Ingenious Inkling

Baby it's GOLD (or SILVER) Outside

This week at Jingle Belles we're creating with metallics.  

Do you ever go craft shopping at the hardware store ... if you don't ... you should.  Whenever my Dad comes to visit, there are always multiple trips to the hardware store.   While he's looking for screws, bolts and picture hangers ... I'm looking for things I can make into art.

Can you spot what I found for my card this week?

Duck makes a fantastic silver shelf paper liner.  I attached it to a scrap of cardstock and die cut my tree.  I fully intended to use the tree itself, but then I fell in love with the silhouette.  (I just saw they make a glimmer shelf liner, so I'll be looking for that next)

I actually started this card with a messy piece of inky watercolor paper that almost went into the garbage.  It was an experiment that failed (yep, it takes lots of fails to get to the good stuff).

I used Bo Bunny Silver embossing paste and a polka dot stencil to cover the green ... except it didn't cover it as much as I hoped and still looked a bit blotchy.  However, when I placed my die cut opening over it ... suddenly I had a beautifully decorated tree.  All I had to do was add a sticker sentiment and a piece of Eyelet Outlet Bling for the star, and it was done.

Celebrate Today

I've been mulling over the Essentials By Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge inspiration photo for some time now, trying to decide which element I wanted to build my design around.

I kept coming back to the pattern around the border of the plates in the bottom left photograph.  I wanted to create a similar repeating pattern.  I decided to use the smallest bloom from the Essentials by Ellen Mondo Peony and stamp it repeatedly Gina K. Designs Kraft ink on Ivory cardstock using my MISTI to help me position & overlap the blooms.

Using my MISTI Creative Corners, I was able to stamp off the edge all the way around my 5 1/2" square of cardstock.

When I was finished, I cut my paper into a circle for the base of my card.

I created several more circles in the center of my *plate* using colors from the inspiration picture.  I die cut my EBE Prize Stag from Kraft Cardstock and then added the party hat from Essentials by Ellen Sock Monkey Surprise.  I finished with a little sticker sentiment (that also had a party hat) from my stash.

I always love seeing where my inspiration takes me.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of fun blogland finds:

• These Paper Peonies look so real ... or  maybe Paper Poinsettias are for you
• I've been craving Pickle Dip
• Love the idea of sketching on white dishes
• Fun Clothes Pin Advent Calendar
• Kitchen tips from the cutest little kitchen
• I learned Macrame in Girl Scouts ... this makes me want to take it up again
• Amazing Giant Sea Urchin Sculptures
• Human Body Myths
• Chicken & Corn Chowder ... comfort in a bowl
• Fabulous Christmas Tree Ornament Art
• No Bake Apple Cheesecake (although I think I would make mine peach)

Have a terrific Thursday!

Christmas Card Trio

Eyelet Outlet Brads make any Christmas card a little extra-special.

I started with simple holiday stickers and added brads to each one to *kick-it-up-a-notch*.  This one uses this week's Sunday Stamps Sketch. 

I added some of my favorite glitter enamel dots (that work perfectly with my glitter paper) and a sentiment sticker.

I loved how the tree brad fit right over the tree riding on top of the car ... oh the memories wandering through the tree farm to find that perfect tree (and then it seldom fitting when we got home).

 

For my next one I added a Santa Hat Brad to make my Christmas Cardinal just a little more festive.

 

 

And my final one this week is a variation on the Sunday Stamps Sketch all decked in gold with a lovely ornament and warm woolen mittens.

 

 

Make sure you add some extra brads and bling to your holiday cards this year.

 

Eyelet Outlet Products used: 

• Ornament Brads
• Pine Tree Brads
• Bell Brads
• Santa Hat Brads
• Holiday Mitten Brads
• Gold Glitter Enamel Dots
• Enamel Dots Vacation (black)

Soft Sayings

I'm not usually one for card kits (because I don't follow instructions well), but when the kit contains fabulous elements, you don't necessarily need to follow instructions to get beautiful results.

These cards are from the Soft Sayings Card Kit from Stampin' Up.  I adore the color combinations and the bits of golden glitter.

The green is Stampin' Up Emerald Envy, one of my new favorites.

The flowers are so delicate and beautiful.

Agraria Thank You

The site for this week's SplitCoastStampers Inspiration Challenge is Agraria San Francisco.  Agraria means "beautiful flowers growing in the fields" and is the name the founders chose for their original potpourri, which has expanded to include other delicious smelling products.

I chose their signature Bitter Orange Bath Salts and Bath Bar to inspire my design.

I started with metallic papers from DCWV Cranberry Christmas Collection.  I used a rectangle of silver paper to back my metallic bird and wrapped it in green ribbon like the bath bar.

I stamped my Poppy Stamps Hope and Thanks sentiment in Delicata Silver Ink and embossed with silver detail embossing powder.  I finished with a few silver sequins.

I'm also joining the Gratitude Theme Week at TGIF Challenge.

I hope you find inspiration.

Paper Tearing Fun

At Jingle Belles we're still celebrating thankfulness ... making thank you cards ... or in my case this week, multi-purpose cards that may become thank you cards.

