AUTUMN INSPIRATIONS

Did someone mention Autumn?

Autumn already?!!!  Are you  kidding!  I am so, not ready, for the kids going back to school, because that means 5 am wake-ups, and I'm kind of enjoying the fact that I don't even "have" to get up at 6, when my body tells me that I really "should"!!  I have to say, when they are at school, so much more gets done around the house, garden and definitely the stamping room!!  It's still certainly nice to have a three month break, don't you think?

If you fell from the tree of Patti White, then you are in the right place, if not, you may want to go back to the SNS home page, so you start at the beginning to make sure you don't miss out on picking up all the possible prizes.  There will be one Grand Prize and five extra prizes, on five of the designers' blog spots.  I hope I have a surprise hiding for you, so make sure you leave a comment for me!   

On to business!  When asked to re-purpose stamps for an Autumn Blog Hop,  I hung on to the thought of summer as long as I could!  For my first card, I decided to use autumn colors with some summer elements, including flowers and butterflies.    

I decided to make some flowers, with a more Autumn feel to them, by embossing coffee filters with three different "fall-themed" embossing powders.  To learn how to make these fun little flowers, you can find a complete tutorial on the Sparkle N Sprinkle website, right here.  Then I found this great butterfly designer paper, that also echoed fall's colors, and then the card took flight!  I also incorporated one of Sparkle N Sprinkle's new sets Thoughtful Frames. And.... here is the result.

All the details on how to make the above card can be found here:

Now for card number two!  I decided, I'd really like to go totally fall, but bring in some "fun" element - (after my daughter played Snoopy in the Church musical - I decided puppies could be a good choice!!)  So what to do with some pups?  Fall pups .... have them playing in a pile of leaves?  Yep, that sounds like it might work!  I used our new SNS 2 1/2" tape to make a backdrop for the many choices of SNS's flocking!!  With a background of Blissful Blue for sky, Palm Leaf for the grass and Amber Wheat for the leaves, just add the punched out leaves and pups, using glue and dimensionals.  Frame the fun with Spellbinders Grand Large Labels, embossed with my all time favorite Sparkle Embossing Powder!

 

Full details of how to make my doggie framed picture can be found right here.  Don't you just want to jump in those leaves with them?

Well, that's all from me, now you have to jump into that pile of leaves and see if you can find Donna.  She is sure to be brewing up something in her caldron, "witch" you'll find extra creepy!  Remember to leave a comment, here, and at the SNS home blog to be eligible for the prizes!



  

Coffee with a Twist!!

With all the new fancy coffee machines that are now out on the market, are you one of those, looking around and saying "So now what will I do with those left-over coffee filters?"  Well, if you are, apart from being great embossing powder catchers, while embossing, I've found an even more "fun" way to use them!

  JUST EMBOSS THEM .... then make pretty flowers out of them!!!!  And yes, it's just that easy!

For my first set of flowers, I went with fall colors:

Sparkle N Sprinkle Embossing Powders:

Bronze Rose (EP335)
Gold Coast (EP364)
Frosted Juniper (EP406)

Start by flattening out a coffee filter, it doesn't have to be totally flat, as the creases etc., add more texture to the end result.  Using a well-inked Versamark pad, ink up the coffee filter.



Then sprinkling on one of the EP's at a time, returning each of them to the jar between colors,  totally cover the filter in three (or more embossing powders).

So I started with Bronze Rose, then added the Gold Coast (remembering to put each back in their jar before adding the next color). 











Then I covered the entire filter with the last color, which in this case was Frosted Juniper.  It will stick to the Versamark where there was no powder before.

Then heat emboss for a lovely shimmery look.  (The back will look like wax paper).

     

     Now isn't that pretty???

Place the filter shiny side up on top of the cutting side of the Grand Calibur Plate.  

Using Spellbinders Rose Creations, place the die cuts, cutting side down on the cutting plate of the Grand Calibur.  Then place the base plate upside down on top, and pass the sandwich through the machine.

Turn over the whole sandwich,  take off the cutting plate and then place the embossing mat and plate over the flowers, and pass through the Grand Calibur to emboss them.

Use a needle to coax the flowers out from the dies.  They will pop out easily!  Note how they feel like wax paper!

Slip a gold brad through the five layers, turning each petal a little, so that they fill in the spaces.  Repeat the last four steps, as many times as you want, to make a bouquet of flowers!!

