Sunday, December 30, 2012

Music in the Air

I love how this card turned out... I made this card last month but never uploaded it to my blog.  Per request from a friend, I am uploading it now... absolutely love how the glitter changed colors on this card...
I stamped the music background in versamark and embossed and then distressed the edges a little by rolling the corners as well as sponging around the edges.  My sentiment is also embossed.  I then used the Waterscape Glitter from SNS around the edges of my label.  The actual color is more of a semi-transparent white almost clear glitter but when I added it to the brown cardstock it almost turned a golden color.  I was pretty amazed and absolutely loved the look so I added more to the butterflies.  I added some twine and a button to finish this one off.  I hope you like this card as much as  I do... Thank you so much for taking the time to look...  :)

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Golden Poinsettias

I made a few different Christmas cards to send out this year but this is by far my favorite one...  I can honestly say that this took me so long to make that my mom and dad were the only ones to receive it...  My mom is big into crafting and she allows me to enable her with all the wonderful products  I find and since I love them, she does too and ends up getting them too...  So she deserved this card and then some...

I started with shimmer gold cardstock and layered with neenah solar white that I ran though with my snowflake embossing folder.  This was the easy part...  The poinsettias are what took all the time to create...  The 2 smaller poinsettias have 3 layers and the larger one has 4.  I stamped the layers individually and then embossed them.  I used my Spellbinder's poinsettia dies to cut out all the layers.  I then adhered the layers together to create my flowers...  Probably doesn't seem like a lot of work, but the dies had to line up perfectly with the stamped image to look right...  Had quite a few mess ups...  I then stamped and embossed my sentiment and cut out with spellbinders ovals and scallop oval dies.  I added some gold balls and a gold cord to finish off this card...  I love the look of this and I really wish it were easily duplicated because I would have loved to find the time to create more of these to send...  That being said, I like how all of my Christmas cards turned out...  Some of you will see them when they show up in your mailbox and you aren't even expecting one...  ;)  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my card today...  I would love to know what you think... 

Triple Fold Tutorial

Tutorials really do take some extra time to put together...  They require so much time and work...  So I hope that you will grab a cup of coffee and a snack and join me here today...  As I said in my previous post, the Sparkle N Sprinkle DT members are creating projects this month incorporating "fun folds."  I want to share with you my favorite fold card and a tutorial to show you how to create this fabulous jaw dropper in your home...  All glitters, embossing powders and adhesives can be purchased at Sparkle N Sprinkle, as well as the 2X2 acrylic blocks that I am using in this tutorial.  You don't have to use the 2X2 size and they have plenty others to choose from...  So I hope you have your drink and snack in hand.... Here we go...  Start with a sheet of cardstock measuring 4" X 12" and score lengthwise at 4" and 8"
Then on your center panel find your center point with intersecting lines and draw with a light pencil mark.
Place your 2 X 2 sized square die cut side facing you on your center lines as shown and tape in place with removable adhesive.
Fold both left and right sides over your die and run through you die cut machine.  This will cut out both left and right panels at the same time exactly where you need them.
When you have finished running through your die cut machine, reopen both flaps and carefully remove die                                                and erase pencils markings as shown.
As you see in the next photo close up, you die will leave an indentation in your cardstock... Don't worry                               as you will be covering this in a later step and will aid in placement of your block.
Now it is time to start preparing our acrylic block to emboss.  This step is very important.  Remove protective film from 1 side of your acrylic and rub your anti static bag over surface really well.  If you don't do this step you will end up with a lot of "flakes" left on your acrylic and you won't get a clear crisp image.
Next carefully stamp your image on your acrylic block without touching your block.  You don't want to
                                                  leave fingerprints or oil from your fingers.
Apply desired embossing powder and heat set.  I chose to use Sweetheart EP for my sample shown here.
Remove paper backing from other side of acrylic again being careful not to leave finger prints on the new side and gently press entire block into your versamark pad to coat the backside of your block (NOTE:  You want to versamark the OPPOSITE side of your block then you embossed on....)

