52 Weeks of Gratitude: Week 2

 ($14.50 at InspiredStamps.com)

Hello friends,
We start off WEEK 2 of our 52 Weeks of Gratitude with our FEBRUARY set of the next month's verses we are going to use!  There are a very limited amount of these sets available, so if you would like one, please head over soon to get one (www.inspiredstamps.com).

So how did your first week go?  We had so much fun and INSPIRATION visiting those who linked us to your photo or blog posts last week!!  If you didn't get started last week, why not join us starting THIS WEEK?  It doesn't matter WHEN you begin focusing on gratitude in your life, just that you DO IT!  If this is all new to you, please head over to our link with all the information, samples, and links to previous posts by CLICKING HERE.

This week we are using:  Psalm 92:4, Next week(20Jan) is Psalm 47:1, and 27Jan is Psalm 28:7

Here are the SCRAPBOOK pages and the ART JOURNALING pages I started last week that I wanted to share all journaled in.  Remember, the point of this is to get your gratitude down in some way or form:  you can write out full paragraphs, list single words that tell what you are grateful for, or somewhere in between.  THE RIGHT WAY IS THE WAY YOU WILL DO AND STICK TO!

Here's my way, shown twice:  first in the SCRAPBOOK STYLE:

Now in the ART JOURNALING STYLE:

I love to play with lettering and while it SOUNDS like it wouldn't be fun...you gotta try it!  It's seriously fun!

For THIS week's post we have Psalm 92:4 as our weekly Scripture:
Here's Belinda's very beautiful card (She is doing the CARDMAKING option for our 52 WEEK's challenge.  She also used Inspired Stamps: CARD MINISTRY SET for the inside ):

What a GREAT card!  Be sure to head over to her blog for more details about it!

DeNetra will be creating Art Journaling/Mixed Media pages for our 52 Weeks and here is her GORGEOUS masterpiece:

You can head over to her blog here to see this close up (We'll have to see if she would video tape herself making one of these so we can see the process!!  So very beautiful!)

Here is my SCRAPBOOK page layout for this week.  I wanted to stick with the blue theme, due to the winter, but had to add a little green to represent the grass that peaked out during our 2 days of 60 degree weather this weekend!!  Back to snow today, but what a treat!!

I will share my journaling next week, as I did this week.

So how are YOU coming along with your Gratitude Journey?  We'd love to hear from you so PLEASE LEAVE US A COMMENT to this post!  Below is a MR LINKY where you can add YOUR link to your photo or blog so we can come take a look!  Remember we are giving away a stampset of your choice to a few links we will randomly choose at the end of the month!!  You do not have to purchase or use our stamps to win, either!
(WHAT IF I CANT POST MY photo or I don't have a blog?  How can I participate?  GLAD YOU ASKED!!  You can ALSO go to our FACEBOOK page and leave your photo on our Facebook page so we can see what YOU are doing!!  You will be entered in the drawing THAT way too!!)

We have been SO BLESSED by the comments, the links to your artwork, and the many emails that you are sharing with us about YOUR gratitude journey and the difference it is making in your life!  Our God is so good, isn't He?

Blessings,
Antoinette and the Inspired Stamps DT

www.inspiredstamps.com  (we ship MOST orders SAME DAY they are placed...and are proud of the fast shipping you all love!!)

LINK YOUR GRATITUDE ARTWORK HERE (or post it on our FACEBOOK PAGE)

Contest: What's YOUR favorite Bible Verse? Leave it in a comment and you could win it in a STAMP!

Hello friends!

CONTEST: We are ready to create INSPIRED STAMPERS FAVORITE VERSES #3 and we need YOUR HELP! What is YOUR favorite BIBLE VERSE (King James Version or New American Standard Version please).  Be sure to check out the online store and make sure we do NOT CURRENTLY  have that verse in a set : www.inspiredstamps.com


  Leave your favorite verse in a comment on this post and if we choose YOUR COMMENT POST, we will send you this new set FREE when we get it made! ONE suggested verse per household per day...you have until WEDNESDAY Jan 16th to leave a comment here or on our facebook page!

