June Challenge at Stamping Sensations

Well, flaming June it certainly isn't up here! We have had a few sunny spells between the showers, but it's so unseasonably cold and windy. However, last month's bumper crop of flowers (well over 200 entries) for our floral challenge at Stamping Sensations certainly brightened things up! I'm confidently expecting this month's theme to be equally popular, as it is

* * * * * DIES AND PUNCHES * * * * *

You can use either just dies, just punches, or a combination of both. And of course, as we are a stamping challenge, we need to see some rubber stamping on your project as well. Making a welcome return visit to sponsor us for June is Tonic Studios, who have given us a full set of their Pretoria Alphabet Dies for the lucky winner! What a fabulous prize!

 

I have used a die (Celtic Circle) and a punch (Celtic Strip), both by Tonic Studios, for my card.

Other supplies used -
Celtic bird stamp: Non Sequitur
Small Celtic circle stamp: unknown
Background text stamp: Judikins
Sentiment: Innovative Stamp Creations
Background paper: Paper Cellar
I used Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink for all the stamping and to ink around the edge of the BP

I'm still on a mission to revisit/use up old stash, and everything on this card is at least a couple of years old, and some things many years! Had another mini clear out of my craftroom the other week, but still don't seem to have any more space on my shelves! As long as I can keep things from encroaching too much on to the floor, though, I'm happy! I think back to my old tiny craft room, where I had to step over boxes to get to my desk, on which there was never more than about a square foot clear to work in, and remember how lucky I am to have so much more lovely space in the new one.

Here's a closer view of the gorgeous Celtic bird stamp. I've always liked it, don't know why I don't use it more often!

Anyway, as ever, there's plenty of inspiration for you over on the Challenge Blog My brilliant teamies would love it if you visited their individual blogs too, and we look forward to seeing what you can do with your dies and punches.

Celtic Inspiration

I'm a big fan of Celtic Art, and I've had a Celtic design laser-cut border (by Rayher) languishing in my stash for a long time, waiting for a suitable opportunity to use it. When I saw this week's Less is More Challenge, which is a sketch, I knew I'd found one.

I stamped the bottom third of the card with some Celtic text (Judikins), layered the border on to a black background, stamped the Celtic knot circle (source unknown), cut it out and added a scalloped border (with my Nesties) and a sentiment (Inkadinkado).
 
 
 

I wasn't sure at first whether to stick with black and white, or whether to add a bit of colour, because a lot of Celtic artwork is very colourful, but I decided in the end that my card would work better in monochrome.




 

It was a great sketch to work with, and one I'll probably use again.
 

Sally and I had a trip up to Once upon A Stamp on Saturday.  I bought some new Nesties, Labels 5, in preparation for the eagerly awaited arrival of some new stamps I've just ordered from The Stampman. They're made specially to fit the Nesties, and they've got butterflies on! What more could I possibly want? (Well, butterfly stamps to fit ALL my Nesties would be good - I've dropped a hint to Jill!) When I first saw the new stamps on Jill's blog I thought I must be in stamp heaven! I'm clearing a space on my desk so that I can get to work with them as soon as they arrive.....

Punch cards

High on my wish list of future purchases is a Martha Stewart border punch. Well, okay, several Martha Stewart border punches. Their attraction for me lies in the crispness and fine detail which most other brands struggle to emulate. Unfortunately, they seem very difficult to get hold of here in the UK, and they are very expensive to order direct from the USA. So until such time as I can find a supplier who isn't going to want a month's wages for one, I thought I'd see whether I could get a similar effect with punches I already have.

All the punches I used are corner punches. The flower one is by Dovecraft, and it comes with removable corner guides, so it is easy to make borders with it also. The other two I have had for a long time and neither has a maker's name on it. The corner guides on these two were fixed, but it is possible to remove such guides by carefully inserting a thin object (I used a metal nail file) and gently pushing them out. I was then able to make borders with them.

The first card uses a background paper by
Crafty Individuals, who also make the flower stamp. The quote is from Penny Black. Each daisy on the label is made from two tiny punched flowers stuck together with the petals offset. I then tinted the tips of the petals with Distress ink. A jewel forms the centre. The label is one of the Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio, from Once Upon A Stamp.



The second card also uses stamps from Crafty Individuals, except for the background lettering, which is by Judikins.





I made a background (seen behind the punched border) for the third card by sponging Distress inks on to shiny card and then lifting off some of the colour by dabbing it with a babywipe. The embossing above the border is the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. Above that is a butterfly background paper from PDA Cards and Crafts. The flowers, by Craftwork Cards, are stamped on to a Nestabilities Large Label, again from Once Upon A Stamp. I coloured the label using Distress ink and a brayer. This had the effect of leaving a thin white border around the embossed part of the panel. A ribbon to hide the join and a couple of punched butterflies added the finishing touches.

They may not be Martha Stewart, but I wasn't too unhappy with the results. (Still saving up for a genuine MS though!)