A sparkly shaker heals all...

Hello friends! I'm back again today with a festive shaker holiday card. As some of you might know, we're trying to sell our house so that we can move closer to my husband's work and just make life easier in general. We had some people who we thought were going to be the ones who would make our dreams a reality, but it didn't end up working out. I was more than a little devastated and very sad when we found this out, and so to put myself in a better mood, I pulled out some sparkles and some new supplies and made myself a sparkly Christmas shaker card using some newer Hero Arts stamps and dies. 

To start, I heat embossed the Hero Arts Hand Drawn Snowflake Background onto some white card stock using silver embossing powder. I then used a variety of gray-blues from the Hero Arts ink spectrum to blend an ombre on the panel, starting with the darkest blue and ending with the lightest. This would serve as the backdrop for my shaker card.  

I then stamped the Color Layering Cardinal onto some white card stock using HA Pale Tomato, PTI Pure Poppy, and PTI Scarlet Jewel inks. I fussy cut him out and then created a pine branch for him to sit on using Smokey Shadow ink from PTI for the branch itself and Tropical Teal ink (also from PTI) for the pine needles and fussy cut it out, too. Next was the serene forest. I purchased the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kit a few months ago with the fairies and fantastic woodland dies, but I haven't had a chance to use them yet. I thought a wintry forest scene would be the perfect backdrop for my cardinal, so I die cut it out using some silver glitz paper from my stash. (The particular die that I used is in the exclusive My Monthly Hero kit, and so not available for purchase, but this die is similar.)   

The greeting was one of the uber-useful stamp-n-cut sets that Hero Arts has been releasing.... this "merry" set is from last year, I believe, but I still love it. I die cut the merry from red foil card stock from my stash, then heat embossed the "have yourself a" and "little Christmas" on navy card stock using white embossing powder. After all of the die cutting and stamping had been completed, it was time to fill my shaker. I used some Nautical Navy sequins from Lucy Abrams, as well as some snowflakes that I cannot for the life of me remember where I purchased them. Sorry! If you have a small snowflake die or punch, they can easily be replicated. I am going to have to take my own advice, because my stash is running low... Hmm.... 

Well, that's all for me today! I hope you liked this festive, yet somewhat serene card. The sparkles definitely cheered me up, and really, who doesn't love a shaker card? Hope you're all having a fantastic week, friends! 

The Ton September Release: Blog Hop!

Welcome back to the blog hop day for The Ton's September Release! We have some absolutely fantastic guests with us today to help celebrate this absolutely fantastic release!  So many stamp sets, so many coordinating dies, not to mention word dies (who's super freaking excited for those?! I know I am!!), and even some new couture gilding mixes!! You should have arrived from Mayline's blog and your next stop is Laura's blog. I have a couple of pretty watercolored projects for you today, so let's get started! 

My first project is a super festive shaker card... because, when I was looking through the arsenal of projects I created for this release, I realized that not a single one of them was a shaker card! Oh, the horror! I decided to rectify that immediately and pulled out the brand new Holiday Border stamp, Mistletoe Kisses, my Zig markers, and the new Santa's Sneezes Couture Gilding Mix. 

I started by heat embossing the incredibly gorgeous new Holiday Border stamp onto some Bristol card stock and some silver pearl embossing powder. I have started using Bristol for those background stamps that have really solid images... they just heat emboss so much more nicely than on the textured watercolor paper. I used a couple of different shades of red, some pale gray, and a touch of bright green on the mistletoe to color this pretty border. I added some white Wink of Stella to the more solid poinsettias, but you can't really tell in the photos. So pretty and shimmery in real life though! After it was all dry, I die cut a window from the center using one of the smaller Stitched Rectangle dies, then stamped the greeting from Mistletoe Kisses using Caviar Hybrid ink in the center of my white card base. I covered my window with acetate and filled up my shaker with the new Santa's Sneezes Couture Mix. Isn't that mix of pretty reds and silver and clear just so lovely??

