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 cas cards challenge january

Happy New Year 2022!!!

And welcome to the STAMPlorations January CAS Cards challenge!

As always the challenge is to create any CAS card, with an optional color twist. What better to start off this new year than with this month's optional twist which is "rainbow."

When I thought rainbow I thought rainbow bridge so I decided to replenish my stock of doggie sympathy cards...

Mini Art Marks 1 stamp

Blossom Overture stamp

Concord and 9 ink 

The sentiment continues onto the inside with "sorry for your loss."

CAS card tip: Use multiple colors (in this case "rainbow") with only one image.

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 in the gallery. 

 

cas cards challenge june reminder

Welcome to our reminder about the STAMPlorations June CAS Cards challenge, folks!

As always the challenge is to create any CAS card, with an optional color twist - this month the twist is light blue and cream.

As I mentioned with my first card this month, those colors would normally take me down the baby card road, but alas I needed several sympathy cards. Here's my second card.

With Sympathy phrase die

Leaf prints stencil

Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle die

alcohol markers

For this clean card I die cut and dry embossed (with the stencil) a rectangle of cream cardstock and adhered that to my cardbase. I colored strips of cardstock in blue tones with my alcohol markers and die cut the sentiment. Stacked the die cuts offset and adhered them to the card.

CAS card tip: Add interest with some dry embossing. Adds no extra color, just a little bit of pattern/texture.

For more inspiration with this die check out this post. 

I'm looking forward to your CAS card creations! 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 in the gallery.  

I'm going over to the gallery at:

Just Us Girls - #588

Happy Little Stampers - AG with Dies

cas cards challenge june

Welcome to the STAMPlorations June CAS Cards challenge, folks!

As always the challenge is to create any CAS card, with an optional color twist - this month the twist is light blue and cream.

Those colors would normally take me down the baby card road, but alas I need several sympathy cards right now so babies will have to wait. Here's my first card.

Beautiful You stamp

New Beginning stamp

Clouds stencil

distress inks, clear embossing powder

Revisited a standard sympathy card design of mine, just with some different products. Masking, inking, silhouette stamp and an appropriate sentiment.

CAS card tip: When you've added an area of interest to a portion of your CAS design, extend your image off the edge of it to create more interest.

For more inspiration with this stamp set check out this post. 

I'm looking forward to your CAS card creations! 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 in the gallery. 

playing with pinkfresh dainty blossoms

Hello there peeps! Needing a birthday and sympathy card, I pulled out the Dainty Blossoms from Pinkfresh. I'm joining the January challenge which is basically 2020 in review! There is a link in the post to a larger version of this photo if you want to see what strikes your fancy.

What struck mine? Well lots. But a few things remained in my head as I headed to my craft room. Rainbows and die cuts. June and September. Nathalie's creation for the challenge post totally blew me away too. I'm working on two cards inspired by it. I'll share those later.

I love the stylized illustrations in some of the Pinkfresh stamp sets. Dainty. So I combined some B/W stamping with pastel rainbow die cuts for my cards.

Birthday...

Pinkfresh Dainty Blooms die

Pinkfresh Aviary stamp

distress inks, gold CS

Sympathy...

Pinkfresh Dainty Blooms die

Pinkfresh Aviary stamp

Pinkfresh Up in the Clouds PP

Die cut the blossoms from leftover DI scraps (#1) and PP (#2). Stamped the images. Adhered the die cuts. Stamped the sentiment. Easy peasy CAS squeezy.

Hope you and yours are staying healthy and happy. I'm ready for the gray days in Germany to skidaddle. But I'm lucky to be able to spend lots of time in my craft room. Thanks for visiting.

SSS Wednesday Challenge - Layer it Up
Time Out - You (one thing about me... I mop up all my leftovers and then save those scraps. At least sometimes I use them too!)

STAMPlorations inspiration #269

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration post of the month from the STAMPlorations inspiration team!

My theme for my inspiration cards this month is fantasy watercoloring. No pressure about getting the shading right, ya know. Just pick up and place some color. Meet my card.

