Hedgies in Flight!

This is the last card we're going to be making in our "Spook-Tacular Halloween" class at the store. It's hard to pick a favorite, as all of the images have been so cute this year. Once again, colored with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. The "moon" is made by cutting a large circle with a Spellbinders die and then sponging a little orange around the edges. The words are also from Penny Black - with a ribbon covering a line that is part of the words. I stamped a spiderweb in silver on the black cardstock in both upper corners. The hardest part of this card is cutting out the hedgehogs! It really makes the card!

Thanks for stopping by!
Jeannette

Layered Background Stamps from Impression Obsession

This is another card I made a weekend wholesale show. This is a card from Impression Obsession and it is several of their large background images stamped multiple times to create a wonderful pattern. The beauty of this technique is that you can choose your colors to go with whatever you design is. You are not limited by pre-made designer paper! A lot of the backgrounds from I-O work wonderfully together. Look for more samples using this technique and an upcoming class!

Have a wonderful stamping day!
Jeannette

Cute Bunny Box from The Cat's Pajamas

I made this adorable little gift box at a class taught by The Cat's Pajamas this past weekend! It is simple and also uses two of the new dies now being designed by TCP. Of course, I had to order the stamps and dies! They might be in the shop as early as the first week of October. We will also be using some of these cute bunnies in a class in November. Fun images that can be used for holiday cards, as well as just some fun winter cards. Be sure to check them out!

Thanks for visiting the blog today!
Jeannette

Distress Stickles - What is the Difference?

If you're a stamper or a paper crafter, you know what Stickles by Ranger is. I am scared to guess the amount of Stickles that has been applied to cards, scrapbooks and all other forms of art. But now there is Tim Holtz Distress Stickles. What's the difference? And why does it look so different in the bottle?

Let's start with regular Stickles. Regular Stickles comes in a wide range of colors and you can see the bling in the bottle. Stickles is made with mylar glitter. Mylar is a plastic (think mylar helium balloons that you buy for special occasions). It is mixed with a glue and put into a bottle. You see the glitter in the bottle and immediately when you apply it. You cannot dry it with a heat tool, because the mylar starts to melt (and smoke) and you get a mess. It takes a while to dry and you have to be careful with your project until it is fully dry.

Now there is Distress Stickles. These are made with mica glitter. Several different "sizes" of mica. Again, in a glue. Where else do we see mica? Products like Twinkling H2Os. Glimmer Mist and Perfect Pearls. We all know that when it is applied wet, you really don't notice the shine, but when it dries, it really starts to pop. The same thing applies to Distress Stickles. In the bottle, it is in the wet form, and you cannot really see the shine - same thing when you apply it before it dries. However, once it dries, you see the mice "do it's thing." The other nice thing about Distress Stickles is that you CAN dry it with a heat tool, because the mica does not melt like mylar.

So, the next time you're in Stamped Designs, pick up a bottle (or more) and give it a try. I think you will be impressed with the effect once you see it. I'll be putting out some samples I recently made so you can see it in action!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jeannette

Reindeer Tag - Tim Holtz Style

I took a class this afternoon with Tim Holtz and this is one of the tags we made. This is using some of his dies from Sissix, cut out of grungeboard. The reindeer has Walnut Stain Distress ink applied to it, then we took a gold Perfect Pearls and applied it over the distress ink. Because the ink stays wet, the powder does adhere to it. I spritzed it quickly with a mini mister to ensure it would adhere well. The tag background is stamped and then, we used the new Pumice Stone distress ink and did the "wrinkle free distress" technique on the remainder of the tag. The whole thing was lightly spritzed with the new Perfect Pearls misters in pearl color to add a little shimmer. Add a few metal embellishments - and you're done!

Jeannette

Large flower stamps...

Now back to our regular programming...

We all own a lot of large stamps - and most of us have a hefty collection of floral images. There is always the standard "stamp and color" technique with large stamps, but sometimes you just want it to be different. One option is to create a tile effect by cutting the image apart and then layering it to a coordinating color, then mounting to a card so it has the appearance of tiles. That is what I did with this image. Before I cut it apart, I took a lined background image from StacyStamps and inked it with Ranger's Antique Linen Distress ink and stamped it over the image to create an aged look. This is a great stamp - one that I like to use a lot. Breaks up the bright white background a bit.

We all need a little cat help...

As you can see, one of my cats, Dora, was helping me sort and price the new Magnolia Cozy Autumn stamps this morning. I am not exactly certain HOW she is helping, but she seems to think she is performing a vital role in the process. The new stamps are in the store and ready for you! Doras are extra!