Ingenious Inkling

Screws Fall Out All the Time

When I saw this week's CAS(e) this Sketch! I wanted to go play with washi tape ... so many possibilities.

 

 

I thought I would do monochromatic, but then I saw one of the measuring tape washis ... and then a second ... and I thought, do I have four of these (because I clearly like measuring tape) and sure enough I did.

 

I thought the colors would work more with a black card base ... then the quest to find a sentiment.  I really wanted measure twice, cut once but somehow I don't have that in a stamp ... so instead I used this sentiment from The Ink Road Pretty Bizarre ... a quote from one of my favorite movies.

That came together so quickly, I may have to go through my washi tape and try another.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of blogland adventures:

• this Pear Butter looks so good ... and made me want some Pear Sauce (we had a pear tree in our yard my senior year of high school ... I love pears)
• Contemporary Stained Glass artists ... swoon
• a rich pot pie with great crust top & bottom crust is one of my favorite things to eat
• A guide to Watercolor Pencils
• Zucchini Slice looks like breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner
• Macrame Planter DIY
• Pistachio Cherry Meltaways
• did you know you could watch free movies from your Library through Kanopy
• I always buy them when I travel, but I've never made my own Black and White Cookies (shown)
• one of the very first cards I shared on-line back in 2006 was a purse (I made quite a few of them actually)... so of course I had to have this new Purse Die from Concord & 9th
• I should keep a list of healthy snacks on my refrigerator, so when I get the urge to nosh, I know what I should eat
• most important life lesson that you wish you'd learned 10 years earlier?
• 25 Tiny Habit Changes

Have a tremendous Thursday!

You're a Llama Fun

After a long day at the office, I'm usually in search of some quick and easy creativity.  Tonight I decided to combine the Color Throwdown and Freshly Made Sketch. 

I went hunting through my piles of 6" paper pads searching for papers in the three colors.  I put together one card base and went searching for something to use as the sentiment and circle image ... and then managed to lose the card base.  Yes, I managed to lose a card in my studio (it's not particularly messy, it's just spread out, so I lay things down ... and sometimes lay things on top of them accidentally (a paper pad in this case) ... and then I can't remember where).

So I picked-up two more pieces of designer paper in the challenge colors and created another card.  Yep, tonight I wasn't going to stress-out about losing a card somewhere in this space because it pretty much happens every time I create.

So instead I finished card #2 ... and then of course as soon as I did, I found card #1, and so I finished it too.  I love the fun of combining paper patterns.

Two of the valentines I had from my Valentines for Vets project were the perfect pink for the color challenge and a for making a few Galentines.

 

I added a sentiment from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips - Friendship for some Galentines.

The second card (which was the first card) used fun Heart Paper from Taylored Expressions Playful Patterns Valentine Papers.

 

Another Galentine ... another perfect Taylored Expressions Sentiment.

 

Never Doubt Your Instinct

For some reason when I saw the forest of trees in the Fusion Winter Inspiration Photo, it reminded me of some Suminagasi - Japanese black and white hand-marbled paper I made several years ago.

 

I cut the half-circle from my marbled paper and attached it to a white card base.  I used a darker grey for the vertical piece in the sketch.

 

Next I wandered through my stamps looking for some trees ... but instead I found a Simon Says Stamp Picture Book Hippo Die that had never been opened.  Hippos are grey ... so I thought he would work perfectly.  I tried to get the contrast I wanted with different solid papers, but it wasn't working ... so instead, I die cut him from two colors of glitter paper.

 

Since he looked so wise, I thought the sentiment should be some bit of advice he might give ... and settled on this sticker sentiment.  I love where this card ended-up (and that I got to use some of my hand-made paper on a card).

I'm also linking-up at the Simon Says Stamp Lotsa Love Flickr Challenge ... because this is truly advice I would give to every one I love ... trust your instinct (aka your heart).

Happy Valentine's Day

The theme at the Poppy Stamps Challenge is From the Heart ... lucky for me one of the few dies I have by them is my favorite Heart Confetti Collage.

I die cut the Heart Confetti Collage from Red Cardstock and then attached it to a piece of designing paper that was leftover on my studio table (from this card) ... I liked how the paper designs looked framed by the hearts.

I wanted to add a few accents, and as I looked at different colors, I decided I really liked the contrast of royal blue, so I added both sequins and small gems.  The sentiment is a sticker from my stash.

