Skipping Stones Design Sketch Tuesday: Blog Hop & SSD031 “Fall In Chocolate”

Last week I gave you a sneak peek at the Fangs or Fur stamp set and today we are celebrating the official release of the two new stamp sets, "Fangs or Fur" and “Chocolate Vol. 2”.  This is our "sweetest" release yet, whether you're a Twilight fan or a chocolate lover, we have something for you!!  

If you just happened upon my blog today, you’ll want to go back to the beginning at Skipping Stones Design. You should have arrived from Teri Anderson’s blog.

Combined with the blog hop today, it's also Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday which means the Design Team is showcasing another great creation from Teri Anderson.

Here’s Teri’s sketch for today:

This sketch was perfect for BOTH sets of stamps and I had a blast playing with it but ultimately I decided to go with something chocolatey this week.  Yum, yum, yum….

Introducing Chocolate Volume 2 from Skipping Stones Design:

And a little treat made with this delightful stamp set! Who can resist chocolate covered strawberries on a sweet summer day?  Not me, that’s for sure!  Here’s my card:

I had a brand new 6x6 pack of Basic Grey Nook and Pantry paper staring at me from the back of my desk and decided it would be PERFECT for a sweet tooth card.  So off I went a layering and a stitching. Peggy Russell gave me some advice on threads and I switched to a shinier, prettier thread (this one is a lemony Coast and Clark) and it has made the difference in my stitching love.. lol!  Thanks Peggy!  My poor Bernina got a workout on this card!

Here’s a close up of the stitching and new thread:

It’s hard to tell in the main photo, but I did sponge a little chocolate love around the circle that the strawberries are on to add texture and dimension and not have it be quite so stark white.  

I created the “index/recipe” card in Photoshop and handwrote an entire recipe for Chocolate Covered Strawberries because I wasn’t sure what would end up showing… lol…. well, if you pry up the top layers you would find an almost full recipe underneath, hehe!  I did cut off the bottom 1/3 of it.

We'd love for you to play along with the sketch. Just remember to use the keywords SSD031 if you are uploading to any online galleries or link your card at the Skipping Stones Blog. We're always on the lookout for  Guest Designers so you never know....

Thanks so much for visiting me today.  Your next stop is the wonderfully talented Peggy Russell.

~Inky Chocolatey Smiles!

Oh, and PS – since you’ve followed along this far… how about a little something SWEET?    I have a package of Chic Martini stamps from Skipping Stones Design to give away to one lucky winner!  Just leave a comment on this post and I will draw a winner on Monday, July 12th using a random number generator.

 

Here’s the Hop Order in case you reach a broken link along the way.  {Please note that while some artists may have their posts up already, the hop doesn’t officially start until 10 am EST.}

Skipping Stones Design http://skippingstonesdesign.com/
Teri Anderson http://terisplace.wordpress.com/
Erin Grotegut http://inkysmiles.blogspot.com/
Peggy Russell http://beautifulgreetings.blogspot.com/
Kandi Phillips http://kraftykandikrafts.blogspot.com/
*SPECIAL GUEST*  Jodi Collins http://stampingalatte.blogspot.com/
Michelle Giraud http://twisted-chick.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Ingle http://justjingle.blogspot.com/
Amanda Sewell http://www.inkspirations.blogspot.com/
Chelsea Van Wyk http://www.scraptasticvoyage.blogspot.com/
Angela Thomas http://sparkleandbling.blogspot.com/

Skipping Stones Design Sketch Tuesday: SSD030 –“Total Eclipse of the Heart”

Hi friends!  Hope you all had a fabulous Father’s Day weekend!  Brent and I celebrated it quietly at home and had his parents over for a BBQ dinner. It’s been a while since they were over and it was nice to visit with them. :)   We kept quite busy this weekend, too.. digging trenches, picking plums off the “flowering” plum tree, smoking a pork shoulder, I worked on a baby scrapbook for my cousin (I know, GASP… Erin’s paper SCRAPPING… lol) and lots of other fun things.
Yesterday I sat down and played around with the most fabulous new stamp set (one of the TWO being revealed today, but not yet released) from Skipping Stones Design.
If you’re a TWILIGHT fan, you’re GONNA LOVE IT!
Here’s our sketch today from Terri:

I was so excited about this stamp set that I mostly ignored the little circles and rotated the sketch around like this: (UPDATE: For some reason BLOGGER rotated BOth PHOTOS...argh... and won't let me fix one without rotating the other... sorry!)


