Monday, March 31, 2014

SNS April Reveal



It's time for the Sparkle N Sprinkle New Reveal.  This month there are 5 new rubber stamp sets that are being debuted: April ShowersEllie the Elephant, Flamingo Bay, Diamond Medallion, and Crackle Background.  All of these sets are 20% off the regular price until April 3rd.  The April Showers stamp set is available on Cling Mounted Rubber, as a digital image, and is also included in Jazzy Jill's Technique Video for the month.


The first of the month also means it's time for our 
Designer Mystery Party!  

On April 3 five winners will be selected from the comments left on the designers' blogs listed below.  No one knows who the five Mystery Designers are, so you'll want to visit each blog to leave a comment.  The winners will receive a new stamp set, and the choice of one embossing powder and glitter to go with their new set.

The new SNS Creative Challenges also begins today, with lots of prizes and recognition badges.  This month, if you use a Sparkle N Sprinkle image in your Challenge project, not only will you become a Featured Artist, but your name will be entered in a separate drawing for 3 Ultra Fine Glitters and/or Embossing Powders.

Now onto my project.  It was a tough decision as to which stamp set to showcase today, but I decided on Ellie the Elephant.  She comes with some wonderful sentiments and decided to create a 3D candy jar for a belated birthday gift.  In addition to using the "Sorry I forgot" sentiment, I also used the "Just for You" sentiment from this SNS stamp set (a great collection of various sentiments).


To start off, I colored the image with Copic markers and fussy cut it out.  Next I die cut two Candy Jars from the Sizzix Candy Jar die and used one of the new embossing powders coming soon from SNS: Copper Flame (EP453).  This is a new mix called "mixed media embossing powder" and you'll want to cover an entire area with it.  It leaves a black halo around it, so you wouldn't really want to stamp with it.  I love it because I can get different looks, depending on how long I heat set it.  You can see from the photo (you can click on it to enlarge it), that parts are completely melted and parts are rough and bumpy.  In some of the areas that are bumpy, I added a bit of green Copic marker to give it a copper verdigris look.  I also drew in the rings of the pedestal for a more realistic look.   Copper Flame embossing powder was added to both the front and back panels.  For the inside portions of the box, I adhered a strip of 1/2" Tear-ific tape and applied Blue Jewel glitter to both sides.  I added a Chevron strip (MFT die) covered with Cloud Nine Velvet glitter on top of the  Blue Jewel.

The small tag sentiment is die cut from a Sizzix die.  After stamping the sentiment, the entire tag is covered with Glossy Accents.  I immediately sprinkle some Cloud Nine glitter into the wet Glossy Accents to give it added sparkle.  After stamping the "Just for You" sentiment, I went over the letters with a Sakura glue pen and covered it with more Cloud Nine velvet glitter.

To finish it off, I added a thin piece of cellophane (recycled from some packaging that held dies) to the front of the "jar", so it would look like a glass candy jar; or you could also use a thin sheet of acetate.  (You can see the reflection in the photo on the left.)  All that's left is to add some treats and give it to the recipient.

Here's the Blog Hop order this month.  The winners of the SNS blog hop will be announced on April 3 on Facebook, the SNS blog, and on our blogs:

Anne Temple  (you're here)
Steff Munnings - new designer!

Now it's time to head on over to Anita and see what she has created for you.  Don't forget to leave everyone a comment for your chance to win. And remember, if you play in our Creative Challenge this month and use a SNS image, you're name will be in a drawing for some fabulous goodies!

I'm also entering this in the Pumpkin Spice Challenge, use an elephant or pink and gray.

edited: This project was showcased on Eileen Hull's blog, the creator of the Sizzix Candy Jar die.  You can see it here: http://www.eileenhull.com/2014/04/inspiration-team-tuesday-sweet-shower-gifts.html











You Are my HERO


I hope you've enjoyed seeing the Die-Versions new releases this month.  As I mentioned in the Die-Versions/Operation Write Home Blog Hop (you can see that post here), these dies are a fundraising product to help OWH.

