This week's sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches is quadruple the fun!! Melissa has prepared not just one sketch for you this week, but there are FOUR sketches to choose from!

   

  

They are all so great, the challenge will be choosing which one to work with!!

This week our fabulous sponsor is The Stamping Boutique! They were generous enough to offer up some Back to School digis for the design team to work with! How cute is this little girl with all her school supplies? I've colored her with Copics to match a sheet of paper from the Recollections 6x6 All Seasons Pad. Then I printed the image a second time, cut it out with Spellbinders Petite Ovals, and sponged some Memento Summer Sky ink around the edges. A Stardust Clear Glitter Gel Pen was used to highlight the little doodles around the image. Then I cut out the colored image, and popped her up on foam adhesive on top of the other. The sentiment is from the Lil' Inker School Girl set.

   

   

Hair - E37, E35, E33, E31

Skin - E21, E00, E000, R30

Bag, Shoes - E43, E42, E41

BackPack, Apron - B93, B91, B41

Dress, Scarf - Y26, Y23, Y21

Apple, Book - R27, R24, R22

Green Book - G19, YG09, YG06

       

I'm also entering this card into the MarkerPOP Challenge #5 - Back to School,

and the Loves Ruberstamps Challenge #14 - Back to School.

   

Thanks so much for stopping by, and be sure to check out the rest of the line up from the Tuesday Morning Sketches Team!

So, which sketch will you use???

      

   

As this month's Guest Designer for the Crafter's Companion Challenge Blog, I was asked to put together this week's Monday Inspiration! So, I decided to make a quick photo tutorial on how I've been making the sponged cloud backgrounds on my cards lately. You can see the tutorial on the Crafter's Companion Challenge Blog today. 

   

In addition to the tutorial, I made this cute card to share! And of course, I had to use one of the S.W.A.L.K. images that I love so much! Not only are they totally adorable, they are a great size for card making! This little girl is from the Thinking of You set. I sponged the cloudy background using one of the Lil' Inker Designs Cloud Dies as a template. I created the "ground" with my Fiskars Grass Border Punch, then cut out the image and popped her up on foam adhesive in front of the sky.

Isn't she sweet??

        

   

Skin - E21, E00, E000, E0000

Hair - YR24, YR23, YR21, YR20

Dress, Bows - R27, R24, R22

Eyes - BG75, BG72, BG70

   

I took on a bit much this past week, and with my girls starting school today, I haven't finished adding the tutorial to my own blog yet! But, it will be coming to the Tutorials section SOON! Until then, I hope you will check it out over at the Crafter's Companion Challenge Blog, and let me know what you think!

  

That's all for now! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

    

    

   Welcome to the Building Friendships Blog Hop! Heidi has invited a bunch of crafty gals to get together, and create some fun Back to School Projects to share with you today, blog hop style!

   

If you have arrived here from Heather's Blog, then you are in the right place! If not, and you are just jumping in, then you will want to head over to Heidi's Blog to start the hop from the very beginning!

  

So here's how it goes... each of us are posting an awesome Back to School Project for your enjoyment! You also have the chance to WIN the projects you see posted today! All you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment at every blog on the hop

2. Become a follower of each of the blogs

3. Gather the letters posted along the hop, unscramble

them to form a sentence, and email your answer

to Heidi at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

  

You have until Wednesday, August 22nd at 12 midnight EST to complete the hop and email Heidi. From all the correct entries, winners will be randomly selected for the prizes from each blog... winners will be posted on each of our blogs on Saturday August 25th, so be sure to check back to see if you won!!

   

Now that we've covered all the details, how about a look at what's up for grabs from me?

     

 

     

My twin girls start Kindergarten this year, so I have been on the lookout for cute teacher gift ideas. I saw this File Folder Notebook Tutorial on Splitcoaststampers a while ago, and decided this was the perfect occassion to give it a try! These came together so easily, that I actually whipped up two... one to give to a lucky reader, and one for my girls' teacher! I found some Martha Stewart file folders on clearance at Staples, and thought they were an easy neutral color to work with. I will probably add a little tag to the outside with the teacher's name on it before gifting it.

