May SNS Reveal (04.30.2016)

Welcome to Sparkle N Sprinkle's 

May 1 New Reveal Blog Hop!

We have six new stamp sets to share with you today.  These new sets are 20% off until May 3.  So once you finish the blog hop, head on over to the store and start shopping.  All of the new sets are available on cling mounted rubber or as a digital image.  


The sets are:

 Gone Fishing 778 (digi version DIGI778)
 Just Go Fishing 779 (digi version DIGI779)
  Summer Grilling #1 780 (digi version DIGI780)
Summer Grilling #2 781 (digi version DIGI781)
Nasturtium #1 782 (digi version DIGI782)
Nasturtium #2 783 (digi version DIGI783)

On May 3rd, ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be selected from the comments left on the Designers' blogs listed below. Please leave a comment with each Designer in order to be eligible for the Grand Prize.  You never know who the Mystery Designer will be that has the winning comment.

The Grand Prize Winner, which will be announced on the SNS Facebook page and on the SNS Blog, will receive ALL of the new stamp sets released this month (or the digi versions, if preferred).


The Blog Hop order this month is:

Diane
Chris <<<<<This is me!
Belinda
Anne
Shona
Marie
Jess
Eret

(*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????

The Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenge also begins today.  There are lots of prizes and recognition badges.  Come check out how you can become a SNS Featured Artist as well.  The theme is always Anything Goes using Loose Glitter, Embossing Powder, and/or Flock.

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!

I loved this image of a daddy fishing with a child. I decided to frame the scene inside a bit of a diorama style box. To make this card, I used the Just Go Fishing digital image (DIGI779)) and printed it out. I blended some distress inks in blue and yellow to highlight the water and sunlight. I brushed it on lightly, just to show a hint of those colors. I also mounted the image on the bobbler I cut using the Pop'cessories Die by Stampendous [DCP1003].

One of the sentiments in this stamp set was so sweet and meaningful. I decided to use it for this card. I also printed it out, then heat embossed some Ocean Marbled Embossing Powder [EP438] and Super Thick Clear Embossing Powder [EP230]. I sprinkled on these powders very lightly ... just enough to create a little splash or puddle feel on the front of the sentiment.

Because the daddy and the child are fishing, I thought incorporating two fish hooks, would be intriguing. But, I didn't want to use a real fish hook and potentially poke anybody. So, I printed out an image of a fish hook, fussy cut it out, then covered it with Versamark Ink Pad [VM001], and heat embossed Silver Lightning Embossing Powder [EP262]. I repeated this for several layers to get a real think silver & shiny coverage. Then, once it was all silvery and shiny, I layered on some Super Thick Clear Embossing Powder [EP230]. This made the fish hook have a lot of dimension and look pretty real ... without any sharp points!

I also decided I needed some blue waves. I die cut some white cardstock, then distress inked it with blue to make them look like water. I also brushed on some Brushable Glue [540] to the tips of the waves and sprinkled on Misty Blue [G1021] glitter on one row of the waves, and I repeated this with Fascination [G1030] glitter on the second. Here are the waves closeup.

Here is another shot of the daddy and child, just fishing away and enjoying time together.

I hope you enjoyed this Just Go Fishing card. It was a lot of fun making this card.

Buckle up and enjoy the blog hop! Your next stop on our blog hop is Belinda who will treat you to something absolutely beautiful!


Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 

Chris

Chipboard Embellishments and Lots of Sparkle & Bling! {04.27.2016}

Hi!! I had another great time playing with Sparkle N Sprinkle and Want 2 Scrap products ... Let's check out what I made:

I wanted to showcase some Want 2 Scrap chipboard embellishments, and I chose the Chipboard Embellishments Pack of 4 - Style E [CE-STYLE E]. I also incorporated some Nestabling Fleur de Lis Rectangle Turquoise Rhinestone [9017]. I also pulled out one of my favorite Sparkle N Sprinkle stamp sets, Flourishes 1 [00-516P5]. Once I had all these items in front of me, I went to town. The first thing I did, was stamp out flourishes with Versamark Ink Pad [VM-001] onto watercolor paper, and then heat embossed all the flourishes with EP298 White Detail Embossing Powder. Once I had the swirls embossed, I pulled out some distress inks, squished them onto my craft mat, spritzed them with water, then brushed them onto my flourish embossed watercolor paper. I kept layering color until I had enough contrast to help highlight the flourishes. After it dried, I die cut two sizes of the Fleur de Lis rectangles, then adhered the Nestabling Fleur de Lis Rectangle Turquoise Rhinestone [9017] embellishments.

