Blog Candy Winner!!

Good evening, ladies. We hope that you are having a wonderful weekend.

We would like to thank you all for celebrating the Grand Opening of Inky Impressions with us and for playing along in our first blog hop. We appreciate your support more than you know!

Are you ready to find out who the lucky winner of the Inky Impressions blog candy is? Of course you are! :) After calculating all of the entries, the lucky number generated by Random.org is............ 46, which makes Lori of http://byloridesigns.blogspot.com/ our winner. Lori, Congratulations!!! :) Please email your mailing address to nicole@inkyimpressions.com, so we can get your package mailed out to you.

Inky Impressions Grand Opening & Blog Hop!!

This candy is now closed!!

Congratulations, You have reached the end of the Inky Impressions Blog Hop! Now that you made it here, you can enter to win some FABULOUS blog candy.

You will receive 1 entry for each of the things you complete. That means you will get 3 entries if you complete them all.

1. Go to the Inky Impressions website, then come back here and leave a comment telling us what your favorite stamp is.

2. Become a follower of the blog. If you are already a follower, you get an automatic entry.

3. Link our blog candy to your blog.

You have until June 12 at midnight (Eastern) to enter. We will announce the winner on Saturday June 13. Good luck!!

Here are all the yummies you will win!


Be sure to stop by tomorrow for our first Design Team challenge.

The website is "NOW OPEN" LADIES, so go shopping!!!

Design Team Challenge #1

The Inspirational Inkettes have been busy with their new stamps, creating masterpieces for YOUR enjoyment!!! We gave them a COLOR CHALLENGE to follow this week: Pink Passion, Baja Breeze and So Saffron.

Here are a few of the samples we have! Are you ready for some EYE Candy???

Naoual

Cathleen

Tanja

Tonya

Chris

Kristen

Grand Opening & Blog Hop

Hello everyone! Nicole and the Inspirational Inkettes are SO excited about the Grand Opening of Inky Impressions on Tuesday, June 9! To celebrate this exciting event, we are having a blog hop, complete with some yummy blog candy! The Inspirational Inkettes have been working on some FABULOUS projects to share with you. It is going to be an exciting and fun time, so we hope you will join us!! The blog hop will start at 10:00am (Eastern) at Nicole's (Inky's Mama) blog.

We would love if you would spread the word about the Inky Impressions Grand Opening and Blog Hop, by displaying the following badge on your blog. Please link the badge to Nicole's blog as that is where the blog hop will begin. We appreciate your support more than you know and we hope to "see" you at the hop!!

INTRODUCING...........THE INSPIRATIONAL INKETTES - part 3!!

Here are more of The Inspirational Inkettes for you to get to know.

First, I would like to introduce Sem See, our first Inspirational Inkette for the day:




Hey everyone! My name is Simonne, I'm 35 years old and I live in Bristol (United Kingdom) with my wonderful family. I discovered stamping in December 2008, and since then I'm proud to say that I am completely addicted to rubbah! (I won't tell you how may stamps I have accumulated in 5 months, as my husband may read this!). My favourite things to create are cards, but I would love to try my hand at scrapbooking and altering.

I wanted to be on the Inky Impressions Design Team because right from the outset I caught Nicole's enthusiasm and passion, and I wanted to help bring her dream to life! I feel very privileged to be able to contribute to the development and growth of Inky Impressions Rubber Stamps. Being part of this DT is very special, as each and every member is so genuine, warm, enthusiastic and supportive, not least our Inky Mama, Nicole. And, of course, I get to play with the cutest new stamps around!

Finally, one interesting thing about me would have to be my love of the piano, an instrument that I have studied and played since I was 5 years old, and something that I now teach! If I could play and craft at the same time, I would be in heaven!...I just have to figure out how to grow an extra pair of hands!

