Sites of the week

I was recently sent several Prismacolor Premier Illustration Markers to review. I was very excited when these arrived, as I love coloring images and I couldn’t wait to see what these markers could do. Although I mainly color with Copics these days, I am very familiar with the Prismacolor Art line of blendable markers and have enjoyed using them, even in combination with Copics. I also love Prismacolor pencils, but haven’t been able to use them due to the toxic values of the blending medium {odorless mineral spirits} when pregnant.

The Illustration Markers are different from the Prismacolor Markers that you {and I} have previously been introduced to.

Some facts about these new markers…
-Available in brush, chisel tips and a variety of fine tips {005,01,03,05, 08}

-The chisel tip is considerably smaller than the chisel tip of other Prismacolor Art and Copic Markers
-Available individually or in sets of 4 or 8 in the following colors: Brown, black, sepia, orange, purple, red, green and blue.
-Nontoxic, lightfast, acid free & archival
-Available at major retailers, such as Michael’s, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby, even Office Depot for approximately $3 for an individual marker up to $20 for a set of 8.

Some opinions about these new markers…
-Colors are BEAUTIFUL! My faves are the orange and the green. I do wish that there was a greater variety in the palette and hope that these will come available in the future.
-I like that the fine tips come in a variety of sizes and can see myself writing sentiments and such using them. I might just try my hand at a little illustrating…who knows!?! {don’t read too much into that one!!}
-These are created for the artist/illustrator {and will suit them well}, rather than the stamping hobbyist that likes to blend when coloring {like myself}

While I can’t say that I recommend these for blending/coloring when stamping, I will certainly say that they are quality and superior illustration marker. If you consider yourself to be an artist, these are most certainly worth checking out.

See you tomorrow for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY on the Bella Birthday Blog Hop…I told you that I was addicted to hopping!!

Happy December folks! Can you believe that 2010 is just around the corner? Nevermind New Year’s, right? I am sure there is plenty of shopping and gathering to do before then! Once the new year gets here I will be in the final days of my pregnancy and eager to meet “Baby Boy del Muro.” We think we have a name, but we aren’t releasing it quite yet!…I need to be able to change my mind still!! LOL! I will probably make the official name announcement when I introduce the lil’ man to all of you.

On another note, I have a different kind of announcement… Check out the PROJECT OF THE MONTH over on The Cat’s Pajamas site. It’s a project that I made that is super fun and easy to re-create. Here’s a peek at it…

All the how-tos and more pics are HERE.

Today is also TCP Tuesday and Joanne has a fun color challenge for you. I don’t have my sample done, but here are the colors. Joanne has all the deets and instructions for playing along HERE.

Looking for the Verve blog hop? Click HERE

Looking for the Taylored Expressions blog hop? Click HERE

How did your shopping adventures go yesterday? I went late in the day, so I didn’t get any of those “doorbuster deals,” but Tony did. I kicked him out early to pick up a couple games and such at the dreaded and loathed Wally World {Wal-Mart}. I hit Michael’s and Kohl’s later in the day after my pedicure, which tickled oh so much!! At least I have pretty pink toes now!…before I left, I asked Ellie what color I should get and pink was her request. She requested that Rosie get purple, and was quite pleased when Rosie came back with dark purple toes.

I “warned” you earlier in the week that I would have a sketch that would make you think a little and here it is…

I have been in a scrappy run lately, and this is my latest scrappy creation…

Detail shot of the circles cut with Nestabilities dies. The leaves were cut with the Think Pink design card for Slice…

A huge thank you to Amy for playing with us this month. Here is her BEAUTIFUL creation…

Want to see more SFYTT goodness? Check out the SFYTT sisters…
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Kelly Lunceford
Susan Liles
Leigh O’Brien

I’m hoping that you are going to play along, too! Just link your creation to Mr. Linky below

Yep, it’s another blog hop! I think I might need a 12 step group for participating in all these…LOL!! I love them, tho! Tonight’s blog hop is all about the new releases from Verve Stamps. So, not only is it just a happy shopping day, but there are BRAND NEW stamps to be had, too! YAY!

