I Met Inka!

At the post office yesterday, I checked my mailbox before waiting in line to mail stuff (which is unusual for me... I usually check the box afterward). In line, I read an ad that I usually throw away. The ad didn't start until Wednesday, but I decided to stop by that store in advance to check out the bookshelves if they had arrived yet. Yadda, yadda, yadda... a couple of us customers get to talking and I find out that one of them is Inka from Inka Stamps!

We got to talking a bit, and she's feeling better since her back surgery! This means she'll be heading back to the stamp show circuit. I really enjoy stamp shows, and am disappointed that the Boise show has been cancelled this year. Hopefully it'll be back!

So I leave you today with a project I made with one of Inka's stamps. It's a fairly simple project.

Supply List:

- Stamp: Heather 4043 from Inka Stamps

- Ink: Basic Brown from Stampin' Up!; Chestnut Roan ColorBox Chalk Ink from Clearsnap

- Paper: Creamy Caramel CS and Brown Mulberry from Stampin' Up!; Patterned paper unknown

- Accessories: Ribbon from May Arts; Brads & Charm from Making Memories; Vintage authentic postage stamp

TIP: Getting a nice tear with mulberry paper is easy! Just get out a wet paintbrush or waterbrush and draw a line. Tear while still wet. The water dries very quickly, so draw & tear in small line segments.

Happy Stamping!

Fancy Floral Candle

It took some time to get things back to normal Saturday after I scrambled around the house Friday night for the moustache layout. In the mayhem Friday night, several sheets of patterned paper were run over by my chair wheels and a bag of cherry tomatoes ended up all over the floor. I'm messy even on a good day, but this was off the charts! (Sorry, honey!)


After I got the whole thing cleaned up and finished dinner, I decided to get some of my toys out into the dining room again (because my craft room is... you guessed it... too messy!) for some crafting therapy. I got this pretty light blue candle earlier in the week and I thought a pretty floral wrapper would fit the bill nicely.

The band around the candle is two layers of Homespun Collection paper from Memory Box and a nice thick blue grosgrain ribbon from May Arts. The flower was crafted from the same patterned papers and the Fancy Florals set from Verve Visual. The first two flower layers were stamped on the BACK and cut out. The back layer is stamped on the front with Bisque chalk ink from Clearsnap. A ribbon-tied button finished it off. I tried a number of different angles for the flower, and this one seemed to flatter it best. Hope you all like it, too!

Supply List:
- Stamps: Fancy Florals (Verve Visual)
- Ink: Bisque chalk ink (Clearsnap)
- Paper: Homespun Collection (Memory Box)
- Accessories: Ribbon (May Arts); Button (unknown)

Happy Stamping!

Pixie Projects

I sent off my projects tonight for the final round of the Mandarin Pixie DT contest. The rules were simple: create a card and a scrapbook layout that each use alphabet stamps and image stamps.

Inspired by acetate, I created the card first. I stamped flower pieces from the Verve Visual stamp set called Fresh Florals as snowflakes (a la Bethany Paull) on the back of the acetate sheet in opaque white and blue StazOn. Then the word "snow" was constructed from letters in the Skinny Dip alphabet from Purple Onion Designs. Card assembly continued with holes punched by the Crop-a-dile and ribbon and cording tied through. Two Heidi Swapp clear snowflake shapes were dyed with Midnight Blue StazOn (to match "snow" exactly) and some bling was added to the centers.


Supply List
- Stamps: Fancy Florals (Verve Visual); Skinny Dip Alphabet (Purple Onion Designs)
- Ink: Midnight Blue, Opaque White, Opaque Blue (StazOn by Tsukineko)
- Paper: Acetate Sheets (Archiver's); Patterned Papers (Chatterbox)
- Accessories: Ribbon (Chatterbox); Silver Cord (Stampin' Up!); Acrylic Shapes & Bling Gems (Heidi Swapp)

I've been contemplating the page for several days. My husband is growing a handlebar moustache, and I'm still trying to learn to like it. I've never been into facial hair. Yuck. I had planned to get the papers and colors finalized tomorrow, but fate had other plans for me. Luckily, I already had photos printed and I had already made a photocopy of his "The Stache" t-shirt.

Supply List
- Stamps: Paisley Set (Purple Onion Designs); Misunderstood Foam Alphabet (Making Memories)
- Ink: Blue Iris Chalk (Clearsnap); Paint (Making Memories)
- Paper: Solid Cardstock (Bazzill); Patterned Papers (Chatterbox)
- Accessories: Wood Frame, Photo Corners, Big Brads (Chatterbox); Green Bling Gems (Heidi Swapp)

So they're on their way to the judging process right now. And I'm off to bed. I'm grounded tomorrow so I can clean off the dining room table. Before I go, though, a big shout out to Lila, Lori, and CeCe who each crossed my path today -- and Julee who I got to see yesterday.

Happy Stamping!

ISO Pixie Dust

Quick, someone sprinkle some pixie dust on me! I need it for good luck!

Ever heard of Mandarin Pixie? They've got a very fun selection of alphabet stamps, sentiment stamps, and an increasing collection of images. Tonight I was hopping around in blog land like I do on many evenings, and I read that I'm a finalist in their Design Team Contest! I'm nine parts excited and one part scared to death. Okay, maybe 99 parts excited and one part scared. Not sure if I know for sure the exact recipe of emotions... but there is definitely a smile on my face. Now to see if I can ever get to sleep tonight...

Happy Stamping!

A Very Verve Release

What a fun experience I had today opening my mail box to find my very FIRST brand new rubber stamps from Verve Visual since joining the design team. I couldn't wait to trim & mount them and be on my merry way!

I found this cream and orange flower patterned paper in a 6x6 pad from BasicGrey's new Mellow line. The tiny flower in the pattern looks almost exactly like Julee's flower! It made a terrific background for the constructed focal flower.

Supply List:
- Flower stamps and sentiment from the Verve Visual Fancy Florals set
- Patterned papers from the BasicGrey Mellow 6x6 Pad
- Stampin' Up! cardstock and dye ink in Pumpkin Pie; Tag Corner Punch
- ColorBox fluid chalk inkpad in Chestnut Roan
- Stitched grosgrain ribbon from Lasting Impressions
- Solid suede ribbon from May Arts
- Thumbtack brad from the Karen Foster Earth Tones pack

I was saddened to hear this week that the Boise Rubber Stamp Show has been cancelled due to "lack of vendor participation" per the show promoters. The Treasure Valley really has thriving, vibrant stamping and paper crafting communities. Hopefully next year they'll return!

In other stamping news, my Stamping Idol and pal Lila is in the headlines again this week! Does she ever sleep? She won the Technique Tuesday contest at A Peek Into Yesterday and her project adorns their home page! To top it off, she got word from Stampington that at least one of her fabulous cards will be featured in the Autumn Take Ten. Seriously, people, she's a stamping powerhouse.

Lila and I are planning a big trip to Spokane in September to take classes from the amazing colorist Karen Lockhart at Apropos Paper Arts. Information about any other local stamp stores would be much appreciated!

Happy Stamping!