one last christmas hurrah!

hi all!

ahhhhhhhh christmas - DONE!  hahhahhahh!  we had a great christmas but i am ready to move on!  here are a few highlights:

pezza was up at 3:45.  NOT because it was xmas - she didn't even remember.  nope just because some days thats how she rolls (lord help me).

we gave trevor money.  hubby put it in a justin bieber folder, wrapped it in pink snowman paper and had me write the to/from across the front with pink stickles - awesome! hahahhahhhaha

1 of my presents for pezza and hubby was a set of nerf guns.  silly me did not think of getting anything to defend MYSELF with.  as i was cleaning up the wrapping paper and such i hear pezza mumbling behind me "i've got my gun...i've got my dart...i've got my extra darts...i've got my momma target..."  HEY!

then trevor arrived and immediately goes for one of the guns and starts chasing his sister around and they run upstairs.  after awhile me & hubby are getting suspicious - sure enough an ambush arrives.  however trevor has BOTH guns with pezza following behind.  he tells us she has been demoted to "ammo mule" - ahhh older siblings....

she got a bejeweled game for her nintendo DS - hubby and i are totally addicted.

i have two more christmas cards i wanted to share - really i wanted to share them BEFORE christmas but things got a little crazy!  i posted my pearl mist video and talked about using the perfect pearls and water alone but you can also make shimmering colors to match your projects easily!  all you need is to do is add a few drops of your DYE reinkers to the water and perfect pearl mixture - any dye based reinker works.  this means you can adjust your shimmer color AND mist color!

On this card I used the Perfect Pearls and water on the polka dot paper and then added some cranberry reinker to mist a piece of white paper for some shimmering red.

here you can see the gorgeous cranberry color mixed with gold shimmer - i love that i can control just how much color i will have this way too - most pre-made mixes have a bit too much color for me!  i used a crafter's workshop stencil and gold viva decor modeling cream to add the leaf design.

this image is from lala land crafts - isn't she adorable?!  i colored her with colored pencils and then added some twinkling H2Os for extra shimmer.

I also made a pale blue shimmering mist

on this background i used viva decor crystal gel sprinkled with ultrafine glitter while wet and got some amazing snowflakes!

my image is a Peachy Keen i have had for several years - i just LOVE him.

he is also colored with colored pencils.  the embellies are cut from felt (from Felt On The Fly - ALWAYS) using spellbinders dies and then a fabric yoyo in the center.

here are some xmas pics for ya:

pink!

 sibling love

 christmas cat

 done

 the haul

it will take pezza all week to get to all her presents i think!  so far what she has played with, she has played with for a long time so i think that's a good sign!

i hope you all had a wonderful christmas and i am really looking forward to spending another year with you!  i have been so blessed through this little blog of mine and am so grateful for the friends i have made and the opportunities that have come my way!

TH tags #9 & 10 plus a tutorial on making "snow" t!m holtz style

WARNING - pic heavy post today!!






This first gift set has focal images based on t!m's tag # 9 tutorial and is done for Jen's Saturday Sketch For You To Try challenge:

sorry for the awful pics - the light has been really bad here lately! here are some close ups:





i cut the image piece with my new nesties. stamped with black archival ink and then smudged in pine needle and fired brick distress inks with the ink blending tool. tree is stamped with peeled paint distress ink and the sentiment with fired brick. the grungeboard pieces are painted with the silver paint dabber. instead of tiny brads i used a drop of mushroom dimensional pearls in each hole of the grungeboard and it dried in this weird cool way so it looks like old beat up brads! stamps are inkadinkado and sentiments are studio G. All items available at Pezadoodles!

next set up was done using MJ's sketch from last week (yea yea i know i am late EEK!) and t!m's tag 10 tutorial:

Check out that 3D SNOW!! directions below. I did not have any pattern paper i liked with these so i made my own - stamped and clear embossed some snowflakes on white cardstocke. mixed up two pearl mists using the same reinkers as the paint dabbers used on the tag - cloudy blue with pearl perfect pearls and pool with perfect pewter. i sprayed over the whole page. when dry i stamped more snowflakes in cloudy blue and pool and then wiped all the inks off the embossed snowflakes. perfectly matching shimmery paper! Again check out Pezadoodles for supplies! and now on to the snow...

