Crissy's Art & Heart

New January Rubber!

2012-01-19T11:02:00.002-05:00

Heart Hugs

Spring Zebra

Hi peeps! Just popping in on a busy day to show you my newly released rubber images. Click on the image to go directly to where it is in the Whimsy store.
Whimsy has a ton of new rubber added to the catalogue this week from their artists as well as some new metal dies. Go have a look at all the new goodies on the Whimsy Blog! There you'll also find details on how to get your name in the draws for the blog candy! Also, they have a new online magazine out -- and as usual, it is FREE and full of STUNNING works of art by the DT and customers too! Also, it features an article on one of my bestest friends ever -- Kathryne Kittmer, one of Whimsy's digi artists. (love that gal!!)

Also my monthly challenge is still going strong. Click HERE to check it out!

I'm busily drawing this week with lots of fun new images on my mind -- can't wait to share them all with you! But that will have to wait...

Click HERE to read the new magazine!

Thanks for popping by today Peeps! God bless you big time!

Touched By Love

2012-01-04T13:07:00.003-05:00

I still have some Christmas cards to share with you and this is one of them! I printed my angel onto water colour paper and used my artist quality watercolours to paint it. Whimsy sells this image I call "Touched By Love" as a black and white image so you can colour it yourself, AND ALSO as a pre-coloured image so that all you have to do is print it and use it on a card. The pre-coloured image is copied from this painting. I used the original on this card and gave it to a dear friend this Christmas.

I kept the card fairly simple as I wanted the image itself to have the most impact. The blue snowflake paper was from a pack I bought on clearance at Wal-Mart! :-)

Here is your close-up:

Thank you so much for coming by!!

God bless you!!

Christmas Dreaming

2011-12-28T11:01:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We did at our house. It was so busy though. We did lots of visiting, sleep-overs, eating and games. I think I need a few days of nuthin to do to catch my breath!

I made this card for one of my daughters using the rubber image I illustrated for Whimsy Stamps called "Christmas Dreaming". Again, I happily used the Make It Crafty Blending Card, which, in my opinion (and many others) is THE BEST paper to use with Copics. Normally REDS are really hard to blend with each other and to remove with the blender pen. But not with this paper! The reds on the candy cane and wings were easy to do, compared to my past experiences with other paper brands. See the shine on the candy cane? That was easy to achieve with the blender pen! This paper lets you push the colour deep into the fibres, leaving that shiny look. I am so impressed with it!!!

Here is my Copic colour list:

Candy Cane Red: R22, 24, 27, 29, 46, 89, C6, 8, Blender 0

Candy Cane White: C0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, E50, Blender 0

Flesh Tones: E000, 00, 04, 11. BV23, R21, 22

Hair: E31, 50, YR20, B93, Y28, Blender 0

Jumpsuit: G20, 21, 24, 28, W5

Striped Shirt and Stockings:

Gold stripe: E50, 53, 55, 57

Yellow/Green stripe: YG91, 93, 95, 97

Blue Stripe: B91, 93, 95, 97

Red Stripe: R20, 24, 46

Wings: YR20, R220, 24, 46, 89, G20, 21, 24, N1, 3, Blender 0

I used the blender on the wings to remove some colour for vein lines and decorative dots. Afterwards, I coloured up close to the veins just to emphasize them and to make the lines of demarcation more prominent.

Here is the whole card:

It fit nicely into one of the circle dies from Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities. I used some Distress inks to sponge around the edges.

Thanks for looking today and come back again soon!

Cool Pony

2011-12-23T12:22:00.001-05:00

Christmas is almost here!!

I have another card to show you today in which I used Zoe's "Make It Crafty Blending Card". I can't say enough great things about this paper. It is a total DREAM to work with! I recommend it for Copic beginners and experts alike. I get zero compensation for saying that, I am not affiliated with Zoe's store (we are just good friends!). But I am just in "paper love" with this stuff!! ha ha!

Before I go on with my card deets, I want to be a proud Mom and ask you to vote for my daughter Ashley! She is in a contest in which the winner gets a recording contract! You can go take a listen to her song HERE and vote for her!! It is for the MMG's top new song of 2011! She is in the TOP THREE!! Woot woot!! Please give her your support!!

She has an album out and I have a link on the right side bar if you want to listen to snippets of the whole thing. You can order a hard copy or buy it from iTunes!

I used my image for Whimsy that I called, "Cool Pony". I wanted to draw a Shetland pony because since I was a young girl I have thought that they are the cutest breed of pony! I love their shaggy mane and fetlocks and short little legs -- so cute!! ha ha

Copic Colours Used:

Skin: E00, 02, 11, 13, R20, 22

Red Coats: R24, 27, 29. 43, 46, 59, C8, 5

White Trim: BV20, 23, E50, Blender

Pony Mane: E50, 53, Y28, W6

Pony Body: E31, 34 35 37, 97

Pony Bow: YG61, 63, 67, W5, 6 (Smooch Glitter added)

Girl's Hat: G21, 24, 28, 29

Boots: G94, 99, YG61, W5, Blender

Girl's Hair: E25, 29, W7

Pony Hooves: E21, 25, 227, 29

Ground: C1

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Sundays With Crissy (my challenge blog!): Anything Goes!

Party Time Tuesdays: Use Ribbon

Craft Us Crazy: Christmas or Humourous

Charisma Cardz Challenge: Anything Goes

Truly Madly Crafty Challenges: Christmas Images And Colours

The Crazy Challenge: Christmas

My Time To Craft: Winter Pals

Critter Sketch Challenge: Let It Snow

Everybody Art: Anything Goes

Paper Playtime: Anything Goes

Edited to add:

You don't want to miss this! Whimsy has their new magazine out and it is FREE!!! It is a beautifully laid out magazine with gorgeous creations from the DT AND Whimsy customers! Plus my great friend is a featured artist and she has a great article to read. You will love this! Go check it out!

CLICK HERE

Merry Christmas all!!

Snowman and Penguin fun!

2011-12-21T10:35:00.000-05:00

Hi Peeps! Christmas is almost here and I am so excited! Here is a card I made using my Snowman and Penguins digi stamp image. I am happy with how this one turned out!

This was my first time using Zoe's paper from her store, "Make It Crafty". The paper is one she discovered for Copic users and it is called, "Make It Crafty Blending Card". I want to say ahead of my next statement, that I get zero compensation for plugging her product. Now Copic lovers, hear me.... THIS PAPER IS THE BEST I HAVE EVER TRIED FOR BLENDING COPIC COLOURS!!!!! It is a dream to work with -- I have NEVER seen the Blender pen work like this before -- oh the joy of seeing the effects with this paper -- if you have never tried it before, please go to her store and get some NOW!!! You will not be sorry!! It is now my new staple to go with Copics. I can't believe Zoe found this paper-- I always knew she was a sweet heart AND super smart AND super creative. Well it seems she has reached genius level with the discovery of this paper!!! Oh I can't say enough about it.

sigh... I am in paper heaven now... ha ha ha ha

The die cuts are Ann's own Elegant Flourishes and I love using them! I painted the edges with a gold automotive paint loaned from hubby. It actually works a lot better than the gold crafting paint I was using!

I coloured the image with the following Copics:

Snow:

B0000, 21, 32, 34, 63

BV20

C0, 2, 3, 4, 5

YR30

RV21 on his cheeks

Blender 0

Sky:

B32, 21

Now you see the sky and the snow and how I kind of melded the two into each other in a unique way, with no line of demarcation? That's the beauty of this paper from Make It Crafty. I could not have done that with any other paper I use! What a joy to work with this stuff!!

Branches:

E55, 57, 59

Hat on left penguin:

G24, 28, 29, C5

Red hat, mitt and scarf:

R24, 27, 29, 46, C6, 4

Ear muffs:

R43, 46, C6, 4

Penguin feet: E95, 97, 99, W5

Hat on right penguin:

G24, 28, 29, C5

Beaks:

YR21, 23, 24

White on Penguins:

E50, 51, 53, W2, 3

Black on Penguins:

N1, 2, 4, 6, 8, blender

I messed up the pink on the penguins' cheeks and so I blended it out and then went over it with a pink Prisma pencil crayon :-p . I also used a grey Prisma pencil crayon to touch up the black parts of the penguin to get a smoother gradation. Here's your close-up:

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

My own challenge at Sundays With Crissy: Anything Goes!

Pile It On: Bling It Up!

Paper Sundays: Celebrate!

Drunken Stampers: Glittery Holiday Card

Paper Pretties: Let It Snow

Inky Impressions: Christmas Cheer

Pixie Cottage: Someone Special

My Time To Craft: Winter Pals

Everybody Art: Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly: Last Christmas Card of the Year

Paper Playtime: Anything Goes and Include a Sentiment

Critter Sketch: Let It Snow

Also be sure to check out the new release at Whimsy! I have some new images there as well as all the Whimsy Artists!

Merry Christmas All!

Blessings and Peace!!

Challenge card with Little Artist

2011-12-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hello people, welcome to my blog today! I made this card with my monthly challenge in mind, over at Sundays With Crissy. I wanted to make this an easy peasy challenge because I realize this time of the year can be a very busy time. So if you do join in, feel free to create as your heart tells you, and enjoy the process! It's Anything Goes!

On my card, I used "Little Artist", a digital image I did for Whimsy Stamps which was released last month. I printed her on a light brown/grey pastel paper and coloured her with pencil crayons.

I see so many cards these days where people have coloured the image with pencil crayons on Kraft paper. I don't have any Kraft yet, so I thought the pastel paper I happened to have in my stash would do the trick. I think it did ok. I would like to try out the Kraft though, to see if it works any better. Outside edges of the main image panel were painted with Copic White. Here is your close-up:

I made and printed the sentiment from my computer. The die I used is a new Shapeology Die from Whimsy called Elegant Notables 1. I just love it and will be using it often! The swirly leafy die cuts are also from the Shapeology collection at Whimsy and are called Vines Die Set. They are destined to see a lot of use too! I just love the die sets that Ann comes up with for Whimsy.

The flowers are also from Whimsy, from their Whimsy Buds collection. They were white but I used my Copics to add a touch of pink to them.

Pink and neutral DP layers are from Basic Grey.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you will join us over at the challenge blog Sundays With Crissy.

Be sure to check out what my DT has been up to all through the month of December. They always come up with inspiring creations!
Aslo note that today is the digi release day over at Whimsy. All the Whimsy artists have new digi's in the catalogue today. I have four new digi's pictured below, all snowmen images. Here is the link to my digital line at Whimsy Stamps:

And of course there is a mini bog hop on to showcase all the new digital images. Go to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog for all the details and the links to the nine DT members who are showing off the newly released images in some pretty awesome creations!

Be blessed and know that you are loved!

Whimsy Design Team Call

2011-11-29T16:12:00.001-05:00

Since I draw for Whimsy, I thought I would put this info out there from their Whimsy Inspirations Blog. I just copied and pasted it for your convenience. Please do not approach me about getting on the DT. I don't have anything to do with that, other than to announce this call to you. Thanks precious peeps!!
God Bless!

Design Team Call - NOW OPEN

Whimsy Stamps is also holding a Design Team call from now until December 9th. We are looking for some talented crafters to join our Digital Stamp DT and help us showcase our growing digital stamp collections.

Each Digi Team Designer is asked to...
* share one project per week on his/her blog (applicants must have a blog),
* participate in our monthly releases and blog hop,

* Participate in at least 2 monthly challenges on our new Whimsy Inspires Challenge blog. The challenges post weekly, but DT members are only required to participate bi-weekly unless you choose to do more.
* become a member of our Yahoo and private Facebook group,
* share your artwork on our Facebook Fan page, Whimsy Blog, and any other online community you belong to,
* promote Whimsy Stamps by using our images, mentioning Whimsy news and promotions, and linking to our shop.In exchange for DT work and helping to promote our products...
* members will have access to our digital stamps for use in weekly DT projects,
* members will receive a DT discount of 20% off, on all Whimsy shop purchases, while a member of our team,
* personal bio and photo will be placed on our blog.If you are interested in applying, please send an email with your contact info, blog link, some details about yourself, and 3 of your favourite projects to whimsystamps@gmail.com with the subject line Digi DT. We will reply to let you know your application has been received. All new members will be contacted during the week of December 12th and announced on our Whimsy Blog thereafter.

New Rubber at Whimsy! Plus new Dies!

2011-11-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

Hello People! Today is Release Day at Whimsy for all the new rubber and metal dies by all the Whimsy artists! Scroll down for all the fun details. All the new products are pictured below for your convenience. And be sure to read the fine print -- there is some blog candy up for grabs, so you might want to get in on that!

I am showcasing one of my rubber images today, "Sealed With A Kiss". Also, this card is for my challenge blog over at Sundays With Crissy. The theme is "Christmas card using non traditional colours. Thus, the absence of red or green on this Christmas card! Why not pop on over there for the details on entering the challenge too!

Card Details:

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Manga Drawing Pad by Canson.

I coloured the seals with the following Copics:

I first coloured all over both seal pups with E50 to give them a warm white hue. In the shadows I used W00, 1, 2, 3 4, 5, and a little bit of BB20 and B60 for some added cool notes.

Overtop of my Copics, I used white pencil crayon and then I painted tufts of fur with Copic White and a small round water colour brush. Copic White acts like a very fast drying white acrylic paint. I love the effect it gives me when I use it to render white fur!

For the shadows on the ground and around the pups I used:

B0000, 000, 21(just a tad), 60, 63, and 12.

I also went over the shadows on the ground with a white pencil crayon.

Here is your close-up:

I used a 6x6 Basic Grey paper for the background (thanks Denise!!) from their Picadilly collection. I covered it randomly with die cuts made using Ann's Elegant Flourishes Die Set. I will be using that set for many creations! It is just gorgeous! I am really loving Ann's new sentiment sets that have a matching die. Isn't that sentiment die to die for? Ha ha. It is so delicate and beautiful! It's called Elegant Notables 1 and I paired it with one of the sentiments in her Winter Notables 1 rubber sentiment set.

