Blog Hop Winner!

I don't know where this weekend went! Well I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend, it is now time time to pick the winner from our July Release Blog Hop! Here is the lucky lady, Random.org picked #2, which meant our winner commented on Patti's blog....and comment #11 is our winner...

Craftymom205!

Huge congrats! You just won both of our new stamp sets Spot on Summer AND Sew You, plus our new set of Aquatic Charms! Please e-mail me at babitoons@gmail.com to claim your prize! Keep sticking around the AI Blog, you never know what you might see next!

Think INK inspiration...

The current Think INK challenge is to use sewing- real or faux on your card/project. Here's what the DT came up with for inspiration using some of the new sets:

Alicia using Sew You



Cheryl using Spot on Summer



Patti using Sew You


Joy using Spot on Summer

Erica Johnson- Wanzer- Our July Featured Stamper - using Fictionally Inspired




Be sure to participate for your chance to win a grab bag of AI stamps and be sure to get these fantastic and versatile sets!!!

Featured Stamper.... Erica Johnson-Wanzer

Erica Johnson-Wanzer is our featured stamper for the ENTIRE month of July! She won our Twilight Challenge Month contest..... let's get to know her a little bit!


Q- Married, Kids, Pets?
No, No, kinda. I am not married but I have been with my wonderful boyfriend Wade for almost a year. No kids of my own, but I am the honorary aunt to some of my friends' children. Wade and I just moved in together, so while we have no pets living with us, my parents have 2 dogs that I call mine. Chocolate is a black lab/blue healer mix (13 years old) and Oreo is a border collie (9 years old).

Q- Do you have a job outside of stamping? If so, What do you do?
I only wish that stamping was my full time job! I am a full-time student and will be student teaching 4th grade in the fall. I am done in December with my elementary education license (this is my second "degree"). I also work part-time at Old Navy.

Q- What got you into stamping?
I started scrapbooking in 1999 but got really into in in 2003 when I was scrapbooking my study abroad semester. After I caught up scrapbooking I had all these supplies and nothing to do with them. A co-worker's wife sold for The Angel Company, and she told me how great stamping and cardmaking was. I bought my first set from her and the rest is history.

Q- What is your favorite embellishment and why?
This is difficult. I love embossing powder because I am still thrilled watching it turn from powder to solid. Also it just adds a boldness to the work. I also love bling in any form and clear Dew Drops are a personal favorite because they just add so much and are so simple.

Q- What drew you towards Artful Inkables?
I am a huge Twilight fan and Artful Inkables teamed up with Twilight Tuesday to showcase the new Twilight inspired stamps. As soon as I saw them, I had to have them and I bought them the first second I could. (Literally, I bought them at work!) Once I got them I love them and the packaging is really handy too!

Q Do you have a favorite stamp set from Artful Inkables?
Fictionally Inspired is my favorite. I really love showcasing just the quotes on a card. Plus I was on the Twilight Tuesday design team and I probably used the sentiments weekly on cards and there was always a new way to use them. The possibilities are endless!

Q How would you describe your stamping style?
Simple and frugal. I am a full-time student, so money and time is limited. I also really like the look of a clean card.

Q What is your favorite part of stamping?
There are no rules. You can mix whatever colors or patterns you want. I also love the fact that you can make it as personal as you want when making it for a friend or loved one. You don't get that personal touch from a store. I also love the friendships that I have made through stamping/blogging. I have been really blessed to have these people in my life and without stamping, that wouldn't have been possible.

Q- What is your favorite non- card type project?
I have scrapbooked before and have some photos ready for albums. I also like making coaster albums and door hangs. I used to make scarves and baby booties using my Knifty Knitter, but it has been a while.

Q- Have you been published?
Not yet, but I hope to be.

Q- What is your favorite coloring medium? Why?
It depends on my mood and the effect I want. I just got some Prisma colored pencils and some gamsol and been trying that. For a little quicker and bolder effect, I use my markers (Bic, Prisma, and Tombow).

Q- Tell us about your blog?
I started Inked Up and Ready to Play in November of 2008. I was taking a class about integrating technology into the classroom and one thing we had to do was an educational blog. I loved it so much, I made a stamping blog. I use the blog to showcase my creations, but also show off some personal photos and stories. Earlier this year, Wade, being the computer nerd he is, bought me my own domain name and now he hosts the site.

Q- Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Besides stamping I am an avid reader. Children's books are my favorite because I always love seeing how I could use them to teach. I also love trivia games and try to watch Cash Cab and Jeopardy on a daily basis. I also play in a live trivia game once a week with a group of friend. I am thrilled to be the featured stamper for Artful Inkables. It is a huge honor.

Thanks for sharing with us Erica! Stay tuned to see more of Erica this month! Check out her blog and leave her some love!

Clearance!

Did you know that AI has some great products on clearance? CHECK IT OUT! Here are some of the sets you can get!


A Friendly Light

Daring Duo

Fun and Friendly
Natural Heritage
Music in my Heart

Spinner Card Tutorial!

Today our fabulous Design Team Member Kim Nath is sharing with us how she makes her wonderful spinner cards! I know the one she made for this month's release was amazing, I can't wait to learn how to do that too!

SPINNER CARD TUTORIAL
PROJECT MATERIALS

STAMPS – SPOT ON SUMMER

PAPER – CARD STOCK, YOUR CHOICE AND STYLE OF PATTERNED PAPER (I USED SHE SELLS SEA SHELLS FROM THE DIGI CHICK)

CRAFT KNIFE, BRAD, EYELET, RULER, DIMENSIONALS, BUTTON, E6000 ADHESIVE

Hi everyone! I am sure most of you have seen spinner cards made using pennies and dimensionals. I developed a different way that allows a smaller, more obscure opening for the spinner.

STEP 1

Assemble the portion of the card that you want the spinner element to be placed on. I wanted waves for my turtle so I used my cricut and an SVG file from SVG CUTS to create some waves.

STEP2

Using a ruler and pencil, I made markings 1/8^th of an inch from the wave line. Since I will be using small brads and eyelets, my opening will be 1/8 inch wide. If you would like to use larger brads/eyelets you will have to make the opening wider to accommodate them.

STEP 3

Using a craft knife, cut along the pencil line.

STEP 4

Grab your brad and eyelet.

STEP 5

Insert the brad through the back of the opening in the cardstock. The prongs of the brad should fit easily but the head shouldn’t be able to fall through the opening.

STEP 6

On the front of the cardstock, thread the eyelet on to the prongs of the brad and bend the prongs as shown. Make sure the prongs are completely flat on not bent too far over the edge. The image will be attached to the prongs so you want the surface to lay flat against the image. Work the brad/eyelet back and forth along the opening to make sure it flows easily. If it is a little tight in some places just move it back and forth a couple times to create space or use the craft knife to open it up a little.

STEP 7

Flip the piece over and add the dimensionals, making sure to leave space for the brad to move easily.

STEP 8

You will need a background piece to attach the spinner part to. Note – my brads weren’t shown in this pic because I took it before the front was assembled, however, the brad/eyelet should be in place at this point.

STEP 9

Attach the background to the front spinner part.

STEP 10

Using the E6000 glue, attach the image to the brad/eyelet. I like to put the glue directly on the prongs of the eyelet (don’t use too much this glue is great for a strong attachment) so that there isn’t a chance that the glue will get on the card portion. Allow it to dry completely before moving

STEP 11

Place the spinner portion on to the card base, and have fun playing!

We Have a Winner!

It's that time again, a new Think INK Challenge has been posted and now all that is left to do is announce the winner of our 23rd Challenge. Thank you to everyone who played along, your Red, White and Blue creations were fabulous! So, Random.org picked #9...

Karin! Congrats Karin, an e-mail is heading your way!

If you didn't win this week, no worries, there are plenty more opportunities to come! Be sure to play along with our new challenge, I can’t wait to see what you create! Have a fabulous day all!

AI Twilight Eclipse Blog Hop Winners!

It's time to reveal the winners of the Artful INKables Twilight Eclipse Design Team and Customer Blog Hop! We have two winners, that's right, one lucky participate and one commenter are each going home with goodies! So here they are...

Our lucky participant is.....Alison Heikkila! Congrats you win a set of Twilight Themed Charms!

Our lucky commenter is.....Laura Boyd! Congrats you win a $10 gift certificate to the AI store!

I will be contacting both of you with how to claim your prize! Thank you to everyone that joined us on the Twilight Eclipse Blog Hop, I do hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did! Have a fabulous day and be sure to check out the new releases!