BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!

I am thrilled to announce the winner of my birthday blog candy giveaway today!  It is butterfly, aka Alison!  I had almost as many comments as years, so that was fun.  I thank each and every one of you for your comments and good wishes.  A special thank you and welcome to those who are newly following my blog!

And, for you, Alison, this is on its way to England!

Mwah!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 132: WINGS

Good day, Everyone!  And it *is* a good day when it is Wednesday...yup, the Stampotique Designers' Challenge is up!  Design Team Member Arwen McCullen is our batty hostess today, and here is what she has to say to inspire us:

 Wings have something mystical for me.

Angels have wings, fairies, my favorite animal:

the bat :)

Love and positive feelings give wings.

Today I would like to see what gives you wings.

I am very curious about your creations! <3

I knew immediately the perfect stamp for the card I wanted to create!  I have an online artsy friend by the name of Wyanne.  She has a rare form of cancer, and this month has had her tongue and surrounding tissue removed, as well as some reconstructive surgery.  She is home now, but with a very long and difficult period of healing and recovery ahead of her.  While her fighting spirit has given *me* wings, I hope the love and support around her will give *her* wings!

The Stampotique Originals' stamp I used is called "Owl with Wings," and was created by stamp designer Jo Capper-Sandon. The nifty thing about this stamp is that the wings are not attached to the owl, so that you can position them any way that works for your project.  You can also use the wings separately--for instance, giving another of the images wings!  Clever!  So, here's my card for Wyanne, who was brave enough to ask her friends for help:

I hope you will join me in creating something for the Stampotique Designers' Challenge each week. The use of Stampotique Originals' stamps is not required.  You can use any rubber or clear stamps that you have (no digital stamps!) to participate in the weekly challenges, each week giving you another chance to win one of two drawings for a $30 gift certificate toward Stampotique products of your choice!  Details for submissions are here. 

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

Please read ALL RULES on the linkz page before linking your creation.

Thank you for coming by today.  Both your visits and your comments are important to me!  If you have not already done so, please take a minute to join as a follower of this blog, then follow by e-mail (both in the right-hand sidebar), and you will not miss an update.

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 131: STARS TAKE TWO

Sam Read's STAR challenge continues for a second week!  All-new inspiration can be found on the Stampotique Designers' Challenge site.

I belong to a Facebook group called the Angel Project.  It was started by mixed media artist and my friend Jessica Sporn.  Members are invited to participate and are artists and crafters who enjoy making cards and other art projects to send to women facing medical challenges and are in need of some encouraging mail art and a few kind words of support.  Recently, Jody's name was posted, and I created this card for her.  The Stampotique Orignals' image I used is called "Single Tear," and was created by stamp design artist Amy Wilson Wellenstein.

I hope you will join me in creating something for the Stampotique Designers' Challenge each week.  The use of Stampotique Originals' stamps is not required.  You can use any rubber or clear stamps (no digital stamps) that you have to participate and gain a chance at the end of the month to win one of two $30 gift certificates for your choice of Stampotique products.  Details for submissions are here.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

Please read ALL RULES on the linkz page before linking your creation.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I love both your visits and comments!  If you have not already done so, take a minute to join as a follower of my blog, then follow by e-mail (both in the right-hand sidebar) and you won't miss an update here!

Please join my birthday giveaway this month here for a chance to win this package--including a brand new Stampotique Originals' stamp:

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 131: STARS!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I love both your visits and comments!  If you have not already done so, take a minute to join as a follower of my blog, then follow by e-mail (both in the right-hand sidebar) and you won't miss an update here!

Today I want to share with you my art for the Stampotique Designers' Challenge.  It's Samantha Read at the helm today, and she is challenging us to use stars!  Here's her challenge:

I don't know one person who doesn't enjoy looking at the stars. Stars fill us with a sense of fascination and wonderment. Earliest societies mapped and traced stars. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second and because stars are so distant, many of them millions of light years away means we look in to the sky from the distant past. Therefore, I am inviting you to use stars in your creation this week, as the main image or as an accent. I can't wait to see what you make, have fun!

I think I am experimenting with my "dark side" because I used black and white last week, and now black and grey.  I do think that the motivational quote counterbalances this rather pallid palette!  The main image is Angel by stamp design artist Daniel Torrente.  The cascade of stars in the background was created using the Design Cube by stamp design artist France Papillon.  The text stamp, To Be A Star, is from Carol's Collection.

I hope you will join me in creating something for the Stampotique Designers' Challenge each week.  The use of Stampotique Originals' stamps is not required.  You can use any rubber or clear stamps (no digital stamps) that you have to participate and gain a chance at the end of the month to win one of two $30 gift certificates for your choice of Stampotique products.  Details for submissions are here.
Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 130: USING SOMETHING NEW-IST!

Hi, and thanks for stopping by to check out what I have made this week for the Stampotique Designers' Challenge, which is to use something new!  Our SDC host this week is Kaz Boughton, who is being just a "little bit nosey"!  Here's here challenge:

"I am just a little bit nosey, so for this challenge I'd like you to use something that Santa brought you! Don't worry if you didn't get crafty stash, just use something that you recently bought for yourself. If you really want to, you could make something with the theme of something new as well. Just make sure you enjoy making it."

Let me preface all this by saying than in my family, birthdays are a big deal; Christmas is all about the children.  That said, it won't then surprise you that I got nothing for Christmas!  But, I do have new crafty stash I acquired on a trip to my local craft store during December.  OK, so I just might have gifted myself! 

The newest stamp design artist to join the Stampotique Originals' family is Linda Peterson, and I applaud this addition.  In fact, I have fallen in love with Hazel, Linda's signature character.  There are 13 Hazel stamps, most with coordinating text stamps.  I have used two today:

Find Your Balance

Find Your Balance Text

I hope you will join me in creating something for the Stampotique Designers' Challenge each week.  The use of Stampotique Originals' stamps is not required.  You can use any rubber or clear stamps (no digital stamps) that you have to participate and gain a chance to win one of two $30 gift certificates for your choice of Stampotique products.  Details for submissions are here.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I appreciate both your visits and your comments.  If you have not already done so, become a follower today...then sign up to follow by e-mail--the surest way not to miss a post and your connection to the Stampotique Design Team Challenges!

Cheers!

MONTH-LONG BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION GIVEAWAY!

Only once is a person allowed to be 70, and this is my month-long celebration of my 70th birthday!  I want to share my joy with you with a 7-piece giveaway!  Here's the loot (including a brand new Stampotique image!):

Here's the detail:

• Stampotique image "Heart Boy"
• Inkssentials Craft Scrubbie
• Artist's Loft watercolor brushes
• Dyan Reaveley's "My Creative Journal Journey"
• Heidi Swapp's chipboard stickers
• Wendy Vecchi's Modeling Film
• An original ATC by...yep, me!

And here's all you need to do:

• Sign up as a follower if you have not already done so!  (After that, if you sign up to follow by e-mail, you will not miss any updates!)
• Leave a comment here telling me something about you that I might not know!
• Share with your friends if you are not selfish!  ;-)  (No proof required!)

I will allow random.com to select the lucky winner on January 31.  I will ship internationally, so my worldly friends are invited to participate without fear of being eliminated!

Thank you for participating, and good luck!

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 129: ANYTHING *STILL* GOES!

The 2014 Stampotique Designers' Challenge Team (on which I am proud to serve) has been given a soft start to the new year!  "Anything Goes" goes around one last time as we continue to be given a break to enjoy our families and the holidays!

I have chosen to make a tag this week, but making a tag isn't always an easy way out of a craft assignment.  A lot of thought still goes into your color palette and creating an interesting background!  You still need to coordinate an image with a sentiment, and there are even other elements to consider--like ribbon or twine and to embellish or not to embellish!

I chose one of Stampotique Originals' text stamps, "One second, One minute, One hour, One day," to remind me to use the time I have been given more wisely.  

Here's my contribution to the challenge this week:

Additionally, I have used the following Stampotique Originals' stamps:

Head (main image)

Design Cube (for background)

I hope you will join me in creating something for the Stampotique Designers' Challenge each week.  The use of Stampotique Originals' stamps is not required.  You can use any rubber or clear stamps (no digital stamps) that you have to participate and gain a chance to win one of two $30 gift certificates for your choice of Stampotique products.  Details for submissions are here.

 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I appreciate both your visits and your comments.  If you have not already done so, become a follower today...then sign up to follow by e-mail--the surest way not to miss a post and your connection to the Stampotique Design Team Challenges!

A HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EACH OF YOU!