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!

-

–

Our Second prize winner IS……

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

Here is her adorable card!

–

-

Our third place winner IS…..

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

Here is her gorgeous card!!

–

–

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!

–

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!