Challenges and challenges.

This has been a challenging and emotional week...have had some issues for some time with my house helper, and today was her last day - since she is from a tribal area and several of our students are from her same village, many of them involved themselves in the situation, trying to help her change, but she's choosing not to...it is really a long story...and the whole situation has gotten much more complex and heavy than it needed to...needless to say I'm exhausted and I'm just ready to have it over with, learn from it, and move on. *sigh...*

Also, a bit of a crisis in our extended family - if any of you are from Texas you may have heard about an Eagle Pass woman who was in the midst of a messy divorce and has been missing since Jan. 21 - her brother is my sister-in-law's husband, so while she's not a direct relative of mine, this is a really hard time for my in-laws, who have gone to TX to see what they can do to help. You can read more about the situation here ...sad and very scary.

OK - enough heavy stuff. Challenges! I played a couple this week, just for fun. Need some fun in my life, no?! Here's my entry for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge, sketch 53. I picked up this cupcake wreath from Eureka Stamps - cute, huh? The image is watercolored with lots of glitter pen on the confetti. Saying is from Heart & Soul Rubber Stamp Co.

I played the House Mouse challenge too - that's one of my favorites - love those mice and bunnies!! The challenge (#22) was to do some piercing on our cards. That barely shows up in the picture...but there is piercing around the edge, and a little on the little pail, where the handle attaches. The pail and shovel are stamps from Firecracker Designs by Pamela, and the flip-flop border is from Art Impressions. The saying is one of my favorites, from Heart & Soul Rubber Stamp Co. The scene is watercolored with reinkers and watercolor pencils.

Thanks for checking in on me!

Impression Obsession Challenge - Spring stamps!!

I live in a land of 2 seasons - wet and wetter......so to remember and celebrate the 4 seasons at home is really fun for me. Impression Obsession's new CHA releases are full of fun images - here are a few that say Spring to me! (happy dancing too, because these cards got to go to CHA, even though I didn't...!) These are from one of the new Sarah Phelps sets, which is full of butterfly and ladybug images...I have some others that I'll save for another day.These butterflies are watercolored with pearlescent watercolors and glitter - they are super sparkly and dimensional in real life! I added a little faux stitching around the oval to bring focus to the sentiment. Such a fun and versatile one.

Love me some ladybugs too - and since this is a clear set, this ladybug border was easy to curve into the shape that I wanted. I added some highlights with a white pencil.

The ladybugs below were colored with a marker, then I shaded and highlighted with colored pencils. I used a small clear alphabet set to add the sentiment. If you're curious to see more sneak previews from I.O., check out these other team members' blogs - we'll keep posting the new stuff!

Julie @ Out to Impress
Daniela @ For the First Time
Deborah @ Cards and Things
Kelli @ I Made This Myself!
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Michelle @ Twisted Chick Creations
Tina @ stamp it chick

Tea Party - stitches and ribbon

Ready for another Tea Party? Giovana challenged us to bring ribbons and stitching to our smARTworks Tea Party challenge this week. The stitching could be real needlework, or faux or stamped stitching. I've been wanting to use this bunny stamp...in a former life I collected ceramic bunnies, but since we have had to pack and move so many times, I don't have many bunnies anymore...so I stamp them! These are from smARTworks' latest stamp release, and the set is called Two Bunnies. I stamped the bunnies then masked them, filled in the grassy area by rubbing a small chalk pad directly on the paper, then finished off the top of the green area by stamping the grass stamp (part of the bunny set) in the same green ink. I used a punched scalloped circle as a mask for the sky. There's ribbon sewed across the card with a decorative stitch, and the tag is stitched to the card at the bottom. The button is attached with ribbon, too. The one bunny's tail is filled with French knots...but I couldn't find any white embroidery thread so I had to use ecru...not quite the look I was going for!!

Be sure to check out the other team members' creations as they post throughout the day...

Trish @ Tah-Dah!

Susan @ In the Works (for Peggy too)

Giovana @ A Place to Praise and Craft

Donelda @ Wiggy’s World

throne of grace

Just a quick post today to highlight a verse from one of the January releases, "Lift Up Our Hands," from Our Daily Bread designs... wow, this is such a powerful verse! In ancient times people had to approach the king in fear and trembling and wait for his permission to approach the throne - but this throne of God is fully accessible and full of grace, mercy, help - not fear or punishment. My Mom sent me a book for my birthday called "His Princess: Love Letters from Your King" - it fits this theme too. Sometimes I forget I'm a princess!

