More Inspiration Projects from the STAMPlorations Girls + Get Ready for the April Stamps

Hello, fellow creatives! We've got a few more cards made by the awesome STAMPlorations girls to share before we say goodbye to March and hello to April! Check out their cards -- these girls really rock at using STAMPlorations stamps and ARTplorations stencils.

Sketch Challenge #30 Winner and Top Picks

The STAMPlorations girls have voted on the winner and top picks for sketch challenge #30. Thank you to all who played and linked up their beautiful projects in the gallery!

{Inspiration Project Post #10} Roundup!

Well, March flew by so fast, didn't it? Time to say goodbye to March, but before we do, here's one more round of Inspiration Projects. If you missed any of the previous Inspiration Project posts, here's a handy dandy link list so you can easily see projects you can CASE.

March CASEplorations

March 9 Inspiration Project Post

March 13 Inspiration Project Post

March 23 Inspiration Project Post

March 27 Inspiration Project Post

When you CASE a project (or two, or however many you want -- there's no limit), make sure to link them up by April 5, 11:55 p.m. PDT (GMT-7) to get a shot at winning a $15 gift certificate or your choice 2 ARTplorations stencils.

Simple rules for CASEing and linking up:

1. Pick the card(s) you want to CASE from the Inspiration Project posts. Any type of project is welcome.

2. Use whatever supplies you have - you don't have to have or use STAMPlorations products to play. We want you to have fun!

3. In your blog post, mention the card you're CASEing and tell us briefly how you were inspired by it. Oh, and please link back to the Inspiration Project post where you found the card you CASEd.

4. Don't forget to link up your CASE project(s) to the Playground (linky is below!)

5. CASE as many cards as you want, so long as they're in separate blog posts. The more cards you CASE and link up, the greater your odds of winning the gift certificate :o)

Now let's get on with the show. Vicki, Monika, Shirley, and Shery round up this month's Inspiration Projects. You can get inspiration from the images in their cards, the layout, color scheme, or even just one tiny element.

{Inspiration Project Post #9)

Hooray for Friday! Are you ready for the weekend? The STAMPlorations girls have a weekend send-off with another batch of inspiration projects that you can CASE. Create a card or any paper craft project that's inspired by any of the cards in this month's Inspiration Project Posts and link it up to the Inspiration CASE Playground.

New to CASEing? Take a look at how the STAMPlorations girls CASEd the talented Loll Thompson in this post here. You can CASE Loll's gorgeous card, CASE the cards made by the STAMPlorations girls (CASE the CASE), or CASE one (or all) of the cards in this post, this post here, this post here, and this post here.

We'll randomly draw a winner of a $15 gift certificate to the shop (or choice of 2 ARTplorations stencils) and also highlight the best CASEs. The Playground is open until April 5.

      

      

{Spotlight Project} More of Blossom Overture with Deepti!

Hello, friends! Deepti here and welcome to another spotlight feature. Today I am showcasing a fun technique to add more interest to your design! Cutting up the designed panel, I have done this before too (Click HERE to see) and today I will show a tutorial on another design but with the same concept.

So, here's a look at the finished card:

{Preview} April Release Sneak Peek

Hey, STAMPlorations friends! April will be here in a week, and at STAMPlorations HQ, we're getting ready to release new stamps. We've got FIVE awesome 4" by 6" sets to play with! Want a peek? Here you go!

   

First up are two baby-themed sets that Shirley and I each designed. The Bee's Knees BabyBump features Shirley's trademark fun doodled images with a touch of whimsy and sentiments in her handwriting. Heaven Sent features images in my sketchy/hand-drawn style and sentiments that combine my love of typography. When I found out I was pregnant in late December, no way we were going to let a release month pass without a baby-related set or two! Shirley had the BabyBump set done last year and she tweaked it a bit for this release. Inspired by Shirley's BabyBump set, I worked on finishing Heaven Sent in January while fighting the awful morning sickness. I already had the teddy bear and rocking horse drawn last year, back when I didn't even know (or plan) on being pregnant. So I went on to draw a few more baby-related images and picked the baby carriage to complete the set. (Other images will be available later as STAMP Lab stamps.) 

SmallBirds is another one of Shirley's designs. If you've been to Shirley's blog, you may have seen a few of her cards featuring her fun doodled birds. She originally had these birds made with her stamp maker last year, and now we're making them available as clear stamps at STAMPlorations!

