Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Artful Inkables- A Sketch Challenge

Hi, All! It sure feels good to be back in the swing of things and in my craft room once again. Seriously, getting away from it for a little showed me just how good this wonderful hobby/passion/ obsession really is for me!

Today is the day that the Artful Inkables DT, aka The Ink Girls, posts their every other Wednesday challenge. This time around the most awesomely talented Jennifer Muraoka created this wonderful, creative sketch for us:We would love to have you play along with this challenge! If you should decide to join us, please either link a card to the comments of THIS post or if you upload to your SCS gallery be sure to include ARTINK in the keywords. We want to be able to see your beautiful projects!

My card started with some of the gorgeous BG Euphoria PP that I teamed up with the fun, fun AI stamp set, Sunburst Dandies. This is such a versatile stamp set and can be used for a plethora of artistic styles. (Just look at it's gallery page to see how many different ways it can be used)! I used black as an accent color to accentuate the beautiful, vivid pastels found in Euphoria. The sparkly black CS is by Doodlebug and the black glitter by Art Glitter. The black ribbon is a retire organdy from SU. In exchange for the circular elements in the bottom right hand corner of the sketch, I used a Maya Roads chipboard swirl which I painted with MM paint and then covered with Angel Wings Shimmerz once it dried. The chipboard bird is Magistical Memories which was covered with the PP then filed, edges inked with Tuxedo Black Memento ink then stamped with a Palette glue pad and sprinkled with the black Art Glitter. The stems and corner adornment are paper pierced. Be sure to check out the cards of the rest of the Ink Girls and our fearless leader, the very talented Kristin!
It's ALWAYS a Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Jacksonbelle Tuesday!

Wahoo, I'm back in my stamping room again! After our weeks vacation, last week was spent getting caught up and CLEANING house! Hubby has been putting in some major hours at work for his current project so it's pretty much been all up to dear ole Mom and needless to say, fun time in my craft room has been completely NILE! I was so excited to get the kids to bed last night. Dan had a presentation and 2 meetings today so he worked until almost midnight so I had a quite house all to myself. Since I needed to make my card for the JBE DT Challenge, I knew exactly what new supplies I wanted to use: the darling Detours collection from October Afternoon! It was love at first site when I saw this sweet little dear and I had yet to ink it up! The shame of it all!!! Anyway, last night I sat down at my craft table with beautiful supplies all around me ready to make a masterpiece. That's when it happened: my mojo came to a screeching halt. I was so... distraught. Well, knowing that I had to make a card and hoping that making a card would inspire my creativity, I did fall back on a tried and true sketch that always works for me. In the end I do like the way the card turned out (I will be giving it to my great niece for her 1st Birthday this weekend) but it was not the creative masterpiece that I had wanted to make- teeheehee! Oh well, if we didn't have "off" days we wouldn't appreciate that days we were "on!"

The theme for this weeks challenge is "anything goes." We would love for you to play along and see your beautiful creations. Please be sure to either link you card on a comment to this post or if you would like to put it in your SCS gallery, please be sure to use JBE013 in the keywords so we can see it!!! To view some awesome cards from the rest of the JBE DT, please stop by the other gals blogs!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Home At Last!!!

Wahoo! Can't tell you how great it is to be back home! The girls and
I made it through the sites of D.C. relatively unscathed. Well, 1
flipflop got caught and mauled in the the escalator of the Metro, and a tennis
shoe got caught in the revolving doors at Union Station but we
returned to 'bama with all limbs and digits intact. I do believe that
they decreased the national level of security once Rachel had left the
District! She set off 3 alarms at the National Postal Museum (guards
running and the works), she decided to lay down in the middle of the
floor in the gallery with the Hope Diamond and proclaim she was ready
to go back to the hotel. Once I finally convinced her that the Hope
Diamond was definitely some bling worth seeing, she took one look and
said "That's a Disco ball"- how the heck does a 4-year-old know what a
disco ball is? There were obviously other Rachel adventures but I
will not bore y'all with anymore! Let's just say she pretty much
"saw" the National Museum of Natural History in perpetual "time-out"
and I have the pics to prove it!

