Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Sparkle N Sprinkle's January 1 Reveal



Happy New Year and welcome to Sparkle N Sprinkle's January Reveal.  We hope you enjoy all the new SNS products in 2014, including new, less expensive stamp sets, our own line of digital stamps, and an exclusive line of designer papers to match our glitters and embossing powders.

This month there are 4 new stamp sets being debuted by artists Michelle Perkett and Beccy Muir: Spunky Valentine, Rocco with Roses, Cinderella Slipper, and Dress Up.  

There are EIGHT chances to win: four chances in the "January 1 Reveal" contest and four more chances with the SNS Creative Challenge where the monthly theme is always Anything Goes, using Glitter, Embossing Powder, and/or Flock.

The Spunky Valentine rubber stamp set is the set included in Jazzy Jill's Technique Video of the month kit.

Four Winners (one for each new stamp set) will be selected by Random.org during the Designers Mystery Party. Winners will also get to choose one Glitter and one Embossing Powder to go with their new stamp set.

#521 Spunky Valentine
#525 Dress Up

#527 Rocco with Roses
#528 Cinderella Slipper


How the Mystery Party works:

On four of the participating blogs below, a Commenter will be selected to receive the prize
No one knows who the FOUR Mystery Designers are, so you may wish to visit each blog to leave a comment.

The winners will be announced on January 3 on Facebook, the SNS blog, and on our blogs:


Each of the four stamp sets are available at 20% off as part of our 2014 NEW YEAR specials.   The price should automatically be adjusted when checking out in the SNS on-line store.  Promotion valid through January 3.   You may also phone the SNS Shoppe to place your orders.



Now, on to my card using Rocco Raccoon.

Rocco was stamped and fussy cut out.  I colored his tail and face with Copic markers and the rest of his body is covered with Swanky Gray Sparkle N Soft flocking.  I used SNS dimensional glue and laid it on heavy so his body would have dimension and look like it was another layer.  A Sakura glue pen was used to outline the roses and Daisy velvet glitter was added to the petals for additional sparkle.

The frame around Rocco was created by first embossing white cardstock with the Fancy Frame embossing folder by Sizzix and then applying VersaMark to the raised edges and heat setting Shimmer embossing powder for a shimmery, but subtle look.  The corners were punched with an old EK Success punch (heart corner adorner punch) that I haven't used in ages.  Behind the open hearts, squares of Super Adhesive Sheets were applied and then I covered them with more Daisy velvet glitter.

I die cut the tag (part of a Sizzix die set) for the sentiment from Super Adhesive Sheets and then covered it with Daisy velvet glitter again.  The sentiment, which is part of the set, was stamped onto a tag with StazOn.  To create the rolled rose (Sizzix - Flowers 3D), I randomly applied Daisy velvet glitter and Bubblegum glitter to a scrap of Super Adhesive Sheets and then die cut it out.  Not to waste my newly created glitter paper, I colored an area with my Distress Marker (Mowed Lawn) to die cut the leaves (Spellbinders - Foliage).

The next layer peeking out, also cut from some Super Adhesive Sheets, was die cut from the Taylored Expressions Circles cutting plate and covered with Shimmer embossing powder.  The pale pink card base pulls it all together for a nice Springtime/anytime card.

Your next stop is Belinda.  Don't forget to leave everyone a comment in order to have a chance to win.  We'd all love it if you wanted to become a follower of our blogs too. :-)

New Teams to play with!

I'm excited to announce that I will be on two more teams in 2014, Pattie's Creations and Time 4 Scrap!


Some of you may recall that I've been on Pattie's design team before.  I was so honored when Pattie emailed and asked me to join her group again, that I said yes right away.  This time around there will be two teams: Team Allie and Team Pattieboop (I'm on this one) with a challenge every two weeks.  My first challenge will be January 24th.




Lady Ann asked me to join her team in 2013, but things were a bit too hectic at the time.  I asked her to think of me for the next go round.  Well, when that came around, I was in the process of moving from Alabama to Tennessee and Lady Ann was so gracious in accommodating my schedule.  I'm so happy to say that I'm officially beginning in January with a bunch of new ladies.  There are challenges every two weeks with some inspiration projects in between.  My first project will be on January 4th.

Please check the Page Tab above, "Design Teams", for links to all the design team members for each of the design teams I'm on.


Monday, December 30, 2013

Cupid's Jar


Did you know that Cupid, one of the new Valentine's release from Die-Versions, keeps all of the hearts that goes on the tip of his arrow in a DV Bug Jar?  Well, he is this year anyway.  :-)

All of the larger hearts are from the Wee Petites Heart Doodles and the smaller hearts are the negative portion of the Love Doily and are colored with Inka Gold paint (Rose mixed with a good bit of water).


The jar cap is also painted with Copper Inka Gold paint.  I die cut the Bug Jar twice, once in white cardstock and once in vellum.  I used the vellum inserts to simulate frosted glass.  Cupid is pop dotted above the jar rim, getting ready to fire off one of his arrows.  The sentiment was die cut from the Marker Micro font and adhered to one of the Heart Doodles.

