Wednesday, March 31, 2010

One of a Kind

It's fun to see the different effects you can get by using Vibez and Spritz on different types of paper. For the background on this layout, I started with a sheet of kraft cardstock and cut out a decorative shape, then I sprayed it with Hermit the Frog Vibez. 


I love how the Kraft cardstock absorbs the Vibez color.  It almost makes the cardstock look like soft suede or velvet, don't ya think?  I used Tickle-Me-Turquoise Shimmerz on the chipboard alphas.  I added some Prima goodies, and for the patchwork I used scraps of fabric given to me by our very own Lucy Edson.  Thank you, Lucy!

Enjoy your day!

Stacy Cohen

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Elizabeth Kartchner | Shimmerz Paints


We have some Exciting News to share......
Liz Kartchner is the newest Face of Shimmerz!!!
She is excited to become a Shimmerz Endorsed Instructor and will be using Shimmerz Products in her upcoming classes!
Liz writes a monthly column for Creating Keepsakes Magazine called "Dear Lizzy", she wrote the book "52 more Scrapbooking Challenges" and has a fun Craft Line called "Dear Lizzy" from American Crafts.
Welcome to Shimmerz Liz!!! To learn more about Liz you can check out her inspiring Blog Here

That's Spring!

Spring is here, at least in Italy!

I covered a canvas with gesso and before it was dry I dropped Fire Engine Red, Key Lime, Tickle-Me-Turquoise and Opal Shimmerz; with the help of palette knife I spreaded the colors on the background.



I created a small picture inside the canvas, using the stencil with the gesso. I colored it with Tickle-Me-Turquois, Sunflower, Orange Sherbet, Pink and Key Lime Shimmerz with a brush. I used Grape Escape Vibez for purple butterfly and Marigold Shimmerz on the other one.


I brushed Grape Escape Vibez on the edge of the canvas and around the small picture. Many colorful flowers and rhinestones and .... is Spring!

Have a great day with creativity!

Roberta

Monday, March 29, 2010

'One' Birthday Banner...

Turning one is a big deal...especially for this first time mom. This past weekend for my daughter's First Birthday Party, I chose to make her a birthday banner rather than buy a cheesy looking one at the party store. I'm so glad that I did because the banner I created can be used again and again for years to come!

It all began with my Cricut and paper trimmer. Using pink card stock, I cut each square to the same width and length. I then used a scallop punch to make each background for the letters. Next, I used the Cricut to make my letters and number one. After adding lots and lots of ribbon, mini-clips, and some beautiful Shimmerz, I had a banner that was worth celebrating.


For the Shimmerz details here, I used Tickle-Me-Turquoise on the top corner flower and also on the bird brad. I l.o.v.e. the way that this looks, especially when hanging - the sparkle is wonderful!

On the opposite end of the banner I also used Tickle-Me-Turquoise on a corner flower, but I chose a bigger flower this time. Sparkle, sparkle, shine!

On the center of the banner, the #1, I used a paint brush to apply Hottie Pink and then applied Mud Pie Spritz to the rest of the scalloped area. I am very pleased with how the Shimmerz highlighted even more this essential card in the banner.

Happy day to you! Thanks for stopping by.

~ Jessie A.
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Shimmering Spritz

Happy Monday!!!

Today I would like to share with you 2 layouts that I did using some Shimmerz Spritz on my background. For this layouts,I have used My Scrapbook Nook's March Kit featuring Pink Paislee Bayberry line.


On both layouts I spritzed a few amounts of Tuscan Sun, Sea Foam and Ruby. I totally love the combination of this 2 colors and the shimmery effects that it added to mylayouts. It is perfect for this paperline.

LadyGrace

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Wonderful Surprises!

I decided to have some fun with some projects that had a lot of great colors added to them thanks to my Shimmerz paints! The first thing that I want to share with you today is a layout I made using the March kit from Scrap for a Cure. I went ahead and used a felt flower from the Dollar Store as a mask and sprayed onto the paper with my Shimmerz Spritz in Bed of Roses. I also went ahead and with the felt sticker from American Crafts, I first sprayed it with my Shimmerz Spritz in Tuscan Sun, waited for it to dry and then painted the center first with Theresa Collins Shimmerz Pearlz in Pearl, let it dry and then gave it a final coat with Shimmerz Blingz in Poinsettia Pink. I sprayed the title letters both Shimmerz Spritz Olive Branch and then Shimmerz Vibez in Rolling in the Hay. Here is the layout I created:

I have found that I really like mixing colors together with my Shimmerz and the results are always fun and fresh. Here are some close ups for your viewing pleasure. Here you can see the Shimmerz Pearlz mixed with the Shimmerz Blingz. You can also see the subtleness of the Shimmerz Spritz on the yellow felt flower.

