Pretty Tree Piccolo | Enamel Powder

Good Morning crafty peeps!!  Britt Bass here from Pink Paper Crowns!

I'm here today bringing you a pretty little shaker card using a beautiful range of products from the Piccolo line.

When I first saw this pretty floral tree image I knew I wanted to use the Piccolo Enamel Powders to add color and dimension to the shape.

I used the Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive and covered the entire outside edge and several of the flowers with the adhesive liquid.  I applied Shamrock Dreams Enamel Powder and heat set it.  I repeated that method with Mardi Gras Enamel Powder and Copper Kettle Enamel Powder to cover the rest of the tree.  I finished the tree with dots of metallic pearl paint around the edges - and set it aside to dry.

I die cut an A2 sized frame out of brown glitter cardstock and layered in on top of the soft brown snowflake paper.  After the tree was completely dry, I used it to trace a window in the middle of the snowflake paper, cut it out and fit the tree into the window.

I attached clear transparency to the back of the piece, making sure to cover all the little openings in the tree, and then used foam adhesive to create a well for my shaker.  

I filled the shaker with brown seed beads from my stash and Sugar Beads from the Sweet Stamps store.  (I wish I had used a few sequins or confetti to make the shaker a little more obvious, but there's always next time!)  Lastly, I adhered the whole front piece to an A2 cardbase and added a brown satin bow!

I had SUCH fun working with these products and I can't wait to break out my Piccolos again!  Take a look at the Sweet Stamps store for tons of pretty and intricate shapes like this!

Have a wonderful weekend queenies!

Later!

Have a BEAUTIFUL Day!

Leah here today with more fun inspiration for you, using some Piccolos and a fun technique :)

I used several different Piccolo Accents on this piece, and not only did I add them as embellishments, but I also used them stamp the background!  If you would like know more, please visit my blog here :)

To create this piece, I used the following Piccolo Accents:
A165 Flower Tops
A166 Flower Flourishes
LA123 Pop-Up Flowers

You can find these and many more Piccolo elements over at the Sweet Stamps online shop.  I am really looking forward to designing with some of those chipboard words!

Don't forget to come and join us for the two monthly challenges over on the Sweet Stamps Challenge Blog!  Come and have some fun with us :)

Stencil Sneak Peek...

Hello!!!  Lisa here today and I thought I would start off this Friday morning with a little sneaky peek at a new stencil that will be released this upcoming Monday!!!! (June 15th!)

Supplies:

Summer Blooms ATC	Framed Handwritten Words Clear Stamp Set	Distress Ink Pad PUMICE STONE	Distress Ink Pad VICTORIAN VELVET
Distress Ink Pad DUSTY CONCORD

InLinkz.com

This card is another one that you can whip up quickly and make multiples of by changing colors/sentiment. I started by laying my stencil on a strip of cardstock and went over it with distress ink and my blender tool.  I then trimmed it and adhered it to my cardbase.  On a separate cardstock I stamped the floral image and colored it in with colored pencils before I fussy cut it.  I then popped it up with some foam adhesive.  Finally I stamped my sentiment and added my rhinestones.

Make sure you link all of your crafty projects up to our newest challenge: Anything Goes.... seriously ANYTHING!!!!  Link up with a SweetStamps.com and you get a second entry woot woot!

Happy Crafting!
Lisa

Embellishment Redo

I have many embellishments that just don’t work for me.  The main reason I don’t use them is the color.  If I don’t like the color it will never get used, no matter how nice it is.  So I decided to “fix” some embellishments that I didn’t like.  This started out as an experiment, so I was thrilled to see that it actually worked!

I have acquired quite a mix of acrylic cabochons from when I belonged to a kit club.  Every month I received a package with items pertaining to a certain theme and, although the company that put out the kits is no longer in business, I have a large stockpile of stuff.  

