2010 Christmas Card #1

Shew, I have almost all my Christmas Cards done! 2 years ago, I made all the same card. B-O-R-I-N-G!!!! Last year I made 75 different cards. EXHAUSTING! This year I'm making 10 or so of 4 or 5 different designs. JUST RIGHT! Here's my first one.

Obviously, this is a Michelle Zindorf inspired piece. To make the main panel, I masked the snow area, brayered the sky (first in lighter blue and then just a tad of darker blue), stamped the trees and removed the mask. Next I stamped the deer into position. Just a tad of inking around the edges of the panel. All that was left to do was stamp the images onto the card base and assemble. It went much faster than I expected.

Stamps: SU Dasher, SU Lovely as a Tree, Papertrey Ink Damask Designs
Paper: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Baja Breeze, and eek, I can’t remember….was it Pacific Point and Night of Navy???
Accessories: Stamp-a-majig

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

New Barn Birthday

I really enjoy making birthday cards for people that reflect something that has happened in their life in the last year. I have a family member that built a new barn this year so that inspired this card.

For this scene, I started by stamping and coloring the barn with Copics. I colored over the barn with a Versamark pen and embossed with clear detail embossing powder (gotta use the "detail" embossing powder!). I brayered the sky. I sponged the grassy hills in using a torn piece of paper as the mask (been using the same torn piece of paper for years!). Finally, I stamped in the large tree silhouette.

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Create-A-Scene (barn), SU Nature Silhouettes (tree), Papertrey Ink Faux ribbon, Hanna Stamps Things Hanna Would Say
Paper: Basic Black, Marina Mist, Early Espresso
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive
Accessories: Versamark Pen, clear detail embossing powder, Stamp-a-majig

Enjoy!

Michelle B.

Long Time No Stamp!

Hey, How are you? I think I needed a break here! Thanks to those of you who were checking up on me! That was so nice!

My DD just had a birthday and I couldn't decide what kind of card to make her so I decided to do a collage style. I went thru my stamp inventory and grabbed any image that reminded me of her. This was super fun and really captures who she is! You can find a tutorial I wrote on collage stamping at the Artful INKables blog HERE.

Stamps: EVERYTHING I OWN!!!! Ha! Stamping Bella, Pink Cat Studio, Artful Inkables, Hanna Stamps, H&M Stamps
Paper: Whisper White, Brilliant Blue, Green Galore
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Soft Sky, Marina Mist, Tempting Turquoise, Brilliant Blue, Virsamark
Accessories: Clear detail embossing powder, Photo Corners Punch, rhinestone

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Chore Chart

Long time no post, eh? I needed a little break here to catch my breath. To tell you how crazy things have been, I went 90 days without buying any stamping things. THAT is VERY serious!!!!

I was having trouble keeping up with what chores my kids had done and how much to pay them at the end of the week. So, my daughter and I made this chore chart. (Well, it was my idea but she did most of the work). The sticky notes show all the chores that needed to be done for the week. When a chore is complete, they move the sticky note next to their image (I have a DD and a DS). Then at the end of the week, I know who to pay and how much. To reset each week, just move the completed chores from the child's box back up to the top so they are ready to do again.

Stamps: The Greeting Farm Summer, Dylan, and Flirty Edward
Paper: GP 110, Certainly Celery
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, Posterboard, sticky notes, Cricut George Cartridge, fine black marker

Enjoy!
Michelle

Don't forget the dog!

I was making this piece when DS had a friend over. His friend was fascinated with this dog image and insisted I work it into my piece. I think he was right!

I am saying another goodbye here today as this is my last official post for FireCracker Designs by Pamela. Snif. I can't believe its been a year already! I'll be keeping my eye on those girls!

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Sally’s Garden of Weedin, Pitchin’ In, and Just Breathe
Paper: Riding Hood Red, GP 110, Whisper White
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Copics, Nesties, Clear detail embossing powder, Versamark pad

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Baseball Locker

First let me say that it is with great sadness that I must announce that this is my last official Artful INKables Design Team post. I have loved the people and the stamps at AI. It is now time for me to move to less structured stamping as my job continues to be taking a lot out of me.

Now on to the happy part....my DS's bday was this week and he loves baseball. It doesn't happen very often but I had absolutely NO IDEA what to make for him. I spent about an hour looking at baseball cards over on SCS and I stumbled upon this one made my Kristin of Artful INKables. The way the bat was positioned on that card made me think of it leaning inside a locker and here I am.

The card is 2 1/8" by 5 1/2". I drew a thin black line about 1/8" from the edge all the way around. For the vents, I cut 3 straight lines at the top and then snipped the eges up a bit. I rolled them in my fingers to open them up a bit. I repeated these steps at the bottom of the locker door. I masked the word "vampire" while I inked up the baseball stamp and then stamped it into position. I colored in a little locker door handle with Copics and a white gel pen. For the inside, I stamped the ball and bat image into place and colored it with Copics. A sentiment finishes the inside.

