Wanderlust

Hello Crafty Friends!

It's Tuesday and this means it's Inspiration Time over at STAMPlorations.  Today's card encourages you to dream ...

A lot of us aren't able to venture as far as we would like to at the time, but this doesn't mean that in our mind we can't re-experience the joys of the great outddoors by reliving past memories.

The faint image of the mountaineer and sentiment are reminders that it is possible.

The walking boots were stamped and masked before masking the strip off which I sponged in Tempting Turquoise. Moving the top mask to now cover the sponged strip was needed to stamp the mountaineer into place. Keeping to one colour really helped the walking boots to stand out.

I made this card during a little Facebook Live. If you want to listen to my ramblings, you can find the video here.

There are still a couple of days left to bag yourself a bargain and take advantage of STAMPlorations' Spring Clearance Sale. For more details, check out the graphic at the end of this post.
You can check out all of STAMPlorations' current promotions here.

That's it from me for today. Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to check out my teamies' beautiful makes.

Hope you're having a lovely week!

hugs
Monika xxx


here is what I used from

- STAMPlorations Shop:

Walking Boots, Wanderlust Hipster Icons, Wanderlust
   

this is the graphic for STAMPlorations current sales

Keep Shining

Hello Crafty Friends!

It's Tuesday and this means it's Inspiration Time over at STAMPlorations.  I thought I'd use one of the stencil prints I took when making my card for this post here. It was perfect to be teamed up with this gorgeous light bulb ...

We all need some positivity in our lives right now ... this light bulb gives off an uplifting glow. I colourerd it using brushmarkers and a watercolour brush. The edges of my panel were inked up first and then distressed which gave me this nice broken outline.
I stamped the waves from the Art Marks 2 set and the sentiment, lightly shaped the bulb, attached it with foam pads and finished off with a few gems for sparkle.

If you feel like bagging yourself a bargain and take advantage of STAMPlorations' Spring Clearance Sale check out the graphic at the end of this post.
You can check out all of STAMPlorations' current promotions here.

That's it from me for today. Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to check out my teamies' beautiful makes.

Hope you're having a lovely week!

hugs
Monika xxx


here is what I used from

- STAMPlorations Shop:

Shine Bright, Art Marks 2, Petals 1 Stencil
  

this is the graphic for STAMPlorations current sales

Spread Joy Not Germs Blog Hop

Hello Crafty Friends!

It's time to spread some joy.  I am taking part in the #SPREDJOYNOTGERMS blog hop as part of the STAMPlorations Design Team. If you've already been hopping along, you will have come from the lovely Dina L Kowal's Blog. Welcome everyone!

First up my little one-layer card ... and I'm hoping it's going to make you smile ...

Aren't these little monsters adorable? The jumping one looks, as if it wants to give you a hug ... maybe it is sending you a big virtual one right now ...

I used Little Monsters with a sentiment from Chikoo Goes Bananas and the Make Marks 1 ARTplorations Stencil for the background, all available from the STAMPlorations Shop.

Talking about STAMPlorations ... Shery, STAMPlorations owner, really loves spreading joy, not only is she giving away a $25 gift code on the STAMPlorations Blog, she is also giving away a $10 gift code on each of her participating designer's blogs (including mine 😁).

A full list of all other sponsors (there are 31 in total) and prizes can be found at the end of my post.

Prizes will be randomly drawn from all the blogs and all the comments which means the more comments you leave the greater your chance of winning a prize. Should you get lost along the way you can pop over to Catherine Pooler's blog or The Hedgehog Hollow's blog to find the full list with links of all the participants.

Commenting closes Friday 24th April with the winners being announced on Monday 27th April on Catherine Pooler's Blog and Alexandra Stapleton-Smith's/The Hedgehog Hollow's Blog.

Here is one last look at my little card ...

It is time to hop on to the the next stop which is the lovely Jill Lipscomb of Jill Cameron Creations.

