'Mappy' Birthday?

This map stamp I have had for so long, I have no idea where I got it from, only that it came on a sheet with half a dozen maps and some sea/sailing -related stamps.The ship & compass collage stamp design is from The Stamp Man, and was stamped onto inkjet film that had the Crystal technique applied to it,and I cut the two parts of the image out and layered them separately, with a few dabs of silicone glue. The map was stamped onto a brayered green/blue background, then cut into three panels and matted onto blue/grey cardstock, then white. The sentiment was treated the same way. Black Staz-on was used for all the stamping. A small piece of white netting was smudged with Adirondack Latte & Espresso then scrumpled up. Held down with some silicone glue, which was also used to attach the Lighthouse charm and the sea shell. I filled the back of the seashell with the silicone to help protect it.
***  Update to this post, the map set of stamps comes from Stamp & Go.

Pink Birthday

Made for our niece, who is very into pink! Its also a version of the monochrome card further down. All the stamp credits are the same, with the exception of the Happy Birthday, which is from Butterfly Kisses,Art Collage clear 2 you sheet. Stamped it twice, on one I just coloured in the letter with an embossing pen, added embossing powder & heated, then coloured the surround in pink marvy marker, went over it with the embossing pen then with pink embossing powder.The embossing folder is Cuttlebug Birds & Swirls, and this I put through the Cuttlebug upside down, so the image is debossed, rather than embossed. This is a useful way to get some variety from your embossing folders, and works with anything that does not contain words.
The tartan panel was stamped with Distress ink, Worn Lipstick.

Describe Her

A sheet of A4 white pearlescent was creased & folded and used in landscape format. A piece of black pearl paper was embossed with the Swiss Dots folder & Cuttlebug, trimmed to 6x10cm and the corners rounded. A piece of black embroidered paper was cut to the same size and rounded. Butterfly Kisses Stamp 'Tartan Background'(BK1006F) was stamped in Black Versafine onto white cardstock, trimmed and rounded. These three panels were mounted onto silver grey card leaving an equal gap between them, then the grey card cut to just fit the card front and corners rounded.

A length of black organza ribbon was wrapped around the panel and tied in a bow before being stuck down with DST across the centre of the card.  Artifacts stamp 'Describe Her' was stamped in Black onto white pearl card twice, then cut and rounded. A piece of silver vellum was cut about a centimetre larger than the words panel, corners rounded then embossed with the D'vine swirls folder. The word panel was matted onto this, then mounted across the three panels on the front of the card. 

The lady is from a set by The Glitter Girls, and is stamped in Staz-on onto acetate which has been given the 'Caught in Crystal' treatment. She was then mounted to the left side with silicone glue. The sentiment was stamped in black, and comes from an Elusive Images themeplate.

 Caught in Crystal:  This is messy, so cover your workspace with newspaper first! And wear gloves too! Take a sheet of acetate (I use OHP transparencies, from Staples) and pour a couple of tablespoons of Johnsons KLEAR floor polish onto it. Add a few drops of re-inker colours, or alcohol inks, and spread with your fingers or a spatula across the acetate.

Don't mix too much, or you will muddy the colours. If you wish you can sprinkle in some glitter, gold leaf, even seed beads, but remember the lumpier you make it, the harder it will be to get a good stamped image. You can of course stamp your images first, then flip it over and do the floor polish stuff, however this makes it harder to determine where your images colours will be. When you are happy, take a sheet of tissue paper (the sort used for gifts, not the paper hanky type) and either scrumple it up, open out and pat down onto your ink/floor polish mix, or just lay it on flat and pat down. I use any pale colour of tissue, it doesn't have to be white. Just pat down with your fingers- don't press, or you will push the colours around. Now put aside to dry- this may take a day or so, depending on temperature. If you do find it difficult to get a good stamped image, you can clean Staz-on off acetate with Staz-on cleaner & try again, and you may find it helps to put a stamping mat, or mouse-pad, underneath.