Two Looks In One

Hello Sweet Friends!  It's Charlene here with you with a super simple and fun technique! I have some embossing folders that unfortunately are collecting dust.  I dusted one of them off and gave it a make over, with some blush of course.  Ready?

1. Supplies:  embossing folder, ink, and a brayer.  Not pictured are white card stock and Cuttlebug.  I chose a pigment ink for this project.  
2. Use a brayer to apply ink onto the folder then run it through your embossing machine. The fun part is that you get two different looks by applying ink on either side of the folder. 

On the right:  I applied ink on the embossed side of the folder.  On the left: inked on the debossed side. Now the panels are all set for a project. Wasn't that super simple?

Here's my card using the panel on the right:

In keeping with the embossing theme, I heat embossed the sentiment in hot pink powder on vellum.

Here's my second card using the panel on the left (inking the debossed side).  The look is completely different.

Stamp Set:  Elegant Sentiments
Thanks so much for visiting!
Have a wonderful Tuesday!
Charlene Pin It

I've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'...

Do you ever struggle for inspiration even when you have a sketch or something to guide you?  That was my problem this week.  My crafty mojo was no where to be found even though I was working with an awesome CAS(E) this Sketch challenge.  What's a girl to do?  Well, I decided to take a page out of Dannielle's book and do a little Fusion.  ;)  Before we get ahead of ourselves, let me show you the sketch.

For my first card, I used the adorable Yummy Love set to make the perfect valentine for my honey.

I used a couple bits and pieces of patterned paper that I had leftover for the background and the heart shape.  To get that cute "Hello" banner, I cut up a journaling card from a pocket scrapbooking company.  I had some white letters laying around but I needed a little bit more color so, I colored them with my copics to match the heart.  Love how that turned out!  A little fun coloring on my honey pot and some Glossy Accents to make some honey on the dipper and you have a pretty cute card.  Love it and I hope you will too!

For my 2nd take, I got totally stumped.  I tried a TON of different card ideas and I just wasn't cranking out anything I liked.  Then my Facebook feed gave me an idea.  I'd use the Fusion challenge blog as my inspiration and pull in a picture that inspires me to use along with my sketch.  That's all it took.  I had a card done and I loved it in less than 10 mins...I swear!  So, here's the inspiration photo I used in conjunction with my sketch for my second card:

Pretty, isn't it.  I knew that this was just screaming for a little ELEGANT combo so I broke out Elegant Flowers and Elegant Sentiments.  You can't beat that 1, 2 punch!

I stamped my flower with a lovely turquoise ink and then stamped the outline with gold to emulate the inspiration photo.  The sentiment was stamped with the same gold and then I added some enamel dots and bling to represent the berries from the inspiration.  I thought it needed a little something more so I cut the card front down to layer on a striped card base for the perfect extra pop of color.

Nothing terribly techniquey this week but I wanted you to see how a sketch can just be a springboard to even more inspiration.  Thanks to the Fusion blog for all their great and inspiring combos.  I hope you will visit their challenge and CAS(E) this Sketch for some fun and energizing sketch action.  Don't forget to check out our Sweet Stamp Shop Facebook page.  We'd love to hear about your ways of getting your craft mojo back.  We all need a little help sometimes!  Also, don't forget to check out the SSS YouTube channel.  Nicole has totally revamped it and you won't want to miss out on the fun she has in store, so make sure you subscribe now!  I hope you enjoyed today's Sketches 2 Ways and I can't wait to see you back here soon.  Have a great Monday.

-Chrissy Pin It

Painless Tattoo!

Hi everyone!  Hope you are having a wonderful Monday morning and are ready for a bit of sketchy inspiration!  This week you are getting a sneak peak of the upcoming sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch (shhh...don't tell anyone).  I must admit that this one had me stumped for a bit but I'm really loving what came out of my crazy mind when I finally figured it all out!  Here's the sketch:

 I was stuck in the feather zone for awhile with the sketch and just couldn't get past them.  Finally, I thought of balloons and that started the creative juices flowing.  I turned to Fall Gratitude for my balloon shapes.  Seriously, would these not be the coolest balloons ever with those patterns?  I also had to use Elegant Sentiments...how could you resist that script?  It's gorgeous! 

