Farewell to Summer (SNS Sept. Challenge too!)

It was a pretty busy August around my place: lots of back to school preparations & shopping - end of summer day trips & activities we wanted to squeeze in  - project days to work on more of my sisters wedding projects while we still had opportunities (she's a teacher too).  We try to cram sooo much into those last precious days of summer, but it's kind of like an annual ritual at this point.  And it goes so fast!  Does your family have any end of summer rituals??

For us, the final celebration of summer comes Labor Day weekend.  For years my entire extended family (which really I consider my immediate family) goes to a nearby lake.  We picnic, swim, fish, bike ride, walk the dogs, you name it.  It's the perfect final blow out for summer & we had such an amazing time doing it all together.

So......since we've given summer it's official send off; it's time to think fall.  So I thought I'd give you a little fall inspiration.  And also give you a little inspiration for this month Creative Challenge too!

This month's Challenge is "Anything goes with Glitter, Embossing Powder, and/or Flocking"

I decided to take the ANYTHING part quite literally and made this adorable fall notepad.  Even a plain old notepad looks beautiful with a bit of Sparkle N Sprinkle!

I thought this would be something really nice to give to someone that will be hosting Thanksgiving.  With all the preparations that can go into getting ready for Thanksgiving; what hard working hostess wouldn't love a beautiful little notebook to keep track of all of her shopping & to do lists for all the preparations.  (And it's so perfectly pretty with it's SNS touches of course!)

The beautiful Basket of Apples is from Set 474 - Fall Harvest and is colored with Copic markers.

To make the saying pop off of the printed paper; I used White Detail embossing powder.  And warm & sparkly accents were added in two places by adding a strip of Sparkling Coffee Sparkle N Soft (glittery flocking) between the printed papers and also on the brads.

While I designed it with Thanksgiving in mind; it certainly would be a lovely little gift for so many other occasions/people too -  how about for a teacher's gift (apple for the teacher?) or for a friend at church?  There's so many other great ideas I'd bet you can come up with.

So I hope you enjoyed today's project.  Don't forget to let me know what you think.  And don't forget to join in on the fun for this month's challenge too!  We always look forward to see what you come up with!

Until next time,

***Julie***

SNS Creative Challenge for August

Well, here we are at the first full week of August.  And here we go again......where did that last month go??  Seems I get that feeling every month any more.  And it gets worse every year.  Does that happen to you?  I guess it's true what they say....the older you get, the faster the time slips by!

I have been a bit extra busy though as my sister's bridal shower is coming up this weekend and the wedding isn't too far off either.  I've been buried up to my nose in lots of extra shower & wedding projects.  Way time consuming, but lots of fun too!  I sure hope to have some pics of some of that to share with you eventually too!  (But best I get it all done first!)

In the meantime, a new month always means a new chance to join the Sparkle N Sprinkle team for a great challenge & some great prizes.  Here's what I created for you for a little inspiration:

Click any photo for a better view

This month's challenge is a color challenge with a great swatch from Design Seeds.

While the swatch does show a flower in the example; the flower itself is not at all a part of the challenge.  But, that being said; these colors do work so beautifully with florals; that lots of us girls at SNS decided to work with a floral for this color combo.

Color Swatch courtesy of Design Seeds

I chose to use the very pretty magnolia from  this year's new Spring Floral Set 490.







The beautiful, rich and pearly sentiment was embossed with one of my favorite embossing powders - Dark Night. 

And for a wonderful touch of sparkle in the background (enough, but not too much); the branches on the embossed Sizzix background were highlighted with a touch of Cloud Nine Velvet glitter.  Even though the pictures don't show it very well; the card is actually a very soft ivory (not white).  And since the glitter is semitransparent; it adds just the right color as an accent - mimicking the ivory without making it appear too "white".  (Be sure to click the photo to see the great sparkle in the close up!)

I couldn't find just the right die cut shape for framing the saying that would complement the die that frames behind the floral.  So, I got a little creative and cut down the same die cut I used on the floral and used some of  the same ribbon used on the flower to accent the piece and also hide the seam.  Pretty creative  I thought and a perfect solution too!


I also tried to add lots of visual interest by incorporating many different layers into the piece - using a combination of tape and dimensional adhesive - often on the same piece (like the flower).  I didn't take a picture of the side of the card where you can see the various layers; so you're just going to have to take my word that it really adds to the interest on the card.

