SHOPPING OUR STASH #292 - Spring Color Palette

Welcome crafty friends! Can you believe it's already the last day of February?

Soon we will be seeing more and more flowers blooming, which is a lead in

to our new challenge at SHOPPING OUR STASH! This week, we give you

a color palette to inspire you:

You are welcome to use all 5 colors, but we would like to see a minimum of

three of these on your cards or projects.

Here's what I came up with:

 and the inside:

Ok, so when I was looking at this palette on my laptop, the darker shade of pink looked more lavender to me. Now that I'm on the 'big computer', it looks, well, darker pink. Ugh. Oh well.

I started by die cutting the flower from water color paper, then painting it using ink pads that I smooshed on my craft mat and a bit of water. Some colors were too dark, so I lightened them with white ink. Once it was dry, I went over it with Crystal Stickles.

After I glued the *cough* lavender quatrefoil die cut *cough* I glued the yellow strip with the sentiment, the flower, then finished the front with some sequins. On the inside, I used my MISTI to line up the three word stamps, and stamped a couple times to get good coverage. The word 'marvellous' has a teeny tiny gap between the r and v. So tiny that it looks more like 'manellous' than 'marvellous'. LOL! I've since performed some surgery on the stamp, and enlarged the gap between the letters. (Also, I hope the spelling is correct...?)

Hey, totally unrelated, but I was wondering what's the better purchase: Wink of Stella or Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks!

Ok, so now it's your turn to play along! Just link up your card or project using at least 3 of the above colors at Shopping Our Stash. For more inspiration, just visit the blogs of my teammies, and our Guest Designer, Ina! It's Ina's last week guesting with us. (Insert sad sobbing here) Thank you so much for lending your amazing talent to the SOS Crew this month Ina! We so enjoyed having you as our Guest Designer, and hope to see more of your amazeballs talent in our gallery in the future!

Just a reminder: We are looking for Guest Designers! If you would like to be considered 

for March, simply leave a "DT" after your name when you link up! 

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you have a great day!

I'm at the wire, but am entering this at Seize the Birthday - (no toppings)

Supplies:

Stamps: freebies from Card Making & Papercrafts magazine

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Colorbox - Canary, Mint, Dark Peony, White

CS: Strathmore water color paper; TE; Simon Says Stamp

Accessories: GC; Poppystamps - Susanna Blossom die; Taylored Expressions - Quatrefoil plate; paint brush; Ranger - Crystal Stickles; Darice - sequins; MISTI

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner; Scotch - scrapbooker's glue; Glue Dots

JUST US GIRLS #382 - Photo Week

Welcome friends, and happy Saturday to you!

It's Photo Week at JUST US GIRLS! Sue is your hostess and she's chosen

this gorgeous picture to inspire you. Like her, I'm sooooo ready

for Spring, warm weather, and flowers blooming!

Here's what I came up with:

 Here is the inside:

My image was created by using 6 individual stamps, a little masking, and a lot of

swearing. LOL! I colored it with my Spectrum Noir markers and fussy cut. It's adhered with

thin foam squares. The sentiment is heat embossed in white onto black cardstock. I added some rhinestones for a little sparkle, and another sentiment finishes the inside.

I hope you get a chance to play along this week at Just Us Girls for our Photo Week. If you

need more inspiration, then do check out what my teammates, and our Guest Designer, Michele Greenwood, have come up with to dazzle you! Sadly, this is Michele's last time guesting with us

this month. I'd like to say THANK YOU for lending your amazing talent to us, 

and hope to see more of your fabulous creations in our gallery in the future!

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you have a great day!

I'd like to enter this at:

Freshly Made Sketches #276

Spectrum Noir Monthly Challenge - ATG

Supplies:

Stamps: Winnie & Walter - In Bloom Addie's Garden; Recollections - sentiments

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; VersaMark

DP: Teresa Collins - Sweet Afternoon

CS: Crafter's Companion; Taylored Expressions; Bazzill

Accessories: Spectrum Noir markers - LG3, LG5, JG5, CR7, DR4, DR7; Stampendous - white EP; heat gun; Hampton Arts - rhinestones

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D & Thin 3D foam squares

SHOPPING OUR STASH #291 - Mardi Gras

Hello and welcome, crafty peeps!

It's time to celebrate at SHOPPING OUR STASH! This week we are getting festive

and celebrating Mardi Gras! So break out those masks, beads, feathers. Think

party, drinking, dancing! Lots of choices to pick from! Here's what I created:

and the inside:

 

So, technically, this is really new paper I used. Like, the collection was just revealed last month.

I was lucky to be one of the winners of this collection during the CHA frenzy last month.

I wasn't expecting it to arrive at my door until sometime next month, so imagine my delight

when the package showed up last week. Just in time to make this card! But everything else I used is at least a year or more old from my stash. I chose one of the small images as my main panel, and picked a couple more papers to compliment it. I inked and distressed the edges of the papers, added some flowers with brads in the centers, and some rhinestones for some sparkle. A couple stamped sentiments finish the inside.

