International Inkers

Aloha! Welcome to another edition of International Inkers!

This month's kit was sent to us by one of our German delegates, Imke, and it was so cute! Take a look:

Creating with this adorable image from The Greeting Farm was a nice mental vacation (the only kind I can take right now) back to my favorite travel destination: Hawaii.

As is my normal state lately and especially at this time of year (aka busy season at work), I was crafting on the fly and kept things clean & simple, but I hope not boring, mostly due to the great embellies Imke supplied. All I added was the cardstock and the pink web ribbon.

Be sure to pop over and visit all the Inkers today! Imke's blog has a triple treat: her gorgeous card, Tanja's amazing card, and a chance to win a kit of your own! Totally worth the trip!

International Inkers: Paola's Kit

Hello, friends! Welcome back to another fun kit swap with the International Inkers! We took a bit of a break, thanks to some travel, life changes, and of course, the Canadian postal strike. (Glad that's over!)

For this month's post, Paola provided a fun & amazingly diverse kit with an eclectic mix of supplies.

Stamps:
'Are We There Yet?' ( from SU! 2003)
'The Journey' (from Tim Holtz)
*clear stamp* (from SandyLion)
Accessories:
Ribbons: assorted mix ; twine, mini clip, extra large button,
wood tag (by Chatterbox), leatherette luggage tag (by Jolee's boutique)
Assortment of Designer Papers from:
K & Company , My Mind's Eyes , Basic Grey
A real map page from Paola's area, Vancouver, BC. So fun!

And now a word from our (kit) sponsor:
"When I was putting this kit together I was thinking how wonderful it could be if we could all pack our suitcases and travel to visit each others home and Country...."

And Paola had a great idea - for us to answer this question and share it with you:
Besides visiting friends (virtual or not) IF you had a chance to see a part of the world U have never seen,where would your dream trip take you and why? What kind of transportation would U use most??

Well, despite being in this fabulous group, I still don't have a passport and have never left the USA aside from 1 or 2 evening border crosses into Windsor, Ontario in my college years...and we'll just leave it at that :o And while I've been to Hawaii twice, I still haven't seen much of my own country - never been to the New England area, never been "Out West" (aside from Lake Tahoe, which I loved), never been to the Pacific Northwest. So, as for a dream trip, I would love to rent/buy an RV, and live out my retirement years dream to tour the USA. And if not in an RV, then I would drive a car. Preferably an SUV so I can handle the terrain and sleep in the back. Anything to dodge those less than loveable TSA agents and their roving scanners, eyes & hands - ick! And of course, avoid the bedbugs - double ick!

I couldn't resist all the fab vintage elements, or the Tim Holtz images. So here's my card:
The text was one big stamp image, so I cut it out line by line and sponged the edges with Vintage Photo ink. The wood tag reminded me of a luggage tag, so I distressed it and then edged it with Vintage Photo ink. I wanted more of a rough and worn look, so before applying the words, I smeared it with Matte Medium and then laid my Unity "Just Polka Dots" background stamp into it to create an impression. I didn't realize my stamp still had ink on it from the last use, but I really like how it turned out! Then I carefully applied the word strips while the Matte Medium was still wet, and let it all dry.
Meanwhile I built the rest of the card. Once the tage was dry, I smeared another layer of Matte Medium on, just to be sure the words were covered and adhered. Once it dried again, I tied the ribbons & twine. I remembered I had this "Journey" tag in my stash, and added that. And realizing it needed a bit more, I added the cream lace at the top. Then I trimmed out the ticket image Paola provided, sponged it with Vintage Photo ink, and then smeared on some copper Shimmerz. Done!

When I sat back and looked at the card, I thought, "Rut-roh! What about my resolution to put a message of the Lord in each card?" But as I read and re-read the text, this verse came to mind:

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12

And I'll be adding it as the inside sentiment. Our time on earth, when looked at from God's perspective, is so brief. But this isn't an excuse to "live it up" in all manner of sinfulness. We need to make sure we are diligent to do God's will while we are here.

I hope you've enjoyed your stay here. Wishing you safe travel on your way to visit the rest of the International Inkers:
Paola
Karen (posting on Monday)
Imke
Tanja (posting later)
Michelle

Enjoy the journey!

International Inkers: 3rd Kit

Hold onto your hats: I'm actually on time with an Inkers kit! Wonder's never cease, I'm tellin' ya! ;)

This month's kit comes from Germany, courtesy of super sweet Tanja! ("Super sweet" because not only did she send a great kit, she sent a large Lindt chocolate bar! Danke!) Tanja is also generously offering this kit as a prize to one lucky commenter - woohoo!


I just love this color scheme and wanted to use as much of these lovely SU! papers as possible, hence the layers. I didn't want to mat everyone since that would make the card too heavy, so I turned to my handy-dandy Distress Tool for definition. As much I love to trim images, this one was a bit intimidating, so I opted for a Nestie...and jumped on the chance to use my new Big Shot, which I totally {heart}!


