April Challenge - Focus on the Sentiments

Hello STAMPlorations friends! Did you play along with us in our March challenge? There were loads of entries - thanks to those of you who did.  I'm back today to introduce our theme for the April challenge. You may remember that we've been doing things a bit differently here on the blog for a couple months as we take a little "Winter" break to give Shery and her family time to play catch up and to adjust to daily life with a baby and a toddler!

This month, again, there will be just one challenge for you to join. And this month the focus is on the SENTIMENTS.

Use a big word or phrase die. Or use an oversized sentiment. Or stamp a sentiment onto little snippets to make it the focus of your design. Or stamp an entire panel with sentiments. So many ways to Focus on Sentiments. Let's see what the DT girls came up with for this month's theme. 

March Challenge - All about Spring and Faith

Hello STAMPlorations friends! Did you play along with us in our modified February challenge? I hope so. I'm back today to introduce our theme for the March challenge. You may remember that we're doing things a bit differently here on the blog for a couple months as we take a little "Winter" break to give Shery and her family time to play catch up and to adjust to daily life with a new baby and a toddler!

As a reminder, we have only one challenge for you this month. The monthly challenge has a theme and as long as you follow the theme, any type of project is welcome! Then we’ll return to our regular programming in May;)

Ready to see what some of the DT girls came up with for this month's theme of All about Spring and Faith? Get ready for some birds, flowers, inspiring words and plenty of springy colors.

      

      

      

  

{Stamp Designer Spotlight} Llama Tell You from Big Grins by Becca Cruger + Comment to Win

It's Wednesday once again and we've got another fun post. Throughout the month, the STAMPlorations girls will be back every week to share projects featuring newly released products. We're tying in these weekly posts with the current challenge -- and if you'd like to win $25 spending money, all you need to do is check back weekly and leave comments here on the blog and on the designers' blogs.

Today we're featuring Becca's latest stamp set, Llama Tell You, that she designed for her line, Big Grins by Becca Cruger. With this set, you can create a variety of cards for different occasions -- Valentine's, birthday, anniversary -- and even cards to tell someone how much you appreciate or love them.

LLAMA TELL YOU

And here are projects showcasing these stamps.

BECCA

 

KAROLA

  

SHIRLEY

  

Pretty cool, eh? Leave a comment here and on the designers' blogs for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.

And if you want another chance at winning, link up any project you have with a love theme or red in it to the February Challenge - Paint It Red.

By the way,  all of Becca's stamps and dies are 10% off -- no coupon needed...the discount is automatically applied in the shopping cart! You can even snap them up at an extra 20% off if you use any one of the STAMPlorations girls' discount code, which you'll find when you visit their blogs! You'll find all of Becca's stamps here.

February Challenge - Paint it Red

Hello STAMPlorations friends! Where did January go, eh? A big thank you to all of you who played along with us in our January challenges. Check back on the 15th to see if you are one of our winners.

(Note from Shery: I apologize to all of you who have been anxiously waiting for the December winners post. Things simply kept piling up the last few weeks (re: the latest is a toddler who came down with flu-like symptoms + a newborn who demands 25 hours from me every single day) that I just wasn't able to finish up that particular post. I'll combine the December and January winners in one post. Thank you for being patient and for your understanding!) 

And get ready for a whole lot of fabulous new products to be making their debut here in the next three months! But we also want to give you a heads' up that for the next few months things are going to be a bit different here on the blog.

You’ve probably heard that Ms STAMPlorations, Shery Russ, welcomed a daughter named “Winter” to the family in December. In order to give Shery a little time to catch her breath after giving birth and to adjust to daily life with two little ones in addition to running the store, we are going to take a little “Winter” break!

Rather than all of our normal monthly challenges, there will be just one challenge for you to join each month. You'll find it announced here on the 5th of the month. The challenge will have a theme and as long as you follow the theme, any type of project is welcome! Then, we’ll return to our regular programming in May ;)

Our theme for the February challenge is Paint it Red! What's that bring to mind? Hearts? How about coffee/tea and sweets? We'd love to see your creations using the color red or having a theme of love. Take a look at what some of the DT gals created.

    

    

  

    

September Challenge - Theme and Sketch!

Hey, STAMPlorations friends! It's time for a new challenge. You can create and link up projects based on the theme, the sketch, or both -- and you've got the whole month of September to play.

