STAMPlorations Stencil Blog Hop last day and Cardz 4 Guyz Guest Design

This post is going to have to serve double duty! It's been a crazy hectic week with blogging and vacationing, but I've had a ton of fun. Tomorrow starts the 5-hour car trip home (so maybe I'll have time to catch up on my commenting!). 

As you maaaaaay have gathered from the last 3 blog posts, STAMPlorations is hosting a 3-day blog hop to showcase the new stencil line. I've had the privilege of showcases some of them, along with new techniques every day. 

I've already covered stencils and embossing paste; stencils and Distress Paints; and stencils and Spray Stains. Today's technique is:

STENCILS AND SPONGING

Sponging is probably by far the most common way stencils are used. But that doesn't mean I don't want to show off how to do it, because great results can be achieved! That's why it's such a popular technique - doy!

I began by creating an entire sponged background using Distress Inks (Picked Raspberry, Honey Mustard, Spiced Marmalade... and now I'm hungry)

Once I had all the colors blended to my satisfaction, I put the Shutters - ARTplorations Stencil over the top, taped it down really good so it wouldn't move, and used a sponge to dab black ink through the stencil. 

The background turned out totally cool and made me want to whip out some scrunchies and legwarmers because I felt like I was in the 1980s again. 

I pulled out my trusty blackboard dies and used Perfect Pearls to add a shimmery sentiment. 

Perfect Pearls are a really cool medium, too. There are TONS of ways to use them. I've highlighted several of their uses in past blog posts, so if you want to learn more, just click on the little orange tag at the bottom of this post that says "perfect pearls". 

But I digress, here's my finished card:

I found these funky cool acrylic flower bursts from Basic Grey and fell in love. I also added a big ol' bow to complete the look. 

I'm sending this card over to the following challenges:
Happy Little Stampers - Sponging
Mixed Media Card Challenge - Hints of Spring
Mixed Media Place Creative Gym Exercise - black background + all the colors of the rainbow

As for YOU - if you haven't joined the fun at STAMPlorations, it's not too late! There's over $75 worth of prizes being given out on this hop-a-long and some of it could belong to YOU! Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here.

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I also want to showcase the card I made for Cardz 4 Guyz! It's the start of their new challenge this week - Hobbies! I get the immense honor of being a guest designer over there for the whole month of March! woohooo!

Here's my card:

Unlike my normal style, this is very CAS. I embossed all of the compasses in a navy blue and distressed some of them so the images wouldn't all be whole (imperfection is my favorite). I sponged the edges with Distress Inks and embossed the sentiment. The photo above doesn't do the sentiment justice, 

Stupid lighting! It says "I would be lost without you". Once of my father's favorite hobbies is exploring the outdoors. He taught me how to use a compass (although now he's gone "soft" and upgraded to a GPS). Thanks to my Pop, I know how to call squirrels (be really quiet and hit some stones together), start a fire with flint and steel, find deer trails, and identify poison ivy. Barring the last one, I don't really put much of these things to use... I'm more of a stay indoors and stamp kinda girl. But hey - if the zombie apocalypse ever happens, I've got a leg up, right?!

So if you make any manly cards - go enter them in Cardz 4 Guyz!!

I'm also going to enter this one into the following awesome challenges:

Virginia's View - Embossing

Just Us Girls - Masculine 

Simon Says Stamp Monday - B is for... (Boy!)

Thanks for popping by! I'll be back to my normal self  later this week and will be coming for as many visits as I can fit in!

Stencils and Spray Stains- STAMPlorations Stencil Blog Hop Day 2

Yesterday was a good day.  It's day 3 of the vacation and we popped down to the Twin Cities to visit my family. My last Christmas presents were finally delivered!! Yes, I know it's March. I've told you once that I'm a procrastinator, so this should come as no surprise. I'd purchased an inflatable robotic R2D2 for my little nephew and it was definitely the star of the show. Picture four toddlers squealing and chasing around a robot... If you're not smiling then not even Obi Wan Kenobi can help you because you have no heart!

But today is also a good day because it's day two of the ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop! I've read through all of the kind comments you've left and they've made my day! I promise after vacation I will return the visits! 