I layered the two rectangles together, to create some dimension with the rectangles. I also stamped out the "friend" sentiment in black pigment ink, and covered it with Clear Detail Embossing Powder [EP280] on some leftover piece of flourished watercolor paper. I fussy cut out the sentiment and framed it with black paper and layered it within the rectangles too.

After the rectangles were done, I worked on the chipboard embellishments. I covered two of them with Versamark Ink Pad [VM-001] and heat embossed these embellishments with several layers of EP298 White Detail Embossing Powder. After I had the chipboard solid white, I brushed on some Brushable Glue [540] and randomly layered on Chameleon Glitter [G1137] and Enlightened Blue Glitter [G1136]. These two colors are GORGEOUS together! Swoon! Even though the glitters were stunning, I wanted a bit more of a pop, so I attempted something new to me - I squeezed on a LOT of Dimensional Glue [539] to the glittered swirl embellishments, and let it dry (note, this took over 48 hours to completely dry clear since I had so much glue covering the glitter!). Here is a photo of what it looked like right after applying the Dimensional Glue:

Here is another photo of what it looked like at about 24 hours of drying.

Once the embellishments dried, I layered them over the rectangles. Even covered with the dimension glue (which does dry clear), the glitter still sparkled so much! These chipboard embellishments were fantastic!

I backed the rectangles with black cardstock, and framed the image with cardstock that I edged with 1/4" Double-sided Tear-ific Tape [SAT01]. Once I had the tape adhered to the cardstock, I pulled off the release paper, and pressed in the AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL Enlightened Blue Glitter [G1136] with my finger tool. I used this to frame the entire card. This blue glitter is absolutely stunning!

This card was really fun, and the colors make me happy. You definitely need to check out these two new glitters. You will be glad you did!
Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 
Chris

Hello Prince Baby Card {04.22.2016}

I made this sweet little card to welcome a friend's new baby boy. 

I wanted to do a soft watercolor card, so I used Lawn Fawn's Stitched Rectangle Stackables to cut a panel from watercolor paper. I stamped the frog image using Lawn Fawn's Hello Baby stamp set, with black waterproof ink. I masked it off, and then stamped the lily pad underneath the frog. After stamping these images, I watercolored the water and the sky background, and then set it aside to dry. After it was dry, I masked the line between the sky and water, and stamped the cattails with brown ink.

I brushed on some Sparkle N Sprinkle Brushable Glue, and then adhered Sparkling Sands sparkle n soft over the cattail images to make them fuzzy and sparkly!

I stamped out the "Hello little prince" sentiment in gold ink, and then heat embossed clear detail embossing powder over it for added shine and dimension.

 I filled in the crown on the frog with gold ink. I wanted to frame the image with gold, so I die cut out a scalloped rectangle and then used a sponge dauber to rub the same gold ink all over the edges to match the crown.

The card was fun to make, and I like how it is soft and pretty, but still created for a little baby boy. This frog image was fun to stamp out and watercolor. I need to bust out my watercolors more!

The new parents enjoyed this card and are excited about their new little bundle.

Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 

Chris

Always Sparkle Tiara {04.20.2016}

I love sparkles and tiara and pink and all things girly ... So, this month's pairing between Sparkle N Sprinkle and Want 2 Scrap had my name all over it! Let's see what I created!

I used Want 2 Scrap's Tiara [Tiara2pk] and covered it with Versamark Ink pad [VM-001] and heat embossed several layers of Sparkle N Sprinkle's White Detail Embossing Powder [EP298] until it was solidly white. Here is a photo of what it looks like in the packaging.

And, what it looked liked after several layers of White Detail Embossing Powder [EP298].

