SC238 with Artful INKables

I managed to have time to do the challenge on SCS today. It's been difficult for me to find time to do these challenges, but I'm trying to get to them.

I love this lighthouse set called A Friendly Light from Artful INKables. I didn't realize I had 3 lighthouse sets until last week when I was going through a few things. They are all different though, and I like them all for different reasons. I guess one can never have too many lighthouse sets...

I'm glad there was a strip to put across the lower third of this card. I didn't realize the ink wasn't dry when I went in with my prismacolours to highlight the image and I smeared the bottom portion of it. The side of my pinkie is still slightly brown since I worked it in HARD!!! Oh brother!

Have a marvelous week y'all!!!

stamps; a friendly light (artful inkables)
paper; kraft, whisper white (SU!)
ink; espresso adirondack (ranger), versamark (tsukineko)
accessories; rope (SU!), silver eyelets (we r memory keepers), silver brad (memory makers), detail silver ep (ranger)

Artful INKables July Blog Hop

The Artful INKables blog hop starts at the AI blog. If you have dropped by to say, 'Hi!', well, 'Hi!' backatcha!!! I would invite you to start at the beginning and ENJOY the hop creations along the way! If you have arrived here from Holly's blog, you are in the right place and I hope you are having a marvellous time!


This is a teary-eyed post. I hope you are enjoying the last blog hop offered up by the current Artful INKables design team! We are doing a lot of reminiscing here and this team has been such a joy to be part of for the last 6 months.

I've chosen to use Peaceful Wishes for my oldies but goodies set. This is a beautiful Christmas set that transcends the seasonal designation. This a beautiful stag pair that work well for a masculine card, as I have done here, or for Christmas. What an absolutely gorgeous image!!!



stamps; peaceful wishes (Artful INKables)
paper; very vanilla (SU!), crate avenue (crate paper)
ink; antique linen, tea dye distress ink (ranger)
accessories; black satin ribbon (offray), circle, scallop circle nesties (spellbinders), dew drops (the robin's nest), antique copper deco brads (making memories)


They make a stunning pair for a traditional Christmas card as well. I love the elegance of gold at Christmas but that's about the only time. ;) I've had this SEI Holly Lane paper for ages and haven't cracked it until today...WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!!! I know it's an older paper line, but I think I'll just about use it up this Christmas!! This gold foiled paper is wonderful.

I turned the small images from the set into postage stamps. They are stamped in black and I used a gold painty pen to double outline the image. The images themselves are coloured with copic markers. I thought about doing dazzling diamonds all over the images, but I think it might have been too much with the gold so dominant in the paper.



stamps; peaceful wishes (Artful INKables)
paper; Holly Lane (SEI), elephant, coconut swirl (bazzill)
accessories; square,scallop square, curved rectangle nestabilities (spellbinders), dew drops (the robin's nest), cornice border punch (martha stewart), white satin ribbon (offray), gold painty pen (zig), copic markers


I truly hope you have enjoyed this portion of the hop, and I bid you, 'Adieu!' and send you on your way to Joy's blog. Have a marvelous day!!!

SC234 AI Nature's Heritage

I was able to take a little time to do a challenge today. With the puppies feeling better, yesterday and today I've felt like there are more hours in the day. I don't think this feeling will last, but I'm happy while I have it. Besides the challenge, I got some bread made, vacuumed my kitchen AND got our laundry going. Tonight, I'll be continuing work on a wedding dress I want to have done for a fitting early next week. I do love productive days!

I used the Artful INKables set, 'Natural Heritage' for this card. This tree is a favourite of mine because it has a folk art tree of life feel to it, and all the little balls on the branches just beg for embellishment. I used the emboss resist technique. I heat embossed the image with clear emboss powder, then sponged on colour. I left my nestie in place so I would have a white border around my image.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

stamps; natural heritage (Artful INKables)
paper; coconut swirl, elephant (bazzill), ever after (cosmo cricket)
ink; soft sky, sage shadow (SU!), juniper adirondack (ranger), versamark (tsukineko)
accessories; piercing template (ornare), sage shadow grosgrain (SU!), clear emboss powder, silver stickles (ranger), clear rhinestones (zva), classic rectangles, labels two nesties, large mega deckle rectangles (spellbinders)

AI June Release Blog Hop

Good Friday Morning!!! Today is the Artful INKables blog hop. If you came by and didn't start the hop at the beginning, I would invite you to hop on over to Kristin's blog to start at the very beginning. If you are following the hop, you have arrived here from Joy's blog. Isn't this just totally fun! Totally inspiring! I love the amazing talent of the other Artful INKables girls that I have the privileged to be working with. Aren't these new release stamps fabulous?!!! Aren't Joy's projects AMAZING?!!! That girl is a huge Twi fan! I know - who'da thunk?!!

