Monday, November 30, 2009

JOY frame

I love altering things, and this frame was no exception. Originally this was meant to be used with photos, however, I dropped it, and the glass broke into a million pieces, which was a blessing in disguise. I decided to make a decorative piece with this for Christmas instead. I covered the inside of the frame with papers from Scrap Works and ribbon from Making memories. I then covered chipboard and put in on the "windows" I had to find a way to make the background work - and so what I did is used my Shimmerz Spritz in Baby's Breath and sprayed the background 3 times to create the "shimmery" background. The spritz absorbed into the wood quite well, and with the extra coats, it really makes it shine and adds a very unique background. I also went ahead and used my Shimmerz Golden Wheat and Celery to color the star and the trunk on the chipboard piece. For the chipboard ornaments, I edged them in Shimmerz Tickle-me-turquoise and Jilted Jade. For my flower, which was a fabric flower, I originally spritzed the whole thing with Shimmerz Spritz in Baby's Breath, and once that was dried, I went ahead and colored the bottom layer of petals in Jilted Jade to give it some extra dimension and an extra layer of color. Finally, I decided to add the beautiful gold leaves with berries to make this piece a little more festive, and I decided to change the color of the brown stems, which I thought were a little boring. I went ahead and colored the stems with Shimmerz in Tickle-me-turqouise. I had t give it 3 layers, but the results are just beautiful. This is going to be a fantastic piece to display in my house for Christmas!
A closet up of the background with the Shimmerz added to it:


Some close up shots for you to see the detail in the flower and the gold leaves branches:

I hope you enjoyed this little project, and that you can see just how fun it can be to experiment with your Shimmerz products! Happy Monday!
-Deanna

Masked Fabric Art Quilt


Hi, Lucy Edson here with my first video tutorial for Shimmerz!

Shimmerz Spritz is perfect for masking on fabric as you can see on this video I made. It added an amazing sheen and color to my masked mini quilt. Take a look at how I started this project:





I added a little more misting to this after I finished the video - the dress form is Chickadee Spritz the shadow masking, Ruby Spritz and then I added a little 4 Leaf Clover on the right side and Mango Madness over the left edge of the Ruby to add a little more color.

To make my sample into a mini quilt: I layered the masked fabric with cotton batting and a cotton backing, creating a quilt sandwich and with light yellow embroidery thread, free motion quiltied the outline of the dress form first and filled the background with a random pattern. After completing the quilting I straightened the edges and zig-zag stitched them to stop any fraying.


Then, hand stitched some paper doilys onto the sides and layered a few embellishments.

The top has some gold Hambly rub-ons applied after the quilting - I love the look of rub-ons on fabric.



I have some other samples from creating my video and I'll share those with you as I complete them.
Thanks and I hope you enjoy another way to play with your Shimmerz Spritz! To see all of the DT videos together in one place visit the Ed Team Vlog.

Lucy

Sunday, November 29, 2009

So Grateful

I am very grateful this year for the many things that I accomplished in my life. I wanted to be able to share how grateful I am through a layout which will go into my "family" album. I had a lot of fun with this layout, and really made the layout shine. I added a mask to the bottom of the page which would become my title area and then I sprayed the rest of the page with my Shimmerz Spritz in Treasured Hymn, Truffles, Rock-a-Fella Blue, and some Licorice. I also sprayed my circles with some Shimmerz Spritz in Treasured Hymn and Licorice. Some other fun things that I am really loving using is that I went ahead and I stamped images onto the page by using my rubber and acrylic stamps with the Shimmerz Paints.


For the butterfly, I edged the acrylic shape with my Shimmerz Hi Ho Silver Blingz, let it dry, and coated it twice. It really give some nice definition to the shape.

For this particular stamped image, before I stamped my image, I created a "wash" with my Shimmerz Vintage Wine by stamping on it and then "rubbing" the image into the paper. It gives such a pretty coloring behind the stamped image. Once that dried, I went ahead and stamped my image onto the circle.


And finally, just a nice close up shot of the stamped images that I spread throughout the page. I did what is known as a "kiss" stamping technique with this because I stamped my first image and then went ahead and kept stamping with the same paint until it was too light to notice. I repeated this twice throughout the layout.

Thanks for stopping by today, and hope you are all enjoying the weekend!
-Deanna

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thankful Hearts

Happy Thanksgiving from All of Us Here at Shimmerz!

