Inklined To Stamp

Linda Spring

2012-02-24T11:54:00.000-05:00

Oh thank goodness it's Friday! It's been a busy week all the way around plus I've been looking forward to this day. My son is competing tonight in the high school district swim finals and I'm excited to see how he places. Crossing my fingers and wishing him speed!

I'm also excited for today's StampFairy release which is all about Spring images. So without further ado....

...introducing Linda Spring! This is a fabulous collection featuring everyone's favorite girl teddy bear - Linda - and her favorite Spring things. And look at that wonderful freebie today - I know you can all find a creative way to use that daffodil!

This adorable StampFairy digi is just perfect for paper piecing which I did here with the digital papers designed by Meghan Mullens for Sweet Shoppe Designs. I just love the daisy paper - so perky and fun! The rest of the Linda digi was brought to life with Copic markers, cut out and adherred to the circle focal panel.

I followed this terrific sketch at The Sketchy Challenges. When I saw it I thought it was perfect for my daisy theme and created the circle panel to look like a daisy with my Nesties circle scallop dies. I want to thank the ladies at The Sketchy Challenges for recognizing me in the Top 3 in last week's challenge!

Now for some more eye candy, take a stroll on over to StampFairy World and see the gorgeous work from my fellow StampFairies. I know you'll be inspired by their creations.

Thanks for stopping by!

Daydreaming of Spring

2012-02-22T03:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday and welcome back for my showcase on Inky Impressions rubber stamps. Today we have a new challenge at the Inky Impressions Challenge Blog. We're looking for bright colors - specifically yellow, pink and green. These are the colors of Spring and it feels good to create with them. I feel like it's helping turn the weather too - it's due to get near 50 degrees here in SE Michigan by the end of the week!

For my card this week, I'm using Angelica's Daydream from Inky Impressions. I think she's adorable sitting there just dreaming about Springtime. She was colored with Copics and the papers I used are from the Happy Days collection of Echo Park.

I was inspired by this incredible sketch at The Sweet Stop in creating my card. I absolutely love this design and couldn't wait to try it. I'm playing along in their challenge this week which also has a "spin" on it - also use dies or punches in creating your card. You can see that I used the Italian Flourish Doily diecut from Cheery Lynn Designs and the Die-Namics Dizzy Border diecut from My Favorite Things.

We'd love to have you join us in the Inky Impressions Challenge this week - get your Spring on with these bright colors! To see more, stop on over to the challenge blog and see what all the other Inkettes created for your inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by!

ICU

2012-02-22T02:34:00.000-05:00

Hi there Sweet Sketch Wednesday fans and followers! We have a terrific sketch this week to follow and I hope you join us in the challenge.

This time a diamond shape takes center stage on the layout with plenty of layers and embellishments. Great sketch isn't it?

Bugaboo digi stamps is our sponsor this week. We love to create with the fun images you'll find there. Jodi, the owner and illustrator, is so generous in her sponsorship. Our Grand Prize winner this week will receive 7 free digis totalling $21 from the Bugaboo store. Thanks for the generous prize Jodi!

I chose this hysterical digi, Stella Nursing-ICU, to create with this week from Bugaboo. This just made me laugh and I thought would be good to have a card like this on hand as a get well card. Stella was colored with Copics here, some crystal glaze added to her glasses and the papers are Cosmo Cricket's Joy Ride collection.

Now pop on over to the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog and see the rest of the wonderful Bugaboo images my Diva teamies created with - lots of inspiration for this sketch is there.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spring Clementine

2012-02-17T03:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone! This week has flown by and I'm ready for the weekend. Today we have the sweetest new digis released at StampFairy. This darling Clementine is ready for spring and so am I!!!

Here's the full Clementine Spring collection released today - aren't they just perfect for getting you in the Spring mood?

Here's a closeup of my colored Clementine. It was fun to create with my favorite color yellow. It makes for a bright and happy card.

I used this sketch from Unscripted Sketches, rotating it 90 degrees counterclockwise. Another great sketch challenge!

Now pop on over to StampFairy World and see what all the other StampFairies created for your inspiration! Wishing you a terrific weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Molly and the Friday Sketch Challenge

2012-02-16T08:12:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post today of a card I created showing the Molly and Sam in Love images at StampFairy. This one was created for the StampFairy sponsorship of the Creative Inspirations Challenge last week and was featured on their site as a little up front inspiration for challenge participants. I loved how this sweet image turned out on the card and wanted to show it off today.

Isn't she just the sweetest thing? It's an image that can be used all year long - birthdays, someone special, anniversaries, etc. The fab papers used here are from Ki Memories' "Hot Date" collection.

I used this terrific sketch from the Friday Sketch Challenge to create my card. I think it shows how versatile this sketch is - can be created to look vintage or with the fun papers as I used a card that bright and funky.

So there you have it - a little creative inspiration for a Thursday. Have a great end to your week and thanks for stopping by today!

Stampalicious!

2012-02-15T05:50:00.000-05:00

Greetings Inky Impressions fans! We have a new challenge today at Inky Impressions Challenges that I know you'll be glad to see. It's time to get out all those diecuts and punches and put them to use because that's what we want to see this week at Inky Impressions! So start your punching and join us!

To inspire you today, I've used Stampalicious Lili. Boy can I relate to this image - stamping and creating into the wee hours of the night! This sweet stamped image was colored with Copics and some highlights added with Prismacolor pencils. I used the new Stampin Up paper doily diecut, Nesties diecuts and Fiskars lace corner punches on my creation. The papers are from Cosmo Cricket and Crate Paper.

This is the fabulous design I used for my card from The Sketchy Challenges. I worked perfectly with all the diecuts and punches I needed to use so I'm playing along in that challenge. I just loved using this layout!

Now I hope this is inspiring you to join in our challenge at Inky Impressions this week. For more inspiration and creativity, stop on by the Inky Challenges blog and see what my Inkette teamies are showing today - you'll love what you see there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mac and Tillie Mae

2012-02-15T04:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday and welcome to a new sketch challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday! I love the sketch we're using in this week's challenge and the fun, adorable image I selected from our challenge sponsor, Digi Stamp Boutique.

Here's the sketch we're challenging you to use this week. I love it for it's simplicity and how it really shows off the designer papers. I could do a million cards with this one!

Digi Stamp Boutique is sponsoring the Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge this week. We love DSB as our monthly sponsor because the digis are fabulous - a great selection too. And as a sponsor, Sally Ann, the owner, is so generous. Our Grand Prize winner will receive six digis of their choice from Digi Stamp Boutique.

I chose this cute new dog called "Mac" for my inspiration card this week. This looks like our dog, Tillie Mae, a West Highland Terrier and I couldn't resist it. I colored it with Copics a couple times - cutting it out and popping up the head for some character and dimension.

Here's our Tillie Mae - you can see the resemblence to the digi and see how it was destiny to use that DSB digi this week!

And now for some news at Sweet Sketch Wednesday. We are going back to our original challenge rules that will allow creations with any image to be eligible for the grand prize. We of course would love it if you would use our sponsor's images in creating your cards, but don't require it. We value all of our loyal participants and were very troubled that our change of rules might have turned many of you away from playing in our challenges.

So I hope you will play along with us this week and to give you a little extra inspiration, hop on over to the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog and see the rest of the creations by the design team Divas - you'll love what they've created this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Barry Bee

2012-02-10T09:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday friends and StampFairy fans! We have a new release today at StampFairy and it's a cutie! Just in time for Spring and you're going to love him. Introducing Barry Bee... isn't he just adorable?!

Here's the full collection of these adorable digis. The sentiment is today's freebie and you can see how perfect it is with these Barry Bee images on my card today.

Little Barry Bee was brought to life using Copic markers and I added a bit of shine on his nose with crystal lacquer. The fab digi papers are from Sweet Shoppe Designs.

My card design follows the current challenge sketch over at Sketches by Carly. This is just the most fun sketch I've played with for a while! Thanks for the inspiration Carly!

Now for more inspiration, pop on over to StampFairy World and see the fun creations from the StampFairies today. You'll love what you see there! Have a great day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Flower Lili

2012-02-08T07:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday friends! Wednesday's are busy days here on my blog! This time we're getting Inky with the start of a new challenge at Inky Impressions and this adorable card to get your creativity flowing!

The Inky Impressions Challenge this week is to use two different ribbons or trims on your card or paper project. We have a wonderful showing of Inkette inspiration for you over on the Inky challenge blog so be sure to pop on over there to take a look - and of course, play along!

For my challenge inspiration, I used Flower Lili - isn't she just the sweetest thing?! I love Inky Impressions rubber stamps - fun to color with Copics and they stamp so well with very fine lines and details. The papers are Authentique's Gathering - perfect background paper for the sketch I used.

This is the fabulous sketch from Unscripted Sketches which is what inspired me this week. I'm entering my Flower Lili card in their challenge.

Now head on over to the Inky Impressions Challenge blog and see the rest of the wonderful cards made by my Inkette pals - you'll love what you see there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hey there Cupcake!

2012-02-08T06:30:00.001-05:00

Hello friends and happy Wednesday! We've had such wonderful weather here in Michigan so far this winter. The other day it even got up to 50 degrees - hard to believe those temps in February!

Today is Sweet Sketch Wednesday - the start of a new challenge with a terrific sketch to follow and another favorite sponsor.

We've brought back another sketch from the past - this time from week 47. This one is good for multiple design papers or can be done with less. We have some wonderful samples from the design team Divas over at the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog.

We're so happy to have The Stamping Boutique as our sponsor this week. The Grand Prize winner of the Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge this week will receive their choice of three digi stamps from The Stamping Boutique. Thanks to Tracy for this super prize package!

Tracy Malnofski is the owner and a designer for The Stamping Boutique. She's also a stamp artist for Unity Stamp Company and has worked for InStyle Stamps, Squigglefly and The Digi Shack. She's a professional artist and an active member of the Artist' Guild in her community. Her "Boutique" has it all - fairytale, whimsy, sentimental ... and candy! If you're not familiar with TSB, you'll just be thrilled with the wonderful images and selection there - give them a visit!

I chose this fun Cupcake from The Stamping Boutique to create with and provide some inspiration for you. You can always use cupcakes - for birthdays and many other occasions. This one is also perfect for Valentines with the sweet little hearts on it. I paired this image with papers from My Mind's Eye "Life of the Party" collection for a fun birthday card. It was colored with Copics and dressed up a bit with my sparkly gel pen.

I hope you'll join in the Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge this week. Create a card using The Stamping Boutique images to qualify for the grand prize. We love seeing the creativity of our participants week after week - come play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Ants Have Returned!

2012-02-07T12:36:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday friends! The ants are back in town at Doodle Pantry and having a bunch of fun with their hot chocolate and marshmallows! This adorable set "Cocoa Ants" was just released last week and is one of my new favorites at Doodle Pantry. The best thing about this set is that it's FREE! All you have to do is....

play along with us in this month's Doodle Pantry Challenge! Yes that's all! Just enter a card using a Doodle Pantry image in our challenge on the Doodle Pantry Blog and you'll get this Cocoa Ants image sent to you free as our token of appreciation for being one of our Doodle Pantry fans.