I was feeling a serious lack of mojo last weekend during my prime creative time.  I was chatting with Lauren about how frustrated I was to feel *stuck* when I needed to be making things.  She suggested that I wander back through my blog and *re-make* one of my favorite previous ideas.

Instead, I decided to wander through Lauren's blog and see if I could make a Stephanie-version of one of her designs (because I've long accepted, I will not be making a Lauren-version).  I only had to go back as far as last week's Jingle Belles cards, where she made these amazing torn paper multi-purpose cards to have for thank yous or back-up Christmas cards for the last minute.  Lauren is a master and frequent user of torn paper ... me not so much.

I started with a package of two sided Stampin' Up designer paper (red on one side green on the other, so you sort of see a bit of green on the torn line, which I like).  I added a few punched snowflakes with big red enamel dots from Eyelet Outlet.

Next I used the reverse side for the same design in green.  This time I layered two of the quilted pieces that I cut from the paper together with another fabulous piece of new Eyelet Outlet Flower bling (which reminds me of snowflakes).

This is a great time to hit the Thanksgiving Sale at the Eyelet Outlet Online Store, where all brads and bling are 20% off when you use the code "turkeytrot"! Hurry though, the sale ends this Friday, Nov 17th! ♥

CASE-ing and making your own is one of the best ways to cure a case of the creative blahs.

 

Thursday Link Love

Another week of strolling through blogland:

• Nap Time Buttons is filled with Button Art
• Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
• Just ordered one of the new Becky Dresses
• Holidays make me crave Soft Molasses Cookies
• I will be making some of these Holiday Paper Wreaths
• Spiced Brown Sugar Pound Cake
• Introvert Comics
• Ombre Floral Christmas Tree (shown)
• Love these fun Toothpick Painted Holiday Ornaments
• Eggplant Lasagna looks like total comfort food

Have a tremendous Thursday!

 

STAMPlorations Giving Thanks Blog Hop

I'm thrilled to be joining in the 3rd Annual Giving Thanks Blog Hop & Wishlist Linky Party with STAMPlorations (and friends).

 

There are lots of new stamps that we'll be showcasing for this Hop. 

I got the opportunity to create using two of the new stamps.  The first is called Typografia Thankful - Thankful People.  I used several of my gel prints & my MISTI to create a mixed media card.  I used the two largest dies from 

I used the two largest dies from the CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies to create my frame; and the smallest one for my sentiment.  I splattered my card base with purple ink and finished with some Eyelet Outlet Purple Zig Zag Washi Tape & Blue Enamel Dots and SRM Stickers Stitches.

My second card features Thy Goodness - Typografia Thankful and the Crisscrossed ARTplorations Stencil.

I used the CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies in two sizes (because they are da' bomb) after I used Bo Bunny glitter paste with my stencil on an inky watercolor paper background.  I added felt leaves & pearls to finish my monochromatic design. 

There will be prizes, so many prizes:

Prizes for commenting on the STAMPlorations blog and participating designers blogs:

• THREE (3) winners randomly drawn from all comments left on the STAMPlorations blog and participating designers blog will each receive a $25 certificate to the STAMPlorations store

 

Prize for liking, commenting, tagging a friend, and sharing our post on the STAMPlorations Facebook page post:

• ONE (1) randomly drawn winner will receive a grab bag consisting of new products (valued at $25 MSRP) + another grab bag of the same value to the person he/she tags

 

 

Prizes for linking up to the STAMPlorations Wishlist Linky Party:

• TWO (2) randomly drawn winners will each receive products in their wishlist (up to $40 MSRP)

 

Prize for commenting and re-posting our Giving Thanks Blog Hop and Wishlist Linky Party post on the STAMPlorations Instagram page:

• ONE (1) randomly drawn commenter will win her choice of Giving Thanks stamps (Thankful & Blessed; Wonderfall Time; Words of Gratitude; OR any 2 Typografia Thankful stamps)

Commenting on the blogs and linking up to the Wishlist Linky party ends on November 30 at 11:55 p.m. Pacific

 

Winners will be announced on December 10 in the November Challenges and Hops winners post. Winners have until December 31 to claim their prize.

 

Here is the link, so you can check out all of the designers.

 

Birthday Ride

Why am I always out of Masculine Birthday cards ... I just need to sit down and make a batch.  But today, I only had time to make one.  

I made a big investment recently in Catherine Pooler Inks.  When I started stamping, my go to inks were ColorBox Chalk Inks.  I loved coverage I got with the foam pads.  Then they became harder and harder to find, so I had to switch, but I've always longed for that juice foam pad feel.

When I saw her inks were foam ... and several stamping friends I trusted raved about them, I went all-in.  I've only used two (the Flirty Fuchsia on this card and the Black Jack on today's card), but I am in love.  The colors are amazing and the coverage is exactly what I was looking for.

 This card features the Motorcycle from Artistic Outpost's Route 66 and a clear birthday sticker using the sketch from Fab Friday ... super easy-peasy.