I also distressed embossed the edges of the card with Distress Ink (Worn Lipstick) and Clear embossing powder.  I love that glazed icing-like look this technique gives the edges.

Be sure to check out the DV Blog and FB page daily for lots more great inspiration from the DV Dynamos.


Sunday, December 29, 2013

New Die-Versions 2014 Design Team


So glad to still be a part of this team (and the only original member left :-))!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas to All

front, closed

When I saw the new tryfold cards by Art Impressions, I had to have this one called Sleepy Santa (and maybe one or two others as well).  It comes with stamping position directions, which I didn't follow the first time I stamped these three images.  Oh well, at least I can use the images separately too.

inside, open
As you can probably guess from the inside view, I used Copic markers to color all the images.  If it bothers you that the colors bleed through, you can always adhere a piece of cardstock to cover it up.

left panel
I used Twinkling Clouds flock from Sparkle N Sprinkle on Santa's trim as well as the white trim winding around the Christmas tree.   The ornaments are colored with Spica glitter pens.

right panel

Twinkling Clouds was also applied to the white areas of the stockings that were hung with care.
center
The sentiment is part of the set and was stamped with Colorbox Gold pigment ink.

This is my wish to all of you too.  Have a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Year's.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Happiness


I wanted to do the Embedded Embossing (also known as Molten Pearls) technique again and I thought the Geraniums silhouette image from Sparkle N Sprinkle would be a good stamp to use for this technique.

I started off by die cutting my labels die and covering it with VersaMark and heat embossing it with Firecracker Red embossing powder.  I repeated this process again with the Firecracker Red.  On the third repeat, I used Clear embossing powder instead of the Firecracker Red.  This gives sit a really glossy look, similar to the way Glossy Accents does when dry.  Next I stamped the Geranium silhouette and heat embossed with Black embossing powder, heating it throughly until it melts into the background.

Die cut the tag (cut in half) and follow the same steps as before, using the sentiment from the Shabby Chic Birdhouse rubber stamp set.

The Dee's Distinctively (Lattice 1) die was cut out of SNS Sticker Paper and covered with Swan Wing tinsel glitter.  The Poppystamps die was also cut out of Sticker paper and covered with Citron Green glitter.  (This is more of a gold than a green and matched the design in the paper perfectly.)  I folded the top of the die cut like an accordion for added dimension.  The base and mat were cut with Spellbinders Grand Labels Four dies and the papers are from Graphic 45's Bird Song collection.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Cute Valentine Box


Today I'm using the Cute Sweet Hearts die from Die-Versions to create my own little Valentine's box.

I started out by die cutting the image from a scrap of white cardstock to use as my template.  Again, utilizing some red scraps, I outlined the heart twice and fussy cut each one out.  These will be the top and bottom of the box.  You'll also need a strip of paper for the side.  The width depends on how tall you want your box to be.  What's not shown is another thinner strip that will be adhered to one of the hearts.


I adhered red glitter to all the surfaces and then glued a strip of cardstock to the top heart and one to the bottom heart.  Just make sure the circumference of one is slightly smaller than the other, so it will fit inside it.  I added the die cut image to the top of my heart box.  Now, all you have to do is fill the little heart with some goodies and you're all set.



Monday, December 16, 2013

Flowers Feed the Soul



Geraniums is the one of the newest rubber stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  For this card, I stamped the image with Memento ink and colored it with Copic markers, using the tip to tip method.  Then I distressed the edges with Distress Ink (Salty Ocean).

I die cut a piece of SNS Super Adhesive Sheets with the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Square die and used the negative portion for my frame (and saved the center portion for a future project).  Cloud Nine velvet glitter covers the entire area.  For the sentiment, a MFT's Fishtail Flags die was used to die cut the patterned paper.  After distressing the edges with Salty Ocean, I heat embossed it using Clear embossing powder.  I also stamped the sentiment with Salty Ocean and heat embossed with Clear embossing powder.


For the quilling, I colored some white cardstock with the same darker Copic marker I used for the petals and then cut the strips.  After rolling a few swirls, I glued them together and then adhered them next to the sentiment.  (I purposely darkened this image a bit so you could see how sparkly the Cloud Nine glitter really is and how the distressed embossing with Clear embossing powder really makes the edges pop.  You can alway click on the photo to make it even larger.)

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Christmas Door


This Christmas card, uses Cheery Lynn Design dies (Screen door with cat; Ornamental Wreath) and a Martha Stewart punch (Branch). Glittered berries were added to the wreath by dotting dimensional glue and sprinkling with red glitter.

The Welcome mat is an older rubber stamp from Art Impressions and was stamped with white StazOn.  Although you can't see it in the photo, the cream cardstock was dry embossed with the Bricked Sizzix embossing folder to simulate the side of a house.

To my favorite cat lady....Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Northern Lights


I recently saw the Northern Lights technique on Splitcoast Stampers and knew it would be perfect for the Geraniums rubber stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle

To start out, die cut a Sizzix Labels, Fancy #3 die (next to largest) out of white cardstock.  Using Distress Inks (Squeezed Lemonade, Pine Needles, Peacock Feathers, Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire, and Black Soot), I used the tutorial as my guide but didn't want to use as much black.  I then spritzed some Dylusions Ink Spray (White Linen) to replicate stars.