 Wooded stamp

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Watercolor paper. Stamping. Watercolor dabbing. Voila! I tore the edges and adhered the panel to a kraft cardbase. I think it fits the natural feel of the card. This one too is going to my stash of sympathy cards.

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd really appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week. I'm stopping by at Addicted to CAS where the theme is "rainbow" since I rainbowed my wood slice ;)

STAMPlorations inspiration #267

Welcome to May the second Tuesday inspiration post of the month from the STAMPlorations inspiration team!

With my mojo taking a break during these Corona dayz, I decided this month my theme for my inspiration cards was going to be fantasy watercoloring. No pressure about getting the shading right, ya know. Just pick up and place some color. Here's #2.

 Blossom Spray #2 stamp
Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle dies

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Watercolor paper. Stamping. Watercolor dabbing. Voila!

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd really appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

Looking for more inspiration with this beautiful spray of flowers? Check out this post.

Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week. I'm stopping by at:
Craft Stamper - Take it Make it May
Happy Little Stampers - Watercolor Challenge

STAMPlorations inspiration #266

Welcome to May, friends.  It's time for the first Tuesday inspiration post of the month from the STAMPlorations inspiration team!

Corona has me less enthusiastic about card designing. Has it sparked or stunted your mojo? I decided this month my theme for my inspiration cards was going to be fantasy watercoloring. No pressure about getting the shading right, ya know. Just pick up and place some color. Ready for #1?

 Blossom Overture stamp
Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle dies

Gansai Tambi watercolors

Pretty simple. Watercolor paper. Stamping and masking. Watercolor dabbing. I turned it into a sympathy card... well you can guess why.

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store by leaving a comment on this month's inspiration posts! Check out today's post over at STAMPlorations. And if I ever inspire you to order something from the store, I'd really appreciate it if you used my STAMPGIRLMARIA discount code for an additional 20% off your order - at no extra cost to you, just with perks for me ;)

Looking for more inspiration with these roses? Check out this post.

Thanks for stopping over today. Have a great week. I'm stopping by at:
Craft Stamper - TIMI May
CAS on Sunday - Use your favorite flower stamp

altenew march challenge

I had to join in over at this month's Altenew challenge. Norine is so inspiring, I love the colors she chose and add succulents to the equation... it was a no brainer!

And could I be more predictable? Mega Succulent here I come.

Altenew Mega Succulent stamp

Altenew watercolors
MFT Deepest Sympathy stamp
vellum

white embossing powder

I love how Norine did her BG so I mixed up some green, blue and purple watercolor and had some fun watercoloring the heat embossed image.

I decided to turn it into a sympathy card. Isn't that a great sentiment for those times when you're truly at a loss for words. The inside reads "sharing in your sorrow".

Then I made a totally different version using up the watercolors that were on my palette. I thought the purple in my first card seemed a bit too bright for the inspiration photo. And the blue touches on some of the leaves kinda disappeared. So I pulled out the flowers.

Altenew Engagement Wishes stamp 

Altenew Birthday Builder stamp

Altenew watercolors
white embossing powder

I heat embossed, watercolored and die cut the peony and leaves. For my background I stamped all the happy birthday sentiments as they are on the packaging, heat embossed them and did a light wash of green over them. And added some green splatters. And Nuvo drops. Figured the background did the talking so I skipped an additional sentiment.

Have you played along? Why not give these colors a try?

I'm joining the fun at:
The Daily Marker - 30 Day Coloring Challenge (first day in my craft room since it started)

The Flower Challenge - Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers - Watercolor

sympathy cards stamped with real leaves

I've got a set of stamped-with-real-leaves sympathy cards to share with you this Friday. It's true, once you start doing this, you cannot stop. I loved the serene look of the print made with the Smoke bush leaf, so I pulled out some pastel CS and this happened.

Leaves

Catherine Pooler Spa inks

RKartenkunst Trauer stamp

And because I liked the simple design so much, and need sympathy cards so often... 

Have you tried this yet? 

