Saturday, December 16, 2017

A Neat & Tangled Alcohol Ink Card Video

Hello fellow card makers.

Today I am sharing with you a card I made while playing with my new Ranger Alcohol Inks. I scored these during the black Friday sales and I've been loving them. I decided to share my creation with you.


I started with some Yupo paper. I dripped some Willow and Cloudy Blue alcohol inks onto the surface of the Yupo paper and blended it occasionally with the alcohol ink blending solution. You can get variations in color saturation depending on how much ink or blending solution you use. I used my heat tool to quickly dry the inks before adding additional color. 


I did try to use the Gold Mixative as well, but it reacts much differently than both the inks and the blending solution. I found that I liked the look of concentrated mixative more than a mixed or blended mixative solution. As you can see in the photo above, I dropped Gold Mixative in some parts of my background and did not blend it out.


I then took some Ranger Multi medium matte and carefully placed a bead of it along some of the edges of my ink design in the background. I then covered if with Gold Gilding Flakes by Nuvo. I allowed that to dry before brushing off the excess. I cut them down with a stitched rectangle die.


I stamped my sentiment "you are so" from the Neat & Tangled "Awesome" stamp set on one of my cards with white Staz-On ink and on another background with Versamark ink and white heat embossed it. I then cut out both the shadow and the word die from the "Awesome" die set. The shadow was cut from Stampin' Up!'s gold foiled cardstock. The awesome word die was cut multiple times from Neenah Solar White 80 lb cardstock and the layers adhered together with liquid adhesive. I adhered the two parts of the sentiment together also using liquid adhesive and popped them up on the alcohol ink background with Scotch 3M foam tape. Both panels where placed on a Simon Says Stamp Fog card base.


Above is a link to my YouTube video creating these cards and some other alcohol ink creations. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you for visiting my blog today,

Koren



Friday, December 8, 2017

Your Next Stamp Challenge #79 Card Video

Hello fellow card makers.

Today I am sharing the card I made for Your Next Stamp's challenge #79. Your Next Stamp holds a biweekly challenge on the blog. To have a look, or come play with us (CLICK HERE!). This is a sketch and/or color combination challenge. Here is a look at both the sketch and the color combination.




For my project, I started with a piece of Strathmore Bristol smooth white cardstock. I cut it to fit on the front of my card in a wonky fashion. I stamped and white heat embossed the firework like images from the Your Next Stamp Starburst background set. I used Versamark ink and Hero Arts ultra fine white embossing powder. I then ink-blended Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide Ink to highlight the starburst in the background. To add a little more interest, I splattered some Black Soot Distress Oxide paint on the panel. 




To create my sentiment, I used the Your Next Stamp Bold Numbers die set to cut 2018 into the panel.  I then cut the "hello" word from the Scripty Words die set three times from Lawn Fawn Black Licorice cardstock and layered them together using Ranger multi medium in the matte finish.  The card base is cut from Neenah 110 lb. cardstock. I layered some striped patterned paper from Papertrey ink with tape runner adhesive directly to the card base. 




The top panel is popped up with black craft foam and 1/2 inch scor tape. This allows the number 2018 to reveal the striped patterned underneath. I made sure to align the centers of the 0 and the 8 with liquid adhesive to ensure they appear as their intended numbers. I also adhered the "hello" sentiment with liquid adhesive and scattered some additional Your Next Stamp Pretty Peacock Gumdrops to add a bit more pink. 




There is a complete list of supplies as well as photos of my project and a link to my YouTube video making this project on this blog post. I hope that you will have time to stop by and play with us for the Your Next Stamp Challenge #79. (CLICK HERE!) to visit the YNS blog. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today, 

Koren 


Friday, December 1, 2017

Your Next Stamp 12 Days of Christmas Designer Showcase

Hello fellow card makers and crafters.

Today is my day, day 10 of the "12 Days of Christmas Designer Showcase" for Your Next Stamp. To visit the Your Next Stamp blog and check out the previous 9 days (CLICK HERE!)  Comment on the Your Next Stamp blog for your chance to win one of three prizes. One grand prize winner will win a $25 gift certificate and two others will win $10 gift certificates. You do not need to comment on every post for the 12 days, but the more you comment, the greater your chances of winning become.



Today is super special. Not only do I have a paper-crafting project for you, but also, I am sharing my semi-homemade recipe for Egg Nog.  Don't run away, it's more like a milk shake than homemade Egg Nog. This is a tried and true recipe and you can make it with or without alcohol. Adults and kids alike will love this around the holidays. So, we are going to make some, package it up and put a pretty tag on it using some Your Next Stamp products. Lets get started!







