Valentine Gift Box

Have you seen Clearsnap's Design Adhesives and wondered how to use them? Would you like to learn how to learn how to apply different colors to different portions of the designs? Or how to mix mediums, like glitters, foils or embossing powders?

Today's project is a simple little Valentine's gift box that has been embellished using the BE MINE Design Adhesive with Designer Foils and Glitter.

Design Adhesives are like rub ons except that they are sticky so that you can apply foils, glitters or embossing powders to them, or even gently rub over them with inks.

The designs can be used as is, or you can cut them apart and just use pieces of them, which was what was done in this project.

Design Adhesives are easy to use and add beautiful design elements to your projects.

The slideshow below includes step-by step photos of the project, so you can see how it was done and learn these techniques to use on your own projects...




Here are all the supplies and the directions that you'll need to make this project yourself...

"be mine” gift box

Skill Level: moderate

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap: Design Adhesives: Be Mine, Designer Foils: Cherry Pie and Plum Crazy, Glitter: Sparkling Amethyst

Other: small kraft gift box

Tools: scissors and foam brush

DIRECTIONS:

BOX BASE

1) Cut apart 4 of the circle motifs from the Be Mine Design Adhesives.

2) Rub one circle at the center of 1 side of the box.

3) Cut a thin strip of Cherry Pie Designer Foil and press over hearts at center of design. It may take several applications to cover all the hearts. To apply the foil, just set over the portion you want to foil and gently rub with your finger, then lift off the foil strip.

4) Use thin strips of Plum Crazy Designer Foil to cover "xo" designs in outer circle using the same technique as above.

5) Sprinkle Sparkling Amethyst Glitter over circle of tiny hearts, then gently rub glitter over design with your finger. Use a foam brush to gently remove the excess glitter.

6) Repeat steps 2-5 on other 3 sides of box.

LID SIDES
1) Cut apart 2 hearts and 2 "xo" from Be Mine Design Adhesive.

2) Apply heart, then "xo" and repeat on one side of the lid.

3) Remove the backing from ONLY the hearts, and sprinkle with Sparkling Amethyst Glitter. Use brush to gently remove excess.

4) Remove backing from "xo" and foil using Plum Crazy Designer Foil.

5) Repeat steps 2-4 on the other 3 sides of the lid.

LID TOP
1) Cut apart "be mine" from Design Adhesive and apply at center of box on the diagonal. Foil using Plum Crazy Designer Foil.

2) Cut apart small hearts and apply to box lid randomly. Foil using Cherry Pie Designer Foil.

3) Cut apart tiny "xo" and apply randomly to lid, then sprinkle with Sparkling Amethyst Glitter. Use brush to remove excess.

I hope this project gives you some ideas for different ways to use Clearsnap's Design Adhesives on your own projects!

thanks for coming by, please come back and visit soon!

SWAK!

Embossing a stamped design can add texture, dimension, shine --- and if you use Top Boss' Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder --- an irridescent shimmer too!

I thought the "lip" designs on a set of stamps from My Sentiments Exactly would look great with a touch of "lip gloss", so the Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder seemed a perfect choice for this card...



Here is a closeup view of the "glossed-up" lips...





And this view REALLY shows the shimmer you get using the Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder...



The whole card was stamped in layers and embossed, even the sentiment...



The supplies and directions for this card are listed below...

"swak” card

Skill Level: easy

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap: ColorBox Pigment Ink: Rosebud, Lilac, Orchid, Ruby, Magenta, Thistle, Violet and Razzberry and Top Boss Embossing Powder: Opalescent Clear

My Sentiments Exactly: Valentine's Sentiments

Hero Arts: Flourish Background cling stamp

Bazzill: Coconut Swirl cardstock

Tools: paper trimmer and heat gun

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut a 6 X 5 piece of cardstock and fold in half to make 3 X 5 card

2) Ink flourish stamp with Thistle and stamp on front of card.

3) Ink large SWAK lip stamp with Ruby ink and stamp toward upper left of card.

4) Ink small lip stamp with Orchid and stamp below SWAK lips.

5) Ink small lip stamp with Rosebud and stamp at right of SWAK lips.