Here’s my card for this week:

I used the smooching Edward and Bella “Heart” shape from the new “Fur or Fangs” set which is being REVEALED today, but not yet RELEASED.  (Keep reading for more info…)
I LOVE this stamp set.  It’s full of quirky sentiments and awesome images drawn by our very own Heather.  I have to admit I was a little worried about losing all the fabulous detail when heat embossing this image, but I was pleasantly surprised that all the little details embossed perfectly, from Edward’s crazy hair  and chiseled jaw line right down to the detailed flowers.

The flower is made from singed satin fabric and tulle which I layered up and added pearls to the center.  (Now I wish I’d singed the ribbons, too. ) 
The papers are layers of a DCWV stack that was a gift from my friend, Melissa.  The paper is luxurious and awesome.  I added brads to “anchor” the main image and then some pearly ribbon to give it a more “aged” feel.
I had the hardest time figuring the sentiment placement….
  
I messed around with it and messed around with it but in the end I felt that it interfered with the main image and stuck it on the inside of the card instead.
Are you dying to see the full set? Ok, ok…. I’ll show you… don’t bite me… (unless you’re Edward… or Jasper… or a shirtless wereworlf…..tee hee)..

NOW… since you’ve hung with me this long do you want to know how to get this set for yourself before you can buy it?  Hurry on over to Skipping Stones Design and check out these stamps and the promotion that Heather has for you this week! “Win” it before it can be bought!
Don’t forget to check out the other amazing creations from our super fun and fabulous Design Team! (Blog links in my right sidebar.)
Inky Bites!

Skipping Stones Design Sketch Tuesday: SSD027 Home of the Brave

Hey friends! 

I need to apologize for being away so long.  No drama, just life, and when life gets busy around my place my blog is the very last thing on my mind and very first thing to get pushed to the back of the line.  Brent took the last 5 days off of work and we’ve just been hanging out and enjoying having “nothing” to do.  We have gotten some house projects done, took care of the car and settled with insurance, bought a couple of new toys and discovered a new hobby.   I did completely space giving details on June’s Scrap My Scraps Challenge.  I will post about that tomorrow. I PROMISE :)

Moving along…

 

We’re starting with another month of sketches with Skipping Stones Design this week.  June’s sketch artist is Teri Anderson.  You may have seen her sketches in Papercraft’s “Go To Sketches”.

Here’s Teri’s first sketch for the month of June:

I hope you all have had a marvelous Memorial Weekend and Memorial Day!!   I love the summer months and all the patriotic celebrations.  We have MUCH to celebrate living in America and MUCH to be grateful for. As an Army Brat I get particularly verklempt and carry a huge smile in my heart at each special holiday.   Yesterday, Memorial Day, we celebrated and honored those men and women who currently serve, have served, and have given their lives for the freedoms we treasure. In addition to many friends, both my grandfather and father served our country and I am eternally grateful for them. 

This is my card for our first sketch.  It is simple (relatively quick to create), to the point and honors those who have served.

I used SSD’s Home of the Brave stamp set that was released last month.   I love the fireworks and they screamed at me to use embossing powder.  Each star (cut with my new toy) is popped up with a pop dot and I blinged out the edges with a clear gel glitter pen and distressed the fronts with a chalk ink pad.  I did some random stitching at the top right corner and outlined the Provo Craft patterned paper with a straight stitch. I needed a gold brad for the center star, but only had silver so I heated it up with my heat gun and dipped it in the embossing powder.  Worked like a charm :)

 
Thanks for popping by!  See you later this week!

