Sweet on Impression Obsession & Shimmerz

We've gotten to enjoy some fabulous projects so far with this fun partnership with Impression Obsession this week. This has been so much fun!

I'm a big fan of cupcakes. Even though there is so much color going on in my project, I wanted to make sure that the cupcake is the star of the show. I chose to do this by bringing attention to the flower petals by making them sparkly, thereby drawing the eye to the center where the cupcake resides.

Usually when I spray flowers with Spritz or paint flowers with Shimmerz or Blingz, I start out with white flowers and build color with the paints only. This time, the flowers were already colored at the outset. The flower in the background was a peachy-pink and the flower in the front was a light yellow-green. I built the color on the background flower by spraying it with a very light coating of Bed of Roses Spritz. I didn't want to change its color too much. With the yellow-green flower, I wanted more of the yellow color to be accented. I sprayed it three times with the Chick-a-dee Spritz, allowing time for it to dry between layers.

For a pretty dot of sparkle, I painted the cherry at the top of the cupcake with the Fire Engine Red Shimmerz. It's the perfect shade for a ripe summer cherry, wouldn't you say?


I added the closeup photo to show just how sparkly the beautiful Spritz'd flowers are. It also highlights the pretty shine in the cherry.



Supplies:
Stamps: Cupcake MC181 (Impression Obsession)
Paper: Zinnia PP (Little Yellow Bicycle); Smoothies CS in Boysenberry Delight and Sparkleberry Delight (Bazzill); Classic Crest Solar White (Neenah)
Paint/Ink: Fire Engine Red Shimmerz and Chick-a-dee & Bed of Roses Spritz (Shimmering Products); Tuxedo Black & Lulu Lavender Memento Ink (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars); Circle Punches (EK Success); Word Window Punch (Stampin' Up!); Markers RV21, E13, R35 (Copic); Fabric Flowers (Heidi Swapp); Dimensional Adhesive (3L)

Thanks so much to the folks at Impression Obsession for sharing their terrific stamps with us! Stay tuned right here for more of the fun. Shimmer on!

We Dare You!

This is a brand new weekly feature here on the blog: Shimmerz Darez.

Every Tuesday, a different member of the Design Team will challenge you to create something wonderful using Shimmerz, Blingz, or Spritz. If you'd like to participate and create something with us, great! Just leave your name & URL of the specific post or gallery picture here with Mr. Linky. Then, on the following Monday afternoon, we'll have a random drawing for the winner of a prize pack of goodies from Shimmering Products. How does that sound? We hope you'll join us whenever you can!

For anyone participating, here is a blinkie you can grab for your blog to let everyone know that you're a Dare Diva! :) (Doesn't Jeni do a fabulous job with these?)

Want this badge?

One last thing before we begin: Because there were so many terrific samples, it was impossible to include multiple closeups of each project. If you are interested in more pictures or additional information, I encourage you to visit the artist's blog. Our blog list is located on the right-hand navigation bar.

The very first dare is to use Shimmerz, Blingz and/or Spritz on a picture frame. Mine was an inexpensive black wood frame. I dressed it up with some die-cut Grungeboard sprayed with Bed of Roses Spritz.


And this cute frame is from Karen Taylor. She used lots of products on hers:

"On my frame I used Red Shimmerz. On the flowers I used Spritz Baby's Breath and Apricot Shimmerz. The leaves I used both Green Olive and Celery."

Next up is this terrific submission by Danielle Wycough. She used Mango Madness Spritz, Butter Cream Blingz and Poinsettia Pink Blingz on her frame.


Melissa Bove created this cute piece of personalized home decor. She used Baby's Breath Spritz on the frame itself and the papers, 4 Leaf Clover Spritz on the green part of the tree, Truffle Spritz on the bark of the tree, and Pixie Dust Blingz on the hearts.


Amber Kroening's cute frame was painted with lime acrylic paint, then painted with Key Lime Shimmerz. The flowers were sprayed with Baby's Breath Spritz.


