More Christmas Posies

Boy, have I been bad about keeping in touch! Going to try to do better! I've got a few new techniques that I'm playing with that I think are dynamite. They're still all centered around Posies - holiday style. Here's a bunch of Posies using Sargent Liquid Metal Acrylic paint and Adirondack Dimensional Pearls from Ranger (which is also acrylic paint). I'm also using filigrees and crystals for the centers, which adds a hint of elegance. I promise to post how I made these, in a few days! I'm still working on them and keep coming up with improvements.

New Trimmed Tree

I'm a little behind on posting, but I've I still been doing plenty of stamping. I spend a lot of time in my stamp room, but I'm slow at producing, that's just the way it is with me. I'm always wanting to try out new products and they don't always work and then you have to figure out how to make them work!


This week I've been working on making a sample of our new Trimmed Tree (J-1070). A couple of weeks ago I played with the Garland Tree. This one takes a little more time but well worth the effort, I think it's stunning!

Our new trees are no online. Next week we'll have some step-by-step instructions using this tree!

Christmas Posy

I'm back to Posies again, this time I'm trying to give them a Christmas look. We're doing a make n' take project at our wholesale show next week and this seemed like it would be more of an appropriate look for this time of year.




Here's a picture of the Posy, I don't have it put together on a card yet, but wanted to share the look. I'm really excited about it!


Our new Texture Design stamp will allow all kinds of great things to give plain paper a new look. On this particular Posy, I stamped with the Texture Design and embossed with gold embossing powder. The paper I used is antique gold by Paper Cut, available on our website. I flipped the Posy over after to texture it, this way you don't see the lines of the Posy and it looks cleaner.

The finished project! We will have full instructions for this on our website in the next week or two. Remember to always "fluff your flowers"!

Smooching our Halloween Outline images!

"Is summer really over? That's hard to believe when the weather is predicted to be
94 degrees tomorrow. I think I've played hooky long enough, back to the the
stamp room.


Have you all seen our new Halloween Outline stamps? They were designed to be used for Zentangling. Check them out on our website!


I wanted to make sure this wasn't the only way they were shown, so I switched gears
to fall and Halloween. I love Halloween except for the fact that cold weather is
around the corner.


I decided that I would give this a try with just Smooch paints. It was a little challenging, but I liked the results. I used 2 colors for the pumpkin, which I had not tried before. First I painted with the color Pumpkin, and before this coat was dry I went over it with the color Sundance. The result was a more streaky appearance and of course the smooch gives a great iridescent look. The other colors I used were Tuxedo, Grape Soda, Apple Green and Gold Lame'. I found
the Tuxedo to be a little flat so I went over it the the Smooch topcoat, which adds a nice
sparkle. The Gold was a little light so I did 2 coats. I also added a light sprinkling
of yellow glitter to the star after coloring it. P.S. His name is Sam."

New Tree & Glitter

Here's another sneak preview of a new tree we're releasing soon! I've been a "want to be glitter person" but haven't jumped into it because I wasn't sure about adhesive, etc. I've used the Quickie Glue pen for small areas and it's great because it really does allow you to get into small areas. So I jumped into this one and glittered the whole tree, not without some mistakes, but I think I have it figured out.

I used US Artquest matte finish PPA (perfect paper adhesive) brushing it on to cover the entire surface that I wanted to glitter. You then just pour your glitter on and tap off excess. If it's a large area, it's probably best to do it in sections. My big mistake discovery was not putting on a really good layer of adhesive. Without a heavy coat of glue, the glitter has a tendency to run off leaving a very messy look. I do love all the glitter look! I used a microfine glitter we carry and sell. I really like the microfine as opposed to the larger crystals, but the color choice is limited.

One more little thing, a coating of the PPA over the glitter gives a really nice look, less glittery, but really nice. A coating of crystal lacquer gives a shiny glitter look, neither is necessary however.

So long for now, back to summer fun, it's almost over!

Back from Stampaway USA 2010

We're back from Stampaway in Cincinnati, OH! It was a great show but a loooong drive for us. I didn't really have any time to look around for anything, our booth stayed pretty busy the whole day, which is great! There was a lot of interest in the Zentangle stuff! I highly recommend it, it's fun. We do have some great books on our site to get you going. Here are a few pictures of our booth at Stampaway.

Zentangle!

Ornament Toppers!

Make & Take!

Adirondack Acryllic Paint/Ornament Topper

Wow! I can't believe it's August already! I'm still playing with Posy Techniques but I had to stop and play with some NEW Ornament Topper stamps coming out in the next week or two. Here's a sneak peak at our New Jewel Topper. This topper was designed to decorate with Swarovski Crystals, which looks blingy and dynamite! I wanted to try to use less crystals without loosing the great look, so I tried Adirondack Acrylic Paint by Ranger. It comes in 12 colors, which I'm sure we'll have to carry now! I chose Wild Plum for its vibrant, pretty color. These paints create a pearled look that goes well with this Topper.

The tip of the container has a needle nose tip so it's easy to squeeze and fill in the circles, creating a dimensional look and holding it's shape when it dries.

Another good alternative to crystals is this great technique using Glossy Accents. We demonstrate it online to make flower centers, but it would work well with this Ornament Topper. Follow the steps for 3 - 5.