Cupcakes and Sprinkles!

What is the haze like in your neck of the woods? I am smack dab in the middle of the country, but our sun is a bright orange, veiled by a gray smoke. If it's this bad here, I can't imagine what it's like where the wildfires are raging. My heart goes out to those of you who are impacted and on the west coast. 

Whilst living in the cover of darkness, I thought it would be the perfect time to spend a moment in my craft room. I'm popping in quickly to share my make. 

My stash of birthday cards is running quite low and so I thought I'd stock up my stash this weekend. Seize the Birthday is running a die cut challenge, so I looked at my magnetic wall and found a fun die I haven't used in a bit. 

I don't craft with die cuts very often as a main focal point, but what better way to stretch your crafty muscles than to try something out of your comfort zone? I found some lovely patterned papers and used the Cupcake Builder #1 set from STAMPlorations to get to work building layers. 

I find mixing and matching patterns both relaxing and challenging, but I loved the way all these patterns wound up. To finish off my card, I added some beads for "sprinkles". 

Thanks for stopping by! 

STAMPlorations + Coffee Loving Cardmakers Blog Hop!

Did someone say fancy prizes?! If not, they really should have because the Coffee Loving Cardmakers are teaming up with STAMPlorations for a brand new release of their new Zen Coffee 2 Cover Plate Die.

You should have come here from Amy's lovely blog. 

 

This die is all sorts of beautiful and I decided to embark on what turned out to be my most ambitious project ever. 

Isn't it beeeeauuuutiful?!?! 

It was also 5 1/2 hours of work. 

But never mind that. 

Isn't it beeeeauuuutiful?!?!

I decided to do an inlaid die cut technique, and to individually handpaint every single piece. 

So yeah... I am stupid. Fully admit it... but the end outcome make it totally worth it.

If you're wondering how I got those pieces so shiny, that would be the magic of InkaGold - which might be my favorite product of all time ever.

I think it looks like a stained glass window piece!

In the end, I opted to frame this baby and hang it in my dining room where I can oooh and aaaah over it every morning while drinking my morning cuppa. 

So here's some other things you need to know: 

You should continue the hop at Dana Warren's blog because STAMPlorations is giving away a $25 gift card for you to pick out any product you want.

Also - if you're a coffee lover like I am (or a tea lover like I am not) STAMPlorations is having a sale all during the hop - 25% off any stamp in their coffee/tea category.

Elegant Wedding Card

Challenge time, challenge time, let's all go for a challenge time. *humming*

I'm always in a good mood when I have a great challenge to play along with and today is no exception.  STAMPlorations Theme & Sketch challenges are back for the year after a short summer nap. 

This month our theme is Stamps & Two Colors and here's the sketch: 

 

For my design, I used an embossed card base and watercolored in the florals with a light shade of pink and a shimmery blue. 

Then I used the CUTplorations Forever Word die in a shimmery gold and added some gold splatters. 

OOOO! I'd say that is all sorts of elegant and a perfect design for a CAS wedding card.

This guy is also going to play along at Tuesday Throwdown's Clean and Simple challenge.
 I hope you'll come play along in our STAMPloration challenges! 

STAMPlorations Christmas Release - Day 5

Bloggy friends. Prepare to die... whoa.. whoa. Die Cut guys... die cut. 

Don't worry, this is not murder Friday, so you're all safe reading my blog post for today. 

It's the final day of the STAMPlorations Christmas release party and I'm sad to see this very merry week come to an end. (on the plus side, I'm also happy to be able to start making some birthday cards again).

You're not going to want to miss out on this final day, though, because we're featuring aallllll those Christmasy die cuts displayed above.

Earlier this week, I showcased that awesome Merry Christmas Word Art Die but I've got three more little lovelies to show off. 

For my first design,  I used the brand spankin' new Christmas Baubles #2 die cut in conjunction with The Bee's Knees Christmas Reindeer stamp set to make a snowy background and add a lovely sentiment. 


I'm going to link this card up to the C.R.A.F.T. card challenge - Christmas.

