BLOG CANDY plus SFYTT ala pearl mist re-visited - reinker tutorial #1 AND BLOG CANDY

hi all! i decided to talk a bit about reinkers this week in our tutorials. i think reinkers can often be an under-loved supply. of course, they can be used to add more ink to a pad that is running out but there are other ways you can use them too. my sample card today is from Jen's Sketch For You To Try:

and here is the card (minus a sentiment):

This card has a number of different pearl mists made using perfect pearls, water and reinker in a mini mister. The main image is from Inkadinkado and i inked it up using the Royal Satin Kaleidacolor pad. The circle design is cut from the storybook cartridge on my cricut. all pieces are matted with brushed gold paper from SU.

most folks love the shimmery sprays and so do i but i could not afford the glimmer mists. then i came across this little recipe on T!m Holtz's blog and i have been spraying everything since! It is so inexpensive since the "ingredients" have other uses too.

So gather supplies: for each color you want to make you need perfect pearls, reinker, a mini mister, a little "scoop" and white cardstock.

Fill the mini mister 3/4 up with water. add 10 drops or so of reinker - it does not need to be distress re-inker. Add a pea-sized scoop of perfect pearls. shake really really well.

I always spritz on scratch paper the first few times to get the colored mist flowing. i made four different colors to show here but it is very difficult to truly see the differences. in one i had just gold perfect pearls and water - no reinker. one had eggplant reinker and forever green perfect pearls. one had currant reinker and bronze perfect pearls. the last one was cranberry reinker and pearl perfect pearls.

On my first piece of cardstock i used the eggplant spray - i got a deep purple color with green shimmer in the light. and the currant spray which was a deep red color with a bronze shimmer. the colors blend together well.

when you first spray the paper it will curl up but don't worry. it straightens up on it's own. if you want deeper color or more shimmer you can do a second coat.

I sprayed the stamped image with the gold spray - no reinker. this leaves shimmer only (gold in this case) and no color.

i also sprayed the gold spray on the green card base as well so i am left with a card that is still green but with a golden shimmer.

Here is another piece i sprayedwith all three colored sprays. For the final card i had one piece sprayed with cranberry and pearl PP - this piece i cut and put through the cuttlebug in one of the new embossing border folders. the other two colored piece i cut in the cricut. the pierced holes were done using my T!m Holtz design ruler.

while i was spraying.....we were talking on Scrapping Friends about spraying white flowers to match your project and making them all shimmery. so i dug out some white primas:

and one red one :)

and i sprayed away with my leftover shimmer sprays. i did one in each color, one with the gold only and the red one with gold only too.

and here they are! once again the camera doesn't begin to do them justice. but the reinker really gives vibrant good coverage. stay tuned tomorrow to see what i have used these on - I have a new product i am releasing tomorrow....do your skittles want to play dress-up????

AND NOW SOME IMPORTANT stuff - goodies!!!!!! for my first giveaway i have a pack of the gorgeous velvet paper i have been raving about!

to enter leave me a comment - it can be on anything you want me to know :)

fun stuff.....

so i have a bunch of random fun stuff for you today. first up is a LO I did at tech club #2:

i am in 2 tech clubs - one is all Stampin Up and one is Stampin Up and Close To My Heart (alternate months). The LO above is CTMH. The club met over at my friend Cori's house - she is the CTMh demo and there was a girl from the Cricut Board plus two girls from our Moms Club and it was lots of fun! i SO needed the night away after an incredibly stressful busy week. i think the LO is cute and it is about my weekend at CKC.

Next up is a card for the card sketch challenge over on SCS:

One of my new sarah miller stamps - LOVE these!! colored with copics and used the DCWV Nana's boy stack for the purple patterned paper.

Here is a closer look at the little girl...

Finally here is my favorite project from my favorite class at CHA - SEI's velvet paper class. As i mentioned before - this stuff is awesome! In fact i need to get some more! This project is not finished but will be soon.

It is two sided - first side

and second side

as I mentioned before - you can do anything to this stuff - Stamp on it, emboss on it (rust pocket),

EVEN apply rub ons to it!!! and they have prints too! (the pale brown fan looking piece at bottom is PRINTED velvet - dee LISH!)

lots to look forward to here this week - giveaways start tomorrow!!! and tutorials are back but thinking outside the block is on a tepmorary break.

stampy hugs!

LO challenge on Scrapping Friends

Getting back in the saddle....



