wanna win?

Well, it's me again. I wish I had some fantastically exciting news for you all, but since I'm still not allowed to tell any secrets, I guess I'll have to do something else...

Hmmm... what could I do?

Any one here like TRUFFLES?

How about we have a little give-away? Here at Creative Inspirations Paint, we call these Blog Truffles cuz they are even better than candy!

What could you win?  

How about 5 jars of the fabulously shimmery Creative Inspirations Paint! (winner chooses the colors)

So, how do you win? I like to keep things simple, so here is what you do:

1- Become a follower of this blog. (if you already follow, Great! You already have this step done!)

2-Leave a comment on this post answering at least 1 of these questions: (a) what you would like to see / see more of on this blog, (b) name one (or more) other product(s) you would like to see Creative Inspirations carry, or (c) if you could add any color to our line up, what would it be?

*In case you missed the running theme of #2, here at CI, we want to know what you, our customers and friends, would like,  and how we can better reach your needs. So let us know!*

You have until the end of Feb. 7 to enter. At that time, I will pick a random winner.  The winner will be announced on Feb. 9th, so make sure you check back to see if you won!

Good Luck!

truffles anyone?

Hello all my friends! It's Kassi, here with exciting news!!!!

Blog Truffles!

Yup, Molly told me she wants to give one lucky winner 5 jars of Creative Inspirations Paint (in the colors of their choice)!!!

So, how can you win? Well.... Nope, I'm gonna post some inspiration before I tell you. hehehe :)

Today I have some fabulous ideas for taking your flowers from drab to fab! *and you don't even need to have a green thumb.... good thing too, at least for me...*

Adding color and shimmer to your paper and silk flowers is so easy with CI paint!

Let's start out simple... cover your entire flower with the paint of your choice (make sure to shake the jar first for luck... I mean to mix in the sparkles).

Here I have painted a paper flower with Amethyst. Just look at that great color and shine!

quick tip: don't mist your flower before painting... I know I tell you to mist a lot of things first, but not this time. You will loose the texture and depth of the flower if you get it too wet.

Now that you have the basics down, let's shake things up a bit...

Try just brushing the edges of your petals for a soft subtle look... Or, for a bolder look, Start your brush in the center and stroke outwards towards the ends of the petals letting the paint fade... *this one may take a little practice to get the feel for how much paint to use for a nice fade...*

Want to add more depth? Give this one a go...

Lightly rub a dye ink pad over the raised portions of your flower and around the edges.

quick tip: it is important you use a dye based ink for this because of the way it reacts to water.

Now, paint over your flower. The water based paints react with the dye ink.. Some of the dye will mix with the paint giving you a new color, and it will soften and feather the inked areas. Here I used Fairy Dust CI paint to get a nice tone-on-tone look when it blends with the ink.*I forgot to take a close up of this before using the flower... duh! But, a close up is coming!*

This time, instead of inking with an ink pad, I used a finger dauber to highlight the raised areas with a bold sparkly color... Buttercup

Here is a closer look at the last two techniques...

Are these paints only good at altering white flowers? Of course not!!!

Here is a look at several different paints used on the same color of flower to give you an idea of how they alter the look....

In the top row, the middle one is what they all started out looking like. On the left, I used Tutu Pink. On the right, Tanzanite.

On the bottom row... the one on the left is Autumn Wheat, the one on the right is Fairy Dust

Here is something I love to make with these flowers for my niece... ok, I wear them too... hey, they're cute!

Hair clips

Simply paint your flowers then embellish. Finish it off by hot gluing to an alligator clip.

Ok, now, for what you have all been waiting for... How can you win 5 jars of this fabulous paint?

Step 1, become a follower of this blog (if you are already a follower, great!)

Step 2, leave me a comment telling me what your favorite CI paint color is. (if you don't know what colors there are, click here to find out!)

It's that easy! You have until Noon (MST) Monday, July 5 to enter. I'll be back later on Monday with the randomly chosen winner.

Have a sparkly weekend!

Kassi

who likes blog truffles???

what is a blog truffle? blog candy but yummier! hee heee! this is marti {pezadoodle} here with some shimmering fun for you! Molly has been gracious enough to include me in the creation (ok i only did the playing UH i mean testing) of these incredible paints and i have just fallen in LOVE with them. the colors are amazing and the shimmer is off the charts!

today i have a project to show you that incorporates TWO techniques with the paints PLUS a tutorial. Then i will give you the details of the blog truffle at the end! sound good? sweet let's go!

My card uses Creative Inspirations Paints in TWO fun ways. one for the stamp and another for the background. the cuttlebugged background is a FAVE technique of mine called cuttlebug smoosh but this time i used CI paints instead of ink from an inkpad. simply open your CB folder up, lay your paper on the back portion of the folder and use a sponge to lightly cover the front portion with CI paint - not heavy so your raised portion will remain ink free. work quickly and when the folder is covered in paint close it carefully onto your paper that is already in place and run it through your cuttlebug to emboss. the background of the paper will have paint on it and the raised portion will not! mine is subtle here - i used Pink Highlights Shimmer Paint so there is loads of shimmer with a hint of pink when the light hits it just right!

i also used CI paint for my heart stamp and here is how you do it - quick, simple technique.

we all love a stamped image with lots of bling - well i love ANYTHING with lots of bling....i also love products with versatility! not only can you use CIs as a paint to color in your images or enhance your images it makes a WONDERFUL shimmery stamping medium too!

Here is all you need - solid or semi - solid stamps (these are from Close To My Heart), Creative Inspirations Paints and fingertip sponge daubers.






Take your sponge dabber and dip it ever so lightly into the paints and then tap it bit in the lid - you do not want your paint to heavy or you will not get the details of the stamp - you definitely don't want it DRIPPING with paint!

now quickly tap it over the entire stamp surface LIGHTLY - this way paint does not seep as much into the stamp details. though a little seeping CAN add a cool look to the image as well so just play with it.

Then simply stamp it onto your paper!

now how cool is that??? what? you don't have any of these cool paints yet?? well you're in luck - that's where the blog truffle comes in!

Molly has SO generously offered to give one lucky randomly chosen winner their choice of FIVE pots of these yummy paints!!!!

what do you have to do??? just sign up to be a follower of this new blog AND leave me a comment to tell me what you think of the card and technique i shared today.

You have until Monday morning to sign up for the blog truffle. then on Monday i will be posting another project using this stamping technique plus yet another technique for a coll background. after that post i will have a winner AND a BIG announcement for you!! you WON'T want to miss THAT!!

See ya monday!!!