Pick of the Patch

Hello! Hello! Just taking a quick minute to poke my head in and share another card from my first A Muse class. Rachel has been sick this week with respiratory gunk and keeping us busy with breathing treatments. I'm also in the process of making Mary Elizabeth a Little Red Ridinghood Halloween costume so not much time to stamp this week. I have a growing list of "got to do's" which include some peaks at the AWESOME new releases from Artful Inkables of 5, yes, 5 brand new sets. Once again, Kristin has her outdone herself with these beautiful stamps!

So... if I don't get a chance to blog before the weekend I want to wish everyone a fun and SAFE Halloween! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Card deets: All stamped images, notecards, and ribbon by A Muse.
Other: Marvy Uchida punches, Copics, Stardust Stickles, Zig white paint pen, fine tip black pen

Fall for A Muse- Another Peak

Just wanted to share another card that I will be teaching Tuesday at Once Upon a Scrapbook. I taught my first A Muse class at Wisescrappers a couple of weeks ago and I really think it was a huge success. I had some very newbie stampers who had primarily scrapbooked and they were thrilled with the results of their cards. It was the most wonderful feeling to see folks so proud of what they had accomplished and knowing that you had help them to get there! One lady said it was the most informative paper crafting class that she had ever attended and the owners said they had received very positive reviews. It was great to share my hobby/passion/obsession with others!

I am still very much a "newbie" when it comes to the wonderful company of A Muse and I cannot wait to travel to Seattle next month and meet this incredibly talented Creative Team. Already, I have gained so much knowledge and inspiration by visiting their blogs and I invite you to check these out too for some awesome projects. Definitely a different style than my usual many layered, embellished cards but with the same elements of design. As I have said before, simple does not mean easy but it is so fun! "Think Simply, Think A Muse" is a wonderful way to think! Wishing you fun Times and ink fingers! Take care!

Some Bunny Loves You

This week SCS is recognizing National Breast Cancer Awareness month by incorporating pink in all of the challenges. Yesterday's color challenge was too good to pass up- Pirouette Pink, Kiwi Kiss, and Chocolate Chip. I did not have Pirouette Pink but I thought this cute PP from Imaginisce Fairest of Them All collection certainly fit the bill. Also, since I was running short on Kiwi Kiss, I exchanged it for Old Olive. I had not stamped with this cute little thumping bunny image from Artful Inkables Deer Friends yet and thought it would be perfect for the soft colors. The image is colored with Prismacolor pencils and then blended with Gamsol. I feel the softer look of the pencils works well with these cute forest creatures. See the largest flower in the cluster? Well, the center was made using lace from Fancy Pants Designs. Fun stuff! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!



Card deets:

Stamps: Artful Inkables- Deer Friend

Paper: Old Olive, white CS, PP- Imaginisce Fairest of Them All

Ink: Memento Creamy Cocoa, Ranger Distress Ink Tattered Rose

Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, Gamsol, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Prima Flowers, Imaginisce brads, Fancy Pants lace & velvet ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Baby, It's cold outside- NOT! Yes, we are still basking in the mid to upper 70's on the coolest days. Granted a light jacket feels good in the mornings and evenings but not anything I would call a cold snap. So... I guess I must live vicariously through my bloggin' buddies and turn the thermostat down a notch or two to really get in the spirit of making cards like the one for today's Jacksonbelle Embellishment DT Challenge- to make a Christmas card using items from JBE. Easy peasy! There are so many awesome Holiday goodies at Lindsey's store that the only hard part is narrowing it down on what to use! You will want to be sure to check out the cards by the rest of the team. They are as different and inspiring as the gals themselves!

• Amber Hight
• Broni Holcombe
• Dee Jackson
• Kisa Peters
• Lila Holgate
• Lindsey Botkin
  
• Lynda Benden
• Maren Benedict
• Rachel Hope

We would love to have you play along! If you would like to but don't have any specific products from JBE, then just have fun with a Christmas card! Regardless of the temperature, it is NEVER to early to get started on your Holiday greetings! If you would like, please, leave a link with your comment so that I can see you beautiful card!