6) Ink small lip stamp with Magenta and stamp at upper right of card.

7) Ink small lip stamp with Razzberry and stamp below and to the right of the last stamp.

8) Ink SWAK sentiment stamp with Lilac and stamp at top left of card.

9) Ink "I love and adore you" sentiment with Violet ink and stamp at bottom center.

10) Sprinkle Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder across entire card, tap off excess, then heat set.

Thank you for visiting the blog, be sure to come back soon and see what's new!



Fairy Dust Glitter

I'm so in LOVE with my new Fairy Dust Glitter! I have been using it on pretty much EVERYTHING that I'm making for CHA samples. I have been using it so much that I'm looking a little Fairy Dusted myself... my hubby says I'm leaving a trail... LOL.

Anywho... here are some sneak peek pics of some of the projects that I've made for the Clearsnap booth:

And the winner of our giveaway is comment #2:

Erika said...

Fabulous giveaway!!! I'd love to fair dust felt flowers and some cards :) I'm a follower of your blog :)

January 24, 2011 9:49 AM  

 

Congrats!! Please email your mailing address to jennifer.priest@clearsnapinc.com. Thanks everyone for playing along!!!

Smooches ~Donna Salazar~

Last Summer...

We announced the addition of 8 scrumptious new colors to our popular Smooch™ line of pearlized accent inks: Taffy, Snickerdoodle, Molasses, Cherry Chocolate, Grape Soda, Luscious Lime, Pool and Nautical Navy. 

What's coming this Winter at the CHA Trade Show? Check our blog every day this week and next to get glimpses of new product coming out at CHA!!

It's CHA Week!!

And we are so excited to be releasing some wonderful new products at CHA!! We're keeping alot of the goodness underwraps but we just couldn't keep this wonderfulness from you any longer:

We're releasing a brand new line of glitter called "Fairy Dust" designed in collaboration with the fabulous Donna Salazar!!! The first release of "Fairy Dust Glitter" is available in three colors: Mixed Berries, Pralines & Cream and Sugar Shimmer. These glitter colors coordinate with her existing line of Smooch Spritz that was released this past summer at CHA-S in Chicago. We're so excited to be working with Donna to give you yet another way to make your projects sparklicious!

 

Here is a peek at a project Donna Salazar created using her "Fairy Dust Glitter":

Donna will be stopping by the Clearsnap blog later this week to show you a little glittery goodness. And when she's here, she'll announce the winner of our drawing. Yup, we're giving away another prize pack of some of our BRAND NEW, UNRELEASED products from CHA!! 

Just leave a comment on this post about what you'd like to "fairy dust" before midnight PST on Tuesday January 25, 2011 and Donna will choose one random winner. You can get one extra entry into the drawing for becoming a Follower of the Clearsnap blog as well! So be sure to check back later this week when Donna posts some delicious eye candy featuring her new "Fairy Dust Glitter" by Clearsnap.

Love Beads

I like to make jewelry for special events and holidays. It's an inexpensive way to dress up your everyday wardrobe for the occasion.

Valentine's Day, with all it's romance and romantic colors and motifs, makes it especially fun to design jewelry for.

I had some plain beads from DIY Bangles that I wanted to use for this project. I decided to use the XOXOXO ColorBox Five Color Pigment Ink on the beads, it has a mix of colors that are perfect for Valentine's Day, pinks, maroon and a hit of lavender. I primed the beads first using Crafter's Ink in Frost White so I'd have a nice even base that the Pigment Ink would "POP" off. Crafter's Ink is a very thick ink that you can use almost like a paint to prime or tint wood or any other poruous surface.

I had a stamp from Hampton Art that had the definition of "love" that I thought would work well, so I inked it up, then rolled the beads across the pad to apply the words to the beads...





To make filler beads, I "smooched" pieces of canvas with Cosmic Pink Smooch Spritz, then after they'd dried, I rolled them up and glued the ends...



Here's a pic of the finished bracelet...



You could also use these same techniques to make a matching necklace or earrings.

Here are the supplies and directions for this bracelet...

