Sunday, April 30, 2017

Sparkle N Sprinkle May 2017 Reveal {05.01.2017}


SPARKLE N SPRINKLE MAY 1ST REVEAL




SPARKLE N SPRINKLE MAY 1ST REVEAL

Hi there and 
Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle
 May Reveal Blog Hop!

NEW STORE - NEW BLOG - NEW PRODUCT LINES!
There are EIGHT new rubber stamp sets being released this month, plus a new Digi Papers set, and two huge Digi Bundles.

The sets are:

840 - Happy Flowers  
(digi version DIGI840FS - see below)

844 - True Beauty  
(digi version DIGI844B)
(digi version DIGI845BG)
(digi version DIGI846BG)


847 - Kaitlyn Mermaid  
(digi version DIGI847LS)

848 - Rory Batter Up  
(digi version DIGI848LS)
(digi version Digi849-850B - see below)
(digi version  Digi849-850B - see below)



Digi849-850B - Graduation Bundle (combines both sets plus includes additional images)

Digi840FS - Happy Flowers Bundle (includes additional images, decoupage sheets, digi papers)

Digi4004FS - Rainbow of Pastels Patterned Paper Pack (Digi Papers)



The new sets are 20% off until May 3, 2017, so after the blog hop, hop on over to the NEW STORE and have fun shopping - be sure to check out the OTHER amazing new products as well! 


Be sure to check out the new SNS Blog, which can be found here!



On May 3, ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be selected from the comments left on all the Designers' blogs listed below.  Please leave a comment with each designer to be eligible for the Grand Prize (checked for compliance).  The Grand Prize Winner will be announced on the SNS Facebook page and the SNS New Blog.  


Also, when you purchase the digi versions of any of the SNS rubber sets, you are getting lots of extras that aren't available otherwise.  These extras include additional images not available with the rubber version, digi papers (in some cases), and now a cut file to use with your electronic cutting machines will also be included with all digi images purchased!

You're definitely going to want both the rubber versions as well as the digi versions of all our new releases.


The new sets are 20% off until May 3, 2017.  So once you finish the blog hop, head on over to the New Store and start shopping.

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 the SNS New Blog, will receive ALL of the new rubber stamp sets revealed this month.


The Blog Hop Order this month is:
Chris <<<<<<You are HERE!>>

(*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????


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!








And, now a little about my card! I fell in love with this True Beauty stamp set. Peacocks? Yes please! I LOVE them! I love blues and greens together, and I have seen plenty a real-live peacock while vacationing in Hawaii. They are so beautiful. So, when I saw this stamp set, it zoomed immediately to the top of my wish list! Here is the card I made.

I wanted some contrast to my card, and some drama to the coloring. So, I took a leap and did something I have never done before ... I stamped onto dark cardstock (Black!) and COLORED it with pencils! Who knew that it was this easy and dramatic and fun!?! I always thought coloring over dark cardstock would involve laying down a base color, like paint primer, and then coloring OVER all of this ... Nope! All I had to do was color with pencils right over the black, and it worked out GREAT! All the colors pop and completely cover the cardstock. I highly encourage you to try this. Here is what my peacock looked like after coloring.

I stamped the image with black ink onto black cardstock. It was a little bit difficult to see some of the intricate design parts, but it was still possible to color the image. Here is a close up of the peacock's tail, and the colors I used for the tail. Once I had the whole image colored, I stamped over it again with Versamark Black Ink, which re-darkened the black lines (the pencil coloring muted the lines somewhat), and then sprinkled on Clear Detail embossing powder and heat set it. This made the black lines of the image POP and SHINE. So much nicer to do this step because it really finishes off the image.

Once I finished coloring the image and heat embossing it, I die cut it with an oval die and layered it over the background (see next image and explanation below). Then, I squeezed on a bead of Dimensional Glue all around the oval die and sprinkled on Pine Grove Tinsel glitter. This was the perfect color and size of glitter for this image. I love the green fringe surrounding the peacock image.

