Ingenious Inkling

Black & White Christmas

As with Birthday Cards, my stash of Masculine Christmas cards fell short as well, so I need to make some more.

I found a new (to me) Monthly Mix Challenge at Gina K's StampTV, which is to make black & white holiday cards ... perfect to solve my masculine card dilemma.

Also my new Tiny-Wreath-Builder-Bundle arrived in the mail today from Simon Says Stamp ... so you know I had to ink it up (with my MISTI of course).

I intended to use several branches from the stamp set for my wreath, but I loved how it looked after the first branch (they are closer on the smaller template), so I just stamped a snowflake from Gina K's Holiday Wreath Builder Set and punched it out with a 7/8" circle punch.  All I added was a single white pearl to the center of the snowflake.

 

I finished with a sentiment from the Holiday Wreath Builder set and a strip of black cardstock to ground my wreath.

I'm also joining CAS on Friday where they are also making Holiday Cards.

Rough Edge Circlezz Christmas Tag

I'm sharing some MISTI Stencil Magic at the Technique Junkies Blog today ... come check it out.  And remember, there's a chance to win $25 to shop at the store if you link-up a Holiday Tag for the current Technique Junkies Challenge.

and remember ... always use my discount code TJ10Stephanie at Checkout.

There's also a great sale at the MISTI Blog ... if you use My Link to shop, I do get an affiliate bonus.

 

My Sweet Petunia (MISTI) and Unity Stamp Company Blog Hop

The My Sweet Petunia Designers are joining the Unity Stamp Company team for a fun Autumn Blog Hop.  If you'd like to find the entire list of designers who are creating today, you can go to the My Sweet Petunia Blog or the Unity Stamp Company Blog.

 

For my first card, I decided to join in the Unity Stamp Company Be Inspired Kraft Challenge and create my Warm & Cozy Season Angie Girl in shades of brown.

 

I started with a scrap of paper bag brown cardstock from my stash (love when I can use those scraps).  I usually try to stamp on a piece that is larger than what I want, so I can trim down ... but since this one was exactly the size I needed, stamp placement is more important ... yay for the MISTI.

I wanted to paper piece her hat, so I found a slightly darker scrap of brown cardstock and inked-up her hat (no need to ink the entire stamp, since I'll be cutting-out the hat).

I added some metallic gold to her hair and a bit of brown marker to the trim on the coat and pom pom and trim on her hat ... then I decided to add a few snowflakes (again, never would have tried that before the MISTI for fear of messing-up all the work I had already put into my Angie Girl).  I positioned my piece of paper in the middle, so I could easily stamp off the edges.

 

Finally I wanted to incorporate some feathers like those in the Inspiration Photo for the Challenge.

I couldn't believe I didn't have any feathers in my Unity Stash ... so instead I used this branch from Unity Jar of Mixed Sentiments that felt feather-like.  I did first and second generation stamping to get various shades of brown for my background ... again, super-easy with my MISTI.  I just do my first stamp on a piece of scrap paper and then pull it out and do my second stamping.

 

Love how all of the elements of my design came together ... I finished with a few champagne gems in the center of the snowflakes.

I'm also linking-up at the Crafty Calendar Challenge where the theme is Paper Piecing.

I'm also Hiding in my Craft Room with Fall Colors (because this time of year in Iowa, the leaves are all pretty much shades of brown).

The next stamp I create with was Unity Stamp Company's Special Delivery Mouse.

I started by roughly water coloring a piece of watercolor paper with silver & purple shimmer paint.  Once it dried, I stamped my cute little Mouse in Watering Can Ink and then used a marker to add a little pop of color.  

 

 

I die cut my panel with a stitched rectangle and then cut a second rectangle from grey cardstock (can't figure out who makes that die)..  I finished with a wrap of grey ribbon, some tiny star washi tape and a glittery bloom.  The background is Petite Patterned Paper by Gina K. Designs.  I'm linking-up at Happy Little Stampers Anything with Dies Challenge.

 

My final card features the beauty of Metallic Embossing (Copper in this case) with O' Holy Blessed Night.  I used my MISTI to line-up my image stamp, the star, and both sentiments using Versamark Champagne Ink on Watercolor Paper.

