Ingenious Inkling

Living Room Rug Inspired

This afternoon I got to hang-out (via Video Chat) with friends from Junkiefest.  I'm an introvert who often goes all day on Saturday not talking with anyone, but even I've had a bit too much solitude time lately, so I truly appreciated the chance to see their faces, talk about life and see the projects they were working on.

 

 

I decided to work on the current Stay Crafty with Hero Challenge (#staycraftywithhero) ... to make a card inspired by something in your home.  I chose my Living Room Rug.

 

I found a Gel Press print in my stash that had several of the colors, so I die cut it with the Hero Arts Bold Graphic Confetti Die and then attached it to a grey cardstock base.

I took some of the confetti pieces and put them back into the die in different places to move the colors around.

 

I wanted to pull in a bit more shades of grey like the rug, so I added a strip of Suminagasi hand-marbled paper (that I made here) and stamped my sentiment from Hero Arts Hand Drawn Everyday Messages in Magenta Ink on a lighter grey cardstock before framing it with the rust and gold colors from the rug (I actually laid my cardstock down on the rug to find the right shades).

Get It Girl!

My studio is my respite ... at night and on the weekends I look forward to spending time there and recharging my batteries.  But now, my studio is also my home office, which makes that clear delineation between work and home much much fuzzier.  I won't lie ... after my first full week of working from home I'm still struggling to adjust a bit.  I miss the people and the interaction ... and I miss having my studio be just my studio.

But I am adjusting ... and I will continue to adjust.  So tonight my card for the Second Stay Crafty with Hero Challenge is an ode to that adjustment.  The challenge is to use a Stamp or a Die that has never been used ... so being the over-achiever that I am, I combined both.

 

I die cut the Alphabet Window Fancy Die out of a one of the Distress Oxide Spray backgrounds I made last week.  I love how there are bits of pink peeking through the purple (especially at the edges), which made it perfect for the Color Throwdown Challenge.  The alphabet represents all the things I am expected to be for everyone ... and for myself.

 

The never before inked sentiment is from Hero Arts Dare to Dream ... on weeks like this you've just got to buck-up and get it girl.

 

And I'm joining the Lots a Purple Challenge with the optional twist of friendship at the Time Out Challenges ... this card is going in the mail to a friend who likely needs this reminder too.  

 

Fusion Flowers

It's been a while since I broke out my Alexandra Renke drawer of goodies, so I decided to use them for the current Fusion Card Challenge.

 

I cut one inch strips of one of the Alexandra Renke Designer papers and framed them in Olive Cardstock using the Fusion Sketch.

 

I added three Alexandra Renke Flowers die cut from the same Olive Cardstock and finished with a sticker sentiment and some golden gems to pull in the gold from the inspiration cake.

It's also Repeat Impressions Anything Goes at the House that Stamps Built.

Ode to Working from Home

I've started working from home this week along with most of the rest of our company.  We did lots of planning on how to work from our off-site disaster recovery center (since we've previously been displaced by rising river waters several times), but not really any planning on how to work with our entire team working from home ... especially not in the midst of such ever-changing times.  There will be another learning curve to master for sure.

This card is an ode to that experience that so many of us are having.

 

The chair from Paper Smooches new Abode Stamp set was stamped on designer paper inspired by the mid-century modern inspiration photo at the Inkspirational: Photo Challenge.  I pulled in the grey from the back wall ...

 

... and for the Paper Smooches Animal Challenge, I added the yellow bird of happiness (because a friend told me yellow is her happy color ... and now every time I see yellow, it makes me happy too) from Paper Smooches Sunnyville to perch on the back of the office chair.

 

I finished with a sentiment from Paper Smooches Inhale Exhale (been doing a lot of that this week) all using this week's Freshly Made Sketch.

 

I finished with a row of black pearls inspired by the dots in the wallpaper.

Choose Joy ... Read On

One thing I've been doing in these uncertain times is mailing cards ... I mailed 10 this morning and will keep mailing cards.  People love REAL mail, especially hand-made mail ... and sending a little encouragement is so easy to do.

I was thrilled to see Hero Arts has a new Stay Crafty with Hero Challenge #staycraftywithhero ... and it's all about Encouragement.

 

 

I wanted to use some Hero Arts Stamps for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch! which happens to be their very first sketch.

 

 

In case you're curious, you can click here to see the card I made the first time in October 2012 (yep, I've been playing along since Sketch #1)

When I looked through my Hero Arts Stamps I was drawn to the wood mounted Bookcase Stamp I received at Creativation in 2018.  I've never inked it because honestly after years of using my MISTI, the thought of stamping a background without it seems scary (even though pre-MISTI I did it all the time).  I got it nice and inky, pressed hard, and got a great result with a single inking.

I trimmed the individual shelves to use with the sketch design and for the highlighted circle in the sketch, I added some blue colored pencil to the stack of books and stamped the pair of glasses from Hero Arts Irreverent Birthday Messages (a little Harry Potter nod).

