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

November Mixed Media Challenge

Hello, Crafty Friends!

Welcome to this first Sunday in November and the start of a new 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 November is ... a Christmas Tag ....

I thought I'd fit in with the Holiday TAGplorations Hop whilst at the same time giving you a little sneak peak of the upcoming Mini CUTplorations release ...  well ...

here are the basic steps on how I made it:

• cut a tag from a strip of card with very pale grey watercolouring using the CUTplorations ATC Tag Builder
• stamp the script and postage stamps from the Mixed Media Elements in grey
• stencil grey stars using the ARTplorations Oh, My Stars! Stencil
• stencil the Christmas Tree using Cherry and Black Stars Sparkle Medium 
• outline the tree with a golden gel pen
• outline your tag with a gold leaf pen
• add some sequins
• stamp and attach the sentiment from the Gone Postal set
• finish off with some fibers

Here is another look at my tag ..

I hope you feel inspired to get into the Christmas spirit and create a tag  .... why not link it up with the Mixed Media Challenge and the Holiday TAGplorations Hop over at STAMPlorations. The theme for the Mixed Media Challenge 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.

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: Christmas Trees, Oh, My Stars!
 

STAMPlorations Stamps used: Mixed Media Elements, Gone Postal
 

CUTplorations Dies used: ATC Tag Builder

Off Beat Colours

Hello Crafty Friends!

We're back safe and sound from our little trip, the caravan is securely tucked up in it's new home, a local storage facility, ..... what better start to Tuesday!

It's Inspirations time over at STAMPlorations, and I have been playing with their new CUTplorations Christmas Word & Phrase Dies for my DT project ...

• splatter some pink on a linen effect base card and allow to dry
• stencil the wonky tree from the ARTplorations Christmas Trees Stencil in mint and bright fuchsia Starlight Metallic Paints
• die-cut 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy' from plum card, snip the 'Merry' off and layer a Happy Christmas sentiment on your card as shown

Here is another look...

Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to see the fabulous creations my teamies made and to leave a comment for your entry into their monthly prize draw.

That's it from me for today, off to see to the washing. ;-/ The joys of coming home from holiday ...

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used:
CUTplorations Thin Metal Dies: Merry Christmas Phrase Die, Happy Word Die
 
ARTplorations Stencils: Christmas Trees

Happy Holidays

Hi All,

Back again with more inspiration for you. Over at STAMPlorations it's the last one of this year's Inspiration Posts.

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all for your support and lovely comments this year, it really meant a lot to me especially during the last few months. I must also apologize for not visiting your blogs of late. It has been an enormously stressful time mentally and emotionally getting ready for some major changes I need to make. All will be revealed on Christmas Eve, but what I can say say for now is that cardmaking and blogging will still be part of it. I shall also be staying on STAMPlorations' Inspiration Design Team.

Now to today's project inspired by the Christmas decorations in and around Market Street in Hoylake where I live ...

I stamped and gold embossed the stars (Balloons and Banners), stamped and masked the houses (Houses), masked the moon and sponged my sky using Night of Navy and the shadows using Basic Grey inks. I then coloured my houses using Promarkers, first in bright colours before muting them by adding Cool Grey 3 on top with the exception of the windows. Next I used my Starlights Metallic Paints to stencil the tree (ARTplorations Christmas Trees Stencil), added a grey outline and gold glitter highlights before stamping my sentiment (Holiday Sketches: Christmas Flower) and layered on a matching base card to finish.

That's it from me for now. If you like CASEing and you find some time over the festive period, why not CASE one or more of our Inspiration Projects and link them up at the Playground. We, my Teamies and I, would love to see your creations.

Have a lovely Christmas!

hugs
Monika xxx

here is what I used, links are in the above text.
   

Night of Navy and Basic Grey inks - Stampin'Up!
Artiste Gold Shimmer Pearlescent ink Pad - docrafts
Gold Satin Pearl WOW embossing powder
green and red Starlights Metallic Paints - Imagination Crafts
Promarkers

December Stencil Hop Day 2

Hi All, welcome to Day 2 of the ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop where we're celebrating all things stencil.

Here is my project ...

I've gone from CAS to Mixed Media and used the Christmas Trees ARTplorations Stencil in combination with the Mixed Media Elements, Joyful, Vignette Christmas Block and Holiday Sketches Christmas Candles STAMPlorations stamp sets.

I started off by applying some River Rock ink to my splodge mat, spritzing it with water and lifting a print off using linen textured card and slightly blended the edges using the left over ink from the mat. Once dry I stamped the script and snowflakes using the same colour ink. Next I stenciled the Christmas Tree using green and red Starlights Metallic Paints before creating my sentiment (Joyful and Christmas Candles) and stamping it in Sepia Archival Ink. To finish, I edged my topper with a gold leaf pen and layered on my red base card.

For oodles of inspiration check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here.

As with any blog hop simply leaving a comment on participating blogs can win you a prize, you can find all the links here. Commenting closes on Sunday 13th December and the winner will be announced on Tuesday 15th December.

Hold on, that's not all ... there is also a Stencil Linky Party running alongside the hop increasing your chances of winning a prize. It's all explained in the details below ...

