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 Mint, 4mm Metallic Bronze, 4mm Metallic Gold, 4mm 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!