On the card - just wanted to point out the flower - the charm in the center says 'grace' - that's from Oriental Trading Co. The leaves are kind of cool - that's a cut of wide grosgrain ribbon that I heated until it melted and curled the way I wanted it too (just be careful not to scorch it!).

Maybe you've seen sneak peeks of the next releases from ODBD - I have another set coming out called Keep My Lamp Burning - it's a lighthouse collage set with 4 interchangeable verses (well, 3 verses and a quote). Can't wait to get mine! Here are a couple samples from our guest designers:

Holly's card (Toy on SCS)

Cindy's card (Mothermark on SCS)

He is Risen

Here are 2 more cards with the other January release from Our Daily Bread designs, called He Is Risen. Don't the spikes form a neat cross? Love that. The backgrounds on both these cards were done by painting with Adirondack Stream reinker and Shimmerz - the sparkles in even 1/2 a drop of Shimmerz go a looooooooong way! On the first card I mixed in Angel Wings Shimmerz, and for the 2nd card I added Indigo. You can find the entire line of Shimmerz at ODBD now, even the newly released Blingz! Paint, then spritz with water - boom! On the first card I sprinkled the still-wet watercolor paper with rock salt and let it dry completely - that is what gives it the mottled look. Experiment with reinkers - some will actually separate into different colors! This Stream reinker had a neat green that came out when I spritzed it.

On the second card I added a shadow behind the cross (this cross is trimmed and popped up on foam tape), and some brown speckles with a blow pen. Both cards have paper beads on them, too.

The saying here is stamped on vellum which I backed first with 2" wide double stick tape.

Hope you have a blessed day!

indescribable....

Just had to share some pictures I snapped last night at sunset - I have never seen anything like this cloud/light phenomenon - it was truly breathtaking. Swirling light and color and shadows...I don't know what would cause that - anyone have a meteorologist friend who knows? I'm really fascinated (I swear the only thing I remember from 2nd grade science is the names of different types of clouds...). See the shadow of a cross in the first pic? How cool...

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea

Creation's revealing Your majesty....

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name--

You are amazing, God........

--Chris Tomlin

Sugar Bowl Challenge 2

The Sugar Bowl's Challenge #2 -----------> "Please use three different design papers and three different types of embellishments on your cards! No more, no less." Not sure where the pink came from with all the blues and browns in the papers...but...somehow...it works! The bunny image is from Funky Kits. I colored her with Prismacolor pencils and pieced her dress with the base panel paper. I counted the bow as an embellishment (since it was pre-tied) - then there's a flower punchie and a flat-back pearl.

Thanks for stopping by!

Impression Obsession challenge - birthday!

Since we have a birthday girl on the team this week, the Impression Obsession team is showing off some of the new birthday stamps that will be released soon....I sooooo love this cupcake set from Sarah Phelps! The 5 cupcakes together are a border stamp - I watercolored mine. The set also includes a polka dot oval border, and I used that with a little "Sweetie Pie" sentiment to make a shrink plastic tag. Didn't that come out a cute little size? Lots of glitter pen sparkles on this card too. My second card was a simple one, but quick and fun to make. The 3 presents are paper-pieced, so no need for masking on the oval frame. That panel is popped with foam tape for some dimension.

Be sure to check out the rest of the team's creations, and see if you can find the birthday girl...!

Julie @ Out to Impress
Daniela @ For the First Time
Deborah @ Cards and Things
Kelli @ I Made This Myself!
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Michelle @ Twisted Chick Creations
Tina @ stamp it chick

Stitches and Ribbon

Get ready for our next smARTworks Tea Party challenge - Giovana would like to see stitches (real ones, stamped ones, or faux ones) and ribbon on our cards this time! If you're not sure how to faux stitch, try this: poke a line of holes with a pin or piercing tool (you can use a ruler to keep them even - or a piece of plastic canvas), then connect the dots! If you get to play, be sure to link your post to one of the DT members' blog posts so we can see what you came up with!


And this has absolutely nothing to do with stitching, but I had to show you this chance photo I took in Malaysia - those are the tallest twin towers in the world, and I happened to pull my camera out, turn it on, and get this shot perfectly between two buildings after we passed it on the freeway. They are really really huge and cool up close too...because of the perspective they don't look so big here! You can learn more about the Petronas Towers at Wikipedia....

Lift Up Our Hands

Sooooooo excited to have this set in my hands, and immortalized in rubber - this set is one of my own designs that has been rubberized by Our Daily Bread designs and is newly available this month! I hate being so far away that I'm just posting the month's releases when other team members are getting ready for the next month's sneak peeks!

