Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Hi, Hey, Hello!

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a card that says "Hello!" Well, my card doesn't say hello... but that's how I answer my phone... so I'm sharing this new image today! I love this big ol' phone (G10029 Phone Me)! I colored the image with Touch Twin Markers (colors are below), then cut out the image and added some dimension by embossing from the back side of the image with my stylus. There is some Crystal Lacquer in the center of the dial for a little extra shine. The sentiment comes from a clear set called Greeting Card Sentiments.
These are the Touch Twin markers that I used:

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration -

Daniela @ For the First Time
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat
Julie @ Out to Impress
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Vicki @ Summerthyme Studio

Remember you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps! See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! We'd love to have you join us.

Also, remember I have a Valentine stamp giveaway going on, so if you love Impression Obsession stamps, be sure to leave a comment on the giveaway post for a chance to win!

Happy Valentines Day!

Just wanted to spread a little extra Valentine lo-o-o-o-o-o-ve...... how about some Impression Obsession stamps sets to give away? These are the sets I have, and I will draw 4 winners from your comments below... 2 winners will receive both sets, and 2 more winners will receive the 2nd set pictured below.
I'm on the road with my family right now, so I'll draw a winner on Monday, Feb. 20th. Good luck to you!

TTC11 - Your Favorite Animal

There's a new challenge up at the Touch Twin Markers & More Challenge blog - this time we're using our markers to create projects with an animal theme. We hope you'll join the fun! The whole team is working with the same stamp set (Cool Cats) from Market Street Stamps today...we are so thankful to them for sponsoring our challenges this month!!
When I make 5" square cards, I end up having a 3-1/2"x11" cut left over - it's a great size for a quick card. For no real reason, I wanted my cat to be brown... so here's how he turned out. These open images are so great for practicing shading and coloring!
These are the markers I used - I love this progression of browns:

You can visit the Touch Twin Markers & More Challenge blog for all the details if you'd like to play! Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC11 and touchtwin. Have fun!

Inchie Arts!

So excited to announce that I am the newest addition to the Inchie Arts team!! If you're not familiar with Inchie Arts products, here's a quick description from their site:

Inchie Squares are made of the highest grade Alphamat Artcare museum quality preservation matteboard. The material has a solid white archival core and is acid free and lignin free, as well as fade and bleed resistant making it a very desirable art surface.... It is well suited for direct application of many different art mediums including rubber stamping, markers, colored pencil, watercolor paints, embellishment or collage materials applied to its surface and sides.

Inchie Squares come in 3 different sizes - 1", 1-1/2", and 2" squares. There are also square cards in a variety of assorted colors, and a variety of products that complement the squares.

For this card I stamped my image across 2 Inchie+ squares (1-1/2"). The image is from Flourishes, and is colored with Touch Twin markers. I used a waterbrush filled with rubbing alcohol to 'paint' the marker ink in the background (you can view a tutorial video HERE).

These are the markers that I used:

I love how the matteboard works with the markers, and look forward to playing with them some more! In the past I have colored them with pencils and watercolors, and they take color beautifully. So happy to be able to work with these amazing products, and share them with you!

"sew" thankful....

I needed a thank you card to send to my Granny - sewing has always been one of her loves, so I watercolored this vintage sewing machine for her card - the image is from Clear Dollar Stamps. I used Derwent watercolor pencils and had some fun with color layering and shading. The sentiment is from Verve Stamps.I colored the button to match my card, using a Touch Twin marker...
Thanks for stopping by today! You'll be seeing a few more CDS creations from me next month!!

CHA pictures

I thoroughly enjoyed being at CHA... I don't have any pictures of new product or favorites...in some ways I am still catching up with old product, and I've never been a band-wagon person... also, I only had about 3 hours to walk the floor the whole time, in between demoing at Impression Obsession and ShinHan Art Materials and making sure I ate enough to keep me going. I did see some new Memento inkpad colors that I will be needing, and the new double-sided embossing folders from Spellbinders are really nice.

I especially enjoyed meeting some designers and company owners that have been long-time friends online - obviously meeting any of my stamping friends in person is a really rare opportunity! It was so special to be able to meet in person. Here are some of my booth and 'people' pictures!

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

I literally hit the ground running when I came back from Anaheim - we have been packing all weekend and will be heading out tomorrow for a two-week road trip in between extended stops. Looking forward to visiting friends, churches, and family along the way!

CHA DT Blog Hop Week -Day 5

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on each designer's posts throughout the week for a chance to win a gift certificate to I.O!

I saved my favorites for last - I adore the large florals in this release, and this one was so fun to color. On the first card I stamped the image twice, and layered them to create dimension. There's a little Ivory Flower Soft in the flower center. The floral panel was stamped with a new background stamp (CR007 Tiny Flowers).

I used the same image on my second card, but stamped it in a very light green ink and painted and shaded one petal at a time so I didn't lose the lines. I love this effect!

I hope you have enjoyed all our projects this week! Thank you for your comments!

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps February release hop

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is celebrating a new stamp release today with a fun blog hop, and I have some designs in the mix! Below is a peek at the set I designed for this month's release. I didn't get my stamps in time to make a card, but if you'd like to view the cards in the hop, you can start over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Blog - you'll find a full list of participants there, and all the details you need. If you're already hopping and you came from Giovana's blog, you're doing just fine.Your next stop on the hop is Jessica Fick's blog! Just in case you get lost, or need to take a break from hopping, here's the full hop list:

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog

Korin Sutherland

Kim Singdahlsen

Giovana Smith

Dina Kowal <----- you're here!!

Jessica Fick

Kim Schofield

Monika Davis

Bridget Finlay

Holly McMillen

Cathy McCauley

Amber Hillman

Wendy Jordan (our February guest)

Taylor Usry

Don't forget, the entire February release is available in the store right now; you can order the stamps individually or at a discounted bundle price! Head over to get yours today!

If you like my stamp designs, stop by and 'like' dkdesigns on Facebook!

CHA DT Blog Hop Week - Day 4

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on each designer's posts throughout the week for a chance to win a gift certificate to I.O!

Gary Robertson's images are always so fun to color, and this series of porch scenes is so warm and homey. I used 3 Touch markers to color this scene:

Most of the shading was done by touching the tip of the Sand marker to the tip of the Chocolate marker and blending the color out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Word Card Tutorial on Splitcoaststampers

I'm excited to have a tutorial published on Splitcoaststampers today! When I was on the Dirty Dozen team I made a word-shaped card, and offered an exclusive template to Fan Club members. Beate asked if I'd be willing to write up a tutorial for a Valentine-themed word card to share with the whole crew! Here is the sample I made for the tutorial, and you can find the instructions and a printable template HERE.

Supplies used for my card:

Stamps: Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps – Spring Tulips, Blessings & Thanks
Cardstock: Bazzill, Prism, and unknown manufacturer, Neenah Solar White
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (tulips), Versafine Onyx Black (sentiment), Versamagic Pixie Dust (to sponge edges of I and U)
Dies: Spellbinders Tags 5
Other: craft knife, scissors, Flower Soft PVA glue, grosgrain ribbon, Scor-Pal
Touch Twin Markers:

Enjoy!