I was recently invited to join a FAB group of girls in a group over on MSN called Scrapping Friends. MSN groups are alot different than the yahoo groups i am used to but I am getting the hang of it little by little. OF COURSE i wanted to check out the challenges and found weekly LO sketch challenges. so here is the first one - a Got Sketch from previously i believe:



i really lke this sketch AND i had some pictures sitting on my table of Trev's chinchillas. they had been sitting there since before i went to CKC and i was at a loss as to what i wanted to do with them. Then i brought this sketch down and i thought hmmmmm i think i can do something with this. so i started playing and this is what evolved:

I took the colors from the pics and while i would not have normally put them together i think it works well. threading water punch along the bottom. Title and upper left corner design are cut from the new cricut storybook cartridge - OMG i love this one!!

I used versamagic ink which i just started stocking on my website and i really love it. The bracket here is a studio G stamp - a little notorious for being a bit difficult to stamp because the ink beads up but you can see here it works beautifully with the thick & creamy versamagic ink. In addition the ink does really well on textured paper too!

Next up is the grungeboard pieces - i chose a lock and key (and that is what the smaller title says) because we used to let them run around the basement til they started getting into the treadmill and chewing apart the wiring. now they don't get out much :) grungeboard comes a lightish gray color. using the same versamagic dew drop ink pads i first colored the grungeboard completely in a light color then went over it gently with a darker color to make the details of the pattern show up well. the versamagic covered VERY WELL i am pleased to report. hhhmmm as i look at it i realize i need some little brads on that lock :)

The next detail i want to point out is to show you what NOT to do. the border across the top is a series 18 studio G stamp. you can see on one side (Bottom) the stamp is clear and looks like little twigs but on the other side (top) the detail is lost. this is because i put TOO MUCH ink on the stamp and then i also pushed too hard when stamping.

Tomorrow i will post some pics from CKC (FINALLY) and then this week i will get back to my tutorials AND some blog candy! i got a few extra goodies for y'all at CKC plus i got a CHA gody pack from tsukineko and i already have a lot of the products so i am passing them on to you!! i am not sure how i will be doing them but be sure to stay tuned!!!!!!

WOW is it really friday?????

my gosh!! where on earth did the week go??? has it really been since monday that i last posted? well i sure hope y'all missed me HAHAHA!!! i have a card for you today - it is for a sketch challenge on Our Creative Corner:



I took the SEI velvet paper class at CKC and i am SO in love with that paper. i came home with a stack and it was the first (and - so far - the ONLY) thing i pulled out to play with. this stuff is so versatile - you can really do anything to it - stamp it, cut it in the cricut, emboss it, ink it. it comes in ALOT of colors too. so here is my first little prject with it:













the camera does not really SHOW the velvety-ness of it but the purple - dark and light - is the velvet. the green side is stamped with a chinese calligraphy solid stamp i got for my bday *waving to Cat* which i stamped in versamark and then dusted with interference green perfect pearls and spritzed lightly with water to set. i tried to capture the shimmer with the camera but it's hard...

the brown circle cut out was done on my cricut with the new storybook cart - a must have if you are on the fence. i rubbed the leaves and flowers a bit with versamagic ink. i ran the dark purple velvet thru the cuttlebug with the new Floral Screen folder and then inked the edges with versamagic. the sentiment is a studio G stamped right on the velvet with versamagic. i mean how cool is this stuff!!!!

CKC AAAAAAAAAAAANND an introduction you won't want to miss!!

SO recovering from my first CKC experience (creating keepsakes convention) can i just WOW!! my bank account will likely take longer to recover! so this what i ended up with AFTER exercising restraint:














i have had a bunch of requests for thoughts/tips so here is the short version - cash is a good idea BUT most of the vendors i saw took debit/credit cards. i DID NOT go to crops so i can't help there. i DID go to classes - you need more than your basic supplies for a lot of them. MUST TAKES - SEI velvet paper class - we will be talking about this stuff extensively later in the week. cara miller board books - i took board books 101 - she is AWESOME, lots of great tips and a unique approach.

must stop booth - spellbinders - the 2 ladies there are fabulous. want2scrap - LOTS of SUPER acrylic and chipboard albums with adorable examples. i think i bought 7 - have i lost my mind........ and the most surprising find to me - SEI's kit club - i have NEVER been interested in a kit club until i saw theirs.

and the best for last - to me the find of the year - ScrapWraps - scrapbook albums that answer my prayers regarding every single thing i hate about traditionals albums. in fact i love them so much i made a deal right there to begin carrying them on my website!! ready to see?


The front and back covers are cloth, ever so slightly padded and hand sewn (VERY WELL i might add). an enormous amount of fabric choices i can't begin to cover here so we will start with mine. a gorgeous random butterfly and flower pattern.










