Elegant B&W card and Globecraft & Piccolo's New Spring Release!

I hope you have been looking at the Globecraft & Piccolo Blog this week, you have GOT to see all the goodies my Teamies came up with to celebrate the New Spring Release! 

I love black & white, I think it is so elegant – and to continue with the elegant theme, I made this “Thinking of You” card using one of the NEW Flourish sets.  Honestly, I had another project planned, but life got in the way, so I am sharing this lovely card.

Here is the finished card

The card was simple as I had all the ingredients here.  It’s larger than most cards I make measuring 6” x 6”, but I wanted to give a proper showcase to the embellishments and the lovely textured paper I used.

This is all you need to make this card:

• NEW A157 Vintage Corner Flourishes 
• Micro White Embossing Enamel
• Enamel & Embossing Powder Adhesive Fluid
• 6” x 6” black white base
• 5 ¼” x 5 ¼” embossed black cardstock (I used paper from Francis Meyer, but you could just as easily make your own)
• Sentiment (I used an old SU! set called “All Year Cheer”)
• Black Cardstock
• Pop Dots 
• Cream & Black Strip (I got mine from GCD Studios Paper Pad “Paris Nights”)
• White Cardstock for your Sentiment
• Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black

First, emboss your Flourishes with the Micro White Powder.  I embossed the flourishes about 6 times, coating it with more Embossing Fluid & Micro White Embossing Enamel each time to get the coverage I wanted but since the powder is micro fine I hardly used any of it at all.  Set these aside.  Stamp your sentiment on the white card and trim to a rectangle, then trim a piece of black cardstock to mount it on, making sure you leave enough room

to place your flourishes.  I fooled around with the placement of the flourishes quite a bit before I was happy and I even trimmed the square down further once I had attached the flourishes on (which was pretty gutsy, if I had made a mistake I would have to think of another project!).  

The beautiful embossed black cardstock

 Then I cut the 5 ¼” square out of the embossed cardstock, adhered that to the base, put the cream and black strip on, then pop dotted the final square that has the flourishes and sentiment on it to give it that much more texture (even though you can't really tell by the photos).

That’s it!  I love the look of the embossed flourishes with the embossed cardstock.  I hope you like it! Blessing to you & yours, Christi

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

Time for a little Spring

I am so very excited to play with the new spring colors of enamel gels!

Aren't they pretty?

Today I have a pair of pretty little earrings for you. 

Want to make them?
YAY!

Let's do it!

What you need:

Teardrop Charms

Glastique in both Matte & Glossy

Enamel gels: Silver, Coral Pearl, Rose Pearl, Daffodil

Earring wires, jump rings

One side at a time, color each flower with enamel gel. 

Then color the frame with silver enamel gel. 

Allow to dry, flip over and repeat on the other side.

Once it's all dry, coat the flowers with matte Glastique

and the frame with glossy Glastique. 

Allow to dry thoroughly, flip over, and repeat.

Once the Glastique is completely dried, add a jump ring to each charm

and add them to the earring wires.

There ya go!

Denim Blues -----

It's new release week. And my-oh-my are the new items wonderful. Teresa here today with some great earrings that are just prefect to dress up my daily blue jean and t-shirt wardrobe. 

Lets get started.

From Globecraft and Piccolo you will need:
- Vintage Corner Flourish Piccolo Set A157
- Glasstique Gloss Finishing Glaze
- Embossing Adhesive
- Deep Blue Sky Embossing Powder - this is a fine detail powder that can easily be used for stamped images.
- French Loop Earrings 

You will also need
- assorted beads for the charm in the center
- jump rings
- 2 short pieces of fine silver chain
- assorted jewelry assembly tools
- heatgun


Now then let's get started.

I took two of the Flourish Piccolos and decided quickly that I did not want those extensions on them. These are laser cut from book board and are easily trimmed with scissors.  The top flourish has the extended parts and the bottom one has been trimmed.

After trimming the Flourishes, I embossed both sides of each with the Deep Blue Sky Powder. (every time I try a new powder it becomes my favorite)

I put three layers of powder on these.  The process of embossing takes just minutes,  so layering is easy to accomplish.

Just look at those gorgeous blue tones.

To strengthen and gloss up the finish, I cover the shapes with gloss Glastique Glaze. For the fine detail on these, I squeezed a bit of the Glastique onto a tiny paint brush and simply brushed it on.

Then I patiently waited for it to dry.

I gathered up my other bits while those were drying. You see two different charms there. I had a difficult time deciding which to use.

Just look at that blue.

After the shapes were dry, I added the chains to the tops of the curls with jump rings.

Added the charms (I finally decided the blue grey and silver looked best) and hooked through the earring loops.

Ready to wear.

