October Color Challenge | Jen McMurtrey

Hello Shimmerz friends!

It's Jennifer today with my October Color Challenge project. When contemplating what color to use for the challenge, I knew that it had to be purple because it is the color I struggle with the most. 

I totally went into this blind when I asked Stacy to surprise me with a purple color . . . and, believe me, she delivered! When I opened my Shimmerz package, there were five purple shades to choose from!! Five! 

Here's a look at the Shimmerz colors I used:

Coloringz Punked Up Purple

Inklingz Honeymoon

Inklingz Pugnacious Purple

Shimmerz Wisteria Lane

Creameez Purple Rain

Creameez Get Glowing

To get this project started, I pulled out all of my Pinkfresh Studio stash and selected purple papers and embellishments to match my paints. I ended up using a piece of black and white floral patterned paper, which I painted using each of the purple shades. After painting the flowers, I used Creameez Get Glowing to paint all of the leaves. This was a pretty time-consuming process, but it was well worth the effort!

Once all of the paint had dried on the patterned paper, I sent it through my Silhouette Cameo using the Flowers For You cut file from Paper Issues.

While that was cutting, I added more of the purple colors to a piece of white cardstock.

Next, I went to work layering everything on the page.

Again, I chose purple embellishments from a couple of Pinkfresh collections to accent all of the beautiful Shimmerz colors.

I love all of the texture and the gold with the purple is stunning.

Here's one more look at the completed project. Despite my lack of love for purple, I am really liking how this turned out. 

Loving the colors you see here? Be sure to visit the Shimmerz shop and pick yours up today. Remember to type JENNIFER in the comments at checkout to receive a freebie with your order.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you are inspired to create!

- Jen

Seriously, This Happened | Adrienne Alvis

Hello Shimmerz fans! I'm here today sharing a simple layout that I created using a variety of Vibez and Coloringz spray inks! 

Using spray inks are my favorite way to add color to my layouts. I started by choosing some really bright and vivid colors for my page and took the nozzle out so I could create some very simple and basic multicolored circles on the white cardstock that I chose to use for my background design. I just dipped the end of the nozzle piece into the ink bottle and created circles with it. 

After the ink dried, I placed some Dear Lizzy Black Varnish stickers on top of the painted circles so they would really pop off of the page. I layered two faux photo strips of my daughter and I to the right side and added a couple of Hip Kit Club die cuts around the strips for added color and dimension. 

I added my title by using a cut file cut out of black cardstock and another Hip Kit Club die cut to finish off my page. I also added a few heart-shaped Dear Lizzy Black Varnish stickers to draw the eye around my page and to my title.

Shimmerz Paints Used: Coloringz - Don't Citron Me, No Yoking, Mandarin Mai Tai, Punked Up Purple; Vibez - Cold As Ice, Razzledazzle Berry

I love how fun and colorful this layout turned out to be just by using some colorful Shimmerz ink and a simple design! 

Thanks for joining me today and I hope you have a very colorful and creative day! 

Clean & Simple Style with Gabrielle

Hello Lovely Shimmerz Fans! Gabrielle here with you today to share with you a clean and simple style page I 'attempted'.  I say attempted because I tend to overfill my negative space areas....I so admire those that do this style so perfectly....me, I have to reign myself back a bit!

I began my page by first choosing my products and colors for my page design. I based my color scheme on an Inspiration Board for August from Dusty Attic (See my Blog for inspiration board).  I had meant to come up with a steely blue/gray by combining the 'Ride the Tide' Creameez with the 'Thunder Storm' Creameez....but my blue still seemed to dominate the page (wish I had the NEW creameez collections in hand! LOL!)

I created a short video tutorial to show you in a few steps how this page was made (it actually came together very quickly).  So grab yourself a little break, and enjoy!

Don't you just love the watercolor effect you get from the Creameez ?  I'm just super excited that Shimmerz just came out with a whole bunch of NEW colors for the Creameez and Inklingz collections! Can't wait to play with them!

The beauty of creating your own watercolor background design is that it will always be unique and different from what anyone else has done.  I just like to add a little water here and there to the colors, allowing them to run into each other a bit, till I get the desired effect.

I used the fabulous Dazzlerz and Texturez to color my Dusty Attic chipboard pieces.  Not only does this add deep rich colors but lots of fun texture as well.

I love to make use of some of my older stash (I used layered sticker blooms I had bought years ago from a K and Company collection called Blossomwood)....it's fun to mix the old with the new and see how your style has changed from when you first used these products.

