Ingenious Inkling

Caardvarks / Studio Calico SketchFest Day #3

We have arrived at Day #3 of the fabulous Studio Calico / Caardvarks Sketchfest.   I've been having so much fun checking out all of the different sketch entries ... so much inspiration to be found.

I think this is one of my favorite sketch cards of the bunch ... such a unique sketch by the ultra-talented Heidi Van Laar ... it's soperfect for featuring circle elements.  The circle tag on my card was included in the great Studio Calico kit that Varks Crew received.  The sentiment at the bottom was cut from another tag.

I also loved the fabulous Maya Road pinwheel flowers (they are sort of a leathery vinyl with great texture).

I created my own background paper by stamping the Studio Calico Digits stamp repeatedly in a tone-on-tone ink color.  It was such a fun effect and a great way to work with small acrylic stamps.

I can't wait to see what you create.

Caardvarks Sketchfest Day #2

Today is Day #2 of the seven-day Sketchfest at Caardvarks sponsored by Studio Calico. 

Remember, there will be prizes from Studio Calico for the daily sketches, and the Grand Prize of a spot on the Caardvarks Design Team for those who complete all seven.  You have until AM PST on Tuesday to complete this sketch and link up to Mr. Linky.

And a big woot woot to our own Vark Crewmember Heidi Van Laar for providing us with such great sketches.

I used a variety of elements that were included in the Studio Calico add-on kit provided to the Caardvarks Crew included their fun Ampersand stamp.  Can't wait to see what you create.

Resisting Pink Christmas

I had one more idea for the Celebration of Learning Challenge at the Hero Arts blog to showcase new techniques you've learned.  I think I'm finally getting the hang of the Ranger ink blending tool, and wanted to try it with emboss resist using the Hero Arts Stunning Snowflakes background stamp.

I stamped the Snowflakes in Versamark Dazzle ink and used clear embossing powder.  I then used Rouge, Pure Poppy, and Dark Peony inks to blend with my Ranger Blending tool, starting with the lightest, moving in from the edges to the center, and using the darker ink to highlight certain portions.  I then used the same technique with the Large Christmas Circle sentiment and punched it out with a 1 7/8" circle punch.

I finished with Hero Arts Crystal Gemstones in four sizes and coordinating ribbon (double knotted to get the tails to move in the right direction). 

I love bright pink for the holidays.

Are You Ready for Some Sketches??

Studio Calico / Caardvarks Sketchfest 2009 has finally arrived. 

There will be a new sketch (designed by our very own ultra-talented Heidi Van Laar) posted each day (for 7 days) at 12:01 am PST.  Your cards for that sketch must be completed and linked up to Mr. Linky by 7 am PST the next day to be eligible for fabulous prizes from Studio Calico.

To be eligible to win the BIG prize- a spot on the Caardvarks Design Team beginning November 1st - you must complete all 7 sketches.

The Caardvarks Crew all used the same kit from Studio Calico for our sketch designs (the acrylic stamps included with the kits did have some variation). 

It was so fun to see how a group of designers using the same products and same sketch could produce so many wonderful designs.

For this card I used fun sentiment tape, word stickers, a Maya Road Pinwheel blossom, and a fun little pin flag.  I used a leaf punch on some of the DP included with the kit, the ticket punch on the corners, and a hear punch on the tag.

Relax ... it's your day

The challenge at the Moxie Fab World blog is to create a card that incorporates some kind of household item as its focal point.  As I thought about different things in our house, I realized our recliners are probably one of our favorite household items, so that's how I decided my theme (combined with the fact that this chair from Judikins is one of the few household item stamps I own).

I had a scrap of Basic Grey Marrakech, so I used that for my chair upholstery.  The background paper is from DCWV Downtown Loft Collection and reminds me of the stone walls that were in my great-grandparents' sunken family room when I was growing up. 

I think the sentiment from A Muse works perfectly for a masculine birthday card design ... because for my husband, one of the best gifts would be a day in his recliner to relax, watch baseball, and nap.

Masked Butterfly Collage

This week's SCS Inspiration Challenge card is one that I believe turned out even better than I had envisioned in my mind. 

When I saw this beautiful Golondrinas on a Wire by Lorena Siminovich in the LAMA (Latin America in a Modern Age) store, I was transfixed.  I loved the contrast of the bright blue with the amazing text collage background, so those are the elements I wanted to incorporate in my design.

I combined a page of aged sheet music, aged book text, Hero Arts Old French Writing stamped on the margins of the aged pages, a map index, and electric design drawings to create my collage background.  I loved how she turned the text in all different directions, so I did the same with my design.

I sponged Azurite Chalk ink around Heidi Swapp butterfly masks to create the bright blue contrast.  I finished with a clear sentiment sticker. 

