Farwell 2012 - How fast the time Goes

Well, it sure has been awhile since I've posted.  The holidays have been very busy and start quite early around my place.  (Thus my absence from blogland - both posting & visiting with each of you).  Beginning with my birthday in mid November, running right into my niece's BD, my daughter's BD, and Thanksgiving - whoosh, before I know it we're already into December.  And then things get even crazier.  I'm sure most of you know what I mean - the shopping, the decorating, the preparations.  And in our case, there's always several hand crafted gifts; so Santa's workshop has been in full operation throughout Dec. too.  My, it all sure can get overwhelming sometimes.  And then it goes by fast!

So, here we sit, so close to the end of 2012.  Wow, that happened so fast.  It's been a year full of ups & downs and marked by the loss of three dear loved ones for me. While left with empty spaces that are/were so hard to get past; we continued to move forward & be better people taking the best of each as a part of us.  A never ending ambition, I've tried to learn, grow, and share as much as possible.  And in doing so, I have much to be thankful for and so much more yet to accomplish.

So, as I look toward next year; I hope to continue and improve in each of these - learning - growing - sharing as much as possible.  And like each other year, I'm really looking forward to getting back to a more normal schedule after the busy holidays.  With the cold winter months ahead, I'm hoping I can catch up on the blogging I missed out in December.  I have many fun things waiting on the back burner to share.

Many wishes to each of you that your New Year is healthy, happy, and all that you hope for and more!!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Sparkle N Sprinkle Winter Wonderland Blog Hop

Welcome to your first stop on the hop!  We're so glad you are joining us!!  

Since this is the first stop on our hop; you're definitely in the right place!  But if you haven't read all the details about how to participate in this hop or checked out what great prizes will be given away; you might want to hop back to the Sparkle N Sprinkle home blog and read all the details first.  If you're ready to hop on, grab nice cup of hot chocolate or perhaps some eggnog and nestle in for an enjoyable trip through our Winter Wonderland!

Today I have another great Michelle Perkett digital image for you!  Meet Buddy the Christmas Pup!  Isn't he adorable?!  Buddy makes such a great holiday card, but would work just as well for a thinking of you or even a winter birthday card.  He's just so cute and versatile in his cute little sweater!

click any photo for "closer" view

I decided on a holiday card.  So for my card, I did Buddy up in some beautiful blues; taking my cue from the fun SNS saying Cool Yule from the Gothic Snow Set 347.  I thought the saying felt very wintery & well.....blue lol.


Recently, I've really been into making a lot of my main images dimensional so I printed out Buddy three times.  His sweater was colored and cut out separately.  And even though I attached it right on top of him with Tearific tape; you still get some added dimension by placing it on top of him instead of just coloring it right on the main image.  On the third image I printed, I colored and cut out Buddy's head and this time I did pop it up off the main image for lots of dimension!  Then I fussy cut my whole Buddy image and layered it onto a Spellbinder Floral Motif circle.  Again, I could have just cut out the Spellbinder circle with Buddy on it; but I thought it just gave the image more definition to cut him out first and then layer it onto the circle.


For extra holiday sparkle, the Cool Yule saying was embossed with the super sparkly Tinsel Embossing Powder onto beautiful SNS Adriatric Blue Color Coordinates cardstock.  And our awesome new velvet glitters in Reflection (sparkling silver) were used to jazz up the snowflakes on his sweater!

The card was finished off with a pretty textile print background paper, a couple paper accent dots, and a beautiful white and silver bow to tie in all the sparkle.  I wish you could see all the sparkle in person!  Full instructions can be found in my section of the SNS Art Gallery Here.



One more quick project for you today.  Don't forget all the simple pleasures - SNS glitters make the most beautiful glittered pine cones.  So simple and so beautiful.  Roll the pine cone in Brushable glue and then sprinkle on the glitter to resemble the beautiful look of snow tipped pine cones you'd find outside .  I used a 50/50 mix of Sparkling Snow (extra sparkly,semi-transparent) and Bridal (opaque white) glitter on mine.  They're perfect for ornaments, package decorations, or just home decor.  Even the kids can help with this one - they're fun for everyone!


I really hope you enjoyed today's projects.  Don't forget to leave a comment - I always love to hear what you think (and leaving comments also qualifies you for the prizes too!)  Then hop on over to Shanna's blog to see what she has in store for you.  Have a great time on the rest of your walk (hop) through our Winter Wonderland!!  And Thanks again for stopping by!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Joyful Heart Angel

Hello there!  I thought I'd share a project with you quick today and also remind you about SNS's big Winter Wonderland Blog Hop coming up on Thursday.  Remember, this is a BIG one.....ALL our designers this time & lots of days so you can get through all the great projects we have to show you.  So make sure you join us on the 15th! (Lots of great prizes too!!)

Today's project is a very soft & sweet card featuring one of our great new digital designs from Michelle Perkett!  This sweet image is the Christian Angel Proverb. 