What I Used for my Embellishment Redo:

Acrylic Cabochons 

Embossing Fluid

Mermaid Tears, Cranberry Wine and Vintage Gold Embossing Enamel

Vintage Gold - a bit melted :)

I wanted to try to “fix” some of these embellies so I would use them.  I took an empty medicine bottle, popped the top of the Embossing Fluid and poured some in the bottle.  Then I brushed the Embossing Fluid on the cabochon (the brushing worked better - you can work the fluid into the little nooks & crannies), poured whatever color of Embossing Enamel I wanted (after pouring the extra off) and heated it.  The first one I did melted a bit, but then I got the hang of it.  

Cranberry Wine

 As I said, this began as an experiment and I am so happy it worked! Now I can “fix” my cabochons to match my projects!

I hope this inspires you to think a bit out of the box and find ways to “fix” items that you aren’t thrilled with.  And, since I had all the items on hand already, the new cabochons are essentially free!

My Favorite One - Mermaids Tears

Thank you SO much for stopping by today! I appreciate your support ~ Christi

A Certain Darkness. . .

I know everyone is making pretty spring cards and projects but I am stuck on a quote kick, plus I got a bunch of new stamps from Unity Stamp Company.  And, I found the base paper hiding in my stash, unopened, where it has sat for a very long time (the company I bought it from is out of business, but if you do a web search you can find it).  I am on a mission to use my supplies (I am still buying new stuff, but that can be our little secret) so I wanted to use this paper.  I am very pleased with how this card turned out and I hope you agree!

Not sure why this one looks a little blue. . .

What I used to make this card:

• Base made of black plastisheen paper (which is a thicker, heavier version of glossy cardstock)
• A144 Tiny Hearts, Flowers, Stars & Flourishes
• Unity Stamp Co. “A Certain Darkness”, IB-DD-579
• Micro White, Starry Sky, Siam Silver and Mermaid Tears Embossing Enamel
• Embossing Fluid
• Scrap piece of black cardstock
• Sturdy silver cardstock
• Small Star Punch
• Pop Dots
• Crafters Pick Adhesive

First thing I did was take four of the small stars from the Tiny Hearts, Flowers, Stars and Flourishes set – I need to order that set again as I have no more stars left. I embossed them with Siam Silver Embossing Enamel after coating them with Embossing Fluid.  I just have to say, I have been using this bottle of Embossing Fluid, at least weekly, since January and I haven’t even put a dent in it.  And the dauber delivery system is SO much easier to use than a typical embossing pad, plus, I pried the top off and put a small amount in an old pill bottle to use for painting the Embossing Fluid on.  Love this stuff! Sorry, I got distracted <grin>. I completely ruined one of the stars (don’t drop newly embossed items on the floor when you have four very furry cats) so that left me with 3 stars.  I knew I needed more, so I punched some out using the heavy silver cardstock.

Next, I embossed the sentiment with the Micro White Embossing Enamel on a scrap piece of black cardstock.  Now, I have never had good luck with white embossing, ever.  I use my little pouch thingie to ensure there is no stray powder but I could never seem to get a clean emboss.  I did here! I am thrilled with this stuff! I trimmed the sentiment down so it was even.

It was then I decided to try something new.  I knew I could emboss on glossy cardstock, so I thought I’d give it a whirl on this plastisheen.  All I did was use the Embossing Fluid and I swiped it on the card, right out of the bottle.  Then I embossed my swipes with Starry Sky Embossing Enamel. 

I love the texture (such a big thing now!) and it was so fun! I love to try new things; especially when they work out!

So, now I have my background done, my sentiment and my stars.  I pieced it together and felt something was missing.

Hmm. . .not quite right

After debating how to give the card some more interest, I took 2 of the cardstock silver stars and embossed them with Mermaid Tears.  Definitely gave the card a little more pizzazz! After I glued my stars where I wanted them, I pop dotted the sentiment, adhered that and we have liftoff!

My Mermaid Tears stars

So there you have it! I want to share a few more pictures of the card:

I was amazed to see the purple pop out in this picture!

