Ahh!! The Bling!!!

Hello everybody: I have a card to share today made with one of my favorite images from Arts Impressions, this super fun, adorable lady is from the set called Beach Babes and I think she is totally fabulous, love the sentiment and the HUGE rock on  her finger, LOL!!
I'm linking this card to a few challenges at the end of this post.

After arranging my layers, I stamped her onto a piece of water color paper with Stazon black ink and colored her with some neon green water color paint who's origins I can't remember, this little plastic tube of paint is super old but I love that it still works.  I added Dazzling Details to her bathing suit and hat, Glossy Accents to her shades and glass and a bit of Panama City Beach sand under her beach chair. This sand is from those amazing Spring Break vacations my hubby and I took with our grandchildren, when they were younger, sigh!! how we miss those days.😢

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Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

The sentiment is from a retired Flourishes set called "Camellias" and the yummy drink from a retired Stampin' Up! set called "Happy Hour".

I'm linking this card to the following challenges.

Art Impressions Challenge #212 "Bling, Glitter or Glossy"

Creative Knockouts Challenge #201 "Summer Fun"

DL.ART Challenge #207 "Summer Fun"

Making Memories Crafting "Anything Goes/Anything but Square"

Paper Play Sketches

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Tissue Paper Fairy.....

Hello dear blog friends: Many of you know how much I love Fairies, never seen one in person but, well.....you'll never know, right?  Until that day or night comes, I have to rely on beautiful images of Fairies to satisfy the need to actually encounter one. 

This little one is from a stamp set collection by Cicely Mary Barker called The Flower Fairies. This images are so beautiful, so delicate and detailed that, when I found out that some of them were available over at 49 and Market, I had to get them.  I only wish that the other Fairies were made into rubber stamps too, sigh!! 

Ok, one of the challenges I want to enter with this card is the CAS Mix Up Card July Challenge in which we are asked to make a card using "Stamping+Tissue Paper+a Choice" from the list on the right side of the challenge's page, I picked "Fussy Cutting". Here is my card, if you click on the image, you can see the awesome gold embossing better.

I've never done the Tissue Paper technique but let me tell you, it's fun super easy and the results are stunning, if I say so myself.  I followed THIS AWESOME TUTORIAL by the equally awesome LOLL, this video tutorial is fabulous, perfectly explained and super easy to follow.

So, I did the colors on the tissue paper the way she did on the first segment of the video, then I dried it with my heat gun, I just couldn't wait for it to dry on it's own.  Then, I crinkled the paper in my hand and unfold it, glued it to a piece of white card stock making sure I had wrinkles on it, then I again dried it with the heat gun, (can you tell I'm very impatient?) then, rubbed it with the embossing buddy and very, very carefully, rubbed Versamark on it, making sure I just touch the tips of the wrinkles, then applied the gold embossing powder and heat it to set it. The result blew me away, I think I just found a new favorite technique, I just love it.

I stamped the Fairy and flowers onto a piece of Strathmore water color paper and colored them then I put some Scotch tape on the back to give it a bit more sturdiness to fussy cutting with paper snips and an exacto knife, it was a bit tricky doing the leaves.  I glue the Fairy and flowers to the embossed panel and put small pieces of foam dimmensionals on the leaves. 

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Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

The sentiment is from an old Flourishes set called "Orchids" and it's one of my most favorites, I always use it when I make Fairy cards, the words are beautiful.

The little butterfly perched on the Lavender twig is from another one of the sets I bought from 49 and Market.

I want to enter this card onto the following challenges.

CAS Mix Up Challenge, I used the Fussy Cutting from the list.

Sparkles Monthly Challenge #93, Embossing heat or dry.

Make My Monday Challenge #49 "Summer Brights" Hope the colors and gold embossing are ok.

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

EMBOSS IT!!!!!

Hello everyone: July is here and with it comes a new challenge for you to play with over at THE FLOWER CHALLENGE.  I want to thank all of you amazing crafters who participated in our June Challenge "Anything Goes", we had a fabulous turnout, over 182 entries!!! which made my teammates and I, very happy.
So for our July challenge we want to see some EMBOSSING, heat or dry, which ever you'd like or even both techniques, we can't wait to see what you create.
Here is my inspiration card for this month, and I hope you join us in the gallery.

This lovely Azalea image is one of my first purchases from Power Poppy back in 2014, this set is called Azalea. I stamped this image onto a piece of water color paper with Versamark ink and heat embossed it in gold then, colored it with my Sakura Koi water colors and my fixed Wink of Stella.

I embossed a piece of pink card stock and a piece of SU retired vellum with a retired embossing folder, (I forget the name of this one, sorry).

The sentiment is from the set. I added a few Nuvo Drops and a triple bow made with some organza ribbon.