This adorable little angel can be printed out any size you desire and better yet; you can even print it on any paper you want too.  That's exactly what I did for this card, printing it twice on Solar White cardstock to color with Copics - once for the main body & then once for the heart/hands which were colored, cut out, & popped up for some dimension.  Then I also printed her onto the purple dotted paper so I could paper piece her skirt.  Printing on different papers takes some extra time but really gives you a little something extra in your digital images.




When printing digital images on specialty or designer papers; you may need to do a little prep work......
-is you paper sized to fit your printer?  (I had to cut my 12x12 paper down to 8 1/2x 11 - you could even consider cutting it down to 4x6 if you have a photo paper tray)
-will the ink print & dry properly on your paper choice? (I chose a very lightly textured paper to make sure it wouldn't have too much texture for printing and went with a somewhat matte paper with the hope that it would dry properly - I had also considered heat setting my image if needed, but it dried fine on it's own.)
-also, double check your printer settings if there's anything you need to change there as well - paper thickness, paper type, etc.  (I didn't need to change any of my settings)
-and if you can spare the paper; do a test print on your paper to see if you need to adjust anything (I had more than one sheet of my purple print paper; so I was covered if my test print didn't work - but everything worked great on the first try; so my test print became my final copy! Yeah!)

It may seem like a bit of work to use specialty papers or prints with your digital images, but again, it's worth it.  And keep in mind; the more you get to know your printer, the easier it is too!

My card was finished of with some great Sparkling Snow glitter accents on her wings, halo, and skirt.  I also outlined the entire oval with this glitter for some extra sparkle! Then it was layered onto a Spellbinder frame backed with a pretty floral paper and accented with a sparkly sheer ribbon woven through the outer edges.  The entire framed piece was then popped up on top of  pretty Vintage Pink Color Coordinate cardstock.

Full instructions for this card can be found in my gallery here in the Sparkle N Sprinkle Art Gallery.

Don't forget to join us for the Winter Wonderland Blog Hop on the 15th!  See you then!!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Sparkle N Sprinkle Sketch Challenge

Well, hello again!  

Today is the first day of the November Sketch Challenge for Sparkle N Sprinkle.  It's easy and fun to participate and we sure hope you'll join in on the fun too!  And don't forget, there will be a great prize for one lucky participant!  Full instructions for how to join in can be found on the SNS Challenge Blog here!  Here's what I came up with:
:



And here's this month's sketch challenge that I designed this from:

 



 I rotated the sketch 90 degrees to have a vertical take on the sketch.  And then I made the focus of the card SNS's new and amazing Velvet Glitters.  This stuff is SO cool!  When new products come out, you always hear various things (hype) about a product.  Well, I'm here to tell you that all the "hype" about this stuff is true.  There's so many things you can do with this glitter and the look & feel is really like velvet.  But you really need to try this glitter out yourself.  I can go onl & on about it, but that just won't compare to trying it out.  So check out all the great Velvet Glitters Sparkle N Sprinkle has to offer - you'll really be glad you did!

The red stripes on my card were actually done with Gypsy Red Velvet Glitter and it does really look a lot like strips of velvet! Plus, one of the really neat things you can do with Velvet Glitters is emboss on top of them!  So that's what I did with my saying.  I added pearl flourishes and flowers (both by Recollections/Michaels) above and below to frame my saying and add even more glitz and glam. (They look so much prettier in person because the pearl's adhesive doesn't show up so much.) I finished off the card with a bright & fun braid made using sticker paper, a border die, and beautiful sparkling Gypsy Red and Luau Green Velvet Glitters.


I have to say, this card is so festive and even more sparkly in person.  If you'd like to see the full instructions for this card; they can be found in the SNS Art Gallery here.  Want even more inspiration for the Sketch Challenge?....See what some of the other design team members came up with on the new SNS Challenge Blog.  Once you check out the other designs; we sure hope you'll join us for this month's challenge!

And don't forget, if this card is putting you in the mood for the holidays......we have a whole lot more coming up in the next blog hop.  Nov 8th - 11th we'll be showcasing our Winter Wonderland; so be sure to mark it on your calendar!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Happy Halloween - This and That

Happy Halloween Everyone!

 (Hope your Halloween has been all treats and no tricks!!)

Well, I'm finally back in blogland and just wanted to touch on a few things now that I'm finally back. 

  
First off, the reason for my absence.  Most of you already know this; but for those of you that I only have contact with through my blog; my father in law passed away last month.  He had been in and out of the hospital for almost three weeks before losing his battle.  In a weird way it was fortunate that he & we had time to prepare for this and yet he wasn't in pain for too long.  When his time came, he was ready and was appreciative of the long life that he had enjoyed.  That brought us some comfort - you're never ready, but it did bring us some comfort.

Dad could build or fix almost anything!

