Sweet on Impression Obsession & Shimmerz

This week, over on the Shimmerz blog, we're having lots of fun. We partnered with Impression Obsession -- and we're featuring projects made with their stamps.

I'm a big fan of cupcakes. Even though there is so much color going on in my project, I wanted to make sure that the cupcake is the star of the show. I chose to do this by bringing attention to the flower petals by making them sparkly, thereby drawing the eye to the center where the cupcake resides. This is an unusually large card for me, but I'm really liking the larger size.

Usually when I spray flowers with Spritz or paint flowers with Shimmerz or Blingz, I start out with white flowers and build color with the paints only. This time, the flowers were already colored at the outset. The flower in the background was a peachy-pink and the flower in the front was a light yellow-green. I built the color on the background flower by spraying it with a very light coating of Bed of Roses Spritz. I didn't want to change its color too much. With the yellow-green flower, I wanted more of the yellow color to be accented. I sprayed it three times with the Chick-a-dee Spritz, allowing time for it to dry between layers.

For a pretty dot of sparkle, I painted the cherry at the top of the cupcake with the Fire Engine Red Shimmerz. It's the perfect shade for a ripe summer cherry, wouldn't you say?


I added the closeup photo to show just how sparkly the beautiful Spritz'd flowers are. It also highlights the pretty shine in the cherry.



Supplies:
Stamps: Cupcake MC181 (Impression Obsession)
Paper: Zinnia PP (Little Yellow Bicycle); Smoothies CS in Boysenberry Delight & Sparkleberry Delight (Bazzill); Classic Crest Solar White (Neenah)
Paint/Ink: Fire Engine Red Shimmerz and Chick-a-dee & Bed of Roses Spritz (Shimmering Products); Tuxedo Black & Lulu Lavender Memento Ink (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars); Circle Punches (EK Success); Word Window Punch (Stampin' Up!); Markers RV21, E13, R35 (Copic); Fabric Flowers (Heidi Swapp); Dimensional Adhesive (3L)

Thanks so much to the folks at Impression Obsession! I'm so pleased with my sweet new stamps!

Happy Stamping!

Cupcake Congratulations!!

Grace C. said...

What fabulous blog candy!! I just LOVE cupcakes!!:)

Big round of applause for Grace C.! Please leave your e-mail address in a comment for me so we can get in contact. Way to go!

In other news, Creative Cuts and More has extended their design team call through Monday, July 6th. They carry all sorts of wonderful papers and dies. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in getting your foot in the door designing. International applicants are accepted, too!

Happy Stamping!

Cupcake Candy

It's time for some Cupcake Candy, wouldn't you say? My blog is two years old, but the presents are for you! I've spent the last few weeks collecting cupcake goodies -- stickers, buttons, stamps, ribbon, etc. All kinds of fun stuff!

Just leave a comment on this post for your chance to win! And, if you'd like to post a link to this candy on your own blog, then leave a 2nd comment for an extra chance at winning. International entries are welcome.

I'll do the drawing via random.org on my Dad's birthday, Wednesday July 1st and post the winner shortly thereafter. {ETA: The drawing has taken place. Thank you for visiting!}

Speaking of blog candy, there's also some candy available at Craft Critique -- they've reviewed Shimmerz, Blingz & Spritz and they're offering some goodies on their blog, too!

Thanks for celebrating with me. Happy Stamping!

Shimmerz Blog's Birthday Blog Hop

One year ago today, the Shimmerz Blog was born. Today we celebrate with a hop around the blogs of the members of the Design Team! If you have arrived here from Kim Dellow's blog, then you are on your way. If you haven't, then you will want to go back and start at the Shimmerz blog to go in the correct order. Why? Because each blog has a special word and, when you e-mail them in order as instructed, you could be the big winner of a very nice prize package.

I made two birthday cards for the Birthday Blog Hop, both using the new Bo Bunny "It's My Party" collection papers & stickers. For the first card, I die-cut a candle out of cardstock and acetate using an AccuCut die. The cardstock is the wax part of the candle and the acetate became the flame. I painted the acetate flame with Mello Yello Blingz on both sides. I then used dimensional adhesive so the candle would pop right off the page.


On my second card, I also used dimensional adhesive, this time with the EK Success Powder tool. It allows flat stickers to pop off the page. For added interest, I painted the gift with Mello Yello Blingz.



Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Birthday (Kim Hughes Collection @ Cornish Heritage Farms)
Paper: It's My Party PP (BoBunny); Canvas & Smoothies CS (Bazzill)
Paint/Ink: Mello Yello Blingz (Shimmering Products); Lady Bug Memento Ink (Tsukineko)
Accessories: It's My Party Stickers (BoBunny); Corner Rounder Punch & Powder Tool (EK Success); Candle Die (AccuCut); Dimensional Adhesive (3L)

Speaking of birthdays, it's my sister's birthday (Happy 35th, Kris!) and my blog's birthday too! Be sure to stop back here starting on Monday for a birthday blog candy with a cupcake theme! Up for grabs are cupcake stamps, cupcake stickers, cupcake ribbon... all for one lucky winner.

Next on this special blog hop is Kristine Moldenhauer Biseth. But before you go -- my secret word is "to". And don't forget that you must leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop, in addition to e-mailing the secret sentence.

Happy Stamping & Happy Hopping!

PS: There's a call for guest designers at Creative Cuts & More.

Weekly Darez Kickoff

Today marks the first day of weekly Shimmerz Darez, and I happened to host the first one. This is a weekly opportunity to spread your creative wings a little bit and win a prize. Hope you'll join in on these fun challenges!

My black wood photo frame came from the dollar store. I dressed it up with die-cut Grungepaper sprayed with Bed of Roses Spritz.

Supplies:
Paper: Grungepaper (Ranger)
Paint/Ink: Bed of Roses Spritz (Shimmering Products)
Accessories: Printed fabric ribbon (Little Yellow Bicycle); Clear domed gems (Hero Arts); Dies & Die Cut System (Sizzix); Wood picture frame

Happy Stamping!

Blinkie Bonus Time

Just a quick note to let you know that Shimmerz has a giveaway going on through Saturday the 30th -- just add one of their blinkies to your blog and leave a comment on their blog with your blog address. Details available here. The number of prizes awarded depends on the number of entries, so enter today! :)

Happy Stamping!

Spritz is Here!

The time has come -- Spritz has arrived. There are twenty tasty colors, each as beautiful as the next! They're pictured individually in the Shimmerz Shop. I already have a couple of favorites. Concrete is my #1 right now -- it's a wonderful silver/grey. #2 is Bed of Roses, a very pretty mauve/pink. And Baby's Breath is a can't-miss color. Sheer shimmer.

I'm having a blast with these. There's now doubt that you will too!

Sneak Peek: Spritz

I've had a chance to play with the soon-to-be-re-released Shimmerz Spritz, and boy is it fun! Shimmerz is having a giveaway and is doing a drawing for three people to each win three bottles of Spritz. Check their blog post for three ways you can win. And speaking of winning, they're also going to have a drawing once they hit 500 Facebook fans.

I have been playing with my bottles and have been having a great time, Spritzing everything in sight. Yes, everything. Even people.

I want to show you this sneak peek. The top photo shows what this greyish speckled cardstock looked like after it was crumpled but before it was Spritzed. (Notice I'm not calling it a 'before' picture... explanation follows.)


And here's that same cardstock after it was Spritzed.


I Spritzed it with a couple of different colors just for fun. They blend very nicely. You can see there are no drip marks or uneven areas. It's so sparkly! Feel free to click on the photo to get a more detailed look.

The coolest part? The top photo isn't just a 'before' picture. It's actually the back of the shimmery front. That's right, the Spritz doesn't necessarily soak all the way through and ruin the back of your project. I'm thinking this crumply, sparkly paper would make a great background. What do you think?

Oooh, and I added a little feature on my blog. I'm hoping I can keep up with it! It's called The Candy Jar, located over on the right. I'll be posting blog candy opportunities there.

Happy Stamping!

CC&M Hop

Welcome to this stop on the Creative Cuts & More Blog Hop. Wasn't Carla's post fabulous? (If you haven't arrived here from Carla's blog, you don't want to miss what the Design Team has in store for you! The CC&M Blog Hop starts at http://diecutdiva.com.)

I had a great time making my projects for the today's hop. I'm a big fan of the cute, whimsical designs from Doodlebug... and I love that everything coordinates.

TIP: Did you know that Bazzill Criss Cross textured cardstock is dyed to match Doodlebug products? Takes away all the guesswork and makes coordinating a snap!

My card uses several of the dies from CC&M -- 5-1/4" - Square Window Card #01 - Border Windows, Heart #02 - Large with Layer, and Photo Corner #02 Set, all cut from the Criss Cross textured cardstock -- plus Doodlebug stickers, gemstones, and patterned paper.