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Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

I embossed just the top of the pink card stock with the same folder, the sentiment is from a retired Flourishes set called "Tulips for Friends"

So go ahead and join us in the gallery, please check my teammates amazing creations HERE, I'm sure you will get even more inspired.

Please add our banner to your post when you enter our challenge,

Please, only new work, no back linking.

Please you can enter only 6 challenges including ours.

You might enter this challenge up to 5 times but each entry must be different.

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than works can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

For the Bride and Groom.....

Hello everyone: The RETRO RUBBER challenge has a new challenge for you to play with and the theme is WEDDINGS.  I haven't had requests for Wedding cards lately so this was a great opportunity to make one and keep it handy.  I wanted to use this adorable cutouts I've had since like forever and this was my chance.  Here is my card, hope you like it.

 I had this little cutouts in my embellishments drawer, they were bought in Mexico some years ago and had been neglected for a very long time, I think they are the cutest. I had to fussy cut around the image as they have a somewhat wide outline and, since I wanted to put the Groom behind the Bride, that outline was in the way.

 I adore the faces of this images, the Bride, with a blissful look on her pretty face, so happy and dreamy, the Groom.....well.....he looks happy too but, judging by his grin and the sweat on his brow, he also looks.....Ehmm! worried? scared? I don't know, what do you think?

The lovely flowers that serve as a backdrop for the sweet couple are die cut with the fabulous and sadly retired "Botanical Blooms" die set that came out in the 2016 Stampin' Up! catalog, I only bought the dies.  The sentiment is from the 2009-2010 Stampin' Up! set "Teeny Tiny Wishes".
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Here is a picture of the finish inside of my card.

The sentiment and the little flowers in the corner are from a 2010 Flourishes set called "Picking Wild Flowers", the die cut is from a Spellbinders die set called "Oval Regalia".

I hope you join us in the RETRO RUBBER gallery, don't forget to visit my awesome teammates' blogs and see their fabulous creations, you'll be happy you did.

Here are a few guide lines for you.

Please make sure you use at least one stamp on your card that is older than a year.

If at all possible, please tell us the age of your stamp or how long you've had it.

Only new creations, no back linking.

You can participate only in 10 challenges including ours.

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know, I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Stars and Stripes.....

Hello everyone: My teammates and I have a new challenge for you this week over at SHOPPING OUR STASH, we want you to show us the colors of your flag. Well, I'm originally from Mexico City and I came to this Country as a new bride back in 1973.   I proudly became an American Citizen in 1990 so, I lived here more than in my native Mexico, since I got married when I was 21y/o and I've been married 44 years come this September.

So I made two cards this time, this first one is to Honor and Celebrate my Adoptive Country, in which I've raised my sweet family, made wonderful, endearing friends and done fabulous, amazing, memorable things along the way.  

Here is my first card that I hope will inspire you to join us in the gallery.

This was a super fast card to make, I had everything I needed already, so it was just a matter of die cutting, stamping a little and cut the paper to size. I cut red card stock for the front panel and blue for the inside of my card, I die cut the white panel with an old Flourishes die, the stars are from a set I bought at Hobby Lobby a long time ago, can't remember the name, so sorry.

The stamped words are also from an old Flourishes set that, at the moment, can't recall it's name.

Back  when I started stamping about 10 years ago, having a blog was not in my plans so I never bother to write down or save some information about the stuff I was buying, I totally apologize.

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Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

This also was stamped using the images from that Flourishes set.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, here is a card made with the colors of my native Country of Mexico.

I die cut the cute dress with the retired Stampin' Up! die set called "All Dressed Up!" (not quite sure about the name😕) The top was die cut using another one of the dies on some glitter paper. The ribbon is from my stash but I added Dazzling Details in Cherry Cobbler to match the top of the dress.

The hat on a rack is from a 2010 Flourishes set called "Friendly Reminders", I colored it with Prismacolor pencils. I die cut the frames both in front and inside with a Postage Stamp die set.

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Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

I used two sets from Flourishes for this panel, the banners are from the set "S'more Fun" and the word "Celebrate" from  a Power Poppy set called "Marcella's Mixtape Vol. 1", I used Garden Green and Real Red Stampin' Up! markers to ink it up. 

I'll enter the first card onto the following challenges.

Simon Says Stamp RED, WHITE and BLUE

Cards in Envy RED, WHITE and BLUE

Always Fun Challenges Patriotic.

Just Us Girls

Time Out Challenges #86 Celebrations with optional twist "One Layer Cards"

So there you have it, hope this cards will inspire you to join us in the SHOPPING OUR STASH gallery, make sure you visit my awesome teammates' blogs to find more inspiration and join us.

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.