And the Winner Is...

Happy Monday, everybody! Today is a great day, isn't it? Especially because it's the day I get to announce the winner of my first Blog Candy Giveaway! But before I do that (Gotta keep you in suspense, don't I? Isn't that how all the great mystery writers do it?), lets take one more look at this great prize package!


Isn't it scrumptious? I did a pretty good job picking out those supplies, if I do say so myself. But on to the drawing. As promised, I made a careful list of each person who entered the contest and wrote out the names for as many times as they qualified, then cut them into strips, folded them up, and let my soon-to-be-five-year-old do the honors. And the winner is........


Isn't this exciting! Ack! I'm getting nervous for all y'all and I already know who the winner is! And that person is......


BritChickNY! BritChick, please email your info to penciledwhimsies@gmail.com and I will get that package out to you pronto. Wasn't that fun? I think I'm going to have to do another one of these before too long. I hope some of y'all (listen to me talk all southern, as if I wasn't born and bred in New York!) will stick around because I have more surprises planned in the coming months.

And now that that's taken care of, I did promise y'all (geez, once you start, you really can't stop!) a craft for today and I delivered. Behold, my first handmade St. Patty's Day card!


I know it's still a little early, but I wanted to do this for two reasons. First, I've been aching to put to use some of the great prizes I won in Kathy from The Daily Marker's giveaway. That gorgeous Hero Arts Chalk Ink and the green paper flowers came from her. Second, I thought it might be nice to do something with materials similar to what was in my own giveaway, just to spark some creative ideas. I know I love to examine up close and personal the work of other card artists and see how they were put together, so this one will be going to BritChick along with the rest of the Blog Candy. I'll write my little note on a post-it, so she'll be able to keep it or reuse it if she chooses.


And that's it for me! Make sure to come back tomorrow, as I'll be trying a brand-new craft.... Golly, I hope it works! But if not, we'll all just learn together. That's half the fun of it anyway. Until next time, good night and God bless!

And Another!

And here's yet another fantastic giveaway! Mary over at A Latte Inkin' Fun is giving away a set of adorable stamps from the Greeting Farm.



Go here to enter: http://alatteinkinfun.blogspot.com/2010/01/im-farmer-blog-candy.html

Another Blog Candy Giveaway

I came across another blog candy giveaway tonight and I wanted to let you all know! Check out all this great stuff!


Go here to enter: http://magslittlethings.blogspot.com/2010/02/blog-candy-magnolia-ranger-prima.html

Also, don't forget to sign up for my St. Patty's Day giveaway if you haven't done so already. Deadline is tomorrow at Midnight. Best of luck to all of you!

Got Some Goodies!

Well, I really wanted to have a craft to share with you all today, but we had parent teacher conferences this afternoon, and since we needed a sitter for that (gotta love grandparents!) my hubby and I decided to take advantage of it and do a little shopping together. We just got home and it's already almost eight, so even if I did rush through a card or a pair of earrings, there would be no good lighting (my camera does best with natural light) which means crappy pictures, and it's just not worth it for that.

So I will have something to share on Monday, but for now, check out these goodies I picked up today! I don't know if you're like me, but I LOVE looking at all those youtube videos of people unpacking their latest craft haul. I just find it interesting to see what's out there on the market and what people's favorite tools and embellishments are.

I got lucky today, because I found a new craft store! It's just this tiny, hole-in-the-wall place, but she actually kept a decent supply, and a lot of what I saw there were specialty items that I haven't seen anywhere else in town. She had some adorable patterned papers, cute stamps and.... COPIC MARKERS! Not a lot, maybe two or three each of a dozen colors, but two of them were on my wishlist already, so I grabbed those for now and will probably go back for a few others in the next couple weeks.

