Inkurable Stampers

THE THEME FOR DECEMBER 2011 IS.........

2011-12-04T09:40:00.000+11:00

HOLLY!!

I just love Holly - I simply can't get enough of it at Christmas time. I love all the holly patterned papers, tableware, garlands, and other holly imagery I see everywhere! So I thought it would be an awesome idea for our December challenge!!

Your task is to create a stamped project featuring holly. The stamp itself doesn't have to be holly - you just have to use a stamp and some holly on your design. As always, you can make whatever you like! SCrapbook page, card, ATC, bookmark - whatever takes your fancy!

If you'd like to learn more about Holly, click here.

The deadline for this challenge is midnight (AEST) on 31st December 2011. Once your challenge entry is uploaded to your blog/website/flickr page etc, leave a direct link to the entry here in our linking feature (just press the "add your link" button and away we go!):

Please make sure you link DIRECTLY to your challenge entry, and include a pic in the thumbnail - links that link to full blogs or flickr accounts will be removed.

If you have any problems using the linking tool, please let me know!

Happy stamping!!

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR OCTOBER 2011 IS.......

2011-10-12T07:43:00.001+11:00

ORANGE, GREEN, AND PURPLE!

I thought it was time for a colour challenge again, and this time I've chosen an interesting one!! With halloween on the way, I'm seeing lots of Orange, Green, and Purple paper ranges popping up! I think it's such an unusual colour combination, but one that could be used for all sorts of projects from the scary to the downright beautiful!

So - your task is to create a stamped project using the colour combo of Orange, Green, and Purple! You may also use neutral colours of white, black, and brown.

Since I'm late posting the challenge this month, I'm leaving it open until midnight 12th November 2011 - so you have plenty of time to give this one a go!

Pop your entry on your blog/flickr page/website, then leave a link here using the linking tool. Too easy!

Please make sure you link DIRECTLY to your challenge entry, and include a pic in the thumbnail - links that link to full blogs or flickr accounts will be removed.

If you have any problems using the linking tool, please let me know.

I can't wait to see what you create!

Now go and get inky!!

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR SEPTEMBER 2011 IS.......

2011-09-04T09:53:00.000+10:00

EYELETS!!

Your task is to create a stamped project featuring eyelets.

Hi everyone!

Hands up if you've got a BUNCH of eyelets sitting at home collecting dust? I know I do! Eyelets were big in scrapbooking and cardmaking a number of years ago, and they seem to go in and out of fashion every once in a while. I bet every single one of you have eyelets in your stash!

So lets blow the dust off them and put them to use!!

You can use any size, any colour, any shape of eyelets that you like - and as many or as few as you like! As always your project can be anything at all - as long as you use at least one stamp.

The deadline for this challenge is midnight (AEST) on 30th September 2011. Once your challenge entry is uploaded to your blog/website/flickr page etc, leave a direct link to the entry here in our new linking feature (just press the "add your link" button and away we go!):

Please make sure you link DIRECTLY to your challenge entry, and include a pic in the thumbnail - links that link to full blogs or flickr accounts will be removed.

If you have any problems using the linking tool, please let me know.

Ready, set, go!

~Sarah~

Introducing the new look challenge!

2011-08-20T10:46:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!

As you may or may not already know, I have decided to run Inkurable a bit differently from now on! We'll still be having monthly challenges, but instead of me uploading every entry onto the blog myself, it will now be up to you to add your entry to your blog/website/flickr page etc and leave a link here so we can all go and have a look at your awesomeness.

I'm trialling this new linking feature for the rest of this month, and if it goes well then we'll continue with it into the future! It's a really exciting change that will make it easier to see all the entries at a glance, and will hopefully send lots of new blog readers your way. It's a win win for both of us!

Please note - all the usual Inkurable rules still apply - it's just the way we view the entries that is changing.

So to get us started, and to familiarise ourselves with the new feature, we'll do a quick sketch challenge!

Here is your sketch, thanks to PageMaps:

Imagine the inky goodness!!

Your task is to create a stamped project based on the sketch above. It is up to you how you interpret the sketch - feel free to use it as is, or rotate the sketch to suit your card.

As always, any project is fine! Cards, Scrapbook pages, Canvases, Jewelery items, whatever you like! You are also free to use any products/mediums/techniques that you like. Just don't forget to use at least one stamp! :)

The deadline for this challenge is midnight (AEST) on 31st August 2011. Once your challenge entry is uploaded to your blog/website/flickr page etc, leave a direct link to the entry here in our new linking feature (just press the "add your link" button and away we go!):

Please make sure you link DIRECTLY to your challenge entry, and include a pic in the thumbnail - links that link to full blogs or flickr accounts will be removed.

If you have any problems using the linking tool, please let me know.

One winner will be drawn at random to receive a mystery prize! And I'll send a little something to the first person to submit their entry using the new feature. :)

Now go and get inky!!

I look forward to seeing what you create!

~Sarah~

Orange, Black and White ATC's!

2011-08-05T20:04:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone!

Recently we held an ATC swap as part of Inkurable's 3rd Birthday celebrations. In honour of Inkurable, the theme was Orange, Black, and White!

This swap was most definitely one of my favourites - every time I opened the mail I was gasping with delight! Such a talented bunch of stampers you all are!

The ATC's have all found their way to their new homes, so I can now share the complete collection with you! Feast your eyes on these:

Awesome, huh?!

Thank you to everyone who participated in this swap! We'll definitely be doing more ATC swaps in the future, so watch this space for more info!

Have an inky weekend!

~Sarah~

* WINNERS FOR THE JUNE 2011 SPOTS, DOTS, AND CIRCLES CHALLENGE! *

2011-08-04T21:00:00.000+10:00

Thank you to everyone who gave the June Spots, Dots, and Circles challenge a go!

We had 21 fabulous entries! Of those 21, 10 were from Australia and 11 were from international players. A huge effort in June - well done everyone!

Before I announce the winners, let's have another look at all the spotty, dotty, circular goodness:

What a great bunch of inspiring projects!

Here are the lucky winners and the prizes they have won:

MAJOR PRIZE (Aus resident only):

The winner is......SHIRLEY HENRY! I just loved all the spots, dots, and circular elements on Shirley's canvas - a lot of thought and work went into creating her entry. Shirley has won this great set of Playing Cards stamps, courtesy of Darkroom Door:

INKURABLE NEWBIE PRIZE (Aus resident only):

In June we welcomed 2 new players to the blog! Unfortunately there can be only one winner, so I have chosen DONNA HOURIGAN! Donna's card had so many different spots, dots, and circular elements - representing the challenge theme to the extreme! Well done Donna! Donna has won a $25 GIFT VOUCHER to spend at The Stamping Queen!

INKURABLE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE:

This month's International winner is SUE RODDIS from the UK!! Sue's awesome art journal page just blew me away - so much effort went into creating her page, and I just loved every bit of it! Sue has won the gorgeous My Mind's Eye Lost and Found "Adore" stamp set, thanks to Tarisota:

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!

I hope you enjoy your prizes!

~Sarah~

* WINNERS FOR THE MAY 2011 FOOD CHALLENGE! *

2011-08-02T22:30:00.000+10:00

Well it's about time huh! LOL!

Thank you to everyone who took part in May's Food Glorious Food challenge - as always there were lots of gorgeous inky projects to inspire us all.

There were 13 entries all up. Of that 13, 9 were from Australia and 4 were from international players.

Let's take a minute to refresh our memories and check them all out again:

Great work everyone!

You've waited long enough, so without further ado, here are the winners and their prizes:

MAJOR PRIZE (Aus resident only):

Congratulations goes to LIZZY HILL! I just LOVED your gorgeous birthday card - the vintage colours and the personal images came together so well to create your card! You have scored yourself these gorgeous My Mind's Eye Portobello Road "Boy" stamps courtesy of Tarisota!

INKURABLE NEWBIE PRIZE (Aus resident only):

Unfortunately no newbies entered the challenge in May. However I have chosen someone who is fairly new to the blog and has never won a challenge before instead. So - congratulations goes to BELINDA ACHATZ for her great scrapbook page about her favourite coffee! Belinda is the lucky recipient of a background stamp of her choice thanks to Darkroom Door!

There are 16 background stamps for you to choose from in the Darkroom Door range - this pic shows only 4 of them:

INKURABLE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE:

Congratulations goes to ELLIE KNOLL from The Netherlands! Your ATC was great - lots of layers and techniques! You have won these "Leave Memories" stamps by Debra Cooper, PLUS an assortment of papers, courtesy of our friends at The Stamping Queen!

WELL DONE LADIES!!

I hope you all enjoy your new goodies!

Stay tuned for the winners of June's Spots, Dots, and Circles challenge. :)

~Sarah~

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!

2011-08-02T18:06:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!!

I've been enjoying my "Long Service Leave" from the blog but I've missed you guys! Thank you to everyone who has left comments or emailed me to say that you're missing the challenges or just to say hello - I really appreciate all of your support! I'm really glad to hear that you all still love Inkurable!

This week I'll be catching up on some Inkurable Housekeeping, which includes announcing the winners and prizes for the May and June challenges, and implementing the new-look format for the blog. Once that's done we'll do an easy challenge to get back into the swing of things and test out the new format!

I can't wait to get inky with you guys again!

Watch this space!

~Sarah~

The last Spots, Dots, and Circles entries!

2011-07-01T08:04:00.000+10:00

Hi stampers!

Our Spots, Dots and Circles challenge is now officially over! Thank you to everyone who took part!

I have a couple more entries to share that hit my inbox before deadline.

First up we have an art journal page that was created by Jan Smith from the UK. Here's the first page:

And here's the 2nd page:

Jan says:

"I drew my mermaid and coloured my pages with water soluble wax pastels, watercolour pencils, promarkers, gesso and acrylic paint. I used some bubble wrap with gigantic sized bubbles, to stamp the circles (bubbles) on to the background, then coloured them with some watercolour pencils. I then stamped my Crafty Individual (CI294) stamp randomly over my pages (I chose this stamp because of its assorted circular shapes). I did this by individually inking the images on the stamp with a whispers pen".

"I also used a papermania medallion stamp around the edge of my pages, and highlighted some of the stamping with white pen. Distressed with more acrylic then added a quote".

Beautiful work Jan!

Last but not least we have this card that was created by Robyn Wood:

Robyn says:

"I embossed the front using Sizzix Flourish & Dots embossing folder – it is perfect as a background and needs no further embellishment. This was layered with a darker colour cardstock and mounted onto a tent folded card base. The greeting is new one by Hero Arts and it has been layered over a scalloped diecut (Eyelet Circle by Spellbinders). The dear little girl is a My Favourite Things stamp and I have coloured her with Copics. Her top is paper pieced from some pattered paper. It went so well with the cardstock colours and the pattern was perfect".

