STAMPlorations CAS Challenge ......

Happy Thursday ......

Welcome to the STAMPlorations CAS Challenge for the month of March.  It's a busy week for challenges this week!
This month, as always the theme is Anything Goes ...... with an optional colour twist of .....

YELLOW

nice and bright, well ....... spring is just around the corner!

Here's a little inspiration piece for you ...... using the lovely Winged Things stamp set from the Bees Knees range at STAMPlorations

I've done a little bit of smooshing for the background, using a piece of acetate to apply the ink.  This is so much fun to do, and a little bit more controllable than the regular way of smooshing. You can actually see where the colour is going, and you can use the acetate to place the ink just where you want it.
There's a fab, simple tutorial over on YouTube by Laura Bassen ..... pop over and take a look and then why not give it a go ...... I'm hooked!!

I swiped Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed Distress Inks onto my piece of acetate, spritzed them with water then smooshed them onto the centre(ish) of a piece of white cardstock

I kept dabbing the acetate onto the card to give darker patches of colour here and there ..... see what I mean, much more controllable.
Once this was dry I stamped those cute little butterflies on the top using a black Versafine ink.

Using a clean paintbrush I applied some water over the wings of the butterfly and then using the tip of the brush I added in some Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.  Because the card was already wet, the ink just spread itself around giving this lovely shaded watercolour effect .... so simple!
 
I kept adding a little bit more colour to the centre, letting it spread, until I was happy with the shading.

The sentiment is from Noteworthy and is simply stamped with the Black Versafine ink

I finished off with a few spatters of Picked Raspberry Distress ink here and there .....

I smooshed a little on the inside too ....... and added some more butterflies.

You don't have to use the Colour Twist and you don't have to use STAMPlorations products to enter the challenge ..... although it would be lovely if you did.

Check out the Challenge post for all the details and you'll also find lots more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team...... happy stamping!

As this is the first outing that my Winged Things have had (another stamp set that's just had it's first inking!) I'm going to enter this into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #6

It's already Day 3 over there and there's some fabulous entries.  Just goes to show we're all the same when it come to NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) ..... we've all got loads!!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
We've got blue skies and sunshine over here ..... a huge change from yesterday.  Let's hope it lasts over the weekend ..... did I mention it's my birthday on Saturday (sorry!!) and we've got Mother's Day on Sunday.  Guess who's looking forward to their weekend!!!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

It's challenge time at Happy little Stampers ......

Happy Wednesday evening

Or it might already be Thursday if you're popping over here from the Happy Little Stampers Blog!

Well March is definitely making an entrance over here .... we had snow this morning!!!  Not too much here in Douglas, it soon changed to that cold, sleety rain. But in other parts of the island, especially up on the mountain it was a different story .....

pictures courtesy of the Isle of Man Webcams

Enough of the weather ....... Are you ready for a new Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge?  I hope so ..... we've got a fun one this month.
It's all about using  the Faux Mother of Pearl Technique .....

If you're not familiar with this technique or you would like a reminder on how to do it, then pop over to the HLS blog ..... there you'll find links to some fab tutorials, as well as lots more gorgeous inspiration from the rest of the DT.
We also have a fab Guest Designer for the March challenge ...... the lovely Anita (My Papercraft World) is joining in the fun. Please pop over and say HI!

So .... Faux Mother of Pearl ........ a great little technique with different results every time.
You can use it for backgrounds .... stamp on to it, stencil over the top of it, use it with your embossing folders or ...... like I've done today use it to paper piece your stamped images to add colour.

All you need is some cardstock, white pearlescent paint (I used the IndigoBlu's Snow White acrylic paint) and some ink.

Using a piece of scrunched up cellophane, clingfilm or waxed paper works well too,  dab the pearlescent paint onto a piece of white cardstock.  Apply randomly all over the card remembering to leave some white spaces for the ink to colour .... check out the tutorials on the HLS Blog

I then used Distress Inks to add the colour ...... Mustard Seed/Spiced Marmalade/Abandoned Coral and Picked Raspberry.
Polish off any excess colour on the acrylic paint ..... and there you have it ..... Faux Mother of Pearl.

I cut a strip of the coloured card and gave it a fancy edge before attaching it to the front of my card
...... see how the pearlescent paint catches the light ..... pretty!

I then stamped my birdies from the HLS Whimsical Friends above the coloured strip and added a sentiment (Bold Birthday Sentiments)
ooops!  Those birds get everywhere!!

I then stamped the birds again, this time onto the Faux MOP card and embossed them with a clear powder before cutting them out and paper piecing onto my card

I still had a little bit of my MOP card left so I added another of the birds to the inside .....

And finished off by die cutting some matching stars.

The challenge is sponsored as always by the Happy Little Stampers Store

And the challenge winner will receive a voucher for $15 (that's Australian dollars) to spend in the store

Happy stamping folks!

Thanks for popping by ....... enjoy the rest of your day.

At least the snow's gone ..... we've just got rain now .... lots of rain, and wind.  And it's COLD ..... brrrrrrr!!  Luckily I don't have anywhere to go so I can stay cosy and warm in the old craft room. Sounds good to me!

Cheerio until next time

XX

PS ....... I'm also going to enter this into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #6.  

So what exactly is NBUS? .... well if you're already familiar with the lovely Darnell you'll know all about NBUS.  If not ..... where have you been!!?  Pop over there now and all will be revealed .... you'll find full details of the challenge,  the theme, the rules ..... the lot!

It's as it says on the button above ..... Never Before Used Schtuff!  Come on .... admit it, we've all got an ever-growing mountain of it ..... so now's the time to use it ..... dig deep girls (and boys), all those forgotten craft purchases are just waiting to be used!

I've just realised that my HLS Whimsical Friends stamp set is a piece of NBUS ...... first time they've seen an ink pad but it probably won't be the last!!  They're so cute!!

I'm hoping to join in the fun again before the closing date (March 10th) ...... I'm sure there must be something else in my stash that's crying out ..... USE ME please!

Have a good evening .......

Linda

xx