If you haven't checked out the NEW selection of Shimmerz Paints products that just came out a few days ago, treat yourself to a peek....the new colors are FABULOUS!  Shimmerz Paints Store

Note: Be sure to get your FREE/Bonus Shimmerz Paints product (in the color of your choice) with your next order of Shimmerz Paints....Just mention my name 'Gabrielle' in the 'Instructions to Merchant/Seller' part of your order!

Hope you are all having a lovely, creative Summer! xo

Together ~ A Mixed Media Video Tutorial with Gabrielle

Hello friends! It's Gabrielle here with you today to share with you a page which was my 'attempt' at doing a 'white space' page.  I often admire the look of the layouts that utilize only a small portion of a page but do it in such a way that the eye is drawn right in to the photo.  I, being over embellisher find that my attempts at this style does not always come out as I had envisioned!  In this case I think I came closer to what I was envsioning so I guess I should be happy with that. 

These are the Shimmerz products I used to create this page.  After making this page up, I had to tell Stacey (owner of Shimmerz) how much I'm in love with their new 'Olive Branch' Spritz, beautiful rich color! (and by now you all know how much I love their purples!) **Please NOTE: I said I used Bamboo Leaf Sprtiz in the Video...It should say 'Olive Branch'....sorry about that!  Here is a full step by step video tutorial I created on how I made up this page. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed watching my video tutorial!  I've got some close-ups of the page for you to view at your leisure below....

I used some of the Punked Up Purple Spritz to add a soft hint of color to my Rodanthe Blossoms from Prima.  I always love a nice white blossom that you can change up to match your page with just a few dollops of color!

Another design technique I really like to use in my work is laying down a couple of layers of color with my Shimmers mists and then stamping on top of it. In this case I used a well used stamp I have from Bo Bunny called 'It Is Written'.   The pretty Moroccan looking chipboard is a piece from Dusty Attic called Marrakesh Trellis panel.....and the circle frame is an old favorite of mine called Decorative Scroll #1.

I did a little bit of fussy cutting from a labels paper I had from the House of Roses paper from LemonCraft. The title sticker is a Heidi Swapp epoxy sticker.

To achieve a shabby chic look, I like to first paint my chipboard pieces white, then do some random stamping in black using an archival ink (so it doesn't run when you hit it with other mediums).  I used my Paris/Beauty stamp for this. Then I rub a little brown chalk ink along the edges of the chipboard to give it a well worn look. Finally I add a coat of Crackle Varnish.

And I don't want to forget to talk about the yummy tinted texture paste used here, it's the gorgeous green color of Texturez called 'Artichoked'.  I used this with a Tim Holtz Harlequin stencil, I think it adds a nice festive touch, don't you?

I hope you enjoyed today's project, I had a LOT of fun making it!  Remember! If you would like to get a FREE/Bonus Shimmerz product with your next order of Shimmerz Paints, be sure to mention my name 'Gabrielle' in the 'Instructons to Merchant/or Seller' part of your order.  You will receive a free Shimmerz product in the color of your choice!  You can shop for Shimmerz Paints HERE.

Thanks for stopping by the Shimmerz Blog today, visit us often for daily inspiration from our creative design team! xo

Mixing Old with New! Mixed Media Video Tutorial!

Hello everyone, Gabrielle here with you today! Do you ever look at your pile of old stash that you've had building up over the years and think, what will I ever do with this item?  Years ago when I first started out scrapping I had bought some LARGE Prima blooms, I think I might have used one or two of them on a page but these blooms are seriously BIG, lol.  I finally found a fun way to use them!  I had been browsing around on Pinterest and saw this artist from Singapore named Grace Ciao who does her artwork with real live fresh flowers.  I thought her artwork is really beautiful but thought it's sad that the blooms will die (I think she takes photos of her work and uses those).  Anyway, it got me to thinking that it would be fun to use those old fabric petals that I had in my stash from those many years ago to create a fun mixed media style canvas.  (You can use any fabric or paper flower petals for this project, I was just happy to find a good use for my old stash! :)

I was also looking to use this months (February's) Inspiration Board from Dusty Attic (see my personal blog post for more details....so I gathered together a few of my favorite Dusty Attic chipboard pieces and colors from this palette from my Shimmerz Paints, and got to working.  Here is a step by step Video Tutorial I put together on how I made this project...enjoy!