So for the last month, we've been busy tying up his affairs and helping out my mother in law where we could.  Not only is she on her own; but none of the children live too close to her; so we've been running back and forth to help her out where needed.  But she's doing pretty well.




The rest of this month has been a lot of catching up with everything else - everyday things you get behind on dishes, laundry, bills, etc. and even the fun things like crafting.  Yep, I've been doing a lot of catching up with that this month too!  So, starting real soon (tomorrow to be exact!); I'll be back to sharing some projects with you again.  And in a couple short weeks, Sparkle N Sprinkle has a great, big, fun, blog hop coming up that you won't want to miss either.  This hop will be our biggest & longest yet - giving you four full days to savor all the great projects we have planned for you.  And you'll get the chance to enjoy the work of all the newest designers that joined the team this month too.  So be sure to mark this hop on your calendar - you don't want to miss this one!  (Don't forget, there will be great prizes to be won too!!)

Last but not least, in my area, we just dodged a bullet here weatherwise.  Living in the country, we prepared for the worst with the approach of Hurricane Sandy this week.  Stocking up on necessities, gassing up the cars and of course the generator.  But we got lucky - very lucky.  All we've had to deal with is some high winds and rain.....lots and lots and lots of rain - it still hasn't really stopped.  It's been hard on our farm animals; they're pretty miserable, but we're all getting by and we didn't lose our power - a major plus!  But so many others haven't been so lucky - the devistation in some areas is just hard to comprehend.  We're thinking of all of those people and hoping there's a swift resolution to all the issues they are facing.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to those dealing with the aftermath of the storm as well as all  those helping to try to bring things back to normal.

Well, that covers the nutshell version of various things I wanted to touch on as I get back to blogland.  Don't forget to stop back tomorrow for a new project!  See you then!!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Sparkle N Sprinkle Ghosts & Goblins Fall Frolic Blog Hop

BOO!

And welcome to my page on the Hop!  Hopefully you've arrived here from Shona's Blog and have been enjoying everyone's great fall designs!  If not, you may want to hop back to the SNS Home Blog to start at the beginning and get all the details about how to qualify for our great prizes too!  Don't forget you can click on any of the bold, colored words for links to the other blogs or for further information

For my first card, I used one of our newest Halloween stamp designs....and a definite favorite amongst the designers!  I have a feeling you have already (or will be) seeing more than one design using Celeste the Good Witch.  Not only is it a a new favorite among the staff; it's a beautiful stamp that is now available in both a cling mount rubber stamp or as a digital stamp if you prefer that type (or like instant gratification lol!)

I chose to work with Celeste from a digital stamp this time and printed her out around 3".  

If you're familiar with digital images, you might want to skip this paragraph.  If you've never worked with digitals before, don't be scared off by them.  This image is actually my first project using a digital image and I can assure you that it's quite easy.  In a nutshell, you'll take the digital image(s) that are sent to you after you make a purchase and save them to your computer (create a file on your computer to store all your "digis" - as they're affectionately called).  When you're ready to use the image - copy & paste the image into a Word Document or pdf file if you prefer.  Adjust the size or make any other edits you'd like just as you would any other image in Word.  Then print it off on your printer using the same paper you'd normally use for the type marker (or other coloring medium) you intend to you.  Be sure to let the ink dry thoroughly or heat set it if you'd like to use it right away.  If you're unsure, you can always test your paper & markers with a test image to make sure the print ink doesn't smear.  If the printer ink does smudge; see if you can try a different printer - most inks are compatible if left to dry thoroughly or are heat set.  Then just color & cut out by hand or better yet use one of the many great Spellbinder dies.  Finish by decorating/embellishing like usual!  (Digital images really come to life by adding glitter, flocking, or even embossing powder!)  It's really quite simple to work with digitals, but if you ever have any trouble; let us know - the staff & designers at Sparkle N Sprinkle are always happy to help!

Now, a little more about the card..... I had spent a lot of time coloring Celeste, so I wanted her to really be the main focus of this card.  Using a Step Card; she stands out front and center.  A touch of Sparkling Snow glitter on her outfit and in the starry sky gives all her beautiful colors even more "pop".  The sparkly Royal Purple embossing powder frames & accents her perfectly.  And the Magical Day saying is the perfect complement to the the beautiful Celeste.  To coordinate the rest of the card, touches of sparkling snow glitter were added randomly to the moons & stars in the designer paper and also around the saying piece.  Full instructions for this card can be found here.

click any image for a better view

My second design today is just pure FUN!  Perfect for kids of all ages - it's sparkling & colorful design will make anyone's Halloween extra fun.  Hocus Pocus which comes from the Wanda Witch Halloween set is colored with Copic markers and embossed with Midnight Madness embossing powder.  The saying is cut out with what is actually the center portion of a Spellbinder Polka Dot Frame.  That's the part you'd normally remove so you'd only have an outer frame left.  But you know I love versatility and the size & shape was just perfect for this!   A little black baker's twine was added as an accent behind the saying.
 

