Ingenious Inkling

Easter Bunny

I used this week's Global Design Project Sketch for a happy little Easter card. 

 

 

I broke out the fun little Bunny Frame from Impression Obsession and paired it with some of my shaving cream marbled paper.

 

 

I added some fun little eyes and a bit of color.  Did you know that Bunny noses can be either pink or black and are genetically passed down from its parents (things I learn while making cards)?  I love these Dare 2B Artzy Rectangle Double Dot Framelits.  I've had that Happy Easter stamp forever (it is by katie & co for Studio G back when Michael's had an awesome bin of $1 stamps).

 

I added a few flower stickers to pull in some more Spring for the Simon Says Spring/Easter Challenge.  It's also Easter at the Papercraft Challenge.

I am the luckiest.

Tonight's card features one of my favorite song lyrics by Ben Folds from Impression Obsession Love Songs 1.

I created my background using a combination of red & pink Dina Wakley Media Gloss Sprays.

 

 

I attached it to a card base covered in iridescent silver cardstock and finished with a scattering of silver hearts.

Five Favorite Holiday Cards - 2022

Since Lauren & I started Jingle Belles in 2010, I've been recapping my five favorite Christmas cards of the year (you can find 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 here) ... I always enjoy revisiting my creations for the year.

Here are this year's favorites in no particular order:

1.  This card was for our We Wish you a Plaid Christmas Prompt at Jingle Belles.  Paper Piecing and Yetis have been two of my favorite things for years, so it was fun to combine them with some of my favorite bright and happy colors for the holidays.

2.  This card was for the 12 Days of Christmas prompt at Jingle Belles to make a card for your true love that featured hearts.  I love the cool effect of the embossed metallic gel printed paper for the background combined with old-school detail cutting of my wintry scene.

 

 

3.  The Naughty Tag was my favorite from the 12 Tags of Christmas at Ellen Hutson inspired by Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.  And when my boss asked me if everyone got Naughty Cards for Christmas, I got to tell him it was a design specially reserved for him (he's a prankster who often exhibits what I would define as naughty behavior).

 

 

4.  Every year at least one Taylored Expressions Grumpling has to make an appearance in my year of card making, and I really loved how this one turned out ... the colors, dotty background, curled edge of the papers, and embellishments all worked together so well.  This one was for C is for Christmas (in July) at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers.

 

 

5.  My final card was a winner of the November Anything Goes Challenge at Jaded Blossom.  I was pretty proud of how I was able to turn my Coffee Gnome into a Grinch for the Caffeinated Christmas Holly Challenge, since I had the perfect sentiment.

 

 

As always, hard to pick favorites, but also fun re-visiting all the holiday cards I made (and gave) this year. 

Remember, if you'd like to have lots of holiday cards ready when December rolls around, you can join us for our 13th year of Jingle Belles Mayhem beginning January 1st

Frightfully Delightful

We're getting Frightfully Delightful at Shopping Our Stash ... create a card with your favorite spooky image.

 

 

I have never inked these fun stamps from Impression Obsession, so I used them for a clean & simple Halloween design.

 

 

I paired a sentiment from Impression Obsession Witch Sayings with the fun dancing Skeleton 1.  

The Monster at the End of this Book

When my sister was little, I read her lots of books ... but one of our absolute favorites was Grover in The Monster at the End of this Book.

 

 

I would do all of the voices and she would giggle and laugh ... such a precious memory ... just like the memory below of us on the beach at about the same age when I would have been reading this book to her.

 

 

So when I saw that was the book at the Once Upon a Time Challenge, I knew I had to make a card inspired by the book cover and memories of spending time with my sister.

I stamped the waving monster from Impression Obsession Monster Set in Grover Blue, die cut him out, and then added his red gem nose.

 

 

I inked my brick embossing folder with white pigment ink to get the look of the books on the cover.  I stamped words from Impression Obsession Express Yourself that reminded me of times with my sister and then finished with a sticker sentiment.

Here's a bit more recent picture of the two of us enjoying time together.

 

Autumn Mica Sprays

I got my newest collection of Ranger Mica Sprays, so I combined them with a few existing ones to create lots of backgrounds on watercolor paper and kraft cardstock.

After they dried, I combined them with stamps from Impression Obsession and some wooden leaves I had in my stash to make a group of cards.

 

 

The first one is for the Addicted to Stamps Birthday Challenge using the Sunday Stamps Sketch.

 

I love the combination of the two backgrounds.  Sentiment is Impression Obsession Typewriter Slimline Shorts.

 

 

The next one is for the Can You Handle the Pressure? Challenge with a twist of fall.  I embossed the sprayed panel with a Darice Fall Leaf Background Embossing Folder and then inked the raised texture with orange ink.

