Ingenious Inkling

Love is in the Air

The Challenge at Shopping Our Stash this week is Love is in the Air.

 

 

I started with a gorgeous Alcohol Ink and foiled background (just press sheets of foil while the edges of the ink puddles are still a bit damp).  I die cut it with a stitched rectangle and then added a white mat before attaching to a red card base.

 

 

I added stacked white cardstock Heart Outlines from Essentials by Ellen Essentials Hearts Dies.   The finishing touch is a sentiment from Essentials by Ellen Valentine Vibes.

I also took my overlapping hearts & pink/red inspiration from the Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge inspiration board.

 

 

If you're in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area, this card and others will be part of my Valentine's Day Cards Exhibit at Gallery One from 5-8pm on Tuesday, February 14th.  Bring a friend and stop by for drinks, snacks, art and a visit with me.

 

 

Glittery Golden Birthday

I lost one of the plates for my Glimmer Machine, so it's been a while since I've been able to do any foiling.  Since Spellbinders told me I couldn't buy a replacement place, I was grateful for a crafty friend who owns all sorts of plates and a caliper to help me figure out a new sandwich that would work, so I'm back in the foiling business again.

I used gold foil on raspberry cardstock with the Pinkfresh Studio Geo Art Hot Foil plate.  The Glitter panel is the inside of the large Art Deco Frame Die that we received with our Pinkfresh Studio Holiday cardmaking class materials.

 

 

I topped it with a tag & butterfly from the Pinkfresh Studio Happy Heart Ephemera packet and a sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio Foiled Sentiments 3.

 

Stitched Maple Thank Yous

I had a request for a large batch of fall-themed Thank You cards, so I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch and my collection of prints to make them all the same, but different.

 

 

I used the Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles Die Cut for the inner panel on a white cardstock card base ... for this first one using an Alcohol Ink and foiled panel.  Next I die cut the Simon Says Stamp Large Stitched Maple from a Gel Printed Panel.  I finished with a sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Grateful and Thankful Sentiment Strips.

I'm linking this one up at the Simon Says Fun with Foil Challenge.

 

 

This background was made using bleeding tissue paper squares ... I've got to play with them some more.  The Maple Leaf is from a Gel Press print.

 

 

This background is an Alcohol Ink roll-off paper with a leaf die cut from kraft cardstock that was sprayed with a combination of Ranger Mica Stain Sprays.

 

I love all of the different combinations I was able to make ... I'm grateful for an extra day to spend in the studio.

Rainbow Foiled Thank You

When I saw the Simon Says Stamp Fun with Foil Challenge, I realized it had been a while since I had created with foiling.  

I had some foiled Pinkfresh Studio background in my stash from our stamping getaway (where we all spent a good part of the weekend foiling), so I decided to create a card with a background created with the Pinkfresh Studio Diamond Hot Foil Plate and rainbow foil.

 

 

I used the sketch from Global Design Project with a Pinkfresh Studio Foiled Ephemera Sentiment in the center.

 

 

I finished with gold bling and a gold glitter frame.  

Good Time to Wine

The colors in this week's Color Throwdown are a really unique combination to me ... and I love them.  That scene looks like something I would combine in my home.

 

 

I searched through my print drawer and found an Alcohol Ink Background that combined purple and red with touches of silver foil.  I added a second print that pulls in that amazing green.

 

 

My inky background is also perfect for the TIME OUT Challenge to Make Your Own Background.

 

 

It reminded me of spilled wine, so that's what I went with inspired by the Fusion Card Challenge. 

 

 

I found a wine bottle shaker sticker in my stash together with a glass.  I added a sentiment from My Favorite Things Good Time to Wine.  I finished with some clear iridescent Pinkfresh Studio drops.

Foiled String Lights

The current Challenge at Seize the Birthday is to use your favorite technique.  Seriously, how can I possibly pick just one ... so I went with my current favorite technique that I'm enjoying and trying to master - hot foiling.  

 

 

I foiled the Spellbinders Tis the Season String Lights background (I didn't even realize this was supposed to be a Christmas design ... I think it looks like lights or banners at any fun birthday party) with gold foil on navy cardstock ... I absolutely love the effect of foiling on colored cardstock.

