Addicted to CAS at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Hi guys!
One of our most popular challenges has just begun at Addicted to Stamps and More: Addicted to CAS! If you are new to clean and simple card making, this is what our lovely leader Kylie says about CAS:

Clean & Simple (CAS) - Clean and crisp lines, minimal or no embellishments and lots of 'white' space should be used. 
* White space does not need to be 'white'. It can be any colour. White space is a term used for the area of your card with no stamping, embellishments etc.

The stamps that I used in my card come from Stamplorations, the set is called Distressed Floral Swirls. The technique I used in my stamping is also very much Stamplorations-inspired because I CASEd a card from company owner Shery. :) The card I was inspired by is here. I masked the area where I wanted the stamping and stamped the black swirls first. I then stamped more swirls with embossing ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I sponged the corner with some Distress Ink and after removing the mask, stamped the borders and sentiment + added a black thin ribbon. I'm in love with this technique and want to try it with many different stamps! The sketch my card is based on is from... Yep, you guessed, it, from  Stamplorations sketch challenge! :)

Addicted to Stamps and More Design Team is full of ladies who master CAS... I hope you'll head on over to the challenge blog for lots and lots of inspiration! You'll find all the challenge details there too. We are once again happy to have Nicecrane Designs as our sponsor. Thank you Ignacio! Happy crafting, everyone!

I'd like to enter the following challenges:
http://partytimetuesdays.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes
http://twistedtuesdaychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything Goes
http://liveandlovecrafts.blogspot.co.uk/ Use pink
http://thecraftingcafe.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything Goes
http://createdwithlovechallenges.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/ Anything Goes
http://challenges4everybody.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything Goes

Photo Inspiration at Inkspirational Challenges!

Hi friends!
Two weeks went by and now it's time for another fortnightly Inkspirational Challenge! As you see, we have an inspiration photo for you this time and it's a beautiful, beautiful wreath. Photo inspirations are always so fun -everyone can have their original take on the image so we are expecting many entries... We had an amazing turnout in our Anything Goes Challenge, we had 278 entries in total! Wow!

I created my wreath with a Martha Stewart leaf punch, a Fiskars snowflake punch and some gems. I wanted to have patterned paper for the background so I tried to look for one that would work well with the different greens of the wreath -all the papers are from my left overs box. "Hyvää Joulua" is "Merry Christmas" in Finnish.

I hope you'll now head on over to the challenge blog -there's amazing DT inspiration for you there and also the details of our prize -all entries before 22nd of November will enter a prize draw of some fab Christmas goodies. Don't miss it! :)

I'd like to enter my card to following challenges:
http://craftcreatoins.blogspot.co.uk/p/new-challenge-2110.html Anything Goes
http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/-Xmas sentiments

http://festivefriday.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/ffc20-element-challenge.html-Wreath
http://sisteractcardchallenge.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes
http://scrapping4funchallenges.blogspot.ca/ Christmas
http://4kraftygirlzchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything Goes

Friendship Is Like a Sheltering Tree

click pic for more focused view

Hi friends!
Here's my card for this week's Less Is More Challenge -trees. October is breast cancer awareness month so I chose pink as my accent color for the sentiment from Gelatins. I stamped the sentiment first, masked it, and stamped the tree from Kanban. I embellished the tree with three gems and finished the card off with pierced border. I pierced some crafting table too... :) The front panel is popped up with dimensionals for added interest. Thanks for popping by and for all the sweet comments I get from you all!

Color Challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Hi guys,
another week ahead of us at Addicted to Stamps and More!  This time we have a color challenge for you -you don't have to use these exact colors, something close will do! You can add neutral colors like white and kraft to your project too. I colored the beautiful La Blanche sunflower stamp with my Copics and after coloring I sliced the image in three parts. I was inspired by my older card here where the flower had the same operation! :) It's fun to compare how images have different moods when they are colored differently -the same sunflower looks a lot more cheerful in my card here with some orange hues in the petals and brighter green on the leaves -but I like this more earthy look too!

By the way, the photo is crooked, everything is nice and straight in real life! I took this photo just before leaving town for some travels and by the time I was so to speak on the road and downloaded the photos to my laptop, there was nothing to be done. :)

I'd love to see you joining in our color challenge! There's plenty of fab DT inspiration on how to use the colors in the challenge blog. We are happy to have Nicecrane Designs as our sponsor again. Do visit Ignacio's fabulous shop full of collage sheets, digi stamps and much more!

Fashionable Halloween at Sami Stamps!

