A Little Kindness goes a long way! -- Kinda Eclectic stamp set

Happy Saturday, Everyone!

Here is a card that is a remake of a make-n-take we created at the SU Convention this year.  We received the stamp set, "Kinda Eclectic" for one of our free sets, and it is really growing on me!  The leaves and the unique sun and the stamp with all the dots really make a project pop.  We made this card at my club this past weekend, and everyone really loved it.

The card base is Crumb Cake, and the top panel is Whisper White.  The first step, was to use the Honeycomb embossing folder to "stamp" the hexagon pattern onto the white panel.  Simply use your ink pad direct-to-folder to ink of the folder (I used the back part of the folder rather than the front side -- i.e. don't use the side that says SU on the front).  Next, lay your white panel on top and gently and randomly smooth it out -- it's ok if the whole panel is NOT inked -- it looks better if your background is slightly random with some sections not all the way inked.  Next, I stamped the sun in the center with a new In Color ink -- Hello Honey, then the leaves: stamp in another new In Color, Mossy Meadow -- I stamped the same inked stamp twice before re-inking -- thus creating one darker set of leaves, and one light colored set.  Now, apply some generous adhesive in a little circle directly in the center and add your loops of linen thread.  Next, a half inch strip of designer paper with the ends snipped at an angle -- here I used a piece from the Park Lane DSP pack.  The sentiment from the same stamp set -- stamped on a 1" wide strip of Crumb Cake card stock.  I overstamped with the little dots stamp from the same set, using Crumb Cake ink which I stamped off onto my scratch paper first to make the dots lighter.  Finally, I flagged the corners and curled the ends with my bone folder and attached to my card using dimensionals to hold the "mountain curve up" and glue dots to keep the valley part down.  The little flowers are punched from Hello Honey card stock using the new Itty Bitty Accents punch pack.  The butterflies are stamped in two more new In Colors -- Blackberry Bliss and Tangelo Twist and punched out with the Elegant Butterfly and Bitty Butterfly punches.  Kind of a lot of steps to this card, but not difficult....

Be sure to check out this weeks weekly deals!  The Label Thinlets die is on sale for 25% off!  LOVE that little die! -- check out this post to see projects I've made with the Circle card Flip-it-die: Festive Flurries Meets Flip-it-die  Also, a few new treasures were added to the Clearance Rack several days ago as well.  Yippeee Skippeee!

My new crafty BFF!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I have something very exciting to share with you today.  SU has come out with their own alcohol markers, called Blendabilities,  in SU colors, of course!  These are like a SU version of the artsy, expensive Copics markers. I have been wanting these for years, because the deep, rich colors you can create with them are incomparable to other coloring techniques.  I took a class on using the Copics markers several years ago, and honestly wasn't that thrilled with what I colored, AND the HUGE selection of Copics colors left me feeling overwhelmed with which colors to blend together to produce the results I was wanting.  So, here is where I am thrilled with the SU solution: these markers come in a set of three for $11.95 -- they are three shades of the same color -- so there is NO guess work involved as to which one to use for your lightest, medium, and darkest color.   AND they are less expensive than their Copic relatives.  For best results, use the Memento Black ink pad (a new, non-smearing fabulous black ink pad that SU will be selling in the new catalo) to stamp your image with that you are going to color with the Blendabilities.  Also, Whisper White card stock works well as your card stock.

When you use these markers, you want to work with a couple of petals at a time -- start by coloring with your darkest marker first.  Here I worked from the tips of the petals in.  Next, use your medium colored marker and color in little circles incorporating the darkest color into your medium color.  Lastly use your lightest color and blend that one into your medium color.  You want to complete your blending while the inks are still a little wet for best results.  I've read that some people color the whole petal with their lightest color and work backwards from there, but I found that starting with the darkest color first worked best for me.  Also, you will want to get the color lifter marker -- this one lets you remove some color where you've colored outside the lines or where you want to create shading.  Notice on the flower featured below how wherever the petal is folded over, I made that part lighter to create a more realistic result.

These markers will be available for customer purchase hopefully within the next couple of months.  They are featured in the new catalog coming out on June 2nd, but won't be available to customers right away due to a production issue, apparently.  BUT, I couldn't wait to show them to you, so here you are!  And I'm no pro colorer -- and yet I still love what I made on my first few attempts.  I can officially say I am IN LOVE with these new markers!  I've heard it said that coloring helps release seratonins in your brain, so I think I'll be good to go for the next year or so in that department!

 These first ones were done using the Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler and Daffodil Delight marker sets as well as a brand new single stamp that will be available in the new catalog called Blended Bloom.  It is a great little stamp to practice coloring with.

This card featured below is done using the Rich Razzleberry and Daffodil Delight marker sets.  Also featured on this card are three new In Colors! -- Blackberry Bliss (a gorgeous new rich purple), Hello Honey -- a lovely shade of yellow, and Mossy Meadow -- a new green that is a relative of Always Artichoke, but a much prettier green in my opinion.  I also used some of the new Blackberry Bliss stitched satin ribbon.  Lovely ribbon that ties effortlessly.

One last card to share.  These are done with the Coastal Cabana set of markers, and it was the first flower I colored.  You can see that I didn't do as good of a job of blending the markers as you can see the lines between the darkest to lightest colors.  There is a bit of a learning curve with these babies, but once you practice a bit, you will be thrilled with what you create!

Did I mention I LOVE these new markers????  "Fabulous is what they are!"  I will be featuring them at my upcoming class this Sunday, May 18th at 1:00 if you would like to stop by and give them a whirl, as well as my New Catalog Open house happening in late June.

As for current specials, there are new weekly deals that just went on sale yesterday and go through next Tuesday -- the Tasteful Trim die (which is retiring) is on sale this week for 25% off.  I have used this die a ton -- for card making and scrap booking, too.  So grab it while you can!  If you want to put it in with the order I'm placing this week, email me or call me.