   

Here is a view of notebook when opened...

  

   

The right pocket holds a decorated Jr. Legal pad, and matching pen. On the left side is a set of 4 notecards and envelopes.

    

Here is a close-up of the what the cards look like... I kept them clean and simple without a lot of layers or embellishments, so as not to add too much bulk to the notebook.

(I'm entering the card into the CASology Challenge #6 - School)

  

  

This was such a fun and easy project! I loved to receive gifts like this when I was teaching, so I'm hoping that my girls' new teacher will like it too!

    

That's it from me! It's time to send you on your way to Katie's Blog to see what she's created for you, and for a chance to win another prize!  But before you go, write this down! The letters you will need from me to complete your sentence are:

  

Thanks so much for joining us today! And don't forget to leave a little love!

       

   

What a week!! Today is the final day of the Lil' Inker Color Team New Release Blog Hop. I hope you've been enjoying all the inspiration with the new sets, and maybe even found a stamp or two (or six!) that you can't live without? :) So, if you're just jumping in, you'll want to head to the Lil' Inker Designs Blog, where you can start the hop from the very beginning. Don't forget to leave comments on every blog along the way... there are 2 awesome prizes up for grabs, and the more you comment, the better your chances are of winning!!

  

We are once again showing off the adorable new Sugar Kissed Cottage stamps, illustrated by Lindsey Amschler.

  

   

I was so happy when I saw this Rain Boy image as part of the new release!

    

    

I have a little bit of a weakness for umbrella images. Especially when it's a cute kid or critter holding the umbrella. They are fun to color, fun to paper piece, but they HAVE to be yellow! Yup, yellow is the only way to go! Just one of those crazy unexplained things... :) I sponged a cloudy sky again using the smaller cloud from the Rainbows and Clouds Die Set, and Palette Charcoal Ink. The boy is colored with Copics, cut out and popped up in front of the stormy sky.

     

   

Umbrella, Coat - Y15, Y13, Y11, Y00

Underside of Umbrella - Y17, Y15, Y13

Handle - T5, T3, T1

Jeans - B97, B95, B93, B91

Shoes - E43, E42, E41

Skin - E21, E00, E000

Hair - E37, E35, E33, E31

    

That's all from me! Your next stop on today's hop is Isha's Blog.

  

Thanks for stopping by today, and if you've stuck with me for the week long hop, I appreciate you celebrating with me!

  

  

It's Day 3 of the Lil' Inker Color Team's week long hop, and today's the day we introduce you to the NEW Sugar Kissed Cottage line!

  

If you haven't been following the hop, you can head to the Lil' Inker Blog to get started from the beginning. You don't want to miss a single stop! Not only has the Color Team prepared some AMAZING eye candy for you, Laura is also giving away 2 prizes to random commenters at the end of the week! So leave a little comment at every blog along the way to increase your chances of winning!

    

So, are you loving the new Sugar Kissed Cottage stamps?? I have to admit, when Laura first described this new line to us as "vintage", I cringed! Vintage is NOT my style, so I was really nervous! But as soon as I saw these stamps, I loved them! They remind me of old children's book illustrations! I used this very sweet School Girl set for my card today.

  

   

My twin girls are starting Kindergarten this year, so I think this set is going to come in handy for me! I used a scrap of paper from the DCWV Grade School Stack, and colored the image with Copics to coordinate. I drew in some grass under her feet, then stamped the grass blades from the Cutie Cat set with Memento Bamboo Leaves Ink.

  

  

Skin - E21, E00, E000, R30

Hair - E37, E35, E33

Jumper - B99, B97, B95, B93

Shoes - E43, E42, E41

Grass, Book - YG67, YG17, YG13

Apple, Bow - R59, R29, R24, R22

Shirt - Y15, Y13, Y11

   

I hope you are enjoying the new releases as much as I am! Your last stop for today's hop is back at the Lil' Inker Blog. I'll see you back here tomorrow for the final day of the hop!

  

Thanks for stopping by!