For my last project this month, I created a fun tag using a digi from Bugaboo Stamps (kidlet army) and a few Die-Versions dies.  These include the new Hero with Star Sweet Phrases die, the You Are Express Edge, and the A Little Mint font.


As you can see from the close-up of the digi, I printed him a couple of times so I could add dimensional dots behind his helmet, arm, and shoe.  He's colored with Copic markers (as usual for me).  One thing I did, but it doesn't show up very well in the photos, is that I used pop dots with different thichness to give it a more realistic look.  On his arm, I used a thicker pop dot near his hand and a thinner one by his elbow.  I also used thinner pop dots on the sides of the helmet and a thicker one in the middle.  This gives a great effect, so you might think about varying the heights of your pop dots in the future too.

 The tag background was created using a variety of Distress Stains.  I just kept adding colors until I was happy with the results (so I didn't write any of them down).

For the Hero with Star Sweet Phrases die, I die cut it in several colors and paper pieced the inside, so it still looks flush.  This photo shows the shiny mirrored cardstock the best.  Since you can't use glitter on any OWH project, this was one way I could still give it a lot of shine.



Saturday, March 29, 2014

Earth Day


Today, we're celebrating Earth Day over at Time4Scrap.  The sponsors for this challenge are Delicious Doodles and Dilly Beans.  I've used Tula's Heart from Dilly Beans.

I started off by dry embossing a tag with the Enchanted embossing folder by Spellbinders and then adding a bit of color with pearlescent chalks.  The image was colored with Copic markers and then fussy cut.  I also used an exacto knife to cut out the bottom portion of the heart, so I could slip it on top of my world globe (by Die-Versions).

The sentiment was cut out of an old magazine (talk about recycling) sort of like a "Ransom" letter would be cut from various letters.  A Simon Says Stamps die banner was used to add dimension to the bottom part of the sentiment.

As there were 5 Saturdays in the month of March, you'll only have one week to upload your Earth Day creations to the Time4Scrap Challenge.


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Zipper Jacket



I had a little bit of time to make a card "just for fun" - no design team assignments involved   :-).  I recently purchased the Zipper die set from MFT and I think I will be using it often.  It could be used for a guy or gal, depending on papers used and embellishments that you choose.

I wanted to create a birthday card for a friend of mine, who also happens to be a big Alabama football fan.  {Confession time - it was a little difficult as I'm an Auburn fan and if you follow the SEC Conference at all, you know they are huge rivals.  Even if you lose most of your games, but win the Iron Bowl (where the two teams play each other), that team has had a winning season as far as the fans go.  I'm not that fanatic though as I'll cheer for either team if they happen to be in the National Championship :-). }

After cutting the pieces to form this card from white cardstock, I took another scrap of white cardstock and die cut the MFT Houndstooth coverup die.  I used this as a stencil to color in the Houndstooth pattern onto my jacket "fabric" using Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry) and a sponge dauber.

I finished up the zipper pull with a shoe charm (both of these come with the set, plus lots of other charms) and some twine.  The shoe charm was colored with more Picked Raspberry and heat embossed with Clear embossing powder.  I also added some twine at the top to resemble the pull strings coming through a jacket hood.

War Eagle! :-)

Friday, March 21, 2014

Strawberries in Clay Pot



Hey everyone!  Today I'm sharing a card using the Pattie's Creations digi image Strawberries in a Clay Pot.  The challenge for the next two weeks is Anything Goes.  Since everyone needs lots of birthday cards, this is what I created.  Plus I incorporated a new technique for me as well.

To start off, I colored the image with Copic markers, fussy cut it out, and added Glossy Accents to the berries so they would be more dimensional.  After my background was completed, I only ran adhesive up the center of the image so the strawberry vines would have dimension and be lifted off the background.



