Ingenious Inkling

Platypus Happy Birthday

The current Honey Bee Stamps Buzzworthy Challenge is all about Birthday Cards.

 

Only one problem ... no birthday stamps in my Honey Bee Stamps stash. 

I saw that the adorable Penny Platypus had a gift accessory, so that's what I went with.  When I searched for Platypus colors, I saw Perry the Platypus from Phineas & Ferb, and decided I liked the fun cartoon color hue.

 

 

I die cut Penny the Platypus Paper Piecing Honey Cut from teal & gold cardstock and added some inking to the tail.  I stamped & die cut the gift from the Penny the Platypus Stamp Set and added some Spectrum Noir coloring to the bow. 

The black & white paper is from the Honey Bee Stamps Farm Fresh Holiday Papers.

 

I flipped this week's Fab Friday Sketch for my Layout and finished with googly eyes, sticker sentiments, and some enamel dots.

Earth Day Christmas Card

If you've been around Jingle Belles for any period of time, you know in April we always celebrate Earth Day by making Holiday Cards that feature recycled elements.

 

 

I have a little recycling pile that I save all year long ... bits and pieces of packaging that are just too pretty to recycle in the recycle bin.  Can you guess what I recycled today?

 

 

We go through a ton of tissue boxes at our house (I think I got an extra mucus gene), so I'm always on the look-out for pretty ones that can have a second life.  I just loved this blue marbled pattern, so into the recycle pile in went.

 

I decided to die cut it with three Sizzix Circle Christmas Words and backed it with bright blue paper to bring out that color in the marbling.  Next I added a sentiment from Impress Holiday Word Clear Stamp Set (love those tiny fonts).  The finishing touch was a scattering of Craft Buddy blue gems.

 

I hope you'll look around and find something fun to recycle into a holiday card with us.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of blogland fun:

• how gorgeous is that Strawberry Spinach Salad (shown)
• How to improve your flexibility
• Sheet Pan Quesadillas is a fun idea
• Take a New Orleans Vacation at home
• the Art of making a French Omelette
• I love the flavor of Amaretto in Sweets
• No cost ideas for giving your Home a New Look
• Have you driven the Lincoln Highway
• 7 Types of Rest
• An adorable Easter Card ... or how about Otters & Rainbows
• I think this Chocolate Peanut Butter Skillet Cookie is screaming for a scoop of ice cream
• Menemen looks like a great weekend breakfast
• Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pasta looks so satisfying ... I love the crunch with the creamy ... I'm all about taste & texture
• 35 Things to Do for Yourself
• Online Grocery Shopping?  I just tried Misfits Market and am waiting for my first order.  You can save $10 here.  

Have a Tremendous Thursday!

Painted Butterfly Swell

The April Memory Box Challenge is all about Paint.

 

 

I thought it would be fun to pair a Memory Box Die with one of my brayer painted papers.

 

 

I chose the Memory Box Die Cut Butterfly Swell.

 

 

I chose a thank you typed sentiment from Fresh Cut Bouquet the STAMPtember Memory Box set with Simon Says Stamp.  I finished with some clear enamel dots in the centers of the butterflies.

Watercolor Floral Mother's Day

I bought this pretty bag of Prima Watercolor Floral Ephemera Set 3 to make some Mother's Day cards.  I decided it would be perfect to combine the blooms with these Stargazer papers.

 

 

I started with the Sketch Saturday Layout for my first design.

 

 

I moved the three dots of the other side of the rectangle to work with my flower layout.  I also found a package of butterfly stickers that I thought worked perfectly with the bouquets.  For this one, I'm also joining  the Just Us Girls Stripes Challenge (I love how the metallic stripes in the paper pick up the colors of the bouquet).

 

 

 

For my next card, I used the layout from the Just Add Ink Challenge.  For all of the cards I used a retired Mother's Day sentiment from Simon Says Stamp.

 

 

For this one I also added a scattering of Purple Gems.

 

 

The next one uses the layout from the current Fusion Card "Bee Kind" Challenge ... but instead of bees, I used a butterfly.

 

I just love how all of the flowers and greenery work together.

 

 

And my final card uses the Sketch from StampingPals Challenge.

 

 

I love how the sparkling galaxy papers highlight the bouquets.

 

I love how easy these cards were to make ... but how they look like they took a long time.  

Wonderful in Every Way

The April Stock Your Stash Challenge at Reverse Confetti is all about Moms, Dads & Grads.

 

 

I need more Mom Day cards, but I have no Mom Day stamps from Reverse Confetti, so I went with a never-ending bouquet of Reverse Confetti Bold Blooms with a perfect Mom sentiment from Reverse Confetti So Many Sentiments.

 

 

I positioned my bouquet on the Reverse Confetti Hex Tag Confetti Cut and framed it with the Reverse Confetti Outlined Frame Confetti Cuts.   I only adhered it in the center so that the outlines have some movement.

 

The colors are from this week's Color Throwdown.

 

 

I'm also joining the Inkspirational Grow Challenge.

 

 

 

And I'm joining the Spring Flowers Challenge at The Paper Players.

 

Pastel Thank You

I just discovered that Waffle Flower has a weekly Challenge on Instagram, so I decided to join in.  This week's theme is Pastel.

 

 

Amy T is the Queen of Pastels, but it is so hard for me.  I recently ordered a few more pastel inks, but my selection is limited.  I decided to use the pastel color palette from the Global Design Project.

 

 

I started with cloud paper from the Waffle Flower Special Deliver Collection for the background & the two circles cut with Waffle Flower Classic Frames Die.  I used the layout from The Sketchy Challenge.

 

 

The sentiments are from Coffee Cup Sentiments and Essential Sentiments.  The finishing touch are some Waffleflower Clearly Enough Enamel Dots.

 

Making Spirits Bright

I don't know how long I've had this Elizabeth Craft Designs Holiday Owl in my stash (long enough for it to be discontinued), but I've never used him.  Needless to say, this weeks Jingle Belles Holiday Cards To Die For Prompt is the perfect opportunity to piece him together.

 

 

He was perfect on a card in Iowa Hawkeye Colors for one of the fans on my Holiday Card List.  The layout is the current Mojo Monday Sketch.

 

 

Sentiment is Kerri Bradford Oh What Fun (stamps are discontinued, but you can still get the digital set).

 

 

I'm also joining the Christmas Challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.  It's also an Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Ink Smooshed Bouquet

Tonight I did a little Distress Oxide Ink Smooshing with Shaded Lilac, Milled Lavender and Iced Spruce.

 

 

The Bouquet is Gina K. Designs Timeless Poppies combined with a new Mother's Day Flowers Die from Simon Says Stamp.

Inspiration for the design comes from the quote at The Time Out Challenge.

 

I'm joining the Simon Says Easter/Spring Challenge as well as the Easter or Spring Card Challenge at Make My Monday.

Thursday Link Love

Another week of blogland discoveries:

• I'm intrigued by this Baked Skillet Pancake
• Tips for Choosing a Paint Color
• lots of possible flavor combinations for Korean Pizza (but you know it has to have Kimchi)
• I really should use splatter more on my cards
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins look yummy
• How cute are the Stitched Frames on these cards
• Pina Colada Upside Down Cupcakes
• inspired by Paperists (one shown)
• A Global Tour of Eggplant
• I feel like I need some Pineapple Fluff for Easter (Grandma always added coconut)
• How adorable is this Bunny Card
• I love her free-form outdoor sketches

Have a tremendous Thursday!