These cute ants are perfect for a guy card which I've created for your inspiration today. I had a blast coloring this image with Copic markers - they just bring a smile when I look at them enjoying themselves with those marshmallows! The papers are from My Mind's Eye "All Spice" collection in the perfect guy colors.

I followed this sketch from The Sweet Stop in creating my card, except that I rotated the sketch 90 degrees clockwise. The sentiment I wanted to use from the Cocoa Ants set and the marshmallow embellishments I created seemed to work better with the sketch rotated like this.

I hope you'll join in the Doodle Pantry Challenge to get this set. The challenge is open through February 24th. We love our challenge participants and the inspiration their creations bring us. I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by!

Inky Inspiration

2012-02-02T07:00:00.047-05:00

Hi there friends, followers and fans of all thing Inky - as in Inky Impressions! I'm sharing a little inspiration today - a card I created for the Inky Impressions Inspirational Blog that incorporates a fun new design.

It's called a swing-out fold card and is really easy to create. I love that it stands up on its own and has the dimension. You can find the tutorial on how to make this HERE.

I used the adorable Lili's Chalkboard from Inky Impressions on my Valentine card. Isn't she just sweet enough to kiss?!

What great about this design is that it folds up and lays flat so you can easily put it in an envelope and then put it in the mail. I hope you'll give it a try and also visit the Inky Inspiration blog for more great "inspiration".

Thanks for stopping by today!

New Releases at Doodle Pantry

2012-02-01T08:32:00.000-05:00

Back again with a vintage flair and a new release I'm showcasing today from Doodle Pantry. We have some absolutely terrific and fun new collections making their debut today, including this beautiful set called Vintage Place Setting.

This is a fantastic collection - perfect for dinner party invitations or thank you cards for friends that entertained you with a meal. The most perfect thing about this collection is that every one of the place setting pieces is separately included so you don't have to use the full place setting. You can create your own layouts with the images. Such a versatile set!

When I saw the detail on these digis, it just seemed that blue was a perfect way to highlight them. My vision was a white plate with blue details and I carried that over to the silverware as well. The blue damask paper was perfect for this as well as the flourishes and scrolls added on top and on the sentiment tag.

Pop on by the Doodle Pantry Shop to see all the new releases and the inspiration from our Doodle Pantry Creative Team. You'll also want to stop on by the Doodle Pantry Blog - the new collections released today are there and we have a new challenge starting there later today as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pat-A-Cake

2012-02-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

This is my second post for today - what a busy day this is! So happy Wednesday again and you know what that means! Yes, it's a Sweet Sketch Wednesday and we have a new sketch and a wonderful sponsor you'll love this week.

Here's the sketch to use. It's fairly simple but with all the interest you expect from Arlana sketches. I love that the main image panel is large. It makes it perfect for the larger stamps or digi images that have fine details so you need them larger to color!

Our challenge is sponsored by Elizabeth Bell Designs and we just love creating with her sweet, dear images. And what a terrific prize for our Grand Prize winner this week. The winner will receive two images from Elizabeth Bell Designs - they happen to be two of the digis that the Sweet Sketch Wednesday design team created with this week.

And just a gentle reminder that our challenge rules have changed a bit in order to qualify for the Grand Prize. Please visit the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog for the details.

This dear Elizabeth Bell image is called Pat-A-Cake and it just floods my mind with memories of playing pat-a-cake with my babies. My son could do this for hours, saying "again" after each time. Gosh they grow up so fast. Well, this was colored with Copics and details and highlights added with Prismacolor pencils. The papers used are from Shery K Designs.

I sure hope you take the time to visit us and play along at Sweet Sketch Wednesday. We love seeing all your beautiful entries - they truly inspire us.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Bling It On at Inky Impressions!

2012-02-01T07:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday! Today starts a new challenge at Inky Impressions and I created this card to introduce it here. The challenge calls for BLING! Pearls too if that's your thing. Well it is MY thing - I love to add sparkly rhinestones and pearls to anything!

This beautiful rubber stamp from Inky Impressions is called "Marleigh and Pebbles Ice Skating" and I just love this sweet thing. I am so inspired by Inky Impressions stamps - the creativity just flows the minute the rubber hits the paper! I colored this with Copic markers and then added a few details and highlights for depth with Prismacolor pencils. The pencils provide a finer line and lighter touch for flushed cheeks and a warm sunny glow on highlighted areas.

I followed the layout from Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge #131 and am entering this card in that challenge. It was the perfect sketch for this image.

And I'm playing along in these other challenges today:
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - Diamonds and Pearls

Now stop on by the Inky Impressions Challenges blog and take a peak at the Inkettes inspiration for you - you'll love the creativity of their challenge cards. And I hope you'll join in on our challenge this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

StampFairy's Molly in Love

2012-01-27T05:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone. I've been traveling for work this week so I'm glad for the week to end and my return home today. I'm also glad it's Friday for this adorable new release at StampFairy. We have some terrific new digis featuring the sweet Molly. Take a look at the release below:

Here's this fun Molly in Love collection release - great for many occasions actually. I love the accessories like the rope and the fence.

And this sentiment is a freebie today with this set. You'll find with the Molly in Love collection.

Here's a closeup of the tag on my card. Molly was colored with Copics, the papers from Bo Bunny and the fun sketch I followed is from Unscripted Sketches, challenge 142 that I'm entering my card in. They have a little twist this week with the challenge - create a pocket on your card. Well you can see that I did just that for the sweet little Molly tag.

Now you'll want to pop on over to StampFairy World and see the new release and all the inspiration offered by the StampFairies today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Be Mine Nicholas

2012-01-25T08:00:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the Inky Impressions Challenge this week. The Inkettes are challenging you to create a card featuring hearts and this is what I've created to inspire you. This adorable rubber stamp is "Nicholas on Ice" from Inky Impressions and I thought it would make a perfect Valentine for my son, Nicholas!

Nicholas was colored with Copics and some detail work on the image with Prismacolor pencils. The papers used here are "Love Struck" from We R Memory Keepers. And with all the polka dots on this card, I'm entering it into the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge this week, #148 - Seeing Spots!

The sketch I followed is from Seems A Little Sketchy challenge blog and I'm entering that challenge as well.

Now pop on over to the Inky Impressions Challenge and see what the other Inkettes created today to inspire you and take some time to enter our challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

Creating Cards with Fabric

2012-01-25T07:00:00.011-05:00

Happy Wednesday and welcome back! Today I'm featuring a tutorial on the Inky Impressions Inspirational blog on how to create a card using fabric - one of my favorite techniques.

These are all fabrics on my card today! There are so many pretty and fun patterns in fabric and the texture they provide really make a card special. Here's how you can create using fabric:

I like to use "Wonder Under", fusible adhesive backing. Just cut the fabric swatch to the size of your card and diecuts and cut the Wonder Under to match. You can find Wonder Under at any fabric store and the directions for use come with it.

Iron the Wonder Under to the back side of the fabric and let it cool down completely before cutting it with dies or your paper cutter.

Once it has cooled from the ironing, you can diecut the fabric just like you would cardstock. Here I'm using scallop circle Nesties. I also used Stampin' Up's Top Note die and for the base panel of the card, I just cut the fabric with my paper cutter.

Once you have the fabric cut, remove the paper backing and then all you have to do is lay it out as desired and iron the pieces together. I even ironed the assembly to the cardstock and here is how it turned out:

Now it's ready for the image and embellishments.

I've used Inky Impressions rubber stamp called "Lili Bundled Up", brought to life with Copic markers and then cut out and mounted on the card with foam tape. Isn't she just the cutest thing!

I created the flower embellishment out of fabric too - crinoline, tulle, organza and pieces of the fabric scraps I used in the card design. You can even stamp on fabric - the sentiment is stamped with white craft (pigment) ink. Pieces of the flower were colored to match with Copic markers too.

So that's how you create a card using fabric for a unique look. I hope I've inspired you to give it try! Thanks for stopping by today!

Tiny Pixie Rose

2012-01-25T02:00:00.014-05:00

Happy Wednesday friends, fans and followers! A lot going on here today - this is the first of three posts and my favorite card of the day. I'm kicking it off with a new challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and our sponsor, A Day For Daisies, that we all love to create with. We're making a few changes in our challenges beginning this week, so you'll want to read on or go to the Sweet Sketch Wednesday site for the details.

First with the sketch - another terrific one from our own Arlana. This one goes together pretty quickly and yields such lovely results. You can use multiple papers with this like I did or use plain embossed cardstock for the layers. Either way you'll have a winner of a design.

Our wonderful sponsor this week is A Day For Daisies. A Day For Daisies provides themed categories of over 1000 fun and whimsical digital images, including fairy tales and magical mermaids, cutie kids, vintage illustrations, sentiments and lovely designs for all occasions. Tammy, the owner and artist, is generously providing our Grand Prize winner of this week's challenge a $12 gift certificate to the A Day For Daisies store. This is a fabulous prize so come play along with us at Sweet Sketch Wednesday.

The ADFD image I used is called "Tiny Pixie Rose" - such a sweet image that captured my heart when I first saw it. She was colored with Copics and the paper was distressed a bit to fit the vintage-like feel of the papers I chose from Echo Park's "Your's Truly" collection. I paid a little visit to our local scrapbook store last weekend and walked out with a bundle of papers I just couldn't leave behind! I thought these would pair perfectly with this image. A few tiny hearts and a pretty little flower are the finishing touch for this perfect Valentine.

New Challenge Rules at Sweet Sketch Wednesday

Now on to the changes we've made with the Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenges. To be eligible for the prizes, we ask that you create a card using our sponsor's images. So for this week, please create your cards with A Day For Daisies digital images. We also ask that you follow the sketch as it's shown without rotating or flipping it and please include the sketch image in your post. More details on the new challenge guidelines are on the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog. Please pay us a visit and see what the design team Divas created to inspire you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Working Out

2012-01-22T04:49:00.000-05:00

I hope you're enjoying the weekend! Today I'm showing off this adorable new birdie set from Doodle Pantry. It's called "Workout Birdie" and I think it's so darn cute with it's leg warmers, weights and headband! The best news about this set is that it's free to everyone that plays in the Doodle Pantry Challenge that's going on now. But you'll have to hurry, the challenge closes on Jan 24. To play along, just create a card using a Doodle Pantry image - that's all there is to it.

This little cutie was colored with Copics and detailed with Prismacolor pencils. The papers are from Reminisce. I used seam binding for the ribbon and colored it with a Copic marker to match the papers and colors in the image - love this product!

I followed this fun sketch from Sketches by Carly #48 and am entering the challenge with this card.

I sure hope you'll join us this month in the Doodle Pantry challenge and the opportunity to get the Workout Birdie digi set for free.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lovin' Barry Love

2012-01-20T06:36:00.001-05:00

Hooray it's Friday. This was a short work week that didn't seem so short! So it's finally Friday and we have another terrific release of new digis at StampFairy that I know you're going to just "love".