Hi guys!
Time for a new release at Sami Stamps! It's called "Fashionable Halloween And Witches and Whiskers" and you can have a better look at all the images at Sami Stamps Shop. When Sami showed these witchy beauties to us DT girls last weekend I instantly knew what I wanted to make: I had just seen Less Is More was having a one layer week with a witch theme and today I finally get to enter! I colored the image with Copics and stamped my sentiment. I didn't have a stamp that would say "You Are Special" but I combined words from 3 different stamps to make it. When inking the stamps I covered the words I didn't need with low-tack tape so I was sure not to get any ink on them. It worked out fine! To finish off the card, I added Stickles and tiny pearls to my witch's web veil so that it would really be the focal point of the card. I hope I didn't over embellish for LIM! :) Thanks for popping by and have a great weekend!

p.s. don't forget to join the currant challenge at Sami Stamps!

Make Your Mark at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Hello dear friends and followers!
It's time for Make Your Mark Challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More! It's one of our favorite challenges: anything goes with markers, pencils, crayons... Coloring medium of any kind! I used my favorite markers, Copics, to color in this pretty girl from Whimsy Stamps. Please click on the photo for closer look if you want! Behind my image I'm using designer paper from Lavanda Paperpack by Nicecrane Designs  -we are happy to have Nicecrane Designs as our sponsor once again! My card is quite embellished with layers, pearls, doily and punched flowers and leaves. Hope you like! There's plenty of DT inspiration in the challenge blog and you will find all the details for joining us there too. Happy crafting!

I'd like to enter my card to:
http://scrapbitzcopics.ning.com/group/cmccopicchallengegroup Anything Goes
http://blog.markerpop.com/2013/10/07/markerpop-challenge-32/ Anything Goes
http://creativecraftchallenges2.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes

Let's Get Inky - Stamp a Happy Christmas Reminder!

Hi friends!

Have you already entered my Christmas Stamping Challenge Let's Get Inky -Stamp a Happy Christmas? To enter the challenge, simply make a Christmas card that focuses on stamping. The original post with the linky is here.

Here's a stamped Christmas card I made for reminding you of my challenge... I'd like to enter it to Crafting Musketeers (Christmas in October), Christmas Cards All Year Round Single Card Challenge, Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Card Challenge (make it square) and 52 Christmas Card Throwdown (no red and green). I'm quite happy how the card turned out -the colors look pretty! The text is Finnish language and means "Have a Peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year". 

Now to the fun part... Here's some fab DT cards for your inspiration! The names are links to the blogs of these lovely ladies - do visit them for the details of each card.  

Kylie

Loll

Lynn

Milla

Sandie
(using sponsor stamps: Oh Christmas Tree)

Shery
(using sponsor stamps: Merry and Holiday Hexagons)

There's a prize for crabs in the challenge: It's All About You Stamp Set by my sponsor Stamplorations Stamps. Did you notice those fab stamps Sandie and Shery used in their cards? Stamplorations is a new company and here's some information for you about it:

Launched in June 2013, California-based STAMPlorations is owned and
managed by husband-and-wife team, David & Shery Russ. We offer cling
rubber stamps, clear stamps, and stamping kits for stampers, card
makers, scrapbookers, mixed media artists, and all crafters. All of
our stamps are proudly made in the USA. Our rubber stamps are
deep-etched and made from high quality rubber, while our clear stamps
are made from the finest, non-yellowing photopolymer resin and they're
naturally sticky. Through our stamp line, we hope to encourage
crafters of all ages and experience levels to "Stamp with all your
ART!". We come out with new stamps approximately every other month.
(Website: http://stamplorations.jugemcart.com/ )

I hope you'll join us in the Christmas Stamping Fun at Let's Get Inky -Stamp a Happy Christmas! You have until 24th of December to enter the challenge. Click on the challenge name for the original post -the linky waits for you there! Happy stamping!

Anything Inkspirational Goes!

Hi guys!
It's time for the new and improved Inkspirational Challenge! I told you last week that on Saturday the 12th of October we will begin our bi-weekly challenge rota and here we are, the day has come! :) We start with a nice and easy theme: Anything Goes. There's a fantastic Christmas-themed craft supplies set for crabs -click your way to the challenge blog to find out all about it. There's fabulous DT inspiration for you too.

In my DT card I used a beautiful stamp from Chocolate Baroque. It's a bit weird choice considering the current season but the stamp popped to my mind after seeing Shery's fab sketch at Stamplorations. The papers I used are really lovely too, they are from Little Darlings and I once won them in Emily's blog candy. Some of you might think what the doily is doing there, lurking behind the image... But I have a serious addiction to doilies! I'm telling you, the only way I won't add a doily to my card is to decide that I'll make a pure CAS card. :) Anyways... My coloring is done with Copics and "Kiitos" is Finnish for Thank You. Kiitos for visiting my blog and I hope to see you all joining our Anything Goes Challenge!