I found some splattered/bleached paper in my stash which made a perfect background for my balloons.  I stamped each balloon on other papers in my scrap stash and to give them a little fun twist, I used Glossy Accents for dimension and shine.  I embossed "happy" to make sure it stood out against the background and it turned out perfectly.  I connected my balloons to the sentiment with some hand drawn strings.  I love how it all came together and was thrilled that I pulled it off without feathers!  ;)

For my 2nd take on the sketch I layered the rose image from Elegant Flowers on top of the heart from Cookie Sprinkles.  These two images worked perfectly with a sentiment from Chalkboard Sign.  I did a little tweaking to the images that I'll show you in a second.

 

For some reason, when I layered the flower bud and the heart on my colored paper, my mind went straight to a tattoo.  So, I decided to look up different means of making an image look like a tattoo.  By adding some simple lines, some shading with copics, and a little reflection triangle on the heart, I think I got a pretty good looking tattoo for my card.  A simple technique but I think it's a fun one to try out!  Check it out:

To complete the card, I did a cheat chalkboard background using some patterned paper I had lying around that already had the chalkboard look.  I went with the Chalkboard Sign sentiment, "I Love You" because I thought it worked well with a tattoo image and I embossed it to make it pop.  Here's the completed card.  What do you think?

    

I hope you enjoyed my two takes on the sketch coming up this week at CAS(E) this Sketch and got a new technique to try with your Sweet Stamp Shop stamps.  Have fun with the sketch and share your creations on our Flickr group.  Don't forget to check out the Sweet Stamp Shop Facebook page for up-to-date info and offers.  Plus, a new release is right around the corner and believe me, you won't want to miss it!  Have a great week!

-Chrissy Pin It

Inspired By Advertisements

Hey sweet friends!

Lindsay here, and I am back today with another Inspiration 101 post.  We all have magazine, or subscribe to them.  I have oodles of them sitting around, so I decided to go on a mission, looking for anything that sparked my interest.  Well, I found an ad for the beauty store, Ulta, and a bottle of perfume.

As you can see, there was pink, black and outlined flowers in this little picture, and I used them all for my card here.

Taking the outline flowers from the Elegant Flowers set, I heat embossed them randomly onto a pink panel.  I then took a black card base, and adhered that panel with foam.

To finish it, I stamped a sentiment from Elegant Sentiments in white, and adhered it in the middle, again, taking inspiration from the ad.

Thank you for joining me today!  I hope you find inspiration in the magazines, and advertisements you have.

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glitter me this!

Hey there!
It's Samantha here to share some super shiny, super sparkly, super FUN cards! :) And what better way to add 'all that jazz' than with some glitter?! So, folks, today it's compare this is all about adding color with GLITTER!!! Oh yeah! This is a fun one! :)

Now, there are a million ways to add glitter to your projects:

stickles
glitter glue
loose glitter
wink of stella pen
glitter embossing powder
glitter tape
glitter paper

Seriously, the list could be a mile long! For this post, I'm focusing on two different forms of loose glitter, and the ever-so-popular wink of stella pen! They all add their own amount of pizazz and WOW! :)

For this comparison I used the elegant sentiments stamp set - which is a set I reach for often!! It's so versatile! :)

i also used the happy hour stamp set - which is just ONE of the perfect complimentary stamp sets to the elegant sentiments!! :)

So let us begin!
The first type of glitter I used is the standard loose glitter - old school and cool! but wooooo is it messy!!! ha ha! I forgot how messy loose glitter can be - and I'm still finding it all over my desk, ha!! (I may or may not have forgotten to hold my breath...so loose glitter did go flying at one point! ha! eek! Am I the only one that has had that happen? sigh)

That's pretty, right? so FUN!
Ok, I used a glue pad (um, that's a fun tool - do you have one? Leave me a comment below and let me know how YOU use it!! What is your favorite sweet image to glitter? I'm so intrigued by the posibilities!!)
I also used an almost ombre technique with the glitter by sprinkling three different shades of glitter at the same time (red, orange and yellow)!