I loved the look of what some of our other design team members did with the bigger spots on their paper, and so I created this effect with the mask I sprayed onto the paper. It is really a great way to add some extra texture to your projects!
In this next project, I bought a paper mache mask probably a good two years ago, but never really knew what to do with it. As I was going through some of the things in my scrap room recently, I came across this mask again, and I KNEW what I wanted to do with it. I wanted to make it and color it with my Shimmerz Paints. This took a little longer to do, but I LOVE the shimmery results I got from it.
Now, as you can see the color of this turned out to be a beautiful purple. What I had to do in order to create this color was first spray with my Shimmerz Spritz in Bed of Roses. I let it dry and then sprayed with Shimmerz Spritz in Cotton Candy. The next coat of color was Shimmerz Spritz in Baby's Breath. I then went ahead and sprayed Shimmerz Vibez in Red-Y or Not, Shimmerz Spritz Bed of Roses and Shimmerz Spritz Sapphire and with my fingers I mixed all of the colors together and I got this gorgeous purple color. I let it dry and repeated this step one more time. Just look at how wonderful this shimmerz!

For the flower on the side of the mask, I sprayed it with three colors. The first coat of color was Shimmerz Spritz Olive Branch, followed by Shimmerz Spritz Baby's Breath and the final coat of color was a light spray of Shimmerz Spritz Sapphire. Simply beautiful!
To give the mask a little more playfulness to it, I used some Utee and created the eyelids and then coated the top of the mask with it as well. I also had this playful feathered boa that I have wanted to use for quite some time and mixed it with this to give the mask a little of a eccentric look. Finally, I used some rhinestones to add a little more texture and playfulness to this project. For a first time of making a mask, although it's simple, I think it's a fun and cute project!

So, next time you want to create something a little different, don't be afraid to bring out your Shimmerz paints and mix your colors and have a fun with them! You never know what your results may turn out to be like.
-Deanna

Friday, March 26, 2010

Spring Break wishes!

So here in Oregon, Spring Break is winding down, but I know that elsewhere Spring Break will be starting up. And for lots of us, Spring Break equals a trip to the ocean!
Up here the Pacific is COLD, a bit too cold to swim in, but the beach always makes for AMAZING photos. And amazing photos, always make for GREAT layouts. Combine that with incredible, shimmery paint and well...you just can't lose.

Here are 2 different layout ideas for you to use for any forthcoming spring break beach trips or any beach/lake photos that you might have gathering dust:
Spray your background with Penny Pincher and Jeni B Bleu Vibez to perfectly match the sand and sea!

For On The Beach, I was inspired by Miss Lucy Edson and a challenge that she hosted at inspireME, where the two of us are on the Webster's Pages Design Team together. She had a great challenge to print photos on patterned paper and then I combined it with my favorite technique of spritzing my photo paper..and the two together were complete magic:
A quick shot of Rolling in the Hay Vibez, adds a nice neutral shimmer without distracting the eye



So there are several ideas and colors that will help bring out the best in any beach layout that you create!
Happy Spring Break!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Keeping It Simple

This past week my daughter turned one. While party planning is fun and exciting, it can also be stressful. I decided a few months ago that the ‘cake’ for her party would be cupcakes. I needed just a little something for the topper and Shimmerz Vibez came to my rescue. I absolutely love how the topper turned out and thought that display was perfect with the Shimmerz accents.



I started with a journaling chipboard piece from my stash. I spritz Razzle Dazzle Berry on it with two coats. Then I mounted the Thickers and hot glued a skewer to the back. That’s it! Simple, simple, simple – yet adorable and a perfect addition to her party table.

Using the same technique as above, I also created a sign for the party favors (pictured here in the background).

Singing to the birthday girl:

And a *mandatory* picture of Eloise (aka the birthday girl):

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Jessie A.
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Jump for Joy

Here's my share for the day . . . a layout using LOTS of beautiful Shimmerz paint and Spritz. I love to create colorful backgrounds by spraying Spritz on white cardstock. For this "Joy" layout, I used Sea Foam Spritz for the sky and Olive Branch and Bamboo Leaf for the grass.
I created the grass by spraying white gauze with Olive Branch Spritz.  I colored the small white Prima flowers with Sapphire Spritz.

I painted the leaves and branches of the cut-out tree (cut from Webster's Pages paper) with Green Olive, Celery and Choc-o-lot Shimmerz paint.  I made the pair of love birds out of shrink plastic:

Have a great day!!

Stacy Cohen

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Did You Know. . . .


I have people asking all the time. Is Shimmerz a new product?