Look at All The Sparkle when you move it!

 
And for some final Halloween fun, I added the spooky eyes looking out all over the card.  Oh my, I just love the fun element they add to the whole look!  Full instructions for this card can be found in the SNS Art Gallery here.



I hope you've enjoyed yourself on my stop of today's hop and would love to hear what you thought of these projects.  Plus, Don't forget that commenting on every stop also qualifies you for the prizes!!  So leave a little comment and then hop on over to April's Blog - the next stop for the Fall Frolic!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!   I always appreciate your visits and hope you'll stop back!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Creative Thinking - Getting the Most from Stamp Sets

Did you get a chance to see my Spotlight Hummingbird card in the previous post?  If not, scroll down to the previous post or click here to take a look.....   Today's card uses the same Sparkle N Sprinkle stamp set.  But for a completely different look!

When I work with a stamp set, often my mind starts to wander.  And before I know it; I start thinking about all the "more unique" uses for different parts of the set.  If it's a dog set - I see parts that can be used for cats, a Christmas set - I see birthday card potential; and so forth.  Sometimes it's not a real stretch, but other times; it's way out there.  But it's always about getting the most out of each set - which is always a great idea!  So I let my mind go - make sure you let your mind go too!  (And no, don't tell me your mind's already gone....mine is frequently too - that's not what we're talking about here - he he!)

So anyway, with the Hummingbird set I used for the last post; you would immediately see - well, hummingbirds obviously, nature, beauty, and some lovely words.  What did I see - cupcakes! When I saw the words, I immediately saw a fun banner with a cupcake!  What do you think of my creative use?

click any image for better view

This time I used the Cappuccino and Cappuccino Star embossing powders from SNS's Tuscany Line  for the sayings & the cupcake.   Shamrock, Rosy Red, and Blue Jewel glitters give the banner extra color & lots of sparkle!  (It's even more sparkly in real life than the pics show!  But do click on the photos to see the sparkle a bit better.)  Papers are both from a 6pad from Studio G and are shaded around the bottom edges with two different distress inks.  The rick rack trim is some I bought in the sewing dept.

I think this makes a really colorful & fun birthday card.  Or maybe even a great card to send just for the fun of it to a friend with a sweet tooth or that's a chocoholic.  Lots of sparkle - lots of fun.












Here's a look at the full set:
What different uses do you
think of?

 

I hope you've enjoyed the two very different uses I chose for this set!  Leave a quick comment & let me know what you think!  Full instructions for this card can be found in the SNS Art Gallery here.  Don't forget.....Always think creatively - always try to get the most from your stamps!

Until next time,

***Julie***

PS - Don't forget to stop back on Thursday for SNS's Ghosts & Goblins Fall Folic Blog Hop!  As always, we'll have some fun projects & great prizes to share.  See you then!! 

Spotlight on....Mini masterpieces & Two-tone Embossing

Recently I've seen a number of posts and discussions about Spotlight Stamping.  Spotlight stamping has been around for awhile, but it seems like it's making a comeback again recently.  It can make such a powerful statement on a project - highlighting & drawing your attention to a specific part of an image.

So, I thought I'd share one of the projects I did using this technique.  I absolutely LOVED this project & I'm not sure why I never got around to posting it before.  So this is the perfect opportunity!

First off, I LOVE crisp, clean black and white set off by a "pop" of color; so this was a perfect chance to go for that look too.

The card uses a beautiful hummingbird scene stamp from the Sparkle N Sprinkle Stampette Set 452S - Hummingbird Party.  Because I wanted to use the saying Smallest Things (from the coordinating Hummingbird set - Set 451 Hummingbirds & Flowers); I thought the Spotlight technique would be perfect to draw attention to just one little "smallest thing".  And I love how that look ended up working with the saying - just like I had hoped.

To get the look I wanted, I first embossed the outer panel with an embossing folder to give the card an elegant look.  Then I stamped the image in the center & also on a scrap too.


With a piece of black paper, I punched out the size circle my final colored image would be and used this to judge how much of the image on the scrap piece to color.  Since I knew I wanted one hummer to concentrate on, this was a great tool to use as I completed my "miniature masterpiece".  And a tiny little masterpiece it was......or at least I thought so!  For just this tiny little section of the image; I used almost 20 different Copic colors and spent almost an hour completing the coloring.  A little miniature work of art!  I was very pleased.

click any image to see closer

The image was cut out with a Spellbinder circle, backed with the next largest circle in black, and then carefully aligned with the rest of the image on the card front.

