Unexpected Florals

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 this simple stamped one-layer card ...

Each challenge, of course, has a different theme. For challenge #90 we are looking for projects which include an Unexpected Item. Lots of scope there!

#90 - Include An Unexpected Item

The unexpected item thing really had me puzzled as I am more often than not about expecting the unexpected. It's a sort of normal for me .... and then I decided on that. ...

..... my unexpected item are the flowers. Some of my friends think that flowers on male cards are a no-go-zone. What do you think?

A good male friend of mine told me that men secretly like to receive gifts of flowers. My husband certainly did when I got him some to cheer him up whilst he was ill.

Fancy creating your 'Unexpected Item' containing 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:
Izink Inks: Nuit, Ocean, Mer Du Sud and Outremer - CraftStash
Black and grey Versafine inks - stash

Celebrate Artsy, Sentiment Builders Celebrate, Big Dreamer - STAMPlorations, you can use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA in their shop at checkout to get a 20% discount, best of all it works on Sale items too

Celebrating STAMPlorations 4th Birthday!

Hello Crafty Friends!

I am back again with two more cards as my DT contribution to the STAMPlorations Birthday Celebrations. Both of them are very CAS and along the lines of a two in one.

First up is a super adorable shaker card ...

... made using the new Gift Builder #2 CUTplorations Dies in combination with the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies and a sentiment from the Celebrate Artsy set.

I simply cut the solid gift from the white card, backed it with acetate and layered the pink die-cuts on top.

My next card uses the pink circle shape and the 'left overs' from die-cutting the pink bits for my first card ...

... for more definition, I stamped the Zinnia - large on the square piece of the gift, added a white bow and a shadow layered Congrats sentiment.

What can I say about the new release? It's amazing, I absolutely LOVE the dies and Floral Sprays stamps. There are some pretty cool word dies and stamps too, one of my favourites is 'Prosit'. You can check them out in the shop here

Now comes the best bit, we all know how generous Shery is ... and to celebrate STAMPlorations 4th Birthday all stamps, dies and stencils including the new release will be on sale at 15% off, no coupon needed. This means that you can use my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA at checkout to get an extra 20% off, saving you 35% in total until Monday 3rd July. On top of this every order of at least $25 (after discounts and GC's are applied and before shipping) will get a free 3x5 Heartfelt Rose stamp set.

There will also be a host of prizes:

• Three (3) randomly drawn winners from all comments left on the STAMPlorations blog and participating designers blog will each receive a $25 gift certificate to the store
• One (1) randomly drawn winner from comments left on STAMPlorations Facebook page will win a grab bag consisting of new products worth up to $30
• One (1) randomly drawn winner from comments left on STAMPlorations Instagram page will win a grab bag consisting of new products worth up to $30
• Two (2) randomly drawn winners from the Wishlist Link Up will each win the products in their wish list (up to $50 MSRP)

For more details and links check out the STAMPlorations Blog here. I shall leave you with one last look at both of my cards.

That's it from me for today. Have a lovely week!
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:
Gift Builder #2, Congrats Word Die

 

Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies, VIGNETTE Celebrate Artsy, Zinnia - Large

  

*** Discount code works on sale items too

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

Love All Around

Hi All,

I have been playing with my Gelli Plate in preparation for a demonstration at my Craft Club in a couple of weeks time. Today I was trying out mirror stamping ... here are the results ...

The first card was actually stamped using one of the sticky, gel like mobile phone holders for your car dashboard. It is a good way for trying out this technique should you not wish to splash out on a Gelli Plate which certainly gives you a clearer print as you can see in my second card. The left hand seahorse and the right hand cat were stamped/printed in this way. The right hand seahorse is stamped, but I wasn't careful enough hence I disguised my bad stamping with a couple of hearts.

I am entering my 'Purrfect Love' card at:
Addicted to Stamps and More - CAS
Addicted to CAS - red

I am entering my seahorse card at:
Sisters Of Craft - Anything Goes
613 avenue Create - Anything Goes, use something from your stash - black hearts which I punched out a while ago, but never used

There is a short video showing the technique which I recorded in between seeing clients today, it's short and sweet as I didn't have time to finish my card there and then.

... a last look at both card ...