Jenn Ellefson created this sweet little holiday frame. She used a double-coat of Royal Red Shimmerz.


And check out this soft, pretty submission by Ali Manning. Her whole frame was covered with Baby’s Breath Spritz and the white flower was edged with Under the Sea Blingz.


Guest Designer Christine Penaflor came up with this wonderful altered-frame calendar. She used Gold Glimmer, Pixie Dust and Hi Ho Silver Blingz along with Baby's Breath, Terra Cotta and Eucalyptus Spritz.


Heather Lee-Reppen created these cool magnetic picture frames.


Kim Dellow created this adorable decoration for baby's room. It's adorned with Baby's Breath Spritz and Bed of Roses Spritz.

What a pretty frame Jami Bova made! Her project is decorated using Tuscan Sun Spritz, Bamboo Leaf Spritz, and Barn Door Spritz.



Okay everyone, since you're totally Shimmzpired now, it's time to grab a frame and get those creative juices flowing! Any frame will do... even one from the dollar store (like the one I used in my sample) or a yard sale. Then, make sure you show us how you dressed it up! We dare you!

Click below this paragraph on the "Mister Linky" graphic to enter your name and URL of your post. If you don't see Mr. Linky, please check back with us later -- he's been experiencing some technical difficulties of late. Please be sure to link to the specific blog post or gallery photo so we don't have to go searching for your terrific submissions! And you can make multiple projects for multiple chances to win. One entry per post. This Dare runs through Monday, June 8th and a new one will be posted on June 9th.

Can't wait to see what you all create! Shimmzpiration to all!

Celebrating National Scrapbooking Day

NSD (National Scrapbooking Day) is coming up on Saturday, May 2nd and we're going to celebrate in a big way by giving away free Shimmerz! Here's how you can win:

- Celebrate NSD by using Shimmerz on your scrapbooking pages/projects.
- Photograph your project(s) and add it to your blog. Link to this blog somewhere in the post.
- Use Mr. Linky here to show off your creation.
- If you make two or more projects using Shimmerz, that's great! The more, the merrier. Use Mr. Linky one time for each project.
- We'll accept entries now through midnight Mountain Time on Saturday, May 9th. This gives you a week before NSD to plan and a week after NSD to get everything photographed and posted.
- Three winners will be drawn from the entries, and each of the three winners will each receive five specially-selected jars of Springtime Shimmerz, hand-picked by Stacey herself.
- You are encouraged to double-dip! Remember that by posting projects you can also win free Shimmerz via the Shimmerz Linkz program.

EDITED TO ADD: Thank you for your participation! The winners have been announced.

What's a scrapbook page without paper and embellishments? (Okay, besides digital!) Anyway, you can see here how easy it is to dress up a page using a little Shimmerz to highlight. I chose to highlight the ribbon used on the tag and the trees on the patterned paper. (I also highlighted my sister's wedding ring on the photograph, but I just couldn't get a good pic of it for this post.)

Supplies:
Paper: Mellow PP (BasicGrey); Olive Cardstock
Paint/Ink: Angel Wings Shimmerz (Shimmering Products); Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink (ClearSnap)
Accessories: Photo Anchors (Stemma); Olive Ribbon (Making Memories); Tag Die (QuicKutz); Black Glaze Pen (Sakura)

Shimmerz are acid-free and photo-safe, so use them with abandon on your scrapbook projects!

Another reason to use them with abandon during NSD? Because we'll have a special offer for those who replenish their stash (or add some new colors to their collection) at the Shimmerz Shop. Check back here for more details on this special offer!

Have a Shimmery Day!

New Colors on Grungepaper

It has been a very BUTTERFLY week here on the Shimmerz blog so far, hasn't it? And we didn't plan it ahead of time. The butterfly is such a wonderful symbol of the renewal brought by Spring. I know I'm ready to leave Winter behind!