gather your supplies: clear UTEE, white UTEE, holographic embossing powder and glossy accents. you will also need a small palstic container and mixing stick and something to measure with - i used a cap from a mini mister - i never put them back on anyway (organization is hopelessly beyond my reach).

your measuring tool doesn't need marks or anything - it is 3 parts clear UTEE and 1 part white UTEE - so here i used 3 capfuls of clear and 1 capful of white. add 2-3 pinches of holographic EP.




next squirt some glossy accents into the powders and mix it in really well. keep adding glossy accents until you get a mixture the consistency of cookie dough.


spread it on your project, embed charms or other items into it and let dry!

don't want 8 ounces (and $17) of UTEE just for a little snow on your cards? get a premixed jar of powder with or without the glossy accents here. Remember t!m's 12 tags kits are also available.

how cool is that! now go have fun!!

more skittled coaster album ala sketch for you to try...

moving right along on my coaster album for my mom. Jen's Sketch for you to try is the next sketch i used - I really look forward to these each week and love when i have a chance to play - not a card but hope you like it Jen!!

first the sketch:



Now the album:




The strips of patterned paper were sprayed liberally with perfect pearls mist (doesn't show well in the pics but awesome IRL.) the two cut outs were done on my Cricut using the Walk in my garden cartridge with paper i first colored using the reinker splash technique. and then skittles of course!!

next up is the LO i did for sketch #3 over at paper patch crafts - you can find it on the message board in the games section:



i REALLY had fun with this one!






papers and stamp are all Close To My Heart. i used the aged tiles technique from the current technique jumkies newsletter but i added a step - i sponged on versamrk and then covered it with frosted crystal antiquities embossing powder - really gave it a nice look. the flowers are also WIMG cartridge and of course skittles and stickles!! i hope you like them!!

Squared....

I have one of my Design Team projects to show you for Paper Patch Crafts. The concept is completely scraplifted from Amy over at Pickled Paper.

Anne at paper patch sent me a collection of goodies to play with and i have three projects in all so this is the first in a series :)

i based the layout of each side on an SCS sketch challenge (since i really have enough cards I am trying to play but do something different with them - stay tuned):



Anne sent a collection of pink, green, and yellow embossed papers, prima flowers She has a GREAT collection here including the fabulous new 2008 collections), clear and lime green bubbles, a mini mister with reinker and perfect pearls powder (which you can get here), and a cool piece of canvas which i had never worked with before - among other things you will see in future projects this week!

I started with a plain wood block from Michael's and painted the edges of each side very thickly with Ranger's crackle paint in Mustard Seed and Worn Lipstick. It needs to be painted on thickly so the crackles are prominent. it still dries relatively flat. I cut the canvas into squares and sprayed liberally with the pearl mist and reinker. this not only turned them green but gave them a bit of golden green shimmer as well.

All pieces are edged in SU glorious Green ink. Large Butterfly stamp is SU and colored with a clear spica glitter pen but it doesn't show well in the pic. The little girl swinging is my very first elzybells stamp (YAY!!!! more of those coming soon too!) and it is colored with prismas and gamsol. The butterfly is a studio g $1 stamp with perfect pearls. The little flowers and dirt pile are cut with Walk In My Garden cart for my cricut.

Stay tuned for more.....

FInally the top :) the clip is a pink binder clip glued to the top. Then i just covered it with primas. the prima centers are the bubbles in some and then crystal stickles with pink seed beads in others. Love this look and have TONS of these from my beading days so i may be doing this more often. I will likely use this to clip my little sketches when i am working on a sketch challenge :)

SELF!! and new tutorial and design call

Just put another new tutorial up on my website - it demonstrates the pearl mist using perfect pearls powder - go check it out!

