SPARKLE N SPRINKLE'S JANUARY 1ST REVEAL

Happy New Year everyone! Well can you believe it is already January 2016? It's crazy how quickly time is flying - it feels like the kids just started back to school after summer, and here they are already back from College for the holidays!  So today we have the first Reveal for 2016 for Sparkle N Sprinkle. I chose to make my card with the Poppy Set 771.

We have FIVE new stamp sets to share with you today.  These new sets are 20% off until Jan 3.  So once you finish the blog hop, head on over to the store and start shopping.  All of the new sets are available on cling mounted rubber or as a digital image.  

The sets are:

Three Tenors 767 (digi version DIGI767)

 Sing On 768 (digi version DIGI768)

  Thinking of You 769 (digi version DIGI769)

 Happily Ever After 770 (digi version DIGI770)

 Poppies 771 (digi version DIGI771)

On Jan 3rd, ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be selected from the comments left on the Designers' blogs listed below. Please leave a comment with each Designer in order to be eligible for the Grand Prize.  You never know who the Mystery Designer will be that has the winning comment. 

The Grand Prize Winner, which will be announced on the SNS Facebook page and on the SNS Blog, will receive ALL of the new stamp sets released this month (or the digi versions, if preferred).

The Blog Hop order this month is:

Shona (You're here)

Marie

Jess

Eret

Diane

Belinda

Anne

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

We hope you enjoy the New Reveal Blog Hop as much as we do.  Thanks for joining us and remember to comment on each of the Designers' blogs to be eligible for the Grand Prize.  

 Wonder who the Mystery Host will be this month????

The Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenge also begins today.  There are lots of prizes and recognition badges.  Come check out how you can become a SNS Featured Artist as well.  The theme is always Anything Goes using Loose Glitter, Embossing Powder, and/or Flock.

Have you checked out the SNS YouTube Channel featuring Demo Donna?  If not, then you are in for a real treat.  Subscribe today to get all the latest Demo Donna tips and techniques!

So I am first up this month. I chose to work with the Poppies Set 771. There are some lovely sayings along with a group image of poppies and one single poppy in this set. I thought it would make a simple and elegant sympathy card. I began with stamping the group image on black cardstock with Versamark and then heat embossed with the gorgeous Gold Detail embossing powder. I then "colored" the poppies with bleach, by putting some fresh bleach in a water brush. 

I used the Spellbinders Decorative Labels Twenty Two to cut out the image and then distressed the edges edging with Versamark and then applying more of the Gold Detail EP. Dimensional Glue was added to the centers of the poppies to hold down the Prills.

The mustard backing was run through a Sizzix Dot Matrix Embossing Folder, and was then layered to a black layer.

The sentiment, from the same set, was stamped in Versamark and again heated with the Gold Detail powder. It was cut out using the Spellbinders Fancy Tag die. I made a sheer black ribbon bow and tied that around the mustard card front and tucked the sentiment under part of the bow with Dimensional Foam. Three Want to Scrap Self Adhesive black pearls were added to finish off the card.

Hope you liked my share today? Remember to leave a comment below and on the other Designers' blogs too. You'll be in with a chance to win all five new sets. Wouldn't that be a great way to start the New Year? Next on the hop is our own crafty Marie.

Happy New Year!

Till next time,

Shona

DOGGIE GET WELL WISHES

Hi there,

A close friend has just undergone a rather big surgery, and thankfully is well on the road to recovery. She was the inspiration for this card and loves her dogs. Although she doesn't have a Doberman, I thought the little Chihuahua looked like he could cheer even these two up!! Hope you're better soon Maribeth!

This card uses two of the June releases and one from a couple of months back: Heart Like Dogs Set 711, Life is better Set 712 and Old Well Set 703.

Beginning with the background for my card, I stamped the Wishing Well image on Kraft cardstock in Versamark Ink and heat embossed with Belgian Cream. I then took my Memento Toffee Crunch ink pad and rubbed it over the entire piece. Then I rubbed  a tissue over the image, to remove any ink that was sitting on top of the embossing. The embossing powder resists the wet ink and makes the white really pop. I then took an aqua pen filled with bleach and bleached out inside the lines of the image, I guess, because of the brown ink, this made the image green, which was perfect for all of the greenery!! I took a Sakura Glue pen and added Green Iris glitter to the foliage.

The dogs were all stamped on cream cardstock in Memento Tuxedo Black, fussy cut and were colored with three Copics: E11, N2, and N4. I took a sponge, applied it with Blending Solution and dabbed it over the dogs to give the mottled appearance.

The sentiment (from the Old Well Set 703) was stamped on Kraft cardstock in Versamark and heat embossed with the new Coffee powder. I took a dauber that had brown ink on it to distress the piece after cutting it to the shape of a banner.

Dimensional Glue was added to the bucket and the dogs' noses. and a rhinestone brad and two little rhinestones were added for the little dog's collar. The background was layered to a Kraft card base, with Toffee Crunch distressed edges. Then the dogs and sentiment were added with Dimensional Dots.

Hope you've enjoyed my share with you today!

