By The Time I Get To Bay Shore

Hi, guys. Tonight my husband Alan and I went to see the great Jimmy Webb in concert here on Long Island.  If you aren't familiar with his name, you will be familiar with some of the songs he has written such as Galveston, Wichita Lineman, Up, Up and Away, and By the Time I Get to Phoenix to name a few.  It was a great evening of song and storytelling.  His new album is entitled "Just Across the River." Billy Joel, Lucinda Williams, Vince Gill, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Glen Campbell, Mark Knopfler, and Willie Nelson are featured on it.    If you get the chance, I would highly recommend you see him.  

I will be back tomorrow with more of my tags from my Tim Holtz  Creative Chemistry 101 class.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Stamping 101

Hi, guys!  I thought I would take a break from my stamping tonight to share a Stamping 101 tip with you. Always remember to check to see what direction your INKED stamp is facing before pressing down on it.  Otherwise, you will look like this:

I must say, the image stamped very cleanly with Tim Holtz's Barn Door Red Distress ink! This is further proof that the name of my blog suits me perfectly.

I will be back tomorrow to share more completed tags with you.

Until then, find some time in your day to do something you love!

Exciting News To Share!

Hi, guys!  My big announcement is that I have been named to the design team for The Ink Pad, the fabulous stamp store located in Manhattan!   My term will be from April 1 - July 31, 2012.  I am very excited to be working with such wonderful people.   I will be creating card projects and sharing them here on my blog, Facebook and Twitter.    

If you haven't been to The Ink Pad, you are missing out.  It is a stamper's dream, filled with anything you would ever need to create great cards, scrapbook pages or mixed media art.   The staff is so helpful and will take great care of you.

Couldn't wait to share this news.  I hope you have a great day, and find a few moments in your day to do something you love!

80th Birthday Card - Jane Austen Style

Hi, guys!  I thought I would share a card I made for a friend.  She needed an 80th birthday card for her mother-in-law.  I was told she loved to read and actually took a bookbinding class at one point.  I thought I would make a card with one of my favorite authors in mind - Jane Austen!

All supplies are Papertrey Ink with the exception of the numerals which are Tim Holtz.

This was a fun card to make as it really took some thought as to what I wanted to do and I just love any excuse to age paper, too!

Hope you have a great day, and find a few moments in the day to do something you love!

Tag Time with Tim

Hi, guys!  Hope you are all having a great weekend.  I thought I would share some tags that I have made for days 3, 4, and 5 of the Creative Chemistry 101 Class with Tim Holtz.

Day 3
Alcohol Ink Agates Technique

Archival Resist Technique

Stamping with Reflections Technique

Day 4
Custom Stamp Pad Technique  (I made my husband a bookmark!)

Layered Misting Technique

Day 5

Marbled Stains Technique

Stamping with Stains Technique

Stained Kraft Resist Technique

These online card classes are just great.  I love that I can work at my own pace, and around my schedule.  I also love that Tim gives you so much information, with obvious planning on his part.   I can't believe a week has flown by.  One more to go!  I know I will be sad to see it end.  But, with all this newly acquired knowledge, I know I will be enjoying myself in my stamp room!  If you haven't tried one of these online card classes, I would highly recommend you give one a try.  You will have the information at your fingertips for life!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  I plan to find some stamping time tomorrow to.....GET INKY!

Getting Inky with Tim

Hi, guys!  Yesterday was Day 1 of the online card class being taught by Tim Holtz.  It was a blast and he is an amazing teacher.  I would highly recommend you check it out.  This first tag is what I made last night.

Supplies:
Tag: Ranger manila
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress ink and stains, Archival black
Other: Butterflies stamped using JudiKins Mica gloss
Stamps: Stampers Anonymous, River City Rubber Works


Today was Day 2 of the class and we really focused on Tim's line of distress inks.  I can't share how the techniques were done, but I can share my work.   We learned 3 fun and inky techniques.


