Happy Birthday STAMPlorations

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today is my turn to share some of my past favourite makes plus a couple of new ones as part of STAMPlorations' 5th Birthday Celebrations. Happy Birthday to everyone at STAMPlorations, most of all Shery. You are working so hard to bring us all these amazing stamps, stencils and dies to play with. You are truly AMAZING!!!!

I also want to extend my thanks to Shirley, Deepti and Becca ... your stamps are fun to work with ... and Sanna for giving us some fabulous stencils to play with too.

There are lots of things going on over on the STAMPlorations Blog, feel free to check out the details. The main theme for this month is CASE-ing A STAMPgirl .... well there are a few projects of mine you might want to have a look at.

First up are the past three makes ... I had quite a difficult time deciding which makes to pick. Maybe it was best to back in time a little and go for some makes that capture my love for experimenting and trying something new ...

Here they are three of my favourite makes ....

I am really going back a few years with my Gelli Plate Print card using one of my very first gelli prints made with acrylics, Shutters Stencil, the large rose from the Blossom Overture set and a sentiment from Hashtag Authentic. I ought to get that plate out again.

Next up another card where I experimented with brusho powders on a Color Blooms page

This link for the Color Blooms & Brusho Card will take you to the original post showing you all of the 8 cards I made from one single page.

As you probably know, I also love making books .... of course I had to share one with you ...

My little Die Storage Booklet is still very much used and loved. You can find a full step-by-step Tutorial on the STAMPlorations Blog.

I also believe that quite a few of you love shaker cards ... As the first one of today's new projects, I got a little slider shaker tutorial for you ...

• cut two frames using the large and medium Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies, cut one medium rectangle, a piece of acetate and base card fitting the dimensions of the frames

• cut one end from one of the frames as shown and attach the partial frame to the reverse f the full frame

• attach the acetate to the reverse of the partial frame as shown

• Using the large rectangle die and a couple of Flutter Zen 1 die cuts as a guide align and stamp your sentiment directly on the base card

• stamp another sentiment on the die-cut rectangle again using the butterflies as a guide. The idea is for the butterflies to be attached to the surrounding frame.

• attach foam pads to the back of the acetate to form a full frame as shown

• add sequins to your base card and partially peel back the backing of the foam tape. I personally find this the easiest way of positioning my topper. I can lightly put it into place before attaching the exposed tape and gently peeling off the rest of the tape before pressing it into place.

• attach the topper

• lightly mark the width of your butterfly's wing

• this is where I felt that it might be best to lightly sand the edges of the rectangle to help it slide more easily

• cut  a strip small and narrow enough to sit behind your butterfly without being seen once folded and attach it to your rectangle between the 'wing marks' made earlier

• sliding your rectangle between the acetate and the frame, it will look similar to this; the butterfly's wing will sit in front of the frame hiding the little tab

• layer up your butterflies, I used three made of glitter card and golden mirror card, attaching one to the front of your tab making sure that the wing can still slide over the frame. For extra stability attach a white solid butterfly to the reverse making sure that the front butterfly still clears the frame once in place. The glue on my photo gives a rough indication of where to join the butterflies. You can do this without using a tab, just using the butterflies only, but I find that the tab helps the slider to move more easily.

• attach two more butterflies to the frame

• add some colour to the sentiment and slide the slider into place

I had to make a little gift box to match. I simply stamped the little butterfly from the Happy Everything set around the edge and next to my die-cut sentiment and finished off with some stmped accents using the barcode stamp from the Mixed Media Grunge set.

Hope you feel inspired to CASE. You can link up your makes here on the STAMPlorations Blog. Shery has also planned lots of surprises and offers for you.

That's it from me for today. Have fun playing along and joining STAMPlorations Celebrations!

For your chance to win a $25 gift certificate, leave a comment on this post and on this post here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

Have a lovely weekend!
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:

for my new projects:
Happy Everything, Birthday Bash, Mixed Media Grunge, Flutter Zen 1 layering Dies
   

Celebrate Big Phrase Die, Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies
 

*** Discount code works on sale items too

A Beautiful Day

Hello Crafty Friends!

First of all, thanks for popping 'round. Apologies for having been a little quiet of late. After Nick's heart attack and pneumonia last year, we needed a little down time hence we spent a lot of time working in the garden changing things we had been meaning to change for a while. In addition to this we spent a good few weeks in our caravan to just chill and help Nick's recovery.

I did make a few cards though, the first one of which I want to share today, here it is ...

A little bit of stamping, embossing, fuzzy cutting and die-cutting ... quick and easy with no black in sight ... caturing the essence of a warm and sunny day!

I am entering my card at:
Time Out Challenges -

That's it from me for today. BTW STAMPlorations are celebrating their 5th Birthday this month. Anyone who fancies joining the celebrations, can find all the details here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

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:

from the new release:
Happy Everything


*** discount works on SALE items too

About Time

Hello Crafty Friends!

It is Wednesday and time for a new challenger over at The Male Room challenge blog where the bi-weekly challenge is all about making projects for the men in our lives.

My DT project for the new challenge is a b&w card ...

Each challenge, of course, has a different theme. For challenge #88 we are looking for projects which were Inspired By A Film Title. Lots of scope there!

#88 - 20th June - Inspired By A Film Title

Can you guess which Film Title I was inspired by? .... 'About Time' ... I don't want to go into details in my post. For those of you who are interested you can read about it on Wikipedia here and watch the trailer on YouTube here.

I wanted to keep things simple and dug out this sentiment stamp from Visible Image and my clock die. The black border on the left hand side is wider than the one on the right, I did this on purpose for added interest.

