a final Inspiration Team project for Crafter's Companion USA

well it has been a FUN year with Crafter's Companion USA!  i tinkered with my very first Spectrum Noir markers and became an Accredited Colorist (woot!), made some awesome new friends and learned some fun new techniques, was introduced to the Ultimate Tool (which has become a HUGE source of inspiration, especially recently!), and was among the first to play with the fab new Spectrum Noir blendable colored pencils.

there is a LOT going on in my life, and it's definitely a time of huge changes, stressful transition, and, currently, a whole bunch of questions as i wait to see what my career will hold.  my bank is closing, and my job (and 58 others' jobs) will cease to exist, and the direction in which i'm heading is totally uncertain.  we have a waiting period, but in a few weeks, i should have some idea of what's ahead.  WHATEVER is ahead, it's going to be a huge change, and could involve looking for a new job, or beginning a career in insurance.  career moves at 40?  why the heck not, right?

regardless, i'm keeping an open mind and i'm certain that things are going to be okay.  the company for whom i work has been amazing so far, and the future is bright!

so with that, folks, i bring you my final Crafter's Companion USA project...

and here's my supply list:

Art-Kure Britain in Bloom EZmount stamp set - "English Rose", stamped on frosted vellum with StazOn Jet Black ink
embossed on Luxury Centura Pearl cardstock using Die'sire 6x6 Embossalicious embossing folder - "Decorative Heart"
on the same panel, i stamped the birthday sentiment from the Sentimentals EZmount stamp set - "Imagine", using my StazOn
i misted on the embossed panel using Memento Fireworks Spray - Angel Pink, then splattered a few random speckles of Spectrum Noir re-inker BP3
colored up some white Thickers using Spectrum Noir markers - PP1, BP2, True Black

i wish i could capture the shimmer, but it was hard enough to photograph with my glitchy camera!  if everything with the job gets sorted soon and i know i'll be employed in a few months, i will be getting a new camera...  in the meantime, i'm being extra frugal.  

so there you have it.  i will be hanging out with my Crafter's Companion products a whole lot, and i can't wait to see what the amazing Inspiration and Education teams create in the next term!  drop by the Crafter's Companion USA blog to see the first introductions for the new term!  thanks to the whole CC crew for everything - it's been a great run!  xo

inspired by DELICATA at Crafter's Companion!

morning, chickens!  a little bit of inspiration for ya (hopefully), because i am absolutely LOVING the Delicata Golden Glitz ink, and i have used it on a TON of projects already.  it's juicy, it gives great coverage, and the shimmer is unbeatable!

so yep.  i'm up on the Crafter's Companion Facebook page today with this project... 

 

i inked the debossed area of the Die'sire 8x8 Embossalicious "Regency Swirls" folder with my Delicata Golden Glitz inkpad and put my cardstock in it to "stamp" my main panel...  see, i love the pattern, but i can't emboss this size with my Cuttlebug.  i still managed to find a way to enjoy the gorgeous pattern!  :)  i just pop the panel in, put a piece of rubber on top, close the folder and press down with my hands to get a nice impression.  voila!

used a sponge to dab around the edges with gold, then stamped my sentiment from the Sentimentals "Imagine" set using StazOn in Teal Blue (i love how the gold peeks through the negative space in the stamp!). 

and that flower?  added some of the same gold ink to the edges before spraying the heck out of it with Memento Fireworks in "Summer Sky".  absolutely LOVE the result! blinged and added my ribbon, and i'm quite pleased! 

go on over and visit the Crafter's Companion store, and be sure to check out the left sidebar for Special Offers, and to sign up for our Newsletter!  (there might just be some awesome promo codes coming your way!)

Sheena's Shells are GORJE!

are you a Sheena Douglass fan yet?

her stamp sets are beautiful, crafty friends.  surrissly!  this set is called Sea Shells from the Sheena's A Little Bit Scenic line (they're all available HERE at Crafter's Companion), and it's stunning and versatile for SO many different themes.  encouragement, sympathy, retirement, vacation, relaxation, serenity, etc...  and i'll use it over and over and over when i'm looking for a bit of elegance and maturity in my projects.  check it out!

she's purdy, no?  the shell is colored with my pencils, and then, because i ordered this Die'sire 8x8 embossing folder (Regency Swirls) that won't fit through my C'bug, i inked the raised side with my Delicata Golden Glitz and put my paper in the folder and stepped on it a few times.  yep, that's my kick-arse technique for this one!  and i LOVE how mottled it came out with the textured paper!  shimmery and subtle without drawing away from the image. 

added a gold foil panel behind it and a strip across with some ribbon, plus some adhesive pearls and an OLD Heidi Swapp sentiment sticker.  voila!

