Addicted to Stamps and More: Birthdays

It's time for the newest Addicted to Stamps and More challenge! We are ready for some BIRTHDAY CARDS! With a number of family birthdays in July and August, I have been using a lot of cards, so it's a perfect time to add more to my stash. Here's what I came up with: 

I wanted to try using this Concord & 9th set for a chocolate cake - often the flavour of choice! For me it's a challenge as I prefer bright colour palettes to neutral ones. All things considered, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I fussy cut my three tier cake of chocolate, mocha and chocolate layers and popped it up on a neutral patterned paper background. The cake topper is cut twice, once from gold and once from regular cardstock, which I sponged with the chocolate ink for a shadow. I went over the white frosting on the cake with a white glaze pen for a little extra texture. 

Lots of birthday inspiration on the ATSM blog from my design teammates - be sure to check it out, and then I hope you'll join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white & (?) gold glitter cardstock, (?) patterned paper, Concord & 9th Top It Off stamps & die, MFT biscotti & Memento rich cocoa ink, Winnie & Walter Katharine cutaways pierced rectangle die, Gelli Roll white glaze pen, foam tape

Water You Up To at Scrap 'n Stamp

I'm on the Scrap 'n Stamp blog today with two cards for today's Random Acts of Cardness prompt, WATER! For all the details, please pop over to the blog, but here's a sneak! 

The Sisterhood of Hormonal Stampers

Time for a new Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge: H is for HORMONAL! Edna obviously knows all about the delights of mid-life hormone fluctuations. :D Here's my take on the theme:

I would not complain about looking like my Gibson Girl on train wreck days, come to think of it! :D My stash of people stamps is small, and she seemed the best one to go with the fun sentiment. Honestly, some days do feel that way! She is coloured quite simply with Copics, and matted on some pretty patterned paper. Clean and simple, which on train wreck days, is the obvious way to go. ;) 

I am entering this in the current Face On challenge at Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.

Be sure to check out the hormonal inspirations of my sisters in snark as well as our current guest designer (and Queen of Snark), Tristan! Show us where your hormone surges lead you, creatively! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Pink Paislee Spring Jubilee patterned paper, Deep Red Gibson Girl & The Ink Road The Struggle is Real stamps, Versafine onyx black ink, Copic markers, Sunny Studio slimline basic borders die

 

Inkspirational: Photo

It's time for a new Inkspirational challenge, and we have a fun photo inspiration for you today! I was inspired by the row of cups, the black and white, and the circles in the cups and saucers:

Coffee cards! I knew I wanted to use this pierced circle cover plate in black and white - and rarely for me, used both versions at the same time. I mixed two different coffee sets to get my lattes and sentiments. Here's a closer look at the two cards: 

Where will this photo inspiration take you? It took my Ink teammates in all sorts of different directions, so be sure to check out the Inkspirational blog. I hope you'll join us! 

Supplies" Neenah white & desert storm, Stampin' Up basic black & Recollections red cardstock, Lawn Fawn Thanks a Latte & Ellen Hutson Oh Frappé stamps & dies, Versamark, Versafine onyx black & MFT biscotti ink, Wow clear gloss & pale gold pearl embossing powder, ARTplorations Circles All Over cover plate die, foam tape

The Heat is on at Scrap 'n Stamp

I am on the Scrap 'n Stamp blog today with a card for today's Random Acts of Cardness challenge prompt: HEAT. I used heat embossing and a warm colour palette to make my card. I hope you'll head over and take a look! 

Seize the Birthday: By the Sea

It's a new Seize the Birthday Thursday! Our fearless leader Nancy picked the latest topping, and it is BY THE SEA. Mine is more a suggestion of the sea, but I think it's close enough to fit the theme: 

I drew inspiration from two cards (here with the same patterned paper and here with the anchor) I made earlier this summer. The patterned paper has the same compass rose randomly stamped on it as I used with gold embossing on the vellum circle. I was able to die cut a few more anchors from the same sheet of alcohol inked paper that I'd used before, and picked one for the other focal point. I die cut the sentiment banner from a piece left over from the larger panel. And in a rare move for me, I even brushed the edges of the panel with the same ink the background stamping is in! 

