FUN...

This afternoon Laurie, Stamping For God's Glory, and I got together to run errands...kid-less! I happened to walk over to Laurie's and I didn't plan on going to do errands with her but there we went. To make a long story short, we stopped by The Inupiat Cleaners to get some red tape and stumbled upon these lovely carding goodies and to top it off she shared some of them with me too! Aren't they fun?! Thank you Laurie for goodies and a nice time out of the house.

On a completely different note here's a handsome notebook I altered for my husband. He had mentioned that his prayer list is getting long and that he was afraid that he would forget to pray for someone. I had intended to make him a card this week but this is much better. The notebook is palm sized and it's just right to keep in his pocket. It was tempting to add ribbon or a flower but I didn't think that he'd appreciated the embellishments as much as me so I left them off. I used paper and stickers from The Angel Company's Kamalaht set and adhered them to the cover with Mod Podge. It took longer to dry then to alter. Andrew was so surprised to receive this little gift and it was worth making to see him smile and even better to know that I am encouraging him to pray.

Blog BLESSINGS

I am constantly in awe of the kindness of others. Since becoming a part of the stamp blogging community I have come to know many sweet and creative women. From the encouraging comments that you ladies take the time to leave me to the fun mail I receive... I am so thankful. I know I don't mention it often enough but I so appreciate you all. THANK YOU!

My Blog BLESSINGS today include:
Card and Images from Corie
Card and Goodies from Candi (my up-upline)
Card and Goodies with a Newspaper Clipping on my town's new football team from Jan of Fairbanks
Audio CD's from Janaina

Lastly, Jen of Expressly Me has included me in her circle of Best Blogging Friends. It's easy to be Jen's friend because she is the type of woman that you want to know. Her energy and enthusiasm is contagious and her sense of humor is irresistible. It is a privilege to be her friend and an honor to be considered one of her Best Blogging Friends. HUGS & ALOHA back at you Jen!

Yip-EE!!!

Yea! I have finally had a chance to sit down and write out a post for today! The baby just went down for a nap, the dishes are half way done, and I have two cards ready to share! So here they are... both cards are made with the "Make a Wish" set from Gina K's "stamps for a cause" series. Flourishes is supporting this campaign by sending us ladies from the design team the stamp set to create with. My favorite image out of the set is the dandelion. I guess it reminds me of when I was child picking these weeds and blowing their seeds everywhere. I think I'd blow so hard that I'd get dizzy from all the exhaling. Here in the arctic we have a very similar dandelion looking weed. I love to see them blossom. Of all who I ask none knows their technical name so we all call them tundra cotton. These hardy puffs don't scatter when you blow them like dandelions. Although you are welcome to try. :-)

DANDELION CARD DETAILS:
Make A Wish Stamps from Gina K
Basic Grey Infuse Papers
Versa Magic Chalk Ink
Versa Mark Embossing Ink
Vintage Plum Tsukineko Embossing Powder
Making Memories Dye-able Ribbon
Mini Buttons

CAKE CARD DETAILS:
Make A Wish Stamp from Gina K
Papers from AUG 07 Self-Addressed Monthly Kit
Palette Ink
Tombow Markers
Ribbon from Teri
(Big Ideas from a Little Girl)
Platinum Stickles
White Liquid Applique



**PLEASE let Gina K know that Flourishes sent you when you buy these "stamps for a cause".

75K Card

Julee from Poetic Artistry is celebrating 75K hits on her blog. As part of the celebration she is hosting a sketch challenge. I really wasn't sure what I was going to do with the sketch but when I went to my stamping table this afternoon it all came together. It's a very clean crisp card and I really like how it turned out. The black paper is sparkly of which the scan doesn't really show it off that well. Just like my Christmas card list I have a ton of Thank You cards to make. So... I better make this short and get back to stamping. SMILES!

5x5 CARD DETAILS:
Rubber Romance ~ Melanie
SU! Circle of Friendship
Blank White Notecard 5x5
Bazzill Grey Textured Paper
The Glitter Mat Stack DCWV
May Arts Ribbon
Prismacolor Pencils blended w/ Gamsol

INFO Share

Every now and then I come across stamping information that I find really-really useful. Here are three blog postings of information that I'd like to share with you.

