BirthDAY!

Today is my husband's birthday and he's home sick. Poor guy. Sore throat and cough since last week. We are praying that the rest of the household doesn't come down with it. Our oldest had it first and is fine now . So far me and baby are okay. Whew!

I though I'd post the card I made to celebrate his birthday. I know it's not the conventional grown-up masculine card but when I saw TAC's new "Wild West" cowboy I thought of my husband. You see, before he came to Barrow he lived in Arizona and worked with horses from time to time. He's a cowboy at heart and maybe someday we will have a chance to own a ranch... although I wouldn't mind bumming around on the beaches of Hawaii either.

Card Details:
The Angel Company Stamp Set "Wild West"
Various card stock & scrap papers
Versa Magic Chalk Inks & Palette Ink
Prisma Pencils blended with Gamsol
Brads
Liquid Lacquer

MY Husband

I never could imagine being married. Maybe I should rephrase that differently... I didn't think I would ever have a husband and I couldn't imagine what he'd look like or even who he would be. For many unhappy years I "played" being married the worldly way and it wasn't until I gave my life back to God that I was actually blessed in marriage. Oh how I thank God for my husband and he's going to help me customize my blog. :-)

Here's a picture of us under the whale bone arches on our wedding day. The arctic ocean is behind us. It was about 40 below with the wind chill but I was so numb with the warmth of bliss that I didn't mind.

FRIES

Don't hold the fries! Just a little while ago my teenage son came to me and asked me to make him a "Thank You" card that had french fries on the front. Okay... how do I do that? I don't own any french fry stamps and I don't think I want to either. I told him that I would come up with something else instead and then I just so happened to across a podcast that made fake grass as an embellishment. That's when inspiration hit and a short half an hour later I surprised him with my clever card. It was so worth the smile on his face.

Card Details:
SU! Envie Template
SU! mini blank card with envie
SU! Merci Stamp
Basic Grey Scrap Paper Scraps
Ribbons
Beige CS Scraps

Prego FUN!

I was commissioned to make a card for a friend who's son and girlfriend are expecting. I left it blank for her to write her own sentiment. I hope she likes it. Also pictured is the coordinating envie. I have learned from Laurie Serino to stamp the envelope. It completes the card. Often it is such a relief to finish my card that I have to force myself to stamp the envie. It's worth it though. :-)

I am noticing that I tend to make the same kind of cards... my designs are similar. This is something I'm going to have to work on. Ooo...what fun!

Recipe:
SU! card stock and Basic Grey Stella Ruby Paper
Prima flowers and brads
SU! Ribbons
Palette Ink Noir, Prisma colored pencils with gamsol blending, and Souffle Gelly Pen
The Angel Company's How Swell Stamp set

SWEET Primas

I remember the first time I saw flowers growing up here. It was like finding a hidden treasure! During the summer you can find many different little blossoms out on the tundra. Just take a short walk out and you can find them tucked into little tufts of turf. Spring in the arctic is not like spring in the lower 48. We are still coated in snow while most everyone else in the US is enjoying fields of fresh flowers and budding trees. Come summer is when the flowers bud and flourish here. I don't mind too much. They are worth the wait! Now that I am a paper crafter I've found flowers year-round. Primas! Oh, how I love them. I can never have too many. I'm so silly too because after I'm done admiring them in the bottle they come it I dump them out and sort them. I keep them stored by color. This way I can pull out my flower drawer and pull out the exact color that I am looking for with ease. OH! I love my PRIMAS!

Babies X's TWO

So I met the deadline! Whew... it was tough! It seemed like every time I started to assemble a card I was needed elsewhere. Seven graduations, two babies, two thank you's, and two blanks later. I'm done!!!!

My Mom sent me a care package and it arrived over the weekend. I am so thankful for the items she sent. I was surprised to see the paper stack that she picked up from Costco. It was inspiring to see all the neat prints. Here's two baby cards I made from the stack sheets. The stamps are all from The Angel Company except for the dots on the baby boy card. That one is from a small set from Fancy Pants. Speaking of Fancy Pants... they are amazing! I'd love to own more but I just can't bring myself to spend over $37 on one set. They are huge so would I really be paying $37 for one set... it's more like getting four sets in one. RIGHT?!

BACK to Sunday

I know today is Monday but I didn't post anything for yesterday... Sunday. So back to Sunday. :-)

What brought me to Barrow was the hope to get to know my dad. Who would of guessed that it wouldn't be my earthly father that I would come to know here but rather our heavenly Father. It's funny how I had to come to the most northern town in the USA to finally let God have my life. It's like I went as far as I could go spiritually and physically to get away from Him. It didn't work! Here I am a seven year old born again, repented and reconciled sinner. So what does all this have to do with Sunday? I thought instead of sharing my stamping stuff on Sundays that I would share bits and pieces of my life on Sundays and hope that sharing these bits and pieces will be a blessing to you.

With SYMPATHY

Saturdays are the days that my husband needs the computer the most. So it's the day I'm on computer the least. The day is almost over and I haven't posted anything yet. I can totally feel the pressure to please. I gave a quick lookie-lu in my iPhoto library for something to post on the fly. Here it is one of the few sympathy cards that I've designed and one of the first times that I used SU!'s "Post Carte" set. The paper is from TAC's Bazzill paper packs.
Kinda on the same note I am under the gun to get an order done by Monday. Maybe I'll post one of the cards from the order tomorrow or the next day.
Smiles!