Using a coffee filter to catch any extra powder, apply stickum powder to your wet versamark and heat set just until melted and quickly sprinkle glitter onto hot wet stickum powder and gently heat set again to "seal" in glitter.  (Use can also use sparkle embossing powder which has a glitter look to it as well but I wanted to get the full sparkle on my block.)
                       This is what your finished block will look like...  Nice and sparkly and shiny....
Now using the same die as in the first couple steps above, die cut a white square to place behind your                                                                                 acrylic block.
Now cut out scallop squares the same size as your square block.  Cut 2 "window" squares as shown on the left and 1 solid square like shown on the right.

Attach acrylic block to white die cut square using "tear"ific tape (you won't see it I promise) and being very careful not to scratch your glitter off the block when you are removing paper backing from tape and then adhere to solid die cut scallop square as shown below. (Your glittered side should be adhered to the white die cut square.)
Attach to your card base centering and covering the indented portion previously created with your die.
Now when you close both left and right flaps closed again you will be able to see the beautifully                                                         created  acrylic block now showing through those openings. 
Decorate as desired to finish off your card.  I have 2 samples shown here for you.  The best part is that these acrylic blocks are so thin that you will be able to mail them as you normally would with no added bulk. 
These are gorgeous eye catching cards that sparkle with the look of glitter but won't give your recipient the surprise of being covered with glitter when they open their card.  This is a fun technique to do and an even more fun card to receive.  I hope you will try one of these cards and  I would love to see what you come up with...  Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today... I really do appreciate all of the love and support you show...  Please let me know what you think as I value your comments and feedback greatly!!!


Monday, December 17, 2012

Easel Cocktails

I know I haven't posted in a couple weeks but my life has been turned upside down a couple times in the last month and I am desperately trying to get the pieces picked up.  I have made several cards and had time to play but I just don't have the time to sit and blog them...  I do want to share this on with you though because I absolutely love how it turned out...   This month the Sparkle N Sprinkle DT members are focusing on making cards with "fun folds."  I absolutely love fun folds but never stop to take the time to make any.  I usually stick with the typical A2 size and nothing more...  So this is a really cool card and I hope you will love it as much as I do...  This is an easel card and upon first glace it looks like your typical 4 X 4 card....


Well take another look at this beauty when it is popped open and displayed...
Now you can really see how cute and fun this card really is...  Let me show you a side view of this one as well so you get the full idea of this one...
I hope you can see here how the card pops up and then rests on the inside layers of cardstock to keep it open and displayed...  I tried very hard to capture all the details on these drinks but wasn't able to get the full shot.  I added glossy accents to all of my drinks to make the glasses look real and shiny and then I added some glitter to all of the rims to look like either salt or sugar rimmed glasses.  These look so cool in real life.. Here is a close up in hopes of showing a little more of the details...
The images, embossing powder and glitter used on this card can all be found at Sparkle N Sprinkle  Make sure to stop by their store and check out all of the wonderful new goodies they have to offer.  I promise you won't be disappointed...  Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope you have enjoyed my card...

Friday, November 30, 2012

SNS December Sketch

This is my card for this month's sketch challenge over at Sparkle N Sprinkle... I really hope that you will all be inspired to play along with us this month. The sketch is fabulous and leaves for so many awesome ideas...
The sketch challenge can be found here: Sparkle N Sprinkle Sketch Challenge I chose to use one of our newest Digi images from Beccy Muir.  If you haven't checked out her new images, please take the time to stop by and check them out.  You will also notice many new items in the store including embossing folders and Lifestyle Dies...  Check them out. Please check out what the rest of the DT has shared for inspiration and then play along with us. You will have until December 31st to upload your card to the SNS Sketch site. Here are the rules to play along...
 1. Create a new project for the challenge. No back links please. Altered art, ATCs, cards, scrapbook      pages, or any other craft projects are acceptable as long as they adhere to the month’s challenge. You may enter as many projects as you like.
 2. Please use Sparkle N Sprinkle images only.  Rubber images and digi images are all okay to use. IF USING NO STAMPS AT ALL, please use one of our other fine products on your project.
3. Please link to the exact post on your blog - not the home page URL of your blog - using the inlinkz icon at the bottom of the challenge. Be sure to link directly from your blog post back to our Challenge Blog. And that's all there is to it! If using SplitCoastStampers gallery (SCS) please see step 4.
 4. If posting to the SCS gallery - please be sure to include the code that appears on the Challenge page to tag your card to the challenge. Each monthly sketch or challenge will have its own unique code that will appear above the sketch or challenge. Please link the card or project by clicking the inlinkz icon at the bottom of the current challenge page. You’ll be prompted for the next steps. (Remember, please make sure to link directly to your challenge card)
 5. Posting starts at 12:01 a.m. ET on the first day of the month and ends at 8:00 p.m. ET on the last day of the month If you have any questions please email Barbara@sparklensprinkle.com

