Sunday, July 31, 2016

Flower Cart {Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog Hop Reveal}


Welcome to Sparkle N Sprinkle's
 August 1 New Reveal Blog Hop!


We have five new stamp sets to share with you today.  These new sets are 20% off until the 3rd of the month.  So once you finish the blog hop, head on over to the store and start shopping.  All of the new sets are available on cling mounted rubber or as a digital image.  


The sets are:




Eskimo Kisses 788 (digi version DIGI788)
Pool Friends 792 (digi version DIGI792)
Get Your Craft On 794  (digi version DIGI794)
Stella-Happy Meds 796  (digi version DIGI796)
Flower Cart 798  (digi version DIGI798)


On August 3rd, ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be selected from the comments left on the Designers' blogs listed below. Please leave a comment with each Designer in order to be eligible for the Grand Prize.  You never know who the Mystery Designer will be that has the winning comment.

The Grand Prize Winner, which will be announced on the SNS Facebook page and on the SNS Blog, will receive ALL of the new stamp sets released this month (or the digi versions, if preferred).


The Blog Hop order this month is:

Anne (you are here)

(*Tip: if you have difficulty with a particular link, try clicking on the Designer's blog title to send you to their Home page.)


We hope you enjoy the New Reveal Blog Hop as much as we do.  Thanks for joining us and remember to comment on each of the Designers' blogs to be eligible for the Grand Prize.  
 Wonder who the Mystery Host will be this month????


The Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenge also begins today.  There are lots of prizes and recognition badges.  Come check out how you can become a SNS Featured Artist as well.  The theme is always Anything Goes using Loose Glitter, Embossing Powder, and/or Flock.


Have you checked out the SNS YouTube Channel featuring Demo Donna?  If not, then you are in for a real treat.  Subscribe today to get all the latest Demo Donna tips and techniques!



Now for a bit about my fun fold card:
closed

To start out I created a twisted triple mat card using the Flower Cart image.  This triple mat technique has been around for a while and I saw this twisted version on someone's blog (within the last 6 months) but I don't remember where.  If you happen to know whose, please let me know so that I can give her credit.

This is an easy technique where you cut out all the white cardstock bases, lightly add a small amount of adhesive on the back of each panel after you've placed them at the angles you like, and then stamp your image.  The mats are all 1/4" larger than the panels.

The outside black panel was stamped with one of the sentiments that came with the set.  I used a Sakura glue pen to highlight the flowers and leaves and then added Pinkerbell and Pistachio glitters.  On the inside, I stamped the single rose and added more glitters to the image.

open
I colored the image with Copic markers and then added glitter to various flowers (Bubble Gum, Lemonade, Cherry Lemonade).  I also added Lemonade glitter to the umbrella and Black Ice to the cart base.


As a finishing touch, I took a scrap piece of watercolor paper, added some Nuance pigment powders (Turquoise, Golden Yellow, Bright Yellow, Scarlet, Orange) to it and spritzed it with water.  Once it was dry I die cut the butterflies from a Memory Box die (Butterfly Delights).

I'm the first stop on this month's New Reveal Blog Hop.  You next stop will be Shona and I know she has something special for you.  Be sure to leave a comment on all the Designers' blogs for your chance to win all five of the new stamp sets revealed this month.  Happy Hopping!


Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Deck the Halls


Can you believe Christmas is less than 5 months away :-0?  With that in mind, I have another Christmas card to share with you.  I used the following dies from Die-Versions: Cozy Fireplace and Deck the Halls Sweet Wordlet.

To start out, the fireplace was die cut from white cardstock and then colored with Copic markers.  Lator Gator velvet glitter was added to the wreath above the mantel and Sparkling Snow glitter helps make the fire look more realistic.


I combined a couple different embossing powders to achieve the fun effect that's on the Sweet Wordlet die cut.  I started out by heat setting Rhapsody embossing powder first.  Then I randomly sprinkled some Silver Dust embossing powder on top of that (I didn't add a second coat of embossing ink) and heat set from the bottom.  That way the powder doesn't blow all over the place.

As a finishing touch, I added some very curly ribbon using the Tiny Attacher stapler.  I also accented the corners with the tiny staples as well.