Card deets: Jacksonbelle products: Inkadinkado Cute Penguin stamp, Fancy Pants- Happy Holidays 8 x 8 pad, sheer May Arts ribbon, Magenta Shimmerz
Sentiment- The Cats Pajamas
CS- SU
felt trim-Creative Imaginations
Black Sparkle EP from stash


Fun Stuff: This past weekend (in all the chaos), I had the pleasure of meeting Cheryl of Engineered Expressions! I have been a big fan of Cheryl's creativity and blog for some time and she and I will comment back and forth. She is a super sweet and talented gal! Anyway, she and her husband flew from Wisconsin to Huntsville to attend a wedding this weekend and my family met them at the Space & Rocket Center for a wonderful visit. I didn't have my camera (duh) but Cheryl said she would forward the pics to me! I can't wait to share those with you!

On another note, I am excited to add another Design Team to my resume! A brand new company, Two Scoops Rice Designs, has graciously added me to there team roster! The images set to be released for Pre-Order the 1st of November, are super, super cute and I cannot wait to ink them up!

I keep waiting on life to slow down a bit. We have 2 more Saturday soccer games, my in-laws visit this weekend, a Stamp Camp this Friday, an A Muse class on the 28th, Halloween and a visit from my dad that weekend and following that I am heading to Seattle for A Muse Instructor Team Training (whahoo)! The day before the A Muse IT training begins, there will be a Copic Certification class which I have signed up to take- Good Stuff! Keeping my fingers crossed for a weekend of NOTHING before the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I'd love to hear what is going on in your busy lives, cause I know they are!!! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers. Take care!

I'm Still Here....

Just stopped by to check on a few things and was totally appalled that I have not posted since last Tuesday! I do have a couple of cards to share, as well as, some news and a fun story! I will try to post on those things tomorrow so that my Jacksonbelle Tuesday post does not become a novel! Hope everyone had a super weekend! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Here is the card that I made for the Jacksonbelle Embellishment DT Tuesday Challenge. I made this card last night and then with the chaos of the day, totally forgot to post it!!! So now, in the darkness, I am unable to get a good photo so I apologize for that right away. I will try to get a better photo up in the a.m.! Today's challenge was to make a card using 4 layers or less. Definitely good practice and a lot of fun to make! I will be back with the deets after I get the kids to bed. Until then, be sure to check out the awesome inspiration of the rest of the DT:

• Amber Hight
• Broni Holcombe
• Dee Jackson
• Kisa Peters
• Lila Holgate
• Lindsey Botkin
  
• Lynda Benden
• Maren Benedict
• Rachel Hope

Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

TGIF

Is anyone else looking forward to the weekend? I know I am! My hubby is off work on Monday for Columbus Day and he took yesterday and today off to make it a long weekend. The kids are off of school this week for Fall Break so little Rachel has not been at preschool- both a blessing and a trial. It will be much easier on me now that Dan and I outnumber her- teeheehee! Thursday is Mary Elizabeth's riding lessons and since Rachel usually has dance at about the same time she has been going with a friend. Dance was canceled this week for the break so we are all able to enjoy watching her ride yesterday. We got to experience a couple of firsts with her. It was her first day of jumps and it was her first time to fall off the horse. She was not hurt, in fact she got up smiling and climbed right back on his back. She is definitely a horse loving girl!

My card for today didn't start out as a "get well" card but while I was making it, I discovered that a friend was having a rough time health-wise and decided to make this for her. The cute little raccoon is from none other than the new Artful Inkables set, Critter Country. I started by stamping the little guy on gray CS with a glue pad then added black Fun Flock. After I cut him out I decided to add Petal Pink Liquid Pearls to the inside of his ears and Pewter LP to his nose. I had previous stamped and colored the stump and "weeds" on to white CS and colored them with Copic markers. I used Stampin' Dimensionals to fix the raccoon on to the stump. The PP is from BG's Mellow line and I used So Saffron CS to accent. I inserted 2 SU jumbo eyelets in the corner and added yellow gingham ribbon from my stash. The tag is cut from the gray CS with a Cuttlebug tag die and the sentiment is from AIs Basic Sentiments. I fixed the tag to the card with hardward from WRMK. The little button in the corner is SEI with a tiny knot of the gingham ribbon. Hope everyone has some super plans for the weekend (even if those plans just have to do with getting some rest-lol)! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Sonoma Critter Country

Be sure to leave a comment HERE for a chance for some awesome Jacksonbelle Embellishment Blog Candy
AND
Be sure to check out the Artful Inkables' website for an awesome grab bag offer!