Two of the newest Shimmerz colors, Choc-o-lot and Fire Engine Red, are the perfect complement to this Penny Lane paper from MME. The butterfly was cut from Grungepaper, the thinner version of Grungeboard, and then painted with Shimmerz. I drew on the antennae and the dotted flight-path.


Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill Brown (Bazzill Basics); Penny Lane Free Bird Love Paper (My Mind's Eye); Tim Holtz Grungepaper (Advantus)
Paint/Ink: Choc-o-lot & Fire Engine Red Shimmerz (Shimmering Products); Memento Marker in Rich Brown (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch (Fiskars); Boys Will Be Boys Dies (Sizzix); Butterfly #1 Die (Ellison); Amber & Blue 5mm gems (Mark Richards); Single Rhinestones (MAMBI)

Shimmer on and enjoy these warmer temperatures! :)

Formal and Funny

Today's project is a study in contrasts. It's dressed up to be an elegant card for an engagement or wedding, yet the stamped image is whimsical and the matching sentiment is funny. And as much as I adore these stamps, my favorite part about making this project is how I unexpectedly fell head-over-heels for the Coal Shimmerz!


Supplies:
Stamps: Ocean Friends (Kim Hughes Collection @ Cornish Heritage Farms)
Paper: Classic Crest Solar White 80# Cover Smooth (Neenah); Fig Swirl & Blackberry Swirl Smoothies (Bazzill Basics); Silver Sparkle CS (DCWV)
Paint/Ink: Coal Shimmerz (Shimmering Products); Paris Dusk Memento Dye Ink (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Large Circle & Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl Embossing Folder (Provo Craft); Flowers from the Bubbles Collection in Black (Prima Marketing); Red gems & pearl (K & Company); Black ric rac (May Arts); Dimensional adhesive (3L)

Looking at this closeup, it still surprises me that these sparkly paper Prima flowers started out a very light cream color. The Coal Shimmerz had excellent color coverage and made these sparkle like crazy! They almost look like the very metallic-steel-black-grey looking mineral called Hematite.

It's gorgeous and one of my new favorites. Happy Shimmering!

Wish Big!

Our friend and cherished Design Team member, Lori Renn, has launched her own successful line of rubber stamps which are available through The Rubber Cafe. We've chosen today to surprise her with a day all her own -- all the projects posted today will include her stamps.

My project today uses her "Wish Big!" stamp. Lori's new stamp line is proof that wishing big can lead to big success!


Here is a closeup of the color layering that I used on the brackets. The grungeboard starts out as a dark kraft color. After cutting the brackets, I pressed the Cottage Ivy ink pad into the grungeboard. At that point, they were much darker than the other greens on the project. To lighten & brighten them, I layered the lighter green Key Lime Shimmerz on top.



These brackets are rather thin. Instead of trying to find a teeny tiny pop dot sliver, I left the centers suspended. They look very cool... like they're floating!

Supplies:
Stamp: Wish Big (Lori Renn Collection @ The Rubber Cafe)
Paper: Classic Crest Solar White 80# Cover Smooth (Neenah); Flower Patch PP (Making Memories); Tall Gable Box in Kiwi Crush Bazzill Smoothies (Creative Cuts & More)
Paint/Ink: Key Lime Shimmerz (Shimmering Products); Cottage Ivy Memento Dye Ink (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Large Rectangle & Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Dingbats 2 Die (Sizzix); Grungeboard Basics Dots (Tim Holtz @ Advantus)

Please continue to check out all the fun 'tribute' projects we'll be showing off today. We'll also announce the winners of our monthly Shimmerz Linkz program drawing later in the day. (It's after midnight Mountain Time now, so you can start to submit your projects for March!)

Hope you have a Shimmery Sunday!

It's time to CELEBRATE!

First, a little Thanksgiving bird for everyone celebrating Thanksgiving here in the states and those serving and/or living abroad. For this card, since the focal image is stamped on patterned paper, I decided to use white cardstock the for the scalloped layer. I painted the scallops and the outer 1/4" of the oval with Angel Wings Shimmerz. (No need to cover the whole oval since only the little scallops are showing.) That sparkly layer REALLY pops!


