CASEing My Own

 ... and Punch Board Ideas ...

Hi All,

Something different for the Inspiration Roundup over at STAMPlorations. Remember this card from my Spotlight Feature a couple of weeks ago???

Well. I decided to give you an idea for a CASE and CASEd my own turning it into the shaker card below ...

I basically added an extra layer for my stamping and die cut a frame from the stamped background plus a few more from white card which I used for building up the frame and sandwiching a piece of acetate. I thought this might be a good idea if you had a design you liked but wanted to do something different with.

You can see how I stamped the background in the original Spotlight Post here. The sets I used were: Joyful, VIGNETTE: Christmas Block, Mixed Media Elements and Oh, Christmas Tree!

Next up is a simple box with bow I created using the 123 Punch Board. I was showing my friend Sue how to use her envelope punch board to create the bow and box which we simply decorated using the snowflakes from the VIGNETTE: Christmas Block set and a tri-colour pigment ink pad.

Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog for more gorgeous inspiration and projects to CASE.

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx


here is what I used, links to the stamp sets are in the above text
   
We R Memory Keepers 1-2-3 Punch Board
Die-namics pierced rectangle

Altering Boxes

Hi All,

It's Inspiration Time again over at STAMPlorations. The project I would like to share with you today is a little box turned tea chest. I made two of these as a gift for a couple of friends from two lightweight wooden boxes. The idea was that they were small and light enough to carry a couple of tea bags in to work.

I started off removing the metal bits and coating the wooden parts with gesso. Next I applied a coat of dark grey emulsion from a match pot (couldn't find my acrylic paints, arrghh), followed by a thin coat of plum emulsion and and a coat of gold metallic acrylic paint.

TIP!: I intentionally applied thin coats as I wanted the underlying colours to show through. The gold acrylic gives a translucent finish and depending on light you can see more or less of the grey/plum base.

Once dry I stamped the little tea cups from the Sketchy Coffee Cups set in black archival and the leaf from the Frames and Flowers set in sepia archival ink which gave a nice coppery look. Once the ink had dried I added some highlights to the cups using a Tan Promarker and LV3 Spectrum Noir Marker.

I cut a piece of acetate and attached it to the inside of my lid, followed by a matching piece of plum card with a heart aperture. I then filled the heart shape in the lid with some matching sequins and glitter before attaching an acetate heart and plum frame with copper highlights (using copper pigment ink).

Here are some more photos of my box ...

I am entering my box at:

Crafty Calendar - Sparkle, Bling and Embellish

Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes

Hope you'll feel inspired to try something different whether it be using paints or creating a mixed media project. Should you fancy CASEing my project, and it doesn't have to be a box, elements from this can be used on a card or tag, or any of the ones my teamies made, it would be great if you could link up up with the Inspiration CASE Playground. Looking forward to seeing your creations.

Have a lovely weekend!

hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used, links to the stamp sets are in the above text:
 
little wooden box - The Works

Giving Thanks Blog Hop

Hi All! Over at the STAMPlorations Blog we are celebrating Thanksgiving with a little blog hop hence we all made Thank You cards in one shape or another.

For my project, I worked with the Friends & Flowers and Balloons & Banners sets by Dee's Artsy Impressions. It is one of those cards that just want, to be made in a certain way despite my initial ideas for full out watercolouring.

I started off by stamping the cart in black archival ink on my linen effect base card. Next I stamped my sentiment ... that's when the clean, crisp look started to pop out at me asking me to add some clear gems and a touch of yellow (Crushed Curry) to the flowers plus the lovely wavy lines for grounding (re-purposed balloon strings).

Now how does this Mini Hop work:

• leave a comment on all participating blogs to be entered in the prize draw, links to which can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog
• comment by Friday 27th November 11.55pm Pacific Time (that's GMT -8 which makes it Saturday 28th 7.55am)
• the winner will be announced on Sunday 29th Novemer
• prize: one 4x6 stamp set from the STAMPlorations Shop - winner's choice

That's it from me for today. Good Luck, Everyone!!!

hugs

Monika xxx

the sets used in my card, links are in the above text

 

Getting Creative

Hi All,

Hope you had a lovely weekend with lots of crafting time. I had Happy Mail on Saturday and decided to put my new toys to good use.

I had this plain, shiny light turquoise pvc cover for my new mobile phone which I always intended to decorate using the Distressed Floral Swirls. For some reason I never did ... until yesterday that is.

Gone was the idea of using the floral swirls, it was more like ... True North, here we come!

Given that my phone case was going to b handled quite a lot, I wanted it to have a look that would 'age' well. It needed to withstand scuffs and worn edges.