Wishing you lots of fun!
hugs
Monika xxx


Just a little reminder of what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop
Little Monsters, Chikoo Goes Bananas, Make Marks 1 ARTplorations Stencil
  

Important Blog links, should you get lost. You can find a list of all participants and sponsors on:
- Catherine Pooler's Blog
- The Hedgehog Hollow

Sponsor and Prize List:

• Catherine Pooler Designs - $20 Gift Certificate on the CP blog and each of the Brand Ambassadors' blogs
• Hedgehog Hollow - one month free sub to the box with free us shipping
• CAS-ual Fridays - Win the new release - over $80 value
• Heffy Doodle - £35 voucher for the store
• Whimsy Stamps - $15 GC on each of their Creative Team team blogs
• Sassy and Crafty Stamps - $35 Gift Certificate
• The Ton - $20 Gift Certificate (stamps, dies, ink or sequins)
• Ellen Hutson - $35 Gift Certificate
• Polka Dot Orchard- $20 Gift Certificate
• Ink on 3 - $35 Gift Certificate
• Brutus Monroe - $50 GC
• STAMPlorations - $25 gift code on the STAMPlorations blog + $10 gift code on each designer blogs.
• Trinity Stamps- $25 Gift Certificate
• WOW! Embossing Powder - two gift vouchers 1 x £30 and 1 x $30 that covers the USA, UK and Europe
• Greeting Farm -$25 Gift Certificate
• Miss Ink Stamps -$25 Gift Certificate
• Pear Blossom Press -$25 gift certificate
• Trinity Stamps -$25 Gift Certificate
• Paper Sweeties - $50 Gift Certificate
• Xyron - Mega Runner, Refill & 1.5 inch sticker maker, refill
• Beacon - Product gift bag
• Artesprix - Getting Started Kit
• iCrafter - $20 Gift Certificate
• Joy Clair - $25 Gift Certificate
• Dina Kowal - Two $10 gift codes to Dina Kowal Creative
• Rabbit Hole Designs - $10.00 gift code on each DT members blogs
• Your Next Stamp - $25 Gift Certificate
• Taylored Expressions - $50 Gift Certificate
• Pink and Main - $25 Gift Certificate
• Unity - two $25 Gift Certificates
• Dress My Craft - $35 gift certificate

Faith Is

Hello Crafty Friends!

Just a little reminder that there is still time to play at the April challenges over at STAMPlorations. Here is my reminder DT piece for this month's Theme & Photo Prompt Challenge ...

The theme for the current challenge is Stamps & Flight and the photo prompt can be seen below. Your project can either be inspired by the theme, photo prompt or both. The full challenge rules can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

The inspiration for my card came from both, the photo and the theme.The citrus fruit slices are represented by my stencilled circles using the Petals 3 Stencil with Aurore, Cire and Grenadine Izink inks. The sentiment and birds on a branch silhouette (For The Birds) incorporate the theme.

As you can see, it is rather effective to use part of a stencil to make your own background pattern.

As for the prizes which can be won:
Two winners, one of a $15 gift certificate and one of a $10 gift certificate, will be picked by one member of our DT.
Plus 3 randomly drawn winners will each receive a $5 gift certificate.

In order to be considered for a prize, make sure you've followed the rules here.

Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to check out how my teamies interpreted the challenge theme and prompt and of course to join in the fun too. More challenge inspiration can be found in the April Challenges Reminder post here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

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

hugs

Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop:

For The Birds, Petals 3 Stencil

 

Beach Happy

Hello Crafty Friends!

It's Tuesday and this means it's Inspiration Time over at STAMPlorations.  I thought I'd share an somewhat uplifting card to remind ourselves that nature's beautiful beaches will still be there for us to be enjoyed in good time ...