Once I was feeling all jingly inside, I decided to add some joy with the serene Christmas Icons - Nativity die cut.  I painted up its star with some silver Perfect Pearls and added a sentiment from the Holiday Sketches - Christmas Candles stamp set. 

This card is going to play along at People, Quick, or Red challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge because it's quick AND has some peeps in it.

Last, but most certainly not least, I made this glittery confection. I am in LOVE with this Christmas Icons - Christmas Tree #2 die cut. If I could figure out to add some heart eye emojis to this post, I'd put in at least 20. I paired it with a peaceful sentiment from Homespun Christmas and added a glittery gold poinsettia, some splattery gold Distress Spray Stain and some gold sequins. 

This card is going over to the Sweet Stampin' Christmas anything goes challenge and The Merry Christmas Challenge - sparkle.

Well, I feel like I have a good head start on my Christmas card stash, though I'm sure I'll never feel like there's enough! 

Prizes:

**Winners will be randomly drawn from all comments left on the STAMP blog and participating designers blogs

- THREE (3) winners of a $10 gift certificate to the store

- ONE (1) winner of her choice of 1 stamp set and 1 CUTplorations die from the new release

- ONE (1) winner of a $25 gift certificate to the store

**Extra prizes:

- TWO (2) winners of their choice of 1 CUTplorations die from the new release -- drawn from our Facebook page (for commenting, sharing, and tagging a friend)

- ONE (1) winner of her choice of 1 stamp set from the new release -- drawn from our Instagram post (commenting, liking, tagging a friend)

So what are you waiting for? Get to hopping already!  

Oh and double PPPSSSSTTT: You can get 20% off any of the products in the STAMP shop by using code STAMPGIRLBECCA at checkout. Happy shopping! 

STAMPlorations Christmas Release - Day 2

Ya'll know I love me some texture, and I'm going to show you how to do a little bit of faux texture today in my post.

I'm still jing-a-ling-a-linging my way along here on the blog, celebrating with STAMPlorations holiday stamp release. Each day this week, new products are being revealed on the STAMPlorations blog and there are TONS of prizes to be won. So you are gonna wanna go check it out.

 Today, we're showcasing Yuletide Deer by Dee's Artsy Impressions.

Just look at all those elegant deer! I fell in love with this set the second I got my hands on it. I love sets that can be used year-round and I am TOTALLY planning to double down on this one by using it for masculine birthday or father's day cards.

I also used this scrolly Merry Christmas Word Art Die from the new release, and here's where my faux texture comes in. That die might look all rusty, but in reality it's flat and smooth as can be. I used three shades of InkaGold (a light green, a gold and a copper) to create an aged look. 

I embossed the reindeer in gold on a sheet of pink vellum, and then added a teeny red sequin to turn him into Rudolph. 

I'm going to enter my card into the following challenges:

Sweet Stampin' Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

The Merry Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes

Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes

Make sure you head on over the STAMPlorations blog because you're not going to want to miss this week-long party. Just look at all these prizes!!

Prizes:

**Winners will be randomly drawn from all comments left on the STAMP blog and participating designers blogs

- THREE (3) winners of a $10 gift certificate to the store

- ONE (1) winner of her choice of 1 stamp set and 1 CUTplorations die from the new release

- ONE (1) winner of a $25 gift certificate to the store

**Extra prizes:

- TWO (2) winners of their choice of 1 CUTplorations die from the new release -- drawn from our Facebook page (for commenting, sharing, and tagging a friend)

- ONE (1) winner of her choice of 1 stamp set from the new release -- drawn from our Instagram post (commenting, liking, tagging a friend)

So what are you waiting for? Get to hopping already!  

Oh and double PPPSSSSTTT: You can get 20% off any stamp set in the STAMP shop by using code STAMPGIRLBECCA at checkout. Happy shopping! 

Celebrate Your Birthday Card - Retro Style

I love working with retro things, vintage embellishments and fun patterns so the monthly challenge at STAMPlorations is sah-weet for my cardmaking inspiration. 

I wanted to have some fun with the colors and patterns of the late 60s and early 70s so I broke out some of my vintagey papers. 

