Love Hop - extra helping

Hello Crafty Friends!

This is just a little extra helping reminding you that there is still time to join and play along at the Love Hop & Linky Party over at STAMPlorations. Shery, STAMPlorations owner, has decided to spread some love ....

- with three fabulous free digis to download here on the STAMPlorations Blog
- with a linky party and blog hop on their blog

Let's spread the love ....

I had to try my hand at colouring this beautiful lily, one of the three free digis for downloading ....

I simply got out my pencils again and started colouring. The sentiment is highlighted with glossy accents and the corners had a bit of interest added with a bit of stamping using Shirley's new Carved Flowers set.

Check out the graphic below for the other two digis, Aren't they fabulous?

As you can see, there is nothing spectacular that you need to start using digital stamps. You can even use a printer that only takes paper rather than card. Why not download them now from the STAMPlorations Blog and join their linky party with your loved themed make?

As with any hop, it is important to leave comments along the way. Commenting and linking up closes Friday 8th February with the winners being announced a couple of days later.

There are lots of prizes to be won, over $100 worth, full details can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

There is more 'extra helping' Love Hop inspiration here on the STAMPlorations Blog.. Why not pop over and check it out? I am sure there'll be something for you to enjoy.

That's it from me for today. Have a lovely day!

hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop:
Carved Flowers, Free digi downloads
 
Should you wish to place an order, feel free to use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA for a 20% discount on their stamps, dies and stencils.

Simple Gratitude

Hello Crafty Friends!

It's Inspiration Time over at STAMPlorations ... and as my DT piece, I made a simple card to say 'Thank You' for all the lovely comments you recently left on my blog. Here it is ....

I heat embossed my sentiment with a mix of embossing powders I had left over from several projects hence the soft look of pink, red and clear. It needed something contrasting yet not too bold.

Shirley's new Carved Flowers set is perfect for combining with the large Typographia stamps. Rather than going for a stamped border or background, I used it to add a little stamping beneath my sentiment.

I am keeping it short and sweet today. For more inspiration, pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog where you can admire the fabulous pieces my teamies created..

Enjoy your day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop:
Carved Flowers, Gratitude Is The Blossom
 

for a 20% discount on their stamps, dies and stencils, feel free to use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA at checkout.

January Release an extra helping

Hello Crafty Friends!

This is just a little extra helping from me using the Carved Flowers set which was released a few days ago by STAMPlorations. There are a few more projects using their new stamps here on their blog.

I absolutely love Shirley's new Carved Flowers set, it offers so many possibilities of building flowers, bouquets and block printed borders.

Carved Flowers

Judging by the comments I received, it seems you are loving this set too. Many of you liked my card with the side border hence I thought I'd treat you to a bit more border stamping with today's project. Here it is ....

I actually stamped the borders along the longer side of my card not intending to stamp quite as many. The original idea was to stamp the smaller flowers in the lighter colour and only stamp about two rows .... but then I got my inks mixed up and ended up stamping the whole piece of card.

My excuse is that they are new inks which so far I've hardly used and with their lids off, they all looked so similar. Moral of the story: Always replace your lids straight after use!

I combined my stamped panel with a sentiment from the retired Sentiment Builders: Love and a little heart from the Clustered Hearts Die.

To check out how Shirley used her set in the original release post and to join the fun, pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog. Leave comments along the way for your chance to win one of four $15 coupon codes which will be randomly drawn from all the comments left during the release on the STAMPlorations Blog and the participating designer's blogs links to which can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog. Commenting is open from today, January 14, until January 31.

All of the 4 new sets will be on sale at 10% off during the release until 31st January. You can use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA at checkout to get an added 20% off that sale price.

That's it from me for today. Before I go, may I also remind you of the Love Blog Hop & Linky Party over on the STAMP Blog, a card like mine would be perfect for entering.

Have fun hopping!

hugs

Monika xxx

Here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop.

Carved Flowers, Clustered Hearts Die

 

Remember to use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA for a 20% discount on their stamps, dies and stencils. This discount code works on SALE items too.

Brusho & Cupcake take 2

Hello Crafty Friends!

I am back with another helping of cupcake inspiration using this lovely free digital image by STAMPlorations.

Shery, STAMPlorations owner, has decided to spread some love ....

- with three fabulous free digis to download here on the STAMPlorations Blog
- with a linky party and blog hop on their blog

Let's spread the love ....

I had to colour another mouthwatering chocolate dipped strawberry ....

Let's have a closer look. This time I used some purple and red brusho powder, adding shading and colour to both the rose and the cupcake with a touch of yellow for the background.

As mentioned in my last post I was careful to only lightly spritz the brusho powder with water given that I used an inkjet printer and wanted to avoid the ink from bleeding.