Thanks for the fun to all the Ink Girls....I'll be keeping my eye on you!

Stamps: Artful Inkables Fictionally Inspired (front cover image), Into the Moonlight (ball & bat), and Birthday Best (sentiment)
Paper: Real Red, GP 110
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, white gel pen, fine black marker

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Funky Garden

This piece was totally inspired by this funky dp. I find I like these DP's with the large bold patterns but I'm not always sure what to do with them. Here's a little learning experiment. I drew all the colors on the main image panel from the dp.

The fence & frog were stamped, colored, and clear embossed so I could sponge in the dirt and sky right over them. The lovely lady was stamped and colored seperately and glued into position.

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Sally’s Garden of Weedin
Paper: Reflections DP from Mike’s, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, GP 110
Ink: Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Copics, Nesties, Ribbon from Pink Hedgehog, clear detail embossing powder, Versamark pen

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Gears

Inspiration is everywhere. This piece was inspired by a logo screen on some computer software we use at work! When I saw these lock washers at the hardware store, I immediately thought of all the gears on this stamp set.

The main piece was simply made by brayering two shades of blue in the corners and then stamping the main image in the darker shade of blue. I used glue to attached the lock washers.

Stamps: Artful INKables Steampunk Sarah
Paper: Whisper White, Pacific Point
Ink: Bashful Blue, Pacific Point
Accessories: Lock Washers

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Book Inspired Hop

Welcome to the August Firecracker Designs By Pamela Blog Hop! This month's theme is to be inspired by a book cover. I choose to use both the sketch and colors from THIS book.

NOTE: The official start time of this Hop is Friday, at 8:00 AM (EST). If you arrived early, please be patient as all the links may not be live yet.

This is a “circular blog hop” where the only beginning is wherever you start!! You will know you are at the end of your blog hop when you’ve come back to the blog you’ve started from! (It’s not a huge circle…so it should be easy to remember where you started.) The winner will be chosen from a mystery blog hostess that we don’t even know who it will be until the hop is over…so that’s why you’ll want to leave a comment on EVERY blog, so you don’t miss out! **To find out if you’ve won… you will be contacted by Pamela via e-mail (so be sure to leave it with your comment.) and you can also find out on Pamela’s blog after the blog hop ends on Mon, at 8:00 PM (EST).

I made each of the colored panels by stamping the images in the darkest version of that color. I then sponged the ink color to match the paper about half way to the center. I then sponged the darkest version of that color just around the edges of the panel. The vanilla center panel is cut with a Nestie and then 3 sides were trimmed with my paper cutter to get the same shape as in the book cover. Love when I can figure out how to replicate something like that!

Now, to continue the circle, you will need to hop on over to PAM'S FAB BLOG!!!!

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Sally's Garden of Weedin
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, So Safron, Perfect Plum, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Bravo Burgundy, Pefect Plum Elegant Eggplant, So Safron, More Mustard, Old Olive, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Nesties Labels 3

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

Dragonfly Loveliness

Well.... Everything is lovely here except my photography! I have taken so many pics of this card but just can't get a good one. So, I just gotta let it go!

I used my score-pal to make the grid. I stamped the lovely dragonflies on the main panel. Although you can't see it here each dragonfly body has glitter pen accents. I attached the main panel to the card base. The rhinestones were placed in the open spaces and touched with a light blue copic so they coordinate. A ribbon and sentiment finishes the piece.

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Sally’s Garden of Weedin and Oops-a-Dasies (sentiment)
Paper: Papertrey White
Ink: Bashful Blue
Accessories: Score-Pal, Kaiserkraft Rhinestones, Copics, Circle Punch, SU Bashful Blue Ribbon, glitter pen

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Purple Sunrise

There is still time to enter Think Ink Challenge #26! This time we are to make a non-standard card and use purple. Complete details are HERE.

Since I love purple, this was a fun challenge! I used the brayered sky technique here for my purple background. Then I simple stamped some flowers and leaves. Don't forget to add a bit of white gel pen to those silhouettes to really make them pop! I also added a punched butterfly silhouette and let one wing fly off the page for fun!

Be sure to check out the Artful INKables clearance sale HERE.

Stamps: Artful INKables Plant Prints
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Almost Amethyst, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: Nesties, White Gel Pen, Stamp-a-majig, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Last Wacky Wednesday

FYI - This is the last Wacky Wednesday sale over at FireCracker Designs by Pamela. Today only, Horses of Courses is 50% off!

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Sunny Window

I love making window scenes! I haven't done one in a while so this was really fun! I am combining two sets from FireCracker Designs by Pamela. One thing I love about so many of the FCD stamp sets is how they all work together.