 

That's it from me for today. back soon.
Have a lovely weekend!

hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used:
from STAMPlorations Sentiment Builders: Love, Pets and Vignette Celebrate Artsy
  

From KatzelKraft Les Chats russes, Seahorse and Mur De Pluie
  

From Stampin'Up! the following inks: Bermuda Bay, Summer Sun, Melon Mambo and Real Red
From Stash: cool grey Promarkers 1,2,3 and black Memento ink; card and black punched hearts punch by Creative Memories, had it for ages)

STAMPlorations October Stamp Release Blog Hop

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to Day 2 of the STAMPlorations Stamp Release Blog Hop and Flash Fall Flowers Linky Party! Today we'll be shining the spotlight on HOPE BLOOMS by Shery Russ Designs.

Again I made two cards for you starting with another tall slim one. I recently discovered a pack of these base cards in my stash somewhere at the back of a cupboard. They are coming in very handy.

For my first card, I simply stamped the brush stroke from the Celebrate Artsy set in pale yellows and a greyish green before stamping my main image and sentiment (Friends and Flowers) in black and finishing off with a couple of sequins.

TIP!: When using stronger colours for the brush strokes, use the 2nd or 3rd generation images for your card. This helps to keep the focus on the flowers.

For my next card, I combined the Hope Blooms set with the Retro Circles ARTplorations stencil which is dry embossed as part of my background.

I simply stamped and coloured the butterflies using alcohol markers before adding some glossy accents to one of them. It slightly changed the colours which adds a little more interest. I then stamped my sentiment down one side of my base card, edged my panel using a gold leaf pen, another treasure I recently found, and layered everything as seen.

As always with a blog hop there are prizes to be won for commenting on the posts. Commenting will close on Sunday 25th October. You can also link up a floral themed project (one entry per person, you can use stamps from other companies) for an extra chance to win one of the sets from the release, the link up will close on the same day commenting closes, October 25th. The winners will be announced on October 27th.

Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here.

Prizes:

• SEVEN (7) commenters randomly drawn from the designers' blogs will each win a $10 gift certificate.
• ONE (1) commenter randomly drawn from the STAMPlorations blog will win a $25 gift certificate.
• THREE (3) players randomly drawn from the Fall Flower Flash Linky Party will each win a stamp set from the new release.

links to previous days: Day 1

That's it from me for today, back again tomorrow.

Have a lovely day!

hugs

Monika xxx

what else I used:

Celebrate Artsy and Friends and Flowers stamp sets and Retro Circles ARTplorations stencil, links in the above text

ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop Day 5

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop. This is where we, the STAMPlorations Girls, put our stencils through their paces.

For today's project I worked with the Droplets stencil to create this shaded purple beauty... here in the sunshine ...

... here without the shadows ...

... and here on the inside ...

I simply sponged some light purple pigment ink through the Droplets stencil shading as I went along. I stamped my sentiment from the Celebrate Artsy set in Imperial Purple Versafine ink and added some gems. I have lots of these gems and never used them ... until now! They were a perfect match and turned the droplets into a field of candles. At least that's what I like to think. :-)

I decided to go for an asymmetrical border for extra interest. On the inside I stamped the couple from the VIGNETTE Ever After set in the same light purple pigment ink (it looks a little more pink here) and my sentiment from the Birthday Cake in Imperial Purple before doodling a partial border.

I am entering my card at:

Inkspirational - purple

CASology - story

Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here. Feel free to leave comments as you go along. Every comment will be entered into a prize draw. Commenting closes on 29th May and the winners will be announced on 1st June. Good Luck!

Prizes:

SIX (6) winners (2 winners per day) will receive their choice of ARTplorations stencil. Winners will be randomly drawn from all comments left on the designers' blogs.

THREE (3) winners will each receive a $10 gift certificate. Winners will be randomly drawn from comments left on the STAMPlorations blog.

+ Extra prizes for those who participate in the Flash Stencil Project Linky Party and link up by May 31.

That's it from me for today.

Have a lovely day!

hugs

Monika xxx




Here is what I used:


stamps and stencils from STAMPlorations, links are in the text above
    
light purple pigment ink - Papermania
Elegant Eggplant Stamp'n'write marker - Stampin'Up!
cardstock and droplet gems from stash

Gelli Plate Saturday

Hello Everybody,

Hope you all had a great weekend!

