Beware of the Shadow Monsters

Hi everyone! If you're looking for the Glitz Design blog hop, please click HERE.

If you celebrate Halloween, I hope you had a great day! We went trick-or-treating, and the kids had a blast. My youngest was tired, and by the end, he kept saying he was out of time. LOL!

It's Friday (well, almost) and time for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge. The challenge is to emboss--either heat or dry embossing. You have two weeks for this challenge!

Since it's still technically Halloween when the post goes live, I went with a Halloween card. Actually, it's that I really wanted to use this stamp and forgot to sooner.

The Shadow Monster stamp cracks me up! This stamp is huge, but I managed to heat emboss all of that solid area. I nearly gave up a few times, but I did it. ;) I colored the girl with Copics and added a sentiment from Hey Pumpkin set. I'm linking up the card with this week's Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Here's a close-up:

If you'd like to play along with the CAS-ual Fridays challenge, this week's winner will receive a gift certificate to Ellen Hutson.

You can link up your projects HERE. I hope you'll play along!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Glitz Raven Hop

Hi everyone! Happy Halloween! The Glitz teams are having a blog hop today to showcase the Raven collection.

If you haven't seen this collection yet, it is gorgeous! I used it for Halloween projects, but I think the papers would be great for non-Halloween projects, too.

First up, I made a treat box using the digital collection:

I die-cut the treat box on my Cameo using the pretty woodgrain paper from the digital Raven Paper Pack. For the Pointed Feathers, I painted the tips of the paper with liquid gold leafing. Once the leafing was dry, I added coarse glitter to the edges. I'm in love with the translucency of the liquid gold! I may be adding it to everything around my house. :)

I trimmed a thin strip of of the black and white Raven paper, added the liquid gold on the back side, and curled it around a pencil. It's adds a bit of whimsy. :) Below the bow, I added the Trick or Treat sentiment from the Element Pack #2.

For my second project, I made a card using the digital collection:

I used the grey stripe paper and lowered the opacity. I layered two of the bats from Element Packs #1 and #2 and printed the background. For the sentiment, I wanted a little dimension, so I used the same technique in THIS video I made--I printed the sentiment from Element Pack #1 and then die-cut it on my Cameo.

The faux-gold is wicked cool!

As part of the hop, Glitz Design is giving away a full paper and digital collection. To enter, you can comment on this post. The winner will be chosen randomly from the entire hop, so to increase your chances, you can comment on the other blogs. Be sure to only comment once, though. :)

Here's the order of the hop:

Amanda Resende 

Donna Espiritu

Emma Poon 

Jaime Warren 

Jocelyn Olson <--You are here!

Karine Cazenave 

Karola Witczak 

Laura O'Donnell 

Lea Lawson 

Leica Forrest 

Lisa Andrews 

Magda Mizera 

Marie Ramirez 

Mary Martinez 

Mou Saha 

Nina Ostermann 

Noel Culbertson 

Smitha Katti 

Stephanie Bryan 

Glitz Design blog 

Thanks for stopping by! Next up on the hop is amazing Karine!


Supplies
Cardstock: (True Black, Textured Vellum) Papertrey Ink
Digital elements: (patterned papers, bats, and sentiments from the digital Raven collection) Glitz Design
Fibers: (silk ombre ribbon) The Paper Source
Dies: (feathers from Pointed Feathers Die) Simon Says Stamp; (vellum circle from Tag Sale #4) PTI; (box from 3D Large Gift Box) Silhouette America
Inks: (Marigold spray mist) Lindy's Stamp Gang; (Inky Black, Opaque White Mr. Huey's) Studio Calico

Whitewashed Leaves

Hi everyone! Are you ready for Monday? My brother-in-law and his wife have been visiting from Oklahoma the past few days, and this weekend flew by!

It's time for Paper Smooches SPARKS' Picture Perfect challenge. Here's the inspiration picture:

Cool, eh? Here's what I made:

I wanted it to have an artsy feel. I used the stamping-off technique for the background, using a maple leaf from the Paper Smooches' Leafy Greens set. Since I wanted it to look a little more watercolored, I then watered down white paint and went over the top with a dry brush.

The sentiment is the Love Word, which I die-cut from glitterstock. I intentionally weathered the edges with my fingers and even added a bit of embossing paste to the bottom edges (thanks for the enabling, Debby!) Here's a close-up:

I'm linking up this card in the Moxie Fab World's Enthralled with Fall image. My colors are more muted, but I was inspired by the overlapping leaves in the picture:

I actually made two cards for the SPARKS and the TT. Before I decided to stamp off the leaves, I stamped them directly as a background:

It's kind of hard to believe they're the same colors and stamp. I heat embossed a sentiment from Simply Said.