I then stamped the solid silhouette image with Archival ink in the center.  Next, I stamped VersaMark on top of (and slightly off-center) the black silhouette and heat embossed it with Lilac Spark embossing powder.

Next, die cut the largest Sizzix Labels, Fancy #3 and stamp the flourishes from the Flourishes One rubber stamp set with VersaMark.  Heat emboss with Black Magic embossing powder.  Using VersaMark and a dauber, distress the edges (like you would if you were using ink) and then heat emboss with Black Magic again.  Finally, bling your brads with Black Magic embossing powder.

Now I didn't stop with inks and decided to do the same technique using glitters for my background.  I started off with a piece of SNS Sticker Paper cut to the size I wanted, and went to town with lots of velvet glitters: Daisy, Lator Gator, Jasper Blue, Cobalt Glaze, Purple Potion, and Black Suede.  I randomly applied the glitter the same way as the inks, using my finger to swish my small piles around.  Then I distress embossed the edges with Black embossing powder.

I thought it still need a little something.  So.... I inked up a Spellbinders Impressabilities plate (Diamonds and Stars) with VersaMark and laid this on top of my glittered background.  I covered the VersaMark with Silver Lightning embossing powder and heat set.  (I randomly brushed off some of the powder so it wouldn't look too uniform.)  Now I was happy with the background.

I found a rub-on in my stash and thought the sentiment fit nicely with night skies and stars.  I applied this to a button, which I then stitched two of the buttons together with paper floss, as well as threading the remaining button holes.  Finally, I hand stitched the paper floss around the purple mat.

Although this project used quite a number of products, it was quite fun to make and will definitely do it again sometime.


 

Friday, December 6, 2013

Valentine's Shutter Card



I know it's still December but when you design for a low profile die company, you're always a holiday or two ahead.  With that being said, have you checked out the new Valentine's release from Die-Versions yet?  There are some great new dies and I've incorporated six of them on this shutter card.

I started off by adding some Inka Gold paint (Rose) to my red cardstock for more of a shimmery, but subtle, look.  It was still a bit plain, so I dry embossed the entire card with the Hearts M-Bossibilities embossing folder.

Whenever I think of Valentines, I think of sparkle and shine, so out came Reflection (the silvery color) and Cloud Nine (sparkly white) glitter and Red Apple embossing powder (all from Sparkle N Sprinkle).

The front of the shutter card is decorated with the Love Doily and I adhered Cupid in the center.


Three of the panels use the Hanging Hearts Whispers die that I've strategically cut in thirds.  I die cut this out of sticker paper and adhered Cloud Nine glitter to the center bar and the hanging bars and Red Apple embossing powder to the hearts themselves for a very shiny, wet look.  In this photo, you also see the With Love Express Edge.  It's covered with Reflection glitter.


Three more of the panels have various sized glittered hearts from the Wee Petite Heart Doodles and for the final panel, I die cut the Cute Sweethearts die and then fussy cut out the word itself.  It's also covered in Cloud Nine glitter.


This final photo shows the shutter card flattened out somewhat so you can see all the panels a bit better.

If you haven't checked out the new release yet, be sure to head on over to Die-Versions.  There are 28 new dies to choose from this month and I'm sure there's at least one that will be a "must have" :-).

Don't forget to regularly check out the Die-Versions blog and FB page for more great ideas and inspiration.



Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Old Man Winter



I see so many white-on-white Christmas cards and I've always wanted to try my hand at it.  My friend Lori mailed me this die cut from Die-Versions and I thought he would be perfect to try this technique on.

Well, it was a bit harder than I thought.  Mainly getting each layer to have it's own definition and be able to stand out.  After a few variations, this was my end result.

Old Man Winter is covered with Snow White flock from Sparkle N Sprinkle (he's so soft to the touch) and then pop dotted on top of the heat and dry embossed mat.

After dry embossing the cardstock with the Swirls embossing folder (an older folder) by Sizzix, I lightly rubbed VersaMark on top and added Opaline embossing powder.  This really created definition in each of the swirls.

Next came a few strands of ribbon and then the embossed panel was pop dotted on to the card base.  All in all I was pretty happy with the results and will definitely try this technique again.






Tuesday, December 3, 2013

SNS December Reveal Winner

Hi!  Thanks to everyone who played in Sparkle N Sprinkle’s recent “Beautiful Geraniums” Mystery Party. We enjoyed making the new projects, and hope you enjoyed browsing.
We released one new stamp set and Jazzy Jill’s latest Technique Video Kit:

April Williams was our Mystery Designer for the contest. With 22 comments left on April’s blog, Mr. Random.org was used to generate our Commenting Winner.
Congratulations, Jean Bullock!
Thank you for checking out the products and sample cards.
Jean, will you please e-mail SNS_Artist@tampabay.rr.com with your mailing address, choice of one glitter and one embossing powder which can be used with your new stamp sets, and we will get your prize in the mail!
A big thank you to all for joining us in this kick off.
(and for visiting all our blogs)