“love beads”

Skill Level: easy to moderate

SUPPLIES:Clearsnap: ColorBox Pigment Ink 5 Color Pad: XOXOXO, Crafter's Ink: Frost White, Smooch Spritz: Cosmic Pink and Color Catcher

Hampton Art: Love Defined wood mount stamp

Indus Trading: DIY Bangles: 5 - 14mm tube beads

Other: 6 X 6 piece of canvas and jute

Tools: scissors, liquid glue, dowel that fits tightly inside hole in beads {or use a knitting needle, crochet hook - anything about 1/8" in diameter} and a heat gun.

DIRECTIONS:

FILLER BEADS:
1) Place canvas in Color Catcher and spritz with Cosmo Pink Smooch Spritz. Set aside to dry.

2) Cut 5 - 1 X 6" pieces of dried canvas; roll around dowel and glue end. Set aside to let glue set. {hint: tape end to keep sealed until glue sets}

WORD BEADS:
1) Prime beads by inking them with Crafter's Frost White Ink and use heat gun to set ink. {hint, insert dowel to hold bead while you heat set} Make sure beads are cool and ink has set before continuing.

2) Make sure beads are cool and ink has set before continuing. Ink stamp using XOXOXO pad, then insert dowel in bead and use to roll bead across the stamp and then heat set. Repeat for other 4 beads.

FINISHING:
1) Thread beads on jute and leave about 12" on each side so you can tie the ends in a bow. You want to be able to slip the bracelet on and off without untying. You may need to adjust number of beads to fit your wrist.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to the blog and found some bits of inspiration for your own projects!



Forever and Ever

 I like the look of A2 cards but  I also love tall, skinny cards like this one.  The Remember This Design Adhesives has several greetings  that are perfect for tall cards.  Here's one that would be great for just about any romantic day - including February 14.

The heart, from Memory Box, is embossed in Ballet Pink, then smooched with Taffy and Carrot.  A light application of Soft Pink Vivid! Dye Ink ties the colors together.  Silver Fog Designer Foils are applied to the Design Adhesives - and Sweet Orange Glitter adds the final touch.

  

Here are the instructions for this card:

Clearsnap Products

• ColorBox Rosebud Pigment Inkpad    
• Vivid! Soft Pink Dye Inkpad     
• Top Boss Ballet Pink Embossing Powder
• ColorBox Stylus
• ColorBox White Leaf Tip
• Taffy Smooch Accent Ink
• Carrot Smooch Accent Ink
• Remember This Design Adhesives
• Silver Fog Designer Foils
• Sweet Orange Glitter

Stamp

• Memory Box Daphne Heart

Other Supplies

• Natural Cardstock
• Memory Box Soiree Blossom Cardstock (3-1/2" x 7-7/8" card)
• Memory Box Soiree Carrot Shimmer Cardstock 
• Heat Tool
• Cotton Swab
• Rotary Trimmer and Perforating Blade
• 1/4" Wide Orange Grosgrain Ribbon
• 1/4" Foam Dots

Directions

• Stamp  Daphne Heart on Natural Cardstock with Rosebud and emboss it with Ballet Pink   Powder
• Smooch the outline flowers with Sassy Pink
• Smooch all of the flower centers with Carrot
• Use the cotton swab (lightly moistened with water) to remove any excess Sassy Pink or Carrot from the embossed areas
• Cut the heart out and ink the edges using the Stylus, Tip and Soft Pink
• Cut a 1-1/2"  wide strip of Carrot Cardstock
• Trim the short ends with a rotary trimmer and perforating blade  to create a  6-5/8" strip
• Burnish the dots and 4 Ever Design Adhesives onto the strip
• Press Silver Fog Designer Foils (silver-side-up) onto the Design Adhesives
• Assemble the card
• Tie a bow and attach it to the heart
• Attach three foam dots to the card and press Sweet Orange Glitter onto the adhesive

Have fun with the Smooching, Foiling and Glittering - and visit often for more Valentine cards and ideas!

Romantique!

It's February and romance is in the air... close you eyes and picture the most romantic place in the world - well at least a place KNOWN for romance ---did Paris come to mind?