Gorgeous work Robyn!

This is the part where I usually say "stay tuned for the next challenge!" however I have decided to take a break from the challenges this month while I catch up with things and commence shaking things up a bit! There are big changes coming to Inkurable, so watch this space for more info! In the meantime there will be plenty to see here while I catch up on announcing winners and prizes etc etc, so don't run away!

Oh, and if you're not already a member of our Facebook page, then check it out here! All the latest news and updates hit there first, so make sure you "like" Inkurable Stampers on Facebook to keep up with all the goss. :)

STAY INKY!!

~Sarah~

Running in circles!

2011-06-29T19:02:00.000+10:00

Hi stampers!

Ack - what a busy time of year! I feel like I'm running in circles - which is quite appropriate for this month's challenge! LOL! I hope you've all found some bargains in the end of financial year sales. :)

I have some more new entries to share with you today.

First we have this tag that was created by Giovanna from Italy:

Gio says:

"I cut the paper doll form a template I found here. I stamped it with Katzelkraft stamp. I cut the bodice from a piece of copper metal. I glued to the body of the paper doll along with two pieces of lace to make the skirt. I decided to put a big butterfly sticker instead of the head. I stamped the sentiment from a Tim Holtz plate, and added a piece lace and some fibers".

Great work Gio!

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

Karen says:

"I started with a sheet that I'd sprayed with glimmer mist and stamped on the bird image (Hero Arts). I embossed it in black and bleached out selected portions, and coloured some back in with pencil crayons. I added some white paint circles using the open end of a sponge dauber to apply the paint. The background is Tim Holtz patterned paper, with a strip from the patterned side and the larger piece from the mottled side. I stamped the Paris postage cancellation on the mottled piece with Milled Lavender ink and embossed the sentiment in black (both stamps Stampers Anonymous)".

Gorgeous work Karen!

Next we have this tag that was created by Marjie Kemper from the USA:

Marjie says:

"My circles are chipboard circles that I stamped. I ran some of them through the Vagabond using a dot matrix embossing folder by Tim Holtz. The little brad I made with a Chatterbox brad maker kit - loved that the frame itself was dotted!".

Great work Marjie!

That's it for today - I'll be back tomorrow with more!

~Sarah~

All the latest entries!

2011-06-27T19:21:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!

I trust that you all had a fabulous weekend!

I am here again today to share all the lovely new entries that have hit my inbox lately!

First we have this cute little gift tag that was sent in by Mim:

Mim says:

"I began by cutting a circle shaped card from pink cardstock and stamping the dots background using Versamark ink. I then used some puff embossing powder to emboss the dots with a heat gun. I punched a circle and champagne/glass from white cardstock and inked the edges a little. Had a rolled flower diecut sitting on the desk, so rolled it up and plonked it on, then added a sentiment stamped with hot pink ink and cut into a little flagged strip".

Gorgeous work Mim!

Next we have a delightful card that was created by Laurence Schmitz from Belgium:

Laury says:

"I made a card, the background is made with gesso, acrylic paint and watercolors. I stamped the bird with black versafine ink and the sentiment on a separate paper (stamp is by Infinimentscrap) and cut it out with decorative scissors. I added masking tape and stamped around the edges with different stamps. I was so glad to find these yummies cups and was inspired by their colours to make my card".

What a gorgeous present for someone Laury! I'm sure whoever receives it will be thrilled!

Next we have ths card that was created by Alison Hall from the UK:

Alison says:

"First of all, I made some inky backgrounds, then I die cut some flowers using Tim Holtz’s Tattered Florals die. I stamped a dotty background (The Artistic Stamper) on two of the flower layers".

"For the leaves, I covered a scrap of grungeboard with some Symphony tissue tape, inked it with meadow alcohol ink, then hand cut two leaves".

"The background is made with alcohol inks. I stamped the dotty stem (Inkadinkado) & greeting (Tim Holtz), using coffee archival ink, then clear embossed them. I inked the edges with the coffee ink, then clear embossed those too".

"I took a 7x5″ kraft card blank, & stamped more dotty swirls from the Inkadinkado set around the edge, using the coffee ink. Finally, I glued my background, flower & leaves in place, adding a silver button to the centre of the flower to finish".

Beautiful work Alison!

Next we have this lovely canvas that was created by Shirley Henry:

Shirley says:

"My 6x6 canvas was painted with Viva Metal in Blue Lagoon. Has a lovely shimmery effect. Foam circle/spots stamps were stamped over canvas with white paint. The gorgeous clock and bird are from two different napkins. The LIFE quote is a pre cut sticker, which was distressed with antique linen ink".

"The large flower has a Polka Dots button from Purple Pumpkin. I distressed the button with antique linen distress ink. The two small white flowers sprayed with Sand Glimmer mist. Leaves are a magnetic die from Tim Holtz Mini Branch and Leaf set. I used a bone scorer to score lines on the leaves and then distressed with antique linen distress ink. I added some small and large white pearls to the outside of the clock".

Fabulous work Shirley! See more pics of Shirley's lovely Canvas on her blog here.

Last but not least we have this very cute card that was created by Donna Hourigan:

Donna says:

"I created this circle "get well soon" card with numerous circles and dots elements. The items I used are generic black and white cardstock, Kaisercraft clear Circle Stamps, Inkadinkadoo patterned pets stamp (I used the dog and I named him spot btw..lol), Creative Memories Circle Punch and Custom Cutting System Circle and blades, and pink and silver papermate gel pens".

"On the inside of the card I printed my text in a circle in word using the wordart feature and chose a spotty font".

Terrific work Donna!

Well that's all from me for today! There are only a few more days left to get your entries in for this challenge - I'm looking forward to seeing what else lands in my inbox!

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

Spotty, dotty goodness!

2011-06-21T19:25:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone!

I'm back to day with some more entries for our Spots, Dots, and Circles challenge!

Firstly we have this card that was sent in by Danielle May:

Danielle says:

"I was drawn to my Stampin' Up! Medallion Stamp as it contains circles and spots/dots within the medallion image, so I stamped this on kraft card in Sepia Archival Ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I then sponged some Rich Razzleberry, Marina Mist and Cajun Craze inks over the image to add spots of colour".

"For further embellishment and colour I then decided to use my scallop border punch, after all the scallop is a semi-circle. Lately I have been making heaps of wonderful roses made from layering a number of scallop circles together, and decided for yet another circle touch to add a rhinestone to the centre. My final touch was to add a touch of Polka Dot Ribbon to layer under my card sentiment".

Lovely work Danielle!

Next we have this card that was created by Cynthia Schelzig from Germany:

Cynthia says:

"I painted some blue watercolor swatches and stamped FLY. I added some blackbirds and dotted washi tape for their perch. I edged the card in black ink and wrote "if you dare" with some black spritz for
fun".

Great work Cynthia!

Next we have this card that was created by Carla Weiland from The Netherlands:

Nice work Carla!

Lastly for today we have this notebook cover that was created by Jenene Evans:

Jenene says:

"I have used double sided paper by ‘Stampin Up, the green and brown, with spots on the green side, also paper by ‘Core’dinations’ (fun paper you can sand paper to distress etc). I just sanded the dots to show the tan colour. I also used a lacy punch by ‘Stampin Up, & spritzed a little ‘Moon Shadow’ Burnished Brass over these bits. The flowers (Stampin Up) were stamped & cut out, top circle stamp by ‘Paper Craft’ also cut out, then added some little half circle pearls, & ribbon, which I also stamped dots on with a silver ink pad".

Lovely work Jenene!

That's it from me for today! But before I go I just wanted to tell you about an ATC swap that I am hosting at my work - anyone can join so if you're interested check out the details here. Don't worry about the sign up date - if you email me in the next few days to let me know you're joining in, that will be fine. :)

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

2010 Gothic Arch Challenge - Wrap Up Part 2.

2011-06-20T00:54:00.000+10:00

I really can't believe it's June already! 2011 is half finished, and I'm only now announcing the winners of the Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch challenge! This weekend is the first in EONS where I have had a spare moment to sit down and finally sort through all the gorgeous challenge entries and pick the winners. Everyone did such an amazing job, I needed to take the time to make sure I looked at every single arch before making my decisions. I also needed to double check the names of everyone who completed all 24 arches to make sure when I picked a random winner, all those that were eligible were in the "hat".

It has been a very long process, and it was not an easy job deciding which ones I liked the best! But I can now finally say that it is time to announce the winners!

Firstly - a few stats for you all:

* There were 24 different Gothic Arch challenge themes.
* 33 different people gave at least one of the challenges a go.
* Only 12 people finished all 24 arches by the deadline of 31st December 2010.
* Of those 12, 6 were from Australia and 6 were international.
* There are 424 amazingly inspiring Gothic Arches in our Flickr Gallery. Please pop over and have a look - it is so inspiring!

Thank you to everyone who played along with the Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge - whether you made one arch or all 24, you contributed to an amazing collection of artwork, and we loved seeing everything that was created.

A very special thank you goes out to Fiona Shultz - without whom I wouldn't have been able to continue the challenge! Fiona created so many gorgeous challenge samples for you all, and I'm sure you join me in saying thank you for such inspiring work! You truly did an awesome job Fiona! Take a look at all of Fiona's awesome arches in this slideshow:

A big thank you also goes out to our guest artists for the challenge:

* Sarah Fawcett - Steampunk Arch.
* Jill Geraghty-Groves - Paint and Fabric Arches.
* Vicky Fernando - Spooky Arch.
* Robyn Wood - Planes, Train, and Automobiles Arch.
* Jan Smith - Mythical Creatures arch.

Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us all!

And last but most certainly not least, a HUGE thank you goes out to our fabulous friends at Crafty Individuals who have provided the awesome prizes for the challenge winners - you guys ROCK! To refresh your memory, see the prizes here.

Ok ok ok ok ok - I know you're thinking "just shut up and announce the winners already!" LOL! So here goes!

Congratulations to the following lucky ladies:

RANDOM WINNER (randomly picked from all those who completed all 24 arches by the due date):

KAREN_STAMPS (Karen Daley from Canada)!!! Congratulations Karen! Your gorgeous new stamps will be on their way to you shortly! Here are Karen's set of arches:

MY FAVOURITE SET OF ARCHES:

Boy oh boy - I didn't realise just how hard it would be to pick the winner for this category! Everyone did such an amazing job - and there were arches in everyone's sets that took my breath away. It was reeeeeeeeeeally really close in the end, however, the person who's arches made me gasp the most was......

SMIFFEROO (JAN SMITH)!! Congratulations Jan! Such an awesome collection of arches to be proud of!

Check them out here:

MY FAVOURITE SINGLE ARCH:

Again - this was painfully hard to choose, there were so many that I loved! However one particular arch just jumped right out at me from the moment I saw it, and I still love it today as much as I did back then. Congratulations goes to JULIE HAELEMEERSCH (ARTYVENTURE) who created this amaaaaaazing arch:

Absolutely gobsmacking! I just love the colours, the imagery, and the products and techniques used! Well done Julie!

Congratulations to all three ladies! Enjoy your prizes!

Now, it would be totally remiss of me not to showcase a bunch of my other favourite arches - so stay tuned to the blog because sometime during the week I will share the 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge Wrap up Part 3 - honourable mentions!

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

The latest entries!

2011-06-18T14:29:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone!

I have some gorgeous new entries to share with you all today!

First we have this card that was created by Gerda Weiland from The Netherlands:

Gerda says:

"The background is made with alcohol ink on glossy paper and then I sanded the paper. The girl is stamped with Archival Jet Black".

"Spots, dots, circles and text are stamped with various inks, a little vague for the grungy effect. The white circles are done with gesso. For some color I put 3D flowers on the hat, adhered with a flower eyelet".

Very nice Gerda!

Next we have this art journal page that was created by Sue Roddis from the UK:

WOW!

Here are some more pics:

Sue says:

"The Stampotique mermaids and octopus are stamped onto canvas, machine stitched around and then torn into circles".

Fabulous work Sue!

Well that's it from me for today - stay tuned for the wrap up of the 2010 Gothic Arch challenge - FINALLY! LOL!!

~Sarah~

Seeing spots!

2011-06-13T19:32:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!

It seems you've all been busy stamping over the long weekend, because I have lots of lovely new entries to share!

First we have this card that was created by Belinda Spencer:

Belinda says:

"I have a gorgeous Purple Pumpkin spotty button topped felt flower sitting pretty on top of many layers. I stamped an Autumn Leaves Talking in Cricles stamp onto some transparency, cut it out and placed directly under the felt flower. It fit perfectly too!! Underneath that is a die cut piece of white cardstock using my Spellbinders Doily Die Cuts. Next layer is a scallop circle punched from Kraft followed by another doily die cut. I used some Jillibean Soup patterned paper for the die cut base. The yellow was just way too bright though so I swiped some Gesso across it with my finger to tone it down and it worked a treat".

"I also stamped a couple of banners on Kraft cardstock, cut out and added a little pleat to both to add some more dimension. On the base pattern paper I have applied a Kaiser flower flourish stamp with Spun Sugar Distress Ink".

Lovely work Belinda!

Next we have this card that was created by Lizzy Hill:

Lizzy says:

"Firstly I created the background colour on the white card. I used the edge of a Stampin' Up stamp from their 'Punch Bunch' set to get the little scallops peeking out - heat embossed with clear powder. Using the template I made for the dots on the fan, I put some here using orange embossing powder. Then I used my orange and red inks and sponged over all this, then highlighted the scallops with some yellow ink".

"For the fans, I used a scallop punch cut down, and inked on the spots and around the edges.
For the paper behind the fans, I've used white card, got an old lid & using gesso, stamped onto the card. Heat dried, then using my red, orange and yellow ink pads, I've sponged the colours in. Using a baby wipe, slightly swiped at the colours, then gave the whole page a light spray of water and gently dabbed it over with toilet paper, and left it to dry".

"The sentiment is stamped with black StazOn - I've used the 'have, a & day' but cut out the 'happy'!!! Instead, word processed the 'fantastic', cut the letters up & edged with ink, too.
Finished off with the diamontes (hard to see here), and underlined the 'fan' in case whoever is given the card doesn't 'get' it!!!".

Fan-tastic work Lizzy! LOL!!

Next we have this art journal page by Jenny Rodda:

Jenny says:

"I began with a watercolor background followed by my trusty roller script stamp. I added spots of alcohol ink, and stamped some more circles with my chicken wire and bubble wrap stamps and even more circles with an oil paintstik at the bottom. The butterflies were stenciled with color wash and then with the stencil left on the page, I stamped over the top".

"The little scallop at the top of the page has dots inside it, and the image (did you notice she has spots on her scarf?), her binocular lenses are round as are her bangles... and now I think I am completely circled out...lol".

Excellent work Jenny!

Next we have a little gift bag that was created by Holly in the UK:

Holly says:

"I used distress inks (peeled paint, worn lipstick, and spiced marmalade) over clear embossed stamped images, then wiped the excess off with baby wipes. I thought the image needed a little extra oomph, so I stamped again, and embossed with white powder the second time. The stamps are Tim Holtz again. The spotty card stock is embossed with cuttlebug swiss dots, and slightly distressed with the worn lipstick distress. The ribbon is also dyed using the peeled paint distress. Finally I added some little pink gems to the butterfly to make it a little prettier".

Gorgeous work Holly!

Lastly we have this Gothic Arch that was created by Vicky Fernando:

Vicky says:

"I began by painting the arch shape with red, gold, and bronze acrylic paints. I then stamped some circles (See Dee's) and some splatter (Darkroom Door "Artist" set) using Versafine black ink, and heat-embossed the images with black embossing powder".

"I then used the Darkroom Door "Dots" background stamp with some teal acrylic paint. I then added the sentiment (from Oxford Impressions) and the filmstrip dolls (Cats life Press) both stamped onto white cardstock and heat-embossed with black EP".

Very cool Vicky!

(And I know I know - I am a bad bad bad bad girl! I still haven't announced the winners of the 2010 Gothic Arch challenge - SO SORRY EVERYONE!! I will pull my finger out and get it sorted this week! Watch this space!).

What a gorgeous bunch of entries! I can't wait to see what else hits my inbox!

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR JUNE 2011 IS.....

2011-06-09T07:38:00.000+10:00

SPOTS, DOTS, AND CIRCLES!!

Your task this month is to create something (anything!) using spots, dots, or circles in your design! As always, you must also include at least one stamp on your project.

I thought I'd go with a nice and easy challenge this month after a few harder challenges over the past few months! :)

{No time for a sample until the weekend - sorry! But I'll update this post with a pic as soon as I can. ;)}

Entries are due by Midnight June 30th (Sydney, Australia time). 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!

Have fun - go crazy! Think outside the square (or would that be circle?! LOL!) and show off your awesome stamping!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with!

~Sarah~

* WINNERS FOR APRIL 2011 THREE CHALLENGE! *

2011-05-31T19:12:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!

I totally overlooked announcing last month's winners! Better get to it!

Here are all the entries in all their inky glory:

Fabulous effort everyone!

We had 14 entries all up, and of those 14, 9 were from Australia, and 5 were international.

To refresh your memory of the prizes on offer, see this post here.

Congratulations to the following winners:

MAJOR PRIZE (AUS RESIDENT ONLY):

JENNY RODDA!! I just loved Jenny's card - the colours, the elements, everything! Gorgeous! You have won the Tim Holtz "Photostudio" stamp set, courtesy of The Stamping Queen!

INKURABLE NEWBIE PRIZE (AUS RESIDENT ONLY):

Can you believe - we had not one but two newbies in April! Was very hard to choose between them - I wish I had a prize for both of you! But alas I had to pick only one of you, so thanks to "eeny meeny miney moe" congratulations goes to KIM MILLS!! You have won the gorgeous ATC set courtesy of Tarisota Collections!

INTERNATIONAL PRIZE:

Ooooh this was a close one!! But I just couldn't go past the awesome "to-do-list" holder that was created by LAURENCE SCHMITZ FROM BELGIUM!! So vibrant and gorgeous and different - definitely thinking outside the box! You have won the fabulous paper products prize pack, courtesy of Darkroom Door!

Well done ladies! Enjoy your new goodies!

~Sarah~

Who's feeling hungry?

2011-05-27T19:53:00.001+10:00

.....because I have lots of scrumptious food entries to share today!

First we have this card that was sent in by Gerda Weiland from The Netherlands:

Gerda says:

"The background is made with alcohol inks, then I sanded the paper. I stamped the pear with Stazon Forest Green and the lyrics with Stazon Rusty Brown. I added some circles with Gesso on the side. I attached the letters 'pear' with brads and finished with Brown & Yellow cardstock".

Lovely work Gerda!

Next we have an ATC that was created by Ellie Knoll from The Netherlands:

Ellie says:

"I stamped the image with distress inks. You start by adding various colors distress inks to your craft sheet. Then put your stamp in it, make a twist, and stamp it on your cardstock".

"After the stamping I sponged, stamped a text, added some gesso, sponged again, until I was satisfied.
I also added a piece from a dictionary, the part that says "erwt", which means "pea" in Dutch".

Terrific work Ellie!

Next we have a card that was created by Karen Daley from Canada:

Karen says:

"I stamped the pear image (Sunshine Designs) and embossed in gold, coloured with Tombow markers, and accented with stickles. It's matted on various textured cardstocks and the background stamp is pear words (A Stamp in the Hand)".

Gorgeous work Karen!

And last but most certainly not least is this exploding box card that was created by Lynne Quinn:

When you open it up you find this inside:

Lynne says:

"Paper used is Kaiser cupcakes. Ink is Stampin' up 'Really Rust' and 'Groovy Guava'. Happy Birthday and Flourish stamps are from Kaszazz. Bling is Kaszazz and Kindyglitz. Rosette on Lid is a Tim Holtz alterations cutter. Music notes and rolled roses cutters from My Favourite Things".

Fabulous work Lynne!

All this food is making me hungry! Or perhaps it's the smell of Greek Stew simmering on my stove. Either way, I'm off to spend a cozy night on the couch in front of the TV with the family! :)

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

Cupcakes, Cake, and Coffee Cups!

2011-05-25T09:00:00.003+10:00

Say that ten times fast! LOL!

I'm back today with some more yummy entries!

First we have this card that was created by Mim:

Mim says:

"I started with the plaid background stamp (Darkroom Door) using Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Fired Brick) and then stamped the cupcake (Basic Grey) in Distress Inks (peeled Paint and Scattered Straw). I used a blender pen to add a little more depth to the cake and also added a line from a Faber Castell marker pen across the top edge of the table to ground the cupcake a little more. I used a touch of glossy accents on the icing and stamped the sentiment with Distress Ink (Faded Jeans). To finish off, I drew a few cheeky little ants marching along towards the cupcake - all the more reason to eat dessert first eh?!".

Great work Mim!

Next we have this card that was created by Lizzy Hill:

Lizzy says:

"I went for the Vintage look. Lots of brown, green, and charcoal distress inks, lots of sponging, cut up an old book & added the gesso after I'd stamped the background. Layered on the sentiment [charcoal ink], which is a Stampin' Up stamp, & cake [brown ink - stamp from K-Mart, I think!], then distressed my photos [taken when we were in Paris drinking coffee last year - sigh!] & added green & brown ink around the edges. Found a button that matched [a miracle!]. The background flourish stamp I've had for ages, can't remember who it's by.... sorry! Oh - & I've embossed a little, too, with a mix of gold & black powder, to add some 'light' to the card".

Gorgeous work Lizzy!

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

~Sarah~

A FEAST for the eyes!

2011-05-24T18:00:00.000+10:00

Hellooooooo stampers!!!

Have I got a treat for you! My inbox went from being very empty to overflowing with scrumptious goodness very quickly! So I have lots of new entries to share with you today!

First up we have this mini canvas that was created by Jenene Evans:

Jenene says:

"I have titled my 12.5cm x 18cm canvas ‘Pear-shaped’. First I gave the canvas a quick coat of acrylic paint, then glued ‘Basic Grey’ Vintage floral paper. I randomly rubbed some ‘Golden’ iridescent gold paint over the paper".

"I used ‘Jo Sonjas’ texture paste to stamp the pear stamp, & rubbed a little red ‘sennelier’ oil pastel over the dried paste. I stamped in black ‘Staz On’, butterfly’s by ‘Pinkpaislee’, and text. Meanwhile I stamped the pear stamp into Jovi modelling paste, and cut out the shape (took a while to dry), rubbed gold paint into the text on one of the pears, then painted the pears with acrylic paint. I finished my piece by gluing the pears onto canvas, wrapping black wool around and gluing on letters by ‘Scrapex’".

Lovely work Jenene!

Next we have an ATC that was created by Sue Smith:

Sue says:

"I've stamped images from Darkroom Door's 'Champs Elysee' stamp set on coffee stained card using VersaFine Onyx Black and Vintage Sepia ink to create the background. I then affixed two chocolate images from Darkroom Door's Sweet Treats Montage with a scrap of lace and machine stitching. Finally I stamped a section of the postcard address stamp over part of the larger chocolate image with Onyx Black ink and added a section of black German scrap along bottom edge of ATC as the finishing touch".

Scrumptious work Sue!!

Next we have this tag that was created by Shirley Henry:

Shirley says:

"I started with a large manila tag. Covered most of the front with paper from 6x6 S.E.I paper pad called "Happy Day". The top of the front of the tag and all the back was coloured with Wild Honey Distress Stain".

"I used the same paper to die cut two circle tabs for the front and back of tag. The yummy cocktail is from a paper napkin. I cut it out and adhered to double sided jac paper. I did not remove the back layer of the jac paper. Adhered to tag using small foam squares under the fruit to add dimension. Some stickles added to fruit. I attached a charm to the stem of the wine glass".

"The 5 and 'celebrate' from Purple Onion stamps, stamped in black on white card and cut out. Edged in Wild Honey ink. Other three words were printed from computer".

"Back of tag stamped 'happy birthday' as a border in black ink. "Make a Wish", "Cake Time" and "to: from:" stamps from Purple Onion. "Party" is a word strip from Darkroom Door Sweet Treats collection.
Two small cupcakes cut from the same paper pad as on the front. Orange ribbon to finish. The Happy Birthday stamp is from the String Sentiments Set (Darkroom Door)".

Fabulous work Shirley!

Next we have a recipe card box that was created by Vicky Fernando:

Vicky says:

"I started by cutting out my own template for an ATC-sized box, and covering it with some plain white tissue paper which I had stamped using StaZon ink, I then added some Distress ink (Vintage photo) and cut the postage shape out with a Cuttlebug die, and the closure edge was cut with an Alterations die. I then added magnet strips for the closure".

"I stamped the "top secret" image onto a piece of acetate using StaZon ink (royal purple) and stamped the teapot (Oxford Impressions Classic Alice) onto the box before assembling. I then stamped various images from the Darkroom DOor Mail Art stamp set onto some white cardstock, cutting them & adding them to the assembled box. I then remembered I own a fork and knife clear stamp (an old set from Studio Astarte) so I used some Versamark ink and some pewter embossing powder, and added these to my finished box".

Terrific work Vicky!

Next we have this card that was created by Chloe Nielsen:

Chloe has used the Kaisercraft Candy Lane range of papers and stamps with VersaColor ink.

Lovely work Chloe!

OK - I think 5 entries is enough for one day! Check back tomorrow because I still have more yummy entries to share!

Until then.....

~Sarah~

A new entry!

2011-05-21T12:20:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!

Seems I've scared you all off with this month's challenge! And here I was thinking it would be an easy one! I bet every one of you has a stamp with a cupcake, or an apple, or some other piece of food or drink! Come on stampers, blow the dust off them and let's get inky!

Belinda Achatz has been brave enough to give this challenge a go with this great scrapbooking layout:

Belinda says:

"I made an 8.5 x 11" layout (in landscape position) & made the background from an Inkadinkado circular stamp that always reminds me of coffee spills. I inked it in 3 distress colours - pumice stone, rusty hinge & brushed corduroy. I clustered some older Creative Imaginations stickers around the photo of the coffee & used some older alpha stickers for the title "Maxi Skinny Flat White".

Fabulous work Belinda!

ATC Swap update: - Last week I thought I had all the ATC's in, but I was one person short. Those ATC's have now arrived, so hopefully I will get a chance this weekend to get them swapped out and returned to those of you who played along. I can't wait to share the slideshow with you all - such fabulous creations to be seen! I will email those of you that are participating once the ATC's are in the mail. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

~Sarah~

Our first Food entry!

2011-05-14T09:05:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!

Now that blogger is up and running again, I can finally pop in and share our very first Food challenge entry!

This card was created by Alison from the UK:

Alison says:

"I used PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints and crackle for my background. All the stamps are by Oxford Impressions, stamped with coffee archival ink, and I added colour with spun sugar distress stain. I finished my card off with a little teapot charm".

Lovely work Alison!

I'll be swapping out all the ATC's from our Orange, Black, and White ATC swap this weekend - and OMG they are all amazing! Such awesome work was done by all! I'll share a slideshow of them all once the swaps have been received. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR MAY 2011 IS.....

2011-05-05T20:25:00.002+10:00

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!

Your task this month is to create a stamped project featuring food!

For the purpose of this challenge, "Food" includes everything edible (like fruit, vegetables, lollies, cakes, meat, pasta, etc) as well as drinks (eg milk, coffee, tea, cocktails, champagne, lemonade etc).

Your stamps don't necessarily have to feature the food, as long as food is the theme for your project (eg you might create an art journal page with a quote about food, or your favourite food, or you might create a recipe card etc).

I created some wrapping paper using a cupcake stamp from the Darkroom Door "Sweet Treats Vol 1" stamp set:

I stamped the images onto brown packaging paper. The cupcake was stamped with Timber Brown Stazon ink, and the words and stars were stamped with different coloured distress inks.
(Click here to see some more projects using the same stamp set!).

Fun to do (and fun for the kids to get involved in too!), and a great way to further personalise your gift giving!

Ok stampers - now it's your turn!

Entries are due by Midnight May 31st (Sydney, Australia time). 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!

Yum yum yum! I can't wait to see what you create!

~Sarah~

Our last THREE challenge entries.

2011-05-01T18:01:00.000+10:00

Hi stampers!

Our THREE challenge is officially over! I can't believe it's May already!

I have a few more gorgeous entries to share that came in before deadline, so get comfy! :)

First we have this awesome "to-do list" holder that was created by Laurence Schmitz from Belgium (click pics to enlarge):

Laurence says:

"I made this to keep my "to do" list and wrote on each frame (which were stamped on a separate sheet of paper and cut out) the day of the week".

Here's the other side:

"The number 3 is included at the bottom, my 3 colors are white, black and red and I used 3 stamps (frame by LG Brush, figures by Infinimentscrap, doodle by Artjourney)".

"Thanks to the tiny clothes pin, I can move the tasks of one day to the other or simply replace the paper with another one".

Fabulous work Laury!

Next we have this lovely piece of art that was sent in by Sue Smith:

Sue says:

"Three colours: purple, sand and black. Three stamps: dress form, textile and spool (all Tim Holtz).
Number three: a section of dressmaking tissue found in the background".

"I created the background on purple card, swiping it roughly with gesso (fingers are the best paint brush), affixing dressmaking tissue, another light layer of gesso and two sections of sand coloured washi tape. I then sprayed it all with Sand glimmer mist and heat set. The textile stamp was used at the bottom of panel using purple inks, the dress form was inked in both purple and black inks and stamped directly onto the background. I stamped the spool image on a scrap of sand card and trimmed it to size, roughening the edges a little with scissors. Some of the work has been highlighted further with purple ink and charcoal pencil. A couple of black decorative rub ons, a scrap of purple trim and three buttons were added to complete the work".

Lovely work Sue!

And last but most certainly not least is a card that was created by Karen Daley of Canada:

Karen says:

"The typewriter (Cornish Heritage Farms) is embossed in Topiary green, trimmed and popped up with dimensional tape. The second stamp, "missing you" (also CHF), is embossed on black linen paper, and the third stamp (Stampers Anonymous) is stamped in Archival Library Green on cream cardstock and the dark green card base. The three colours are cream, black and green. The number 3 is on the letter/numeral stamp and repeats in various places on the card".

"This was a tricky challenge and took all month to percolate in my mind. I like how this turned out, crisp and clean and beautiful colours. Tricky challenges are always the most fun!".

Great work Karen!

Well, I think we can all agree that the entries this month have all been very clever! I love how everyone stuck to the challenge even though they found it difficult, and created awesome works of art!

Stay tuned for the next challenge! :)

~Sarah~

More THREE challenge entries!

2011-04-27T19:54:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!

I have lots of new loveliness to share today!

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

Vicky says:

"The three colours I chose to play with were turquoise, brown and white".

"I started by cutting a piece of turquoise coloured card 6"x4" and I decided to use a couple of Crafter's Workshop 6x6 templates/stencils (Mini Harlequin and Mini Numbers Collage), and some white acrylic paint to create my background. I then sponged some Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the edges, and added some crackle medium to the top edges, letting it drip randomly. When this was all dry I added the three Stampotique images which I had stamped with the same ink and mounted with foam tape".

"The letter stickers are Carolee's in Chocolate brown, and the number 3 is a Collections chipboard piece painted with brown acrylic paint and covered with crackle medium. I also used a bit of brown ribbon".

Terrific work Vicky!

Next we have a card that was created by Lizzy Hill:

Lizzy says:

"It took a whole heap of thinking, but once I'd worked out what to do, it came together really quickly. You had to think ahead, 'cos you couldn't just keep adding stuff 'til it looked right!!! I was really pleased that I'd used lime green ink ['Stampin' Up'] for the Pensive Phillip background stamp (Queen's Dresser Drawers) as it was a bit different from the usual vintage colours".

"The other 2 stamps (which I masked before putting Philip in the background) are from Stampin' Up's Birthday Set, & the number 3 is in there too (Stazon black ink, with the 14 embossed with Versamark & black embossing powder)".

Very cool Lizzy!!

Next up we have an ATC that was created by Marjie Kemper from the USA:

Marjie says:

"It was hard to stick to three colors and to find a way to use the number, which I thought would be really easy! The mailman delivered some new stamps yesterday and one was a numbered list.... ta da! One problem solved. So the whole "rules to live by" is one stamp (Studio 490 by Wendy Vecchi), and the other two stamps are the different borders. Distress ink colors are mustard seed, wild honey and black soot".

Nice work Marjie!

And last but not least for today is this card by Gerda Weiland from The Netherlands:

Gerda says:

"I used White cardstock and stamped & Coloured with Black & Lake Mist. Found brads in the same colour. Used 3 stamps from Teesha Moore - the city, the bubbles and the sign 23-A".

Lovely work Gerda!

So great to see so many of you giving this challenge a go, even though you found it difficult!

If you haven't yet given it a go, there's still plenty of time left to send me in an entry - so get out those stamps and get inky. :)

~Sarah~

ANZAC Day.

2011-04-25T14:36:00.001+10:00

It's a bit late, but Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a lovely day yesterday. I had my family over for a BBQ and of course there were lots of yummy chocolate eggs around too.

Today is Easter Monday, but it is also ANZAC Day here in Australia. Today we remember our fallen heroes from both Australia and New Zealand that fought in Gallipoli in Turkey in World War 1.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Lest We Forget.

* PRIZES FOR APRIL 2011! *

2011-04-21T09:08:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone!

I bet you'd like to know what's up for grabs this month, huh?! Check out these fabulous prizes from our sponsors:

MAJOR PRIZE (Aus residents only):

One lucky stamper will win this Tim Holtz stamp set - "Photostudio" courtesy of The Stamping Queen:

Note the 3 generations in the top stamp, and the 3 stamps in total! Awesome!

INKURABLE NEWBIE PRIZE (Aus residents only):

One lucky new player at Inkurable will score themselves this brand new, ret to be released ATC kit thanks to Tarisota Collections!

This kit will give you the basis for 8 ATCs, and lovely coordinated product too! This months theme is "Life is Beautiful" and has been designed by Robyn wood, Ruby Claire, and Tamar Bostock.

If you'd like to reserve a collection prior to release you can email Tamar for more details. Yay!

INKURABLE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE:

One lucky international player will receive this gorgeous prize pack thanks to Darkroom Door:

3 Montage Sheets and 3 Wordstrips from their latest 3 Collections: Seaside, Sweet Treats and Love Letters!

Once again some awesome incentives from our amazing sponsors!

You've gotta be in it to win it, so off you go - it's time to get inky!!

~Sarah~

More new entries!

2011-04-20T07:55:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone!

I'm back again with some more new entries to share!

First we have this card that was sent in by Alison from the UK:

Alison says:

"I decided to use my new set of Darkroom Door Home Sweet Home stamps. I picked out 3 of the stamps, one of which is a row of numbers…very handy!

The 3 colours I chose, were orange, green & brown. I used rusty hinge, wild honey, forest moss, and vintage photo distress inks, and I stamped my images with coffee archival. I finished my card off with 3 little orange beads".

Great work Alison!

Next we have this mini canvas that was created by Lynne Quinn:

Lynne says:

"I used a 4" x 4" canvas, then applied acrylic paint dabber - Aqua - over the whole area. I added Distress crackle paint - Tea Dye over the top".

"I stamped grass, the number 3, and 3 small birds with distress ink tea dye, then added chip board Cats and Lamp post from Scrapmatts Australia, which were inked with stazon jet black. I then used glossy accents over the top".

Lovely work Lynne! Those cats are so cool!!

Well that's all from me for today - keep those entries coming!

~Sarah~

The latest THREE challenge entries!

2011-04-16T10:30:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!

I hope those of you who have kids on School Holidays at the moment are enjoying your family time together and finding a bit of "me" time for stamping along the way too! :)

I have some lovely new entries to share today! And wouldn't you know it - there's THREE of them! :P

First we have this card that was created by Kim Mills:

Kim used the following products:

White A5 card stock
Distress inks Crushed Olive and Black Soot
3d adhesive
Ek Success Punch for clock hands
Tim Holtz Mini Mask-Floret
Tim Holtz mask-Letters/Numbers
Stamps - Life's Possibilities (birds), Umbrella Man, and Clock.
Stamped with Versafine black.

Great work Kim!

Next we have a card that was created by Shirley Henry:

Shirley says:

"I have used black, white, and red as my 3 colours. White cardstock was sponged with Distress Ink Barn Door. Black Soot Distress Ink around the sides".

"Mixed Numbers (Stamp it 2007) stamped three times in Versafine black for the background. Stamped again on scrap card in Barn Door. The 23 cut out and 'spotlighted' over the black 23 on the card. The black 23 at bottom right hand side is grungboard painted over with black enamel accent. Barn Door ink sponged on edges. The question mark is a sticker".

The girl, Moth Fab (Stampotique) was stamped in Versafine black, coloured with gelly pens and attached to front of card with foam squares. I added a grungeboard crown which was painted with Barn Door crackle paint. White pearls added to the crown".

"The 3rd stamp is inside the card":

LOL!! Awesome work Shirley! Shirley made this card for her daughter who turns 23 next week. I bet she'll love it Shirley!!

Lastly we have this card that was sent in by Jenene Evans:

Jenene says:

"I first stamped the little man (Stampotique) with black embossing, then added a touch of Distress Ink (Stormy sky). I also stamped the fish skeleton (My Stamps) and No 3 (Darkroom Door) in Stormy Sky".

"This is all added to white cardstock along with Darkroom Door wordstrips. I also rubbed black Distress Ink around edges of white card, mounted on black card, then white card, finished with some fringe wool along bottom edge".

Very cool Jenene!

Keep those entries coming everyone!

~Sarah~

PS: There's still time to sign up to our Inkurable Stampers ATC Swap - see the details here.

A Three Challenge ATC!

2011-04-11T11:20:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!

Our latest "Three" challenge entry is an ATC that was sent in by Belinda Achatz:

Belinda says:

My ATC is a reflection of stuff going through my head at the moment - Only 3, meaning 3 children(?) or more....?
* You must use the number 3 somewhere on your project - I used an old 3 stamp (manufacturer unknown).
* You must use 3 stamps - and only 3 stamps. No more, no less! - The 3 stamp as above, a Prima frame stamp (Only frame), and a gorgeous little 3-egg nest stamp by "Odd Bird Planet".
* You must use 3 colours - black, cream & green - I coloured in the eggs with Glimmer Mist in "Forest Green" which was a great match for the Tim Holtz cardstock background.

Lovely work Belinda!

Speaking of ATC's if you like making and swapping ATC's you might be interested in our Inkurable Stampers ATC swap! See the details here.

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

Special Announcement! Inkurable Stampers Artist Trading Card Swap!

2011-04-10T08:48:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!!

To celebrate Inkurable's 3rd birthday, I will be running an ATC Swap!

It's been almost 3 years since our last one, so it's about time we did another one, don't you think? ;)

In honour of Inkurable's 3rd birthday our swap theme will be the Inkurable colours:

Here's what you have to do:

Create a set of 9 x ATC's using only the colours Orange, Black, and White. You are free to use any stamps and embellishments etc that you like!

If you are interested in joining the swap, please email me with "INKURABLE ATC SWAP" in the subject line and I will send you out the full details! Overseas participants welcome!

Sign up will be open until midnight 17th April 2011.

Artist Trading Cards are so much fun to create and swap - if you're new to ATC's and would like to find out more about them, have a read of this post here. (Just bear in mind that it was written back in 2008, so any comps or challenges it mentions are now finished).

I hope you'll all play along! :)

~Sarah~

* WINNER FOR MARCH 2011 PAINT CHALLENGE! *

2011-04-06T13:00:00.000+10:00

Thank you to everyone who sent in an entry to our quick paint challenge for March! They were all so cool!

As you know, because it was a short challenge there will be only one winner for March, chosen by a random draw. :)

But before we find out who the lucky winner is, let's check out the entries again:

So inspiring!

We had a total of 13 lovely entries, and of that 13, 9 were from Australia and 4 were international.

I put all 13 names into a random list generator and here was the result:

Therefore the lucky winner is .....

EMILY PEARCE!

Congratulations Emily!

You have won this set of 3 scallop stamps, courtesy of me!! :)

Happy stamping!

~Sarah~

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

2011-04-06T10:56:00.000+10:00

OMG - Can you believe this is my 800th post here at Inkurable! That's a whole lotta inky inspiration! LOL!

Today is my day off, so I'm playing catch up! Which means it's now time to announce the winners (and prizes!) for our February Bookmarks challenge! (About time, huh! LOL!).

But before I do, let's take another look at all those gorgeous entries in our slideshow:

What a fabulous collection of stamping awesomeness!

Thank you to everyone who had a go at our Bookmarks challenge - we had a whopping 22 entries!! Way to go stampers!! Of those 22, 13 were from Australia and 9 were international.

Now onto the fun part - the winners!!

Congratulations to the following people :

MAJOR PRIZE (Aus resident only):

ROS CRICHTON! I just loved the colours and textures you used on your bookmark! You have scored the lovely Seaside Vol 1 stamp set from Darkroom Door:

INKURABLE NEWBIE PRIZE (Aus resident only):

LIZZY HILL!! You have won yourself a $25.00 Voucher from The Stamping Queen!

INKURABLE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE:

ALISON FROM THE UK! You have won this gorgeous set of "Lost and Found" stamps, courtesy of Tarisota Collections!

WELL DONE LADIES!!

Have fun with your new goodies!

~Sarah~

Our first THREE Challenge entry!

2011-04-05T22:09:00.000+10:00

Hello stampers!!

Jenny Rodda was quick off the mark and brave enough to give this month's challenge a go! Check out her card:

Jenny says:

"I chose pink, black, and white as my 3 colours. The birdcage, bird and dotted line are my stamps - everything else is a rub on or a sticker, including the number 3".

"I've brushed gesso across the background, added some vintage book paper, an image and a doily".

And how clever is Jenny - she even included a photo of THREE friends at a tea party, and.....

THREE scallops on the banner!

Awesome work Jenny!!!

Someone asked a very good question that I thought I'd share here in case anyone else was wondering the same thing:

Q. If I stamp one small stamp repeatedly, does that count as one stamp or many?

A. You must use 3 different stamp images (i.e 3 different stamps) - however you can stamp each image as many times as you like. :)

I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any more questions! :)

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

30 Days of Stamping and Cardmaking at Two Peas!

2011-04-04T17:00:00.000+10:00

To celebrate their expansion into stamping and cardmaking, US Online scrapbooking store Two Peas in a Bucket has just announced a "30 Days of Stamping and Cardmaking" special event! There will be challenges, prizes, lessons from Garden Girls and guest artists - including Tim Holtz!
From their website:

"We're springing into stamping and cardmaking this April, bringing you new projects and inspiration each day, all month! This is an event you won't want to miss as we've been making plans to bring you content to boost your creativity, partnering with the vendors whose product you love and the artists whose work you admire. You'll find lessons from our Garden Girls, guest artists and talented members on topics like using a single stamp multiple ways, new techniques, cards without the use of stamping, and stamping in your scrapbooks. As always, be on the lookout for challenges and prizes!".

Check it out here.

Looks like it will be really cool!

Happy stamping!

~Sarah~

THE THEME FOR APRIL 2011 IS.....

2011-04-03T18:16:00.001+10:00

THREE!

This month we celebrate the 3rd Birthday of Inkurable Stampers! Wooohoooo!

Inkurable's very first challenge was posted back on the 1st of April 2008 - and we've been getting inky together ever since!

So - what better theme for us this month than THREE - and announced on the 3rd no less! LOL!! So you know what that means - THREE criteria! Woo! This is going to be a fun one!

Here are the criteria for your challenge:

* You must use the number 3 somewhere on your project.
* You must use 3 stamps - and only 3 stamps. No more, no less!
* You must use 3 colours - and black and white DO count as colours. So - if you use black and white, you're only allowed one other colour. :)

I know I say this all the time, but I truly can't wait to see what you guys come up with this month!

I'm still working on my example, so here's a song to inspire you.......

Entries are due by Midnight April 30th (Sydney, Australia time). 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!

Happy stamping!!

~Sarah~

FREE Craftstamper E-zine!

2011-04-03T14:33:00.000+10:00

Craftstamper Magazine has brought out an E-zine - and you can download it for FREE!

* 12 complete step-by-step projects
* Readers' favourites from 2010
* Totally FREE
* Delivered to you at the click of a button
* Great offers inside
* Win some fantastic prizes

Get yours here!

Enjoy!

~Sarah~

The last paint entries!

2011-04-01T09:08:00.000+11:00

Hellllllooooooooo stampers!

It's a new day, a new month, and time for a new challenge!

But first, I just have to share this awesome new stamping technique that I saw last night - too cool!

And before we get started with the new challenge, I have to share the last entries for the Paint Challenge! So here they are!

This card was sent in by Emily Shultz:

Emily says:

"This card was really simple to make: I stamped and embossed the large flower stamp, splotched on various colours of paint, stamped smaller flowers and sentiment, then added some twine to finish it off! The flowers were from a Kaisercraft set and the sentiment is from Darkroom Door's "All Occasions" stamp set".

Gorgeous work Emily!

Next we have this card that was sent in by Lyn Smith:

Lyn says:

"For my background piece I used some textured watercolour paper, wet it liberally and painted it with some Twinkling H2O's - the colours are Summer Breeze and Guatamalan Green. I stamped a Ferngully seashell stamp along the bottom of this piece using Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder".

"For the seahorse piece, I started with some white cardstock and dry-brushed it with some Lumiere paint in a cross-hatch pattern - the colours are Blue, Emerald and Turquoise. I then applied a coating of Versamark ink and heat embossed 3 layers of clear Opals embossing enamel. While the Opals were still warm I inked up the Stamp-It seahorse stamp with black Brilliance ink and pressed it into the warm Opals. I put this in the freezer for a few minutes so I could give it a Cracked Glass finish".

"I layered the watercoloured piece onto some turquoise and green cardstock layers, tied some twine around them and finished it with a nautical charm. I edged the seahorse piece with a black Sharpie pen and layered it with some dimensional foam dots. I adhered the whole piece to a folded white card and added the Kaisercraft sentiment with black ink and the Hero Arts 'bubbles' using Versamagic Sea Breeze ink".

Lovely work Lyn!

And the very last entry comes from Robyn Wood:

Robyn says:

"The card uses a 14 cm square white card base. The strip on the left is punched with a Martha Steward punch. The pale blue cardstock was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The circles were punched from scrap, the flourish ones were punched from some gorgeous embossed ‘wedding’ paper that I sponged with Distress ink to give a bit of colour. The words are from the Darkroom Door Love Birds set".

"The birdcage is die cut from chipboard & painted with Viva Precious Metal Colour (cinnamon) and backed with a piece of textured velum. The bird was painted with Distress Crackle Paint in broken china. I rubbed the wing over with a bit of the matching ink before coating with Glossy Accents. If you look closely the branch and the birds legs are painted two different browns in the Crackle Paint – I find it defines the legs a bit".

Great work Robyn!!

Well, that's it for the Paint challenge!

Stay tuned for the next challenge coming soon!!

~Sarah~

PS: Happy April Fool's Day! ;)

More paint challenge entries!

2011-03-28T17:42:00.000+11:00

Hello stampers!

I've got some more entries to share today!

First we have this ATC that was created by Marjie Kemper from The USA:

Marjie says:

"I made this ATC using a scrap of Cosmo Cricket paper cut on Tim's ATC die, then covered it with gesso and edged it with a Ranger lettuce green paint dabber. I really love what the gesso and paint did for this striped paper scrap".

"I cut the new tiny bird and cage from Tim's new mini die set and cut a bit of ball chain to hang it from the branch stamp. I cut the cage out of brown fun foam. The bird was from a scrap of text paper, inked with fired brick, and covered with Ranger's Glossy Accents. Also used GA to secure the chain and the bird to the outside of the cage. Liking it that she's free to fly!".

Great work Marjie!

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

Karen says:

"I started with a sheet of textured shimmer paper, and coated it with acrylic paint dabbers (pool and lettuce). The shimmer didn't show through, but I still like the texture of the paper, and the white bits still show shimmer. The "thanks" (Impress Rubber Stamps) was stamped in black and heat embossed in black, and matted on more black. The card base is olive, with some botanical silhouettes (Darkroom Door) stamped in dusty lime and Opaline blue ink. The flowers are from my stash".

Lovely work Karen!

Lastly for today we have a scrapbook page by Mandy Dodd: (click to enlarge)

Mandy says:

"My background is a bit of layer over layer with paper and tissue underneath gesso and a couple of letter stamps imprinted into it. The diamond/harlequin stamp is from Purple Onion and one of my favourites".

Gorgeous work Mandy!

Well that's it from me for today!

There's only 3 more full days left to get your Paint Challenge entries in! Can't wait to see 'em!

~Sarah~

More painty goodness!

2011-03-25T16:45:00.000+11:00

Hello stampers!

I ave some more painty goodness to share with you today!

First we have this plaque that was created by Vicky Fernando:

Vicky says:

"I started by painting a Collections chipboard shape with a base colour of pale beige (Kaiser acrylic paint) then adding some Veridian (Reeves acrylic paint) to the edges. I then used various stamps (Darkroom Door's Lovebirds, Gothic Arches, Wildflowers Vol 1, Flourish background stamp) Delish clear stamps (tiny script), Victoria's Secret (alphabet), Catslife Press (a little bird...)".

"They were all stamped with Archival ink (jet black) overlapping the images with MM's sea foam glaze, and using some bubble wrap and white acrylic paint. For the sentiment, I stamped the individual letters (Etcetera Circa 1937 foam stamps) with black acrylic paint onto some kraft coloured card, trimmed the letters with some decorative scissors, and when dried, I covered them with Dimensional Magic and stuck them on with a mix of double sided tape and foam tape".

"I added the red paper flower, a flower cut out of a playing card (using an Alterations die) and a brad, all covered with a touch of diamond Stickles".

Gorgeous work Vicky!

Next we have this wall hanging that was created by Shirley Henry:

Shirley says:

"I created a wall hanging with four small ATC size canvases. Two of them were painted with "Pool" dabber paint. The other two were painted on the back (to turn into "shadow boxes") in Mushroom dabber paint, then antique linen crackle paint. The 'lazy days' box I applied some scattered straw distress embossing powder to the bottom right hand side. The shadow boxes were also painted inside with Pool paint".

"Darkroom Door Seaside VOL1 stamps were used on all four. Inked with Versafine black. The bird is from the Darkroom Door Love Birds set. Darkroom Door Seaside film strips attached with foam tape inside shadow boxes. White mesh ribbon and some of the shells were misted with Sand glimmer mist.
Shells attached with hot glue gun".

"I used a gold gelly pen for the light in the Lighthouse, and some jute on the starfish canvas. A piece of sturdy cardboard was painted with Pool paint and jute for hanging was attached with staples. The four canvases then attached with hot glue".

Awesome work Shirley!

And lastly we have this card that was sent in by Jenene Evans:

Jenene says:

"For my card this month I have used stamps by Stampin' Up, and the text stamp is by Darkroom Door. I first stamped the 3 tortoises and cut them out, then painstakingly painted with acrylic paints and a very fine paint brush. The middle tortoise is raised up. The background of the card I partly embossed in black, and painted the rest with acrylic paint. The Text I stamped in grey and also used paint over some of the letters, then mounted on pink paper".

Great work Jenene! Those are some very funky tortoises!!

Keep all the great work coming everyone!

~Sarah~

PS: If you live on or near the Central Coast and are looking for something to do tomorrow (you've gottta leave the house anyway to vote in the election, right?!) why not come along to one or both of my classes at Pages2Scrap? I promise we'll have lots of inky fun!! :)

Our first Paint Entries!

2011-03-22T16:39:00.000+11:00

Hello stampers!

I have lots of lovely painty goodness to share with you today!!

First we have this card that was sent in by Ellie Knoll from The Netherlands:

And here is a close up:

Ellie has written a tutorial on her blog about the technique she used for this card. Check it out here.

Great work Ellie!

Next we have a scrapbooking layout that was sent in by Emily Pearce:

Emily says:

"I scraped red paint around the edges of my layout with a piece of cardstock, then a sprayed a bit of glimmer mist. Once it dried I got out all my "boy stamps" and stamped over the paint".

Awesome work Emily! So great to see a scrapbook page here!

Next up we have an altered notebook by Lynne Quinn:

Lynne says:

"For my plastic covered note book I masked off an area for painting then added 2 coats of luminere paint. I then dabbed 3 more colours of the same same paint, stuck down girl with Liquitex, and added words and roses. I then sealed again with Liquitex".

"The name "Lynne" is a word stamp that I had made".

Lovely work Lynne!

Lastly for today we have some altered bags that were created by Giovanna from Italy:

Gio says:

"For this project I altered two little bags with paint, used colour catchers and lots of stamping. I painted the bags with red and teal acrylic colors. I stamped with a swirl background stamp with gesso from Aladine".

