New IAR Challenge... Nerd Alert!

Hey, Friends! Happy Good Friday! 

It is the 15th of April and you know what that means... time for another I Am Roses Blog Challenge!!

What is an I am Roses Blog Challenge? Well, It is a crafting challenge held monthly by I Am Roses over on the IAR Challenge Blog. Participants can enter their projects for a chance to win amazing IAR merchandise.

Here is how to enter...

RULES:

•  Participants are limited to one project entry.
•  Create a project using a minimum of 3 I Am Roses Products.
• Post your project onto your blog or forum and Label it "April IAR Challenge". 
• Add a direct link to your blog to the IAR challenge blog the InLinkz tool.
• Must be a current IAR subscriber/ Follower to participate.

The theme for the April Challenge is- Anything goes,

The Contest will be open from April 15th to May 8th.

Once closed, IAR will choose 5 WINNERS to win a $30 IAR Voucher.

Winners will be announced on May 15th alongside of the next monthly Challenge.

For more details and additional inspiration, head over on over to the I Am Roses Challenge Blog!

And finally, here is my project for this month's Challenge...

I Am Roses Products Used

Soft Pink Arabian Jasmine Flowers

White Achillea Cottage Flowers

Pink Achillea Cottage Flowers

Other Products Used

Marquise (Diamond Press)

Border Die (Diamond Press)

Foliage- Leaf Die(Diamond Press)

Scalloped Border (Diamond Press)

Mega Runner (Xyron)

Creative Station Lite (Xyron)

Stamp (The Greeting Farm)

Pink Diagonal Striped Paper (Bella Blvd.)

Clean Color Real Brush Markers (Zig/ Kuretake)

VersaFine- Onyx Black ink (Imagine Crafts)

Distress Oxide- Black Soot (Ranger)

Cardstock- Black, Gray (Recollections)

White Cardstock

Tacky Glue (Thermaweb)

Label Maker (Dymo)

 

Fuchsia Blooms Card- For Any Occassion

Hi, Crafty Friends! 

I'm back with Team Xyron with a paper pieced card with a clean and simple look... CAS but kicked up a notch with lots of added dimension using DIY foam adhesive. Let me show you how I created this all occasion card! 

Did you know that with proper care the fuchsia flower can bloom all year round? It is the perfect friendship flower! Just like friendships, you let give it a little warmth, a little sun, and let its gloriousness bloom, and when it gets cold and dark outside bring it in, nurture it, feed it, and it will continue to thrive. No matter the season, no matter the weather, the fuchsia is an all-occasion flower. Tend to your friendships and they too will continuously bloom! 

And, that is why I chose to use these beautiful stamps and dies today. You can make a bunch ahead of time, leave them without a sentiment, and just keep them in your stash, and you can pull one out whenever a need arises. 

Supplies Used

Mega Runner (Xyron)

250 Create-A-Sticker (Xyron)

Big Shot (Sizzix)

Cling Fuchsia Trio Rubber Stamp Set (Stampendous)

Fuchsia Trio Die Set (Stampendous)

Mixed Media Paper (Strathmore)

110 lb Cardstock- White, Black ( Recollections)

Art Mask- Filigrane (Carabelle Studio)

Versafine- Onyx Black Ink (Imagine/ Tsukineko)

Distress Oxide- Cracked Pistachio (Ranger Ink)

Clean Color Real Brush Markers (Zig/ Kuretake)

Tim Holtz Water Brush (Ranger Ink)

Sparkle Pen- Clear (Crafter's Companion)

Petite Posies- Red (Queen & Co.)

Glossy Accents (Ranger Ink)

Craft Foam

Mini MISTI (My Sweet Petunia)

Blender Brushes (Picket Fence Studios)

I started by stamping my images from Stampendous' Fuchsia Trio Rubber Stamp Set with Versafine Onyx Black Ink onto Mixed Media paper using my Mini MISTI. 

You don't need to use a MISTI, I just find a helpful tool that allows me to utilize and maximize the real estate of my paper without the worry of making a mistake.  If it doesn't stamp well the first time or I'm missing ink in a certain area, I can re-ink my stamp and close the lid for exact placement.

I then colored in my images with markers, building up layers. You'll notice in my first image I colored the bottom petal a peachy-pink, this helped tone down the purples I layered over it. The purples by themselves were too bright and blinding. And the slight orangy undertone gave the purple a nice depth.