As you can see, there is nothing spectacular that you need to start using digital stamps. You can even use a printer that only takes paper rather than card. Why not download them now from the STAMPlorations Blog and join their linky party with your loved themed make?

As with any hop, it is important to leave comments along the way. Commenting and linking up closes Friday 8th February with the winners being announced a couple of days later.

There are lots of prizes to be won, over $100 worth, full details can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

Here is a look at all three card I made so far using this digital image ...

That's it from me for now.
Have fun joining the party!

hugs
Monika xxx

free didi downloads

Feel free to browse the STAMPlorations Shop.
Should you wish to place an order, you can use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA for a 20% discount on their stamps, dies and stencils.

Brusho & Cupcake

Hello Crafty Friends!

I am back with more cupcake digi stamp inspiration.

Shery, STAMPlorations owner, has decided to spread some love ....

- with three fabulous free digis to download here on the STAMPlorations Blog
- with a linky party and blog hop on their blog

Let's spread the love ....

It is one of the three free digital stamps. Isn't it fabulous? I have one more project which I will share in a couple of days.

Let's have a closer look. My image was printed on light printer paper, and I got my pencils out again, but first I sprinkled a bit of red and yellow brusho powder in a few places and lightly spritzed with water. I was careful not to over wet the image as I used an inkjet printer and I wanted to avoid that ink from bleeding.
I then simply used my pencils to add some more red to the rose, colour its leaves and the dramatic yellow background. The cupcake was left uncoloured and shows off the effect I got from using the brusho powders.

As you can see, there is nothing spectacular that you need to start using digital stamps. You can even use a printer that only takes paper rather than card. Why not download them now from the STAMPlorations Blog and join their linky party with your loved themed make?

As with any hop, it is important to leave comments along the way. Commenting and linking up closes Friday 8th February with the winners being announced a couple of days later.

There are lots of prizes to be won, over $100 worth, full details can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

That's it from me for now. I shall be back again soon sharing another card using this lovely digital stamp.
Have fun joining the party!

hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop:
Clustered Hearts Die, free digi downloads
 
Should you wish to place an order, feel free to use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA for a 20% discount on their stamps, dies and stencils.

TMR 23rd Jan

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. Our guest designer for the next fortnight is Nance, you can check out her fabulous creations on here on Nance's blog.

My DT project for the new challenge is ...

Each challenge, of course, has a different theme. For challenge #103 it's Nature. Lots of scope there!

#103 Nature

As you can see, I went for a bright and sunny CAS design featuring a small landscape scene which I simply watercoloured. The yellow rays of my base card are simply sponged.

Fancy creating something for a male person in your life, pop over to The Male Room for more inspiration and to link up your masculine makes.

I am entering my card at:
Craft Stamper Take It Make It - Anything Goes
Papercraft Challenges - #29 bright colours

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

here is what I used:
Wanderlust Hipster Icons, Noteworthy - STAMPlorations, feel free to use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA for a 20% discount on their stamps, dies and stencils
Stitched circle nesting dies - Marianne Creatables
Aurore Izink Ink - Craft Stash
black Versafine and Memento inks, white and yellow card, brushmarkers for watercolouring - from my stash

Re-discovering Aperture Cards - Part 2

Hello Crafty Friends!

This is my second instalment of aperture cards for a tutorial over at STAMPlorations. This time I included some layers.

Here is today's make:

A full step-by-step photo tutorial can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

That's it from me for today. Have fun and enjoy your day!

hugs
Monika xxx


Here is what I used from the STAMPlorations store:
Positive Vibes, Curly Labels/Tags Nesting Dies
 

Fancy getting an extra 20% off the store prices, you know that you can use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA at check out. Have fun browsing and playing with STAMPlorations' wonderful products!

Love Is In The Air

Hello Crafty Friends!

Shery, STAMPlorations owner, has decided to spread some love ....

- with three fabulous free digis to download here on the STAMPlorations Blog
- with a linky party and blog hop on their blog

Let's spread the love ....

I couldn't resist that delicious cupcake with the mouthwatering chocolate dipped strawberry ....

It is one of the three free digital stamps. Isn't it fabulous? I have a couple more projects which I will share over the coming days.

Let's have a closer look. I got my pencils out and tried my hand at colouring. The pencils are nothing spectacular, just value ones from Amazon, but I'm quite happy using them.
I only lightly coloured a few parts of the rose in cream to create some shading as I wanted it to be a white one.

First time I tried colouring chocolate using 3 shades of brown and cream for the white chocolate. The overall shading was done in light grey.
The paper I used was simple 80 gsm all purpose printer paper suitable for inkjet and definitely not the smooth type. The slightly rougher surface provides a good key for the various colours.

As you can see, there is nothing spectacular that you need to start using digital stamps. You can even use a printer that only takes paper rather than card. Why not download them now from the STAMPlorations Blog and join their linky party with your loved themed make?