I hope you have some fun with this challenge, and link up at Shopping Our Stash! We'd love to

see your take on it! For more ideas, check out what my teammies and our Guest Designer, Ina,

have created for your viewing pleasure!

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:
Stamps: Avery Elle - Cheers; Stampendous - Birthday Wish
Ink: Ranger DI - Black Soot; Memento - Tuxedo Black
DP: Graphic 45 - Midnight Masquerade
CS: TE; Darice
Accessories: Ranger - blending tool; Tonic - distressing tool; Petaloo flowers; Hampton Art - rhinestones; brads from my stash
Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner; Ranger - Multi Medium Matte

SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS #78 - X is for Extreme

Edna sure has a lot of balls. Or at least one big boulder, under her skirt!

She sure knows how to get her extreme on, and that's what we want to see

from you at the SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS! 

We challenge you to stamp off the edge!

Here is my take on the challenge:

 You know there's a punch line on the inside:

This was a pretty fast card to make. (About a half hour. Practically unheard of, at least in my case.) 

I masked and stamped the first part of the sentiment on my panel, then randomly stamped drink glasses around the edges. I turned those stamps over and used the back sides of them to stamp the neon colors. Masked the stamp again and stamped the rest of the sentiment on the inside panel,  added a 'cheers' stamp, and more drink glasses.

Now it's your turn to stamp off the edge and link up at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!

For more ideas, visit the blogs of my Snarky Sisters and our Guest Designer, Emily, and leave some bloggy love! Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Stamps: So Suzy Stamps - Good Friends Know; Paper Smooches - Free Spirits; Avery Elle - Happy Hour

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Hero Arts - Neon Pink, Orange, Blue, Green

CS: TE; Darice

Accessories: MISTI; scotch tape

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares

JUST US GIRLS #381 - Color Week

Welcome friends. It's Color Week at JUST US GIRLS! Judy is your hostess and she's picked

the colors RED, BLACK and KRAFT.

Here's my take on the challenge:

and the inside:

Sympathy cards are hard enough to have to make and send, but having to make one for the loss of a beloved pet is so hard for me. Especially this one, since it if for my sister and her family, who's beautiful fur baby crossed the rainbow bridge earlier this week.

Rest in peace Sabrina, my sweet niece. You will be missed. ♥

STAMPlorations Theme & Sketch challenge mid-month reminder!

Hello crafty peeps!

Just popping in with my mid month reminder for the 

STAMPlorations Theme & Sketch Challenge!

For my card, I just used the sketch as my inspiration:

Here is the finished inside:

I looked through my box of UFO's (UnFinished Objects) and found this panel I made last summer. I think I was experimenting with embossing a cutting plate then using the smooshing technique to color it up. It also was misted with pearl Glimmer Mist so it's all shimmery! I trimmed it using the Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting Rectangle dies and adhered it to my card base. For the focal panel, I heat embossed in white EP the scribbly line from the Artsy Border Maker stamp set, and also the word Birthday from the Big Greetings set. I die cut three times the Happy word die, stacked and glued them together and adhered to the panel. I glued a few sequins to

finish off the front of my card. On the inside, I used my MISTI to line up and stamp the words from the Blossom Overture stamp set.

There's still plenty of time to link up your card at the STAMPlorations Theme & Sketch Challenge! You have until February 28th at 11:55 PM Pacific Time.

Also, through the end of March, you can use my special discount code:

STAMPGIRLCHRIS

for a 20% discount!

(This code is not case sensitive, and cannot be used with other discounts)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fantastic day!

Supplies:

Stamps: STAMPlorations - Big Greetings, Artsy Border Makers, Blossom Overture

Ink: VersaMark; Ranger DI - Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feathers; Memento - Tuxedo Black

CS: Strathmore water color paper; TE

Accessories: GC; CUTplorations - crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting Rect dies, Happy word die; Taylored Expressions - quatrefoil cutting plate; Tattered Angels - pearl Glimmer Mist; Stampendous - white EP; heat gun; MISTI; Darice - sequins

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares; Ranger - Glossy Accents

My Bad Ass Art Journal - a WIP

Hello crafty peeps!

I want to share the beginnings of my Bad Ass Art Journal that I made from scratch,

as part of the online class I'm taking.

That's right, I made my own art journal!

Book binding and all!

Who knew!

I'm not going into detail, but here's a few shots of my art journal:

The book was made from Strathmore Mixed Media paper 90 lb with the vellum overlay. (It's what I already had on hand.) I have some 140 lb water color paper that I will try using for my next book. Oh, and that cord? It's dental floss!

