Ingenious Inkling

Man-Tastic Drink Coffee

When I saw this week's Man-Tastic Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger, I hoped I could find a stamp in my collection with that same shape ... but no such luck.

So instead I went with the same loopy rounded shape found in the Hero Arts Artistic Circles (it reminds me of spirograph creations from my youth) and the great color combination of grey, brown, red & turquoise/teal.  I inked the background stamp with three colors of ink and stamped on light grey cardstock.

I created a tag using chevron paper from Lily Bee Design's Head over Heels collection (love the combination of patterns & colors in this collection..  I used this week's Retro Sketch, but since I was going for a masculine vibe, I replaced the ribbon with layers of washi tape, some punched circles & a laquered brad. I finished with a stickerz sentiment from EAD Designs & attached my tag with foam tape.

This will be a great Father's Day card for one of the many coffee-loving men in my family.

Sealed with a Kiss

As the wife of a postal carrier, I couldn't resist joining in the Postage Challenge at the Moxie Fab World blog.

Stamps are from Lawn Fawn's You've Got Mail.  Layout is the Sketchbook Saturday Challenge combined with traditional USPS colors.  I added a tiny red gem to the envelope ... sealed with a kiss.

 

Washi Bright Bite

For some reason my tummy is craving sweets today, but instead of eating cookies ... I decided to make a card inspired by cookies ... Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger Bright Bite cookies to be exact.

I loved the stacking of the cookies and those bright fun colors, so I decided to create my card by stacking some fun new My Mind's Eye Indie Chic Washi Tape I picked-up this week.

Sentiment is Hero Arts Anytime Messages and butterfly embellishment was punched from the pink washi tape adhered to cardstock with two tiny adhesive pearls.  Hopefully this card will brighten someone's day.

They're also celebrating Masking Tape Day at Jellypark Challenges (using Washi Tape).

Sunny Days Ahead

I wanted to play along with the Spectacular Spectacles Challenge at the Moxie Fab World Blog.  

I wear glasses ... I love glasses ... but somehow I have very few images of glasses in my collection.  After a scavenger hunt through my studio, I found one sunglass inchie from Inkadinkado's Let's Celebrate and some tiny sunglass stamps from We R Memory Keepers' Shades of Summer.

So I stamped an eye glass background & added the inchies using this week's Retro Sketch.  Papers are the new Glory Collection from Authentique together with a wrap of ivory twine, ivory pearls & a perfect little EAD Stickerz sentiment. 

Here's to many sunny days ahead.

Watercolor Butterflies

I thought this week's Tuesday Trigger was the perfect opportunity to get inky tonight.

I had fun trying several inky techniques, and may try a few more inspired by this beautiful dress  For tonight's card I sponged through a butterfly mask I made with punches using red, orange and purple inks.

I punched another butterfly from an inked scrap of paper and added a few adhesive pearls as embellishment.  A sympathy sentiment seemed right for this hopeful design.

Faux Metal Shelf Paper Die Cuts

When my Dad comes to visit, there are always multiple trips to the hardware store (actually almost every hardware store in town, because I love shopping with him).  

During one of our trips to Lowe's this weekend, I found something I knew would be just perfect for the studio ... Faux Metal Peel & Stick Shelf Paper.  It's also just perfect for the Household Items Challenge at the Moxie Fab World Blog.

The first thing I tried was running it through my die cut machine with the Antique Doily die cut from QuicKutz.  The first time I tried with the die cut against the adhesive side of the shelf paper, but didn't get a deep enough cut through the metallic paper.  The second time I flipped it over with the die cut against the silver and added a small shim of paper and got a perfect cut.

I love being able to get wonderful metallic-like detail without any of the weight of real metal ... so many possibilities.

Papers are Dear LIzzy Neopolitan with a Jenni Bowlin Embellished Vellum Butterfly.  Sentiment is an EAD Designs Stickerz & sketch is Just Us Girls.

Here's another angle showing more of the shine of the metallic paper.

Woodgrain & Feathers

I'm sneaking in a card for the Fascination with Feathers Challenge at the Moxie Fab World Blog, so I could feature this gorgeous hand-carved feather stamp that the talented Gina (TyggerEye on Etsy) made for me.  I stamped it twice on thin kraft chipboard in Ocean Chalk ink, clear embossed, and detail cut around the edges.

The background is Fois Bois Wrapping Paper from Paper Source that I recycled from a recent gift (way too awesome not to use again) & the rub-on is EAD Designs.

 

Dad's Day Coffee

Over at Shopping our Stash they're celebrating Food & Beverages.  I knew immediately what I wanted to use ... these fabulous Coffee Shop Stickerz from EAD that I bought weeks ago & have yet to use.  I shopped my scrab bin for all of the papers on the card.

I took my card design inspiration from this week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger.

I loved the pattern & color of the carpet ... the black in the curtains ... and the round mirror above the mantel that reminded me of my coffee cup lable.  I stamped Hero Arts Large Fabric Design in Creamy Brown ColorBox Chalk ink on Ivory cardstock.  I punched a white circle behind the label to help it stand out more against the cup.

The layout is this week's Retro Sketches (I love that there are coffee cup stains on the sketch).  I cut a strip of a my rejected first attempt at stamping the background and lined it up for the left panel.  I added some chocolate pearls to finish the design (to pull out the dark color of the wood floor).

When I was trying to decide on a sentiment, I decided this card would be perfect for one of my Father's Day cards (sentiment is from EAD Designs Got Game) ... let's just hope I remember I already have it made when the holiday rolls around.

 

Begin to Live

Back in 2009, I had the opportunity to design with products from Studio Calico when they sponsored a SketchFest at Caardvarks.   I am thrilled to see they have released their wonderful papers in new 6" pads, and couldn't wait to add some to my collection.  For my card, I used today's Sunday Sketch from the Studio Calico Blog for my layout.

My inspiration came from this wonderful flashcard image from The Moxie Fab World A is for Apricot Tuesday Trigger.

I pulled in the ledger paper background, color palette, the circular elements, and the rectangle shape of the design.  Papers are from Studio Calico's Take Note & Abroad Collections.  I also added some of their super-cool woodgrain butterfly stickers.

The stamp is from Unity's Delightful LIttle Things & incorporates their Unity Challenge to create a card using a heart, but no pink or red (mine is Burnt Sienna ... always one of my favorite crayons).

Velveteen Blossoms

This card combines the Velveteen Stamping Technique featured at the Hero Arts Blog this month with the Moxie Fab World Cure for the Winter Blues Challenge.

I stamped the background with the same stamp Sherri used in her Video (the Leaf and Flower Background) and then inked the solid bloom from the Sweet Threads set and stamped it multiple times.  The solid petals provided a great resist for the pigment ink.   The font of With Sympathy sentiment is narrow, but close-up you can also see the pattern in the design.

I will admit it took me several tries to get it right.  The chalk ink gave the best contrast with the white pigment ink, but I couldn't wipe after stamping like Sherri did in the video or I just ended-up with a big smudgy mess.  Here's a close-up view of the blooms.  

 

The layout is this week's Unscripted Sketch ... perfect for this CAS, easy to mail design.