Ingenious Inkling

The Bunny Trail

Even though I've already mailed the Easter cards I've made (I like to get them there early, so people have a bit of time prior to the holiday to enjoy or display them), I couldn't resist making another for the Impression Obsession Easter Fun! Challenge.

 

I die cut my three little Impression Obsession Bunnies from the cardstock colors from the Just Add Ink Challenge ... I added pearl bunny tails and tiny black gem eyes.

 

The layout and inspiration are from the current Fusion Card Challenge ... the adorable picture also inspired the bit of polka dot washi banner along the top.

 

I finished with a sticker sentiment (don't really have many Easter sentiment stamps in my stash).

 

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.

Introverting

Have you ever read the book Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking?  In it, there is an introvert quiz.  My husband got a perfect score (all Introvert), and I am closer to the middle with stronger Introvert tendencies.  My Saturdays are usually spent alone in mostly total silence, recharging from a week of constant interaction from working in an open office environment. 

Today I did venture out to buy some Spring sandals - the new Keena Slide Sandal from L'Artiste, one of my favorite brands (it's 51 degrees outside, which has me itching to wear sandals), but otherwise it was just me and my studio. 

I spent the morning doing lots of food prep for the week, and the Beef Stew in the Crock-Pot is smelling quite yummy.

 

So when I picked my stamps for my Impression Obsession Tag You're It! Challenge Card, It's not surprising that I chose Impression Obsession Introverting by Dina Kowal.

 

 

I used the colors from CAS Colours & Sketches.

 

and the layout is from Tuesday Morning Sketches (flipped to work with my Impression Obsession Plaid Tag).

 

And with my embossed tag, I'm linking-up at the Embossing Challenge at The Male Room.

 

Crabby Hugs

The current theme at the Impression Obsession Challenge is Hugs & Kisses.

 

My Impression Obsession stamps & dies are in drawers by my desk, and when I opened the first drawer this cute little Impression Obsession Crab Die by Anna Wight was staring-up at me ... and I thought ... he looks like a little kid holding his arms up for a hug ... so Hugs it was.

 

I die cut the crab several times from a piece of shaded designer paper to get the darker on the body and lighter on the extremities.  I die cut the Hugs from Impression Obsession Typewriter Sentiments from the same designer paper and again in black to create a shadow. 

 

I used black pearls for his eye balls and then used the Horizontal Sketch from Paper Craft Crew for my layout.  I backed the black & white striped washi tape with white cardstock, so I could get more contrast against the black card base.

I'm also joining the Simon Says Stamp With Love Challenge.

Love is in the Air

The theme at Impression Obsession is Love is in the Air! ... and I immediately went to one of the most used Dies in my Collection - Heart Couple Frame.

 

I almost feel like I'm cheating when I use this die ... the single piece cuts so simply and by changing the color of the die and the background you can easily customize for any wedding color combination.  Today I die cut it from thicker watercolor paper for some subtle texture ... and the thickness of the paper means I don't have to stack dies for dimension.

 

I used a piece of glitter paper from a Christmas paper pad for the background ... a deep burgundy with specs of silver and pinkish glitter.  I inked-up a sentiment from never before used Impression Obsession set called The Skinny.  I'm linking up at the NBUS (never before used schtuff) challenge at little red wagon.

 

 

I inked it in Gina K. Designs Cranberry Tart and clear embossed for a bit more elegance.  For a bit of added elegance I used several Glitter Dot Flourish Stickers by docrafts Papermania from an unopened pack in my stash ... have no idea where these lovelies came from, but they provided a very nice bit of bling.

 

I'm also linking-up at the Something New Challenge at The Paper Players since I both used something new ... and created a card for a soon to be newly married couple.

Quick & Easy Holiday Card

The Challenge theme at Impression Obsession is Quick & Easy Holiday cards ... and for me, that usually means die cuts.

 

I went through my collection and pulled out several dies that could make a scene together with scraps of cardstock from my bin (I keep it sorted by colors in hanging file folders).  With my Gemini Junior, die-cutting is a breeze.

 

I started by die cutting the City Landscape Layers from two shades of grey (I actually bought this die in NYC at The Ink Pad).  I attached it to a black card base for the night time sky.  Next I cut the Impression Obsession Santa Die from Maroon Cardstock (the color was an ode to Rudolph).  And the quick finish was Merry Christmas from the Typewriter Sentiments cut from a bluish grey cardstock.

Super quick ... super easy ... and a snap to produce in bulk.

I'm also joining the Any Winter Holiday Challenge at little red wagon and the Cityscape Challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Snow Time

The current Impression Obsession Challenge is Snow Time!

 

I started by die cutting Impression Obsession Snowflakes Die Set from Silver Glitter Foam ... I used two of the three snowflakes on my card.  

 

I attached them to the Impression Obsession Plaid Tag cut from a blue shimmer cardstock.  I finished with a peace sentiment from Impression Obsession Express Yourself.

 

I added some Eyelet Outlet Bumpy Bling to the center of the snowflakes and some silver & blue ribbon at the top of the tag to finish the design.

Thank You Thank You

The current theme at the Impression Obsession Challenge is So Thankful.

 

 

I can't get enough of the Impression Obsession Plaid Tag ... this time I used just the back full tag without the plaid and stamped the sentiment from Impression Obsession Many Thanks (another favorite), which fit perfectly.

 

I paired it with some gorgeous Jolly Floral paper from Carta Bella Practically Perfect.  I use this week's Just Add Ink Sketch and finished with a silver thank you sticker and some coordinating seam binding ribbon for my tag.

 

It's a Nice Day for a Gel Press Wedding

I had a run on wedding cards this week, so I needed to restock.  Have I mentioned how much I love having a big pile of freshly pulled Gel Press prints to use in my designs ... love love love it.

Impression Obsession is my favorite source for wedding cards ... the first one uses a Gel Press Print, Impression Obsession Wedding Collage and this week's Sketch from The Paper Players.

 

I added some rose stickers for the circle elements of the check to repeat on the rose theme at the top right corner of the collage ... and of course I had to add some bling to that ring.  I  finished with a sticker sentiment.

I'm linking up at the Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Stamp.  It's also Anything Goes at Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 

The next on is for a request for a masculine wedding card.  The background has a wonderful shimmer from gold metallic paint that is difficult to pick-up in the photograph.

 

I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch starting with the Impression Obsession Wonky Stitched Circle Die.  The Impression Obsession Bride & Groom Die was cut from a light kraft cardstock & I finished with the Die Cut sentiment from the Impression Obsession Congrats Word Set.

 

My final wedding card is my go-to-super-easy-when-I'm-running-out-of-creative-gas card ... the Impression Obsession Heart Couple Frame die cut from white textured cardstock and attached over another Gel Press Print (yep, that's the theme for the night in case the blog post title didn't give it away).

 

One more sticker sentiment and it is ready to go ... and my wedding card stash is restocked.

Count Your Blessings

The current Impression Obsession Challenge is Harvest Treats (aka Fruits & Vegetables).

 

The only produce stamp in my Impression Obsession Stamp was ... surprise ... Corn (what else would an Iowa girl have).

I used a variety of Ink Pads to *paint* the stamp applying ink to different sections and blending using my MISTI.  I finished with a sentiment from Impression Obsession Holiday Words (a very versatile set of sentiments)