Well, that's what I decided to create with those beautiful colors.  Now how about you?  We'd love to see what you come up with!  Hope you'll jump in and join us this month!

Don't forget to let me know you stopped by & what you think.  And always, thanks so much for visiting!

Until next time,

***Julie***

SNS Creative Challenge & Are You Ready for the 4th?

Hi Everyone! It's time for another Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenge!  And the July challenge is a fun one!  For the month of July; you're challenged to create something, anything other than a card.  So many fun possibilities!  (And don't forget, if you use a Sparkle N Sprinkle regular or digital stamp that you purchased - you'll receive an adorable free floral digital image from Beccy Muir!)

So, here's what I came up with.....


I've been on a bit of a medallion streak recently - once you start making those fun things; it's really kind of hard to stop!  (You'll be seeing some of my other medallion projects soon).

And I also happened to be working with some of SNS's Patriotic Stamp Sets for another project.  So....the idea just popped into my head - why not combine the two and make a Patriotic/Summer Table decoration?!  What a perfect addition it would be to anyone's picnic or home decor!



Wouldn't this just be great for your 4th of July festivities?!



Personally, I just love patriotic decor and I think it would look awesome sitting out around the house all year round too.

The stamps all came from the Patriotic Icons - Set 433.  And of course, every patriotic design needs lots and lots of sparkle and POP.  So for my sparkle & pop, I've used embossing powders and sparkling embossing powders for the sayings and lots and lots of glitter all around!  I wish you could see it glistening in person! So colorful, sparkly and FUN!



Here's some close ups of the individual medallions and the sparkly stars I included.








(Click any photo for a better view)




I had so much fun with this piece.  And I love how it turned out so much that I'm already working on a birthday version of it!  So many decorative possibilities with this - how about for a wedding or baby shower, a graduation party, 25th or 50th anniversary - so many possibilities!  And Sparkle N Sprinkle has all the stamps and "glitz" to make yours just perfect!





Hope you liked this fun "anything but a card" project.  I always love to know you stopped by and I also love to hear what you think; so don't forget to leave a comment before you leave.  (If I've inspired you to create one of your own; be sure to leave me a link so I can see what you created!)




And don't forget to make an "Anything but a Card" creation for your entry into the SNS Creative Challenge this month too!  Hope you have a wonderful, Happy and Safe Holiday!!

Until next time,

***Julie***

SNS Creative Challenge - Don't Forget!

Hi blogging friends! So sorry for the extended absence from my blog, but this past month has been pretty busy for me.  Much to my dismay, I had to have some surgery a couple weeks back.  Part of my month was spent getting the house and farm ready for my recovery time and the past couple weeks have been the ups and downs of recovery.  The good news - surgery went well and hopefully all will be well soon.  I'm still going through some ups and downs of recovery; but it's only been a couple weeks; so I need to give it a little more time.

In the meantime, I wanted to remind you that there's still a week left to get in on the Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenge for this month.  This month is a fun color challenge.  Before my surgery, I did this colorful card using one of the great new SNS sets - Bicycles.

I love this color combo and knew exactly what I wanted to do when I saw this combo.  I had recently got a new set of Prismacolor Inktense pencils and this was the perfect chance to try them out.  I love how this background turned out.




 

Color Swatch courtesy of Design Seeds

I really struggled with leaving this card so simple, but I also really wanted the background and that great saying to take center stage.  And I think leaving the card simple does that quite well.

Actually, I almost forgot that this was one of the most time consuming simple cards I've done in quite awhile.  I'm just now remembering that this card took me about two weeks to finish - crazy, I know!  But after doing the background, I left it sitting around on my workspace for awhile and I kept staring at and playing with it trying to decide how best to add the images/sayings (I even did a completely different layout, but didn't think it worked quite as well).  Finally I added the images and left it sit around again while I contemplated how to "finish" it.  Again, I tried a couple different finishing options before I decided it needed to be left simple.  In the end, sometimes simplicity can make the most powerful statement.  (Even if it takes a lot of trials to get to simple LOL!)

I do love the end result though.  Full instructions for this card can be found in the Sparkle N Sprinkle art gallery here.

I hope you'll decide to try out something yourself with this warm and beautiful color collection for this month's challenge.  Full details for this Creative Challenge can be found on the Challenge blog here.

Ok, I need to sign off for now.  Need to get some rest.  I'm finding that I've been a lot more tired than I expected while I'm healing.  But your body knows what it needs; so I best pay attention.  Hopefully if I do that I'll be back to more of my regular self and schedule real soon!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by!  