I used a digi sentiment by Ann on the inside from her Christmas Sentiments set, her Elegant Flourishes again, and a Spellbinders Die too.

And now you can check out all the details for this month's release at Whimsy! Just keep scrolling down...

Welcome to Whimsy Stamps November rubber stamp and die RELEASE DAY!

Whimsy Stamps has released 20 fabulous new rubber stamps and 4 wonderful new Shapeology die sets today. These new goodies are available to buy right now from the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites. From today until 23 November the Whimsy DT and Special Guests will be showcasing these fabulous new stamps and dies with a daily mini blog hop. Each mini blog hop has a new release prize hidden somewhere along the way and you will have 24hrs to enter each prize draw by leaving a comment on every blog listed for that day.To be entered into today's mini blog hop prize draw, be sure to leave a comment on ALL of the DT's posts listed below by 12.00PM EST tomorrow. All winners will be announced on the Whimsy Inspirations blog after 12.00PM on 23 November.To take a peek at today's fabulous new release creations by the Design Team, please click on the links below...

Beate Johns {Special Guest}Debbie Eastman Deb Routledge {Special Guest}Ellie Stover Erin Bailey Mariska van der Veer {Special Guest} Stephanne Maraver Tammy Louise Cunliffe

Here is a full list of the wonderful new rubber stamps and dies released today:

5 Crissy Armstrong rubber stamps
Cool Pony ~ Penguin Skier ~ Sealed With A Kiss ~ Served With Love ~ Snow Fun

4 Kenny rubber stamps Brianna Blaster ~ Sexy Elf ~ Superhero ~ Toy Soldier

3 Meljen's Designs rubber stampsBundled Little Snowboy ~ Cozy Little Chickadees ~CozyWinter Owl

5 Wee Stamps rubber stampsA Letter For Me ~ Christmas Bunny ~ Let It Snow ~ Suzi With Bunny ~ Wee Florist

3 Raindrop Echo Designs rubber stamp setsCozy Hands sentiments (co-ordinating die set available) ~ Sleigh Ride ~ Winter Notables (co-ordinating dies available)

4 Raindrop Echo Designs Shapeology diesLayered Snowflakes ~ Mittens (co-ordinating stamp set available) ~ Notables 1 (co-ordinating stamp set available) ~ Elegant Notables 1 (co-ordinating stamp set available)

Don't forget to visit today's DT and leave a comment on their blog posts to be entered into the draw to win a new release stamp, then pop by the Whimsy Inspirations blog tomorrow for the next list of showcase posts!

Thank you so much for coming by today people. May your day be blessed beyond measure!

My Friend's Images

2011-11-08T21:28:00.003-05:00

I have a very, very close friend who is also an artist. When we are together, a lot of people mistake us for sisters. Which is a huge compliment, because she is gorgeous.. but anyway, she is now drawing illustrations for Whimsy too! Her line is Stampart Design by Kathryne. I just love these cuddling polar bears and wanted to showcase them on my card today. The image is "Polar Bear Cub - Melt My Heart" and can be found HERE.

I coloured the image with Copics and it was easy to do on this darling image, and lots of fun. The sentiment, poinsettia image and candle DP are also all from Whimsy.

I haven't had a lot of crafting time lately so I was really happy to get time to do this and help show off her line of digital images. I hope you can go check out all her images -- she has a lot of really cute teddies and raggedies too.

Thanks for coming by today!

New Magazine

2011-10-20T10:03:00.001-04:00

Whimsy has a new magazine published and its got some pretty breath-taking creations in it! I highly recommend you have a look! Just click HERE. Yes, it is FREE!!

And. I don't know if I was sleeping or what, but lo and behold they published a mini magazine just before this one (how on earth did I miss it!!). So to view that one too, go HERE. Also, FREE!

Have fun looking! ;-)

2011-10-12T13:27:00.001-04:00

October Rubber & Die RELEASE DAY!

Welcome to Whimsy Stamps October rubber stamp and die RELEASE DAY!

Whimsy Stamps has released 15 fabulous new rubber stamps and 2 wonderful new Shapeology die sets today. These new goodies are available to buy right now from the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites.

From today until 19 October, the Whimsy DT and Special Guests will be showcasing these fabulous new stamps and dies with a daily mini blog hop. Each mini blog hop has a new release prize hidden somewhere along the way and you will have 24hrs to enter each prize draw by ensuring you leave a comment on every blog listed for that day.

To be entered into today's mini blog hop prize draw, be sure to leave a comment on ALL of the DT's posts listed below by 12.00PM EST tomorrow morning. All winners will be announced here on the Whimsy Inspirations blog after 12.00PM on 19 October.

To take a peek at today's fabulous new release creations by the Design Team, please click on the links below...

Annika Ryan
Debbie Eastman
Ellie Stover
Stephanne Maraver
Tammy Louise Cunliffe

Here is a full list of the wonderful new rubber stamps and dies released today:

4 Crissy Armstrong (Yours Truly) rubber stamps
Bart Loves Christmas ~ Christmas Dreaming ~ Jolly Little Santa ~ Little Santa Claws



4 Kenny K rubber stamps
Drama Queen ~ Lady Victoria ~ Mistletoe ~ Mrs Claus



7 Raindrop Echo Designs rubber stamp sets
Holiday Mini Postage Stamps ~ Holiday Pennants ~ Postcard to Santa ~ Seasonal Ornaments (compatible die available) ~ Stockings (compatible die available) ~ Advent Calendar ~ Holiday Postage Stamps



2 Raindrop Echo Designs Shapeology dies
Stocking Dies ~ Ornament Dies

Finally, we are pleased to announce that issue #4 of the Whimsy Stamps Inspirations Magazine will be released on 19 October! Woo-hoo! It's a full issue packed with never-before-seen creations from the Whimsy Stamps DT and guest designers, so be sure to check it out!

Don't forget to visit today's DT and leave a comment on their blog posts to be entered into the draw to win a new release stamp, then pop by tomorrow for the next list of showcase posts!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy our new release!

Come Fly With Me

2011-10-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

I made this card awhile ago and am finally getting around to blogging it. :-)

I stamped "Come Fly With Me" onto 140 lb. cold press water colour paper by Canson. I water coloured the image using artist quality paints. I tried to give the background a feeling of distant trees and such and so that's why I left out a lot of details. I wanted to convey the feeling that this guy is floating way up in the atmosphere!

If you want any more card details, you can find them here in the August issue of the Whimsy Inspirations Magazine.
Here is your close-up and sideview:

Please check out my challenge blog Sundays With Crissy if you haven't already, and see what my DT gals are up to! The challenge starts on the first of every month and runs til the end of the month, so there's lots of time to join in and play! And I always award five free digi's from my collections to one random participant at month's end. This month's theme is Thanks/Thanksgiving, so you can either make a thank you card or a card to celebrate Thanksgiving Weekend. The choice is up to you :-)

Thanks for coming by to see what I've been up to!
God bless!

Autumn Scenes

2011-09-25T16:56:00.001-04:00

Hubby, daughter and I went out in the canoe at the lake that is five minutes from our house. These are some of my favourite shots from that venture. With the exception of this first photo and the very last (seagull) where I increased the colour intensity because it was slightly overexposed (very bright sun today), I did not increase colour vibrancy. These look just the way we saw it today.

The lake was almost like a mirror and I found the shoreline really made for some interesting patterns. If you look at the photos sideways, you might see faces and even what appears to be skeletal features! Some faces look human and others look like animals! It is really bizarre!

This next one is one of my favourites:

I love this seagull one too.

A little glimpse of my home area for you to enjoy. Thanks for stopping by. :-)

Noah's Ark

2011-09-24T17:33:00.001-04:00

This particular Noah's Ark I did is selling as a digi image at Whimsy and you can find it HERE. I really enjoyed colouring it with Copics, especially doing the water and sky. I don't have the colour list for you as I did this ages ago and who knows where I stored it (bah, sorry!) But I do know that I experimented a lot with greys in the shadows. I used cool greys. I like how it worked and I will be using grey a lot more I think. It brings a lot of depth to a picture. I'm really happy with how it worked on the monkey holding the umbrella. :-)

Thanks for stopping by to have a peek today!

Mystic... Plus, New Rubber Stamps

2011-09-14T16:44:00.001-04:00

Hi People!
I'm sharing another project that I did awhile ago for my daughter's Birthday... my daughter who LOVES purple!

I had a load of fun colouring my unicorn I call "Mystic". Mystic is a rubber stamp found at Whimsy HERE. I had to study horse musculature for awhile before I knew where to put the proper shading. It isn't necessary to put that in when you colour an image like this. I just do it because I love the challenge, and the results when I get it right. :-)

Copic colours on Mystic are:

On body and mane/hair:
BV000, 00, 01,
C00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
V01, 5
E40, 50, 51,
Y26,
B0000, 00, 02

On background I used a lot of the above colours except for the Y's and E's and also added:
B04, 91,
BV BV04, 17, 23, 25, 29,
V17, 99
RV000

I added lots of glitter to the mane and tail as you can see in the photo. Here's a piccy of the whole card:

Sentiment stamps by Raindrop Echo Designs and can be found HERE. I used a Whimsy Shapeology die for the ticket and that can be found HERE. I just love Ann's sentiment sets. They make adding sentiments a no brainer, esp because they often have their own little shape or frame around them. She has matching dies for the ticket sentiments too, and for the circle ones, they match the popular dies on the market so they're easy peasy too. :-)

If you haven't seen the Whimsy magazine yet, I urge you not to wait any longer. Its just jam packed with card making goodness, samples from the DT, tutorials and inspiration. Best of all, it is FREE. This card was featured in their second edition. You can view Issue 2 of the magazine by clicking on THIS LINK. If you want to see the very first issue, click on THIS LINK.

Also in the news today, there's a whole new release at Whimsy! This month the store is offering 10% off the price of all the new release stamps! For more details go to Denise's blog here and she'll tell you all about it. I've got three new images in the mix - two new fall fairies, and Bart the dragon playing football. Probably better if I show instead of tell, so here you go:

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Its cool out but the sun was shining most of the day. It was fun to play in the yard with my dogs and just enjoy a break out there. Happy Fall y'all! Hugz!

Forget Me Not, new digi's, new challenge. Read on...

2011-09-01T13:53:00.001-04:00

I am pleased to present to you, "Forget Me Not". This is one of the projects that I submitted to the Whimsy Stamps Inspirations magazine that was published earlier in August. The magazine is chalk full of gorgeous creations by so many people and so beautifully put together. I hope you will check it out if you haven't already. There's also an interview in there with Yours Truly in case you were interested. Oh and did I mention, this gorgeous magazine is FREE!!!! I can't get over how professionally made it is. It really is worth your time if you are at all interested in this craft. There are tutorials in there too, really clear and well done I may add. Zoe of Make It Crafty did one on merging digi's. So cool.

I coloured Forget Me Not (digital image) with Copics (sorry, no list of colours today!!) Here is your close-up.

There's lots of sparkle on this card that this photo didn't pick up and so I used the sunlight to take a shot at an angle to pick up the glitter:

I also paid attention to the inside this time (I don't always!) and here's what I did:

And here are my new digi's for September available now. Click on the image names to go directly to where they are found at Whimsy:

Birdie Friend

Frog Friend

Stuffed Turkey

Turk in Boots

If you want to see what the Whimsy DT did with some of these images, there is a hop on right now showcasing these and all the new digi's by all the Whimsy artists! You can check it out by going to the Whimsy Blog and go from there.

And, my new challenge starts today over at Sundays With Crissy!! The theme is

Friendship. Easy peasy. Check out what my lovely assistant Sarah has done to jump start your creative juices and get you going on this month's challenge!!

See ya next time!!

Last week's Hop winner!

2011-09-01T11:21:00.000-04:00

Sorry I'm so late doing this!! Here is what I got from Random.org:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-09-01 15:17:15 UTC

Congratulations go out to

35. Naomi

Please contact me and I will forward your email on to Denise of Whimsy Stamps and she will get your rubber stamps to you!

New magazine, new release, lots of fun!

2011-08-17T12:00:00.010-04:00

Hello and welcome to the Whimsy Stamps August new rubber and die release BLOG HOP!

On August 10th, Whimsy Stamps released our August rubber designs and new dies. Today we are hosting a blog hop to celebrate this release and to share creations made using these 15 fabulous new Rubber Stamps and 3 wonderful new Shapeology Dies. These new goodies are available to buy right now from the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites. We also have our wonderful special guests joining us for this hop - Elaine Hughes, Zoe McGrath, Alberto Gava and Iwona "Chupa" Palamountain.

The Whimsy Stamps DT have been showcasing these fabulous stamps for the past 6 days, so if you missed them be sure to hop on over to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog for some more inspiration!

Here is a full list of the wonderful new August release rubber stamps and dies:

3 stamps from Crissy Armstrong
Bart Goes Golfing ~ Butterfly Sympathy ~ Hang In There

4 stamps from Meljen's Designs
Cupcake Treat Trio ~ Monkey Toes ~ Pen Pal Mouse ~ Topsy Turvy Cake

4 stamps from Kenny K
Bathing Beauty ~ Buggin Drummer ~ Wanda Wicked ~ Wedding Garter

4 stamp sets from Raindrop Echo Designs
Bottle Cap Sentiments ~ Film Markers ~ Schoolyard Fun ~ Vintage Seed Packets

3 dies/sets from Raindrop Echo Designs
Elegant Butterflies Die Set ~ Bottle Cap Die (coordinates with Bottle Cap Sentiments stamp set) ~ Film Marker Die (coordinates with Film Markers stamp set)

Today is also the release of the second edition of the Whimsy Stamps Inspirations Magazine! The magazine features never before seen samples and tutorials from our DT members as well as some creations from our customers and fans too! This issue is crammed full of crafty goodness and best of all it's FREE! Just click the link below and you will be taken to the magazine where you can read it online or download it and save to your computer.

