Ingenious Inkling

Baby, it's Cold Outside

This week at Jingle Belles we're making cards featuring things you wear when it's cold outside … gloves, earmuffs, mittens, scarves, coats, Christmas Sweaters, socks … you get the picture.  We had snow twice last week in Iowa, so I had to pull out my hat and gloves a bit earlier than I would have liked.

I pulled out one of my favorite winter hats from Reverse Confetti's Happy Winter.  I love how the pieces of the hat are all stamped and die cut separately, so you can create whatever color combination you want.

I chose Teal & Yellow from the colors at this week's Sunday Stamps Challenge ... a bit unusual for a Christmas card, but I love the masculine vibe.

 

 

I used one of my Gel Press Printed Tags which was the perfect rusty orange for my base with snowflake embossing on the background and a sticker sentiment to finish.

 

I'm also Stocking my Stash with Reverse Confetti on the last big push to get all of my holiday cards done & mailed by the end of November.

love. love. be happy.

The November Challenge at Unity Stamp Company is Paint it Up.  I wanted to use some of my Acrylic Paint Gel Press Prints to make a card together with stamps from love. just love. regardless from Unity.

 

I kept this one simple so the Gel Press prints could shine.  I added some blue bling and a green frame to make my image pop.

Gel Print Tag Fun

Lauren and I have spent the weekend Gel Printing pretty much anything we could get our hands on.  I thought one of my prints would be perfectg for the Make Your Own Background Challenge at the AllSorts Challenge Blog.  I made this background from a single pull using a 5x7 Gelli Plate (sometimes you get lucky like that).

 

The background was made with the cool Texture Plate from Carabelle Studios called Jamboree.

 

 

I put a tag together for the TGIF Project Challenge - Make a Tag and added it to my card using the Sketch from Try Stampin' - or Not - on Tuesday.

I did some *shopping* in Lauren's stash and found some stickers to create my tag (always fun to look through someone else's studio) ... and a quick card was done.  Simple Ordinary Moments pretty much summed up the joy of being able to craft in person with your crafty besty.

 

 

Gel Press Tags

When we got to New Jersey, we started making a little art.  I started small with my new 2" Speeball Brayer and my 6" square gel press plate. I wanted to play with some techniques on a smaller scale before working with a larger plate tomorrow.

I realized when I finished my first set of tags that somehow I had migrated from red pink to may favorite green/blue color combination.  I used one Carabelle Studios Stamp and two texture plates for some interest.  I love that you can rinse the entire texture plate under the faucett when you're finished.

 

I forced myself to put away the grene & blue and focus on red & orange for my next set of tags.  I was trying to replicate the feel of the vintage BasicGrey solid papers.

 

I did pull out a tiny bit of Vivid Lime Green for a bit of pop at the end.

The next set focused on purples with a touch of Light Magenta.

 

I may add some texty stamping tomorrow ... who knows?  It's so much fun just creating with no purpose or project in mind ... and I love getting painty.

Plaid Autumn Birthday

I have so many new products on my studio table, it was a challenge to find room to create ... but I made it work. 

I saw the current CAS(E) this Sketch! and knew I wanted to use one of the plaid rectangles from Sweet 'n Sassy's Texture Tiles 4.  My original intention was to use a vertical orientation, so I inked the tile in ombre green colors from light to dark.

 

As I played with different elements from my new product collection, I settled on the new Linked Leaves Die from Paper Smooches and rotated my card to horizontal to make it work. 

I die cut it from white cardstock & then a second time from a scrap of Gel Press print on my studio table.  I finished with a sentiment from the Memory Box STAMPtember exclusive set from Simon Says Stamp (I love typewriter fonts).

 

 

It's also Anything Goes at Simon Says Stamp.

I also took some inspiration from the Inspired By Tailgate Party Challenge (colors, plaid & leaves).

 

Mail it Monday 2nd Anniversary

Kimberly started the Mail It Monday campaign to encourage card makers to mail their cards.   Make sure you head over to Mail it Monday Instagram to see all of the posts celebrating the 2nd Anniversary - hashtags are #mailitmonday  #mailitmondayturns2 #sendlovesendcards

 

I've been a card sender for as long as I can remember.  I used to pour over the Current Catalog picking out assortments of cards so I could mail them weekly.  One year in Junior High my best friend and I shared a card with each other every day with encouraging words.  I exchanged cards and letters with my Great Grandmother for years. 

I love the joy of sliding a card into the mail box knowing that the recipient will smile when they see real mail in their mail box.

One of my fellow card-makers (Bev of Bev's Creative Path) and I have been pen pals for a while now ... sending each other cards and letters through the mail.  E-mail and instant messages are so much easier ... but somehow getting a letter in the mailbox feels different ... more permanent somehow.  

