Ingenious Inkling

Button, Button ... Who's got the Button?

The theme at the Retro Rubber Challenge is to make a card with buttons ... I can't even remember the last time I used a button on a card.  I keep my buttons in a vintage Ball Jar because that's where my grandma kept hers.  When I was a kid, she would let me pour them out and play with them.  I would organize by color, size ... stack them.  Such wonderful memories of hanging out with her while she was sewing, embroidering or crocheting.  

 

When I poured out my buttons, the first to come out were this sextet of rainbow buttons, so that's what I decided to use.

 

 

I need masculine birthday cards (I know ... a broken record ... I always need them ... I think I need to make myself only buy masculine stamps for a month or two). 

I stamped the Darkroom Door Golfer in Green (this stamp is from 2015, so plenty Retro) and paired it with rainbow polka dots using this week's Mojo Monday Sketch.

 

 

I put little puffy stickers in the center of my buttons (they reminded me of golf balls) and finished with a coordinating Happy Birthday sticker.

 

I'm also linking-up at Seize the Birthday with my Non-Neutral Card Base.

Life Would be Boring

The Stay Crafty with Hero Arts Challenge is to make a Friendship card. 

 

 

Most of my true friendships can be a bit snarky, so that's the approach I took using Hero Arts Snarky Mix & Match Messages.

 

I used this week's CAS(E) this Sketch! and to keep it clean & simple but add some interest to the background, I went for white-on-white die cutting the Hero Arts Bold Graphic Confetti Die from White Wood Grain paper and layering it over a white card base.

 

I used the colors from the Just Add Ink Challenge for my color palette.

 

Silhouette Sprigs

The Penny Black Saturday Challenge is Anything Goes with an optional theme of nature.   I combined it with the TGIF Challenge to use Silhouettes.

 

 

 

I usually think of Silhouettes stamped in black ... but tonight I used three different green inks with the Penny Black Christmas Sprig Stamps, which are silhouette leaves.   The Penny Black and More Challenge is also In the Garden, so I am also linking-up there.

I used the Penny Black Many Thanks die for my sentiment.

 

 

I'm also joining Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog where the theme is Clean & Simple.

Dear Santa, I Can Explain ...

Technique Junkies is having a Christmas in July Challenge in their Facebook Group (and all Christmas stamps are 25% off with discount code JULYXMAS)

I had to pull out some of my favorites to have some fun.

I stamped the Technique Junkies ATC Stitched Frame in Black and then positioned the Christmas Kitty inside and stamped him in Grey and Red.  I finished with Dear Santa inside the top of the frame.

I couldn't resist adding a fuzzy pom pom to the Santa Hat.

 

The layout is this week's Freshly Made Sketch.

Colorful Christmas

This week' at Jingle Belles we're taking our inspiration from this lovely holiday photo.

 

 

My initial inspiration came from the bottle brush trees in those wonderful colors. 

 

I stamped the tree from Essentials by Ellen Bear Ware 2 five times in the fun color rainbow. 

Then my inspiration for the sentiment came from the JOY on the right side of the fireplace and is from Essentials by Ellen Retro Holiday Greetings.  Finally, my wood grain card base was inspired by the flooring.

I'm still enjoying the Summer of Stamping with Ellen Hutson - #EBESummerofStamping.

 

Thursday Link Love

Another week of skipping through blogland:

• Color Theory Demystified
• Jammy Raspberry Cream Pretzel Hand Pie
• lovely embroidery by Juniper Stitches
• Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars
• one of these Retro Motels is in the town where I grew up
• Berry Oat Crumble Bars
• Recipe Cutting Boards would make lovely gifts
• Vanilla Key Lime Pie
• Awesome Clean & Graphic Cards made with a free download
• Great Story & a Lemon Bar Recipe
• love this lawn filled with rainbow hearts (shown)
• free Watercolor Techniques Class

Have a tremendous Thursday!

Hoppy Birthday

The Creative Confetti Challenge at Power Poppy Stamps this week is a Sketch.

 

I love this gorgeous Hops Stamp from Power Poppy O Hoppy Day more each time I stamp it.  This time I stamped it in Versafine Clair Green Oasis on Ivory Cardstock.

 

I used the same ink for the sentiment on light green cardstock.  I finished with enamel dots for the embellishment element of the sketch.

 

 

I'm also linking-up at Cardz 4 Guyz where the challenge theme is no patterned paper.

More Party on the Farm

After I finished this card, I still had extra leftover Farm Critters from Hello Bluebird Party on the Farm, so I took a page from the talented Sam's book and used the Hello Bluebird Farmland Background stamp uncolored.

Since the Goat was my favorite, I stamped extras of him to try to figure out what color combination I wanted to use.  For this one I paired him with a balloon and a Doodlebug Doodle-Pops Tractor Sticker.  I used my Neon Karin Brush Markers to color all of the balloons.

 

 

This little guy got paired with some fun farmland designer paper

 

And this guy went totally tangerine.

 

 

And lastly, the neglected Sheep & Cow who didn't make the cut for the first card another fun farm designer paper.

 

Always color extra critters while you're coloring ... they make for some fun additional cards.

Makeover Monday ~ Beyond Quick Birthday Cards

This week's Makeover Monday comes from these Beyond Quick Thank You cards from December 2008.  My square punches are out on the studio table, and I can't stop using them.

 

 

I used my 1 3/8" square punch and my scrap bin and decided to do Beyond Quick Birthday cards because my stash already needs re-stocked.  I punched the Happy Birthday paper first and then searched for coordinating papers in my scrap stash.

 

I had fun adding a scattering of stickers including the googly eyed dog before adding the Happy Birthday! sentiment from Hello Bluebird Party on the Farm (yes sometimes card design comes from whatever stamp is still in the MISTI).

 

 

I couldn't resist pairing the googly-eyed slice of Watermelon with the watermelon paper ... more sticker fun and the same stamped sentiment.

If you need to quickly stock your stash, this simple layout is a quick (and fun) way to do it.

 

Just Roll With It

I wanted to do more Stamping with Ellen tonight for her Summer of Stamping #EBESummerofStamping, so I decided to use my neglected Essentials by Ellen Wasabi Stamp & Die sets for a slightly different spin on The Card Concept Challenge.

 

 

I took a Clean and Graphic approach to the design and took my inspiration from the pink and green color palette, the food, and the stripes on the cake (my sushi mat) ... and sushi is a favorite tropical treat when I'm in the tropics because the fish is so much fresher.

 

 

I made my sushi mat by die cutting Essentials by Ellen Pattern Die Combo on a scrap of shimmery sprayed paper that was in my scrap bin.  I attached my sushi and chop sticks with foam tape for dimension.