Once I had it all solid white, I inked it up again with another layer of Versamark Ink pad [VM-001] and then dusted on some Pink Lady Embossing Powder [EP337] and Silver Lightning Embossing Powder [EP262], but not a solid cover of either so that it had all colors showing through (white, silver, pink). It turned out really pretty!

Once I had the tiara colored just right, I outlined the tiara shape onto black cardstock, then covered the cardstock completely with of Versamark Ink pad [VM-001] and heat embossed Sparkle Semi-Transparent Embossing Powder [EP107] to make it shiny and sparkly! This gave me a background onto which I layered the tiara. I glued the sparkly black cardstock using Brushable Glue [540]. I added some gems to the tiara. I squeezed on some Nuvo Glitter Drops - White Blizzard [758N] and set it aside to dry. This made a really cool gem effect within the tiara.

I also used a Want 2 Scrap "Sparkle" chipboard sentiment. I started out with the same again:  Versamark Ink pad [VM-001] and heat embossed several layers of White Detail Embossing Powder [EP298] until it was solid white. Another trick, I learned from Demo Donna, is the "glueless glitter" technique. Basically, you can add Versamark ink over something already heat embossed, and sprinkle glitter onto it. Then, heat emboss the glitter and it will sink into the embossing powder and seal it. It works great! So, I did this! I sprinkled on Hyacinth Velvet Glitter (Microfine) [GM2028] to the top of the sentiment, and Tyrian Glitter [G1089] on the bottom for an ombre effect, then heat set the two glitters into the embossing powder below. I also stamped out the "always" sentiment from the Sparkle Brighter Stamp Set [635] with a black pigment ink onto vellum, then covered it with Clear Detail Embossing Powder [EP280]. I also die cut a border from a piece of cardstock covered with some 2-1/2" Double-sided Tear-ific Tape [SAT11], and then pressed in some more Hyacinth Velvet Glitter (Microfine) [GM2028]. 

To finish off this card, I wanted to add in a bit more bling. So, I layered some Pink Rhinestone Swirls [7502] onto the card. The swirls are awesome! But, they were a little bigger than the space I had available, so I trimmed some of the swirls off to make it fit. This is one thing that we should all keep in mind ... we can change up what we want to do! Pull out those scissors and hack away!

This card has lots of shine and bling, and a lot of pink! Just perfect! I hope you enjoyed it - I had a great time making it :)

Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 

Chris

Deepest Sympathy Card {04.18.2016}

I made this card by scraplifting from myself. I made a card recently from patterned paper with very little stamping, and duplicated it again because it was so much fun and broadened my abilities. Here is what I made.

I started with a paper collection from Heartfelt Creations. I die cut patterned pieces using some Heartfelt Creations die cut sets in rectangle shapes and flourishes. I also fussy cut out a sentiment label.

I also used some distress inks to ink the edges of the all the rectangles and the flourishes.

I cut several rectangles for the inside, and stamped leaves and a sentiment in green ink.

I might have to try this again!

Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 

Chris

Hope Butterfly {04.15.2016}

Today's card is another product using Sparkle N Sprinkle products and some cool stuff from Want 2 Scrap! I used several products from each company, and created a Hope Butterfly. Let's fly by and peek at it, shall we?!

I started with a Want 2 Scrap Vintage Fancy Frames Silhouettes in Black [4357-S]. The frame was black, but I wanted a different color. So, I colored it! First, I pressed the frame into a Versamark ink pad [VM-001]. Then, I heat embossed several layers of White Detail Embossing Powder [EP298]. After coating the entire frame with white, I then inked it up again with Versamark ink pad [VM-001], and then heat embossed Pink Lady Embossing Powder [EP337] to make the frame more pink than white. I love that the frame feels mottled because I didn't do a full coverage of the pink, which is really pretty in real life! The next thing I did was create the butterfly. I pulled out a butterfly from the Want 2 Scrap - Butterflies 4-pack chipboard butterflies [CE-Butterflies] and did the same as noted above, I coated the butterfly with Versamark ink pad [VM-001] and several layers again of White Detail Embossing Powder [EP298]. After it was all nice and solid white, I pulled out my Sparkle N Sprinkle Pink Ribbon Background - Stamp Set [00-408P4] and stamped it with Versamark ink pad [VM-001] and heat embossed Pink Lady Embossing Powder [EP337]. Here is a shot of the chipboard butterfly.

