Ingenious Inkling

Let that Designer Paper Shine

Sharon's No Time challenge this week was to let designer paper be the focus of your creation.  She limited us to one sentiment and any embellishments.  I knew that it was time to play with my All Dressed Up cardstock and chipboard embellishments.

This card really lets that sparkly cardstock shine.  I added velvet ric-rak and circled the Hero Arts sentiment with a black glittered circle from the chipboard embellishments.  I colored the flower with American Crafts glitter markers to add a touch of bling.

I have quite an affinity for shoes & the Divine Miss M, so this quote stamp by The Rubbernecker Stamp Co. has always been one of my favorites.  I stamped it in Versamark and embossed with Judi-kins Aegean Silver EP to coordinate with those sparkling shoes from the chipboard embellishments.

I tried a new cookie recipe tonight from Foodaphilia - Coconut Toffee Almond Crunch Cookies .  I substituted finely chopped pecans for the almonds and Heath chips for the Toffee candy bits.  These were yummy.  And, I'm asking myself, why have I never tried parchment paper before when baking cookies?  It worked like a dream.

Hot Cider Packets

The Try a New Technique Challenge at SCS this week was to make a Tea Bag Holder.
I found these yummy packets of Gourmet Cider, so I modified the template so these would fit.

My ceder packet measured 5" by 3 1/2", so I cut a strip of cardstock 5 1/2" x 12".  I scored the strip at 4" and 8" and folded it in thirds.  I had to trim the inner folded page slightly to get a nice tight fold.

I mentioned that I had this Secret Place stamp from Paper Bag Studios on my wish list.  I bought myself an early Christmas present and it (along with lots of other great images) arrived in the mail today.  I love the sentiment - Within your heart, keep one still secret spot where dreams may go.  It is stamped in ColorBox Warm Green on Basic Grey Mortifica DP  I tied the pocket closed with some sparkly gold ribbon.  The ribbon will easily slide off the bottom.

I used a two-sided cardstock to provide contrast between the pocket and the inside (this one is 5" tall due to a mis-cut on my part).  The right panel is trimmed from corner to corner and the bottom of the pocket is attached with a thin strip of super-strong tape.  I left the inside of my tea holder blank, so I could write a note on the inside flap.  I may add a little decoration to the pocket before I put it in the mail.

These are great little gifts to put in the mail.

PaperMonkey Sketch

PaperMonkey posted her first sketch challenge, so I had to give it a try.  There are lots of layers on this one.  She's giving away a cool Scarlet Lime stamp, so go check it out.

For my card, I used Basic Grey Blitzen papers with Red and Olive cardstock.  The small circle paper DP is actually from the label in the packaging that shows a small sample of each design.  I love how tiny the pattern is ... it works great for cards. 

I added a Magic cardstock sticker, Martha Stewart twill and some Studio G holiday stamps stamped in ColorBox Chalk Lipstick Red and Dark Moss to finish the design. 

Figgy Stickers

My tummy is full of turkey, and I'm back in the studio for some Thanksgiving night creating. 

I love how these vintage Paper Studio cardstock stickers look with the Basic Grey Figgy papers.  This card uses this week's Sketch Challenge and the Ways to Use It Challenge to incorporate stitching into the design.  I added the Martha Stewart border punch and this quick holiday card is complete.

Here's another sticker & Figgy combination.  I love this Martha Stewart twill.

I-Squared Inspiration Giveaway

The counter just hit 10,000 ... time for some I² Inspiration.  How about a little love ... Love, Elsie that is.  I've got 12 sheets of DP from the Love, Elsie Lola Collection together with coordinating cardstock stickers and rub-ons.  I also included a couple of rolls of coordinating RibbonFX floral ribbon and set of Close to My Heart Acrylix stamp set Reminders (great for any holiday calendar gifts you might be making).  And finally, thirty 6x6" square envelopes.

