Ingenious Inkling

Independence Day

I found a few sets of 4th of July stickers when I was cleaning out last week, so I decided to make a few cards today.  I keep all of my red, white and blue (or ivory, white and blue) paper collections in a 12" container, so I can pull them out this time of year.  It's amazing how they are all paper collections for the same holiday ... but how the colors are all so slightly different that they don't always work together very well.

For the first one I used a sketch from Crazy for Challenges.

I combined three different papers, a journaling cards and several of the stickers I found on my cleaning binge.

 

 

The next one I turned into a birthday card for my stash using the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

 

The sentiment is a vintage Happy Birthday woodblock stamp from Hero Arts.

 

 

The third one used the rest of the polka dot paper together with pieces cut from another paper in the stack and an Independence Day sticker.

 

I took my inspiration for all of the layers from the table setting in The Card Concept.

 

I finished with some glittery star stickers and a few wraps of soft nubby yarn ...  and then I got them into the mail.  I wish I was seeing people in person for the long holiday weekend ... but hugs across the miles with have to do this year.

Paper Weaving

It's the final day of Spring Card Camp, and when I realized that I had the same feeling I used to have on the last day of Summer Camp ... a sadness that it was over and that I wouldn't be hanging out with my friends having fun every day. 

It's been so fun learning so many new techniques and trying new things with all of my existing supplies.  I want to take more time and go back and re-visit many of them and see what else I can make.  Huge thank you to Jennifer and Kristina for the inspiration and the jump start that my creative spirit needed.

Today's technique was paper weaving.  I had the scrap of sprayed paper paper leftover from these two cards (Fusion & Hexagons) that I was just able to get enough strips cut to weave.  I love how the weaving was all done from the back, so I had no idea what the front was going to look like until I turned it over.

 

The randomness of the purples and blues was just what I was hoping for.  I tried a variety of word dies like they used in the samples, but I felt like they covered up too much of my gorgeous paper, so in the end, I went with some 3-D paper stickers from my stash that I thought coordinated perfectly and brought out the subtle pinks and blues from the sprayed paper.  The colors in the paper really reminded me of the pinks, purples and blues of my Grandma's hydrangeas.

 

A bonus holiday in my studio today ... While I have missed eating out and really enjoying the hustle and bustle of our neighborhood during quarantine, I have relished all of the extra studio and creative time.  My card stash is box is bulging, so it's time to get some more cards in the mail.

Must Try Mono-Printing - Round 2

I had so much fun Monoprinting with Acrylic Stamps this morning with the Spring Card Camp class this morning, I did a second round combining three more Distress Oxide Colors (Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord & Festive Berries), which produced a gorgeous raspberry like hue on my palette.

The color on my first Monoprint was deep and rich using the leaves from Paper Smooches Botanicals 3. 

Since the theme at the current Paper Smooches Challenge is Thank You cards, I used the Thanks from Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler wrapped with some raspberry twine.

 

As anyone knows who does monoprinting, if there is any ink left on your pallet, you try to pull what is often referred to as a ghost print, which is what I did for my next card.

 

This one used the Sketch from The Paper Players.

 

And my final card was my stamped piece of cardstock from the ink that I picked-up off the plate during the monoprint creation process.

 

This one was the Sketch Saturday Layout.

 

Seriously ... so so much fun, I think I may go try it again to make some card's for Amy's Spring Coffee Hop.

Born to Stand Out.

When I see a cute set of children's flash cards, I can't resist buying them.  Flash cards hold fond memories for me ... one of my earliest memories is a plane trip with my Grandma to Texas and the two of us passing the time on the flight learning with flash cards.  She always helped me learn ... and she always made learning fun.

 

I always think they would be cute to use on cards ... and when I saw today's CAS(E) this Sketch!, I knew it would be perfect to feature a few ... I took my inspiration from cards that Chris Dayton has been sharing using vintage Winnie the Pooh stamps in the Stamp Junkies Group on Facebook (if you haven't joined, please do ... so much inspiration).

 

The strip of paper covered the learning word on the flash card and I used the sentiment from Ellen Hutson Pure Magic for the Circle Element on the Sketch Design.  

 

For Tigger, I used another Ellen Hutson Pure Magic Sentiment and a Butterfly embellishment for the circle element ... how do you not smile if that arrives in the mail for you.

These cards were so fun to make ... and brought back such happy memories.  Remember, there are products other than standard cardmaking supplies that can be used to make fun cards.

Maaama!

I'm finishing-up my Mother's Day cards to get them in the mail ... and this week's Little Red Wagon Challenge is all about Maaama!

Thanks to some enabling from Chris Dayton, I purchased some new Dies from Gina Marie Designs.  I love this Art Deco Fan Background ... so lovely and versatile.  I die cut it from a piece of watercolor paper that I had sprayed with a combination of Distress Oxide Sprays and I placed it over a lacy designer paper.