Supplies:
Stamp: Bird (Unity)
Paper: Classic Crest Solar White 80# Cover Smooth (Neenah); Euphoria PP (BasicGrey)
Paint/Ink: Angel Wings Shimmerz (Shimmering Products); Lilac Posies Memento Dye Ink (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Petite Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

And on to the big news: We're also celebrating Grand Opening of our online shopping cart and the shoptacular Black Friday weekend! Of course, we're celebrating with a sale and a great prize. The sale prices will be valid from now until early Monday evening. We're expecting a lot of orders and they will be filled in the order received. Don't forget when ordering that Shimmerz make great gifts for Secret Sisters/Santas and your favorite crafting friends.

Parties are much better with a crowd, and we need you to help us spread the word. Here's how to win: Let your friends know about our sale... don't worry there's plenty of Shimmerz to go around! Link to this post on your blog and then leave us a comment on this post with a link to your blog post in it. If you don't have a blog, don't worry. Just e-mail news of our grand opening and sale to all your crafting buddies and let us know you did that in your comment.

There will be a drawing for five jars (winner's choice!) of Shimmerz/Blingz. Pretty sweet blog candy! Comments will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time on Monday, December 1st. Then check back on Tuesday morning to see if you won!

Happiest of holidays to everyone and Happy Shopping!

Link & Win!

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." ~Rabindranath Tagore


Speaking of time, we're running low on time for this month's drawing! If you'd like to win free Shimmerz on Monday, CLICK HERE to find out how to get entered. It's very easy.

And while you're preparing your entries, please enjoy this tiny bit of shimmering eye candy. I do mean tiny. This is a close-up of a butterfly that's just barely over 1" across at the widest point near the top of the wings. It was tricky to cut out! But what wasn't tricky was adding Angel Wings Shimmerz to the dark and light pink areas of the butterfly's wings. The shimmer packs quite a punch for this tiny butterfly, which might almost get lost on this card without its glitz!

Have a Shimmery day!

Fall Feathered Friends

To add to today's fall fun, I've got two different projects featuring birds. Let's start with the eagle, who is about to make himself useful as a thank-you card. His feathers were already paper-pieced in a gorgeous golden color thanks to patterned paper from Scenic Route (and I gave him a bit of a Toucan-Sam beak... I couldn't help it!)


The new limited edition Beeswax Shimmerz gave him a glorious sparkle befitting our nation's bird.



All three of our new limited colors (Beeswax, Sagebrush, and Rustic Red) were used on this birthday card. No markers needed, just wonderful rich Shimmerz colors.



Stay tuned right here for more projects with these luscious new colors in the coming days. We can't wait to show off our other projects. Order yours before they're gone forever and play along with us!

Shimmer on!

Expanding Our Lexicons & Blog Candy

It's time to coin a new term.

Shimmzpiration

Pronunciation: \shim-spə-ˈrā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: August 2008
Definition: the quality or state of being inspired by the ingenious and/or incredibly creative use of Shimmerz paints.
Other usage: Shimmzpirational (adverb) Shimmzpired (adjective)

That's right... Niki Estes' absolutely inspired use of Shimmerz to paint Prima flowers is ingenious and therefore Shimmzpired! You need to take a look at this awesome card. That flower's glitz takes that card to a whole new place, doesn't it?

I decided to see what would happen with printed Primas. Would the printed paper flowers be colorfast? I tried several and had beautiful results. The flower on the left was painted with Angel Wings Shimmerz and using a regular paintbrush.


In addition to the gorgeous look, the flower stayed pliable and kept its paper qualities. It wasn't any thicker or stiffer. It just looked like it had been dusted with the finest little bits of diamonds. I really liked how the Angel Wings was nice and sheer, allowing for the detail of the flower's pattern to shine through. This example is of cream flowers with chocolate brown patterns.


Hope this Shimmzpires you to paint many more fun things!!

