Bird of Paradise Shaker

 Hello! Alison Heikkila here. Hello! Today I am sharing a card that was created by my husband Gene for the June Sparkle Blend release from Doodles Paper Playground. He really liked the "Go Bananas" Sparkle Blend, so he decided to go with a rainforest vibe on his card.

He found an old Bird of Paradise stencil that he liked a lot, so he used a couple of embossing pastes and applied it to cardstock. After they dried, he inked it up a bit to give kind of a blurry, jungle background. Using some dies from Stampendous for his window and the foliage around it, he created his shaker. He inked the foliage a bit by tapping on some Distress Oxide Ink. This gave the leaves a lot of texture.

His window is quite large, so he wanted to use a lot of the "Go Bananas" Sparkle Blend in the shaker panel. Instead, I offered him some of my beloved (and retired) "Broken Glass" Sparkle Blend to fill in the window, while still allowing you to see what's inside. In the photo above, you can see the clear and opalescent sequins....that's from "Broken Glass." Everything else is from "Go Bananas," so look for the little banana slices, the monkey heads, the various shades of yellow in different styles of sequins, and even 2 styles of full sized bananas! There are a lot of great elements in this Blend, and I really love the surprising pops of bright pink and bronze.

For his card base, Gene did a bit of ink smooshing with the same colors of Distress Oxides that he used behind the shaker window. I believe the colors were Rustic Wilderness, Twisted Citron, and Cracked Pistachio.

This card gave him a bit of trouble. It's not easy to use different colors of embossing pastes on such small areas, especially since they were from different brands with very different consistencies. But in the end, I really love how his card turned out. There is so much movement in his shaker window and those Sparkle Blends are really on display. Please visit the Sparkle Blends Shop on Etsy to see the entire new collection, plus some new goodies that Amber has added to the shop! And make sure you join the Sparkle Blends Fan Club on FB to always get fantastic inspiration on how to use those Sparkle Blends. Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day! 

Ice Cream Bright

Hey Divas. It's EK Gorman popping in for another Guest Designer post. I know, I know, I know...Doodles Paper Playground just released a massive new collection of Sparkle Blends and here I am posting about an old already seen blend...ugh..

Well I just wanted to remind you that while you are shopping all the great newly released blends, don't forget to look at some of the old ones, simply, because when a blend is gone...it is gone forever. That's right. When a blend is gone, it is gone forever.

Each Sparkle Blend mix is hand mixed before packaging. So literally there is only one batch each time a new blend is created. So I can't stress enough, don't miss out on your favorite blends. When they are gone, they are gone.

Today I am want to being your attention back to a blend released two months ago. I am playing around with the I Love the 80s Sparkle Blend, and I just don't think many people noticed how versatile this blend really is. Not only do the colors have a great throw back to a decade not long forgotten, but it also looks like a child's ice cream fantasy.

So that is exactly what I decided to do with the blend today. I decided to pile it onto a giant bowl of ice cream. I pulled out a Concord & 9th stamp set, and stamped it onto an A2 card frame. Then using my colored pencils (which is why I could stamp and color straight onto the card frame), I colored in the image, making it look like the best sundae combination ever, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.

I then pulled out a bunch of 'sprinkles' and sequins to adhere onto the card frame. This collection of sequins form the blend were going to be my inspiration for coloring the bowl. I colored the bowl with my colored pencils and added the blend to the whole card.

I just love how bright and bold the colors of this blend are! I adore how with the right stamp the I Love the 80s blend can used with any kind of celebration stamp set!

Don't forget to check out the entire new release as you go shopping for oldies but goodies. There are several blends that only have one or two left before they are gone forever! Pop over today and check things out. Until then, Happy Crafting!

If you want to save a little while shopping feel free to use the code EKGORMAN10 to save 10%.

To My Favorite Cute-Tea

What Could Be Better Than Boba And A Field Of Flowers!

Hello Sparkle Blends Fans! This is Judy, and I am Guest Designing at Sparkle Blends, so let's start out Monday with some sparkle.