   

Noteworthy and Fond Expressions are two sets filled with sentiments that are perfect for almost any occasion! When I was designing Noteworthy, I made sure the sentiments will work not just for cards but for other projects as well, such as journaling cards, art journal pages, ATCs, layouts, and even Project Life. As for Fond Expressions...I wanted a set of sentiments with that fun calligraphy style to be used primarily for cards. These two sets are great to use with many of our stamps!

So what do you think of this release? Got a favorite? Excited to see them in action? As usual, the STAMPlorations girls will be showcasing these stamps in a blog hop! Mark your calendars! We'll have a week-long April Stamp Release Blog Hop from April 20 to 24. We even have a super talented and awesome guest designer joining us. One thing I can guarantee: you will be inspired by the girls and the projects we'll be sharing and you'll have loads of fun!

And...beginning April 1st, we're making the April stamps available. No need to wait for our blog hop to snag these goodies. We're making them available as soon as April is here -- and no, it's not an April Fool's joke! For the first week only, these stamps will be 10% off and ship free worldwide (no minimum!). If you're a stamp club subscriber, be sure to use your personal discount coupon code to get an extra 15% off on the sale price. Sweet!

In the next few weeks, you'll see the STAMPlorations girls start using these stamps in their projects. In the meantime, I hope you're all having a fantastic week!

Hugs!

{Spotlight Project} Vicki Finds a Fun Inspiration

I have to chuckle - I went completely blank for today's spotlight. So I figured I can't be the only one that happens to - right? Right? Well, in my case, I have my trusty 1000 Bag, Tags & Labels go-to book.

This book is filled with fabulous inspiration for making cards. Case in point:

What got my attention was the splatter, and the CAS of the design.

Here is my set of cards I ended up making.

{Inspiration Project Post #8}

Happy Monday, STAMPlorations friends! It's time for a fresh new batch of inspiration projects for your CASEing pleasure :o) Create a card or any paper craft project that's inspired by any of the cards in this month's Inspiration Project Posts and link it up to the Inspiration CASE Playground.

New to CASEing? Take a look at how the STAMPlorations girls CASEd the talented Loll Thompson in this post here. You can CASE Loll's gorgeous card, CASE the cards made by the STAMPlorations girls (CASE the CASE), or CASE one (or all) of the cards in this post, this post here, and this post here.

We'll randomly draw a winner of a $15 gift certificate to the shop (or choice of 2 ARTplorations stencils) and also highlight the best CASEs. The Playground is open until April 5.

               

{PREVIEW} April/May 2015 Stamp Club Set - MIXED MEDIA GRUNGE

Pretty soon March will be over and we'll be welcoming April. This means it'll soon be time for a new stamp club set! I'm excited to give a preview of Mixed Media Grunge!

MIXED MEDIA GRUNGE is a 5" by 7" stamp set that features 15 images that can be used to easily create projects that have that mixed media look. I'm a mixed media girl at heart and I designed this stamp set because I needed a quick way to add faux textures to projects and give them that mixed media look minus the bulk and messiness, especially when I don't have the time to linger at my craft table and spend hours playing with gesso, acrylics, watercolors, and various mixed media. This set certainly makes it easy to make artsy cards, ATCs, tags, or whatever else you can think of.

You've seen me take these fun stamps for a spin in a few projects (here, here, here, and here), but wait until you see the STAMPlorations girls take on these stamps! You'll soon be seeing their projects, and as usual you'll be inspired :o)

Mixed Media Grunge will be available to buy on the shop starting April 1. For the best deal on this set, sign up for the stamp club here. You'll be able to snag this set at our special club price, along with your choice of 2 stencils, other perks, and free shipping anywhere in the world.

If you're already a stamp club subscriber -- thank you so much! You'll receive this set when your subscription renews next month.

Have a great week, everyone! Happy spring!

{Previews} STAMP Lab Stamps

Hey, STAMPlorations friends! Popping by today to share with you that we've added new stamps in the STAMP Lab section of the shop.

What's STAMP Lab? It's our incubator of sorts -- where you'll find limited quantities of STAMPlorations stamps that haven't been officially released. I'm always designing stamps and have many that I can't possibly release all at the same time. But rather than let them gather virtual dust in my computer, it's a good idea to have prototypes available. These stamps may or may not be released because several factors come into play when we come out with a new release. As such, you can snag them at a much lower price -- or they're free for every order of $30 or more (before shipping).

