Ingenious Inkling

Flat Feliz Navidad

This week at Jingle Belles our theme is Flat Fleiz Navidad - it is generally called the One Layer Card; though some folks refer to it as the No Layer Card. 

What does that mean? It means your entire design is flat... your elements get stamped, drawn, embossed, etc, directly onto the card base; so basically you're not taping or gluing ANY additional papers/diecuts/layers to that base. We're looking (as the title implies) for completely FLAT cards this time. Are you up for the challenge?

I started by using a torn piece of typing paper as an inking mask creating three shades of Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide Ink (start at the bottom and then keeping inking over the whole space to keep the bottom darker than the top). 

 

Next I stamped two Memory Box Sentiments from Memory Box Christmas Tiles and Memory Box Dashing with Reindeer, 

Next I added Memory Box Holiday Greenery Stamp.  I used alcohol markers to color the greenery, turning part of the leaves into a poinsettia.  I added a few extra berries & a leaf to finish.  I colored out of the lines a bit, so I just embraced that coloring style ... sort of like the fill stamps that are meant to be a bit off from the base image.

 

 

I'm also linking-up at the March Memory Box Petal Power Challenge.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of skipping through blogland:

• Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
• Apple Hand Pies (shown)
• Ways that Play helps with Anxiety
• Ground Beef Pot Pie
• how to engage with the news without being consumed (a daily challenge)
• Buckeye Brownies
• Crème Brulee French Toast
• Spring Cleaning Calendar
• California Spaghetti Salad
• Apple Cider Donut Muffins
• Pistachio Cake
• Unsloppy Joes in the Air Fryer

Have a tremendous Thursday.

Baby Baby

I needed to restock my baby cards, and I had a request for a purple baby girl card, so I decided to make two.

For the first one I used this week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch.  I started by spraying the background with Villainous Potion Distress Spritz & Fortune Teller Distress Mica Spray.

 

 

Next I found three purple designer papers for the sketch strips.  Next I stamped the Sugar Pea Designs Welcome Baby Onesie and Sentiment.  I finished with a wrap of Ito Gima Yarn and some purple iridescent sequins.

 

 

For the second card, I used this week's Just Add Ink Sketch.  This time I used the Onesie from My Favorite Things It's a Baby Die-namics.  I decorated them with dies from the same set and added tiny purple gems.

 

 

I used sentiment stamps from the Sugar Pea Designs Welcome Baby Stamps using a Love from Lizi Peel Off between the sentiment and background.  The finishing touch was a few more purple gems.

 

 

PS - she ended-up taking both cards because she couldn't decide which one she liked more.

Fun Fold Butterflies

The new challenge at Shopping Our Stash is Fun Fold - to make a card using something than a standard bi-fold.

 

 

I searched for fold options and liked this fun tri-fold design by Ink It Up with Jessica.  I used a 4 1/4" strip x 12", so my dimensions are a bit different.  I also didn't like the wider border, so I cut my designer paper about 1/8" wide all the way around for a thinner margin.

I grabbed the first cardstock I saw, which was orange.  Then I found this wonderful Scrapbook.com paper that matched perfectly.

 

 

Next I literally went on a Shopping Our Stash treasure hunt in my studio looking for some butterflies that would work with the lovely paper, so I could embellish a belly band to hold the card together (in part, so I could photograph it).  I found two butterflies and a sticker sentiment that worked with my layout.

 

I don't think about fun folds often enough ... they made the card that much more interesting for the recipient.  If you search, there are all sort of possibilities (as well as those of my fellow design team members).   We hope you will come join us.

Tulip Birthday

The March Jaded Blossom Challenge is Anything Goes.

I inked-up my never-before-used Jaded Blossom Tulips (to join the NBUS Challenge).  I had a scrap of the orange paper on my studio table, so that's the color I decided to use.  

My Grandma and I used to spend the fall going through the Tulip catalogs picking out the colors were were going to plant.  I just loved all of the different color possibilities and that they came back year-after-year.  I remember planting deep purple ones together with white ones one year ... so dramatic.

 

 

Next I die cut the Jaded Blossom Mason Jar from green vellum.  I die cut the jar second time to shorten it, so it would work with my tulip.  I added a silver lid and stamped the tulip stem twice to elongate it.

I finished with a Happy Birthday sentiment from Jaded Blossom Super Sized Birthday Greetings and some silver bling.

Lemon Lime Birthday

The newest color combination at The Color Hue Challenge is Lemon & Lime.

 

 

I grabbed a Lime Gelliarts print that was for the Retro theme in last week's #marchprinting challenge and cut it using a faux stitched rectangle die cut.  My faux stitching is linking-up at the It's a Fake Challenge at Little Red Wagon.  I also die cut the candles from Concord & 9th Make a Wish from Lemon cardstock & the overlay on the candles from the same Lime GelliArts print.

 

 

 

I added a bit of lemon ink to the candle flames and finished with a sentiment from the Concord & 9th Make a Wish stamps attached with foam tape for dimension.

More March Printing Challenge

I'm continuing to do daily Gel Printing with GelliArts #marchprintingchallenge.  This week is themes & patterns.

 

 

There are no live flowers in Iowa, so I printed with a floral texture plate for Day 15.

 

 

For Day 16 Ocean theme, I combined the Organic Doodles Stencil from @a_colorful_life_designs with several other stencils from @joggles and multiple shades of blue paint to give the flowy feel of ocean waves and water.  I think these were my favorites this week.

 

 

For Day 17's Animal theme, I decided to go for a snakeskin print by using the @joggles Natural Rhythms Stencil multiple times to achieve the look of snakeskin.

 

 

Then for the @lunarnewyearchallenge I added the @lawnfawn Tiny Gift Box Snake Add-on together with a @mamaelephant sentiment and bits of @pinkfreshstudio bling. 

 

 

Day 18's landscape was done in a single print.  In the past for that assignment, I used copy paper to mask off the various layers of the landscape and pulled it using multiple colors and layers.  For this one I challenged myself to apply the paint and do a single pull.  I was really happy with my first attempt at this technique.

 

 

Day 19's Retro was inspired by my childhood avocado colored from floor to ceiling kitchen (which is actually still that way).  I thought the AA&LL Create Broken Circles Stencil had a fun retro-feel.

 

 

And for Day 20 of the Pattern & theme Challenge, I chose the Joggles Botanical Whispers Stencil which had a Mandala feel to me.  I love the contrast of these two colors of paint.

 

And the final theme is lines and grids.  I chose this fun line/grid stencil and I love how both the first (on the right) and second print turned out.

 

 

Another fun week of painterly play.  And for a bonus shot, I went to a local Art Journal Jam hosted by Dori Patrick at the Cedar Rapids Art Museum on Thursday night. I had fun meeting new friends and doing lots more GelliArts printing (seriously, I think it's a small brain addiction to me ... so relaxing).

 

I'm Dreaming of a GREEN Christmas

We're still all Grinchy at Jingle Belles this week - creating cards that are predominantly green.

I've been doing the GelliArts #marchprintingchallenge, so I'm currently up to my ears in GelliArts prints.  I chose a number of green prints from my stash and cut them into 3/8" strips.  Next I attached the strips to a cardstock base in a quilt-like pattern.  When I was done, I ran it through an embossing folder to unify the patterns with an all-over texture.

 

I finished with fun green Ephemera from Fancy Pants Cookies for Kringle Collection.

Remember, one lucky participant will win the PoppyStamps Nordic Dimple Christmas Trees Die Set.

 

Thursday Link Love

Another week of blogland fun:

• High Protein McGriddle Muffins
• Heather Rios Embroidered Cakes
• homemade Irish Cream
• Spring Cleaning for your Mental Health
• Lemon Brownies
• Chicken Pot Pie Pasta
• Do you have a Happiness Checklist
• Swirled Ginger Crunch Carrot Cake Bread
• Hostess Sheet Cake
• Fan Cleaning Hack
• One-Pot Beer Cheese Bucatini
• Books people couldn't put down
• I really need to start making Sushi Bowls (shown)
• Lemon Blueberry Spoon Cake
• How to regulate your nervous system
• Banana Pudding Cheesecake

Have a tremendous Thursday!

Mailable Birthday

The newest Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero Challenge is to make a mailable card (and mail it).

 

 

Birthday cards are something I regularly mail, so I that's what I made.  I started with tone-on-tone stamping of the Hero Arts Abstract Frames Bold Print.

 

 

Next, I added the star balloon transfer from the Birthday Hero Transfers, but decided that it didn't have enough contrast (However I am still linking-up at the S is for ... Challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz with my Star), so I added the blue balloon dog transfer on top.  Then I added a blue sentiment transfer and blue stars to create a triangle of blue.

I finished with a few red gems to create another visual triangle with the large die cut sentiment from Hero Arts It's Our Anniversary (backed with coordinating yellow glitter).