Summer Giveaway Announcement

Hello friends!

Thank you for your wonderful support and visit in this blog.

Today's the day that I announce the winners of my Summer Giveaway.

There are three prizes

                                Prize 1: Happy Mail package valued at $75 (within North America)

goes to... 

 Tracey Magner
(prize claimed)

 Prize 2: Altenew $15 Gift Card

Goes to

Francine #14023

(prize claimed)

                                           Prize 3: $15 Simon Says Stamp Gift Card 

goes to....

Lenice/1191102

Congratulations, Tracey, Francine and Lenice

Prize must be claimed by Sept.7th. 2018.

Please contact me becr8ive2@gmail.com and I can set the prize up for you.

Starting September, I will have TWO $15 Altenew Gift Card Giveaway EVERY month.

Your comments and support count in every post and my social media.

My Instagram Account HERE

Yes, Virginia... Facebook Page HERE

  Affiliate links (located all on the right side bar in this blog )are applied at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your continuing support. There will be loads and loads of new products coming this month and Fall, I hope that you find some time to visit blogs and made sure you loving it.

Travel Photos and Summer Sale

Hello Friends!
I am sharing a snippet of the famous and beautiful garden in Cawdor Castle, Scotland.
Cawdor Castle dates from the late 14th century, built as a private fortress by the Thanes of Cawdor. An ancient medieval tower built around the legendary holly tree.

The grounds are in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.

We had a relaxing few hours wondering inside the castle and explored the ground.
As you can imagine, it was amazing to see such sights.
Hope you enjoy seeing these photos, too!
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Lastly, Spellbinders has a 25% Goodbye Summer Sale (click here)

 Here are a few samples I made with the dies that are 25% off.

Shapeabilities First Adventure Etched Dies Little Loves by Sharyn Sowell

Shapeabilities Every Day's a Happy Day Etched Dies Little Loves


and

Shapeabilities Swirl Leaf Branch Etched Dies Blooming Garden by Marisa Job

Shapeabilities Little Boys at Play Etched Dies Little Loves by Sharyn Sowell



You can find the sale over Spellbinders here.

Thank so much for stopping by!

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Coloring The Outline Stamps

Hello friends!

Altenew - Clear Photopolymer Stamps - Beautiful Heart 
from: Scrapbook.com  

 A month ago, I was preparing for my 3-week long vacation/cruise. I needed to bring something crafty with me. So, I packed up my Altenew Artist Markers and Altenew Watercolor Pan Set. 



Watercoloring and Artist Markers were my lifesaver during the sea days. This past cruise was the calmest sea days that I had  in years! I didn't need to take any motion sickness pills as I am prone to motion sickness. It was so relaxing that I really enjoyed coloring and exploring more with the coloring medium. I know I needed to give myself TIME to practice and play.



The luxury that I had during the cruise? I could easily take my supplies to lounges and I was able to listen to live performances from the string quintet. Occasionally, I got asked about my supplies and coloring. Thus, a conversation with my fellow cruisers began....

 This card was colored entirely with Altenew Artist Markers.
Lastly, did you know that Altenew Artist Markers now have Artist Markers Refills?



I used glaze/stencil paste along with the Dotty Stencil (see links below).

I saw it on Scrapbook.com American Crafts - Mixed Media Collection - Glaze - Iridescent — $5.24 American Crafts - Mixed Media Collection - Glaze - Iridescent

 I



The silver-embossed sentiment really stands out. Love that!
Today I am planning to see the new movie "Crazy Rich Asians"... should be fun. 

Here is one of the live performances during my cruise. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Turn Junk into "Art"-an Upcycling Project (LAST Stencil Sunday)

Hello friends!

I am popping in to share something fun that I created.
This is also the last continuing series of Stencil Sunday. 
Thank you for your positive feedback and comments for this series this summer.

The new series "Stamping Sunday" feature is coming up soon!
I will be covering techniques from the basics to the advanced through new stamps and release from various companies.  Hope you are excited about that!

The stencil that I used is

Elegant Swirl (Scrapbook.com)

 Elegant Swirl (SSS)

Elegant Swirl (Altenew on sale$4.89_)

I saw it on ALTENEW Elegant Swirls Stencil

 It is no masterpiece, however, I think you might still get some inspiration a kick out of it.

I often get packages from my DT assignment in the mail, I know, lucky me!

Corrugated cardboard pieces make the frequent appearances in these mail packages.

Recently, I saw a piece of cardboard and thought it would be cool to upcycle it. 

I took this as a "practice session" since I only have a piece of junk to lose... 

This little piece of "junk art" provided me a few hours of fun and pleasure. It is so free to try out new supplies and old techniques. The cardboard piece came as half-torn, so I just worked with it.

Altenew - Die and Clear Acrylic Stamp Set - Build A Flower - Cattleya
from: Scrapbook.com

For the this type of altered art project, Gesso is a MUST for masking/altering the surface of the original piece. It helps you to start with a "clean slate", so to speak.

You can still see a bit of cardboard color underneath. I really like the slightly white wash look.

I took out the Build-a-Flower as the shape of the image fitted the half -torn cardboard piece perfectly.

