STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 145: FLOWERS

Glad you're here!  Today's Stampotique Designers' Challenge is brought to you by Valerie Wilson, who has us thinking about May flowers!  Here's what she has to say to motivate us this week:

Hi, Everyone!  Its Valerie here with this week's challenge.  April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, so let's add some flower power to our projects!  I'll be excited to see if you stamp some flowers, create faux flowers, use a mask to create a flower background or come up with some other original idea for sprinkling a few petals on your project! 

I am not really a flower person, although I think they are beautiful and enjoy them greatly in the wild.  So, what to do?  I went to the Stampotique Originals site and searched for "flowers."  Did you know you can do that?  Sure can!  I did find some stamps that I have in my "inventory" (yes, I do have a very indulgent husband and have amassed quite a collection of Stampotique stamps!), but they did not offer me the direction I sought.  I next searched on "people" and found Breezy!  How adorable is she?  Seeing her pluck those petals immediately reminded me of doing that as a young girl to determine whether or not "he" loved me! 

I hope, along with Valerie, I have inspired you to create something with flowers this week.  You can find the directions for submitting your artwork as well as all rules here.  You can submit something for each challenge and be entered to win one of two $30 gift certificates for Stampotique products awarded at the end of the month!

If you need a bit more inspiration, check out this video by one of the Stampotique Design Team members, Kaz Boughton!

Sunflower Card

I appreciate your comments and read and treasure each one.

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 144: 4" x 6" POSTCARD ART

Hello, and thanks for being here!  Thanks, too, to each of you who participated in the Stampotique Originals' Blog Hop this past week!  It was great fun to see what each of the Design Team members created with their favorites of the new Stampotique stamps just released April 15!  You can see all the new stamps here.  

In the meantime, the Stampotique Designers' Challenge has been posted, and Design Team Member Sue Davies is calling for postcards.  Here's her motivational pep talk:

Good morning everyone, it's Sue here and I'm delighted to be hosting this weeks challenge. I'm sure that every crafter has had that block where their mojo has packed it's bags and gone on holiday.  I know I've sat and looked at a sheet of card and had no ideas at all.  One way I've got to get over this is just to decide what size or shape I want to make.  So I pick a card or a tag, or in this case a postcard.  Postcards are great fun and it's amazing how much you can get on a 6x4 (inches) area.  So this week I would like you to make a postcard. Have Fun!

Surprisingly, I have made fewer than a handful of postcards, and none lately, so I was ready for this challenge.  I was also ready to use the Tim Holtz honeycomb die I just bought.  I have used two Stampotique stamps here, one a longtime favorite; the second, one of the the new releases:

Miss Snottie (by designer Daniel Torrente)

Comfort Zone (by designer France Papillon)

I hope you will get crafty and create something for this great challenge!  You can get all the details and submit your art here. Why not grab a chance to win one of the two $30 gift certificates randomly awarded at the end of the month?

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE NEW STAMP RELEASES AND BLOG HOP

This blog hop post will remain in the top position on my blog until the winners are posted on the Stampotique Designers' Challenge blog on Wednesday, April 23, 2014.  If you would like to see my subsequent posts, just scroll down.  Thanks!

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The Stampotique Originals' owners, administrators and design team members, along with the stamp designers themselves, are pleased to announce the April 2014 release of new stamps!  Here's a little something to get you in the mood:  Let's Go to the Hop!

BLOG HOP DETAILS FROM OUR COORDINATOR

If you are a fan of our Facebook page, you may have already gotten a sneak peek at some of the new images we are excited to be releasing today.  We hope you will join us for the blog hop to see a variety of those images.  

There are lots of new images from our favorite stamp designers, and we are proud to welcome our newest stamp designer, Magda Polakow.  You may have already seen tons of Magda's fabulous creations as she is also a member of the Stampotique Design Team.  We are sure you are going to find more than a few of these new stamps that you simply must have!

Join us through the blog hop for your chances to win some random goodies.  We also will be randomly drawing two winners for a $30 gift certificate for Stampotique stamps at the Stampotique online store.  The new stamps are available there right now!

Also, make sure you hop all the way through for an exciting announcement on our Stampotique Designers' Blog for a chance to win some goodies and some additional recognition for yourself as an artist.

Have fun hopping!  We will be pulling the random winners of the blog hop at our Stampotique Designers' Challenge on April 23, 2014.  

FROM ME

You should have arrived here from Astrid's blog.  If you did not arrive from there, you may want to begin the hop at the Stampotique Designers' Challenge site, where you will also find the entire list of blog hosts.  When you are finished visiting my blog, you will want to hop over to Kathi's blog.

In looking through the new Stampotique stamps, I was immediately taken with Pepper and Froggie because they so reminded me of my daughter and me when Michelle was in her early teens.  Don't misunderstand.  My daughter and I have always had a solid relationship, but there have been a few hurdles along the way.  For instance, I recall taking her shopping on many occasions, picking out darling, colorful, coordinated outfits for her to try--just as I did when she was 8!  On our last shopping trip together, when presented with my "selections," Michelle looked at the clothes, froze, and tears began to well up in her eyes.  She looked up at me and (these words are still oh, so clear) said:  "I want to like what you like, but I just don't!"  From that time on, Michelle was given a certain amount of money and set loose in the mall to make her own selections.  While I did reserve the right to veto, I never had to use it!

