Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2014 roc nicholas rubber stamp design team


i am so happy that i've been blessed with being a member of the stampotique family.  i adore the stampotique company and what they stand for, as well as, i love their high-quality mounted, red rubber stamps.  i used their stamps long before i became a rubber stamp designer for them.  if you've not checked out their awesome website, please do so by clicking here.

this all brings me to my big announcement: 
the 2014 roc nicholas rubber stamp design team.

here are the fabulous 2014 design team artists, in alphabetical order:

 cathy parmelee
cathy lives in california.  she will be bringing a sense of
creative whimsy in collage and mixed media.  
watch for cathy to bring a bit of the unexpected to her 
design team art work.
you can find more out about cathy at:


 corrie herriman
corrie lives in the netherlands.  she brings a
straightforward sense of style to the design team.  
watch for her to show you an overall ease in creating
clean, colorful and pleasing art.
you can find out more about corrie at:

 gez butterworth
gez lives in england.  she will be bringing her mixed media and
rubber stamping knowledge to the design team.  watch for her to
show you how to tweak my rubber stamp images into something
totally different, not only on cards but also in your journals.
you can find more out about gez at:



 jane wetzel
jane lives in ohio.  she brings her love of stamping and mixed media
to the design team.  she has a great sense of color and composition
and i love when she adds stitching to her design element. 
watch for her to show you how to take my rubber stamps 
and make them come alive with humor and color in an amazing composition.
you can view more of jane's work at:
 

renee stien
renee lives in minnesota.  she brings her sense of whimsy, humor, to her
art.  i love her painterly and mixed media approach when using 
my rubber stamps.  watch for her to show you how you can easily incorporate 
my rubber stamps into any of your mixed media and journaling projects.
you can see more of renee's work at:

if you'd like to join in on the fun you can join the roc nicholas rubber stamp page on facebook.  click here to access that page.  hope to see you there!

Friday, December 27, 2013

last call for design team applications

today is the last day for your design team applications to be submitted.  click here for details. 

Thursday, December 26, 2013

2014 design team call

tomorrow is the deadline for my 2014 design team call.  if you wanted to apply you have two more days to get your application in.  you can get all the details here.


Friday, December 20, 2013

only one week left......

..for my 2014 design team call.  if you've been meaning to apply but didn't actually submit your information yet, you still have one week until the deadline.  please click here for all the details.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

...and the winner is.....

a few samples of some of the 14 christmas postcards i made
nkjohnston said...Ooh, this is soooooo my love. They're beautiful. I would LOVE a piece! Thank you so much for the inspiration as well.   Merry Christmas!

please send me an email with your address so i can send you one of the postcards. thank you.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

design team call reminder for 2014

only 13 more days until the deadline for applications for my design team.  if you want to apply time is drawing near.  

to read all the details you can click here 

Thursday, December 12, 2013

wednesday - what i'm working on AND a give away


here's a sampling of what i've been working on today.  i've been busy sewing bits on to at least half of a dozen or more christmas postcards.  i'm going to give one away to a lucky winner.  i'll select someone by random on sunday, december 15th.  i'll mail it on monday and you should receive it in time for christmas.   all you have to do is leave a comment.  good luck!

and the winner is.....

FloridaBird said...
I would LOVE to have your envelope so I can study it up close and personal!

please email me your address for the envelope give away!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

let's sparkle

the theme over at tando is let's sparkle.  what could be nicer than a glittery ornament on the christmas tree?  i decided to make a few of them for my family and one special one for my oldest grandson.  he is three and will love seeing himself on the christmas tree.
i used tando's large baubles to create the ornament.  for frames for the photos i used their grab bag of stars
if you make an ornament for your tree please send me a link to see it.  happy holidays!

Friday, December 6, 2013

roc's design team call

                       DESIGN TEAM CALL

I am looking for enthusiastic, talented and friendly artists to join my 2014 creative Design Team.  You will be responsible for creating art that promotes my rubber stamp line which is sold through Stampotique.com.

This Design Team call is open to everyone, however,  the use of my rubber stamps is required, not only during your term, but also for your submissions to apply for the team. 

The call will be open until December 27, 2013.  The team will be announced before the end of the month.  Your photos and short biographies will be due for the announcement.  We will start creating in the beginning of 2014.

