Saturday, January 14, 2012

Stampendous Challenge, Week 2...Bling It On!



Here we are with the second Saturday of the month of January, which means another opportunity for YOU to play along with the Stampendous "Bling it On!" challenge for the new year. Once again, my version is not screaming bling, a little subtlety, please. However, my Fantasy Tiles card is covered in gorgeous new Stampendous Fran•tage Elements Aged Ivory and Aged Bronze Embossing Enamels! You have to see to believe these embossing enamels...a variety of textures, sheens, and sparkle in EACH bottle! You think these are gorgeous? Wait until you see what is being released at CHA in two weeks! Amazing new designs and fabulous new Fran•tage Elements in new varieties. Oops. I guess I slipped a little, as the tile images used on this card are part of the new release...just a teaser for you. These come in a Perfectly Clear set, and all the tiles are one inch...perfect for those "Inchies" that everyone is addicted to. The larger image, Profile Portrait, is a Cling image to be released as well. I kept my color scheme in these french vanilla shades, with the pretty sheen of the embossing enamels, texture of paper roses, and a snippet of old lace, the entire card reads vintage glamour. Now take a look at what these Stampendous team members have created to dazzle you today:

Melinda Gleissner
Jennifer Ingle

We want YOU to play along with us!  Just add you direct link to your card (make sure you've loaded it up with tons of BLING) to the linky tool below my signature (or on the Stampendous blog) no later than February 2, 2012 at 11:00 PM EST.  You don't have to use Stampendous products to play along, but we sure love it when you do!  And as an extra incentive for playing, one lucky person (drawn at random from all the entries) will receive this gorgeous Cherub Wishes Perfectly Clear Stamp Set:




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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Handbags and Valentines? Why Not?


Some of you will probably think that I'm cheating this week, and some of you will probably think that I just managed to be more organized. To be honest, the first is probably more accurate. As I worked on my project for the Woodware UK challenge (Handbags at Dawn!), I was torn as to how I would complete the challenge. No purse stencils or purse stamps in my repertoire, so I decided to create a purse and decorate it with Dreamweaver Stencils. This thought led me to the next idea...I could use this project for the Dreamweaver Stencils' challenge this month as well!
This yummy Tiffany-Box-Blue-colored cardstock was sitting on my workspace, so that with the black and white would be perfect for the elegant clutch I was going for. Then I decided to make a card portfolio out of it with pockets on the inside to hold a set of thank you cards. The pockets and flaps were created from my new Spellbinders' Mega Dies. The main portion of the "purse" and front flap was stenciled with first Memories Mists Iridescent spray* and then brushed with Metallic F/X Glacier*. The result is a soft, subtle, shimmer with the Damask* image. The same stencil was used to machine emboss the side panels, the pockets, and the blue panels on the cards. The flap of the "handbag" and the cards were then paste-embossed in black with the Tole Heart*, and covered with beautiful Black Pearl Glitter from Stampendous*.  I added a Stampendous Class A' Peel sentiment* in black, as well as a ribbon bow and a Velcro closure (hook and loop). It would be easy enough to change the sentiments to create Valentines or wedding cards. For those of you here visiting from the Woodware UK blog, be sure to check out what the rest of the Woodware girls have been creating for their "Handbags at Dawn" challenge. For those of you here from the Dream It Up! blog, the girls have more inspiration for you, and encouragement for YOU to play along with us this month. Remember, you have ALL month to post and link your Valentine creation(s) to the Mr Linky on the Dream It Up! blog, for the opportunity to win one of two stencil designs! Come on...show us what YOU'VE GOT!


*Woodware UK:
Damask Stencil
Tole Heart
Matte Black Embossing Paste
Metallic F/X Glacier
Stampendous Black Pearl Glitter
Stampendous Class A' Peel Tiny Greetings

*Dreamweaver Stencils US:

Damask Stencil
Tole Heart
Matte Black Embossing Paste 
Memories Mists Iridescent Spray
Metallic F/X Glacier



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Monday, January 9, 2012

New "Coveralls" Stamps from Gourmet Rubber Stamps


 Gourmet Rubber Stamps has recently introduced a new line of images called "Coveralls"...jumbo sized cling stamps that cover six inches of cardstock goodness. Perfect for backgrounds on cards and tags, but also for scrap pages and decor. For this card, I focused mainly on the pocket portion of the "Back Pocket" image. In remembrance of my favorite floral-embroidered jeans in high school, I added the folk art flower from the Diner's Club December "Let's Celebrate" set, embossed with white EP three times on an extra pocket. This enabled me to tuck inside a little tag with the great "Good Friend" sentiment from the Lizzie Anne Designs line. A few rhinestones and a baker's twine attachment finishes off this card.
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Saturday, January 7, 2012

A New Stampendous Challenge...BLING It On!