Here are 6 new stamps. We'll be adding more in the coming weeks :o)

     

Beach Life, Sketched: Rose, Enjoy the Ride

      

Big On Words: Mom, Big On Words: Dad, Latte Love

Stay tuned for a preview of the April/May 2015 stamp club set! That one got the STAMPlorations girls and some of our stamp club subscribers excited ;o)

Have an artsy, crafty, stamp-ity weekend!

{Spotlight Project} Monoprinting Fun with Trendy Butterflies and Gelli Plate

Hello! I'm back again today with another project. I'm covering for Monika :o) I'm still having fun with my Gelli plate. Yesterday you saw me do some stamping on gesso. This time around, I did some stamping on my Gelli plate for my prints. It's another fun technique! Here's the card:

{Spotlight Project} Shery Does Impressions on Gesso with Blossom Overture

Howdy, STAMPlorations friends! I know, I know...this spotlight project is late. All week I've been working on taxes and going to a bunch of doctor appointments. (I never knew being pregnant entails tons of lab work!) Anyway, earlier tonight I finally found an hour to play at my craft table and work on my spotlight project for today. So...better late than never! :o)

Here's a one layer mixed media card I made using one of my favorite gesso techniques. It involves stamping on gesso to create an impression.

Sketch Challenge #29 Winner and Top Picks + Never-Ending Anything Goes Challenge Winners!

The STAMPlorations girls have voted on the winner and top picks for sketch challenge #29. Thank you to all who played and linked up their beautiful projects in the gallery!

{Spotlight Project} Cornelia Puts the Spotlight on Blossom Overture

Hi, Cornelia here today! I am sharing a card with you using the gorgeous new set, Blossom Ovature.

Bi-Weekly Sketch Challenge #30

Welcome to our 30th bi-weekly sketch challenge! The STAMPlorations girls are back with wonderful inspiration projects and joining us are 3 super talented guest designers!

Below is the sketch for the next couple of weeks. It’s open to interpretation. Feel free to change the orientation of the sketch, use different shapes, add other elements to suit the type of paper craft you’re making, and so on — just make sure the sketch is recognizable in your submission(s). You can use stamps by other companies to create projects that you enter to our challenges but please do not use our challenges for the sole purpose of promoting another stamp company. If you have our stamps in your stash, we'd be tickled if you use them -- and we've tweaked the prize a bit to encourage you to use our stamps if you have them!

ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop Winners!

Hey, STAMPlorations friends! It's time to announce the winners of the ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop! Thank you so much to everyone who participated and took the time to visit and leave comments here and on our desigers' blogs. Thank you also to all of you who linked up to the Flash Stencil Linky Party!

{LAST CALL} ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop and Flash Stencil Linky Party + Mixed Media Design Team Call!

Heads up, STAMPlorations friends! Today is the last day to hop and leave comments here and on the designers' blogs for the ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop! Get to hopping by 11:55 p.m. PDT (GMT-7) tonight to win some awesome prizes! We'll announce winners this coming Sunday, March 15. Start the hop here.

Did you make projects using stencils within the last 6 months? Link 'em up to our Flash Stencil Linky Party for extra chances to win more prizes! Link up by Saturday, March 14, 11:55 p.m. PDT (GMT-7). You'll find the details and linky here.

We're also having an ARTplorations stencil promo on the shop!

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FREE STENCIL on all orders! 

Just for our stencil blog hop participants, place an order (no minimum amount) in the shop by Tuesday, March 17,  and get a free ARTplorations stencil! Just add products to your cart, including the stencil you want for free, and when you're ready to check out, use coupon code STENCILBLOGHOP. $5 (the price of the stencil) will be deducted from your total amount. Limit 1 free stencil per customer.

Claim your free stencil here. 

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And finally, we're having a design team call! Click on the graphic for the details.

Have a great weekend, artsy friends!

{Inspiration Project Post #7}

Hey there, STAMPlorations friends! It's Friday and we're sharing another batch of inspiration projects you may want to CASE. Remember, if you create a card or any type of project inspired by the cards in this month's Inspiration Project Posts, please make sure you link it up to the Inspiration CASE Playground.

New to CASEing? Take a look at how the STAMPlorations girls CASEd the talented Loll Thompson in this post here. You can CASE Loll's gorgeous card, CASE the cards made by the STAMPlorations girls (CASE the CASE), or CASE one (or all) of the cards in this post and in Monday's Inspiration Project Post found here.

We'll randomly draw a winner of a $15 gift certificate to the shop (or choice of 2 ARTplorations stencils) and also highlight the best CASEs. The Playground is open until April 5.