Next, we have Michele Roos, our second Inspirational Inkette for the day:




Hi there, my name is Michele Roos and I live on the west coast of Ireland. I'm 40 years young and happily married SAHM to 3 young, gorgeous, energetic children and I find the best way to de-stress after a hectic day is to start crafting. I've only been stamping for a year now, but I'm totally hooked! I started blogging in August of 08 and I've met some lovely and talented crafters, of which I get so much inspiration from. I feel so honoured to be on the Inky Impressions DT not only because of the gorgeous stamps but I'm also involved in a team which consists of VERY talented Ladies (they are also very lovely). I love to make cards but I also love to come out of my comfort zone from time to time and create something new. Before I had the kids I used to love to go Line Dancing and once was on a breakfast show (Big Breakfast) in the UK Line Dancing with Lilly Savage. There you are my secrets out, LOL.


Next we would like to introduce Christine Ousley:




Hello my name is Christine Ousley and I am a mother of two beautiful children, Alexis 16 and Brett 10. I am very lucky to have an adoring and supportive husband who understands my paper crafting obsession. We live in Alabama but I call Florida home as I spent most of my life living there. If you want to talk college football be ready to meet a die hard Gator fan!!

I have been scrapbooking for about 14 years and remember the first time I went to a crop. It was like a whole new world opened up for me. I had always enjoyed photography but this new hobby allowed me to create something from my pictures and also give them a voice. Well like everyone knows this hobby called paper crafting often leads you into many other mediums and it wasn't long before I was learning how to stamp and make cards.

Now I am obsessed with my Copic markers and love making cards and gifts with them and my stamps. I have been stamping for about 4 years now and include stamped images in most of my projects. Being selected for the Inky Impression design team has been so exciting. I was absolutely thrilled to hear the news. I really loved the stamp that I was given for the final project and knew that this company was going to be creating some spectacular images. They are super cute and really fun to color. Being on the design team has been so rewarding. Nicole and the other team members are such wonderful, talented and fun ladies to know and work with.

I absolutely love the paper crafting world. It is a wonderful beautiful community filled the most lovely people. We care about each other, we encourage each other and we share a passion like no other. I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Last, but certainly not least, Heike:

My Name is Heike. I live in Germany and I am 39 years old. My big sweet Girl is 10 years old and my little sweety is 3 years old. I have been stamping for many years (started in 2002). My favourite things to create is card's, scrapbooking and I love to make creations with my Scorpal. I love Nicole's stamps so much and I love making pretty girly cards! I like the work with so many talented girls and I have fun to create several creations. I am reliable and cheerful.

AND THAT concludes the ENTIRE Design Team of Inky Impressions!!!!! Thank you for staying with us, and stay tuned for some EXCITING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!

INTRODUCING....THE INSPIRATIONAL INKETTES - part 2!

We are proud to introduce a few more of our fabulous Inspirational Inkettes:

The first Inspirational Inkette for the day is Cathleen Torina:

My name is Cathleen Torina, and I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband and daughter. I began making cards when my daughter went away to college and, five years later, am still loving every minute of it. Although it can take me hours to complete a card, I do my best stamping in the middle of the night. Oftentimes, I begin stamping after ten o’clock and don’t go to bed until three or four! I was immediately drawn to the Inky Impressions images and knew that I wanted to be a member on the design team. The best part about being on the design team is sharing my passion for stamping with so many talented people all over the world.

The next Inspirational Inkette is Shary:

Hi, my name is Sharon but I am known as Shary on the WWW. I am currently living in Germany but originally from the UK. I have four kids, 2 boys and 2 girls ranging in age from 6 to 18. I also have 3 pets, a dog, Milly, a cat, Jinx and a bearded dragon, Harry. I am a SAHM , so plenty of time for my crafting.

I have been stamping for about 5 years now and loving every minute! My favourite technique of course is stamping and colouring. I started off with a little case of crafting stuff and I now have a whole room overflowing! I love to make cards mostly but I do like to put my Scor-Pal to use making boxes and gifts.

As soon as I saw Nicole's cute stamps I knew that I wanted to work with them and try to get on the Design Team. And guess what my dream came true! I was picked along with some other really talented ladies.