"I put together four colour catchers and I started to stamp on them with different rubber stamps:
the clock and the dressform with staz-on, the flower from Stampinback with some gesso".

"I cut the colour catchers into little squares. I opened up the bags and sewed three squares on every bag, and I added some micro beads".

You can see step by step photos on Giovanna's blog here.

Great work Gio!

Wow - what a very different bunch of projects! I just love seeing all the different interpretations of the challenges! You guys rock!

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

THE {QUICK} THEME FOR MARCH 2011 IS.....

2011-03-16T09:52:00.000+11:00

PAINT!

We've done Paint as a theme before during our Gothic ARches challenge, but I thought it would be a fun one to do for this month's quick 2 week challenge.

SO - your task is to create a stamped project using paint! Cards, ATC's, mixed media - anything your heart desires!

Here are some ideas:

* Use paint as a background and then stamp over it.
* Stamp with paint.
* Stamp into texture paint.
* Paint over an embossed image.

Here's a sneak peek of a project I did last week using paint and lots of stamps:

You can see more of it on my blog here.

There will only be one winner for this quick challenge, and it will be a random draw, so you've gotta be in it to win it!

Entries are due by Midnight March 31st (Sydney, Australia time). 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 looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

~Sarah~

The last bookmark entries!

2011-03-13T09:59:00.003+11:00

Hello again stampers!

The Bookmarks challenge is officially closed! Thank you to everyone who sent in entries this month - they're fabulous!

I have a couple more to share that came in before deadline last night.

First we have this bookmark that was sent in by Karen Daley from Canada:

Karen says:

"I used a #8 manila tag and sponged on various colours and stamped over with Darkroom Door botanical silhouettes using Distress Ink. I splattered, and added some more flowers, and the diamond stamp down the side (also Darkroom Door). The flourish in gold (hard to see on the scan) is a Stampers Anonymous stamp. The quotation is black embossed and also Darkroom Door. The ribbon is hand-dyed silk and really matches the Victorian Velvet ink".

Gorgeous work Karen!

Next we have this bookmark that was sent in by Lyn Smith:

Lyn says:

"I used some watercolour paper and wet it liberally before applying some Lumiere paints. I had to water down the paints a fair bit so that my stamping would show through, but hopefully you can still see the lovely shimmer of the paints in my photos. Just click on the photos for a close-up of the shimmer".

"The stamp I used is a gorgeous peacock, one of my favourite images by Magenta Stamps. After my painted watercolour piece had dried, I used Black Onyx Versafine ink to stamp the peacock, I find it's the best for finely detailed stamps like this one. When the ink had dried, I used a gold gel pen and a Signo white gel pen to highlight some of the peacock. I layered my stamped piece onto some black cardstock, punched a hole in the top and added a purchased tassel".

Beautiful work Lyn!

And last but not least we have this bookmark that was sent in by Kim Price:

Kim says:

"I have used stamps by Darkroom DOor and Kaisercraft. I've also used some paper Prima flowers, Tim Holtz Distress Crackle, some thick black twine and a doodling pen".

Lovely work Kim!

Who knew bookmarks would bring out so many stampers and so much gorgeous creativity! This has been a really fun challenge to watch!

Don't forget - March's challenge will start very soon, and will only go until the end of the month - so you'll need to jump into action quickly! :)

Until then.......

~Sarah~

One more bookmark!

2011-03-11T16:44:00.000+11:00

Hello stampers!

I've been so busy lately - feels like I haven't been here in ages! I hope you're all well!

As you can see, no new challenge has been put up for March yet. I thought it best to wait until the bookmark challenge is over, so March's challenge will start on the 13th and be a short one so we can get back on track in April for our 3rd Birthday celebrations! Can you believe it?! My how time flies when we're getting inky!!

I have just one bookmark to share today, sent in by Markie Kemper from The USA:

Marjie says:

"The lady is an Acey Deucy stamp, and I used several border & collage stamps, distress inks (wild honey, spiced marmalade, black soot) and Black Stazon & Black enamel accents. The sentiment is Inkadinkadoo. This bookmark measures 11" X 3" which is quite large! I think it'll be great for marking pages in magazines because it's oversized".

Great work Marjie!

If you haven't sent in your bookmark entry, you still have time! Deadline is midnight 12th March 2011 (Sydney Australia time) so you have all day tomorrow to get nice and inky! :)

Happy stamping!

~Sarah~

Lots of lovely bookmarks!

2011-03-05T09:50:00.002+11:00

Hello everyone!

I have lots of new entries to share today!

First we have this bookmark that was sent in by Robyn Wood:

Robyn says:

"My bookmark was created using plain white cardstock as a base. I stamped it with the Darkroom Door Criss-Cross background stamp in pearlescent lime Brilliance ink. The tag was then sponged with Adirondack dye ink – citrus, pool & lemonade. The cool thing about the Brilliance ink is that it acts as a resist against the dye ink and the pearlescent effect shows through. The quote is from Darkroom Door Art De Fleur Vol 1 set".

"Then it was a simple matter to set an eyelet in the top, tie on some ribbon and attach some lace down the left hand side. The flower was made from some velvety leaves & layered Kaiser flowers".

Very pretty Robyn!

Net we have this bookmark set that was sent in by Ellie Knol from The Netherlands:

Ellie says:

"I made them by first stamping the butterflies with Aged Mahogony Distress ink, and colored them with water color pencils".

"On the first one I splatted some water, but then remembered that I used distress inks, so decided to not splat the second one. But I kind of like the vintagy look it gives the butterflies".

"The butterflies were masked, and I stamped the text onto the tags with brown archival ink. I sponged the background with tea dye (edges). I added color to the background with decoration chalks (blue and brown)".

Beautiful work Ellie!

Next we have a bookmark that was sent in by Alison from the UK:

Alison says:

"I smooshed tumbled glass, broken china, & wild honey distress inks on my craft mat, spritzed it with heirloom gold perfect pearls, then laid my piece of white card in it. I dried it, then carried on dipping it in the ink, until I had a background I liked".

"Next, I stamped some words & numbers from Tim Holtz’s new plate, Stuff To Say, using vintage photo & broken china distress inks. I rounded off the top corners, then inked the edges of the bookmark with broken china distress ink".

"I used my lovely Vagabond to cut some Tattered Florals out of old music sheet, then spritzed the florals with the perfect pearls spray. I edged them with vintage photo DI, then scrunched the medium flower before layering it on the larger one. I punched circles out of Tim’s lost & found paper, to embellish the flowers. Finally, I added an eyelet to the top, & some orange organza ribbon".

Gorgeous work Alison!

And last but not least we have these bookmarks that were sent in by Dawn from the UK:

And here is a close up:

Nice work Dawn!

Well that's it from me for today!

Have a lovely weekend!

~Sarah~

More bookmarks!

2011-03-02T09:00:00.003+11:00

Hello stampers!

I have 2 new bookmarks to share today - one is an entry, and the other is one that I made the other night!

First we have this bookmark that was sent in by Jenene Evans:

Jenene says:

"This time I tried using up some of those strips that seem to accumulate (I’m not good at throwing out even the little bits!), so onto red cardstock I have glued numerous strips of coloured paper, then stamped ‘There is an art in reading, as well as an art of thinking, and an art of writing’ with Darkroom Door alphabet set. Next I stamped Pooh Bear with black embossing powder and coloured him in with Le Plume pens. (Stamp by Hunter Leisure Pty Ltd)".

Great work Jenene!

Now here's the bookmark that I created the other night - gave me a good excuse to get out some Tim Holtz stamps from my stash that I hadn't yet got inky!! LOL!

I started with a plain white piece of cardstock (2x7") which I inked using Vintage Photo and Scattered Straw Distress inks. I then stamped different stamps by Tim Holtz on the background in Barn Door and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks. I stamped other Tim Holtz images and the quotes over the top using Jet black Archival ink, and the inked around the edges using a sponge dauber.

Here is the back:

Both sides were stuck to a piece of black bazzill cardstock. I punched a hole at the top with my Cropadile, and threaded some red satin ribbon through.

It was fun to make, and even more fun getting out stamps that I'd never used before!!

Well that's it from me for now. Stay tuned for the next challenge! (And don' forget you still have until midnight 12th March to send in your bookmark entry if you haven't already done so!).

~Sarah~

New Releases From Darkroom Door!

2011-03-01T22:20:00.000+11:00

Darkroom Door have just released a bunch of gorgeous new stamps and paper products!!

It's all available for pre-order now, and will start shipping from March 7th 2011! Check them out:

The Essentials 7 Collection includes 8 new rubber stamp sets:

Spiral Flowers, String Sentiments, 1920s Chic, Steampunk, Playing Cards, Fun and Games, Simply Circles, and Leaves.

See them up close here!

The Love Letters Collection includes 2 new rubber stamp sets along with Photochips™, Montage™, Filmstrips™ and Wordstrips™.

See them all here!

The Sweet Treats Collection includes 2 new rubber stamp sets along with Photochips™, Montage™, Filmstrips™ and Wordstrips™.

Drool over them here!

My favourite is the Steampunk set - it's totally screaming my name!!! I also really love the String Sentiments set - so versatile! And everything else comes a close 2nd! LOL!!

So - what's your favourite?

~Sarah~

A Barrage of Bookmarks!

2011-03-01T09:06:00.000+11:00

Hello stampers!

Just a reminder that February's bookmark Challenge Deadline is Midnight March 12th 2011 (Sydney time). So you still have plenty of time to send me in your bookmark entries!

I will start March's challenge tomorrow, so we will have 2 challenges running side by side for a little while. But remember - no combining challenges! You must create a separate entry for each challenge. :)

I have THREE new bookmarks to share, so let's get right into it!

First we have this bookmark that was sent in by Lynne Quinn:

Lynne says:

"I used Suede cardstock from Stampin' Up and stamped wild flowers from Darkroom Door in Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The lattice is a Martha Stewart punch. The butterflys are a Sizlett die from Stampin' Up. Then I added bronze Stickles to the flowers".

Here is the back:

"On the back I stamped lines from the Darkroom Door calender set. I wrote some of my favourite books down, so that the friend who gets this bookmark will have some books already on her list to read".

Great idea Lynne! Lovely work!

Net we have this bookmark that was sent in by Ros Crichton:

Ros says:

"The Darkroom Door Luggage tag was painted in gold acrylic paint and allowed to dry. It was then run through the Big Shot using the tapestry folder. I then sprayed it with Dragonfly glimmermist and a home-made purple ink spray. Dried it with the heat gun and then spritzed with water and gently dabbed away some of the top layer of ink to reveal the gold".