Monday, November 19, 2012

Blog Hop Winners!!!

Thanks to all the hoppers who participated in our biggest blog hop ever. We hope you enjoyed all the creativity as much as our designers enjoyed creating their beautiful projects.

Below is a list of the winners.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

 Please e-mail me at brenda@sparklensprinkle.com as soon as possible with your full name, address, phone number and prize selections.

 GRAND PRIZE #1 Stamp Set of your choice on cling cushion. TRENA JOHNSON
 GRAND PRIZE #2 Stampette set of your choice on cling cushion ROXIE
 FIRST PLACE TWO Velvet Glitters of your choice CANDY MEYERS
 SECOND PLACE Choice of three small embossing powders or regular glitters (mix and match) TERESA GODINES
 THIRD PLACE Choice of two Glitter TInsels, Flocking or Sparkle N Soft (mix & match) ROSE WILSON
 BONUS WINNER Choice of Three Digital Images CAT 

 Once again, thanks for all your delightful comments! Our next hop will be in January and the theme will be a little different this time around.

 FUN FOLDS!!! 

 Sparkle On! and enjoy the upcoming holidays. The Sparkle Design Team

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog Hop

Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Winter Wonderland Blog Hop! If you hopped here by way of Cheryl Bennett, then you are in the right place. Otherwise, you might like to start from the beginning to become eligible for 6 fabulous prizes (and link back to www.sparklensprinkle.com/blog) Today I am sharing two projects with you. The first one is this great Christmas card which uses our new "Velvet" glitters. They are amazing and you will definitely want to get your hands on them...
I used the quickie glue pen to add glue to my border and then added my glitter. The glitter gives this card such a wonderful sparkling look... I added my row of "candi" to the bottom to finish off my card. I truly hope you enjoy this card as much as I did making it... Second item I would like to share with you today is my Christmas Wreath. I am a big fan of decorating for Christmas. We start the day after Thanksgiving and nothing comes down until the new year.. I wanted to makes something special this year so I tried my hand at a wreath. Can I say I love it...
This was such a fun wreath to make and it looks just adorable hanging on my front door. I wish I could have gotten a better shot of this beauty, but it was so hard.
I hope you have enjoyed my projects for you today. Make sure you leave a comment in the comment box before you head on over to Marie Berquist for your chance to win one of 6 fabulous prizes... Happy Hopping!!!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Shhhh! It's a surprise!

I made a couple cute little treat boxes for a couple fellow Sparkle N Sprinkle DT members. They don't know who they are yet, but soon they will find out... The box is filled with Hershey kisses... I mean who doesn't like some chocolate while crafting... Am I right?
I know it is hard to tell but I used a cute little sunflower template and I added flock to the openings to create this beauty... The sunflower is created entirely from the flocking sold at Sparkle N Sprinkle. It is a great quality and this flower is so soft and fuzzy... I wish you could see the softness and feel the fuzzy via the computer... Unfortunately you can't so please take my word for it... It's soft!!! Thank you so much for stopping by. Please let me know what you think.. Happy Stamping!!!