*****

Prizes:

FIVE (5) winners will receive their choice of ARTplorations stencil (standard size - 5x7). Winners will be randomly drawn from all comments left on the designers' blogs.
ONE (1) winner will receive a $15 gift certificate OR her choice of 2 ARTplorations stencils (standard size - 5x7). 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 December 13:

TWO (2) winners whose projects feature stencils (any brand) will each receive their choice of one (1) ARTplorations stencil (standard size - 5x7)
ONE (1) winner whose project features an ARTplorations stencil will receive her choice of three (3) ARTplorations stencils (standard size - 5x7) OR a $15 gift certificate to the shop.

*****

links to previous days:
Day 1

That's it from me for today, back again tomorrow with more stencil inspirations.

Have a lovely day and enjoy hopping.

Good Luck!

Monika xxx

here is what I used in today's project, links are in the above text:

   

Red (133) and Green (135) Starlights Metallic Paints - Imagination Crafts

River Rock ink - Stampin'Up!

You Are Amazing

... at least that is how the British public feels about the little robin.

Hi Everybody!

Yes. yesterday it was revealed that the robin is Britain's favourite bird as voted for by the public!!! What better way to celebrate this event than making a card ... better even as it was also time to create a project for the Inspiration post over at the STAMPlorations Blog.
The thought of robin had me straight away reaching for The Bee's Knees Small Birds set. I had also been watching part of the Inventive Ink class over at Craftsy and wanted to try out some of the techniques ... here is my result ...

Birdie had to get dressed up as robin again. This time I decided to keep it sketchy and give him an orange (SU's Tangerine Tango) chest only to help him stand out from the colourful mixed media style background I had in mind. In the class Marjie Kemper uses DI's and blending tools, I decided to see how far my trusted SU inks (Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point), brushes and dried baby wipes could stretch to create similar effects. I started off lightly dusting some MM and DD on a piece of white card before stenciling part of the ARTplorations Bubbles stencil in DD, part of the Christmas Trees stencil in MM and some of the Confetti Circles stencil in PP before lightly blending the edges with PP. I then stamped my sentiment from the Hashtag Authentic set in black, did the same with the bar code strip and doodles chevrons from the Mixed Media Grunge set before doodling a border and lightly spritzing with TT and black. I then blended PP around the edges of my white base card, fuzzy cut birdie, layered everything in place and added some sequins to finish.

I am entering the amazing birdie at:
Time Out Challenges - Happy is the Birdie that the Sun shines on
Moo-Mania - Anything Goes
Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes with optional twist to make something for a best friend

Next up just a quick reminder ...

... details about the birthday bash can be found here.

As always there is fun to be had before that too, you can CASE any of my/our cards and link up at the Inspiration CASE Playground, short playground, to share your creation with us, enter in the blog challenges, comment on Spotlight Projects and more is already happening over at the STAMPlorations Blog.

GIVE AWAY reminder: I will email a copy of my digi stamp, the sentiment of the butterfly card here, to every new follower of my blog. Anyone who joins between now and 10th July 2015 will get one. Remember to click on the small green/blue squares to the right of the 'join this site' button to join. To claim your free stamp email me at tinkercardsATgmail.com, please replace AT with @.

This is it from me for today. Back soon with more inspiration.

Have a lovely day!

hugs

Monika xxx

from STAMPlorations I used ... (links can be found in the text above)
      

ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop Day 2

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 Christmas Trees and the Oh My Stars! stencils.

I first sponged my stars in yellow shading the colour to give more subtle looking stars towards the center. I then sponged my Christmas Tree in green and gave it a brown outline before doodling my border. I then added some shimmer using a Sakura Gelly Roll Clear Star pen, stamped my sentiment from the Joyful set, layered on my base card and finished off with a few gems.

Here is a close up of the sparkle ...

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. I shall be back again tomorrow with another stencil project.

Have a lovely day!
hugs

Monika xxx


stencils and stamp set from STAMPlorations, links are in the text above:

Mossy Meadow card stock, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green and Early Espresso inks, Early Espresso Stamp'n'write Marker from Stampin'Up!

Sakura pen, gems and card from local craft shop

Heaven Sent

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick post before the ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop starts in an hour. As it happens I used the Christmas Trees stencil to sponge my bubbly background which looks rather grey in the photo but is a really nice soft green in reality!

It a sort of tickled me to have a floating pram to go with the 'a gift from heaven' sentiment border ... as if it was being lowered to the ground from some other reality. I almost used the seagull from the Small Birds set as a stork ....
The card itself is pretty straight forward, sponge the bubbles turning the Christmas Trees stencil as required, stamp the word borders (Heaven Sent stamp set), stamp the bar code border (Mixed Media Grunge stamp set), stamp the sentiment (from the Noteworthy stamp set, maybe even black emboss it), stamp, colour and fuzzy cut the pram, punch some tiny daisies, layer everything up and finish off with ribbon and pearls.
Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog for more inspiration and to link your projects to the Inspiration Case Playground and of course to browse around and see if you can enter one or the other prize draw too. That's it from me for now, back again shortly with my project for the stencil blog hop.

hugs
Monika xxx