It's STAMPtember!

It's finally September!  That means cooler days are {supposedly} ahead!  I heart fall and everything it brings.  Another reason I love September?  Because it brings the fun-ness of Simon Says Stamp's STAMPtember!  STAMPtember is full of releases, collaborations and other fun goodies.

I was chosen, along with lots of others, to show off some of the new release items.  I was sent the beautiful Merry Christmas Ornament wafer die to play with.

 

So pretty.  I knew when I saw it that I wanted to make a shaker card.  Here is what I came up with:

 
I used Distress Inks to shade a piece of paper, then I die cut the ornament out of it.  I probably should have done the sentiment a bit darker because it gets lost in the shaker element, but I think it turned out so pretty.  I covered the die cut piece with Wink of Stella clear glitter for a bit of extra shimmer.

That is all for today!  Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...
 

Paper Girls Challenge #76 - Shakers!

Good morning, everyone!  Today I am up on the Paper Girls Challenge blog with my very first post!  The theme this go-round is shaker cards.  If you have followed me at all, you know that I am completely digging this trend.  You can see other examples here, here and here.

Intimidate by shaker cards?  I was, too, until I saw a video on how easy they are.  I thought I would do a quick tutorial on how to put one together.  Here we go!

Here are the supplies you'll need:   

I did some stamping and pre-cutting, but you get the general idea of what you need. I used a piece of acetate for the window, but you can use any kind of clear plastic or even vellum. Don't have sequins?  Try using small die cut shapes and/or coarse glitter!

First I adhered the piece of acetate to the back of the window piece: 

 

Then I flipped it over and attached the frame and die cuts:

Next, I flipped it back over and attached the foam adhesive.  You can use whatever you have.  Foam squares work but just make sure to line them up right next to each other so the tiny bits don't fly out when you shake the card.  (This is why I didn't suggest fine glitter above.  I used foam squares and glitter together and the glitter still managed to seep out, even though I thought I had them close enough together.) 

For the final step, just add your sequins, beads, etc, remove the backing from the foam tape, and then stick the card base on top.  SUPER EASY!!

Here is the final product:

I hope this inspires you to play along with the Paper Girls challenge this round!  I can't wait to see what you create!

Until next time...

Paper Girls Challenge #73 : Love/Anniversary

Good Morning, friends!  Today I am back with another Paper Girls Challenge!  This week's theme is Love/Anniversary.  Good timing, with Valentine's Day coming, don't you think?  :)  Here is the card I made:

And here is a close up:

First, I stamped a frame from Paper Smooches' Flirty Frames set using Versamark, then I used clear embossing powder to set it.  Next, I wet the entire frame area using a clean brush and water, then dabbed different colors of pink watercolors around the frame.  Once it was dry, I die cut out the frame, then backed it with some acetate.  I surrounded the acetate with foam tape to make it a shaker card.  I used a scrap piece of watercolor paper and used more pink watercolors to color the entire area.  Once that was dry, I used my Mama Elephant Confetti Creative Cuts die to cut out a bunch of hearts.  To the hearts, I added some different colored pink sequins and some clear glass beads.  The sentiment if from Paper Smooches' Good Gabs set.

I love how this card turned out.  Simple, pretty, and fun!  I am also submitting this card for this week's Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes!

Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time...

Winnie & Walter: Playdate #4

Hello!  Yikes!  It's been a long time since I have posted!  After my mad dash to submit cards for World Card Making Day, I kind of lost my mojo there for a while.  I was perusing blogs, which I often do for inspiration, when I came across Winnie & Walter's Playdate #4 color/picture prompt.  I think I audibly gasped when I saw this:

I went to a couple big Holiday Boutiques in the last month and these colors were everywhere! I have to say, for someone who admittedly dislikes glitter, this goldish/silver glitter combo that's going on lately completely draws me in. 

