STAMPlorations Sketch #26

It's sketch time at STAMPlorations and I've got a double helping of stretch-a-sketch (of course) for you today.

My 60th birthday present from my kids was, at my request, a year-long online mixed media art course.  The course started on 1 January, and one of the lessons was creating a tag with inky backgrounds - oh, yes!  These two are leftovers from the masterboard that I created for my lesson tag.

My belated Christmas present to myself was a new sewing machine.  Its predecessor gave up the ghost just after I'd finished making a little bag for my mum as part of her Christmas present. The machine was over 30 years old so it didn't owe me anything.  My new machine got its first outing with these tags - possibly a bit risky for a debut, but it survived the ordeal.  But I think I'll stick to my mini machine for cards in future ;)

Anyway, enough of that.  Play along with the challenge to be in with a chance of winning 3 digi stamps and the opportunity to be a guest designer in Sketch #29.  And if you're one of the Top 2 picks, you'll also have the opportunity to be a guest designer for Sketch #29.  Play along with all 3 challenges this month and you'll be in with a chance of winning a stamp and stencil pack.  And, of course, if you use STAMPlorations stamps in any of your entries, you can also enter them into our ongoing Anything Goes challenge for more chances to win.

And just look at those fabulous new stamps I got to play with:

Hashtag Authentic

I've paired them with Trendy Butterflies and used the arrows from Vignette: Chevrons and Arrows.

Our guest designer for the sketch challenge is the lovely Maria.  Pop on over to her blog and leave her some love, and pop over to the STAMPlorations blog to see the gorgeous

Next week we have a Stamp Spotlight Week, showcasing our fabulous new stamps.  And you won't believe who we've got as a Guest Designer!

Craft Stamper Take It Make It Blog Hop

Welcome to Craft Stamper's very first Take It, Make It Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from my wonderfully talented teamie Renee's blog; if not, you might want to start at the beginning, where you will also find the full blog hop list - you really don't want to miss out a step!

The January challenge is called "Take a Stamp" - simples!  Just use a stamp somewhere on your creation, enter it into the challenge and you're in with a chance of winning that humungous box of goodies that is showcased on the challenge post.

But that's not all, because there's also prize at every stop on this blog hop.  Leave a comment at each stop, and you're in with 12 chances of winning one of these substrate packages:

Each designer on the hop will also add a little piece of original art to their package, so leave me a comment and you could win the substrate pack, plus my little ATC (minus the mini easel, I'm afraid - that was just for photography purposes).

Your next stop is the fabulously talented Tracy.  Hop along, and good luck!  Don't forget to comment at each stop on the hop, and don't forget to enter the main challenge here.

Seize The Birthday - Sketch

Welcome to Seize The Birthday!  This week, we have a sketch challenge for you:

I've used Scenery: Persuasion Script Creative Screenings from Winnie & Walter for the background, using Distress Inks and then spritzing them before printing the screening.  The feather die is a freebie from a UK magazine, smeared with Seedless Preserves and Dusty Concord then spritzed.  The tag came from a top that I bought, which cost me a small ransom. With a tag like this, I'm not surprised:

That middle tag is patterned vellum.  I cut the bottom section off and rounded the corners, added a stamped die-cut circle and used the original cord that was holding the layers of tag together.

Pop over to Seize The Birthday to see the wonderful project from the Design Team and to play along.  If you don't want to use the sketch you can still play along with any birthday project - win, win!

An Awesome Case

I had a little scrap panel left over from a project that I was making (more of that on Monday), and was twisting it this way and that, when this card of Maria's sprang to mind:

rieslingmama

I loved the sprinkle of stars swooshing across the card.  I'd already stamped ringmarks on my little panel, so I thought I'd extend them above and below the panel and stamp the sentiment in line with the panel.

I love the grungy Hashtag Authentic set from STAMPlorations.  I've teamed it with words from Sentiment Builders: Love and Sentiment Builders: Happy.  The ringmarks and splatter mark are from    Holiday Artsy and the square is from Retro Mod Shapes with a Posca pen scribbled frill.

I'm entering this into Virginia's View, Clean Slate:

and Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - It's A Guy Thing:

Just Married

Quick post from me - I've been away on a girly weekend (four of us turned/turning 60), so I'm playing catch-up.  I found time to play with my new stamps before I went away, and here's one of the cards I made, which I'm entering into the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - New

Virginia's View - Clean Slate

ETA:  Just realised it fits Simplicity One Layer Challenge - Attractive Opposites

Craft Stamper January Challenge - Take A Stamp

It's the first Craft Stamper Take It Make It challenge of the year, and we're shaking things up a bit.  From now on, we'll have alternate challenges: one month it will be "Take a Stamp", and the alternate month it will be "Take a Technique".  There will also be two winners each month: a randomly selected winner gets the prize that's on offer, and the winner voted by the Design Team gets their project published in Craft Stamper magazine, a guest design spot and a winner's profile.

So this month, it's take a stamp.  Any stamp.  More than one stamp if you like.  I couldn't stop at one. I bought some canvas boards from a discount shop to mess about with.  They're only 5x7 inches, so not too intimidating.  I threw some Distress paints on it, then stamped the grasses (Artemio) in Versafine Onyx Black, then added some Frantage embossing powder across the bottom.  The Paper Artsy butterflies were in my stash from a few months back - I'd stamped them onto stained/spritzed card and cut them out and they were patiently waiting to be used.

I hope you'll join in the challenge, because this is what you could win:

and all this! (There was too much for Trish to get it all in one photo!!)

One lucky participant will be randomly selected to win everything you see in both photos.  If that's not an incentive to play along, I don't know what is!  That's some serious candy, I'm drooling :)

Just remember, you have to use physical stamps for your main focus, and you must link back to the Craft Stamper challenge post (or at least the blog).  Some entries had no link back to the blog at all last month so unfortunately they were discounted.

And that's not all.  Come back next Friday because we're having a blog hop, with a prize package for one lucky random commenter at each of the 12 stops on the hop.  As well as the prize pack, each random prizewinner will also get a little piece of original art from that blog.  See you next week!

Love

Playing with my new STAMPlorations and Bee's Knees stamps :)  As soon as I saw this inspiration photo at The Card Concept I couldn't wait to use the bouquet.

I stamped the image on a square of card using Versafine Onyx Black then coloured with Distress markers and doodled a border.  The sentiment is stamped in Memento.  Apologies for the poor quality of my photo.

I'm also entering this into Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - New (my new stamps).