Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Patterned Pumpkin


The Pattered Pumpkin Whispers die from Die-Versions is one of the new mini-releases this month.  I've created a simple card by die cutting the image three times out of different patterned papers and paper piecing them together.  Viva Decor Pearl Pen (orange) was added to the flower centers, giving the image more dimension.

The card base is dry embossed with Spellbinders Garden Lattice embossing folder (love this large folder).  A bit of ribbon completes this quick and easy card.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Did you see a Mouse??



One of the new Halloween dies recently released by Die-Versions is the Mouse Sweet Petite.  As soon as I saw him, I imagined him in some sort of graveyard scene.

I started creating the background for the tag using the Tim Holtz technique he showed for his August Tag of the Month.  In addition to using Frayed Burlap and Pumice Stone, I added a bit of Peeled Paint Distress Stain to the mix.  Then I stamped a couple tombstones and the bat sentiment with Frayed Burlap so that it would blend in with the background, rather than upstage my mice.

The mouse was die cut twice and covered with Swanky Grey Sparkle N Soft flock from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  Doesn't it give it the look of fur?  I can tell you it definitely feels soft and furry to the touch.

Now, to complete the graveyard scene, you have to have something spooky flying about.  The Die-Versions Wicked Witch Sweet Petite was the perfect compliment to my mice.  She's cut out of fun foam and is flying in front of a cloud streaked full moon (thanks to Picket Fence Distress Stains).

Be sure to visit the DV Blog and DV Facebook page often for more great projects.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Tree Dreams



Tree Dream is one of the new August releases from Die-Versions.  I cut the tree out a couple times, once using white cardstock and once with green patterned paper.  The negative portion of the green paper became my leaves and everything else is colored with Copic markers.  The background was brayered using Distress Inks.


Pretty quick and easy card to make.  The sticker is from my stash from ages ago.  

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Don't Take Life Too Seriously




For this tongue-in-cheek card, I combined a couple different stamp sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle:  the Country set for the outhouse and Innies and Outies II for the sentiment.

I used Caramel embossing powder to heat emboss the outhouse and rope corners.  One of the cool properties of this particular embossing powder is that it has a super fine sheen that also coats the paper.  If you don't want it, you can easily rub it off with your fingers after you've heat set the embossing powder.  I wanted those streaks, so not only did I leave it on after heat embossing the outhouse, I also covered the entire card again after heat embossing the sentiment with Tequila Sunrise embossing powder.  I tapped the excess Caramel off and then sealed it with a fixative so the sheen wouldn't rub off later.  Sparkle embossing powder was also randomly added to some of the edges.

The charms are cut out of Super Adhesive Sheets with dies from MFT (Country Charms) and are covered with Reflections velvet glitter, Goldenrod velvet glitter, and Jasper Blue velvet glitter.   The brads are covered with Dark Chocolate flock for an added texture.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Happy Birthday corner bookmark


Have you checked out the new Corner Concept dies from Die-Versions yet?  If not, you really need to.   Instead of using it as a mat layer behind a photo or image, I've created a corner bookmark with it.  This would be fun for any book lover, especially if it's part of their birthday present.

The Happy Birthday Corner Concept die is sandwiched between the layers creating this bookmark.  I added glue and glitter to the letters and then wiped most of it off because I wanted the glitter to be more random.  The rest of the bookmark has lots of glittery goodness everywhere.  I also added the new Wee Petites Super Stars to the top.




Friday, August 16, 2013

Space...the final frontier



This Baby Bot Sweet Petite die from Die-Versions is so darn cute and fun to play with.  

The one on top is cut from regular cardstock and his features came from the negative portions of the Super Robot (also a new release).  He's colored with Inka Gold metallic rubs.  The bottom guy is actually cut from a soda can.  This is the first tie I've tried cutting a can because I always thought it would be too hard to get the top and bottom of the can off.  Nope - I was wrong.  Easy, peasy!  And these dies cut the soda can like it was butter.

The background is a Tim Holtz technique - layering acrylic paint, Distress Stains and Distress Ink onto your craft mat, spritzing with water, and dabbing the tag into the puddles.  The stamped globe is actually made from fun foam and the DV Old Globe West die and stamped with Archival Ink.  The title/sentiment is a combination of DV fonts Tick Tock and Little Lizzie



Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Holiday Greetings


This card combines the Poinsettia rubber stamp (part of the Holiday Foliage stamp set) from Sparkle N Sprinkle with an older technique - using a used dryer sheet.

