SHOPPING OUR STASH #296 - Side by Side

Hiya crafty peeps and welcome!

We have a fun challenge starting today at

SHOPPING OUR STASH:

create a step card!

I must say, this was my first time making a step card, and I'm sure it

won't be my last! I did have help, as I pretty much cased this card while 

stalking Pinterest for ideas. (Thank you Beesmom!) It would have been

so much easier if I had balloon dies, but no. I don't. So I had to draw a

template, fussy cut that, and used that to trace my balloons onto the back

sides of some scrap papers. Also, the candles and flames were hand made.

Did I mention that dies would really come in handy? 

Anyhooo, here's my card:

And the inside too!

Along with using Pinterest as a tool, I also used a template for this step card from HOTP,

(that I bought a couple years ago, and yes, it's the first time using it. I think

I've mentioned once or twice that I hoard my craft supplies...)

Ok, so now it's your turn to crank out a step card? If, unlike me, you don't already

have a template, there are loads of templates on Pinterest, or you can Google it.

We'd love to see what you make! Just link up your step card at Shopping Our Stash so we

can gush over your genius! Need more inspiration? Then simply visit the blogs

of my teammies, and our Guest Designer, Wendy, to see what they created!

Just a reminder: SOS wants YOU!
We are looking for Guest Designers! If you would like to be considered for April,
simply leave a "DT" after your name when you link up!

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampendous - Birthday Wish

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black

DP: American Crafts - #Summer; DCWV - The Spring Stack

CS: WRMK; Darice; scraps

Accessories: HOTP - side step card template; GC; Cuttlebug - Oxford EF; EK Success - Deco Scalloped Edger; Winnie & Walter - Celebrate die; Doodlebug - twine; Fiskars - corner rounder

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D & Thin 3D foam squares; Scotch - scrapbooker's glue; Recollections - red tape

JUST US GIRLS #386 - Photo Week

Good morning and welcome crafty peeps!

It's Photo Week over at JUST US GIRLS! Vicki is your hostess

this time around and she's picked this super adorable teapot image

for you to be inspired by.

Here's my take on it:

and the inside:

I started by sprinkling Magenta Nuance dye powders in turquoise and grass green onto some water color paper and spritzed with water. Dried and repeated to be sure to get a big enough area to die cut the butterfly from. To follow the colors of the butterfly image, I tapped some orange and yellow powders onto my craft mat, sprayed with some water, and painted those sparingly along some of the edges. Dried again and outlined everything with Crystal Stickles. While that was drying, I die cut the solid butterfly and body from black card stock, and the circle frame from white. For the card base, I lightly sponged some green ink through a stencil to add some interest. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment onto a vellum banner and adhered everything to the card base, Another sentiment

finishes the inside of my card.

Now it's your turn! What about this photo grabs you? Why not make something and

link it up at Just Us Girls?! We'd love to see it. For more ideas, please visit the blogs of 

my teammates and our Guest Designer, Nance Salkeld, and leave some bloggy love!

Sadly this is Nance's last week as our GD. Thank you so much for hanging out with us and lending 

your amazing talent to us this month!

Thanks for popping in!

Supplies:
Stamps: MFT - More Essential Sentiments
Ink: VersaMark; Memento - New Sprout
CS: Strathmore water color paper; TE; scrap
Accessories: Magenta - Nuance powder dyes; GC; MFT - single stitched line round frame die; Poppystamps - Lydia & Sorona butterfly dies; STAMPlorations - Dots all over stencil; Recollections - vellum; Inkadinkado - black EP; heat gun; Ranger - Crystal Stickles; MISTI; water mister; paint brush
Adhesives: SA by 3L - Thin 3D foam squares; Scotch - scrapbooker's glue; Glue Dots

STAMPlorations and the Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Welcome crafty peeps! I'm participating (for the first time) in the

Spring Coffee Lover's Blog Hop which starts today on the

Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog!

STAMPlorations is a super sponsor for the hop, and I've made my card

using the awesome Coffee Donut Row stamp, colored with Spectrum Noir markers,

and the Thanks a Latte Phrase CUTplorations die. I cut that from some

holographic paper, in keeping with the rainbow of to-go coffee cups! It's

much more vibrant IRL. (Holographic paper is really hard to photograph!) 

 and the inside:

On the inside, I used a sentiment from the Fond Expressions stamp set. 

