Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Blood Hound Christmas


Front of card - closed
Gate fold card - open
The end of October is already here and that means it's time for the Dude Time Doodles blog hop.  This month we are doing something a little different - we're having a 50% Off Anniversary Blog Hop just in time for Christmas.  There are over 35+ Christmas images in the DTD store that are 50% off starting at 10am EST.  The sale goes through 11/13 and no coupon code is needed.

One of the many images on sale is Bloodhound Christmas.  I've created a gate fold card with a belly band.  You can just see the tree peeking out when the card is closed.  Open it up to reveal the entire image and a couple more glittered ornaments.  (All three of the ornaments are part of the November Die-Versions release and will be available Nov 4.  You are getting a sneak peek!)   The frame is a Cheery Lynn Designs die and the gate fold openings were cut using a scalloped oval die from Lifestyle Crafts.  The background behind the image is a vintage book page.  Liquid Pearls were used to create dimensional ornaments on the tree itself.

As most of you know, the Dude Time Doodles blog hop is circular - no specific beginning or ending.  Just keep hopping around to all the Dude/Dudettes until you've hit each one of us.  As always, one of us is the Mystery Host.  Whoever leaves a comment with that Host will be the winner of a DTD image.  So be sure and leave comments with all of us.  Your next stop is Kevin.

Here's the hop order, just in case.  You'll definitely want to visit each of us to see more fabulous images that are on sale, not to mention lots of inspiration.

Esther, our guest designer

Start hopping and have fun.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Florida or Bust!

This guy is tired of being cold and wants to go visit his girlfriend the Snow/Sand Woman in Florida.  So he's trying to hitch a ride with anyone going south.

He's part of the Christmas Flamingo set from Sparkle N Sprinkle and is colored with Copic markers and then spritzed with Perfect Pearls mist (Perfect Pearl).  The image has been cut out using the Lifestyles Crafts rick rack nesting dies.

The image was matted onto a darker kraft circle and then adhered to an ink embossed panel.  This panel is easy to reproduce.  Take any embossing folder (Sizzix's Snow Flurries used here), ink up one side with your favorite inks (I used Distress Ink), place the cardstock inside the folder and run it through your machine.  The ink transfers to either the embossed or debossed portion of your card (depending on which side of the folder you inked up).  The base cardstock is a mirrored cardstock for added sparkle.  For even more details, you can visit the SNS Art Gallery, here.

I'm entering this in the following challenges: Simon Says (just add pearl), Hooked on Crafts (Christmas - no red or green).


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The Great Punkin


There are five Wednesday's in October this year and Dude Time Doodles decided to have an extra/for fun post.  I've used The Great Punkin' from Bonibleux Designs, one of the two extra images we got to play with this month. The other is Bedazzled Beth and you can see my post using her here.)

The image was printed twice so I could pop dot the big one and, as usual, I colored the image with Copic markers.  I used my deckle edged trimmer to trim the cardstock.

Head on over to Dude Time Doodles challenge blog for more inspiration.  This week we are delighted to welcome back some past Dudettes and guest designers.  You won't want to miss what they did with these images.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Santa's Sleigh





Santa's Sleigh is one of the new dies from Die-Versions this month and I've used him a couple different ways.  For the first card, he's flying off to his next location and was silhouetted by the moon.  Santa is colored with Copic markers and the white portions of his outfit are covered with Snow White flock from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  The bag of toys is really a piece of fabric, although it's hard to tell in the photo and Santa's Sleigh is all blinged out with some chunky silver glitter that I've had for a long while.  The trees in the foreground are actually the Tiny Tree from the Die-Versions Halloween release (pretty versatile die) and are covered with Goosebumps Texture Spray.  The background was created with PanPastels.



The second way I used this die was to make a tag.  I embossed the tag with Sizzix's Evergreen embossing folder and then randomly covered it with several Distress Inks.  I spritzed the die cut with Perfect Pearls mists (Perfect Pearl) and added a quick sticker sentiment from Creative Memories (that I've had for a long time).

For lots more inspiration, be sure to visit the Die-Versions blog.

