Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Tuesday Teaser - First Edition!

Fantastic news everyone! So far we have had a lot of wonderful feedback from both the blog and our Facebook Page and let me tell you...it's wonderful! We are so thrilled that you guys are excited to be joining us in our challenges! So excited if fact,  that we thought we would add a little additional post to the week called Tuesday Teasers :) Yes folks, we are playing a little game with you :)

iSpy with my little eye, a card made by _________.




Can you guess who made this lovely creation and the inspiration for this week's very first sketch? Oh and did we mention that our inspiration cards weren't necessarily made recently? Tee hee hee! Good luck and feel free to post your guesses in the comment section!

See you all back here on Friday for sketch numero uno!

Toodles!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Meet the Design Team!

Welcome to iSpy Sketches! This is a brand new weekly blog challenge that features YOU! Now before we get down to the nitty gritty on how this challenge will work, how about we introduce ourselves? We are the iSpy Special Agents AKA the design team :) The object of our mission is to provide some eye candy to inspire your creativity to get you to join in the fun!



Hi my name is Kim Teasdale but some of you may remember me as blondie090277 from Splitcoaststampers. I have been stamping for many years now and have had the wonderful opportunity to participate in some amazing design teams including being a member of the Splitcoast Dirty Dozen. I am just re-entering the stamping world after being away for last 8 months and I'm excited that you have come to join the "Special Agents" and myself on our crafting journey!

Special Agent and Administrator Kim Teasdale's blog: Paper in the Works
Splitcoaststampers Gallery: blondie090277




My name is Angela Thomas and I am a self-proclaimed stamp addict. Yes....I admit it!! It is the first step after all isn’t it? LOL. I am currently a Teacher on Call (when there’s actually work available) and in my spare time enjoy card-making. My style is somewhat eclectic as I love a CAS card but also love to pile it on as well. I’ve been stamping for approximately 5 years and can’t imagine my life without it (and a martini every now and then...). When I make a card, I’m always on the lookout for a fantastic layout so iSpy Sketches is a perfect fit!!! (It’s kinda like we were made for each other.... JK). I’m ecstatic about being a “Special Agent” with all the amazing talent on this team!! One thing I know for sure, this is going to be one fantastic mission!!!!

Special Agent Angela Thomas's blog: Sparkle and Bling
Splitcoaststamper's Gallery: jellybean74




I am married to Ian and a mother to an adorable 10 year-old boy named Phoenix. I am a jazz and classically trained vocalist and pianist and I LOVE my job! When I get together with friends and they talk about "work" I just smile and have a chuckle. I don't go to "work" every day, I go to SCHOOL! I am a high school choir and band teacher and there have been very few days I have felt like school is "work" and I am so thankful for the music I get to make with my students.

I am Canadian living in greater-Vancouver. It's a nice place to live, but the rain gets a bit monotonous. I started making cards about 4 years ago when I was invited to a Stampin' Up! party. I was an occasional scrapbooker and thought I knew what stamping was all about.. BOY was I wrong! I have been utterly and hopelessly addicted ever since. I currently design for Technique Tuesday, Mint Motif Stamps, There She Goes and now: iSpy Sketches.

Special Agent Tobi Crawford's blog: Tobi's Place
Splitcoaststamper's Gallery: jazzytobi




Hello, my name is Christyne Kane and I'm super excited to be a Special Agent! I’m currently a graduate student working on my PhD in biotechnology. I am also mom to two wonderful dogs, an Australian Shepherd (Bud) and a Border Collie (Myth), and a cat (Kaiya). I’ve enjoyed stamping in my spare time to relive stress and indulge my creativity for 6 years. It all started one holiday break from college when my mom went to a stamp party and brought home all these wonderful toys; I was hooked!! When I’m not working on my degree or crafting, my interests include training and competing my dogs in dog agility. I look forward to seeing all of the beautiful creations each week!

Special Agent Christyne Kane's blog: Stampin' with Sugar
Splitcoaststamper's Gallery: coconutmuffn



Super Special Agent Meatball (Jessie Rone), reporting for duty!!


Age: 33 chronologically, 12 mentally


Career: works for Office Depot, and all the best companies that you could ask for in the stamping world-My Favorite Things, There She Goes, The Ribbon Carousel, and Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients!!


Stamping Stats: started stamping in 2002, hasn't stopped since. Got interested in challenges, especially sketch challenges, on SCS in 2007...and the rest is history.


Dreams: to one day have children of her own, and to finish college and get a real job...that or move to Corinna McGregor Barth's house and wrap ribbon for a living.


Comments: "I am SUPER excited to be here, and I can't wait to hang out with all these GORGEOUS and TALENTED women on this team. I hope we inspire you, as much as you inspire us!!"

Special Agent Jessie Rone's blog: Can You Say Addicted to Stamps?
Splitcoaststamper's Gallery: knightrone



Hi my name is Danielle Daws and I've been blog-stalking Kim Teasdale for longer than she realizes. I started coloring images a couple of years ago and my husband assures me I'm getting better at staying between the lines. I have an unhealthy attachment to my Prismacolor pencils and I've spent far too long searching for the perfect sharpener (who knew there were so many different types?)! Other than that, I live in Australia with my husband and our almost 5 year old daughter - she's getting better at colouring between the lines too...

