Ingenious Inkling

Gel Press Backyard Bird Friend

This cute little colored Birdie from Essentials by Ellen Backyard Bird Friends arrived with my Ellen Hutson order last week ... so I decided to quickly recycle him into a card.

He coordinated perfectly with one of the Gel Press Prints from my stash (I went a little crazy with that circles stencil during last year's Art Camp).

 

 

I used the strips from the Just Add Ink Sketch to pull out the Blue & Purple from the background, and then finished with a tiny Thank You sentiment from Essentials by Ellen Good Fortune and a few purple pearls.

 

Oh Frap!

It's one of my favorite times of the year ... the Spring & Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

 

Since my largest collection of Coffee Stamps are from STAMPlorations, I used their May CAS Card Challenge as my inspiration with the optional Twist Color of Lilac.  And STAMPlorations is having a Coffee Lovers Spring Sale where all Coffee stamps are 20% off.

I stamped the Coffee Cup and Sentiment from STAMPlorations Coffee Happy onto a rectangle cut out with the smallest CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Die.

 

I die cut the CUTplorations Oh Frap! Phrase Die twice - once from a lovely Gel Press Print I made at Lauren's during Art Camp and a second time from black cardstock to use as a shadow.  I used a piece of the same Gel Press Print (which has some wonderful gold metallic paint for sparkle) for the card background.

Another Day in San Jose

This morning I treated myself to breakfast and a few Macarons at Gabi's Petite Cafe (I was actually looking for a donut shop, but turned the wrong direction and lucked out discovering this cute little place).

 

I had a peach and marsapone crepe with a caramel drizzle and a box of Macarons to go.

Next I took a walk in the neighborhood and loved seeing a lemon tree and roses.

 

Next we headed to The HIstory Park to check out the San Jose Printers' Guild Fair and Wayzgoose.    It was so fun seeing all of the different printing presses in action.

I loved the tiny table top presses too ... the print was from a photopolymer image (which look a lot like the stamps we use mounted to a plate).

 

I spent quite a while discussing photopolymer with one of the business owners ... and he gave me this fun pin.

 

 

I also enjoyed making a some gel press prints and turning them into a little book.  As the woman was giving me instructions, she paused and said *I think you've done this before" ... yep.  She brought the others over to discuss my technique of pressing bits of the stencil into the brayered paint before making my prints.  So fun to have paint on my hands.  It was a fun little book pattern that didn't require any glue or stitching.

 

I also bought a box of stamps (you paid by the size of the box for whatever you could fit into the box).  I also bought a tote bag to carry all of my goodies (that they were screen printing on site).

 

There was also a wonderful little rose garden around the area that was in full bloom and smelled so lovely.  I loved all of the different varieties.

 

So many fun colors.

 

When we were done, we headed to Luna Mexican Kitchen for aomse amazing food and visiting with family.  My first cousin once removed (we discussed the various definitions of cousins) and her husband drove down to hang out with us.  Such a treat.

 

 

I had Fruta con Chile (mango, pinapple, jicima and cucumber) and Pazole with huge chunks of tender pork.  I also got a side of their beans with pork and housemade Chirizo.  All so tasty and washed it down with Strawberry Agua Fresca.

 

We enjoyed sharing stories of my Great Aunt (her Mom) ... we both miss her so much.  I watched RBG on my plane ride out and we talked about how it reminded us both of all of the barriers my Great Aunt Mary broke through in her lifetime.  So inspired by her.

My Favorite Things & My Sweet Petunia (MISTI)

The MISTI Design Team is joining the My Favorite Things Design Team to celebrate the MFT January Release ... seriously so much fun stuff.

 

 

I started my first card by covering pink cardstock with the new Scattered Hearts Background stamp using my MISTI (the MISTI makes it so easy to get perfect coverage from the entire stamp) ... don't you just love all of those random yet perfectly placed little hearts.

 

I will confess ... cards that require engineering have never been my strong suit, but I am proud that I was able to figure out how to use the fun interactive dies in this release.  The first card uses the new Spin & Slide Channel Dies (there are four different sizes, so you can decide how far you want your element to side across your card).  I used the third largest for my 5 1/2" card design.

Next I engineered my Slider using two shiny new pennies attached together by stacking two circles of foam adhesive cut to the size of the slider slot.  I added some extra strong tape between the circles to make sure everything stays together. 

 

I assembled by card by putting the one penny behind the slot (with the stacked foam tape circles sticking-up through the slot) and attaching my heart paper to my red card base using one thickness of foam tape.  Next I attached my second penny and made sure everything rolled-back-and-forth like it should ... success.

Final step was assembling the new Straight from the Heart Dies (these cool dies are free with a $60 purchase) to spin on the pennies.  When I read the fun sentiment from the new Wonderful Woodland Friends Stamp set, I immediately envisioned a heart with googlie eyes and a great big smile ... because a happy heart is a good heart.

 

Here are some fun pictures of my slider in motion.

 

Next I wanted to create with the fun graphic heart dies Lots of Hearts & Lots of Hearts Outlines (tip ... if you die cut a bunch of both die sets, keep them separate ... other wise it can be challenging to reassemble the outlined hearts with their centers ... don't ask me how I know).

 

 

I wanted to combine the hearts with some of the gel prints from my stash ... I thought it would be fun to make a valentine with non-traditional colors ... the sentiment is another cute one from the Wonderful Woodland Friends set.

 

I'll probably include a few more of the die cut hearts inside the envelope when this one goes in the mail.

I finished with an adorable scene using the stamp set Wonderful Woodland Friends and Scattered Hearts Background & Die-Namics the Heart Tree and Stitched Basic Edges 2.

 

I used Salty Ocean Distress Ink direct to Water Color Paper to create my sky ... then I stamped the Scattered Hearts Background stamp in Suede Shoes Ink using my MISTI again for perfection coverage on the textured paper to create my heart-filled sky.  Next I die cut the Heart Tree from the sky and then used a sheet of adhesive to attach my panel, so I could cut the tree a second time from pink cardstock & a piece of watercolor paper sprayed with Vivid Volt Shimmering Bliss Spray and inlay each piece to create my colorful tree.

 

Next I die cut another piece of watercolor paper sprayed with Vivid Volt Shimmering Bliss & embossed with an argyle embossing folder with the MFT Stitched Basic Edges 2 Die-Namics to create my rolling hills where my cute little bunny and hedgehog are playing ... I used my Spectrum Noir markers to bring them to life.

There will be three $50 Gift Certificates from both My Favorite Things & My Sweet Petunia ... leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win.

Here are the links to the My Favorite Things Design Team Members:

Amy Yang - http://sharingnewlove.blogspot.com

Barbara Anders - https://barspaperpursuits.blogspot.com

Jodi Collins - https://stampingalatte.blogspot.com

Julie Dinn = http://www.kreativejewels2.com

Karolyn Loncon = https://karolyns-paperkraft.blogspot.com

Laurie Willison = https://soapboxcreations.blogspot.com

Rachel Alvarado = https://theunpamperedstamper.blogspot.com

Stephanie Klauck = https://sklauck.blogspot.com

 

Craft Table Clean-Up

This morning, my craft tables were so covered an product leftovers that I had to take a break from creating and do some serious clean-up. 

I challenged myself to see if I could make a few simple cards (I didn't want to get distracted from the task at hand) with products that were already stamped and/or die cut on my table.  Here were the results.

 

A scrap of Gel Press Print, two trimmed Shimmering Bliss end pieces, and a Gina K. Designs Stitched Circle die cut.  I added the deer from the Hero Arts Clear Deer Set that was on the table and finished with a few stray gems.  I chose the deer for the More Than Words Merry Mini-Challenge.

 

I'm also linking-up at the Christmas Challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Next I used one of the Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Film Strip Die Cuts together with stamps from Essentials By Ellen Bear Ware 2 and Lil' Inker Snarky Sentiments.

 

And while Essentials by Ellen Bear Ware 2 was out, I stamped a second card on a pre-folded kraft card base for the Christmas Tree Challenge at the Allsorts Challenge Blog.

 

My inspiration is also from the If You Give a Crafter a Cookie Blog.

 

Mission Accomplished ... tables cleaned & scraps put to good use.

I Am A Thousand Winds

I needed to get a sympathy card in the mail, so I used this week's CAS(E) this Sketch! for my design, flipping it to a vertical orientation.

 

I stamped my Hopi Prayer sentiment from Stampotique in Blueberry ink on ivory cardstock.  My background is one of my Gel Press Prints on with navy cardstock strips for the angled elements of the sketch.

 

Space Age Atlas Mood Board

I've been enviously watching Lauren create amazing designs in her Space Age Atlas.  I (half) jokingly asked if she would be inviting any guest designers for the Atlas since I knew I would be at her house this week.  She graciously invited me to add a page to her art-filled Atlas,  

I was so immersed in my process, I forgot to take pictures as I worked, but here's my finished page.  I was channeling the inner 9th grade me remembering when I used to pour over fashion magazines purchased with my hard-earned parking-lot-cleaning money to try to figure out if there was any way I could make my meager clothing budget look stylish.

I started on a page that she had tried a technique and abandoned, so it already had some lovely pinkish paint in the middle, which coordinated perfectly with my pink text elements.

Orange is my favorite corner so the orange coat was the first piece I chose for my design.   Next I added a row of purshes and some gorgeous boots along the left side.  They were all cut from the fashion magazines we had intended to use for Gel Press Transfers (so it felt good to get an alternative artsy use out of our investment).

Next I added the Incredible Women and other text I cut from the same fashion magazines before adding strips from some of my Gel Press Prints.

I added some puffy stickders that I had brought with me for us to use creatively, as well as some of the Mood Stickers I picked as my prize at The Color Factory.  I also added that gorgeous sandal that I would totally wear.

 

I also added some of Lauren's Gel Press Prints (the numbers) and a piece of foiled transparency to celebrate our immersion into foiling.  I finished with lots of little heart stickers scattered around the page (I love how you can see some of Lauren's painting along the left side).

 

I used the Gel Pens we brought to create to outline a few of the hearts and added some soy sauce, chop sticks and tomago to commemorate our outing to China Town.

I didn't really overthink my design (hence the lack of in-progress photos), but I really loved the end result ... which is also predominantly pink, Lauren's favorite colors.  What a fun Mood Board to commemorate yet another fantastic artistic outing.

Art Camp 2018 - Gel Press Round 3

This is our third year of Lauren & I playing with Gel Press Printing at our New Jersey Art Camp (aka playing with art supplies at her house).  For my birthday, Lauren bought me a set of the R&F Opaque Oil-based Pigment Sticks that Sally MacDonald assured would produce successfull Fashion Magazine Transfers ... but alas we failed. 

We could see the lovely print on our Gel Press surface ... but we couldn't get it to pick-up on the paper.  Here are the only two reasonable prints I achieved from the technique.  At least we were doing it together ... and failing together ... so we didn't get nearly as frustrated if we had been failing alone.

Of course we didn't let that stop us ... Lauren moved on to other play with the oil sticks, and I moved on to playing with paints.

I had several large new stencils from Carabelle Studio I wanted to try ... but I mostly became obsessed with Carabelle Studio Art Mask Large - Collection of Circles (Accumulation de Ronds).

 

When I Gel Print, I tend to do a variation on a theme ... and clearly I buy my paints from the same family too ... I need to add some reds and greens to my color palette.

Next I moved on to Darkroom Door Large Polka Dot Stencil with the same paints (mostly on white cardstock but a few texty pages).

 

 

I really felt like I needed more primary colors, so I borrowed some red paint from Lauren (note to self, buy red paint).

I had fun printing on some vintage papers, water color paper and even some index cards using some zig zags and dots.

Seriously, I'm not sure there is a more therapeutic creative process than printing layers upon layers ... and doing it with your crafty besty (who will oooh and ahhhh with you as you pull magical prints) is the best.

Gelli Press Wreaths

I wanted to join the #gellifallfever Challenge from Gelli Press on Instagram ... and this is my print.  It combines lots of layers of paint with some stencils and scratches and metallic bronze paint for overall shimmer.

When I make a print, I usually don't give any thought to what I'll ultimately make with the finished product.  I just like to play with paint and see what I end-up with.

The more I looked at this print, the more I thought about making a wreath.  The first wreath I found in my stash was the Tim Holtz Layered Holiday Wreath ... but who says I can't stretch my stash and turn it into some fall wreath fun.  I don't even think you can tell they are Holly Leaves with these printed papers.

 

I cut my print in half, ran it through the die cut machine, ran it through the coordinating embossing folder, and these are my two end projects.

 

I used Cornflower Blue Ink and paper to pull out the blues in my print.  I'm joining the Autumn or Spring Challenge at The Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog ...

and L is for Leaves at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers (because how fun & snarky is that Sassy Pants Best Friends sentiment from My Favorite Things .

 

I combined the same blue paper with purple from my stash (and a scrap of the Gelli Press Print) together with wooden birthday sticker.  I'm linking-up at Seize the Birthday where the Topping is Die cuts or Punches.

 

Gel Press Die Cuts

If you click through to the posts, you may have noticed my blog got a little upgrade over the weekend.  When we designed it over 10 years ago, we kept the dimensions narrow.  Lately I've noticed that the displayed pictures on my blog were a lot smaller than others (you could always see full size, but that took an extra click), so with some help it's now wider for larger picture display.  We tested it on lots of browsers, but let me know if you're having issues.

Tonight I'm playing with Gel Press Prints from my stash & die cuts.  I started with a card inspired by the current book at The Library Challenge.

Here's the book cover ... can you see all of my inspiration?  The background is embossed with Alexandra Renke's Dotted With Stars Embossing Folder.  The Whispers Party Hat Die is from Die-Versions ... and the Happy Birthday is from Elizabeth Kraft.

 

I incorporated the flowy feel of the pool water & sky with my blue & white Gel Press design.  The red background came from the Red Font and I used a bold black font for my die cut sentiment.

 

I'm also linking up at the Birthday Word Prompt at the Inkspirational Challenge and also at the Birthday Challenge at Dies R Us Challenge.

Next I used one of my favorite die cuts for two different cards.

The Die-Versions You Rock is paired with the Die-Versions Whisper Drum Set die, both cut from the same Gel Press print done with light colors on a navy cardstock (one of my favorite paint/paper combinations) for a birthday card for one of my favorite drummers.

I was able to get one more You Rock from my Gel Press print, so I made a card to have at the office ... because it's always important to let people know when they rock!