I have so many ideas for this lighthouse. In honour of Dawn Lusk, who is in Nova Scotia for this release and was at Peggy's Cove earlier this week, I did this lighthouse in more muted colours and tried to catch the chill of the north Atlantic of the east coast of Canada. I think I did Peggy's Cove justice here.



I coloured the image with prismacolours. I just couldn't get a shot of how cool the water looks IRL since I gave it a light coating of crystal effects and it has the fabulous look of wet water! I gave the crab's shell a wee shot of crystal effects as well. I tried dangling several things from the white bow before I remembered these darling miniature bottles I have lying around. I scooped a little glitter into it since I have no sand at this moment. Besides, I thought the glitter looked a little more magical - KWIM?

I want to do the lighthouse more vibrant next time. After that, I want to stamp it in white on kraft and do a monochromatic look. I love the sentiments with this set - 'You light my way', 'From far away - a friendly light' and 'Thank-you for your guidance'. So inspiring! There's a darling image of a trio of shells and a kingfisher to boot! I have idea for those as well. That kingfisher really is quite fabulous!!!

Thanks for hopping my way today! As always, there is some wonderful blog candy at the end of the hop, so I send you on your way to Holly's blog for more fabulous creations! Enjoy!!!

stamps; a friendly light (Artful INKables)
paper; brown (bazzill), new garden (crate paper), whisper white (SU!)
accessories; labels four nesties (spellbinders IHP), sunburst border punch (fiskars), brown crochet ribbon (may arts IHP), mini bottle (blue moon beads), white satin ribbon (offray), flax glitter (art institute glitter), adhesive pearls (kaiser craft)

AI Butterfly Blessings Tag

I just love this butterfly because it looks like a leaf. In our local zoo there was a butterfly house. It was hot and humid and full to the brim with butterflies. It was one of my absolutely favourite places to spend some quiet time when zoo admission used to be free. There was a massive butterfly in there that looked like a ratty, old, brown leaf and it was always a challenge to find it in the butterfly house because it was so well camouflaged.

Since so much of this tag was in neutral tones, I decided to make the butterfly 'pop' with colour. I used the emboss resist technique on watercolour paper by stamping the image with versamark and heat embossing it with clear embossing powder. The image was painted with a simple colour wash using distress ink and then I dribbled water on it and walked away to allow it to dry thoroughly. The distress ink reacts with the water. Tim Holtz does a much better job of explaining what happens, so if you want to see his explaination, go see this Tim video.

I then over stamped the butterfly image with the flourish vine image from the Butterfly Blessings set and cut it out using the deckle rectangles from nestabilities. I used both the large and small sets of deckle rectangles for the layered effect. I stamped the same flourish along the right side of the tag using walnut stain and sponged over it with the same ink for a more subtle effect. The sentiment was stamped on a Idea-ology Fragment that I sanded the wrong side for an etched appearance. I used the flourish again with versamark and stamped on the wrong side. I heat embossed the design and then stamped the sentiment on the front (smooth side) with jet black stazon.

So, this was my first foray into the world of tags... me likey!

stamps; butterfly blessings (Artful INKables)
paper; raven (bazzill), fleuriste (cosmo cricket), watercolour paper (unknown)
ink; versamark, staz on (tsukineko), peeled paint, tea dye, walnut stain (distress ink by ranger)
accessories; sm & lg oval punch, pewter jumbo eyelets (SU!), ornare piercing template (ornare - ODBD), black adhesive rhinestones (Heidi Swapp), clear detail embossing powder (ranger), deckle rectangle nesties (spellbinders - IHP), fragments, long fasteners (ideaology by tim holtz)

AI Swap card

I have a head cold. Eeewwwww! Spring/summer colds are the worst. I'm not as sick as I could be, but when I look down at my stamping, my nose drips...and my head hurts. I'm not sick enough to be bed bound, just sick enough to be a little grumpy and whiny.

