Ingenious Inkling

How Do You Spell Love?

The January Unity Stamp Company Challenge is all about Cozy Winter Colors.

 

 

When I saw the gold & the pink, I thought one of my new Winnie the Pooh stamps would be perfect.  I chose Unity Stamp Company Winnie the Pooh How do you spell love?, which I stamped & colored with my Spectrum Noir markers.

 

 

I used this week's Vertical Sketch from the Paper Craft Crew for my layout. 

 

 

The card felt a bit flat with all of the solid cardstock, so I embossed the light grey card base with Gina K. Designs Tapestry Embossing Folder for some texture.

Ring the Bells

The Jingle Belles are Ringing in the Christmas Bells with our prompt this week ... so we'd like to see cards with sleigh bells, church bells, jingle bells, silver bells or... well, whatever kind of bell you can think of. 

I went with a new-to-me Penny Black Ring the Bells stamp.  I thought I would stamp it on white cardstock & color ... but there was a scrap of light blue cardstock on my table, so I thought I would try that first ... and I ended-up loving it ... especially the contrast of the red bloom & berries.

 

I die cut it with a stitched rectangle and added a slight mat of green before attaching to my red card base.

 

With my new stamp, I'm linking-up at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge where the Optional Theme is Something New.

Shine Bright Like a Daimond

The current Shopping Our Stash Challenge Shine Bright Like a Diamond is asking you to create a card that is totally blinged-up or and/or features something that gives light (candle, light bulb, sun).

 

 

I went with a clean & simple card featuring the latter ... a trio of lamps from Unity Stamp Company's { ... shine, shine, shine.}.  I stamped them Versafine Acorn ink on an Ivory Card Case and used my Spectrum Noir Light Yellow markers to add a glow of light from the light bulbs.

 

 

The sentiment is from the same Unity set.

Big Grumpy - Naughty or Nice?

We're still in the theme of Creature Feature at Jingle Belles where we're making cards featuring animals or other creatures.

I chose the ever-so-adorable Big Grumpy from Taylored Expressions for my card stamped on kraft cardstock with a bit of Spectrum Noir marker coloring and paper piecing for those eyes.

 

 

I paired him with sentiments from TE Spoiler Alert & TE Simple Strips Christmas. 

 

I'm also adding one more for the Taylored Expressions #TEMakerChallenge with S is for Sign & Spirits.

I added a holly sticker & Santa Hat sticker from my stash before finishing an Eyelet Outlet Enamel Heart to let you know which way he leans.

 

 

Addicted to Stamps and More is all about Christmas.

Platypus Happy Birthday

The current Honey Bee Stamps Buzzworthy Challenge is all about Birthday Cards.

 

Only one problem ... no birthday stamps in my Honey Bee Stamps stash. 

I saw that the adorable Penny Platypus had a gift accessory, so that's what I went with.  When I searched for Platypus colors, I saw Perry the Platypus from Phineas & Ferb, and decided I liked the fun cartoon color hue.

 

 

I die cut Penny the Platypus Paper Piecing Honey Cut from teal & gold cardstock and added some inking to the tail.  I stamped & die cut the gift from the Penny the Platypus Stamp Set and added some Spectrum Noir coloring to the bow. 

The black & white paper is from the Honey Bee Stamps Farm Fresh Holiday Papers.

 

I flipped this week's Fab Friday Sketch for my Layout and finished with googly eyes, sticker sentiments, and some enamel dots.

The Holly & the Ivy

This week's Jingle Belle Theme is The Holly & the Ivy … we'd like you to incorporate holiday foliage into your cards. 

This could be literally Holly or Ivy … but there's also mistletoe and did you know that Poinsettias – whether red, white green or even pink – are all actually considered leaves and not flowers?? so there's lots of room for ideas to “grow” on you.

I love how this image from Simon Says Stamp Joyful Season combines several types of holiday foliage. 

 

 

I stamped it in Versafine Clair Rain Forest ink and then added red to the berries with Spectrum Noir Markers.  I realize some of those berries shouldn't necessarily be red, but since I didn't plan on coloring the leaves, I wanted a pop of color throughout. 

I finished with a sentiment from the set and coordinating paper borders.

I'm also linking-up at the Anything Goes Challenge at The Holly & the Ivy Challenge.