The spine is black cloth with these loop and tie closures - surprisingly strong. The back and front covers are not attached so this allows for quite a bit of expansion.
















SO first pet peeve of mine - who hates fighting with the blasted post screws? they roll away, screw in crooked, are never tall enough, i get the pages on to one and they slide off the other two. well here we have VELCRO! yep velcro. this is a pic of the front cover open and peeled off of the first page.

Now what is the next thing i love about velcro? ever had to change your page orders or insert a forgotten page in the middle of an album? *raising my hand* well it's super easy now!!!



Next up is the page protector itself - side load (yes it makes it easier), a little protector flap over the opening AND true 12 x 12 size so none of my pages buckle.










what? is the velcro strong you ask? well i can hold the book up by one page.....

i love this - now my almost 2 year old can look at the pics all she wants and i don't have to worry about torn out pages (i mean that's what they're for right? to look through...)









and now the best for last. i loved them all the way through the demo but then she showed me something that instantly had me grabbing my check card. this is a photo of my current album. anyone who has followed my blog knows of my love for bead pops. well they aren't the only bulky embellishment i adore. so my album is retarded.




















well i transferred everything into the new one. here is a pic of the album with all of the 12 pages loaded that come with the album. the spine buckles are undone and the back cover is peeled off.









Here i added more refill pages, just plopped them on.












and here is the new album with all those same pages in it. IT IS FLAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was stunned! i can now embellish with ANYTHING i want!!!!!!!!!!







Look at that! fat as all get out but FLAT!












Now you know i also love my bling so i decorated the cover with some stickles - it's fabric so i know it will hold well.



the albums are $39.00 and come with 12 pages. 12 refill pages are 21.00. the company sets the prices i don't so that is the best you will get anywhere. i have a couple in stock and will be working on getting more in. do you have a theme you know you want? let me know and i will ask about it to get it in the shop!

TSSC28 witchy poo and boo

so once again mary jo really had me stumped with her sketch AT FIRST. but then as i was rocking the baby to sleep it suddenly hit me - the circle could be a great big moon!

i flipped the sketch to make it work - my original scarecrow stamp was too big so used the cute little ghost and pumpkins:

this card was so fun cause i got to use LOTS of new goodies that just seemed to all hit at once! dontcha LOVE that!!

the background is run thru the cuttlebug with swiss dots, inked with black memento dew drop ink pad (the dew drops are so much easier for this). once dry i smooshed it back flat again and then ran it through with the floral screen folder and inked with sage versamagic dew drop - i just started playing with these as i JUST got them in to stock on the website and oh MY i love them!!! the circle is sprayed with gold perfect pearls mist and then the witch (inkadinkado) is stamped in black brilliance and brushed with pearl perfect pearls.

the ghost (peachykeen) is stamped in black memento and colored with copics. the ghost is covered in opal liquid pearl. gold glitter accents are champagne glitz stickles. eek is a studio g stamp. the little bat is cut on my cricut and highlighted with the inkssentials white pen - WOW does that thing work well!!!

everything used except the ghost stamp, paper and cuttlebug folders are available on my website.

As you read this i will be on day two of the creating keepsakes convention in valley forge - can't wait!!

UTEE tutorial - part 3 - and the best!!

ok Catherine - this ones for you! this technique comes from a book - Paper Transformed by Julia Andrus (creator of perfect pearls):





The perfect pearls is "captured" in the layers of UTEE in a sort of web-like pattern.

















Gather supplies: UTEE, cardstock cut to size, cardboard cut to same size, ink pads in 2-3 colors, foam blending tool, versamark, perfect pearls, small paintbrush, heat tool.

Run your cardstock thru a xyron or cover with adhesive and attach the cardboard to the back - i use cereal boxes :) - UTEE can be heavy and make your paper curl - this will keep it straight and stiff.

color your cardstock with the ink and blending tool (or start wit colored cardstock). smoosh it into the versamark pad and cover really well - remember you can check under a light - the versamark will be shiny.





brush on 2-3 colors of perfect pearls. this works best if one is a "metallic" (here i used bronze) AND if you don't put the same color pearls as the ink underneath. now the tricky part - cover the piece with UTEE BUT there is nothing for it to stick to. SO i heat it just a tiny bit to get it a little sticky and then cover with UTEE. start heating with the gun really high up and move slowly closer to the paper - if you see the UTEE start blowing back up a bit. once it starts melting you can get closer. this can take awhile - 10 minutes even - be patient! the effect is so worth it! the UTEE will bead up and drop through the layer of perfect pearls creating "windows" to see the ink beneath.

i am out of town right now at CKC but have this set to post automatically