For the background, I began by applying embossing paste through a The Crafters Workshop mini stencil (mini harlequin).  Immediately after taking the stencil off, I covered it with Sparkle N Sprinkle's Blissful Blue Sparkle N Soft flock.  Since I didn't want to ruin the design, I lightly pressed the flock into the paste, but not too hard.  Then I let it dry completely.  When I shook off the excess flock, there was a light layer that stuck to the embossing paste - just what I wanted.  I wanted to have a couple areas with heavier amounts of flock, so I took my heat gun and heated up a few of the diamonds and then rubbed more flock into them.  The diamonds were heated enough to let the flock adhere to them, but not so hot that they changed shape.

Next I die cut this with the Sizzix Cameo Frame die.  I didn't want to leave the background white, so I spritzed the entire thing with Tsukineko Walnut Inks (Terra Cotta and Cornflower).  Since the embossing paste acts as a resist, I was able to take a paper towel and blot off all the excess ink from the flocked areas.

I added a couple corner dies from MFT (Four Corners) and added my sentiment, which was die cut from a Memory Box die (Primo Labels).  I added Glossy Accents over the sentiment as well.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Crystal Medallion Spinner (and tutorial)



When I first saw the new Crystal Medallion rubber stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle, it reminded me of a kaleidoscope.  That thought process led me to create this Penny Spinner card.  (You can find the technique here).  This is a very photo intensive post, so grab a drink, sit back, and I hope you enjoy (and maybe learn a new technique along the way).


I stared off by stamping the image and coloring it with Copic markers.  I picked my colors by random and just started coloring various sections.  Next, I covered it with Super Adhesive Sheet and fussy cut out both layers.  Once it was fussy cut, I peeled off the backing from the Super Adhesive Sheet and covered the entire area with Cloud Nine velvet glitter.  This gave each individual color of my kaleidoscope lots of shimmer.

Following the directions in the tutorial, I stamped my sentiment into the punched area using VersaMark and heat setting with Gold Coast embossing powder.  The top panel was liberally spritzed with Dylusions Ink Spray (London Blue) and pop dotted above the panel cut to the same size as the top panel.  (This white cardstock panel is where you stamp your sentiment.)


To create the corner piece, I started out with white cardstock.  I adhered a Dreamweavers metal stencil to the cardstock and applied embossing paste over it.  While the embossing paste was still wet, I covered it with Gold Coast embossing powder.  I set this aside to dry completely (over night) before I heat set the embossing powder with a heat gun.  Once it was dry and the embossing powder was heat set, I spritzed this with more London Blue.  The cool thing about this embossing paste/embossing powder combo is that it acts like a resist.  So, once I was happy with the coverage on my spritzing, I took a paper towel and wiped off the excess ink from the raised image.  Since I wanted it at an angle, I fussy cut out the design and adhered it to my focal panel with my Crystal Medallion spinner.

Since embossing paste and stencils are making a comeback at the moment, I thought I'd create a tutorial for this embossing paste/embossing powder technique.

To get started, you'll need to gather the following supplies: embossing paste, spatula (or a used hotel key card), brass or plastic stencil, cardstock, removable tape, embossing powder, and a container of warm, soapy water.  Once you begin, you'll need to work relatively fast, so have everything ready ahead of time.




You want to start off by taping down your cardstock to your craft mat.  Lay the brass stencil on top in the position you'd like it.   Then I like to tape off all four edges so everything is secure.  You don't want the stencil to shift while applying the embossing paste.

Take the back of the spatula, or anything that you can easily spread the embossing paste with, and apply over the stencil.   It's like icing a cake.  I start off with a thick layer of paste, and then as I'm smoothing it out, I'm also taking off the excess.  Just place any excess back into the jar so you can use it next time.  Even though it looks like you're using a lot of paste, most of it goes back into the jar.



You can have the paste as thick or thin as you'd like.  The thicker it is, the longer it will take to dry.  Once you're happy with it and all the openings are covered with embossing paste, carefully begin peeling off the tape in the reverse order that you put them on.  This helps to keep you from jarring the stencil and ruining the design.  Use the last piece  of tape like a hinge and gently swing the stencil up off the cardstock and then peel away from your cutting mat.   (Be sure to scrap off the stencil and place the excess embossing paste back into the jar too.)


