky Party! This celebration of Spring also comes with invitations for you to play along with us and win PRIZES! See details below as well as on the STAMPloration post.

I'm sharing a trio of cards made with the Butterfly Cover Plate  and P13 paper (so gorgeous!)

For my first card, I die cut only the butterfly from the plate; first with 'scrap' cardstock to create a template and the second with the P13 paper. After placing the template on my panel, I inlaid the patterned paper pieces ( the purples/wine and gold...oh my!) and once everything was in place, removed the outline. While it was a bit fiddly, this time I was smart: I placed Die Cut 'n Bond on my P13 papers before cutting, which essentially transformed each piece into an easy-to-adhere sticker. The final card has 'only' the inset pieces, which are so pretty in being a bit dimensional. To add some texture, I used a stamped around the wings with the dotted image from Mixed Media Grunge. The sentiment is a sticker from my stash.

My second card is similar to the previous, except here, the cover plate is intact.  More P13 paper...and this one - in hues of pink/orange and gold - is also swoon-inducing. 

Of course, I *had* to use the outlines of the butterflies from the previous two cards to make a third...

Here's my trifecta....

That's it from me! Now your turn to join the fun! 

Blog Hop Prizes:

• 3 randomly drawn winners from comments left on the STAMPlorations blog and designers' blogs will each receive a $10 prize code to the store.

Linky Prizes: We would love for you to join us by creating and linking your own projects -- anything is welcome as long as you use wings on it -- butterflies, dragonflies, bees, birds, fairies, bugs, bees, pterodactyl, planes, cupid...anything that flies, really...or even sentiments that mention/suggest flight/flying/objects with wings! 

• 3 randomly drawn participants in the Things with Wings linky party will each receive a $15 prize code to the store
• 1 randomly drawn participant in the Things with Wings linky party will receive a $25 prize code to the store
• 1 randomly drawn participant in the Things with Wings linky party whose entry features a STAMPlorations product (stamp/stencil/die/stickers/embellishment/card fronts/ephemera) will receive the Things with Wings Kit ($45 value)

Extra Prizes:

• a few surprise winners randomly drawn from our social media accounts (FB, IG, Pinterest, blogs) to win either prize codes or products

The Hop and Linky are open until May 7; winners will be announced on May 10 in the April winners post.

Thank you for dropping by!

HLS April 2021 Stencil Challenge...Riotous Blooms Happy Birthday

Hello,

Welcome to Happy Little Stampers April 2021 Challenge where our theme is always Anything Goes. Definitely a great opportunity to give your stencils some love (and enable a few of us, in the process *grin*).

I inked up my STAMPlorations' Riotous Blooms slimline stencil, then cut the panel - and two additional pieces of white cardstock for dimension - with Whimsy Stamps' Slimline Windows die. I stacked the frame three deep, before insetting the window pieces. So easy...and the height/recesses give the stencil a little extra pizzazz. Sticker sentiment finished it off...

Looking forward to seeing your jazzed up stencils in the gallery!

Also sharing at:

Seize the Birthday Challenge #11~Squares: my card has four squares, two next to each rectangle, so hopefully it qualifies for the Topping. 

Thank you for dropping by!