Sending Love

Hello Crafty Friends!

It is time time to say goodbye to 2016 and to get ready to welcome 2017. My way of getting ready for this was to play with the shaker card concept. It's not a strength of mine but I wanted to try out some ideas for a demo next year.

I got out the Tweet Love set with its Cooradinating CUTplorations Dies. The idea was to cut the balloons from white card and funky foam for my shaker element and add the coloured balloons as topper. So far so good ... until I forgot to add the piece of acetate between the foam and the white card ... fear not ... another layer could solve the problem ....

It didn't turn out exactly as I envisaged it ... nevertheless I should give you a few ideas to spark your imagination.

That's it from me for this year.
Wishing you a wonderfully magical 2017, may it be the best year ever!
hugs
Monika xxx


here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop, remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on their stamps, stencils and dies:

STAMPlorations Stamps: Tweet Love


CUTplorations Dies: Tweet Love Coordinating Dies, Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies
 

Art Of Drawing

Hello Crafty Friends!

I am back from our little Christmas break in Chirk. The weather was good and we were able to go on a few walks in the woods surrounding the caravan site and along the beautiful Llangollen canal. We really enjoyed our alternative Christmas. As with everything in life, you never know until you tried it ....

I fancied doing something using the Life In Full Color and the Celebrate Artsy sets and started off doing some watercolour effect stamping using one of the brush stroke stamps, my MISTI and Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo inks spritzed with water. I added my sentiment, layered on my base card and splattered with black. Next I stamped the brush and paint tube, coloured and fuzzy cut them, popped them on my card, added a little sparkle and glossy accents to the brush and finished off with a yellow sequin.

That's it from me for today! Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog for more inspiration and to leave a comment for your entry into their prize draw.

Continue to enjoy the festive season!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop, remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on their stamps, stencils and dies:

STAMPlorations Stamps: Life In Full Color, Vignette: Celebrate Artsy
 

CUTplorations Dies: Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies

STAMPlorations December Stencil Blog Hop Day 7

Hello Crafty Friends!

The Stencil Party is in full swing over at STAMPlorations. I am back today with another frosty make using the ARTplorations A Bloom And Three Buds Stencil in combination with the Warm Winter Wishes CUTplorations Phrase Die.

I simply attached my stencil to a piece of dark blue card, sponged with Versamark and embossed with Snowflake (Heat It Up!) embossing powder. Next I edged the edges with Versamark and embossed them too with Snowflake. To finish, I layered on my base card, added the die-cut sentiment and a trio of sequins. Guess, I've never made as many cards without stamping as in the last week. Stencils are fab!

Back to the Stencil Hop over at STAMPlorations. Shery is not only throwing a Blog hop ... she is also throwing a LINKY Party! All the details including prize info and special offers can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog. There is also oodles of inspiration available to get your creative juices flowing.

That's it from me for today. I shall be back again soon.

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I usedfrom the STAMPlorations Shop, remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on their stamps, stencils and dies:

ARTplorations Stencil: A Bloom And Three Buds, CUTplorationa Dies: Warm Winter Wishes Phrase Die
 

STAMPlorations December Stencil Blog Hop Day 6

Hello Crafty Friends!
The Stencil Party is in full swing over at STAMPlorations. I am back today with a CAS card using the ARTplorations Autumn Falling Stencil in combination with the Peace On Earth CUTplorations Phrase Die.

Well, I have been in the embossing powder pot again. My inspiration came from autumn leaves on a frosty morning and the need to use up the left over mixed powder from my card here. When you use two colours randomly, you inevitably end up with a mix of coloured powder.

To make my card, I decided on the layout, attached my stencil to the linen effect base card, masked off the leaves I wasn't going to use and sponged with Versamark. I then removed the stencil, sprinkled my embossing powder on, removed the excess and heat set. Using a silver gel pen, I added some veins before attaching my die-cut sentiment and sequins to finish.

