Almost over!

Well, the "Down by the Sea" challenge is almost over! I can't believe how quickly another month has flown by!

Not long to go now until the deadline is up - just under an hour! I have two last minute entries to share so far - if I get any more before deadline I'll share them in the morning. :)

So without further ado, let's check out the latest (and possibly last!) entries for this month's challenge!

First we have this card which has been sent in by Joy Rumble of New Zealand:

The 'Timaru by the Sea' image, is from a pamphlet from Joy's local museum, which Joy copied with her computer and printed out. She adhered the image to black card then adhered it with 3D foam mounting tape onto Yellow card which was crimped, then stuck to more black card.

Joy distressed & inked the edges of her background paper with blue ink, then adhered it onto the blue card. The palm trees are from a cuttlebug set - "At the beach". 

Joy layered the rocks which were cut from Lucy's stamp - "Archway" and stamped onto grey card. The net was tucked under the top of the Timaru poster, draped over the rocks among the shells. The crab is a stamp from the "Fishy Friends" set by Stamping up, coloured in with water pencils & white gel pen.

Great work Joy!

Next we have this card which was sent in by Shirley Henry:

Shirley has stamped her image and coloured it with markers and an aquabrush. Shirley cut out her image using a Spellbinder's die, then sponged the edges with ink.

The blue background was embossed with a script embossing folder using a Cuttlebug. The word "Friend" has been embossed using another Cuttlebug embossing folder, then cut out, sponged with ink,  and adhered to the card over a piece of orange netting.

Great work Shirley!

I hope you're all looking forward to the next challenge - I have some very exciting things planned for next month with tutorials galore, and an extra special challenge on World Cardmaking Day which is on the 3rd of October (this Saturday!).

Speaking of World Cardmaking Day, I will be setting up a chat room for us to chat with each other during the event, so if you are interested in joining in, please email me so I can give you the password. We will be having a game of bingo, which is always a laugh! So please let me know what time suits you best and I'll plan the bingo at a time that is convenient for most of you. :) And of course, there will be prizes! Full details will be posted on Friday night. :)

I look forward to chatting with you all on the day!

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

More entries!

Hello again stampers!

I hope you all had a great weekend. :)

Today I have 2 new entries to share.

First we have this lovely card from 10 year old Natasha Rumble from New Zealand:

From Natasha:

"For my card I used basic grey paper with brown Bazzill. Next I coloured in Rubbadubbadoo A130B with distress ink and twinkling H2Os. After that I put on Prima flowers that I painted with blue H2Os
and a boat charm, and bazzill butterflies punched out with a Martha Stewart punch with two silver gems".

Great work Natasha!

Next we have this lovely shaker card from Lynne Quinn:

Lynne has used card stock, inks, and Palm Tree stamp from Stampin' Up, Kaisercraft bird stamp, versacolor ink, and Making Memories acrylic paint.

To create the sand, Lynne used Texture paste and acrylic paint.

From Lynne:

"I made a shaker box including sand, than made a oval window box card to sink the shaker box into to create an island".

Great job Lynne!

Only 2 more days to get your entry in for this month's challenge! Come on ladies (and gentlemen if there are any of you!) get out your stamps and get inky!

~Sarah~

A message from Scrapz.Biz!

It is World Card Making Day on Saturday October 3rd. World Card Making Day is a special day to celebrate the creativity of handmade cards and the personal connection that they create between friends and family. It is a day to connect with fellow card makers.

We would like to invite you to celebrate World Card Making Day with us at Scrapz.biz.

From Thursday October 1st to Wednesday October 7th we are taking 20% off all our stamps. See them here.

Card Making Challenges will be posted in the forum starting on Friday 2nd October, 2009 and will continue over the weekend. All entries are to be uploaded by midnight Wednesday October 7, 2009. Each entry will earn you a ticket in the random draw, to win one of three prizes. You may enter as many cards as you like. Come and join in the fun!!!

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside.....