~Inky Smiles!

Supplies:
Stamps – Skipping Stones Design Home of the Brave
Inks – CTMH, Colorbok, Versamark, Sakura Clear Glitter Pen
Papers – misc CTMH & Provo Craft (super ancient patriotic pad
Misc –CTMH gold ep, heat gun, my new toy, thread, Bernie, AC pop dots & tabs

Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday & Blog Hop : SSD025 – Holy Carp!

Welcome to Skipping Stones Design’s Blog  Design Team Blog Hop!! I’m so glad to “see” you here today!   Today we are celebrating the release of two new stamp  sets, Holy Carp and Home of the Brave.  If you just happened upon my blog today, you’ll want to go back to the beginning at Skipping Stones Design. You should have arrived from Jen del Muro’s blog. 

Combined with the blog hop today, it's also Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday which means the Design Team is showcasing another great creation from Jen del Muro. We'd love for you to play along with the sketch. Just remember to use the keywords SSD025 if you are uploading to any online galleries or link your card at the Skipping Stones Blog.  We LOVE having guest designers so come on and participate… you never know when you might be asked to play…

Today we have a SUPER DUPER FUN sketch from Jen del Muro.  I’ve been excited to play with this sketch since we got the sketches last month.  I just needed the “right” stamp set and boy did I get the right set with this month’s releases!  When I opened my envelope of treasures I was so stoked to find the Holy Carp set.  Now if you will please excuse the potty humor…

Who could resist playing with and blogging about a stamp set called Holy Carp right after a toilet paper technique tutorial?”

LOLOLOL… Ok… ‘nuff with that. Just keep stamping, just keep stamping…

Here’s today’s fabulous sketch.

I pretty much followed the rules today and stuck to the sketch… EXCEPT…

I had to jiggle the sketch so that the “star” scooted over to the other side of the card cuz it just wasn’t cooperating with the image and embellishments I was using.   (But I think you’ll still like the card… keep reading…)

Here’s my card:

I just HAD to move the “star” accent over to the side because it kept interfering with that really cool boat and I would have had to make a GINORMOUS card to make it fit over there… as it is this card is 5 x 5.5”

Here’s the inside:

So anyway… this set was so fun to play with…   I have just the person in mind to receive it a little later this summer… My dad is turning 60 and he’s loved fishing for many years.. I think he’ll get a kick out of the card. :)

Here are a couple detail shots:

This card needed some bling and sparkle, but since it’s for someone of the dude variety I had to keep the sparkly bling in check… HOWEVER, that being said, I couldn’t resist blinging up that big ol’ cheeser…  It sparkles nicely in “real life”…

TIP:  Hey – did you know if your die cut for matting an image is a little too big and you don’t have an “in between size” you can zip it through your Cuttlebug and the embossing will slightly “shrink” up your mat… voila!  Now it fits mo bettah!

Creative Supplies:
Stamps – Skipping Stones Design’s Holy Carp
Inks – CTMH Black & Desert Sand
Papers – Misc from my scrap stash, Kraft CS, Gina K White CS
Miscellaneous – Cuttlebug and folder, Spellbinders dies, misc brads (inked with brown Stazon), misc ribbon, jewelry tag, AC Foam Tabs, watercolor pencils (SU & CTMH), odorless mineral spirits & paper stick, Sakura clear glitter pen, ATG adhesive.

 

Your next stop is the awesome Kandi Phillips… go on… swim on over and leave her some love!

Inky Smiles!

PS… Coming up later this week here at Inky Smiles I will be posting about a new round of Scrap My Scraps for June for 6 players!  Stay tuned!

 

Blog Hop Order (just in case):
Skipping Stones Design http://skippingstonesdesign.com
Jen del Muro http://iheart2stamp.com
Erin Grotegut http://www.inkysmiles.blogspot.com
Kandi Phillips http://kraftykandikrafts.blogspot.com
Deb Felts http://withastampandasong.blogspot.com
Peggy Russell http://beautifulgreetings.blogspot.com
Michelle Giraud http://twisted-chick.blogspot.com
Jennifer Ingle http://justjingle.blogspot.com
Amanda Sewell http://www.inkspirations.blogspot.com
Angela Thomas http://sparkleandbling.blogspot.com

Skipping Stones Design Sketch Tuesday: SSD022 Surrender to the Wind

Happy Tuesday Inky Friends!