I'd like to enter the following challenges:
Stamplorations Sketch
http://eurekastamps.blogspot.fi/2013/10/eureka-stamps-weekly-challenge-60.html Anything Goes
http://craftybloggersnetwork.blogspot.fi/2013/10/october-7th-challenge-sponsored-by-rick.html Anything Goes
http://brownsugarchallenge.blogspot.fi/ Anything goes
http://craftitudechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything Goes/ Things with S -stamping and swirls
http://www.blogquickquotes.com/2013/10/friday-challenge-32.html Anything Goes
http://sisteractcardchallenge.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes
http://stampinfortheweekend.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes
http://totallypapercrafts.blogspot.fi/ Recipe 1 image, 2 papers, 3 embellies (3 pearls embellish my doily!)

Halloween Kittens!

Hello friends!
It's Friday and the joys of weekend are near, yay! I'm here with a Halloween card with a cute cat from Sami Stamps Halloween Kittens Release. Our monthly challenge at Sami Stamps is "Use Halloween Colors" and I hope you'll join us! I colored my image with Copics and used some Halloween papers I had in my stash. The black spider's web is actually a coaster made out of felt so there's quite a lot of dimension in this card! I'm thinking I would give this as a birthday card for my nephew but what do you guys think, is it boyish enough? Thanks for popping by and have a lovely weekend! Oh and don't forget to visit Sami Stamps Shop Freebie Section and check out which one of the Halloween Kittens is a freebie! :)

I'd like to enter the following challenges:
http://craftinboutiquechallenges.blogspot.fi/ Halloween
http://just-hanna-stamps.blogspot.fi/ Halloween (I hope digi stamps are allowed?)
http://paper-craftingjourney.blogspot.co.uk/ Use Halloween Colors
http://www.sarahhurleychallenges.blogspot.fi/ Halloween
http://4kraftygirlzchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything Goes
http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.fi/ Funny Halloween
http://www.trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.fi/ Autumn/Halloween/Thanksgiving
http://www.charismacardz.blogspot.fi/ Animals
http://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes

Anything Goes at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Hi friends! Time for everyone's favorite, Anything Goes, at Addicted to Stamps and More! We are glad to have Nicecrane Designs sponsoring us again and I've used an adorable image from Nicecrane collage sheet called Born to Be Wild. These images are so cute... And loved by adults and kids, I've tested! :) My card is pretty much a straightforward vintage card -the colors are not very muted though and maybe the twine adds a bit funkier touch than a traditional ribbon would have added. I try to avoid my vintage cards looking too much "grandma style"... But my faves -doilies and lace- are present of course. :)

Once again, the design team at ATSM has done fantastic projects for your inspiration -please head on over to the challenge blog for checking them out. Don't forget to read the challenge rules and details while you are there... And after that, do link your project! Happy crafting!

Sketch Inspiration at House of Cards!

A new month means new inspiration at House of Cards! We are playing with this cool sketch for the whole month of October -the card making style changes every week but the sketch remains the same -fun, right! How about entering every week: this week we'd like to see Fun and Cute style, next week we play with CAS designs, the third week is reserved for Classic and Elegant cards and week 4 with Shabby and Elegant cards finishes off the rota. I hope to see you joining us!

The stamp I used comes from Marianne Designs and I colored the image with Copics. "Kiitos" is Finnish for thank you: I got a beautiful knitten (is that a word?) blanket from my friend for my birthday some time ago so I thought this image would work perfectly for her card. The paper is from Basic Grey, I used both sides of the paper for added interest. I didn't embellish too much -I think the sketch was so interesting that it worked on it's own.

I hope you'll now head on over to the challenge blog for more Cute & Fun DT inspiration! If you need information about the different styles, please visit HOC Definitions of Styles page.  Happy crafting!

I'd like to enter:
http://catchthebugblog.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything Goes
http://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes
http://thecraftingcafe.blogspot.fi/2013/10/anything-goes-dt-call.html  Anything Goes

My First DT Card for Inkspirational Challenges!

Looking for my ATSM DT card? Scroll down! 

Hi guys,
I'm happy to announce that some time ago I was asked to join the design team at Inkspirational Challenges! I was very honored to be asked and I naturally agreed to join this wonderful team! Are you new to Inkspirational Challenges? If so, now is a perfect time to hop in and start joining the challenges: the challenge blog has just gone through some changes and many things are new to us all! The challenge that starts today will run until 11th of October and after that we will start a rota of bi-weekly challenges starting on Saturday 12th of October. So every two weeks, always on Saturdays, a new challenge starts again!