I coloured these gorgeous flowers until my copics ran out. Who knew?!!!! I've got the orange, yellow orange and yellow that I used on order. I must say, I love Copics. I love that I can re-fill them. I hate that I've misplaced my copic tweezers, but I love that I have a new pair on the way. After I was done colouring, my DD cut the flowers out for me and then I finished the cards. My inspiration for this card came straight from a master, Debbie Olson. Her card can be seen here.

On SCS, Holly (Toy) is hosting a full swap for Artful INKables. This is my card for the swap which has officially gone postal for Holly. I know they are late, but, well, I tried. I hope all the swap ladies like their card from me!

stamps; Chrysanthemum (Artful INKables)
paper; rootbeer, irish eyes dotted swiss, coconut swirl (Bazzill)
ink; espresso (adirondack ink by ranger)
accessories; brown gingham (bazzill), clear dew drops (the robin's nest), copic markers

AI Music In My Heart Gift Card Holder

As soon as I saw this set, I knew I wanted to make a gift card holder with it. We gave our oldest DD an itunes gift card for her birthday and I knew this set was perfect for the holder. I co-ordinated the colours of the holder with the distinctive colours of the itunes card.

I took a 3" x 12" piece of cardstock and scored it at 3 7/8", 4", 8" and 8 1/8". Then, I burnished the score lines for ease of construction. On the front of the holder, I embellished it with layers of cardstock, ribbon and a sweet little silk flower. I coloured the main image, which is from Artful INkable's 'Music in my Heart', with prismacolours and highlighted it with a white gel pen. The image was cut out using a circle nestie and mounted on inverted scallop circle nesties.



For the first opening of the card, I embellish the left side with designer paper. I layerd it with half an inverted scallop circle and for a little bling, half a Zva circle of rhinestones. The sentiment is from the same set as the main image and was cut out with nesties Labels One. The notes on the background of the sentiment are from 'Music in my Heart' as well.



For the full opening of the gift card, I used the other half of the inverted scallop circle and rhinestones. The pocket for the gift card is 4"x2" and attached with 1/8" tacky tape. The final sentiment is also from 'Music in my Heart' and cut out using the ribbon tags trio from nestabilities. Overall, this is a simple project. Totally cute though, eh?

stamps; Music in my Heart (Artful INKables)
paper; raven, coconut swirl (bazzill), Que sera sera (K & Co)
ink; pitch black adirondack, shabby shutters distress ink (ranger)
accessories; circle, inverted scallop circle, labels one, ribbon tags trio nesties (spellbinders - IHP), crystal circles (Zva - IHP), green gingham ribbon (bazzill), black grosgrain ribbon (SU!), silk flowers (bo bunny), black jumbo eyelets (we r memory keepers), screw brads (karen foster), white gel pen (sakura), prisma colours

AI Russian Tea Room Elegant

I was stuck on this card for the longest time! I had the image done of an elegant mahogany baby grand piano and that was all. That was the easy part. I tried several colours layered between the paino image and the black scallop. The black scallop wasn't a black scallop initially, it was a label nestie that I finally decided just didn't have the right feel.

I went back to this card again this morning. I decided in the middle of the night it needed MORE colour that I had been willing to use. I finally settled on this robin's egg blue and realized with the gilt edges I had already done and the feel of the rest of the card that it reminded me of a turn of the century (not this century ;) ) Russian Tea Room. Now that it's done, I love it!



A friend of mine has a piano like this and I am always in awe of the look and sound of it - it is quite magnificent! Okay, now that this pretty thing is done, I can carry on to other projects! OCC is due soon, I have several projects to do for AI, i {heart} papers is due for a few projects, I have an idea of where to go with my camps and other events for the next year and want to follow through with those. We may or may not get a new litter this coming weekend and I have one quilt cut that I want to assemble and one in the wings waiting for some inspiration. It's supposed to SNOW this coming weekend, so I have time if I lock myself in my studio...

stamps; music a la carte (Artful INKables), music score (cornish heritage farms)
paper; crate avenue (crate papers), antique ivory (paper accents), anchorage (bazzill)
ink; pitch black adirondack, antique linen, tea dye distress ink (ranger)
accessories; wedding brads, straight pins, flocked scroll ribbon, ribbon punch (making memories), cornice punch (MS), circle and scallop circle nesties (spellbinders - IHP), adhesive pearls (hero arts - IHP), pale gold leafing pen (krylon), pretties kit (SU!), copic markers

Artful INKables Bare Rubber SALE!!!

