Shoot for the Stars! Kids United!

Hello everybody! I hope you are having a wonderful day! I'm just popping in to share this card made with a super sweet image from the Hero Arts Kids United stamp set. I love this image of two young girls holding hands and looking at each other like they and their dreams are all that matters in this world. I just want to tell them, "Shoot for the Stars kids! You can be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do!" I found this sentiment in the You're My Universe stamp set and it was just perfect for what I wanted.

I started by stamping the image in Hero Arts INTENSE-ified black ink so that I could use my copics without my ink smearing. I colored the image in gray scale using my cool gray markers. Then, I added a subtle wash of color with some light pinks and blues. After I was done coloring I used the coordinating dies to cut the image out. I'm so glad I had the dies because I'm sure I would've done some wonky cutting on the ropes. 

Next, I ink blended a background using my Hero Arts Reactive inks in Taffy, Creamsicle and Lemon Drop. I heat embossed the sentiment in black at the top. Then, I splattered the background with water to lift some color... and then I sprayed the whole thing with shimmer spray. I wanted it to look sparkly and celestial and that did the trick. 

I used the Star Confetti Fancy die to cut stars out of some glittery white cardstock. I used the larger stars and some foam tape to hang the swing and girls in the sky. Then I adhered stars in many sizes to the background. I adhered this whole front piece to a white card base using foam tape and that was all!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I know you all are busy and I truly appreciate the visit. If you're interested in checking out any of the supplies I've used today I've got a list for you down below.

Bye for now and I hope you all have the best day!

Maria

PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST:

Hero Arts Sending Peace, Happiness and Love

Hey Everybody! I'm just popping in to let you know that I'm up on the Hero Arts blog today sharing this card using the beautiful Bare Branched Tree Background stamp. To get all the details head on over to the Hero Arts blog. For now, here are a couple of pics...

This wonderful sentiment is from the Stocking Bouquet stamp set.

This was such an easy winter card to make and I was inspired to make more cards using this Bare Branched Tree stamp so be on the lookout for those soon.

 

Ok, guys. That's it for today but before I go I'll link to the products I've used below in case you'd like to check any of them out.

Have an awesome day!

Maria

PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST:

Let's Get Hopping Blog Hop: Very Vanilla

Hello Everybody and welcome back to another blog hop! If you haven't visited my blog before... my name is Maria Willis and I am an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator from a small mountain town in California, USA called Boulder Creek. I love making cards and other crafty things and I'm so happy that you've decided to join me for the fun today!

Today I'm hopping with the Let's Get Hopping crew and the theme for this month is Very Vanilla Cardstock. I decided to combine the theme with my March 2018 Paper Pumpkin kit for a card that reminds me that spring is near... Well, technically it's already spring here in California but it doesn't feel like it yet.

For my card I used one of the envelopes that came in the Paper Pumpkin kit. I cut it open, turned it inside out and instead of using the vintage themed side, I opted to use this bright green prettiness instead. The stripes on the DSP are Very Vanilla so the paper matches my Very Vanilla card base perfectly.

I wanted to add a contrasting color and thought the circle of Soft Sky went well with the green and still looked soft and natural. I layered my sentiment piece (stamp and die are both from the PP kit) and the circle on top of a strip of Very Vanilla cardstock that has been splattered with a Stampin' Blends marker. I embellished my card using the twine and wooden embellishments from the Paper Pumpkin kit. The card needed a little something extra so I added pearls to finish my card off.

Now I'm finding myself curious to know if you all find yourself using Very Vanilla or other creamy, off-white colored cardstocks very often? I realize that I've been using it more often lately and I'm not sure why... although I suppose I've been doing more vintage and shabby chic cards recently. Both of those styles usually work really well with Very Vanilla. Anyhow, let me know if you use it or not. If not, what color card base tends to be your go-to color? 

If you're looking for more Very Vanilla inspired creations head on over to Tracy Bish's blog by clicking on the next button below. As always, if you have any questions please let me know. You can leave me a comment below or shoot me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. 

Have an amazing day! Thank you for stopping by and I'll catch you back here soon.

Bye!

Maria 

E-mail: mariawillis@hotmail.com

PRODUCT SUPPLY LIST:

Want to shop with me? No problem, just click the button below. 

Let me know if you have any questions!

Email: mariawillis@hotmail.com

Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!

#TGIFC141 - Color Challenge

Hey everybody! I'm back with another fun challenge from TGIF today! If you missed my announcement last week... I am thrilled to say that I have been invited to join the amazing design team over at TGIF Challenges and this is my second week joining in the fun!