Here's "Barry Love" - a new collection of images so perfect for Valentines, anniversaries and so many more occasions. And look at that freebie in the bottom left corner - awesome!

Here's a closeup of Barry Love from my card. He was colored with Copics and some Prismacolor pencils for details and highlights. The papers are Imaginisce.

Isn't this a great freebie! A whole image just for you for Valentines Day! Be sure to thank Gerda over on her blog StampFairy World!

And here's the great sketch I followed for my card from Tuesday Morning Sketches. I'm entering this card in their challenge this week. I thought this was the perfect sketch to showcase this new Barry Love image along with the freebie.

Well that wraps it up for today. You'll want to bop on over to StampFairy World and see the rest of the StampFairies inspiration for you this week. Have a great weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Friends Fur-Ever

2012-01-18T09:08:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to my Wednesday posts! This time we're introducing a new challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and you're going to love this sketch - at least I do!

Isn't this terrific? I love all the layers and the way the circle for the image is showcased in the surrounding square. I think it really brings the focus to the image. Great job Arlana!

And this week our wonderful sponsor is Digi Stamp Boutique. Sally Ann, the owner, sponsors us at Sweet Sketch Wednesday every month and we love her digi stamps and the generous prizes she offers our challenge players. The Grand Prize winner of the challenge this week will receive 6 Digi Stamp Boutique images from her shop. Now that's worth playing for!

Look at this adorable digi - don't you just love this? It's called "Hattie and Buddy" and I fell in love with this wonderful image immediately! Hattie is so sweet but it's her dog Buddy that brings the smile to my face! They were brought to life using Copics and some Prismacolor pencils for highlights and details. The papers I've hoarded because I love the colors and prints from years ago - Cosmo Cricket's "Jolly by Golly" collection. A few stickled sparkly snowflakes embellish the card and the sentiment stamp from Stampin' Up! "Friends Fur-Ever" set was a perfect finishing touch.

Now take a minute or two to visit us at Sweet Sketch Wednesday, gaze at the wonderful inspiration from the DT Divas and then play along with us this week. We love seeing the beautiful creations of our players week after week - that's what inspires us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love Is In The Air

2012-01-18T08:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday! I'm so excited to show you this sweet card. I'm showcasing another fabulous image from Inky Impressions rubber stamps - this one is perfect for Valentine cards.

I love this image called "Joseph and Lynette's First Date" from Inky Impressions. It stamps beautifully and is so detailed. It's fun to use rubber stamps again - especially for the detail work on the image. It was colored with Copics and the papers used are Basic Grey's "Olivia" collection.

I used this fantastic sketch for my card. It's from Sketches by Carly - #47. If you ever need a little inspiration for a design, go there - every one of the sketches is terrific and creative. I'm entering this card in that challenge this week and also in these challenges:

Crafter's Companion Monthly Challenge - #20 - Love is in the Air
My Grafico - #119 - Love and Valentines
Paper Creations Ink - #17 - Love / Romance
Card Cupids - January Challenge - Valentines
Designed 2 Delight - Hearts
Drunken Stampers - #81 - Love

Just a reminder that a new challenge has started over at the Inky Impressions Challenge Blog. This week we'd like to see shaped cards - anything but a traditional square or rectangle card. Hop on over there to see the wonderful inspiration from the Inkettes.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Darling Clementine

2012-01-13T07:57:00.000-05:00

Oh thank goodness it's Friday! Even though it's a Friday the 13th I'll still take it! I've had an exhausting week and am looking forward to the weekend to catch up on life. And what a good way to lead into the weekend than a new release from StampFairy! Today we're introducing a new winter collection of that adorable Clementine - who doesn't just love her!

There are five new Clementine winter images that are perfect for all kind of cards this winter season. You can find this new collection of Clementine digis at the StampFairy Shop.

Clementine was colored with Copics here and a little detail work with Prismacolor pencils. This is a glittery card on the snowballs, ground and the roses that embellish the card. The papers are Stampin' Up! from my stash of favorites!

I followed this super fun sketch from CCEE Stampers and am playing along in their challenge this week.

Now go check out the work of my fellow StampFairies at StampFairy World for a lot more inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!

TuTu Cute at Inky Impressions

2012-01-11T08:55:00.000-05:00

Calling all stampers! Are you ready to get started the Inky way! Today the Inky Impressions Inkettes are sharing lots of fabulous Inky creations to warm you up during this cold winter and the Inky Impressions Inspirational Blog is where it all begins! Today not only are there projects galore to ogle over, but we are also releasing 3 brand new Rubber Stamps! Please welcome:

TuTu Cute Lili (showcased above)

Chatterbox Lili

Teary Eyed Lili

And just to make this even more fun we're having a blog hop to celebrate the new release with a wonderful prize to some lucky Inky fan!

So if you've arrived to my blog from Tracy's Stamping Corner, you're doing great! If not, you'll want to start the hop over at the Inky Impressions Inspirational Blog. You'll find the blog hop details there and the lineup of inspiration!

Now be sure to comment at each and every stop along the way because one lucky winner will win this amazing prize package! The package includes:

Winner's choice of 1 of the 3 New Releases (Chatterbox LiLi Rubber Stamp, Tu-Tu Cute LiLi Rubber Stamp, or Teary Eyed LiLi Rubber Stamp)
Angelica's Bunny Rubber Stamp
LiLi's Slumber Party Rubber Stamp
3 Sentiment Rubber Stamps: My place or yours, Bring your jammies & Uh-Oh Spaghetti Oh's
Padded Butterfly Trim in 3 colors: Bright Pink, Turquoise, & Lime Green
4 packs of Inky Pearls in Bright Pink, Lime Green, Turquoise & Tangerine
4 packs of silver charms- Butterflies, Flowers, Dragonflies, Cute Little purses
1 pack of beautiful silver flower centers
1 pack of Inky Dinky Drops in Clear
AND 2 packs of Inky 6mm brads in Bright Pink & Light Green

What more could anyone ask for? You have until Wednesday, January 18th to comment on each and every stop along the hop and add our blog hop information to your personal blog sidebar to be eligible for these fantastic prizes!

Now before I send you on your way to the next stop, Dawn's Sunnyside Up blog, a few details on my creation with TuTu Cute Lili and her little kitty pal. Just click on the link to find Lili in the store. She was brought to life using Copics and a little touch of Prismacolor pencils for the detail areas and shadows. The papers are My Mind's Eye "Blush" and the incredible sketch I followed is this week's challenge at The Sweet Stop sketch challenge blog - SSS140.

Be sure to leave me a little love before you go - I really want you to win the prize package! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Winter Fairy

2012-01-11T06:40:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone and happy Wednesday! It's time for another Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge - this past week has just flown by! I'm so thrilled for this week's challenge because we have a new sponsor this week with the most adorable digi stamps to create with. So let's get started first with the sketch...

We have another blast from the past sketch - this one is a repeat of our favorite from week 73. A somewhat simple sketch but still with the layers that I love. This is perfect for images you want to keep larger for the details like the image I'm showcasing today.

Our fabulous sponsor this week is Wee Stamps. The owner and illustrator behind Wee Stamps - Sylvia Zet – creates unique designs of charming and whimsical characters, which are loved for their adorable little faces expressing innocence and trustful hearts. Wee illustrations feature cute kids and fluffy animals are available as digital downloads at www.weestamps.com and also as deeply etched red rubber stamps at Whimsy Stamps. Thanks Sylvia for your sponsorship this week!

The Grand Prize winner of the challenge this week will receive 3 digi stamps from Wee Stamps - an incredible prize! Remember to be eligible for the Grand Prize you need to leave a comment on the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog on this week's challenge post. I hope you'll join in the fun this week!

I was so lucky to be able to create with this little Wee Stamps cutie called "Winter Fairy". I was in a "blue" winter mood and went with the color as the main theme here. She was brought to life with Copic markers, a little stardust glitter and a silver metallic gel pen for highlights. The papers are Authentique "Journey" collection.

Now stop on by Sweet Sketch Wednesday to enjoy all the other work from my fellow Divas using the wonderful images from Wee Stamps. You'll be amazed by the creativity and talent there!

Thanks for stopping by!

16 Candles

2012-01-09T07:20:00.024-05:00

Happy Birthday Nick! Sixteen years ago today at this precise time of the day my son was born. He came into the world a little early but that was just fine with me. What a joyous day that was and every day since! This is the birthday card I made for his celebration of 16 years today.

This adorable image is from High Hopes Stamps. I've had it forever and can't quite remember what the name of it is. It was colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencils. The papers are "Life of the Party" from My Mind's Eye. My Nick is definitely the life of the party and the light of my life. He's a swimmer, baseball player, a leader, good student and an all-around great kid. Happy Birthday son!

Thanks for stopping by!

George and Friends at StampFairy

2012-01-06T06:02:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday! After a nice break for the holidays, we're all back at StampFairy with a new release today. Today's collection of new digis is called "George and Friends" and you'll love these quirky looking snow people.

There are five images available in the new collection. The one we're showcasing today is a good one for all occasions including Valentine cards. You can find these wonderful images at the StampFairy Shop.

This card was quick to get together - the image colored with Copics, cut out and mounted on digi papers from Shery K Designs. I think it's a fun color combination too.

Stop on over to StampFairy World to see the new release there and the creations of the StampFairies that will inspire you.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm an Inkette!

2012-01-04T08:00:00.085-05:00

I'm back again today to announce that I've joined the Inky Impressions design team! As you probably know, I was a guest designer there last Fall and I fell in love with the adorable stamps at Inky Impressions. I'm so happy to have been invited back for a longer term!

So to kick off my term with Inky Impressions, I've created this card with one of the newer images there called MaMaw Skiing. This grandma just brings a smile to your face!

This image is one of the newer digi stamps now available at Inky Impressions. It reminds me of my mom who used to play tackle football with my son. He thought she was so cool to do that. Well this "MaMaw" is a hip grandma too and ready to take the slopes in her bright colored duds and polka dot skis!

She was brought to life with Copic markers, some Stickles for the sparkle and papers from Echo Park and Recollections. The snowflake charm is from Inky Impressions too - Nicole has a fabulous selection of charms of the best quality in the Inky Impressions store.

Now I'd like to invite you to play in our Inky Impressions challenge each week with a new challenge starting each Wednesday. The challenge this week is "Anything Goes". To kick it off, the design team Inkettes have a created some wonderful cards using "MaMaw Skiing" for your inspiration. Hop on over and play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by!

SteamPunked at SSW!

2012-01-04T02:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday! The first Wednesday of the new year and I can't think of a better way to start off a new year of challenges at Sweet Sketch Wednesday than to have wonderful Saturated Canary images to play with. And of course, a spectacular sketch to go with it.

Here's the sketch for this week's challenge. I'm loving all the layers on this one.