HERE is how I make the window frame and ledge. I sponged the yellows and blues onto a piece of cardstock. Then I cut them apart into 4's. When I do this, I actually remove 1/8". I don't just cut them apart and spread them out. This gives a more realistic look especially on more complicated designs. AFTER I cut them apart, I decided I needed the shadow of the flower tree. Ideally, I would have stamped that first but you gotta be flexible, right! The water can and plant were stamped on separate cardstock, colored with copics, and cut out to glue into position here.

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Sally’s Garden of Weedin and Silhouette Flowers
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Papertrey Kraft, Whisper White, GP 110 (plant and water can), SU DP
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Summer Sun, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Score-Pal, pop dots, Copics, White Prismacolor pencil (for accents on the silhouettes)

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Vintage or Christmas?

I started off making a little vintage purse but after I started, I realized I had choosen Christmas colors. I guess it could go either way. Ya think?

The box inside is based after THIS tutorial (had to change the size a tad to fit inside my main panels). The outside is a die cut piece of Vanilla cardstock with 1 1/2" squares of dp as my "quilt". I die cut another piece for the sentiment and little swirls in the center. Here's a side view of the piece so you can see how it all fits together.

Stamps: Artful INKables Sew You
Paper: Very Vanilla, Ruby Red, Always Artichoke, Basic Grey Boxer DP
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Garden Green, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Nesties, Paper Piercing Tool, Making memories Brad, Score-Pal

Enjoy!

Michelle B.

Twirling Scarecrow

Hello! Today's FireCracker Designs by Pamela sale set for Wacky Wednesday is Tumbling Scarecrow. Hurry over and get yours for 50% off today only!

I decided to make him really tumble and twirl by making him a spinnner card. HERE's a tutorial for the spinner card. I was two lazy to walk upstairs and get two pennies so I just layered some punched circles to get the height and stiffness of a penny. It works pretty well. Of course, I had my heart set on placing the cutout just as you see here before I realized my word window punch wouldn't reach. So, I sketched the back of the piece with a pencil to mark where I wanted to cut and then made the cuts with my paper cutter.

The clouds are just roughly sponged with More Mustard onto Very Vanilla for a very fall look. The grass is sponged using a torn paper mask. The leaves and sentiments were then stamped into place. I happend to pay attention to the time and it took me 45 minutes to make this card. Here's another look:


Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Tumbling Scarecrow
Paper: Soft Suede, More Mustard, Very Vanilla, GP 110
Ink: More Mustard, Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, ¾” circle punch, pop dots

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Bee Bucket

So I've had this can of scissors undecorated on my stamp table for years....litterally! It was a baby formula can from my son who will soon be 8! With the nice cabinets and counters in my stamp room now (I'm almost all moved in so I'll show you soon), the formula can just wasn't working for me so I decided to dress it up.

I choose this image and sentiment as I am a busy little bee in my stamp room making bee-utiful things! Ha! I wrapped the can in kraft paper. It took two sheets so I scalloped the edges to make the seam a feature instead of something to hide. I attached the sheets together on one seam and stamped in the bees and the sentiment. I kept the bees high up so they would not be covered by the ribbon. For the bee bodies, I punched a small circle and embossed with my Candy Cane Stripe embossing folder. Then I lightly sponged black on the raised portions and they were ready to place into position. All I had to do to finish was attach the piece to the can and tie on a ribbon.

Stamps: Artful INKables Spot On Summer
Paper: Papertrey Kraft, More Mustard
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: 1/2” Circle Punch, Candy Cane Stripe embossing folder, Scallop Edge punch, yellow ribbon from Pink Hedgehog, sorry the black/white ribbon is a scrap from an unknown source

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Trio of Butterflies

This was one of those ideas that popped into my head but I wasn't sure where it came from. This is an odd shaped card (about 4 x 8) which I thought might be good for me as I like to stick to the norm most of the time.

This is probably a pretty straight forward card to make. The embossing folder was too short so I embossed from either end and strategically placed the "seam" where this lovely ribbon is. To enhance the embossing just a tad, I added a light sponging of Pretty in Pink.

PS: It's Wacky Wednesday so be sure to visit Pamela's Blog to find out what the 50% off set is for today.

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Bliss
Paper: Cryogen White Iridescent from Paper Temptress, Basic Black
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Nesties, Copics, D’Vine Swirls Embossing Folder, ribbon from Pink Hedgehog

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Tip: Save The Date

I often write the dates on my supplies. In this case, I am showing you my refill bottle of stamp cleaner. Every time I refill my little spray bottle I write the date on the refill bottle. Why? Read on......

This helps me budget (I know approximately how long I can go before I need to purchase this item). If I see this item on sale, I know if I should buy three (probably not in this case) or just one.

I also do this with my Momento Tuxedo black in pad, my 6 pack of adhesive for my ATG gun (can't seem to keep those in the house!), my special papers such as Papertrey White.