Altenew - Dies - Moroccan Mosaic Cover - $19.94
from: Scrapbook.com

As you can see on the top left corner, I added a small piece of Moroccan Mosaic for extra interest.

At the bottom, I added a few vellum pieces to go with the design. I had to splash a few splatter to complete the piece. Since this piece has so much textures and dimensions, I kept the embellishment to minimum.

I hope today's post inspires you to look at your junk in a different perspective.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

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If you like to check out Altenew sales, here is the link. 

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LAST day-->Spellbinders offers $25 off for order over $100, see here

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 use code: 2C4SC

I saw it on Simon Says Stamp World's Largest Selection of Paper Art Supplies!

Incoperate Watercoloring with Stamping

 Hello friends!

It's my turn to share a project over Altenew Card Blog.

I decided to share something I created while on the Icelandic cruise...!

A month ago, I was preparing for my 3-week long trip. I needed to bring something crafty with me. So, I packed up my Altenew Artist Markers and Altenew Watercolor Pan Set. Boy, was I glad  that I did that!

 Let's get to today's card, shall we?

 As most of you know already...if you have followed my blog for a while.
I am more of a stamper than a colorist. However, that doesn’t stop me from using watercoloring with stamping. Before my trip, I stamped the images from Floral Art Stamp Set with Permanent Black Crisp Dye Ink on watercolor paper. During the days at sea, I find it so very relaxing to watercolor those outline images.

 

It really doesn’t take long to color all the images. I love bright colors and this card truly shows that. Once I returned home from the vacation, I was able to quickly create a card with the Floral Art Die Set.

 To keep the floral images grounded, I stamped the Halftone Squares Stamp Set in Evening Gray Crisp Dye Ink in the background. I also stamped the outline images with Warm Sunshine Crisp Dye Ink for interest and extra color. I purposely arranged all the floral images towards the left side for an asymmetrical look.

 

 To highlight the flowers, I took the Sakura white Gelly Roll Pen and added tiny dots in all of the flowers.
 

Of course, the card will not be complete without some sequins. I also keep all things odd – odd number (3 flowers, 3 leaves, and 5 sequins), that is.

 

 If you have not tried watercoloring with stamping yet… it’s about time!
 Hope you like today's bright and happy card!

I really appreciate that you leave me some love over Altenew Card Blog.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
(Affiliate link are applied at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support).

NEW Stuff and Feature

Hello friends!

Hope you are having a wonderful day so far....

This is just a Happy Friday post:
a few flower photos that I took from my trip to Copenhagen

and some new products/feature.

From Simon Says Stamp
This limited edition kit is not part of the card kit subscription series and must be purchased separately. It is only available while supplies last.

Limited Edition Card Kit THANK YOU SSSTHKU
from: Simon Says Stamp
Use code: 2C4SC

Get 30% off with all school-related products, such as this one here and here 

Click here to find out.

Also, the new release from Penny Black is now available over Simon Says Stamp.
I will be featuring the following PB stamps in my blog soon.
You must act fast as PB products often sell out fast over SSS, like this one is already out of stock.

Penny Black Cling Stamp WINTER STILL 40-658

from: Simon Says Stamp

Penny Black Cling Stamp SNOW TRAILS 40-655
from: Simon Says Stamp

Penny Black Cling Stamp XMAS SPRIG 40-628
from: Simon Says Stamp

As my Stencil Sunday has come to an end, I will have a new feature "Stamping Sunday" this Fall. Hope you will like the new feature and will stop by everyday and every Sunday!
I will be doing techniques from the basic to the advanced.

There is still time to enter my summer giveaway if you have used ANY of my links toward your crafting purchase (see here).

I will be back tomorrow with an Altenew post.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
The comment feature in this post has been disabled.

Another Take with Dry-Embossing

Hello friends! 

As I am slowly easing back to my usual routine and playing catch-up, I have a card to share.

Spellbinders - Cut and Embossing Folder - Floret Cluster
from: Scrapbook.com  

 This card was created just before I left for my 3-week vacation.

There is not a lot of difference from my previous cards (see below).



However, I did tilt the orientation of the design.

I just LOVE adding colors to the dry-embossed images. I think I need to try out other ways of using this embossing folders.  Since I have an extra vellum butterfly, I thought it is perfect for this design.

 Of course, I had to add a few crazy splatter to the mix to make it complete.
In case you miss seeing the video of  my "How-to", please check it out here.

These new Spellbinders Embossing Folders are very popular and quite a few online shops have been all sold out. However, you can still find them over Scrapbook.com here 

 I will end this post with an interesting photo.... 
As I was exploring the City Hall in Copenhagen, I came across with this couple who were waiting to get married! I happened to have my card (!!!) and I just gave it to them for good luck!

 They graciously let me take a photo. At first, the groom thought that I was selling the card, but I told them that it's for FREE. They were delighted to receive this card!  😁

Thanks so much for stopping by!
 (click on the photo for details)
Creat-a-Wreath ($12.60)

Reflection 6x6 Paper Pad ($2.50)

Rose Flurries 3D ($25.99)

This still applies!
Spellbinders offers $25 off & FREE SHIPPING (US only) with order over $100.

ps: My summer giveaway is still open and good luck to those who entered!