Here is a close-up of all the sparkle...

... and a last look at my finished card ...

Back to the Stencil Hop over at STAMPlorations. Shery is not only throwing a Blog hop ... she is also throwing a LINKY Party! All the details including prize info and special offers can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog. There is also oodles of inspiration available to get your creative juices flowing.

That's it from me for today. I shall be back again soon.

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop, remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on their stamps, stencils and dies:

ARTplorations Stencil: Autumn Falling, CUTplorations Dies: Peace On Earth Phrase Die
 

December Stencil Sunday

Hello, Crafty Friends!

Welcome to another Stencil Sunday in December. May I take the opportunity to remind you of the current Mixed Media Challenge over at STAMPlorations. As you know Anything Mixed Media Goes as long as it is not a card and you use at least one stencil.

My DT contribution for this Stencil Sunday is ... gift wrapping

I had these bags for a while, and they came in very handy when I was looking to dress up handmade chocolate lollies for Nick's great nieces and nephew. Nope, I didn't make them myself, but I can certainly vouch for their quality as this is about the third lot we bought from our local corner shop. The others never made it as far ...

Using the large reindeer from Reindeer Games and Fuchsia Pink StazOn, I stamped the front of the bag being careful not to move to much as it is easy to 'slip' on a non-porous surface when stamping. Note to self: Try using MISTI

Next I created a tab to fold over the top. I cut a piece of kraft card and embossed it using my embossing mat and the Oh, My Stars! stencil in the correct Big Shot sandwich before lightly swiping it with white Craft Ink to pick out the stars.

I added some white faux stitching, a strip of Washi and a die-cut Art Edges border.

Next I dry embossed a gold pearlescent star using the Dots All Over stencil. This time, I decided to put my sandwich through the Big Shot twice going in the same direction and I ended up with a really cool 'shadow' double embossing effect. Due to the rubber mat stretching, my star got pulled along a little and the dots ended up either very close to each other or partially overlapping. It also made the dots look more random which was perfect for my use of the star.

I then edged my star with Versamark and sprinkled it with a mix of Snowflake (Heat It Up!) embossing powder and Primary Apple Red (WOW) embossing enamel which I was left over from my card here before heat setting and layering on my tab.

Next I stamped, coloured and fuzzy cut my reindeer and gave it some googly eyes, popped it up on 3D foam pads and finished off with the die-cut name, Stickles and gems .... perfectly girly ...

Here is a close-up of my tab ...

I hope you feel inspired to create something different, maybe even do some up-cycling or re-purposing .... why not link it up with the Mixed Media Challenge over at STAMPlorations. The theme is always Anything Mixed Media Goes except cards which means projects such as tags, ATCs, canvases, layouts, art journal pages etc,are perfect for entering, and you must have used at least one stencil (any brand) in your project. The challenge will close at the end of the month. You can find the full challenge details plus more Mixed Media inspiration here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

You can also link your stencil make up with the ARTplorations Stencil Hop Linky Party, which closed at 11.55pm Pacific on Friday 23rd December (7.55am GMT Saturday 24th December)

That's it from me for today. I shall be back soon with another project to share.

Have a lovely day!

hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop, remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on their stamps, stencils and dies:

ARTplorations Stencils: Oh, My Stars!, Dots All Over
 

STAMPlorations Stamps: Reindeer Games


CUTplorations Dies: Art Edges

ARTplorations December Stencil Blog Hop Day 5

Hello Crafty Friends!

The Stencil Party is in full swing over at STAMPlorations. I am back today with a CAS card using the ARTplorations Just Squares Stencil in combination with the Faith Expressions and Frames And Flowers stamp sets.

I sponged two rows of squares in yellow, added my sentiment and two little leaves in black, layered on my black base card and finished off with matching sequins.

The Just Squares Stencil in this combination makes me think of breaking the perceived mountain down into little pieces of rock which are easier to handle. Sometimes taking the first step starts off the breaking down process.

