Lovely new bookmarks!

Hello again stampers!

I'm here to share 2 new bookmarks with you today!

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

Laurence says:

"The background is made with scraps of scrapbooking paper, gesso and watercolor. I used a bottlecap to stamp circles with acrylic paint and I used the stamp "enjoy the journey" with distress ink for a distressed look". 

"The quote is stamped and heat embossed to pop out (stamp by Tim Holz). I cut out the butterfly and adhered it on my background".

Gorgeous work Laury!

Next up we have 2 lovely bookmarks that were created by Giovanna from Italy:

Gio says:

"I took a piece of cardstock and I glued it to a piece of muslin. I embossed it with my Cuttlepasta. I coloured the embossed fabric with distress ink. For the little frame, I cut an oval from an old book page, I gessoed it and stamped with a cat image from a plate by Stampingback. I attached to the bookmark along with metallic charms".

"The second one is a little collage plus the text 'Imagine' by Creative Expressions Stamp".

Lovely work Gio!!

Well that's it from me for today!

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

How to Help those Affected by the New Zealand Earthquake.

I am so devastated to see the news of the Earthquake in Christchurch, NZ. Its absolutely heartbreaking, and I've had to stop myself from watching the news, otherwise I'd be sitting there in tears all day.

Please - if you're a NZ Inkurable, leave us a comment to let us know that you're safe. :)

If you'd like to help out in some way, here are some ideas:

* Donate to the Australian Red Cross New Zealand Earthquake 2011 Appeal to assist with the disaster relief. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

The funds raised through the New Zealand Earthquake 2011 appeal will be used to:

• Provide earthquake affected communities with emergency relief and recovery assistance
• Send specialist aid workers to assist in relief and recovery operations
• Support the work of New Zealand Red Cross in assisting people affected by this disaster.

* Donate directly to the "New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal" to support those affected by the recent Christchurch earthquake.

All funds will be used towards the New Zealand Red Cross response to the disaster, including transport and provision of goods.

Donations to this appeal can be made to:

• Online at www.redcross.org.nz/donate
• By cheque to: New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal, Freepost 232690, PO Box 12140, Thorndon, Wellington 6144.
• By Direct Credit Transfer to their Special Appeal Bank Account: Kiwibank 38-9009-0759479-00 and the account name is RED CROSS.
• By Direct Credit Transfer to their Special Appeals Bank Account: ASB 12-3192-0015998-02
• At any branch of PostShop Kiwibank, ASB and ANZ bank.

* Crafters are getting together again for an online auction to raise funds for those affected. Louise Williams is gathering donations of goods and artworks to auction off. 

You can help by donating items, or bidding on something that you'd like. Check out the Facebook group for all the details. 

I think I speak for everybody when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with you, New Zealand. xxx

~Sarah~

2010 Gothic Arch Challenge - Wrap Up Part 1.

Hello stampers!

Last year we ran the Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge. There were 24 themes over the year and participants created Gothic Arch shaped artworks according to each theme. We have more than 400 gorgeous artworks in our Gothic Arch Challenge Flickr Pool from many different artists!

As you can imagine with that much gorgeous artwork, it's going to take more than just one blog post to wrap things up! So over the next week I am going to share the prizes, winners, as well as my fave arches and honourable mentions. So stay tuned to the blog for all the fun!

Today I'm going to share the prizes that are up for grabs from our fabulous friends at Crafty Individuals.

From the start I said that there would be one random winner drawn from all those participants that completed all 24 arches by the due date. However, because there is so much gorgeousness in the gallery, and you all worked so hard on the challenges, I have decided that as well as that main prize, I will award prizes to my favourite complete set of arches, and my favourite individual arch. So here's what the lucky prize winners will get:

RANDOM WINNER:

One lucky stamper who completed all of their arches by the deadline will score themselves the following fabulous goodies:

* A 6x6" 24 page pack of Background Papers - "Travels In Italy":

* 1 x Rubber Stamp Set CI286:

* 1 x Rubber Stamp Set CI292:

* 1 x Rubber Stamp Set CI293:

* 1 x Rubber Stamp CI288:

Whoever wins is sure to have lots of inky fun with that lot!!