Be sure to visit the Die-Versions blog often to see what the rest of the team has created to inspire you.  And remember, use the code anne15 if you'd like to get a 15% discount on your total Die-Versions purchases.  This discount is good on all everyday priced dies.  Have fun shopping.

Monday, July 25, 2016

Just Christmas Cards Happy Mail



I opened my mailbox today and found a complimentary copy of the Just Christmas Cards and Decorations!, Vol 3 magazine.  The accompanying letter told me the above project was featured in this edition.  It's located on page 96, in the "All That Glitters" section.




SO excited to be published again!

This is how I made it:
I used the Holiday Bird rubber stamp from Sparkle N Sprinkle and colored him with Copic markers.  Blue Jewel glitter has been added to the bow and Silver Detail embossing powder was heat set onto the ornament cap and stripe.  Lavender Iris glitter was added to the star for more sparkle.  He is also pop dotted above the background.

To create the background, I started with a piece of Sticker Paper, covered it with Christmas Cheer glitter, and then cut it into three panels.  This background is really shimmery and sparkly in person. 

The Die-Versions Sweet Wordlet, Tis the Season, sentiment was die cut from a piece of cardstock that I had applied a piece of 1/2" Tear-ific Tape to and covered with Blue Jewel glitter.  This was then glued to a strip of white ribbon.  


Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Christmas Wreath {Scrapy Land Challenge #46}


A new Scrapy Land Challenge begins today and the theme for the new challenge is:

Emboss It! (Heat or Dry) Plus use any brand of die that Scrapy Land sells.

I have another Christmas card to share with you today.  I'm trying to get a little ahead so that I'm not in such a crunch to get all my cards completed in November.  (Probably wishful thinking - but every little bit helps :-). )  My card incorporates both heat embossing (the bow and the snow drifts) as well as dry embossing (the window frame).

The dies used to create this card are:


Cheery Lynn Designs: Ornamental Wreath with Bow
Taylored Expressions: Birch Tree Border
Marianne Designs: Window with Snow Drifts (Scrapy Land special promotion)

From time to time, Scrapy Land has special promotions featuring European die companies that aren't readily available to get in the US.  I purchased this Marianne Designs die during one of those promotions.  (Be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you'll know when these special events happen.)

This card has lots of layers and dimension, and you can see it better from this angle:


This is really an easy card to assemble.  Start out by die cutting all the pieces.  I heat embossed the snow drifts with Velvet Sparkle embossing powder and dry embossed the window frame with a Crafters Companion embossing folder (Wood Grain).  The wreath was die cut from green cardstock and then "enhanced" with a Spectrum Noir Sparkle marker and Nuvo Glitter Drops (Ruby Slipper).  I die cut the bow from white cardstock and colored with Copic markers.  You could also die cut it from red cardstock.

Now it's time to assemble the layers.  Beginning with the bottom layer, I added my patterned paper to the card base, then the birch trees.  Next I adhered the snow drifts to the back of the window panes and added dimensional tape along the back edges of the window.  The final step was to adhere the wreath and bow to the front of the window.  I also used a small pop dot for the bow.

You have until July 31st to upload your Emboss It! project to the Scrapy Land Challenge.  The winner, chosen by the design team, will receive a $15 gift certificate to go shopping at Scrapy Land.  Be sure to check out what the rest of the talented Designers have created for this challenge.  I know you you'll be inspired.


Monday, July 18, 2016

Milton Catching Snowflakes


Milton Catching Snowflakes is one of the five new stamp sets released this month by Sparkle N Sprinkle.  I used the digi version and combined the image and sentiment when I printed it out.


The image is colored with Copic markers and the colors of one of his many scarves is highlighted with Purple Dust glitter.  The snowflake that Milton is catching with his tongue was given extra sparkle using Sparkling Snow glitter.

For the background, I started out by using one of the dies from the Tonic Studios die set (Merry Christmas - Christmas Strip die set) from green cardstock.  As I wanted the strip on both sides, I had to die cut it twice, leaving a small solid piece of cardstock in the center.

Next I adhered a piece of Super Adhesive Sheet behind this green panel.  I exposed the side that went up against the green cardstock and left the protective sheet on the other/back side (for the time being). Sparkling Snow glitter was then poured on top of the exposed adhesive and burnished into the adhesive with my finger tool :-).  You want to make sure and firmly press the glitter into the adhesive for good coverage and to get into all of the little crevices.