Mounting Rubber Tip:
Heidi's Stamp Mounting Tip

Colored Pencil Review
Gina K's Colored Pencil Review

Prismacolor Pencil Sharpening
Mama Dini's Prismacolor Pencils

Christmas Card in August

One down and too many more to go... Yep, that's right. Christmas cards. Now is the time to start a making your holiday creations. Here's one I made for Mama Dini's sketch challenge and it is doing double duty for Tracy's August Happiness Challenge. Mama Dini's sketch is awesome and I had a hard time to find a stamp that would work just right for the main image but it was worth the effort to be able to complete the sketch. I used various colors of Stickles to make the tree brighter than the background papers. Anyhow, it is nice to think on Christmas and to be reminded of the many blessings that the holiday celebrates... our Savoiur's birth. Oh how I love Jesus!

Card Details:
The Angel Company "Eclectic Christmas"
TAC Merry Wishes Scrapbook Papers
Palette Ink Noir Black
Prisma Colored Pencils blended with Gamsol
Gray Tombow Marker
Stickles

My Coloring Continued

I've had a few questions on the coloring technique using Gamsol and Prisma colored pencils. The main question I had was where to find Gamsol. Basically Gamsol is an odorless mineral spirit (OMS). You can find OMS at your fine arts supply store. I've been told that you can also find it at Home Depot too. Either way I can't find it here in Barrow so I ordered if off the internet through a fine arts supply site. I am including a photo of my Gamsol stash with blending tools. I hope this information is a help to you.

Weekend Beate Challenge #16

On my last TAC (The Angel Company) order I went ahead and picked out one of the new 12x12 paper sets. It's called Mimi. I love the prints and colors in this set. It's very feminine and fun. Here I've used them to help me create these two cards for Beate's Weekend Challenge #16. I squished my card from the long rectangle down to a square too. This was a fun sketch to do. I just might have to do this one again.

CARD DETAILS:
The Angel Company Stamps "Friendly Note"
"Bloomin' Boxes"
"Running Stitches"
Mimi Scrapbook Papers
Bazzill Brown Cardstock
Prisma Colored Pencils blended w/ Gamsol
Palette Ink Noir Black
Versa Magic Chalk Ink
Gray Tombow Marker
Prima Flowers w/ Brads
May Arts Ribbon

Indexing UM's

I love my unmounted stamps (UM). I've seen many ways of mounting rubber over the last year and I thought I'd share how I've started to index my rubber stamps on Creative Cling. I am using a set from The Angel Company called "He Said She Said" and my Palette ink in Noir Black as the example.

If you are a visual person these photos should help. :-)

1) Peel the paper off the cling side of the Creative Cling.
2) Ink up your sheet of rubber.
3) Line up your cling above the inked rubber and stamp.
4) Lift up the stamped cling carefully.
5) Blot the inked cling on scratch paper.
6) Turn the rubber over.
7) Peel the paper off the sticky side of the Creative Cling.
8) Line up the cling with your rubber. Inked side up.
9) Adhere the sticky side to the back of the rubber.
10) Trim your rubber.
11) And wha-la! You are ready to store your indexed stamps!

I currently store all my unmounted stamps in jewel cases and I have them categorized in canvas drawers in my craft box.

What a DAY

I am so thankful to have a God that meets my daily needs. Part of my day was spent at a funeral and the other half taking care of family things. I feel so drained and I am sure that that doesn't compare to what my friend is going through right now. I stepped out onto my front porch for some cool air and saw these amazing clouds. I know it may seem silly but I don't always see clouds like these and the blue sky with the puffy clouds amazes me. God sure does make things so beautiful. No art of my own to share tonight.... just my rambling thoughts and a photo.

Guest Appearance

Check-out these lovely Bellas! Shannon K. from Texas emailed me her first go at Gamsol Magic or Gamsol Blending inspired from my coloring technique post. I met Shannon through blogging and she currently does not have a blog of her own or a web gallery. I am a total stamping junkie so I love to view other people's work. Now I finally have an idea what Shannon's style is like. Thank you so much Shannon for sharing your colored gals. I definitely think you have an eye for coloring! Keep coloring. The more you practice the better you become. Big SMILES!

UPDATE: Shannon emailed me this picture of one of her cards. I am so happy to see more of her style. She describes it as simple. I would describe it as simply wonderful!



You can visit my coloring tips here: http://inkcicles.blogspot.com/2007/08/my-coloring.html

A Flourished Birthday

More playing with Flourishes Cake Decorating 101 and Flourished Words sets. Add a mix of Basic Grey's Infuse papers and wah-la... a fun birthday card.

CARD DETAILS:
Stamps: Flourished Words & Cake Decorating 101 from Flourishes
Basic Grey Infuse Papers
Palette Ink
Prima Flowers
Ribbon

So SORRY.