Like the SPARKS image? You can link up your entries HERE. It's a cool picture, and I hope you're inspired!

Be sure to check out my teammates' cards:

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn

Alice

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Rustic White, white) PTI; (silver glitterstock) Best Creations
Clear stamps: (leaf from Leafy Greens; sentiment from Simply Said) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Lilac Posies, Tuxedo Black Luxe Ink) Tsukineko; (Tide Pool Mid-Tone) Hero Arts; (Honey, Mango, Provincial, Peach) Fresh Ink
Embossing Powder: (clear) Wow!
Die: (Love Word die) Paper Smooches
Twine: (natural) Hemptique
Tissue Paper

Hey Good Lookin'

Hi everyone! I hope your week is going great!

It's One Buck Wednesday at Jessica Sprague, and there are two Glitz Design digital kits on sale--Dapper Dan Paper Pack and Element Pack #1.

I made a card that was a little different for me:

I'm not sure if I love it or hate it, but I'm glad I tried a new technique (for me).

I started by dragging mists in the background like Corrie Jones did in THIS video. I took four different colors of mist and loosely dragged them in a circle. The inks ran together a little, which was really cool looking!

The background below wasn't what I used on the card, but it gives you an idea of what the dragging mist looked like before I added the layers:

For the clustering, I printed different elements and papers out of the Dapper Dan collection. The bow tie under the man's chin is a digital brush. For the plaid, I printed the paper on vellum for a different look. Here's a close-up:

So what's the last new technique that you did? How did it turn out?

One final plug for the Dapper Dan collection--you can buy it HERE. It's on sale for today only. :)

Have a great rest of the week! Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (white) PTI; (Premium Matte Photo Paper) OfficeMax; (Silver glitterstock) Best Creations
Inks: (Taxi, Navy) Studio Calico; (Metallic Lime) Maya Mists; (Baby Blue Eyes) Lindy's Stamp Gang
Digital elements: (Dapper Dan digital collection) Glitz Design
Dies: (Circle Stax, Fishtail Banner) My Favorite Things; (Holiday Shapes) Simon Says Stamp

Put You In My Pocket (and a Video)

Hi everyone! I wanted to share a card that was on the Glitz blog last week. We had a theme of pink and green, and I was flipping through my Glitz files. Even though it's not pink (and doesn't have much green), I ran across a journaling card in the Hello December Elements with a sentiment I *loved.*

Has anyone else read the children's book Mommy In My Pocket? It's one of my favorites, but such a tear-jerker (like Old Yeller territory). If you haven't read it, the story is about a child who is starting school, and wishes she could shrink her mom and put her in her pocket during school. The book ends with the mom saying no matter what happens, her love and hugs will last.

Anyway, the sentiment reminded me of the book, and I wanted to make a card with it:

I recolored the sentiment on the Hello December journaling card and layered it over the pink Unchartered Waters digital paper. I loaded the paper into my Silhouette Studio, printed it, and then die-cut it. I also die-cut the ombre chartreuse arrow paper from the Finnley collection.

Here's a close-up:

One thing I want to point out is the centering of the sentiment. If I had put the printed paper on my Cameo mat and die-cut the circle, there's a good chance the sentiment wouldn't have been centered (or straight for that matter). ;)

I figured out a way to cut the circle and center the image, and I made a video of the process. I started in Photoshop Elements and then used the Silhouette Designer Studio program. You can click on the YouTube link to see it in HD.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (white) PTI; (Premium Matte Photo Paper) OfficeMax
Digital elements: (pink from Unchartered Waters; journaling card from Hello December; ombre arrows from Finnley collection) Glitz Design
Twine: (green cord) Hemptique

Joy to the World

Hi everyone! Want to see something different than a card?

It's time for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge, and the challenge is to make a tag and either a treat bag or gift box. This challenge is a two-weeker. :)

I broke out my CAS-ual Fridays stamps and dies to make this tiny treat box:

I die-cut a basic box using my Cameo, adjusting the width of the box to fit the die. The tag ties around the box, and you could slip it off to open the lid.

For the tag, I used the larger Bubble Labels die from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, punched holes in the sides, and scored it. The sentiment, from the new Christmas Carols set, is heat embossed in gold. Here's a close-up:

If you'd like to play along with this week's CAS-ual Friday's challenge, you can link up your tag and bag/gift HERE.

So are you gearing up for the holidays yet? Anyone else making cards already?