And here's the card I made with this loose glitter example! :) It's so fun!!
I must note, the only down side to using loose glitter is, once the glue pad dries, the loose glitter can still rub off. :/ Boo!

Next up is some glitter embossing powder! It's so pretty!!

This is a really fun way to add glitter because it can add a layer of color (due to the colored embossing powder color) and it adds a layer of glitter! It's a very pretty effect!
And bonus - the glitter doesn't rub off once it has cooled! :)

Here's the card I made with this example! I LOVE it! :)

Lastly, I have an example using the 'hansel he's so hot right now' hottest product out there right now - the wink of stella pen! ha ha! :) (I love the movie Zoolander - I can't help it!! It's so silly, it's hilarious!!)

all you have to do add glitter with the wink of stella is to stamp your sentiment in any color, then go over it with the brush to add your glitter! It's almost instantly dry, the glitter doesn't rub off, and it's so subtle and elegant! I think I use it on almost every project I make! :) ha!

(To check out the card I made with this example, check out my blog!)

And here is an example of all three different styles of glitter close up! :)

What is YOUR favorite way to add glitter? Leave me a comment below and I want to know all about your glitter secrets!! :) And I would love to leave your some love on your blog, back! :)

Thanks again for checking out my glittery post!!
~Samantha Pin It

Card Care Connection

Hello Sweet Fans and welcome to the very first installment of my new series, Ink it Forward. Every two weeks, I will be profiling organizations that accept handmade paper projects (like cards or bookmarks) for people who could benefit from our talents. I introduced you to the series here.

I am excited to profile the first organization,  Card Care Connection.

About the Organization
Card Care Connection is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing sympathetic messages and motivational cards to those who face cancer. The organization's goal is to provide an uplifting message of hope to brighten their day. Through this program, volunteer card makers from all over the United States create handmade cards. Card Care Connection collects and distributes these handmade cards free of charge to identified individuals who may benefit from support. 

Aleeza Granote, founder of Card Care Connection, said:

"I began Card Care Connection through my experience as a clinical medical social worker, in both end of life care and oncology clinics. Through my work, I witnessed firsthand the isolation and loneliness effecting patients as a result of lengthy treatments and extensive travel to hospitals far from their homes. The simple gesture of extending outreach in order to send a message of hope impacted many individuals as such a kind and hopeful act, especially providing comfort and encouragement to many who lack other support networks or coping skills, allowing them to feel empowered through a vulnerable time"

Recipients
Any person with cancer; regardless of type of cancer, stage of the disease, age, income or geographical location; is eligible to receive cards. Card Care Connection focuses on those who have a limited support system or coping abilities. Because some of those individuals do not have a strong group of family and friends to encourage them, your handmade cards can offer so much hope to these people.

One grateful recipient said:

"I want to say thank you for the beautiful handmade card.  This is so appreciated beyond words.  What a nice thing you do for people you have never met.  God bless everyone that takes the time to volunteer for this program.  I am doing great thanks to the support and love from people like you."

How to Get Involved
You can get all the information you need from their web site, which includes guidelines and even packing slips. I encourage you to check them out for full details. They accepts cards all year long and you can send as many cards as you wish from a few cards to an entire box. Cards with hopeful and encouraging messages like thinking of you, have a nice day, hello, care & concern, and hopeful messages are welcome.  Blank cards are also acceptable.  Please try to avoid get well soon, feel better, and religious messages. Some of our recipients are terminal and it is often hard to gauge religious involvement based on individual backgrounds.

