Back to the action!

Hello stampers!!

I hope you all had a lovely festive break, and that Santa brought you lots of fabulous goodies! We had a great Christmas - a lovely way to end a less than fabulous year. Roll on 2011!!

Our latest entry was sent in just before Christmas by Shar from the USA:

Shar says:

"I decided to do a variation on a Technique Junkies technique called Block Collage. My twist was to not use a square mask and to color the central image. Usually this technique is done with a monochromatic palette".

Stamps: little girl (Inka Stamps - now available from Scrolls Work); postage Santa and framed vintage Santa (Stamp Francisco); hooded Santa (Queen's Dresser Drawers); Santa with fur hat (Artistic Outpost).
Cardstock: Whisper White (Stampin Up).
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento); Cranberry Crisp (Stampin Up); Fired Brick (Ranger Distress Ink).
Copics: B00, B02, R24, R27, R29, E00, E02, E11, E15, G14, G19, YR23, YR24.

Lovely work Shar!!

OK stampers - don't forget that you still have plenty of time to get your entry in for the One Layer Wonder challenge - the deadline is midnight 4th January 2011! So go get stamping!

I'll be back tomorrow to share the awesome stuff up for grabs for our Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge, kindly donated by our good friends at Crafty Individuals!! Wooooot!

Until then.....

~Sarah~

Merry Christmas Stampers!

Wishing you all a magical Christmas filled with lots of love and happiness!

May beautiful moments and happy memories surround you with joy this Christmas, and may health, happiness, and good times greet you each day of the new year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

~Sarah~

Santa comes tonight!

It's starting to get very exciting isn't it!! I can't wait to watch my kids in the morning - they're going to be so excited!!

I have one last entry to share before I take a break for a few days over Christmas. :)

Today's entry was sent in by Ellie Knol from The Netherlands:

Ellie used stamps from Inkadinkado (Snowflakes A-plenty #98397) and an unknown text stamp.

Ellie has kindly shared a tutorial for us!

From Ellie:

Step 1: Get hold of cardstock with a cut-out design. Here I used a second-hand Christmas card:

For it not to move around, spray the back of it with glue spray (which is non-permament) and let it dry thoroughly. This mask can be used over and over again.

Step 2: Use it as a mask and sponge over it, with one or more colors distress inks:

You can also sponge it with clear embossing and heat-emboss it with clear embossing powder as a resist. On the card I used both ways. After the sponging I ironed the clear embossing off the CS with scrap paper.

Awesome work Ellie!

Do you think Santa will leave a present here on the blog......?

~Sarah~

*** PRIZES FOR DECEMBER 2010! ***

I bet you guys would like to know what you're playing for this month, huh?

Well wonder no further! Here are this month's incentives from our sponsors:

Major Prize (Aus only):

This month's Major Prize Winner will receive a $30 gift voucher from The Stamping Queen!

Inkurable Newbie Prize (Aus only):

This month a new player (or person of my choosing if there are no newbies) will receive this funky 7Gypsies Steampunk stamp set, courtesy of Tarisota Collections:

Inkurable International Prize:

This month an international player will score one of the new background stamps of their choice, courtesy of Darkroom Door! You can pick from these ones:

Wowee guys! If that bunch of goodies isn't incentive enough to get your stamps out and get inky, I don't know what is!!

Don't forget - this month's deadline will be midnight 4th January 2011, so you still have plenty of time after Christmas to send in an entry!

Happy stamping!

~Sarah~

*** WINNERS (AND PRIZES!) FOR NOVEMBER 2010! ***

I'm so glad to finally be able to announce the winners AND the prizes for our November Shabby Chic Christmas challenge! Thanks so much for your patience. xx

Last month we had an awesome 20 entries - that's the best turn-out in a long time! Of that 20, 11 were from Australia, and 9 were from other parts of the world! Thank you to everyone who gave the challenge a go - there were some gorgeous creations! Refresh your memory here:

As you can imagine, it was very difficult to choose the winners! They were all so gorgeous! I really wish I had a prize for all of you!

But without further ado, here are the lucky winners, and the awesome prizes they're getting from our sponsors:

Major Prize Winner (Aus only):

This month, the player who's card stuck out to me as the most impressive Shabby Chic Christmas creation was SHIRLEY HENRY! Shirley has won the awesome Gothic Arches stamp set, courtesy of  Darkroom Door!

Inkurable Newbie Winner (Aus only):

We had no new Australian players last month, so I chose the gorgeous Christmas Pocket by JENXO to win the prize! Jenxo has won a $25 voucher from The Stamping Queen!

Inkurable International Winner:

This month's international winner is KAREN DALEY of CANADA! Karen has won this gorgeous set of House of Three Parisian Anthology stamps, courtesy of Tarisota Collections:

CONGRATULATIONS LADIES!!


Enjoy your prizes!

I'll be back later on this evening to announce the prizes that are up for grabs for this month's One Layer Wonder challenge. :)

~Sarah~

Last weekend before Christmas!!

Ack! Are you organised yet? Not me! Still have a few things to get done. But I'm close!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to complete this month's challenge in amongst all the preparation for the festivities! I'm loving the entries so far - keep 'em coming!

Today's entry was sent in by Cynthia Schelzig from Germany:

Cynthia says:

"The One Layer Wonder card in front was created by taping a border of masking tape around the edges of the card and making some strokes with oil pastels. I then w-h-ooooooo-s-h-e-d across the marked area with a cotton ball full of mineral spirits which activated the oil pastels. When dry, I stamped various languages of Merry Christmas, some swirl and snowflake stamps and added a pewter snowflake brad in one corner. I then removed the masking tape for an instant framed image and added some red fiber".

Lovely work Cynthia!

I'll be able to announce last month's prizes / winners soon - so hang in there! Sorry for the delay - it's out of my control at the moment, but I'll announce them as soon as I can! Thanks for your patience!

Have a great weekend!

~Sarah~

It's the most wonderful time of the year......

Who's with me?! ;)

I just love Christmas. Except for all the crowds at the shopping centres. Yuck. But I'm loving all the Christmas lights that are popping up in my neighbourhood! And I love going to my mailbox and finding Christmas cards! I've received a number of cards so far (including one hand made card which was AWESOME!!) and am waiting to pounce on my mail box as soon as the postie has been to see what may be there! I'm hanging all my cards on a string of thin tinsel that is strung across out lounge room wall. How do you display your Christmas cards?

Today I have 2 new one layer wonders to share!

First we have this card that was sent in by Vicky Fernando:

Vicky says:

"I started with a white piece of cardstock, onto which I stamped "Head" (from Stampotique Originals) with black Versafine ink, and clear-embossed him. I then masked him, and then stamped the new Darkroom Door Flourish stamp (isn't it gorgeous!!!) using Platinum Planet Brilliance ink, and clear embossing powder".

"I then put the mask back on 'Head', and stamped the "Merry Christmas" from the Darkroom Door Christmas Reindeer set using some red Marvy ink, and sponged some Adirondack ink (lettuce) all around the white spaces". 

"I then used an edge distresser, sponged the edges with the red Marvy ink and added the green brads. I stuck this to the green card base and added the glitter ribbon, using a green brad to hold the bow in place".

Fabulous work Vicky! I just love the contrast between the black and white "Head" and the traditional red and green colour scheme!

Next we have some crazy cool Christmas cards that were sent in by Julie Haelemeersch of Belgium:

Julie says:

"I created some Christmas cards (or should I say Halloween cards in disguise?) based on a gothic arch I created a couple of weeks ago".

"I masked the sun and sponged it yellow, then I created an inverse mask and sponged the sky using four types of blue Distress inks. I stamped the witch (Third coast) and the bats (Holtz). I stamped and masked the fur trees (Katzelkraft) and did some shadow stamping to create depth. I printed the sentiment on my card, added the snowflakes with a white gelpen and heat embossed the sentiment (Scrolls Work) in white and the edge of my card in silver".

"For the 2nd card I used the same technique, the trees are from Stampinback and the owl is from Oxford Impressions".

Very cool Julie! 

Well that's it from me for today! Keep sending in those entries!

~Sarah~

One layer wonderful!

Hi everyone!

Today's entry was sent in by Emily Shultz:

Emily says:

"I used the Stampotique Honeycomb Background stamp around the edges, clear embossed for a resist effect, with 'Weathered Wood' and 'Bundled Sage' inks to distress it. The feature stamp was a Stampavie Bear & Robin stamp. I used Lead pencil, white chalk pencil, white gel pen and black felt tip to colour it in grayscale. A small christmas greeting from Darkroom Door finished it".

Wonderful work Emily!

Looking forward to seeing more entries in my inbox! :)

~Sarah~

2 weeks until Christmas!

Scary huh?! LOL! Have you sent out your Christmas cards yet? What other crafts do you do for the festive season?

Today's entry was sent in by Lesley Dupont from Canada:

Lesley says:

"I first measured the front panel of my greeting card and using my paper cutter. I cut the size, then I measured a width to make a border evenly around the edges. I drew lines then cut out the middle part of the cardstock so I had what would look like matting for a picture. I then applied some repositional glue on the backside around the edges of the opening and let it try. I then applied it to the front of the card and made sure the top pieces was down well for my next step".

"I stamped with a Hero Arts Old French Writing stamp in VersaMagic Jumbo Java ink. I made sure I applied enough pressure on the stamp in order for it to stamp right up to the edges of the opening top piece. I then stamped my bird stamp, Inkadinkado 'birds on branches' stamp in Black Soot Distress Ink  and embossed it also with black embossing powder. I then stamped my holly leaves in black ink and wiped off the black ink on the berries on the stamp because I wanted them to be really red". 

"I used 3 colours of pastels for around the edges, leaving my top piece of paper on til the pastel part is complete. I scribbled in different areas around the opening close to the edge with a lime green, leaf green and a red pastel. I used a different finger between colours so they pastels don't get all muddy, I rubbed and smooshed the colours and blended the hard edges to soften them and blended into the next colour beside it. I then wiped most of it carefully away with a tissue so the paper is actually stained with the colours of the pastels. I then removed my window piece". 

"I then took some pencil crayons and coloured in the holly leaves and I used a Sharpie red marker to really make the berries stand out. I also added a bit of grey pastel to the right side of each bird to give them a 3-dimensional look. I took a black sharpie fine tip marker to go over the stamped holly leaves and circle the berries and a white gel pen to line the top of the branches for a bit of snow".

Awesome work Lesley! So much depth in just the one layer!

Keep those entries coming! :)

~Sarah~

Classy black and silver.

Hello stampers!

Boy it's hot here at the moment! I am very jealous of all you lucky international players that are experiencing snow at this time of year!

Today's entry was sent in by Jenene Evans:

Jenene says:

"For my card I have stamped onto black card a tree from Stampin Up, text by Dark Room Door, and stars (not sure who by), all with silver ink, and just a little bling, a snowflake eyelet with a tiny diamond, the black card is mounted on white card".

Lovely work Jenene!

A big thank you goes out to Aisling (Julie Haelemeersch) for nominating me for a "My blog has Attitude" Award. Much appreciated!

I've also had quite a few nice emails from you guys lately saying such lovely things - it really makes my day when I hear that you are loving the challenges and appreciate all the hard work that goes into this blog, so thank you from the bottom of my heart! It makes it all worth while when I know that you're all enjoying yourselves! :)

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

A card and a tag!

Hello stampers!

I have 2 new One Layer Wonders to share with you today!

First up is a card that was sent in by Belinda Spencer:

Belinda says:

"For my entry I started by stamping the Darkroom Door Plaid Background Stamp randomly over some DD Meadow patterned paper using Antique Linen, Weathered Wood and Forest Moss Distress Inks. Next I stamped the DD French Script Background Stamp with Opaque White Staz On. I wasn't happy how that turned out so stamped again using Fired Brick Distress Ink. Then I stamped a Tattered Angels Flourish Stamp over the top with Bundled Sage Distress Ink". 


"I then stamped a DD Seashell with Jet Black StazOn, coloured in parts with a white crayon and then rubbed over some Antique Linen and Weathered Wood Distress Inks. Then I flicked some Sand and Marshmallow Glimmermist across the surface. I used some more stamps from the DD Seashells set but this time heat embossed them with black embossing powder. I used a Prima Clear Stamp to apply the sentiment in black StazOn and then distressed the edges and inked with Lightning Black Brilliance Ink. To finish I tied some string with a metal charm on and stuck down on a Bazzill base".

Fabulous work Belinda!

Next we have a tag that was sent in by Mim:

Supplies - Darkroom Door stamp set (Christmas Reindeer), Colormates card stock, Velvet ribbon, Tim Holtz Die, Jones Tones foil, glue pen, Faber-Castell texta markers, Versafine Red Satin ink.

Mim says:

"Some masking, a little embossing powder and a tiny red nose done using the foiling technique. To stamp the reindeer, I coloured him in with markers and then spritzed him with a little water before stamping".

Great work Mim!