Lilly Candle

I was making a couple candles the other day and this one came into my head and I went with it. I colored my image with Prisma colored pencils and Gamsol...
I am so happy with the way the coloring turned out and I really like the flower embellishment.. This was so fun and I never think to make candles. I am glad I played around with them again... I hope to make a few more soon... Thank you so much for stopping by today... Stay tuned for this weeks Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog hop starting this Thursday... It's going to be 4 days of wonderful creations from the Design Team so you won't want to miss a single day... Oh and did I mention there would be some fun prizes to win too? :) Happy Stamping!!!

Monday, November 5, 2012

For Fun

My mommy sent me a whole grip of heat and stick rhinestones in various different sizes and I just couldn't wait to play with them so I made a card for fun...
I love how this card came together for me... I chose the DSP and built my card from there... The flowers were made using the Bitty Blossoms dies from Spellbinders. Thank you mom for the awesome package of rhinestones... I am definitely going to need some more of the smallest ones... ;) Thank you so much for stopping by today.. I hope you like my cards today... Happy Stamping!!!

Layered Scallops

This is my card for today's "scallops" challenge... I chose to scallop punch my bottom, scallop layer emboss the punched edge and added a cute ribbon that has some scallops... I hope this counts for the challenge...
I want to say a thank you to a fellow SNS DT member for helping me create this absolutely stunning flower today... Her tutorial is just perfect and you should check it out here at CraftEMarie For my flower, I punched the same flower sizes as Marie and I used white lightweight cardstock. I painted both front and back of each flower with Twinkling H2O's (which I haven't used in YEARS!!!) and let dry. Then I shaped my flowers to give them the dimension I was looking for. Then I crystallized all the flower fronts using the tutorial found at Sparkle N Sprinkle Once they dried again I used my Brushable Glue from Sparkle N Sprinkle to add the new Velvet glitter to the petal edges. Once they dried I put everything together... I LOVE THIS FLOWER!!!!

Day Late and a Dollar Short

It is a true bummer that this card is late and won't be seen by very many people as I think it turned out AMAZING!!! I don't usually feel very good when I finish my cards... It's usually ok, or good enough but today I am super happy with the outcome...
I haven't been playing along in the daily challenges over at splitcoast and I really miss that daily challenge to get my morning started...So I am hoping the get back into it a little better next week... This week is already gotten away from me and it's only Monday... Big weekend coming up... I hope that you will enjoy my card today and that you will come back to see what else I have in my back pocket... Happy Stamping!!!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

SNS November Sketch Challenge

This is my card for this month's sketch challenge over at Sparkle N Sprinkle... I really hope that you will all be inspired to play along with us this month. The sketch is fabulous and leaves for so many awesome ideas...
The sketch challenge can be found here: Sparkle N Sprinkle Sketch Challenge I chose to use the "covered with glitter" technique for my card which can be found in the Techniques and Tutorials section as Sparkle N Sprinkle. Please check out what the rest of the DT has shared for inspiration and then play along with us. You will have until November 30th to upload your card to the SNS Sketch site. Here are the rules to play along... 1. Create a new project for the challenge. No back links please. Altered art, ATCs, cards, scrapbook pages, or any other craft projects are acceptable as long as they adhere to the month’s challenge. You may enter as many projects as you like. 2. Please use Sparkle N Sprinkle and Michelle Perkett images only – (rubber or digi is fine). Computer-generated sayings may be used (but no digi-art from other companies please). IF USING NO STAMPS AT ALL, please use one of our other fine products on your project. 3. Please link to the exact post on your blog - not the home page URL of your blog - using the inlinkz icon at the bottom of the challenge. Be sure to link directly from your blog post back to our Challenge Blog. And that's all there is to it! If using SplitCoastStampers gallery (SCS) please see step 4. 4. If posting to the SCS gallery - please be sure to include the code that appears on the Challenge page to tag your card to the challenge. Each monthly sketch or challenge will have its own unique code that will appear above the sketch or challenge. Please link the card or project by clicking the inlinkz icon at the bottom of the current challenge page. You’ll be prompted for the next steps. (Remember, please make sure to link directly to your challenge card) 5. Posting starts at 12:01 a.m. ET on the first day of the month and ends at 8:00 p.m. ET on the last day of the month If you have any questions please email Barbara@sparklensprinkle.com