My last project is one that just makes me happy. So much watercoloring, so much style, so much deep, rich color... Coloring this was so pleasant, and this is definitely a project that will be replicated for my holiday card stash. To start, I heat embossed the Scenes: Grand Stairway and the beautiful girl from Born Classy using silver embossing powder on my favorite Montval watercolor paper. I wanted to create a holiday card, so I used my T-ruler and a Versamark pen to turn the doorway beneath the stairs into a window looking out into a snowy night. After watercoloring the scene, I added some "snowflakes" using my white gel pen and a white chalk marker that I found in my stash. To add to the holiday feel, I used some Mercury Glass Stickles to add some sparkly garland going down the stairs. Normally, Stickles take too long for my impatient self to wait for them to dry, but this was one of those projects that demanded them. 

Once I had completed the background scene, the really really fun part began: watercoloring the knockout from Born Classy. That dress is just.... there aren't words. So gorgeous. I made certain that she had a festive and sparkly glass of champagne to fully complete the holiday feel. Her dress was colored with a shade of dark teal and then shadows were added with a navy blue Zig marker. I absolutely am in love with her dress and want one for myself (along with her figure... bahaha). I added some Spectrum Noir shimmer pen over the top of the draped portion of her dress to make it really sparkle. I fussy cut her out, but you could use coordinating dies to save time.

I die cut a frame from some Matte Silver paper using the Stitched Rectangles dies, then popped it up with dimensional adhesive. I heat embossed the sentiment (from Scripty Holiday Greetings) on a strip of vellum, tucking the adhesive on the ends where the frame and the festive chick would be conveniently hiding my Scor Tape. I popped our graceful lady up with some dimensional adhesive, letting the folds of her dress fall outside of the frame to add extra dimension.  

Well, that's all for me today! I hope you've had an absolute blast with this release... It's been so much fun for all of us, too! Now it's time to hop along to see all of the incredible eye candy that the guest artists have whipped up for you! You should have arrived from Mayline's blog and your next stop is Laura's blog. If you've lost your way along the hop, start back at The Ton Blog to find the order of the blog hop. You surely don't want to miss any of these beautiful projects! Effie will be giving out four $25 gift certificates to The Ton's store to winners randomly selected from the commenters. Leave a comment on each blog, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! (One comment per blog, please.) Four winners will be chosen randomly from the hop participant blogs. The comment period will close on Thursday, September 29th at 11:59pm. Winners will be announced thereafter. 

Good luck, and enjoy the rest of the hop! :) Have a great week, friends! 

The a Ton's September Release: Day 4

Goooood morning! Today is the last day for sneak peeks for The Ton's September Release! All new products (stamps, dies and couture mixes) are in the shop RIGHT NOW. If you spend over $75, Effie will include the beautiful new Hazelnut Kisses Couture Gilding Mix. If you spend over $100, Effie will include our 2x3 Layered Christmas Poinsettia mini stamp into your order as a free gift with your purchase. The incentives will be included in your order until supplies last. This does not apply to prior purchases. We have five new sets to show you today: Poinsettia Garden Background, Holiday Border stamp, Brushed Merry, Brushed Cheers, and Holiday Confetti. I have two projects to show you today, so let's jump right in! 

For my first project, I wanted to create a sort of Christmas light-bokeh effect, holiday style. :) I started with Pink Derby, Grape Crush, and Hot Tourmaline inks and blended them on some white cardstock. After I had blended the colors together to my satisfaction, I used the beautiful Crystal Flurries stamp set and some silver ink to add some shimmery snowflakes to the pretty background. 

Next, I stamped the large sentiment from the new Brushed: Merry onto vellum card stock using some Silent Night glitter embossing powder from Wow! I fussy cut it out (after being temporarily blinded by all of the shimmer and sparkle... just look at that!! Photos don't do it justice.) and then repeated the process with the "& bright" on some black card stock. I popped it all up with some clear dimensional adhesive. 

The final step was to add a few Glass Slippers sequins randomly all over the card front. The only thing this card needs to make it truly blinding is some shimmer mist, which I will certainly add when remaking it for my Christmas card stash... Moving on! 

