Heather's Share Your Spark Challenge

Each Friday, Heather Meeson, Designer/Instructor/Photographer extraordinaire of the A Muse Creative Team, posts a Share Your Spark Friday Challenge on her blog, one little spark. These are some awesome and creative challenges and I look in at them every Friday. Unfortunately, stamping time has been limited to "must dos" lately and I have not been able to play along. One of my Goals this year, was to try to stick to purchasing items that I can use on DT projects or in my A Muse classes. Now don't think me too noble, I can really manipulate and justify plenty of purchases. I did have a moment of weakness when I enter my lss, Once Upon a Scrapbook, and saw this new to me line of stamps, Great Impressions! This sweet little flourish and oh so cute owl image were just too much for me to resist (not to mention the flourish was the "stamp of the month" and an additional 40% off)! I have mentioned before that my very most favorite technique of all times was paper piecing- and guess what Heathers Share Your Spark was last Friday- to create something using an image or sentiment that you have cut out!!!! This was too good to resist and I MADE time for fun stamping! I teamed my new stamps with my new Bittersweet PP from Basic Gray and another favorite kraft CS. The kraft cs was stamped using Boudoir Blush Palette ink. Next I stamped the flourish image on 2 different design of the PP and cut and glued some random little hearts. Finally, I went over a couple of the flourishes with my Sakura glue pen and added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I added a strip of Bittersweet PP to a Regal Rose mat and tied a piece of bright pink May Arts ribbon. For the focal image, I stamped the owl outline on a piece of the PP but only colored in the hearts. I then stamped the owl again and colored with Copic markers. I then cut the owl out and adhered him to the outline owl with foam dimensionals. Isn't he cute! Be sure to check out Heather's blog this Friday for another super Share Your Spark Friday challenge. Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

It is Tuesday once again and time for the Jacksonbelle Embellishments Design Team challenge. This week's challenge was to use products from October Afternoon. OA has quickly found its place on my favorites list. The fun, whimsical designs are just right for me! As always, it just thrills us to have others play along with our challenges. If you do, please use JBE036 in the keywords when uploading to your SCS gallery OR link it to a comment in the JBE Store Blog. To get the mojo going, feel free to stop by the other DT blogs for some inspiration 'belle style!

• AJ Otto
• Heather Lee-Reppen
• Jennifer Buck
• Jill Dunn
• Kim O'Rosky
• Kisa Peters
• Lynda Benden
• Maren Benedict
• Melissa Bove
• Michelle Woerner
• Rachel Hope
• Shannon Teubner
• Taylor Usry

My challenge card today is more of a scrappy card. The only stamping is the little words in the background- "smile" and "just having fun" from the Detours clear stamp set. I so... wanted to use these cute little monsties from the Night Light line but did not have the stamps. So I got out my trusty Cutter Bees and sniped these 3 little guys from a piece of the "Louie" PP ("Louie Louie, oh no Me gotta go Aye-yi-yi-yi- yep now THAT is going through my head)! To give them a bit of a slimy look, I painted them with coordinating Shimmerz. After painting, I put the little guys to the side to make the rest of my card. To make the little scales, I simply punched out several ovals, then cut them in half. Next, I inked the edges and finally, added a bit of Peeled Paint Distress Stickles to the tips. I layered them onto my card base (Jack PP), stamped my words using Palette inks and foam popped this cute little trio to the front of the card. Since this will probably go to a little guy, I opted for no ribbon (it was hard, let me tell you) and used a few MM green glitter brads. With 2 DD, I don't need boy cards often but next time I do I'll be ready! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

I'm on the run this morning so this will have to be a short post! Today's Jacksonbelle Challenge was to use any of our new products that we had received from Jacksonbelle. I am just in love with the new Imaginisce line "Twitterpated" and was so excited to receive the paper pack! Just adorable. I teamed it up with this little Inka bird for a Valentine's day card. The sparkly flowers- no other than white Primas painted with Shimmerz. Be sure to check out the rest of the DT blogs to see what else Lindsey has "in store" at Jacksonbelle (sorry for the pun)!

• AJ Otto
• Heather Lee-Reppen
• Jennifer Buck
• Jill Dunn
• Kim O'Rosky
• Kisa Peters
• Lindsey Botkins
  
• Lynda Benden
• Maren Benedict
• Melissa Bove
• Michelle Woerner
• Rachel Hope
• Shannon Teubner
• Taylor Usry

We would love to have you play along! If you upload to your SCS gallery, please be sure to use JBE035 in the keywords so we can see your beautiful work! Also, Lindsey is having super clearance sale so you will want to go by and see all of her specials! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Whahoo! It's the first Jacksonbelle Embellishment DT challenge of the new year! Lynda really started us off right with this awesome sketch:We would love to have you play along! If you do please either link your card in the comments to this post on the Jacksonbelle Embellishments Blog or if you add to you gallery on SCS, please, use JBE034 in your keywords. That way we can all see your beautiful cards! Need some super inspiration? Be sure to check out the blogs of the rest of the DT:

• AJ Otto
• Heather Lee-Reppen
• Jennifer Buck
• Jill Dunn
• Kim O'Rosky
• Kisa Peters
• Lindsey Botkins
  
• Lynda Benden
• Maren Benedict
• Melissa Bove
• Michelle Woerner
• Rachel Hope
• Shannon Teubner
• Taylor Usry

My card today features stamps and PP from October Afternoon. I absolutely adore OA- super cute images, acrylic stamps that leave a crisp image, coordinating papers, beautiful colors- IMHO it has it all! Both the tree and the paper pieced house are from the Home Sweet Home acrylic stamp set (I believe Lindsey is out of this set right now but I'm sure you could e-mail her to see what the status is of this cute set.) The paper is all from the Weathervane collection. All ink is by Memento if Rich Cocoa and Pear Tart. I ran the yellow panel through the Cuttlebug using the Paisley embossing folder to add some texture. Sentiment is by A Muse. This was truly a super fun card to make!

