Cool - Hip - Retro

Hello all,

Breaking News: I found a new CHALLENGE! Taylored Expressions (TE) started their own crafty challenge & although I still don't have many or their products (yet), I love their stamps & so I had to create something especially for this challenge!

My friend Marta celebrated her birthday last Saturday and so I needed a cool/hip/retro card (all things she likes) for the party! This is what came out (inspired by the TE sketch):

Materials used:
- Scrap of craft cardstock (partially with foil embellishments)
- Black and white card stock
- All the "Happy Birthday" sentiments of all sorts of stamp sets I found in my stash
- Black & white baker's twine

The little twist here is in the detail: I don't have a die cutting machine, so I measured & cut the M by hand with a craft knife (I think that turned out quite ok, though it took a little while...). The other smaller letters are from a crafting brochure (yes, these brochures are not only great to look at, but also serve as great embellishments =) ).

This is a very different style to what I usually do, but I think it's perfect for my friend and she was very happy when she opened the envelope!!

Alright, see you soon & happy crafting!

Yours,

Steph

P.S.: I will also participate in the following challenges with this card:
>> Sweet Stamps Blog: September Anything Goes Challenge
>> Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Make It Colorful
 

Some bunnies in a pot!

Hi again,

Don't ask me why, but I was having an *Easterly moment*, creating this card with the adorable Penny Black stamp!!

Well, admittedly I absolutely love cats & rabbits, so no real surprise here =)

But also, I was browsing through a couple of challenges lately & definitely got inspired!

So check out my new creation:

 

Supplies used:
- Penny Black 'Peek a Bunny'

- Caran D'Ache Watercolor Pencils

- Wrapping paper

- Pearl enamel dots

- Craft card stock

See you again soon!
Yours, 
Steph

P.S.: This card is for the following challenges:

>> Time OutChallenge – CASE Alice

>> PennyBlack Saturday Challenge – Hot Summer Colours

>> PennyBlack & More Challenge – Summer Flowers (ok admittedly I only have flower pots here & a few leaves on the side but I think it sill counts)

>> CAS(E)This Sketch #134 (with my image & the sentiment moved to the other side) 
>> SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes 
 

 

RELAX!

Hello dear crafters!

It really seems as if I had disappeared lately! The last few weeks were so soaked up with business & leisure travel, but now I'm back & very keen on getting my fingers inky again!!

To start my mojo again, I just had to create a relaxing summer themed card – look what came out:

And here is a close-up of that cute little kitty snoozing in the hammock:

This little kitty is a single wood mounted stamp which I have in my stash since quite a while & I absolutely adore it! Not sure who's the designer though, but it's so super cute I find.

If you look carefully at Lawnfawn's "Life Is Good" hammock, then you'll see that it is actually a little smaller than here on my card. TRICK: Just stamp half of the hammock to one side, stamp the other half with a little distance apart (as big as you want the hammock to be, although I think stretching it for an inch or more won't look very good anymore), take a fine black marker & connect the dots. Voila, here you have a larger hammock for larger critters ;-)

Watercolor is still very much in fashion, and I love it as much as most of you, so I've created a very simple background by simply drawing 3 soft colored lines to mimic the sky, the ocean & the beach.

Lot's and lot's of foam squares make this card really POP!

supplies used:

- Lawnfawn "Life Is Good"

- Paper Smooches "Get Outta Town"

- Distress Inks: Wind Honey, Peacock Feathers, Tumbled Glass, Spiced Marmelade (hammock)

- Watercolor Pencils (Caran D'Ache) for the kitty, & the palm trees

Thanks for stopping by & I hope to see you again soon!

Yours,

Steph

P.S.: I am participating in the following challenges with this card:

>> SSS Wednesday Challenge *Anything Goes*

>> SSS Monday Challenge *Make a Plan* (the plan is definitely self-addressed to take more time off & to RELAX - just like this kitty!)

>> Stempelküche Challenge *Sommerzeit*

>> Paper Smooches *Anything Goes*

>> I just stumbled over a (new to me) adorable challenge blog where I thought my card would fit perfectly: 4 Crafty Chicks with their current *Anything Goes* Challenge

welcome summer!!

Hello there & welcome SUMMER!!!

As temperatures are rising here in Europe, I'm seriously looking forward to mixing some fruity & summary drinks & slurping them on my balcony!!
And to get into that summer mood, I thought I'll start with an awesome card:

Paper Smooches' 'Get Outta Town' is absolutely fabulous for anything that screams *summer* or *holidays*, and so this stamp set was perfect for my creation.