This next card follows a similar layout, but definitely has a different feel. Nothing says Happy New Year to me more than a glass of bubbly, fizzy champagne, and those "bubbles" are what inspired me to create my own glass of champagne. To start, I used my blending tools to blend Vanilla Frosted Cupcake ink all over my white A2 panel, then added some Beach Blondie around the very edges of the panel. After I had blended everything to my satisfaction, I used Amber Citrine to stamp the lovely "confetti" from the new Holiday Confetti stamp set in the bottom two corners to create my champagne "bubbles." To make it look as though it were in a glass, I covered the entire front panel with Versamark and covered it with clear embossing powder... twice... So shiny and glossy. 

For the greeting, I stamped the calligraphic sentiment from Brushed: Cheers onto vellum using Versamark, then covered it with gold glitter embossing powder and fussy cut it out. The rest of the sentiment was stamped on a strip of black card stock, using the same glittery embossing powder. I trimmed down the champagne panel and added a strip of Gold Glitter paper to the bottom 1/2" of the card base. A smattering of Medallion Gold sequins across the front finished it off. 

Now, for the giveaways! Leave a comment on The Ton blog on each day of Release Week (1-4) for a chance to win one of four $25 gift codes to the shop. Be sure to comment on each blog post on each day for the maximum chances to win! There are additional $10 gift code giveaways that you can also win by leaving comments on the Design Team member blogs on each day of Release Week. So there are an additional 7 gift codes up for grabs! The comment period for the Daily Release and DT Giveaways will close on Thursday, September 29 at 11:59 PM. Winners will be chosen at random and announced thereafter. Have a great day, friends, and happy shopping! We will all be back tomorrow for the big Blog Hop with some seriously amazing and talented guest artists! You won't want to miss it! Thanks so much for visiting. :)

The Ton September Release: Day 3

Good morning! Today is the third day of The Ton's September Release! All new products (stamps, dies and couture mixes) will be avail be in the shop on Monday, September 6 at 7am (EST). If you spend over $75, Effie will include the new Couture Gilding Mix Hazelnut Kisses. If you spend over $100, Effie will include our 2x3 Layered Christmas Poinsettia mini stamp into your order as a free gift with your purchase. The incentive stamp will be included in your order until supplies last. This does not apply to prior purchases. Today, we are showcasing some fabulous new holiday sets for your stamping and coloring pleasure: Fresh Cut Poinsettias, Fresh Cut Poinsettias Outline, Holiday Cones, Holiday Cones Outlines, and Mistletoe Kisses. 

 For my first project today, I put to work the wonderful layered stamps in Fresh Cut Poinsettias and Holiday Cones. The two of these sets combined make such fabulous holiday arrangements. They really are perfect together. I started by stamping the poinsettias using Cosmopolitan Pink and Lipstick Red inks for the first two layers, then using holographic embossing powder for the top layer. It really adds some lovely sparkly to the poinsettias, and I know I've seen poinsettias at the store with sparkles on them. Totally realistic, right? I stamped the pinecones using the Cocoa Collection, the pine sprigs using the Crystal Garden Collection, and fussy cut all of the images. (You can also use the dies if you don't want to get carpal tunnel.... Ask me how I know... haha!) 

 After I had finished stamping all of the flowers and foliage, I turned my attention to the greeting. I die cut a smallish rectangle using the Stitched Rectangle dies, then heat embossed the sentiment from Mistletoe Kisses using gold glitter embossing powder. (Glitter makes everything more festive, so I say the more, the merrier on holiday cards.)   

In order to arrange my holiday bouquet quickly and easily, I simply arranged the flowers and foliage around the edge of my sentiment die cut, then carefully lifted it up without moving my cut flowers and adhered Scor Tape to the edge of the back of the die cut rectangle. I then gently placed the sticky die cut back down on the flowers, taking care to make sure that it was in the center of the bouquet. After noticing a few holes in the arrangement, I stamped the spruce sprigs from Holiday Cones directly on to the card base using Basil Mojito. After that, I simply adhered the flowers and greeting to the card base using dimensional adhesive. 