Day 2 tags

Supplies: 
Paper: Ranger Manila Tags, Watercolor paper
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress inks
Stamps: Stampin' Up, Papertrey Ink


This is going to be a great two weeks learning from such a great teacher.  I love that you can really feel his passion for his art and creating.    I look forward to sharing what I make as I go along.


I hope you have a great day!  Hope you can find a few moments in your day to do something you love.

Tea and (Vaga)bonding

Hi, guys!  Hope your weekend was a great one.  My weekend was great and filled with fun.  I had my sister and two of my nieces over for a tea party and crafting time.  I thought I would share some pictures from the day.

After our tasty lunch and tea we headed down to my stamp area to make some tags.  The girls wanted to make some Tim Holtz-style tags after hearing about them and were amazed when they saw the Vagabond. We spent the afternoon bonding with each other over the Vagabond. A Vagabond machine is a powered die cut/embossing machine that is a wonder.  It really enables you to cut and emboss a lot of stuff in no time and with great ease (a touch of a button!)

Amanda's tag (age 7)

Grace's tag (age 4)

We spent hours making other cards and using plenty of Ranger products.  It was a blast and, yes, it was extremely INKY. Who knew that spray inks could spray so far?  I was able to introduce my sister to the wonder of the Ranger Craft Scrubbie that takes all kinds of ink off hands.  As a kindergarten teacher, I am sure it will come in handy after arts and crafts!  If you don't have one already, I would suggest you get one as they are really amazing!

I hope you have a great day and find a moment to do something you love!

Just "Pop"ping in with a few cards

Hi, guys!  I thought I would share some cards I made at my class on Monday night at Scrapper's Playground.  They featured Honey "POP" paper by Inky Antics.  I first discovered this paper when Tim Holtz used it in his first tag of 2012.   This honeycomb paper is really cool to work with and even if you don't craft, you will recognize it from party decorations like wedding bells that are hung from ceilings.

This was a very fun class and I would recommend taking a class there if you are in the area.  Get yourself some Honey Pop and give it a try.  I am sure you will enjoy using it.

TGIF!  Have a great day and hope you find a moment to do something you love.

Where in the World is my Vagabond?

Tim Holtz and Sizzix are having a contest and they are requesting pictures of you with your Vagabond machine.  I just took a picture with mine, and yes, my stamp table is under a canoe.  It is what makes my craft space charming, in my opinion.   Here is the picture:

Good luck to everyone who enters.

St. Patrick's Day Revisited

Hi, guys!  I thought I would share a couple more Saint Patrick's Day cards I created this week.   I love to emboss cards using powders and my trusty heat gun.  I love the texture it provides.

Supplies

Stamps: Stampin' Up

Ink: Versamark, Stampin Up, distress inks

Misc.:  White embossing powder, circle punches

Supplies
Stamps: Stampin' Up
Ink: Versamark, Stampin Up
Misc.:  Green embossing powder, circle punches

In my last post, I asked how you would be celebrating St. Paddy's Day on Saturday.  I will be having a tea party with my 2 young nieces and my sister.  The girls have been asking for one for quite some time and I can't think of a more fitting day to hold a tea than St. Paddy's.  I will be pulling out the cookbooks to find some yummy treats to cook and bake.   Afterwards, we are hoping to find time to stamp and create some fun together.

Have a great day!  I hope you find a few moments in your day to do something you love!

St. Patrick's Day Is On Its Way!

Hi, guys!  I thought I would share a St. Patrick's Day card I made today.  It was fun to make.  I can't believe St. Paddy's Day will be here on Saturday!  How will you be celebrating?

Supplies: 
Stamps: Stampin' Up
Ink: Stampin' Up, distress ink
Paper: Stampin' Up
Misc. rainbow ribbon, yellow circle punches

Have a great day! Hope you find a few moments in your day to do what you love!

Crocus - Spring Is Almost Here!

