Ingenious Inkling

Living Room Rug Inspired

This afternoon I got to hang-out (via Video Chat) with friends from Junkiefest.  I'm an introvert who often goes all day on Saturday not talking with anyone, but even I've had a bit too much solitude time lately, so I truly appreciated the chance to see their faces, talk about life and see the projects they were working on.

 

 

I decided to work on the current Stay Crafty with Hero Challenge (#staycraftywithhero) ... to make a card inspired by something in your home.  I chose my Living Room Rug.

 

I found a Gel Press print in my stash that had several of the colors, so I die cut it with the Hero Arts Bold Graphic Confetti Die and then attached it to a grey cardstock base.

I took some of the confetti pieces and put them back into the die in different places to move the colors around.

 

I wanted to pull in a bit more shades of grey like the rug, so I added a strip of Suminagasi hand-marbled paper (that I made here) and stamped my sentiment from Hero Arts Hand Drawn Everyday Messages in Magenta Ink on a lighter grey cardstock before framing it with the rust and gold colors from the rug (I actually laid my cardstock down on the rug to find the right shades).

Ode to Working from Home

I've started working from home this week along with most of the rest of our company.  We did lots of planning on how to work from our off-site disaster recovery center (since we've previously been displaced by rising river waters several times), but not really any planning on how to work with our entire team working from home ... especially not in the midst of such ever-changing times.  There will be another learning curve to master for sure.

This card is an ode to that experience that so many of us are having.

 

The chair from Paper Smooches new Abode Stamp set was stamped on designer paper inspired by the mid-century modern inspiration photo at the Inkspirational: Photo Challenge.  I pulled in the grey from the back wall ...

 

... and for the Paper Smooches Animal Challenge, I added the yellow bird of happiness (because a friend told me yellow is her happy color ... and now every time I see yellow, it makes me happy too) from Paper Smooches Sunnyville to perch on the back of the office chair.

 

I finished with a sentiment from Paper Smooches Inhale Exhale (been doing a lot of that this week) all using this week's Freshly Made Sketch.

 

I finished with a row of black pearls inspired by the dots in the wallpaper.

As Beautiful as You

My pile of *never been inked* stamps has been growing much more quickly than I can use them, so my plan is to really start focusing on that pile and applying some ink. 

The Simon Says Stamp FlickR Challenge is an Anything Goes, so I grabbed the first Simon Says Stamp set in the pile, which just happened to be As Beautiful As You, which was a STAMPtember collaboration with Neat & Tangled.

 

What drew me to this set is that with one floral stamp I knew you could cover the entire front of the card ... and you could do various monochromatic designs like I did here ... or all sorts of coloring and painting.  My card was inspired by the blues of this week's Inspired by Challenge.

 

I added a white sentiment ... and white and silver enamel dots to bring in some of the other colors before mounting it on a dark blue card base.

Be Your Beautiful Self

The current challenge theme at Impression Obsession is At The Beach.

 

Not a lot of beachy stuff in my Impression Obsession inventory, so I had to get creative.  The Cover-A-Card Gradation background reminded me of bubbles in the ocean water ... and I always wear my sunglasses to the beach, so I took those two elements and combined them with inspiration from the Inspired By Challenge ... Nautical Party.

 

The Cover-a-Card Gradation was stamped in Blue using my MISTI.  The Impression Obsession Sunglasses were die cut from vibrant yellow and then again in black for the lenses.

 

I finished with a sentiment from Impression Obsession Words for Art, one of my favorite sentiment sets.

AlteNew Inspiration Mandala

Do you have stamp company's products that you tend to collect rather than use ... I sort of feel that way about my AlteNew products.  Every time I see my friend Erum create something, I drool.  But when I try to figure out my own style with their designs, I feel like I fall short (seriously, if you haven't seen her work, make sure you click over and you will drool too).

Well, the only way to get better is to keep trying, so I gave it a try for the AlteNew July Inspiration Challenge.  Those are MY Colors (seriously, my studio, wardrobe ... you see me, you see those colors).

 

 

I wanted to use some neglected products, so I started with the AlteNew Mandala Die Set that was still in its original packaging.  I recently invested in a Gemini Jr. and it cut this detailed die like butter (yay).  I cut it from two shades of pink and then added a punched orange circle between the layers.  I cut it in half to make two cards.

