Topflight Stamps Summer Blog Hop

Come celebrate Summertime with Topflight Stamps! I’ve teamed up with some of their designers and special guests to showcase summer cards using the unique products available at Topflight Stamps. If you'd like, hop along for a chance to win! 

You should have arrived here from Lisa Hoel's blog if you're already hopping. If not, you might want to start at the Topflight Stamp Blog so you don't miss a thing! I've got the full hop list below as well.

One of my favorite things about summer is the classic car shows and cruises - I've mentioned before that my dad loved cars, and he'd always take us to car shows when we were growing up. He had an amazing memory for details, especially the vintage makes and models. Every time I see a classic car on the road I think of him, and I imagine that's his way of letting me know he's looking after me and things are going to be ok. My mom is "babysitting" a friend's Mustang right now, and I know he'd have a kitten if he were there! 

I've been eyeing the Classic Cars sets from Darkroom Door for a while now, so I'm excited to have them to play with for the hop! My first card looks just like it did in my head, so that makes me happy! You can find instructions for the Burst Through technique over on Splitcoaststampers. I lightly sketched an oval where I wanted the car to come out, then cut out from the center of that area. Each little wedge is torn away, and then rolled.

I've used a quilling tool in the past, but this watercolor paper didn't quite fit in the slot, so I used a paper bead roller instead. I ended up splitting the paper and doing a little more tearing after this step too. 

Here's a closer look at the dimension on the card - I had a lot of fun with this one! The car image is watercolored and fussy cut. I used a white colored pencil and white Posca pen to add reflections on the body and windshield.

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One more card, because these 2 sets deserved more play time! I stamped two of the car images onto a 4" x 8.5" sheet of cardstock with black ink, overlapping the images for a collaged effect. 

I cut the panel in half, and then into 1" strips, then cut those strips on the diagonal. Here's how I arranged them on the top panel of the card - I think that was about 3.5" x 5". I trimmed all the overhanging edges, and trimmed the panel down to 3" x 4.75" for layering.

Here's a closer look at the top panel - I wanted my color combo to mainly be black and white with the car carrying the punch of color, so I love how those wedge pieces fill space and add bold interest, while pulling your attention to that amazing car!

The car again is watercolored, with a few accents added with a white colored pencil. So fun!

Topflight Products:

DDRS173 Classic Cars

DDRS199 Classic Cars V2

Darkroom Door Polka Dots Stencil

Visible Image Scripted Streets clear set

Now it's your turn!! Topflight Stamps is giving one lucky winner a $50 Gift Certificate to the store. For a chance to win, make sure to comment on every stop on the hop by June 18th. Winners will be announced on the Topflight Stamps blog on June 20th. Good Luck!

Also don’t forget to check out the Summertime Sale going on now - all summer, beach, and patriotic themed items are 20% off through June 13th, and no code is needed! For everything else, feel free to use code YAYDINA! for 12% off!

Hop on!

Topflight Stamps

Ericka Strange

Lisa Hoel

Dina Kowal <<<<<<<< you're here!

Autumn Clark

Connie Mercer

Natasha Vacca

Kathi Rerek

Cornelia Wenokor

Impression Obsession June Release Hop Day 2

Welcome back for another day of projects using brand new Impression Obsession stamps! All new stamps are available HERE! We are kicking off the month with a 2-day hop, showing off the new releases - today is day 2! If you're already hopping and you came from Anna's blog you are in the correct place. If not, head over to the Impression Obsession Blog for the start of the hop so you don't miss anything!

I thought this stamp image from Alesa Baker was so unique and sweet! Who doesn't love a little wildflower bouquet? I used Copic markers for the base colors, then added more detail with watercolor paints.

I stamped the card base with one of the stamps from the Candle Glows set, just using my stamp positioner to create an even pattern. I love a tone-on-tone pattern for breaking up a solid panel! 

I added some raised details to the flower centers with Bearly Art Glue - you can see them below. 

IO Products

H20940 Bouquet For You

3242-MD Candle Glows cling set of 4

CL1065 Party Animal clear set

DIE1091-T Slimline Sentiments Flag

Keep hopping for more inspiration!  We will be giving away THREE Impression Obsession $25 gift certificates for the event - so the more you comment through our Release Celebration the more chances to win! All comments for each of the event days will be open until Monday June 14th at midnight CT. All winners will be announced on Tuesday June 15th on the Impression Obsession Blog.

Thank you for visiting me today! Here's the rest of the hop list.

