Ingenious Inkling

Thursday Link Love

Another week of blogland finds:

• 90 Little Winter Pleasures ... blanket fort sounds like fun
• Vanilla Chai Hot Chocolate
• tips for Organizing your Refrigerator
• how cute are these Banana Cream Pie Cookies (shown)
• We watched Good Grief (beautiful film) and I also appreciated Anderson Cooper's take on the topic
• Easy to make Cake Mix Cookies (make sure you refrigerate the dough and use a dough scoop to get exactly 24 cookies); great for stirring in the last bits of chips and goodies from partially used bags.
• Decluttering Methods
• My grandma always had this meal waiting when we arrived to our house in the evening ... such fond and delicious memories
• Pourable Brown Sugar Icing
• I've been working with an amazing trainer for the last six months, and for the first time in my life I enjoy working out (ok, I sort of enjoyed a weekly aerobics class in the basement of the Masonic Building in the 90s and a Chair Pilates class about 20 years ago).
• Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
• free Valentine's Day images download
• Typography Trends for Book Cover Design

Have a tremendous Thursday!

You Are My Happy Place

The January Penny Black Saturday Challenge is Anything Goes with an optional theme of something new.

 

I used one of my Penny Black Adorable Amore Masterpieces Made Simple with the vertical layout from Paper Craft Crew, which produced an extra skinny & tall card design.

 

 

The sentiment is from a new Penny Black stamp set Happy Builder stamp set.  I'm also linking-up at Cardz 4 Guyz where the theme is to use something new from your stash. 

 

 

I'm also joining Little Red Wagon Challenge where the theme is Still Snowing - Show Me Some Snow (which describes the scene outside my window).  And lastly, it's Cute Critters at the Simon Says Challenge.

Just For You Bokeh

When I saw the Sketch at AAA Cards Challenge, I knew I wanted to have some Bokeh fun.  I inked-up my well-loved Essentials by Ellen Bokeh Dots using the colors from the Just Us Girls Challenge (translated to Concord & 9th inks in Midnight, Clover and Oceanside) ... oops, just realized I was too late to link-up for the colors ... oh well, love them anyway.

 

 

I had fun getting all dotty.

 

 

I chose my sentiment from Essentials by Ellen Pure Magic for the CAS on Sunday Just for You Challenge.

 

Saving All My Love

I pulled out my drawer of Valentine's Day papers and stamps because it's that time of year again.

This card features papers from Doodlebug Lots of Love Collection using a Sketch from Try a Sketch on Tuesday (which is combining with the Double Trouble Challenge to create an Introverted or Extroverted background - I am totally an introvert, but when it comes to my creative style, I am 100% extrovert - so my background is loud & proud).

 

 

I also had to join the fun at Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers N is for New Challenge, so I opened a brand new package of enamel hearts and added a few inside of my jar (you can see the shine on them in the photo).

 

 

 

 

I'm also linking-up at The Global Design Project where the theme is Hearts.

And The Male Room Challenge is asking for punny or funny.

 

New & Old Sympathy

The newest challenge at Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero is Everything Old is New Again.

 

 

I combined an old Hero Arts Through the Woods Window Die Cut with new stamps & die cuts from the With Sympathy Bundle (although I can't seem to find it in any store ... it was relatively new & unopened in my stash).

I die cut the window die from one of the Alcohol Ink Gel Prints I made last week, and then die cut around it with a large oval die cut.  I used the same large oval to die cut a metallic gold gelliprint for the opening.

 

 

I stamped the two branches from the With Sympathy set twice, and die cut them.  The Butterfly is from the same set.  I colored the blooms & butterfly with an orange marker before attaching to an orange designer paper base.  I finished with a with sympathy sentiment.

I'm also linking-up at the Simon Says Something New Challenge.

GelliPrinting January

I discovered that Tania Ahmed was doing a GelliPrinting January Challenge #gelprintjanuary2024 on Instagram, so I decided to join the fun.

 

 

For Day 1 Silhouette, I die cut the Hero Arts Nesting Onesie from typing paper for my Silhouette and used the Carabelle Studio Tissu Texture plate to add a bit of visual interest.  I'm going to try to focus on prints I can use to make cards for the challenge.

 

 

For Day 2, Mettalics, I printed with three different metallic paints - a light silver, darker silver and a bronze using the Totally Dotty Stencil from AALL Create.  I got one print with the stencil on the plate and a second after I picked it up.

 

 

For Day 3 Alcohol Ink, I printed multiple layers while the ink was still wet on the plate, using a combination of teal inks.  I love the ethereal effect it produces.  These will be great for die cutting.

 

 

Day 4's prompt of Roll It! had a lot of possibilities for interpretation.  I chose to use a paper towel roll that I had saved in my gelli printing supplies with a combination of green paints.

 

 

And for Day 5's Feather prompt, I tried printing with some actual feathers that were in my stash without much luck, so I went with my trusty and treasured feather stamp that was carved by my friend @ginaisartsy.

 

 

And Day #6 is one of my favorite colors - PINK!  I was surprised how few pink paints I had in my stash, but I pulled out my favorite bright pink and used it with a Stamperia Around the World Double Texture Stencil for some fun backgrounds.

 

 

I always love having a quick artsy challenge to do every day to keep my creating juices flowing.

Thursday Link Love

Skipping through blogland for the first week of 2024:

• New vs. Vintage Pyrex
• Creamy Beef & Noodle Soup
• Orange Blossom Honey Madeleines (shown)
• tips for recovery from Social Exhaustion
• Sad Cake sounds perfect to me
• have you tried Box Breathing?
• Chewy Ginger Cookies
• Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
• Female Philosophers
• Sweet Corn Salad
• Blueberry Dump Cake
• Coffee Cake Cookies

Have a tremendous Thursday!

Sparkling Birthday

The January Poppy Stamp Challenge is Sparkling New Year - to create with sparkling products on your card.

 

I cut into two brand new pieces of glitter cardstock (you know you hoard that stuff too) in the colors of Iowa State University to add another masculine birthday card to my stash.  The sentiment is Poppy Stamps Playful Happy Birthday.

 

 

I added a Stitched Star from sister company Memory Box layered with a punched star on top.  The layout is this week's Global Design Project sketch with a wrap of red twine.  It's also an Anything Goes theme at the Cut It Up! Challenge.

 

 

 

Snowflakes & Coffee

The first Caffeinated Christmas Challenge of 2024 is to combine Snowflakes & Coffee.

 

 

I took the inspiration for my card from the adorable Winter Wishes cookies at the If You Give a Crafter a Cookie Challenge.

 

 

I used the colors from the current Color Hues Challenge and stamped my Echo Park But First Coffee To Go Cup in Navy ink.  Just like the cookie, I decorated my coffee cup with a single snowflake brad and a tiny light blue gem in the center.

 

I used a layout from the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Challenge (BYSHC) and a Tim Holtz label sentiment.

 

I'm also joining Paper Minutes where the challenge is Something New (the Echo Park stamps were in my Never Before Used Schtuff stash, so I'm also linking-up at NBUS).