Design Challenge!

Hello Crafty Friends! 

MyBestiesShop

Jens KoalaTCrafts hosts a monthly Design Challenge for paper crafters to win didi prizes for personal use.   The September sponsor is one of my favorites, Sherri Baldy My Besties. 2 winners will be chosen at random from entries to receive 2 My Besties images on October 1st. 

Entering the challenge is easy and you may submit 3 projects for extra chances to win! 

Create something that has one of the themes:

Orange OR Purple OR Creatures

CLICK HERE TO ENTER CHALLENGE

Have a look at the projects created by the KoalaTCrafts Design Team for a little inspiration. 

Sharon - One Crafty Mrs

Annie - LittleWingsCreates

 Alina ~ AlliellaCraft

Donette Scraps and Paints

Lisa ~ LisaLuvs2Stamp

Alex ~ LittleHouseOfCards 

Looking for fun, original digis at affordable prices? Sign up for the KoalaTCrafts email and you will get sneak peek of new releases and a special coupon code for the introductory special good on the already discounted bundles.  Click HERE to get email coupons.

Find the KoalaTCrafts digi bundles HERE. 

Find your discounted ATG and adhesives HERE

Use coupon code MICHELLE for 10% off your total purchase! 

Happy Crafting Y'all! 

Dimensional Dots on a Budget

KoalaTCrafts August Challenge entry by One Crafty Mrs

I love dots! I also love texture and dimension. These little touches can help transform a simple project into a WOW with very little effort. 

I see this a lot lately with sequins and drops of Stickles but those are relatively flat elements. Dimensional dots are another way to achieve this. There are many products out there to choose from, enamel dots and Nuevo drops are the most popular. I find both the be a little pricey and have some other drawbacks, color being the biggest one! Now, I am a fan of Black, White or Clear Glitter, Silver and Gold so it is easy for me to narrow down what to purchase instead of feeling like I need an entire line of a product. Thing is, I already use these colors a lot in my projects and sometimes I need a color accent to set things off. When I am trying to use a color, like Hot Pink or Aqua, I find it difficult to find products that match my paper, ink, markers, paint or other elements. That is where this tip comes into play.  Use Hot Glue to create your dots and then color them to match your project. You get the size of the dot you want, or multiple sizes and exactly the color you need it to be with very little drying time.  My friend and Fellow DT member Sharon Cameron, One Crafty Mrs, wrote an easy to follow process blog with side by side comparison of different mediums so you can know what to expect.  Check out her post here HERE.

VIDEO: Introducing Graciellie Design Digis

The cupcake image and sentiments Sharon used to create this card come from our KoalaTCrafts Challenge #2 sponsor for August, Graciellie Design. Use coupon code SUMMER 2017 for 40% off most items in her Esty Shop. 

Twinkle Toe Trolls Background Process

MYBESTIESSHOP.COM

I love My Besties by Sherri Baldy! This month, the Design Team for JENSKOALATCRAFTS was challenged to use a Bestie to create a card or project of their choice. I was so happy to have Twinkle Toes Trolls #25 as an option since this cutie reminds me of a sweet girl in my life who happens to be turning 6 today!  One of her favorite colors is red so it fit perfectly with the monthly challenge.  I colored her up using colored pencils, added a bit of Wink of Stella and set to work making a card background with some interest.

Use these items to create a stunning background

First I grabbed some red and blue 65# cardstock cut to 4 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches so there would be a slight peek of card base once the front was attached. I prefer to use the lighter weight yardstick when layering pieces on a card base, especially for this technique.  I embossed both pieces with Tim Holtz Alterations Swirl design by Sizzix. I carefully cut 1/4 inch off each side of the red and matched up the designs so they fit exactly on one another.  I trimmed the top of the red piece at an angle to reveal a little more of the blue.

I separated the pieces and used Picket Fence Distress Ink to drag along the card fronts to catch the raised areas. For the blue, I used Bahama Blue Momento ink to drag randomly across the card front. With the white having set, this gave the blue on blue effect I was looking for.  I used metallic gold ink by Stampabilities to distress the edges.  For the red, I did a 2nd dragging of Picket Fence to make it pop a bit more and distressed the edges with Festive Berries Distress Ink. I layered the two pieces, matching the embossed design and attached with Art Glitter Glue. Then I sprayed the entire front with a mist of my Gold Shimmer Spray FIND RECIPE HERE and set with a heat gun just to speed things along.

DIY Shimmer Spray Recipe

I raised Twinkle Toes  off the image using double stick foam tape and added birthday sentiment gifted to me by a follower that I punched out with a 1 inch circle punch and added a coat of Wink of Stella for some added shimmer. I used the gold ink to drag along the top and bottom card edges and centered the card front so a little gold would peek through. 

add Wink of Stella for extra shine!

I hope you have been inspired to try this layered textures technique. If you would like to get your own Twinkle Toes Troll, visit  MYBESTIESSHOP.COM and use coupon code YOURSPECIAL50 to save 50% on most products in July

For a chance to WIN a digi of these darling trolls or a fluffy, enter the Monthly Challenge at JENSKOALATCRAFTS with any project using Red or Blue or Stars. 

Join the My Besties Challenge

I am so excited to be a part of the KoalaTCrafts July Design Challenge sponsored by My Besties.

I love these digital prints of cute big eyed Besties, Twinkle Toe Trolls, Star Children and more. I print multiple copies to fussy cut any layer to make cute 3D cuties that I often use on cards and pocket letters. 

The Challenge theme is any creation you like that includes the color Red or Blue or Stars. 

There will be 2 winners, picked at Random, and announced August 1st. The Design Team is also voting on an Honorable Mention project to be featured on Jen's blog.  

Click below for full details and to enter your project by July 31st.  

 July Challenge 

Head over to www.mybestiesshop.com to see the amazing selection of Besties Sherri Baldy has to offer. During July, save 50% off most digital items with the code YOURSPECIAL50

Twinkle Toe TROLLS 25

This precious My Besties Twinkle Toe Troll was my entry for the July Design Team Challenge. She was inspired by a special little cutie turning 6 with a July birthday who happens to LOVE the color red!  

I will have a process post coming soon for the background effect.  

Happy Crafting Y'all!