This next project is definitely a favorite of mine from this release. I love this monochromatic color scheme with the pop of pink... Not to mention that I love to color... Anyway, this project showcases the new Fresh Cut Poinsettia: Outlines and Holiday Cones: Outlines. So much fun to color. It's so awesome to have both stamping and coloring options, don't you think? What's your pleasure? To start, I heat embossed a bunch of the images from both stamp sets onto my favorite watercolor paper using white satin pearl embossing powder. I painted the poinsettias with one of my favorite pink Zigs (Peach Pink) using my wet paintbrush. I then painted the berries, pine cones, and leaves in various shades of gray, then fussy cut all of them. (But you will be able to use dies to cut your poinsettias and foliage out! Mine just didn't arrive in time to use them on this project.) 

Plaid is eeeeeverywhere in fall fashions. I am not really huge on plaid in general (too many bad parochial school memories were made wearing a plaid skirt), but buffalo check is definitely a plaid that I can get behind, and I think it's super festive. To create this background, I simply stamped the Haute Stripes background once onto a square of 5.5x5.5 inch card stock, then rotated it 90* and stamped it again, both times using Crystal Pewter ink. I carefully placed my Stitched Square die at an angle, then ran it through my Vagabond. After that, I stamped the greeting from a set that is being released tomorrow using Versafine ink, then covering it with clear embossing powder and zapping it with my heat gun. I arranged my holiday floral bouquet on the corner, then added a few silver sequins as a little shimmer and sparkle. 

Now, for the giveaways! Leave a comment on The Ton blog on each day of Release Week (1-4) for a chance to win one of four $25 gift codes to the shop. There are additional $10 gift code giveaways that you can also win by leaving comments on the Design Team member blogs on each day of Release Week. So there are an additional 7 gift codes up for grabs! The comment period for the Daily Release and DT Giveaways will close on Thursday, September 29 at 11:59 PM. Winners will be chosen at random and announced thereafter. Be sure to drop back by tomorrow for the final product release! All of the products that you've seen previewed for the last three days are NOW AVAILABLE! Have a fantastic day, friends! 

The Ton September Release: Day 2

Today is the second day of sneak peeks for The Ton's September Release! All new products (stamps, dies and couture mixes) will be available in the shop on Monday, September 6 at 7am (EST). We have a couple of nice incentives for you for this holiday release: if you spend over $75, Effie will include the new Hazelnut Kisses Couture Mix. If you spend over $100, Effie will include our 2x3 Layered Christmas Poinsettia mini stamp into your order as a free gift with your purchase. The incentive stamp will be included in your order until supplies last. This does not apply to prior purchases. Today, we are focusing on some beautiful new sets: Folk Art Florals background, Plus One, Born Classy, City Girls: Retail Therapy, Scenes: Grand Stairway, and Scenes: Department Store. Let's get started! 

For my first project, I wanted to really showcase how stunning the "date" is for the pretty girls in our lineup. There are not one, but TWO men included in Plus One, and they're both so handsome! Effie has included several different stylish accessories and accoutrements. For my first project with this handsome devil, I decided to model him after my own handsome devil... My hubby is one of the most handsome redheads I've seen, and so I had to make him an anniversary card with his likeness on the front, because really, who wouldn't like to see themselves on a card? 

To start, I heat embossed this dapper dude onto some watercolor paper with platinum embossing powder. I used various shades of blue and gray to color his suit and tie, then added some Spectrum Noir shimmer to the tie to really make it pop and add some texture, as well as covering his shoes with Glossy Accents. His hair... well, that was a challenge. Orange was too orange, adding red made it almost neon, so adding some brown to just the edges of his head, then pulling the color out with my wet paintbrush seemed to do the trick to getting that beautiful auburn hair that my hubby covers with a hat every time we leave the house (wah!). I trimmed the watercolor panel down, then added a strip of light blue foil to the far edge, then added some very masculine diagonal stripes down the side of the card base using Minor Stripes and more platinum embossing powder. 

My next project features two of the fantastic, chic new shopping sets debuted today: City Girls: Retail Therapy and Scenes: Department Store. These little shoppers are too cute for words! To start, I heat embossed the largest of the shoppers in the City Girls: Retail Therapy set onto watercolor paper using white pearl embossing powder. I colored her and all of her packages using my Zig markers and a wet paintbrush, focusing on a pink, black, and pale gray color scheme. (Tres chic, no?) I fussy cut her out and set her aside. 