Sparkling Snow is a semi-transparent glitter, so with the protective backing still on the backside, the glitter loos white.  But when I removed this protective backing and adhered this panel to purple patterned cardstock, the Sparkling Snow takes on that color.

A strip of glitter/flock ribbon was added below the image.  To create this, I started out with a strip of 1/2" Tear-ific Tape and added a strip of 1/4" Tear-ific Tape down the center of the 1/2" strip, after removing the protective backing.   I left the protective backing on the 1/4" strip of Tear-ific Tape and covered the exposed adhesive with Cloud Nine velvet glitter.

After brushing away the excess with my Glitter brush,  I then removed the protective backing from the 1/4" strip and covered it with Glistening Emeralds Sparkle N Soft flock.  Be sure to burnish the flock in well with your fingertip.  The combination of the velvety softness of the glitter and the softness of the flock is wonderful.  You just want to run your finger over this glitter/flock ribbon over and over :-).

As a finishing touch, I added a piece of snowflake ribbon over glitter/flock ribbon.

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Deer Duo



I'm so happy that Sparkle N Sprinkle has partnered with Jodie, the creator of Bugaboo Digi Stamps.  So now you can get some of your favorite Bugaboo images in rubber!  How cool is that!?!

I used the new Deer Duo image from Jodie and colored it with Copic markers.  I pop dotted the presents for more dimension.  Silver Detail embossing powder was added to dots and swirls on the present the female deer is holding and Sparkling Snow glitter was added to the ribbon on both of the presents as well as the bow on the female deer.  Gold Detail embossing powder was added to the collar on the male deer.  Nuvo Crystal Drops (gloss white) was added to her necklace and earrings.  The first time I did it, I added drops for each pearl on the necklace and they ran together slightly.  So once that was dry, I went back and added more drops, just spaced them out a bit more so for more definition.



Both of the deers have flock added to their antlers.  She has Buff flock and he is sporting Dark Chocolate flock.  The heart in the center was covered with Brushable glue and Rosy Red glitter.

The Christmas tree on the left was created by layering several Dee's Distinctively dies together (Christmas Tree Silhouette, Christmas Tree #3, and Christmas Tree #4).   The base silhouette layer was die cut from green cardstock, as was the leaves (Christmas Tree #3).  However, I also added Sparkle embossing powder to this layer.  I love how Sparkle embossing powder changes, depending on the color of cardstock you use.

The Glueless Glitter technique was used on the top layer (Christmas Tree #4).  Start out by heat embossing Clear embossing powder, then add your glitter of choice (I used more Rosy Red glitter for this layer), then heat set again.  The glitter melts into the embossing powder without having to use any adhesive.  The best part...it's definitely permanent.

Finally, I added a few "ornaments" using the Gloss White Nuvo Crystal Drops.  (I really do need to add more colors to my collection as these self-leveling drops are amazing.)  Once my tree was completely decorated, I pop dotted it so that the presents on the patterned paper really look as if they were placed behind the Christmas tree.

The background mat was dry embossed using a Sue Wilson Designs embossing folder (Quilted Flowers).  After I ran it through my machine, I went over the raised areas with Distress Ink (Barn Door).  This emphasizes the pattern created from the embossing folder.

My sentiment is from the Tonic Studios Christmas Strips die set (Merry Christmas).  After die cutting my sentiment, I heat embossed Sparkle embossing powder over the top.  See how different this looks versus using the Sparkle on the green cardstock on the tree layer.  Sparkle is one of my favorite embossing powders as it is so versatile.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Winter Fun



I decided to do something a little different for my Die-Versions project today. This falls under the "anything but a card" category and I can think of lots of ways to display this.

I started out by die cutting the Oriental Screen from an adhesive sheet, covering it with red glitter, and then adhering this to a piece of black cardstock.  Next, I cut this into four squares, rearranging them until I was happy with the new design.