Impression Obsession Blog 

Laura Fulcher 

Laura Williams 

Lee Ann Barrett

Lynda Pleckan 

Vicki Garrett 

Angela Bode 

Anna Wight 

Dina Kowal <<<<< you're here!

Giovana Smith

Ilina Crouse 

 Jeanne Streiff 

Kia Gibson Clapper 

Sugar Pea Designs - Floral Envie

Hellooo! So happy to be sharing my first guest post for SugarPea Designs today!  I've got a mixed media project for you - this dramatic Floral Envie image called for all kinds of layers and textures!

I started off with a layer of watercolor (these paints are QoR watercolors by Golden, and they're my go-to!), beginning with the shadow around and inside the envelope and then adding color to the leaves, flowers, and butterflies in a light wash.

I've been using my color wheel more lately, so I used it here for my color combination - the yellow and green-gold shade are at the top, and I used the smaller triangle guide in the center to choose a split complementary combination, pulling in the red-violet and blue-violet as accent colors. (BTW, I just got this mini color wheel, and I love it - great size and for that price you get two, so now I have one for my desk and one for my clay table! Actually if we're honest, I need all 5 that I have right now because I'm forever losing them...)

I layered with more watercolor and then the colored pencils above, plus a darker brown to deepen shadows and add detail to the stems and butterflies. The small white dots were done with a white Posca paint pen, and then I added a little more dimension using Bearly Art glue - it dries raised with a sort of matte finish, and really holds these fine lines nicely. Here it is still wet:

...and here you can see how it looks when dried.

I embossed the sentiment in white on black cardstock, and shaped the little banner so it curves up at the end. The stitching and petite scallop on the die cut edge are just perfect! That die is from the Card Front Element Builder set, which has some sweet edge dies as well. 

Thanks for stopping by! Go leave me some love on the SugarPea Blog! 

Impression Obsession June Release Hop Day 1

It's time for a new release from Impression Obsession! All the new stamps are on the site now and you can check them out HERE - I'll wait! 

We are kicking off the month with a 2-day hop, showing off the new releases. If you're already hopping and you came from Anna's blog you are in the correct place. If not, head over to the Impression Obsession Blog for the start of the hop so you don't miss anything!

I love beach stamps and large stamps, so imagine my delight at these beachy slimline stamps! The artwork is beautiful and the possibilities are many! For this card I stamped the palm trees, then masked off a horizon line. I inked in yellow from the center of the panel, then masked off a circle and continued to blend - more yellow, then orange, magenta, and purple. I went across the panel, lightly inking with a Cloud Edger stencil. I removed the masks, and masked above the line instead. I inked below the horizon with a lighter touch, then lifted ink with horizontal strokes using a battery eraser.

IO Products:

3261-LG Palm Trees

CL1064 Camping with Bigfoot (sentiment)

Keep hopping for more inspiration - I hope you'll see more samples from my collections on the other blogs! Today and tomorrow (June 7-8) you can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog. We will be giving away THREE Impression Obsession $25 gift certificates for the event - so the more you comment through our Release Celebration the more chances to win!

All comments for each of the event days will be open until Monday June 15th at midnight CT. All winners will be announced on Tuesday June 16th on the Impression Obsession Blog.

Thank you for visiting me today!

Here's the full hop list, in case you get lost or need a breather!

Impression Obsession Blog 

Laura Fulcher

Laura Williams 

Lee Ann Barrett 

Lynda Pleckan 

Vicki Garrett 

Angela Bode

Anna Wight 

Dina Kowal <<<<<<<<<<<<< you're here!

Giovana Smith

Ilina Crouse 

Jeanne Streiff 

Kia Gibson Clapper 

SugarPea Guest Designer!

If you saw this week's updated Hanging Treat Box tutorial on Splitcoast, you saw me make this card on the updated video! This gorgeous palette die and the stamps are from last month's release at SugarPea Designs, and guess what?! I am their guest designer for June! I normally feel like I'm out on the dark fringes of the crafty world, so I was very excited to be invited even though June is a verrry busy month for me. Anyway, I'll be sharing on their blog June 7th, 14th, and 21st, so be sure to check over there for what's up! 
I focused on the box for the video, so here's a little more about the embellishments! I cut my layering panels, and then did my stamping on the white panel using my MISTI. I stamped 'your own rainbow' first, and then lined up the 'create' stamp, and colored in each letter with a Karin marker to stamp... I went all the way across with all the colors, then went back coloring and stamping one letter at a time to fill in where time had created some pooling of the wet ink. I added a light drop shadow with a colored pencil.

