BENDY COFFEE!

Hi there, 

It's been a while since I last blogged.  I've been busy with College Spring Break for Gillian which ended up as a very fun and impromptu mother-daughter trip to New Orleans for five days! A funeral of a very dear friend in Washington D.C. last week and now Calum's Spring Break this week and so trying to get a few things taken care of before we head back to D.C. and Virginia this week. Today I'm sharing another coffee themed creation, from the March Reveal sets. I used two of the new sets on my card:  Coffee Shoppe Set 695 and Coffee Talks Set 700.

I decided to give the Bendy Card another try. I stamped the Coffee Shoppe on watercolor cardstock in black StazOn and used watercolor crayons and an aquabrush to color the scene. The girls at the table were stamped twice on watercolor paper and also colored with crayons and the waterbrush. 

One version was cut to just above the stools to become the left side of the bendy card. The girls and the table were fussy cut from the 2nd stamped image and were attached on top of the stools. The sentiment was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Black Detail.

Hope you've enjoyed your visit today. 

Stop by again on Wednesday, when we will be revealing our new April sets.

Hope to see you then!

Shona

YOU SET MY HEART A FLUTTER!

Hi there,

Today I am sharing a card using another of the Sparkle N Sprinkle January Reveal sets.  This time it's the Sweetheart Frog, Set 677.

I received a couple of Sizzix Movers and Shapers at Christmastime and this card uses the Square Stand-Up one. These are fun to use and the card opens out and lays flat for mailing (if you don't add wobbles and Dimensional Dots like I did!). The little easel stop is already built in!

I stamped the froggy image in Black StazOn ink and then colored with an aqua brush and watercolor crayons. I cut and embossed the image with Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large, sponging on a little Memento Summer Sky before removing the die. I added Celestial Glitter (G1031) with a Sakura Glue Pen to the cattails.

The birds were added using a Darice Embossing Folder (Nature 3-pack). I ran the top piece of cardstock through the embossing machine which had been swiped with Memento London Fog, I then filled in the inside of the birds with a Copic marker - C5. Memento Summer Sky and London Fog were then directly applied to create the streaked sky effect. I carried the Summer Sky down to the base.

The blue cardstock was run through the bottom portion of the card base die before running through the Sheena embossing folder - "Water Ripples". I attached that to the base of the easel card and then used the Glue Pen again to add some more Celestial glitter to the ripples. The base of the card was edged with London Fog.

I ran another piece of the same blue through the embossing folder and cut and embossed with the one size larger oval to layer the frog image to. I attached the image with a Wobble to make it have a little more movement.

The sentiment was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Black Detail. I added a little pre-made flower to the tag, which was cut and embossed with Spellbinders Standard Tag and attached to the base with Dimensional Dots.

Hope you've enjoyed my Valentine Day's card share today. That special love day will be here before you know it!

Hugs,

Shona

CLOUD NINE 25TH ANNIVERSARY

Hi there,

Well it's been a whirlwind for me the last couple of weeks - you know the old saying when it rains - it pours.

I knew I had two weeks of Musical Camps up at the church, for which I was to make a slide show for each week.  In the middle of the second week, the choir kids (all three of ours) sang the National Anthem and God Bless America at the local minor league baseball game on Wednesday, which meant I housed 4 extras (including the old Choir Director) that very late night!!  Need I say more?  Thank goodness that only happens once a year!  

Then David was out of town for the next two days, which was when the water tank gave out!  This weekend was spent fixing the water tank, trying to get caught up, including gutting out the dishwasher, which was totally clogged.  But we think we actually fixed it!  Time will tell!

Tomorrow starts Hand Bell Camp for the two younger ones and Struan the oldest, who just returned from climbing Mount Washington in New Hampshire last night at 2am, will be helping the beginning of tearing down the two bathrooms upstairs, we are about to renovate!!  I never want to go forward in time, as I know how precious time is, but this morning taking a shower before church, I wished it was a month from now, so I didn't have to go through the dust and aggravation and (new problems) of what is about to happen!

So anyway, that's why you haven't heard from me in a while!  So without further ado here is a Happy 25th Anniversary Card, which I did I while ago, but have never gotten around to posting! 

This is the card closed - or as close to closed as it could be! (Try saying that three times fast!)

Then we open it up:

.... and here it is from the top:

All the directions can be found right here in the Sparkle N Sprinkle Gallery.

I hope that you can see the glittery goodness of the Cloud Nine Glitter which has been colored on top with colored pencils!  There are a few different tutorials on how to do this in the SNS Tips and Techniques section. For this particular card I used StazOn black and watercolor pencils.