For the saying to the card, I wanted to coordinate with the beautiful pinks & purples of the flowers to balance the card out.  So I decided to do some two-tone embossing.  Concord & Mulberry embossing powders from the Tuscany Embossing Powder Collection were perfect for this.  (The concord photographed a little dark, but it's a rich and beautiful deep purple.)  By spooning on "lines" of one color of the EP first and then adding the second before melting the powders; you end up with a really eye catching and interesting element to add to the finished piece.  You can even control how much of each color you add if you use the spoons to add little bits of powder.  (On the sample on the right I added a bit more purple & a little less mulberry).  Well either way, I loved the look!  It's a neat technique that really finishes off the card perfectly!


If you'd like to see the full instructions for this card, they can be found in the SNS Art Gallery here.  Well, I hope you enjoyed this example of Spotlight Stamping.  For more examples & different things to try with Spotlight Stamping, be sure to check out all the ideas in the SNS Tips and Techniques Section on Spotlight Stamping.  If you haven't done any Spotlight Stamping or haven't done it in awhile....give it a try! 

Hope you enjoyed today's card & ideas!  Don't forget to leave a comment before you go - I always love to know that you stopped by and what you thought.

Until next time,

***Julie***

And They're Off!

Well, we've been super busy the last couple weeks (thus no recent blog posts), but today is finally the day.....the first day back to school!  We always have so much to cram in those last precious couple of weeks of summer and this year was no exception.  And it's always extra busy around here since it's not just the kiddo's going back, but my hubby too since he's a teacher.

For this year's end of summer rush, we were very excited to be able to spend a weekend out of state with my sister in law & brother in law and also take a day trip to bike & swim at Lake Erie.  Both were very enjoyable since we can't get away from the farm very much! We also spent a lot of time the last couple weeks repairing things - both at our place (my washer & dryer both were having issues).  And also for my sister & mother in law - they both were having plumbing problems.  And since they're both about an hour away from us, we always try to squeeze in their stuff before the end of summer too since it's harder to get down there once school's back in.  And of course, most of our back to school items needed attention too.  Yesterday we spent the entire day getting lunch boxes, backpacks, clothes, ID tags, etc., etc., etc. all ready.

So it's just been a whirlwind of activity around here and all to get to this all important day!  It's BACK to SCHOOL TIME!

Creativity, I've been working on some new SNS projects during all this activity.  (A couple of my first digi's too!)  So you'll want to keep an eye out for that stuff in the future.  But last night (quite late, last night lol!), I took a quick break from everything to make up a couple simple back to school projects for everyone to start to school year off on a good note!



 I made up these two simple cards for the kid's teachers.  I saw these great Teacher stamp sets from PapertreyInk during their Aug release and just had to have them!  Since I do A BUNCH of stuff for school and the PTO; and since my husband, myself, and my sister are all teachers - I knew they'd get lots of use!  This card uses a combo of the stamp set they just released and an earlier coordinated set as well as one of their dies.  Both sets are really super cute. 









 I did these up fairly simply in school colors (& tiger stripes) - just a little note to their new teacher's to let them know we're thinking of them and looking forward to a great year!

(paper is from the Paper Studio & the cute ribbon is from Michaels)

 I also did a couple really quick Lunchbox notes for the kids using PaperTrey's coordinating apple die and some stamps I picked up at a discount store over the weekend  Again a very simple project, but paired up with some colorful Heidi Grace paper; they're just the ticket to let them know I'm thinking of them even when we're apart!

(Both Stamp sets TPC Studio)

I even did a larger one of these for my Hubby & put it on his car's dash before I went to bed - it's his "first day of school" too LOL!  (He did appreciate it too - he texted me as soon as he got a chance to say thanks! I'm sure it made him smile!)

So for us (and probably many of you out there too!), life's about to take a complete 180 degree turn - back to our "other" schedule again!  I think it's going to take me a while to rearrange my schedule again too LOL! 

Well, I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to and share those couple simple school projects with you real quick.  The kiddo's ought to be home real soon; so I best get ready for them.  I'm sure they've got LOTS of stories (& papers lol!) to share with me!! 

Here's a pic of them before they headed out this morning.  They always look so cute all dolled up for their first day!!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Furry Friends Winners & Another Project

Hi Again Everybody!  When I can, I love to share another project with you when SNS announces the winners for the hop.  Kind of a little "thank you" for hopping by.  Well, today I have one for you!  But first - Congrats to all the winners for the Furry Friends hop:

GRAND PRIZE #1

Stamp Set of your choice on Cling Cushion

Lori Gugan

GRAND PRIZE #2

Stampette set of your choice on Cling Cushion

Selma

SPECIAL UNANNOUNCED PRIZE

3 Digital Images of your choice

Namabear

1st PLACE:

3 small glitters in your choice of color

Laurie (anonymous)

2nd PLACE:

3 small embossing powders of your choice

ShirleyTACS

3rd PLACE:

choice of 2 Glitter Tinsels OR 2 Flocking OR 2 Sparkle N Soft Flocking OR a mix of 2 of any of those

Shereen VH

Congratulations, again to all the winners!

