Happy Birthday

This cute pooch from Inky Antics is using his noggin to say Happy Birthday to my nephew.  The sentiment is one of the many stamps from the Simple Sayings set by  Stampers Anonymous.

The image is colored with Copic markers and some Spica glitter pens have been added to the collar and heart.  I stamped the paws twice so I could give dimension to the paws and sign.

Around the edges of the matting, I used the distressed embossing technique.  instead of using VersaMark to go around the edges, I just inked the distressed the edges with Distress Ink (Mustard Seed) and then heat embossed with Clear embossing powder.  The dog charm is from MFT and is covered with Pebbled Copper embossing powder from Sparkle N Sprinkle.

I bit of raffia and this card is ready to go in the mail without much bulk.

Snowy Flourishes

Hey everyone, today I'm showcasing a project using the new Flourishes Two rubber stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle, one of the new rubber stamp sets debuting this month.  I love that it can be both a focal point or in the background.  For this card, I decided to have it as a background to simulate snow swirling all around.

I stamped the flourishes with VersaMark and heat embossed with Winter White embossing powder onto textured cardstock.  For this design, I didn't use an embossing buddy as I wanted to have a few stray flecks of embossing powder, adding to the swirling snow imagery.

The deer is from the Winter Swirl rubber stamp set and is heat embossed with Silver Detail embossing powder for the body and Halo embossing powder for the antlers.

The snow banks were created by cutting out cardstock and covering with Twinkling Clouds Sparkle N Soft flock.  Diamond Dust glitter was applied to the tops of the snow banks.

The snowflake in the upper left corner was created by layering several different die cuts from Spellbinders and Sizzix.  Two of the snowflakes were heat embossed with Ice Rink embossing powder and the third with Winer White embossing powder.  A gem was added to the center for a touch more sparkle.

The frame is by Spellbinders and I die cut it twice - once in white cardstock and once in the dark blue.  I cut out the blue center and layered on the white die cut, which was also heat embossed with Winter White embossing powder.

The panel behind the frame was covered with Sonic Silver velvet glitter and then adhered to the card base.

Cozy Fireplace

Die-Versions newest release is all about Winter.  For those of you who live in snowy areas (or takes vacations in those areas), the fun doesn't have to stop when you come inside.  Setting by a roaring fire after being out in the cold weather sounds pretty fun to me and combining the new Winter Fun Express Edge and the Cozy Fireplace Whispers die is the perfect way to express this idea.

To create this scene, I started out with the Cozy Fireplace Whispers die and die cut it several times from various papers so I could layer them on top of each other.  This gives it dimension without a lot of added bulk.

The greenery above the mantel was colored with Copic markers and I added a touch of green tinsel glitter to the wreath.  Glittered cardstock was used for the swag and to fill in the leaves.  To give the fire a bit more spark, Cloud Nine velvet glitter from Sparkle N Sprinkle was added.  The bucket of wood was pop dotted for even more dimension and a Spica glitter pen was used to create the bricks in the fireplace itself.  A bit of paper piercing finishes off the front panel.

What better way to complete the package than to go ahead and create a handmade envelope with the WR Memory Keepers envelope board AND create your own labels using the sleigh from the new Cold Weather Wee Petites?

First, I used standard labels that you buy at the office supply store, used Word to fill them out, and printed them.  Then I adhered my sleigh which, as you can see has been blinged up with Gypsy Red and Sonic Silver velvet glitter, both from SNS.  These little Wee-Petites are the perfect size to design your own address labels with.

For more great inspiration, don't forget to visit the DV Blog and the DV Facebook page.

Snow Globe

This acetate card incorporates a couple different rubber stamp sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  On the front panel, the flourishes are from the Flourishes Two set and the sentiment and focal point are from the A Winter Wonderland set.

Did you know you could heat emboss on SNS's Embossable Clear Acetate sheets?  Well, you can!  On the front panel (in this photo I've placed a sheet of cardstock so you can see the embossing better),  the flourishes are heat embossed with Stickum Powder and then immediately covered with Diamond Dust glitter and Cloud Nine Velvet glitter.  Stickum powder is a great way to add glitter to stamped images.  (For a complete tutorial on how to use this amazing stuff, check out the SNS Tutorials video here.)

The sentiment is heat embossed with Sapphire embossing powder.  When you're getting ready to stamp the sentiment, be sure it lines up with the white portion of the snow globe, which is placed inside the card.  The photo on the left shows the card with cardstock behind it so you can see the details better.

