Anything Goes with a twist!

It's time for our August Challenge at Stamping Sensations, and this month we thought we'd leave the theme up to you, but - there's a twist! It's

* * * * * ANYTHING GOES WITH A STAMP AND A DIE * * * * *

Your topic can be anything you choose, but you must use at least one stamp and one die in your project.

Our sponsor this time is Tattered Lace, who have the most beautiful dies designed by Stephanie Weightman. They have generously donated a fantastic £50 voucher for the winner to spend in their Online Store.

I've used a Tattered Lace Owl die on my card (one of a set of two), I believe this set  - Owls -  is exclusive to Hobbycraft. I adhered the owl to brown card and then cut round it by hand.

The background was made with my Gelli Plate and a Crafter's Workshop stencil. The "branch" is by Inky Doodles, All other stamps by Chocolate Baroque, except for the tiny butterfly with the sentiment, which is by Just Rite. The tag die was a freebie from Papercraft Essentials magazine. The "moon" was stamped with white acrylic paint to get a good opaque colour. I gave the owl some twinkly eyes with a couple of stick on gems.

My lovely teamies have some stunning samples for you this month, don't forget to check them out on the Challenge Blog, and I will look forward to seeing all your wonderful stamp and die creations!

Floral Delights

Our May Challenge at Stamping Sensations has one of my favourite topics! It is

 * * * * * FLOWER POWER * * * * *

We will be looking for entries with flowers being the main element of your design. Spring is my favourite time of year for flowers, with so many beautiful blossoms bursting into new life, but you can show us flowers from any time of year.

I doubt that there are many people who don't like flowers, so I think this will be a popular theme. It also happens that this month's sponsor is one of my favourite stamp companies, Crafty Individuals.

Once again, Jean and Malcolm have generously donated a fantastic £35 voucher for the lucky winner to spend in their online shop, where they have tons of the most gorgeous stamps, papers and accessories to choose from.

For my card I've used one of their beautiful floral stamps CI-422 , along with a background paper from their "Shades Of Summer" book.

I coloured the image with Promarkers, matted it with contrasting borders and added a simple ribbon bow to finish.

I am looking forward very much to seeing lots of lovely floral entries! The Design Team's samples are a flower-filled feast for the eyes, so do go and check them out on the Challenge Blog. I'll leave you with a photo of one of my favourite flowers, primroses, which have been glorious up here this spring, both wild and cultivated, and which are still blooming beautifully in our garden.

A New Challenge For A New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! Are you ready for our first challenge of 2015 at Stamping Sensations? Our theme for January is

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

We'd like you to show us what you can do with your dies and/or punches, either one or the other, or a combination of both, it's up to you.

Our lovely sponsor this month is the ever popular Sizzix, who I'm sure need no introduction. They have kindly donated a fabulous selection of their dies and embossing folders. The lucky winner will also receive a bonus prize of some gorgeous ribbons from Crafty Ribbons.

For my card I have used both dies and punches.

The background paper is by Bo Bunny. On top of that I placed the white punched square (using both the border and corner punches from a punch around the page set by Martha Stewart), followed by the scalloped and plain circles (both cut with Spellbinders dies). I stamped the sentiment (from Hydrangea set by Inkylicious) and the branch and flower (from the Majestix Oriental Blossom set by Card-io) and finally added the butterfly (stamp by Hero Arts) which was cut out with the matching Sizzix Framelits die, coloured with Promarkers and affixed with foam pads. Here's a close up.

One of my crafting resolution for this year is to break out of my comfort zone and try new things, so for this card I've gone for a colour combo I wouldn't normally use. The jury is still out on whether I like it or not! Another resolution is only to buy crafty stuff that I really need, as opposed to want, and to get some of my existing stash used up instead. Hmm. Wonder how long I'll stick to that one! Of course, the definition of "need" is open to interpretation........!

Anyway, I hope one of your resolutions is to join in our challenge every month, and we can't wait to see all your lovely creations! If you should need any inspiration, hop over to the Challenge Blog where my talented teamies have all made excellent use of their dies and punches. Thanks for looking!

Winter Wonderland

No, we haven't had any snow yet, although the weather forecast is saying we might get a bit this coming week! In case the post title has misled you, let me hasten to explain that

* * * * * WINTER WONDERLAND * * * * *

is our December Challenge theme at Stamping Sensations!

We have a cracker of a prize for you this month! Once again we are sponsored by Chloe of Chloe's Creative Cards (Stamps by Chloe), who has generously donated a bumper bundle of her gorgeous stamps and accessories, and our lucky winner will also receive a bonus prize of beautiful ribbons from Crafty Ribbons.

I like this month's theme so much that I've made two cards for it! 

The first one uses a stamp from Chloe's "Snowflake Cluster" set for the background, along with a sentiment from her "Christmas Mini Messages" set.  Country Landscape die is by Memory Box, Santa's sleigh stamp by Crafty Individuals, and the snowflake die, which is by X-Cut, was a magazine freebie. The snow is made with Fluffy Puffy Stuff (love the name!) from Inkylicious, to which I've added some glitter. The background snowflakes are also glittered.