This project was a lot of fun to create!  I began by quickly drawing up a figure, which I then traced out onto a piece of neutral color paper.  Here is a copy of my figure, just right click on the photo and 'save image as' to your computer, then print out for your own use...

Here are a couple close up shots of the canvas. ...

I used Tombow adhesive to apply the petals to my project but on hindsight think I would use a different fabric/craft glue (like Aleene's) for this next time....I feel like the Tombow seeped through the fabric of my petals and left a bit of a subtle stain. (I will definitely be trying this out again! :)

Here is a list of the Shimmerz products I used to make this canvas:

Shimmerz Paint Products:

- Tuscan Sun Spritz

- Treasured Hymn Spritz

- Pumped up Purple Coloringz

- Razzle Dazzle Berry Vibez

- Don't Be Suede Vibez

- Have a Grape Day Texturez

- Marooned Over Miami Texturez

- Coral Me Crazy Dazzlerz

- Ruby Lost Her Slippers Inklingz

- Miner Miner 49er Inklingz

NOTE:  Be sure to get a FREE/Bonus Shimmerz product (in the color of your choice) with your next Shimmerz order by mentioning my name in the Instructions to Merchant part of your order!

Thanks so much for stopping by the Shimmerz Blog today, hope you enjoy playing with your Shimmerz products as I do! xo xo

A Fun Fall Canvas & Video Tutorial

Hi Shimmerz Fans, Gabrielle here with you today to share a canvas I made using Fall leaves, some Gesso and a few Shimmerz Paints products!  Winter has come way to fast this year and I wanted to get this Autumn project done before there weren't any usable leaves left on the ground.  I managed to find a few after doing a little hunting around in my backyard.

These are the Shimmerz products I used on this project:

~ Punked Up Purple Coloringz

~ Treasured Hymn Spritz

~ Hot Fudge Vibez

~ Bamboo Leaf Spritz

~ Tuscan Sun Spritz

~ Oh Say Can U Sea Coloringz

~ Miner Miner 49er Inklingz

I made up a Video Tutorial to go with this canvas design....Enjoy!....

Here are a couple more views of this canvas....

I just love the effect the gold 'Miner Miner 49er' Inklingz gives to the leaf and relief parts of the canvas.  One of the cool things about Inklingz is that as you let the water sit in the paint cake, and the more you stir, the thicker and more luxurious the paint becomes.  Then it's easy to 'dry brush' the metalic gold effect on your raised surfaces of your canvas design.

I hope you enjoyed today's project and will give it a go either in these colors or your own favorite color combination!  REMEMBER....If you go to the SHIMMERZ STORE to or some of these yummy goodies, be sure to mention my name in the 'Instructions to Merchant....or message to seller' part of your order and you will receive a FREE/Bonus Shimmerz product in the color of your choice! xo

Watercolor Card Video Tutorial

Hello friends!  Gabrielle here with you today!  I have a fun and easy little card tutorial to share with you all today.  It's the weekend and I wanted to have a little fun playing with some of my Shimmerz Paint products, and some of my Dusty Attic chipboard.  So I gather up a few supplies, some watercolor paper and got playing!

Here is a quick l'il video tutorial I made up to show how I put it together!  (Note:....my lighting is bright when I film so the card appears softer in color in the video...above is the actual colors)  Enjoy!

Here are a couple of close-ups of the card design: 

I used some old stash for this card, some Prima Hydrangea blooms I had from an old kit.  I also used Martha Stewart leaf punch for the green leaves (just punched from cardstock and given a bit of a wrinkle.

I used one of my stamp designs, the Dandelion, as my center piece.  I used some white embossing powder with it....I would recommend not to press as hard as I did for this card as I feel I lost a lot of my detailing because of this :)

Products Used in this project:

Dusty Attic Chipboard:  Filigree Frame

Shimmerz Paints Products:

~ Moody Mauve Coloringz

~ Don't Citron Me Coloringz

~ Plum Pudding Sprtiz

~ Punked Up Purple Coloringz

~ Blue My Mind Inklingz

I hope you enjoyed watching me create this card today and hope you have some fun just gettin' loose and playing with your Shimmerz Paints!  You can shop for Shimmerz Paints HERE. NOTE:  Don't forget to mention my name "Gabrielle" in the Message to merchant part of your order to get your FREE/Bonus Shimmerz product in the color or your choice!  Go check out the shop, there are lots of amazing deals on Seasonal color groupings going on right now! xo