Petty curiosity......

I widened my blog template - it works on my computer but how's it looking on yours? ok?

Challenge challenged..............

Thought I'd play at challenge stacking again....sooooooo....I started off with the sketch challenge over at Whimsy Stamps challenge blog...then noticed that Rubbernecker's Wacky Wednesday challenge was to use a circle on your card. Cool, already got one. So this was the first card I made...

But....I forgot to attach the ribbon before I stuck it all to the base, so.......so much for the sketch...hey, I still have the circle...noooooo, the circle challenge was from last week! Thbbppppt. Anyway, this is one of the Gary Robertson summer releases from Impression Obsession - it's colored with Neopiko markers and Prismacolor pencils. My second attempt was more victorious. I thought I'd throw in another challenge, this one from the Flourishes blog. They wanted to see monochromatic cards, so I used brown inks (Adirondack Ginger and Espresso, with a wee bit of Shimmerz left over) to watercolor this DK image from smARTworks.

Speaking of challenges...the new Ready-Steady-Stamp challenge has been posted...and this time the required elements are: sun, yellow, triangle, acetate, and ribbon. Still pondering that one................

DH is down with the flu today....he is really struggling as all the aches of flu and coughing really set his fibromyalgia off. *Sigh*...and I have a cold for now - not fun but tolerable. Another 'down day' at our house!

More sneak peeks

The eyes of the crafting world are focused on CHA these days - new products and releases, and crafting trends to come. I guess I'm there in spirit, since some of my cards are displayed in the Impression Obsession booth. Someday...some furlough maybe I'll get to be there, too. Not this year, but it's all good. ;) Here are a couple of cards using the new releases, which will be available on the I.O. website August 1st.

Halloween's not my thing so much, but I did enjoy coloring these new designs by Leigh Hannan. Coloring is done with Neopiko alcohol markers and Prismacolor pencils, with some Stardust glitter pen highlights here and there. The scoring on the first card was done with my Scor-Pal. I've had the cupcake eyelet charm below for a while - I think the online store I got it from went out of business. Bummer.

Also - if you're curious who the winner of the "Sweet" blog candy is, say congrats to Jaymack! Please email me with your address, so I can get your stamps in the mail.

Thanks everyone for playing! I still have a pile of stamps here, so....be ready - you never know when I might have another giveaway...or a free auction...or send a RAK...or...!

Today's "something"...

Elliot caught the virus that's been going around the campus - so instead of a trip to town today, we spent a lot of time just sitting with Mr. Sicko. (We're watching soccer here...yes, I spent the day in my jammies too...) He had a high fever (102ish) and cough, and slept a lot - he was able to eat and drink, but is pretty worn out. He's waiting for me in the bed now - hope we can sleep tonight!

I got the campus medicine cabinet organized, at least, so that was an accomplishment for today. Also managed to finish a card that works for 3 different blog challenges - maybe Friday I'll get to post that.

Have a good one!

Sigh...

Is it really only Tuesday? Seems like every day this week has brought a new "something" - new students that are sick and struggling to adjust; facing tough issues as a family and staff; heard today of a former language instructor of ours that died unexpectedly last night; DH had a fibro attack on the soccer field yesterday and had to be helped home...heavy stuff...so I am learning through these growing pains...and really truly treasuring the comfort that the Lord gives.

Haven't shared this card yet, and I feel that it fits my sentiments today... (Stamp sets used: full sheets "Look Up" and "Frames", and "Palette".)

Today is the last day of the super sale at smARTworks, so if you're still wanting to get that 40% discount, better git!

Frames set

Quick post today, just in case you missed me...ha! Today is the last day of a 3-day staff in-service that has been held at our house - it's been excellent and draining all at once. Great stuff. Also, our campus has been slowly filling up...I'll share about our students another day, but we have a fuller-than-ever campus this year!) Anyway, if you're one that checks daily to see if I have posted something new, that's where I've been. Hope that the blog candy and sale at smARTworks have kept you busy enough without me! :)

This was a quick card made with stamps from smARTworks' Frames set. {Credit goes to Jak over at Crafter's Kitchen for the black/white Damask digi paper too!} Frames is a full (8.5"x11") sheet of stamps, and Susan from smARTworks mentioned on her blog today that with the 40% off sale, full sheets of rubber are only $14.37...that's a great price for such a versatile set!