My second card is an easel card. All stamps are by Inkylicious. The tree scene (Treescape 1) in the oval is, I think, my new favourite stamp! It reminds me very much of the countryside around where I live, and it could be used to create a scene for any time of year, as it wouldn't be difficult to add some greenery to the bare branches for spring and summer, or suitable colours for autumn. However, it certainly makes a gorgeous winter scene too. 

I used my ink dusters to colour the sky, having masked off the lower part of the picture, and a moon, and added a touch of glitter glue on the snowy fields.

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The deer and rabbit were stamped and cut out, and mounted with foam pads, as was the sentiment. The oval was cut with a Spellbinders die, and I cut out the sentiment panel by hand, having first punched out the little snowflakes with a Fiskars corner punch. Background papers were a freebie from Making Cards Magazine.

Here's a side view.

I think the tree scene will be featuring on many of my Christmas cards this year. And probably some spring, summer and autumn ones too!

Well, I'm really looking forward to seeing lots of  lovely Winter Wonderland scenes. Last month we had a phenomenal number of entries, over 300! Can we better that this month, I wonder?! If you should need any inspiration, have a look at the DT's stunning examples on the Challenge Blog. My terrific teamies have really outdone themselves this time, and I know they would really appreciate it if you were to visit their individual blogs too.

Thanks for looking!

Animal Antics

My goodness, isn't this year flying by! The first of June already, and being a Sunday that means it's time for another challenge at Stamping Sensations. We had a fantastic amount of entries for our anything goes theme last month, and a big thank you to everyone who entered, it was a real treat looking through all your gorgeous projects.

For this month, however, we have narrowed things down a bit, although I think our topic will be equally popular as it is

***** ANIMAL ANTICS *****

We would like to see your depictions of creatures from the animal kingdom.

NB. Please remember that we are a stamping challenge. If you wish your entry to be considered for the prize it must include hand stamped elements. Digital stamps (which are in effect clipart) do not qualify. Sadly there were several entries last month that were ineligible because we could not see any hand stamping on them, so please do make sure that your project includes some hand stamping. You can check out our full challenge rules here 

For our sponsor this month we are delighted to welcome back Crafty Individuals, who are very generously inviting the lucky winner to choose anything from their website up to a value of £35! Besides their fabulous stamps, they also have a gloriously eclectic range of papers, printed images, masks & dies and many other crafting accessories and "must haves", so the winner will truly be spoilt for choice.

I've made two cards for this month. Inspired by the fact that we live next door to a farm, and it is so lovely to be able to watch all the animals out in the fields, I've used some of the gorgeous images from the Crafty Individuals Miniatures Book "Nature's Beauty". and stamps from their "Winter Trees" Elements plate (code CI-209).

My second card is completely different!

Of course, I don't normally do cute, but I couldn't resist the "Max & Whiskers" paper pad by Basic Grey when it came out, as it is just so bright and cheerful. Unfortunately it is now discontinued, so I am hoarding the sheets I have left! Fortunately there are two sheets of each design, so I could use one of the cat backgrounds here! The large cat stamp (Funstamps) has been in my stash for years, and gets an airing every now and then if I have to make a card for a cat lover. I cut and mounted it with Spellbinders Nestabilities dies. The small cats, words, and the cheeky dog in the corner are from a freebie set from Papercraft Inspirations magazine. All the cats were coloured with Promarkers.

Lots of delightful animal antics going on in the DT's samples, so do go and take a look at them on the Challenge Blog. Thanks for looking at mine, and I look forward to seeing yours!

Is it Spring??

Well, it's April, so it must be, but it sure doesn't feel like it up here! Although the last few days have been sunny, it's still very cold, and there is still snow on the ground in places. And looking at the weather forecast for the next few weeks, I won't be putting my thermals away just yet!

Anyway, it really is April, even if the weather doesn't think so, and we have a new challenge at Stamping Sensations. The theme is

** SPECIAL OCCASIONS, OTHER THAN BIRTHDAYS **

Lots of scope with this one. Anniversaries, weddings, new babies, retirement, graduation, new home, get well soon, congratulations (eg. for new job, passing exams, driving test) even sympathy cards. I'm sure you can think of many other Special Occasions. Just remember NO BIRTHDAYS!

Mind you, the winner this month will probably think it's their birthday! Our April sponsors are PDA Card & Craft, and they have given us this most generous prize!

The lucky recipient will be spoilt for choice! I used to live near PDA, and I miss being able to pop into the shop for a good browse! However, their mail order service is brilliant, so at least I can still buy their products. They are probably best known for their fantastic selection of top quality blank card and paper, but they have lots of other craft goodies too, including stamps (from many companies), dies and stencils, a huge range of embellishments, pens, punches, inks (including Distress), embossing powders, adhesives and beautiful printed papers, one of which I have used for my card.  I've been saving it for a long time, it's almost too pretty to use! But I decided it would be perfect for this card, and anyway I've got another sheet to keep!