 

I added a strip of gold glitter paper along the top and bottom and then attached my panel with foam tape.  I combined a Taylored Expressions Simple Strips sentiment in navy ink with a sticker sentiment at the bottom.

Foiled Summer Sweets

The current Unity Stamp Company Challenge is Summer Sweets.  I went through my entire Unity Stamp Company collection, and the only summer sweet I could find was cake (which if you know me, is no big surprise). 

I went with a never-been-inked Cupcake from Unity's January 2014 Kit of the Month Be Your OWN Kind of Beautiful.  I decided to pair it with one of the Unity Stamp Company Circles a Plenty Decofoil Toner Card Front with Rainbow Shattered Glass Decofoil with lime, teal & fuchsia.

 

 

 

I used those same colors to color the cupcake with my Graph'IT Markers finishing with a Karin DécoBrush Gold Metallic Marker for the Crown ... another photo angle to try to show you how cool that rainbow foiled background looks.

 

 

 

I used the Sketch from the current Fusion Card Challenge, because I loved how the circles worked with the circles on the background.

 

 

The sentiment is from Unity Stamp Company Itty Bitty 3 Tiered Birthday by Lisa Arana.

 

 

Butterfly Birthday

This background was rejected for yesterday's Pinkfresh Studio card, but it was too pretty not to give it another try.  I'm linking-up one more card for the May Spring Challenge at Pinkfresh Studio.

I die cut the new Gazebo Die Cut we received at Pinkfresh Studio Create & Connect twice and layered them together for more stability.  when I was inking it with peachy pink to think about using it, I thought the stenciled background was even pretty, so I tried it a second time on the Hot Foil Plate embossed textured background.

 

 

I added some opalescent silver foiled Pinkfresh Studio Small Butterflies attached with glue dots under the bodies, so I could bend the wings for dimension.  The silver embossed sentiment is from Pinkfresh Studio Happy Birthday Sentiments stamp set.  I finished with some silver embellishments.

 

Since I used my die cut as a stencil, I'm also linking-up at the Seize the Birthday Stencil Challenge.

 

From Flower Bouquet to Card

At our retreat this weekend, Chris Dayton made us an adorable paper flower bouquet with a die cut sentiment that was *potted* in a collapsible CLIC & GO watercolor cup from Faber Castell (so cute).  She asked that if we dis-assembled, to use the flower to make a card, so that's what I did this morning.

I found one of my Gel Press Prints from the weekend. (with fabulous ThermoWeb iCraft silver foil) that I made during the weekend to use as my background.  I found the flower stamps in The Stamp Market Just Add Flowers.

 

I wasn't sure the source of the leaves, but the sentiment is Simon Says Stamp + CZ Design Just Because die.

I used the layout from Atlantic Cards Sketch to assemble my card.  I attached the alcohol ink panel to a larger white card base to work with the large sentiment.

 

 

I used Taylored Expressions Bits & Pieces Drip Drops for the dot elements on the sketch.  I trimmed the leaves & flower petals where they hang over the edge of the card after everything was attached.  I also used foam tape on some of the smaller flowers & the sentiment for dimension.

 

You Are Amazing Bouquet

This week at Shopping Our Stash we're getting Sketchy.  

 

 

I started by looking for a theme for my sketch and settled on the Just Us Girls Trend Week to use Foil on your Alcohol Ink. 

 

I remembered I had the scraps left from these fun Rainbow Alcohol Ink cards, so I pieced the scraps together & die cut them for my background.  Here's a view of what the full original pieces looked like.

 

 

I decided to pair the rainbow background with lots of white and a fun Just Because Doodle-Pop Bouquet that also has some foil in the flowers.

 

 

I used the Waffle Flower A2 Layers Die Cut for my Alcohol Ink Strip background (and then rounded the corners) and the Taylored Expressions Stitched Stacklet Circle Die, so I'm joining the Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies.

The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp Simply Thank You ... I love that bold font.   This is going into the stash of Mother's Day cards that I mail to the other women who have had an influence in my life.