Oriental Playing Card Stamps

I was just browsing around Paper Forest Designs and came across these awesome Oriental Playing card stamps by Eclectic Omnibus:


They are just three of the many designs available on page 2 and page 3 of the Eclectic Omnibus range at PFD.

What's even more exciting is that they are currently 35% off, so instead of paying $7.50 each, they are now on sale for only $4.88 each! Bargain!

Perfect for this month's challenge! :)

~Sarah~

*** PRIZES FOR JULY 09! ***

Now for what you've all been waiting for!

Here are the fabulous prizes on offer for the winners of this month's Playing Card challenge, thanks to our very generous sponsors:

* A funky set of Stampendous "Spotz Botz" perfectly Clear Stamps, PLUS a Stampendous Thin Stamp Storage folder, courtesy of Stamp & Scrapbook Madness:



* A special prize pack from Paperforest Designs which consists of:

- 2 packs of 0.5 oz Angelina Fibre
- 2 packs of 0.5 oz Crystallina
- 2 packs of Angelina Film

Total Prize Package: $43.60!




These fibres are an exciting development in textile fibres that are particularly suited for use in paper craft projects! Heat-bond Hot Fix Angelina fibres to produce stunning shimmering web-like non-woven type of fabric. See these products here.

* In the spirit of Christmas in July, you could be taking home the gorgeous Christmas Reindeer stamp set from Darkroom Door - perfect timing to start getting your cards ready!


* A fabulous Champin' Pack from Orange Jelly Stamps, which consists of:

- 3 x stamps of your choice from the Champin' Range
- A 10 pack of chipboard pieces to match, and
- An A6 sheet of Instagrip for your acrylic block!



* A $20.00 gift voucher from The Stamping Queen.

* A $20.00 gift voucher from Tarisota Collections.

Once again, some excellent incentives to give this month's challenge a go! :)

Get stamping!

~Sarah~

A final note from the lovely folks at Stampin' Up.

Well done to everyone who entered the bleach stamping challenge over the past month! We’ve loved all of the great entries that have come through!


Well done to Joy Rumble for your lovely Christmas Card using the bleach stamping technique - congratulations on winning the major prize! You’ve won the beautiful Stampin' Up! Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set valued at AUD$45.95 (shown above) and a bonus bottle of Crystal Effects which will be sent out to you this month!


How to open the door to creativity and rewards.

Are you looking to share your passion for stamping with others? Do you want to set your own hours and supplement your income with a successful home business? Being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator means you'll enjoy all of this and more. Whether you’re looking to earn money to pay for your stamping supplies, create a full or part-time career, or simply get a discount on your stamping supplies, Stampin' Up! can help you do it.

As part of the Stampin' Up! family you’ll receive loads of opportunities to develop your passion for stamping. Our Stampin' Up! events let you share your creativity and excitement with other Demonstrators as you learn new techniques in a fun environment. You’ll also have access to samples, training articles and materials created exclusively for demonstrators.

Check out this VIDEO to find out more about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.

To find out more about becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator go to www.stampinup.com.au or call 1800 787 867 for more information.

Yours in stamping
Stampin' Up!

*** WINNERS FOR JUNE 09! ***

Sorry for the delay - I really must invest in a heater for my computer room! LOL!

Firstly, a great big THANK YOU to the ladies that were brave enough to enter the bleach stamping challenge! With only 14 entries, it was VERY hard to pick 7 winners! They were all great. If you didn't get a chance to give this technique a go, then make sure you try it out at some stage - you'll have great fun!

Another huge THANKS goes to those of you that sent in extra projects as examples along with your official entries. It was so great to see more lovely projects on a month where the entry numbers were a little low. :)

And lastly, a HUUUUGE THANKS to our sponsors for June who've made it possible for the following lucky ladies to be taking home such awesome prizes!

Without further ado, here are the winners of the Bleach Stamping challenge:

* JOY RUMBLE! You are the winner of the major prize from Stampin' Up - the lovely "Fifth Avenue Floral" stamp set valued at $45.95 AUD, PLUS a bonus bottle of Crystal Effects!
I just loved Joy's card - and the details that she achieved with the bleach stamping was fabulous. Great work Joy!