And the last picture of the finished product!

It is very difficult to get a good picture of a black glossy card!
Thank you for popping by and I hope you stop by the Globecraft & Piccolo blog every day to see what my fabulously talented teamies have created! I have to get started on my Mother's Day card ~ eeeek!! Christi 

Thinking of You

For my Globecraft Piccolo card today, I have used the new Stacey's Stacking Flowers set.  To color my flowers I used:

Rose Metallic 3D Stamp Paint

Cranberry Wine Embossing Enamel

Girl's Night Out Embossing Enamel

I just love that you can still see the detailing on the flowers after they have been colored or embossed.  And just take a look at how many flowers you get in the set.....

I used my Cheery Lynn Designs Lattice 2 die for the background.  I die cut it from card stock and then embossed it with Aged White Embossing Enamel. I just love the flecks of gold in this powder.  Be sure to look closer at the picture for the beauty of the enamels.

Next I die cut the middle size die from my Cheery Lynn Sentiment Tag 2 set out of card stock and colored it with Rose 3D Stamp Paint.  I stamped Thinking of You and then used the smallest die to cut it out.  I added a few gems to my flowers and I was all done.  Finished size is 4.25 x 5.5 inches. 

Be sure to check back each day for more inspiration from the design team.

Be True

Hello my lovelies!

Today I have for you one of my favorite things to create- mini canvases.

Ah they are so much fun and so very sweet.

This project also uses one of my favorite charms sets- Vintage Birdcages.

Supplies:

Mini canvas, fancy napkin, acrylic paint, Mod Podge, epoxy sticker, beads, charms (bow and bird)

Heat gun, tooth pick

Vintage Birdcage Piccolos

Enamel Adhesive Fluid

Aged White enamel powder

Gold & Copper enamel gels

E600 glue

First things first- separate the layers of your fancy napkin.

Coat the canvas with mod Podge and stick the top (fancy) layer of the napkin onto the canvas.

Once it's dry, tear off around the edges. Then paint the edges with acrylic paint.

Randomly plop some enamel adhesive fluid onto the canvas and add Aged White enamel powder.

Heat to melt the powder and activate the adhesive.

Coat the solid background for the birdcage with enamel adhesive fluid and then Aged White powder.

Heat it up!

Now coat the fancy part of the birdcage with enamel gels.

Gold on the swirly heart on the door, copper on the rest.

(I went back and did a second coat of the gold once it was all dry).

Once the cage is dry, use a toothpick to put E600 glue onto the back of it and adhere it to the cage background.

Add the birdcage to the left corner of the canvas.

Use the E600 to add a bow to the cage (this bow was a charm that I cut the loop off of).

Randomly spread some E600 around the bottom of the cage/bottom edge of the canvas 

and drop beads onto it.  

Add your epoxy sticker and a bird charm, and it's all done!

Flower Frames - Julie Warner Guest Designer

Julie here again and I hope your week has gone well! The Sweet Stamps Challenge this week is Anything Goes, so be sure to check it out! Since anything goes, I wanted to use this beautiful Framed Daisies image. This is one of those cards that the idea starts out simply enough, but as it develops, it gets more and more complicated. I'm sure that never happens to you!

After stamping the image on a large white panel and coloring with Copics, I decided I really wanted to die cut it. First problem, none of my rectangle dies are big enough. Ok, so I used a larger square and resized it...not a problem, except I combined it with the out of the box technique, too. So it's a little more complicated. But it worked and I liked the way the corner flowers pop against the navy blue paper. I used the same paper to back the greeting oval. I decided to repeat the daisy corners on the background and colored the lines and shaded the vines but the daisies themselves were fussy cut and added on top. Two extra daisies were added where the frames stopped on the sides, just to finish the line. The finished card is 5.50 x 4.25 and these are the Copics I used.

Thank so much for stopping by! Have a great weekend.

