We are Having a SALE!

From November 1st until November 15th Artful Inkables has 35 sets on sale for 25-35% off. No code is needed to take advantage of this sale and our free shipping on orders over $45 still applies to all of our products including the sale items. So stock up now on those sets you've had on your wish list or better yet, send a loved one to over to buy some for you for Holiday gifts. See all the sales sets HERE.

Winter Retro Hop

Artful INKables has some great winter-themed stamps that may not be new releases...but they may be new to YOU. To help make you aware of these fun stamp sets, some of the INK girls and I have gotten together a retro Blog Hop. Just hop along from one blog to the next to see some wonderful creations made with some AI oldies-but-goodies. Leave your comment on each blog and you will be eligible to win a retro-winter set of your choice. Names will be drawn on Monday, November 2nd.

My card was made using the set Frosty Mug Mates which features some cute little snowmen with mugs for hats along with a pine tree and some winter sentiments and accessories. A full picture of this set can been seen in our store HERE. The background was made using another retro AI set called Paper Snowflakes which can be seen HERE.

I made the background for this card using the Retiform Technique (directions can be found over on SCS in the resources section) on shimmery white card stock. (My version of the technique basically involves, triangle shaped post-it notes, 3 colors of blue ink and a brayer.) After the background was brayered I stamped on some navy and white snowflakes from the paper snowflakes set. The back card piece was stamped with some smaller snowflakes from the snowman set mentioned above. For the focal point I stamped the snowman head in black on more shimmery card stock and colored it with Copic Markers. The embellishment is a clear snowflake over a circle of navy card stock with a decorative button in the center.

Now Hop on over to Jen's blog to see her fun project...and don't forget to comment to win!

~ Design Team Featured Stamper! ~

Today's Design Team Featured Stamper is Jackie Rakoski! Jackie is one fabulous stamper
and it is such a pleasure to team up with her. I especially love Jackie's compassion.
Her stamping style can be summed up as clean and crisp.

Here are some things you should know about Jackie:

Q ~ Married? Kids? Pets?

Single, no children, but I do have a dog named Lacey. She is a yellow lab and a complete sweetie.

Q ~ Do you have a job outside of stamping? If so, what do you do?

I do, I work full time as an architectural designer. I am trying to complete my IDP which is the intern development plan, its three years of full time work in specific areas before I can be eligible for my Architect's licensing exam to make me a register Architect.

Q ~ What got you into stamping?

I have always been interested in crafts of all sorts and growing up I was constantly at the closest crafts store around. I started with jewelry then moved on to some latch hooking and then came across working with lace to create potpourri. I found stamping when I was volunteering to help at my local libraries scrapbooking demonstration. I was completely hooked once I started and started going to classes and workshops all through high school and college.

Q ~ What is your favorite embellishment and why?

I think it's between ribbon and rhinestones. I mean a card seems uncompleted now without ribbon and a bit of bling!

Q ~ What drew you towards Artful Inkables?

I had been loving the cards I was seeing from the last terms design team, and a friend of mine, and now fellow design team member Joy, was always sharing her creations with me. After a while of eyeing the adorable images I saw the Twilight stamp sets and that was just a done deal for me! Artful INKables has such a fun style I was pulled right in!

Q ~ What is your favorite non-card type project?

I love altering tins and jars, not sure why, but they are just so much fun to alter. I and horrible when it comes to spotting things that may be altered one day, I have, let's just say, a few boxes filled with things to hopefully alter one day.

Q ~ Have you been published?

Not yet, I really want to be one day, but I keep forgetting to answer the calls. If I were to sit down and send something in I may have a chance.

Q ~ What is your favorite coloring medium? Why?

I would have to say my Copic markers, I love the look and they overall feel to my creations with these markers. Before I found them I loved colored pencils and gemasol though, it's nice to try out new mediums when you can, and I certainly try what I can find.

Q ~ Tell us about your blog.. (ie..is it all stamping, or a mix of other things?)

My blog is all about stamping, only once in a while do I post about personal things. I use my blog space to share my creations with whoever stops by and to share with people who are interested in ordering cards from me, its sort of like my little shop in a way.

Q ~ What is your favorite part of being on a design team?

I would have to say getting to know the other ladies on the team as well as working with these stamps all the time! I really think that getting the chance to work with a specific design team is a great way to test your style and try to learn from the other designers around you. Plus, the stamps that have been released are just getting better and better and I am thrilled to be along for the ride!

Here is one of my favorite Jackie creations:

Great to have you with us, Jackie!

Thanks for stopping by!

Customer and DT Twilight Blog Hop.....

To celebrate the upcoming movie NEW MOON, we're having a Customer and DT Twilight Blog Hop on November 20th!!!! Did you know that AI has some fang-tastic sets perfect for Twilight Fans? Even if you're not a fan...you MUST know someone who is.......

Check out the Twilight Inspired Stamps: Into the Moonlight and Fictionally Inspired and the Vampire Romance Themed Charms available from AI!

DETAILS:

* You must use the stamps and/or charms from AI for the Hop....if you don't have them...you still have time to get them!

* You must have a blog to participate

* Email Jackie at babitoons@gmail.com with your name and your blog address by November 13, 2009

* Details will be sent to you via email regarding the hop details after November 14, 2009- with plenty of time to get your post ready for the hop on the 20th

Tell your friends and save the date!!!!

Here's some inspiration from our DT member, Holly McMillen, to get your creative juices flowing...

~ Think Ink Winner ~

Here are your random numbers:

7

Timestamp: 2009-10-28 18:26:07 UTC

Our winner is...

Tamijo!

Congrats, Tamijo. I am sending you a message now for your info.

Remember the new Think Ink Tuesday challenge has already been issued. You can find it HERE.

Come play along!

Mail Bag!

I recently received these LOVELY cards from two great customers and I wanted to share them with you! Aren't they fabulous?!? I love it when I get creations from customers...it really makes my day!



This card was sent in by Barb Poole who was the winner of our very first Think INK challenge. She used stamps from our Snow Play set and some great embellishments, including some of our horizontal striped May Arts ribbon, glitter, crystal lacquer and Liquid Applique. Thanks so much Barb! I love it and it was so kind of you to take the time to make and send this lovely card!



The second card was made by Jacquie Peifer using the Steampunk Sarah set. This card has so many fun, bright details on it I could look at it for hours! So many pieces of the main collage element are colored so precisely and it goes perfectly with the Basic Grey paper she used. The compass pieces are popped up on dimensional foam and so is the greeting piece. Jacquie, thanks so much for sharing your beautiful piece of art with me! You are so sweet!

Think INK Tuesday

This week your challenge is brought to you by DT Member, Sherry Campbell, and she wants you to USE ANY TECHNIQUE OR CREATE ANY 3-D ITEM THAT YOU HAVE NEVER TRIED BEFORE!

For inspiration....Sherry had never made an Acetate Box...so here's what she came up with using the new AI set, A Birds Song- and she did a fabulous job!


* You are not required to use AI stamps, but if you have them, we'd love to see you use them! **IF YOU USE AI STAMPS, YOU GET 2 ENTRIES FOR YOUR CREATION! JUST ENTER YOUR NAME/LINK TWICE ON MR. LINKY!!!

* You have until Monday, November 9, 2009, midnight Pacific Standard Time to link your creation to this post. A winner will be chosen Tuesday, November 10, 2009 to win a GRAB BAG of AI STAMPS!

* When posting your link, please post the link directly to your creation- so if it's on your blog, please link it directly to the specific post with your creation.

* If uploading to SCS or PCP, please add the keyword AIC06

Can't wait to see what you come up with! Tell your friends!

An Artful INKables swap....

Do you love AI stamps? Want to get ideas and cards from others that love AI? Then join the AI swap on SCS:

AI SWAP ON SCS

You are sure to get some FABULOUS CARDS in return- you might even get an AI DT member's card! Sign up by October 31st!

More Sketch Inspiration...

Our DT member, Joy Stagg, has used the newly released set- A Birds Song- for the current Think INK sketch challenge....


You still have time to enter!!! Go, Create, Win!

Faux Stone Tutorial by Holly McMillen

Good morning!

Today I am bringing you a quick tutorial on a technique I call 'Faux Stone'. It is a fun technique that you can use to achieve different looks depending on the colors you use.




Here is what you will need:


White cardstock cut to size needed
Mosaic Cuttlebug embossing folder
Cuttlebug
Two or more colors of ink in different shades (I used grays)
Clear embossing powder
Embossing gun
Versamark
Daubers or sponges

Step 1: Dry emboss your cardstock with the Mosaic folder

Step 2: Lay in your colors, starting with the lightest color and work toward the center.

Step 3: Cover your piece with versamark (I used an older pad, so that the ink didn't ruin a new one)

Step 4: Apply clear embossing powder to the entire piece and heat with embossing gun.

You can use browns, reds or a combination of both to achieve a whole different look as seen in this card:

Now go create some faux stone!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Holly ~

A 5 Hour Creation

Ok, so maybe I don't stamp too often anymore because it takes me FOREVER to complete a card, lol! I started this card at 2:30 this afternoon, using the sketch Challenge over on SCS and didn't complete it until 8:30. This is according to my daughter who seemed to find it necessary to ask incredulously every so often..."are you STILL working on that card, Mom?" She graciously allotted me an hour for dinner prep/eating/clean up and announced that my "five hour card" was finally complete! *snort* (Sadly, it wasn't the coloring that took all that time...it was the design of the card. Which is pathetic since I had a sketch to work off of!) Crazy!

The paper choices seemed to give me more agita than anything. I just didn't have anything that looked like the imaginary paper I saw in my head, lol. I knew I wanted to use our new Bird's Song set and once those things were finally decided upon, (Basic Grey decorative paper, chocolate chip card stock) I got to work. I stamped the leaf image on various colors of mottled paper and cut them out. Then I stamped the bird image on the paper vertically and colored it using Copic markers. It is colored to resemble a titmouse, one of various birds that has a bit of a crest on it's head. I "artfully" arranged the leaves to fall off the branch and gave them some dimension with pop dots as shown here:

Finally, I stamped the quote by Maya Angelou, cut it out with my oval cutter and added some interest by using some of our May Arts textured ribbon and a copper brad. The 3 pearl dots in the left corner were an after-thought, one by daughter told me was overkill. *grin*

So I hope you enjoy my creation, I hope the next time I stamp, it will be a bit less painful for all involved, lol! TTFN

~ Blog Hop Winner!! ~

Here are your random numbers:

15

Timestamp: 2009-10-18 22:16:23 UTC

Our winner is Michelle (Enchanted Stamper)


I am sending you an e-mail right now for your information!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


We are having another hop later this month, so make sure you hop along for a fabulous prize!


Thanks to all for playing!!

~~ Holly ~~

Think INK Inspiration

Look what our DT member Deborah Young came up with for the current Think INK sketch challenge using the AI set, Peaceful Wishes:


You still have plenty of time to enter to win a grab bag of stamps!

October Release Blog Hop

I'm here and I'm Hoppin'! (I feel like I've been 'hoppin' for the last month or so but that is another story. ) As Artful INKables grows, I find myself with less time to do what made me start the company in the first place...STAMP! So as I made this card today, I found myself falling in love with the craft all over again and I resolve to MAKE and SHARE more cards with you very soon! In the meantime, I want to send out a big thanks to both Holly and Joy for keeping it all together for me!! You both rock!

Two new sets are being released today, the one I will be showing is called Down on the Farm and the other set, being showcased by some of the DT, is named A Bird's Song. Both of these sets can be viewed over in our store under the "animals" category and will be featured on the front page there for the remainder of the release month.

I had fun with the design for this card...I've always been fond of framed farm scenes and though I didn't want to limit the images in the set by framing any of them in, I knew I would be framing some in my own work to share with you.

To create this scene, I stamped the farm and the tractor on white card stock, cut it down to the size I thought would work and then drew a black line frame (with a ruler) around the edges with a #3 black pen. Then I added little hatch marks to the line...I think they kinda look like barbed wire, don't you? I have to admit, I extended some of the lines for the fields to the line I drew but, in hindsight, it really wasn't necessary. Then I took the fence stamp in the set and stamped it on white 2 times, cut them both out and layered one on the other so I could extend it a bit further off the page. I colored the scene and the fence pieces with my Copic markers, assembled it and added the cork flower to the corner.

Now as you move on to Julie's blog, then the rest of the team's blogs after hers, you may see that there is a vast difference in the styles achieved with the Down on the Farm stamp set, which is something I'm quite proud of. This set is so versatile, that it can go from cutsie all the way to P. Buckley Moss style depending on what your needs are at the time.

Now, be sure to go check out both new sets in the store after you've hopped all the way through our blog hop. And be sure to comment on each and every blog in order to be eligible to win our BLOG HOP PRIZE DRAWING of both new sets. (winner will be announced Sunday October 18th) And remember, if you enter and win the blog hop prize for the month but have already placed an order, your original payment will be refunded. So no waiting necessary!

~Think Ink Winner! ~

Our Think Ink winner for the last round is..... drumroll please....

Here are your random numbers:

22

Timestamp: 2009-10-14 20:53:33 UTC

Our winner is Alanna!

Alanna, I have sent you an e-mail for your information.

Congrats!!

Sneek Peek Day 2

Ready for another peek???



Make sure to join us tomorrow for the blog hop!! See you there!!

Think INK Tuesday

This week your challenge is brought to you by DT Member, Jen Pahoulis, and she wants you to USE THIS SKETCH BELOW:

* You are not required to use AI stamps, but if you have them, we'd love to see you use them!
**IF YOU USE AI STAMPS, YOU GET 2 ENTRIES FOR YOUR CREATION! JUST ENTER YOUR NAME/LINK TWICE ON MR. LINKY!!!

Here's some inspiration for you, Jen used an AI set, Sunburst Dandies and the sketch:



* You have until Monday, October 26, 2009, midnight Pacific Standard Time to link your creation to this post. A winner will be chosen Tuesday, October 27, 2009 to win a GRAB BAG of AI STAMPS!

* When posting your link, please post the link directly to your creation- so if it's on your blog, please link it directly to the specific post with your creation.

* If uploading to SCS or PCP, please add the keyword AIC05

Can't wait to see what you come up with! Tell your friends!

Sneek Peek Day 1

Wow, where did this month go??? The holidays will be here before we know it! This month, we'll be having 2 Blog hops! YES YOU READ RIGHT, 2 HOPS!

The first one will be on the 15th and the next one will be on the 30th....

Here's a peek for one of the new releases on the 15th to get you excited....what do you think it could be???



Stay tuned for another peek tomorrow!

Tags and Sparkles Galore...

Our DT member, Julie Ranae, made these fabulous tags with the new set, Holiday Treats & Tails, for our current Think INK challenge of using SPARKLE! You still have time to enter, what are you waiting for!!!

~ Design Team Featured Stamper! ~

Today we introduce you to Crystal Irwin. Crystal reminds me of the team cheerleader. She is always there to offer support and to cheer her teammates on.

Crystal's style can be summed up as whimsical with flair. Her creations are always a delight for the eyes.

Here is a little about Crystal:

Q ~ Married? Kids? Pets?

I am married to a wonderful man Jeff, we have 3 children. 2 boys and 1 girl. Cody is 15 and loves Football, Katelyn is 10 and loves soccer, Brandon, my baby, is 7 and loves any type of ball. I live in a zoo honestly on how many animals we have. I am for sure an animal lover. We have 2 basset hounds, Mariah and Mojo. We also have 7 cats, Silvester, Oreo, Tabitha, Spots, Stripes, Oreo Junior, and Whinners. We also have...teehee a farrett who is pushing five years old named Sasha. That's a ton of names to remember LOL.

Q ~ Do you have a job outside of stamping? If so, what do you do?

I do, I am an independent contractor who does accounting. I work only 4 hours a week, but its great, it works out really well with school activities.

Q ~ What got you into stamping?

My niece sells Stampin Up and about 2 years ago I went to one of her parties and was hooked from then on out. I don't know now what I ever did before it. How did I spend my time??

Q ~ What is your favorite embellishment and why?

I have to say it is flowers. I love to add flowers to my card. I usually make really girly cards and it just seems to suit well with my style.

Q ~ What drew you towards Artful Inkables?

I would have to say, the fabulous design team members I have gotten to know through Splitcoast Stampers and the amazing stamps they sell. I took one peak of their stamps and fell in love.

Q ~ What is your favorite non-card type project?

I would have to say a scrapbook page. I haven't scrap booked in quite some time, I really need to get back with it also, but I just love a fun scrapbook page with smiling pictures.

Q ~ Have you been published?

No I haven't been published. I have never submitted either. That will be something on my to do list probably when I get a little more stamping experience.

Q ~ What is your favorite coloring medium? Why?

I absolutely love Copics. I started with Prisma color markers which I still use from time to time, but I just love the looks of an image colored with Copics. It is so bright, bold, easy to work with, and so well blended.

Q ~ Tell us about your blog.. (ie..is it all stamping, or a mix of other things?)

My blog is mostly stamping, I do however have a slide show of some of my scrapbook pages I have done also. I also have a picture of my stamping place, who I design for, and all my favorite blogs, stores, magazines, and challenges.

Q ~ What is your favorite part of being on a design team?

I have to say my favorite part of being on Artful INKables design team is the wonderful people I get to work with. I have had a blast with these ladies and seeing what they create every week and being a part of this team has been a blessing. I also enjoy all the GREAT stamps Kristen designs, I have had so much fun working with her products.

Thanks for sharing yourself with us, Crystal! We are so happy to call you an Inkgirl!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hey! Just wanted to add that Artful Inkables is having a swap! I am hosting the 5+1 card swap over on Splitcoaststamers. You can find the thread HERE. Please come join us!!

Hugs!
Holly

Think INK Inspiration...

Look at what our DT member, Sherry Campbell, came up with for our Think INK challenge using a new set, Holiday Treats & Tails! Love that sparkle!!! You still have time to enter!!

Design Team Featured Stamper ~ Emily Niehaus

Let me introduce you to Emily Niehaus. I first have to say that Emily is one patient young lady. I have been working on getting the Featured Stamper posts back on track and Ms Emily has sat quietly waiting :) Thanks Emily!

The thing that I have notice about Emily is her creative style. If you get a chance, hop over to her BLOG and take a look at all the neat things this young lady can do with paper!




Here's what Emily has to say about her craft:

Q ~ Married? Kids? Pets? I have been married to my husband for over 10 years. We have three boys. Will (8) and Max and Luke, who are three. I am blessed to have a husband who totally supports my stamping. My oldest son stamps with me on occasion, but usually he is more content to play with his legos while I create with my stamps!

Q ~ Do you have a job outside of stamping? If so, what do you do? I am a registered nurse and work part time on a step down unit at a local hospital.

Q ~ What got you into stamping? I went to a SU party about 10 years ago, and have been hooked ever since!

Q ~ What is your favorite embellishment and why? My favorite embellishment has got to be ribbon, with buttons coming in a close second. I can not hardly complete a card without ribbon!

Q ~ What drew you towards Artful Inkables? I was on SCS and clicked on an add for AI. I loved the style of the stamps and the great value. Once I got my first set in the mail, it was love at first site! The quality of the stamps is amazing.

Q ~ What is your favorite non-card type project? I would have to say scrapbooking, although I haven't done any scrapbooking in a while. I need to get busy and caught up!

Q ~ Have you been published? No but one of my goals is to submit to some magazines by the years end. I guess I am a little bit intimidated of rejection, but how cool would it be to be published!?

Q ~ What is your favorite coloring medium? Why? I LOVE my prisma pencils. I enjoy coloring and blending with OMS. I like copics, but feel I need a lot more practice. I always turn to my prismas because I am really comfortable using them.

Q ~ Tell us about your blog.. (ie..is it all stamping, or a mix of other things?) My blog is pretty much devoted to stamping. Occasionally I will talk about my family stuff, but I try to keep it mostly stamping. I am a challenge junkie, so a lot of my stuff I have made for different challenges on SCS or in blog world!

Q ~ What is your favorite part of being on a design team? I love working with fabulous product, and meeting different stampers from around the globe. I formed some great on line friendships and learned a lot from my DT colleagues!

Thanks again, Emily! We look forward to working with you!!

~Holly~