Lady Guinevere's Inky Faeries

BIG NEWS!!!!

2012-01-20T15:33:00.001-07:00

I have been working hard to bring this idea to life & I hope you will all join me in the journey. Please check it out!!!

7 Kids College Fund Challenge #39 - Love is in the Air!

2012-01-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

As Valentine's Day quickly approaches we're getting ready for those valentines by challenging you to make 3x3 cards using the theme Love is in the Air! 7 kids college fund has the perfect envelopes for these cards so you don't have to make your own. These are the perfect size to make with your kids for all those school valentines. Be sure to check out the 7 kids college fund blog for more ideas from the DT!

I had a lot of fun with my card. I first embossed it with Tim Holtz Postcard Texture Folder and rubbed Tim Holtz Distress Ink Broken China on top. Then using different patterns from Echo Park Be Mine Collection I cut out my hearts using Spellbinders Scallop Hearts. I glued them together leaving the sides popped with Helmar 450 Quick Dry. I wanted to stitch it but I don't have a sewing machine easily accessible so that is another option. The sentiment comes for the sticker pack of the Echo Park Be Mine Collection.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tiddly Inks Blog Hop - Friends are the flowers of life!

2012-01-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

I love it when a company opens up a blog hop for all it's fans! And when I saw Tiddly Inks released a new character line called Wryn & Friends - well, I KNEW I had to purchase 1 (or 5) and make a card for the special hop today. Be sure to check out the Tiddly Inks Challenge blog for a list of everyone participating.

I am a huge fan of Tiddly Inks but haven't had much time to create just for the sake of creating - this card I did just that. I used Wryn - Close to my Heart. I printed her on Copic Xpress It Cardstock and colored her with Copics. The paper is Basic Grey Out of Print and the lace & seam binder come from Creating is Fun. I JUST got this new rolled paper flower die by CC Designs and I'm having SO much fun with it. It makes the perfect rolled rose each and every time. I will be posting a video tutorial next week so be sure the check back or subscribe to my youtube channel so you won't miss it. :D

I actually used a new green combination for me, G14 & YG13 and I think I'm in love with it now. I also used a new RED combination as I just added 6 new colors to my R family this week, so for the heart I used R12, R14, R17 & R29. I have to be honest, I haven't loved an image like this in a long time. I have a feeling you will be seeing a LOT of Wryn & Friends on my blog!

Well, I want to keep it short & sweet as there is a VERY long list of blogs to hop through. I can't wait to get started myself. I'm bound to be inspired and learn a few things along the way.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Wryn - Close to my Heart Tiddly Ink digital image
Basic Grey Out of Print Collection
Copics: Skin - E000, E00, E11, R20, R01; Hair - E74, E77, E49; Dress - YG13, G14; Heart - R12, R14, R17, R29, YR23, YR0000; Shoes - C4, C6, C8, C1, BG10
CC Designs Rolled Paper Flower Die
Basic Grey Rub Ons
Creating is Fun Lace & Seam Binding
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Helmar Tape Runner & Helmar Zap Dots

Beautiful bows with May Arts & Helmar!

2012-01-11T13:00:00.001-07:00

Be sure to stop by the Helmar Blog each day this week for incredible inspiration using May Arts Ribbons!!

I loved this gorgeous sheer ribbon that has a wire built into it to help it keep its shape. It makes the most beautiful puffy bows! The perfect adhesive for sheer ribbon is Helmar 450 Quick Dry - b/c it's super thick and dries so fast, so clear, your ribbon is going to be the steal of your layout, not your adhesive! I used this super adorable WS-Matilda by The Greeting Farm. She is so much fun to color and I love the way her hair turned out - it was a new hair color I tried using C4, C6, C8 & RV66 all over. The paper is one of my favorites right now by Authentique. I love their 6x6 paper pads for making cards and small layouts like this. I used Helmar Tape Runner to adhere all the paper including the doily behind sweet Matilda which I got at Creating is Fun (which btw everything is currently 15% off). You can probably tell from the cut off calendar that this is a page in the Birthday Calendar I had been working on FOREVER - Finally finished it this past weekend and now I just have to figure out the Bind-it-All so I can finally give it to my mama!!!

Be sure to check out THIS POST for THREE chances to win 2 spools of ribbon from May Arts and the best adhesive to use with ribbon Helmar 450 Quick Dry!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges I'm Playing:

Supplies:

Helmar 450 Quick Dry & Tape Runner
May Arts Ribbon
WS-Matilda stamp by The Greeting Farm
Copics
Authentique
Creating is Fun Doily
PaperTrey Ink Vintage Button & Vintage Twine

Trying something new with something old!

2012-01-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Most of you know my coloring medium of choice would be Copic Markers but every once in awhile I will venture out with something new. Today I colored my image using Faber-Castell colored pencils and I colored on canvas paper. Whoa, watch out! LOL I finally finished this birthday calendar project and I just need to figure out how to use the Bind-it-all machine I bought last year so I can put it together!

The image is from the Special Autumn set by The Greeting Farm available now at 7 Kids College Fund!! I think my favorite part of this image are her cute little boots!!! The papers and chipboard are all Bella Blvd. I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry to make sure the chipboard would stick as my mom will be using this calendar over and over. This is what I created for the month of December hence all the cute fall papers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturated Canary Challenge No. 8 - Clean and Simple!

2012-01-05T23:38:00.001-07:00

It's a new year and we are already on Challenge No. 8 for Saturated Canary!! Can you believe it - week after week you knock our socks off with your beautiful creations with Krista Smiths adorable images. This week, we're challenging you to a Clean & Simple card. As you can see, this is about as Clean and Simple as I can get and there are STILL 3 layers on here NOT counting the twine! *giggle* I adore this ragamuffin called Penelope & Posey. So adorable!! Reminds me of my daughter so much balancing that lil rabbit on her head. See, my daughter has a lovie that is a bunny that she takes with her EVERYWHERE!!! Well, she used to, now all loves must remain home b/c we had too many close calls when she was a baby leaving it at stores and such. LOL Funny how my girls have taken up lovies but my son is just content sucking his thumb - actually I think I AM his lovie. and I'd like to remain so for quite awhile!!!

Anyhoo, I hope you will join us at Saturated Canary Challenges and you will NOT want to miss a special announcement on Saturday.....just saying' it's gonna be good and a LOT of you will NOT WANT TO MISS OUT!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Saturated Canary Digital Image Penelope & Posey
Papertrey Ink Cardstock
Authentique Paper
Helmar Tape Runner
Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream Twine
Copics
Copic Xpress It Cardstock

7 Kids College Fund Challenge #38 & Exciting news!!!

2012-01-04T08:00:00.002-07:00

I am super excited to announce that I am part of 7 Kids College Fund DT for the next 6 months!!! They are one of my favorite places to purchase supplies online with amazing customer service & pricing.

I am kicking off my term with my project for Challenge #38 which is Try Something New! My something new is coloring on TRACING paper, yep, I remember this as an option when we I took my certification class and have never tried it until now. I picked up a cheap pad of tracing paper and stamped Blush Babette with memento tuxedo black. I actually colored on the opposite side of where I stamped so as not to have any issues with bleeding etc. It was fun and I'll definitely be trying it again!

You can check out the new DT announcement HERE and be sure to check out the 7 Kids Challenge blog to play along with us this week! I'm really excited for this new opportunity!!!

Supplies:

The Greeting Farm Blush Babette Stamp
Sassafrass Paper
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Stickers
Copics
Helmar 450 Quick Dry & V2
Creating is Fun Doily
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher & Distres Ink
Memento Ink Tuxedo Black

Creating is Fun - Exciting Announcement!!

2012-01-02T01:00:00.002-07:00

I am so excited to finally let the cat out of the bag that I will be designing for a good friend and incredibly talented lady, Martha Pineda who carries the most fabulous trims, embellishments and more at Creating is Fun. I literally HOARD her trims because they are so unique and gorgeous but I'm going to try to be better at USING them to inspire you from now on! *giggle* She has put together the most amazing team of unique crafters who are super sweet as I've gotten to know them over the past couple weeks since we've been working toward this very big day for Martha!

First things first, PLEASE go and LIKE Creating is Fun FB fan page for YOUR chance to win a $25 credit to the store once we hit 150 fans. I KNOW we can do this today and then YOU will have a chance at a shopping spree for yourself to get these amazing supplies!

And to see what great things she has and what you can create, please check out this Christmas tag I made for my mom using a shipping tag, doily, gold/white buttons & natural buttons ALL from her store:

Seriously, if you love unique embellishments and even BETTER prices & shipping, please take a look around HER STORE- I know you will find something you love and you'll love her prices. Can't be beat.

And for even MORE inspiration, just take a look at these amazing ladies as they created something special just for today:

MARTHA PINEDA

Rachel Bogner

Bonita Rose

Products used:

Samantha Walker Unity stamps
Faber-Castell
Doily from Creating is fun
Manilla Shipping Tag from Creating is Fun
Gold / White Button from Creating is fun
Natural Button from Creating is Funs
Wild Orchid Craft Flowers
Make it Crafty chipboard
October AFternoon sticker

December Daily 2011!!

2011-12-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year Everyone! I finally finished my first ever December Daily album - I hope you will check out my pages in this video:

I hope you enjoyed the video - Thanks for stopping by! :D

Saturated Canary Challenge #7 - Christmas/Holiday

2011-12-23T02:24:00.002-07:00

**TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!**

Can you believe it? In case you get lots of crafty goodies under your tree or even if not and you just want to steal a few moments of quiet in your craft room, Saturated Canary Challenges has the project for you "Christmas/Winter" theme is our challenge this week. I love that it leaves it so open for whatever inspires you this time of year. I have been working on my december daily even though I haven't shared any pages yet. I haven't had the time to really take pics and blog about it so I thought I would do a video at some point. Not anytime soon of course (see above. LOL). But I did want to share my day 8 page which doesn't have any pictures just one of my favorite Saturated Canary winter images Hot Cocoa because we LOVE hot chocolate in this house. I just added some simple journaling around the page. I hope you will join us and you can find all the details HERE.

Challenges I'm Playing:
iCopic - Last Minute Holiday Projects (I'm behind on my dec daily so that's last min, right? LOL)

Supplies:

Saturated Canary Hot Cocoa Digital image
Copics
Echo Park Designer Paper
Elle's Studio Tags
October Afternoon Stickers
Doily from Creating is Fun
Distress Ink
FabScraps Rub On Dispenser
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Helmar Acid Free Glue
Helmar 450 Quick Dry
Helmar Zap Dots

TGF 3rd Annual Customer Blog Hop!

2011-12-19T09:00:00.003-07:00

I am SO excited - I think I have participated in this hop since it began and it's really exciting for me this year as I'm wrapping up my dream term as a farmer. I thought for this hop I would share my family Christmas cards with you. I almost always create photo cards and this year I thought I was going to stamp our cards and just tuck in a wallet of the kiddos but hubby said to me the other day, I really like your photo cards and that was all I need to hear to make them again! We took our kids to see Santa the other day and the pictures turned out amazing so it was a no brainer to use a couple of them for our cards this year. The expressions and moments captured with each click are perfect. It is a super long hop so I don't want to get into one of my long winded blog posts today! LOL Here is our card which I will finally be sending out TODAY!!! I know, late but ah well. Such is the story of me.

My project definitely falls into the HOLIDAY category:

What do you think? I really love how it turned out this year. I kept it simple with the pictures being the highlight. I always like to add a Christmas quote or saying and this one really stuck out to me this year. Do you see Elf Anya on the ticket!!! Isn't she adorable? One of my favorite things about digital stamps is that I can add my favorites to my Christmas cards each year and Elf Anya is definitely one of my favs. I kept begging to bring her back since she was released just before I became a TGF fan & was thrilled to see her as a ltd digital stamp! The digital papers and ticket are all from Sassy-Designs.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the hop and thank you so much for being such loyal followers during my term as a farmer. Many of you know how much this has meant to me and it's been such a blast, ending way to soon!!! But I am really excited to see the next batch come and do their thing. Now enjoy the rest of the hop and if you want to start at the beginning for the FULL list of everyone participating, check out the TGF Blog. There are THREE grand prizes being given away, one in each category of Holiday & General as well as for a non-particpant who hops with us and leaves comments all the way through!!! Wowsa!

Merry Christmas!

The Greeting Farm Throwback Thursday - Holiday edition!

2011-12-14T23:01:00.006-07:00

Today at The Greeting Farm, we normally have a Throwback Thursday and the DT will dust off some of our neglected but much loved stamps to give them new life. This week we all dug into our stash for some of the past winter / holiday themed stamps that have been released of the years. I still think TGF has the CUTEST snowman on the market and as I dug thru my stamps they immediately called out to me and I couldn't resist. I made this mixed media style tag to put on a gift this year. I had fun creating the background with Faber-Castel gelatos and I actually stampsd the image from Keep Cozy using Faber-Castell Artist Pitt big brush pens. They are great for art journal stamping b/c it is an indian ink and is permanent once dried. The other cool thing is that I also colored the image using a combination of white gelatos and Artist Pitt big brush pens. While the ink is still wet you can use a wet brush to get a more even coverage while coloring your images. It creates a neat water colored effect that is once again permanent once dry so you can continue to add layers. I also used the Splotchy stamp by The Greeting farm to add the ink splotches on the tag.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop by TGF blog for the rest of the DT inspiration and I hope you will pull out some of your older stamps to give them some new love! Also, The Farm Fresh Challenge blog has a retro-fresh TAG challenge going on right now that this would be perfect for!

Challenges I'm Playing:

Two Peas Vendor Challenge - Faber-Castell Project

Anything Goes - Tags

My Time to Craft - Vintage Christmas

Partytime Tuesdays - Red & Green Christmas

Hooked On Crafts - Winter Wonderland

Oh La La Challenges - Anything But A Card

Take A Word - Joy

Products:

Keep Cozy & Splotchy Rubber Stamps by The Greeting Farm
Tim Holtz Tag
Faber Castell Gelatos and Big Brush Artist Pit Pens
Glimmer Mist
gesso
Indian Ink/Nib
Sharpie Pen
Tim Holtz Grunge Board Holiday shapes
Distressed Ink Tattered Twigs
Helmar 450 Quick Dry
Helmar 2 Step Crackle Medium
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Seam Binding
Webster's Pages Flower Florette

Saturated Canary Challenge #6 - For the Boys

2011-12-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

Last week started another new challenge at Saturated Canary Challenges and this theme is For The Boys. Now it can be anything from a card or project with a masculine image or theme or you can use a glam image for a guy if that suits your fancy as well. It's pretty open to interpretation and you can find LOTS of inspiration from the Saturated girls on the Saturated Canary Challenge Blog!

For my project, I finally finished this onesie for a friend even tho her son is now 3 months old. Yikes! I hate not getting things done in a timely fashion. It truly is one of my worst faults. So I used the digi Baby Jake b/c he's too cute! This is another one of my Tshirts that I made by printing the digital image on transfer paper and coloring once it was ironed on the shirt.

And here is a close up of the image. I love making these and you can find my tutorial HERE.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will join us in our challenge this week!

a merry time with helmar 2 step crackle

2011-12-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to share a pretty Christmas card that I made using some of my favorite papers by Webster's Pages. These papers are already so intricate and beautiful, I don't really want to cover it up with a lot of layers but I did want to do something special to highlight it so I immediately thought of Helmar's 2-step Crackle medium! I absoultely love this stuff (I have to admit, I've been hoarding it which is kinda pointless when you love something! *giggle*) So, I cut my paper to fit my card base and then I covered it with Step 1, waited about 10 minutes and covered it with Step 2. Then, because I'm an impatient card maker, I set it on a chair in front of my space heater. *gasp* I know, I know! But I have to tell you, that little bit of heat really got those cracks to appear in no time. It was awesome!

I also used Helmar Tape Runner to adhere the entire panel after the crackle dried to my card base. I actually cut it to fit the front of the card without a border which added another interesting element to it. For my sentiment panel, I used some Unity Stamps called Blossom Stackesr and after fussy cutting (Because I do not have the matching spellbinders dies, dear santa, can you help me out with that? LOL) I used Helmar Zap Dots to give it some dimension and then used Helmar 450 Quick Dry to adhere the poinsetta flowers & sparkler around it.

And a close up of the crackle. After it was dry, I just went over it with some distress ink in Tattered Twigs. Adding ink really makes the cracks pop on any project. I promise not to hoard my crackle any longer! It's just way too fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

finally My No Lines Coloring Tutorial!!!

2011-12-09T00:01:00.023-07:00

So, I finally finished my no lines coloring tutorial yesterday! You may remember I attempted to make a video tutorial about a month ago but had many issues which resulted in replacing my new computer which was not even a month old at the time! I ended up losing the original file so I colored up Creeper Sunday using the same no lines technique and that's what I have for you today. I really hope you enjoy this!

First, here are a couple cards that I have made using this technique.

This card uses Creeper Sunday available at The Greeting Farm and is the stamp feature in the video tutorial below.

This card uses Cheeky Mate also available at The Greeting Farm and is the doomed first video attempt. I love how this one turned out and enjoy using this technique over and over.

Here is the tutorial broken into part 1 and 2:

I hope if you try this technique you will share it with us on The Greeting Farm's Facebook page and/or galleries!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Helmar December Sketch Challenge

2011-12-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Helmar hosts a sketch challenge every month? And Lydell, one of our fabulous Helmar Hotties, creates these amazing sketches for us to use. You can create anything you like as long as you follow the sketch in some way. You can find the challenge on Helmar's Blog & Here is the sketch:

And here is my December Daily Cover using this gorgeous sketch!

I used so many of my favorite Helmar products to create this cover. I used 450 Quick Dry to adhere the glitter paper and most of the flat embellishments. Then I used Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots for everything with dimension. I also used Helmar's 2 Step Crackle on the grungeboard trees.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Helmar 450 Quick Dry, Liquid Scrap Dots & 2-Step Crackle
Bella Blvd Paper Tree
Best Creation Glitter Cardstock
Unity Stamps Co
Authentique Sticker Words
FabScraps Circle Embroidered Embellishment
KaiserCraft Gemstones
Twinery Twine
Papertrey Ink Vintage Twine & Buttons

Oh snap Lizzie! Birthday Blog Party!

2011-12-05T08:00:00.009-07:00

So, my good friend Lizzie is having this awesome and fabulous Birthday Blog hop in her own honor which is so cute and so Lizzie! When she put out the message to anyone who wanted to be involved, I jumped at the chance b/c I knew it would be a week full of amazing types of crafting inspiration. Now, I'm a card maker by trade, but I love to color on just about anything and when trying to figure out just what I could make for my #1 fan, I decided on a tshirt. I love Saturated Canary images and I know Lizzie does, too. The image I chose to use is called Copica even thought I know Lizzie had a terrible copic "incident" awhile back and doesn't use them, I couldn't resist. *giggle* We'll just have to pretend it is a paintbrush instead. ;) So, Happy Birthday, sweetie! I hope you have a wonderful day full of love and laughter. You always make me laugh and I hope that one day we get to meet in person. I know we'd probably laugh all night! Thank you for always encouraging me and asking me to be a part of your fun birthday blog hop!

I created a little step by step tutorial that turned out to be super picture heavy! LOL Sit back, enjoy a cuppa your favorite drink and I hope you like my tutorial!

Step 1: Print your image on Transfer Paper. I used HP Transfer Paper for Dark Clothing even though I'm usually using it on white. I like it and it works.

Step 2: Carefully cut around your image as close as you can to the black lines. Then carefully remove the backing before placing your image on the tshirt for ironing. I can't tell you how many times I have forgotten this step only to ruin it b/c I end up fusing it to the backing and then I can't use it. Grrr! LOL

Step 3: Iron your image on the shirt using the protective sheet that comes in the transfer package and let completely cool before removing the protective paper. ps. it's a good idea to slip a piece of chipboard inside the tshirt both for ironing and coloring.

Step 4: This is the fun part - time to color!!!

Step 5: Once you are done coloring, you need to heat set your color and I do this by using the same protective sheet from the Step 3.Once again, you need to let this completely cool before removing.

Final product! Doesn't it look awesome? I think so and they wash so well. My girls have had their shirts for over a year and the color hasn't faded or bled at all. I'm so happy with this technique. It's time consuming but so well worth it.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I really hope you enjoyed the tutorial as much as I did making the tshirt. Digital stamps really give you a world of opportunities when you think outside the box!!

Hugs,

Carisa

Happy Helmar Holiday Hop!

2011-12-03T00:59:00.002-07:00

Happy Helmar Holiday Hop!!

It’s that time of year where we all start thinking of the holidays so what better way to get your Holiday spirit than a great Helmar Holiday Hop? Filled with so much Holiday cheer and some amazing projects featuring all the different Helmar Adhesives.

Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on the Helmar Holiday Hop. If you have been following along, you should have hopped here from True’s Terrific blog. If not, you just have to stop at the Helmar Blog and start from the beginning. There are goodies along the way and we don’t want you to miss a thing.

I have seen these adorable clothes pin wreaths on pinterest and thought, hey, those look cool and I bet I can make one! LOL And then, I went, ummmmm.....how did they DO that?! So, I enlisted the help of my hubby and came up with a game plan to use a wire shaped into a circle.

The easiest and most time consuming part of this project was covering the clothes pins with paper. I used Echo Park Merry Christmas line from last year. I figure it's time to stop hoarding it since I really wanted to get their new line but I still had all this! *giggle*

To do this, I used Helmar Craft and Hobby PVA Glue. I love this glue and I wanted to use it b/c you can find it easily at any Hobby Lobby store in the ART section. Emphasis on art, not the scrapbooking, stamping section - if you look there you won't find it so make sure you are in the paints, canvases aisles.

I like to paint my glue on - it gives a nice even coverage when I'm adhering paper.

I did several at one time before cutting them out to save time. I liked my little rows of clothes pins!

Ok, so after they were all covered, I knew I wanted to make this withstand years of use so I sealed with with Helmar's Acrylic Sealer. This stuff is awesome and even though the bottle says 20 mins dry time, I don't think it took longer than 5 mins to be honest. The top clothes pin in the picture is covered with the sealer and the bottom one is not.

Next came the hardest part. What to do to make them stay in place and not circle around the wire as soon as you pick it up.

This is where I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry and some lace. I tied lace in between each clothes pin and added a dab of glue on each side. A quick pinch and on to the next one. I was ecstatic when the glue was completely cured and I was able to pick up my clothes pin without it going wonky on me!!! These pics are blurry b/c I had my 6 yr old camera woman helping! haha

It looked so pretty already with the paper and the lace, but I needed to add a way to hang it and added a pretty bow I made using some twill tape ribbon from my stash with the knot wrapped with twinery twine. It was the perfect touch as I really wanted to go for a rustic home spun feel with the browns, reds and greens.

I added the glitter covered gems and using Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots added the flowers for a bit of dimension as the finishing touches. I hope you like it and have been inspired. Now I just need some pretty Christmas cards to hang on it!

Make sure you leave a comment at every stop because the elves of Helmar will be giving away prizes to some lucky Helmar fans. Now hop on over to Lydell’s Lovely blog to see another amazing Helmar Holiday project. The Holiday Hop will be open for comments until 11:59P.S.T December 4^th , so take a look and enjoy a little holiday spirit from all of us on the Helmar Team. Thanks again for stopping by today and Happy Holidays.

Vintage Cards with Helmar & FabScraps!

2011-12-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

This week, Helmar has paired up with FabScraps to showcase how well our products work together! I wanted to share the two cards I made for the special week but be sure to pop on over to the Helmar Blog where I provide even more detail and a special video!

This card features FabScraps High Tea line of papers and die cuts. I used Helmar Tape Runner, 450 Quick Dry and Zap Dots to bring it together.

This card features Vintage Baby by FabScraps. I am in LOVE with these papers, die cuts and chipboard shapes. I also used Helmar 450 Quick Dry on this project as well as Acid Free Glue and Liquid Scrap Dots.

Thanks for stopping by!

Products:

FabScraps Vintage Baby & High Tea lines
Helmar Acid Free Glue, 450 Quick Dry, Tape Runner, Liquid Scrap Dots & Zap Dots
Wild Orchid Crafts
The Greeting Farm Clear Stamps Bannerific & Build a Onesie Boy
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type stickers
PaperTrey Ink Kraft Cardstock & Vintage Twine
Vintage Buttons and fabric leaf from local antique store
Stickles
Lace from Hobby Lobby

The Greeting Farm Throwback Twilight!!

2011-11-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!!

For those of us in the USA, it's Thanksgiving and I want to say Happy Thanksgiving. For everyone else, I just want to let you know on this day, among other things, I'm so grateful for this hobby, my blog to share it with you and all the DTs that I have been so blessed to be a part of.

Today, The Greeting Farm is having a Twilight Inspired Throwback Thursday. As you know, many stamps, while not specifically designed with Twilight in mind have been interpreted as being certain characters from the books/movies. So, the DT has used these stamps to bring you lots of inspiration with Twilight in mind!

My card, actually uses a stamp I believe is called Kissy Kissy - I can't find it in the shop to confirm. I figured since the most recent movie release features the much anticipated wedding of Edward and Bella this was fitting. I colored them with copies and kept Edward much paler than Bella and added some stickles to his skin since he is the sparkly one. haha The papers are from FabScraps which I love, they are double sided and just perfect for my card today. All the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts (except for the grey ones are from Michael's I believe) - I just recently placed an order from them and went overboard on my order AND on my card I think! LOL I'll have to figure out a happy balance eventually. The ribbon comes from May Arts and I used Helmar tape runner as well as 450 Quick Dry to adhere the flowers. I also wanted to give a couple close ups:

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out The Greeting Farm blog for even more fun inspiration today!

Birthday card for my hubby

2011-11-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

My hubby's birthday was last week and I quickly made this card for him. I hate that I have such a hard time making cards for people I actually know. LOL How weird is that?! Anyway, I didn't have time to color so I thought I would just stamp Cheeky Beauty on coordination card stock for texture rather than coloring. I decided to spell out the sentiment b/c I have TONS of these tiny letter stickers hanging around my stash. Plus, when I saw this stamp it reminded me of a time when he called me princess in a not so positive way, that's why it was kinda funny and I HAD to put it on the card! *giggle*

Supplies:

Cheeky Beauty - The Greeting Farm
Echo Park 6x6 Seasons of Time
Helmar Tape Runner & 450 Quick Dry
FabScraps Charms
The Twinery Charcoal Twine
Distress Ink Black Soot
Magnolia Die

Trying to finish a few Christmas Present projects

2011-11-18T18:00:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I am in a mad dash trying to finish all the half started projects I have laying around that I thought would make good presents and now the time crunch has officially begun!!! I have been working on this Birthday Calendar for a year - just here and there as inspiration hits, but now I have 4 more months to create before I am finished! So, today I got busy and the best part is I got to pull out some old and new favorites as I worked on it.

I love how it turned out! I used some of the new Samantha Walker Orchard Harvest papers and colored this adorable Navajo Anya (retired) **but I just saw that she is now in digi form at The Greeting Farm HERE** that I've had FOREVER and just now stamped for the first time. Gah, you don't want to know how many of my TGFs have not seen ink! ;) Then I also used some Unity and Ippity stamps for the sentiments and played with some Faber Castel paints as well as some FabScraps metal embellishments. Everything was put together with my favorite adhesive, Helmar, of course and to show you how it all came together, I took a few pictures!

Using the Faber-Castell Brush marker, I was able to place color only on the places of the stamp that I wanted to use for this project, namely the sentiment since the roses didn't really match the other flowers on my paper.

I love my Helmar Tape Runner for adhering paper to paper.

This was my first time playing with the Faber-Castell Color Gelatos and on this I found applying it directly from the container gave me the best results. I am looking forward to trying different techniques with this product.

After spreading it directly from the container, I rubbed it in and mixed the colors together using the paintbrush provided.

Removing the mask shows the added texture we achieved using the Faber Castell Paints.

Here you can see the little dollop of glue on the back of the flower before I place it on the page.

Helmar 450 Quick Dry is definitely my "go to" adhesive - I love using it for attaching flowers.

I used the small square Helmar Zap Dots to give dimension to my image.

And here are all the products used in my project today. For a tiny page, I sure was able to use quite a bit of different mediums which was really fun to do! I can't wait to finish up these projects over the next week or so (I HOPE!!!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Products:

The Greeting Farm: Navajo Anya (retired)
Unity Stamp Co
Ippity Stamps
Samantha Walker Harvard Orchard paper pad
Copics
Copic Xpress It Blending Cardstock
Helmar Tape Runner, Zap Dots & 450 Quick Dry
Faber-Castell Gelatos and Big Brush Pens
FabScraps Metal Embellishment
Black Indian Ink
Recollections Paper Flowers

Easy Peasy 3D Paper Flowers

2011-11-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

I had a little bit of time to play this weekend and have been itching to make some of my own paper flowers for a project I'm working on so I took a moment to video a quick tutorial on how easy it is to create your own 3D paper flowers to coordinate with any project you are working on.

All you need to get started is:

Helmar 450 Quick Dry
Flower Punch or Dies
Cardstock and/or Designer Paper
Something round to curl your petals under

And here is my video, I hope you enjoy!!

If you are inspired and make some paper flowers or have made some in the past, I'd love to see your pics on Helmar's FB page! I will be back next week with my finished project using these flowers and more!

So excited to announce my 2nd term with Helmar DT!

2011-11-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to announce that I've been asked back to the Helmar USA, Inc. DT for a 2nd term. I am so honored to be a part of this amazing team for another 6 months. Thank you so much to Tracy Weinzapfel and the Helmar Company again for this fabulous opportunity.

Here is a list of my fellow Helmar Hotties that will be inspiring you for the next 6 months:

Tracy Weinzapfel (Design Team Coordinator)
Erika Taylor
Jessica Diedrich
Jen Erickson
L. Grace Lauer
Connie Mercer
Carisa Zglobicki
Angie Blom
Karen Taylor
Martha Richardson
Cheryl Boglioli
Trudy Sjolander
Jennifer Evans
Carolyn King
Natasha Naranjo Aguirre
Lydell Quin
Beck Beattie
Michelle Wallace
Renee Aslette
Rae Cooper
Linda Baldock

We have begun to receive our DT boxes which are full to the brim with Helmar products and products from Preferred Vendors such as Maya Road, Faber-Castell, Buttons Galore & More, Bella Blvd., FabScraps, Elle's Studio, Susiebee Studios and many more!!! Be sure to like Helmar on Facebook as well as our other preferred partners so you don't miss any of the exciting things coming up!!

Thank you again and Tracy works so hard putting together and shipping these boxes that we love to share our excitement via video when we're opening them. Here is mine:

Thanks for stopping by - I'm in my studio working on a few things for the coming weeks. It's going to be so busy and so fun here on my blog!!!

Saturated Canary Challenge - Autumn/Fall Colors

2011-11-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I have to first apologize for my post being late. I had my card done weeks ago so I have no excuse about that, just that I am feeling very under the weather this past week and then it was my hubby & I's 11th anniversary yesterday, yep on 11/11/11!! So, we just been hanging out together, enjoying some alone time while the kiddies are at my parents. It's been fabulous but I've done NOTHING on the computer OR in my craft room even thought hubby and I did go to Hobby Lobby twice this weekend! LOL He's a bit crafty in building things so he needed to make a stop there and I finally picked up some tshirts and onesies for a project I've been trying to finish for a month now! Anyhoot, that is a little background on why I've been blog MIA lately!

This week at Saturated Canary Challenges it's a color challenge to use Fall or Autumn colors. We are smack dab in the middle of fall here in the USA so it's only fitting. I love fall colors, the rich browns, oranges and golds are so yummy! In fact, my favorite stone is the Citrine which is stunningly rich, warm orangey/yellow. More about that later this week as to WHY that is my favorite stone! :D

So, for my card this week, I used the super cute Copica digital image which is a Saturated Canary Digi's. The paper is one of my new favorites called Orchard Harvest from Samantha Walker Designs! I love it! The colors are awesome and perfect for fall. I colored the image with copics (of course!) and love how she turned out. I also printed this digi on heat transfer paper so I can make myself a shirt with it b/c Really, I always have a copic in my hand if I'm stamping!!! That gorgeous brown felt flowers is by Maya road and I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry to adhere it to the card. This stuff is the best for large embellishments like that flower.

Well, that's it for me, thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you playing in the challenge this week. :D

Supplies:

Copica Digital Image by Saturatedy Canary Digi's
Papertrey Ink Handwritten Notes Clear Stamp Set
Copic Xpress It Blending Card stock
Copics
Maya Road Felt Flower
Helmar 450 Quick Dry & Tape Runner
Samantha Walker Harvest Orchard Paper Line
Papertrey Ink Kraft Cardstock

Clearly a Special Showcase..and SALE

2011-11-08T23:59:00.002-07:00

**Scroll down for a video sharing how I created these three tags!!**

Hello, friends!

As promised, we are here today with a special CLEAR STAMP SHOWCASE and a ONE-DAY only SALE! For today only (until 10pm CST Nov 8, NO exceptions), all clear stamp sets are only $12 each! We want to make your holidays as stress-free as possible and who doesn't love a little online shopping to save from bearing the crowds and crazy limited quantities out there?

We are so excited to bring you our "CLEAR STAMP SHOWCASE" today at The Greeting Farm!

In addition to our one-day sale, we have a few prizes along the way! Not one, but TWO LUCKY WINNERS will win a clear stamp set of choice just for hopping with TGF today!

Our clear stamp sets are made from high-quality photopolymer and we are very happy so far with the feedback we've received from both our design teams and customers alike! We asked everyone to be very candid with us to make sure that we were bringing you the same, quality TGF product you'd expect from us.

I wanted to make a set of some 3x3 mini cards/tags for Christmas. The sets I used are Clearly Christmas and Build a Onesie-Boy. These are so easy & simple to make - I even made a little video to give you a birds eye view of these fabulous clear stamps in action! I was with Marie when she first showed me these clear stamps and I admitted to her my apprehension so we opened up a pack right away to see how they stamped. Boy, were we SO Happy to see that the quality is just what we've come to expect and LOVE from The Greeting Farm.

We love being able to bring you such fun and versatile lines of images and our clears are no exception! While we won't be going all clear, we do enjoy the versatility of this new line and really hope you do, too!

With our newsletter coming right around the corner on the 15th, we'd love to offer a Clear Stamp Showcase: Newsletter edition to get our customers even more acquainted with our Clear line and would love to see YOUR submissions! Please email Jessica at yeahshestamps@gmail.com by November 12th to submit your entry for consideration with a short write up of your project. Showcased projects will WIN a free stamp!

For now, we have a great lineup planned for you today with LOTS of creativity and fun ideas from clean and simple to stunningly colored and embellished- and don't forget to leave comments along the way and then come back here to comment and enter to WIN one of the TWO prizes! We hope you gain tons of inspiration today and can't wait to get started, so without further adieu, here is today's line up:

Kris Palakiko-November Guest

back to the TGF Blog!

Thanks so much for joining us today as we CLEARLY can't wait for you to enjoy this special event! Don't forget that the DECEMBER Guest Designer contest ends 11/10, so make sure to get your entries in to Jess before the big reveal of Phase 1 on our Facebook page on Friday, 11/11!

What's more? Please join us at 7pm CST on Friday, November 11th in our SCS Forum for our First-EVER TGF "Customer Challenge and Chit-Chat" night! Our first night will be a MOVIE THEME event so pop some popcorn, grab your favorite candy, and join us for LIVE chatter, trivia, and a challenge with our first Customer Hostess to be revealed shortly! :)

If you're not able to join us for the live chat no worries- we will be doing these at different times of day to include our overseas friends when we can. Challenge will be open ALL weekend, too, so there will be time for EVERYONE to play! We'll wrap up about 10pm CST or whenever we conk out- but for now, get ready to join us for a night at the movies!

See you soon!

Clearly a Special Showcase..and SALE - video!

2011-11-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

I created a little video sharing how I made all three tags showcased above in the hop. It's a little rough, my camera got bumped and since I don't have any way of seeing it while I'm working I don't catch these things until I'm editing. I still wanted to share the final piece with you tho - I think you can still get the idea of how great these clear stamps stamp and some ideas for creating quick and simple adorable Christmas tags!!!

Thanks for watching:

November Release Day at The Greeting Farm!

2011-10-31T23:01:00.000-06:00

Wow, Happy November and Happy Release Day at The Greeting Farm!!! We have 2 new creepers, a special Holiday Anya and a sprout this month! A little bit of all the favs on the farm I think!!

Today I just had to go with Creeper Sunday - he's a pretty cool dude that knows reading is the way to go! He looks like he's asking what's the last book YOU read?! ;)

Also, hope to see you hanging out and chatting with us at our SCS Forum - there will be fun and prizes! You can also find all about the Guest Designer contest that is going on RIGHT NOW while you are there! Thanks for stopping by and see you in a bit.

Creepin' By with a Halloween Hi!!

2011-10-30T23:01:00.001-06:00

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn from The Greeting Farm!!!!

Today we've got our last preview for you before the all new release goes LIVE tomorrow!!! Can you believe it?! Seriously, November, already!? Wowsa! So, we have TWO NEW Creeper guys joining the farm today.

Today, I'm introducing.....

Creeper Saturday:

He just looks pretty darn cool, doesn't he?! I just have to turn to my Cosmo Cricket The Boyfriend Collection when working with these new Creeper Guys. I used I heart 2 stamp's October Sketch for my card. Be sure to check out the rest of the Farmers and Our Nov Guest to see more of Saturday and a sneak peek of Sunday! This wraps up our weekday Creeper crew. :D As you are completing your set tomorrow, don't forget ALL our CLEAR SETS are restocked and ready to ship with your November release purchases! Christmas is just around the corner and I think Clearly Christmas is THE MUST HAVE for Christmas cards this year!

Be sure to stop by TGF SCS Forum tomorrow as we chat it up during the release, I can guarantee there will be FUN and Prizes!

Don't forget, Guest Designer Contest going on NOW thru November 10th!!! First round will be posted during our first "virtual stamp event" on our SCS Forum November 11th.

See you back here tomorrow with our November Release!

Look at the new cutie SPROUTING up on The Greeting Farm!!!

2011-10-27T23:59:00.000-06:00

Hi again!

I'm back with another preview today from The Greeting Farm!

We couldn't help but notice a new little someone “sprouting” up this November...and have a sweet sneak preview for you today!

Introducing...

WILD SPROUT MATILDA!

Matilda is sassy, sweet, and everthing in between and will be released on NOVEMBER 1^st, so grab your wish lists and check them twice!

In addition to all of the FUN going on around the Farm this coming week, The Greeting Farm would like to invite you to come and hang out with us on RELEASE DAY for FUN chatter through out the day on our SCS Forum and hopefully we'll run into each other live at some point!

Last but not least, and you'll hear more about this on RELEASE day, mark your calendars for November 11th- our first live “virtual stamp event' on our SCS forum with a themed challege, prizes, and our very first customer hostess of the evening. This is something we are planning on doing once a month so if there are any potential hostesses out there, stay tuned!!!

For now, be sure to visit the TGF BLOG for more details on how you can WIN WS Matilda today and thanks for coming by!

Challenges I'm Playing:
Mojo Monday Challenge - Sketch
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

Supplies:

WS - Matilda by The Greeting Farm
Blush Hello By The Greeting Farm
Authentique Designer Paper
The Twinery Twine
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Copic Xpress It Cardstock
Copics
Vintage Buttons by Papertrey Ink
Helmar Zap Dots
Helmar 450 Quick Dry

It's Challenge #3 at Saturated Canary Challenges!!

2011-10-27T14:04:00.000-06:00

We are so excited with the turnout we have had for our past two challenges. It's awesome to see all the fans coming out to play with us and I am inspired each time I check out the blog for new entries. Be sure to chekc out Saturated Canary Challenges to see if you won the last challenge and to see the great prize we have for this one!

Our challenge this week is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3!!! All you need is 1 image, 2 designer papers and 3 embellishments!!

You can see I chose the super sassy Pink Punkette digital image from Saturated Canary Digital Stamps. I colored her with copics and paired her up with some paper in my stash that matched perfectly. Love how it turned out and looking forward to seeing all your entires!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Greeting Farm presents Holiday Anya!

2011-10-25T23:01:00.003-06:00

Hello Farm friends!

This month has really flown by, hasn't it? We hope you've enjoyed the 5 clear stamp sets we released at the beginning of the month and hope you'll join us for some more fun and chatter on November 1^st when The Greeting Farm brings you another character-packed release!

That's right! We're back this month with some brand-spankin' new additions to our very beloved line of TGF characters and we are covering ALL the bases this month! We've got a new Sprout, TWO new Creepers, and an Anya that will have you at HELLO, believe me!