MY FAVOURITE SET OF ARCHES:

The person who's complete set of arches is my favourite will win themselves the following goodies:

* 1 x Rubber Stamp Set CI294:

* 1 x Rubber Samp CI296:

MY FAVOURITE SINGLE ARCH:

It will be oh-so-hard to pick, but the creator of my single most favourite arch will win themselves this lovely stamp set:

* 1 x Rubber Stamp set CI287:

What an awesome selection of prizes! A HUGE thank you goes out to our awesome prize sponsors and very good friends of the blog, CRAFTY INDIVIDUALS. You guys ROCK!

Now I have the ultra hard task of picking my faves! I'll be back in a few days to share the lucky winners.

Come back tomorrow to see more gorgeous bookmarks from our current bookmark challenge. :)

~Sarah~

Another bookmark!

Hello stampers!

Today's entry was sent in by Lizzy Hill:

Lizzy says:

"It's a bookmark for my friend's birthday, hence the 'friends' stamp & sentiment. She's a lover of that shabby-chic look, which I've tried to go for. I love sponging backgrounds, and went to town here a fair bit with lots of my Stampin' Up stamps - but they seemed to fit what I wanted to achieve".


"The stamps are from SU's 'Vintage Vogue' and 'Artistic Etching' sets. The inks I have used are 'Bordering Blue' & 'Soft sky' (I used both for the tag, sponging them on top of each other), along with SU's 'Vintage Ink Spot' in 'blue' for the 'F' stamp. All the punches are from Stampin' Up".

"The brown inks are SU 'Soft Suede' for the sentiment & on the scallop edges, but I love the effect of the Versamagic 'Sahara Sand' on the background medallions. I also used Stazon 'Timber Brown' for the sponged background & on the tag".

Here is the back:

Lovely work Lizzy!

Stay tuned for the wrap-up of the 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge. :)

~Sarah~

New bookmarks!

Hi stampers!

I've got 2 new entries to share with you today!

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

Vicky says:

"I started by cutting the leather to size, I then applied some white acrylic paint, and when dried, I stamped the following stamps using Archival Ink (jet black) masking as required: Victoria's Secret "art definition", Cats life Press "the answer...", Basic Grey "to do" clear stamps, and an oldie clear stamp from Studio Astarte "reading". I then trimmed both edges with an Alterations Die".

"I  got a domino sized Stampbord piece and a 1" piece and covered them both with StaZon inks in the following colours: rusty brown, mustard, blazing red, and timber brown. The images are from Darkroom Door stamps, and were stamped using StaZon ink in black".

"I then highlighted the images by scratching the tiles, and sealed them with a coating of Dimensional Magic. The silver chain was salvaged out of a bag of broken/tangled jewellery which my daughter was throwing away a while ago".

Gorgeous work Vicky!

Next we have a pair of bookmarks that was sent in by Emily Shultz:

Emily says:

"I made a set of two "puzzle piece" bookmarks for my dad for this challenge. Other then a load of measuring, I stamped, punched, and stitched to make the bookmarks. I used papers from the "Wanted" collection by Cosmo Cricket along with matching cardstock". 

"The stamps were from a few different stamp sets, but the hand is by Cherry Pie Art Stamps and the words are mostly from Tim Holtz and Kaisercraft sets".

Great work Emily!

I don't know about you, but I am LOVING all the different types of bookmarks and seeing everyone's creativity shine!

Have a great weekend!

~Sarah~

Children's Book Sale!

Seeing as how we're focusing on bookmarks this month, I thought I'd share this!

It's here on the Central Coast, but it's well worth the drive from Sydney or Newcastle if you're looking for books for your kids or to give as presents. :)

I'll be back shortly with more new entries!

~Sarah~

More beautiful Bookmarks!!

Hello everyone!

I'm back with some more lovely bookmarks to share!

First we have this bookmark that was created by Rein from Germany:

Rein says:

"The background is coloured with distress inks. Stamp is by Paper Artsy. Birds in the sky stamp unknown".

Very pretty Rein!

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

Products Used - Darkroom Door Artist, Mail Art and Robot stamp sets, Criss Cross background, Tim Holtz sentiment stamp, PSX alphabet stamp, EK Success circle paper shaper, Twinkling H20's, Distress inks, Tim Holtz edge die, MM brads and ribbons.

Mim says:

"This bookmark is for me to use in my art book, so I wanted an arty theme. I began by stamping some metallic lime green cardstock with the background stamp and ink splotches and then added some colour with some Twinkling H2O's. The sentiment was stamped by colouring with markers and then I inked all the edges with Distress ink and the blender tool before attaching it with tape and stamping on the groovy staples. Then I added some circle stamps, which were again coloured with the shimmery watercolour and my name using an alphabet stamp and circle punch. The bookmark was finished with a die cut along the top edge, before adding some eyelets and ribbons".

Great work Mim!

Finally we have this bookmark card that was created by Marianne Verschoof from The Netherlands:

Here's the front of the card:

and when you open up the card you find a bookmark inside:

Marianne says:

"I made a card with a bookmark attached. There is a punched line so you can easily rip off the bookmark, and the card stays in tact. I made the diamonds background with a template I cut, and then sponged. There are some words all over the card that for me has to do with reading like: Joy, adventure, discover, explore, enjoy every day. The snake and the mouse are colored with copics, and the glasses are glazed".

Check out Marianne's awesome copic colouring:

Fabulous work Marianne!

Well, that's it from me for today! Keep those gorgeous entries coming!

~Sarah~

Beautiful Bookmarks!

Hello stampers!

Can you believe - I've already got some Bookmark challenge entries to share!! And they are so cool I nearly fell off my chair. This is going to be an awesome challenge I can feel it!!

First we have this bookmark that was sent in by Fiona Shultz:

Fiona says:

"I chose a corner bookmark as I’ve always wanted to make one of these. The papers are from Kaisercraft, but I don’t know which range. The background is made on a separate piece of patterned paper, stamped with HeroArts ‘friends definition’ stamp in black archival ink. Edged in Black Soot Distress Ink and sewn on to corner book mark, catching in some white lace".

"The other stamps are Stampotique ‘Newt with Lunch Box’ and ‘Welcome Door’, and Paper Artsy ‘hot pick 1004’. They were stamped on scrap white c/stock and trimmed out – the words edged in black ink. I attached these to my bookmark, and used a black Artline pen to add a little doodle detail around the image and the words, and used a white gel pen to add a some hearts".

Very cool Fiona!!

Next we have this bookmark that was sent in by Belinda Spencer. Here's the front:

And here's the back:

Belinda says:

"I have used a Delish Designs Tea Tag chipboard piece for my base and covered the front and back with Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante patterned paper. All edges were sanded and inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I then stamped some 7 Gypsies Steampunk images over the surface with Distress Embossing Ink, applied Black Detail embossing powder and heat set. I inked the edges of some chippie cogs with the Walnut Stain Distress Ink and added those along with a raven cut from the pattern paper that I coated with Glossy Accents. To finish I tied some coordinating ribbons through the hole at the top. I especially love the black fluffy fibre that reminded me of the raven's feathers".

Fabulous work Belinda!

Keep those entries coming!

~Sarah~

*** WINNERS (AND PRIZES!) FOR JANUARY 2011! ***

Thank you to everyone who gave last month's "Golden Birthday" challenge a go! And especially big thanks to everyone for your birthday wishes - I had an awesome time!

We had 14 gorgeous entries last month, and of those 14, 8 were from Australia and 6 were from international players.

Let's have a look at them all in the slideshow:

Beautiful work ladies!!

I didn't get a chance to announce the prizes for last month, so here are the winners, and the awesome prises they have won:

MAJOR PRIZE (Aus residents only):

BELINDA SPENCER!! You have scored yourself these very cool "Lost & Found" stamps, courtesy of Tarisota Collections:

I just loved your card - it was absolutely stunning!

INKURABLE NEWBIE PRIZE (Aus residents only):

There were no new Australian entrants last month, so I have chosen MIM as the winner of this prize this month!! You have won this awesome set of Calendar stamps thanks to Darkroom Door:

Your design was simple and elegant which made for a gorgeous card!

