Beyond the Blue #17 - Glittery Geode Backgrounds

 This week's Beyond the Blue challenge is all about creating your own glittery geode backgrounds.  I have collected geodes for years.  There's just something about those gorgeous jewel colors and the shine and sparkle of these wondrous pieces of earth.  I also collect glittery craft supplies such as glitter paste.  I had some that was starting to get hard and dried out, so I was trying to think of a way to use it up before it was tossed in the trash.

I created this fun little tutorial for the Beyond the Blue blog, and I'd love to see what you create!  Pull out those old glitter pastes, glitter glues, gels, paints, whatever you have.  Enjoy the process and share your creations with us on the Beyond the Blue blog.  :-)

Glittery Geode Background Tutorial

by Holly Brown

 

Supplies:

glitter glaze/glitter paste - any colors, any brand

cardstock - any color

palette knife, optional

ink pad to match glitter glaze/paste and sponge, optional

 

Step 1 (optional):

Ink up sponge and drag across cardstock.  This step is optional - doing this will deepen the color of your glitter glaze. 

 

Step 2:

Using finger or palette knife, dip into glitter glaze and dab over cardstock (on top of your inked areas from Step 1). 

Step 3:

Using clean finger or clean palette knife, dip into second color of glitter glaze and dab it next to the first glitter glaze.  Gently blend colors together, adding more glitter glaze if needed.   Repeat this step with a third color of glitter glaze if desired.

  

Step 4:

Set cardstock aside to dry for at least 4 hours.  It may need additional time to dry, depending on how thickly the layers of glitter glaze are applied.

In this picture above, the first sample on the left was done with turquoise ink (Step 1).  This one has a darker turquoise color than the two blue samples in the middle.  The two blue samples in the middle were done without ink - I skipped Step 1 on these.  I also skipped Step 1 on the black and pink sample on the right, and I used three glitter glazes.

 

Step 5:

Finish as desired with stamps, dies, and embellishments.

 

Stars Can't Shine

I love these two new stamps from Technique Junkies.  These stamps are called Hanging Stars and Stars Can't Shine.  They are just perfect together, and I had fun creating this set of cards with them.  I used black cardstock and Versamark ink for all four of these, and I just changed out the embossing powders on each one just to see how they look.  My favorite is this pale blue with silver glitter version that you see above.  

You can use this code - TJ10Holly - to save 10% off your entire order at Technique Junkies.  In addition to hundreds of stamps, you will find Distress Oxide inks, Shimmering Bliss sprays, and lots of stencils to fuel your creativity.  Thank you so much for stopping by!  

 

Shimmery Golden Rays

This card is totally giving me summer vibes!  From the golden orange floral "sun" to the glittery yellow shimmery rays, this card just screams summer.  The funny thing is that I actually used a clear glitter paste with the Shimmering Rays stencil (A Colorful Life Designs), but somehow it shows up as yellow on this black cardstock.  Sometimes you just never know what you're gonna get when you play with glitter.

My mom gave me a huge stash of flowers and ribbons, and this is my attempt to use up some of those.  I combined three paper flowers and tied them together with some twine and a button.  I die cut the sentiment and layered it on top of the glittery rays.  

Head on over to the A Colorful Life Designs store and get some new stencils to play with.  Use this code, HollyFan10, to save 10% off your entire order.  Then pull out all your jars of paste - white, metallic, glitter - and have fun!  Summer will be here before you know it.  

Shimmering Rays stencil - https://acolorfullifedesigns.com/shimmering-rays-stencil/

 

Live Life in Full Bloom

I had some scraps left over on my table and I decided to use them up before I lost them in a pile of other papers somewhere.  LOL  So I glued down the green cardstock and the triangles of the pink patterned paper, and then I looked around for some stamps that would work with these papers.  I settled on a couple of stamps from Technique Junkies - In Full Bloom Sentiments set and Spring Flowers.  I stamped the Spring Flowers with a soft pink ink onto some cream cardstock, and then I stamped the sentiment from In Full Bloom with a darker pink ink.  I cut it out with an oval die and then brushed some kraft ink around the edges before distressing with a distress tool.

If you look closely at the green rectangle under the oval, you'll see some very faded dots.  I used the Texture Dots stencil (A Colorful Life Designs) with some Peeled Paint Distress Oxide ink and the ink blending brushes just for a soft texture.  It just need a little bit of stenciling to differentiate it from the green background underneath.  The Texture Dots stencil is perfect for little applications like that.  

I hope this inspired you to use up some of your scraps you have on your stamp table.  It's fun to see what happens when you put some random supplies together.  Feel free to use my discount code - TJ10Holly - when you shop at Technique Junkies.  You'll save 10% off your entire order, so have fun shopping for stamps, stencils, Shimmering Bliss, and Distress Oxide inks!  :-)

 

Beyond the Blue #16 - Striped Hugs

This week's Beyond the Blue challenge is a little bit different.  The video that we're referencing today has several techniques built into it, so you have a choice of making a shaker card or creating some die cut words using strips of cardstock.  As you can see, I decided to try the strips of cardstock today.

My mother has been giving me tons of her old stamping supplies, and one day she handed me a huge box of cardstock.  There were all kinds of colors, some full sheets, some scraps.  I've been going through that stash and there were some beautiful blue colors that worked great for an ombre style card.  So I pulled out those little bits of blues and cut teeeeeny little strips from these, glued them down onto some scrap cardstock, and then die cut the "hugs."  The background die was cut from kraft cardstock to provide some contrast to the striped sentiment.