Now, who doesn't love a sale?!!!! Kristin over at Artful INKables has some overstock and it's priced to clear! Check it out!

Artful INKables blog

AI May Release Blog Hop

Welcome to the Artful INKables May release blog hop!!!! Kristin has some amazing sets in the line up again! While I am so happy you are here today, if you are here and haven't hopped here, please feel free to go to the Artful INKables blog to start at the beginning and make your way back here. However, if you are here all hoppy and inspired, this is your next stop on the hop!! There is some wonderful blog candy available at the end, so make sure you carry on with Cathy's blog.

I have the privileged of using Music in My Heart, one of 4 new releases this month. Now honestly, is anyone really surprised I chose this image? This cutie patootie little guy singing his way into my heart? Really?!! In my life, I would giggle and chortle at this little guy serenading me, and then he would promptly go behind the speaker and chew the cord in half! I'll continue this story momentarily.

Most important, I'll give you the why's and wherefore's about this card. I coloured this image with copics. He is on white cardstock so I had to dirty it up a bit to go with the designer paper I used. I did this by using the Tim Holtz ink applicator tool...love this thing!!! It's a tool that I thought was totally bupkiss until I tried it. My sincerest apologies, Tim!!! My DD is helping me move back into my craft room and she decided my embellishments were taking up too much room so she combined and condensed for me. I know these buttons are from Basic Grey, but beats me which line they are from *sigh*...



We had the warmest day of the year yesterday and so we did yard work like just about everyone else on our block. Jaycee found it warm enough that she crawled under a pine tree in our yard for a little shade and grabbed herself a siesta. Adorable inspiration here for my card, don't you think?

About the cord... One of our previous fosters, Pearl, was fostered a little longer than her litter mates since her new owners were moving and didn't want to cause her more undue stress than necessary. Foxy and her puppies (Juno and Jaycee are part of that litter) moved in to the garage and Pearl moved upstairs. At this point we were still looking after my dad's dog and had a grand total of 15 dogs in the house.

One night we were having supper and Pearl was roaming free. I peeked in at her and discovered she was chewing an unplugged lamp cord. *sigh* She chewed the end right off. My DH spliced the end back on following dinner that night. Not more than 20 minutes later while we were sitting on the couch, Pearl ran by us with the cord end dangling from her mouth! Oh the joy of the 10 week old teething puppy!!! Looking back it's hard not to snicker about the whole event, but my lamp hasn't been re-fixed yet... I have a friend who has told me I should write a book about our dog adventures. What a HOOT!!!

Now, I'm thrilled you came by and I hope you enjoyed my true puppy story. More than anything, I hope you are enjoying the new Artful INKables releases. I think they are wonderful!!! Your next stop on the hop is over at Cathy's Crafty Thoughts. I hope you have a wonderful week and thank-you so much for stopping and feel free to leave some love with a comment!


((hugs)))

stamps; music in my heart (artful INKables)
paper; brown, coconut swirl (bazzill), taylor collection (crate paper)
ink; antique linen, tea dye (distress ink by ranger)
accessories; buttons (basic grey), circle, scallop circle, labels 1 nesties (spellbinders), soft sky double stitch ribbon (SU!), brown gros grain (martha Stewart), hemp twine, copic markers

Drink Pouch Project

Is this not brilliant?!!! I didn't come up with this, so I know it's brilliant!

I found this tutorial from Julie Buhler; Scallop Drink Pouch. And it's a wonderful use for my seriously under used scallop envelope die from SU! I couldn't get over how easily this little project came together. I used copics to colour this little guy and then just dolled it up with accessories.

Project #3 - done like dinner!!! YAY!!

stamps; pond friends, basic sentiments (artful INKables)
paper; green tea, coconut swirl(bazzill), mr campy (cosmo cricket)
ink; pitch black (adirondack by ranger)
accessories; petite oval and scallop oval, tag trio nesties (spellbinders), sm oval punch, scallop envie die, 1 3/8" circle punch (SU!), flourish punch (ek success), nylon ribbon (martha stewart), mowed grass dew drops (the robin's nest), diamond stickles (ranger), pewter flower, hemp twine (unknown)

Post-a-Note Card Purse

I'm just going to launch into a confessional...