Translucent Flower Collage

Thrilled to be Guest Designing at The Ink Pad NYC today.

I have started following quite a few collage artists on Instagram, and I am particularly transfixed by creations that layer translucent elements.

Inspired by those designers, today I'm making some collage cards using the wonderful collection of Black & White Translucent Flower Stickers.

I started by coloring a few of the smaller stickers using the Karin DecoBrush Markers.  I loved how I could the markers almost like paint brushes to blend the colors together on the translucent substrate.  I did use my embossing gun to heat set them a bit after a colored to make sure it stayed steadfast.  I also loved how the light ink saturation allowed the beauty of these stickers to really shine through.

 

 

I used several vintage papers from the LB Deluxe Collage Packs to build my collage with the stickers.  I applied some Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide Ink using the Beach Grass Stencil and moving it around to get some random ink on my background.

 

 

Next I applied another torn paper from the LB Deluxe Collage Papers and began affixing my flower stickers ... I just love how you can see the text through the flowers.

 

 

I finished with a sentiment from Picket Fence Studios Walk, Crawl or Run Stamp set on ivory cardstock and a scattering of ivory gems.

 

 

For my next card, I decided to try coloring my flower stickers with Alcohol Ink Markers in monochromatic blues ... they worked well too with more intense colors on the stickers.  To add some inky interest to my  vintage papers, I used the Picket Fence Studios Wonky Rainbow Stencil turned on its side.

 

 

 

Again I love how you can see the text through the stickers.  This time I paired my colored sticker with two that I left just as they come.

 

 

This sentiment is from Picket Fence Studios Here is Where I Work ... because you know there are people in your life who would love to know you appreciate them.

 

 

Hopefully you're inspired to create collage with translucent elements.

 

 

 

There are so many stickers in this collection, you could make collages for days.

 

You & Me Go Together

There's a Love Challenge at the Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps Facebook Page, so it was the perfect opportunity to start making some Valentines.

 

 

It was also a great opportunity to ink-up some never-before-used-stamps (why oh why do I have so many).  I started by stamping the Sweet 'n Sassy Delightfully Delicate Background in White Ink and embossing with white embossing powder.

Next I smooshed four colors of red & pink Distress Oxide Inks onto a surface, sprayed with water, and then kept dipping my cardstock into the ink until I had what I wanted.

 

 

I took my inspiration from The Card Concept Winter Warmth and used the Coffee & Donut from Sweet 'n Sassy You & Me that I colored in Reds & Pinks Spectrum Noir Markers as well.  The sentiment stamps are from the same stamp set.  I would say my style is Clean & Graphic.

 

 

I finished with some Washi Tape and Love from Lizi Silver Peel-Offs.

With my Spectrum Noir coloring, I'm also joining the Make Your Mark Challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

And now I feel like I'm going to need to walk across the street to the Donut Shop in the morning ... I love warm donuts.

Wishing It Was a Donut

I haven't left the house that much since the shelter-at-home recommendations, but when I saw there were fresh raspberry filled donuts at the bakery this morning, I put on my mask and headed out for a quick trip ... and they were most certainly worth it (and I was also able to make it a "two-birds" trip with a stop at the Post Office while I was out).

 

So when I thought about the flavor of my doughnut for the Picket Fence Food & Drink Challenge #pfs100, I knew it had to be Raspberry.

 

 

I used my Spectrum Noir's for coloring.  Stamps are Picket Fence You Make Me Glazy and the tiny Hashtag from Picket Fence Here is Where I Work on the Coffee Cup.  I finished with some matte enamel dots from Gina Marie Designs in coordinating hues.

You Slay Me

The April Taylored Expression Maker Challenge features one of my favorite colors ... Orange (#TEMakerChallenge).

 

I also wanted to add both stripes & embossing to my design.  I used the striped sketch layout from the Atlantic Hearts Sketch and two scraps of orange designer paper from my stash.

 

I stamped the dragon from Taylored Expressions Mythical Grumplings in a combination of Orange and Brown Ink and added some color with Spectrum Noir Markers and a white paint pen for the fangs.  The circle behind the dragon is dry embossed with circles, similar to the ones in the designer paper (you can see it more clearly at the top left of the circle).

 

I finished with one of the sentiments from the Mythical Grumplings set.