Here is one card I plan to send to Card Care Connection.

Using Elegant Sentiments, I stamped "happy" in Versamark onto water color paper and heat set it with gold embossing powder. Then, I rubbed Gelatos at the same angle as the sentiment and used a water brush to blend. I stamped "you're my friend" onto black paper with Versamark, heat set it with white embossing powder, and angled the strip to be parallel with the sentiment.

Thanks for visiting. Please visit my blog for more card ideas. I am also hosting a link party, where you can link up the cards you plan to send to Card Care Connection. Let's inspire eachother!!

Annette


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Using Journaling Tags

Lindsay here with you today, sharing a new series I like to call Inspiration 101!  Making cards is one of those things that I love to do, and want to do a lot of, but sometimes those creative juices just don't come when I need them to.

Inspiration can be found in so many places, from decor magazines, to the supplies we already own.  For my project today, I chose a little journaling card that I thought would be fun to recreate on a card (you can see it in the corner of my photo).  There are so many companies coming out with these types of products, and they make for great inspiration, all of the design work is done for you!  It is just up to you how you want to interpret it.

To begin, I took patterned paper from the new Lily Bee, We Are Family collection, and cut out the center of both papers.  I chose the one particular paper for its polka dots, as seen in my inspiratioin.  I also wanted to include the look of the negative space as it is on my inspiration piece as well.

I then stamped and embossed in the open area, using the new Elegant Sentiments set, so that it stood out against the Kraft paper.  As a last addition, I added a few Navy Enamel dots to the card to emphasize my sentiment.  Super simple!

I just love this set, don't you?  It is so lovely, and versatile.  Well, I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you look at your products with a new light, using them in your next paper crafted project!  Be sure to share it with us!

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Video Game Inspired

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to the first installment of Sketches 2 Ways with me, Chrissy!  In this series we are going to be taking a sketch from my challenge blog, CAS(E) this Sketch (CTS) and use it in two different ways.  The first will be a very literal or simple take on the sketch while the second take will involve a little more pizazz.  Hopefully, I can make you see just how versatile a sketch can be and we can play with some fun Sweet Stamp Shop stamps and other cool gadgets, gizmos, or products along the way.  You may even get a peek at CTS sketches before they go live on the challenge blog.  Let's have some fun!

For our first go round I thought I'd start with our current challenge and a sketch that I designed while the boys were playing some crazy Wii game.  I actually was inspired by their crazy game and it ended up being a pretty fun sketch to work with.

For my first card, I went pretty literal.  I changed up the triangle a bit and tossed a cute bear from Panda Face in the mix but you can still see the sketch VERY clearly.

You don't have to be all innovative with a sketch to make a cute card.  You just have to figure out how it actually inspires you.  I like to flip through my stamps after looking at a sketch and most of the time, a particular set jumps out at me and the card just comes together. 

For some reason when I looked at this sketch again, I also saw a martini glass which I knew would work perfectly with the new Elegant Sentiments stamp set and the Happy Hour stamp set.

For my martini glass, I knew I would turn to my Silhouette Cameo.  To see a video of just how I created this card, you can check out my YouTube channel but here's the quick and dirty (get it...martini...dirty).  ;)  I cut the martini glass out of the black paper, embossed the amazing "Cheers" sentiment in white, then I felt we needed more bubbles which I got from the Happy Hour set, I embossed these with white also.  I then attached the black layer to a layer of vellum, positioned the pink on the card base, and then attached the vellum/black layer to the card base.  Finally, I finished it all off with some bling! 

We'd love for you to share you own take on the sketch on the Sweet Stamp Shop Flickr group and while you're at it, submit it for the CTS challenge.  Don't forget to check out Sweet Stamp Shop on Facebook and while you are at it, sign up for the newsletter (bottom of the page) to make sure you are getting all the info and all the best deals!  I hope you enjoyed my double take on the sketch and I hope to see you again next time!  Have a wonderful day! Pin It