Part of my design team commitment for Artful INKables is to design a 3-D item with every wonderful stamp set Kristin sends me. Granted, I've been really busy with the 10 rescue puppies (final photos coming this weekend - they start going home today!!!), but I've also been procrastinating really hard on these 3-D items. I STINK AT THINKING OF 3-D PROJECTS!!!!!!!!!!!! {insert HUGE *sigh* here}.

Last weekend I decided enough was enough! If I can successfully manage all that I manage, I can do a few papercrafting 3-D projects. I did a blog search with my favourite blogs listed on the side and became absolutely distracted by all the eye candy there. I'm completely amazed at people who can think and craft in this kind of dimension. I know it's about a few measurements, some scoring and glue, but I really struggle with it.

Then DD #1 actually stood behind my chair while I was at the computer to support me through this painful search. I felt like I was sent to the principal's office. The stare. The firm keeping on track-ed-ness. The support. The congratulations for a job well done...

I found this tutorial from Julie Buhler; Card purse and thought - how freakin' spectacular. I think I can do that! So, I did it and I'm happy with it, and Kristin it's coming your way next week in a box with everything else I've done fer ya!!!



What was I so skerd of?!!! This front is like doing a card. The center panel is 5 1/2"x 4 1/2" and tad-dah!!!


I decided to doll up the inside a fair bit because I was expeimenting. I want to do one of these for a special friend of mine and fill it with cards and envelopes. She's a much better card giver than I am (how ironic), so I'll stock it up for her and give it to her for the end of the school year.



happy place *sigh*!! This is project #2 of 6. The first one isn't worth a photo here, and I'm ruminating on it so I don't regret sending it. There just has to be something I can do to make it worth a happy place *sigh*!! I have another 3-D project for tomorrow, so stay tuned!

stamps; post-a-note (artful INKables)
paper; auckland, white embossed vines (bazzill), blue awning (k&co)
ink; espresso (adirondack by ranger)
accessories; circle and scallop circle nesties (spellbinders), mowed grass dew drops (the robin's nest), brown satin ribbon (offray), brown nylon ribbon (martha stewart), antique brass hardware (we R memory keepers), word window punch, corner rounder, double slot punch (SU!), prismacolors

Iris Silhouette OCCC

Our Creative Corner would like to welcome our guest designer Betsy Griffin from Innovative Stamp Creations. Betsy generously is giving away one of her newly released set's Nature Silhouette II for this weeks prize. Head on over to the Our Creative Corner blog to be entered for this prize!

Our challenge on Our Creative Corner for this week was to 'get ready to recycle'! I decided to take it one step further and I totally went green :)... I recycled some lace from one of my DD's jammies that were ready for the rag pile, but the lace was still in awesome shape - gotta love polyester!!! My other recycle were the buttons. Said DD picked them from my button collection. Well, it isn't really a collection - it's a hoarding of buttons that may come in useful one day - like today for this card!

I'm still trying to decide if I like the shine/glitter over the iris... I love the silhouette. I love the way it looked when I sponged the inks on it, but the shine might be a little over the top for the feel of this card. It may be one of those 'right idea, wrong card' kinda moments! No new papers were cut in the making of this card. I used scraps. I have big scraps and I know you do to.

I used the newly released Bouquets & Butterflies stamp set from Artful INKables. This set really is a wonderful multitasking set that has got longevity for me. It will fit for so many situations and celebrations. I stamped the iris in black and sponged scattered straw, shabby shutters and peeled paint over the image. I cut it out using using my labels 4 nesties and then put 2 layers of irridescent ice over the entire image.

Have a wonderful weekend, and drop by the Our Creative Corner design team blogs for more inspiration!

stamps; bouquets & butterflies (artfil INKables)
paper; irish eyes, clover dotted swiss, daisy (bazzill), sonoma collection (scenic route)
ink; scattered straw, peeled paint, shabby shtters, black soot, old paper, antique linen (distress ink by ranger), versamark (tsukineko)
accessories; irridescent ice ep, linen thread (SU!), labels 4 nestabilities (spellbinders), brown twill ribbon (martha stewart), black satin ribbon (offray), lace, buttons

AI Kind Heart colouring on Kraft Tutorial

I love this Greek Gardens set released on Wednesday by Artful INKables. Head on over to the AI Blog for a tutorial on how I did the main image, step-by-step.

