Ingenious Inkling

Midnight CLEAR

The theme at Jingle Belles this week is It Came Upon a Midnight CLEAR ... which means we're making cards with a clear element (acetate, vellum, etc.)

I broke out a piece of Hambly Silver-Printed Transparency to create my design.

I positioned my die cut on top of my transparency and then applied adhesive behind the die cut to adhere the transparency to my navy card front (I also added a few strips of adhesive behind the vertical patterns).

I finished with clear red & pink gems ... please come join us and start taking back December, one holiday card at a time.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of fun blogland finds:

• Tutorial to make your own Metal Flower embellishments
• These Summer Appetizers look yummy & refreshing
• Summer In A Jar Salad looks so good too
• Free Father's Day Printable
• Necklace with DIY Crocheted Beads
• Summer means Popsicles
• Bathroom Organization (or perhaps craftroom) idea
• Chicken Salad looks like a great summer meal
• Do you have a Summer Bucket List?
• CopyCat Starbucks Drinks to save you some $$ this summer
• Glue Gun Stencils (shown)

Have a tremendous Thursday!

New York, New York

I just returned from an awesome trip to New York City with my crafty bestie Lauren (you can re-visit our prior trips if you're interested) ... I never tire of photographing that city.  This was a mural between Chinatown and Little Italy ... see the fork with the spaghetti at the bottom?

We bought art supplies ... first at Kinokuniya where Lauren had to work hard to narrow down her selection of art pens.

Also The Ink Pad where I had fun adding Michelle Ward's Ink Pad exclusive stencils (I adore the man hole covers) to my collection (they have an online store now, so you can shop there too).

We also at way too much amazing food ... everyone should enjoy a sushi bowl from Pokeworks.

Or perhaps the dessert trio from Zengo ... churros, banana croissant bread pudding and chocolate tres leche cake for us (they have the best service too).

And we had our requisite visit to The Strand (seriously, I could get lost in there for hours).

And we hung-out with the characters of Mo Willems at The New York Historical Society.

Because whatever you do ... don't let the Pigeon drive the bus!

And always look-up.

And around 

I never tire of visiting this city.

And a few days with my bestie ... priceless.

 

Being Strong is the Only Choice

Sometimes things happen in life where there just don't seem to be the right words ... but you still want to show support and say something.

Tonight is one of those nights.  Sentiment is from My Favorite Things Vertical Greetings ... Layout is my version of this week's MFT Sketch Challenge.  

Glittery Washi Travels

This week I am in New York hanging out with my artsy bestie Lauren (who is also an Eyelet Outlet Design Team Member ... it is so fun that we get to design together in person and across the miles).

This card is inspired by our crafty travels.

 

There is so much to do and see in New York City ... and we never tire of exploring.  I just love this wide New York Washi Tape.  I added some Swirl Bling in Jewel Blue as well as Black Glitter Washi Tape and some Color Wheel Washi Tape too.

 

My trick for covering an entire card front with washi tape is to cut a piece of cardstock slightly larger than my desired size and position it on a non-stick craft sheet.  I apply a piece of washi tape in the center of the card that extends slightly beyond each side.  

 

 

Then I keep adding washi tape working toward the top and the bottom until the entire cardstock is covered.  It will easily detach from the craft sheet, so I can trim off the ends in my paper cutter and get perfect edges.

 

Here's another travel-themed card for a future dream destination ... Paris, France.

 

For this card I used the same technique combining Paris Washi Tape with Copper Glitter Washi Tape.  For the center, I used a piece of copper metallic cardstock to attach my sentiment.

I embellished with Eiffel Tower Brads and Swirl Bling in Champagne.

Remember, you can find Inspiration on our Eyelet Outlet Facebook Page ... and our Design Team Pinterest Board.

Products used:

• New York Washi Tape
• Black Glitter Washi Tape
• Swirl Bling - Jewel Blue
• Color Wheel Washi Tape
• Paris Washi Tape
• Copper Glitter Washi Tape
• Swirl Bling - Jewel Champagne
• Eiffel Tower Brads

 

 

Snow Dude

The last few Jingle Belles cards have been easy peasy gift tag creations, so for this week's Snowman design, I decided to go a bit more complex.  Piecing together this little snow dude turned out to be quite a little job.  One tip I learned (accidentally) is that I die cut my hat and scarf from a piece of scrap paper that had some stamping on the back.  That turned out to be a blessing because when all of the little pieces had to be put back together, I knew which side was the top.

I die cut my snowman from five different colors of paper.  I usually do the snowman body in all white, but doing the outline in black really made it pop more against the background.  I also liked the two-tone look for the scarf and hat.

I added a little birdie friend from Swanky Snowdudes and some snowflakes in the sky (I colored the centers with a clear glitter pen, but it's hard to see the sparkle in the photo).  All stamps and die cuts are from Paper Smooches (because nobody does super-cute snow dudes quite like Kim).

With all of the fun paper layers in this design, I'm also linking-up at the Paper Smooches June Layers Challenge.

Thursday Link Love

Another list of fun finds from strolling through blogland:

• S'Mores Cookies ... these look so good ... as do Mini S'More's Cookie Cups
• Tutorial for an Ombre Brass Necklace ... imagine the color possibilities
• Love this fun Photo Ledge DIY
• Creative Night Stand Alternatives
• An adorable collection of pom pom critters (one shown)
• these Ring Holders are awesome
• Love this Paper-Pieced Wall Hanging
• tiny is BIG
• Tutorial to custom color your own glitter
• Peanut Butter Eggs are my downfall ... must try this healthier version
• Life should have more Pinatas

Have a tremendous Thursday!

Savvy Succulants

Succulents always remind me of my Grandma ... she had tall pots of hens & chickens just off the back porch.  My other Grandma always had aloe growing on the window sill in the kitchen ready to soothe our wounds.  

Succulents are the only plants I have in my home (because watering twice a month is pretty much the limits of my horticulture skills).  However, I do believe this is the first time I have stamped with succulents.

These are from a Hero Arts Monthly Kit that I just had to have and then promptly proceeded to never ink-up.  They were so fun to stamp and arrange.

I hope you find inspiration.

Those Who Bring Sunshine ...

The current Mix It Up Challenge is to combine Essentials by Ellen with stamps from Technique Tuesday.  As I looked through my stamp collection from both companies, and idea immediately came together.

I love the cute little bear and smiling sun from Essentials by Ellen All Inside.  

They paired so perfectly with the Technique Tuesday sentiment stamp by Ali Edwards ... Bring on the Sun.

Layout is this week's Sunday Stamps Sketch ... and I love the new Flirty Flamingo Cardstock from Stampin' Up.

You Get Underwear

I still had the scraps of cardstock on my studio table from this card ... and I liked that color combination from Pals Paper Arts so much, I decided to use it for a Christmas Card.

Sketch is from this week's Unity Stamp Challenge and Stamps are Christmas Brief.