CLICK HERE to view the Whimsy Stamps Inspirations Magazine Issue 2

If you would like to hop along with us today and you didn’t arrive from Patricias blog, please CLICK HERE to return to the beginning of the hop at Zoe’s blog.

The hop starts today (Wednesday August 17th at noon EST) and ends on Wednesday August 24th at noon EST.

For this hop we have 7 different prize draws! We have not one but TWO grand prize draws, so two lucky hoppers will win a large selection of new release stamps. Grand Prize 1 will be for those who help us advertise the hop, and Grand Prize 2 will be for those who hop along with us. We also have 5 mini candy stops throughout the hop where you can enter to win a new release stamp! I'm not going to tell you where all of them are, but I will say that one of the mini candy stops is right here!! So if you want a chance to win Bart Goes Golfing and Hang In There in deeply etched red rubber, scroll down to the bottom of this post and add your name using the Inlinkz option! Here are the two rubber images Denise will be mailing to one lucky winner who enters the draw using the inlinkz option below:

Bart Goes Golfing:

Hang In There:

For my blog creation I used the large monarch butterfly from my new "Butterfly Sympathy" set. Ann did the sentiments for it, which I appreciate so much. I really don't like having to use these type of sentiments, but they are handy to have when you do need them. I also used the swirl from my older Darling Daisy set to stamp around the outside edges.
I stamped the butterfly onto the orangey Basic Grey designer paper in Versamark Clear ink. I then used black embossing powder and heat set. I painted the white dots with white acrylic paint. I painted more white paint around the outside of the image to make it stand out from the background. I did not use any other colouring mediums at all, I just let the paper colour the image for me. :-) As a result this card came together relatively quickly!

So now it’s time for you to continue the hop by hopping over to Minna’s blog.

Finally, here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Zoe McGrath
Patricia Garcia
Crissy Armstrong
Minna Paajanen
Simonne Clay
Alberto Gava
Iwona "Chupa" Palamountain
Donna Smith
Lori Pachkowsky
Debbie Eastman
Marley van der Heijden
Stephanne Maraver
Ann Vento
Iris Wiechmann
Elaine Hughes
Annika Ryan

Thank you so much for hopping with us today and I hope you enjoy the new release!

Design Team Call!!!

2011-07-01T02:00:00.003-04:00

I am putting out a call for new Design Team members! If anyone is interested, go to my other blog, Sundays With Crissy and you will see all the details neatly laid out for you! I would really really appreciate it if you would grab this button for your own blog's side bar, and link it up to the post on the Sundays With Crissy blog where I have all the details of the call. Just a favour, if you please. Thanks people!!

Blog Hop Winner

2011-06-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

Random.org picked the following for the winner of last week's blog hop:

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-06-23 11:54:36 UTC

Number 26 is Glennis F !! So congratulations! E-mail me with your mailing addy and Denise of Whimsy Stamps will send your prizes to you!

Whimsy Release! Blog Hop! Blog Candy! AMAZING NEW MAGAZINE!!!

2011-06-15T12:00:00.101-04:00

Hi Peeps! Welcome to my blog today! In case you don't know, Whimsy has a new release of Rubber Stamp Images, Rubber Stamp Sentiments and Metal Cutting Dies AND A NEW ONLINE MAGAZINE THAT IS FREE! I have checked out this magazine and it is nothing short of STUNNING. You would think Ann and Denise had been in the magazine business for decades. Get ready to be pleasantly shocked about what you are about to feast your eyes on!! Go see it HERE!! Here are the details:

Today Whimsy Stamps is also releasing its first issue of the Whimsy Stamps Inspirations Magazine! It's packed with amazing samples from the design team and customers as well as three different tutorials that you can follow along with step-by-step. We are excited to bring you samples that have never been seen before and we hope that they will inspire you to create using your favorite Whimsy products! You can find the magazine here: http://issuu.com/whimsystamps/docs/issue1 Please feel free to leave your comments and click the Facebook "Like" button to let us know that you enjoyed it!
You have landed smack dab in the middle of the blog hop that is on from now through June 22. If you have come here from Annika's Blog, you are right on track. Just in case you get lost on the hop, go to the Whimsy Blog post where the list of designers is in order. You have til noon next Wed to hop from blog to blog to check out the new release and to enter your name for the many blog candy draws that are going on. For this hop we have 6 different prize draws! We have not one but TWO grand prize draws, so two lucky hoppers will win a large selection of new release stamps. Grand Prize 1 will be for those who help us advertise the hop, and Grand Prize 2 will be for those who hop along with us. To help us advertise, just post this button somewhere on your blog:

We also have 4 mini candy stops throughout the hop where you can enter to win a new release stamp! I'm not going to tell you where they are, so if you haven't found them you'll just have go back to the beginning and start hopping! *wink* In fact my blog is one of the ones holding a draw and if you enter your name at the bottom of this post using Inlinkz, you will get a chance to win two of my new rubber stamps! You could win the cute dragon I call "Bart's Bar B Q" and also my mermaid on a seahorse, "Journey Into The Sea". Here they are as seen in the Whimsy Store:

On my card I used Bart's Bar B Q (no duh!).

The sentiment is one I made up on my computer and printed right onto the cardstock. I coloured Bart with the following Copics:

Blue skin: B21, 23, 26, 29 and for the scales I simply used the blender pen. I held the brush tip of the blender pen down where ever I wanted a scale to show. I sometimes held it down firmly, causing a large scale to form. Other times I just lightly touched the tip to make smaller scales. Once I had gone over all the blue areas with the blender pen in this way, I retraced my steps and did it a second and a third time. I found the more I did it, the more the ink pooled, and the more the scales showed. But I had to be careful to follow the pattern I had begun with. Here is a super close-up so you can see the effect:

Now for the rest of the colours:

Bart's tummy and back plates:

E81, 43, 44

Wings: R43, 46, 39, 89

Hot Dog: E08, 09 Blender pen. Again, I love the blender for the effects it can do. I made the hot dog look like it was shining with beads of grease (the way they do when cooked on grill) by removing bits of colour near the top surface.

Puffs of smoke and fork: W00, 1, 3, 4, 5, 8

Ground:

BG96, 70

I am not going to bother with the colour lists for the cup and little umbrella. I went over it so many times and changed the colour as I went -- too many to list, lol!

Now to continue on with the hop, go to Marley's Blog. But first, enter your name in the inklinkz option below so that you have a chance to win two of my new rubber stamp images!! Winner chosen by Random.org and will be announced here sometime after the hop ends. Thanks for coming by!

Not my card... but BEAUTIFUL!

2011-06-12T12:48:00.000-04:00

Cheryl Gorka created this beautiful card using an image illustrated by one of my best friends, Kathryne Kittmer of StampArt Design! Kathryne and I have known each other for over a decade and I think I practically lived at her house when we were in the same city. :-) I am so proud of her artistic accomplishments! Now Whimsy has (wisely) snagged her as one of their digi artists! This is her Majestic Eagle Head for sale at Whimsy now! Cheryl is one of the DT members at Whimsy and used Kathy's image on her card. She entered it into a contest and she needs your vote! If you think this card deserves to win, go vote for it HERE. If Cheryl wins, she will get a $500 prize and also be donating $500 to a charity of her choice. You only have til tonight (Sunday night) before the contest closes. Please give Cheryl your vote! Thanks for stopping by today!

Coming up on Wednesday the 15th: A brand new rubber and metal die release at Whimsy! Along with a ton of new images from all the Whimsy artists, I have three new stamp illustrations to show you!! Please come back to check it out and to join in the blog hop!

New Online Stamp Magazine!!

2011-06-10T12:39:00.000-04:00

Some exciting news to share today:

Whimsy Stamps is starting a new adventure and we want you to take the journey with us! On June 15, 2011, the first issue of the Whimsy Stamps Inspirations Magazine will be debuting alongside our June rubber stamps and dies. We are excited to bring to you never-before-seen creations by the design team and by some fantastic Whimsy customers. In a continuous effort to provide you with creative inspiration, this issue will be free and available to everyone. Stay tuned - you won't want to miss it!

Also, today is the first sneak peek day for Whimsy's new release coming on Wed June 15! Click on the button below to go to the Whimsy Inspirations blog for the details and for the list of Whimsy designers who have sneaks posted on their blogs!

New Digi's

2011-06-01T10:00:00.040-04:00

Hi Peeps! Well it is June the first and that means a new digi release over at Whimsy Stamps! I have three new images this time around. Let me introduce you to Cranston Crab. I don't think he really means any harm. :-) Probably just needs a calming soak in a hot tub, a vigorous rub down and a good night's sleep. Oh wait a minute, I think I'm talking about me now (heh-heh).

I didn't get a chance to join in the Whimsy Blog Hop this time around, but you really ought to check this one out! Whimsy has TWO new artists and the release is incredible! Go to the Whimsy Inspiration Blog to find out more!

I used Cranston on this no-layer clean-and-simple card (wow, two simple cards for me in a row, not bad!) and he is also a sample card for my challenge that I run over at Sundays With Crissy. The theme this month is "Here Comes The Sun". I hope you decide to join in the fun over there!

I coloured Cranston with the following Copics:

R30, 32, 35,37,39, 89.

Sand:

E04, 11, 13, 15, 17, 50, 53 55. 87, W5

Blue sky: BG0000, 000, Blender

Thank you so much for stopping by. I really am glad you came!

Bless you!

Crissy

Quick Wedding card

2011-05-25T13:15:00.000-04:00

This is probably a record for me. I think I made this card in approx. thirty minutes! I had to do up a wedding card fast. I used the stemmed rose from my Fragrant Rose set I did for Whimsy awhile back. I also used one of the sayings that Ann designed that comes in the set. The gorgeous music background is also designed by Ann and it is called Music Notes. Hey here's a head's up! Ann is doing a daily giveaway for the month of May to celebrate her 2nd blogversary! There's still time to pay her a visit and get in on it before May runs out of days!

I ink distressed all the edges using Vintage Photo ink and Stained Walnut by Tim Holtz. I love those inks! The rose was coloured using Copics.

I cut it out and popped it up with foam tape.

I think this is the first time in a year or more that I made a card without a) Spellbinder dies or b) designer paper! It isn't my usual style, but I like how it turned out!

There is also still time to get in on my challenge over at Sundays With Crissy! This month the challenge is easy - Flowers! Go see what my DT has prepared to inspire you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Big Comfy Cake

2011-05-22T12:40:00.000-04:00

Hello precious Readers!

I am sharing another painting today that I did for a good friend. I used the image I did for Whimsy called, "Big Comfy Cake". The image is on water colour paper and then painted with my artist quality paints. I really love to water colour as much as I love to use Copics! If I had to decide between the two I don't think I could. Both mediums are so fun, yet sooo vastly different to work with.

While the watercolours blend themselves practically, the Copics take a lot of getting used to at first to get a good blend. And I don't think I could do the sky as I did here using Copics. Maybe some super skilled Copic user could. But the soft and seamless blend of pink to blue would be really hard to obtain using Copic markers.

I had a lot of fun doing the grass. It was actually quite challenging but in the end I think I pulled it off ok. I'm still no expert water colourist, that is for sure, but every time I paint I get a little bit better than before.

I will leave you with pictures of my latest rubber release from Whimsy Stamps.

Thanks for coming by today!

The first one is Wee Snippet and Mystic:

Mystic:

Wee Snippet:

Thunder Lizzy:

Thoughts on Love

2011-05-17T12:13:00.001-04:00

Love is not something to accomplish, and thus, it is not something at which we succeed or not succeed at. Love is not something God gives us directions and guidelines for so that we can go out and “do it”. Just by being who He is (love) God, aka Jesus, showed us what love looks like.

But it is not something we can accomplish or do. When we look at Jesus and how He lived and what He did, we can recognize love when we see it. Jesus provided a stark contrast between what Love truly is and what the world called “love”, which was actually hatred by comparison.

The only way we love as He loves is to let and allow His love to flow through us. And the only way we let and allow His love to flow through us is by believing and receiving Jesus, His Love, on every level in our hearts.

We love because He first loved us. That is the key to it. Behold He stands at the door (to our hearts) and knocks. We become like Him when we let Him in to our hearts.

When we let Him in, He shows us who He is and who we really are. And when we know who He is and who we are on every level, we can let His love flow out from us on every level. Until we know, have a deep unmovable revelation and conviction of His love for us in the deepest places of our hearts, we are crippled by ungodly thoughts about ourselves, and about Him and about others, and in this crippled state, we cannot truly love as He does. But oh, what bliss, when we let and allow Him in, and let that conviction of His love take root (rooted and grounded in love). For then we witness, just like with Jesus, His love flowing in and through us and out to others. It is truly a beautiful thing.

Learning to let Him in and to be all that He says we are is a process that takes time. We get to see glimpses of it as we learn and grow up into Him. And as we mature, these glimpses become a part of the flow of our lives, and become more than mere glimpses, but a way of life.

It is not about doing though, it is about being – being in Love with God, being with Him in every moment, being Who HE created us to be, and truly knowing what that is.

The “doing” of the righteous acts of the saints comes naturally out of such a state of heart and mind. It becomes “natural” to love rather than to hate, fear, or otherwise act unrighteously. And then we can say, it is not something we accomplished, or did. It is Someone we ALLOWED to flow in and through us. It is Jesus loving through us. It is that one-ness and unity with Him that manifests true love.

Love is not possible without Him, for there is no love apart from God. There is no set of instructions or rules to follow whereby we can say we have followed them, and thus we have loved. For love is a Person. Love is Jesus. Jesus is God. And God is Love.

I wish to spend my life in Love with God, allowing Him to love me fully, and allowing His love to flow outward from me to others. This is my passion in life: my God who is Love. There is nothing and no one worth giving my life to other than to Him. He is beautiful beyond description.