I'm heading to:

Papercraft Challenge - Herbst/Fall

Inkspirational - #197

STAMPlorations special release - dee's artsy impressions part 2

There are a couple new stamp sets being released over at STAMPlorations. They're from our own Deepti Malik and here's the Beautiful You set I got to play with today.

For today's cards I paired my love of ink blending with the lovely silhouette stamps.

 STAMPlorations Beautiful You stamp

Distress oxides - Aged Mahogany, Spiced Marmelade, Fossilized Amber

You probably know the technique. First, ink blending from lightest to darkest color on Neenah CS. Then I cut a strip vertically for the first card and adhered the rest to the second card, trimming the excess from the sides. I think the color progression from left to right works for a summer sky too, don't you?

TIP: Used my MISTI to stamp the flower silhouettes, onto the strips and onto the cardbases - to prevent that little white space that happens at the edge of the inked panel when you stamp just once, trying to get the image onto the panel and card.

Dee has a second new set out  (both new sets are 10% off til August 24). Visit the STAMPlorations blog to see more inspiration. By commenting before August 22, you could possibly win yourself a prize! Thanks for coming by.

STAMPlorations inspiration #227

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team.

Another from my series of ink blending with stencils. It's so easy (and satisfying) to create a one-layer card (my faves) with a stencil and some inks. Here's a sympathy card inspired by nature.

 STAMPlorations Just Squares stencil
STAMPlorations Blooming Buds stamp

Distress inks
makeup brushes
white embossing powder

Did an all-over design for this one. Used Bundled Sage and Peeled Paint inks. Splattered water. Stamped the loose bloom images which provide a nice contrast to the graphic squares. Added a heat embossed sentiment on a black snippet (always a good idea ;)

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

sympathy card series - part 4

Recently I created eight sympathy cards as I needed to a) create the perfect card for someone I know as well as b) increase my dwindled stash.

In my crafting session I revisited a couple sympathy card designs I really like, here and here. Today's are two more using the ink smooshing with acetate technique.

Efco Trauer Das Leben stamp

Inkadinkado Bird and Branch stamp

Technique Tuesday So Sorry stamp

Distress inks in Old Paper, Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap. Somehow I don't like the smooshed result as much as I did the look of them paired up on my swatches. Oh well. I thought I could use a couple cards with a more sombre color scheme...

sympathy card series - part 3

Recently I created eight sympathy cards as I needed to a) create the perfect card for someone I know as well as b) increase my dwindled stash.

In my crafting session I revisited a couple sympathy card designs I really like, here and here. Today's are two more using the ink smooshing with acetate technique.

Efco Trauer Das Leben stamp

Klartext Unvergessen stamp

Distress inks in Victorian Velvet, Milled Lavender and Shaded Lilac, smooshed onto a piece of acetate, sprayed with perfect pearls/water mix and smooshed onto cream cardstock.

I'm taking these over to:
Craft Stamper - Take it Make it June
Daring Cardmakers - Come FLY with me

sympathy card series - part 2

In yesterday's post I shared the first two of eight sympathy cards I created recently in an effort to a) create the perfect card for someone I know as well as b) increase my dwindled stash.

In my crafting session I revisited a couple sympathy card designs I really like, here and here. Today's are two more ink-smooshed-with-acrylic-block technique.

Inkadinkado bird and branch stamp

Klartext Unvergessen stamp

Distress inks in Broken China, Worn Lipstick and Scattered Straw.

Never would have guessed when I bought this stamp set years ago I would end up using it so often for sympathy cards...

The sentiment set (for those needing German sentiments) is pretty perfect too.

I'm taking these over to:
Craft Stamper - Take it Make it June
CASology - Calm

sympathy card series - part 1

Why does my supply of sympathy cards go down so quickly? Grrrr.

And the situation called for something special. I wasn't sure what exactly. So I decided to revisit a couple designs I really like, here and here. And make several (as in 8) while I was at it. Cuz what I needed was one for a gal I know whose husband was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident. So incredibly sad. Their kids are about my kids' age. What can you even say???