Thanks for checking out my post!


Supplies
Cardstock: (textured red) Bazzill; (Rustic White) PTI
Clear stamps: (sentiment from Christmas Carols) CAS-ual Fridays Stamps
Ink: Versamark
Embossing powder: (Ultra Fine Gold) Ranger
Digital element: (red stripe digital paper from Crazy for You) One Little Bird at The Lilypad
Die: (Bubble Labels Fri-Dies) CAS-ual Fridays Stamps

Holiday Fishes

Hi everyone! Today is the last preview for the Newton's Nook Designs holiday release.

All of the stamps will be for sale at midnight tonight (CST). You can purchase the stamps at the NND store.

We're sharing projects using the SEA-son's Greetings stamp set. There are some super cute images in this set, and many work for non-holiday projects, too.

So my holiday card is a little non-traditional to say the least:

The background is stamped using the anchor from the SEA-son's Greetings set. I didn't draw sketch lines for my background--I just eyeballed it, and the anchor is a pretty forgiving stamp. Next, I die-cut the tag from Paper Smooches and added washi tape to bring in another color.

The fish stamps are three different stamps. I love the Santa hat on the biggest fish! I finished off the card with a sailor's knot. I used the same knot on THIS card, but for some reason, it looks more like a pulley on this card. Ha ha. Here's a close-up:

Aren't they cute? If you would like to win SEA-son's Greetings, this set will be given away to two lucky winners!

 Here's how to win:
1. Comment on Newton's Nook Design blog.
2. Comment on the Design Team member and guest blogs (see the list below).

You have until tonight (10/17) at 9 pm CST to comment, and the winners will be announced on the NND blog on Friday.

Tessa Wise

Jocelyn Olson

Samantha Mann

Jennifer Ingle

Alice Wertz (Guest Designer)

Danielle Pandeline (Guest Designer)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fab day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Pure Poppy, white) PTI
Clear stamps: (anchor, fish, sentiment from SEA-son's Greetings) Newton's Nook Designs
Ink: (Nautical Blue Luxe; Tuxedo Black Memento) Tsukineko
Die: (Scalloped Tag die) Paper Smooches Stamps
Twine: (red) Divine Twine
Washi: Freckled Fawn
Copics

Peace & Joy

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a super duper week!

Today is day three of the Newton's Nook Design holiday release. All of the sets will be for sale on Friday (10/18) at the store.

We're sharing projects using the Holiday Wishes set. I gave a sneak peek of this set on THIS card. I love having versatile sentiment sets, and this one is great! Here's the card I made using the set:

I was going for a rustic Christmas card, but I *had* to add in some metallic elements. I started by splattering some Mr. Huey's Opaque White on the card and stamping snowflakes from the Newton's Holiday Mischief set.

For the sentiment, I heat embossed the "peace" and "joy" from the Holiday Wishes set. I finished off the card by die-cutting the tree on my Cameo and adding a silvery tree topper and some glitter to the limbs. Here's a close-up:

Yep, it's hard to see the sentiments. Sorry! You can see the sweet snowflakes.


Would you like to win Holiday Wishes? This set will be given away to two lucky winners!

 Here's how to win:
1. Comment on Newton's Nook Design blog.
2. Comment on the Design Team member and guest blogs (see the list below).

You have until Thursday (10/17) at 9 pm CST to comment, and the winners will be announced on the NND blog on Friday.

Tessa Wise

Jocelyn Olson

Samantha Mann

Jennifer Ingle

Alice Wertz (Guest Designer)

Danielle Pandeline (Guest Designer)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Kraft) WPlus9; (silver glitterstock) Best Creations
Patterned paper: (green on tree from Wonderland) Studio Calico; (red and green background from 25th & Pine) BasicGrey
Clear stamp: (sentiments from Holiday Wishes; snowflakes from Newton's Holiday Mischief) Newton's Nook Designs
Ink: (clear) Versamark; (Vintage Photo, Scattered Straw, Antique Linen Distress Inks) Ranger; (White) Hero Arts; (Opaque White Mr. Huey's) Sudio Calico
Die: (star from Holiday Shapes) Simon Says Stamp; (ampersand and tree from Silhouette Online Store) Silhouette
Embellishments: (red pearls) Doodlebug Design
Paint: (Picket Fence Distress Paint) Ranger

Happy Howl-idays!

Hi everyone! **This is my second post of the day. If you're looking for my Runway Inspired guest post, please click HERE.

This is day two of the Newton's Nook Designs holiday release. All of the sets will be for sale on Friday (10/18) in the store.