Once, my images were colored, I used a Sizzix Big Shot machine and matching Fuchsia Trio Die Set to die cut my flowers and leaves.

On a  4"x 5 1/4" piece of white cardstock, I created a soft background by gently blending Distress Oxide- Cracked Pistachio using Picket Fence Studio Blender Brushes and Carabelle's "Filigrane" Art Mask. 

I brought back my Mini MISTI, placed my background into it, and stamped my buds and stamens where I thought they'd hang beautifully.

Then colored the tips of the stamen and bulb with my markers and blended out the color using a Tim Holtz water brush.

Before piercing, I knew I wanted lots of dimension on my card. I don't like scrimping on foam adhesive but brand name foam adhesive tends to come in small amounts and can get quite pricy. 

My all-time favorite budget-saving thing to do is just make my own! 

I have 4 kids, we always keep craft foam on hand... ALWAYS! It's relatively inexpensive and you can get bundle packs in assorted colors for a few bucks... And if you are especially lucky, you can even find them at your local dollar store!

And with the help from my Create-A-Sticker, I can have foam adhesive whenever the mood strikes!

I simply insert my foam sheet, crank through, and tear away the film. If you leave the foam as-is, it makes great foam stickers! It can easily be die-cut or cut with scissors. But if you want double-sided foam adhesive like I do, then simply flip your foam sheet, protective film side up, and reinsert your foam back into your machine and crank it through a second time! And presto, instant foam adhesive sheets!!

Now, I can cut as much as I need or want without having to scrimp and scrounge. I added a generous amount behind my leaves and flowers and set them aside.

For the card base, I used a standard A2 (4 1/4"x 5 1/2"-folded) sized card created from white cardstock. I layered a  4 1/8" x 5 5/8" piece of black cardstock onto the white card base using my Xyron Mega Runner. Then attached the background panel with stamped images over top. 

Once the card base was assembled I was able to start building dimension. I peeled off the protective film and layered my leaves toward the top of my card, just above the bulbs. Then tucked a couple flowers and stems under the leaves and positioned the flowers to go over the stamped stamens.

I added tiny blinged Petite Posies from Queen and Co. over each tiny stamen tip.

Then, added a bit of  Glossy Accents over each teardrop tip and let dry.

Lastly, I used a clear sparkle pen to add shine over each flower. This adds such a pretty shine to all the petals!

And here is my finished card...

I really love how this card turned out. The pictures don't do it justice, it's absolutely stunning in person!

I hope you enjoyed today's project and that it inspires you to build your own all occasion arsenal.

Thanks for stopping by and until next time...

HAPPY CRAFTING!!

~Mitsyana

A Springy HELLO

Hey, Crafty Friends! 

It's springtime!! Flowers are blooming EVERYWHERE!! Even in my craft room!!

I can't help but LOVE Spring!! What's there not to love? Winter gloom is disappearing and there's nothing I love more than flowers, flowers, everywhere!

I love to pick them, smell them, wear them, and of course, color them!

And today, I colored up a storm and create a floral card that's sure to brighten your day!

Supplies Used

Spring Things (Lynda Kanase)

Spring Phrases (Lynda Kanase)

Sizzix Big Shot

Black Cardstock (Recollections)

Tan Mixed Media Paper (Strathmore)

Mixed Media Paper (Strathmore)

ColorBox Dye Ink- Wicked Black (Clearsnap)

Inktense Watercolor Pencils (Derwent)

Mega Runner (Xyron)

Black Twine

White Gel Pen (Sakura)

Mixed Media Glue

Acrylic Block

Water Pen

Scissors (EK Success)

Paper Trimmer (Swingline)

MISTI Stamping Tool- *Optional*

I started by cutting my tan toned mixed media paper down to 4"x 5.25".

I used the floral stamp from Lynda Kanase's Spring Phrases and mounted it to a clear acrylic block. I inked the stamp using Colorbox dye ink in Wicked Black to stamp a floral frame along the perimeter of my tan cardstock.

Then, I colored the floral images using my Derwent Inktense Color Pencils and blended out the colors using a water pen.

To make the stamen details pop, I used a Sakura white gel pen to add highlights.

I die cut these gorgeous flowers and leaves from Lynda's Spring Things die set from white mixed media paper. And then shaded them with my Inktense pencils and watercolored each die cut using my water pen.