I've gone over embossing paste and stencils, and Distress Paints and stencils and today's bloggy post will cover:

SPRAY STAINS

There are some really cool effects you can achieve with spray stains, amazing depth of field, grungy awesomeness. My design today, however, is going to highlight the cleaner side of stains. In my tutorial, the spray stains I use are red and gold, but you'll see that my final card is actually blue and green. That's because I really didn't like the red and gold's finished look for the type of card I was going for, so I switched to blue. I didn't take pictures the second time around... mostly because I'm lazy! :) 

The first thing to do is tape down your stencil to create a firm hold. I chose to use the Oh My Stars! ARTplorations Stencil.  Position your spray and douse your cardstock. You want to be careful not to get too much liquid going, because it may leak underneath your stencil. 

The image on the left was when I used my stencil normally. My loving ahem* crazy ahem* Aunt Jerrie asked me if you could use the negative somehow and the short answer is YES! I took the excess ink that was on my stencil, flipped it over, and rubbed it on the card stock - that's how I got the look on the right side. 

After I made these two examples, I just didn't really like the colors for what I was trying to achieve so I switched to a blue spray, and inked the panel's background with Peeled Paint Distress Inks. 

I outlined the stars with a white marker and then colored up the cupcake from the SKETCHED: Cupcake set. I even added some tiny star "sprinkles" to the cupcake. Voila! A bright birthday card that's perfect for a boy or a girl!! 

I'm linking my creation to the following excellent challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday - B is for (Birthday!!) 

Inkspirational Challenge - Sprinkle

Cupcake Inspirations Color challenge: 

 

You should totally check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here.

This is an awesome blog hop and Shery, the owner of STAMPlorations, is giving away over $75 dollars in prizes!! You'll see some great inspiration AND have tons of chances to win some goodies. It's a win-win really.
Also - if you make a card that features stencils (ANY brand) you can enter it into the Stamps and Stencils challenge for another chance to win some prizes!

Thanks for hopping along!

Stencils and Distress Paints - STAMPlorations Stencil Blog Hop Day 1

I told you all that you were in for a one-woman-whirlwind of stencil madness. I've had so much fun playing around with my new STAMPlorations ARTplorations stencils! I've already done a little embossing paste and stencils showcase on my last blog post, and for the next three days I'll be showcasing different mediums that will work with your stencils.

And it's not just me! Over at STAMP-town, we're having a 3-day hop with AMAZING prizes and awesome technique tutorials.

And today's medium is:

DISTRESS PAINTS! 

My DPs are actually a recently acquired product (after my mental willpower to NOT buy more stamping supplies failed me - thanks Pinot Grigio...) And I'm still learning, but I'm happy to show you some basics. 

The first thing I did was dobbed some DPs on my card stock (Broken China, Spiced Marmalade, Picket Fence) 

Now here's how Distress Paints differ from other paints (if you don't know already): They are water reactive. 

So I spritzed a heavy dose of water on them and....

Runny fabulous goodness! I love how these colors mixed together.

Next, I took my Brackets ARTplorations Stencil and used a sponge to add some Distress Paint through the cracks. 

 

I wanted to add a little more texture to the card, so I embossed some funky, graphic shapes with a silver embossing powder. 

The arrows and the sentiment are from the  VIGNETTE - Chevron and Arrows set. 

And that's my card! 

I'm sending it on over to the following challenges: 

Just Us Girls Word Week - Masculine 

Seize the Birthday - Masculine toppings (option)

Hiding in My Craftroom - Freestyle

The Challenge - Thanks for the colors and sketch

As for YOU - Go start the hop so you can win some cool schtuff!

Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here.

Prizes:

SIX (6) winners (2 winners per day) will receive their choice of ARTplorations stencil. Winners will be randomly drawn from all comments left on the designers' blogs.

THREE (3) winners will each win a $15 gift certificate. Winners will be randomly drawn from comments left on the STAMPlorations blog.

+ surprise prizes

Yeah. That's a lot of free stuff you could have. 

I'll leave you with one last smile - a couple of snapshots from my vacation so far. 

