Last Call for November Sketches!

Today is the last day to play along with our November sketch! We shared another great sketch with you this month - it can be simple or you can dress it up. The versatile sketches are the best, aren't they? This one encourages you to do some color-blocking, or to use up some scraps of patterned paper you have laying around. Here's the sketch:

And here is some inspiration from our designers:

Kerry Luis

Kristine Reynolds

Axa Lima

Taylor Usry

We would love to have you play along with us this month! You have until Tuesday, November  30th at 11:59 PM PST to enter. Leave your link below (directly to your entry, please) and remember to comment after you play! You could win TWO digi images from our store if you play along and use an InStyle Stamps image. If you don't use one of our images, you could win ONE digi image from us.

Here are the rules:

• Make a new card or project using our sketch (you are welcome to combine with other challenges)
• Link below, directly to your post
• Mention our challenge, or use the picture of our sketch, on your post (with a link back here)

Have fun!! We can't wait to see what you come up with. Be sure to let us know if you have any problems adding your entry :)

November Birthday Girls

November is a big month for birthdays here at InStyle Stamps! Kristine Reynolds, Cyndi Bundy, Patti Stigsell, and I (Taylor) all celebrated our own personal holidays :) We should have had a month long party. I hope everyone had a wonderful birthday - I sure did!

Checkout some stunning samples by our birthday girls:

We're Late, But We Have a Winner!

So sorry to be late with the announcement of our winner - we went Christmas tree shopping today after the extended family left. And then, of course, my five year old insisted we decorate immediately. There's nothing quite like a child's enthusiasm and wonder at the holidays. It makes my heart happy!

Anyway, time for our winner. Congrats to Lorraine! You've own a $25 goodie bag from InStyle Stamps - just send us an email within 48 hours to claim your prize (put Nov Blog Hop Winner in the subject line). Thanks for hopping along with us, and we hope everyone enjoyed the amazing inspiration from our designers!

There's (Holiday) Music In the Air!

Can you hear the music? Holiday music, that is! It's officially time to break out the Christmas music, decorate the house, and start waiting for Santa :)  We have a really fun blog hop for you today. All of our designers chose their favorite holiday song and made a project based on it. Just wait until you see this amazing batch of inspiration!

Kristine
Amber   (our very special guest this month)
Kerry
Taylor
Angelique
Cyndi
Cathy
Patti
Axa
Genevieve
Kimme

Wonderful projects, weren't they? Was it hard to pick a favorite? Well, once you've settled on one you can vote below. Each of our eligible designers is listed on the poll. After you vote leave us a comment and from those comments we'll draw a random winner of a $25 goodie bag from InStyle Stamps.



You have until Sunday, November 28th at 8:59 AM PST to vote. Do not forget to comment after you vote!!! We'll announce the winner (drawn at random from the comments) soon after that. Thanks for hopping along with us this month - we hope you found some wonderful inspiration!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Credit: MarthaStewart.com

Today is Thanksgiving here in the United States, and we just wanted to take a minute to wish you and yours a very happy day. Enjoy the turkey, the football, the family and friends. Take time for fellowship and togetherness, and save room for some dessert.

Rest up for serious shopping tomorrow, and get good deals while you are out. Check in at the store - we have tons of stamps on sale for $1 each. And from 12:00 AM PST on Friday November 26th through 12:00 AM PST on Saturday November 27th we'll be offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders in with valid US addresses (all orders will ship first class mail). You don't want to miss this chance to stock up!

We're grateful for each an every one of you - your thoughts, emails, encouragement, never-ending inspiration, and friendship. From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.

All I Want For Christmas...

Are you all ready to do your holiday shopping? I created an easy little wishlist to help out with all of the things I need to keep straight for my kids and family, and wanted to share it with you. Ready to get started? Supplies:

• 3 3/4" x 12" cardstock for wishlist base
• 3 1/2" x 5 5/8" patterned paper (optional; here - Basic Grey's Figgy)
• 3 1/4" x 5 1/2" pieces of cardstock for inside list (I used 14 pieces)
• Colored image (here, Sandy colored with Copics - R27, R29, E00, E000, E40, C2, C3, C5, C7, C9, E35, E37)
• Nestabilities (optional)
• Computer generated sentiment (optional)
• Crop-a-dile and jumbo brads
• Scoring tool (I used a Martha Stewart scoring board)
• Embellishments (optional)

 First, score the 12" piece of cardstock at 5 7/8" again at 6 1/8". This will create your wishlist base for you. You can see in the picture above how thick it is. If you'd like a thicker wishlist (or want to adapt this for a notepad) just score your lines farther apart and adjust the size of the remaining layers. The second step is to decorate the front of your wishlist.