We've all only been on the team a short while but we really have got to know each other. The DT are a great friendly bunch and I know that we are going to have lots of fun together. We come from all over the world so you're in for a treat as there are lots of different styles but all equally gorgeous! I can't wait to see what the other girls create.

Hmm one interesting fact about me??? I'm quite ordinary really. I am married to a wonderful man who is in the British Forces, (hence living in Germany). We have lived here 7 years, still have another 5 years to go and I still can't speak a lot of German!!!! Shame on me!

The third Inspirational Inkette we would like to introduce is Cami Mayeda:

My name is Camille Mayeda but my family calls me "Cami" since my nieces were little and the French people I worked with pronounced it more like, "Camee" hence the condensed "Cami" that I go by. I was born and raised in Hawaii on the Island of Oahu (where the famous Waikiki beach is). I have been stamping and creating craft items for over 20 years! Any form of handcrafting has been my passion and I often refer to it as "therapeutic" since my mind gets lost in my craft space and I forget stressful matters LOL! I wanted to be on Nicole's DT because I saw a product that I fell in love with and wanted to help promote. Being on Nicole's DT will let me, hopefully, provide some inspiration to fellow crafters out there. The name you see on my blog site, "Capture a Heart," is a name I created for my GET License when I was in a group of gals who created baby items that we sold in local stores.

Our fourth Inspirational Inkette we would like to introduce you to is Tina:

My name is Tina46. I live in a small town in West-Germany. I have been stamping for nearly 4 years now. My favourite things to create are cards, but I also do little projects like (chocolate)boxes. I wanted to be on the Inky Impressions Design Team, because I loveInky Impressions Stamps and I would love to help Nicole to introduce them to other ladies. What I love about being on the DT is the possibility to get to know other talented crafters and be inspired by their work. I am happily married to a wonderful man, have four children and three grandchildren! I love spending time with them. Two of my daughters also do papercrafts, I love to craft and shop with them ;) I am really looking forward to my term on the DT!

And now, introducing, Kristine Breach, our fifth Inspirational Inkette for the day:

Hi, I'm Kristine Breach, 36 years old and married with two daughters, ages 8 and 10. We live in Central Oregon, USA. When I'm not stamping, I work as a PT church secretary and music is a big part of my life. I'm on a worship team, leading music at church. During my college years, I was a tour guide at a museum at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota for 2 summers and got great discounts on Black Hills Gold!! I've also taught Special Ed classes in Middle School before I had kids of my own.

I've been stamping for about 5 or 6 years. I started with scrapbooking after my babies were born, but a few years later I got into stamping and now making cards is my passion! Don't get me wrong, there's nothing like looking back through my albums at pages I've created with photos that are so personable--that brings such a joy and pride. However, it takes a lot more time now for me to do a 2-page spread, and so I'd much rather make a card or two! {lol}

I think my skills in card-making have come a long way these last few years. I never dreamed that I would be picked for a Design Team a few years ago, but when I found out about Inky Impressions and saw how SUPER CUTE the stamps were, I thought, "I HAVE to at least try out for this!" What does it mean to me to be on the DT with such amazing talented stampers and a wonderfully sweet owner? I feel like one of THE LUCKIEST STAMPERS on the planet!! I'm so excited to have this amazing opportunity, and I want to thank everyone who supported me and told me to go for it, and also to Nicole for picking "me"! Looking forward to working with the rest of the DT and sharing all my projects with you!!

Last, but certainly not least, Tanja Ludwig, our final Inspirational Inkette for the day:

My name is Tanja Ludwig and I'm from Berlin/Germany. I'm 36 years old and have been married since 2004. My wonderful daughter Melissa will turning 6 this July and will start to go to school this summer. I have been stamping since February 2008 and I love it. Before this time I was only a scrapbooker, now I'm a scrapbooker which is stamping most of the time. But I love making scrapbooks for my daughter and because LiLi reminds me of my little girl, I love the stamps for my scrapbooks and for cards. Since I saw the first images of LiLi and Angelica I was in love and cant wait to see more of these! This is why I wanted to be on the Design Team! I love working with these little cuties and hope to inspire a lot of people with my creations.