The flourished on the top of the card were made from the cutout left from a cricut cutout using the Storybook cartridge. I placed it on the card and sponged 3 different inks on it. Very simple. The sentiment is stamped using stazon ink on a Tim Holtz fragment (I LOVE these things!!!) that was sanded on the backside. Always fabulous, those things are!!! A little copper paper, vellum and layered ribbon and - VOILA! Nothing to it!



stamps; greek gardens (artful INKables)
ink; walnut stain distress ink, pesto, juniper, latte adirondack ink (ranger)
paper; sandbox dotted swiss, white vintage vines, ivy (bazzill), recycled kraft, light weight vellum, heavy copper cardstock (paper accents), stella ruby (basic grey)
accessories; fragments (idea-ology by tim holtz), cricut storybook cartridge (provo), white brads (bazzill), rhinestones (kaiser), green organza crochet ribbon (making memories), white satin ribbon (offray), megabilities curved rectangles (spellbinders), copper leafing pen (krylon), prismacolors

Artful INKables New Release Blog Hop

Can you believe the beautiful projects everyone is showing using the new Artful INKables sets!!! This release has been OVER THE MOON ;) and a real DREAM COME TRUE ;) !!!! Such a CLASSIC AND TIMELESS line up of new images and *sigh* I want them all!

I love this new set, Bouquets & Butterflies, by Artful INKables. So many stunning silhouettes!!! I have another silhouette card for Saturday, so stay tuned for that pretty little thing!

Now, for the how-to. I used half a Nestabilities Labels 4 cut for the sentiment. A little zigzag sewing around the edges. Honestly, this is such a simple card because the designer paper is so showy.
The butterfly is the most complex part of the card, and it is still pretty easy. I did a little rock 'n roll and stamped out 3 identical butterflies. The bottom layer was cut out without antennae and the middle layer was cut with the antennae so they would float in the middle of the butterfly. For the top layer of the butterfly, I cut out the wings only. I adhered the centers of the wings to the body of the second layer and used TINY pop dots on the edges of the wings.

If you are here just 'cause - (((hugs)))!!!! To participate in the whole hop, start at the Artful INKables blog. The next stop on the hop is our own redhairedgirl - Elena! Go on and enjoy what she has in store for you!


stamps; Bouquets & Butterflies (Artful INKables)
paper; Madeline (K&Co), Love Shack Baby (Bo Bunny), hazel, coconut swirl (Bazzill)
ink; pixie pink, pink passion, sage shadow (SU!)
accessories; adhesive pearls (K&Co), adhesive rhinestones (kaiser), Butterflies 2, labels 4 nestabilities (spellbinders), white satin ribbon (offray), eyelet border punch (SU!)

AI Goldfish Spew IHP

Okay, I know - bad title. But this spew is so stinkin' cute!!! I used crystal effects on the fish's eye and on the spew so it looks amazing up close and personal.

This is a short post but I've got to run an important errand! I'll link up the where to's and what for's likely tomorrow, so be patient with me! I'll add the recipe list tomorrow as well. And tomorrow will be a cool post with the blog hop, so come on back then!!!

**edit**

I took my dad to the hospital yesterday for a scheduled angiogram. They found an artery that was 90% blocked, so it was decided to go ahead with an angioplasty with that lesion. I went to spend the remainder of the afternoon with my dad. Then, DH and I went on a date that has been scheduled since last September. It was a BUSY day. Our date was wonderful and my dad will come home this morning, so today will be a banner day!

The shopping links are all provided in the recipe below;

stamps; pond friends (artful INKables)
paper; Grow (bloom & grow collection) (My Minds' Eye - IHP), vintage vines, hazel, august bling, coconut swirl (bazzill), carousel notes II (SU!)
ink; black soot (distress ink by ranger)
accessories; labels 3, large and small ovals, doodle parts (nestabilities & shapeabilities - IHP), orange glimmer ribbon (creative impressions - IHP), clear dew drops (the robin's nest), orange adhesive rhinestones, copics

CARD SWAP ALERT!!!!!

OKAY LADIES, THERE'S A FABULOUS ARTFUL INKABLES SWAP BEING HOSTED BY HOLLY (TOY) OVER ON SPLITCOAST. You really want to be part of this. You are going to get some freakin' gorgeous cards from many of the design team members, all using current Artful INKables stamps. I can't show you my swap card yet - I'm using one of the new release sets.


Speaking of new release sets, join the Artful INKables design team this Wednesday for our new release blog hop. There will be some awesome blog candy available and holy shamolies are the new sets AMAZING!!!! The new sets are a smorgasbord of eye candy! I think you will find new favourites and must-haves among the sets.