After coloring the image with Copic markers, I covered it with dryer sheet, sprinkled Cloud Nine velvet glitter on top, and then fussy cut it out.  The green mat, which was cut with Spellbinders Timeless Rectangle, is covered with Sparkle embossing powder.  This embossing powder lets the base color show through while giving it tons of sparkle.  (It fits its name perfectly!)  You can see the shimmer better in the lower right corner of this photo.

The sentiment fishtale flag (a MFT die) was also covered with a dryer sheet and Cloud Nine velvet glitter.  Staz-On was used to ink the message.  The card base is also done the same way, carrying the technique all the way through the card.  For more details, you can visit my SNS Art Gallery.


Monday, August 12, 2013

I Love You




 Today is a new mini release from Die-Versions and the debut of a new die called Corner Concepts.  This is the I Love You Corner Concept die and boy, are these dies versatile.

The digi image is by Digi Land Designs and is colored with Copic markers.  Head on over to the DV Blog and DV Facebook page to see more of the new releases - you won't be disappointed.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Sk8tr Trix



The Sweet Petite Skateboard is another fun release from the Boys Will Be Boys release from Die-Versions.  As the saying goes: "Girls can do anything boys can do....only better!" So this fun pop up card is showing just that.

The digi image is from Mayzy Arts, is colored with Copic markers and fussy cut out.  (She's supposed to be break dancing on a sidewalk, but I had a different idea for her).  After die cutting the skateboard and coloring it with Copics, I added Glossy Accents to the board and immediately sprinkled some glitter into the wet glue.  It looks like one of those fiberglass pieces with the embedded glitter.

The trees are DV Spring Tree that I quickly colored with Copics and the sentiment is a combination of two DV fonts: Flashback (for the letters) and Middle School (for the number).

Be sure to visit the Die-Versions Blog and Facebook page for more wonderful projects from the team.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Dahlia


The Dahlia is one of the new rubber stamp sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle (and definitely a designer favorite).  I saw this new fun fold when surfing the web and decided to try the Circle Step Card for myself and thought this would be a great way to showcase one of the larger stamps in this set.



The images are colored with Copics and the two smaller ones fussy cut out.  I added Autumn Medley glitter to the ovals from the Spellbinders (Beaded Ovals die).  The sentiment was stamped with VersaMark and heat embossed with Tuscan Star embossing powder.







The card leaned to the left because of the weight of the focal point, so I added a couple of buttons behind the steps to counter balance the weight.  (You can see them peeking through in the close-up on the left).

For more information about this card, you can always visit my Sparkle N Sprinkle Art Gallery.




Monday, August 5, 2013

Little things...Big things


Tree Dream is one of the new releases from Die-Versions.  For this long A10 card, I used the negative portion and created a silhouette.

Added a sentiment from Create with TCL, a little Glossy Accents on a couple words, washi tape and twine to complete this quick and easy card.

Don't forget to check out the DV Blog and DV Facebook page for lots more great projects using the newly released dies.

Friday, August 2, 2013

All the Little Things




 This month's Die-Versions new release has more great Express Edges.  The Congrats is so versatile and can be used for lots of different occasions.  I decided to make a baby card using a digi from Create with TLC and Graphic 45 papers.

After printing the image, I die cut my Congrats at the top and colored everything with Copic markers.  I also added Glossy Accents to the individual letters as well as the baby rattle.  The Martha Stewart punch was given a bit of shimmer with Sparkle embossing powder form Sparkle N Sprinkle.  One other trick I did was to re-color the polka dotted cardstock.  It didn't quite match the colors in my image, so I took one of the Copic BGs and colored the whole panel - instant matching.

Head on over to the Die-Versions Blog and DV Facebook page to see what the rest of the team is up to.





Thursday, August 1, 2013

Hearts



This month's Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenge is a color challenge based on the following image from Design Seeds.
Color swatch courtesy of Design Seeds®

I've chosen the new Swirls rubber stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle and tried a new technique (to me) called Blurred Lines technique.  You can find the tutorial here, although it's super simple to do.  Stamp your image with pigment or dye ink and go around the edges with a damp water brush (or one of those blender pens).  I went around the lines as well as on the right side of the heart, using the color from the stamped image to color it in.  Can't get much quicker than that!  I tried this with several different types of inks and the results are slightly different each time, even if the ink pad is by the same company.

I also added a bit of bling by adhering a strip of 1/4" and 1/8" Tear-ific tape to the side and covering with Navy glitter.  For even more sparkle, I die cut a strip of Super Adhesive Sheets with a Lifestyle Crafts border die and the I heat embossed it with Sparkle embossing powder.  The cool thing about this embossing powder is that it's basically clear on steroids - lots of glittery goodness added in.  So whatever color the background paper is, it will show through - just super sparkly.

You have the entire month of August to play along with our color challenge.  I can't wait to see what you create with these fun colors.