Did you know that there are some amazing prizes up for grabs?! Amy Tsuruta 

who is the hostess for this blog hop, has a boat load of fabulous sponsors, along

with STAMPlorations, that are giving away some major crafty goodness!

I hope you get the chance to hop along (whilst sipping your favorite caffeinated

beverage of choice, of course)! 

Also, unitl March 31st, you can use my special discount code:

STAMPGIRLCHRIS

for 20% off at the STAMPlorations store!

Thanks for visiting, I hope you have a fantastic day!

Supplies:

Stamps: STAMPlorations - Coffee Donut Row, Fond Expressions

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black

DP: Darice - holographic paper

CS: Taylored Expressions; Crafter's Companion

Accessories: GC; CUTplorations - Thanks a latte die; Spectrum Noir markers; MISTI

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

SHOPPING OUR STASH #295 - Forest Friends

Hello crafty friends! It's time for a new challenge at SHOPPING OUR STASH!

This week we want to see critters from the forest: bears, deer, foxes, beavers, birds, etc.

Here's my take on the challenge:

and a bit of snark on the inside!

I love it when paper does all the work. I just added a couple sentiments and this card was done.

I think this paper stack is from 2008. Talk about shopping ones stash! LOL!

Now it's your turn! We hope you'll join us in our Forest Friends challenge at Shopping Our Stash! For more ideas, do check out what my teammies created, along with our Guest Designer, Wendy!

Remember, we are looking for Guest Designers! If you'd like to be considered for April,

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

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:
Stamps: Paper Issues - Aah Real Birthday Sentiments, Freaking Sentiments
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa
DP: DCWV - The Green Stack
CS: TE; Darice
Accessories: stapler; MISTI
Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner

SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS #80 - Q is for Queen

Make way for Queen Edna!

Doesn't she look awesome?! 

Big props to Sistah Lee, our graphics guru!

This fortnight at the SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS we want to

see your take on the word QUEEN!

It could be a Mother's Day card, something you made for your

best friend, or whatever else you can come up with in regards to a Queen!

Here's my snarky take on it:

I broke out my Magenta Nuance powder dyes again for the background. Love how it turned out! After the panel dried, I spattered white acrylic paint onto it.

At this point I realized that the paint spatters were going all over the place,

Like in my wine glass. 

SONOFA!

Luckily, the glass was mostly empty. After I washed it out and reloaded the wine,

I stamped the bathing beauty, colored her with Prisma color pencils, and glued

her on...crookedly. (Imma gonna say that I totally meant to do that) I stamped a tiny crown in gold glitter paper, fussy cut, and

added that on top of her hat head. Stamped the sentiment, cut out and adhered all wonky.

I even did a bit of doodling in the corners before matting the panel onto black CS and popping

that up on foam squares onto the card base.

Now it's your turn! I hope that you join us at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers for

our Queen challenge! Need more inspiration? Then do check out what my Sister in Snark,

and our Guest Designer, Paula, have created for your viewing pleasure!

Thanks for visiting. Have a fabulous day!

I'd like to enter this at Craft Stamper Magazine - Make it, Take it challenge

Supplies:

Stamps: Viva Las Vegas Stamps; Dylusions; Paper Smooches

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Staz On - Jet Black

DP: DCWV - gold glitter

CS: Canson - Bristol paper; Taylored Expressions; Bazzill

Accessories: Magenta Nuance powder dyes; water mister; DecoArt - white Media Acrylic paint; paint brush; PrismaColor pencils; MISTI; Faber-Castell - black fine Artist PITT pen

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares; Scotch - scrapbooker's glue

JUST US GIRLS #385 Color Week

Hello crafty friends! It's Color Week at JUST US GIRLS! Lisa is your hostess and she's picked

the colors Pink, Purple, and Grey for you to play with.

My card has all colors, the bow is purple, but it's such a dark purple that it looks 

black in my photo. Sorry!

Here is the inside:

I used a few NBUS on this card: that die cut floral wreath, the die cut bow. and the sentiment. My goal is to actually start using the craft supplies I buy, and not just hoard them. (*cough*)

This may look CAS, but cutting the wreath twice from grey and pink CS just so I could inlay the

pink petals was rather time consuming. LOL!

