Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Patriotic Girlfriends {Sparkle N Sprinkle New Reveal Blog Hop}




Welcome to the ALL NEW 
Sparkle N Sprinkle
 March Reveal Blog Hop!


NEW STORE - NEW BLOG - NEW PRODUCT LINES!


There are FOUR new rubber stamp sets being released this month, plus a new Digi Papers set, and a Digi Only Bundle set full of lots of extras.   

The sets are:


Flower Silhouettes - 824  (digi version - DIGI824BG)

Patriotic Girlfriends - 827  (digi version - DIGI827J)

Irish Blessings - St. Patrick's Day - 834  (digi version  DIGI834B - includes additional images)

Bonnet Bouquet - 838  (digi version - DIGI838J)

DIGI3130FS - Blue Pansies Digi Bundle Pack   (includes lots of images, decoupage sheets, sentiments, and papers)

DIGI4002FS - Digi Watercolor Papers: Blue 



When you purchase the digital versions of any of the SNS rubber sets, you are getting lots of extras that are not available otherwise.  These extras can include additional images, sentiments, digi papers, or decoupage sheets that not available with the rubber version.  

Every new digi set purchased always includes the following:
 ~ black and white images
~ colored images
  ~ .jpeg format (white background) 
~ .png format (transparent background) 
 ~ a cut file to use with your electronic cutting machines!


You're definitely going to want both the rubber versions AND the digi versions of all our new releases.



The new sets are 20% off until March 3, 2017, so after the blog hop, hop on over to the NEW STORE and have fun shopping - be sure to check out the OTHER amazing new products as well! With names like TONIC and STAMPENDOUS and HOUSE MOUSE, you're sure to fill that cart up quickly!


SNS also has a brand new blogwhich can be found here!


On March 3, ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be selected from the comments left on all the Designers' blogs listed below.  Please leave a comment with each designer to be eligible for the Grand Prize (checked for compliance).  The Grand Prize Winner will be announced on the SNS Facebook page and the SNS New Blog.  


The Blog Hop Order this month is:

Anne (you are here)
Jess
Eret
Donna
Shona
Diane
Chris
Belinda

(*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????




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 project:



  I created my own version of a Z fold card using the Patriotic Girlfriends.  

Here's what it looks like open:


I started out by stamping the image with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and then coloring the image with Copic markers.  I also added some shading and highlights with colored pencils.  The stars on the flag were given a bit of bling with Sparkling Snow glitter.   This was adhered to a piece of blue cardstock die cut from a Tonic Studios die (Mixed Edge Rectangles Layering Basics die set).  This set has small notches on the sides of each die to make it easier to line up and cut out straight frames 😀.


On the first portion of the Z fold band, I stamped the sentiment with VersaMark and heat embossed Firecracker Red embossing powder.  The Bursting Stars die cut, by Die-Versions, was also heat embossed with Firecracker Red.  I used the stars (negative pieces from the die cut) on the second portion of the Z fold band.








I stamped "America", also part of the stamp set, with Memento Ink (Lady Bug).  Then I colored it with Copics and used colored pencils for highlights.  

After it was colored, I added VersaMark on top and then heat set it with Sparkle embossing powder.  I pop dotted the sentiment to the USA die cut, by Die-Versions.  The die cut was colored with Copics and Sparkling Snow glitter adds bling to the stars.  

Here is one more look at my version of the Z fold completely open: 


Now it's time for you to visit Jess's blog.  I know she has something really special to share with you.

Happy Hopping and don't forget to leave a comment on everyone's blog for you chance to win all the new rubber stamp sets revealed this month.


Thursday, February 23, 2017

Lullaby



Today I'm sharing a baby card using some of the sweet new Baby Icons die set (there are a total of nine dies in this set) as well as the new Elegant Border die, both from Die-Versions.


The design of this card has a little treat box on top of an A2 sized card and was shown to me by my friend Ann.  She doesn't have a blog, but she freely shares her ideas 😃.  To create the box, I used Graphic 45 papers and the We R Memory Keepers Gift Box Board.  (I used the 1.75" x 1.75" box size.)



Each of the elements were die cut from Graphic 45 papers and accented with Distress Ink (Vintage Photo).


To the left is a close up of the butterfly and the Elegant Border.  Waterscape glitter from Sparkle N Sprinkle accents his wings.










The rattle was accented with Spectrum Noir Sparkle markers and I used the de-bossed side of the baby feet because I liked that pattern better.  The embossed side really shows the little popcorn toes 😁.










The binky and baby bottle was die cut twice - once from the patterned cardstock and once from some really heavy plain cardstock for extra stability.  I added a 3D pop dot to hold the binky in place on top of the box and covered the remaining exposed adhesive with more Waterscape glitter.