Well. . . the answer is yes and no. We created and released both Shimmerz Paints and what was then "Shimmering Spritz" back in 1999. They were distributed by Personal Stamp Exchange and through sales reps. That was long before blogs and design teams.

Just like any new business we made mistakes and learned from them. Shimmerz and Spritz did really well for quite a while, but then we stopped manufacturing and aggressively selling for a few years. We were still there just not really noticeable.

So in June of 2008 we decided to try again. We got a blog, website and a design team and started manufacturing Shimmerz. Then Blingz, then we reintroduced Spritz, followed by Pearlz and Vibez.

So even though you didn't know us. . . we've been around for a L-O-N-G time. Just look at those labels. EeeeK!!! Thankfully we have a new look, but the product and quality are all still the same.

So spread the word. . . we really aren't the new kids on the block.

Cover for sewing machine

Why I love the Shimmerz products?
Because with them I can change the colors of my embellishments as I like.

For example, I had a white felt border, but I needed one yellow for my work. I used Tuscan Sun Spritz Shimmerz, Golden Wheat and Apricot Shimmerz .... and I obtained, very easily, my new yellow felt border to embellish the cover for my sewing machine.


.... and I obtained, very easily, my new yellow felt border to embellish the cover for my sewing machine.


I used Key Lime Shimmerz on the flower and on the leaves of the felt border for give light.





Have a great day with creativity!

Roberta

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

**Shimmery Weekend**

Hi everyone! Leslie here....

Today I thought I'd share with you some things I worked
on over the weekend at a fun crop I went to with
two other Shimmerz girls Taj White & Daniela Dobson.

First up is my "Two" layout.
Daniela brought the prettiest butterfly die with her
and Taj was cutting lots of butterflies with fun papers.
I wanted the negative space so I could use some beautiful
Shimmerz butterflies on a page
I wanted to do about my 2 peas in a pod.

So I took the paper and used it as a stencil, sprayed
Shimmerz Vibez in Jeni B Bleu and created the butterflies
you see here. My paper was already a very light shade of
blue. I think the Jeni Be Bleu was the PERFECT addition
to make that paper stand out:
I free hand stitched around the butterflies, to mimic movement.
Of course I also had to use the die cut butterflies on the page
as well.
Here's a few closeups:
you can really see the shimmer on these stenciled butterflies.
The Vibez is really shimmery & pretty!
I also let some droplets fall on my letters, to give them just a
bit more flare.

My next project is just a Shimmery Shimmerz page
I put together pretty quickly using Jenni Bowlin's Coordination Cardstock,
I sprayed the fabric I used, the papers, flowers and letters
after they were stamped on the page.
Here's my shimmery page: 
and a few closeups:















I wanted to create another one of my cupcake liner flowers
I first made a while back and shared
here on the Shimmerz blog.















Thank you so much for letting me share my creations with you today.
Go experiment with Shimmerz today. Let your mind be your guide...
have fun!

~Leslie

Monday, March 22, 2010

Painting on Canvas - Video

Hi, it's Lucy here with the beginning of a series of video tutorials to share! I just finished working on a painted art quilt and and will be finishing up my 3 part video tutorial to share with you all. This will take you through the entire process, step-by-step - detailing my creative process. I hope you enjoy!

The first video was just posted on the Shimmerz Ed Team Vlog - here's a little sneak of the first few steps for you:



You can see the first video here and rest will go up over the next few days.

Thanks!
Lucy

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Personalizing Muslin with Shimmerz Vibez and Spritz


I've got a huge stash of white and cream colored muslin hanging around my studio. (In case you aren't familiar with muslin...it is a very inexpensive fabric that is used in quilting, linings etc.) I love using it on cards, scrapbook layouts, art journal pages and mini art quilts. One of my favorite things to do is to to use my stamps, StazOn ink and my Shimmerz Vibez and Spritz to take transform my plain-jane muslin into something exquisite!

If you stamp your muslin first using StazOn ink (it won't run when it gets wet), then spray, the stamp will take a back seat to the color of the Spritz/Vibez. If you reverse the order and spray first then stamp, your stamp will take a more prominent role. Play around and see what you like.


On my dress form mini-art quilt, I first stamped with a script stamp, then spritzed with Olive Branch Spritz. Once it was dry, I sewed on my dress form. (The dress form was cut with my Silhouette SD out of plain white copier paper then sprayed with Rolling in the Hay Vibez.) The heart is another small snippet of muslin that I sprayed with Red-y-Or-Not Vibez. The entire process is very simple, but the results are stunning!

 Materials: Silhouette SD dress form image; muslin, Judikins stamp; StazOn ink; Shimmerz Vibez, and Spritz

If you are interesting in learning more about this technique, leave me a comment and I'll get a video in the works.

Happy Creating!

xoxo
Bethany Kartchner