* FIONA SHULTZ! You have won yourself a prize pack of an assortment of Laughing Moon unmounted stamps, worth about $60RRP, from Paper Forest Designs! Your masculine birthday card was awesome. The stamping looked amazing, and the way you hung the "sign" was so cool!

* TEINA CUMMING! You have scored the lovely set of "Viva La Flora Vol 2" stamps from Darkroom Door! Your bleach colouring looked great, and I loved the way you created a "floor" for the people using the bleach as well. :)

* JEN SWEATMAN! You have won your choice of either a Boyz or Girlz stamp set from Orange Jelly Stamps! Loved all the different details in your card - lots of stamping, lots of techniques - your card looked awesome!

* SHARMAINE KRUIJVER! You will be receiving the very cute set of Stampendous "Feather Flourish" stamps, PLUS some Black Velvet Damask Class A Peels Stickers from Stamp and Scrapbook Madness! The way you created your background paper using bleach and a lid looked amazing!

* TANIA DAVEY! You have won a $20.00 Gift Voucher from The Stamping Queen! Loved the way you did your card with the 3 different colours!

* LYN SMITH! You have won a $20.00 Gift Voucher from Tarisota Collections! Your combination of bleach stamping and colouring with bleach, along with a great colour combo really made your card stand out.

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!

See all the fabulous bleach stamping examples in our slide show here.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the prizes for July! :)

~Sarah~

We have our first playing card challenge entry!

Good morning stampers!

I don't know what it's like at your place, but here it is FREEEZING! It's a gorgeous sunny day, however it must be snowing on the snow fields somewhere and the wind is coming directly from there! It is positively arctic at the moment! LOL! I hope you all haven't frozen, and are ready for some eye candy! :)

Our first playing card challenge entry comes from Rein from Germany:


Rein has used stamps from Hero Arts, Time to Stamp, and some unknown brands, as well as gorgeous mixed media collage elements to create her King and Queen cards.

Her background papers were made using the shaving cream technique, which you can see on her blog here.

Awesome work Rein!

Stay tuned for the winners of the June bleach stamping challenge which will be revealed this afternoon. :)

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR JULY 09 IS.......

PLAYING CARDS!


Your task this month is to create something (anything!) using playing cards (either as one of your materials or as inspiration), and of course at least one stamp!

It is up to you how you choose to interpret this theme!

You may choose to use actual playing cards in your project (front or back), or you may choose to be inspired by the colour combination, the symbols, the picture cards etc. You may even like to use a stamp that features playing cards! The possibilities are endless.

Playing cards come in all different shapes and sizes too! I have jumbo ones in my collection that are approx 4x6 inches, as well as mini ones that are only around 1.52 x 2.5 inches! Feel free to use any size or shape that you like!

Most normal sized playing cards will be the perfect size to create ATC's with too!

Here's some ideas:

* Use a playing card as the base of your artwork (altered playing card).
* Use the great patterns on the back of a playing card in your design.
* Use playing cards as an embellishment on a scrapbook page.

You can paint, ink, emboss, collage, rip, tear, distress - go crazy!

Here is my example (which you may have seen briefly last month):


I have made an ATC using one of the scary little guys I created using the bleach technique.

For the background, I stamped a Stamp-it Harlequin background stamp onto white cardstock using black ink. I then got a mini King of Spades playing card (which I got from Big W) and cut out the picture of the king using fine tipped scissors, and stuck the frame to the background.

I reversed the King picture, revealing the red pattern on the back of the card, and stuck it back in the hole where I'd cut it from.

I then stuck my Rocky stamp cut out over the top, attached a gold crown brad, and the letters HRH (His Royal Highness) to finish.

Now it's your turn!

Entries for this challenge must be in no later than midnight 31st July 2009. For entry details, see the sidebar of the blog.

Have fun! Be creative! And if you're looking for some ideas or inspiration, you might like to check these out:

• Altered Playing Cards website
  

• Article about Altered Playing Cards
  

• How to create an art journal from playing cards

• Wednesday Stamper - Altered Playing Cards challenge (May 2008).
  

(scroll through the comments and go blog hopping through all the eye candy!).

• Queen of Hearts stamp from Paper Forest Designs

• Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland Stamp from PFD
  

• Very cool altered Jack card
  

• STUNNING mixed media altered playing cards from the member gallery at 2peas.
  

