Ingenious Inkling

September Gel Printing

Another Gel Press summary to end the week.

I used a fun color combination of A Bit of Fish, Butter and Spanish Mulberry PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints and T is for Thread at the Instagram #abcprintingchallenge.  I learned about these paints in a Seth Apter class at Creativation and I love them.

 

 

The print on the right is actually the first one where I press paper onto the Gel Plate to pick up the paint around my thick thread and the print on the right is the second pull (love that this paint stays wet enough to get two prints).

Next-up was U is for Upcycled.  I had late nights at work this week, so I didn't get that creative, but I still loved the effect of using Upcycled tiny bubble wrap that I had in my gift closet ... I love how you can still see the thread pattern in the left print.

 

 

I had to turn these two prints into a clean & simple card using this week's Freshly Made Sketch.

 

 

I chose my wood-mounted Hampton Art Stamps Friendship sentiment from the Diffusion by Diana Kovacs collection inspired by the Less is More World Cardmaking Day Friendship theme.

 

 

V is for Violet ... I am a huge purple fan and it's my sister's favorite color, so I love using it in my art.  I kept using the tiny bubble wrap and added in some stencil texture too.  I combined Fresco Paints with Dylusions Crushed Grape Shimmer Paint.

 

 

 

W is for Washi Tape.  I used some clear double-sided shelf liner on the back of a piece of heavy vellum paper and printed on the vellum (I had previously used Deli Paper, but of course couldn't find it ... turns out I like the Vellum better).

 

 

I love all of those wonderful layers.  I cut it into Washi Tape strips and then went in with Posca Paint Pens to add some dots.  I love using it on envelopes to add a little art on the outside.

 

 

X is for *X" Design.  I found this X & O foam stamp in my stash and used it repeatedly with Dylusions Crushed Grape and Squeezed Orange Shimmer paints.

 

 

Sort of sad that the Alphabet is drawing to a close, but  thrilled I have lots of new prints in my stash.

I'd Rather Be Weird

I wanted to create a card combining the CASology Happy Challenge with the Less is More Black & White Challenge.

 

 

I found this fun Happy sentiment from a STAMPtember set from Simon Says Stamp & Technique Tuesday Sassy You're Not Normal.  After that I went searching for the perfect image to pair with it.

 

 

I chose this goofy little ramen slurping cat from Mama Elephant Nom Nom Kitties.

Sandy Tropical Beaches

As you saw in yesterday's post, we spent a good part of the weekend sanding metal stair rails.  When we bought the package of sandpaper, I realized it could have a dual user for some sandy beach card elements.

I combined the Sandpaper with my new Little Star Fish Stamp & Die Cut Set from AlteNew using colors from the AlteNew August 2022 Inspiration Challenge Photo.

 

 

I die cut stamped & die cut the two sizes of starfish from two of the colors and then stamped the sentiment from the same set in the dark brown ink from the Inspiration Photo.

 

 

I'm also linking-up at the CASology Sand Challenge.

 

 

And those colors and images are perfect for the Addicted to CAS Tropical Challenge.

 

You Are Killing It!

This week's Just Us Girls Challenge is to CASE a Designer.  

 

 

I've always been amazed at my friend Seeka's Ink Blending prowess, so I chose this monochromatic ink blended card to inspire my design. 

 

 

Rather than limey greens, I went with the trio of yellow inks from Simon Says Stamp Saturated Ink Collection.  Seeka only used two colors (a light and heavy) and I went with three (but wished I had stuck with two due to the heavy contrast on the bottom fourth on my card).

 

 

My CZ Design Yay You sentiment didn't take up quite as much real estate as Seeka's, so I added a tiny one at the bottom.

I'm also joining the Crafty Friends Summer Color Challenge ... because nothing says summer like the color of the sun.

This card reminded me that the only way to get good at ink blending is to do it more often ... practice, practice, practice.  Thanks Seeka for the inspiration.

Gel Print Circles Butterfly

I wanted to make a card for the Butterfly Challenge at Less is More.  I chose this butterfly from my stash of ephemera ... and then I went shopping in my gel press print drawer for some prints that would complement the colors. 

I chose a purple bubble wrap print that had bits of the yellowy-golden color and a more solid pattern that pulled out more of the butterfly's golden hue.  It's so funny how changing the scale from the 12" piece of printed paper to the small die cut circle completely changes the look of the design ... I love the almost graffiti-like feel of the circles.

 

 

I used stitched circle dies to create a version of this week's Freshly Made Sketch. 

 

I found a long-lost stash of aged chipboard words for my sentiment (I really wish someone would make these again).  I really wanted to add a few enamel dots, gems or splatters, but decided to remember the theme that Less is More and let the white space shine.

 

 

I'm also joining the Allsorts Challenge where the theme is Butterflies or Bugs.

Cute as a Button

The July Reverse Confetti Stock Your Stash Challenge is Oh Baby!

 

 

I decided to use Reverse Confetti Cute as a Button (retired, which makes me sad because it's my absolute favorite go to baby card set) to create both a masculine and feminine baby card with the Sketch from The Paper Players.

 

 

For the sweet little boy card I used plaid paper from Reverse Confetti Winter Wonder Designer Paper Collection and a sentiment from Reverse Confetti Fancy Word Coordinates.

 

For the precious little girl card, I used some rubber duckie background paper with two of my favorite vibrant colors ... and another Reverse Confetti Fancy Word Coordinates sentiment.  I also added a trio of sparkly enamel dots.

 

 

Washi Wonderful

When I saw the sketch at the Make the Cards Challenge, it just screamed Washi Tape to me, so I grabbed my new Washi Tape collections from Vilit Design and my cart full of stickers, and just had some good old paper-crafting fun this afternoon.

 

I started with the Pink Tapes on a pink speckled card base that felt like summer.  How fun are those rainbow clouds & flamingos.

 

I used a combination of sticker sentiments and an adorable Doodlebug Sprinkles Strawberry Margarita to finish the design, which is perfect for the food or drink themed card challenge at The Paper Craft Crew Challenges.

 

 

I made a second one with the same Pink Tape collection & card base ... this time with a two-toned Prima Marketing Painted Flower.

 

 

Next I played with the green tape collection.  One of the tapes had a bit of peach, so I tried it on a peach card base.  I didn't think I was going to end-up with a little boy's birthday card, but I just let the creative process take me where it wants.

 

 

 

And the final card is the classiest of the bunch ... I just kept it clean & simple on a white card base.  I added a gold sticker across the wider washi pattern and paired it with a gold sticker sentiment.

 

 

I love ink and stamping ... but sometimes I just love playing with my way-to-large papercrafting collection.  Thanks to Make the Cards for the Sketch inspiration.

Sending Hugs

The current theme at the Let's Squash It! Challenge is Keep it CAS!

 

 

I thought I would challenge myself a bit more to see if I could combine embossing with one of the other CAS Challenges this week.  I searched through my embossing folders for possibilities and ultimately chose the Windy theme at CASology with the Sizzix Paper Airplanes embossing folder by Tim Holtz (because we know a good wind will make that paper airplane fly higher). 

I tried several different techniques, but finally landed on embossing some light blue core blue cardstock that I embossed and then sanded to bring out a bit more of the texture.

 

 

I trimmed it down to 3" x 4" and attached it to a white cardstock base.  I chose a sentiment from Gina K. Designs Happy Hearts to send some hugs across the miles.

 

You Goat This

I intended to make a Beaver card with a Wood joke on it (Wood is the last name of several family members, so that was the intended recipient), but instead I managed to drop my Poppy Stamps Whittle Beaver Die somewhere in my studio (I heard it hit the floor), and despite both me and my husband crawling around on the floor and using flashlights, we had no luck locating it (I know you feel my pain).

 

 

So instead for Poppy Stamps My Guy! card, I moved on to the Whittle Goat.  I die cut him three times from grey cardstock, stacked them, and then used a little grey ink for some shading.

 

 

I stamped the sentiment from Poppy Stamps Whittle Wild Animal Sentiments.

Laugh Till You Leak

I was feeling like a little CAS cardmaking this morning, so I decided to start with the CAS Mix Up Challenge to use a Stencil and Pastes or Gels.  I was thrilled that when I opened my jar of Fern Green Picket Fence Studios Paper Glaze, it was just as mixable as when it was new. 

 

 

I paired it with a Dina Wakley Dot Stencil for the Addicted to CAS Dots Challenge.

 

 

I stuck with Dina adding the Essentials Silhouette image.  I paired it with a sentiment from Dylusions Quote bubbles for a card that makes me snicker.  Taylored Expressions Cilantro Ink paired nicely with the Fern Green Glaze on a kraft cardstock base..

 

 

I'm also joining the Creatalicious Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes with an Option of using a Stencil.

Hope you laugh till you leak this week.