Spellbinders Holiday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Spellbinders Partner Holiday Blog Hop!  Today I am sharing a very non-traditional Christmas card using two separate Spellbinders dies! 

These are the two dies: It's a Hoot and Conversation Bubbles 2. 

Here's the non-traditional card that I came up with.  I used only a portion of the very versatile "It's a Hoot" die to put the final spin on this card.  

For the base of the card, I just wanted to add a hint of color.  I used Izink Ink (acrylic pigment ink) in "Topaz" mixed with water to use as watercolor.  

Using a paintbrush, I begin to layer on the color in an airy, circular motion; the ink is permanent when dry, therefore, I'm able to continue to add ink until I'm happy with the color.  

With the background finished, I'm now able to begin layering on the die-cuts. 

I snipped a couple of the cute owls from the "It's a Hoot" die to use on this card.  I covered the die-cuts with Top Boss Embossing Ink and "Sterling Silver" Embossing Powder from ColorBox.  With a few silver star sequins and a stamped sentiment using ColorBox Archival Dye Ink, this card is complete!  Thanks for stopping by today!  

Remember to leave a comment along each stop of the hop.  Follow THIS link for entry to our fab prize giveaway!   

Clearsnap and Smoothfoam Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Clearsnap and Smoothfoam Blog Hop! Hop along to each blog in the hop list to see inspiring ways to use Smoothfoam with Clearsnap’s ink, created by our teams of designers. Be sure to comment on each blog in the hop, then use the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post to enter to win a prize pack of Smoothfoam and Clearsnap goodies!

Hop List:

Smoothfoam Blog

Clearsnap Blog

Suzanne Austin - What's in a Lousyananut       

Julie McGuffee - Life in the Craft Lane

Jennifer Priest - Hydrangea Hippo

Lisa Fulmer -  Lisa Liza Lou

Meihsia Liu - Simply Paper Crafts

Anita Scroggins - The FlamingoChronicals 

Steph Ackerman - Live Laugh Scrap

Carmen Flores Tanis -  Flores Tanis Studio

Tami Sanders - tami sanders * paper crafter 

Beth Watson - Beth Watson 

Sabrina Alery - The Honor Roll

Marilyn Gossett - Marilyn Gossett Designs

Denise Hahn - In My Blue Room




Hey everyone!  Thanks for taking the time to stop along this fab blog hop with Clearsnap and Smoothfoam! Today I'm sharing with you a mixed-media layout "canvas" using some of my favorite inky goodness from Clearsnap and a 12x12 sheet of Smoothfoam that serves as my canvas background.  

The layout base was created using several mediums and inks to create a very textured background.  I was pleasantly surprised in how Smoothfoam took all of the abuse I rendered without a flinch!  

To begin, I gave the Smoothfoam sheet a layer of gesso.  Once the gesso dried, I randomly stamped the background just for some visual interest.  To create the texture in the background, I mixed a few drops of Izink Ink in "Topaz" with a dollop of artists texture paste.  I mixed the ink and paste together until there was even consistency; I spread the mixture over the background using a spatula-with imperfection in mind.  While the paste was still wet, I sprinkled the entire background with Clearsnap Fairy Dust Glitter for Donna Salazar in "Sugar Shimmer."    

Once the background was completely dried ( I cheated just a little and carefully used my heat gun to speed it up just a bit), I added even more dimension by mixing Izink Ink in "Orchid" with some super heavy gesso-then used a stencil to add the flowers behind the photo.  Again, I let this layer dry completely.  Once dried, all that's left to do is to add the layers of papers, embellishments and the photo! 

Thanks again for taking the time to check out my project!  Remember to comment below and use the Rafflecopter widget for entries to win a fab prize pack from Clearsnap and Smoothfoam! 

Your next stop is HERE  the talented and wonderful Julie McGuffee!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway