Leafy Gratitude

I was playing with a new stencil and some shimmery Glimmer Mist, and I love how this card turned out. It has sort of an Asian flair, doesn't it?

I started by placing the new Garden Leafy Branches stencil over some white cardstock. I sprayed some Trunk Bay Glimmer Mist over the stencil and white paper, and then carefully removed the stencil. I repeated this again on a second sheet of white cardstock, and then I set both pieces aside to dry completely. You can see the gorgeous shimmer in the picture below:

One sheet was adhered to black card base, and I stamped the sentiment from You Are Beautiful (Impression Obsession) onto the second stenciled sheet. This stamped piece was then cut out with the Vintage Labels Two die. I cut a larger die cut from the same Vintage Labels Two die set and some black cardstock, and matted this with the stamped piece. These die cuts were adhered to the card. To finish off this card, I cut some of the swirls from the Endless Waves rhinestones and affixed them to opposing corners of the card.

Sometimes when you play with your papercrafting supplies, you'll create something beautiful and unexpected. I love it when that happens!  If you'd like to go shopping at Classy Cards 'n Such, feel free to use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% off your order.  There's all kinds of wonderful papercrafting supplies in stock, so have fun!

Hello Daisy

I have been playing with some of the new stencils and stamps from Classy Cards 'n Such, and I was in the mood to mix the two together. This sweet daisy card turned out better than I imagined!

I started by stamping the daisy and the sentiment from the Hello Daisy set (JustRite) onto white cardstock. I then stamped it again onto some post-it notes and cut them out to make a mask (Masking Technique from Technique Junkies). I placed the cut-out post-it notes over the stamped daisy to cover it while I sponged over the white cardstock with the Texture Mini Dots stencil and the Peacock Feathers ink. I carefully removed the stencil and then removed the post-it notes. The daisy and the leaf were colored with Copic markers, and then I adhered this piece to a black card base.

I wanted a bit of shine on my daisy, so I covered the center of the daisy using the shimmery clear glitter Wink of Stella pen. You can see the shimmer below:

I needed something to go across the top of the card, so I pulled out my Chalk White seam binding. I decided to color it yellow to match the center of the daisy. I smooshed my Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink inkpad onto my nonstick craft mat, added a teeeensy bit of orange from my Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink Marker, and mixed them together before dragging my Chalk White seam binding through the puddle of ink. I crushed up the ribbon in my hands and then set it aside to dry. Once it was dry, I tied it across the top of the card.

Be sure to use this code, Holly-10, when you shop at Classy Cards 'n Such.  You will love all the wonderful new stencils and stamps and dies and embossing folders in the store.  Stock up and have fun!

Peaceful Azaleas

I decided to play with some new stamps and practice my coloring, so I pulled out this beautiful new set called Azalea from Power Poppy.  I colored the flowers with Copic markers and added some pink dots to the centers of the petals.  The sentiment is from the Good Thinking: Renewal set also from Power Poppy.  I love the wonderful sentiments in this set!  For the background, I stamped the smallest flower with Versamark all over and then dusted them with some shimmery pink chalk.  Fun!!!!!!!  I haven't played with my chalks in a while, so this was a perfect excuse!  You can see the pale pink chalk outlines of the flowers on the background below.

Power Poppy has a fun new challenge on their blog called Peep of the Week, and from what I understand, you can make anything you want as long as it has Power Poppy stamps on it.  So I'm entering this card into their challenge.  They are offering a free stamp set as a prize - who doesn't love free stamps??  :-)

Black Rose Dots

Hi friends!  Have you wondered what the Translucent Embossing Paste looks like? I pulled it out and tried it out to see for myself, and here's what it looks like.

It is white in the jar and while it is still wet, but it dries completely clear. This is a great way to add some interest and texture to a card without changing the color scheme.

I started by smearing some Translucent Embossing Paste through the Texture Dots stencil onto some rose colored paper with a Palette Knife. I immediately took the stencil off and washed it along with the Palette Knife, and I set the pasted rose paper aside to dry completely.

Meanwhile, I cut a black card base, and then I glued down a layer of the gorgeously shimmery Rose Quartz Stardream cardstock. You can see the shimmer in the picture below - isn't that paper gorgeous?

Next, I cut a layer of black cardstock slightly bigger than the pasted rose paper and adhered it to the Rose Quartz Stardream cardstock layer. I stamped the sentiment from Anytime Sentiments above the black layer with black ink. Once my pasted rose paper was completely dry, I glued it down to the black layer. I then cut out the fun new Tall Chloe Stem die with black cardstock and glued it down onto the card.

