Challenge #20 Tutorial: little tangles + chalkboard = ♥♥♥

Hello out there!

It's Amy, reminding you about little tangles, challenge 20:

back to the blackboard

I love this chalkboard trend!

It's everywhere:

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It has definitely hit the paper crafting industry by storm and has managed to stay strong.  

There are tons of tuts available on the chalkboard technique which include heat embossing and then going back and re-stamping your images to create a shadow effect.

I was going to show you that technique, which I would call the original version, but when I dug around for my white embossing powder, I couldn't find it.  I'm in the midst of packing up all my crafting supplies from one space to another and let's just say, it's scary.

So, for those of you that follow my blog, you know that I typically fall back on the quick & easy version!  

All you need: your favorite neat & tangled stamps and a good white ink pad:

I stamped the A Lot To Say with the white ink and fussy cut it out.  Then I used Party Dots, the strip border dots along with the solid dots and randomly stamped.  I stamped the banner and sentiment, and fussy cut it out.  

Tip:  use a dry baby wipe to smear white ink on your pieces.

I like the contrast of the solid black panel against the chalkboard pieces to really make them POP.   Lately, the messier the better for me!

Earlier this year, I was a guestie on the Neat & Tangled blog.  Here's a card that I created using the same technique:

It's quite a bit 'neater' than what I've been currently doing.  I even took the time to do the white lines with a colored pencil!

This one posted last week for the current challenge:

So there you go...I can't wait to see how you're inspired by 

back to the blackboard

[Birthday Bash] Funday Sunday: A Series on Sequins, Inspirations and Cake-related Things

Happy Saturday Neat & Tangled fans! Today I have something different up my sleeve. It's my turn again on the blog and I have gathered a few of my favorite friends to help me put today together.

We will announce the Blog Hop winner tomorrow, so you will want to check back. Remember there are 2 $5 gift certificate drawn, and someone who will Win It All.

What I really wanna cover with you are a few things our blog readers have requested...

Birthday Q&A

LuvScrappingTogetherAugust 2, 2013 at 4:25 PM

Happy Birthday! I am new to Little Tangles but I have ordered the beautiful sequins you offer and love them. I would love to see more ideas using the sequins. ~Saundra

Angela LemmonsAugust 2, 2013 at 8:27 PM

Happy Birthday!! I am new to N & T, but I would love to see more projects using Ink Splash (which I have and LOVE!!!) and sequins. Thanks!!

Nikki the *scrappinNavyWife*August 3, 2013 at 12:10 AM

Well, I'm 100% addicted to N&T sequins...so I'd love to see sequiny stuff. :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

MindyAugust 3, 2013 at 8:17 AM

I'm loving the N & T sequins so would love to see more ideas on how to use them. I struggled my way through a shaker card the other day and it just didn't turn out the way I'd hoped

We saw a few inspirations during our Challenge #19 blog hop, because our dear Design Team were given the task by yours truly to create with these little, popular, precious pieces of bling. However, between the five of us girls, plus the extra unexpected creations, it is not possible to cover a infinite amount of possibilities. 

Today I would like to share a few things that my dear friend Lisa has helped put together to help quench your inspiration for sequins.

Little Tangles' Sequins Inspiration

Lisa is a Pinterest fiend, and with her help we see how sequins are used:

• filler to a frame or jar
• accents placed strategically across the card
• focal point to a card by making them stream or rain down.
• mixed size and finish make for a fun interesting texture
• a border
• filler for a shaker card
• a placeholder to represent something, e.g. like a cherry on top of a cupcake

Feel free to follow the link, since this collage doesn't have everything showcased, but rather just a sampling!

Inspiration for Gifts

Since Lisa was pinning away, she also decided to create a great board for gifts. Because if you're attending a party, usually a gift idea is in order....right? Here is just a few ideas...

Gift Ideas

Again, this collage is not complete, so please feel free to hop over there and peruse...!

Thanks Lisa for your help!

Challenge #19 Eat Cake Inspiration
Next I wanted to share with you some inspiration from our Design Team Barb. We have a challenge going on and this darling project is a great reminder for it.

by Barb Murphy

Isn't it just gorgeous? I love the layers and the fun use of sequins here too! Little accents of loveliness. And all to bring out the great Sketchy Cupcake as a focal point. Isn't it just perfectly cake-a-licious?

Cupcake Topper Tutorial
Last, and certainly not least, is Samantha's contribution to our Funday Sunday. She was on the blog earlier last month with this excellent masking technique. She is here with another great tutorial (and in my mind, a genius on how to use these Neat & Tangled stamps).

It's samantha here again! are you loving all of the celebration happening this month, or what?? 

I am totally excited to check each post every day! it's so fun!! yahoo for neat and tangled's 1st birthday (month) celebration!

today i'm back on the blog and wanted share how we recently celebrated my little men with their birthday's this month! what's a birthday without cupcakes, am i right!? so since my little guys have birthdays 2 weeks apart in august (the littlest Mann turned 2 and the bigger one turned 5), it's an exciting time for us! and we made vanilla cupcakes to celebrate! so, i decided to dress up the cupcakes with some super fun, neat and tangled stamped cupcake toppers!!

**please note - the cupcakes themselves look a little lackluster, i know. that's why i added the toppers! ha ha!

and full discolsure here...my little menn don't like icing (or chocolate!)...so the icing was only added for these pictures!! and if i'm really doing full discolsure, we call them vanilla muffins at our house (not cupcakes, because in my opinion, if there's no icing, there's no fun. so there's no 'cupcake' term, because cupcakes are fun!) ha ha!!!

i used three neat and tangled stamp sets: sketchy cupcakes, sparkle and shine, and just thinking of you.

here's how i made them, first i stamped the fork image (LOVE that image!):

colored it in:

cut it out:

and attach a popsicle stick to the back (be sure the popsicle stick hangs off the end so you have part to stick in the icing and cupcake without getting the fork gooey)

the end! :)

and here are some pictures of the little Mann's themselves with their cupcakes! (...see them eyeing the icing there? they're literally about to tell me to scrape it off. ha ha!!)

so that's it! it's your turn now! make a project to celebrate something (anything!) and link it up to the latest little tangles challenge! and stay tuned for more FUN and laughs on the little tangles blog as they continue to celebrate 1 year of neat and tangled stamps!!

Wow, these are perfect. I bet those cupcakes taste pretty special, just because it has so much lovely design pizzazz. And they say we eat with our eyes, too, right? Thanks for sharing the pictures with the boys. They really look like they are enjoying them and admiring your piece of craft and baking work here! Lucky them!

So what are you up to this weekend? In case you're looking to add some fun into your Sundae Sunday...(those cupcakes are putting food on my mind)...

Challenge Reminders

Technique Challenge - ends Sept 4; Guest Designer Spot
Challenge #19 Eat Cake - ends Sept 1; free stamp set
Project Life Challenge - ends Aug 28; $5 gift certificate

Just because I can, I'm throwing out a free pack of sequins to those who will share with me what your favorite part of the Birthday Bash has been so far. Has it been the guest post? The challenges? Answering the reader questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments. I will announce winners on Aug 28.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.