I started coloring Sandy (with Copic markers) using R27 for her Santa suit. I imagined the light coming from the left side of her, so she is darker on the right side. I continued to layer the color on and deepened it by going over it with R29. Once that was finished, I used the same principle to color her belt and shoes using C5, C7, and a bit of C9. I treated each section of her belt separately, and colored them progressively darker as they went toward her right side. For her gloves and tights I used E40,  a Brick White color. The trim on her suit, boots, and hat have C2 and C3 lightly don around the edges. Her hair was done using E37 at the tips, crown and braids, and filled in with E35. Her skin is outlined in E00 and filled in with E000. Sandy's eyes are colored using our anime eye tutorial using two colors - G21 and G20. Once I colored Sandy, I cut her out using my large oval Nesties. Leaving her inside the die, I used Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Ink to add some color around her and leave the embossed edges white. I did the same thing on the computer generated sentiment. To complete the front of my wishlist, I adhered the patterned paper, image, and sentiment. Then I finished it off with a bit of ribbon and a pearl snowflake.

Finally, for the inside I started with my fourteen pieces of 3 1/4" x 5 1/2" pieces of cardstock. I scored them all at 1/2" to aid in turning the pages once the wishlist was completed. Just above the score lines, I used my Crop-a-dile to punch two large holes, and secured the pages together with jumbo brads (jumbo eyelets weren't thick enough). I adhered the last page of my stack directly to the wishlist base. And that's it - it really didn't take long at all! I left this list blank on the inside, so that my five year old can draw me pictures of what she wants. I'm planning to keep this as a fond reminder of her wishlist this year - at the very top is a fairy godmother, lol. Can't wait to see what else is on there!

The Sketch and Color In One!

image used: Sandy

Look at what Amber Hillman, our guest this month, created by combining our sketch and color challenges. Have you had a chance to play along?

Our color challenge is a gorgeous English Christmas dish, Christmas Pudding. The color scheme is so pretty, don't you think? The olive greens, the rich reds, the creams and browns - scrumptious!

And our sketch is really versatile - it can be simple or you can dress it up. Those sketches are the best, aren't they? This one encourages you to do some color-blocking, or to use up some scraps of patterned paper you have laying around. Here's the sketch:

You have until Tuesday, November  30th at 11:59 PM PST to enter the sketch challenge and until Tuesday, December 8th at 11:59 PM PST to enter the color challenge. We'd  love to have you play along this month!

Say Hello to Axa!

Today we are getting to know our designer Axa Lima a little better. Check out her fun interview and some of her favorite projects:

How long have you been stamping? About four years now.  I've been a crafter all my life though.

Do you prefer to make cards or other projects? I love to make cards, mini albums, scrapbooking...the list goes on.  As long as I'm using some scissors and glue I'm happy. 

If you were a Copic/Prismacolor marker which color would you be? I would have to go with Eoo, it's my go to skin color....everyone needs a little color in their life. 

Which of your InStyle Stamps projects was your favorite? My favorite ISS project is definitely the Chloe in Wonderland Cake card.  It's just so fun and bright. 

You are stranded in a craft store - which aisle do you sleep in? I would have to say the embellishments aisle.  I can't get enough!  

 What five words best describe you? Crafty, happy, outgoing, creative, fun.

What's your crafting style? I don't think I have a specific style.  Maybe I do have a style I just don't know what it is called.

Messy or clean scraproom? Definitely Messy! 

What tool or embellsiment can you not live without? My paper cutter, I can't cut a straight line to save my life. 

What is your favorite stamping technique? Embossing! There are so many colors and effects it can add to your project. 

 Thanks for sharing your amazing creativity with us, Axa! We are so lucky to have you :)

Method Monday - Pop up Tag card

Hello all, it's Cathy here today. It's my turn to do this week's InStyle Stamps Method Monday. After lots of head scratching I decided to show you how to make a Pop-Up Tag card.  I made several of these last year as Christmas cards, and have adapted it for this tutorial so that the tag holds a little surprise.

Here's the finished product ... I used this gorgeous cheeky digi image, Kissmas Monkey as my image.

 The tag card stands up in its own box ....

 and the tag can hold either money or a gift card/voucher.

 So this is how I made it...

 Step 1.

Cut a piece of cardstock (plain or coloured) 11cmx28cm

 Step 2.

 Score the cardstock at 2.5cm, 7cm, 9.5cm, 14cm, 18.5cm, 21.25cm and 25.5cm

 Step 3.

 Decorate your cardstock, either with patterned paper, or stamp onto it.

Step 4.

 On the under side and on the middle score line (14cm) make a mark 2cm in from each edge.

 Step 5.

 Cut a slot between the two marks for your tag to slide into.

 Step 6.

Make your tag.

 Cut a piece of cardstock 14cm x 13 cm.

 Score at 7 cm.

 Fold and smooth down along the score line. 

 

Decorate the tag inside and out, and use nesties or circle punches to make the tag top detail. I used an eyelet to thread my cord through.

Now finish the card .

 Step 7.

 Apply double sided tape on the 2.5cm scored sections.

 Step 8.

Slide the tag into the slot and check that it moves and slides 

backwards and forwards without any snagging.