Don't you? ;) Well, if you can't get to the seaside then hopefully these next entries will take your imagination there for you! LOL!

First up we have a lovely painting by Ros Crichton:

From Ros:

"The background sky was sprayed with a Starburst Spray in the colour of Tibetan Poppy Teal, Sea Mint Green and an aqua spray that I mixed myself using Matisse paints and Matisse Iridescent liquid. Then I taped off the sky with masking tape and used some of the same colours for the sea. I then painted the rest of it with my favourite Matisse Paints. I painted in the clouds and used a sealer to paste the word dream onto the canvas".

Check out the gorgeous iridescent glow:

So cool!

"The scroll stamp underneath is a Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous from the Reindeer Flight collection. I stamped it in Versamark and embossed it with a light blue embossing powder".

Lovely work Ros!

Ros has also been busy jazzing up an older artwork with her stamps and I just have to share it with you for inspiration because it's so cool! Meet "Cedric" the seahorse:

Ros created the lovely border using Stampin'Up "Ocean Commotions" stamp and Stazon. Check out more pics of him on Ros's blog!

Speaking of sea horses, our next entry is a seahorse ATC that was sent in by Jen Sweatman:

From Jen:

"I have made a watercolour background with bleach stamping (worn grid by Unity stamps from Scrapz.Biz). I have added more shading with distress inks, stamped a few more images on the background all from Tim Holz "Flights of Fancy" set and added the seahorse (cut from Graphic 45 paper & coated with distress stickles) and the safety pin with bead".

Awesome work Jen!

Well, that's it from me for today! Enjoy your friday night! :)

~Sarah~

Back to the action.....

It's time to stop banging on about the dust storm and get back into some new entries! :)

Today's first entry comes from Sabine Busch from Germany:

Sabine created her background with Glimmermist, and stamped bubbles over the top. She stamped the lady and the letters on a separate piece of paper. She coloured the lady and cut around her and the words before sticking them to the ATC. The fish is a collage image from Artchix.

Great job Sabine!

Next we have a lovely note holder that was sent in by Robyn Wood:

From Robyn:

“I used a noteblock which I sponged all over with Adirondack dye inks. The stamps are from a Stampington plate and I used a different shell stamp on each of the three sides. The word image was stamped in a paler colour over the top. The base is mountboard, sponged with dye inks and embellished with some small shells and microbeads.”

What a fabulous idea! How cool would this be as a teacher's gift, or just to keep for yourself!!

Great job Robyn!

I'll be back again tomorrow morning with another new entry to share. But in the meantime, start getting excited for World Cardmaking Day! Saturday 3rd of October 2009 is world cardmaking day and I will be running a special challenge here at Inkurable Stampers! Heck, if enough of you leave me a comment saying you want it, I'll even set up another chat room for the day and we'll have a game of bingo!

Stay tuned for full details closer to the event. Keep the day free! :) There will be prizes!

~Sarah~

I can see clearly now the dust has gone......

Thank goodness! A big wind blew up yesterday afternoon and blew the dust storm away! Here is what the view from my back deck looks like now (notice dust covered chairs and deck! argh!):

Here's another pic of what it looked like yesterday - in this photo I used the flash and you can actually see dust particles in the air:

And now the clean up begins!

Here is all the dust on the chairs from the deck:

And the dust all over the deck:

There had been water on the chairs and deck from rain during the night, so when the dust landed, it pooled in the puddles! Poor hubby just cleaned and oiled the deck a few weeks ago! You should see my car! I'm hoping it will rain and let nature clean up it's own mess! LOL!!

Unfortunately though for our friends up north, the dust blew up to QLD! Although, they didn't get it anywhere near as bad as we did. Watch out New Zealand because they say it's on it's way over to you! LOL! Check out all the awesome dust storm pics here, and here, and even here. So crazy!

Thanks for all the well wishes! We all survived well - asthma and allergies are terrible in my family, however we all seem to have gotten through it without too much hassle, which is good. :) Sadly though, I did not get any stamping done! LOL! I did however spend the previous day cleaning all my stamps (some used and not cleaned almost 2 years ago! LOL!), so I'm all ready to go!

I'd love to see your pics of the dust storm, so if you have them on your blog let me know the link! :)

I'll be back later on with another new entry. :)

~Sarah~

Dusty much?

Good grief! This is what I woke up to this morning (click to enlarge):

For those of you that don't know, Sydney and surrounds has been swallowed by a massive dust storm! This photo was taken at 6:30am this morning - right when the sun was coming up. I haven't photoshopped it at all - that is exactly how it looked! That is the view from my back deck - here's what the view out the front looked like:

Everything is covered in a blanket of dust - it's very windy and visibility is pretty shocking! It's not as red as that now, but still very orange and spooky!

What does it look like at your place?

I'm asthmatic, so I'm staying inside! I can feel my sinuses starting to get angry too! Damn allergies!

All in all a perfect day to stay in doors and do some stamping! :)

~Sarah~

SWEEEEET UNITY DEAL FROM STAMP AND SCRAPBOOK MADNESS!

Unity stamps are one of the most popular new stamping companies around, their fun and quirky designs coupled with gorgeous deep etched cling mounted rubber make them easy to use! Stamp and Scrapbook Madness carries one of the largest ranges of their stamps in Australia.

Our friends at Stamp and Scrapbook Madness are offering Inkurable blog readers a special deal on Unity Stamps!

Simply mention "Inkurable" in the comments section of your order and receive 10% off all Unity Stamps - Plus purchase this Unity Store kit for only $40 - a huge a4 sized sheet of rubber stamps! RRP $60!! (Discount will be applied manually after your order is received).

How awesome is that??!!

Stamp and Scrapbook Madness Staff member Tina McOnegal has created some lovely cards using the kit:

Offer is for a limited time only, so be quick to grab a bargain while stocks last! If you have any questions about the deal, please contact Stamp and Scrapbook Madness.

Happy shopping!

~Sarah~

More mermaids!

Hello again everyone!

Today I have 2 new entries to share.

First we have this ATC from Marnie Didlick:

Marnie downloaded a vintage mermaid image off the internet which she used as the background for her ATC. The little fish are from Basic Grey stamps.

From Marnie:

"I have used smooch ink in the mermaid hair and then Dimensional Magic. I have also put pearl on the fish to give a bit of glimmer".

Great work Marnie!

Next we have an ATC from Leesa Harris:

From Leesa:

"I have made a rock wall by hand cutting odd shapes from brown patterned paper. Then I have used a Remember When chipboard mermaid. Her hair has been coloured with pens and finished with stickles and a Kaisercraft rhinestones. Her face was drawn on by a super talented friend, Samantha. Her top is made from buttons. I have painted her tail using ranger liquid pearls, which has given her tail a lovely textured feel".

"The starfish has been coloured with Tim Holtz alcohol inks. The waves were made by cutting them from a lace paper and glimmermisted them with patina. The fish and word stamp are from the 'Rock the Farm' set from the Greeting Farm. The fish has been painted with Ranger liquid pearls, and the words inked with versa cube sand beige".

Nice one Leesa!

Just over one week left until the end of the Down by the Sea challenge is over! There are great prizes up for grabs this month, so make sure you send in your entry!

~Sarah~

Crayon Resist Stamping - with Rachel Greig of Darkroom Door.

Rachel has done it again! Another great segment on Foxtel's "Scrap It TV" program on the Aurora channel. This time she's showing us how to do a great technique called Crayon Resist. Rachel taught this class at our LSS and it is such a fun technique which gives fabulous results! I know you'll have as much fun giving it a go as I did.



Enjoy!

~Sarah~

Entries from abroad!

Hi everyone!

I've had an influx of international entries this week! What better way to start the weekend than to share them all with you! :)

First we have a great ATC sized matchbox by Giovanna from Italy:

Giovanna cut her cardstock to make an ATC sized matchbox, then adhered small objects to the surface. She then sprayed Glimmermist (yellow, lime and turquoise) to create the background colour. See pics of  how she did it on her blog here. After that, she brushed on a thin layer of gesso, and the background was complete.

Giovanna transferred an image from Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" (La nascita di Venere) onto clear tape, and then adhered it to her project. She then attached some fake coral pieces, beads, and pieces of mirror. To finish, she stamped the word "Art" by "Creative Expressions", and some starfishes by "Aladine".

**********

Next we have an ATC from Benedicte Skjelanger in Norway:

Benedicte stamped the image onto mulberry paper and attached it to a bazzill cardstock background. She also stamped a heart on shrink-plastic and used a heatgun to shrink it.

Benedicte placed an eyelet in one of the corners, and mounted the heart to the eyelet. The word kjærlighet (which means "love" in Norwegian) is a rub-on.

**********

Now last but not least we have a couple of Mermaid ATC's from Lesley Dupont in Canada. Here is her official entry:

And here is her extra ATC to inspire us all:

From Lesley:

"Both ATC's were made using cream coloured bazzill cardstock. In a shallow container I placed some water, a good shot of dish washing soap, and some food colouring. (Depending on how dark you want your colour will depend on how much colouring you drop in). Take a straw and start blowing bubbles until you have a good cloud of them. Take your cardstock and then either lay it on top of the bubbles or as I did, swipe the cardstock through the middle of the bubbles so the bubbles sit on top of the card. 

Then lay the paper down to dry. If you like more colour and more bubbles, after paper has dried do it again or you can do another colour for variation. After that has dried you now have a bubble

background. (You can also use different coloured cardstocks for more variations)".

"Both mermaids were done using free images off the internet and I used a mermaid paperdoll template for the tails. I painted household paper towel with acrylic paints in turquoise and coral and the other mermaid tail in apple green and a metallic peridot. When that was dried I stamped the paper towel all over with an anonymous flourish stamp in navy ink and green ink. I applied the paper towel to some cardboard for added stability then cut the tails out. With glue I added the tail to the image at the waist of the woman, then glued to the ATC. On the backgrounds of both ATC's I took a pen cap, dipped it into white acrylic paint then stamped it onto the background, for texture and interest. Stickles were
then added to the dried white circles,and the mermaid tails. I then inked the edges".

Great work ladies!

OK stampers, if you haven't sent in your entry yet, make sure you set aside some "me" time this weekend for some stamping fun! :)

~Sarah~

How to make a 30 second card - in 5 minutes! LOL!

I was stoked to find out that Stephanie Barnard (formerly of Inque Boutique fame) has returned to the stamping world!

She has a new venture - The {stamps} of Life - and is selling high quality clear stamps and digital stamps/brushes for stampers, card makers and scrapbookers. From what I can tell, it is a monthly kit club.  It's so new that she only has the one set available at the moment, but you can bet there will be stacks more on the way. Check out her blog for updates. Unfortunately, she's only going to be shipping to the USA and Canada, but hopefully that will change in the future. Or you can befriend someone over there and get them to send them to you! LOL!

Here she is introducing her new company, and showing off her first stamp set:



I'm so glad she's back making demo videos! Check out the following video where she attempts to make a 30 second card - it's very funny!



Just goes to show that you can create something great in less than 5 mins! Now you know how to create a quick card, you can't tell me you ran out of time to get your entry done of this month's challenge!! LOL!

I'll be back in the morning with some new entries! :)

~Sarah~

Rules clarification.

Hi stampers!

I have had a few entries lately that I have had to reject, so I just wanted to clarify the rules here for all the new players (and even the old ones!). I hate having to be a meanie and reject entries but the rules are there to ensure that a fun, and most of all fair, experience is had by all.

We don't have many rules but the ones we do have are important.

1. Your entry must use at least one stamp to be eligible. 
This might seem obvious, as this is a stamping challenge blog, but I have in the past had to reject entries that had not used any stamps! LOL!

2. Your entry must have been made specifically for the Inkurable Stampers challenge.
Inkurable Stampers is a challenge blog, and every month you are given a new challenge theme to create your entry with. The idea is to challenge yourself to create something new - not use old projects that you have created previously. With so many great prizes on offer, to include past projects in the prize draw is not fair to the entrants that do create something new for the challenge.
With so many other challenge blogs out there, you may be tempted to kill two birds with one stone and use the same project for more than one challenge. I don't mind that if it is for non-prize non-competition blogs like Wednesday Stamper, however using the same project for two or more competitions where prizes are on offer is double dipping and is against the rules.

3. Only one entry per person per month will be accepted.
If you get carried away and create a few different entries, we'd love to see them so feel free to send them all in at once! But you need to nominate one as your official entry for judging.

4. Entries are due by midnight on the last day of the month, AEST.
AEST means Australian Eastern Standard Time. There is a clock on the blog that shows you what time it is here. Entries that arrive after the deadline can not be accepted.

Thats it! You are free to create whatever you like for the challenge - cards, ATC's, scrapbook pages, jewelry - whatever your heart fancies! Full challenge details can always be found by clicking the challenge photo in the top right hand corner of the blog, and participation details are in the sidebar.

Whilst it's not an official entry requirement, it's helpful if when you send your entry in you tell me as much as possible about your project as you can for when I post it on the blog - makes for a much more interesting post if we know a little about how you made it and what products were used etc. :)

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please let me know! :)


Thanks for your co-operation. :)

~Sarah~

Scrap It TV with Rachel Greig of Darkroom Door.

Recently, Rachel Greig from Darkroom Door filmed some great segments for Foxtel's "Scrap It TV" program on the Aurora channel.

Watercolour Stamping:



Tinting Photochips:



Enjoy!

~Sarah~

A Mermaid!

Hello again stampers!

Today's entry is a gorgeous paper doll mermaid which was sent in by Vicky Fernando:

Vicky used a mermaid template that she downloaded from here, then traced the upper body pieces onto some currogated cardboard which she cut out & sprayed with denim Glimmer mist.

From Vicky:

"I stamped the lady's face (Non Sequitur) using timber brown Stazon ink. I also stamped the butterfly wings (Non Sequitur) onto cardstock which I'd watercoloured with Twinkling H2Os (mystic blue, ruby red, ginger peach, & mulberry). I then cut out all the wings, shaped them & stuck them to the tail using foam tape for dimension".

What a very clever way to create scales on her fishy tail!

"I stamped & clear embossed the quote from Catslife Press onto a scrap of painted paper, and attached with double sided tape. I used a couple of small paper flowers for her bossom, & a stamped flower for her hair (Technique Tuesday)".

"I also made a ribbon to hang her from, out of some torn fabric and a few beads. She measures 21cm in height".

Awesome work Vicky!

I'll be back tomorrow with another entry! :)

~Sarah~

Carry me on the waves.....

Hello stampers! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! :)

Today's entry was sent in by Lisa Balm:

Lisa created an ATC using "Go Inque" family leaves stamp set, and Karen Foster snap stamp alphabet  set.

Very cute Lisa!

Keep the entries rolling in everyone! :)

~Sarah~

Grab a bargain!

Hi stampers!

I'm selling a bunch of stuff on ebay including stamps, TH Stamp Storage, stickers, chipboard letters and more! All new, unused items! Well below retail cost! More to be added through the weekend. Some auction, some "But it now"!

Check them out here and I will combine postage for multiple purchases so you only pay what your parcel costs to post. And if you mention that you're an Inkurable Stamper in the comments section when you buy, I'll throw in some mystery freebies when I post your order!

Happy shopping!

~Sarah~

A card and a scrapbook page!

Hello stampers!

Thanks for all the feedback that has come in about the up-coming new look for Inkurable Stampers! There have been some great ideas which I will be sure to implement. Keep them coming by leaving a comment here.

