Smile + a Winner

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a lovely weekend!

I'm up on the Altenew blog today with positive and negative die-cutting. I hope you swing by and see the full card! :)

I'm also very tardy to announce the winner of the Altenew Dye Ink Blog Hop. The winner of the $30 gift certificate to Altenew is:

Kristie Larsen

Congratulations, Kristie! Please drop me an e-mail (see the "Contact Me"). Thank you to all who commented!

Embellishing a Shaped Card

Hi everyone! How's your week going? We're out of school now--woo hoo!

I'm up on the Maya Road blog with a couple of cards. Here's one:

As soon as I saw the Maya Road You Are My Sunshine buttons, I knew I had to use them as owl eyes. I started by die-cutting the owl Build-a-Critter die I picked up when Clear and Simple Stamps had a half-off sale last year.

For the nose, I inked up the Maya Road Mini Confetti Heart chipboard with gold ink. At the bottom of the owl, I added the new Pearl Trim. What owl doesn't need a set of pearls?

I finished the owl by adding the adorable Maya Road Sparkle Sequin Bow. I am loving these bows and having a hard time not putting them on every card. As a matter of fact, I used the bow on my second card, which is on the Maya Road blog. I hope you check it out! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Altenew Ink Pad Blog Hop

Hi everyone! It's Friday--yeah!

It's also the release of the new Altenew Dye inks. Yeah! To celebrate, we're having a special blog hop. If you're hopping along, you should be coming from May's blog. Here's the complete list:

Altenew

May Sukyong Park 

Jocelyn Olson <-- You are here.

Marika Rahtu

Yana Smakula

Melania Deasy
Anna Kossavoskaya

I made two projects showing the inks. First up, a card:

I used the Vintage Flowers Stamps and Vintage Flowers Dies for the flowers and leaves. The new inks are made to work with multi-step flowers--there are four coordinating red inks and four yellow. Plus, there are three coordinating green inks that are perfect for leaves and a black. I've used 11 of the 12 inks on this card.

For the pink flower, I used Ruby Red, Coral Berry, and Frosty Pink. For the yellow flower, I used Caramel Toffee, Warm Sunshine, and Buttercream. On both cards, I stamped off the final (fourth) layer (Frosty Pink and Buttercream). The Jet Black I used for the Label Love sentiment is very dark and has great coverage.

Here's another close-up:

I also stamped and fussy cut a butterfly from the Painted Butterflies set. For the outline, I used the Grapevine ink. It's a gorgeous color and unlike any other I have. Behind the panel, I did a little watercoloring using the Coral Berry and Buttercream inks to look like a shadow.

Next, I have a CAS tag:

I used the dye inks to watercolor the Peony Scrolls flower. I used all three of the yellow inks (Buttercream, Warm Sunshine, and Caramel Toffee) and a small amount of Coral Berry. Now I'm not a stellar watercolorer, but I wanted to show how well the colors blend together.

I have to say, these inks are fantastic! They are very crisp, dry quickly, and I only had light staining from the darkest reds. Something that drives me nuts about some dye inks is ink transfer between colors (even after cleaning). Fortunately, I didn't have any problems with discoloration with the Altenew inks. The coverage is fantastic, even on solid stamps. I typically use pigment inks, but I would definitely buy all of the Altenew inks.

Prizes: There are two ways to win!

To celebrate this release, Altenew will draw three winners who will each receive a $30 gift certificate to their online store. Please leave a comment on the Altenew blog by Friday, May 22nd 11:59pm EST for a chance to win. The winners will be announced on Saturday, May 23rd.

Altenew is also offering a $30 gift certificate for comments on this blog post. For a chance to win this extra gift certificate, please leave a comment on my post by Friday, March 22nd at 11:59pm.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Next up on the hop is the incredible Marika. I'm sure you're in for a treat!

Going Cute

Hi all! I hope you're having a great week. My son graduated from preschool last night (complete with caps and gowns, lol), and my daughter is done with school on Friday. All of the end-of-the-school craziness is happening!

I wanted to share a couple of Paper Smooches projects using the new dies.

I used the new Paper Smooches Tooth Fairy die to make a tiny card. There are flap dies for a pocket on the Tooth Fairy die, and I used the flap to make arms. The crown is one of the dies, too. To make the face, I stamped the smile using the Cool Dudes snowman stamps--this set is great for making faces (not just for snowmen). On the flag, I used a sentiment from Sugar Rush. Get it? A "sweet tooth." Tee hee....I crack myself up. ;) I'm such a dork. 

Next:

This card is pretty straightforward. I stamped, Copic colored, and die cut the sea creatures using the Surf and Turf stamps and Surf and Turf Icons dies. The papers are from a Studio Calico kit.

The critters needed to be grounded, so I stitched a loose circle under them. I also added some Glossy Accents to the bubbles around the sentiment:

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Puppy Love

Hi everyone! It's Friday--yeah! My daughter is in a play tonight, and she's having a party tomorrow...it's going to be a busy weekend here.

Today, I'm up on the Maya Road blog sharing a card, ways to alter metal clips, and a tutorial for embossing metal clips. I've developed quite an addiction to the Maya Road clips. They are so cute!

The clip I altered is on this new puppy hybrid card:

I started by embossing the background with the MFT Polka Dots Cover-up. Next, I layered digital patterned papers from the From Where I Stand collection by Paislee Press.

There are more photos and a tutorial showing how to alter the clips on the Maya Road blog. I hope you check it out!

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


Supplies
Cardstock: (white) Papertrey Ink
Patterned paper: (From Where I Stand digital collection) Paislee Press at The Lilypad
Ink: (Opaque White Mr. Huey's) Studio Calico; VersaMark
Embellishments: (Framed Sayings Transparency; Vintage Doily Transparency; Gold Heart Tag Charm; Lucky Star Wood Button; Mini Pom Pom Trim; Man's Best Friend Clip; Our Home Kraft Tag; Princess Jute Cording) Maya Road
Embossing powder: (Sunshine) Sparkle 'n Sprinkle

Scrappy Cards

Hi all! Happy Wednesday!

I'm up on the Altenew blog today with a couple of cards using the Lacy Scrolls set.

The first cards was inspired by THIS mini album Claudia Shadler. I'm such a fan of her work! I cut into my new Crate Paper Poolside papers (gorgeous!) and added a strip of Maya Road Coud Lace Tape for the background.

For the layering, I used the Lacy Scrolls stamps and matching dies. For the Maya Road chipboard frame, I painted and added glitter over it. and a sentiment from Floral Motifs.

My second card is up on the Altenew blog. I'm sneaking the new Altenew inks on that card (woo hoo for new inks!).

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