Seize The Birthday - Red, White and Blue

Hello, and welcome to our red, white and blue challenge at Seize The Birthday!  You'll have to look hard to find the red in my card but it is there in the splatters on the ground, courtesy of PaperArtsy Infusions powders.

Our lovely surprise party guest is Jen Wills from Jenerally Speaking.  Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog to see Jen's and the rest of the Design Team's cards, and join in with us.

STAMPlorations Inspiration #274

Hello, and welcome to a new STAMPlorations Inspiration post.  I've been playing with Distress Oxides and fadeout ink to create this 'painting' using my stamp set, Layered Vase.  I was inspired by this pin I saw on Pinterest.

The STAMPlorations store is re-launching tomorrow on a swanky new platform, so do take a look.  When you're spending in the store you can now use my code STAMPGIRLSHIRLEY to get 20% off anything in the main store or the digital store (not the outlet store because that's already heavily discounted).

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team, and don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a $10 gift code, which you can use in the fab new store! 

STAMPlorations Inspiration #273

Hello!  It's Inspiration Tuesday at STAMPlorations, and I've got a rather busy card for you today :)  I went to town on stencils, diecuts and dies.

My background is made with Distress Oxides and Rag Rug and Tapestry stencils, and the border is made with Artsy Border Maker.  The balloons and matching die are from Deepti's Tweet Love and the sentiment is from Skinny Sentiments.

You can find all of these items in the STAMPlorations store, and if you use my code STAMPGIRLSHIRLEY you'll get 20% off.

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team, and don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a $10 gift certificate.

Seize The Birthday - Watercolouring

Hello!  We've got a new challenge for you at Seize The Birthday - Watercolouring!  I use watercoloring on most of my cards, but I don't use watercolour paints, I use Distress Inks as watercolours - love 'em!

I also love this gorgeous huge cupcake stamp by Colorado Craft Company, which is so easy to use and makes such a huge statement on a card.  Cupcake, anyone?

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog to see some more gorgeous creations from the team, and from our guest designer, the lovely Dotty Jo, then play along with us.  If watercolouring isn't your thing, that's fine. just play along with any birthday themed creation.

STAMPlorations Inspiration #272

It's Inspiration Tuesday at STAMPlorations, and today I've got a card for you that started off as an ATC (my latest craze).  Having made the ATC, I decided it would make a nice card, so I just mounted it onto a card blank.

All the elements were already in my stash.  I blended some Distress Ink on the stamped numbers panel, then coloured a stamped image from Deepti's Sweet Surprise.  The 'wish' was already layered and sitting in my stash so it was just a case of mounting everything onto a teal ATC (2.5 x 3.5 inches).  At that point I decided it would make a great card, so I just mounted it onto a card base.

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team and don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a $10 gift certificate to the store.  If you're shopping in the store, using my code STAMPGIRLSHIRLEY will get you 20% off most items.

STAMPlorations Inspiration #271

Hey, chickie!  It's Inspiration Tuesday on the STAMPlorations blog, and I'm in ATC mode.  I'm doing an ATC swap with teamie Sanna, so that got me back in the mode of making ATCs.

The great thing about making ATCs is that you can use up all sorts of scraps, and try different techniques on a small canvas, so it's not too scary.  And the bonus is that you've got the option of mounting the ATC onto a card if you choose.

For the moment, this one is still an ATC.  Next week's card started life as an ATC then upgraded to a card.

On cartridge paper I painted Distress Oxides then stencilled over using Rag Rug and Make Marks 2 stencils.  Then I stamped two checks from Fowl Play and paper-pieced from two in my stash.

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team, and don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a $10 gift certificate to the store.

Seize The Birthday - All About Summer

Hello, and welcome to another Seize The Birthday challenge.  Our challenge this time is All About Summer.  Or you can just play along with any birthday-themed project.

Ooh, look!  My colours match the logo!  This card was very nearly my contribution for the last challenge (Totally Tropical) because of the tropical colours and the cocktail.  I know you can drink cocktails any time (apart from maybe breakfast unless you're on holiday) but I always associate tropical with cocktails :)

I sponged the background with Distress Inks but it was quite mottled, so I made it even more so by spritzing with water, then I stamped the sentiments (MFT Uncorked) randomly over the card.  The cocktail glass is from Tim Holtz.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for more fabulous inspiration and join in with the fun!