I just discovered late last night that I made a huge blunder. It is with my humblest and utmost apologies that I give to Suki/Sarah, Suki's Blog, and to Sara of Desperate Stamper. In my last Blog Blessings post I had incorrectly announced that I won blog candy winnings from Suki/Sarah B. of Desperate Stamper. It should actually read that I won blog candy from Sara R. of Desperate Stamper. I completely missed posting the blog candy blessing from Suki/Sarah's of Suki's Blog. I feel so embarrassed to have made such a big mistake and I visit both of their blogs weekly too so I should of caught my blunder sooner.

Here is a picture of the goodies that Suki/Sarah sent to me and the Amuse card she included. She had let me look through three cards to pick my favorite and it was so hard to choose because they were all too cute.

I am publicly sharing this experience in case it happens to you. I hope that you would be encouraged not to be too proud to admit such a mistake.

Suki/Sarah & Sara,
Thank you two sweet ladies for not making a big deal about my mistake. I have enjoyed the gifts that I received from both of you and I feel really bad for my posting blunder.
Sincerely,
~NG.

HEY!

Thank you all for your continued perusing of my humble blog. I appreciate everyones encouragement, support, and comments. Here's a fun card to brighten your day!

CARD DETAILS:
Blank Card from OTC
Main image is TAC's "Sweet Tweet"
Swirls from TAC's "Artsy Elements"
Corner Dots from Flourishes "Cake Decorating 101"
Sentiment TAC's "Hey Chick"
Rustic Chic paper from The Angel Company
Palette and Versa Magic Chalk Inks
May Arts Ribbon

Miss LAURIE!

Today is a very special day for Miss Laurie of "Stamping for God's Glory". It's her birthday!!! Now I am not gonna say how old she is but I am going to share the birthday card I made for her. Big SMILES!

CARD DETAILS:
Bella Stamp
Retired TAC Sentiment Stamp
The Angel Company Vintage Holiday Paper
May Arts Ribbon
Painted and Distressed Chip Board Flower
Pastel Flower Sequin
Stickles
Prisma Colored Pencils blended with Gamsol

Mixed STAMPING

Please pray for my friend Sarah N. and her daughters. Knowing that others are praying for them is a blessing. I made this card for her and I hope that it brings her some comfort.

Here's my final card from last night. It's a mix of lots of different stamp companies. I started out with an Autumn Leaves stamp from "Swirls" and then I added the flowers from SU! "Doodle That". I started to doodle and discovered that I better stick to stamping so I covered up my free-handed additions with the Prima flowers and finally completed the card with two The Angel Company stamps. The bird is from "Deco Designs" and the other is a retired sentiment stamp. I used scraps of Basic Grey's Montifica 12x12 paper and Palette ink.

Sketch CHALLENGES

Sketch challenges are such a good way to expand your stamping style. I tend to lay my cards out in the same manner without even thinking about it. Thankfully no one points this out to me. (You all are so kind!) I really need to make sure that I do at least one sketch challenge a week. Last night I start two fun sketches and here is what I finally ended up with.

The first is from Meg, she's Laura's six year old daughter, over at Whirlpool of Imagination. I might try this one again with less white. :-) I used papers and stamps from The Angel Company for this card. The inks were all Versa Magic Chalk and the faux stitching was done with a Souffle' pen.

The second card was a layout from Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #15. I didn't intentionally choose my card to match her cowboy them. I started off with scraps from Basic Grey's Montifica 12x12 papers from dare I say it... a year ago. I've been holding on to them for too long. I think I bought them right after signed up to be a TAC demonstrator which was not quite two years ago. I love having my Wings! All the stamps with this card are from The Angel Company also except for the shadow oval. I actually made that from leftover rubber earlier this year. It comes in handy from time to time too. My handsome cowboy adn background was colored with Prisma Colored Pencils and blended with Gamsol. I use scalloped scissors to make the edging and I used the Souffle' pen to add accents of color here and there. This card was stamped with Palette ink and distressed with multiple Versa Magic Chalk inks.

Belly Scratching

My husband called me so excited this afternoon... look what he spotted scratching it's belly on the gravel at the beach! It's a bowhead whale!!! I've seen a whale here and there but never this close! I've been told by locals that the whales migrating by will come close to shore and scratch their belly's on the gravel. I am so excited for Andrew to see such a site! He happened to be driving back to the office when this photo op became available. I was stuck at home without a ride down to the beach. No worries... I am sure I will have a chance to see one of these belly itching sessions in person some day.