While the flowers wet still damp and pliable, I creased and molded each flower then set them aside to fully dry.

Once they were dried, I used mixed media glue to layer and attach the flowers together.

Then finished water coloring the center of the flowers and the leaves.

 I die-cut the layered labels from the Spring Things set. Cutting the larger label in black and the smaller one in white.

I used my MISTI stamping tool to stamp the word Hello (from the Spring Phrases set) in Wicked Black ink. I chose to use the MISTI because quite often mess up on my sentiment stamping and this ensures that they always come out perfect.

Then attached my Hello label onto the bigger black one using my Xyron Mega Runner.

I attached my colored card front onto an A2 card base I made from 110 lb black cardstock. And then attached the label to the center.

I created a multi-loop bow from black twine and glued it to the upper left-hand corner of the label. Then glued the three-dimensional die-cut flower onto the center knot of the bow and tucked and glued the leaves and stems behind the flower. 

And here is my finished card...

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!! 

Make sure you visit these gals for even more Spring Thing projects and give them some love!!

Amanda Stevens

Daniela Costa

Karen Aiken

Pam Bray

And of course,

Lynda Kanase 

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Until next time...

HAPPY CRAFTING!!

~Mitsyana

Botanical Hello Card

Hello again, Crafty Friends!! 

 Today is just another HOT day and I'm not enjoying all the heat. It seems like we went from WINTER to SUMMER and totally bypassed SPRING. I don't know about you but I feel cheated... hmph!!  And now that summer vacation is over here I am sooooo looking forward to some FALL... BRING ON THE SWEATER WEATHER!! The scorching 100+ degree temps have killed nearly everything and are just about to take the last of my grass. I can't wait for Spring to roll back around and we can get back to the blooming flowers and gorgeous colors. I love the way walking into a garden makes me feel with its beautiful foliage, birds chirping, and delicate butterflies fluttering. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait till next year! 

Or... create my own garden!! 

Yup, my mind is set. I will create my own garden... out of paper that is! 

So, for today's project, I made this gorgeous botanical card., complete with lush foliage and butterfly! 

Sizzix Supplies Used

 Big Shot

Magnetic Platform For Wafer Thin Dies

Funky Florals #1

Funky Florals #3

Shadow Script #2

Detailed Butterflies, Mini 

Stitched Ovals

Stitched Rectangles

Other Supplies Used

DCWV Natural Corrugated Cardstock

DCWV Meet Me In Paris Stack

White Cardstock

Dark Green Cardstock

Light Green Cardstock

Light Pink Cardstock

Dark Pink Shimmer Cardstock

Brown Cardstock

Xyron Mega Runner

Xyron Creative Station

ColorBox Doodlebug Petal Point Pigment Ink

ColorBox Boardwalk Petal Point Pigment Ink

Paintbrush

Seed Beads

White Opaque Marker

Wink of Stella 

Fabri Tac

Glue Pen

Mouse Pad

For my card base, I wanted my card to have a natural and organic feel. So I mounted a 4 3/4"x 6 3/4" piece of natural corrugate onto a 5"x 7" card base made from white cardstock.

I used my Big Shot machine and Tim Holtz's and Stitched Rectangles to die cut paper from DCWV's Meet Me In Paris Paper Stack. This stack is very romantic, with neutral tones and lots of florals, and pops of pinks (my favorite color in the whole wide world). 

I used the reverse side of one of my papers to cut this stitched border from the Stitched Ovals set and attached it along the sides of my rectangle cut-outs.

Since my pieces need be attached to corrugate, which is an uneven surface, I want to make sure it stays put. So, I run both rectangles through my Xyron Creative Station for maximum adhesion.

Then apply them to my card front along with 1/4" strip I die-cut using the stitched borders from the Stitched Rectangles set.

I die cut assorted leaves and stems from green cardstock using Tim Holtz's Funky Florals #1 and Funky Florals #3 sets. Then, shaded the edges with green and brown from my ColorBox Boardwalk Petal Point Ink Pad.  For areas of the stems, I used a paintbrush to shade into the that were too thin and narrow to color with a big sponge.

I die-cut these pointed petal flowers from the Funky Florals #3 set from pink cardstock and their stamen from dark pink shimmer cardstock. I inked and blended the edges with Bubblegum ink from the Doodlebug Petal Point.

Then attached the stamen centers with a glue pen.

Once the glue was dried I added more dimension by shaping my flowers with a ball stylus. Then attached another set of stamens onto it.