The extra layer of cardstock on the baby bottle gives it extra dimension on the side of the box.  Both pieces were accented with Copic markers and Spectrum Noir Sparkle markers.






Be sure to visit the Die-Version blog to see the wonderful creations of the rest of the team.  On a final note, I'm really sad to say this will be my last posting for Die-Versions.  I have been on the team since it's inception in 2012 and I have enjoyed every minute of it!  Although I will no longer be on the team, you will still see lots of DV dies on my future projects 😁.


Monday, February 20, 2017

Teacup Pansies


The new Teacup Pansies set from Sparkle N Sprinkle is so pretty and I had lots of different ideas on how to use this set.  For today's card, I used the digi version, mainly so I could make my sentiment be the focal point and the image as the embellishment (albeit a rather large embellishment).

I printed the image twice so that I could fussy cut the flowers from one of the printed images and then pop dot them on top of main image.  Both the flowers and the teacup were colored with Copics before adding anything else.

I started out by adding some tacky glue (Nuvo Glue pen) to the border and the small dots at the top of the teacup. Then Nuvo Gilding Flakes (Radiant Gold) was applied to the glue once it was tacky to the touch.  Next, I added several layers of Super Thick Clear embossing powder to the teacup.  After placing the teacup in the freezer for about 20 minutes, I took it out and cracked the embossing powder (the cracked glass technique) so that fine lines would appear.  A little Distress Ink gives highlights to the cracks.

Eggplant glitter was added to the throats of the pansies and Lady Luck glitter gives the leaves extra bling.

The Decorative Border die (by Heartsfelt Creations) was used for the background.  I die cut this twice, once from purple cardstock and once from white cardstock and then offset the purple from the white, giving it a light shadow effect.

The sentiment was die cut using a Taylored Expressions die (Banner Stacklets 2) and then I outlined the letters with a Sakura glue pen.  More Eggplant glitter was then added to the letters.

A Nuvo Glue Pen (small tip) was used to outline the border of the sentiment die cut.  Once the glue felt tacky to the touch, I adhered more Radiant Gold gilding flakes.  The large tip Nuvo Glue Pen was used to add strips of glue to the focal layer and once it was tacky to the touch, Radiant Gold was added.


Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Peacock Feathers



It's the third Wednesday of the month and that means it's time for a new Scrapy Land Challenge!  The theme for this challenge is Add Texture, plus use any brand of die that Scrapy Land sells.

Now that's a pretty broad field and can mean anything from added glitter, dry embossing, cheese cloth, embossing paste, and the list can go on an on.  For my card, I added dry embossing, heat embossing with glitter, and Nuvo glimmer paste for my various textures.

The following dies were used to create my shadowbox style card:


Die-Versions: Love Frame
Impression Obsession: Tied Line
Sue Wilson Designs: Italian Collection Background

The arch behind the Peacock Feathers is also a die cut, but I had borrowed it from a friend and for the life of me I can't remember who made it.  If you know who the manufacture is, please let me know so I can give them credit.

To create this shadowbox card, I started out by spritzing a piece of watercolor paper with water and then randomly adding yellows, reds, and oranges of Color Bursts.  This was spritzed again with water and I kept adding and drying until I was happy with the results.

Next I die cut the Sue Wilson background die and then ran it through my die cutting machine a second time with the embossing mat to dry emboss it.  This step really brings out the veins on the leaves.  I lightly spritzed this layer with a homemade glimmer mist (water and Perfect Pearls).  Unfortunately, the added bling is so subtle that I can't get the camera to pick it up (but it looks great in person 😃).  I then added a double layer of dimensional foam tape to the back of the die cut so that it would look like a shadowbox with the watercolors in the background.

Another option would have been to add a piece of acetate sheeting to the back before adding the dimensional tape and then adding some sequins to make a shaker card.  That would have really given it lots of texture.



To create the Peacock feathers, I began by taping down the Peacock Feather stencil from Stampendous/Dreamweaver down onto a piece of acetate.  Then I randomly added three different colors of Nuvo Glimmer Paste (Tanzanite Lavender, Peridot Green, Blue Topaz).   After the Glimmer Paste was dry, I cut around the outside edges of the feathers. I had so much fun making these that I made several and will use them in some future projects coming up.

The backdrop for these feathers is a die cut piece of patterned paper that I enhanced with a little Distress Ink (Mustard Seed, Vintage Photo).  This helped the feathers to be more of a focal point.

The "Love" sentiment is part of the Die-Versions Love Frame die that I cut out of fun foam and then heat set it to make it shrink.  Once it was shrunk down to a smaller size, I applied VersaMark and Royal Violet embossing powder and heat set it again.

For the bow and string, I die cut the Tied Line from Impression Obsession twice and fanned out the strings on either end and glued the two pieces together.  I then added VersaMark and heat set this with more Royal Violet embossing powder.