First, lets make some semi homemade Egg Nog. Here is a list of the ingredients you will need and brief explanation of how to mix them together. It isn't hard. You can also watch me make this recipe in the video I created to go along with this post. Check for the link to it down below.

Semi-Homemade "Adult" or kid friendly Egg Nog... remember to omit all of the alcohol to ensure that the egg nog is kid friendly. I have made this recipe both ways. It tastes like a special holiday milkshake when you leave out the alcohol. Also, I love to use Turkey Hill brand products for my family. You may or may not have those available in your area. 

Ingredients:
Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean Ice-cream 1 - 1 1/2 quart container (my grandmother used to use the Egg Nog flavored Ice-cream, which is also seasonal, but my family prefers Vanilla Bean) 
Turkey Hill Egg Nog (seasonal) 1 - 1 quart 
Sugar - 1 cup (granulated) 
Cinnamon (to taste) - about 1 tbsp 
Nutmeg (to taste) - about 1 tbsp

Alcohol:
3/4 cup Bourbon 
3/4 cup Brandy 
3/4 cup Rye 

Tips before we get started-
Do not whip or over mix your ingredients. The egg nog will begin to froth, and you don't want that. Slowly stir only.
 
1. Start with your ice-cream closer to room temp. This well help mix all the ingredients well. 
2. add your egg nog. 
3. add sugar
4. add alcohol if making "adult" egg nog. 
5. add cinnamon and nutmeg
6. enjoy!  

- the more expensive the alcohol the better the taste, but it is not needed. The cheap stuff will do. This recipe can be frozen. Also, some of my family members like to add an additional shot of Grand Marnier to increase the alcohol content. Be careful, it tastes good, but it will kick your butt! -consider yourself warned! 






As for the tag, I started with Altenew Moonrock cardstock. This is an off white almost light gray in color cardstock with natural fibers and a vellum coating. I cut the Scrapbook.com nested tag die that best fit with the Your Next Stamp Mini Circle Die. I stamped the sentiment from the Holiday Buddies stamp set with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I cut a piece of acetate with the same scrapbook.com tag die and adhered them together with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. I trimmed both the back and the front of the tag down by about 2 inches to be more of a square tag than a rectangle.





To create my shaker I adhered some Stampin' Up! foam adhesive strips in a square along the outside of the inlaid Mini Circle die on the front of my tag. I added some large pieces of sugar from the Wilton isle at the craft store (sorry I ripped off the label, so I have no clue what it's called). I cut a square 3 inches by 3 inches which creates the perfect backing to my shaker bits. I used Distress Oxide inks in Wilted Violet, Cracked Pistachio, and Picked Raspberry to ink-blend an ombre of color and I also sprinkled it with a light dusting of water to create that distressed look we all know and love. That piece was attached to become the backing of my shaker bits.  I adhered the back of the tag with tape runner adhesive.




 My images were pre stamped with Your Next Stamp Black Olive ink and colored with my Copic markers. I popped them up on the bottom right corner with 3M foam adhesive. Ribbon and twine were added to the tag to attach it to my Ball jars filled with Egg Nog. For more and an in depth information and a video of me and my family making the egg nog, click the video link above.

These Ball jars full of Egg Nog will be given out to my friends and family during the holiday season. I deliver them to coworkers and hand them out to people that come to visit for various reasons throughout the month of December. I usually make a double batch before Thanksgiving and another before Christmas. My husband demands that I set him aside some for his birthday on Dec. 27th. It is usually gone by the New Year.

I hope you all have a happy and healthy holiday season and a fantastic new year! Don't forget to comment on the Your Next Stamp Blog for your chance to win!

Thank you for visiting my blog today,

Koren


Tuesday, November 28, 2017

A Neat and Tangled Christmas Pageant Card Video

Hello fellow card makers.

Today I am sharing a project that I created using some products by Neat and Tangled. I recently attended The Daily Marker Coloring Challenge Road Trip. This event was arranged and demonstrated by Kathy (best known as The Daily Marker), you can find her blog here (CLICK HERE!) and Neat and Tangled. (CLICK HERE!) to see all of the wonderful products Neat and Tangled has to offer. This event was held at The Queens Ink, a fabulous art supply/scrapbook/stamp/card-making store in historic Savage MD... they have a little bit of everything. (CLICK HERE!) to see more about Patty and her team. I had a fabulous time there at this event. Neat and Tangled had a pop-up shop at this event and I was able to score some awesome stamp sets, this Christmas Pageant set was just one of them. It is completely adorable.



