Ingenious Inkling

Happiness Lives Here

I've been cleaning my studio today ... after a few weeks of creative chaos, it had gotten completely out of control.  It feels much better now that I can see the top of my work table ... so I decided to make it a bit messy again with this week's CASE Study Challenge.  I love map-themed designs ... and Amber's card is amazing.

I loved the pop of the heart and the United States outline, so that's what I decided to design around.

I broke out my trusty vintage Atlas and tore out a map page for the background.  Next I added stamps from Mama Elephant's Geotagged & We Click.  The layout is from this week's CAS - Colors & Sketches.

I'm also joining Code Word: Heart at the Addicted to CAS blog.

Fourteen Birthday Wishes

I cut into my new 6x6 in  pad of Crate Paper Fourteen Collection for this week's Unscripted Sketch.

The doily paper seemed perfect for the corner circle, so that's where I started my design.  I originally intended to make a valentine, but when I got it all put together, I decided to go with a butterfly rather than a heart and turned it into a birthday card for my dear mother-in-law ... love the fantastic color and pattern combinations in this collection.

So many possibilities for the circles in this sketch ... remember, they don't need to be circles, you can use any shape as long as you stay with the basic form of the sketch.  Can't wait to see what you create.

Friendship & Butterflies

This week's SCS Inspiration Challenge comes from the Etsy Shop of OctoPurse.  Shop owner Daphne turned her sewing hobby into a business after teachers loved receiving the cute little purses.  It allows her to share her love for colorful Japanese and US Fabrics.  I chose this adorable purse to inspire my design.

I started with vibrant butterfly designer paper and added some new Friendship Sentiments stamps from the new Imagine series by Crafter's Companion.

The friendship definition was repeatedly stamped on the background.  I added a coordinating sentiment on a white flag with some punched butterflies & pearls.

I hope you find inspiration.

Dream

Crafter's Compaion is hosting this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge called Make Your Mark: 

CFC87: Use markers in your Clean And Simple Creation Remember... a little can go a loooong way! You can color an image, or an element, or get creative and show us some fun techniques!

 I used an abstract marker scribbling technique with Spectrum Noir Markers (similar to the technique used by Design Team Member Lyn) with this gorgeous lion from Crafter's Companion's In the Wild Set.

These are the markers I used (started with light, moving darker, and then coloring the eyes, nose & ears).

The gorgeous sentiment is from Crafter's Companion's Time to Dream Set.  If you're interested, they're still running a special on these new sets of buy 3 get one free.

I'm also linking-up at 52 Card Pick-up ... and the Monochromatic Challenge at Polkadoodles.

I *Heart* Christmas

This week I made another card inspired by our Scandinavian Christmas photo at Jingle Belles.

This time i wanted to incorporate the aged metal together with the heart shape into my design.

I started by embossing silver metallic cardstock & then rubbing on Black Soot Distress ink to age it.  Next I added a scrap of embossed specialty paper in the center to bring in the fabric feel of the design.

The heart was die cut from Basic Grey's Nordic Holiday paper and attached by stacking several layers of foam tape, so I could shape the heart to look like a pillow.  I finished with a felt snowflake for texture, an Aspen Frost flair button & Get Merry! Hero Arts Sentiment.

Since the Aspen Frost Flair Button was a new Christmas gift to me, I'm linking-up at the Something New Challenge at the BasicGrey Challenge Blog.

Remember, you have until Wednesday, Janaury 30th at 6pm EST to link-up your inspired cards.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of fun finds from blogland:

• In case you're looking for something to add to your To Do List, here are 30 Accomplishments to Be Proud Of
• This magnetic toy storage idea might also work in a studio for magnitized containers.
• Since I am never without my lip balm, I would love this cool lip balm holder for my purse.
• I love Crock Pot Soups this time of year ... this Picante Chicken & Black Bean looks like it would really warm you up.
• Ombre ... glitter ... washi tape (shown) ... oh yeah.
• Chicken Salad is a favorite of mine ... but it's usually not so healthy ... I want to try this version using Non-Fat Greek Yogurt ... or maybe this one with a kick of Chipotle.
• My Smart Phone has replaced my camera for many of my photos ... here's some tips on taking better pictures with your pocket pal.
• And here are some great tips for Taking Photos for your Blog.
• These Buffalo Cauliflower Bits looks like a healthy & tasty snack to have around for the Super Bowl.

Have a tremendous Thursday.