ONE Week Old

Yipee! I'm one week old today! To celebrate I am featuring my favorite stamping celebrity... Laurie Serino. Laurie is a stampin' celebrity because her stamped creations are amazing and everyone should know her.

It made me smile so big when Laurie agreed to be featured on Inkcicles. As part of doing my write up, I asked Laurie to send me a couple of pictures of her favorite cards. I could think of many of her designs that I wanted to post but I left it up to her to choose. Yesterday she sent me photos of two cards that she was recently commissioned to make. She told me that these cards were special to her not for the design but because they were made from her heart. The "Loads of Love" card was made for Hannah. Hannah does not live here in Barrow but her mother, Jen, does. Jen has been missing her daughter terribly and wanted a special card to send to Hannah. Pictured here is the card Laurie created just for Jen & Hannah. I wish I could express the joy Laurie had in sharing these card with me. The way she tells it is so much better to hear than to read, but I am thrilled just to be a part of it all. The second card I can't tell you the story behind it just yet. It would be spilling the beans on a wonderful surprise for someone special. So here they both are. Aren't they wonderful?!

Tourist TOWN

For the summer season our village turns into a tourist town. We get tourists from all over the world coming up here to see the locals, the scenery, and the wildlife. During the summer our sun never sets and snow is gone. Our roads are not paved so we get a ton of dust from passing cars and four-wheelers. Although the sun is up 24-7 it doesn't necessarily mean that its warm out. Don't be fooled by that arctic sun and blue skies. Clear skies means that there is no cloud cover to keep in the warmth. I know it's really opposite of the lower 48's weather. We average anywhere from 35 to 48 above during the summer. Back on to tourist season... you can always spot a tourist and for the most part they are fun to talk too. Often my husband and I will wave at them as they pass in the tour bus or happily give directions to a few that manage to get lost. Well now that I am a stamper I have an art that I can offer to our summer visitors. I can make TOURIST CARDS! I can't take total credit for this idea. My best friend and fellow stamper was the first to put her creations out there and I followed her lead. Today I am sharing one of my newest tourist cards. So next time you are in my town, stop by the Inupiat Cleaners or the Inupiat Heritage Center and buy one of our hand-stamped tourist cards. We would love your support.

FINALLY, Yep

Can you believe I didn't ink my new Paper Trey stamps right away? I can't believe it either! When I finally made a card with the Green Thumbs set I only used the water can stamp. SHAME ON ME! I know I am not the only one that has done that... just couldn't wait for the long awaited delivery and then take two weeks to mount the "I just gotta have it" set. I wasn't that bad this time and I hate to admit that I like acrylic stamps too.
So here's what I made with the water can from "Green Thumbs"... I stamped the water can with Versamagic chalk ink and then brushed on shimmer chalks. The scalloped paper is from Basic Gray whereas the card stock is from SU! as well as the ribbon. The faux stitching was done with my souffle pen. One thing about Sakura's souffle pens, they go on looking glossy and sometimes clear. Let them dry all the way to show their true color. The souffles are opaque which dries to a matte finish. Yep, they are pricey but worth the effect. The sentiment is from The Angel Company along with the paper posies. I made two of these cards at the same time but the other card is stamped with a "Happy Birthday" sentiment instead. Both were fun to make. I'll have to get on the ball and make some more Paper Trey creations.

Oh NO!

Uhg!!! I was totally fine with not owning Paper Trey's latest stamp set, Faux Ribbon, until I saw Heather Nichols beautiful creations showing them off. So inspiring!!! I will have to be patient here and maybe I'll be blessed with set? It could happen. SMILES!

KEEP it Simple

All last week my stamping style was simple. Simple as in not my usual distressing and aging style. I tend to be on the vintage side but for some reason last week I started stamping without my ink smudges and splatters. Here's another one of the cards that was kept simple. The stamps are from The Angel Company. Gamsol was used to blend the pinks and stickles were added to give it some bling. What do you think? I love it and I just might have to keep this one all for myself!

The Arctic

My home is in a really cold place, but for me it couldn't be warmer in my heart. I came to Barrow eight years ago broke without a job, lonely as a single mom, and lost deprived of a savior. I'm not lost any more. PRAISE GOD!!! And I feel wealthier than I ever imagined. I am wealthy in health, friendships, and family. I met my husband here and just four months ago we welcomed the arrival of our daughter Ellie and my son graduated from high school. This place is not a paradise of sun shiny warmth but I am complete and there is nothing more satisfying....nope, not even new rubber!

Faux RIBBON

I came across a blog from Nicole Heady, Paper Trey. She is doing a series of techniques on faux ribbons using their new stamps that haven't been released yet. The ideas are so simple that after my computer time I went to my stamp table and created a card with one of the techniques. I love it! It came out looking like soft velvet. I will definitely do this one again and again.

Naked

I really like these cards I made yesterday. They were left naked (without a sentiment) on purpose. When I finally figure out what the cards will be used for I'll stamp in a sentiment.

This is FUN

I really don't know what I am doing. With God's help and my husband's techie tips maybe something will become of my blog site.

:-)