(Be sure to join us Sunday for our Scripture Sunday Challenge: 52 Weeks of Gratitude!  Click HERE if you haven't checked out this challenge yet!) 

Thanks for joining us!
Blessings
Antoinette                                Click below to check out our online store

www.inspiredstamps.com 

shipping most orders SAME DAY they are placed!

Sunday Scripture Challenge: 52 Weeks of Gratitude: Week 1

Hello Scripture Sunday Challenge Participants and all who have stopped by today!!

Today we BEGIN our 52 Weeks of Gratitude using ALL forms of art from simply making a list of all you are grateful for each week to scrapbooking, art journaling, and even card-making or painting!  Whatever YOUR preferred form of expression....You are invited to join us!

If this is your first time here, please click on the LINK HERE to go to our information blog post about what we are doing!  Here are the Inspired Stamps Scripture Stamps we are using in January (February's list will be up next weekend along with a special if you purchase them as a set).  We have under 20 of each of the January stamp sets left in stock if you are interested in purchasing them, please head over to the online store soon:
January Scriptures ($3.99 at www.inspiredstamps.com)
Jan 6:  Psalm 118:24
Jan 13 Psalm 92:4
Jan 20 Psalm 47:1 (down to 8 left in stock for this set!)
Jan 27 Psalm 28:7 

I am making my pages to use during the week and will share the finished journaled in photos of each of my projects next week. I want to share Belinda's beautiful card for this week, as she is focusing on card-making this year to celebrate gratitude:
Visit Belinda's blog by clicking HERE:

Here is my Scrapbook Journal using our verse for this week and the following products:

 Here is page ONE, which will have one day's GRATEFUL notes on it during.  I will always leave room in case I want to add a photo or other item that will help me remember or describe the gratefulness for that day during the week.

This is page two and I will jot down what I'm grateful for in each box throughout the week (so this will cover the other 6 days; page one will focus on 1 day).  I used Psalm 118:24 and for the lines I used Journaling Shapes for stamp sets.

Here is an art journaling page I also did this week as a sample for you to see an Art Journaling page.  Art journaling can involve any medium, but differs from collage (which can be part of art journaling) and scrapbooking (papers can be part of art journaling) in that there is usually more paint/ink/techniques in an art journaling page than a scrapbook page or a strictly collaged piece (but, of course, not always).  I used glimmer mists, stencils, white paint, white mixed medium paper as based and matted with card stock.  I also use a Bic White Out pen for my white dots over the black (a great option and not expensive) and a black sharpie marker for the edges and pen work.  Here are the 2 pages side by side:

 The first page is done, but there's still room for me to journal around if I felt the need later this week :o)  I used Art Journal Words and Faces stamp set for the word 'thankful' around the edges.

 This page has glimmer mists and white paint, and I got that great light blue color from using a little bleach on the dark blue glimmer mist using a paper towel.  Loved that!  I drew squiggly lines that I will journal on this week.  I wanted you to see a watercolor page I did before with this journal technique so you can see where this is headed:

I used pencil lines on this instead of the obvious black lines I'm doing on my Art Journaling pages above.  The key to making this look good is to make EVERY letter start at the TOP line and end at the bottom line.  Yes, even LOWER Case letters.  If you haven't tried this, I highly recommend it.  It always looks good when you are finished!  And you can HIGHLIGHT some words by using a thicker marker (see REJOICE and TRIALS above in the sample I provided).

We have several of our Design Team that are joining us on their blogs with inspiration for you each week so be sure to click on the Design Team members names to the left of this blog post (Jamie and DeNetra are just 2)

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think, if you are joining us, or just that you stopped by to see us today!!  

CHALLENGE for week 1:  Create your first week GRATEFUL artwork right along with us and LINK YOUR POST below on Mr Linky (not a general blog address, but a link to your actual post or photo if you are using a photo sharing album: like flickr).  We will be choosing at least one winner this month, to get a stamp set of YOUR choice sent to you FREE from the Inspired Stamps online store (we'll even pay shipping!).  We'd love for you to use our stamps, but it's not required to win!