Later this week, I'll have a card I'm quite pleased with up with a link to my tutorial on the Artful INKables blog.


HOOWHEEE, baby it's a BIG Artful INKables kinda week!!!! ENJOY!!!!

AI Tiny Turtle Dude

To no ones surprise, I'm sure, there is a screw-up story behind this card. I started working on last Wednesday's card sketch determined to both use my fabo new Artful INKables set, Pond Friends and stick to the very cool 4 1/4x 5 1/2 sketch provided by Roxi on SCS. I laboured over this stupid thing for several hours. Developed a hunch in my back, squinty eyes and a headache. And so, DH drew a hot bath for me and I walked away from this card.

Yesterday morning, I dragged myself down to my workspace and had an epiphany. I pitched several elements. Trust me, there was no salvaging them. Then I plunked my 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card base on a 6x6 card base. At that point, many things just fell into place.

Then I started chasing puppies with a camera for an hour and a half, and went for a fabulous 3 hour lunch with a dear friend. Long story short, I didn't get back to this cutie patootie until last night. I wasn't at it for long when DH came down and again told me I needed to stop as there was another warm bath calling my name - I just couldn't hear it from all the way downstairs.

This morning, I was so close to finishing, and so I grabbed an uninterrupted 30 minutes to get 'er done. Then DS came in from playing outside and said he had a headache. I knew immediately he was going to throw up before suppertime. That timeline was generous. He was sick within the hour. OY!!!

And here I am. Done. Finally. And I'm thrilled with this little cutie patootie. I'll try the sketch challenge another day, but not today.

Have an awesome weekend!!!

stamps; Pond Friends (Artful INKables)
paper; pinecone, hazel, clover dotted swiss (bazzill), Mr Campy (Cosmo Cricket), Ivory cardstock (SU!)
ink; walnut stain, tea dye (distress ink by Ranger)
accessories; small and large petite oval, inverted scallop squares nestabilities (spellbinders - IHP), brown twill and aqua nylon ribbon (martha stewart), bella buttons, linen thread (SU!), mini screw brads (Karen Foster), eyelets (making memories), hemp twine, copic markers

AI Cutie Kitty

Boy, I didn't realize how monochromatic this looks until I saw the picture here. It's so much greener IRL. Oh well, this cutie kitty is still a cutie patootie.

She's coloured with copics and doodled - hmmm... doodling might become habitual! I'm not big on cats, I'm a dog person (universal thought - ' no kidding, because we never would have thought that given all the puppy pictures on the blog!'). I used my new favourite cosmo cricket paper, Ever After.

Okay, done! Easy peasy and *uber* simple layout.

stamps; think big (artful INKables)
paper; sprout, fern, elephant, stormy, coconut swirl (bazzill), ever after (cosmo cricket)
ink; black soot (distress ink by ranger), sage shadow (SU!)
accessories; silver brads, eyelet (making memories), circle and scallop circle nestabilities (spellbinders), white gel pen (sakura), basic gray, celery organza, key tag punch (SU!), silver painty pen (zig)

SC218 Looks like my oldest DD!!!

This is the image I was working on before the flooding started. I married a red head and live in a house full of red heads, so for me the easiest hair colour to recreate is , well, red/auburn-ish

I love this image from Think Big by Artful INKables. This is such a sweet tween aged girl. I love this age for children, all legs and arms and an insatiable appetite of fun and curiosity.

My oldest DD has a voracious appetite for books. She is working an a novel, possibly her second 400+ page novel now. Her favourite place in the world is the local public library and she can't believe that she can borrow any old book her heart desires for free. She has told me before, 'It's better than shopping!!' Yay me!!! It's cheaper than shopping too.

I used prismacolours for this image, and did a lot of masking. The huge pile of books are my DD's happy place. The stamp iwth the Think Big set is only 3 books high so I masked over the girl, and using my stamp-a-ma- jig, I created the tower of books behind starting at the top, masking my way down the pile.

This is not my best explanation ever, so if you have questions let me know!

stamps; Think Big (Artful INKables)
paper; ancestry (k&co), brown, yam (bazzill), be good - ribbons (cosmo cricket)
ink; black onyx (versafine by tsukineko)
accessories; latte skittles (the robin's nest), slot punch (SU!), aged copper brads (making memories), small and large label nestabilities (spellbinders), brown satin ribbon (offray), prismacolours