Friday, February 20, 2015

So Suzy's Surprise Birthday Bash!


Good morning everyone! Welcome to my stop on our super-fun, super-sneaky, surprise birthday hop for Suzanne of So Suzy Stamps! You should be arriving here from Steph's pretty blog - if you just stumbled into the fun by accident, be sure to head over to the So Suzy Stamps blog so you can hop on the party train!

And what would a party be without prizes?? Be sure to comment on all the blogs for your chance to win a $15 gift certificate to So Suzy Stamps or a free, one month subscription to El Atelier de Stampartpapel. You have until midnight on Sunday, February 22nd to leave a comment and the winners will be announced at 12 noon on Monday, February 23rd over at the So Suzy Stamps blog.

All right, now what's a party without cupcakes?!?


Oh yeah, cupcake shaker card!! I went classy with this one adding in all that gold. I used chocolate brown cardstock for the card base and top layer here, making me dream of chocolate cupcakes...the green background paper is from the MME Market Street 6x6 pad and is a beautiful ombre pattern. Yes, the green made me think of mint, so chocolate cupcakes with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I'm so hungry right now.

Moving on - I stamped the Medium Cupcake Swirl on my ombre paper (cut to 4"x5.25") with VersaMark ink, then heat embossed it using the Wow! Ultra High Rich Gold Embossing powder. And let me just say, wow! It really turns out super puffy, almost like fabric paint puffy for a really bold statement.

Quick tip on the embossing powder - the granules are huge compared to standard embossing powder, and I heard that you need to heat it from below first before finishing off the melting process as usual. Planning ahead for this, I attached my paper to the card base first to give me a sturdier surface to work with. Worked like a charm!

Setting that aside, I grabbed my other piece of chocolate cardstock (measuring 4.25"x5.5") and ran it through my Big Kick using a Darice embossing folder to give the front some texture. I then cut down a piece of fun foam to about 4"x5.25" and a transparency to about 4"x4.5" (enough to cover the circle plus room for glue). Die cutting time! I chose a circle from my We R Memory Keepers Nesting Circle dies and sliced through the embossed cardstock and the fun foam. To decorate the outside, I used the same circle plus the very next size up and die cut a piece of gold foil paper to dress up the rim.

Quick plug for the nesting circles - they're amazing. I have every size I might possibly want from buying just one die set and they cut like a dream. So glad I bought them, and if you decide you need them please use my link above to do so. Thanks!

Assembly time! The final sandwich is ombre paper to card base for that half, foil circle, embossed paper, transparency, fun foam for the other half. Now it was time to add the sequins!


Colors used: 4mm Fresh Mint4mm Metallic Bronze4mm Metallic Gold4mm Sparkling Clear, and 6mm Espresso. I glued a few of the Espresso sequins right to the ombre paper so they'd always be there looking pretty, then sprinkled the rest inside. Using my finger, I spread Ranger Multi Matte glue all over the fun foam, lined it up with the card base, and mushed them together. Yes, mushed is a technical term. Once I got it exactly where I wanted it I placed a book on top of it while it dried.

Then it was time to decorate the inside! Yes, I stamped the inside of a card; try not to panic and/or pass out from surprise.

Grabbing the VersaMark ink again, I stamped the Skinny Swirl Cupcake and the Ice Cream Sprinkles sentiment on the inside of the card, then heat embossed them with the Simon Says Stamp gold embossing powder. All done!


So, now that I have you dreaming of chocolate cupcakes with mint chocolate chip ice cream and coffee (seriously, I'm dying over here!) I'm sending you off to Sharon's blog! Wait until you see what she's whipped up for the occasion. ;)

Oh, and don't forget Suzy's birthday present to all of you - free shipping on orders over $25 for the rest of February and if you place an order TODAY, the day of our fearless leader's birth, you get 20% off all future online orders for the rest of your life! Woot! Be sure to wish her happy birthday on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter.

