Ingenious Inkling

Thank You

It seems almost surreal that it's been over two weeks since I created a card.  My studio is basically back in its space after the flood evacuation, but as my grandma would says, everything just feels a bit cattywampus (note to self ... if you ever have to speed evacuate your studio again to save it from impending flood waters, make sure you take pictures of the space first, so you can have a visual memory of where everything goes when you try to restore it to order).

I've just been staring at everything for the last few days feeling too overwhelmed to even start ... so tonight I started easy with an image included as a Thank You with my Ellen Hutson order (from All Inside) and an awesome layout from the Mojo Monday Sketch (which I flipped on its side to work with my vertical image).

A few coordinating papers, and this one came together easily ... and will go in the mail in the morning.  We are so grateful for all of the assistance we received from friends and strangers during this trying time.

Midnight CLEAR

The theme at Jingle Belles this week is It Came Upon a Midnight CLEAR ... which means we're making cards with a clear element (acetate, vellum, etc.)

I broke out a piece of Hambly Silver-Printed Transparency to create my design.

I positioned my die cut on top of my transparency and then applied adhesive behind the die cut to adhere the transparency to my navy card front (I also added a few strips of adhesive behind the vertical patterns).

I finished with clear red & pink gems ... please come join us and start taking back December, one holiday card at a time.

You Got This

Chemo Angels is a Non-Profit organization that pairs volunteers with patients going through chemotherapy.  I have volunteered with the organization for years in honor of my step-mom who lost her life after a valiant battle with leukemia.  I love that the cards I make hopefully brighten the days of someone fighting their own battle.

I love this sentiment from My Favorite Things Encouraging Words.  I combined it with this week's MFT Sketch Challenge using papers from Basic Grey's B-Side Collection.

The embellishment is a beautiful flat-backed resin flower from The Eyelet Outlet.

 

Re-cycled Packaging Christmas

Sometimes the packaging is as pretty as the embellishments they hold.  I save all of the pretty pieces in my scrapbox, so the Peace on EARTH(day) Challenge at Jingle Belles was the perfect opportunity to pull them out and see what I could create.

I trimmed the Basic Grey packaging for my focal image and attached it to the Melody Ross Green.

I also used-up a package of vintage Snowflake Stickers and finished by re-cycling a 3-D sentiment sticker that had arrived crooked.  I detached the top and used foam tape to reassemble it straight.  I used a strip of maroon cardstock between the patterns to help ground the design.

We hope you'll come celebrate EARTH day with us by doing some of your own re-cycling.

Fusion Rainbow Birthday

Sometimes I look at the Fusion Card Challenge image and sketch, and inspiration is immediate.  Other times (like this week) it takes some time for an idea to come together.

I went searching through my collection or umbrellas or rainbows and couldn't find either.  Then I saw this gridded paper from BasicGrey's Capture collection, which reminded me of the sections of the umbrella and the card came together.

For the sketch, I cut a row of rainbow hearts from another paper in the collection and then added three blooms attached with a gorgeous 10mm gem brad from the Eyelet Outlet.  I love how that baby sparkles.

 

Peace on EARTH (day)

It's one of our favorite times of the year at Jingle Belles ... Peace on EARTH (Day) ... the time of year we celebrate up-cycling & re-cycling.

When I received a package from Lauren wrapped in this fantastic birch bark paper, I unwrapped it super-carefully, so I could save the paper for a future card.

I really wanted the paper to be the focal point of my card, so I just added a few chipboard pieces in muted holiday colors.  

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

We're still celebrating Christmas Trees at Jingle Belles ... and I'm still trying to work my way through my holiday paper stash.

This week I featured Christmas Tree paper from BasicGrey's 25th & Pine.

I used a great sketch from Sunday Stamps.  The top seemed a bit *naked*, so I added a wrap of ribbon ... I was going to use white, but I like how this light blue pulls out the blue in Santa's Beard (how come I seldom use ribbon any more?).

I liked the sketch so much, I made a second.  I used Spellbinders Labels 20 to cut the top of my cards (one of my favorite die cuts).

 

 

Special Amazing Day

I love this week's Sketch at My Favorite Things.  I was inspired by several of the Design Team Members who used the Snow Drifts Cover-Up for their focal point.

I needed masculine birthday cards, so I used the fun papers from BasicGrey's Second City collection by Kelly Purkey.

I curved the sentiment from MFT Amazing to fit the curved section of the background.

The great thing about this design is that you can use the pieces to make a second (and third, and fourth) card design.  A few sequins are the perfect finishing accent for a masculine card.

I'm also linking-up at Seize the Birthday.

Sketchtivus for the Rest of Us

We're still getting sketchy at Jingle Belles this week.

I loved Lauren's torn layers last week, so that was my original plan ... then I found this great paper from BasicGrey Alpine Frost Collection that had wavy torn layers built right into the paper design.

I added a coordinating 3-D embellishment and a sentiment sticker and voila ... so easy it almost felt like cheating ... but it's not.

I hope you'll come join us.

They Say It's Your Birthday ...

This weeks Sunday Stamps Sketch is perfect for diving into my stash of Project Life Cards that I purchased for card making.

All I had to do was add a stamped sentiment (vintage Stampin' Up) to put this quick birthday card together.

Designer paper is Basic Grey Barista.