I did the "Kiss Technique" for the background. I adhered a piece of Super Adhesive Sheets onto cardstock. Then, I laid down a vine background die onto the adhesive covered cardstock (which still had the release paper on top of the adhesive). I ran it through my die cutting machine. The die cuts through the release paper, and "bites" into the adhesive, but doesn't completely cut through the actual cardstock so it stays intact. Then, I pulled off the release paper for the negative part of the image, and sprinkled on Priceless Peacock glitter and burnished it in. Then, I pulled off the rest of the release paper, which is the positive part of the image, and sprinkled on Elegant Emerald glitter. The vine image can be seen, but because of the peacock glitter there isn't a lot of contrast. This is what I was going for - a subtle, textured, and color coordinated background. The vine image can be seen, but it blends in well with the background, while also tying into the Pine Grove Tinsel glitter framing the peacock.

For the sentiment, I treated my cardstock with my Anti Static Bag. Then, I stamped one of the sentiments from the True Beauty stamp set with Versamark Ink. I sprinkled on Peacock embossing powder, and heat set it. This embossing powder is SO AMAZING! Check out these colors! The way they blend together, yet still yet combine shades of blues and greens ... swoon! I LOOOOVE this embossing powder! After heat embossing, I die cut my sentiment with a label die and mounted it onto foam to add dimension to my card.

Here is another image of this card. I wholeheartedly recommend stamping onto dark cardstock and coloring your image with pencils. This was my first attempt at this, and it will certainly not be my last! It works out so well, and the colors are incredibly vivid.

This card makes me really happy and I hope you give this technique a try. I know you will enjoy the results. This True Beauty stamp set is absolutely incredible, and I know you will love it too!

I am the LAST STOP on the blog hop ... If you didn't start at the first stop, head straight to  Jess's blog so you can keep hoppin'!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a magical day!

-Chris

Sparkle N Sprinkle compensated links are used when possible.

Friday, April 28, 2017

Cat's Pajamas Embossed Stencil Layers Card for Mom (#17/52) {04.28.2017}

Here is my latest and greatest card for Mom. This one was REALLY FUN because I learned some new techniques and made this card in an AMAZING class ... Let me just tell ya! I took a class at my local Mom & Pop papercrafting store, Stampadoodle. Lynell Harlow from Dreamweaver Stencils came to our small little town and put on some classes at our local store. The classes were FABULOUS! She is such a great instructor and has designed some incredible products. In this class, we used metal stencils to do dry embossing and then more stencils to layer and color. Here is the card.

I learned a new technique, called "strié" (pronounced almost like "Stree-yay"). Wikipedia says: The word strié can be used to describe this process of painting, or to describe the actual finish created. In this case, which is hard to see in these photos, we created a linen fabric effect. To do this, we used 3/4" stencil brushes, and loaded them up with some reinker ink. Then, we lightly swept the ink on the stencil brush across the card panel. We did this from the top of the card to about halfway down the card. Go along the entire card edge, then turn the card 90 degree, and do it again, until you have done this along all four edges. This creates a cross-hatch type effect that looks like linen fabric. It is really cool in person!

To make this card, we dry embossed the card panel with a metal stencil. We ran the card panels and stencils through a die cutting machine with a beige embossing mat. Then, we striéd the card panels, and then layered on the stencil we used for dry embossing, and stenciled ink into the spaces. Then, we layered another stencil over and did it again ... this gave dimension and depth. I matted the layers with black and put the card panel on a black cardstock card base. I also stamped out a sentiment and attached it with dimensional foam tape. Then, my card was done.

I hope my Mom likes this. I loved this class and learning these new techniques by the wonderful, patient, and creative Lynell, from Dreamweaver stencils. Thanks Stampadoodle for the great class!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a magical day!

-Chris

Sparkle N Sprinkle compensated links are used when possible.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Sparkle N Sprinkle Corner Garden {04.26.2017}

Hello! Designer Chris reporting in, with my latest Sparkle N Sprinkle creation using the Corner Garden Stamp Set! Wow, do I LOVE this stamp set! Let's check out what I made with it. 

