Ingenious Inkling

Growing in Unity - Day 5 - Background Stamps

Welcome to Day Five, the final day of my Unity Stamp Company Growing in Unity week.  I've been sharing projects all week that feature Unity's high quality, red rubber stamps. I'm so sorry my week is coming to an end.

If this is the first day you've joined me please go back and visit  Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 & Day 4.  If you are a returning visitor, thank you, and welcome back.  Be sure to leave a comment on each Growing in Unity Blog Post this week blog post to be entered for a chance to win one of two fabulous prize packs from Unity Stamp Company.  Winners will be announced on this blog and on the Unity Stamp Company Growing in Unity Facebook page.

Today's post is focused on Unity Stamp Company's awesome background stamps with Distress Oxide sprayed papers..  Backgrounds have always been one of my favorite stamps ... and in my opinion, red rubber stamps the best for large background images.

I'm starting with my card for our Jingle Belles prompt this week.  My crafty besty Lauren and I are in our 10th year of taking back December one holiday card at a time as the Jingle Belles.  It's so fun to use your holiday stamps all year long ... and have all your holiday cards ready to mail at the end of November.

 

 

The theme at Jingle Belles this week is Fa-La-La-La-La where we're celebrating one of our favorite things at jingle belles ... Christmas Music. We're asking you to create a card (or gift card holder, or whatever else you'll be needing for the holidays) that incorporates music, a musical instrument, or a holiday song title or lyrics.

I love pairing unexpected (okay usually a bit snarky) sentiments with elegant cards.  I sprayed my watercolor paper with Mermaid Lagoon and Shaded Lilac Distress Oxide Ink.  After it had dried, I used my MISTI to stamp the Unity Stamp Company Burst of Flakes Border Background using Blue Belle Versafine Clair Ink.

 

 

Next I added the reindeer from the awesome October 2016 Unity Sentiment Kit ... a joyous season (such a great set) ... does he look guilty?

 

 

The Song Title Sentiment is from Unity Stamp Company Naughty is the New Nice, which is an awesome group of Holiday Sentiments stamped in the same Blue Belle ink on White Cardstock and attached with foam tape.  I finished with a few cardstock layers and several sizes of light blue epoxy dots.

 

 

The next card features another favorite border background from Unity Stamp Company ... Up, UP & Away.  The floral balloons are especially lovely.  

 

 

This background was made by swiping my watercolor paper through all of the leftover colors of Distress Oxide Ink on my craft sheet ... blues and greens with a bit of purple.  The Up, Up & Away {border background} is stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.

 

 

The sentiment from Unity Stamp Company ...hope is a beautiful thing February 2020 Sentiment Kit is stamped on a scrap of the same sprayed watercolor paper, trimmed and edged with black ink.  There is a tiny heart under Hope, but I wanted to use this card for co-workers, so I covered the heart with some tiny gems.

 

 

The next Unity Stamp Company background is a partnership with Brutus Monroe called Freshly Cut.  We always used to go cut down a Christmas Tree when I was a child, and I can still remember that smell.  As I mentioned, I stamped each background multiple times with my MISTI to get solid coverage on the Distress Oxide Sprayed background paper.  This background combined multiple green sprays and stamped with Versafine Clair Rain Forest green ink.

 

 

I die cut the background, wrapped it with a chartreuse ribbon, and attached it to a dark green card base.

 

 

I found a scrap with more of the lighter green color and stamped a sentiment from Unity Stamp Company Naughty is the new nice which was die cut and attached with foam tape.

And that my friends is the conclusion of my Growing in Unity Week ... it's been so very fun sharing my love for Unity Stamp Company (seriously some of the nicest people in the industry).  Make sure you check my blog and the Growing in Unity Facebook group to see if you're a lucky winner.

Growing in Unity - Day 4 - Wreath Builder

Welcome to Day 4 of my Growing in Unity week (if you haven't already, you can visit Day 1 & Day 2 & Day 3 here). 

 

I'm having so much fun sharing my love of Unity Stamp Company with you.  Remember to comment on each post this week for a chance to win one of two Unity Stamp Company grab bags (because you know you want that wonderful red rubber).  Did you see the big Stock-Up and Save Sale on New Releases?

One of the many things I love about Unity Stamp Company is the role they play in the greater Stamping Community.  I love when companies and designers work together and collaborate, because it gives me more opportunities to stretch my stash.

Unity has several stamp sets made to use with the Gina K. Designs Wreath Builder Templates, and those are what I am going to share with you today.  I'm using Unity Stamp Company Birthday Go Round.