For September, our theme is STAMPS & MUSIC.

And we've got a fun sketch below for you to get inspired by as well.

***PRIZES***

Winner

(voted by the design team)

Prize: $15 gift certificate or choice of two (2) standard-size (5x7) ARTplorations stencils if the winning project has STAMPlorations products; $10 gift certificate or choice of one (1) standard-size (5x7) ARTplorations stencil if the winning project doesn't have STAMPlorations products

+ Guest Designer spot in the October 2015 Challenge

(Visit the shop to see our stamps and stencils.)

Top Picks

(voted by the design team)

Prize: $5 gift certificate or choice of two (2) digi stamps

+ Guest Designer spot in the October 2015 Challenge should they decide to use STAMPlorations images (digis or clear stamps) in their projects.

Winner and top picks will receive a personalized STAMPlorations guest designer watermark and a personalized guest designer badge to display on their blogs.

Random Draw Winner

We'll randomly draw a winner from projects that have STAMPlorations products (clear stamps, digi stamps, and/or ARTplorations stencils). Winner receives a stamp & stencil pack or $10 gift certificate to the shop.

***INSPIRATION PROJECTS***

This month, we have four (4) talented cardmakers guest designing. For this post, we're showcasing the first three: Karen Dunbrook, Kathy Schweinfurth, and Karen Petitt. You'll meet our fourth guest designer, Keia Shipp, when we feature her in our mid-month challenge post on September 16. I hope you can check out the blogs of our guest designers. They've each created gorgeous cards for the challenge and we're excited to have them here on the blog this month! :o)

----

Guest Designer KAREN DUNBROOK

using Noteworthy and ARTplorations Gridlocked Stencil

Guest Designer KATHY SCHWEINFURTH

using Fond Expressions 2, Mixed Media Grunge, Helenium - LARGE, 

and ARTplorations Weathered Wood stencil

Guest Designer KAREN PETITT

using It's All About You Boxed and Typed Words

LAURAJANE

(theme)

using Blossom Like A Butterfly, Trendy Butterflies, and Party Time

SARI 

(sketch)

using Cardinal - large and Fond Expressions 2

JULIE

(sketch and theme)

using Trendy Butterflies, Dee's Artsy Impressions Balloons and Banners,

ARTplorations Flourishes Stencil

TENIA

(theme and sketch)

using Blooming Buds-Dee's Artsy Impressions

BECCA

(sketch)

using BOLD SENTIMENTS: Discover, and Mixed Media Grunge

READY TO PLAY?

Please keep in mind our simple guidelines:

• Link up any type of project(s) based on the theme, the sketch, or both.
• You must use stamps in your project(s) -- rubber, clear, or digi from any company. Non-STAMPlorations stamps  are OK (although please don't link up a project you've created for the sole purpose of promoting another company; those projects will be deleted.)
• Link up to 6 entries and link up to as many other challenges as you want.
• Link directly to your blog post, not to your main blog. (This makes it easy for us to find and comment on your entry.)
• If you have word verification turned on, our design team may not be able to leave a comment, so please consider turning it off.
• Link back to this challenge post (not just our main blog) to encourage others to play too. Entries not linking back to our challenge will be deleted.
• Link up by Wednesday, September 30, 11:55 p.m. Pacific (GMT-7).
• Have fun creating your project(s)!

~ The STAMPlorations™ girls

November challenge reminder post

Hello to all the crafty folks out there! There’s still time to enter our November challenge! You have until November 30, 11:55 p.m. PST to enter your creation(s). Our theme this month is STAMPS & SEQUINS and we’d love to see your take on it. Winner gets 2 Vignette stamp sets of her choice from STAMPlorations 

We are also having a DT call so if you’d like to be considered, create any paper craft project and enter it to our challenge.

Here are cards that Nonni and I whipped up for your inspiration. (Click on our names to be taken to our personal blogs and read more about our creations.)

NONNI
(using stamps in the VIGNETTE: Chevron & Arrows set)

SHERY
(using stamps in the Holiday Artsy [paint/brush stroke, ink blots], VIGNETTE: Artful Flutters [butterflies], and VIGNETTE: Tree Silhouettes [sentiment] sets)

Are you game? Try creating any paper craft for  any occasion that features stamps and sequins and enter it to our challenge. Link to the challenge is here or simply click on the graphic below.

We can’t wait to see your creations!

~Shery