Today, we're sharing projects for the Canine Christmas set. Want some dogs to go with the kitties? This one is for you! Here's what I created:

Isn't the Scottie adorable? The very first stamp I ever owned (when I was 8) was a Scottie stamp. Yes, I still own it. ;) I think it was from the Lillian Vernon catalog. Remember that catalog (and all of their personalized items)?

Anyways, I colored the Scottie with Copics, paper pieced the cape and bow, and fussy cut him. I paired him with the awesome sentiment from the set. Here's a close-up:

Would you like to win Canine Christmas? This set will be given away to two lucky winners!

 Here's how to win:
1. Comment on Newton's Nook Design blog.
2. Comment on the Design Team member and guest blogs (see the list below).

You have until Thursday (10/17) at 9 pm CST to comment, and the winners will be announced on the NND blog on Friday.

Tessa Wise

Jocelyn Olson

Samantha Mann

Jennifer Ingle

Alice Wertz (Guest Designer)

Danielle Pandeline (Guest Designer)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (White Linen) Ellen Hutson; (white) PTI
Patterned paper: (red and green from 25th and Pine) BasicGrey
Clear stamps: (sentiment and dog from Canine Christmas) Newton's Nook Designs
Die: (Tag Sale #4) Papertrey Ink
Twine: (Ivory) May Arts
Copics

Guesting at Runway Inspired Challenge

Hi everyone! I'm really excited about today's post. :)

The ever-awesome Jennifer Rsaza asked me to guest at Runway Inspired Challenge. I love the inspiration pictures she chooses and the design team members always have jaw-dropping cards. I'm *really* honored to participate!

Here's the inspiration photo from the L.A.M.B Spring 2014 collection:

Isn't it cool? I actually started three different versions of a card for the challenge. I stamped, I altered cool digital papers, I stamped something different, and I finally ended up with one card:

I started by stamping the Thick Stripes in the background, and yes, I am completely in love with this stamp. I can't stop using it! The print on the model's skirt reminded me of a Rorschach test, but instead of going in that direction, I stamped two leaves from the Thankful for You set.

The patterned papers, the sentiment, and the label are digital, and all of them were altered to get the colors and scale I wanted. *sigh* I love that about digital. :)  I was going for a crazy mix of patterns, and I think that happened. Hee hee

Here's a close-up:

I love that it's imperfect. :)

Like the inspiration picture? Ellen Hutson is the sponsor for this week and you could win a gift certificate to the store:

You can enter your cards HERE.

Be sure to check out the RIC Design Team--they are always inspiring!

Jennifer

Tasnim

Joni Nina

Pamela

Virginia

Aga

Wida

Nina

Thanks again, Jen!


Thanks for stopping by! Have a fab day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (White Linen) Ellen Hutson; (Premium Matte Photo Paper) OfficeMax
Cling stamps: (Thick Stripes) Impression Obsession; (Thankful for You) Amuse Studio
Ink: (Angel Pink, Tuxedo Black Luxe inks) Tsukineko; (Overdue, Silver Mr. Huey's mist) Studio Calico; (metallic mist from Antique Silver) Maya Mist
Digital elements: From The Lilypad: (label from Diptych collection) Paislee Press; (grey damask patterned paper from Woodprints) Lynn Marie; (red stripe paper from Crazy for You collection) One Little Bird; (sentiment from This Much Word Art) Paislee Press. From Pixels & Co.: (grey and white spirals paper from the Devoted collection) Karla Dudley

Newton's Holiday Mischief

Hi everyone! This is my second post of the day. If you're looking for my Paper Smooches SPARKS post, please click HERE.

This week is the Newton's Nook Designs' Holiday Release! There are some *cute* stamps being released, and I'll be sharing a set each day. The stamps will be for sale in the store on Friday (10/18).

Today, we're sharing the Newton's Holiday Mischief set. Here's the card I created:

We only have one cat now, but for a few years, we had two. Marma was the older, ornery cat that had once been an indoor/outdoor cat before she adopted my husband (i.e., she was a toughie). Years later, we adopted Bullwinkle, who was pretty young and playful. As you can imagine, Marma was not very happy about a younger cat and spent a lot of time hissing at her. Every once in a while, though, they would be sleeping next to each other. :) I was thinking of them when I used the cats and sentiment for the card.

I stamped the Newton kitty twice, colored, and fussy cut them. For the sentiment, I used a sentiment from another set I'll be sharing this week. Here's a close-up:

Would you like to win Newton's Holiday Mischief? This set will be given away to two lucky winners!