If you're a winner, be sure to stop by the SNS Home Blog for details on how to claim your prize!  And to everyone that hopped with us - a Very big thank you for joining us!  It means so very much to each of us to have the opportunity to share our work with you & receive your heartfelt thoughts!

So....as a little thank you, how about another "furry friend" card!  So today's card isn't quite as "fancy" as the card I had on the hop, but it is SO FUN!  This card is done with Sparkle N Sprinkle's stamp called Wet N Wild. Not only does he just make me smile, but he is PERFECT for what I wanted to do with this card!




Wet N Wild was colored up with Copics.  Then, before I attached him to that great bright teal print from Memento papers, I placed him on a Wobble!  If you're not familiar with Wobbles, they're little plastic spring bases that "wobble" back and forth when you touch them.  (See how he moved from left to right in the two pictures?!  Even better when you see it in actual motion!)  SNS carries Wobbles in their store and I swear this image was made for these fun little gadgets!  Ok, not really, this stamp has been around for a little while; but BOY are these PERFECT for each other. When you put this in motion, it really looks like this guy is shaking off the water.  (My family couldn't stop playing with this guy lol!).








 The "Go for It" saying comes from the same set - Set 368 (a neat mix of fun dogs with a few matching sayings).  And the saying is just perfect for making this a multi-purpose card.  Right off the top of my head, I could see it used for a birthday, an encouragement , or even a graduation card!  I bet you can think of even more uses!  I love all purpose cards - always great to have a bunch of those on hand so you have something special ready when you need to grab a card for someone special !

I sure hope you enjoyed this fun and adorable pup card!  Be sure to let me know what you think before you hop on by today! 
Thanks again for joining us on the hop and also for stopping by again today!!

Unitl next time,

*** Julie ***

Sparkle N Sprinkle Furry Friends Blog Hop

Welcome to my page on SNS's Furry Friends Hop!  Hopefully, you've been hopping along and enjoying some great projects related to all our furry friends. If so, you've just arrived here from Karalee's Blog.  If not, you may want to go back to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Home Blog and start from the beginning so you don't miss any fun & furry ideas!  And don't forget, we have some great prizes to be awarded too!  All the details will be listed there too!

What I have for you for today's hop is a "fun fold" card.  Over at Sparkle N Sprinkle, we've been having an in-house challenge to design some of our cards with "different" folds.  You know, anything other than your standard "fold it in half" type card base.  So, I did this fun design with today's hop in mind!

My furry subjects for today are Eternal Friends - two sweet little kitties that also come on a great cat set called Kitty Trio - Set 231.



My fun fold card design for these little cutties is called a Diamond Fold card.  The central diamond shows off your main image and it kind of pops up from the rest of the card making your main image really stand out.  (The ribbon band actually helps keep it closed).








To "open" the card, you pull outward on the two side sections.....and then you get a completely different look!  How cool is that!  These are really fun to play with......open - close - open - close....it's hard to put them down LOL!

Click any image for a closer view

Here's a little mini tutorial on how it's made......The main card base is made with a 4" x 12" piece of cardstock.  Scores are made at the 2", 4", 8", & 10" marks.  And then diagonal scores are made from the 2" to the center point (top & bottom) and also from the  10" to the center point top & bottom.  This is what the card base looks like with all it's scores.

After your crease all the scores, you "push in" on the 4" and 8" score lines until the diamond pops up and the side panels start folding behind the card.  The first time you kind of have to "coax" your folds into all the right positions.  But once you get them in place; they will all open & close quite easily.  This view shows the card after it has been folded into position once (and the decorative paper side panels have been added).

 

From there you can chose to fill in the rest of the pieces with designer paper (as shown) or leave it the color of your cardstock.  Put your message on the panels that pop out or write it on the back. 

For my main image, I chose to make my pink diamond a little bit bigger than the card base diamond so it hung over the edges just a little bit.  You can also cut your main diamond a little smaller & let your base cardstock make a frame around your image. 

 So many options - the choices are endless.  But one thing is for sure.....

After you make one of these, you'll want to make a bunch!  If you'd like to make a card like this one, full instructions for this card can be found in the SNS Art Gallery here.

(Check out that beautifully "furry" Sparkle N Soft that frames the diamond & the word "Purr" - just the perfect accent for all types of critter cards!)

I sure hope you enjoyed today's card!  Be sure to stop back after the hop (later on Saturday) and I'll have another fun furry friend to share with you here after the hop winners are announced!  And don't forget to leave a little comment to let me know what you thought of todays card and qualify for the great prizes too.  Now hop on over to Shanna's Blog for even more fun and furry ideas!  Hope you enjoy the rest of the hop and Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Cool, Refreshing Hugs

Let's take a trip under the sea!

It sure has been a HOT & DRY summer in my part of the US; so I thought it would be be fun to take a trip under the sea for some refreshing hugs!  Ok, in reality, our temps finally took a dip recently and were wonderfully comfortable for a couple days.  And we got some very desperately needed rain for  a couple days; so we're thrilled  that the farm has had at least a couple days to come out of the burning drought.  We'll take it!!

