DigiStamps4Joy Challenge #107--Add Glitter!!

Merry Christmas Eve!  Today is the beginning of another challenge at DigiStamps4Joy and the theme is ADD GLITTER!!! I was very excited about this one since I just love glitter, so I whipped out my Wink of Stella and glitter cardstock and got to work! I decided to take a break from the Christmas cards this week to introduce you to this adorable image called Dozy Owl. I thought this would be perfect to use for a new mom because they're obviously overtired, but decided on an early Valentine's Day card for my husband instead.

The glitter on my owl is very subtle and can only been seen if the light hits it the right way.

Thanks for stopping by today! Please share your glittery creations with us and stop on over the blog to see what my teammates have come up with!

Submissions:

Stella Says Sketch Challenge #221

A Random Fan Challenge Blog #21

Through the Craftroom Door

DS4J Sunday Release--Gift Card Holder

Hello out there! I am SO very excited to share today's project!  

Head on over to DigiStamps4Joy to see all the new releases and what my talented teammates whipped up this week. They're amazing!  

This week, I couldn't decide which image I wanted to use right away, but was inspired when my son asked to watch Frosty the Snowman.  So....the top hat it was :)  Here is my take on this particular release:

Since it's Christmas time and I have a lot of teachers and coaches to buy gifts for (seven of them!), I wanted to make a gift card envelope, so I enlisted the help of my handy dandy Envelope Punch Board, one of my favorite, most used tools that I own.  I used Copics on the hat, some Wink of Stella on the red, covered it with Glossy Accents and popped it up using dimensional adhesive.  I just love the way the stars float off of the envelope!  I really do love the way this turned out and think it's got the perfect amount of magic to it for the season :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoyed your visit!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Come and Get it Challenges--Christmas Theme

Lacy Sunshine Challenge Blog--Holiday Joy

My Besties Norge--Christmas/New Year/Celebration

Sentimental Sundays--Anything but a Card

The Corrosive Challenge Blog--Anything Goes

The Glory of Christmas Challenge--Anything Goes

CHNC--Christmas

DigiStamps4Joy Challenge 106--Something New

Hi crafty friends!  I hope you're all ready for the holidays! I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet, but that's nothing new. I remember many years ago I worked in a music/electronic/book store and bought every present on Christmas Eve LOL  Hopefully I'll be finished long before that this year! Hopefully.....

Today starts another challenge at DigiStamps4Joy!  The theme for this challenge is "Something New", so there are loads of possibilities with this one! Whether or not you use a DS4J image, you're welcome to join in the fun :)

Something new can mean many things: birthday, the new year, wedding, baby, etc. When I was browsing the images in the store, I thought this one was so cute, so the decision became much easier.

Many months ago, I bought a pack of gelatos but hadn't used them yet because I had (and still have) no idea HOW to. I tried once and failed, so I just kind of left them in a basket untouched all this time.  I wanted to do some stenciling and thought it would be great if I could dye my embossing paste with the gelatos..and it worked!  You can kind of see that there are different shades of pink and that's because there are tiny chunks of the two colors I used. It was tricky to mix and it wasn't perfect, but it worked just fine. Up close it looks like candy cane ice cream :) It's really cool!

I colored the image with Copics, fussy cut it out and centered it on the card base. I should use kraft cardstock more often. It's a nice change from a white card, and it's such a great, neutral color that looks awesome with pink! My wedding colors were brown and pink, so they're one of my favorite combinations :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you join us in the challenge!  

Sunday New Releases at DigiStamps4Joy

Hello,  hello!  It's Sunday and that means DigiStamps4Joy shares it's new releases with the world!

I decided to use the Deconstructed Sketch # 179 to inspire this weeks card.  I followed the sketch more loosely than I normally would because I printed the image way too big and it was difficult to get everything to fit LOL

I colored the lantern with my Copics and printed the sentiment in Word, which is something I don't normally do, but it's a great way to give cards a more personal touch.

That's about it for me today and thanks for stopping by! Hop on over to DigiStamps4Joy's page to see what the rest of my teammates have for you this week and don't forget to join us for our challenges!

Freebie Friday at DigiStamps4Joy

Hi everyone :) Are you ready for a freebie?!? 