I've been working on the design and it's looking pretty cool! Can't wait for the big reveal when it's finished. :)

Today I have 2 new entries to share!

First up is this great card by Jenene Evans:

Jenene created a 50th Birthday card using fish stamps by 'My Stamps' (and another unknown brand).

Jenene stamped onto blue bazzill card with bleach. She then used her computer to make the 50 template which she used to cut out white cardstock. She then stamped her images and embossed with with clear embossing powder then rubbed 'Caribbean sea' Kaleidacolour ink pad over the top for a resist effect. The 'happy birthday' stamp is from the Darkroom Door 'Full Bloom' collection.

Great work Jenene!

Next we have this scrapbook page by Rachel Clarke:

Rachel has used alpha stamps from Making Memories and "My Sentiments Exactly". Her 'Take time' quote is from Hero Arts, and the Starfish is from Stampington.

Rachel stamped her alphas directly onto cardstock with black ink. The quote and Starfish have been stamped with black Staz-On onto white shrinky-dink and shrunk to make very cool embellishments! The cardstock is Bazzill.

Great work Rachel!

Keep those entries coming everyone! :)

~Sarah~

September Card Kit!

Hello stampers!

I am very pleased to announce that I am the guest designer of the "Birthday Surprise" September Card Kit over at Stamp and Scrapbook Madness!

Here's a sneak peek:

The Kit includes everything you need to make the 5 cards shown above (with plenty left over!) and of course, detailed instructions for each one! (Card designs and instructions by yours truly!).

The kit features Stampendous Stamps and papers from Sassafrass Lass and American Crafts. There are plenty of embellishments from Jenni Bowlin, Stampendous and Kaisercraft along with some glitter, ink and ribbons to get you started!

These bright and funky cards would be great for kids as well as adults!

Pop on over to Stamp and Scrapbook Madness now to get your kit before stocks run out!

~Sarah~

*** WINNERS FOR AUGUST! ***

Oops! Just realised this morning I'd forgotten to announce the winners of our Music challenge!

As always we had some fabulous creations and it was very hard to choose the winners!

You're probably busting to know who won, so without further ado, the lucky ladies are as follows:

* JENXO! You have won a very funky set of Rockstar Rubber Stamps from Darkroom Door!

* LYN QUINN! You have won a lovely set of Gum Leaves stamps from Orange Jelly Stamps!

* TANIA DAVEY! You have won a very cool set of Stampendous "Rock Out" stamps, PLUS a set of 5 Ultra Fine Pearl Glitters or Embossing Powders (winner's choice!) courtesy of Stamp and Scrapbook Madness!

* DANIELLE O'CONNOR! You have scored $25 to spend at Paper Forest Designs PLUS Free Postage from Paper Forest Designs!

* JENENE EVANS! You have won a $20.00 Gift Voucher from Tarisota Collections!

* LAURENCE SCHMITZ! You have won a $20.00 Gift Voucher from The Stamping Queen!

CONGRATULATIONS LADIES! Enjoy your prizes!

~Sarah~

Our first "Down by the Sea" entry!

Hello stampers!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, and spent some quality time with your fathers on Sunday for Father's Day!

Today I have our first entry for the month!

This cute ATC was sent in by Damaris M of the USA:

Damaris has used stamps from A Muse Artstamps which she coloured with Prismacolor pencils. The Seahorse is a punch by Martha Stewart, and the paper is from Papertrey Ink.

Great work Damaris!

Now, I think it's time that Inkurable Stampers got a makeover, so I will be working on that over the next week or two. This will mean a new blog design, a new header logo, and some other new features. I need your feedback on some things, so I have some questions for you!

1. Do you think the header should be made with real stamps again, or shall I go digital this time?

2. Would you like an Inkurable Stampers Forum / online community where we can all chat to each other and share projects and ideas etc?