As with any hop, it is important to leave comments along the way. Commenting and linking up closes Friday 8th February with the winners being announced a couple of days later.

There are lots of prizes to be won, over $100 worth, full details can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

I finished my card off with a bit of die-cut Clustered Hearts. That's it from me for now.
Have fun joining the party!

hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop:
Clustered Hearts Die, Free digi downloads
 
Should you wish to place an order, feel free to use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA for a 20% discount on their stamps, dies and stencils.

Playtime

Hello Crafty Friends!

I had some playtime again making some masculine birthday cards. Here they are ...

I picked up this cool stamp by Uniko and only coloured bits of it, the rest is playing around with different types of borders to get away from a symmetrical frame type of border.

I am entering at:
CAS Colours & Sketches #304 Colours - 
I used Bashful Blue instead of Balmy Blue, this was the closest match

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

here is what I used:
Background Blocks Equaliser - Uniko
Baa Baa - STAMPlorations, feel free to use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA for a 20% discount of their stamps, dies and stencils
Real Read, Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue Stamp'n'Write Markers, Real Red card - Stampin'Up!
black Versamark ink - local craft shop

January TAGplorations Reminder

Hello Crafty Friends!

Just a little reminder that January's TAGplorations Challenge is in full swing over at STAMPlorations. There is still time to enter.

The theme for January is: All About Winter

The optional twist is: to use Texture Paste

Well, as you can see, I've gone all out for the optional twist of texture paste with my trees.

I cut a tag from a piece of card I had used to mop up some ink from my craft mat. I then used some texture paste through the Christmas Tree 1 stencil and sprinkled it with glitter to make my trees sparkle.

Whilst the paste was drying, I did some stamping using the Winter Chill set, colouring and fuzzy cutting plus a bit of heat embossing and doodling before assembling my tag and finishing off with a few snowflake sequins and a bit of silver and black ribbons.

If you love tags, why not give it a go and play along? Your project can be anything as long as it features a tag. You can enter as many projects as you want, but one per blog post please, and you don't have to use STAMPlorations products, yet we'd be thrilled if you would. There is currently a free winter/holiday image to download at STAMPlorations Never ending Anything Goes Challenge here. Please check out the full revised challenge guidelines here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

One lucky winner, voted for by the DT, will win a $15 STAMPlorations gift certificate and 3 randomly picked players will win a $5 STAMPlorations gift certificate each.

Ready for more tagtastic inspiration? Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to see the gorgeous projects my teamies created and, of course, to link up your tag project/s too.

If you like challenges, check out January's Challenge Reminder Post over on the STAMPlorations blog too.

That's it from me for today. Have a lovely week.

hugs

Monika xx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop, you can use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA at checkout for a 20% discount on their, stamps, dies and stencils

Christmas Tree 1 Stencil, Winter Chill, Manila Tags Nesting Dies

  

here is what else I used:

Versamark, Snowflake embossing powder, black Versafine ink, Tempting Turqoise ink, silver and black ribbon, glitter, white and black card, brush markers, snowflake sequins, black fine liner pens

Cup Of Tea

Hello Crafty Friends!

It's Inspiration Time over at STAMPlorations ... and what a special mile stone one it is ... it's their 200th Inspiration Post.

If that isn't worth celebrating, then I don't know what is. To mark the occasion, Shery will randomly draw one winner of a $20 coupon code from all the comments left on the STAMPlorations Blog and the Inspiration Team Designers' blogs.

I am certainly celebrating with a good brew and a good read hence my bookmark showcasing a set designed by Becca Cruger called Literary Caffeine-ations which I combined with stamps from the Mixed Media Grunge and Scribbly Splattery Grunge sets plus dies from the Tag O'Coffee and the Tags #1 Nesting Dies. Here it is, my DT piece ...

As you can see the colour scheme was somewhat inspired by the tea's colour, especially as I like mine dark with either no or very little milk depending on type. I used the red and white to liven it up with a couple of green sequins.

I went for grungy stamping which I added to the patterned paper tag, added an embossed sentiment, some die-cuts and finished off with white doodles.

My bookmark will be entered at:

Craft Stamper Take It Make It January - Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes, optional twist of watercolour (sorry didn't play it)
Crafter's Castle - Anything Goes, optional twist of fun technique (heat embossing for the sentiment)
Sisterhood Of Snarky Stampers - B is for Books

I am keeping it short and sweet today. For more inspiration and to comment on all the blog, pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog where you can find all the links and, of course, admire the fabulous pieces my teamies created..

Enjoy your day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop:
Literary Caffeine-ations, Mixed Media Grunge, Scribbly Splattery Grunge
  

Tag O'Coffee, Tags #1 Nesting Dies
 

for a 20% discount on their stamps, dies and stencils, feel free to use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA at checkout.