Hope that helps you too!

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

My Sewing Table

You gotta know that isn't really MY sewing table - there isn't near enough supplies out on the table! ha! Maybe I should have called this "What I wished my sewing table looked like!"

Hey, I made my own background paper here! Don't miss the current Think Ink Challenge to make your own background paper so you can try to win some free stamps! Complete details are HERE.

For the main panel, the images are emboss resist. Then I sponged in a faux table (kinda like THIS except that I sponged the lighter color into the oval cutout....thought I did a tutorial for this but couldn't find it. I'll write that on my list of things to do.) My mask moved and I had a "blop" of ink where it wasn't supposed to be so I made "wallpaper" by adding some blops all around. I attempted to make some faux buttons. I like the blue one so I'll owe you a tutorial on how to do that also....Now I gotta get to work!

Stamps: Artful INKables Sew You
Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou (sorry, I have a lot left!)
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Ruby Red, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Nesties, Versamark pad, clear detail embossing powder, circle punches, paper piercer

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Crocus in the Snow

I'm not sure where this idea came from....I think the shape of the flower stem made me want to put some snow on top and I just ran with it from there. The shape of this lovely flower is such that it could be almost any flower - just change the color and setting.

First I die cut my white panel. I stamped the flower and colored it with Copics. I used the emboss resist technique on the flowers and snowflakes. Then I used the brayered sky technique on the sky. I stamped the sentiment. Finally I added the "snow" on top of the flower. The card base is also die cut.

PS: Its Wacky Wednesday again at FCD so be sure to check HERE for today's 50% off set (Snow Lady Wreath)!



PSS: My big project at work is up and running and going well. Hopefully life will return to normal soon. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Bliss and Snow Signs Extra
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky (sorry, I still have a lot left!)
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Nesties, Copics, Versamark pad & pen, clear detail embossing powder, Polar White Flower Soft, glue pen

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

A Girl Scout for DD

I was short a card to send to DD while she was away at girl scout camp so I had to make this one quickly. I used a sketch #26 from the Club Anya blog HERE. Remember I said I needed this quick....so I made the entire background by dragging inkpads across the paper. No sponges or stamps.

I started by dragging Kiwi across the grassy area side to side. Then I inked in some grass by pulling the Olive pad upwards. The sky was a blue pad drug side to side and I didn't worry if I covered completely as white spots were clouds, right? I used a Cocoa cube to rough in some tree trunks by just dragging the side of it down. Then I used the corners of the greens to make the pine tree shapes. As is my favorite style, I cut the shapes of the sketch into my solid piece after I was all done inking and glued the little scout into place. I have some improvements to make on this dragging technique but it was quick and fun.

Stamps: The Greeting Farm Cute Troop
Paper: Whisper White (scenery), GP 110 (scout), Chocolate Chip
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive Baja Breeze, Close to cocoa, Garden Green
Accessories: Nesties, Copics

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Picnic Time

(this is my 3rd post in 24 hours so be sure to scroll down)


Yippee! I'm a Featured Friend over at Clear Dollar Stamps! How cool! You can read the complete article HERE. To celebrate I created a little something with my new Picnic Time Set!

I stamped and colored the images with Copics. I clear embossed the flowers and masked off the bottom of the basket before sponging in the grass. Next I used Mother Mark's cloud technique for the sky. If you are careful, you can pull off this technique with no masking as I did here.

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Picnic Time
Paper: Real Red, GP 110
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Old Olive, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Copics, Versamark pen, clear detail embossing powder


Enjoy!

Michelle B.

Look Ma! No coloring!

Yep, that's right. I didn't use any coloring on this one....just lots o' layers and a bit of sponging. (do you think my stress at work is causing me to be inspired to do all these beach scenes lately?? Hmmmm.....)

I started by stamping this image on all the different colors of cardstock. Then I cut them all out (see below). I added some sponging to each piece. For the two focal circles, I choose to treat the sun circle with an embossed swirl and the coconut was given some texture by carefully peeling away the top layer of the paper so I could see the rough insides.

Stamps: Artful INKables Spot On Summer
Paper: Papertrey White, Basic Black, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Creamy Caramel, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, River Rock (oops, meant to grab Creamy Caramel), Soft Suede, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: D’vine Swirls embossing folder, ¾” circle punch, ½” circle punch

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

FCD July Hop

Welcome to the July Firecracker Designs By Pamela Blog Hop! This month's theme is a sketch challenge.

NOTE: The official start time of this Hop is Friday, at 8:00 AM (EST). If you arrived early, please be patient as all the links may not be live yet.