The design should have crisp,  defined edges and look something like the photo above.  As soon as you've taken the stencil off, drop it into your container of water so that the embossing paste does not dry onto the stencil.  (It's extremely hard to clean once it's dried on.)

While the embossing paste is still wet, cover it with your embossing powder.  (You can go ahead and shake off the excess embossing powder and put it back into your container.)  The next step is the hardest - you have to set it aside and let it dry completely before moving onto the next step!

While it's starting to dry, you can clean your stencil and spatula.  I just take it to a sink and clean it with soap and a soft rag.  Since it was already in the container of water, the paste stayed moist and clean up is easy-breezy.

Once the embossing paste is dry (anywhere from several hours to over night, depending on how thick a layer you put down), take your heat gun and heat set the embossing powder.  It shimmers and shines and the embossing powder doesn't rub off.   As I mentioned earlier, this works as a great resist too.

Hope this tutorial helps spark some creative juices and encourages you to try it too.

I'm also entering this in the Dreamweavers challenge.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Pearls and Lace


The new challenge at Time4Scrap is all about Pearls and Lace and our sponsors for this challenge is The Stamping Chef and Ikesart.  For my card, I chose Jolene from The Stamping Place.

She was a pleasure to color and as usual, I used Copic markers.  The image was then die cut using a Lifestyle Crafts die (Nesting Doily Ovals) and the background was sponged in using Distress Inks (Dusty Concord).  I left the die in place to create the white portion.  Large pearls were adhered around the oval.

The flowers are very tiny and are a low profile die from Sizzix (Forsythia - one of the many flower dies from the Susan Tierney Cockburn.)  I doubled up the blossoms though, to create a two-toned blossom.  Tiny pearls were added to each flower center.

The purple polka dots are an overlay that I've had forever and worked perfectly with the colors I had chosen.  I added a double lace bow and adhered more small pearls along the tails of the bow.

You have two weeks to add your creation to the Time4Scrap Challenge Blog.  I can't wait to see what you come up with.


Wednesday, March 12, 2014

HERO


Today I have a fun fold card using one of the new Die-Versions Sweet Phrases die: Hero.  This month's release is being used as a fundraiser for Operation Write Home (see this post).  I've paired it up with this patriotic digi from a company that unfortunately is no longer in business :-(  but who had great masculine images (so I still use them from time to time).  He's colored with Copic markers and highlighted with several Spica glitter pens.

I wanted to create a different fold for this, so I cut my card base slightly larger than the focal panel.   I scored the focal panel about 1" from the top so I could adhere it to the white card base.  When you look at it closed, it appears that the white is a matting around the blue, but when you open it vertically, you see the inside.  I also added a few punched hearts (from an old Creative Memories punch) and floss to the inside.


Monday, March 10, 2014

Winter Cardinal


 A Winter's Cardinal from Sparkle N Sprinkle is one of the five new rubber stamp sets debuting this month.

I started out by coloring him with Copic markers and then using the Nesting Scallop Oval by Lifestyle Crafts.  The background is chalked in for a soft looking sky.  A VersaMarker ink pen was used to apply ink to the pine needles, which were then heat embossed with Pine embossing powder.


This cute file folder was created using the WR Memory Keepers Envelope Punch board.  You can view a You Tube video here, although a friend talked me through how to make one.  I used the Distress Embossing Technique on the edges of the file folder and the edges of the card base by applying VersaMark and Gold Tinsel embossing powder.


I wanted to place my sentiment on the inside of the file folder, but thought it was a bit plain.  So, I stamped the new Crystal Medallion into the center with Memento Danube Blue ink and then stamped the sentiment on top of this with VersaMark and heat set it with White Detail embossing powder.



A bit of twine and a pine cone shaped button are the finishing touches to this beautiful cardinal.  You can also visit my SNS Art Gallery page for more detailed instructions.


