It's Been Awhile

Hey there friends! Wow, it has been awhile since I have posted on here...sometimes life just gets in the way of things. It has been a crazy past few weeks and I am exhausted. But I did promise more cupcake projects...these are some of my favorite cards I have made over the past few months for the card ministry I am involved in at my church and since they all have cupcakes on them, I thought I would share them! :)

I absolutely adore this one! It was my first time playing with the fabulous Copic markers. They are amazing. They blend super-well and make coloring a breeze. Just make sure you use dye ink (NOT solvent) when stamping and coloring with these markers.The stamp is from Hero Arts. I also added some fabulous paper from American Crafts and added the brown piece that I embossed with my Cuttlebug. Divine isn't it?

Another super simple card to share. I made this card with the leftovers from one of my Disney layouts. I absolutely love the color combo on here as well! :)

This one I copied almost exactly out of a card magazine. I had all the background papers, but I used different diecuts than were in the card. My friend and I had a good laugh over this one because I had all the materials to make the card...that is how much stuff I truly do have.

And finally another sweet simple card that I made with a cupcake stamp, one of my favorite Cuttlebug embossing folders and some KI Memories birthday paper. Isn't it too cute?

Don't forget about my Birthday challenge! It ends tomorrow. All you have to do to enter is make a layout, card, or other altered project with a cupcake on it and email it to me at janeenbeuchel@comcast.net before the end of the day tomorrow and you will be entered to win a prize pack full of birthday and cupcake themed goodies.  Check out the info on my blog here.

Frosting Anyone?

Afternoon my fabulous blog friends! :) I know this post is a few days late but it has been super crazy around here these past few days.

Thought I would pop by and share my latest cupcake creation.

I am going to show you how to frost your cupcake today using a few products you can find in your local craft store as well as some tools that I bet you use everyday at mealtimes. :)

Supplies: Maya Road Cupcake Chipboard piece, acryllic paint, Tim Holtz blank mask sheets, texture paste (you can find it in the paint aisle at your local craft store...it is usually used with stencils), beads, plastic knife and fork, Slickwriter or Sharpie marker, Ranger Non-Stick Craft Sheet (not necessary but makes cleanup a breeze)

Have you seen these? They are clear sheets that you can use to make your own mask. These sheets will run through your diecutter or you can hand cut your own designs like we will be doing today.

Steps:

1. Use the acryllic paint to cover the chipboard piece with 2 coats of paint. I really like Making Memories paints because they dry quickly and don't wrinkle your paper like other paints will.

2. While the paint is still wet, run the prongs of your plastic fork along the bottom half of the cupcake to create the lines to look like a cupcake liner.

3. Next cut a 3 inch piece off the bottom of one of the mask sheets. Leave the backing on the sheet and lay it over the blinged cupcake we did (or the front piece of the chipboard album from Maya Road). Trace the bottom edge of the frosting on the mask sheet and then cut out, following the directions included with the mask sheet.

4. Lay the mask over your painted cupcake (make sure it is dry), lining the scalloped edge up to make the top of the cupcake.

5. Place your cupcake on the nonstick craft sheet to make clean-up a breeze because this technique is messy. Then take the texture paste and squeeze some out onto your plastic knife and smear it on the cupcake. Repeat this process until you have enough paste to work with and have a thick coating over the entire top of the cupcake.

6. Spread the texture paste around on the cupcake with the knife just like you would frost a real cupcake until you get the look you want.

7. Carefully peel up the mask sheet to reveal the edge of the cupcake.

8. Sprinkle beads on top of the texture paste for sprinkles.

9. Touch the beads with your cleaned off knife to make sure that each bead has good contact in the texture paste, which acts like a glue for the beads.

10. Let dry for several hours.

This technique can be used on so many different products...imagine making a cake on your layout and frosting it or frosting your title chipboard letters or even an accent tag. If you're daring,you could even frost your background paper. So go ahead, pick up some texture paste and have fun creating on your next birthday layout! :)

Don't forget to enter my birthday challenge on the blog this month. The challenge ends January 31st and you can check out all the details on my blog entry from Monday, January 4th.

And if you're looking for more birthday inspiration head over to the If It's Groovy blog at http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com/ to check out the other designers' challenges.

Keep checking back here for more cupcake inspired projects as well! :)

Some Great News and a Sneak Peek at Tomorrow's Technique :)

Hello there my blog friends! :) I am stopping by to let you all know of some great news.  We are extending the Birthday Bash over at If It's Groovy until the end of the month, so you have plenty of time to enter my challenge as well as the other designer's challenges over at the blog, http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com/.

Here's the new, updated info on my challenge. :)

I challenge you to make a crafty project using cupcakes. You can submit anything...a layout, a card, a mini book, or even an altered craft project. It's your choice. Just make sure you have at least one of these delicious treats somewhere on your project. Easy right? Then once your project is finished, snap a picture of it and email it to me at janeenbeuchel@comcast.net by Sunday, January 31st and you will be entered into the drawing on February 1st to win this fabulous prize pack of cupcake themed goodies.

This gives you an extra 3 weeks (yes 3!) to finish your projects and enter them into the drawing! Good luck everyone! :)

And since I am stretching out the challenge, I am also going to stretch out my techniques a bit. So I will be showcasing my next technique on Friday's post, but here is a sneak peek at a few of the tools you will be needing tomorrow.

Got your attention didn't I? Now you will just have to tune in tomorrow to find out how I am going to use these household tools for scrapping...