This is a “circular blog hop” where the only beginning is wherever you start!! You will know you are at the end of your blog hop when you’ve come back to the blog you’ve started from! (It’s not a huge circle…so it should be easy to remember where you started.) The winner will be chosen from a mystery blog hostess that we don’t even know who it will be until the hop is over…so that’s why you’ll want to leave a comment on EVERY blog, so you don’t miss out! **To find out if you’ve won… you will be contacted by Pamela via e-mail (so be sure to leave it with your comment.) and you can also find out on Pamela’s blog after the blog hop ends on Mon, at 8:00 PM (EST).

I used the brayered sky technique for the sky and then stamped the images in black over the top. I used a nestie to cut out the sentiment. I added the black cardstock borders. The linen thread around the bottom was brown. It just wasn't working for me so I colored it black with my Copics! The flower was stamped onto the die cut which are also available from FCD (saving me some work!) and colored with Copics.

Now, to continue the circle, you will need to hop on over to CHRIS'S FAB BLOG!!!!

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Mahalo
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: So Safron, Summer Sun, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Riding Hood Red, Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Nesties, Mahalo Die Cuts (so I didn't have to cut the flower out), Copics, Linen Thread (colored black with copics)

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

Parisian Bookmark

As always when I need a little inspiration, I go searching for some art to get me started. I found this beautiful piece and ran with the idea for this bookmark. Wouldn't this be great as a bookmark for a romantic book?

This is a perfect example of how I think ALL stamps with great lines can be silhouettes. Just color them in all black. I also stamped a few fleur de lis around on this dp for some extra interest in the background. The curved top of the bookmark was made with the embossed curve punch.

Hey, its Wednesday again so be sure to check out this Week's FCD Wacky Wednesday 50% off stamp set HERE.

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Parisian Romance
Paper: Basic Black, Basic Grey Sugared DP
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, River Rock
Accessories: EK Success Embossed Curve punch, horizontal slot punch, ribbon from Pink Hedgehog

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Stitchin' It Up

The current Think Ink challenge (#24) is to use real or faux sewing on your card. The complete details are HERE. I hope you'll play along for a chance to win some AI stamps!

I am loving this new Sew You set from Artful INKables and it goes perfectly with this Cosmo Cricket DP! I sewed a lot in my high school days (Old enough to remember prairie skirts? Yep, I made my own!). This set brings back fond memories of all the time and patience I used to have! Ha! One of my retirement goals is to get back into sewing and make some quilts.

Stamps: Artful INKables Sew You
Paper: Papertrey Kraft, Cosmo Cricket DP
Ink: Chocolate chip
Accessories: Nesties Labels 3 (with the sides cut off), sewing machine & thread

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Monochrome Eiffel

I've sooo been loving all the black and white cards I've seen lately and those black and white papers.....ahhhhh, love them! So I'm doing a little black/white/grey combo here for you today.

Please bare with me during the next couple of weeks J-O-B will be taking all of my time. I'll be back to visit your blogs again soon!

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Parisian Romance
Paper: Basic Black, DCVW DP
Ink: Whisper White
Accessories: Nesties, Basic Grey Ribbon, horizontal slot punch

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Artful INKables July Blog Hop

Welcome to the Artful Inkables blog hop! If you haven't come here from Ann's blog, then you will want to start at the Artful INKables Blog so you don't miss anything along the way. This hop will feature the 2 new FABULOUS stamps sets Artful INKables is releasing!

Be sure to follow us all the way to the end of the hop and make sure to leave a comment on everyone's blog, you never know which blog we'll be choosing a winner from! You will have until Friday, July 9th at midnight Eastern Standard Time to comment on all the design team blogs for a chance at the blog hop goodies!

Today, I'm showing you a card made with a new set called Spot on Summer. I remembered the tutorial from the AI blog for faux stone. I thought this technique would be perfect for these little turtle shells! So I used this technique on my background frame. Shhh...To save time and cardstock, I just punched the circles out of the center of the frame. It will be covered up with the main image panel later, right? The turtle bodies were stamped, colored with Copics, and embossed (emboss resist technique). I punched out a wave border and used it as a mask when sponging my water area in working from the lightest color to the darkest color.

The next stop on the hop is the lovely TANYA!

Thank you once again for joining us today for the Artful INKables July Release Blog Hop, be sure to head on over to the AI store to order these fabulous stamp sets right away!

Stamps: Artful INKables Spot on Summer
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Pacific Point
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Soft Sky, Bashful Blue, Pacific Point
Accessories: Copics, Versamark pen, Clear detail embossing powder, Bashful Blue ribbon, Horizontal slot punch, Cuttlebug Tiny Mosaic embossing folder, Versamark pad, Nesties Labels 8, Fiskars Boundary Waters Punch, circle punches

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

AI Sale....Hurry!!

Hey, in case you didn't hear already....Artful INKables is having a 25% off sale. HERE are the complete details. Hurry....there are just a few hours left! (sorry, I have been out of town)

Michelle B.