This week's challenge is a color challenge... Yikes! I usually shy away from color challenges because they are often colors that I don't usually reach for. I guess that's why they call it a "challenge," right? Well, this color scheme of Night of Navy, Island Indigo and Fresh Fig was no exception. Fresh Fig is a color I tend to steer clear of. When I do use it I like to add bright colors to it to change it up a bit. I decided to watercolor so that I could mix the three colors to get shades of color that I really love. Here's what I came up with...

I used Fresh Fig, Island Indigo and Night of Navy with my Aquapainter to watercolor in this image from a new stamp set called Lots of Lavender (147194). During Sale-A-Bration/SAB (happening now) you can get this set for FREE with any $50 purchase! I like free stuff so I find this to be pretty amazing. After watercoloring the image, I used my Fine-tip Glue pen to add a thick layer of adhesive to the image. It added some nice texture and shine without hiding the watercoloring. That strip of DSP is also in the new SAB catalog and is another one of your "freebie" choices.

These framelits are also new and in the SAB catalog (yep, FREE with a $100 purchase!) and they are "amazing." Those beautiful little embellishments are actually clear (new in the Occasions catalog) and I've colored them with my Night of Navy Stampin' Blends alcohol marker. My background is Shimmery White Cardstock spritzed with an alcohol and Island Indigo ink mixture.

That's it for today. Please let me know if you have any questions. We would love to have you play along with #TGIF141 for this week's color challenge. If you'd like to play along, or, just check out what the rest of the Design Team has made then head on over to the TGIF Challenges Blog to see some other fun projects. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. It's always great to have you! If you're interested in purchasing any of the supplies I've used in today's project please let me know or click the "shop online" button below. I'm here to answer any questions that you may have.

Have an amazing day!

Maria

mariawillis@hotmail.com

Want to shop with me? No problem, just click the button below. 

Let me know if you have any questions!

Email: mariawillis@hotmail.com

Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Creating Kindness: Celebrate

Hi Everybody! Happy Thursday or whichever day it might be in your part of the world. I'm happy to have you stop by today because today is the Creating Kindness Blog and Video Hop day. Myself and some other talented Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world have gotten together to share some fun projects and video tutorials as well!

Our theme for this month's hop is "Celebrate." There is always so much to celebrate at this time of year (Winter Holidays, New Year's Eve, and five December birthdays for me)... but right now, as I've taken a couple of days off of work, I am choosing to celebrate the little things. For me, that means some time in my craft room to experiment with my supplies. That's something to celebrate, right?! So, as I celebrated my alone time in my craft room I tried this new (to me anyways) technique. I don't know what it's called so I'm calling it Alcohol Stamping and I've got a video tutorial at the end of my blog post. Here's what I made with this fun technique...

Believe it or not, this technique is so easy! I started with a piece of Shimmery White Cardstock and sponged it with Tempting Turquoise and Melon Mambo (the purple hue in the middle is where I overlapped the two colors). After that I took a stamp from Flirty Flowers and a Stampin' Spritzer filled with rubbing alcohol and spritzed my stamp. I pressed it firmly onto the sponged background, held it there for a couple of seconds to let the paper absorb the alcohol, and lifted the stamp off the paper. The watermark-like effect is visible immediately and is stunning! I dried off my stamp and block with a paper towel and repeated the alcohol stamping multiple times until I had the background I desired.

I added a silver embossed "celebrate" sentiment (from Weather Together), some Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes (145632) which are new in the Occasions Catalog, and some Black Metallic Thread. I wanted the background to be the star of show so I tried not to over do it. The background is layered on a Basic Black mat and that is popped up on dimensionals on a Pool Party card base.

Want to try this technique out for yourself? Here's a quick video tutorial with some tips to help you out. 

And that's it for today folks. I am sure glad that you've stopped by to visit my blog today and I hope you will continue on the hop by heading down under to my visit my friend Cheryll! Just click her name or the next button below. 

In case you didn't know Sale-A-Bration has just begun! It's the best time of year to buy all of your favorite things as you get rewarded for every $50 you spend! It's also an amazing time to join my team-so if you've been thinking about it let me know. I'm happy to answer any questions and generally enable you to fill your craft space with fun things.

Have an amazing day you guys!

Maria Willis

BLOG ROLL:

Want to shop with me? No problem, just click the button below. 

Let me know if you have any questions!

Email: mariawillis@hotmail.com

Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!