New {ippity} stamps are coming

Hi Everyone
I just want to give you a sneak peak of one of the new stamp sets that are coming.

Click here to go over to the {ippity} store for more info.

See ya over there!!!

Barbara

A Patriotic Theme

Hi Everyone
Today is my turn to post over at Just Imagine Kreations. Since tomorrow is the celebration of Memorial Day, I wanted to design something with a patriotic theme in mind. So here is what I am calling a book/card designed to show our patriotism. This will make a great card to send to a vet or a soldier.

Check out the rest of my post by clicking here . Hope you enjoy the project.
Barbara

What's new on my end

Hi everyone

Well just a little post to let you know what has been going on here on my end.  I was the guest designer for the month of May at Crafters Companion.Click here for my 1st card design that I submitted.

 Click here for the post of the 2nd project I submitted.

I've already started on projects for June and I have one more post for May at Just Imaging Kreations. Since it's not my regularly scheduled post date I will be posting it Sunday as a special post. I will post a link on my blog here and you will be able to see what I have made. You are gonna like it and it is pretty easy to make. So stay tuned for that.

I will be back Friday with some more great inspiration for you.

Thanks for stopping and see you later,

Barbara

zentangle Today

Hi Everyone,

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I finished a few projects that are coming due soon, and I posted my bi-weekly post to the Just Imagine blog. Click here to check it out. I usually call my bi-weekly post over there, Sunday Inspirations. Hope you like the card I designed for their blog.

Since coming back from the zentangle class, I have made a few new tiles. They are called tiles because the size is about a tile which is 4X4. I actually bought a 6X6 spiral bound journal and am using it to draw my designs.

So as you look at these pic's they are just that, pictures of each page in this journal. The journal has no lines and you can draw or whatever in it. So I trace a zentangle tile onto the center of the page and then I start to add the tangles.

Here are two designs that I worked on this weekend. Each tile takes me about an hour to complete.

You will notice the pencil mark, that is the 4X4 area that I define on the page and then I draw a smaller square freehand and then I add a string inside the smaller square and that defines the areas that I tangle in.
I hope you enjoy my zentangle tiles. I will try to post at least 1 zentangle post a week. So stop back for more tangling.

Well that is it for now, If you have any questions, leave them in the comments section and I will leave you an answer.

Have a  great Monday

Where I've been for the last week

Boy, it's been a while since I have posted. Blogger had issues right in the middle of the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog hop. So now those issues seem to have been resolved and the blog hop has been restarted. Yeah!!!

During that whole time, I was away in Mass. attending the certification class for zentangle. The class was 2.5 days and was great!!! 60 people were in attendance and there were from S. Africa, Australia, England, Tasmania, Canada, and of course many were from various states here in the US. I drove up and back and its a 2 day drive each way. The drive was long but not too bad, just boring since I was by myself. The weather was rainy and gloomy but I like driving on a cloudy day, no glare!!

I took many pictures and thought I'd share some of them with you.

Here is the front of the huge place we stayed at. This place was built in the 1890's and was a home to a family. The 3rd floor housed the help and the 2nd floor was the bedrooms for the family. The 1st floor was the living room, library dining room and other rooms as well.

See that double window on the 3rd floor, that is my room.

And the bedroom slept 4.

There were a lot of us who brought pieces we had designed. We also displayed many pieces that we made while in class.

These are just a few of the pictures I took while at the certification class.I hope you have enjoyed my pic's

Well that is it for now, thanks for stopping by,

The Not So Macho Masculine Cards Blog Hop

Hi there! and welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog hop!  If you hopped here by way of DeeDee Maligno, then you're in the right spot. If you'd like to start from the beginning to become eligible for great prizes, then click here. 

There will be 2 winners for this blog hop:

• The grand prize - 1 stamp set of your choice and 1 each of the designers donated products.
• 2nd prize -  the stamp set of your choice.

The drawing for the prizes will be May 14 and the winners names will be posted to the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog.