Here you can see the acetate card opened.  (Acetate is very hard to photograph well).

The focal point of the Winter Wonderland was heat embossed with White Spark embossing powder and then die cut using Impression Obsession's Snow Globe die.  This is a three piece set (it also has a label for the base) and I love how realistic the die looks.  If you look closely, you can see the various colors of glitter specks embedding in this embossing powder.  It adds just the right touch of color to the white embossing powder.

I die cut another snow globe to place on the back panel of the card.  This was done for two reasons.  One is to hide your adhesive and the other is to give you a place to write a quick message to the recipient.  

The finishing touch was to punch two small holes in the fold of the acetate card and thread some glittery ribbon through them.

Cocktails

I created this card for a special internet friend who's having a birthday today.  (Hopefully the mailman has cooperated and she's already received it.)  Although we've never met in person (yet), Tammy is one of those sweet people who you feel like you've been friends with forever (and knows all your secrets).

Happy Birthday Tammy!  If you have time, you should go visit this very talented lady's blog and wish her a happy birthday too.

Flower Flourishes

This is my second post of the day.  For my Die-Versions new release post, please scroll down, or click here.

Flourishes Two, a new stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle is so very versatile.  It comes with two flourishes and three words in the set and can be used as a background stamp or as a focal point, as I've done here.   

The background was created using Distress Paints and Tim Holtz's Distress Paints Marbling technique.  (You can find the technique in his new Creative Chemistry 102 class.)  Once I was happy with the way the paints blended together, the entire background was stamped with VersaMark, covered with Velvet Sparkle embossing powder, and heat set.  Next, I stamped the flourish on top of the Velvet Sparkle with VersaMark and covered with White Detail embossing powder (and heat set).

The roses are die cut using the Spellbinders Rose Creations dies and distressed with Distress Inks.  The frame is from Cheery Lynn Designs (Celtic Chain Rectangle) and is heat embossed with Pineapple embossing powder for a shimmery look.  Finally, the sentiment was stamped onto a Memory Box (Pastry Labels) tag and heat embossed with Black Detail embossing powder.  The bee is also a Donna Salazar die, which was painted with Creative Inspirations paint.

Snow Fun

front of card

It's time for the Die-Versions November New Release.  This month's release is all about winter fun.

My shaped card incorporates quite a few of the new dies, including the Snow Fun Corner Concepts die, Skate Around Whispers die, and three of the Cold Weather Wee-Petites dies.  Plus, there's lots of glitter and flocking to make the card sparkle and shine.

To start off, I die cut the Corner Concept and covered the letters with Sparkle N Sprinkle's Silver Lightning embossing powder.  Love that the glitter is already incorporated into the powder.  The rest of the die is covered with SNS's micro-fine Cloud Nine velvet glitter.

Next came the skates.  They are colored with Copic markers and the bow is covered with Cloud Nine velvet glitter.  Since the bow is colored with a cool gray marker, that color shows through the glitter for a nice silvery look.  As you can see from this side view, I die cut the bow portion of the die multiple times and glued these pieces together to create dimension.  This is a good way to add height when you don't have enough room to add dimensional dots.

inside of card

The inside sentiment is by Unity Stamps and is also heat embossed with Silver Lightening embossing powder.  All the silver portions on each of the Cold Weather Wee-Petites is covered in Sonic Silver glitter and Twinkling Clouds Sparkle N Soft was used on the white areas on the ear muffs and the trim on the mittens.  It feels so soft and fuzzy, just like the real thing.  The color on the mittens is from Purple Potion glitter and a black marker was used to create the sole on the skate.

Be sure to visit the DV Blog and DV Facebook page for more great inspiration from the DV Dynamos team.

SNS Nov Reveal Winners

Thanks to everyone who played in the Sparkle N Sprinkle's A Winter Wonderland Mystery Party.  Two new sets were released as well as Jazzy Jill's latest Video Technique Kit.

There were 2 Mystery Designers for the contest. The first is Mayra Duran, whose blog had the Winter Wonderland stamp set hidden on it. With 20 comments left on Mayra's blog, Mr. Random.org was used to generate our Commenting Winner.

Congratulations, Wanda Knott! 

Our second Mystery Designer is Eret, whose blog had the Flourishes Two stamp set hidden on it! There were 34 comments left on Eret's blog.
Random.org generated her winner, too:

Gerlinde!

Thank you for checking out the products and sample cards. Wanda and Gerlinde, 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)!