A Big Thanks!

Hello Crafty Friends!

Yay, we are back!! It's Inspiration Time over at STAMPlorations. This week my teamies and I are showcasing stamps by our very own Shirley under her label 'The Bee's Knees'.

I decided to work with the Winged Things to create a CAS card. Here it is ...

I needed a quick Thank You card for the staff at the gym. This one was made really quickly by sponging the masked strip using Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Bermuda Bay inks and stamping the smaller dragonfly randomly in Crushed Curry. I removed the mask, stamped the large dragonfly in black Versafine, die-cut the word 'thanks' and layered on my base card.

Originally I had intended to inlay the die-cut word and raise it slightly, but I rather liked the negative image and decided to leave it.

As mentioned earlier, this week we are showcasing stamps designed by our very own Shirley under her label 'The Bee's Knees'. All her sets will be reduced by 15% until Monday 9th October..

Of course Shery will still draw a winner of a $10 gift certificate at random from all the comments left on this month's Inspiration Posts over on the STAMPlorations Blog. Pop over to see what my teamies created and to leave a comment for your entry into their prize draw.

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:
Winged Things, Thanks CUTplorations Word Die

 

*** Discount code works on sale items too

October Mixed Media Challenge

Hello, Crafty Friends!

Welcome back! Phew, time has flown by! Hope you all had a great Summer!
It's Sunday 1st October today which means, it's 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 October is ... a tag ....

Well, I did go to town on this one using some of STAMPlorations' new nesting dies in combination with other bits and bobs. I cut the second largest of the Manila Tag Dies, applied some Glitter Frosting Paste through the Peonies All Over Stencil, added some watercolour to the background and an Arty Border to create the background tag on which I layered the other elements. These were: half a die cut Curly Label from vellum, the birds on a branch, a Trendy Spring Flower, some fibers, gems and sentiment. I used a length of Washi tape to attach the Curly Label and double sided tape for the fibers.

Here is a closer look ...

I hope you feel inspired to dig into your crafty resourcefulness and create something to enjoy  .... why not link it up with the Mixed Media Challenge 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.

Ooops, almost forgot to mention the prizes: one winner as chosen by the Mixed Media DT will receive a $10 gift certificate and two Top Picks will receive a $5 gift certificate each, all of course redeemable at the STAMPlorations Shop ... but that's not all ... if there are 25 or more entries one lucky randomly drawn winner will receive two standard sized stencils of their choice.

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/Masks: Peonies All Over

STAMPlorations Stamps: Trendy Birds 2


CUTplorations Dies: For The Birds Dies, Trendy Spring Blooms Dies, Manila Tags Nesting Dies,
  

Curly Labels/Tags Nesting Dies, Art Edges Edge/Border Dies
 

*** The personal discount coupon STAMPGIRLMONIKA works on already reduced items too, but can not be combined with any other coupon codes.

Things I Made

... over the Summer, but hadn't posted about ...

Hello Crafty Friends!

Back again today with a couple of projects to share. First up are some ATCs I made last month for a swap ...

I wanted to use up some brusho backgrounds I made a while ago. The background stamp is by Tim Holtz and the large sentiments are from a set I got from AliExpress. I simply added some doodles and other bits from my stash, here are some close-ups ...

Next up is a get well card using a set of stamps and matching dies I got from AliE. The dies were mirror image, but it is easy enough to stamp on the reverse ...

All simply watercoloured and finished off with a touch of Washi.

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

A Caravanner's Year

Hello Crafty Friends!

Sorry to have been quiet for a while. Nick has been taken ill and was in need of my undivided attention. He is on the mend now which means I can get back to crafting.

Nevertheless I am keeping it short and sweet today, just sharing a postcard I made for this month's swap ath the UK Stampers Forum Facebook group. Here it is ...

It was quite easy to make ... a little ink blending through the Peonies All Over ARTplorations Stencil, stamping, colouring and fuzzy cutting the Vintage Caravan from Stamposaurus, a bit of shading and stamping of Trendy Leaves, adding handwritten sentiments and finishing off with a doodled border, some fine glitter and a coat of Mod Podge for protection.

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:
Trendy Leaves, Peonies All Over ARTplorations Stencil

 

*** Discount code works on sale items too

Beach Therapy

Hello again, my Crafty Friends!

The weather here is so dull today, that I wondered, if you too might fancy some beach therapy ....

If yes, this postcard could wing its way to you. All you have to do is, leave a comment by Sunday 24th September, and I shall draw the lucky recipient on Monday 25th September.

Have fun!
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:
Trendy Leaves, Beach Therapy

 

*** Discount code works on sale items too

Flourishes

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today I want to share a little stamping simplicity. A few weeks ago I bought a set of stamps from China with two large border stamps and a few lovely sentiments. I decided to ink them up and make some one-layer cards, here they are ...

I used my MISTI to stamp the cards which made getting the shading quite easy. I simply inked part of the stamp with Crushed Curry first followed by inking the rest with Melon Mambo. The overlapping areas naturally turned into a mix of the two creating this lovely shaded look.

Here is a closer look at the individual cards ...

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

here is what I used:
stamps - KWELLAM Store, AliExpress
Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo inks - Stampin'Up!
Black Versafine and Metal Embellishments from stash

STAMPlorations Special Stamp Release

Hello Crafty Friends!

Over at STAMPlorations they are having another special release week for some super cute monsters and robots, and they are celebrating in style with a blog hop. Details can all be found here.

I am counting myself so lucky to be part of this special release having made some projects using the Little Robots and Big Monsters. Have a look ....

On seeing the Little Robots, all I could think of was space, stars and sky which I incorporated into both of my robot projects.

The first one uses a simple background of homemade paste through the Oh,My Stars! stencil with a little bit of die-cutting help from the Stitched Snow Hills. Watercoloured robots and stamped sentiment finished the card off.

Next up is a shaker tag using some watercoloured robots and a night sky blended background. The tag shape is one of the recent nesting dies additions called Tags #1.

Did someone say tag .... check out this punk inspired monster on a background of Prisms stencil print with Mixed Media Elements stamping.

And last, but not least ... a monster with a purpose. It is quite amazing what simple doodles can do, just adding a few lines gives the impression of a striding monster! I can even hear him whistle ...

If you are as taken as I am by the robots and monsters, you might like to know that they are in the STAMPlorations Shop at 5% off during this week. You can save yourself an added 20% by using my personal discount code STAMPGIRLMONIKA at checkout.

Here is a look at all the 4 sets of this release ...

It's over to you now, hop along and comment. All the details can be found on the STAMPlorations Blog. Commenting closes on Monday 11th September and one lucky winner, drawn at random from all the comments left on the STAMPlorations and participating designers' blogs, will win their choice of stamp set from this release.

I shall leave you with one last look at my projects ...

That's it from me for today. Have a fang-tastic week! Happy Hopping and Good Luck!
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: Big Monsters, Little Robots, Mixed Media Elements
  

CUTplorations Dies: Stitched Snow Hills, Tags #1 Nesting Dies
 

ARTplorations Stencils: Oh, My Stars!, Prisms
 
*** Discount code works on sale items too