Friday, March 7, 2014

Confidential




Welcome to the joint Die-Versions/Operation Write Home Blog Hop.  The OWH folks and the DV Dynamos are teaming up to bring you lots of fantastic projects using the Die-Versions New Release dies, which feature a new set of dies that will be an OWH fundraiser product.  There will also be blog candy given away to random commenters (so don't forget to leave some lovin' as you hop along.)  Details can be found on the OWH Start-off Blog Hop post.

If you are not familiar with Operation Write Home, their mission is to support our armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as "AnyHero" cards of gratitude to encourage them. You can find more information for newcomers at: http://operationwritehome.org/welcome/.  For those of you who are familiar with OWH, but want a refresher on their guidelines (like don't use glitter for the safety of our troops), you can check out their guidelines page, here.


When I first saw the Confidential Express Edge, it immediately made me think of those Top Secret files I'd seen in spy movies.  So my thought process went from there.  I started off by creating this file folder using a WR Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.  (There are several You Tube videos showing how to make your own.  They are very easy and addictive to make :-). )  The cardstock base (front and back) was printed from some digi papers that I've had for a long time.  After die cutting the Express Edge, I distressed the edges with Distress Ink (Old Paper, Aged Mahogany).


inside
Since it was a file folder, you know there is always some loose papers on the inside.  This is where I created my sentiment, using the Torn Notebook Edge Straight die for the paper's edge, the Miss You Express Edge (cut in half), the Short Stop font (coordinates with the Express Edges) and the Gatsby font for my "beary".  The inside edges of the file folder are also distressed with Distress Inks.



This sweet little bear is a digi from Hambo Stamps and was colored with Copic markers.  Some Spica glitter pens were used to enhance his medals.  I printed it a couple of times so I could pop dot several areas for added dimension. 

Your next stop on the hop is Samantha, but in case there are some hick-ups, here's the official blog hop list with links:




Thanks for joining us on this hop and I hope it's given you lots of great ideas and inspiration.  Don't forget to leave each of us a comment for a chance to win some blog candy.  

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Iris Frame



Iris Frame is one of the new rubber stamp sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  I love how this set comes with three different sentiments that all fit into the center.

After coloring the image with Copic markers, I added Canary flock to the flower centers and heat embossed my sentiment with Black Detail embossing powder.

The dragon flies are from Die-Versions (Buggy Wee Petites) and are also heat embossed (Pebbled Copper embossing powder).  The Dainty Dots border (a MFT die) was die cut from Super Adhesive Sheet and covered with Daisy velvet glitter.  I also added a few gems to the centers.

I outlined the center frame (with the sentiment) and the outer frame with a Sakura glue pen and covered the glue lines with Daisy velvet glitter.  As I wanted to continue this little bit of sparkle to the card base,  I took my ruler and a Sakura glue pen and drew random lines along the four edges.  As before, I covered the glue lines with more Daisy velvet glitter.


Monday, March 3, 2014

SNS March 1 Reveal Winners

Hi!  Thank you for participating in Sparkle N Sprinkle's March 1st Release
We enjoyed making the new projects, and hope you enjoyed browsing. 


We released 5 new stamp sets, 2 new digitals, and Jazzy Jill's technique kit.
Winners get to choose an embossing powder and glitter to go with their new set.


Our winners are:

from Shona's blog, featuring the "Iris Frame":  #15 "Go Barb" of Tiles, Tangles and Strings

from Eret's blog, featuring "Born to Shop":  #10 Barbara Macaskill

from Emmy's blog, featuring "Winter Cardinal":  #30 Caliboo

from April's blog, featuring "Springtime Spunky":  #7 Nancy Carroll

from Donna's blog, featuring "Crystal Medallion":  #47 Nancy of "Scrapping Everyday Miracles"


Congratulations, Winners!

Thank you for checking out the products and sample cards. 
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)


Mark Your Calendars


Die-Versions and Operation Write Home are combining together to have a fundraising Blog Hop for OWH.  It all begins Friday, March 7 at 7am Central (8 am Eastern) time.

Oh, and there will be some blog candy to random commenters too :-).  Please join us for this extra special Blog Hop and help support all our troops.