We have a new face at the birthday party - my friend Julie has joined the team! We also have Jenny continuing as our surprise party guest. Check out theirs, and the rest of the design team's beautiful seaside cards! 

Supplies: Neenah natural white cardstock, Yupo paper, vellum, Simple Stories Urban Traveler patterned paper, Unity Direction of Your Heart & Clearly Besotted Many Mini Messages stamps, Versamark, MFT biscotti & Memento Paris dusk ink, Wow clear gloss & Simon Says Stamp antique gold embossing powder, Jacquard Piñata alcohol inks, Paper Smooches anchor, Spellbinders circle & MFT blueprints 29 & wonky stitched rectangle dies

Addicted to Stamps and More: Christmas

We are back to CHRISTMAS in the Addicted to Stamps and More challenge rotation! It's great to have an "excuse" to add to the Christmas card stash, relieving some of the pressure once December rolls around. I broke out a new-to-me stamp and die set for my card: 

For my red panel, I stamped one line of sweater-type poinsettias, rotated my cardstock, and stamped the second line before embossing both in white embossing powder. For the sentiment, I die cut the JOY sentiment then stamped and embossed the stitched heart in the middle of the O. Quick and simple to put together, but I do like the red and white combo. 

So much inspiration form my ATSM teammates, as always! I highly recommend stockpiling a few holiday cards ahead of the end of year rush, so why not join us? 

Supplies: Neenah white & Papertrey Ink pure poppy cardstock, Concord & 9th Cozy Christmas stamps & dies, Versamark & Catherine Pooler rouge ink, Wow clear gloss & opaque bright white embossing powder, Winnie & Walter Katharine pierced rectangle frame die

Color Hues: Turquoise and Coral

Somehow, we've reached the second half of August, and that means it is time for a new Color Hues challenge! Teammate Julie has picked our new hues, and they are TURQUOISE and CORAL. To me, the pairing has a bit of a Southwestern vibe, so out came a cactus die! 

I was pretty excited to find a coral-striped sheet in my paper pad collection! For the cactus and pot, I cut them out of watercolour paper, and blended inks to get the colours I wanted - mermaid lagoon with a bit of twisted citron distress inks for the cactus, and Catherine Pooler polished with a bit of tiara for the pot and blossoms. The two sentiments are stamped and embossed directly on the patterned paper. 

Beautiful turquoise and coral cards by my design teammates and our current guest, Linda! I hope you'll be inspired and join us. 

Supplies: Papertrey Ink soft stone cardstock, My Mind's Eye On Trend 2 patterned paper, Strathmore watercolour paper, Concord & 9th To the Point stamps & dies, Versafine onyx black, Catherine Pooler polished, tiara & mermaid lagoon & twisted citron distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Winnie & Walter Katharine cutaway pierced rectangle die

Welcome to... A Tiny Craft!

There's a new challenge blog on the inter webs, and we're calling it... A Tiny Craft! Which, by no coincidence at all, has the same initials as Artist Trading Cards/Coins. Originated by my snarky sister, Donna, we are all about the smaller pieces of papercraft. If you're unfamiliar with them, Artist Trading Cards are explained here, but simply, they are 2½ x 3½ inches and used to create little pieces of art that can then be traded. More recently, coins have been added, measuring 2½ inches in diameter. 

To make it easy to join us, our first challenge is ANYTHING GOES! You only need to make one card or coin to join us, but I often make them in multiples. I decided on a music theme: 

I already had these backgrounds made and cut - other than being done on a gel plate with acrylic paint and a stencil, I can't tell you much about them, they've been waiting to be used for so long. I added a variety of stamps and die cuts to them to complete the theme. Here's a closer look at each one: 

Since this is our first challenge, I thought I would also show you how I finish the backs of my ATCs:
 

And there you have it! ATCs are fun and easy to make. Be sure to check out the work of my talented teammates, Barbara, Chris, Deena, Donna, Lee (joining us next month) and Mimi! I hope you will join us.