On the boardwalk in Park Point, Duluth MN



How do you know you're in Duluth, MN? 
When the public beaches look like this:



Yes! Those are snowmountains on the beach! But hey - it was a balmy 38 degrees today, so we were happy!

Stamps and Stencils - STAMPlorations March Challenge

Well, my faithful friends, the world and happiness have colluded  this week, because I got some card assignments that I was beyond stoked to take on.

I get to work with stencils!!!

**Insert Happy Dance Here**

STAMPlorations challenge is Stamps and Stencils so break out those flimsy plastic sheets of awesomeness and put them to use! Don't have stencils to try? Make your own by using the negative from a die cut image. Or better yet - check out the stencils in the STAMPlorations shop! They've got some awesome ones that have just been released! 

All this week (or for the next five days) I will be showing you one new medium to try with your stencils. Today's session will focus on.... drumroll please........

Embossing Paste!

Now, if you haven't worked with embossing paste before, I encourage you to head to your nearest craft store and buy yourself a jar. This stuff is FANTASTIC for creating awesome textural designs. There are different colors and textures of embossing paste, but I really like the Wendy Vecchi line. Embossing paste has the texture of shaving cream. It's light and airy and can dry naturally or be heat set. 

But first things first. 

I took a chalkboard sign die cut and stamped an awesome sentiment from the Blossom Overture STAMPlorations set. I layered that over some newsprint designer paper and put my stencil (Botanical Lush from STAMPlorations) over the lower left corner. 

I use a palette knife with my paste. You want to tape down your stencil (as pictured above) and swipe a very thin layer of embossing paste over the top. Scrape off the excess paste and put it back in the jar. Then - and this next bit is important - run to the nearest sink and clean your stencil because your paste will dry very quickly (about 15 minutes). 

You can use a heat gun to dry your paste (which I did because I'm an impatient lady). I then started painting over the top of it with Distress Paints (Broken China and Salty Ocean).  I also painted the corners, as well.



To say that I am sorta in love with this card is to say that Kim Kardashian's butt is sorta big. 

As for YOU - well you should go check out the STAMPlorations Stamps and Stencils challenge. We've got some awesome prizes, including a STAMPlorations gift card for the winner! You should also stay tuned because on March 8, 9, and 10 there will be a big stencil blog hop at the STAMP blog with even more prizes. And we've got a fabulous guest designer, Milla! Leave her some bloggy love! 

I will be showcasing the following techniques:
Stencils and Distress Paints
Stencils and Embossing Powders
Stencils and Sponging 
Stencils and Distress Spray Stains 

Whew!! So if you didn't know how to use stencils before now, you sure will after I get done with you! 

As for me, I'm going to link my card up to support some other amazing challenges:
Craft Stamper Magazine - Take It Make It - Anything Goes
Virginia's View - Embossing 
Make Art Challenge - Stencils
2015 World Wide Open Design Team Competition
ColorQ - thanks for the amazing color palette - I never would have put these together!

A big crafty welcome to my new followers! Thank you for making my day. 

Also - on a personal note, I will be gone for most of the next 5 days on vacation with limited access to the computer. So if I don't return your comments now, please don't feel bad! I'll do my best to play catch up when I get home! 

It's Movie Madness at Crafty Gals Corner!!

Look at this card, isn't it sweet? Doesn't it make my collection complete...? Wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who stamps everything?

If you now have "Part of Your World" stuck in your head, sorry not sorry. It's a great song, especially when sung at the top of your lungs in the shower.

This week over at Crafty Gals Corner, we're making cards based on movies. We got to work with some images from Sassy Studio Designs and I am working with one called Little Mermaid Pinup. 

My sister is named Ariel. And yes, it's actually after The Little Mermaid. My parents never had names definitively picked out for any of us. I could have been a Victoria or a Crystal. My birth papers in the hospital said Baby Doe because my parents went back and forth before landing on Rebecca. 

The legends stay that the morning my sister was born, my parents couldn't agree on a name and went round and round until my brother, who had just been watching The Little Mermaid, walked in and suggested Ariel. 

But back to the card, 
I put tons and tons of sparkle into this card There are 4 layers of glitter paper!! And once it was done I was suitably jealous of her apparent warmth. 

