Ingenious Inkling

Dragonfly Magnet

It's the 200th Sketch at Unscripted Sketches today & we're celebrating with a Piggy Back Challenge to use this week's Sketch to make something other than a card or scrapbook page.

I decided to take this advertising magnet that I picked-up on one of my trips and recycle it into something much more lovely.

First I started by covering it with Score Tape for a good strong hold ... it's alright if some go over the edges (actually probably a good thing), so the paper is adhered all the way around.

Next I chose my two papers from the Glitz Cashmere Dame collection to cover the base of my magnet.  Rather than trying to trim to fit, I attached my first piece and then overlapped my second piece slightly.  Next I just use my scissors to trim around the edges.

I trimmed a thin strip of cardstock to cover the overlapping edges.

Since I wanted this to be a gift for a guy (yet bright enough for their kitchen), I created a mosaic collage using stamps from Crafter's Companion Draonfly Delights.  I stamped my image on another piece of designer paper from the same Glitz Collection and then trimmed it into four 1" squares.

I stamped the definition in blue to attach along the bottom.  I used Spectrum Noir Markers to color my dragonfly to coordinate with my background paper.

I attached my mosaic panel using double sided foam tape (I buy it in bulk from Overstock.com so I never feel guilty using full strips).  I also added a small stamped dragonfly to the background.

Here's the finished magnet.  Love how the dragonfly stamps combines with the hexagon pattern in the designer paper.

And here it is on the refrigerator (with Eleanor & Ghandi).

Can't wait to see what you create.

Tiny Paper Medallions

When I saw these lovely paper medallions by Kate on Minieco, I knew it would be a perfect project for my Crafter's Companion Ultimate Tool.  I will admit I have tried medallions before with limited success, but the stitching componant of this design made it so much easier to put together.

I started by printing out the medallion pattern on the back of a piece of K&Company designer paper (cutting a 12" piece of paper to 8 1/2" wide and feeding through my printer ... print on the back side so the lines won't show on the finished product).  Through trial and error I found out the folding and diamond cutting works best with a lighter weight paper.

Next I trimmed out the individual medallions.

Then it was time for some scoring on each of the lines, which was so easy on my Ultimate tool.  The small rounded end of the scoring tool kept it from pushing through the thinner paper.

Next some folding ...

And then some small scissors to cut out the diamond.  I found it worked best with I worked with 3 or four folds at a time.

I used a large sewing needle and some grey cotton thread (about an arms length) to poke the holes where marked (using a foam mat underneath) and stitching it together.

I pulled the needle through five or so at a time.

While Minieco's tutorial showed her holding down her medallion with a spool of thread to tie a knot with the thread, I found it easier to have my husband hold mine flat while I tied it tight.

I used a thick glue dot on the back to attach it to my card after adding some inking to the white spots and a pearl in the center.

The background is the rest of the same paper from which I cut the medallion.  I added stamps from three different Crafter's Companion sets ... the border from French Travels stamped on the bottom and top; the flourish from Ornate Accessories on opposite sides of the bottom & top; and a sentiment from  Sentiment Swirls.

The Medallion is approximately 2 3/4" at it's widest point ... this card is 3 1/2" x 5 1/2".  A huge thanks to Minieco for the inspiration.

Memory Jar

The January Challenge at the Crafter's Companion Challenge Blog is ... Anything But a Card.  For my project, I decided to make a memory jar.  I have been saving inspiration for this idea for some time, but the most recent inspiration came from the Memory Jar at Stellaire.

One idea is to write down the good things that happen or memories you don't want to forget and place them in the jar throughout the year ... then you can open them on New Year's Eve to remember what a great year you've had.  

I thought another great idea was to use this as a birthday gift.  You would e-mail or mail out a form to lots of friends and members of hte birthday recipient and have them recount their favorite memories involving the birthday boy or girl.  Then have them return the memories, so you can fill the jar and give it as a gift.  I made this is netrual tones, so it would work for a many or a women.

I started by recycling a large pickle jar ... but any glass vessel will do.  I stamped the border image from Decorative Swirls several times end-to-end on texty designer paper.  I cut the strip of paper slightly wider than the image on both sides, and used super-strong double-sided tape to attach the band around the jar (overlapping underneath the focal image to hide the joint).

Next I stamped the sentiment from Friendship Sentiments on coordinating designer paper.  I positioned the die cut using washi tape to secure it, so I could cut out the focal piece.  I used the next size larger with black cardstock for the border.

I wanted some texture for my jar, so I added several wraps of textured yarn around the top ... yarn shops are one of my favorite places to hunt for great fibers for my projects.  I found this at Yarn Shop & More on one of my Sisters' Weekends (my sister is a knitter, so she never minds a trip to the yarn store).

Finally I assembled the jar adding three layered flowers with a decorative brad center using 3-D Glue Dots.

I added a few bits of tissue tape as the final embellishment.

Check out the requirements for joining the Challenge fun here.  I'm also joining The Crafty Bloggers Network where they're celebrating flowers this month ... and Paper Playtime where they're challenging you to Use Some Brown (I think brown flowers were well for masculine designs as well).

Graduation Hat Card

It's that time of year again ... time for graduation cards.  Graduation is such a big deal in Iowa with huge parties, so each one requires a card.  I went with the same design I used last year since it was so popular (and so easy to mass produce with color variations for the different schools).

I used Stampin' Up's Go Graduate! digital stamps (so I could print out multiple copies at once).  The card instructions are on this video tutorial, I made a few changes to make it easier for me (using a digital sentiment inside too & not shredding the ribbon).

