Never Been Used Schtuff

Hi Everybody,
Thanks for all the lovely comments you have been leaving. Hope you're all having a great weekend. It's supposed to be the coldest night of the winter in the UK so far. Mind you the temperature is falling steeply especially if you take the windchill factor into account. We've just come back from our Sunday walk. More often than not it takes us along the Boardwalk, a local footpath running along the shore of the Dee Estuary with stunning views over to North Wales. Lovely and blustery today ...
back home now with a good cup of coffee and wanting to show you this week's bounty.
For my first two cards I used a couple of sets which I had never used before. The rose is part of a set called Sweet pea by Kaisercraft, I bought it a few weeks ago at the craft shop in Burleydam Garden Center. I combined it with Hashtag Authentic, a new set by STAMPlorations due to be officially released week beginning Monday 26th January during a week long Blog Hop.
Card number 1 uses simple stamping combined with a spot of embossing. The word 'Beautiful' is stamped with red ink which I then over-stamped with clear pigment ink and clear embossed. A great way of adding colour to your embossing without needing different shades of embossing powder.
I am entering this card at
CASology - NBUS
Darnell's NBUS Challenge - Anything Goes

Card Number 2 has a slightly different layout and used copper embossing powder to highlight the sentiment plus some gently spritzed splashes/mist of gold and red (Artiste Spritzing inks by docrafts).

Card number 3 uses the same #Authentic set plus Celebrate Artsy, Holiday Artsy and the little heart from the new SB Love, another set from the official STAMPlorations release this January.

Card number 4 uses the same rose from Kaisercraft which I watercoloured using some ink from my Stamp'n'Write Markers (Stampin'Up!) and a sentiment from the Graphic Pentagons set by STAMPlorations. I am entering this card at
Addicted to Stamps and More - Make your Mark
Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge - Watercolouring

That's it from me for today. I shall be back again tomorrow with another offering for you.
See you then.
hugs
Monika xxx

here are the sets I used:
    
sorry, I couldn't find a photo of the sweet pea set by Kaisercraft

Sunday Playtime

Hi Everybody,
Hope you all had a nice weekend. I certainly did, a couple of walks and some crafting time made for a perfect one. Even better I got some new stamps through the post this week, and what better time to try them out.
Here is my first one:

I have been using the Newlyweds set designed by my friend Shirley, The Bees Knees by STAMPlorations. My inspiration came from tye following challenges:
CASology - date - wedding day
Less is More - one layer and new beginnings - married life
Crafty Calendar - what's new - new set and new beginnings
One Layer Simplicity - attractive opposites - Mr & Mrs, graphic and splatters, doodled and straight
CAS(e) this Sketch - 
I first stamped and gold embossed my couple, then I drew my border, created a mask and masked off my couple and spritzed with Artiste Gold Spritzing ink (docrafts). Once dry, I removed my mask and stamped the Mr & Mrs sentiment. I love the gold spritzed background, it is subtle and effective. Hope you like it too.
My next card uses another set by Shirley, this time it's Houses

.I made this card for Nick's nephew and his girlfriend who moved into their first flat this week. These wobbly houses look somewhat cute and I couldn't help adding this great sentiment (Sizzix Eclips shape). I thought it really matched the occasion.
I would like to enter this card in the Allsorts 'New & Cute' and the Crafty Calendar 'What's New' challenges.
Better go off and do some cooking. :-)
Have a lovely week!
hugs
Monika xxx

formerly from Monika's Blog, I took the liberty of transferring my achievement badges

Edit:
Just found out that my Newlyweds Card got an Honourable Mention at CASology. Yay!!!! Thanks, Melissa, for picking my card.


  

Accordion Flip

Hi Everybody,
Sounds almost like a cocktail, yet it is simply another helping of Sundae in the form of a accordion flip card. Here it is:

 I thought the sundae from the Sugar Rush STAMPlorations current STAMP CLUB set had the perfect shape to go with my cutting die (by Karen Burniston) which I used to cut the basic structure and layers. The 'Happy Birthday' sentiment is from the SKETCHED Simple Gift set.
Here are some more pictures from slightly different angles:

For a more in depth description on how I made the card, head over to the STAMPlorations Blog, where you can also find details about their current challenges.

As always, there is a craft-along video for you:

This is it from me for today. Back soon, in the meantime have a lovely weekend.

hugs

Monika xxx

Sketch 25 at STAMPlorations

Hello All,
Thanks for popping by. I am back today with another one of my DT pieces for STAMPlorations. This time it's for their first Sketch Challenge of the year. Shery has given us a beautiful sketch to work with, and as always there is plenty of room to let your creativity flow.
Here is my interpretation of it:

I decided to create a summer garden feel using Sugar Rush, Trendy Leaves and Distressed Floral Swirls. I created a light yellow colour wash directly on my base card and randomly stamped one of the smaller leaves (Trendy Leaves) using the same yellow ink. I then added the leaf border (Distressed Floral Swirls) in brown before adding a piece of whits card, attaching my coloured ice creams, yummy mint and strawberry with cherries and chocolate sauce seemingly my favourite, stamping my sentiment (both from Sugar Rush) and adding a couple of sequins, some faux stitching and glossy accents to finish.
TIP!: You could equally well mask the white panel off before creating your background instead of attaching a piece of card later.
Here is the sketch for you to worked with and enter this challenge:

The Sketch Challenge will end 16th January and the winner will be announced 21st. This time there will be prizes for the winner and the top picks more details can be found on the STAMPlorations Blog, where you can also link up with your finished projects. Of course as always there is plenty of more inspiration from my Teamies too in addition of our Guest Designer Kim from Art Keeps Me Sane.
That's it from me for today. Off to do some crafting ... :-D
Have a lovely day!
Hugs
Monika xxx

  
inks by Stampin'Up!: Daffodil Delight, Summer Starfruit, Melon Mambo, Early Espresso, Early Espresso Stamp'n'Write Marker

January Challenge at STAMPlorations

Happy New Year, Everybody!!!
Hope you all a great festive season. It's my first post for 2015, and what better way to kick my blogging year off than showcasing a couple of DT projects I made for STAMPlorations' January Stamps & Ink challenge.
My first card uses their Distressed Damask Background and SAB Dare.