STAY TUNED TOMORROW TO MEET MORE OF OUR INSPIRATIONAL INKETTES!!!!!!

INTRODUCING.............THE INSPIRATIONAL INKETTES!!!!!!!! (part 1)

We have all been working on some FABULOUS projects to show you, but you'll have to wait just a few more days for those!! Until then, let me introduce to you the "Inspirational Inkettes"!!!!!!

First, we would like to introduce you to Nicole, the owner of Inky Impressions... whom we have named “Inky’s Mama”. Without Nicole, none of this would be possible! She has worked so hard to ensure that you get the cutest images with the HIGHEST of Quality! OMG... we are so excited for all of you to get your little inky fingers on these babies!

Hello… My name is Nicole. I am a 31 year old stay at home mommy to 4 beautiful children and the wife to a very loving & supportive man, Bill. My hubby & our kiddo’s are MY ENTIRE WORLD!!! I am the Proud Owner of Inky Impressions Rubber Stamps. I started out just scrapbooking but then I was introduced to Rubber Stamping and OMG… I quickly learned that Stamping was my “Passion”. For many years, I have wanted my own Rubber Stamp line. Then back in September of 2008 I had decided to give it a go and try and make my dream a reality! I did all the necessary research and worked hard at learning the entire process. With a lot of hard work and determination I am finally “Adrift on a Dream”. The feeling is unbelievable. (Please pinch me)

I have the most wonderful husband in this world!!! Bill & I have been together for 12+ years. He is a policeman for our city and a great Role Model to our 4 children. Being a policeman’s wife can be scary at times, but ultimately, I support & respect his childhood dream. That man is my ROCK! He is always there to support me in all that I do!!! One other thing I want to tell you about him is he is AN AMAZING DADDY!!! Always interacting with them... my goodness he jumps with the kids & I on our 15 foot trampoline! LOL With God & a wonderful husband and great kids to support me, I feel like I am on top of the world! Our new stamp line, is just the icing on the cake! Okay enough of the mushy stuff huh? LOL

The characters LiLi & Angelica are cartoon versions of our little girls. The character LiLi is a cartoon version of our baby girl MarLeigha whom we call LiLi (pronounced, Lee Lee) and Angelica is a cartoon version of our other baby girl (although older) Angelica. We truly hope that you love our stamps just as much as we have loved designing them.

Inspirational Inkettes Senior Design Team Leader: Tonya Hopkins.



Hello. My name is Tonya Hopkins. I am a 35 year old stay at home mommy to 2 beautiful girls & the wife to my high school sweetheart, Scott. We reside in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

I have been crafting in one form or another for over 15 years, with decorative painting at the forefront. Several years ago, a friend introduced me to stamping, but I didn’t get serious about it until October of 2008. In October, I stumbled upon a stamping forum and it really peaked my interest. As they say, the rest is history. Stamping is now my passion. Cards are my favorite to create but, I also enjoy making 3D projects and recycling things as well.

When I seen the ADORABLE sample images for Inky Impressions, I fell in love right away. After speaking with Nicole, I knew without a doubt that this was a company that I wanted to be a part of. Nicole was professional yet fun and down to Earth. When I was asked to be a Senior Design Team Leader, I was over the moon with excitement. No words can describe what I felt! I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to work for such a fabulous woman, like Nicole and I am honored to be on the Inky Impressions team with such fun, friendly and talented ladies.