Paper Piecing

The Angel Company's "How Swell" stamp set is perfect for paper piecing and last night I was told of some very happy news just perfect for making a card with "How Swell". Here's what I put together to celebrate our friends blessed news. Congratulations Philip and Melissa!

CARD DETAILS:
The Angel Company "How Swell"
TAC Paper ~ Catelynne
DCWV Textured Paper
Palette Ink
Prisma Colored Pencils & Gamsol
TAC Ribbon from Hemingway Set
Stickles
Prima Flower
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Big Shot

NEWS from Flourishes!

Flourishes let us design team ladies in on some wonderful and exciting news yesterday... want in on the news? Of course with permission I am happy to inform you that... Flourishes is teaming up to sponsor Gina K's "Make a Wish" set for the Make a Wish Foundation! What a fantastic opportunity! In celebration of this wonderful news here's a mini notepad I altered with the "Wish" sentiment from Flourishes' "Flourished Words" set.

YIP-EE!!!

CARD DETAILS:
Flourished Words Stamp
Autumn Leaves Swirls
Basic Grey Perhaps Papers
Palette Ink
Versa Magic Chalk Inks
Prima Flowers
Marvy Uchida Flower Punch
Gelly Glazy Pen
May Arts Ribbon
Brads
SU! Hardware

Blog BLESSINGS

It's such a blessing to have made so many new friends in the blogging world. I appreciate the comments and support that you all leave me. I am constantly impressed with the generosity of you ladies.

I received these lovely blog prizes over the last week. One is from Suki at Desperate Stamper and the other is from Teri of BIG Ideas From A Little Girl. I forgot to get a snap shot to share with you all so I am using the photos of their blog candy straight from their sites.

THANK YOU SUKI & TERI!

Card Challenge ~ Mary M

I think I must be loosing it in my old age. If not that I need to start making to do lists. I almost forgot to do Mary's challenge over at Stamps-Paper-Scissors--Oh My. I plan on making some more for this challenge but just in case she closes the contest bright and early on the 15th, I am posting my first go around. There are absolutely no layers to this card and it reads, "Love U" not "U Love". I am not speaking ill of my husband here... he read it as "U Love". So for clarification it's "Love U". Big SMILES!

Rockin' GIRL Blogger

Thanks for the nomination Jan! You can visit my Alaskan friend's blog at Far North Designs. She does wonderful art.
Big SMILES!

I nominate:
Laurie Serino, Stamping For God's Glory
Kemi, KSS Designs
Candi, Stamp Candy
Janainta, 2 Worlds
Sarah, Lady Gil Designs/Sarah's Studio

You Ladies inspire me!

CAKE! ~ Flourishes

I finally make my first completely fat-free and zero calorie cake! Flourishes made it easy with their new stamp set called "Cake Decorating 101". It's a combination of Basic Grey Infusion papers and blank cardstock. I can imagine it as a creamy delight with white chocolate and strawberries. M-m-m good!

CARD DETAILS:
Flourishes Cake Decorating 101
Blank Note Card
Basic Grey Infusion Papers
Palette Ink
Versa Magic Chalk Ink
Martha Stewart Ribbon

Sketch CHALLENGES

It's been awhile since I last completed a sketch challenge. Part of the reason I haven't done any lately is that we moved my stamping area to the back bedroom and this room doesn't have a computer in it. I usually leave the computer on with the sketch challenge on the screen when I'm stamping out a challenge card. It's not a convenient way to do the challenges but it worked for me. I guess it's one of my quirks. Now a days I pencil the sketch on paper and go from there.

Here's two cards for two different sketch challenges. I originally thought that I would do Beate's from Fresh & Fun challenge but then I realized that since I was making two at one time I could change the other card up a tad and it would work for Jen's "All Kine Ways" challenge too. "All Kine Ways" as quoted from Jen's site "... is a Hawaii local "pidgin" term, which means "all sorts of ways". The challenge is simple... the task is to create 2 cards using the same stamp. But change them up a lil' bit, by doing something different with the next card.

It was fun to make both cards. It gave me a chance to use the this cute bug and lizard stamp set from The Angel Company. I've had it since the beginning of the year. It's about time that I inked it up.

CARD DETAILS:
The Angel Company Stamp Sets
"Lilly Pad Pond" & "Don't Bug Me"
Palette Inks & Versa Magic Chalk Ink
Embossing Powder
Gingham Ribbon from Self Addressed July Kit
Polka Dot Ribbon from May Arts
Ric Rak from Making Memories
Making Memories Colored Staples
Oval SU! Punches
Creative Memories Circle Punch
Embossing Folders from Cuttlebug