To become eligible to win the prizes:

• please leave a comment on each blog.
• Return to the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog and leave a brief comment about which design(s) you most enjoyed and why. 

Now, let me share with you my creations.
 

My first card was made using stamps from set 285  -  1900 Cars

1902 Curved Dash 1337-285G

Oldies but Goodies  1354-285B

Green Nugget Glitter - G1065

Spellbinders Label 1 - S4-161

COPIC Markers  - COPIC1A

Using ribbon is usually a "girlie" accent but if you add it as a woven element it becomes masculine.

The glitter is a nice accent that picks up the color of the car. Don't be afraid to add an accent of glitter to that masculine card.

My next card is a little more clean and simple.

On this card I used an embossing folder to get that background texture. Next, I used a dark brown leather-like paper. I used a corner punch from Just Imagine Crafts to add interest to the corners.

This card used stamps from Set 285 - 1900 Cars

1914 Chevy Royal Mall Roadster  - 1335-285E

Classic Birthday - 1353-285B

Spellbinders Label  - S4-309

Copic Markers - COPIC1A

My donation to the grand prize is:  Green Nugget Glitter.

I hope you've enjoyed viewing my cards and all the designers cards as much as we did in creating them.
Don't forget to scroll down and leave a comment here to become eligible for the prizes, then hop on over to Julie Warner's blog

HOW TO LEAVE A COMMENT: Are you new to blog hops? To find the comments section on each designer's blog, scroll down to the bottom of that day's post. The word COMMENTS possibly will be very tiny. Click on the tiny word COMMENTS. A box will pop up (or you may have to scroll down again). Write your comment (sign your name if leaving an anonymous comment). Perhaps one of those wonky SPAM preventer options will show up. Just type in the shown characters and click enter. That's all there is to it. You will become an old hand in no time at all. Designers covet sincere comments left on their blogs. They share their artwork, hoping to inspire others. Visitors who leave comments, in turn, encourage and inspire the designers. (If you absolutely cannot leave a comment for some reason, please e-mail SNS_Artist@tampabay.rr.com with your comment AND the name of the blog or designer you are commenting about).

Your hostesses from Sparkle N Sprinkle are:
Shona Erlenborn
Eleanor Jenkins
Donna Ellis
Sandy Meier
Julie Zippel
Erika Taylor
Linda Loew
Judy Rozema
Joan Petty
Donna Maligno
Barbara Bruder  - That's me
Julie Warner
Jill Jacobson

Start hoppin'!
The Sparkle Team

..... And they're off......

I live in Kentucky and tomorrow is the first Saturday in May. Every year for the last 137 years, the Kentucky Derby, also known as the Run for the Roses, takes place. The Kentucky Derby is a stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, staged yearly in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race currently covers one and one-quarter miles (2.012 km) at Churchill Downs; colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57 kg), fillies 121 pounds (55 kg). The race, known as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate time length, is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in the United States. It typically draws around 155,000 fans.

In addition to the race itself, a number of traditions have played a large role in the Derby atmosphere. The Mint Julep, an iced drink consisting of bourbon, mint and sugar, is the traditional beverage of the race. Burgoo, typically a thick stew of lamb and vegetables is served from iron pots sometimes 10 feet in diameter. Legal gambling on the race is done through parimutuel betting at the track. The Infield, a spectator area inside the track, offers low general admission prices but little chance of seeing much of the race. Instead, revelers show up in the infield to party. By contrast, "Millionaire's Row" refers to the expensive box seats that attract the rich and famous. Elegant women appear in long dresses, big hats, and carrying fancy umbrellas. As the horses are paraded before the grandstands, "My Old Kentucky Home" is played by the University of Louisville marching band while the crowd stands and sings along.

The Derby is frequently referred to as "The Run for the Roses," because a garland of red roses is awarded to the Kentucky Derby winner each year. The tradition is as a result of New York socialite E. Berry Wall presenting roses to ladies at a post-Derby party in 1883 that was attended by Churchill Downs president, Col. M. Lewis Clark. This gesture is believed to have eventually led Clark to the idea of making the rose the race's official flower. However, it was not until 1896 that any recorded account referred to roses being draped on the Derby winner. The governor of Kentucky awards the garland and the trophy.