Krista Smith, owner and illustrator of Saturated Canary digi stamps is sponsoring the challenge this week. These are such fabulous images - adorable and fun to color and create with. The lucky Grand Prize winner of this week's challenge will receive two Saturated Canary digi images!

The design team was lucky enough to receive Saturated Canary images to showcase this week with the sketch. The image I'm highlighting is called "Steampunk 1" and I think she's fabulously modern with her layered skirt and midriff showing. She was colored with Copics and the papers I've used are My Mind's Eye "Happy Go Lucky". I added a bit of Stickles to the edge of the image panel to draw more attention to it and to add a little fun - who doesn't love a card that sparkles!

Now you just have to see the collection of cards the design team Divas created for your inspiration over at Sweet Sketch Wednesday. And I'd like to welcome my good friend Heide Dronchi to the Divas team - you're going to love seeing her creations week after week. Pop on over and welcome her to Sweet Sketch Wednesday!

Thanks for stopping by!

New Year & New Releases at Doodle Pantry

2012-01-01T06:00:00.090-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year than a new release at Doodle Pantry! The whole creative team is refreshed after a month off focused on the holidays and we're showing off our new creativity in the Doodle Pantry release. Let's get started ...

I'm showing two cards today with the new Winter Accessories set. This is such a great idea to winterize those adorable Doodle Pantry images you already have or are purchasing. The set comes with a TON of fun pre-colored scarves, ear muffs, hats and mittens plus digi papers and black and white images of each.

First up is this adorable "Quirky Ostrich" from the September release dressed up in new ear muffs and striped scarf. Both the image and the new "Winter Accessories" are pre-colored which made this card a breeze. The paper here is one of the digi papers that comes with the Winter Accessories collection.

Next up is this sweet "Cuddly Bear" with his winter hat and scarf from the new collection. It's so easy to apply these winter items to any of the Doodle Pantry animal images. It makes any of them so perfect for winter cards - winter birthdays, anniversarys, thank yous, etc. Here I applied the pre-colored versions of the hat and scarf and then colored this cute teddy with Copics and some detail work with Prismacolor pencils.

I also used the digi paper that comes in the Winter Accessories collection on this card - it's bright and happy and filled with snowflakes.

The layout of this card is from Sketch 3 at Seems A Little Sketchy challenge blog. I'm entering the Cuddly Bear card in the challenge. I'm also playing in the Ready-Teddy-Go Challenge #6 which is "In the Pink" and using a teddy bear image.

Now pop on over to the Doodle Pantry Blog and the Doodle Pantry Store to see all the other new releases there and the wonderful work of the Creative Team in showcasing the new images - you'll be amazed at the inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!

Playing with Dolls

2011-12-28T02:00:00.008-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I'm back from a lovely time with my family celebrating Christmas and have been enjoying my time off work just relaxing, hanging out with my kids and a little bit of card making too!

We have a new sketch today at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and it's terrific! I sure hope you join in the fun this week and give this sketch a try - a fun way to start the New Year!

This sketch is perfect for larger images - it puts them center stage so to speak!

Our sponsor this week is A Day For Daisies and Tammy, the owner and illustrator has the most beautiful images that are always a pleasure to create with. A Day For Daisies provides themed categories of over 1000 fun and whimsical digital images, including fairy tales and magical mermaids, cutie kids, vintage illustrations, sentiments and lovely designs for all occasions.

The Grand Prize winner of our sketch challenge this week will receive a $12 gift certificate to the ADFD shop!

I chose this beautiful image called "Dolls - Margaret Evans Price Style" for its vintage feel. I love vintage style and it was so fun to create with this beautiful image. Edges of my card were distressed with inks and a distressing tool. The image was colored with Copics and a fabric flower, glass flower, lace and rhinestones embellish the card. The papers are "Head over Heels" by Lily Bee Design.

A Day For Daisies images are some of my favorites of all the digi collections out there. I think it's a favorite of our Sweet Sketch Wednesday design divas too because their creations this week are outstanding. Get inspired by taking a peak at them at the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog and then join us in the challenge this week! Hope to see your creations in the gallery!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Stamp and Create - December Monthly Challenge - Vintage
I Brake For Challenges - IBFCC15 - Vintage

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Teddy Bear

2011-12-21T01:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday before Christmas! I hope everyone is in better shape than me for Christmas - I'm still fighting the shopping crowds on the mad dash to get last minute gifts! I've never been this behind before and feeling a bit of panic but it'll all get done somehow!

We have a great new challenge starting today at Sweet Sketch Wednesday - you'll love this sketch with it's abundance of wonderful embellishment opportunities!

I can't wait to see what everyone will do with this terrific sketch by our own Arlana. It whips up pretty quickly and is fun to work with. Give it a try and play along with us at Sweet Sketch Wednesday!

Our sponsor this week is Digi Stamp Boutique. They are offering the Grand Prize winner of our challenge 6 free digi images from the DSB store - a generous and fabulous prize to be sure! All you have to do is play along in the sketch challenge and leave a comment on the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog. I hope you'll join us this week!

I selected this adorable teddy bear for my card called "Winter Louie" from Digi Stamp Boutique. Isn't he just the cutest little bear? He was brought to life with Copics and I added some icycle Stickles on his hat trim and crystal lacquer on his nose. The papers are from Canvas Corp. and the fun sparkly foam packages I used as embellishments are stickers that I found at Michaels craft store.

You'll find a lot more creativity with Digi Stamp Boutique images from my teamies at Sweet Sketch Wednesday - stop on over there and take a look!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! Thanks for stopping by!

Dreaming of Peppermints and Gumdrops

2011-12-14T02:00:00.001-05:00

Yay - it's another Sweet Sketch Wednesday! I love Wednesdays for the mid-week, heading down the slope toward the weekend and for the new challenge starting at Sweet Sketch Wednesday! This week we have a terrific sketch and Bugaboo is the sponsor.

Here's the sketch for the week. It's another one from the past - this time a favorite from week 51 that we're bringing back for you to play with again.

Bugaboo is the proud sponsor of the challenge this week and I know you all love a chance to win Bugaboo digi stamps!

Everything That You Ever Wanted to Know About Bugaboo Stamps: As if raising five children in the frozen land of the North was not enough of a challenge, Jodie Mackrell decided to dip her cold little Canadian toes into the world of papercrafting by opening an online store full of her illustrations. That was two years ago. Today Bugaboo Stamps is one of the leading companies in digital images, and we're still growing! From seriously snarky to sugary sweet to sublimely soulful all the way over to the other side of the super sexy spectrum, you're bound to find all that you need and more to create your paper projects. Jodie works very hard to provide New Releases and Freebies every week!

If your taste runs to rubber (and you know who you are), you can find Bugaboo Stamps stamps at Totally Stampalicious. And finally, join the Bugaboo Stamps DT for weekly challenges at Catch the Bug.

The links are:

Store : http://www.bugaboostamps.com/

Catch the Bug Challenge blog: http://catchthebugblog.blogspot.com/

The Grand Prize winner of the challenge will receive 7 free digis from Bugaboo - a fabulous prize! All you have to do is create a card or papercraft project using the sketch, enter the challenge and leave a comment on the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog and you're in the running to win! Play along won't you?

I choose this Bugaboo image called "Christmas Brat Boy Elf" for my design team card. He was colored with Copics and the papers are from Martha Stewart from a couple Christmas' ago. I love how he looks perched on edge of the oval panel - it looks like he's just day-dreaming about all the candy peppermints and gum drops surrounding him!

Now to see more Bugaboo images used with this sketch, pop on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday where the design team has a wonderfully creative selection of cards that will inspire you. Hope to see you play in the challenge this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

StampFairy Countdown to Christmas

2011-12-09T06:23:00.000-05:00

What a fun week we've had at StampFairy with all the visitors on our birthday blog hop, wonderful calendar images we've shared and now another new release featuring our sweet, cuddly Barry bear ready for Christmas.

Introducing Barry's Countdown to Christmas collection. He's so darn cute, you'll just want to have every one of these adorable digis. And you can afford it too - everything in the StampFairy Shop is 50% off, including these new images that you can find HERE. The ornaments are today's freebie - YAY!

I just love Barry - such a fuzzy wuzzy bear with a great expression. He was brought to life here with the use of Copics. I think he looks especially cute in his winter hat.

Now head on over to StampFairy World, hosted by Gerda, and see all the other wonderful creations with this new release. And a reminder that you can still join our StampFairy Birthday Blog Hop which is going on all month. You'll get a free and exclusive digi for helping us celebrate! Just click on the link and it will take you to the start.

Thanks for stopping by!

Handing Out Candy Canes

2011-12-07T02:00:00.001-05:00

Hi there fans, followers and bloggers! It's mid-week and time for another terrific challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday.

We have this sketch to play with this week. A fabulous sketch that goes together pretty quickly, has plenty of layers (you all know I love the layers) and room for plenty of embellishments.

And our wonderful sponsor this week is Sassy Cheryl's who is providing a $5 gift certificate to the Grand Prize winner of the challenge this week. Yay!

For my card, I chose this adorable snowman digi "Handing Out Candy Canes" that you can find HERE in the Sassy Cheryl's Store. He came to life with the help of Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. I carefully cut out around the areas of the image that I knew would extend beyond the circle diecut - I love the look this provides. The papers are My Mind's Eye "12 Days of Christmas" collection and the divine sparkly green cardstock is by Recollections. I love that glittery paper!

We all love Sassy Cheryl's images and my Sweet Sketch Wednesday design teamies are showing off their talent with Sassy Cheryl's digis in amazing ways. You'll want to pop on over the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog and check them out.

Thanks for stopping by!

StampFairy Birthday Blog Hop

2011-12-03T03:59:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone!

I have a special post today in celebration of the first birthday of StampFairy! Gerda, the owner and artist, along with all her StampFairies are hosting a blog hop and everyone who completes the hop will win a prize! Isn't that great!

Now if you've arrived here from Dora's blog you're on the right track. Otherwise, please pop back to StampFairy World to start at the beginning because you won't want to miss a thing!

Gerda has released two very special collections showcasing two of her delightful characters - Molly and Barry. These collections showcase the characters in 12 monthly themes throughout the year and the StampFairies have each created a calendar using these new images. I've chosen to highlight the months of August, November and January today featuring the new Molly Calendar images.

Here's the full collection of Molly Calendar images and I had a blast creating my calendar with these wonderful digi stamps. I love that they include accessory images so you can create scenes as I've done with the months I'm highlighting today.

First up is the month of August showing Molly getting in gear for school. Isn't she cute with all her books!

Here she is a little closer. I paired her with a quote that reads: "The wisest mind still has something yet to learn."

These are the November Molly images - she's darling perched upon a tree stump!

The calendar template is a freebie for you. You can find it with the Molly Calendar collection at the StampFairy Shop. On the calendar months I'm showcasing, I printed the calendar on colored cardstock.

And now on to the month of January....

I used the accessory trees here to create a wonderful winter night scene.

To create my calendar display I cut a wooden rod to size, painted it and then attached a wire and beaded hanger that I made.