Here's the set in full: Gotta go...!

some really SWEET candy!

Our internet was out all day yesterday, and this week has been busy - training in a new helper, spending time with a friend, organizing homeschool books, and welcoming new students... anyway, if you missed me, that's where I was!

The winner of last week's Impression Obsession stamps is...... SANDY @ Just a Little Stamping! (OK, that is weird...my other 2 winners' names were Sandra and...Sandra.) Sandy, be sure to send me your address so I can get these stamps out to you.

Here's this week's prize, and I saved the best for last, I think! I love this candy jar stamp, and it's paired with some sweet sayings, and an ice cream cone! So leave a comment on this post if you want to win these:
I love that this image is sooooo easy to match to any color combination or DP. The card below was colored using LePlume II Markers and a waterbrush.

Check out the close-up on that rock candy - after I painted it I covered it with Diamond Dust...it sparkles like crazy, because it's actually crushed glass. Such cool stuff! Love it.

Thanks for checking on me!

Stuff.

2 things...finally got a picture from the workshop I taught at the youth camp, so here is that for you to see:

This is only the table where I was - there were 20 other people in that same tent, sitting on the dirt floor and working on makeshift benches. Cool stuff. We had just started covering our covers with DP at this point - pretty early in the game. The guy there in the yellow shirt was my hero for the day. I wanted to take him home with me! So helpful.

Also, just found out that a card of mine is in the Sept. 2009 edition of Scrap & Stamp! Check it out - Kelley from ODBD sent it in on my behalf, as her part in one of their challenges.

My turn for the family stomach crud today...will spare you details! Dizzy too, and generally BLAH...tomorrow and through the weekend we have staff training and we offered to have it at our house because it would be more comfortable than sitting on wooden benches for 3 days...anyway, that's where I'll be if I don't show up here. :) At least I don't have to cook!

Don't forget about the sale going on over at smARTworks - 40% off all sets in stock. Details are on the "news" page.

Oy, busy day.......

I have been going and going all day long! Woke up this morning and went out right away to pick beans... I think I picked twice as many as last time... and didn't anticipate how long it would take me to sort and shell them all myself... took most of the morning! I had signed up to have new students over for dinner and had the ingredients for lasagne, but had to make the sauce from scratch, and also tried (successfully, thank you!) making yogurt cheese to replace the ricotta...and of course had to have garlic bread... in the middle of the afternoon I had a homeschool moms tea to go to, which really was needed but also threw me off a bit and kept me running until now! We didn't eat until almost 7, and our guests left not long ago. Whew. Feels good to sit down.

This morning I met with a lady who is interested in helping us! It is such a blessing to have house help here, especially as a homeschool mom and in a campus ministry - frees me up so much taskwise, and mentally too. This lady seems very fun and enthusiastic - I tend to mirror people's personalities, so someone who is open and bubbly will bring me out, and I need that. Till now we have had helpers live in with us, but I want to try having someone come in instead - each scenario has its own pros and cons...but we'll see how it goes.

This stamp is one that I'm giving away this week - be sure to click on the picture in the right column to enter the drawing if you haven't already! The winner will be announced Thursday the 23rd, and there will be one more *sweet* drawing before the end of July. The beach chair image is watercolored, using Derwent WC pencils. I love chair stamps, and beach stamps... so of course I would especially love a beach chair stamp, no?! ;) I masked the dots on the towel with Miskit Frisket masking fluid before painting...love that stuff. I cut the scalloped edge with my Fiskars rotary trimmer - anybody else still have one of those? :)

Ready-Steady-Stamp!