Until next time,

***Julie***

Sparkle N Sprinkle April Creative Challenge

Happy April 1st!  Today us gals at Sparkle N Sprinkle have a new Creative Challenge for you (no April foolin')!  This month the Creative Challenge at SNS is to use a digit image in your project.  So if you love working with digital images; be sure to jump in and join us!  And if you're new to digital images; this is the perfect reason to take the plunge and give it a try! 

Here's what I came up with for this months challenge:


I chose to use the use the adorable "Rose" by Michelle Perkett.  Now I know she has some pretty roses on her dress and her name is in fact "Rose".  But for whatever reason, I just didn't see her in pink lol.  When I saw Rose, I really wanted to see her in a pretty purple dress and I have always loved yellow roses.


I think she looks adorable in her purple & yellow!  A little bit of leaf green accents on the card and in the ombre bow pull out the tiny bit of green on her dress and adds a little extra pop of color too.

I often love to combine digital images with rubber images.  In this case, I added the saying from the Sweet Treats - Set 374; which is perfect for this image and also makes the card so versatile.  You could use this card for so many different occasions.






The tiny rose I added is from Set 382 - Sympathy.  It's probably not the first set you'd think to go to for accent pieces.  But if you're not familiar with the set; be sure to click the set name to check it out.  Not only does it have lovely sayings for those tough times when you need to make a sympathy card.  But it also has some very pretty accents like this tiny rose and several swirls/scrolls that make perfect accents for lots of sayings and cards of all types. 

I loved how well the tiny rose fit with the saying and tied in the saying piece with the flowers on Rose's dress.

A little bit of sparkling snow glitter was added around the image (of course!) for just the right amount of sparkle!

**************

I hope you like my project for this month's challenge to use Digital image(s).  And I really hope you'll decide to play along with us!!  So grab a favorite digital image & join in on the fun!  We look forward to seeing what you create!

Don't forget to stop back on Thursday - we're having another blog hop and it's a little earlier in the month than some of our other hops; so we don't want you to miss it (more prizes to be won)!  We'll be featuring "Anything But a Card"; so we hope you'll join us then too!

 Until next time,

***Julie***

March Creative Challenge at SNS

We've got a great new challenge for March over at Sparkle N Sprinkle!  This month we want to see you play with glitter - ultrafine glitter, velvet glitter, tinsel glitter, or even glittery embossing powder!  So many choices!!

This was a really hard challenge for me - ok, only in trying to decide which way I wanted to use it!  Soooo many different  ways I love to play with glitter - it was a hard decision!

What I decided to do was combine glitter with one of the most popular paper supplies right now - washi tape!  And here's the results:

Love how the washi and glitter look together!  





To start, I chose three coordinating washi tapes and glitters for my piece. Then I began laying down alternating rows of washi and 1/4" Tearific Tape. ( I chose to cover a piece of cardstock larger than I needed so I would have enough for more than one project after I was done with the glittered piece.)

(click any photo for a better view)

 










When the entire piece was covered; I trimmed all the tapes even with the edges and then burnished the washi & Tearific Tape down real well with a brayer (you could just use your finger to burnish it too).



 
Then I began adding the glitter by removing the paper backing off of every 3rd row of Tearific Tape and covering the tape with one of the glitters.  I burnished the glitter well with my finger and brushed off the excess before moving on to the next glitter color.





After all the colors were added, I burnished everything one more time and then cut the washi/glitter piece to the size I needed for my card.  Doesn't it look awesome!

I've got a bunch more washi/glitter combo's I want to try out now! (All I need is to find the time lol!)  Here's hoping I find the time - this was a lot of fun and there's so many great options to try!!

 The background for the card was created with a great new Pansy stamp from the stampette set by the same name.  And the wonderfully fun Robin Williams saying (love this saying!) is part of the Spring Swirl stamp set.  For extra glittery sparkle, the saying was done in Mulberry Star embossing powder; which is an EP with glitter in it.  And the whole ribbon banner was outlined with one of the same glitters as the washi piece. Look at all that sparkle in the saying and banner!


A supply list and full instructions for this card be found in the SNS Art Gallery here.


Hope you liked all the glittery goodness in this piece!  And we sure hope you join us for this month's Creative Challenge at Sparkle N Sprinkle!  Here's a link to the Creative Challenge blog to get all the details!   Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to leave a little comment so I know you were here - I read and appreciate every one!