The clips I used to hang the calendar months are from Ikea and I decorated them with rhinestones.

Isn't this a fun project? It's a perfect handmade gift for the holidays and anyone receiving it will fall in love with our darling Molly. And all these images are 50% off at the StampFairy Shop - a special promotion for our StampFairy birthday!

Now, to ensure you receive your freebie here's what you have to do. Visit each of the StampFairies' blogs along the hop and leave a comment on each. You also will collect a letter from each of the teamies along the trip. The letters are randomly placed but will spell a short phrase. Once you've completed the hop, leave your comments, collect your letters and work out the phrase and then email it to Gerda (webmaster@stampfairy.com). This will get you the freebie image! Yes, that's right, a freebie image for everyone who completes the hop and emails the correct phrase. And let me tell you a secret: the image you will receive is ADORABLE!!

Before you disappear from my blog, jot down this letter:

Now hop on over to the next teamie, Anita's blog, and don't forget to leave me a comment so you qualify for your freebie!

Thanks for stopping by! The blog hop ends on December 31 so get hopping before the deadline. If you get lost along the way, hop back to StampFairy World where there is a list of the full hop links. Have fun and thanks for celebrating with us at StampFairy!

Happy Birthday StampFairy!

2011-12-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone and Happy Birthday to StampFairy! This week we're celebrating the first birthday of StampFairy with new releases each day and a fun blog hop tomorrow. Today's release is a new collection of Molly as a fairy and they are all totally adorable!

Here's the collection of Molly Fairy digi stamps released today. I love the cloud and other images that can be used with Molly that help to create a full scene. You can find these wonderful images at the StampFairy Shop.

Everything in the StampFairy Shop is 50% off, including the new releases! This is a great time to stock up on your favorites from StampFairy.

I found this terrific sparkly paper in a dozen different colors at my local craft store and thought it would be perfect mated with Molly Fairy. I like to think of it as being fairy dusted! Molly was brought to life with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. The sketch I followed here is this week's challenge at Paper Makeup Stamps. I think it's a really great sketch and makes for an interesting card.

I'm entering my Molly Fairy card in their Digi Makeover Challenge #13.

Now stop on by Gerda's blog, StampFairy World, to see all the wonderful new releases from this week and some inspiring creations from the rest of the StampFairies today. See you back here tomorrow for the fun blog hop celebration!

Thanks for stopping by!

Reindeer Holly

2011-11-30T06:47:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's the last day of November and where did the month go? We have a great showcase of inspiration and a new challenge for you at Sweet Sketch Wednesday today. Let's get started....

First the terrific sketch by Arlana. I love this one - even though I say that every week! It's got those great layers and it's fast and easy to put together but looks very finished. Give it a try!

Our sponsor is Di's Digi Downloads and what a shop filled with adorable digi stamps! The Grand Prize winner of the sketch challenge this week will receive a $10 gift certificate to use in the Di's Digi Downloads store. Thanks Diane for your generous sponsorship!

On my card this week, I've used the adorable "Reindeer Holly" image from Di's Digi Downloads. Isn't this so precious? It was colored with Copics and the reindeer was cut out and popped up for a little more dimension. I added lots of stickles on the fur trim of Holly's outfit and as the bottom snow. The paper - with reindeer on it too - is from Prima's North Country collection. And I added two glittered reindeer baubles from Recollections as my embellishments and keeping with the theme!

Now take a minute to stop by Sweet Sketch Wednesday and see the wonderful creations from the design team with the sketch this week. And I hope you'll take a moment to play along. I promise lots of fun if you do!

Thanks for stopping by!

Molly Winter and Snowflakes

2011-11-25T01:37:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday folks! I hope everyone in the U.S. had a wonderful Thanksgiving - we did and I'm still full on turkey, dressing and all the other delicious food that was prepared. So we officially begin our holiday season and there's no better way to do that than with a new release at StampFairy!

Here's today's release with our favorite new character Molly. These are terrific images and with the snowy bench available in this collection you can create a number of different winter scenes. You can find these new images at the StampFairy Shop. The fun snowflake is today's freebie.

This Molly image is so sweet as she starts to build her snowman that I glittered up with Stickles. She was colored with Copics, cut out and popped up on the panel for dimension. Lots of sparkly snowflakes are on this card so it's quite dazzling in real life! The papers are digital from My Grafico called Mod Xmas.

Now stop on over to Gerda's blog StampFairy World to see the collection of cards the StampFairies created to inspire you today.

Here are the challenges I'm submitting my card for:

Crafter's Cafe - Sketch (above)
CES Challenges #62 - Snowflakes
PanPastel UK Challenge #9 - Frosty and Bright
I Did It Creations Challenge #82 - Snowmen
Kaboodle Doodles Challenge #94 - Baby It's Cold Outside
Charisma Cardz Challenges #46 - Snowflakes
4 Crafty Chicks - 4CCC65 - Snowflakes
Repeat Impressions DCC1123 Designer’s Choice Challenge - Christmas with Snowflakes
Digital Tuesday Challenge #138 - Sparkle and Shine
Party Time Tuesday Challenge #43 - Snow Us What You Got!
Blog-A-Doodle - It's Snow Time

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hangin' with my Gnomies

2011-11-23T02:00:00.098-05:00

Happy Wednesday followers, fans and bloggers! It's time for another Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge starting today. We have a terrific sketch this week and our wonderful and popular sponsor is Whimsie Doodles with a special surprise for all of you so let's get started shall we?!

Here's the sketch by our own Arlana for this week's challenge. Once a month we bring back a favorite sketch from the past and this one is from week 33. This is a fun sketch that I know you'll love to work with. I especially like that it provides a spot for a sentiment.

We're so lucky to have Whimsie Doodles as the sponsor this week. Melyssa, the owner and artist, is generously providing a $10 gift certificate to the Whimsie Doodles store to the Grand Prize winner of the challenge this week. Here's more info about Whimsie Doodles:

Whimsie Doodles is so excited to be sponsoring the new challenge! In March of 2009, Melyssa Connolly, artist and owner, began turning her whimsical hand-drawn images into digital files for sale online. Whimsie Doodles' digital stamp line features images that range from cute little boy and girls, to punny stuff, and everything in-between. We enjoy sharing lots of samples on our company blog, where we also post challenges and tutorials.

Special Offer for Sweet Sketch Wednesday fans: Use the discount code SwtWed10 at the Whimsie Doodles online store and receive 10% off your next order! Code expires 30 days from today. So we're all winners with an offer like this - hooray!

For my DT card this week, I selected this Whimsie Doodles image called "My Gnomies" because it just brought a smile and I loved it's punny and funny sentiment which comes with the image. These darling gnomes were brought to life with Copic markers to match the Stampin Up DP that I had selected for it's warm, earthy fall colors. They were all cut out and then positioned on the DP focal panel using foam tape for some dimension. Easy peasy with this terrific sketch to follow.

Come visit us at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and see all the wonderful inspiration from the design team using Whimsie Doodles digi stamps this week. And we'd love to have you participate in the challenge too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving Imagery

2011-11-20T12:46:00.002-05:00

Welcome! We're in the home stretch for Thanksgiving and this is my favorite time of year. I love the warm colors of fall and the cozy and comforting symbols and imagery of the Thanksgiving holiday like this digi stamp collection from Doodle Pantry that I'm showcasing today.

I thought it would be nice to use this image for Thanksgiving cards for a more elegant and earthy look. The images used here are from the Doodle Pantry collection called "Maize Corn".

Copic markers were used with a bit of Prismacolor pencils too for certain highlights and light touches of color here and there.

The colors were inspired not only by Indian Corn in real life but also this photo from the Color Q Challenge #111. I love this rich color combination.

I'd also like to enter this card in these challenges as well:

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #179 - Thanksgiving
Catch The Bug Challenge - Thanks / Thanksgiving
My Sheri Crafts Challenge #73 - Be Thankful
Card Makin' Mamas #33 - Thanks / Be Thankful
Pattie's Creations Challenge #33 - Birthdays or Thanksgiving
Aud Sentiments Challenge #41 - Thanksgiving / Thank You
Crafting For All Seasons #14 - Thanksgiving, Thank You or Sketch
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Thanksgiving / Thanks
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Giving Thanks
Whimsical Wednesday Challenge - Happy Turkey Day
Scrap-Creations Challenge - Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and thanks for stopping by today.

Here Comes Santa to StampFairy!

2011-11-18T00:01:00.072-05:00

Happy Friday StampFairy fans! It's a new release at StampFairy today with a new "Tommy Here Comes Santa" collection and they sure are adorable!

Here's the full collection released today. You can find them here in the StampFairy Shop. Isn't the one with Tommy swinging on the candy cane sooooo cute! The Santa hat is today's freebie and how perfect is that? You can use the hat on any of the StampFairy characters through photo editing software. What a terrific freebie!

This Tommy Here Comes Santa image came to life through the use of Copic markers and lots and lots of diamond Stickles. I cut him out and perched him on the rooftop of this house I created with papers from Bo Bunny's Blitzen Collection and Crate Paper's Peppermint Collection. The background snowflake paper is digital from My Time Made Easy called 12 Days of Snowflakes. I printed the Ho Ho Ho image directly on the digital paper - it's another StampFairy freebie that you can find here in the StampFairy Shop. The flourish is also digital from my computer stash of freebies somewhere from the blog world.

The edges of the rooftop and chimney are glittered also to appear as though snow had settled there - harder to see in the photo. So in real life this is quite sparkly and festive for Christmas.

Now stop on by Gerda's blog at StampFairy World to see the rest of the inspiration my fellow StampFairies created with today release images. You'll be glad you did!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Dear Daughter

2011-11-17T09:18:00.003-05:00

Thirteen years ago at exactly this precise hour of the day, my daughter came screaming into this world and would delight my life forever. This is her special birthday card and I'm so happy to share it with all of you today.

Hilary Alexandra Basel

Hilary has always loved bunnies - actually any animal at all for that matter. So when I saw this rubber stamp called "Smell the Flowers" by Chrissy Armstrong released at Whimsy Stamps earlier this year it reminded me of my dear daughter and I knew it would be perfect for her. I first saw this stamp on Whimsey DT's Annika Ryan's blog and her card was my inspiration for this one.

I've colored the image with Copics and added little bits of soft color on top of that with Prismacolor pencils. The background was watercolored using SU Marina Mist and Avocado stamp pad ink. And I've used the beautiful papers from Basic Grey's Picadilly and Sweet Threads collections. Spellbinders Labels #17 dies were used to create the frame around the image and Beaded Circles Nesties for the blue doily diecuts. The glittered butterfly, flowers and pearl swirls embellish the card and it's finished off with an off-white satin ribbon.

We have a wonderful celebration planned for Hilary - suiting her official entry into her teens. I think she'll adore this card and will know the love that went into creating it for her. Happy Birthday my dear beloved daughter!