An interesting fact about myself: I owned a small business for several years where I sold my paintings, until the stamping bug bit me. >:0)

Inspirational Inkettes Senior Design Team Leader: Chris Sather



Hi! My name is Chris Sather and I am 37 years old. I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I am an elementary school teacher so crafting is a nice quiet “release” for me!!! I don't have any children, but my husband Tim and I have several pets. We have a dog named Brick, a cat named Tux, 6 leopard geckos, 1 Giant African Land Snail and 2 fish!! Brick is very high needs and Tux is diabetic. They both keep us on our toes - I try to craft in between the 3 walks a day, vet appointments, and insulin shots! But I wouldnt' trade them for the world!!!! THEY are my kids!!!

I started scrapbooking about 12 years ago and got into card making about 5 years ago. I love to create cards mostly, but enjoy working on my scrapbooks too. I have dabbled a bit in 3D alterable items and enjoy it too!!!

I wanted to be on the Inky Impressions Design Team because Nicole has such passion for her company that I wanted to be part of that and see where it takes her! Nicole has also become a good friend and to be able to help her achieve her dream is fulfilling!!! I love being on the Design Team because of the teamwork, camaraderie, and support we have for each other. It is a great place to do what we love with people we have things in common with! These are fabulously talented, sweet ladies, and I am honoured to work with them! When Nicole told me I would be on her Design Team I was so ecstatic, I thought I was dreaming!!! What a dream come true!!!!! I am VERY honoured to be one of the Senior Design Team Leaders. Something interesting about me is that I am DEATHLY allergic to carrots and celery. It makes for going out to dinner interesting!! LOL Happy stamping everyone!!!

The first Inspirational Inkette we would like to introduce is Maria Bell.

My name is Maria Bell and I'm 41 years old. I have been rubber stamping for a little over 4 years. My favorite things to create are cards and mini albums! I actually love all types of paper crafting and have no particular favorites because they change depending on my mood.

I wanted to join Inky Impressions as a designer for various reasons. I'm a major advocate for women/stampers who want to start a business, especially a home base business. I admire someone like Nicole who is willing to take a chance on starting her own business; therefore, I want to do my best to help that person or company to succeed. My second reason is that I loved the images that I saw on Inky Impressions and I feel you have to love a product to be enthusiastic and excited to create cards and projects with them and I felt that way with Inky Impressions. The images are stinkin' adorable!!

I love being on a design team for the people I meet online, the feeling of being part of a team, and the activities that go along with it.

One interesting thing about me is that I can find something to fill every minute of my life. I can't stand going to sleep and will avoid sleeping at all cost. If I over sleep or take a nap, I become very disappointed in myself because there's too many things in life to do and I feel sleeping is wasting precious time. Time I can be spending doing something else. My motto is "life is too short to waste it on sleep" LOL!!

Kristen Catalano, is our second Inspirational Inkette we are introducing to you, today.

Hi, my name is Kristen Catalano I am married to my best friend Paul, and we have two beautiful children-Abbey is my very active and affectionate 8 year old daughter, and Ryan is my loving and imaginative (almost) 6 year old son. We also have two Shih Tzus, Princess, whom we have had for 12 years, and Remy (named after the Red Sox announcer), whom is still very much a very active puppy We live in Nashua New Hampshire, where you're never sure what the weather will bring. Besides being a mom and wife, I also work part-time nights and weekends in retail and I attend the local college in pursuit of a nursing degree. My life is crazy busy, but I wouldn't know how to function any differently.

When my daughter was born eight years ago, I started scrapbooking. The minute I started, I knew I was hooked. I loved the paper, the layouts and the stickers (hehehe). About four years ago my BF took me to my first SU party, and I have been stamping since. I didn't consider myself a serious stamper until two years ago when I started making greeting cards on a Yahoo group. Now, I barely scrapbook and I am a stampaholic. My favorite supplies are designer paper (I need it all), and my copic markers. The more the coloring, the more I love it. I am THRILLED and honored to be a part of the Inky Impressions design team, and I look forward to the journey that lies ahead. Happy creating!

The last Inspirational Inkette we will introduce to you today is Naoual du Mortier.