 

 

and Circle of Friendship for my cards today.

 

I also used my original MISTI and Gina K. Designs Inks to stamp my cards.

 

 

For my first card I used the smaller Wreath Builder Template (3 3/4") and stamps from both Unity Stamp Company sets.  One of the first thing I think about when I build my wreaths is that the center will likely be covered with a sentiment, so I try to get my stamps as close to the outer edges as possible and don't worry so much how it looks in the middle.  Also remember to start stamping with your paper in the square position and finished in the angled position like below (so all your stamps fit on the page)

For my first stamp, I used the leaves from Unity Stamp Birthday Go Round with Gina K. Designs Fresh Asparagus Ink.  Unity Stamp Company also has Purple Tape which is the perfect low-tack way to hold things in place.

 

 

Also, don't be afraid to overlap your stamps ... think about how a real wreath looks ... all the branches are overlapped and intermingled.  The second branch is from Unity Stamp Company Circle of Friendship with Gina K. Designs Jelly Bean Green ink.

 

 

For my third leaf from Circle of Friendship, I used Gina K. Designs Tranquil Teal ... see what I mean about overlapping ... the wreath is starting to look full.

 

 

I finished by stamping three flowers (two from Circle of Friendship and one from Birthday Go Round) in Gina K. Designs Red Velvet Ink.

 

 

So that more of my wreath would show, I didn't use one of the frames for this card, but instead used a Circle Punch (1 3/4") and Scalloped Circle Punch (2") for my sentiment from Circle of Friendship.

 

 

I finished with several layers of cardstock on a 4 1/4" card base ... and a scattering of tiny bling.

For my second card, I decided to stick with the same ink colors, but omit the flowers for a more masculine design.

I started with Gina K. Designs Jelly Bean Green and one of the leaves from Circle of Friendship that reminded me of an Asparagus Fern.  I only stamped it once to keep the ink color light.

 

 

Next I returned to Fresh Asparagus ink with the open leaf stamp from Birthday Go Round.  For a slight variation in color, I stamped every other leaf twice (again ... don't be afraid to overlap)

 

I stamped the larger solid leaves from Circle of Friendship in Tranquil Teal.

 

 

I felt like my wreath needed more solid color to fill it in, so I stamped two more leaves from Circle of Friendship using Jelly Bean Green Ink ... inking the solid leaves twice on the longer branch once.

 

 

I stamped the frame from Unity Stamp Company Birthday Go Round and centered one of the Birthday Sentiments from the set inside the frame stamped in Fresh Asparagus Ink.  I fussy cut the frame before attaching it with foam tape (if you're lucky enough to have a cutting machine, Unity Stamp Company has SVG Cut Files for a lot of their stamp sets including both these sets)

 

 

I really love how the inks overlapped but are still slightly translucent.  This card is also perfect for the March Unity Stamp Company Birthday Card Challenge ... have you joined the fun?  It's also a Birthday-themed Challenge at Shopping Our Stash.

 

 

And it's a Masculine Card theme at Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

Thanks again for joining me for Day 4 of my Growing in Unity week ... remember, leave a comment below to be entered in the random drawing for some free Unity Stamps.

Peony Dream Birthday

I'm using this extra day in February to sneak in a card for the February Inspiration Challenge at AlteNew.

 

I found some vintage Green Stamps at the Thrift Store today, which reminded me when I used to have to dial the machine to dispense them when I worked at the Ramey's Grocery Store in Aurora, Missouri that was right next door to my Papa's Modern Variety Dime Store.  I wanted to incorporate some of them into my card.

I used the colors from the inspiration photo with the AlteNew Peony Dream 3-D dies to create one large bloom and two leaves.  Since the background of the photo was brown, I used a light kraft paper for the card base that reminds me of the grocery bags from the store where I worked.

 

I used VersaFine Clair Rain Forest Ink to stamp the Happy Birthday sentiment from AlteNew Sincere Greetings and finished with some yellow pearls.

I'm also joining the Anything goes Challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Paper Glazed Funky Leaves

My Paper Glaze from Picket Fence Studios arrived, so I had to play.  There's a bit of a learning curve (at least for me) to get nice even coverage.  The sheen is just gorgeous when it dries.

I combined the Funky Leaves Stencil with Ocean Poppy Paper Glaze (because in my studio leaves can be any color I want).

 

Gina K. Designs Turquoise Sea Ink was the perfect mach for the Picket Fence Studios Happy Happy Happy Birthday Sentiment stamped on a scrap of watercolor paper left over from glazing (which is why the letters have a softer look).