In brief, I created the scalloped pattern on my background stamp by inking it up with my Rich Cocoa Memento dewdrop ink pad and some masking which left me with a stamped scalloped pattern. I did this after I attached my die cut flower and blended some ink (Strawberry Slush and Bermuda Bay) over and around it. To finish I added my sentiment, a piece of ribbon and gem.
I took inspiration for my layout from the current challenge over at CAS(e) this Sketch and I would like to enter my card there. As you can see I had a little play with it and swapped a couple of elements.

For my next card I went all out inky creating a little scene and framing it using Trendy Leaves combined with the Distressed Floral Swirls and a sentiment from the TYPOGRAPHIA: Encouragement set.

There is also a craft-along video for this one hence I won't go into too much detail. I blended some inks, one of my favourite techniques, to crate a landscape background. I then stamped some swirls around the bottom edge and some leaves around the top using generational stamping and Versafine inks. I them embossed my sentiment and added some highlights using alcohol markers before adding a few birds and golden metal embellishments.

I would like to enter my card at CCEE Stampers where you are required to make a card with one or more birds. Mine has some tiny ones flying into the sun, hope that this will qualify.

This is my contribution for the Stamps & Ink challenge at STAMPlorations, head over to their blog to see the fabulous projects my Teamies prepared for your inspiration. This is also where we're welcoming Tenia Nelson from Jazzy Paper Designs as our guest designer for the month. The challenge will end 31st January and the winner will be announced on February 5th.
As always there is a great prize package awaiting the winner which includes a Guest Designer Spot in March. It could be you, pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to check out the details and enter your creation.

This is it from me for today. If you like my creations, why not join and follow my site either through Friend Connect or Google+. Back soon with more projects ....
Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here are the sets I used:


Inks from Stampin'Up! I used: Straw berry Slush, Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi
Versafine Inks: Spanish Moss, Olympia Green, Crimson Red, Imperial Purple, Onyx Black
Die cut flower - eclips shape by Sizzix
ribbon - Stampin'Up!
Gems, Memento inks, black fine liner pen and Tinge alcohol markers

Loving Distressed Damask

Hi Everyone.
Hope you all had a lovely Christmas.
You might have noticed that I changed over from WordPress. Ever since I decided on the move, I had been looking for the Google Friend Connect button and finally found it!!! YAY! Given that it has taken me so long to find the little gadget I am extending the Blog Candy, one of my hand made calendars, deadline until Sunday 4th January 12 noon GMT. I shall be drawing two lucky winners of one calendar each.
This is a quick post from me today coinciding with a Spotlight Feature on the STAMPloratios Blog. I finally got round to ordering two stamp sets I had wanted for a while. They arrived through the post the week before Christmas, and I couldn't help but playing. Here are the two cards I made using the Distressed Damask Background and the Distressed Floral Swirls plus a couple of stamps to keep you looking forward to the New Year.

I wanted to go for all out colourful and used all my little cat eye ColorBox inks for the background.I quite like the mottled effect you get from using them to create a pattern on the stamp whilst inking up. I could have added some more stamping, splashes or ink spritzes to my first card, but I decided to leave it as is given that the random inking adds a lot of interest and depth.

For my second card, I used the second imprint of the stamping and layered a pattern on top using fainter and brighter inks to add more depth.

Both sentiment stamps are from a new range Shery is going to introduce next year: The STAMP LAB! Exciting times ahead ... Watch This Space!

Given that I had so much fun, I couldn't resist making another card to sneak in before the post goes live. This time teaming both sets with our current STAMP CLUB set Sugar Rush.

This time I decided to only ink part of the stamp creating a pattern for my background. It a sort of reminded me of wafers and scoops of ice cream once I stamped hence I turned it into this ice cream themed beauty.

A more detailed description on how to make the cards can be found on the STAMPlorations Blog here.

Hope you feel inspired using the Distressed Damask Background in different ways. I for one am looking forward to seeing your makes using this technique.

Before I go, just a quick note: If you have been sitting on the fence about joining our STAMP CLUB, now is a really good time to do it. With more products being added to the inclusive package next year, joining now will actually save you money. The full details and pre-view of what's new for 2015 can be found here. The After Christmas Sale is still on until 31st December 2014, and as a STAMP CLUB member there will be extra savings for you too, details of which can be found here.

Wishing you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR full of crafting magic!

hugs

Monika x

  

Here are the videos for my cards:

1st card

2nd card

3rd card

Hello And Welcome

Hi Everyone,
this is just a quick post to welcome you to my new blog. It is still work in progress whilst I am transferring my blogging from WordPress.
To ease the transition period, I am putting up a Blog Candy, one of my little desktop calendars similar to the one shown below, to be drawn from all my followers on this blog by 10 am GMT on Tuesday 30th December 2014. The winner will be announced later the same day.
Deadline extended ... The draw will now happen Sunday 4th January 2015 at 12 noon. Only just managed to find the Google Friend Connect button today (29th December), hopefully the extension will give you plenty of time to join and follow my site.

In the meantime, have a lovely Christmas!
hugs
Monika xxx
If you are still looking for that special crafty gift ... click here for details