Autumn Inspirations Blog Hop - Celebrating Fall's Colors

Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Autumn Inspirations Blog Hop celebrating Fall’s Robust Colors and its Holidays!

If you hopped here by way of the very talented Shona Erlenborn, then you are in the right spot. But if you just happened here as your first stop, you may wish to start at the SNS Home Blog Page to become eligible for six prizes!

My inspiration comes from the muted cries emitting from the stamping closet's closed doors. You know, that place where all the "older" stuff gets put? Upon opening the doors, the muted cries became loud whines! My older tools and art supplies were feeling left out and wanted to come out for some play time. 

Having only made one other Halloweenie card in my stamping lifetime, I decided to try some of those images. 

First comes "Spooky Night", an EASY A2 size card using household bleach, black detail embossing powder, and Pearlescent Watercolors (mica paints). Here in rural Florida, it is common to enjoy a full moon, ribbons of fog or stringy clouds, and bats. (Bats are great for keeping the flying insects at bay!)

 Spooky Willow, Hocus Pocus, and a nickel were used to create this landscape.

Next is "My Haunt or Yours"? Those pesky Acrylic Paints were REALLY whining to be used. Drizzle paint on glossy card stock, and smoosh with another piece of glossy. Open the sandwich quickly from a single corner, and the result is a cool background. I used other neglected art supplies like pastels and colored pencils, two ribbons in a layer, and even old brads! LOL

Of course, I couldn't make cards without my Spellbinders Grand Callibur. Even here I used the oldest of my Spellbinders dies (the Petite ovals 140 & 141) BUT the new Grand Labels One created the shape of this card. (there had to be one new thing in play, after all!)

Your final destination is the SNS Blog! To become eligible for the prizes, please leave a comment on my blog below and return to the SNS blog and answer the following question. There are no right or wrong answers LOL

What styles of Autumn, Halloween and Thanksgiving stamps are you looking for? (ie: scenes, cute sayings, children, harvest time items, detailed stamps, simple images, elegant etc). We value knowing what you most like. (Not a difficult question at all, is it?) Answering that question back on the SNS Home Blog helps us, and makes you eligible for the Grand Prize!

hugs always,

Sparkling Wintry Sensations Blog Hop

Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog hop for all things Wintry, Sparkling and Sensational!
If you hopped here by way of the amazingly talented, Glitter-Addicted-Patti, then you are in the right place!  Otherwise, you might like starting from the beginning to become eligible for SIX great prizes. (Does my blog have one of the secret five prizes?)

Having your journey end here, (after seeing everyone's incredible cards), is a hard act to follow, but here come my contributions to the hop. :-)

If you have Brushable Glue on hand, it's a great way of creating beautifully glittered cardstock to match whatever colors are in the card. It doesn't take long to dry, even in Florida's tropically moist summers. Images from our Nesties Ornament set were heat embossed on embossable acetate with Dark Night Cosmic Opaque EP because of its starry mother-of-pearl look. On the back side, Brushable Glue was painted on and coordinating glitter colors sprinkled on top. NOTE: When using dark EPs, apply lighter color glitters. When using light EPs, sprinkle on darker color glitters, so there is a contrast.

This was my first time using embossable acetate. I learned it is difficult to photograph LOL but is fantastic in real life!

This business size card was created running the Spellbinders Grand Labels One die through my Grand Calibur (cuts like butter!). This card is easy to create, but takes a little time to allow the glue to dry. For card directions, please visit my SNS Gallery here.


The next card was very easy, and fun, too! While Metallic cardstock does not photograph well, it is beautifully rich on any papercrafting project.

The Grand Scalloped Squares, Scalloped Ovals, and Fancy Tags Two Spellbinders dies were used to create this A7 size card with a wonderful text script "Christmas Full Of Love" from our same SNS Ornaments set. For directions to create a a card like this, just visit my SNS Gallery here.

To become eligible for the six prizes, please leave a comment on my blog below and return to your Final Destination - the SNS blog to answer the following question. There are no right or wrong answers LOL

How frequently do you take pleasure in viewing (or participating in) blog hops? We are working on our 2012 schedule, and value knowing what you most like. (Not a difficult question at all, is it?) Answering that question on the SNS Home Blog helps us, and makes you eligible for the Grand Prize! Good Luck!  


 Stamping hugs,

Those Little Beadies

Micro Beads are a fun medium to play with, but they sure are difficult to capture on a photo! A friend and I have been playing with micro beads, challenging each other to actually take an adequate photo. I lost. She did far better than I -- I gave up after about 40 photos LOL

In my stash, I discovered 3 containers of "clear micro beads". One from our LSS, one from Michaels, and one from Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart "beadies" were actually tinier and clearer than the others.

If you've never used micro beads, they are fun. In Real Life, clear micro beads provide a stained glass look. Because of that, they are forgiving, if you accidentally color outside the lines. Bolder colors work a little better than pastels. When coloring, let your imagination guide the color choices. Paints, markers, and colored pencils can all be used with this super easy technique.

To use micro beads, find any stamp image which allows for coloring. These parrot cards were made with the Sparkle N Sprinkle Stained Glass Parrot. It's on sale this month. The birthday sentiment is also from SNS. I cut it apart to accommodate Nesties Labels 10 on my Grand Calibur.

The EASY part came after the coloring. Cut the image to size. Trim SNS Super Adhesive Sheet slightly larger than the image - about 1/4". Apply the SAS. Cut little slits in the excess SAS around the image of the image, then gently fold it over to cover the back of the parrot image. Place the image onto the layer for the card, pull off the protective sheet, and drizzle on the micro beads. The SAS is super adhesive. It holds the image to the under layer AND holds all those beads right through the US mail.

A hint about the photography - any photos which actually show the beads themselves, dulls the image and card. But only in the photos.  I hope you can get an idea of what playing with micro beads can do in the way of presenting an interesting and different card any recipient would welcome.

Thanks for visiting! Your comments are always read with appreciation.

Color Swap

Andrea proposed a color swap taken from Embellish Magazine. At the last minute, I decided to play and came up with this combination of an Impression Obsession stamp and Sparkle N Sprinkle EPs and Glitters. Unfortunately, the true nature of Fantasy Gold glitter doesn't show up in my photo, but maybe you can get an idea?

The base shape of the card was created using the largest of Spellbinders Mega Nestabilities "Curved Rectangles" S5 006 and my Grand Calibur die cut machine. A green colored pencil outlines part of the flower. 

Since this is my first Color Combo Swap, I tried sticking with the suggested colors, but it really needs a splash of something light in it! So my question is, when doing color combo challenges, are we allowed to use white (especially for images) or are cardmakers supposed to use only the suggested colors?

Thanks for visiting.