The top is perfect for tucking in a check or a little cash.  The University of Iowa school colors are also perfect for this week's Dynamic Duo Challenge.  I didn't use embossing, but I did add a bit of texture with a yellow glaze pen on the cowboy boots.

All Buttoned-Up for the Holidays

This week at Jingle Belles we're All Buttoned-Up for the holidays ... create a holiday card using buttons (or brads or eyelets ... you know how many of those you have stashed away).

The inspiration for my card was this gorgeous Button Tree (and video tutorial) from Shari Carroll at Hero Arts.  I fully intended to attach DP to clear buttons ... but someone in my last great stuio reorganization, I temporarily *misplaced* all of my clear buttons.  So, I did what any creative sould would do ... I improvised.

I had a small package of Fancy Pants buttons on my studio table, so I pulled out all of the green (and then blue) ones to create my tree.  I used a cream cardstock base & added three sizes of blue and champagne pearls to fill in the empty spaces.

My background is Hero Arts Holly Flourish, which I stamped off once, so the ink would be lighter and a bit more vintage-looking.  I added kraft cardstock tree trunk and a wrap of ivory twine, together with a stamped Hero Arts sentiment to complete my design.

So pull out your buttons (or brads or eyelets) and get creative ... as we take back December, one holiday card at a time.

No Time Like the Present(s)

Well, it's that time of year again ... time to begin building-up your holiday stash for 2012.  At Jingle Belles we're planning to help you take back December ... one holiday card at a time.

We've made a few changes including posting every other week ... so you'll have more time to join each prompt ... and speaking of prompts ... this week's is ...

No Time Like the Present(s) 

Make a holiday card that incorporates GIFT WRAP:

as a background, as an accent, or using motifs cut from your favorite wrapping paper

OR

Make a holiday card with an image of present(s) on it!

I always buy my holiday wrapping paper at the after-holiday sales ... and I always look for papers that will work throughout the year like this metallic two-sided (teal & silver) paper.  I thought it would be fun to see if I could create something using origami, so I found this Wreath Tutorial and started folding.

The fold is very quick & easy and would make fun ornaments too.  I added a few punched holly leaves & some silver *berries* ... attached it to a silver metallic card base (framed by more wrapping paper) ... and added a grey EAD Designs rub-on sentiment."

Check out this week's post with lots of Lovely Guest Stars ... and join us as we take back December ... one holiday card at a time.

Boxes, Tiny Boxes

Tonight I made some tiny boxes for my magnets.  I'll add some tissue paper when I package them for gift giving.

Soon after starting, I remembered that thinner scrapbook paper works much better than two-sided paper or thicker cardstock-like designer paper.  The one below is some vintage Basic Grey Urban Couture ... I got a bit of cracking on the folds, so a sponge & ink solved that problem.

This Christmas Cardinal paper has been in my stash for years.  It is perfect for another tiny box.

More Magnet Mania

My Magnet Mania Tutorial from 2007 has been getting quite a few clicks through from Pinterest the last several weeks ... which reminded me how much fun I had making them ... so I decided to make another batch.

This time I used the Tiny Bubbles Collage Sheet from ARTChix Studio.  I loved how each image has a black frame around it which looks so cool under glass.

I particularly loved the Eiffel Tower and Purple Fish where the image goes across several circles ... and how fun are those bingo numbers.

I punched each picture using a 5/8" circle punch and used clear adhesive to stick it to the glass.  This time I used Liquid Nails rather than E6000, and it seems to be reacting a bit with the lighter papers as it dries.  I don't think it will be an issue for the random images, but it might be for ones with faces.  I suggesting testing with whatever medium you use and let it dry for several days first.

After those dried overnight, I used the same adhesive to attach the magnets and voila ... a fabulous magnet menagerie.

I usually package them in Origami Gift Boxes, but my sister pointed out that six would fit perfectly in an altoid tin.

Lonely this Christmas

The theme this week at Jingle Belles is Lonely this Christmas ... we're combating holiday loneliness with the fine ladies at the Order of the Opus Glueii.

Instead of just making a card this week, we're asking you to make a holiday card for Jingle Belles and a project inspired by the card ... it can be a tag, gift card holder or gift bag ... whatever you'll be glad you have done when the holidays roll around ... for the Order of the Opus Glueii challenge (get it ... so the card isn't lonely??) 

Here's my card using this week's Sketchbook Saturday layout and some great vintage Tim Holtz holiday papers I discovered in my stash this week (sort of like my own little Christmas in June).

The sentiment from CatsLife Press is stamped on the packaging backing chipboard from some stickers.  The ivory border is cut from a paper sample book that the marketing team at work saves for me (rather than recycling them when they're out of date).  I added several ivory buttons with red twine as embellishments.

My gift bag is made from the same Tom Holtz Collection using the 2-5-7-10 Bag Tutorial from SplitCoast Stampers.  I added a chipboard image from Crafty Secrets.

I used papers from the same collection to make a tag.  The snowman is Inkadinkado & sentiment is Paper Source.  I added snowflakes in brown from Verve's Winter Wonders.

Here's my entire set together ... certainly not Lonely this Christmas.

We will draw a random prize from the pool of participants in both prompts.

The prize includes Holly Jolly Acrylic Stamps from My Mind's Eye, Susan Winget Glad Tidings Grand Adhesions Dimensional Stickers from K&Company, and a Vintage Postcard Kit from Crafty Secrets.

Single Layer Masked Misting

Since we're celebrating cowboys and cowgirls at the Gingersnap Creations Blog this month ... the technique is masking.  Hop on over to Gingersnap Creations to see my photo tutorial for how to create this fun masked misted background.

The vintage rodeo image is from the Graphics Fairy.