 

The layout is this week's Sketch from The Paper Players.

 

 

 

Makeover Monday - Celebrate

This week's Makeover Monday is brought to you by this card from September 2018 and this week's My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge, which also has a tall rectangular element..

 

The MFT Celebrate Speech Bubble Die-namics is perfect for this week's Sketch as well (just pop the letters in the spaces to help you position the little free pieces in the B, R & A and then pop the letters back out).

 

I also used the CAS on Friday Color Challenge, which incorporates two of the colors from the original design.

 

I did add a few sequins and omitted the ribbon/tag treatment.  I finished with a little Happy Birthday sentiment from MFT Hello Beautiful (just the perfect size).

 

Introverting

Have you ever read the book Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking?  In it, there is an introvert quiz.  My husband got a perfect score (all Introvert), and I am closer to the middle with stronger Introvert tendencies.  My Saturdays are usually spent alone in mostly total silence, recharging from a week of constant interaction from working in an open office environment. 

Today I did venture out to buy some Spring sandals - the new Keena Slide Sandal from L'Artiste, one of my favorite brands (it's 51 degrees outside, which has me itching to wear sandals), but otherwise it was just me and my studio. 

I spent the morning doing lots of food prep for the week, and the Beef Stew in the Crock-Pot is smelling quite yummy.

 

So when I picked my stamps for my Impression Obsession Tag You're It! Challenge Card, It's not surprising that I chose Impression Obsession Introverting by Dina Kowal.

 

 

I used the colors from CAS Colours & Sketches.

 

and the layout is from Tuesday Morning Sketches (flipped to work with my Impression Obsession Plaid Tag).

 

And with my embossed tag, I'm linking-up at the Embossing Challenge at The Male Room.

 

Bringing it Back Gnomie Style

The new LawnFawnatics Challenge is Bring It Back ... to revisit the older and neglected supplies in your stash ... when I saw the stack of Washi Tape, I knew right where I was starting.

 

I love making Washi Tape backgrounds ... and today I used GREEN.  My MISTI Cover (or Mousepad) is the perfect place to create ... I start in the middle and work my way up and down.

 

I decided to keep as much washi as I could, so I made a tall skinny card for a Business Envelope.  I thought all of that grassy green would be perfect for some Lawn Fawn Gnomies from Oh Gnome.

 

I colored and die cut my Gnomies and flowers ... and then brought back sequins and even some tiny buttons for my embellishments.  Always love the Gnomies.

Monster Quilt

When I saw Elmer at the current Library Challenge, I thought it would be fun to make a paper patchwork quilt.

 

I thought it would be fun to do with the colors from the current Paper Smooches Color Story Challenge (especially since Kim draws cute little creatures like Elmer).

 

As I was hunting through designer paper scraps for my quilt, I realized these were the exact colors in the Paper Smooches Rainbow Sherbet Paper Pack that I just purchased, so I cut the patterns into 1 1/2" squares.

Rather than an elephant, I created a lavender Monster with googly eyes (I also die cut him from black to make the outline pop ... love how those dies give you that option) and a Happy Birthday Sentiment from my well-used Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler tucked under his little Monster Arm (thanks for the idea Jill Hawkins).

And Simon Says Stamp is linking-up cards using two ore more Patterned Papers, so this certainly fits the bill.

The Journey is the Destination

Lauren & I are always on the look-out for vintage game cards that we can incorporate into our card designs.  Recently she sent me some from game called Touring which dates as far back as 1906 ... they are perfect for masculine designs.  I paired this one with a Classic Car Brad from Eyelet Outlet.

 

I used the layout from the TGIF Challenges for my design adding a few strips of Eyelet Outlet Antique Car Washi Tape and a Sticker Sentiment.  That olive green was the color of our kitchen growing-up in the 70's.

 

And the theme at Cardz 4 Guyz is to use Brads or Eyelets, so I'm linking-up my Classic Car Brad.

OMG How Old?

The theme at A Blog Named Hero is Birthdays ... and as always, I need more masculine birthday cards for my stash.

And as with so many other manufacturers in my studio, I have quite a few Hero Arts products that are still new in the package, so I used three of them on this card design.  I started by die cutting the Hero Arts Bold Graphic Confetti Die from teal cardstock to attach to my kraft card base.

 

Next I die cut the Hero Arts Hipster Icon Dies from dark brown cardstock ... and then I used the Hero Arts packaging for my background.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts Birthday Hugs and Kisses.