Technique Blitz: Twisted Tapestry Double

This is the first image I am showing from one of the Bonus Techniques on the TJ 6th Edition CD that will be mailed on or before September 25th. It is called Twisted Tapestry Double.

Believe it or not, this is only 1/2 of the technique! This technique makes TWO cards -- think positive and negative. The other "half" will be displayed later this week.

Pre-orders for the CD are being taken now -- click HERE for details.

Life IS all about the little things, isn't it?

Stamps: Stampin' Up!

Wonderful Wednesday Giveaway: Sweet 'n Sassy!

If it's Sweet...if it's Sassy...then it has to be Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps! I am happy to be giving away this adorable farm set with all these great sayings in this week's giveaway. The whole set is here:
I didn't forget about the Technique Blitz, either. Along with the set, the giveaway winner will receive the card above, which, of course, features a technique from the Technique Junkie Newsletter CD6 Bonus Techniques called Pleated Paper. So easy, and so much fun! I hope you like this one.

Giving away this set has special meaning, too, as you can see from Korin's message:

There is a lot going on at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps this summer.

We are preparing for a brand new webstore as well as NEW products from the Summer CHA releases, so we are blowing out some of our current stock of stamps, papers and more. Plus, we just released 7 new sets for summer that you must see, so head on over to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps to see if we have something that might catch your eye!

Want to know how to win this set and card?

ANYONE can enter this give away.One entry per person, per give away, please. To enter the give away for today, simply leave a comment on this blog entry telling me that you would like to enter by 11:59pm EST on Tuesday, August 5th. No other entry methods will be included in the give away. If you email me to enter, your entry will NOT be considered a valid entry. When you leave the comment, make sure to put your NAME in the comment -- if you enter your comment as "Anonymous", I cannot give you the prize! Blogger does NOT record your email address for me, so you will need to check back to find out if you have won or include your email address in your comment so that I can notify you. A good way to do this is like so: phuntoon at optonline dot net -- it will help protect your privacy! I will have a random number generator pick one number from the comments to select one winner. Each give-away is separate, so to be eligible for a specific item you must enter that day's contest on the post where it is listed. Enter today -- good luck! I have blog give aways every Wednesday -- come play!

Congratulations to Holly Craft, the winner of this set!

Technique Blitz: Glowing Images!

Today's artwork is an example of Glowing Images, one of the Techniques from the August 2008 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter.

No, the frog is NOT cut out and put on top!

Nancy Judd is responsible for this technique -- and her artwork is on the TJ subscriber-only artwork pages.

I'm lovin' this technique, aren't YOU?

Stamps: Frog: I Brake for Stamps; Fern: Judikins

It's a Technique Blitz!

Ready -- Set -- Go!

Today is the first day of the first-ever "Patstamps Technique Blitz!"

What is that, you ask?

It is a card a day between today and August 31st. Each card will showcase a different technique from either the August 2008 issue of the Newsletter OR one of the Bonus Techniques from the New CD6 that is available for pre-order now.

So sit back, enjoy the art, and tell me what you like!

Our first card is from the August Newsletter -- it uses the Painted Pigment Technique with the Stencilled Collage Technique. The stamps and stencil are from Rubber Stamp Plantation.

The TJ designers will be joining us in the blitz when they can, and I will be posting links to their sites here. Note that I am away, without internet access, so they will be posted if I can find a Starbucks with WiFi in Canada! : )

It's a fitting card for today -- after all, I am away on vacation!. Hope your week is pure paradise! Enjoy the art...

Bloggers Challenge: Christmas in July!

Today's Blogger's Challenge is Christmas in July! I wanted to do something elegant today, so I pulled out this gorgeous image from The Stampsmith. I colored this lovely Christmas girl with chalks, and layered her over a piece of green Aged Metal (from the 2-08 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter). I wanted to add a piece of Pine Bough (can't you just smell it?) but the Eucalyptus looked better.

I know that Innovative Stamp Creations still has some Shimmer Sheetz left (they were discontinued by the company), just in case (I know I will be asked!).

On another note, I have an exciting week planned for next week! Check in on Monday for the beginning of 35 days of fun!

I also leave for vacation tomorrow morning, and will not have a reliable Internet access...so be patient with me, okay?

Have a good week -- Hope you can get into the spirit of Christmas a little today!

Pat

Wonderful Wednesdat Giveaway -- Inque Boutique!

Today, I am pleased to bring you a GREAT giveaway, PLUS a sneak preview for the August 2008 issue!