Altenew's Ultimate Challenge Blog Hop: Addicted to Stamps and More

Today I am thrilled to be representing Addicted to Stamps and More in a special blog hop organized by ALTENEW: the Ultimate Challenge Blog Hop! Altenew recognizes the inspiration and opportunity to showcase papercrafting that challenge blogs offer the crafting community, and are celebrating that with this special hop recognizing twelve of the many challenges offered out there on the interwebs. Here are the participants: 

Altenew generously offered the participants two stamp sets to use for this hop. I chose two different, but equally beautiful sets: Inky Bouquet and Tall Tale. When I think of Altenew, I think of flowers, so I used the Inky Bouquet set for my first card: 

This gorgeous bouquet is so versatile, and can be coloured in a variety of ways, including using its coordinating stencil. I chose to stamp and emboss the floral image over a mauve background made using the largest image from an older Altenew set, Halftone Circles, and Lavender Fields ink. The sympathy sentiment nestles perfectly in one corner. I added a few clear Nuvo drops for a bit of embellishment. With my embossed bouquet and sentiment, I am adding this card to the current Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge. 

For my second card, I played with Tale Tale, a perfect stamp set for this reader!

Another clean and simple design, using the open book and sentiment stamps from the set. To ground the book, I used one row of Altenew’s Weave Builder Stencil with Persian Blue ink. The book is simply coloured with markers and popped up with a bit of foam tape. Because books should never be boring :D, I added a mat of silver glitter cardstock to the card base.

A blog hop isn’t complete without a giveaway! Altenew is offering $250 in total prizes! To celebrate this fantastic hop, they are giving away $25 gift certificates to TEN lucky winners. Winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the blogs listed below and will be announced on the Altenew blog on September 5th, 2021. Here is your hop order: 

Altenew

AAA Card Challenge

Happy Little Stampers

Addicted to CAS

Perfectly CAS

Addicted to Stamps and More!

Seize the Birthday

Color Hues the Color Challenge

Time Out Challenge

Less is More Challenge

Double D Challenge Blog

The Sisterhood of Crafters

The Color Throwdown

In addition, Altenew is offering free U.S. shipping with code HAPPY08A8 or $5 OFF international shipping with code SHOPPING08A8 at checkout on orders over $39 from 8/10/2021 at 12:01 am EDT to 8/11/2021 at 11:59 pm EDT. Shop here: https://altenew.com/collections/all-altenew-products (Not valid on prior purchases. Cannot be combined with other promo codes.) 

One last thing! Create your own Altenew project and link up at any of the participating challenge blogs for a chance to have your card be one of five featured on the Altenew blog on September 5th, 2021! Why not "Make Your Mark" and enter Addicted to Stamps and More’s current challenge at the same time? 

Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy the hop and good luck! 

The Sisterhood of F-Word Stampers

It's a Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers Saturday! In a way, it's too bad it's not Friday, since our new challenge is F is for F Words! (Also, if today were Friday, the entire weekend would still stretch ahead...) 

Age is just a number, but some numbers seem bigger than others. Which leads me to my card: 

This card is totally inspired by one I saw Nancy Elrick post on Instagram. It finally gave me the perfect use for the Scrabble tile stamps I of course had to have! The mat layer is patterned paper stamped randomly with a lily stamp. The secondary sentiment is computer-generated. 

You may actually be surprised that my sisters in snark, and our current Queen of Snark and guest designer Beverly, have used a wide variety of F-words in their creations! Head over to the blog for lots of fun, fabulous and fanciful inspiration. ;)  I hope you will fortify yourself and join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white & desert storm cardstock, Basic Grey PB&J patterned paper, Viva Las VegaStamps Scrabble Tile & Stampin' Up Fifth Avenue Floral stamps, MFT extreme black ink, Sugar Pea Designs Card Front Element Builder die

Inkspirational: Journey

It's time for a new challenge at Inkspirational! We have a word prompt for you: JOURNEY. I even managed to get the word prompt on my card! 