There's my haul. Three sheets of patterned paper, two clear stamps, one rubber stamp, and two copic markers (B6 Peacock Blue and Y11 Light Yellow). I just love that little typewriter stamp! I have a thing for old typewriters, and it will be fun to make cards for all my writer friends using it. The side has a tiny bonus stamp that reads "I < 3 u" (the < and the 3 are together, but for some reason it won't let me post them that way) that you can stamp onto the paper if you choose. As for the clear stamps, one is a little puppy that was on sale for $.99 and the other is a gecko that says "Age is just a number... mine is unlisted." I thought that would be really cute for birthday cards, especially more masculine cards where flowers and butterflies might not be as appreciated. Lol. Plus, I think he could be very versatile. I can add a little party hat and some balloons, or switch up the sentiments... He could also be used on a card for little boys, or on the homework sheets I grade for my son's teacher. So he had to come home with me.

Here's a close up of the papers. I absolutely adore this one, and wish I would have picked up a couple sheets of it. Oh well, guess I'll just have to go back! Those dogs are so stinkin' cute, aren't they? I think any of them would be darling cut out and popped off a card or used as an accent on a scrapbooking page. See that red polkadotted Scottie? I have plans for him. That stripey dachshund makes me smile. And the brown dog next to him with the flowery ears just melts my heart. There's a whole lotta love goin' on there. It's from the Junebug collection by Basic Grey if you want to search for it.

This sheet is called Kitchen Recipe Cards Cut Out by BoBunny. I thought it would be the perfect compliment to the mixer and measuring cup I colored on my first Copics tryout. Actually, it works with that whole "What's the Scoop" by Hero Arts stamp collection.

And lastly, this flowery page from pinkpaislee is called Hearts Abloom from their Cupid Collection. It's so me, with the soft blues and pinks, and deep chocolate and red. Wouldn't this be adorable with some buttons in the flower centers? This might be another sheet I have to pick up more of. I can think of all sorts of possibilities with it.

And then these are the backs. I love it when designer papers are double sided! I just feel like I'm getting more for my money, since I have a coordinating pattern already built in. I can just cut off a strip and flip it over, and viola! I've got a matching piece to use with the focal point of my card. The pink gingham is the other side of the Hearts Abloom sheet, the polkadots the back of the Basic Grey paper, and the recipe cards are the same as the other side, but with fewer sentiments. Pretty neat, huh?

So what's your most recent craft purchase?

Sisters, Ink

For my boys and me, one of our favorite places to go is the library. We're fortunate that there are several very nice ones in town and we visit at least one of them every week, and oftentimes more. While standing in line at the checkout desk with the two youngest beasties, I was browsing the shelf next to me and just happened to notice this title:

My interest was piqued immediately, so I plucked it off the shelf and added it to the heap in my arms. I haven't had a chance to crack the cover yet, but the blurb says this:

Sisters, Ink marks the first in a series of novels written by, for, and about scrapbookers. At the center of the creativity and humor are four unlikely young adult sisters, each separately adopted during early childhood into the loving home of Marilyn and Jack Sinclair.
Ten years after their mother Marilyn has died, the multi-racial Sinclair sisters (Meg, Kendra, Tandy, and Joy) still return to her converted attic scrapping studio in the small town of Stars Hill, Tennessee, to encourage each other through life’s highs and lows.
Book one spotlights headstrong Tandy, a successful yet haunted attorney now living back in Orlando where she spent the first eight years of her life on the streets as a junkie’s kid. When a suddenly enforced leave of absence at work leads her to an extended visit with her sisters in Stars Hill, a business oppor­tunity, rekindled romance, and fresh understanding of God’s will soon follow.

Sounds interesting, no? I especially love the fact that the story is about a diverse group of women who are bound together by their creativity. I wonder if it will have any tips and tricks to reveal... Hopefully it will be a good read. I'll let you know how it is!

Blog Candy Giveaway!

I told you I'd have something special for you all today, and here it is. I'm doing my first ever Blog Candy Giveaway! Yay! Are you excited? I know I am! I'm a big believer in paying it forward, and ever since I won the Blog Candy from Kathy over at the Daily Marker, I've been wanting to do something in return. Since my craft budget is already pretty slim, mine is more of a mini giveaway, but hey, free stuff is free stuff, am I right?