The book board is light weight so these are VERY comfortable to wear. They can easily be customized for your wardrobe. Just pick your favorite color of the embossing powders.

There are some wonderful items in the NEW RELEASE section of the web site.

Have a beautiful day.

NEW RELEASE | A Lucky Pendant!

  
 Happy Wednesday everyone! leslierahye here to share with you some of the FABULOUS new release Piccolos!!! I am so excited about my project today!! 

 I began by embossing St Patty's Day Accents by applying Enamel Powder Adhesive and dusting with Mossy Glen and Shamrock Dreams Emboss Enamel. The lighter color is the Shamrock Dreams color. Emboss the Vintage Corner Flourish with Victorian Bronze. The rectangle bezel is embossed with Aged White. I added multiple layers and laid 3size 8 beads into the melted enamel. Once cooled, I applied more enamel adhesive and Aged White powder to coat the beads. While the enamel is still hot, I sprinkled Victorian Bronze over the beads to repeat the color in the pendant.

Piccolos were adhered to the Bezel with Glastique and the edge of the Bezel was colored with an alcohol marker. Next I used Enamel Powder Adhesive to add Aged White powder to two metal washers. I heat set the washers and added more powder to build up a "donut" shape. Remember heated metal is H O T! be sure it is cooled completely before touching. The donuts were also edged in green alcohol ink. Burlap string was colored with the same alcohol ink to coordinate it to the pendant. The washers were tied on and a mini shamrock was adhered to the dangling washers with Glastique.

I used a piece of leather for the necklace, threading it through the eye of the bezel and the Victorian Corner Flourish 

Globecraft & Piccolo Products used

Enamel Powder AGED WHITE*
Enamel Powder MOSSY GLEN
Enamel Powder SHAMROCK DREAMS
Enamel Powder VICTORIAN BRONZE
Enamel Powder Adhesive Fluid
St. Patty's Day Accents A149*
Vintage Corner Flourishes A157*
Rectangle Bezels (pack of 4) B111
Glastique GLOSS Finishing Glaze 2 oz.

*=new release item

I hope you enjoyed my project! Thank you for stopping by today!

Vintage style French Bubble Frame

Morning everyone, Tracy here. 

Have you been and checked out the new Spring release ? there is some fantastic items in the release, so if you haven't checked it out, then what you waiting for ! 

Onto what I have been creating this week. 

I have used one of the fab Bubble Frame kits, the one I have used is the new French Oval Kit, and it is beautiful ! 

I wanted to go with a vintage/shabby style with it...

What do you think ? I was really happy with how it turned out. 

On the actual frame I have painted it with Off white paint, and then used a Crackle glaze, once dry I used Distress stain, which i rubbed all over and then buffed off. 

The edges of the frame and French oval I rubbed some gold wax. 

Inside the Bubble I have used the new Stacey's stacking flowers, which are brilliant and so versatile ! I used Aged White Embossing Enamel & Copper Kettle Embossing Enamel on the flowers and trimmed them so they sat around the edge of the frame, I also "lifted" some of the petals to give some dimension to them.

I have also used one of the butterflies from the Butterfly Accents set and one of the flourishes from Medium Flourish Accents set, i embossed these using Bahama Aqua Embossing Enamel

Here is a closer look at the butterfly...

You can also see the crackle and the beautiful frame better in this picture. 

I hope you like what I have been creating this week, don't forget to check back everyday and see what the rest of the team have been creating, and why not head on over to our Facebook page and share what you have been creating too. 

Happy crafting. 

Challenge #157 Anything Goes

Happy Tuesday from South Carolina! It's time for another weekly challenge and this week's is a favorite for many because....

ANYTHING GOES

Take a look at these fantastic designs from our talented DT Sweeties:

Annette Andersson

*Calypso Bastian*

Carolyn LaBille

Denise Paxton


Donna K




Erika Winterlia

Irena Kowalczyk

Irit Shalom

*Jacqueline Hill*

Lisa Lahiff

Monica Edwards

Roxie Glaza

*Shelly Schmidt*

We'd love to see your latest creation (cards, scrapbook pages, mixed media, ATCs, etc.), 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.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Our Monthly Technique Challenge is Fun Folds and runs through March 15th. Come join us and check out what our DT Sweeties made! View ALL the monthly challenges here.

***Don't forget to check back later this week for more inspiration from our monthly Guest Designers!***

You may have noticed some "new" items on some of our DT's creations from Globecraft & Piccolo {a division of SweetStamps.com}. Click here to jump to the G&P blog to check out some of the DT posts, they are a great addition to any crafting project!

Next week our theme is FAVORITE COLOR(S). Happy Stamping! Have a super sweet week!