Have you seen the new challenge blog called Ready-Steady-Stamp? This is a challenge blog dedicated to the non-cute (plenty of 'cute only' challenge blogs out there), and each challenge has 5 ingredients that must be included in your stamped project. For this first project, the ingredients are:

1. a cat/dog theme
2. black & gold
3. three different brads
4. a faux batik technique (instructions are given on the site)
5. book or newsprint background

I had sooooooo much fun with this. I will definitely be playing the RSS challenge again. All the stamps I used are from smARTworks. Sets used: Do You See What I See?, One Smile, Frames, Palette, & Hummer. In case you're not familiar with smARTworks, they have a huge variety of unmounted stamps and sets, from cute to collage and vintage. This week (July 18-28) all their in-stock rubber is 40% off!


I didn't have any book or news print so I scanned a page from the Young's Concordance...! It was the only book we have here that has vintage type. It works, yes? I stamped the Palette stamp and embossed clear over the scan, applied chalk inks directly to the paper, then ironed the panel to remove the embossing. The cat was stamped and trimmed out, then pieced on the focal panel. You can see in the photo below that his head is trimmed separately and 'popped' up with foam tape. It's not super clear in the photo, but in the line of black brads, the center one is flat, so if you were checking, I do have all the required elements here!


Thanks for the challenge, ladies!

smARTworks Super Sale!

From July 18-28, shop smARTworks and receive 40% off your order! The sale is limited to stock on hand, so shop early to get the designs you've been adding to your list.

You can click here to see the list of sold-out sets. (might want to check that first, before you set your heart on something that may not be available at the time...)

Here is a direct link to the online catalog (pdf format)

You may also want to check out the Cookie Jar blog for card samples using smARTworks stamps. You can sort the cards to see all the samples using a particular set, along with the full set as it is in the catalog. If you have a question about a particular set I've used, or need help finding something, please don't hesitate to email me...I have the full print catalog and it's easy for me to flip through and find things. The pdf format can be a little intimidating, especially looking through page-by-page for 'that one set'.

Remember that your purchase will count towards your "smARTbucks" account...and if you have a set on your list because you saw it on my blog, be sure to let Susan know so I can get some smARTbucks too!

Here are some of my favorite smART stamps............

Again, please let me know if you need help with anything sale-related - and happy shopping!

Just in case......

For those who hear "Indonesia" on the news and immediately worry about us...thank you...we are far far away from Jakarta.

Another sneak peek!

Have you had a chance to see the other images coming soon to Impression Obsession? What do you think?!

Here's another favorite Christmas design from Leigh Hannan - the trees are fun to color, and easy to match to your favorite Christmas color combination. Mine are simply colored with Neopiko markers, no shading this time. I added rhinestones here and there for a little sparkle. Easy peasy!Be sure to check out the Impression Obsession blog for links to the other previews! And if you haven't left a comment for my current I.O. blog candy, click the picture to the right for a chance to win!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Christmas in July!

The Impression Obsession girls challenged each other to post Christmas cards this week - the timing is perfect as we all have been working with the new Fall and Winter releases that will be revealed at CHA in a few weeks! So get ready for some sneak peeks!

My card uses one of my favorite images from this new release, by Leigh Hannan. I have been loving her fun and funky style more and more, especially with my new markers! I used vintage earthy colors, beginning with Neopiko markers and shading with Prismacolor pencils.Speaking of CHA releases, have you seen Shirley's posts on the I.O. blog about the new Mega Mount and Cover-a-Card background stamps? If you've ever been frustrated by background stamps that don't reach the edges of your card panels or that don't give a complete impression, you'll definitely want to know about these new products!

The other girls want you to see their cards too, so be sure to visit their blogs and leave them some love. Their links are to the left!

On to blog candy - the winner of the Night Pier set is........ Sandra @ Magnolia & Ivy! Congratulations Sandra - be sure to email me with your mailing address!

And this is the new set up for grabs - I know you've seen these stamps around:

I'll draw and announce the winner at this same time next week! Leave a comment under this post for a chance to win!

stuff of life

Went for a walk with a friend yesterday, and came home with a bag full of decorative plant cuttings, and a dinner invite for Thursday. So funny!