White cardstock was used to die cut the Skate Around die and various embossing powders were used to color this image (Rhapsody for the bow, Silver Dust for the skate blades, and Pearl for the skates.)   I wanted the skates to look old, so I embossed these twice.  The second time around, I purposefully missed some of the areas with embossing ink so that when the embossing powder was reapplied and heat set, it looks like these areas are worn down.

The Winter Fun sentiment is an Express Edge and was also heat set using both the Rhapsody and Silver Dust embossing powders for a multi-toned look.  If you like this die, you might want to go ahead and get it as it is about to be retired.

Would you like to get 15% off your total purchase from Die-Versions?  It's easy: just type in the code anne15 in the coupon code box in your shopping cart and receive 15% off the everyday Die-Versions prices.  Easy peasy :-).


Monday, July 11, 2016

Christmas Skates


I hope you enjoy today's card and it inspires you in some way.


My easel card features the newly released Christmas Skates stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  I actually used the digi version for this card and printed both the skates and the sentiment onto vellum.  As soon as it came out of the printer, I added Clear embossing powder over the ink and heat set it.  Then I added Silver Detail to the skate blades and heat set that as well.

I used Copic markers and colored the image from the back side (as my Copics don't play very well with my embossing powders).  Then I got to thinking I wanted some dimension on the front, so I added some Nuvo Crystal Drops (gloss white) to the holly berries and immediately covered them with Cerise glitter.  I discovered on past projects that if I add all the drops at the same time, they tend to blend together instead of looking like individual drops.  So this time around, I added the Crystal Drops to the berries that did not touch each other.  Once these were dry, I went back and added more Crystal Drops to the berries I didn't cover the first time around.  This definitely gave each berry more definition as well as lots of dimension.


For the card base, I used the Tonic Studios Ornate Frame Layering die set.  (If you don't see it on the website, be sure to leave a note to the owner and she will be happy to order it for you, if it hasn't already been re-ordered.) This set has eleven dies, so that you can mix and match.  I used the largest die to create my frame and then I added Nuvo Crystal Drops around the outside edge.  When it was time to begin adhering the layers, I decided the skates on the vellum image was a little too soft, so printed the skates again onto the same patterned cardstock used for the base and fussy cut them out.  I adhered the fussy cut skates to the back of the vellum image. I then decided to add an oval cut from white cardstock to the back of the vellum.

I used more dies from the Tonic Studios set to create the inside.  I also heat set Sparkle embossing powder around the white portion of the frame for a bit of sparkle.  The center oval is a Sue Wilson Designs die (Spanish Collection - Cordoba) and this is where you could write your personal note to the recipient.


Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Believe {Scrapy Land #45}


How did July get here so fast?  The good news is that with the beginning of a new month, it means it's time for a new Scrapy Land Challenge.  Since it's the first Wednesday, the theme is Anything Goes using any brand of die that Scrapy Land sells.

The dies I've used for my Christmas card are the following:


Sue Wilson Designs: Italian Collection-Umbria
Die-Versions: Believe Sweet Wordlet
Die-Versions: Bells and Holly Wreath


To create this card, I started out by die cutting the green cardstock with the Umbria die and then dry embossed it using the Eternity embossing folder from Sue Wilson Designs.  I turned the die cut so that it was on point and then added the Bells and Holly Wreath.  After die cutting this from white cardstock, I used my gold leafing pen and colored the die.  The Die-Namics Four Corners die filled in the blank areas perfectly.  Nuvo Glitter Drops (Ruby Slippers) was used for the berries.  

The resin Modonna and Child piece in the center of the wreath was given to me by Nancy, a fellow designer.  She makes these by hand and they are so beautiful (Thanks Nancy!)  A Mon Ami Gabby pill ribbon bow is the finishing touch.

Now it's your turn to create something and upload it to the Scrapy Land Challenge.  You have until July 17 and the winner (chosen by the design team) will receive a $15 gift certificate to go shopping at Scrapy Land.  

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Blog Button





My new Blog Button.  :-)

Please feel free to copy and paste the code to your blog or sidebar if you'd like.  The image has a hyperlink attached to it so that when you click on it, you will come directly to my blog.  (This is also on my side bar for future reference.)

InLinz has a quick tool to help you create your very own blog button.  Here's where you can find out how to do it: http://blog.inlinkz.com/2016/06/how-to-create-a-blog-button-for-free/







Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML