Ingenious Inkling

Happy Mail

When I saw CPS Sketch 66, I immediately thought of a little 'tuck-in' card made with my Giga Scallop Circle punch.  I made the card from two scallops sandwiched between a smaller circle card.  There was only one problem with this design ... with the two scallops overlapping at the top, the card wouldn't open more than about an inch ... a card that doesn't open isn't very useful. 

So back to the drawing board ... I cut a larger circle card base (about 3 1/2") and attached one Giga circle to the front.

Growing up, my black and white beagle Snoopy was my bike-riding companion, so I have always had an affinity for Snoopy images.  This cute one from Stampendous is called Happy Mail.  Since the CPS theme is Celebrating Summer, I used Papertrey Ink's Summer Sunrise Cardstock for my scallop and paper pieced letter.  I kept trying to add something else to the card, but in the end, I decided I love the clean simple design. 

I hope you get some Happy Mail this week.

Christmas Peace ... in May

I like to work on my holiday cards throughout the year, however I realized today, I hadn't made a single holiday card this month.  After seeing that peanutbee (The Paper Landscaper) is this week's SCS featured stamper, that problem has been corrected.  My card is inspired by her Embossed Christmas card.

I used Cosmo Cricket Wonderland DP.  The left panel is embossed with my Cuttlebug snowflakes folder.  The sentiment is by Paper Inspirations.  I love their calligraphy designs.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Bugs and Flowers

This card is for Beate's Sketch challenge using more Basic Grey Cupcake DP and a large Prima bloom.

When I was trying to decide on a sentiment, I remembered Sharon's Going Buggy! challenge and decided to add a grasshopper from PaperTreyInk instead.  I hate bugs, but if they have to be around, it's best that they be out among the blooms.

Triple the Sketch

Triple the Sketch is giving away one of those cool Fiskars Threading Water punches if you link up a card using one of their sketches.  I've had Sketch #5 saved for a while, so now is the perfect time to give it a try.

I finally ordered some cardstock from PapertreyInk (this card base is Spring Moss), and it is some seriously smooth and sturdy paper (it's so thick, I had a little trouble getting my border punch to go through). 

My Inkadinkado Hacienda Flourish is stamped in ColorBox Peach Pastel Chalk Ink, and I added Basic Grey striped Cupcake DP across the center and on the inside.  The bottom is punched with a Martha Stewart border punch.  I added a touch of faux stitching with a blue Sakura sparkle pen and colored the butterfly's body to match (another Martha punch).  The sentiment is from Hero Arts in Olive Pastel.  The finished card is 4 1/4" square.

Schumacher Advertising Inspired

I love drawing inspiration from advertisements.  Every time I see one in a magazine that I find inspiring, I tear it out, use a black Sharpie to write on it what inspired me (color, layout, texture), and put it in a clear page protector for my inspiration notebook. 

OK, the truth of the matter is that I tear it out and write on it, but then it usually goes into a big pile.  When there are 50+ in the pile and I can't stand it any more ... then I spent an afternoon trimming the pages and putting them into a notebook.

This week's SCS Inspiration Challenge is this advertisement by interior company F. Schumacher & Co.  The colors, texture and patterns are all appealing.  I really love that gridded fabric that looks like it would be so soft and fuzzy to the touch.

To recreate that wonderful gridded look, I used Beate's Grid Technique to create my background.  I scored kraft cardstock vertically and horizontally ever 3/4".  Then I turned the cardstock over and inked it direct to paper with ColorBox Dark Brown Ink.

The DP is Memory Box Inspire Collection.  I inked the grunge board rectangles with ColorBox Aquamarine ink.  After they dried, I inked again with Versamark and embossed with Ranger Antiquities Frosted Crystal EP to created an aged finish.  The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's Smarty Pants set. 

I love the clean lines of the layout & I think it makes a great 'man card', which isn't always easy for me to do.

I hope you find inspiration ... can't wait to see what you create.

Caard{varks} Tag of the Month Finale

This was one of my favorite tags that I made for the Caard{varks} Tag of the Month Challenge.  June means Father's Day, and for my dad (and brothers) that means tools.

To make speedy background paper, I attached all of my Technique Tuesday Tool Time stamps to my largest acrylic block.  It only took a couple of stamps to cover an entire sheet of paper.  I went back and stamped a few more screws to fill in any empty spots.

I embossed metal sheeting I got at the hardware store through my Cuttlebug.  I cut it into strips to make the racks to hang my tools.  I also cut a small piece to go on my tag (I had to use an emery board to sand the corners so they weren't too sharp).

I stamped one more wrench, cut it out, and attached it to the rack with a silver brad, so that it actually swings back and forth on the tag.  The sentiment tag was attached with pop-dots for a little more dimension.  I finished with silver metallic wired ribbon.

October's tag started with K&Company cob web DP.  I punched the images and text with my Giga scallop punch from Rusty Pickle Adams Family Pugsley DP.

I stamped the Michael's $1 sentiment on a scrap of DP and matted it multiple times.  To create the green medallion, I used the Stampin' Up Scalloped circle.  I attached the punched circle to a piece of printer paper, fed it back into the punch rotating slightly, and punched again.

I loved how the idea in my head translated to paper for my September tag.  I free-hand cut my tree trunk from brown cardstock.  My "leaves" were various sizes of circles punched from scraps of brown, orange, yellow and green cardstock.  I randomly attached the circles with glue dots.

The sentiment is from Rosie's Roadshow.

I had a lot of fun making my Month-Inspired Tags.  I can't wait to see your creations.

JustRite Stampers Giveaway

JustRite Stampers has started a new blog & to celebrate they are giving away five large Monogram Stampers with accessories.  All you have to do to have a chance to win is sign up for their newsletter.

Check it out.

More Tags of the Month

Here are some more tags that I did for the Caard{varks} Tag of the Month challenge.

This one uses fun St. Pat's paper from Reminisce and Moosehead Beer Stamp from Viva Las Vegas.  I found the beer mug graphic on-line and stamped my Vap! Scrap shamrock to finish.

The January themed tag used the Manila-batik technique.

I used a Manila shipping tag & stamped Stampin' up snowflakes in Versamark and embossed with clear EP.  Then I sprayed the tag with Adirondack Denim Color Wash.  I placed the tag between two pieces of cardstock and ironed off the EP to product the EP effect.

The sentiment from Northwoods Rubber Stamps was stamped in ColorBox Blue Iris on a smaller shipping tag together with a couple more snowflakes.  I added a decorative brad & attached the tag using pop dots from some dimension.

The February tag uses the same technique, however after ironing off the EP, I stamped the Inkadinkado sentiment by Kate Harper and small Hero Arts hearts in Black Staz-on.  I finished with a small metal charm tied on with baker's twine.

For my July tag I used a piece of Basic Grey DP and lots of fun summer stickers.  The sentiments are from 7 Gypsies.

I'll be back tomorrow with more fun tags of the month.

Tag of the Month

There's a Tag Challenge going on at Caard{varks} ... and not just any tags ... tags inspired by the months of the year.  Laura Davis of The Paper Poppy is the guest designer (love her stuff).  Link up your best tags by June 3rd for a chance to win a prize package from Itty Bitty Scrap Shack.  You can check out the entire gallery of tags here.

Also, make sure you check out the fabulous new Caard{varks} Hayfever Kit filled with lots of beautiful goodness for only $15.

At our house, April means the beginning of baseball season ... Cardinals baseball!  My studio is one half of our "retreat room" (a former attached two car garage).  We spend every Sunday during baseball season in that room ... me working in my studio ... my husband on the couch ... while we watch the game.

This is my tag for April made of navy cardstock (4"x8") covered in baseball designer paper and accented with foam stickers and a St. Louis Cardinals Pennant.  The top of the tag is a small baseball stamp from my stash matted on multiple circles.

In Iowa, May is when the flowers begin to bloom.  For my May tag, I used floral paper from Basic Grey and Julia's wonderful origami butterfly tutorial. 

It took me a couple of tries with scrap paper to perfect the fold.  I couldn't find any double-sided paper that worked for my design, so I used spray adhesive to adhere the pink and green Basic Grey DP's together before folding.  I hand-cut the butterfly body.

I felt flowers and three smaller punched butterflies to finish the design.  I love the dimension and texture of this design.

I'll be back tomorrow with more Tags of the Month ... can't wait to see what you create.

Purse Inspired

I spend quite a bit of time looking for inspiring images for the Saturday SCS Inspiration Challenge.  I have always loved creating cards that are inspired by images. 

I fell in love with this wonderful purse by Lula Ballou.  I love the way she combined all of the different fabrics with the wonderful cut-outs.  The amazing detail (even on the inside of the purse) is so inspiring.  She received a runner-up award in the Amy Butler "Sew Inspiring" Contest for her beautiful creation.

I used Basic Grey Sultry DP cut into 1 1/2" panels (finished card is 4" x 8").  I attached the panels to the card front and sewed around the edges and between each panel (I usually sew the panel and attach it to the card after sewing, but this time I liked seeing the stitching on the inside, like the detail on the inside of her purse).  I hand-cut a tree branch and punched flowers from kraft cardstock and DP.  I added one of my favorite quotes from Rubbernecker to finish the design.