If you're after some ideas for jazzing up your envelopes when you send out your Christmas cards, pop over to my blog and check out my Christmas Mail Art! It's lots of fun to do and to receive - you're sure to put a smile on the recipient's face! :)

~Sarah~

Our first One Layer Wonder!

Hello stampers!

Our first One Layer Wonder entry was sent in by Maureen from the UK:

Maureen says:

"I used a Lavinia tree stamp and my ink dusters with Faded Jeans distress ink. The sentiment is from Butterfly Kisses. There is a white card base under the stamped layer".

Lovely work Maureen!

Keep those entries coming stampers!

~Sarah~

Gothic Arch Challenge #24 - MUSIC!

Welcome to our very last theme in the Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge! I can't believe it's December already - where did the year go?

Our 24th and final theme is......

MUSIC!

Your task is to create a music themed Gothic arch!

Here are some ideas:

* Use old sheet music on your arch.
* Use a stamp that features music notes or a famous musician.
* Use the lyrics to your favourite song on your arch.
* Use magazine photos of your favourite musician on your arch.
* Use pieces of musical instruments on your arch (guitar strings, plectrums, reeds, piano wire, etc).

Most of all - have fun with it!

Here is Fiona's gorgeous sample arch:

Products used:

Stamps – Stampers Anonymous ‘sheet music’, Magenta ‘Victorian Angels collage music'.
Distress Ink – Victorian Velvet, Aged Mahogany, Black Soot.
Black archival ink and versacolor gold ink.
Other – glue dots, Imaginisce ‘go for baroque’ rubon, kindyglitz crystalline and black artline pen, white cardstock.

Fiona says:

"Arch cut out of white, stamped music score in aged mahogany, and inked the edges in Victorian velvet and aged mahogany, and added the little black rubon to the very top. The Victorian Angels stamp was stamped several times in black archival ink, and cut out in many different sections in ‘paper tole’ fashion. The sections were coloured with Victorian velvet and aged mahogany and mounted up using glue dots for dimension". 

"The frame part of the stamp was trimmed out, inked in aged mahogany and black soot, edge distressed with my fingernail (the distresser was too much for the flimsy frame, and I had greater control with my nail). I dragged across the gold ink just to give it a more antique feel. I trimmed the frame where it fell off the arch on all corners except one, then attached my centre paper tole section back inside it’s frame. A little kindy glitz to the wings and fine black outline to the arch to finish".

Please join me in extending a HUGE THANK YOU to Fiona for sharing her wonderful arches with us as examples for the last 3+ months - it has been a pleasure seeing your work and sharing it with everyone here on the blog! THANK YOU FIONA!!!

OK stampers - now it's your turn!

Upload your Music Gothic Arch to our dedicated Flickr group - and while you're there, don't forget to check out the other gorgeous arches in the gallery - there are now over 320 of them! Way to go guys!

Don't forget - there's still plenty of time to catch up on all your arches - the deadline for all the arches in the challenge is midnight 31st December 2010 and anyone who completes all 24 arches will go in the draw to win an awesome prize - I've just confirmed the sponsor and am sorting out the prize at the moment - as soon as it's finalised I'll let you know what it is! :)

If you'd like more information about our 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge, check out the details here.

Please note that the Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge is in addition to our regular monthly challenges here on the blog. :)

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR DECEMBER 2010 IS.........

ONE LAYER WONDERS!


Your task is to create a card using  just one layer of paper for your stamping.

I thought we could have a nice and easy challenge this month, seeing as how we're all going to be really busy with all things festive! So here's what I want you to do:

* Use just one layer of paper or cardstock for your stamping! (Does not include your base card - see my example).
* You can use as many layers of ink as you wish! 
* You can use as many different stamps as your heart desires!
* Your card doesn't have to be Christmas themed - but feel free to use the challenge to get your Chrissy cards done!
* No extra layers of paper are allowed! Just one layer of inky goodness!
* Small embellishments can be added.

Here is my example:

My layer is a piece of white Basic Grey patterned paper. I stamped the Darkroom Door Flourish Background stamp onto it using Shabby Shutters Distress Ink, and then inked around the edges using the same colour and my TH Ink blending tool.

Next I stamped the flying Reindeer (from the Darkroom Door "Reindeer" stamp set) 3 times directly over the flourish background using Timber Brown Stazon. I added a red brad for Rudolph's nose.

Next I stamped the phrase "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" (from the Darkroom Door "Yuletide Vol 2" stamp set) in the bottom right hand corner using Barn Door Distress ink.