So, on to my card!  This is one of my favorite SNS stamps  Little Darien.  I just love this stamp because every time I look at her, she just makes me smile!  And that's why I thought it would be perfect for a card that you could use for wide variety of occasions. Whether it's for a birthday, anniversary, thinking of you, or even a valentine; this cute little mermaid makes such a sweet card.  And it works equally well for both children and adults!  

 




When I look at this cute little mermaid; sometimes I think she looks like she's giggling.  But then I also think it looks like she's blowing a kiss.  So with that in mind, I decided to use this pretty Hugs & Kisses stamp with her.  I think they look perfect together and it"s a versatile saying that makes the card appropriate for so many different occasions.  









Copic markers were used to color the image because I wanted something really vibrant.  And you'll have to forgive, this was very early in my Copic collecting & experience; so there's only a bit of shading & tones.  In all fairness though, I probably only had about 12 markers at this point & almost no collections of shade groups.  And besides, it certainly did come out nice and bold like I wanted.  But I do love this stamp and am going to have to do it again now that my Copic collection has grown large enough to allow tones & shades.  It's definitely on my to do list!

To add a watery feel to the card, the entire image was covered in Tear-ific Sheet (also called Super Adhesive Sheets) and then covered with clear microbeads. The tiny beads reflect and distort as you move the card; making it look much like you're looking through water.  In this second picture, you can see the beads a bit better and how they create this look as you move the card.

I also added an unusual touch to the whole card that takes advantage of a unique characteristic of the embossing powder I used for the saying.  By the Lake embossing powder is one of Sparkle N Sprinkle's Cosmic Embossing powders which has an extremely fine sparkling component to it.  When embossing with this powder, sometimes it will leave a small amount of excess sparkle or a "halo" around where you emboss.  This halo can be easily removed with a dusting cloth (a Swiffer cloth works really well).  But in this card, I decided to take advantage of this unique characteristic.  Instead of removing the sparkling halo, I not only left it in place; I poured even more embossing powder over all of the edges of the card for a little extra sparkle!  

Now, you have to bear in mind that this will slowly wear off as it's handled. But it will certainly stay in place long enough to be given to your recipient and for light handling.  And if you really wanted that look to be permanent; I'd bet you could spray it with an art fixative.

I just love this cute little mermaid & do think it made a really fun, bright, and versatile card.  I hope you enjoyed the card & Little Darien as much as I do!  Full instructions for this card can be found in the SNS Art Gallery Here.  Thanks so much for stopping by and don't forget to leave a quick comment so I know you were here! 

Until next time,

***Julie***

Another Chance to Win

OMG - I got so caught up in the Sparkle N Sprinkle Blog Hop last week that I totally forgot something very important when I put up my "post-hop" card!  That design (see below/Sat.'s entry) was meant to remind you that you have yet another chance to win a great SNS stamp set of your choice if you enter this month's Sketch Challenge!

Here's the sketch:

All the details for joining in on SNS's Monthly Sketch challenge can be found on the Sketch Challenge Tab on the SNS Blog (click here to go directly there)!







And here's what I did with the sketch:




I kept my layout very close to the sketch - keeping the overall square shape, the large circle focal point and the decorative background strip.  Basically, all I changed was to rotate the sketch 1/4 turn and eliminate the rounded ends on the strip.  This is such a great sketch for when you really want your main image to be the focal point of the card!  And that's exactly what I wanted since I was adding a lot of details to my image.  More information and additional pics of this project can be found in my previous post (on Sat).

If you'd like to see what some of the other girls did with this sketch, click here to go directly to the July sketch page to see some more examples.

Now it's your turn!  Why not give it a try?!  There's so many great SNS images that scream to be the focal point of an awesome card!  Pick one out & join in on the fun!!  And don't forget, a SNS stamp set will be awarded to one lucky entrant!  We look forward to seeing what YOU come up with!!  I hope you'll join in on the fun!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Christmas in July 2012 - Part 2

Hi Again Everybody!  Hope you got a chance to join us for the SNS Christmas in July Thurs & Friday!  We can't thank you enough for joining us and particularly for your heartfelt thoughts and comments!  You inspire & encourage us with each comment you leave and we really appreciate it!

Normally, I like to try to post the winners of the Blog Hop here on my blog and possibly an additional project related to the hop.  Unfortunately, I won't be "here" when the winners are announced, but I still wanted to have a "post-hop" project for you!  Hopefully, if I'm timing this right, the winners should have already been announced on the SNS blog & you can see if you're a winner by clicking HERE!  But if you do that right now, don't forget to come back to see another great project.

 So, let's get on to another "Christmas in July" project!  This sweet card is from another SNS Stampette Set, Christmas Basket - Set 442S.  

The focus on this card is all about dimension - A beautiful stamp all on it's own; the Christmas Basket is  super neat done up with lots of dimension!



