Ingenious Inkling

Glittery Alcohol Ink Christmas

A new package of Memory Box Delicate Pastel Glitter Paper arrived this week from my Anniversary Sale Shopping at Paper Anthology, so I had to make some more Alcohol Ink Glitter Paper (following Jennifer Maguire's tutorial).  I just love the process and the end effect.

Here are the three color combinations I played with.  There are 7-8 inks on each page.

 

 

I used the top blue/green one for my holiday card for the Uniko Stamps Challenge which is 'Tis the Season with the optional theme of Sparkle ... I think I've got the sparkle covered.

 

I cut my inky glitter paper into a 3" strip and then stamped images from Uniko's Christmas Background Builders.

 

 

I added color to a single tree using a green Kirarina 2win marker and added shimmer with clear Wink of Stella on top ... and then I added a tiny gold gem at the top of the tree.  The finishing touch were a couple of Green Love from Lizi Peel Off strips to frame the stamping.

 

 

I'm also linking-up at the Allsorts Challenge where the theme is Christmas Flowers, Wreaths and Trees and the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge.

 

 

And I've got Tic-Tac-Toe with The Paper Players across the bottom with Green, my tree colored with a Kirarina Marker and Wink of Stella, and my tiny bling embellishment at the top of the tree.

Vintage Floral Trim Thanks

A friend gifted me with a large collection of vintage trims and laces from her Mom's sewing room.  I wanted to use one of my favorites to make a Thank You card for her, and this week's CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge had the perfect layout.

 

I chose a royal blue card base and then die cut the large vintage Memory Box Script Thanks sentiment from coordinating light teal cardstock.  I love how the colors just pop.

 

 

It was so fun finding a way to feature this beautiful trim.

Tiki Happy Soul

We have several things that we collect and display in our home ... and one of them are Tikis.  We're always on the hunt for a fun new one to add to our collection, so when I saw the Luau Stamps from Honey Bee Stamps, I had to have them.

The current Honey Bee Buzzworthy Challenge is to use Patterned Paper, so I decided to combine the two.  Of course after I made that decision, I discovered that all but one of the Honey Bee Sentiment Stamp sets were Christmas, so I had to get a bit creative with the sentiments from Honey Bee Stamps Kindness given the layout I wanted to use.

The Designer Papers are both from Honey Bee Stamps Back to Basics Paper Collection.

 

I also used a new-to-me Color Challenge called Color My Heart Color Dare #421 where the challenge was to use at least three of the colors - I managed to use 4 - Paprika, Sundance, Sage & Mint.

 

I also used the sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches.

 

 

Here are a few of my favorite Tikis.  We display them on the edges of the metal ceiling beams in our loft ... love looking-up to see them smiling back at me.

 

You da Best

Now that #gellinktober has passed, I want to turn all of my great inky gel press prints into cards. 

 

Today's card is made from the print I made by rolling-off the Alcohol Ink onto regular cardstock using some blending solution (a technique I definitely want to play more with).

 

I paired it with the layout from the CAS(e) this Sketch! Challenge using the CZ Design You da Best Die Cut from Simon Says Stamp together with a Simon Says Stamp Birthday Sentiment Strip.

 

 

I'm also joining the Just Us Girls Wildcard Challenge to use Word Dies.

 

Mwahahahahaha

This afternoon I enjoyed another virtual card-making session with friends ... I am so very grateful for these meetings across the miles. 

The first card I made was for this week's CAS(e) this Sketch! Challenge. 

 

 

I flipped the sketch on it's side and used several vintage stamps for the Retro Rubber Challenge to use only Orange, Black and White.

 

 

The pumpkin is from Cosmo Cricket Haunted (from 2011) with some fun eyeball stickers.   I circled the pumpkin with a vintage Spider Stamp from Inkadinkado that's likely just as old.

 

 

I'm also linking-up at the Trick-or-Treat Challenge at the TGIF Challenges.