I stamped the hands image in brown on some flecked cardstock, then colored in just the hands with pencil and sponged the edges. There are 3 text lines that can be used together or separately - I used 2 of those to create the sentiment. Hard to read in the photo - it says, "Lifting you up in prayer during this difficult time". The cross is an eyelet that I flattened to use as a charm. Works for me. :)

Here's the entire set:

Indigo Bunting

This is one of the new releases from smARTworks, called Indigo Bunting - I'm such a sucker for bird sets, and this one has some great sayings to go along with it. I watercolored the bird - this is a different focal color for me! - then added some highlights with a white colored pencil. How amazing, huh - they really are that blue! Students are back and classes start up again today - we have 17 students on campus and more in other areas either learning a tribal culture/language or building relationships in their local churches. Hoping...hoping...to get back into a solid routine now that things are rolling at the campus again. Normally I sit in on classes a couple hours a week if we can finish homeschool stuff in time; otherwise I need to be available for health/medical needs of the campus, discipleship and relationships in general, and of course - afternoon sports times!

While one of the other staff ladies is gone (3 weeks), I'm borrowing her house helper - the hope is that she will be a positive and motivating influence on my other helper. Pray for that! The last couple months have been frustrating, and I realize that a lot of it is miscommunication, as my American culture and her tribal culture try to meet in an Indonesian culture that neither of us fully have a grip on yet! Ugh...

Proud of you

Here's another sneak peek at something new coming from Impression Obsession.....I took a few colored pencils with me to Singapore and colored on the plane - this is one of my favorite images from the new Leigh Hannan release. If you love to color, you'll have to check out her new stuff after the CHA release.... Love this image in the bright colors, though I can imagine it in pastels, sepia tones, etc. Love it! Hard to see, but there are mini rhinestones in the flower centers.

If you're curious to see more sneak previews from I.O., check out these other team members' blogs - we'll be posting 'new stuff' over the next few weeks!

Julie @ Out to Impress
Daniela @ For the First Time
Deborah @ Cards and Things
Kelli @ I Made This Myself!
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Michelle @ Twisted Chick Creations
Tina @ stamp it chick

You can see more of my samples at http://www.mamadinis.com/impressionobsession.htm

In other news...I posted an update on our trip to Singapore on our family blog - feel free to hop over there to read it if you're interested!

new releases from Impression Obsession!

Over the next 3 weeks the Impression Obsession design team will be sharing some brand spankin' new releases, which will be revealed at this year's CHA convention. I.O. is introducing a new artist this year - Sarah Phelps! Her artwork is whimsical and soooooo much fun to work with. :) This week's challenge is to create a Valentine card (a holiday which is coming up far more quickly than I want to accept...)

Here's some of Sarah's artwork - this is a floral set, not one of the ones specifically for Valentines Day, but with a little pink and white, it works for me! The vase is watercolored, and very sparkly, thanks to my Sakura stardust pen (do you know that the ink is water-based, and you can blend it with a waterbrush or blender pen?). This set is really versatile, and I love the floral images. Here's one more card with the same stamp set - a different take on it, just for fun...

The rest of the team will be sharing as they can - be sure to check out what they've done!

Julie @ Out to Impress
Daniela @ For the First Time
Deborah @ Cards and Things
Kelli @ I Made This Myself!
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Tina @ stamp it chick

Also, I'd like to join the I.O. team in welcoming Michelle Giraud as our new guest designer! You might know her from her blog Twisted Chick Creations, or from her postings as flaxychick on SCS. Congratulations, Michelle!

Just one more picture, so you can see all the texture on the Valentine card - love it!

Sparkles!

Time for Tea! Donelda challenged us to sparklefy our smARTworks cards this time. Did you get to play? Remember to share a link with us, so we can be dazzled by your sparkliness! Here's my card:

I painted an entire sheet of watercolor paper with Twinkling H20s, then stamped Star Flowers over it with some pearlescent Brilliance ink. That's the paper I used for the background panel, and also for the flowers. I stamped the flowers in black pigment ink and embossed them with clear EP, then trimmed them out and shaped them. There is crushed glass powder in the center of each one - that stuff is spar-ka-lay! The sentiment is stamped on pearlized cardstock (Shannan, I am hoarding it....)

Be sure to check out the other team members' creations as they post throughout the day...
Trish
Susan
Giovana
Donelda

If you played along this week, link your post in a comment here so we can see your work! Thanks for coming by!

Winners....!!