Don't forget, tomorrow is Release Day for the latest A Muse images! Be sure to check with you LSS to see if they have these cute stamps in stock. If not, the A Muse website will be able to hook you up! Wishing everyone fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Tickled to Share Another Sneak Peek!

As I mentioned, yesterday's Featured Stamper on SCS was no other than Her Royal Rubberness herself, Julie Ebersole! I have the honor of having Julie as the Creative Team Director for A Muse and besides her creativity and artistic talent, this gal is "good people." The tough thing about this particular challenge was selecting only 1 card as an inspiration piece. All of Julie's cards are filled with such wonderfully, simple detail (yes, that should be a contradiction in terms but this gal is talented enough to pull it off) that I could spend days perusing her beautiful gallery. But since I didn't have that kind of time to piddle away on the computer, I selected an image I wanted to showcase and went from there. I wanted to share this fun little lingerie shop that will be released by A Muse on January 7th, along with the awesome french lamppost and sentiment that are, also, included. With that in mind, I chose this card from Julie's gallery. What inspired me about this particular creation was the backdrop panel and matting the little boutique on black cs to really make it shine. I began my backdrop with a piece of a black argyle band notecard. After adding the French Lampposts, I air brushed a Warm Gray 2 Copic marker to give it a dusky look, added some yellow Copic around the light source, then painted the light source with Candlelight Shimmerz. A little yellow twinkle sticker was placed on the candle for a finishing touch. The Lingerie shop was colored with Copics. Once again, Candlelight Shimmerz was added to the "windows" for a glowing affect. Both panels were adhered to one of my new favorites- Chiffon Pink 4-bar notecards. If you get a chance be sure to check out Julie's Gallery. It is truly worth every minute (err, hour) spent! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

New Shimmerz Colors Exclusively at Jacksonbelle

What exciting news! 4 brand new Shimmerz Blingz colors- Flashee Fushia, HiHo Silver, Hottie Pink, and Pixie Dust- are available right now only at Jacksonbelle Embellishments. These little bottles of sparkly goodness go fast so be sure to check them out right away. Not sure what to do with them? Well, Michelle Woerner is sharing an awesome tutorial over on the Jacksonbelle Blog site. This is definitely something you will want to check out!
Stay tuned tomorrow for another A Muse sneak peek- release day is right around the corner on January 7th! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

A Krafty Little Peek

How cute is THIS little gumball machine!!!!! I apologize for the poor lighting of the photo. Our days have been cloud and rain filled (not complaining since we've been at a drought level all summer) and I have needed to use artificial lighting for my pics. Some cards do okay with my set up and others do not! This is a "not." In the center of all the juicy round gumballs is a little heart that I enhanced with a heart shaped Twinkle sticker (love those little goodies)! The background in a kraft card stamped randomly with Tiny Heart in Memento Ladybug. I really like how this color combo came together!

Today is filled with super exciting news. First, did you check out this week's Featured Stamper on SCS? It is no other than Her Royal Rubberness, the fa-bu-lous Julie Ebersole!!! If you would like a refreshing stamping experience, then you will definitely want to CASE something from this awesome lady's gallery! Next, I was so excited to find out that Rhonda Maynard was the Guest Designer on A Muse News! Not only is she a super sweet and pretty gal but her cards are gorgeous and oh so inspiring. Be sure to stop by, check out her talent, and leave a comment for a prize drawing. I have one other piece of excitement to share BUT I'm going to save it for it's own post a little this evening. I'll leave you with a bit of a tease- it is super sparkly and can ONLY be found at Jacksonbelle Embellishments! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers. Take care!

Stamps: gumball machine, hvd ma, tiny heart; ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Ladybug; paper- SU kraft, swiss red, chiffon pink; supplies- french roast stitched ribbon, treading water punch, MU heart and scalloped heart punches, Copic markers, twinkle sticker

A Sweet Peek

Well, it's a new year and I would like to send out warm wishes to all for a blessed 2009. I cannot think of many nicer ways than to kick off the new year with some A Muse sneak peeks. The 2009 Valentine's line previews began yesterday and there is some awesome inspiration to be found on the Creative Team blogs! I am a day behind on sharing due to a nasty cold, sick kids, and, most importantly, a de-funct card reader for my computer. They say good things come to those who wait so I'm hoping this is the case in hand- LOL! What do you think about this adorable milkshake image. And, in total A Muse style, the perfect companion sentiment to go with it! The possibilities with this are endless! I've added Frosted Stickles for the whip cream on top and colored my cherries with a red Spica pen. After completing the image, I cut it out and adhered it to a Hero Arts acrylic metal tag. Be sure to check out the rest of the teams sneak peeks, as well as, the big release on January 7th! I'll have another one to share tomorrow, as well! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!