 Here's how to win:
1. Comment on Newton's Nook Design blog.
2. Comment on the Design Team member and guest blogs (see the list below).

You have until Thursday (10/17) at 9 pm CST to comment, and the winners will be announced on the NND blog on Friday.

Tessa Wise

Jocelyn Olson

Samantha Mann

Jennifer Ingle

Alice Wertz (Guest Designer)

Danielle Pandeline (Guest Designer)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (White Linen) Ellen Hutson; (white) PTI
Patterned paper: (Raven collection) Glitz Design
Clear stamps: (cats from Newton's Holiday Mischief; sentiments from Holiday Wishes) Newton's Nook Designs
Embossing powder: (Gold Detail) Ranger
Copics

Wishes Come True

Hi everyone! It's going to be a crazy week on the 'ole blog--lots of posts. I'm writing up my posts now and trying to minimize the blah, blah, blah. Who am I kidding? There's still a little blah, blah...I can't help but talk. ;) I hope you'll check them out the posts this week.

First up, it's time for Designer Drafts at Paper Smooches SPARKS. Here's the sketch:

You can use either version for the SPARKS challenge. Now that I look at the sketches again, I guess I used a combination of both. Oops! Here's my card:

Since I have a 7-year-old girl, I always seem to need little girl birthday cards for birthday parties. I started by stamping the castle from Paper Smooches' Royal Cuteness onto the easel from I Heart Art. After I colored and fussy cut the image, I added the sentiment.

For the background, I stamped on scratch paper and then stamped the stars from Space Cadet onto the panel. I stamped a few first- and third-generation stars to create a bokeh effect. Here's a close-up:

If you'd like to play along with this week's SPARKS challenge, you can link up your Paper Smooches creations HERE. You can also check out the rest of the design team's projects:

Wida

Jenny

Jocelyn

Alice

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (White Linen) Ellen Hutson
Clear stamps: (sentiment, castle from Royal Cuteness; easel from I Heart Art; stars from Space Cadet) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Bubblegum Mid-Tone) Hero Arts; (Slate) Fresh Ink; (Tuxedo Black, Dandelion Brilliance) Tsukineko
Copics

Hey Foxy

Hey everyone! Ready for the weekend? I know I am!

CAS-ual Fridays has a new challenge:

Yep, it has to be one of my favorites--add real or faux stitching on a card. It's no secret that I love to sew on cards. :)

I've been dying to use my new Amuse stamps, and I was glad I had a chance to use them for the challenge:

I.am.in.love. Do you ever have those moments where you come across a scrappy product and you *have* to have it? I had that moment when I saw the Hey Foxy stamps.

I die cut the fox, acorn, and leaves, and then I broke out my stamp positioner to stamp the images (they're cling stamps). I stitched a line to look like the leaves were falling and then another under the fox. Looking at the card, I wish the thread around the leaves was a different color. For the sentiment, I used a stamp from Simon Says Stamp.

Here's a close-up:

I want to squeeze him!

If you want to play along with this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge, you can link up HERE. This week, the challenge is sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. I hope you'll play along!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by.


Supplies
Cardstock: (white) PTI
Patterned paper: (Family Traditions) Webster's Pages
Clear stamps: (sentiment from For the Record) Simon Says Stamp
Rubber stamps: (Hey Foxy) Amuse Studio
Dies: (Hey Foxy) Amuse Studio
Copics

Going Vintage

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great week! We've been busy at home helping our daughter with school projects. She has to do a presentation on Argentina. Most kids are doing PowerPoint presentations (second grade, already??), but she chose to make comic strips. ha ha Yep, totally my kid!

I'm on the Glitz Design blog today for One Buck Wednesday. This week, there are two Glitz deals at Jessica Sprague--the Vintage Blue paper pack and the Vintage Blue element pack. These papers have such pretty shades of blue and gold.

Here's what I made:

I started with the bird/music layering paper from Vintage Blue and added the "LOVE" element over it. I simply printed the paper in the background, stitched, and inked the edges.

I thought the center panel seemed a little too plain, so I added a glue border and rolled it in gold glitter. I wasn't going for a perfect border (yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Here's a close-up:

If  you'd like to buy the Vintage Blue (on sale today only!), head over to digital store. You can also see the rest of the digital DT's projects on the Glitz blog.

Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Kraft) PTI
Digital element: (bird/music, sentiment from Vintage Blue element pack; patterned paper from Vintage Blue paper pack) Glitz Design
Glitter: (gold) Martha Stewart
Ribbon: (sheer navy) May Arts
Button: Bazzill