I chose this rich gold-brown and used a white pigment ink to stamp a subtle pattern using balloons from A Snarky Birthday to You.

I layered on funky patterned papers, adding some texture with with CUTplorations Art Edges for a little bit of visual interest. 

I used the CUTplorations Celebrate Word Die and double layered it for dimension, stamped a sentiment using SENTIMENT BUILDERS: Celebrate, scribbled on some x's using a white gel pen, and splashed the whole thing with some Picket Fence Distress Spray Stains. 

All the Pretty Things!

I've got a HUGE announcement to make! I was asked to be on The Card Concept Design Team! Yaaaaaaay!

This DT is so full of talent, that I'm a little bit speechless to be amongst such crazy talented crafters! Which makes me a little nervous for my first posting, naturally!

Even though I was nervous, when I saw the beeeeeeeautiful inspiration image, a design just popped right into my head and this layery lux card sort of happened.

I've never thought about mixing black and gold patterns - but it turns out it works! This is why I love inspiration images, because they force you to try things you never might have otherwise. I added some glittery gemstones, a glitter-dipped feather, and some die cuts sent to me by a bloggy friend (thanks Betty!).

This card is also going to play along in:
Ooh La La Creations - Feminine Challenge
Card Mania - Layer It
Simon Says Stamp - Start Afresh (brand new die cut shapes, brand new paper packs)

I'm soooooooooooo excited to have broken out the Valentine's Day cards. It's my favorite time of the year! I'd love for you go see what else my talented new teamies came up with for The Card Concept Challenge. (Believe me you'll be blown away!)

Collage Christmas Card

It's hard to feel very ho-ho-ho without any snow-snow-snow and we've got a problem here in the typically blustery land of North Dakota. There's no snow. We've gotten one good flake-fest, but it melted within 24 hours. There is *gasp* greeeeen grass. 

Well, this is just depressing. 

What better way to ease me out of my funk, then by making a funky Christmas card?
 
It's a brand new month - and that means a brand new challenge up at STAMPlorations theme & sketch. 

Here's the deets - You can play with the sketch OR the theme OR both! You can use >>ANY<< kind of stamps that you want (I know - easy peasy, right?). 

As for me, I snatched onto that theme so hard and I just ran with it. And ran, and ran, and ran. 

My dear bloggy friend, Betty Keefe, kindly contributed to my hoarding errmm... collecting? ways by giving me a bag full o' vintage sheet music. Yes, yes, there apparently is a song entitled "My Papa Was a Woodman". (Cue next stop - a  youtube hunt to find a video of this).

As tempting as the woodman was... I found this fun green cover and decided to die cut some trees using CUTplorations Trendy Christmas Tree matching die set. If you haven't noticed lately - I'm a little obsessed with this die set. 

Next, I took on the current challenge over at Shopping our Stash, which has a new-to-me technique on display called the Borgello Technique. My other dear bloggy friend, Lauren Bergold also contributed to my collection (ok, ok, it definitely is a hoarding situation) by sending me a bunch of random bits and vintage bobs - including some weird book pages and sheet music and a cool fabric patch. 

If you haven't heard of the Borgello Technique - you're in good company. It goes a little something like this:

I started stamped a layer of ho ho ho!s (or oh! oh! oh!s depending on which way you're reading from) around the edges using Warm Hands, Warm Hearts stamp set and then layered on my layers. I also cut two layers of wording using CUTplorations Jingle All the Way Phrase Die Cut.

Taaaa-daaaaa!

Decidedly merry in a very different, collagey way! As  you can see, I added some "stitching" using a white gel pen. 

This card is also going to hang out with:
Crafty Creations Challenges - Christmas
Try it on Tuesday - Layer it Up
The Crazy Challenge - Christmas 

Thanks for popping by!

Reindeer Games - Stamped Christmas Card

Jingle Jingle Jingle!
I'm back with ANOTHER Christmas card. I'm not even sorry because this one is just plain adorable. 
I started crafting last night and new I wanted to try out the new Stitched Snow Hills CUTplorations die cuts. What followed was a card that just makes me grin all over my face. 