For the card base, I simply stamped that fantastically detailed Scenes: Department Store onto my white top-folding card base using Crystal Pewter ink. I wanted the background to be visible, but subtle, focusing the main color on the pink and black packages our shopper is so bravely balancing. 

Next, I die cut a piece of pale gray card stock using the Stitched Rectangle dies for her to stand on, and to make her stand out a bit more from the busy background. I adhered the die cut rectangle, then popped her up with dimensional adhesive. The last step was to add the greeting, also from City Girls, stamped in Pink Derby ink. (I'm really loving that color! Such a beautiful shade of magenta.) I stamped it on a strip of white card stock, then popped it up over her legs. 

Well, that's all for me today! Be sure to check out what the rest of the team has in store for you, because there is some serious eye candy waiting for you! Don't forget about the giveaways going on, too! Leave a comment on The Ton blog on each day of Release Week (1-4) for a chance to win one of four $25 gift codes to the shop. There are additional $10 gift code giveaways that you can also win by leaving comments on the Design Team member blogs on each day of Release Week. So there are an additional 7 gift codes up for grabs! The comment period for the Daily Release and DT Giveaways will close on Thursday, September 29 at 11:59 PM. Winners will be chosen at random and announced thereafter. See you back here tomorrow for some more fantastic product debuts and holiday projects! Have a beautiful day, friends! 

The Ton September Release: Day 1

Today marks the first day of The Ton's September release! We have so many elegant and fantastically versatile sets to showcase for you over the next few days... 23 to be exact! AND new sequins!  All new products are NOW AVAILABLE!!! If you spend over $75, Effie has created a beautiful new Couture Mix called Hazelnut Kisses that will be included in your order. If you spend over $100, Effie will include our 2x3 Layered Christmas Poinsettia mini stamp into your order as a free gift with your purchase. The incentive stamp will be included in your order until supplies last. This does not apply to prior purchases. Over the next several days, the Design Team will be giving you some fantastic inspiration, both for holiday and every day occasions. Today, we are showcasing Fresh Cut Garden Roses, Fresh Cut Garden Roses Outlines, Scripty Greetings, Scripty Holiday Greetings, Thankful Cornucopia, Dog Life, and the Christmas Poinsettia incentive set. Let's get started! 

For my first project, I couldn't wait to break into those fantastic new roses... The original Fresh Cut Roses set is stunning, but definitely has a more stylized, artistic feel. These roses are a touch more realistic in their shading. I love that Effie has given us the outlines, as well, because you all know how I love to color flowers. :) Those will be coming at a later date, I can assure you. 

I started by stamping all of the roses from Fresh Cut Garden Roses using Hollywood Star, Cosmopolitan Pink, and Pink Derby inks, then stamping the foliage using Bright Emerald, Hot Tourmaline, and Ocean Teal inks. The combination of that deep pink and luscious teals make my heart go pitter patter. I fussy cut them, (but you could use the coordinating dies) then added my sentiment from Scripty Greetings (a must-have set if ever there was one... so gorgeous and so many uses) on a rectangular card stock panel using Ocean Teal. I double stamped it with teal using my MISTI, then added clear holographic embossing powder over the top to really make it sparkle. 

Before adhering my flowers behind my sentiment panel, I decided I needed a bit more sparkle to tie into the sparkly embossing powder on the sentiment, so I added two strips of the Glossy Transparent Glitter paper to the bottom 1/4 of the card front. I popped up the sentiment panel, then adhered my flowers behind it using scor-tape. 

For my next project, I pulled out Dog Life. I have several friends who have dogs that they consider family, and so it's always good to have a pet sympathy card on hand, just in case. The sweet sentiment and adorable expressions on the pups' faces make this set an adorable addition to The Ton's lineup. 

I started by heat embossing one of the pups and some angel wings onto watercolor paper using silver embossing powder. I colored him with Zig markers, adding some Spectrum Noir shimmer pen to the wings, then fussy cutting them. I knew I wanted to create a kind of angelic halo around him, so I first heat embossed the sentiment (isn't that sentiment just precious?) at the bottom of a rectangular panel to ground the image, then used my Clarity Stencil Brushes and Blue Diamond ink to create an angelic halo behind where I wanted to adhere the pup. I used some Post It notes to mask over the sentiment, then used the Bokeh Burst Round stamped with silver ink to complete the angelic halo. 