Ok, I'm off to find a cupcake...have fun on the hop!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Easter Wishes

Morning everyone - I'm over at So Suzy Stamps today with this adorable card PLUS a tutorial on how I made it!


Hop on over to check it out!

Hop...hehe...oh I slay myself...

Happy Crafting!

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Celebrate Everyday

Good morning everyone! I'm blogging about this CAS card over at a2z Scrapbooking today:


Hop on over to see how I created it and to join in our February embossing challenge!

a2z Scrapbooking has just received the 2015 Hero Arts release so you can get your new “wants” right now at a discount! Use coupon code Jennifer15 for 15% your purchase of $25 or more.
Supplies used:
Hero Arts Celebrate EverydayHero Arts Not PerfectHero Arts Mocha Layering Paper (whoop, it's on sale!)
Ranger Texture PasteHero Arts Soft Green Shadow InkHero Arts Bubble Gum Pink Shadow InkHero Arts Soft Sand Shadow InkHero Arts Arrow Pattern StencilHero Arts Fine White Embossing Powder


Happy Crafting!

Monday, February 9, 2015

Fancy Pants Designs Sketch Challenge with Mountain Plains Crafters

Good morning everyone - today starts a new challenge over at Mountain Plains Crafters! We've teamed up with Fancy Pants Designs to bring you a fun sketch challenge. You have until this Friday, February 13th at 6pm EST to link up your creation. Here's my take on our sketch challenge:


I had so much fun playing with the Fancy Pants Nautical line. I chose the lovely striped paper for my background, then softened it by adding some vellum over the top. From there it was all about the accents; the endless summer nicely framed my sweet treats. I jazzed them up a bit by adding Stickles to the snow cone, Glossy Accents to the smaller Popsicle and Wink of Stella to the large one. The kite and the button helped draw the eye and the ribbon hid the adhesive on the vellum.

Be sure to head on over to the MPC blog to see what the rest of the team came up with and to enter the challenge!

Happy Crafting!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Snarky Valentine

Good morning everyone! I'm blogging over at So Suzy Stamps today with a rather snarky Valentine:


I know it looks harmless here, but trust me - if you are one who doesn't appreciate a good bit of snark, do not click this link to see the full post. Ok? Ok.

So Suzy Stamps supplies used:
Valentine's Day stamp
Clear Wink of StellaPhineas the Peacock

Other supplies used:
Hero Arts Bubblegum Pink ink
Hero Arts White embossing powder
We R Memory Keepers Nesting Hearts Cookie Cutter Die Set
Tombow Xtreme Adhesive
VersaMark ink
Ranger Glossy Accents
Some links are affiliate links where I receive a small compensation for any sales. If you go shop at a2z Scrapbooking, be sure to use code JENNIFER15 for 15% off your purchase of $25 or more!

This would totally qualify for our February Challenge of 'Love' over at So Suzy Stamps. Oh, and if you know someone who needs this card, it's listed in my shop now as well. ;)


Linking up to:
The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers Challenge #26 - using SOSS #1, A is for Anti-Valentine

Happy Crafting!

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Just Live

It's February 1st, and that means time for new stamps and a new challenge over at So Suzy Stamps! Me, I decided to be adventurous and try out my new watercolors. After all, it seemed to fit with the stamp:


Are you loving it? I'm loving it. The stamp is HUGE and beautifully takes up the front of a card. I can see using this as a Project Life card, too! The little 'live' stamp up top is part of the new release as well.


I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto watercolor paper and let it dry. Then I simply started playing with my watercolors until I was happy with it. More drying, then a bunch of foam tape to apply it to the standard A2 card base.

It seemed to be missing something, so I grabbed some Simon Says Stamp Soft Navy cardstock and die cut the rectangle with the Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle die. I stamped the 'Live' sentiment in the same color ink and this card was a wrap.


Be sure to go check out the release post to see what the rest of the team created!

Stamps Used:
Live
Road

Happy Crafting!