I inked around the layer using Walnut Stain Distress ink, and then adhered my stamped layer to the Bazzill cardstock card base.

Voila! A quick and simple Christmas card design that can easy be replicated if you need to make lots of them!

Now it's your turn!

Because I was late posting this month's challenge, and because it's unlikely I will be able to post a new challenge on the 1st of next month, entries are due by Midnight 4th January 2011 (AEDST) to be eligible for one of the prizes on offer from our sponsors! Entries must comply with the challenge details and the participation guidelines set out in the sidebar to the right. If you have any questions, please let me know!

I can't wait to see what you guys create!

Happy stamping!

~Sarah~

The final Shabby Chic Christmas entries!

Hi stampers!

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday, so here are the final entries in our Shabby Chic Christmas challenge! Get comfy - there's lots of lovely eye candy!

First we have a hanging Christmas pocket that was created by Jenxo:

Jen says:

"I've stamped with TH Pumice Stone distress ink, Fiskars Harlequin stamp, and then TH Black Soot in a script stamp. Inked around the edges and gessoed areas to make the image stand out more".

"Lots of Kindyglitz, sewn to felt and embellished. They dont take long to make and best thing is they are using upsome of my never ending stash!".

Gorgeous work Jen!

Next we have this altered Match Box that was created by Jenny Rodda:

Jenny says:

"I have been wanting to make one of these little covered match boxes for some time now and so this challenge was the perfect motivation. The papers are all from the gorgeous Bella Christmas range and the tree stamp is from 'Stamp It Australia'. The image is from 'Tumble Fish Studio' and her wings have been coated with glossy accents to make them stand out and add some dimension - and I was lucky enough to find a Christmas postage stamp in my stash from 1984".

"The little drawer has a press stud knob. The inside has been lined with paper - so much fun to make and I can't wait to fill it to the brim with some deliciousness!".

Beautiful work Jenny!

Next we have this card that was created by Giovanna from Italy:

Gio says:

"I sprayed a white cardstock with a stencil and pink Shimmerz Vibez. I stamped the baubles by Elusive Images with pink and purple ink. I sewed two pieces of hand painted fabric (a little bit stuffed) to make the trees. I used the loose threads to put some beads and metallic charms. I glued the bottons coloured with alcohol-ink, and added some demi-pearls".

Lovely work Gio!

Next up is a card that was created by Shirley Henry:

Shirley says:

"This cute Santa from Darkroom Door Yultide collection was inked in Brushed Corduroy distress ink onto white scrap card. Edges inked with Vintage Photo distress ink. Blue/cream background pattern paper is from Collections 'Shabby Chic' 6x6 paper pack. This was sponged with Vintage Photo distress ink before attaching to folded white card".

"Blue ribbon and white pearls (in lace) from Stampin Up! Flowers from Prima were white. Two of the flowers sprayed lightly with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist 'Coffee Shop'. Two other white flowers lightly sponged on edges with Brushed Corduroy distress ink. Blue flocked brads for flower centres.
'Seasons Greetings' from Scrapmats was coloured with sky blue gelly pen. Hard to see the lovely blue shimmer in this photo!".

Gorgeous work Shirley!

Next we have a card that was created by Inkurable Youngster Emily Shultz:

Emily says:

"I used "Oh Joy!" papers. The puzzle piece was made with a sizzix die, stamped with various christmas stamps and distress inked. The tim holtz music stamp is fast becoming one of my favourites! Twine and cotton tied with a charm around the puzzle pieces (each mounted) and Darkroom Door Christmas wordstrip phrases finished it off".

Beautiful work Emily!

And last but not least we have this card that was created by Jan Smith from the UK:

Jan says:

"I used some papers from my stash, which I've zig-zagged stiched around the edges and distressed with Rangers 'peeled paint'. I used (Magnolia) skating Edwin & Tilda Stamp - coloured with various promarkers (die-cut mounted and distressed). I added lots of cluny lace, crochet doilies & flower, paper poinsetta flowers & holly leaves (distressed), buttons, ribbons and a sweet little gold snowflake charm".

Lovely work Jan!

Well, that officially brings our Shabby Chic Christmas challenge to a close! Thank you to everyone who gave the challenge a go! I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple of sponsors as to what the prizes for this month's challenge are, but as soon as I do I'll announce the winners! :)

Stay tuned for Decembers theme! :)

~Sarah~