Cupcake Play!

Hello my fellow crafty friends! Are you ready for your next cupcake technique?

Today I thought it would be fun to break out my Stickles from Ranger and have some fun blinging up my cupcake.  The Stickles come in tons of fun colors and are super easy to use with a precision tip to glitter exactly what you want to.

Supplies:

Stickles colors, Cotton Candy, Silver, Star Dust, Lavender, Yellow, Turquoise, and Lime Green.

Chipboard cupcake mini album by Maya Road (I used the front page with the embossed design on it)

black marker (optional)

1. Use the Lavender, Yellow, Turquoise, and Lime Green Stickles to fill in the swirls and sprinkles on the top half of the cupcake.

2. Use the Star Dust Stickles to draw over the lines on the cupcake liner at the bottom.

3. Set the cupcake aside and let dry for a couple of hours.

4. Optional step: Use the black marker to color in the outlines of the cupcake liner and top to help them stand out.

5. Use the Silver Stickles to color in the areas on the bottom of the cupcake in between the lines of the Star Dust Stickles.

6. Use the Cotton Candy Stickles to color in the top of the cupcake, making sure to go in between each swirl and filling in all areas.

7. Let dry and attach to any birthday related layout for a large dose of sparkle! :)

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a cool technique on how to "frost" your cupcake!

Tuesday Technique

Hey there friends! I know this post is a tad late but I haven't gone to bed yet so I guess it is still Tuesday on my books. :)

Each day this week I will be showcasing some of my favorite techniques using the Maya Road chipboard cupcake album that I shared yesterday.

Today's techniques (yes you get two today) are covering chipboard with patterned paper and an easy way to add bling to your projects.

We will be creating this cute lil' cupcake...come on and play along!

You will need the following supplies: a chipboard cupcake, 2 pieces of coordinating patterned papers, decorative edged punch, Mod Podge and a paint brush, scissors, exacto knife, sanding block, ink pad (optional), bling, ribbon or ric-rac, and a accent. This particular flower accent is from Prima...isn't it gorgeous?  All these pieces are included with the prize pack I am giving away at the end of the week so come on and let me see your entries!

1.  Cut 2 pieces of coordinating paper large enough for each one to cover 1/2 of the cupcake.

2.  Use the border punch to punch along one edge of the paper that will be the top of your cupcake.

3.  Cover both the front of the chipboard piece and the back of the bottom piece of paper with Mod Podge. This gives you a better seal with the glue than just applying it to one layer.

4. Turn over so that the front of the paper is face down and weight your cupcake down with something heavy to prevent warping. I used a few button jars. Let dry.

5.  Once the piece is dry, keep it flipped upside down and trim around the cupcake with an exacto knife. I found that this works better than scissors because it gives you a straighter line and you don't cut into the letter as much.

6.  Flip the chipboard piece back over and use the sanding block to sand around the edges of your shape to get rid of the rough edges.

7. (optional) If you want to, use an inkpad to rub around the outside edges of your shape. This gives it a more finished look and covers up the white edge that can be exposed while sanding.

8. Add bling to the icing part of the cupcake for sprinkles. Use the Quickutz Quickstick to easily place the bling. 

9. Add ribbon and the flower bling to the bottom of the cupcake to finish it.

I hope you enjoyed this first tutorial and I will be back tomorrow night with my next one. :) Hint: Think glitter! :)

And a note for those of you who tried emailing me your layouts, the email address was incorrect. It does not have a dot in between my first and last name...that was my old work email. So you can email your projects to this email: janeenbeuchel@comcast.net.  I am going to go correct it on the last post now.

And if you haven't already, don't forget to check out my cupcake challenge on Monday's post and also head back to http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com to enter the other challenges. You could win some fabulous prizes for your creativity! :)

If It's Groovy Birthday Bash Kickoff!

Everyone loves birthdays right? Well I am kicking off my Groovy Birthday celebration with everyone's favorite birthday treat....cupcakes!

Cupcakes are so cute looking and sure are fun to eat too! They can be decorated in all sorts of ways and are an essential part of any birthday celebration.

Your challenge is to make a crafty project using cupcakes. You can submit anything...a layout, a card, a mini book, or even an altered craft project. It's your choice.  Just make sure you have at least one of these delicious treats somewhere on your project. Easy right?  Then once your project is finished, snap a picture of it and email it to me at janeenbeuchel@comcast.net by Sunday, January 10th and you will be entered into the drawing to win this fabulous prize pack of cupcake themed goodies.

Also don't forget to head back to the If It's Groovy blog to participate in the other designer's challenges as well and have fun celebrating the If It's Groovy blog birthday!

Cupcakes are also taking the scrapbooking/crafting world by storm.  Everywhere you look, you can find cute little cupcake-related products...from paper and stickers to stamps and even little mini books! Below you will find some of my favorite cupcake-themed scrappy supplies to help jumpstart your creativity on this challenge.

First up are some delicious stamps from Hero Arts:

Then this adorable mini chipboard album from Maya Road...don't you see all the wonderful possibilities?

I am going to be playing with this wonderful product this week showcasing some of my favorite techiniques.

Next up are some sparkly, blingy goodies from Doodlebug...I just love this line of glittery goodness!

And finally some fabulous products from one of my favorite companies, Basic Grey.

Have fun creating and I will be back each day with a new technique or tip to share. Be sure to check back often! :)