today the random number generator picked…

#5!

all of those papers are totally AWESOME!!! I’ve never really looked at SEI before, but this makes me want to check them out even more!! hope to win

Comment by Bobbi in KY — September 8, 2008

Congrats on that HUGE SEI win!  Please email me your shipping information to meredith@portraitbug.com!

hi pb readers!

so the day kinda got away from me and i didn’t want to post our next giveaway too late in the day… so we took a day of rest and will begin our giveaways tomorrow morning again. we are adding on an extra day of giveaways so don’t worry, there is still a TON to win!

we had a great meeting today and i know you are all going to love the amazing projects our team came up with just as much as we are! you’ll be able to see them as they are highlighted in the coming weeks. also, this week there are several new things going up in the store… so keep a lookout and don’t forget that we are taking orders online so don’t be afraid to shop shop shop!

i’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning with our giveaway #6!

have a great night!

clear accents!

i accidentally came upon this technique a few months ago and really love it and think it’s cool and different, so thought i’d show it to you!

it’s really simple. all you need is a clear transparency (i use really old ones that i got in bulk years ago after my father’s work stopped using overhead projectors!), glossy accents, and any stencil!

next, you want to put the template on top of the transparency and use the glossy accents to fill in the template. you want it thick enough that you can see it, but it’s really up to you how thick you want it! keep in mind, the thicker it is, the longer it will take to dry.

after you fill it, you want to lift up the stencil slowly…

until you have the swirl (or whatever you’re filling) on the transparency. at this point, it’s going to have a milky white color but when it’s fully dry it will be clear. also, you will see that you may have some tiny imperfections. those can be fixed. if there is any bubbles, you are going to want to try to pop them, otherwise they will come up in the finished product (and you’ll see i forgot to pop mine in this sample!)

when it finishes drying (and how long it dries depends how thick you put it on), it will be clear.

next, you’re going to want to cut it out and this is the point that you can fix any tiny imperfections by just clipping them off. as you can see, i also did this same technique using a different stencil and stickles which is totally cool looking as well, i think!

so there you have it. some cool, different, homemade accents to use on layouts. another hint is that you can also use glitter on the glossy accents before it dries. i used blue glitter on the glossy accents swirl on this layout:

have fun doing something new!

hey everyone… thanks for being patient with me today!!

congratulations to…

16. Beautiful papers! Have a great time at your meeting!

Comment by Lauren Young — September 6, 2008 @ 7:17 pm

send me your info to meredith@portraitbug.com…

i’ll have today’s prize up as soon as i get uptown!

hello!

so tomorrow is a very exciting day… we have our next design team meeting!

i can’t wait to see the projects the girls have done so far and to hear all of their ideas for classes, kits, etc. we have such an awesome group, i’m always totally inspired by them! tomorrow we’ll also be updating our online store with a few more things that have arrived AND we’ll be doing something else very exciting over at the portrait bug store…

but today we have another awesome giveaway sponsored by dreamstreet and tattered angels…

today’s prize features the Carma Collection. also included is a Glimmer Mist 3-Pack with Glimmer Screen!

just leave us a comment and we’ll see you tomorrow!

If you are anything like me, the thought of a pretty, sweet and decadent cupcake is enough to make your mouth water and your heart skip a beat. So when I spotted this next technique on the web the other day (I believe it was SIStv), I knew I had to try it.

If you’ve walked into your local bakery, craft or supermarket and wandered into the baking aisle, you might have noticed some new additions. Gone are the days when tin foil or pastel cupcake liners were the only choices available. Because of great women like Martha Stewart, there are some chic, new cupcake liners that are available to the masses. And since I’m on a diet, using them on my scrapbook pages and cards is a much better alternative to not buying them at all. gasp!

If you stretch your imagination, there’s a ton you could make with a cupcake liner. Fun matting behind chipboard elements, fan-like accents or even a little skirt, like I did on the card below:

To create this darling little skirt, I simply folded the cupcake liner in half and stapled it. Then I folded in a little more than 1/4 of one side of the liner into the middle and stapled that down as well. I even lifted it up a bit before I stapled so that the skirt took on a multi layered look. Finally, I adhered it behind my little “happy” sign and added a cute little Cosmo Cricket bunny that I hand cut and pop dotted onto a page from a vintage book. With the addition of a couple bunny hands on the sign and an American Crafts “thanks” rub-on placed on a speech bubble, you’ve got a cute thank you card for anyone who is young at heart!

Hugs,

Alexis

tgif!!

i’m sure many of you have been dealing with the joys (and sometimes stresses) of back to school week and guess what…. it’s over!!

so today’s paper line giveaway has some back to school goodness and is sponsored again by Bam Pop!

good luck… leave us a comment and we’ll pick the winner tomorrow!