 

 

Salon Fun

This afternoon I had fun making cards with The Salon Collection by Echo Park.

The first one uses this week's CAS(e) this Sketch! Layout.

 

 

I love the little pops of pink on the single layer design.

 

 

Then I used this week's Global Design Project Layout.

 

 

Next, it was this week's CAS Colours & Sketches Layouts.

 

 

I love that Bobby Pin Stamp.

 

 

And then this week's Freshly Made Sketch.

 

Love the color combination of this collection.

 

And one more to round out the group.

 

Love Bug

When I saw the inspiration photo at the TGIF Challenges, I couldn't resist using some of my favorite Vintage Rides Stickers from {a vintage girl} & her daughter ... remember my discount code SMILYNSTEF gets you 15% off your order.

 

Aren't these Vintage Rides perfect for the challenge.

 

 

I cut several circles from wood grain designer paper and added my cute little love bug.  My Aunt had a VW Bug when we were kids, and we loved riding in it with her.

 

The sentiments are from the oh-so-timely Quarantine - Social Distancing Quotes sticker set.

While I had my products out, I went ahead and made a second card.  I cut a slightly larger circle for the larger Love Bug.

 

 

This time I stamped sentiments from Taylored Expressions Little Bits of Birthday.

Love Needs No Words

The Challenge at The Spot is to CASE a design by Sara Levin, The Artful Inker.

 

 

I chose this card Sara made for an Autism Awareness Hop in April 2018, because it's something that is near and dear to my heart.

 

I have always loved the Tailored Tag Punch, and this was such a great way to use it.

I chose slightly different colors to coordinate with my Autism Quote Stickers from {a vintage girl} & her daughter (remember discount code SMILYNSTEF gets you 15% off your order).

 

 

I kept the design pretty much the same for the first card, adding a few wraps of cord & some dots for embellishments.  I matted my sticker on black cardstock for a bit more contrast.

 

 

For the second one, I switched-up the color order and used  a larger sticker attached directly to the cardstock, so I lowered my wrap and used blue thread.

 

 

Thanks for the inspiration Sara.

Pinkfresh World Cardmaking Fun Continues

I was blessed with another crafty call this afternoon that helped me finish cards for four more of the Pinkfresh Studio World Cardmaking Day Challenges.

I went back to Challenge #1 - Die Cutting - and used one of my favorite Pinkfresh die cuts - the Leafy Envelope Die.  I just used the outline of the Envelope (stacking two of them for a bit of dimension) and paired it with papers from Pinkfresh Studio Office Hours designer paper.

 

I added a sticker sentiment from one of the embellishment packs and a few enamel dots to finish the design.

Next I combined Challenge #8 - Sympathy Cards - with Challenge #9 - Clean & Simple Card Design.  I used this week's CAS(e) this Sketch! for my layout.

 

 

I used a black & white floral paper from Pinkfresh Studio A Case of the Blahs Collection together with a wrap of black ribbon.  The sentiment is from the Forever In Our Hearts Stamp Set.

 

 

And my final challenge of the afternoon was Challenge #12 - Florals.

 

I paired a floral die cut frame with another floral embellishment die cut and a floral chipboard sticker.  I finished with a sentiment from one of the embellishment collections and some enamel dots.

An awesome way to restock my stash and hang-out with friends ... love my hobby.

Thank You for Being My Friend

I like seeing if I can turn color challenges into ink-blending combinations.  For this card, I used the colors from the CAS Colours & Sketch Challenge.

 

I translated those colors into these Distress Oxide Ink colors - Speckled Egg, Stormy Sky & Peeled Paint.

 

I did my blend horizontal to work with the sketch, and since the colors reminded me of a landscape, I thought it was the perfect home for the adorable Peach and Paper from Picket Fence Studios.

 

 

I used a sentiment from the same set and finished with a sprinkling of sequins.

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