And He is everything that you, dear Reader, have ever longed and wished for. We all long to be loved passionately and fully and to be accepted and cherished for who we are. I am here to proclaim to you today that this IS what you have in Jesus who is the God of all. He loves you that much. He wants you to know Him and His love for you. It is personal and it is real.

But it is up to you to let Him in, to let His love in.

Won't you give it a thought today. Give Love a chance. He is longing that you would!

God bless you and thank you for reading!

PS Ann Vento of Raindrop Echo Designs graciously has put some of my love sayings into digi stamp format. If you want to see the set she so beautifully created, go HERE. Bless you!

Heads Up!

2011-05-17T10:15:00.000-04:00

There's a new release going on at Whimsy starting tomorrow at 10:00 A.M., and at 12 noon, there's a blog hop going on to showcase all the new images and dies! I'm giving you a head's up, but I won't be involved in it this time. You'll want to check it out tomorrow!

So at noon tomorrow, you can start the hop at Lori's blog HERE. This is Whimsy's largest release ever! You won't want to miss it!!

Challenge: Flowers

2011-05-06T04:10:00.000-04:00

Today I am showing another water coloured image that is part of a series I am doing for my friend. This is an image I did for Kraftin Kimmie Stamps called Stripes the Zebra. Stripes is on 140 lb. wc paper and painted with artist quality water colour paints. The challenge this month over at my Sundays With Crissy challenge blog is flowers. I thought Stripes would look good with a few wildflowers around him, so I tried to give the impression of Devil's Paintbrush wildflowers among some yellow grass.

For the most part, I did not paint any colour onto the white of Stripe's body, except where I wanted to show shadow. I began the painting with a light wash, wet into wet of Windsor Blue for the sky. The bushes in the distant background were easy to do. While the sky was still wet, I dropped dabs of various colour off a very wet paintbrush. When it was a little drier, but not quite dry, I added some darker green shadows to give the bushes some definition. Here is your close-up:

I hope you will be able to join in the challenge this month. It's easy - just have at least one flower included in your project. It can be a flower embellishment, a flower in the image, flowery designer paper, a flower charm, hand drawn or painted, whatever way you wish to add a flower or three or ten, it's up to you!

Thanks for coming by today!

Blog Hop -- Courageous Carl

2011-05-01T12:00:00.030-04:00

Welcome to my blog today!

There's a blog hop on and you have landed near the tail end of it.

If you have come here from Ellie's blog, you are right on track!

(In case you are new to blogland, a blog hop is a fun little thing where you hop from one person's blog to another. The blog you hop to next is always highlighted and linked so all you have to do is click on it to get to the next blog that is participating in the hop.)

If you happen to get lost along the way, the entire blog hop rotation is posted at the Whimsy Inspirations Blog for your added convenience.

This hop will be running from Sun May 1 thru Sun May 8 at noon.

There will be 2 free digi's given to two random commenters, so increase your chances of winning by commenting on all the blogs in the hop! The grand prize winner will get to choose 5 digi's of their choice, AND will get a chance to use those digi's as a guest designer for Whimsy for the entire month of May! How cool is that!
And just to let you know, the digi images that Whimsy is selling to help raise funds for Japan are going on sale at 50% off from May 1 thru 7! Here is a direct link to the Help For Japan images.

I'm showcasing one of my latest digi illustrations: Courageous Carl. He is available now for purchase from Whimsy Stamps.

I printed Carl onto high quality water colour paper - Arches 140 lb cold press. I used a laser jet printer and had to heat set because of the thickness of the paper. But once I was done, he was ready to paint!

I got out my artist quality water colours for this one. I love water colouring as much as I love Copic colouring! This is actually a commissioned piece I am doing for a friend, who intends to frame it and put it in her brand new nephew's room. It was fun to make a mini water colour painting based on my illustration.

I am also entering this digi stamp painting into my own challenge. The challenge for the month of May is "Flowers". Here is a quick link to my challenge blog so you can read up on all those details, and join in if you can!

Why not head on over to Tina's blog to see what's next!

Thanks for hopping by today!

God bless you!

The Bible vs. The Word of God

2011-04-26T21:11:00.000-04:00

Hello Blog Readers!

I thought I would give you a little insight today on some things I believe about the Bible vs. the Word of God. Notice I said that as though those were two different things. I believe they are, and if you read on, you will soon see why.

I would like to share where I am coming from with regards to how I believe Scriptures ought to be viewed. Some people hold the belief that God was in full control when the Bible was written and compiled. My view is that Love does not control.

God is love. The very nature of love is that it never controls another. Control is something the enemy seeks to do to people so that they no longer have any power to decide for themselves - so that he can manipulate and use people, like a puppet on a string. This is not something our God of love would ever seek to do to another human being! That is not the nature of Love.

God is Love and His nature is such that He DESIRES that we be in sweet fellowship with Him. And within the context of that loving relationship, He DESIRES that we listen to Him and do what He says because everything He says and does causes light, life, peace, joy and love to flourish.

He is love and He would never ask us to do something apart from His love. And so we have the magnificent gift of choice always to allow Him to flow in and through us.   We can choose to lay down our own desires to do what pleases the flesh, and decide to do what pleases Him. It is a choice we make though, every second, every moment of the day.

It is not like Holy Spirit enters a man and from then on, that man has no choice but to do good and to love as God loves.   That would be impossible, for as soon as you remove the choice to love, there is no love. Because love is always a free choice.   And God ALWAYS leaves us with that choice. No one can say that God ever seeks to control another. He only asks that we obey and work WITH Him to accomplish His will on the earth.   We get to work WITH, IN and THROUGH Him (what a concept!!) just as He can work with, in and through us. This is a love relationship, not a control dynamic.

Just as with any of us who have Holy Spirit indwelling, He is only flowing through us as much as we allow Him to in any given situation. Each moment, with each breath we take and with each and every thing we face, whether it is a cranky complaining child to deal with, or a grocery list to fill at a store, we have a choice. We may allow and let Holy Spirit thoughts reign supreme in our minds, and be led by Holy Spirit motivation, and take Holy Spirit inspired action. Or, we can choose in each of those moments, to think, be motivated by, and to do what pleases our flesh. The choice is always ours.

Assuming you are a reader who loves God and wants to live to please Him only, do you think that you have ever lived out a 24 hr period where you were entirely and perfectly led by the Spirit of God, lovingly being filled with His thoughts, His motivations, and doing the work of His hands and feet - I mean for the entire day, not one moment excepted, fully and entirely submitted to God for that 24 hr period? With not one moment of lapsing into the flesh? Lets say the answer is no, because I would assume such for myself as well.

But lets just say you had a conversation with someone.   And you knew, just knew somehow within you, that Holy Spirit was pouring love thoughts of Truth into your mind and the words you were speaking were coming out in a flow of love. And that you were motivated by Love and Truth. Perhaps you even surprised yourself at what you heard yourself say.   Would you honestly be able to say, beyond a shadow of any doubt, that God was FULLY and COMPLETELY in control of your ENTIRE conversation with that person? Did you ever feel at any time, that you had no choice over the words that came out of your mouth? Or would you admit that you always had the choice to speak, or not to speak - always had control of your own tongue?   And would you also admit that although you felt very led and very inspired, and that you knew Truth was coming out of you, that perhaps there was a bit of flesh mixed in now and then, just because you are an imperfect vessel, still learning and growing in God?

If you would say that Holy Spirit WAS fully in control of a conversation you had with someone, and that you did ONLY speak His words in a spirit of Love, then you have spoken The Word of God and if you are sure the Word of God flowing out of you is infallible, then you have got something pretty special indeed. (excuse my sarcasm)

I think if we are honest, we would have to admit that there are no solid days of complete and total submission and flowing in God's Spirit for any of us just yet. Neither are there conversations that don't have a little of "us" mixed into them, no matter how inspiring they may be.

In order to think that the Bible is the infallible word of God, and was fully controlled by Him as it was written, you would have to believe first of all that "control" is love. Because God is love, and if He controls people, then that must be what love is and does.   That totally taking over a person's pen as they write, and not giving them ANY allowance to make mistakes would be love in action. In order for that to happen you would have to believe that God did in fact totally control another person, even for a set time as they wrote the book, not giving them any choice at all over what words were written down.

Secondly, you would have to believe that there WERE people, many people, as many people as there are Bible book authors, who WERE Holy Spirit controlled while they were writing those books and letters.   Do you see what I am alluding to? If WE aren't infallible in our writings and speakings and doings, we who have Holy Spirit LIVING on the inside of us, then why should we think that there are "special people", exceptions to the rule, who COULD write and speak infallibly, controlled fully and completely by Holy Spirit?

Everything that has come to us through man has been tainted with man's flesh.

There is nothing man has done, ever, apart from The Man Jesus, that did not have some flaw, some mistake, some weakness, some error mixed in.

If God controlled the people who were putting pen to paper, writing the books of the Bible, then He went against His very nature to do so.

Even if He did control people while they wrote the words, and they took perfect "dictation" from God, then why is it that the writing style is different for each author? Where did those subtle literary differences come from? Wouldn't the writing style be consistent throughout, as coming from One Author? How could man's personality and writing style be included in the Bible (which it is) if God was controlling their pen?

If Jesus had written the Bible, then it would be infallible.

Jesus did not write the Bible. People wrote it, under His influence, under His guidance, and under His inspiration. Just as WE ourselves will write, speak and do things under the same unction. Yet knowing that there will be flaws, when we do speak, write and do things in His name, that is what keeps us seeking and searching for HIM. With a perfect Bible, one would never need to seek the Perfect God who wrote it. One could say he knew it all, just by reading and believing the infallible written word of God. One could get very lulled into thinking they were "right" or "righteous" because they read it, believed it and followed it. Isn't that exactly what the Pharisees were doing whom Jesus called "white-washed tombs"?

But God asked imperfect people with flaws to write the Bible. And in doing so, He has allowed the flaws. Why? So that we would seek HIM. So that we would seek the One Who inspired the book, so that we would get to know HIM and not just His words to us.

If you say the Bible is infallible, you have separated God's Word from the Godhead. You have in essence, said that what He said and who He is are two different things. But the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. His name is Jesus. He is not separate from God, He is God.

You can trust the Word of God who is Jesus, and by doing so, trust God. Or you can trust the written word, which are just words on a page. But you can't trust both. Its either one or the other.

Those who believe the Bible is infallible have added another God to the Trinity.   For now there is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and God the written word.

We are to "test every spirit, to see if it comes from God"
We are to "rightly divide the word". What are we to divide it from? To divide it between what words are God's, and what words are man's.

And we are not to use our own mind to decide where man's messages are mingled with God's as we read the Bible. The Holy Spirit is the one Who brings us illumination on these things, so that we can rightly divide the word. It is within the context of relationship with God that we find the Truth. Not apart from it.    We have the ability to hear Him on these matters, because His sheep know His voice. And another's they will not follow.

He illumines, through His very character, which is love. And as we get bigger and bigger revelations of His great love, we see the written word of the Bible more clearly and come to understand what passages mean and what He is trying to say in and through them. Through His relationship with us, we get excited over hearing Him speak THROUGH the scriptures, as we get closer and closer to Him.

Some may argue that Satan would love for us to believe that the Bible is not holy.    But I say, Satan would love for us to believe the Bible IS holy and infallible. Because then we have no need of Holy Spirit to illuminate what He is trying to say to us. We can therefore falsely assume that we have no need of relationship with God as we are reading it, and no need to divide the word between the word of man and the word of God. Whats worse, we get a picture of God as wrathful, vengeful, violent, angry and as someone to live in dreaded fear over displeasing. Because if you are honest, the entire Old Testament and the book of Revelation, believed as written, paints this view of God.

Worse yet, we then have cause to be prideful - for if we believe the Bible is God's infallible word, then all we need to do is follow it to feel good about ourselves. All we need to do is everything it says and then we have ticked off the list of "must do's to please God" and we can feel awfully self-righteous about that.

God's Word is a Person, and His name is Jesus. God is not printed words on a page.   The Word of God IS Holy and infallible, because The Word of God IS God. The Word of God is Jesus. He is our only True face of God and He alone can lead us to see what written words came from Him and what words came from man. Without Him, we can do nothing. We cannot understand the Bible, cannot grasp its' meaning, cannot know God.

When we have Him guiding us, we begin to see the words that are written that contradict His character. We see how the flaws of man have been mixed with words of truth into the written word. And He shows us what we are to cast off like chaff in the wind, and what He wants us to keep and digest - the hearty grains of Truth that become our Daily Bread. The Bread of Life who is Jesus.

Satan WANTS us to completely trust the written scriptures, for in that, there is no room to trust the LIVING GOD who IS The Word of God, who is Jesus.

I believe Satan wants us to doubtfully question God's Word (not the written word, but the Holy Living Word) - in other words, to question Jesus - and to question His Stellar Character.

I believe God wants us to read the Bible with the understanding that it has flaws, just as each of us do. And with that in mind, to turn to Him for help as we read. We are to let our reading of scripture be a time of sweet fellowship with Him. We have the privilege of reading the scriptures and to picture Him reading over our shoulders, pointing to this and that, whispering His Truth to our hearts, helping us rightly divide the word.

The written word is a wonderful gift to mankind.   It is a pathway TO The Word of God. It brings us TO Jesus. But it is not on equal par with God.

You and I are a wonderful gift to mankind. We also are pathways for others to find God! We also bring people TO Jesus! But also, we are not God, we have flaws too.

We are living epistles. Imperfect as we are, yet we carry the Living Word of God to people.

So too is the Bible -- imperfect, as it was written by imperfect man, yet it too carries the Word of God to people.

I love to read the written word, the Bible. But I want to listen as I read. I listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit because I know I need Him to discern what I am reading. I want to find the Living Word as I read the written word. For He is all that I seek and long for. He is Love and He is Good. And He always has something life-giving and encouraging and kind to say to me. He can't help it, for He is love. :-) He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him! And He is our reward! How wonderful to receive Him - to be embraced by Love Himself. He never ceases to amaze me!