I hope to start catching up on "things" tomorrow! I'm having major stamping withdrawals and I hope that my mojo didn't go to sleep while I was away! I'm hostessing my local SU scrapbook club in my home on Friday evening, so it will be a week of cleaning (or more likely Thursday and Friday will be devoted to "Crisis Cleaning!" It's ALWAYS a Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Friday, July 18, 2008

You Are The Best...

Just a quick post... Here is a little ATC that I made for a swap hostessed by Tracy Durcan a little while back. At the time, I was so intent on getting these made and sent, that I forgot to take a photograph of it! So better late than never... Here are the deets:

Cupcake ATC:
Stamps: Inkadinkado- Birthday Cupcake, sentiment- Karen Lockhart
Paper: Barely Banana, Curious Iridescent Cryogen White, PP- Daisy D's
Ink: Memento- Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen by Ranger
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Swiss Dot fold, Nestabilities, Large oval punch, Copic markers, Sakura Quickie Glue Pen, Treading Water border punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds, ribbon- PTI Sweet Blush satin,paper piercer
We should be home late Sunday evening. I'll be busy getting ready for the Jacksonbelle Embellishment DT challenge for Tuesday and in celebrating our return home, you might want to be on the look-out for blog goodies in the very near future *wink*! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Artful Inkable 1st DT Challenge- A Color Challenge

I am so... excited to be the hostess for the very first Artful Inkables Design team challenge! Every other the week, you will find a new challenge with rotating themes over on the Artful Inkables store blog. This weeks challenge is one of my personal favorites- a color challenge. I definitely have a passion for colors- ALL colors! They are truly what draws me to my craft! That being said, I sometimes really like to experiment with some wonky combinations- believe me some of them never make my blog or gallery- but for this challenge I was fair. My daughter described the colors I chose as "ice cream colors." I honestly didn't think of
Sage Shadow
Blush Blossom
Close to Cocoa
quite that way, but once I thought about it, I could certainly see her point. The deets to the challenge, as well as, my card can be found over at the Artful Inkables Company Blog & Gallery. Be sure to stop in and see what the other gals have done and play along if you would like. I'd love to see what beautiful creations you make!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Wahoo! It's Tuesday and time for a really neat challenge by the Jacksonbelle Embellishment Design Team. This week Lynda randomly paired up DT members and our challenge is to CASE a card from the blog or gallery of our partner. How fun is that! We would love to have you play along! If you choose to join us, just pick a card from any of the DT blogs or galleries and have at it! For cards that are uploaded to SCS, please be sure to include JBE011 or if you would rather just link your card to the comments on this post! I'd love to see what you create! Here are the other DT gals that are playing this week:


So for this weeks challenge may "partner in crime" is the very talented Erin McKinney! I love Erin's use of bright colors along with distressed edges- a unique shabby chic look and her LOs are so creative! I was so... excited about this particular challenge! As soon as I knew that I was teamed up with Erin, I started perusing her blog to check out all of the wonderful inspiration which it held. Certainly, the hard part was narrowing it down to only 1 card to CASE. I finally chose this beauty because I absolutely loved this LO! Of course, I took a couple of creative liberties and tweaked it a bit. I truly love the long, slender look of her LO but I happened to have some scraps of this yummy Urban Cosmos PP by Prima that would work perfectly as a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 sized card so I went with that. Also, I flipped it on it's side so that it would go with this cute little Quartet stamp by Inkadinkado. I had had these little guys for a while but had not used them yet (hangs head in shame)! This is really a very straight forward card. The little corner adornment on the bottom right hand corner is 3 photo holders from my HHH with a brad in the center. The little birds are colored with Copic markers and 2 of them are popped for dimension. Well, I've go several other posts to write. Hopefully, they will each magically appear on the correct date! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Colors to Pretty to Resist