It's the first Saturday of the year and the first Saturday of the month...clean slate! Let's fling some bling on it! The Stampendous Design Team were challenged to bring on the bling this month. Glitter, Shiny Essentials, Class A' Peel Sparkly stickers...anything with a sparkle and sheen! Normally, I'm not big on bling. I like things a little more subtle and sedate. This is exactly the direction I went with my featured card today. I used the brand new release Cling Pensive Portrait image for my focal point and the new Cling Garden Background for, well...the background. The images were stamped with Rich Cocoa Memento, and only a soft pink chalk was added for color. I added a vintage ribbon bow with a pearl corsage pin and pearl scroll. This is where
I had a little fun. I rubbed Versamark ink over the pearl elements and embossed them with brand new Fran•tage Aged Ivory Embossing Enamel. The result was a gorgeous pearly sheen with hints of gold and an antique finish. Just in case you are wondering if I inked, embossed, and placed each individual pearl from the flourish...no, I did not. I'm too lazy for that. The whole thing was left intact on the carrier sheet while I performed my Fran•tage magic. When cool, I carefully picked the entire flourish off the carrier in one piece and placed it on my card. Yep. I'm pretty happy with it.
Not blingy enough for you? Then check out what the rest of our uber-talented team has blingified (technical term) for the challenge this week:

Melinda Gleissner

We want YOU to play along with us!  Just add your direct link with your card (make sure you've loaded it up with tons of BLING) to the linky tool below my signature (or on the Stampendous blog) no later than February 2, 2012 at 11:00 PM EST.  You don't have to use Stampendous products to play along, but we sure love it when you do!  And as an extra incentive for playing, one lucky person (drawn at random from all the entries) will receive this gorgeous Cherub Wishes Perfectly Clear Stamp Set:






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Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Dream Team 2012 Challenges Begin!

Welcome to the first posting of the Dreamweaver Stencils' Dream Team 2012 ! We're changing things up a bit for this year, and YOU can help. The first Thursday of every month will feature our new challenge and will extend through the entire month. This means that YOU have ALL month to play along with the one challenge, as many times as you want. Sometimes it will be a color challenge, sometimes a theme, and sometimes a technique. We are hoping that an entire month will give you plenty of time to be inspired, create, and link to the Dream It Up! blog . Each month we are offering TWO prizes...one for the most creative version of the challenge (does not have to be Dreamweaver Stencils ' product, but we sure are happy when it is!), and the second for the best use of Dreamweaver Stencils ' product in the challenge. This could be stencils  (of course), Embossing Pastes , Metallic F/X , the new Color Solutions , etc., anything you find on the Dreamweaver Stencils' web site , or in your local store. Don't know where your local store is? The list can be found on the web site . Not near any of the stores listed? There is also an online site to purchase from, Stencil with Style !
 
For the month of January, we challenge you to create something for Valentine's Day! You have until January 31st, 11:59 PM EST, to post and link your creation(s) to the Dream It Up! Blog   Mr. Linky. The winners will be announced February 2nd, along with the February challenge. Here is my version of this month's challenge:


Dreamweaver Stencils has a gorgeous selection of stencils with hearts in various styles...simple, ornate, Celtic, gothic, and romantic. The Heart Lock is one of my faves, and I used a very simple technique to create this card. The background white panel was stenciled with Memories Mists Strawberry Daiquiri (sounds yum, doesn't it?) through the Damask stencil. The focal piece is a panel of Double-sided Adhesive adhered to a white cardstock panel and covered with Stampendous Multi Crystal Glitter. Then this panel was also stenciled with the same Memories Mists. I chose the MM method mainly because I already had these products out on my workspace as I went on a Valentine binge for this month's challenge. You'll see more from this binge over the next few weeks. When using the Memories Mists, I highly recommend that you tape your stencil down on all four sides with removable tape as usual. Then place the piece in a cardboard box and spray from about 8-10 inches away. The box will help to contain the overspray. To finish off my card, I created the gold foiled key by stenciling on red cardstock with Versamark ink, embossing with Stampee Stuck on You bonding powder, placing a piece of gold Stampee foil face up over the surface, placing between a folded sheet of printer paper, and running through my hot laminator. I also added a little Two Way Glue Marker to one of the Dreamweaver Stencils' 3" Embellishment Pins, and rubbed the leftover foil bits over the surface. This with the ribbon and rhinestone bling, added to the very romantic feel of this Valentine.

Need more inspiration? Please visit the rest of our fabulous team listed here:



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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Best of Both Worlds...a Kitty and a Good Book!



 As I've been sick for the last few days, I've been doing a lot of reading. I love it when I can curl up with my kitties, grasping a hot cup of tea, and read a good book. Of course, this would be more pleasurable without the being sick part. Lol. This card features the Perfectly Clear Time Flies set and the Cling Cattus Librum image from Stampendous. To make the image pop off the dark gray Core'dinations' cardstock, I sanded the center first before stamping the image in black. The card was distressed and torn around the edges to frame the inside embossed Canvas Corp paper. Layers were created on the front from a panel of an old dictionary page (on cats!), images from the Time Flies set, and a cord and key to finish it off.
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Monday, January 2, 2012

Need a Good Laugh?

I can't believe that I didn't get around to posting this card last month! I love this card...it just cracks me up. The image is from Murray's Law, a line from Gourmet Rubber Stamps. The artist's images and outlook on life just defines ROFLMBO (cleaned that up for the goodie-two-shoes among you). I chose these two wild patterned papers to piece this curvaceous lady (who desperately needs a new bra!), colored her with Copic markers, and gave her boobs a little extra "support" with foam tape. To enforce the martini theme of the sentiment, I punched circles from green patterned paper and red to create my gin-soaked olives (okay...not gin soaked, but a girl can dream). Life has been a teeny bit stressful lately which makes me appreciate this sentiment all the more. Which is probably why I've decided to make my New Year's resolution (besides the trying to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, blah blah blah) to simplify my life a bit. Maybe attempt to be a little less OCD about being the perfect mom, wife, friend, domestic diva, and papercrafter. Lol. Well, going to give it a try. Anyone want to join me? Meanwhile, until you reach that goal, go buy some Murray's Law images to amuse you and some Gourmet Rubber Stamps to keep you sane. Better yet, sign up for the monthly Diner's Club sets and call it therapy!



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