Eat Cake

Hi all!

Ahhh more snow days!  The Washington DC Metro area just can't handle the slightest bit of snowfall.  So we have had a couple days off.  Pezza has enjoyed some extra lazing around the house with her extended Winter break.

While she was off at a playdate I enjoyed some studio time.  I made myself a King Cake Latte, turned on some Downton Abbey and set to work!

I am always getting caught unprepared when Pezza gets invited to birthdya parties so I got several gift cards to keep on hand and wanted to make some gift card holders.  You may remember the ones I made for Christmas.  It is one of my all time favorite Cricut cuts - you can find it on the Fabulous Finds cartridge.  I chose to leave the gift card attached to its little sleeve and made the holder larger than usual which gave me more space to work with so I cut it at 6".

The sketch AND the color scheme are both challenges on SCS (Splitcoast Stampers) this week.  Eyelets were also on SCS (see my layout yesterday) and since they were still on my desk and turned out so nicely I decided to use them again!

My stamped image is from an old set exclusive to the store I used to have - Chocolate Treats 1 by Polkadot Pie.  I am pretty sure I still have a set or two left if you would like to get one!  Just let me know.  I colored it with Lyra Polycolor colored pencils.  Sentiment is Studio G as always!

I also couldn't wait to try out my newest toy - I have bought very little in the last few years but I really wanted one of the cool Spellbinders borders I came across so of course I contacted my buddy Terri at Stampsalive and she hooked me up!  She has really good prices!

This is what it looks like when you pull out the gift card insert - cool right?

I am including this project in the following challenges:

• Bitten By the Bug 2 - Favorite Cricut Cut
• Stampin' Royalty - Birthdays
• ABC Challenge - Anything Goes

Twinkling Tag Tutorial

Hi all!

We are currently hiding from the flu over here.  Kevin has been down for 3 days now and sick as a dog!  He has been banned from the rest of the house and is stuck upstairs in our bedroom and his office.  Jessica is due to have her baby Christmas Eve so she could have it any day now and I really don't want her to have flu too!  NOT good for the baby.  So when he goes in the bedroom I Lysol the hell out of the office and when he is in the office I Lysol the bedroom.  He started Tamiflu yesterday so hopefully the rest of us will escape unscathed....

Despite the constant Lysoling I HAVE had some time to play my studio and I have a little tutorial for you using Twinkling H2Os!  It WAS going to be a video tutorial but I lost the cord that connects to my laptop so that was out!

These tags are also for the following challenges:

• ABC Challenge - Y is for Yuletide
• All Crafts Challenge - Anything Goes - no cards
• Craftin' Desert Divas - Christmas
• Fantabulous Cricut Challenge - Anything But A Card
• A Crafty Mess - Traditional Christmas Colors
• Pile It On - Anything Goes Christmas

Now let me show you how easy it is to add some sparkle to your projects!

You'll need to gather a few things - this technique is done using gorgeous shimmering Twinkling H2Os - ever heard of them?  Gorgeous pots of hard cake watercolor paint with LOADS of shimmer and beautiful color.  Start by adding some water to the Twinks you will be using - I use a syringe or dropper and just make a bit of a puddle and then let it sit while you gather other things.

This will work best on watercolor paper - mine is cold press so it has some texture which I like.  Cut it to the final size you want to use on your tag or card.  You will also need a focal piece - die cuts work nicely, 1-2 background stamps and a soft neutral color like the Sahara Sand VersaMagic Dew Drop from Tsukineko I used here.  You will also need a paintbrush and fresh clear water.

We are going to begin our background with the Twinks.  The puddle of water should have softened the paint into a nice goopey puddle sort of the consistency of honey or slightly thinner.  If it is super thick add a bit more water.  Before you add paint to your paper use your brush and wet the paper with clear water.  Then add Twinks, a little at a time, in a loose stroke-y fashion where you wet the paper beforehand.  Some areas will be darker with more paint and others will be lighter and more watery.  Play with the amount of paint and water until you are happy with the look.  Use both paint and water sparingly, if you get too much blot with a paper towel.  At this point you can also mist the paper with water and the Twinks will fade even more around the edges for a watery loose look.  The shimmer will be more noticeable where the paint is thicker.  Let dry or use a heat gun.

Now take the ink pad (this is why I really LOVE dew drops) ink up your background stamp (the music in my example) in spots, not completely and stamp it on to your DRY paper.  If you have a second stamp (the pine tree flourish) ink it up and stamp it too.

 And that's all there is to it!  Simply add your focal piece/embellishment/die cut and you're done!  Below is another one I made using ornaments and one in blue using snowflakes.

The camera doesn't quite catch the immense sparkle but you can catch it a little bit.

I love my Twinks!  Do you have some you need to pull back out and put to use?  If not then I highly recommend them!  You can get them on Amazon!  If you try this technique out do come let me know - I would love to visit your blog and see it.  Tune in tomorrow - I will be posting some cards using this same technique!