My name is Naoual du Mortier I'm 24 years old, live in the Netherlands and I'm a SAHM of 2 beautiful little girls. I started stamping in december of 2008 and I love to create cards, and every now and then I try my hand on a 3D item. The reason I wanted to be on the 'Inky Impressions' DT is because I just LOVE the cute images that Nicole designs, they are just too adorable for words. I love being a part of this team because all the DT members are such kind, sweet, caring ladies and so is our 'big boss' Nicole. Everything about this team is just AMAZING and I'm so happy to be a part of it!


STAY TUNED TOMORROW TO MEET MORE OF THE INSPIRATIONAL INKETTE'S!!

Finally a card from me (After like 27 years...LOL)

Okay...so I finally have had a chance to sit down and make my own little card. It was so nice to just SIT and RELAX and just do what I love to do! Now let me be the first to tell ALL OF YOU that I do not have 1/2 the skills that any of you have! I just wholeheartedly enjoy making my cards! I used copic markers to color the image (Coloring Eggs LiLi) and I also used The star dust glitter pen by Sakura for the earrings and even some of the decorations on the eggs. Then I added lirrle dots on the corner pieces and flourishes. So here is my creation... YIKES (Biting my nails)

I have been so busy with all of the finishing touches of everything. The stamps are in & the website is 95% completed. We just have one more thing that we are waiting on to set the release date. I am so EXCITED!!!! It has definitely been a long journey in creating Inky Impressions, but to me....it has been well worth the wait! We have been focused on creating really cute stamps, but the most important thing to us is the quality of our stamps! All Inky Impressions Rubber Stamps are "EXTRA DEEP" etched & mounted on EZ Mount. Stay Tuned for the release date... Happy Stamping!

INKY IMPRESSIONS 1st EVER DESIGN TEAM CALL... THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi Ladies. I would like to start this post by saying that it has been an ABSOLUTE HONOR to have had so many talented crafters enter the 1st Ever Inky Impressions Design Team Call. I can not even put into words how hard it was to choose just some of you. You are all so gifted! This was so much harder than I ever thought it would be! I have had 2 sleepless nights agonizing over the final decision of who to choose. I don't like having to choose, AT ALL!

I would like to thank all of you for your amazing efforts. You ALL have such beautiful work! I have to be honest in saying that if it were not for a few of my Wonderful Friends I may still be sitting here pondering! They repeatedly reminded me of keeping it to a minimum. (What's that) LOL After hours upon hours of going through things I have FINALLY narrowed it down... to 17 ladies! LOL Okay, so you think I'm crazy! I just could not do it. I know that 17 is alot, but... My Goodness, the talent that applied for our Design Team was just AMAZING! It was so hard to even narrow it down to this amount! Okay so here are the names of the final seventeen...

1.)Cami
2.)Cassie Larson
3.)Cathleen
4.)Chris Sather
5.)Christine Ousley
6.)Heather Schlatter
7.)Holly Young
8.)Kristen Catalano
9.)Kristine Breach
10.)Maria
11.)Michelle Roos
12.)Naoual
13.)Shary
14.)Simonne (Sem See)
15.)Tanja
16.)Tina46
17.)Tonya Hopkins

For those of you who's names are not on the list... Please know that I wholeheartedly appreciate your time & support. Please understand how VERY hard this was to do! We will be having another DT call in just a few more months and will also be having monthly guest designers. We are so excited for the release and can't wait to show you all of the new stamp designs!!! Please email me at Nicole@inkyimpressions.com if you have any questions at all! Thanks again ladies & Happy Stamping!!! BIG HUGS! Nicole :)

UPDATE: ALL DT INFO. RECEIVED

Hello ladies. I just wanted to give you all a quick update. I have finally received all of the 2nd stage DT Call finalists' information. I will be mailing out all of the images on Monday afternoon. I am so very excited to do so.

On a good note the website is almost finished as well and I will keep you all posted about the progress & update you on the release date. I hope you all have a great weekend. HUGS! Nicole : )