Today is Wednesday and that means a Sketch Challenge on SCS (SK197). I purchased this beautiful PP- Sonoma by Scenic Route- at my lss and had been waiting for just the time to use it. Each and every design from this line of paper is gorgeous (and of course, I had to have it ALL)! This adorable little fox image is from the latest Artful Inkables release and it is found in an awesome set called Critter Country- completely cute critters with great accessory stamps to make wonderful little scenes. After stamping the image in Memento Rich Cocoa, I realized I still had my Prismacolor and Gamsol supplies handy so decided to use them once again. To give the little guy depth, I added white Liquid Appliqué to the tip of his tail and chest area. Finally, I cut him out and popped him up on this little grassy scene panel. The yellow polka dot panel is embossed using the Cuttlebug branch folder. Ribbon is May Arts and hardware is HHH by SU. A cute, happy card! Be sure to check out the Artful Inkables site to learn about Kristin's Grab Bag speciall! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Click here to sign up for a Jacksonbelle Blog Candy Giveaway!

It's Tuesday (already) and time for the weekly Jacksonbelle Embellishments Design Team Challenge. I'm barely sneaking this one in on Tuesday because I have been under the weather since Saturday afternoon- virus type symptoms: fever, headache, generalized pains- you get the picture. This simple card and short post has taken me ALL day to complete! I was determined to participate today because our challenge was to CASE a card from the beautiful collection of our own DT member, Broni Holcombe. Broni's work is awesome- her coloring is beautiful and her design is wonderful! The hard part was limiting myself to 1 card and if I had been up to it, I might have made more! Be sure to check out the challenge cards made by the rest of the Design Team!!!

• Amber Hight
• Broni Holcombe
• Dee Jackson
• Kisa Peters
• Lila Holgate
• Lynda Benden
• Maren Benedict
• Rachel Hope

For my CASE I chose this card:See what I mean about her beautiful coloring and design! I loved the clean lines of this card AND how the brads anchored that cute focal image! I used my new Inkadinkado clear set- Beautiful Fairies and teamed it up with BG Euphoria (perfect for this fantastical character.) The fairy is stamped with Palette Noir ink then colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. I enhanced her wings with my favorite Stickles- Stardust. The solid CS is SU Purely Pomegranate, as well as, the satin ribbon (both retired.) The Primas are brand new to Jacksonbelle and the centers are Euphoria glazed brads. A simple, clean card with just enough whimsy to make it fun! Stay tuned tomorrow for a card from the latest Artful Inkables release. And be sure to check out the Grab Bag Special that Kristin if offering at AI!!!! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Inka Contest Winners

Be sure to check this post for Artful Inkables Blog Candy.

AND

this post for Jacksonbelle Embellishment Blog Candy.

Hello!! I am so pleased to announce the winners of the Jacksonbelle Embellishments Inkadinkado Contest! We had almost 100 FANTASTIC entrants! Thank you SO much to all of you that played! Lindsey enlisted the help of the Design Team to select the winners and without futher a do...–

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL!

The grand prize winner is….

HEATHER LEE REPPEN!!! Heather, you have won a $50 gift certificate to JBE!

Here is her fantastic card!

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Our Second prize winner IS……

CINDY HAFFNER! Cindy, you have won a $30 Gift Certificate to JBE!!!

Here is her adorable card!

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Our third place winner IS…..

SHARON JOHNSON!! Sharon, you have won a $15 Gift Certificate to JBE!!

Here is her gorgeous card!!