Today I wanted to share a page with you about two people that I am very thankful for . . . my parents. They are such good, good people and I'm honored to call them mom and dad. :)




To add some interest behind my paper strips I sprayed Licorice Spritz on my background cardstock. I love how rich it looks on the Kraft colored cardstock, tying all the deep colors in the papers together.

Thanks for coming by!
Jana

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Design Team Call

ATTENTION!!! Shimmerz Paints is having a Design Team Call! Shimmerz is a cutting edge manufacturer, and looking for individuals who are not afraid to think outside of the box. Get Messy! Shimmerz is looking for artists and designers who can create a variety of projects such as layouts, cards, altered art, and whatever else you can do!
Design Team Responsibilities:
3 required projects each month, posted on your personal blog and the Shimmerz blog. More is great! One must be Shimmerz specific.
1 tutorial with photos during your Design Team tenure.
Willing to promote Shimmerz on blogs, forums, Facebook, and anywhere else possible.
We are looking for Team Players!
Benefits:
Name and blog link added to the Shimmerz blog.
A Design Team kit to start creating Amazing projects.
Publication Incentives.
A Design Team Discount
New Product Releases!
Chance to be part of a Wonderful Design Team!
What To Send:
Submit 2-3 projects (Does not have to feature Shimmerz, but we want to see the sparkle and shine); Good Photography is a MUST!
Name and Contact Information.
Blog Address.
Previous Design Team Experience and/or Publications.
A few sentences on why you want to be a part of Shimmerz.
If interested in being a part of Shimmerz, please apply by emailing photos of your projects, and other information to mcelyea@q.com by December 28, 2009. The new Design Team will be announced on January 1, 2010.
Blog: shimmerzpaints.blogspot.com
Website: shimmerzpaints.com
Email: mcelyea@q.com

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Thankful.....

This year I have so many things to be thankful for: a house, a job, my family, my health and this great world of scrapping that is filled with so many wonderful people that I am proud to call friends. Being a part of this Shimmerz Design Team has been so fulfilling and just a wonderful experience. It is great to work with good people!

In honor of Thanksgiving and the season, I re-created a little layout about the things I am thankful for. Complete with a signature *Z* in the title and loaded with Shimmerz goodness!



Using a corrugated cardboard sheet, I spritzed and spritzed and wait...spritzed some more using our Tuscan Sun and Rockafella blue miniz. While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled some fake snow and gold glitter on top.



Now I have been using this large plastic shipping bag (you know the one your scrapping products get mailed to you in) as a workspace for my Shimmerz and painting area. Well as I was doing all of the aforementioned spritzing, a rather LARGE paint blog (for lack of a better word) on the shipping bag caught my eye. It was shimmery and beautiful. The wheels in my head started turning and so I tore off a piece of this piled on paint and started sculpting:

Flower after:



Flower

I dipped the tip of the paint rosettes into our Shimmerz Gold Glimmer (one of my FAVES) and then into some of the left over gold glitter that was ahem...laying on my floor still waiting to be swept up!

So who woulda thunk, that you could make something so cute out of a blob of layer upon layer of paint tinted with Shimmerz?

And before I leave: thank you thank you thank you to Stacey and the amazing people here at Shimmerz for making me feel so welcome and loved as a part of this group!

I urge you to create a layout today about the things that you are thankful for and you can submit it into our Thankful Contest as the icing on the cake. Check out the post for more information!

Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Dena

Monday, November 23, 2009

Spritz on burlap

I love to play with Spritz on fabric. On this layout I sprayed Sea Foam and Eucalyptus Spritz on strips of burlap. I cut out a "frame" from the patterned paper, then I tucked the burlap strips underneath the frame for a little extra added color and texture.



This is me and my daugther. There is nothing better in the world than having her little arms wrapped around me. Oh how I ADORE this little girl!!!

The papers and the chipboard alphas and arrow are from Bo Bunny.

Thanks for stopping by!!
-Stacy Cohen

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Masking and Stitching

Hi, Lucy, here with a fun way to add some punch to your next masking project.


To create the circles mask - I simply laid various sized lids on my cardstock and spritzed with Shimmer Spritz in Baby's Breath, let it dry then used a paper piercer to outline the edge of my circle, then handstitched the perimeter with a backstich with cotton crochet thread. The stitching really makes the masked areas pop and add a wonderful texture. I also spritzed the paper behind the photo with Seafoam Spritz to make it appear to be more solid in color.


I so love the look of the lighter Shimmerz colors on dark papers - the sheen is AMAZING!!!