A Silly Girl's Scrapbook Page

Finally getting a chance to show this to you. I made this scrapbook page for Artful INKables and it was kind of a last minute thing I had to get in the mail right away. I quickly took a pic, stuffed it in the envie, and mailed it at the PO. When I got home and downloaded the pics from my camera, I noticed that I had placed the center image so that all the words on the surrouding background were sideways (the "HB" is vertical instead of horizontal)! HA!!!! How embarrassing! So, I had to send a quick note to AI to correct that little boo boo by turning the center circle before AI displayed the pages at a show! Guess that's what happens when ya rush! It was still a really fun page!

Stamps: Artful INKables Birthday Best

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Artful INKables Twilight Eclipse Blog Hop

Welcome to our Customer and Design Team Twilight Artful INKables blog hop! Make sure you start at the Artful INKables Blog, so you don't miss a single thing!

To celebrate the release of ECLIPSE today, we're highlighting the Artful INKables Twilight inspired sets: Into the Moonlight, Fictionally Inspired and Epic Tales. Artful INKables also has a set of Vampire Romance Themed Charms available!

I've been into graffiti lately and wanted to make a Twilight inspired graffiti wall. I started by drawing in the sidewalk. Using the emboss resist technique, I stamped the Twilight images. Then I masked off the sidewalk and sponged in the wall color. I drew in a few bricks here and there. I unmasked the sidewalk and colored it with Copics adding a few sprigs of grass here and there. I thought I was done but my DH asked how I could have a vampire card without blood. Good point I thought....so I made a special trip to the store to buy the drippy goo punch (not on sale and no coupon! Eek!). I punched out the goo on a scrap and used it as a mask to sponge the dripping blood here. NOW I'm done!

The next stop on the hop is ALISON.

In case you get lost along the way, here’s the order of the hop:
Kristin Soboloski
Laura Boyd
Michelle Barnett
Alison Heikkile
Sammi Betbeder
Michele Lourenco
Kim Nath
Erica Johnson-Wanzer
Patti Nelson
Chelsea Van Wyk
Tanya Johnson
Dawn Knight
Jennifer Olauson
Joy Stagg
Jackie Rakoski

Make sure to leave a comment on each blog along the way for your chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Artful INKables! Please leave your comments by Midnight, July 4th to be eligible to win!

Stamps: Artful INKables Fictionally Inspired
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Lovely Lilac, Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, Really Rust, Creamy Caramel, Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Passion
Accessories: Fine black marker

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

FCD Wacky Wednesday 6/30

Today only (til Midnight), FireCracker Designs by Pamela will be offering the set Yoga 1 Chakras at 50% off! Check it out!

Michelle B.

Hot Pink Butterfly

Just a little CAS design for you today. For some reason I really wanted to color that butterfly from Bliss hot pink so here we are. I am loving this sparkly Cryogen White Iridescent paper from Paper Temptress. It's easy to color and blend with Copics and it retains the sparkle even after coloring. Here's a close up for you:



Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Bliss
Paper: Paper Temptress Cryogen White Iridescent, Paper Temptress Magenta Basis, Paper Temptress Olive Basis
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Nesties, Copics, white gel pen

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Black and White

This cool striped paper and fabulous ribbon are from Paper Temptress. I thought it looked kind of elegant so I wanted to keep with that theme and just use a simple fleur de lis image. I tried to color the image to look 3-D by putting a little grey shadow on the left side and varying the darkness of the image as your eye moves across it. I found that you can blend your Copics pretty easily on this paper and I like that you can see the stripes thru the coloring.

PS: Be sure to enter the FCD Eclipse Challenge. Details are HERE.

PSS: Get your FCD free weeekend digi HERE.

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Parisian Romance
Paper: Paper Temptress Laser Silver Lustre, Paper Temptress Eclipse Black
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Paper Temptress 5/8” Black and White Stripes Grosgrain, Kaiserkraft rhinestone, Copics, Nesties

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Challenge #23 Backpack

Artful INKables Challenge #23 is to make anything but a card using red, white, and blue. I hope you'll play along for a chance to win free stamps! You can find the complete details HERE.

I thought this little backpack idea looked pretty cute so I gave it a shot. It was really funny and took just a little over an hour (I am sure I would be much faster the 2nd time after I had actually seen a finished one). You can find the instructions and templates for this backpack HERE. The only thing I did differently was that I printed the templates right onto my cardstock (instead of making a pattern from them). I just made sure that the printed side ended up INSIDE the box so none of the marks would show.

I added a little unusual embellishment on the ribbon. When I was out shopping for washers for necklaces, I came upon these little lock washers. They reminded me of all the clocks and gears in the stamp set so I grabbed them. Fun eh?

Stamps: Artful INKables Steampunk Sarah
Paper: Real Red, Night of Navy, GP 110
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Accessories: Brads, Ribbon from Pink Hedgehog, Lock Washers

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Twilight Challenge #4

Time for Twilight Challenge #4 hosted by Artful INKables. I hope you'll play along for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate and the opportunity to be a guest designer for a month! The complete details are HERE.