I ended up using Jet Black and Hydrangea Archival ink for my stamping. Initially I thought of using StazOn, but my black must have dried up as it didn't stamp at all. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the archival black is based on blue which made it blend in well with my cover. It can best be seen on the stenciled birds, where it looks as if they were stenciled using a dark blue ink.

To start I stamped my lighthouse and added a base and a little bit of script using stamps from the Mixed Media Elements set. I then stenciled the birds (ARTplorations stencil: Some Birds) and sentiment in black. I then added the border using a stamp from the Mixed Media Grunge set and 2nd generation stamping with black archival before adding some colour detail with warm grey, tulip yellow and cornflower alcohol markers. Next I added some more border stamping and sentiments (True North) using my Hydrangea archival ink. To finish I added a few sequins and the stamped detail (Mixed Media Elements) on the clasp.

The ideas in my cover could easily be transferred to a card. As it is Inspiration Time over on the STAMPlorations Blog, I'm hoping that my project inspires you to maybe try something different. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Please share your CASEd project with us in the CASE Playground over at the STAMPlorations Blog.

Back soon. Have a lovely day!

hugs
Monika xxx

sets I used, links are in the above text
   

A Letter From Santa

Hi All.
I am back with another Spotlight Feature over at STAMPlorations. This time I set myself the challenge to show you a project which is easy to repeat, easy to make several of and uses two October Stamp Club Sets, Joyful (2014) and Mixed Media Elements (2015).

Well, I couldn't help myself and enlisted help from Oh, Christmas Tree! and Vignette Christmas Block too.

The other thing I wanted to show you was that you can use a linen textured base card to great effect for stamping as can best be seen when zooming in at either the Christmas tree or the sentiment strip.

I chose collage stamping for my background as it is very easy to repeat given that you don't have to be very precise, which gives each card its own uniqueness too.

All background elements have been stamped using Concord Crush ink and 2nd generation stamping apart from the sentiment strip 'Season's Greetings' and the 'ho! ho! ho!'which use the 1st generation imprint.

I first stamped the script followed by the strip of numbers and postage stamps. Next I added the Christmas Tree and the snowflakes before stamping the 'ho! ho! ho!' and Season's Greetings. Something else was needed, and I added the circles before attaching my stamped, watercoloured (Concord Crush and Crushed Curry) and fuzzy cut sleigh to finish.

As always there is a video tutorial of the craft-along type with some added tips.

Before I go, here is another look at the actual card made in the video which differs slightly from my first card giving it its own unique feel.

Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to leave a comment for your chance to win a prize. Whilst there feel free to have a look around and check out their challenges, tutorials and more.

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

Sets I used in today's project, links are in the above text:
    

inks I used: Concord Crush and Crushed Curry by Stampin'Up!, jet black Archival by Ranger

All That Sparkle

Hi All!

It's Inspiration Time again over at the STAMPlorations Blog which also serves as a reminder for our monthly CASEplorations Challenge. If you like CASEing then this might certainly be for you.

For today's project I kept thing very CAS. I was working with the Folk Flowers and the Friends and Flowers sets to create my card ...

I used embossing powders and glitter to match starting off by stamping first the flower and sprinkling it with pink embossing powder. After I removed the excess powder I stamped the leaves and used green embossing powder for those. Again I removed the excess and stamped and silver embossed the little stems. After the powders were heat set I used glue and glitter to fill my shapes. To finish I stamped my sentiment and added some gems for more sparkle.

Here is another look at my glittered flower ...

That's it from me for today, back again soon with more inspiration. In the meantime pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog for some fun, tutorials and more challenges.

Have a lovely day!

hugs
Monika xxx

the stamp sets I used, links are in the above text
 

Loving Collage Stamping

Hi Everyone!

Hope you had a lovely weekend. Here on the Wirral it was raining cats and dogs, which makes perfect crafting weather! :-)

Today's post is a two in one venture. First up is a collage stamped card I made as my DT piece for today's Inspiration Post over at the STAMPlorations Blog. It serves also as a reminder for their CASEplorations Challenge, where you are invited to CASE any inspiration projects made by the DT in any given month. You can find more information about this here.

I am currently in collage stamping mode. I absolutely love this technique. it is such fun to combine stamps to create your own image. I love using either one single colour in combination with generational stamping or two matching colours to achieve my desired depth. For today's card I used the latter working with Soft Sky and Lost Lagoon SU inks plus STAMPlorations stamps of course. Here it is...

I started off stamping the script from the Mixed Media Elements set in Soft Sky. Using the same ink I added some snowflakes (VIGNETTE: Christmas Block) and the poinsettia (Holiday Sketches: Christmas Flower). Next, using Lost Lagoon, I stamped my sentiment and and the Christmas Tree (generational stamping) from the Oh, Christmas Tree! set and finished off with the wavy line from the Mixed Media Elements set. To completely finish the look, I rounded three corners, and my card was done!

Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to see the brilliant makes my teamies created. Have a good look around as there are quite a few challenges going on and sometimes simply leaving a comment may win you a prize.

I am entering my card at:
Craft Stamper - Take a Stamp/ anything goes as long as it is stamped
One Layer Christmas Card - Anything Goes, optional twist reindeer

These are the STAMPlorations sets I used in my project. the links to which can be found in the above text.
   

to be continued ... once back from the dentist ...

Back from the dentist with a temporary crown fitted, ready to go on to the next projects which was a sort of a two for one thing. I die-cut the ornament (Spellbinders) and used it in both cards. Here they are ...

For my first card I used the frame as a mask to sponge my Daffodil Delight and stamp some snowflakes (Christmas Block) through using the same ink. I removed my mask and placed my ornament to cover my sponged bauble before stamping the Silent Night music (StampCamp) in River Rock. I turned my bauble shape over again covering the sponged are and stamped the trees (Woodland Christmas by Creative Stamping magazine) using the River Rock ink. I removed my mask and stamped my sentiment (SB Christmas & New Year, Joyful) in black into my bauble added the bow (Woodland Christmas by Creative Stamping Magazine) in Cherry Cobbler, added a few little stars (Lavinia Stamps) in River Rock, some ornamental embossed lines (Simply Scored Border Plate by Stampin'Up!) and a red gem to finish.

Next up is the card I made featuring the musically stamped ornament previously used to mask off the bauble ...

I simply added the trees in Always Artichoke, the deer in Soft Suede and my sentiment in black (all stamps from Woodland Christmas by Creative Stamping Magazine). I sponged my base card using Cherry Cobbler ink, added some DP (retired Stampin'Up!), sponged my border (decorative strip by Sizzix) with a mix of Cherry Cobbler and Soft Suede, layered it all up, attached my ribbon (Fantastic Ribbons) in a bow, added a punched glittery snowflake (punch by Creative Memories), pearl and sequins to finish ....

... and then the gremlins moved in ... my card got a little close to a wet wipe ... horror!!! ... it ended up with a stain .... I had to rescue it by adding the unexpected strip of DP to cover up the accident. What do you think? Feedback welcome!

I am entering this accident prone card at:
Allsorts - Ribbons and Bows
Crafty Calendar - Sparkle, Bling and Embellish

That's it from me for today, back again soon with more inspiration. Until then ...
Have a lovely week!

hugs
Monika xxx

PS: Just popped in at the STAMPlorations Shop and saw this ...

.... no guessing what I'll be doing next ... LOL

Fairy Collage

Hi all,
I'm back again with more Fairy offerings. I wanted to try this yesterday, but then it got too late.

Well, the idea was to use Lavinia Stamps stamps for collage stamping, something I hadn't tried as yet with their stamps. Here is what I made ...

As you can see I ended up making two cards, the idea for the second one came when I was arranging my stamps whilst recording the video tutorial. These cards are quite easy and fun to make, why not give it a go ....

I am entering my first card at:
Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes
One Layer Christmas Card - Anything Goes, optional twist Reindeer, shame it's not a cat LOL
Craft Stamper - Take a Stamp/anything goes as long as it is stamped

This is it from me for now, back again tomorrow.

Have a lovely evening!
hugs
Monika xxx

all stamps used by Lavinia Stamps, inks (River rock, Always Artichoke and Elegant Eggplant) by Stampin'Up!

Fairy Christmas

 ... or loving tag cards Take 1 ...

Hi Everyone!

This is the first of a little series of 3 Christmas Tag Cards which I will post over the next two weeks. To start the series I have chosen a tag card full of Orbs and Magic and enriched with blessings. It is somewhat exuberant and definitely not traditional. I wanted it to be joyful and uplifting ... and with no further ado ... here it is ...

This is what the front looks like when it's folded up and down the left hand side you can see some of the blessings this card is infused with. I added these after I finished recording the video, the same goes for the little dragonfly and glitter glue. 

This is what the inside looks like ...

... and here are the close-ups ...

You can see the blessing appearing again on the left hand side.

Hope you enjoyed the little magic. If you wonder how I made my tag card, I recorded a video as I went along. It is a little lengthy, but you can always fast forward bits.

I am entering my card at:
Lavinia Stamps - Christmas, must use their stamps, link to the shop is on their blog too
Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - Tag
Craft Stamper - Take a Stamp/anything goes as long as it is stamped
Allsorts - Ribbon and Bows

That's it from me for today.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs
Monika xxx

all stamps used by Lavinia Stamps, dye inks (Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pies and Pacific Point plus Whisper White craft ink) by Stampin'Up!