I am also playing along with this months challenge at the Little Tangles Challenge Blog. I am playing in challenge #86 Coloring. (CLICK HERE!) to visit the Little Tangles Challenge Blog and check out the challenge for yourself.

I wanted to put all of these cute kids on my card, so I decided to make longer than usual card. This card base measures 4x8 1/2, it fits into a standard business #10 envelope. I started with a Simon Says Stamp Fog card base in the dimensions that I mentioned previously. Then I subtracted a half inch from each dimension to allow for a small border around my card panel. So I cut a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock to 3 1/2 x 7 1/2 and went to town ink-blending my background. I masked off an area for some ground and ink-blended Distress Oxide Ink in Iced Spruce. Then I used the Tree duo stencils to create my background. I took Distress Oxide Ink in Twisted Citron and Cracked Pistachio to blend the trees into the background.



Once my background was blended, I needed to let it sit and dry a little before I handled it too much. So, I stamped my images in Memento Tuxedo black ink to use my Copics color them. For a list of the colors I used, check for the Copic Color Map I created below. It will list the colors I used for each image.



After I finished coloring my images, it was time to put it all together. I stamped my sentiment, justified to the lower right hand corner with Versafine Onyx Black ink. The sub-sentiment was stamped with Versamark ink and white heat embossed with Hero Arts Ultra Fine White embossing powder on Lawn Fawn Black Licorice cardstock. I cut it into a strip and adhered it to my card front with 3M foam tape directly under the sentiment. I stamped some strings with the dotted line image included in the stamp set to hold up a few snowflakes and stars, just like a real Christmas pageant. The rest of the images were adhered with 3M foam tape.

A complete list of supplies, plus a link to the YouTube video I created while making this card are below.

Thank you for visiting my blog today,

Koren



Friday, November 24, 2017

Your Next Stamp Challenge #78 Card Video

Hello fellow card makers.

Today I am sharing my card for the Your Next Stamp Challenge #78. Your Next Stamp has a biweekly sketch and/or color combination challenge. If you would like to play along with us (CLICK HERE!) to visit the Your Next Stamp blog. I am using the colors from this weeks challenge. Here is a look at the color combination that inspired me and this weeks sketch.



I am actually using the Boom! stamp set on my Christmas card, can you believe it? I'm turning this little bomb dude, into a Christmas ornament. I do have a YouTube video to go along with this project, so if you would like more detailed information, look below for the link to that video. 

I used a Memento Tuxedo Black marker to carefully ink up the general circle of the bomb and the top to make him look more like a Christmas ornament. I did this three times. I then colored them with Copic markers. 



After my ornaments were colored, I used the Ranger Emboss It! pen to coat the top of the ornament with sticky embossing ink and heat embossed it with Hero Arts Silver embossing powder. I then poked a 1/16 hole in the top with my hole punch. I coated the ball of the ornament with Ranger multi medium matte, using a small disposable paint brush, and dipped it into Ranger Rock Candy Stickles. I love how this looks. I also like to use this technique for sugar coated candy-like Peeps. I added a Doodlebug gray and white twine bow to the top of the ornament. 



My background is a piece of Altenew Moonrock cardstock, cut down with the second-to-largest Stitched rectangles die. I inked the left side of the background with Distress Oxide Fossilized Amber to create the same glow that you see in the color combo photo for the challenge. It reminds me of the glow of a lit Christmas tree. I added five Pine Tree Branch die cuts, cut from Stampin' Up! Old Olive cardstock. I sprayed the pine tree branches with spray adhesive and adhered them right on top of the ink-blended side of the background. I intended for them to look like the tree. I added a piece of craft foam to the back of the background with 1/2 in double sided tape. 

I stamped the sub sentiment with Versamark ink onto a piece of Lawn Fawn Black Licorice cardstock. I heat embossed it with Hero Arts Ultra Fine White embossing powder. I cut the sentiment into a strip and adhered it with double sided tape, justified to the bottom of the background.  I also die cut the word JOLLY out of the Bold Alphas die set. I cut out four layers of letters, and adhered them together to add dimension. 



The word jolly was adhered with liquid adhesive on the top of the sub-sentiment so that it reads, "Jolly, tis the season to be"... I thought it was cool, especially if you read it in your best Yoda voice. I finished off the card by adding my ornaments to the tree with 3M foam tape. 

I hope that you will visit the Your Next Stamp blog and see what everyone else is creating with this color combo and sketch. (CLICK HERE!). A full list of supplies and a link to my YouTube video creating this card are listed below. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today, 

Koren 




Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Your Next Stamp DT Dare "My Favorite Christmas Color Combination" Card Video

Hello fellow card makers.