Sadly, today is our last sketch with the awesome Kimberly Crawford, but I really had fun with this one. It’s a simple, straightforward sketch, but I had an idea almost immediately and created my card last TUESDAY, which is NUTS for me. LOL! Usually it’s Saturday night and I’m stressing about it. hehe!

Anyway.. moving on… Here’s today’s sketch:

I played around with the Whispering Wings stamp set and decided to go with something a little more “masculine”. I seriously don’t do masculine cards because I have the hardest time with them, too, mainly because there are so many “girlie” stamps and images on the market and the masculine ones are usually “cheesey” or juvenile.

However, comma, but… the cattails in the Whispering Wings set worked out just perfectly for me for this card.

I took a little artist liberty with the sketch and elongated the focal point. :)

I inked the cattail image up on an Olive Green CTMH ink pad and then used a baby wipe to wipe the green off the actual cattails which I then colored with a brown marker and stamped onto a cream cs. I colored the cattails in with colored pencils and OMS. The image is stamped in Chocolate Ink by CTMH. Edges are distressed with Tim Holz’s tea dye distress ink.

The sand colored background needed some type of texture/depth, but I did not want to “sand distress” or “direct to paper ink distress”, so I fiddled around and came up with a cool technique that I will share with you in a tutorial on Wednesday. (It’s all typed up and ready to go!) Oh how this card was difficult to photograph to show the background detail. LOL!

Here’s a little close up at the background.

Be sure to check out the creations from our other lovely Skipping Stone designers!! (List on the right side bar of the blog.)

Inky Smiles! See you Wednesday!

Creative Supplies:
Stamps – Skipping Stones Design Whispering Wings
Inks – CTMH Chocolate & Olive Green, Versamark
Miscellaneous – SU felt ribbon, fabric glue, misc paper scraps, watercolor pencils, OMS, metal paste.

PS - This just in:

GOOD NEWS – Skipping Stones Design is having a P.M.S. Sale!

P.M.S.~ in this case~suffering from the NEED to Purchase More Stamps!

Buy 1 stamp set save 5%, for a total of .73cents off. Coupon code: PMS1

Buy 2 stamp sets & save 10%, for a total of $2.90 off. Coupon code: PMS2

Buy 3 stamp sets & save 15%, for a total of $6.54 off. Coupon code: PMS3

Buy 4 stamp sets & save 20%, for a total of $11.60 off . Coupon Code: PMS4

Buy 5 stamp sets & save 25%, for a total of $18.10 off. Coupon Code: PMS5

*This sale will last until Saturday May 1st at midnight

All the details on this sale can be found on the Skipping Stones Blog.

Skipping Stones Design Sketch Tuesday: SSD021 –Your 110 lb Friend :)

Good morning crafty friends!

It’s time for another Skipping Stones Design Sketch Tuesday and today’s sketch is a really fun one! This week Kimberly Crawford is challenging us to:

You may remember that I mentioned in a previous post that shaped cards are not something I am entirely comfortable with… YET…

I decided to take the sketch literally this time and created a round card.

and since it was dinner time when I was making it I was a little hungry and needed a snack. So I made a cookie with a fancy wrapper. :) I was craving Oatmeal Crunchies, but Brent said it needed chocolate chunks... so there ya have it.

I traced a circle on a piece of folded cardstock using a regular old CD and then cut it out with my Fiskars cutting thingy… it’s that disk like thing that has a blade in the bottom.. lol… the name of it has escaped me.. ay yi yi…. anyway. You can see the small folded area at the bottom of the card.