Hi, guys! Spring is on its way! I have spotted 2 crocuses sprouting up in my front flower bed. Each year when I see them, I become very happy knowing the cold is nearly behind us. I thought I would share a card I did which celebrates this happy flower.

Supplies:
Stamps: House Mouse
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black
Paper: Stampin' Up, Gina K White
Misc. Copic markers


I really enjoyed making this card, as I love to color. It brings out the inner child in me. Why don't you pick up a marker, crayon or colored pencil, and give it a try? I bet it will make you smile.

Have a great day! Hope you find a few moments in your day to do what you love!

It's A Girl!

Hi, guys. I thought I would share a card with you that I made for a co-worker's baby girl.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up, Papertrey Ink
Ink: Stampin' Up, distress inks
Paper: Stampin' Up, DCWV Nana's Nursery
Misc: pearls, oval punches

I can't believe I have been blogging for one week already!

Have a great day! Hope you find a few moments in your day to do what you love!

The Pioneer Woman Rode Into Town!

Hi, guys! My husband and I were able to attend a great panel discussion at the 92nd Street Y in NYC a few weeks ago. It was hosted by BlogHer. I was really looking forward to it as one of my favorite bloggers was going to be there and speak. Her name is Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman). She is a blogger, author, mom, photographer, cook and, as she likes to say, "an accidental country girl." The evening was filled with great women bloggers who each took turns talking about their blogs and fielding questions from the audience. I was really excited as my blog wasn't up yet, and I had a lot of questions in my head that were answered. The highlight for me was after the session, when my husband and I got to meet Ree and have her sign my books. I have all three of her books - one cookbook, her love story and her children's book about her basset hound Charlie. My husband was able to tell her his favorite recipes from her book and she was gracious to take a picture with me.

Thank you, BlogHer, for making that wonderful evening a reality. I am looking forward to attending their blogging convention in NYC in August.

Have a great day!  Hope you find a few moments in your day to do what you love!

Tag, You're It!

Hi, guys! Let me start today by filling some of you in about my love for all things distress and Tim Holtz. He is the king of distress and all things grunge. If you know me personally, I am sure you have heard me go on and on about his crafting and his art. I think he is extremely talented and has a fabulous blog and line of products. I love that he shares his talents and techniques with us.

He decided to stop his 12 Tags of Christmas which he had done for quite a few years. You can read about it on his blog. He announced in February that he will do a tag a month for 2012; that way everyone would be able to do them instead of stressing out during the busy holiday season. I was disappointed at first as I have enjoyed this each holiday season. But when I thought about it, I realized that I never could complete all 12 myself. So I have decided to take part in his tag a month for this year. So far he has done 2 (February and March). I am so happy that I was able to complete both of them. I had a blast learning new techniques and using products like honeycomb paper that I have never used before.

My nephew Tom loved making a tag with me this Christmas. He heard me talking about making them and asked to make one, too. I was thrilled with his positive attitude when I told him the tag was rather complicated and had a great many steps. He told me he would do the steps he could and skip anything he couldn't. He had a blast! It was truly a fun day. Here he is with his creation!

Have a great day. Hope you find a few moments in your day to do what you love!

Why Inky Fingers?

I have been asked why I decided to name my blog Winnie's Inky Fingers. I think this picture will explain it better than any words I can come up with.

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

My Blog is Up and Here is My First Post!

I am so excited that I am able to post on my new blog! I plan to share my cards and other things I create that I think you may be interested in.

I thought a lot about which card I would use for my first blog post. I picked this one as I am very grateful to everyone for encouraging me to take this step and start a blog. Thank you to Jacquelinne of Smitten Blog Designs for the great blog and logo design and for making the process fun. Thank you to my husband Alan for all his encouragement and for sharing his ideas and know-how with me. A special thank you to my brother Sean for all his help (and patience) getting this blog ready and for the endless hours of time on Skype trying to teach me the basics of my computer and how to blog. You are all appreciated more than you know. This card was made with all of you in mind.