This is a card that I made last week for SCS CC174. When I saw the challenge- Groovy Guava, Barely Banana and Chocolate Chip- I simply could not resist. The DSP, Afternoon Tea, was perfect for this combo and I teamed it up with the beautiful silhouette set, Plant Prints, by Artful Inkables. I love the versatility of this set to use with different techniques and for this particular card I combined both the rock-n-roll technique with a bit of stampin' off. I love Barely Banana but it truly is a very light color so by rolling the already inked stamp in a bit of Groovy Guava the details of the stamp really come through (Barely Banana is, also, a difficult color for me to photograph apparently, the image is a bit bolder IRL.) The background is Barely Banana CS which has been punched with a MS scalloped border punch then adhered to a piece of DSP. The entire panel was embossed via a Cuttlebug folder. I stamped off the images then stamped the sentiment in Chocolate Chip and framed it with a metal frame from WRMK. The butterflies are a MS punch, the ribbon is May Arts and the jumbo brads SU. A quick card but I was pleased! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

CC174 recipe:
Stamps: Artful Inkables- Plant Prints
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Groovy Gauva, Barely Banana, DSP- Afternoon Tea, Curious Iridescent- Poison Ivy
Ink: Barely Banana, Groovy Gauva, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Martha Steward butterfly and scallop border punches, Nestablities, Cuttlebug, May Arts ribbon, WRMK hardware, SU Jumbo pewter brads

Friday, July 11, 2008

JBE ATC swap #1

Okay, I have attempted, "attempt" being the BIG word here, to make my first slideshow. The ATCs from the first Jacksonbelle Embellishments ATC swap were so incredible that I wanted an awesome way to display them. I have attempted to put these on the store blog but without success (I'm not used to wordpress) but I will continue to try. It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Leaving Tomorrow

Yes, the Thomas family leaves tomorrow to visit the Nation's Capitol! We've not told anybody we are coming- I'm afraid Rachel would be considered a risk to National Security- LOL! Seriously, Hubby will be working just across the line in Maryland while the girls and I tour D.C. I'm fully aware of the heat that faces us and have tried to plan our schedule with both that and small kids (Rachel) in mind. There will be some of the "big" sights that Mary Elizabeth will have to miss but I really don't think the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier want Rachel to compromise the solemn tradition of the ceremony- KWIM! I am not sure about the opportunity I will have while away to post here at A Stampin' Good Time. I do have a couple of challenge card posts that will be pre-dated to post and I will pop in when I get a chance!

So for today's card... I finally took the opportunity to bust out the Carousel notecards and the coordinating DSP, Afternoon Tea from the SU Occasions Mini Catalog. The only time I played with the DSP was for our stamp camp in May and the notecards had been shamefully neglected! I first selected a Soft Sky notecard for the card base. Next, my Coluzzle was used to cut a circle from the DSP. To mat the DSP, I used my Magic Matter disc set to trace around the DSP circle on Chocolate Chip CS, then cut it out with scissors. The sentiment element, started with a piece of Neenah Classic White CS. With Artful Inkables, Pressed Petals, I "stamped-off" Groovy Guava and Soft Sky. I then stamped the sentiment from the set in Chocolate Chip and die cut it with a circle Nestie. The mat is Groovy Guava CS cut with a scallop circle Nestie, the little brown clip is Heidi Swapp and the ribbon is SU Stitched Wild Wasabi. For the floral spray along the side, I stamped-off/the 2-step stamped the flowers from Pressed Petals, traced along the center swirl with Sakura Quickie glue pen then sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds. Each flower was cut out then adhered either with glue dots or Stampin' Dimensionals. Finally, stitched ribbon "leaves" were added.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and an awesome next week! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Carousel notecard recipe:
Stamps: Artful Inkables- Pressed Petals
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky Carousel notecards, Neenah Classic White, DSP- Afternoon Tea
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guarve, Soft Sky
Accessories: SU Wild Wasabi Stitched ribbon, Heidi Swapp clip, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, American Craft brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, Magic Matter disc set, Coluzzle