Inkadinkado bird and branch stamp

Klartext Unvergessen stamp

Acrylic block smooshing. Distress inks in Broken China, Worn Lipstick and Scattered Straw.

Heavy heart.

In the end I decided on the one on the right. The sentiment reads "sometimes there are no words." My sentiments exactly.

STAMPlorations inspiration #217

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team. Today we're having fun with all the wonderful flower stamps available in the store.
  

Until May 31, products in the Flower Power section of the store will be 15% off instantly + with my STAMPGIRLMARIA code you can get yourself up to 35% off! There are so many to choose from. I chose a floral bouquet for a technique that I wanted to try.

 STAMPlorations In Bloom: Precious Plumerias stamp
STAMPlorations Lotus Love stamp

Distress Inks

The whole point of this technique is that it works great with a stamp positioner. First you ink a stamp with multiple colors (or make multiple passes inking only a portion of the stamp each time), spritz the stamp with water and then stamp onto damp watercolor paper. I did that. The colors bleed a bit which is the desired effect. Then when it's dried, you stamp again with black ink.

I pulled the panel out to dry it with my heat tool and apparently didn't line it up right when I put it back in my MISTI. The black outline is offset. It kinda looks like it's all blurry. Worse in the photo than IRL ;) Must give it another try.

Anyhoo, I added some watered down ink to some of the blooms and then splattered the panel too. I tore the edges and ran my paintbrush along them. I just love the sentiment.

I've used this floral bouquet stamp in a completely different way in this post and colored it with Zigs  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 #213

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team where we usually feature stamps from one of our talented stamp designers. We're switching it up a little since our Spring Fling event is also happening over at the STAMP blog. All throughout April, products in the Spring Fling section of the store will be 25% off instantly. Which means... if you use my STAMPGIRLMARIA code, you can get up to 45% off!
  

image source: Eat Think and Be Merry

Have you seen this month's CUTplorations challenge? It was my inspiration for today's Spring-y card. Unfortunately I've needed a slew of sympathy cards lately. So I've a twofer fer ya.

STAMPlorations Flutter Zen #1  die

STAMPlorations With Sympathy Phrase die 

STAMPlorations Just Because stamp 
Copics

Pretty simple. I die cut the solid butterfly and added the stripes with Copics. I die cut the filigree butterfly from black and white to see which I preferred. Went with the black and a black sentiment. I decided to add the little blooms in the lower right corner and am glad I did. I think they add just the right "something".

Then with the leftover white butterfly...

These are going to a sister and brother whose mother just passed away at 90. I like that the cards are "related".

This is the first time I've used that sentiment die but I doubt it'll be the last.

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

I'm joining the fun at:
Die Cut Divas - Water (as in tears, as in sympathy, as in it might be too big a stretch!)
Addicted to Stamps - Layers Stamps or Papers
Happy Little Stampers - April AG with Dies

STAMPlorations inspiration #211

Welcome to another Tuesday inspiration from the STAMPlorations inspiration team where we usually feature stamps from one of our talented stamp designers. We're switching it up a little since it's finally beginning to feel like Spring around here. Spring cards it is this month!

Our Spring Fling event is also happening over at the STAMP blog. All throughout April, products in the Spring Fling section of the store will be 25% off instantly. Which means... if you use my STAMPGIRLMARIA code, you can get up to 45% off!

Today I've found my Zen doing some inlaid die cutting. I took a shortcut and colored the die cut pieces with Copics before adhering them.

 STAMPlorations Butterfly Cover Plate die 

STAMPlorations Layered Holly stamp
Copics

  

Butterfly. Spring? For sure. Now you might be wondering about the fantasy colors on my butterfly. Take a look at this month's CUTplorations challenge and it'll all make sense ;) 

image source: Eat Think and Be Merry

This is a new-to-me die so it's the first time I've used it. But for more inspiration with a cover plate die, check out this card. And this one.

You could win yourself a $10 GC to the store in our Spring Fling event. And don't forget to leave a comment here for another chance. Check out today's post here. Thanks for coming by.

I'm joining the fun at: