Ingenious Inkling

Oh What Fun ...

This card is for the Cuttlebug Challenge #4 to emboss on patterned paper and Laura's Sketch #11 at 2 Sketches 4 You.

 

Memory Box Winter Wonderland two-sided cardstock (the dark blue is the reverse side) was embossed with the Cuttlebug Snowflake embossing folder and then sponged with Silver Bells Shimmerz Glitter Paintfor an all-over sparkle. 

The Stamps Happen Jolly Snowman and Studio G sentiment were stamped with ColorBox Chalk Blue Iris and clear embossed.  The snowman's nose was colored with an orange Sakura Glaze Pen and dark blue velvet ribbon was added to finish the design.

Joy ~ Peace ~ Goodwill

This quick card combines this week's SCS Sketch Challenge and Color Challenge (Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip).  The Basic Grey Sultry Designer Paper worked perfectly with these colors.

This holiday stamp is from Autumn Leaves 'Tis the Season and the ribbon is Chocolate Chip Taffeta (one of my absolute favorite ribbons) from Stampin' Up.  I highlighted the star with a little Sakura Sparkle pen & clear embossed the image.

Remember ... 63 days until Christmas.

Rock the Cover ... Halloween Style

The ladies at the Y.ou K.now Y.ou R.ock blog challenged readers to create a card inspired by an album/CD cover of your favorite Halloween-ish musical group. 

I went through my entire iTunes collection and realized that my musical tastes apparently lean more toward solo performers than groups with cool Halloween inspired names. 

I finally settled on The Pretenders, because after-all isn't that what we're all doing when we dress up in our costumes.  I chose the album Get Close (released in 1986) for my inspiration.

 

I kept my 4 1/4" square card clean with lots of white space like the album.  The Jazzy Flourishes were stamped in both blue and black to mimic the word colors on the album cover.

I finished with this great guitar stamp from the Stamplogy Girl Power set.  I finished with adhesive black pearls, adhesive blue gems and touches of sakura sparkle pen.

Don't Get Me Wrong ...

Once in awhile
Two people meet
Seemingly for no reason
They just pass on the street
Suddenly thunder, showers everywhere
Who can explain the thunder and rain
But there's something in the air

Initial Reaction

The October 20th challenge at Caardvarks is to show us your best Monogram creations.  Link your card up by November 3rd for a chance to win a Cosmo Cricket Crafting Kit along with a Cosmo Blackboard Memory Box.

This card uses Stampology Jazzy Swirls in Burnt Sienna and Dark Brown.

I didn't have any alphabet stamps that worked well with the Stampin' Up Label stamp, so I printed them on the computer (24 point Algerian Font) and punched it out with an oval punch (and trimmed slightly to fit).

The finished card is 4 1/4" square.

 

This monogram is stamped in a combination of Aquamarine and Chestnut Roan ink inside of a Chestnut Roan image from Paper Salon Monogram Builder #2, layered on two scalloped circles, to create the center of the large scalloped flower.

Papers are from K&Company and the corner punch is Anna Griffin.

Check out the other Design Team Creations ... and show us what you can do with your Monograms.

Classy & Scrappy

My favorite kind of card is one that uses scraps that would normally be discarded ... and has a classy design.  I found both in the gallery of ink-e, today's featured stamper.  My card CASE'd her for a friend ... creation.

I used pieces of paper from the Basic Grey Eva Collection, pomegranate felt flowers from Stampin' Up and the SU Small Saying Sentiment ... and voila ... a quick yet classy card. 

Now when I cut those end pieces off of the 6" square designer papers, I'll know what to do with the leftovers.

Also, I have Vanessa's Easiest Ever Pumpkin Muffins in the oven right now, and they smell yummy ... perfect for a cool fall day.

Enjoy it!

Domo Arigato

Before I discovered how to make my own cards, I used to spend hours in card stores searching for the absolute perfect cards for my friends and family.

Now, one of the best parts of cardmaking is being able to create the absolute perfect card in my own studio.

My sister likes Domos, especially these fun Halloween Domos at Target.  She had 'hinted' that if I were to make a Domo card, she would like to receive one.  So, here is my attempt at a little Domo creativity.

I wanted to find some paper that had some texture for the Domo body, so I started with some hand-made green paper and sprayed it liberally with Ranger Adirondack Raisin Color Wash (see close-up below).  I hand-drew the pattern on the back and cut it out with scissors.  I hand-cut his mouth and teeth and punched his black eyes from glittered cardstock with a small circle punch.

These new Cosmo Cricket Get Happy papers seemedperfect for a Domo.  I also used the Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge Sketch.  The border between the top and bottom papers is red paper punched with the Martha Stewart Goo Punch. 

I finished with some punched circles, a vintage button with waxed cotton jewelry twine, and a computer generated sentiment (could a Domo Thank You Card have any other sentiment??) in a hand-cut shape. 

Hey sis ... this one's for you.

Joom Inspired Agapanthus Sympathy

This week's SCS Inspiration Challenge is to be inspired by the wonderful creations of Joom.  I chose her Coral on White Cotton Cardinal on Agapanthus Pillow for my inspiration.

I love her fabulous use of bold colors with white, as well as the clean graphic design.

I made a horizontal design to mimic the dimension of the pillow. 

Stampendous Agapanthus Cluster, Paper Inspirations Sympathy Calligraphyand a Hero Arts Small Butterfly were all stamped in ColorBox Rose Coral and clear embossed (it is so easy to use Transcendence Clear Embossing Powder with my chalk inks)

This is another card that would be very easy to mass produce.  I hope you find inspiration.

Pay It Forward Winner

My husband (aka the random number generator) picked #7, which is Shelly who said:

What beautiful birds and that crown punch is so me! As for something nice? My DH recently surprised me with a 19" high def. flat screen monitor to accompany my laptop. Now, I work off 2 screens and the artwork really comes to life! Can't think of a nicer surprise. Course, winning your offering would be a huge surprise too!

Shelly, e-mail me your address & I'll get your goodies in the mail.  A Big Thanks to everyone who stopped by.

Holiday Hope

I love this week's Stamp Simply challenge from Heather Telford.  She challenged us to make a card using no picture stamps.  While I'm not usually one for mass producing cards, I think I will certainly be making more of this design for the holidays.

 

The Hero Arts Design Block Flourish was stamped in Blue Iris Chalk ink on Memory Box Winter Wonderland cardstock and clear embossed.  The Hope sentiment is by DeNami Designs. I love how the flourished font works so well with this background.

Mummies Don't Wear Plaid

I combined today's SCS Way to Use it Challenge to break out the plaid with Kazan's Sketch #11 at 2 Sketches 4 You.

The black plaid and green glitter paper are from DCWV Fall Glitter Mat Stack.  The orange cardstock is embossed with the Cuttlebug Spider Web embossing folder & then sponged with Charcoal ink.

I used the Martha Stewart Dripping Goo punch for the border with an embossed Studio G sentiment.

I love the tiny booglie eyes on the Mummy, who looks like he's dancing the Monster Mash.