Friday, October 26, 2012

Creepy Crawly Spiders

I REALLY don't like spiders... Or any bug that moves for that fact, but I think these little guys are adorable.. Maybe because they don't move, or look furry, or jump....
Here is my card for today's Creepy Crawly challenge... I had fun making this card and I really like how it turned out... I embossed my background and then added crochet thread to further detail the web. I finished my card off with googlie eyes on my spiders... So cute!! I hope you like my card today. This is the first card I have made in a while that doesn't have glitter on it... :( Maybe I should fix it.. LOL!!! Happy Stamping!!!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Last Sparkle N Sprinkle Sample

Here is my last sample for the newly released Sparkle N Sprinkle stamp sets. This sample is from the Fall Harvest set and it can be purchased here Thanks for taking the time to stop by and look. I hope that you will find your way to the Sparkle N Sprinkle store... I promise you will find some absolutely wonderful products...

More Sparkle N Sprinkle New Release Samples

Here are a couple more samples using the new Sparkle N Sprinkle Sets: These samples come from the Walter & Abby set that can be purchased here... I hope you enjoy these samples....

Friday, October 19, 2012

Christmas Foliage Samples

Here are the first few samples I made for the newly released Holiday Foliage set from Sparkle N Spinkle that can be purchased here So without further adieu...

Sparkle N Sprinkle New Releases!!!!!

I am so excited to finally share these AWESOME new sets with you from Sparkle N Sprinkle. To purchase these sets, you can click the Sparkle N Sprinkle store... Here is an index of the 3 new sets... I will be uploading some samples today and tomorrow for your viewing pleasure... All of my samples can be found in the Sparkle N Sprinkle Art Gallery here. This is the new Fall Harvest Set:
This is the new Holiday Foliage:
And Finally the new Walter & Abby Set: These 3 sets are so cute and so versatile... Make sure you buy all of them... I will post some samples for all of these sets so please stop back soon.. :) Happy Stamping!!!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Negative Glittered Ornaments

I wish I had gotten a chance to get my card finished and uploaded this morning but I was pretty slow moving this morning and didn't get done nearly as much as I had hoped... So I am finally uploading this now and I hope that you will all enjoy my "late" entry... At least late for me...
I punched out my ornaments through both top sheets of cardstock and then cut out the same ornaments with super adhesive sheets( can be purchased from Sparkle N Sprinkle) I glittered my ornaments using the glitter masking technique so when my card closes you can see the glittered ornaments... I really like how this turned out and am really happy with the look of the multi colored glitter... I hope you like it too... Please let me know what you think... Happy Stamping!!!

Friday, October 5, 2012

Fall Rosettes

I did this card for today's "rosette" challenge.. I love the look of the rosettes but they are just too bulky and don't mail well... So I thought I would try and make these a little smaller...
I scored at every 1/8" instead of every 1/4" so that I would get a flatter rosette... And how cool that it looks exactly the same and gives the same look in dimension as well and I can mail this a lot easier now... I stamped my main image using Ranger Distress ink and colored with my copic markers. I then took a strip of "tear"ific tape and covered my image and peeled the second backing off to expose the sticky and added glitter to my entire image. I then matted the main panel onto a scallop rectangle panel and added my rosettes. I really like how this turned out and I love the "covered with glitter" technique that can be found at Sparkle N Sprinkle... Thank you so much for stopping by today... Happy Stamping!!!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Beautiful Blue Butterflies

This is my card for today's sketch challenge... I tried to get this done before work this morning but my mind wasn't working very quickly... A fresh mind is best... I had fun making this card and I really like the colors used here...
This card was very simple to put together with minimal layers. I cut out 3 different butterflies and layered them slightly off from each other with the smallest butterfly having pearls down the center. I simply added my ribbon and sentiment and that was the extent of this card... I hope you like what I did today... Happy Stamping!!!