Cheers to you, with a Sweet and Sour Top Note chaser

Just a quick one, while I take a break from essay writing.   Here is another card I made at the e2c retreat, verrryyyy late one night.  It was inspired by they colourful cocktails being prepared by the neighbouring table.  The layout was inspired by an idea in "Papercrafts" magazine, a US publication that I like for the variety and style of designs, even the ads are interesting!  Catching a glimpse of the trends about to hit here is always good.  They often have design tips tucked away in the challenge articles, and this one was about using die-cut papers with a decorative edge as a design feature on a card - not just as the background for a scrapbook page.  I didn't have any die cut edge papers lying about, but was inspired to create my own custom one using the "Top Note" Big Shot die.  I cut a panel to the approximate size, and chopped off one end using the die to create the shape.  The shape created neatly frames the sentiment, and also shows off the "Sweet and Sour" specialty thermographic paper to its full advantage.

The image was done with "Cheers to You"  a set I took away with me to use, sadly neglected in my collection, although I do love it!  I stamped in Stazon black and coloured with my Watercolor Wonder crayons and a blender pen.  The papers were perfect for Cosmos and Mango Daiquiris, hence the choice of matting and layering.   The final touch was a bit of Pumpkin Pie narrow taffeta ribbon threaded through a Tangerine Tango button.  I added a glossy coat of Crystal Effects to the glasses before calling it a night morning. 

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I am in LERVE! DIY Glimmer mist with SU! Shimmer Paint Tutorial

Oooh, I just looked at my hand, it's all sparkly!!
I'm so excited, I have just had a play with a new product in our catalogue, Shimmer Paint - available in three colours, Frost White, Platinum and Champagne Mist.
When I first saw the catalogue I was a little disappointed that we didn't get the Smooch Spritz products that the US have in their catalogue, but not any more, cos these are BETTER!  More versatile, and more economical to boot!  Yay!  I love it when things turn out like that :)  It's called Shimmer Paint, but that's really not the best name, as it's an ink really.  It can be used on fabric (heat set with an iron to make it permanent and washable), it can be daubered onto a stamp directly, it can be painted onto a pre-stamped image, and, using this method, spritzed over things to make them all glittery!  There's no doubt more applications, but these are a good enough reason to get some already, anything else is just a bonus!

OK, what do you need - it's dead easy to do, so don't hold back!
*Bottle of Shimmer Paint - teeny tiny bottles of 14grams, but they'll go a LLLOOOONNNGGG way using this technique, $11.50 each, find them on page 143.
*Some Rubbing Alcohol (aka Isopropyl Alcohol, Isopropanol, Isocol) from your local supermarket or pharmacy.
*An eye-dropper, you just want to be able to add the ink dropwise.  I've used a transfer pipette since I happened to have one (insert whistling innocently smilie HERE ;))  A baby panadol doser is probably rattling around most homes, would probably work fine.
*A small spray bottle.  I've used a mini mister from Ranger as I like the superfine mist, but any small spray bottle will do.

1. Fill the spray bottle almost to the top (about 1cm head space) with Isopropanol
2. Shake the Shimmer Paint bottle well, it has a ball mixer in there, so you should hear it rattle
3. First wet the inside of your dropper with Isopropanol, by sucking some in and then ejecting, this will stop too much of the ink from clinging to the inside.  Then carefully suck up a tiny amount of Shimmer Paint, about 10 drops worth and add to the misting bottle, rinse the dropper by sucking up and down until all the paint is gone from the dropper, close the bottles!
4. Shake well before each use, then simply spray onto your cardstock and let it dry.

That's it - too easy.  The Isopropanol evaporates very quickly, so it won't take long to dry.  If you want more shimmer, you can either add a second/third spray, or add a few more drops of paint to your misting bottle.  If you're like me, you'll be digging through your scraps box to test it out on all kinds of cardstock and thinking of all the possibilities!

Here's what it looks like, although it is the devil to capture photographically!  The best photo was on dark cardstock, Basic Gray, but the effect was equally beautiful on both Rose Red, Whisper White, and looked especially pretty on a pre-embossed piece of Very Vanilla, using the Vintage Wallpaper folder.

As you can see, it has turned Basic Gray into something more like "Dazzling Pewter", it's quite like a car pearl metallic paint finish, but matte.

So cool, hope you like my instructions, please come back and tell me how you went with your attempts, I'd love to see what you come up with!

Just one little Owl

Here's the second of my Owl cards, a simple colour variation on the one I showed you below.  This one is more intense, as I have used the yummiest new colour, Melon Mambo as the upper layer, on a Pretty in Pink card base.  Aside for a different sentiment and a solitary owl, all the details are pretty much the same as the other card.  I did use a different embellishment for the centre of the Felt Fusion flowers, this time a Flower Designer brad.

What I have done with these two cards, and also a third (unfinished) with a Melon Mambo base, is to take a colour combination that I liked, and a layout that I liked, and tweaked the order of the layers and the sentiments to create a series of cards.  By doing this, I can make several cards in a sitting, with little to no waste of cardstock, and without the tedium that mass production can induce at times!  It's also an ideal project to do while out at a crop event, as you don't need a lot of stamps, colours or accessories to complete a decent batch.  Happy Saturday everyone, hope you can squeeze in some crafting time!