Ingenious Inkling

Washi Tape Light Switch Covers

Did you know that Washi Tape isn't just for paper?  There are so many other things you can decorate.

Today I'm decorating some light switch covers.  For the first one I used Wide Flower Washi Tape.

 

It's easiest if you start by centering your first piece in the middle of the plate.  I used my Tim Holtz Retractable Knife to trim the switch opening from the back and folding it back along the edges.  

 

I overlapped each edge, and then folded around the back.  I then attached small strips of packing tape to make sure the Washi stay attached to the back.

 

For the next one I used three different tapes - Green Owl Washi Tape, Foil Washi Tape - Green/ Gold Dots, Foil Washi Tape - Green/Gold Stripes.

 

 

 

Again, I started in the middle and worked my way up and down the plate, repeating the patterns.

 

 

With all of the Washi Tape varieties at Eyelet Outlet, the possibilities are endless.

 

 

 

 

Products Used:

• Wide Flower Washi Tape
• Green Owl Washi Tape
• Foil Washi Tape - Green/Gold Dots
• Foil Washi Tape - Green/Gold Stripes

 

Chihuly Venetians

My Dad is here visiting for Memorial Day Weekend, and yesterday we enjoyed taking him to see the Chihuly Venetians exhibit at the National Czech & Slovak Museum here in Cedar Rapids.

There was a movie that explained the process of Chihuly traveling to Italy to work with two other glass masters to make these amazing creations.  They started by making larger and larger pieces, and then made their Piccolo series, where they took the same techniques and made them smaller.

The centerpiece of the exhibit was the Laguna Murano Chandelier.  The movie showed how each individual piece was assembled into this massive piece of art.

In addition to all of the swirly piece of glass, there were all sorts of carved sea creatures ... can you spot the turtle & the fish?

The exhibit also included some of the paintings he had done to help visualize the finished glass designs.

Some of the pieces were amazingly large with gorgeous colors and the simmer of metal in the glass.

My favorites, however, were the small ones that had such intense colors ... the teal & orangey red combination was amazing.

I loved the intricacy of the glass designs.

I'll definitely be going back to visit again.

Unity Stamp Company - My Sweet Petunia MISTI Blog Hop

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be hopping with an amazing group of designers showcasing fun Unity Stamp Company images & the amazing MISTI from My Sweet Petunia (thanks to Unity for sharing these stamps with me).

For my first card, I stamped the lovely image from Unity Stamp Company Present In my Heart in black ink on watercolor paper.  Next I used my new Distress Oxide Inks and sponges to abstractly color and blend my image ... it gives that beautiful image such an ethereal feel.  It reminds me of spending time with my sister on the beach.

 

One of the cool things about the MISTI is that after you're done with all of your inking or coloring, you just stamp one more time to get a nice crisp image on top of the ink ... it's like magic.

My next card features stamps from Unity's Happy Snail Mail (this set has so many great sentiments, it was hard to choose).

For this one, I stamped my image several times to get nice crisp black lines and then I colored with my Spectrum Noir Markers.  I went for sort of an Alice in Wonderland color combination ... so many color combination possibilities for this fun image.

Next, I used Ken Oliver Color Burst Powders, my water spray bottle, and paper towels for dabbing to create two unique pieces of watercolor paper.  I added more browns to my background paper.  I'm also linking-up at the Tuesday Throwdown where the theme is Anything Goes.

 

The MISTI is perfect for stamping on water-colored paper to get a nice strong solid-lined image against the vibrant background ... this stamp & sentiment are from Unity's Turn Toward the Light.  I used gold glitter pen to color in my bloom.

For my final card, I combined paper piecing and coloring with Spectrum Noir markers with Unity's Francine Girl.  

Again, the MISTI makes it so much easier to stamp both the background image and cardstock for paper piecing with precision.

Everyone who leaves a comment on all the blogs in the hop will go into a drawing for 3 prize packs from Unity and winner's choice of an Original or Mini MISTI.  

Comments need to be made by May 30th at noon Central Standard Time to be eligible. Winners will be posted on both the Unity Stamp Company Blog and the My Sweet Petunia blog on May 31st.

What are you waiting for ... go do some hopping:

 

My Sweet Petunia

Heather Hoffman

Ilina Crouse

Echo Noble

Jeanne Streiff

Angie Blom

Maureen Wong

Kary Lim

Kia Gibson-Clapper

Angeline Choo

Giovana Smith

Stephanie Gold

Lee Ann Barrett

Lisa Arana

Chris Dayton

Maria Levine

Dina Kowal

Sharon Nettleship

Vicki Garrett

Karen Maldonado

Stephanie Severin <<<-------- You Are Here

Donna Baes

Julie Warner

Mandi Mance

Anna Wight

Noelle Reece

Angela Bode

Shemaine Smith

Tosh Leyendecker

Kris Lancaster

Kelli Hull

Gaylynn Martling

Marci Snee

Joslyn Nielson

Maria Sabina

Stephanie Muzzulin

Ceal Pritchett

Robyn Weatherspoon

Unity Blog 

O' HOLE-y Night

We're celebrating a HOLE-y Night at Jingle Belles ... making cards with an opening or aperture on the front.

Any card that requires any semblance of geometry is a challenge for me (as you will seen when you look at the inside of my card), but I was finally able to use the Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Film Strip Die Cut to make it work.  I used the die cut three times on Navy (card front), Light Blue (aperture frame) and White (inside).

I found these cute little Epoxy Owl Stickers that fit perfectly inside the three little windows.  I finished with a sticker sentiment.

You can see my alignment lacked precision despite my best efforts, but with a little trimming I made it work.

I'm also joining Addicted to Stamps and More where they're celebrating Holiday Cards.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of blogland discoveries:

• Tutorial for adorable Drink Charms
• Pantone Colors in Landscapes
• Rhubarb Raspberry Cookies ... springtime yum
• How to add color to White Embossing using your Markers
• I do enjoy a great Cheese Board
• Tutorial for gorgeous Fabric Flowers (shown)
• Loving Matte Black Tile & Grout
• Strawberry Skillet Pie ... yes please
• Love these amazing Blackout Curtains
• Did you know you can freeze Avocados?

Have a tremendous Thursday!

Chevron Birthday

Today I'm playing with what I call *washi paper*.  I covered a 6" x 7 1/2" piece of white cardstock with Chevron Washi Tape.  When it was covered, I trimmed the paper down to 5" x 6 1/2" for my card base. 

This Chevron Washi Tape works particularly well for this technique since it's easy to line-up the pieces using the chevron pattern.

 

For my focal image, I covered a second piece of white cardstock with the tape angled in the same direction, so I could die cut my Die-Versions Party Hats.  I assembled my card using a sketch from the TGIF Challenges.

 

 

I embellished with some turquoise enamel dots and a Hero Arts Birthday Messages Sentiment to finish the design.

 

 

I'm also joining the Washi Tape Challenge at the Brown Sugar Challenge.

 

 

Soft Sayings Card Kit

One of the perks of being a Stampin' Up Demonstrator is that I get the chance to pre-order some of the products from the new catalog.  One of the items I ordered is a Card Kit called Soft Sayings.  I'm usually not much of a card kit gal (I'm terrible at sticking with the instructions), but I really loved how these cards featured the new in-colors, so I thought I would give them a try.

This was the first card I assembled (there are 2 of each design).  It included stamping, punched-out leaves & tag and some washi tape all attached to a pre-printed card front.  I loved how easily it came together.

The second one involves a beautiful glittery bloom together with some similar elements from the first card.

These are great projects to tackle after a full day at the office when the creative side of my brain feels pretty mushy.

 

Cherish Every Moment

The current Challenge at Impression Obsession is Animal Friends.  I chose to feature my adorable Patchwork Elephant for a few baby cards.

I die cut the Elephant out of three different scraps of mint designer paper and assembled him.

I just bought the Congratulations Stamp with my previous winnings.  The layout is this week's Just Add Ink Sketch.

Since I had extra Elephant pieces, I used them to make a second card.

This one uses the layout from CAS(E) this Sketch, three sizes of star punches, and a sticker sentiment.

Since the card is for a baby boy, I'm also linking up at the Stars Challenge at The Male Room.

Mondo Hydrangea Thank You

When I saw the colors in the current Essentials By Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge, I immediately thought of my Grandma's Hydrangeas.

Hers were various shades of pinks, blues and purples, so I used those ink colors and sponged them onto a piece of water color paper.

I stamped the Mondo Hydrangea and several additional petals that I attached with glue dots and folded the corners up for dimension.  My leaves were cut from a scrap of green designer paper.

I used the light tan for my card base & added a sentiment from Essentials by Ellen Fancy Thanks.

I'm also joining the Always Fun Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes.

 

Hello Sweet Friend

When I saw the Challenge Theme at Cute Card Thursday was *Brads* ... you know I had to join the fun.  

I managed to incorporate four Eyelet Outlet Brads into my design (together with other Eyelet Outlet products) ... can you find them?

I started with this fun little Caterpillar Scene from We R Memory Keepers 72 & Sunny.  I placed a cute little Witch Hat Brad on the Caterpillar's head (I'm calling it a party hat) to keep the sun out of his eyes.

 

Next I added some Green Butterfly Brads for his friends, as well as a Butterfly Corner Brad in the upper left of the design.  The layout is this week's Match the Sketch.

 

I finished with three different sizes of paper flowers topped with a Green Enamel Dot for the center.

 

I'd love to see you join the fun using your Eyelet Outlet Brads.

 

Products Used:

 

• Witch Hat Brad
• Butterfly Brads
• Butterfly Corner Brads
• Paper Flowers - Solid Colors - Yellow
• Enamel Dots - Multi Size - Green