This time we are having fun with the trio of colors you see above. You can use all three colors or choose just 2 if you wish! I used all three in my card that I made for my niece -I think these Saturated Canary images are perfect for young girls. I very much enjoyed coloring this image with my Copics, the dress was really easy, you could just have fun with the ruffles, there was no need to worry about light sources or such! Or at least I decided not to  worry about them. :) The strip on the right of the card covers up some messed up sentiment stamping -it makes the card look a bit full but I try to allow myself to make mistakes when crafting. :) I hope you'll now head on over to Inkspirational challenge blog and check out the rest of the DT creations -you'll love them! I hope you'll join in the challenge -it's fun to have a change from all the autumn colors. These would work great for a contemporary Christmas card too. ;) Happy crafting!

I'd like to enter the following challenges:
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes
http://stampedblessings.com/ Anything Goes
http://2sisterschallengeblog.blogspot.fi/ Anything Goes
http://challenges4everybody.blogspot.co.uk/ Anything Goes

Photo Inspiration at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Hi everyone,
we have another wonderful challenge for you at Addictes to Stamps and More, it's photo inspiration week! I really like the photo our wonderful leader Kylie has chosen for us -autumn is my favorite season so I love all autumn related things! I focused on the colors of the photo and also to the fact that harvest time is also time for sunflowers and they are just so so beautiful I think! I couldn't resist this LaBlanche stamp when I saw it some weeks ago. Stamped images like this one with lots of ready shading are really simple to color and give stunning results easily. That is just great for me because I've been having some time managing issues, clean and simple suits me just perfectly at the moment! Actually, this card will fit well to our sister challenge blog Addicted to CAS, the code word there is "Autumn".

I hope you'll now head on over to the challenge blog for the rest of the DT creations -ATSM girls never fail to impress me with their cards and I'm sure you'll love their work too! All the challenge details can be found in the blog  -we are happy to have Nicecrane Designs sponsoring us again. Happy crafting!

Let's Get Inky -Stamp A Happy Christmas!

Hi everyone!
This is not a regular post... Let me introduce you to Nonni's Card Challenges! I'm organizing two Christmas card challenges this fall: the first one begins today (yay!) and the second challenge begins 1st of November. I'm proud to have a sponsor too: Stamplorations Stamps! The winner is chosen with random.org and will receive It's All About YOU Stamp Set. The challenges run until Christmas Eve so the winner is selected just before the Santa visits! If you are new to Stamplorations , here is some information for you:

Launched in June 2013, California-based STAMPlorations is owned and
managed by husband-and-wife team, David & Shery Russ. We offer cling
rubber stamps, clear stamps, and stamping kits for stampers, card
makers, scrapbookers, mixed media artists, and all crafters. All of
our stamps are proudly made in the USA. Our rubber stamps are
deep-etched and made from high quality rubber, while our clear stamps
are made from the finest, non-yellowing photopolymer resin and they're
naturally sticky. Through our stamp line, we hope to encourage
crafters of all ages and experience levels to "Stamp with all your
ART!". We come out with new stamps approximately every other month.
(Website: stamplorations.com)

I've gathered a fab DT to inspire us all but before checking out their cards, let's have the challenge details!

The theme of my first challenge is

Let's Get Inky -Stamp A Happy Christmas! 
Let's create Christmas cards with stamping playing the main role! You could use fun techniques like masking and combine background stamps with smaller stamps... Or how about using non-Christmas stamps for Christmas and playing with some embossing powders? Or stamping with watercolors? Or tone on tone stamping maybe? The possibilities are endless... Let's get inky and creative! You can choose any style from CAS to vintage, what ever you like the best... You can use embellishments too -just don't cover up your fabulous stamping completely!

Now finally some DT inspiration! The names are links to everyone's blogs -this is a group of very, very talented ladies so I hope you'll visit them and leave them some love!

 Kylie

 Loll

Lynn

Milla

Nonni

I'm entering my card to Less Is More Sketch Challenge. The snowflakes are stamped with metallic silver Embrace ink and the deer is heat embossed with gold powder. "Joulurauhaa" is Finnish for "Peaceful Christmas".

Sandie

Shery
Shery has been working really hard and has made two beautiful cards to inspire us: The first one is for Thanksgiving using Thankful, Grateful and in her Christmas card Shery uses Be Merry and Distressed Floral Swirls

I'm sure you'll agree that these DT cards were all fabulous!!
To enter this challenge and to have a chance to win the prize, use the the link tool below! You can combine my challenge with as many challenges as you wish and enter as many time as you want. Happy stamping my friends! I can't wait to see what you will make!