It's the Sizzix Fresh Vintage Blog Hop!

For the Craft's Meow

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It's finally here!

The Sizzix 'Fresh Vintage' Blog Hop.

This is such a COOL blog hop 

and here is why...

Over the next six weeks, you will be able

to enjoy the creations of 60 designers

but in small doses.

How do you get from blog to blog

in 'small doses'?

Just find the badge 
on my top left sidebar that

matches the one above and 'click'.

Easy-peasy.

{more information at the end of the post}

I am thrilled to be here on behalf of one of
the blog hop sponsors...

The Twinery.  
There are several of our

designers who will be designing for this hop
over the next six weeks.

I have a wonderful giveaway for you! 
Make sure you leave a comment 
at the end of this post
and become a follower of my blog
and you just might win this...

 

An Ultimate Color Sampler Pack

{retail value $25}

I had the pleasure of working with the new 

Sizzix Photo Album Scoreboard Die from Eileen Hull.

This is my finished album.

I used a variety of embellishments as finishing

touches on my cover including the beautiful

Honeydew bakers twine from The Twinery.

Here is a little of the journey on how

I completed my album.....

The XL Scoreboard dies work wonderfully in 

my Big Shot using the Little Sizzles 6 x 13

Double-sided Mat Board.  When you run the

die through the machine, the binding border

makes the necessary scores that fold so easily.

Of course, you can use the Scoreboard dies

with your favorite cardstock and designer paper too.

I then decided to use Glimmer Mist to create

the color for my binding.  I ended up not using

the rectangular frame and opted for a metal one.

The instructions included show you how to create

the accordion folds for the inside which will then

hold your album pages.  You can add as many as

you like to create a custom album.

Here is the outside of the album's binding.

The most difficult part is deciding the theme you

would like to include and creating the cover....

but of course, it's the most fun part as well!

Here are a few more photos

of the detailed embellishments...

The folks at OhMyCrafts.com are giving away

a Flower Layers #9 Die, so make sure you visit

their blog for chance to win!
You will find all of the Scoreboard dies & more
from Sizzix on their website.


I hope you enjoyed your visit.
I would love to hear from you
and don't forget....
you could win the fabby prize
from me & The Twinery!

Now here are a few details on how this blog

hop will work over the next 6 weeks....

FAQ about the Fresh Vintage Blog Hop: 

How do I hop around to see ideas 
using the current featured die?  
Every Tuesday and Thursday between 
September 27-November 3, 2011 
there will be a new Sizzix Fresh Vintage die featured 
on 6-10 participating designers' blogs.
The navigation buttons for "Hop Back" and "Hop Forward" 
will allow you to easily
hop around and see projects featuring whatever the 
current die is, since those buttons are 
programmed to navigate 
only to the blogs that are participating for
that die. On the next Tuesday/Thursday, the buttons will 
automatically reprogram themselves to navigate to the blogs 
that are signed up for the next featured die.

What if I start at a designer's blog that isn't one of the 6-10 
signed up for that die? 
No problem! Simply hit either the 
"Hop Forward" or "Hop Back" 
button on the Fresh Vintage navigation widget from any blog's sidebar and you'll automatically
advance to one of the participating blogs.

Can I go back and view the ideas for a 
previously featured die?

Of course! Go to Eileen Hull's blog and find the 
Fresh Vintage Permalinks button on her "Blog Hops" page. 
It will bring up her blog posts where you'll find
direct links to each participating blog along with a 
thumbnail image of the project.

Happy Halloween Project Recipe: 

Designer Paper:  'Nature's Storybook' from Webster's Pages
Tools: Photo Album Scoreboard Die by Eilieen Hull for Sizzix,
Little Sizzles Mat Board from Sizzix, Big Shot
Embellishments:  'Moroccan' Metal Label Holders by Making Memories,
lace & pearl border & paper flower by Recollections, 
Honeydew bakers twine from The Twinery,
Glimmer Mist in 'brick' from Tattered Angels 
gem flourish by Zva Creative

Joyeux Noel

OK...so not only am I on the

'Christmas card designing' track, but

apparently I am loving all the bling that

can be used to really take it to another level!

When I saw the finale challenge for EBTKS,

I knew I had to put my newest acquisition to use.

TEXTURES!!!

I love the new 'Snowflake Impressabilities' from

Spellbinders.  I used it with Coordinations cardstock, so when

I sanded it, I got this great teal-y green affect.

Kind of reminds me of a velvet embossed sofa!

 I then took my terrific Prima Poinsettias and sprayed

them with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in

Bazzill Navajo, which I believe was a limited edition color.

The beautiful top card is from Fancy Pants Design.

I embellished with teardrop rhinestones and a

gigantic pearl center.  The black diamond

rhinestone flourish is from Prima as well.

The simple sentiment is from The Paper Company.

I am also offering this card over at 

Simon Says Stamp & Show ~ Holiday Greeting
There She Goes Challenge ~ Bring on the Bling

Well...I am off to make a few more things.
I am feeling a bit 'crafty' tonight.

Monoprinting Backgrounds...Always Fun! TUTORIAL

I thought I would pull out a tried and true technique that people always enjoy. Probably the most famous demo that we did in our store was monoprinting using the reinker bottles for dye-based inks. Now there are so many great alternatives, such as Tim Holtz Distress Inks, Glimmer Mists from Tattered Angels and many others. Once you try the technique, you will be able to put your own spin on what you have on the shelf.

Here is what you will need for this project:
Reinkers or other 'water-based' inks as mentioned above
8 x 10 Acetate Sheets
8 x 10 White Glossy Cardstock, cut into quarters
plastic gloves(optional, but prepared for very inky fingers)

Take 1 sheet of acetate (known to those of us who have 'experienced life' as overhead projector sheets...a cheap box office supply store is the economical way to go) and 2-3 complimentary ink colors (or not, it's your experiment) and drop between 5-6 drops per color on one sheet of acetate.

Lay a second sheet of acetate directly on top of those colors and allow them to spread until you have at least half of the sheets covered. Sandwich two of your quartered cardstocks back to back, glossy side facing out and set aside. Now, lift top sheet of acetate very slowly and place the two pieces of cardstock onto bottom acetate sheet, then put top sheet back on.

Once cardstocks are fully covered, which they should do on their own, gently lift top sheet of acetate once more, set aside and remove your cardstock. You should have two pieces of what are now 'backgrounds' that are nearly identical.

The one in this photo was done quite some time ago and was done on a piece of shiny foamcore. It does have a twin somewhere in the universe. After dry, it was stamped using a fabulous stamp from Toybox.

This is a really easy way to create backgrounds en masse. I hope the instructions were equally as easy to follow. Any questions, you know where to find me...and while I have your attention, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think.