Wednesday, November 4, 2009

New Cuttlebug folder, lots of Stickles & another Design Studio/Gypsy update!


I received my Cuttlebug folders from the special HSN promotion - they came very quickly!  I have started to try them out and here is a simple card I made with the "Flurries" folder.  Here is a LINK if you want to see images of all of the folders.


I embossed the design on a piece of watercolor paper - I love the results when you use this heavy weight paper.  Then I used two kinds of Stickles to accentuate the embossing and give a frosty feel to the card front.


I thought I would share my thoughts about the various kinds of "clear" Stickles.  The five varieties are Stardust, Crystal, Frosted Lace, Diamond and Icicle.  At first I thought it was silly that there were so many but I have come to realize that they actually are different and I prefer certain colors for certain projects...


I used two varieties on this card - the Diamond and Icicle.  If you look at this photo you can see that the fatter swirls have thicker glitter - this is the Icicle Stickles (try to say that five times fast!).  They look bluer than in real life -  probably due to the background paper I used for the photo.


The Icicle and the Diamond colors are nearly the same - a sort of pinky gold look - but the Icicle particles are much larger.  You can see how much larger the bottle tip is in this photo - the big particles need a larger opening to get out of the bottle!


The Frosted Lace Stickles are not very sparkly - they have a much more subtle shine and look almost gray.


The Crystal Stickles have a green cast to the color - it definitely makes a difference to some projects.


Finally, the Star Dust are more of a multicolor effect with pink, blue, green and purple glints of color.  Star Dust and Diamond are the ones I reach for most often.


I added a stamped sentiment with another swirl - heat embossed in dark blue (sorry about the photo - it makes the embossing look black).


My original plan was to simply adhere the embossed, stamped and Stickled topper to a dark blue card but this looked too plain to me once the Stickles had dried.


I decided to add an additional bright blue mat layer to give the card more dimension and add some definition to the edges.  The embossed layer was cut at 4 x 5 1/4 inches and the blue matting layer was cut at 4 1/8 x 5 3/8 inches.


The final card is simple but very pretty with the swirls and sparkles (which are so hard to capture in a still photo).   Using the two different types of Stickles gives it more dimension and contrast in the light.


Here is one more shopping tip - I got these stamps at Joann's - reduced to $3.97.  I also have a "VIP" card for Joann's (I got it through my quilting guild) which gives me an extra 10% off regular and sale price items, so I saved even more.  I will be making some more Thanksgiving cards using these.

Finally - there is a new update for Design Studio and the Gypsy.  Here is a LINK to the message board post with more information.  I haven't had a chance to try everything out yet but this is a BIG and very much wanted update and it looks like there are many improvements - so be sure to update CDS and run the Gypsy Sync for all the new improvements.

7 comments:

  1. Oh your card is so lovely!!!! I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the way you explain different products, and the detail you go into. It has helped me so much in my crafting projects.

    Thank you so much!!!

    Lisa Sturgill

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  2. Your card is beautiful! Love how you used all the different stickles!

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  3. Diane, this is lovely...I love the Stickles too and it was funny when you mentioned how silly it seemed to have so many that appeared to look alike. They are all different. Thanks for the heads up for the stamps at JoANN Fabrics, I just might have to stop there during lunch today! Have a great day!
    Hugs,
    Vicki

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  4. Diane,
    Gorgeous card! I love those new embossing folders.
    Thank you for sharing the differences in the Stickles. That is such useful info.
    How awesome to find such great stamps at a bargain price...I love stamps...
    The Gypsy update is amazing!!! Lovin my Gypsy!

    Love your blog..you offer such a wealth of info. Thank you so much!!

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  5. LOVE Stickles and this is just beautiful.
    I wanted to let you know there is a award for you over on my blog.

    Your blog is awesome!

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  6. Hi,
    I just wanted to say THANK YOU for your helpful post. You don't know how long I've been trying to research the difference between the "white" stickles & to get an answer online. You perfectly explained the difference! You're the best!
    Warmly,
    gina

    ReplyDelete

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