I hope this helps you "see" how the Translucent Embossing Paste looks after it has dried. Think of all the different things you could add to this paste - glitter, Pearl Ex, even microbeads!

Here's a couple bits of news I want to share with you:

CCNS Challenge #37 - Stickers and Rub Ons

Pull out your stickers and rub ons and show us what you can create.  You could win a fabulous prize!

Design Team Call for Classy Cards 'n Such - if you've ever wanted to be on a design team, give this one a try.  It's been wonderful working for CCNS for the past 2.5 years!!!  

Bouquet on Wood

Have you played in the Background challenge on the Classy Cards 'n Such blog this week? I love stamping with my background stamps, and I pulled out two of them to use on this card today.

I stamped the Wood Texture background onto some Kraft cardstock with a brown ink, and then I sponged the edges with the same brown ink. Next, I stamped a small strip of green paper with the gorgeous Tapestry 2 background. I cut out a white border from the Ankara Lace Border die and glued that under the strip of green paper, and then I glued this piece onto the wooden background.

Next, I cut out the gorgeous Blushing Bouquet die from white paper, and while the die cut was still inside the die, I sponged on some pink ink over the flower petals. There are holes in the steel die that are specially made so you can sponge color onto the flower petals - so cool!! After I pushed the paper out of the die, I could see the gorgeous pink sponging. I then used a Copic marker to color the leaves and stems the same pale green shade as my paper.

I adhered the flower bouquet to my background piece, and then I affixed some Mother of Pearl rhinestones to the centers of the flowers. The colors in these Mother of Pearl rhinestones are a perfect match to the colors I've used on this card. Next I tied some Chalk White seam binding around the background piece, and then I glued this down to a green card base.

Why don't you try mixing up your background stamps and see what you can put together? It's fun to see all the different combinations of background stamps! I hope you play along in the challenge this week!  Feel free to use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% off your order when you shop at Classy Cards 'n Such.  There's a lot of wonderful new stamps and dies and toys for your paper crafting projects!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Fresh Brewed Challenges - Flowers and Lace (I used die cuts for both)

Crafting from the Heart #22 - Anything Goes

Artistic Effects CD Blog Hop

Hi friends!

Thanks for joining the TJ Design Team BLOG HOP celebration for our brand new TJ Newsletter technique CD 'Artistic Effects'. We are so excited to be able to showcase the new techniques on this CD for you.

The CD contains 24 brand new tutorials plus 16 techniques from the TJ archives. The CD contains 40 tutorials using Gelatos, Goosebumps, irRESISTible Sprays, Distress Stains and Gesso -- so many fun mediums to give your projects the artistic touch. All 40 tutorials are in step-by-step pdf format - compatible for Macs and PCs alike. All the tutorials are printable to 8-1/2” x 11” paper.  Want to see what the finished techniques look like?  Here is a link to the Table of Contents for this CD:

http://www.techniquejunkies.com/CD_indexes/1Artistic_Effects_Index.pdf

Now here is how you get your own!!!

The cost of the CD is only $14.95. Get your copy by following this link. http://www.techniquejunkies.com/artistic-effects-cd.html

You should have arrived here from Hetty's blog.  If not, please start at the beginning of the hop by going to the Technique Junkies blog at http://www.techniquejunkies.blogspot.com.

I've created two projects to share with you today.  The first project uses the fun Blended Stains Technique.  The stamps on this project are from Impression Obsession, one of our special vendors at Technique Junkies.  I colored the flowers to match the colors in the background.

My second project uses the Distress Stain Pounce Technique.  I developed this technique a couple of years ago, and I love the shimmer that results from this technique.  The stamp and the gorgeous washi paper in the background are from Art Neko, one of the fabulous vendors in the Technique Junkies Newsletters.  I picked the colors for my stamped piece so they would coordinate with the washi paper in the background.  

Check out that shimmer on the stamped piece.  I love that!  :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by to see me and participating in our HOP. Please hop along to your next stop over on Shelly's blog to see her wonderful projects! 

In case you get lost, here is a list of all our wonderful designers.

Judy Jackson http://techniquejunkies.blogspot.com/
Jackie Kalchert  http://www.jackiekalchert.blogspot.com/
Ann Clack  http://www.createdbyann.blogspot.com

Tricia OBin  http://www.thepassionatestamper.blogspot.com
Beth Norman  http://sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog
Hetty Sanders http://craftchaos.blogspot.com
Holly Brown http://www.glitterstampsandink.blogspot.com - YOU ARE HERE
Shelly Schmidt http://shellymc2.blogspot.com/
Pat Huntoon http://www.patstamps.blogspot.com/