Special Agent Danielle Daw's blog: Danielle Daws
Splitcoaststamper's Gallery: ddaws



My name is Kim O'Connell and I am an aspiring stripper. No. Lets start over.

I am a Clinical Social Worker by day on a geriatric psych unit and a mad stamper by night. I started stamping in the spring of 2009 and I haven't looked back. My stamping supplies have multiplied like bunnies and have taken over my home and bank account. I would describe my style and clean but not so simple and I am hooked on Copics. I am a total sketch-a-holic. I always start a card with a sketch. ALWAYS. I couldn't have been more excited to have been invited to the iSpy Sketches Challenge DT. I am honored to be part of this talented DT made up of a group of oh-so-fun women and I hope to inspire you and to be inspired BY you as we play along together! Over and out! Special Agent O'Connell

Special Agent Kim O'Connell's blog: Paper Perfect Designs
Splitcoaststamper's Gallery: MrsOke



Hi my name is Vicki Dutcher and I AM a stamp-alholic, and have been for the last 4 years [and an added 10 #'s from sitting to much!]. I love doing challenges and being on this team will be perfect since I always start my cards with a sketch! I live in the warm year round, state of Arizona. We [dh and ds-17] love it here because of the weather. Best move we ever made. I work part time as a barista for Starbucks and have been with the company going on 13 years! [Yeah, I love my job!]
Thanks Kim for this fun opportunity to be on the Team with such crazy, fun team members!

Special Agent Vicki Dutcher's blog: All I do is Stamp
Splitcoaststamper's Gallery: vdutchr



Secret Agent Jenny here! I am so excited to be joining such a fabulous bunch of crazy stampers on ISSC debut DT! Sketches are my very favourite way to begin cards, so you can imagine my thrill when Kim asked me to join the team!
I am a mama to 3 little boys: Ryan, Jake and Hayes and have a loving, but stamp-jealous husband. I have loved arts and crafts since I was a wee toddler- my mom used to tape a piece of paper to my high chair tray, give me a few crayons, and I'd be good to go for hours...where mom was when I was crafting, I'm not too sure;)

I always dreamt of being an artist, but my dad convinced me I should probably get a 'real job' instead.....enter 5 years of University and my art was put on a extended vacation! So now I am a Registered Nurse and work part time teaching at a local college, where I primarily teach student nurses in a clinical setting. It is a very rewarding, but difficult job. I enjoy nursing very much, but my first love is being at home with my kid-posse! They are the funniest people I know and I love being their mom!

I have been blogging for about 1 1/2 years, and still am pretty bad at it;) lol! I should probably just bite the bullet and pay someone to make it pretty! Even with an ugly blog, I have still been very fortunate to design for some pretty awesome companies: The Cat's Pajamas, Your Next Stamp, There She Goes, and Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps, as well as a few pretty fun guest stints!

Special Agent Jenny Peterson's blog: My Little Stampin' Spot
Splitcoaststampers Gallery: jennypete


Hi! I’m a transplanted Midwesterner living in the Sunny South and loving it!! Married to my high school sweetheart {actually, middle school sweetheart… that’s my claim to fame… and it’s been easygoing all the way, LOL!!} Have two daughters, 24 and 19, you could say I’m a “seasoned woman”… or is that just a bunch of gray hairs—cover those babies up myself!! The other members of my immediate family are two Westies {my husband’s boys} Cooper and Noah. My sweet Sis introduced me to stamping after scrapbooking for several years and honestly… I AM absolutely addicted and seriously easily enabled!! LOVE to participate in challenges and am excited to be a part of this team, Thanks Kim!!

Special Agent Vickie Zimmer's blog: For the love of all things Stampin'
Splitcoaststampers Gallery: redlynny



So now that you know a little bit about us, how about we let you in on how to play? Here is the mission should you choose to accept it:
Here is how the iSpy Sketch Challenge will work:

The basis of this challenge will be “spying” a card in any online gallery or blog to be featured on the iSpy
Sketches blog. We then ask permission to use the photos and to give credit to both the creator and any secondary credits, if the card was made from another sketch challenge. Sketches can be suggested from blog participants or spotted for recommendation by the design team via email to kim.teasdale@yahoo.ca (please put "Sketch Suggestion" in the email subject line).

The sketch for the challenge will be based on the “spied” card and will be used as the inspiration for the weekly challenge. Every Friday the original creation and the drawn sketch will be posted along side of all of the design team’s creations.

The participants will have until noon EST time on the following Wednesday to submit their challenge project via the InLinks and then I will remove the inLinks from the blog to close the challenge. The top 2 creations to be displayed on our “Top 2 Thursday’s post” and these top 2 winners will receive and iSpy Sketches Blog Badge!

New sketches will be published every Friday at 12:01 EST at www.ispysketches.blogspot.com and the first
sketch challenge will be issued on Friday, February 3, 2012.

Are you ready to accept your mission and play along with us weekly? Join us next week as we take on our very first mission! Same bat time, same bat place ;)