For the card base, I used Crystal Pewter and Smokey Quartz inks to stamp the little doggy footprints and bones to create my own patterned paper to add a little interest to the background. I popped up the sentiment panel to add some more dimension and, for a final touch, added a touch of Glossy Accents to the pup's little black nose. Gotta make it authentic. 

The next card showcases Thankful Cornucopia. I'm not one to send out Thanksgiving cards, normally, but this set definitely changes my mind on that one... Look at the detail! Incredible! I love those chalkboards all over Pinterest, the ones that have little touches of color everywhere... I tried to emulate that in a sort of "black magic" technique, but as I am lacking in colored pencils, I had to make do with a white colored pencil and some colored sparkly gel pens. 

I began by heat embossing that stunning cornucopia image onto a black card base. I then used a white Prismacolor pencil, a white gel pen, and a chalk marker that I found in my stash to add in shading and depth. After I had added the shading, I wanted some more depth and variation, so I used some sparkly gelly pens that I have had for ages on the corn, sunflowers, and leaves. I also went back in with a White Wink of Stella and colored the pumpkins. 

I decided it needed more dimension, so I used my White Prismacolor pencil and my T-ruler to add a frame around the edge of the card base. Simple, but effective. For the greeting, I used the "so thankful and grateful" sentiment and banner from Thanksgiving Cornucopia, heat embossed them onto black cardstock, fussy cut it, and popped it up. Totally flat and easily mailed. Love that. 

My last project is a simple little tag made with the darling incentive set that Effie is giving away to customers who spend $100. The little layered poinsettias are a perfect size for gift tags. I stamped the bottom layer in Lofty Mint, then heat embossed the second layer with some sparkly teal embossing powder. The leaves were stamped with Bright Emerald and Hot Tourmaline inks. I fussy cut everything, stamped the included greeting on a strip of pale gray card stock, then created the tag base. I cut 1/4" strips of Silver Foil, laid them on a panel of bright aqua card stock, then die cut it at an angle using the Square Stitched dies. I created a little hanger by folding another strip of pale gray card stock in half and adhering the bottom part of it to the stitched square. 

Leave a comment on The Ton blog on each day of Release Week (1-4) for a chance to win one of four $25 gift codes to the shop. There are additional $10 gift code giveaways that you can also win by leaving comments on the Design Team member blogs on each day of Release Week, so there are an additional 7 gift codes up for grabs! The comment period for the Daily Release and DT Giveaways will close on Thursday, September 29 at 11:59 PM. Winners will be chosen at random and announced thereafter. Be sure to comment on all of the blogs to have the maximum chances to win!

Well, that's all for me today! We have lots more in store for you, so stay tuned! Have a great day, friends! 

It's your day to sparkle- Where Creativity Meets C9 Debut Challenge!

Hello, friends! Today is the inaugural challenge for the brand-spankin-new-and-fabulous Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge Blog! The rest of the DT and myself have prepared some totally lovely projects to inspire your creations, so let's get started!

The challenge this month is:

 And what could be more celebratory (or delicious) than cake?? I have to admit, my mouth may have been watering a bit after I painted this chocolate cake.... Yum yum! This image looks so luscious in any and all color combinations..... aaaaaand now I want cake. 

To start, I heat embossed that stunning cake from Concord and 9th's Happy Day on my favorite Montval watercolor paper using white detail embossing powder. I then colored it using a combination of deep, luscious jewel tones and a very yummy, chocolate-y looking brown Zig marker. I used my trusty Silver paintbrush to pull the color out and add some shading. The cake plate was colored first with a solid metallic gold marker from my stash, then "glazed" with a gold Wink of Stella marker to add some pretty sparkle. I die cut it with the coordinating cake die and went on to the next step. 

The background is another of my "smooshed" backgrounds, thought it doesn't really look like it. I used three teal/blue Distress Inks, smooshed them on some acetate, spritzed them liberally with plain water and the Tsukineko pearlescent spray, then smooshed my watercolor paper on top, tilting and turning the panel until there were lots of nice color saturations and blobs (technical term) on the A2 panel. I let it dry overnight, then heat embossed my greeting from Happy Day on the super shimmery panel using white detail embossing powder. The little sparkles were added with some blue glitter Wow embossing powder after I had decided my cake and sentiment placement. 