I really love this card ... it makes me smile every time I look at it.  I hope you find inspiration too.

JustRite Mega Font Blog Hop

I'm thrilled to be participating in the second day of the JustRite Mega Font Blog Hop featuring 54 amazing designers - 28 locations each day.  If you missed yesterday's blog hop, you can find it here.  JustRite is celebrating their Mega Font Hop (a 2 Day Event with 54 designers) in style with a Super 7 Day Font Sale. Take 30% off all JustRite font sets and the Horizontal and Vertical Font Stampers. Sale begins Sept 17th and ends Sept 24th.

And for a little incentive to leave some blog love as you make your way through the hop, we have Mystery Blog Candy.  The Mystery is that no-one knows which blog is the one that will be giving it away – nope not even the designers! There are 3 Blog Candy prizes each day which will go to 3 random commenter's from three random designer's blogs. So, to win some JustRite Candy, go check out all the blogs, comment on as many as you can from the two day hop. You have until Sunday at noon EST to leave your comments with six chances to win.  Check the JustRite Blog on Sunday evening for list of the winners

I have always been a collector of quotes, and would guess that more than half of the stamps I own are sentiment stamps.  However, there are so many quotes I'd love to have in a rubber stamp, but they aren't available.  With the JustRite Times New Roman Lower Case Font Set, I was able to create my own custom stamp featuring some of my favorite quotes.

For the first card I used the set's 25 point font for a favorite quote by e. e. cummings, and I loved that there were enough letters in the set to complete the entire quote.  The papers are Basic Grey's Lemonade Collection  and the Sketch is CPS # 133.  I wrapped the border punched strips with 4 ply linen thread.

 

The second card features the 95 and 50 point fontsand a quote by Christian Morgenstern.  I loved how the stamp block allowed me to use my larger ink pads to ink up the different words.

 

The teal map paper on the background and the house is from DCWV Downtown Loft collection.  I used the Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder to add a texture to my little house.

Below is the entire list of today's Font Blog Hop participants.  Your next stop is the fabulous Janine Orchard.

Debbie Olson
Jerri Kay Jimenez
Taylor Van Bruggen
Holly Simoni
Barb Schram
Terre Fry
Michelle Kovack
Kim Moreno
Catherine Doucette
Kellie Fortin
Kimberly Crawford
Kathy Jones
Michelle Giraud
Angela Barkhouse
Heather Pulvirenti
Tami Mayberry
Jennifer Buck
Keri Lee Sereika
Jami Bova
Laura Davis
Stacey Kingman
Bonnie Sharp
Stephanie Severin  << ------ You Are Here
Janine Orchard
Debbie Seyer
Margie Higuchi
Lauren Bergold
Anja Curvers
AJ Otto

Thursday Link Love

I was excited to get my copy of the September issue of CardMaker Magazine today featuring this card with their Sketch #13 on the last page of the magazine.  It's always so fun to see my creations in print.

Did you participate in the Mega Font Blog Hop with JustRite today?  I'll be taking part in the Hop tomorrow, so make sure you check it out (not to mention the 30% off all font sets at JustRite). 

Here are a few of my favorite links from my blog travels this week:

• I love iced Chai ... so I was excited to see this very fun illustrated Chai Tea Syrup recipe.  I'm thinking I can probably convert this to a sugar free blend
• I want to pick up some zucchini at the farmers market this weekend and try these zucchini pancakes

• Beautiful dancing shoes print that combines art with text ... ♥ it

Happy Friday.

Learning Book Pages

The challenge at the Hero Arts Blog this week is to celebrate learning and showcase new things you've learned in card design.  I revisited these designs from December 2008, and updated them with my new Thank You cling stamp. 

One of the things I've learned is to incorporate vintage book pages into my design.  I love how this stamp looks on the aged paper.  I've also learned that paper piecing and coloring a few of the elements in the design can really make it pop.  Additionally, I finally found some linen thread and love adding touches of it to cards as well.

 

I also added some Candle Light Shimmerz glitter paint around the outside of the frame, which slightly darkens the vintage paper and adds an overall sparkle.  The papers are Basic Grey Marrakech.

 

Did you Hop today?  Remember it's a three-day hop, so join me tomorrow for day 2.

Monday Monday

I intended to create tonight, but it just didn't happen ... a long work day ... getting home late ... working through my blog reader ... and getting ready for TWO blog hops this week (remember, Caardvarks GCD Designs Hop starts on Tuesday, September 15th ... my day for the hop is the 16th).

So instead, I will share a few more pictures from my sisters' weekend in Kansas City (miss you sis).  We were playing around with the wooden cut-outs at the Farmers Market.

 

 

And my favorite part of the zoo ... the slobbering hippos.

 

And check out Tammy's yummy Blog Candy.