Here is another look at my finished card ...

And here is a sneak peek of another project I am sharing a little later today, it also uses stencils and can be found here once published.

Back to the Stencil Hop over at STAMPlorations. Shery is not only throwing a Blog Hop ... she is also throwing a LINKY Party! All the details including prize info and special offers can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog. There is also oodles of inspiration available to get your creative juices flowing.

As long as it is not a card, you could link your stencil make up with the current Mixed Media Challenge here for even more chances of winning.

That's it from me for today. I shall be back again soon.

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx


here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop, remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on their stamps, stencils and dies:

Just Squares ARTplorations Stencil, Faith Expressions, Frames And Flowers
  

ARTplorations December Stencil Hop Day 3

The Stencil Party is in full swing over at STAMPlorations. I am back today with a couple of grungy, painted outside the lines cards using the ARTplorations Christmas Trees Stencil in combination with the ARTplorations Dots All Over Stencil and a sentiment from the Holiday Artsy stamp set.

I my recent Spotlight Post on the STAMPlorations Blog, I mentioned that I was trying to use stencils with watercolour and ended up just adding more water and colour to get the background ... well these two makes today were ones that didn't end up getting the full make-over, instead I turned messy into an art form.

These were the ones where I lightly wetted the card through the stencil before removing it and adding more water to the damp areas before ading the watercolour. Not a precise science as you can see. Anyway I tried it on plain uncoated card, on the right, and watercolour card, on the left.

Once dry, I decided to place the Christmas Trees stencil on again and outline the shapes using a gold gel pen. I then die-cut the panels using the medium CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies before generously adding splatters.

I dry embossed both base cards using the Dots All Over stencil and the recommended sandwich for my Grand Calibur. I stamped my sentiment on matching strips of card and edged all my pieces messily with my gold leaf pen.

I shaped my sentiments, layered everything up and finished off with a few sequins. Sometimes going messy helps to get something out of my system, and I am then more able to focus on what I originally had in mind.

Feel free to try it for yourself, next time when Crafter's Block is trying to catch you out. 😄

Back to the Stencil Hop over at STAMPlorations. Shery is not only throwing a Blog hop ... she is also throwing a LINKY Party! All the details including prize info and special offers can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog. There is also oodles of inspiration available to get your creative juices flowing.

That's it from me for today. I shall be back again soon.

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop, remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on their stamps, stencils and dies:

ARTplorations Stencils: Dots All Over and Christmas Trees
 

STAMPlorations Stamps: Holiday Artsy


CUTplorations Dies: Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies

Playing With Water & Colour

Hello Crafty Friends!

Hope you're enjoying the Stencil Hop Over at STAMPlorations. I am also up there with a little tutorial. Here is a sneak peak of my card ...

Want to check out how to make one like it, pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog.
Have a lovely evening!
hugs
Monika xxx


here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop, remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on their stamps, stencils and dies:

Life In Full Color, CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies
 

STAMPlorations December Stencil Blog Hop Day 1

Hello Crafty Friends!

Over at STAMPlorations they are having an early Christmas Party in the form of an ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop & Linky Party. For my DT project I did some simple heat embossing working with their Holly Background stencil and their Merry Christmas CUTplorations Phrase Die. Here it is ...

I attached the stencil to a piece of dark blue card, sponged with Versamark, removed the stencil and sprinkled with Snowflake Heat It Up! embossing powder and WOW Apple Red Embossing Enamel before heat setting. To finish I simply layered on a white base card and attached my Merry Christmas, die-cut from holographic card.

For more stencil inspiration, prize info and to link up with the Linky Party, pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog.

I shall be back soon. Have fun!
hugs
Monika xxx


here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop, remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on their stamps, stencils and dies:

Holly Background ARTplorations Stencil, Merry Christmas CUTplorations Phrase Die