The stamp set I am giving away this week for the Escape set from Inque Boutique. These fun stamps are great for cards and wonderful for scrapbooking...I am finding the scale of the stamps perfect for page embellishments.They are flourish-y, current, and so much fun! I am sure that you will enjoy using them. Inque Boutique has a list of retailers on their site to purchase them - make sure to check it out!

These stamps are perfect for the technique shown in the card above, too. This card uses the Bandanna Technique, which one of the techniques that is in the August 2008 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. The newsletter will be mailed in less than a week! Be prepared to have a blast...it is one of my favorites of all time.

Okay now, want to learn how this fabulous stamp set can be yours?

Note that the sign-up time for the giveaway is much shorter -- I go on vacation Saturday morning and want to pop these in the mail to the lucky winner on my way out the door!

ANYONE can enter this give away.One entry per person, per give away, please. To enter the give away for today, simply leave a comment on this blog entry telling me that you would like to enter by 8:59pm EST on FRIDAY, July 23rd. No other entry methods will be included in the give away. If you email me to enter, your entry will NOT be considered a valid entry. When you leave the comment, make sure to put your NAME in the comment -- if you enter your comment as "Anonymous", I cannot give you the prize! Blogger does NOT record your email address for me, so you will need to check back to find out if you have won or include your email address in your comment so that I can notify you. A good way to do this is like so: phuntoon at optonline dot net -- it will help protect your privacy! I will have a random number generator pick one number from the comments to select one winner. Each give-away is separate, so to be eligible for a specific item you must enter that day's contest on the post where it is listed. Enter today -- good luck! I have blog give aways every Wednesday -- come play!

Congratulations to Sandra Bonagura (and Tori) the winner of this stamp set!

Embrace Life Masked Card

I taught an online class today on basic masking on an e-group I am in, and I thought I would share the card I made for the class here. Hope you like it!

All stamps by Stampin' up!

Technostamper's Sketch Challenge#27

I love this week's Technostamper Sketch Challenge! Such an easy sketch to work with... I used a piece of Distress Dragging Background (February 2007 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter) for my base. I stamped butterflies and the "you're amazing" phrase over the dragging, then colored the butterflies with colored pencils and highlighted them with white. I love the "you're amazing" phrase -- who wouldn't love to receive that? All of the stamps on the cards are from Innovative Stamp Creations.

I actually "cheated" a little when making this card. The Distress Dragging uses Adirondack's Pigment Inks -- I used them for the first time while demonstrating in the ISC booth in Hartford, and I have a new love! I own hundreds of ink pads, and these are, by far, the best inks I have ever used. I just ordered a mess of them from ISC -- I can't wait to play some more! I will do an ink comparison on my blog to show what I mean when they come in.

As an aside, I want to thank all of you who stopped by the Innovative Stamp Creations booth in Hartford while I was demonstrating. It was great to meet so many of you -- I had a blast! I can't wait to do it again soon.

I hope you have an amazing week!

More Mystery Challenge Cards

A week or so ago, I posted about the Mystery Challenge group that I am on. Well, my card came in the mail this week and I just couldn't wait to share it! This pretty creation came from my friend Stefanie -- Aren't they adorable?

I also heard from my friend Rose, and she received her card, a scan of which is below. I colored the girls with Copics... No technique, just a bit of fun!


Enjoy your weekend!

Blogger's Challenge - Color Challenge

Lisa loves to throw a challenge out there for the Blogger's Challenge players; this week proves it! The colors assigned to us this week were Really Rust, Mellow Moss, Sahara Sand, Regal Rose, and Blue Bayou. Truthfully, this is not a color palette that I would reach for when working -- but in all honesty, I can say that I really like how my creation turned out! That is one of the reasons I love to be in the BC group -- sometimes it really stretches me.

I stamped and embossed the collage stamp from the Innovative Stamp Creations' Summer Elements II in really rust, then I used the Marker Water Coloring Technique from the June 2008 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter to color it. On the background, I stamped the flourish from ISC's Nature Silhouette sheet in really rust, then I traced over it loosely with a matching marker. I added highlights with a mellow moss marker, then pierced some holes in it to add interest. All that is layered on more color -- and I think it turned out pretty cool!

Make sure to check out the other Blogger's Challenge Players -- an up-to-date list can be found by clicking on the logo in my sidebar.

I hope your weekend is filled with unexpected colors!

Wonderful Wednesday Give away - Stamp Attack UK

Elegant Fun. That is how I think of this week's cool giveaway from Stamp Attack UK. The card you see on the left was made from the cool stamp sheet above (our giveaway this week). Whether you are based in the US or abroad, you MUST check out this company! There is a plethora of wonderful, elegant, classy stamps on this website...and the best part is that Carol is offering FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE this week for you! Just mention that you are a Technique Junkie when you order and the postage will be refunded to you.

