Catching up with entries!

Hi stampers!

I was busy celebrating my very own Golden Birthday over the weekend, so I didn't get a chance to hop on the blog and post the new entries! So please bear with me for the next few days while I catch up with things! It's back to school time here - my daughter went back today and my son's first day of school is tomorrow! My baby!! I think I'll need the tissues in the morning!!

Anyway, onto the entries!!

First we have this card that was sent in by Laurence Schmitz from Belgium:

Laurence says:

"I tore out a page from a old book and adhered the pieces on my background. I added gesso randomly and when dried painted the backbround with watercolor. Then I stamped the card with a mini stamp from Paper Artsy". 


"The square was stamped on a separate sheet of kraft and heat embossed with black powder, then cut it out. I stamped 2 birds, the small one is heat embossed with gold embossing powder (but doesn't show well on the picture). The word from my sheet of clear stamps (Heidi Grace) reads "happy day" and I added "birth" to read "happy birthday". I finally stamped distressed stripes with a newly realeased stamp by Infinimentscrap. It is embossed with gold embossing powder as well".

Gorgeous card Laurence!

Next we have this ATC that was sent in by Fiona Shultz:

Fiona says:

"I have gone with an artsy feel to my ATC. The gold appears in the crown courtesy of some gold perfect pearls. The background is a mix of Victorian Velvet distress inks, and acrylic paints in rose garden, black and pearl white. The stamps are Stampotique for the girl (made up from 2 stamps – moth fab and newt), Tim Holtz French Market for the crown, Darkroom Door Paris Collection for the lamps and Darkroom Door Essentials 3 for the word ‘queen’, and Hero Arts friends definition for the little word ‘party’".

"A little sewing, a few lines and spots using black artliner and white gel pen finish it off, with the girl coloured in using a cotton bud and Victorian Velvet ink".

Awesome work Fiona!

Next we have this card that was sent in by Karen Daley from Canada:

Karen says:

"The main image (Fred B Mullett) and birthday wishes (A Muse) are stamped and embossed in gold on a background of Spanish Script (Cornish Heritage Farms) stamped in Memories Soft Gold. This is matted on gold, with an antique gold corner (Tim Holtz). The card base is soft green tsumugi cardstock, and also stamped with the same wild raspberry leaf, but in versamark this time. I used some tissue tape for accent along the fold, as well as a strip of textured plum paper, and some dimensional pearls to finish off the card".

So lovely Karen!

Next is a card that was sent in by Julie Ranae from the USA:

Julie says:

"A birthday card which includes the use of gold made me reach immediately for these wonderful EK Success 3-D stickers. The gold glittered center of this cake is perfect! I also embossed the bottom of this beautiful gold shimmer paper with a sweet heart from Sizzix".

"No cake is complete without a little icing, so I used some of my favorite trim in white and pink and added pearls at the top".

So pretty Julie!!

Well, that's it for today! You still have until midnight tonight (Sydney time) to get your entry in - that's only 2 hours away!!

Thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes! I had a ball! Oh and one of the coolest things? A video message from none other than Tim Holtz wishing me a Happy Birthday!! All thanks to my new boss who's over at CHA at the moment (with her iPhone!)! SO AWESOME!!!

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

Yay! Some new entries!

Hi everyone!

It's been a bit quiet around here lately! But I am pleased to be sharing 2 new entries today! :)

First we have this card that was sent in by Cristina Comas from Spain:

Cristina says:

"My inspiration for this card has been the golden blonde from the golden Hollywood".

"To make the background I have used texture fades flourishes by Tim Holtz, which I have painted with vintage photo and tea dye Distress Ink, and inka gold by Viva Decor. Text has been made with a Hampton Arts stamp and golden Zing embossing powder. Flowers are Prima's, altered with clear UTEE, perfect pearls gold and inka gold. The embellishments are Toga's painted with Ranger alcohol ink gold".

Gorgeous work Cristina!

Next we have this card that was sent in by Jenny Rodda:

Jenny says:

"The base of my card was painted in aqua. The background then stamped with circles (Fontwerks) and gold ink. More gold in the dingo on the stamp, the gold dress, and the bird". 

"I also stamped the birdcage, crown and the word party (all Lost and Found) in black and covered the branch and bracket with paper".

Lovely work Jenny!

OK stampers - there's only a few more days to get your entries in, so make sure you make some time this weekend to get inky!

It's still school holidays here, so it's been hard to get to the computer very often. Just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about the prizes for the 2010 Gothic Arch challenge - I will share them and announce the winners over the weekend! :)

~Sarah~

So so so so cool!

Hello stampers!

Today's entry was sent in by Jenene Evans:

From Jenene:

‘A Rare Golden Winged Butterfly for Sarah’s Golden Birthday’ 

"First I stamped the licence plate with 'Autumn Leaves’ stamp using black embossing powder. Then rubbed Poppy Parade ink by ‘Stampin’ Up’ around edges. ‘Golden Birthday’ text by ‘Darkroom Door’ Alphabet set. ‘Sarah’ text stamped in Poppy Parade ink with ‘Artsy ABC’ ‘Hot of the Press’ stamp. The butterfly stamp by ‘Pink paislee’ has been stamped with Tim Holtz Black Soot Distress Ink. I then stamped again on another piece of card & cut out the butterfly, then used dimensional sticker to adhere to licence, the wings of the butterfly I painted with Pearlescent Autumn Gold paint, then a light coat of Crystal glitter paint".

So cool! And what's even more exciting is that it arrived in my letterbox the other day - in a gold envelope no less! Sweeeeeeet!! Thanks so much Jenene!

Now onto other news!

Details of my first class under the "Scissors, Paper, Ink" banner have just been announced! Go here to check out the details and see a sneak peek. Lots of inky stampy goodness. And don't worry if you don't live locally - there are kits available for purchase as well. :)

Oh, and stay tuned to my blog today for some other exciting news! :)

Happy Saturday! :)

~Sarah~

*** WINNERS FOR DECEMBER 2010! ***

Hi stampers!

It's time to announce the winners of last month's One Layer Wonders challenge!

We had 19 entries last month, and of that 19, 11 were from Australia and 8 were international.

Let's take a look at all of the lovely entries here:

Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter in such a busy month for us all! You all did a fabulous job!

Go here to see the pics of the prizes.

Now onto the lucky winners!!

MAJOR PRIZE (Aus only):

ROBYN WOOD! Such a beautiful card - loved the colouring and simple embellishments. You have won a $30 gift voucher from The Stamping Queen!

INKURABLE NEWBIE PRIZE (Aus only):

BELINDA SPENCER! You have won the funky 7Gypsies Steampunk stamp set, courtesy of Tarisota Collections! Welcome to Inkurable! :)

INKURABLE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE:

JULIE HAELEMEERSCH of BELGIUM! I just loved the way you combined halloween with Christmas cards! You have won one of the new background stamps of your choice, courtesy of Darkroom Door!

Congratulations ladies!


Enjoy your new goodies!

~Sarah~

More entries!

Hello stampers!

I have 2 new entries to share with you today!

First we have this card that was created by Deborah March from Canada:

Deborah says:

"I used an Art Journey sentiment stamp, stamped with Ancient Page grey ink, and an Art Journey dancer stamp, stamped with Versafine Coal Black ink, layered over gold mirri cardstock. The white embossed lace doily stamp is from Hero Arts".

Lovely work Deborah!

Next we have this card that was sent in by Mim:

Supplies - Darkroom Door Floral Background stamp, Robot stamp set, Fiskars Fabric Texture plate, Craft-T Metallic Rub-Ons, Cuttlebug Funky Circles Frames, SU Chocolate Chip cardstock, metallic paper, PSX Gold Embossing Powder, MM brads.

Great work Mim!

Keep the entries coming!

~Sarah~

Golden Birdies!

Hi stampers!

I have some more lovely entries to share!

First we have this card that was sent in by Belinda Spencer:

Belinda says:

"I have had this little golden bird on a branch (by Making Memories) burning a hole in my stash for quite a while now. This challenge couldn't have been more perfect, so the bird was my starting point. I first created a background by inking up some white cardstock with Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks. Next I sprayed it with Vintage Pink Glimmermist to create a lovely shimmer".

"Then I stamped the Darkroom Door Splatter Background Stamp over the top using Aged Mahogany. I used a Tattered Angels Flourish Stamp inked up with Timber Brown Staz On over the top. The cream coloured florishes were stamped with a chalk ink onto transparency and then cut out before sticking down on the card. I heat embossed a Dusty Attic chippie flourish with gold embossing powder. I also used the same embossing powder on the leaves. To finish, I added the little gold birdie, a Prima rose and the sentiment before layering onto some dark brown card and then onto the pink card base".

Gorgeous work Belinda!

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

Shirley says:

"Background sponged with distress inks Tumbled Glass and Pumice Stone. Masked a sun with a negative circle in Mustard Seed distress ink. Stamped twigs from Tim Holtz creative textures collection in tea dye distress ink. Birds nest from Darkroom Door Love birds set stamped in Bundled Sage. Eggs in nest coloured with gold smooch".

"My favorite branch from Darkroom Door Yuletide VOL2 set stamped first in Bundled Sage, then overstamped in Crushed Olive. Bird from Hero Arts Two Birds cling set stamped in More Mustard and cut out. Used sponge dauber to add more colour to bird with same ink and Wild Honey. Black pearl for eye. Bird mounted with foam tape".

"'Celebrate' from Darkroom Door All Occasions set stamped in More Mustard on an oval die from a Quickutz set (Santa`s Workshop). Oval was sponged with dauber in Bundled Sage, two gold rhinestones added and then attached with foam tape. More Mustard sponged around edges of panel. Attached to folded white card".

Lovely work Shirley!

Keep sending in those entries stampers!

~Sarah~

Our first Golden Birthday entry.

Hello stampers!

Our first Golden Birthday entry was sent in by Valerie from the UK:

Valerie says:

"I used a square base card and stamped and gold embossed daisies at an angle along the card edge and cut round them so that I could place a strip of gold mirri card behind. The stamp was Carole's cube by Judikins. I stamped and embossed two more daisies and layered them up with a gold heart brad. The tag was double embossed with gold metal magic and the sentiment from Hobby Art debossed into it. I put yellow gems in the centre of the daisies and around the card. Finally, I gold embossed a hummingbird stamp by Rubber Stampede and attached it with foam pads".

Lovely work Valerie!

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

QLD Floods:

My heart goes out to all the many thousands of people that are being affected by the devastating floods in Queensland. So far 10 people have died, 90+ are missing, and the damages are estimated in the billions of dollars. I cry every time I see the news. I hope all my QLD and northern NSW readers and your families are safe, and am thinking of you all.

If, like me, you're watching the news feeling helpless and wondering what you can do to help, the following links may be useful to you:

* Queensland Premier's Flood Relief Appeal.
* Salvation Army Flood Relief Appeal.

Make sure you only donate to reputable official relief funds - unfortunately there have been some scams operating. The above 2 links are the official sites.

Crafters have also been banding together to help:

* Sharryn Thompson's "Memory Gift" appeal.
* Your Creative Journey - Silent Auction for QLD Flood Victims.

If you know of any other crafters doing good things to lend a hand, please leave a link in the comments. :)

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR JANUARY 2011 IS.....

Have you ever heard the term "Golden Birthday" before? Don't worry - I hadn't until recently!

Your "Golden Birthday" is when you turn the same age as the date of your birth. For example, when someone is born on the 25th and they turn 25, that is their Golden Birthday. Unfortunately, if you're born in the first half of the month, you've probably already had your Golden Birthday and not known it. I, on the other hand, am born at the end of the month - this month to be exact - and will be celebrating my Golden Birthday this year! Wooot! So I thought I'd be a little self indulgent and create this month's theme around the Golden Birthday concept! (Because if you can't be self indulgent on your birthday, then when can you?! LOL!!).

So - your task for this month is to create a birthday themed project - and you must use gold somewhere on your creation!

You can create whatever you like - cards, ATC's, scrapbook pages, whatever takes your fancy! As long as you don't forget to use at least one stamp on your project. :)

You could use gold ink, gold paper, gold brads, a gold coloured embellishment - the possibilities are endless!

Entries are due by midnight 31st 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'm so excited to see what you guys come up with! :)

Now go forth and get inky!

~Sarah~

The last One Layer Wonders!

Hello stampers!

Just a few last One Layer Wonders to share, which came in before deadline last night. :)

First we have this card that was sent in by Karen Dimmock:

Karen says:

"I have used some Stampin' Up Choc Chip and Whisper White cardstock along with one of their fairly new stamps sets, Artistic Etchings. I used one of the stamps first with some Tim Holtz Milled Lavender distress ink, then sponged some of the same ink around the edges of the Whisper White card, then some Vintage Photo distress ink. I used some SU Early Espresso ink to stamp the Eiffel Tower, and one of the crowns and the Happy Birthday, which I also embossed. I stamped the crowns in the Milled Lavender which I also embossed. I used some of the Early Espresso to sponge around the edge of the card. To finish off I have added some bling and some ribbon".

Lovely work Karen! That colour combo is so scrumptious!

Next we have this card that was sent in by Ros Crichton:

Ros says:

"I stamped SU french flair with brown stazon onto gloss white paper. After letting it dry I sanded vertically and then horizontally until the paper had lost its gloss. Then I sponged over with SU Pumpkin Pie and Tim Holtz Distress Antique Linen and when dry I sanded it again. Next I sprayed water over and sponged off some of the ink drying it thoroughly with the heat gun and finally sanded again. Stamped the Darkroom Door Art de Fleur image and sentiment with brown stazon. Distressed the edges and attached some copper tape ( I think its usually used for stained glass windows) and fashioned a rosette flower with a bit of bling. Finally I attached it to lime green card stock".

