Thursday, April 27, 2017

Mother's Day meets Eastern Palace

Hey Folks! How are you today? I bet some of you are pretty excited because it's Friday! 

I was just thinking that Mother's Day isn't very far off. I haven't shared all of my Display Stamper samples with you yet and it just seemed like the perfect time to share this box. I started off with this beautiful golden paper from the Eastern Palace DSP pack. It is seriously so beautiful! Then I paired it with new ribbon. Check out the gold trim on this silky ribbon-it is so fancy! Then I decided to throw in some new In Colors and a new embellishment! 


I started by stamping this gorgeous sentiment from Everyday Tags (Occasions Catalog) three times in versa mark ink on watercolor paper. I heat embossed it twice in gold and once in clear embossing powder. I punched the first and third layers out and fussy cut the middle layer. Then I used the new Berry Burst to watercolor the middle and back layers. I also added a little Flirty Flamingo but not much. 

One of the ways I decide if I like a color or not is based on how it watercolors. Do you ever watercolor and watch to see what a color is made of? Do watercolor in a green and get excited when it separates into hues of blues and greens... what about when it has an element of yellow? Anyways, these are the things that get me all excited when I'm late at night and alone in my craft room. 

Guess what?! Berry Burst got me ALL excited! If you haven't watercolored with it yet, please do. It stamps in a dark, rich hue but when watercolored it goes all kinds of gorgeous vibrant on you. It is seriously amazing and not at all what I expected when I first saw the ink and paper. After watercoloring in a variety of Berry Burst hues I layered my sentiment pieces over gold glimmer paper and a Fresh Fig tag with loops of Gold Metallic Thread in between.


I finished my box off by adding one of the new tassels in Fresh Fig and it really gave the box a fancy, polished look.

Have you all made your Mother's Day cards yet? I just had someone commission eight cards and another person wants a few more "unconventional" cards. I wonder what I will come up with... better get started. And with that, I am off! I'll see you back here soon and thanks for stopping by!

Have the most amazing day!
Maria.


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Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Oh So Succulent

Hi Everybody! How's your week going? I'm a little bit tired and I need to run off to make dinner so I'll be short and sweet today. This is one of the cards I made for my display board at OnStage. Sometimes you just need a quick and easy card that's still bright and cheerful...That's what this card is for me. 


I used the Oh, So Succulent bundle for the very first time (Shhh, yes, really!) and really had fun with it. Sometimes with "builder" sets I have a really hard time piecing it all together. So I'm glad to report that this card came together in minutes and was simple to make. Hope you like it!

Now I'm off to make dinner. Short and sweet like I promised today.
Have an amazing rest of the week and I'll see you back here soon!

Maria.



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Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited (possibly way too enthusiastic... No! That's not possible!) Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!


Monday, April 24, 2017

A Paper Pumpkin Thing Blog Hop- A Sara Thing Kit


Hey Everybody! Happy Monday to you all and I'm so excited to have you here today because we've got an amazing Paper Pumpkin Hop! We've got an amazing group of talented stampers who are all going to share alternate cards and projects using the "A Sara Thing" Paper Pumpkin kit. Make sure you check out the whole hop for a chance to win yourself a free kit!

Now, on to the good stuff! I had fun coming up with this card and I decided to use the large, embossed watercolor piece. I watercolored it with Lemon Lime Twist and Tranquil Tide and then cut it out. 

I used the same two colors to give my sentiment piece a pretty background. The strip in the background is Lemon Lime Twist sponged with Tranquil Tide and wrapped with Black Metallic Thread.


I finished my card off with some white enamel dots and some pearls that I colored black.


For my project I made a pouch with a fun treat inside!


Pop Rocks! Talk about a blast from the past! I used to think these were so much fun to eat! This past Easter my niece and nephews had Pop Rocks for the first time and it was so fun to watch the looks on their faces as the little rocks sizzled on their tongue. First, the look of surprise and then their eyebrows went up and smiles filled their faces! It was so fun to see!
Again, I watercolored the background and embellished with black pearls. I layered it over black cardstock that I sponged with white craft ink and stamped with the fun, splotchy dots from Sara's PP kit. 

The ribbon on top is white ribbon that i've dyed with Tranquil Tide to match my project. Oh, The washi tape on the sides is from the PP kit too. 

That's all I've got to share with you today but please keep on hopping for a chance to win our give away! 

BLOG HOP GIVEAWAY: To be entered into a drawing for a FREE "A Sara Thing" Paper Pumpkin Kit, you must leave a comment on EVERY blog. Drawing closes on Saturday, April 29th at 9 PM EST. The winner will be announced on Monday, May 1, 2017.