Supplies:
stamps: Sweet Stamps- Framed Daisies 3019, Special Day 9114
paper: X-Press It, designer paper (Teresa Collins - Moments collection)
ink: Memento tuxedo black
accessories: Copic markers, Spellbinders squares & ribbon tags & labels 33 dies

Hello Sunshine Mixed Media Sign

I love finding ways to repurpose something that is no longer needed as is. I found a Halloween sign in the clearance section of a fabric store for $.50 and decided it needed a Spring makeover...using items from our new Spring Release!

The new items that I'm using on today's mixed media sign:

3D Enamel Gel Daffodil Pearl
3D Enamel Gel Satin Rose (also a pearl gel!)
Butterfly & Flowers Accents A153
Stacey's Stacking Flowers LA106

Other supplies used:
Enamel Powder Adhesive Fluid
Distress Ink Vintage Photo
Fine Line Applicator Tip
3D Enamel Gel Mars Black
3D Enamel Gel Titanium White
Enamel Powder Aged White
Archival Ink Jet Black
Dylusions Ink Spray Bubblegum Pink, Lemon Zest, Vibrant Turquoise
heat gun
type stamp
sentiment stamp
oil pastels
gesso

Let's get started! Begin by applying 2-3 thin coats of gesso using an old plastic card. (I have found this to be The Best Way Ever for applying thin coats of paint and gesso!) Let each layer dry.

Spray with Dylusion Ink Sprays and then spray lightly with water to move and diffuse the ink. Use a heat gun to dry the ink as you go along. This helps to leave light texture and interesting patterns.

Once dry, use the Archival Ink and your type stamp and randomly tap the words onto your sign.

Isn't this new butterfly so pretty?! Using the fine line applicator tip and the 3D Gels (be sure to rinse the tip between colors or make sure to have a few more on hand) to color the butterfly wings and body. Let dry.

There are *4* different sizes of flowers in the Stacey's Stacking Flowers package (and you get a total of 24 flowers). These flowers are fabulous! They have detailing on the petals and *you can even bend them up to give them more dimension.

*I brushed on a thin coat of the 3D Gel in Titanium White to strengthen the petals. After they dried I held the flower by the center and gently pushed the petals up.

I used a smattering of Aged White Enamel on the petals, too.

Under the flowers and butterfly are scrap circles of white cardstock that are hand-torn. After gluing the circles down, I used various oil pastels to color the edges and traced over it with my finger to soften the color. Draw stems and trace over with your finger.

All that is left is to stamp your sentiment with the Archival Ink. Well, there you have it, my crafty friends - a beautiful Spring Mixed Media sign to brighten your day!

Be sure to visit daily to see more wonderful projects made using the new Spring Release!

Inky hugs,
Angi

Poppy Love

Happy Saturday!

Julie here again with a card for this week's LOVE Challenge theme! It's no secret that I love floral images..especially I love to color them. Don't you just adore this Poppy Vase image? I couldn't wait to color it. Instead of bright red poppies, I made mine more of a coral, orangey color, sort of a California poppy color.  I used Copics to color it then a circle die to cut it out. I decided I only wanted a partial circle, so I cut off the left side. The remaining piece of white card stock, was trimmed and embossed with a small heart pattern before I attached them both to a piece of violet blue designer paper. The "love you" phrase was die cut out of a textured metallic copper card stock and I made a matching 1/2 inch "faux brad" out the same card stock and attached it to help fill in a little of the blank space.