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

A Dandy Color Throwdown Challenge


I had originally planned to post a card today that I made using Pressed Petals by Artful Inkable, but when I saw the yummy color combination for the very first challenge of the Color Throwdown blog, I couldn't resist playing. Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow and Regal Rose are 3 colors that this gal could not overlook! When I teamed it up with the cute, new Artful Inkables set, Sunburst Dandies, this is the sweet card that emerged. Unfortunately, due to the dark and dreary day we are having in Madison, Alabama today, I just could not get a photo that did these beautiful colors justice. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a sunnier day and I will have the opportunity to try again! The details for this challenge can be found on the Color Throwdown Blog!

My card today was, do to necessity, quick, easy and straightforward. I did make the dandelions using a stamping off and 2 step stamping technique. The stems were paper pierced using the SU mat pack (a real staple in my tool box.) To make the little mat pocket for the focal image, I added about an inch to the length of the Regal Rose mat, then used my Martha Stewart Embossed Zigzag border punch along the bottom. Next, I place the focal image on the mat to determine where I wanted to fold the pocket, marked the fold, then scored it with my Scor-Pal. After scoring it, I folded and creased it with a bone folder, inserted the focal image and then secured the flap with SU Pretty in Pink brads. I added some sparkle by putting a bit of Stardust Stickles in the flower center. The little scallop on the opened edge is a peak of MM velvet trim. Like I said a quick card for a busy morning but I just could not resist that color combo! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

CTD1 care recipe:
Stamps: Artful Inkables- Sunburst Dandies
Paper: Sage Shadow, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Neenah Classic White, DSP- Berry Bliss
Ink: Sage Shadow, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, MS border punch, Scor-pal, May Arts ribbon,MM scallop velvet trim, Stardust Stickles, SU SS brads, Stampin' Dimensionals

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Wahoo! It's Tuesday, once again, and time for a Jacksonbelle Embellishment Design Team Challenge. Before we get started I hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July weekend! Ours was nice and uneventful. We spent the 4th playing in the backyard with water toys, whiffle (sp?) ball, soccer and just basically enjoying family time. So onto this week's challenge- this awesome sketch created by our own oh-so-talented, Lynda Benden! As always, it would please us so much to have you play along! If you do, remember to add JBE10 to the keywords if you upload to SCS so we can see your beautiful creations! Be sure to take a minute to check out the rest of the JBE DT's cards made with this awesome sketch!

I knew I was setting myself up for failure when I purchased this cute little Inkadinkado stamp set, Happy Belated Birthday- teeheehee! Well, hubby's best friend at work had a birthday on the 4th, and low and behold, I did not get a chance to make him a card last week- thus the need for the belated stamp! This card is pretty much strictly by the sketch (*note- I attempted to upload a pic of the sketch but could not from the file on the DT yahoo group. I will ask Lynda if she has any advice and give it another try a bit later.) I did omit a little row of 3 elements that were to go under the focal image to maintain the balance of my design. This masculine card is very straight forward. Masculine cards are definitely not my forte but this cute little snail and the BG Archaic paper did help me out quite a bit. The little guy is colored with Copic markers then die cut with a rectangular Nestabilities and matted on Basic Black CS. The background is Sahara Sand stamped tone on tone with SU Canvas BG stamp and all edges are inked with a sponge and Sahara Sand ink. Hardware is We R Memory Keepers except for the Pewter Jumbo Eyelets which are SU. I used black twill tape from my stash in place of ribbon for what is hopefully, a more masculine look! Well, that is about all I have time for this morning! I will have a card from the awesome Artful INKables set, Pressed Petals, tomorrow! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Better Late card recipe:
Stamps: Canvas BG, Inkadinkado- Happy Belated
Paper: Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Neenah Classic White CS,PP- Basic Grey Archaic
Ink: Sahara Sand, Momento- Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers, Cuttlebug, Nestablitities, twill from stash, Sakura Stardust clear pen, WRMK hardware, SU pewter large eyelets, Crop-a-dile

Thursday, July 3, 2008

A 4th of July Sale!!!