Then I took a bite out of it by cutting random teeth marks in both layers with some super sharp scissors. It must have been an ogre who bit it cuz the teeth marks show 3 front teeth.. lol! Shrek… you naughty boy!

The “chocolate chunks” are made from chocolate CTMH cardstock and are just random cut out bits and glued down with a quickie glue pen. All patterned papers and embellishments are from a Kit Club packet that I picked up from Treasured Scrapbooking (Erin Gudge). The papers and buttons are from Basic Grey’s Origins collection. The felt ribbon is from the discount bin @ Stampin Up and I tucked a bit of green tulle poking out from under the flower.

I used the sentiment from Skipping Stones Design’s set Birthday Donuts.

Now get off the computer and go make some cookies!

Inky Smiles!

Skipping Stones Design Sketch Tuesday: Blog Hop, A Little Candy & SSD020

Happy Tuesday, blogging friends!

Welcome to Skipping Stones Design’s Blog  DT  Blog Hop to celebrate the release of two new stamp  sets, Birthday Donuts and Whispering Wings.  If you just happened upon my blog today, you’ll want to go back to the beginning at Skipping Stones Design. You should have arrived from Kimberly Crawford’s blog. 

Combined with the blog hop today, it's also Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday which means the Design Team is showcasing another great creation from Kimberly Crawford. We'd love for you to play along with the sketch. Just remember to use the keywords SSD020 if you are uploading to any online galleries or link your card at the Skipping Stones Blog. We'll be looking soon for Guest Designers so you never know....

Here’s this week’s sketch, SSD020:

I flipped it and rotated it in PSE….

I had all sorts of ideas for this sketch, but I had to reel it in a little due to time and pain tolerance constraints (but that’s a another story) so I sat down after dinner and played around with the  Birthday Donuts set and some sample papers from Sassafrass Lass.

I really wanted to use the Birthday Donuts for this card, but I didn’t want to color another card for a few reasons:  1) I don’t have the “right colors” in watercolor pencils 2) I don’t have a watercolor penbrush thingy to use my brown ink pads, 3) I have just one brown Copic, and 4) I didn’t want to color. LOL!

SOOOOOOO… I decided to play around with some paper piecing using my favorite donut stamp from the set.

Here’s what I came up with.

And here’s the same image very roughly edited with a different background, thanks to PSE… It’s fun to see how different colored backgrounds change how a piece appears.

 
Anyway… back to today’s bidniss… Since one of my favorite type of donut is a “cake” donut I decided to make the donut out of a chocolatey brown felt and then frost it with some delightful pink frosting.  I stamped the image onto some scrap cardstock and cut it apart, using the pieces as templates for my donut and frosting.  The candles are stamped direct to some scrap Sassafrass Lass paper and then lit up with some Crystal Effects and yellow glitter.

  
I just wanted a chunky, funky card this time so I layered up chunks fo my fav paper pieces from Sassafrass Lass’ newest release, some pink tulle, an itty bitty zipper I’ve had for ages and never knew what to do with and a big tag made from some SL paper.  I like to think the zipper is keeping the secret of how many birthdays and donuts I’ve really had. *wink*

And even though I don’t usually decorate the inside of cards I thought this one needed it so I layered up some SL papers and stamped a sentiment.

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you had a pleasant visit!  Please continue on this hop by visiting Kandi Phillips’ blog next!

PS… I’ve got some candy to share today!  Heather sent me a brand new copy of Funny Coffee Vol I to share with some lucky winner this week.  Here’s how you can win:

* What is your favorite “secret” treat?   Leave a comment on this post and tell me and I will draw a winner on Friday, April 16th. 

Inky Smiles!

Sweet Supplies:
Stamps:  Skipping Stones Design Birthday Donuts
Ink:  CTMH Ocean, Hollyhock, misc yellow chalk ink
Paper:  Various scraps of Sassafrass Lass new release pieces
Misc:  Doodlebug glitter, Crystal Effects, Homemade Glimmer Mist, Zipper, Adhesive, Tulle, AC Foam Tabs, misc Archivers CS, thread, Bernie the Bernina.