I offer this card in the following challenges today:

Whimsey Inspiration Challenge #15 - Flower Power - Flowers and a Sentiment

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #138 - Punch It - Punches and Diecuts

Hooked on Craft Challenges #12 - Something Punched - Punches and Diecuts

Paperminutes Challenge #191 - Children's Birthday

City Crafter Challenge #83 - Four-Legged Friend

Flutterby Wednesday Challenge #180 - Open Challenge

Polka Doodle Challenge #45 - Swirls and Pearls

Pattie's Creations Challenge #33 - Birthday or Thanksgiving

Cuddly Buddly Challenge #20 - Double Trouble - Feature two characters

Basic Grey Challenges #57 - Mix 'n Match - Use multiple BG paper collections

Penny Black Allsorts Challenge - November Monthly - All Creatures Great and Small

Crafting When We Can Challenges #6 - Female Birthday

2 Sister Challenges #65 - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Winter Sports at ABC Christmas Challenge

2011-11-16T23:56:00.002-05:00

StampFairy is sponsoring the ABC Christmas Challenge and I'm showcasing this card this week over at the challenge blog. The theme is "W" for Winter Sports - isn't that fun!

This is Al the penguin getting ready to ski down the slopes! You can find Al Winter Fun at the StampFairy Shop. He was brought to life with Copic markers, lots of glitter and some fantastic digital papers from Shery K Designs. Why don't you join in the ABC Christmas Challenge fun this week?

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Sketch Wednesday - Sketch #128

2011-11-16T04:08:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday and you know what Wednesday brings....another challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday! Today we have another fun sketch for you and our monthly sponsor Digi Stamp Boutique.

Here's the sketch to follow this week - lots of wonderful layers and room for some fun embellishments. Hard to believe we're on sketch #128 - wow!

We're sponsored this week by Digi Stamp Boutique who is our monthly sponsor and has been from the very beginning of SSW. The Grand Prize winner of the sketch challenge this week will receive 6 digi stamps of their choice from the Digi Stamp Boutique store. Thanks Sally Ann for the wonderful prize package!

I've used the adorable "Winter Hattie" from Digi Stamp Boutique on my card this week. She was colored with Copics to match the Kaiser Craft papers I've used here. I've added some red and diamond Stickles to the image to match the sparkle from the star embellishments (Recollections) I chose for the sketch. Only by luck did my star embellishment match the same size as the star in the digi image - love it when that happens! I think it adds some great dimension to the focal point of the card.

Now stop on by Sweet Sketch Wednesday and check out the fun cards the DT created with Digi Stamp Boutique images. And remember when you play along in the challenge, leave a comment on the SSW blog to be eligible for the Grand Prize.

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Scenes

2011-11-12T11:42:00.000-05:00

Running a day late to get this posted - why won't life slow down so I can catch up?!!! Anyway, I'm showcasing the new release of digi stamps at StampFairy this week featuring everyone's favorite Lenny bear. This time Lenny is created in Christmas scenes, perfect for your holiday card making.

Here's the full selection of new digis. Aren't these just terrific? The sentiment circle is the freebie today. The Lenny Christmas Scenes collection can be found HERE in the StampFairy Shop.

This Christmas scene was colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. My fellow StampFairy designer Anita does some amazing coloring blending Copics with Prismacolor pencils. I've failed miserably here but I'm going to keep on trying!!!! The papers used here are favorites of mine from my stash and I'm down to just a few small pieces now! I added pearly snow-like stickles to the lamp and at the bear's feet for snow. Adorable digi isn't it?!

And finally, my card layout used the sketch from the StampFairy Challenge that is still going on through the weekend. There's still plenty of time to play along and I sure hope you'll give it a try. Just create a card using the sketch and a StampFairy image and enter to win free StampFairy digi stamps. Hope to see your creation over at the StampFairy Challenge blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Two of my Favorite Things

2011-11-09T07:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday! This week is just flying by - but that's okay because I have some vacation time coming up next week so the quicker it gets here the better! It's time for another Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge today and it's a great sketch this week with one of favorite sponsors. So today I'm featuring two of my favorite things - Sweet Sketch Wednesday and StampFairy!

Isn't this a fun sketch? I love the oval within the circle - it frames the image you use so well. This one has lots of layers too which I always love. Great job Arlana!

StampFairy is our sponsor of the challenge this week and I don't need to tell you how much I adore Gerda's whimsical images! It's always fun to create with these digi stamps! The Grand Prize winner of the challenge will receive four free StampFairy images of your choice. To be eligible, just create a card using the sketch and make sure you comment on the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog. Thanks Gerda for the wonderful prize package this week!

I've used the new Molly Winter stamps from StampFairy on my card this week. Molly is adorable isn't she? This image is a combination of Molly Winter and a bench image from the Spring Scenes collection. You can find these fabulous images in the StampFairy Shop.

Now stop on by the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog to see the wonderful cards of the design team using various different StampFairy images. Lots of inspiration for you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hopping through the "12 Days of Christmas"

2011-11-05T12:00:00.075-04:00

Happy Saturday everyone! Today we're carrying on the celebration of new releases at Doodle Pantry with a fun Blog Hop showcasing all the wonderful ways you can use the new 12 Days of Christmas digi stamp set this holiday season.

So if you arrived my blog from Glenda's Blog, then you're on the right track. If not, you will want to start at the Doodle Pantry Blog so you don't miss a creative thing! We have prizes for our hopping blogger fans - randomly selecting at least five of you for $10 gift certificates to the Doodle Pantry Store. So let's get started with my project and on with the fun!

I'm showcasing all the adorable images available in this new set in my "12 Days of Christmas" house - and several sentiments and one of the digital papers too! Designed to be a piece of wall art for the holidays, each image in my house was hand colored with Prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol. However, the 12 Days of Christmas collection comes with pre-colored images as well as black outlines so you could whip up this project in no time at all!

Now here's a little preview of the "12 Days of Christmas" set. It's an incredible value at $4.50 - you get all 12 of the pre-colored images, the five coordinating digital papers, two types of sentiment digis for each image (circle and numbered straight), four additional sentiments and then all the black outline images too. A black outline image set is also available for $3.50.

Here'a little closer look at the hand-colored images on my 12 Days of Christmas house wall art. The paper behind them is one of the digital papers available in this set.

To achieve this look, each image was sized down to about 1-inch square and the circle sentiment surrounding it to about 1.25-inches in diameter. I just used a circle punch (SU 1-3/8 inch circle) to cut them out once colored and then mounted them on Poppy Parade scallop circle punched cardstock. The "12 Days" sentiment on the roof of the house was enlarged and adherred with a 3D bulge in the center for some added dimension. The overall measurement of the house (without the wire hanger) is 12"T x 9"W. And that's it - pretty easy to do and yields a really festive holiday decoration for your home.

Now leave me a little love here and be sure to comment and enter your name in the blog hop prize drawing at the Doodle Pantry Blog at the end. You have one more stop to go - at the blog of Sarah Nancarrow, my Doodle Pantry Creative Team buddy. Be sure to make it around the entire hop - the projects the creative team are showing will just knock your socks off!

Thanks for "hopping" by!

StampFairy's Barry Angel

2011-11-04T00:08:00.001-04:00

It's Friday and time for the new digi stamps from StampFairy! This week it's another set featuring our sweet furry Barry, this time as a sweet little angel.

Introducing "Barry Angel" ... you can find the collection of this dear little angel bear in the StampFairy Shop. The "Star Angel" image in the bottom right corner is today's freebie.

Here's a closer view of this new image. Barry was brought to life with Copic markers and little bit of sparkly angel dust added to his wings, the cloud and stars. The papers are My Mind's Eye "True Blue" from the Fine and Dandy line. A little bit of ribbon finishes it off.

Take a minute and visit StampFairy World to see the rest of the inspiration from our team of StampFairies. And stop on by the StampFairy Challenge site - a new challenge was posted on Monday using a sketch. We'd love to have you play along in the challenge with us this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin in Winter

2011-11-02T03:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday! Time for a new challenge at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and today we're showcasing one of my favorite sponsors A Day For Daisies. This digi stamp is called "Robin in Winter" and I really like the simplicity of it with the sketch.

Here's Arlana's fantastic sketch to follow for this week's challenge. I love the clean and simple look of this sketch.

A Day For Daisies is our sponsor this week. Tammy, owner and illustrator of ADFD, is offering the Grand Prize winner of the challenge a $12 gift certificate for A Day For Daisies digi stamps. This is such a terrific prize - I hope you'll play along with us in the challenge this week. Remember to qualify for the Grand Prize you have to leave a comment on the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog.

Here's a closeup of the "Robin in Winter" image. I printed it on SU Bashful Blue cardstock and colored it with Copics. The snow was added with a white gel pen and some Diamond Stickles added for the shimmer. The snowflake paper is digital from My Time Made Easy called "12 Days of Snowflakes". The back panel of the card is actually real cherry wood veneer that I picked up at a local craft shop. I used Chocolate Chip ink around the edges to deepen the color of it. A sparkly snowflake adds the finishing touch.

The Sweet Sketch Wednesday design team is showcasing a terrific variety of A Day For Daisies digi stamps for inspiration - pop on over to the site to see these beautiful creations. They're like candy for your eyes!

Thanks for stopping by!

Doodle Pantry November Releases

2011-11-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Today we're releasing 13 new digital stamp sets at Doodle Pantry! You're going to love these wonderful sets - there's a little bit of everything and they're all fun! So let's get started....

Introducing Christmas Wreath - a simple but elegant digi full of pinecones, pine boughs and berries. This set comes with the black outlines, which I used here and colored with Copic markers, and a pre-colored version as well.

And what's fun about it is that it also comes with a 1/3 wreath that you can use to embellish any one of the animal sets available at Doodle Pantry too. The picture above shows how it can be used this way with a variety of other digis that are available in the Doodle Pantry Store. I think this is such a clever idea and shows the versatility of the set.

Here's a closeup showing the detail of this wonderful Christmas Wreath digi stamp. The papers used are from Fancy Pants "Brrr" line and Echo Park's Christmas Carol line. The doily diecut is "Italian Flourish" from Cheery Lynn Designs.

And now on to the next brand new digi set that is so darn cute. Introducing the Cute Quail set.....

For a limited time, this adorable digital stamp set is FREE with any purchase you make at Doodle Pantry. Yes, completely free! This is such a great value too - you get the black outlines, a pre-colored version, three sentiments and two coordinating digital papers in the Cute Quail set.

I used the Cute Quail black outlines image and colored it with Copic markers to match the papers I chose from My Mind's Eye So Sophie line and A Beautiful Life line of papers. The handmade flowers are layered MS cornflower punches with make your own brads from Stampin Up.