So in honor of this upcoming fun day in the state of Kentucky, I designed this card.
Stamp - Make an Impression
Blue Ribbon - made using a Tim Holtz Rosette maker(Sizzix)

BTW, this year there will be a female jockey riding in the Derby race, Anna Napravnik, and she is riding "Pants on Fire" and lets hope the horse runs like they are. Anna will be only the 6th female jockey to ever  race in the Kentucky Derby. I wish her luck.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend.

Today was a Play Day

Hi Everyone!!

Today I had a great play day in my studio. Gina stopped over and decided she wanted to make a card to give her daughter to celebrate her promotion at work. So Gina and I put our heads together and she designed and made this beautiful card.

Gina used the following:

Tim Holtz Rosette die

Sizzix embossing folder

sentiment from Sparkle N Sprinkle set 435 - Graduation

Lilies from Sparkle N Sprinkle set 402 - My Rose Garden 

Punch from  Just Imagine Crafts - Punch # 901 

Isn't this card spectacular. I am sure her daughter will just love this card, especially since her mom made it just for her.

Well that's it for now, stop back, I have a really cool card to show you Friday. It's to celebrate Saturday. (Hmmm..... I wonder what is going on Saturday?!?) You gotta stop in Friday to see. LOL

Thanks for stopping by,

Guest Designer for Crafters Companion

Hi Everyone,
It's another rainy day here and the forcast is for rain all week.  Well you know what that means, time to craft and chase the rain away. (We hope.)

I just have to share this little bit of news with you all. I was chosen for the 1st guest designer spot for the month of May over at Crafters Companion. Isn't that exciting?!? They've posted a card I designed for Mother's Day using stamps from their company and there will be another card design that they will post later this month.

I used stamps from a set called Flower Fairies Zinnia stamp set. They also have other flower fairies sets and they are great too. Very detailed and very nice stamps. Check them out, I am sure you will find something that you will just love, like I did.

Well thats it for now, thanks for stopping by today,

Just Imagine Crafts Challenge

I am very very excited to announce the first Monthly Challenge over at Just Imagine Crafts blog.


There are 2 sketches for you to use, one for a card design and the other for a layout design.

May Card Sketch   JIKC01

May Layout Sketch  JIKL01

Your layout or your card should contain

1. sketch
2. with butterflies in accents
3. themed Mother's Day


You will have until 9:00 PM PST Tuesday (May 31) to link/post your card/layout. A winner for the prize will be chosen from a random drawing and will be announced Thursday June 2nd at the Just Imagine Crafts Blog.

The winner of the May challenge will receive a Kreaxions circle cutter and their choice of either the Butterfly die or a 4-in-1 punch (winners choice). Enter as many times as you want!!

Two easy ways to enter:

1. Post your challenge creation to your blog or an online gallery

• Link your creation using the blue Inlinkz icon at the bottom of the challenge page.

- Please be sure to post a direct link to the post containing your challenge and not to your blog address

- If you’re using a Split Coast Stampers gallery you will need to tag your challenge creation to the challenge. For the May challenge the code is JIKC01 or JIKL01 .

2. To enter using Facebook simply post your creation to the Just Imagine / Kreaxions Facebook page with a comment that it’s for challenge JIKC01 or JIKL01.

Here is my creation based on the card sketch:

For this card I used punch #901and used the C insert to transform the punch to a corner punch. I saved the little butterflies that were punched out from the corner punching and used them on the side under the large butterfly. The large butterfly is a die and it fits in any machine that you currently use with any of the other dies on the market. These items are available thru Just Imagine Crafts on their website.

Click here to go to the May Challenge Page at Just Imagine Crafts. You will be able to view the sketches again on that page and link your design to the blog page using the blue Inlinkz button.  We are looking forward to seeing your creations. Good luck!!