here's the close-up detail of my shell:

and this will round out my 2013, folks.  with a new year upon us, i'm VERY MUCH looking forward to some changes and some fun.  see you on Wednesday if you're up for a game of TAG!  ;)

December challenge at Crafter's Companion - Ribbon/Twine/Thread!

hey there chickens!  so there are only two weeks left before Christmas Day.  is that ridiculous or what?  WHERE did 2013 go? 

well it's been a busy year for me, but i'm looking forward to an exciting 2014 with lots of fun things on the horizon!  i know i mentioned that i will be staying on with Crafter's Companion as one of the members of their brand new Inspiration Team (!!!) and i can't wait for you all to see what we're up to!  lots of fun things going on with new products, new releases, new faces, and LOADS to check out on the blog!  you'll just have to trust me, because we still have a couple of weeks until it all happens!

in the meantime, if you're feeling up to a challenge, we're looking for Ribbon, Twine and/or Thread on your creations!  use your Crafter's Companion products (see the list of eligible items HERE) and play along with our December challenge, and you could win £30/$30 to spend at the Crafter's Companion store, and lemme tell ya...  it's EASY to spend!  :)

here's the card i made using the new Sheena Douglass - A Little Bit Scenic "Seascapes"...  these are GORGEOUS for masculine and elegant creations!

i incorporated ribbon and twine into my project, and backed my image with a simple kraft panel embossed with a Die'sire Embossalicious 6x6 folder (Chevrons), coloured my image with my Spectrum Noir markers (Blender, IB1, GG1, GG2, EB2, DG2, DG3, BG2, BG3, BG5, DR3, DR5, DR6, TB1, TB2, TB3), distressed the edges of my image panel, added a bit of minimal and subtle bling, and VOILA.  i can totally see this for retirement cards, congratulations, destination weddings, and even sympathy.  and believe me, it's easy and FUN to colour!  :)

so.  care to play along?  there's still PLENTY of time left in the month to join us - just CLICK HERE to see what the awesome UK team did to inspire you and to link up! 

Crafter's Companion and Xyron teaming up for holiday gift giving!

hiya!  there is a PARTY going on at the Xyron Facebook page and Crafter's Companion blog!  SO much inspiration for your holiday crafting, you may need to take a week off from whatever you do just to craft and get all the ideas out of your head!  :)

i am sharing a project created using the awesome Xyron adhesives we received, paired up with a couple of fab Crafter's Companion products.  BUT...  i am also sharing a photo tutorial on how i made it.

we received a fabulous adhesive kit and were asked to do SOMETHING for the 30 Days of Holiday Projects event!  there are PRIZES!  leave your comments on the Xyron Facebook page and Crafter's Companion and design team blogs to win super sweet goodies from both awesome companies!

so i made SOMETHING...  i altered this box - can't remember what i had in it, but it was probably junk! 

the first thing i did was grab a sheet of 6x6 patterned paper for the inside bottom of the box.  it needed to be trimmed slightly to fit:

next, i busted out my Ultimate Tool for some scoring action.  the scoring part was easy, but because the box is bulky, i trimmed some of the edges where the folds met in order to get a nice, snug fit when i adhered the papers.

et voila!  adhered with the Xyron Mega Runner and it was a great fit!

next, i needed some trims so the cardboard wouldn't look so drab.  i sliced up some shimmery (and flimsy) paper and some ricrac, but i wasn't feeling confident it would all stick down with just the tape runner.  instead, i ran them through the Xyron Sticker Maker for a good, permanent bond:

remember to burnish!  i rubbed down hard on all of the strips (notice how i doubled up to conserve adhesive?  i'm thrifty that way, and it worked great!)

next up, preparing the sentiment!  i had something very specific in mind, and i went pretty simple, with white cardstock and the Die'sire Embossalicious 6x6 folder "Holiday Holly" and ran it on through my C'bug:

simple embellishing here - i punched the corners and inked the edges and the raised surface with a light green chalk ink.  stamped my sentiment from Stamp-It Australia's new Christmas line, Twinkle (this set is Falling Snowflake) on plain white cardstock and inked those edges too:

added the trims and used Xyron Adhesive Dots to adhere my sentiment and the image i'd coloured - this is Sheena's A Little Bit Floral (Lily), coloured up my Spectrum Noir markers (PP1, BP1, BP3, BP7, DR7, CT2, LG3, DG3, OR1, TN7)...  click to enlarge! 

this was the inspiration for my colouring (next time i'll stamp it in a really light colour)...   :)

annnnnnd the finished box!  i can add candies or votive candles or a set of notecards or something cute all nestled in pretty tissue paper.  or maybe even rolls of washi tape! 