Step 9.

Attach the tag to one of the stripes of DST, making sure that it is centered through the slot, and that the edge lines up with the bottom.

Step 10.

Now fold the other side in and attach to the tag so it creates a box shape. 

So now it should look like this ...

You may need to re-crease the front and back top and bottom folds to make it stand absolutely perfectly.

 Step 11.

 Now to add the image .. I always add it last, just in case it ends up scrapped before now!!!

Colour your image ...

 I cut mine out, but you can mat  it if you want.

 Stick it down securely, making sure there are no edges to catch on the slot.

 Step 12.

 Finally push the box up so it slides over the tag and folds flat. 

Tie it with some ribbon.

 I hope this gives you the inspiration to have a go at making it ... perhaps as Christmas cards.


Recipe:
Stamp(s): InStyle Stamps Kissmas Monkey
Colouring Media: copics
Papers: DCWV Christmas stack
Embellishments: from stash

Did You Miss Any?

This was a week full of great new images and samples, wasn't it? In case you missed anything, here are links to all of the posts we shared. All of the images will be available in the store on Monday, November 22nd.

Chucky
Mel
Roaring 20's
Kitten Play
Puppy Love
New Year's Chloe

And don't forget, we'll be out of the office this weekend, so all orders placed between Friday, November 19th and Sunday, November 21st will be filled on Monday, November 22nd. Emails will be answered then also. Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for being patient with us!

Ringing In the New Year

**All orders placed between Friday, November 19 and Sunday, November 21 will be filled on Monday, November 22. Thanks for your patience!**

And here we are....the grand finale for release week. We saved a good one to share with you! Introducing the newest member of our Chloe family, New Year's Chloe. How darling is she?

As we've mentioned, all of the images we showcased this week will be available for purchase on Monday. Which ones are you getting?

Check out these fun samples we have to get you in the New Year's mood:

Kimme Leach

Taylor Usry

A Quick Announcement

We'll be out of the office this weekend, so all orders placed between Friday, November 19th and Sunday, November 21st will be filled on Monday, November 22nd. Emails will be answered then also. Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for being patient with us!

Awwwww, Puppy Love!

We're back with our second image today - are you sensing a theme for today's images? Like we mentioned in the earlier post today, Puppy Love is another in a line of our round images, perfect for creating tags, making cards or scrapbook pages, or for layering on altered objects. In case you've missed the others, here are some links: Harvested, Randolf, Snowman & Son, and Witchy Shoes.


Puppy Love, like all the other digi images we release this week, will be available for purchase in the store on Friday, November 19th. Start making your wishlists now!

Take a look at these dog-gone adorable (sorry, I had to say it!) samples our designers made for you:

Taylor Usry

Kerry Luis

Back to the New Releases

Did you see our fun InSpiration challenge yesterday? We'd love fo ryou to play along and make a small gift for someone unexpected. Just head over to this post to see all of the details. Now, back to the new release fun. We've got two more images to share with you today.

First up today is Kitten Play. How adorable is this little cutie? It's another in a line of our round images, perfect for creating tags or for layering on altered objects. In case you've missed the others, here are some links: Harvested, Randolf, Snowman & Son, and Witchy Shoes.

Don't forget that Kitten Play, like all the other digi images we release this week, will be available for purchase in the store on Friday, November 19th. Start making your wishlists now!
Take a look at these cutie pie samples our designers made for you:

Cyndi Bundy

Angelique Nederpel

Being Thankful

We have a really fun InSpiration Challenge today! This month lots of our friends and customers are focusing on gratitude, as are we. We're saying it, sharing it, and today we are spreading it.  Use the photo below to inspire you to make a "thank you" gift for someone unexpected - the mailman, the nurse at the doctor's office, the people who work at the food bank. Any someone who needs some appreciation, but doesn't always get it.

And here are the projects our designers came up with. Be sure to check out their blogs for more details on their gifts!

Robin McKinley (image used: Leang and Sei)

Patti Stigsell (image used: Puppy Love)

Kristine Reynolds (image used: Puppy Love)

We'd love to have you play along with us this month! You have until Tuesday, December 14th at 11:59 PM PST to enter. Leave your link below (directly to your entry, please) and remember to comment after you play! You could win TWO digi images from our store if you play along and use an InStyle Stamps image. If you don't use one of our images, you could win ONE digi image from us.

Here are the rules:

• Make a new card using our InSpiration photo (you are welcome to combine with other challenges, but these challenge MUST be the focus of your card)
• Link below, directly to your post
• Mention our challenge on your post (with a link back here), or use our photo (again, with a link back here)

Have fun!! We can't wait to see what you come up with! Please be sure to let us know if there are any problems with the InLinkz system when you add your entry.

Thanks to everyone who played along with us for the last InSpiration challenge. The winner of last month's drawing is Kimberly S! You have 48 hours to email us to claim your digi image (be sure to put Oct 2010 InSpiration winner in the subject line).