My cover is made from canvas that I ripped to size, to purposely have the frayed edges. I used Magenta Nuance dye powders to color the fabric. Once it was dry, I stenciled over it with Titanium White acrylic paint. My neighbor had an eyelet setter (luckily) so I was able to use one to make my closure. (colored hemp cord with beads I added on the end)

That was lesson one.

For lesson two, we got to create something in our journal-

our dream girl:

I can't begin to tell you how much fun this was to create! My picture taking

skills are so lacking. The vibrancy of this page is incredible.

Oh, and her hair? It's a couple paper napkins that I've torn into strands.

So. Freakin. Cool.

I'm looking forward to the next lesson, but will probably fall behind the next few weeks. I've been commissioned to make bridal shower invites for one of my nieces, and I just received final approval on my sample to go ahead and start them. It will take a little time to make them, so my art journal will have to wait until I'm done with the invites.  

Thanks for popping by. Have a wonderful day!

SHOPPING OUR STASH #290 - Heartless

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

What? You still need to make yet another last minute

V-Day card? Well, you are in luck, because at 

SHOPPING OUR STASH,

we are challenging you to make a 

romantic project without using hearts!

Here's the card I made:

and a bit of snark on the inside:

Yeah, I had to go there. LOL! I'll admit that I don't make V-Day cards unless it's for

one of my design teams. (I think it's a Hallmark holiday. That's right. I said it.)

So, why not make it fun?!

My card design is based on Atlantic Hearts Sketch challenge #198 (already ended,)

and the Color Throwdown #429 (also ended. Sigh.)

But, it challenged me to color orange hair, which I think I pulled off. (IMHO)

Now it's your turn to get those really last minute romantic cards or projects made

and link them up at Shopping Our Stash so we can admire them! (Or think of it as 

getting ahead for next year! LOL!) Need more inspiration? Then simply check out what 

my teammates and our Guest Designer, Ina, have created for your viewing pleasure!

Just a reminder: We are looking for Guest Designers! If you'd like to be considered for

March, simply leave a 'DT' after your name when you link up!

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Stamps: Some Odd Girl - Renew; So Suzy Stamps - Weird Stalker; STAMPlorations - Funny Kinda Love

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black

DP: Basic Grey - South Pacific

CS: Crafter's Companion; Darice

Accessories: Spectrum Noir markers; GC; SB - Std. Sm Circle Nesties and Tear Drop Circle Nesties; Sakura - White Gelly Roll pen; MISTI; Doodlebug - twine

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, Thin 3D foam squares

Love TAGplorations blog hop at STAMPlorations!

Hello and welcome crafty peeps!

Today starts day 6 of the STAMPlorations Love TAGplorations blog hop!  We are

sharing love themed or Valentine's Day tags, and projects that include tags. Did I

mention that there is a linky party for you to play along and prizes to be had?

You can check out all the details here. But don't wait too long,

as the hop ends on Valentine's Day. (tomorrow!)

For my tag, I started by die cutting 2 of the largest Luggage Tag dies, and glued them together. I sponged Spun Sugar Distress ink over the front of the tag using the Hearts All Over stencil. I went heavier towards the top and lighter on the bottom to give it an ombre look. Before removing the stencil, I spritzed Cherub Pink Glimmer Mist over it. I die cut the Always word die 3 times, stacked and glued together, and went over it with Crystal Stickles. The Clustered Hearts die was cut twice from red glitter paper and added to the bottom of my tag. I stamped the 'I love you' from the Funny Kinda Love stamp set, adhered the Always die, found a rose embellishment in my stash and glued that too. The ribbon was wrapped around a gift I received a few years ago. (and I had to save it for a future project!) 

Aaaaannnnddd, because I couldn't leave well enough alone, (plus I'm a snarky girl at heart),

the back of my tag:

Another sentiment from the same stamp set, and a few of the hearts from the Clustered Hearts die

to complete my tag!

I hope you get to play along! Don't forget that the hop ends tomorrow evening!

Oh, and just a reminder,

for a 20% discount at the STAMPlorations store,

please use my special discount code:

STAMPGIRLCHRIS

(code is not case sensitive, and cannot be combined with other discounts)

Thanks for visiting!

I'd like to enter this at:

Just Add Ink #346 - (hearts and flowers)

Happy Little Stampers - ATG with dies

Stamp, Ink, Paper #85 - love

 

Supplies:

Stamps: STAMPlorations - Funny Kinda Love

Ink: Ranger DI - Spun Sugar; Memento - Rhubarb Stalk

DP: American Crafts - red glitter paper

CS: TE; scrap

Accessories: CUTplorations - Luggage Tags dies, Always word die, Clustered Hearts die; ARTplorations - Hearts All over stencil; GC; Ranger - Crystal Stickles; Tattered Angels - Cherub Pink Glimmer Mist; ribbon and rose embellie from stash

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner; Scotch - scrapbooker's glue; Ranger - Multi Matte Medium