I wanted to let you all know about the 4th of July sale over at Jacksonbelle Embellishments!! Right now through Monday night you can use promo code: fourth to get 20% off your WHOLE PURCHASE!!! This includes the Clearance category AND all the new products too! Lindsey JUST posted the NEW Inkadinkado Halloween and Christmas wood stamps (Clear sets ship in a few weeks) and she now has Shimmerz Paints and October Afternoon! WAHOOO!!!!

I'm actually getting to go over to a friends house to night for some stamping fun so hopefully, I'll have something to share with you tomorrow! Wishing everyone a fun and safe 4th of July weekend! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!



Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Bloomin' Beauties and SC183

I know, I know- I have participated with the Sketch Challenge on SCS 2 weeks in a row. It has kind of been my "goal" lately to participate in more of the awesome challenges on Split Coast. They really are an exercise to increase my creativity and when I play along I am always inspired! Not so much that I need ideas, I have too many of those already, but it helps me get going in the morning- sort of like my creative cup of joe!

For my card this morning I paired up the gorgeous newly released sets "Bloomin' Beauties" and "Basic Sentiments" from Artful Inkables and Urban Cosmos PP by Prima that I purchased from Jacksonbelle. "Bloomin' Beauties" is the only line-drawn image from the 5 new release sets and, of course, I new I "HAD" to paper piece it right away. I stamped the large flower 3 times on different pieces of patterned paper with Memento Dark Cocoa ink and cut the pieces out. Next, I inked the edges of each little piece with Ranger Distressing Ink, Frayed Burlap then adhered them to the brown PP flower. I then inked the outer edge with Encore gold. Next, I stamped the large flower, stem and sentiment onto Curious Iridescent Poison Ivy shimmer CS with the Dark Cocoa ink and colored in the brown flower sections and shaded with Copic markers. The paper pieced flower was then adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals. The flourish is Creative Imaginations chipboard covered with PP, then inked with the Frayed Burlap and Encore gold. See the tiny little fuchsia rhinestone circle under the focal panel? Those are the cutest little rhinestones from Taylored Expressions. The are not self-adhesive and IMHO that makes for easier placement. I just used tweezers and my Sakura Quickie glue pen! To get the circular shape, one of my circle Nestabilites acted as a template while I laid them down. For the little fleur-de-lis brad, I used Versamark, Heat & Stick powder and fuchsia glitter to make it coordinate with the rest of the embellis. This was such a fun card to make! I am having such stamping fun with all the new AI sets. Definitely, stop by the web-store and browse. And remember all stamp sets are 10% off for the month of July. Just use coupon code 10%AIJUL. It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Cosmo Beauties recipe:
Stamps: Artful Inkables- Bloomin' Beauties, Basic Sentiments
Paper: Certainly Celery, Poison Ivy, PP- Prima Urban Cosmos
Ink: Momento Dark Cocoa, Ranger Distress Ink- Frayed Burlap, Encore- Gold
Accessories: ribbon from stash, chipboard flourish- Creative Imagination,sponge, brad- HL, rhinestones from Taylored Expressions, Copic markers, Mat pack, paper piercer, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sakura Quickie Glue pen

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

July 1st- It's Finally Here!!!!!!