LOVED working with the Xyron adhesives for this project - HUGE thanks to our awesome sponsor/partner for this event!  and i KNOW you'll see lots of other amazing inspiration - just pop on over to the Crafter's Companion blog, visit the blogs of the rest of the awesome Crafter's Companion USA Design Team, check out our Facebook page, and visit Xyron on Facebook, and tell them i sent ya!  :)  leave your comments everywhere by Monday, November 18th to win stuff, too, and maybe you'll get the awesome new Xyron 3" Sticker Maker!  (I WANT THAT)  or some other fantastic prize.  regardless, thanks for joining me today, and have a WONDERFUL weekend!  :)

new embossing folders at Crafter's Companion - LOVE THEM!

Die'sire makes AWESOME embossing folders.  seriously.  fun designs, elegant designs, trendy designs, strange and quirky and right up my alley.  i have never loved my Cuttlebug so much as since i became a design team member for Crafter's Companion.  and i'm not exaggerating!

check this one out...  this is a new Embossalicious 6x6 folder - "Cherry-licious"

SO CUTE!  i embossed some glittery cardstock and brushed white ink over the raised parts for definition.  and i love how realistic the cherries look! 

embossed another little piece so i could cut a pair of cherries out for a totally simple card, keeping the focus on the pattern but not wanting to add too many embellishments.  whatcha think?

love it.  gonna get some mileage out of this folder, for sure!  i love the size, too.  wide enough to cover a larger card surface AND fit through my 'bug!  :)

there are a bunch (and i mean a BUNCH, no pun intended) of new Die'sire folders available - CLICK HERE to see them!

i've got another Crafter's Companion project coming tomorrow, so stay tuned!  been working on my colouring skillz, and i think i'm gettin' the hang of it!

still loving Sheena's A Little Big Magical stamps!

so i like cutesy.  no, i LOVE cutesy.  but lately, i've had a bit of a thing for the Sheena Douglass stamps from Crafter's Companion - they're BEAUTIFUL, and realistic, and artsy, and just so elegant.  and they're fun to colour, even for someone who's not totally confident in their Speccie skillz!

so i decided to play with the Sheena HONESTY set
stamped on Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
coloured up with my Spectrum Noirs
(GB1, GB2, EB2, EB5, BG2, BG3, BG5, BG7, TN3, TN4, TN5, TN7, LG1, LG3, DG3)
used the Die'Sire Embossalicious 6x6 LATTICE folder
and put this pretty little thang together...

 

here's a slightly close-up view, at an angle so you can see the deets:

 

i have no clue how to colour feathers, but i still think my little birdie turned out pretty.  :) oh, and have you heard about the new Spectrum Noir markers?  OH MY GOOMIE, they are lovely!  the grip is fantastic, the chisel nibs can be replaced with brush nibs, and the bullet nibs have a finer point for AMAZING detail.  i lurve!  

so.  there is more colouring to be done.  i have a craft fair coming up in December (possible two of them!) and i intend to have a LARGE selection and variety.  hope you're all having a fabby weekend, chickens!  xo

it's simply EMBOSSALICIOUS! i'm making holiday stuff!

evenin', crafty friends!  hope the weekend has treated you well!  i spent mine working and doing a charity walk, so i'm rather exhaustified, but wanted to share a little something with you before i call it a night...

i tend to collect embossing folders, and then conveniently forget i have them.  i don't show my folders NEARLY enough love.  i also collect cardstock.  all colors, textures, sizes.  i have so many pretty things, but my ADHD brain thinks about them for about 6.3 seconds before obsessing over something else!

today, i made another holiday card (that's a big head start for me!), and i used the 6x6 Die'sire Embossalicious "Christmas Ornament" folder:

papers, alphasand teeny gems are from my stash and i went simple with the layout - i wanted the ornament to take center stage.  i rubbed some StazOn in Olive Green over the raised parts, added some yellow Stickles, and loved how the ornament was blingy but still kind of subtle.  check it out up close:

i actually think the stickles are STILL wet!  it's been hours!  but i love the shimmer and the bits of glitter in the actual cardstock.  also not my typical holiday color combo!  i shall be getting lots of use out of this folder and i already have a few other projects planned!  check out the rest of the Christmas goodies by CLICKING HERE and i'll be sharing a ton of holiday projects over the next few weeks!

oh, and we've got some exciting things up our sleeves at Crafter's Companion!  if you are one of our newsletter subscribers, you'll have caught wind of this yesterday, but if not, i'm sure the buzz will be coming your way soon!  :)