3. Let me know any other improvements or changes you'd like to see, or anything that you want me to leave as is!

Please leave a comment with your responses - feel free to remain anonymous if you wish. :) Please also feel free to email me if you wish.

Thanks!

~Sarah~

*** PRIZES FOR SEPTEMBER! ***

Hello stampers!

Here is the list of fabulous goodies that are up for grabs this month:

* THREE sets of Thinkable Inkable stamp sets from Paper Forest Designs! (includes "School", "Baby" and "Wedding"):

* A Card Making Kit from Stamps and Scrapbook Madness! Kit includes everything you need to make these 5 cards:

(Stay tuned for the announcement of the September Card Kit - designed by someone you might know! LOL!).

* A $30 Voucher from Scrapz.Biz!

* A $20 Voucher from The Stamping Queen!

* A $20 Voucher from Tarisota Collections!

* This Accordion book from Darkroom Door:

Once again some lovely prizes on offer. Thanks again to our wonderful sponsors!

You've gotta be in it to win it so get cracking on your entries! Don't be a Last Minute Lucy! LMAO! :)

~Sarah~

Stampbord Competition!

My lovely friends at Stampbord are having a contest! You could win some fabulous goodies just by creating a project featuring Stampbord:

There will be 2 grand prizes and four mini prizes. Check out the full contest details here.

Entry is open worldwide! :)

Happy Stamping!

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR SEPTEMBER 09 IS.......

DOWN BY THE SEA!!

Your challenge this month is to create something (anything!) and be inspired by the things you might see down by the sea side. I will also accept in the ocean. :) As always, you must use at least one stamp. Everything else is fair game! It is up to you how to interpret the challenge!

Thank you to Vicky who's theme suggestion of "Mermaids" sparked the idea for my example and the "Down by the Sea" theme! Congrats Vicky - I'll be sending out a little RAK to you shortly! :)

Here is my example:

It is a 7"x9" mixed media collage on canvas.

I created the background using the "Peeled Paper" technique with some old sheet music. To lighten the colour of the sheet music background, I pained over it with a white gesso wash before applying the top colours. I used 2 or 3 different acrylic paint colour washes to create the look of the sky and the ocean. I then sprayed on Pearl Glimmermist to create a subtle shimmer.

I used smeared Kindyglitz over the ocean part with my finger to give it a more distinct shimmer to further differentiate it from the sky. You can see it best here:

I stamped Darkroom Door alphabet stamps onto white cardstock with Jet Black Stazon ink, then cut out each word. I then inked each word using "Antique Linen" distress ink, and inked around the edges with "Vintage Photo" distress ink:

I created the mermaid using a vintage image that I printed out on photo paper. I traced the shape of a tail onto thin chipboard, and cut it out. I inked the chipboard with TH "Walnut Stain" Distress Ink before coating it with TH "Peeled Paint" Crackle Paint. Once dry, I rubbed Walnut ink into the cracks to make the more defined, but it lacked the shimmer of a mermaid tail, so I spritzed it with Moon Glow's Royal Peacock Fire mist spray. Here is a close up:

To give it a wet look, I coated it with Dimensional Magic.

I stamped a Heidi Swapp crown onto her head using gold ink and heat embossed it using gold embossing powder. The trim on her hat and her bra are made from a paper by Prima. They have been coated with Dimensional Magic.

Her necklace and belt are made from a chain that I painted gold with a Krylon pen. I attached them with "Glossy Accents".

The rock was sketched onto cardstock, then I inked it and coated it with "Vintage Photo" and "Walnut Stain" Distress Embossing Powders to give it a rough texture.

To finish, I inked the edges with "Walnut Stain" distress ink and attached a gold German Scrap Border.

Now it's your turn!

Entries are due by midnight 30th September 2009 (AEST) to be eligible to win one of the great prizes from our sponsors. Please read the participation guidelines in the sidebar of the blog. Please remember to email info about your piece as well as the photos so I have some idea of what to write when I post your entry. :)

Any questions, please let me know!

I look forward to seeing your entries!

~Sarah~