Thursday, October 9, 2014

VIDEO: Snowy Copic Background + a GIVEAWAY

Hello! Today I have a video for you featuring the newly released Merriest Wishes stamp set.

In the video, I go over the color combinations I used and how I colored this sweet little scene. I am not a Copic expert, but I share a few of my tips and tricks for achieving some depth and easy effects, including how to create that snowy background. I just love how it resembles watercolor, but is actually achieved using a Copic marker and some Colorless Blender Solution.

Watch above or in HD at YouTube

Giveaway Alert

I've got an extra Merriest Wishes stamp set up for grabs! Would you like to win it? Just leave a comment below by 11:59 p.m. EST Monday, October 13, 2014 to enter. I'll pick one random winner from all comments.

I hope you enjoyed today's video. Good luck, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Holiday 2014 Collection Release Day

Have you heard? Our entire Holiday 2014 Collection is now available! I wanted to thank all of you who joined us this week for your enthusiasm and for making this such a fun release!

If you missed it, don't worry, you can catch up starting here to see all of the previews and some great inspiration for using all of these new stamps and dies.

Wplus9 Holiday 2014 Collection - NOW AVAILABLE

But the fun isn't over yet! I will be back shortly with a video tutorial on coloring Carter Elf from the Merriest Wishes stamp set using Copic markers.

And several of the Design Team ladies still have plenty to share with you as well! Speaking of the Design Team...yesterday was World Card Making Day and these ladies were some card making beasts! Here's a few links you should check out if you haven't already.

Design Team Inspiration

Kara Vrabel

Maureen Merritt

Again, a great big THANK YOU for joining us!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Holiday 2014 Release Night

Tonight's the night. All of the new products we've been showcasing this week will be available for purchase at www.wplus9.com as well as at many of your favorite retailers. But before they officially go on sale, we still have lots more to share with you.

I am having so much fun with these new stamps and dies. These first two cards feature the Winter Woodland stamps and dies along with the Landscape Borders Die.

I just love the images in this set. I am a huge fan of silhouette art and these look just as amazing in black and white as they do in color. I stamped all of the main images in black and added accents of red for interest.

To create the "snow", I added a little circles of embossing paste using a Heidi Swapp stencil. Like yesterday, I sprinkled some clear glitter embossing powder onto the paste while it was wet and then heat embossed it once the paste dried.

I used the Landscape Borders Die to create a couple of snow drifts at the bottom of the card. I am going to get a lot of use out of this die all year long. There are three styles of borders that can be used for several types of horizons - water, snow drifts, grass hills or even clouds.

In this next card, I wanted to the focus to be the birch trees. So I inked up the trees using Lake House and Ocean Drive dye ink.

To add some sparkle, I stamped the snowflake cluster several times using a glue pad and then sprinkled them with Tim Holtz Rock Candy glitter.

These products are just perfect for creating little scenes and can be use beyond christmas. I'll be sharing some ideas for fall and spring scenes a little later.

Next up is the Holiday Apertures Die. I've already used this die on several of the projects I've showcased this week. There are four dies nested together in this die, you can leave them connected or separate them to open up so many possibilities. This card features the inner three dies used together.

The inner most die does not have a cutting edge around the perimeter, but instead created these tiny trees cut outs and can be used alone, with the other dies in the set or with and open centered dies you may already have as well. (And the remaining little trees that are cut out are perfect for using as confetti or sequins when cut from foil paper to use in a shaker card!)

I added strips of double-sided tape across the base of my card, lining them up with the tree cut outs, and then sprinkled glitter over each so that the glitter would show through each of the die cut trees.

The solid strip between the two groups of trees is perfect for adding a sentiment. All of the sentiments in Strictly Sentiments 6 are scaled to fit perfectly in this space. But, I wanted to use a more organic font for this particular design, so I decided to use the Hand Lettered Holiday stamps and die.

I think this one is one of my favorites so far.

You can also use other dies inside of the mat that the center two dies create. In this next card, I used the two center dies along with the Snowflake Trio Die.

I did some partial die cutting by cutting only the top half and bottom half of the snowflake.

I lifted the die cut portions slightly and added a little Tim Holtz Rock Candy glitter to the tips of the snowflake. For the sentiment, I stamped and hand trimmed the "love" banner from Snowflake Backdrops and adhered it to the center.

I finished it off by adding the panel to a white card base using foam tape for a super clean and simple design. Love.

I have one more to share with you today. This one features the Twenty Fifteen stamp set.

I stamped the solid triangles in Flamingo, Ocean Drive, and Old Gold dye ink on a White panel. I then added my sentiment heat embossed in gold, a few splashes of gold using Heidi Swapp Color Shine and a stag head using the Stag Trio Die. I love mixing the high shine metallic gold with the matte finish of the Old Gold dye ink.

This set has so many possibilities. I specifically kept the graphics in this set neutral and added a few sentiments that makes this set useful beyond the New Year. I have more to share with this set as well as a ton of ideas I'll be sharing in the coming weeks.

Here is a quick recap of all of the new products we are releasing tonight.

Holiday 2014 Release - available 10/05/14

Photopolymer Clear Stamps

Merriest Wishes
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$14 USD

Merry Little Christmas
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$14 USD

Winter Woodland
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$14 USD

Snowflake Backdrops
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$14 USD

Snowflake Backdrops
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$14 USD

Twenty Fifteen
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$14 USD

Strictly Sentiments 6
3x4" Clear Stamp Set
$6 USD

Hand Lettered Holiday
3x4" Clear Stamp Set
$6 USD

Steel Rule Dies

Hand Lettered Hello Die
$6 USD

Holiday Apertures
$16 USD

Landscape Borders Die
$12 USD

Snowflake Trio Die
$7 USD

Stag Trio Die
$12 USD

Winter Woodland Companion Die
$9 USD

More Design Team Inspiration

It's World Card Making Day and several of the ladies will be posting new projects throughout the day in celebration! So be sure to stop by and visit them often while you craft today for tons of inspiration!

Giveaway Alert

Would you like to win the Winter Woodland stamp set, the Winter Woodland Companion Die and the Holiday Aperatures Die before you can buy them? Just leave a comment below by 10:00 p.m. EST on 10/04/14 to enter. I will select one random winner from all comments. Winner will be posted on our Releaser Winners page by 11:00 p.m. EST.

I really hope you guys have enjoyed this release so far. Thank you so much for all of the support, enthusiasm and kind comments!

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