Now you just have to hop on over to the Doodle Pantry store or the Doodle Pantry new release and challenge blog and see the new release sets and the inspirational creations from the Doodle Pantry Creative Team. And we're not done yet... plan on joining us November 5-8 when we hop through the 12 Days of Christmas and show off all the possibilities of that new release set. Of course there's the start of the new Doodle Pantry Challenge also beginning on November 5 too. Lots of reasons to visit us often at Doodle Pantry!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Doodle Pantry Scarecrow

2011-10-30T23:08:00.000-04:00

Well I'm milking the weekend to the bitter end! I've had such a relaxing and long weekend, but I hate to see it end. So I'm crafting right up 'til my eyelids get heavy and not a minute sooner! I just couldn't resist playing in the sketch challenge over at Sketches by Carly. And I also couldn't resist using this pre-colored version of the Scarecrow from Doodle Pantry that was released earlier this month.

I love this scarecrow - I've used it before but this one comes pre-colored in these fun, bright colors and also includes three wonderful digi papers too - I've used all three on this card. I think he's the least scary scarecrow I've ever seen and is especially adorable with that sweet little birdie perched on his shoulder. You can find this wonderful set at the Doodle Pantry Store.

Here's the Sketch by Carly that I followed with my card. It's a fun sketch - makes a terrific looking card no matter what image you use.

Instead of the butterfly and the flight trail, I used this fun sentiment that comes with the Scarecrow set and a MS branch punch that I think kind of looks like straw - fitting with the scarecrow! I had so much fun making this card with these fun, bright papers and colors. What do you think?!

Stay tuned here because the Doodle Pantry November release of new digi images is right around the corner - November 1st. Come back and visit me here to see the new releases - some fantastic sets you won't want to miss!

Thanks for stopping by!

Clementine Christmas

2011-10-28T03:54:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! This week flew by so fast - some business traveling this week and now I'm exhausted! I'm looking forward to a long weekend since I'm off today and hoping to get caught up and ahead with my card making.

Well it's time for another release of new digis at StampFairy today. This time we have more of that adorable bunny, Clementine. Isn't she cute with her candy cane?

Here's the whole selection of Clementine Christmas digis. The carrot wrapped in a bow is the freebie today. You can find this new set of digis in the StampFairy Shop.

Sweet Clementine was colored and brought to life with Copic markers. All the papers here are digital from Shery K Designs. A little bit of ribbon and a sentiment and this card is done. I like the fun colors of this card - non traditional but festive.

You really have to visit StampFairy World and see the cards the StampFairies created with this image - some of the cards are so darn clever and all are inspiring. Pop on over and check them out!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Dress Up Day

2011-10-26T08:00:00.034-04:00

Welcome back - this is my second post for the day! Scroll down for the Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge post.

Today is my last post as guest designer for Inky Impressions. I've really enjoyed by two month guest spot there. The stamps are absolutely adorable, very high quality and a lot of fun to create with. So thanks to Nicole for having me on her team!

The challenge theme this week at the Inky Impressions Challenge blog is Paper Flowers. So create a card with your own handmade paper flowers embellishing it and come play with us at Inky Impressions!

This Inky Impressions image is "Zoe's Dress Up Day" and isn't she precious?! Zoe was colored with Copic markers, the papers are from My Mind's Eye "Honey Cake" collection. The paper flowers are made using a Martha Stewart cornflower punch - four layers each flower.

The layout was inspired by this week's sketch at The Sweet Stop challenge blog. I rotated the sketch to suit the image I am using. The spin in the challenge this week is to use pink. I think I have that covered!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Bra-less Stella!

2011-10-26T02:00:00.041-04:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's time for a new Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge and this week we're sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps.

It's a wonderful sketch this week - even though I say that every week!!!! I loved using this sketch and I know you will too!

Bugaboo Stamps is this week's challenge sponsor. The Grand Prize winner will receive 7 free digis of their choice at Bugaboo Stamps. What a terrific prize! I hope this interests you to participate in the challenge this week.

The Bugaboo image I selected this week is a Stella digi called "Stella Peeker-Braless". The image and sentiment just cracked me up and I thought it would make a fun card. Stella and her bra were colored with Copic markers. I used designer papers from Authentique here. My embellishment is a silk flower from a ribbon I had in my stash.

Now make your way to the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog to see the beautiful selection of cards the design team has created for you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Deputy Christopher

2011-10-23T16:19:00.000-04:00

Hi there stampers! I'm highlighting Inky Impressions rubber stamps today. It was my turn to post at the Inky Impressions Inspirational Blog as a guest designer and I thought I'd share that card with all of you here on my blog as well. This is a bendy fold card that my friend Emma created. I love this card design for the dimension and interest it provides. You can find the tutorial that Emma has written HERE at her blog, Lady and the Stamp.

Here you can see the gently bended panels that add dimension and interest to this layout. I modified the original design provided by Emma to suit the size and shape of the image I was using. The design is easy to modify to your particular needs.

The rubber stamp I used is Deputy Christopher from Inky Impressions rubber stamps. I love these rubber stamps for their adorable designs and for the super finely etched rubber. They stamp beautifully and are of very high quality. You can find Deputy Christopher HERE at the Inky Impressions Store.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Candy Corn Ants

2011-10-22T07:00:00.036-04:00

Well it's getting closer to Halloween and I always enjoy this time of year. It's fun to pull out the Halloween decorations and finish off my Halloween cards for my nieces and nephew. This is one of them, featuring the image from a Doodle Pantry set called Candy Corn Ants.

This is such a terrific Halloween set. You get a precolored version of the image as well as black and white, three sentiments and two complementary digi papers. You can find this collection HERE in the Doodle Pantry Store.

Here, I've used the matching candy corn digi paper from the set with the image that was colored with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol blending solution. I thought the real candy corns as embellishments would be a lot of fun and fully appreciated by my nephew! Pretty easy peasy to put together just in time for Halloween!

Thanks for stopping by!

Barry's Christmas Stockings

2011-10-21T06:00:00.072-04:00

Happy Friday StampFairy fans! It's another new release today at StampFairy and you're going to love creating with this adorable guy. Yes, Barry is back with his Christmas stockings filled with presents and he's looking as cute as ever!

Here's the Barry Stockings collection released today. The bottom right stocking is today's freebie and it's a dandy! You can find all these wonderful new stamps HERE in the StampFairy Shop.

This little sweetie was brought to life with Copics and some Diamond Stickles. The papers are digital from Shery K Designs. My inspiration for the layout is from this week's MOJO Monday sketch #211 - see below. You can see all the other DT creations using Barry Stockings by visiting StampFairy World.

Now on to other news at StampFairy.... We've just introduced a new character earlier this week called Molly and she's the sweetest thing. Here's the collection of Molly Peekers - so perfect for all sorts of card designs and paper projects.

And you'll find a sale going on when you arrive the StampFairy Shop - a perfect time to get the new Molly or Barry Stocking digis and to just stock up on your favorite StampFairy images. And finally, our StampFairy Challenge is still going on - we'd love to see you play along with us there!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Vintage Globe

2011-10-20T00:32:00.000-04:00

Today I'm showcasing one of the new Doodle Pantry images from this month's release. This wonderful digi is "Vintage Globe" and it's perfect for masculine cards as I've done here as a retirement card.

You can find the set HERE in the Doodle Pantry Store.

I used Prismacolor pencils to color the image, cut it out and mounted it as the focal point on top of a Spellbinders die cut. The papers are Basic Grey from the "Marjolaine" collection. A ribbon banner die cut with the Happy Retirement sentiment finishes it off.

There are several specials taking place right now at Doodle Pantry. For a limited time, the new Quirky Turkey digi collection is free with a purchase from the Doodle Pantry store.

And there's still plenty of time to play in our challenge this month. Just create a card using a Doodle Pantry image - it's that easy. Every participant will receive the Quirky Penguin digi set for free - just for playing along! You can't beat that! Just go to the Doodle Pantry Digital Doodles Blog for the challenge entry.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Louie at Sweet Sketch Wednesday

2011-10-19T02:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday everyone. Another week flying by fast as a fiddle and on top of that, I'm heading out of town on business and wish I had one more day to finish off my tasks before that. Can't complain too much as I'm heading for warm Miami just as the weather here in Michigan shows its wet October winds. Though it's going fast, I love my Wednesdays because of the new challenges at Sweet Sketch Wednesday!

It's a great sketch this week featuring an oval focal panel and a wonderful opportunity for fun embellishments.

Our favorite Digi Stamp Boutique is our monthly sponsor and the sponsor of this week's challenge. The Grand Prize winner will receive 6 free digi stamps from Digi Stamp Boutique - a wonderful and generous prize. I hope you'll play along for a chance to win!

I chose this adorable new Louie the teddy bear. Right now there are four Louie images in a collection with special pricing - just go HERE to see this wonderful collection. Louie was colored with Copics and the papers used are from Crate Paper's "Emma's Shoppe" and "Portrait Collection". I love these colors together and think this makes a fun birthday card.

As usual the Sweet Sketch Wednesday design team has created some fabulous inspiration for you using a terrific assortment of Digi Stamp Boutique digis. Head on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday to check it out and get inspired to play along with us this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Clementine in Winter

2011-10-14T01:40:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! It's another new release at StampFairy and you're just going to love this one. Yes, it's a new collection featuring our favorite sweet bunny Clementine. This time she's given up her Easter basket for some good old fashioned winter ice skates enjoying a snowy day!

Here's the full collection released today. You can see Clementine is enjoying all the winter sports including building a snowman. The Season's Greetings sentiment is the freebie today and goes with this collection perfectly. You can find all these new digis HERE in the StampFairy Shop.

Up close you can see all the wonderful sparkly glitterland I've created for Clementine. You can even see the bit of snow that's accumulated on her cute little nose. She was colored with Copics and papers from Cosmo Cricket's "Jolly by Golly" line. I used my new Grand Calibur Blossom and Circle Nesties for the card base with regular Blossom and Circle dies for the focal panel. Some glitter, rhinestones and diamond Stickles add the finishing touches.

The design team really went to town with this new image today - you just have to stop by StampFairy World to see all the beautiful cards the StampFairies created to inspire you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Playing in the Leaves at Inky Impressions!

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hi! I'm back again today with another new challenge this time for Inky Impressions where I'm guest designing for a couple months and loving to create with these fabulous rubber stamps created by Nicole.

This week the challenge is following a sketch that was designed by our own DT member Marion. What incredible talent she has for card making - she definitely has made an "inky impression" on me! You can find Marion's work at her blog, Cards by MarionE, and of course the Inky Impressions Challenges blog too.

Here's the challenge sketch this week for Inky Impressions Challenges - IIC28. Head on over to the Inky Impressions Challenges blog to see the incredible design team creativity with this sketch and the beautiful showcase of Inky Impressions rubber stamps - they really are gorgeous stamps to work with and such wonderful images.

The Inky Impressions stamp I used this week is "Lili Playing in the Leaves" - perfect this time of year as we're in full color now in southeast Michigan. It was colored with warm Copic markers and the papers used in creating the card are from Shery K Designs.

I hope you'll join in the fun at Inky Impressions Challenges this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Overload at School - SSW123

2011-10-12T06:31:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hard to believe we're halfway through the week - it's been so busy in my neck of the woods and I've been down since the weekend with a case of pneumonia of all things! Like I've needed that right now - ugh! Got a full dose of meds under my belt now so hopefully this is upswing to feeling better and getting back to full crafting mode.