Tuesday and Thursday we will have our Design Team here with some GORGEOUS CARD ARTWORK to share, so be sure to stop back by to see us! 
Blessings and thanks so much for joining us today!
May you be ever aware of each day's blessings,
~Antoinette and the Design Team

www.inspiredstamps.com

Using Scripture in your Cards with the Design Team!

Hello friends!
We want to give a BIG WELCOME to our newest (and one of our original) Design Team Members, Deneen Treble!!  Deneen is a wonderful artist that is such a great member of our Inspired Stamps family and we are SO EXCITED to have her back on the DT for 2013!! 

We had an unexpected number of our Tuesday DT unable to post artwork this week, that I have brought Patty's card over to this post so you would all be able to see it!  Hope everyone is feeling better soon...I'm convinced to go get my flu shot today, too!!

Above is a close up of Kary's beautiful card using one of our $3.99 single Scriptures:  Proverbs 3:5
(A reminder that all the DTs blogs are linked at the left hand side of this blog if you'd like to head over and see more of what they've done!!)

Kary:

Deneen used a $3.99 single scripture stamp called:  Philippians 1:3:

Patty used a $3.99 single Scripture stamp Ephesians :

Chere's card:

Jamie's Card:

Thanks so much ladies...these are just beautiful!!

Our 52 Weeks of gratitude is underway....Come see what other bloggers are posting in our challenge and join us yourself!  CLICK HERE

Have a blessed day and be sure to join us on SUNDAY for a brand new post and announcement of a SPECIAL!!
~Antoinette and the DT

www.inspiredstamps.com shop the store for all the stamps you see here!

We ship MOST orders out SAME DAY they are placed and pride ourselves in our quick shipping!

Pencil Eraser Painting How-To on Canvas!

 Hello friends,
Today I wanted to share how to do a pencil eraser painting on canvas, which I chose to do for the CANVAS sample of our Getting Ready for 52 Weeks of Gratitude that begins this SUNDAY!  Click HERE to see all about it!

The first thing I did was get my acrylic paints out onto my pallette.  Then I stamped my 5x7 prepared canvas with one of our $3.99 single Scripture stamps (2 Cor 9:15) that can be found at www.inspiredstamps.com.  I used StazOn ink to stamp it:

Next I used the yellow color and my pencil eraser and picked up some of the color, tapping it off on the side before I put it onto my canvas:

 I wanted some lighter color dots inside so I mixed the off-white with a little of the yellow (see the photo below on the right hand side for how I mixed it:

 I just kept picking up color and putting it down until I got this, which I liked so I stopped (I may go back and bring some more bluegreen/blue on the bottom):

I'd love to hear from you if you try this...it's ridiculously relaxing and fun!  Who'd have thought that?
See you SUNDAY for our 52 Weeks of Gratitude Kick Off! 
Blessings,
Antoinette

www.inspiredstamps.com

GETTING READY for 52 Weeks of Gratitude (Starts Sunday!): part 4 Art Journaling!

Hello friends!
I cannot WAIT for Sunday where we will BEGIN our 2013 Sunday Scripture Challenge of 52 WEEKS OF GRATITUDE!!  If you haven't heard of this until now, please go to our first post and we have linked ALL of the GETTING READY parts 1-4 there:  CLICK HERE   If you are joining us in any capacity (weekly, monthly, or as you can) please copy and paste this to your blog or your facebook page to let others know what we are doing so they, too, can join in the fun:

Ok, today I have a really fun post to share with you!  This is my Art Journaling post.  Art Journaling is journaling (where you write your thoughts, what you are thankful for in our case, etc.) but some or all of that message can be done with art.  Any art.  Lots of art.  Just a little art.  And art is truly in the eye of the beholder, so do what YOU LOVE.  Do you love to draw? Then draw.  Color? Then color.  Play with paint or airbrushing Copic markers or collage?  Then incorporate that.  Seriously, this is for YOU.  