The box was created from several CC&M dies also: Tall Gable Box, Heart #02 - Large with Layer, and Photo Corner #02 Set, all cut from the Criss Cross textured cardstock -- along with Doodlebug stickers, gemstones, and patterned paper.

I made two enhancements to the flat cardstock stickers (hippo & turtle) that were used on the projects. I used the EK Success Powder Tool to neutralize the adhesive. This allowed me to put pop-dots on the stickers so they'd have a little dimension. I added more interest to them by adding the self-adhesive gems. Now they really pop!


The next stop on our hop is Jennifer Johnson. She's very talented and I'm sure you'll love what she created! And you'll want to continue on to the end of the hop for a chance to win some blog candy.

Enjoy the rest of the hop!

A Rare Layout for NSD

Yep, I'm 99% cardmaker and proud of it! I've made a few occasional layouts and I especially like how this one turned out.

Supplies:
Paper: Mellow PP (BasicGrey); Olive Cardstock
Paint/Ink: Angel Wings Shimmerz (Shimmering Products); Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink (ClearSnap)
Accessories: Photo Anchors (Stemma); Olive Ribbon (Making Memories); Tag Die (QuicKutz); Black Glaze Pen (Sakura)

You can see here how easy it is to dress up a page using a little Shimmerz to highlight. I chose to highlight the ribbon used on the tag and the trees on the patterned paper. (I also highlighted my sister's wedding ring on the photograph, but I just couldn't get a good pic of it for this post.)

Shimmerz is celebrating National Scrapbooking Day (which takes place on Saturday, May 2nd) with a special drawing for those who participate. You can find out more here. They're also offering a free jar of Pixie Dust Blingz for anyone ordering $25 or more on the 2nd and 3rd at the Shimmerz Shop.

Happy Stamping!

Grungepaper Butterfly

We seem to have almost skipped Spring here in Boise. It was in the 40's a day or two ago, and right now my weather link says it's 84! I worked on this butterfly over the weekend dreaming of spring and hoping for warmer weather. I guess you have to be careful what you wish for (or at least be more specific!).

Two of the newest Shimmerz colors, Choc-o-lot and Fire Engine Red, are the perfect complement to this Penny Lane paper from MME. The butterfly was cut from Grungepaper, the thinner version of Grungeboard, and then painted with Shimmerz. I drew on the antennae and the dotted flight-path.


Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill Brown (Bazzill Basics); Penny Lane Free Bird Love Paper (My Mind's Eye); Tim Holtz Grungepaper (Advantus)
Paint/Ink: Choc-o-lot & Fire Engine Red Shimmerz (Shimmering Products); Memento Marker in Rich Brown (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch (Fiskars); Boys Will Be Boys Dies (Sizzix); Butterfly #1 Die (Ellison); Amber & Blue 5mm gems (Mark Richards); Single Rhinestones (MAMBI)

Happy Stamping!

New Pub, Old Card

There's nothing quite like seeing "Artist Comp Copy" printed above your name on the address label of a magazine. It means a smile (usually accompanied by a squeal) and then tender turning of the pages while you examine every single project inside to see which you recognize. Today, my comp copy was for the brand new Stampers' Sampler Catch Up Issue Vol. 13 which hits stands on May 1st.

I submitted my card back in February of 2008. It has been quite a while, hasn't it? This is why I always let Stampington keep all my submissions. You just never know when they'll need something in a certain color scheme or style! I had one card that was over 2 years between submission and publication. I bet there are more in piles at the Stampington offices that they'll use someday.

My favorite thing about this card is that the stamp used for the focal image reminds me so much of my mother. (My dad doesn't see the resemblance, he says... but I REALLY do. We'll have to let my sister Kris break the tie, I guess.) I can just see Mom wearing clam diggers and sitting on a dock at the lake somewhere.


Supplies:
Stamps: Woman (Alluring Impressions); Postage (Oxford Impressions); Happy (Verve)
Paper: Close to Cocoa & Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!); Striped PP (unknown)
Paint/Ink: Basic Brown (SU); Chestnut Roan ColorBox Chalk Ink (ClearSnap)
Accessories: Tag Punches & Copper Cord (SU); Authentic vintage postage stamps

I'd also like to offer a congratulatory shout out to my friend Debbie Emmons who has a beautiful Easter card published on page 104. Woohoo!

Back in a day or two with a new project using Shimmerz in a cool way with acetate! Completed it tonight while 'scrapping' with the girls, but it's too dark to photograph properly. It may be Monday before I get daylight time at home to take pictures.

Happy Stamping!