If you missed it, there are reveals and challenges on the VERVE BLOG, including a challenge from myself and Susan to create a pizza box {tutorial HERE}. Here’s a peek at my pizza box using Thankful Accents…

So, did you happen upon my blog without hopping along? If so, you can START HERE and when you are done, be sure to check out Michelle’s creations HERE!

A card using the new Heartfelt Thanks set {that’s not patterned paper either; it’s stamped Kraft cardstock!}…

Detail shot…

This card uses Celebration of Thanks…

Detail shot {eeek…I can’t sew a straight line!!}…

Don’t forget to hop on over to Michelle’s blog!

Did you gobble ’til you wobbled? How many naps snuck in there after devouring your turkey feast? Well, I hope you had a good one! Since I am pre-posting this, I can’t tell ya how everything went on Turkey day yet. I hope to have stories and pics to share soon!

So, maybe you gobbled, then you wobbled, but now you are HOPPING! Yep, you are right smack in the middle of the Taylored Expressions Black Friday Blog Hop, so if you happened upon here on accident, you might just want to rewind and start at the beginning {there’s a full list of participants below}.

Taylor has challenged all of us to embellish the Perfect Pacakage box {which also comes in a square shape!}. So I opened it up {folds completely flat} and stared at it. Hmmm…what do I want to do with this? Yes, it fit standard cards perfectly. Hence the name, Perfect Package. However, I wasn’t putting cards in there. I ended up putting a scarf that I am giving to my secret sister in there, so I wanted to give it more of a gift box/wrapped feel and this is what I came up with…

Detail shots…

I don’t know that this is my “traditional” style, but I gotta say that I am pretty darn happy the way that it came out! The green numbered paper is from Making Memories and the numbered note card is from October Afternoon. I added a Nestabilities die cut scalloped circle to be the base of the “4u,” which was cut from the Think Pink Slice design card. I LOVE the new design cards that have the matting/shadow feature.

So what are your shopping plans? Mine?…none! Well, at least I am not going out anywhere, but that’s not to say that I’m not making Tony brave the crowds. He’s 6′7″ and people generally don’t push him around. You would think that people would get out of the way for a beached whale…giant pregnant lady, like myself, but NOPE! Between all the hormones and general uncomfortableness, I am likely to say something that’s not so nice should someone cross my path! LOL!

If your plans include online shopping, don’t forget to check out the BLACK FRIDAY DEALS at TAYLORED EXPRESSIONS!!…
–> 15% off everything in the store {use code TEBlackFriday at checkout}
–> up to 50% on JustRite products
–> Buy 2, get 1 free Taylor’s Tiny Twinkles
–> Don’t forget to check out the new shirts and aprons, too {so cute!!!!…and if I wasn’t the size of a beached whale, I would totally be checking out with one of the brown sleeved shirts!!}

Here’s the hop list. Have fun hopping along to JEN TAPLER’S BLOG! See you tomorrow for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {this one will get ya thinking, too!!}

Alex Maldonado: http://fairyblossoms.typepad.com/
Amy Rohl: http://inkaboutme.blogspot.com/
Beate Johns: http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Bev Gerard: http://savorthejourney.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Charmaine Ikach: http://oodabugalley.blogspot.com/
Cindy Haffner: http://cindyhaffnerscorner.blogspot.com/
Debbie Olson: http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com/
Donna Baker: http://www.serenityinstamping.com/
Jami Sibley: http://jami.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
–> YOU ARE HERE Jen del Muro: http://iheart2stamp.com/
–> GO HERE NEXT Jen Tapler: http://jentapler.blogspot.com/
Jenn Balcer: http://jbalcer.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Jennifer Buck: http://thebuckstampshere.blogspot.com/
Jessica Diedrich: http://thewhimsicalbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Joan Ervin: http://stampingwithapassion.blogspot.com/
Joanne Basile: http://www.stampedbyhand.blogspot.com/
Linda Duke: http://www.lindaduke.typepad.com/
Lori Craig: http://loricraig.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Rose Anne Reynolds: http://paperdelightz.blogspot.com/
Sankari Wegman: http://sunnysankari.blogspot.com/
Sharon Harnist: http://paperfections.typepad.com/
Sherry Cheever: http://sherrycheever.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Taylor VanBruggen: http://www.tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/