We've got a new sketch challenge today at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and are showcasing the wonderful digi stamps from Sassy Cheryl's this week who is our sponsor of the challenge. I thought this image was great for this week because it's halfway through the first semester in our schools here. Lots of studying for mid-term tests and for the Michigan education assessment tests which are grueling for the kids. This image looks like my son, hauling his books back and forth to school!

Here's the sketch for the challenge this week. Another diamond focal panel which is so interesting from a design perspective. It's actually a repeat of our followers favorite sketch from week 57 that we're repurposing again for this week.

As I mentioned, Sassy Cheryl's is our sponsor this week. We love creating with Cheryl's wonderful whimsical images and I know you would too. Cheryl is generously providing the Grand Prize winner of the challenge with a $5 gift certificate to the Sassy Cheryl's store. To be eligible for the Grand Prize, remember you have to leave a comment on the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog after posting your card entry. I want all the wonderful participants of the challenge to be eligible for the Grand Prize!

The Sassy Cheryl's image I used this week is called "Overload at School" and you can find it HERE in the Sassy Cheryl's store. It was colored with Copics to match the digital papers I selected from Shery K Designs "Apples" digital paper pack. Fun, bright papers that I thought would be perfect with this darling image.

For more info on the challenge rules and to see the wonderful assortment of Sassy Cheryl's images on the creative design team cards, head on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday. I hope you'll be inspired to play along with us this week.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Barry's Birthday at StampFairy!

2011-10-07T04:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! This week has flown by for me - guess that's a good thing since I love my weekends to get caught up on my crafting and card-making projects. This weekend I'll be doing that plus continuing the reorganization and clean up of my craft room. Amazing how much more work space I have now - I was seriously down to about a 4-inch square area! Hard to make a 5.5-inch square card in that kind of room - LOL! And so now here's the result of a cleaner, more organized space...

Introducing Barry Birthday from StampFairy! He's our new friend making his debut today in the StampFairy Shop. How perfect he is for celebrations of all kinds!

Here's the whole collection of Barry Birthday digis released today. The present is the freebie today at StampFairy. You can find these HERE in the new release section of the StampFairy Shop.

I just love our fuzzy little Barry! He was colored with Copics and the card created with Basic Grey's "Life of the Party" papers. I added a few pennants for Barry's celebration just to make it festive!

Stroll on over to StampFairy World where you'll find the creative work of the DT StampFairies showcasing this adorable new Barry Birthday collection. You'll love what you find there.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kate Krafty, A Ragamuffin at SSW

2011-10-05T05:11:00.001-04:00

Happy Sweet Sketch Wednesday! Time for a new challenge today and we're excited to show off our new sponsor today - Saturated Canary digi stamps. What wonderful images we've played with for this week's challenge. This is Kate Krafty, a Ragamuffin.

But first, here's the sketch to follow for this week's challenge. This one is perfect for larger stamps.

Our new sponsor this week is Saturated Canary and I'm just wowed by these digital stamps. The artist and owner is Krista Smith who offers the most wonderful and whimsical designs. She's providing the Grand Prize winner of the challenge this week with two of her digi images. Here's a little more about Krista and her work:

My name is Krista Smith. I am the artist behind the Etsy shop, Saturated Canary Digis. I began working in the stamping world about a year ago when I was hired to create rubber designs for the sweet Scottish company, Sugar Nellie. They launched my artwork under the name 'Simply Sassy.' I moved into the digital world just this past month (it's been a super busy month, indeed!). And-- I love it!! There is a little more freedom here, as I can create anything that pops into my head:)! I am so humbled by the artistic talent of the girls coloring in my designs-- it is truly an inspiration! Likewise, I am so thankful for the friendships I've made in this wonderful and lovely crafty community! It's been a true delight! I'd love for you to stop by my challenge/inspiration blog, Saturated CanaryChallenge and join in the fun...And, while you're there, click over to my personal blog (Saturated Canary) and introduce yourself! I am a bit eclectic and touch on everything from family (I've got me a great one!) to fashion (obsessed!)...Please say 'hi!'...I'd love to be friends!:)

What fun it was to create with this image. I went for brighter colors on Kate Krafty because she seemed to be filled with personality, a bit mischievous and for that it just seemed fitting. The papers are My Mind's Eye "Happier" collection. You really just have to take a stroll through Saturated Canary and see all the fabulous images Krista is offering - you'll love it! And then, pop on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday and see the selection of Saturated Canary images the design team created with and brought to life - that's not to be missed either!

Thanks for stopping by!

Not a creature was stirring...

2011-10-04T04:47:00.000-04:00

Oh nevermind - the ants were stirring on this particular Christmas Eve and were caught in the act of hijacking Santa's cookies! Hi there and welcome back. Today I'm featuring one of the new pre-colored digi stamp sets released this month from Doodle Pantry. This one I just love - I think it one of the most clever, fun and whimsical digis for Christmas. Who wouldn't love seeing this in their Christmas mail?!!

This set is called "Holiday Ants". The pre-colored version of these images are new this month. The precolored sets actually come with the line drawing version that you can color yourself along with other images of ants and ornaments. Also, they come with the three digital papers I've used here too that match the colors in the image. This is a quick and easy way to make up a card - perfect for Christmas cards. You can find this new precolored set HERE at the Doodle Pantry store.

Hop on over to Doodle Pantry and see the eight other digi stamp collections just released this month. You'll be making up your Christmas list with Doodle Pantry stamps at the top of it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Doodle Pantry New Releases

2011-10-01T12:00:00.041-04:00

Welcome! It's always great when the weekend rolls around - I do love my Saturdays! I love this Saturday even more with the release of a bunch of new digi stamp collections at Doodle Pantry. Just wait until you see what Laurie Wilson drew up this month - it's a wonderful release and you can see it all here at the Doodle Pantry store.

I'm just crazy about this new digi set. It's called "Snow Birdie" and is available two ways: Plain line drawings of the image with several sentiments - I featured one of the sentiments here - and in a precolored version. There's some terrific coordinating digi papers too. I love that you get the pre-colored versions of this image as well as the line drawings if you want to color it up yourself.

And that's just what I did - colored my own using Copics. I cut it out and assembled it onto Soft Sky cardstock cut with a Nesties #17 die. I sponged it up to create the look of a winter sky in the background and snow in the foreground, added punched snowflakes and a scene was created! Icicle Stickles were added to shimmer up the snow and the snowman because snow just has to glisten! And how about those adorable leg warmers this sweet little birdie is wearing to keep his bird-legs warm!

Now take a minute or two to stroll through the design team's creations at the Doodle Pantry store and Doodle Pantry Blog using all the other sets in the new release today. You'll truly be inspired because we have some serious talent on our team!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Bikini Beach Kitten

2011-09-28T08:05:00.000-04:00

Welcome Sweet Sketch Wednesday fans! Yep, another week has totally flown by so fast that it's a new sketch, new challenge and new sponsor today! Another wonderful Sweet Sketch Wednesday!

Here's the fun new sketch. I just love this design - how interesting it is when you use a different shape like the diamond here, for the focal panel. Your eye goes right to it. Yet this sketch provides for a nice selection of complimentary designer paper patterns too. Give it a try and join us in the challenge this week!

Our wonderful sponsor this week is everyone's favorite - Meljen's Designs - such sweet whimsical images that inspire you to create. The Grand Prize winner of the challenge this week will receive four digi stamps of their choice from Meljen's - fab prize don't you think? To be eligible for the Grand Prize you have to comment on the challenge blog - please do that! So many beautiful creations can't be considered because the participant didn't qualify. We want to see everyone eligible to win this fantastic prize.

I've used Meljen's "Beach Kitten" digi to create my card this week. Isn't this just adorable? This kitty in her pink bikini was colored with Copics. The papers used here are digital from Shery K Designs. The flower embellie made with a MS cornflower punch and a few fuzzy brads from my stash.

Now dash on over to see the inspiration created by the Sweet Sketch Wednesday design team. They are just terrific creations this week, you won't want to miss them!

Thanks for stopping by!

Inky Impressions Challenge #26

2011-09-28T07:36:00.000-04:00

Welcome back! Today the focus is on Inky Impressions and the new challenge this week to use Punches or Diecuts on your card. So I made this sweet card featuring "Lili's Awareness Ribbon " - perfect as we transition to October, National Breast Cancer Awareness month. You can find this sweet image here at the Inky Impressions online store.

Here's a closer look at darling Lili. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this stamp will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. That's very cool! As for the diecuts in the challenge, I've used several on my card - Spellbinders Labels #17, Heartfelt Creations window die, Spellbinders scallop ovals and ovals and finally MFTstamps Dienamics ribbon die vertically. Also notice the tiny "hope" charm attached to the button embellishment. You can find those in the Inky Impressions store too.

Now take a stroll over to the Inky Impressions Challenges blog and join us in the challenge this week! At least stop by to see the incredible DT inspiration cards - you're eyes will thank you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Halloween "Spooky" Wreath

2011-09-26T00:08:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday! Today I wanted to share this Halloween card that looks a bit more sophisticated than what you would normally see at Halloween. The wonderful wreath image is from Doodle Pantry - one of the September releases. I used this week's sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday again - I love this sketch and thought it was perfectly fit to show off the Doodle Pantry "Spooky Wreath".

Here it is a little closer where you can really see the glitter I added to the bats so they would stand out. You can also see the touch of my glitter gel pen on some of the leaves too. The wreath was colored in Copics and in real life some of the leaves are an orangy red - hard to tell here. It's so difficult to photograph reds. The pumpkins stand out a little better too. But I think you can imagine the rich color palette this actually is.

For you Doodle Pantry fans, we're about a week away from the October release of new digi collections. So stay tuned for that - you'll love what Laurie is drawing up for next month.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Treat

2011-09-25T06:19:00.000-04:00

Happy day everyone! Today I'm showing a new card design and a dear, sweet stamp from Inky Impressions. I made this card for the Inky Impressions Inspirational Blog and thought I'd share this fun design with you today. The design is called a Box Arm Card and was developed by my dear friend Emma. It features two focal panels that swing apart.

Here you can see the panels extended to reveal the sentiment inside the card. The panels are attached to box-shaped arms that allow them to pop up and out.

This is a good shot showing the box arms that are attached to the focal panels and also to the card base. This is a really easy design to make up and Emma has a free tutorial HERE on the dimensions and how to put it together. You can also get it at her blog - just click on her name above and it will take you there.

My card features this adorable Inky Impressions rubber stamp image called Lili's Sweet Treat. You can find her here at the Inky Impressions store. I stamped her on whisper white cardstock with Palette Noir Black ink and colored her with Copic markers. The papers are all from My Mind's Eye "Fly A Kite" collection and the base cardstock is Poppy Parade from Stampin' Up.

I hope you try this fun card design. Thanks for stopping by!