2012 Sparkle and Shine

I was quite excited to see that this week’s Friday Mashup Challenge was a New Year inspired card with lots of “sparkle”! We had a very low key New Year and did not actually stay up late enough to ring in the New Year so it was great to be able to express the glitz and glamour of New Year’s Eve with this week’s project.

With January in full swing at Stampin’ UP! we are retiring the Holiday Mini catalogue and launching the NEW Occasions Mini catalogue AND starting a little later this month Sale a Bration. Being a Stampin’ UP! demonstrator has countless benefits one of which is being able to preorder NEW items before they are available to the general public. I could not wait to take them for a test drive and used two such new products on this card (Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details from the Occasions Mini and Sprinkled Expressions Stamp Set from the Sale a Bration catalogue).

My Challenge:

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project that "Sparkles".
2. Or Make a project "Celebrating the New Year".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project "Celebrating the New Year that Sparkles".

My Card:

Tiny Tips:

Dazzling Details glitter glue is a beautiful addition to the Stampin’ UP! arsenal. The only thing to remember when using this fabu product is that it does take a little extra time to try. You want to make sure you give yourself plenty of time to let your card dry before sending it off. I also find it is best to fully assemble your card and then add your glimmer look as a final touch.



Thanks for stoppin’ by!

Christmas THANK YOU!

We landed in Ottawa early yesterday morning and I could not wait to get back down to my craft room. We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas and New Year with our families but 3 weeks away from my crafting was a bit tough J If only there was some way to take it with me...

While I was away I was unable to take part in the weekly challenges so I was thrilled to see that the end date had been extended for the last 3 Friday Mashups, next up a lovely sketch and watercolour challenge. I will be the first to admit that I am not the best when it comes to water colouring but I am putting in the time and practise makes perfect (someday lol).

Our son was one lucky boy and was spoiled rotten for Christmas. Call me old fashioned but I sure love to send out handmade thank you cards to all of those wonderful people who take the time to share a Christmas present with my family and here is one I will be mailing out shortly!

My Challenge:

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project using the "Sketch".
2. Or Make a project using "Watercoloring".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the "Sketch & Watercoloring".

My Card:

Tiny Tips:

There are a few different ways to watercolour an image. I chose to go with the ink and aqua writer technique. I simply press my ink pad cover into the actual ink pad while still closed to transfer a small amount of ink to the cover, open the ink pad, pick up a small amount of ink with my aqua writer and off I go!

 

 

Thanks for stoppin’ by!

Welcome 2012!!!

Hope that each and every one of you out there had as wonderful a Holiday Season as we did!!! Wishing you all a New Year full of peace, health and love J

One of Ethan's favourite presents this year, his very own bucket full of dinosaurs!!!

I meant to make this post before I left for the holiday but there was too much to do before we left for Nova Scotia so I was thrilled when I got back and found out not only did I still have the chance to post this week’s challenge but the TWO before that as well!!!

I have been working on a wedding gift for a lovely couple who were married last summer and it just so happens I have used one aspect of the Friday Mashup Challenge on their project – chipboard. Usually I love to mashup both parts of the challenge but for this project I was going with a clean look rather than distressed.

My Challenge:

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project featuring "Chipboard (Precut or Diecut )".
2. Or Make a project with "Distressing ( ink, scissors or the Cutter Tool Kit)".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Distressed Project featuring Chipboard"

My Project:

Tiny Tips:

When dying chipboard pieces you will want to make sure you have an ink refill of the colour you will be using as it sure takes a load of ink to get the colour you want. They are quite porous and suck up the ink like a sponge J



Thanks for stoppin’ by!

Last Blog Post of 2011!!!

TGIF! What a week I have had busy bee I am these days. My family and I are getting ready to head home to Nova Scotia next week to spend Christmas with our family and friends J I still have quite a few projects to wrap up before we leave so I am going to say this may be my last post until after we return to Ottawa in the New Year.