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All three ladies will receive an additional goodie bag from JBE ! Last but not least, everyone who participated in ALL the sketches were put into a random drawing!! The winner of the random drawing IS……-

Congratulations BARBARA ANDERS , you will ALSO receive a goodie bag from my JBE!

All of the entrants certainly earn a huge congratulations for each and every card certainly had a chance to win- I was completely impressed with the quality of each entry!

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Limited Supply Challenge- Almost

Be sure to check out the bottom of this post for information on a fun Artful Inkables Blog give away!

I originally made this card for Friday's Limited Supply Challenge- to make a card using NO embellishments. Yes, a very weighty challenge for someone like me who is addicted to ribbon and loves the use brads, bling, and so many more of the wonderful goodies collected in my stash. Well, apparently, I needed to slow down and read the instructions more closely because embellishments included Crystal Effects and this card is chalk full of it!

I started by stamping the cute little princess from Lizzie Anne Designs, Once Upon a Time. She is one of my favorite images to paper piece which I feel gives a card a lot of visual appeal and for me is lots of fun- I guess it's reminds me of paper dolls! After stamping the princess with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I masked her and stamped the castle. The images are colored with Copic markers and the background scene was free handed and colored, as well. The shield frame is from a piece of light silver shimmer paper in my stash and the die is Sizzix. CS is Cameo Coral and Green Galore and PP is DCWV- Nursery Girl. For sparkle, I made a favorite mix of Crystal Effects (my contraband embellishment) with Dazzling Diamonds and SU re-inkers of different colors to make my own custom Stickles. Even though I didn't make the challenge, it was a lot of fun getting back to basics and really using my imagination. Be sure to check out the Artful Inkables blog where Kristin has a goodie give away for World Card Making Day!!!! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

And the Winner is...

Lucky #5 Julia!!!

who said: Certified instructor for Amuse!!! congrats!!!! how super exciting and fun! I love their stamps! And I do too, Julia! Yes, that is my exciting news. Julia, if you would please contact me by e-mail to let me know which single A Muse wood mounted stamp and note card set you choose, I will get those to you pronto!

When I saw the call for A Muse Instructors, it was a dream come true. I had often wondered how one became a member of such an inspiring Creative Team and here was my opportunity. I admire and love the simplistic style that is A Muse and I am having a BALL playing with there cute and versatile images! Above is a sneak from my first class, Fall for A Muse. The class is schedule at follows:

October 16th at 6:30
and October 18th at 2:00
at Wisescrappers
Gurley, AL
256-776-4730

and

October 28th at 10am and again at 6:30
at Once Upon a Scrapbook
Huntsville, AL
256-471-6445

If you are in the area, I would absolutely love to have you join me for this class! Wishing you a weekend filled with fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Butterfly Blessings...

***********Be sure to check out this post for blog goodies opportunity!!!************



While the whimsical themed stamp sets such as the new Artful Inkables, Deer Friends and Critter Country are more my creative style, this beautiful, mosaic leaf butterfly from Butterfly Blessings was the image that I was most excited about receiving. The versatility of this stamp for such a huge variety of techniques it awesome! I can picture using my Copic markers, Gamsol Magic technique, pastel/chalk techniques, glitter techniques- get the picture! It is such a beautiful and unique stamp that I can tell I will be enjoying it for quite some time!

I stamped the image with Versamark onto Chocolate Chip CS then heat embossed with Rangers Gold EP. Rangers and SU are my two favorite EPs (often wonder if they are made by the same company.) Next, I painted the image using the Painted Pearls technique. It uses the combination of Pearl-Ex and a Futura filled Aqua Pen. It is a simply technique that really gives a big bang for the amount of effort! The sketch is a stretched out version of todays Sketch Challenge 196. It had been a while since I participate in a SCS challenge but I always enjoy it when I get the chance! Everything else is pretty straightforward. Ribbon is by American Craft, brads are by Paper Studio, and hardware is WRMK. PP is Cosmo Cricket Gretal that I purchase last fall from Jacksonbelle Embellishments and it remains one of my fav Autumn designs. I'll be back tomorrow with some peaks of the cards that I will feature in my first A Muse class- Fall for A Muse. Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!