To create my card, I cut two rectangles of cardstock, with one smaller than the other, and treated them by dusting them with my Anti Static Bag. I layered the two pieces of cardstock together, and stamped the image and sentiment with black pigment ink, sprinkled on Clear Detail embossing powder, and heat set it. I did the same with the sentiment. This is what this first step looked like. 

This sentiment is nice and bold. So awesome! This is what it looked like, after I heat set the Clear Detail embossing powder over the black ink. Gorgeous! 

Once I had the image stamped across both pieces of cardstock, I framed each cardstock piece with black cardstock, and when I put the card together, I raised the smaller piece of cardstock with foam squares to add dimension. This is a shot that shows how much dimension I ended up with, along with the raised butterflies that I colored and glittered ... more to come on these sweet butterflies below. 

Here is one of the butterflies. I colored the butterflies, and then fussy cut them. I used Brushable Glue and painted on glue where I wanted to add glitter. I brushed on glue to this butterfly, and sprinkled on Mimosa Sparkle N Soft over the orange parts of the butterfly. Once that was dry, I used the Nuvo Glue Pen Small Tip to add in more glue and sprinkled on Sparkling Snow glitter to the pink part of the butterfly. I also squeezed on Crystal Drops Jewel Drops in Strawberry Coulis for the butterfly "trail." 

I tried something new with this card too ... I PAINTED the flowers with the Crystal Drops Jewel Drops in Strawberry Coulis. This worked out really well! I also added some extra sparkle and bling to the other butterflies too. For the purple butterfly, I used the Nuvo Glue Pen Small Tip and sprinkled on both Orchid and Hyacinth glitters. For the blue butterfly, I used OceanMisty Isles, and Blue Lightning glitters. 

I finished the flowers with brushing on Ebony Black Crystal Drops and I painted the leaves with Sunlit Meadow Crystal Drops. 

This stamp set is absolutely glorious, and I love the flowers and butterflies on it. I had so much fun making this card and it really makes me happy! I hope you enjoy using this stamp set as much as I do. 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a magical day! 

-Chris 

Sparkle N Sprinkle compensated links are used when possible.

Friday, April 21, 2017

Hello Card for Mom (#16/52) {04.21.2017}

Howdy! This week's card for Mom is a smooshed emboss resist card :) As much fun to say as it is to do! I started out by stamping a background stamp with Versamark Ink onto colored cardstock, and sprinkling on Sparkle N Sprinkle's Sparkle embossing powder and heat setting it. Then, I smooshed some distress inks onto onto my craft mat, and spritzed with a few squirts of a mister. After wetting the ink, I dredged my embossed cardstock through the wet inks. Here is the card:

I wanted the image to not quite take center stage, and using the Sparkle embossing powder worked great! It gave the image some pizzazz and shine, while not really allowing the image to be perfectly seen. If I had used white embossing powder, it would have stood out really well. I wanted something softer, and this worked great! I die cut two outline style roses, and adhered them over the image on the card panel. I also used Sparkle N Sprinkle's White Detail embossing powder for the sentiment.Here is a close up of the sentiment, and a little better shot of some of the background with the Sparkle embossing powder, and some of the die cut leaves.

And, of course, I did up the inside! I used the same image inside the card. I stamped it in light pink ink onto colored cardstock. I then stamped the sentiment in Versamark Ink, sprinkled on more White Detail embossing powder and heat set it.

This was a fun card to make. I hope my Mom enjoys this sweet, simple, soft, ethereal Hello card.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a magical day!

-Chris

Sparkle N Sprinkle compensated links are used when possible.

Friday, April 14, 2017

Pansies Card for Mom (#15/52) {04.14.2017}

Howdy! Here is another card for Mommy. This one is using Sparkle N Sprinkle's fun and gorgeous Pansies stamp set. This stamp set was a recent release from Sparkle N Sprinkle.
The pansies image is perfect! I stamped out the image on a card panel and colored it. Then, I fussy cut around the image and trimmed the edges of the panel to make it a tad smaller than my card base. Here is the card.