Next I embossed it all using Copper Embossing Powder.  I finished with a row of Copper Nail Heads along the side on Copper Metallic Cardstock & a Kraft Card base.

 

We have TWO amazing Unity filled prize packages to give away PLUS a $60 gift certificate to My Sweet Petunia. Leave a comment on EACH design team member’s blog in the hop for your chance to win (remember you can find the entire list at the My Sweet Petunia Blog or the Unity Stamp Company Blog.  You have until Monday, November 12th to leave a comment. Winners will be picked and announced Tuesday, November 13^th on the Unity Stamp Company and My Sweet Petunia blogs.  

 

There's also a chance to win a prize at our Instagram Hop, so make sure you go there too ... my post can be found at SmilynStef

Winnie the Pooh Birthday

I was asked if I could make a Winnie the Pooh Birthday card for a one-year-old.  I immediately thought that I could turn Concord & 9th Hi There Bear into Pooh with some creative stamping & my MISTI.

As with all layering stamps, it took a couple of tries to figure out the best order to stamp the layers.  For me, this one worked better if I stamped the outline first with Versafine Clair Falling Leaves.

 

Next I used the stamp that was intended to create a Panda Bear and only inked the top portion with some Catherine Pooler Rockin' Red (again trial and error taught me that the red stayed redder if I stamped it before the gold).

 

Next came filling in the bear.  Since I had already stamped the image once, it was stained a bit yellow which actually made it easier to position it insight the lines ... Archival Saffron Ink was the perfect hue for Pooh.

 

And since it was a first birthday, I added a single Birthday Balloon.  I stamped the outline first and then filled in with the same vibrant red.

 

I was thrilled with how it turned out ... it reminds me of my brother's oh-so-loved Pooh that often joined us on our childhood adventures.  I can't even imagine attempting this type of stamping without my MISTI ... it truly does make new things possible for me.

I found a page of Pooh online and printed it out to use with this week's sketch from The Paper Players.  The Happy Birthday is from the same Concord & 9th Hi There Bear set.  And of course, I couldn't resist adding a vintage Martha Stewart Punched Party Hat to his head.

 

Winnie & Walter Word Card Making Day

I wanted to join in the Winnie & Walter World Card Making Day Challenges (you can see my CRAFTIE photo here) ... only one slight problem ... I only have 3 stamp sets from Winnie & Walter & 2 of them are sentiment sets (they do make amazing sentiment sets).  So clearly, I need to win this challenge, so I can add to my stash.

I started with inspiration from today's Featured Stamper at SplitcoastStampers ... the talented Jennifer Jackson.  I took my inspiration from her lovely stenciled design.

Unfortunately, most of my stencils have been mailed to New Jersey for the Gel Press Extravaganza that Lauren & I have planned for this week, so no pumpkins or leaves ... but I did have this lovely Classic Harlequin Stencil from Technique Junkies by A Colorful Life.  Remember, there's a World Card Making Day sale going on at Technique Junkies.

I pulled out my MISTI because it's not only a helpful tool for stamping ... I also use it for Stenciling.  I positioned my water color paper and held it in place with my long magnet.  Next, I placed  my stencil in the corner of my MISTI, so it stays in place in place and then I only have to add a single piece of tape at the top (rather than taping down multiple sides).

Iliana is having a great WCMD Sale Too.

I used my make-up brushes (life changing) to Ink Blend three colors of Distress Ink for the Winnie & Walter Ink Blending Challenge with Lea.

I started with the lightest shade and moved to the darkest, going back with some Mustard Seed at the end.  That is one of the make-up (aka Stencil) brushes from this Set of 6.

Another great thing about using this MISTI Technique for Stenciling, is it's easy to lift up your Stencil and see how things look, and then put it right back in place to add more ink ... look at that gorgeous blending of color.