I'm looking forward to seeing your entries!

~Sarah~

Almost over!

This month's bleach stamping challenge is almost over! You only have until midnight tonight (Sydney time) to send me an entry!

Today's entry was sent in by Joy Rumble of New Zealand:


Joy had a great time working out as how to get the detail of the stamp when using the bleach, and she's done a fabulous job, hasn't she!

Joy stamped the bauble stamp twice onto pink cardstock, and punched out a 1 inch circle from the 2nd stamping and mounted it on the bauble with 3D foam mounting tape. To accent her baubles, Joy dotted Crystalina Kindyglitz along them for a bit of bling!

Joy used silver cardstock for the main card base, as well as the backgrounds, which she cut out with deckled edge scissors. Joy has used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the background, and the "Greetings" sentiment after they had been stamped with bleach. The sentiment has been attached with 3d foam mounting tape, and silver string was added before Joy assembled the card.

Gorgeous work Joy!

And like many others this month, Joy just couldn't stop at one! So here is another card she made using the bleach technique:


Joy has made her background by stamping a feather stamp onto cardstock with bleach.

For her main feature, Joy has stamped her bird stamp, and embossed it with embossing powder before colouring her image with bleach.

Stunning Joy!

There's still time to get an entry in for this month's challenge (and for tonight's Powerball! LOL)!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow to find out what the new challenge will be! Any guesses?

~Sarah~

Not long to go now.....

Hi everyone!

Today's entry was sent in by Danielle O'Connor:


Danielle used stamps from Darkroom Door and Stampabilities.

She stamped the butterflies onto some patterned paper by Imaginisce and cut them out and mounted them with foam tape.

The leaves were stamped onto yellow cardstock with bleach, and used as a background.

Great work Danielle!

Entries for this challenge are due at midnight tomorrow, 30th June (AEST), so if you are planning on sending in an entry, get a move on! LOL! Don't miss out on your chance to win one of the great prizes on offer from our sponsors this month. :)

~Sarah~

Gothic Love.

Good evening stampers!

Today's entry was sent in by Teina Cumming:


Teina created her card by stamping her images onto purple Bazzill cardstock, then heat embossing them with embossing powder. She then highlighted the details using bleach in an Aquash pen:


Teina also created the "floor" that the pair are standing on by tearing the cardstock and coating the edges with bleach.

The fabulous Stampotique stamps are available at The Stamping Queen, and the swirls on the Collections chipboard heart are from PaperArtsy.

Awesome work Teina!

Only 2 more days left to get your entries in stampers! Any ideas as to what the next challenge might be?

~Sarah~

A card and an ATC.

Happy weekend everyone!

And speaking of the weekend, this is the last weekend before the end of the Bleach Stamping challenge, so make sure you set aside some time in the next 2 days to have a play!

Today's entry comes from Vicky Fernando:


From Vicky:

"My card was done using Darkroom Door stamps (the flower from the Full Bloom Coll Vol 1 & the quote is from Viva La Flora Vol 2). I stamped the flower twice, using bleach, and let it dry. I then stamped the same image once just to the side, using black Versafine ink & clear embossing powder. I then masked my first image and stamped over the second image in the same way".

"I used a piece of watercolour paper & my Twinling H2O's paint to do that beautiful green colour. I stamped the quote with the Versafine ink, and covered with the clear embossing powder, layering the quote on an orange piece of cardstock, mounting it with some foam tape.
I also used a piece of Basic Grey patterned paper for the background, and stitched it in place with my trusty sewing machine".

Great work Vicky!

Vicky has also sent in an ATC as another example of the bleaching technique:


LOL! I just love that quote!

From Vicky:

"For my ATC, I used one of my favourite Stampotique stamps, stamping with the black Versafine ink and covering with clear embossing powder. I then "painted" his face & fingers with bleach. I used my white signo pen on his eye, added a scrap of watercolour painted paper, and some machine sewing".

"The quote is from an ATC booklet (from TSQ) which I layered onto cardstock, and mounted onto the ATC using foam tape. I added the brad and the wire to make it look as though the "frame" is about to fall!"".

Thanks for sharing Vicky!

Have a great weekend everyone!

~Sarah~