This week's challenge is to make anything but a card. I chose to make a team necklace but its kind of a sneaky one....its Team Jacob on one side and Team Edward on the other side! You could flip it around depending on who you are hanging out with that day. HERE are some instructions on making these.

Stamps: Artful INKables Fictionally Inspired
Paper: Real Red, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Metal washer, black leather cording, Tombow Mono Multi Adhesive, emery board for sanding edges, Glossy Accents

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

An Unusual Request

A while back I received a phone call from my cousin's boyfriend. He asked if I could create a birthday card for my dog loving cousin using photos of her dogs. I said "sure" but wasn't quite sure how I was going to go about this. I hadn't tried to use photos on a card before but I was up for the challenge (I had to help this thoughtful guy out!). This is what I came up with.

Stamps: H and M Stamps Doggy Years
Paper: GP 110, Craft, Riding Hood Red
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Nesties, Copics, Spots & Dots EF

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Kid Silhouettes

I saw the most fabulous silhouettes of children on Nichole Heady's blog HERE and I just had to make a set!

(The blur in the right lower corner of each silhouette is where the kids signed their own name. I am a bit of a privacy freak when it comes to my kids so I obscured that in these pics)

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Ocean Diorama

You know how I love my scenes and creating depth....so why not a diorama box! The basic instructions for making a diorama box are HERE.

I used Nesties to cut the centers of my boxes out. I used the darkest color cardstock at the back and went lighter to the front, again creating depth. My little fishies are suspended on white thread that was colored blue with Copics. This was a really fun project and went quicker than I expected. Give it a shot!

Stamps: Artful INKables Aquatic Fantasy
Paper: Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Cool Caribbean (from an old stash. Sorry, I had to!), GP 110
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Whisper White, Pacific Point
Accessories: Nesties, Copics, Thread

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Open Roads - FCD Hop

Welcome to the June Firecracker Designs By Pamela Blog Hop! This month's theme is "Open Roads" and we are to focus on our favorite traveling tunes. I live in Missouri and my mom lives about 45 miles away in Illinois. This trip requires us to cross the Mississippi River and drive through rural areas. When the kids were little we used to sing "Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go" and that is what inspired this piece.

I wanted to point out the cool papers and ribbon from Paper Temptress I used in this piece. I am LOVING this Cryogen White Iridescent paper that is used in the main image panel. It sparkles all over - even after sponging or coloring with Copics. I tried to get a pic of that sparkle for you:


The How To:
RIVER - I masked off the river area with a cut piece of paper and sponged the whole river in Bashful Blue. I sponged Tempting Turquoise just along the bank area. I stamped the "ripples" in turquoise.
GRASS AND TREES - I used the other piece of paper to mask the river area so I could sponged Old Olive in the grass area. I sponged Kiwi Kiss into the tree area. The trees were stamped with Old Olive (and I stamped twice before going back to the ink so that some trees look far away). I used a blender pen with Chocolate Chip ink to color in the trunks a bit. Grass was added to the river bank in Old Olive ink.
SKY - I sponged a bit of Bashful Blue into the sky and added a Chocolate Chip bird.

NOTE: The official start time of this Hop is Friday, at 8:00 AM (EST). If you arrived early, please be patient as all the links may not be live yet.

This is a “circular blog hop” where the only beginning is wherever you start!! You will know you are at the end of your blog hop when you’ve come back to the blog you’ve started from! (It’s not a huge circle…so it should be easy to remember where you started.) The winner will be chosen from a mystery blog hostess that we don’t even know who it will be until the hop is over…so that’s why you’ll want to leave a comment on EVERY blog, so you don’t miss out!**To find out if you’ve won… you will be contacted by Pamela via e-mail (so be sure to leave it with your comment.) and you can also find out on Pamela’s blog after the blog hop ends on Mon, at 8:00 PM (EST).

Now, to continue the circle, you will need to hop on over to SHELLY'S FAB BLOG!!!!

And don't forget to check out FCD's Eclipse Challenge HERE.

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Just Breathe
Paper: All from Paper Temptress - Blue Ice, Cryogen White Iridescent, Canyon Brown/Cream Skinny Columns
Ink: Bashful Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: 3/8" Brown Blue Polka Dot Grosgrain from Paper Temptress, Oval Nesties, Scallop Trip Border Punch

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

Twilight Challenge 3

Time for Twilight Challenge #3 hosted by Artful INKables. I hope you'll play along for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate and the opportunity to be a guest designer for a month! The complete details are HERE.

This week's challenge is to show which team you are on. I am TEAM JACOB! I modeled this after one of my favorite shirts (although mine is purple, silver, and has a big fleur de lis on the front). After I was done with this I realized that the way I made this pretty much followed my Collage Tutorial so there you go! What? You can't sketch out the shirt shape? Have no fear, here's a rough template for you to print out and trace onto your cardstock. Sorry I didn't have a chance to clean it up. Note that I used a circle punch to cut the neckline.

