NEW! Inque Boutique...and May Arts!

Sorry I don't have a new card for you tonight, but I've been SUPER busy with new inventory for the store. This is a new company for me...and I have to tell you that I ADORE their stamps!

You can see from the images here that they have a wide variety of styles, and their stamp sets are soooooooooo reasonably priced!

Be sure to check out the Inque Boutique section in the store to see all of their stamps I have in stock.


And while you're there, don't forget to go to the Inque Boutique Card Gallery to see what Laurie and Tosh have created so far!

And while you're blog hopping....don't miss Cammie's Fabulous Tutorial .



I also received an order from May Arts today. I've added quite a few new ribbons to my inventory to round out the selection. Be sure to check out the new 1" Satin Ribbon, as well as the new Satin Scalloped Edge ribbon.

I really hope to find time to stamp soon....don't give up on me yet! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Nuts About You!

What a weekend! I've had Internet problems since Friday night. And believe me...that is NOT a good thing when you own an Internet store! BUT...the good news is that it's fixed now, and life can go on. Whew! I was SUPER STRESSED!

With everything else going on I didn't get to stamp much this weekend, but I did make this cute little card. I can't take credit for the layout...I totally cased it from a card I saw in the Hero catalog.

All stamps are from the Trees, Birds & Messages Clear Design stamp set.
The main images were stamped on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. The stamped images were colored with Tombow markers.

For the *grass* I used torn paper and inked the edges with a little darker shade of green. There is a row of paper piercing on the right side just for added interest. I really wanted to add ribbon...or something else. But I finally decided to stop while I was ahead. KWIM?

The designer paper is from the Memory Box Sugar Collection .

I'm off to make dinner and have a little glass of vino while I watch Desperate Housewives. Maybe that will help with the unwinding that I really need right now! :-)

Thanks for stopping by....I appreciate each and every one of you.

You are a great friend...

When I received a shipment from Hero Arts this week these two cards were included in the box. That almost NEVER happens....and I can't tell you how pleased I was to receive these great sample cards from the Hero artists.

The first one uses stamps from the Thoughtful Messages Clear Design set. They stamped the flowers on a pink note card using pink, lavender and purple ink. The sentiment was embellished by stamping a little flower from the set, then placing the tiny pink gemstones from Assorted Crystals in the center of each flower.


The yellow card uses stamps from the Hero Arts Share Laughter Clear Design stamp set. I love how they used various colors of ink on the butterflies.

The leaves were stamped on green cardstock using green ink, then cut out. The flower was stamped on yellow cardstock, then cut out and adhered over the leaves. The center of the flower has a Yellow Gemstone in the center.

I really love both of these cards...and what a nice surprise to receive them!

There are a LOT of new stamps in the store, and A LOT of stamps on SALE! Be sure to check them out.

Stamping is in my weekend plans, so I will be back soon with something new.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Garden Poems

I took a little time to play with one of the new Penny Black stamps. This beautiful flower image is called Garden Poems . It was super easy to color...and that can be a good thing when you don't have a lot of time to spare. :-)

I stamped the image on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The stamped image was colored using Tombow water based markers and a blender pen. I used colors to coordinate with the designer paper.

The sentiment is from a Hero Arts ClearDesign stamp set called Anytime Messages . I can't count the number of times I have used that set. It just seems to have something appropriate for most any occasion.


The designer paper is from the Basic Grey Sultry paper collection. The ribbon is May Arts Celery Satin .

Tomorrow night I'm expecting a shipment of the NEW Hero Arts stamps that were just released in the last week or so. There are some really cute ones, and some great new clear stamp sets. So be sure to watch the store for their arrival!

Thanks so much for stopping by tonight...I will be back soon.

Until then.....

Woo hoo...new rubbah!

Just a quick post. Sorry, but there is no card tonight...I've been super busy getting the new shipments in the store for you! Lots of cute new Changito stamps and Bees from Stampendous, as well as others.

I plan to have a new card for you tomorrow night, so be sure to stop by!

Hello Birdie!

I finally took the time to play with this adorable Hero Arts Clear Design set. It's called Trees, Birds and Messages .
I first stamped the branch, bending it slightly to get the shape I wanted. That's one of the wonderful things about clear stamps...you can shape them right on your Acrylic Block .

After stamping the branch, I stamped the bird, perching him right on the branch. Since the stamps are clear, I could see exactly where his feet were going. Do you see how they fit, slightly overlapping the branch?

I colored the stamped image using Tombow markers and a blender pen in colors to match my designer paper. The background paper is from the Memory Box Aerial Paper Collection . Isn't it gorgeous?

I'll tell you a little secret...the placement of the ribbon is to cover up a little boo boo. Apparently I had makeup or something on my fingers. Just as I was putting the finished project together I got a smudge on the white bird panel. So I used my SU! slot punch and ran my ribbons through it to cover the smudge. I love it when I can recover from a major blunder. It doesn't ALWAYS happen that way!

I used two shades of green satin ribbon, both from May Arts . And of course I had to add a little Hero Arts bling!

Thanks for stopping by tonight!

Spinning a Yarn...

This card was just too much fun to make! And since I was in a little bit of a "funk" today, I decided to throw caution to the wind and just let anything go! (See how wild and crazy I am?) LOL!

The main image is Penny Black's Spinning A Yarn . I think the adorable image just lends itself to something fun and funky.

I stamped on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. The stamped image was colored with Tombow markers.

For the lavender background panel I used JudiKins Chicken Wire Background . I stamped with Versamark Watermark Ink and embossed with JudiKins Detail Silver embossing powder.

Nothing tricky about the awning, really. I just used my corner rounder to make the scallops, then put a Stampendous Red GeoShapes Sparkler Sticker above each one. Those are so inexpensive that it doesn't bother me to use a lot of them on a card. To make the awning stand out a bit I used Scotch Dimensional Tape .

I have plans to get some stamping done tomorrow, so be sure to check back in.

Thanks for stopping by....

If Your Dog...Revised

I am always kidding myself when I say I'm going to make something quick and easy! LOL!

I just couldn't get happy with the ribbon on the first card. It seemed too light and pastel, and I felt the card needed more depth. I wanted to use brown, but none of the browns I have match the brown dot in the designer paper.

In my attempt to try to get happier with the card, I changed the ribbon and used two different May Arts ribbons together to get the colors I needed.

Better? or not? Either way, I'm moving on to something else. :-)

If Your Dog....

I couldn't resist making this quick little card! I adore all of those cute little kids saying stamps by Inkadinkado, and this is the first chance I've had to use one of them.

The sentiment is If Your Dog by Inkadinkado. I stamped it using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embosssed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The dog is Spike from JudiKins. I stamped it on watercolor paper, colored it with Tombow markers, then cut it out. It is adhered to the card with Scotch Mounting Tape for dimension.
This card really was very quick and easy. Sometimes I just need to make one of those instead of laboring for two hours over a design. Know what I mean?

If you haven't seen this adorable collection of stamps from Inkadinkado, be sure to check them out HERE .

Quick card...short post. What can I say?

I hope to get some stamping done this weekend, so be sure to check back. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Eternal Bliss

I think this image is just way too cute! It is called Transported by Penny Black. Honestly...I don't know who names their stamps!

I stamped it on watercolor paper using Versafine Onyx Black , then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The stamped image was colored using Tombow (water based) markers and a blender pen. I added a layer of JudiKins Diamond Glaze to each of the balloons to make them look shiny and a little more like plastic.
The sentiment is also from Penny Black, and is called Eternal Bliss .

I used a corner rounder on the sentiment panel and all four corners of the card panels. My Cuttlebug dies were used to make the ribbon slider.

The designer paper is from the Basic Grey Cupcake paper pad, and the ribbon is May Arts Red/White Stripe .

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I appreciate each and every one of you, and all of your encouraging comments!

Memento Dew Drops....and more!

No stamping here tonight! I received a couple of shipments and already have them in the store for you.

In addition to restocking the Memory Box Paper , I also received more of the Penguins At Play stamp sets. The Memory Box Sprout Paper Collection is on backorder, but will be shipped as soon as they get it back in stock.

I also received ALL 24 colors of the NEW Memento Dew Drop dye ink pads! These were just released from Tsukineko! Memento™ dye ink is fast drying and fade resistant. The innovative pad delivers finer impressions and exceptionally even coverage.

I also received the much awaited White Opaque Pen from Ranger. I haven't even had a chance to play with mine yet!

Just for fun, I ordered a few of the new Tim Holtz Mixed Minis Grungeboard . I think these are sooooooo cool, and just the perfect size for cardmakers.



Much more is on order....I will keep you posted as new things arrive.

I am working on a card...so I hope to be back with it tomorrow night.

Thanks so much!

Wicker Chair with Flowers

I took a little time to stamp this afternoon. Sadly, I didn't get as much done as I wanted to! :-(

For a week now I have tried to find the time to play with this gorgeous stamp. It is Northwoods Wicker Chair with Flowers . I can't begin to tell you how much fun it was coloring this beauty!

I stamped it on watercolor paper using Versafine Onyx Black ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. I almost always emboss when I am going to watercolor. I like the definition that embossing powder gives to to the lines. Of course, everyone has their own way of doing things...no right or wrong. Do your OWN thing!


The stamped image was colored with Tombow markers and a blender pen. I tried to do a lot of shadowing and shading to give it some depth.

The bottom was scalloped with my corner rounder, and the ribbon is May Arts Purple/Pink Iridescent .
Gosh, it took a lot longer to make this card that it did to describe it! LOL!

I'm posting a little early tonight so I can get all the packages wrapped for the store in time to watch the new episode of Desperate Housewives. I have no idea where they left off...but I'm sure they will catch us up on that, won't they?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

You made my day

There is just something I love about Penny Black stamps! Well, maybe everything?

I received a shipment of the new 2008 Collection of Penny Black stamps this week, and these were the first ones calling out to me.

The main image is called Painter's Vase . I colored on the rubber using Tombow (water based) markers, then spritzed the rubber with water using a JudiKins Fine Mist Spritzer .

The background panel was stamped four times with Penny Black's Corner Piece . Isn't that an elegant and gorgeous stamp?
I was going to stop there, but just felt that white space on the center left need a little something. You know how it is...sometimes we just can't leave well enough alone. So I added a small sentiment from Hero Arts Anytime Messages ClearDesign stamp set. I stamped with VersaMark ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Gold embossing powder.

My friend Cammie is giving away some awesome blog candy. Be sure to stop by and leave a post telling her your favorite color so that maybe Random Cara can pick you name!

I plan to do some stamping tomorrow, so I will be back soon with something new.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Thanks a million!

This is a quick and fun card I made tonight. I can't take credit for it. It was pretty much cased from one that my friend Shari Carroll made for Hero Arts.

The entire time I was working on this card I was thinking that my grands would LOVE doing this! Let me explain.

I stamped on glossy white cardstock with Hero Arts Thank You DesignBlock . You MUST use dye ink, as pigment ink will not dry on coated cardstock. I used Memories black.

After the ink is good and dry, I started to make marks and doodles using a white Crayola crayon. Then I used a direct to paper technique to add dye ink colors to the glossy panel.
You will notice that everywhere I colored with the white crayon, the card is white. The crayon resisted the ink in those places. This is an old technique, but a fun one. If you haven't tried it, you really must!

I think my grands would like it because they would think it's like magic! LOL! They are such good little students, and it would be fun for me to watch their surprise at the end result.

I apologize for not posting much lately, but I've been so, so busy with the new store. I'm still tweaking a few things here and there. And I have received a TON of new inventory recently....with even more on the way.

Thanks for stopping by tonight!

My best excuse for not stamping...

I had EVERY intention of posting a card tonight. But you see, it's like this....

When I got home from work last night I had boxes on my doorstep from Penny Black, Inkadinkado , and a HUMONGOUS box from May Arts Ribbon . Wait until you see all that gorgeous ribbon! Didn't you all say you wanted me to add ribbon to the store? :-)

Then..........when I got home tonight I had a very heavy box from Basic Grey . Gosh....their new 6 x 6 paper pads really ARE irresistable!

I know you will all forgive me for not stamping since I have such FABULOUS new goodies in the store for you.

With any luck I will get to stamp tomorrow night?

Thanks for stopping by!

Under the Weather?

I received a shipment of stamps from My Favorite Things this weekend! Even though I have both of the new sets in stock, I have never played with this one, so I decided to take a few minutes today to ink it up!

This set is called Rain or Shine , and it's one of my MANY favorite from MFT!

I stamped it on watercolor paper using Versafine Onyx Black ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The raincoat is paper pieced from designer paper using the Memory Box Sugar Collection . The circle background paper is also from the same paper pack.


I colored the dog, boots and puddle using Tombow markers, then added Stickles Glitter Glue to the dog's sweater. The rain boots have a layer of JudiKins Diamond Glaze on them to make them look shiny.

To embellish, I added Hero Arts Gemstones and a little organdy ribbon from May Arts .

Did you notice the watermark on my cards? and how it matches my blog and store logo perfectly? It was a gift from my friend Kurtis . Wasn't that super sweet of him? He even gave me instructions on how to use it. I have needed to learn to watermark my card for ages! Thanks again, Kurtis! I appreciate it so very much!

That's it for me tonight. I'm off to put chicken on the grill and package some shipments for the mailbox tomorrow.

Thank you for stopping by!

Welcome Amy!

I am soooooooo excited! I've just been dying to tell you all this...and finally I can spill the beans! My NEW Guest Designer is Amy Sheffer of Pickled Paper Designs . You MUST go there to see what she's done with the Inka stamps I sent her....WOWZERS!

When I asked Amy to help me with her introduction, she was a little shy. After all, we all find it difficult to talk about ourselves. She told me that has always been crafty...even as a kid dabbling in everything from paint-by-number pictures to rock polishers to ceramics. By high school, she was skipping lunch and using the money to buy cool pens, stationery, and stickers. When she got to college, she couldn't believe she could actually get a degree for doing two of the things she loved the most -- reading (English major) and creating (Fine Arts minor).

She started stamping in the spring of 2002, when she was invited to a Stampin' Up party. Before then, when she passed stamps in the craft stores, she always thought, "Why in the world would anyone buy these things? I mean, it's the same ol' image over and over again, for crying out loud!" Every day, she eats those words and gives thanks for this wonderful hobby!

In October 2007, after several years of lurking, she finally got brave and ventured out into the big, scary online stamping world when she started her own blog, Pickled Paper Designs, and her SCS gallery PickleTree . To her delight, she found it not so big and scary after all. She also began submitting some pieces for publication, and has had a few things picked up by CARDS and Paper Trends.

Amy was a guest designer for i{heart}2stamp in January, and just in the last couple of weeks has jumped on board the permanent design teams for three stamp manufacturers. Of course, that comes as no surprise to me. After all, her work is just fabulous!

Please join me in welcoming Amy Sheffer to Stamper's Dream !

Happy Flowers

I made this card after I got home from work tonight. I felt the NEED to stamp, and I wanted to make something fairly quick and easy.

I received a shipment from Hero Arts yesterday, and I couldn't wait to use this image. Aren't these flowers adorable? The stamp is Hero Arts Pattern Flowers .

I stamped the image on watercolor paper using Versafine Onyx Black ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The stamped image was colored using Tombow markers and a blender pen. I embellished the flowers with Hero Arts Large Flower Sparkle Blossoms and Blossom Gems . I also used some of the regular Gemstones on some of the flowers, then added a little Stickles Glitter Glue to a few of them for a bit of glitz!

Such a simple and easy card, and it was really fun to make. I just love those sometimes.

I will have a quick post tomorrow morning to make a big announcement, so be sure not to miss it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wishing you Blue Skies.....

I received a new shipment of stamps from Northwoods Rubber Stamps a couple of days ago, and just couldn't wait to ink one of them. For me, there is something very relaxing about watercoloring.

This stamp is Northwoods Sailboat Regatta . I think the prospect of coloring the sails in bright and cheerful colors is what attracted me to use this one first.

I stamped the image on watercolor paper using Versafine Onyx Black ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. Be sure to use a detail powder due to all the fine lines in the image.


I colored the stamped image using Tombow markers and a blender pen. It doesn't show very well in the photos, but I used Crystal Stickles on some of the water to make it glisten.

On the inside (which I forgot to photograph), I stamped Inkadinkado's Blue Skies sentiment. It reads, "Wishing you Blue Skies and Sunny Days". I thought it was the perfect compliment for the image!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll be back as soon as I can!

Until then.....