I die- cut a rectangle from a piece of yellow card using one of the Basic A2 Panels Nesting Dies and decorated it in the style of one of our beach towels using some of the smaller stamps from the Artsy Tribal Doodles set. I finished off with a sandcastle, sunglasses, sentiment (all from Beach Vibes) and a few stencilled dots. Enjoy! 💖

If you feel like bagging yourself a bargain and take advantage of STAMPlorations' Spring Clearance Sale check out the graphic at the end of this post.
You can check out all of STAMPlorations' current promotions here.

That's it from me for today. Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to check out my teamies' beautiful makes.

Hope you're having a lovely week!

hugs
Monika xxx


here is what I used from

- STAMPlorations Shop:

Beach Vibes, Artsy Tribal Doodles, Dots All Over Stencil, Basic A2 Panels Nesting Dies
   

this is the graphic for STAMPlorations current sales

Java Happy Easter

Hello Crafty Friends!

It's Tuesday and this means it's Inspiration Time over at STAMPlorations.  With Easter being this coming weekend, I thought I'd go for a seasonal make ...

There is a certain innocence about Spring which fitted the child-like style of the bunny with fluffy clouds quite well.
I used inks to watercolour the bunny, flowers and grass. The clouds were lightly stencilled.

If you feel like bagging yourself a bargain and take advantage of STAMPlorations' Spring Clearance Sale check out the graphic at the end of this post.
You can check out all of STAMPlorations' current promotions here.

That's it from me for today. Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to check out my teamies' beautiful makes.

Hope you're having a lovely week!

hugs
Monika xxx


here is what I used from

- STAMPlorations Shop:

Bunnies 'N Beans, Clouds Stencil
 

this is the graphic for STAMPlorations current sales

Happy Spring

Hi Crafty Friends!

I've been making some Spring/Easter themed cards using some of my new goodies from Crafty Roo Designs. Here they are ...

I've just been messing about with my new Bubbles Mini Poly Plate using inks and water. Sometimes it got a bit too wet other times maybe a bit too dry, but I'm loving each and everyone of the effects.

Dipping into my stash, I used up a few pieces of coloured card and decorative tape too.

The little birdies were coloured using watercolour pencils on mixed media card.

Hope you enjoyed my little Spring offering. If you wonder how to maybe get hold of some of the stamps I used, you can find a link to Crafty Roo Designs' online shop on my Favourite Suppliers page. Beware the listing is in reverse alphabetical order.

Hope you're all staying safe and well.
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used:
Mini Bubbles Poly Plate, Midi - Chirp from Crafty Roo Designs
decorative paper tape from The Works
Smoky Slate ink, green card from Stampin'Up!
Cerise, Aurore, Mer Du Sud Izink ink from Craft Stash
black Versafine, black watercolour, mixed media card, white card, sequins, black marker pen for writing

The Sunny Side

Hello Crafty Friends!

It is time to welcome in April and with it the start of another round of challenges over at STAMPlorations. Here is my DT piece for this month's Theme & Photo Prompt Challenge ...

The theme for the current challenge is Stamps & Flight and the photo prompt can be seen below. Your project can either be inspired by the theme, photo prompt or both. The full challenge rules can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

As you probably already guessed, I took inspiration from both the theme and the photo for my card.

The inspiration from the photo prompt can be found in the circles (Art Marks 2) and the colours I used to stamp them (Canary Yellow, Orange Zest and Apple Green Prism inks). The theme of flight is reflected by the butterfly from Sweetly.

As with every challenge, there are prizes to be won. Here they are:
Two winners, one of a $15 gift certificate and one of a $10 gift certificate, will be picked by one member of our DT.
Plus 3 randomly drawn winners will each receive a $5 gift certificate.

In order to be considered for a prize, make sure you've followed the rules here.

Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to check out how my teamies interpreted the challenge theme and prompt and of course to join in the fun too.

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

hugs

Monika xxx

here is what I used from the STAMPlorations Shop:

Sweetly, Art Marks 2, Noteworthy 4