 

I added a trio of purple flowers and retired Simon Says Stamp Sentiment stamps on a scrap of the lacy paper.  This one will take some extra postage to mail, but it's worth it for the recipient to have a year 'round bouquet.

I took my inspiration from The Card Concept {Hello Spring} Challenge.

 

 

My friend Sam (@samvandesigns at Instagram) is continuing her Use My Stuff Challenge with a theme of Flowers this week ... these vintage Prima Flowers are happy to have a home. #umschallenge #umschallengefloral

Scribble Leaf Thank You Cards

One of the things on my list for the weekend was to make a gift set of mailable Thank You cards.  When I saw the March Memory Box Challenge to use Glitter Paper or Glue, an idea was born.

 

I always like my gift sets to be similar, yet unique for the sender.  I die cut three sets of the Memory Box Scribble Leaf Dies from a piece of Teal to Green Ombre Glitter Paper and then cut three sets of the Scribble Leaf Outlines from a coordinating Teal Cardstock.

 

I cut a piece of paper bag kraft cardstock for the first two cards.  For the vertical one I was also inspired by the Addicted to CAS Symmetry Challenge.

 

I lined-up the middle green leaf with the center of the card and created a symmetrical balance with a teal leaf on each side.  I used the same Thank You Sentiment from Memory Box Big and Little Words stamped in Gina K. Designs Tranquil Teal ink on all of the cards.

 

For the second card, I turned it Horizontal and reversed the colors with the  teal in the center ... the width allowed the leafs to spread out a bit.  What do you do when your sentiment is a bit crooked ... you stamp it a second time on a scrap of card stock and call it dimension.

Next I pulled out a set of Watercolored Card Bases from my stash and found three different ones that coordinated with the leaves.

 

Since the watercolor on the first card went from dark to light, I reversed my leaves going from light to dark.

 

I flipped this one horizontal, so there were a mix in the set combining three different leaf shades.

 

I was really happy with how easy it is to assemble these leaves and how fun this card set turned out to be.

 

Wonky Christmas Tree

I couldn't resist taking a literal interpretation of this week's Freshly Made Sketch and making a wonky Christmas Tree.

I cut four triangles from coordinating designer paper and started assembling from the bottom.  Instead of stripes I used brick paper that reminded of the brick paper my Grandma would wrap around a book case every year, so we could hang our stockings on the special fireplace.

 

Of course every wonky  Christamas Tree needs a Gingerbread Man trunk ... a Christmas sentiment sticker and an Eyelet Outlet Bling Star completed my design.

While my papers were out, I made a second wonky tree using red & white striped paper ... I love making these fun little trees.

 

 

Take One More Step

I love the Heart & Sole Stamp Set from Papertrey Ink for running cards.  This one is for someone who is getting ready to run her first marathon.

I stamped the show in three colors and used this week's Freshly Made Sketch.

Autumn Splender

It is my final time Guest Designing for Challenge Up Your Life.  

This week's theme is to Use Something from Nature.  

I went with oak leaves and acorns ... and a lovely Camus quote.  Autumn is my favorite season of the year.

My 10 Favorites of 2015

I always enjoy looking back on my year of creations ... and thinking about what I want to create in the coming year.  Here are my 10 favorite non-holiday cards from this year in no particular order (you can go here to see my top 5 Holiday cards for 2015).

1. One theme that was popular in 2015 was donuts ... I love donuts ... and I love this fun donut-themed card.  It also incorporates another big design element of 2015 ... sequins.

2.  I just love this All Star High Top.  It's a lot of work to assemble, but the finished product is so fun ... and it's fun to personalize for the recipient too.

 

3. The challenges at the Ellen Hutson blog were a favorite this year ... I love this one inspired by one of the Pin-Sights Challenges.  Her Bokeh Dots were a favorite set this year too.

 

4. I always love the challenge of making specific cards for friends ... like this fun little piggy ... I was so happy with how he turned out.

 

5. I love how I was able to channel my inner *Lauren* for this design ... lots of stag heads this year, and I adore this one with lots of flowers.

 

6. I had a lot of fun with watercolors this year ... and with snarky stamps.  Love how these neutral tones come together.

7. I love these cool 3-D embossing folders, and I had a blast with Impression Obsessions hats, mustaches & ties ... this card still makes me smile.

 

8.  This was also the year of discovering Color Burst and having so much fun creating in New Jersey with Lauren. This card started with a crazy idea ... that actually worked (filling in the building outline with clear texty tape).  I love it.

 

9. I love this fun little bow tie punch (I must make more) with this fun sentiment ... such a happy card.

 

10. On an artist tour, I got to brayer on ink and stamp with leaves using a vintage printing press from The Calico Press ... truly one of the highlights of my year.

 

Leave a comment below with a link to your favorite card of 2015 (if you don't have a blog, you can link to a card you love that someone else made),and on New Year's Day I'll pick one lucky commenter to get a priority mail envelope filled with lightly used acrylic stamp sets (some have to go to make room for the new).