I actually made the paper for those pineapple drinks myself: I used distress inks on watercolor paper & lots of water & created this fun pattern. After it was all dry I just repeatedly stamped the drinks on that watercolor paper & cut them out. (and I bought this pretty card base in my local craft store, but any border die could probably achieve a similar look - I just don't have a die cutting machine - - - yet...).

A little foam tape gives nice dimension & makes those drinks *pop* = )

The only thing that might be a little tricky with this card is to make sure the drinks are all aligned, but with ruler & pencil no problem at all :-)

So overall, this card is really super simple & a lot of fun to create!
See you next time,
Steph

P.S.: With this card I participate in the Paper Smooches 'Anything Goes' Challenge, as well as the SSS Monday 'Royal' Challenge (to me these cocktails look so good - truly *royal* if you ask me!! haha) & the SSS Wednesday Challenge ('Anything Goes').

textured modelling paste & digi files

Hello everyone,

Today I would like to spotlight 2 new techniques:

1.) Textured Modelling Paste:
I found this new product in my local craft store & immediately fell in love with it! It has quite a rough & grainy texture & probably won't work with very intricate stencils, but the result is striking & I can't wait for winter cards where I can use this paste to create 3D snowflakes! For those who are wondering if I bought this paste in different colors: no! I bought it only in white because you can color it in any way you like with distress ink, acrylic paint, other ink pads, you name it...

2.) Digi Stamps:
Now let me get this straight first: I AM NOT OLD! I partially grew up with computers and consider myself quite tech savvy! But having said that: I HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO USE THOSE DIGI STAMPS.... Admittedly I have never used a digi stamp before, but because I really wanted to participate in the *Create A Smile Guest Designer Call* (and I don't have any create a smile stamps yet), I thought I give them a try. There are probably many easier ways, but this is how I've used the digi file: 

• I copied the image to a Word doc & shrank its size approximately to what I thought would fit on the panel of my card
• I printed it on normal paper
• I traced over the lines with a soft pencil & "copied" that then on different colored card stock (black white).
• I've paper pieced everything and the sail is actually still the normal card stock, but I've covered it with orange Washi tape
• All in all, it took me almost forever to trace everything properly, cutting it out & assembling it all together again properly... but I still had a lot of fun doing it and I am very happy with the result = )
• Bottom line: While I'm happy I've tried digi stamps, to me there is nothing that beats the pleasure of stamping, so I guess I'll stick to stamps in the future.

@ Create a Smile: I love your stamps, stencils, papers, washi etc A LOT & I hope you see all my extra efforts here to be able to participate in your guest designer call = )

See you guys again soon!
Yours,
Steph


P.S.: With this card I also participate in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge (*Stencil It*) & the Neat & Tangled Challenge #56 (*clean and simple")

A FLORAL card crafted by Steph?

Hello!

Today I need to confess a few things: 

• I realized I've never made a floral card
• I never knew what to do with those tiny little stamps in some stamp sets, particularly the flowers
• I always thought flower cards are boring to make

When I saw the Stempelküche Challenge though, I thought I'll give it a try and I am BEYOND excited to state the following:

• I've finally created my first floral card and I LOVE IT!
• I finally found out how to use all those little embellishment stamps
• Flower cards are DEFINITELY NOT boring to create!!!

This is the result of my creativity (again with this cute bunny from Stacey Yacula Designs - Purple Onion):

I've used mostly Lawn Fawn & Avery Elle stamp sets (those with tiny flowers as embellishment stamps) and it's all stamped in different colors & colored in/shadows with watercolor pencils on watercolor card stock. A little Wink of Stellar on the flowers & the bunny ears as well as a bit of Glossy Accents here and there finished off the card.

I know you're missing the sentiment here, let me explain: 
This is a "thank you" card, but because my friends speak several languages, I left the sentiment out for the moment and will decide later on whether it's going to be a simple "Danke", "Merci", "Gracias" or "Thank you" in the end (it will be small & most probably hand written at the inside of my card to not distract from the rest).

I hope you got inspired & will dig out your little embellishment stamps more often in the future - there are amazing things you can do with these = )

Yours, 
Steph

P.S.: With this card I'm also participating in Lawn Fawns "try a new technique" challenge (never stamped a wreath), the Simon Says Stamp "X, Y, Z,...." challenge (the X, Y, Z instantly reminded me of the many stamp sets & mini stamps I've used here to create this wreath), as well as the Avery Elle "Spring" Challenge (couldn't be more fitting I guess).

I love stencils!

Welcome back,

Today I would like to share another favorite technique of mine:  
working with stencils!