That's it for tonight, I'll be back soon,

Shona

AT THE BEACH BLOG HOP WITH SPARKLE N SPRINKLE

Welcome to the latest Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog Hop.  Today we are getting in summer mode with our beach theme!  You're at the penultimate stop in the hop if you came by way of our very talented technique lady, April!  If you didn't, you may want to start back at the beginning of the hop at the Sparkle N Sprinkle home, then leave a comment on each of the designers' blogs, to be eligible for all the prizes that are up for grabs.  

I did four different projects this month, but I'm only showing you two for now!  

I absolutely love the new Silhouette Set 493.  If you did our last month's hop, you'll recognize it.  I also used it for the Sketch Challenge for May. Make sure you check out the challenge this month, you have 'till the end of the month to enter.  This set is so versatile, just by changing the colors used, you can get an entirely different look every time.  So this time I made a beach scene using the Silhouette set and some watercolor crayons.  I stamped in brown StazOn instead of black, to make it look more natural.  Adding a little Florida Beach Glitter here and there, and some Sparkling Snow glitter for the waves, to give it a little bling, like the sun was reflecting off the water.

For the inside of the card, I incorporated some stamps from another set - 403 By the Seashore:

You can find complete directions in my gallery here.

For my second card, I decided to use some Beach Glass Mudd Puddles, and yet another "beachy" set 404 - Ocean Treasures.  I colored the shells with Copics and stuck them to a piece of 2 1/2" Tear-ific Tape.  I then applied Sparkling Sands Sparkle N Soft to the remaining exposed tape, to give the look of the shells lying in the sand:

I used one of the Tide Embossing Folders, that SNS carries for my "waves".  You'll find complete directions here for the above card.

Stop by in the next couple of weeks and I'll have the other projects posted.  

Now it's time to hop on over to the ever-inspiring Brenda to see what she has done with the beach theme.  

Have a great day!

Shona

THE SPARKLE N SPRINKLE MONOCHROMATIC BLOG HOP

Hi there, and welcome to the SNS Monochromatic Blog Hop.  Today, instead of a subject theme, the Sparkle Team will be presenting projects using monochromatic color schemes.  We were permitted to use any stamps, for any occasion, so I'm sure there are going to be a lot of varied ideas this time round!

The hop will run for two days, winners being announced on Saturday, the 16th.  In order to have a chance at being one of these winners, all you need do is leave a comment at the end of each of the designer's posts.  If you are here by way of Anne's blog, then you are in the right place, if not then pop back to the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog, to be eligible for all the prizes.

So without further ado, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and let's get on with the show! 

I couldn't decide which projects to post today.  I created a few monochromatic cards, using different techniques and then picked out two (well - maybe three!) to share with you today.

First up, is my green underwater scene.  Sparkle N Sprinkle is now carrying some of the Lifestyle embossing folders and dies.  I love the two Tide embossing folders (L-EF0020).  I used one of them in my previous post and, as promised, used the second one for this card.  For two of the fish, I applied outline stickers to white cardstock applied with 2 1/2" Tear-ific Tape and Cloud Nine Velvet Glitter.  They were colored with watercolor crayons and a waterbrush. The third fish was colored the same way without the glitter underneath.  The saying is from a really cute new set Just Froggy.

You will find full instructions in the gallery here.

For my second card, I decided to stay green and with the new Just Froggy set.  I used a branches embossing folder for the grass this time and a flower border punch to make my "water" lily.  I thought I'd try to make it look like he was "peeking" out through the grass to say he was sorry for being late!  It somehow transpired into an easel card - one of my favorite fun folds at the moment!

Isn't he just adorable?  Who wouldn't forgive him?  Again, I used Cloud Nine Glitter and watercolor crayons to color him in.  Full details? Right here!

.... and now for something completely different - how about purple and pinks and butterflies?

I was trying out a new technique using an Impressibilities Plate.  To achieve this look, you temporarily tape the plate to white glossy cardstock and apply Versamark, using the plate as a stencil, before you run it through the machine.  Remove the die and apply Clear Detail embossing powder and heat emboss. Apply Distress inks to the embossed piece - the color will appear where the plain cardstock remains. I used some Plum Wine embossing powder for the saying, and for the little butterflies I sprinkled some Magic Speckle over the Plum Wine butterflies to create the mosaic look. The outline stickers were colored with Cloud Nine and Watercolor crayons, and for the smaller butterfly on the right, I used Bubblegum Glitter and Purple Potion Velvet glitter directly onto the Tape behind the sticker. Full directions can be found in the Gallery.

So that's it for today. I hope you've enjoyed the show.  Now you should  flutter on over to Karin's blog for some more inspiration.  Remember to leave a comment before you go!

'Till next time,

Shona