Ingenious Inkling

Letter to Mom

Have you checked-out the new Frou Frou stamps that were released at Crafter's Companion on Friday ... so many fun images (right now you can get 4 sets for just $36.00). 

My card features images & a sentiment from the Love Letters set.  I'm having an awesome time learning to color with my Spectrum Noir markers ... so relaxing.

I inked the edge of the sentiment die cut with coordinating markers and added a bit of bling to the chandelier and some in her hair.  Here are all of the markers I used to color this image.

Happiness Lives Here

I've been cleaning my studio today ... after a few weeks of creative chaos, it had gotten completely out of control.  It feels much better now that I can see the top of my work table ... so I decided to make it a bit messy again with this week's CASE Study Challenge.  I love map-themed designs ... and Amber's card is amazing.

I loved the pop of the heart and the United States outline, so that's what I decided to design around.

I broke out my trusty vintage Atlas and tore out a map page for the background.  Next I added stamps from Mama Elephant's Geotagged & We Click.  The layout is from this week's CAS - Colors & Sketches.

I'm also joining Code Word: Heart at the Addicted to CAS blog.

Photo Booth

When I saw this sentiment in the Midway Stickers, I couldn't resist breaking out some photo booth pictures ... which was perfect for this week's Unscripted Sketch.

I love photo booths and never walk past one without getting my photo taken (with goofy faces required) ... this one is from several years ago with my sister Darcy ... still makes me smile today (and the awesome Spinach Glitter Tape from Studio Calico is pretty sweet too).

 

Family Fun Time

Thrilled to have a surprise visit from my Mom & Sister this weekend.  Last night we enjoyed Tempura and Sushi at Oyama Sushi ... and lots of laughter (oh yeah, and a celebrity sighting of Survivor Philippines Winner Denise who was also enjoying sushi at a table near us).

Today we hit lots of fun stores on a cold & snowy Saturday ... including one of my favorites, Dreaming Bear Designs.

Enjoy your weekend.

Midway Pocket

I had a lot of fun with this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge at Studio Calico.  I'm really missing my sister for the holidays, so I started with the large pocket from the Penn Station kit and decorated it with lots of inside jokes and memories (I couldn't quite figure out how to incorporate a picture of the commemorative cup that I threw-up in when we were riding the Sea Dragon).

Sometime later in the year I'll put a gift card in the pocket and pop it in the mail to her ... and hopefully it will bring her as much joy as it brought me making it.  Kits used include 34th Street Card Kit, Murray Hill & Penn Station.

Here's a favorite picture of us together ... we never pass-up an opportunity to make ourselves laugh.

Happy Holidays.

Snow Face

Found this photo in my stash this weekend ... and as I watch the snow covering the ground tonight (and think about shoveling out in the morning), it made me smile.

Not exactly sure the reason for that look on my face ... I'm guessing it had something to do with my mitten on the ground to the left of the snowman ... and also guessing it is very similar to the look that will be on my face tomorrow when I start trudging through the snow to work.

Boardwalk Fun and Games

I've been accumulating Studio Calico stamps and papers little-by-little the last few months.  This month I decided to subscribe to their Card Kit ... and today I had a lot of fun putting together a card using the     Studio Calico Sunday Sketch ... I love the challenge of converting a layout sketch to a card.

Instead of photographs, I used letters cut from the October Afternoon Midway papers in the Penn Station Add-On Kit.  I added lots of brads, adhesive stars and stickers to finish the design (from Murray Hill & 34th Street ... I love those tiny little clouds) 

The fun Boardwalk-themed elements reminded me of the fun times I've had with my brother & sister over the years at Amusement Parks ... so this card is for them.  Here's a picture of my sister & I having a screaming-fun ride on the Patriot Rollar Coaster at Worlds of Fun.

Owl'ing through New Mexico

For those of you who have followed me for any amount of time, you know that an integral part of every vacation is figuring out some silly photos to take for my dear Sister.  I will confess, this vacation probably wouldn't be considered our most creative work ... but we still had fun.

It started by rescuing this adorable little owl that we found at the Farmer's Market in Santa Fe ... and of course, being the foodie that he is, he wanted to stop at the Intergallactic Bread Company for some bread samples (seriously good stuff).

He enjoyed seeing the sites, but he was mostly interested in the good eats ... thankfully they were plentiful in New Mexico.  Here he is checking out the delicious Sopapillas at Tia Sophia's.

He did take some time to do a little souvenir shopping ... the shot glasses fit him perfectly.

But then it was right back to the food ... no shortage of hot sauces in New Mexico.

And no shortage of delicious italian bread at Torino's @ Home.

And it wouldn't be vacation without at least one delicious sushi meal (in this case with a spicy tuna roll that was actually too spicy for me to finish).

Hope you enjoyed our Owl's little New Mexico tour.

Missouri Visit

Despite the sweltering temperatures, I've enjoyed a good visit in Missouri.  Yesterday, we walked around downtown checking out the stores on the square.  We even got a good picture of my sister and me with our Mom.

I never cease to be amazed at the beauty of the stone Courthouse.

Today we headed out to hike the trails at Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center.  The hot temps and general lack of summer rain had the landscape looking pretty brown, but there was still some green to be found.  Views like this one take me back to childhood when my brother and I loved hiking along the creeks.

This family of turtles were sunning themselves on the logs.

After hiking, we shared a rousing game of 90's Trivial Pursuit which included lots of family laughter.

And we ended our day watching the fireworks display that had been canceled on the Fourth of July due to dry conditions.  A few days of rain from Isaac allowed things to green-up enough for us to enjoy the show.

Chicago Adventure

I was lucky to spend my weekend exploring Chicago with a friend.  We packed in lots of fun into a few beautiful days.

We began our adventures at the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower.  We had a clear morning with a fantastic view of the City.  When you walk the streets, you sort of feel engulfed by all of the tall buildings, but from this perspective, the landscape is so different ... love all of the sizes and shapes.

And I even got brave enough to walk out onto the clear ledge and look down (just long enough to snap a photo).

We ventured to the Old Town area of Chicago to explore a few stores (for this early riser, it's always odd to me that nothing opens until 11am).  We got some fabulous smelling spice mixes at The Spice House and some fun Washi Tape and lots of card making inspiration at Greer Chicago.

Then, in an awesome kismet event, my brother Rick from San Jose also ended-up in Chicago with his wife for the weekend, so we met them at XOCO for lunch.  I had the Pork Belly Fideo, which was delicious.

We also managed to snap a few pictures together.

Next we enjoyed an Architectural Boat Tour along the river ... what a fantastic way to spend an hour learning about the City ... and a completely different perspective on those tall buildings.

We ended our day with supper at Sushi Naniwa (yes, it was so good I forgot to take a picture until it was almost consumed).

The final stop was After-Words Bookstore where we picked-up lots of great new reads ... used bookstores are one of my favorite adventures ... such helpful and knowledgeable staff.

Saturday morning we hopped in the car & headed to Lockport, Illinois for shopping at Stamp Thyme.  They are going to be holding an upcoming class on these wonderful little houses, although unfortunately the person working at the store knew nothing about the products used to make them.  I believe it's embossed aluminum with some kind of patina.

We also stopped at Archiver's in Orland Park, Illinois on our way home (another very nice store with helpful staff).  There was also a JoAnn's in the same shopping center, but we decided our shopping bags were pretty full at that point, so we headed back into the City.

Our evening was spent watching the White Sox play a fantastic baseball game.  Loved this statue outside of Gate 4.

We had near perfect weather and a fantastic view of the game from our box (I will say again how much I love having Instagram on my phone).

And after the victory ... there were fireworks set to music.  The absoliute perfect way to end the day.