Speaking of HELLO's, we have a VERY exciting announcement today too! Please welcome KRIS PALAKIKO to our Design Team as our November Guest! Most of you know Kris from all of her enthusiasm and participation in many of our challenges over the past few years...pretty much since TGF's beginning back when we were still “Pink Poison!” She is a die-hard fan, loyal customer, and talented crafter and we hope you'll stop by to welcome her to the Farm this month! On that note, a HUGE note of thanks to Lori Craig who was our wonderful October guest! We are going to miss her but know she won't be a stranger and I'm sure a lot of you will be running into her in our new Splitcoaststampers home! Thanks Lori and WELCOME Kris!

….and WELCOME to the newest little sweetie on the Farm...

HOLIDAY ANYA!

Isn't she beautiful? We just adore her and are thinkin' you might too...(wink ;)

I couldn't resist coloring her up with Copics and I even made a video on coloring her black hair that will be up on my youtube channel in the next couple of days. The Naughty Nice stamp is from our Clearly Christmas clear stamp released last month! I just love it.

Holiday Anya is the first of FOUR single, rubber stamp previews so stay tuned tomorrow for more...but for now, visit our blogs because ONE of us has Holiday Anya hidden and up for grabs! You never know WHO will win her...it might be you!

Thanks for stopping by today and see you tomorrow with someone else sprouting up on the Farm!

Challenges I'm Playing:
Tuesday Morning Sketches - #117
Oh La La Creations - Let it Snow
Christmas Inspirations - Die Cuts / Punches
Crafting When We Can - Christmas

Supplies:

Holiday Anya Stamp by The Greeting Farm
Clearly Chrismtas Clear Stamp by The Greeting Farm
October Afternoon Designer Paper
Martha Stewart Snowfake Punch
Papertrey Ink Kraft Cardstock
Copics
Copic Xpress It Blending Cardstock
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Liquid Pearls
Helmar Gemstone Glue
Helmar Zap Dots

Two Cards in One Post!

2011-10-24T00:02:00.000-06:00

I'm new to the Two Peas in Bucket site but I saw this challenge for Stamping Bella and just had to enter using some of the new stamps and paper I'd just received! I have loved this stamp ever since it was released and it's my first rubber Mo Manning image. I tell ya, I LOVE it. The quality of the image is fab and I love the size. I think I tend to size them a wee bit on the smaller size with digi's - I think that is the main reason I like to have rubber b/c I don't have to figure out what size it can/should be. She is so stinkin' cute and colored with Copics. I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Copic Xpress It Blending Cardstock. The paper is by Authentique and I added some washi tape accents. I followed this weeks Deconstructed Sketch.

In fact, I'm so super bummed b/c I had made this card with LAST week's The Deconstructed Sketch and totally spaced on posting it and missed the deadline - for a GUEST DESIGNER SPOT, too!!! Guess it just wasn't meant to be this time. This card I'm just in love with. I've been hoarding this October Afternoon paper for a long time and when I got this Build A Onesie Boy clear stamp set by The Greeting Farm, I just knew I'd be making a card with it. I stamped the onesie with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Copic Xpress It paper. Then colored with Copics. I think it's fairly obvious I'm in LOVE with this stamp set! :D

Thanks for stopping by for my 2 for 1 card post! :D

Challenges I'm Playing:

Two Peas in a Bucket - Stamping Bella & Authentique Card 1

The Deconstructed Sketch - No. 24 Card 1

Card 1 Supplies:

Stamping Bella Big Girl Pants by Mo Manning
Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink in Gathered Twigs
Copics: E000, YR000, YR00, E21, R20, R01, Y35, Y32, B91, B93, B95, E13, E15, E17, E19, C0, C1, C3
Authentique Splendid Collection
Kraft Cardstock by Papertrey Ink, Copic Xpress It Blending Card
Bella Dots
washi tape
Helmar Gemstone Glue

Card 2 Supplies:

Build A Onesie Boy clear stamp set by The Greeting Farm
October Afternoon Designer Paper
Copic Xpress It Blending Card
Copics
Distress Ink in Shabby Shutters
PaperTrey Ink Vintage Buttons
Maya Road Zipper Trim
Helmar 450 Quick Dry
Helmar Zap Dots
Tim Holtz Alterations On the Edge Die

The Greeting Farm Hops with The Twinery!

2011-10-23T16:00:00.000-06:00

**Please scroll down for newer posts**

Welcome to our combined Blog Swap/Hop today featuring two fantastic companies, The Greeting Farm and The Twinery! If you're just getting here from Caroline Stender's blog, WELCOME! If you have yet to begin the hop, please visit the TWINERY BLOG to begin! Hooray!

We are so excited to bring you a fun hop, loads of inspiration when the world of TGF Rubber stamps collides with the quality baker's twine we've all come to know and love, and some of the most talented designers in the industry with new and fun projects to share!

Did we mention PRIZES? There are definitely a few of those too so you'll want to check out our event today! Thank you so much for coming!

The Greeting Farm first sprouted into the stamping world in 2008 as a small dream and has cultivated into something wonderful because of wonderful customers like you! With three years of farm-fresh images under their belt, TGF is going strong and loves to bring you fun-loving, animated characters, including the best-selling "Anya" line. The Greeting Farm brings you cute, charismatic images that are LOADS of fun to COLOR! There is truly something for EVERYONE on the Farm and we are so glad to be teaming up with the Twinery today!

As for the Twinery, twine is made from 100% cotton, it's eco-friendly and made in the USA. Whether you're gift wrapping, crafting or tying up baked goods to give to a friend, this TOP quality baker's twine adds a fresh, yet nostalgic look to any project at hand! The Twinery twine comes in 14 delicious colors and is uniquely twisted against a bright white hue, creating an eye-popping burst of color and a creative embellishment! It has lots of color which lends to a fun, candy-striped look.

For my cards I used the adorable Clearly Christmas stamp set by The Greeting Farm and kept it VERY CAS! I wanted the stamps to pop with the twine so I wrapped two different colors of twine (marashino & peapod) to make a bow at the top and placed the sentiment in between to hold it in place. These colors are just so yummy for Christmas! These are actually going to be our Christmas cards that we send out this year! I don't think I've ever hand stamped our cards - I usually do some form of a photo card but these are too cute not to send out!

Now...I DID mention something about PRIZES, didn't I? ;) There are TWO prize packs up for grabs and you will have until Sunday, October 23^rd at 5pm CST to comment on ALL the blogs and enter for your chance to win one of them!

The Greeting Farm is giving away their ENTIRE November release EARLY to one lucky winner- that is four stamps in all and EARLY nonetheless!

The Twinery is giving away one “COLORFUL BUNCH” sampler pack!

That's TWO great prizes, TWO chances to win...and endless inspiration beginning HERE:

The Greeting Farm Blog

Thank you SO much for stopping by today! Now it's time to head over to

Angelica Suarez's blog, thanks so much for sharing in our SUPER fun event today!

Baby Blessings

2011-10-22T21:39:00.000-06:00

I have had this image colored for a few weeks, it's by Mo's Digital Pencil called New Baby - I just loved it and colored it for a friend who recently had her 3rd baby boy and this image was perfect with the two older siblings looking in on the new baby. Seriously, so sweet! I finally got around putting it on a card when I saw iCopic's challenge this week for baby cards and the prize is the new Copic Carrying Case - it's awesome and definitely on my wish list so if I could win, I'd be over the moon!!! I used THIS SKETCH even tho the challenge has ended because I loved the position of the banner and the image panel as I wanted this image to be the main focus. The banner was created using Bannerific Clear Stamps by The Greeting Farm by stamping it on matching designer paper and then cutting it out. I adhered the banner to twine by The Twinery using Helmar 450 Quick Dry, then to add a bit of dimension, I used Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots to adhere the finished banner to the card. It was super easy. The sentiment comes from the Build A Onesie Boy clear stamp set also by The Greeting Farm. The designer paper I used is Authentique and so are the word stickers. I am in LOVE with this company. Seriously, they have some of the best papers and I love these tiny stickers. I have a couple of them now. Oh, I am so excited to be entering CAS-ual Friday Challenges this week - I admire them every week but don't really consider myself CAS but I think this card falls into that category and I just had to enter since the challenge is to color your image this week!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges I'm Playing:
iCopic - Baby Card
CES Challenges - New Beginnings
CAS-ual Fridays - Just Add Color to your image
Inspire Me Friday - Anything Goes
Mo's Digital Challenge Blog - Fav Mo Image plus sentiment (I hope it's ok, I used a different co sent)

Supplies:

New Baby Digital Stamp by Mo's Digital Pencil
Build a Onesie & Bannerific Clear Stamps by The Greeting Farm
Authentique Designer Paper
Authentique Word Stickers
Copics
Copic Xpress It Blending Card Stock
Magnolia Doohickey Scallop Die
The Twinery twine in charcoal
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Helmar 450 Quick Dry
Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots

Samantha Walker Fabric + Unity Stamps + Helmar = Play Date Cafe Card!!!

2011-10-19T00:30:00.000-06:00

When I saw the colors for The Play Date Cafe this week, I immediately thought of this gorgeous fabric by Samantha Walker! Isn't it so yummy? And it has all the colors of the teals and oranges. Then I saw the Unity KOTM Sketch Challenge and they were just MEANT to be together so I dug out this stamp from a way past KOTM and finally put it together this afternoon. I couldn't have done it at all without Helmar so I wanted to share how fabulous Helmar is when adhering Fabric to Cardstock. Here are some photos of the process:

Just add some Helmar 450 Quick Dry to the back of your fabric piece.

Gently place the fabric on the cardstock pressing slightly with your fingers.

I wanted to add dimension to my image panel so I used the round black

Helmar Zap Dots and just placed behind my die cut and added to the card.

That's it!!! Super easy peasy and I just think it came out so cute. Plus, I got to play in two challenges that I admire but don't always get around to joining!

Cheeky Kitty & Helmar Challenge!

2011-10-17T17:22:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday!!! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was fabulous as I was able to get inky with a friend and ended the weekend with a total of 8 cards/projects including this one!!! I have had this adorable cheeky kitty colored since I made the videos a couple weeks ago and just now getting around to putting her on the calendar page I had in mind. I used Echo Park Apothocary pattern paper and the sketch from our Out of the Box with Helmar October Challenge going on now! Let me tell you, the sketches that we have to use each month are amazing! I just love them and am happy I got to play along this time. I also used Helmar 450 Quick Dry to adhere that beautiful Prima flower and Helmar Zap Dots to adhere Cheeky Kitty herself. I just love it. Eventually I WILL have this entire Birthday Calendar complete. I've just been working on it for nearly a year. *giggle*

Saturated Canary Challenge #2 and Helmar News!