I love all of the things I mentioned above plus I do miniature clay sculptures and dabble in lots of mediums, so I am going to change it up as the mood strikes!  You can too! And remember, you never have to fill a page with color.  A simple corner with color and your Bible verse can be STRIKING in its beauty.  What do you have time for?  What is your style?  Those should be your guides.

Ok, I used acrylic paint, distress inks, a tag that I embossed and one I didn't, and a sturdy piece of cardstock for this one and of course, my sample Bible verse.  I am keeping all my Gratitude Artwork in a Simple Stories binder (you can do whatever you like; this is just my personal choice):

Here is a peek into my Simple Stories Binder (from now on referred to as my Grateful Binder).  So I wanted a piece of mixed media paper to fit inside a page protector AND be sturdy enough to handle all my mixed media.  If you are doing an ART JOURNAL, you may want to get the Mixed Media bound books you can find at your local art/craft stores (Joann, Michaels, Art&Education, etc all have them).  One note about the size you choose:  start small.  Unless you are sure you want an 8x10 or larger, remember it's gonna require more material (usually) and more forethought to complete a large page than a small one.  I love to work in the 8x8 size, but that is my preference (and I love little bitty journals, too).

I started my page off by adding some acrylic paint with a dry brush (love the lines the brush bristles make!):

 I usually use a permanent ink (like StazOn) when I know I will be wetting the paper after stamping:

 I used the stitching stamp from BIND AND STITCH and the swirls from JOURNAL SHAPES

 Above you can see the blue paint and some white paint I added to give it a little more dimension

 I use the 12x12 Scrapbook papers you can get that are designed (see above) and cut them into fourths to use as masks for my color mists.  I used the Glimmer Mist over this 2 times on my page and then dried it with my hair drier. 

 Next I used my distress inks to ink around my stamped Bible verse and the page.

 I took a kraft tag and embossed it and distressed it with the distress inks (love this look!)

 A couple of options for writing out what you are thankful for.  You can make 2 art journaling pages as shown above and then a black Sharpie marker to write out on one page your grateful items in a list or fill up the page in a journal fashion OR if you want to do the journaling privately, you can attach a smaller tag to the back using twine (like I did above). You could attach a tag for each day or just the one for small private notes.

 I added a little bling, my matted bible verse on the tag, and used a metal clothes pin to 'attach' the tag to the page (so I can take it off with ease to turn it over and write on my journaling tag).  OR

You can put the page into the page protector THEN attach the tag to the outside of the page protectore with the metal clothespin at the top of the page.  This would make your book a lot more interactive and dimensional.

I'll be back tomorrow with a CANVAS idea you may want to do if you love to make canvases and want to have 52 complete with Bible Verses at the end of the year!

Be sure to leave us a comment if you plan to join us and let us know what art form (scrapbook, card, art journal, pen and paper, etc) you plan to use!

Thanks so much for joining us AND for sharing our 52 weeks of Gratitude with your friends!
Blessings,
Antoinette

www.inspiredstamps.com

We ship MOST orders the same day they are placed!  We still have a handful of January's Grateful Bible Verses left, if you are hoping to get those, please order soon!  Those are listed in the first post.

Happy New Year!: JOIN US for 52 Weeks of Intentional Gratitude

Happy NEW YEAR, Friends!!

Our new challenge for 2013 is 52 Weeks of GRATITUDE and it starts this SUNDAY JAN 6! Card-makers, ATC makers, Scrapbookers, Art Journalers, painters, journalers...EVERYONE who wants to practice more gratitude in their lives is welcome to join us!  We hope you will make Intentional Gratitude a part of your New Year!

All the information is up on the blog found by clicking on this link: 
http://www.inspiredstamps.blogspot.com/2012/12/join-us-for-52-weeks-of-gratitude.html

Come back and see the blog this week Thursday for our Art Journaling post!
Be sure to let us know if you are joining us!  We are so happy to hear from you!!
Blessings,
Antoinette

www.inspiredstamps.com