Once the chipboard was colored and decorated, I fussy cut out a butterfly shape from vellum. I stamped out the hope ribbon from Sparkle N Sprinkle's Awareness - Stamp Set 714P7 [00-714P7], and heat embossed more White Detail Embossing Powder [EP298]. To finish off the wings, I colored the backside of the ribbon images with pink copic markers. Once this was done, I adhered the vellum wings over the chipboard butterfly. To finish off the butterfly body, I squeezed on some Nuvo Crystal Drops - Ebony Black (Gloss) 650N [650N] and let it dry.

Another component of the card was a lattice-style background within the frame. I covered a white cardstock panel with Stick It -sm [SK-155], and ran it through a lattice die from my stash. I peeled away the release paper, and then pressed Sparkle N Sprinkle's Night Sky Sparkle N Soft [SS103] into the adhesive. I layered the lattice behind the frame, and layered the butterfly onto the frame.

I wanted a bit more color ... so I pulled out some watercolor paper to create a background. I grabbed three distress inks (pink, orange, yellow) and pressed them onto my craft mat. I spritzed them with water and then used a wet waterbrush to paint them onto the watercolor paper. I blended the inks together a bit and let the water run around a bit to help move and blend the colors. After it dried, I die cut the watercolor paper with a rectangle die from my stash, and layered it over a scalloped rectangle die cut black cardstock. After laying everything together, I squeezed on some drops of Nuvo Crystal Drops (Gloss) in Ripened Pumpkin [665N] and Dandelion Yellow [673N] in random places around the background for just that little bit extra pop of color and fun!

And, the final step was to add some Want 2 Scrap Beautiful Bling Borders - Beautiful Blooms [4502]. I love these bling strips - so pretty, so happy, so sparkly!

This pretty much finished my card. Here is another shot of the card and all the layers.

I love pink and bright colors and bling - and this card had all those things! I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 

Chris

Hello Birdie {04.13.2016}

Hi! Today's card is a little card I made for the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog. Us SNS designers got to play with the amazing Sparkle N Sprinkle glitters and embossing powders, and combine them with Want 2 Scrap chipboard and bling ... and boy oh boy did we have fun!
My card here is a little birdie saying hello. Let's say hello:

The first thing I did was cover one of the chipboard birds from the Want 2 Scrap - Small Bird Flourish [4310] pack, which comes with three birds, with Versamark Ink [VM-001]. I then heat embossed several layers of White Detail Embossing Powder [EP298]. Once the chipboard was covered in white embossing, I layered some 1/2" Double-sided "Tear-ific Tape" [SAT04] over the bird and removed the release paper. I cut strips of the Pearl Mesh - Small, and adhered them onto the tummy portion of the birdie. Once I had several rows adhered, I pressed in Tyrian Glitter [G1089] onto the remaining adhesive. And, I also added in a little eye with a dot of Liquid Pearl.
I wanted a speech bubble, and something fun and bright for the background, so I used some distress inks and a flower stencil to create a background. First, I used a light ink and blended it with an ink blender all over the white cardstock. Then, I layered a flower stencil over the cardstock, and inked it again with a darker ink. Once the stencil was removed, I had a two-tone background of happiness! I pulled out a speech bubble die from my stash, and die cut it. I layered it over a card panel, placed the birdie below the speech bubble, and added in the HELLO letters from a puffy alphabet set in my stash.

After I had the speech bubble adhered, I blinged up the joint! I used Want 2 Scrap Rhinestone Swirls. Because the swirls are pretty big, I cut up the swirls a little bit to better fit the two areas I wanted to add the swirls. I used one to make a branch effect under the birdie, and more swirl bits within the speech bubble for extra pizazz.

And, for a teeny bit more fun, I added some Hydrangea and Pearl Liquid Pearls to some of the flower centers.