Shona

NEW SKETCH CHALLENGE AT SPARKLE N SPRINKLE

I'm writing this, before I head off to Scotland this afternoon!  I hope it publishes while I'm gone! There's a new sketch challenge over at Sparkle N Sprinkle, and if you participated in last month's challenge you'll need to check to see if you were the lucky winner!  So pop over here, to see the scoop on last month's winner and to get a look at some of the designers' ideas, to get your creative juices going!

Here is the new sketch for April:

I decided to make a gift card holder out of the sketch.  Here's my take:

I made my own background paper by stamping the sentiment with some of the new Tuscan embossing powders and then distressing with orange and brown distress inks.  After embossing Leo with Teddy Brown embossing powder and distressing the piece, I then bleached him!  Full directions can be found here for my card.

So come on and give it a try this month - you have an entire month to enter!

Old Guys Rule!

Hi there,

Just finished up another card from the brand new Surfin' sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  Scroll down to look at my previous post to see what some of the other team designers and I have done with these sets. I find there are many elements in these sets that are particularly suited for the guys in our lives!

We had a 53rd birthday celebration last week for a close friend, so I used the Surfin' Woody set for his card:

I stamped the cars on brown cardstock in Versamark and heat embossed with Copper embossing powder. I then took a water pen and filled it with bleach and painted the cards with bleach - I love the old Verdi-Gris color that resulted!  I was trying to make the card as rustic and distressed as possible.  I used the Spellbinders Rectangle Lattice die cut for this card and the "tombstones" are tucked into pockets (slit with an exacto knife) and propped up with dimensionals, which you can't really see in the photo, but in real life looks kind of cool!

Full directions for this card can be found in the Sparkle N Sprinkle Gallery.

Thanks for stopping by today,

Shona

Sparkle N Sprinkle's February Sketch Challenge

Hi there, and welcome to February!  That means it's time for the Sparkle N Sprinkle February Sketch Challenge.  Click here for full details on how to enter your creation - you have all month to come up with a design and there is lots of inspiration for you by several of the designers to help get you started!


I haven't done any bleaching for a while, so felt like I wanted to incorporated that, into my card this month.  I decided that I would like to use flowers and I chose Set 328 - Floral - Magnolia, which has seven lovely flower images , as well as the saying on my card.  Full details on how to make this card can be found  in the Sparkle N Sprinkle Gallery.


Here is my take on the Sketch:

I look forward to seeing what you come up with.  Have fun!

The "Not So Macho Masculine" Card Blog Hop

Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle "Not So Macho Masculine" Card Blog Hop.  If you are anything like me, meaning you cringe every time you have to make a masculine card, then you are in for a treat this month!  This month all the sports, vehicles and school stamp sets are on sale, just in time for Father's Day creations.  If you got here by way of the SNS Home Page then you are heading for a field goal!  If you came directly to me, go back to home plate here at SNS to get all the information you need to be eligible to win a stamp set of your choice and 13 different designer choice goodies!

Throughout my life, I've always been surrounded with sports. Actually, I can't think of many that I haven't tried (well OK. I don't do skydiving, but then I really don't think that should be considered a sport - more like a suicide aid!!).  I grew up with three brothers; enough said!  My Dad is a very keen and reasonably proficient (I would say) golfer.  I met my hubby playing coed softball and my 11 year old is not happy unless there is some kind of sport ball at his finger-tips or toes!  So for me, when I heard masculine theme, I just had to go with Sports.

So for the SNS masculine Blog Hop I decided to highlight Set 257 - Baseball and Basketball.  I have a soon-to-be 11 year old, (next Monday, actually) and his birthday present is going to be a basketball hoop!  Hopefully he'll like the card too!  So, here is my first card, Slam Dunk!

When my hubby and I met, I was the pitcher on the team!  So, I think I'll strike him out again!  Here is my Father's Day card.  For this one I used three of my favorite Sparkle N Softs!  I used Irish Sparkle (for the grass), Blissful Blue (for the sky) and Sparkling Sands (of course for the mound).  Just stick a piece of Tear-ific Tape down and apply the different Sparkle N Softs and you have an instant background!  My personal give-away to add to the Grand Prize today is Irish Sparkle.  Remember to leave a comment at the bottom of each of the blogs and at the home blog to increase your chances of winning!

And for my final card, I thought to incorporate one of SNS's new avenues!  Lately, Sparkle N Sprinkle has been attending Scrapbooking Conventions, so we've been giving a lot more thought to how to incorporate our products in the Scrapbooking World!  Our designers have been been busy showing some fun things to do with photographs, using our embossing powders, glitters and lately, the Copic markers.

I personally love to play with our Embossable Acetate, and that is what I have used in the creation of my final card for you today.  I call it "embossing painting".  You paint the embossable acetate with a Versamarker pen and then "color in" with an Opaque embossing powder.  Layer it over a black and white photograph - e voila!  Click here for complete instructions for this card.







I hope you have enjoyed seeing my projects!  Don't forget - leave a comment here (to increase your chances of winning) and then slide on over to Eleanor to see what she has in the second inning for you!