Here's my blog hop tag (the technical details follow below, if you're interested):

  
The background of the tag was created with a Wendy Vecchi technique shared at the CHA 2014 conference.  You can find it here.  Using a Ranger blending tool, I added Peeled Paint Distress Ink around the edges, then added France Papillon's new stamp Splattered Mug randomly about the tag for a bit of interest.  The two images were then stamped on the tag, then on white card stock.  Pepper, on the left, is by Janet Klein, and the one of the right is Froggie another new stamp by Daniel Torrente and Jill Penney.  I paper pieced the mother's dress and also popped her head up on dimensionals to show the then-popular teased hair!

Thanks for visiting my blog!  Please do leave a comment so that everyone on the hop will know you were here--and because I love your comments!!

Remember, you should be hopping over to Kathi Rerek's blog now!

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 143: APRIL SHOWERS

Happy Wednesday to each of you, and thanks for visiting my blog today.  The Stampotique Designers' Challenge has been posted and this week's challenge promises to shower you with creativity--pun intended.  The talented Carol Fox wants to see water, rain, showers, or stormy weather!  Here's her challenge today:

I love the early months of the year and to me I only have to hear the month April and instantly in my head the song from Bambie is playing and I am now humming, bom bom little April showers--so use water, rain and April showers as your inspiration this week.

I took a bit of artistic license in my interpretation of this challenge.   When I think of rain, showers, and storms, I think of how grateful I am to have refuge from them.  I have used the Stampotique Originals' Giant 'Shroom (3009) again, but this time with a little more reverence.  Seeking refuge here is Heart Boy (6026), accompanied by Daisy, Daisy (3002).

I hope you will participate this week--and every week--in the Stampotique Designers' Challenge.  You can read the rules and submit your work here.  At the end of the month, you will be entered into a random drawing for a chance to win one of two $30 gift certificates from Stampotique Originals for any of their products!

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 142: PENS/PAINT PENS/MARKERS

This week's Stampotique Designers' Challenge was certainly a challenge here!  Many artists are at ease whether with an ink spray, a paint brush or a pen or marker.  Some are not.  I am definitely in that "are not" group!  

 My Design Teammate Magda Polakow has certainly pushed my envelope with her "pens, paint pens and markers" challenge.  Here is what she's eager to see from you:

I always have a pen or pencil with me. Always with notebook full of drawings and doodles. I'm sure not only me! I would love to see a pen in your project. It can be a drawing, doodles or simply some journaling. It might be even a single word. I'm looking forward to seeing your entries for this challenge!

I took comfort in making a card to "answer" this challenge.  On top of my card base, I used a background technique created by Wendy Vecchi with her reinkers, Tim Holtz' metalic mixative and rubbing alcohol/surgical spirits (shown here).  I used my Jet Black archival ink pad to stamp my image and text stamps (see below).  I then stamped the image head on white card stock and colored her face (Copic E50) and hat (Pitt Pen Light Flesh 132).  I grounded the bathtub by pressing the side of the tip of my little finger into a gray stamp pad, stamping on scrap paper, then stamping on my image (called "second generation" stamping) over a mask of the tub legs.   After attaching the head, I took a Pitt Pen (black, fine) and drew sketchy lines as borders both around my text stamp and on the outside borders of the card.  I am not 100% pleased with my first attempt at using a pen and drawing freehand on my art, but, then, neither am I disappointed.  I will definitely try this technique again.

I have used the following Stampotique Originals stamps today:

Relax (artist Linda Peterson)

Relax text (artist Linda Peterson)

I want to sincerely thank each of you for visiting my blog, and for the supportive comments you make to encourage me to learn and grow in this wonderful world called art.  

I hope you will join me this week--and every week--in the challenges brought to you by the Stampotique Designers' Challenge.  You can find the directions and rules for your submissions here. At the end of the month, you will be entered into a random drawing for a chance to win one of two $30 gift certificates from Stampotique Originals for any of their products, including the wonderful series of stamps created by artist Linda Peterson!  

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 141: A BIT OF HUMOR

A lovely Wednesday to each of you.  I appreciate your being here as well as the supportive comments you each make!

Today, a new Stampotique Designers' Challenge rolls out, and it is sweet Nellie van Leeuwen who is at the helm.  Here is her challenge for the week:  

I love cards with a wink. They often bring a smile to my face. Stampotique has so many fun stamps to make these cards, images as well as words. So come on, show me, use a bit of humour in your card or project. Who makes me laugh out the loudest this week?  I am already looking forward to your entries for this challenge!

I had to bring out one of my favorite stamps again, but, this time, instead of being a vintage temptress, she is a sassy, naughty girl!  Let's see if my card makes Nellie laugh out loud!

I used the following Stampotique Originals in my card today:

Couldn't you just pee your pants?

I wish I'd worn panties...

Rear View Mirror

I hope you will participate in this week's Stampotique Designers' Challenge.  You can read the rules and submit your work here.  At the end of the month, you will be entered into a random drawing for a chance to win one of two $30 gift certificates from Stampotique Originals for any of their products.

Cheers!