PDA also stock the Marianne Design frame die, which I used to cut out the butterfly image. The butterfly stamp is one I've had for years, and I've no idea who made it, it doesn't have any ID on it. I coloured the image with Promarkers and inked around the edges of the frame, and along the border. The butterfly punch used to make the border is also anonymous. It's actually a corner punch, but I took out the corner guides so I could do the border instead. I coloured one of the punched out butterflies and stuck it just above the sentiment, which is by Personal Impressions.

My lovely teamies have some superb samples for you to feast your eyes upon, and if they don't brighten up this unspringlike Spring, I don't know what will! Do hop over to the Challenge Blog and have a look at them. I'll look foward to seeing your Special Occasion creations!

More Fur and Feathers at Stamping Sensations

Just a quick reminder that our theme at Stamping Sensations this month is Fur and Feathers. Entries are coming in nicely, but there's still plenty of time to enter if you haven't already. I've made a couple more cards on the theme to show you.

For the first one I tried to think outside the box and came up with this Art Deco lady with her feather headdress.

She's a stamp which came free with DoCrafts Magazine, and I coloured her with Promarkers and cut her out with a Nestie die. The feather stamped on the base card is one I've had in my stash for many years. I found it in an oddments bin in a shop somewhere. There are no maker's details on it. Until now, I had never used it! Each time I've had a clearout over the last few years I've decided it could go and then changed my mind at the last minute, thinking that just maybe I might have a use for it one day. That day came. Finally, my hoarding of stash is justified!

The dark BP was free with Making Cards mag. The sentiment is by Hero Arts, stamped on a Nestie label, with real feathers, photo corners and feather charm from my stash. I added a couple of stick-on gems to her headdress and sash for a bit of bling.

I went back to the obvious for my second card, which I've called Mysterious Forest!

The birch trees are made with a Crafter's Workshop Mask (it's called Aspen Trees, but I reckon they're birches!). I sponged the background through the mask, and then shaded the trees to give them a bit of dimension. You'll find several little creatures hiding amongst the branches. A Little Claire's owl (small part of a large stamp), a Lindsay Mason squirrel, a Hobby Art deer, and a Crafty Individuals butterfly, again a (very tiny!) part of a stamp. The foreground grasses are by Inkylicious, and the sentiment is from IndigoBlu. The badger (mounted on Stix2 foam pads) is by Personal Impressions.

 There are lots of gorgeous cards entered for the challenge so far, and I think it's going to be very difficult for us to choose a winner! I wonder if it will be yours.......

A Treemendous finish to the year!

It's our final challenge for 2012 at Stamping Sensations, and the theme is

TREEMENDOUS!

Plenty of scope there. They could be Christmas trees, if you haven't yet finished your Christmas cards, or if you have and you can't bear to contemplate any more festive foliage, any other kind of tree will be perfect! If you're a lateral thinker you might go for family trees, or shoe trees... or not! But whatever your arboreal aspirations, we want to see them!

Trees being one of my favourite topics, I have really been looking forward to this month! When I was at Stamp Magic in October, I couldn't resist buying the fabulous Inkylicious Christmas Tree Flourish, and that is what I've used for my card.

I stamped it with Versamark ink on to white card and embossed it with WOW Neutral Ultra Shimmer embossing powder, which gave it the most gorgeous shimmery sparkle which unfortunately is hard to see in the photo. I then covered the whole thing with Chipped Sapphire Distress Stain, which the embossed areas resisted, of course, and matted it first on to white card and then a piece coloured with the same Distress Stain. The computer generated sentiment was cut with a Nestie label die, and the little snowflakes with a Tonic Studios punch. Quite a simple design, but I don't think the tree needs anything more to complement it.

Our lovely sponsor this month is Visible Image, a British company based in South Wales, who have a fantastic range of stamps. They have given us this amazing selection for our prize.

So, if you'd like to be in with a chance of winning, show us your Treemendous creations. Just remember that your entry may be combined with no more than five other challenges (that's 6 in total including ours), otherwise sadly it will be ineligible. My talented teamies have come up with some brilliant inspiration for you, so don't forget to check it out on the Challenge Blog. I can't wait to see yours!

Stamping Sensations - A new chapter for Stampalot Challenge

It seems hard to believe that it will soon be our Challenge's third birthday! From very small beginnings on Brenda's blog it has grown into the fantastic challenge it is today, and that's all down to YOU, the wonderful crafters who keep coming back to support us month after month. A HUGE thank you to all of you! We think it is now time for a new direction, and so we have a brand new name -  STAMPING SENSATIONS - and a fresh new look! We also have new sponsors, so you can look forward to some fab prizes! Oh, and we have a new-look logo (find it here!) for you to display on your blogs, so please grab it and spread the word!

Our challenge has always been Brenda's baby, so I'd like to let her explain all about its renaissance. Please go over to the Challenge Blog and learn about the exciting things we have planned for the future.

Our November challenge will begin on Sunday, the 4th, with a theme we know you will love. Hope to see you then!