Sweet Sparkle Tree

Hello Paper Enthusiasts,

Today I am pleased to bring you a card spotlighting 2 Cute Ink's Sparkle Tree.  Not only is it cute - but it's FREE!  Using this cute tree - complemented by the perfect Christmas papers - will enable you to craft classic creations to send your friends and relatives.

Sweet Snow Globe

Hi Everyone,

Isn't this such a wonderful time of year! In some parts of the country, the crisp fall air is combined with beautiful soft snow.  Yet I am able to still enjoy temps in the 80s!  But that doesn't stop me from the inspiration of snow-themed ideas - and what says snow better than a snow globe!  This snow globe houses some special 2 Cute Ink characters - The Gingerbread Boy and Gingerbread Girl - dancing around the Sparkle Tree.

  

Snowflake Owl - Glitter Technique

I fell in love with the free digital stamp 2 Cute Ink was sharing this weekend - Owl Doodle.  Since I'm no artist with my markers, I instead decided to glitter my image.  Heidi asked if I would share the technique - You know me...anything to be able to showcase my work!  

So Heidi sent me her latest digital stamp - Snowflake Owl - and as soon as I saw it, I saw cool, ice blue!

Here is my card - and step-by-step instructions below!  If you find yourself using this technique with 2 Cute Ink digital stamps, please share on Facebook or send us a link to your page in a comment....would love to see what you do!

Supplies Used

• Snowflake Owl - Digital Stamp (2 Cute Ink)
• White Cardstock - 1 sheet for cutting owl, 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" for card base
• Robin's Egg Blue Classic Glitter Cardstock (The Robin's Nest)
• Double-Sided Adhesive (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
• Microfine Glitter - Glitter Ritz (Elizabeth Craft Designs) 
• Real Teal
• Robin's Egg Blue
• Ice Blue
• Sky Blue
• Mystique
• Cool Highlights
• Warm Highlights
• Border Punch - Apron Lace (Fiskars)

Instructions

I just purchased a Sizzix eClips to replace my Cricut machine.  For those of you with Cricuts and Sure Cuts a Lot, the steps are almost identical.  You will only need to play with your pressure and/or blade depth on the Cricut.

First I placed a 6" x 6" piece of double-sided adhesive on a piece of white cardstock - leaving the protective cover on the top.

Two-sided Adhesive - on white cardstock - on cutting mat

On the electronic cutter, Trace the digital stamp image.  Break apart the image.  I moved the solid owl image to its own layer.  So my screen looked like this:   

To cut, I set the Pressure to 3.  This cuts through the protective covering of the adhesive....but not through the cardstock.

Next, I "hid" the layer with the detailed image, and displayed the solid owl image.  I set the cutter to cut two times - with a Pressure of 6.  This will cut through both the adhesive and cardstock.  See completed cut image below (excuse the messy glitter-catcher cardstock beneath).  You can see the detail cuts on the image's protective covering.

Carefully remove protective covering over outline only

Using tweezers, I peel off the protective covering for the areas I want to glitter in each color.  I like to begin with the outline.  The way 2 Cut Ink's images are designed, it provides a nice "outline" as such.  I begin with glittering the outline...which makes it easier to find all the detailed pieces.  

Cover with glitter; brush off excess

I complete those same steps for each different glitter color.  You can see, once the outline is glittered, the rest of the pieces are easy to see.  Use tweezers to remove the pieces you want for each color.  You can see by the pics, that I am generous when covering with glitter.  All excess goes back in the jar, so no need to be skimpy.  For each color, remove protective covering, cover with glitter, brush off excess.  Repeat.

Generously cover with glitter. 

Shake off excess glitter.

Rub off excess glitter - Rub hard to get a smooth look.

The next time I use this image, I will probably make the owl's belly white - my snowflakes aren't showing well with the little variance in blue colors.  With a white belly, blue snowflakes would really stand out (live and learn).

For this particular card, I did not resize the image.  However, the snowflakes were too small to cut easily, so I did enlarge them...then used the same technique to glitter.

A 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of Robin's Egg Blue Classic Glitter cardstock provides the card front.  I used a border punch on both sides of a strip of Robin's Egg Blue Classic Glitter cardstock, ran it through the Xyron (upside down), and covered it with a combination of Cool and Warm Highlight glitter to provide a blue-on-blue effect.

I popped up the owl....and glued on glittered snowflakes.

If this inspires you to use this technique, please share on Facebook or leave your link in a comment....we would enjoy seeing your creation.  

Party Craft

It's Judy here with you today and I have more party ideas for you.  If you remember Sandy's post from last week, she got us thinking of ways to use our 2 Cute Ink digis for parties.  Well, I am going to keep going with that theme....

 

My idea is a simple and easy (who doesn't like easy?!?).  It is a book mark that party guests can make themselves - a party craft! 

All you need is 2 Cute Ink digis printed out, cut them into strips, cut paper strips for the back ground, then round the corners on the bottom.  Let the kids color the image and glue the pieces together.  If they are feeling extra crafty, have some ribbon or twine ready for them to add a little embellishment to their book mark.  Now they have a little something useful to take home from the party. Click here to see all of the fun images you can use for your party.

 

Do you have other party ideas for your 2 Cute Ink images?  If so, share them with us in the comments.  We love hearing from you.