Ingenious Inkling

Thursday Link Love

More fun finds from the world wide web:

• These magnetic refrigerator picture frames take art to a whole new level.
• A tutorial for a cute little origami box.
• This Bejeweled Christmas Tree (shown) makes me drool (photo tutorial included) ... it would be fun to try it in different shapes like a heart or stocking.
• Story Stones would make such a fun little gift (although likely a bit expensive to mail) :^) 
• A fun idea for an Advent Calendar ... it would be fun to use to count down to a birthday or other special occasion.
• Love this idea for using photos to identify what is inside storage boxes.
• Adorable tickets ... free printable for Valentine's Day ... or any day you want to say I love you.
• A tutorial for fun little bracelets ... they remind me of tiny little ornaments.
• A tip for repairing stamped solid images that don't quite get full coverage.
• As the holidays approach ... how about 31 Ways to Wrap Your Crap ... tons of inspiration.
• Love this fun little paper punched turkey ... especially those patterned paper tail feathers.
• I love all of the cool scarves I've been seeing this season ... here's a video showing 25 different ways to wear a scarf.
• Fun idea for a 52 Reasons Why Deck you can personalize for people in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Merry & Bright

This week's at Twisted Sketches the *twist* is shine ... I love the shiny sparkle of these dimensional gift tags I picked-up in the wrapping paper section, so I decided to make this dazzling reindeer the focal point of my *shiny* design.

And I Shopped My Stash for scraps of paper (including shiny silver metallic) and some neglected paper punches for their Christmas-themed challenge.

I finished my design with an EAD Stickerz sentiment.

Boxes, Tiny Boxes

Tonight I made some tiny boxes for my magnets.  I'll add some tissue paper when I package them for gift giving.

Soon after starting, I remembered that thinner scrapbook paper works much better than two-sided paper or thicker cardstock-like designer paper.  The one below is some vintage Basic Grey Urban Couture ... I got a bit of cracking on the folds, so a sponge & ink solved that problem.

This Christmas Cardinal paper has been in my stash for years.  It is perfect for another tiny box.

Summertime ... The Livin's Easy

While my Mind's Eye Good Day Sunshine papers out, I decided to use this week's Freshly Made Sketch to make another Congratulations card.

I used a sentiment from Market Street Stamps Chillaxin and the Congrats from EK Success Stamp Events.

Bingo

One of my projects for this weekend is to make some Congratulations cards for my stash at the office. 

I combined My Mind's Eye Good Day Sunshine (Boy) papers with this fun little Bingo card from Unity.  I punched circles for the Bingo markers and added a punched star in the center. The Sketch is this week's CAS-ual Friday.

I finished with a wrap of chocolate twine and Hero Arts sentiment from Essential Messages.  I like that the card is gender-neutral, so it will work for any recipient.

Metallic Copper Birthday

This week's SCS Inspiration Challenge comes from the Etsy Store of Singing Cat Studio featuring polymer clay components colored with mica powders and sealed with a clear, permanent, water-resistant acrylic finish. The artist adds a wide range of elements to her creations, including vintage and antique buttons to contemporary filigrees and stampings.

I was inspired by her Handcrafted Adjustable Mixed Media Necklace with Hand Dyed Silk Ribbon.  I loved the shape, colors, and floral embellishment, so that is what I incorporated into my card design.

Metallic Teal Cardstock was embossed and then rubbed with Copper Metallic Rub-ons to achieve a similar look.

I used my sentiment strip to create a simlar division between the patterns seen in the sections of the pendant.  I added a cooper flower and a few turquoise adhesive gems before attaching to a metallic copper cardstock base.

I hope you find inspiration.

Peaceful Snowflakes

This week at Jingle Belles the prompt is to make a card for friends and family who don't necessarily celebrate Christmas ... could be Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, or just a winter "thinking of you" card.