I'm still dedicated to honoring the Lord and sharing His Word with my creations (which might not be obvious from the last 2 postings, but the inside of the Mother's Day card read, "I'm so grateful God blessed me with a mother like you," and the Dancing Peppers card was a small act of charity: me helping my sister help a worthy cause - a women's scholarship program), but I'm finding that this is more easily done on the interior of the card. So I computer generated a sentiment to finish the front of the card, and then did the Scripture inside.


Since I only had 1 6x6 sheet of this paper, I had to get a bit creative with how to use it. I didn't have any other leftovers that would have been big enough to mat the Scripture verse with, so again using my Nesties and Big Shot, I carefully cut a rectangle out, using the die cut piece to mat the Scripture and the leftover piece as a frame around the writing area of white cardstock. Phew! It worked out perfectly. (The photo, not so much. lol)



And one last photo because I just *love* the textures from the grosgrain ribbon, the felt flowers and the smooth button. Yummy!


Don't forget that this kit can be yours, just be sure to leave comments for all of the Inkers. Enjoy & God bless!


Copic Colors Used:
BG0000, BG40, BG72, BG75
YG05, YG11, YG63, YG91, G21
E0000, E00, E01
E31, E34, E37
E41, E43

International Inkers, Kit 2

Welcome! Well, here we are again with our 2nd International Inkers Kit, courtesy of yours truly, proudly representing the USA in our little delegation ;)

Spring has sprung and soon the snow and cold will be a distant memory. The birds are chirpin' away, and though I've yet to spot my first bunny, I couldn't resist using this image from Sugar Nellie and these fresh & funky K & Co. patterns papers to celebrate this season of renewal.


So for this month's kit, I challenged the girls (and myself) with the following raw materials:

• K & Company Urban Rhapsody pattern papers


• May Arts web ribbon in turquoise and cream


• chipboard swirls


• blue buttons


• SU! Hodge Podge Hardware (pewter) altered with Adirondack Metallic Mixatives (copper)


• "Bashful" image from Sugar Nellie, designed by Diane Duda

In keeping with my commitment to focus my crafts on the Lord, my card today, despite that shy little long-eared, cotton-tailed cutie, is NOT an Easter card, but a celebration of God's creation.
As I've mentioned before, I just love rabbits. All of God's creations are special, but bunnies are extra special to me: a stuffed toy one is a memento of love & encouragement from my Dad; from my Mom, my sister & I inherited the ability to twitch our noses like a bunny; and I use an imaginary bunny to get Charlie (the choco lab) to run out in the yard & do his business - teehee. So this is simply a happy little card celebrating the beauty of all God's creation, hope of things being made new, and rejoicing together in the eternal love of the Lord. Genesis 1; 2Corinthians 5:17; 1Peter 1:22-23

CARD COMING SOON!
(For those of you keeping score: Yes! I am late with my own kit! Oye vey!)

And as a special "thank you!" for visiting all of the International Inkers' blogs, I'm giving one of these card kits away! To be eligible to win this kit for yourself, just leave some comment love on each of the blogs. The winner will be selected and announced on Sunday, April 24th.

The International Inkers are:
Michelle (USA), Catherine (USA), Karen (Canada), Paola (Canada), Tanja (Germany) & our new addition Imke (Germany) - Welcome!

International Inkers Debut...unfashionably late

As you can see by the fact that I am 3 days late posting, my time management resolution has a long way to go. Sorry girls!

Nonetheless, WELCOME to "crafters without border" ~ otherwise know as the International Inkers! The ultra fab Michelle came up with this super fun idea to share kits internationally. And voila! our little group was born. Representing Germany we have the talented Tanja (soon to be joined by Imke), Canada is ably supported by crafty Karen and the amazing Paola, and the United States is provided props by Michelle and me.


Each month one of us will send identical kits across the borders to our fellow Inkers and once they are received at all the destinations, a posting date will be chosen and our creations will be up for all to see. (Ya know how unpredictable international mail can be - lol.)

We also have a special International Inkers incentive for each posting. When you stop at each blog and leave a comment, you will be entered into a drawing to receive the same kit that that the Inkers created with. This month's kit (provided by our fearless leader, Michelle) is pictured below and will also include the same images in an ink of the winner's choice.

And here's what I came up with:


And on the inside:

I am very much committed to revamping my crafting life. Everything I make moving forward will fall into 1 of 2 categories:
1. Cards with a faith-based message
2. Cards for Operation Write Home

I had made this decision before receiving Miche's robot-themed kit, and admit, I was a bit stumped at first about how to transform these fun goodies into something with a message of faith. I stepped out in faith by moving forward and creating the card, trusting that a solution would be given. And of course it was! (I pray I will never lose that sense of awe and wonder when God works in my life, even in these small ways.) The sentiments just popped into my head after I finished the rest of the card, and the little robo-kitty was purr-fect, with his little electrical cord tail. And it really speaks to what my pastor has been preaching and what I've been trying to focus on lately in my walk with the Lord: keeping God's opinion of me first and foremost, not that of the world/modern society.

Thanks for visiting today. If you haven't yet had a chance, please be sure to take a minute to see what the rest of my inky sisters have created:
Michelle, Tanja, Karen and Paola.

(((HUGS))