My Sentiments Exactly has a beautiful vintage-inspired stamp set that features lots of romantic images including the Eiffel Tower. That stamp set provided the inspiration for this project...



I selected soft shades of ColorBox Pigment Ink and Smooch Spritz for the project to give it the vintage look I wanted. I also decided to emboss the designs to add some additional dimension, texture and shine.

The unfinished wood frame was spritzed first with Tea Party Smooch Spritz to give it a soft rosy hue, then a few touches of Mixed Berries Smooch Spritz were added to add a soft iridescence...



The background cardstock was created by first spritzing it with Carmel Latte and Gold Lame' Smooch Spritz, then stamping it with a letter stamp using Mudslide ColorBox Archival Dye Ink. The dye ink was used for the background because I wanted it to have a soft but crisp look that would give the background an aged, worn look...



The verse was made by layering a sentiment stamp over a flourish stamp and then embossing both...



The flowers needed a little touch of something, so Honey Glow Glitter was added to their centers using Glue Gloss...



A few other accents was all that was needed to finish off the collage...





This project would be a nice Valentine's Day surprise for your "amour"; all the supplies and directions you'll need are listed below...

"Paris romantique” altered project

Skill Level: moderate to advanced

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap: ColorBox Pigment Ink: Bronze, Copper, Bronze, Black, Raw Silk, Roussillon, Chestnut, Stucco, Brown, Dune, ColorBox Archival Dye Ink: Mudslide, Smooch Spritz: Carmel Latte, Gold Lame', Mixed Berries and Tea Party, Color Catcher, Top Boss: Clear Embossing Powder, Glue Gloss and Stylus and White Blender Tips

My Sentiments: Be Mine Sentiments, Valentine's Sentiments, Amour Sentiments and Romance Sentiments

Hero Arts: Old Letter Writing wood mount and Speckled Ornaments PolyClear

Bazzill: Kraft and Almond Cream cardstocks

Prima: flowers

Other: 4 X 6 wood frame, vintage paper rosebuds and raffia

Tools: scissors, liquid adhesive, foam dimensional dots and paper trimmer

DIRECTIONS:

PARTS

1) Place frame in Color Cather, then spritz with Tea Party Smooch Spritz, then spritz a few areas with Mixed Berries. When Smooch has dried, ink edges using Copper Pigment Ink.

2) To creat background , place a 4 X 6 piece of tan cardstock in Color Catcher, then randomly spritz with Carmel Latte and Gold Lame' Smooch Spritzes. When paper has dried, stamp cardstock with old letter stamp inked with Mudslide Archival Ink.

3) Stamp Eiffel Tower using Bronze Pigment Ink, then emboss with Clear Embossing Powder. Cut out design and ink edges using Dune Pigment Ink.

4) For verse, stamp scroll design on kraft cardtock with Raw Silk Pigment Ink, then stamp sentiment with Chestnut Pigment Ink and emboss. Tear around all edges then ink using Gold and Dune Pigment Inks.

5) For "love", stamp the design with Brown Pigment Ink, using Stylus and Blender Tip to ink the heart in the "o" with Gold Pigment Ink, and emboss. Then cut apart letters and ink edges using Stucco Pigment Ink. Ink edges using Dune Pigment Ink.

6) For "heart postage", first ink heart stamp using Stucco Pigment Ink, then use Stylus and Blender Tip to apply a bit of Brown Pigment Ink around the edges; stamp, emboss and cut out. Then ink postage stamps with Gold Pigment Ink and use Stylus and Blender Tip to apply a bit of Black Pigment Ink around the edges; stamp, emboss and cut out. Ink edges of both using Dune Pigment Ink.

7) Apply a small circle of Glue Gloss at the center of the flowers and glitter using Honey Gold glitter.

ASSEMBLY

1) Wrap and tie raffia , ending in a bow, at right side of frame.

2) Insert stamped background cardstock in frame.

3) Add a few bends to the verse and then adhere using dimensional foam dots at the upper right of background.

4) Adhere Eiffel Tower using dimensional foam dots at the right of the background, and adhering the top and bottom of the piece to the frame {just use adhesive - no DFD}

5) Adhere "love" letters at lower left of frame at slight angles.