My Occasions Mini and Sale a Bration preorder arrived this afternoon and I could hardly wait to get down to my craft room to get started with the fabulous new products! Boy was I happy when I realized I would be able to use one of them on this week’s card!!!

As I mentioned time is a precious commodity these days and so I took a few of my favourite challenges and mashed them all into one this week! I took the sketch from Freshly Made, the Colour Combo & Theme from Friday Mashup and the Dazzle aspect from Pals Paper Arts and this is what I came up with!

My Challenges:

1. Make a project featuring "Snowmen".
2. Or Make a project using the colors "Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze & Basic Grey".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Snowman project with the colors Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze & Basic Grey".

“Fred Astaire knew that it was fun to get dressed up for a special occasion.  And occasionally we like to dress up our paper craft projects as well.  Whether you choose to add a little or add a lot, show us the sparkle, shine, or decoration that makes your project just a little bit fancier.  We fancy what you create!!"

My Card:

 Tiny Tips:

Glitter – I know most of us love to use this delightful embellishment but it can sometimes be quite a pain when it gets all over the rest of the elements on your card that you do not want to “sparkle”. Usually I fully assemble my card and then add glitter but with this particular card that little trick would not work as I would be sure to get glitter on the ribbon as I was shaking off the access glitter. I was then concerned about glittering the snowman and then having to flip it over to add adhesive and possibly smudging my glitter and taking away the puffy look – SO I added my adhesive to the back of my card stock before applying to glitter and simply help the card stock up to apply my two way glue, glitter and then placed it on my card. Worked like a charm!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo/PPA Mashup!

Happy Mojo Monday evening everyone J The hustle and bustle is upon us and I too am feeling the heat... So little time to craft!!! That being said I have decided to combine another challenge this week. I am going with the Mojo Monday sketch and the Pals Paper Arts Colour Challenge for this card.

My Challenge:

My Card:

Tiny Tips:

I have been using designer paper for quite a few cards this holiday season but instead of going with a colour design pattern for this project I decided to give my card a little pizzazz with a same colour design by using my Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.

Thanks for stopping by!  

Look What I Found!!!

The Christmas Season is upon us now and I just can’t seem to get enough of Christmas Cards!!! I went a little silly this year and bought many fabulous Christmas Stamp Sets but this one has to be my favourite!!! I LOVE Snowman J

I have been a little lost with my colour selections lately and boy have I found the answer! I came upon a new challenge site http://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com which provides you with a different colour swatch each week to work with J So I decided to combine the Mojo Monday sketch with the Colour Throw Down swatch and this is what I came up with!

My Challenge(s):

My Card:

Tiny Tips:

My tip for this post is get out there and surf the web. There are some truly fantastic blogs and websites to take a look through to find helpful hints and inspiring ideas for projects. I have listed some of my favourite along the right side column of my blog and I encourage you all to take a peek!

Thanks for stopping by!

Up, Up and AWAY!!!

Happy Occasions Mini/Sale a Bration Preorder day everyone J Oh yes and the 1^st of December too!!! Our week continues to be a little gray here in Ottawa so again I chose to brighten up my craft space with an uplifting card for this week’s Freshly Made Sketch.

My family and I will be heading home to Nova Scotia 2 weeks from today to spend the Christmas Season with our family and friends. I am sooooo looking forward to this time and break from the busy couple of months I have had but already my mind is looking forward to 2012.

In January I am going to be holding a 3 month Birthday Card Club and I believe this card may be one of the 9 designs we will be going with...

My Challenge:

My Card:

Tiny Tips:

I am not sure about you all out there but I am not a huge fan of the craft ink. I find it a little hard to work with because of the added drying time required. That being said I often have a need for some white on my cards and thus my solution is to use my versa mark, white embossing powder and heat tool. Yes there are a few extra steps required but I find the end result to be exactly what I am looking for! Just love these "puffy" clouds.

Thanks for stopping by!