Great work Ros! The copper is such a nice touch!

Finally, we have this card that was sent in by Shirley Henry:

Shirley says:

"I stamped fence (Stampotique) and tree from Tim Holtz Winter Sketchbook collection in watermark and versafine black inks. I then clear embossed. Bird cage, small bird and owl (Stampin Up! Aviary set) stamped with versafine black ink".

"I masked a moon with a punched circle and sponged distress inks over background. Colors used were Stormy sky, tumbled glass, weathered wood, and pumice stone. I also sponged Pumice stone on edges of card. Sentiment and flying bird (Darkroom Door Love birds set) stamped in versafine black. Attached to folded white card".

Fabbo work Shirley! I love how you've used stamps from so many different companies and they all work together so well!

Well stampers, that's officially the end of our One Layer Wonder Challenge! 

Stay tuned for the new challenge which will be revealed this evening!

~Sarah~

Happy New Year!

Hello stampers! Happy New Year!

I hope you're all ready for a fabulous year ahead!

Our One Layer Wonder challenge ends at midnight tonight, so there's still time to get an entry in if you want to!!

I have quite a few new entries to share, so let's get on with it!

First we have this card that was sent in by Karen Daley of Canada:

Karen says:

"The fish stamp (Fred B Mullett) was coloured with Tombow markers and stamped three times (re-colouring each time). The star fish (Michael Strong) is stamped in wild honey distress ink, as are the water ripples and "coral", both from the Gemstones cube (Stampendous). The fan coral is a Coronado Island stamp. The crowns (Stampin' Up & Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous) are stamped in distress ink and the sentiment is by Cornish Heritage Farms. There are a few little embellishments: glossy accents on the eyes, distress stickles on the sand and star, and liquid pearl bubbles".

Great work Karen! Love the "3 Wise Fish"! LOL!

Next we have this card from Laurence Schmitz from Belgium:

Laury says:

"I stamped first the text on a cream cardstock and covered this part with drawing gum to protect it from ink. I added torn pieces of masking tape around the edges and small drops of drawing gum. When the drawing gum was dried, I sprayed ink in green, antique linen and walnut, sponged the edges and around the masking tape. When dried, I removed the tape and rubbed the drawing gum, outlined the uncoloured part of the card with a black pen. I stamped the Xmas tree with versafine sepia and heat embossed stars with ivory embossing powder. (stamps: crafty individuals, see D's, studio g)".

Very cool Laury! What an awesome technique!

Next we have an ATC that was sent in by Jenny Rodda:

Jenny says:

"For this little ATC, I used the blending brush and Tim Holtz 'Shabby Shutters', 'Spiced Marmalade' and 'Broken China' distress inks to create the background. From my 'Bathing Beauties' set, I stamped the beach girl in TH 'Vintage Photo' distress ink and the text in black. I inked the edges of the card in black and added a tiny TH game spinner as my embellishment".

Lovely work Jenny! I just love the vintage look!

Keeping with the beachy theme is this card by Robyn Wood:

Robyn says:

"I used the Darkroom Door Seashells stamp set from the Seaside Collection. Firstly the background was lightly sponged with tumbled glass distress ink. The shells were then stamped with Versamark & embossed with clear powder. The cardstock was again sponged with distress inks – this time using broken china & chipped sapphire as well as a bit of tumbled glass".

"Excess ink on the embossing was removed with a tissue. The word was stamped with black Brilliance & embossed with clear powder. The small stars were highlighted with dots from a white gel pen. The card was finished with some webby stuff and a bit of recycled twine and then mounted onto a card base".

Lovely work Robyn - I can just feel the cool sea water!!

And last but not least we have this card that was sent in by Lynne Quinn:

Lynne says:

"Stamped Hero Arts stamp first in white on black card than embossed in white. I then stamped the same stamp in black on white card and embossed in black. I cut out both stamped images, put together, then cut in half and swapped the pieces so I had one black one white stuck together. I distressed with Red Ink around the edges, and added a black spot flower and Large spotty Brad from Kaszazz".

Nice work Lynne! Love that colour combo!

Thanks ladies!

I have a really fun challenge lined up for January, so make sure you check back tomorrow for the reveal! 

I've got lots of exciting things in store for 2011 - I hope you'll all continue to join me on this journey!!

~Sarah~