Monday, October 22, 2012

At the Beach

closed

Did you think this was going to be a summer card, based on the title?  Nope, it's a Christmas card!  It's also a flip (swing) card.
flipped open
This is a pretty fun and easy card to make, especially when you have the Sizzix die to cut out the base.  There are also lots of tutorials on how to score and cut your own as well.  (Here's one I found at Splitcoast Stampers.)

The card is composed of images from the Christmas Flamingo set by Sparkle N Sprinkle.  The sentiment was stamped using a glue pad and then covered in Tiger Orange Velvet Glitter (micro fine glitter and oh so cool).  I also used Tear-ific tape and the Tiger Orange glitter to make a shimmery and sparkly border around the edges.

When you flip open the card, this fun snow/sand woman is revealed.  She's colored with Copic markers and the hat band and star fish are covered with Tiger Orange glitter.  Instead of a carrot for a nose, I decided it should be an ice cream cone (you know,  the ones that have the pointy ends).  So I covered her nose with Sparkle N Soft flock (Sparkling Sands).  This is flock with a bit of added glitter for more bling.  If you haven't tried flock, you really should try some of theirs (both regular flock and the glittery flock).  And for those of you that have tried it and really didn't like it (like me, before SNS), I really encourage you to try the Sparkle N Sprinkle flock.  It's different than the other ones I had tried and it looks and feels so soft.  I love using it almost as much as I love using the SNS glitter.  (I wouldn't say this if I didn't mean it and I wouldn't have applied to be on the team if I didn't like their products!)  Be sure to check out the SNS Art Gallery for lots more inspiration and fun ways these products have been used.  (A fantastic example of how the flock looks close up can be found here, at Cammy's blog.  It looks so fussy and warm!)  Here's a bit more detailed instructions for my flip card.

So there you have it.  A fun and not so typical Christmas card!  Hope this inspires you too.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Sparkle N Sprinkle New Release - Holiday Foliage

Ingredients: SNS Forest Green embossing powder, SNS Celestial glitter, Copic markers, gems, ribbon, Sizzix die

Today is part two of the Sparkle N Sprinkle New Release, debuting three new rubber stamp sets.  Here's what I've done with the Holiday Foliage set.  Let me know if you have any questions about how I did what :-)

Ingredients: SNS Forest Green embossing powder, SNS Black Suede glitter, Copic markers, tulle, button, Spellbinders die

Ingredients: SNS Celestial glitter,  Spellbinders die, Copic markers, Cuttlebug embossing folder, gold thread, Essential Glue pad


Ingredients: SNS Sangria Star embossing powder, Lil'Inker Designs die, gold mirrored cardstock

Hope you enjoyed the Sparkle N Sprinkle new stamp sets debut.  Be sure to visit the SNS Art Gallery for even more inspiration.







Friday, October 19, 2012

Sparkle N Sprinkle New Release - Fall Harvest

This is the second post of the day.  Please scroll down to see the Pattie's Creations post.

Ingredients: Copic markers, Spellbinders die, Sizzix die, Memento Ink, ribbon, paper clip, dimensional dots

 Today Sparkle N Sprinkle has three new stamp sets debuting - Fall Harvest, Holiday Foliage and Abby and Walter's Birthday.  I've got four new cards using the Fall Harvest set that I want to share with you today and tomorrow I'll share the Holiday Foliage cards I created.  I'll try to keep this as short as possible. Please let me know if you have any questions.


Ingredients: Dimensional dots, Copic markers, brads, twine, Washi tape, Spellbinders die, Memory Box flourish die, Distress Inks

Ingredients: Bargello Technique, Spellbinders die, Glossy Accents, Copic markers, paper floss
You can find tutorials on the Bargello Technique here or here.


Ingredients: SNS Tiger Orange glitter, Die-Versions, Copic markers, gems, ribbon, lace, Memento ink

Head on over to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Gallery to see what the rest of the design team has created using these three new stamp sets and be sure to come back here tomorrow to see what I did with the Holiday Foliage stamp set.

50s Pattiboop


Challenge #55 from Pattie's Creations is to use Fall/Autumn Colors.  Even though I wasn't around in the 50's, I assume Poodle skirts came in fall colors too (for some reason I always think of them as pink), so I decided to have 50's Pattiboop dressed up in her favorite fall Poodle skirt.