This month's freebie is called Christmas Stocking and it's adorable! Head on over to the shop quick because this digital image will only be free through Sunday!  While you're over there, you should check out the other images they offer. GREAT selection and the prices are fantastic!

Quick entry today, but I hope you liked it :) Thanks for stopping by! 

Ranger Liquid Pearls--Oriental Trading Review

Hello out there! Today I'm doing a review on Ranger Liquid Pearls that were provided to me by Oriental Trading, but before I do, I want to mention a H-U-G-E giveaway they're having! If you like winning things, hop on over and enter to win their $500 daily giveaway!  Imagine what you can do with $500 worth of free Oriental Trading products! Wowza!  They carry thousands and thousands of products, so there is something there for everyone.  Hurry because this generous giveaway ends December 13!

If you're not familiar with Liquid Pearls, think of shimmery puffy paints from years ago.  Each bottle is .5 ounces and has a really skinny needle nose tip for precise application. Liquid Pearls can be used on paper and fabric, so there are a lot of uses out there!  They add a lot of interest and dimension to projects and have a beautiful pearlescent look. They're waterproof, permanent on fabric, and non-toxic, which is one of my favorite words to see because I have a little one who likes to craft with me :)  

This pack came with 8 bottles and the colors are just so beautiful! Lots of possibilities here! I made sure that I didn't alter these samples so you can see exactly what they look like.  And please forgive the mishap with Onyx Pearl. One of the bottles went rolling across the table and landed right in it. Oops!

These tiny bottles carry a lot of fun and excitement in them, but there are also a few bits of info to keep in mind when using them:

            **Because they are paint and they're in tiny bottles, they could get air bubbles, which could easily ruin your project or mess up the look you're going for. To minimize this headache, hold the tube upside down and tap it on the table a few times, then squeeze a tiny bit onto a scrap piece of paper before adding it to your project.  This should help get any air out of there.  If you look at the pictures above, you can probably pick out the colors that had air bubbles in them ;)  

           **Sometimes the tips of bottles like these can get clogged. If you discover this happened to yours, all you have to do to unclog them is to insert a straight pin into the needle nose tip.  To minimize this problem in the future, try squeezing the tube until the paint is ready to come out, then putting on the cap.  

            **Also, don't limit yourself to just applying dots with the product. You can squeeze it out and paint with a paintbrush, too!  Be creative and play around to see what you can come up with.

Let's get started on how I used them!

In early October I realized I didn't have any Halloween shirts so I bought a cute grey one with the word "BOO" spelled in rhinestones.  It wasn't scary and was a neutral color that I could wear with red lipstick (bonus!!), so I thought it was going to be great....until I washed it and the rhinestones started coming off.  I thought that Onyx Pearl would be the perfect color with the perfect amount of shine, so I tried it out....

Look how pitiful the rhinestones looked after just one wash, even inside out on the gentle cycle!

Ta-da!!  I was pretty happy with this result and since Liquid Pearls are washable, they stayed put!

I love adding embellishments to cards and this is a great way to add dimension and interest as well. I love that the applicator is so thin that I can get little tiny dots or large dots out of it.  Here are some examples of different projects on which they were used:

(I used the Gift Bag Punch Board to make the bag pictured above and will be posting a tutorial on it soon!  Stay tuned!)

I really love the pearlescent look,  am very happy with the quality, and definitely recommend this product. There are plenty of color choices, too!  If you have a project that you made using Liquid Pearls, please share it in the comments below!  

Want to see more projects using Liquid Pearls?? Just do a keyword search for "Liquid Pearls" and check them out :)

Thanks for visiting today!

Naughty or Nice Winter Holidays Challenge

It's the first of the month, and that means a new challenge at Naughty or Nice Challenges!!  This month's theme is....

 I have been waiting for a chance to feature a naughty card, especially using this stamp which happens to be one of my favorites, and this was the PERFECT opportunity! I have a thing for everything vintage and pinup, so I just had to go that route :)

Not your traditional Christmas at all and I just love it :)

A couple of years ago I made a card very similar to this, and with my friend's encouragement, I sent it to his wife at work. The only thing it said inside was "I want to jingle your bells!" and I didn't include a return address. She was stumped and had a lot of her office stumped, thinking it was from the janitor!  We got a lot of laughs from that one LOL

Thanks for stopping by today! You have until December 25 to submit an entry for this challenge, so get crafty :)