Today I am sharing my project for Your Next Stamp's Design Team Dare "Favorite Christmas Color Combination". I don't really have a favorite, because so many colors work well to celebrate Christmas, but since I had to pick, I went with the traditional red and green combo. To see what the rest of the design team chose (CLICK HERE!) to go to the Your Next Stamp blog.


I am using the new Mini Holiday Martini stamp set and coordinating die to create my card. I first stamped the largest starburst from the Starburst Backgrounds stamp set with Simon Says Stamps Fog ink. Then I stamped the sentiment "eat, drink, and be jolly" justified to the lower right of the starburst.  This was stamped on a piece of Neenah 110 lb cardstock. This piece was cut down to 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 to expose a 1/2 inch strip of red and green diagonal stripe pattern paper from the Holiday Joy paper pad. 


I stamped the image with Your Next Stamp Black Olive ink on a piece of Neenah 80 lb cardstock. I colored it with my Copic markers. For the markers I used, look below for the Copic Color Map listing the colors. I cut him out using the coordinating die. 


I coated my image with Ranger Glossy Accents and left him to dry for most of the day. Once he was dry, I popped him up on the starburst with 3M foam tape. The entire panel was adhered to a piece of craft foam with 1/2 inch scor tape and then adhered to the card base. Look below for a link to the YouTube video I created making this project. 


Below is a complete list of supplies used for this project.  Affiliate links were used when available. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today, 

Koren 





Saturday, November 11, 2017

Your Next Stamp November Blog Hop Card Video

Hello fellow card makers.

Today is Release Day over at the Your Next Stamp online store. As of 10:00 EST you can purchase all the new products. (CLICK HERE!) to visit the Your Next Stamp online store new products page. This blog hop begins today November 11th 2017 and will continue until November 14th, 2017. You have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Your Next Stamp Online store by commenting on each of the blog hop participants blog posts. The more you comment, the more your chances of winning increase. The winners will be announced November 16th, 2017 on the Your Next Stamp blog.


There is an awesome coupon code that you can use in the Your Next Stamp online store. Use code Nov2017 to get 20% off of your entire purchase! This is a great deal, if you have the opportunity to purchase some goodies, definitely use this code. 




This release is super fun and packed full of great winter related stamps and dies. My favorite has to be the super fun Reinbeer set that I plan to use on an upcoming project. I love the Drink Tag die set that I used in yesterday's preview project. If you would like to check out all the new products (CLICK HERE!) to go to the Your Next Stamp online store new products page.  I have three projects for you today, so keep scrolling for more inspiration.



My first project uses the brand new Hello Winter stamp set and coordinating dies. I started with two pieces of Stampin' Up!'s Night of Navy cardstock. I used the Echo Park Artic snow stencil to create some snow in my background. The first I used Faber Castel's Whipped Spackle. This is a white embossing paste. The second, I used Nuvo Glimmer paste in Moonstone. This is an embossing paste clear in color with glitter mixed in it.  Once they both dried. I cut them down using the second from largest die in the Your Next Stamp Stitched Rectangles die set. 



I used the Houses on a Hill die to add some houses in the snowy background.  This die is open on the bottom which means that it doesn't cut the bottom. You can see in the photos that it cuts a landscape of houses and trees on a hill, like the name suggests. For a detailed explanation you can scroll down to find the link to the YouTube video I made creating this project. I cut this out of Neenah 110 lb Solar White cardstock. I ink blended some Distress Oxide ink in Fossilized Amber and cut out small pieces to adhere some light behind the windows in the houses. This piece was then popped up with foam tape onto the snowy panel. 

Whipped Spackle by Faber Castell 

I then stamped the sentiment "bring on the snow" on the one card with Versafine Onyx Black ink. The images and the "snow fun" sentiment where stamped onto Neenah 80 lb Solar White cardstock with Your Next Stamp Black Olive Ink. I then colored the images with my Copic Markers. For the exact markers I used, look below for a Copic Color Map. I then used the coordinating dies to cut them out.

Nuvo Glimmer paste in Moonstone
My images were popped up with 3M foam tape. I finished off both cards by adding some matte white Gumdrops from the Your Next Stamp Milk and Cookies Gumdrops set. 

Look below for my next project. 









For this project I used the brand new Merry Everything stamp set and Merry Die. I started with a piece of Altenew Moonrock cardstock and cut it down using the second to largest die in the Your Next Stamp Stitched Rectangle die set. I then embossed it with the Stampin' Up! Softly Falling  embossing folder.