I'm also joining my friend Sam's Use My Stuff Challenge where the theme is Love. #umschallengelove

 

Valentines for Vets

Suzi is celebrating her birthday by doing a three-day Card Build for Valentine's for Veterans.  Since I can't make the event, I wanted to put a few valentines in the mail for the cause.

I had a piece of 12" paper with 16 small square valentine images that I knew would be perfect to put together some quick cards.  Then when I saw today's Mojo Monday Sketch, I knew I had the layout.

 

I used some pre-folded card bases, several pieces of valentine's day designer paper and some heart stickers to put the cards together.

 

Who doesn't want some Hedge Hugs.

 

And a sweet cookie is perfect for anyone.

 

And Conversation Hearts are perfect for valentine's day.

 

And of course, a pair of birds are tweet.

I'm sure she would love it if you have time to join the fun ... they need mailed to her by January 24th.  Of if you're near The Paper Forest in Washington, Illinois drop in and join the fun.

Washi Birthday Make-Over

I had so much fun doing the Gina K. Designs Make-Over Challenge the last two weeks, I thought I would expand and look for other cards in my history that deserved a make-over too.  I chose this Avery Elle Washi Tape Birthday card from August 2015 because it has been way to long since I played with my Washi Tape (and as we know, some of that tape just doesn't age well).

 

I started my card with the heart and flower washi tape, and built my color palette around that using red and that shade of blue.  I used the same Cake & Candles Sentiment from Avery Elle.

 

 

I also decided to try to make a larger card (mine ended-up around 5" x 6 1/4"), which gave me room for two pieces of flair instead of a flower (one is the fabulous Keith Haring and the other is from A Flair for Buttons.

Floral Fashion Inspired

The theme at The Paper Players is Clean & Simple Fashion Fun Challenge and the TIME OUT Challenge is to create a card inspired by an item in your wardrobe.  I'm sure you're not surprised that I chose a pair of my shoes.

I love these L'Artiste Amora Rainbow heals with a gorgeous all-over floral pattern and cut-outs throughout the design ... seriously, how do I not feel like I have super-powers when I'm wearing these.

 

 

I chose a similar floral pattern paper and then inspired by The Paper Players photo, also pulled out the pink and flowers in the inspiration photo.

 

I looked at several die cuts to pull in the cut out pieces in my shoes and went with the My Favorite Things Snow Drifts Cover-Up Die-namic.

 

I added some sticker sentiments that expressed how I like to live my life (and Wear My Joy).

 

I finished with a little bit of blue bling ... because life is always better with a little bling.

A Beary Happy Birthday

CAS cards should be the easiest to make ... after all, it's just paper and ink.  But for me, the fact that it's just paper and ink, can make it more challenging to get the end result want (because there's no trimming the panel smaller, covering with a sequin, etc.). 

In the case of this card, I kept managing to get the Twilight Versafine Clair on my fingers ... and then smudging it on the pristine white background.  I washed my hands multiple times ... and was finally happy with the 7th (yes 7th) iteration.  Remember, making cards isn't just what you see on the blog.

 

 

I wanted to join the Challenge at AAA Cards to make a CAS one-layer card with an optional twist of adding Polar Animals.

 

I used five stamps from two different Essentials by Ellen sets for my design - Arctic Pals & Bear Ware 2 ... love those cute little Polar Bear faces.  I also used the Less is More Challenge for my Off Center (or Off Centre) Layout Design.

 

 

And finally my Frosty little Polar Bears are joining the Frosty Challenge at Addicted to CAS.

 

 

 

Love You Like a Love Song Baby

The challenge theme at Impression Obsession is Have a Heart, which reminded me of the Bonnie Raitt song ... so I decided to make a card with one of my favorite Impression Obsession sets ... Love Songs 1 (which is on sale for half price).

 

I also decided to use what I thought was a rather challenging color combination at Just Us Girls Color Week.

 

I die cut my new Impression Obsession Large Frame die from Purple and again from White Cardstock.  I covered my card base with the pink and then used Red to stamp my sentiment.

 

 

I used a vintage Martha Stewart Punch for my embellishments punching several times from the same pink cardstock and a coordinating red.  Super easy .. and super-mailable.

I'm also joining my friend Sam's Use My Stuff Challenge where the theme is Love. #umschallengelove

And lastly, the Allsorts Challenge is to create a card that features more than a single word sentiment.