I'm so grateful to those who participated in all the challenges - wow! Thanks for all your efforts in making my birthday party a fun one - and I hope that the cards you made will be an encouragement to others. Here are the winners, and the prizes they've won! Wow - still can't belieeeeeeeeeve what awesome prizes these are. So girlies, send me your addresses and I will get your information to the right person so you can start playing with your new shtuff. (You can click on the winners' names to see their winning cards.)

Day 1: The smARTworks prize package goes to SEAMOM! and CRAFTYANTIONETTE wins 2 Spring-themed smART sets.

Day 2: JAMI's Praying Hands card was our favorite - Jami gets to choose a large clear set (code CL or WP) from Impression Obsession. SAROSA was our random name drawn - let me know which MC clear set you'd like sent to you!

Day 3: GIOVANA wins the Swan Song set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela! And MICHELLE ADAMS, let me know which 2"x3" set you'd like.

Day 4: SUE D wins 5 unmounted stamps of her choice from Heart & Soul Rubber Stamp Co. And LEEEEEEENDA (sorry, I can never resist extra E's...) - let us know which sentiment you've always wanted to have as a stamp - Sue at H&S is waiting to make it for you!!

Day 5: DONELDA will be receiving the "Lift Up Our Hands" set from Our Daily Bread designs! And NY2TX_PATTI wins the "Cross of Christ" set.

I think that was everyone - and super huge thanks to Donelda, Deanna, Giovana, Sue, Mary, Leenda, Sarah, and Patti who played every challenge!

I'm tired! Got DH to a dermatologist today (all good - he had a weird spot on his arm that turned out to be just a viral wart), and me to a dentist - he replaced a filling, and tomorrow I go back for a cleaning and consult with a gum specialist. And it has been a long time since I went to a dentist so maybe this is standard now...but this guy had some neat toys - the coolest (?) was that on the overhead light there was a video camera, so I could watch on the screen what was being done in my mouth. I admit there were times I didn't care to look...but it was pretty interesting. DH sees his neurologist tomorrow as well. We got a little shopping time in, so that was fun. Singapore is always on the move!

Want some Shimmerz?

Our Daily Bread Designs is having its first challenge - a sketch challenge! In a perfect world...my card would join the rest of the design team's fabulous showcases of this month's new releases, featuring their new-to-ODBD Shimmerz paints... but... alas... mine are still somewhere in the mysterious web of the Indonesian postal system. So.... I'll have to save those treasures for another day.

Anyway! Play along with the challenge, K?! Three lucky winners will be chosen to receive a bottle of Shimmerz. All you have to do to participate is use ODBD stamps as the focal image on your card, and post a comment to the ODBD blog.

If you are uploading to SCS, please use these two codes (ODBDSC01 and ODBD) so we can find your cards there too! As for the sketch, just remember that you can turn it, make it larger or smaller, or flip it – whatever works for your design. Also - the diamond and square can be switched depending on the orientation of your focal image (so if it fits better in a diamond, put the square behind, or if the square works better on top, put the diamond behind). You have until January 23 to join in the challenge for a chance to win!

I pulled out ODBD's first release, Light of the World, for this card...the image is colored with a Sepia colored pencil, and blended with OMS, with some highlights added in white pencil. For the charm, I stamped the verse onto shrink plastic and punched it with my scalloped circle punch! Thought that was pretty cool, and it shrunk down to such a cute little scalloped size.

Hope you'll take the layout challenge...check out the rest of the team's projects for inspiration!

Amy ~ Angel ~ Angella ~ Angie ~ Becca ~ Betty ~ Chris ~ Cindy ~ Jami ~ Jane ~ Judy ~ Kim ~ Laurie ~ Lorelie ~ Stacy ~ Sita

Also, remember - you still have the rest of the day today (Monday 1/12) to post a card for my birthday challenge, for a chance to win the brand new set Lift Up Our Hands...or tell us which ODBD verse stamp is your favorite, for a chance to win the Cross of Christ set!

All the info is in the original post here.....

Perk Up!

I had some scraps left out (notice a pattern with me?) and decided to make a lavender/brown card. These 2 Heart & Soul stamps make a great little encouragement card. Come to think of it, this is a great go-to layout for a quick card to use up scraps. I stamped the mug first on the lavender CS, cut out a frame, and layered the image beneath. I trimmed out the mug from the lavender layer and added some shading and highlights to it before mounting it with foam tape inside the frame. The button is tied onto the ribbon with jute.

Did you make a card to encourage someone this week? Link it up to this original Day 4 post by midnight tonight EST, and you'll have a chance to win 5 unmounted stamps from Heart & Soul Rubber Stamp Co. Make it a purple card and you might be the one to get your own spiffy customized stamp made just for you by Sue herself!