I used the Merry word die to cut the work from Papertrey Ink's Tropical Teal cardstock three times, and adhered them together with Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive. Once all the layers were adhered, I added some snow on the tops of the letters with the Marvy Snow Pen. I adhered the Merry, also using Ranger Multi medium directly to my fallen snow piece.


The subsentiment was stamped with Versamark Ink onto a piece of Lawn Fawn Black Licorice cardstock and white heat-embossed it with Hero Arts ultra fine embossing powder. I cut it into a strip and popped it up onto my panel using 3M foam tape. To add something a little extra, I cut my favorite wonky heart from Papertrey ink Love Stories out of Stampin' Up!'s Real Red cardstock and stuck it onto my project again using liquid adhesive. 



I hope you enjoyed my projects today and don't forget to comment along the hop to increase your chances of winning a $25 gift certificate to the Your Next Stamp online store.

Thank you for visiting my blog today,

Koren



Your Next Stamp November Preview Day Card Video

Hello fellow card makers.

Today is Preview Day. The day we get to sneak a peak at what is being released tomorrow at 10:00 pm EST. Thats right, it's November folks, I can not believe it. To check out what the rest of the design team is sharing (CLICK HERE!) to go to the Your Next Stamp blog.


I was inspired to create my project from a fellow paper crafter, Karolyn Loncon. You can visit her blog (CLICK HERE!) to see all of her fab projects. 


I started with Brand New products by Your Next Stamp! When the new products go live, you can (CLICK HERE!) to visit the online store, new products page. I used the new Drink Tag die set and Reinbeer Stamp set to make my drink tags. 

I took Altenew's Moonrock cardstock and cut two of the wine tags out in my die-cutting machine. Then I took some Strathmore Bristol smooth cardstock and ink blended some pieces with Ranger Distress Oxide inks. I used Candied Apple, Twisted Citron, Black Soot, and Wilted Violet. I splashed some water onto my ink blended paper to get that bubble effect we all know and love. If you don't know what I am referring to, please look for a link to my YouTube video below in this post. I show you how I created these tags in the video. 


I then cut out my wine bottle, glasses, and grapes from the ink blended pieces. I stamped my sentiment from the brand new Reinbeer stamp set. This set is so fun. I used the Holiday Cheers sentiment. I white heat embossed the sentiment using Versamark ink on a piece of Lawn Fawn Black Licorice cardstock. I then cut it out with the second smallest Stitched rectangle die. 


I popped up all the elements of my tags with recollections circle foam adhesives. I finished off the tags adding a few dots of Nuvo Jewel drops is coordinating colors. 

For a link to my YouTube video, and links to the products used to make this card, look below. The new products will be available November 11th 2017 at 10:00 pm EST. (CLICK HERE!) to go to the new products page on the Your Next Stamp online store site. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today,

Koren 






Friday, November 10, 2017

Your Next Stamp Challenge #77 Card Video

Hello fellow card makers.

Today I am sharing the project that I created for Your Next Stamps Challenge #77. This is a biweekly sketch and/or color combination challenge on the Your Next Stamp blog. To play along with us or see the rest of the design team's inspiration (CLICK HERE!).

Here is a look at the sketch and color combination for this weeks challenge. I love these colors and my projects were inspired more by the color combo than the sketch. If you also feel inspired to play along with us, stop on over to the Your Next Stamp blog.






I started with two pieces of paper cut with the second-to-largest Your Next Stamp Stitched Rectangle Die set. One was cut from Neenah 110 lb Solar White cardstock and the other was cut from Strathmore Bristol smooth white cardstock. The piece of Neenah, I cut up using the stitched and pierced circles from Your Next Stamp. I cut three different sizes for my images to sit in. To go behind the openings, I ink-blended some Distress Oxide inks in Wilted Violet, Twisted Citron, and Salty Ocean. I also sprinkled some water on the ink blending to give the distress oxides that distressed look we all know and love. lf you would like more explanation, please look below for a link to my YouTube video I created making this card. I popped up the circle panel with thick foam adhesive to place it on the ink blended panel.


I stamped my images with Versafine Onyx Black ink and clear heat-embossed them with Hero Arts clear embossing powder. I colored them using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and cut them out. 


I popped the images up using 3M foam tape, resting in the circles on the card panel. I stamped the sentiment using Versafine Onyx Black ink as well. I finished the card using some Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Sequins. I adhered the completed panel to a Simon Says Stamp Fog cardstock card base.   


Below will be a link to my YouTube video creating this card and a full list of supplies used to make it.  If you would like to play along with us over at Your Next Stamp (CLICK HERE!) 

Thank you for visiting my blog today, 

Koren