There is a lot of bling on this card, and I really enjoyed adding as much as I could to it! I hope you enjoyed it too.

Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 

Chris

Sympathy Card {04.11.2016}

This card was a new style for me. I made it primarily from patterned paper and die cutting, and very little stamping. Let's look.

I used some papers from a collection from Heartfelt Creations. I also used several dies from their line as well. I cut out patterned paper with rounded rectangle dies, and additional flourishes from the same patterned paper collection. I also fussy cut a label sentiment.

I did the inside in a similar manner, but just not as many layers. Plus, the only stamping I did was to stamp a silhouette leaf stamp in green ink, on the patterned paper. For all the edges, inside and front, I also used some green and lilac distress inks on the edges. Here is in the inside.

I also stamped the sympathy sentiment in green ink.

This card moved me outside of my comfort zone. I have never stamped over patterned paper before, nor have I used so much patterned paper at one time. I liked how it turned out, and I hope it helped my friend know that I was thinking about her during her tough time.

Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 

Chris

Dad's 80th Birthday Card! {04.08.2016}

Okay, so if you saw my recent post, you saw this double zig zag card design. I loved this card design so much, I used it again for my Dad's 80th birthday card. Here it is.

I created the double zig zag card in a brown cardstock, and then adhered several different patterned papers to each panel. My Dad is a retired engineer, so I used engineery-type papers that seemed perfect. Here is a shot of the papers.

I stamped "happy" with versamark ink and used Sparkle N Sprinkle's Gold Detail embossing powder, and heat embossed it. I also used die cuts to cut out the numbers. Here is a shot of these, after putting them on a circle and framing it with scallops.

And, I mounted the sentiment circle on an Action Wobble, so it moved and jiggled as the card moved. Here is an angle shot to help show the depth between the card and the sentiment.

I am a tad masculine-card-inept, but this one worked for me because I was able to focus on engineering patterned paper, and created a card with some dimension and interactivity, which is kinda cool for the engineering nerd that is my dad.

Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 

Chris

Dragonfly Birthday Card {04.06.2016}

This card was FUN to make! I learned a new card design, and used it for this card (and an upcoming card too, stay tuned!). Let's fly on by and check it out:

I searched through Pinterest for interactive cards, and came across this design, the double zig zag. It looks complicated, but was quite easy. I cut out two pieces of 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock on a diagonal, then scored in a few locations, cut a slit halfway through each panel, and slid the two halves together. They interlock and stand up on their own, but can be folded flat for mailing. Here is another angle to show the accordion-style sides.

The top of the card is sloped, so I decorated the top edge of the card too. I cut patterned paper for each of the "panels" and adhered it. I adhered a strip of Sparkle N Sprinkle's 1/4" Double-sided Tear-ific Tape to the top edge of each panel. I stuck some die cut flower & leaf dies to the sticky tape. I added in some Sparkle N Sprinkle's Small Pearl Mesh pearls and then covered the remaining adhesive with Sparkle N Sprinkle's Priceless Peacock glitter. These gave the top of the panels a little pizazz.

Here is another angle of the top edged embellishments.

My friend loves dragonflies. I knew I had to put on a dragonfly, and I wanted to do several smaller ones flitting all about, but it just felt right to do one big one on the front. Here is what I ended up with. I stamped the dragonfly with versamark ink and heat embossed Sparkle N Sprinkle's White Detail Embossing Powder. I also stamped the image with versamark ink again on Embossable Clear Acetate and heat embossed Sparkle semi-transparent embossing powder. I put the dragonfly on a circle, framed with scallops, and put it all on an action wobble. It flits and bobs as the card moves. So much fun!

There isn't much space on this card for a sentiment, so I layered a piece of patterned paper across the back, and die cut a Happy from black paper. I also stamped "birthday" in black ink, and that was about all I could do. 

Here is a closeup of the sentiment.

My friend will enjoy this card, it is perfect for her - it is her colors (blues, teals, greens), and of course, has the big dragonfly. It was a pleasure to make, and I know it will make her happy!

Thanks for stopping by, have a magical day! 

Chris