SPARKLE N SPRINKLE'S OCTOBER 1ST REVEAL

Welcome to fall and the inspiration of  the Sparkle N Sprinkle's Design Team as we introduce our six new sets for October. As you may know, autumn is my favorite season and I just love flowers, so I "picked" the Beautiful Friendship Set 665 to work with in autumnal hues.

This month SIX new stamp sets are being introduced.   These sets are 20% off their regular price, until October 3rd.  All the new reveal sets are available on Cling Mounted Rubber and as a digital image. The Bubble Gum, set #664 is the stamp set featured in  This Month's Technique Video.

Here are the six new sets:

Welcome Autumn #650   (Digi version - DIGI650)
Party Penguins #654  (Digi version - DIGI654)
Witches Brew #660  (Digi version - DIGI660)
Bubble Gum #664  (Digi version - DIGI664)
Beautiful Friendship #665  (Digi version - DIGI665)
Ellie's Dance Lesson #667  (Digi version - DIGI667)

On Oct 3rd,  one Grand Prize Winner will be selected from the comments left on the designers' blogs listed below.  The Grand Prize Winner will receive their choice of:

1) all SIX of the new rubber stamp sets
or 
2) all the new digital stamps and digital stamp sets. 

The new SNS Creative Challenges also begins today, with lots of prizes and recognition badges. 

The winner of the blog hop will be announced on Oct 3 on Facebook, the SNS blog, and on our blogs:

Belinda Shupe
April Williams
Marie Berquist
Shona Erlenborn (you are here)
Eret Pank
Anita Scroggins
Anne Temple

(Tip: if you have a problem with a particular link, try clicking on the person's blog title to send you to their Home page.)

Don't forget to leave a comment with each Designer to be eligible for the Grand Prize.  We love reading your comments and hope we have inspired you as well.  If you absolutely can not leave a comment for some reason, please email icinganne@yahoo.com with your comment and the name of the blog or Designer you are commenting about.

So let's see what I did for my project this month. In September I worked with Margaret at the Somerset Scrapbook Convention. Here's a quick look at a bunch of awesome ladies about to find out a really quick and easy way to add sparkle to any project:

On the Scrapbook page project, we had used Sparkle embossing powder just to bling up a little bird's nest.  I had totally forgotten what a big sparkly impact you can get just by covering your image or piece of paper with this awesome embossing powder! So I decided to highlight this simple technique in my project this month:

Isn't that just lovely with the added sparkle, not only to the image, but the plain white cardstock? Here are four examples of some hand-made glitter paper:

Just by applying Versamark and heat embossing with the Sparkle embossing powder, you can transform a matte finish to a sparkly glittered masterpiece, which can be punched, used for backgrounds or as I did in my card - even add sparkle to a colored image!

I stamped the bigger image in Versamark off the bottom left of the card front and then heat embossed with Sienna embossing powder. I thought rather than using black it would be more inkeeping with my autumnal feel. Plus, these Tuscany embossing powders are detailed powders, so they work really well on detailed images with fine lines, as well as sentiments. There are 12 colors to choose from too, so there will be one to go with each of your projects. You don't have to stick to black anymore! On my project I used the Sienna embossing powder for the sentiment too. Look at the fine detail it produces:

Next I colored in the big image with Copics. I repeated the process with the little rose image on a scrap piece of white cardstock. Then I used the "Out of the Box" Technique to die cut and emboss the circle. I then took my Versamark Pad and applied it to the entire piece - the white frame with the colored image in the corner. The entire piece was then heat embossed with Sparkle.

For my background I used a technique called Alcohol Marker Marbling, which I found on Splitcoast Stampers a couple of weeks ago. Using four of the same Copics that I used to color the roses, I scribbled on a Ziplock bag, spritzed on some Alcohol Blending Solution, and smooshed glossy white cardstock onto the bag. It resulted in a background that matched my project perfectly! 

Next on to my Chipboard word. I learned something new about chipboard pieces at the Convention. I had noticed that when I tried to emboss these chipboard pieces, they would often leave an outline of their shape on my Versamark pad. Apparently the chipboard shapes are cut by a laser machine and in essence are being burnt while they are being produced. The black outline is actually soot, and if you take a paper towel around the edges of your chipboard piece, the soot will come off on the paper towel and not your Versamark pad. I keep an older pad specifically for my chipboard pieces. The other option is to use a dauber applicator for your embossing ink.

 The Chipboard piece was covered with Versamark and then heat embossed with some Sienna Star. This powder is the same as the Sienna, but with glitter added. I then reapplied a little Versamark and heat embossed some Magic Speckle to give it the mosaic look.

To finish the card, I placed the stamped, marbled background piece in the window of the frame. I then edged a piece of yellow cardstock with 1/4 Tear-ific Tape and layered the card front to the sticky edged card base, applying Sunset glitter to the exposed sticky edges. The "Friends" chipboard piece was stuck down using Dimensional Glue and the little rose image was attached with Dimensional Foam.

For a little extra bling I added a little strip of the jewelled ribbon, a strip taken from the Diamond Mesh, to the top of the card, which completed my project for today. I hope I've given you some ideas to go and play with. Full instructions for this card, can be found in the SNS gallery.

Remember to leave a comment here and on the other Designers' blogs to be eligible for the Grand prize of all six of these new sets!

Here's a little sneak preview of my next post, which will feature the paper-piecing technique! It uses one of the other new reveal sets - Party Penguins - too cute!

Hope you'll pop back next week to check out this project! Till then, hugs and get your Sparkle On (the cardstock)!