She's colored with Copic markers and I printed the image twice so I could pop up the bottom of her skirt for more dimension.  The whip cream on the ice cream float is actually liquid applique.

I thought this would be my last posting for Pattie's Creations, as the one year term for the team is up.  But I'm so excited to say that I was asked to stay on for another six months!

Copics used: YR20, YR31, YR23, E33, E99   YR15, YR16, YR18    YR20, YR21, YR23    T5, T7, T8    E00, E01, E11, R20    YG01, YG23, BG18    T0, T1, BV23    R46, R59, C2, C5

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Oh Christmas tree....




Here's another Die-Versions die card using the Tannenbaum die that I wanted to share with you and it's very different from the first one (which you can see here).  It's an acetate card, which is easy to make but hard to photograph.


I used a mirrored cardstock that has more of a brushed finish as opposed to a shiny finish to cut out the image as well as the mat behind my sentiment.  The sentiment, which I saved from a very old card kit, is on the front of the card and the tree is peeking behind it on the inside right panel.  The little ornaments are some of the negative portions from when I cut the Tannenbaum die.  I'm always trying to  figure out ways to incorporate the negative pieces.  :-)   So when the card is closed, the tree looks like it's right behind the sentiment.  When you open the card, you can see that it's actually on the right side.  I mirrored the shape and matting on the inside left panel for a place to write your message (and to hide the adhesive).

Hope this gives you some more ideas on how to use these super fun dies!  You can see this and lots more inspiration at the Die-Versions blog.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Col. Creepy



Halloween is almost upon us and that's what the Dude Time Doodles Inspiration Challenge is all about - Halloween.



Colonel Creepy, a Bonibleaux Designs image, is just the guy to get you going.  He would even give you the head off his shoulders to help you celebrate his most favorite holiday!  He was printed twice so I could pop dot the pumpkin in his hands and fussy cut out.  The background paper and the circular sentiment are by Create with TLC and are perfect for the Col. as it uses his favorite colors and his name :-P.

You have one week to upload your Halloween creation to the Dude Time Doodles Challenge blog.  The sponsor for this challenge is Pattie's Creations and the winner will receive two PCDC images of her/his choice.  So, get in the Halloween spirit and show us what you've got.

Copics used: BV23, BV25, BV29, N9    BV11, BV13, BV17, Y28    E35, E37    YG95, YG97, Y32, Y35, Y38, YR04, YR23, YR18

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Tic-Tac-Toe anyone?


Christmas will be here before you know it.  So, to help you get motivated to get those Christmas cards and projects started (if you haven't already), this month's new release from Die-Versions is all about the holidays.  There are some fantastic dies in this release and I had so much fun coming up with different ideas for them.

This week, I'm going to show you a couple different ideas for using the Santa's Hat Sweet Petite. The first thing I thought about making was some sort of travel game/stocking stuffer.  When I was a kid, I loved playing tic-tac-toe so I went with that idea.  I cut the Santa hat 16 times (8 hats for each color) and got my glitter on.  The glue is applied with a very heavy hand because I wanted these cardstock pieces to be studier and have more dimension.  I let the glitter dry overnight (because I was so heavy-handed with the glue and I wanted to be sure) and then I applied Diamond Dust to the white portions.  This is fairly chunky to begin with, so the layer of glue is pretty thin and they didn't take too long to dry.

While the playing pieces were drying, I made the board by cutting out a 6"x6" piece of fun foam (for more stability) and adhered some Christmas paper on top.  Double sided adhesive tape was used to make the grids - and more glitter!  On the back of the board, I attached a small envelope to hold all the pieces when not in use.  This is really sparkly and glittery in person.


While I was cutting the pieces for the game, another idea came to me - gift tags.  How simple these were to make (and cute).  After cutting out the cardstock and before adding my glitter and Diamond Dust, I punched a small (1/8") hole in the top of the hat.  On the back, I wrote "To:   From:".  So now, I have several gift tags all ready to attach to a present.  (This photo also gives you a better idea how the tic-tac-toe game pieces look, but without the hole.)