2011-10-13T23:08:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! I've been sorely MIA from my blog lately - all for a GREAT Cause that I will more than likely talk about at some point. But for today, I just want to finally post my card for our second challenge at Saturated Canary Challenges - Seriously, I couldn't believe it when the 2 weeks had already passed! You all made our first challenge an immense success and I'm still coming around leaving comments it was that great, so thank you!!!

Our second challenge is all about stitching, real OR faux, your choice! As long as you use a Saturated Canary Digi or Simply Sassy rubber stamp along with some stitching you are good to enter the challenge! For my stitching I got out my Sew Easy tool as I didn't feel like threading my sewing machine....well, to be honest, I don't know HOW to thread it! LOL So, I used this absolutely adorable new digital stamp called A Winter Ragamuffin (She appears to be out of stock at the time of this posting but I am sure she will be back soon!) I loved coloring her and will actually be sharing a video SOON on how I colored her hair. If you haven't seen, I'm absolutely honored that Amy asked to add my lil ol videos to the Color Me Copic blog so I will be adding new videos there as well as on my blog. I'm so excited! My passion is coloring so it's pretty cool to have an outlet to share that with you all ---- and I have another one up my sleeves....hehe

So, you all know how much I love my Helmar adhesives and I have 2 exciting things to share! First, you have a chance to win a WHOLE BUNCH of Helmar Zap Dots which I used on THIS card:

All you have to do is go to the Helmar Facebook Page and comment on my photo HERE. Easy peasy! I will be picking a winner some time tomorrow so hurry and leave your comment! The other exciting news is that Helmar is conducting a Design Team Call so if you have ever wanted to have all the adhesive you want and be a part of a great group of creative ladies with an amazing boss, please check out all the details HERE and send in your application - You never know if you don't try and you won't regret doing something but tend to regret when you don't!

Alright so that's it for me. Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges I'm Playing:

Tuesday Morning Sketches - #115

Mad for Markers Challenge - Fav Copic Color Combo (mine for red hair E95, E11, YR14, E07)

Charisma Cardz Challenge - In Stitches

Supplies:

A Winter Ragamuffin Digi Stamp by Saturated Canary Digis
Sentiment from Clearly Christmas Stamps Set by The Greeting Farm
October Aftenroon Designer Paper
Papertrey Ink Kraft Cardstock
Sew Easy Tool
The Twinery Marchino Twine
Helmar Zap Dots and Liquid Scrap dots
Copics

Operation Julie's Smile Blog Hop!

2011-10-07T06:00:00.015-06:00

I am so glad that you joined us on this amazing blog hop for Operation Julie’s Smile. If you came here from Christina Maclaren’s blog, then you are in the right spot. If not, you may want to start from the beginning at the Sweet Stamp Shop’s blog and take your time. You have ALL WEEKEND to hop with us and win prizes! With over 120 blogs participating in this hop, there are bound to be some hiccups so if you do find a break, please know that you can find a FULL list of everyone participating at the Sweet Stamp Shop's blog so you don't miss a beat.....and you won't want to with over $2500 in donated prizes!!!! Wowsa!!! Prizes will be drawn from those participating in the hop, those that leave comments on all the blogs and those that also donate - you will find a donate button on each stop along the way. Mine is located at the top of my side bar to the right.

For my card, I used the super sweet Boho Anya stamp by The Greeting Farm. This sentiment is also by The Greeting Farm and jumped out at me because anyone that knows Julie Ranaeknows that she is something special! Oh, BTW, if you have been waiting to pick up your favorite TGF stamps, be sure to get them TODAY because it is FREE SHIPPING FRIDAY and I'm not sure when this will happen again!! Check out TGF Blog for all the details. I actually stepped a bit OUT of my comfort zone and colored on some canvas paper I picked up to try something different. I normally ONLY color on Copic Xpress It Color Card but this was a bit of fun even tho it was VERY difficult to blend and I actually had to go over it quite a bit with my colorless blender to remove a lot of the ink that was just sitting on top and looked out of place. In the end, after letting it sit on my desk and grow on me for a couple weeks, I really like how she turned out. Of course, in looking for a sketch, I looked no further than The Deconstructed Sketch. LOVE these sketches - they are so unique in that I probably would have NEVER placed a big triangle in the middle of my card before! haha

The background of this hop:

“The creative blogging community is coming together this weekend to help one of our friends, Julie Ranae. You may know her as the Design Team Coordinator for many wonderful companies from bakers twine, die cuts, rubber stamps and more. What many people don’t know about Julie Ranae is that she has had some pretty major dental surgeries in her lifetime due to medication she had to take as a child. It was in her plans to think about having all of her teeth replaced at some point in the next 5 years, a decision that was pretty easy to plan out. But then it happened…she chipped her front teeth on a weekend a month ago. The dentist told her there was no way to save them & that it was his recommendation that she give in and have them all her teeth removed soon, but for that day, they needed to get her front teeth done so her gums could begin to heal. He said he would 'work out payments with her to have ALL this work done...but when she called to make her appt for the first step of impressions, they told her the amount of money that was needed and that the 'payments' applied only to the two teeth that were extracted that day. Her husband Paul was with her & that too, was his understanding as well. So this is how she has found herself in this situation…Needing at least $4000 to get started and another $3000 to finish the process…a total of $7000.

Nicole Rixon, owner of Sweet Stamp Shop put together this benefit after finding out about this situation and before Julie Ranae knew it, it took flight! Because she is an event organizer by trade, she has taken on the job of organizing all of the blogs in this hop as her way of ‘working overtime’ for what she needs, the same as if she were able to work overtime at an outside job to pay for the work to be done. It is the goal of all of these generous friends & sponsors to help make this situation more do-able for our friend so that she can share a brand new smile with all of us soon.

If there is anything you can do to help with a financial donation, there is a donation button ready for you to click on the side bar of all the blogs participating including mine. Any amount is appreciated and ALL DONATIONS will be eligible for prizes from our sponsor pool of over $2500.”

I hope you enjoyed your stop here on the hop! The next stop is Jessica Fick's Blog. Make sure you leave a comment here before you go so that you can have a chance at the amazing prizes up for grabs and if you can, please make a donation so we can help bring back a new smile for our friend.

Challenges I'm Playing:
the Deconstructed Sketch - #22
Paper Crafting Journey - Die Cuts and /or Punches
Fab n Funky - Die Cut/Punches
Truly Scrumptuous - Distressing
Anything Goes Challenge - Die Cuts/Punches

Supplies:

Boho Anya by The Greeting Farm
Basic Grey out of print pattern paper
Papertrey Ink Kraft CS
Helmar Tape Runner and Zap Dots
Tim Holtz Tattered Banner Die
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
MS Lacey Border Punch
Copics
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

The Greeting Farm reveals BIG Announcement!!!

2011-09-30T23:01:00.001-06:00

HELLO and WELCOME to the OCTOBER release at The Greeting Farm! Not only do we have FIVE SPECTACULAR new releases available, a NEW challenge team debuting today on the Farm Fresh Challenge blog, we are THRILLED to bring you a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT- probably one of the biggest in TGF history...

THE GREETING FARM IS PROUD to announce that we have been invited to be the newest MEMBER COMPANY on SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS!!!!!

We are beyond thrilled and honored to become a Member Company and cannot wait to share some of the benefits and excitement with ALL of you!

For those of you NEW to Splitcoaststampers (SCS), it is the single largest online community for stampers and a wonderful place to access tutorials, a vast online gallery, and tons of ways to get involved with their awesome forums dedicated to stamping and much more!

As a MEMBER COMPANY, The Greeting Farm now has our VERY OWN FORUM to encourage ALL of our customers, new and old to get out there and chat with us, while we keep you up to date on the latest TGF happenings :) With over 700,000 unique hits a month, we are excited about the potential to meet NEW Farm friends, but we are mostly SO, SO very excited about being able to have a 'home' to chat with you, get to know you better, and post fun and important information ALL in one place! We really look forward to this being a means of getting closer to our stamping community, welcoming new stampers and getting to spend more time with our cherished current customers, as well!

Splitcoaststampers also offers a wonderful Member gallery where you can upload ALL your photos, even non- TGF cards, to their gallery and use different keywords depending on what you're uploading. Please use this keyword for all SCS gallery posts: thegreetingfarm (no spaces :)

Last but not least, if you are new to Splitcoast, it's a free service, so all you need to do is pop on over and register a user name and password just like our own Gallery :) Should you lose the above link to get to the TGF FORUM? No problem! Just log onto Splitcoast, enter the FORUMS> Member Companies>The Greeting Farm! WOO HOOOO!!!!! We are SO EXCITED about this announcement!

If you have ANY questions whatsoever, please contact Jess and she will be happy to answer them!

Now...ON with the SHOW! Hooray! We hope that you will come to our RELEASE EVENT TODAY, beginning at NOON CST, and chatting throughout the day! Around 10pm CST. there will be an ENTIRE release to give away to one lucky SCS user who chats with us on our "RELEASE PARTY CHATTER" thread, so come on over and check us out! You can chat with us ANY time before 10pm CST-winner will be announced on the TGF BLOG and on our SCS chat :)

************************************************

Last but not least, our DT BLOG HOP begins as there is ANOTHER OCTOBER RELEASE PRIZE being given away to anyone who completes the DT hop and leaves a comment here on the TGF BLOG!

I used the super cute Build a Onesie - boy. I LOVE this set!!! These are 3x3 gift tags I created using the onesie with different pics inside. That's the great thing about this set is there are so many different possibilities!!! The twine is from the twinery. And I stepped out my usual coloring medium to use prisma colored pencils except on the little monster (My fav image in the set) I used copics! Thanks for stopping by. :D

Thank you so much for participating and for being here with us on such an exciting day!
Hope to see you ALL on the new TGF FORUM! Hooray!

love you Fur-Ever!

2011-09-29T23:59:00.001-06:00

*** Please scroll down for my Saturated Canary Challenge post!!!***

Hello, again, everyone! Well, we've covered babies so far at The Greeting Farm, did you think we would leave your pets out? Not a chance! How CUTE is this new clear stamp set, titled "FUR-ever"??? Awwww. Whether you have a fantastic feline or precious pup, this is definitely a must-have for all pet lovers out there, kids and adults alike!