6) Adhere heart at an angle at upper right corner of frame.

7) Use dimensional foam dots to adhere postage stamps in center of heart.

8) Adhere flowers around verse.

Thanks for stopping by! Please come back soon for MORE great projects!

Creating Ice with Sparkle Fibers

We're in the middle of winter, a great time to get snapshots of the family enjoying the season. A few weeks ago we got hit hard with snow here in California (yes, it does snow in the mountains and higher elevations! LOL) Of course the kids really got into it -- who doesn't love a little snow in your own front yard!?

I created a layout for these fun family memories using papers and stickers from Bo Bunny Press with the Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Cat's Eye Queue in Chocolate & Blueberries, Smooch Spritz, and Sparkle Fibers.  I used Smooch Spritz to create a frosty back drop (on an otherwise plain piece of cardstock) for my layout and Sparkle Fibers to create "ice" on a border.

Clearsnap offers Glue Gloss which is perfect for adhering Sparkle Fibers to a project but did you know, you can treat Sparkle Fibers just like glitter and use it without adhesive? One of my favorite things to do with glitter (and now Sparkle Fibers) is to use the BACK of a sticker as my adhesive. On this page I used a Bo Bunny Press border sticker to adhere Sparkle Fibers onto to make a wonderfully "icy" border. Here's how:

Clearsnap Supplies:

Sparkle Fibers in Snowdrift

Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Cat's Eye Queue in Chocolate & Blueberries

Smooch Spritz in Vanilla Shimmer and Navy Twinkle

Craft Funnel

Other Supplies:

Paper, Stickers - Bo Bunny Press

Paper for Buttons & Epoxies - Kaiser Craft

Epoxy Shapes, Buttons - Epiphany Crafts

Twine - Joann's

Cardstock - American Crafts in Denim

Pearls - Prima

Journal Spot - Pink Paislee

I first spritzed the entire background (two pieces of  Denim Cardstock) with Smooch Spritz in Vanilla Shimmer. I love Vanilla Shimmer because it is virtually clear, only adding "Shine" to a page with little color. 

 

To get a fine mist on a project, hold the Smooch Spritz bottle about 18-24" above your project and spray. The fine mist will waft down and settle onto the page to create a soft but ultra-shimmery effect, just like frost on the ground. To get more intense color and shine, spray closer to the project, about 6" away, like I did in the photo above.

To add a little color and depth, I spritz Smooch Spritzed in Navy Twinkle in a couple of spots on each background page. This gives the background dimension and makes the "frost" feel a bit more organic. 

After I sprayed the background, I inked the edges of all of the page elements. This page uses one full sheet of double-sided 12x12 paper and a 3" x 12" piece of another patterned paper. It's a great economical layout and if you are making multiple layouts for a single event, you could use 5 sheets of patterned paper (4 of the same pattern and one different)  plus 10 sheets of cardstock to get 4 different layouts using this design.

Cut the 12x12 Paper to make a 2" x 12" piece and a 10" x 12" piece. Ink the edges of 2" x 12" piece with the Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Cat's Eye Queue in Chocolate & Blueberries and adhere vertically to the right hand page about 2" from the right edge (Green pattern in the layout above). 

Cut the 10" x 12" piece down to 4"x 10" and 8"10. Round the corners on one 10" side on each piece of paper. Ink the edges with the Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Cat's Eye Queue in Chocolate & Blueberries and adhere the 4"x 10"piece to the left hand page and the 8"x 10" piece to the right hand page, slightly overlapping the 3" x 12" paper. The rounded corners should be facing away from the seam between the pages and the sharp corners should meet up at the seam.

Round the corners on one 2" side of the 2" x 12" patterned paper piece leftover and ink the edges with the Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Cat's Eye Queue in Chocolate & Blueberries so that the pattern on the back is showing. On the sample the front of this paper is white and the back is purple. Adhere across the bottom of both pages, about 2" onto the right page, and cut apart at the seam between the two pages.

Add photos and some of the large snowflake stickers from the sheet to the layout to get the bulk of it completed.