Fancy creating your 'Film Title' inspired make, pop over to The Male Room for more inspiration and to link up your masculine makes.

That's it from me for today
Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used:
What Really Matters stamp - Visible Image

Basic Black card - Stampin'Up!

black Versafine ink, Clock Die, white card, sequins- stash

Monster Birthday

Hello Crafty Friends!

It is Wednesday and time for a new challenger over at The Male Room challenge blog where the bi-weekly challenge is all about making projects for the men in our lives.

My DT project for the new challenge is a somewhat grungy monster card ...

Each challenge, of course, has a different theme. For challenge #87 we are looking for projects with the theme 'Little Boys". Lots of scope there!

#87 - 6th June - Little Boys

I thought that boys surely must like monsters, and monsters always need a bit of grunge, at least in my books. A bit of stamping, sponging, watercolouring using inks, spritzing and fuzzy cutting was all I needed to create a monster base to attach my die-cut '6' to.

Fancy creating your 'Little Boys' inspired make, pop over to The Male Room for more inspiration and to link up your masculine makes.

That's it from me for today
Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used:
Stencil - Clarity Stamps

Sahara Sand and Basic Gray inks, Basic Gray Stamp'n'Write Marker - Stampin'Up!

Mer Du Sud, Ocean, Verveine, Menthe, Aurore, Miel and Cire IZINK inks - Craft Stash
Canson Mixed Media Card - Amazon
black Versafine ink - stash

from STAMPlorations .... they have lots of special offers this month as they're celebrating their 5th birthday:
Big Monsters, Little Monsters, Numbers Plate Die
  
remember to apply my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA (not case sensitive) at check out for a 20% discount on STAMPlorations stamps ***, stencils and dies:
*** Discount code works on sale items too

5th Birthday Bash @ STAMPlorations

Hello Crafty Friends!

STAMPlorations turns 5 this month, and they are celebrating BIG STYLE all month long! Check out the graphic below for details ....

Their Inspiration Team, which I am lucky to be a member of, is kicking off the celebrations with the first of many projects for you to CASE showcasing some new release stamps and dies. Please be aware that under CASE-ing we understand 'taking inspiration from' as explained in this post here.

With no further ado, here are my 6 projects ....

First up an almost white on white shaker card using Birthday Wishes Phrase Die and Happy Everything stamp set in combination with the Pierced Curly Frames/Tags Nesting Dies.
The alcohol marker coloured cupcake adds interest and dimension and picks up on some of the colours from my holographic silver disks in the shaker.

Next up is another shaker card using the Birthday Bash stamp set and the Make A Wish Phrase Die. This time I went for a brush marker coloured image and silver spritzes on the white card.

This time I used the Make A Wish Phrase Die with the large candle from Kathryn's Big Wishes, a previous STAMP Birthday Celebration set, and a little help from the Mixed Media Grunge set.
The rays from the candle were created using simple sponging as explained in my tutorial here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

My next card uses both the Happy Everything and Birthday Bash sets with the 'left over' spritzed circle from m 'make a wish' shaker card. The butterfly is silver embossed on vellum and fuzzy cut.

This card was made for my sister-in-law's 70th last month. Again I used the Happy Everything and Birthday Bash sets, this time in combination with the Numbers Plate Die for some faux inlaid die cutting.

Who can resist a good cupcake to finish off a beautiful day? I treated myself to some new inks and did some quick blending trials on different types of card. This one reminded me on the beautiful aroma coming off a freshly baked cake. It had to be used with this beautiful sentiment from the Happy Everything set and that yummy cupcake from the Birthday Bash set with a little help from the Mixed Media Grunge of course.

So how can you play along and join the celebrations?

• For the Wish List Linky, you simply create a wish list in the STAMPlorations Shop and link it up here on the STAMPlorations Blog where all the steps are explained in detail

• comment on the designers blogs. Today's links can be found here plus starting tomorrow we STAMPgirls, one at a time, share three of our favourite makes plus one or two new makes for you to CASE. Please check them out too, they can always be found on the STAMPlortaions Blog Home Page.

• For the CASE-ing of projects, you can link up your CASEd makes here on the STAMPlorations Blog. Please note, this is link is different to the one for the wish list linky. 

Commenting and linking up to both the Wish List and the CASE-ing parties closes on Tuesday 3rd July and the winners will be announced on Tuesday 10th July.

For prizes and special promotions during STAMPlorations Birthday Celebrations check out their blog here. Shery has planned so much for you to enjoy during June in the STAMPlorations Shop, here are just a few examples:

• Freebie Days: every Wednesday to Sunday all orders (no minimum required) qualify for one free 3x5 stamp set or one free word/phrase die up to $10 value. Items must be in stock.
• 50% off Flash Sale: every Monday until Tuesday 23.59 Pacific, selected items will be placed into the flash sale category where they will be on sale at 50% off, no coupon needed.
• $5 Birthday Bash Surprise Bags: each bag contains a 'handmade with love' stamp ($3 value) plus 2 or 3 previous released products, a combination of dies and/or 3x5, 2/6, 4/4, 4x6 stamps; the total MSRP value of each bag is a t least $20. Only whilst stock lasts.

I shall leave you with a close-up of my projects as an inspiration for you to CASE ....

That's it from me for today, pop over to STAMPlorations to join in and enjoy the party!

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:

from the new release:
Birthday Wishes, Happy Everything, Birthday Bash, Make A Wish
   

in combination with:
Pierced Curly Frames/Tags Nesting Dies, Kathryn's Big Wishes, Mixed Media Grunge, Numbers Plate Die
   
*** Discount code works on sale items too