I'm also going to enter this into the following challenges:
Cupcake Inspirations - Sparkle 
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Special Lady/Girly
Clear it Out Challenge - Anything Goes
Party Time Tuesdays - Anything Goes
Die Cut Divas - Spring/Children
Creative Craft Cottage - Use a digi and a sentiment
Crafting for All Seasons - Girly Girl - use a die
Doodle Pantry - Anything Goes with a Digi
Bitten by the Bug 2 - Use a Cartridge you haven't used in a long time (the wave border)
Cheerful Sketches Challenge - Thanks for the great sketch


What's your favorite movie? Make a card inspired by it and link it up over at Crafty Gals Corner! 
We've got an awesome prize!!

Sassy Studio Designs

Prize: 4 Images

Sailing Along with Cards 4 Guyz - Guest Designer

Man cards. In my magical hat of card designs, pulling out a man card happens fairly rarely. For some reason pink, orange, and flowers reign supreme in the types of things I am attracted to. Consequently, I get an invite to a fella's birthday party and have nothing in the way of cards to give. That's why challenges like Cards 4 Guyz are so great for me - it makes me consciously think about the unfairer sex. And I am so honored to have been asked to **Guest Design** for them this week! 

The challenge this week is Sailing! Now, I haven't been "sailing" proper, but we're right next door to the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes and there's lots of boating going on. Luckily for me, though, I have an awesome stamp set from Inspired by Stamping called Ahoy, Matey. 

I followed the sketch from the IBSIC challenge:

 and stamped the sailboat image using Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks. I also used some double-sided nautical themed paper from Carte Bella. Double sided paper makes everything so easy. It's like "blam!" card done. 

Then I embossed the sentiment - Did you check out the name of it?! Pirate Gold! It's the little puns that matter! 

I made up 4 of these babies, so now I have a whole stash of guy birthday cards! Woop! I'll be guesting all month over at Cards 4 Guyz and would love to have you come stop by and wave a hello. 

I am also going to link this card up to support the following challenges:

Seize the Birthday - Masculine

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Anything Goes

Also - just have tell you something kind of cool.

If you follow my blog, first of all - you're awesome, but second of all - you probably saw my coffee card with the faux-chalkboard element. I used Chalk Magic markers and did a review of them.

Well the owner of Chalk Magic, Hans, saw my review and offered to give my readers a $5 off coupon, if they are interested in them! That's pretty sweet, huh? Anywho, the code is DISTRES5 (note, that last character is a number 5).

Have a very happy day! 

Here Comes the Bride - STAMPlorations Sketch Challenge

Da dun da dun, DA dunnn dun dun, Da DA DA DA da da da dun dun duuuuun. <-Insert music notes here. 

I hate to tell you this folks, but wedding season is almost upon us! It's that magical time of year when you are forced to sit through 3 hours of droning love speeches from people you marginally know, all because your father would be very disappointed in you if you missed your second-cousin-thrice-removed's special day.

Ahem... woops... sorry about that. I let my real thoughts out there for a minute. What I meant to type is. Wedding season is upon us! It's that magical time of year when you get to celebrate life-long happiness, roll in flowers, and sing kumbaya with your family and close friends! Hooray!!

It's the announcement of a new STAMPlorations sketch and it's a pretty good one. At first I was a little bit stumped, but then I pulled out the lover dover silhouettes from Vignette: Ever After and had a lightbulb moment!

Here's the sketch I was following:

 

It's not my typical layout style (lots and lots of layers) so I stared at it for a good while... until the circles started taking magical shapes and I realized I was ruining my only pair of good eyes. 

But then I just started stamping and I love the way my finished card turned out!

I would just like to mention, DON'T try to copy this card unless you want to spend an hour cursing out tiny little seed pearls that keep flipping onto their fronts instead of their backs in the glue. :D

Anywho - you should all play along with this one! Head on over to STAMPlorations!

There's lots of cool prizes to be won! 

And we've got some AMAZINGLY talented guest designers working with us this month:

Asha, Sandie, and Milla!

I'm also linking this card up to support the following awesome challenges:

Sentimental Sundays - Anything Goes plus a sentiment

Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by! I'm still trying to hop my way along the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop, so if I haven't been by, know that I will do so soon!