There is a designer of the week call every week over at Paper Patch Crafts (AND a new batch of Primas just in too!!!!). Want a chance to be in the SPOTLIGHT - hurry on over there and submit an entry - it is an easy design contest because you can submit anything you want - so get your creative juices going and head over to Paper Patch Crafts. While you are there stop by the message board - a VERY friendly and creative place that i enjoy very much. Anne over there has great service, super shipping and some unique items (like binder rings i just ordered for some coaster albums for the two granmas....)

and now on to my next item - i LOVE the sketches over on Valerie's Got Sketch blog - here is the last one:



and here is my LO - Pezzy is really wanting to feed herself - it's a little scary as you can see from the pics!



Paper is pizzazzill, letters are cut with the alphalicious cricut cart. after being inspired by this post i rubbed them with Milled Lavendar distress ink, misted them with water and crumpled them up. then flattened them out and rubbed lightly with Dusty Concord distress ink to accentuate the wrinkles and then dry brushed perfect pearls powder over them in Forever Violet and Interference Violet. Side is stamped with tooled leather from starving artist stamps and then embossed with clear embossing powder. the two little stamps were colored with prismas and gamsol. there is a grungeboard hinge on the corner of the pic - colored with dusty concord. i highlighted it with heirloom gold perfect pearls after this pic was taken to make it stand out a bit.

i am adding new ranger products to the website so i hope you have a look!!

Tha Cat's Pajamas and spotlighting

my first card today is for a new weekly challenge that just started up by the girls over at The Cat's Pajamas - CUTE stamps that i SO need to start adding to my collection....because a girl can never have too many stamps right?!?!? (ok not according to DH but what does he know!) anyway details of the challenge can be found over on Jen's blog. I used an SU stamp since i have no cat's pajamas stamps (yet) and TOTALLY copied a card over on MJ's blog Technostamper.

This stamp is from a hostess set. I put the mask over the stamped image and then sprayed liberally with pearl mist made from sunflower sparkle perfect pearls powder and yoyo yellow reinker - perfect pearls are available in my store and SO versatile. the camera doesn't capture the shimmer but it is incredible! the background is done using the direct mesh technique from the apr 2008 technique junkies newsletter and is done with soothing sunset big & juicy rainbow ink pad - also available in my store. the colors on the big & juicy pads are incredibly vibrant and i love working with them.

the next two cards use two of the stamps from the set. i placed the masks on them, brayered over them with Breeze ink (CTMH) and then sprayed liberally with pearl mist made from just pearl perfect pearls powder - adds TONS of shimmer to anything you spray it on! the images on all three are colored using an aquapainter and just dipping it into the perfect pearls powder and painting it on.

Ranger products - just gets better and better :) perfect pearls pigment powder

so as most of you know i have been absolutely obssessed with the Tim Holtz 12 tags of christmas tutorials on his blog. WELL i got around to tag 6 and started playing with the perfect pearls pigment powder - which i had saved til last because i was a bit skeptical/scared to be honest. well i am here to tell you i fell in love! (how many times have you heard that from me in the last month??) this stuff is awesome!!!! first of all just stamping in versamark or perfect medium and then brushing the powder over the stamp produces incredibly shimmery results. but THEN i followed Tim's directions and mixed some with reinker and water - oh WOW. i mixed it in a mini mister and it gives me this fine mist spray of the most shimmery pearlescent sheen i have ever seen - glitter cardstock no more!!! this is far better - and my favorite part is that i can use whatever reinker matches my cardstock and paper colors (i'm an SU girl) and my project is perfectly coordinated. it's going to be a very shimmery easter around here i can tell ya!!! now for all you cricut lovers - Tim's tag uses a mask made by Heidi Swapp but i am here to tell you it's not necessary - we can make whatever masks we want with our fab little friend the cricut. just cut your shape of choice out of cardstock, put temporary adhesive on the back. stick it to your card paper, spritz away with the glimmery spray and let dry. then peel your mask right off - works perfectly. i hope to have something to show you tomorrow. another wonderful thing about this stuff - when you put ink over it the shimmer still shows through - like when you stamp over it or ink your edges. the pictures i have DO NOT do this stuff justice - so glad i decided to put it all on my site - so get yourself some and play!!!!