 

I tried to layer some flowers on top, but it just made it too busy, so instead I added a simple sentiment from AlteNew's Crafty Friends, since I'm still coming down from all of the great time I got to spend with my Crafty Friends at Junkiefest.

 

This is so true ... I've learned so much just getting to sit with Lauren for several days each year ... our creative style and process are so different, that we each take something away from the other, which is awesome (since I'm channeling her Mandala Monday today)

Margaritaville

The challenge at The Paper Players is a Clean & Simple Summer Beverage ... and to me, nothing says Summer quite like an iced cold margarita with salt on the rim.  Our favorite Mexican restaurant makes them with fresh squeezed orange and lime juice ... so so good with chips & salsa.

 

I broke out Cathy Zielske's Happy Hour Set with Verdant Green Ink ... because I have so many friends I would love to have a Happy Hour with (my *white* space for my CAS design is Gina K. Designs luscious Jelly Bean Green cardstock).

 

I pulled in yellow inspired by the beautiful photo at the Inspired by Challenge (Swapping the Lemons for Limes).

 

and the clean & simple layout is from the TGIF Challenge.

 

 

Hibiscus Thank You

I wanted to join in the AlteNew May Inspiration Challenge, so I'm sneaking my card in under the wire.

 

I loved the weathered white background with the shadows ... and how it contrasted with the single bloom.  I didn't think I had enough variation in my purple inks to get the contrasts between the layers on the AlteNew Build-A-Flower Hibiscus, so I started with Yellow and then moved to my darkest purple ink.  For this flower, I actually found it easier to stamp the third layer first, and then move backward and forward with the lighter and darker colors (it made the aligning easier for me).

I used a single row of double foam tape for my flower & leaf, so I could get the curling dimension on both.

I found a piece of white weathered wood designer paper and then I embossed it with some ragged lines.  Next I brushed on some grey ink to bring in the shadow effect from the Inspiration Photo.  The Thank You sentiment is also from the Build-A Flower Hibiscus Set.

I'm also joining the Use a Die Cut Challenge at CCEE Stampers.

You Are Awesome

I've had the Avery Elle Stamp Set Loved & Admired and coordinating dies on my studio table waiting for some love for way too long.  Today I'm using them with inspiration from the May Mood Board at Butterfly Reflections Ink ... those colors speak to me.

 

I stamped the wreath using two colors of green ink on lime cardstock.  I die cut the wreath, and then used the negative of the die cut inside my MISTI to perfectly position my stamp ... love using my MISTI for that (especially for a large stamp like this wreath that can be more challenging to position correctly).  Next I decorated it with gems in the various inspiration colors.

 

I stamped the Loved & Admired Sentiment in Teal and the strip sentiment from Avery Elle Simply Said You in Navy.  The layout is this week's Mojo Monday Sketch.

embrace the journey

I love this week's Freshly Made Sketch because I love the effect of clustering several small elements together into a cohesive focal point.

I took my color & design inspiration from the lovely modern quilt at the Inspired By Challenge (those are my colors).

I started by embossing a piece of watercolor paper that had been sprayed with four shades of Shimmering Bliss Spray (leftovers from the Butterfly Card) from my scrap pile with Spellbinders / Fun Stampers Journey Pretty Plaid Embossing Folder.  Next I went direct-to-paper with brown ink to bring out the plaid pattern (realized when I went back and looked at the photo that grey probably would have been a better choice, but when you're working in your Alterna-Studio off your phone, you just go with it).  I matted it on kraft to bring out the wooden tones of the bedside table.

Next I punched a circle from the leftover sprayed paper and another from teal cardstock ... pulling in the lime green with my square.  I pulled in the darker teal from the edge of the quilt with my punched branches.  I finished with a sticker sentiment mounted on foam tape for dimension ... sort of love how this one turned out.  

I'm on week five in my Alterna-Studio ... we're supposed to have flooring installed in our first floor by the end of the week and all of the many boxes returned the week after that, so I can start reassembling my studio ... I am so ready to have my space back.

Live It Up

The theme at the Inspired By Challenge is a Football Party.

 

I used a combination of football papers that include play drawings and grass from the field, as well as a white wood grain inspired by the background in the photo.

 

The Sketch is from this week's Fusion Card Challenge ... but instead of Penguins, my Black & White are the referee stripes.