 

My sister and I were talking this week about what we were reading ... and how much we were enjoying reading, so I chose the perfect sentiment from Hero Arts To Seize or Not to Seize.

And speaking of joy, Tami from The Paper Forest shared cards she made that were inspired by some of my cards ... super fun ideas from an awesome lady.

Now go mail some cards! (and if you don't have enough books in your house to last you until the end of times, there's free streaming at Audible).

 

Water Colored Embossed Stencil

The theme at the CAS Stencil Challenge is to use Heat Embossing with a Stencil.

 

 

I wasn't sure what to do, so I went searching at SplitcoastStampers and found this Watercolor Bokeh Technique I thought I could modify.   I used Taylored Expressions Liquid Watercolors to create my rainbow background.

Then I used a circles stencil and Gina K. Designs White Pigment Ink to apply ink.  Finally, I clear embossed the white ink.  I didn't get quite the contrast I was hoping for, but I still liked the effect ... sort of a 70's tie-dye.  I cut it into three pieces for three cards.

For the first one I used some Easter Bunny stickers and a sticker sentiment.

 

Then I found these psychedelic 3-D Pineapple stickers in my stash that worked perfectly.  You can see the embossed circles more in this card.

 

And one more fun little pineapple ... because we know that an UGH is perfect for some situations.

 

I love challenges that make me play with my supplies ... I don't do it nearly enough.

Best Friends

The current Challenge Theme at Impression Obsession is Best Friends. 

The theme made me think back over my life and all the different best friends I have been blessed with over time.  Best friends make you laugh ... they lift you up ... but most importantly, they are there when you need them the most.

 

Stamps are Impression Obsession Cancer Sucks ... because it truly does.  Thinking back to one of my dearest friends that we lost way way too soon.  I paper pieced the scarf and added some light colored pencil shading to the image.

 

I'm also linking-up at Just Us Girls Challenge where the theme is Heal ... because nothing helps more in the healing process than friends who know what you need.

 

And Watercooler Wednesday Challenge is Anything Goes with a Feminine Twist.  Also linking-up at the Simon Says Stamp Something Feminine Challenge.

Happy Mail - Happy Heart

The challenge theme at Just Us Girls is to create a card with Inlaid Die Cuts ... this is a technique I don't think I've really tried, so I figured now was the time to dive in.

 

I've had the PinkFresh Studio Leafy Envelope Die on my studio table for a while, so I thought it would be perfect (but clearly I didn't think long enough about all of those teeny tiny pieces).  I actually die cut the Envelope four times (five times if you count the final cut for a couple of teeny pieces I lost).  I used two Distress Oxide Sprayed pieces for the envelope & leaves, a Gel Press Print for the background, and white cardstock for the outline.

 

 

The sentiment is from Pinkfresh Studio Surviving a Funk with a tiny felt flower nestled among all those leaves.

 

I'm also linking-up at the Cut It Up Challenge, where the theme is to use your favorite color ... that limey green/blue is one of my favorite hues.

Makeover Monday - Painted Papers

Today's Makeover Monday was inspired by this colorful Washi Tape card from May 2012.

 

I saw the theme at CAS Mix Up Card Challenge was acrylic paints. 

I have a drawer of acrylic painted and acrylic paint gel pressed papers from the various Art Camp fun that Lauren and I have had the last few years.  I thought it would be fun to recreate the design above by replacing the Washi Tape with 3/4" strips of painted papers.  My third elements is paper tearing, as I tore the ends of each of the paper strips like I tore the washi tape (Acrylic Paint, Stamping, Paper Tearing).

 

I started with the third paper that is acrylic paint gel press in teal and purple and found three more papers that coordinated.  I punched the butterfly from the dark purple paper at the bottom and added two tiny teal gems.

 

Rather than thanks, I used a typed Thinking of You sentiment from Essentials by Ellen Totally Random Sayings Vol. 1.  I could easily make a set of these (and alter the sentiments) for a gift.

This Too Shall Pass

I have so many great sentiment sets from Simon Says Stamp, and I wanted to use some of them for the current Freshly Made Sketch, since it just screams multiple sentiments to me.

 

I gave my new Fern Green Paper Glaze from Picket Fence Studios a try using the Tumbling Leaves Stencil from Simon Says Stamp.  My first attempt needed some work to get the Glaze even, but I was able to use the largest Simon Says Stamp Stitched Circle Die on a portion of the leaves for the sketch.

I used sentiments from Simon Says Stamp You Got This & You Got This with C Z Design.  I'm taking this card to work to have on hand ... and since cards for the office often need room for the whole team to sign, I made this one on a 5" x 6 1/2" card base.

I'm also linking-up at the Anything Goes Challenge at the Simon Says Stamp FlickR Group Challenge #143.