So, what do you have to do to win this pile-of-goodies?  Leave me a comment and tell me about your favorite Christmas tree ornament or holiday decoration ... you know the one you store away with love each year ... the one that makes you smile when you bring it out again. 

For me, it's a couple of cross-stitched ornaments that my sister made for me.  Every time I bring them out I feel close to her, even though we're far away.

** oops, forgot to include that I will use random.org to draw a winner on Monday night at 8pm CST.

Thanksgiving Mojorific

We have snow ... we have deviled eggs and sweet potatoes ... we have a trek through the snow covered countryside to join family ... we have a city water boil order due to the contents of a broken sewer main invading the city well (OK, not so much to be thankful for, but it does remind us how grateful we are for constant access to clean, running water).  We do truly have so many things to be thankful for.

One of those things is time in my studio this morning ... what a perfect way for me to start my day.  I decided to give Julee's Mojo Monday sketch a try using Basic Grey Figgy and Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby) vintage cardstock stickers. 

Sharon's challenge this week was to focus on the things we fall back on when we need a quick card.  One of mine is dressing up stickers with layers of matting.  I love to stamp, but sometimes I love the quick results and artistic effect that stickers can lend to a creation.

Don't forget to focus on all of the things you're thankful for today and every day.

Floral Christmas Tree

When I saw the Christmas Tree Card by Card Company in their advertisement in December 2007 Paper Crafts, I knew I wanted to try to do something similar using my Primas.  This is one of those times that the end result was exactly how I envisioned it in my mind.

I also remembered to take pictures as I proceeded, so you can see how the tree was created.  I added some fun hand-cut presents under the tree for the Daring Cardmakers Piles of Parcels challenge.  I stamped various present stamps (Stampin' Up, Kolette Hall, and Paper Salon) on DP scraps and hand cut them to go under the tree.  The sentiment is by Savvy.  The ornaments are tiny epoxy stickers.

I started my tree with a box of Prima Elements.

I used the colors in the Prima box to determine the colors of my card.  The DP behind the tree is from Basic Grey Figgy 6x6" pad.

I cut a large flower in half for the bottom row of the tree.  For the remaining part of the tree, I continued to cut flowers in half, but folded them in 2/3 before attaching them with a glue dot (I found the folding in 2/3 rather than folding half allowed the glue dot to attach to both the top and bottom layer of the fold).

The second row was made folding four flower halves.

I continued to add the folded flowers making each row slightly narrower to produce the tree shape.  I went back and tucked in some smaller blooms to keep the balance of the different colors throughout the tree.

To finish the tree folded half of a large flower to form the top and added the trunk and a jewel star.  I squeezed a line of lime green stickles onto my index finger and tamped it all over the tree to evenly distribute the glitter on the branches.

I hope you pull out your primas and make a fun holiday tree.

Lastly, a snow picture for my Gran in Arizona who never gets to see snow.  It's still coming down.

Elf Yourself

Saw this on Donna Downey's blog and had to give it a try.  Here's my Elfin' Greeting that includes me, my husband and my sister.  It made me laugh outloud ... the perfect thing for a snowy day.

I-Squared Inspiration coming soon

As soon as that counter reaches 10,000, I've got some I² Inspiration to share that includes some great Love Elsie products and some other fun goodies ~ so keep watching.

Correspondence Art

I watched an interesting documentary this weekend.  I had never heard of Ray Johnson or How to Draw a Bunny until I read a recommendation from Lauren of ... all the GOOD blog names were taken. 

Johnson was considered the founder of the 'correspondence art' or 'mail art' movement.  Isn't that a fabulous description of what we do ... correspondence art.  He worked primarily in collage, and during his lifetime, sent an enormous quantity of his work around the globe through the mail.  Sometimes he would provide instructions with the art asking the recipient to continue the chain (sort of like we do with 'circle journals' today).  The documentary is a peek into the life of an artist truly immersed in his work.

I hope you find time to make and send some correspondence art this week.

** art is Ray Johnson's work titled Emily Dickinson