This post is also serving as a reminder to go play along in the STAMPlorations Theme & Sketch Challenge. 

I chose to play along with the theme portion - but you could use the sketch or the theme and sketch. 

I began by sponging a background using Salty Ocean Distress Inks. 

I created three snowy hills from the Stitched Snow Hills CUTplorations dies and sponged around the tops to give them a little more dimension.

 

I also die cut three bright green patterned paper trees and sponged around their edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. 

I assembled the background and used Picket Fence Distress Spray Stains to create some white splattery "snow". 

Here's the final product. Don't you just adore that happy little reindeer? He is from the Reindeer Games stamp set (designed by yours truly) and he makes me so happy. The sentiment is from the Trendy Christmas Trees stamp set. 

I'm going to link this up to:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Christmas Critters
Just Add Ink - Choose 2 (Die Cut, Patterned Paper)
Winter Wonderland - Poinsettias or Snow is Falling (Snow)
Cute Card Thursday - Christmas/Holidays

Thanks for popping by! I hope this card makes you smile as much as it did for me! :)

Joy to the World Holiday Card - FUSION

Well, my Christmas bubble was popped and now all I can seem to think about doing is making pretty little glittery, snow-filled, wintry cards!! 

But I suppose, when you have inspiration images like the following one from Fusion, you'd want to make holiday cards, too. 

It's the start of Fusion's new challenge today. You can play long with our sketch OR our inspiration image OR both! 

I started out by making a rustic background for the card. Originally, I was going to use gray for the background, to emulate the door, but I just couldn't get the color scheme to work in my head! 

Instead, I focused on the brown neutrals and added hints of gray to the background paper and to the focal die cut using my Distress Crayons. 

Die cuts used: Winnie & Walter In a Word: Joy Cutaway, Stampin' Up Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Die,

I'm going to link this card up to:
Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies
Open Minded Crafting - Christmas/Hannakuh
Tuesday Throwdown - Add Gems or Pearls

We hope to see you over at Fusion! My fellow Design Teamies pulled out all the stops!

Starry Birthday Card

Nah nah  - nah nah nah. It's Fusion Time!
Please sing that in your best MC Hammer voice and then enjoy the rest of your day.

Ahem...Anyways, what I meant to say is that there is a new challenge on the old Fusion block.

Love the sketch? Then use it. Love the inspiration image? Then use it! Can't choose between the two? Then use them both! So many options!

I was immediately inspired by the backs on those funky chairs and I had a cool star die cut from Winnie and Walter.

 I used the a blue Gelato stick that matched one of the chairs and started coloring away. I smudged it with my finger once I was done, and left little rough patches on the star for some added texture.

To finish my look, I stamped a festive sentiment and added some bright papers from DCWV's Birthday stack.

Party on a card! Boom! 

I am going to link my card up to the following challenges:

Crafty Gals Corner - Die Cut Punches

Through the Craftroom Door - Anything Goes

I hope you'll head on over to Fusion and play along in our new challenge that runs for the next week. There's some amazing inspiration on the blog, so go check it out! 

Butterfly Grunge Stamped Card with Distress Inks

Ooooooo have I ever got a good card to share with you today!! This is one of those designs that made my heart happy when I was all done being inky.

Just look at that sketchedy butterfly and those bright colors 

and TRY not to smile. 

This little number was inspired by the brand new challenge over at STAMPlorations. 

Here's how STAMPlorations challenges work:

> Use either the sketch OR the theme OR both

> Use any product/stamp/paper you like - STAMPlorations products NOT required

Now here's a full look at what I created, using the sketch. 

I did a whole lotta faux-stitching with gel pens, and then I stenciled on the background using ARTplorations Brackets Stencil. The butterfly is from the Blossom Like a Butterfly set and I muddied up the edges a bit using the Mixed Media Grunge set. Last, but not least, I added a die cut (brand new!) called CUTplorations Celebrate Word Die. 

I'm loving all the grunginess going on here! 

I'm also going to send my flutterby over to flit in the following challenges:
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Crafty Gals Corner - Birthdays/Celebrations 

Thanks for popping by!