 

An InLinkz Link-up

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

Happy St. Patty's Day

Today is new release day for Globecraft Piccolo.  All week long you will see projects from the design team using the new product.  I have used three new Piccolo's from the release...

A149 St. Patty's Accents

A157 Vintage Corner Flourishes

F100 French Oval Frame

I started my card by embossing the French Oval Frame and the Vintage Corner Flourishes with Vintage Gold Enamel.  I love the rich old world look of this enamel.  Next came the 3 and 4 leaf clovers from the St. Patty's Accents, which I embossed with Mossy Glen Enamel.  

I stamped Leprechaun onto Cryogen Metallic cardstock with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored him with my Copic markers.  I traced the inside of the frame and hand cut a backer, also from Cryogen.  Using Shades Forest ink, I stamped Irish Flourish around the edges of the oval.  The last step was to add some dots on the corners with Titanium White 3D Gel Enamel.  Finished size is 5.75 inches square.

I Love You Shaker Card ~

 Shaker cards are one of the things that used to amaze me when I first started to rubber stamp.  I thought they looked so amazingly cool and complicated!  I still love them and I enjoy making them.  I knew when I saw that some of Globecraft & Piccolo’s Accent sets included adorable little frames that many a shaker card would be born! And again, I created a card showing my love of using the nontraditional for holiday cards - you could make this for any holiday or just because! 

To make this card I used: 

• 4 ¼ x 5 ½ Matte Gold Cardstock
• Piece of acetate
• I Love You rubber stamp from Great Impressions, #C230
• Ranger Archival ink in Jet Black
• Piece of scrap white cardstock (to stamp sentiment on)
• Frame from Fine Flower Vines Flourish Accents, A105 
• 2 pcs. From Medium Flourishes Accents, A139 
• 2 pcs. From Steampunk Airship Accents, A100 
• Enamel & Embossing Powder Adhesive Fluid 
• Aged White Embossing Enamel 
• Vintage Gold Embossing Enamel 
• E600 Adhesive 
• Crafters Pick The Ultimate Glue 
• Foam Tape
• Filler for shaker, I used gold heart sequins and glitter
• Krylon Leafing Pen in 14k Gold 

 

The frame I used - check out all the others!!

First thing I did was stamp my sentiment on a piece of scrap white cardstock, then I cut it a bit smaller than an ATC – yes, the frames are ATC sized! – and made sure it fit the frame properly.  Set that aside.

Take your frame and cover with Embossing Powder Adhesive Fluid and emboss with Aged White Embossing Enamel, I embossed my frame twice and left it a bit bumpy, covering the frame with the embossing powder adhesive in between layers. If you prefer a smooth finish just keep repeating the embossing steps and heating until it becomes smooth – it shouldn’t take any more than 3 or 4 times to make the finish smooth.  I then edged the frame with my Krylon Leafing Pen in 14k gold, both the inside and the outside of the frame. 

Next, I glued the acetate window into the frame.  For me this is a tricky part because you really don’t want any fingerprints, or glue, to show on the acetate – luckily the piece I used had some tissue paper on one side and it was already cut to fit an ATC so it worked fine.  I used Crafters Pick to attach the acetate to the frame.  Set this aside so it can dry thoroughly, I typically wait until the next day, but that is because I do most of my crafting in the wee hours. 

Once your frame is dry it’s time to build the walls that are going to stop your filler from spilling all over the place.  I have some old foam tape that I use and I always use 2 layers so I can ensure the frame will be deep enough and I can sill in all the spots that may be an opening.  Since my tape is old, I use glue in between my 2 layers just to make sure it sticks to the frame and to each other.  

The start of my "walls"

Once my walls are built I put the frame under something medium weight, a book for example, and leave it there for a few hours to ensure I have a good bond.  Keep in mind how deep (high) your walls are when selecting filler – you can’t loose with sequins or glitter.  Because my color theme is gold and it’s a “love” card I chose some gold heart shaped sequins and some prisma glitter for my filler.  I put them in the center of my scrap where I stamped my sentiment.  This way you can see where you are attaching the frame. A few dabs of glue and attach your back to your frame. 

  

I glued my completed shaker onto my card that I made from the matte gold cardstock.  Then I took the accents I had chosen (both sets of Accents I used have a bunch of cute flourishes to choose from) and embossed those with the Vintage Gold embossing enamel, again embossing both twice.  After I was done, I used E600 glue to attach the Accents to the card because the cardstock was a bit slick.  I finished by edging the card with the Krylon Leafing Pen, again in the 14k gold, and I was done!

   

Another view of the card - it's difficult to photograph shiny things!!

I hope this inspires you to create your own shaker cards – they are so much fun! Enjoy! Christi   

 
PS: Don’t forget to take a look at our sister store, Sweet Stamps, for some breathtaking images!