Thanks for coming by Precious People! God bless!

Winner!

2011-04-23T11:24:00.000-04:00

I have a winner from last week's blog hop! Rhonda Miller was chosen by Random.org and she receives "Come Fly With Me" rubber stamp from Whimsy Stamps! Rhonda was number nine on the list of people who signed up for the draw using the Inlinkz option on my last post. Congratulations Rhonda, contact me and I'll get Denise to send you your blog candy!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-04-23 15:19:26 UTC

New Rubber at Whimsy! Blog Hop is on!

2011-04-13T12:00:00.067-04:00

You have arrived in the middle of another blog hop for Whimsy Stamps! If you have landed here randomly and would like to do the "hop" with us, then hop on over to the beginning at Annika's blog. If you have arrived here from Denise's blog, you are right on track!

Today Whimsy is releasing 3 stamps by Crissy Armstrong (yours truly) 3 stamps by Meljen's Designs, 4 stamps by KennyK, 2 new sets and 1 new background by Raindrop Echo Designs as well as 2 new dies.

And, my blog is a prize stop, and you'll have a chance at winning a new rubber stamp if you put your name in the Inlinkz option at the bottom of this post. This is the image Denise is offering as a prize. Its one of mine, and I call it, "Come Fly With Me"... yeah, sorry about the subsequent ear worm, lol! :

I coloured "Cupcake Bliss" with Copics (sorry, forgot to write them down -- again!). I used Ann's Ticket Die and Ticket Sentiments. Such a cool set, and so easy to use!

Spellbinder dies were used to cut out the main image and the hearts. Cuttlebug swirls folder on the pink piece behind the oval. And a Cuttlebug die for the corners, which was 2 squares that I simply cut in half. This was my youngest daughter's birthday card and she loved it!

Your next stop is Chris Olsen's blog. I would not miss continuing if I were you! There is so much eye candy along the way, not to mention opportunities for blog candy!

And speaking of, don't forget to add your name to the Inlinkz option below. You don't even have to have a blog to join! Just click on the blue button and you'll be directed from there. Thanks for coming by today! Be blessed!

2nd Special Hop, plus last week's Winners Announced!

2011-04-11T12:00:00.005-04:00

Last week we ran a special blog hop to help raise money for the recovery efforts in Japan. Well, we had so many who volunteered to host the hop that we are putting on a second one! I am not involved in it, except to pass on the word that it's happening and to encourage you to check it out. It all starts at Ann's blog. The teams from Ann's Sentimental Sundays and the Kenny K Girlz are hosting this one. Please consider taking the time to go through this hop and tell your friends! We need to spread the word! It would really help if you put the button on your blog, and link it back to the page where people can find the images that are being offered. Here is the button and here is a quick link to the Whimsy Store:

If you do choose to add this button to your sidebar, you get another chance to win some or all of the special images that are being sold for this purpose. Be sure to check out Ann's blog for all the details.

Speaking of winning, here are the winners from last weeks Special Blog Hop for Japan:

Winner of my Heartfelt Angel image: Makiko Jones

Winner of Kenny K's Anime DJ: Maureen (docrafts)

Winner of Kimono Bear: Lynette

Winner of Help For Japan Sentiment Set: Karen from the UK

and the Grand Prize winner is...Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-04-11 14:08:05 UTC

Congratulations to Marie-Ann, you were number 2 from the Inlinkz list on my blog so you have won the grand prize, which consists of all the images in the set, as well as a ten dollar gift certificate to the Whimsy store!

Note to all the winners: Please contact me so we can get your contact information and get your prizes to you!

Help For Japan

2011-04-04T12:00:00.114-04:00

Hello and welcome to a very special blog hop today! The illustrators of Whimsy Stamps have come together to draw a special set of digi images for the purpose of raising money for the relief effort in Japan. All proceeds from the sale of these images will be donated to that cause. Kenny K, Raindrop Echo Designs, Meljens Designs, and Crissy Armstrong all contributed art work.

For the whole month of April, you can purchase the images as a set or individually (your choice) by visiting this page on the Whimsy store site. Please consider helping this special cause by purchasing one or all of the digital images we are offering.

This is the first stop on the hop today. I have the blog rotation order posted below if you need to refer to it.

The amazing ladies of two design teams have come together to host this blog hop for you! Crissy's Crew from Sundays With Crissy and Denise's DT from Whimsy Stamps have joined forces to design some amazing jaw dropping creations for you. You have seven days to hop through all the blogs and enjoy all the lovely creations from these talented people.

The hop runs from now through til Sunday April 10 at noon. There will be several opportunities to get some blog candy! Four random commenters will get a chance to receive one of the three individual images or Ann's sentiment set. So be sure to leave comments all along the way for your chance at a free digi! Also, if you post the "Help for Japan" button on your blog's sidebar, you can enter into the draw for the grand prize! The grand prize will consist of the entire digital set made just for this cause as well as a gift certificate donated by Ann of Raindrop Echo Designs worth 10$ to use at the Whimsy Stamps store! To enter, you must help us advertise for this cause by posting the "Help Japan" button on your blog's side bar (just grab it from my side bar or from the top of this post) and then get your name on the Inlinkz option near the bottom of this post so we can be sure to find the winner.

Now on to my project:

I must tell you that I was totally inspired by a card Claudia of Pretty Pressings posted in February. I found the contrasts just stunning and I wanted to copy a lot of what she did because it really caught my eye. I used my Heartfelt Angel and coloured her with a mix of Tombow Pens, Distress Inks and Twinkling H20's using water colour techniques. My sentiment is from the set that Ann made that is part of these special digi images. I wanted to shorten the saying a bit, so I brought it into Photoshop and cropped the second sentence off.

I used white crackle paint along the edges. This curled the paper a bit, so I couldn't tape it down flat. So I worked with it and gave it some dimension by using foam tape. I thought you would see it on the side view but apparently not. The black layer is hiding the shadow I guess.

Here is your close-up. The bubbles turned out cool I think. I just used some Glamor Dust glitter on them. But I think the light washes of background colour around them makes them pop (pun intended, lol).

Next you'll want to visit Maria's blog to continue hopping. But before you go, make sure you enter your blog (or just your name if you don't have a blog) so you can be entered into the blog candy!

Thank you so much for stopping by, and for your support of this very worthy cause.

Here is the hop order for your convenience:

1. Crissy - that's me!)
2. Maria
3. Lisa C.
4. Mary Lou
5. Melanie
6. Sylvia
7. Pattie G.
8. Donna
9. Lori:
10. Vicki
11. Debbie E.
12. Ellie
13. Jackie
14. Deb R.
15. Marley
16. Linda
17. Erin
18. Sandra
19. Tina
20. Annika

Entering the following challenges:
Paper Sundaes: Spring Blossoms
House of Gilli: Ribbons and Pearls
Kaboodles Doodles: Lets Get Girly
Paper Playtime: Anything Goes
The Crazy Challenge: Flowers
Craft Your Passion: Anything Goes
There's Magic In the Air: Lets Use Flowers

New Digi's Out

2011-04-01T12:00:00.107-04:00

Hello everyone! I am so glad you stopped by today. I have some new digi's released at Whimsy Stamps this month and they are available right now. In fact you have landed in the middle of the blog hop for Whimsy! The Whimsy Digi Design Team has some lovely creations to share with you today, so I encourage you to hop from blog to blog taking in all the beauty they have created. Along the way, there is blog candy to be won, so as you hop be sure to leave a comment on everyone's post so that you will have a chance of winning. Two random blogs will be offering a free digi to one lucky winner. Then on the last stop of the hop, there's a grand prize up for grabs - the winner will get their choice of five digi images from Whimsy Stamps AND a chance to use those images in a guest spot on the Whimsy DT for the entire month of April! You have from now til Friday April 8th at noon to complete the hop and be eligible for blog candy!

If you have landed here from Dawn's blog you're right on track. If you wish to start at the beginning of the hop, go to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog, where they have a complete list of the hop links for your convenience.

This is "Lilly Filly". She comes separately from the background. And when you buy her, you get two images for the price of one - one with her spots and one without. I thought it would be convenient for those who didn't want the added detail of spots. I put her in the background I created called, "Meadow Background" by merging the two images together in Photoshop. I printed the image onto watercolour paper with a laser printer, heat set, and coloured it with my Tombow Pens which are water based, and spread the ink with water on a paintbrush. I explain this colouring method fully in my Water Colour tutorials which are linked just under my blog banner at the top of this page.

One additional thing I did was to paint white highlights using white acrylic paint. I don't normally do that when I water colour, but I had lost some of the white of the paper by overpainting, and so I had to get them back with white paint. It is a method I can use when I make that mistake.

For my card, I made the yellowish layer by printing off Ann's digital sentiment from the "New Beginnings" set onto white card from Staples. I then sponged on "Scattered Straw" and "Tea Dye" Distress Inks for some colour, then tore the edges. The little white flourish on the right is from the "Fleur de Lis" die by Spellbinders. The darker blue background paper is by Basic Grey.

I got into quite a drawing roll this time around and am really happy with what I have to share with you today. These are my new digital images. Just click on any that you are interested in and it will take you right to their listing in the Whimsy store:

From here, hop along to Debbie's blog to see what she has created for your enjoyment!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Blog Hop Winner!

2011-03-23T21:48:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to number 37, chosen by Random.org. And the winner is...

Jenny V.

Jenny, please contact me with your mailing address and Denise of Whimsy will get your stamp to you! Congratulations!

Some thoughts I believe...

2011-03-17T01:00:00.004-04:00

For the Whimsy Hop, please scroll down to the post below this one!

Hello Dear Readers;

I'd like to share my perspective on the recent happenings in Japan if I may. Reader beware: these are my personal thoughts and beliefs. You are free to have your own. I am simply choosing to share mine with you. Read on if you dare!

First I'd like to say what I do not believe. I do not believe that the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident are God's judgements being poured out on the earth. I do not believe that God wanted, willed or allowed those disasters to happen to those dear people. If God was free to prevent those disasters, He certainly would have.

My dear readers, I believe evil, no matter what form it takes, whether that be in the form of natural disasters or man's inhumanity to man, is the result of the fall of mankind. That is where it began, in the Garden of Eden, when man chose to sin rather than to stay in loving relationship with God. And our continual rebellion and hardness of heart is what perpetuates it. We cannot blame the presence of evil in this world on God. We are the ones who opened the door to it.

God does not send storms, calamities, sickness, earthquakes or any other natural disaster. This fallen created world has been tampered with. When we opened up the door to evil, the paradise man knew for a short time became a place of death, destruction and where the struggle to survive became the norm. This was not God's will for us nor for any of His creatures from the beginning. This natural earth has degraded from the peaceful paradise God meant it to be because mankind, by choosing sin, allowed Satan the destroyer to enter into it.

We cannot say exactly why, spiritually speaking, those disasters are taking place in Japan. And if we try to pin it on them and say "they must be so sinful" we are making a grave mistake. If you make such sweeping judgements, understand those same judgements could very well come back to hurt you. But we can know generally, that it is because of the fall of mankind, when we gave Satan access to what once was paradise.

I believe that through the cross of Jesus, God forbids all evil, and has given us the antidote to all evil, in all its' forms. Potentially now, because of the cross, we can overcome every evil we are confronted with the same way He did when He walked the earth.

I see that on the cross, Jesus took the brunt, full force, of all the evil in the world that was brought about by man's sinful rebellion against God - past present and future - for all time. His death purchased a way for us to live under Psalm 91 protection - where no evil would befall us, nor any plague come near our dwelling. Jesus death not only gave us a way to spend eternity with Him but also gave us back the authority we lost to Satan in the Garden. So that now we can say to the wind and the waves, "Peace be still" and they will obey us. We can say to the sick man, "Be healed" and he will be. Because now, the Life of Jesus can flow through us! This is the potential for every man; if we would just give Him total access to our hearts and let go of our own selfish wills and foolish pride.

I believe God is love. Right now, always and forever, He is doing the highest good that we allow Him to do. It is our trust in Him and our humbly turning to Him that opens the door to Him so that He can protect and deliver us from evil. He is willing and able to do so, but first we must let Him.

God stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. He does not go where He is uninvited. Nor does He use His power to force His will on the earth. It is up to us to want His will, to agree with it and allow it to flow in and through us. I say "it", but really I mean "Him". His will is Love and Love is a Person -and Love's name is Jesus.

Satan roams about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Jesus said the devil comes only to kill, steal and destroy. When I see death, sickness and destruction, immediately I know who is the author of that. That is Satan's M.O., not God's.

But the Good News is, Jesus has paid the price to set us all free from the evils of this present world! I believe He is at work in Japan, and anywhere evil strikes, doing whatever He can do to overcome the evil with good. He is ever ready to save, to heal, and to renew to life any who call upon Him.

And there's more Good News! There is no condemnation or judgment on us for ever failing to trust Him. He will never judge or condemn us for allowing evil through our sin. For all our sins are now forgiven and paid for - past, present and future. Jesus took them all on the cross! We are now clean and free before God! And His perfect love and righteousness is available to all!

If you think God is judging Japan through these disasters, then don't bother to pray for the suffering men, women and children, and don't help them with donations or any other means. Otherwise, you will be praying and working against what you believe is God's will.

If you think God allowed it, that He stood by and could have stopped it but didn't, that makes Him an accomplice. And by default, that would mean He willed it. If that's the case, then don't bother to pray for them or help them in any way either, as you will also be praying and working against what you believe to be God's will.

I realize those are some tough thoughts. But dear Readers, if you believe these disasters are God's judgments and/or His will, then you need to be honest about what that implies. I seriously hope you will step up and help. I am just trying to stir you to think. And to show you the harsh reality that results from such a stand.

But if you believe God is love, and that these awful events are the result of Satan's work (which is where my heart is) then lets ask God how we can help. Let's find out what He does want now, and see if there is anything He wants us to do.

Just as we opened the door to evil through our sin, we can now open the door for God to come in to our world to spread His love and goodness to all!