The rest of the layout came about because of pieces I had left over and I decided I liked the way they fit. Be sure to check out the Sweet Stamps Love Challenge, you could win a fabulous prize!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:
stamps: Sweet Stamps - Poppy Vase
paper: X-Press It white, designer paper (SEI - On the Coast collection), textured metallic copper
ink: Memento tuxedo black
accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder & love you die (Love Language combo), Spellbinders circle die, Copic markers
Poppies, Flowers & Leaves- Y06, Y15,  R00, R02, R22, R27, R35, R46, R89, YG01, YG25,YG45, G28, B21, B24, B28
Vase: B60, B63, BV20, BV25, C00, C1, C3

Special Day Teapot - Julie Warner Guest Designer

Hi! Julie Warner here and I'm thrilled to be the Guest Designer for February! I was also lucky enough to stop by and meet Stacey this past weekend at the Heirloom Convention in Lawrenceville, Ga. I also "know" Roxie from Splitcoast & Shelly from Technique Junkies. I'm a native Texan but my husband & I moved to N. GA about 16 yrs ago. For as long as I can remember, I've been painting or coloring something. I found rubber stamps back in the 80's when I bought a few at a home show. Before stamps became mainstream, I used to carve my own. I'm currently one of the Featured Stamper Challenge hostesses on Splitcoast and a Dirty Dozen Alumni (I'm known as justwritedesigns on Splitcoast).

Have you checked out the Sweet Stamps Color Challenge #155...Red, White & Pink? Perfect for Valentine's Day next week! I used the challenge colors for my card today, using this lovely Millie's Teapot Arrangement 3043.

After coloring the image with Copic markers, I used a square die and an Out of the Box Nestie technique. I know Roxie did a tutorial similar about the same time I did this one, and it's still one of my most used techniques. The designer paper layer was die cut with a larger square and the larger white layer was trimmed to fit along with the side layer of the same dp. Two pearl white Candi dots were glued in place and the Special Day 9114 was hand cut in the pennant shape and attached on the right side only. The finished card is 5.50 x 4.25 (A2). Usually I take a picture of the Copics I used, but I forgot. So here is a list of the colors:

R11, R20, R22, R35, R46 (poppies)

RV10, RV11, RV19, RV34, RV55 (tulips)

YG01, YG09, YG11, YG17, YG67 (leaves)

C00, C1, C3, C5, BOOO (teapot & shading)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
stamps: Sweet Stamps - Millie's Teapot Arrangement 3043, Special Day 9114
paper: X-Press It white, dp (Basic Grey - Knee Highs)
ink: Memento tuxedo black
accessories: Spellbinders lg & sm square dies, Copic markers, Candi dots

Flowers Challenge Winner

The winner of SweetStamps.com's Challenge #119 Flowers is...

Jackie

Congratulations!

Please contact me for your winning prize of a $20 shopping spree at shop.SweetStamps.com.

Thank you to everyone who joined in on the challenge, we hope you had fun and will join us again — we have a NEW technique challenge every month, along with a weekly challenge each Tuesday!

Happy stamping!

Challenge #119 Flowers

Hello to all our crafty friends! Hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day Holiday weekend - we had a great cookout and fire with our friends here in {finally sunny} Connecticut! Now that it is Tuesday it is time for another SweetStamps.com challenge. This week's challenge theme is:

 Flowers

SweetStamps has a lot of flower images {from whimsical to realistic} to choose from! 

Look at the beautiful creations from the Sweeties this week:

Annette Andersson

Bonnie Sharp

*Calypso Bastian*

Carolyn LaBille

DeNetra Bates

Denise Paxton

Erika Selander

Irena Kowalczyk

Irit Shalom

*Jacqueline Hill*

Karrie Snider

*Kendra Sand*

Lisa Lahiff

Monica Edwards

Roxie Glaza

*Shelly Schmidt*

*Tamara Morton*

We'd love to see your flower creation (cards, tags, scrapbook pages, and altered art are welcome), so come and join the fun! You could win a $20 shopping spree for goodies at SweetStamps.com's online store by playing along in our challenge! Click here for our complete Challenge Rules.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Don't forget about our Monthly Technique Challenge (Flip Flop Card) runs through June 14th. Check out the monthly challenge here.

Next week's challenge theme will be Dad. Hope you'll join us for your chance to win some sweet stamps & stuff!

Happy Stamping! Have a super sweet week!