 

 

The sentiment is from the same Impression Obsession Typepwriter Slimline Shorts stamp set (I love that slightly wonky typewriter font and the set has so many options).

The next one positioned the leaves on top of the Impression Obsession Burlap Die Cut from Kraft cardstock.

 

This sentiment is from Impression Obsession The Skinny.

I'm linking-up my next card at the Country View Challenge Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness.

 

Sentiment is Impression Obsession Watch the Leaves ... and I added a vintage button to ground my wooden leaves.

 

My final card features another vintage button together with a sentiment from Impression Obsession Maple Set.

Wedding Love

I love how just switching-up colors with the same stamps & die cuts can give you completely different looks.

My wedding card stash is completely depleted, so I shopping my Gel Press Print drawer and picked out some prints that I thought would make good wedding card backgrounds.  Next I shopped my cardstock scraps to find coordinating colors to use with the backgournds.

First wedding card uses an Alcohol Ink Gel Press print with copper metallic cardstock.

 

 

The die cut is Impression Obsession Heart Couple Frame (probably one of the most used Die Cuts in my stash ... it makes wedding card making so easy).  The sentiment is Impression Obsession Love Stamp by Kalani Allred.

I'm linking-up at the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge.

 

 

Love this dramatic color combination from the Global Design Project and love the visual interest a gel press print adds as a background.

 

I love how the white really makes this background pop.   I'm linking this one up at the We Love Stamping Challenge where the theme is Hot Sunny Colors ... I think these hues fit the bill (however I was notified multiple times by different blog members that my card did not have enough stamping to qualify for their challenge, so it has been deleted.  Make sure if you consider entering their challenges that you only include stamping and not other techniques/products).

Wedding card stash restocked ... yay!  Do you have a favorite?

Cup of Cheer

This week at Jingle Belles we're making cards inspired by the color palette found in this plate of cookies from Sweet Sugarbelle at The Cake Blog – Pink, Grey (or Silver) and Ivory (or White). 

 

 

I started with a grey and white Pinkfresh Studio Just a Little Lovely floral designer paper, for the Flower Challenge at the Caffeinated Christmas Challenge.

 

 

I used this week's Try Stampin' on Tuesday Sketch for my layout with a wooden Coffee Cup sticker and a clear snow globe sticker.   

 

 

I added a strip of designer paper down the center, some silver sequins and a grey twine bow.  The sentiment is from Impression Obsession Christmas Words.

 

Cool Yule!

This week at Jingle Belles the theme is The Twelve Days of Christmas.  We're giving you the option of creating a card for your True Love; or creating a card that features a Heart or Hearts; or lastly creating a card inspired by the lyrics of the song (or any combination of the three). 

I chose to combine the first two using the adorable Cool Yule Polar Bears from Impression Obsession and Hearts.  After seeing all of the adorable cards that Laura Williams made with the set, I had to have it.  I took my card inspiration from the Just Us Girls Challenge Photo Inspiration.

 

 

I started by Gel Press Printing my background using Tiara Ruby Double Pigmented Acrylic Metallic Paint.  

 

 

Next I embossed the print using a Cuttlebug Heart Embossing Folder and then applied Gina K. Designs Red Hot ink direct to paper for some more contrast with the embossed texture.

I stamped two of the polar bears in black ink, detail cut them out, and then colored with markers.  

 

 

I stamped the sentiment from the same set and die cut using Spellbinders Tag That! Die.  I finished by adding a stitched landscape cut from white shimmer paper and attaching the stamped elements with foam tape for dimension.

We can't wait to see what part of the prompt inspires you.  One random participant will receive the Impression Obsession Christmas Words Stamp set just for joining us.

 

 

 

Banner Merry Christmas

We're still creating cards inspired by our 2021 Jingle Belles Banner.

 

 

I started with a dark green piece of designer paper from the Patina Collection of the essential Craft Papers by Craft Consortium that I thought captured the feel and color of the banner.

Next I stamped Impression Obsession Sketched Trees three times starting with the first stamping in Deck the Halls Green at the top and second generation stamping in the middle.  I finished with one more stamping in white craft ink along the bottom.

 

 

I die cut the sentiment from Impression Obsession Christmas Stitched Words from Silver Glitter paper and then backed it with a white/ivory glitter paper.  

I finished with two snowflakes from Impression Obsession Snowflakes Die Set cut from ivory shimmer paper.  I topped them with Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Bling.

I'm also joining the Cut It Out! Challenge at Little Red Wagon to use Christmas Die Cuts.  It's also Anything Goes at Simon Says Stamp.

We hope you come join us for our last holiday prompt of 2021.