Now it's your turn to join us for some fun.  Maybe try a new technique that gives texture, or use one of your tried and true formulas.  Either way, I hope you join us for this Scrapy Land Challenge.  You have until February 26 and the winner (chosen by the design team) will win a $15 gift certificate to go shopping at Scrapy Land.  New Arrivals are added all the time!


Thursday, February 9, 2017

LOVE



I have a Valentine's card to share with you today and it features the new Love Frame die from Die-Versions as well as the Love You Sweet Spot, also by Die-Versions.




This was a fairly quick and easy easel card to create.  I knew I wanted lots of layers and I started out thinking I would make one of those collapsible boxes. But as I was playing around with the layers and figuring out how many I wanted, I decided my idea would be too heavy and went with the easel card instead.  The papers are digi papers from Crafters Companion (Love themed papers) that I've had for a while.

I die cut the Love Frame four times - three times from white cardstock and three times from white fun foam.  I wanted to show lots of dimension, so I adhered one of the white cardstock pieces onto one of the fun foam pieces.  Next, I cut out the word "love" from the center of both a fun foam and a cardstock piece.  I adhered these together and then adhered this to the original layer.  The final layer is just the roses, which I cut from the last fun foam piece.  I colored the roses with Copic markers and added Lavender Iris glitter by Sparkle N Sprinkle to the petals for lots of sparkle.

When you open the card and stand it up, the "you" both completes my sentiment and gives the top a place to rest and remain upright.  For this piece, I used the Sweet Spot love you die.  I die cut it from white fun foam and cut off the word I wanted.  To finish it off, I used the top portion of the Love Frame die cut from the last piece of cardstock and used it to frame the word "you".

Would you like a discount on your Die-Versions purchases?  Who wouldn't, right!?  Use the code "anne15" when you check out and you will receive a 15% discount on the everyday prices on everything you purchase.

Be sure to visit the Die-Versions Blog to see what the rest of the team has been up to.

Monday, February 6, 2017

Wee Bit of Luck




I have another fun St. Patrick's Day card to share with you today.  I actually used two of the new release stamp sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle: Luck of the Irish Enchantress (both the digi version and the rubber version) and Rory's Lucky Clover (for the sentiment).

I started out with the digi version and added the rows of clovers on either side of the image.   Once my scene was printed, I colored the images with Copic markers.  I added Irish Sparkle Sparkle N Soft flock to all of the clovers by first applying Dimensional Glue and then the flock. Irish Sparkle was also added to the clover on her bow as well as the pony-tail holders that keep her braided hair together.  I kept the pile of flock on the dimensional glue overnight and the next morning, I put the excess back in the bottle.  I find that when I do it this way, the color of the flock seems to be a bit deeper.



Celestial glitter was added to the gold coins in the pot of gold and Pine Grove tinsel glitter gives the grass a bit of sparkle and dimension.

The sentiment was heat embossed with Forest Green embossing powder.  The frame around the sentiment is actually the negative portion I kept from cutting out a Tonic Studios die (Retro Birthday).  Before adhering the sentiment to the frame, I heat embossed the frame with Hit the Beach embossing powder.

As an embellishment to the sentiment, I stamped the clover from the Irish Enchantress set onto green cardstock with VersaMark and heat set it with more Forest Green embossing powder.  After fussy cutting it out, I added some Mountain Mint velvet glitter to the petals and pop dotted it onto the frame.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

You are in my thoughts {Scrapy Land Challenge #59}




It's the first Wednesday of the month and that means it's time for a new Scrapy Land Challenge.  Be sure to visit the Scrapy Land Challenge Blog and welcome our new designers!

The theme of the first challenge of the month is always Anything Goes using any brand of low profile dies that Scrapy Land carries.

The dies used for this card are:


Elizabeth Craft Designs - Fitted Squares
Spellbinders - Fleur de Lis Square
Spellbinders - Labels One


Today's card showcases the beautiful Leafy Flower Spring Wreath rubber stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  I started out by stamping the image onto white cardstock and coloring it with my Copics.  I usually go with bright colors, but this was screaming for soft pastel shades....so that's what I went with 😀.


Once this was colored, I layered it with dark purple and lighter blue pieces of cardstock die cut with the Elizabeth Craft dies.  Lemonade glitter was added to the flower centers and Lavender Iris glitter accents the bow.

The frame behind the focal point is a die cut from Spellbinders (Fleur de Lis Square) as is the shaped card base (Labels One).


The sentiment (one of two in this set) was heat embossed with White Detail embossing powder and accented with more Lavender Iris glitter.

I kept everything pretty Clean and Simple so that the image could really shine.







Now it's your turn to play with us at the Scrapy Land Challenge.  You have until February 12 to join in on the fun.  The winner will receive a $15 gift card to go shopping at Scrapy Land.