Shona

LOVE ON OUR 25TH ANNIVERSARY

Hi again,

Back for another quick post. I had made this card last week for the hubby, after being at the Somerset Scrapbook Convention, where we were playing with all the tapes and glitters in the booth.

I made this card quite quickly I might say. The SNS Tear-ific Tapes make it very easy!

I put a strip of the 2 1/2" Tape down the left hand side and removed the protective backing. Then I laid another strip of the same width down on the right side (it is OK to overlap), but leave the protective backing on the right side for now.

Apply a piece of the same tape to a piece of white cardstock and run it through a die cutting machine with three of the scalloped heart dies. Pick off the protective backings of the hearts and place them down on the exposed sticky side. The heart shapes will act as masks. Apply Sonic Velvet Glitter to the remaining exposed tape. Brush off the excess with a glitter brush.

Remove the heart masks and then apply the brand new Dogwood Rose velvet glitter to those sticky areas. 

Remove the right side protective backing and add 2 lengths of 1/4" tape and 1 length of 3/4" tape. Leave the backing on those strips and apply Reflection glitter to all the remaining exposed area.

Remove the two left side backing strips and apply the Dogwood Rose. Repeat with the last 3/4" backing and apply Sonic glitter to that area.

Now the fun part - making a ribbon to match your project. Here I used the 1/2" Tape. Take a strip of the tape and burnish your selected glitter (I used Reflection on mine) well into the tacky side of the tape. Just put a pile of the glitter on a coffee filter and pull the sticky tape (a couple of inches at a time) through the glitter. When the one side is covered and you've shaken and brushed off the excess glitter, remove the other side of the backing. Yes, I know it sounds strange, but you do have a "glitter sandwich" with just glue in between! Here is the link for glittered ribbon on the website if needed.

... and if that is not cool enough - yes, you can curl it!!

Just do it gently with a pair of scissors as you would a normal ribbon!

Cut and emboss the white heart from glossy white cardstock and add the silver stickers.

The next step is to emboss your chipboard piece. I had a question recently answered at the Somerset Convention. Why do chipboard pieces leave an outline on your Versamark (and other) pads? I love embossing these chipboard pieces, but they were ruining my pads. The reason is that the chipboard is cut with a laser and in effect it is burning the chipboard. If you run a piece of paper towel around the outline of your chipboard piece, you will see a black residue come off on the towel. It will now not be left on your new Versamark pad! I keep a "dirtied" Versamark pad specifically for my Chipboard pieces now, as I hadn't known that. Another option is to use a dauber with the Versamark. It's all a matter of preference.

I chose to heat emboss my "Love" with Silver Lightning embossing powder. 

... and the silver brad was also embossed with Silver Lightning and then I reheated it with Super Thick Clear embossing powder. The brad held the ribbon in place and the heart was attached with Dimensional Dots as shown.

Hope I've inspired you to get out those glitters! It can make such a quick but effective card!

I'd like to enter this card in the Scrapy Land Challenge where they are looking for die cuts and heat embossing.

See you next week for the Sparkle N Sprinkle October Reveal!

Hugs,

Shona

WELCOME TO AUTUMN!

Hi everyone!

Yes, I'm back! I'm so sorry that I've not been able to keep up with my duties here in Blog Land over the summer. It was just one thing after an other. I'm sorry if I've also not been visiting your blogs either, hopefully I have righted that on my return from Scotland!

As soon as I got home I went straight into the Somerset Scrapbook Convention. I was teaching the classes and it was so much fun meeting all our lovely customers. Now we are exploring the possibility of teaching classes in NJ.

I've taken a couple of weeks to get things organized from being away for such a long time. We're now down to a little family of three. My older two now being away - one in St. Andrews, Scotland, and now the second just 45 minutes away studying her dream - Music, at Westminster Choir College! We're feeling blessed - 'though very poor!

Our third, Calum, has risen to the occasion! Now that the other two are off, he seems to have come into his own, and is doing academically well so far in his first year in High School. Named Captain of the Freshman soccer team, and occasionally playing for JV and Varsity, obviously has had an enormous boost to his overall ego. Long may it continue, as it adds tons of crafting time to one's schedule, if you don't have to be continuously nagging to get one's homework done!!

I really enjoyed getting back upstairs to my craft room. I've spent most of the past two days reorganizing everything. I can't work when there is clutter! ... and I have control over that in my studio!! Not so much in the house!! You know what I mean - but I still love them! Smelly soccer socks and all!

While I was at the Convention with Margaret two weeks ago, I found a booth that had different embossing folders (and you know how obsessed I am about embossing folders!) Along with a couple of others, I picked up this "Sheena" Oriental birds EF. To be honest, I didn't find too much about it oriental - but thought it would make a great fall card! 

I was looking for something really easy to do to get back in the swing of things, so I ran the Oriental Birds through the machine. It was then inked up with London Fog on the embossed side. Then I took all my Semi-Transparent "fall" glitters out of the drawer and randomly applied them with my Sakura Glue Pen to each of the leaves.

The sentiment was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Sienna. Memento Cantaloupe was applied before removing the die and then I edged the die cut with Rich Cocoa Memento ink. I popped the die cut (Spellbinder's Grommet tag) using dimensional dots with brads that had been customized with Sienna Star embossing powder.

The card front was attached to a gray card base and then I sponged Versamark around the edges, to which I added Shimmer Embossing Powder. 

... and that was pretty much it.

I'd like to enter this card in the Scrapy Land challenge: Die cuts and heat embossing. 

Hope you've enjoyed your visit here today, I'll be back next week, with the Sparkle N Sprinkle October Reveal. Prepare to be amazed at what the Design Team has in store for you!

Till then, enjoy the first few days of Fall!

Hugs,

Shona