My go-to theme is usually peace ... something I think everyone can embrace ... often paired with snow, which I find peaceful.  For this card, I used a pre-made dimensional glitter tag I found in the gift wrapping section at Michael's.  There were 12 tags for $2.99, which is significantly cheaper than buyout a dimensional embellishment like this in the crafting section.

And the good news is that there are four different tags in the package, so I could make multiple cards using the same theme.  These are also perfect for the Let it Snow Challenge at Moving Along with the Times.

I combined K&Company's Que Sera Sera papers with some Fiskars shimmer paper (white on one side and the small purple hearts on the other).

The sketch is November's Sketch for You to Try ... and the sentiment is a favorite John Lennon quote from Peddler's Pack.  I stamped it on the white shimmer paper and embossed.  I finished with some opalescent gems that went with all of the color combinations.

Can't wait to see what you create.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of fun from the blogosphere:

• French Toast Bake ... yum.
• Lots of ideas for studio storage ... I particularly like the holder for the reading glasses ... need one of those for my desk.
• I love vintage file cabinets ... they are so much sturdier than new ones ... and I REALLY love this make-over with wallpaper.
• A tutorial for gorgeous baby-wipe flowers.
• Fabulous Fabric Broaches ... tiny stitched works of art.
• Spray Painted Buttons ... who knew?
• I love the idea of a Lovely Life List.
• These vintage globe snowmen almost make me want to decorate for winter (shown).
• Love the stitching and velvet trim on these snowflake tags.
• Bite Size Apple PIes ... how fun.
• I love roasted green beans ... and now I want to try them with a little Parmesan Cheese ... so much better (and better for you) than green bean casserole ... trust me, they are awesome ... I eat a whole plate just like french fries.

Have a tremendous Thursday.

New Artistic Outpost Images ~ French Flight

French Flight is the newest addition to Artistic Outpost's catalogue of unique vintage inspired stamp collections.

 

In the late 1700's , two French brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier launched the first manned ballon from the from the center of Paris and flew for a period of 20 minutes.  In 1793, Jean Pierre Blanchard became the first to fly a hot air balloon in North America ... yet another French adventurer!

This stamp collection pay homage to these adventurers. Fun, quirky, with a little bit of steampunk thrown in for good measure, French Flight is pure creative delight. 

I had fun combining the French Flight images with designs from Paris Exposition & Whimsical Melange. I love how easy it is to combine images from different collections.

 

Background paper is from the 7Gypsies Lille Collection.  Here's another stamped collage using images from the same three sets with a different paper from the 7Gypsies Off the Wall Collection.

I'm also joining the Up in the Air Challenge at the Drunken Stampers. 

 

The French Flight Collection available in both unmounted rubber sheets or pre-mounted on EZMount cling foam and hand trimmed on a clear cling storage card (my favorite)!  

Make sure you hop on over and check out the fabulous creations from the Artistic Outpost Design Team. 

Gerrie Johnnic

Lisa Somerville

Judy Hayes

Lynn Stevens

Barbara Washington

Suzanne Czosek

Louise Granlund

 

Butterfly Kaleidoscope

Did you know a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope ... love that ... so I decided to create my own little kaleidoscope tonight.

I discovered a new sketch challenge from The Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps Blog at TesaB's, and it looked perfect for the task.  So I retreated to my craft room and created my card while watching two of my favorite comedies ... the amazing Zooey Deschanel as Jess in The New Girl (we find ourselves repeating lines from the show all week) ... and the always hilarious ensemble from Raising Hope.

I started my design with Brenda Walton paper from K&Company and added a bit of Bo Bunny Et Cetera paper to help pull out the orangey colors in the butterflies.  Next, a few pieces of Tim Holtz Tissue Tape and a CatsLife Press Sentiment ... then came the butterflies ... and a few flowers too.

They are all 3-D sticker embellishments from K&Company ... the kind I usually hoard ... but today I decided, the more the merrier ... and I love the effect.