For my card, I just had to use the little girl with her pup! Reminds me of how I felt when I got my very first puppy at the age of 10. I felt so grown up at that moment and when I say that little dog was my very best friend for the next 10 years, I am not joking. I held her from the moment she came into the world and was able to hold her as she took her last breath. My little Princess was pure joy and love during some of those harsh teenage years. My parents did good getting me that precious gift.I colored her with copics and lo & behold, did NOT fussy cut her out!!! I think I threw my daughter for a loop as she said, Mom, what's all that white stuff around your image?! LMAO I added some twine from The Twinery as the leash as well as the bow in the corner. I'm seriously ADDICTED, thanks a lot, Jess! *giggle*

Well, if a dog is a man's best friend, I hear STAMPS are some of ours! Be sure to check out the TGF BLOG today to see how you can WIN the new "Fur-ever" set! Thanks again for stopping by!

It's our First Challenge at Saturated Canary!!

2011-09-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

I am SO excited, the day is FINALLY here!!! Saturated Canary Challenges have started. Our first one is easy peasy - we've got a lovely sketch for you to follow with an additional optional theme of Halloween!!! I totally spaced on the Halloween theme so it's a good thing it's optional ;) I couldn't wait to color up Crushin on the Quarterback when I got her last week. Isn't she just too cute?! I love her expression and her hair. I dug thru my paper drawer and found this design by Crate Paper - it was SOOOO perfect! I love the muted fall like colors as most football games are in the fall, right?

I hope you will join us in our brand new challenge - you can find all the details HERE. It's a 2 week challenge so you have PLENTY of time to enter and I hear there are TWO digi's up for grabs!! :D

Challenges I'm Playing:

4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes

Southern Girls - Anything Goes

Crafting For All Seasons - Fall Colors

Anything Goes Challenges - Anything Goes

Craft Sentiments - Banners/Flags

Scrap Creations - It's a Girl Thing

Party Time Tuesdays - Anything Goes

PMS Digi Makeover challenge - Size Matters *resizing digi's*

Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Supplies:

Saturated Canary Digital Stamp Crushin on the Quarterback
Crate Paper Designer Paper
PTI Kraft cardstock
Maya Road chipboard accents
seam binding ribbon hand dyed with glimmer mist
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Helmar Tape Runner & 450 Quick Dry
Copics: Skin - E0000, E000, E00, E11, R22, R20, R01, R02; Hair - 100, C4, C1; Eyes: YG61, YG93, YG67; Clothes - E19, E18, E17, E15, E13, YR14, YR18, BG53, BG13, BG10, YG95, YG93, YR23, YR15
Atyou Glitter Pens

Let's hear it for the boys!!!

2011-09-27T23:01:00.001-06:00

Hey, everybody! If you've been keeping up with this week's previews at The Greeting Farm, you know we're right in the middle of a FULL week of October previews and the excitement is building! We are BURSTING with excitement about what's to come in the next few days, not to mention our FIVE amazing October releases!

On that note, did ya think we left the BOYS out? Not a chance! Introducing "BUILD A ONESIE: boy!" This cute counterpart to the "BUILD a ONESIE: girl" set that we previewed yesterday will be released on October 1st in clear polymer, quality stamps and I can't wait to show you what I made with it:

I have to tell you, I am IN LOVE with these build a onesie sets!!! I can't stop playing with them and for my preview I just HAD to make a gift bag. That little car matched so perfectly with the Echo Park papers. It's just so much fun making different little onesies with different images inside and because they are clear you can see exactly where you are stamping each & every time. I also have a set of gift tags I also made that I'm saving for another day!!! I have to tell you, it's never been easier to make pleated ribbon like that than when I use Helmar 450 Quick Dry!! Just a quick pinch and it's set. LOVE it! :D I also used Acid Free glue to adhere all my pattern paper to the bag & zap dots to give the onesie some dimension.

Don't forget to visit the TGF BLOG today to see who else has some cute couture for a boy to show you today! I hear there's a set up for grabs there, too, so be sure to find out how you can enter to win! See you soon!

Supplies:

Stamp - Build A Onesie Boy by The Greeting Farm *sentiment from Oh, Baby set*
Echo Park Little Boy Collection
Copics
Helmar 450 Quick Dry, Acid Free Glue & Zap Dots
Papertrey Ink Ribbon
Kraft Gift Bag from stash

Saturated Canary Challenges coming soon

2011-09-27T18:37:00.001-06:00

It's all the buzz right now - Saturated Canary digi's will have a challenge blog & all the fun begins Thursday! But in the meantime, PLEASE hop on over to the all new Saturated Canary Challenge Blog, get to know the design team a bit better and most importantly become a follower!!! I'm thrilled to be the DT coordinator and have had a blast getting to know Krista better and doing what I can to help get everything together for the challenges. We really do have some fun things lined up - if you've been a fan of Krista's art and blog, then you'll know this is going to be amazing!

For my intro, I wanted to make a new card using Zorana, a new digi released last week. Looks like she's sold out at the moment, but no worry, I'm sure she'll be back in the shop VERY Soon! I kid you not, this card took the course of 4 days to make - I started coloring the image on Friday but only made it to her skin as I was trying a new combo that I didn't write down, I think it was E00, E11, E21. Then I attempted her hair using a fab reddish combo E95, E11, YR14, E08/07 but really had to tweak, I wanted it just right. Not exactly thrilled but am happy enough. Then finally I decided which papers I wanted to use - LOVE these October Afternoon papers and colored her dress to semi-match. It's been hard going back to work and my crafting took the hit, well, so did my house as laundry is STILL piled up. *giggle*

That's it for me, I have no product list - just no time. Sorry about that.

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas.....

2011-09-25T23:01:00.001-06:00

"SLEIGHBELLS RING...are YOU listenin'?"

Hello, Farm Friends! It's hard to believe that in a few short months, we'll be twirling into Thanksgiving, caroling into Christmas, and putting some HEART in the HOLIDAYS! While we don't want to rush any of the magical times ahead (and maybe not rush that cold weather, either!), we know that it takes time and energy to get a head start on those Holiday cards!

Today marks day one of a FIVE-day PREVIEW EVENT at The Greeting Farm, and we are thrilled to bring you our first sneak peek at a new CLEAR stamp set, simply titled "CLEAR CHRISTMAS!" Before we get to previews, we have a SUPER special October Guest Designer to announce today! Please welcome the amazingly sweet and talented LORI CRAIG to our TGF family this month! Lori's blog, "Make a Difference" is inspiring and from the heart, you'll definitely want to visit and we are over the moon that she is joining us this month. WELCOME. LORI!

For my card today, I used the adorable sleigh image of the set that I colored with copics plus one of the round sentiments. I think they would be lovely as tags as well and plan to make some of those up for the holidays. I also used some gorgeous bakers twine from The Twinery. I LOVE it - it's so rich & pretty.

Well, does that get you in the spirit, even though it's a little early? We hope so! Don't forget to check out the TGF BLOG today for MORE samples from the entire DT and a chance to WIN this set before it's released! What's more? We have a HUGE announcement coming on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1st during our RELEASE day post and you will NOT want to miss this one...promise! Not only do we have a new release coming, a new Challenge Team coming October 1st...we have ONE more exciting announcement and it might just be our best one YET! Thanks for stopping by today...I will definitely be back with more very soon!

A Couple Coloring Videos for you!

2011-09-22T10:23:00.000-06:00

I've had some requests to do coloring videos so I finally took the plunge yesterday when I colored Cheeky Kitty digital stamp available at The Greeting Farm. Now, I have to admit, I have shied away from doing these b/c I feel like there are plenty of copic coloring tutorials out there but I suppose add my own spin to it. ;) Thanks to my friends who have encouraged me and been so supportive. The main thing I can stress is you can watch video after video on "how to" color, but you just gotta dig in and practice on your own. Just have fun with it - try new things - color until you are happy. :D

So, here you go. The first video is a skin tone coloring - my most used skin tone combo using E0000, E000, E00, E11, R22, R20, R01. In this video I had my tripod pretty high and I guess I tend to whisper when I'm talking to an empty room, LOL, so I'm going to work on that for future videos.

The second video I'm coloring her hair using a fabulous red color combination YR04, YR07, YR09, R29 which I first tried out while coloring with Angela of Inky Button. You may remember I had to go out and buy YR09 that week so I could recreate it whenever I liked. I do move the camera about 3 mins into the video but my hand is sorely in the way a lot. Gotta figure out how to fix that since that is how I hold my markers. LOL

Hope you enjoyed them! I'm working on editing the last video in which I color her outfit black. I'll be back later today or tomorrow to post that one. If you'd like to keep up with all videos I post, I'd love to have you subscribe to my YouTube channel!

That's it for me for now.

Have a colorful day!

Logan Totally Rocks

2011-09-20T12:49:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

I'm here sharing a card I recently made using Logan from this months release at The Greeting Farm! I just adore him and his hoodie! I tried to add a bit of texture to his hoodie using my Colorless blender, not thrilled with the turnout, but it works for now. I've had this October Afternoon paper for-EVER and just now cut into it. I really need to put a stop on buying new papers because THIS is what happens - it remains unloved!! I also tried a darker skin tone on Logan using E11, E13, E15 - I actually love how it turned out! I kept it pretty simple on the embellishments since I plan on sending this one out.

That's it for me today - not feeling too chatty - I'm going to color the new Boho Anya for a video tutorial. I've been getting requests for coloring videos not that I think I'm the end all, know all for coloring, but I figure it will be fun to put my spin on it out there for you and if someone can learn from it, that will be worth it! :D

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges I'm Playing:

Pink Ink Sketches - #6

Mad For Markers - Colourless Blender
Stamtacular Sunday - Just Sayin'
2 Sisters Challenge - Let's Get Sentimental

Supplies:

WS - Logan Stamp by The Greeting Farm
October Afternoon pattern paper
Papertrey Ink Kraft Cardstock
Copics
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Helmar Tape Runner & Zap Dots

Create every day.....Art Journal Page

2011-09-16T22:40:00.000-06:00

So many things are going on that I don't take the time that I so long for to just work in my art journal. I've got a few of them with luscious blank pages just waiting to be filled! When I got the chance to watch Tracy's video taped Monday night while I was folding laundry on Tuesday, I was SO inspired to just DO it. I started by laying down a layer of gesso and after that was dry, I spritzed on two different SprINKlers from October Afternoon. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with these things but I'm trying to work past it. haha I also added some torn pages of Graphic 45 Springtime papers to cover some areas that I wasn't happy with and then I painted some gesso over that and some more sprINKlers.