Today I am playing with Spill The Bubble Tea. For this project I used a set from Hero Arts called Tulip Field HeroScape and Catherine Pooler Inks to create this beautiful field of flowers scene, and blending brushes to create my sky. For my Boba refreshment, I used Boba Shaker Combo Creative Cuts shaker die set from Mama Elephant. And my sentiment is stamped with Momento Tuxedo Black Ink and comes from the Mama Elephant Stamp Set called Boba Tea.

To see more of the Sparkle Blends May Release, and all the other mixes, take a look on the Doodles Paper Playground blog, Facebook page and in the Sparkle Blends Fan Club on Facebook.

So what do you think of this project? I really love how it came out and really appreciate the opportunity to Guest DT!

Thank You for stopping by and please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Hugs!

Judy

Unsolicited Advice

Hey Friends!  It's Ek am back on the Doodles Paper Playground guest designing today with one of the latest released Sparkle Blends.

I wanted to try and create a really simple yet fun card using the brand new Grandma's Knit Sweater Sparkle Blend mix.

Grandma's Knit Sweater

I started by stamping out my image and sentiment onto some heavy weight cardstock.  Then using my craft knife, I trimmed out the section of the booth.

After coloring my image with my colored pencils, I added the sparkle blend mix into the shaker portion of the card.

Finally, I blended some ink around the edges of the card and adhered a few extra sequins onto the card along with some Nuvo Drops. 

I know my project is super simple today, but I hope it brings a smile to your face! 

Let us know in the comments below what your favorite way to use Sparkle Blends are?  Until then, Happy Crafting.

You Make Life Sweet

Hey Friends!  It's EK and I am guest designing again today with Doodles Paper Playground and using Sparkle Blends in a new and unique way.  Instead of creating a shaker card, I tried something a little different.

I started by stamping out an image and coloring it in with copic markers.

I then filled in the ice cream with glossy accents in a very heavy hand.

I then dump a ton of the new  Little Piggy Sparkle Blend onto the wet glossy accents.

I dumped off the excess and pressed the blend into the glue a little firmer. 

Then using more glossy accents, I squeezed more over the blend and let dry.

What you get is a very shinny locked in collection of blend. 

Let me know in the comments below what you think of this technique.  And make sure you pop over to the Doodles Paper Playground Etsy Shop to see all the different blends they have available.

Want to save 10% off your order, then feel free to use the code EKGORMAN10 to get a savings!

Wine Run

Hey Friends!  It's EK popping in to guest design.  Today I am creating a shaker card using one of the newly released Sparkle Blend mixes from Doodles Paper Playground.  Today I thought it might be fitting to create a card with a bit of humor (in light of us all needing a laugh), and frankly a little irony.

I pulled out the Champagne Bubbles Sparkle blend to fill this die cut wine bottle and just love how they sparkle within this copic colored image.  I also added a few extra sequins from the Champagne Bubbles blend around the card frame to give it a little extra pop.

Have you been over to the brand new Doodles Paper Playground Sparkle Blend Etsy Page?  There are tons of these limited edition blends available for you to pick up, but they are all on low supply so make sure you pop over and see what they've got.

Want to save 10% off your order, then feel free to use the code EKGORMAN10 to get a savings!

Happy Fall Y'all

Hey Friends!  It's EK and today I am lucky enough to be guest designing here at Doodle's Paper Playground and playing with some of their sparkle blends sequins.  Today I pulled out the Copper Penny Sparkle Blends because I really feel this pack has a fun fall feel to it that is unique.

 

I pulled out some distress oxides today in Candied Apple, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge and Carved Pumpkin as well as the Stampendous stamp set Jumbo Leaves.

 

After all the ink blending and stamping, I added the copper penny sequins to each of the dots the stamp had left behind. 

 

This was such a simple card to make, but yet, I think it really has such a fun look.

 

Let me know in the comments below what your favorite fall sparkle blend pack is.  Until then, Happy Crafting.

Pawsome Pets

Hey Friends.  It's EK, I am popping in today because I have the privilege of guest designing over at Doodles Paper Playground.  Today I am playing with the new Pets Sparkle Sparkle Blend sequin pack. 