For this week's Retro Rubber Challenge I found this vintage wood block stamp from Hampton Arts in my stash (likely at least 10 years old) with such a great quote about friendship.

 

 

I found a vintage Gel Press Print from several years ago in my stash that had orange, red and brownish bronze paints.

 

 

I stamped my sentiment in brown and added a red mat.  I die cut some leaves from brown kraft using a vintage leaf die, embossed them with a vintage embossing folder, and then added some brown ink.  I finished with several wraps of twine ... it will be fun to put this card in the mail to a long time friend that I don't see nearly as often as I'd like.

 

 

Another card I mail every week is a card to a chemotherapy patient ... I have volunteered as a Chemo Angel for over 13 years sending a card each week to a patient while they are going through chemotherapy to provide encouragement.  I love having a purpose for my card making.

 

 

My second card features Impression Obsession Full Blooms Hollyhocks with a sentiment from Impression Obsession She Positives.

It is a Reader's Choice at the Library Challenge this week - pick any book cover to inspire you ... I chose this gorgeous floral cover from If You Leave Me: A Novel by Crystal Hana Kim.

 

I finished with some clear gems that reminded me of raindrops on my watercolor card base.

I hope I gave you some inspiration to get your cards in the mail.

You Rock!

The theme at the CAS on Friday Challenge is Die Cut Words ... the perfect opportunity to pull out one of my favorite Word Dies (discontinued Die-Versions).

 

I love using it with scraps of Gel Press prints on my craft table ... and then find a background color that makes it pop.

A card you should always have in your stash ... because when someone Rocks! you need to let them know.

 

I'm also joining the Anything Goes with Dies Challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

Alexandra Renke Birthdays

I needed a couple of special birthday cards, so I cut into some more of my gorgeous Alexandra Renke papers (because all card makers know they save the best for those they know will appreciate them) ... these papers are just so luscious ... in the US, you can find Alexandra's products at Ellen Hutson.   I combined 4 different papers together with a scrap of one of my Gel Press Prints.

 

The layout is inspired by the Sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

 

The flowers & butterfly are Alexandra Renke Dies ... I cut the Butterfly with Antennae once out of my the pink designer paper for the outer frame & a second time from my Gel Press print for the inside.  I finished with some graduated pearls for the body.  The floral tag was left over from my class at Junkiefest cut from the Butterfly Collection Papers with some of the awesome ITO Gima Yarn.

 

The sentiments and tiny flower are stamped from Alexandra Renke's Placed in Brackets Stamp set.

I'm also joining Seize the Birthday where the Topping Theme is Butterflies.

 

 

I used a variation of the sketch for my second card with another Gel Press Print scrap.

 

This card pops a bit more with the royal blue flowers ... elegant yet fun for an 80th birthday celebration.

 

I love that bucket of blooms ... the Happy Birthday Stamp is from Alexandra Renke Best Wishes.

Cupcake & Coffee

The current Gina K. Designs August Monthly Mix Challenge is For the Boys ... to create a masculine card ... which fits right in with restocking my Masculine Birthday Card Stash ... only one problem ... my Gina K. Designs collection is sorely lacking masculine stamps, so I had to get a bit creative (and clearly know what I'll be buying with my $25 gift certificate I won for the July Challenge).

 

 

Boys drink Coffee, so I went with the Coffee Cup from We Go Together and stamped it on a scrap of Gel Press Print I wanted to use for my background.  Then I stamped the cup a second time on white cardstock (both using Gina K. Designs Amalgam Ink and Clear Embossing) and paper pieced the sleeve and the lid.  On the sleeve I stamped a tiny cupcake from Gina K. Designs Birthday Go Round set with Unity Stamp Company.

I die cut the small & larger ovals from Gina K. Designs Stitched Oval Die Cuts (I just love how they layer with the perfect little border) before attaching my birthday coffee cup with foam tape.  The sentiment is from Gina K. Designs Grand Greetings.'

 

 

I'm also joining the Just Add "C" Challenge at Just Add Ink with my Cupcake & Coffee.

It's also Anything Goes at Simon Says Stamp.

Endorphins are a Girl's Best Friend

I did get to do a little art supply shopping on my trip last week.  I picked-up this Brandi Kincaid Surviving a Funk Stamp set for PinkFresh Studio at Scrapbook Generation in Springfield, Missouri.  I decided to combine it with this week's CAS(E) this Sketch!

 

My sister & I talked quite a bit about the importance of exercise in the overall health equation and the power of endorphins (she's kicking butt training for her first marathon).

I paired it with a piece of Gel Press Print from my stash and a white-on-white patterned card base.