I added a dollop of fabri tac to the centers of the flowers then poured seed beads onto the wet glue and set them aside to dry.

While that was drying I die-cut my butterfly using Tim Holtz's Detailed Butterflies, Mini dies from more dark pink shimmer cardstock and brown cardstock.

Using flicking strokes with a white opaque marker, I gave my butterfly a bit of detail.

I attached the detailed overlay and brushed some Wink of Stella over top.

I die cut the word "hello" using Tim Holtz's NEW Shadow Script #2 dies and attached it onto a stitched oval.

Then gathered all my die-cut elements to build onto my card base. I used fabri tac glue to attach the stems and leaves first. The layered my flowers, sentiment, and butterfly. Then lastly, tucked in a bow made from hemp twine.

And here is my finished card...

I love how dreamy this card is!

Those shade of pink really pops against all those neutral colors.

And check out how stunning that butterfly turned out!

I really hope you enjoyed today's tutorial and you are inspired to create your own paper garden!

Thanks for stopping by!!

~Mitsyana Wright

DISCLAIMERS

This blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with each manufacturer, provider, or party in question.

This blog contains affiliate links, clicking and shopping through these links helps to support and run the Up On Tippy Toes blog at no additional cost to you.

So Awesome - Pink and Main & Xyron Blog Hop

Hello, crafty Friends!

Welcome to day 2 of the Pink and Main & Xyron Blog Hop! I am so excited to get to share with you another inspirational project featuring awesomely cute Pink and Main Stamps paired with fabulous Xyron adhesive!

We hope to inspire you all week with fantastic projects from both design teams! 

Please visit each of Pink and Main's DT member's blogs for a chance to win a $25 Pink and Main gift certificate AND a Xyron Mega Runner. More details below.

Supplies Used

  

Too Cool (Pink and Main)

Stitched Rounded Rectangle Dies (Pink and Main)

      

Take Flight (Pink and Main)

Take Flight 2 (Pink and Main)

Mega Runner (Xyron) 

Big Shot Machine (Sizzix)

Tim Holtz Cityscape, Skyline (Sizzix) 

Chalkboard paper (DCWV)  

140 lb Mixed Media Paper

Versafine Onyx Black Ink Pad (Tsukineko/ Imagine Crafts)

Tim Holtz Distress Markers (Ranger)

Waterbrush

Acrylic Block

I started by stamping my image from the Too Cool set onto mixed media paper. I like to water color my images and this type of paper holds up to moisture really well with minimal buckling. I colored my image using distress markers then blended out with a waterbrush till I got the desired look.

I die cut 2 large Stitched Rounded Rectangle Dies for my card base one from clouds paper and the other I cut a 1-1/2" strip from gray striped paper.

Then I die cut out 2 cityscape silhouettes. One from a fun deep red chevron paper and the other from chalkboard paper.

I love this little dude on his skateboard! How cool is he in his tiny shades?! And of course, he has to skateboarding somewhere equally as awesome! So why not the city, right?!

I used my Xyron Mega Runner and attached the strip of gray at the bottom of my card creating pavement. This was perfect to set my cityscape on top.

Then I propped him up with foam adhesive and mounted him at tilt to make it look his doing cool trick on his skateboard.

Then I stamped my sentiment in the lower right corner with black ink.

Here is my finished card...

How awesome is he?!

SO AWESOME!! Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

You have to admit, he is pretty awesome though. Makes me almost want to take up skateboarding... almost! With my luck and lack of coordination, I'd end up flat on my face!

I think I better stick to crafting!

I hope you enjoyed my project for today!!

Don't forget to enter for a chance to win the $25 Pink and Main Certificate and Xyron Mega Runner Prize Package!

All you have to do is visit each participating Pink and Main Design Team Member's blog and leave a comment on the blog hop posts.

Easy Peasy Mac and Cheesy!!

But wait!!

The Xyron Team is also giving away a prize package!!

Make sure you visit the Xyron Facebook Page and comment on any of the Pink and Main & Xyron Blog hop posts throughout the week.

There will be tons of inspiration from both teams! So keep coming back!!

***Disclaimer***

This blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with each manufacturer, provider, or party in question.

This blog may contain affiliate links, making a purchase through these links helps fund this blog at no additional cost to you.

The giveaway above is in no way sponsored or affiliated with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any of their subsidiaries.