I am so excited to announce that today is a day for NEW, NEW, NEW happenings at Artful INKables. Please be sure to visit the site to see:

NEW (and improved) Shopping Site!
NEW Design Team!
NEW Stamp Sets- yes, the 5 awesome sets that the DT has been playing with this weekend!
*Bloomin' Beauties
*Plant Prints
*Sunburst Dandies
*Pressed Petals
*Basic Salutations
NEW Sale!!!!
All full-sized sets (this includes the 5 new ones) are 10% off the month of July no matter how many you buy!!!!!!! Be sure to use code 10%AIJUL at check-out to receive your discount!

Kristin, owner and stamp artist/designer, at Artful Inkables has worked so hard making Artful INKables a fantastic stamping web store! The stamps are absolutely awesome, deeply etched, red rubber that come cut and cling foam mounted- ready to enjoy right out of their CD case package! There is a gallery full of inspiration, as well as, a store blog to keep you up-to-date on store happenings! Please stop by and give Kristin a high five for all of her hard work. Stay tuned for later today and tomorrow for some more ideas using the new AI sets!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday


Where does the time go? It's Tuesday once again and that means time for another Jacksonbelle Embellishment Design Team Challenge. This week is a color challenge that is one of my all time favorites- I guess it should be 'cause I got to choose this month- teeheehee. The colors I picked are Real Red, Bashful Blue and Black. We would love to have you play with us! If you do, use JBE009 in your keycode on SCS when you upload. That way we can see all of your beautiful cards! Be sure to visit the other JE DT blogs and see what awesome creations they have made with this color combo.
Now a few details about my card. From the first time I saw this Inka flower stamp at JBE, I was completely intrigued by it. Whether it took me back to my childhood playing with a Spirograph (did I just age myself) or just the fun whimsy of it, it was a stamp that I new eventually I would have to have. I would consider it with every order, putting it aside for things I "needed" until finally one day, I just said "for goodness sakes, it is less than 6.00, go ahead and get it," thus my little Daisy Blossom stamp came to live with me. Now we won't mention that I've had it for many weeks and this is the first time it has seen ink- just knowing it was in the drawer with all my other Inka stamps made me happy! This evening I inked it up with Momento Tuxedo Black ink and stamped it one Bashful Blue cs. I cut it out with a circle Nestie then matted it with Black cs cut out of a scalloped circle Nestie. The center is a little white brad my American Craft. The little ladybugs are from Inkas Patterned Bugs set. I stamp "her" first in black and cut it out, then repeated this step in Real Red only cutting her body out this time. I then adhered the red body to the black image with a glue dot. Everything else is pretty self-explanetory. I'm pretty critical of my work and it is rare that I say this but I absolutely love this card! Oh my goodness, I didn't drop over dead and the world didn't end when I said that!!!! Maybe I should practice liking my creations a bit more!!!

Now, bits and pieces of news:
Lindsey has tons of things going on over at JBE!!! She has added more items to her clearance section and oh my, you have just got to check it out! Over the weekend, she added a company to the store, October Afternoon! She started with about 10 different styles of double sided PP and 4 different acrylic stamp sets. I am so... glad that I got my order placed because one of my "must have" stamp sets is already sold out and the other "must have" only has 2 left! We are keeping our fingers crossed that the wood mounted holiday stamps from Inkadinkado will arrive sometime tomorrow and the acrylic holiday sets sometime mid-July. Wasn't that nice of them to spread it out so it wouldn't be so much out-of-pocket at one time- teeheehee. If you would like a peak at these awesome stamps check it out here. Finally, be sure to check out the JBE store blog for the details of our next ATC SWAP. I will be the hostess once again and have some fun and prizes planned to go along with a Summer themed SWAP. It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Bug Hugs recipe:

Stamps: Flower stamp,Lady bug (Patterned Bugs) both by Inkadinkado, sentiment Lizzie Anne Designs
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Bashful Blue, DSP- Summer Picnic
Ink: Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: American Craft brads, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Stampin' Dimensionals, Fiskers border punch, May Arts ribbon, Hero Arts rhinestones