Anyway, here is the card I made:

I used my Silhouette to cut out the deer/tree glittery foreground.  I then went to work creating a shaker card.  I cut a hole in a separate sheet of cardstock that was slightly smaller than the deer oval.  I then adhered a piece of transparency to the back of it.  I used glossy accents to adhere the deer oval to the front of the shaker card window.  Next, I used Stampin' Up ink in Baja Breeze to shade in the card front.  I wanted it to be soft and muted.  Then I added some dark red sequins and some super fine white and green glitter to the center of the card.  I added some foam squares all over the back of the deer sheet then adhered it to the front of the card.  Then, I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it with yummy silver embossing powder.  I didn't have another sentiment, so I just punched out out and put it on.  I think this card turned out so beautifully.

That is all for today.  I hope to be back crafting soon!  I have a lot of Christmas cards to finish!!  I hope my Amberican friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow.  <3 p="">
Until next time...   

You Win Some, You Lose Some...

Wow, it's been a bit, huh?  I guess I was in a bit of a creative slump for a while and didn't feel the urge to create anything lately.  Don't worry, though.  I've turned the corner and am back at my table, creating away.  :) 

I thought I would share a couple cards that I made and submitted for publishing that weren't picked up.  I'll be honest, I don't submit my cards too often.  But when I do, I am usually very lucky and get picked up.  (Compared to the many, many layouts that I submitted in the past that weren't picked up.)  I really loved the two cards that I submitted, so I wanted to put them out there "on the computer" as my girls say. 

Here is the first card:

For this card, I created a stencil using my Cameo and acetate paper.  Then I used some embossing paste and mixed it with some Black Soot distress ink.  I had originally wanted it to be a black background, but I was happy with the color that it turned out to be.  I spread the embossing paste all over the card, then sprinkled a bit of glitter over it before I removed the stencil.  I removed the stencil and let it dry, then stamped the simple sentiment and mounted it on a think strip of colored cardstock.  I added three enamel dots to add more visual interest and that was it.  I think it turned out beautifully. 

Here is the second card:

For this card, I created my own overlay with my Cameo and cut it out in cardstock.  Then I used my distress inks in Picked Raspberry and Peacock Feathers to create the fun color pattern.  I then took a thin paint brush and lightly flicked water onto the overlay.  I knew I was going to make this a shaker card, so when the overlay was dry, I traced the circles onto the card base so I would know where the holes would be, then I stamped the fun confetti background and sentiment into the openings.  I used some acetate and foam tape to make the shaker windows, then added the sequins and adhered the overlay to the top of the card.  I. LOVE. how this turned out.  The sentiment was heat embossed with my delicious silver embossing powder.  It's just a fun, shiny, happy card. 

That's all I have for today!  Thanks for stopping by.  :)  I'll be back tomorrow with a card/stamp set that is sure to keep me out of a creative rut for a while.  :)

Until then...

Ribbon Carousel Challenge #91

 Hello everyone!  I am so excited to be designing for the Ribbon Carousel Challenge again!  For those of you who had not heard, the challenge went on a bit of a hiatus for a couple months, but now we're back and ready to play! 

This month's theme is Party Time!  This can be ANYTHING celebratory.  Graduation, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Pedicure Friday...you get the idea.  :)  Here is the card I created this month:

Ok, I know I said this in a recent post, but shaker cards just might be my new favorite thing!  They are so fun to make and just make me so happy to play with.  I can only imagine how fun they would be to receive, too!

These Allison Kreft Recorded papers were just perfect for this card and I love all of the fun colors of sequins that I used in the shaker card.  Sure, some of them are stuck at the top and side, but I think that just adds to the fun of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you'll play along and I can't wait to see what you all create!  Until next time...

Sequin Shaker Blog Hop!

 
Happy Monday, friends!  Today I decided to play along with the Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Blog Hop and try a technique that I have never really tried before (with much success, anyway).  Shaker cards!  After watching the tutorial that Paulina from Pretty Pink Posh put together, I was inspired to give it a go.

This is what I came up with:

 

I wanted to make this a hip mother-to-be card, so I used the silhouette of a cute preggie and made a frame for the front of the card.  I wrapped the twine around the frame piece before securing the whole thing to the acetate.  I used some foam strip tape to life up the frame, added the stamped sentiment and some sequins, then put the frame on top of the card.  It was so fast and easy!  I just might have a new addiction.  (Shaker cards and sequins!  Oh my!)

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!  Until next time...