I hope you have a chance to make something for our Color Challenge at Just Us Girls! We'd love to

see what you come up with. For more ideas, please check out what the Design Team, and our

Guest Designer, Nancy Salkeld, have created and leave them some bloggy lovin!

Thanks for visiting!

I'd like to enter this at The Flower Challenge #6 - ATG

Supplies:

Stamps: Gina K - Sweet Thing; Hero Arts - Good Things Message

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black

CS: TE; scrap

Accessories: GC; Poppystamps - Peppini Wreath die; Lawn Fawn - Put a bow on it die; Hampton Art - rhinestones; MISTI; tweasers

Adhesives: Stick It adhesive sheets; Ranger - Multi Medium Matte

STAMPlorations Challenge #41 Theme & Sketch mid-month reminder

Hello crafty friends, and Happy St. Paddy's Day!

I'm looking forward to corned beef and cabbage tonight for dinner. Yum!

I'm popping in to remind you about STAMPlorations March Theme & Sketch Challenge. 

For this card, I went with just the theme. My card base is stenciled using the Dragonfly Waltz ARTplorations stencil. I only used one ink, but went heavy handed towards the top and light at the bottom, to give it an ombre' kind of look. The focal panel is another one I made last summer by inking up an embossing folder with a few Distress Inks, spritzing with water, and laying the paper on top of the inky mess. ☺ It's die cut using the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting dies. 

The flower is made from three stamps using Bloom Factory and Big Bloom Factory. The leaves were made by cutting up one of the stamped flower images. I fussy cut them, rolled the edges up, added a brad in the middle, and adhered using foam squares and glue dots. 

The sentiment is from Fond Expressions 2. I needed some sparkle so I added a row

of rhinestones under the sentiment.

You still have until the 31st to enter your card at

STAMPlorations March Theme & Sketch Challenge! 

Just a reminder, until the end of this month, 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)

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

Erin Go Bragh(less!) LOL!

I'd like to enter this at:

The Flower Challenge #6 - ATG

Supplies:

Stamps: STAMPlorations - Bloom Factory, Bloom Factory 2, Fond Expressions 2

Ink: Memento - Lulu Lavender, Grey Flannel, Angel Pink, New Sprout; Ranger DI - Mowed Lawn, Dusty Concord, Peacock Feathers

CS: Taylored Expressions; Strathmore water color paper

Accessories: GC; CUTplorations - Crazy Double Running Stitch Rect Nesting dies; ARTplorations - Dragonfly Waltz stencil; Cuttlebug - Modern Wallpaper EF; Nicole - rhinestones; MISTI; brad from

my stash

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

SHOPPING OUR STASH #294 - Luck O' the Irish

Welcome crafty friends, to

SNOWMAGGEDON 2017!

GAH!!

I was really hoping the snow was over. I mean, we've enjoyed 70 degree days

last month. Come on!

Ok, now that I've stepped down off the soap box, let's get on with why

you're really here: to see what shenanigans I came up with for the

new challenge at SHOPPING OUR STASH! This week, we want you to use

the color GREEN predominately in your card or project design. Please note that

you needn't make a St. Paddy's Day card. Only if you want to!

Here's what I made:

and the inside:

My card is based on the now ended Stamp, Ink, Paper challenge #89. (sigh) I bought that die last year and yep, first time trying it out. I cut it out of gold glitter paper. (Oooh! Shimmery!) Added a strip of black cardstock and some ancient green polka dot paper onto my green card base. See? Lot's of green, and no shamrock in sight. ☺

I hope you find some time this week (and you should if you live on the east coast *wink*) to join 

our Green challenge at Shopping Our Stash. For more inspiration, do check out the blogs of

my teammates and our Guest Designer, Wendy, and leave some love!

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Stamps: Paper Smooches - Hullabaloo, Happy Birthday

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black

DP: mystery green polka dot paper; DCWV - gold glitter

CS: Darice, scraps

Accessories: GC; SB- Pinwheel Delight die; MISTI

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

JUST US GIRLS #384 - Trend Week

Good morning friends and welcome! At JUST US GIRLS, Maria is your hostess for

Trend Week, and she's picked a most excellent trend - STENCILS!

I went and made a few tags using a couple of them:

I started out with a 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" piece of white cardstock, and spritzed it using a few

colors of Dylusions spray inks. I then sponges black soot DI over it using a couple stencils. I was able to cut out three tags from it. I stamped some fun snarky sentiment and a couple retro gals to add, and finished with some ribbon. 