While I was waiting for layers to dry, I decided to color this cutie called Lillie Claire-do you hear? from Tiddly Inks. I have had her printed for about a month now and thought it was perfect time to get her colored. I colored her with Copics and then cut out around her leaving a bit of white space to adhere with Helmar Decoupage. I got a bit smeared on the bottom but love the effect. You gotta just roll with what happens in art journaling!

I was most inspired by Tracy using her nib pen with india ink. I've had a nib pen for awhile along with the ink but I've mostly just kept to doodling lightly around the edges of my cards and such. I finally worked up the nerve to write with it and boy, once I started, I couldn't stop! I ended up writing down all these little things that I tell myself all the time. Just little things that pop into my head that felt like being in ink.

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges I'm Playing:
Tiddly Inks - Art Journaling

Supplies:

Gesso
Watercolor Paper
October Afternoon SprINKlers
Tiddly Inks Lilli Claire do you hear? digital image
Graphic45 Springtime Paper
Copics
India Ink Black
Nib Pen
Black Charcoal Pencil
Helmar Decoupage & Acid Free glue

New Saturated Canary Digi's available TODAY!

2011-09-16T17:08:00.002-06:00

Today is release day at Saturated Canary Digital Stamps! Krista has release SIX more new images today - they are amazing! For my bookmark I used Violet, A Ragamuffin. The ragamuffin line is dear to me since that was my first purchase and what really started the obsession once I knew Krista was going digital! I colored her with copics and paired with with the gorgeous new *to me* Echo Park Happy Day collection. I love how her hair turned out, I love coloring unique hair and came across this SUPER easy and FAST way to do it by my TGF teamie Tracy.

**Teaser Alert!** There WILL be a challenge blog devoted to Saturated Canary Digi Stamps!! ;) First Challenge will be Sept 29!!! We're still working on the blog and everything so I don't have that but as soon as it's ready -- maybe next week? -- I'll give you the link so you can start following and be ready to play with all the Saturated Girls! :D

Challenges I'm Playing:

Deconstructed Sketch - #19

Crafty Ribbons Challenge - Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes

Delightful Challenges - Girly Girl

Southern Girls Challenge - Lots of Layers

Supplies:

Violet, A Ragamuffin by Saturated Canary Digital Stamps
Echo Park Happy Day Collection
Papertrey Ink Kraft Cardstock
Helmar 450 Quick Dry and Zap Dots
Copics: E0000, E000, E00, E11, R22, R20, R01, R02, E57, E55, Y00, Y08, BG53, BG05, BG02, BG10, R22, RV14, W1, W3, W5, W7, 100, C8, C6, C4
Copic Opaque White paint

Pretty Purrrr-fect with crayons!

2011-09-15T13:03:00.000-06:00

I just want to quickly remind you that Cheeky Kitty is AVAILABLE NOW at The Greeting Farm!!!

Many of you know that my girls *ages 4 and 6* LOVE to stamp and color with me. While many of their colored images do not get put on cards, I love to see them and don't post nearly as much as I should here on my blog. Today, I wanted to share with you how my daughter colored Cheeky Kitty.....see how much more conservative she is than how I colored her - isn't that adorable?! And like her mama, she loves to fussy cut! haha

That's it for me - I'll be back later with a new art journal page. I'm very excited and want to commit to completing a page a week.

Supplies:

Cheeky Kitty Digi Stamp by The Greeting Farm
Crayons

Little Miss Muffet Challenge: Winged Things

2011-09-15T01:01:00.001-06:00

It's time for a new challenge at Little Miss Muffet Challenges and this week we're using winged things! This can be in your image or any element of your card. You can see I used butterflies in my pattern paper as well as a punch. I used the adorable Kaitlyn digital stamp this week - she was just released last week! I love how this card came together and am playing along for the first time with Tuesday Morning Sketches! I've had the pleasure of coloring a couple times with Theresa and have been wanting to try out these sketches (you all know I love sketch challenges) of course, I choose the week they have an extra twist which is to decorate the inside of your card which I HARDLY ever do! haha So, here it is:

I kept it simple as I still wanted to leave some room for handwriting a little note.I loved the effect of fussy cutting the foil embossed dp so I brought that design on the inside as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges I'm Playing:

Tuesday Morning Sketches - #111 plus decorate inside of card

Fab N' Funky - Bingo (Digi Image, Ribbon (I used twine, hope that counts), 3 papers / layers)

Flutterby Wednesday Challenge - Open but using fairy, butterflies, etc.

Little Red Wagon - Use Twine

Papercraft Star - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Things with Wings

Stamps R us Challenge - Friendship

Supplies:

Kaitlyn Digital Stamp by Little Miss Muffet Stamps
Melody Ross Designer paper
Papertrey Ink Kraft CS & Twine
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Helmar 450 Quick Dry & Zap Dots
Copics - Skin: E000, E00, E01, R20, R01; Hair: E55, E53, E51; Clothes: Y32, Y35, Y35

Imagine....Create....Inspire...

2011-09-14T22:05:00.001-06:00

Do you ever feel blah? Even though stamping & coloring is my absolute passion, sometimes I get burnt out. Or something feels off. I don't know how to explain it? It usually happens after I've been designing and creating for something specific, a deadline or such, and once that has come and gone, the project is completed, I feel.....anticlimactic, perhaps? LOL, whatever it is, I needed to get into my stamp room and create something for fun, for no good reason, just because. So, I decided to dig out some stamps that I haven't been reaching for lately and those are my Unity Stamps. I LOVE Unity Stamp Co!! I think I first heard about them just after my son was born last year. And they were AH-mazing! LOVE them and the people of Unity. So, I dug thru my Unity and looked for a fun challenge and found something to kick start me back into creative gear.

Here it is:

I found the Unity Challenge - HELLO! Where have I been? It's a monthly challenge and there are actually TWO! One for any unity stamps and one specifically for KOTM stamps! How cool! I think I'm going to try my hand at the KOTM challenge next. :D I used two different stamp sets on my card - one was a store kit from last year which had all kinds of school things/sayings. The other is an itty bitty cosmo cricket co brand. I think they fit well together on my card as I embark on our homeschooling adventure, school days for us are full of inspiration, creating and imagination! I am LOVING it.

And, now, I feel better! I think I'm ready to get a little more stamping done - but FIRST I'm going to go chill and watch 27 Dresses which was recommended by SEVERAL girlfriends as a MUST have chick flick! I've seen it before but it's been awhile. With the rain falling, and temperatures dipping in the 50s, I'm going to go see if there is any hot chocolate to warm me up tonight!

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges I'm Playing:

Unity Stamp Co Monthly Challenge - Back To School

Supplies:

Unity Stamp Co (all stamps)
Sassafras Pattern paper
Copics
Tim Holtz Tissue Tape
Walnut Stain Distress Ink

Look at this new Cheeky Kitty Digi!

2011-09-13T23:01:00.001-06:00

I'm SOOO excited that The Greeting Farm has a little Halloween treat for us! This Cheeky Kitty will be available as a digi stamp TOMORROW at The Greeting Farm! How cute is she? I have to say I'm partial to the entire Cheeky Line ever since their debut. I'm excited to see a new one join the bunch. I used today's Farm Fresh WOW challenge, which is an awesome sketch by Rachel! I hope you will join us.

I created this door hanger using a piece of a cardboard box - I just cut out the size circle I wanted (I actually used one of those metal prima flower boxes as my template) and using Helmar Acid Free Glue, adhered the pattern paper on top. I wanted to do something outside my normal cards and I figure we can hang this up anywhere for decoration when the time comes! I'm really in the mood to create some fun, handmade decorations this year with all my favorite stamps & products! It's a blast!

Here is a close up of the gorgeous cheeky herself! She is a ton of fun to color altho, hubby liked the way our girls colored her better with shorts and not thigh highs!!! LMAO This FAB new red hair color combo comes from my dear friend who started the obsession many moons ago, Angela. :D I loved it SO much that a couple days after I had to order the copics for myself so I can reach for them any time. *giggle* I let her know that THAT is why I have to limit my coloring time with her!!

That's it for me today - I hope you are looking forward to getting this new cheeky tomorrow!

Challenges I'm Playing:

Craft Room Challenge - Home Decor

Digital Tuesday Challenge - Celebrate Any Season

The cheerful Stamp Pad - Reuse

iCopic - High Contrast

Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Supplies:

Cheeky Kitty Digital Stamp by The Greeting Farm
Papers by The Robin's Nest
Spellbinders
Helmar Acid Free Glue
Crop-A-Dile
Copics - Skin: E0000, E000, E00, E11, R20, R22; Hair: YR04, YR07, YR09, R29; Clothes: C4, C6, C8, R20, R21

Sprinkle a little Christmas Twinkle (with a giveaway)

2011-09-13T21:56:00.000-06:00

I've been itching to ink up the cute new Fairy Princess clear stamps again. I thought they would look SO cute as little Christmas fairies so I pulled out my beloved October Afternoon Good Cheer paper pad (no sense hoarding it any longer) and using Jen's amazing Deconstructed Sketch put this card together. I love everything about it! They are available NOW at The Greeting Farm!

I was thinking, maybe you'd like to have it to start off YOUR Christmas card mojo?! If so, leave your name below in the linky tool and I'll draw a winner next week to WIN my card! Who knows, I'll probably throw in some of my beloved October Afternoon Good Cheer paper to really get you started on making your Christmas cards :D No sense hoarding it, right?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges I'm Playing:
Deconstructed Sketch - No. 18
Anything Goes Challenges - Vintage/Shabby chic
Shopping Our Stash - Vintage/Shabby Chic
Magical Monday Challenge - Anything Goes
Make it Monday with Kraft - Use a Sketch (any sketch)

Supplies:

Fairy Princess clear stamps by the Greeting Farm
October Afternoon Good Cheer Paper
Helmar Zap Dots
Spellbinders Nestibilities
Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch
Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Stickles
Copics - E000, E00, E01, E02, R22, R20, R01, YG03, YG05, YG93, B000, B00, B01, B02, RV11, RV13

Lady Guinevere's Inky Faeries

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Sprinkle a little Christmas Twinkle (with a giveaway)