Here's what you get.

This givaway includes:
3 notecards and matching envelopes from Craft Essentials
1 mini paper pad from Colorbök
1 mini stamp set, 1 acrylic block, and 1 stamp pad from studio g
1 spool of gingham ribbon from American Crafts
10 paper shamrocks from Prima Flowers
12 mini buttons from foof-a-La

There are three ways you can enter this Blog Candy Giveaway.

1. Leave a comment to this post, letting me know what kind of crafts you do or what you'd like to see more of here. Also do let me know that you'd like to be entered, just in case there's anybody out there that doesn't like free stuff. ;o)

2. Sign up to become a follower of this blog. What's a blog for, if not to interact with like-minded people? Following is just our way of supporting each other out here on the web. If you are already a follower, that counts! Let me know in the comments section that you'd like to enter.

3. Spread the word. If you've got a blog, copy the top picture (or all of them, I don't care) and post it, letting people know about the giveaway. The more the merrier! If you don't have a blog, just pass the info and my link along to a couple of friends who might be interested, then let me know in the comments that you've done so. Please be honest. I'll take you at your word.

So that gives each and every person up to three chances to be entered to win this great package. After the deadline, I will copy all the names down on slips of paper (one for each time you entered), fold them up and put them in a jar, let the kids stir and shake them up, and then draw the winner's name. We'll keep this fair and square, not to mention lighthearted and fun.

So the deadline is going to be at 12:00 midnight, (American eastern time zone) on February 28th, 2010. I know that's not a lot of time, but since this Blog Candy Giveaway has a St. Patrick's Day theme, I want to be sure it arrives in plenty of time before the holiday. The winner will be announced here on Monday, March 1st. And yes, I will ship internationally. I know first hand what it's like to live abroad and have difficulty finding cute craft supplies, so if that's you, please enter! Good luck to all of you!

Coloring With Copics, Round #2, On A Card

In a tiny, quaint farming village in Germany my in-laws reside, and it's where I spent the better part of four years after I married my husband. The sun shines down on the verdant, rolling hills dotted with cattle and combines, and life goes about at a different pace than the outside world. There, the yeasty aroma of baking bread fills the households, and the rainbow riot of flowers spill out of window boxes and gardens.

Down the lane and across the street, just before the little duck pond, lives a sweet older woman named Annchen. I think the only thing Annchen loves more than her flowers is children. Alone in her house, she watches for them to pass by so she can come out to greet them and bring them little treats. The children look forward to her smiles and hugs, steps slowing as they reach her garden, just in case she needs extra time.

Annchen shares a birthday with our sweet Dominic, which is coming up in just over a week. Only a special card will do for such a special lady.

I colored this rose to resemble the ones I remember from Annchen's garden. I used Copic makers on Gina K Pure Luxery cardstock, stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. The colors I used are as follows:

rose: RV11 (Pink), R22 (Light Prawn), R27 (Cadmium Red)
violets: B21 (Baby Blue), BV00 (Mauve Shadow), BV08 (Blue Violet)
leaves: YG06 (Yellowish Green), G21 (Lime Green), G24 (Willow), G05 (Emerald Green)
ribbon: Y15 (Cadmium Yellow), R02 (Flesh)

I added some glitter to the flower centers for a little sparkle, rounded the top corners, accented with green patterned paper from My Mind's Eye, ribbon from American Crafts, and chose some black cardstock to make the colors really stand out. I wanted infuse some elegance, so I broke out those sparkly pop dots that I won in the Blog Candy giveaway from Kathy at The Daily Marker. I think they were the perfect touch, don't you?
I chose not to add a sentiment, since I don't have any in German. Instead I'll write something personal on the inside, have the whole family sign it, and include a recent photo of the boys. I hope you enjoyed it!
Come on back tomorrow, I have something special planned!