Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Cover Reveal of Wedding Planner Mysteries Book #2, Veils and Vengeance

All of us at Mashed Potatoes and Crafts are so excited about book #2 in the Wedding Planner Mystery Series, Veils and Vengeance!
This book continues Adri's story, and you won't want to miss this page-turning mystery!

What's that? You haven't read book #1 yet? Never fear, check it out here Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things: A Wedding Planner Mystery (Wedding Planner Mysteries) !

And here's the cover!

Veils and Vengeance  
 Here's a blurb about the book. Be sure to enter the giveaway and the goodreads giveaway below!


Veils and Vengeance by Rachelle J. Christensen When wedding planner, Adrielle Pyper, goes to Hawaii to orchestrate a destination wedding, she isn't prepared for what she finds. After the trauma of her previous event, the beautiful isle of Kauai is the perfect place for Adri to unwind and do what she does best – plan. She even lets herself indulge in the attention of the groom’s handsome brother. But just when everything seems to be perfect, an afternoon snorkeling trip turns to murder when Adri discovers the body of a young woman. Shaken, but unable to let it go, Adri’s sleuthing leads her into more danger than she could imagine. When a number of “accidents” threaten her own life, it soon becomes apparent that someone will do anything to keep Adri from interfering with their vengeance.   add to goodreads Enter the Goodreads Giveaway here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/139545-veils-and-vengeance     
rachelle
Photo by Erin Summerill

Author Rachelle J. Christensen Rachelle J. Christensen is a mother of five who writes mystery/suspense and solves the case of the missing shoe on a daily basis. She graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in psychology and a minor in music. She enjoys singing and songwriting, playing the piano, running, motivational speaking, and, of course, reading. Rachelle is the award-winning author of six books, including Wrong Number, Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things, and What Every 6th Grader Needs to Know. Her novella, Silver Cascade Secrets, was included in the Rone Award-winning Timeless Romance Anthology, Fall Collection.
$25 Cover Reveal Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 6/15/15 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Stenciling a background

Welcome! 
 It's time again for a craft tutorial from
Kristie from 
Today I'm showing how to do some stenciling 
to create an interesting background.
For this background I am using Distress Inks 
in Victorian Velvet and Worn Lipstick.
I used blending tools to apply the 2 colors of ink
to my white card stock.
I continued adding ink until I was happy with the
color and look of the background.
I used a stencil with different shapes, choosing the hearts.
Using an old gift card, I applied Embossing Paste
over the stencil.
Embossing Paste can be applied with a palette knife, 
an old gift card, like I did here, or even a piece of card stock.
Just apply it like you are frosting a cake.
You can apply it very thin or thicker, it's all a matter of taste.
I would recommend cleaning the stencil and any tools as
soon as possible as this paste dries very quickly 
and is very permanent, once it dries, it's almost impossible
to remove.
Here is how the background looks when it is done.
Another method is to use ink.
For this background I used Distress Inks
to make the background.
I then used white ink and applied it with a 
make up wedge sponge over the stencil.
Here is the card I made with this stenciled background.
Stencils can be home made also.
If you have a die cutter, such as a Silhouette or a Cricut,
you can cut any shape you have available.
You can do this with a light acrylic or even card stock.
If you don't have a die cutter, you can use a punch or cut 
shapes with a craft knife.
As you can see, my stencil doesn't cover the entire 
area that I wanted to stencil, so it doesn't have to be 
an entire sheet.  You can pick up the stencil and move it
around to where you want the shapes on your background.

There are many kinds of Embossing Paste available.
Some are thin, some are thick, some have sparkle, some have
color and some don't.
It's all a matter of taste and preference.
You can also color your embossing paste with 
ink, stains or paints,
just add the color to a small amount of paste and mix it together,
then apply to your project.

I hope this tutorial will inspire you to try some stenciling.
It's fun and a great way to add something a little
different to your project.

Thanks for stopping by,
I hope you'll stop by my blog
and see what else I've been creating.
Now go have some fun crafting!