I wasn't entirely sure where I wanted this card to go (haha) at first, but I knew I wanted to use this particular sentiment - it suggests a metaphorical journey. I grabbed a random pad of travel-themed patterned paper, and decided the subtle map print would be a perfect background. The orange stripes are the reverse of it, so I used it for a border down the one side of the card base. Another sheet had these fun bingo-type images, and with the journey card in orange, I knew I was onto something. From there, I also picked the explore card, since I could ink-match it perfectly. And I finally cut apart another stamp where I really only like the heart images, that I used beneath the sentiment. I added a little sparkle to the two tiny hearts in the sentiment, and a couple of star confetti sequins to the "free" spaces in the bingo cards. I think this would make a great graduation or wedding card for the right person! 

Where does the word "journey" take you? (I'm here all week, folks...) For more inspiration, be sure to visit the Inkspirational blog, and then I hope you will join us! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Simple Stories Urban Traveler patterned paper, Unity Direction of Your Heart & Trust with Your Heart stamps, Catherine Pooler juniper mist ink, Spectrum Noir clear sparkle brush marker, Little Things from Lucy's Cards lucky dip star confetti, foam tape

Happy Little Stampers: Stencils

At Happy Little Stampers, we are onto the August Stencil Challenge! As always, as long as a stencil has been used, anything else goes!

Last month, my friend Emily hosted the Canada Day video hop, and as soon as I watched her work her magic with a Pigment Craft Co. stamp and layering stencil set, I knew it had to come and live at my house, too. Here's my very first time using it:

First try, and I love the results! I started by stamping the background stamp in black, then got to work with the stencils. There are five different stencils to layer with, but for the last stencil, I actually used two different colours (I wanted to make the berries red), so I have six different colours going on here. For the sentiment, I happened to already have this one stamped and die cut, so it was an easy finish to the card. 

Since my stamp and stencils saw ink for the first time with this card, I'm adding it to Darnell's August NBUS challenge. 

Beautiful inspiration from my stencil teammates on the HLS challenge blog! I hope you will grab a stencil and join us. 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Pigment Craft Co. Delicate Floral Background stamp & layering stencils, Concord & 9th Filled In Florals stamp & die, MFT extreme black, Catherine Pooler juniper mist & bundled sage, tumbled glass, salty ocean, blueprint sketch, chipped sapphire & fired brick distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder

Seas the Day at Scrap 'n Stamp!

Happy first Friday of the month! It's time for a new Scrap 'n Stamp blog hop! We are calling our August hop SEAS THE DAY - projects with a beach/ocean/water theme. And just to challenge ourselves a little more, we decided to make engineered cards! We are using Photoplay card kits, which made the engineering part stress-free. ;) I used the Tunnel Card Kit for mine:

From the front, it doesn't look much different from an ordinary card! (but a little harder to close completely - I think that's more first-time user error than a flaw of the kit). Given our theme, I grabbed a selection of my Whittle dies and some patterned paper - this is from an older My Favorite Things pad, but here is a similar one. I coloured the octopus and the sun with Copics. 

And when you open the card, you get this!

I used a couple of rounded rectangle dies to make the tunnels into my card interior. For the very bottom layer, I used a stencil with a couple of distress inks. I covered the top two layers with more patterned paper. Then it was a matter of adding my sentiments and my sea critters where I wanted them. 

I am really pleased with the way this card turned out for a first attempt with this kit! I think my Scrap 'n Stamp teammates had fun too. Check out their creations and comment along the way for your chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the Scrap 'n Stamp store! Here's the hop list: 

Tara

Lindsey ---> you are here!

Deborah

Chala

Kia

Susan

Jessica

If you decide you want to try one of these fun card kits for yourself, I hope you'll click on my Scrap 'n Stamp link over to the right - and remember to use my code 10Lindsey for 10% off your order!And what's a hop without a sale:

Happy hopping... and happy weekend! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Photoplay Paper Value Pack Tunnel Card Kit, MFT Painted Prints Smitten patterned paper, PoppyStamps Whittle Sealife Sentiments stamps, Versafine onyx black & broken china & mermaid lagoon distress inks, PoppyStamps Whittle Wave Background, Whittle Sunshine, Whittle Dolphin, Whittle Happy Octopus, Whittle Shark & MFT rounded stitched rectangle dies, Copic markers, Heffy Doodle bubble waves stencil