"I machine stitched around the edge adding the Tim Holtz scroll, sewed ribbon and metal corner to the bottom. Stamped the word LOVE onto a hand-made piece of paper in stazon and sprayed with glimmermist and attached by sewing. The leather flower and tassells are from an old belt and the heart is from a piece of lace".

"The reverse side is also another DD tag which I scrunched up and then smoothed out. Sprayed with glimmermist and spritzed with water and dried with heat gun. You can see a couple of scorch marks which were a happy accident. Stamps are Tim Holtz and distress inked around the edges".

Gorgeous work Ros!

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

Shirley says:

"The teacup/teabag stamp (freebie from January issue of Craft Stamper) was stamped in black Versafine ink onto homemade background paper five times and cut out. A torn out page from an old book was sponged with old paper and vintage photo distress inks".

"Then I sprayed with 'coffee' Glimmermist. When dried, painted on some rock candy crackle paint.
A strip of white card embossed with script embossing folder. Sponged some old paper and vintage photo over it. A slightly larger strip of pattern paper from Tim Holtz 'Paper Stash' sponged with vintage photo on edges. Corner punch used. The three strips of paper then layered as shown. The five cups layered to look like a stack. Stamped tea bag straight on to the top cup and coloured the tea tag with colour pencil.
Added a square eyelet and green ribbon to top of bookmark".

"The background paper was made by 'stamping' with a metal piece from a garlic press and milk and coke caps. Distress inks. Idea from the Uk Craft Stamper".

Here is the back:

"Words printed from computer, cut out, sponged with vintage photo and glued. Teacup and teabag stamped to paper in versafine black. Vintage photo distress ink was sponged on the pattern paper first".

Lovely work Shirley!

I still have one more bookmark to share (plus another one from ME!! *gasp!* LOL!) but you'll just have to wait for those ones - or I'll be late for work! LOL!!

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

Lovely new bookmarks!

2011-02-23T17:16:00.000+11:00

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.

2011-02-23T17:00:00.000+11:00

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.

2011-02-22T19:44:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-02-21T17:05:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-02-19T07:49:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-02-19T07:33:00.000+11:00

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!!

2011-02-17T18:53:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-02-15T18:28:00.000+11:00

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! *

2011-02-14T18:19:00.001+11:00

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.....

2011-02-13T17:20:00.002+11:00

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!

2011-02-09T16:48:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-02-02T11:38:00.000+11:00

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~

Catching up with entries!

2011-01-31T22:03:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-01-28T11:49:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-01-22T08:54:00.000+11:00

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! *

2011-01-21T10:53:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-01-18T16:19:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-01-14T09:54:00.001+11:00

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.

2011-01-12T12:40:00.000+11:00

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.....

2011-01-06T22:33:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-01-05T12:19:00.000+11:00

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!

2011-01-04T16:17:00.000+11:00

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~

Back to the action!

2010-12-30T14:14:00.000+11:00

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!

2010-12-25T13:48:00.000+11:00

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!

2010-12-24T09:10:00.002+11:00

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! *

2010-12-19T17:00:00.002+11:00

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! *

2010-12-19T10:39:00.000+11:00

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!!

2010-12-18T11:31:00.000+11:00

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......

2010-12-16T12:38:00.000+11:00

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!

2010-12-14T15:24:00.000+11:00

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!

2010-12-12T09:24:00.001+11:00

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.

2010-12-10T13:40:00.000+11:00

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!

2010-12-09T07:41:00.000+11:00

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!

2010-12-07T21:29:00.000+11:00

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!

2010-12-05T19:42:00.000+11:00

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.........

2010-12-04T16:14:00.002+11:00

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!

2010-12-01T08:22:00.001+11:00

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~

The floodgates are open!

2010-11-29T17:32:00.000+11:00

Once again we have a last minute rush of entries! So get comfy - this will be a long one!

First we have this card that was sent in by Maureen from the UK:

Maureen says:

"I have used faded jeans distress ink throughout, the central pendant and the scrolls I cut on my cuttlebug and the centre stamped image is a larger village scene that I cut down in a nestie to fit. The background is stamped using a funky foam diamond shape and over stamped with holly and a music stamp, the flower is punched out".

Lovely work Maureen!

Next we have this card that was sent in by Julie Dudley:

Julie used a Russian stamp that she was given, and coloured her image using Copic Markers.

Great work Julie!

Next we have this card that was sent in by Laurence Colling-Schmitz from Belgium:

Laury says:

"I painted the page of an old book with acrylic paint (ivory) and glued it on my card. I added a scrap of paper at the bottom and used my sewing machine with a zigzag stich. The frame is cut out with the bigshot (nellies die cut) and I stamped the Xmas sock on a separate paper, cut it out and inked the edges".

"The next stamp (Infinimentscrap) I used is actually only one stamp, stamped on blue paper and on cream paper. I punched out a star with the snowman and glued the remaining text on top".

Great work Laury!

The 4th entry for today is an ATC that was sent in by Ros Crichton:

Ros says:

"My ATC was mounted on pink card stock. The background was from Webster Pages with sponging around the edges. I stamped the christmas tree (from Stampin Up's Lovely as a Tree) in 'Pink Pirouette' tipped in 'Wild Wasabi' and added a little sparkle. Not sure where the word JOY came from. Added a little silver charm and some velvet ric rac and a distressed pink star on top".

Gorgeous work Ros!

Now we have a Christmas decoration that was created by Nina Patena of The Philippines:

Nina says:

"I recycled 3 old CDs and made this Christmas wall hanging for our front door".

"It was super easy to use gel medium to adhere my patterned paper to the front of 3 never-to-be-watched again VCDs. I positioned my elements, stamped on the tag, used foam tape to adhere my vintage image from an advertising catalogue, used double-sided tape for the other elements, and used Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents to adhere the green plastic star. I then swiped white acrylic paint all around the edge".

"I stamped my postage stamp images using Versafine brown and black ink and Memento brown ink. I adhered my Santa vintage image on white cardstock, then used double-sided tape to attach it on top of the cheesecloth. Then I attached the cheesecloth on the patterned paper with double-sided tape. I used Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents to attach the ribbon and embellishment. Swiped white acrylic paint on edge. Adhered ribbon with double-sided tape. Tied twine and metal charm to small tag, then stamped and adhered with double-sided tape at an angle. Used foam tape to adhere vintage image. Adhered Maya Road felt bird and bingo chip with double-sided tape. Swiped white acrylic paint on edge. I then glue-gunned two strips of glue at the backs to attach my "hanging" ribbon on each CD".

Terrific work Nina!

Next up we have a Christmas tag that was sent in by Lesley Dupont from Canada:

Lesley says:

"This is a manilla shipping tag on which I used Dusty Concord distress ink and distressed the background. Then while that was drying I painted some Tim Holtz grungeboard snowflakes with acylic paints, the top snowflake is a metallic and the darker is a flat dark purple. The background of the stamp I stamped again in Dusty Concord distress ink with a snowflake stamp from Inkadinkado Ornate Christmas stamp collection. I also inked the edges of the tag with the same ink".

"The image I used was from FlickR, a great source for art images, and I used Starform glitter border to give it a bit of bling. I added some lace and button embellishments and the Let is Snow stamp was from Studio G Holiday stamps also stamped in Dusty Concord and it was mounted on a paint chip strip".

Beautiful work Lesley!

Phew! Are you all still with me? You are? OK then! I still have 2 more entries to share, but I'm going to make you wait until tomorrow for those ones! Teehee! So be sure to pop back tomorrow to check them out - there are lots of pics! :)

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

Inkurable Stampers

THE THEME FOR DECEMBER 2011 IS.........

THE THEME FOR OCTOBER 2011 IS.......

THE THEME FOR SEPTEMBER 2011 IS.......

Introducing the new look challenge!

Orange, Black and White ATC's!

*** WINNERS FOR THE JUNE 2011 SPOTS, DOTS, AND CIRCLES CHALLENGE! ***

*** WINNERS FOR THE MAY 2011 FOOD CHALLENGE! ***

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!

The last Spots, Dots, and Circles entries!

Running in circles!

All the latest entries!

Spotty, dotty goodness!

2010 Gothic Arch Challenge - Wrap Up Part 2.

The latest entries!

Seeing spots!

THE THEME FOR JUNE 2011 IS.....

*** WINNERS FOR APRIL 2011 THREE CHALLENGE! ***

Who's feeling hungry?

Cupcakes, Cake, and Coffee Cups!

A FEAST for the eyes!

A new entry!

Our first Food entry!

THE THEME FOR MAY 2011 IS.....

Our last THREE challenge entries.

More THREE challenge entries!

ANZAC Day.

*** PRIZES FOR APRIL 2011! ***

More new entries!

The latest THREE challenge entries!

A Three Challenge ATC!

Special Announcement! Inkurable Stampers Artist Trading Card Swap!

*** WINNER FOR MARCH 2011 PAINT CHALLENGE! ***

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

Our first THREE Challenge entry!

30 Days of Stamping and Cardmaking at Two Peas!

THE THEME FOR APRIL 2011 IS.....

FREE Craftstamper E-zine!

The last paint entries!

More paint challenge entries!

More painty goodness!

Our first Paint Entries!

THE {QUICK} THEME FOR MARCH 2011 IS.....

The last bookmark entries!

One more bookmark!

Lots of lovely bookmarks!

More bookmarks!

New Releases From Darkroom Door!

A Barrage of Bookmarks!

Lovely new bookmarks!

How to Help those Affected by the New Zealand Earthquake.

2010 Gothic Arch Challenge - Wrap Up Part 1.

Another bookmark!

New bookmarks!

Children's Book Sale!

More beautiful Bookmarks!!

Beautiful Bookmarks!

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

THE THEME FOR FEBRUARY 2011 IS.....

Never fear - I'm still here!

The last Golden Birthday entries!

Catching up with entries!

Yay! Some new entries!

So so so so cool!

*** WINNERS FOR DECEMBER 2010! ***

More entries!

Golden Birdies!

Our first Golden Birthday entry.

THE THEME FOR JANUARY 2011 IS.....

The last One Layer Wonders!

Happy New Year!

Back to the action!

Merry Christmas Stampers!

Santa comes tonight!

*** PRIZES FOR DECEMBER 2010! ***

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

Last weekend before Christmas!!

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

One layer wonderful!

2 weeks until Christmas!

* WINNERS FOR THE JUNE 2011 SPOTS, DOTS, AND CIRCLES CHALLENGE! *

* WINNERS FOR THE MAY 2011 FOOD CHALLENGE! *

* WINNERS FOR APRIL 2011 THREE CHALLENGE! *

* PRIZES FOR APRIL 2011! *

* WINNER FOR MARCH 2011 PAINT CHALLENGE! *

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

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

* WINNERS FOR DECEMBER 2010! *

* PRIZES FOR DECEMBER 2010! *

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