Yep, So fun!

Now it's your turn. Break out those stencils and make something fun! Be sure to

link up at Just Us Girls so that we can admire it. Need more ideas? Well then, just 

visit the blogs of my teammies, and our Guest Designer, Nancy and leave them 

some bloggy love! 

Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful day!

I'd like to enter this at:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Make your own background

613 Avenue Create - ATG with twist (no digis)

Supplies:

Stamps: Dylusions - Quote Bubble; Riley & Co. - Ethel , Midge Winking

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Ranger DI - Black Soot

CS: Taylored Expressions

Accessories: Dylusions ink spray - Fresh Lime, Vibrant Turquoise, Crushed Grape; Dylusions stencils - quote bubble & triangles; GC; STAMPlorations - ATC & Tag Builder dies; Ranger - sponge tool; May Arts - ribbon; MISTI; Fray Check

Adhesives: SA by 3L - Thin 3D foam squares

SHOPPING OUR STASH #293 - All That It's Cracked Up To Be

Good morning friends and welcome. 

This week at SHOPPING OUR STASH, we are challenging you to

use crackle paste or a crackle technique on your card or project!

For my project, I created an art journal page.

(You might want to get your favorite beverage, because this is a

photo heavy post!)

I based my page on this art journal page by Tracy Weinzapfel. Thanks Tracy! I recently

won some of Tracy's stamps and so (instead of hoarding them, like I usually do), 

I used one of the sets, called Heart Swirls & Doodles. Now, if you watch her video, you'll 

notice that she has pretty much every color of paint bottles on her back wall. (so jealous!),

Me? Not so much. In fact, most of the colors I used on this page, I mixed, because I only have 

about 15 colors of paint. LOL!

Here are the colors I used:

(a complete supplies list is at the bottom of my post)

I started off by first going over the page with Gesso and dried it with my heat gun. Then I mixed black and white paint to get a dark grey and added that. Again, heat gun to dry.

Next I took a little bit of Blue Harbor and a couple drips of Kelly Green and mixed that with

my crackle paste, and painted that on. I left that to dry naturally overnight. 

(Of course, I forgot to take pictures of those two steps.)

Ok, so instead of boring you any more with my blabbering,

I'm just gonna bombard you with a bunch of process photos,

(that I did take pictures of):

I stamped the hearts, then painted them. Once the paint dried (by heat gun), I re-stamped

the images, not caring if I didn't line them up exactly again, because,

this is ART people! LOL! I went over the lines with F-C black Artist Pitt pen to 

darken them. I used a black Prismacolor pencil and Fantastix to

blend the shadow around the hearts. Added shading and highlights.

I stamped the sentiment onto some scrap paper, painted over it with some watered down

rust and turquoise paints, hit it with the heat gun, edged it with brown ink,

and adhered with Multi Medium. Hit it with the heat gun again, and went around it

with the Fantastix for some shading.

I cleaned up a bit before taking these shots, but yeah,

this is my happy place!

One last shot:

I hope that you step outside your comfort zone and try using crackle paste, or 

a crackle technique, and link up your project at Shopping Our Stash! We'd love to see it.

Looking for more ideas? Then check out what the SOS Crew, and our new Guest Designer,

Wendy Townsend, have created to inspire you. 

You made it to the end! Thanks for visiting. Have a great day!

I'd like to enter this at:

Mixed Media World #22 - ATG

613 Avenue Create #195 - ATG w/OT

 

Supplies:

Stamps: Dare 2B Artzy/Totally Tracy stamps - Heart Swirls & Doodles

Ink: Staz On - Jet Black; Memento - Rich Cocoa

Accessories: Strathmore art journal; Golden - Gesso; Deco Art - Media Crackle paste & Multi Medium; Deco Art Media Acrylic paints - carbon black, titanium white, cadmium red hue, primary yellow; Deco Art Americana acrylic paints - blue harbor, kelly green, irish moss, dark chocolate; Ranger Adirondack acrylic paint daubers - stream, terra cotta; various paint brushes & sponge brush; water mister; Faber Castell - black fine Artist PITT pen; Prismacolor pencil - black; Fantastix; baby wipes; paper towels; heat gun