Now you are off to see what the talented Jennifer Hill has to share with us today! Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
Maria.


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Need more stamps now? Never fear! I've got you covered!
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Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited (possibly way too enthusiastic... No! That's not possible!) Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!


Saturday, April 22, 2017

So Many Shells Box

Hi and happy Sunday! I hope you are all having a fun weekend. Today I'm sharing another one of my samples from OnStage. This one features a new stamp set called So Many Shells that will available at the beginning of June with the launch of the new annual catalog. It is such a fantastic set! The images are beautiful and the sentiments are fantastic!

Here's a peek at one of the sentiments. I love the font!

To get this effect I used Shimmery White Cardstock and stamped my shell image in Bermuda Bay (Note that I only used one stamp and did not do two-step stamping). Then I grabbed my aqua painter and dragged some of the ink to fill in the image of the shell.

After stamping and watercoloring the shells I spritzed the cardstock with a mixture of water and Island Indigo ink. I love the way it looks like the box got hit by ocean spray mist. 

That's it for today! Enjoy your day and let me know if you have any questions!
Maria.



Need more stamps now? Never fear! I've got you covered!
Let me know if you have any questions!


Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited (possibly way too enthusiastic... No! That's not possible!) Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!


Glossy Paper Background Technique-Butterflies!

Hey everybody! I'm back with another one of my Display Board samples from OnStage and today I've got a fun background technique for Glossy Paper. Look closely...Can you see the butterflies in the background? Look familiar? Yes! It's the Fluttering Embossing Folder! This technique is so easy and can be used with any embossing folder that you choose. 


To do this technique you'll need wax paper, a piece of printer paper or cardstock and a hot iron... and of course glossy paper, ink and sponge daubers. Emboss a piece of wax paper in the Embossing Folder of your choice. Make sure that the wax paper is large enough to cover your card face. Now layer your glossy cardstock (glossy side up), then the embossed wax paper, and the printer paper on top of the wax paper. Iron over the top of this stack making sure you do it long enough for the wax to melt onto the glossy paper (it doesn't take long). Take the wax paper off of the glossy cardstock and you should be able to see that the wax image (in this case butterflies) has transferred to your glossy cardstock. Now all you have to do is sponge over the glossy paper with colors of your choice. The wax will resist the ink and reveal your "wax embossed" images. Pretty cool if you ask me because you can create so many different backgrounds with all of the embossing folders Stampin' Up! carries.

Thanks for stopping by today! You know it always makes my day to have you visit! 
Happy weekend to you all!

Maria.




Need more stamps now? Never fear! I've got you covered!
Let me know if you have any questions!


Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited (possibly way too enthusiastic... No! That's not possible!) Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!


Thursday, April 20, 2017

Technique Zone: Faux Patina meets Ribbon of Courage

Hi Everybody! I'm here with a Technique Tutorial today for a stunning technique called, "Faux Patina." The idea is to achieve the look of metal patina (old, tarnished, awesome metal). I decided my patina needed a little rust in it today so I added a color that is typically not included in this technique (Pumpkin Pie). Here's the card I made using this technique and few items from the not-yet-released new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. Scroll on down for a "how-to."

First, use your Crumb Cake ink pad to ink the Sizzix side of your Hexagon Embossing Folder. Then, run your card face through the big shot to emboss it.


Next, use sponge daubers to ink your card face with Pumpkin Pie, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi and Early Espresso inks.

Then, make sure your ink is dry. You can either use your heat tool, or, use your Embossing Buddy like I did. Now, drag your open Versamark ink pad all over the raised part of your card face. Cover in Gold Embossing a Powder and heat to set. 

HINT: After you finish heat embossing you can use your sponge daubers to add more color to your piece if necessary (I did).

Now, attach your finished Faux Patina card face to your card base using Fast Fuse. Sponge half of a doily with Marina Mist ink. Layer the ribbons on top of the DSP and sponged doily and secure to card with Fast Fuse. Stamp your image on the Stitched Circle in Marina Mist and sponge with both Marina Mist and Wild Wasabi. Then, use an Early Espresso Stamp’n Write marker to flick some light ink spatters onto it. Attach your sentiment on top of the ribbons using dimensionals.

Add some gold metallic accents to finish your card off.



There you have it! Faux Patina! Would you ever have guessed how simple it is? This card is incredibly difficult to photograph. I really wish you could see how much more beautiful it is in person. You'll just have to make your own to get the full effect I suppose!

