Ingenious Inkling

Vintage Halloween

I keep all of my Halloween crafting products together in one big drawer (most of my other products are sorted by manufacturer) because they don't seem to really cross into other use cases.  That drawer is open and I'm having fun creating for October (I need to get them done soon & get them in the mail soon the way postal delivery has been working lately).

I'm starting today with the Inspire.Create.Challenge to create and Autumn/Halloween card.

 

 

I built my card around this Journaling card from Simple Stories Vintage Scary Stories.

 

 

I matted it with black glitter paper and used foam tape on top of a lovely Halloween Plaid from Pebbles Spooky Boo! collection (which it looks like has now gone digital).

 

 

I'm also linking-up at the TGIF Challenges with my Halloween color palette.

If You Got it ... Haunt it!

Love Those Pretty Papers October Challenge is to feature Halloween Papers.

 

This card features four different designer papers including one from Simple Stories Vintage Scary Stories as the focal image.

I'm also linking-up at the To Spook or Not Challenge at Double D Challenge.

WCMD Holiday Memories

As I was cleaning my studio table, I found these leftover Die Cuts from Pinkfresh Studio Holiday Elements Washi Tape from my Holiday Wreath card.  It was exactly what I needed to make an Anything Goes Card for their World Cardmaking Day (WCMD) Challenge.

I paired the die cuts with some scraps of designer paper that were also on my studio table (yes, it's in serious need of cleaning ... but then again, sometimes the messes lead to serendipitous creativity).

 

I finished with a sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio Holiday Dreams Title Ephemera.

Doggy Sympathy

It's so hard when a doggy leaves a family.  I used Paper Smooches Paws for a Cause for this sympathy card.

 

 

I took my color/pattern inspiration from the Inspired by ... Acorns Challenge.  I stamped my puppy and sentiment in a darker orange ink on the yellow plaid paper and added a big of yellow ink around the edges before mounting it on a larger oval cut from the orange cardstock.  I finished with a few stamped paw prints.

 

 

And my Sketch is from Just Add Ink Challenge.

 

Sleeping Santa

We're still creating fun SKETCH cards at Jingle Belles this week. 

 

 

I found a fun die cut from Pretty Little Studio's Jolly Santa Die Cuts that worked perfectly with the layout.  I wonder which Reindeer get their own beds?

 

 

I kept it simple with dotted designer paper, cardstock banners and a few glittery enamel dots.  I used a sentiment that conveyed a good night's sleep.

We can't wait to see how you get Sketchy.  You have until 5pm EST on Wednesday to link-up.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of blogland fun:

• I want to try this Slushie Hack
• Low Carb Veggie Fritters
• I also want to go float on this Lazy River
• Twice Baked Breakfast Potatoes
• Forty Fun Fall Activities
• Coffee Cake Cookies
• Conscious Documentaries on Netflix
• Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Cups (shown)
• I always loved Building Toys best
• Peanut Butter Lover Cookie Bars
• How to Give Yourself More Grace
• Stuffing Waffles
• Blueberry Lemon Bars

Have a tremendous Thursday!

Sympathy Restock

When I was out of town with my sister, a co-worker needed a sympathy card.  She shared that my stash of sympathy cards that I keep at the office was subsequently depleted, so I needed to make a few to restock my stash.

I like to use silhouette images in masculine tones, so they will work for any occasion.  For the first one I used both the images and sentiment from Cathy Zielske's Silhouette Sentiments with Simon Says Stamp.  I used Catherine Pooler's Ginger ink on a kraft card base.

 

 

I'm linking that card up at the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge.

For the second one, I used a lighter kraft card base with the same Ginger Ink and a larger silhouette image from Simon Say Stamp Wildflowers with a sentiment from Simon Says Stamp Wild & Free Flowers.

 

 

With all of the leaves in my silhouette image, I'm linking this one up at the Leaves Challenge at CAS on Sunday.

The Rabbit Hole

I just returned from Sisters' Weekend 2024 in Kansas City.  One of the fun things we did was take a journey down The Rabbit Hole.  While it was more for children, my sister and I are both children at heart and lovers of classic books, so we knew we would love it (and we did).  It was truly magical.

 

 

You start by descending through The Rabbit Hole - a grotto built with books with phrases from Alice in Wonderland embedded into the walls.  You come out into a magical land of books.  But first, we stopped in the bathroom where this talking guy greeted us from one of the stalls.

 

 

It was hard to pick a favorite, but Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends was certainly right up there.

 

 

And of course, we couldn't resist having a little fun.

 

 

We couldn't get over how spot-on each scene was ... staying so true to the book's illustrations.

 

 

In each scene there were multiple copies of the book being featured and fun little nooks and benches where children could sit and read.

 

 

There was so much laughter and fun in this space.

 

 

So many wonderful childhood reading memories returned as we enjoyed the lovely space.

 

 

It was a lovely way to spend our afternoon.

 

 

It was a wonderful way to spend time with my sister.

 

 

It's amazing that a place like this exists.  I hope all of the kiddos there have equally wonderful reading memories when they grow-up.

 

Happy Holidays

We're getting Sketch-y at Jingle Belles this week.

 

 

I used a Doodlebug Tag for my focal element & paired it with another sentiment cut from one of their papers.

 

 

I can't wait to see what you make with my sketch.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of fun in blogland:

• How to make your own Limoncello (I had a co-worker who gifted me some every year, and I loved it)
• Gnocchi Bolognese
• winning Bird Photographs
• Ritz Cracker Party Sandwiches
• Chicken Jerky
• best Eye Shadow Palettes
• Black Forest Cake was the first fancy dessert I learned to make
• Benefits of Crying
• Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Shelf Décor Ideas
• Pumpkin Crumble Cream Cheese Muffins (shown)
• Getting to Know You Questions
• Chocolate Strawberry Cake
• Ways to Slow Down for Fall
• Orange Ginger Garlic Chicken
• My So Called Life
• I'm going to try this sheet pan dinner (but at our house, onion is always an ingredient)

Have a tremendous Thursday!