COPYRIGHT and ANGEL POLICY
This image is copyrighted to Michelle Bartnett 2010. All rights reserved. This image is for your personal use only. You may not redistribute them in any fashion including copying, lending, re-selling, duplicating, sharing, giving as a prize, or posting the raw images or files online. It's free for heaven's sake - just send them here to get it!!!!!! This images may not be made into physical rubber or acrylic stamps. Please give credit for the image. You may sell hand made products that include this image.

HOW TO USE THIS IMAGE
To use this from a Windows machine, just right click on the image and you'll be able to choose to save the file to your computer. I usually go into a program such as a graphics program or Word and insert this file and print. You can also resize the file before printing if you want.

Stamps: Artful INKables Into the Moonlight, Artful INKables Fictionally Inspired
Paper: Very Vanilla
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Accessories: Clear detail embossing powder, stamp-a-majig, circle punch

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

FireCracker Designs by Pamela - News

Today's Wacky Wednesday sale set is Leading Ladies.

Don't miss the Eclipse Challenge HERE.

Or the free Twilight Inspired digi HERE.

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

FCD Eclipse Challenge

Friends, I have been sooo busy lately, I haven't even had time to spend any money on stamps or supplies! THAT is SERIOUS! Ha!

This evening I am sharing a piece for FireCracker Designs by Pamela's Eclipse Challenge. The complete details are HERE. I hope you'll play along for a chance to win free stamps! PS: No whining about not having any FCD images! You can pick up a freebie digi HERE.

I am doing challenge #1 - Black Circle, White Circle, Red Ribbon. The black circle is embossed with the Bird Call embossing folder (I kinda moved it around to only get the grass and no bird) and has a red ribbon tied around it. The white circle is stamped with the wolf and 2nd generation stamping (ink the stamp, stamp on a scrap, and then stamp again on the piece without reinking...gives a soft look) of the moon, and the word Eternity. The edges of this circle are sponged as well with Basic Grey and a bit of black. The base layer has some wolf prints, the word Forever, and the edges are heavily sponged in black.

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Love Bites
Paper: Basic Grey, Basic Black, GP 110
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Basic Grey, Going Grey
Accessories: Bird Call embossing folder, Ribbon from Pink Hedgehog, nesties, stamp-a-majig (sentiment)

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

French Country

I have been working on this card off and on for 2 weeks....just couldn't get it right! Originally, I had the yellow base, the blue horizontal stripe, and the main image panel. I trimmed down the yellow base and the main image panel and layered blue behind each piece and that's exactly what it needed. Now I am ready to show this to you.

With a torn piece of paper, I masked off the area where the bottom of the Eiffel Tower would be and then stamped the tower. I used the same torn piece, moving it around, to sponge in the greenery under the tower. I used Mother Mark's Cloud technique for the sky.

FCD NEWS!
FCD is hosting an Eclipse challenge. The complete details are HERE. I hope you'll play along for a chance to win free stamps!

Also, don't miss this weekend's digital freebie HERE....also Twilight inspired! No whining about not having an FCD stamp appropriate for the challenge now!!!

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Parisian Romance
Paper: Summer Sun, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Grey, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Old Olive, More Mustard

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Spotlight on Fish

Think Ink Challenge #22 is to try a new technique. I hope you'll play along for a chance to win! Complete details are HERE.

Yes, I know I create spotlighted scenes all the time but here I went for the more traditional spotlight technique where the rest of the piece is UNCOLORED (gasp!). It was very tough for me to leave all those images uncolored but I think it turned out kinda cool. It also gives me an alternative for those time when I'm in a rush! I'm guessing you don't really need much instruction here, eh?

Stamps: Artful INKables Aquatic Fantasy
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Papertrey White
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, Nesties, Stamp-a-majig, fine black marker (to draw the sea floor and a few sand hills), Fiskars Boundary Waters punch

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Twilight Challenge 2

Time for the next Twilight Challenge hosted by Artful INKables. I hope you'll play along for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate and the opportunity to be a guest designer for a month! The complete details are HERE.

This week's challenge is to use Twilight Themed colors - red, black, and white. I was inspired by this little screen saver thingee my DD put on my phone (she said it was perfect for me and boy was she right! She also told me its an iPhone app called Backgrounds).



I stamped the images in white. Then I went over certain areas with a white gel pen to darken. I also colored in certain areas lightly with a white Prismacolor pencil for a little shading.

Stamps: Artful INKables Fanciful Flowers
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red
Ink: Whisper White
Accessories: White gel pen, white Prismacolor pencil, ribbon from Pink Hedgehog

Enjoy!
Michelle B.