Papers here all by Sassafras Lass and the digi photo frame is from Rhonna Farrer's Vintage Photo Tools.
Thanks and see you soon! :)
Lucy

Thursday, November 19, 2009

An Idea for Leftover Spritz Puddles

Whenever I use my Spritz on an embellishment like a flower, I have a little puddle leftover on my workspace from the overshoot. Did you know that this humble puddle is a wonderful opportunity to create even more beauty? (Plus, it is a great way to use every single little drop of Spritz and get the most out of a bottle!)

When you've got a puddle mess, take a small piece of muslin and simply wipe it up. (Remember Spritz is water-based so it cleans up without any effort.) After cleaning up a few puddles, that little piece of muslin takes on the most glorious shimmer. It is like making your own fabric. Gorgeous.

You can use your hand dyed (or should I say hand cleaned-up) muslin on a layout, a card, or to make a little mini-art quilt like I did.


Materials: Shimmerz Spritz (cotton candy) and Shimmerz Blingz (hi ho silver); My Little Shoebox pattern paper, Maya Road lace; Prima stamp and flower; Colorbox ink; seed beads; DMC embroidery floss; Making Memories ribbon and paint; Basic Grey chipboard heart; eggshells; Stampin' Up! wings stamp

The pink background is Spritz (cotton candy) on muslin that I sewed and beaded onto a vintage text page.


To make the mosaic, I painted eggshells with acrylic paint and layered it with Blingz (hi ho silver). I also painted the edges of the heart with Blingz (hi ho silver). I love the chunky vintage feel of Blingz!

So the next time you have a Spritz puddle, use it to create another beautiful project!

Happy Creating!

xoxo
Bethany Kartchner
Shimmerz Education Team

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

**Like A Cloud Up In The Sky....**

My favorite thing about Shimmerz is
you can take an ordinary object...
let's say a cloud - and turn it into diamonds
in the sky.....
I did that with this layout I did using Baby's Breath Shimmerz
Spritz on this The Girls Loft (Nov) kit.

Shimmerz really jazzes up a layout.
Makes it everything a girl loves...
glitzy, glamorous, bright, shiney, sparkley
and most of all....SHIMMER-zy.
Here's a few close ups of my diamonds in the sky...

and even my letters needed a little kick of sparkle...

thanks for letting me share with you today...
have a very shimmery week!
~Leslie

Grateful

I created this layout last fall for Shimmerz but it is one of my favorites so I thought I'd share it again with you all since we are focusing on what we are grateful for!





I am so very grateful for my husband! He has made my life pretty close to perfect! I mounted this layout on a one inch thick, 12 inch in diameter wooden circle that I painted brown and have it displayed on an easel for a beautiful fall home decor item. Don't keep those beautiful layouts hidden in a book. Be proud and put them on display for all to see. Especially all of your pretty, Shimmery ones! :)

Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you,
Lori Renn
Shimmerz Education Team Member
Posted by Picasa

Explore

For this layout I used rub-ons to create my own patterned paper. I have a box full of rub-ons and sometimes I don't know what to do with them. These particular rub-ons were on a sheet, 8 1/2 x 4 inches. I placed them on white cardstock and started rubbing. What is fun about these is that you can paint them with any Shimmerz color to match your layout. I know you have some.

I used Royal Red and Golden Wheat Shimmerz paint and December Sky Blingz . I didn't add anything else. This is what Shimmerz and Blingz looks like. It reflects light and it shimmerz.

Use a paint brush to dip some color and have fun!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Versatility

One thing that comes to mind when I think about Shimmerz products is VERSATILITY! Shimmerz works on a myriad of surfaces: ranging from fabric to metal to plastic and more.

Recently, I created a layout for Scarlet Lime Kits that used Shimmerz spritz in Plum Pudding. We were given muslin fabric in the kit and I wanted to spruce it up a bit. Shimmerz spritz was just the thing. I simply spread out my fabric and generously spritzed it all over. When it was dry, I flipped it over and spritzed the otherside, for a nice even coating.