My friend Sue and I had a fabulous Gelli Plate session on Saturday afternoon with acrylic paints and stencils. I was using some of my favourite ARTplorations Stencils to lift several prints in the process. You'd be amazed how many prints we managed to lift from one application of paints! We even took some prints of the stencils. I even managed to make use of the pattern I got from rolling the paint off the roller on a piece of card as you can see in the second one of today's projects.
First up is a card where I used part of an imprint from the ARTplorations Stencils: Bubbles and combined it with the following STAMPlorations stamp sets: Mini Mixed Media Backgrounds, Distressed Floral Swirls, Celebrate Artsy and Bloom Sketches.

I used the stencil imprint with its mix of red and golden colours as my starting point and stamped the largest of the texture stamps from the Mini Mixed Media Backgrounds down one side using a touch of Early Espresso ink. I then inked up my chosen Floral Swirls stamp in Gumball Green and stamped it several times into position using the generational stamping technique before stamping a partial border in Early Espresso using the dots from the Mini Mixed Media Backgrounds set. I then stamped, coloured (Promarkers) and fuzzy cut my daisy from the Bloom Sketches set, stamped one of the brush strokes from the Celebrate Artsy set as its stalk using Early Espresso ink, glued my bloom into position and finished off by adding my sentiment (Celebrate Artsy) in black and layering on my red base card.
I really like the 3D effect of the daisy, it looks a little like a pop-up feature.

I would like to enter my card at:
Addicted to Stamps and More - Make Your Mark
Card Mania - Add Some Red
Crafts Galore Encore - Use a Stamp or Digi
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes with optional twist birthday

The background for my next card was made by simply rolling off the left over paint from my roller. It is a mix of mustard and silver acrylic paint, and the eagle eyed may even spot a faint pattern from the ARTplorations Stencils: Shutters down the right hand side as I had just used the roller to apply some paint over that stencil.
Here is the finished card:

This one was really quick and easy to make. I stamped and fuzzy cut my daisy from the Bloom Sketches set before applying clear glitter to the petals and golden glitter to its center. Whilst the glitter was drying, I attached my mustard panel to a piece of green designer paper, added a ribbon and leaf by Cheery Lynn Designs (think it's called fern leaf and comes as a set of two), stamped my sentiment from the Celebrate Artsy set, attached it to my base card and once dry added my glittered daisy using 3D foam dots.

I would like to enter my card at
Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge 173 - Anything Goes
Scribble and Scrap Challenge 38 - Anything Goes

Oops, almost forgot to say ... The above two cards are my contribution to the Inspiration Feature over at the STAMPlorations Blog, where this time round we showcase some of the older sets. You can pop over by clicking here to see the fab projects my Teamies have created. This is also where we invite you to CASE one of our cards and play along at the CASE Playground. Have fun!

Next up is another Mixed Media style card made using a piece of an imprint from the ARTplorations Stencils: Shutters ...

I did go a little wild here and applied some Metallic Melon and Metallic Mint Gelatos as background colour. I then added some more texture using the large stamp from the Mini Mixed Media Backgrounds with Old Rose ColorBox pigment ink and the Lattice stamp (Kaisercraft) with Lapislazuli VersaColor ink. I then stamped the butterfly corner (36 by Kaisercraft) and my sentiment (Grateful Beyond Words STAMP LAB set by STAMPlorations***) in black VersaColor ink and layered my panel onto my red base card to finish.

This card has a lovely subtle shimmer due to the Metallic Gelatos and a little silver acrylic paint (mixed with mustard) from the stencil imprint.

I would like to enter my card at:
The Crafting Cafe - Favourite Technique, mine is stamping
Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes

Hope you enjoyed my little offering today. I shall be back soon with more.

Have a lovely day!

hugs

Monika xxx

*** STAMP LAB sets by STAMPlorations are limited edition stamps which have not been officially released. You can choose a free one with orders of and over $30 worth of products from their shop.***

Here are the STAMPlorations sets and ARTplorations Stencils I used:
     
Early Espresso, Gumball Green inks, Early Espresso and Poppy Parade card stock by Stampin'Up!
Stamps by Kaisercraft, all other inks, Metallic Gelatos, designer paper, ribbon, glitter, Promarkers and paints were from my local Craft Shop