 

For my finished card, I used inspiration from Jennifer to mat my card with gold (I normally would have reached for a darker brown) and added a wrap of twine, as well as some glittery autumn leaves.  Rather than stamp my sentiment on a strip of paper (I felt like it covered-up too much of that gorgeous ink-blending) I used Acorn Versafine Clair ink to stamp the Sentiment from Winnie & Walter The Big, The Bold, and Comfort on top of my blended Distress Ink.  I also used Jennifer's inspiration for a combination of a bigger & smaller word for my sentiment.

I'm also linking-up at the Trees & Leaves Challenge at The Paper Players.

AND remember ... Stop by and leave a comment on my Birthday Giveaway for a chance to win a Medium Size Flat Rate Box stuffed full of stamps & coordinating dies.

Galaxy Boo Convention

I love the magic that can sometimes happen when you stamp on designer paper ... like what happened here when I stamped Technique Junkies Boo Convention on a piece of starry galaxy paper.  The twinkly stars and ombre colors give the large open image a fun ethereal look.

 

I used my MISTI to position my stamp, so I got all of the shades from blue to purple.  Then I used another part of the same 12" sheet for the background with this week's Freshly Made Sketch.  Sentiment is Technique Junkies Happy Halloween stamped on scrap of the same paper.

 

I'm also joining the All About Holiday Challenge at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

 Remember, you can use my Discount Code TJ10Stephanie for 10% off anything in the Technique Junkies store.

Ink Painted Autumn with My Sweet Petunia

I'm sharing my MISTI Ink Painting Technique at the My Sweet Petunia blog today.

 

Rainbow Solar System Birthday

It's been a long time since I've been caught-up enough to just play in my studio ... but today, that miracle happened ... so I skipped on over to SplitCoastStampers to join the Featured Stamper Challenge of jostamper52.  I was inspired by this card of Jo Anne's.  

I loved the masculine theme, fun stamped background with all of the shapes, and the layout, so those are the things I incorporated into my design.  I thought it would be fun to recreate the background using Seth Apter's Solar System Stamps from Impression Obsession.  Since the Impression Obsession Challenge them is Rainbow Colors, that's the palette I used from my Distress Oxide Inks.

I may have gone a little rainbow overboard, because my design feels a lot busier than hers, but it certainly screams celebrate.  Using my MISTI makes creating a stamped background so much easier.

I used both the small and medium solar system stamps and started with my darker colors ... planning to fill in space with the lighter rainbow hues.

Next I stamped the same colors on kraft cardstock for the band across the card.  I added in the small Impression Obsession Gear Stamp by Dina Kowal on both the band and card background to fill in some final spaces.

 

Final step was stamping my focal image & sentiments ... all from Impression Obsession Let Them Eat Cake.  The MISTI makes layering that cake so easy.

I finished by decorating my cake with a few sequins.

That is one big Rainbow Birthday Celebration.  Since my background was all circles, I chose a rectangle stitched panel for my focal image for some contrast.

It's also a RAINBOW theme at Seize the Birthday, so I'm joining that party too.

Thanks Jo Anne for the inspiration.

Bold Brilliant Muse

When I saw Anita's inspiration card at the Muse Challenge, I had an immediate idea in my head.

But as often happens when I try to create after a long day at the office, executing on that idea can sometimes be a challenge.  I ended-up using my finger to smear the Distress Oxide Inks on my stamp to try to get the lovely blue/purple shades she achieved by sponging through a stencil.  Unfortunately, when my technique involves inky fingers ... it can take several tries to get an image stamped that doesn't have a smeary inky fingerprint somewhere on the white background.  I used my MISTI to separately ink & stamp each section of the image.

To incorporate the glittery sparkle she achieved with spray through her stencil, I used Violet Wink of Stella over the stamped lipstick for some shimmer.  Both stamps are from Technique Junkies (remember, you can use my code TJ10Stephanie for 10% off anything in the store ... and the September release is 15% off through the 8th).  The woman is Side Hat and sentiment is from the Typewriter Set.

I'm also joining the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

ATCs that Shimmer

I'm creating ATCs that Shimmer at the Technique Junkies Blog today ... click-on-over to check them out.

Remember, you can use my Discount Code TJ10Stephanie for 10% off anything in the store (the store is also carrying the wonderful Versafine Clair Inks that I used for my projects).