The result was a beautiful all over shimmer to my muslin trim. It also helped make the fabric a little bit stiff, which made it more pliable for creating the pleats! Two birds with one stone there ;)

Included in the kit was also a set of masks. Normally, masks would be used to create an image onto a surface. I liked the design of the mask so much that I wanted to use IT as an embellishment. A quick coat of gesso, gave me a surface on which the spritz to really stand out. A couple of quick bursts and I had super cool embellie for my layout:

When all was said and done, my finished layout looks like this:

Try your hand at using our Shimmerz Spritz on various surfaces and see what you can come up with!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Warmest Wishes

It may only be the middle of November but I feel like the holidays are going to be here before we know it. So, with the holidays coming up, that means it's time to start to make my holiday cards. I love being able to make something special for those who are very near and dear to me, because I know it's something that they will cherish and something that they will keep versus throwing it away. I have already started to make my holiday cards, and one that I made I did with using my Shimmerz paints.
This was such a fun card to make and with so many techniques used with it as well. I wanted the color of the letter stickers to be closer to the colors in the card I chose, so I went ahead and colored it in with some of my Shimmerz Periwinkle which toned down the stark white and then I embossed them with clear embossing powder. For the stamped lamp post, I went ahead and colored in the flame with yellow watercolor crayons, let that dry and then went on top of that with my Shimmerz Opal and gave dimension to flame with Dimensional Glaze.

You can give old stickers new life by adding Shimmerz paints to them. For example, I gave the little snow lady some extra shine with my Shimmerz Paints by using Shimmerz Sunflower for the star, Shimmerz December Sky Blingz for the scarf and Shimmerz Angel Wings for the face.

I punched out some snowflakes from blue card stock, and spritzed the blue card stock snowflakes with my Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz, which gives them more of an "icy" feeling.

The finished product is fun and such a delightful little card that will be given away.

Thanks for stopping by!
-Deanna

Remember Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is sneaking upon us...are you ready for it?! Have you had a chance to participate in the "What are you thankful for" challenge yet?? Well I have a little something thankful here to inspire you (hopefully!) :)

Imagine some Tickle Me Turquoise Shimmerz on a Thanksgiving card. Having a hard time?? Well let me show you what I did! I took a piece of vanilla cardstock as my base and distressed the edges. After doing that, I applied Tickle Me Turquoise Shimmerz all over the outer edges. LOVED the look, however it was a bit bright. No worries!!! More Shimmerz to the rescue! I then reached for my Antique Lace Shimmerz and sponged that right on top! Take a look at the result!


It almost gives a patina effect and I am loving it!! And my finished card...


So yeah, not exactly your typical Thanksgiving card, but fun nonetheless!! I loved reaching for such a bright summery color even in the midst of fall. Just goes to show...you can use ALL your Shimmerz colors ALL the time!

Hope you liked it! :)

Melissa

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Gift Card Holder From Start To Finish

Hey there, it's Tanisha here! I created this Shimmery project for the Holiday Bazaar at Serendipity Scrapbooks that I participated in this weekend. I totally adore Shimmerz and literally use it on nearly every one of my projects! I wanted to show you how easy it is to use Shimmerz products, so here are step by step instructions for a few quick techniques that you could incorporate into your projects to help take them over the top!

It may look like it takes a long time to recreate the look, but trust me, it doesn't. Shimmerz dries very quickly!

I started by scoring and folding a 4 1/2 x 12 cardstock to create the 4 1/2 x 6" card base.


Next I used the border punch to create a scalloped edge on the bottom of a 4 1/4 x 5 3/4 piece of patterned paper and set aside.

I spritzed a die cut with Baby's Breath Shimmerz and dried with the heat gun and set aside.

I then took my ribbon, originally cream, and placed it on my work surface.

Next, I saturated it with Barn Door Shimmerz Spritz. Don't worry about getting messy, Shimmerz cleans up easily with soap and water!

I took a Prima rose, originally white...

and rubbed it in the over spray on my work surface.

I could have easily sprayed the flower, but by rubbing it, I still maintain some of the original white in between the petals.

I took a thin paint brush and painted Ruby Red Shimmerz on some of the petals. I think the different tones of color really add dimension to the flower.

I then took my ribbon, which is still wet and wrapped one end around the handle of my craft knife (a pencil or similar tool would work, too). To create the ribbon curls, I used the heat gun to dry it in this position. Watch out for your fingers because the heat gun gets hot!!! (make sure to move the heat gun back and forth frequently so it doesn't scorch the ribbon). Repeat on the other end.

Now that all of the elements are dry, everything comes together pretty fast. I adhered the pattern paper to the cardstock. I ended up cutting a little more off the top so a larger portion of blue could show at the bottom. I centered the die cut and adhered it 2 1/8" from the top of the card. I used glue dots to adhere the holly berries to the left side of the card and then added the curled ribbon. I removed the green leaves from the flower and then adhered it above the knot in the ribbon. I added the rub-on sentiment and here's the result...

Here's a close-up of the flower...you can really see the shimmerz!

Here's what the inside looks like. I used 4 photo corners to hold the gift card in place and then added another rub on sentiment.


I hope you enjoyed the tutorial!