To add a bit of interest to the background behind the sentiment, I pulled out the Shimmering Rays stencil from A Colorful Life Designs (use code HollyFan10 to save 10%) and very softly brushed some ink onto the medium blue cardstock.  I glued that to the darkest blue cardstock and then added those teeeny little strips of kraft cardstock on the sides.  The card base is the pale blue cardstock.  I know it looks white, but it's actually the palest blue color from the striped sentiment.

Check out the artwork on the Beyond the Blue blog and play along in this challenge.  If you are really adventurous, do both - make a shaker card with a die cut sentiment made from strips of cardstock.  That would be a fun challenge!!  :-)

 

Brick Wall with Vines

 I love this Hanging Vines stencil from A Colorful Life Designs! Here, I've used it with the Brick Wall stencil (also from A Colorful Life Designs) for a true "hanging vines on the side of the house" look. The vines themselves are 3D as I used a green stencil paste to give them a realistic look. Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs so you can save 10% off your entire order.

Hanging Vines stencil - https://acolorfullifedesigns.com/hanging-vines-stencil/

Brick Wall stencil - https://acolorfullifedesigns.com/brick-wall/

Adulting is Overrated

This poor lady is having one of those days and she is just throwing her hands up to say "adulting is overrated."  It really is, sometimes, isn't it??  LOL  

I started by stenciling some Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide ink over the Fading Circles stencil (A Colorful Life Designs).  Then I used the same mermaid oxide ink to stamp the lady from Vamps and Vixens as well as the Adulting Is Overrated sentiment.  All of these supplies are from Technique Junkies.  

You can save 10% by using this code, TJ10Holly, when you shop at Technique Junkies.  You'll find all kinds of stamps, stencils, Distress Oxide inks, and Shimmering Bliss sprays just waiting to jump into your cart.  Have fun shopping!

 

Beyond the Blue #15 - Copic coloring

 

Today's challenge over on the Beyond the Blue blog is to share your colored creations.  We are spotlighting Copic coloring with Sweet Sentiments stamps this week.  Sweet Sentiments is a new-to-me stamp company and they have the sweetest designs along with sequins, paper, Copic markers, and dies.  They have been teasing me all week with sneak peeks of their new release which will go live tomorrow, and I can't wait to see the new stamps!  Think MerMay!!  :-)

I colored both of my cards with Copic markers.  For the purple card, I used stamps from the With Great Love stamp set.  The pink card uses stamps from the Queen Bee stamp set.  Check out what the rest of the design team created over on the Beyond the Blue blog.  There is also a link to a video of how to color with Copic markers with Jammie, the owner of Sweet Sentiments.  

Flamingo Birthday

Do you know someone who loves flamingos? This Flamingos stencil from A Colorful Life Designs makes the perfect background for a flamingo-themed birthday card. I brushed some pink ink over the Flamingos stencil, varying the intensity of the pink color from light to dark. Then I added a stamped/die cut flamingo and a stamped sentiment to the card. Use code HollyFan10 to save 10% when you order stencils from A Colorful Life Designs.

Flamingos stencil - https://acolorfullifedesigns.com/flamingos-stencil/

 

Surrender to the Calm

Have you seen all the new stencils released yesterday from A Colorful Life Designs? This Sun and Surf Circle is one of the new stencils and it's really easy to use. I placed the stencil over some white cardstock and I masked off the sun to brush blue ink onto the water, and then I masked off the water to brush yellow and orange inks onto the sun. I used the largest circle die that I have to cut this and glued it to a kraft card base. I love this fun and easy stencil!

Use code HollyFan10 to save 10% when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.

Sun and Surf Circle stencil - https://acolorfullifedesigns.com/sun-and-surf-stencil/

 

Technique Junkies May 2021 Stamp Release

 Happy May 2021 Release Day!

We have new stamps and stencils in the Technique Junkies line!

All of the May 2021 New Release stamps are 15% off through May 8th! We can all use a little bargain, right? No codes needed, just put them in your shopping cart and the discount will be applied at checkout.

You can save 10% off everything else in the store by using my code, TJ10Holly. Stock up on Shimmering Bliss sprays, stamps, and stencils while you are ordering the new release stamps.

For my first card today, I used the new Floral Frame Square set. Instead of making a square frame with the flowers, I decided to stamp them on the left and right edges of my card. Sometimes ya just gotta try something different. I stamped the sentiment from the same set in the middle with the same teal ink as the flowers. I colored the flowers with Copic markers and added sequins all over.

For my second card, I stamped the sweet new Plant Smiles with green ink and then brushed the same green ink all over the sentiment.  Some patterned paper and a scallop frame complete this sweet card.

The new Grunge Flag is an awesome addition to the Technique Junkies stamp line.  I inked up the top half in blue and the bottom half in red, and then I distressed the edges of the paper with brown ink and a distress tool.  I did the same thing with the new Home of the Brave sentiment stamp, and then I cut it in the middle to split it across the card.

If you're like me and you Gotta Have It All, you can click on the bundle and get 23% off this bundle containing all of the new May 2021 release stamps.  

Be sure to check out the list below for some sweet inspiration from our Design Team!

TJ Blog

Holly Brown

Patti Gilliam

Tracy Schultz

Beth Norman-Roberts

Pat Huntoon

Judy Jackson

Tracy (video)

Beth (video)