Add one Border Sticker (Maroon Scalloped) across the 2" x 12" strip.  Now's the fun part!

 

 

Make a small pile of Sparkle Fibers in Snowdrift in a glitter tray or on a piece of paper (that you can later use to help funnel the Sparkle Fibers in Snowdrift back into their container). Remove one of the stickers borders from the sicker sheet. Press the back (sticky side) of the sticker into the pile of sparkle fibers until you can no longer feel any tack from the sticker when you touch the sticky side. The adhesive on the sticker should be completely covered with Sparkle Fibers in Snowdrift. It's wonderfully icy looking!!

Insert a Clearsnap Craft Funnel into the Sparkle Fibers in Snowdrift bag and funnel the remaining fibers back to be stored. I love the Craft Funnel--even if you have a glitter tray or use a piece of paper rolled into a funnel, the small (and cute!) Craft Funnel helps you get every last yummy bit of glitter, Sparkle Fibers, or whatever else you are funneling where you need it to go and it has so much more control than a glitter tray or piece of paper alone.

Adhere the Sticker Border to the page with 3D Foam Dots. I added self-adhesive pearls to the border for some extra bling. 

 Now add a title, Journal spot, extra Stickers, and buttons + epoxies to finish it off. 

The matte patterned paper, photos, and stickers between the icy Sparkle Fibers border and the shine of the Smooch Spritz on the background make for a layout with alot of depth and interest.

Hope you're inspired to make your winter pages icy with Sparkle Fibers and Smooch Spritz!

-Posted by Featured Artist Jennifer Priest

Love You Tulle-ly

Shades of Peony, Gray and Silver create a vintage modern  Valentine here - blinged with Charcoal Glitter, Silver Fog Designer Foils and Top Boss Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder.  A simple Tink Pink tulle bow accents the artsy heart from Hampton Art.

Here are the instructions for this card:

Clearsnap Products

• Ancient Page Jumbo Flannel Gray Cartridge
• ColorBox Peony Pigment Inkpad
• ColorBox Fluid Chalk Dark Peony Cat's Eye Inkpad
• Memory Essentials Jumbo Inking Handle
• Memory Essentials Jumbo Get Rollin'
• Memory Essentials Stamping Guide 
• Fancy Edges Design Adhesives
• Top Boss Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder
• Charcoal Glitter
• Silver Fog Designer Foils

Stamps 

• Hampton Art Love Heart
• Hanpton Art Text borders Clear Stamps Set

Other Supplies

• Paper Accents Muslin Assorted Textured Cardstock (7-7/8" x 3-1/2" card)
• Bazzill Tangy Taffy Cardstock
• Memory Box Soiree Silver Shimmer Cardstock
• Soft Round Paintbrush
• Bazzill Tink Pink Tulle
• Rotary Trimmer and Scalloped Blade
• 1/8" Foam Dots

Directions

• Snap the Flannel Gray Cartridge into the Inking Handle and remove the lid
• Attach the script image from the stamp set to the adhesive Get Rollin' wheel and snap the wheel into the handle
• Push the cartridge towards the wheel to ink the stamp
• Roll the script image onto a strip of Tangy Taffy Cardstock, using the Stamping Guide to stamp in a straight line
• Trim the image to 6-1/2" x 2" and ink the edges with Dark Peony
• Burnish the diamond border from Fancy Edges over the scrip and brush Charcoal Glitter onto the adhesive pattern
• Stamp Love Heart on Silver Cardstock with Peony
• Emboss the heart with the Opalescent Embossing Powder
• Trim the cardstock to approximately 1-3/4" x 2-1/2", using a scalloped rotary trimmer blade
• Cut a 15" piece of the tulle, fold it thirds crosswise, and tie a knot
• Trim the bow ends and glue the  bow to the heart
• Cut a 6-1/2" x 1-1/4" strip of Silver Cardstock
• Attach the pieces to the card
• Attach foam dots above the Design Adhesives
• Press Silver Fog Designer Foils onto the foam dots

Hope you like these colors as much as I do!  Visit our blog often - we'll be featuring an array of Valentine greetings for your special sweetie(s).