As you can see, I added a couple of punched-out flowers in the bouquet too!!  So if you don't have the Grand Calibur and flower dies - then just use punches!

Use the needle to punch a hole through the center of each layer and add a brad to make a pretty side-kick for the lovely roses. 

I used the above colored flowers in the Sparkle N Sprinkle Autumn Inspirations Blog Hop, so tune in, on Thursday the 25th of August, to see how the card turned out!



Of course, I couldn't just stop there for the tutorial, how about these colors for another "fall" look!!
For the flowers in this card I used Tequila Sunrise (EP239), Verdigris (EP318) and Fall Fiesta (EP148).

 

For a more springy, summery look, of course you just need to change your embossing powder colors:

Here I chose to use:

Kiwi Fruit (EP401)
Melon Twist (EP402)
Spring Willow (EP388)

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial on Coffee Filter Flowers!  Now go pour a cup  of your favorite brew, and have a try at making your own!!  Remember to check back on Thursday, to see what I did with the first set of flowers!

SPARKLING WINTER SENSATIONS

Hi there, and welcome to our cool Sparkling Winter Sensations Blog Hop!  I hope that you are beating the heat, sitting in front of your computer, with a nice cool drink and blasting the air-conditioner.  Hopefully the SNS's designers' cool creations will chill you down at least for a while, as you go through the Blog Hop and leave comments on each of the designers' blogs, giving you the chance to become eligible for six "hot" prizes!

If you mountain boarded in from Dawn Thomas' blog - then you are on the right ski trail!  If not, take the ski lift back to the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog at http://sparklensprinkle.com/blog/. You don't want to miss out on any chances to win!

For my winter season cards, I wanted to highlight one of my latest favorite products from Sparkle N Sprinkle, the 2 1/2" Tear-ific Tape.   It is a super-quick way to make super cool backgrounds.  For my first card I adhered the tape across a piece of ivory cardstock , then applied Waterfall glitter, to make a sparkly strip to highlight my ornaments!

I also used the tape on the two background ornaments.  After stamping and embossing in gold, I colored in with Copic Markers and then stuck the Tear-ific tape over the front of the entire ornament.  I cut out the ornament using the Spellbinders die cut, which can be purchased as a combo along with the Heirloom Ornament stamp set and then I took off the protective backing and applied Sparkling Snow Glitter.  For complete instructions to make this card, just click here.

The tape is strong enough to hold everything.  In this sample, I colored the same ornament three times and then applied the tape on top of the center ornament in the same way after it was colored.  This time I stuck clear micro beads for a different look.  To see full instructions for this card, click right here.





So now, how about a couple of ornaments!  I stamped the big Joy Ornament from the Heirloom Ornament stamp set, twice in red, and twice in green.  Cover both with the tape again and cut out with the Spellbinders die cut.  Glue the two ornaments together and punch a hole for the thread.  Remove the protective backing and apply the micro beads to both sides.  An easy ornament ready to adorn your Christmas tree this year!  Here they are, and their full instructions are here:

 Joy, Joy, Joy!

For my last card, I switched gears back to a technique that I used in the last SNS blog hop, which was the "embossing painting".  I got many favorable comments on my embossable acetate over the basketball court photo card.  So I thought I'll keep you "oiled", while you wait on my next blog, which I am hoping to get to soon, which will be a tutuorial on the embossing painting technique.  My Christmas card is less complex than the basketball player, so if you tried the technique and were scared off, perhaps try doing this card, and you'll see how easy and effective it can be!

For full instructions on how to create this card , just click here.  Basically, for the embossing painting on the acetate all you do is stamp the tree in Versamark on the embossable acetate and heat emboss with Silver embossing powder. Repeat the process with Merry Christmas, under the tree image and heat emboss with Gold.  Then turn the piece over and using the Penboss marker, paint within the outline of the tree and then heat emboss with Halo embossing powder.  One more step, apply Versamark ink to the same side as the Halo EP and then heat emboss with "my-all- time-favorite, never-be-without" Sparkle embossing powder.  Such a sparkly little number - don't you think?   

Well that is it from me for this Blog Hop.  I hope I am one of "The Five" holding a secondary prize, so please be sure to leave a comment here, before you ski down the mountain to Eleanor Jenkins' blog at http://stampinginva.blogspot.com/ and see what she has in store for you!  Enjoy the cool ride!