The step was to create the shaker part of the card. I used stitched rectangle dies from The Ton to create my shaker frame, then filled up my shaker with a variety of sequins and seed beads in coordinating colors to make it particularly festive and appropriately "sparkly"! I don't know about you, but whenever I am celebrating something, the more sparkles the better! (This includes any and all jewelry. And my birthday is coming up. Hint, Hint, Husband o'Mine.)

I hope that the incredible projects from myself and the rest of the Design Team have inspired you to take on this super fun challenge yourself! You have plenty of time... The challenge runs through September 29 (which also happens to be my birthday. So many reasons to celebrate! Haha!), so get to work, ladies and gents! 

As though you needed more incentive, the generous folks at Concord and 9th have donated a $25 gift certificate to their store for the winner! The best entry will also be offered a guest designer position, so be sure to pull out all of your creative stops!

Also, be sure to check out and follow us on the following social media platforms:

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An exciting announcement!

Hi there, friends! I'm here today on this gorgeous Sunday to announce something really exciting...

I was invited to join the incredibly fabulous artists on the Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge Blog, a blog celebrating all things Concord and 9th! I was so honored and thrilled when I got the email from Jess inviting me on the team... I still pinch myself when I think of the talented company I'm keeping! 

In honor of those uber talented crafters, I created this card with this cheeky, yet oh-so-appropriate sentiment:

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I started with a panel of A2 watercolor paper and heat embossed the circular floral image from You're My Person using white pearl embossing powder. I then watercolored them with a non-traditional color scheme of pink, peach, blush, and a few different shades of gray. I then used my T-ruler to draw stripes with my pencil, which I then watercolored with my Warm Gray Zig marker. I simply ran my marker along the edge of each pencil line, then pulled the color down with a wet paintbrush. (You could also do this much more quickly with the Stripe Builder background stamp.) I die cut a stitched circle from the center, and then went to work on my sentiment. 

For my greeting, I stamped the fantastic "small gang" sentiment (also from You're My Person) using Smokey Shadow ink from PTI onto Soft Stone card stock, also from PTI, to tie into all of the shades of gray that were in the floral background. After fussy cutting each strip and arranging them the way I wanted over the popped-up circular frame, I wanted to bring some of the florals forward, so I used the same method and colors for some of the similar flowers from the Wildflower stamp set (LOVE that this set coordinates with the florals from You're My Person) and fussy cut them out. The last step was to add some lovely peach sequins to create a visual cascade down the front of my card.

I hope you enjoyed my project! I am so utterly thrilled to be joining this team, and I look so forward to the incredibly fun challenges that Jess has planned! And now, just because this blog is going to be so awesome, Concord and 9th has given a $25 gift certificate to their store to one lucky commenter! Be sure to comment on all of the designer introductions on the challenge blog to get maximum chances to win! 

Have a Beautiful Day!

 

 

Hello, friends! TGIF, am I right?! 

 

Today I have a pretty simple little project for you. Just some heat embossing, some water coloring, and a die cut or two. 

 

 

I'm sure you've noticed by now that this incredible cake image is eeeeeeverywhere. It's stunning. AND it's super fun to color, which is a mega bonus for me, as I can't seem to make a card without doing some sort of watercolor on it these days. The details: I started with an A2 sized panel of Canson Montval card stock and used the Avery Elle Scalloped Frames dies to create a focal point. I then heat embossed that beautiful cake image using silver Pearl embossing powder and colored it with my Zigs. (I used my Distress Inks last time and wanted to try my Zigs out this time. Really loving both looks!)   

After coloring that pretty cake with some charming coral-y shades, I used a stray "beautiful" die cut from the C9 Beautiful You die set and the coordinating stamp set to create my greeting. The finishing touch was to add some Glossy Accents to the silver shimmer die cut. 

Simple, but pretty! Not to mention, totally easy to mail, because there's no bulk!    Hope you all had a great week and will have an even more fantastic weekend! Thanks for visiting, friends!