Ingenious Inkling

Walking in a WASHI Wonderland

We're thrilled to have a sponsor this week at Jingle Belles ... the awesome Eyelet Outlet.  They have provided both Lauren & me with Washi Tape to use on our cards (and they will also be providing some washi tape and fun brads to one lucky participant).

I am seriously in love with their Glitter Washi Tape.  I am always looking for ways to incorporate glittery sparkle without the glittery mess ... and this is one great way.

See that glittery sparkle that's embellished with large stippled jewel brads and some swirl bling flourish.

I embellished a tag from scrapbook paper before mounting on silver glitter paper and a blue card base that coordinates with my wrap of twine.  Sketch is this week's Retro Sketch.

So break out that Washi Tape and come join our fun ... as we take back December one holiday card at a time.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of blogland finds:

• Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake (well for me, pretty much Toasted Marshmallow anything)
• How to Pay Attention (harder & harder in today's distractable world)
• Love The Reading Project
• Peaches & Cream is one of my favorite flavor combinations
• Tutorial for an awesome Ottoman with Storage
• these Coloring Keychains really make me want to play with Shrinky Dinks again (shown)
• These Mini Crochet Flowers would make lovely card embellishments
• Tiny Botanical Necklaces from Ruby Robin Boutique
• I may never make it to Hawaii, but I'd like to try making my own Ahi Poke
• Did you know there are 45 Ways to Lace Your Shoes
• Pattern for a Pretty Summer Top
• Iceland has always been on my bucket list
• 8 not coffee lattes
• Gorgeous Photos of Feathers
• Who knew Cereal Boxes could make such cool art
• Ways to improve your Calligraphy Skills

Have a tremendous Thursday!

Mom Day Love

Mom Day is fast approaching, and I'm working on my card stash.  I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch and Hero Arts products for a girlie card.

I backed my Renaissance Heart Die Cut with a scrap of polka dot designer paper and added a sentiment from Hero Arts Celebrate Every Day.

I'm also making it Girlie with Simon Says Stamp.

Butterfly Mom

There are quite a few challenges this week featuring butterflies, so I went on a Butterfly scavenger hunt in my studio.  I was sure I had a large butterfly stamp ... or die cut ... but nada.  

I finally found this never-before-inked Eclectic Stamp Butterfly from Darkroom Door, so that is what I used.

I took my initial inspiration from Addicted to Stamps and More by inking my butterfly in ombre shades of purple & red.

Next I wanted to add the big MOM in the center, so I found some glitter stickers.

I kept it clean & simple except for a few sequins (because I think almost every card needs a few sequins) for the Clean & Simple Butterfly challenge at The Paper Players.

It's also all about Butterflies at Make My Monday.

Super Hero

I love this fun Shazaam paper from Rusty Pickle ... perfect for featuring some Super Hero embellishments from The Eyelet Outlet.

I decided to play along with the Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge from Stamping Smiles Designs.

I went with 3 of a kind, Enamel Accents & a Square Card.  My enamel accents are the new Flat Back Resin Super Hero Shields.

I also used three Super Hero Saying brads.

I'm also linking-up at Virginia's View Friendship Party because I can think of several friends who would appreciate a note reminding them they are super (and providing them a few super hero shields to fend off the villains that tend to creep into our daily lives).  Sometimes we just need a reminder that we have a cape & helmet.

Time to Get Merry & Rock!

Did you see that Sandy Allnock is hosting #Craftchella2016 to celebrate the music festival Coachella.  She's looking for Music-themed designs with bonus points for stretching your stamps.

I immediately thought of the Guitar in the Taylored Expressions You're My Hero Set (I realized using a guitar on a music card isn't exactly a stretch) ... but my stretch was thinking about who could be playing the guitar.  I tried several possibilities and finally settled on Frosty the Snowman.

I chose the guitar with flames because I appreciated the oxymoron of combining fire with snow.  I positioned the guitar so it looks like he's just getting ready to play a really loud strum (and I love how it looks like the bird is perched on the end of the guitar).  

Since the mix-it-up challenge is still going on with Taylored Expressions & Essentials by Ellen, I used three different EBE sets to pull together my rockin' sentiment ('Tis the Season, 12 Days Companion Greetings & Basic Alpha).

 

Together Forever

Just Add Ink is featuring one of my favorite color combinations this week.

It is also the colors featured in Authentique's Classique: Beauty Collection, so this card came together quickly when I combined three scraps of paper.

I added a few flowers crowned with gemstone brads from the Eyelet Outlet (flower #2 was added to cover an ink smudge ... everything I touch today ends-up with an ink smudge) and a sentiment from My Favorite Things Together Forever.

Happy Birthday & Stuff

This week's Taylored Expressions Share Joy Challenge was a bit challenging for me.  I know I only have to use the sketch or the challenge, but I always like to push myself to see if I can incorporate both.

I kept finding three things I wanted to incorporate, but those three things weren't in a row.  I needed a masculine card for a friend's birthday this week, so I finally settled on the top row - gradient/ombre; enamel dots & no patterned paper.

I inked the Taylored Expressions Splatter embossed paper with Red Barn Distress ink to create the gradient effect.  I added two enamel dots to my tag featuring the die cut Birthday Treat Toppers.  The sentiment is from Big Bold Birthday.

What Happens in Vegas ...

Milestone birthdays require special cards ... especially when they involve a trip to celebrate.

I found these fun Reminisce stickers on my recent stop at the Scrapbook Factory in O'Fallon, Illinois (near St. Louis).  The layout is this week's My Favorite Things Sketch.  Sentiment is from MFT Piece of Cake.

 

If you're ever in the area, I would certainly recommend a visit to the Scrapbook Factory.  The store is large with a great classroom space and friendly, helpful staff.

I loved how they had their products organized primarily by theme, which I find helpful when I shop.  They also had lots of samples, which is a plus for me.

In addition to a wide selection of papers, embellishments and rubber stamps, they also had other artsy things like Zentangling ,,, the drawings on chipboard coasters were amazing.

And look at that awesome space for class.  They had an employee doing marker demos, so you could try different colors, which was really nice too.

Always thrilled when I can support a local vendor during my travels.

 

Here's to a Bright Future

Each year, I like to come-up with a Graduation card design, and then change the colors based on the school.  When I saw this week's CAS(E) this Sketch, my idea came together.

I knew I wanted to use my Graduation Accents from My Favorite Things, so I paired them with sentiment stamps from MFT Happy Graduation.

I love the 3-D hat assembly with the colored tassel ... and the hashtag is a fun finishing touch.  The card came together well with the Green & Gold of the school together with black and white.

It was a bit more challenging for the next school whose colors are white & red.  I had to omit the tassel color, so it wouldn't blend into the background.