He may ask you to pray and if He does, ask Him how to pray. You may feel an inner nudge to donate some money. Or to head up a fund raiser. Just be available, and be willing to do whatever He tells you. Keep your heart open to Him, and believe He will show you. He is already willing and already wanting to save, heal and deliver ALL. Lets set aside our own wants and desires, and freely offer ourselves to Him. Let's be willing to join with Him in what He wants to do. Its about what He wants to do through us. So lets let Him love Japan through us!

I believe God is good! He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. He is Love and far kinder than the kindest Father you could imagine. He only wants to bless, heal, protect, save and deliver. He loves you!

If you have read this through, thank you for taking the time. God bless you and know that I am grateful for you.

Blog Hop is On! Offering prizes!!

2011-03-16T12:00:00.011-04:00

Hello and welcome to the Whimsy Stamps March new rubber release BLOG HOP!

We have 13 fabulous new Whimsy Stamps plus 2 new wonderful dies to show you today! These new goodies are available to buy right now from the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites. We also have our wonderful special guests joining us for this hop - Beate Johns, Deb Routledge, Jacque Beddingfield and Elaine Hughes!

The Whimsy Stamps DT have been sneak peeking these fabulous stamps for the past 4 days, so if you missed them be sure to hop on over to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog for some more inspiration!

Here is a full list of the wonderful new rubber stamps and dies being released today:

4 stamps from Crissy Armstrong

Benny And Joon Have Cake ~ Celebrate Big! ~ Tippy By The Tail ~Valerie And Kitty sitting Pretty

2 stamps from Meljen's Designs

Rainy Day Duckling ~ Little Puddle Duck

4 stamps from Kenny K

Brooklyn Babe ~ Club Kid ~ Strong Island ~ Let’s Party

3 stamps/sets from Raindrop Echo Designs

Treasured Moments Tickets ~ Time Flies ~ Spring Letter Seals

2 dies/sets from Raindrop Echo Designs

Banner Pennants Die Set ~ Double Scallop Border Die

If you would like to participate in the hop and you didn't arrive here from Marley's blog, please CLICK HERE to return to the beginning of the hop at Crystal’s blog.

The hop starts today (Wednesday March 16th at noon EST) and ends on Wednesday March 23rd at noon EST.

For this hop we have 6 different prize draws! We have not one but TWO grand prize draws, so two lucky hoppers will win a large selection of new release stamps. Grand Prize 1 will be for those who help us advertise the hop, and Grand Prize 2 will be for those who hop along with us. Also, we have 4 mini candy stops throughout the hop where you can enter to win a new release stamp! I'm not going to tell you where they are, so if you haven't found them you'll just have go back to the beginning and start hopping! *wink*

And my blog is one of the places offering a prize! If you add your name in the Inlinkz option at the bottom of this post, you will get a chance to win "Benny and Joon Have Cake" pictured here:

This is a deeply etched high quality red rubber stamp that Whimsy is offering. It comes with that cute saying stamp too that you can trim off and use however you want (or should I say "wish", heh-heh). All Whimsy stamps come already mounted on EZ foam and untrimmed. Be sure to enter your name, and if you don't have a blog, let me know in a comment and you'll be added at the end of the list!

For my blog hop creation I used my own illustration I call, "Celebrate Big!" It is sold in a set along with that cute saying that Ann created to go with it.

I stamped "Celebrate Big!" using Versafine Onyx Black ink (it is water proof) onto 140 lb cold press water colour paper by Canson. I coloured the image using water based ink markers, namely Tombow Pens. Really it is just the same method as painting with water colours. The only difference is that you can colour the ink directly onto the picture and then spread it with the water. And the results are different too; I find the inks to be much brighter and vibrant colours than water colour paint. You don't need Tombow Pens to do this method though; any water based ink markers will do! I have two tutorials on how I colour like this if you are interested. Just click HERE and HERE

or look under my blog banner for the tabs that take you there.

Here is your close-up:

I have entered this card into the following challenges:

Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge: sketch

Sugar Creek Hollow: Hand made flowers

Secret Crafter: Flowers for Mum (or a female)

So now it's time for you to continue the hop by hopping on over to Donna's blog.

Finally, here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Marley van der Heijden

Crissy Armstrong (that's me!)

Donna Smith

Iris Wiechmann

Stephanne Maraver
Vanja Stevanovic

Thank you so much for hopping with us today and I hope you enjoy the new releases!

God bless each and every one of you!

Crissy

Sneak Peek at New Rubber

2011-03-12T21:45:00.000-05:00

Hello! I have a few new rubber stamp images being released at Whimsy Stamps soon - on Wednesday to be exact. Say hello to "Tippy By The Tail". This card went out to my brother-in-law. It was a "guy" card, so I refrained from adding ribbons, lace, flowers and bling! I hope he likes it!

I painted the image using Twinkling H20's.

Here is your close-up:

There are sneak peeks going on every day from now til Tuesday by the Whimsy DT. Here is a link to take you to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog where all the gal's blogs will be linked up for you. And of course as always, there will be a blog hop to celebrate the new release on Wednesday starting at noon. There will be chances for prizes in the hop so you don't want to miss out on that either!

Hope to see you then!

Birthday Card

2011-03-08T10:30:00.000-05:00

I made this for my MIL's birthday. I used one of my new rubber stamp images from a set called, "Fragrant Rose". Now is the time to stock up on Whimsy Rubber because all of it is currently 25% off regular prices - even the custom rubber!

I stamped the rose with Walnut Stain Distress ink onto Copic Xpress It paper. I coloured it with some of the new Copic colours that I got from LSL Diversified, and added some shading with water colour pencils. Here is a list of the Copics used:

RV63, 66, 55 YG61, E87

The newsprint DP was crumpled and distressed with a ruler along the edges to make it look aged. Edges were sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Anything Goes: Distressing

Bearly Mine: Birthday card

A Spoonful of Sugar: Vintage/Shabby

Thanks for coming by for a visit today!

2011-03-04T12:56:00.002-05:00

Hello there!

I have had zero crafting time lately, but thought I would share some new images I have over at the Whimsy store. The first four here are in my digital collection. By clicking on the stamp's name you will go right to where it is found in the Whimsy catalogue. And there is a digi hop going on right now, and if you get in on that, you get a chance to win some free digi's! It starts over at the

Whimsy Inspirations Blog, so be sure to check that out! Also there is a new challenge over at my other blog, Sundays With Crissy. This month it's "Stitching, real or faux". My fabulous DT will be bringing you samples all month long, so I hope you pay them a visit too.

Dog Song

In the Dog House

Whatzup Dog

Party Time Accessories

And here are my latest rubber images now available at Whimsy Stamps. Whimsy has a sale happening for one week only. Starting Sunday March 6 thru til the 13th, Whimsy is giving you 25% off all rubber stamps from all the Whimsy artists, including the custom rubber!

Valerie's Spring Rain

Smell the Flowers

Fancy Bench

Fragrant Rose

Darling Daisies

Lion Hugs

2011-02-24T01:00:00.013-05:00

I am pleased to show off the picture I painted for my nephew's new baby! She was just born last week and is so tiny! I hope they keep this in her room to remind her that God's loving arms are always around her.

I used Lion Hugs, a digi image I created for Squigglefly. I printed it on Canson 140 lb water colour paper, and water-coloured it using mostly Distress Inks, and a couple of Tombow pens.

I relate to being the wee little lamb in God's big strong arms. I find that to be a comforting thought.

I printed the Bible verse onto water colour paper too and used a Spellbinders Fancy Tag die to cut it out.

I have this posted on my challenge blog in keeping with the "Love" theme for this month. Why not go and check it out! You still have til the end of Feb to join in, and I'm offering five digi's to a random challenge player! Find details HERE.

Thank you for your visit today!

God bless you!!

Winner of the Hop Prize

2011-02-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

Here is the winner from last week's hop:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-02-22 14:31:35 UTC

8. Mimi

Congratulations Mimi! You are number 8 and you have won the blog candy prize!! Contact Denise of Whimsy Stamps with your mailing address and she will get those out to you!

Thanks for playing the hop!

Release Party! New Rubber at Whimsy!

2011-02-09T12:00:00.004-05:00

Hello and welcome to the Whimsy Stamps February new rubber release BLOG HOP!

We have 16 gorgeous new Whimsy Stamps plus 2 new fantastic dies to show you today! These new goodies are available to buy right now from the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites. We also have our wonderful special guests joining us for this hop - Beate Johns, Deb Routledge, Chris Dark, Jacque Beddingfield, Tracy Payne, and Elaine Hughes!

The Whimsy Stamps DT have been sneak peeking these fabulous stamps for the past 5 days, so if you missed them be sure to hop on over to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog for some more fabulousness!

Here is a full list of the wonderful new rubber stamps and dies being released today:

5 stamps / stamp sets from Crissy Armstrong
Fragrant Rose ~ Darling Daisies ~ Smell the Flowers ~Valerie's Spring Rain ~ Fancy Bench

3 stamps from Meljen's Designs
Balloon Mouse ~ Baby Bunny's Bottle ~ Spring Sitter Bunny

4 stamps from Kenny K
Uptown Angel ~ Star ~ Lady Raven ~ Vicki LeeVicious

4 stamps / stamp sets from Raindrop Echo Designs
Postage Stamps ~ Birthday Postage Stamps ~ Balloon Sentiments ~ Birthday Wish List

2 dies
Postage Stamp Die ~ Balloon Set Dies

If you would like to participate in the hop and you didn't arrive here from Beate's blog, please CLICK HERE to return to the beginning of the hop at Chris's blog.

The hop starts today (Wednesday February 9th at noon EST) and ends on Wednesday February 16th at noon EST.

For this hop we have 6 different prize draws! We have not one but TWO grand prize draws, so two lucky hoppers will win a large selection of new release stamps. Grand Prize 1 will be for those who help us advertise the hop, and Grand Prize 2 will be for those who hop along with us. Also, we have 4 mini candy stops throughout the hop and I am one of them!! If you want to enter into the draw for the prize I am offering, scroll down to the bottom of this post where you will find the Inlinkz option. If you don't have a blog, just let me know in a comment and I'll put you on the list at the end of it so you can be included too! Here is the blog candy Whimsy will give you if your name is chosen. It is called, "Fragrant Rose":

For my blog hop creation I used "Smell The Flowers". The sentiment is by Ann and is found in the "Fragrant Rose" set.

I got out my Copic Airbrush system which I got for Christmas from hubby Mike. That's what I used for the background. Its the one with the hose and air can. I found it quite a challenge to use, and it is going to take me some time to get the hang of it! After I airbrushed the ground, I went back in with my greens and did the blades of grass. That was fun. :-)

The images are cut out and popped up.

Here is your close-up:

You can see how the B41 I chose was a bit too dark for the airbrush system. With the darker colours, it warns you that you may get little particles of colour showing, which is exactly as you see here, in the little specs of blue. Oh well, live and learn. It is also really challenging to make it look non-blotchy or streaky! I salute all you ladies out there who have used it to make seamless backgrounds! I'll get there some day!

Here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Chris Olsen
Donna Smith
Tracy Payne
Beate Johns
Crissy Armstrong (that's me!)
Simonne Clay
Deb Routledge
Crystal Irwin
Debbie Eastman
Ann Vento
Denise Lynn
Annika Ryan
Iris Wiechmann
Erin Bailey
Jacque Beddingfield
Vicki Parson
Lori Pachkowsky
Marley van der Heijden
Elaine Hughes
Patricia Garcia
Chris Dark
Vanja Stevanovic
Stephanne Maraver

So now it's time for you to continue the hop by hopping on over to Simonne's blog.

Thank you so much for hopping with us today and I hope you enjoy the new releases!

Hugs, Crissy

Circle of Friends Blog Hop

2011-01-29T12:00:00.020-05:00

Welcome to the Circle of Friends Blog Hop! If you have arrived from Sandra's blog you are in the right place, if not you may want to start at Crystal's Blog so you don't miss anything along the way.

Our Circle of Friends hop is to show our dear friend Annika Ryan that her Whimsy Family is here for her during this difficult time. Everyone needs a circle of friends, and sometimes, during those hard moments, you need to be placed in the center of that circle and be given a big group hug. Though we may be miles away, our hearts are with her along with our support.

Today we all have made her a creation to show her how much we care. Please hop along with us to Support our Wonderful Teammate and Friend Annika.

She'll be receiving this card that I made for her.

I used my new Dance of Love digital image that I illustrated for Whimsy Stamps. This is the original colour version I did for them that you can also buy as a pre-coloured digital image. I used Copics. Sorry, no colour list today.

The die cuts are all Spellbinders dies that I kept in the die and sponged with Barn Door Distress Ink.

If you know Annika and would like to make a creation for her please go to the end of the hop (Denise's Blog) and link a card, then email Crystal at crystalkbk30@gmail.com and she will give you her mailing address.

This hop will end on February 5, noon Eastern time so you have enough time to create a card for our friend!!

Your next stop on the hop is Stephanne.

Thank you so much for visiting today!

Me and Lexi

2011-01-19T23:09:00.000-05:00

We visited my son and daughter-in-law over the weekend and I just could not resist sharing a piccy of me with Lexi, our grand-daughter! And I couldn't resist sharing my fav piccy out of the 416 that Granny Crissy shot!! ha ha

Kraftin' Kimmie Blog Hop January Release!

2011-01-16T01:00:00.019-05:00

Today Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps is releasing their new JANUARY images!  ALL the new images are NOW available at Kraftin Kimmie Stamps!
They have SIXTEEN new stamps for you!!
If you have landed here from Andrea's blog, you are in the right place in the hop. You are at the tail end of the hop with just one more stop to go. So if you want to start from the beginning, just head over to the Kraftin’ Kimmie Challenge Blog.  As you hop from blog to blog, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because some lucky stampers will win packages of stamps from the new release!

I have illustrated a collection of 5 animal images for you - a bull dog, frog family, monkey, three piggies, and this little guy, Stripes the Zebra. I hope you like 'em! Each animal comes with a co-ordinating sentiment stamp. You can see them all here.

Annie Rodrigue has created some incredibly sweet BERRY GIRLS!! There are six images in the complete set . Each one comes with a coordinating accessory stamp AND a bonus sentiment stamp!!

We ALL have baby cards to make every year and this month, Steven Leary has brought us the most adorable BABY images!! There are babies, teddy bears, ducks and a pair of little mice!. Two of them also come with matching sentiment stamps!!

KK Stamps offers ‘Gimme Kimmie’s Kits’ for those of you who just HAVE to have all the new images. They've grouped each line of stamps together and called them the ‘Gimme Kimmies Kits’!!! AND it’s at a discounted price!!

Next (and last) stop on the hop: Kimmie

Card Details:

I coloured Stripes with the following Copics:

White portion of Stripes' body: E50, W1, 3, BV23 - for the deepest shadows

Black stripes and hooves: N10, 8, 5, 3, 1, blender. On the hooves only, I left a strip un-coloured where I wanted to put a highlight.

Inner ear and muzzle: R20, 21, 22 + RV23 on pink cheek blush

Butterfly: R20, 22, 24, 27, 29, FB2, YG06, 07, FY1

Ground: E30, 31, 33 with shadows near the zebra made with C2, 3

Copic Multi-liner black was used to draw a line for the ground behind the zebra and to make dots for sand.

Blue sky: B000 was drawn all over and then I sponged Tumbled Glass overtop to deepen the colour.

Flowers were spritzed with Gold Smooch and the white ones with Tutti Frutti Glimmer Mist.

Corner dies by Cuttlebug. Main image and sentiment die by Spellbinders. Thanks so much for visiting today!

God bless!

Three more beauties from friends!

2011-01-10T11:57:00.002-05:00

I have a couple more artists to show you who I really love and admire! These two gals are in Europe and I just love their style! The first one is Inge. She and I go way back - met on SCS and both designed for High Hopes when I was drawing for them. She is such a sweetie too. I was lucky enough to receive some of her cards in the mail too! This Christmas card she did last year really popped off the screen at me. Well, all her work does mind you, but this one in particular! You really should pay her blog a visit if you haven't met her yet!

Nicole and I also met when she joined the High Hopes Divas way back when. She has always impressed me with her card making skills and just keeps getting better all the time. Each card she makes is one that makes me go, "wow". I picked out two of my favourites of hers from last year to show you. She also has lots of video tutorials to look at on her blog as well, so it is worth taking the time to see what she does! She is amazing!!

Go and enjoy these two gals blogs to see more amazing works of card art!! The links are on their names.

Favourite Cards by Others from 2010!

2011-01-01T12:04:00.003-05:00

I wanted to give some big shout outs to the artists in blog land who really "wow'd" me this past year with their eye catching creations! I found all my favourite creations and contacted each of the artists to ask their permission to post their cards here. Each one graciously agreed!
These are just a sampling of the cards that have given me "jaw-dropping moments" in blogland. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I have!
If you have not ever seen these girls blogs before, I encourage you to pay them a visit. I have everyones' blogs linked - just click on their names!

Now here is one from my friend Chris Dark. I have long been an admirer of Chris's work! We have chatted off and on over the years and encouraged one another in our respective art careers. Not only do we share the same name, but the same stamp illustration career, same hobby, and our hubby's are both "Mike's" too.

I have a lot of jaw dropping moments at Chris's blog. This card is proof of why! Chris could get her cards framed and put in an art gallery as far as I'm concerned! Each one is like a miniature painting!

These next two are by Annika. I am just wow'd by her colouring, whether she uses Prismas or Copics. And her card construction is just as beautiful with her attention to creative detail.

Here is another one of her beauties! I couldn't resist posting two of hers! Its linked here. I love the way she ties the colour scheme together!

Now here is a card by Mary Giemza. She is another one I've been friends with AND stalking for awhile!! I love the way she colours too. And she just knows how to put a card together in such a classy drop-dead-gorgeous kind of way, doesn't she!! As far as I'm concerned, this card is the quintessential classic vintage Christmas card!!!

Next up is Zoe McGrath's eye-popping creation. Does it not look like you will soon hear the tapping of this Diva's foot and see her go storming off the screen?! Talk about bringing an image to life with colour and shading! My goodness, this is one delightful card! Zoe is also famous for making card parts MOVE. If you have never seen her stuff before, you are in for a treat!!

Now this person's blog was chalk full of cards that I could have chosen, but I settled on this one by Bev at All The Things I Love. There is something about the way Bev uses all the elements - images, colours, embellishments and sketch to make a masterpiece each and every time. I just love this one for the subtle greys and creams contrasted with the stark reds and blacks. Here is the beauty she let me share with you today:

This next artist is someone I just discovered a few months ago, although she may not be new to you. But I am so grateful I found her blog! Her style is irresistible and arresting! Her name is Dena. Check out this card of hers that stopped me in my tracks! I just love how each element enhances the other:

Now this next lady knows how to colour! (well, all these girls do!) I have been oogling Melanie Holtz's creations for awhile now, learning a lot about creating depth with darks and lights. I think you'll be wow'd by this one of hers too -- she has many that make my jaw drop, but I esp. love this one! Enjoy:

Next up is Yvonne's. I have long admired and studied Yvonne's work! Besides her colouring, I find it is the way she uses dies and embellishments that draw my attention. I have found so much inspiration through visiting her blog! Here is my favourite from her beautiful gallery of creations from 2010. Simply stunning:

Most of you probably know my next guest, Kim Piggot. Not only does she do amazingly beautiful work, but she is also all over blog land, leaving comments and encouraging others! This card she did made me sigh. I just love pink, and she uses it brilliantly on this card. I love the light outlines on all the pink die cuts too. That's what makes them pop. And there is just enough sparkle to give it that magical look:

This next card I chose by Jane jumped off the screen at me! I just love how the nautical theme is woven throughout the entire piece. Her colouring is great the stamps are oh so cute, and look at her embellishing! I love the starfish and life preserver, and how she used eyelets and twine on the white punched piece. Its just SO CUTE!

Lastly, I met Jerri back on SCS when both of us had only been stamping for a short time. I used to pull up a photo of one of her cards and study it for a long time. Whenever I did florals, I refer back to one of her creations and try to mimic what I saw. She continues to astound me with the art that she creates! Last spring she wow'd all of us with her Bridal Collection. If you haven't seen it, you really ought to pay her blog a visit because you will be floored. Not only is Jerri a great artist, but a kind and giving friend as well. Here is a photo of the Bridal collection. View these creations in their individual posts too, you do not want to miss these!!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing just a few of my favourite creations from around blogland in 2010. Thank you to my blogging friends who allowed me to snag their photos to post here! I just thought it was worth sharing all these eye catching works of art one more time!

If any of these folks are new to you, please don't hesitate to visit their blogs. I think you'll be wow'd like I was!

God bless and all the best for 2011!!

"Ribbons" Challenge

2011-01-01T00:06:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year people! It feels good to have a fresh start to a new year!

I did this card for my challenge over at Sundays With Crissy. The challenge runs all month long and I'll be offering up five free digi's to one lucky challenge participant!

The challenge this month is "Ribbons". I thought it would be cool to make a circular frame and wrap a ribbon around it. I think I've seen it done somewhere in blogland before some time ago, but who knows where. Just sayin', it isn't my idea. I used my digital image, "Teddy's First Christmas" and coloured it with water colour inks. This is actually the original that Whimsy is selling as a pre-coloured digi.

I used some paper from mine and Ann's original designer paper, also sold at Whimsy. It is from the Holiday Folly pack.

Here's hoping for a bright and happy 2011 for you and yours!

Daughter's Purple Christmas Card

2010-12-25T01:00:00.002-05:00

Ever since any of us can remember, purple has been daughter Val's favourite colour for anything and everything. So every card I make for her has to be purple, no matter the occasion! So this is her purple Christmas card for this year. :-)

I stamped the larger poinsettia from my "Vintage Christmas" stamp set for Whimsy Stamps onto brown card stock. It isn't "kraft" but it looks like it (kinda). I wanted to use pencil crayons this time for the colouring. I got inspired by Annika, who has been doing a lot of pencil crayon colouring these days. I used Copic White in places when I was done to intensify the white in places.

The sentiment inside was done using a digital sentiment by Ann of Raindrop Echo Designs, also for Whimsy Stamps. It is from her "Christmas Sentiments" collection. I simply brought it into my Photoshop Elements program to add some colour with the paint bucket tool. Fun!

Enjoy your holidays folks! I know I will! Thanks for coming by today!

Another Christmas Card

2010-12-22T10:52:00.002-05:00

I made this card for my MIL, who is responsible for getting me into this stamping habit! And as a result, the stamp illustration jobs that I have been doing for about six and a half years now! Thanks Mom, your influence has enriched my life! I will always be grateful to you for sharing your love of cards and stamps with me!

The image is one I did for Whimsy in a set called, Peace on Earth. Now this image of the branches is much larger than the actual stamp. I had to enlarge it when I was colouring it to use on the designer papers that Ann and I created. The stamp is 1.8 x 2.8 " but this one is around 3.75" big. The dp is one of Ann's and my creations as well, from the Holiday Folly Pack.

I coloured the image using Copics.

I must say though that I have to think twice about using Smooch Pearlized Top Coat on certain inks. Because it caused the black ink in the berries to smudge. boo. Live and learn.

This is the inside of the card. I used one of Ann's digital sentiments from the

"Christmas Sentiments" set. I brought it into Photoshop Elements 8 to add some colour to the design. I love being able to alter digis with colour using the computer! Its so fast and fun!

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Creative Belli Blog: Christmas

Freshly Brewed Challenges: Merry Christmas

For Fun Challenges: Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes

Starry Night

2010-12-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

Hi and welcome to my blog! I have another Christmas card today, this one uses the rubber stamp I did for Whimsy, Starry Night. I had fun trying to make the image look like night time without getting too dark. The shadows on the polar bear were tricky but I am happy with the result I got.

I used some of Ann's ticket stamps from her Holiday Ticket Sentiment set. I also used her Ticket Die to cut it out perfectly. And my snowflake die too! I trimmed the one on top of the bow. I have a second one just under the bow, its hard to see in the photo.

I coloured Starry Night with the following Copics:

Sky: B63 plus pencil crayon to smooth out the lines of demarcation. I find when I use a medium shade of Copics, and I have a huge area to cover, I can't do it without some lines showing. Before I added the pencil crayon to make the streaks disappear, I used the blender pen to remove dots of colour where I wanted stars. It made a nice little round "halo" for the stars. I also removed some streaks in long lines to show the "rays" of the stars. Then I went over the whole sky with my pencil crayon, and avoided the areas I had used the blender pen on. Once I was done with the pencil crayon, I dotted Copic white in all the areas where I had used the blender pen to make a pinpoint "star".

R22 was used on the horizon and blended towards the blue with the blender pen.

Three big stars: Y23 and white pencil crayon, and then Smooch pearlized top coat to make them shine.

I used white pencil crayon to make more "rays" coming out from the three big stars.

Polar Bear Fur:

E50 all over the entire bear's fur area. In the shadows I used E53, B60, 63, 66 and C4. Cheek area was done with R00, 01, and 12. I then used Copic white to make fur-like strokes all over, avoiding the cheek and inner ear area, and also avoiding the black lines of his eyes and facial features.

After the first coat was dry, I went over it with more E53, B63 and 66 to deepen the shadows.

Hat and scarf: R00, 22, 24 went on first. I wanted a pinker look, so then I went over those colours with RV00, 21, 23 and 25. I made some deep shadows using C2 and 5, and then went over those grey shadows with the RV colours again.

Fur trim on hat: C5, 3, 2

Penguin: N0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8

Feet and Beak: E93, 95, 99

White feathers: E50, 53, C2

Ground and Shadow: E50, B60, 63, 66, C8, 6, B000, Blender and Copic White

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Fussy and Fancy: Snow

Stampin for the Weekend: Christmas

Stampin Royalty: Bring on the Bling

Gingersnap Creations: Polar Animals

Dutch Dare Card Challenges: Winter

Cute Card Thursday: One for the Kids

Copic Creations: Sparkle!

SCS WT 301: All That Glitters

Thanks for looking today! If you have any questions, send me an e-mail (address in my watermark and on my profile page).

I'd Follow You Anywhere

2010-12-14T22:02:00.001-05:00

Hi and welcome to my blog! I have another Christmas card to share with you today. I used my new "I'd Follow You Anywhere" image I illustrated for Whimsy Stamps. This one is a rubber stamp, deeply etched red rubber of the highest quality. The sentiment is by Raindrop Echo Designs and is found in this beautiful set called Winter Letter Seals.

I must say that I was really inspired by Annika's card on her blog. I copied her card a little bit and I even wrote to ask her what colours she used on the polar bear fur. And she graciously filled me in! Thanks Annika, waving!!

I find polar bear fur is always a bit of a challenge to colour. Polar bears really are a creamy golden off-white and not pure white. However, if you use Copics and make the whole bear yellow, its going to look really odd!

White really does show some colour, as it reflects a lot of its' surroundings - especially in the shaded areas. It is just difficult to decide exactly what colours to use sometimes!

I did something a little different this time. After I had coloured the fur using Copics, I took out a small round water colour brush and went over the whole body with single strokes of Copic White. I had a base coat of E50 all over the entire body, and had used some greys and B60, 63 in the really dark areas. So when I made small fur strokes with the Copic White, it really stood out with the darker colours underneath.

I love how Copic White is the most opaque white I have. It is even more opaque than my Acrylic white. So it really gives great coverage and shows up really well against colours. That's why it worked so well here. I also added a few white strokes of Copic White on the penguin's tummy and face and also made the snowflakes by just dabbing the tip of my brush all over the background and ground.