Design Team Requirements: 

1.  Must have a personal blog
2.  Must have a facebook account (other social media avenues are welcomed, too)
3.  A love of my rubber stamps (sold through stampotique)
4.  An ability to create artistic projects using my rubber stamps
5.  A willingness to commit for a 6 month term
6.  Ability to make project deadlines of up to two projects per month
7.  Must be able to take excellent project photos (clear and properly
     exposed photos).
8.  Must comment on other team members' projects
9. A willingness to participate in an occasional special assignment that coincide
     with newly released stamps and/or blog hops

If being part of this Design Team interests you, please follow the directions on how to apply.  I will looking forward to see reviewing your application.

How To Apply:

1.  Email me at rocnic23@gmail.com with the subject heading "DT Application".
2.  In your email please include your name, physical address and email address
     that you'd like me to use to contact you.  
3.  Include a short biography including previous publications you might have been
      in.  I want to know more about you and what you feel you can bring to the
     Design Team!  I am looking for out of the box thinkers and creative uses for my
     rubber stamps.
4.  Tell me why you'd like to be on my Design Team.
5.  Please send me up to 3 project photos (low resolution) that you consider to be
     your best work using my rubber stamps as your main image.
6.  Include a link to your blog and any other place you think you will be show casing
     your Design Team projects. 

If you are selected for my Design Team you will have the opportunity to have your work showcased on my blog.  I will also be doing feature articles on you and your art.  You will be part of a truly fabulous team of like minded artists.  I hope to see your application soon.


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

stampotique challenge and GIVE AWAY


it's stampotique challenge time.  kim has challenged us to what ever we would like to do.  that was an easy choice for me because i love making altered envelopes so much.

i used a few of my stamps to create this envelope.  on the front i used the steampunk border to create the border on the address label.  i also used the bottom of scooter girl to create the edging on the left side,  and of course the just be you is one of my rubber stamps, too!  on the back of the envelope i used my bird lady.  i adore that bird in her pocket.  it makes me smile every time i see it.  what a nice feeling.

if you'd like to have a chance to win this envelope and have it mailed to you,  all you have to do is leave a comment.  i will draw a name at random on december 11th.  

 if you would like to join in on the fun you can find all about the details by clicking the above link.  If you play you will have a chance to win a $30.00 gift certificate towards Stampotique stamps, and really, who couldn't use more stamps?!


wednesday - what i'm working on

i finally am spending time with my watercolors. i bought an 11 x 14 bound journal at hobby lobby a few weeks ago. i love the bigger size and just wanted a thinner pound paper to do drawing and light watercolor in. this journal is meant to be my SLOPPY journal. i find i am always working so neat and tidy, paying attention to details, so i wanted to experiment with being messy. well no matter how i slop the paint onto the background,  i find i'm doing tiny lettering and lots of small details and feeling annoyed when i go outside of the lines, so i'm giving up the messy part and just making art.
a 2 page spread
now this journal is just a place to draw, doodle and write random thoughts.  i'm at peace with what ever gets created in it, messy or neat.  it's hardly worth doing art if i'm going to judge is as not messy enough.  i'm really enjoying working in it.  here is the first two page spread i did.  i keep going back and adding more doodles and color, so i'm not sure it is finished yet.

when i first started out working on this paper i did not like it because it was so thin and bled through easily, not to mention tore if it was damp and you tried to write on it.  but now i find those characteristics to be especially endearing and i love all the bleed throughs from front to back.  the randomness of the marks that comes through are amazing - like the circle around the girls eye.  i couldn't have planned that any better.

up close of the cabbages
i love bunnies just as much as cabbage.  i don't believe i've met a way cabbage can be prepared that i don't love it. 
my violets on the lanai - an ode to my gram
one day i sat on the lanai and admired the violets that were blooming in all of their glory.  i had to put their memory in my journal.  my gram was such a lover of violets and i'm sure, even though she has passed, she is taking care of them for me and helping them to blossom continually. 

i hope to share on a few wednesday here and there what i'm working on in this journal.  the spreads go slowly since i love a busy page, but i'm sure i can show snippets of parts of page at least.  i hope you'll stop back to see more of this journal as it progresses.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

stampotique 2014 design team announcment

the time has come that i can finally announce i made the stampotique design team for 2014.  i am so excited!  it's no secret that i truly LOVE the stampotique company and the stampotique family that i've been blessed with over the past year.

that's my bird princess i used to create this announcement.  you can add her to your collection by clicking here.

i hope you will follow along this year on the stampotique blog where one of the two teams will blog daily.  i will posting on mondays and look forward to seeing you there!