I started by stamping out this cute puppy from the Woodware A Dogs Life stamp set.  I then colored it up with some copic markers.  I then fussy cut out the image.

I then created an A2 card frame out of some Juniper Berry Petallics cardstock.  I layered some Craft Creations Pink Shimmer Paper and Craft Creations Pink Texture with Silver Foil paper.  I then adhered the stamped image on top of the layered papers.

I then applied a thick line of glue to the card and sprinkled some Pawsome Pets Sparkle Blends sequins onto the glue.  I was hoping the sequins would look like the cloud of dust the pup was stirring up from his skateboard.

I stamped out a sentiment and some extra paws onto the card, plus added a few more sequins. 

Thanks for peeking in today, and make sure you pop over and check out the full line of released Sparkle Blend Packs.  Let me know in the comments below, which Sparkle Blend sequins is your favorite.  Until then, Happy Crafting.

Supplies
Pawsome Pets Sparkle Blends Pack
Woodware A Dogs Life Stamp Set
Craft Creations Pink Shimmer Paper
Aspire Petallics Juniper Berry Cardstock
Creative Creations Pink Texture with Silver Foil

For the Best Teacher

Hey everyone!  It's EK and I hope you have settled into the new school year.  It feels like I am finally getting my feet under me and the new schedules are no longer driving me crazy.

And since I am getting my feet under me finally, it seems only fitting that I start making some cards for those wonderful teachers teaching my kiddos.  It is going to be a whole lot easier this year to create some fun cards for my favorite teachers, because Doodles Paper Playground has just released a new Sparkle Blend pack designer just for that teaching staff.  The new Apple for Teacher Sparkle Blend is filled with a huge assortment of red, yellow and blue bits and baubles perfect for your favorite teacher.

Apple for Teacher

To create my card I started by stamping out some school themed stamp images from the Woodware UK's School Tots stamp set and colored it up with my copics.  I fussy cut out the images so it would be easier to add them onto my finished card.

I did a little ink blending through a stencil onto some cardstock for my background.  I pulled out the Grunge stencil from Kaisercraft and blended some Mustard Seed, Blueprint Sketch, and Candied Apple Distress Oxide onto the cardstock.

I die cut the cardstock using two different dies and started the task of making my shaker card.  I just love how the shaker bits look inside this background.

I just love how his card turned out.  I think its colors turned out perfectly and I am so excited to give this card to one of my kiddo's teachers.

Make sure you pop over to White Rose Crafts and check out all the DPP Sparkle Blends still in stock.  Remember all Sparkle Blends are limited edition, so when they are gone, they are gone forever.  Until then, Happy Crafting.

Leave a Little Sparkle

Games of Thrones may be over, but the dragon glass is not. 

Hey Everyone, It's EK back with another Guest Designing post and I want to make sure you know that you can pick up your own bundle of Doodles Paper Playground's Dragon Glass Sparkle Blends, and I thought I would play around with it and the very cute Dragon and Bird stamp set from Wild Rose Studio over at White Rose Crafts.

I just didn't feel like making a shaker card today, so I tried a little something different.  So I started with a piece of 13 Arts Aqua Flora Collection  paper pack.  I adhered the dark watercolored printed paper to an A2 card frame.

I then took some thick crafting glue that dries clear and added a thick layer around the edges of the card.

I then poured the sequins all over the card, pressing the blend into the glue gently with my fingers.

I shook off any excess sequins and moved a few around to create a really cool frame of bling.

I then colored my dragon and fussy cut out the image.  I adhered it with some double stick tape to the center of the card.

Finally I added a sentiment sticker to the card and set it aside to let it dry.

Let me know if you think this new blend of sequins looks like 'dragon' glass.  Until then, Happy Crafting.

WRC Supplies
Doodles Paper Playground's Dragon Glass Sparkle Blends
Wild Rose Studio Dragon and Bird Stamp Set
13 Arts Aqua Flora 6x6 Paper Pack