This is just one of the new October release dies.  Go check out the Die-Versions Blog to see what the rest of the design team came up with and all the other new dies.  You'll be delighted that you did!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Gator Christmas


This gator is from a fun and funky Christmas rubber stamp set called Christmas Flamingo by Sparkle N Sprinkle.  I'll be sharing several cards made from this set over the next few weeks.

To start off, I heat embossed the gator image using SNS Forest Green embossing powder and then colored him with Copic markers.  The lights are colored with Spica glitter pens and the sand was created using Sparkle N Soft (Sparkling Sand), which is a combination of flock and glitter, and so very cool.  The sentiment, which comes with the set, was also heat embossed with Forest Green embossing powder.

The tree was cut using Spellbinder's Nested Pine Tree die and then I added dots of glue and glittered them with SNS's Celestial glitter.  I then pop dotted the tree for added dimension.  (The gator had to be carrying the string of lights somewhere!)

This layer is adhered to patterned paper and a solid cardstock base.  Add a touch of ribbon and bling, and the card is completed.


Friday, October 12, 2012

Woofie's tag


Woofie under the Christmas Tree is a new digital image from Sparkle N Sprinkle by Michelle Perkett.  One of the wonderful things about digis is the ability to re-size or crop out portions that you don't want to use.  That's exactly what I did for this tag.  I cropped the image so that the focal point was just Woofie poking his head out of the present.  Then I re-sized it and made it larger.

After printing out the image, I colored it with Copic markers and fussy cut unwanted portions out.  I added Sparkle N Sprinkle Tiger Orange glitter to the "ribbon" on the present and to the dots on the wrapping paper.  Snow White flock from SNS was added to the entire Santa hat and then I used my Copic marker to color the top portion purple, to coordinate with the wrapping paper.

The To:/From: label is an older Sizzix small embossing folder that I fussy cut out and then added Tiger Orange glitter to the words and around the corners.

I added patterned paper to my tag and then adhered my label and the image to the patterned paper.  A bit of seam binding ribbon completes the tag.



Thursday, October 11, 2012

Bedazzled Beth



Meet Bedazzled Beth, a Bonibleaux Designs image.  You can get her for free when you visit the Link Up For Pink linking party and get the code.

I've colored her with Copic markers.  The dress and the bat are covered with Sparkle N Sprinkle's micro fine glitter called Black Suede.  I thought it was appropriate for a sexy black dress and it's very shimmery and dazzling in person.  The "magic" she's tossing around is also glitter from Sparkle N Sprinkle (Celestial).  The ribbon is pink suede.

You have until Oct 14th to join the Link Up For Pink linking party.  Hope to see you there.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Oh Tannenbaum


This is another gorgeous die that's part of the October new release from Die-Versions, called Tannenbaum.  For this card, I cut two die cut shapes so I could cut out the tree separately.  Once the tree itself was cut out, I applied Sparkle N Sprinkle embossing powder (Forest Green) all over it.  I did this twice in order to make it darker and smoother.  Then I adhered it to the second die cut piece.

I used the negative pieces  for all the ornaments and strings of lights.  They are either colored with Copic markers and/or Spica glitter pens.  The strings of lights are only attached at the top so the light bulbs stand out for more dimension.  I also colored the pot with Copics, fussy cut it out and pop dotted it.  The star is covered with gold glitter and pop dotted as well.  The sentiment is an old Creative Memories clear sticker that was in my stash.  The photo on the right shows how shiny the embossing powder makes this card look in person and you can see the lights better.

For this particular card, I focused on the tree itself, but there are so many other ways you can use this die and get a totally different feel.

For more great inspiration using this month's new release, be sure to visit the Die-Versions blog.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Autumn Colors


Theme #54 at Pattie's Creations is a Tag.  I decided to use this cute Pumpkin Watering Can and colored it with Copic markers.  I added a grass border from MFT.  Pretty simple and easy but I think it would make a great bookmark.

Now it's your turn to create a tag using either a rubber/clear stamp or a digital image and you have two weeks to upload it.  While you're visiting the Pattie's Creations Design Challenge blog, be sure to check out what the rest of the team designed - you'll get lots of inspiration.

Copics used: E41, E42, E44    Y21, YR23, YR24, Y38, E08   Yg21, YG23, YG25, YG95    E31, E333, E25, YR12, YR15, YR18   Y000, Y00