Until next time,

***Julie***

SNS Monthly Challenge - New Challenges Await

Well Hello again!

 Wow, January has quickly slipped by already – hard to believe.  And February is already coming in like gangbusters around my place.  We had a busy & long first weekend in Feb. with the kids being off on Monday for a teacher in-service day this week.  So with them home an extra day; that meant a slow start to my week.  And it will be a busy week to boot.  It’s Valentine’s week around here!  Our school district always celebrates holidays on Fridays and they’ve decided that they want to celebrate before Valentine’s day instead of the day after.  So…..lots of Valentine preparations going on around here this week-  card’s, mailboxes, party games & treats are all the fare for us this week!  Busy times, but always special memories created for sure!

But here we are in February! And I don’t want you to forget about Sparkle N Sprinkle’s February Creative challenge going on all month; so I wanted to tell you a little about what I did for this month's challenge!

This month, SNS embarks on some new things with their monthly challenges; so you'll definitely want to be sure to go over to the Creative Challenge page to get all the details on what's new! 

One of the biggest changes though is that we will be hosting a wide variety of challenges instead of just sketches this year. How Fun!!

This month is the first non-sketch challenge and it focuses on a swatch from Design Seeds.

 

My take on the swatch was to take both the color (basically blues) and also the gradient in color that you see on the swatch.  Even though my gradient uses different hues; I wanted to build on having a gradient.  It's a little hard to see in my pic, but the glittery colors on the cross go from a rich dark navy in the center out to a soft pale blue near the edges.

Color swatch courtesy of Design Seeds®

For this design, I used one of my favorite SNS techniques - Glittered Stained Glass (video tutorial here March 2011) - it's also referred to as Glitter on Acetate and can be found in the SNS Tip & Technique section under that name. Or click the name to go right there!  Unfortunately, the pics don't do it justice - bad time of year for that up here in the north - I need more SUN lol!.  But I have to say, the sparkle with this technique in real life is just phenomenal! That's why I like it so much ;-)!  

 
Now I have to admit, I don't always design my cards with something specific in mind; but this card was one of those exceptions.  I had a baptism coming up and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  And this card was exactly what I had in mind!  (Everyone loved the card too by the way!  It was so pretty and sparkly; I decided to put it in a clear envie and attach it right to the front of the gift bag instead of putting it inside the bag!)


The other thing I liked about this card is with the versatile saying on it, you could mix up the colors and use it for SO many different special occasions - baptism, 1st communion, confirmation, weddings, even Christmas and Easter.  The possibilities are endless!  (And if you wanted something more specific for a communion or confirmation; the same set that these stamps came from also has two great sayings specific for those events)!

Here's a look at the whole set!  Set 362 - Crosses Floral



Ok, I better get back to those school Valentine's projects I should be working on! Hope you enjoyed today's card!  And I truly hope you'll join us for this month's Creative Challenge at Sparkle N Sprinkle!  We love seeing your work as much as we love sharing ours with you! Thanks so much for visiting today & don't forget to leave a comment so I know you stopped by!

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***

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***

April Sketch Challenge at SNS

Have you seen the Sketch Challenges over at SNS?  Each month a new sketch is released for you to have fun and create with.  And one lucky participant wins a stamp set of their choice!  Fulls details for this monthly contest and how you can enter can be found on the SNS blog page HERE.  Check it out!







So I was playing with some of SNS's fun car stamps when I realized I had a great idea for this month's sketch.  Don't you just love how the road scene mimics the sketch?!  Fun, fun, fun.

SNS April Sketch Challenge

I turned the sketch on it's side, used the road as the main design element and then used two different fun scenic papers to complete the look.  I just loved those cute little clouds & trees for this look.  Granny was done in Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.  Isn't she a hoot?!  It's a little hard to see but I also added some Sparkling Snow glitter to the stripes on the road and around Granny for a little more "pop". (Remember to click on photo's for the best view).

Let me know what you think and don't forget to click on the link above to see all the details for the contest.  Plus you can see what a few more of the designers did with this month's sketch while you're there too.  Sure hope you'll join in on the fun with this month's challenge! 

Until next time,

***Julie***

Supplies:
Stamps - Sparkle N Sprinkle
Glitter - Sparkle N Sprinkle
Embossing Powder - Sparkle N Sprinkle
Dies (Round & Square) - Spellbinders Paper Arts
Die Cut (Road) - Provo Craft / Cricut
Markers - Copic
Papers - Trees: Mementa  Clouds: My Minds Eye