The first bit of dimension comes from lots of shading with Copic markers for a great base layer.














Then to really make it pop - I literally made it pop....pop out that is.  Two extra layers were stamped, colored, and added to the snowman.  Each was popped up so that he really has his hands over the edge of the basket and his head & hat even stand out beyond that.  Super dimensional!










The candy cane also went 3D by stamping an extra time in red (I also added some green stripes to it for extra color), cutting it out, and covering it with dimensional liquid (I used Diamond Glaze).  When dry, I actually tucked it into/through the basket and popped up only the top end to make it look like it was sticking right out of the basket.  Sorry the pic of it isn't that great (it's super shiny in person), but you get the idea.

And for a couple little extra dimensional accents, a teeny tiny bow was added to the tag and some small rhinestones to the holly.



I just love how all the pieces came together to really make this piece "stand out".  If you'd like some more info, full instructions for this card can be found in the SNS Art Gallery Here.

I sure hope you enjoyed this second "Christmas in July" card.  Don't forget to let me know what you think of today's project and I look forward to your next visit.  Be sure to stop back soon!

Until next time,

***Julie***

SNS Christmas in July Blog Hop

Welcome to my page on the Sparkle N Sprinkle Chistmas in July Hop!  So glad you could join us for some cool fun this summer!  Hopefully you've arrived here from Jill's Blog.  If not, you'll probably want to go to the SNS Home Blog for all the details and to start from the beginning.  We have lots of great holiday & winter ideas to share with you so you can cool off from the summer heat.  And don't forget there's five great prizes that will be awarded too!

I have a really fun shaped card for you today.  I just LOVE shaped cards!  I used Stampette Set 443S - Snow Family (on sale this month!) to make this great holiday snow globe card. 

Click any photo for a closer view

The main image was stamped with Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.  Then I added lots of glitter!    The snow & trims on the snow people were accented with a glue pen and Sparkling Snow glitter (a must have for any crafter!).  The snowdrifts on the tree and on the snow people's hats were done in Bridal glitter.  Bridal & Sparkling Snow are both "white" glitters; so I thought I'd give you a couple real quick pointers about their differences and where to use them.

Sparkling snow is semi-transparent & "super sparkly".  Bridal glitter is a bit more "white" since it's an opaque glitter and not quite so sparkly.  So.....Sparkling Snow worked perfectly where I wanted some of the stamp lines to show through & gave me lots of sparkle.  And the Bridal glitter was great for where I wanted to cover up parts of the image with "piles of snow"!  Perfect!

And then for the really fun part!!  To make this card really look like a snow globe; the snowflake layer was done on Embossable Acetate so it looks like glass! The snowflakes were stamped all over the outer edge of the globe and embossed with White Detail Embossing powder.  Since you will heat the powder to melt it; be sure you use Embossable Acetate or it will melt &/or shrink up like a "Shrinky Dink."  Trust me, I can vouch for that LOL!  I had another acetate near my work area and grabbed that first ......should have taken a pic - all twisted, curled, and tiny as can be now he he!  Guess I wasn't thinking on that one!

After you heat your snowflakes on the proper acetate, you'll turn the acetate over and attach it with the snowflakes facing in.  This makes it look even more like the snowflakes are inside the globe!  For the base & top piece, I added some brown cardstock that had been embossed with a wood grain embossing folder and highlighted with some brown ink.  The saying on the plaque was heat embossed with Clear detail embossing powder, cut out with a Spellbinders Petite Oval, and then accented with more Sparkling Snow glitter.  And then the front & back of the card was held together with the large snowflake brad at the top.

This is a really neat card to make for a special someone this holiday season.  Why not get a head start & make up a couple right now!  Full instructions for this card can be found in the SNS Art Gallery here. 

I sure hope you enjoyed today's project!  After the winner's are posted on the SNS blog Saturday,  I'll have another holiday card for you later that day using another one of the Snowmen Stampette sets!  So be sure to stop back for that.  Better yet, become a follower of my blog & you won't miss any posts!

Now hop on over to Shanna's Blog to continue with the hop and get some more great ideas!  Don't forget to leave a comment to let me know what you think and qualify for the prizes.  And Thanks so Much for stopping by!!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Time to cool down

Hot enough?  It sure has been scorching over so much of the US this summer already.  And it's not even August yet!  Fortunately, the temps finally dipped a little in my area yesterday - yeah! 

But if you're looking for a great way to beat the heat; don't forget Sparkle N Sprinkle is having a cool and crisp winter Blog Hop this week!

Come dance among the snowflakes and see some great holiday ideas so you can get a head start on this year's holiday cards & projects.  And don't forget, there will be some great prizes for 5 lucky hoppers too!  Everyone on the SNS Design Team is looking forward to sharing some time with you!  Come cool off with us this week!  We'll see you then!

Until next time,

***Julie***