The card I made for the giveaway this week uses a variety of techniques. The child was stamped with chalk ink and colored with pencils to give her more color and oomph. (I was impressed -- these Stamp Attack UK stamps are thick rubber, and make perfect images!) The triangle along the side uses the Cuttlebug Smoosh Technique from the October 2007 TJ Newsletter; the background uses the Distress Dragging Technique from the February 2007 issue of the newsletter.

All those techniques, and you know what took me the longest? Stringing the dang beads! They do look cool when the card is picked up, though -- I guess ONE of you will find that out when they win this giveaway!

Okay, want to know how you can win these stamps?
ANYONE can enter this give away.One entry per person, per give away, please. To enter the give away for today, simply leave a comment on this blog entry telling me that you would like to enter by 11:59pm EST on Sunday, July 20th. No other entry methods will be included in the give away. If you email me to enter, your entry will NOT be considered a valid entry. When you leave the comment, make sure to put your NAME in the comment -- if you enter your comment as "Anonymous", I cannot give you the prize! Blogger does NOT record your email address for me, so you will need to check back to find out if you have won or include your email address in your comment so that I can notify you. A good way to do this is like so: phuntoon at optonline dot net -- it will help protect your privacy! I will have a random number generator pick one number from the comments to select one winner. Each give-away is separate, so to be eligible for a specific item you must enter that day's contest on the post where it is listed. Enter today -- good luck! I have blog give aways every Wednesday -- come play!

The winner of this blog candy was Sandy Wisneski! Congrats, Sandy!

I am on an e-group that has a Mystery Image Challenge each month -- one person stamps images from stamps in their stash and mails them to participants. Each person is assigned another person to mail to. It is fun to see what interesting things show up in your mail box each time! One of the things I love so much about stamping is the versatility of images...every card and use of a stamp can be so totally different, can't it?

Well, here are two cards from the last challenge, hosted by my friend Rose. The top card went to my swap partner, Terri. I colored the girls in with Copic markers. The scallop borders were made with a Fiskars punch. This card opens at the pink scallop. My favorite part about this card is the little punched daisy border (I just punched the daisies, then cut them in half to adhere them.

This next card was a bonus image sent by Rose. This one uses Copics for coloring, too.

I made one more card out of the images, but since I mailed it from the East-Coast to her on the West-Cost, I am not sure if she has seen it yet (and I know she reads my blog). I will share that one when I am sure she has seen it.

I think the friends images and the girl on a moon image are from Elzybelles (from A Muse). These are not stamps that would hit my own shopping cart normally, so it was fun to play with something that I wouldn't have otherwise.

Have a great day today.

Technostamper Sketches 25 and 26

Um, I am a little late : )

I have two cards for this week -- both are a bit behind, but I am trying!

The first is this week's sketch (#26) from Mary Jo's Technostamper Sketch Challenge. The sketch uses arrows -- much easier than it looks once you get started! My card uses one of the humorous seniors from I Brake for Stamps. The background uses the Dry Embossed Wash Technique from the December 2007 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. This card is a little different because it flips up from the top panel. I know just who to send it to, also (*the story is below, in case you want to read it)!

The card on the left is from LAST Week's TSSC challenge (#25). I had the card finished by Friday, but I just did not have time to upload it over the weekend. I love it, though, and I am sending it to my sister-in-law who we saw last night. She is seven months pregnant and I am sure she can use some encouragement! All the materials for this are from Stampin' Up!. It is kind of sad that I JUST opened the package of felt flowers (I have had them for MONTHS). I am sure that these will retire soon, too : )

Okay, MJ, I promise to try my best to make it before noon next Monday -- now I must get off the computer to try to make the card before dinner tonight!

*I am sending the humorous senior card to my Mother-in-Law. While that might seem mean to some, I am sending it because of a story we talked about at dinner last night... You see, she has 4 grown sons, and when they get together, they talk about her in her younger years as if she were a boozin', smokin', hard-livin' broad. It is SO not true. She is a beautiful, accomplished, successful, fabulous person -- but they know how to get under her skin. She will get the joke, I assure you! I adore her : ) And no, she doesn't read my blog, either.

It has been a few weeks since I have been able to participate in Blogger's Challenge, so I am really excited to play this week!

The theme this week was insects & bugs, and I took the easy way out with a butterfly image. This beautiful insect and the paradise stamp are from Rubber Stamp Plantation. The background of this card uses the Faux Handmade Paper Technique for the background -- I ran it through my Cuttlebug, put white ink on the embossed parts, then swiped Pearl Ex over it to make it shimmery : ) The butterflies where made using the Metallic Foil technique. Both of these techniques are from the current issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter.

