Ingenious Inkling

Treasuring Friends

The Saturday Stampers' challenge was to incorporate something you treasure into your card design.  There's nothing I treasure more than my family and friends. 

I also used the Card Positioning Systems Sketch #32  as the basis for my design.

This fun friends paper is by Karen Foster Designs.  I got it and the friends twill tape in a fun kit from Two Spotted Dogs.  I colored the Rubber Moon tulips with markers and added the Treasure sentiment from Li'l Davis Designs.  The green cardstock strip was embossed using my Cuttlebug, and I trimmed the DP with pinking shears.  The finished card is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".

Wishing you all a wonderful week filled with love & laughter.

Going Pink for October

Yes, the blog colors have changed.  I saw on Kristina Werner's Blog that the Pink for October website is encouraging bloggers to Go Pink! for October to bring attention to Breast Cancer Awareness month.  If you have not gotten a recent mammogram ... make an appointment.  If you'd like to donate to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure you can find information here.

Invitation Assembly Line

What do you do when you need a lot of invitations completed in a very short time?  If you're me, you begin an assembly line process.

The first step is creating a prototype card to determine all of the pieces and tools that I will need.  I decided to start with a box of DCWV textured cards to speed the process (no folding or adding a card front).  The invitations are for a combined 2nd birthday party & housewarming party, so I needed to combine both elements, but they did not need to be identical. 

The Summer Home and Birthday Cupcake both fit inside the same size circle punch.  I searched through my scraps of cardstock to find pieces to coordinate with the card fronts and punched sets with my Mega Scalloped circle punch.  The ampersands were cut from DCWV adhesive mat stack with my Cuttlebug.  Using the adhesive paper made assembly go quicker (my husband got drafted to assist with that task).  I printed the invitation details on white cardstock which was adhered inside the card.  I stamped my moniker on the back & some party hats on the envelopes, and they were complete 

It's not my favorite way to create, but when I need to complete lots of cards in a short period of time, it makes the process much quicker.

Enjoy the week.

Jenn Balcer Inspiration

Today's featured stamper is Jenn Balcer (jbalcer).  I went back to a card she posted in March 2005.  I was looking for a clean design that still had a unique touch.  I loved the crimping in the middle of the card that provides a visual contrast to the horizontal sentiment.

These acrylic stamps by Li'l Davis Designs were a very affordable set.  I like the simple sentiments with frames.  I added a small sentiment from Hero Arts.  I also love this color combination of Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky.

Ingredients: Stamps: Li'l Davis Designs Sentiments, Hero Arts From the Heart Greetings; Paper: polka dot DP, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky and White cardstock; ColorBox Chalk Lime Pastel, Olive Pastel and Dark Brown; Accessories: Crimper.

Another SketchThis:Cards! Sketch

Here's another card using a SketchThis:Cards! sketch. 

I love the contrast of the off-set circles and the horizontal strips.  These are the fun new Mellow papers by Basic Grey and $1 Studio G stamp from Michael's.  The card base is textured handmade paper.  This is another 4 1/4" square card.

Ingredients: Basic Grey Mellow DP, embossed handmade paper; Ink: ColorBox Chalk Dark Brown; Stamps: Studio G Thoughts of You; Accessories: Circle cutters, Mega Scalloped circle punch, sponge, epoxy small house sticker.

More Sketches

I decided to revisit some sketch drawings on sketchthis:cards.  I looked for a large flower, but I didn't have any in my collection.  So instead, I layered a variety of primas for the center of the card.  Then I punched and cut various larger circles to fill up the front of a 4 1/4" square card. 

One layer is some fun textured paper that I sponged with Aquamarine & Burnt Sienna ink to mimic the look of the Basic Grey papers covering the card front.  I also sponged the remainder of the card to tone down the brightness a bit for the overall look.  I added a couple of dimensional stickers for the sentiment.

I like square cards, but I've been shrinking them to 4 1/4" so they can fit in a standard envelope for the regular postage rate.

Ingredients: Ink: Rust and Aquamarine ColorBox Chalk Ink; Paper: Basic Grey DP, textured handmade paper, Rust and Lime cardstock; Accessories: Prima Flowers, K&Company jewel, dimensional word stickers, sponge

Mojo Monday Treats

Look at these very fun goodies that arrived in my mailbox from Julee at Poetic Artistry for winning her Mojo Monday Challenge.  I love these adorable flower stamps by Memory Box, but Julee's card is the real treat.  You almost have to see this one in person to truly appreciate all of her fabulous detail.

The piercing, faux stitching, sponging, watercoloring and embossing all come together to make an amazing design.  She even has glaze on the leaves on the cute owl's eyeballs. 

Thanks so much Julee.  I'm loving your Mojo Monday challenges to start off the week right.

Weekend Sketch - File Folder Template

Beate posted some great instructions for this file folder card.  Unlike last night with the holiday box, I decided to stay consistent with her measurements.

I started with a scrap of raspberry Bazzill Bling cardstock that was buried on my work table and went from there.  I liked the contrast of the smooth inside of the folder with the textured outside.  I trimmed the Reminisce striped DP to fit the front of the folder and then outlined it with black Sharpie to add a little definition.

I tied my folder closed with a black stitched ribbon.  And of course, every file folder in my office has a label, so I printed out a thanks on my label maker.  The Thank You is from Paper Source & I added some dots of Cranberry Adirondack Acrylics paint to the Mega Scallop circle.

Hope you're enjoying your Saturday.  I'm off to a sushi lunch and then back for more creating.

Ingredients: Papers: Bazzill Bling Raspberry, Black & White Cardstock, Sparkling raspberry paper, Reminisce Striped paper; Ink: ColorBox Chalk Charcoal; Stamps: Paper Source Thank You; Accessories: Stitched black ribbon, corner rounder, circle punches, scallop circle punch, label maker, pop dot, black Sharpie, Adirondack Cranberry Acrylic paint.

Make Merry Fun Box

Michelle at Twisted Chick Creations posted this very easy box template ... at least it would have been easy if I had stuck with the directions.  Instead, I decided I wanted my box to be 4 1/2" wide when it was finished, so I extended the template.  This box will fit a standard set of cards inside for a holiday gift.

However, for some reason it took me four attempts before I could get the top of the box to come out correctly.  I finally ended up using a 7"x5" piece for my top with 1 1/8" scores on the side and top fold. 

I am lucky enough to live near Reminisce and have access to their occasional warehouse sales (when I'm feeling strong and brave enough to fight the crowds).  That's where I picked up these fun cardstocks called St. Nick's Sweater and Holiday Cheer.  I added some wired, velvet holiday ribbon and images by Savvy & Memory Box to complete the creation.  What a fun and easy holiday idea.

Ingredients:  Papers: Kraft, Olive and Maroon Cardstock; Reminisce St. Nick's Sweater & Holiday Cheer Cardstock; Stamps: Memory Box Christmas Together, Savvy Make Merry; Ink: ColorBox Chalk Maroon; Accessories: 1 1/2", 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches, pop dot, wired, velvet holiday ribbon.

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