I loved stencils ever since I was a child, because they give you the precise outlines without being a particularly gifted painter - yet it always looks perfectly hand-drawn or hand made.
What an awesome product!! = )

What I particularly like when using stencils for backgrounds is the fact that you can really go wild and essentially create your own patterned paper - only custom made!

This is exactly what I've been doing for this card here: The intention was to create a very powerful background, yet combined with a little bit of green to "ground" my little fury friend without any extra fuzz. 

I'm a great fan of Simon Says' stencils and that's why I would like to dedicate this card to the latest "Simon Exclusives Challenge". 

Material's used:
- SSS stencil
- Stacey Yacula stamps (Purple Onion Designs)
- Ranger Distress Inks (barn door, wild honey, shabby shutters) 
- Watercolor pencils (for the bunny, check out how I drew the fur, I'm so proud of the result)
- Wink of stellar (inside of the ears)
- Glossy accents (on the flower)

Happy crafting & see you again soon!
Yours, Steph

may the wedding season begin!

Hallo zusammen & willkommen zu meinem neuesten & leider vorerst letzten Beitrag als Gastdesignerin für April bei der Stempelküche!

Dieses Mal lautet das Thema: Ja, ich will!

Ich finde Hochzeitskarten generell mit am schwierigsten von allen - und eigentlich weiss ich gar nicht warum... Ich denke ich mache mir da selbst viel zu viele Gedanken, versuche die Karte so persönlich wie möglich zu gestalten. Vollkommener Blödsinn, denn es freuen sich immer alle ungemein über meine Kreationen = )

Und zum Glück habe ich dieses geniale Stempelset "Surf's Up" von Avery Elle, das ich bisher für fast alle erdenklichen Gelegenheiten genutzt habe - so auch hier!

Dieser 70er Jahre Camper ist einfach ein Hit & so vielfältig verwendbar, hier z.B. folgendermassen: 

• der Van ist "paper pieced" mit schönem Papier mit Goldfolie 
• die kleinen 4-eckigen Holzperlen sind aus meinem Uralt-Fundus und "angenäht" (einfach per Hand einen dekorativen Faden einziehen) & mit kleinen Klebepunkten befestigt 
• eine kleine schwarze Plankette mit "just married" aufgeklebt (weisser gel-pen auf normalem schwarzen Papier) 
• ein bisschen "Pumice Stone" Distress ink für den Schatten (vermischt mit Wasser um dem Ganzen ein bisschen den Kontrast zu nehmen) 
• alles auf "Woodgrain paper" geklebt (wie ihr wisst fehlt mir hier das Deutsche Wort hihi) für den Extra-Pfiff = )

Zugegeben, diese Karte ist wirklich seeehhrr CAS, aber ich finde das gut so für ellegante Hochzeits-Karten und mir gefällt sie ausserordentlich - hoffe euch auch!

Schaut doch mal vorbei bei der Stempelküche & macht mit bei der neuesten Challenge!

Viel Spass, Eure Steph


P.S.: Mit dieser Karte mache ich auch bei der SSS Monday Challenge (anything goes) und der SSS Wednesday Challenge (anything goes), sowie der & Virgina's View Challenge #14 (Layers & Dimension) mit.

* * * * *

Hello everyone and welcome to my latest & unfortunately -for the moment- last contribution as a guest designer for April to the Stempelküche.
This time the topic is: Yes, I will!

I find making wedding cards to be the most challenging of all - and I don't actually quite know why. I presume I over-think it all, trying to create the card as personal as possible - total nonsense, because everyone is always so happy receiving one of my cards = )

And luckily I have this incredible stampset called "Surf's Up" from Avery Elle, which I love and use for all sorts of cards.
Have a look at my "just married" creation above.

This 70's van simply rocks and can be used in a million ways. And this is how I've created this card:

• the van is paper pieced with pretty gold-foiled patterned paper
• the little squared wooden beads are from my ultra ancient stash and "sewed on" (simply hand sew them on the card using a decorative thread) & fixated with mini glue dots
• a tiny black tag stating "just married" is glued to the van (simply use a white gel-pen on normal black card stock)
• a little "Pumice Stone" Distress ink for the van's shadows (mixed with water in order to mild out any harsh contrasts)
• stick it all on woodgrain paper" for some extra texture = )

Admittedly, this card is really veeeerrryyyy CAS, but I find that very elegant for wedding cards, and I like it a LOT - hope you too!!

Hop over to the Stempelküche Blog for more inspiration & I hope to see your creations there linked to the latest challenge!

Have fun! Yours, Steph

P.S.: With this card I also participate in the SSS Monday Challenge (anything goes) & the SSS Wednesday Challenge (anything goes) & Virgina's View Challenge #14 (Layers & Dimension)