I stamped out one of the sentiments with Versamark Ink, and sprinkled on Sparkle N Sprinkle's Fabulous Grape embossing powder. Then, I die cut the sentiment with a label die, and then blended some distress ink over the sentiment while it was still in the label die (that is how I got the crisp white edge!).

I also laid down Sparkle N Sprinkle's 1/8" and 1/4" Tear-ific Tape, and pulled off the release paper. I sprinkled on Hyacinth Glitter and burnished it in. Then, I layered the sentiment label over the purple glitter strips. I also decorated my envelope. I stamped the pansies image in light purple ink along the edge of the envelope and across the flap on the back. I also layered my stamped image over a piece of cardstock that I dry embossed with a "deep" embossing folder. These types of folders give much more dimension to the embossed image. It is kinda hard to see in these photos, but it is a weave pattern and oh so cool!

And, to finish off the card, I cut some light purple patterned paper inside the card, and also repeated the pansies image, stamped in light purple ink as well.

I think my Mommy will like this card. She likes pansies, and this card was so pretty, and has such a sweet sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a magical day!

-Chris

Sparkle N Sprinkle compensated links are used when possible.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Sparkle N Sprinkle Hanging Girlfriend Support Card {04.12.2017}

Here is a copy of the post that I have on the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog today! Thanks Sparkle N Sprinkle for letting me post a copy to my blog as well. 


Hi from Designer Chris! I LOVE the Girlfriend Support Set #2 stamp set!! I designed a card that allowed the main image of the fun undergarments hanging from a clothes line kinda suspended in mid-air! Let's check it out!!! 

This card base is a Z-fold card made out of acetate, with a pop-out section in the upper third of the card where the items are hanging from the clothesline. This is a little hard to see in these photos, but it was is cool in person! Here is another shot of the card which shows how the clothesline is at the front of the card. 

I created the card base from acetate, and then covered several panels with white cardstock. I also used ALL of the sentiments in this stamp set! They are all so great ... below is one of the sentiments. I also stamped out the image in light pink ink across the card panel to give it some depth. I treated my cardstock with my Anti Static Bag, then stamped the sentiment with Versamark Ink. I sprinkled on Berry Bliss embossing powder and heat set it. After I created sentiments for each rectangle section of the card, I also swiped more Versamark Ink along the edges, sprinkled on Silver Bells embossing powder and heat set it. This gave each card panel a bit of a border. So fun! 

I stamped out the image with black ink and sprinkled Clear Detail embossing powder over it, and heat set it. Then, I colored the images with Crystal Drops (see farther below for details on that!). Here is a close up image of those amazing images!! 

Here is another close up of the bra on the clothesline. I colored the bow with Crystal Drops and squeezed on some Dandelion Yellow Crystal Drops to the polka dots on this image. So fun! 

And, another sentiment! Again, I treated my cardstock with my Anti Static Bag, then stamped the sentiment with Versamark Ink. I sprinkled on Berry Bliss embossing powder and heat set it. All these sentiments are so cool. I had to use them all :) 

And, finally, a little shot in how I PAINTED with the Crystal Drops. I wanted a soft color for the undergarments. I wasn't sure if this would work, but I gave it a go, and it turned out really great! I squeezed out a little drop or two of each of the Crystal Drops that fit my color scheme onto my craft mat. I used Carnation PinkStrawberry Coulis, and Dandelion Yellow. I also pulled out Ripened Pumpkin but didn't use it, even though I LOVE it! I spritzed the drops with my water mister and stirred each drop with a brush. This thinned out the drops. I then used my paintbrush to paint each color onto the images that I had stamped and heat embossed. 

Here is a close up of the largest image, right after I painted it. I let it dry before painting the adjacent sections. Even though the embossing powder acts as a barrier between the two colored areas, I didn't want the colors to bleed if I accidentally slopped over the edges! I really liked painting with thinned out Crystal Drops and will definitely be doing this again! 