Sometimes you get lucky in life. My friend Erin had a stamping playdate a few weeks ago and invited me, and her friend Debra from Hawaii. Well, it just so happens that Debra is the co-owner of RSP...and she is, by far, the most interesting person I have met in years. She and I hit it off and chatted for hours!!! She was also generous with her stamps and you will see more of them here, and on the TJ site. They are a little slice of paradise... If you would like to see some gorgeous pictures and have a few minutes, go take a look at the RSP Blog, too -- read about the Vetiver farm and stamping there, too.

When you have a moment, check out the beautiful creations from the other Blogger's Challenge players. Simply click on the logo on my sidebar to access an up-to-date list of the other players.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Wonderful Wednesday Give Away - Starving Artistamps

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I LOVE these Doodle Factory Urban stamps from Starving Artistamps. Well, this week, this stamp sheet can be yours, because it is our Wonderful Wednesday Giveaway today!

The lucky winner of today's giveaway will receive the fun and funky (and huge) stamp sheet shown below by Starving Artistamps, along with the card above. This card was colored using the Marker Watercoloring technique from the June 2008 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. Looks like Copic Coloring, doesn't it? Well, this is much easier, much less expensive, and just as impactful!

As if this was not exciting enough, I have a great discount from Starving Artistamps this week, too -- for Technique Junkies only!
Save 20% on your entire next new website purchase of rubber stamps!
(sorry accessories not included)

To get your discount place your order on the website between now and July 16th, 2008
enter this code into the discount code box on the website:

TJNL08
You will see the discount applied immediately. If not stop there and contact us: strvingartistmp@aol.com before you check out!

Okay, want to know how you can win these stamps?

ANYONE can enter this give away.One entry per person, per give away, please. To enter the give away for today, simply leave a comment on this blog entry telling me that you would like to enter by 11:59pm EST on Sunday, July 13th. No other entry methods will be included in the give away. If you email me to enter, your entry will NOT be considered a valid entry. When you leave the comment, make sure to put your NAME in the comment -- if you enter your comment as "Anonymous", I cannot give you the prize! Blogger does NOT record your email address for me, so you will need to check back to find out if you have won or include your email address in your comment so that I can notify you. A good way to do this is like so: phuntoon at optonline dot net -- it will help protect your privacy! I will have a random number generator pick one number from the comments to select one winner. Each give-away is separate, so to be eligible for a specific item you must enter that day's contest on the post where it is listed. Enter today -- good luck! I have blog give aways every Wednesday -- come play!

The winner of these stamps is SUE HUGHES -- Congrats, Sue!

Wonderful Wednesday Give away - Artistic Outpost

YIKES! I know it is Thursday, and I apologize -- I just could NOT have fit another thing into my day yesterday...I hope you understand! I will still be giving you until Sunday night to sign up : )

This week, our giveaway is sponsored by Artistic Outpost. This wonderful stamp sheet is called "Geek is Chic" and has some of the coolest elements on it ever! I just think this is a great set for cards and ATCs alike. Love the numbers -- oh heck, I love everything about this sheet!

In addition to this sheet, you will receive the card above -- it was made using the Sparkle Paper Technique from the Technique Junkie Newsletter June 2008 issue. I have to tell you, this is one of the coolest cards I have made -- and the photograph does NOT do it justice.

Oh -- see the background? That is a sheet of Sparkle Paper -- the winner will receive a full sheet of the paper, too, so they can play with the technique. Not a Junkie yet? I will send you the issue, so you have the directions!

So here is how you can win this week's giveaway:

Want to know how to win?
ANYONE can enter this give away.One entry per person, per give away, please. To enter the give away for today, simply leave a comment on this blog entry telling me that you would like to enter by 11:59pm EST on Sunday, July 6th. No other entry methods will be included in the give away. If you email me to enter, your entry will NOT be considered a valid entry. When you leave the comment, make sure to put your NAME in the comment -- if you enter your comment as "Anonymous", I cannot give you the prize! Blogger does NOT record your email address for me, so you will need to check back to find out if you have won or include your email address in your comment so that I can notify you. A good way to do this is like so: phuntoon at optonline dot net -- it will help protect your privacy! I will have a random number generator pick one number from the comments to select one winner. Each give-away is separate, so to be eligible for a specific item you must enter that day's contest on the post where it is listed. Enter today -- good luck! I have blog give aways every Wednesday -- come play!

PS -- Congrats to Rachelle Emigh -- the winner of these wonderful stamps!