The palette and all the other die cut pieces were cut from hot press watercolor paper. I dragged two tan ink pads over the piece to create a little faux woodgrain. The paint splodges are colored with Copic markers (solid color, shadowed with N5 and then layered with the first color again), and highlighted with a white Posca pen. The brush was colored with Copics and colored pencils. 

Product links:

SugarCut - Paint Palette die set

Color of Life clear stamp set

Karin markers 

(use code DINA15 for 15% discount

at Marker Universe!)

That's what I know! I'm working today on a new commission (3 cats!!) and another project for publication that has me kind of nervous. More about that soon!

Impression Obsession - Old is New

With such a huge collection of wonderful stamps from so many artists, sometimes the older stamps in the Impression Obsession catalog find their way out of the spotlight. We don't want them to be forgotten, so we like to feature them regularly. We hope you're inspired! 
I filled this week's tutorial slot with an updated video for the Hanging Treat Box tutorial - this was a project from 2008 that has gone without a video all this time! I added a variation for using the full sheet of cardstock to create an extension on the back for taller bottles like this one, so be sure to check that out.

The focal panel on my little box pocket was just the right size for a llama, so I brought him out for some love. I did a little wet-into-wet watercoloring for the background, then stenciled over top with my favorite cloud stencil, adding highlights with a battery eraser. The llama is watercolored as well.

What would you tuck inside the box?

IO Products:

E13529 Llama

A13530 Llove Ya

(also available in a clear set: MC715 Llama Love)

DIE965-Y Small Tags

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details!

Spellbinders - Yours Truly Collection

I sat down to play today - I haven't done that much lately! Spellbinders has a newly released collection with this beautiful cameo die set - it's such a classic image, and it was fun to pull it forward with a few different modern touches.

For my first card I wanted to make a tent card, extending the oval panel out to A2 size with a 4-1/4" square base. I had a couple of sets tucked away that hadn't been used yet, so I combined them here. The Cameo set comes with that beautiful oval wreath, a bow which can go at the neck or in her hair, and a couple small flowers and leaves. I pulled in the bow and crown from an older Christmas set; the base is embossed with a beautiful floral foiling plate, and the sentiment is foiled and die cut.

I used a little Bearly Art glue to embellish the wreath and a few other raised embellishments (the flower center and pearls on the crown and necklace) - it's a subtle look but I think you can see it above. The wreath was watercolored with a few different green paints, then splattered. I love the edge of this oval die too - the little oval border is so delicate, and the pierced details... I left the cut paper in the die to emboss the piece and then to ink up the center -  adds a layered look without the bulk!

Spellbinders products:

S3-410 Cameo

S4-1119 Elliptical Ovals

S3-376 Merry Hugs (crown and bow)

GLP-247 Yana's Special Sentiments

GLP-254 Glimmering Peony

For my second card I used this month's gorgeous Small Die club kit - this kit is soooo incredibly versatile for a number of different combinations as well as card sizes and layouts. This inner portion is the perfect width for a slimline card (3.5"x8.5") and the cameo fits perfectly in the circular opening. I had fun with an analogous color combo, which reminds me a bit of an outfit I concocted when I was 5... all the pieces were green, so I was sure it all matched! I used a floral embossing folder for the bottom portion, just to add some texture. The sentiments and banner dies are new this month too, and they're foiled in gold. Click over to see the list of sentiments in that set - they're very sweet and timely.

Spellbinders Products:

S3-410 Cameo

GLP-288 Mini Sincere Sentiments

DOM May 2021 Arched A2 & Slimline Card Creator

SES-015 Simply Perfect Florets Embossing Folder

I made one more card just to pull in some different and brighter colors - this is a mini slimline size, 3.5"x6". Again, I left my die cut in the die to emboss and then ink the inner oval - I love the dimension that adds! It doesn't show well in the photo, but I used a stylus to press texture into her hair - curls in the back and some 'pulled back' lines and bangs as well.

Spellbinders products:

S3-410 Cameo

S4-1119 Elliptical Ovals

GLP-288 Mini Sincere Sentiments

When you click over to Spellbinders (wink wink!) be sure to check out their Die Cutting Sale-abration - sets are up to 40% off! If you are a club member, it's almost 50% off - I love that little perk! 

Have a wonderful weekend!