We stopped at one house to admire some unique flowers in the yard, and the lady came out and started showing us all around her yard and offering us cuttings and plants (and even a small tree...but we would have had to carry it...).

We walked on and there was some property on the other side of the road that looked like it had a fishing pond on it, and some of those are public here, so we walked in to take a look...stood for a while and the people of the house called us up - they were surely wondering why 2 white ladies were trespassing on their private property...anyway, we sat and visited with them (somehow I got stuck talking with the 2 men about foreign relations and politics, which is verrrrrrrrry not me), and by the end of the conversation they had invited us and our families there again for Thursday dinner (my friend is Australian, and they happen to be having guests from Australia Thursday too, so didn't that work out nicely?!) This house apparently is their 'weekend/getaway' house, and they have another one about 2 hours away slap on the beach, in addition to their house in town. Nice.

The kids and I have sort of adopted the 2 rows of beans in the garden next to our house - the garden was planted by the students last semester but has been a bit neglected over the summer. I just couldn't stand to see these beans go to waste, so we have been picking them every few days and sharing them around the campus. Froze and dried some for ourselves too. They call them "long beans" (kacang panjang), and for good reason!

I'm gonna go stamp now!

More Coffee!

I'm having a hard time sneak peek-ing new Impression Obsession images for Fall & Winter when I haven't even shown you all the Summer ones yet! Here, though, is my favorite of the new stamps being revealed at CHA in a couple of weeks...I'll show you the whole card on Thursday! I wanted to share a couple cards I made using the "More Coffee" set by Sarah Phelps. This is a fun set with lots of possibilities! On this card I stamped the background panel with the coffee bean border, and colored the beans in with Prismacolor pencils. The focal panel is stamped and colored directly on the DP - why do I not do that more often? The swirl comes from the Lucky Ladybugs set, also by Sarah. Coconut shell buttons are always a fun accent, as is faux stitching. :) Here's a close-up on that coffee pot...love how the pencil shading makes it pop right off the paper:

Card #2 is pretty straightforward - the texture is done with Fiskars texture plates, and the mugs are colored with Prismacolor pencils. Nice sometimes to have cards that stay 'multi-purpose'.

Blog candy is still up for grabs - if you're reading my blog via a reader or feed, make sure to come over to the actual site - I put a direct link at the top of the right-hand column so you can find the current giveaway post easily.

OK, now *I* need coffee! Hope you have a great week!

unmounted stamps for sale

Just spent some time adding more stamp auctions and lowering prices...

If you're not into the auction format and you see something you'd like to have, feel free to email me - I am happy to pass these stamps on to someone who will use them and totally willing to work with you. The auction format is just an easy way to keep track of things and take care of details, and it's free. Thanks!

Happy dancing......

It's sort of funny that I just posted a strawberry card...because I just won the drawing for all the new releases from Flourishes and they have a new Strawberry set! Those who know me also know that I live in a tropical country and I looooooooove beach stamps, so the other sets will fit right in to my collection. THANK YOU FLOURISHES!

Pencil shading over markers

A strawberry card on someone else's blog (I was hopping...not sure where I saw it) reminded me I had this stamp from My Heart Stamps for You tucked away and inspired me to pull it out the other day. I miss strawberries here...we are actually able to get them but they are pitiful, small, and expensive, and I just can't bring myself to buy them. So I stamp them. Fair enough!

Here is a close-up on the main image:

I thought it might be fun to at least document my steps in layering Prismacolor pencil over the Neopiko markers, so here is a bit of my process, though probably not a very helpful tutorial...I started off with solid colors like this, imagining the lightest color that might be seen in a highlighted spot...

Next I added a little colored pencil around the image and blended with odorless mineral spirits, using a blending stump.

The next step was adding some shading with a darker green on the leaves, then blending:

Next I added darker red to the strawberries, and blended again. After blending, I shaded again with a darker burgundy, and blended the two shades together.The final step was adding white highlights, first with a pencil and then with a gel pen.Here is the final card. The saying is from Impression Obsession...I love all their "sweet" sayings.