Here is the list of Copic colours used on the image:

Polar Bear fur: E50 all over, then E53, B60, B63, W1, 3, 4, N0, 1, 3

I used those same colours on the ground underneath the characters too, and added B66 and N6 in the darkest shadows under the feet.

R00, 01 and 12 for the cheek blush

Hats and scarves: R20, 22, 24, RV10, 21, FRV1, G20, 21, 24 and N6 for the deepest shadows on the pink parts of the hats.

Penguin feet and beak: E93, 95, 97, 99

Penguin body: N0, 1, 3, 5, 6

Background above the characters: R20, G20, B60 - I used a lot of blender in this section. I wet a small section first with the blender, then just dabbed on a few dots of colour, and blended it out for a subtle look. I added a wee bit of light purple pencil crayon in places where I didn't get a soft blend. Then Copic white in spots overtop for the look of snow falling.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Incy Wincy Designs: Non-traditional Colours

Fab 'n Funky: Christmas is for the children

Cupcake Craft Challenges: Non Traditional Christmas

Riley and Co: Metallics

Creative Card Crew: Anything Goes

Artful Inkables: Punches or die cuts

A Spoonful of Sugar: Christmas

And don't forget it isn't too late to enter my challenge at Sundays With Crissy! We're doing "Christmas or Winter cards" too! I have a couple of digi's to give away to one lucky participant.

Thanks for looking and I hope your Christmas preparations are going well! I got the last of my cards out in the mail today. Just a couple more things to purchase and I'm all set!

Bye for now!

Rubber Release! Hop! Candy!

2010-12-08T12:00:00.029-05:00

Hello and welcome to the Whimsy Stamps December new rubber release BLOG HOP!

We have NINE gorgeous new Whimsy Stamps to show you today! These new stamps are available to buy right now from the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites. We also have our wonderful special guests joining us for this hop - the amazing trio of Bev, Deb, and Beate!

Here is a full list of the super fabulous new rubber stamps being released today:

Winter's Joy (Crissy Armstrong)

Valerie's Gift (Crissy Armstrong)

I'd Follow You Anywhere (Crissy Armstrong)

Love in a Bucket (Crissy Armstrong)

Cozy Cap Mouse (Meljen's Designs)

Penguin's Present (Meljen's Designs)

Love Letter Seals (Raindrop Echo Designs)

Music Notes Background (Raindrop Echo Designs)

Friendship Tickets (Raindrop Echo Designs)

I will be giving "I'd Follow You Anywhere" to one lucky participant! All you have to do to enter the draw is use the Inlinkz option at the bottom of this post! If you don't have a blog to link to, just let me know in the comments section and I'll make sure you are entered as well. Here is "I'd Follow You Anywhere":

If you would like to participate in the hop and you didn't arrive here from Bev's blog, please CLICK HERE to return to the beginning of the hop at Bev's blog.

The hop starts today (Wednesday December 8th at noon EST) and ends on Wednesday December 15th at noon EST.

For this hop we have 7 different prize draws - WOW! The grand prize of ALL 9 of the new release stamps is being hosted by Simonne at the very end of the hop, but there are also 6 mini candy stops throughout the hop! Of course as you can see, I am one of them, but I'm not going to tell you where the rest are, so you'll just have to keep on hopping to find them! *wink*

For my blog hop creation I used Winter's Joy which I illustrated. Here is your close-up:

I coloured her using water colour techniqes and water based Tombow Pens and Distress Inks. I made her sparkle with glitter on her boots and Smooch Pearlized Top Coat on her scarf and hat. The side view shows the sparkle more:

The sweet sentiment is by Ann of Raindrop Echo Designs and is found in her Winter Letter Seals set.

So now it's time for you to continue the hop by hopping on over to Beate's blog where I know she has something amazing to show you!

Finally, here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Bev Rochester

YOU ARE HERE Crissy Armstrong YOU ARE HERE

Debbie Eastman

Marley van der Heljden

Here is a place where you can link your blog so you can be entered into the candy draw.

Thank you so much for hopping with us today and I hope you enjoy the new releases!

Whimsy Digi Blog Hop is ON!!

2010-12-01T12:00:00.009-05:00

Welcome to my blog and the last stop on the Whimsy hop that kicks off December's digi release! It's a big one, with new digi's from me, Ann, Katie and Melissa of Meljen's Designs. Plus me and Mel have coloured up some images for you to use as pre-coloured images! Each file is JPG at 300dpi for high print quality. And as usual, you can alter, resize, flip, or crop these images to your heart's content!

If you have come from Sandra's blog, you are right on track. If you want to start at the beginning and go all the way through, start at The Whimsy Blog where the hop order will be posted for your convenience.

Now since I am the last stop, I will be choosing a grand prize winner from the comments on this post! But be sure to leave comments along the whole hop because two more blogs will also be randomly chosen to dish out some free images.

The grand prize I will give to one lucky commenter will include their choice of five Whimsy digital images, and the chance to use those images as a GUEST DESIGNER for the month of December! How cool is that! Chillin with the Whimsy Chicks for a month.

You have until Tues. Dec 7th at noon to complete the hop. Hop winners will be announced sometime after that. :-)

The first set of cards uses "Leap of Joy" fully coloured. Now this image, and all the coloured images now for sale are also available as regular black-and-white images as usual. Here is a link to the regular black and white version of Leap of Joy.

Here is a close-up of what the pre-coloured image will look like when you purchase it for immediate download (minus the watermark of course!):

I coloured the original on water colour paper using water based inks, namely Tombow Pens and Distress inks. The white snow was hand painted with Copic White after the water colours were dry.

I wanted to chat with you about the pre-coloured images Whimsy is now offering.

I realize that a lot of us find the fun part of making the card is the
colouring. That being said, it is also great to be able to make up a card in a
hurry when you need to.
The upcoming holidays esp put a lot of pressure on us to get cards made. And
sometimes, it is impossible to make a card for everyone on your list, just for
sheer volume.
The pre-coloured images offer a workable solution to that problem!
I had a brainstorm idea to combine Ann's lovely digital frames with my
pre-coloured images and make cards on my computer that I could simply print off!
Once you create the template, it is so easy to just hit "print". Then after a
trim and a fold, voila, you've got your card! It is still hand made, but it
only takes a couple of minutes of your time!
Now mind you, the pre-coloured images can still be used as we normally use an
image we have coloured ourselves. And we can still layer our cards and
embellish them as always. (see the post below this one for an example)
I just wanted to point out that the other option, to print off a simple flat one
layer card, is also there.
I used a combination of effects found in iPhoto and Photoshop Elements 8 to
create the image templates. I then brought them into Word where I resized them and added text.
It was such a dream to work with the beautiful frames Ann created for us! It
was fun to add some colour to parts of them, and to stretch them to fit my
pictures. I think her frames plus pre-coloured digi images is the perfect
marriage!

The deer card used Ann's Happy Holidays frame from Dressed Up Shapes 2.
If anyone has any questions as to how I did any of it, I'd be happy to answer
you. I won't be doing a tut on this anytime soon. I really don't know how to go about that, as it was all done on computer. And with so many different photo shop type programs out there, telling you how I did it on mine will only help those who have the same programs I have. Nonetheless, if this computer-challenged non-geek can do it, anyone can! lol

Here's what I printed on the inside:

And on the back:

Here is another sample using "Touched By Love" pre-coloured digi in combination with another frame from the Dressed Up Shapes 2 set or sold individually as Curvy Frame Small Dots:

I'm using these cards to also kick off my December challenge over at Sundays With Crissy. Our theme for the whole month of December is Christmas is Coming or Winter is Here (your choice). Please join in the challenge if you can, and show us your Christmas or Winter cards!

Why not pay a visit to the Whimsy Store to see all the new digi's available, and mark your calendars for a new RUBBER RELEASE coming DEC 8th!

Thanks for your time today!

Sneak Peek at new digi's and pre-coloured images!

2010-11-30T01:00:00.109-05:00

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I have created a card with one of my pre-coloured images for Whimsy and this is your first sneak peek at it. You can get this image I call, "Touched by Love" starting tomorrow, Dec 1st at Whimsy Stamps. I'll be involved in their digi release blog hop tomorrow, so be sure to check back for that. Denise will be giving out lots of blog candy to a lucky few, as usual. :-D

This image will also be sold as a regular digi with no colour, so you will have the choice of either or.

The idea for this card came from Nina of Nina's Kreative Roteloft. Her card inspired me so much I wanted to CASE it! Isn't hers a beauty?

The upcoming holidays esp put a lot of pressure on us to get cards made. And

sometimes, it is impossible to make a card for everyone on your list, just for

sheer volume.

The pre-coloured images offer a workable solution to that problem!

I brought the image into iPhoto and used a matte effect to give it a faded oval frame. Then I printed it onto 90 lb water colour paper and cut it out using a Spellbinders oval die.

The sentiment is also a sneak peek at one of Ann's new digi's soon to be released tomorrow.

I brought it into Photoshop Elements 8 to fill in the letters with colour. There was a little angel image on there as well and I decided to edit it out for my tag. That's the beauty of using digi's. Its so easy to alter them to your needs.
I'm also really happy to be using the snowflake die I helped illustrate for Whimsy! I call it, "Winter's Jewel". I drew the arms of the snowflake and one of the Whimsy artists (who knows Corel better than me) was able to line them up perfectly on a grid. I just love how delicate it turned out!

Here is a close-up of the pre-coloured digi as it appears printed on my water colour paper. I did not give this one the faded oval (obviously!). The one we're offering at Whimsy looks more like this one, in a rectangular format (minus the curved corners).

For those who are curious, I painted my original on water colour paper using water based inks - a combination of Tombow pens and Distress inks were used.

I find when I am printing these images, the colour is most vibrant when its printed on either glossy white card stock or photo paper. When I printed it on water colour paper, the colours dulled a bit. So I decided to intensify the colours in my photo program before I printed them again.

I found it a lot easier to decorate the inside of the card as well as the front with a pre-coloured image because there was no work at all to it.

And you're getting another sneak peek at some of Ann's new digi's with this frame and sentiment! I brought the frame, which is sold as a black and white image, into Photoshop and added colour using the paint bucket. It was done in a snap and easy peasy too!

I also coloured up some of the words on the sentiment layer, then put the two of them together. Ann always does her frames and sentiments with a transparent background, so layering them is a cinch.

And I just love being able to change the colours on them with the touch of a button. For those who do not want to layer the frames and sentiments, she also sells them already put together, so there's literally no work to do. Just bring it into Word, resize, and print!

Here is a close-up of the sentiment and frame:

Come back tomorrow for the blog hop and a chance at blog candy! You'll see a ton of new image by all the Whimsy artists! Mel of Meljen's Designs has also got some of her images coloured up to sell as well. But all the digital images are also offered as black and white line drawings, as usual. Its just that now you will have a choice!

Thanks so much for popping in to say hi. Take care!

One More For the Stash

2010-11-26T10:16:00.002-05:00

Hello there! Just wanted to share a card I made to add to my Christmas stash. I used a stamp I illustrated for Whimsy Stamps called, Santa's Midnight Snack. The gorgeous dark green background paper was designed by Ann Vento of Raindrop Echo Designs and can be found HERE in the "Very Merry" pack. Ann and I partnered together to design the papers and had a lot of fun. We plan on doing more in the near future.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Paper Cutz Challenge: Anything Goes

SCS Free For All: Just Desserts

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long: Anything Goes

No Time To Stamp: Black Friday (use black)

Crafty Creations Challenges: Christmas is Coming

Freshly Brewed: Winter/Christmas

Inktegrity Design Team Challenges: Anything Goes

For Fun Challenges: Anything Goes

Fab 'n' Funky Challenges: Go With The Flow (make anything you want)

ABC Christmas Challenge: X is for Xmas, optional flowers

Creative Belli Blog: R - Red, Ribbon, anything R

Hodge Podge Shop Challenge Blog: Anything Goes

Stampin 'B's: Holiday Card

Delightful Challenges: Flower Power

Die Cut Dreams Christmas Club: Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly: Cut It Out (die cut or punches)

Cute Card Thursday: Blast from the past (use one of their older challenges. I chose Metal Mania, challenge 100 for my metal brad, metal chain and charm and the metallic gold dots on red paper)

I coloured Santa with the following Copics:

Santa hat, red striped pjs: R35, 37, 89

White stripes: E50

Candy canes: R35 and Copic White. Plus I added red stickles on the red parts.

Bunny Slippers: R43, 37, B41, 60 and blender pen to remove colour to make the "fuzzy" look

Cookies: E31, 33, 13, 17

Santa's skin: E00 11, R20. 21

Santa's beard and hair and white hat trim:

E50, W1, 3, 4

Plate: B21

Apron: C0, 2 plus blender

Background: G40, W00, 1, 3, 4, 5

I used clear Stickles on the pom and while it was still wet, I sprinkled Prisma Glitter on as well for extra glam.

I spritzed the whole thing with Smooch spray and tried to pick that up with the angle shot, but the sparkle does not show. :-( In real life, it really glitters all over!

I made the poinsettia flower with a die - can't remember the brand now... lots of dies and a punch used... any questions, just shoot me an e-mail (my addy is on the watermark).

Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Thanksgiving to my friends in the U.S.!

Daughter Ashely's Music

2010-11-23T21:03:00.000-05:00

Hi Peeps!

Hope all is well with you these days.

I would like to show off my daughter Ashley's amazing accomplishment!

She has made an album of her original songs and it is now for sale! Click on THIS LINK to take you to her web page where you can listen to snippets of her songs, and purchase her album if you likey!

She is a songwriter, a musician, a singer and an actor. On her debut album, she not only wrote the songs, played the songs and sang the songs, but also arranged them, did back up vocals and basically all the instrumentation that you will hear. She is sooooo talented, even if I do say so myself (proud momma here!).

Her Dad (hubby Mike) was the recording engineer. I sang back up on one of the songs, "One By One". It was a bit of a family effort. :-)

Go have a listen, and enjoy Ashley's music!