Alright, y'all! That's it for me. It's really late at night and I'm still trying to kick a cold so I'm outta here. I hope you've enjoyed today's technique. I promise to be back soon with so many more cards from OnStage. I've started blogging some of them but haven't been able to catch enough free time to finish. Soon, I promise!

Have an amazing day!
Maria.



Need more stamps now? Never fear! I've got you covered!
 Let me know if you have any questions!


Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited (possibly way too enthusiastic... No! That's not possible!) Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!


Thursday, April 13, 2017

OSAT Blog Hop- Flower Power


Hey Everybody and welcome to this month's One Stamp At a Time Blog Hop! I have so much exciting news to share with you but today I'm going to have to keep my post short because I've got a wicked cold and I am fading fast! This month's theme is Flower Power and luckily I had just the right card to share with you. I shared it for the first time this past weekend on my display board at the Stampin' Up! OnStage event in San Diego (more on that in a future post when I have the energy to share it all).

Here it is... As a first time display stamper I was so nervous that I wouldn't have created enough samples or that my samples wouldn't be "good enough." I was supposed to go straight from the airport to set up my display and wouldn't you know it... my flight was delayed! When we deboarded the plane I hopped in Uber (just kidding, my friend Adrienne and I walked down the strip, back into a building, up some escalators, and walked across the "Sky Bridge" to the parking lots where Uber is allowed to pick you up, and then I finally saw my ride driving by). I arrived at the Convention Center and was so relieved when they let me in even though I was so late. I was excited, anxious and nervous and was trying to figure out the best way to set up when Patty Bennet showed up to take pictures of the display boards. I'm a huge fan of Patty's. If you don't know who she is one of Stampin' Up's! top demonstrators... more importantly, she's a kind and gracious person who always seems to be willing to help others. 

Side note: Patty celebrated $1.2 Million in sales this past weekend and launched the stamp set that she designed for being a million dollar seller (it will be available to non-demonstrators starting in June). Her set is called Ribbon of Courage and it was created in honor of her mother who lost her battle to cancer eleven years ago. Her presentation was touching and she was quick to point out that this set can be stamped in any color in honor of whatever kind of cancer you'd like it to represent. It can also be stamped in yellow in honor of our troops. Seriously, this is one of the most meaningful sets I've ever laid eyes on. I'm lucky enough to have it in my hot, little hands already so be on the lookout for it!

Ok, I'm back from the side note... Patty was on the other side of the display board and I stuck my head around to see who it was. Lucky me, I got to meet her before returning back to my own set up. A few minutes later she came around the big board to where I was working. My jaw dropped when she said, "This one right here is my favorite card ever, in the whole world." What?! Thank you Patty Bennett for blowing my mind with such a fabulous compliment right when I was stressing out. It was perfect timing and helped me feel a bit more calm. Anyhow, here's my card...

I heat embossed the flowers from Penned & Painted in gold and then watercolored them with only two colors: Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo. I love the way they blended into peaches and oranges. Yes, there is a special technique to make this happen. I am hoping to do a video soon to show you how since describing it would be difficult. Did you notice the colors on the leaves? I used two of the new In Colors that will be released in June: Lemon Lime Twist and Tranquil Tide. I was really happy with the way these new colors blended together.

I had a little trouble getting a good shot from the front but here it is. I fussy cut the flowers and leaves and layered them over a splattered background, matted on gold foil. 

Here's a picture of Patty and me with my card.


Just in case you're interested in making a card like this one, these beautiful flowers (Penned & Painted) are retiring if you can believe it! So sad. If you want them you had better grab them now! Feel free to shop with me (link below blog roll) and ask me any questions that you might have.
Now you are of to see the amazing creations of Marisa Gunn!

See you soon!
Maria.


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Need more stamps now? Never fear! I've got you covered! Don't forget that during Sale-a-Bration (now) for every $50 USD you spend before taxes you will get to select a FREE item from the SAB catalog! If you are looking for the ultimate Stampin' Starter kit then now is the time! For $99 you will get to pick $125 in products of your choice plus any two stamp sets from the Main or Occasions Catalog! It really doesn't get better than that! Let me know if you have any questions!


Want a great discount on Stampin' Up! Products and to have a fun new stamping family? Join me on this fun adventure! I can't wait to be your super excited (possibly way too enthusiastic... No! That's not possible!) Stampin' Up! side kick and support lady! In case you didn't know, you can join Stampin' Up! just for the discount and never sell a single product. If you want to know the details just let me know. If you're looking for a discount on your favorite hobby (stamping and paper crafting with Stampin' Up! products) and want to earn money doing it... let me know! I'd love to talk with you whatever your interest might be! If you want to see a little more info go ahead and click the button below. Looking forward to hearing from you!

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