INKURABLE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE:

LAURENCE SCHMITZ of BELGIUM! You have won a $25.00 Gift Voucher to spend at The Stamping Queen!  Such a pretty card with lots of layers and things to look at.
Have fun shopping!

CONGRATULATIONS LADIES!! Enjoy your new goodies!

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR FEBRUARY 2011 IS.....

BOOKMARKS!!

Bookmarks are a fun thing to make to give as a gift, or keep for yourself! They're a small enough size so that the task doesn't seem too huge - just what you need if you've lost your mojo and and to start with something small!

Your challenge this month is to create a bookmark using at least one stamp! Too easy! Or is it?

Bookmarks can come in lots of different shapes and sizes - from your more traditional rectangle to the increasingly popular triangular shape that fits over the corner of your page. I like ones that have magnets to secure them to your page. What's your favourite style?

For my example I've gone with a traditional style - nice and simple to get the challenge started (finally)! LOL! Here it is (Click to enlarge):

The base is black bazzill cardstock. The background is kraft cardstock. I stamped the Darkroom Door Criss Cross Background Stamp onto the bottom with Barn Door Distress Ink, and then ruled a black line above it with a Sharpie.

I then stamped that spooky little guy at the top of the bookmark, and the quote over the criss cross background, both in black ink. I inked around the edges with black before adhering it to the black bazzill base. I punched a hole through the top with my Cropadile, and threaded some red satin ribbon through to finish.

Like I said - super quick and easy!! :)

Now it's your turn!

Because you're not limited by theme this month, you can let your creativity soar! Use whichever stamps, inks, colours, or techniques you like! It can be as simple or as detailed as you like.

***PLEASE NOTE THE EXTENDED DUE DATE!***

Entries are due by midnight 12th March 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!

The due date has been extended so as to give you a whole month to get your challenge done. March's challenge will start on the 1st as usual, so we will have a bit of an overlap. But don't go getting any ideas about combining the two challenges - you must create a separate entry for each. :)

I can't wait to see all the different interpretations of this challenge! Have fun with it!

~Sarah~

Never fear - I'm still here!

Hi guys,

Just a quick post to let you know that I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth!

Still here working away in the background, and trying to get over yet another bad cold. Grrrrrr. Never fails - the kids always bring something nasty home from school the week they go back!

Yes - there will be a new challenge this month! I'll extend the deadline because I'm running late. :)

Yes - I will choose a winner for the Gothic Arch challenge. Lots to do regarding that, so thanks for your patience.

Yes - I will announce prizes and winners for last months challenge!

Yes - there will be prizes for this month's challenge!

Thanks for bearing with me while I catch up!

~Sarah~

The last Golden Birthday entries!

Hello stampers! Sorry I didn't make it back to the blog yesterday - was about 40 degrees C here yesterday and my computer room was like a sauna!! Sweltering again here today. Yucky.

Here are the last 2 entries that came in before deadline for the Golden Birthday Challenge!

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

Vicky says:

"I started by stamping the images, "Jolies Fleurs" by Lizzie Anne Designs with gold ink and heat-embossing them with gold embossing powder. I then carefully lined up the card over a nestie and cut out the shape. I stamped the three images (from Stampotique Originals) onto some acetate, and coloured them in using acrylic paints, and then stuck the acetate to the underside of the card using some double sided tape".

"I used a TH Alterations die to cut the flower shapes out of some gold cardstock, which I then distressed and joined together with a rhinestone brad. I then added the tiny Kaisercraft letter stickers".

Fabulous work Vicky!!! (And it looks very cool hanging on my wall! Thank you!!).

And last but not least we have this card that was sent in by Karen Dimmock:

Karen says:

"I have made the flower on this card using some brown packaging paper that I have punched then wrinkled up over a gold brad, and then sprayed with some shimmering inks. I have used some Stampin' Up double sided paper for the background of the card from one of their older ranges with some 'Certainly Celery' cardstock that I punched with a SU border punch. I made the leaves using an oval punch and some more SU double sided paper then inked the edges with some 'Always Artichoke' ink. The greeting was stamped and embossed with gold embossing powder".

Lovely work Karen!

Well that means our Golden Birthday Challenge is officially over! Stay tuned for the latest challenge to be revealed in the next couple of days. :)

~Sarah~