My Funniest Valentine

A friend asked if I could make a special valentine for his spouse that included a saying that is an *inside joke* between the two of them ... instead of being his *funny valentine* ... she's his *funniest valentine*.  I made two version for him to choose from ... which one would you pick?

For the first one I went a bit more traditional using cupid (which is also the name of the font ... it just seemed appropriate) and hearts.  Papers are Carta Bella's Devoted Collection.  I added a stamped heart with wings & some punched hearts to embellish.  I was inspired by the Sketch at Make My Monday (but I won't be linking-up because I strayed from the sketch ... and strayed from a CAS design ... but I wanted to give them inspirational credit).

For my second one, I'm joining in the All About Love Challenge at Whimsical Wednesdays ... because this one is pretty whimsical ... actually probably closer to down-right silly ... but I love it.

For this one I used a square children's valentine that I picked-up last year because I thought they were just too stinkin' cute to pass up.  There was a tiny heart in his hand, but I replaced it with a larger conversation heart die cut attached with foam.  I still printed the sentiment in Cupid font but added a couple of die cut arrows from this fun new purchase.  I used this week's sketch from The Paper Players (which is a CAS keeper).

And I almost forgot ... the winner of the goodie box is (someone who likes my second favorite valentine candy):

Your card is smashing! I like the "flowing" sentiment with the layered circles. Congrats on having your cards featured on the CHA boards! :) My fav Valentine candy is Brach's cinnamon jelly hearts. I spied a bag last week and it's here with me, now. Hee!

Posted by: Gabby | January 15, 2013 at 08:13 AM

Send me your address & I'll get it in the mail to you.

Ducky Birthday

A fun birthday card using the Sunday Sketch Challenge at Studio Calico ... I used products from four different kits to create this fun design.  I started with the chevron paper scrap that I cut into strips and worked from there.

I used my new Spectrum Noir markers to color my Tiny Wood Veneer Stars to coordinate with the colors in the paper, and they worked like a charm.  I also discovered Micro Glue Dots ... perfect for attaching these stars.

Studio Calico kits used:

• Block Party Card Kit
• 34th Street Card Kit
• Murray Hill
• Penn Station

Memory Jar

The January Challenge at the Crafter's Companion Challenge Blog is ... Anything But a Card.  For my project, I decided to make a memory jar.  I have been saving inspiration for this idea for some time, but the most recent inspiration came from the Memory Jar at Stellaire.

One idea is to write down the good things that happen or memories you don't want to forget and place them in the jar throughout the year ... then you can open them on New Year's Eve to remember what a great year you've had.  

I thought another great idea was to use this as a birthday gift.  You would e-mail or mail out a form to lots of friends and members of hte birthday recipient and have them recount their favorite memories involving the birthday boy or girl.  Then have them return the memories, so you can fill the jar and give it as a gift.  I made this is netrual tones, so it would work for a many or a women.

I started by recycling a large pickle jar ... but any glass vessel will do.  I stamped the border image from Decorative Swirls several times end-to-end on texty designer paper.  I cut the strip of paper slightly wider than the image on both sides, and used super-strong double-sided tape to attach the band around the jar (overlapping underneath the focal image to hide the joint).

Next I stamped the sentiment from Friendship Sentiments on coordinating designer paper.  I positioned the die cut using washi tape to secure it, so I could cut out the focal piece.  I used the next size larger with black cardstock for the border.

I wanted some texture for my jar, so I added several wraps of textured yarn around the top ... yarn shops are one of my favorite places to hunt for great fibers for my projects.  I found this at Yarn Shop & More on one of my Sisters' Weekends (my sister is a knitter, so she never minds a trip to the yarn store).

Finally I assembled the jar adding three layered flowers with a decorative brad center using 3-D Glue Dots.

I added a few bits of tissue tape as the final embellishment.

Check out the requirements for joining the Challenge fun here.  I'm also joining The Crafty Bloggers Network where they're celebrating flowers this month ... and Paper Playtime where they're challenging you to Use Some Brown (I think brown flowers were well for masculine designs as well).

Photo Valentine

I wanted to join the fun at the BE-Inspired Challenge at The Alley Way Stamps, which is this photograph.

I decided to incorprate layers, the colors, and of course ... make it sweet.  Since my nieces & nephews are across the miles, I thought a camera would be a fun vocal point for a valentine.

I paper pieced the Polaroid Frame & Camera from the new Framed Set.  I added some SRM Sticker Heart (from Sweet) and sentiment with a row of hearts (from We''ve Got Your Border - Valentine ... love these) to finish the design.  The layout is this week's CAS Sketch from The Paper Players.