And now for the blog candy! We're getting ready to launch three new LIMITED EDITION COLORS for the fall. They'll debut on Friday morning with some amazing projects from our designers as well as a special guest designer that'll be joining us. To celebrate, we want to give away a set of our new colors to a lucky commenter on today's post via a random drawing. We want to hear about your favorite memories or thoughts of fall colors. (Mine is of the amazing translucent gold color of Aspen leaves. So beautiful!) One comment per person accepted through 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time on August 14th. Then check back on Friday morning to see the amazing new colors and see if you won!

Shimmzpiration to all!

Perfect Little Accent

I think Shimmerz make the perfect little accent. In this example, it's used more as an embellishment than as a coloring medium. The image has been stamped and colored with markers, and then Shimmerz paints were added in a few select places for added interest.

Instead of coloring all over with the Shimmerz (as we did with the cupcake post), the shimmering accents are only added in a few key places: the sun, two of the flowers, and then the dots and swirls in the trees. It really makes this image pop!

Recipe:
Stamp: Happy Forest (Stamping Bella)
Paper: Classic Crest Solar White 80# Cover Smooth (Neenah)
Paint/Ink: Golden Wheat, Celery and Bubble Gum Shimmerz (Shimmering Products); Sketch Markers (Copic); Brilliance Graphite Black Ink (Tsukineko)

Shimmering smiles to you!

Tile & Beads

Sure, Shimmerz paints are the best eye-candy there is... bright, vibrant colors with tons of glitz. For me, though, it's the versatility that makes me really need them. They're an absolute ball to play with because they dry on slick (non-porous) surfaces! This means we can go to town with acetate, metal, glass, ceramic, plastic, etc.

The first project is a gem of Stacey's. (Stacey is the founder, developer and owner of the Shimmerz operation, so THANKS STACEY!) It started out as a 12" floor tile that she picked up at Home Depot. Using a stippling brush, she added Shimmerz in Buttercream, Candlelight, Green Olive (her favorite), and Pumpkin on the whole tile. The edges were then stippled with Mocha. None of the paint was brushed on, it was all stippled on. After drying, the rub-on was added and the tile was ready for placement on a little art easel or hanging on the wall. Isn't it stunning?




My project is significantly smaller, but the glitz and shine of the Shimmerz packs enough of a punch even for a 12mm glass bead. The first issue I had was how to paint the whole bead at once without it rolling around on the table and ruining the finish. My dad came to the rescue with the suggestion to hold the bead on a toothpick. The "before" bead is on the right:


Then, to complement the Aqua Marine Shimmerz used to paint the beads, they were paired with Light Azore 4mm Swarovski crystal bicone beads and sterling silver findings to make gorgeous earrings!


We'll have big news here soon on where to purchase your very own Shimmerz. In the meantime, let's get those creative juices flowing! Please leave us a comment with your creative ideas on what you'd like to paint with Shimmerz! We'd love to hear them!

Keep on Shimmerin'!

Cupcake Kickoff

What better way to start off this blog than with a cupcake? I was playing with this cupcake image this afternoon and thought it would be a wonderful way to show you just how shimmery these paints are.


The cupcake frosting was painted with Bubble Gum, a beautiful soft pink. Then the flower petals were painted in Magenta for a nice complement. Next, the flower center was painted in Royal Purple. The wrapper was first colored with the E31 Copic marker as a base, and then Golden Wheat was painted on top. It's shimmery and gorgeous!

Now this image is ready to take center stage as the focal point of a fantastic card or project.

Recipe:
Stamp: Clear Design Cupcakes CL158 (Hero Arts)
Paper: Classic Crest Solar White 80# Cover Smooth (Neenah)
Paint/Ink: Golden Wheat, Magenta, Royal Purple and Bubble Gum Shimmerz (Shimmering Products); Brick Beige E31 Marker (Copic); Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger)

We're so glad you joined us for our kickoff post! Please continue to check back for new techniques, prizes, and lots of creativity and fun!

Shimmer on!