So glad you joined me and checked out this card. It was really fun to make and I might have to make this type of card again! 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a magical day! 

-Chris 

Sparkle N Sprinkle compensated links are used when possible.

Friday, April 7, 2017

Happy Flowers Mom Card (#14/52) {04.07.2017}

Here is my latest card for my Mommy! I used Lawn Fawn's Flutter By stamp set. I stamped out the images, colored them, fussy cut them, and layered them under a border punched strip. All of this was layered over some patterned paper from Lawn Fawn.

Here is a close up of the butterfly. I swiped on some sparkle pen over the butterfly, but this photo doesn't quite show it as well as I hoped.

I also tied on a strip of Lawn Fawn's purple Lawn Trimmings. This made the card have a little bit more depth and texture to it.

I hope my Momma enjoys this card. I love how bright and fun it is. I love flowers and she does too.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a magical day!

-Chris

Sparkle N Sprinkle compensated links are used when possible.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Sparkle N Sprinkle's Christmas (in April!) Holly Blessings stamp set {04.05.2017}

Hi from Designer Chris! It is never too soon for Christmas ... the old saying Christmas in July is alive and well, and because it is April, I guess it is Christmas in April! And, it makes me happy! Let's check out the card I made using Sparkle N Sprinkle's new Christmas Holly Blessings stamp set. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! 

This card was so much fun to make. It has two great sentiments, so here is one of them. I stamped out the sentiment in Versamark Ink, after treating my cardstock with my Anti Static Bag. I sprinkled on Forest Green embossing powder and heat set it! It was so pretty! Then, I die cut the sentiment with an oval die and colored the edges with distress ink. Here is a close up of the sentiment. 

I stamped the holly and vase image in Versamark Ink, after treating my cardstock with my Anti Static Bag. I sprinkled on Forest Green embossing powder and heat set it! Then, I colored the image with Copic markers. Then, I whipped out my favorite liquid adhesive, and rolled on some adhesive using the Nuvo Glue Pen Small Tip. Then, I added some glitter to bump up the sparkle. I added Cloud Nine glitter over the red berries since it is a semi-transparent glitter. I used Luau Green glitter on the holly leaves. Here is a closeup of the holly in the vase.  

After stamping, embossing, coloring, and glittering up my image on the card panel, I decided I wanted more texture and layers. And, I needed a way to adhere and anchor the sentiment in the oval we saw above. So, I did two different techniques, one of which I learned from the AMAZING Demo Donna! She is such a hoot, and makes the funnest videos which she posts on the Sparkle N Sprinkle YouTube channel. If you haven't yet, you gotta subscribe to the channel and watch, learn, and laugh! Demo Donna has a video about gift wrapping, and she created Glitter Twine in it. Basically, take a strip of 1/4" Tear-ific Tape, and peel off a few inches of the release tape. Roll the end of the tape until the tape begins to twist and stick to itself. Continue pulling off the release tape and twisting the tape onto itself so it looks like twine. Then, dredge the rolled tape through a pile of glitter and viola! You have glittered twine! I did this with the 1/4" Tear-ific Tape and Collegiate Garnet glitter. I used the twine to run across the card and hold the oval in place. I tied it in a knot too. I also cut a card panel a little bit bigger than my image panel. I laid more 1/4" Tear-ific Tape along the edge of the panel, and sprinkled on Collegiate Garnet glitter and burnished it in. This made a nice frame to the main image. I layered all these layers onto my card base from white cardstock. Here is a close up photo of the glitter twine and the glitter matting layer.  

I tried to take a photo that did the sparkle justice. This was as good as I could get, but I wanted to show how beautiful the image is, and how sparkly the glitters are. This card makes me look forward to the winter holidays, even though we are just starting to get into spring where I live.  

This stamp set is beautiful and the holly in the vase is so classy and sophisticated. I love this image and this stamp set was such a joy to make a card with. Both of the sentiments are wonderful. I hope you joy in this set too! 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a magical day!

-Chris 

Sparkle N Sprinkle compensated links are used when possible.